Cannonball
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.
Merry uh Christmas...from Mystic Falls!
December 25th 2012.
Tuesday 9:50am.
Mystic Falls
"Merry Christmas sweetheart." My Dad greets me with a smile as I walk tiredly into the kitchen on Christmas morning.
"Merry Christmas Daddy." I smile as he leans down and kisses me on the cheek, stifling a yawn while I pour myself some coffee. "Is no one else awake?" I ask confused, noticing the unusual silent house.
It's not normally like this on this day of the year.
"Jeremy is still sleeping but your Mom has gone to church," he explains. "She was actually hoping you would go with her but I told her to let you sleep in, you've seemed tired lately. Have you been feeling ok?" he asks concerned as I take a seat opposite him at the breakfast counter.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." I force a fake smile, because I can't exactly explain that my reason for being so tired lately is because I have been sneaking in and out of my bedroom at stupidly late and early hours of the day.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I think I was coming down with some sort of bug but I think it's passed now."
"Just in time for the holidays." he smiles and I nod my head in agreement, wondering when the guilt of lying to my family stopped.
I haven't felt it in a long long time and although part of me is relieved that I no longer have to fight the constant feeling of guilt, another part of me is put out by the lack of remorse that I now have about lying to everyone.
Maybe I'll call it the Damon Salvatore effect.
Speaking of...
I look down at my phone to see it light up with a text from the man himself and I smile as I read his words asking me to meet him. I look back up at my Dad who is distracted by the newspaper he is reading and I quickly finish my coffee before standing up.
"Hey, I told Bonnie I would make a quick visit to her place this morning to exchange gifts, is it ok if I go now?"
My Dad looks up at me and I stay still as I wait for his answer, knowing that even if he does say no I'm just going to have to find a way to leave behind his back anyway.
"I guess so," he looks down at his watch. "But don't be too long, your mother should be back within an hour or so and your Aunt Jenna will be over around then too."
"I'll be back by then." I nod my head quickly and walk towards the door. "I'll just get dressed and head straight out. See you later!" I call over my shoulder before I quickly jog up the stairs to change, deciding to throw on something nice as well as splashing on Damon's favorite perfume on me.
I look outside and notice the snow covering the ground and I immediately shiver with excitement, a wide smile crossing my face as I grab my coat and swing it on, grabbing a woolen hat to cover my head and sliding on my gloves.
Damon's request to meet at the old Lockwood cellars making me ready for the cold winter weather.
I love it though.
I pick up Damon's present from underneath my bed before sliding it into the inside pocket of my jacket and shout a quick goodbye to my Dad before I run outside into the snow towards my car, almost slipping over as I do so but I just laugh it off and get inside, immediately turning on the heat as I warm up my still glove covered hands.
Once I arrive as far as I can drive too before I have to trek through the woods to the cellars, I notice Damon's Camaro already parked up and I grin with excitement and jump out and head towards him.
The small walk through the woods is cold and wet because of the snow, and I wish I had though to put on better shoes than the not so water proof flats that I'm wearing but it's too late now.
When I walk down the concrete steps into the old cellars I see Damon stood still with his back to me, but before I can even think about trying to sneak up on him he swings around to face me with a grin on his face.
"Merry Christmas Elena."
"Merry Christmas Damon." I close the distance between us and instantly grab his head to bring his lips down onto mine, kissing him hungrily like I've been lost in the desert and have only just found water.
"God I missed you last night." He pulls away breathlessly and rests his forehead against mine, his gorgeous smoldering blue eyes gazing into me.
"I missed you too." I kiss him again slowly, this time it's softer but it still means the same. "I got you your present." I pull back excitedly.
Everyone always teases me about how I get more excited about giving gifts than receiving them. Caroline and Jeremy both think it's weird, but I happen to enjoy it.
"I told you baby you didn't have to get me anything." He rolls his eyes slightly, his hands running down my arms before landing on my hips.
"Oh shut up I wanted too." I tell him firmly with a smile before sliding out the envelope from my jacket. "Here you go."
