Welcome to Chapter 6:) Thanks so much for reading everyone! Thanks to the new followers and favorites. I'm really glad you like the story:) I know everyone is anxious for Damon and Elena to stop fighting and start getting closer, and I promise that'll be coming up in a few chapters. They have a few more...issues to sort out before that happens.
Special Thanks to: Skating-on-glass, MelissaSomerhalder, kaybaby1127, milan0704, CamJ, DeeReadinQueen, vivianafrancesca, MissskAtherine, & Guest for reviewing last chapter! :) *Hugs!* I really appreciate the feedback.
It's A Boy Girl Thing
Ch 6. Wishful Thinking
True to her word, Bonnie spoke to her Grams on behalf of Elena and Damon. She wasn't quite sure what to tell her Grams, except that Damon seems to think he's Elena, and Elena is not acting like herself. Sheila Bennett tells Bonnie to bring the two of them to her house sometime this afternoon so she can see for herself if this is some kind of spell.
Bonnie calls Elena's phone after hanging up with her Grams. She hopes Damon was being serious yesterday, because if this ends up being a waste of her time she is not going to be happy. Elena answers after a few rings, sounding as though she were pulled out of sleep by the phone call.
"Hey Elena," Bonnie greets. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Who is this?" Elena replies, causing Bonnie to becoming even more of a believer that maybe Damon is occupying Elena's body.
"Bonnie," She fills in.
"Bonnie!" Damon finally sits up, rubbing at his eyes and looking around the room. It's almost noon. Bonnie is on the phone, so that must mean, "Did you talk to your Grams?"
Bonnie is relieved Elena knows why she called, because that means she's been talking with Damon. If they're both corroborating the story, that means they must both believe it. "Yeah," Bonnie clarifies, "I did. And she said for me to bring you guys over sometime today. She'll try and see if she can detect what caused this to happen. So are you really...Damon?"
"Uh-huh," Damon replies, "Is your Grams really a witch?"
"I guess so," Bonnie replies. "When did this happen?"
"I don't know." He tries to tell her with his normal crude humor, I woke up Wednesday morning with boobs, and I've been enjoying them ever since. But if your Grams can get me back in my body now, that'd be awesome. Nothing comes out. It's just like Elena said. He can't actually talk about it. "I can't say."
"Do you think you and...Elena can make it today?" Bonnie asks, instead of pushing for an answer. Grams suspects whoever did this to them also put a concealment spell on them, so they can't reveal they've been cursed.
"Of course. When and where?" Damon answers right away. What else could they possibly have to do this weekend that's more important than changing themselves back to normal? Nothing.
"I can pick both of you up in an hour?" Bonnie suggests.
"Sounds good, witchy," Damon agrees.
"OK," Bonnie says, "And, don't call me that."
After she hangs up, Damon calls his phone. "Wakey, wakey!" He says obnoxiously when Elena picks up. "Guess who just called?"
"Bonnie?" Elena asks hopefully.
"Yup." Damon instructs, "Be ready in one hour."
Elena is ready thirty minutes after Damon calls, so she decides to sit outside and wait. Damon comes out ten minutes later and walks over to join Elena on the porch of the Salvatore house. Elena shifts away from him uncomfortably. "Do you really think it's a good idea for you to be sitting out here with me?" She's worried about Stefan seeing them and getting angry.
Ignoring Elena's concerns, Damon says, "We need to talk about how this is going to work. Bonnie asked me when this happened, and I couldn't even tell her it was Wednesday. How can Bonnie's Grams help if we can't tell her anything?"
Elena thinks it over before shrugging and replying, "She's a witch. Maybe she can sense it. That's probably why she wants us to come over so she can see us face-to-face."
"She probably did this to us herself," Damon grumbles.
"Why would she do that?" Elena asks with a scoff.
"She's a witch, isn't she? Do you know any other witches? I sure as Hell don't." Damon points out.
Elena suddenly remembers something. "Wait a minute. We were at the museum on Tuesday...the witch display, remember?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well maybe it happened there. What were we doing?" Elena asks.
"Arguing?" Damon suggests. "But we're always arguing..."
