Chapter 12
Damon laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been three weeks since that morning. Since she'd rejected him. Since he'd sworn to stop humiliating himself and give her up.
However, apparently, that had been easier said than done. It had taken no more than one pathetic hour before he'd started missing her.
One.
Nevertheless, his stubbornness had persevered. He hadn't spoken to her in three weeks. Not one single word. He'd barely been in the same room with her. And whenever they crossed paths in the house, he avoided eye contact and went on his merry way. Well, on his way. There was nothing merry about it. Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. Pretending like Elena didn't exist, ignoring her presence, killed him, destroyed his soul.
But he refused to give in. After all, he was Damon Fucking Salvatore! And he was tired of being humiliated, over and over again! He still had some pride left and he'd made a silent vow in that kitchen to cling to that last shred of dignity.
Still, during quiet moments like this, his mind always went back to her...and his heart tended to follow, whether he liked it or not. Which is why he tried avoiding those moments.
And that's where she came in.
Frowning, he glanced at the blond beside him. Caroline Forbes had arrived at the safe house two days in his Elena-rehab and he'd felt himself losing the fight. He'd needed a distraction and there was really only one thing that could distract a man like Damon.
A woman.
He didn't care that Caroline got on his nerves−everyone's nerves actually− or that she was way too clingy for his taste. All he cared about was that she got his mind off Elena, even if it was just for a few short moments.
"Penny for your thoughts."
Damon didn't smile. He never smiled anymore.
"Come on," Caroline sang, her manicured nails running over his chest. "We never talk."
"That's because you and I have nothing to talk about."
She bit her lip, draping herself over him. "You might find we have more in common than being good in bed."
Damon sniffed, shrugging the naked blond of his chest. "I doubt that."
Caroline sighed, watching him put his pants back on. "It won't kill you to open up a little."
"Actually, I tried that once and it did. It still does. So, if you're looking for anything more than a good fuck, you can fuck off."
He could hear her mumble something as he stepped out on the balcony and closed the thick drapes behind him, but he didn't care. He didn't care whether or not she would still be there if he went back inside. He didn't care if her feelings were hurt. He didn't care, period. And that was a good thing, because if he had still cared, the scene in the garden below would've thoroughly pissed him off.
Stefan and Elena.
Stefan's hands cradling Elena's face.
The both of them staring into each other's eyes.
Damon felt his hands tighten around the rail, felt the iron dent underneath his fingers. He wasn't surprised his brother had fallen under Elena's spell. He knew how powerful the attraction could be, but the fact that Elena was allowing his brother to touch her the way he was…unsettled him. More than it should actually, considering the fact he'd sworn to stop caring about this mortal girl.
"Talk to me, Elena," Stefan whispered.
"About what?" she said, her voice soft. Too soft for Damon's taste.
"You know about what."
Damon frowned, his gut knotting together ominously.
"Drop it, Stefan," Elena said, something strange in her eyes. Was that fear? Maybe. But it wasn't just fear. There were about a million things going on in those brown depths and Damon couldn't analyze everything before the mixture disappeared again and something else replaced it. Something determined. Something cold.
"Elena," Stefan continued. "Please, you need to talk−"
And then, Damon's heart shattered, more than it already had. The last final remains that had still been intact, splintered into a thousand pieces inside his chest…the second Elena's lips touched Stefan's.
Elena was kissing Stefan.
Elena was kissing him.
Not the other way around.
The girl he loved was kissing his brother. The girl who'd said she couldn't love anyone, was kissing his brother. So, apparently, it's not that she couldn't love anyone. She just couldn't love him.
She'd played him for a fool.
He'd let her play him.
He'd let her change him into this ridiculous version of the vampire he used to be.
Good. Caring. Weak.
And then it hit him.
The awful truth.
She'd tried to change him…into Stefan. But with the actual Stefan here, she'd clearly decided to stop wasting her time on him and move on to the Salvatore she really wanted.
And just like that, standing on that balcony, Damon gave up.
Never had it been so easy to flip his switch.
"Cherokee War?"
"1759."
"War Of Spanish Succession?"
"1702."
"Creek War?"
"1813."
"You really are a history teacher, aren't you?"
A laugh he hadn't heard in five years travelled from the living room to where Damon was lying in the garden, staring up at the moon.