I bite on my bottom lip almost anxiously as he slowly opens it, stopping teasingly with his eyebrow raised as he eyes me with a smirk. "Come on!" I urge him impatiently and he chuckles before completely opening up the packet, I almost bounce on my feet in anxiousness as I watch him slide out the CD case, a wider smile creeping onto my face.
"You got me the Arctic Monkey's new album?" he looks up at me surprised. "It's not even out yet! I thought it didn't come out until next month?"
"I know how much you've been looking forward too it, and my Aunt Jenna goes to college with someone whose brother works on their US record label, so I managed to get her to get me a copy. It's legit, trust me." I smile happily.
"Wow thank you." he looks happy and it just makes me even more excited.
"There's more, look." I motion back to the envelope and he looks even more surprised as he takes a peek inside before flipping the packet upside down and two tickets slide into his hand.
"Is this what I think it is..." he stares down at them in awe before flipping them over. "You got us tickets?"
"Yup!" I nod my head eagerly. "It's not until April and it's in Virginia Beach but I figured we could make a roadtrip out of it and maybe even stay the night? We could get a hotel room..."
"A hotel room huh?" he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at me and I roll my eyes at his one track mind.
"Yes Damon." I give in and he chuckles before leaning down and kissing me slowly on the mouth.
"Thank you for these," he tells me genuinely, a smile on his face and his eyes shining. It's the best feeling the world to see this look on him. "I love it."
"Really?" I ask suddenly feeling nervous that I got him the wrong thing.
"Yes! Absolutely! Man, this is great. I love you." he pushes some fallen hair out of my face and kisses me again. "You're the best, thank you."
"You're welcome." I grin happily, so chuffed and relieved that he likes it.
"Now it's my turn." he sends me half a smile and I feel those damn butterflies come crashing back.
"I told you, you didn't have to get me anything."
He rolls his eyes and ignores me as he pulls out a flat long wrapped box and hands it over to me. I don't miss the slight look of nerves on his face and it's unusual for me to see.
I hold the box in my hand and twirl it around with my fingers. "Go on, open it." he urges me impatiently and I smile before slowly unwrapping the gift to see a dark blue velvet case. I raise my eyebrow curiously, but I'm too excited to wait any longer and quickly open the box and gasp when I see what's inside.
It's a silver colored open heart shaped pendant necklace and it's beautiful, but it's the small diamond crystals that form around the outline that shocked me.
"Damon..." I look up at him with wide eyes, completely in awe that he got this for me. "This...it's beautiful." I look up at him. "But this must have cost you a fortune."
Suddenly I feel stupid for the gift that I got him, wishing that I had gotten him something a lot more expensive than simply an album and concert tickets.
"Actually..." he looks down slightly and again just like before, he seems like a ball of nerves. "I didn't pay for it." and my eyes instantly widen.
"You stole it?!" He laughs then, and I look at him completely baffled.
"No." he chuckles but it turns into a small nervous smile. "It was my Mom's."
I feel my mouth gape open in surprise and I glance back down at the beautiful pendant in front of me because now there really is a lot more meaning to this than the price.
"Damon I can't..." I shake my head. "I can't take this, it's too important, too special."
"Which is exactly why I want you to have it." he takes a step forward and places his hands on each side of my face. "She used to wear this all the time, and it wasn't because it was the only thing valuable that she owned," he laughs slightly. "She loved it. You want to know why? She said that her first love gave her it, that he used an entire months pay to get her this one thing and she cherished it and never ever took it off since." There is something in his eyes that I have never seen before, and I realize it must be to do with his mother because he rarely ever does speak about her, and he has never done about something as sentimental as this. "Before she died she gave me this, she told me to give it to someone special." his fingers stroke my skin softly. "So I am, I'm giving it to you."
I feel my eyes watering and I don't know what to do, my throat is heavy and I feel like even if I could find the right words to say back, I wouldn't actually be able too anyway.
