Crying Lightning
Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from the vampire diaries.
January 2011
"What the hell is wrong with you Damon?!" Katherine shouts at my in annoyance as she storms out into my house the second I open the door.
"Well good morning to you too my dear" I greet her sarcastically while rolling my eyes. "What crawled up your ass and died?"
"I just saw Rebekah Mikealson at the mall and she told me that she spent the entire night at the hospital because Klaus was in a car accident last night" she snaps.
Oh man. She is not happy.
I pout mockingly "Oh no, that is awful news"
"You could have killed him!" Katherine accuses me furiously. "I know it was you and your gang Damon so don't even try to deny it!"
"So we messed with his brakes a little, so what he deserved it! He set Trevor's house on fire, he put a firework through his letterbox and nearly blew up half of his house!" I tell her in annoyance "Why do you even care? It's Klaus!"
"I don't care about him!" Katherine argues angrily "I care about you! What if you got caught? You could go to jail for shit like this Damon! This isn't papering someone's house or spraying someone's locker!"
I roll my eyes "Klaus started this, we just finished it" I shrug. "Now can we stop talking about Klaus? It's Saturday and we're here, alone, how about we take advantage of that instead of you grilling my ass over something that has already happened?"
"You're lucky you're hot Salvatore!" Katherine glares at me before pretty much attacking my lips with hers.
Damon has been avoiding me.
I haven't had the chance to properly speak to him since last week when he got into that fight with Kol. It's not like I haven't tried, but he's barely been in school all week and I couldn't help but notice that he's starting to hang around with some of his old gang more, something that I'm not entirely happy about, I thought he was done with all that and I can't help but feel worried that he's being dragged back into this gang war thing.
Mystic Falls has been quiet and almost trouble free ever since the night Katherine died and I hope for everyone's sake, especially Damon's, that it doesn't change.
"Elena? Elena?" Stefan's voice breaks me from my thoughts and I slam my locker shut and turn to face him.
"What?"
"Are you even listening to me?" Stefan asks annoyed.
"Sorry, I spaced out" I force a smile and Stefan still looks a little annoyed at me but to be honest I don't really care "Have you seen Damon this morning?" I ask curiously and Stefan frowns.
"Why do you keep asking me about my brother Elena?" he asks suspiciously "I didn't think the two of you were friends"
I shrug a little as we walk to our first class of the day "We sit together in a couple of classes" I tell him casually "I thought you knew that"
"I did" Stefan replies "I just didn't think that made the two of you friends" I turn my head to the side as a frown crosses his face "You don't want to be his friend Elena"
"Why not?" I ask defensively "He's not that bad" I say a little annoyed, thinking about all the horrible stories Stefan has told me about his brother over the years I've known him. And yes, I know that I don't know Damon that well and that he has changed over the last few months but the boy I've started to get to know recently is not the same boy Stefan describes.
"Yes he is" Stefan lectures me as we walk into our classroom and take our regular seats "You don't know some of the things he has done. He's trouble, and honestly, I don't like the fact that you hang out with him"
"We don't hang out" I roll my eyes a little. Well, Damon doesn't let us hang out. "We just talk in class sometimes"
"Ok, fine" Stefan backs down a little "I'm just warning you, he's bad news"
"Ok, I heard you" I mutter in annoyance as Alaric walks into the classroom and begins his class. I look across the classroom to see that Damon's seat is empty.
"Knock, knock" I walk into Alaric's classroom at lunch time hoping to see Damon here today but unfortunately I'm disappointed.
"Come on in" Alaric greets me with a smile as I walk towards him. He holds out a small tub with a sandwich inside and offers it to me "Want one? Damon normally steals it but he's a no show today it seems"
"Yeah where is he anyway? I haven't seen him around much these past few days" I take a seat, taking the spare sandwich gratefully.
"Well actually, I wanted to talk to you about this" Alaric tells me seriously and I don't know why but my heart speeds up a little. Why does he want to talk to me about Damon? "I've noticed Damon has been going back to his old ways a little, he's skipping classes again and he's starting to go back with the wrong crowd. Honestly, I'm worried about him, he's a smart kid but he's also very troubled and what happened last year with Katherine really hit him hard, and I thought these past few weeks since school had started that he'd made major progress, he'd been going to class, doing his homework, I even thought I'd had convinced him to actually take a look at some colleges, but this past week it's like he's on his way back to the old Damon and I don't want that to happen" Alaric tells me sincerely and I'm a little surprised by how much he's concerned about this.