Alaric Saltzman. The only human he'd ever befriended. Not including her, that is. A few hours ago, Damon would've walked in there and greeted his long lost friend, but now, nothing inside of him spurred him on to do so. No joy. No excitement. Not a trace of friendship or love. He was empty…and he liked it. He'd forgotten how good it felt to simply not care. About anything or anyone.
"I used to be a teacher," he heard Alaric correct her. "Now, I'm a bona fide vampire tracker."
"You're a what?" There was a trace of exhaustion in her voice that Damon tried not to notice.
"A vampire tracker. I track down vampires."
"To kill them?"
Alaric sniffed. "No, I'm not Buffy."
"Buffy?"
"The Vampire Slayer?"
"I know who Buffy is, I'm just surprised you went for that analogy when Van Helsing was right there."
Alaric laughed again, but not Damon. Damon didn't even smile.
"I find Klaus' targets and get them to a Safe House."
"Sounds dangerous."
"It is."
"So, why would a human put himself out there like that?"
"I'm a lot tougher than I look."
Damon knew that to be true. Not only was Alaric an amazing fighter, he also had this nifty ring that made it pretty impossible to kill the man. Well, he was easy to kill. He just came back every time.
"I learned a while ago that vampires aren't all pure evil," Alaric explained. "So, I get kind off annoyed when someone tries to kill off a bunch of them. Plus, since history has proven that dictators never get enough of power, I'm pretty sure that if Klaus manages to take over the supernatural world, he'll move on to the human one and humans are defenseless against an Original. They'll be sitting ducks."
"So, you fight."
"Yeah, I fight."
"Huh," Elena sang. "That's actually…impressive. Stupid, but impressive."
"Stupid, but impressive," Alaric snickered. "That's what I was going for."
"Mission accomplished."
He could hear in Elena's voice that she was smiling.
"What about you, though?" Alaric asked then. "What's your role in this whole operation?"
"My role?" Elena said. "I don't have a role. I'm just like everyone else here."
"I doubt that."
"Why?"
"Well, for one, you're human."
"That I am."
"And secondly, there's something different about you."
"Is that a nice way of saying I'm weird?"
"It's a PG-way of saying you're hot."
"Hot?" she snickered.
"And mysterious. And brave."
"How do you know I'm brave? You just met me."
"Yeah, I just met you, in a house packed with vampires and yet, you don't seem afraid."
"I have experience with vampires."
"And then off course there's the fact that people only come here to hide from Klaus," Alaric continued. "And Klaus is only after individuals who cross him. Now, for a human to cross Klaus, said human must be brave."
"Or stupid?"
"No," Alaric said, his voice now serious. "Definitely brave."
She started to say something, but then Damon could hear a door open and a lot more voices entered the room, drowning hers out.
"Hey bro."
Damon sighed when Stefan suddenly towered over him.
"Stefan," Damon said, his voice void of any emotion.
"What are you doing?"
"Minding my own business. You should try it sometimes."
He laid down beside him.
"Now would be a great time to start, brother," he sighed.
"Probably."
There was a moment of silence as they both looked up at the sky. Damon knew he should be furious at the man beside him after the kiss, but that nifty little switch kept his mood nice and steady. He felt great without jealousy or love meddling in with his life. Seeing everything black and white was so…liberating.
"Did you hear Alaric's back?" Stefan asked.
"Yup."
"He's getting along with Elena pretty well."
Damon's lips pulled up in a cold grin. "Jealous?"
He could feel Stefan's eyes bore into him, but Damon didn't return his gaze. He kept his eyes glued to the moon.
"Why would you say that?"
Damon shrugged, saying in a casual voice, "I saw the two of you kissing."
"You did?" Stefan asked, a trace of panic in his voice.
"Don't worry, brother. I really don't care who Elena screws."
"Hold up, we're not screwing! And I have no idea why she even kissed me!"
"It didn't seem like you minded."
"Well, she is an attractive girl, but−"
"Exactly, so enjoy her while it lasts, because that woman is unpredictable and crueler than I'd pegged her to be."
"I don't want to enjoy her! I don't want to be with her!"
"That's not what it looked like while you were cradling her face."
