Cannonball
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.
Just a little warning: this chapter is long, not sure if that's a good or bad thing for you guys? But my fingers just kept on typing and typing and I just didn't want to stop!
Hope you like it...
October 10th 2012.
Wednesday 12:20pm.
Mystic Falls.
So by the time lunch time rolled around I think it was safe to say that the entire school have heard about my break up with Matt. Unlike yesterday when I only had my friends and Matt's friends to deal with before I skipped off for the afternoon, today I have the whole school, and I just know that as soon as I leave the building, that will result in the whole town.
"Bitch." I hear some sophomore girl mutter under her breath as she walks past me in the hallway and I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something in reply. God, I don't even know that girl, and she certainly doesn't know anything!
Isn't it strange how quickly things change? These people were calling me a hero and singing my praises just 48 hours ago.
Suddenly I'm public enemy number one, all because I broke up with a boy who I wasn't happy with, wasn't myself with. I know that people thought we were perfect together, the cheerleader and the quarterback, but life isn't a fairy tale, and I can't be with someone who I'm not passionate about, not anymore.
I had an unfortunate run in with my now ex-boyfriend this morning before our first class of the day, which unluckily for me, just made me look like an even bigger bitch to everyone, so not exactly helping my status of popularity right now.
I was stood minding my own business by my locker, attempting to ignore the whispers and stares, this time all coming from negativity, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see a depressed looking Matt looking at me with a sad smile and his puppy dog eyes. He asked me to talk somewhere in private, but I told him that we didn't have anything to talk about, he pleaded, begged me to talk to him, to answer his questions.
But honestly, I couldn't.
How could I? A good period of our relationship was based on lies, he just didn't know it. I cheated on him for Christs sake, more than once too. I was wrong, I did wrong and Matt deserves better than me, I just wish he would see that and move on.
Of course it probably would help if he did actually know the truth, but that can never happen.
Looking back, I know I only started dating Matt because that's what all our friends wanted. We were close friends, and I was very much aware of the crush that Matt had on me, but when he told me that he loved me I was thrown off, and went running scared, but the second I told Bonnie and Caroline about it they both squealed with excitement, lots of words of how happy they were that Matt eventually told me and that now we can be together.
There was no question in them that maybe I didn't return the feelings.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't spend a year in a loveless relationship just to please my friends, I loved Matt, I still do, but I was never in love with him and that was the problem. No matter how happy we were once in our relationship, no matter how much I did find him attractive, there was never that spark, that chemistry.
There was always something missing.
I just wish that Matt was able to notice it too.
"Just ignore them." I turn my head surprised when I see Jeremy start walking beside me and I offer him a small smile.
"Easier said than done, you'd think I'd have killed someone the way some people are looking at me." I roll my eyes slightly at their dramatics and overreactions.
Jeremy however just lets out a small laugh. "All the girls hate you because they have a crush on Matt and all the boys hate you because they all want to be friends with Matt, so you're screwed either way really."
"Geez, that makes me feel so much better, thank you Jer."
"My point is, just ignore it all. They'll be over it soon when something else comes along." Jeremy offers.
"And in the mean time?"
"Wait it out." Jeremy says simply before offering me another smile and wondering away to join his friends.
I sigh and head towards the cafeteria, knowing that Matt has football practice over lunch on Wednesday's so I wont have to worry about running into him again in there, or any of his football friends, who have been making snarky digs and comments to me all morning.
It's just an hour.
That's all I have to get through before heading back to class and only being glared and judged at by 25 other people instead of what seems like hundreds.
The second I walk inside though I immediately feel all eyes on me, I take a deep breath and ignore it before heading towards the lunch line. I stand silently in the queue, before grabbing some fries and hotdog, healthy eating out of the window today.
I grip my tray and turn around, my eyes immediately scanning the large room to my usual table and I feel a rush of relief when I see Bonnie waving me over with a smile, at least not everyone hates me right now.
Unfortunately I spoke to soon.
I barely take a step forward before my tray crashes against me, my food landing all over me, the tomato ketchup that was on the hotdog staining the bottom of my white top.
I look up horrified and furious to see Vicki Donovan stood in front of me, an evil smirk on her face.
