Two updates in two days. Yay, I'm proud of myself. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are what keep me writing. I hope you all enjoy.
Future Elena's POV
So it's official, I'm a coward, a little scaredy cat, too afraid to face my past self that I feel the need to sprint out the door at the first sign of trouble. I told myself that I wouldn't come between Damon and the other me, but the second I'm tested, my promises and morals fly out the window. Anytime I feel happy or sad or lonely, I seek Damon out for comfort me or kiss me. It's just habit, but if I have any hopes of making things right between my past self and Damon, it is a habit I need to break. I'm the one who pushed Current Elena and Damon together and now one moment of weakness threatens to tear them apart, and I don't even stay to fix things.
In order to take my mind off my cowardice and my increasingly conflicted feelings about letting Damon go, I visit Caroline to fill her in on the her travel plans, since she was too sad about Matt to come to the boardinghouse. I'm hoping she isn't too upset about my compelling my friends and family, because I don't know how well I'd handle another battle with someone that I love.
Caroline answers the door holding a tub of ice cream in one hand and a copy of The Notebook in the other. Once she sees me, Caroline wraps her arms around me in a tight embrace. "You're the best friend a girl could ask for," Caroline remarks "checking on me after my breakup, especially after the other you already stopped by. I don't know what she told you, but I'm fine, really. Matt and I are done and that is fine. Everything's fine."
"Caroline I didn't come to talk to you about Matt," I cut her off, before she keeps talking about what a 'good friend' I am or how 'fine' she is.
"Then why are you here?" Caroline asks, puzzled and concerned about whatever imminent disaster compelled me to visit.
"There's trouble coming and I need to know that the people that I love are safe."
"What do you need from me?" Caroline asks, always the protective mama bear of the group, willing to help where needed.
"I asked Damon to compel everyone to go on a vacation," I explain, pretending to be unaffected, not wanting to think about possibly never seeing them again. "Matt already left town to travel on his own, but all the other defenseless humans in my life are currently packing a bag to go to some unknown tropical location. I need you to leave with Stefan and Katherine to keep everyone safe." Caroline's eyes grow wider and her mouth drops open in shock.
"No, absolutely not," Caroline replies adamantly. "Putting aside the fact that you took away the choices of people who love you, I cannot agree to leave my best friends alone when ominous danger is headed straight for you, not an option." She sounds a lot like Damon when she's determined. That is exactly what he would say if I asked him to leave. I just have to find the work around, the Caroline logic that will help her understand that this is necessary.
"Bonnie and I won't be alone," I promise quickly. "Damon is staying and I have an old friend named Elijah who is a thousand year old vampire who has two very powerful witches on his side. Bonnie and I will be fine," I assure my old friend as I grab hold of her hand and give it a little squeeze to soothe her. It doesn't work, because Caroline's voice reaches those high tones that only appear when she is upset by something.
"If there really is no danger, why do we need to leave at all?" Caroline questions frantically.
"Because everyone knows that the best way to get to me is through my friends or family," I remind her gently. Too many scenarios rush through my head. I have to stop to think if anyone in my life has not been kidnapped. "It already happened when Isobel kidnapped Jeremy. I won't have that happen again. You all need to go," I command forcefully.
"I still have a bad feeling about this." Caroline declares with a queasy look that could be mistaken for nausea on a human being.
"I know," I reply, recognizing how hard this is for her. "It goes against every fiber of your being to run away, but you're part of this now. Whether you wanted it or not, the moment you decided to become a vampire, you became a supernatural creature. You became integral to the survival of everyone around you. It is your duty to keep them safe from harm. That is your burden, as it is mine. Besides the time away could be good for you, it will give you plenty of time to work with Stefan on controlling your blood lust, and you can have a few days away from Matt to deal with your breakup. Everybody wins and everybody lives." I struggle to maintain a hopeful tone in my voice, praying that Caroline buys it.
"You sure that you'll be okay?" Caroline asks one last time.
"Promise," I lie convincingly to my best friend. I won't be alright. Odds are I'll be long gone before she gets back, but I can't tell her that or she'll never leave my side and she has to, not just to protect all their lives, but to protect her own.
"Good, because if you die on me, I'll never forgive you," Caroline jokes lightheartedly. I feel awful for lying, but I just have to remember that she's not really losing me. She's just losing the backup me. I hug her for what is likely the last time and I remove myself from her embrace. I know I need to talk to my past self, try and clear things up, so I head towards the house, only to see three impatient people already waiting for me.
"What are you three doing here?" I ask confused at their little outdoor meeting.
"Last I checked I live here," Current Elena responds sarcastically.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean." I stumble on my own words as I try to figure out how to talk to her after what I did. "I was just surprised to see you all waiting out here. Is something wrong?" Damon rises to speak with me and one look in his eyes tells me that his guard is up. Something happened after I left, something bad, and it is all my fault. If I had just stuck to my earlier plan, Current Elena and Damon wouldn't be fighting right now. Damon's voice sounds far too harsh and uncaring to my ears.
"There's plenty wrong in the world today, global warming, debt crisis, civil wars, but unlike your nightly news, we're here to deliver good news," Damon proclaims with a fake smile. Damon isn't really happy. Elena won't even look him in the eyes. Whatever happened during that fight, it must have hurt Damon very deeply. I know I caused this, whatever is broken between them, but I can't help but feel as if he's punishing me by shutting me out.
"Damon," I try reasoning with him, "I understand if you're mad about . . ."
"Doesn't really matter right now," Damon interjects abruptly. "We have more important things to deal with than doppelganger love triangle drama if we want to keep you alive." My hopes rise a tiny bit at the thought that I could be saved, but judging by the less than joyful expressions on their faces, there is more to it than that.
