Outside Looking In
DG32173

Sarah: an idea I got while rereading a couple of my favorite one-shots. I hope everyone enjoys what I've come up with. This chapter is from Stefan's perspective.

CREDIT
Credit goes to the amazing fanfic writer SpanishLullabies for their fanfics "Five Scenes of Domesticity" and "Wednesday", which inspired me to write a fanfic of this theme.

DISCLAIMER
If I own it or am inspired by a reviewer to write it, I will put a credit section like the above before the chapter it appears in and give credit for the concept where it is due. Otherwise it is safe to assume that it's either used so much in fanfic writing that it doesn't need disclaiming OR that it's copyrighted to someone else.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ALERT! PLEASE READ!
Takes place in Season 3. When Klaus freed Stefan, Stefan did not steal the coffins. The gang captured him and dosed him with a mega-shot of vervaine before he had a chance to. It took two full months for Stefan to be detoxed back onto animal blood. Elena did not get back with Stefan after all was said and done. There was too much between them now for things to just go back to as they were. During Stefan's stint in the boarding house basement, Caroline had one of her exceedingly rare fits of actual genius when she realized that Klaus has obviously fallen head-over-heels for her. Despite the protests from all her friends, she knew that was the key to getting him to back off from Elena. So she made some pretty clear threats to his face in regards to how his going after her best friend is definitely not the way to win her over. To everyone's surprise, but most especially Klaus', the ploy actually worked. Klaus has been too busy trying to win Caroline from Tyler to bother with even thinking about creating more hybrids. A month has passed since Elena officially broke up with Stefan. But no one, not even love struck Klaus, is blind to how close Elena and Damon are getting. There's a running bet among everyone in Mystic Falls on what it will take to get the two to hook up. There's your background information.

WARNINGS
That "M" rating is not just for show, my lovelies. There are going to be quite of few people stumbling in on Damon and Elena in increasingly "questionable" positions. And I assure you, there will be some awesome Delena smut by the end of this without any moment killers stumbling in them. Each chapter is from a different person's viewpoint. As I said above, this is Stefan's first chapter.

SUMMARY
(Season 3 AU) Everyone around them is always watching, waiting with bated breath to see where the unbreakable bond between Elena and Damon will lead them. Not everyone's happy with what they see but nothing is stopping this avalanche or even changing it's course … Damon/Elena


Chapter 1
It's Crazy

I've always been suspicious when it came to Elena and Damon spending any sort of time together. But when I was finally back on animal blood after my latest stint locked in the boarding house basement, I had noticed that something was different now. And I'm not talking about their relationship. I'm talking about my own relationship with Elena. She no longer wanted to spend any time alone with me. In fact, the mere suggestion seemed to terrify her. Admittedly, after all I did while under Klaus' thumb, it shouldn't have been surprising. But it was. And it hurt. It took a week of her dodging my touch and insisting that someone among our crew stay close, "just in case", for me to finally decide to confront her about it. I remember it so clearly as if it is happening now.

"Elena, can I talk to you, privately?" I ask her. She and Damon are curled on a couch in the library while Damon translates an Italian storybook for her.

She casts a troubled look at Damon. "I'll stay close," my brother promises as he stands up. The immense relief on her face at his words is like a stake to the gut. "I think I know what he wants to talk about and it's best this conversation be hashed out sooner rather than later. Don't worry, I'll be right outside the door."

She touches his arm. "Thank you," she breathes.

Damon grabs my shoulder as I move to take his spot. "Not an inch closer to her, Stefan," he growls, glaring in my eyes. "You know damn well her newfound fear of you is not without warrant. And your control is still shaky. You stay right here or I'm not even going to pretend to give you privacy for this conversation. I know that the last thing you'd consider doing right now is hurt her. But that could change in an instant and you know it as well as I do. So are you going to stay right on this spot or am I going to stay in here while you have this conversation with her?"

I sigh and take a step back to answer him. He nods and leaves the library, quietly shutting the door behind him. I study Elena and see that Damon was understating the case. Elena is more than merely afraid of me: she's terrified of me. "Elena…" I start but fall silent again as she flinches. I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Things aren't going to be the same between us ever again, are they?" I ask softly.

"I'm sorry, Stefan," she says softly. And I can see in her eyes that she is truly and sincerely sorry for the way things now stand between us. "You did so much since you gave yourself over to Klaus. And don't even try explaining yourself," she snaps when I open my mouth. "You bit me, Stefan," she whispers brokenly. "Damon doesn't know the full extent of what happened that night. But you do." I wince as those horrible memories encroach on me. "That's not the only thing that will always be between us, but it's one of the biggest. I can't be with you, knowing that under the surface lies the monster that did all those horrible things to me and those I care about. I don't even know if I could be your friend right now. It's too soon, too fresh." A tear slips down her cheek. "I'm sorry for hurting you like this, Stefan. But even right now, being in this room with you and knowing Damon is right outside the door, I am having a hard time thinking coherently through my fear of you."

