OBVIOUSLY: I do not own "the Vampire Diaries," or any of the characters. Nor do I deserve to, considering how long it has taken me to post this chapter : /
I AM SO SORRY that it has taken me forever and ever to update. Last week was hell at school. Everything was due at once, and it was just chaos. There's no excuse for the fact that I've been on Spring Break for four days, though. I was struggling to finish this chapter. It was hard to just pick up where I left off. I know this chapter isn't much, but I wanted to give you guys something after your close to 10 days of patience. Not quite the pure lemon-extract from last chapter, but there is a bit of lemon zest here, kids. I'm going to get right down to business and get going on Chapter 5 now. Or maybe tomorrow, since it's 3 A.M. because I am that darn dedicated to you wonderful readers : ) Thanks again for your cooperation, and I will try not to have a 9-day period between chapters again! I'll leave the painful hiatuses (hiati?) to "the Vampire Diaries" television program from now on (only two more weeks until new episodes!).
UPDATE (As of 3/18/10): I have changed the chapter a little because, after re-watching "Friday Night Bites," I realize that Bonnie's mom is out of the picture. So, I apologize for the error, and I've fixed it as best as I can. Thanks : )
Lights, camera, action!
Damon had already been up for an hour or so when he got out of the shower. He walked into his bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, to see sunlight pouring through the window. Elena was lying on her stomach, the pale white sheet covering her from just under the small of her back to just above her ankles. He stared her back, at the pattern made by the golden light of the morning sun poking through the trees outside. A breeze shook the branches and the pattern on her back shifted and swirled. He smiled and walked to the bed.
He lay down beside her, propped up on one elbow, and gently brushed a few fallen tresses of dark hair out of her face. She stirred at his touch, and as she drifted into consciousness, she smiled and moved onto her side, facing him. She felt his kiss on her eyelid, the brushing of his nose against hers, and finally he brought his lips to hers. She stretched.
Somewhere inside Damon, there was faint panic, waiting anxiously for her to open her eyes and react to the sight of him. Because some tiny part of him was consumed with a single worry: she thinks I'm Stefan.
Elena opened her eyes slowly and they smiled. His whole body relaxed, and his mind was instantly at ease. She raised a hand to his head and ruffled his messy, towel-dried hair. "Morning," she said, her voice still blanketed with sleep. "What time is it?" she asked, pulling him toward her by his shoulders.
He tumbled onto her, suspending himself above her. "About 9:30," he told her as he leaned in for another kiss. She ran her hands along his torso, down to the towel that was still clinging to his waist. She raised an eyebrow at him and pulled the towel away.
He grinned at her as he got hard. There was a sexy satisfaction in her smile. But after a moment, the smile twisted into a frustrated pout. "Maybe you ought to take me home before Stefan gets back."
Damon's smile widened deviously. "Better idea," he said. "Let's just have sex on his bed for a few hours."
She held back laughter. "You're horrible." He smirked and raised his eyebrows. "Come on," she began, "I just a little time to figure out how I'm going to tell him." Damon opened his mouth to interject, but Elena cut him off. "And no, sex on his bed is not going to do the trick," she asserted.
He feigned disappointment. "Alright, tease. Get dressed," he joked as he got up from the bed. She threw a pillow at him playfully. She truly wanted to stay with him and lie naked in bed all day, but she had to tell Stefan before anything. She owed it to him to be honest.
The ride home was pleasant. Damon had one hand on the wheel and the other was holding Elena's. "I love you" was on the tips of their tongues all morning, and all the night before. But they held back. There would be a time for those words, but not yet. When he parked outside her house, he looked around to make sure no one could see them. Then he pulled her in for a deep kiss.
They said goodbye and she watched him drive away.
As soon as she walked in the front door, she went right up to her room with one thought in her mind. She frantically opened her diary to the most recent entry and read over it.
Dear Diary,
I had a dream last night. It was so vivid… I dreamt that Damon and I were rolling around in my bed, which was made up with these incredible deep blue satin sheets. We were making out, and both naked from the waist up. Then Stefan walked in. He stood at the door and didn't say a word, but he let out a growl as his eyes darkened. He lunged at Damon and pulled him off of me. Stefan hovered over me for a minute, his eyes still dark, and I was worried that he was going to hurt me until he fell onto me and kissed me—hard. He was kissing me all over my neck and shoulders, down my chest, sucking on my nipple… It was amazing, and I was moaning a little. I kept glancing at Damon. He was just sitting there, watching with this horrible pained look in his eyes. Stefan saw that I was looking at Damon, and kept turning my head back toward his, but I couldn't help but keep looking. Then Stefan got more aggressive. He was rough as he tore off the rest of my clothes, and then he immediately pulled his own jeans down, but he didn't take them off. He only pulled them down as far as was needed for what he was going to do next. He spread my thighs apart and looked at me, but only for a moment. He then shot Damon a taunting, boastful look as he shoved himself into me. I gasped, and looked at Damon, expecting him to have turned away by now, but he hadn't. He was still watching, and the expression on his face was like someone watching a car accident. And then I realized he wasn't looking at us, he was looking at me. And I looked back, and I didn't stop until I realized how hard Stefan was thrusting into me. It was starting to hurt, and suddenly the whole room was red. I tore my eyes away from Damon to look up, and I saw Stefan's dark eyes surrounded by angry red veins. He threw his head back and opened his mouth, showing his fangs. I wanted to speak but I couldn't. He looked down at me again and brought his mouth to my neck.
