Chapter 3: Almost

The next morning came quick, to quick for the brunette's liking. She had no idea how today would go. She was going to tell Damon about her and Stefan. Obviously, it wasn't going to be all unicorns and rainbows. She'd known Damon for more than two years now and knew he would blow. Unfortunately, she didn't know if she'd be able to calm him down again. Shaking her head, she got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself as she brushed her hair. If she told him, he would kill Stefan, no question about it. Even though she hated him at the moment, she didn't particularly want him dead. Besides, after his anger had kicked in, she wouldn't be able to stop him, so she didn't know if it was a good idea. Not that he should really go off on one anyway, he's dating Caroline. Maybe it's because they were like best friends and they cared for eachother?

Shaking her head, she grabbed her toothbrush, beginning to brush her teeth as she looked out of the window, seeing it raining heavily. Guess there was no luck for sun today. Washing her mouth out, she walked into the bedroom and pulled on her underwear as she looked in the mirror, checking herself. The marks weren't visible, just her face. Sighing, she tugged jean shorts on with a tank top and pumps as she put some make up on. Anything to hide the marks Stefan had been leaving. She didn't want anyone taking pity on her, it was bad enough that Damon knew something. Well, he thinks he knows what's going on and he's right, but she doesn't want him to think he's right. It's a confusing process. She had to be the Elena Gilbert she was before her parents died or at least act like her.

"Here goes nothing." She murmured to herself as she pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and made her way out of the room as she stopped at the top of the landing, "Showtime."

Tilting her head back, she stared at the ceiling and breathed deeply. She could do this. She was a happy person. The happiest person known to man. The most hopeful, optimistic person known to man. Skipping down the stairs slowly, she grinned wide and went on into the living room where everyone was sitting.

"Good morning!" Elena beamed, going into the kitchen as she flicked the kettle on, "Anyone want tea? Coffee? Hot Chocolate? Lemonade? Juice? Apple? Orange?"
"Hello to you too miss happy." Caroline replied, frowning softly as she she shook her head, "I'll have orange juice."
"Yup, I'll get that for you." The brunette agreed, going to the fridge as she grabbed the juice and poured it out into a glass.
"I'll have one too." Stefan told her, licking his lips as he wondered how she would reply to him.
"Of course sweetie." Elena smiled big, rolling her eyes inwardly as she poured another orange juice and walked over, passing Caroline's and then Stefan's, "I hope its to your...enjoyment."
"I'm sure it will be." Stefan told her, his green eyes watching her as she gave him a grin and looked over at Damon who was watching her intently, confusion in his eyes.

The guy was going to be the death of her. The looks he gave her made her want to faint there and then. Pushing the blush back, she went back into the kitchen, thinking about what she wanted. A juice would do for now, the coffee would just make her bounce all around the room and everyone would think she was acting weirder than she already was.

"What are you guys watching?" Elena questioned, leaning on the island as she looked at the television.
"Mulan. Caroline got hold of the remote again." Bonnie told her, rolling her eyes as she sipped at her hot chocolate.
"Yeah, nothing better to do than watch some girl pretend to be a man." Jeremy commented dryly as Caroline glared at him.
"There's another film called she's the man and that's JUST as popular." She told him as he rolled his eyes, looking around the room.

Look at me, I will never pass for a perfect bride or a perfect daughter.
Can it be, I'm not meant to play this part. Now I see, that if I were
truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart.

Elena looked to Stefan as he was watching Mulan. He was acting normal. None of their problems were bothering him obviously. He hit her and lived with it. He got up in the morning, no problem. He went to sleep, no problem. He got on with his life, AGAIN no problem. Unfortunately, she was getting all of the problems. Feeling everything that HE was meant to be feeling.

Who is that girl I see? Staring straight, back at me.
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
Somehow I cannot hide, who I am, though I've tried

Slowly looking at Damon, she seen him looking back at her as he looked to Stefan and then back to her, almost asking her, begging her to tell him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she knew she had to. But that wasn't the right way. Silent communication never ended well, even SHE knew that. Looking away, she sipped her juice and stepped outside into the rain, finding it refreshing. Walking down the dock, she closed her eyes, just feeling the rain on her face. It was soothing, almost calming as well. Taking another sip of her juice, she tilted her head back.