"Are you serious?!" I ask her astonished at what she has just done, and the chatter of the lunch hall immediately quietens down. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"With me?" she snarls back. "Bitch, I was just giving you just a snippet of what you deserved for breaking my brothers heart! Who the hell do you think you are dumping him? He is so much better than you anyway!"
I count to three in my head and go to push past her, knowing that I know better than to get into this in front of half the school, feeling humiliated enough as it is and just wanting to run the hell out of here right now.
"Don't walk away from me you slut!" Vicki grabs my arm and I can feel eyes burning into my body. "You like to do that, don't you? Walk away? You did it to Matty! You're such a cheap whore!"
I hear giggles echo across the hall and I will myself not to cry and to stay strong.
"Just leave me alone." I hiss at her almost desperately, trying to pull my arm out of her grasp but she just grips it tighter. "Let go of me!"
"Ok." she smirks before doing so. I send her a glare before walking away however I feel something hook underneath my foot and if what just happened wasn't humiliating enough, I go crashing to the floor. "Woops." Vicki crouches down beside me, a smirk on her lips after just tripping me up. "Sorry...actually, I'm not that sorry." her voice raises for everyone to hear and more giggles and sniggers cross the room. "You deserved that."
"Ok that's enough!" I recognize the voice of Caroline and I feel a pair of soft hands on my arm and I look up to see Bonnie who then helps me up. "You're the bitch, Vicki!"
I feel my eyes stinging with tears at the humiliation and I start to move quick on my feet out of here.
"Elena, wait!" I hear Bonnie call after me but I keep on going. However I freeze when I practically run into a firm body and I look up to see those familiar blue eyes piercing down on me.
Damon is stood still in front of me, a look on his face that I can't quite pinpoint. I don't take another moment though to dwell, partially because of the mass amounts of eyes on me right now, and I know that I don't need to give them another reason to talk about me.
I quickly walk around him and run out of there, straight to the girls toilets where I lock the door behind me and burst into tears.
When did my life get so fucked up?
I hate her.
Who the hell does Vicki Donovan think she is?
How dare she humiliate and bully Elena like that, especially in front of so many people.
She's a fucking washed up junkie, a waste of space who is going nowhere in life. She had the nerve to call Elena slut?! I know first hand how much of a whore she is.
I feel physically sick that I ever went there, even if it was just once and I was completely trashed on cocaine and cheap vodka.
I'm going to make sure that she pays for what she just did, I won't let her get away with it and she'll get what's coming to her.
I'll personally make sure of it.
"You ok mate?" Klaus frowns at me confused, breaking me out of my dark thoughts about Vicki Donovan and what just happened 5 minutes ago in the cafeteria, what she just did to Elena and how I couldn't do anything right there and then to stop it. "You seem a little pissed off."
"I'm fine." I wave him off.
"You sure?" he asks skeptically.
"Yeah man, just got Zach on my back that's all." I mutter with a half truth, because even though that's not bothering me right now, he is still bothering me about getting those files from Grayson Gilbert.
"Hey, now that Elena is single, maybe you should use that charm of yours to get in there? That would be one way to get those files from Gilbert, plus she is fit." he jokes while wiggling his eyebrows and I freeze and try not to show how tense I'm feeling.
"Yeah right." I scoff, my hands clenched under the table.
Klaus chuckles. "I was kidding, as if you'd ever go over to the dark side! She may be hot but she's also a Gilbert, that's like a major turn off."
"Exactly." I mutter and pray that he will move the conversation along to something else.
Thankfully he does, and he starts to whine about something that his sister Rebekah has done to piss him off lately and I feel my mind drift off again into my own thoughts.
From the moment I stepped into Mystic Falls High this morning Elena Gilbert has been the main topic of conversation, and it's all to do with her breakup with Matt Donovan.
Honestly, I can't say that I'm surprised that it ended, she clearly wasn't happy with him, or she would never have slept with me on numerous occasions. I could also see that she wasn't herself with him either and it was only a matter of time before she broke free him that relationship.
Besides, the guy is an idiot.
I don't know why she didn't tell me though, I mean, we spent the whole afternoon together yesterday and she didn't even say a word and part of me wants to know why.
Another part of me wants to know why I'm so bothered, my thoughts about Elena last night and how I treated her differently than any other girl was starting to get to me, because I don't even think we could even class ourselves as friends, could we?
Are we friends?
Is that what we're doing?
