AUTHOR'S NOTE: *takes a deep breath* SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS!
Sorry, but I just watched Mary Poppins and this song has been in my head all night.
Also, guess what?! A Woman's Worth has been nominated for the Energize W.I.P. Award under the category of 'Most Promising Vampire Diaries FanFiction'! The first time this happened to me was for my previous story 'Separate Beds' and now this one too!
Okay, now's the time to 'fess up….which one of you did it? Was it YOU? *narrowing eyes on the girl reading this on your phone* Or was it YOU? *shifting eyes to the one sitting in front of the laptop*. Come on, don't be shy, you know you can tell me right? I mean I appreciate the gesture and I wanted to thank you personally.
The voting will start from 13th March until 20th March 2013 and can be done here: www*energizewipawards*blogspot*com (replace the * with .)
Feel free to vote for any of the nominees on the website if you are so inclined. *grins* Thanks!
*SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS*
A Woman's Worth: Chapter SEVENTEEN
Elena's POV (26th December 2012)
"What started this downward spiral? What could be so terrible that it would make you throw away years of sobriety?"
Following my questions, I watched a myriad of emotions appear on Damon's features, ranging from nervousness to an obvious 'oh crap!' reaction. I could practically hear his mind whirring overtime as he struggled to come up with a satisfying response.
The truth was, courtesy of Caroline, I already knew the answer. And according to her, the reason Damon rediscovered his love for all things bronze-colored and alcoholic was because of me. I had driven him to it, me and my crappy decision-making skills.
After what must have been a really lengthy silence, the raven-haired man finally spoke. "I saw you and my brother dancing during the party."
"Huh?" His answer was the last thing I expected to hear. Well, it came way out of left field!
"Stefan doesn't dance," he clarified with a shrug, "and there's a good reason for that. I mean, seeing him bust a move on the dance floor was enough to drive any man to break open his carefully concealed bourbon collection."
So he had resorted to using the typical evasion technique. I thought only I was allowed to pull that stunt when it came to avoiding tough questions.
"You're deflecting, but maybe that's because you don't want to hurt my feelings. I know that it's my fault that drove you to drink again, and I've disappointed you. I let you, Care and everyone else down when I went back to Mas- to him, but I don't know how to make things right again. Every single thing in my life that's wrong and now yours too… they are all because of me," I lamented as I turned back to gaze at my reflection on the mirror once again, hating everything that I saw there. My drastic mood change had begun even before I finished my tirade.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's still Stefan's fault for having two left feet and ruining a perfectly good party," he replied in a lame attempt to lighten the mood, but I was spiraling fast into depths of despair that I didn't manage to stifle the choking sob that escaped. My emotions were all over the place today, but the darkness that was hovering at the edge of my mind won this time.
With a heavy sigh, Damon sat down beside me and pulled me sideways to cradle my face into the crook of his arms, his fingers caressing my cheek softly as I finally allowed the sorrow of the previous day to wash over me. I cried for the girl I used to be, the hope I had lost, the man I used to love, for the future I no longer have, for being a major disappointment to my parents and the people who cared about me, and also for the man I had grown to love but I didn't deserve to have. Mostly, I cried for the hurt I had caused him.
"That's it, Elena. Let it all out," he coaxed gently, his voice sounding congested. It seemed like he could sense how close I was to completely breaking apart when his arms tightened around me almost possessively, as if he could absorb all the pain onto himself if he held me close enough. Strangely though, it seemed to be working because after a short while, my tears seemed to lessen and my hiccups only occurred sporadically.
I felt a pair of soft lips pressing against the top of my forehead, and I pulled back in time to see Damon's eyes squeezed tightly shut with a tortured expression on his face. I also noticed that his own cheeks were wet with his own tears, making my heart somersault in my chest as I wondered what I had done again this time.
"Damon?" I whispered, his eyes opening at the sound of my voice. "I know why I'm a mess but why are you crying?"
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, his shimmering oceanic eyes roving over my upturned face. "Because you're hurting, and I-I don't know what to do."
I stared at him through my tears in amazement, marveling at his response and the way he made me feel inside. Knowing that in this dark, gloomy world that I live in, there was this one beautiful man with an equally beautiful soul who seemed as lost as I was, but was here now, comforting me, healing my heart one fissure at a time.
"You have to stop punishing yourself for things beyond your control, Elena. What happened wasn't your fault; not the attack, not my drinking. We made our own crappy, twisted choices, so you don't get to claim credit for them. I mean, was I disappointed when you left the party to go back to him? Frankly, yeah I was, but it was because I couldn't get through to you, that I failed to make you see what a monster he is," he finished with a shake of his head.
With renewed resolve, he propped me up and held both my shoulders at arms' length, looking at me squarely in the eyes. "Okay, you know what we should do?"
His question threw me off for a moment, stunned at the abrupt change of mood. Giving myself a mental shake to get a grip on myself, I ventured a guess at an answer, having had enough of crying for one day. "Grab some tissues and wipe our faces?"