Bonnie's car pulls into Elena's driveway then, and Damon and Elena share a nervous glance before walking over. Elena greets Bonnie happily, and takes the front seat from Damon with a trademark smirk. Damon rolls his eyes and climbs in the back seat.
"Thanks so much for doing this, Bonnie," Elena says gratefully.
"Oh, don't thank me yet," Bonnie replies, "Let's just see what Grams thinks first."
Sheila Bennett is waiting at the door when the teenagers arrive to her home. She invites them inside with a smile, wise brown eyes studying the boy and girl who seem to be under a curse. She can sense the magic is strong, very powerful, and very old. She insists everyone take a seat in the den.
Sheila wants to see the reaction herself, so she addresses, "Elena..." The black-haired, blue-eyed young man meets her eyes. She smiles and then turns to the familiar brunette with brown eyes, "Damon?" The pretty girl nods miserably. "Hmm..." Sheila has never seen something like this before. She reaches out to take one of Elena's hands in her left hand and one of Damon's in her right. She can feel the magic coursing between them, running a unified path from his body to hers and back to his and back to hers...an infinite connection. Sheila releases their hands as a shock jolts her. She sits back in her seat and comments gravely, "This is a very old and powerful curse."
"Does that mean you can't help us?" Damon asks, seeming distressed.
"It means it's going to be hard," Sheila explains, "And I don't know if I'll be able to help, but I will try. Do you know how this happened?"
Elena and Damon both shrug, Elena saying, "Not really, but even if we did, we can't talk about it. Every time we try, nothing comes out."
"Yes, there must be a concealment spell..." Sheila says thoughtfully.
Bonnie speaks up for the first time since arriving at the home of her Grams. "Well, Elena," she gestures towards Damon's body, "came up to me on Wednesday at school saying that she wasn't herself. I thought it was just Damon being an idiot, but then Thursday, Elena was not acting herself. And yesterday, she was crazy." She shakes her head and clarifies, "What I mean is, Tuesday she was fine. Did something happen on Tuesday?"
Sheila and Bonnie both look to Damon and Elena. Elena nods, and Damon agrees, "Definitely."
"Well that's a start," Sheila smiles. She picks up an old-looking, leather-bound book and opens to a bookmarked page.
Damon stares curiously before asking, "What is that; a spellbook? It looks like a smaller version of the one at the museum." He looks at Elena for confirmation.
Elena's eyes light up and she looks at Sheila, wondering, Could the spellbook at the museum have something to do with why we're like this? But apparantly that question falls under 'concealment' because she can't ask. Lucky for her, Sheila was thinking the same thing, and she assures, "I'm two steps ahead of you, baby. You visited the History Museum, okay...so if you were looking at a spellbook, you must have been viewing the new display on the Witches of Mystic Falls." Elena nods. "Now whose spellbook could that have been?"
Elena racks her brain, trying to recall the name of the witch. She knows the wrote it down in her notebook before Mr. Shane paired her up with Damon, but she can't remember. It was...It was...Something with an A...
With a crackle, the fireplace bursts to life with flames, and Sheila gasps, "Ayana!" Just as suddenly as they lit up, the flames burn out. The room is silent. Then, Sheila starts flipping through the pages in her book, murmuring to herself too quiet for the teenagers in the room to decipher.
"Grams?" Bonnie asks with concern, "Is everything all right? What just happened?"
"Ayana is the witch who cursed you," Sheila says, looking at Damon and Elena. "She is a very old witch, the oldest known witch of the Bennett line." That is a shock no one but Sheila knew. Bonnie's eyes are wide with curiousity. "She doesn't want me to break the curse. She is warning me that my efforts will not be successful."
Damon and Elena exchange and disheartened look. Elena speaks up, "That's okay. Thank you for trying."
"I didn't say I wasn't going to try and help you still." Sheila's eyes seem determined, and she nods confidently. "I might not be able to break the spell, but I can help you two do it yourselves. I'm sure I have something in here that can help." She pats the book in her lap. "Give me until tomorrow. I'll see what I come up with."
"Thank you," Elena smiles.
"Yeah, thanks," Damon choruses.
