Title: A Turning Page
Summary: Elena finds herself confused with her feelings towards Damon and with Bonnie's help she is given a rare opportunity: to choose between Confederate Damon and Vampire Damon. The only question is: was she lying when she told Damon on his deathbed, "I like you now. Just the way you are." Prompt by taybless.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.
I've waited a hundred years,
But I'd wait a million more for you.
Elena entered her house, slowly wiping away the residual tears that had been falling from her tired eyes. It had been a long night and all she wanted to do now is curl up in bed and curse her heart for putting her through the emotional toll of the past year and a half. The door closed soundly behind her and just as she was about to make her way up the stairs, she heard a creaking floorboard coming from the other room.
She looked up to see Bonnie and Caroline standing in the doorway between the foyer and the living room. A sad smile was directed towards them before the two girls strutted towards her and wrapped her up in a warm embrace. That's when the tears began to fall. Elena was shocked she still had anymore left after the conversation she had just left.
"How did it go?" Bonnie questioned, soothingly rubbing her friends back.
Together the girls led Elena towards the couch, neither removing their hands from her. They could feel the sobs working through her, the effort she was taking to hold in her emotions. Elena let out a shaky breath as she stared in front of her. "It's over. We're finally over."
Caroline squeezed her arm. "How did he take it?"
"He was mad." She paused, and laughed. "Of course. But he wasn't surprised. He said he's known for a long time. He was just waiting for me to realize it."
"You've been ignoring it because you still had hope for you and Stefan," Bonnie pointed out.
Elena shook her head, sobs cracking her voice. "Even if I had hope for Stefan and me, my feelings for Damon were just too strong. I was an idiot to think I could go back to Stefan." Her face fell into her hands. "And now Damon's gone and there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to feel this way about him. He's so unpredictable and inhuman. Do I really want to get involved with another vampire?"
"Elena…" Bonnie began.
"No," Elena stood up. "I know you both are trying to help but I just need some time alone. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Caroline was the first to stand and nod before hugging her best friend. "My phones on if you need me."
"Mine too," Bonnie stated.
With a stiffened smile, Elena showed them both out before walking up her stairs and falling on her bed, letting the guilt, tears and confusion consume her.
"Damon, it's me. I really need to talk to you. It's important. It kind of has to do with us. Just… where are you, Damon? No one has seen or heard from you in a month. You promised you would never leave." Elena sighed into the phone. "Just call me or text me… whatever. Bye."
She hung up the phone and threw it against her bed. Her body curled inwards as she let the tiny tears fall. It wasn't the first time she had called Damon's phone only to hear his voicemail. She just needed to talk to him, to see him. Maybe that would put a name to the feelings building inside her. It could sort out the confusion that had put her in this funk ever since her break up with Stefan.
There was a knock on her bedroom door and Elena wiped under her eyes before calling out, "Come in!"
The door opened to reveal Alaric who stood awkwardly before her. "I'm all packed. Uh, are you sure you don't want me to stay? I can always go next year."
Elena shook her head. "No, I'll be fine."
"Okay…" he responded. "Uh, it's only for a few weeks and I'll only be a plane ride away."
"I know. Ric, it's a dig you've been talking about for weeks. Go have fun."
Alaric nodded. "Right. Just… don't hesitate to call."
"I know. I know."
"Good. I'll call you when I land."
Elena nodded and stood up from her bed. "Let me walk you out."
A knock sounded at the door and Elena rushed towards it, throwing her hair into a quick ponytail. She pulled open the door to see Bonnie's smiling face. "Bonnie? What are you doing here? Did we have plans?"
"No, no. No plans." Bonnie pushed passed Elena and immediately went into the living room. She set her bag on the table and began pulling out various items. Elena walked over and noticed the candles, the sage, the various earthly elements before noticing a picture. Before she could comment, Bonnie spoke again. "I spent all week thinking about what you said. How you felt Damon was too vampire for you."
Elena picked up the picture, seeing Damon in a civil war uniform and staring at the camera. There was a slight smirk to his smile and his unruly hair poked out from underneath his hat. With her arms crossed over her body, Elena asked, "Bonnie, how did you get this?"
Bonnie looked at her with a nervous glance. "I kind of stole it."
"What? Bonnie!"
"Just listen to me. I found a spell that will help you solve your confusion over Damon."
Looking away, Elena responded, "What confusion?"
"You're not fooling anyone, by the way. You've been wishing nonstop that Damon was human and wondering what he was like back when he was. You're not sure you're ready to jump into another vampire relationship. Well, I've found you a little loophole."
Elena was all ears now. She sat on the couch and looked ahead at the setup of items Bonnie had in front of her. It couldn't be too bad, could it? "What's this loophole?"
"Alaric's away on business, right? And we haven't heard from Damon in months?"
"Right. Why?"
Bonnie smiled, ruefully. "You're going to have yourself a houseguest for a few weeks."
With the objects in place, and the candles lit. Elena steadied herself and watched as Bonnie lit Damon's photo on fire. The flames engulfed him and exposed a green spark as Bonnie muttered, "Quid as me praeteriit. Facere vivere quod semel conversus. Scindendum a lamia animain duo."
Elena closed her eyes as the air began to change and Bonnie mixed in the sage with the other herbal elements. The ashes from the photo were mixed in as the incantation continued. There was a sudden pop and then the flames went out and the girls were alone in the darkness. Then slowly the flames came back and illuminated them in the light. An eerie howling wind sound outside and Elena looked towards her friend in confusion.
"It worked," Bonnie breathed as her eyes opened slowly.
"So," Elena began, looking around the room, "what now?"
Bonnie began cleaning up. "We wait. He'll feel a connection to this house. Towards you."
"What do I do with him?" Elena asked.
"Get to know him. That's what you wanted: a chance to see what Damon was like back in 1864."
The two girls waited anxiously in the living room for any sign of their new houseguest. They put on several movies, ate dinner, and even had a little girl talk about what had been going on in their lives. Two movies and several bags of chips later, they became drowsy to wait any longer.
Bonnie was the first to crash, her body curling up on the couch and peaceful breaths escaping her parted lips. Elena grabbed a blanket from the hallway and covered her body. She lifted the remote and turned off the television. The only light illuminating the room was the ceiling light in the foyer.
Elena went about the house, cleaning up the dishes and junk food and putting everything away in its rightful place. Everything was cleaned up as Elena made her way into the hallway about to turn off the light.
Just as her hand reached the switch a light knock rapped on the door. Confusion and nerves swept over her as she reached for the knob, turning it easily and pulling the door open.
A man stood before her dressed in greyish slacks, a white button up that had three buttons open at the top, and overalls. His unruly hair peeked out from underneath a tan bowler hat. The man's bright blue eyes shined at her in confusion before looking her up and down. A blush crossed his cheeks as he noticed her bare legs that were clearly visible in her tiny boxer shorts.
His hand lifted to cover his eyes, "Excuse me, Miss. I shall give you a moment to find suitable attire."
"Damon?" Elena questioned, reaching out to touch his arm and pull it down.
Damon looked at her once again, recognition lighting up his face. "Katherine! You're alive!"
He stepped towards her, meaning to take hold of her in a loving embrace, his lips puckered to touch her own. Elena found herself sticking her hand out to hold him at a distance. This Damon seemed very like the Damon she had witnessed during his wolf bite delusions.
"I'm not Katherine."
His brows furrowed. "Then who are you? You look exactly like her except for the funny clothing."
"Uh," she stated nervously, "it's kind of a funny story."