This one was slightly shorter, but the next one is where it picks up a little bit with the week before Miss Mystic Falls. And then the chapter after that it should be DE again... maybe. Please drop me a review to let me know what you think.
PS I own nothing just my writing.
When Friday came around Elena drove to school to sat down with her friends with a stoic expression on her face.
"Okay, you're driving me insane Lena, what the hell is wrong with you? You're back to dressing in dress pants and blouses, you don't complain about it. And you aren't hanging out with us anymore. Did your parents take you hostage or something?" Caroline demanded.
"I'm sorry Caroline, I just decided that my mom and dad were right all along. This is how I need to act in order to win Miss Mystic." she said purposely leaving Damon out of the conversation. As far as she was concerned Damon Salvatore didn't exist.
"What the hell are you spewing out Elena? What does Damon think of this new you?" Caroline demanded. Elena visibly gasped when she heard his voice.
"Damon Salvatore does not exist to me anymore. He is dead to me. Just leave it like that. My parents were right about him." she said.
"What happened Lena?" Bonnie asked softly, going for a different approach than Caroline was.
"Nothing happened. I don't want to talk about it." she said.
"Why don't we hang out tonight. If you feel like it we can talk about whatever is going on with you." Bonnie offered.
"I cant. I have the Lockwood party tonight." she said.
"Right. What about tomorrow?" she asked.
"I cant. I have no time at all until Miss Mystic." she said. She had no idea why she was cutting herself off from her friends too, but she was. Maybe it was that she knew she was leaving, and if she spent time with them she would tell them. And then they were try to convince her to stay. She couldn't stay here, not after this.
"Elena, come on. What's going on?" Bonnie begged.
"I just have to win Miss Mystic Falls. It's in my blood." she said.
"I don't care about that at the moment. What happened between you and Damon?" Caroline interjected.
"Nothing." she said as she stood up and walked into the school. Caroline looked at Bonnie and Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. They were doubting her parents had anything to do with this new and improved Elena. Clearly something happened between her and Damon.
Damon whistled as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a red towel around his waist. He walked to his closet and pulled out a pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt. He knew Elena loved that shirt, and maybe even the smallest advantages might give him a head start. This wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to succeed.
"You're planning on getting Elena back tonight?" Stefan asked from his doorway.
"Yep. It may not happen tonight. Good things take time. But I will have her." he said.
"Good luck." Stefan said.
"Thanks but I don't need your luck. You just keep your end of the bargain. Keep Katherine away from me." he said.
" I can do that." Stefan said nodding. He was desperate to fix at least some of the rift that he had caused between him and his brother. And if this helped then he would do it. His brother and Katherine were all he had in this world and he couldn't bare to lose either of them.
When Elena went home after school after avoiding Bonnie and Caroline for the entire day, she went straight up to her room and shut the door. In private, in her room was the only place she let her facade fall. With Miss Mystic Falls only a few weeks away she needed to get used to the idea that this was her life. At least until she left and started a new life. A new life with Mystic Falls firmly in her rear view mirror. She wouldn't miss the place. Going into her closet she took down the bulletin board and placed it in the rapidly filling boxes of personal items in the back of her closet where her mother wouldn't find them. She was packing small amounts every day in order to keep sane. She knew that the minute she escaped Mystic Falls she could start anew, and be a new person. And Damon Salvatore would not be a part of this life.
"Elena, dear are you getting ready for the party?" her mom asked at the doorway.
"Yes." Elena replied.
"Okay, we are meeting your father there. He's leaving the hospital a little later than usual." she said.
"Sounds good." Elena called through the door. She sighed and went to her closet, she fingered the soft material of the dress she wore to the last party and sighed softly. That had been a great night. Dancing with Damon, making love with Damon in the bathroom. It was epic. But she couldn't think about that now, she needed to focus on the future. And she needed to pretend that not being with him wasn't killing her. She pulled out a pink spaghetti strapped dress and slipped it on. It was pretty in its own right but it wasn't her. It was something that her mom picked out. It was perfect for the Elena she was pretending to be. She did her makeup the way her mom showed her years ago, and put on some jewelry and some flat white sandals.
"I'm ready.' she said coming out of the bathroom.
"That is a beautiful dress." her mom stated when she came out of the room.
"Is it alright?" Elena asked.
