You Lost Me
Chapter Twenty-Six - Risky
Damon couldn't believe he had said those things to her. He tried to keep those words to himself thinking about his self-preservation but especially because he didn't want her to have to deal with his feelings. He knew she would. He knew he was crossing a line and maybe changing their friendship forever. He didn't want things to be awkward between them and for the short time he saw her reaction that was probably what was going to happen. If Elena had something else to say to him, like he had secretly and faintly hoped, she wouldn't let him walk away. She would have stopped him and said something that would make him feel better about his feelings for her. That was as far as his hope went. He knew she loved Stefan and she had told him it was always going to be his brother, he didn't have any reasons to expect her to share his feelings. It wasn't fair to her to say those things but it wasn't fair to him to have her so close and yet so distant.
The vampire was entering the bedroom he'd been sleeping in when his phone rang in his pocket. He groaned as he saw his brother's name. It seemed like Stefan had a superior connection to know just when to call.
"Now is not a good time, Stefan" he didn't bother to greet or to ask what Stefan wanted.
"You need to come back to Mystic Falls" Stefan pleaded on the other side of the line.
"And why is that, Brother?" Damon asked without any hint of interest or sarcasm, just his plain voice, devoid of any emotion.
"Katherine" there was an urgency in the younger vampire's voice.
"What did the little bitch do now?" his voice grew annoyed. He definitely didn't have any patience to deal with Katherine today.
"For all I know she may be calling Klaus to come right now" Stefan announced and heard the deep and long sigh of his brother, who reaching his window jumped and headed to the usual hill half mile from the shore.
"Good thing that Elena isn't there and I can assure you nobody knows where we are. I've been extra careful and I checked the perimeter more than once every day since we arrived here" Damon explained as he looked to the porch to find Elena sitting in the chair she'd been sitting before he came. She looked pensive and distant. Already thinking of a way to get rid of me, he thought.
"She'll let him kill her" Stefan revealed and his brother was silent for a few moments before speaking again with sarcasm.
"That's an interesting change of events but I don't believe her. She loves her skinny butt too much for being killed"
"I'm convinced she will" his brother retorted.
"And why do you need me there? For the entertainment of watching her being killed? That sounds tempting, little bro, but no thanks"
"We have to kill him" Stefan's voice was some decibels louder and demanding.
"Excuse me?" Damon frowned. He couldn't understand what his brother was thinking but he knew for sure he didn't like it.
"We can't allow him to kill her!" the blond made himself clearer about his position and Damon gasped.
"Did you completely lose your mind?" the older brother protested enraged.
"It's Katherine, Damon!" Stefan's voice was full of indignation and it surprised Damon who needed a few seconds before saying something. It was all too shocking and unexpected.
"Exactly! The woman that destroyed our lives; that deceived us and killed Elena!" it was Damon's turn to sound indignant and perplexed.
"She did it to save Elena. And I'm sure you're making it up to her already" Stefan bitterly added and Damon opened his mouth in astonishment.
"Stefan, are you listening to yourself now? She killed Elena, your girlfriend! And what's that supposed to mean? What could I be making up to her for?" Damon was shocked but he couldn't accept his brother to make any insinuations. He had no rights. He had given Stefan his word to be most respectful and helpful to Elena. He wasn't using their time there to go behind his brother's back but it seemed that Stefan had been corrupted by the manipulation queen.
"Let's face it; keeping Elena with you for weeks is all about making her your girlfriend and we all know that as your girlfriend it'd be only matter of time before she turned" Stefan quipped and Damon was actually surprised by such bitterness.
"I'd never ask her to do it and I'm not here to steal your girlfriend, Stefan. I'm here to fix my mess and I assured you of that. Elena almost killed a boy today and she's devastated. Do you think I would ever want this life for her? Do you think I would take advantage of such a vulnerable and hard time for her to seduce her?" Damon asked incredulous, it was hard to believe that after everything they'd been through together in the past months that Stefan still thought so little of him.
"But she was willing to die for you. She actually nearly died without even having your blood in her system and let's not forget the kiss" Stefan voiced the facts that had been haunting him since Elena died. As much as he tried to focus on her adaptation and how it was hard for her as she still despised and didn't accept what she was, all he could really think about was her relationship with Damon. He had never gotten over the fact that she chose his brother and not him, her boyfriend, to help her go through the radical change.
"She wasn't willing to die for me Stefan, it was an accident" Damon tried to reason with a much more serene tone than he had used in their conversation. It was still too hard for him to accept that she got in the accident in the first place because he had refused to listen to her.
"But you did just as the same thing as Katherine to Vicky and Isobel and God knows how many more. You're the same as Katherine, so if you're allowed to be forgiven, so she is" Stefan also calmed down and spoke with his usual uphold tone.
