Hey guys, new chapter! Hope you like :)
I was angry. No that is a lie. I was EXTREMELY angry. Damon had just left my room after telling me that his brother intends to pursue me romantically. This would not be so suspicious had Stefan not been completely indifferent to me this whole time. Katherine must have compelled him. It was the only explanation. I gently placed Damon's gift on my bedside table, smiling at it slightly regardless of my scolding him. It was incredibly beautiful and it was sweet of him to buy it for me. But I was trying to discourage his attempts and I could feel my will to fight them off slowly crumbling. He was too charming for his own good. I had been enamoured with the pendant the second I laid eyes on it. One reason was because it was obviously beautiful but also because it reminded me greatly of a similar pendant that had once belonged to my mother. It had been destroyed in the fire that had claimed my parents. That much of our tale was real on my part. My parents had indeed perished in a fire but it had not been a month ago. It had actually been almost three hundred years.
I shook myself out of my thoughts and made my way angrily to the door leading to Katherine's room. I pulled it open, not bothering to knock. Katherine was in the middle of feeding on Emily and she pulled back with an annoyed groan.
"Ugh, you couldn't bother to knock?" she said stepping away from Emily and wiping her mouth with a cloth. I angrily used my vampire speed to pin her against the wall with my hand closed around her throat. A scared looking Emily was forgotten.
"What the hell did you do Katherine?" I snarled and I could tell that my human features were gone, replaced by the demon inside. She let out an amused chuckle before closing her hand on my wrist and prying it easily from her neck. I roughly pulled my wrist away from her and stepped back unhappily.
"I don't know what you're talking about Elena but seeing as you're here why don't you enlighten me on what I have supposedly done." I did not like the fact that her voice was so calm. I growled at her.
"You know exactly what you've done! You compelled Stefan to feel something for me! Damon told me that he has plans to court me and I just know that you have something to do with this!" Her eyes widened and an angry sneer took hold of her face. I was taken aback by that because I had expected the gloating to start but it did not come. She looked genuinely angry and...No it couldn't be. She was jealous!
"What! Please tell me this is some sick twisted game you've come up with Elena!" Her face was furious and I realized that she had not done anything.
"I'm not making this up and...You had nothing to do with this," I stated without question. She crossed her arms unhappily and gave me an exasperated look.
"Of course I had nothing to do with this. Why would I compel the man I have been sleeping with into your arms?" For the first time I realized that Katherine really did care about Stefan. I had never seen her care about anyone before and it was a shock to say the least.
"Sorry, I just thought...Never mind. Listen Katherine, you have nothing to worry about. I've told you before I am not interested in Stefan. I swear!" With that I turned and left her room intent on finding the youngest Salvatore brother.
It took me awhile but I found him in the music room playing furiously on the piano. I had to admit that he was incredibly talented and the piece he was playing was beautiful, if not a little sad. I had taken piano lessons and could play expertly but there was a certain passion to his playing and I could tell he enjoyed it a lot. When he finished the piece I clapped loudly, signalling my presence. He smiled softly.
"Katherine," he whispered and I shook my head in slight embarrassment. I watched as he took a second glance over me and he studied my hair.
"Miss Elena, I apologize." I nodded at his apology with a small smile. I did not understand that. Damon always could tell for some reason which one of us was which. I would have to ask him one day.
I took a seat next to him at the piano but made sure to sit with a considerable gap between us.
"You play beautifully. Was that one your own compositions?" I asked, trying to lead up to my questions. I always felt guilty about compelling people and I only did it if I was feeding or if it was absolutely necessary.
"Yes it is. I wrote it not long after the death of my mother. It was an outlet to relieve some of my grief." I nodded in understanding before I took a deep breath and turned to look him in the eye. His expression became blank as my compulsion took hold.
"What are your intentions toward me?" I asked in a hypnotic voice.
"I wish to court you."
"Why do you want this?"