"It's perfect." Miranda said.
"I'm glad." Elena said plastering a smile on her face. She got in her moms car and drove over to the Lockwood residence where her father was waiting outside for them.
"My girls. You look so beautiful. Both of you." he said kissing his wife and kissing his daughters cheek.
"Thank you daddy." she said as she followed her parents into the party. They took their accustomed spot against the wall and people immediately came over to start talking to them. She watched Damon walk into the party and immediately averted her gaze. He looked amazing and he was wearing the shirt she adored. She couldn't let that do anything to her. She needed to keep her composure and not show him how much she missed him.
Damon walked into the party and immediately seen her. She was wearing a cute little pink dress that he automatically knew the girl he loved would never have worn. He walked over and decided that however annoyed Grayson would be, he would greet them. Mostly to see what Elena's reaction to him would be.
"Hello Grayson, Miranda. Elena." he said saying her name with a caress.
"I'm sorry do I know you?" she asked coldly. Grayson looked at his daughter curiously but proud.
"Damon Salvatore." he said smiling. She was pretending not to know him in front of her parents, but the coldness in her voice wasn't lost on him. She was mad.
"You should be on your way Damon." Grayson said.
"I will do that. It was nice seeing you Elena." he said as he walked away. Why did he still give her butterflies? Why did he still have that power over her? Why couldn't she get over him? When she didn't see him anymore, she sighed in relief. It would be so much easier to remain angry if he wasn't around.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to freshen up." she said smiling at her parents.
"Alright. We'll be right here." Grayson said watching his daughter walk towards the washrooms. Before she got to the washroom she was pulled into an empty office by Damon.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"You and I, we need to talk." he said.
"No we don't. Everything that needed to be said was already done. Now let me go. As far as I'm concerned you don't exist." she said.
"Maybe I don't exist to you but you exist to me." he told her.
"it doesn't really matter, because I want nothing to do with you. You are exactly who my father said you were. I should have listened to him sooner." she said as she tried to brush past him. Instead of saying anything he pulled her in and kissed her. She pushed at his chest until he gave in and pulled away. She glared at him and slapped him as hard as she could across the face before fleeing the room and locking herself in the bathroom. He stood there for a moment before brushing that away and leaving the room. He went to the bar and ordered a glass of bourbon while he waited for her to come out. When Elena finally did appear a few minutes later she didn't even glance in his direction. She walked back over to where her parents were.
"That took longer than I thought would sweetheart, did something happen?" Grayson asked his daughter when she returned to her spot by his side.
"No. I'm fine daddy. It's just there was an annoying smudge on my makeup and I needed to fix it." she said not willing to divulge anything about Damon to them.
"Okay sweetheart." Grayson said trusting his daughter implicitly. She smiled happy that he bought what she told him, she was lucky to have a father that automatically took everything she said as the gospel truth. When the party was over Grayson and Miranda ushered their daughter out of the party. She seen Damon standing off to the side watching her leave, and she sighed unhappily. Why was he making it so hard for her to hate him? Why was he making it so hard for her to pretend that he didn't exist? Why was he making her miss him? Miss his arms around her, miss his lips on hers. Even just missing the way he looked at her as if she was the only woman in the world. The way he said her name. She missed it all. But she tried hard not to. She needed to get past this, and she only had a few weeks left to survive. In a few weeks she would be gone. She would be living with Jeremy, and she would be free from her family, and from Damon. She got in the backseat of the car as her parents drove them home. Once they were home, she excused herself to go to bed. When she was safely in her room with her door closed she slid into bed and like every night since Damon had told her about his transgression, she cried herself to sleep.
The week before the competition was a frenzy that Elena was happy for. Over the past few weeks she had seen Damon around and she was finding it hard to continue avoiding him. He was constantly invading her thoughts and she couldn't get him out of her heart. In seven days she would be on her way to live with Jeremy, and she would finally be free. At the moment she was standing in the dress store getting her final fitting for her Miss Mystic Falls dress. It honestly was a perfect dress and she did like it but it wasn't really her. She was at the fitting with just her grandmother and she had to admit the trip wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Gray, do you think there's something wrong with Elena?" Miranda asked walking into the living room where her husband was reading medical text books.
"I don't see anything wrong with her, except that she's maturing. Miranda don't worry about it." he assured his wife.
