Cannonball
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.
October 22nd 2012.
Monday 9:20am.
Mystic Falls.
I push the doors open to the police station, my feet quick as I walk through the hallway that leads towards the reception area, Stefan close on my heels. I round the corner and immediately find Zach pacing up and down, his cellphone pressed against his ear as he barks orders at someone on the other side of the line.
He looks up and sees us, holding out a finger to motion for us to be quiet as he finishes his conversation. I sigh and turn to look at Stefan who still looks nervous and I watch him for a moment, realizing that this isn't something that he is used too. Giuseppe has been unstoppable all his life, ever since the day he was born he has never once had to worry about losing a parent, whether through prison or... other things.
"Hey." I place my hand on his shoulder. "It'll be ok."
He nods his head just as Zach hangs up the phone. "About time you got your ass here, Damon." he scolds me and I roll my eyes.
"Save it, I'm here now." I look around the area. "Where's Marie?" I question, figuring that she would be here. Her and Giuseppe sure have their problems but she does play the supporting wife very well, even if it does pain me to say it.
"She's speaking to Giuseppe's lawyers at their offices." he explains.
"What the hell happened?" I finally ask, still in disbelief. "I thought this was going away, I thought Giuseppe had bargained a deal?"
"He did." Zach sighs. "Everyone came to an agreement that Giuseppe would pay back all money owed as well as a pretty chunky bonus on top of it, throw in a hefty donation to the council and everyone was happy." he shakes his head in annoyance. "Until Gilbert ruined it."
I let out a dry bitter laugh because it all makes sense now. "Because he no longer has anything against you, he's gone after Giuseppe instead?"
Zach shrugs. "I guess so."
"Asshole!" Stefan snipes angrily. "This isn't right! He can't just do this, they made a deal!"
"He runs the law in this town, he can do whatever the fuck he likes." Zach snaps angrily. "Look, it'll pass, whether or not it'll cost us a small fortune or not, alright?" his phone starts to ring again and he sighs and looks down. "I've gotta take this." he excuses himself and walks towards the entrance outside.
Stefan shakes his head, his jaw clenched. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't of stolen those files..."
"Hey, hey." I hiss at him quickly. "Don't say that shit in this place." I warn him before continuing. "And it's not your fault, Zach could have gotten up to six years if it wasn't for you, nobody could have called this happening, but it's Dad, he'll find a way out of this, he always does. Zach is right, it'll cost us, but it's not like we're poor, is it?"
"Yeah I guess so." he mumbles with a sigh. "I'm gonna go and call my Mom, see how it's going with the lawyers and if I can find out more of what's going on."
"Ok, I'll wait here." I take a seat and watch as he leaves before running my fingers through my messy hair, cursing myself for putting my family in this mess.
They have absolutely no idea that this is all down to me, and I feel like a grade A dick because of it. But it's not like I can tell them the truth is it? They'd disown me, and that would probably be the best case scenario to come from them finding out.
I sit alone trying to fight off my guilt when I hear the sound of an electric door opening and I look up just in time to see Detective Gilbert walking out one of the staff doorways across the hall.
"Hey!" I jump to my feet and quickly make my way towards him, watching as he turns around and a smirk creeps onto his lips when he sees it's me. "What the hell is this?" I hold my arms out in the air. "A deal was made! You can't just go back on it!"
"Ah Mr Salvatore, I don't think you understand how any of this works, do you?" he questions me in a patronizing voice and I just want to punch him.
How the hell can this man be responsible for bringing someone as amazing as Elena into this world?
It doesn't make sense!
"I understand pretty well, Gilbert. What I don't understand is how you can back out on a deal that was already made!"
"Well actually, I had no part in that deal. That was all Sheriff Forbes, but lately...well...very recently actually, the case I was working on, let's just say it didn't go my way...so I requested to be more involved in this one instead since I was the one who started it anyway, and guess what? My request was approved, imagine that?" he smirks at me and I feel my blood boil. "And I prefer to do things a little differently than the Sheriff."
