CHAPTER 4
Elena rested on the couch by the fireplace, deep in thought… She was startled out of it when she realized Damon was standing in the entryway, just watching her. "You okay?" He asked, those being the first words they had spoken since Stefan left.
"Yeah.. just a little banged up. It's not too bad." She answered, avoiding eye contact with him. She kept telling herself she was mad at him.. She needed to stay mad. But for some reason it was so hard when he looked at her like that.
"Well that cast says otherwise," He said, coming closer to the couch, "You need anything? Water? A blanket? Or.. Soup?" She smiled at the last one.. She knew he was just being stupid. That seemed to ease the tention a little. "No," She said, finally giving in and looking at him, "Thanks."
One look. One look was all it took. It was like a wave rushing over her. All the tension between them sat out in the open. She knew they needed to talk about it, but she didn't know what to say.
"Look," He started, "About what happened.." He paused before going on, just looking at her, "I know I made some pretty stupid choices. And I hurt you..I just wanted to say I'm sorry."Elena suddenly felt guilty, "No," she said, "You don't have to apologize. You don't have anything to apologize for." He stopped her, "No, Elena.. I do. The fact is, none of this would've happened if it wasn't for me. I'm responsible. She hurt you because of what I did. And I really just need you to know.." This time it was her that interrupted him, "Damon, its okay. I'm the one who was stupid enough to go there in the first place. I brought this on myself."
He looked at her, eyes full of pity and worry. It wasn't often he would show so much emotion. He only ever seemed to open up like this when he was around her. But she didn't mind. It was good to see this side of him. "Well either way… I just figured you should know." he said, looking down at the floor, then back up to her.
"Thanks," She said with a slight smile. He gave her a half smile in response. They just stayed that way for a while. Letting it all sink in.
They talked for hours after that. It seemed like it had been weeks instead of days that they hadn't spoken. It was dark outside when Stefan finally called. Damon answered it and went out of the room for a while.
"So, Stefan's gonna be gone a while longer." Damon said, plopping down on the chair across from her,
"Apparently his source is gonna be harder to track down than he thought… So you're probably gonna be here all night." He told her.
"Kay" She said with a little yawn. She didn't really know how to feel about that, and she was too tired to figure it out.
"Come on sleeping beauty,. I'll get you set up in a spare room." He said, standing up and heading for the stairs. She gathered up her strength and followed him.
Damon walked past his room down about 3 doors and opened one, he flipped the light switch on to see nothing but cobwebs and bookshelves. "Oh.. Well this one's out of the question." he said, and continued down the hall. Every room they came to either had nothing but books and dust, or it was full of furniture. After they had tried almost all of them, Damon glanced back to see Elena barely keeping her head up. "Okay.. You can have my room. I probably wasn't gonna get much sleep tonight anyway. Something bout the being locked in here. Makes me itchy." he said, scrunching his nose up in a way that only Damon could. For some reason it struck Elena funny and she gave him a huge smile. She had missed him. She could tell he was surprised she hadn't said something about taking his room. He probably expected her to put up a fight, and end up on the couch. But she was entirely too tired to argue.
He lead her into his room and walked into a closet. He came back out seconds later with some heavy blankets and laid them at the end of the bed. "Here's some extra just in case you need them." He looked at her, noticing her clothes. Her shirt was covered in dry blood, and her jeans were ripped in certain places. "Umm.." He shifted uncomfortably, something he hardly ever did, "I don't think Stefan thought to stop and get you any clothes."
She looked down, realizing just how disgusting she looked. Then she remembered. "Oh my god, Alaric! He doesn't know what happened! I told him I was gonna be with Caroline-" Damon stopped her, "I already called him. He knows what happened."
"Oh," she sighed, "Good. Thank you."
"No problem," He said quickly, "Here..I have a few things you can sleep in." He stated, heading to his dresser drawers, "I mean if you want.. Or if you'd prefer something of Steffy's?" She didn't really know how to respond to that. She didn't feel comfortable wearing something of Stefan's.. It would just bring back memories.. Memories she couldn't afford to think about right now. But then again, it was still awkward to take something of Damon's.. Although, she was curious to see what he would give her. Knowing him he'd give her a white T-shirt that would barely cover anything. And he'd make some snarky comment about it.. But she didn't see any other choice. "Whatever you give me is fine," she hesitated, "…And could I use the shower?" She looked at him reluctantly, preparing herself for one of his remarks, "I cleaned up a little at the hospital but.. I still have blood everywhere."
About 30 different comments came to his mind, one's that on any other night, he would've said in a heartbeat. But he just looked at her, she looked exhausted. He didn't want to put her through anything else today. It was the last thing she needed from him.
"Yeah, its right in there." He said, surprising her. He motioned her to follow him, but she stopped.
"That's it? No snarky comment? Nothing about wearing your clothes or sleeping in your bed?"
He grinned his famous grin, "Well.. If you want me to-" He said raising his eyebrows at her,
She just rolled her eyes, "No.. Thanks."
He chuckled slightly, "You asked."