I have no idea, and it's starting to frustrate the hell out of me. Especially when I feel really angry and furious thoughts about some worthless whore who has wronged her, upset her.
Is that normal?
Do friends feel that way about people who hurt their friends?
I remember a few weeks ago when Klaus got into a fight at a party, I knocked out the guy who started it with just one punch, but I didn't feel this immediate rush of anger or the need to end the guy, to hurt him, I just wanted to have Klaus' back so I hit him.
It was that simple.
But the dark thoughts I just had about Vicki isn't as simple.
My phone beeps pulling me out of my thoughts and I look down to see a text from my Uncle Zach.
Need u to pick up
a package to drop
off at Rogan's Bar
today. I'll text u the
address in 10.
I shake my head in annoyance at the order, hating that I'm being used as his lackey for stupid little jobs these days and he expects me to do it on his terms, no matter what else I'm doing at the time.
However a sudden though crosses my mind and I immediately stand to my feet, not realizing how fast I jumped up but clearly it surprised Klaus.
"Whoa, where you goin?" Klaus looks up at me confused by my sudden movement.
"I gotta go, I've gotta go do a job for Zach." I mutter halfheartedly. "He's just text me now to tell me."
"Ok? Want me to come with?" Klaus asks and I immediately shake my head.
"No, no need. I'll see you later." I walk away before he can say anything else and I go straight outside and into the parking lot, I walk through it, trying to remember in my brain where Elena normally parks her car and I head off in a general direction to find it.
Eventually I do, and I'm relieved to see that it's still there and therefore she's still in school.
I pull out my phone and quickly type out a text message to her, hoping that she'll read it and actually listen to my instruction.
"Elena, Elena. Hey it's going to be ok." I hear Bonnie's voice from the other side of the toilet cubicle that I have currently locked myself inside of.
"Yeah Elena, ignore Vicki, she's probably on something." Caroline's voice perks up into the room.
"But she's right though." I get out between sniffles, already feeling embarrassed enough as it is without being stood in here crying.
In fact, Vicki's words stem more truth than even she realizes, I am a slut, I cheated on Matt for months with Damon and I barely felt an ounce of guilt for it.
What kind of person does that make me?
"You know that's not true." Bonnie tells me reassuringly. "Come on Elena, come out here so we can give you a hug. I think we need it just as much as you do right now."
"Yeah sweetie, you know we hate it when you're upset."
"I thought you guys would think I deserved it." I spit out unfairly. "You said yourself Caroline that you don't understand it, hell you tried to tell me that I had post traumatic stress!" I scoff.
"You did?" I hear Bonnie hiss quietly.
"Not now." Caroline mutters. "Look Elena, it doesn't matter what I think, ok? You're upset and you're my best friend, I just want to help you."
"She's right, we just want to help." Bonnie agrees and I know that I'm being tag-teamed.
I'm well aware of their tactics, hell I've even participated in them before.
"We can talk about what happened with Matt, ok? We can fix this."
God, she doesn't get it!
"I don't want it to be fixed, Caroline!" I stress in frustration and I actually go to open the cubicle door to shout at her that she still doesn't get it, that she doesn't understand but my phone vibrating in my pocket stops me and I pull it out and frown to see a text from Damon.
We're getting out of
this shithole. Take your
car and park it some
place no1 will see it
then text me where ur
at and I'll come get
you. No arguments.
See you soon. D.
I stare down at my phone in deep thought, Caroline and Bonnie's reassuring words and pleas to get me to come out fade into a dull background noise as I take in Damon's request.
Immediately I slide my phone back into my jeans pocket before slowly unlocking the cubicle door, I open it just in time to see the relieved faces of my best friends but it doesn't last long.
"I get that you're trying to make me feel better, I do, and I'm grateful for that, but you can't help me, ok? Not this time." I tell them bluntly, watching the surprised look that crosses both of their faces. "I'm gonna go."
"Elena," Bonnie looks at me worriedly. "Don't shut us out."
"I'm not, I just need some time away from here. I'll text you both later." I quickly leave before they can try and stop me and hurriedly walk out of the building, keeping my head down from all the stares, whispers and giggles through the hallway, news of my lunch hall humiliation probably spreading like wildfire.
I feel relief when the chilled October air hits my face and I walk quickly towards the parking lot. As I get closer to my car, I spot Damon stood still just a few cars away from my own and I immediately slow down, but there are people about, and I watch as he nods his head at me before turning on his heel and walking towards his own car across the lot.
