A/N This chapter gave me the hardest time, you guys. The trouble I had to go through, balancing everything, I can't even tell you.
Fifteen minutes after Elena's hasty escape, only then does Damon notice that something isn't right. Once his senses alert him to the glaring lack of Elena at the boarding house, he no longer has time to debate whether his use of the sire bond was the right thing to do.
He only knows that she cannot be unleashed on the town, especially not with her humanity switched off.
Unlike him though, neither Stefan nor Caroline seem to have noticed anything amiss.
"What's the matter, Damon? You look a little off."
Damon sets his bottle of bourbon down on the living room's center table. "Damn right I'm a little off, Stefan. Fuck, how could I have been so stupid to leave her alone!"
"You need to calm down."
"Fuck that. Elena's not in this house, and I want her found before she does anything. "
Damon doesn't wait for a reply. In an instant, he's already fetched his leather jacket, intending to scour all of Mystic Falls. Internally, he holds the most self-deprecating conversation he's had in a long time.
Goddamn it, I should have known Elena would lash out. Why did I even fucking shut her up? I shouldn't have done that. Shit. God, if you'd care to listen to me, please stop her somehow. I don't want her to do anything that she'll eventually regret. Oh, forget this crap. All this head talk isn't doing me good. Jesus, Elena, don't you dare do anything. I'm coming to get you sweetheart, just wait for me.
Damon snarls, equal parts angry at himself and worried about Elena's next actions.
The raven-haired Salvatore blows into the Mystic Grill, making a beeline for the bar. By the set of his face, it's clear that he doesn't give a fuck about the other people in the premises. Through peripheral vision, he notices Bonnie in one of the booths, eating a burger.
While he sorely wants to talk, and maybe tell her not to go batshit crazy, all he cares about right now is Elena.
He taps on the wooden bar-top, getting Matt's attention. "Donovan, have you seen Elena?"
"No, why?"
"Because I'm looking for her, and that's all you need to know." Damon brings out his phone. "You've got my number, so if she shows up here, call me or Stefan right away. Otherwise I'll kill you myself."
"Okay, no need for threats. Something wrong?"
The forced, empty smile on Damon's face is just shy of a scowl. "That remains to be seen. Call me."
With that, the agitated vampire leaves, not sparing anyone another glance. As it is, he's too stressed to focus on anything else outside his current mission. To his relief, he soon picks up the faint scent of honeysuckle that he's grown to know. Hope flares up in his gut. It's the first real lead, and Damon feels fucking grateful for it.
His immediate action is to call Stefan. His brother answers with a frantic, "Anything?"
"I'm outside the Grill now, and I can smell her. It's faint, but workable." Damon pauses. "How about you guys?"
"Caroline checked the area near the high school, nothing. I'm here near the town's border, and so far nothing as well. You follow the trail you've got, and if you need help, call."
"Got it," Damon says, already walking as he hangs up.
With an ease born of long practice, Damon follows Elena's scent, careful to keep it separate from the influx of other smells around him. He's also careful to keep his pace brisk, but nowhere near his supernatural speed.
There are still humans around him anyway, and he knows he must keep his cover.
To his horror and reasonable expectation, her honeysuckle and rose scent leads to a small alley near a coffee shop. Though he's crazily hoping for the best, Damon is prepared to deal with the worst, including the possibility of dead bodies, and/or Elena on a blood high.
"I'll never shut you up again," he mutters to himself, once his eyes land on her.
As he pretty much anticipated, she's feeding on some young-looking jock, clearly enjoying the whole experience. Given the nature of what she's doing, Damon feels a little jealous actually.
What he wouldn't give to feed with her in this moment.
He takes a few cautious strides towards his target. As his feet take him closer to Elena, his ears pick up the slowing of the jock's heart, and he knows the human is in the danger zone.
"Sweetheart," Damon says, "stop it. You're gonna kill him."
Elena disengages for just a moment to glance back at Damon, before going right back to her earlier activity. It's evident that his words won't stop her. As if to spite him, she actually drinks more forcefully, taking in huge gulps of blood. By his own estimates, the human will be dead in just eleven short seconds if he doesn't do anything.
