Outlook on Life

Chapter 13:

Elena

Elena walked through the doors just like normal but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Alaric, Klaus and Mason standing there reading women's magazines. There were three of the most masculine men she'd ever met, reading women's magazines. "Ookay" she chuckled walking in and dropping down the plate of cookies she'd brought with her.

"This mystery woman, strutting alongside New York's most important man is one luck woman" Alaric read out and instantly Elena understood why they all had magazines; it was another article about her and Damon. Elena huffed annoyed at their antics and took her seat in the group circle as Lexi herded them all to their chairs.

"So, Luv. You and Mr. Salvatore?" Klaus asked and if she hadn't known any better she'd of thought she was gossiping with the other girls at the Electric Pony, not in a group counselling session with ex-marines.

"Yeah, something like that" she muttered before turning back to Klaus, her eyes narrowing "I met your brother" she couldn't help the way her nose wrinkled out of habit when she really didn't like something and the room erupted into laughter.

"Kol is very fond of you too, pet" Klaus managed through his own fits of laughter. once he calmed himself down he clarified looking a little sheepish "He may have mentioned you yelling at him outside his office apparently your little outburst had his employees laughing at him for days"

Elena tried. She really did try not to smile at that, but failed miserably as the smile spread across her lips.

"He called me a whore" she grumbled in her own defence when Lexi gave her a disapproving look for embarrassing the man at his work place. She'd known it was rude as soon as she'd done it, but in all fairness someone had to put him in his place.

The counselling session went smoothly, each of the men had made so much progress since she'd gotten here. Some of which was by using the techniques she'd found actually helped instead of the ones taught to Lexi in school. Elena wasn't sure what she was going to do if they reduced these guys counselling sessions back any further. They'd become a friends already and the sessions that were once three times a week had already been reduced to once a week. "That's it for today boys" Lexi smiled at them all and stood to go bring over the food table.

While they were standing and eating the array of cookies and cakes Lexi had set out for them all, she started handing out red envelops. Elena eyed her curiously as she took the outstretched envelope opening it and pulling out the letter inside that read.

You are invited to the annual Veterans dinner,

This dinner is hosted at the community centre hall on Saturday the 19th of December. This dinner is in celebration and thanks to all Veterans and Veteran family and friends. We hope you can join us in our celebrations.

Elena looked up at the group chatting happily about the annual event. She'd been invited to her first Veteran volunteer group but had never managed to stay long enough in one place to attend another. "You're gonna be there right, Lena?" Mason asked and she smiled up at him "Of course I will be" they all nodded happy with that before interrogating her on Damon and their relationship.

All the questions were hitting her so fast she wasn't even able to answer fully and so she just stopped trying as their questions turned into jokes on her behalf. Elena laughed and shook her head at the group before Klaus's silence caught her attention. "You okay?" she asked him quietly.

Klaus looked like he was debating on how to answer when finally he just pulled her away from the group ""M not gonna say anything, Luv...but my brother works with the Salvatore's as you know he was pissed when you didn't sign the contract..." Klaus trailed off but Elena knew what he was trying to tell her.

He knows about the contract and the fake relationship.

"It's alright, I don't mind" she assured him seeing relief on his face "It's not all a contract" she sighed "I mean well we're friends and I went to an event with him before all of this and well I hated every minute of it.. but I did like hanging out with Damon. It's helping him with his image but really it's just two friends hanging out"

Klaus nodded at that and she could tell there was something he wanted to ask her about the deal but she knew he wouldn't ask it. Elena leaned closer to him to whisper "Your brother tried to give me 8 thousand an event but I managed to get Damon to settle for the amount I'd get if I worked at the bar for the night"

The questioning look on Klaus's face disappeared with that information and she had figured it was what he wanted to ask in the first place. Especially if his brother had been talking about the deal...that guy was a jackass. "Guessing that can't be much though" Klaus frowned.

