Author's Note: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Katherine is just wrecking everything!
Also, at the bottom of the chapter, I have an important question for you...
Elena stiffened considerably. She was growing increasingly uncomfortable as tensions and tempers rose in the room. To make things worse, she still had no idea what was going on. Leaving still seemed like the best option for her. She was about to make her exit by slinking out discreetly, but Damon stepped in front of her, effectively blocking any chance of leaving.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon snarled at the intruder. Katherine. Her name sounded like poison in Elena's mind.
"I think I should go…" Elena reiterated, hoping to make her point.
"Stay, Elena," Damon said, quietly but commandingly. "Go," Katherine said in an equally commanding, but oddly dangerous tone.
Noticing Elena's hesitation, she said, "Go on home, honey. Let the adults take care of things here." Her condescending tone was suffocating and Elena was about to retaliate when she noticed Damon glancing at her contemplatively, as if he was starting to agree with Katherine.
"Wow. Just…Damon, do you want me to stay or go?" she asked. "I mean, you obviously have some things to clear up with your girlfriend here." She had to know. She had stayed the night in his bed. That wasn't okay if he had a girlfriend. It was subtle, right? Bringing up the girlfriend thing while making a point?
Obviously not. "She's not my girlfriend…" Damon mumbled almost inaudibly and let it drop, turning and storming away to his room.
Katherine seemed to pick up on it immediately and smiled evilly. "Honey, I wouldn't believe anything he says right now, would you?"
What did she mean by that?
As if she had read Elena's mind, she continued, relishing the effect she was having on her. "Well, it's just that, you know, after everything Damon's been through…He probably hasn't told you much. See, the thing with Damon is he's had a few tough relationships with his family." She paused artfully, giving Elena time to answer without giving away too much information.
Taking the bait, Elena nodded. "He told me about his mother dying and his father favouring his brother. So?"
Katherine laughed and looked away. Elena didn't know what to think until she explained, "Elena, that's Damon's hook. I mean, girl to girl, we can both admit he's hot, right?" Elena nodded grudgingly, and Katherine also nodded in approval.
"Yeah. So he's the type who compensates for his crappy family by sleeping with every girl in sight. You just fell for his charm. I don't blame you, you wouldn't be the first. I'm sure you've seen details of his escapades all over the tabloids. Actually, I bet he told you that he knew you when you were younger or something."
Elena gasped and began to wonder exactly how well she knew Damon after all. Of course she felt like she could trust him soon after meeting him…But was that just his charm? The allure of the bad boy? She didn't like him like that, but was that what he was trying to do?
"I didn't sleep with him, though!" she said triumphantly after realizing that Katherine was lying. She had to be lying.
"Sweetie, I know. That's because you're that type of girl. A challenge," she said simply, as if it should be common sense. "He's just waiting you out. I'd run while it's still an option."
Elena stood still, processing the information she had just received. Her instinct had been… wrong?
"I'd better go talk to Damon now. See you later?" Katherine glided up Damon's stairs gracefully and Elena watched until her heels disappeared behind a wall.
What had just happened? She bolted out the front door and ran home. If anybody asked where she had been last night, Bonnie would cover for her. It didn't come to that, the house was empty. She trudged up the stairs to her bedroom, her feet suddenly feeling a lot heavier.
Oh God, she had been so stupid! She wasn't a risk taker! She was never a risk taker! Yep, Elena Gilbert liked to hide behind her walls where nobody could hurt her.
She barely even let Bonnie and Caroline in, sometimes. When the pain was too powerful. Why, then, had she gone with Damon to a bar? That should have been her first clue that he wasn't to be trusted. Caroline had fun, sure, but Elena wasn't the one crying on Bonnie's should every time a boyfriend broke up with her.
Her judgment of Katherine was not well formed. The brunette with curly locks and dark, soulless eyes didn't seem like she would make a good ally. If she was stuck in a dark alley with her, she wouldn't dare turn her back to her. But then, what reason would she have to lie? The more she thought about it, the more she found that fit Katherine's theory.