"Because your sister and you look so much alike but you are different too. It would be exciting to have both of you. I also liked the way you had bitten me that night. You were so gentle, not like Katherine who is always rough."
My eyes lit up with realization. My feeding on him had led him to this. I shivered slightly. I knew that if done properly, the bites could be pleasurable for a human but I had not even tried. I knew now that he was one of THOSE humans. The ones that became addicted to the danger and excitement of vampirism. It was usually quiet, reserved people that it happened to which made a lot of sense in Stefan's case.
"You are not going to remember that we had this conversation and you are not going to want to pursue me anymore." Once I broke eye contact, he blinked a few times before smiling at me.
"Miss Elena, I'm afraid my mind drifted off sometime during our conversation," he laughed and I was relieved and happy to find that he was looking at me with nothing but kindness now. I laughed along with him before he asked if I would play something for him. Smiling gently, I began to play one of my favourite pieces that had been a composition of my mother.
Little did I know that Damon had walked by at the exact moment that we both had been laughing easily together and had looked on in jealousy.
At dinner later, Katherine was sitting a little further away from Stefan than usual and he kept glancing at her worriedly, wondering why she was being so cold. I had forgotten to tell her that I had compelled him and she still thought he was after me. I kicked her under the table and she glared at me dangerously. I gave her a pleading look but she just continued to glare at me before turning back to her dinner. Damon was unnaturally quiet beside me too and I chanced a look at him. He was glaring daggers at Stefan and ignoring his father's annoyed gaze. I felt pretty bad for Stefan right now because he had no idea why Katherine and Damon were mad at him. I would have to find a way to convince Damon that his brother had backed off on his own terms so he would stop looking at Stefan like he wanted to cut his head off. I could see Giuseppe looking at the exchange in interest and I hastily grabbed Damon's hand in my own. I watched as his hold loosened on his knife which he had been holding in a death grip and I was sure that had I not intervened, he may have actually thrown it at his brother.
He looked at me curiously and I decided that charm was the best course of action right now so I smiled at him sweetly, whilst stroking my finger over his hand softly. His expression lightened and he let go of the knife and allowed me to properly take his hand. He smiled at me happily and I once again was taken aback by how easy it was for me to put that expression on his face. As I looked away from Damon, I glanced up to the head of the table momentarily and I did not like the expression on Giuseppe's face. He was watching Damon and me with cold calculation and disapproval. I immediately released Damon's hand and used the pretence of picking up my fork as an excuse for the action. Damon looked at me a little confused and hurt and I just smiled at him uneasily.
After dinner Giuseppe bid us all goodnight and his gaze lingered on me a little too long and with an expression I did not trust. Once again Stefan escorted Katherine upstairs but she did not allow him to take her arm and just stalked on ahead of him. I rolled my eyes at her dramatics before taking Damon's arm and allowing him to escort me upstairs to my room. I said goodnight to him quickly before disappearing into my room. He had looked like he was going to ask me something but apparently thought better of it and had walked off.
I quickly changed my gown into a more simple dress and changed into some comfortable shoes. I had to wait until everyone was asleep but I had decided that I would go up to the tavern tonight. There would be plenty of drunken men that would be easy to compel for some blood. I needed to start feeding regularly or else I may not be able to control myself around the humans in the house. As I waited I turned my attention to the beautiful pendant sitting on my bedside table. I grabbed it and made my way to my vanity. I unclasped it and fastened it around my neck. The pendant sat just above the curve of my breasts and the ruby stone shone in the candle light. It truly was beautiful.
I waited for an hour, using my vampire senses to hear the slow even heartbeats before I slowly crept out of my room. I slipped downstairs quietly and when I reached the bottom of the stairs I started for the front door. I cursed silently as my foot collided with the coat stand beside the door and it made a considerable bang. I looked around hopefully and I was relieved when no one came to investigate. I slipped out the front door and made my way to the stable. After choosing a beautiful black stallion, I rode off out the gates of the estate and in the direction of the tavern.
