Hello, sweethearts! How are you all doing? Enjoying TVD, are we? Oh, how much I cried for Alaric... :(
This chapter gave me a particularly hard time. The first half has been ready for over a week, but I kept writing, and rewriting the second one. I have lost count of how many times I've altered each scene, but I can now say I am more than pleased with all of them!
When I first started writing this story, I intended to keep the chapters short, around 2.500-3.500. Yeah, well, this one clearly shows how monumentally I have failed. It's an LTLA kind of chapter, over 9.500 words. But I've been told that these chapters are the ones you love the most (yes, Maria, I'm referring to you!) so, here it is!
I'll let you read it now, and I'll rant at the end.
Ready? Go!
Disclaimer: I don't own TVD, even though I'd love to!
Let your plans be dark, and as impenetratable as night.
Thoughts relentlessly swirled into Elena's mind as she followed Stefan out of the cafeteria, where they'd been trying for over an hour to practice the art of near touch. The words Carol Lockwood had used to describe it, and the dreamy expression on her face had intrigued Elena. It had sounded like a really intimate, an extremely passionate, yet in a disguised manner way of dancing. She was looking forward to experiencing it, but as soon as the music had started playing, it was clear that her wish wouldn't come true. Stefan had all but laughed at the old-fashioned technique, which come to think about it was ridiculous, since that was the way people used to dance while he was still human. So, Elena had been left with no choice but to put a smile on her lips and follow his lead. They had ended up embarrassing themselves, when Stefan without any warning wrapped his arms around her body, and dipped her to the ground, at that part where the only form of contact they were allowed to have was an eye one.
He was acting different. That, she couldn't deny. Was it strange? Hell, yes. It made her feel unsure of how to move around him. Was it an unwelcome change? Not definitely. This new Stefan was lighter, he didn't hesitate that much to laugh, and have a good time. He seemed… free. And she could get used to this improved version of him.
Somewhere on the back of her head, she still kept Damon's advice to trust her instincts, but she hadn't been able to use it. Damon had a century and a half of life experience; she was only seventeen, she couldn't afford making crucial decisions simply based on a part of herself-her soul, her heart, her whatever gave life to her instincts- she couldn't even understand. This was why she had stayed up all night, examining all of her choices, weighing the pros, and cons, analyzing the situation to the tiniest detail. She kept coming to the same conclusion. Stefan had no reason to be lying at her. If he was actually plotting against her, like Damon had more, or less implied, that would mean she didn't really know the person she'd been in a relationship with over the last several months. Which in return, meant that she was incredibly stupid. And she couldn't accept that. She didn't even believe it was true. Sure, she was no Einstein, but she didn't have the brains of a cow, either. Surely she would be able to tell if he wanted to harm her, wouldn't she?
"Don't forget we're having dinner tomorrow night at my place, okay?" Stefan said, effectively bringing her back to the real world.
"How could I ever forget?" Elena whispered, a warm feeling settling inside her chest. There were still traits of the previous Stefan in this version, like his romanticism. "You have promised me a night I'm never going to forget. I wouldn't miss it for anything!"
Stefan stopped walking, and locked his arms around Elena's form. He was so excited for tomorrow, he felt almost giddy. All the preparations he had made, all the effort he'd put in this… they'd finally pay off.
"I have planned an actual three-course meal for us," he murmured enjoying the satisfied glint that appeared in her eyes.
"You've never had anything like it before. And I'm pretty sure you'll never have a similar one ever again."
She couldn't help laughing out aloud.
"What exactly have you done, Stefan? It sounds like you've gone through so much trouble, and I feel bad."
"No, you shouldn't," he reassured her, shaking his head "it really was my pleasure, and it's going to be a perfect night for me. For both of us, I mean," he added a few moments later, and Elena struggled to maintain the smile on her lips. Because there were also some really disturbing characteristics in this Stefan. Like the way his eyes darkened sometimes, and not in the good lustful-let's go have sex-way. Or the weird feeling she sometimes had that there was a second hidden meaning behind his seemingly innocent and kind words. Hints that made her question her decision, and reconsider Damon's warning. But the times these traits resurfaced were close to minimum, and therefore according to the laws of logic, harmless, coincidental, or simply figments of her imagination.
"Bonnie and Caroline are here," Elena pointed out as she stared at her two friends who chatted away, not having spotted her and Stefan, yet. She was one hundred percent sure that if Bonnie had noticed her, she'd had already fled. It had become a trademark move of hers over the last week, and frankly, Elena was growing tired of it. If Bonnie had a bone to pick up with her, she should just 'man up' and confront her, not avoid her as if she had fleas.
Elena took a deep breath, and three confident steps that brought her right in front of them. Bonnie immediately got into defense mode, her shoulders squared, her facial expression screaming 'my walls are up'. Caroline glanced uneasily at the two girls for a few seconds, and then fell into Elena's embrace.
"Hey, you! I thought we were supposed to have practice together."
"No, uhm… Carol Lockwood wasn't apparently willing to deal with all of us at once, so she split us into groups instead." Caroline nodded in understanding, and Elena turned her attention to Bonnie.
"Hey, Bonnie. How are you? I've been trying to talk to you, but you always seemed to disappear." She knew her tone was accusing and that was by far the worst approach to the stubborn Bonnie, but the words were out before she could control herself.
As expected, Bonnie's eyes turned even more stony as she barked "And couldn't you take a hint?"
Elena coiled back instinctively at her harsh voice.
"Oh, I got the hint all right. I figured that there's something wrong, but I want to know what exactly it is that I have done. If you're going to keep pretending that I don't exist, I'm sure as hell I deserve an explanation."