He flashed me a sheepish smile, quickly wiping his face with his sleeves before swiping his thumbs under my red-rimmed eyes. "Sorry, I'm not normally such a wuss on a regular day. I blame my PMS, or Caroline's because she's acting really hormonal today," he said, sending me a teasing look that made me return his smile.
It was a miracle, how I went from almost dying of an accidental overdose, to waking up really cranky and panicky, to bawling my eyes out and now to smiling like an idiot at the only man who seemed to be able to lift my spirits at times like these. It was downright scary how much of an influence he had over me.
"I'm sorry I made you cry," I mumbled as I reached up one hand to cup his cheek. His skin warmed under my touch and then his hand covered over mine to hold it in place.
"That's okay. It was about time my tear ducts got some exercise, anyway. But if anybody asks, I'm going to deny it and say that you attacked me by pouring shampoo into my eyes, got it?"
Once again, I found my lips curving into a smile as I nodded, relieved that his infectious good humor had made a comeback. Unfortunately, I had more apologies to dish out.
"I'm sorry I scared you with the whole almost dying thing," I mumbled again, and this time, his expression turned serious as a frown appeared on his forehead.
"Yeah, you should be. I never want to live through another moment like that ever again," he said, fear written on his handsome features. "I already lost someone once, I-I can't bear to lose you, too."
Hearing Damon's confession, I couldn't bring myself to respond other than to duck and bury my head in his chest as I hugged him tightly, hearing his heartbeat thudding against my ear. I didn't tell him, but I felt the exact same way about him. I didn't have anybody left, only him, my best friend, and the people that make up the rest of our makeshift little family. I really didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize what I had now, and what I stood to lose.
"I'm sorry I kissed you," I whispered into his shirt, feeling shame creeping up to heat my face. A part of me hoped that he didn't catch my muffled words, because I really didn't want to open that can of worms so soon after our confrontation earlier, but then again, I had to apologize for launching myself at him inappropriately.
"I'm not," he replied after a long while, causing me to lift my head up to gape at him. He sounded like he meant it, too.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to respond, there was a knock on the door, and then Meredith's head poked in, her eyes taking in our embracing position on the floor. Damon and I exchanged a guilty look and then quickly broke apart just as she started making her way towards us.
"Elena? I need to check to see if the medicine has left your sys-" she paused suddenly when she got a good look at my face. She immediately turned to glare at the man who was helping me up to my feet, smacking him at the back of his head. "Damon! Why is Elena crying? You shouldn't make her upset right now, not after what happened this morning!" the doctor reprimanded with a stern frown as she continued to give him the evil eye while she guided me back towards the bed.
"Firstly, owww," he whined, rubbing the side of his head where her palm connected, and then jutting his lower lip in an adorable pout. "Secondly, umm…we were…playing with shampoo," he finished in a rush before winking conspiratorially at me, grinning broadly behind Meredith's back.
I found myself nodding as I went along with our little inside joke while I obediently climbed back into bed. "It's not his fault, Mer. I was just…regretting my little impromptu haircut," I told her, finally finding a legitimate excuse for why I might be crying other than the obvious 'I-just-woke-up-from-a-painkiller-overdose-the-day-after-I-was-brutally-attacked-by-someone-I-trusted' reason.
Sighing heavily, I ran my fingers through what was left of my hair and felt a pinch when I recalled my previously long and silky mane. I really didn't know what came over me to make such a drastic decision. In fact, I don't even recall doing it at the time.
"It'll grow back, Elena," Damon spoke up from across the room, his scarily accurate reading of my moods proving itself once again. "Before you know it, you'll be giving Hermione Granger a run for her money in the bushy hair department."
Did Damon Salvatore just make a Harry Potter reference?! The man was full of surprises. And bushy? Why bushy? If anything, I wanted Professor Snape's hair; all smooth and silky. Besides, Snape's dark-colored locks reminded me of another raven-haired man, except that he is younger, hotter and much better looking than the Potions master.
"Yeah, before she left, Caroline said that she'll be here bright and early tomorrow morning for a complete makeover. She mumbled something about the new year with a fresh start and a match made in heaven with the kissy buddies," Meredith told me with a confused frown. "I don't know exactly. That girl talks way too fast to make any sense."
At the mention of the words 'kissy buddies', both Damon's and my eyes met briefly before we quickly averted our gaze at the same time, and then he cleared his throat and made his excuses as he shuffled over to the door, muttering about horrible blondes and victim number two as he went.
I was a little sad to see him go, and yet relieved at the same time. His absence made me realize suddenly how exhausted I was despite having slept throughout the night with the help of the painkillers. After a round of tests, Meredith cleared me of any lingering effects of my self-medication, and I was finally allowed to close my eyes and fall into a natural sleep.
This time, instead of a nightmare, I was dreaming of a wizarding school with my very own dark-haired teacher, trying to convince me to play a game of Wizard's Monopoly where the tokens come to life, and his Scottie dog keep trying to chase my boot token around the board.
