Hey guys! This is getting darker and darker now. Honestly, there is really nothing good left in Damon at this , if this is not your cup of tea, I highly advise you to turn around now. For all others: Enjoy!

Warnings: Physical violence, swearing, degradation

"Hell is empty and all the devils are here" - William Shakespear

After Damon finally released her, Elena felt waves of relief wash through her. Her head was still not quite catching up with everything that had happened. It felt like a bad nightmare. Elena remembered how afraid she had been of Damon when she first learnt that he was a vampire. He had come into her house right afterwards and he had threatened her. She had thought he might kill her. But he hadn´t. And with time she got more and more comfortable around him. She told herself that Damon wasn´t as bad as Stefan made him out to be. That he wouldn´t kill anyone, well at least as long as he wasn´t threatened. After a while she had convinced herself that Damon was actually just playing at being the bad boy. That it was a mask to protect himself and his feelings…

Now, she wasn´t so sure anymore. Now all rules seemed to be off.

Elena felt Damon grabbing for her arm and before she could do anything about it, he was already dragging her out of the basement as if she was some kind of doll. He was heading straight to the kitchen and Elena understood why the moment he took a bloodbag out of the fridge. So, he was still hungry, Elena thought with a tiny spark of hope. That meant he stopped drinking from Caroline even though he still wanted more. He stopped drinking because he didn´t want to hurt her too much. Right? Right?

Damon opened the bloodbag with his teeth and finally released her arm from his strong hold. Elena winced a bit. She was sure that she would have a hand shaped bruise tomorrow where he had dragged her just a bit too forcefully. Somehow, she wanted to cry. Get yourself together Elena, she told herself while she watched him gulp down the blood in top speed. A little bruise certainly is the least of your problems right now.

When Damon had finished, he tossed it aside and moaned contently. "I feel better now," he said and when he looked at her again his eyes really seemed kind of calmer. For a moment he took in Elena´s form before he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "Give me your handy," he commanded.

Elena looked at him, taken aback. "What?" she asked.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Your handy. Elena. Now." he repeated very slowly as if he thought she was dump.

So now we are back to him commanding me around, Elena thought angrily. But she would do hell and actually do as he told her. She had told him that his threat wasn´t working anymore. Ok, she had been surprised with this whole threatening the lives of her family thing but he´d also told her he would only harm them when she drank more vervain. There had been no word about doing what he wanted so Elena was almost sure that he would leave her family out of this.

She crossed her arms before her body. "No."

For a moment Damon stared at her. "This just won´t do," he murmured more to himself than to her, before looking around. His eyes fixed on her bag which was lying on the chair not that far away from Elena. He took a step in the direction but before he had reached it, Elena had already grabbed it and had hidden it behind her back.

"I said no."

This time she didn´t see amusement in his gaze, only anger. "Elena," he warned but she wasn´t even thinking of it. Slowly she had come over the initial shock of what had transpired, and her thoughts seemed to work normally again. She knew why he wanted her handy. He wanted to text Stefan that everything was ok, before he came barging in here, worried because Elena had simply disappeared from the party.

Elena on the other hand thought that it was good if Stefan started worrying. Maybe she couldn´t tell him what was going on because of Damon´s compulsion but the more suspicious Stefan got the better for her.

"You don´t really want to make me angry Elena", Damon growled.

Elena pursed her lips. She wasn´t afraid of him, she told herself. She was not afraid.

"Watch me."

Elena wasn´t sure what she was doing. The only thing she knew was that she simply couldn´t give in to him like that. She needed to show him that he couldn´t toss her around.

Quietness followed Elena´s statement before suddenly Damon started to move. Elena could see a blur of colors and tried to react, but he was simply too fast. Before she really understood what was happening, Damon had already wrenched her bag out of her hand.

Elena made a sound of protest when he started to go through her belongings but Damon simply turned away from her, blogging her with his bag.

"Damon you can´t do this! This is private!" Elena screamed at him but he didn´t seem to care. Within seconds he had found her handy and tossed her bag aside. Elena watched angrily as it landed on the floor. She glared at him and tried to grab for her handy.

"Give this to me!"