Once I had tied the horse up outside, I made my way inside.
The lighting was quite dim and there were candles lit on the tables where drunken men and even some women laughed boisterously. I walked over to the bar, deciding to get a drink while I scoped out my options. I order a simple glass of whiskey, knowing it would help with my cravings, being in such a small space with so many heartbeats. I sipped my drink slowly and scanned the crowd. There were many men that I turned my nose up at the thought of drinking their blood. They looked and smelt revolting. Some of the women fared no better. I was so focussed on scanning that I did not even notice the burly man that had approached me until he wrapped an arm around my waist possessively from behind. I could smell his awful breath and I gagged openly. I felt his hand slip down to grope my backside roughly and I was about rip his hand off when I was saved the task by someone ripping him off of me altogether. I stood back in shock as I watched Damon press the man against the bar aggressively. I was surprised at his strength as the man was so much bigger than Damon, but I guessed that strength had come from his time in battle.
"Keep your filthy hands off of the lady!" he growled low in the man's ear before pushing him away and the man stumbled slightly before leaving. I bit my lip to keep my smile in check. I found it absolutely hilarious that Damon had saved ME from the hulking man when I could have easily snapped his neck with one hand. My amusement slowly turned to suspicion as I realized that he was here.
"What are you doing here?" I asked and I could not help the accusing tone my voice took. He looked at me incredulously.
"I just saved you from that disgusting pig and all you ask is what I'm doing here?" I shook my head at him but realized that he had been genuinely trying to help me and he did not know that I could have handled myself. I knew well enough that I looked like a weak defenceless girl.
"Thank you Damon but what are you doing here?" He seemed satisfied with my thank you so he finally answered my question.
"I followed you of course. I was in the library looking for a book when I heard a noise. So I come outside to investigated and find you riding off on MY horse. So naturally I decided that I may as well tag along seeing as how MY horse was part of endeavour." I could tell he was not that angry at me, merely curious. He waited for my explanation calmly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was your horse. He's really beautiful and friendly so I picked him. I knew that damn coat stand had given me away!" I explained and he smirked.
"I don't care that you took my horse, though I did not enjoy having to ride Stefan's pathetic excuse for a mare. What I am wondering is what the hell you're doing here? This is not a safe place for a woman to be alone," he suddenly turned serious as he spoke and I realized he was worried about me.
"Damon, relax. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I just needed a break from all that high society life at the estate. It's nice for a while but soon it gets pretty dull. Besides I really was not looking forward to listening to Katherine and Stefan going at it again tonight," I said and I shivered as I said the last part. It wasn't really a lie. I DID have no desire to listen to my doppelganger having sex with the brother of the man I was falling for. No! I scolded myself. I was NOT falling for him. I felt my heart twitch as if to say to me 'keep telling yourself that'.
"Two things: 1. Its clear that you are NOT capable of taking care of yourself, and 2. While I completely understand your aversion to listening to that ridiculous sex romp, I never figured you to enjoy places like this. I thought Katherine was the one with wild personality." I laughed at his words before I gave him a slightly offended look.
"Believe me Damon, I could have taken that guy and how do you know if I am wild or not? You don't even know me. Sure I may not be as bad as Katherine but I am perfectly capable of having fun and I am not as innocent as I look." He did not look convinced but he ordered himself a drink and sat next to me at the bar. Now that I was over the humour of the situation, I realised that he had hindered my plans. I could not feed on anyone with him around. I would have to find a way to lose him or I would have to go home without feeding. I could compel him but I really hated doing that when it was not called for.
"So you just decided to sneak out and get drunk?" Damon asked disbelievingly. I glared at him slightly and shot the rest of my drink back like a man. He looked surprised but did not comment. I grinned at his reaction. He thought I was a weak, nondependent woman and I was happy to prove him wrong. I ordered another drink and sipped it normally this time. I soon realised that his attention had shifted downwards to my chest and I was about to slap him for being inappropriate when I realised he was looking at the necklace he had bought me. I had forgotten that I had put it on.
