Hello Fellow TVD fans! I'm so sorry it took me a so long to update, but I have had almost literally no time to sit down and write. I planned on updating Wednesday night, but I fell asleep in the middle of writing. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I have to finally wake up the broody one (what a thrill). The next few chapters are when the Delena should really kick in. Sorry it's taking me so long to get there, but if I make it go too fast, it seems forced and I lose the essence of the characters. I want to make this seem legit. By the way, thank you SO much for the encouraging reviews! They make me smile all day like a fool. Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Vampire Diaries. I'm just unhealthily obsessed with it.
Chapter 6: Both Alike in Destiny
After several vain attempts to use them correctly, Elena finally tossed one of her chopsticks aside in frustration and vehemently stabbed a piece of her sesame chicken with the other, then popped it into her mouth. Damon let out a snort of derision, the pointed his own chopsticks at her, saying, "You know, in China if you do that, it's a sign of savageness and disrespect?"
Elena narrowed her eyes, shooting him a ridiculously fake smile. "Well we're not exactly in China, now are we? Get over it." She reached for a white plastic fork and twirled some noodles around it, scooping them into her mouth.
"Wow, Elena. You eat like a man." Elena glared at him, picking up her discarded chopstick and hurling it at him. He easily dodged it, and it landed with a clatter on the hardwood floor five feet away.
"Easy!" Damon admonished playfully. "I meant that as a sincere compliment. I like women with an…appetite." He grinned wickedly.
An appetite for what, exactly, is the question, she thought to herself, shaking her head. She finished her meal in a few bites and threw away the paper cartons. She turned to see Damon leaning against the countertop, nonchalantly sipping from his champagne flute full of blood. He noticed her watching him and smirked, his eyes gleaming.
"What, does this bother you?" he inquired, slowly swishing the blood around in the glass.
"Strangely…no. Not really. At least, not anymore." She replied, shocked at how desensitized she'd become.
Damon raised an eyebrow. "Works for me." He secretly rejoiced that she wasn't repulsed by him. "So…we've got about 6 hours until our broody little vampire downstairs wakes up. What do you want to do? Ooh. We could play strip poker! Or find out how many shots you can hold. Or both, as long as the drinking comes before the…poker…no?" He trailed off under her disdainful stare. "Suit yourself." He shrugged and started to walk out of the room. Elena realized that she was bored, and she certainly didn't want to spend six more hours alone. Here goes nothing.
"Damon!" He halted on the stairs, looking over his shoulder at her expectantly. "You're right. Six hours is a long time to do nothing. How about…" she paused, trying to come up with something appropriate to do. "How about you give me a tour of this place? I've never actually seen most of it." She looked up at him with soft pleading eyes, and he knew he couldn't say no; he wasn't even sure he wanted to. In spite of himself, he let out a loud sigh and walked back down the stairs.
"Fine, fine. If you insist." He bowed sarcastically, a lopsided grin gracing his features. He stretched out his hand to her, and she hesitantly put her left hand in his. A jolt traveled through her entire being; that feeling, the emptiness that she had been trying to shake from her hand all day, had suddenly evaporated. It was as if there was never any empty feeling in the first place. Elena was unnerved by this sudden revelation, and unconsciously squeezed his hand tighter in hers. Damon's heart lurched forward alarmingly at her intimate gesture, yet managed to keep his face straight and calmly continued to lead her up the stairs. Elena feared what she had just felt, and wasn't sure that it was smart to keep holding on, but some invisible force from within her screamed at every nerve ending in her body, begging her not to let go. And honestly, she wasn't sure she really wanted to. When she was with Damon, a sudden calm and ease always seemed to wash up around her. Comforted by his presence and touch, she gave his hand another warm squeeze, this time voluntarily, and followed him closely up the dark staircase.
"And this," Damon announced with a sweep of his arm, "used to be the ballroom." He had shown Elena nearly every room in the house, most of which were guest rooms. They all gave the impression that they had not been occupied for decades; there were layers of dust on all of the furniture and cobwebs graced the corners of the ceilings. Even so, Elena could tell that they had once been beautiful quarters. The chairs and dressers were all lush and ornate, yet cozy and inviting at the same time, despite the signs of age. The wallpapers were silky and featured lavish designs of fleurs-de-lis and pinstripes. Now, as she entered the supposed ballroom, she couldn't help but gasp. The walls were lined with ceiling-to-floor mirrors, all gilded with slightly dulled gold. From the high ceilings hung three crystal chandeliers, all glistening with the light from the candle in Elena's hand despite their cobwebs. The dark wood on the floor was faded and scuffed near the center of the room, where Elena imagined that countless couples had once lined up to dance so many years ago. Dance…the thought reminded her of the dance that she and Damon had shared only yesterday; it felt like ages ago. She sighed, wishing that everything that had happened in the past 24 hours would just go away. She walked to the center of the room, slowly turning in a circle to take it all in.
"And that concludes our tour for today. Thank you for joining us, and have a lovely evening." Damon smirked with the last few words and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Hey! I think you forgot a room." Elena informed him, clearly miffed at his blatant exclusion of the room she was must curious about.
"And which one would that be?"
