A/N: Well, I think you can guess by the title that Elena and Damon are both in fact found in this chapter. ;o And I know a few of you have been a little Damon starved as of late, but have no fear... This chapter, our favourite bad boy perks up once again. And I feel you'll defiantly have your Damon-craving by the end of the chapter after this one. ;) (Yes, I do plan out chapters a few before. ^^:L) Anyway, hope you like it and please PLEASE review for me!
Chapter 20: The Lost and the Found.
EPOV
Elena wasn't even sure how long she'd been here now; time seemed to drag on and on. And no matter how hard she tried to think of something else other than Damon Salvatore, it just didn't seem to be happening for her. If I tried hard enough, I could allow my mind to disintegrate into a sort of dreamlike state where nothing or no one really seemed to matter, but the rough, hard bark of the tree against my back abruptly brought me back to reality. Why did it bother me so much? All I had done really was allowing Damon to feed from me...
'And hold you, and touch you, and kiss you, and trail his hot, wet tongue along the most tender part of your neck-'
I scolded myself. I got it.
I ran a single hand through my hair, the thin digits attached to the end of it neatly threading, combing through my now Damon-scented locks. I felt terribly guilty for what I had done today, but in all honesty, it wasn't what I had done that I felt the more guilt about; it was the fact of how much I enjoyed what was happening to me and who was exhorting it upon me. Damon was Stefan's elder brother and if Stefan ever found out... I was pretty sure he would not be able to forgive me easily. Damn it! Why did I have to go and allow myself to do something so utterly stupid? It was upon that thought that I heard something.
I flinched and shot my eyes into the direction of the sound. And then the sounds become more consistent and I realised what it was. Footsteps. Footsteps coming towards me. I would be lying if I said my heart was beating incredibly fast out of fear right now. I knew I should probably run, but right now I just couldn't seem to find the will inside of me to do so. So I simply sat there, my eyes restlessly scanning the forest environment around me, ready to scream at the slightest sighting of anything unusual.
Having said that, screaming wasn't exactly the best idea, if Damon was still in the vicinity then he'd no doubt come to her rescue. And seeing Damon again today after the events of which had occurred mere minutes ago..? Well, I wasn't sure if I was prepared enough to do so. I could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer so I did the one thing she could think of. I shut my eyes. But then the footsteps stopped abruptly and Elena's brows furrowed together, but her eyes didn't open. The next sound however that fell upon my eyes was definitely not one I was expecting.
"Elena..?"
It was a voice, and a voice of which was no threat whatsoever to me. I opened my eyes.
"Elena? Is that you?" This was definitely a question.
I broke out of my facade of feeling sorry for myself and glanced to the direction the voice was surely coming from. I managed a sort of smile, but I knew it wasn't anywhere near touching my eyes.
"Hey, Bonnie. Yeah it's me," I said quietly, laughing without humour.
Bonnie was standing there with her arms slightly folded across her front, her eyes clearly running over me, my appearance and whereabouts. There was no doubt she was happy to have found me; (but why would she be looking? I hadn't been gone that long had I?) I couldn't blame her for studying me though. I could imagine how I looked to her. Crouched on the dirty ground, head in hands and leant against the bark of a tree; very unattractive and unusual. Very un Elena. I knew I'd have to explain everything to Bonnie soon enough, even if I couldn't speak to anybody else about the entire seriously messed up scenario. And even now, I was wondering if 'seriously messed up' might be the understatement of the century.
A frown fell across my best friend's features as she began taking a few steps towards me; oh man, Bonnie had her seriously concerned face on. Not good. My eyes simply followed her, each time my eyes met hers I tried a friendly smile which she exchanged. Bonnie crouched down in front of me and began to speak. She didn't immediately jump into the most obvious question that would be tormenting one's mind in finding someone that they were looking for, she said the thing that a best friend would say to another when seeing them in a state such as this one.
"Tell me everything," Bonnie said softly.
SPOV
I forced myself to concentrate on it and without looking at the ribbon again; (because I knew what the mere sight of it could do to me) I shoved it into my jean pocket and pressed on towards the sound. I used my vampire speed to follow it; somehow I knew exactly who was coughing. I pushed a sloping tree branch out of the way of my vision and kicked a discarded one away from my path. I could see him clearly now, and he obviously wanted to be found because the second he heard the muted sound of the wood hitting the sot, mossy ground his head turned to face me.
"Hello, brother," was Damon's voice.
He instantly stood up and I watched him, walking over.
My head cocked to the side as I examined my new surroundings; I was in a graveyard. Well, i supposed to right term was that we were in a graveyard; Damon and I. And as I neared the scene, the familiarity of it overwhelmed me. I'd been here before... With, with Elena. Damon was simply watching me, being patient, as if wanting me to figure it out by myself, why Damon had chosen this place of all places to lure and lead me to. And trying to figure out was exactly what I was doing. And then my eyes lowered and instantly widened and then narrowed and then widened again at the names on the gravestone.