"Oh, there's Stefan! I hadn't noticed him, and it's been so long since I've talked to him," Caroline said out of the blue, and walked in the boy's direction. She loved her friends, and they usually had a great time together, but their fights were never nice to watch, or listen to. So, she chose the easy way out, giving them space, and privacy to mend things between them, while she would be attempting to discover what was up with Stefan.
"Hi, Stefan!" the blond greeted him, and he barely refrained from rolling his eyes at her never-ending enthusiasm. She was way too happy for his taste, and he was really curious to find out whether she looked so delicious in other moods, too.
"Hello, Caroline! How have you been? Ready for tomorrow?"
"Almost," she replied with a too dramatic sigh "I have no idea how I did it, but the point is that I haven't gotten my dress, yet. Bonnie will help me pick one, later."
"You should get a green dress," Stefan said, and Caroline chuckled in amusement.
"I would never-ever wear a green dress, Stefan. It's the worst color on me!"
"On the contrary, I believe you would look great in a green dress," he went on, and she shrugged him away with a flick of her wrist.
"Of course you believe that, Stefan! You are a guy! Guys don't get stuff like fashion, and matching colors!" It was weird that he was so persistent. Why would Stefan-freaking-Salvatore care about the color of her dress?
"Caroline, you are going to get a green dress," Stefan said in a steady voice, walking closer to her. He was starting to lose his patience, and he wasn't going to allow a petty human like herself ruin his day.
"Hm," Caroline pretended that she was actually contemplating her answer. In reality she was wondering when Stefan had become so controlling, and if he was acting like this around Elena, too. "No," she eventually replied, spanning around with the intention of walking back to the girls. Suddenly, the idea of listening to them throwing accusations back and forth sounded very very appealing. However, when Stefan's strong hand grabbed her forearm, she was forced to not only stop dead on her tracks, but also turn around once again to face him.
"Ouch, Stefan, you're hurting me. Let go," she said, trying to keep her anger at bay. He had no right to treat her like that, he had no right to touch her.
It turned out she was extremely hot when she was all riled up. Which meant that he only needed to see her face wearing one more emotion before he was done with her.
"You are going to get a green dress," Stefan said in a calming tone, smiling slightly the moment Caroline looked into his eyes, immediately succumbing to his compulsion. No wonder Damon had picker her up of all the girls in Mystic Falls. Her mind felt like pudding into his hands. He could do whatever he wanted with it. And god, how he enjoyed the idea. "You are going to buy a long green strapless dress."
"I am going to buy a long green strapless dress," she repeated flatly.
A few meters away, Elena impatiently tapped her foot on the cement, as she regarded Bonnie with an expectant look. She wasn't going to give her the silent treatment, was she? She had to be more mature than that.
"It's insane that you actually have the audacity to confront me about this, Elena," she muttered under her breath, causing Elena to throw her arms in the air, a gesture of utter exasperation, undoubtedly.
"What this, Bonnie? What have I done? Just tell me! If you don't, then, how am I supposed to fix it?"
"There's nothing you can do to fix this, Elena," she shot back "grams is dead and there's no way to bring her back. All because she decided to meddle with the tomb thing, which was only really a concern of the Salvatore brothers'. If you weren't so close to them, they wouldn't have found out about us being witches, they would have made someone else to help them, and my grandma would be alive."
Elena's expression immediately softened. She could relate with her, she knew how hard it was losing a family member.
"Bonnie, I am so very sorry. I mean it. If I had known how things would turn out, I wouldn't have let either of you to try to open that tomb, I am so sorry."
"She's still dead," Bonnie replied looking away.
"Tell me, what can I do to fix this, to fix us?" Elena all but begged, reaching out to grab Bonnie's hands, but she quickly took a step back to keep her from touching her.
"There's nothing you can do. It is what it is. I blame them, Elena, and I will never forgive them. But the same thing goes for you, too. There's no turning back for us."
She gave a last long stare at Elena, not in the slightest affected by the broken expression on her face, and then approached Caroline and Stefan.
"Let's go, Caroline," she called as she walked past them, not wanting to spend a moment longer than necessary in Stefan's presence.
"You're not going to say hi to me, Bonnie?" he asked teasingly, and she paused to glare at him over her shoulder.
"Shut up, Stefan. I despise you enough, already, don't make your position worse." A cold shiver ran down her spine when he chuckled darkly, low enough that it was only audible to the two of them.
"I am the last person you should be threatening at this point, Bonnie."
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked suspiciously, and he shrugged his shoulders in indifference.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." His tone was dark and ominous, and she didn't like it one bit.
Bonnie sighed in relief as she finally parked her car in front of her house. Caroline was a good friend, and without even realizing it she always managed to take your mind off your problems. But shopping with Caroline had always been a little more than she could handle. She hastily moved to the trunk to gather the few things she had purchased, and after double-checking that the alarm on her car was activated, she walked to the front door.
"Dad, I'm home!" she announced, dropping the bags on the floor, and taking off her coat. "Have you prepared dinner? Because I was thinking about ordering Chinese! Weird," she said quietly, when she found the kitchen empty. That's where she would usually find him at that time of the day, preparing a perfect dinner for the two of them. "Oh, there you are!" she added when she walked into the living room, and found her dad sitting on the edge of an armchair. But Maurice Bennett was strangely quiet, his face buried in his palms. "Dad?" Bonnie asked in a mixture of surprise, and worry. "Dad, what is it, what happened?" she questioned more urgently, when he lifted his head and she took a glimpse of his unusually pale complexion, and horror-stricken eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but the only sound that escaped his throat was a loud yelp, as his gaze focused on something behind her.
Bonnie gasped as a gust of wind rushed over the side of her face, and the next thing she knew, Stefan Salvatore was standing behind her dad, holding him in what seemed like a really painful headlock.
