Elena sat in front of Caroline as she gingerly dabbed concealer around Elena's eye.
"I got hit on the nose but I get a black eye. Ugh, it's so unfair!"
"I still can't believe it." Caroline said in an annoyed voice
"It was just really bad luck." Elena sighed
"Why did you even take the camera in the first place?"
Elena cringed "I don't know. I just wanted to help…" Elena's mind flashed back to the plane, when Damon held her hand…
"…Damon?" Bonnie said from the couch
Elena shrugged. "You would have done the same if you'd been there. He was talking about his friend, the one who died of an overdose…"
"Yeah I read about that." Bonnie interrupted "He took some bad drugs, dropped, and was like foaming at the mouth and all. Damon tried to help him but he died. Apparently he mumbled something about how he'd never get to hear the end of the song Damon was writing."
"That is fucked up." Caroline said as she dabbed under Elena's eye with a sponge.
"But how did this lead to the fight?" Bonnie asked
Elena hesitated "Can you guys keep a secret?"
Both girls nodded.
"Ugh, I promised I wouldn't tell… Kol took me to get fixed up earlier and he told me some stuff." Elena hesitated again "About Damon and Stefan…"
"Go on." Caroline urged
"He told me not to say anything." Elena admitted
"We won't say anything."
"Well Mason, the guy who Damon attacked… he's Tyler's uncle…and a drug dealer."
Both of the girls gasped and Elena went on.
"Kol said that that wasn't the first time Damon had attacked Mason."
"Oh my god. Did he give Damon's friend the bad drugs?" Caroline guessed
Elena nodded "but…he was also supplying Stefan with them."
"Stefan?" Caroline gasped
"Yeah." Elena went on "apparently Stefan was a full blown addict. Kol said they've all dabbled in drugs in the past but by the time they realised how out of control Stefan was he was on heroine."
"That's pretty dark." Bonnie said
"Damon lost it. He pulled out of tour and took Stefan home, Kol said he tied Stefan to a bed for two days trying to do a rapid detox and then he checked them both into rehab."
"How did they keep that one quiet?" Bonnie wondered aloud
"Kol said Klaus and Elijah are really good at covering things up, they know what they're doing."
"That's good to know." Caroline half joked "But seriously, this is crazy. So Damon kicked off when Mason showed?"
"Pretty much." Elena said "He was scary." She admitted "I thought he was going to kill him."
"He deserved it though." Bonnie reasoned
"I know, I agree." Elena said "That's why I took the camera."
"Well it's a shame you got hurt because this concealer isn't really doing much." Caroline said
Elena groaned. "It's like twenty minutes to show time. People are going to think I'm a brawler or something."
"You can make us look tough." Caroline laughed
Just then Matt entered the room.
"How's the face?" he joked
"Fine." Elena said "Where have you been?"
"I've been with Logan and Kol." He said, "They're pretty cool guys."
"Did you see Damon?" Elena asked trying to sound casual
Matt shook his head.
Just as he did the door of their dressing room knocked.
Matt walked over and opened it. "Is Elena there?"
Elena looked up, holy crap…she knew that voice.
"Uh…sure. Elena?" Matt called
Quickly checking herself in the mirror Elena walked to the door.
Damon was standing in the corridor. "Can we talk?"
"Uh…sure." She said "Do you want to come in?"
Damon shook his head and pulled her out into the corridor.
Elena closed the door behind her.
"Look." Damon began "I don't apologise."
Elena frowned, she was confused. For once Damon didn't have his sunglasses on. She noticed his piecing blue eyes looked bleary.
"Have you been drinking?" she said out loud before she could stop herself
Damon held up his finger and thumb in measure "Just a little bit."
Elena frowned and Damon rolled his eyes.
"Seeing you earlier, bleeding…that was my fault."
"No." Elena said shaking her head "That wasn't your fault, it was an accident."
"You got hurt because I lost it. There's no way around it, don't try and change fact." Damon went on; his eyes were frowning down at her. "It's on me."
Elena shrugged; she was lost for a reply. She slipped one of her hands into the pocket of her jeans.
"I…look," she sighed trying to figure out what she was trying to say "I just wanted to help you, it was bad luck. I don't blame anyone…and I'm fine so…" she shrugged again
Damon lifted his hand and cupped her face. Elena's breathing quickened. Gently he brushed his thumb over her puffy eye.
"Fine?" he repeated sceptically
Elena shivered as he slid his hand into her free hand.
"Like I said, I don't apologize…" Damon said quietly as he leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth.
He pulled away and began walking down the corridor. Elena stood there for a second lost for words, she looked down when she realised he'd left something in her hand.
Trying to ignore the tsunami of feelings coming over her, Elena slipped on Damon's sunglasses and covered her eye with a smile.
A/N A short chapter of explanations really! Please review xx Dr. B