"Is there something you wanted to show me?" She said, trying to change the subject. Shaking her head at him when he turned around.
"Wash cloths are in that cabinet, towels are in this one." he said, pointing them out. "I'll go get you something to change into." He said, walking back out into his room. Elena looked around and sighed. She lifted herself onto the counter and rested her head against the wall. Taking a moment to steady herself. She was exhausted. She just needed a shower, and some warm sheets. The thought alone was putting her to sleep.
Damon walked back in to see her dozing off, her head lagging against the wall. He took the moment to stare at her. Even bloody and tired she still looked beautiful. Perfect face, cute tangley hair, gorgeous everything. She took his breath away just sitting there. She stirred a little and he came in closer to her, making sure she didn't fall off the counter. "Elena?" He whispered, lightly moving a stand of hair away from her face, "Hey.." he said softly. She opened her eyes and shot up, realizing how close he was to her. "What?" she asked, trying to collect herself. She wasn't expecting him to be so close. His face was only a few inches from hers. "I brought you some clothes." He said laying them beside her on the bar. "Thanks." she said, sliding herself off the counter onto the floor. When she did her knees buckled, loosing her balance. Damon caught her within seconds. "Whoaa.. Take it easy." He said holding her tightly in his arms for a minute, then slowly setting her back on her feet. She let her face sink into his shoulder and she smelt him. He smelt to good. It was a manly smell.. But sweet too. It was almost impossible to describe. But she loved it. "You okay?" He asked pulling her back to look at her face. "Yeah.. I'll be fine." she said, rubbing her head and letting go of him, "Just stood up too fast."
He gave her a worried look. She just shook her head, letting him know she could take it from here. He understood and walked out, glancing back at her as he went. When she heard him shut the bedroom door she let out a sigh. Finally, she could breathe again.
She got everything ready for her shower. But before she stepped in she decided to look at what he had brought for her. She unfolded a long black John Vervados V-neck T-shirt and a pair of her old cheerleading shorts. She must've left them in Stefan's room at one time. She smiled as she set them back down. She reached in and turned on the hot water.
. . .
Damon waited. He had been listening to the water run for about 15 minutes. He thought about what had just happened. It could've been his imagination.. but he swore he heard her heart beat pick up when he touched her in there. But he pushed that thought away. She was probably just startled. Suddenly the sound of running water went silent. He waited about 10 minutes after that before he headed back up to the room. He knocked on the door before opening it, just to let her know he was coming in. She walked out of the bathroom as he came in. "Feel better?" He asked, eyeing her.. The sight of her in his shirt made his breath hitch slightly in his throat. "Yes, much." she said, running a towel through her wet hair, "Thanks for the clothes."
"They look good on you," he said, with a tainted smile. She just gave him a sideways look. He walked over to the bed and turned down the sheets for her. "Okay, your all set. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna take a shower myself. I'll be quick." He said, marching into the closet again. She watched him as he went until she couldn't see him anymore. Elena climbed into his bed and pulled the soft sheets over her. She sighed with exhaustion as she laid her head down onto his pillow. Once again she smelled him. She inhaled, breathing in his scent. It brought a grin to her face, and she didn't know why. She reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Getting comfortable again.
She was just drifting off when she saw him come out of the closet again. This time he was shirtless. She watched him as he walked over to his dresser drawer and pulled out a few things. The light from the bathroom was the only way she could see him. She took a second to take him in.. All of him. She started with his back, then to his chest, down to his abs.. then she remembered that day back in the summer when she had seen what was below that belt buckle. She blushed at the thought, heat rising to her cheeks, flooding over her. She stopped herself immediately when she realized what she was doing. She shut her eyes hard, her heart pounding loudly. She tried to get it to stop, afraid he might pick up on it. But it was too late for that.
Damon paused for a second. He had been listening the whole time. Her heart beat was normal, then it had started to pick up, as he kept walking he heard it getting faster and faster. He smiled, not knowing for certain, but he had a good theory as to what was happening. He enjoyed his shower. Taking extra long, just to think.
Elena had calmed down a little bit. Gaining control of herself. She'd dozed off again, drifting into a light dream. In her dream she was running through the town, searching for something. She had the nagging feeling that something was after her. That she was on a time limit. She had to find whatever she needed before she was caught. Then she saw it. It was a rose. A blood red rose. It was just lying there on the grass. She reached her hand out to grab it, when she felt something pulling her away. She screamed out but her voice was gone. She was suffocating. Just then, a fanged face flashed in front of her. It was Stefan. He snarled and grabbed her by the neck. He was just about to bite into her when she bolted awake. Panting softly, scared to death. She laid her head back down onto the pillow.
Just then she saw Damon coming out of the bathroom. Still shirtless. He looked over at her for a second. Then started out the door.
"Damon?" she whispered.
He froze. Then he slowly turned around to stare at her on his bed. She had said his name without even thinking. Now she didn't know what else to say. Should she ask him to stay? After that dream, she was terrified. She really didn't want to be alone.
But luckily, she didn't have to say a thing. As if he already knew, he was beside the bed in a matter of seconds.
