Fanfic: Life Indefinite (1/?)
Author: strangelittleswirl
Rating: T
Category: Action, Romance, Humor
Summary: Elena left Mystic Falls and the Salvatores (mostly) behind her four years ago and ended up in peaceful Finn's Landing, NY. So how come Damon being able to enter her home uninvited is suddenly the least of her troubles? Show 'verse only.
Spoilers: Season 1
Disclaimer:The Vampire Diaries belongs to its rightful owners and sadly, none of those people or companies are me. I'm only borrowing them, but I promise to return them once I am finished.
The distance between the school and the long, winding path that led to the house was so familiar to Elena that she imagined she could probably drive it in her sleep. She loved the tree-lined way that ended outside the expansive home, and starting down the road was always a relief at the end of the day.
Bonnie's small blue car was absent in the garage; her observation hours at the local hospital had started earlier that week and they took up her afternoons. It was still strange to see her best friend walk out the door in the light teal scrubs, still strange to see spell books piled with anatomy textbooks in their study, still strange to call anywhere but Mystic Falls home.
Moving to John's house in northern New York had been an easy decision. He and Isobel were off gallivanting around, having the time of their now mutual afterlife (had someone told Elena that would take her doppelganger attempting to kill her biological father to get her biological parents together before Founder's Day, she would have laughed. A lot. And then asked if they knew Jeremy's dealer), so he had left the mansion in Finn's Landing to his daughter. Besides, Bonnie had been in the nursing program at a university nearby, and the journalism program at yet another local college was perfect for her. So off she went.
The last three years had passed in a blur. The two young women had quickly settled into the town and made friends. They were regulars at the weekend free drive-in movie, where they were on the 'Official Popcorn Committee'. They went to fundraisers, and tree lightings, and bake-offs. Elena and Bonnie really did love Finn's Landing. It had all of the charm of Mystic Falls without the, well, charms.
And hexes, and curses, and supernatural beings, oh my.
Not that their lives were supernatural free. Bonnie was an active member of the local coven. Isobel, John, and Jeremy all visited occasionally. Elena and Bonnie had had to use a stake or two in the past on some less welcomed visitors. There was a rumored local werewolf pack. In the grand scheme of things, however, there was something to be said about living in a town where she did not have to worry about a fanged, evil twin.
At some point after Katherine's return and the last two months of high school, Elena had come to see how continuing on in a relationship with Stefan would not be healthy, mentally or physically. She loved him, would probably always love him, but his suffocating protective bent soon became too much. When they finally broke up, it was as if they had both seen it coming for a while and had been trying to avoid it.
He had been amazingly understanding about her decision, asked if they could still be friends, and then texted her the next day to say he was leaving for a while to take care of things. It wasn't a nasty break-up by any means, but it left her dateless for senior prom. In the grand scheme of things, what could have been a tear-laden disaster left Elena shrugging even as Caroline called it a 'travesty'. After the year she had? She'd rather go stag.
But then Damon graciously stepped in as a last-minute dance partner for prom – the second time he'd offered his arm when she was in a formal dress – and the whole thing had been pretty enjoyable.
At least up until the part afterward, where just a little bit drunk at Caroline's for the after-prom sleepover, she had ended up locking lips with Damon. It was over almost as quickly as it had started, but there had been some awkward days between then and Elena's departure. She still kept in contact with Stefan, but was much in a much closer, complicated friendship with Damon via phone and computer. After the way they had left matters last, it was better to not see each other in person. The three years had allowed them an easy relationship.
It would still be another hour before Bonnie came home, and she'd be exhausted. How the nursing and pre-med major kept going was a miracle (or more likely, an act of magic). Elena had promised her best friend and housemate that she would cook them both dinner, open a bottle of wine, and settle in for a decent Friday evening.
Surveying what they had around for her to cook, she had just popped her head into the opened fridge when a ringtone went off that left her rolling her eyes and smiling softly.
"Glad you called; I hadn't heard enough ZZ Top today," Elena answered, warmly.
"Elena, please tell me that you're home right now," demanded someone on the other end of her phone. They were breathless and panicked, which were two things that were not exactly adjectives she would use to describe her friend. She frowned, and looked back at the cellphone's screen. 'Damon' appeared on the screen, with a picture of him from Paris displayed underneath. Concern flooded her gut.
"I'm up in New York. Damon, is everything alright?"
There was a growl in the distance, the crackling sound of branches hitting his phone, cursing from him that indicated it had not left him unscathed, and then a shout. It came distantly through the phone at the same time she heard it nearby outside. She grabbed for the vervain needle she kept in the kitchen drawer and started through family room to the front foyer.
"Open the door!"
She advanced quickly to the door and did so just in time to see her friend come hurtling, visibly, through the clearing and up her front steps.
Before she could even open her mouth to grant him a hasty invitation into her home, Damon threw himself inside and slammed the door shut. Elena's grip on the phone tightened.
"You have no idea how happy I am that I did not have to pick the lock," he managed between large gulps of air. Over his shoulder and beyond, she started to see the tell-tale blur of a vampire in the clearing out front of her home.
Wordlessly, he continued on into her kitchen and started to rummage around the cabinets. Elena watched his actions with thinly-veiled curiosity from the doorway. This was the way things had been between them that year when she was traveling between high school and college: Damon would simply pop unannounced into whatever city she was visiting, they would have dinner and talk, and then they'd be on their separate and merry ways. Of course, she had the feeling that the last part wouldn't hold true this time around.
"Glasses are in the top far left cabinet," she said, then crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. "Not that you'll find what you're looking for here. Everyone brings their own when they visits and I know for a fact that we're fresh out."
Wiping sweat from his brow, Damon shook his head and retrieved a glass, heading for the faucet.
Now that the potentiality for loss of life was decreased to much more favorable odds, Elena had picked up a habit of listing things that needed to be addressed. Menials tasks, really. Things like plumbing, or car insurance. Things that didn't include 'try not to die'. Cleaning was a particular favorite, as was classwork. She made a list then, mentally.
Problem: Damon Salvatore
-No invitation
-Sweating profusely
-Running
-Out of breath
-Currently getting a glass of water?
Solution: Hell if I know
"You had better drink that water quickly, Damon Salvatore, because the next thing out of your mouth is an explanation for what is going on."
He watched her over the lip of the glass the entire time he drank it, tilting his head enough so that way she could watch his Adam's apple bob with the movement. Even in this moment of...whatever it was that was going on, he could still try to play his cards. Still try to gain some sort of control, even if it was simply over her attention.
Of course he looked amazing even after five years. The sun shining through her window brought a golden hue to his skin, and the light allowed her to see the pink flush in his sweaty skin, the light freckles that dusted his cheekbones.
The freckles that had never been there before.
The very human Damon Salvatore set down his glass, and prepared to explain what had taken place.