Damon raised his eyebrows and easily brought the phone out of her reach. "Calm down," he told her. "I just want to send a little message to Stefan so that he knows that you´re ok."

"Just bad that you don´t know my pin. And I´m certainly not giving it to you."

Damon laughed right into her face. "Come on. Elena. Give me some credit. I´ve been spending time with you for some months now. Do you really think I wouldn´t know your pin?"

He tipped something and the next moment Elena saw her Startbildschirm appear. She glared at him, angry that he always seemed to win. Ignoring her, Damon started to write a message, speaking aloud while writing.

Stefan, I am really sorry that I disappeared from the party like this. Caroline was drunk and I needed to get her home discreetly before her mother noticed. I think I´m staying with her for the night. Sorry again. I love you. See you tomorrow.

Elenaxxx

He pushed the send bottom and Elena pressed her lips together angrily. So much about Stefan getting suspicious. Maybe he would wonder why she´d disappear without telling him but since she´d written him that everything was ok, he wouldn´t worry too much. In time he´ll notice though, Elena thought. Damon couldn´t pull this off without Stefan getting suspicious, she assured herself.

Elena felt tired, drained. The day had been so long and so full of adrenaline, fear. She just wanted to sleep. She kind of felt subdued. With a heavy sigh she looked at Damon. "Can you give me my handy back, now?" she asked, extending her hand to him.

Damon rolled his eyes. "I think not," he said before putting her handy in the back of his jeans pocket. "Maybe if you´ll start to behave I´ll give it back to you."

Elena couldn´t believe him. She had felt tired a second ago but now the anger was right back. "What!", she almost screamed. "You cannot be earnest, Damon! This is mine! Give it back to me!"

Damon chuckled. "No."

She had never hated anyone more she thought, while hot anger was running though her body in waves. "Fuck you!" she growled, before springing at him and trying to get her handy back. She should have known that she stood no chance though. With one fluent movement, Damon had snatched Elena away from his back pocket. His arms surrounded her and he tried to press her against him but for once Elena was fast enough and slipped away before he had a good hold on her. She stumbled a few steps backwards, the anger overwhelming her. "I hate you", she said, tears stinging in her eyes. Her hand trembled. Anger and desperation were mixing together, building something new. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you."

"You really start to repeat yourself. Don´t you think this gets boring, Elena?" Damon asked her, his calmness standing in total contrast to her agitation. "Besides, all this resistance is useless anyway. You´re not going to get your handy back until I say you do. The earlier you accept that, the easier it will be."

Somehow the coolness with which he said that, gave Elena the rest. She felt her last self-control slip and before she could really think about it, her hand shot already out, slapping him across his face. Elena watched almost in time-lapse as Damon´s head switched to the side from the force of her slap. His skin reddened and for a really short moment Elena felt a huge satisfaction. Then he looked at her again, his eyes glaring daggers in her direction and the satisfaction was displaced with fear. Maybe I shouldn´t have done this, Elena had time to think. Before she could really register what was happening his hand had already shot out and a sharp burning pain started to appear on Elena´s left cheek. She felt herself being propelled backwards from the force of the hit. Her knees connected sharply with the hard floor of the mansion and her teeth clacked together violently. Using her hands to keep herself from totally collapsing, she landed on the floor. Her cheek throbbed painfully. Tears were running down her face, while she slowly lifted her hand to her cheek. It was hot. Burning. It was only then that Elena really understood what had happened. He had slapped her, she thought dumbfounded, the realization bringing a new wave of fear. Again, he had done something she would have never believed him able to.

Before Elena was able to really process this new development, she felt a hand tangle in her hair and pull her upwards not too gently until she was in a standing position. Damon was looking down at her with unreadable eyes. It was maybe the worst, Elena thought. This indifference in his gaze while he had hit her so violently just a few seconds ago. Maybe she had thought to see regret, or maybe anger… but this, his gaze, the coldness there…it really frightened her.

For a moment Damon did nothing but look at her, his electrifying blue eyes observing the bruise that was certainly now forming on her face. Then his lips moved but all he said was one word.

"Apologize."