"Hello, Bonnie!" he greeted her calmly "me, and your father have been waiting for you. But you were taking too long, and we were bored, weren't we, Maurice? So, we had to find something to entertain ourselves," he turned him to the side, so that his neck was visible. A huge mark was there, and Bonnie wondered how she had not noticed the trail of dark red blood soaking the neck of his shirt.
"I am going to kill you," she said darkly taking a step in their direction, but she froze when Stefan applied more pressure on his hold, and her father chocked in discomfort.
"Now, now, Bonnie. Let's not be impulsive. For starters, you wouldn't know how to kill me. You are still an amateur, and I'm a vampire, not a fragile little human. Now your dad, on the other hand…" she inhaled deeply through her nose as she struggled to remain calm. This was a dangerous situation, and she had to make sure they would both walk out of it alive. "Your dad, Bonnie, is so vulnerable. It would take no more than a contraction of my arm muscles, and his neck would be broken. You do understand how easily I can kill him, don't you, Bonnie?"
"What do you want?" she snarled, not willing to keep playing his fright game anymore.
"There it is!" Stefan exclaimed "This is why I like you the most, Bonnie. Because you're quick to catch things like that. You are the only one that could ever get me. Doesn't it give you shivers? The realization that we have so much in common?"
"I am nothing like you," she all but growled, her patience running thin. She didn't have time for his incoherent vampire ranting. All she cared about was taking her father as far away from his claws as possible.
Stefan smiled as he took in her wild eyes. He had to admit that he had done this on purpose. He couldn't help it. Emotions had always fascinated him. And driving women crazy made their hearts beat faster, the blood bump through their veins harder. And Bonnie being a witch, made her blood exotic, precious, mouthwatering. It made his fangs feel heavy inside his gums. He wanted to have a taste of that delicious substance, and he'd try to get it.
"Okay, then, since you're so desperate to get down to business, let's get this over with," Stefan continued "I need you to do something for me. If you do it, I will not hurt you father. But if you even think about fooling me, or breathing a single word to anyone about our little deal, I promise you will never get to take your father's screams out of your head."
She couldn't believe that she had found herself in the same place again. She didn't want to help him with anything, but she had no other choice.
"What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to cast a spell on the boarding house."
"What kind of spell?"
"One that would prevent everyone except for me going out, and no vampires except for me entering."
"Why would you want me to do that?" she asked crossing her arms in front of her chest, when his eyes flashed with anger.
"That is none of your concern," he growled in response. "All you need to do is put that spell into effect."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Stefan, but I don't know how to do this. Like you pointed out, I'm new at this. My knowledge is minimal. And since you got my grandma killed, there's no one I can ask for help."
"Well, then, I'm sorry, too, Bonnie. But you just signed your father's death sentence."
"No!" Bonnie screamed, when his hands moved to the sides of her petrified dad's face. Stefan raised an eyebrow questioningly at her, and she sighed in defeat.
"Fine, fine. I will do whatever you want me to do. I will search the grimoire for your spell, just don't hurt him."
"Bonnie, you can't trust him," Maurice talked for the first time, his voice sounding hoarse "he's going to hurt me anyway, don't give him what he wants." She blinked to keep back the tears that formed in her eyes. Her mother had left them when she was less than five years old, she barely had any recollection of her. Now that her grams had passed away, her father was the only family she had left. She couldn't lose him. She hated that she had to help Stefan, especially when he seemed to be so out of control. So far, she had only thought Damon to be violent, and cruel. The Stefan she thought she knew, the Stefan that had taken her out of the tomb, and brought her back home, that Stefan would never blackmail her like this. And God only knew what were the reasons he needed such a spell. She had asked him, yes, but if she wanted to be honest with herself, she was too afraid to find out.
"Do I have your word that if I do as you ask me to, you won't harm him?"
"Bonnie, no…" Maurice whimpered, but they both ignored him.
"Yes, Bonnie," Stefan replied, inwardly applauding himself for manipulating her so effortlessly, for playing his part so damn well. Of course he wouldn't keep 'his word'. Maurice Bennett would be the perfect first course for Monday, the main one obviously being his ravishing daughter.
"Okay, since we have come to an agreement…" Stefan trailed, and started walking towards the door, dragging the human along.
"Wait, what are you doing? Where are you taking him?" Bonnie cried out, reaching out for her father's hand. He instantly clenched his fingers around hers, giving them a soft squeeze.
"Oh, Bonnie, come on. Don't ruin it now. I thought you were good at this. Isn't it obvious that I need to have leverage to ensure your co-operation? And who would be best as a leverage, if not your father?" She glared at him, before leaning closer to her father.
"It's going to be okay, daddy. I'm going to keep you safe."
"You are making a mistake, Bon."
"Okay, let's not make this more emotional than necessary," Stefan intervened, removing Maurice from her grasp "Bonnie, I need you to be at my place tomorrow at four. You have about twenty hours to figure out the spell. Don't screw this up."
Elena stared thoughtfully at the now dark screen of her mobile phone. When she had seen it flashing with Stefan's number, she thought that he would want to spend time talking to her, or that he wanted yet again to remind her of their dinner, and her staying over at his place for the night. She had never expected that he would cancel their meeting at the Mayor's manor for the Miss Mystic Fall's competition. They had agreed that he would be her escort. They had gone to the practice together. But they hadn't taken into account that today Stefan would be insecure about his self-control. It wasn't that he felt like attacking random people, but he had a feeling that being around so many humans for so long would be pushing it too far. The plans for their night together were still in effect, but Elena had to find a new escort within the next two hours.
