a/n: ahhhh, it's done! Sorry that took me so long, but I kind of lost interest in this story for a little bit. I couldn't split it into two like I wanted, so I just made the chapter really long. Hopfully the changes I made are alright :)
So now I have a question for you: Should I end this story like the show with its horrible cliffhanger or wrap it up in my own way? I would love to continue with season three, but...idk if I'll have time for it/interest in the story after that long of a break (but I'll still think about it) Alright, enjoy!
TWENTY
Elena had slept peacefully, wrapped up tightly in his arms. Damon had spent the night wide awake, his eyes glued to the door. He listened to every move that Katherine made because he was ready to strike the moment she even thought about coming anywhere near Elena. It had been bad enough to listen to her extremely long conversation with Stefan about their relationship. Although he was relieved to know that Stefan was still apprehensive about starting things with her again. He had heard him tell Katherine that just because they had slept together and confessed their love didn't mean he believed her. She had a lot to prove before that happened. It left Damon hoping that she would prove them wrong and be helpful in keeping Elena safe.
Elena's eyes opened to see Damon staring intently over her shoulder. "Damon?" she whispered, her voice still husky with sleep.
He looked down, surprised that she was awake. The sun had barely risen. "Yes?"
She turned her head to look as best she could and then met his gaze again. "Everything okay?"
He nodded and leaned in to kiss her softly. "Just keeping an eye on the door."
Elena shook her head. "She wouldn't come in here. I like to think that she knows her boundaries."
Damon snorted. "I can assure you that she doesn't."
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "What time is it anyway?"
"Almost seven."
She groaned at that. "Well, I guess that's alright. I do have to go to school."
Damon frowned. "No you don't."
"Yes I do," she argued and smiled at him.
"When was the last time you even went?"
"The fact that you're asking me that proves that I really should go," she said and smirked at his pout. "Honestly, I don't even remember the last time I was there. My grades have probably fallen off the charts."
Damon cupped her face as her eyes filled with panic. It had never occurred to her exactly how much school she had missed with everything that had been going on. "Maybe you should just get your GED and be done with it," he suggested.
She mulled it over and gave a lazy shrug. "That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to school today."
Damon moved forward to pin her to the mattress beneath him. "Maybe I could change your mind," he whispered in her ear and pressed his lips to the sensitive spot below her lobe.
A light moan escaped her lips and she shook her head, determined to not let him affect her. "I'll only be gone for a little while. Then I'll come straight back here," she promised, her body arching into his as his tongue swept over the spot where he had bitten her a few times.
He pulled his head up and she shivered under the intensity of his gaze. "Yes, but Stefan will be going with you and I'll be left alone with her."
Elena's lips parted to make a small O as it finally clicked. She gave him an apologetic smile and reached up to cup his face. "Just ignore her."
He snorted again. "Ignoring her will only make her harder to ignore." His eyes lit up as an idea crossed his mind. "Maybe I could just compel all your teachers at the end of the year to change your grades and pass you."
"No," she answered almost immediately. "I don't want to cheat my way through school. That's not going to help me in the long run."
"I could-"
"No."
He frowned down at her. "You didn't even let me finish."
"Because I know you were going to use the word compel."
"Was not."
She shook her head slightly and swiped the pad of her thumbs across his cheeks. "You're just going to have to get used to the fact that I have to go to school. I've already missed way too many days and I'm tired of not being able to live my life because there's someone after me. Elijah's dead; the immediate threat is gone and the school year is almost over."
Damon sighed in frustration and defeat before moving his face closer to hers. He kissed her lips briefly before gliding them to her ear. "Fine," he whispered. "But you might be late every morning."
"Damon-" she said, starting off as a giggle which quickly turned to a moan as he shifted his hips and allowed her to feel his hard on.
As her body arched up into his, Damon shuddered with pleasure. It was official; he was addicted. It made him glad that he had never followed through with his plan when he had first arrived to Mystic Falls. One time with Elena would have never been enough. She had gotten under his skin and warmed the ice around his heart. He owed her more than she would ever know.
