6. Damon

Elena looked at me with wide, terrified eyes. I listened into the dark, empty house and I could taste that the energy was wrong. Slowly I released my grip on Elena's bare shoulder and watched her face carefully relax. I motioned for her to stay still and keep quiet as I rushed through the house, throwing cupboards and doors open without closing them behind me. I reached the kitchen and that was when I saw the dark figure in the corner. He was stood by the sink, dressed from head to toe in black, ski-mask and everything. His hood was thrown over his head so all I could see was his pitch black eyes, mocking me. I lunged towards him but I hit a solid wall of ice, the shards sharp inside my head. My ears rung as if someone had struck a bell inside. I wheeled around and clutched my head. The figure lifted a finger to his lips and winked before turning calmly and leaping like a cat from the window above the sink. As fast as it had shattered, my head was clear again. I scrambled towards the window and attempted to pursue the -mask, but before I could leap through, the glass slammed shut. With a roar of anger I smacked my palm against the window and tried to shove it open, but it was frozen fast.

"What's going on?" Elena was stood behind me. I spun around and gently eased myself back onto the ground. She was now dressed in a large tee that hung loosely from her slender figure.

"There was a man here. He was wearing full black gear and a ski-mask. He was after you Elena. You're not safe here," I explained, grabbing her elbow and manoeuvring her up the stairs. She didn't pull away but allowed me to guide her to her bedroom.

"Was he…I mean, was he human?" she asked, taking a seat carefully on the edge of her bed. She pulled her knees to her and sat cross legged, staring at me with large, questioning eyes. The truth was, I didn't know…

"If he was a Vampire, then you've seen him before. He's been here before. You will have invited him in. If he was human…well let me just say he was very skilled in mind control," I muttered as I paced back and forth across the bedroom.

"The only Vampire's I've willingly allowed into my home, Damon, are you, Caroline and Stefan!" she argued.

"And the ones you didn't know about? Katherine. Jeremy could have allowed him inside. Alaric," I breathed in, "even Jenna." I watched as Elena's eyes clouded over and she was, once again, overcome with grief for her guardian.

"You said 'mind control'. Can people even…you know..?" she asked timidly, raising her hands and wafting them over her head.

"It has been known, in extreme rare cases, that men have been able to train their minds into blocking out the supernatural. By convincing themselves on the fact that the only true beings of this world are human beings, they can force their minds into a state of denial. But this kind of concentration and protection would have taken years of solitary order," I breathed.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"You can't stay here."

"I can call Caroline…"

"Not Caroline."

"Bonnie…"

"You can stay with me," I decided, "get a bag of stuff."

"Damon, I highly doubt that moving in with you is appropriate!" she groaned. But I wasn't listening to her moaning, and instead took matters into my own hands. I grabbed the large grey duffel bag that I knew she kept beneath her bed and stalked to the wardrobe. Without being picky, I grabbed an armful of day-dresses and shirts hanging there, along with a few pairs of jeans and dumped them on the bed beside her.

"Damon!" she gasped, leaping up and attempting to rearrange her clothes, but I ignored her and thrust open the first drawer beside her bed.

"Ooh these are nice," I grinned, picking a pair of lacy pink panties from the drawer with my little finger. I shot her a devilish grin over my shoulder and watched with satisfaction as she turned a couple of shades darker than the piece I was holding. She sprung at me.

"How dare you Damon!" she snapped, snatching the underwear from me and slamming the drawer shut.

"Then do it yourself," I laughed. That was when she began to do as she was told.

I was surprised I got her into the car without much of a fight. She threw the bag into the backseat and slammed her door shut. I tried my best to hide my amusement as we drove, her facing away from me with her arms folded angrily across her chest. She didn't say a word the entire drive to the boarding house, but when I pulled up the long drive, she turned to me nervously.

"What about Jeremy? He's only sixteen…" she asked, biting the inside of her cheek nervously.

"Whoever it is that's after these girls isn't interested in Jeremy, Elena. He'll be safe with Alaric at home. He's an ex-vamp-hunter so he can take on whatever…whoever this is if they ever come looking for you. I don't think they were hunting you specifically, although it does seem a little strange. I'm going to look into these girls murders some more, find whoever it is that's doing this, and then everything will be back to normal." The air was thick in the car. My words hung in the air like something bad. The specific word 'normal' echoed across the tiny space between us. For Elena, having no contact or explanation from Stefan wasn't normal. Leading a life without him wasn't normal. Living with the death of Jenna hanging over her head wasn't normal. Having to look after her troublesome younger brother wasn't normal. The chances are she would never be normal again. But she would adapt to her new life without Stefan and without Jenna. It would be hard, and she would face some tough times, but I will be beside her, ready to catch her when she falls. Through it all I'll hold her hand if she needs someone, and I'll hold a light in the darkest times if she needs me. Because she will need me. Maybe not as much as I need her, but she will need someone. Because Elena is fragile and she is broken, and she is human.