a/n: first off, thank you so much to everyone who suggested ideas for this trial- you're all so creative! But I was rewatching Buffy and decided to go with a darker route for this one. Hope you'll still enjoy it! p.s if possible, read in the dark ;)

CHAPTER 9: LUST

Elena opened her eyes as soon as she felt the hard ground beneath her feet. Something instinctive had her skin crawling and she shivered in the cool air as her gaze darted around her new surroundings.

It looked like an abandoned building of some sort, lit only by moonlight streaming through the cracks in the boarded-up windows. Elena took several cautious steps forward, glancing down to see her footprints outlined prominently in the layer of dust that covered the floor.

What was this place?

She paused then and stood utterly still, her ears pricked for any noise. When she didn't hear anything after a few minutes, Elena slowly walked out of the room and found herself in a small hallway, illuminated by a single lightbulb on the wall. She looked up and down the hallway, noticing that there were five shut doors between herself and the staircase at the end. The sixth door, the one that she had just walked out of, was the only one open.

Elena took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she began making her way towards the staircase. She could feel her neck prickling with fear—something didn't feel right…she had never been here before, so why did it feel so familiar?

She had just walked past the last door in the hallway when the floorboard beneath her gave a particularly loud creak and she froze. Then, before she could react, the door next to her flew open.

A scream stuck in her throat as Elena stared in terror at the man before her. Blood was dripping from his mouth, his fangs glistening in ruby red. She didn't have time to discern any of his other features before he rushed at her in a mere blur and she gasped out in pain as her back hit the opposite wall. "What's this?" he hissed, "An unmarked human?"

"Wh-what?" Elena cried out again as his hands dug into her shoulders, "Please, I d-don't even know where I am! What is this place?"

The vampire took a step back and tilted his head, studying her. "Little girl lost?" he mocked, sneering at her even as the veins disappeared from his face.

It was only when she was staring at his human form that she recognized who it was. "Matt?" she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. "Y-you're a vampire?"

Matt swiped an arm across his mouth, succeeding only in smearing his jacket with blood. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How do you know my name? Who sent you?"

"No one," she stammered, pressing herself against the grimy wall as he took a threatening step towards her. "I t-told you, I don't even know where I am!"

"Matt!" a girl's voice called plaintively from the room behind them, "Where'd you go?"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Matt snarled back, turning his head slightly towards the open doorway but not taking his eyes off Elena. "I'm just dealing with a little problem."

"Problem?" Elena's eyes widened, "I'm not a—" She broke off when a girl shuffled to the door, clutching a bloodstained sheet to her body. "Aimee?" she blurted out, "Aimee Bradley?"

The girl squinted, "Do I know you?"

"You some kind of witch?" Matt grabbed Elena's arm roughly, "How do you know everyone's name?"

Aimee, however, didn't seem too concerned about this and she pouted at Matt, "Why do you have another human? You said you would use me tonight."

"And I will," he said menacingly, "Go back inside!"

"Only if you come with me," Aimee purred, letting the sheet drop to the floor. Elena let out an involuntary gasp before quickly averting her eyes—but not before she saw the bite marks that covered every inch of the girl's body.

Matt growled again, but this time for a different reason. He let go of Elena's arm and blurred across the hallway to slam into Aimee, burying his fangs into the curve of her shoulder. She let out a moan, clutching him closer to her even as fresh blood began running in rivulets down her body.

Elena decided to take advantage of his momentary lapse in attention and ran for her life, her feet pounding down the stairs. She skidded onto the floor and grabbed the front door, pulling on it frantically—only to realize that it had been padlocked shut.

"Hey, where'd that girl go?" Matt roared from upstairs and Elena gave a squeak of terror before spinning on her heel and running desperately through the rooms in search of a back door. These people had to get in here somehow!

She ran through a kitchen (that looked like it had never been used), and through a dining room (the dining table was covered with dried blood), and finally ended up in the living room. Here, she was forced to come to a halt, and she looked at the sight before her with increasing horror.

Vampires and humans alike were scattered around the room, all in various states of undress. There was Jeremy (still human), his arms held out at his sides while two vampires greedily fed from his wrists. Elena didn't move to intervene because it was clear he was enjoying himself. She shuddered.

Then the two vampires shifted position and she got a clear view of their faces: Anna and Vicki. Of course.

Her gaze flicked away, thankfully not recognizing anyone else in the room. There was a sudden sound from behind her and she whirled around to see Matt glaring, "Trying to run, are we?"

Elena screamed, and distinctly saw Matt back away from her. She didn't bother to stand around and wonder why everyone had fallen silent, their expressions full of trepidation as they stared at the ceiling. She saw a door in the corner that she hadn't noticed before and hurled herself towards it, nearly crying with relief when she fell onto the grassy ground outside.

She scrambled to her feet and ran, chancing one look backwards at the house to see if anyone was following her. No one was, but when she turned back around, she hit a very solid roadblock.

She fell to the ground, and found herself staring at black boots. She slowly moved her gaze upwards until she found herself looking into cerulean blue eyes. Even in the heavy darkness, they glinted dangerously.

When she got to her feet, however, she noticed his eyes flicker with confusion, "Katherine?"

"No." Her voice came out in a whisper, and she inwardly cursed herself for sounding so meek. I've been through worse than this, she reminded herself, a lot worse.

Damon took a step towards her, his gaze sweeping her body. "You're right," he agreed, "Katherine would never be caught dead wearing that."