Elena's eyes fluttered as his hands tugged at the hem of the shirt she had borrowed to sleep in. His fingers barely touched her skin as he lifted the shirt up and off of her body, tossing it to the floor beside the bed. His lips found her neck again and began scorching a trail down her chest. His hands reached up to cup her breasts as he kissed the skin between them. He caught her nipples between his forefingers and thumbs, rolling them the way that made her moan low in her throat. He removed one of his hands only to replace it with his mouth. Elena's tongue darted out to wet her lips as his rolled across the taunt peak. He repeated the action, spending equal time between both breasts before continuing his way down her stomach.
Damon's fingers hooked around the top of her underwear and gently rolled them down her legs. His fingers ghosting over her skin in the process caused her to shiver and he smiled down at her. Slowly, he laid down on his stomach and wedged himself between her thighs. Elena's fingers gripped the sheets and she bit her lip in anticipation. A hiss of relief escaped her lips as his tongue ran through the length of her slit. His tongue flicked her clit a few times just to hear her sharp intake of breath. He smiled against her and raised his hand so that he could slip his finger inside of her. He groaned at how wet and ready she was for him already.
When Damon noticed her walls clenching at his fingers more than usual, he pulled back and sat up on his knees. Elena gasped as she watched him shoot up using a bit more speed than a human. Her gasp quickly turned into a satisfied moan as he kept her legs up in the air against his chest and slid into her. He drove deeper than any of their previous trysts and the angle was just right.
Elena's body arched off the bed as her hands went to knead her own breasts. The sight was enough to make Damon crazy, but he forced himself to take his time. Her walls clenched at his member as he drove into her hard and deep. He could feel the muscles in her legs as they tightened with each thrust. He moved one had to their joined bodies and rubbed slow, lazy circles on her clit that had her gasping for breath and withering beneath him.
Elena closed her eyes as her head began to bind from the oncoming release. Her lips parted and she began to move her hips in time to Damon's thrusts. "Harder," she breathed.
Damon obliged, slowing down his thrusts just a little in order to go deeper. Her body arched even more and she moved her hands to clutch the sheets as she came for him. While she was lost in the throes of passion, Damon increased his pace in order to come along with her. By the time they had come down from their eyes, they were lying on their backs, shoulder to shoulder, panting to catch their breath.
When Elena could see straight, she pushed herself up off the bed and headed to the bathroom. As soon as she turned on the water for the shower, Damon was right behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed the crook of her neck, enjoying the way her pulse raced from his touch. "You're going to make me really late," she said, sounding only slightly irritated.
"That's fine."
"Damon!" she protested with a laugh. It was hard to be angry with him when his lips and fingers were muddling her thoughts.
"Just get in the shower," he said and before they knew it, they were under the spray of water, getting both clean and dirty at the same time; enjoying every single minute of their time together.
Sure enough, Elena had been late to class. It meant Stefan had been late as well because he had waited for her. Damon had watched her walk out the door with a deep blush because she was well aware that Stefan knew exactly why they were going to be late. Since then, Damon had been sitting in his oversized chair, reading the Gilbert journals from the lake house, and sipping glass after glass of scotch. He was killing time by doing research; trying anything to get his mind off of Elena. He sighed as his eyes moved up to glance at the clock only to see that he had a good hour and a half before she got out of school.
Just as he decided he was going to be there to pick her up, the front door opened and she came walking into the parlor. Damon studied her for a moment and set the journal down on the arm of the chair. "What are you doing back so early?"
She shrugged and stopped at the last step. "I thought about what you said earlier."
"What did I say earlier?" he asked, not sure if it was really Elena in front of him.
"About getting my GED. It does make a lot of sense," she said and took a step closer, giving him that sweet smile that always got to him. "It would be one less thing to worry about and I can concentrate on what's going on around me. College will be there whenever I decide to go, right?"
He inclined his head, still unsure if it was Elena. The fact that he didn't know was making him angry. He let her words absorb as he studied her some more. When their eyes met, he finally had his answer. Surging forward, his hands squeezed her throat as they went flying until her back hit the wall.
"Damon?" she asked, her voice filled with fear. "What are you doing?" She clawed at his hands and tried to gasp for air. "Let go!"
