When I woke in the morning, I was surprised to find a peaceful and uncommonly vulnerable Damon sleeping beside me. The white sheet sitting low on his hips, I watched with fascination as his chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed deeply, his eyelashes fluttering slightly in the bliss of unconsciousness. It was strange to see him like this. He looked younger somehow, his face innocent and pure. It was easy now to imagine the Damon from 1864 who would have been polite and gentlemanly and completely opposing of violence. I reached out tentatively and brushed my fingertips lightly across his forehead, gently sweeping his black hair away from his face. I couldn't help but smile at the small sigh that escaped his lips. I stared fixated at his slightly parted lips, not wanting to wake him but desperate to feel their softness against my own once more. Carefully, I slid my hand across his waist and shuffled further into his body, humming appreciatively at his warmth. I lifted my head slightly and lightly pressed my lips to his, surprised when he immediately returned the pressure.
"Hey," I whispered against his lips, almost going cross-eyed with the close proximity.
"Hey," He replied just as quietly, his arms wrapping around my waist and hauling my body on top of his.
I shivered slightly at the cold draft on my back in contrast to the heat of Damon against my front, but it was only a couple of seconds before he reached down and pulled the sheet around us.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked softly, his hands reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ears so he could see my face better.
"Better than I have in days." I admitted truthfully.
"I must have tired you out." He said smugly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Hardly. I have better stamina than you old man." I teased, squealing as Damon flipped us over and kissed me hard.
"Damon?" A deep voice called from the hall, followed by a series of strong knocks on the wooden door.
Damon flopped over onto his back again, clearly disgruntled by the interruption.
"What?" He answered, irritation seeping into his tone.
"Sorry," Stefan said politely as he stood in the now open doorway. "Caroline's downstairs Elena."
I sat upright in surprise, forgetting my lack of clothing and having to quickly grasp the sheet to cover myself.
"What time is it?" I asked, looking between Stefan and Damon who was still laying very comfortably, one arm now folded beneath his head.
"Just gone ten." Stefan replied.
"Right. Could you tell her I'll be down in a couple of minutes please?" I said after a moment.
"Of course." He answered with a nod of his head, a small smile on his lips. "Damon-" He then began.
"Yes I know," Damon interjected. "We can discuss it whilst Elena's busy with Caroline."
"Discuss what?" I interrupted curiously. I didn't like being left out.
"Elena, we left pretty early last night. We need to find out what happened after we'd gone. Stefan stayed to keep an eye on things, remember?" Damon replied.
"Yes. Of course." I said, slightly disgruntled about the fact they seemed to be taking control over the whole situation. They were clearly older than me and had far me experience, but I wasn't a huge fan of having decisions made for me and I certainly wasn't going to let Stefan or Damon tell me what to do.
Twenty minutes later, Caroline and me were sat in the Mystic Grill.
"Are you sure there's not something wrong?" She asked, eyeing me with suspicion.
Apparently, ordering a beer at half ten in the morning wasn't normal, or healthy. Caroline had genuinely asked whether I had an alcohol problem.
"I'm fine, honestly!" I replied for what felt like the tenth time.
"Okay, okay!" She said, putting her hands up in defeat. "Now, tell me more about last night. Did you steal the show with that dress? Was it really glamorous? Do Damon and Stefan clean up well? I bet they looked good. I bet Damon looked really good." She rushed.
I bit my lip and my stomach knotted at the mention of Damon. It was only when I'd left the house that I really processed what had happened between the two of us the night before. It had been irresponsible of me. Growing attached and making relationships with people had never been a part of my plan.
"Well, the house was amazing Caroline. Think mega-millionaire mansion with curving staircases and chandeliers. Damon and Stefan looked pretty good I suppose, but they weren't exactly James Bond. Damon was actually kind of annoying. You know what I've said before about him being arrogant and full of himself and impulsive and controlling." I replied.
"Have you ever thought that maybe he annoys you so much because you like him? Maybe, and I'm only saying maybe, you're actually just frustrated with yourself for liking him despite all his… flaws." She said in her 'Caroline knows best because duh' voice.
"No. Never. I could never like him. Not in a million years. He's insufferable." I protested, my face beginning to flush despite my best intentions.
"You've already slept with him!" She suddenly exclaimed after staring scrutinisingly at me for a moment. "You have, haven't you?"
"Um… maybe? Just a little? Just once… or maybe twice… but it was only one night!" I replied defensively.
"I knew it!" She laughed, leaning back in her chair with a silly smile on her pretty face.
"Don't look so pleased with yourself." I muttered, but I couldn't help the small grin that appeared on my face; Caroline's happiness had always been infectious.