I always knew that they had some sort of mutual understanding with each other that Damon didn't have with anyone else in this school and that Alaric always cut Damon some slack, but I didn't realise just how much Ric genuinely cares about Damon.
"I'm worried about him too" I tell him seriously "I'm trying to be his friend but he won't let me. I know that I haven't known him for that long, but when we do talk it always seems so… real, you know? It's weird"
"I notice" Alaric smiles softly at me "Damon has always been quite a guarded kid, even his so called friends weren't really his friends, it's like he's scared to show the real him to people but if there is one thing I've noticed Elena, is that he doesn't seem as guarded when he is around you. I don't know why that is, but it's true. You should talk to him, ask him what's going on"
"I've tried Ric" I tell him in frustration "Every time I try and talk to him he shoots me down and walks away, it's like he's angry with me but I don't think I've even done anything to piss him off!"
"He's like that" Alaric sighs "Just be patient with him but don't stop trying, I've noticed from past experience that if you give Damon Salvatore space, he'll think you don't care. Best thing is to push him and keep pushing, he may explode on you but that's what you want if you want to get through to him and be his friend, Elena, but that's up to you, he's a lot of work, it just depends if you think he is worth it"
I nod my head and we fall into a comfortable silence as I think about everything that Alaric has just told me.
Is Damon Salvatore worth the risk of feeling so rejected when he shoots me down just so I can push past that barrier to be his friend?
I go back to what Ric said about Damon being himself around me and I can't help but smile at the thought. I don't know what makes me so special for him to let his guard down a little but it makes me happy.
I know then that Damon is worth it.
"You get em?" I question Vicki as she walks over to me round back at the old bike sheds with a smirk on her face, her new friend Jeremy trailing behind her.
"Of course" she winks at me before tossing the keys. I catch them with a grin before placing them in my pocket. "Rebekah had no idea"
"Good to know you still got it" I stand up to my feet as they both sit down and start to talk to some of the other guys.
I walk a little further away from the group and pull out my cellphone, seeing that I have a text from my brother.
You need to stop missin class
Dad is starting to notice that
U R hangin back with your
old crew. Don't screw this up Damon.
I roll my eyes at his lecture and stick my phone back into my pocket as Tyler approaches me.
"So, what made you change your mind? You told me you were done with the Mikaelson's" He asks me curiously.
I shrug and look around a little before I answer "Things change Lockwood, I got bored, I can't last another year here in Mystic Falls without having a little fun, it might as well be at that family's expense. Plus, I never said I was done with the Mikaelson's, because as far as I'm concerned nothing will be done until Klaus pays for what he did, until he is rotting 10 feet under next to his bitch of a girlfriend" I mutter bitterly.
Tyler takes a step closer to me and speaks quietly "Who else knows about Klaus and Katherine?" he asks while making sure no one else is listening to us.
"No one who didn't know six months ago" I remind him, not liking the fact that Tyler knows but making sure that he knows not to share this information with anyone else. "Keep it that way" I warn him and Tyler immediately nods his head.
"Of course, Damon, I wouldn't do that to you"
He's lucky I believe him.
"Damon?"
I turn my head around surprised by that voice and look to see Elena slowly and hesitantly approaching. "Elena? What are you doing here?" I walk towards her confused, glancing back behind me awkwardly to make sure that Tyler has made himself scarce.
He has.
"I wanted to talk to you" she smiles nervously "You've been avoiding me"
Damn. Was I that obvious?
"No I haven't" I pathetically try and act dumb but she sees right through me.
"Damon" she smiles and I can't help but smile back.
"Fine" I sigh "You're right, congratulations on your detective skills" I attempt to joke but she doesn't play along.
"Have I done something to upset you? I thought we were starting to become friends"
"That was the problem, Elena" I tell her honestly "You don't want to be friends with me"
"Why not?" she frowns "And surely that is up to me to decide?"
