Author's Note: Wow, I'm really, really late this time. And I don't even come bearing Delena awesomeness. I did write the next chapter in advance though (and backed up in 5 different places), so that will be up on Saturday, no delay. Once again, I'm sorry.
Shout-out to my amazing readers and reviewers though. Couldn't do it without you. And for those of you who read my other story, updates on that on Saturday as well.
This chapter is dedicated to nobody, because it's sad and frustrating, but the next chapter is dedicated to you guys. In particular, the mysterious M who reviews my story.
Presenting: That Burning Feeling, again!
"Hey, so what's going on?" Alaric asked Damon the same morning. He looked unusually broody today and that was normally Stefan's thing. Damon had always been the reckless, carefree brother, always sneaking off to the pub with him to get drunk (actually, Alaric used to get him drunk in order to get to know him better, even when Damon was just 16). Stefan was studious and spent his time holed up in his room with a book. At least, from what Alaric had seen of Damon's video chats with Stefan.
"Daddy issues," Damon sighed. "Hey, if you want to take advantage of me, I'm totally vulnerable," he joked. His typical go-to defence, why had Alaric expected any different?
"Be serious, Damon. What did Giuseppe do this time?" In the short time that Damon had known Alaric, he became more of a father figure to him than Giuseppe Salvatore had ever been. Ever since his mother passed away, Damon respected nobody in the world more than Alaric. And Elena.
"He wants to take over all three of my companies. He said it's probably best for them because I'm only going to wreck them anyway." Giuseppe was probably right about that. Though Damon was a remarkably talented business person, his true talent was screwing things up. He knew that. Heck, thanks to the tabloids, the whole world knew that!
"Are you sure? You haven't spoken to him in years, you might have misunderstood…" And that was Ric being falsely optimistic, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that a leprechaun would come out from nowhere and pull him into another world saying 'It was all a dream…'
Damon scoffed, "I think I can understand common English, thanks. No, he sent a freaking letter with Elena. In a package, because that's not conspicuous at all." He rolled his eyes. "He wants me to sell to Stefan, his little minion. He's freaking 17! He's not ready for this."
"I guess I just don't see what the problem is. They're your companies. If you don't want to sell, don't sell." It all seemed so simple when Ric said it like that. Of course he was the owner of the companies. And in an ideal world, he had complete control over his life. Nobody knew that behind the confident smirk that Damon always wore was a father, always pushing him to his limit, always pushing him over the edge. Always holding something over him. No rewards, only punishments.
"Ric! He knows. About Katherine, about everything! He's threatening to spread it around if I don't hand them over." If anybody found out what had happened, his reputation would go down the drain. The way he saw it, he was losing the companies either way.
"How did he find out? Nobody knows about that except both of us and…Stefan. Son of a- Damon, what are you going to do? Actually, hold that thought. I have lawyer friends that may be able to help." Ric had quickly put two and two together. Stefan had always been an annoying little mole. Taking full advantage of Damon's overprotective big brother nature, Giuseppe had conveniently placed Stefan under Damon's watch. Until Damon had finally figured out what was going on, Stefan had dutifully noted every detail of Damon's life and reported it to his father.
"Giuseppe has lawyers too. I signed a document when I started up. The Katherine thing nullifies most of my rights for the next 5 years." Even now, Damon regretted signing that contract. He had been so naïve, such a child. He was eager to start his own business, to make use of his tremendous potential which would have been wasted working anywhere else. Until their mother had died, Giuseppe had bred Damon to work hard, to maximize efficiency. Like a robot.
Stefan, the younger son, had a trust fund. Damon had to earn his own money. As anyone with knowledge of business knows, you need to have money to make money. So when Damon wanted to start his own company, he had nowhere to turn except his father. And as it turned out, Giuseppe had taken advantage of Damon's minor lapse.
"Well, don't make any hasty decisions and you should be fine. Have you spoken to Stefan about this?"
"It didn't go so well. He, like my father, thinks I'm going to screw things up. He also thinks that the only reason I'm doing this is to get back at him for Katherine. Someone needs to tell him that the world doesn't revolve around him and I have a LIFE outside him!"
"Damon, I know. Stop yelling, the other students are giving you strange looks." Damon had forgotten that he was in school. Elena passed by, giving him a small smile and a wave. He waved back, momentarily forgetting his troubles. He had really dodged a bullet with her, hadn't he? He was lucky she was so forgiving. He knew he was a difficult person. He had a mercurial temperament to say the least.
"I guess I'll see you later, Ric?"
Damon went on his way to homeroom after meeting with Stefan to discuss the package he had received earlier that morning. He was certainly glad he had cleared things up with Elena earlier because things with Stefan certainly hadn't gone well. The last thing he needed was more trouble. He got enough of that without going looking for it.
That was when he was ambushed by two girls. Normally, he would have been flattered, but these two- a blonde one and a brunette looked determined to kill him. Actually, he recognized them from somewhere.
"You're Elena's friends," he realized, vaguely remembering seeing a picture of the three of them at Elena's house. In the picture, the three of them were a lot younger, maybe about 11 or 12. They were at Elena's house wearing pajamas-probably for a sleepover or something- and all grinning gap-toothed smiles. Cute.
"I'm Caroline, this is Bonnie and you," the blonde one stabbed at his shoulder with her perfectly manicured fingernail. "You must be stupid, because you messed with our friend."
