The night following Elena's grisly discovery was not a restful one for the brunette. All she could think of was how far Damon might go in terrorising Caroline. He had obviously scared her, whether or not she could remember what happened. Maybe he had hit her head and that was why she couldn't remember. Or maybe she was covering for him even yet. But she had seemed so genuinely alarmed...
By the next morning Elena had worked herself into a towering rage. If Jeremy had been there he would have recognised the warning signs that sent him ducking to his room for cover. The flared nostrils, clenched fists and deep frown lines were all clear indicators that Elena was on the war path. It was very rare for this mood to dissipate without an explosion of some sort, and it usually claimed a fair few victims on the way. One time Elena had poured milk all over his CD player when they were only kids when he had insisted on playing the same track over and over and over again. Needless to say she had gotten into more trouble than he had, and the plan had backfired somewhat, since he'd gotten an upgrade for a replacement. However, now Elena was older her temper was all the more potent. Especially after having the night to let it stew.
Elena thundered up the wooden staircase barely pausing for breath. Fury clouded her judgement and blinded her to the usual factors to consider. If Damon was capable of hurting Caroline he wouldn't have a problem hurting her. Could she really afford to piss off the person whose house she was staying in for the foreseeable future? None of these worries registered as she reached the upstairs hallway. She didn't have a clue which room was Damon's but funnily enough there was only one wooden door open, a sliver of light mockingly inviting her to dispel the dark cloud that had possessed her.
She strode over to the door and flung it open, causing it to slam against the wall. "Well?" she demanded, hands on her hips.
Damon barely glanced from an oversized television screen to Elena before looking back to the programme. He was casually lying on a massive bed with his arms propped behind his head, legs lazily crossed at the ankles. His lazy attitude did nothing to quell Elena's anger, only fuelling it further. "A hole dug or drilled into the ground, usually to draw up some form of liquid, most commonly water," he replied, staring all the while at the screen.
Her mouth dropped open, aghast at him. "I'm referring to what you've done to Caroline,' she said tersely from between clenched teeth.
"Oh, that." He sneaked a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Yep, she was definitely going to explode. He gave a little shrug, turning the volume on the television up.
Big mistake. He was not getting away with dismissing this that easily.
"Yes! That!" Elena reached down and yanked off one of her converse and threw it straight at Damon, smacking him right in the centre of his forehead. Instantly he bolted upright. A hard look morphed his laid-back face into a tense mask of barely concealed fury that more than dwarfed Elena's. She immediately regretted the hot-headed move and made to back away, turning to run out the door.
Before she could a large hand reached out in front of her, forcefully closing the door with an ominous 'click'. She screwed her eyes shut as she leaned forwards, resting her head against the smooth wooden surface, mentally kicking herself.
"You really shouldn't have done that," Damon all but snarled in a low voice right next to her ear.
Her heart felt like it was pounding in her throat, clambering to be released, to make a bid for freedom. Bile seemed to be linked to this sensation and she had to fight the urge to throw up all over Damon's designer boots that she could feel chafing at the back of her heels. She fought to suppress the shiver of repulsion that washed over her as she felt his toned chest press against her back, pushing her closer to the door that she desperately wanted to be on the other side of. He was right: she shouldn't have picked a fight with someone clearly stronger than she was.
Suddenly he placed his hands on her shoulders, creating burning patches that tingled on her skin, and yanked her around to face him, slamming her back against the door, forcing a huff of breath out of her. Was it wrong for her to be glad she'd already cleaned her teeth this morning? How horrible a human being did it make her that she was seriously attracted to the man standing in front of her? She felt slightly more assured of her sanity when she felt the now familiar lurch of panic as he grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
He seemed to study her intently, taking in every detail of her face before sweeping his gaze over her body, sending pins and needles down to her toes. Curiously what he saw seemed to cause him pain, as his arms weakened, albeit only slightly, on either side of Elena. She held her breath, wary of provoking him with the slightest movement.
"You remind of her so much," he said, voice even as he tilted Elena's chin this way and that. "You could be Katherine's twin." A hint of disgust edged into his tone.
Defiant, Elena yanked her chin free from his grip, possibly surprising herself as much as him. "I am Elena," she snapped. "Not Katherine. Not anyone else."
It irked her to have her individuality questioned, just as it pissed her off to be at the mercy of someone else. She raised her knee sharply, aiming to jab him in the sensitive spot but Damon reacted quickly by pushing himself flush against her, forcing her leg into a collision with his which created a tangle of limbs. Despairingly she thumped on his chest with her fists, pouring all her effort into shifting this creepy moron with a clear hang-up on an ex off-of- her. All that happened was that her hands bounced off and she was certain she would have bruises in a matter of hours. Panting, she slowed down, tired from struggling.
