Chapter Nine

"Where the hell could he have gone? And why would he leave in the first place?" Elena begins pacing around the room.

"I have no idea. He was completely out when I brought him up here." Stefan rubs his neck and shakes his head. "Let's go back down."

They both make their way downstairs and re-enter the living room. Bonnie stands up and gives them a curious look. "What's wrong?"

Elena lets out an exasperated sigh. "We lost him."

Bonnie's eyes widen at the news. "What do you mean 'you lost him'?"

"She means that he's not in the bedroom anymore, and quite frankly, he's not going to be in this house. He left."

"Why would he do that?! What's even going through his mind right now?"

"I don't know. We just need to find him. Caroline, how are you doing now?"

"I, uh, I don't really know what to say. Vampires are not supposed to be real. This is the real world where they only exist in romance movies. At least, they should. And Bonnie said that she's a real witch. How crazy is that?"

"I think this is all pretty cool. Supernatural stuff always interested me, as weird as that sounds," Jeremy admits, looking at Bonnie who smiles back at him.

"Alright, you guys know now. Good. Great. Now we need to find Damon. Any ideas of how to find him?"

"I could ask my Grams, considering she knows how to do magic and I don't."

"Yes, please, call her." Elena collapses face-down on the couch. "Damn, even this couch smells like him. Stupid mahogany and cinnamon," Elena groans into the pillow.

As Bonnie leaves the room to call Sheila, the rest of them shuffle around uncomfortably, except Elena, who's still sprawled out on the couch.

"Elena, we'll find him, if that's what your worried about," Stefan says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just tired. Like, really, really tired," Elena mumbles into the pillow before falling into a deep sleep.

—

The doorbell ringing is what startles Elena out of her fitful rest. She doesn't bother getting up, knowing that someone else will answer the door. Sheila enters the living room with a determined look on her face.

"Okay, I'm going to need something of Damon's in order to find him."

Elena rolls over on the couch and speaks up groggily, "I'm wearing his shirt. Will that work?"

"Of course, child, but are you sure you want to…"

"I really couldn't care less at this point. Everyone here has seen me topless before," Elena says, pulling the shirt above her head. She hands it to Sheila who nods.

Everyone watches intently as Sheila holds the shirt closely and chants some words that nobody understands. Her eyes are closed and she repeatedly says the same words.

"I know where he is," Sheila tells everyone when her eyes open. "He's at the Grill."

"He's at the Grill," Elena repeats, dumbfounded. "How do you know?"

"Considering this is his shirt, he'd have a sort of connection to it. I get flashes of his location, but that's it," Sheila explains as she hands the shirt back to Elena who puts it on.

"Good enough for me. Come on, Stefan." Elena tugs on Stefan's hand and trudges towards the door. "Ugh, I'm still tired. And I didn't finish cooking my chicken."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest? Bonnie can come with me, if you want," Stefan asks gently.

"No, no, I'll come. I think I just have a headache...maybe it's a migraine. I'm too tired to tell…"

"Elena…" Stefan looks at her, concerned since she can barely keep her eyes open.

"Stefan, let's just get him and come back," Elena murmurs. "The sooner this is over, the better."

"Okay."

They both get in the car and Elena immediately closes her eyes, resting her head against the cool window. "So much for a good triple date, huh…?" Elena mutters before drifting to sleep.

—

Unsure on whether he should wake Elena up or not, Stefan decides that if he doesn't, she'll probably get angry. He gently shakes Elena's shoulder, causing her to bolt upright.

Not looking or feeling much better, Elena groans and steps out of the car. Her and Stefan make their way into the Grill and find Damon seated at the bar.

Cursing inwardly, Stefan approaches him on one side as Elena does the other.

"Brother, what exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Mm, what does it look like, Stefan? I'm drinking," Damon says, slightly slurring.

"Are you drunk? So help me, if you decided to get drunk after attacking Caroline-"

"Spare me the lecture, Stef. I don't want nor need it. Let me drink my sorrows away by myself."

"No. You are coming home with us. Since when do you drink, anyways? Other than a few shots, I've never actually seen you drink like this."

"You're right, but right now, maybe you should just leave me all by my lonesome," Damon snaps, "You'll do us both a favor."

