Sunday 14thNovember
Stefan moved around Elena cautiously, she'd been off all morning. Since awaking, he'd seen more of her back than her face. She wouldn't look him in the eye, or at herself for that matter. There was a sunkenness about her manner and she shuffled around quietly, her mind far away from where they were. She seemed to recoil at his touch, busying herself with something else each time he reached to caress her, put a distance between them each time he leaned too close.
A pit began forming in Stefan's stomach, deepening with each excruciating moment passed, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd done something wrong. He couldn't think of anything other than that she regretted what they'd done last night. He wanted to comfort her about whatever was wrong, but was uncertain if she would let him.
She stood on the deck, looking out at the water. Her eyes cast over the shimmery lake and she seemed to sway with the pull of its stream. He watched her for a moment and it felt like pain, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and watch over the water together, get lost in nature and in each other, like last time when they'd never been more in love.
He walked over to her and rest a hand on her shoulder, she jumped at first to his unexpected touch and then scrambled to wipe her eyes. She'd been crying, he realised.
"Elena?" he asked worriedly.
She smiled up at him, but it trembled, and that dreadful feeling in his stomach wrenched tighter.
"What's wrong?" he frowned.
She shook her head, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"Elena. Tell me." He pressed gently, cupping his hands around her face.
She looked down and her lashes cast a soft shadow on her delicate cheeks. He couldn't read the emotions on her face though he yearned desperately to know what was going on in her head.
"Can we just go home please?" she whispered.
Inside, his heart broke, the plan had been to spend the entire weekend here and now she wanted to leave after one night. Outside, he just nodded quietly and headed inside the cabin to ready their things.
She watched after him, overwhelmed with emotions starting with hurt, guilt, shame, disarray, and ending with ones she couldn't even name herself.
She didn't recognise herself, some part of her was lost.
The drive home was quiet. Stefan fumbled with the radio, glancing at her every few moments. His expression drifted in and out of encouraging smiles and deepset frowns as he battled inside himself, but Elena barely noticed. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead at the scenery that streaked the car windows as they drove by. She was restless, her fingers itching to wrap around her pen and diary and make sure sense of her feelings the only way she ever could.
Damon's fingers were laced tightly through Rebekah's blonde locks, steadying her head as he kissed her extra roughly on the mouth. They were tangled up together under the satin sheets of their hotel bed, their ceiling-to-wall windows canvases to the infamous New York City skyline and the late morning sun illuminating the large room.
They'd lost track of the days now, each day blending into the next: drinking, dancing, blood, sex. Rebekah was a lot of fun, she was a girl without inhibition or confine. A skilled and merciless killer; each meal was a feast and each hunt was a thriller. She could drink her weight and dance the night away, didn't hold back at anything nor mind spilling a little blood down her shirt.
She could keep up with Damon and pushed him to keep up with her. Up for anything and flourished in the big city. It seemed easy for her, the way she got lost in it all she could almost convince you, even if what she really ached for was a white picket fence.
She pushed him away by his chest, lips left bright pink by his aggressive treatment, and sat up. She remarked humorously, "Ooh someone's in a bad mood today. I know what that means.'
"What's that?" he asked, relaxing against the plump pillows.
"It means a certain doe-eyed doppelgänger's gone and upset you."
Rebekah had grown a small understanding of him by now, although it was obvious to anyone who it was that made Damon feel. Their nights together had opened to conversations, drunk conversations became sober. Inevitably, Elena's name had surfaced more than often.
Each day they learned a little more about the other, opened up a little further, bordering on friends. The two vampires could be open, honest, in front of the other, in turn free, reprieved of any pressure to hide their true monstrous natures or grapple to bare the good for the sake of human love in a losing battle they both knew oh-so-well. He could even get her coffee order right by now- sometimes - but that was still pretty hit or miss.
He sighed. "Something like that."
She pouted and ran a hand down his chest and teased further, "Want me to compel away the feelings?"
His fingers came up between them to trace her collarbone absently, "Nope."
"You want to keep on pining?" she cocked her head.
"Yep. It's kind of my thing, I've got a good 150 left years in me in fact." He joked, making Rebekah laugh.
He stretched his arms behind his head, "See that's the thing about time. I don't get your whole human thing."
"Really?" Incredulous. "You've never thought about coming home to someone, excited to spend the night with them, excited to spend your youth together while it counts?" she challenged, staring directly at him.
Her words stirred something in his chest, something he was quite happy to spend eternity never admitting. Instead, he settled for averting her question with humour.
"You just want a tiara." He scoffed.
She rolled her weight onto him and brought her lips to his ear in a wicked whisper, "And what about it?"
"Elena!" Caroline's cheery voice cut through the crowds of people in the Mystic Grill grabbing her friend's attention. Elena weaved through the masses to where Care and Bonnie sat and slid into the booth. She was glad to see her friends and they seemed to feel the same because Caroline's face was lit with glee across the table and Bonnie greeted her with a squeeze as she plopped down beside her.