"This is a personal vendetta, and you know it! It's personal and I can report you for this."
"And say what, Damon?" he takes a step towards me, his smirk gone. "That I arrested your father for fraud and misconduct? Because he committed a fraud and misconduct?" he laughs coldly. "You don't have a leg to stand on little boy! Your father broke the law! Not filling in those tunnels was not only fraud, but a danger to public safety!"
"A danger to public safety?!" I ask him in utter disbelief. "How can you say that after those damn tunnels saved the life of your daughter?!" I snarl at him angrily. "But that's right, Grayson Gilbert a man of the law would have preferred his own daughter dead than to break the rules, right? Than to admit that because of us Salvatore's, your daughter is still alive!"
His face changes before I even blink and before I know it I am slammed against the wall behind me.
"Now you listen here-"
"No!" I cut him off as his grip against my shirt tightens. "You listen to me! Those tunnels saved Elena's life! You owe my father a thank you not a criminal record!"
"The law is the law and he broke it, regardless!" he hisses back at me furiously. "And frankly, Elena using those tunnels to break free from the fire just makes this even more poetic, don't you think? Because now I have something to start with to end your family, and it was all because of a Gilbert." he chuckles at me and lets me go, and I shove him backwards forcefully. "Whoa there kiddo, you don't want to add assaulting a police officer to that colorful record of yours too, right? I mean, locking up two Salvatore's in one day, that would just be the perfect start to all of this wouldn't you say?" I take a furious step towards him but a voice interrupts us.
"What on earth is going on here?" we both turn our heads to see Sheriff Forbes walking quickly towards us, an unhappy look on her face.
"Don't worry about it Liz." Grayson smiles on her. "I was just about to escort young Damon off the premises, he's causing trouble, as always."
"Oh you are-!" I raise my fist without even realizing it but a hand on my arm stops me.
"Damon." The Sheriff looks at me sternly. "Not now, not here. Come on, maybe it's best you leave."
"I'm not going anywhere until my Dad is out of this shithole!"
"Well then you'll be waiting a while and this isn't a social club," Grayson glares at me. "I don't have time for this, make sure he leaves, Liz." he shakes his head before turning around and walking away and I use every ounce of self-control that I have to not go after him
"You heard the Detective, Damon." Liz sighs at me.
"Fuck you." I hiss at her before storming away before she can say anything back.
School has been a drag.
And the fact that I had cheer practice afterwards just made it even worse.
At least I had my thoughts of a certain one Damon Salvatore to keep my mind occupied though. I bite on my bottom lip to try and hide my smile as I think about last night, the butterflies build in my stomach as I get lost in my memories.
He makes me feel so alive.
When I'm with him, he just consumes me and I feel free.
I don't know what that means yet, I don't know what it means for us, for our future, if we even have a future.
But all I can think of is right now.
And right now he makes me happy.
That's all that matters.
"Hey, want to go get dinner at The Grill?" Bonnie loops her arm through mine as we walk out of the girls locker room.
"I'm still grounded remember." I sigh, because that does sound like a good idea right now. Practice has made me build an appetite.
"Oh crap yeah," Bonnie sighs disappointed. "That sucks."
"I know." I agree as we walk outside towards the parking lot. "But tomorrow is my last day, thank God!"
"Yeah, that'll teach you for disappearing without telling anyone where you are..." she trails. "You still haven't explained what happened that night." she says with a suspicious tone and I hide my cringe because I have been avoiding these questions for the past two weeks.
Especially from Caroline and Bonnie, they have been dying to know where I was that night, and most importantly, who I was with.
Too bad they can never know.
"Elena!" I look ahead to see Caroline running towards us and I frown confused by the nervous look on her face, I look over her shoulder to see a couple of my fellow cheerleaders standing still staring at something, and as I squint to see through the sun, I see that it's my car they are staring at. "Ok, so you're about to walk to something and you're not going to like it."
I frown and quicken my pace, unhooking my arm from Bonnie's and they both quickly follow me.
