Many thanks to Perfect Pirate Captain, LoveEpicLove (Your story is wonderful, BTW.), BadBoysAreBest (My favorite author! :P), and of course, Babara SGB.
And a special thanks to smithsbabe65 for her fantastic review!
Enjoy!
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Chapter 7
Elena.
Elena woke up to the sunlight shooting through her curtains. She shielded her eyes from the beams and rolled over on her bed, knocking something small and hard onto the floor. All of a sudden she felt wide awake. She climbed out of bed and knelt down on the floor to look for what had fallen. There was a little black jewelry box lying on its side under her bed. Elena reached out for it, anticipation written all over her face.
When she opened it, she found a pair of silver earrings with tiny silver bobs dangling on each its ends. They were beautiful. Noticing that the window was open, Elena straightened up. It was Damon. He must have left these for her.
Smiling to herself, she put them on. Immediately, a familiar smell of herbs reached her nostrils. Vervain. Elena was surprised once again by Damon's thoughtfulness. And she was in an exceptionally good mood that morning as she took a shower and brushed her hair.
When Elena got to school, the first thing she saw was an angry Caroline. Caroline spotted her at once and raced towards her with abnormal speed, almost making Elena drop her bag.
"Elena, where were you?" Caroline demanded in a frantic voice, "I've been waiting for you for ages! And where's Bonnie?"
"Um…" Elena struggled to find an excuse, "I don't know. Why are all these people here?" She asked, trying to change the topic. It seemed like the school was surrounded by loads of strangers.
"Today's the charity event our school organized - oh, who am I kidding - I organized, remember?" Caroline asked with an extra emphasis on "I".
"Oh…yeah…vaguely…"
"And both you and Bonnie agreed to help! Except you're late, and Bonnie didn't even bother to show up and - !" Caroline stopped abruptly as Elena tucked her hair behind her ear. "Nice earrings." She commented.
Elena smiled, not really surprised that Caroline would be the first person to notice the earrings.
Caroline reached out a hand to touch it, but the moment she did, blinding pain hit her finger tips and she immediately pulled back, "Ow!" She exclaimed.
Elena watched as Caroline's burnt fingers heal before her eyes. She had forgotten to warn her about the vervain in the earrings, "Are you ok?"
"Fine." Caroline replied grumpily, "Did Stefan give you those?"
Elena could feel herself blush again and willed for it to stop, "Actually…they were from Damon." She admitted.
An incredulous expression came up on Caroline's face at the mention of Damon's name. She bit her lower lip and looked at Elena concernedly, "Elena…I know it's not my place, but…are you sure it's the best idea to be with Damon?"
Elena looked up at once, "There's nothing going on between me and Damon, ok?" She explained a little too hastily.
"Right," Caroline rolled her perfectly lined eyes, "because when a guy gives a girl earrings, it means 'there's nothing going on between us'. I'm not stupid, Elena." She paused, "And you're a terrible liar, by the way."
Before Elena could even speak out another word, Caroline was busy talking again, "Now, you work at the donation booth. Break's at noon. Ciao!"
Damon.
Damon watched as Elena looked utterly bored behind the donation booth. Every time someone made a donation, she offered them a cup of hot chocolate and flashed them a huge smile. The smiles made Damon want to go over there right now and kiss her.
Last night would have been perfect if Stefan hadn't called him and showered him with Lucy's disappearance. But now that he thought about it, he was actually glad he got to spend more time alone with Elena. This might be as close as he could get at being in a relationship with her. When Stefan and Bonnie break the spell, she would go back to hopelessly loving Stefan, and he would go back to being the second choice. Damon felt uncertain about what he wanted for Elena. On one hand, it was great to be with her like this, for her to actually develop feelings for him. On the other, whatever she felt for him right now wasn't on her own will; it was all due to the spell.
And the dream she had the night before showed who she really loved, didn't it? Dreams were something on the subconscious level, and subconsciously, Elena had dreamt of being with Stefan, of breaking the spell. It's what she wanted, isn't it?
