Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Vampire Diaries, the book series nor the T.V. series. Or the entire fandom in anyway, L.J Smith and the creators of the show own both and L.J. smith is the proper creator of the entire series. (Even if she was fired from her series - she will always be the true owner of the Vampire Diaries series, without her we wouldn't have Damon and the rest of the gang OR even the T.V. Show for that matter.)
Summary: She has a demon, eating her from the inside. She needs saving before she becomes one of the worst things she would hate to ever turn into. Who will save her?
Author's Note: Here's were things start happening - I know it's slow but it's going to get interesting! The end bit at this chapter is important, so pay attention as well as the beginning of next chapter.
Another thanks to LoveIsBlindness for beta'ing this chapter!
P.S. Nice episode last week, huh, so knew that was going to happen - the chemistry between the characters is too strong, it was bound to happen. ;) I think I've fallen even more for our Dark Prince, if even possible - it was nice to see this side of him and he got what he deserved for so LONG.
She awoke to blue/green eyes glinting with mischief and pleasant evil intentions. Elena did not bolt upright; she lay on her back looking at the dishevelled character gazing down at her, with a hand cupping the flesh of his cheek, humming in amusement.
"Morning sleepy." Sin lightly petted her head for a minute before giving her a brief, sweet kiss on the forehead.
As her body became more alert with every passing second, Elena observed Sin's appearance.
His hair was mussed and a few pieces were sticking out every direction as if he had just awakened – she was sure he had. He had pillow imprints showing just the slightest on his cheek, that and his eyes had that half asleep glaze over the two orbs.
He looked…utterly adorable.
"Who're you calling sleepy? You're like, half asleep still." She flicked at his forehead, and he pouted like a kicked puppy.
Sin scrunched his nose slightly and a soft grunt left his lips as he rolled onto his side, facing away from her, eyes on the wall. "Am not." He spoke with a childish tone.
Elena hummed before running her finger through her own mussed hair, sitting upright, propped up against the pillow behind her, with her face turned toward him. "Whatever you say," she says in a sing-song voice with a loud yawn, which caused Sin to chuckle.
They lay there in content silence, eyes focused on nothing in particular, but just enjoying each other's presences in the waking hours of dawn.
Sunlight cut through the windows and into the room, crawling toward the form almost completely buried beneath mounds of sheets and pillows surrounding the groggy vampire.
Groaning with reluctance, Damon slowly sat up, slightly dazed even though he had awoken an hour ago – give or take. He'd been staring at the ceiling for quite some time; one would think he was waiting for a revelation.
A sigh passed his lips, fingers lazily running through the dark mop of hair before he pivoted and slid off the bed.
The floor was yielding and chilly against his feet as he padded toward the bathroom and slumped against the sink counter. Damon closed his eyes and furiously rubbed his eyes, slowly lifting his head so that he could see his reflection in the mirror.
The image reflected back didn't surprise him, Damon hadn't changed outwardly, but in his eyes was exhaustion, confusion and a swirl of many other emotions, bombarding and dragging him down.
He was trying to avoid thinking of the object of his affection, and so far the encounters; they were nothing like he expected them to be.
Elena had been missing for so long. It felt that way to him even though in any other situation it would be nothing. It had been Nearly 100 years; it would be though, 100 years coming up.
His mind revisited the memory of that mysterious vampire holding her so intimately, causing his jaw to clench and his fists to tighten slightly while he let out a loud huff.
Damon really didn't like that guy, he hadn't met him yet and particularly didn't want to if he could help it. There was something off about that guy, he felt it in his gut and he really didn't want Elena to be through that – something bad with another guy, with that guy.
She had blamed him for her turning, which he didn't blame her for but how was he directly tied to it. He admitted that he had his part, but the way she talked was as if he had been the one to turn her which was definitely not the case.
So far, every encounter with this Elena had left him with questions and a confused mind.
Damon pinched the bridge of his nose and walked out of the bathroom, his unbuttoned shirt sliding away from his shoulder before he fixed it. He flashed down the stairs to where the scene of the crime had happened. The blood still stained the ground slightly; he'd left it last night in emotional exhaustion.