"I'm trouble, bad news" I mimic the voice of many others who have judged me "We are two completely different types of people, Elena"
"So? I don't care. I like you and I want to be friends with you so what is the problem?" she crosses her arms around her and bites on her lip nervously "Unless it's you who doesn't want to know me?" she shakes her head and lets out a bitter laugh "Of course it is, I'm so stupid! You're Damon Salvatore" she looks embarrassed and turns around to walk away but I reach out and grab her arm.
"Hey" I pull her back towards me "Despite the company you choose to keep, my brother included" Elena smiles a little "I do happen to actually like you too Gilbert" I shrug trying to ignore the pounding beat of my heart.
Why am I so nervous around this girl?
"You do huh?" she asks me with a smirk and I nod my head in confirmation "So, what do you say Salvatore? Friends?" she holds out her hand and I look down at with a nervous smile before shaking it.
"Friends" I agree, clutching her hand tightly that just fits so perfectly into my own. Trying to ignore how soft it feels. I hold on to her hand for a moment too long before reluctantly pulling away with a small smile on my lips "You know, my brother and your friends will not be happy about this" I smirk.
Elena shrugs, her own grin on her face "I don't really care" I smile back but frown a little when I notice the smile fall straight from her lips as she looks behind my shoulder "Jeremy?!"
I turn around confused and notice Vicki's new friend walking towards us looking skeptic and that's when I realize how I recognize him.
Jeremy Gilbert. Elena's younger brother.
Fuck.
"What are you doing around here?!" she asks him annoyed "Is that a cigarette in your hand!" she gaps in shock and I cringe. Oh dear.
Jeremy actually looks a little guilty but that soon changes to embarrassment and him being a little mortified at Elena being here and talking to him as if he was twelve years old.
"Yes. So what?" Jeremy gives her plenty of attitude and that really pisses me off.
"So what?!" Elena gasps in shock "Do you hear yourself right now? You're smoking? Hanging around back here with these-" she stops herself and glances at me. I shrug innocently and she glares "Since when were you friends with my brother?" she asks annoyed and I can tell that her anger has been redirected at me.
Great.
Our make-up didn't last long.
"In my defense, I did not know he was your brother" I tell her while holding my hands up in the air in front of my defensively and take a step back. I am not getting involved in sibling stuff. Nah uh. No way.
"How can you be so stupid to get yourself involved in this gang stuff?" Elena is back on Jeremy now and I breathe a silent sigh of relief.
"You can't control my life Elena! These guys are my friends!" Jeremy argues and almost feel like I'm intruding but I've noticed that the other guys as well as Vicki are all standing around now watching this sibling fight play out.
"No" Elena shakes her head furiously "You are not to hang out here with these people anymore!" she grabs on his arm and attempts to pull him away with her but Jeremy stands his ground. "Jere, I mean it"
I notice that Jeremy is refusing to back down and I can't take the flustered look on Elena's face much longer as she looks around to see us all watching.
"Go with your sister, Gilbert!" I step forward and tell him seriously, pushing his shoulder slightly in Elena's direction.
Jeremy actually looks shocked that I'm siding with his sister and not him. "What?"
"You heard me" I tell him in a firm tone, showing that I am not to be messed with "You leave, and you stay away"
"Whoa hold on" Vicki interrupts and steps forward but I shoot her down with a glare.
"Go"
I watch him pull his arm out of Elena's grasp furiously before storming away, Elena sends me a grateful smile in thanks and I nod my head before she walks away, chasing after her brother no doubt.
"Damon what the fuck?!" Vicki shouts at me furiously "You can't just come back here and decide who gets to hang out here! This isn't last year! You aren't in charge of us anymore!" oh she is angry.
I don't say anything and hold my ground and Vicki actually looks a little flustered by my silence.
No one else says anything. No one else challenges her.
Or challenges me.
"Tyler?" she turns to him looking helpless and I've already realized that Tyler was the one who took over my role in the group when I left. Someone had to make the decisions.
"Whatever Damon says goes" Tyler tells her firmly before nodding his head at me. I nod back in appreciation at his loyalty and Vicki groans in frustration before storming away.
The small group dissemble and go back to doing their own thing around the shed and Tyler walks up to me with his hands stuffed in his pockets "You know, Jeremy is a good kid, he wouldn't cause us any trouble" he tell me and I realize that they were probably friends.