Who was she supposed to ask? Initially, Matt was to escort Caroline, but they had had a serious fight, and she opted going with a random Lockwood who was a close friend of her family. Bringing Matt would definitely be too weird. So, Elena could either totally embarrass herself by dancing a romantic dance with her brother-if he ever agreed- or suck it up, and ask Damon. Honestly, there wasn't a matter of choice. It was pretty simple. She had to do everything within her power to persuade him to save her from the horror of appearing escort-less in front of the entire town of Mystic Falls.
"And to what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. Gilbert?" Damon's masculine voice said in a teasing voice, and Elena internally groaned at her bad luck. He was in a particularly good mood, which dramatically increased the chances of him making this extremely difficult for her.
"Hi, Damon. How are you?"
"Anxious to find out the reason for you talking to me after so many days. So, purge, sweet Elena. What is it that you want from me?"
"Why do you think I want something? Can't I just call you to see what you're doing?"
"Well maybe there is a tiny possibility of about 0.00000001% that is the reason behind your unexpected call. But do you really not want to ask for a favor?"
"Are you aware that today is the Miss Mystic Falls competition?" she asked slowly, causing Damon to chuckle. He had been right, after all.
"Beautiful young women in evening dresses… it sure sounds like my thing, doesn't it Elena?" he drawled, raising his head to stare at her form. She was leaning against the window of her room, oblivious to the fact that he was standing just at the edge of the forest. He could make out even the slightest detail of her facial expression, but her human eyesight prevented her from spotting him.
"Well, one of these beautiful young in evening dresses women happens to be in desperate need of an escort, due to a last minute change." Elena winced, as if admitting this caused her physical pain, and Damon couldn't help but smirk at her discomfort.
"Are you actually asking me on a date, Ms. Gilbert?" he drawled, all but grinning when she stiffened, and blood rushed up to her cheeks, giving them a warm red glow.
"No, I'm actually asking you on a dance," she clarified.
"And what do I get in return? Give me a reason why I should be your escort."
Elena's jaw dropped as her heart started beating violently inside her chest. She hadn't been prepared for this option, and now she was terrified. Why would Damon even want to help her out? Lately, all that she'd ever done was scream at him, and all that she'd ever been was a burden. And what could she offer him, anyway? This was Damon Salvatore. Everyone knew that the only things he was interested in had-one way or the other- something to do with physical contact. And that was a definite no. Right?
Damon frowned at the prolonged silence that reached his ears. He hadn't meant to intimidate her, just keep the conversation light. Then again, he couldn't blame her for taking his question seriously. Even he couldn't believe that he was about to commit one more selfless action. He was barely able to recognize his own self, how could Elena Gilbert, who knew him for less than five months, be able to detect his playful mood?
How was he supposed to fix this? How could he make her understand him, really get to know him?
"Elena, I was only kidding. There is no way in hell I would ever let you walk down the stairs to your escort's vacant spot. Just tell me if I should wear anything special, and what time I should come pick you up."
Elena drew her eyebrows together at Damon's voice. He sounded hurt, disappointed.
"I trust you to know how to bring a formal attire together, Damon, and as of the time, you can pick me up at four."
"Okay," he murmured in response, and he was about to end the call when he heard her urgently calling his name. His head shot up in alarm, and he exhaled loudly when he realized that she was perfectly safe, sitting on the window-seat, her knees drawn close to her body.
"Yes?" he replied bringing the device back in place, and Elena closed her eyes as she repeated in her mind the few words she'd been preparing for days now.
"Thank you," she whispered, knowing that he'd able to make out the faint sound.
Damon was surprised at the satisfied sensation that went through his veins. This was it. They were taking baby-steps. Hell, they'd been taking baby-steps since the first time she walked into the Boarding house. But most of the times these steps were awkward, unsure, leading them backwards, to the day when he appeared to the quiet cemetery with the intention to at least scare the shit out of her. But this, now, this was something else entirely. This was Elena finally seeing something good in his behavior, this was Damon finally being the man that he might at some point in the future deserve her.
"You're welcome," he uttered back, no hint of sarcasm, of snide, of cockiness in his voice. Only honesty, relief, and gratitude.
"Not just for this, Damon, for everything," she added quietly, hoping that he would-as always- manage to read behind her words, figure out the message, the message that she had to keep hidden, because what it would mean having it revealed? She was thanking him for being there for her, every time she needed him, every time his brother, her boyfriend failed to fulfill his role. She couldn't say this out loud, she would be admitting her disappointed feelings at Stefan. And she was supposed to be patient, and supportive of him. But she couldn't help the way she felt. "I don't know what I would do if you weren't here."
"You won't have to find out," he said softly, shoving the cell phone into the pocket of his jacket.
What the hell was this? What was he getting himself into? This wasn't a fairytale, this was real life. Real life who is a major bitch and screws up with everyone's emotions. Elena wasn't a girl he could just charm and seduce. He didn't even want her to be that girl. He wanted her to be something more, he wanted her to be the woman that would make him believe in love again. She wasn't simply his brother's girlfriend. Well, she was, but in an alternate reality that wouldn't be an issue. What kept his little-or not so little- dream from coming true, was Elena's decision to all but blindly trust Stefan, instead of him, and the arguments he had given her.
He didn't want to get his hopes up in vain, but hell, how could he not be excited even at the slightest chance that their relationship was growing, their bond was strengthening? There was a possibility that Elena was simply scared to trust him- after all, he had given her every reason to in the past- and that that was why she had decided to go back to Stefan. Could he be making the wrong choice by letting hope into his heart? Probably. Did he regret it? No.
"Caroline?" Elena whispered in surprise, and the blonde turned around so quickly that her perfectly stylized hair twirled around her.
"Hey, Elena!" she had the widest and most contagious grin ever on her face.
"What happened to you?" Elena asked, letting her eyes trail over her friend's dress "I clearly remember you going on and on about how you were going to definitely get a purple dress."
