Chasing Glory
By Lanie
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or Delena.
A/N: Sorry for the month-long hiatus. College is kicking my ass this month. As far as TVD is concerned, the "sire bond" Delena story is BS. I got so mad I had to finish this chapter and post it ASAP. Thanks for waiting.
Chapter 3
Damon took a sip of whiskey as a young girl from the nearby college chattered in his ear. He couldn't even remember her name (Ally? Cally?), but she was decent-looking and he was desperate. Even the whiskey couldn't blur the edges of Elena's face in his head, no matter how much he drank, or how far he ran.
He nodded haphazardly as the girl bragged on about her high placement on the college dance team. She was trying too hard, but they always did. The girl had smooth red hair and bright blue eyes, bubbly and loud. The important thing was that she wasn't like her. She didn't look like Elena and she didn't act like Elena. And right now, that was all he needed in the world.
He turned to her.
"You're pretty," he slurred, not realizing how much the alcohol was affecting him until he spoke. She smiled at him, blinking her bright eyes. Damon noticed she had barely touched the sweet, berry-flavored drink infront of her. She put her hand on top of his. He felt nothing.
"I'm drunk and I want you to take me home," she looked him straight in the eye and spoke boldly.
"Oh?" He smirked and stared back at her. She wasn't even buzzed. The girl took this as her answer and stared back at him confidently, waiting for him to make the next move. Damon laughed.
He couldn't do it. Even here, even with this girl who was willing to throw herself into bed with him without being compelled or coerced. He still couldn't do it. An empty kind of ache echoed through his body, reminding him of what he could not forget.
Elena Gilbert. She was his only one. It wasn't as though this was the first time he had realized this. He had always known it; even on the first day he met her, bright and full of life, before her life had fallen to pieces. She was his only one, but he would never have her, and it hurt like hell.
"You're very pretty," Damon said calmly, looking into her eyes. He found what he was looking for immediately. Controlling people was what he did best.
"But I want you to go across the room and talk to the boy with the football jacket until he buys you a drink."
"Okay," the girl nodded obediently and got up, the confidence in her step just as bright as before. Damon turned back to the bar and set a wad of bills on the counter, grabbing a sealed bottle of whiskey from behind the counter as he stood up. All around him, college girls fluttered their eyelashes at douchebags with faux-hawks and fake tans. He couldn't stay here. He was tired of bars and public and people. Suddenly, a dark room to brood in alone seemed a lot more appealing than this place.
He opened the bottle and took a swig as he pushed open the door and walked out into the night.
Elena knocked hesitantly on door 407 of the sleaziest motel she had ever laid eyes on. She listened, waiting for the familiar sound of Damon's footsteps as he approached the door. There was only silence. Her throat burned, and she swallowed.
She bit her lip. Her stomach was fluttering with nerves and she didn't know why. Sure, she was expecting him to be mad at her. But it wasn't like he'd never been mad at her before. She told herself that it was sort of just what they did. She wouldn't let herself admit that this time was different; that this time, when she looked into his eyes, she might not see the warmth that she had become accustomed to. The look he saved just for her.
She listened again, harder this time. In the back of her mind, she was afraid of what she might hear. Of finding someone else in the room with him, someone like the girl who had picked up his phone and said hello after the fifth time she called him three nights ago. That was the night she left behind everything she knew back in Mystic Falls and headed out on her own. She hadn't even been able to ask who it was before the line went dead, and her heart sunk. Who was the girl, and why had he let her answer his phone? She knew it shouldn't bother her. She had no right or claim on him; she had given that up a long time ago. But she couldn't help it. The thought made her stomach turn.
Carefully, she pulled the keycard out of her pocket and slid it into the door. She looked around nervously, in case someone came running to stop her, but there was no one around. The clerk at the desk had no problem handing over the key once she had looked him in the eye and asked nicely. It was surprising to her how quickly she had learned to compel people once she had no other choice. The only problem she had encountered in the motel office was her overpowering bloodlust. She hadn't fed since she had left home, for fear of losing control. She didn't want to hurt anyone. But it would have been so easy, alone in that office in the middle of the night, with no one else around for miles...
She shook her head as the light turned green. She needed to find him. She opened the door and stepped defiantly into the room.
It was empty.
Her heart sank. He wasn't here. Maybe he was gone already. Her tracking skills left a lot to be desired, she knew that, and he had already had a head start.
"Damon?" she called halfheartedly, knowing there would be no reply. She walked into the room and left the door open behind her, letting the moon light her way. The bed looked relatively frumpy and used, like it had been thrown together in a hurry, but she didn't know if she should expect anything more from a dirty motel like this. She walked over to it and bent her head over it. She was a vampire now, and she knew his smell like the back of her hand. Maybe, she thought. She leaned her nose down and hovered inches above the fabric, breathing in.
The light flicked on above her and she turned quickly, throwing herself hard against the wall in surprise. She felt the drywall crack behind her.
"Elena?"
Damon stood in the doorway clutching a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. He froze there, staring at her as though he had just seen a ghost. She couldn't help but smile, just briefly. He was here.
"Damon, I-"
"What are you doing here?" he cut her off suddenly, his eyes narrowing into a cool glare.
"Well, I-"
"How did you even find me?"
Elena took a deep breath. She had been expecting him to be mad and she couldn't let it get to her now. Not when she needed to convince him otherwise.
"I learned how to compel people when I left. It was so much easier on my own. I followed your trail of college bars and sleazy motels until it lead me here."
The room faded into silence as Damon strode into the room, never taking his eyes off her. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Clever," Damon said finally, as he came to a stop a few inches from her face. "I guess the real question here is, why are you here?"
"I-" Elena started. "I don't really know..."
"You don't know?" Damon stated. "Well let me guess. You're here because being my little brother's guinea pig for new and improved methods wasn't working for you, am I right?"
Elena swallowed and her eyes narrowed. She hated him because he was right. But she didn't want to fight with him.
"I figured if you didn't want to be found, you wouldn't have used your real name."
Damon stopped and his lips twisted into a cool smirk. She hated that smile; it wasn't the real him. It was his defense against the world. It made her want to scream.
The thirst in her throat burned white-hot. She was afraid of what she would do, afraid of herself. He couldn't leave her here. She was terrified to be left alone.
"Please, Damon," she blinked back tears as her voice cracked. She couldn't lose it, not now. "I - need help."
She watched as Damon's features softened. He looked into her eyes and she lost her breath.
"How long has it been?"
Elena didn't need to ask what he meant. It was the only thing she could think of; the vein, a pulse, the hot, sweet substance she hated herself for needing. In that moment he was the only thing between her and the man sitting in the motel office. The vein on his neck, pumping, inviting...
"Three days," she whispered.
Three long, agonizing days. She didn't know how much longer she would have been able to hang on if she hadn't of found him. The thought terrified her.
"Elena," Damon reached out and tilted her chin until she was staring into his eyes. They melted into hers. His cold facade was gone. She was safe.
"We're going to go out and find you some blood. But you're going to have to listen to me. And you're going to have to use that strength I know you have inside of you. Understand me?"
"Yes," Elena whispered, swallowing the burn. "It hurts, Damon."
"I know," Damon whispered. He took hold of her face with two hands. "But you're going to be okay. You're going to get through this."
Elena nodded. She was terrified to leave the room, but she didn't trust anyone else in the world right now.
He was her safety net, the only thing between the outside world and the fire in her throat.
He was her only hope.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Despite finals, the new chapter should be coming relatively soon. Your thoughts are much appreciated!