When will my reflection show, who I am inside?
When will my reflection show, who I am inside?

Feeling a hand press it's self on her shoulder, she tried not to shudder. She knew that touch from anywhere. The touch that haunted her in her sleep. The touch that she couldn't get out of her head. Slowly turning around, she came to face with green eyes and a hard look. He never smiled. Well, he use to. But use to seems so long ago. Maybe centuries even, being impossible since she'd be dead. He took her hand, leading her back up the dock and inside as he closed the door over. Faking a smile, she kissed his cheek and moved to the kitchen, trying not to shiver in disgust. The look of him made her want to grab a stake...or a knife. The stake would do more damage to be fair.

"Elena, we're going out tonight." Caroline told her, turning on the couch, so that she could look at her.
"Where are we going?" She raised an eyebrow, finishing off her juice as she licked her lips. Getting out and away from Stefan would be nice.
"I was thinking we all go out and get drunk out of our mind." The blonde gave her a grin as Elena faked a smile. Guess there's no getting away from the dick after all.
"I'm game." Shrugging, she poured another juice and took a gulp as she looked at Damon as he was staring at the bourbon in his hands. He hadn't said a word since she'd been down.

Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, she jumped slightly and reached into her shorts pocket as she pulled her phone out and seen a message from Damon. Frowning, she looked up at him as he nodded at her and sipped his bourbon. Looking back down at her phone, she pushed down on her phone as the message began opening it's self. What was it going to say?

I heard your fight last night.

Licking her lips, she felt them getting dry and looked back at Damon, seeing that he was talking to Caroline and Jeremy about something. What did she say to that? How did she respond? Sitting on the stool, her fingers began dancing over the keyboard, the words not even registering in her mind yet. Closing her eyes, she waited as she heard Damon's phone beep.

Then you know the answer to the question that you will be asking me later.

Damon looked up at her, confusion now on his face as he didn't understand what she meant. His blue eyes pierced her chocolate brown ones as she gave him a soft smile, causing him to grin in return and roll his eyes as he went back to his conversation with Jeremy and Caroline. Well at least things weren't awkward between them after they had...a close call yesterday.

Fluttering her eyelashes, Elena looked in the mirror as she checked out her make up. Caroline sat on her bed, straightening her hair as Bonnie was picking out what to wear. The girls always took the longest to get ready. That was the rule. Everyone knew that. Grabbing her blusher, the brunette applied some to her face and licked her lips, happy with the way she looked. Putting her make up away, she tucked it into the draw as Caroline got off the bed and looked in the mirror, posing. Elena rolled her eyes, smiling and took the straighteners as she began making her hair wavy. It pissed Stefan off when she had her hair like that because APPARENTLY it reminded him of Katherine. Anything that annoyed him made her happy, so she would take one for the team and look like her dopple ganger vampire bitch.

"Is this okay to wear?" Bonnie asked, twirling slowly as she looked down at herself.
"You look lovely Bon, don't worry so much. My brother likes you anyway." Elena told her with a teasing grin as Bonnie flicked her the finger and resumed getting herself together.
"How do I look? I want to look slutty. I want Damon tonight and I know he likes this." Caroline explained, twirling as her dress reached the top of her thighs, barely covering her.

The brunette looked Caroline over and tried not to feel jealous, but it was hard. She could kiss Damon, get into bed with him, see him nak...woah, where was this coming from? Shaking her head, she turned the straighteners off and got off the bed as she walked over and pulled the closet open, looking for her dress to wear.

"You look like sex Car. He'll want you." Elena told her with a smile as she breathed deeply and picked out a midnight blue dress, a black belt in the middle with a bow.
"Your going to look like sex wearing that. You and Stefan are gonna be having vamp on human sex." Caroline winked at her as the brunette laughed, nodding and went into the bathroom.