Suddenly I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders and I can't help the tiniest of smiles cross my lips as I unlock my car door and slide inside before driving away.
I drive to a secluded spot by the woods knowing that not many people come down this way before parking my car off the main road onto an unused track, knowing that it should be safe and unseen here.
I text Damon to where I am at, hoping that he knows where I mean and I wait patiently for him to come, wondering if I have made the right decision in agreeing to this.
This is the second consecutive day that I've skipped the afternoon off school to spend with Damon Salvatore. I'm not sure what that means, hell, if it even means anything at all, but just like yesterday I wanted nothing more than to escape from my life, and just like yesterday, Damon was the one to provide me with my wishes without even knowing about them.
About 10 minutes later I hear the roar of a car engine and I lean up from my car and walk towards the main road to see Damon's Camaro pulling up. He rolls down the window and smirks.
"Jump in hotstuff." he winks and I roll my eyes with a laugh before sliding into the passenger seat. "I'm glad you had the sense to join me."
"Yeah well, school wasn't exactly appealing to me today." I sigh and I don't miss the way he tenses and his hands grip onto the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Damon?" I ask confused. "You ok?"
"Yep." he says and then turns his head and throws me a genuine smile and it suddenly makes me feel better. "Just a little pissed at what happened with that drugged up slut Vicki." he shakes his head in annoyance, the smile falling from his lips. "I wish I could have done something to stop it, Elena, really."
I blink surprised by his admission, honestly, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be by what he witnessed along with the majority of the school earlier, but the waves of anger that are coming from him on my behalf was not it.
"It's fine, Damon." I say reassuringly.
"It's not fine, Elena! That bitch had no right!"
"Yeah well...I kinda deserved it."
Damon turns to look at me in disbelief. "Don't fucking do that Elena, don't you dare!" he tells me angrily and I frown, a feeling of defensive take over me.
"Do what?!" I snap at him in annoyance.
"Feel bad for doing something that you wanted to do, just because it wasn't something that was expected of you or what everyone else wanted." he shakes his head and I freeze.
Nobody wanted me and Matt to break up, not my friends, not my Mom, not my classmates, hell the entire town are probably shocked and disappointed by the news.
Disappointed in me.
And yet, nobody seems to care about what I actually want, what I feel.
Maybe Damon's right.
"You know I'm right." Damon interrupts my thoughts and I frown at his timing. "And the sooner you admit it to yourself, the quicker these unnecessary feelings of guilt that you're feeling will disappear and you will learn to just be. You need to stop thinking about what everyone else thinks and what they want and concentrate on you and only you."
"Isn't that a little selfish though?" I ask warily.
"Hell yes!" he agrees with a smirk. "Be selfish, Elena! You deserve to be selfish more than anyone I know, so do it."
I can't help the smile that creeps up onto me. "Is that what you are, Damon? Selfish?"
He shrugs. "Most of the time. I do what I want, Elena. I take what I want, I get what I want and I don't look back, I don't do regrets, I live for me and why not? I'm young, right?"
"I guess..."
"No, no, no!" he scoffs. "Don't guess, Elena! Be! Make a decision and stick to it, don't question yourself, don't doubt yourself, don't worry about anything. Just be."
"And it's that simple?"
"Most of the time." He repeats his earlier statement and I look at him intrigued before another thought crosses my mind.
"Where are we going anyway?"
"I have to do something for my uncle and then we're going to be selfish." he tells me with a grin and I can't help but smile.
"What kind of something?"
"Just a little job." he waves me off.
"A little job? Why does this not sound legal?"
"Because it's probably not." he smirks at me before letting out a mock gasp of horror. "Oh no, are you going to report me? The detective's daughter doing right by the law, playing by the rules."
"Don't mock me, Damon." I roll my eyes.
"Oh come on, I'm kidding." he winks at me and I send him a glare. "Are you really bothered by whether what I'm doing is legal or not?"
I think about his question. All my life I've been brought up knowing the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, being taught to stick by the rules that were purposely made to try and make this world a better place.
But then I think of Damon, who was probably brought up the complete opposite way, being taught that the difference between good and bad probably doesn't matter that much, that it's ok to break to rules, that it's ok to do the wrong thing to get what you want.