Stefan got up, sniffing. "I'm not having this fight with you!"
"Who's fighting?" Damon said calmly, getting up, too. "You can have her, brother."
"Again, I don't want her! And she doesn't want me!"
"Then why did she kiss you?"
"I don't know!"
"Okay," Damon sighed. "Whatever you say, brother."
He wanted to walk away, but Stefan cut off his path, his eyes blazing fire.
"Look," Stefan snarled. "I don't know what's going on with you, but if you think that girl in there wants anything to do with me or Alaric, you're out of your goddamned mind! There's only one person in this house she cares for and if you don't know that, you truly are the biggest idiot I've ever met!"
Damon frowned, opening his mouth to say something, but Stefan cut him off, snarling, "And if you're done, doing whatever it is you're doing here, you might want to try talking to the girl you've been avoiding!"
"I have nothing to say to her."
"I know this is a hard concept for you to grasp, but it's not always about you!"
Damon growled, purposely bumping into Stefan−hard−as he passed him. He'd almost made it to the door when Stefan yelled something that made him stop dead in his tracks.
"There's something wrong with her, Damon!"
He didn't turn around, but he didn't walk away, either. He should've, though. He knew that. But instead of listening to his gut, he snapped, "What do you mean?"
"She's been acting strange."
"Strange how?"
"Just…strange. She's been talking to herself−"
"A lot of people do that."
"Not like this," Stefan said, his voice grave. "And she's been distancing herself from everybody."
"She's in there now, with Alaric. And she seems to be enjoying his company."
"She's a great actress."
"Oh, don't I know it."
"Come on, Damon! Get over you wounded pride and listen to me! Or better yet, watch her! You know her better than anyone in this house and I'll bet you anything that if you watch her for just a little while, you'll see what I mean when I say she's not okay."
"You're overlooking one thing."
"What's that?"
Damon turned, facing his brother with his arms crossed over his chest. "For me to do that, I'd have to care. And I don't."
Stefan ground his teeth in frustration. "Just come down tonight. See for yourself. You don't have to talk to her."
"I have better things to do."
"Like what?"
"Like a blond, willing bombshell."
"Caroline means nothing to you."
"Neither does Elena."
"And yet something tells me you'll be there tonight."
"That would be stupidity talking."
Stefan's lips pulled up a little. "Even though you don't think so, I actually know you, Damon. And despite the fact that you're the most despicable person I've ever met, I know you'll do the right thing."
"Me?"
"By her? Yes. You'll do right by her."
Damon ginned viciously. "Maybe that was true in the past, but not anymore. You took that from me."
"I didn't take anything from you."
"Don't worry. I'm not angry. I'm grateful."
"Grateful?"
"Very. See, for a while there, I forgot."
"Forgot what?"
"Who I am. Who I really am."
Stefan frowned, taking a step back as his gaze raked over Damon. "Oh, brother, you didn't. Not again."
Damon just smiled. Or his lips formed something that was supposed to pass for a smile anyway.
"Brother," Stefan said, his voice softer. "Flipping the switch is never the answer."
Damon laughed, but the sound wasn't warm or happy. It was a cold, mean laugh that cut through bone and marrow.
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous it is that you, Ripper, are preaching about flipping the switch. How many people did you kill again? I know you keep track."
Stefan swallowed hard. "There's nothing I'm more ashamed off, nothing I regret more than my Ripper-days."
"Because you made a mistake."
"Yes. Many."
Damon 'laughed' again. "No, I'm not talking about your victims. Those weren't mistakes. That was your nature. I'm talking about the mistake you made afterwards. I'm talking about your idiot decision to turn your humanity back on. To flip the switch again."
"That wasn't a mistake."
"No?" Damon sang. "Look me in the eye and tell me that your life wouldn't be easier without your conscious. Without guilt. Without remorse."
Stefan's eyes blazed, but he didn't deny it fast enough. Instead, he said after a while, his voice riddled with suppressed anger, "Off course being a vampire is easier without a moral compass, Damon. So is being a human for that matter. But the good things, the things that matter, they're worth feeling."
"Are they, Oprah?"
"Tell me loving Elena wasn't the focal point of your otherwise miserable existence."
"It wasn't," Damon snarled. "I've had many focal points."
"Name one."