"Katherine is irrevocably evil"
"But still less than a year ago you were doing exactly what she did just to release her from the tomb"
"Because I didn't know she forged her death and fooled us yet again" Damon protested and he couldn't believe his brother brought it up. They'd been deceived by Katherine but after everything they learned about her in the past months he thought Stefan had more reason than ever to hate her.
"No Damon because you loved her, because you wanted to be with her. That was why you told her that you were willing to forget the past 146 years if only she told you the truth. You were willing to forgive her for everything she did as long as she loved you but she loves me" Stefan revealed details of Damon and Katherine's conversation that he wasn't aware his brother knew. It meant the she-vampire had been talking a lot to his brother and it left Damon alert.
"You can't actually believe she's capable of loving" Damon protested outraged.
"Just because she doesn't love you it doesn't mean she can't. If you can, she sure as hell can" Stefan insisted on showing how Katherine was no worse than Damon.
"I don't care about what she feels, Little Brother. I'm not helping the woman that killed Elena and I'm surprised that you are!" Damon was already standing almost a mile from the house to assure Elena wouldn't listen to their conversation. He certainly didn't want her to listen to his brother's words.
"Listen Damon, you could lose your precious Elena before you have time to bat your eyelashes. Klaus had hunted Katherine for five hundred centuries because she stole the moonstone. She fooled him by turning herself into a vampire and ending any chances of any doppelganger ever being born again. If he ever finds out about Elena again he'll think she did the same and will kill her as easily as he'll do to Katherine if we don't impede it" Stefan changed his approach but it only enraged his brother more.
"Stefan I don't know what voodoo she made but I'm not helping Katherine and you keep Elena out of it" he nearly yelled, controlling his voice just to make sure Elena wouldn't hear anything. As far as he could tell she was still in the same position on the porch.
"Her original plan was to break the curse as an agreement for her freedom but then she changed her mind and she wanted to be with me and she knew if she handed Elena over as a sacrifice to Klaus that I would never forgive her"
"She seems to have made the mistake I did, which is trust your sanity. Are you on human blood already?"
"How did you… no Damon. Actually I'm being honest with myself for the first time since I came back. I know I love Elena but I also know that she kissed you and that Katherine didn't compel me to love her all those decades ago. I didn't go after Elena because of her straight hair" Stefan finally admitted and Damon who thought couldn't be any more shocked was stunned by the revelation.
"Stefan I honestly think you lost it. I'm coming back, to check on you and I better not find any corpses buried in the backyard but Elena won't know any of this and I'm not taking her with me. I'll put some sense in your mind and kill the bitch myself. Then you can come back to Elena"
"Katherine turned Elena to save her, Damon, can't you see it? She turned Elena into a vampire so she wouldn't be useful for Klaus. The curse can only be broken by human blood, the doppelganger has to be human and sooner or later they would find out about Elena"
"How can you buy this story, Stefan?" Damon scorned.
"I confirmed her story with a friend of Lexi's, Damon. Apparently Katherine dragged more people with her while she escaped Klaus back in 1492 and Lexi introduced me to Rose about hundred years ago. She's one of those vampires that Klaus is also pursuing revenge. She was the one that followed you to Atlanta and who informed Katherine that you found Elena"
"And she just told you all this and now you want me to die for Katherine?"
"She's been telling me piece by piece of her puzzle but today she told me she was going after Klaus"
"We don't even know who or where Klaus is, Stefan. If everything Katherine said is true why is it taking so long for this guy to come here?"
"Because a guy who's lived for over thousand years now doesn't need to be in a rush. He waited for ten centuries for the doppelganger and five to kill Katherine. Once he finds out Elena died or turned he can destroy this town out of rage, Damon, you know it" and for the first time Damon felt like his brother said something sensible, though still for the wrong reasons.
"Did you talk to this Rose?" the older brother was serious and decided to let Stefan's motives behind him, for now.
"Yes, it took me some time but I finally got her number"
"Can we trust her?"
"Yes, we can. Klaus has been chasing her too because her friend helped Katherine escape back in 1492. Elijah recently killed Trevor but he let her run in exchange of her informing him where Katherine was"
"Who is Elijah?"
"One of the other Originals"
"So let me see if I got it right. It's you and me, a suicidal and therefore out of her mind Katherine against a bunch of Originals?" Damon quipped.
"Actually Elijah doesn't want anything to do with Klaus. He only wanted his revenge against Katherine. Once he found out about Elena's death he left"
"Why did you keep me in the dark about all this, Stefan?" Damon showed impatience and irritation knowing his brother was keeping important information from him.
"Because my main focus was Elena"
"Yeah, about that, when did it change?" Damon's cynical smirk didn't match his enraged eyes.
