The Boarding House
By: Darkest Ember
Chapter 21: Love and Death
Summary:
Elena and Jeremy Gilbert are orphaned once again and have nowhere else to go except the mysterious Salvatore boarding house…
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the Vampire Diaries characters. This is written purely for entertainment purposes.
Previously:
"I…I…I love Damon," Elena replied.
All this time Elena had thought that the worst thing that would happen to her would be her parents' death. But she was so wrong. Meeting the Salvatore brothers – Katherine – spiraling into the horrific world of the supernatural – suddenly seemed so much worse than any heartache, any hardship she had yet experienced.
Her lower lip quivered as her eyes forced out nearly dried tears. Her body was in shock, occasionally trembling as brief impulses of dread and uncertainty followed through what was left in her veins.
Damon had her pinned tightly up against the wall, his fingers pushing deeper into her flesh. His fangs seemed to be eternally latched to her neck, sucking out her blood in such an unforgiving fashion. Elena's vision was blurry, but she could still see Katherine's amused smirk over Damon's heaving shoulder.
This time she could feel it. She was dying. And Damon wasn't stopping.
Weakly, she shoved her hand up against his chest, trying to tell him to stop, unable to actually say anything. Her throat was worn from screaming, not to mention how it felt to have someone literally eating away at your neck. She wouldn't be surprised if he broke into her throat at this rate, tearing away anything that was supposed to protect the trachea.
Damon pulled away from her and stared. Elena instantly squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at him. He looked like a demon. Thick streams of blood were leaking out of his mouth and down his chin. The veins under his eyes were so dark and prominent. And his blue irises were so much more striking with the bloodshot background surrounding them. She'd never seen him like…that.
He backed up a couple of inches, allowing Elena enough room to move ever so slightly. She rested a hand on her chest, instantly panicking upon realizing that she could just barely feel her heartbeat, struggling to keep her alive. Her breathing grew ragged as she slumped against the wall. But soon that couldn't provide enough support. She fell to the ground in a heap, blood slowly sliding from her neck and into a puddle on the worn, untreated wooden floor.
"You might want to give her some of your blood, lover boy. She looks like she may be dying," Katherine advised tauntingly.
Her voice sounded like it was so much farther away, like it was at the opposite end of a tunnel. But Elena knew that wasn't the case.
Damon suddenly snapped out of his demonic possession and sped over to Elena's side, his wrist already ready and bloody. A couple of drops landed on her tongue at the last possible moment of redemption, but something felt different this time. Elena felt light-headed and nauseous as her surroundings began to morph.
Candlelight flickered playfully across the pale, elegant walls. Elena could hear two familiar voices, one of which sounded eerily similar to her own, conversing on the opposite side of the broad wooden door.
"It may sound absurd, but I fear I may be in love."
"I have only been in your family's household for a mere seven days, Stefan. There's…so much you don't know about me," Katherine said softly.
"More to learn and love, I'm sure," Stefan replied in a cheerful tone.
"It's getting rather late. I think it may be best if we retire for the evening."
"Of course, Miss Katherine. Though I fear I may not be able to sleep. I am too eager to enjoy your company in the morning."
There was a brief pause, a moment of delicate silence between the two that sparked Elena's curiosity. Could they be kissing? Elena wondered.
Elena could only imagine the smug look on Katherine's face upon hearing these words. But Elena continued standing in the room, waiting for Katherine to enter.
After a few more moments, Katherine entered the room, gently closing the door behind her. She leaned up against it, touching her lips. How could this possibly be the same person? This Katherine looked far kinder…more proper…more human.
But she quickly recovered from whatever stupor had overcome her in Stefan's presence and made a move to step further into the room, but was quickly placed back up against the door as Damon stepped out of the shadows.
"My brother, always such a romantic. I assure you all he learned came from me," Damon said, leaning down for a kiss.
Katherine's expression turned dark as she gripped the collar of his suit jacket and shoved him off of her. "I'm tired, Damon," she said, frustration evident. "Leave."
But Damon wasn't ready to surrender just yet. "If you'd just give me a moment of your time, I could prove that I am the better choice. After all, you hold a special place in my heart, as well."
Veins spread beneath Katherine's eyes for a brief moment. Then she exhaled heavily. "While I appreciate your words, I'm afraid that this is not your decision to make. I do not wish to be in your company, Damon. Now," she said, focusing her stare on him and capturing his eyes, "you are going to forget ever having this conversation and leave my quarters."