"It looks beautiful on you," he commented with his eyes still on it.
"I really do love it Damon. Thank you," I confessed and his eyes lit up happily. I sipped my drink again to distract myself. I was trying so hard to keep him at arm's length but it was incredibly difficult.
"Just so you know, I spoke with your brother about what you told me," I told him and I watched the happiness drain off of his face at the mention of his brother.
"Yes, I happened to catch the beautiful union in the music room." I was confused for a second before realising he must have only caught the ending of my conversation with Stefan.
"It was not like that Damon. I asked him to back off and he told me he would. He apologized for making me uncomfortable and then we played piano together in a completely friendly way." He did not look convinced and his glower did not let up. I grabbed his face in mine, where it had turned away and made him look at me.
"Damon let it go. Stop with the death glares at Stefan. He's your brother Damon. If that doesn't convince you then do it for me. I don't want you hating your brother like this so please as a favour to me," I pleaded and he kept his resolve until I mentioned it being a favour to me. He looked reluctant but sighed.
"For you I will forgive him. I just can't believe he would do something like this to me. We used to be so close." I frowned at his words.
"What do you mean Damon? You just said he did this to you?" I asked and I watched as he glanced at me nervously before running a hand through his hair.
"I can't believe he was going to go after you even though he knew how I feel about you." My breath caught at his words.
"And how do you feel about me?" I asked quietly. He looked uneasy for a moment before he turned to me fully with a desperate look.
"I think I'm falling in love with you. Everything about you draws me in and I can't stop thinking about you. I know you've made it clear that my attention is unwelcome but please Miss Elena if you just gave me a chance I could make you happy. I know I could and I would happily marry you tomorrow if I could. Please...Elena." It was the first time he had called me my name without the title and I found that I liked it. He was watching me desperately and he looked so ready to break if I rejected him again. My resolved was almost non-existent at this point.
"Damon you don't understand. I'm not like other girls. You have no idea how much I would love to just give in. I know you could make me happy but I can't let you. It's not right and I can't let you condemn yourself to a life with me." With my words said I pushed away from the bar, feeling tears falling from my eyes. I felt the cold night air hit me as I stood outside. It did not affect me at all; another painful reminder that I was not human. I felt rather than heard Damon follow me outside.
"Don't," I pleaded weakly. I just needed this all to be over. I should never have let Katherine drag me to Mystic Falls. What I needed and what I wanted were two different things though and what I wanted more than anything was to be able to be everything that Damon wanted from me.
I heard him take a tentative step towards me.
"Why not?" he asked lowly and I could not muster up anymore courage to fight. I turned quickly and threw myself into his arms and kissed him with all I had. I felt his momentary surprise before he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I revelled in the feeling of his lips against mine and I wished we could go on like this forever. He needed to breathe though so I pulled away gently. He was breathing heavily, watching me with an expression of elation. He reached out a brushed my hair back.
'Elena," he breathed and I smiled sadly at him as I pulled out of his hold. I saw his face fall and I looked away regretfully.
"I'm sorry Damon but I can't be who you want me to be. There's so much you don't know and understand. I wish things could be different but they're not." I got up onto Stefan's horse this time, leaving Damon's horse for him and made my way back to the estate.
A/N: Yes I did copy a little of the scene from the 'Never Let Me Go' famous kiss scene but it's my favorite scene. To be honest I think that song would have been a lot more appropriate for the season 4 finale kiss. Belong by the Cary Brothers is a great and beautiful song but the lyrics are so depressing. Let me know what you guys think :) I really hope you enjoyed the chapter though. Next Chapter includes Damon trying to get Elena to fess up and Katherine decides to take matters into her own hands.