TWENTY-ONE

Elena woke with a smile on her face. For the first time in days, she was looking forward to getting out of bed. Keeping her eyes closed, she stretched, enjoying the warmth of the sun as it filtered through her window. When she opened her eyes, they immediately fell to the jewelry box on the pillow next to her. Elena pushed herself up and grabbed the box and the note that had been tucked beneath it. She set the box onto the comforter in front of her and unfolded the piece of paper.

I know you're ingesting vervain, but humor me and wear this too. -D.

Elena smirked and set the note down before picking up the jewelry box again. She could feel her body tingling with anticipation. Not even twelve hours after opening up to each other and he was giving her presents. It also meant that he had been her bedroom while she was sleeping, but she let it go. Slowly, she opened the box and felt her heart skip a beat at the piece of jewelry inside.

It was a necklace. A simple, yet elegant necklace. The chain was silver and delicate and the pendent was a slender skeleton key. The top part of the key had hinges on one side and Elena pressed the button on the other. Her eyes widened slightly as it swung open to reveal the sprig of vervain that was resting against the turquoise lining; her favorite color. She closed the locket and stared down at the gift, completely in awe that Damon would get something like this for her. Without another thought, she put the necklace on and got out of bed to get ready for the day.

When she wandered downstairs, Jenna was sitting at the island reading the paper with a cup of coffee in front of her; as usual. She looked up at Elena and gave a casual, "Hey," before looking down, only to lift her head quickly again. She studied her niece and smirked. "Well you look...different."

Elena shook her head slightly. "Good different?"

Jenna nodded. "Did something happen that I don't know about? Because yesterday you didn't want to go out with the girls and now you're dressed as if you're going somewhere without Caroline forcing you." Her jaw dropped as her eyes widened with joy. "Did you and-"

"No," Elena answered flatly, her face going stony to let Jenna know that was not the case.

That left Jenna feeling even more perplexed. "It's too soon for you to have met someone..." she mumbled and then let her gaze fall to the necklace around Elena's throat. "Who gave you that?"

"Damon," Elena answered with a shrug, schooling her features so that she wouldn't smile in a way that would tip Jenna off.

"Uh-"

"No, no," Elena interrupted and opened the locket to show Jenna the vervain. "I gave the other necklace back to Stefan so Damon got me a new one."

"Alright," she said slowly and sipped her coffee. She watched Elena move about the kitchen, preparing breakfast for herself. "So if you didn't meet anyone and you're not back together with Stefan, what changed?"

Elena shrugged and leaned against the sink, facing the island. "I guess I just realized that I'm tired of being depressed. I'm tired of moping over things that can't be changed. I'm not the same girl I was before the accident but I'm slowly starting to find myself again. I don't want to be lost anymore and that's exactly where I'll be if I don't move on. I love him, I always will, but we've been over for a long time now."

Jenna smiled softly and said nothing as she got to her feet and made her way around the island. She pulled Elena into a hug and held her tightly. "Your mother would be so proud of you. I know I am," she whispered and pulled back enough to look at her niece. "I've said this before, but I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thanks Jenna."

"You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do," she said and finished her coffee before taking off. Elena watched her go and remained at the sink, staring at her reflection in the window. A smile graced her lips as her hand rose to clutch her new necklace; her thoughts completely centered on Damon and how things were going to be when they saw each other again.

Lost in thought, she didn't hear the front door being opened. It wasn't until she felt warmth against her ear and heard, "Necklace looks good on you," that she jumped.

She spun around and glared at Damon who was smirking back at her, his body extremely close to hers, practically pressing her back against the sink. "That was not funny."

"You should see it from perspective."

Elena waited until her heart stopped racing and her body relaxed to talk to him. "What are you doing here?"

The humor in his eyes vanished as he looked at her. "Is this not allowed?"

"It is, I just didn't think I would see you so soon," she hurried to explain, unable to stand the faint trace of pain in his eyes. "That and I'm a little angry you scared me half to death."

Slowly, Damon's lips curved into a smirk. "Get used to it."

She shook her head and smiled back at him. "So... What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"About?" she asked although she knew the answer. She was determined to put the subject off for as long as possible.

"About Katherine. You said you didn't want to say anything about your most recent memory loss, but we both know she was the reason behind it. I need you to tell me what happened, Elena."

Elena sighed and nodded slowly. "Alright," she said.

She was able to move from between him and sink to lead them to the living room. Damon sat on the arm of the couch while Elena paced in front of him. As he watched her go back and forth, he noticed her silence and figured he would have to steer the conversation. "Let's start with the day you invited me to the barbeque."

"Katherine didn't really have anything to do with that," Elena answered and then paused mid-step. "Well, not until after."

"What happened?" he prompted, watching as she continued to pace in front of him. He didn't like making her relive her moments with Katherine, but he had to know exactly what she had done.

Elena took a deep breath before continuing. "I had gone up to your room to invite you, and while you were freshening up, I found myself staring at the bed. I had been having these visions of you and I and for the first time I had one of you, me, and Katherine. It was a little unsettling and I took off." She paused to take another deep breath. "Then she showed up later that night."

Damon's jaw clenched. As angry as he was that Katherine had compelled her, he was glad that that was all she did. He would never have been able to live with himself if Elena had been hurt over something he could have prevented. Then again, he had no idea Katherine would return so soon. "She didn't hurt you did she?"

"No," Elena answered quickly, shaking her head. "Just compulsion."

"What did she have you do?"