"Here," he smiles and pulls the pendant out from it's box that still rests in my slightly shaking hands. "Let me." he grins and slowly turns me around, pushing my flowing hair to the side before wrapping the necklace around me, kissing my shoulder softly and then my neck, his arms wrapped around me from behind. "Merry Christmas." he murmurs against my skin and I slowly turn back around, keeping his arms in place around me as I do so. I watch as his eyes briefly glance down to the way the pendant lies perfectly against my chest before looking back at my eyes. "It looks beautiful on you."
"Thank you." I place a hand on his cheek, hoping he understands just how much I appreciate this. How much this means to me. "I love it and I wont ever take it off, I promise."
He grins that boyish grin and I lean up to press my lips against his in a soft slow kiss.
"I love you," I murmur against his lips before kissing him again. "So much. Thank you."
He pulls back with a smirk, that Damon devils smirk that he perfects so well. "Keep going, come on I'm listening!"
I laugh and swat him lightly on the shoulder. "Way to ruin the moment!" he chuckles and tickles my sides and I squeal as I try to squirm out of his grasp. "Damon!" I scream as he lifts me up and throws me over his shoulder.
He really needs to stop doing that!
"What are you doing!"
He ignores me and carries me up the steps out of the cellars into the even chiller air of the woods. "Damon put me down!"
"Ok." he does as I say, except he drops me straight into a pile of snow.
"Oh my god!" I gasp as the coldness hits me immediately, my jeans immediately being soaked through. "You asshole!" I struggle to get back up to my feet as Damon stands laughing his head off, the ice hidden under the snow making it hard to find my grip and therefore my balance. "You are so going to pay for that!"
"Oh yeah?" he smirks at me before bending down and scooping up a pile of snow between his hands and rolling it into a ball.
"Don't you dare!" I finally gain my balance and stand still on both feet, Damon stood just a few feet in front of me with a devils smirk on his lips. "I mean it, Damon." I warn him.
His smirk widens if possible, and before I know it there is a snowball flying directly into my face.
I scream and gasp, wiping at my face immediately but it doesn't take me long to recover and I quickly bend down and pick up my own, throwing it straight back and watch as it hits his back as he runs away from me.
"Chicken!" I call out after him before I start to chase him through the woods, screaming with giggles as we both take every opportunity that we can to bend down to scoop up some snow to throw it at each other.
I watch with glee as Damon slips on the ice, his legs widening and spreading almost like he's doing the splits before he lands forward on to his knees and I take this opportunity to throw two balls straight at him, feeling smug as one crashes off his neck and the other to the top of his head.
"Shameful Gilbert!" he smirks at me as I approach him, watching as he struggles to get back up on his feet, just like me his shoes are sliding along the ice. "Hitting a man while he's down!"
"You asked for it." I smirk and throw up a snowball in my hands, debating where to aim. An idea crosses my mind and my smirk widens watching as he anxiously awaits my next move. "But since I'm fair, I'll at least let you stand up first."
"Oh gee, thanks." he rolls his eyes but I see the amusement there and I wait another few seconds before he finally gets to his feet and I use it as the perfect opportunity.
All those times I went with my Dad to Jeremy's baseball practices have finally paid off.
I throw the snowball as hard as I can, especially from this close of a range and watch with glee as it hits my destination.
Damon's crotch.
He immediately groans and bends forward, his movement causing him to fall straight back over and I burst out into laughter, the giggles unable to stop as I watch him land straight back down into a pile of snow.
"That was a dirty move!"
I snort and continue laughing, knowing that even if I tried I wouldn't be able to say anything through my giggles anyway.
Unfortunately for me, Damon takes this opportunity to literally tackle me to the ground, and I go flying backwards into the snow, which thankfully breaks my fall, as he lands on top of me.
"You think you're so funny, huh?" he pins my arms down as he smirks down at me, his face just millimeters from my own and my laughter quickly dies down as his blue eyes look intently into mine.
"I know I am." I smirk backwards, my lips lightly brushing against his as I speak.
"Apologize." he orders me firmly.
"Nope."
"Elena."
"Damon?" I raise my eyebrows at him.
"Apologize."
"Or what?" I lift up my hips slightly urging him to press himself further against me and I gasp as he follows through, pushing me back down into the snow but this time he lets more of his weight rest on me and the cold snow seeping into my back and into my hair doesn't even bother me anymore.