I reach my car, some of the girls moving out of the way to let me see and my eyes widen when I see it.
It's been completely smashed up, all the windows have been broken and the hood is dented. I gasp horrified, wondering why this has happened and who would do this and I walk around frantically eyeing the damage when my eyes land on the painted graffiti that is sprayed onto the side.
'BITCH' It says in large bold capital letters.
"Oh my god." I breathe out in shock.
"I bet this was Vicki!" I hear Caroline rant behind me. "That whore really needs to be taught a lesson!"
I shake my head in disbelief and run my hand over my hair. It had to have been Vicki, I mean, who else could it have been?
I know I haven't exactly been the most popular girl around here since I ended things with Matt, but things have calmed down now and most people have moved on to the next drama, so this doesn't make sense.
Why now?
It must have been Vicki, she's the only one who would probably still be mad enough at me to do this.
"Call your Dad, Elena." Bonnie presses her hand against my arm.
"I can't, he's at work." I shake my head in annoyance. "God why would she do this!" I slam my hand against my already damaged car in anger and frustration.
"Come on, let's get you home. I'll give you a ride." Bonnie tugs my arm and pulls me away. "Wait till you're Dad finishes work and he'll fix this for you."
I sigh and climb into Bonnie's car which is parked just a few spaces away and I sit silently through the short ride home.
Why can't anything ever be easy?
I sigh as I stand in the empty parlor of The Boarding House, pouring myself a small glass of Giuseppe's bourbon from his drinks table, taking a sip as I think about what the hell might happen from here.
The family lawyer has said that Giuseppe will most likely get bail, he isn't a danger to the public or a flight risk so if we pay the bail money, which will most likely be a lot if Grayson has anything to do with it, then Giuseppe should be home by tomorrow afternoon.
It's what happens after that that is worrying me.
Surely he won't get jail time for this?
I run my hand down my face tiredly, because today has been such a long day and this morning with Elena feels like a complete lifetime ago. I just want to go back there, I want to lock us both in my apartment and never leave and pretend that this day hasn't happened.
I hear the sound of the door opening and I raise my head to see Stefan walk inside, rubbing off rain droplets from his shoulder and I almost laugh at the change of weather.
Of course it's raining.
"Where have you been?" I pour him a glass of whiskey and pass it over to him, knowing that no one else is home so Marie wont have a heart attack at seeing her precious son underage drinking.
Especially with me.
Stefan shrugs and takes the glass from me. "Evening things out."
I frown at him confused. "What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that this whole thing really isn't fucking fair. Dad is in there because of Elena Gilbert, so I decided to get a little payback."
My heart starts to pound quickly against my chest and not in the good way. "What did you do?" I ask slowly, clenching my jaw and trying to hide my true feelings right now as I wait anxiously for him to explain himself.
"I trashed her car." he says almost proudly. "She was staying behind for cheer practice I took up the opportunity while nobody was around."
"Fuck, Stefan!" I hiss at him angrily.
"What?" he asks confused. "Look I know it's not exactly anything creative, but it's a start."
"No! No, no, no, no, no!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan slams his glass down at my disapproval. "I thought you'd be happy! I thought you'd even want to help!"
"Help?" I ask him like he's crazy. "Why would I want to do that?!" I try to control my anger and take in a deep breath. Damn it I am not doing a very good job at keeping my cool and hiding my feelings here. "Grayson is looking for a reason to send us all down, Stefan! All it takes is for one person to see you trash Elena's car and you're done for! And on school property too? You could be expelled!"
"Nobody saw me." he rolls his eyes at me. "And if you ask me, she got it easy!"
I clench my hands into a fist. "You don't do anything like this again, you hear me?"
"No." he glares at me. "You're not in charge of me, I can do whatever the hell I want!"
"We need to lie low! If Dad finds out about this..."
"He won't find out!" Stefan defends himself. "Look man, I'll be careful ok. You're not the only Salvatore around here that can do things without being caught."
I shake my head in disbelief. "Stay away from her, Stefan!"