Damon smiled and wished her good night before exiting the room.
Elena felt a rough pull at her heart. How could she treat him so badly, when all he wanted was to love her? She couldn't believe how drastically different human Damon and vampire Damon truly were. She could barely admit that they were even the same person. It just couldn't be…
Although perhaps it was Katherine's rejections and manipulations that turned Damon into the heartless monster he was today. Katherine was to blame for all of this.
Bonnie silently paced the ground, back and forth, hoping that it would stimulate her mind, providing some sort of answer. Though she didn't know every detail of vampire lore, she still childishly wondered if it wasn't too late to reverse the process.
Despite the fact that every human's heart and mind were also racing for a hopeful outcome, everyone was silent, their eyes glued to Matt's corpse. Caroline noticed the smug, satisfied look on Pearl's face. If she could, she would've gladly stormed over there and scratched her eyes out. How dare she come here and ruin so many lives in mere minutes!
A harsh gasp escaped Matt's lungs – his last breath of air, his last shred of humanity. His eyes darted wildly around the confined space, able to suddenly see so much clearer. "W-what's happening to me?" he asked.
"You're turning into a vampire," Anna said. "All you need is some human blood and then the transition will be complete."
Matt was about to ask more questions, but his lips remained sewed shut once he saw the blood on Sherriff Forbes' uniform. His stare was transfixed and unmoving. He could feel his mouth water and his gums ache.
"Go ahead, Matt. Taste her blood," Pearl said encouragingly.
He shot her a dismissed look over his shoulder before returning his attention to the sight. He had no idea who these two were – one looking no older than fifteen and the other looking like she was from the 1800s or something. Why should he trust a couple of crazies like them?
Then again…
Something inside of him was painfully drawn to that blood. There seemed to be some logic in what they were saying, given the way he felt. He stalked over toward the sheriff, who looked beyond terrified though she was surely trying to conceal it.
Caroline and Bonnie exchanged urgent, concerned looks as they creeped a little closer to the tomb's entrance. "We need to stop him," Caroline whispered.
"I know! But if he doesn't feed, he'll…die," Bonnie replied grimly.
This was a situation that none of them wanted to be in. Someone was going to get hurt regardless. It was an inevitable, unfortunate truth. Grams knew this much already. She knew that words wouldn't do much anymore. But even so, even with two innocent lives on the line, she refused to open the tomb for those monsters.
Matt knelt down next to the sheriff and reached out to touch her wound. His fingers trembled upon making contact with the gooey substance. He brought his finger back his to his lips and sucked the blood off. His eyes lit up as surprise settled in. This…this blood tasted better than anything he'd ever tasted. It was divine. And now it would be his.
He felt the fangs peak out of his gums, sliding beyond the length of his normal teeth. He found himself ignoring the sheriff's expression of fear and instead approached her coldly, jerking her head to the side, exposing her neck. Without any chance for hesitance, he glided down, ripping into her flesh.
A chorus of gasps filled with shock and terror echoed across the hollow tomb walls. The vampires never said anything about having to kill the human of choice – just to have a taste of his or her blood. Matt was acting savagely to an unnecessary degree.
"Matt!" Caroline cried. "Matt, stop it. You're going to kill her."
He glanced up at her and noted her fear. He looked back at the wound he made in the sheriff's neck and slowly relinquished his bite and let her sink to the floor, breathing shallowly.
He could feel the blood dribbling down his chin; the fangs receding cowardly into their hiding spots; the veins beneath his eyes vanishing. He felt the monster inside him cease to exist, though still dwelling inside him.
He looked down at the sheriff, feeling the tiniest bit of sadness and horror warm his heart. But that just didn't feel right anymore – it wasn't a part of him anymore. He didn't feel like himself in the slightest, yet it didn't seem to bother him as much as it should've.
Bonnie couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. Witches, she'd believe. Vampires, she'd believe. Matt Donovan nearly killing the sheriff? Never in a million years.
But it did happen. And the look on her grandmother's face told her that she probably wouldn't be seeing the sheriff or Matt alive for much longer.
Elena choked on the first couple breaths of air that entered her lungs. Her eyes scanned her surroundings worriedly, wondering where she was now. Much to her horror and relief, she found that she was back in the present time with Damon and Katherine in the gymnasium.
