Chapter 7: Return


The bowling alley was filled with a lively atmosphere. Cheering and laughing was heard throughout the building as friends got together, trying to make the most of their night. On the other hand, this crowd of friends in particular held a tense atmosphere as they looked at the guy in front of them. The guy that most of them had been involved with less than a year ago when he and Elena were dating.

"Nate." Damon repeated, his eyes filled with suspicion as he took his awaiting hand, giving it a shake, "Nice to meet you. I'm Damon."
"Mmh, Elena's boyfriend." Nate responded, his eyes moving over to Elena.

Elena bit her lip, standing behind Damon as she traded looks with the blonde whose usual bubbly demure was tense and full of worry. Shrugging, Caroline got to her feet and moved over to the brunette, not knowing how to handle this situation. Before she had a chance to think, Jeremy was moving forward, anger in his eyes.

"Nate, how about you piss off?" Jeremy demanded as Bonnie stood behind him, holding his arm as if it was going to stop him from tackling the guy in front.

Damon looked over at his friend in confusion. Why was he so angry? He hadn't seen him like this before, not even if them two had been involved in a fight. This was something different that he had never witnessed. Looking back at Elena, he seen her looking around in worry as if she didn't know what to do with the situation. What was going on?

"Ah, well if it isn't little Gilbert. How are you man?" Nate shot him a look, a grin reaching his lips.
"I'll be fine once you get out of my sight!"

"Enough!" Elena spoke up, not wanting a fight to break out as she moved forward pass Damon and pressed a hand to Jeremy's chest, giving him a look, "Now Jeremy."
"Ah, still the same Elena Gilbert." He responded, laughing and looked at her, "I will see you around Elena."
"Come anywhere near her and you're dead!" Jeremy yelled, attracting people's attention from around the bowling alley as Nate laughed and walked off back to his friends.
"Jeremy!" Elena pushed at his chest, looking up at him as he shook his head and stormed away and over to the bar.

"What the hell was that?" Damon asked Elena, his face mixed of emotions, confusion being the one standing out.
"Uh, its- its just bad history is all." She forced a smile, placing her hand on his chest gently as she moved pass and went after Jeremy.

"Damon," Caroline moved over to him and let out a sigh, "Nate is...Elena's ex boyfriend and-"
"Oh believe me, I'm fully aware of that, I just-"
"Listen to me and I will explain. Sit." Caroline instructed him, a stern look on her face.
"Yes ma'am." Damon responded, raising his hands in defence as he sat down, leaving a spot for her to sit next to him.

"Nate and Elena split less than a year ago, so Jeremy is still filled with anger about the situation." Caroline told him, biting her lip.
"Right, but why is he angry? What happened Caroline?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"It was a rocky relationship," The blonde sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Full of lies and manipulation. It took a long while for Elena to pull away from him. She believed every word he said, despite what garbage he came out with and what lies he made up, she believed him no matter what. As you can imagine, it made us all angry, including Jeremy as she was being played and we didn't want that for her."

"Was he cheating or-"
"Yeah, of course he was. It took her a while to come to that fact. She caught him red handed so to speak, she walked in on them and as much as we wanted to wake her up and show what a scumbag he is, we didn't want her to have to find out the hardest way."

"What happened?" Damon asked softly, a frown on his face.
"Oh Elena broke. She fell into a deep depression. I mean imagine having your whole life revolve around this person, they're the breath you breathe. She was broken. She didn't forgive herself for not believing us, she tucked herself away from the world, she didn't want to see Jeremy, see me or anyone else."

"He...he did that to her?" He responded, the realisation of why Jeremy was so angry finally hitting him.
"Yeah he did. Then maybe a couple of months later, she broke out of it. She had to do it herself, she needed to realise that she wasn't the bad one in the relationship, it was him. And you know what? She did it. Sure, it took her a while, but she broke out of it and we were there for her," Taking a deep breath, Caroline reached over and grabbed her drink, sipping at it, "Which is why everyone's reaction to him was less than forthcoming, especially hers. She didn't expect to see him."

Taking it all in, Damon looked over at bar, Jeremy and Elena obviously being in a heated discussion as the conversation went back and forth between them. Clenching his fists, he took a deep breath and looked over at Nate who was at the other side of the room with his friends. He now understood it. He understood why Jeremy had been so angry and why he looked like he wanted to kill him.

"Damon?" Caroline asked carefully, seeing the change in his body language.
"I got it." Damon responded, raising from his seat as Jeremy and Elena were making their way back over to the group, Jeremy looking a bit more calmer than a minute ago.