And sitting here right now, next to a boy who always seems to know what he wants, always seems to live the way that he wants to live, no pressure, no expectations, no pretenses.
It appeals to me.
I want to live like that. Be like that.
"No, I'm not bothered." I answer with a smirk on my own. "Does that surprise you? Being the detective's daughter and all."
"Nope." he smirks with his quick answer just as he pulls up outside of a house just outside of town, and before I can question why he's not surprised by my answer, he gets out and opens the door for me, tugging on my wrist and pulling me to the front door, he doesn't even knock and instead walks straight inside pulling me in after him.
My senses are immediately overloaded with smoke and the distinct smell of toxins and what I think is pot and I do my best not to cringe at the immediate change of scent, but it soon passes and I feel a weird feeling in my stomach as Damon leads me further into the house.
Damon just smirks at me, pulling me closer, his hands landing on my hips making my entire body shudder as that feeling takes over my body before he leans down and murmurs into my ear.
"Welcome to the dark side Elena Gilbert."
Elena looks intrigued as I escort her through the familiar house that I've been to many many times before.
As soon as Zach text me the address of where he wanted his package picked up from, I knew I made the right decision in bringing Elena along with me.
I pass by two guys slouched on the couch, I recognize them from other times I've been here and know that they are harmless, but the way that they shamefully eye Elena up and down with their eyes, appreciative looks on their faces, I know it'll make her feel uncomfortable. I feel her tense slightly and I slide my hand from her wrist to her hand and link our fingers together before I even question it.
I turn my head slightly and notice the look of surprise on her face, but she grips my hand back tightly and I do my best to hide my grin as I push open another door and lead her into the kitchen and smirk when I see just who I was expecting to see leaning against the counter with a skinny blonde attached to his face.
"You know, you should lock your doors you never know who can just wonder in here."
The guy pulls away with his messy dark hair and looks at me with a smirk. "Damon! I was hoping it would be you I see today buddy!"
"Good to see you Will." I hold out my spare hand and shake his firmly for a moment. "Good to see things don't change." I motion to the blonde girl who is stood behind him, her skirt short and her tank top tight, showing off her assets perfectly.
I also don't miss the way she twirls her hair around her finger, biting on her bottom lip as she sends me a look I know too well.
"Same back at you bro." he eyes Elena and motions to our linked hands and I immediately tense up straight.
"No, no." I shake my head immediately. "She's different, alright? She's good." I tell him with a warning tone to my voice and motion back to her. "Elena, this is Will, Will meet Elena."
Will looks a little surprised before he holds out his hand and I'm surprised when Elena shakes his back, full of confidence, her nerves and uneasiness quickly disappearing.
"Nice to meet you sugar." he winks at her before lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, if this was anyone else, I know I would be extremely pissed off right now and would most likely react in a violent way but I know Will and I know that he's just playing and I'm relieved to see that Elena sees it too.
"You too." she smiles letting her hand fall back to her side.
"Aren't you a fine specimen of the human race." he compliments with a grin. "You're beautiful, Elena."
Elena looks surprised by the compliment and I see a small blush creeping to her cheeks. "Thank you." she replies almost shyly, a small smile playing on her lips.
The blonde girl that no longer has even a snippet of Will's attention walks out of the room with a scowl on her face, and I don't miss the way she seethes with jealousy as she passes Elena, a bitchy look on her face that Elena herself completely misses.
"You got what I need?" I ask Will getting back to the original point of us even being here.
"I do. But not yet, you two are sticking around for some fun first! You really think I'd let you into my humble abode without sharing a drink or five with me first?" he almost looks offended and I shrug and turn to face Elena.
It's up to her.
She however surprises me and turns to face me with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah Damon, don't be rude."
I let out chuckle and shrug. "Fine, but I'm driving so just a couple for me."
"Excuses, Salvatore." Will waves me off before walking towards his fridge and pulling out some beers, he passes one to Elena before tossing one at me, and I let go of Elena's hand to catch it.
"So Will, what is it that you do exactly?" Elena asks him curiously and I take a sip of my beer hoping that my buddy won't take her questions the wrong way.
"Tsk tsk, Elena." Will shakes his head, clicking his tongue. "I have one rule around here, no questions asked, surely Damon told you that one already?" he eyes me for a moment and I roll my eyes slightly and take another swig, my body standing as close to Elena's as possible without actually touching.
