A/N: thank you for all the lovely reviews! p.s. a little less than a month till the S3 premiere of TVD!
GLUTTONY: PART II
Elena was standing by the water cooler, pretending to pour herself a cup of coffee. In reality, her gaze was focused on Stefan's office. The glass walls, although soundproof, meant that everyone on the floor had a clear view of what was going on inside.
It wasn't pretty.
Stefan and Damon were engaged in what looked like a vicious argument. Every so often, Stefan would bang his fist against his desk and papers would go flying onto the floor. This would only serve to make Damon even angrier, and the argument continued.
"Thank god I'm not in there," Bonnie said, appearing by Elena's side. She reached into the cupboard to pull out her own mug as she sent a questioning look in Elena's direction. "Were you able to get through to him at all? Has he started writing?"
"Nope," Elena scowled, "Actually, we're not exactly on speaking terms right now."
"Really?" Bonnie teased, "I haven't met anyone that Elena Gilbert couldn't get along with before. What happened?"
"I cut off his alcohol supply."
"Ah, that would do it," Bonnie agreed, glancing up at the office as Stefan threw a book against the wall. "I so don't envy your job right now," she pursed her lips as the elevators dinged open, "Though I can't say that mine is a whole lot better…"
Elena turned around to see a man step out of the elevator, his classical good looks turning quite a few heads as he walked towards Bonnie.
Elijah.
"Heard you're having a bit of a rough time with your client," Elijah said to Elena with a friendly smile. "Want me to knock some sense into him?"
Bonnie snorted, "I think Stefan is already taking care of that."
Elijah glanced over at the office and raised an eyebrow, "Stefan always seems to go on the offensive. I think you may need to step in and smooth things over, Elena."
"Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Right."
He looked thoughtful, "Sometimes these things need a touch of empathy—which isn't something that Stefan doles out willingly." When Elena didn't respond, Elijah gestured to Bonnie. "Come on, that book signing starts in an hour."
Elena nodded goodbye and went back to observing the Salvatore brothers. However, it looked like the argument had reached its boiling point because Damon stormed out of the office at that moment. Stefan's enraged voice shouted after him, "This is your last chance, Damon! I mean it!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing to gape at the scene, and Stefan turned to glare at them, "I'm not paying you to stand around! Get back to work!"
Elena successfully avoided meeting Stefan's gaze, but was less lucky with Damon. Or, more accurately, Damon headed straight in her direction, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Enjoy the show, Ms. Gilbert?"
"I wasn't—"
"Save it. I saw you watching."
"Well, there's nothing quite like watching a train wreck in progress," she returned coldly, "Was your brother able to convince you to start writing again?"
"I stopped listening to my brother a long time ago, Elena," Damon unexpectedly reached out for her coffee mug and took a sip of the liquid before making a face. "I thought you were rich. Can't you afford a decent cup of coffee?"
She stammered in disbelief as he proceeded to pour the contents down the sink. "What—you can't just—"
"Come on," he grabbed her arm impatiently, "I saw a coffee shop around the corner." When she let her feet drag uncooperatively, Damon turned to look at her. "Do you want me to start writing?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm going to need caffeine."
Elena rolled her eyes but didn't make any more complaints as they walked into the elevator and headed down to the ground floor. Damon remained silent until they were walking outside and he saw Elena's eyes dart up and down the street curiously.
"You looking for someone?" Damon asked casually, "Like that man I saw you with earlier?"
"What man?" Elena frowned before she realized what he was talking about, "Elijah? Oh, he just works with Bonnie."
Damon made a skeptical noise but didn't press the subject. To her surprise, he opened the door for her to a place that was nearly hidden from the public eye. She stepped into the coffee shop, eyeing the cozy interior approvingly.
"Have a seat," Damon pointed towards a pair of armchairs in the corner of the small café. "I'll get us something to drink." He stopped her as she started to reach for her purse, "It's on me."
"But you don't know what I like," Elena stated in a matter-of-fact tone, to which Damon only grinned.
"Let me surprise you."