Damon's POV
Considering the fact that the Salvatore mansion was previously a quiet and peaceful property where even I preferred to spend time away from, it seemed rather unusual to see the number of cars out on my front lawn these days. There were plenty of activities going on throughout the house, starting with the growing number of people who seemed to just walk in and out through the front doors at any time of the day without even bothering to knock first.
The den had never been as crowded before, for the exception of the Christmas Eve party fiasco. The kitchen, which used to be stocked with only expired canned food and a jar of suspicious-looking pickles at the back of the fridge that looked as if it had been there since Stefan was in his diapers – i.e. a year or two ago (evil smirk) – now resembled a mini grocery store.
What changed, one might wonder? Oh, only the presence of the lovely Elena Gilbert, that's what.
Caroline practically spent all day with her between classes, and also Meredith, the dedicated physician who dropped by constantly to check on her patient. Even the Tweedle-twins hung out regularly when they weren't working, but having Elijah around made me feel more relaxed, especially with regards to Elena's safety.
Before all this happened, I usually only saw Stefan briefly in the morning as we each grabbed our morning coffee before heading off to our own programs for the day. Now, not only do we spend hours in the same room every day, we also talk all friendly like, as if we didn't share a turbulent past. He also stopped asking about Elena's condition and generally stayed away from her room altogether, which struck me as weird, considering his romantic interest in her.
As for my brunette beauty, the only opportunity to spend some quality time with her without the presence of our friends was late at night, after everyone had finally stumbled their way home, leaving the house quiet once again. They were spent watching over her as she slept, weary after yet another eventful day and one of our talks just before her lids drooped in exhaustion.
Without even realizing it, I had begun a nightly ritual of tucking her in for the past few nights. Elena had been nothing but the obedient little patient, mending in bed for the past week and well on her way to a full recovery, physically.
As a group, we all collectively decided not to celebrate New Year's day, seeing as Sir-Rapes-a-Lot was still at large, and not a single one of us managed to convince Elena to talk about what happened. And without any evidence or her statement, Elijah couldn't build a case strong enough to charge him with.
In fact, my two buddies, my brother and I were having yet another one of our 'How shall we convince Elena?' brainstorming sessions on New Year's Day, trying to think up ways to broach the subject of sending Rapewood to jail. It had become our morning ritual as we all crowded around the kitchen island, sipping our coffee.
"You should ask her again, since you two have this unshakable bond that none of us can emulate, seeing as we all have penises," Ric suggested drily, prompting the others to nod in agreement.
"What, so do I!" I insisted vehemently, but I kind of knew what he meant by that. Still, he needn't have stated it quite like that.
My fierce championing of my manhood earned me an eyeroll from Elijah. "You do, but somehow, she's willing to trust you and all your 'penisness' while she's still wary of us three even though we've tried not to invade her personal space."
He wasn't wrong about that point. Elena had not been able to get over her fear of being in the same room with the opposite sex without visibly shrinking away whenever one of the guys went upstairs for a visit with her. She was still distrustful of people around her, and basically only allowed Care, Mer and myself near her. In fact, I felt rather special, being the only male with my additional appendix allowed unlimited access to her room.
"But that's precisely why I don't want my VIP access to be revoked. I like the way she trusts me, and as long as I don't push her too much, I get to hang out in her room and talk to her all night," I explained with a satisfying smile, until I remembered my baby bro in the room with us, listening quietly. I wasn't supposed to be so smug about my extremely comfortable relationship with the girl he was crushing on.
"Uhh, actually," I hastily corrected, sneaking a peep at my silent sibling. "I'm sure it's only because I was the one who found her at that house, and that somehow created some kind of connection between us, a..uhh…a strictly platonic connection. We're buddies, Elena and I. I mean, she's not even a girl to me."
Liar, liar, tight pants on fire! No, she's no girl. She's all woman, every single inch of her. But baby bro didn't have to know that.
But then, I forgot that I had two troublemakers with me. "Buddies, huh? If you go around kissing all your platonic buddies, then I'm afraid your friendship with Mer and I is over right now," Ric warned with a smirk, obviously not at all concerned with keeping the forbidden kiss a secret.
"Yeah, so's ours, Damon," the other Tweedle commented with a threatening flash of his holstered pistol by his hip, making his unspoken warning on my life crystal clear should I ever find my lips anywhere near his.
I was left sputtering as I made a pathetic denial, but Stefan surprised me with a smile. "Actually, I think it's great that Elena has you looking out for her, especially now that her entire world got turned upside down. You're lucky that she does trust you, because then you'll be the best person who can help her through this. Give her some time to deal with it in her own way, but she's going to want to talk about what happened, and when she does, all you need to do is listen. Just be patient in the mean time."
All three of us stared at him in shocked silence, our mugs lifted halfway to our lips now forgotten. Who was he and what did he do to Stefan? He sure looked the same, right down to his perfectly gelled spiky hair, but he was saying something smart that made sense for once, and that was enough to make me doubt his identity.