Elena bristled before she happened to look down at what she was wearing; a too-large grey dress that ended halfway between her knees and ankles. It was torn in several pieces, and could probably more accurately be termed as "rags."

"And I can tell you're human," Damon added, studying her face carefully. "The similarities are uncanny, of course. Are you a street girl?"

"Excuse me?"

"She claims she's lost," Matt's voice came from behind her, though he sounded considerably more subdued and respectful in Damon's presence. "She had no idea where she was when I found her."

Damon scowled, "You're the one that found her? And, what? You couldn't control her?"

"I tried—"

"Shut up," he snapped before turning to look at Elena and barking, "What's your name?"

She gritted her teeth at his tone and straightened. No way was she letting these people intimidate her. "Elena Gilbert," she said strongly, her mouth curling in distaste at the man before her. "What is this place, anyway? Some kind of vampire whorehouse?"

"Yes," Damon responded unexpectedly, then he amended, "Well, I only own half of it. The other half belongs to my brother."

Something in his tone made Elena pay attention and she turned around to look at the building behind her. Realization washed through her as she examined it. The Salvatore Boarding House—no wonder it looked so familiar...

"Well, Elena," Damon said as he closed the few feet between them at a leisurely pace, "Do you know what you interrupted when you decided to run out of my house like a screaming banshee? No?" He reached out to grasp her shoulders and turned her around forcefully, "Now tell me, Elena, wouldn't you be just a tad pissed off if you got interrupted in the middle of doing something that...enjoyable?"

Andie was standing about twenty feet away from them, completely naked. Elena immediately looked away, to which Damon began laughing. He grabbed her chin and twisted her around to look at him, grinning as she tried to fight him off. "You're blushing," he commented, "How adorable. So, you're really not a street girl, then?"

"I never said I was," Elena snapped back heatedly, to which he raised an amused eyebrow.

"Of course not," he said offhandedly, "You just dress like one."

She wasn't even aware of her arm swinging backwards, but the slap echoed dismally in the sudden silence. Elena let her stinging hand fall to her side, swallowing back her fear. Damon had frozen, and it was only a few moments later that he lifted a hand to his jaw almost curiously.

"No one touches Damon Salvatore and lives," Matt said coldly from behind her, "Say goodbye to your life, Elena."

"Stop," Damon ordered, reaching over to grab Elena's arm with a vice-like grip. "I'll deal with the girl myself."

"No! Let me go!" Elena shrieked but Damon growled and then tossed her easily over his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to her fists as she pounded uselessly against his back.

"What are you doing?" Andie demanded as they neared the house, "You're supposed to be with me tonight!"

"Get out of the way."

"No," Andie said firmly, "You hired me—you promised to pay!"

"I said, get out of the way," Damon began to walk past her when she grabbed his arm to stop him.

This was a mistake.

Even Elena ceased struggling, stunned into wondering what Damon was going to. She heard him mutter something under his breath before he lifted Elena off his shoulder and placed her on the ground. She scrambled backwards, her eyes widening as he turned to look at Andie. "You dare lay a hand on me?" he hissed at her, "You dare demand my money?"

"Run!" Elena shouted at the other woman, but Andie only squeezed her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the blow to fall.

Damon roughly grabbed Andie's hair, pulling her towards him. "We had some good times together," he said harshly, "But you can easily be replaced." Then he reared his head back, vamping out and sinking his fangs into her neck.

"No!" Elena cried out, "Please d-don't kill her! She didn't do anything wrong! It's m-my fault for interrupting you! She doesn't deserve to die!"

He turned to look at her, and she could've sworn she saw him roll his eyes. He let Andie drop to the floor where she began scrambling to her feet. "I'll let you go just this once," he warned, "Don't come back." Andie nodded frantically and began running, tripping over herself in her haste to get away.

Elena hesitantly stood up, watching Damon warily.

"In the short time I've known you," he said to her, "You've disrupted my sex life, let a perfectly good source of blood run away, and stopped me from killing someone."

She shrugged weakly, "Guess I really know how to multi-task?"

Damon growled and abruptly blurred forward, grabbing her around the waist and speeding into the house and up the stairs. Elena let out a scream before wisely choosing to hold on tightly until he suddenly threw her off. She shut her eyes instinctively to brace herself for the fall, but instead she landed on a surprisingly soft surface and bounced several times before coming to a stop.

Elena opened her eyes and looked down at the king sized bed in a room that was at complete odds with the rest of the house. It was furnished, clean, and looked very much like Damon's actual bedroom back home.

Damon leaned against the bed post, his signature smirk in place. "Elena Gilbert," he mused thoughtfully, "Are you sure you aren't Katherine? She hasn't found some way to become human again?"

"I'm not her," Elena licked her dry lips nervously, "I don't think you can undo becoming a vampire." Damon nodded at her absentmindedly, his eyes watching the movement of her tongue across her lips. She realized this and immediately stopped.

Half of his mouth curved upwards in amusement, "What if I don't believe you?"

"I'm not lying," she snapped, jumping off the bed and positioning herself in front of him, "And I don't care if you believe me or not."

Damon's eyes darkened and he suddenly slid an arm around her, hauling her against his body. "Prove it," he whispered, tightening his grip around her. "Prove you're not Katherine."

Elena stared back at him defiantly, even as her pulse accelerated in an odd mixture of apprehension and excitement. The trial, she told herself sternly, focus on the trial. Out loud, however, all she said was, "How?"

He leaned even closer, his lips hovering above hers, "Kiss me."

*this one might be a 3-parter because it's so much fun =P