If she was still alive, then where had she just been moments – or centuries – ago? Curiosity seemed to outweigh the danger of being near the bloodthirsty vampires in front of her as her mind raced desperately to reach an acceptable explanation.
Could it be a dream? No, how would I possibly know what the 1800s looked like? For one, I hardly pay attention in history and well, I'm just not that creative.
A hallucination? Where would my mind come up with anything like that? Besides, I don't see why Stefan would've been on my mind when I haven't seen him since last night…
A…memory? The image was vivid, that's for sure. Could it be that since I was so close to dying when Damon finally gave me some blood that I some how mentally latched on to him and was exposed to one of his memories?
Given the supernatural realm that Elena found herself being forced to live in, the craziest answer usually was the most accurate one. But why would that particular memory spring from Damon's subconscious and into hers?
Sure, it gave her an interesting perspective into the ironically reversed personalities that Katherine and Damon possessed during his humanity. Katherine at least acted human around others at the time, though her manipulative rage was still ever present. Damon, on the other hand, was so courteous and kind. It was almost heartbreaking to see what all these years had done to him.
"Oh look who decided to come back to life," Katherine sneered. She waited for Damon to continue his torture, but it didn't quite happen. "What are you waiting for?"
"I was going to ask Elena if she changed her mind yet, if you would just butt out for two seconds," Damon said bitingly.
He turned to look at Elena, who unintentionally was still looking at him with saddened eyes on his behalf, and said, "I don't want to keep doing this to you. But if you continue to refuse, I won't have much of a choice. You saw how crazy your blood makes me. You almost just died… You'd be better off getting those words off your chest."
Elena bit her bottom lip in contemplation. She was never a weak individual, and she didn't want to become one now just because of a bit of physical pain. But this wasn't human pain…it was inflicted inhumanly. And she was sure that even the strongest human being would be struggling.
Then a thought struck her. What if she did agree to 'love' Damon? Surely she wouldn't go so far as to have sex with him or anything like that, but what if she just spent some time with him? What if all he needed was someone to care even the slightest about him?
"No answer? I think your methods aren't as effective, Damon, so allow me to take it from here," Katherine said, speeding over to Elena. Katherine wrapped her bony fingers around Elena's neck, squeezing just enough to make it challenging to breathe.
"It's really pretty simple, Elena. You just have to say three words and then all of this is over," Katherine growled in her ear.
Elena forced her eyes to stay open as she glared at her demonic reflection. Every feeling of hatred that she felt toward Katherine before seemed to be multiplied by ten in that moment. Though she never really cared about Damon as a friend or anything like that, she did still feel sympathy for him due to the damage that Katherine had caused. Her eyes darted down to Katherine's exposed feet atop her heels and decided to act on her impulse.
She sucked in one last strangled breath before opening her mouth and spitting right into one of Katherine's eyes. Then she slammed her foot down on Katherine's as hard as she could before bolting toward the door.
Damon was much more aware of the situation than she had hoped. He sped in front of her, successfully blocking her path. She noticed that he hadn't grabbed her or tried to attack her yet. And it was then that she saw Damon's two sides, etched clearly on his face. His icy eyes seemed to be pleading with her while his lips were curled into a snarl.
She held her hands up in defense. Much to her surprise, he reached out and grabbed onto her wrists, holding tightly. Elena feared that he was intending to break her bones. "What're you –."
"If you don't tell me what I want to hear right now, Elena, I swear I don't know if I'll be able to stop in time. I'll keep tearing you apart until there's nothing left."
His words were lethal, cutting invisible knives through her determination. She knew she wouldn't be able to reason with him…wouldn't be able to calm him down. Violence seemed to be the only way to handle situations like this in his eyes.
The glass broke out of one of the windows on the opposite side of the gym. Damon surveyed the scene, somewhat surprised to find that Katherine had run off. He was actually glad to see her go. Seeing her here…acting that way toward Elena…it only made things worse.
Elena knew that she was running out of time. She forced herself to meet Damon's stare and began to shake her head side to side. No. But the gesture was shortened as a look of unexpected horror spread across her face. The pain surfaced in her lower back, causing a spot of extreme heat where blood started leaking out.
Out of the corners of her vision, she could see something protruding out of her stomach. With trembling hands she reached down and ran a finger across the jagged edge. It was a shard of glass. She saw Katherine's silhouette towering above her as she hit the floor.
In one solid strike Katherine managed to return Elena so much closer to the brink of death again. And this time, this time she knew she wouldn't be making it out alive.
