Fine, you guys cajoled me. I'll make it a short little story. A few more chapters to come. Just remember you asked for it.
Arms and Legs
She takes up running. He has no idea why. Only that she sprints through the forest until her limbs quake and blisters the size of quarters form on her heels. She loses ten pounds she can't afford to and starts showing up at his house in the middle of the night to steal his books.
It's all very random and she refuses to speak a word of explanation. When he catches her or questions her she smiles at him in a flustered way and makes a sarcastic comment. She's all about deflection these days. And as the former master he can't seem to keep up. He's only loved one other woman in his entire existence, and unfeeling wasn't her specialty. Katherine was coldhearted, but passionate. Elena is kind, but currently hollow.
She's reading Dostoyevsky at four in the morning to avoid listening to her brother talk to people she can't see or glancing at her aunt's empty bed. Racing up hills until she can't breathe so she can focus on her pain instead of everyone else's. And he has no idea what to do; only that he has to do something.
And he does. He goes with her to a party. Some vapid midsummer bash thrown by a guy named Lance or Link or something. It was Caroline that forced her into a sundress and fixed her hair into something other than a vaguely sweaty pony tail. And when they both show up at his house, blonde smiling brightly, brunette looking dubious he can't really refuse her anything. Not when she's got her arms wrapped tightly around herself and eyes that are practically screaming.
So he follows her to the car, trying not to laugh or attack when he sees Tyler Lockwood slouching in the passenger seat. Elena shoots him a look, a "this is hard enough" look. And he slides into the back without saying a word. But when Caroline shifts the car into gear and backs out of his driveway all bets are off.
"So Caroline, how are things with Mutt," his voice is velvet and his smile is wide as he sees the girl's knuckles turn white on the wheel. Elena rolls her eyes but she lets him have it, because he is a couple hundred years old and attending a high school party as her friend/chaperone. There's only so much she can ask.
"We broke up," Caroline whispers tightly as Tyler sinks lower in the seat.
"Oh no," Damon laughs brightly, edge almost invisible, "I wasn't talking about our resident busboy. I was referring to our new, poor judge of character werewolf. How are things going with him?"
"Things are going fine," Caroline hisses, shooting him a harassed look over her shoulder and then a pointedly sympathetic one at Tyler.
"That's nice," Elena mumbles into the palm of her hand, eyes trained out the window but mind a million miles away.
"It is," Tyler agrees sullenly, and Caroline beams.
"Just remember to avoid the teeth Care," he advises solemnly, "speaking as someone who's been there, his bite is way worse than his bark." Her hand clamps on his knee then, and he's sure it would hurt if he weren't dead and impervious.
"We both want to apologize for that, obviously," Caroline murmurs, although the look in her eyes says otherwise. Right now she'd like to strangle him with her powerful, newborn fingers.
"Great, thanks," he deadpans, pulling Elena's digits off one by one and placing her hand back in her lap with a wagging finger, "Although completely unaccepted."
"Oh look we're here," Elena remarks suddenly, pulling him out the door before the car has even come to a complete stop.
"Thank God," Caroline and Tyler state almost completely in sync as they watch the two take off towards the glowing, overpopulated house. And as the blonde searches for a spot on the street, the brooding boy next to her reaches across the shifter and squeezes her cold hand with his blazingly hot one. And she tries to remember the surprisingly valid advice about the teeth, but just can't.
Damon doesn't like the way people look at her. Never has. At her mile long legs, flowing hair, or bright white smile. He can feel the thoughts rolling off their shoulders. The intentions pounding in their blood. And it drives him crazy but, thankfully, he's had centuries to practice control. And he possesses enough to repress the urge to snap the neck of every guy in the place giving her deceptively confident exterior a once over. Barely.
She's good at faking it. Really just extraordinary. She smiles and laughs like it's nothing. Like she'd never stopped. And he feels like an asshole standing next to her gawking. But he can't help it. Can do nothing but marvel at the observation that she could so easily have just deceived him. Pretended to be fine and pushed him away. That really her empty stares and stony silences are her way of confiding in him. Showing him more then she allows nearly everyone else.
He wants to say something. Anything. Pull her away and yell or whisper or just fucking kiss her until she can't breathe and neither can he. But he also likes normal. The fake it until you feel it strategy sounds better than anything he's come up with, so he lets her stand there and live her lie. Participates because he may prefer it too, even though in their harsh reality she's kissed him and initiated some possibly trauma induced handholding. Anything's worth it to see her smile.
That is until the fatal question. The end to their, mostly her, bid at normal. He doesn't know the girl, only that she glances at him appreciatively and then asks Elena where Stefan is.
He sees the shift immediately. Her body goes stiff, a physical jolt reminding her exactly where and when she is. And all the ghosts flood back to her eyes. He quickly cuts in with the party line; Stefan is staying with relatives' upstate for the summer, as she practically begins to collapse next to him.
He grips her arm for support but she shakes him off, heading for the door with almost inhuman speed. "Don't follow me Damon," she hisses over her shoulder as she crosses the lawn and heads into the dimly lit street.
He hesitates for the briefest fraction of a second, but then remembers all the damage she manages to do to herself when he's not around. Then catches up immediately.
"Yeah right."
Thanks to QueenBee10, 1shot, FinnFiona, deberry, dazed-rose, D, Aria, elenaanddamon, Justine106, LVB, fallenspringsummer, Adjakkadh, CrimsonKiss-17, and b-mystique. LOVE your reviews.