"She is just different Gray. I don't know what to think. She's almost too cooperative. I'm worried about her. She changed in the blink of an eye. One day she was herself and now she is a watered down, completely not passionate girl that I don't recognize. It feels like we're losing our daughter Grayson." Miranda fretted.
"We're not losing her, she's finally coming back to us Miranda." Grayson insisted.
"I don't know Gray. I'm going to talk to her." Miranda decided.
"How is it going with Elena?" Stefan asked walking into the house.
"Well since she's not here, not well. She's slapped me, she yelled at me, she ignored me, she's walked in the opposite direction when I come around. Not once has she actually sat down to talk to me." he sighed.
"Does she look happy?" he asked.
"She pretends to be happy I think. Whenever I run into her, she's always smiling but it never reaches her eyes. She never smiles the way she does when we are together." he explained.
"Well then that answers my question. She's not happy." he said.
"I guess so. I'm just worried. For the first time in over a century and a half I felt loved and I showed someone else that love. And now I may have lost her forever because I felt the stupid whim to sleep with someone else. Maybe it's just time I gave up." Damon sighed when they heard the knock on the door.
"Maybe you should get that. It's probably for you anyway." Stefan said pointing at the door. He nodded and got up to answer the door seeing Bonnie and Caroline at the front door.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"We need to talk about Elena." Caroline said needing answers.
"How did you find me?" he asked curiously.
"It wasn't hard. We asked around. There were plenty of people around town who knew where you live. Anyways, what happened between you and Elena? I've never seen her so... strange." she said searching for an appropriate word.
"What do you mean strange?" he asked gesturing for them to sit down on the couch while he took the chair across from them.
"She's changed up her fashion to the way it was when her parents dressed her, and she's putting all her attention into Miss Mystic Falls, she not hanging out with us anymore just at school. And she has started covering up all of her tattoos. She's acting like the perfect Stepford daughter. And when I was in her room yesterday looking for clues I found boxes in her closet. They were all full, it was all the items she owned that meant something to her and there were boxes of clothes. I think she's planning on leaving. And we cant let her. I need to know what happened?" Caroline begged, real tears appearing in her eyes when she finished.
"Back before Elena and I became official, I slept with a waitress from the Grill. We were together but she hadn't mentioned anything more about us being official so I figured it wouldn't happen. But it did, and I was so happy. So I figured I'd keep my transgression from her because I didn't want to hurt her. I did it, but continuously felt the guilt for what I did. A few weeks ago she told me she was falling in love with me and something in me snapped. I needed to tell her the truth which in turn ruined us. She came over the next day and I told her. End of story." he said telling them. Caroline remained quiet as she thought over what he told her.
"So you slept with some other girl before you knew you were an official couple?" Bonnie asked.
"Yes." he answered.
"You shouldn't have done that Damon. Elena is all about trust. And obviously she trusted you." Caroline said.
"At that point I thought I was just a tool in her rebellion against her parents and I was fine with that. I got sex she got to rebel. It was a good set up. But then I fell for her, and she told me that she wanted us to be together." he said.
"We need to think of a way to make her stay." Caroline said tapping her chin.
"We could always lock her up and not let her." Bonnie suggested jokingly.
"Haha no. We could tell her mom and dad she's planning on leaving." Caroline suggested.
"We can make her sit down and talk to Damon." Bonnie suggested.
"That's actually a good idea, but it's not enough." Caroline said.
"What do you mean it's not enough. I will do whatever it takes to make sure she stays here." Damon said.
"I'm sure you will which is why I need your help." Caroline stated.
"With what? I'll do anything." he told her.
"Were you planning on going to Miss Mystic Falls still?" she asked.
"Yes. I wouldn't miss it" he confirmed
"Good. This plan is going to work perfectly I can feel it." Caroline said smiling brightly.
"Are you ever going to fill us in Caroline. I'm sure Damon and I would love to know what the plan is?" Bonnie asked.
"Right. I suppose you're right." Caroline said as she stared straight ahead.
"Caroline?" Damon said staring at her. He was wondering if it would be a good idea to attempt to compel the teenage girl into telling him. But he knew the idea wasn't exactly plausible because she was the sheriff's daughter therefore most likely filled with vervain.
"Fine, yes. Damon you are going to be her escort." Caroline said clapping her hands together.