"Or...you'll have to be punished." he thrusts against me and I feel the bulge against his jeans hit my core and my eyes immediately flutter shut, especially when he does it again.
"Punished how?" I breathe out, my eyes fluttering back open.
He smirks. "I'm still debating that." he shifts slightly so one of his legs is between both of mine and I gasp and shudder as he starts to slowly move his thigh up and down against the material of my jeans. I feel myself getting wet and I wonder what he is playing at.
Because no matter how I turned on I am right now, there is no way in hell I am taking off any clothes in this cold weather!
"You thought of something yet?" I ask as he nuzzles my neck, his lips tracing my skin and I whimper as he darts his tongue out for a moment just as he rubs his thigh against my core. I shudder, shivers running up my spine that have nothing to do with the snow.
"Elena?" he murmurs against my skin before he starts to kiss my neck more feverishly and just like before I close my eyes as the sensations run through my body.
"Mmm?"
"You're vibrating." he pulls away with an amused smirk and my eyes widen surprised as I'm snapped back into the real world and he's right.
My cellphone is vibrating in my pocket.
"Crap." I mutter while sitting up, Damon falling from me to my side and I slide my cell out to see it's my Mom who is ringing me, I press my finger against his lips to keep him quiet as I answer, barely hiding my gasp as he opens his mouth and starts to suck on said finger.
"H-hello?"
"Elena! I have been trying to call you for the last five minutes." she scolds me immediately and I send Damon a warning look before pulling my finger from his mouth, not missing the popping noise as I did so.
He chuckles silently before pulling me onto his lap and I glare at him with my eyes.
"Sorry Mom, it was on silent." I lie and press my hand against Damon's face to push him away as he tries to kiss me.
"Are you still at Bonnie's?"
"Yeah." I reply, trying to balance holding the phone while Damon not only attempts to kiss me, but to slide his hand up the inside of my thigh too.
Both actions very off putting and distracting.
"Do you uh...uh...need me to um come home?" I splutter out as Damon literally cups me. I grab his wrist with my spare hand and swat his hand away but that only gives him an opportunity to bend down and kiss my neck now that I removed my hand from his face.
I am going to kill him.
"Yes." she answers firmly before pausing for a second. "Is everything ok darling? You sound flustered."
I feel Damon's body start to shake against mine and I immediately realize he can hear my Mom through the phone as he silently laughs against me.
"Huh? No...no I'm fine! I'll be home soon, bye!" I quickly hang up before she can say anything else and I shove Damon backwards against his chest with both my hands. "Thanks for that asshole!"
He just howls with laughter before wrapping his arms back around me and pulling me back into his lap.
"Oh come on..." he presses a sloppy kiss to my cheek. "Call that your punishment." he smirks and I roll my eyes but can't fight the smile that crosses my lips.
"You're lucky that I love you, or you'd be in major trouble right now." I tell him pointedly, beaming when his smirk turns into a wide smile, his eyes glistening.
"You can punish me later if you want?" he teases with a grin and I laugh and dip my head to kiss him quickly on the lips.
"Maybe." I reply. "If you're lucky." I grin and kiss him again but sighing loudly. "I really have to go before my Mom sends out a search party for me."
He groans in annoyance and grips me tighter. "Stay here with me, I'm sure we can hunt a deer or a rabbit or something to eat."
"Ew! Gross! I would never ever eat either of those." I grimace slightly at the thought.
I'm a big fan of Bambi, ok?
"Guess you're going to have to go back home then." he pouts slightly before reluctantly letting me go as we both climb back up to my feet, Damon's hand immediately taking my own as we trek through the woods back towards my car. "You think maybe you could sneak out tonight?"
I press my brows together debating whether or not it would be possible, normally after dinner the Forbes and sometimes even the Lockwood's come over for hot chocolate and we have a games night. We've been doing it every year since as long as I can remember and it's become a tradition. Some years they last well into the early hours, which will make it almost impossible for me to sneak out, but others they can end at anytime from around ten till midnight, so that might then be possible if hopefully that's the case this year.