"I had to get a green dress," Caroline replied slowly, the blank look in her eyes immediately catching Elena's attention.
"What do you mean you had to, Caroline?"
"I look good in this green dress," she sounded robotic, nothing like Caroline at all. She wasn't even making sense.
"But you've always hated wearing green clothes. You say it's the worst color on you," she pointed out.
"I look good in this green dress," she calmly restated. It was as if it wasn't her talking, but rather a tape on repeat. Before Elena had the chance to ask her anything else, though, Carol Lockwood appeared a few meters from them, reckoning Caroline to join her.
Elena gazed into the now empty space that Caroline was occupying mere moments ago. She couldn't figure out what could have possibly changed her friend's opinion on such a serious (for her) issue as colors matching her skin tone. She could still remember the day, even if it had been more than ten years go, when Caroline firmly planted her small feet on the wooden floor of her bedroom, and declared that she would never, ever again wear green clothes. She had kept her vow up until today. What had happened?
"Elena!" the Mayor's wife called, and Elena forced a polite smile on her lips. Taking a deep breath, she started descending the stairs, her thoughts this time drifting to Stefan. She wondered how he was feeling, how he was spending his day. He was supposed to be here, with her, and even though she struggled to be sympathetic, she couldn't find it in her to not be a little angry at him. This competition had been important for the mother, and Elena had saved it into her mind as some sort of last wish. Stefan had, unintentionally yes, but did it really make a difference?, risked her participation. If Damon hadn't stepped in once again to help her, she wouldn't have been able to keep her promise to her mom.
All thoughts escaped Elena, as the staircase took a sudden turn, and she was finally able to spot Damon at the foot of the stairs. He was dressed in an expensive looking black suit-not that she had been expecting anything less from him- white shirt, and dark blue tie. He looked absolutely handsome, she admitted to herself, as a tiny inner voice scolded her for her inappropriate line of thinking. But she couldn't help it. He was watching her with eyes wide open, lips slightly parted, an awed expression on his face. How could he do that? How could he make her feel like the only person on the entire globe that mattered?
He couldn't resist smiling softly when she delicately placed her hand on top of his. He could tell that she could feel the tiny tingles that flew from their touching skins to their entire bodies, too, because her breathing was no longer regular, and he knew she wasn't a victim of 'stage fright'. She refused to even glance his way as they walked down the hall, and he gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, desperate for her attention. Yes, the Damon Salvatore was acting like a sissy, and he knew it. Her heart started beating even harder against her ribs, but after a few seconds of hesitancy, Elena's index finger caressed ever so softly the tips of his own fingers. A seemingly insignificant, and normally innocent gesture, but God if it didn't make his heart (and another part of his anatomy) swell with pride (and need). And as they finally passed the threshold, causing all eyes to zoom into their forms, and everyone to start whispering about the gorgeous couple, he couldn't help but think that this was how it would always feel if they were to be together.
It didn't take long for the relatively small orchestra to start playing, and Elena raised her arm, palm facing Damon, inches away from his own. She shivered as she felt the air between their hands heating up, filling with energy. The sensation spread to the whole space between their bodies, as they slowly circled each other.
"You look gorgeous, if it isn't obvious," Damon whispered, and Elena found herself smiling with delight at his compliment.
"Thank you."
She could see now. She understood. As she stared into his eyes, their painfully close hands in her peripheral vision, she figured what the appeal of this dance was. For the first time, she could sense the intimacy Carol Lockwood would have never been able to fully describe. But most of all, she could feel them. She could feel the way their bodies reacted to each other, she could almost hear the sizzling of the air surrounding them. Her breaths coming out in pants, she found herself unable to break the eye-contact they had established. She couldn't look away, she didn't want to. His eyes were so warm, so open.
Everything was intensifying with each moment that went by, and she gasped audibly, when they took a step closer, their hands instinctively falling onto their assigned positions. She relaxed in his embrace, allowing him to lead her body whichever direction he desired.
There were probably no words to depict his emotional state. It felt beyond good touching her bare back, hell, it felt like tasting a piece of heaven. He tightened his grip on her, smiling when she momentarily closed her eyes. She was affected by him, there was no denying it. For starters, he could smell her, and it took all of his self-control to act like the gentleman he was raised to be, instead of dragging her out of there, and teaching her all about sexual intercourse. But he could also see it in her eyes. They were darker now, glowing with lust. She was killing him. Slowly, painfully, but oh, so deliciously.
Even when the musicians played the last note, and she stepped back from his grasp, she could still feel him. It was like after dancing together, they had formed some sort of connection that made her fully aware of his presence, of his every move, of his every breath.
Everything she had tried to push away, everything she had tried to deny, everything she had tried to forget… came crushing down on her.
It was like a bulb had lit up. Her eyes widened, and Damon wondered what thoughts were dancing around her clever head.
"Jenna!" Elena called, placing a kiss on her aunt's cheek.
"Hey, beautiful. Where have you been?"
"Just walking around, talking to everyone," she replied casually "have you by any chance seen Jeremy? It's been hours since I last saw him."
"That is weird," Jenna mumbled glancing around the empty room "his friend asked me the same thing a few minutes ago. Maybe he just got tired and went home."
"Without telling anyone?" Elena asked in exasperation. There was that nagging feeling on the bottom of her stomach…
"Hey, Elena," Jenna whispered breaking her train of thoughts "Jeremy is fine, okay? For one day stop worrying about everybody else, and focus on yourself."
"Hi, girls!" Caroline greeted them.
"Hi back to you," Jenna replied eyeing the blonde. "And congratulations for you new title!"
"Thank you!"
"I'll go chat with some boring people of my age, and leave you two alone," she added, walking away, and Caroline immediately fixed her gaze on Elena.