"Exactly" I nod my head "He's a good kid, the last thing he needs is to be involved with us lot" I tell Tyler who lets out a small laugh.
"Are you sure this has nothing to do with him being Elena's brother?" he asks me with a smirk.
I roll my eyes and push past him.
Don't be so stupid.
"Hey Elena! Wait up!" I stop at the edge of my car in the school parking lot and turn to see Damon jogging towards me "Hey" he stops with a smile, a little breathless.
"Hi" I smile back, glad that he's over the whole avoidance thing.
"I just wanted to say sorry about before, with your brother, I honestly had no idea" he actually looks a little guilty and I realize that he mustn't be used to apologizing to people.
"It's not your fault. He's been hanging around with Vicki Donovan a lot lately, I just didn't realize it was with her friends as well" I sigh before cringing slightly "Sorry, I guess they're your friends too…"
"Nah" he shakes his head with a smirk "I don't have any friends remember"
"Shut up" I roll my eyes and let out a small laugh as I unlock my car door "You want a ride?"
I notice Damon looks surprised by my offer and looks around the car park before eventually nodding his head "Sure, why not"
I grin and we both get in and once we get on the road we start to talk again, just about random things, books and school mostly.
"So what happened to your car?" I ask Damon curiously. "I never used to see you go anywhere without it"
Damon shrugs a little before answering "It got confiscated as one of my many punishments from Daddy Dearest for being a delinquent son" he says it so casually almost as if he's not bothered at all but I remember Stefan telling me once how much Damon loved his Camaro "I think it's in storage somewhere, maybe, hopefully, that or he got it crushed. Good old Giuseppe loves to make a statement" he rolls his eyes.
"You're not close with your father are you?" I question hoping that he doesn't snap at me for being nosy "Not like Stefan is anyway"
"That's because Stefan can't see what is right in front of him, the guy is a controlling asshole" he mutters bitterly.
"He's still your father though Damon" I attempt to reason but Damon isn't having it.
"He doesn't act like one!" he snaps annoyed and I sigh backing down. "Sorry" Damon mumbles guiltily. "I just hate that Stefan doesn't see what I see" I see him from the corner of my eye run a hand down his face "What I saw"
I turn my head to face him and notice the solemn look on his face and it makes me feel sad. Like I wish I could just take away even just a tiny piece of this boy's pain away because he doesn't deserve it.
"You want to go get dinner somewhere?" I change the subject and watch as Damon turns to look at me surprised. "I mean, I'm hungry? Are you not hungry?" I feel nervous and scared at the same time that he is going to reject me.
Sure we've hung out at school, but never outside of it.
"I'm supposed to have dinner with Giuseppe and Stefan tonight" Damon eventually answers me and I don't know why I'm so disappointed by this.
"That's ok" I force a smile that is too wide as I try to mask my disappointment.
"But" Damon continues with a grin "There is nothing I enjoy more than pissing off my Dad, so sure, dinner sounds great!" he tells me enthusiastically and I can't help but laugh.
"Are you sure? I don't want to be responsible for getting you into trouble"
"Are you kidding?" Damon smirks "Do you really think I'd rather spend my night with Giuseppe Salvatore over a beautiful girl like you?" I blush immediately, my heart pounding against my chest "Besides, I'm always in trouble, might as well give him a reason to be pissed that I can enjoy"
"Fine" I laugh and go to pull into the carpark of the Grille but Damon presses his hand on my arm.
"Nah uh" he shakes his head "Not here, keep driving. I'll direct you"
I frown a little but do as he says anyway. Following his directions without question as he takes us further towards the other side of town.
"Ok, where the hell are we?" I look around skeptically as I pull up into a deserted carpark of some bar just outside of town.
"Trust me" Damon smirks as climb out and walk towards the entrance, Damon's hand pressed on my lower back and I bite on my bottom lip as I try and ignore the feeling it's giving me.
We walk inside and the bar is surprisingly quite nice, it's also a little busy in contrast to the deserted lot outside. There's a mixture of people in here, some old men sitting smoking in the corner while playing card games but there's also some younger people too.
It's a little rough and has a slight edge to it but it's not a hole, which is good.
How come I've never noticed this place before?
