The smoke hovering in the air was starting to burn his eyes as he sat at the bar observing the crowd of onlookers sitting close to the stage. Where these men found time to sit and smoke a cigar at a strip club at ten o'clock in the morning was beyond his understanding. It's not that he had never been in a place such as this; it had been a very long time since he had, and he knew what the attraction was. Although, he knew to only watch and not let them touch seeing as a hundred dollars could buy more than just a show for any man that walked through the door. He stopped stepping foot in strip clubs long before he had met her. While it took years to finally win her over, he had always felt wrong even thinking of a place like this once he knew her. Although they weren't together it felt like cheating, so did the short flings. In the end, it always made him feel like he should apologize to her, like he knew she expected better out of him and he of all people wanted to make her happy. His short lived romances were just a way for him to keep his mind off of her, but the real truth was that it was just a distraction from his real thoughts, which were always of her.
He watches her as she fidgets on her phone, trying to ignore the music and the overly aroused men sitting behind her. He regrets bringing her here, but also knows when she makes up her mind she's set in her way and there's no changing it.
"Caroline is mad we came here without her." Elena says softly as she uses her thumbs to type a message back to who he assumed was her troublesome friend.
"Doesn't seem like her kind of place." He comments. She looks up at him and gives him a smirk.
"You know what I mean." She tells him. "She acts weird every time Stefan's name is mentioned. It's like she knows something she's not telling anyone."
Damon takes a sip of his bourbon and sets his glass back down on the bar. "Well, it wouldn't surprise me seeing as my little brother and blondie seemed to be getting pretty close before I died."
"You don't think she's known the whole time where he was, do you?"
"It wouldn't surprise me. Although, I don't know why she wouldn't be trying to help him instead of just leaving him to his destructive nature.
"Are we going to stay here all day?" She asks without looking up from her phone screen.
"No. I have a feeling he will show up sooner rather than later. I'm not sure what his interest is with exotic dancers, but I intend to stay and find out."
When she still doesn't look up at him he pulls on the loop of her jean shorts and brings her closer, causing her grasp at his shoulders for stability at the unexpected movement. He brings her in close and smiles.
"What are you doing?"
"I'd rather look at you." He tells her with a smirk.
His answer causes her to smile and he plants a quick kiss on her lips as he rests his hand on her hips. He slips his index finger under her shirt and under the edge of her shorts, feeling the lace between the pad of his finger and her back.
"Damon…" She warns him in a low voice. He loved the control he had over her, although, she had just as much control over him. It was such a sleazy place to want her, but truth was he couldn't help it. He'd been thinking about it all morning. Her jean shorts showed off her long tan legs and the shirt she was wearing showed enough skin to drive him crazy. Her bare shoulders were always his downfall, she had no idea of this, but he loved the way the sun glistened off her skin. She looked so delicate, although she was far from it.
Before he has time to say anything they are interrupted. Alaric walks up to them showing no hint of being uncomfortable due to their PDA and he leans in close to Damon's ear, not speaking loud enough for anyone near them to hear. Damon's demeanor changes immediately and he removes his hands from her waist, standing abruptly and causing her to step back slightly as to not be completely on top of him.
"I need you to stay here." He tells her as he sets his drink down on the bar.
"Why?" She asks as she looks between the two of them standing there looking somewhat concerned.
"Alaric will stay with you."
"Why? Is Stefan here?"
"No." He tells her.
"Then who? What?"
It was the one word, rather one name, he hadn't expected to come out of his mouth. He was no longer a good memory or even someone he would admit to being friends with at one point in time. He was angry for the things his so called former friend had done in the weeks before his death. The darkness that he had brought to the town of Mystic Falls was evident and added the never ending scars they all carried with them. He had tried to kill Elena as she was bathing, he had tried to kill Damon in a burning shed, and he had forced Stefan to kill him just to get brothers to fight. He brought only the worst with him.
"Enzo." He tells her simply.
There wasn't any other explanation needed. Elena had voiced her disgust for him long ago and he could tell by the look on her face that she was disgusted to even hear his name. It most likely hadn't been uttered since Damon's death. There had been other things she found more important to dwell on, mainly him. As he walks past her he can hear her mutter a brief warning. He doesn't look back at her, doesn't even give a side glance over his shoulder in fear that the worry in her eyes would keep him from moving forward. He was wrapped around her finger now more than ever and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to deny her. He moves towards the private rooms near the back of the building. It was separated by a purple velvet curtain and as soon as he got close he was stopped by the bouncer until he was compelled to let him by without question. He walks down the dimly lit hallway and parts the curtains between the rooms and the corridor until he finds the one he's looking for. He finds him sitting facing the back wall, a chair in the middle of the room and a dancer on his lap.
"Fitting place for a piece of trash like yourself. I'm assuming finding you here isn't a coincidence."
His voice cuts through the air and forces Enzo to jump from his seat, the woman pushed to floor with force. She was knocked out instantly, leaving the two of them to their conversation with no one suspicious outside. Although, he had to admit there wasn't much he wanted to say to the man standing in front of him. In fact, he would have been happy to never have seen him again.
"I would say there would be no chance of this being real. However, I've had but only one drink so far, so I'm not intoxicated I must just be crazy."
"Why don't you tell me how I stumble upon you when I'm looking for my little brother in the same city, in fact, in the same bad neighborhood? Do tell how that is?"
"Haven't see him." Enzo says quickly. It's a lie and Damon knows it immediately. He rushes forward and grabs Enzo by the throat and pushing him against the wall and leaving an impression in the drywall.