"Maybe?" I offer. "I'll try my best." I sigh disappointed as we reach our cars.
Days like today make it really hit home how much it saddens me that we have to hide our relationship, what I would give to be able to invite him over tonight to join in the fun, for that to be acceptable and wouldn't run the risk of starting World War III.
"Ok." he smiles before leaning down to kiss me softly. "I'll see you soon either way." he winks before pulling away from me completely.
I smile and wave before climbing inside my car, immediately fiddling with the heaters since all that rolling around in the snow has finally caught up with me and this time my body really is shivering from the cold.
I sit with a small smile and play with my new necklace gently between my fingers as I wait for the car to slowly heat up before making a move. I notice Damon waiting for me to go first and as I pull away I spare a glance through the mirror, watching as he stands watching me go before turning to climb into his Camaro, the same look of disappointment on his face that I'm sure my own holds, knowing that this is all the time we will probably be able to spend together today.
Maybe next Christmas?
I whistle happily as I climb out of my Camaro and walk up the driveway to the Salvatore Boarding House, still feeling on a high from my morning with Elena, however brief it may have been.
I still can't believe she got me that gift, I didn't even know if she remembered me talking about that band before, nevermind being so thoughtful to not only listen but to get us tickets to see them live, something I haven't had the pleasure of doing yet so far.
I also feel relieved that she loved my gift to her. I was so fucking nervous to give her than pendant, hoping she wouldn't freak out when I told her it belonged to my Mom. Thankfully she just proved yet again how amazing she is and her reaction only makes me love her more.
I just wish I didn't have to go on as if she is my dirty little secret, hiding her from the world because it really isn't anything like that at all.
I walk inside and the smell of cooking immediately attacks my senses and I grin, my stomach rumbling slightly as I look down at my watch to see that it is nearing dinner time.
"You're late!" Marie scolds me as she walks out into the parlor, a festive apron wrapped around her tall skinny conservative body.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Marie." I smirk at her amused and she instead just sighs loudly.
"Merry Christmas, Damon." she rolls her eyes. "But you're still late."
"I got held up, sue me." I hold up my hands in mock defense.
"Hey!" Zach walks out to join us. "You get it done?" he always does get straight to the point.
"Of course." I scoff.
"I don't even want to know!" Marie mutters before taking a few steps back. "Damon please at least go upstairs and put a shirt on." I look down to my black t-shirt that is shown from my open leather jacket. "It's Christmas and my parents are here, all I ask is for you to look smart."
"I thought I looked just fine..."
"Well you don't." she tells me pointedly. "So change! I know you have enough clothes lying around here to do so, I wash them enough." she nags on and I just smirk amused as I watch her head off into the kitchen.
Zach watches her leave before turning back to face me. "Well?"
"I told you already." I roll my eyes at his anxiousness.
After meeting up with Elena this morning, I got a call from my good old Uncle Zach to send me out on a little festive job. He wanted me to throw a brick through someones window with a note attached saying '2 days', I don't know what that little message meant or what may or may not happen in two days time, but to be honest I didn't ask any questions because I don't want to know the answers.
He said he would pay me well, and as far as I'm concerned a brick through some asshat drug addicts window isn't going to cause me to lose any sleep.
"How much are you paying me anyway?" I ask casually as I walk up the stairs to go find a shirt to change into, knowing that as much as I enjoy winding Marie up and not doing what she says, her parents are an absolute nightmare and I'd like to get through this day unscathed.
"Enough." Zach follows me as I walk into my old bedroom and open up my wardrobe and pull out a simple black shirt. "You still haven't told anyone about this new line of work you're doing for me, have you?"
"No." I mutter as I pull my t-shirt over my head before swinging on my shirt and fastening up the buttons. "Who would I tell?" I turn back around to face him.
Zach shrugs casually as he lets his fingers skim across one of my drawers. "Your brother?"
"Stefan doesn't know anything, you don't have to worry about him." I roll my eyes. "Besides, even if he did know what makes you think it would be a problem for him?"