"Why do you care?" Stefan asks me with a confused scowl. "I'm not you're problem!"
No, but Elena is.
"You're my baby brother! I'm looking out for you! You need to stay away from the Gilbert's, all of them! We all do!"
Stefan shakes his head with a scoff. "You know what, Damon, I don't know what the hell is going on with you these days but you really are turning soft! The old you would have jumped at the chance to get revenge right about now."
"And that would have been reckless of me! We have too much to lose right now. Don't you understand that?"
"Oh I understand plenty. I also understand that if it wasn't for Elena telling the cops about those tunnels that Dad wouldn't be in a cell right now, that Zach wouldn't be losing money every single day! The Gilbert's need to pay for this, all of them." he holds out his hands as if he believes that I should agree with him and I watch in utter disbelief as he walks away from me and up the stairs towards his bedroom.
I stare down at the table in front of me, one hand clenched in a fist while the other clings tightly to my glass. "Fuck!" I throw the glass from my hand across the room, watching as it hits against the wall and shatters into a million pieces.
I stay still for a moment before grabbing my jacket and leaving, I walk to my Camaro and climb inside, quickly switching on the engine and pulling out of the long driveway, I drive for a few minutes before pulling into a back road and parking up by the side of the woods.
I slide my cellphone out my pocket and press it against my ear as I wait for the other end to pick up.
"Hey?" Elena sounds surprised that I've called her and to be honest I don't blame her, we rarely ever speak over the phone.
But I guess things are changing between us every day.
"Hi." I sigh, just feeling relieved to hear her voice.
"Everything ok?"
"No." I let out a dry laugh. "Look...I owe you an apology."
The phone stills quietly for a moment. "Why?"
"Your car..." I trail and run my hand down my face again as the rain pelts down loudly against the window. "It was Stefan who trashed it."
"Wh-what? Stefan?" she sounds shocked, and rightly so.
"Have you spoken to your Dad today?" I ask cautiously.
"No..." she trails. "Damon, why would Stefan do that? I don't understand. I know we don't exactly get along but smashing up my car? That's a bit extreme don't you think?"
"You're Dad arrested my Dad this morning, for fraud and charges against public safety, because of the underground tunnels." I explain hesitantly.
Silence.
"Stefan's just angry...he wants revenge and-"
"And he blames me." She finishes for me.
"No." I answer immediately before I cringe slightly. "Ok yeah. I am so sorry Elena, this isn't your fault, this is my fault."
"No it's not." She replies immediately. "You saved my life, Damon." I stay silent and I hear her take a breath. "Do you regret it?" she asks nervously.
"What? No! Of course not! Fuck Elena, don't you ever ask me that again! I would do the same thing over and over again if I had too!"
"Yeah but your Dad-"
"My Dad broke the law and I guess now he's paying for it. Yeah it sucks, and yeah I feel bad because I'm the one who brought this to light but I would never ever regret saving you, Elena. Don't you ever think that." I command her almost angrily, the frustration of the day building up more and more.
"Ok." she replies softly and immediately I feel myself calming down. "I won't, I'm sorry for saying it."
I look outside into the evening light, the street lamps starting to flicker on as the rain continues to bounce off the concrete and my car. "Look, there's something else." when she stays quiet I know to continue. "Stefan is really angry right now and..."
"And smashing my car wasn't enough for him was it?" she asks in a defeated tone and it makes me just want to be there with her right now but I know that I can't be. She's still grounded and it's too risky for me to sneak into her room again with everything that is going on right now.
"It'll pass, and I'm going to try and steer him in a different direction but..." I shake my head as I hold onto the steering wheel tightly. "Just watch out, ok? Be careful. He's upset and angry and he wants revenge. Normally he's pretty harmless but...just to be on the safe side."
"Ok." she breathes out and I can hear the nerves. "I'll be careful."
"Thank you." I sigh. "Look, nothing else will probably happen but just in case..."
"Ok." she repeats. "Damon?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you come over tonight?"