Damon wanted to start his list, but for some reason, as he racked his brain for good memories, there were only a handful.
And they all included her.
How was that possible? Over a hundred and seventy years of experiences and he couldn't come up with one good memory that didn't include that annoying brunette?
"Yeah," Stefan sang when Damon's silence took too long. "That's what I thought. See you tonight."
"You won't," Damon barked, as Stefan walked away. "I'm not coming down."
"He thinks he knows me! That stupid bastard hasn't spent more than five minutes with me over the past decade and he actually thinks he knows me!"
Caroline sighed, leaning back against the headboard while Damon continued pacing back and forth. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of that gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach, a gnawing feeling that wasn't supposed to be there. No feeling was supposed to be there, actually. Not one. And yet, here he was, pacing, like some idiot stereotype.
"Are you coming to bed at some point or−"
"He's betting on me doing the right thing! Me!"
"So, that's a no?"
"I mean, why the fuck should I spend any more of my time on that conniving, lying trollop?"
"Why should I?"
Damon frowned. "What?"
"Look, Damon, either you come to bed or I'm leaving. Seriously, you've been talking about that bitch for over two hours now. Enough."
"It hasn't been−" he checked his watch, only to realize Caroline was right.
"You're sure spending a lot of time ranting about someone you don't want to be spending any more time on."
"Don't try to be clever, Caroline," Damon snarled. "Intelligence is not in the cards for you I'm afraid."
"Okay, you know what," she snarled, getting up. "Screw you asshole!"
The door slammed behind the blond, but Damon didn't even flinch. He just headed for the crystal bottle on his dresser and put it to his lips. It took him ten minutes to finish the scotch and another two to make his way downstairs.
"Don't look at me like that, Stefan," Damon snarled when he entered the living room. "I'm only here because of this." He shook the empty bottle meaningfully.
Stefan just smiled in a way Damon didn't like, at all. He was mocking him. He actually thought he was there for Elena. Which he wasn't.
Aren't you?
"I'm just out of booze," Damon hissed, not sure who he was trying to convince. Stefan…or himself?
Ignoring the glimmer of enjoyment in his brother's eyes, Damon pushed his way through the sea of vampires and headed for the table in the corner by the glass, sliding door. Quickly, he ran an expert eye over the array of crystal bottles, picked the one with the most expensive content and was about to head back upstairs…when he saw her.
Sitting on a bench in the garden.
Alone.
In the dark.
Staring into space.
"I told you."
Damon glared at his brother's reflection, but he didn't turn. He didn't turn away from her.
"What is she doing?" Damon asked, even though there was a little voice in his head screaming at him to keep his mouth shut and walk away.
"Nothing," Stefan answered. "That's just it. She doesn't do anything. She isolates herself when she thinks no one is looking and then just…shuts down."
Damon felt something inside him stir. "How long has she been doing this?"
"A little over two weeks. What do you think is wrong?"
Damon shrugged, trying to act nonchalant even though his stomach was clutching. "She's just a private person."
"It's more than that. Listen to her heart. It's beating like crazy."
He was right. Damon had noticed her heart rate immediately. It was way too high for someone who was simply sitting down.
"We need to figure out what's wrong with her."
"Wrong with who?" Alaric had a smile from ear to ear as he slapped Damon on the shoulder. "Long time no see, Salvatore."
"Hello, Ric."
Alaric laughed, his eyes overflowing with enjoyment. "No one has called me that in five years."
"Yes, well, I know how much you hate it."
He laughed again and Damon could feel his lips trying to resist smiling along.
"Nice to see you too, pal," Alaric snickered. "So, who are we talking about here? Did you get someone into trouble again?"
"No one of importance."
Stefan sniffed.
"What?" Alaric smiled. "What am I missing?"
"Nothing," Damon hissed.
"Right, it's Damon who's missing something."
"Brother, I'm warning you−"
"How long has it been since you last spoke to her?"
"Stefan, I mean it−"
"A month?"
"Three weeks," he blurted out without thinking. Much to Stefan's and Alaric's amusement.
"Who is she?" Alaric asked.
"No one," Damon said at the same time Stefan sang, "Elena."
"Elena?" Alaric said, surprised. "The Gilbert-girl?"
"One and the same."