"Okay," she responded suspiciously, crossing her arms as she obediently sat down to wait for him. A few minutes later, he returned with two steaming mugs of coffee and he set one in front of her carefully. She took a sip, her eyes widening at the exotic taste. "What is this?"
"Do you like it?"
"Very much."
"See?" Damon smirked, "You're pretty easy to figure out."
Elena studied him, "I wish I could say the same about you."
"Oh, I don't know," he drawled, "I rather like being the enigma. It makes things so much more interesting, don't you think?"
"Not when people are trying to help you."
Damon shook his head, "Is that what you think you're doing? Elena, you are being paid by my brother, of all people, to be my agent. Stop acting like some kind of messiah."
Elena's temper flared, and it was with great difficulty that she quelled her instinctive retort. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to smile. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Damon. The truth is, your brother pretty much forced me to take you on as one of my clients because no one else wanted to deal with you."
"Is this your version of a pep talk?"
"No. You just look like the sort of person who would value honesty over sugarcoating the truth."
"Well, looks like you figured out one thing about me, after all."
Elena narrowed her eyes at him. She had spent the better part of the night reading his book and catching up on all the gossip that swiveled around the eldest Salvatore brother. Now she was determined to use that information.
"I did my research on you, Damon. Four years ago, everybody was gushing over you being the best new author of the decade to hit the market. They called you everything from having the most potential, to the most imagination, to having the most impact." She leaned back in her seat, "The book was an enormous success and everyone expected great things from you."
Damon's eyes had glazed over as she recounted his past, but she knew he was listening.
"But weeks turned into months, and months turned into years," she went on, "And instead of becoming famous for your writing, you began to get in the papers for less favorable things. Every night, paparazzi snapping photos of you stumbling out of bars..."
"Maybe," Damon interrupted, "I just didn't feel like writing. Maybe I hated it. Ever consider that?"
"No. Your writing was too good for that," Elena glanced at him, "You loved writing. I could tell that just from reading your book."
"Let's hear your theory then," he said, his voice taking on a sarcastic edge. "I'm sure you have one."
Elena bit her lip and then said slowly, "Something happened to you in these past four years. Something happened to you after your book came out...something in your personal life that no one knows about."
An emotion flickered in his eyes, "Like what?"
She tilted her head, thinking. "I wondered...in all those pictures and in all those articles about you...there were never any women. I thought it was strange."
"I don't go to bars to pick up women," Damon responded in a hard voice, "I'm not interested in that."
Elena reached into her purse and pulled out his book, laying it on the table between them. "To answer your question from last night, I did read your book and I loved every second of it. You have a real way with words that speaks to the reader...draws them in."
He stared at the book, avoiding her gaze.
"A love story," Elena probed gently, "From someone who isn't interested in women? It doesn't add up, Damon." She hesitated, "When you were writing that book...you were in love with someone."
Damon abruptly stood up, and she got the feeling that his mood for conversation was over. "This is probably a moot question," he said harshly, "But have you ever loved someone who didn't love you back, Elena? Someone you would've given up everything for, only to find out that they would never feel the same way about you as you felt about them?"
Elena was rendered temporarily speechless.
"Yeah," he gave a bitter laugh as he looked her over, "I didn't think so."
Without giving her a second glance, he strode out of the coffee shop, leaving her to mull over his revelation alone.
.
He disappeared, of course.
She searched the office building high and low, and eventually ran straight into Stefan. "Elena," he said in a deceptively calm voice, "Where's my brother?"
It took ten minutes of arguing before she convinced him to give Damon another chance. From the weariness in his expression, she could tell that he wanted to trust in his brother just as much as she did.
Twenty minutes later, she walked into her house and headed straight upstairs, striding into Damon's room without knocking. She found him lying on the bed, the floor littered with empty beer bottles. "Hey," she rushed over to him, "Damon! Wake up!"
He opened one eye blearily and groaned when he saw her, "You're not supposed to be here."
"No, you're not supposed to be here," she corrected, trying to haul him into a sitting position. He didn't make it easy, his arms hanging downwards to resist any movement. Elena refused to let him win however, and soon enough they were both seated against the headboard, with Damon leaning heavily against her.