I was still staring at him with narrowed eyes when Elijah responded to his comments. "Yes, well as much as I wish that we had the luxury of time for Elena to work through her scars, we still have a very violent and clearly unrepentant criminal on the loose. We have no idea what he's planning to do next, or if he'll go after her again soon. Any evidence at the crime scene would have been erased and cleaned up by now, too. We have nothing," he said with finality, effectively dashing all my hopes of seeing Rapewood behind bars.
Elijah's right, of course. The longer we wait the less chance we have of building a strong case against him. All we had were the pictures we took of the crime scene on my phone, and the medical report, proving that Elena suffered from some physical trauma, at least. Care and I could be her witnesses for the emotional stress she was under when we found her in the bathroom, but we needed more.
"I need to convince her to make an official police report, right? But to do that, she'll need to go through everything in detail, and I don't think she can handle that now," I announced, worried about the whole situation. As much as I wanted Rapewood in a cell with no windows, I also didn't want to force Elena into anything she wasn't ready for. A rock and a hard place, that's where I found myself at the moment.
"I'm sorry, but I can't handle it," a hesitant voice came from a distance, and then four masculine heads swiveled towards the kitchen archway to see the woman we were discussing, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, looking extremely adorable in casual attire, a pleasant change from the pjs she had been sporting the past week.
A sheepish Caroline appeared right behind her, shooting an apologetic look at me for their unexpected presence. "So guess who decided to join the rest of the world again?" she asked with a nervous laugh, mouthing the word 'sorry' to me stealthily without her friend realizing. "Wheee, it's Elena Gilbert! In clothes….not that you were naked in bed the rest of the time," she corrected herself swiftly.
Great, now I was stuck with that image in my head just when I just managed to convince myself that we were just friends. Now, she's a naked friend in bed. Then, what do you know, I was climbing under the covers with her, and then we were a pair of naked buddies.
Stop it, Damon Salvatore! You can't go around imagining your friends naked, even if you are in love with them!
"Elena, you look… good. You seem to be healing nicely, too," Ric piped up after an uncomfortable silence at being caught red-handed for talking about her behind her back.
Not one to be left out, Elijah contributed his own flattering remark. "Err, yeah, Elena. Your jeans become you. I mean, it's a nice pair of jeans."
Your jeans become you?! I almost burst out laughing at his odd compliment, especially when Elena didn't seem to know whether to thank him or thump him. It was almost worth it to be caught off guard by her, if only to see those two clowns making a fool out of themselves. That doesn't happen nearly as often as I would liked.
"Hey, stranger," I greeted her. She didn't seem willing to come any closer, which I suspected was due to the presence of the other three penis-owning men surrounding the island. "Welcome to the Salvatore kitchen, where we never cook and nobody seems to know where to find all the cooking utensils," I declared as I waved my hand at the room with flourish.
The corners of her lips lifted a little at my quip, but she kept quiet otherwise. For a long time, no one said a word, not even the usually talkative blonde who seemed able to come up with facepalm-worthy comments to help diffuse a tense situation like this one.
"Look," Elena started hesitantly. "As much as I want to punish Mase for every-for what happened, I really don't think I can deal with reliving everything again. Even if I can talk about it, then what? It won't be over as soon as I give my statement, will it?"
Her wide brown eyes shifted over to Elijah's, addressing her questions to him.
"Then there'll be the whole investigation, more questions, and the court case. I know how this works; I've seen shows about these sorts of cases. It's only going to drag on and on for years, and then our names are going to be all over the local papers and people are gonna know about it. His lawyers will put on a defense, naturally. Maybe they'll paint me as a gold-digger, and claim how I made up lies to get a payoff, or that I came up with this story for revenge. Am I wrong, Stefan?"
This time, she turned towards my brother, her brows lifted as she waited for an answer from someone with a little bit more knowledge on how the legal system works. Pursing his lips, he shook his head as an answer, and then she returned her pleading gaze to Ric and Elijah.
"He and his team are only going to drag my name through the mud, and the thing is, it's my word against his. He's a Lockwood, so he has better social standings than me, not to mention that he can afford better lawyers than I can," she pointed out, but this time, I had to interrupt her with an offer to help.
"Ric and I know some people who can help you, and I'm sure that Stef can recommend a few from law school who specializes in this type of cases. If it's money you're worried about-"
I stopped mid-sentence when she held up a hand to interrupt me, sighing as she shook her head. "It's not about that. I mean, yeah, there's the money issue, but no matter what happens, this is only going to ruin my life, not his. I'm fighting a losing battle even before I've begun. He has already ruined my past; I'm not going to let him control my future, too. I'm sorry if this disappoints you all, but I've made my decision and nobody can change my mind," she announced with steely resolve, her stubbornness returning.
She might have been talking to my buddies, but I knew that the last part of that sentence was directed at me. From what she had overheard, it was obvious that I would be the one to nudge her in the right direction. But hearing her arguments then, I didn't want to push the issue any further, not right now at least. Besides, it was New Year's Day…nobody wants an argument on the first day of a new year!
"You know what? We don't have to worry about this right this minute, do we? I mean, you didn't get all dressed up and come downstairs to talk about this, right? What did you girls have in mind on this fine day?"