I wince. "That says it all, doesn't it? Your thoughts are nearly incoherent because of how afraid you are of me," I say with a sigh. "I never wanted things to be like this between us." I grit my teeth before meeting her eyes. "But, given the choice, I'd do it all again because if I hadn't gone to Klaus, Damon would be dead. And, to be honest, neither of us would have been able to make it without him."

I nod at her before turning around and leaving the library. I nod at my brother as he raises an eyebrow at me. Then I turn and make my way out of the house. I need some time alone.

It's been a month since that day. As I've watched her over the past month, I could see for myself how honest she was about being terrified of me. And it's almost like another sense she's gained. She seems to sense every single time I'm in the same room as her, just the way she can sense my brother.

As I walk into The Grill, my eyes immediately land on her near the pool tables. And she's completely tensed, her fight-or-flight instinct preparing her instantly the moment I walk into the same room as her. Damon, next to her, looks in my direction before laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. And like that, all the tension is gone from her body. It's not a good feeling, being called the brother that can't be trusted. Worse is knowing that it's true.

I sigh and make my way over to where Bonnie is seated. As I draw closer, I notice an altogether unnerving expression on the young witch's face as she watches Damon and Elena. I sit next to her and turn my attention back to Damon and Elena, who are engrossed in their game of pool.

"It's crazy," she murmurs after a moment.

"What's crazy?"

"Have you not been watching them?" she demands. I look at her, confused. "Okay, I should have known the fact that they're your brother and ex would put you in total denial about seeing it," she sighs. "Empty all thoughts of who they are from your mind as you watch them. Pretend that you know they're a human and a vampire but you don't know them at all. And watch them."

I turn my eyes back to Damon and Elena and try to view them as Bonnie describes. But it's still difficult to see whatever it is she's obviously seeing. "You sure you're not seeing it simply because you're a witch?" I ask.

"Caroline was here earlier and she saw it," Bonnie replies. "Do you want me to make it blaringly obvious?"

"It seems it's the only way I'll see it," I say wryly.

"Look in Elena's eyes as she watches Damon. Then look in Damon's eyes as he watches Elena," Bonnie says.

It takes thirty seconds to get the chance to get both glimpses but when I see it, my insides turn to a cold, hard knot. "They're in love with each other," I whisper.

"I have never seen Elena more alive than when Damon is near, not even before the accident that took her parents' lives. They keep up the mantra of being 'just friends'. But take a look at the betting board before you leave and you'll see just how obvious this is to the whole damn town," she says.

The betting board is a bulletin board near the entrance to The Grill with notepads tallying the town bets. "It's a town bet on if they'll get together?" I ask, the cold, hard knot hurting painfully.

"Not 'if'," Bonnie says softly. Now I feel like I just gat staked. "Just when and how. It's been up since their dance." No need to specify when there's only one dance they shared that the whole town was witness to: the Miss Mystic Falls dance where Damon stepped in and rescued her while I was off struggling to keep from feeding on that girl. "Frankly, there had been talk of putting up a another bet on what it would take for her to realize that you were not for the one for her." I grimace. "You can thank Caroline for keeping that bet from becoming official."

"Anyways, knowing that they're in love with each other is crazy, but I have a feeling that wasn't what you were referring to," I say softly.

"What's crazy is that they are completely oblivious to how the other feels. Well, Elena knows intellectually that Damon loves her but it really hasn't hit her. And Damon knows Elena has powerful feelings for him, feelings she's refusing to acknowledge. But he doesn't know that she loves him just as much as he loves her. They give off more than a thousand telltales in a matter of minutes but they are both too blind to recognize those telltales for what they are. Watch them for a few minutes, see if you can keep track of all the telltales that they are in love with each other but the one on the receiving end doesn't see it that way. I bet you'll lose count fast."

I watch and am surprised that Bonnie was right. Anyone else would call the countless touches and looks as flirting while their tones with each other would have you swear they are just resisting ripping their clothes off each other but I know that this is how they've always treated each other. And they both look happier than I have ever seen them. They're wrapped in their own little world. And neither of them has the slightest clue that the other is madly in love with them. "You're right. It is crazy," I tell Bonnie. I sigh. "What are we going to do about it?" I ask through grit teeth. Just because it's hell imagining them together, it would be worse to not make the two people I love most realize that they are in love with each other.

"Nothing," she says firmly. I look at her in shock. "Their time's coming. It's inevitable. Just be prepared for watching them be happy together for eternity. It won't be for another few years, when she looks less like Katherine, but he's going to wear down her resistance to the thought of becoming a vampire."

I've always been suspicious of their relationship, but now I've had my suspicions confirmed. It sucks but I always knew that if Damon ever decided he wanted Elena for himself, nothing would stop her from falling for him.