Chapter 29: Only A Game
They'd been walking the whole day. The sun had set a long time ago, but the five were still walking. Elena was the only human in the group, so naturally she was the only one whose feet hurt like hell. She tried not to show it as they walked for miles, but someone was bound to notice her limp eventually. Stefan had mumbled something like,
"Guys, we should rest for a moment," but it had no important impact on the group.
"Okay, that's it," Damon suddenly stated, stopping. "We're not moving on. Elena's bleeding now."
Everyone turned to Elena, frowning. She was frowning, too.
"What? Damon, I'm not bleeding."
Damon wordlessly walked over to her, lifted her leg up and pulled her shoe off.
"Want to tell that to your leg?" her heel was bleeding, and her toes were scratched badly. She frowned.
"Oh."
"We're not moving on," Damon stated in a voice that said the subject was no longer up for discussion.
Derek said,
"Okay then," and moved to put up a tent. Gwen did the same, speaking to Derek quietly. Stefan walked over to Elena where Damon was silently observing her leg for more injuries. He put a hand gently on her back, asking,
"Are you okay?"
Elena looked up at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled reassuringly.
Damon stood up.
"No, she's not. She needs to rest, and some bandages on her legs."
Elena looked at him pointedly, opening her mouth to argue, but Damon cut her off.
"This isn't up for discussion. You're going to rest like a good girl, and we move on tomorrow morning if you're better."
Elena sighed as she shared a look with Damon.
"The tents are up!" Derek called, snapping them out of their haze. Elena started to move, but Damon stopped her again, saying,
"Oh no. You're not going anywhere until I patch you up."
He took a bandage from his bag and wrapped her legs up, careful not to hurt her in the process.
When Damon was done, he threw Elena over his shoulder, lazily walking towards one of the tents.
"Which one's for the girls?" he asked. Derek pointed to his right, and that's where Damon took Elena. He laid her down on the sleeping bag. He then sped away and was back in a second, Elena's shoes in hand.
"Come on," he deadpanned. "Try to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."
He looked at Elena who was trying to get back up again. He gently, but firmly, pushed her back down and pulled the sleeping bag covers over her.
"Don't," he said. "Try. To move."
Elena scowled at him, huffing as she sank back, leaning her head on a small pillow. She stared at the ceiling blankly, both not being able to, and not wanting to sleep. At some point, Gwen climbed in. She didn't seem as bitter as when they first met.
"I guess we're tent mates," she said. She climbed into the sleeping bag and stared at the ceiling, too. Suddenly she sat up, lifting her gaze to Elena.
"You know, I've seen you're rather taken with Damon. But don't misjudge him – he doesn't give a flying crap about you."
Elena frowned at her as she continued.
"He hasn't cared for anybody in more than 150 years, and you, a mere human girl, have not made a difference."
"He does care," Elena tried to defend. "You haven't seen him like I have."
Gwen snorted a laugh.
"Now it's the 'you don't know him like I do' talk. Why do you think you're special? Let me guess. You brought back his humanity, right?" her tone was tauntingly laced with sarcasm, and Elena felt offended. It was true.
"You do realize he's been using people and played with them for over a century, right? He's just like me – always looking out for himself. To vampires like us, people are merely food – a game. And a harmless silly human like you will never change that. It won't change who we are."
Gwen fell silent after that, and Elena swallowed the lump that had risen to her throat. Was she right? She couldn't be. Elena noiselessly got up, ignoring the sharp pain the movement sent to her legs. She fumbled with the zippers of the tent, trying to get them open. Then she climbed out into the chilly air. She walked away from the tents, hoping no one would follow her. She'd had enough of vampires for now.
Elena walked in the middle of the trees, having no idea where she was actually going. Her legs hurt like hell, but she chose to ignore it.
'To vampires like us, people are merely food – a game. And a harmless silly human like you will never change that. It won't change who we are.'
Elena sighed, at the verge of crying. Was Gwen really right? Was she stupid for trying to change a vampire for the better? But Damon cared. He cared for her; he'd said it. Had he only been acting? Elena refused to believe that. Gwen had just been playing with her.
Elena found a large flat rock and sat down on it. Had something happened to Gwen that made her so bitter?
Elena's legs hurt. Her head hurt. Her heart hurt. Her mind was working overdrive. And she didn't like any of it. Why couldn't Gwen just leave her alone?