Her life had been so perfect until Damon monopolized her mind. After all, that was probably all it was. A carefully plotted scheme, perfected over years of womanizing. Yes, that was it. Elena had just been a pawn in his games.
She laughed when she finally figured out what Damon had been doing. Classic push and pull. He pulled her close by opening up to her, by relating to her and then pushed her away with mood swings and indecision until her natural curiosity got the better of her and she tried to get to know him better. It was like a really predictable movie, except this one wouldn't end with them living happily ever after.
More probably, it would end in a nasty fight which would lead to them not being able to look at each other at their school reunion. She know it was a bit presumptuous of her to decide that Katherine was right and she was just a challenge to Damon, especially when she knew she had no intention of doing anything of the sort with him.
Still, it was more the betrayal than anything else. A part of her still couldn't believe he would do such a horrible thing, especially after she had opened up to him, but the rational part of her shoved that thought into the dark crevices of her brain.
Suddenly, Elena felt claustrophobic. Was she having another anxiety attack? She hadn't had one since her parents had died! But the walls were closing in on her and she could hardly breathe. The door, she had to get to the door. No, there was no time for the door. The window! Forcing herself to take deep breaths like Caroline had taught her, Elena closed her eyes and stumbled over to the glass. She slid the glass pane open, and leaned a little too far forward, tumbling out of her room before she knew what was happening.
She tried to brace herself, successfully shielding her head with her hands, but failing to slow herself down. A searing pain shot through her side as she landed awkwardly on her right knee.
I'm going to be sick,she thought before slipping into the darkness.
A few hours later, she woke up in a white room. Was she in a hospital? Probably after that fall. She tried to sit upright, but cried out in pain when she moved her right elbow. Great, she had probably broken that too. Sure enough, she felt the same nagging pain in her right arm and leg and saw that her arm was already in a cast from the elbow down.
Guess she wouldn't be walking around anytime soon. But wait! What about the contest? What if she couldn't write her essays? She wouldn't be going to class either! And what would Mr Saltzman say? He would be so disappointed; he was always so encouraging…
Strangely enough, the image of Mr Saltzman popped into the room.
"Mr Saltzman? God, my head hurts…" Elena asked hesitantly, wondering if she was hallucinating.
"Elena, good, you're awake. The headache is a side effect. You're loaded on pain meds. Dr Fell told me you'd get up soon. As you may have guessed, you have broken your arm and your knee cap. But she says you're fine and she called your general physician for your files. Now I'm sorry I have to interrogate you, but the police want answers."
The police? What was happening?
"They think it was a suicide attempt," Alaric explained, then narrowed his eyes. "You weren't trying to kill yourself, were you? I mean, I know you've been put under so much pressure, but you wouldn't-"
"I was just feeling a little sick, and I was trying to get some fresh air. My family is genetically clumsy," she reassured him. "Aunt Jenna walked into a knife once. Where exactly am I and how did I get here? And where are Jenna and Jeremy?"
"Hey, hey, slow down, you might have another anxiety attack. Are they regular with you? Elena shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just trying to piece things together. I mean, it's not amnesia or anything, but I have no clue what happened between the fall and now."
"Alright, let's see. It's my day off, so I was out jogging near your house when I heard a scream. And I didn't know where it was coming from. But then I saw you fall and I brought you here. You're in Dr Fell's clinic, because it was closest but you'll be okay. I'd recommend not trying to move much. Jenna can't come, she's snowed in at the airport and Jeremy won't pick up his phone. The doctors asked me to stay here so you'd have a familiar face around when you woke up."
Elena nodded, not quite able to absorb all the information. Her head hurt a little. Alaric seemed to notice and kept silent until she asked, "What about the competition? Will I still be able to write it?"