"Do you really think that you can just waltz in here and pretend you're Elena?"
Her eyes went wide with shock at that. "Do you think I'm Katherine?"
He smirked and applied more pressure to her throat. "I don't think you're Katherine. I know you're Katherine."
She took a deep, uneven breath, as her eyes shimmered with tears. It was a long enough moment for Damon to doubt himself and he loosened his grip out of fear. The moment he did, she smirked back at him and launched forward, sending them both across the room until Damon landed on his back on the floor with her on top of him. "For a second there, I thought you were going to believe me," she purred, her hands running seductively up his chest.
He pushed her off of him and used his speed to get to his feet. "Don't you ever think for a second that I would mistake you for her."
Katherine's brow raised as she stared up at him.
He growled in frustration. "Again," he added. "Don't ever think that I would fall for that again."
Katherine smirked wider and got to her feet. "You have to admit, I'm pretty good at being Elena."
"Get out of my house," he countered, his hands balling into fists at his side.
"Awe, come on Salvatore, it was all for fun."
"It wasn't funny."
Katherine shrugged and zipped over to the couch, picking up the journals. Damon moved quickly and grabbed it from her hands. "Just so you know," she said, sinking down onto the arm of the couch. "Stefan invited me to live here."
Damon's lip curled as he moved to pour himself a drink, the journal tucked securely between his arm and his side. He had heard that part of the conversation too. "Yes, but he made it very clear that you were to play nice."
"And I have been," she answered. "I would have stopped before it went too far."
Damon just looked at her, a look that told her how little he believed that. "You do realize that the minute you do something to hurt my brother or Elena, I'm going to kill you, right?"
That sobered her up. Her taunting mood went away and she took on a serious look. "I meant it when I said I want to protect Elena," she said, but didn't elaborate.
"You'll understand if I don't believe you," he said and downed his drink.
Katherine said nothing more on the subject. "So, find anything good in there?"
"Nope."
"Mind if I take a look?" she asked before moving forward.
"Yes," he said, moving away from her. "I do mind."
"Damon-"
"If you're here to help, you'll have to tell me what you want to look for," he countered, dangling the journal in front of her.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You already know what I'm looking for. It's the same thing you're looking for."
"Which is?" he asked, earning an eye roll that was eerily similar to Elena's.
"The site where the witch massacre was," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"And why are you looking for that?"
"Because that's how Elijah had planned to kill Klaus. He couldn't do it with the dagger because it would have killed him too," she said and took a step forward. "So... Do any of the journals say anything about the site?"
"No," he said and moved to sit in the chair. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue reading."
Katherine went to stand behind the chair and bent over so that her arms were resting across the back. "I'm bored."
"I don't care."
"You should," she remarked and stood up only to flop down on her back on the couch. "I tend to do very bad things when I'm bored."
Damon shrugged. "All the more reason to get rid of you," he muttered, knowing that she heard him clearly.
She said nothing, choosing to glare at him before moving her gaze to the ceiling. After five minutes of silence, she let out a low growl and got to her feet. "You are the worst host. So much for southern hospitality."
"You're the unwanted house guest," he reminded her, keeping his eyes on the journal as she headed to the steps leading to the foyer. "Where are you going?"
She looked over her shoulder, smirking widely. "Now you care?"
He only stared at her.
She sighed again and tugged at her jacket. "I'm just going out for a walk. I know I can't hunt properly looking like Elena, but I need to do something other than sit here and be ignored by you," she said and with that she was gone. Damon could only smirk as he went back to reading and sipping his scotch.
Damon leaned against the passenger side of his car, facing Mystic Falls High as a sea of teenage bodies came running out after the final bell. His eyes scanned each and every face as his ears listened for Elena's voice. He heard her laugh before he saw her and it made him feel like a teenager all over again. He suddenly felt awkward, wondering if coming here had been the right thing to do. His unease wasn't put to rest when her eyes contacted his. Her face was filled with surprise as she made her way over to him.
"Hey," she said, stopping in front of him.
"Is this not okay?" he asked.