"It's $100 an event" she nodded, seeing his frown deepen "I'm not a whore and i'm not an escort like your brother insists...I don't want money or fame or whatever he thinks it is I'm after. I'm strictly remaining friends with Damon, nothing more"

"Then what is it that you get out of it? I mean aside from helping a friend out why go through the trouble?" he asked looking like he hadn't actually meant to ask that but she just smiled at him.

"Because I-" Elena sighed heavily not sure how to explain it to Klaus "I don't want to be on my own anymore. I like that I have you and Alaric and the rest of the guys, I fit in here and it's the same with the Salvatore family. Giuseppe is an amazing man and he gets me...Stephen and Caroline are great too and so is Damon" she bit her lip hoping that made sense to Klaus and from the small smile he was wearing, it did.

"They're family now" she nodded at his statement glad he was understanding that it really was a simple as wanting to help and spend time with people she'd consider as close to a family she's ever had.

"So, Elena?" She watched Damon twirl his glass in his hands, a nervous gesture she'd picked up on immediately. "I was wondering if you'd go out with me...like on a date...no contract, just us?" Damon asked.

She stared at him conflicted for a minute; if she agreed then she'd have to open up to him. Damon wasn't the type of guy to just want her for sex and nothing else. Slowly Elena looked back at him a small smile making it's way onto her face that was more nervous than happy. "Yeah, we could try that" she agreed.

He looked relieved she'd said yes as he sipped the rest of his bourbon "On one condition" Elena smirked when he frowned at her "I pick". She stood waiting for his agreement, his eyes were narrowed in her direction as he thought about it.

"Well what does you picking entail?" he countered. Lawyers! she thought shaking her head at him.

With a huff she set down the beers in front of her next customer before turning back to Damon who was interrupting her ability to do her job. "It means" she thought about it for a minute knowing he'd never allow her to have complete control over a date "Okay compromise: You get to pick me up at my apartment, I'll tell the driver where we are going and then we can split whatever bills there are?"

"If you pick everything then I want to pay for everything" Damon added but she shook her head at him, Elena wasn't about to let him buy her things or pay for her when she was perfectly able herself. "Elena" he warned "Don't be stubborn...I want to pay for whatever it is, Y'Know if dad ever found out that I let you pay even half of it he'd kick my ass"

She knew what he was doing; Damon was trying to get her to give in by bringing up Giuseppe and reminding her of the many times he's scolded her on not letting them pay for her. It was the only time Giuseppe had ever been angry in her presence. With a heavy sigh and a pointed glare at Damon she nodded "Fine" before turning back to work.

The rest of the night went as usual, Damon distracted her with playful banter while she attempted to keep a sliver of professionalism while working. It always failed and by the end of the night. If she hadn't burst out into a fit of laughter at least once then something was wrong and that was before she was even half way through her shift.

"I'll be looking forward to our date" Damon grinned at her as they parted ways just outside the Salvatore bar. The two had agreed on a date a week from tonight and Elena knew just what she would be planning for them. Damon was going to hate the idea of it, that she knew for sure, but she was confident once she got him there he'd love it.

"Good night Damon" she smiled back at him. Like always Damon would stand near his car and watch her walk down the street until he couldn't see her anymore and like usual she put a little bit more of a sway in her hips.

He didn't know she knew, but Elena was nothing if not a tease.

A cold shiver ran down her spine and it had Elena stopping dead in her tracks; something was off. Her instincts screamed danger and her instincts were never wrong. Elena subtly scanned the area until her eyes landed on a flash of movement in the alley across the street that gave her a bad feeling. Plastering on a smile she turned around to see a slightly worried Damon pretending not to have been watching her.

"Damon, Give me a ride home?" she asked and he smiled brightly opening the door for her to get in which she did promptly followed by him. "Do me a favour?" she elaborated at Damon's raised brow "Drive us around the block? I just want to sit and talk a little longer" she lied expertly.