"Oh it wouldn't be a problem for him." he replies and there is something in his voice that I just do not like. "It would be a problem for me."
"And why is that, exactly?"
"I'm under strict instructions to keep my work on the down low." he says firmly. "This isn't a game, these guys who I work for don't miss around, Damon. You screw them over or you make one mistake and that's it, you're gone."
I frown at his words, not at all missing the underlying threat in his tone. "Who are they?"
"You don't need to know." he waves me off. "What you do need to know is you don't speak about anything that I ask you to do for me, ever."
"I don't and I won't." I tell him almost casually. "You don't need to worry about that. So are we done here or?"
"Yes." he nods his head. "If you've listened to what I've said, we're done."
"Peachy." I push past him and leave, not in the mood for any of this shit today.
I mean, it's Christmas. Who wants drama on Christmas?
I let out a laugh as I watch my brother try to reenact whatever the hell he is trying to do in our family games of charades.
The Forbes, just like every year, have come around after dinner and despite her odd and cold behavior lately, Caroline has seemingly put aside whatever problem she may have for the sake of the holidays.
I can't say that I'm not relieved, her evil eye is enough to make even the toughest of people squirm.
"A...a lion!" I shout out and Jeremy just looks at me in annoyed disbelief.
"Seriously?" he scowls.
"Hey no talking!" our Aunt Jenna scolds him with a laugh.
"Well what am I supposed to do? She's useless!" Jeremy throws his arms up in frustration. "Every year you make us pair up and she makes us lose!"
"Oh quit whining! I'm not the one who has no idea how to act things out." I roll my eyes with a smirk. "Face it Jer, charades is not your strong point."
"She's right." My Dad chuckles as he takes a sip from his hot coco in his arm chair.
"Uh, I give up!" he throws himself down onto the couch. "Someone else take their go."
"Oh come on, don't be like that." I laugh but he just glares at me. "At least tell me what you were trying to act out."
"No."
"Jeremy!"
"N.O spells no." he smirks at me and I roll my eyes at his immaturity before slapping him across the back of the head. "Hey!"
"And on that note I think we are going to make a move." Liz stands up with a tired smile and to be honest I'm a little relieved because I notice that it's only 11:30 and this means I can sneak out to Damon's after all.
"You sure you don't want to stay for another coco?" my Mom asks politely but she just shakes her head with a smile.
"Thanks Miranda but it's been a long day and I have an early shift in the morning." she sighs. "I'm sure you know exactly how I'm feeling Gray."
My Dad chuckles and stands up to walk them to the door. "You bet."
"Hey, I'll see you later this week?" I ask Caroline as we trail behind as my Dad steps out onto the porch to talk to Liz about work.
"Sure." she pushes a smile and I smile back and am thankful when she brings me in for a hug, when she pulls away I notice the way her eyes flicker down my neck to my chest. "Hey, nice necklace, is that new?" she eyes it up slowly and I feel my stomach heat up in panic.
"Oh this? Uh...no...it's old." I force a smile.
"I've never seen it before." she almost sounds suspicious.
"Oh...that's strange, I've had it for years. I uh...I don't wear it often though."
"No..." she muses for a moment, staring down at it. "It's nice, I like it."
"Thank you."
She nods her head before letting out a sigh and taking a step back as Liz calls for her to hurry up. "I'll see you later then?"
"Yeah." I nod my head. "See you."
I watch as she leaves and my Dad says his goodbyes before he closes the door behind them and sends me a tired smile, dropping a kiss to my head as he walks past me and heads towards the kitchen, probably to help my Mom clean up.
I lean back against the wall in the hallway and fiddle with my necklace again between my fingers, a small smile forcing its way to my lips because this really is the best gift I have ever received.
Not only is it beautiful, but it has so much meaning behind it, so much meaning to Damon and there are no words that I can ever come up with that would show how much it means to me that he gave me this.
He doesn't talk about her much, but I know how much Damon loved his Mom because I see it in the way his eyes light up on the rare times that he does tell me a story about his childhood that involves her.
She sounds like she was an amazing strong woman, and I just wish that she was still around to see how amazing her son is turning out to be.