Instead of answering, she reached down for his hands and smiled up at him. "I just never thought you would come to pick me up," she answered and then sighed. "I kind of wish you hadn't been today."
"What's today?"
"I kind of told Bonnie and Caroline that they could come over after school. Impromptu girl's night."
Damon groaned. "That means more alone time with your evil twin."
"I know," she said, playing with their joined hands. "But I promise to call you the moment they leave. You can probably stay the night. That should give you some time away from her. Besides, Stefan will be at the boarding house with you, right?" she asked, feeling bad about leaving him with Katherine.
He shrugged and pulled his hands away so that he could cup her face. "As long as I get to wake up to you in the morning, I don't care about the rest."
Elena smiled at that. Her reply died in her throat as his lips descended to hers, initiating a sensual kiss in the middle of the crowd. Normally, Elena wasn't one for outlandish PDA's, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. She knew people were stopping to look at them, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to be in Damon's arms as she lost herself in the kiss. When he pulled back, his arms wrapped around her and she felt his body move as he sighed.
"I should probably go."
"I know," he said quietly and slowly began to pull back.
"I'll see you tonight, I promise."
"Girl's night or not, I'm coming over," he said and smirked at her.
She grinned back and nodded. "I'll give them fair warning," she said and slowly backed away, their hands joined until they couldn't stretch any more. She waved and headed to her friends that were waiting for her.
Damon watched her until she disappeared into Caroline's car before his eyes scanned the parking lot. He spotted Stefan watching him from his car. Stefan inclined his head and Damon held up his index finger, asking Stefan to stay there for a moment. He reached into the passenger seat of the car and grabbed the journal he had been reading earlier when Katherine interrupted him.
"Hey," Stefan said as he approached.
Damon had opened the journal to the appropriate page and handed it to Stefan. "I'm just happy there's no third wheel here," he said, looking around in case Katherine happened to pop up and add to his already bad mood.
Stefan smirked and took the journal. "I guess I should have asked first if she could stay."
"Even if I said no, she would have moved in out of spite," Damon answered and pointed to a passage. "I think I found what we were looking for."
Stefan read the page and looked back up at Damon.
"How do you feel about a detour to see Jonas and Luka?"
He nodded and took the journal. "I can do that. I'll see you at home?"
Damon inclined his head and started walking back to the car. He wanted to get home as soon as possible to see what, if anything, Katherine had destroyed on the off chance she had decided to snoop or retaliate for being ignored. He figured Stefan could handle making a deal with the warlocks and see if they wouldn't mind working together to take down Klaus without the help of Elijah. He sighed as he slid in behind the wheel. He was not looking forward to spending more time with Katherine. He had spent fifteen minutes with her and that had been more than enough. He cursed Caroline and the witch the entire ride home.
Halfway to the boarding house, he decided that he wasn't ready to spend more alone time with her. Instead, he drove to the ruins of his old house to read some of the other journal he had brought with him. It was something to do to kill some time and allow him some time to himself without Katherine. After spending a couple hours there, he finished the journal. With nothing left to do, he gave in and headed home.
The moment he opened the door, he heard Katherine screaming his name. He followed the sound of her voice to the basement only to see her standing there with a stake in her stomach. Blood poured from the wound as she leaned against the wall, panting through the pain. "The dagger!" she hissed and he saw the dagger being drawn from Elijah's corpse.
Thinking quickly, Damon darted from the room for the flame thrower he had bought to try and burn Elijah's body with to get the dagger back. In seconds, he was back in the room, using the weapon on the unseen force trying to bring Elijah back to life. After a moment or so, the eerie feeling of power went away and Damon stopped the flame thrower. Katherine groaned in pain as she pulled the stake out of her stomach and let it clash to the floor. "What the hell was that?"
"My guess? Jonas. He wants Elijah alive," she said in a hoarse voice. Damon noticed how pale she was. Whatever it was, it had stabbed her pretty good and she had lost a decent amount of blood.
As she moved towards the exit, Damon stopped her by grabbing her bicep. She looked up at him with wide eyes, but remained still, curious to see what he wanted. "Go lie on the couch. I'll bring you some blood."
