Just a random thank you to 'Peachie X' for the spell check. I'm actually sick atm and there's some lovely shaky hands happening. So thanks for that :)
Elena let out a deep breath, which she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She moved aside from the basement doorway, letting John up into the rest of the house without hesitation.
"Are you, uh, hungry or anything?" she asked awkwardly, trying to judge from his expression and failing. He looked... pretty much the same, actually, if a couple of shades paler.
"Elena," he said, throwing her a withering look. "Don't you think you're having a little trouble with role reversal here?" He smiled slightly, his eyes darting around the room with acute interest. For a moment Elena wondered what he was seeing, how the world looked to him now. There was something in the way his gaze seemed to linger on the most insignificant things; the light, the fire, the books. She could have sworn he even stared at the dust motes in the air for a second.
John continued walking through his scrutiny, waltzing right into the living room like he owned the place. If anything, the rudeness was oddly comforting; it was a familiar John Gilbert mannerism.
He stopped as he passed the sofa, catching sight of the unconscious boy still laying there. He tilted his head, pointing questioningly at him and looking over at Damon.
"Isn't that the Lockwood boy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Damon nodded calmly. "Yep."
"Why is he here?" He sniffed, and then recoiled slightly, "Is that him?"
"That wet dog smell? Yes, it is," he said approvingly. He seemed glad that John could smell that, but Elena couldn't think why. "I'm... reasonably sure he's a werewolf. He seems to be semi-harmless for the moment, anyway, although it's probably best you're not here when he wakes up."
"Tyler's a werewolf?" Elena and Jeremy burst out at the same time. Damon met Elena's shocked eyes and nodded briefly.
"And why is that?" John asked slowly, ignoring their reaction and keeping his eyes on Damon.
"Because you're responsible for his father's death," he said bluntly, but not insultingly. "And I don't want to take the chance that he doesn't know that."
John's gaze cooled suddenly, going blank and neutral. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, but he never got a chance to speak. His head snapped to the side as Elena gasped, and he flashed forward a step.
It was just Stefan. He had grasped her arm suddenly, above the elbow, startling her.
"Stefan, what are you doing?" she demanded as he began to pull her back, behind him.
"You shouldn't be around him this early in the transformation," he said flatly, glaring at John, who looked mildly affronted. Jeremy started forward, but Elena held a hand up.
"What? He's fine, Stefan," Elena said, annoyed. She tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he held on. "Look! He hasn't hurt anyone. He hasn't even tried. Let me go."
"He could snap at any second, Elena, he could turn bad."
Damon flitted over there, getting in his brothers face. "Why, because you did?" he hissed, and then he looked pointedly at Elena, before glaring back at Stefan. "Let go of her." His lip twitched up in anger as he repressed a snarl.
Stefan released her immediately, but he didn't take his eyes off of Damon. "She's not safe here," he said with deliberate calm.
"You honestly think he could get past me? He hasn't gone for her yet, because he won't." His voice was final.
Stefan crossed his arms across his chest, planting his feet in a protective stance in front of Elena. With an annoyed sound, she walked deliberately around him to stand right beside John, who glanced from Elena to Stefan without emotion.
"It's fine," Elena said again, trying to smile reassuringly. But Stefan was still watching John carefully, not looking directly at her.
"Look," Jeremy inserted after a very tense moment of silence. "Tyler's not gonna like waking up with a bunch of people staring at him, believe me."
Elena took a deep breath and then nodded. "He's right. We can go, if you like...?" The gaze she swept across the room included both Jeremy and John.
"Can't say I blame you," Damon muttered, and she shot him a sharp glance. He just raised his eyebrows at her unapologetically.
"Should I stay here?" Jeremy asked her in a low voice. "I mean, we don't get along that well, but I know Tyler."
"Sure, if you want to. It can't hurt to have someone to talk to him about this, right?" She looked uncertainly back at Damon.
"I don't mind either way," Damon said casually, shrugging one shoulder. "I doubt he really wants to stick around with me just now, anyway." He got up and walked over to get himself a drink.
"Thanks," Jeremy said without spite. His eyes drifted around the room, curiosity lighting his expression despite himself.
"Feel free." Damon gestured broadly with one arm towards the rest of the house. "Study's a couple of rooms over. Lots of interesting books to pass the time."
Jeremy nodded, with just a shade of uncertainty. He smiled to reassure Elena, and then left the room.
"How are you feeling, John?" Stefan asked suddenly, in a professional, detached tone.
"Murderous," he replied with biting sarcasm. "Obviously, I'm going to attack my daughter."
Damon sighed. "As much as it pains me to agree with Stefan in any way, he has a point. Even if you feel fine now, you are going to get thirsty again, probably soon."
"I already raided your little fridge downstairs," John said distastefully. It seemed he still wasn't exactly optimistic about his new life. "What more would you suggest?"
"Taking you hunting," Stefan asked.
"What?" Damon protested suddenly. "No. We already saw what a monumental mistake that was with you. If he's fine with drinking the packaged blood, then I say give it to him. It'll make him slightly more bearable to be around."
"Well... it's not like that really hurts anyone," Elena put in tentatively, glancing at Stefan. She didn't want to openly discredit his way of life right in front of him when he worked so hard to keep in control. "I mean, if he doesn't hurt anyone, I don't see why it shouldn't be a big deal..."
"Exactly," Damon said almost proudly. "It's right to force your beliefs on people, you know, Stefan. Or do we have to talk about a little something called 'respect'?"
Tyler's back arched on the couch suddenly, before he shuddered completely, falling to the ground and writhing there. For a split second, the only sound was Tyler's hoarse cries of pain, and then there was a flash of action. Stefan and Tyler were gone, disappearing down the basment. A second later, John followed after him, using his new found speed for the first time.