"Hellooo, did you completely forget that I'm standing here, too? Ugh, maybe I'm just too exhausted to realize. Just come home so we can all get some much needed rest."

"If you're so tired, then you two can go home," Damon retorts.

"God, stop making this so difficult. Can't you see that your girlfriend is about to pass out right now, but she refuses to sleep until you're home? Stop being so selfish, Damon," Stefan spits out, annoyance flashing through his features.

"Stop being so self-righteous, Stefan," Damon growls back but gets off of the bar stool and walks towards the door.

Elena and Stefan follow, exchanging eyerolls. The three of them continue walking in silence towards the car.

"Damon Salvatore," someone sings quietly from behind him. "Fancy seeing you here. I'm surprised your kind is out and about in this town."

Damon rolls his eyes but makes no move to turn around. "And what might my kind be?"

"Vampires," the man says before pressing the end of a stake to Damon's back. When Elena and Stefan turn around after they notice Damon's not with them, they're both shocked to see the scene that's unfolding.

"Yeah, I am a vampire, so you better do good not to piss me off."

Elena's eyes widen and she moves towards them but stumbles into Stefan who stabilized her.

"Mr. Saltzman, what're you doing? Please stop," Elena quietly pleads while holding onto Stefan's arm.

"Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore. How are you this fine evening?"

Damon's eyes flash black when he looks at Elena and Stefan. "You know this guy?"

"Alaric Saltzman. He was our history teacher in high school...and apparently a vampire hunter by night."

"They'd be right, Damon. I hunt monsters like you," Alaric sneers before pushing the stake deeper into his back.

Clearly, that was a bad move because before Elena or Stefan could blink, they saw his body fall to the ground and Damon standing over it.

It was eerily silent for a moment and then, "What the hell is wrong with you?! You idiot, you just killed our former teacher! God, I can't...why?!"

"Enough with the shit-fit, Elena. I did what I had to."

Elena gapes at him and then turns to Stefan who's wide-eyed as well. Turning back to Damon, she clenches her fists. "Shit-fit? SHIT-FIT?! Who the hell are you?!" She angrily grinds her teeth before spitting out, "You're drunk. You killed someone and didn't bat an eye because you're drunk."

Stefan shakes his head. "There's no excuse for what you did, Damon. That downright malicious and you know it."

Elena holds onto Stefan's arm tighter, exhaustion evident in her face. "Stefan...it's too much…" Elena breathes out before collapsing into someone's arms.

—

Elena hears voices talking in the room but doesn't have the strength to bother opening her eyes.

"She fainted due to extreme fatigue, due to extreme stress or lack of a good sleep. She feel emotionally drained or overwhelmed occasionally and the migraine that she had didn't help matters. Elena's going to need plenty of fluids and rest before her strength returns."

"Thank you, Dr. Fell," Elena hears Stefan reply. "We'll take care of her."

"Do her parents know about her health recently?"

"Uh, no, but we'll call them."

"That would be a good idea. Let me know if anything changes."

Elena can hear footsteps leave the room and more shuffling. Still contemplating whether or not to open her eyes, she listens to arguing.

"What are you going to tell her, Damon? Huh? Whatever was going on with you last night clearly had a bad impact on her and now look where she is."

"God, don't you think I know that, Stefan? That this is all my fault? I know, I royally screwed up." Elena hears Damon, distress clear in his voice.

"Then tell her that. Tell her that you screwed up and how it won't happen again. Tell her that you're sorry."

"Right, because it's that easy, huh? That teacher is dead because I had one too many drinks. And I can't expect her to forgive me when I the one thing she wants is the one thing I don't have. My remorse? That's the worst damn part because I don't even feel bad that he's dead!"

Silence. That's all Elena hears. Deciding that she's been eavesdropping long enough, Elena slowly opens her eyes. Confused, she realizes that she's not at the hospital like she thought she was but in Damon's bedroom.

"Elena? Oh, god, Elena," Damon breathes as she sits up on the bed.

"How do you feel? Do you want anything?" Stefan asks gently.

She puts her hand to her forehead, slightly wincing. "My head hurts. I don't think the migraine went away completely. It's too bright in here, and my throat is really dry. I'm hungry because I never got to eat my chicken parmesan and I'm annoyed because this happened in the first place."