"He didn't." she replies simply. "But why that rule?"
"Why not?" he fires back with a smirk and Elena shrugs.
"Seems to me like you don't know exactly what it is that you do." she challenges him with a smirk of her own. "A little bit of this, and a little bit of that, right?" she raises her eyebrow and I do my best to cover my laugh.
"I'm into trading and transportation actually." Will answers taking a swig of his beer. "Among over things."
"Trading and transportation." Elena nods her head. "Sounds legit."
"Oh it is baby." Will winks before looking at me. "I like this one, Salvatore, keep her around."
I blink a few times before glancing at Elena who turns to look at me with raised eyebrows and a smug look on her face before looking back at Will.
"You say that like it's his decision." Elena cuts in and I let out a chuckle and shake my head, wondering where this girl has come from and hoping she never leaves.
"It usually is." Will states simply.
"Well not this time, she'll see to that." I join in with a smirk of my own and this time it's Elena who laughs and takes a chug of her beer afterwards.
"Damn right I will." she nudges me with her shoulder and I send her a mocking scowl and push her back.
We finish our beers and Will insists that we have another before eventually I put my foot down and insist that I get my package and go.
The last thing I need is Zach on my ass.
We follow Will into his bedroom and I don't miss the way Elena slips her hand back into mine as we walk through the house to get there, the number of people hanging about the place having increased since we arrived.
I watch as Will unzips a bag that he pulls from under his bed before pulling out a metal case. He hands it over before pulling out a key and tossing it to me, which I'm guessing is for the box.
"Where's that buddy of yours with the funny name? The British one?" Will asks curiously as he zips his bag back up and pushes it back under the bed with his foot.
"Klaus?"
"Yeah, he normally has your back in these things, right?"
I glance at Elena who's face pales slightly and I immediately realize what she's worried about. "He doesn't know I'm here." I answer and eye him seriously. "And he's not going too, right?" I need to make sure Elena knows that her being here won't jeopardize anything.
That nobody will know.
Will holds his hands up in defense. "Hey man, wasn't implying anything, was just curious is all. I don't know who you're selling this shit too, thought he might be around to have your back."
"Just keep your mouth shut, Will, and we'll have no problems." I tell him simply and go to leave but stop myself. "And if Zach asks, I came here alone, alright?"
Will frowns confused for a moment but nods his head. "Sure buddy, whatever you say, you know that. See you soon."
I nod at him before leaving, holding onto Elena's hand tightly as we go. The second we get outside she opens her mouth.
"You don't think he'll mention me being here to your uncle or to Klaus do you?" she asks anxiously, the worry and nerves evident in her voice.
"Nah." I shake my head. "He's cool. Besides, even if he did, he doesn't know who you are, not really, no one would ever make the connection." I tell her casually, trying to reassure her in the best way possible. "You're not the only Elena in the world you know." I tease her lightly.
She seems a little relieved but the worry is still there, I can see it. "But he won't say anything?"
"Nope." I tell her reassuringly as I open the car door for her and motion for her to get inside. "I trust him."
"Ok." She accepts it simply. "So, where too next?" she asks with a smile as I climb in the other side.
"Rogan's." I tell her with a smirk. "I think you know that place very well." I smirk and feel satisfied at the blush that crosses her cheeks at the reminder of where we first got together and the place we'd meet up sometimes to hook up. "Let's go!"
"So...what's in the box?" I ask Damon curiously as I motion to the metal case that he has placed in the dashboard.
"No idea." Damon answers with a shrug, keeping his eyes on the road.
"You don't know?" I ask surprised. "Don't you want to know?"
"Nah." he shakes his head. "At first I always took a sneaky look, now though I just let it be, most of the time anyway. Besides, sometimes it's worth not knowing." there is a distant look on his face I frown slightly intrigued to what he is thinking about but sensing that whatever it is, he doesn't want to share.
"So what's in this for you?" I ask curiously, still trying to understand how this whole thing works for Damon.
"For me?" He sounds surprised by my question.
"Yeah. I mean, whatever you're doing clearly isn't legal, so what's in it for you? Do you get paid?"
Damon frowns slightly. "Sometimes."
I blink surprised. "Sometimes?"