I wish I could have met her.
I jump slightly at the loud knock on the door, wondering who would be knocking at this time of night before assuming that it's Caroline or Liz forgetting something. I head over to the door with a smile and open it but freeze when there is no one there.
I look around confused and I'm about to close the door, putting it down to either me hearing things or it's just an ass playing games before I notice the small boxed gift on the doormat.
I look around again cautiously before bending down and picking it up, frowning even more when I see that it's addressed to me.
I slowly untie the ribbon and take off the lid and frown when I see a small piece of printed card. I flip it over and my heart starts to pound painfully against my chest when I see the text printed in standard font.
I know your dirty little secret. Merry Christmas sweet innocent Elena xoxo
I gulp and with shaky hands I remove the small sheet of wrapping paper that was resting underneath the card and gasp when I see what's inside.
Photographs.
At least a few of them.
All of me and Damon.
"Oh my god." the words fall out of my lips in an almost silent shudder and I look around again with panicked eyes.
"Elena!"
I jump, and almost scream before turning around to see my Aunt Jenna stood by the living room door with a confused smile. "You ok? What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh. Nothing." I quickly shut the door.
"What you got there?" she takes a step towards me and my eyes widen.
"Oh, just a gift from Caroline." I practically make a bolt to the stairs. "I'm going to put it in my room!" I run up the stairs before she can even say anything else and I quickly slam my bedroom door shut behind me as I pant breathlessly, knowing that it's not just because I ran up a small flight of stairs.
I place the box on the bed and pull out the first photo with shaky hands. It's a photo of Damon and me taken that night the other week after Will's party, Damon has me thrown over his shoulder with a grin on his face.
The next one is of us from that same night kissing outside his front door.
The third one is of us kissing goodbye the next morning.
The fourth one is just of us sat in Damon's car at night, just a block away from my house.
However, after picking that up I frown when I see a small envelope underneath it and I almost cry at the fact that this isn't over.
My hands are literally shaking as I rip it open and there's another note.
Sorry I didn't have time to print these off, but I figured you'd appreciate this gesture just as much sweet innocent Elena xoxo
I gulp as I pick up the memory stick, shifting it between my fingers before slowly walking over to my open laptop. I slide it into the USB nervously, ready to throw up as I wait anxiously for it to load and when a video comes into play, I feel a tear fall from my eye down my cheek.
It's a video of me and Damon this morning in the woods, throwing snowballs off each other, looking so happy and free and I watch as my giggles and squeals echo through my otherwise deadly silent bedroom.
I slam my laptop shut as it skips to Damon playfully tackling me to the ground because I know exactly what comes next.
I stand frozen as I stare at the photos that are lying on my bed and for the first time since all of this started, I feel like my world is about to crash and fall down all around me.
I skip through the channels lazily as I sprawl across my sofa in my shorts and vest top, stifling a yawn while trying to find something on TV that isn't a movie or a Christmas special and is actually decent to watch.
Not going to lie, I jump almost five feet into the air when a loud banging starts on my front door and for a moment I still frozen and silently as I mute the TV.
Zach's earlier words coming back to haunt me, wondering if he was hinting about something and suddenly I wish that I just stayed the night at the Boarding House.
I slowly edge towards my door quietly as it pounds again and lean to the side. "Who is it?" I call out.
"It's me, hurry up!"
My entire body sinks in relief at the familiar voice and I throw open my door with a smile only for it to fade by the tears that I see running down Elena's cheeks as she quickly walks inside, slamming the door shut behind her quickly.
"Elena? What's wrong?" I ask concerned, my eyes immediately skimming down her body to look for any obvious damage. "Has something happened?"
She nods her head silently and holds out her arms and it's then that I notice the box in her hands. I frown confused before taking it from her, sending her a nervous glance before looking inside and suddenly it hits me full force as I see the photos inside.
"Oh my god."
"It was left on my doorstep." I practically hear her swallow a sob. "What are we going to do, Damon?"
I read the notes left to her, my eyes skim the photos and I frown and pick up the USB stick confused.