"You, Ms. Gilbert, have some serious explaining to do," she muttered under her breath, threateningly pointing her finger at her, and grabbing her by the arm, she lead her in a quiet corner of the room.
"What explaining?" Elena asked in the calmest voice she could master. Did everyone know about her sinful emotions? How?
"Where is your boyfriend, Stefan, Elena? Last time I checked, you were both so happy for him being your escort. And today I see you walking out of the manor with Damon freaking Salvatore by your side!"
"Stefan is sick. Damon is just covering for him. There's nothing more to say."
"Oh, so you are not like… switching Salvatores, are you?" she asked bluntly, making Elena choke on her champagne.
"What? No! Of course not!"
"Hm, that's interesting. Because I was watching you from the corner of my eye, and let me tell you, you two totally took 'flirt with your eyes' to the next level, namely 'have an orgasm with your eyes'!"
"Caroline!" Elena shrieked out mortified, dragging the blonde closer to the wall, even farther away from the other guests. "You can't walk around saying things like that!"
"Honey, you brought this on yourself. Well, you both did. You should have seen you dancing. It was like you were having sex with telepathy. Which would be totally cool. Do you think this will be possible in the near future?"
Elena rolled her eyes. Caroline always had the habit of jumping form one topic to the other without warning.
"On a more serious note, though, Elena, you can't just go around having sex with your boyfriend's brother."
"I haven't had sex with him!" Elena exclaimed in a whisper. If the wrong person heard them…
"You were thinking about it! All the same!"
"I wasn't doing that, either," she growled, because she really hadn't been thinking about sex. Her emotions, her thoughts had been mostly innocent, pure. And that's supposed to make it okay? Her inner voice screamed at her.
"At least admit that you are attracted to him, sweetheart. It's really frustrating playing dumb, when we can all see it so clearly."
"No," she refused stubbornly, and Caroline raised her eyebrow.
"No you are not attracted to him, or no you just won't admit it?"
"I can't, Caroline!" she said a little louder than she had intended. "What would that say about me?"
Caroline sighed, and rested her hand on Elena's shoulder. She was one of the brightest persons she had ever known, but sometimes she paid too much attention on everyone else's opinion. And that held her back, stopped her from doing what she really wanted.
"It would say that you're seventeen years old, Elena. And every teenager has at least at one point been attracted to more than one people at the same time. It doesn't mean you're sick, or that we have to burn you at the stake, or something."
"Caroline, that was for the witches."
"Who cares about that? All that matters is that you need to figure out who it is you really need in your life. But as long as you're officially with Stefan, you can't go around flirting with Damon, Elena. That's just wrong."
Caroline's words echoed in Elena's head as she walked to the backyard. It was chilly outside, and she wished she had brought her coat with her. But she wasn't about to go back inside anytime soon. So far, her mission 'avoid Damon at all costs' had been going extremely well. She wasn't stupid, she knew that if he really wanted to find her, he could simply turn his super vampire powers on, and easily sniff her out. But the entire evening he had respected her decision to keep her distance.
"At least until now," she whispered to herself as he appeared at the beginning of the path.
"You are avoiding me," he said matter-of-factly, and Elena chuckled darkly.
"Yeah, it's the new trend."
"What are you talking about?" Damon asked, his brows drawn together in confusion.
"I was referring to the fact that Bonnie al-… you know what? It doesn't even matter," she abruptly stood up from the bench, and made a move to walk past him, but no, he wasn't about to let her go away that easily.
"We need to talk." His fingers wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place.
"Talk? Talk about what, Damon?" she asked turning her face to the side to look at him. She regretted it instantly. There was practically no space separating them.
"About what happened today… when we danced."
"You know what happened today, Damon? I asked for your help, you were kind enough to escort me, I owe you, end of story."
"Do you think I am a fool?" he snapped at her, and she flinched. He sensed her trying to pull back from him, but he didn't feel like giving up, yet. "There is something going on between the two of us, and you know it, Elena! And you're lying to me, and you're lying to Stefan, but most of all you're lying to yourself."
Elena's eyes widened with shock when he shifted so that he was standing in front of her, still closer than she felt comfortable.
"I can prove it," his face slowly inched towards hers, and before her brain had the time to command her muscles to move, his lips were on hers, his tongue fighting to find a way inside her mouth. She moaned her dissatisfaction, she couldn't do this. Regardless of how easy, and tempting it was, she couldn't give in to him. It wasn't right.
"No, Damon, listen to me!" she whispered urgently, when she managed to push him off her "Today, I was just trying to pull of the dance in the correct way. If my behavior confused you, I'm sorry, but I was just playing my part. I care about you, just like you do, but… I can't do this to Stefan. Especially not right now." She felt dirty the moment the words were out of her lips. And for the second time that day, she prayed, prayed with everything she had that Damon would be able to read her eyes, to understand not what she had said, but more importantly what she hadn't said.
She had always been attracted to him, but this was probably the worst time to act on those feelings. Stefan needed her, and he needed her because of something that she had done. She was responsible for bringing him in contact with human blood again; she couldn't just abandon him and run away with his brother.
By the expression on Damon's face, her plan wasn't successful.
"Then, what the hell are you doing, Elena? Feeling me up and pretending you want to kiss me, stroking my hand… What the hell is this?"
"Damon, I…" he didn't let her talk.
"What, Elena? You can feel this thing between us, I know you do. But regardless, you're going back to Saint Stefan?" he drawled bitterly, his glare bringing tears to her eyes.
"This is what I have to do, Damon."
"Because he's the love of your life?" he staggered as he put some distance between them, and she shook her head.
"Because he needs me."
"Oh, what a brilliant reason to be in a relationship, Elena."
"What do you know about relationships?"
"Nothing!" he calmly replied raising his arms "and from the looks of it, I'm never going to learn."