He shrugs. "It depends on how generous my Uncle Zach is feeling." he admits and I frown.
"So he doesn't pay you in any kind of way?" I ask in shock, especially when he just shrugs. "Don't you think that that's a bit unfair? I mean, if you get caught it's you who is going to be in trouble, you're doing all the dirty work yet you're getting nothing out of it?"
"It's not always like this." he tries to wave it off as nothing. "And as for the money thing, I'm living in a rent free apartment paid for by my family, I think that's payment enough. Besides, he's my family, so...when he does pay me it's nice, but when he doesn't what can I do?" he turns to face me briefly before placing his eyes back on the road. "I'm never going to say no to my family."
"That's loyal of you."
"Yeah well...I guess I'm a loyal kind of guy..." he trails with a small smile and I look at him in more admiration.
Not because of what he's doing, but because of why he's doing it. He could simply turn around and say no, get a normal job to keep his place, but he doesn't, he takes these risks without asking for anything back because it's his family who asked him too.
I guess in a weird way I can admire that, despite the less than legal ways, the meaning behind it is for the right reasons.
Eventually we reach the familiar parking lot of Rogan's bar and I watch with curious eyes as Damon leans over and opens the dashboard, picking up the locked box. He goes to get out of the car but then turns to face me, an amused smile on his lips.
"You know, if you want to take a peek all you need to do is ask?" he smirks at me, a smug look on his face and I scoff stubbornly.
"I don't care either way." I tell him simply, but I know different. Of course I'm curious to see what is inside there, who wouldn't be?
Damon chuckles and goes to open the door. "Ok fine, suit yourself." he presses the handle of the car door but I immediately reach my hand out and tug on his arm.
"No ok wait!"
The smug look on his face right now makes me wish that I hadn't bothered.
"Yes?" he questions me cockily.
I let out a loud sigh. "I want to see what's in the box, ok?"
Damon's smirk just grows and he hands it over to me before sliding the key out of his pocket and passing that to me too.
"Go right ahead then Gilbert."
I look at him warily for a moment before slowly putting the key in the lock and twisting it, a wave of excitement taking over me as I slowly lift open the lid.
I gasp when I look inside, to see a tonne of tiny crystal diamonds packed inside. There must be hundreds in there. I look back up at Damon with wide eyes and he just shrugs amused.
"Diamonds?" I ask in awe.
"Apparently so." he leans over to take a look and then back at me. "Was that what you expected?"
"No." I answer honestly, because I'm not quite sure what it was that I was expecting to be locked inside but it definitely wasn't this. "These must be worth thousands of dollars."
"I'm sure they are." he shrugs before looking out the window when we hear the sound of chatter and watch as people walk through the lot towards the entrance, he quickly but calmly closes the box before locking it again and shoves it into a backpack that he's pulled from the back seat. "Come on then."
I follow his lead and climb out of the car and we walk inside the bar where we spent a lot of time in over the summer. "Here." he hands me a couple of notes from his back pocket. "Go buy us a round, I'll get rid of this. It's best if they don't see you with me, just in case."
"Ok." I agree immediately and head to the bar. I take a seat on the stool and order two beers before turning my head and glancing around the fairly empty bar. I then notice Damon walk towards the other side to the corner where there are two shifty looking guys waiting for him.
I try and be discreet while I spy on them as they make their exchange, or shall I say, Damon gives them the box and he doesn't seem to get anything in return. They talk for a few moments and I sit anxiously with baited breath, a nervous feeling in my stomach but it quickly changes to relief when the two guys go to walk away.
I quickly turn my head, hiding behind my hair and just a few moments later I feel a hand wrap around my waist.
"All done." Damon smirks into my ear and I turn my head to face him intrigued.
"That it?"
"Yep."
"You don't get money to take or anything like that?" I ask confused.
"All sorted with Zach earlier." He explains before picking up the beer and taking a seat on the stool beside me, his hand leaving my side.
"So...how does it all work?" I ask curiously.
"What?" he asks even though I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm talking about.
"This. I mean...what does your Uncle Zach have to do with those diamonds? I mean...where did Will get them from?"
Damon takes a chug from his beer. "Well it's pretty simple really, Zach has all the connections, he knows people. Someone obviously robbed them from somewhere, they would have then gotten in touch with Zach, either straight out or through a middle man, Zach would buy the diamonds from whoever, and then Will goes and picks them up, Zach will then sell the diamonds to someone else for a higher price, ergo making a profit, I then go and pick them up from Will, to take to the buyer."