"Stefan," I whimpered. He scraped his fangs across my flesh longingly. "Don't!" I cried as he readied himself to bite me. I shut my eyes and tried to brace myself for the pain, but then I felt Stefan pulled from my body. I opened my eyes to see Damon throw his brother against the wall. The whole room shook and the red drained away, but the silence afterward was like the calm after a storm. Stefan lay on the floor dejected as I looked at him fleetingly. Then my eyes moved to Damon as he unbuttoned his jeans and let them slide down his hips, followed by his navy boxer-briefs. He walked toward me. He lowered himself onto me slowly and pressed his lips against mine. He pushed himself into me, and all the soreness from Stefan was gone. I stared into his eyes as he thrust into me, and it wasn't long before we were both on the edge.
His mouth opened in a silent moan. Finally, he managed a whisper as we came together. "Elena." It was a husky, breathy whisper from his throat, but it sounded like poetry to me. He held me as we both caught our breath. It was only then that I realized Stefan had gone, but I didn't remember him leaving. In fact, I'd forgotten about him the moment I looked away. I didn't dwell on it; I just held on to Damon. He brought his lips to my ear. "I love you," he breathed against it.
"I love you too," I replied, my whole body warm. I felt so safe. It was cruel that my mind chose that moment to slip from the dream into consciousness. At first I was confused, feeling around for Damon. Then it dawned on me—it hadn't been real. It hurt. I ached for him. Now I'm trying to decipher whatever it is this dream means. All I can figure is that Damon is saving me from something—something represented by Stefan in the dream. Or… Stefan? But that doesn't make any sense. Why would Damon need to save me from Stefan. Why would anyone need to save me from Stefan? The other thing I can't figure out is why Damon waited so long to intervene. And why did Stefan leave without a trace? I guess I can't worry about it now, though. There's too much going on as it is.
Elena's mind raced. It was beginning to make more sense to her. The first thing she realized was why Damon had watched while Stefan had his way with her; it was because that's exactly what Damon had been doing ever since Stefan arrived in Mystic Falls. Ever since the football game, Damon had just watched as Stefan made Elena happy. It hurt him to do it, she figured, remembering the pain in Damon's eyes in the dream, but nevertheless he stood by and merely observed the relationship, knowing he couldn't do anything about it. Damon only intervened when Stefan was going to hurt her.
He was going to hurt her, but why? She thought about it and came to the conclusion that this symbolized that Stefan was overprotective of her. Damon, on the other hand, let her alone unless she really, truly needed—and even asked for—his help. After all, he had only pulled Stefan off of her after she cried out. She thought back to the night of her accident, when she'd hit the vampire in the road. She'd been stuck in her car, utterly helpless, and Damon had come to her rescue. Yes, she thought, it all makes sense.
But then why had Stefan left? She could only come up with one reason… Stefan must have seen how happy she was with Damon and let her go. He must have seen that she and Damon need each other. So he'll understand, she thought. All the realizations only further motivated her to be honest with Stefan.
She stood up and began to undress. She wanted to tell Stefan; she didn't want the smell of sex, or worse, Damon, reeking from her to tell him. She turned the shower on. As she waited for the water to heat up, she stared at her reflection. "Stop smiling," she told herself. "Shouldn't you be some sort of guilty mess?" she inquired, trying to hold back giggles. But it was no use. She gave in to the giddy laughter as scenes from the night before played over in her mind.
She felt the water. It was perfect. She stepped into the shower and tried not to think about the fact that her sweaty lust, as well as Damon's, was being washed away. She shook her head, as if trying to wake herself from a trance. She worked words and phrases over in her mind, frantically trying to prepare herself for her eminent conversation with Stefan.
I have something to tell you… Stefan, sit down, there's something we need to talk about… Something happened last night, while you were with Bonnie… Bonnie.
"Oh no," Elena whispered to herself. She'd completely forgotten about Bonnie… about Grams. Some friend I am, she thought. She quickly finished washing and turned off the water. She frantically dried herself off before pulling on a pair of jeans and an old gray sweatshirt. Then she reached for her phone.
As it was ringing, she realized she had no clue what to say. She almost hoped that Bonnie wouldn't answer, but after two rings she heard a voice.
"Bonnie," she said before her friend had a chance to say hello. "Bonnie, what happened?"
Bonnie sighed. "She's… gone."
A knot formed in Elena's stomach. For the first time since the night before, she pushed Damon out of her mind. "I'm so sorry."
"I just can't believe it," Bonnie said.