Elena watched at his retreating back for several long moments, cursing herself for causing him so much pain. But Caroline had told her to figure a solution, and this was the only one she could come up with. Right now, Stefan was too vulnerable. She had to support him. After he got better, and if things between them remained strained-which she thought they would- she would end their relationship. And if Damon was still willing, after the way she'd treated him… then they'd give it a try.
Damon gulped down another glass of bourbon, and closed his eyes. He didn't know how much longer he could take this. He was hurt. His dead heart was fucking bleeding, all because of her. Because of her, and her blindness, and her cruelty. How dared she tell him that she cared about him the same way he cared about her? Elena Gilbert was a woman loved by pretty much everyone, she wasn't broken like himself. She was the only person in many decades that had made him feel worthy. How could she know that feeling?
His nostrils flared as he sensed her approaching, and sure enough less than a minute later she was sitting next to him on the bar, disdainfully staring at the several empty glasses in front of him.
"I asked Jenna to give me a ride," she whispered, and he shrugged.
"Going to bed so early?"
"I… I am actually going to spend the night with Stefan."
His head snapped around so quickly that it actually hurt.
"You are kidding me, right? He tells you that he doesn't feel well, and you're still going to lock up in his bedroom with him?" He felt like pulling his hair. Or her hair.
"He said that… wait, how do you even know about this?" Elena mumbled, raising her eyebrow in confusion. She definitely hadn't told him.
"How do I know?" he growled, hopping off the stool, and towering above her. "I know, Elena, because since the night that Stefan attacked you, I've spent almost every minute of every day looking out for you." His eyes glazed over, and she could tell that he was already slightly drunk. But it was obvious that he wasn't lying, he had really gotten into so much trouble to ensure her safety. "I was there, Elena, when you went to bed, when you woke up screaming 'please, don't hurt me, Stefan,' when you showered, when you ate, when you talked on the phone. I was always there. But do you have any idea where Stefan was? Do you have any idea what he might have planed for tonight, since he knows that it'll be only the two of you? You don't! But you don't even care! You trust him! Even though he has given you reasons not to! And don't tell me you owe him to help him. Stefan is a big boy. He got himself into this mess. If he had spent the last century and a half trying to control his bloodlust instead of ignoring it, he would have no issues with human blood by now. You're not obliged to help him. And I'm pretty sure right now, that's the only reason you're going back to him. You're making a mistake, Elena. You're too kind, too naïve for your own good. But this time… I'm sorry, but I won't be there to look out for you. Because you obviously don't want me to."
"Damon," Elena started saying… she wanted to tell him. She wanted to explain everything, because she couldn't stand the idea of him being so hurt because of her, anymore.
"Don't," he interrupted her tiredly. "Just go to your precious boyfriend, and I'll make sure to avoid the Boarding House for the weekend. Give you all the alone time you two need."
Elena sighed, causing Jenna to glance at her thoughtfully.
"You really don't seem up for a romantic weekend, Elena," she murmured.
"I am… I am tired. That's all."
"If you say so," Jenna replied, clearly unconvinced. She had observed her niece's interaction with Damon Salvatore today, and if she wanted to be honest with herself, the chemistry she had sensed between these two was nowhere to be found in her relationship with his younger brother. It was obvious that Elena was confused about her feelings, but she didn't want to nudge her in either direction. Elena had to figure this out on her own.
"Just make sure you don't come back home with fever, or something. You seem to be stressed enough as it is, being sick is the last thing you need."
"I'll be careful, Jenna." Elena unbuckled her seatbelt, picked up her bag of clothes, and exited the car.
She waited until the vehicle was out of view, before turning around and facing the intimidatingly enormous house. She frowned up to the sky, which was cast with dark clouds, and closed her eyes against the cold wind that hit her face with almost unbearable force.
After several deep breaths, she nodded reassuringly to herself, and started walking towards the front porch. Stefan was already opening the door when she reached it, and he smiled lovingly at her.
"I was wondering what took you so long," he murmured, taking another step, and wrapped his arms around her. It would never seize to amaze Elena how quickly she moved from excitedly shivering in his presence, to being completely unaffected by him. She half-heartedly hugged him back, hoping that he wouldn't question her initial hesitation.
Well, Stefan did notice it, but it didn't really bother him. Honestly, he didn't even know why he was still keeping up the charade. Probably to make this even more dramatic.
"You're freezing, let's get you inside." He closed the door with his foot, as he helped her off her coat.
Elena stared a moment too long on the wooden surface blocking the rest of the world. She had never been claustrophobic, but suddenly she felt trapped. It was like a warning bell had gone off in her mind, but she couldn't put her finger on what was dangerous about the situation. Stefan seemed one hundred percent like himself, so perhaps she was imagining things. After everything she'd been through, who could blame her?
"Come on, I want this to be a surprise," Stefan said breaking her train of thoughts, and gently cupped her eyes with his palms. Elena inhaled sharply at the sudden darkness that swallowed her entirely. She didn't feel comfortable with one of her most basic senses cut out.
"Is this necessary?" she asked in a small voice, and Stefan rolled his eyes. Couldn't she just do what he wanted her to without commenting everything?
"Watch your step," he murmured, and Elena carefully descended the two steps. She felt him rotating her body, so that she was facing the left side of the spacious living room.
"Elena, let me introduce you to our first course." Introduce? Exactly what are we eating? Elena thought to herself, but opted to remain silent this time. She honestly didn't want to test the extent of his patience tonight.
Stefan removed his hands from her face, and allowed her a few moments to adjust to the light, before continuing.
