Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. If I did, Damon and Elena would be together and Stefan would have been killed off long ago. All rights belong to their creators.
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So get out, get out, get out of my head
And fall into my arms instead
I don't, I don't, don't know what it is
But I need that one thing
And you've got that one thing
"...There rust and let me die!"
Elena stabbed herself with the prop knife and slowly and dramatically fell onto Stefan; her head resting on the center of his chest. It was the first dress rehearsal for the school play which was in a week, and stress levels were high as the students rapidly worked to get the show ready.
Elena knew she was dead in the scene but peered an eye open to watch the scene going on around her. Caroline was onstage as an extra in the current scene and she gave Elena a quick wink before turning back to face the empty auditorium. Elena felt a shudder beneath her and realized Stefan was sighing. She winced uncomfortably.
As much as she was trying to get over Stefan, a friendship still existed between the two of them that she hoped to be able to salvage. She typically avoided Stefan when she could, but spoke to him only when she was directly addressed. She found this kept her from clinging to him as she did before and her therapy seemed to be working.
Was she completely free of her feelings for Stefan? No. There was still a small part of her, which had an extra-sensory feeling for him; it was almost as if she was climbing up a cliff. She was so close to reaching the summit but sometimes she would lose her grip and slip a few feet lower, only to climb back up again.
Some days she was fine; she didn't need to see Stefan and didn't need to dote on him. Other days; she would take great pains to find him and speak to him, only to regret it later on.
X
The curtains shut and the director's voice called out; "That's a wrap! We're finished guys. Make sure to put away your props and costumes, if you have any, back into their bins. Ms. Forbes may I speak to you for a moment?"
Elena heard Caroline groan loudly before stomping out of sight. Elena slowly and cautiously began to get up, taking special care not trip on the long skirt, costume that was standing in for her Juliet dress which wasn't finished being sewn. Suddenly she felt Stefan shift violently to the side and was thrown off of him. Her head smacked against the hard stage ground. Her vision turned blurry and she could've sworn she saw stars before she was enveloped in a burning rage.
"OW Stefan! What the hell?" She exclaimed as Stefan got to his feet. He snickered seeing Elena's livid expression;
"Sorry," he replied with a smirk, "You weren't moving fast enough."
She gave him an evil glare before clutching the prop dagger in her arm and hoisting herself to her feet. They walked back to the prop bin together, and Elena began moving her props into their proper spots. Stefan watched her silently for a few moments before lashing out on her;
"So for your dying scene could you please try NOT to fall on my chest?"
"Stefan, that's what the script says to do..."
"No, it just says 'falls', I've checked. So, can you fall beside me instead because I'm sick and tired of having my lungs crushed!"
"Well Mr. Fleming said-"
"I don't care what he said! STOP falling on me!" He shouted cutting her off, his green eyes glaring menacingly at her.
She felt a burning desire to slap him but thought better of it. She grit her teeth and turned back to putting away her skirt.
"Elena... Could you also do me a favor?"
"What Stefan?" she snapped angrily, her palms still itching to punch him.
He smiled sheepishly, "Can you uh, put my costume and props away for me? I'm driving over to the coffee shop to meet up with Katherine and I don't wanna be late."
Elena was tempted to reply, "No fucking way, do it yourself you lazy-ass!", but thought better of it.
"Fine Stefan, but I-"
Stefan tossed off his costume in a ball at Elena's feet and before she could finish her statement, he was gone, leaving her alone on the stage, as everyone else had cleared the area;
"wish you would stop acting like a pompous ass." She finished. She let out a frustrated growl before picking up Stefan's costume and folding it properly. As she did this she thought to herself; she was not feeling the same mixture of feelings Stefan usually elicited from within her. Those were of sadness that he had left, jealousy that he was going to be with Katherine, his girlfriend, and overall depression that she couldn't get over him. But, In fact, she felt nothing but anger towards him for acting like a complete jackass. She thought silently to herself; He's nothing how I pictured my perfect guy. He's a jerk, he's inconsiderate and I always thought that was what made him more special than my other crushes but he's not... He's not the guy for me.
Her mind wandered to Damon's smirk and she shook her head. She focused on the fury she felt towards Stefan; it was helping her realize something...
"He's such a jerk! Honestly, thinks he can act like an asshole then charm people into getting whatever the hell he pleases! And I've had it!" she muttered to herself, furiously.
"First sign of insanity; talking to yourself." Caroline's voice projected from the other side of the now-deserted stage.
Elena plopped Stefan's and her costume into its proper bin before looking up at her friend.