My abrupt change of topic succeeded in relieving the tension-filled moment, making everyone relax slightly. As always with Care Bear and her impeccable timing, she decided to rejoin the conversation then with yet another one of her awkwardly hilarious one liners.
"We're thinking of going out to find a dark alley and try our luck at getting mugged so that Elena can practice that self-defense move you taught her at the hospital, you know, the one where she totally kicked your ass and made you cry like a little sissy boy?"
Okay, remember when I said that Caroline was hilarious and that I liked her? Yeah, I take everything back.
I scowled at her menacingly as the others chuckled at my expense, even my jean-clad brunette who seemed to have recovered part of her good humor then. "For the record, I did not cry like a little sissy boy!" I hissed thru gritted teeth. How did I go from imagining Elena naked in bed to picturing myself tying her best friend to a tree with a bunch of explosives surrounding her?
"Okay, maybe you didn't, but you practically admitted that my little dainty friend managed to kick your ass and send you rolling around on the ground. And she was so scared that she almost had to give you mouth-to-mouth to save your life. Oh hey, maybe that's the plan, eh, you sly dog?" the blonde teased with a wink, not knowing that her days were numbered.
"Damon sometimes likes to pretend that he's a damsel in distress, just to get a little attention from the ladies, remember, Ric?" Elijah spoke up, nudging excitedly at the sandy-haired man beside him. "He once wore a fake cast to school and walked around with crutches, remember that? He had a group of girls carrying his books, his lunch and even offering to give him a bath."
I could only stare at Elena in horror as she listened to my oldest friends' reminiscing about the good old days when I wasn't such a stand-up guy like I am now. I was a dick in high-school, and these weren't stories I wanted to share with Elena. She trusted me, dammit! I didn't want her to start treating me like just another penis she was afraid of!
"Hang on, I think I remember that whole limping phase he used to fake! Didn't he get confused about which leg was supposed to be injured? I heard that something happened…oh!" my idiotic brother snapped his fingers as the memories came rushing back. "Didn't the school nurse chase after you one morning and insisted to check you out personally, and somehow, you just happened to be miraculously 'healed' after she tackled you down in front of the girl's locker room?"
My so-called friends burst into guffaws at the story, and I wanted to hide inside one of the kitchen cabinets and never be seen again. Even Elena stared at me with her mouth open and a suspicious sheen of tears in her eyes as she continued to discover more of my sordid past. Well, I had to set the record straight, at least.
"To be fair, that nurse weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds and she was straddling me in the school hallway, insisting that I removed my pants so that she could 'massage' my inner thighs to help with the blood circulation. Of course I ran away screaming from her. Wouldn't you?" I asked incredulously at the general group, ignoring their shaking shoulders and red faces. Okay, story time was officially over as far as I was concerned. "Can't believe you'd sell me out like that in front of company, Stefan! You are grounded! Now go to your room," I commanded half-jokingly.
Still chuckling, my brother moved off from the kitchen barstool and made his way towards me, resting his hand on my shoulder with a grin. "Not today, big bro. It's New Year's and I have a date," he announced in an upbeat tone. I was still getting used to seeing him jovial for the first time in his life, when his words suddenly hit home inside my head.
Stefan Salvatore had a date?! Since when? "With a girl?" I blurted out a little tactlessly.
"Well, that's generally the idea, but it was incredibly sexist of you to simply assume that. But, yeah, me and a hot blonde, going out. Spending some time together. Doing fun stuff. You know, a date! Maybe you should try it one day, seeing as how behind the times you are at this kind of stuff," he joked, clapping me on the back twice before his eyes slid not-too-discreetly over to Elena by the arch. Then he strode away casually, stopping near her while keeping his respectful distance. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Elena," he told her and then he walked away as cool as cucumber.
My gaze followed after him, and I noticed Caroline's puzzled eyes watching him as well, as if she was trying to figure him out. Nothing made sense anymore in this house, not since this morning. So far, I wasn't too fond of the year 2013, where everything was all sorts of wonky.
I thought Stefan had a serious crush on Elena and now he was going off on a date? With another girl none of us had any idea he even knew or noticed? And when exactly did he stop carrying a torch for my Elena? And what did that look he threw over at her even mean?
I might need to lie down.
"Umm, you know what, Elena? Maybe we should do the whole mugging thing tomorrow. I mean, Stefan's right; it is New Year's Day, and I'm certain even criminals have off days. I'm pretty sure they'll break the law again tomorrow. So, can we take a raincheck? Okay, thank you and love ya!" Care said in a rush without bothering to wait for Elena's answer before she disappeared from sight, obviously intending to catch up with my brother. That was also odd.
"I swear I'll never really understand that boy," Ric said suddenly, probably echoing everybody's thoughts at that moment. "He gets weirder with age, kinda like that jar of pickles at the back of your fridge."
Not to be outdone, the usually serious Elijah gave a dramatic sigh as he rested his chin on his palm, allowing his occasional good humor to shine. "Our little boy's all grown up now, Ric. Now he can sprout wings and fly off to wherever he wants, leaving us two old farts at home. But sadly, this old fart need to fly over to the station to clear some paper work stacked up to ceiling height, so I'll bid you all adieu."