The guys sat on the couches, silence throughout the room. Damon was drinking his bourbon, knowing it was the best stuff that he was going to have all night. Jeremy was flicking through a magazine that was sitting, looking at the clock every now and then. Stefan was bouncing his leg, looking at the time impatiently. Hearing footsteps, all the boys let out a sigh of relief as Caroline descended from the stairs, brushing herself down as she came. Damon looked her over, seeing how short her dress was and rolled his eyes inwardly. Seriously? Could the girl be any more obvious? Grinning, she walked over to him and sat on his lap, kissing him as she grabbed his collar in her hands. Jeremy gagged and leaned back into the couch as he threw the magazine to the side, having read through it more than three times.

"Where's Bonnie?" Jeremy asked, sitting forward as he looked at the clock again.
"She's on her way down, relax." The blonde told him with a smile as she got up and moved to the mirror, checking her appearance.
"I'm here, I'm here." Bonnie announced, getting to the bottom of the stairs as Jeremy jumped up to meet her.
"Hey, you look beautiful." He gave her a smile as she blushed and kissed him on his cheek as thanks.

Damon smirked, rolling his blue orbs as he took a gulp of his bourbon, finishing it off. Looking over at Stefan, he seen him on the edge of his seat. He had no idea what was going on with him OR Elena for that matter. The situation was confusing and everytime he thought he was beginning to piece it together, everything was threw out of context and he had to start again. Shaking his head, he got up and poured himself another bourbon as he heard footsteps on the stairs. Looking up, he went wide-eyed as Elena made her way down the stairs. Okay, now that just took his breath away. She was a masterpiece. Licking his lips, he watched as she got to the bottom of the stairs and Stefan got to his feet, looking at her, almost as if there was a glare in his eyes. Frowning, he looked over to Elena and seen her shooting Stefan daggers. What the hell was going on?

The room was filled with people drinking, grinding and having sex in corners. It was a night of wonder. The girls were on the dance floor, dancing throughout the crowd as the music blared through the speakers. Damon stood at the bar, sipping his drink as he watched the girls, his eyes on Elena. He needed to have a word with her and it was going to be tonight.

Yo, what I gotta do to show these girls that I own them
Some call me Nicki, and some call me roman
Skeeza, pleeza, I'm in Ibiza (whoa)
Giuseppe Zannotti my own sneaker

Sexy, sexy that's all I do
If you need a bad bitch
Let me call a few

Pumps on and them little mini skirts is out
I see some good girls, I'mma turn 'em out
Ok bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle
I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, hey?
Bottle, sip, bottle, guzzle
I'm a bad bitch, no muzzle, let's go.

Caroline and Bonnie grinned and waved at Elena as they ran off to get a drink. Shrugging, she continued dancing and ran her fingers through her hair as she moved to the music. She felt free and she was having fun doing it. Downing the rest of her drink, she dropped the glass on a table and whipped her hair back as she moved through the crowd of people, grinning.

Music, makes me, high
Oh, oh, oh, come fill my glass up a little more
We 'bout to get up, and burn this floor
You know we getting hotter, and hotter
Sexy and hotter, let's shut it down

Gasping, she felt a pair of cool lips against her neck and automatically knew who it was. God, she'd know those lips from anywhere. She felt his hands moving to her waist and moving around to her stomach as he pulled her back against him, his breath in her ear as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back. She didn't care that anyone could catch them. She was just enjoying having his hands on her. Teasingly, she grinded back against him as he groaned and turned her around, looking at her, his blue eyes burning into her brown ones.

"Me and you need to talk." Damon murmured into her ear, his fingers digging into her hips lightly as she licked her lips.
"I know what you want to talk about. Just ask what you wanna ask and we'll get it out, hmmm?" Elena questioned, raising an eyebrow, suddenly aware how close they were to eachother.
"Did Stefan lay his hands on you?" He looked at her, his eyes narrowing as he waited for an answer.
"Yes...Stefan hit me if that's what you meant." She admitted, crossing her arms as she stared up at him, feeling a weight lifting off her shoulders.

Pound the alarm!
Pound the alarm!

Damon looked at her, his blue eyes burning with fire, his whole body tensing up as he clenched his fists. Elena knew this was going to happen and was prepared for it. She had been carefully planning all day and it was the only solution that she could come up with. Moving forward, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, smashing her lips against his as she felt him instantly calm, his hands gripping her waist as he kissed her back, his lips moving against hers in a fight. A fight against eachother. Their feelings, their journey, them. The fight had been growing between them for years and now, they were finally giving into it.