Still, some part of him doesn't want to use the sire bond again. Damon doesn't think he can take another accusing, recriminating look from her. On the other hand, he knows the sire bond is the most effective option.
It would achieve the result he desired quicker than anything else.
Despite that knowledge, Damon remains hesitant to use his power, so he decides on another measure. Taking his nail, he gouges it into his neck, prompting thick rivulets of crimson to flow out. As her sire, he knows his blood will always be more appealing to her than any random person's.
Less than a second later, she's forgotten the human completely, her teeth buried in him instead.
"Oh God yes," he says, half turned on and half relieved.
Before Damon can properly situate himself, she's already pressed him against an alley wall, and her enthusiastic feeding wreaks havoc on his self-control. Unlike the last time, there isn't a trace of hesitation inside her anymore, only a churning need fiercer than he's ever seen her display.
To the vampire in him, the whole situation is fucking glorious.
Unwilling to stifle her, Damon lets Elena drink at her own pace, maddeningly delirious with his own arousal. By this point, he's lost sight of everything outside their little bubble. To him, only their blood connection exists, nicely matched by the eager melding of their bodies. For a moment, he actually contemplates shredding their clothing, and then having Elena right in the mucky dimness of the alley.
He would've done just that, save for the sudden change in how she's drinking from him.
Seemingly in the space of a heartbeat, Elena's tight grip on him slackens, and she slows her pulls on his neck. Fingers unclenching, she releases his jacket from her hold, relaxing her body in the process.
Add to that, one free hand snakes up to his jaw, cradling it in a gesture of terrifying affection. It's a departure from her previously savage feeding, but Damon is too groggy to investigate the change in tempo.
And then, as if she couldn't surprise him further, she pulls away voluntarily and runs.
"What the fuck was that about?" Damon whispers to himself, trying to catch his breath, crouched down with his back against the wall.
Second by second, he can feel the punctured skin of his neck starting to heal, a pleasant warmth and tingling left behind from his encounter with Elena. Scanning his memories, he concludes that in his almost two centuries, he's never known someone who reacted that way while drinking another vampire's blood.
Thankfully, the ring of his phone brings him back to familiar territory.
"What is it, Stefan?"
"I got her. I'm bringing her back to the house. What happened to Elena? She looks really confused right now."
Damon groans. "Can't explain on the phone. I'll be home soon, just need a quick pick-me-up."
"Why? Did something come up?"
"I'll explain when I get there. Make fucking sure she doesn't go out again."
"Oh, I don't think she'll do that." He hears Stefan take a breath. "Like I said, Damon. She looks really confused about something. What on Earth happened?"
Damon doesn't bother to answer, choosing to hang up instead. After administering a quick dose of his blood to the jock in the alley, plus a precautionary bout of compulsion, the elder Salvatore goes on his own hunt for a rejuvenating meal. It doesn't take long before he finds someone to sink his fangs in.
He drinks just enough to tide himself over - just until the next time he needs to distract the girl he loves.
It's a quarter to four by the time Damon walks through the front door of the boarding house. Elena is seated on the couch beside Stefan, while Caroline is pacing worriedly near the fireplace. Of the four, the elder Salvatore actually seems the one least affected by Elena's escape debacle.
Personally, Damon doesn't know if it's just because of his high from being sipped on. He takes Stefan's place on the couch, gingerly pushing his brother aside. He quickly tips Elena's face toward him. "You okay?"
Elena just looks at him as if he's stupid for asking the question. Then he notices something else brewing in her chocolate eyes. When she stays silent, he remembers what he did earlier, and scrambles to undo his command.
"You can talk now."
Elena scoffs. "How nice of you, Damon."
"I didn't mean to do that, I swear. You were just so different. I didn't know what else to do."
She doesn't speak after that, and Damon wonders whether his command had other unforeseen side effects. Turning her to face him, the raven-haired vampire stares at the girl he loves. His eyes beg her to say something.
At his unspoken request, Damon catches a debate going on in her eyes. He waits patiently for what she plans to do, surprised when she envelops him in a sudden hug. It doesn't last long, only a few seconds, but it's enough to make him smile. He even detects an apologetic note in her embrace.