"Was he good?" She asked with a smirk and a wink.
I rolled my eyes and then froze as I caught a glimpse of two men entering the grill and heading towards the bar.
"What is it?" Caroline asked, obviously noticing my sudden distress.
"Caroline, I'm going to the bathroom. Call Damon. Now. Please." I said quickly, my voice shaking and my heart in my throat.
"Elena? What's happening?" She whispered worriedly, a deep frown creasing her forehead.
"My dad. He's here." I replied before practically running into the bathroom.
Damon was cautious as he entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him and then standing awkwardly looking down at my curled up form on the floor.
"We need to get you out of here. It's dangerous." He said flatly.
"Is Caroline out? Is she safe?" I asked hollowly, worried that my dad will have spotted her.
"She left as soon as you came in here. She rang me from the car." He replied.
"Good." I murmured with a small nod.
"Elena-" He began, but then trailed off as if he didn't know what to say. "Come on, we need to go."
I took the hand he offered to help me get up and kept close to him as we left the small room. Damon led me through the back and straight into his car, which he had cleverly parked just outside the door. I immediately turned to look out the window, but I could feel his eyes on me for almost the entire duration of the drive home, his hand occasionally reaching out to brush against my thigh.
"Elena-" Damon tried again as soon as we got in the boarding house.
"I'm tired. I know we need to talk, but can we at least lay down?" I asked quietly.
"Of course." He replied before silently following me up the stairs.
I immediately undressed until I was in nothing but my undies and then I slid beneath the duvet and curled into a ball. I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt a shirtless Damon slide in behind me and wrap himself around my small frame.
"It's okay Elena." He shushed as I began to shake, only realising after hearing his soft voice that I had started to cry.
"I forgot how frightened he made me. Last night, I must have been in shock. I don't think I processed anything properly." I murmured unsteadily.
"You shouldn't have left the house without me." He replied quietly, his hands rubbing soothing circles on my stomach.
"I don't want to be a prisoner Damon." I bit back a little too sharply.
"You're not a prisoner, but you need to be smart here. If you go into town without me or Stefan, we can't protect you. Whilst your father is here he could be anywhere. This is the only safe place for you. You're incredibly lucky you spotted him as soon as you did." He explained patiently.
"I know I was stupid, but-" I began, a lump rising in my throat.
"But what?" He asked.
"For so long, the only thing I could think about was finding my dad and killing him. I thought about everything I'd lost, day in day out, and I was miserable. I didn't even think about the fact I could still have a life if I chose to, that I could carry on. Things have been different recently. I have Caroline and Alaric and Stefan and… you. It kind of feels like things have gone back to normal? I don't know, I guess I've just been enjoying that and ignoring everything that's still happening because it's just easier than facing reality. I wasn't even thinking about my dad this morning, I just wanted to spend some time with Caroline. It was irresponsible, I know, but I forgot that I'm in danger and that my dad is back and that he's a vampire and I'm a vampire and my mum's dead and I didn't see any of my friends for a year. I forgot. I'm sorry." I told him unevenly.
Damon tugged at me until I rolled around to face him and then, with a (loving?) smile on his face, he wiped at my eyes and pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead. I sighed as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his chest, the duvet surrounding my back to keep me warm.
"We'll talk more about it later. You need rest. Sleep." He whispered soothingly, his fingers running comfortingly up and down my spine to help me relax and fall asleep.
This time, when I woke up, I found Damon sat beside me on the bed with his arms crossed, a deep frown on his face as he stared into nothing, apparently lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice rough with sleep.
Damon jolted slightly at the unexpected noise and looked down at me, expression relaxing but only for a moment.
"Klaus was here." He replied.
"Klaus? Here?" I asked uncomprehending.
"That's what I just said." He said blankly
I shook my head as I processed the information, choosing to ignore Damon's rudeness. "What did he want?"
"He was asking about you. I don't know why, and God knows I plan on finding out, but he's extremely interested in you." He explained.
"Do you think he knows? Do you think he knows that I'm his daughter?" I asked as I sat up, now feeling very much awake.
Damon sighed and tugged at his hair with both hands, obviously stressed over the day's events. "I don't know, but with Klaus it's best to presume he knows everything. From what I've heard, Klaus is always one step ahead, of everyone. Trust me when I say you've got no idea what we're up against here."
