Chapter 16: Frozen
"You're so consumed with how much you get
You waste your time with hate and regret
You're broken
When your heart's not open." –Madonna
Elena stood perfectly still as she stared into the green eyes of the man that only a week before had been the only man she believed she could ever truly love. She watched the twisted expression that consumed Stefan's face and seemed to not only convey that he was up to something, but that he intended on going to any means necessary to see it through. Slowly, Elena stepped down the last few stairs of the staircase and onto the landing as she crossed her arms tightly over her body. She swallowed thickly and then nervously cleared her throat.
"What are you doing here Stefan?" Elena asked in a soft tone as she kept her eyes locked on his. Stefan smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he moved another step closer to her.
"Oh, I don't know, I do live here Elena. You on the other hand, you do not live here, so may I ask why you are here…seemingly unattended?" He asked in a sarcastic tone that had a dangerous edge to it that began to stir a deeper fear inside of Elena.
"I was just leaving actually. Damon brought me here to recover and now that I am recovered, I will just get my things and be out of your hair." She said quickly as she turned to return upstairs where she intended on packing her things quickly and then jumping out the window if absolutely necessary. Stefan stepped closer and reached out and grabbed Elena's arm. He didn't hold her tightly, but something in his touch screamed danger so Elena froze once again in her place.
"Not so fast there Elena, I have a few questions. First of all, what exactly did you need to recover from?" He asked as his eyes met hers once again. Elena cleared her throat and slowly pulled her arm away from Stefan's grip as she made sure that every move she made was slow and careful. She felt as if she was dealing with a wild animal, any fast or threatening movements and she knew it would be over in an instant.
"After everything that happened in the warehouse, someone had to make sure that your brother didn't die." She said sharply, but with a guarded expression. Stefan smiled and nodded in understanding as he backed up slightly from her.
"Ah, of course. Damon needed a little pick me up and there was savior Elena ready to pop open a vein. Just out of curiosity Elena, how many times over the past year have you opened up a vein for my brother? I can only imagine how many times you opened your legs." He said coldly as his eyes bore into hers. Elena swallowed and dropped her eyes.
"Stefan, I know that what I did with Damon really hurt you and I am truly sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen, but how could you do that? How could you almost kill your own brother?" Elena asked as she tried to divert from his question and replace it with one of her own. . Stefan laughed low in his chest and smiled deviously.
"Elena, do you really think that was the first time that I have tried to kill my brother? Hell, you have witnessed at least one of my other attempts and at that time you seemed to have no problem at all with it. Of course, now it appears things have changed." He said sarcastically as his eyes roamed over her body and Elena was suddenly reminded of her partial nudity and who's shirt she was still wearing.
"Yes, things have changed Stefan." Elena said adamantly as she wrapped her arms around her trembling body. This was neither the place nor the time that she had particularly wanted to have this conversation, but deep down she knew she couldn't just ignore everything that had happened.
"So, you choose him huh? After all these years Damon is finally getting the girl?" Stephen asked in a surprised tone that seethed with jealously. It was amazing how one minute Stefan could look at her as if he wanted to rip her heart out and in the next appear as if she were breaking his. Elena dropped her head and looked at the floor.
"I did choose him Stefan, but I am sorry that I hurt you. Despite everything that is going on right now I truly am sorry that I hurt you. I never should have done any of the things that I did behind your back, it was wrong." She said slowly as she swallowed. Elena knew that her words were true, but even just thinking that any of the moments that she had with Damon had been wrong seemed to pain her deep inside. How could anything from the past week have ever been wrong when it had felt so incredibly right?
"Well, I will give you credit Elena. I never expected for this to happen with you. With Katherine it was obvious; she never hid the fact that she wanted us both. You on the other hand, for the past year have been doing nothing but telling me how incredibly in love with me you were. You said you would do anything to save me, you would never give up and that I needed to hold on to the fact that you loved me and would always be there for me. You told me you hated my brother, that he was reckless, devious and that everything that had been good about him was gone. Then I leave for a few months and come home and suddenly its Elena loves Damon. Funny how life works out, isn't it?" Stefan asked bitterly through clenched teeth. Elena felt her heart begin to pound slightly harder in her chest as Stefan's words rushed around her and made her feel the guilt she had been ignoring since the night in the warehouse.