"Maybe when I realized that I didn't hate Katherine as much as I thought I did or when I admitted to myself that I honestly loved her in 1864. But I guess it could have been when she kissed you, risked her life for you and chose you to be by her side when she needed her boyfriend the most"
"I can't believe you're acting out of jealousy! Elena loves you. I'm sure she just wants to make sure she's already all healed and whole when she comes back to you and what do you in exchange Stefan? You believe in Katherine's deceiving lies!" Damon was indignant again. He would kill his brother if it wouldn't break Elena's heart.
"I've got proof not only by Rose but also by Elijah. Her story is genuine. Did you know that Originals can compel other vampires? I was compelled to confirm Elena's death. I told him Katherine turned Elena against her will and that Elena left to deal with the transition and that I didn't know where she was. He asked me where Katherine was and I told him but she fooled him again"
"And do you have any plan in this little suicidal mission of yours?" Damon asked curious but also concerned. This information stirred something in his head. He thought the originals were powerful but he had no idea they could compel other vampires. That was the final confirmation Damon needed to know he had to do something about it. Between the many insanities his brother said in one thing Stefan was right. The moment Klaus found out that he had lost his last chance to break the curse he would destroy the city and certainly go after Elena with even more rage than he went after Katherine with.
"Yes, I do but I'm going to need Bonnie and you and this needs to be fast. I have no idea where Katherine is or what she's doing"
"I'll help you but know two things, Stefan. One, I'm doing this for Elena and Elena alone. Klaus could have his way with Katherine for all I care and the only reason I would like to be around would be to see the bitch finally being ripped apart. Two, you just lost Elena. I don't want you around her. I thought you deserved her but I was wrong but I guess I don't need to make this a condition for me to be part of your plan. I'm sure you're already giddy inside to be with dearest Katherine. But if the bitch dies and all you have behind is Elena you won't be with her. You just lost any right to be with her" Damon's voice was vicious and poisonous. He wouldn't let his brother break Elena's heart and use her like that.
"I love Elena and she loves me and you can't decide if we will or won't be together"
"If you loved her and not Katherine, she would be the reason why you're willing to die, Stefan and don't deny it. You may want to save her too but what's killing you inside is the possibility of losing Katherine forever"
"You don't know anything"
"I didn't but now I do, Stefan. I know that you don't deserve Elena as much as I don't and that's the difference between the two of us. We both know it but I'm the only one willing make a sacrifice for her. You were never capable of letting her go even when you knew it was the best for her. The only reason you're professing your love for her now is because you know Katherine is a bitch that can't be trusted. You're afraid of the 'I love you, Stefan' part of her story being a lie and there's no way you can say if it's true or not. You're afraid that she's using you and will leave again once you and I kill – or die trying – her biggest enemy. You want her but if you can't have her you'll have the closest thing, which is Elena" Damon said disgusted.
"Love isn't about giving up, Damon"
"No, it isn't Stefan. I don't know a lot of things about love but I know that it's about putting who you love above you, your own happiness and your own love and that's what I'm doing. Go find Katherine. I'm sure she isn't as willing to die as you believe. I'll be there in the morning" Damon didn't give a chance for brother to answer and hung up.
He walked back to the house and for a moment he forgot about everything that had happened between him and Elena just before Stefan called. But as soon as he saw her again she made sure to remind him of everything they talked nearly an hour ago.
"I want to go back to Mystic Falls, Damon. I need to and if you are not willing to drive me there, I'll go by myself" she said and turning on her tracks she headed upstairs not giving him time to protest. He knew that was a lost battle and unless he used some strength and vervain and held her captive somewhere he wasn't going to be able to prevent her from running to his brother's arms. He wished there was something he could do about it, but there wasn't. Elena loved Stefan and as much as his brother was confused and lost in Katherine's games and lies, he knew Stefan loved her back, although he loved Katherine batter. They needed to kill Klaus and assure that Elena's life would never be threatened by Katherine's actions and although he promised to his brother to help him to kill Klaus he wouldn't waste the chance of killing Katherine too. There was the only chance Elena and Stefan ever had to be happy. His brother didn't deserve Elena but she deserved even less to know what Stefan had just told him. In the right set of mind – which was only possible if he was kept away from Katherine – Stefan was exactly what Elena needed. If Damon got rid of Katherine forever, he was sure Stefan's love for Elena would be enough to make her happy and he would never hurt her. And Damon knew no limits when it came to Elena's happiness.
AN: Merry Christmas for those who celebrate it and happy new year to everyone.
I guess I'll have three or at most four more updates til the end but no more updates this year.
Thanks a lot to my beta, May and everybody who reviewed last chapter.
xoxo
Babi