Damon let out an animalistic growl as he sped over to the stack of bleachers, shoving his fist into them and pulling out a splintered portion with a sharp tip. He charged toward Katherine, who easily dodged his first assault. But she underestimated his deadly accuracy brought forth by her actions. He stabbed her efficiently in the chest, just inches below the heart.
She was about to make some sort of snotty remark, no doubt, and Damon had no desire to listen. "I'm done playing your games, Katerina. Go back to hell where you belong." He spun in a bit of circle, picking up some momentum, before chucking her all the way through the top row of thin glass windows.
Elena, just barely holding onto consciousness, witnessed the whole event, thoroughly surprised by Damon's words and actions. He spun around, discarding the wooden weapon and approached her. She held one hand over the wound and used the other to prop herself up so she could scoot further away from him.
His rage was still present on his face and Elena almost wondered if he was thinking that she was Katherine, hallucinating from the overwhelming doses of anger.
He bent down next to her and felt his veins ripple across his flesh as took in the sight of her blood, again. Elena couldn't hold it together anymore. They both knew that if he bit her, she would die.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she felt more blood spill out between her trembling fingers. "Please don't hurt me anymore, Damon. I'll say it, okay? I'll say it," she said softly. "...I love you."
She watched the fury disappear in just seconds as he collapsed on the ground next to her. He bit into his wrist and held it up to her lips. She gratefully drank the blood, cringing slightly as she felt him remove the glass. She fell into his lap, eyes closed and breathing slowly returning to a normal pace.
He ran his fingers through her hair, admiring her newly healed body. "Finally, you're mine," he whispered, so quietly, Elena wasn't even sure she'd heard him correctly. If she was correct, she wasn't so certain she liked his word choice.
Stefan stopped walking and slumped up against a row of lockers. Due to his slowly weakening body, he only picked up on bits of the conversation, but he wish he heard nothing. What did Katherine do to her to make her say that she…that she loved Damon? Stefan had every intention of proving to Elena that Damon was the worst of the two Salvatore brothers.
And it had started off so well until he lost control and made himself appear to be the worst. But even so, he knew that something wasn't right. Elena didn't love Damon. That was all the more reason to find them and figure out what game Katherine was playing.
He glanced in opposite directions to make sure that no one else was around before speeding toward the abandoned section just a little further down the hall. But before he reached the actual building, he stopped short upon registering the smell of blood. He turned around and found who he had first assumed to be Elena sprawled on the floor, with a small trail of blood illustrating the path she had taken to this point.
Stefan ran to her side, praying that she was still alive. When he rolled her over and saw her face, he instantly retracted his prayers and distanced himself. "Katherine?"
The blood had made him so sure that it was Elena. Why would Katherine still be bleeding?
"Hello, Stefan," she said in a smoky voice. "Damon got me pretty good. For once."
"I'm sure you deserved it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "What did you do to Elena?"
"You don't want to know," she smirked. "Damon and I made a confidential deal."
"What did you do to Elena?" he growled, picking her up by her throat and shoving her against the wall.
She laughed. "Did you forget who's older here?" She reached out and reversed the positions, now pinning him against the wall. "Let's just forget about Elena for a little bit and focus on us. I've missed you so much, Stefan."
So, in the end it was Elena's fear of dying and Damon's instability that drove her to say what he wanted to hear. But will she follow up on it and try to actually help Damon? And how will Katherine keep Stefan around her long enough to convince him to want to fall in love with her? And what will happen to poor Matt and Sheriff Forbes? Find out in the next chapter!
I know it might've been weird to have Damon call Katherine "Katerina" at the end there, but I just love the way he said it in the show, and thought that would add to the drama of the moment ;)
This chapter was kind of a filler...just because this couldn't all fit in the previous chapter and it answers a few questions from the last one. the next one will shift away from the torture/tomb story lines and into something a bit more...interesting.
Between having new eps of TVD again and this amazing fall weather i've been ridiculously happy this past week lol I'm hoping to get In Love With A Killer and Forever Got Too Long updated within the next week or two, so keep on the look out for those!
THANK YOU: XXCresent-RoseXX, EtherealDemon, Bella44, katherine1864, RiverTheKittyKat, AngelJadeO, Dez2sweet, Caro, KaterinaPetrova, Dark-Supernatural-Angel, Passion Berry, damonsalvatoretruelove, and ayna93 for your lovely, amazing comments!