"You didn't just leave Stefan. You ran off with Klaus and went on a three month killing spree. Then you came back and just when I thought everything was going alright finally, you ran off again…to Klaus!" Elena said slightly louder with an edge in her voice. Stefan stepped closer to her once again and his eyes were filled with an anger that warned Elena to be careful.
"I would watch your tone there Elena. I am sure that Damon has filled your head with all sorts of lies about what a monster I am and that he is your knight in shining armor, but if there is one thing you need to remember it is that deep down Damon is just as much of a monster as I am. You may think that he is some misunderstood soul that only kills because his black little heart got broken, but I've got news for you sweetheart, when Damon kills he kills for pleasure and he does it often. The Damon that you saw over the past couple of months was the Damon that he created because he knew that was who you wanted him to be, it was a mirage, that is not who he is." Stefan seethed as he finally stepped close enough to Elena to almost touch her. Elena swallowed and shook her head as she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"You're wrong Stefan, Damon is a good man and you could see that if you hadn't flipped your switch because you were too much of a coward to just deal with the pain that the rest of us have to deal with all the time." She said sharply as she pointed one of her long manicured fingers at him. Stefan's smile faded and gritted his teeth painfully tight. He stepped closer and reached out and slipped his fingers under Elena's chin and forced her eyes to meet his.
"I am not a coward Elena; I am living in reality which clearly you are not. You have no idea what pain is and if you would like me to show you exactly what it is, I gladly will. But, let me ask you this Elena, if Damon is such a good man then where the hell is he?" Stefan asked as he tilted his head toward Elena and smiled as he watched her expression turn immediately from fear to sadness. Elena dropped her eyes.
"He needed a break." She said softly as she remembered the words that Damon had said to her only hours before. Stefan smiled and nodded as he leaned closer to Elena's lips. He gently brushed the cool soft curves of his full lips against Elena's and stared into her eyes. Elena felt a chill move through her body and she wanted to pull away, but was afraid of what would happen if she did.
"Do you ever wonder why all of the men in your life always seem to need a break, Elena?" Stefan asked coldly against her skin. Elena felt her chest tighten and she tried to hold in the tears that his cold words had caused.
"If I'm so bad Stefan, why are you here?" She asked quickly as she tried to defer from her emotions. Stefan smiled and slid his lips down Elena's chin and began to slowly move down the soft expanse of her throat.
"Well no matter how frustrating you might be Elena, you are still the sweetest thing I have ever tasted." Stefan said thickly as he opened his mouth and let his cool breath run over the skin that protected her erratically beating heart. Elena swallowed, as she tried to fight the urge to run. She knew if she ran, things would only get worse.
"As sweet as I may be Stefan, that is not the only reason you are here. What do you really want?" Elena asked softly as she tried to steady her voice. Stefan smiled against her skin and then pulled back slightly.
"Where is my brother, Elena?" Stefan asked as he straightened himself to look at her. Elena stared at him and then shook her head.
"I have no idea Stefan, he said he needed a break and then he left. He didn't exactly leave me an itinerary." She said sarcastically as she tried to summon back some of her strength.
"I'm not playing with you Elena, where is Damon?" Stefan questioned coldly as he stared into her eyes. Elena straightened her stance and met Stefan's icy gaze.
"And, I am not playing with you Stefan. I have no idea where he is. Do you actually think that he would tell me where he was going? Why do you care anyway? The last time you saw him you drove a stake into his chest, you really think he wants to see you right now?" Elena asked as she stepped back slightly and tried to put some distance between their bodies. Stefan smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he followed where she moved.
"I don't really care what Damon wants. He has something that I need and I happen to need it soon. So you are going to tell me what you know, or things are going to get very painful very quickly for you Elena." Stefan snapped as he reached out and grabbed her arm. Fear moved through Elena quickly as she felt Stefan's grip become painfully tight on her delicate flesh. She tried to pull away, but that only caused him to grip her tighter.