"Sounds confusing." I laugh a little. "Wouldn't it be easier to just cut out the middle man?"
"Probably." Damon asks with a shrug. "But it's the middle man who makes the money. They are the ones with the connections, they buy a product, then sell it for a higher price, therefore potentially making the biggest profit out of the three with less of the risk of being caught by stealing them himself. If you ask me, that's the best place to be."
"I didn't think about it like that." I muse intrigued by how all this works.
I wonder how much my Dad knows of all this going on?
Not that I'd be the one to tell him.
"So...were you ever going to tell me?" Damon asks with a hint of seriousness to his tone and I turn to face him confused by not only the question but to the sudden change of dynamic.
"Tell you what?" I ask with a frown, but for some reason his question is making me feel nervous.
"About the breakup."
"Oh." My eyes widen slightly, because honestly, I haven't thought about Matt once since after we drove out of Mystic Falls.
"I mean...we spent the whole afternoon together yesterday and you never once mentioned it..." he trails before taking another swig of beer, almost like he's the nervous one.
I sit still for a moment as I think about it, trying to find the best honest answer to give him. "Would you believe me if I told you that I'd simply just forgot?"
He turns to look at me with his eyebrows pressed together. "You forgot?"
"Yesterday, when we were together...Matt never even crossed my mind. I didn't think about him or our breakup once, and I guess that's why I never mentioned it." I admit, suddenly feeling very self-conscious by my admission, especially from the strange look on Damon's face right now.
"Hmm." he muses, his eyes looking intently at mine and I almost blush under his intense stare. "That's interesting." he notes.
I'm desperate to ask him why he thinks that, I really want to know, but before I can open my mouth something inside me stops me and I realize that I'm actually too scared to find out the answer.
I have another beer, Damon insisting that I enjoy myself tonight while he changes onto the soft drinks, not wanting to take the risk with driving tonight.
"Normally I'd say fuck it, but I'm not doing that with you in the car." he tells me casually and I blink in wonder at his words.
It's the little things.
We end up ordering food before moving on to play some pool, Damon beats me pretty much at every game except for one, something which he like to brag a lot about, before we then moved on to play darts, which I was surprisingly a little better at, much to his annoyance.
He still won though.
I didn't even know what the time was, but when I heard the sound of a small bell ringing and the calling of "Last orders" being shouted from the barman I turn to look at Damon horrified.
I pick my phone out of my pocket for the first time since I was in his company and look down at the time to see that it is 1:45am.
Oh god.
My parents are going to kill me.
My thoughts have been confirmed by the gazillion missed calls and text messages and I look at Damon with wide eyes.
"I'm in trouble."
He takes my phone from my hands before letting out a small laugh. "Oh dear. Come on then, let's get you back to the real world Cinderella." He takes a hold of my hand and I note the way our fingers loop together for the fourth time today.
I also can't help but note the way that my hand fits perfectly in his bigger strong one and I bite on my bottom lip as butterflies erupt in my stomach as we walk outside and towards his car.
The drive back to Mystic Falls is quiet, but it's comfortable and when Damon pulls up at the spot where I left my car at earlier today I can't help but feel disappointed.
"Thanks again for today." I say with a genuine smile, somehow getting that feeling of déjà vu.
"No problem. I hope you had fun."
"I did, thank you." And I mean it. I did have fun. "I'm probably going to be grounded for life though."
He chuckles. "They'll be ok. And if not? So what, you're Elena Gilbert, you do what you want when you want." he smiles softly at me, his voice full of confidence and I nod my head with a smile at his words, taking a deep breath and I almost jump in fright when I feel his lips press against my cheek, the complete opposite to when I kissed him there the night before and my entire body feels like it's on fire.
His lips feel so soft against my skin, my breaths quickening and my spine tingles as he lingers for a moment before eventually pulling back.
"Goodnight Elena." he smiles at me, his voice low.
I gulp slightly under his gaze before I slide out of the car and into the cold night air.
"Goodnight Damon."
Enjoy? I hope so! I enjoyed writing this chapter, hence why it's so long ha!
Drop a review, let me know what you thought! Things are going to take off from here on out!
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Until next time :)