Whipping the freezer door open, he grabbed three blood bags and headed to the kitchen to warm the blood.
As soon as he had warmed the first and second blood bag, he retrieved a black mug from the cupboard and poured the warm blood in silence into the mug, and drank it slowly. He leaned against the counter and stared at the wall, his mind elsewhere and nowhere at the same time.
A thought was stirring in his mind…
Finishing the blood, he grabbed the untouched third blood bag and flashed up the stair, walking slowly towards his brother's door.
And, of course, not caring to knock he burst into the room, loudly – the only warning he allowed his brother to have.
Damon leisurely walked toward the bed, where a form lay neatly amongst the bedding. He felt déjà vu right then- like he was back in 1864 sneaking up on his brother and shocking him awake for his own amusement.
When they were little, he would jump on him and bounce up and down on the bed until his brother awoke and sometimes threw a pillow at his head.
Or at least…try to.
They'd escape from the manor, rushing outside and wrestle until one of the nanny's yelled at them to come inside to join their parent's for breakfast. His father would be sitting at the head of the table, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper or any telegrams, often with a smile on his face.
Of course, this was only when his mother had been alive…
His chest tightened and his throat tickled at the memory of her.
She'd been the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on; loving and kind.
His mother had loved children and adored Stefan and him; she'd even play with them as much as she could. She mostly watched over them when the two brothers played with each other.
At night, she would tuck both of them in, brush the hair away from their face, kiss their foreheads and hum sweetly until they drifted off to the land of dreams. Sugar plums, candy canes and all.
His mother was one of the few women in the world he would die for, sacrifice anything for and protect.
His mom was perfect; the opposite of his father.
There was so much kindness and warmth in her eyes. She was good, something he wasn't now. If she were alive, he hoped she'd accept him as he was fangs and all, for sure she'd accept Stefan.
He blinked and rubbed his eyes quickly before he started tearing up at the memories. Tightening his hold on the blood bag slightly, he aimed it at Stefan's head which peers out from the top blanket, and then threw forcefully. A grin lighted up his tired features when he was awarded with Stefan groaning in annoyance and rolling onto his other side – blankets hiked up to his nose.
Damon headed towards the closed curtains and pulled them apart, letting the morning sun burst through the room and into Stefan's eyes. He snickered when he looked over to where his brother was 'sleeping' now, and saw Stefan's eyes clenched in frustration and in an attempt to block out sunlight. He was only further amused when Stefan roughly yanked the blankets up and over his head. Damon looked around the room, looking for another projectile to use to get his brother's full attention, while at the same time providing some more fun for himself.
He padded audibly toward the bookcase where Stefan's favourite literary books were placed alongside some journals. Damon wasn't even going to bother being quiet; after all his purpose was to get his brother to acknowledge him.
Silently, for a moment, he scanned and dug through his brother's books none to quietly while peering at his brother's face from the corner of his eye. Damon spotted a heavy book about the size of an encyclopaedia but not exactly as thick, and effortlessly picked it up. Walking slowly to the edge of the younger Salvatore's bed, Damon lifted the medium sized book and let it land atop of Stefan's head. He stood there frozen, eyes trained on his younger brother who was still and not breathing. Not one of the two made a move to breath, or blink, for a few moments before Stefan rolled away, scooting over to the other side, away from Damon. The book fell to the ground with an audible thump. Damon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms thinking of what he should try next.
"C'mon, little brother, I know you're awake; no sense in hiding it now. Remember, vampire? Or are you getting senile already?" His lips twitched into a smirk.
Stefan's brows twitched, begging to furrow in annoyance, but he stayed in the same position.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be a buzz-kill. Can't an older brother tease his younger brother, Stefan? Especially when I'm pretty damn hilarious. C'mon, mister teenager, wakey, wakey, we can't have you sleeping in now and wasting your life lazing in bed all day." Damon was grinning a Cheshire grin now, and he grabbed the blood bag lying at Stefan's side.