I close my eyes and will myself to be strong. "I don't think that's a good idea right now, Elena. With everything that is going on...we need to be extra careful. You know otherwise I'd be straight over but..." my words fade away.
We fall into more silence and the only sign that she's still there is her faint breathing. "I know." she sounds sad and it makes me feel things I've never felt before. "When will I see you again?"
"Wednesday, remember?" I say lightly, trying to boost the mood. "We have plans, you better not be skipping out on me, Gilbert!"
"Oh yeah..." I can almost hear her smile. "You still haven't told me where you're taking me?"
"I'm taking you too have fun, that's all you need to know." I smirk. "In fact, tell your parents you're staying at a friends place, the last thing we need is you getting grounded again."
"Oh so you're expecting to spend the whole night with me, are you? That's certainly ambitious of you Salvatore."
I chuckle. "Well what can I say baby girl, I'm a confident guy."
"Arrogant more like!" she scoffs and I laugh, smiling when I hear a giggle escape her lips. "Oh crap, I've got to go my Mom is calling for me."
I sigh disappointed. "Ok. I'll see you Wednesday then?"
"Wednesday." she confirms and I smile. "Goodbye Damon."
"Goodbye Elena."
I place my phone back into my pocket before making the short drive home, I tiredly walk up the steps to my apartment and unlock the door and walk inside, turning on the light as I do so.
I look around slowly for a moment before looking back down at the keys in my palm before an idea crosses my mind. I pull my cellphone back out and dial in a number.
"Hey Finn, it's Damon. Look man, I know it's getting late and that you've probably finished work by now but I need a favor from you."
It doesn't even take Finn half an hour to get here and I pull open the door to see him stood with a greeting smile, a toolbox in his hands.
"You called for a locksmith?" he grins at me and I smile and nod my head.
Finn is Klaus' older brother, who also happens to be a locksmith and I have a feeling it was him who made that copied key of Elena's for Stefan.
I walk to the fridge before passing him a beer as he starts to work and I pull out a stool and take a seat as I watch him.
"So, any reason why you need your locks changing Salvatore? Klaus never mentioned you're in any kind of trouble."
"I'm not. I just want some space, my little brother somehow has a knack at stealing keys and getting them copied and I just don't want him to have full-time access to my place, you know? It gets annoying when he thinks he can just walk in and out of here anytime he pleases."
Or anytime Elena may be here.
Finn freezes slightly and turns his head to face me. "You and him not on good terms right now?"
"We are, I just want my privacy. So I'd appreciate it that if he comes to you again for any kind of key problems that you'll call me first, discreetly of course." I tell him pointedly and he lets out a small laugh.
"Alright, alright, I get it man. Little brothers can be annoying, trust me I know all about that!" he chuckles and I smile and nod my head in agreement before taking a gulp from my beer.
Hopefully now that I've changed the locks, Elena can spend a lot more time here without the risk of my brother walking in on us.
I can no longer take the chance of being caught with her, especially with Stefan.
I sit on the bottom of the stairs anxiously as I hear my Dad's car door slam shut, I bite on my nails as I hear the heavy thud of his work boots step over the wooden porch before the key in the door clicks open and he walks inside.
"Elena." he looks surprised at first to see me there but it quickly turns into a smile as I pull myself up too my feet. "What are you still doing up? It's late." However before I get the chance to answer he speaks up again. "Is this about what happened to your car? Because don't worry sweetheart that's all being taken care of and hopefully we will catch whoever did this."
"Don't worry about that, Daddy, I'm sure it was just a prank." I try to sound casual, knowing that Damon trusted me enough to tell me that it was Stefan, and although I would like the youngest Salvatore to be punished, I wont do it at the expensive of screwing Damon over.
He steps forward and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll always worry about you princess. You know, if there is something else going on here you know you can talk to me right? You and me, we tell each other everything."
It takes everything I have to hide the cringe from my face at his words, because I really don't tell him everything.
"There's nothing going on, Daddy."
"Are you sure?" he asks concerned. "Because if there is someone out there who is giving you a hard time or bullying you, then I can stop it for you, ok? I can help, just say the word."
