What if Elena had stayed human upon choosing Stefan? Would she ever have found her way back to Damon? / Post-3x22, Delena mutual pining [...] We're just watching Elena face her decision of Stefan without the influence of the sire bond or struggling with her transition etc. Damon has a very specific override in his brain which is Elena's wellbeing which we saw take precedence in S4 so he stuck around and helped etc. Here, the bottom line is that she is okay and living out her own decision. [from Same Stars synopsis]
Rebekah was still on top of the world, her cheeks moulded into their gleeful grin as she sank from her cloud into the bed. Her make up was off now - the glow of her skin was all her - and her hair was tied messily in a bun, but she still wore her gown. A taller, more rugged vampire sat at the edge of the bed beside her. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top and tie loosened at last, silky hair slightly dishevelled after the long day.
"A sash. A fucking sash." Damon mumbled, shaking his head at a loss, "All this was so you could get your tiara and it was just a lousy little sash."
He swirled the bourbon in his glass and took a gulp, like he was deeply troubled by the fact. Rebekah laughed out loud, not even Damon's usual dark sentiments ebbing her high.
"It's better than a tiara." She declared, before sitting up onto her elbows and looking at him seriously. "Thank you, Damon. Really. This was all a dream." She wrapped her arms around him into a hug.
He stilled as he let her hold him, but still smiled into his glass behind her back where she couldn't see. He wasn't one for thanks, but he was glad to see her so happy.
"You know, maybe you're not such a terrible guy after all." Rebekah remarked teasingly as she pulled away.
Damon scoffed, "Oh contrary sister. I'm worse."
Rebekah wasn't surprised by his typical playful self-deprecation, any other day she would've indulged it in jest, but not today. She responded firmly, "No, you're not."
Damon was ready with another cynical one-liner but Rebekah didn't give him the chance. "And you should let yourself be happy." she finished.
Oh Lord. Let himself be happy? What was this woman on about? And didn't she know that duties of the crowned princess of the townspeople didn't include their psychotherapy?
His lips curled tightly and he came out with a tired response, "I'm getting a refill." He got up and walked over to the open bottle of bourbon.
Let himself be happy? He wasn't not happy; he felt fine, he was even vaguely looking forward to maybe hitting the town campsite for dinner later. But was he happy? What he knew with grim certainty, was if not, it wasn't his choice leading him there.
Rebekah stared carefully at her friend for a moment, the one she'd gotten to know over the past few weeks, the one she'd danced with earlier today. "She likes you, you know?"
Damon froze.
"So why are you punishing yourself?" Rebekah continued.
Damon didn't bother pretending he didn't know what - who - she was talking about. He instead sighed and finished pouring his drink.
"I'm not punishing myself, I'm protecting myself." He said flatly to which Rebekah shook her head disapprovingly. "No matter how close I get, she chose him. Over and over."
He thought back to the pageant with Elena. They'd shared something intense, he'd known it. He'd felt her on every inch of him. It was tension and emotion and fireworks. And then she'd run away and Stefan had gone after her, off together to do whatever they do, and Damon was reminded again of what the reality was and would be. And it hurt.
Let her go, that had been the plan. He'd left Mystic Falls altogether and yet somehow, here he was, back again. For Rebekah, he'd told himself, which was true, but he also knew deep down, he'd just needed to see her.
"Well, I'm a lot older than you, and wiser, so take my advice here." Damon rolled his eyes at that. "She'll probably figure things out soon enough, and then, she'll be here. You," she jabbed him accusingly. "don't sabotage your own happiness."
Damon looked away. His earlier fondness for Rebekah had waned as he was reminded how annoying having friends could be, and he suddenly missed when the two of them were enemies. But the rattled breath he released divulged that her words had struck him somewhere, and Rebekah softened into a smile.
"I'm gonna go home and change now. Thank you again." She leaned over and gave him a peck on his cheek.
"It was all you." he said with a small smile, his eyes drifting away with his mind, as she gathered her things and left out the door.
When the light rapping on the front door met Damon's ears later that night, he stopped, immediately sensing who was behind there.