Elena had called them to hang out after Stefan had dropped her home. He had sidled at her doorstep for a few long moments, when she'd leaned up and kissed him on the lips. He seemed to sag in relief as he stepped away but her own shoulders had remained just as tense. He wanted to talk further but decided against it then. In dire need of her girls, they'd already been at the grill and invited her over to meet them there.
"Okay, spill. How was your getaway? And why are you back already?!" Caroline demanded immediately.
"Hey Care. I'm good, thanks, how are you?" Elena responded sarcastically and Bonnie snickered to her side.
"Blah blah, come on, get smutty with me." Caroline wagged her eyebrows comically.
"Care! Come on" Elena protested.
"You come on." The blonde vampire huffed.
"So where are the boys?" Elena asked, tentatively maneuvering the topic whilst Caroline seemed to be giving her the chance to.
"Matt got food poisoning." Bonnie answered and then glanced nervously at Caroline's face which became very straight then.
"And I don't know about Tyler because he hasn't called me back in, mmm, three days." She smiled sweetly through gritted teeth.
Bonnie fidgeted for a second, "Actually Elena, I do want to hear about your trip."
Caroline perked up instantly and looked at Elena expectantly.
"Okay." Elena caved. "Well yesterday, Stefan picked me up in the morning and we drove to the cabin. I don't think anyone's even been there since… last year. The night of Damon's Godawful dinner party." She shook her head.
"We went for a walk around the lake, Stefan set up a picnic right on the deck which was lovely. He'd made the food himself and brought this fancy wine, he definitely stole it from Damon's collection I'm sure." she laughed as she recalled, missing Caroline and Bonnie's glances to each other.
She continued, "He told me some stories from when he grew up in Mystic Falls in the 1800s. They rode around in carriages, they had to learn to dance, and fence- oh and to ride horses, you know, no cars. I can picture Stefan on a horse but could you guys imagine Damon? Ha its—"
"Okay pause, was this getaway with Stefan or Damon?" Care shot out.
Elena was startled, "What?"
"You've mentioned Damon's name a few times," Bonnie said gently, shooting Caroline a look. In vain, because Caroline added accusingly, "Yeah more times than Stefan's. What's up with that?"
Colour trickled out of Elena's face and her eyes came down in front of her, unable to look up at her. Her voice was quiet, "Nothing. I don't know- nothing."
"Elena, you've been thinking about him?" Bonnie urged gently.
Elena swallowed and looked at the two of them. Her mind raced as the confession became heavy on her tongue, until she finally resigned to it, she had to get it off. "I called him."
"What?" Caroline cried, drawing some looks from surrounding brunchgoers. Elena tried to shush her in panic.
"Whilst you were out there with Stefan?" Bonnie winced.
Elena wanted to hide. Her face fell into her hands and her words came out muffled.
"I don't know why I did, okay? I was just lying there and then something came over me and I did it."
"Well what did he say?" Bonnie asked.
Elena's head came back up with a sigh, "Basically that I shouldn't have."
Bonnie rubbed her best friend's arms sympathetically but Caroline did not share the sentiment. And when she opened her mouth, she showed no mercy.
"Sorry Elena, I guess I'm going to have to be the one to say this. Enough of this okay? We're not going back to this because it went on for long enough. It's chosen and done. You chose Stefan – the right choice by the way! - Damon is over, and he's clearly over you so you need to get over him. God, at least Katherine could admit it. You can't have it both ways, be with Stefan and have Damon still in love with you, at your beck and call, picking up your midnight booty calls. Letting him go means letting him GO."
Elena was stunned at first, and then her head dropped in shame and her bottom lip quivered. She did expect Damon to still be there, he'd promised so. It was that in becoming her partner, confidant, her support the past few months, she'd gotten used to him there and she felt it harrowingly him gone. Letting him go means letting him go. Caroline's words were clear.
"You're right, I don't know what I was thinking." She shook her head and pressed her lips into an assuring smile. "It's over, really." She said it confidently, convincing herself.
Bonnie gave her hand a squeeze and Caroline softened at last, giving an encouraging smile.
A/N: Hello in hindsight this chapter showing our morning after should've gone with the last update, but alas I hope you accept it from me now. We're getting closer with the slowburn do not worry.
Anyways, exams finished and it's summer baby so I'll be better updating.
In response to the reviewer asking if I will write AHs, the answer is… YES! Canon fics, AU/AH fics, full-length fics, more mini-fics I wanna write eeeverything! Leave your thoughts, what you want to read from me, requests, preferences, or anything in the reviews! I've got some ideas but I want to hear from you all :] I wrote this mini-fic just to pursue a non-turbulent narrative to get this writing thing going but I'm ready for better things if you are.