Elena hadn't really felt guilty until that moment. She wasn't guilty for sleeping with Damon, although she knew she should have been. Instead, she was guilty for not having been there for Bonnie. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there," she said quietly. "I was going to come, but—"
"Oh, Elena," Bonnie cut her off. "Don't worry about it. Stefan told me. I know he wanted you to stay with Damon." Elena swallowed. "How is he?" Bonnie asked.
A hundred answers seemed to come to her at once, but she sifted through them to find the most appropriate and honest one. She couldn't lie to Bonnie, but she couldn't tell her about last night. Not yet. "I think he's going to be okay," Elena told her. "He was—" a knock on her bedroom door interrupted her. "Come in," she offered without thinking. The door opened slowly to reveal Stefan. She stared at him with something like awe for a moment before she spoke again, to Bonnie. "Hey, Stefan just got here. I'll give you a call in a little bit."
Now Bonnie was the one to swallow—hard. "Okay," she said. "I think my parents and I are going to be kind of busy with… you know, everything. So I'll just call you whenever I can."
"Alright, talk to you later," Elena said and then closed her phone.
***
Stefan sat in Bonnie's bed, wide awake, as she slept in his arms. He had been up for hours and it was light. For all of those hours he'd been very comfortable just holding her and working through his thoughts.
He thought about the night before, about the how they'd held each other, kissing for what must have been an hour or two until they both fell asleep, about the twisted sequence of events that led to it. He thought about compelling Bonnie's father at the hospital when he'd wanted Bonnie to go home with him. Bonnie had given Stefan a pleading look. He locked eyes with her father. "I think you'd better let me take Bonnie to her grandmother's house." Mr. Bennett nodded. "She'll be fine." The man had nodded in agreement.
He thought about following Bonnie upstairs, about the first kiss, followed by the shoes kicked off and onto the floor, followed by climbing under the covers. He reveled in the memory.
He thought about what she had said… You always come for me. She was right. As he looked at her now, safe in his arms, he believed he would drop anything and everything if this girl was in trouble. He wasn't sure why, but he was drawn to her. Maybe it was because he saw a glimpse of Sheila in her. It was the coexistence of strength and vulnerability he had seen all those years ago. Through all her power, part of Bonnie was still so helpless. He just felt that he should be the one to help her. As he looked at her now, safe in his arms, he believed he would drop anything and everything if this girl was in trouble.
As he sat there, he felt as though he had come to some sort of decision, but he wasn't sure of what it was. He just knew that he needed to keep Bonnie safe. In that moment, she was his to protect—his to watch over. But it's better to be beside her than watch over her, he thought, and it made him smile.
He kissed her on the top of her head and did his best to run his fingers through her dark hair, tangled from the action of the night before—all of the action.
She woke slowly and nuzzled her head against his neck. "Hi," she said, a smile coming to her.
Stefan smiled back at her. "Hi," he said. "I think I'd better take you home."
She furrowed her brow. "Why?"
"Well," he began, "it's quarter-after ten, and your family should really be together now."
She sighed. "Alright," she agreed.
"I ought to get home and see how Damon is doing too," he added.
She frowned. "And Elena…"
"And Elena," he nodded.
She bowed her head as she was overcome with guilt. "I must be the worst friend of all time. Stefan, we have to tell her."
"Bonnie, just… leave that to me," he insisted.
She nodded as she got out of bed. She pulled on her shoes and he followed her back downstairs.
The silence during the ride back was unbearable for Bonnie, but whenever she glanced over at Stefan, he seemed perfectly content. She searched her mind for something—anything—to say to ease the tension. Stefan beat her to it.
"You know," he said, his eyes still on the road. "That was really nice, last night."
She smiled. The thought was unexpected but wonderful. "Yeah," she agreed. "It really was." Then there was silence for the rest of the ride, but it didn't bother Bonnie anymore. He pulled up along the curb in front of her house and reached over the armrest to wrap his arms around her. She breathed in his scent as he held her.
He let her go, and as she got out of the car, he said, "Give me a call later."
"I will," she said warmly.
He watched as she walked to the door and went inside. Then he headed for the Elena's house. The way he saw it, he had one option, and that was to tell Elena what had happened. He was unsure of what would come afterward, but Bonnie's voice was echoing in the back of his mind. You always come for me…
Jenna let him in. "Hi, Stefan."
"Good morning," he said politely. Before he began to ask for Elena, Jenna answered him.
"She's in her room—go on up," she said with a smile.
Stefan laughed quietly. "Thanks."
When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard her voice. She was on the phone with Bonnie, who was asking about Damon. He knocked on Elena's door and she stopped mid-sentence. "Come in," she said.
He turned the doorknob and pushed forward slowly. When she saw him, she looked shocked. She quickly ended her conversation and hung up.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he answered. He walked over to her and sat on the bed beside her.
She took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you," she said.
And you'll never guess what it is (ha)! Keep those raving reviews coming. They are the coins in my ego piggy-bank.
Incidentally, I totally have a soundtrack to all this in my head. I think in terms of movies. So a good 70% of my story is written with a song in my heart. If you guys are interested whatsoever in what songs/scenes I have linked up in my head, let me know. I just don't want to force it down your throats if you don't give a hoot.