"I'll go, too. Drop me off at the hospital?" Ric asked. At Elijah's nod, they both rinsed their mugs, looking like a couple of domesticated husbands. Then, the perfectly coif-haired detective turned his attention to me, sizing me up and down as if I was a wanted felon. "Now, Damon, we're going to leave this young lady alone here with you, so I need your word that you'll be at your best behavior. That means don't do anything I wouldn't do or that I can arrest you for, deal?"
My mind immediately conjured up an image of me taking Elena out to beat the crap out of some mugger in an alley, and I was seriously wondering if that was illegal in his eyes. Maybe. "But Daaaaad," I whined, folding my arms in front of my chest as a sign of rebellion, complete with a pout. "Where's the fun in that?"
"I mean it, buddy!" he warned, giving me a stern look before his lips widened into a reluctant smile. "Oh, what the hell, it's a new year. Have fun, guys. Oh and Elena…..I like your new hairdo," he complimented, grinning broadly at her blush. With a farewell wave and another meaningful look from Ric, my two 'dads' made their exits, bickering like little old ladies as they discussed about the best route to take to the hospital.
Suddenly, Elena and I were alone at last, in broad daylight with nothing to do. Oh, the possibilities…
Simultaneously, we turned to face each other, our expressions contemplative while we studied one another. And then it became obvious what we should do to while away the hours before our friends made their way back to the mansion again. It was a rare opportunity to have the house to ourselves, and with that in mind, I slowly reached out to her, quirking an eyebrow just as a mischievous grin appeared on her face.
Damon's POV
Sweat trickled down my body, my muscles aching from lack of use as I held myself still, allowing Elena to get used to my position. She was biting her lips in concentration, equally as drenched as I was, and I was distracted momentarily as my eyes followed a stray bead of sweat, making its way from her neck down into her cleavage.
"I can't….do this," she grunted, and the deep, sexy sound was my undoing. I collapsed on top of her, hearing her wince in pain before I managed to roll to the side to land on my back right beside her, my chest heaving from the exertion. "I prefer the first time we did this. It didn't feel as good this time," she complained.
Still panting, I turned my head to look at her, watching her cheeks reddening from the workout. "You were the one who said you were ready for this, remember? I didn't force you into anything, not unless I was sure that you were healed properly. We can stop if you want."
"No," she insisted stubbornly, "I want to do this. I just need a minute to rest, that's all. Can I be on top next time?"
If I hadn't been so tired, I would have realized how misleading this entire scenario could be for the casual onlooker or an eavesdropper. Hell, even I was dangerously close to misunderstanding her on purpose and twisting everything she said to sound dirty and perverted. But with Elijah's warning in mind, I reined in my thoughts and maintained my gentlemanly façade.
Oh, but what the hell! Elena could be on top, or under me, or in any position she wanted, as long as I could make it feel good for her. Oh she'd feel better than good!
Okay, now that that's out of my system, I decided to answer her innocent question, hiding my inner horn dog thoughts to myself. "No, you can't be on top, not if you want to figure out what went wrong when you tried to punch the daylights out of that asshole. Want to show me again how you did it?"
If it wasn't obvious, Elena and I were reenacting a scene from her attack, after she had been curious enough to vaguely describe what she had tried and failed to do when Rapewood was holding her down. She had been reluctant to tell me at first, but she was the one who broached the subject of why it didn't work on him when it worked so well for her first attempt on the hospital grounds. Caroline's teasing about her kicking my ass when we had our very first self-defense lesson probably triggered some memory in her mind, and that resulted in what was happening right now.
"Yeah, okay. Come on, get on top and attack me, you evil man," she grumbled jokingly, tensing her body as she prepared herself for me to resume my previous position.
I quickly got into position above her, straddling her slim hips with my full weight and wrapping one hand around the back of her neck firmly. Again, she looked absolutely terrified and panicky as she found herself in a helpless position once more. It was hard to see her like that, though, so I tried to get her mind off of it.
"Do you trust me?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Can I trust you?"
"Umm, I guess so."
"Okay, so if you manage to kick my ass again and if I actually die from crying like a sissy boy, you can have Pig and my most prized possession; my gorgeous car," I declared with a smirk.
I noted with satisfaction that my distraction techniques worked like a charm, seeing her bewildered expression as her muscles relaxed at my unexpected announcement.
"What? What about Stefan?"
"Well, you can adopt him too, if you'd like, but he's legally an adult now. Unless you want a full grown man to call you 'mommy', then you can just have him as a housemate," I joked, earning me a playful slap on the arm followed by a giggle from the woman under me.
I can't even describe the feelings that soared through my body when her entire body vibrated with her giggles, reminding me of our pre-party mishap with the Christmas tree. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"No, silly! I meant that your brother should be the one to inherit your dog and your beloved car, not me. After all, he is family," she pointed out, now completely relaxed as she seemed to have forgotten about the fact that she was in a precarious position with a fully grown man with a healthy libido right on top of her.