"Stefan, I don't know anything, I am telling you the truth. I have no idea where he went, please let me go." She begged in a strained voice as she continued to try to pull away from him. Stefan moved closer and yanked her body roughly to his. He moved closer to her face and stared into her eyes as he gave her a threatening look.
"So help me God Elena, if you are protecting him…" Stefan seethed angrily. Elena stared back at Stefan and tried not to show her fear.
"I am telling you the truth Stefan, but trust me, if I had the choice to protect one of you, it definitely would be him." She said coldly as she felt an ounce of her strength return to her, but as she saw the look of rage that flooded through Stefan's eyes she suddenly wished she had simply said nothing at all. Stefan gritted his teeth and in an instant Elena saw the dark veins under his eyes begin to appear and push to the surface.
"Well, Elena you always were a stupid girl." Stefan said coldly and then Elena heard the sound of his fangs breaking through the thick skin of his gums. He pulled his head back and Elena closed her eyes and braced herself as she prepared for the feeling of Stefan's teeth that she was sure were about to sink deeply into her throat.
"Mother fucker!" Stefan screamed and Elena quickly opened her eyes. She looked at Stefan's face that had quickly changed from a monster to a man in excruciating pain in the matter of seconds. Stefan raised his hands to his head and doubled over in pain as a sound that Elena could not hear appeared to be tearing through his mind causing him a pain that she suspected was far greater than she could ever truly understand.
"Now who's stupid?" Elena heard a familiar voice say from the doorway. She quickly turned and saw Bonnie and Caroline standing next to each other, both wearing satisfied smiles as they stared down at Stefan's crumpled body that was now hunched over in pain on the floor. Elena looked between her two friends in surprise.
"What…what are you two doing here?" Elena questioned in surprise as the fact that she had just been saved from becoming another name on Stefan's wall of shame finally sank into her still spinning mind. Bonnie smiled softly and moved closer to where Elena stood.
"Elena, as much as I hate Damon, even I knew he wouldn't leave you unprotected." She said as her warm caramel colored eyes met Elena's. Elena stared at her in confusion as her heart began to pick up speed at the soft mention of Damon's name.
"You mean…you knew he was leaving?" She questioned as she looked between her two friends. Caroline stepped forward and smiled warmly at Elena.
"Honey, Damon decided he was leaving pretty much the moment he knew you were going to be alright. He felt so guilty about you almost dying once again that even before he said anything, I could tell he was already gone. I was surprised he actually told anyone and didn't just disappear, but when he went to Bonnie, I knew exactly why." Caroline said softly. Elena looked at Bonnie.
"What did he say?" She asked as she felt emotions beginning to take over her body. Bonnie smiled and reached down and took Elena's hand in hers.
"He said that we needed to protect you. We needed to keep you safe, until he was back to do it himself." She whispered. Elena felt her heart twist in her chest and tears slowly begin to flow down her face. Quickly, Elena was jarred from her thoughts, however, as she heard Stefan groaning at their feet.
"I hate to break up this heartfelt episode of One Tree Hill, but if someone doesn't tell me exactly where my brother is in the next two seconds, I am going to have my lunch early and I am starting with the witch." Stefan said harshly as he found his way to his feet. Elena stepped back, but Bonnie stood firm in her place.
"He's gone Stefan. I believe that if you think hard enough, you will figure out exactly where he is. As for us, even you know we are the last people he would actually tell." Bonnie said sharply as she looked at Stefan with cold eyes. Stefan stared at her face and scanned her eyes for lies, but finally stepped back from her. He looked at Elena and then over to Caroline who stood tense and prepared to do anything to protect her friends. Stefan sighed and rolled his eyes.
"You three are quickly beginning to reach your expiration dates. Please remember that I will not hesitate to kill any of you if I find out you were lying to me." Stefan said quickly as he began to move around them and closer to the door. Elena looked around her friends toward Stefan.
"Where are you going?" She asked trying to judge how long she had before she could actually run from the house and never look back. Stefan turned and smiled.
"I am going to find my brother, but don't get too comfortable Elena, because I will be back. Klaus still very much intends on you living up to your end of the bargain and trust me, you definitely will." Stefan said coldly and then in an instant he was gone.