Caroline was wearing white tank top with a bright yellow-lime translucent dress top, paired with green shorts. Her naturally blonde hair was straightened and she was shaking her head at Elena, her skirt also folded up in the crook of her arm.
"Let me guess, Stefan problems?"
Elena nodded; "But it's not what you think. I'm not on my 'Oh-my-God-I-hate-him-because-he-doesn't-love-me-back,' rant or my 'I-can't-believe-he's-still-with-Katherine,' rant either. I just realized... I have zero feelings for him anymore. It's almost like I've been under a spell; and until now I realized the spell was blinding me; making me love someone who is completely wrong for me. I know now how stupid I was and I'm so glad I'm cured!"
Caroline's eyes bugged; "Seriously! You don't have feelings for him anymore!"
Elena grinned; "Feelings of love-no, feelings of irritation and anger –yeah. It's like; I'm back to normal... I'm not as upset anymore, my world doesn't revolve around him. So to top it off I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM ANYMORE!"
Caroline let out a girlish scream of happiness and ran to her best friend, pulling her into a large embrace. "Elena, I'm so happy for you I could cry! He was never any good for you. All of us tried to tell you that but in the end we figured that you would find it out on your own, and you did!"
She had been bouncing up and down with Elena and shrieking happily. They stopped and pulled apart, both of their faces radiating joy.
"Elena, you should tell Damon you're emotionally available to date now that you're over Stefan!" Caroline exclaimed dramatically, her smile widening at the thought.
"Whoa! What?" Elena's brow furrowed as she took in the blonde's exuberant face.
"Please Elena, as if it isn't obvious enough," she rolled her eyes, "he hasn't asked you out yet because he thinks you're still in love with Stefan. Now that you're over him and falling for Damon, you guys can date"
Elena's brown eyes widened in shock, "Care, no! I can't tell him how I feel or ask him out! He's my friend, what if I ruin our friendship and never talk to him again!"
Caroline reached out and grabbed Elena's shoulders, a solemn expression taking over her face "Listen to me and listen to me good Gilbert. You really, really like this guy, and as much as you will deny it tooth and nail, he DOES have feelings for you too. Trust me, I would know. I'm dating his best friend after all... But that's beside the point... Elena, remember those old TV shows we used to watch when we were like twelve? The main guy was so in love with the girl but never wanted to tell her because he was scared? Remember how much you couldn't stand him because he wouldn't just do something; tell her how he felt or forget about her all together? WELL NEWSFLASH HONEY, YOU'RE TURNING INTO HIM!" she gave her friend a shake and glared into Elena's eyes, "I'm only going to say this once... he LIKES you, maybe even loves you I'm not sure... But I do know you kinda love him and I know you're the most indecisive person I've ever met. I'm saying this because I love you; do it now, tell him how you feel and get it over with, I promise you he won't reject you. Bite the bullet Elena, bite the bullet..."
With that she let go of her friend's shoulders and walked past her to place her costume into the bin, as Elena brushed her hair back from her hair and ran her hands through it, lost in thought.
She knew deep down that Caroline was right, she was a very indecisive person and often needed a slight push in the right direction to make decisions. As much as she resented Caroline's tough love, she knew her friend was completely correct; she had become one of the people she couldn't stand. The type of people who just sit around waiting for a miracle to happen instead of making their own. In her times of darkness she would sit and wait out the storm rather than going against it and taking charge.
"You're right..." she whispered.
Caroline faced her and surveyed her through kinder, more patient eyes. "Of course I'm right Elena. I know you better than most people, hell maybe even more than your own mother because you're my best friend and I make it my business to know you." She gave her a warm smile, "I know you're in love with Damon, and I know deep down you want to be with him. I know I must sound really bossy and pushy right now but, you need it."
Elena returned the smile, "Thanks Care, you're the best." she gave her friend a hug.
After pulling out of the hug Caroline still held her friend's hands, "Hey, what are best friends for right?" she chuckled, "Listen, I gotta go. Klaus is taking me somewhere for lunch."
"Where?" Elena asked still grinning.
"I honestly have no idea, that boy is just full of surprises..." She shook her head before excitedly adding;
"By the way, guess who Mr. Fleming picked for the make-up artist and wardrobe consultant? ME!"
"Wow Care that's great! Maybe you can finally figure out what's going on with these half-finished costumes." Elena laughed.
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They chatted for a bit before the slamming open of a door frightened them, "CAROLINE? ARE YOU IN HERE LOVE?" Came Klaus' voice.
Elena and Caroline giggled softly and slowly made their way over to the wing of the stage and peered out from behind the red curtain into the auditorium. Klaus was standing at the foot of the stage, and who else but Damon Salvatore was standing by him.