Jeremy jogged into the room as Elena stood there, open-mouthed.
"What happened?" he asked, looking from Elena to Damon questioningly. "Elena?"
"I think Tyler woke up, but... They took him down to the basement," she sputtered, pointing toward the entrance when Jeremy's eyebrows shot up. "But I don't think you should go down there!"
It was too late; Jeremy had already gone, too. Elena sighed heavily, her body slumping in resignation.
"Don't worry," Damon remarked idly, sitting down calmly and smiling over at her. "He's already in the cell."
A more pressing question suddenly hit her, causing her heartrate to spike for a moment. "But if John could get out of the cell, than -"
Damon set the drink aside and was in front of her in a flash, ducking his head to look into her face more closely. "Calm down, Elena," he said quickly. "It's fine. John didn't break out, I unlocked the door, okay?"
Her eyes lost that frantic look. "Oh. How did you know he was okay, though?"
"It's easier than you might think. Those without emotion mostly don't feel the need to fake it - hell, they can't. At least the newborns can't, anyway, if they shut it off. I know what that madness looks like," he said darkly. "And John didn't have it."
"Thank you."
Elena jumped suddenly as a loud bang echoed up from beneath them, and then stared at the floor fearfully.
"Tyler's awake," Damon said heavily, glancing over at her again. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she murmured immediately. "It's just a little... strange."
"Do you want to go?"
She bit her lip. She did, but only to just... take a break from everything for a moment. She didn't actually want to leave John or Jeremy here, not when she'd only just got them both back. These last few days had just been so draining.
Damon's voice broke into her deliberation. "Come on," he said, nodding at the door. "Take a breather." He put his hands on her shoulders, slowly walking her forward when she hesitated. She went limp in his grip, melodramatically letting herself slump while she shuffled forward. He chuckled slightly beneath his breath. "Drama queen. I will carry you out the door," he threatened, and she straightened up immediately, rolling her eyes and opening the door.
Elena took a deep breath as the cool air hit her face, and she stopped for just a moment, tilting her face up to the sky before she continued. As they got further away from the house, and the noises began to fade from her hearing, she slowly began to relax.
They walked in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, before Elena spoke. "How did you get Tyler back here so quickly?" she asked curiously. There wasn't any suspicion in her voice; it was an honest query.
"Oh. I might have promised to find out what was happening to him when we broke John out of jail," he said uncomfortably.
She loooked over in surprise. "What?"
"The details aren't important," he muttered quickly. "But he was the one that attacked John, as far as I can tell. He doesn't remember it consciously, but..."
"And you just automatically jumped to werewolf?" Elena asked. Her tone was almost impressed, but it was more puzzled than anything. She was still having trouble putting together the image of Tyler's sleeping face with the animal she'd seen that night.
Damon shrugged modestly. "I had a little more clue than that, you realise. I just put two and two together. That, and him transforming right in front of me helped."
She shoved lightly at his arm, and he smirked. It faded a moment later, a thoughtful expressiont taking it's place. "The change didn't trigger immediately when the moon rose, it only happened when I aggravated him enough."
"Maybe that's how they always transform," Elena offered.
"That's what I thought. But then he woke up and went straight to his other form."
"Well... it could be that his change had already taken effect. He was already supposed to be in that form. But then you tranqued him, didn't you? So when he woke up, his body just automatically went to change back into the wolf."
When he was silent for a few seconds, she looked up at him to check his reaction.
"What?" she asked self-consciously. He was looking down at her with a small smile on his lips.
"Careful now," he warned. "You're beginning to sound like you know what you're talking about."
"Hey, I can be very deductive, you know." She waved a finger at him accusingly.
"Of course."
She scoffed under her breath, turning her face away playfully, a full smile on her face now. Damon smiled at her happiness, and his eyes travelled slowly over her face. But she couldn't see it.
She didn't see the flash of emotion that went through his blue eyes, or the way he had to look away, breathing deeply for a moment.
When she looked back, he had stopped, and was staring up at the dark sky. She stopped, too, standing in front of him.
"What is it?" she asked quietly, looking closely at him.
He just shook his head slightly in bemusement, face still tilted up.
"What's wrong?" She touched his arm gently, and he tipped his head forward again to look closely at her, his eyes silver-blue in the moonlight. He was frowning slightly.
Damon raised his hand to brush the strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear gently. He kept his hand hovering there for a couple of seconds, almost touching her cheek, but then his fingers curled into a loose fist and he let him arm drop to his side again. Elena could suddenly feel her heart much more intensely, it's pace picking up as it pulsed in her throat.
"You shouldn't be with him," he said quietly, his brow still furrowed.
"Damon..." She could barely get the word out. She was almost feeling dizzy now, the way her pulse was pounding. The stars sparkled too brightly out of the corners of her eyes, giving the night a surreal quality; she wasn't sure she was really standing there anymore.
"I don't want you to be with him," he amended in a slightly rough voice. "I can't stand it. I can't even..." He threw his hands up in a hopeless gesture, looking away for just a moment before his gaze slid back to hers. "I want to be worthy of you, Elena. Just... once. I want to be able to say that I deserve you, that I deserve this... faith you've always had in me. And I can't." He laughed once, bitterly. "I may never be able to."
He leant forward, taking her face in his hands softly. "But I can't just stop, when..."
His voice trailed off as Elena touched his cheek lightly, trailing her fingers down and across his lips. He touched his forehead to hers for just a moment, her quick breath falling on his mouth while they both listened to the frantic sound of her heart.
And then he kissed her.
Hey, just a heads-up there should only be a few more chapters to this story, that's why it's starting to round down a little bit now :) Hope you liked it.