Elena stood silently in the center of the main hallway of the Boarding House and tried to shake the confusion that seemed to now plague her mind. Her world was spinning around her, Damon had said he wanted her to have a normal life and be happy, was this what he thought was normal?
"It's going to be alright Elena, we will think of something. We are not going to let Stefan hurt you." Caroline soothed sweetly as she moved closer to Elena and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Elena smiled weakly, but shook her head still in disbelief.
"I don't get it thought Care, why is he acting like this? He had seemed like he was truly back for a while, like he was going to be Stefan again. Now it's like he flipped his switch again and he's not there anymore. He would have ripped my throat out if you guys hadn't come in when you had. I just don't understand any of this." Elena mumbled as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair and tried to hold back more tears that threatened to erupt. Caroline looked away from Elena and nodded knowingly at Bonnie. Bonnie sighed and nodded as she tried to force a smile onto her face.
"Elena, there is something you should know." She said quietly as she moved closer to Elena.
"What?" She asked cautiously. Bonnie cleared her throat and looked at Elena
"Before Klaus staked Elijah and began carting him around the world with the rest of his family, Elijah gave something to Damon and didn't tell anyone about it. No one knew that Damon had it and even Damon didn't fully understand what it was or what it could do. Once Klaus staked Elijah, he looked everywhere for what his brother had been hiding from him for the past few centuries, but he couldn't find it anywhere. He searched and searched and eventually one of his witches found it in Mystic Falls and realized that Damon had it. Klaus already had Stefan by that point, so once he found out Damon had what he truly needed, he released Stefan to come back to Mystic Falls and get it and bring it back to him." She started as she watched Elena's expression. Elena raised her brow and looked at Bonnie.
"So Stefan was never really released from Klaus, he was just sent here to retrieve something that Klaus wanted? What could possibly be important enough to him that he would trust Stefan with that kind of freedom?" Elena asked as she stared at Bonnie. Bonnie let out a deep breath.
"First of all, he didn't exactly give Stefan his freedom. Stefan might not exactly be under Klaus' compulsion, but he is under a spell. Klaus knew we would be able to tell if Stefan was compelled and therefore not trust him, so one of his witches spelled him. Now, as far as what exactly is that important, well…." Bonnie said slowly. Elena stared at her.
"What Bonnie, what is it?" She asked carefully. Bonnie sighed and raised her eyes to Elena's.
"It's a key. It's a key to the tomb of the only person that truly knows how to kill Klaus and the only person that has the power to do it." Bonnie said carefully. Elena stared wide eyed at her friend.
"Who?" She asked slowly. Bonnie sighed and a small smile crept onto her lips.
"The key opens the tomb to the Original Witch. It opens the tomb to Klaus' mother." Bonnie said softly and Elena suddenly realized that the months of terror that she and Damon had just a week before assumed were something of their past were simply just beginning.
Please read and review! So what do you think? God I know that was a lot of plot ick! LOL. Anyway, I wanted to give Elena the chance to finally tell Stefan she had chosen Damon and therefore giving their relationship some sort of closure, while also explaining why Stefan was acting the way he was. I knew that regular old Stefan wouldn't act quite as different and cold as he had been, but at the same time didn't want to just fall back on compulsion. I also wanted to bring Klaus back into the mix and possibly add another reason for Damon's departure as well as give the brothers a reason to have to come back together. As for those of you that feared Damon just pulled an Edward Cullen (love it btw) and left Elena unprotected, I wanted to ensure you knew that Damon would never do that, because we all know he wouldn't. Lastly, I know this is a great deal of plot and I will warn you, the next chapter will be plot as well, HOWEVER, stick with me because after that a dark twist will be thrown into the mix and the some crazy stuff goes down. LOTS AND LOTS of smut on the way, just need to do a few chapters to actually give some reason for it. Thank you for reading everyone, I hope you liked it, will update again very very soon. OH! And I know that Damon was not in this chapter and some of you are probably sending me hate mail lol, but not to worry, this is the only one:) Click the button below and let me know what you think. Nikki