"You're my family, too, Elena," I declared seriously. "Anyway, Pig practically chose you as her mommy already, and I don't trust Stef with my car, so you're the best person I know for that kind of responsibility. And if you can fight me off, you can even have my room. It's got a kick-ass big screen TV and a huge four-post bed you can have girly pillow-fights in."
With those added incentives, she renewed her determination to get out of the death grip I had on her, frowning as her eyes darted here and there in search of a way to free herself. With her right hand, she made several attempts to jab at my torso like she did before, grimacing when her fractured finger made contact with my chest. Like a trooper, she didn't even stop but kept right on hitting, biting her lips with concentration.
Clearly, it wasn't working, and I didn't want her to reinjure her fingers, so I released my hold on her and pulled her up to her feet. "That's enough. I can't have you fracturing the other fingers before all your other injuries had even healed. Let's try something else," I suggested, noticing the disappointment in her face.
"But did I do something wrong? I mean, is it my technique or is it actually impossible to get out of that position?"
"No," I shook my head, "it's not impossible, but it is extremely difficult especially when the attacker is superior in size than you. First of all, you're not strong enough, and secondly, you were on your back, so obviously you're at a disadvantage since you can't put your body's weight into the punch. I'll teach you something else instead."
"Like what? How to point and shoot with a gun?"
As if I'd want her armed and dangerous and able to actually kill me. "You wish! With my luck, you'd shoot me with my own gun just because you want Pig, the Camaro and my room all to yourself. No, I was thinking more like the basics. Do you remember that Sandra Bullock show? The one where she S.I.N.G.s?"
"Yeah, I love that movie! It was hilarious!" she stated eagerly. "But how does that help with defending myself at all?"
"It does and it will. Look, you said you trust me, right? Then just do what she did and I'll explain it later. Just give it a try," I urged.
"Umm, o-okay. Let me just…umm…get into position," she muttered, looking embarrassed for some reason. My eyes began to narrow in confusion when she moved away from me, mumbling about windows and walls. Then what she did next stunned me beyond belief.
She circled around me slowly, her arms raised high as she waved them around hesitantly, her fearful eyes on me the entire time. "Oooh, eee, eee, oooh," she started chanting, much to my puzzlement. "To-to the window, to the window, to the wall, to the wall, to the sweat drip down my balls, a-all you bitches crawl, to all skit skit motherfucker, all skit skit Goddamn," she rapped, now averting her eyes as she turned pink and therefore not seeing my reaction.
I was practically doubled over, clutching my sides as I gasped for breath from laughing silently with tears running down my cheeks. She began to get over her initial shyness as she started again from the top, her voice getting louder. When it got to the part where she cursed again, I couldn't help the roaring hilarity that escaped from my lips, prompting her to stop immediately to flash me an evil glare.
"Damon! Do you even know what you're doing or is this just a lame trick to see how much I trust you?"
I held up my hand to signal for her to wait while I wheezed, trying to get back my breath from being so thoroughly entertained. Oh gosh, I really, truly, love this girl!
"I'm glad you trust me so implicitly, but it's not my fault, you know? I didn't mean 'The Proposal', you silly ninny. Haven't you seen 'Miss Congeniality'? The one about the beauty pageant? Sandra Bullock's character demonstrated the four sensitive areas in an attacker's body," I explained, wiping my wet face from the combination of both sweat and tears. Luckily, there was no blood in sight.
"Oh," she exclaimed with a look of understanding. "Well now, that makes sense, see? But I haven't watched that one, so I wouldn't know. I kinda feel stupid right now, though."
I chuckled again, amazed at how this small slip of a girl could make me feel so many emotions at a time. Sobering quickly, I decided to concentrate at the task at hand. "Stand in front of me, Elena," I instructed, waiting as she walked over to stand in front of me face-to-face, her trusting face upturned as she waited for further instructions.
I could get lost in those Bambi eyes of hers forever.
"How do you want me?" she whispered, sending chills down my spine at the double-entendre of her question.
"From behind," I answered, my voice sounding squeaky high. Clearing my throat, I hastily explained what I wanted her to do. "I mean, turn around and relax."
She obeyed without a fuss, and when she had her back turned towards me, I stepped forward even closer, my entire front connecting with her back. With deliberate slowness so as not to alarm her, I wrapped both arms around her front, one over her shoulder and the other around her waist. She released a gasp at my touch, stiffening up as I held her close.
"Remember to S.I.N.G; solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin," I mumbled with my lips mere centimeters from her ear, causing her to shudder when my breath caressed her skin.
"W-what?"
"Move your body to the side as much as you can, then aim your elbow at the solar plexus, then ground your heel on my instep. Then I want you to lift your other elbow to hit my nose and finally, curl your hand into a fist with the thumb tucked in and punch the groin as hard as you can," I explained calmly, and then added a disclaimer in case she mistakenly decided to go for it. "You can practice on me, but don't use any force."