Elena stared at him, tears still stinging in her eyes, without comprehension. Apologize? She asked herself? Why should I apologize? When she kept quiet, Damon´s eyebrows rose. "Now. Elena."

His voice sounded lower, the warning clear. Elena looked at him without comprehension. "You slapped me," she said, still feeling dumbfounded.

"If I recall it right, you were the first to slap me." The grip in her hair tightened becoming almost painful now and leaving her no room but to look at him. "And not for the first time as well. But enough is enough." He looked sternly at her. "So now, you are going to apologize, and you are going to promise to never do it again and maybe I will let it slide." His eyes bored into hers silently nudging her to do as told. Elena could do nothing but stare at him. Her cheek throbbed violently, and her temper flared in the same rhythm. He is insane if he thinks that I am going to apologize, she thought angrily. She was not sorry. Especially not after what he had just done to her. She matched his glare with her own, her eyes spitting fire at him while she faced him right on. "No." she growled. "Go to hell."

The slap that followed was even more surprising than the last one. Elena hadn´t even seen him move, but she felt the impact on the same cheek, felt the stinging pain, felt her head being propelled sideward. This slap was even stronger than the one before. It actually didn´t feel as if he had slapped her but belted her across the face. The pain was so immense that she couldn´t even scream even though her mouth opened in shock, and a low gasp escaped her. Elena was sure that she would have fallen again, if not for Damon´s other hand in her hair, holding her cruelly in place, while her body almost crumbled. Her ears were ringing and the tears that had stung in her eyes were now falling freely without her being able to stop it. Elena felt herself being pushed in an upright position again, her head turned forwards. "Open your eyes." She heard Damon command and before she could think about it, her body had already obeyed. Her eyes opened slightly; her vision blurred with tears. Damon was right before her. Elena tried to wiggle out of his grip, but it was useless. Her eyes scanned the room for some means of escape. "Elena, look at me."

She didn´t want to, not really, but something in his voice let her obey anyway. Very slowly her eyes wandered to him, before facing him completely. Damon smiled approvingly. "Maybe", he said and his voice sounded more demonic than ever before. "…you would like to reconsider?" He asked her. "Apologize now and I´ll forgive you."

Elena looked at him with big eyes. She couldn´t understand the nerve he had. The rebellious part inside of her screamed to deny him no matter the prize. The word "no" already lay on her lips but the strong ache in her cheek somehow made it stick there. The silence stretched between them, neither of them saying something. Then Damon´s patience seemed to run out. He growled lowly before fixing her with a dead stare. "See where stubbornness will bring you with me," he growled before the third backhand followed, at least as strong as the two before. This time Elena did scream. With each blow it seemed to get worse and worse and the pain she was in right now seemed already more than any pain she had ever felt in her live. Damon only gave her a short time to recover before pulling her back in position and raising his hand just again. Elena looked at it in horror and it was this moment that her resistance crumbled right before her. "No, wait!" she screamed while she somehow tried to protect her face with her hands. Her eyes were wide and wild. The only coherent thought that went through her head was that she couldn´t let him continue like that. And he would. She had no doubt about it now. He would continue until she craved in. There was no way to win, at least not right now. So Elena gulped down her pride and forced the words he wanted to hear over her lips.

"I´m sorry," she gasped. "I´m not going to do it again, just please, Damon, stop."

For just a moment Elena feared that he wouldn´t, but then his grip on her hair loosened and finally he let her go. The moment she was free Elena stumbled some steps backwards, her hand cradling her cheek carefully. Tears were still running down her face. Elena knew she must look pathetic like this, hairs a mass, eyes red from crying and her cheek swelling from his blows but if she did Damon didn´t comment on it. He actually looked much too smug for her liking.

"Good decision," he told her before taking a step in her direction. Elena whimpered and stumbled backwards, intent on not letting him come too close to her again. Damon rolled his eyes at her behavior. "Elena," he said lowly. "I´m angry enough about the fact that you played me, drugged me with vervain and put me in the basement, not to start with you defying me wherever you can… don´t you think it would be clever to not aggravate me anymore, hmm?"