Damon barely seemed to register her blows, waiting until she was done before pinning her arms above her head by the wrists, a wry smirk on his face. "Was that good for you? 'Cos I have to say I think we can do better. There are other ways to vent your frustration." His eyes narrowed suggestively as he rocked her gently.
Elena glowered at him before opening her mouth to scream-
"That's not going to do a bit of good," Damon tsked. He jerked his head to the side before whispering in a confidential manner. "The walls are sound-proofed in here. I wouldn't want to encourage voyeurism. I'm more of a participation enthusiast myself."
Elena let her mouth fall closed, a scowl clear on her face. "Let me go. Right. Now."
Damon scoffed. "Or what?"
Frantically Elena racked her brain. It was hard to think with her heart thumping out a hollow in her chest, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Remember why you got into this mess...
Triumphantly she came up with her answer. "I'll go the police. I'll tell them what you did to Caroline!"
There. She'd laid her cards on the table. Of course, she'd have to get out of here to get to the police but hopefully he wouldn't consider that and just accept the threat.
But instead of looking suitably intimidated by her threat, Damon merely raised an eyebrow as if to say 'that all you got?' and even had the audacity to look amused.
"You mean you'll tell the police that I did this?"
As soon as the words left his mouth Elena knew she was in trouble. It was stupid of her not to consider the arrogant asshole would take her threat as a challenge. She half-heartedly tried to wriggle loose but his grip on her wrists only tightened.
She watched in a sort of fascinated horror as he lowered his head to the column of her neck, placing cool butterfly kisses down her throat. Transferring her wrists into one hand, he used the freed one to slide aside her shirt to reveal her collarbone where he teased the skin by pressing a lingering kiss there. Elena's breath hitched in a body's betrayal to her mind. Her legs wriggled uselessly against Damon's only causing the denim of her jeans to burn against her legs.
"And this?" he murmured into her skin, before she felt a light pressure as he nibbled her neck.
Damon leaned against Elena, letting her know he could hear her heart's attempt to break through her ribcage and hiding his face, giving her a view of his silken black hair, his arms entwined with hers as he kept her in place.
"And this?" he asked, lifting his head.
This time there was no stopping her scream that burst from her lungs. His eyes were large and round, bloodshot with massive pupils and surrounded by raised veins that looked like worms writhing beneath the skin. Elena threw her body to the side, trying in despair to use her legs as leverage to push herself away from him, from it.
Fangs protruded from his mouth as he lunged towards her throat, cutting her off mid-scream, replacing the high, shrill noise with a disgusting slurping, sucking one.
The pain broke through Elena's terror but only served to throw her mind out of her body. It felt so surreal. She screwed up her eyes in agony as she felt her blood being pulled from her being, trying to convince herself it wasn't happening.
This is just a nightmare. I'll wake up and Jenna will shout that I'm running late for school and Jeremy will have used up all the hot water and I'll get a speeding fine but I'll make it just in time.
Her eyes flew open as the pain twisted into a sharp stinging sensation as Damon twisted against her neck, ripping into her flesh. Black dots danced in front of her eyes while she felt herself drift, the only noise she could hear being a high-pitched ringing. It felt like she had run a marathon, sweat prickled her forehead as she burned up as her blood pressure fell down.
Finally the black dots merged together and she fell to the floor limply at Damon's feet.
Damon stepped back, wiping his bloodied mouth on the back of his hand, observing the huddled body on his bedroom floor. Rolling his eyes he bent over and roughly scooped her up into his arms before dumping her on his bed. Idly he registered she looked good there; albeit a little pale. He noted her fluttering eyelids, and pinched the bridge of his nose, preparing for the inevitable screaming fit. Mind you, she might surprise him. She certainly had when she came to defend her newfound friend, never mind arguing with him when he had her right where he wanted her.
Smirking, he dashed over to the other side of the bed, propping his head up on his elbow as he assumed a position next to Elena. He watched in amusement as her eyes flashed open, staring at the ceiling before rotating round to find him lying beside her.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
And there was the screaming as he expected. Good to know he still knew how to play this game even if the players weren't co-operating. He rolled over and clamped a hand over her mouth.
Blue eyes widened above Elena, fixing her in place. They pulsed above and drew her into their depths that seemed to be conveying a message. Everything around her fell away. The only thing of any importance was the message. She almost craved to hear it, she felt like her mind was empty, just space waiting, needing, to be filled with a purpose.
A low persuasive voice enlightened her as to what that purpose was. "You'll forget what happened here today. You'll assume Caroline's bruises were caused by someone else and that I saved her from them at the bar. You'll wear a scarf because you feel the cold at night and want to avoid sunstroke in the daylight." There was a pause. "You won't leave these grounds until I allow you to."
He flopped onto his back and added, "Go to your room and forget this conversation."
Elena found herself standing in front of her bedroom mirror admiring the way her green scarf complimented her light blue shirt, thinking herself lucky to have found a safe place to stay until she could find a way home. Maybe she wouldn't rush to find the way.
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