I gulped and leaned back against the bed frame, watching quietly as the rain pattered against the tall glass windows. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think Grayson has any idea that you're here with us, or that it was you last night at the party because I'm sure we would have heard something from him by now. But, then again, we have no idea what sort of a relationship or how devoted he is to Klaus. It's just as possible that he knows everything and is simply helping to play out whatever little game Klaus has got going. It's difficult to tell. I want to speak to Isobel, work out what might be going on, see if she will help. In the mean time though, I think it's best we get you back to your training. I'll work with you most of the time because Alaric does actually have a job, not that he's all that great at it, but I'm sure he'll drop in to help. I want to make sure you're ready for whatever is coming. Something tells me it's going to be big. I don't think this is as simple as just killing your father anymore Elena. It wouldn't surprise me if Klaus is behind everything; your father turning, him abusing you, killing your mother. There's something he wants." Damon said thoughtfully.
"I'll do whatever you need me to do Damon. I trust you. I know you'll keep me safe." I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm.
Damon smiled as he looked down at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I was certain there was something he wasn't telling me, but now didn't really seem like the right time to challenge him about it. I hated that I'd brought him and Stefan into all this, but I also knew there was no way I could do it alone and no way of getting out of it now. I had changed since I'd turned into a vampire, but so had everything else and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with it all. Everything had become so complicated and messy. Before, it had seemed enough to work on my aesthetics and ability to seduce men into submission. I hated all vampires and killing my father was the only thing that mattered. Now I found myself surrounded by more people than I had been in years, all of whom were now at risk because of the plan my mother had forged for me, and suddenly I was unsure of everything I'd been taught and everything I thought I hated and understood. I clearly didn't hate all vampires anymore. I'd somehow wiggled my way back into my old life and my old friendships, and killing people in order to improve my own strength hadn't been as simple as I'd thought it would be. Part of the problem stemmed from the fact my mother had told me vampires were completely monstrous and that once I became one I'd have no conscience, so it would be easy to murder and hurt people to fulfil my own ends. She had been so, so wrong though. If anything, I felt more now than I did before. I'd been suffocating in nothingness as a human and I hadn't even realised it, my heart hardened and my mind poisoned by the person I had looked up to and loved more than anyone else. I still wanted to kill my father - that was a desire I couldn't shake even though my reasons was gradually becoming more and more flimsy - but it suddenly seemed less urgent and less consuming. I wasn't sure it was worth losing everyone else over. I wasn't sure I was ready to lose this new life I had been building for myself.
"You won't do anything without telling me first will you? We're a team Damon. I still don't like that you're involved in this, but I know I can't do anything about it now. I just need you to promise me you won't do anything impulsive. Don't try to be the hero Damon." I murmured seriously.
Damon laughed softly, but there was no humour in it. "I'm not a hero Elena. It's not in me. If you're looking for a hero, you should probably be with my brother right now."
I got up and walked into the bathroom, turning on the taps so I could run myself a hot bath. I was feeling pretty gross from last night and I knew it was what I needed to feel better. "What the hell did you do that is so hard to forgive yourself for? You can't have done anything that much worse than Stefan surely? I swear, for someone as arrogant and pig-headed as you are, you sure are self-deprecating." I called back as I stepped out of my underwear and watched in the mirror as I span my hair up on top of my head.
"I guess Stefan just finds it easier to forgive and forget. Or maybe, it's because he's so fucking self-righteous." He replied, leaning against the wall and very unsubtly checking out my naked body.
"Better than acting like a wounded puppy." I muttered with a smirk as I stepped into the tub and sank beneath the steaming water, a sigh escaping my lips as my muscles relaxed.
"Excuse me?" He replied incredulously, his eyebrows high on his forehead.
"You know, moaning and desperate for attention." I said, gazing at him in challenge.
"I don't do that." He defended adamantly.
"Not all the time, but it's a pretty accurate depiction some of the time." I argued.
"Well then you're like an abandoned kitten. You mope around sadly and then get all grisly and claw at people and then start curling round their ankles when you want to be petted. You're hot and cold. You don't trust anyone but you don't want to be alone either. Being around you is like having whiplash; I don't know how you're going to act or react and it's exhausting." He bit back.
I stared at him in silence, stunned by his outburst. "I did warn you that I'm a bitch." I said simply.
"Maybe I should have listened." He replied.
"Maybe I should have paid more attention when I realised what a dick you were." I teased.
"I guess we're both pretty stupid then aren't we?" He admitted.
We stared at each other for a moment and then Damon walked back into the bedroom, slipping an expensive black button-up on and leaving the room with it still undone.
"Fuck." I muttered as I leant my head against the back of the tub and blinked up at the ceiling.
Here's another chapter, I'm sorry not that much has really happened but I'm still kind of working out where to take the story. Please keep sending me reviews, they honestly do help and inspire me to keep writing! x