A/N: Soooooo…. I started my student teaching experience today with teacher inservice! Wednesday I meet my awesome yet scary junior that I will be spending the year with! AHHH! While this is really really exciting it also means more busyness. Please be patient with me. I am a few chapters ahead so I am really going to try to continue to do a chapter a week! Reviews are encouragement (:
This chapter is a little short, but Elena gets to meet a certain someone!
Enjoy!
…..
"I can teach you to turn off the pain," she whispered.
I could feel the lump building again in my throat, but I spoke past it, not wanting to show weakness to the fiery vampire that was offering me so much.
"How?" I asked gruffly.
She smiled and excitement danced in her eyes.
"Come," she whispered. "I'll show you."
….
10. Claire
"She taught you to turn your emotions off?"
I could hear the dislike in Elena's voice already. I wasn't surprised. Elena was constantly urging me to become a better man, to stop shutting out the pain that had caused me to do horrible things in my past. It was obvious that Elena would not be happy meeting the person that was responsible for the way I was when she met me.
"Yeah," I responded. "So obviously she's going to love you."
The sarcasm in my voice was strong and Elena frowned worriedly.
"Don't worry about it," I said encouragingly. "We get the information we need from her and she's out of our way."
Elena didn't look convinced, but consented anyways walking quickly beside me after we made it through customs for the final time.
When we entered the main atrium of the airport Claire was waiting for us as beautiful as ever, leaning against the wall. Elena's stride slowed and she lagged behind slightly as it became obvious who we were approaching. Claire's bright green eyes bore into mine with excitement and her crimson hair lay perfectly past her shoulders just as I had remembered. The elmerald necklace that I had given her decades ago still hung from her neck—the only reason she could meet us here in broad daylight. She met us half way, embracing me and kissing me lightly just to the side of my mouth.
"Damon, I've missed you!" Claire purred. "It feels like it's been ages!"
"Thank you for meeting us here, Claire. It's been a huge help."
Claire smiled at me and then turned to Elena, eyeing her up. Holding her stare she spoke
"You weren't kidding when you said she looked like Katherine. Did you bring this one along as a little snack?"
Claire advanced towards Elena, and I protectively shoved her behind me, grabbing ahold of her hand tightly. Claire threw me a confused look, obviously not use to me befriending humans.
"Actually no," I replied. "She's traveling with me. Did you get the stuff I asked you for?"
Clearly put off by my behavior, Claire got snappy.
"Yes, but I don't understand why your so bent and determined to find your brooding brother anyways. I thought you would like him better this way, if he's becoming as fun as you said he was on the phone. "
"Just give me the information, Claire and we will get out of your way," I said choosing to ignore her comment all together.
"Get out of my way? Damon, you're my best friend, or at least you were. That is until you apparently started hanging out with walking blood banks like her," she said, referring condescendingly to Elena.
In anger, my grip on Elena's hand grew tighter, and I heard a tiny gasp come from behind me.
"Don't you dare—"
Remembrance of an early time flashed through her eyes. A time that I knew she could never forgive me for. A time where she had seen this all play out before.
Understanding hit her then and a wicked smile laced her lips.
"Oh my God," she laughed sadistically. I knew then that I wasn't going to like what was coming next. Knowing Claire for as long as I did, I knew her good and her bad and how quickly they could switch—her bad was about to surface.
"You're in love with her," she laughed combating the anger and denial that was surely in my eyes. "Damon Salvatore is in love with a human girl. What's next? Feeding on bunnies like your pussy of a brother."
I came at her then, undoubtedly drawing stares from the other people in the airport, but I didn't care.
"You don't know what the hell you are talking about," I seethed.
"Oh, I think I do. I haven't seen that look in your eyes since the day you found out how to get Katherine back." She turned to Elena then, whose eyes were as big as saucers at the confrontation before her. "History is obviously repeating itself."
I used every ounce of control I had at that moment not to rip her heart out in the middle of the airport.
She turned back to me, pulling a map out of her pocket and practically throwing it at me.
"Here's your damn map, Damon. The bus leaves in half an hour from out front of the airport. If you get off at the place I marked on the map you'll get to the hotel she's staying at."
She handed me the Bulgarian currency I had asked for and turned sharply to walk away, but stopped and faced Elena again.
"I would be careful with this one if I were you, Elena. He will most likely leave you high and dry just like he did to me."
….
I was still fuming when we were seated on the bus and ignored Elena's questions as I unfolded the map. Claire had highlighted the route the bus would take north into Bulgaria. A dot in the middle of the country was circled in red pen—Stara Zagora. According to the map, we had another ten hours on this bus ahead of us before we hit the town in which Katherine was staying, which only added to my mood.
While I studied the map carefully, Elena shouted at me. Clearly tired of being in the dark.
"What the hell was that about, Damon?"
"You don't want to know," I said as I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.
"I beg to differ. She was pretty bent out of shape about something. What happened between the two of you?"
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, realizing that this was going to take a good while to explain.
"We have a 'history,'" I said slowly. "A history that ended in a way that she isn't too pleased about."
Elena looked at me expectantly. Realizing then that she wasn't going to let it go, I continued.
"Just remember that when you are regretting hearing this in the end, that you asked for it," I said starting my story as the bus pulled away from the airport.
A/N: So what do you think happened between Claire and Damon… I'm interested to know! Please review. Time is going to be short now and I need motivation! Thanks lol