He pulled back the door and there she stood. Elena was changed out of the dressy attire, in regular clothes and shoes now, but there was still nothing plain about her, she looked beautiful standing there on the doorstep. Her eyes were nervous as they greeted him and she gave a small smile.
"Hey." she said.
"Hey." he replied, taking her in. "Uh, come in."
He moved aside and she smiled sweetly, tucking her hair as she stepped into the large house. She walked over and stood in the middle of the room, and Damon wandered over to the fireplace. They were both standing, not quite on defence or offense.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I'm good." he nodded slowly.
"That was nice, what you did for Rebekah." she said emphatically, looking up at him with full, earnest eyes.
"Thanks." he said shortly, still a little on edge.
"You're— you're a special guy Damon, l hope she realises whilst she has you." Her words were loaded and sincere and she pressed them with a tender smile.
Damon froze. "I told you, she's my friend." he said, and her heart fluttered hopefully.
"We're both clear about that," he finished, and she flinched. Ouch.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?"
Elena took a deep breath, "For pretending I didn't know what was going on between us, because if I acknowledged it, it would become real and I'd have to deal with it when what I really wanted was to keep savouring it. For not realising how much that would affect you and hurt you. I always encouraged you to feel the pain Damon, I never let you convince me you didn't feel it, except this now. I never let myself know how much I could be the one hurting you because I didn't want you to leave me... You did leave me, and it hurts me more than anything."
She ended her speech very small. There had at first been a desperate fire in her eyes whilst the words were tumbling out of her mouth, but it was replaced by a sunken hurt now, one just sheer and frank.
"I didn't leave you." he said.
"It feels like you did."
"What did you expect, Elena?" He demanded, emotion entering his voice at last. "You left me alone to die, making me think I was crazy and it was all in my head this whole time, just to go and run into my brother's arms."
"It wasn't just Stefan. It was Caroline and Tyler." she said quietly.
"We've had this conversation already." His cut coldly, tired. "Why did you come here?"
There was a long pause and Elena suddenly felt desperate. This was slipping from her hands. She'd been driven here, resolved, impassioned, and aching, and she wasn't ready to let it go from her. Her heart hammered as the silence stretched and he grew more done with the conversation.
"I love you." she blurted out.
As soon as she said it, his eyes snapped to hers. They trembled, and he looked so so vulnerable. A deer caught in headlights, and it was Elena behind the wheel. He was wide open, his heart was right there on his sleeve and it was beating like crazy. She took a step towards him, eyes staring deeply into his, but he took a step back.
It's what he'd dreamt of her saying, day and night and day again.
"You love Stefan." he shot back with a daring glint in his eye.
"I love you." she said it again. A happiness spread over her with each utterance of the words. It was her truth and it flowed with bliss. I love you I love you I love you.
"You chose Stefan." he said this time.
"I was scared."
"You don't think I was scared?" Damon suddenly hissed. "Scared to care for someone, to see light, hope?" His heart ached as he bare it, and she could see all his humanity from here. She knew it'd been hard for him to give himself to her and she knew he'd felt betrayed.
"I'm here now…" she said softly, reassuring him.
All the right things, she was saying all the right things.
Damon was terrified. And just like always, his demons reached out for him, and he surrendered to them, choosing to cover up his feelings with anger.
"Why? Problems in paradise? Do you need me to hold your hand until you two patch it up again?" he demanded cruelly. Tears sprang to Elena's eyes.
"No I—" she blinked.
Like clockwork, his immediate regret seeped in. No, no he didn't mean it. He stepped towards her and this time she stepped back. His heart fell.
She stumbled a few more steps back until she was at the door. She stood there, a broken doll, and he watched after her painfully.
She'd come here on an impulse but it had been a mistake. She'd done this to herself. So stupid to have thought that after everything, it would take one conversation. She turned around one more time before she left, the last of her heart splintering in her chest.
"I just wanted to dance with you today." she whispered.
A/N: I usually flesh out scenes myself around the dialogue, but this time I didn't want to give the POV to either of them, it felt too disruptive, I wanted to give it to you guys with the HOPE you know our characters well enough to capture the tone. I think this is the confrontation many of you were holding your breath for from chpt 1. Looking forward to your reviews! I need to hear from you guys before we see the next part.