"Why? So you can poison it?" she asked.
He smirked and stepped back. "If I was going to do that, I would have already infested all the bags," he said and inclined his head.
She narrowed her eyes for a moment and then slowly made her way up to the parlor. Damon grabbed a piece of the wood from the floor before heading to the other room for a bag of blood. He brought two up to Katherine and handed them to her. Just as she was about to thank him, he shoved the stake into her mostly healed wound. She hissed and bared her fangs at him.
"That was for pretending to be Elena. Do it again, and I'll aim for you heart," he informed her and stood up to answer his phone. "Hello?" he asked, Stefan's name appearing on the screen.
"We have a problem."
"Like?"
"When I got to Jonas and Luka's house, Luka had just been burned to death. Jonas swore that he was going to let us know how it felt to lose someone."
Katherine stood up at that, finishing her second bag. "He's going after Elena," she said.
"There's something we could do to stop Elena from getting hurt, but you're going to have to let me do it," Katherine said.
Damon knew what she was talking about. As much as he didn't like the idea of her pretending to be Elena again, he knew it would work on Jonas. It was the best way to stop the warlock and keep Elena safe at the same time. "Fine," he said to her and then let Stefan in on their plan. The moment he hung up, he called Elena to find out where she was.
Elena walked out of the Grill to answer her phone. She couldn't help but smile at Damon's name on the display. "Hey," she answered.
"Where are you?" he asked.
The urgency in his voice made her go still as a chill coursed through her body. "I'm at the Grill. What's going on?"
"We'll be there soon. I'll explain when I see you," he said and hung up before she could even ask who "we" entailed.
She didn't have to wait long. Before she had even made up her mind about whether or not she should go back inside or not, Damon, Katherine, and Stefan came rushing over to her at vampire speed. She nearly jumped as Damon's arms wrapped around her tightly for a brief moment. When he pulled away, her necklace was dangling from his fingers before he gave it to Katherine. "Come on," he said, tugging her forward.
"Damon- What-" she started, looking over her shoulder as Stefan followed Katherine into the Grill as she put the necklace on.
He said nothing until they were in his car and driving away from the Grill. "Jonas and Luka decided to magically invite themselves over a little bit ago. Luka was there to pull the dagger out of Elijah's chest to bring him back. He had staked Katherine just as I got there. I used the flamethrower on him and it killed him. Now Jonas is out for revenge and we have a feeling that he was going to come after you."
Elena's mind was reeling as she watched the trees zip by outside Damon's window. "But why does Katherine have my necklace?"
"She's going to pretend to be you. That way she can try to take Jonas out before anyone gets hurt."
"Do you really think that's a good idea?"
Damon's lip curled a little. "I don't like it either, but it was her idea and we didn't really have time to come up with a better one."
"So what are we doing while she's pretending to be me?"
"Waiting until Stefan calls to tell me that everything's good and I'll take you home."
Elena nodded, still trying to process everything he had told her. It wasn't until he laid his hand on hers that she noticed something was a bit off. "Damon?"
"I'm sorry."
"For?"
"I didn't mean to kill him."
Elena's head tilted to the side. "You didn't know he was there, right? I'm not going to hold that against you. You did it as a type of self defense," she said and squeezed his hand. She knew he didn't regret it; he was just worried what she would think of him having killed someone else. It didn't sit well with her, knowing that Luka had been killed because Damon was trying to defend her, but she liked the idea of Elijah getting revenge even less.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked, not wanting to drive all the way out to the boarding house.
"There's a park close to my house," she suggested and he nodded before driving in that direction.
He made sure the car was parked somewhere very dark, hard for human eyes to see, before they made their way to the small playground. They sat on the table, their feet resting on the attached benches. "How was girl's night?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Bonnie was freaking out because she lost her powers and Caroline's having Matt drama again," she answered and let out a sigh. "It was kind of nice to talk about somewhat normal things for a change. Apparently, Bonnie and Jeremy are dating now. And Jenna came to the Grill with us too, but she left with Alaric to talk about their relationship." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Which reminds me, Alaric mentioned that he wanted to tell Jenna about everything soon."