Elena's heart skipped a beat and her stomach became full of butterflies. She smiled at the pleasant feeling his appearance caused.
"I could've sworn I heard her... She told me her and Elena had rehearsal tonight..." Klaus muttered to Damon.
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Damon sighed and crossed his arms; he was not interested in Klaus' incessant stalking of Caroline, his new girlfriend. His heart cried for Elena and he told it to shut up; she wasn't ready for a relationship yet, she still loved Stefan... He cringed at the thought of that horrible boy's name... He was terrible to Elena, yet she still cared for him.
He heard a small giggle and recognized the noise. She's still here... His head snapped up and he saw a flash of blue and lime green go by the side of the stage. He smirked, So they want to play hide and seek? Alright then...
He jabbed Klaus who was still desperately searching the auditorium with his eyes for his beloved Caroline. "Damon? What the bloody hell-" he exclaimed glaring at his friend.
"Shhh!" Damon cut him off and placed a finger to his lips before pointing at the left side of the red curtain which seemed to be breathing in and out.
Understanding lit up Klaus' eyes and he grinned slyly at Damon, motioning over to the right side of the stage. "Hold back Elena so I can kidnap Caroline," he breathed. Damon nodded and walked over towards the stairs quietly climbing up them smirking to himself.
"Well I guess they're not here Damon, let's go..." Klaus said loudly enough for the girls to hear. By that time Damon was already on the other side of the curtain. From across the stage he could see some tables, props and a tall stone tower with a balcony. More importantly from across the stage he could see Elena and Caroline whose faces were peering around the other side of the curtain. From what he could tell Elena was wearing short black bike shorts and a royal blue tank top, her hair was down and straight, covering the nape of her neck. Caroline he could spot from her Barbie-blonde hair and greenish/yellow ensemble. He smirked at them in the dark, waiting for Klaus' signal to pounce, like a tiger stalking its prey he watched Elena.
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"Where did Damon go?" Elena whispered softly to Caroline, "I thought for a second he saw us before we hid behind the curtain."
"I don't know but I think we tricked Klaus," Caroline smiled at her new boyfriend slowly beginning to move away from their hiding place, "Now I can run after him and surprise him."
She gave Elena a fiercely determined grin and just before taking a step onto the stage Klaus spun around and yelled, "NOW!"
Elena was confused for a moment before a warm body tackled her, pinning her against the wall. "AHHHHHHH!" she screamed and looked up to see who her assailant was. A pair of gorgeous blue eyes greeted her; he put a finger to her lips and gave her a playful smile before doing the eye thing she adored.
"AGH! PUT ME DOWN! OH MY GOD!" Caroline's cries carried across to where Damon and Elena stood. Klaus had leapt onto the stage and grabbed Caroline who had darted to the front-center area of it, and threw her over his shoulder as if he was some sort of vampire or werewolf grabbing his next meal, and he carried off a laughing, screaming, and kicking Caroline.
The slam of the auditorium doors drowned out Caroline's cries and Elena burst into giggles.
Damon's eyes shone and he smiled back at her. Elena abruptly became aware of the fact her heart was beating rapidly and a blush rose to her cheeks. "Damon, you scared me half to death!" she exclaimed hoping to drown out the sounding of her beating heart.
"I'm sorry, it was the only way to make sure Klaus could get away in time." He replied, slowly stepping back from his previous position of pressing himself against her.
"Where on earth is he taking her?" she asked, rubbing her head.
"I think he said something about horseback riding? Or carriage-riding, I don't know. Either way it involves horses." He answered smiling.
"Caroline is going to love that! She is a huge fan of horses." Elena beamed, fondly remembering the riding camp she, Caroline and Bonnie attended when they were 9.
Damon looked down and smiled to himself before facing back to Elena. Why did she have to look so beautiful today? He wanted her, badly. He had known for a long time that he wanted her, and when Caroline and Klaus got together he was jealous with Klaus for being so quick with getting together with her... He recalled the previous night's events...
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"The plan's set Damon; she agreed to go out for lunch with me! I'm going to surprise her with some horses for an early birthday present and-" Klaus stopped.
Klaus was standing by the fireplace as Damon took a sip of his bourbon and licked his lips, glaring into the flames.
"What's your problem?" Klaus asked annoyed. Damon knew Klaus had had enough with his moping. Ever since he and Caroline had met, Damon was always drinking away his sorrows, or disappearing to the beach for long periods of time.
"Nothing." Damon replied calmly, taking another sip. His gaze from the fire never wavered.
Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his dirty-blonde hair before plopping down on the couch beside Damon.
"Just tell her you're in love with her Damon. I can't stand when you act like this mate... It's, not you." Klaus said cautiously, observing Damon's vacant expression for any sign of recognition. Damon knew Klaus was familiar with his flashes of rage.
He looked into his friend's eyes and let out a low growl. "What is this girl doing to me Klaus? We used to be just two single guys; caring about nothing but how to make every night a legendary one. We didn't give a damn about anyone or anything. The only one grounding us was Alaric, kicking us into working to win races and do what we loved. Now look at all of us; Alaric is dating Jenna who he was in love with for years before finally asking her out. Funny thing was I used to think Alaric was an idiot for not just going after what he wants and not caring about anything else... Now I understand how hard it must have been for him."
Damon shook his head, pausing to take a long swig of bourbon. "And you and Barbie was practically love at first sight, I mean... How much sappier and romantic can you get? Then there's me, I swore after Katherine I would never love anyone ever again and here I am tripping over some girl I saved from a car accident, who's managed somehow to make me almost as sappy and ridiculous as those TV couples... I've become what I've despised and it's all because of her. And you know what the funniest part is?" he chuckled darkly before continuing, "I don't care! I don't care how much she's corrupted me because it all wouldn't matter if she felt the same way! But she doesn't... She loves Stefan, and it's always going to be Stefan because no matter how hard she tries to get over him, she still loves him. And that fucking jackass is too blind to see what he has right in front of him... God, what I wouldn't give to be in Stefan's shoes."
Damon's confession had rendered Klaus speechless and they continued to stare into the fire for a long time until Klaus finally spoke.
"She must be some special girl, in order to reduce the great man-whore; Damon Salvatore, to near tears."
"She is... She's sweet, bright, caring, honest, beautiful, funny and selfless. She's just... everything I want but know don't deserve. This is karma's payback for running out on my mom."
Damon finished thoughtfully staring into space, and Klaus awkwardly shifted to the edge of his seat and looked down, speechless. Damon was not the type to reveal so much about himself, fuck he didn't even tell Klaus about Elena until he claimed he had seen them together once at the beach. But, it must have been the bourbon, he was at the lowest and most vulnerable point Klaus had ever seen him. The Damon he knew and was buddies with was cocky, somewhat self-centered, annoyingly good at pool, and knew everything about cars. He was over-confident and never backed down from a challenge. Had this been any other girl Damon would've banged her and forgotten all about her already, but it wasn't... The great Damon Salvatore had met his match. Just as he had met his match in Caroline, the first girl not to fall to her knees at his advances.
"Then you know what you have to do..." He said before getting up and walking upstairs to go to bed.
Damon sighed and chugged the rest of his bourbon before tossing it into the fire angrily. Why Elena, why? Why do you have to be so goddamned perfect!
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"Umm Damon? You still there?" Elena asked worried as Damon's eyes had glazed over and his expression turned stone-cold. She waved her arms around trying to get his attention.
At that instant he snapped out of his memory and gave her a cocky smirk, "Sorry, Klaus went to horseback riding camp when he was in merry-old England, they're probably going to spend the entire time jumping hurdles and practising waving like the Queen." He said in a mock-accent.
Elena laughed, picturing Klaus and Caroline riding their pompous horses through the streets of London alongside the royal couple and the Queen.
"Do you think Klaus knows the Queen?" She asked playfully, shooting Damon a joking smile.
Damon smirked, "Funny, I asked him a similar question once... Except it was more like; 'Oh you're British? Did you have tea and crumpets with the Queen every morning when you lived in England?' and he replied. 'Oh you're American? Do you eat McDonald's every night with Obama?' "
Elena laughed loudly, "What did you say?"
"'Fair enough.' It was that moment I knew we were going to be good friends. That and one day I told him about Katherine and he said, 'Oh that whore? She used to be friends with my sister, bloody psychotic that woman... Thinks she can charm her way into anyone's pants.' "
She gave him a warm smile and let out a light giggle, when her phone rang.
I am in misery
And there ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah
Why won't you answer me?
The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah
"That's Vicky, I'd better get this. She's been having some boy troubles lately. Sorry." She gave him an apologetic glance before grabbing her phone.
Damon waved it off as if to say; "No problem," Misery; what an appropriate song for this moment... he smiled to himself.
"Hey Vickie, what's up?" Elena said sweetly.