"Wait what?" What was going on?
"Don't play stupid! We know what you said to Elena!" The blonde, Caroline, kept stabbing. It didn't hurt much, until Caroline realized that stabbing with her fingernail elicited more tortured screams from him.
"Ow! For God's sake, stop poking me! I didn't say anything to Elena!" And it was true. After he had driven her here, he hadn't seen her at all. He had skipped most of his classes to talk to Stefan.
"Oh, that's right," the other one, Bonnie, stepped in. "You insulted her behind her back."
Oh. That.
"You don't know her at all. At all. So why don't you back off and get a life?" Caroline said leaning towards him in an attempt to intimidate him. He would have laughed, but there was a frightening glint in both girls' eyes that warned him to play it safe.
"Seriously, Damon. Why did you come back to Mystic Falls? Slept with all the girls in New York already?" That was it. Time to clear this mess up and send them back to whichever hole they had crawled out of.
"Look, it's none of your business, but clearly you don't talk to her enough. We already sorted all that out," he smirked. "Now I suggest you move on with your sparkly little lives and maybe gossip about that cute boy you saw yesterday…" He pushed Caroline aside and walked off unaffected.
Actually, they may have had a point. He really didn't know her, at all. Maybe it would be better if he just stayed away. He was sure he was only bothering her by constantly playing the little game of hot-and-cold they had going. Were they even friends?
Damon thought back to all the times he had seen her since he had returned to Mystic Falls. Every conversation they had was awkward. Every argument they had ended with disappointment glimmering in Elena's beautiful brown eyes. He had never wanted to be the cause of Elena's pain. Never.
What had he been thinking when he came back? Did he think that everything was going to be perfect with them again? Sure, she had been his friend when they were younger, but things changed. People changed. God knew there had been plenty of time for both of them to change. It had been silly of him to expect Elena to welcome him back with open arms. Everywhere he went, his reputation preceded him. Why would Mystic Falls be any different? Fate had decided that he had to repent for all his past transgressions in the worse way possible.
He had to let her go. It was the right thing to do. There was a connection between them, a spark that, if they unleashed on the world, could grow to engulf entire forests in flames. It was beautiful, magnificent in its sheer magnitude. There would always be a special place in his heart for her, but if he truly wanted to spare her the searing pain that he felt in his chest, he had to set her free.
When Elena did eventually meet him in class, she smiled. Not the tiny, reserved smile she usually gave him, but a bright smile that he had last seen her wear when he had given her a gift in the sandbox. God, she was so beautiful, even more so when she smiled. Elena was reserved and she had a wall behind which she hid her most important emotions, just like his. When she smiled, she lost all her inhibitions, she was free of tension, free of worry, free of regret, simply free. And he wanted her to smile all the time.
He strode towards her before hesitating, remembering his decision. He had to let her go. He smiled politely but impersonally before settling down next to her. He didn't lean towards her or immediately engage her in friendly conversation as he would do normally, instead choosing to sit stiffly at a distance from her.
She noticed immediately, though he was discreet enough that the rest of the class didn't catch on.
"What the hell, Damon? What happened?" she still smiled brightly, hoping to cheer him up.
"Elena," he began, taking a deep breath as if to reassure himself of his decision. Her smile faded instantly, as if she was expecting bad news. "I don't think we should be friends anymore. All it's doing is hurting you. And now, with the competition and everything that's going on, I don't think it's fair on you if I put more pressure on you. Please, don't feel obliged to be my friend…"
"Look," Elena said, capturing his gaze with fiery brown eyes filled with anger. "If you don't want to be my friend, just say it. You don't need to make up some rubbishy story to spare my feelings. You're not the first person to hurt me and I bet you won't be the last. Just do me a favour, and tell me why." At this her eyes softened slightly, as if she hoped that she had misunderstood.
Damon hated himself for what he was about to do. I promise you, Elena, he thought, This is the end of the push and pull. I'm sorry for seeming so indecisive, for forever changing my mind about us. But I swear, this is the last time I will hurt you. This is goodbye. As he thought it, he realized it was true.
"I'm sorry, Elena. This is goodbye."
"Gosh, which movie did you come from? You're such an ass, Damon."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms Gilbert, Mr Salvatore." They had been so caught up in their conversation that they had completely forgotten that they were in Ric's class.
"If you're just about wrapping up your little conversation, would you two mind handing in your homework assignments?" Elena and Damon glanced at each other sheepishly before handing their papers to Ric. A few others snickered at the back of the class.
The rest of the class was rather uneventful. Elena and Damon didn't glance at each other, both too stubborn to give in first. Ric droned on about the competition until the bell rang. Nobody was in the mood to hear it. It was Monday!
"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…" he said.
Elena swiftly rose from her seat and walked to the door.
"Elena, wait!" Damon heard himself cry out.
"Save it, Damon. We'll talk when I feel like it," Elena sighed and left Damon alone in the classroom to think about what had happened.
Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, pleasedon'tkillme! The next chapter is Delena awesome, I swear. It'll all be worth it, even if it is my crappy writing skills that bring them to life.
Can't wait for Saturday!
Also, if I haven't responded, to your review, poke me, stab me, whatever. And if you have written something, even better, because I do check the profiles of all my reviewers.