Chasing Glory
By Lanie
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or Delena.
Chapter 1
She stared at her reflection in the mirror, perplexed. How many times had she stood in the same place, staring at precisely the same body that now looked so incredibly unfamiliar? She put a finger to her lips, the same lips that had spoken her last words to her parents. The same lips she had used to scold her younger brother with so many times over the years. The same lips she had pressed awkwardly against her first boyfriend back in the sixth grade and then wondered for weeks what all the hype was about kissing a boy.
The same lips she had first kissed Stefan with three years ago and realized exactly what it was she had been missing.
The lips she had not been able to stop from pressing against Damon just weeks before when the fire had flared through her cheeks and down through her body, burning her everywhere until she didn't even know how to stand anymore.
And yet now, somehow, everything was different. Some sort of hidden curve, something so subtle not even she could sort it out.
But she knew where it came from, because she knew what she was now.
She was a vampire.
It had been almost a week since she'd woken up in her bed with the Salvatore brothers surrounding her. She had known instantly that there was something wrong. She could see it in their faces. Seven days later and she still woke up every day with the same feeling in the pit of her stomach: raw, unadulterated panic. Even the gentle pull of Stefan's arms couldn't take it away, not really. The fear stayed with her throughout every moment of every day.
Stefan had tried again and again to get her to drink animal blood, but she hadn't been able to keep any of it down. The look on his face as she retched the deer blood back up on the roots of nearby tree made her stomach drop every time. She had never wanted to be a vampire, but he was doing the best he could to help her. She wanted so badly to make him proud.
She just couldn't. And he didn't understand.
She looked away from the mirror, biting back the tears that threatened to spill over. Stefan had told her that her emotions were going to be heightened, but she was tired of crying. All she wanted was to get through this the best that she could. She would watch each time as Stefan poured a cup of human blood out of a bag and heated it in the microwave. She knew he was trying to hide the blatant look of disappoint on his face. But he couldn't.
Deep down she knew there was only one person she knew that would truly understand.
She hadn't heard from Damon since their talk outside her house when he had threatened to kill Matt. She had been angry, angrier than she had ever remembered being in her human lifetime, and she had said more than she had intended to. She had played the conversation over in her head again and again, wishing she could take some of it back. Wishing that it hadn't even happened at all. Wishing she could say something that would clear the air between them and put everything back to normal.
But now, a week later, she was getting fed up. She had asked Stefan to go over to the Salvatore mansion and check on him earlier in the day, just to make sure he was okay. She knew it wasn't rational for her to be worrying just because he didn't want to be around her. It had been her that had chosen Stefan, and her that had chased him away in the process. Pushing him away had been her intention. She couldn't really blame him for listening.
But the raw, irrational part of her new vampire self hated him for it.
She heard Stefan open the door downstairs and sat down on the bed, fiddling with her new daylight ring. It was beautiful; she couldn't deny that fact, and she knew its purpose was to give her freedom. But the longer she had it on, the longer it felt like a prison. She was trapped here, in a body she barely knew anymore. Trapped in her emotions.
"Hey," she forced a smile as he appeared in the doorway, looking as perfectly put together as ever. A beat passed before she looked into his eyes and then she knew something was wrong. He immediately looked down at the floor and then up at her face. Her heart dropped.
"He's gone, Elena," he whispered finally.
"Gone?" Elena stood up, panic rising in her chest. "What do you mean, gone?"
He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, putting his head in his hands.
"He's gone. The house is empty. Looks like it has been for quite a few days now," he said. "He left."
Elena swallowed her shock and began to rationalize the way she did best.
"This isn't the first time Damon has left Mystic Falls, Stefan. He's done it a million times. He probably just needed to get away for a little while," she asserted. "He's probably just at some bar somewhere in the next state over, drinking until he does something stupid. Then he'll be back."
The room was quiet.
"I don't think he will this time."
"Stefan, what are you talking about?" Elena insisted. "Just tell me. Please."
"We made a pact, Elena," he replied. "Months ago. That whoever you chose, the other would leave town and let them be happy together."
Elena froze, the panic growing exploding inside of her with every word.
"You made a pact about me, and neither of you even thought to tell me?" she choked, her heightened emotions getting the best of her once again.
"I'm sorry Elena," Stefan said softly. "I really didn't think he'd do it. I didn't think."
They stayed there, allowing the silence to take over the room. Elena could hear each and every car that passed outside on the street like it was right there in front of her. She folded her arms and swallowed. She felt like she was going to be sick.
"I'm tired, Stefan." she said finally. He looked up at her for a moment, seeing through her like he always did.
"Elena..." he began, and then stopped as though he could see the strain in her eyes. She looked away. "Goodnight, Elena."
As soon as he left the room Elena collapsed on the edge of the bed, her hands on her knees. She couldn't believe it. He couldn't be gone.
She picked up her cellphone and fumbled to dial the familiar number. It rang once and went straight to voicemail. She tried again, and the same thing happened. She threw it across the room in frustration and folded her knees in to her chest, letting the panic overwhelm her.
She couldn't do this without him.
Damon sat down at a bar and ordered a drink. He was fairly sure he had never been to this one before, and therefore he hoped that no one would recognize him. He'd been at a different one every night since he'd left Mystic Falls, and the truth was that everything started to look alike after a while. And he wasn't getting used to it.
He looked down at his cellphone in surprise as it began to ring for the first time in a week. Elena's number lit up the screen. His stomach dropped, her face appearing in his head like she was right there in front of him. He instantly hit the end call button. Grabbing the glass from the bartender's hand, he threw his head back and downed the drink in one go.
Almost immediately the phone began to ring again. He closed his eyes and breathed.
Damon dropped it on the floor, kicked it under the bar and walked out.