Damon walked to the other side- where his little brother had moved to- and began poking his exposed forehead with the blood bag; his brother's face muscles twitching a few times. "You know…too much sleep is bad for you, I mean you need just the right amount – get just the right balance and you'll feel refreshed."
Stefan snorted and spoke in a patronizing tone, "Yea, like you'd know all about that, sleeping in 'til the late afternoon and all."
"So, you are awake. Also, I don't do that all the time – you exaggerate, Stefan." His brother stayed silent after rolling onto his other side, facing away from Damon this time.
Sighing sharply, Damon rolled his eyes at his brother's behaviour. "Seriously, Stefan? You're going to do this now? You just answered back, why keep up the charade?"
Damon set down the blood bag on the table before pushing his brother off the bed who landed on his back, eyes finally open and seething.
"What the hell Damon!"
"I need to talk to you," he replied simply.
"This really couldn't wait? We couldn't avoid the whole throwing stuff at met bit?" Stefan stood up, grumbling, teeth gritted and hair rumpled slightly from sleep.
"No," Damon answered tiredly.
Stefan arched a single brow. "Okay, so what is it then?"
"It's about Elena," Damon's voice trailed off softly at the end.
Elena walked down the hall and into the game room where Lyall and Fenris were playing a video game and shouting at each other in between laughs. Lyall's deep red hair was tousled from Fenris nudging him and wrestling him simultaneously while playing the game.
Fenris shook the mass of golden brown hair out of his eyes before standing up and shouting something, then finally sitting down and furiously hitting buttons on the console controller.
Daray was sitting casually, watching the two guys with a light, amused smile. His head shook occasionally at the two boy's antics.
She perched herself on the armrest of the black and cracked, leather sofa, watching the figures on the screen shooting each other to the death. Not even a few seconds in, Sin's 'second in command' strolled through and began patting her head, staring down at her with a goofy, boyish grin.
"Hey there 'Lena, how's it going today?"
Elena lightly hit Clay's abdomen before pushing him away and giving him a half-hearted stern look. "Hey to you too, what do you care, what's so great about it?" Her lips curled into a sneer.
Holding up his hands in mock surrender, Clay took a step back, emerald blue eyes flashing with playfulness. "Whoa, sweetheart. I'm just being a gentlemen here – no need to snap."
Elena hopped up in response, narrowing her eyes playfully before flashing out of the game room and into the kitchen.
Reaching into the fridge, Elena heard Clay enter and laugh while she rummaged for a blood bag at the bottom. She grabbed two and threw one at Clay, who caught it instantly, tearing into it eagerly and sipping at the red liquid as he stared at her intensely. She copied his ministrations with her own blood bag and stared back challengingly; both not saying anything.
Clay placed his now-empty bag down, and ran his finger through his red mocha hair, a smile still showing. She paused for a moment and raised a single brow. "What?"
Clay shook his head. "Nothing, just – do you wanna go out for a run? I mean a real run – I'm dying too. I'll get you a treat," he said in a sing-song voice.
Elena laughed lightly, "Yea, sure…is there something else you wanted to say?"
Clay hesitated for a second, which was strange because Clay is rarely hesitant on something. He shook his head dismissively. He had a thoughtful look on his face for a second before smiling again and heading for the exit. "Meet me in 20 minutes at the front."
Twenty minutes later, she was out at the front, sitting on the porch. Wearing black sweat pants, black runners and a moss green off the shoulder top with 'You VS Me' emblazoned in silver cursive script, her hair in a sleek ponytail.
Elena began stretching instead of waiting idly for Clay, getting up as she stretched her leg muscles and crouched. Sitting back down when she finished off warming up the rest of her muscles.
When a minute passed, Clay showed up in a navy blue t-shirt, gray sweats with white and blue runners.
"Well, look who's early," she said with thick sarcasm.
"Whoa, whoa, no need to be defensive and sarcastic," he joked, reaching to pat her head before she slapped his hand away in jest.