"Yours. Aren't you going to show it to me?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly and folded her arms across her chest. She expected him to make a crude remark about why she wanted to go to his room alone with him, but none came.
"Nope." He replied simply, looking away from her and letting her know that the subject was closed to any further discussion.
"Whatever," she shot back carelessly, trying to hide her disappointment. A sudden icy breeze swept through the door and into the room, sending shivers up Elena's spine and extinguishing her candle. "Damon?" she called out, her voice echoing faintly against the cavernous ceiling. She felt a hand wrap around her arm just above her elbow.
"I'm right here." She leaned toward the voice, stopping when she felt her back touch his side. Her shoulders shook slightly as she tilted her face up, trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden darkness. "Interesting little human, you are. Afraid of the dark, so you come running to a vampire. How ironic."
Elena just shook her head. "Can't you just take me downstairs? I want to see if Stefan's up yet." She could almost hear his eyes roll.
"Fine. Don't let go of my hand unless you want to knock yourself out or fall to an untimely death. That could get messy." She suddenly felt his large, strong hand fold itself around hers and gently tug her forward. She took a step, holding her other arm out to keep from hitting the wall. He led her down what she imagined was the hall, and the entire house was silent except for their breathing and slow footsteps. A dim glowing light finally came into view, and Elena could make out her surroundings once again and she descended the stairs closely behind Damon. When they reached the bottom, Elena suddenly became aware that she was still clutching on to Damon, even though she was out of the dark. He looked down at their clasped hands, his face slightly amused. She slowly pulled her hand from his, letting her fingertips drag against his palm as she reluctantly broke the contact, knowing that unnerving emptiness would return the second she let go. Damon's eyes widened slightly at the move, feeling her hesitation. He flexed his hand at his side as she turned away from him, his skin tingling with heat.
"Well I guess I'll head downstairs now," she said softly, half-hoping he would follow her as she opened the door to the basement. Afraid of his brother lashing out against her again, he unknowingly granted her wish. They both made their way to the cellar, her footsteps slightly faster than his. She turned the corner and looked through the bars on the door. She saw him; he was sitting back against the wall, his elbow propped one raised knee, his head bowed.
"Stefan," she called out to him, hoping he would look at her. He didn't raise his head at the sound of her voice. Before Damon could stop her, she opened the heavy door and strode into the cell, crouching in front of him.
"Stefan, you're awake! Are you feeling alright? You should really drink something, you look exhausted. Why don't you-"
"You need to leave." He uttered in a low, rough voice, not lifting his head.
"Stefan, what's the matter?" Elena's eyebrows drew together as she frowned. She put a hand on his knee, leaning closer in an attempt to see his face.
"I want to be alone."
"But I haven't spoken to you in days! I want to know if you're gonna be ok. Should-"
"I don't want you here, Elena." He interrupted forcefully. "Can't you just go? I never realized you were so pushy. That's just one more way you're different than her. I thought you could replace her; I realize now just how I wrong I was. You could never be her."
Elena felt a lump rising fast in her throat, and she blinked several times, trying to comprehend what he was saying. Her system felt like it had shut down; she felt paralyzed as she commanded her limbs to run, yet couldn't move an inch. The dark room she was in started to blur, spinning slightly as his last words echoed in her head: You could never be her. It faintly registered in the back of her mind that there was a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the cellar and back out the door. Another hand lightly pushed on the small of her back, guiding her gently up the dark, swimming stairwell. She couldn't focus her eyes or mind on anything; her head felt foggy and there was a faint ringing noise in her ears. As soon as the hands released her, she all but collapsed onto the carpet near the fireplace. Her legs sprawled out in front of her, bent at uncomfortable angles and her arms hung limply at her side. She didn't even sense Damon leave the room and go back downstairs.
After what seemed like hours, Elena was finally pulled out of her trance-like state by the sound of a slamming door. She heard heavy footsteps fall across the foyer to the front door, followed closely by another pair of footsteps, and the second pair crossed over to her, standing over her protectively. She looked over to the front door to see Stefan, poised to leave.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She heard Damon's biting voice from above her.
"To finish what you started. What I should've done all along. I'm going to find her. I have to." Elena looked up to see a yellowed photo in Stefan's hand. It was the picture of her. She felt fresh tears pool over and silently trek down her cheeks. She sucked in a ragged breath, trying to get her vision to clear.
"And what about her? Do you see what you've done to her? She's gone to all this trouble to get you back to normal, and you're just gonna walk? Leave her for some heartless look-a-like bitch?" Damon all but shouted, an undercurrent of fury in his voice. Stefan said nothing, avoiding Elena's gaze.
"Go to hell." Damon's voice was hard with ice and poison. With one final bitter glance, Stefan opened the door and walked out into the night, never looking back.
I apologize again for the long wait! I hope this chapter sits well with you; it's really setting the stage for DELENA. Just imagine what's gonna happen next. The two of them, alone…both gotten their hearts broken. Stefan is no longer of any interest. Someone needs comforting. Let me know with a comment if there's anything you want me to throw in next chapter! I'm excited about writing it. Please please comment and let me know what you think! It means A LOT to me. Hope I didn't let you down! Promise I'll update faster this time. Feedback is love! And Delena for the win.