Damon walks us over to the bar, his hand still on my back and stands protectively behind me as I lean against the bar in front. "The burgers here are to die for" he leans down and speaks into my ear causing me to shiver a little.
I nod my head in acknowledgement as the bartender walks towards us, looking at me with a smirk and I realize he is checking me out.
"What can I get you gorgeous?" he asks me with a grin before winking for good measure making me cringe. I'm surprised however when Damon's hand leaves my back and he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me against him.
"Two cheeseburgers with fries, please" Damon sends him the fakest smile ever and the bartender quickly glances at him finally noticing that I'm not alone. I notice his smile fades slightly, maybe thinking that Damon is my boyfriend or something, before nodding his head "Oh and two beers!" Damon calls after him and I turn my head to look up at him with a frown.
"I'm driving" I tell him sternly, not even surprised that the bartender didn't bother to ID us. Damon has some sort of eerie power held around him that tends to make other people listen to what he says without question.
"Don't worry about it" Damon waves me off like it's no big deal "One beer won't hurt, and if you want more, we'll take a cab home and I'll come with you to pick up your car tomorrow" his arm is still wrapped around my shoulder. "Tonight, Elena Gilbert, you and I are going to have fun!" he grins at me "I know that is a difficult concept for you to grasp, but fuck the consequences for once and just enjoy yourself!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask offended "I have fun!"
"Right" Damon laughs as the bartender hands us over our beers and he takes a quick swig. "I'm sure cheer practice three times a week is very exhilarating and then of course the big game on Friday nights! My bad, nothing can be more fun than freezing your ass in a skimpy dress on a muddy field watching our pathetic excuse of a football team get their asses kicked every week!"
"Shut up, ass!" I laugh while shaking his head but knowing he has a point.
Damon has lived, sure most of that has got him into trouble and with a bullet wound in his chest but at least he knows that there is more to life than after school events and what would look good on college applications.
"You know I'm right" Damon grins at me as we walk over to an empty booth and sit across from each other.
"Of course, Damon" I roll my eyes "You're always right, Damon" I do my best ditsy impression and he smirks at me just as a waiter brings over our food.
I take a bite into the burger and well wouldn't you know.
Damon is actually right.
"Good huh?" he smirks at me and I pick up a fry from my plate and throw it off him, causing him to laugh loudly.
I love that sound.
The thought surprises me and I find myself stealing glances at the older Salvatore while he's too busy eating to notice. I feel my cheeks heat up just staring at him and I look down at my food in embarrassment at the thoughts that crosses my mind.
There's no denying Damon is attractive. I mean, look at him.
His stunning blue eyes alone are just…wow.
Not my type.
No.
Definitely not.
I hate myself that the thought even crosses my mind, he is my boyfriend's brother for God's sake!
"Come on" Damon interrupts me from my thoughts and gets out of the booth "Let's go get some more drinks and then I'll beat your ass at pool!" he smirks.
"Oh please, you have no idea how good I am!" I argue as I let him take hold of my hand and lead me towards the bar. He orders us another two beers and I surprise him, and myself, when I lean over the bar to add two shots to the order. "What?" I smile at Damon innocently who is looking at me surprised "I can have fun you know Salvatore"
Damon chuckles and shakes his head as the bartender passes over our drinks and we clink our shot glasses together before downing them.
Screw tomorrow. Tonight we're going to have fun.
"YES!" I jump up and down with a squeal as I beat Damon again at pool! "That's four to one Salvatore!" I smirk at him before taking another drink from my beer. I've lost count how many we've had now as well as the shots. All I do know though is that I feel so good right now.
Damon rolls his eyes and walks around the table to stand in front of me "Please, don't get ahead of yourself Elena, I went easy on you" he tells me while leaning forward and trapping me between his body and the pool table. I notice that one of his hands lands on my hip and I gulp slightly as I look up at him.
His eyes are so blue.
I tap his chest and shake my head with a smirk "Keep telling yourself that!"
Damon laughs and steps back, his hand falling from my hip and I can't help but miss the touch already.
Maybe it's just the alcohol.
"Come on Gilbert, loser has to buy the next round remember?" he motions for me to follow him to the bar.
"Is that why you've bought every round since we got here? Because you're a big fat loser!" I do the L shape with my fingers on top of my head and Damon laughs and rolls his eyes before ordering us two more beers.