I wanna do it for the night, night
So get me now, and knock this over
I wanna do it like you like, like
Come get me, baby, we're not getting younger
I just want you tonight, night
Baby, we won't do it for life, life

"Your trying to distract me from beating him to a fucking pulp." Damon murmured against her lips breathless as he stared down at her.
"Yes...I am." Elena whispered, her fingers grasping his shirt as he pulled away, running his fingers through his hair.
"He's dead Elena. You see the mark he left on you? The mark I leave on him will be worse." He warned her, his eyes burning with that fire again as he moved through the crowd.
"Damon, no!" The brunette pushed through the crowd, rushing after him as she knew he really would kill him.

Music, makes me, high

Stefan was at the bar, bobbing his head to the music. He hadn't bothered with Elena since she had decided to be irresponsible and dress like Katherine. She was looking for punishment. Shaking his head, he downed three shots and looked around, his eyes finding Caroline, Bonnie and Jeremy together. Where was Damon and Elena then? He looked through the crowd.

Oh, oh, oh, come fill my glass up a little more
We 'bout to get up, and burn this floor
You know we getting hotter, and hotter
Sexy and hotter, let's shut it down

"Ah Stefan, brother. I've been looking for you." Damon gave him a smirk as Stefan looked up, raising an eyebrow.
"Well you found me, what do you want Damon?" Stefan gave him a look and shrugged at him.
"Just to do this brother." He replied, punching him, almost sending him halfway across the bar as Elena ran as quick as she could, standing in front of Damon as she held him back.

"Stop, you'll kill him Damon!" She shouted at him, knowing her strength was no match against his.
"That's the plan." He hissed, trying to get to Stefan, but the little brunette that was stealing his heart was in the way.
"He's your brother, don't." She pushed him back as Stefan recovered, getting to his feet, glaring at Damon and Elena.

Pound the alarm!
Pound the alarm!

"You're lucky that you have me right where you want me." Damon told Elena, staring down at her as he stormed over, brushing himself down.
"Damon." Elena murmured with a sigh and turned around, coming to face with an angry Stefan.
"What the hell was that about?" Stefan glared at her, wiping the blood from his lip as it healed over.
"It was nothing." She told him, swallowing the lump in her throat as she grabbed four shots, downing them.
"Nothing? My brother just knocked me halfway across the bar! What did you say to him!?" He shouted as she glared at him and slapped him.
"Get out of my face Stefan." Elena told him.

Pushing past him, she moved around people and made her way outside, the fresh air almost knocking her to the ground as she closed her eyes, the music still loud enough to hear as she made some distance between her and the club, her head spinning. What was she going to do? She was screwed. Letting out a breath, she looked around and shook her head, licking her lips.

Alarm!
Alarm!
Alarm!
Alarm!

Oh, oh, oh, come fill my glass up a little more
We 'bout to get up, and burn this floor
You know we getting hotter, and hotter
Sexy and hotter, let's shut it down

Elena gasped as she was pulled around, coming to face with dark green eyes. She tried to pull from his grasp, but found it was no use since he was too strong for her. The grip he had on her was tightening by the minute and beginning to hurt her, so she whimpered and tugged again, trying to get away. He glared at her, gripping her hair as he moved closer.

"What the hell did you say to him Elena? Tell me now!" Stefan shouted at her as she struggled to get free.
"Get off of me! You're hurting me!" Elena yelled at him as he pulled her close, frightening her.
"Hurt? You don't know what the hell hurting is!" He screamed at her, his hand coming in contact with her face as she stumbled from the blow, her head already light from the drink.
"I almost wish I didn't see that."

Stefan and Elena looked around to see Damon with his fists clenched and daggers shooting Stefan's way. Elena closed her eyes, the blow settling within her as she looked at him, her eyes filling with tears as she shook her head, telling him to leave it. He tilted his head, ignoring her and looked at Stefan and shook his head, smirking.

Pound the alarm!
Pound the alarm!
Pound the alarm!

"I repeat...almost."