"Yes, you will," he said and Elena's face relaxed in relief. "They're not sure about your knee, you hit that pretty hard and it might require surgery. They're waiting on the x-rays. But the cast on your arm will be off in 4 weeks."
Elena smiled weakly. At least there was still that. She was overloaded on emotions from the last 3 days and she was glad that some part of her identity still remained. Because being with Damon, even if it was only for a week…it had made her lose who she was.
She discovered that Alaric was still talking. "Actually, Elena, I'm surprised you still care about the competition. I mean, you've changed so much over the last few weeks. The other teachers think you're losing focus. And I've noticed you're spending more time with Damon. Don't. He's a bad influence, though he doesn't try to be. You see, Damon will always be able to do both. Party and work at the same time. You…you've been through too much, I think."
Elena's world was crumbling down. For every minute of her life, she had been the ideal daughter. She was well mannered, friendly, popular and intelligent. When her parent had died, she lost touch with everyone, found comfort in solitude. But she swore that she would make her parents proud, even if she didn't do much else. And now she couldn't even do that properly.
Mr Saltzman looked as if he knew he had pushed her too far and left the room, hoping things would be alright with the eldest Gilbert. She had been fragile, emotionally brittle long before the accident. It had just managed to amplify it to the breaking point.
Dr Meredith Fell walked in a few minutes later along with Dr Johnson, the family doctor. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Dr Johnson was basically part of the family himself. When Elena was younger, she had a very weak immune system, so the clinic was like her second home. He was an elderly bald man with a long white beard. Elena remembered calling him Santa Claus when she was younger. He was always warm and supportive, so she could confide in him.
"Hey, it's little Elena Gilbert!" he rushed forward to hug her, taking care to avoid her injured arm. "Wow, it's been a long time since I last saw you, hasn't it? Guess you've outgrown those terrible green overalls, huh?"
Elena laughed as she remembered. For her fifth birthday, her Aunt Matilda had bought her a gigantic, hideous pair of lime green overalls with blue polka dots all over them. Her parents thanked her and hid them in the closet, hoping never to see them again. Unfortunately, Elena was rather quirky at the age of 9, and took a liking to them. In fact, she had insisted on wearing them everywhere she went until she outgrew them. Physically and mentally.
"So, I heard Liz Forbes is telling her troop you tried to off yourself." Meredith shot him a look. "Sorry. But you'll be glad to know I told her off. Told her Elena Gilbert would never do anything of the sort and set them all straight. But that's not why I'm here."
"We have your lab results," Meredith smiled. "They're not bad for someone who fell from about 20 feet. You probably won't need surgery, we're going to put you in a leg brace and give you a prescription for some painkillers. You'll be able to go home next week."
"And it doesn't look like there'll be any long term issues."
"Thanks Dr Johnson, Dr Fell," Elena said. "Is there any way I can go home sooner though? Jenna's out of town and I don't want to leave Jeremy alone for a week."
"No can do kiddo," Dr Johnson frowned. "You can't go home unless someone can take care of you. What if you have another attack? But don't worry. Jenna's coming as soon as she can and I'll visit you every day until you get better." He looked at his watch. "Oh, I have an appointment to make. I'm sorry I have to go, but I'll see you soon, okay?" She nodded and watched the two doctors leave.
And now she was stuck alone in a hospital room, maybe for days. Her life was wonderful. Right.
Author's Note: Eh. Sorry about that. Now we all know that Katherine's poisoning Elena's mind, but how much of what she says is true? A little? A lot? None of it?
And silly Elena, in a world without healing vampire blood goes and falls out of a window. I don't know where that came from.
Okay, now the important question. Who do you want to initiate the first Delena kiss of this story? Should Elena kiss Damon or Damon kiss Elena? Of course, this probably won't happen for as long as Katherine's here. Which probably won't be long, because I'm getting tired of her.
Anyway, the next chapter might not be for a month, because I have some serious exams coming up, but hopefully I'll be back soon.