"Excuse me, Elena, but I have been the perfect gentleman to you tonight! I've bought all your drinks, your food and I even let you kick my ass at pool!" he hands me another beer and I smirk at him before taking a sip, my eyes never leaving his. "The least you can do is be gracious in your victory"
"Oh please, like you wouldn't gloat if you had kicked my ass!" I accuse him with a grin and place my hand in his and pull him towards me before leaning up and whispering in his ear "I bet you wouldn't act like a gentleman then Salvatore"
I feel him shiver against me as I pull away but leaving our hands linked together.
"I like you like this" Damon tells me with a soft tone to his voice and I look up at him to see a small smile on his lips. His eyes are shining bright and he actually looks like he doesn't have a care in the world. It's nice. It suits him.
"Well I like you like this" I tell him back with a grin and I don't know what possesses me to this but I wrap my other hand that's still holding the bottle around the back of his neck and play with the ends of his hair "You look so happy and relaxed" I tell him softly "I wish you could be like this all the time, I wish you never have to feel like you need to keep yourself guarded to avoid being hurt" he steps closer to me and his spare arm wraps around my waist as he looks directly into my eyes "I hate that you got hurt, Damon"
Damon gulps slightly and looks down but I unlock our hands and place my hand on his chin, lifting his head back up to face me "You don't have to be afraid with me" I tell him honestly "Don't forget that Damon, ever"
He nods his head ever so slowly without breaking our stare and I swear that there are tears in his eyes. I run my hand across his cheek and it caress it with my thumb, enjoying the feeling of his skin touching mine. He squeezes my waist tighter and pulls me even closer so our bodies are flushed against each other.
"Elena" he whispers quietly and I gulp at the tone of his voice before he goes to continue.
However the moment is ruined when a recognizable voice interrupts us "Well, Well, what do we have here?" I immediately jump backwards out of Damon's grip and turn to face Rebekah with a scowl.
"What?" Damon snaps at her in annoyance.
Rebekah looks between us both with a smirk on a face "Elena Gilbert" she literally eyes me up and down "I never thought I would see you in a place like this, never mind with him" she spits the last part out coldly and I watch as Damon just stands and glares at her.
"Go away before I make you" Damon hisses at her before I can say anything. Rebekah however doesn't listen so instead Damon grabs my arm and pulls me towards the exit of the bar.
We get outside, the cold night air hitting us immediately and I suddenly realize what Rebekah would have saw back then.
Fuck.
"Shit" I run my hand through my hair in a panic and Damon turns to look at me with a frown.
"What?"
"Rebekah…she just saw…" I stutter my words out, my words all tangled up and my brain all frazzled because of the amount of alcohol I have consumed.
"She saw nothing" Damon steps in front of me and places both of his hands firmly on my shoulders "We're friends, Elena, two friends who have just had a really great fun night" he tells me sternly and I slowly nod my head in agreement "Don't let that bitch turn this into something that is not, ok?"
"Ok" I nod my head and force a smile and Damon looks at me for a couple more seconds before removing his hands and stepping back.
"I'll call a cab" Damon tells me while pulling out his cellphone and walking away a little.
I realize that I haven't even bothered to check my phone all night and pull it out of my pocket to see that I have numerous missed calls and texts.
Shit.
Most of them are from Stefan, a few from my Aunt Jenna and a couple from Bonnie, Caroline and Jeremy. Crap. I realize that it is really late and I didn't let anyone know that I wasn't coming home straight from school.
They must be worried.
I feel bad and send out a quick group text to all of them to let them know that I'm ok and that I'm sorry for worrying them.
My phone flashes just a minute later and it's Stefan that's calling me. I debate on whether or not to answer, not sure whether or not to tell him that the reason I went AWOL all evening was because I was at a bar drinking with his older brother but my decision is made for me when Damon walks back towards me.
"It won't be long" he smiles and I can't help but smile back "You going to answer that?" he asks motioning to my vibrating phone in my hand.
"Nah" I shake my head with a smile "The real world can wait until tomorrow"
So, there it is! Thank you again so so much to everyone who reviewed, you really do inspire me to write more and help me get the next chapters written so I can update faster! It does help so again thank you!
Until next time peeps :)