"I don't actually know if this will save Elena's life," Bonnie admits. "All the witches said is that this spell would help her." Damon interjects again, gracing us with his telltale sarcasm.
"And of course the witchy powers that be couldn't have provided a better description of whatever witchy mojo they want you to practice." Damon summarizes bitterly.
"They didn't say," Bonnie confesses softly, feeling like a failure for not finding the perfect solution.
"Should we even be doing a spell if we don't know what it will do or what the supernatural consequences will be?" Current Elena raises the question with uncertainty ringing in her voice.
"We don't exactly have a choice," Damon points out forlornly. "I promised that I would accept whatever the witches told us, so we do this spell or Elena dies. It's that simple, so uncertain or not, this is happening," Damon declares unflinchingly. "Tell us what we need to do."
"I brought all the supplies we can do it inside." Bonnie suggests helpfully.
Bonnie sets up the candles, mixes the witchy ingredients and she starts chanting.
"I just need a drop of blood from each of you," Bonnie instructs calmly. She mixes all ingredients together as a puff of smoke emerges from the bowl, signaling the end of the spell. My head feels so much lighter and for a moment, the world goes darker and I lose consciousness. I can still hear voices in my diminished state, but I am not processing what they are saying.
"What did you do? The goal was to save Future Elena, not kill them both," Damon scolds Bonnie harshly.
"They're not dead," Bonnie reminds him. "It was an intense spell that even I acknowledged we know nothing about. Their bodies are just exhausted from all the mystical energy flowing through them. They should wake in a moment."
The next thing I know, I feel like I am being lifted up and placed in a comfortable chair. A feeling of warmth and safety and love passes over me, and I know Damon is nearby. This is always how I feel when he carries me, shielding me from the world. In his arms, I feel safer than anywhere else. I open my eyes expecting to see Damon's blue eyes staring back at me, but instead all I see is Bonnie looking at me concerned.
"What's wrong?" Bonnie asks, worried by the confusion that is evident on my face.
"Damon's over there," I state simply, even though she has no idea why that makes absolutely no sense.
"Is now really the time to be fighting over me?" Damon asks angrily. He misinterpreted my statement as a judgment that he didn't run to me. "Bonnie was right next to you. There is no deeper meaning in which one of you I picked up," Damon claims aggravated that he has to explain himself.
"That wasn't what I meant," I state honestly. This catches Damon's attention, and his gaze is diverted back towards me.
"What are you talking about?" Damon questions unsure of what this is all about.
"I felt. I know I felt. This doesn't make any sense," I rant incomprehensibly to myself.
"You're officially babbling," Damon points out anxious. "Are you sure she didn't hit her head?" Damon checks with Bonnie, concerned for the state of my sound mind.
"I'm not crazy," I exclaim defiantly. "It must be an after effect of the spell. I need to test it. Elena you need to kiss Damon," I announce suddenly. Both their eyes shoot towards mine as if I have two heads.
"Are you insane?" Damon asks. "I know you feel bad about earlier, but this is not the way to make up for us almost kissing." Damon claims, once again misunderstanding me for the second time today.
"It has nothing to do with that," I promise truthfully. "After the spell, I was sure that I was in your arms. I felt it. There was a warmth, a sense of safety and rightness. It's how I feel when you're carrying me, but then I opened my eyes and you were with her. I need another strong emotional moment to see if this isn't just my imagination running wild," I explain reasonably.
"This sounds like a terrible idea," Elena chimes in skeptically. "There has to be another way to test your theory." I sit up and walk over towards my past self, taking her hand and catching her gaze.
"I know that you have no reason to, but do you trust me?" I question expectantly. She sighs and nods her head yes.
"Against all my better judgment, I do," Elena admits.
"Then I need you to do this," I reply, not really excited about this plan myself. "It has to be an intense emotional moment or else it might not work. You can't hold anything back. I need your best effort here," I tell Elena.
"We have officially crossed the line into creepy," Current Elena responds; only mildly joking.
"I think we passed that point a while ago," I add lightly.
"We can be adult about this," Elena claims. "It's just a kiss."
"Just a kiss," Damon repeats unsure.
Elena leans forward to capture Damon's lips. They are tentative at first, not wanting to make this more emotional than it needs to be, but once Damon's hand cups her face, she is lost in the kiss. For nearly a minute, I feel emotions rushing through me at hyper-speed. I feel as if I'm being touched all over, and I am struggling to breathe. I feel lust, I feel satisfaction, and I feel a hint of love behind the intense make out. When they finally break apart, we are all struggling to breathe again.
"Judging by the flush in your cheeks, I take it you felt that?" Damon notices observantly.
"All of it. I felt all of it," I confess overwhelmed by the emotions flowing through me. I find it hard to separate mine from hers anymore. Elena jumps back into the discussion and distracts me from my thoughts.
"Only one thing left to do," Elena states.
"What's that?" I question curiously.
"You have to kiss her now." Elena tells Damon and I casually, like it was no big deal.
"What," Damon and I both screech at the same time.
"Isn't this what got me trouble in the first place?" Damon questions fairly.
"It's just an experiment," Elena points out. "We need to test both sides to see if I feel the same connection. I'll close my eyes if it makes you feel more comfortable."
She takes a seat on the couch and lies down with her eyes closed. This time, Damon closes the distance between us and he kisses me full force, eager to kiss me again after so long of telling him that we couldn't. After far too short a time, I pull back trying to remind myself that this is an experiment, and it was not done for enjoyment.
"Anything?" Damon asks Elena expectantly.
"Nothing, the connection only flows one way." Elena admits, sounding perplexed and an emotion that confuses me, sadness.
"What does this mean Bonnie?" I ask, hoping my best friend has some answers.
"I have no idea," Bonnie replies, dashing my hopes of understanding this confusing mess.