"Don't test me." Damon says through gritted teeth. In Damon's mind, he could care less what happened to his so called friend. He had been done with him for quite some time and even back before the other side collapsed, he didn't care if Enzo made it back or not. Part of him wondered if their lives would have been better for it, he was sure he had something to do with Stefan unearthing his unhealthy habit.
"Even if I divulged his whereabouts, he's too far gone."
"I'd like to be the judge of that."
Damon sees Enzo's eyes following something over his shoulder.
"Well then, judge for yourself." Enzo says with a smile.
The pain comes quickly and does not leave; he couldn't tell where the entry wound was due to the intense feeling throughout his body. His nerves are on fire as he releases Enzo and stumbles to the side, finding a broken piece of a stool leg protruding from his side.
Stefan stands near where Enzo had been pinned against the wall, looking down on a brother who abandoned him one too many times. Stefan doesn't speak at first, simply stares at Damon groaning and rocking back and forth on the floor in pain.
"Thanks for the warm welcome, brother."
"I'm not coming back, Damon. But you should take Elena and go home. Stop making me your problem, because I'm not. I made my own choice for myself this time and no one else. You being back isn't going to change my mind."
"So you abandoned the people that you love and that love you, for this? Why? To make the pain go away? It doesn't matter that Jeremy was a mess and the woman you once loved was taken by grief and no one was there to console her? That doesn't matter to you?"
"I've decided being selfish is a much better way to live than to be constantly disappointed. I've had no problems since I've left Mystic Falls. I do what I want, I eat what I want, there is no one trying to kill me on a daily basis and most of all, I'm free to be whatever I want without being judged." The room was too dark for Damon to recognize the hate flashing through his brothers eyes, it was evident in his voice though. "My life has been miserable since the moment you walked back in five years ago and ever since I met Elena. If you keep pursuing me I'll kill you…both."
Before Damon could get another word in he was gone and Damon was left with only the remnants of his brother's anger. He knows he has to get out before she awakes and warns the bouncers of the disturbance. He focuses on pulling out the thick piece of wood and does so quickly to avoid unnecessary torture. His shirt is already soaked with blood as he pushes himself up from the floor. He tries to walk in a normal manner as he moves down the dark corridor and to the front entrance, and doesn't seem to gain any unnecessary attention on his way out. The daylight blinds him and causes him and he raises his unsaturated hand to block the rays. Before he realizes it, Elena is by his side examining his blood stained skin and looking for the source. She finds it rather quickly and concern fills her eyes as the blood still trickles steadily from the wound.
"Damon, why are you not healing?" She asks as she leads him to the car. He has no explanation and he cannot find a word to say as she starts to examine the wound further once they reach her SUV. She pushes him against the car to hold him up and lifts his shirt.
"Enzo did this do you?" Elena asks as she holds her hand tightly against his wound.
"It was Stefan." He tells her.
A look of disbelief crosses her face, then of disgust over the fact that his own brother caused him such pain. They had done terrible things to one another in the past, but this was disturbing. One would think the news of his died brother coming back to life would bring surprise and happiness, not violence.
"I don't feel good." Damon says as his vision starts to blur. His muscles start to burn and he feels the strength leaving his body. He reaches out to try and wrap his arms around her to keep himself upright, but fails. Everything goes black as he feels himself slip to the ground between the love of his life and her car.
The afternoon was hot yet she found herself on the front porch immersing in one of the books that was in the Gilbert's collection. Jeremy was sitting next to her on the wooden swing, just watching the day slip away with his arm firmly around her and with no intention of moving it. They had no talked much about what had happened, both of them still getting accustom to being in each others presence once again rather than conversing deeply. She knew she had to be cautious, she had broken his trust more than once now and it was going to be a challenge to get him to feel that again. But the past was the past, the decisions she had made were set in stone and there was nothing to change that fact anymore.
"Do you think we can live a somewhat normal life now?" Jeremy breaks the silence, not caring much that he was interrupting her reading.
"What's normal?" She asks as she closes her book slightly and turns her head to look at him.
"Not being threatened every day or being chased around by crazed supernatural beings."
"I think we are always going to have that problem to an extent." She tells him. "But, maybe not being able to go back to Mystic Falls isn't such a bad thing. Maybe we can start something new."
"That sounds nice." He tells her as he looks at her.
"You must know I didn't want to leave." She says softly, closing the book completely and setting it down on the railing which was close by. "But I did what I had to do to keep all of you safe."
"Not all of us." He tells her. "You have no idea what you've put me through. How bad of a place I was in when you were gone."
"What do you want me to say, Jeremy? I feel terrible that I was the reason for so much of your sadness, but I can't change that now."
"I just wish you would choose me for once. Why does it always have to be about everyone else? Why can't it just be about us?"
Bonnie thought about it for a moment, and he was right. She thought about others even before she thought about him. She hadn't expected him to understand her reasoning. But she had brought back more people with her sacrifice. Damon made a similar sacrifice, but she knew Elena was more understanding. After all, Elena knew the meaning of sacrifice and she had done that more than once in her young life. Elena was older and more mature than her younger brother. Bonnie was just hoping someone would talk to him and make him realize that everything she did was out of love, never to intentionally hurt anyone.
"I care about my friends. I had to do what I could to help them because I had the ability to and they were counting on me."
"So was I." He tells her as he stands from the swing. She reaches for his hand but he moves it quickly. "It's never going to be me, is it?" He asks her before he turns and walks away.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"For a walk." Jeremy says as he walks down the front steps.
She curls her legs up to her chest as she watches him walk off, hot tears in her eyes as she regrets starting the conversation. What was she to do? Skirt around the subject completely? She just wished he was as understanding as Elena appeared to have been about the situation, although, Elena and Damon's love was completely different, she wished she could be forgiven as easily.