There wasn't any harm in her little lie. After all it was probably just some punks waiting to mug someone and she really did enjoy talking and spending time with him. "Take us around the block a few times, Jake"

That gut feeling she'd had two nights ago was there again last night when she got off of work at the bar. Elena was seriously staring to doubt her gut instincts now, but she'd had Damon drive her home and around the block a few times again last night. He seemed to like the extra time and while Elena missed the walks she knew enough to wait out this feeling than to risk it.

"Lena" Kat jumped up from her makeup stool as soon as Elena walk in the dressing room, a worried expression on her face that Elena now mirrored, seeing something obviously bothering Katherine. "Tyler knows you work here and he came by earlier today looking for you" Oh shit.

"Shit" she cursed, that feeling from the past two nights suddenly making sense now and god was she happy she'd gotten Damon to drive her to her apartment. "You're okay right?" she checked eyeing her friend knowing Tyler got angry quickly when something didn't go his way.

"I'm fine" she confirmed with a sad smile "Seth wouldn't let a customer hurt me" Seth may be a sleezy guy and his reasons for not wanting them hurt were less than pure but it was true. As long as she was in this building Seth would protect her, if only for his own profits. The thought, as harsh as it sounds, was slightly comforting. "Tyler said he would just find you at the bar then, but he wants you back"

Elena nodded having expected Tyler to have said as much "I know...I'll deal with it" and without another word about that situation she was entirely not ready to deal with Elena and Katherine got to work.

When her shift was over Elena returned to the dressing room to find her phone with a few missing phone calls and messages. Clicking onto her voice mails she listened to them one by one.

'Elena...saw your little article in the news. Your not really playing house with some richie rich are you? You know you need me Elena, come home'

'Fuck you Elena! How dare you go getting into this douche-bags car! You broke your own fucking rules...what happened to suits are the enemy? Stupid bitch answer your god damn phone or your going to regret it'

'Hey Elena, it's Stephen. There was some guy here looking for you earlier, didn't leave a name, said you'd remember the man you belong too...I kicked him out but, Elena? this guy looks like bad news'

"Fucking great" she hissed at the phone, Tyler had gone into the bar and spoken to Stephen. God only knows what the asshole said to make Stephen sound so wary in his message.

'Elena, it's Damon, give me a call whenever you get a chance...I want to talk to you about another fundraiser'

On her way home Elena was walking the same way she usually did, her head swimming with thoughts on the voice mails she'd gotten today. Her head was so out of it with conflicting emotions that she almost had a heart attack when Tyler stepped from behind a car parked on the side of the road.

For a split second she debated yelling or running despite the fact she'd known this was coming sooner or later; only she had hoped it wouldn't be at 11 pm in the middle of a dark street. "Elena" he sneared her name like a curse word.

"Tyler" she sighed "What do you want? What are you doing here?" she faced his glare without fear, not willing to ever back down again. Elena had faced and lived through things much worse than Tyler could ever imagine, she'd never been scared of him like he assumed she was. The only reason she put up with him and his violence was because it was better than living and starving on the streets again.

Tyler walked closer to her, a gleam of danger in his eyes that had her gut instincts screaming again. His eyes filled with a mix of lust and anger as they roamed her body "You can't walk away from me Elena" he inched closer again "Do you really think you can survive pretending to fit into a world you don't belong in? Your not one of them...your one of us" he said matter-of-factly, although she wasn't disputing this, she didn't need him of all people giving her lectures on what she should be doing with her life. "You belong to me, Elena"

"I don't belong to you" she spat back with just as much ferocity as he was directing towards her. She knew she shouldn't take the bait and start an argument with him but his blatant claims of 'owning her' was too repulsing to ignore. "You need to leave me alone Tyler and I mean it" with that Elena turned on her heals to walk away but he caught her arm in death grip, spinning her to face him.

Tyler was pressing himself against her as he held onto her forearms in a death grip that she was sure would leave bruises. "I thought you just needed time but I seen now that you were busy chasing a pay check" he yelled drops of spit flying onto her face, he was that close.

With a scowl Elena yanked herself from his grip, much to his surprise and before either knew what was happening her mean right hook connected with his face. Tyler stumbled back with the impact, clutching his face but he recovered quicker than she'd anticipated and had her pressed up against the wall in a second.