"There's no one bullying me, Dad." I sigh. "I swear I'm fine, it's probably just some jerks from the football team who are still mad at me for ending things with Matt. It'll be fine, it's just high school stuff."
"If that's the case then I'm going to have to speak to your principle, you shouldn't be crucified from other students for doing what you felt you had to do."
"Dad, don't." I tell him firmly. "I promise you, I'm fine, just leave it be."
"Ok, ok." he holds his hands up. "I'm just protective of you, you know? You're my only daughter, and you're still my little girl, I just want to protect you and look after you."
"I know." I force a small smile. "But I'm fine."
He nods his head with a smile of his own before walking further into the house and I follow closely behind him as he heads into the kitchen and starts to heat up his leftovers that my Mom left out for him from dinner.
"So uh...I heard about you arresting Giuseppe Salvatore today."
"Oh is that out?" he chuckles slightly. "I knew it wouldn't take long, this town will never change."
I bite on my bottom lip nervously, making the most of him facing away from me. "Yeah uh I heard someone at school mention it..." I lie. "Was it because of the tunnels?" I ask the question even though I already know the answer.
"Yep." he replies casually as he opens the microwave and pulls out his plate before taking a seat at the island across from me.
"Do you think you've got enough to send him down or..." I try and dig for information. I feel guilty that this is happening, as much as I hate the Salvatore family (with the exception of Damon of course), I know that this is different because I know that Damon feels responsible, and at the end of the day Giuseppe is still Damon's father, and I feel bad that Damon feels bad that his Dad is getting punished because he saved my life.
It's complicated I know, but my feelings of guilt are there all the same.
"I don't know yet sweetie, maybe. Unfortunately the Salvatore's have a strong legal team fighting their case, but if I can fight my corner and if we get the right judge, then hopefully."
Again, I do my best to hide my cringe because this was not what I was hoping to hear.
So instead I nod, and force a smile before excusing myself to go to my bedroom, but not before my Dad calls me back.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, what are you doing Wednesday evening?"
A nervous feeling hits my stomach and I slowly turn around. "I uh...I think I have plans with Bonnie and Caroline." I lie, knowing fine well that I have plans with Damon that I do not intend to miss. "I promised them I'd spend time with them since I've barely seen them with me being grounded."
"Ah." he sighs disappointed. "Do you think you could cancel? I have a dinner with George Lockwood, you know the mayor's brother? Mason's father. And I was hoping you would come along, he is going to bring Mason too."
I frown. "Why do I need to come along?"
"Why not?" he asks with a smile. "Are you too cool to have dinner with your old man now?"
"No that's not what I meant-"
"I'm kidding sweetie." he smiles at me. "Come on, it'll be fun."
"I can't..." I trail almost helplessly. "I have plans, I can't just cancel."
"It's Bonnie and Caroline, you can see them anytime. Please sweetheart, for me. It'll be fun." he pushes.
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. "Ok, fine." I give in with a slight huff.
"Thank you." he stands up and walks towards me before kissing me on the cheek. "It'll be great, and if us old folks get too boring for you then I'm sure you and Mason can go and entertain yourselves." he smiles at me and I frown slightly at his words.
"Uh...I guess so." I take a step back. "I'm gonna head to bed, it's been a long day."
"Ok. Goodnight sweetheart."
"Goodnight." I murmur before heading to my room and getting ready for bed.
As I climb underneath my duvet and switch off my light, I wonder how the hell I'm supposed to get out of this dinner come Wednesday, because cancelling with Damon cannot be an option.
Not if I can help it.
Sorry for the lack of Damon/Elena interaction in this chapter, it was mostly about their families and the building feud between the Salvatore's and the Gilbert's! But don't worry the next chapter will have lots of DE in it, I promise!
Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, you're awesome and I think I replied to everyone? So sorry if I didn't! Let me know what you thought of this chapter too, feedback is the best kind of inspiration especially from you awesome people :)
Until next time!