"I'm impressed."
"And I'm bored," Damon snarled, shoving past Stefan and Alaric. "Goodnight."
"Damon, she needs help," Stefan barked, following him through the crowd.
"Help is your department, brother. Not mine."
"Okay, you're right!"
That made Damon halt. "What did you say?"
"I said, you're right."
Damon's lips twitched. "Once more."
"Not happening."
"Fine, I'll bite," Damon sighed. "What am I right about?"
"Me. Help is my department. But I can't help her. She won't let me."
"She's stubborn," Damon rumbled, feeling something stir inside. He shouldn't be talking about her. He should walk away...and yet, he heard himself go on, saying, "She has serious trust issues on top of that. She won't let you in."
"I realize that. So, even though it kills me to say this, I need you."
Damon's lips twitched again. "Once more."
"I'm serious, Damon. I need you to find out what's wrong with her so I can do what I do. So I can help."
Damon sighed, annoyed. "I told you, I don't care−"
"Fine, I believe you. I believe that you don't have any feeling whatsoever for that girl out there."
"Really?"
"No, not really. I think she's the love of your life and you'd die for her, even now," Stefan said, earning a glare from his brother. "But I'll keep that to myself. No one will ever know that the great Damon Salvatore has a weakness."
"She's not my weak−"
"Not to mention I'll stop teasing you about her," Stefan broke off Damon's protest. "I won't even mention her name around you again. That is, if you do this for me. If you don't, get ready for an eternity of me, trying to make you flip that switch again by constantly reminding you off the one woman who made you feel, the one woman who made you love. And I'll never stop, now, seeing as we're going to live forever, you should take that never very literally."
Damon's nostrils flared as his mind went over his options. Sure, he could laugh in his brother's face and go, but he believed Stefan when he said he'd never stop harassing him about Elena. And he didn't want to spend eternity hearing her name, thinking about her. So, in the end, he decided to say,
"Fine, I'll go."
Stefan smiled smugly.
"But it's just so you'd back the fuck off. It's not about her."
"Oh, off course not."
Damon growled at the mocking tone in his brother's voice, snapping, "Okay, you know what, forget it.
He was about to turn and walk away when Stefan grabbed his arm, hurrying, "Sorry, sorry. That was the last time, I swear. I won't mock you again. I won't mention her again. Please."
"Never?"
"Cross my heart and−"
"−hope you die." Damon hissed, shrugging off Stefan's touch. "Fine. Stay here."
And with that, Damon disappeared through the sliding doors, vanishing into the darkness of the garden.
She wasn't sitting on the bench anymore, but it didn't take him long to locate her. All he had to do was follow her voice. He could tell she was trying to whisper, but there wasn't really a whisper silent enough to evade vampire hearing.
"−actually believe that? Haven't you learned by now?" she hissed, her voice infused with a cold he'd never heard in Elena's voice before. In fact, if the soft breeze that rustled the leaves hadn't brought her signature smell with it, he would've doubted he was listening in on Elena.
"You're out of your mind," she continued.
And then, he heard her laugh. But it wasn't her typical, warm Elena-laugh. It was a weird, maniacal laugh that made Damon pick up his pace towards her.
"You got me there," she snickered.
"Who got you where?"
Elena jumped at his voice, her hand over her heart. A heart that was now beating way out of control. But her heartbeat wasn't even the most disturbing part. No, the most disturbing part was that Elena was alone.
"Damon?" she said, her voice normal again. "What are you−"
"Who were you talking to?" Damon cut her off, scanning the area. He couldn't see anyone. And if there had been someone there, Damon would've seen.
Elena didn't answer him. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and snapped, "What are you doing here, Damon?"
"Who were you talking to, Elena?"
"None of your business, Damon."
"I beg to differ, Elena."
She just glared at him, her fingers tapping on her arms.
"Still stubborn, I see."
"Still an asshole, I see."
For some reason, that comeback took him by surprise. He hadn't expected hostility from her.
Annoyance, yes.
Sarcasm, sure.
But not hostility. Although, he now realized he should've. He hadn't talked to this girl in three weeks and that wasn't something Elena was bound to take lightly.
However, he wasn't going to apologize, obviously. Apologizing would mean he cared about her feelings and he didn't. He was only there to appease Stefan. That's all.