Damon thought about it and nodded. "Everybody else seems to know. Telling Jenna wouldn't hurt." Then he remembered what she had said about her brother. "Really? Jer and the witch? Interesting."
Elena nodded and smiled faintly. "It'll take some getting used to."
"New relationships always do," he replied.
Silence fell between them for awhile. Damon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close so that her head could rest on his shoulder. "How was your day with Katherine? Aside from the stuff with Luka?"
"She spent the entire day driving me crazy," he answered. "She pretended to be you, having eavesdropped on our conversation this morning, she knew the right things to say."
Elena felt a bit of anger creep to the surface of her emotions. "And?" she asked tightly.
"I caught onto her before anything happened."
Elena let out a sigh of relief, wondering why she had doubted him in the first place. "I still don't get why Stefan would fall for her charms so easily again."
Damon shrugged. "I would like to think that my brother is smarter than that. That he's only doing it for one of two reasons."
"What are those reasons?" she asked.
"He could be doing it to get revenge. He could be getting her to fall for him and then when the opportunity presents itself, he'll leave her high and dry like she did to us," he explained. "It's what I would have done."
"And the other?" she asked, hoping that Stefan wouldn't sink to Katherine's level like that.
"I know he doesn't trust her. My brother is many things, but a fool is not one of them. He's slept with her and says he loves her, but he's not going to be quick to jump to the assumption that she's telling the truth. He's probably just playing along with her to make her more compliant."
Elena shrugged. "I just hope he knows what he's doing and he doesn't get hurt."
"Me too," he said, his voice barely audible. Elena smiled and snuggled closer. It warmed her heart to hear him worry about his brother. They lapsed into silence again, this time ending only when his phone rang. He hung up rather quickly and slid to his feet, helping Elena to hers. "Every thing is taken care of."
"Jonas?"
"Katherine killed him," he said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "They're at your house waiting for us."
Elena linked her fingers with his as they walked to his car. Once they were in her house, they were greeted by Stefan and Katherine. "Jeremy and Bonnie are in his room," Stefan informed her.
He smirked as she wrinkled her nose. "Thanks for sharing," she mumbled and looked at Katherine.
"You're welcome," she said, handing the necklace back to Elena.
Elena took it and fastened it around her neck before replying. "Look, I understand why you did this, but it can never happen again. Damon told me what you did earlier and I can't have you running around pretending to be me because you feel like it. So thank you for tonight, but this was the last time."
Katherine narrowed her eyes at her and then at Damon. "I did you a favor. I saved your friends and got rid of the threat. I know you don't trust me because I don't exactly trust you either, but I don't have any reason to hurt you. The whole point of this is to keep you alive. Just remember that," she said and walked out of the house.
"Thank you," Elena said to Stefan.
He inclined his head and followed her, stopping at the door. "I'm just glad we got to you in time. Things would have ended very badly if we hadn't," he said and then closed the door behind him.
Elena let out a deep breath and moved to hug Damon. "Today sucks," she mumbled against his chest.
"See what happens when you go to school?" he teased.
She rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself. "You're still going to stay tonight?"
"Really? You think I'd leave you alone after a day like this?"
"You just don't want to eavesdrop on your brother," she said, looking up at him.
He cringed at the idea and placed a kiss onto her forehead. His eyes moved to the door and he pulled back. "Jenna and Alaric are on the other side of the door. What do you say we go upstairs?"
"Please," she said and led the way to her room.
They laid down on top of her bed on top of the comforter. She rested her head on his chest as his fingers traced patterns onto her skin. They just enjoyed each other's company without saying anything. She heard Jenna slam the door downstairs followed by Damon's, "Ouch," on Alaric's account.
After a few minutes of nothing, the door bell rang. Damon went perfectly still and got to his feet faster than Elena could blink. "Damon?" she asked, hearing Jenna open the door roughly, probably under the assumption it was Alaric again.
"That's not good," he muttered.
"What?" she asked, getting to her feet. "Who's at the door?" A bad feeling began to settle in and she swallowed hard.
"It's your mother."