Damon listened to the conversation partially and could pick up that 'Tyler,' her boyfriend, had been looking at other girls and she was afraid he was going to cheat on her. Eventually he had gotten bored of listening and began exploring the prop bins backstage. Elena had already told him everything about the production; the fact she was Juliet (a role she had been ecstatic to receive), Stefan was Romeo (unfortunately) and she found their love scenes difficult because she would lose herself in Stefan's nice act and end up falling for him all over again.
He distracted himself from that thought by grabbing a prop sword and pretending to fence with a phantom. He heard a muffled sound of laughter and looked up to see Elena's face illuminated with a grin, her lips pressed together to block the noise of laughter from carrying across to Vickie's ears, which failed miserably.
"No, I'm not laughing at you Vickie, I'm watching stand-up comedy, on TV..." she explained and began to pace the stage as Damon put down his sword and explored the set while eavesdropping again;
"I know Vickie, but you know what? You're going to have to trust him... Guys are always checking out hot girls and friendly people like Tyler are nice to everyone and that throws people off and they consider it to be flirting. He loves you Vickie, and if you truly love him and want to make that relationship work you have to be willing to set aside your pride and fix things... Yes I know he started the fight but just remember; it's natural for girls to feel threatened and get jealous, guys usually don't show that. That's why he got angry with you for blatantly flirting with those guys... No Vickie, you need to talk to him. No matter who is at fault someone needs to be the bigger person. Is this argument worth losing him over?" There was a long pause after this an Elena began shaking her head emphatically.
"Vickie, honey, no that's not what I'm asking. Is it more important to be right or to fix things with him?... Then there's your answer... Yes of course it's going to be hard, relationships always are but when you love someone, you have to take a risk and put your pride aside in order to go after what you want. Tell him why you did what you did, fix things with him and make him understand you... Yes, exactly if you love go after him... Hahahaha! Yes! That's the spirit! Go get 'em!"
Damon froze; Elena's message to her friend was hitting him in the gut... He loved her; Lord knew how much he loved her... He knew going for her would end badly because she could do sooo much better than a guy like him. But, did he love her enough to take that risk? He contemplated this as he continued overhearing Elena's comforting advice to her friend.
"Just walk up to him and say something like; "Tyler, I love you. And it's because I love you that I get jealous easily. I was an idiot trying to find out if you were cheating on me with your cousin. That's why I was flirting with those guys; I'm sorry I got jealous and wanted attention. Can you forgive me?'... Yeah, I honestly think the confession of love alone with get him to forgive you... Hahaha, yeah... Okay, I gotta go, important things to do... Okay,... Let me know how it goes!... Hahahaha, alright, and I'll always be here to listen to you, but you know that already... okay, bye!"
Elena turned her phone off and put it in her pocket. Damon noticed she was glowing with happiness and a rosy tint to her cheeks. He finally understood; she was so happy she could help Vickie and Tyler; proving what a kind-hearted person she was-to listen to her friend and give her advice. Elena's eyes lowered to the floor and she smiled, at that moment Damon realized he loved her enough to take the risk. Screw it, I'll ask her out, I'll do it.
"Elena?" he asked softly, he had begun getting nervous and shaky as soon as he had made the decision. He knew he wanted to do it somewhere that was special to them and decided to ask Elena if she wanted to head over to the beach, where he would do it.
Elena's head snapped up and her blush accumulated; the entire conversation she had with Vickie she had been thinking about Damon... If you love someone you have to be willing to put your pride aside for them... She thought to herself, realizing she should follow her own advice and tell Damon how she felt about him. But she backed down again, No, I-I can't... He doesn't like me more as a friend anyways...
"Yes? Sorry, about that..." she responded blushing. Noting Damon's new determined expression.
"Wanna head out to the beach? It is Friday after all and don't we usually hang out Fridays?" He said quickly but steadily.
Elena nodded, "Sure! I'd love too! Maybe you can actually teach me how to skip rocks this time?"
Damon shrugged did the eye thing she adored and she felt herself melt, Pull yourself together Gilbert! She thought to herself as she grabbed her bags and walked alongside Damon from the auditorium to the parking lot.
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A/N: Hey Guys! I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter, thank you all for the many reviews/views I have gotten on this story; it has really inspired me to work as hard as I can to update as soon as I could... As a thank you for your continued support I decided to make this chapter a bit longer than intended and split it up into two chapters... *spoiler alert* (He's going to ask her out in the next chapter, for sure) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I will be updating by tomorrow or Friday the absolute latest. Once again, thank you all so much for your support, keep up the amazing work! More reviews=faster updates.
-Love, Melody
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Songs Used: One Thing-One Direction
Misery-Maroon 5