"I was already asleep and she woke me up. She didn't say much before she took my necklace and said there was something she wanted me to do for her. She wanted me to seek you out next time I was at the boarding house."

"And do what?"

"She said 'You're to find Damon the next time you're at the boarding house. You're going to do what you've been wanting to do for some time. You're going to let him have his way with you until someone says Stefan's name.' That was it," Elena said, looking at Damon for a brief moment before looking away, her cheeks darkening.

Damon's eyes narrowed as he let her words sink in. "So..."

"I'm well aware of the fact that I initiated most of it," she informed him.

He waited until she met his gaze again to ask, "So when you said my name, that was because of her wasn't it?"

Elena looked down again. "Katherine was waiting for me when I got home. She wanted to see how far I had gone on my own. She was disappointed that Stefan's name came up that fast."

"She wasn't the only one," he muttered, giving her a smirk. It was too great of an opportunity to waste.

Elena bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling as she shook her head. "She took my necklace again and told me to forget what happened between us. She told me to have Stefan come over and do whatever I had to in order to get him to sleep with me. And in the heat of the moment, I would say your name instead."

"That was a bitchy move."

Elena gave an unladylike snort and met his gaze again. "Tell me about it."

"Has she been around after that?"

"No. Stefan and I broke up so she got what she wanted. She said she was doing this to get back at you two for falling in love with me and getting over her."

"What gave you your memory back?"

"Some potion of Bonnie's. I'm not really sure what it was," she answered and then shrugged. "Well, that's all that happened. Katherine's back in town and she has access to my house. We need to get rid of her."

"First, we need to tell Stefan what's been going on."

"No!" Elena practically shouted.

"Elena, as much as it pains me to say this, I need him. If I'm going to go after Katherine, I need him to help me. Alone we can't defeat her, but together, we have somewhat of a chance."

She shook her head again, her eyes pleading with him. "Damon, I'm sorry, but I can't. I hurt him enough already."

They stared at each other for a moment before Damon gave in. "Then I'll tell him. It's going to be harder to get him to believe me and he's just going to come here anyway to talk to you about it."

"What exactly would I say to him? I can't exactly start a conversation with, 'Hey, remember that morning I woke up with wet hair? It happened because I had just slept with your brother and your ex'."

"But Katherine-"

"Even if I told him about the compulsion, he's still going to focus on the fact that we slept together," she said and shrugged. "It still doesn't change the fact that I stayed because I wanted to and I'm not going to lie to him and tell him otherwise."

He nodded, trying to hide how happy he was that she wasn't going to deny her feelings in front of Stefan. He understood that she wasn't ready to face him just yet, but at least she wasn't going to hide what she felt. "Let me handle Stefan. I'll get him to believe me, even if we have to track Katherine down and force the truth out of her."

"Thank you," she said and silence fell between them for a moment. "How is he?"

"I don't know. He hasn't been home."

Elena's eyes went wide with alarm. "But-"

"I don't think anything happened to him," Damon interrupted, trying to calm her down. "I think he's just out blowing off some steam. He'll be back."

Elena wanted to believe him, but a part of her was convinced that Katherine had something to do with it. "Okay."

Damon stood up and moved closer to her, still not sure what was allowed and what wasn't. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss away her fears, but he didn't know if that was rushing or not. "I will find him and I will talk to him. I will make sure he understands before he says something he can't take back."

"Okay," she said again and looked up at him. She was contemplating reaching out to him or not. Their relationship was a confusing one. Taking a deep breath, she moved forward until her arms could wrap around him. Slowly, his came out to envelop her and hold her even closer. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied and smirked at the small victory of having her in his arms. "I should probably go. The faster I find him, the faster we can get rid of Katherine and be done with her."

She nodded against him and then looked up. "If you have to."

He gave a small smile as they continued to stare at each other. He saw the way her eyes kept stealing glances at his lips and he was unable to hold back any longer. Slowly, he leaned in, asking with his eyes for permission. She didn't back away or do anything to stop him. When their lips met, their eyes closed as they both relaxed. He pulled away slightly and kissed her again, repeating the action a few more times. Elena couldn't help but smile as his lips pressed firmly against hers for the fifth time before she pulled away, putting her head back onto his chest.

He grinned as she tightened her hold on him. "I'll let you know when I talk to him, okay?"

"Alright," she replied and sighed as they pulled away from each other.

"I'll come back later."

"I'm gonna go see Bonnie, but I'll let you know when I'm back."

He nodded and began walking towards the door, knowing that if he stayed any longer he would end up taking her upstairs where neither one of them would leave the room for the rest of the day. "Bye."

She smiled and shut the door behind him. Elena walked up to her room with that lopsided grin on her face that wouldn't go away. She was glad he was taking things slow, given that she knew how much he wanted to be with her. However, her smile faded as she opened her bedroom door to see Katherine standing at the foot of the bed. "I thought he'd never leave."

"What-"

In a flash, the vampire was behind her, a hand clamped over her mouth while her other arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her arms to her side. "I'll explain everything later. I need you to come with me."

Elena fought with everything she had, screaming Damon's name into the palm of Katherine's hand, but the vampire wouldn't budge. Instead of waiting, Katherine sighed and removed her arm from Elena's waist long enough to retrieve something from her back pocket, using her vampire speed. Before Elena had even registered that she was free, she felt a sharp sting in her arm. She stopped struggling as her movements became sluggish and her vision began to blur. Katherine caught her before she fell and picked her up as if she didn't weigh a thing. The last thing Elena saw before her she passed out was the door to her room closing at Katherine carried her out.