"It's a video of the two of us from this morning in the woods." she explains with a shaky voice. "Whoever sent this has known about us for weeks, Damon! They've been watching us! Following us!"
"Fuck." I whisper into the air before suddenly a wave of anger takes over me. "Fuck!" I throw the box down to the ground and run my hand through my hair.
"Who would do this?" she asks almost desperately, and I can tell that she wants me to have the answers.
She wants me to fix this.
And I will.
It doesn't take me much longer to figure out who did this.
"That bastard." I mutter and glance back at Elena. "Don't worry about it, ok? This is just a fucking joke." I pick up my jacket that was resting on the arm of the couch before throwing it over me before grabbing the box in my hand from the floor. "I'll deal with it! Stay here!"
"Damon!" Elena calls after me, ignoring my instructions and following me outside.
"Stay here, Elena!"
"Where are you going?!" she follows me down the steps as I storm towards my car.
"To make this problem go away!" I swing around to face her, briefly glancing around, wondering if he is watching us right now. "Go back inside, Elena!" I point back to the building but she shakes her head stubbornly.
"I'm coming with you!"
"Elena!" I hiss at her furiously. "Go back inside!"
"I'm coming with you!" she replies firmly, her voice raising and I grunt in annoyance when I realize I don't have a choice and unlock the car, jumping inside as Elena follows my lead and slides into the passenger seat.
The journey to my destination is a quick one and when I get there I immediately jump out of the car furiously, clutching the box tightly in my hands.
"KLAUS!" I slam my fist against his front door, knowing that his parents usually spend their winter break in the Bahamas, and that this year Elijah and Finn have joined them, Rebekah most likely too. I briefly wonder if Kol is still back at the Boarding House with Stefan where I left them playing video games a few hours ago.
"KLAUS!" I pound on the door hard and heavy, feeling some of the wood chip into my skin from the impact. "Open up the damn door you bastard!"
"Damon!" Elena comes up behind me. "Calm down! You're going to draw attention to us!"
She's right.
I turn around and see her anxiously looking around before her worried eyes land on mine. "You think Klaus did this?" she asks surprised.
"Who else, Elena?" I throw my arms up in the air. "No one else knows about us! Who else would it be?"
"But I thought..." she trails and I realize that she doesn't understand this. She doesn't understand why someone she thinks is my friend would do this.
"It's Klaus, Elena, he'll think this is a fucking joke." I mutter coldly. "But I'm going to tell him that he's not fucking funny!" I slam my fist back against the door for good measure. "Open up!" I can't help myself as I continue to pound my fist against the door.
"Alright, alright!" I hear him before he opens the door and the second he does I slam my fist straight into his face, watching as he flies backwards onto his tiled flooring with a thud.
"Mate what the fuck!" he clutches his face in pain and I feel Elena follow inside behind me, thankfully closing the door right behind her.
"You think this is funny?" I throw the box down to him, some of the photos scattering out onto the floor and I watch as Klaus scrambles to sit up and picks up one of the photos.
"Damon-"
"I trusted you man! This isn't a fucking joke to us!" I shout at him furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you?! What if her Dad had found it first. huh? Did you fucking think about that when you were pulling this stupid prank!"
"Damon." I feel Elena's hand on my back and it calms me down.
Only a little.
He looks up at me in disbelief. "You think this was me?"
I roll my eyes at his innocent act. "Stay away from us! Stay away from Elena, or I swear to God-"
"Damon this wasn't me!" he jumps up to his feet and stands toe to toe against me. "I swear! I didn't send this." his voice is firm.
I freeze at his words, noticing that there is no amusement in his eyes, no suggestion that he is playing a game.
But if it wasn't Klaus, who was it?
I let out a shaky breath and take a step back, running a hand through my hair and I'm about to speak but another voice beats me too it.
"What the hell is going on?" My head snaps to my right to where Rebekah is stood in the doorway in her dressing gown, a frown on her face and I watch in slow motion as her eyes drift from me to my side.
To Elena.
"And what the hell is she doing here?"
Oh boy!
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Until next time!