Clever, Elena thought, would be to get away from him as fast as possible. "Fuck you.", she told him, before whirling around and starting to run in the direction of the door. She was closer to it than Damon was, but deep down she knew that it would be difficult to outrun him. If she could just reach her car, she thought desperately. Even Damon wasn´t as fast as a car. Or so she hoped.

To her huge surprise she actually managed to run out the front door. The cool winter air hit her and she took a deep breath, while pushing on, running as fast as humanely possible. Only a few seconds passed until she reached her car and she reached out to open the door. Her fingers moved in a frenzy. The door swung open and Elena tried to get inside, but in this moment she felt a hand tangle in her hair and she was pulled away from the safety of the car rather violently. Strong arms closed around her, caging her in mercilessly and no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn´t get free. "Obviously not," she heard Damon´s voice, who sounded more amused than angry. He wasn´t even breathing faster, while Elena had never felt as exhausted before. "Let me go," she squeezed but was not surprised when he ignored her but gripped for her chin instead and forced her to look at him. "I thought that at least you would know that you cannot outrun me."

Elena didn´t even bother to answer. Anger and desperation were overwhelming her and before she could think about what she was doing she had already gathered all the fluid in her mouse and spit it right into his face. She was surprised to see that there was even a little bit of blood in it.

For maybe a second, Elena felt a huge satisfaction as she watched her spit run down his face. This was what he deserved, she thought and the incredulous look on his face made it even better for her. But then she watched his eyes darken in anger, becoming red. Veins appeared on his face and he looked at her with the deadliest look she had ever seen. Her breath paused, while he just stared at her, his eyes promising her the worst pain she had ever experienced. Without breaking eye contact, Damon´s hand let go of her chin, just to wander deeper and to curl around her throat. His eyes bored into hers before he slowly extended his other hand to wipe his face clean. "You are going to be sorry for that," he threatened in a dangerously calm voice, before extending the hand with which he had cleaned his face and wiping it clean on Elena´s face, spreading her spit all over her. Elena´s mouth plopped open in disbelieve but before she could even react, Damon swiped her up, easily, as if she weighted nothing, before walking over to her car and unceremoniously discarding her on the passenger seat. He leaned over her in a fluid motion and clicked her seatbelt into place before vampspeeding over to the driver's side and starting Elena´s car with the key he somehow seemed to have snatched from her pocket. When he had done this, Elena could not tell. This whole process had only taken him seconds so that Elena´s brain just seemed to catch up when they were already driving. She shook her head, tried to clear the fog in her head. Then she furiously wiped her face clean. Elena realized that she was in some trouble but what kind she could not say.

Come on Elena get your wits together, she told herself. Adrenaline was surging through her while she realized that Damon could take her wherever he wanted and she would have no possibility to stop him. What if he had thought better of it and was tired of Mystic Falls? Would he just take her with him? Could he do this? Bonnie would find me, Elena reminded herself, but it didn´t really helped to subdue the panic that seemed to sit in the depth of her stomach.

"Wh…Where are we going?" Elena hated the tremble in her voice. Damon gave her a sideward glance that made her sink even deeper into her seat. God, she thought, maybe she shouldn´t have made him that angry. "No word," he growled at her, his voice vibrating with a dominance she hadn´t thought possible. "I will hear no fucking word from you till I stop this car, is that clear, Elena?"

Elena could do nothing but stare. She had never seen him like this and truth be told he frightened the shit out of her. She didn´t even want to know what he would do if she wouldn´t obey. I´ll fight again, she promised herself. When I have more strength, when he is not looking at me as if he might just as well kill me. Right now, though, she just couldn´t muster up the courage. Being not able to stand his gaze any longer, Elena meekly nodded.

If she had thought her submission would please Damon, she had been wrong. The anger never left his eyes, but it also didn´t become more. "Good," was all he said, before looking at the road again and driving them into the night.

For Elena the silence that settled in afterwards seemed like a bad omen. She sat there and some part of her hoped that he would never stop driving. Because no matter how much she loathed the silence, she was sure whatever would come afterwards was going to be a whole lot worse.

Huh, I guess Elena is in trouble. What do you think will Damon do? Don´t forget to review!