Damon watched as Elena slump back in her seat and yawn absent-mindedly. He supposed Caroline put her up for this. Unable to stay out of view any longer, he walked up to her from behind the oak tree he was leaning on and gave her his trademark smirk.
"Damon." Elena's eyes lit up involuntarily when she saw him.
Damon could hear her heart already pounding faster. This was a better greeting than the usual "what are you doing here".
But as if she could read his mind, Elena said immediately, "What are you doing here?"
Typical. Damon thought, but somehow amusedly. "Giving you the privilege to be in my presence, of course."
"I'm honored." Elena said sarcastically.
"As you should be." Damon bowed him head, feigning modesty. He pulled out his wallet and made a very generous donation, making Elena's eyes bulge slightly.
"That should earn you all the hot chocolates on the table." She said.
Damon smirked dismissively, "I'll pass. I prefer energy drink. Hint, blood."
"Very funny."
"I thought so too." Damon shrugged. "Nice earrings, by the way." He gestured to them. He was glad she was already wearing them.
"Oh…right," Elena smiled self-consciously, "Thanks for them. They're beautiful."
"On you." Damon said at once. It was not until the words left his mouth did he realize he might have crossed some sort of line here, because Elena looked away purposely.
Uncomfortable silence followed this, and Damon cleared his throat to sound less awkward, "So I'll be off. Just wanted to check in on you." He winked, "Didn't want you to be all sulky without me."
Elena fought the urge to roll her eyes. He was so arrogant. But somehow it didn't annoy her like it used to. Right now, his blue eyes looked so piercing and penetrating that she felt like he could see right through her. And that smirk… He was smirking in a way that made her want to wipe it off of his face – with a kiss.
"Ok, stop," Elena said, as if coming out of a trance, "Stop with that…that eye thing."
Damon grinned in a self-satisfactory way before walking off. He was finally having the impact he never thought he could have on her. And whether it was because of the spell or not, he enjoyed it immensely.
Elena.
Working for Caroline had always been tiring. Elena was practically dragging her feet when she finally got home. For what it's worth, it was nice that Damon came to see her in the morning. She touched her new earrings fondly as she thought of him. Lately, she hasn't been able to think about anything but him, but she didn't mind. She actually liked it. It's been a long time since she last felt like this. As nice as it was to be with Stefan, they didn't have….whatever she had with Damon. Being with Stefan could only be categorized as "nice".
Elena flopped down on her bed as she thought about Stefan. She hasn't thought about him for a long time. It's only been a few days since he left, but it felt like he wasn't even a part of her life anymore.
At that moment, her cell phone rang, and ironically, it was Stefan.
"Stefan, hey." Elena picked up at once, "How's it going over there?"
"Badly." Stefan sighed, "Lucy is not in the vicinity, and she hasn't come back to her apartment either."
"That's not good." Elena murmured, tucking her legs beneath her as she sat down on her bed.
"No. It isn't." Stefan agreed, "Our only chance of finding her right now is if Bonnie does a Location Spell."
"Well, let me know how it goes." Elena said warily. "And…please be careful."
"We will." Stefan said in a promising voice. The tone of his made Elena think there was something more he wanted to say. And he did indeed. "How is everything with Damon?" Stefan asked haltingly.
"Just fine."
Stefan sighed again, sounding a little frustrated at her concise reply, "Listen, Elena, it's okay if you have feelings for him. It's not your fault. It's the whole purpose of the spell. I understand, okay?"
Even though Stefan tried very hard to sound casual, Elena knew that he wasn't okay with this. He might understand, yes, but he's not okay with it. But she was touched nonetheless at his attempt to accept her situation with Damon.
"Thank you, Stefan." Elena said in a sincere voice.
"Just…" Stefan struggled with the words he was trying to say, "don't do anything you'll regret, Elena. Keep in mind that these feelings aren't real."