"Stefan told me you've been talking to yourself."
"Stefan should keep his mouth shut."
"You seem to like his mouth open."
He shouldn't have sounded so jealous. And Elena probably shouldn't have looked so guilty. After all, he didn't love her. And she certainly didn't love him. They'd established that a while ago.
"If Stefan has something to ask me, he should do so himself."
"I agree and yet, here I am."
"That you are. Why?"
"To find out what's wrong with you?"
"Wrong with me?" she hissed.
"Nothing would please me more than proving it's all in my brother's head, but you, standing in the dark, alone, talking to no one, begs me to believe that maybe, just maybe, he's right. Something is wrong with you."
She huffed. "Wauw, not one word in three weeks and then you come out here and insult me. This is just great," she shook her head, adding on a whisper, "Just as I'd imagined it."
"You've imagined it?"
Her face fell for a split second as Damon ordered his heart to slow down. It wasn't supposed to react like that to her involuntary confession.
"My point is that you can fuck off, Damon. I have nothing to say to you."
She walked away, but when she passed him, Damon growled with way too much emotion in his voice, "If there was something wrong, you would tell me, right?"
The confusion on Elena's face matched his own.
"What?" she asked, her voice soft, too.
"I know we don't talk. And it's been that way for a while. But there was a time−"
"Shut up."
Damon sniffed. "I'm just saying that if there was something seriously wrong, you would tell me, wouldn't you?"
Her eyes hardened, piercing his intently. "No, I wouldn't."
"Elena−"
"Why the hell would I tell you, Damon?" she gnarled, that ice back in her voice. "We may have been friends in the past for reasons I have trouble remembering, but not anymore. You mean nothing to me, do you understand that? Nothing. At this point, I don't care what happens to you and, let's be honest, if your brother wasn't a nosy ass, you wouldn't even be here. You don't care, either. You're just another vampire. Another monster."
Damon swallowed hard, his lips curling up in a vicious smile. Good thing he'd flipped that switch, because if he could still feel, that would've cut him to his very soul. "I remember you saying I'm not a monster."
"I said a lot of things I didn't mean back then," she hissed. "You're as evil as they get and I tend to keep my distance from evil, soulless creatures."
"You're right," he boomed, feeling his fangs push against his gums. "I am evil. I am a monster. And I couldn't care less whether or not you're alright. But for some reason, my brother does care, so do yourself a favor and try to act like a normal human being around him. Otherwise, he'll never stop digging and if he digs too deep, he might find out what an evil bitch you are and unlike you and me, he actually still has a heart. I'd hate to see it get broken. He gets even more annoying than usual when heartbroken."
"I'll see what I can do," she hissed. "Goodnight, Salvatore."
"Yeah," Damon mumbled, watching her as she walked back to the house. "Goodbye, Gilbert."
"That was−" Caroline trailed off, giggling, lying back in the bed with her fingers entangled in her hair. "I'm so glad I came back here."
Damon kept quiet, sitting back against the headboard, the ice cubes in his scotch tapping the glass.
"You were so different," she snickered, watching him with sparkles in her eyes. "So−"
Angry? Frustrated?
"−intense."
Damon just took a sip from his drink.
"Did you like it?" Caroline asked, her voice too desperate. She needed constant acknowledgment and quite frankly Damon found it exhausting. He'd been with Caroline for only a few weeks and she'd come in handy dealing with his feeling towards Elena, but since those feelings were completely gone now, he found himself wondering why he kept her around.
"Caroline," Damon sighed. "I can honestly say it was the best moment of my life."
The blond sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. "You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"
"Am I, Caroline? Am I?"
She sniffed, getting up from the bed and putting on the red, silk gown she'd worn to seduce him. "Why do you always have to be such a bastard, Damon?"
"That's who I am, sweetheart," Damon rumbled, shooting her an indifferent look. "I'm a monster. An evil, soulless creature. Ask anyone."
"Yeah, well, I guess the joke's on me than," Caroline said, her eyes getting teary as she slipped her panties back on. "I thought you might warm up to me. Let me in."
"There's nothing to let you into, Caroline," Damon rumbled, finishing his drink. "What you see is what you get."