They were Elena's parent's names. This was their gravestone. I frowned, raising my eyes to meet Damon's steady, concentrated gaze. I cleared my throat.
"Damon... Why are you-"And then I stopped myself, this is what Damon wanted me to do, what he wanted me to say.
He was trying to make me believe that there was something going on between Elena and he when there clearly wasn't; he was trying to make me doubt her yet again. Which I had promised myself I would never do again. This day had been hard enough, let alone repeating it once again somewhere along the line. Damon's eye brows rose.
"Yes, brother?" yet again, using that only too patronizing way of saying the word 'brother'.
I hated it when he did that, but refused to allow it to get to me. I had other, more important things on my mind than to give into Damon's taunts. Besides, Damon needed to know what I had to say anyway, if it were anything even a fraction minor than this then I'd avoid being in his company at all costs. But alas, I needed my brother on this. I rolled my eyes.
"Never mind, Damon," I muttered, pushing those obvious thoughts of Elena and Damon together to the back of my mind.
Damon, finding this intriguing smirked and spoke.
"What do you want, Stefan? I'm a busy man. People to drain, women to seduce, the everyday life of Damon Salvatore really. But what can I do for my favourite little brother?" he asked, both of his eyebrows rising once again.
"You know I wouldn't speak to you if it wasn't important..." I started.
He sighed in frustration.
"Yes, yes, Stefan. I can't stand you, you can't stand me, and we are a happy family. Cut the whole of that and tell me what if troubling you, my brooding Stefan," Damon's eyebrows started to wag and I frowned.
"Damon. This is serious," I said, my eyes cursing him from the inside outwards.
Damon threw me a dramatic glare.
"Well get on with the 'this' that is so serious, as I said; busy man," Damon said, folding his arms and occasionally looking away.
I opened my mouth, but decided that I couldn't really use words to tell him, to describe what I'd saw. So my hand instantly moved downwards. It touched the mouth of my pocket and continued to burrow downwards until the skin at the tips of my fingers came into contact with the soft, scarlet fabric that I was looking for. Damon was watching me now with a hint of perplexion across his features.
"I found something... When I was out here in the forest looking for you, not really far from here actually. It was as if I was supposed to find it or something," I was trailing my words, trying to string them together; in all honesty, I wasn't sure what to say, how to explain finding this.
Damon didn't say anything this time, no snide comment, not even a twitch of his lips; he was too intent on watching my hand. I swallowed back whatever it was in my throat that was stopping me from continuing straight the way and grasped the ribbon tightly in my hand. Finally, I pulled it out, and a sudden gust of wind rippled past both Damon and I, causing the folds of red to ruffle a little. Damon's eyebrows furrowed together messily and he tilted his head to the side, trying to examine it, without seeing it clearly.
I opened my palm, fully, my long fingers prying from it and held it out to my brother. At first, Damon pulled a face. He obviously hadn't recognised what it was, or rather who it most definitely belonged to. His next statement confirmed my thoughts. He wandered over to me and planted a single hand on my shoulder, a coy smile tugging at each side of his lips as he spoke.
"So, what you're saying little brother, is that this important 'thing' is a red bow?" he questioned before letting out a sharp short laugh "And let me guess, you want to give it to Elena and want my opinion on it? Well yes Stefan, I think she'll like your peace offering."
Damon shook his head once, laughing once again before inhaling.
"If this is it, Stefan. Then I'm afraid I'll have to-"
I shook my head fiercely, looking across at him.
"No, Damon! Don't you see it? Don't you recognise it?" I asked, questioning myself as well as him.
Maybe it wasn't Katherine's ribbon after all. Maybe I was just being stupid, the odds were far too low, were they not? Damon's smile suddenly faded into a frown and he looked at me. He didn't say anything for his eyes soon dropped to my extended hand. I watched his blue orbs scanning every angle of the ribbon, over and over again. I knew the precise second he saw what I had the very second my eyes had seen it. His eyes widened and his lips fell into a hard line. I knew exactly what he was thinking. Damon shook his head, laughing without humour.
"Stefan..." he removed his hand from my shoulder and took a step back, still shaking his head "Are you telling me that you think... You actually think that this is... That this is hers?" he asked with a great deal of emphasize on the 'her's.
He obviously knew what I was talking about then. Just as I knew he would, Damon paid just as much attention to Katherine if not more than I had done back in 1864. I opened my mouth to speak, but Damon started again. His whole expression had frozen over and he looked... Spooked. But that was most likely an understatement. He took the ribbon from my hand, and I let it go with ease. He stroked his thumb across it, his eyes focused on only the object within his palm.
"It really is Katherine's isn't it?" Damon whispered. Yes, whispered.
And that was the second I once again, and it seemed Damon allowed ghosts of the past to lure us both into the eerie depths of memory.
Author's note: I'd like to take this chance to thank all of my reviewers. You guys are so amazing and without you... Well, you're part of the reason I keep these chapters coming. So don't disappoint me, (or Damon (A)) review. ^^
Jackie xxx