The last sentence offended her. Elena could feel anger bubbling inside. She knew Stefan was probably right, but she was irritated all the same by his manner of speaking. He wasn't feeling what she was feeling. How could he possibly know which feeling is real and which isn't?
"They feel real." Elena finally said stiffly.
"Well, they're not. You're under a spell, Elena, remember?"
Elena didn't like the way Stefan was talking to her, as if talking to a child. But deep inside, she knew he was only trying to get her to deal with this whole thing rationally. She didn't want to deny it, but she does have feelings for Damon. Even though that's all because of the spell, her feelings were still her own, and they felt as real as they can be. And it was very weird to discuss these feelings with her current boyfriend, since they didn't even concern him.
"Stefan…" Elena's voice was breaking. She knew she had to do this, and that this would have come sooner or later, "I can't be with you when I have feelings for someone else, whether they're real or not. It's…it's not fair to you."
Silence. For a moment, Elena thought he had hung up, but after a long pause, his voice came on again, and he sounded grave, "If that's what you want, I respect your choice. But you should know that no one's blaming you for what you feel towards Damon. Bonnie and I, we're trying our best to get you out of this mess. Please don't take this out on yourself." He paused again, searching for words, "I know you're selfless, Elena, but you're thinking about everyone else except yourself."
Elena didn't know what to say. She lowered her eyes and picked at the bedding. She was glad Stefan was away right now, or else this would have been an even more awkward conversation than it already is.
"I love you." Stefan said frankly.
"I…" Again, Elena choked on the words that she could no longer say.
"You can say it back once we lift the spell." Stefan said in a comforting voice.
"Okay," Elena agreed, even though she was skeptical, "Bye, then."
"Bye, Elena."
There was a tiny click, and then the line went dead. For a long time, Elena simply stared at her cell phone. It was funny how one small phone call changed a lot of things. For starters, she and Stefan were broken up. Until they find a way to break the spell, that is. And Stefan had just instilled information in her head about how her feelings for Damon weren't even real.
Her thoughts got interrupted unexpectedly as Damon suddenly turned up beside her.
"Damon!" Elena said, almost dropping her cell phone, "How…how much did you hear?"
"Enough." He grinned deviously, "Did you just break up with Saint Stefan?"
When Elena said nothing in reply, he continued asking. "And…did I just hear someone confess her undying love for me?" He was smirking even wider now.
"It's not love." Elena said quietly.
"It's close enough."
Elena got up from her place on the bed, indignant at his lack of seriousness, "You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Well," Damon said lazily, "I tend to look on the bright side of things."
"Damon, you have no idea how confused I am here, okay? I still have feelings for Stefan, but now I'm developing feelings for you too! I don't want to be like Katherine, but I'm falling for my boyfriend's brother! And all you do is mock my break-up and my feelings and…and…" Elena's chest heaved in anger as words failed her. She felt alone and confused and she knew she wasn't being fair to Damon right now because she was taking out all of her anger on him.
Damon lost his cocky manner when he realized she was in no mood for jokes and flirtatious remarks. She was right. He really had no idea she was in so such confusion.
"Elena...I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" Damon watched Elena stare at the ground, fighting back tears, "Will you please look at me?" He asked, taking a tentative step towards her.
Elena wanted to throw herself in his arms, but stopped when she thought about how Stefan had asked her not to do anything she regretted. She was afraid that if she so much as touched him, she would kiss him, and who knows what that would lead to?
Instead, she used all her will power to not do anything, "Please…just leave." She whispered.
"No," Said Damon without a moment's worth of hesitation, "I'm not leaving until you're okay."
"I'm fine!" Elena said a little louder than she intended. Damon looked really alarmed now. "Just leave, ok?" She asked in a lower voice.
"I'm not leaving you like this, Elena." Damon said stubbornly.
Elena turned around and grabbed a jacket, "Fine, then. I'll leave." She said as she stumbled towards the stairs.
"Elena…" It only took a second for Damon to block her way.
Right then, Elena was determined to get out of the house. She walked around Damon and made for the door, "Please, Damon, don't come after me."