"Everything okay?" Bonnie raised from her seat, looking between Jeremy and Elena.
"Fine." Jeremy smiled at the brunette as she blushed and moved into his arms as they hugged.
"Come on now, lets carry on this game to see if the girls are going to carry out their victory." Klaus suggested with a grin as Caroline moved over to him.
"That is a brilliant plan, let's carry on." Caroline agreed with a grin.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Damon as everyone got ready to start the next game.
"Fine." He answered bluntly, rubbing his hands on his thighs as he lifted his drink and took a gulp.
"Are you...sure?" She pushed, biting her lip as she realised he wasn't himself, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong alright?" Damon raised an eyebrow, going over to Jeremy.
"Wonderful." She whispered to herself, letting out a puff of air as she rubbed her arms and joined the girls.


The night eventually came to an end, the bowling alley emptying slowly as the crowd left. Everyone gathered outside, the group in a fit of laughter as they watched Klaus lifting Caroline over his shoulder to bring her out. Seems more than a little drink was had tonight.

Elena stood at the edge of the group, watching them all as she was deep in thought. Damon had been acting off since the incident with Nate but she didn't understand why. She watched him and Jeremy joking about as she averted her attention to the approaching footsteps. Turning around, her breath caught in her throat as she seen it was Nate.

"Elena." Nate greeted with a grin, "I was wondering-"

Jeremy turned when he heard his voice, anger already surging through him as he clenched his fists and moved towards him. Before he knew it, he was pushed out of the way as Damon moved quick, his fist meeting Nate's nose as he fell to the floor, crying out in pain. Elena gasped and jumped back in shock as Damon towered over Nate, a look in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"You ever...EVER speak to her or look at her again, you will be dead. I will not hesitate to put you in a coma, you understand?"
"What he said." Jeremy stood beside Damon with a smirk, "Now get out of here!"

Nate staggered to his feet, glancing at Damon and Jeremy before rushing off in the other direction. Caroline cheered as Klaus held her up laughing. Jeremy clapped Damon on the shoulder as he moved over to Bonnie.

"I-" Elena murmured, but paused as Damon looked at her, his eyes dark.
"Were going." Damon told her, taking her hand in his as he tugged her along, Elena chasing quick behind him.


The ride home was silent as Elena started out of the window, her head in a mix of thoughts over tonight's events. Someone has told Damon about Nate. It would explain why he was acting off and then lashed out. Feeling them come to a stop, she blinked and looked out to see that they were at Damon's house.

"Here." Damon murmured, getting out as he moved to the front door and inside.

Taking a shaky breath, Elena unclipped her belt and lifted her bag as she got out of the car. Yeah, he was livid. Did she really want to go in? Slowly making her way down the path, she stepped inside, gently closing the door behind her.

Hearing noise from the kitchen, she bit her lip and dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs as she made her way into the kitchen. She went to speak, but gasped in surprise as warm lips met hers and she was held up against the wall. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, holding him close to her.

"Damon!" She gasped breathlessly.
"You should have told me." Damon responded, holding her waist as he stared into her eyes.
"You didn't exactly give me much of a chance." Elena raised an eyebrow, "You were acting off with me all night...like an asshole."

"I'm sorry. I know I was an asshole. He...it just made me angry Elena."
"The punching gave that away. You weren't yourself and now I finally know why." Elena inhaled, tilting her head, "Caroline?"
"Yeah, she told me everything. Everything about you...him, your relationship. What is is." Damon replied, moving back.
"What is was, not is. Past tense. That is in the past!" She sighed, rubbing her face.
"I don't trust him."
"And you think I do!?"

The phone went off with a shrill as Damon sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, moving over to the phone as he lifted it off the cradle and held it to his ear, greeting the person on the other end. Elena took a deep breath, stepping out of the kitchen as she walked into the living room and fell onto the couch, the tiredness draining her from the inside out. Yawning, she rubbed her nose and looked around, her eyes settling on the framed pictures around the room.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and watched as Damon sat beside her, his mind seemingly in another place as he took her hand, pulling her close as he hugged her to him. Inhaling, she buried her face into his chest and kissed his shoulder.

"It's okay." Elena whispered, answering his question.
"No El, it isn't." Damon responded sadly.
"What do you mean?" She bit her lip, looking up at him, "What is it?"
"Elena, I've been asked to return from leave." He swallowed, seeing the glint in her eyes disappear, "Me and Jeremy have to return."


A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed! Who's the Player will be out next! Thank you!

Shauna

xx