Elena can see guilt is eating away at Damon, but then she remembers it's not because Alaric is dead. It's because he put her in this position. Sighing, she closes her eyes again and covers her head with the comforter. A glass is placed on the nightstand next to her and the curtains are closed.

"Damon, she needs rest. Let's leave her alone," Stefan urges and Elena hears two pairs of footsteps leave the room. When the door closes, Elena peeks her head back out.

On the nightstand is a glass of water, an aspirin, and a grilled cheese. Elena can't help but breathe a sigh of relief that she doesn't have to talk about what happened right away. After taking the aspirin and sipping the water, she turns on her side and stares at the wall. Eventually, sleep overtakes her again.

—

When Elena reawakens, she feels more rested than she has in days. Deciding that she needs a shower, she trudges into the bathroom, grabbing her phone along the way. After she turns the shower on, she dials Bonnie's number.

"Oh my god, Elena? I heard what happened. How are you?"

"I feel better now. Well, physically. I don't know what to think, Bonnie. I need you to come over here, because I don't want to be in a room alone with him."

"Are you scared of him?"

"Surprisingly, I'm not. I know how stupid it sounds, but he still makes me feel safe. I'm more pissed than anything. God, I was so angry last night, Bon."

"Yeah, Stefan told me what Damon did. You have the right to be mad at him, but the question is, are you going to forgive him?"

"That's the thing, I have no idea. I kind of overheard them talking in the room, and what Damon said...it really bothers me."

"What did he say?" Bonnie questions, her voice edged with concern.

"...he doesn't feel bad that Alaric's dead. No remorse, nothing. I don't know if I can face him, and that annoys me so much because I should be able to. He's my boyfriend and I should be able to talk to him, but I can't. Not yet," Elena confesses in a quiet voice.

"That's understandable, 'Lena. Whatever happens, I just hope that you two can work things out. I can't imagine either of you with anyone else, and that's saying something."

"Yeah, me too. Please just be here."

"I will," Bonnie promises and then they hang up.

Elena steps into the shower after stripping and rests her head on the wall, letting warm water flow down her back. She stays in that position for a while, letting her thoughts consume her.

After finishing her shower, she throws a pair of Damon's sweatpants and a shirt on, deciding that even though she was mad, she was mad at him and not at his clothing. She ties her hair into a bun and steps out of the bathroom.

Wanting to make sure that Bonnie was downstairs, Elena quietly walked into the hall and listened for her voice, which she heard. Relief flooding through her, she descends the stairs and enters the living room.

Everyone looks up at her when she enters, unfortunately. Keeping her eyes downcast, she gives a small wave before turning around and walking out of the room. Of course Elena considered herself as a coward, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Emotionally drained, she made her way to the kitchen and took a peach from the bowl.

Too scared to think about anything else, she focused on how delicious the fresh peach tasted in her mouth. Closing her eyes, Elena savored the mouth-watering goodness.

She freezes when she hears footsteps and she damned herself for thinking she could have a peach without anyone entering.

"Elena, we need to talk," She heard Damon say quietly.

Keeping her eyes closed, she also damned Bonnie for not being a good body guard. "We do. But I can't. Not now. I just need some time," Elena says just as quietly. Not sure why she thought this was a good idea, but Elena opens her eyes and finds herself staring into Damon's not-so-innocent blue eyes. That was a mistake.

She unintentionally shivered, which seemed to give Damon the wrong idea.

"I understand. You're thinking the same thing as everyone else, that I'm some heartless monster," Damon replies in the softest voice that Elena ever heard.

"That's not what I was thinking," Elena immediately rebutts. "I don't...I just need some time and space to figure out how I feel. I don't hate you, I'm just upset...and mad...and confused above all."

"Of course," Damon says before speeding away.

Internally groaning, she hoped that she hadn't hurt his feelings. She just needs to talk to somebody about this that isn't Damon. Standing up, Elena walks over to the garbage can and discards her peach pit before returning to the living room.

Noticing that Damon wasn't there, Elena had the courage to sit on the couch, criss-cross. Bonnie and Stefan look at her expectantly and Elena takes a deep breath.

"I need your guys' help."