She was just about to walk out, when there was a knock on the door. An urgent one. Caroline opened up, revealing Alaric who looked a little unhinged.
"What is it?" Damon growled, realizing something had happened.
"It's Klaus. We need you downstairs. Now.
The atmosphere in the living room had changed completely. Where everyone had been relaxed and lighthearted earlier, they were now tense and all focused on the man who stood by the fireplace. Stefan. Soon joined by Alaric.
"Okay," Rose said. "We're all here. What's so urgent?"
Alaric took a deep breath, running his hand though his hair before he said, "Klaus knows about the Safe Houses."
The room fell eerily silent for a few seconds before the whispers started. Damon could feel the panic building, but he knew from experience that these situations asked for a cool head. So, instead of joining the others in their terror, Damon asked, "Are you sure?"
Stefan nodded. "Colin told us."
"Colin?"
Elena had been blocked from his view, but when a tall, muscular vamp moved from his spot, he could see her, leaning against the window, a warm, steaming cup of tea in her hand. His stomach felt strange when he saw her, different than it had ever felt before. And he couldn't quite figure out why.
"He's our man on the inside," his brother explained. "He has infiltrated The Foreboding."
Elena frowned, a little strange smile on her lips. "You have a spy? Colin?"
Stefan nodded.
"How many of those have you got exactly?"
"A few," Alaric answered. "But that's not the point, now. The point is that Klaus knows these places exist."
"Does he know where they are?" Another female vamp on the couch asked.
"No," Alaric answered. "Not yet. But he'll put his witches on it and then, it'll be a matter of time."
"So, what do we do?" Caroline jumped in.
"We find a new way to keep safe."
"Thank you, captain obvious."
"Then you come up with something, Damon," Stefan snapped. "We can't create new Safe Houses, because when Klaus finds one, he'll find them all. So, where do we hide?"
"You can't."
Everyone in the room turned to Elena.
"What?" she said, sipping from her tea. "You all know it. You've done an excellent job so far, I give you that, but it's over. We're all going to die. And if I know Klaus, he'll make it hurt, simply because we actually thought we could fool him with magic tricks. Our only chance is probably surrendering. He might show mercy. Although I doubt it."
The room started buzzing again, but the strange thing was that Elena didn't seem alarmed. Not even a little bit. She just stood there, watching the others panic as she drank her tea.
"We're not going to die," Stefan barked, trying to diffuse the situation. "We will find another way."
The room didn't calm down, though. Over two dozen vampires started talking all at once, creating way too much noise. Still, the noise wasn't the reason Damon finally got up from the couch. That reason was Elena. She'd put her empty cup on the mantelpiece over the fire and was now casually walking towards the yard, not a single expression on her face.
Before she could disappear in the darkness again, Damon grabbed her arm, snarling, "Did you really just suggested giving ourselves up?"
"Congratulations, you're not deaf," she sang, her eyes piercing his. "Unhand me."
That feeling in Damon's stomach grew stronger. "You, Elena Gilbert, are suggesting surrender?"
"I know when to cut my loses."
"No, you don't."
She smiled, tipping her head to the side.
"You're a fighter, Elena," Damon went on. "You would never surrender."
"Damon?" Alaric boomed from the fireplace. "Everything alright?"
Damon hadn't noticed the room had calmed down again and they were now all watching him…manhandling Elena.
"Why don't you let go of the girl, brother."
"Yes, Damon," Elena said. "Let go of the girl."
Damon did, slowly, staring into her unblinking eyes. What was that feeling in his stomach?
"We should stay put," Alaric broke the silence. "Colin will let us know when Klaus is close to locating us and when he is, we'll move out. Until then, this remains the safest place."
"So, that's the plan? We just wait?" Rose asked. "Until we hear from Colin?"
"It's our best option."
"Unless he dies," Elena said. "I mean, if Klaus finds out about Colin's betrayal, he won't have much longer."
"Klaus won't find out," Alaric answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you enjoy dropping these bombs? Making the others panic?"
"Is the human upsetting the vampires?" Elena sang, holding up her hands in an apologetic manner. "I'm just preparing you for the worst case scenario."
"Speaking of worst case scenarios," Rose said, refocusing the attention on her. "Is anyone going to ask the million dollar question?"