"Did my dear brother tell you to drop me as a client?"
Elena frowned when she detected the hopeful quality in his tone. "He was about to," she answered lightly, "But I convinced him to give you another chance."
"What?" Damon sounded displeased, "Why?"
"Because I thought you deserved another chance," she said simply, "Because you're one of the greatest writers I've ever seen. Because I still believe you can come back from whatever rut this girl put you in."
"Another chance?" he scoffed, his head falling slightly to rest against her shoulder. "Maybe you give out too many 'second chances' Elena."
"I probably do," she agreed, "But only to people who deserve it."
Damon didn't say anything to this.
"So, you wrote the book when you were in love with someone," Elena prodded, "And you thought the two of you would have an epic journey together, just like the characters you wrote about. So what happened? What went wrong?"
He lifted his head to look at her, only then seeming to realize that their bodies were molded together. "Sorry," he muttered, shifting to put some room between them. Elena immediately felt the loss of his touch, but she remained stoic as he started his story.
"Her name was Katherine," Damon began, "And she made me feel everything to such a heightened level of passion...I couldn't get enough of her." He paused, considering. "Now that I look back on it, I guess 'infatuation' would best describe our relationship. At least, from my perspective."
"And from her perspective?"
"Lust?" Damon shrugged callously, "Sex? It was hardly a relationship to her. She used me. End of story."
"What happened after you wrote the book?"
"I got a special copy made for her where I wrote in a dedication on the inside of the front cover." Damon unconsciously moved back towards Elena, seeking her warmth. She placed her arms around him without a second thought, murmuring for him to continue.
"When she finished reading it, she came to my house and said it was the stupidest thing she had ever read. That love was insipid and worthless and that she had stopped believing in it a long time ago. That if she had known that I was such a useless romantic, she would've never gotten involved with me."
Elena's mouth hung open, "My god, Damon...she sounds...I don't even know what to say." But it all makes sense now—he feels like he can't write anymore because the book that he poured his heart and soul into was rejected by the one person that he thought mattered...so now he avoids writing to avoid the memories of what happened, and he drinks to numb the pain of what Katherine did to him...
"How come you never told anyone?" Elena asked softly, "Why didn't you tell Stefan?"
"He wouldn't have understood."
"But he would have tried. He cares about you, Damon. I know he does."
Damon sighed, "I wanted to write, Elena. So many times. But I just couldn't get the words out. Every time I wanted to, I would remember what Katherine did and—"
"Shh," Elena comforted, "She's gone, Damon. What she did—there are no words to describe how wrong she was...But by not writing, you're letting her win. You're letting her be in control of your life." She slid forward so that she was kneeling in front of him and she could look him in the eye. "That book and everything associated with it is in your past, Damon. Don't let her affect your future."
"You don't know what it's like."
"Trust me," she cut him off, "I know a little something about pain. And loss." She took a deep breath, "Just remember, for every negative thing she said about your book, there are a thousand positive remarks that your other fans made about it. Shall I get the reviews?"
Damon finally cracked a smile, "No, that's okay." He reached out for her hand and squeezed it gently, "It feels better. Talking about it."
"Good," Elena returned the smile and clambered off the bed. "I'll get someone in here to clean this place up and—"
"Wait," Damon unsteadily got to his feet, looking at her seriously. "I know I was a jerk earlier, and I know you had every reason to not want me as a client...and I know you went out on a limb for me." He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down, "Thank you."
Elena took a step towards him, holding his gaze as she neared. "You're welcome," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and brushing a kiss onto his cheek. Then she stepped back and smiled, "How about we go out for lunch? I can tell Matt to take the rest of the day off, if you'd like."
Damon shook his head, "Actually, I was thinking we should go back into work."
"Excuse me?"
He gave her a small grin, "Let's just say that I feel like writing again." He walked past her astonished expression and held the door open for her, "After you, my lady."
Elena could see the darkness swirling beyond the doorway, and felt a rush of relief. He had passed the trial. She pretended to curtsey, causing him to flash another grin in her direction. Then, she confidently walked out of the room and let the darkness spin her away.
*two trials left!