"Am not," she said childishly.
Clay sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."
Elena huffed and crossed her arms. "Let's go already."
"Alright, alright…play-time later, then." He grinned at her and she gave him an eye roll before she went ahead and sprinted.
A whoosh of air made her stray hairs hit her cheek, and caused her to slant her eyes to the side to catch Clay jogging at her pace.
The two ran in silence, until they reached an entrance to the same forest as last night, stopping in front of it. Elena grinned at Clay playfully and ran at vampire pace into the forest.
This was her favourite location of going for a run.
They'd go into the forest where it was less than likely for any humans to venture in – usually late at night, but day didn't hurt, either.
She loved the feel of the bunching, pulling and tugging of muscles. The way her blood warmed and surged with adrenaline; her senses going wild, taking in everything.
Elena felt like she was flying rather than running, her body burning with elation.
Running freely like this was almost like hunting- the chase before a kill. In this moment, it was just her and nobody or nothing else mattered.
Clay's laughter reached her ears, and it only made her feel even more joyful, she knew if she turned he would have a huge grin on his face.
Unfortunately, the run didn't last forever and the pair found themselves at one of the many exits- where the forest have a road appearing.
"It's over already," he whined, crouching for a bit.
"Unfortunately…" she sighed. He stretched and then turned towards her with a dazed expression.
"It doesn't have to be – how about I get you your treat I promised."
Her brows shot up. "I thought you were kidding about that."
Clay shook his head and rolled his right shoulder for a second, loosening a kink. "Nope, I was dead serious. I promised. I can pinky swear too, if that'd assure you," he joked.
Elena shrugged and waved him on dismissively. "Fine, go on…start walking, I'll follow."
Minutes later, they were seated outside, sipping on coffee with a casual, warm lemon, poppy seed muffin in front of her.
"So, where'd the money appear from?" Elena looked at him with amusement.
"I pulled it out from behind your ear." Clay looked away for a second before his face cracked into his easy-going smile. "Kidding, kidding. I got it from my shoe."
Elena gave him a look. "Wow, aren't you a little magician and really, your shoe? What are you, some kind of leprechaun?"
Clay set his coffee down for a second, and lifted his hands in surrender. "Hey! I'm not lying…anyways, I got the idea from you."
Elena's face took on a thoughtful expression. "Really?"
Clay nodded. "I saw you do it awhile ago, and decided it was pretty smart and convenient. Not that I am afraid of getting mugged, if anyone is stupid enough to do so, well, they'd get the scare of their life," he snorted, then chuckled.
She, herself, laughed and then hummed in thanks before taking another drink from her cup. They sat in silence, observing people bustling along the street and shops. They were people, watching.
Just as she began to take another drink, Clay asked her a question she didn't expect. "So, what is it like being back in your birth place…Mystic Falls?" His serious eyes flickered over to hers as he kept drinking from the cup.
Elena couldn't answer for a few minutes while they stayed in those positions. She hadn't really thought about it… Lately, she'd just let herself feel and not really dwell often on certain situations. Clay's question had really thrown her off, and made her really think.
There were many terrible memories she had of this place, all leading up to her turning.
Caroline dying and becoming a vampire again. Her mom showing up, and not being the mother she'd expected. Stefan going off the rails with human blood, acting different and then ditching her for the last dance.
All that and more leading up to the night of nightmares.
The one that stuck out was that night.
Every time she thought about it, she wanted to have a breakdown, or kill someone – someone in particular, she'd been betrayed that night. But, when she thought of who ended up saving her and helping her be in control of her thirst – she felt a rush of warmth.
Sin.
Elena would definitely get her revenge in the end, payback is gonna be a bitch.
"Helloo, Elena…are you still with me? Day dreaming over there, are we?"
She was jolted out of her thoughts and her eyes focused back on Clay, who had a smirk playing on his lips as he leaned back.