"Get the hell off of me Tyler!" Elena seethed but started relaxing under his grip when his hand pressed around her neck cutting off her air flow slightly. She knew he would underestimate her strength and that was what was going to get her out of this situation alive. He smiled viciously down at her when she let him think she'd given up. Tyler's lips were on hers in a slobbery drunken kiss, carefully and quickly Elena raised her knee, ramming it into his balls. As he doubled over in pain she grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the brick wall he'd had her pinned to just moments ago. Before delivering a hard kick that sent him to the floor and as quickly as she could, she headed back into the club through the alley exit.

Elena was so fed up with Seth that it was beyond surprised by herself when she managed not to beat the crap out of him for his unwanted commentary. "Shut the fuck up Seth!" she seethed not being able to take the criticism anymore. Something was up his ass recently and he was taking it out on all of them.

Katherine sent her a warning look that she brushed off quickly, it was harder to keep her cool with Seth when he refused to keep Tyler out of the bar for her. Tyler had been showing up all month since their little argument out in the alley that day. Seth had even gone so far as to buy some of Tylers product from him out of spite and she was so ready the throttle Seth.

"Excuse me?" Seth advanced on her, an incredulous expression on his face as he towered over her. While Seth thought he was intimidating because of his height, Elena knew better; height wasn't always an advantage. "What the fuck did you say, Lena?" he spat but she didn't move a muscle, letting her posture fall to a bored expression.

"I said" she paused not backing down from his glare "Shut the fuck up" Elena shrugged as if they were talking about the weather not telling her far from legal boss to shut the hell up. "Whatever you've got going on, your taking it out on us and it's wearing everyone out...you want us to shake our ass better? than lay off a bit"

Seth shook his head at her and simply pointed for her to go wait in his office; she knew what that meant and Elena was far from in the mood. "No Seth" she surprised everyone. Katherine was glaring daggers at her while the other girls just looked on in shock.

Seth laughed at her getting in her face but she didn't back down "Who the hell do you think you are?" he glared towering over her, his face mere inches from hers "Your a stupid, insignificant whore"

"Get the hell away from me Seth" she pushed him back so hard he staggered to the floor landing on his ass. Elena knew she was a better fighter than him and him calling her a whore was the last straw. Seth was quick to get up. His hand flying across her face but she took the backhand in stride and her fist connected so hard with his nose that they all heard the bone break.

"Bitch!" he clutched his nose in too much pain to focus on her.

"I quit" was all she said as she stormed to thew back dressing room to change into her clothes to get the hell out of here. Elena was mentally cursing herself for what she'd just done, but it wasn't like he could press charges or ever find her again since she used fake information to get the job. Walking out of the club Elena ignored Tylers smug face and Seth's seething curses.

Pulling out her phone she dialled the one person she thought might make her feel a little better about what she had done. "Hello, Giuseppe" she smiled instantly at his warm greeting, the man really was a god sent.

"Hello Elena" she could hear the smile in his voice and it warmed her heart to know that just her voice could bring a smile to someones face, especially a man like Giuseppe.

"I have news" she announced "The good part of it is: I quit my job at the Electric Pony" she could hear his chuckle on the other end.

"That certainly is good news dear...But I think I know you well enough now to assume that the way in which you did quit had a dramatic flare to it" he laughed and she couldn't help but chuckle as well before telling him what had been happening. Surprisingly she didn't even need the incentive to explain who Tyler was and what had happened between the two.

"Well I'm glad you hit him, dear...I'd be disappointing if you didn't" he said warmly and she smiled happy that he always seemed to understand her.

Elena hung up and she couldn't help but be in the best mood she'd been in all month. Not only had she quit and gotten a little revenge out of it, but she had told Giuseppe about Tyler and he hadn't reacted badly to the news. Giuseppe understood why she stayed and it was a relief not to have to explain that to him like she had with the boys. Not that they reacted poorly either...it was just easier with Giuseppe talking about stuff like that.

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