"Matt Donovan, horrible soccer player, childhood best-friend, over-protective ex-boyfriend." Elena froze as she took in the sight in front of her. Matt's unconscious body was kept upright with heavy chains that were hanging from the ceiling, and were tightly wrapped around his wrists. The metal had dug into his skin, causing long trails of blood to escape and soak the sleeves of his shirt. She felt like she couldn't breathe, as if she was in a nightmare, unable to wake up. This was sick. She couldn't understand the reason why Stefan, her boyfriend Stefan, would have abducted and chained up Matt. He had never tried to harm him. And even if he had, this wasn't the proper way to sort out their differences. What was he planning to do to him?
Stefan closed his eyes as the aroma of Elena's filled with fear blood rushed into his nostrils. She smelled divine, but he knew she would smell even more exquisite, when she would have just the right amount of despair and sorrow in her system.
"What is this?" she eventually asked in a shaky voice, unsure of whether she really wanted to hear the answer.
"Tsts," Stefan scolded her "haven't you been paying attention at all, Elena? I told you, this is our first course. And this," his fingers landed on her arms again, turning her another 90 degrees "is our main course."
"Hey, 'Lena," a very exhausted looking Caroline whispered, attempting to smile, even though it came out more like a wince.
"Care," Elena muttered under her breath, tears gathering in her eyes as she inspected her friend's appearance. She was still wearing her green dress, but now a great part of it was covered in blood. Her hair was all over the place, and black rivers of mascara had dried up on her cheeks.
She fiercely shook her head from side to side, refusing to believe that this was really happening. That she had been such a big fool. That Stefan had deceived her. That she had fallen in his trap, and dragged two of her friends along with her.
"You are a monster," she growled, glaring at him over her shoulder.
"I am a vampire, Elena. What did you expect from me?"
"I was expecting the man I fell in love with! The man that cared about me, protected me, and those I loved." Stefan shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
"That man was a lie. You were stupid for believing he ever existed. I am a predator, and this," he motioned around the room with a triumphant grin on his lips "this is the most epic plan anyone has ever come up with. I mean… look at this masterpiece I created!"
Elena's eyes widened as her head whipped around in the direction he was pointing at, only to find herself gazing at Jeremy. Or at least a version of Jeremy. He was hanging like the rest of them, but Jeremy's white shirt was ripped open, and his chest was covered with bloody marks, too many for her to count, as if a knife had repeatedly been dragged over his skin.
"Oh, my God, Jeremy!" she shrieked out, whatever was holding her together vanishing into thin air, her wild emotions finally coming to the surface.
She sprung forward as fast as she could, one hand touching his face and lightly slapping him to bring him around, the other one gently running over his wounded flesh in a feeble attempt to access his injuries.
"I don't think he's going to wake up any time soon," Stefan stated from across the room, his posture relaxed, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.
"Why are you doing this? What the hell do you want?" Elena cried out, hot trails of tears now falling down her cheeks and wetting her curls.
"Just to have a little fun, in order to celebrate my glorious come-back to the vampire world."
"You can have your fun! With me! But let them go, they don't deserve this! Please, I'm begging you. I'll do whatever you want me to, but please, please, don't hurt them."
"It's not a matter of who deserves this, Elena. I don't care about that. You are humans, which by definition makes you my playthings. I can do with you whatever pleases me. And sweetheart, if you feel like this is the end..." he blurred to her, his fingers ghosting over her skin, and she took a step back to avoid his touch "remember that it's just the beginning."
Elena stared into the green eyes that were soon surrounded by red, and into the black veins that popped around them, and she understood.
This wasn't Stefan anymore. This was the creature Damon had warned her about. It hadn't been a figment of his imagination, something meant to drive her away from his brother. He was real, so damn real.
She had been a fool, for not taking Damon's advice, for trusting her head instead of her instincts.
She had trusted the man who would be her killer. She had hurt the man who wanted to be her savior.
She would never be able to make it right, she would never be able to apologize, to explain, to redeem herself.
As she glanced around the room, her vision blurry, but not enough to hide the harsh image of her tortured loved-ones, she knew that none of them was going to make it out of that house alive.
She deserved this, she deserved to die. After making choices so poor, after taking paths so dangerous.
But Matt, Caroline, Jeremy… this wasn't their fate. They weren't supposed to go through this.
It was because of her that they would suffer in the hands of Stefan Salvatore.
Their blood was on her hands.
And that would hunt her forever.
So, uhm… let me start by saying that dark Stefan isn't something I have experience on. I'm hoping I'm doing a good job with him, anyway. What do you think? We didn't get to see him in action in this chapter, but I promise you're going to watch him in all of his terrifying glory in the next one.
I'm pretty sure you were confused at Elena's emotional state, and frustrated by her behavior towards Damon. To be honest, that was my intention. I tried to describe (as possible as that is) what a big mess her feelings are right now. Trust me, when you are stuck between two guys, making a decision isn't an easy feat. If they are friends, or even worse brothers, the situation becomes even more tricky. In the end, Elena realized what a grave mistake she made, and how unfair she was towards Damon. Will she get the chance to fix things between them?
I think I've given you enough clues to realize what exactly Stefan's plan was. If you still have questions, fear not; all the answers will come to you in the next chapter.
I would like to thank you for adding this story to your alert/favorite lists, and reviewing. I love reading your thoughts on what I'm writing!
The quote and title of this chapter aren't as good as I wanted them to, but I couldn't find anything more appropriate, and I also didn't want to delay updating any further. So, just settle for these now, and if I come up with something better, I will change them later!
Oh, another issue I've been meaning to address. I think there are probably going to be about 3 more chapters in this story. I'm toying with the idea of a sequel, but we'll deal with that when the time comes.
Feel free to tell me your opinion, don't burn me if you hated it, though! *winks*
2 am, again. When will I start going to bed at decent hours?
I hope you enjoyed this.
Add me on twitter: ts_eirini
Until next time, take care!