"That question being?" Damon asked, his gaze still fixed on Elena. God, why did he feel like his insides were going to come out?
"What else does Klaus know?" Rose clarified. "I mean, the Safe Houses aren't the only secrets we're keeping from him. And it certainly isn't the most important one. Does he know about our plan to destroy him? And the person playing the key role in said plan?"
"I don't think so," Stefan said. "But just to be safe, we'll send someone to warn−"
Suddenly, the room bathed in orange light as the flames escaped the fireplace, scorching the ceiling, the couch and pretty much half the room.
Stefan and Alaric fell to the ground, trying to escape cremation as the rest of the immortals fled to the walls. Damon hadn't even realized he'd grabbed Elena to shield her from the fire until the room cooled down again and he found himself clutching a girl to his chest he had no business clutching. And she seemed just as surprised as him. Though she looked more amused about the whole situation than he did. Why was she smiling?
"What the−"
Damon turned at the sound of Alaric's voice, keeping one arm curled around Elena, for some reason.
When he saw who was standing in the middle of the room, he immediately understood why Alaric had sounded so surprised.
"Seriously?" Damon snarled, glaring into two black eyes. "Dramatic much?"
Hades smiled, shrugging. "I like to make an entrance."
"Clearly."
Stefan scraped his throat intently.
"Yes, brother?"
"Mind telling us who this is?" Stefan snapped.
"Oh, we've met before," Hades answered, sliding his eyes over the crowd. "In fact, I've met all off you before. Not everyone will remember me, though. Some block it out."
"I would've remembered meeting you," Stefan snapped.
"Brother," Damon said. "This is Hades. God of the Underworld. Try to not piss him off."
The room started buzzing, vampires started squirming uncomfortably, but no one moved. No one left. They all just stared at him, both in awe and in fear. But Damon wasn't focusing on their reactions. He was focusing on the lack of reaction from one person in particular. Why wasn't Elena going over to the god and greeting him like before. Where were the hugs? The smiles? The banter?
"Now we're done with the pleasantries, let's get down to business." Hades cut off his train of thought. "I'm here to do you a favor."
"A favor?" Damon asked. "Why would you do me a favor?"
"Okay, maybe the favor isn't for you, but a favor is a favor, right?"
"We don't need favors from the Devil," a brunette yelled from the corner.
"Ah, Emelia, the preacher's daughter turned vampire, " Hades said, his eyes piercing hers. "Well, sweetheart, you should've paid better attention during your daddy's sermons instead of getting high behind his church."
The vampire turned a bright red.
"I'm not the Devil," Hades continued, smiling. "That horned bastard is an amateur compared to me. Also, believe me, you do need this favor."
"And why's that?" Damon asked, taking control of the conversation again.
"Because you were about to reveal your entire plan to Klaus," Hades said. "And since this plan has actual promise, I'd hate to see it go up in flames. No pun intended."
"Are you saying there's a spy here?" Alaric asked.
"No," Hades said coolly. "I'm not saying a spy is here. I'm saying Klaus is here."
Even Damon hadn't seen that coming. And he definitely hadn't seen it coming when Hades added, "Now, Salvatore, why don't you join me over here."
Damon frowned. "Why would I do that?"
"Because," Hades said, flames dancing in his eyes. "That girl your holding onto is not Elena anymore."
WHAT DID YOU THINK? I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE SMUT AND MMUUUCCCHHH MORE DELENA! I WANTED TO ADD IT TO THIS ONE, BUT THEN I COULDN'T POST IT TONIGHT AND SINCE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN BOMBARDING ME WITH EMAILS, WANTING ME TO HURRY UP, I FIGURED I'D BETTER START DELIVERING BEFORE I LOST YOU! I SO HOPE YOU FORGIVE ME FOR TAKING SO LONG WITH UPDATING, BUT I HATE POSTING SHORT, INCOMPLETE CHAPTERS AND THE LONG ONES TAKE A LITTLE TIME! HOWEVER, THE NEXT ONE IS ALREADY HALF DONE, SO IT'S COMING SOON! PLEASE, FORGIVE ME AND PLEASE, REVIEW! I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU (YOUR IDEAS, THOUGHTS, COMMENTS,...)! THANKS SO MUCH!
XX LustAndLove