With a jerky nod, she followed my instructions slowly, getting the sequence correct the first few times while I corrected her positioning. We practiced together for an hour at least, until the afternoon sun shone down on us, signaling how late it was getting.
"You're getting better at this, but you know that if this happens in real life, you can't hesitate even for a moment. You have to go with your instincts and channel all your energy into hurting your attacker long enough to get away. Use your emotions…get angry, but stay calm and focused," I told her, watching her absorb it all in.
"And how do I do that?"
"Okay, close your eyes," I told her, and she had them closed in an instant. "Think back, Elena. Think about that day when he attacked you. Replay it in your head, how he treated you, how he forced himself on you. Do you remember how he held you down, and what he did?"
I watched her swallow, her hands in fists by her side and then her breathing changed as her brows furrowed. "Yeah, I remember," she said, her voice thick with emotions.
"How do you feel right now?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her face. She seemed to be getting more and more distraught as the seconds ticked by.
"I'm angry." She was beginning to tremble as well, whether from fear or anger, I didn't really know.
"Good. Remember this feeling. Imagine if you could rewind and be in that position again, and apply what you have learnt today on him. What difference it would make if you had been able to defend yourself," I spoke softly, maintaining my cool exterior even though I was worried about her for having to relive that experience.
But this was just a demonstration, and I didn't want to upset her any further, so I decided to end the training session right there. Perhaps we could resume the next day, or make this a daily training regime to build up her strength and endurance. Without thinking, I reached out to touch her shoulder, intending to announce that it was time for us to go back inside the house.
"Okay, I think we're done for the-" I started telling her, only to be cut off by her sudden reactions. It happened so fast that I hardly had time to counter her moves, and the next thing I know, I was once again writhing on the ground at her feet, clutching my crotch as I tried to refrain from cursing out loud.
Well, nobody could say that I wasn't a good teacher, and neither could they deny that Elena was a good student. It had been twice now that she had brought me down to my knees, and I was on the brink of crying like a sissy boy as I experienced pain like no other I'd ever felt before. My chest hurt like hell, my right foot was throbbing, and I was pretty sure that my nose was no longer on my face. Oh yeah, and little Damon was out of commission for the time being, too…possibly forever.
"Elena," I gasped out through my teeth, followed by a loud groan. "You weren't supposed to hit me!"
"Ohh, I'm so so sorry," she exclaimed apologetically, but I wasn't feeling particularly forgiving at the moment. "Oh God, you're bleeding! Wait here!"
I heard her panicked voice and registered that she was running away from me towards the house and I thought it odd that it didn't occur to her that I couldn't move even if I wanted to. I felt like I had been swung into a tree at a very high speed, only to fall down twenty feet through thick branches that had my body bruised beyond recognition.
I was still a little out of it when I felt someone lift my head and then I was leaning back on something soft and warm. I relaxed into the comfortable object, jumping in shock when I felt a wet washcloth on my face.
"Sorry, but I can't find anything else to stop the nosebleed, so you're going to have to keep these in there until the bleeding stops," I heard her saying from behind me, followed by her shoving something into my nose holes. I didn't care what they were as long as I still had a nose. "Where else does it hurt, Damon?"
"Everywhere. My b-balls," I managed to mumble as I kept my hand gripped tightly to the area, not even certain if I would be able to generate sperm ever again. It would be sad if the Salvatore line depended only on my brother. It was common knowledge that I was the hotter, better and far superior one in the family.
"I'm sorry! But you asked me to focus on my anger and then I thought that you were playing the role of the attacker again, so I just reacted. I didn't even think about it. It was pure instinct," she said defensively, but I could hear the regret in her voice.
"You did good," I croaked out, feeling the slightest bit better when some other feelings returned to my nether region other than just blinding pain. "You have a great aim. I guess we can upgrade you to guns next."
"No, I don't want to shoot you and kill you!"
I could feel her arms wrapped around my torso from behind me, and that was when I realized that I was leaning back on her, my head resting against her chest as if her breast were my pillows. So, in addition to having bruised and possibly broken balls, I could potentially have an erection as well?
Just kill me, kill me now!
I stayed silent for a while, letting my mind wander as I tried not to think of how close we were then, physically. I just let myself enjoy the silence as my body slowly recovered, feeling oddly comforted with the feeling of her arms around me casually, like she was as comfortable with me as I was with her. Then, I reached up with one hand and pulled at the thing that was stuffed in my nose, shocked at what I was seeing as I held the crimson-stained item in my hand.
It was a tampon.
Rolling my eyes with disgust, I simply shrugged and stuffed it back in, preferring not to make a big deal out of it to disturb the peace that surrounded us now. And then her soft voice penetrated through my brain.
"Damon," she began, "I-I think I'm ready to talk about Mason now."
Twitter: cgsa_cher
Askfm: Cheryl Gee
A huge thank you to my beta KRISTI (tukct81), without whom my life would be in shambles….my fanfiction life, anyway.
Random Thoughts: Did you know that food turns to poo? Shocker, I know. Did you also know that REVIEWS turn me into goo? Now you do! So do review and I won't go all 'skit skit Goddamn' on you. XD
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