Shaking herself back to the reality, she smirked back. "Oh yeah, sorry, sorry. Let's just say…that so far…it's been interesting and in a way – it's like I'd never left; even if some things are different this time. I'm definitely looking forward to our time here; it's going to be a blast."
She finished the contents of her coffee, still smirking.
They lay against the length of the couch in the elaborate, yet tasteful, living room on another black, leather sofa. She had her back resting snugly against his chest, while his fingers ran through her hair and his face nuzzled her neck every so often.
They'd just fed on one of the servant girls, and letting said, the servant take the night off to recuperate so she didn't pass out and die. The blood warmed their bodies. The vibrations of Sin's 'purring' seeped through the material of his clothing and into her back, soothing her into a state of serenity and bliss.
Their eyes were trained on the T.V screen, even though as the movie progressed, they were getting lost in each other's passion and touches. Sin would whisper in her ear with sweet words and sometimes he'd reiterate words the actor was using, as he plead to the actress to stay by his side. That she was his world, and without her, everything in the world would mean nothing to him. That he'd always choose her over anything and anyone else.
The actress turned away, and told him to stay where he was behind her. The actor called her name and that was all she needed to break down and rush towards him, capturing his lips in a fevering kiss. Which is when the music cued in.
Sin nipped at her ear and then pressed his face into her hair, breathing in gently. And when the credits rolled and the T.V. shut off, they were left snuggling in silence in the dim light of the lamp, the sounds of the waning afternoon seeping in through the window and into their sensitive ears.
Elena would swear that Sin had fallen asleep, but when he sat them both up, she knew he was awake but barely holding on. Elena rested her head on his lap, while he gazed down at her sleepily. The long tendrils of his hair fell around his face, shadowing the rest of his features to her, except his glowing eyes, both in slits.
Her hands slowly edged upwards and brushed his cheek while he continued to gaze at her – only closing his eyes for a second in contentment. She almost burst out laughing at the sight, but she held it back in; he looked like a contented cat with that expression, the 'purring' wasn't helping his situation. Elena buried her face into his torso and closed her eyes as he continued to stroke her hair, tentatively.
Eventually, the pair dragged themselves upstairs and into bed – falling asleep in each other's arms instead of on the couch where Elena was sure there'd be attempted pranks waiting to happen.
She awoke in cold sweat, eyes clenched shut and muscles tense. Her sensitive hearing kicked in and awaited any sounds that would betray the presence she'd sensed in the room. Her breathing quietened and her body stilled, except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
Elena nonchalantly buried her face deeper into Sin's chest, and his arms instinctively wrapped tighter around her as if he sensed a presence too, wanting to protect her and make her feel safe.
Eerie, soft whispers poured into her ear and she felt the hairs on her neck raise, her demon was begging to be set free and fight off the intruder in her room. A chill wafted along her forehead, eyelids, nose and finally her lips, resting there for a minute – leaving a minty/methanol feeling on the flesh of the above mentioned spots; her lips burned the most.
Another set of chills sliced into her, and she shivered, snuggling more into the blankets.
Elena had to admit, she felt a little fearful of what was awaiting her as she opened her eyes.
But, the presence hadn't left – if possible, it made itself known more.
She wasn't sure where the whispers were coming from - outside or inside her head.
Well, didn't that make her sound…well bonkers?
If she had a heart, it'd be beating a mile a minute. If she were a human, she was sure she'd flee - thank god for Sin's tight hold on her waist. But, it was a curse too; if she wanted to really escape, then she'd be stuck.
Half of her was screaming to stay deceptively asleep, while the other was curious and wanted to put up a fight. Her curiosity was rising with every breath she took, raising so much that when her eyes slowly opened and her head slightly tilted, so that she could peer, hopefully not noticeably but enough that she could see what was directly in front of the bed.
When her eyes met cold, red tinged eyes gleaming maliciously in the dark, she almost screamed.
She could swear these eyes were Lucifer's own, burning, hellish eyes, boring into her hungrily and demonically.
Authors Note: Hoped you guy's enjoyed this chapter - here is where things start getting interesting. ^^
More to come...soon!