Aside from their kitchen lip-lock and her drinking from him, Damon thinks this hug is the best thing that's happened over the course of the entire day.
"I'm fine, so you can all stop worrying," she says then, standing to leave. She's able to reach the staircase with no problem, all until she feels his hand on her arm. She whirls to face him.
"I need you to come with me, Elena."
"Where and why?"
"You don't need to know where and why. Just come with me. It'll do you good."
"And what exactly are you planning?"
"Who says I'm planning anything? I just want you to get out a bit." Damon backtracks quickly. "Well, aside from your random snack in the alley, that is. What could go wrong?"
"Damon, I don't need this intervention you're cooking up. I'm full, and I'm fine. Please leave me alone."
"Elena..."
"Stop it. I'd like some space to think, and I can't do that with you breathing down my neck."
"Me? I'm not breathing down your neck," Damon says, his eyes glinting teasingly.
"Is that so?"
"Yes it's so. I'm a vampire, remember? Breathing's unnecessary."
Elena huffs. "Not funny. Just leave me alone."
For the next second and a half, Damon mentally debates whether to press his wishes. Once he really gets a look at Elena's tired face, he decides to concede. Shrugging in defeat, he lets her climb up the stairs without further comment.
By the time he's seated back down on the couch, Stefan becomes the new focal point of his interest.
"You owe me an explanation," the younger Salvatore says. "What happened in that alley?"
Damon repeats his earlier shrug. "Nothing much, to be honest. I caught her feeding, distracted her by gouging into my neck, and then you know how that goes. She didn't puke out my blood this time, so that's a win."
Caroline injects herself into the conversation, arms crossed and eyes blazing with annoyance. "How are you so calm about all this, Damon? She's a baby vampire with her humanity switch off, she fed on someone in a random alley, and you're fine with it. What's wrong with you?"
"Blondie, let me tell you something. I've been through this before. She's showing the same signs I did."
"What are you talking about, brother?" Stefan asks, pitching in again.
Damon sighs in response, standing to fetch a glass for his liquor. Pouring the familiar caramel-colored liquid into the crystal, he retakes his seat on the couch, sipping his drink calmly. By the shaking of Caroline's head, it's evident she doesn't approve of his light-handed approach to the situation.
He sets the half-full glass beside him, careful to lay it on a somewhat flat part of the couch. "Ease up, okay? I've got this under control. Something happened in that alley which I can't explain, but I'm seeing the right signs. You two may not see it yet, but the old Elena's coming back sooner than you think."
"How do you know that?" Caroline asks.
Damon chuckles. "Did you forget what I just said? I've been through this before. I know what it's like when the switch starts coming on, bit by bit. Remember back when I was a worse douche than I am now? I swung wildly from being pretty okay, to being a complete ass. Now look at how Elena's vacillating."
The light of understanding begins to dawn in Stefan's eyes. He doesn't speak at all for quite some time, processing the information and occasionally scratching his head, too. When he finally breaks the silence, his words are heavy with hope and potential.
"You think she's already starting to fight it?"
Damon raises his glass in a toast. "Right you are, brother. We play this right, and she'll be back to her old, super-feeling self before you know it. Good news is, I think I know how to help things along."
"And what's your plan?"
"Guess you'll just have to trust me, Stefan."
"Is there anything I can do?" Caroline asks.
Damon finishes his glass of bourbon. "As a matter of fact, yes. Check in with Donovan and make sure Bonnie hasn't totally gone off the rails. Then, make sure your shoulder gets extra absorbent padding."
"Why?"
"Because, Blondie, when Elena's switch comes back on, with it comes every painful emotion inside her. She's gonna need all of us to help her deal with the bad stuff, so you better be ready."
"You're sure about this, Damon?" Stefan asks, his green eyes filled with turmoil and worry.
"Of course I'm sure," Damon says. "If anyone can bring her back, it will be yours truly. So just bear with me as I execute my plan, and then help me deal with the aftermath."
The conversation stops after that, and the elder Salvatore quickly makes for the stairs. Stefan and Caroline are left wondering what exactly he's planning, but there's not much they can do except cooperate for now.
A/N So, tell me. Did I do good, or could something have been improved?