Back home, before retreating to their separate houses, Damon asks Elena, "Do you think she'll really be able to help us?"
Elena shrugs, "I don't know. I hope so. We'll just have to wait and see."
Damon nods, still hesitating before going inside. "What are you doing today?"
Elena frowns and answers slowly, "Nothing...why?"
"Just wondering," Damon replies vaguely.
"Plotting some more revenge?" Elena asks, feigning disinterest. She really hopes Damon is done ruining her life. What else is there to ruin?
"No," Damon shakes his head. "I think we've both damaged each other's reputations enough. Let's just call a truce. Okay?"
"Okay. Truce," Elena holds out a hand and Damon shakes it. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go for it," Damon says openly.
"Why do you and Stefan hate each other so much?" Elena asks. It's something she's been thinking about since Wednesday. Before, she never really thought about it or cared to ask, but now that she has to experience what Damon does she's curious to know why.
"I thought you didn't care?" Damon reminds her of what she said the other day.
Elena shrugs, "I change my mind."
"Why?" Damon wants to know her reasons first before giving an answer.
"Because..." Elena sighs, "It's weird to see Stefan so...different. And I want to know what makes him act this way."
"Maybe Stefan isn't who you think he is," Damon suggests.
"If you're not going to give me an answer then just tell me," Elena sighs, becoming impatient. It seems Damon always has to play a game. He can never give a direct answer . He just twists everything around until Elena is so frustrated with him, she gives up.
"Remember when you wore that shirt on Thursday and I got mad?" Damon asks.
"Yeah..."
"I said it reminded me of Homecoming, Freshman Year, and it was not a good night," Damon elaborates. "It's all because of Stefan that night turned into a shitfest. Well, him and my girlfriend at the time; Katherine."
"What happened?" Elena asks, thoroughly intrigued now.
Before Damon can continue with the story, Stefan opens the front door and steps outside, his brow immediately ruffling up at the sight of his girlfriend with his brother, again. "Damon," He says gruffly, "How many times do I have to tell you to leave Elena alone?"
Elena blinks a few times, unsure of what to say. She knew this was going to happen. Stefan always seems to know when Damon is bothering Elena. Normally, she'd be grateful for the interruption, but right now she is annoyed. She wants to know what happened with Stefan and Damon, and Katherine. What did they do? Why did that result in the two brothers feuding?
"We were paired up for a project in school, Stefan," Damon explains for Elena, seeing her struggle for an excuse. "So I had to talk to him."
"Oh," Stefan says, seeming disappointed.
"Yeah, so..." Damon tugs on Elena's shoulder, "He's going to come over so we can finish up."
Stefan's frown deepens and he looks mad, but he bites his tongue and says nothing. He can't forbid them to work on a school project together. Elena follows Damon, wondering how mad Stefan is going to be later, and if it'll be directed towards Damon or Elena. Once up in her bedroom, she flops down on her bed, Damon joining.
"How can you stand to be with be him?" Damon asks. "He's always so...brooding and depressing. Like that face..." He tries to mimic the deep frown, which looks funny on Elena's small, girlish features.
"He is not always like that," Elena denies. "He's very sweet with me. He's a gentleman. He's romantic and smart."
"Blech!" Damon pretends to gag himself and Elena chuckles. "The many faces of Stefan Salvatore."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena asks, serious again after that comment. Damon is always hinting that Stefan isn't who she thinks he is. "What happened with Stefan and Katherine?"
"Half-way through the dance, I caught them making out in the parking lot," Damon says bluntly. "Turns out, they'd been doing it for a month. Katherine was going to break up with me for Stefan that night, but after getting caught, Stefan decided he didn't want her anymore."
"Why would he do that?" Elena asks, feeling for Damon that his step-brother would do something so hurtful. Also that his girlfriend would do that to him. She's never been cheated on and she imagines it's one of the worst feelings in the world. Being in a relationship means there should be complete trust between two people. She'd never break that trust by cheating.
"Because Stefan likes the thrill of the chase," Damon theorizes, "He wants what he can't have, lusts for it, yearns to have it, and when he finally gets it, he moves on. That's why he likes you so much. You won't give in to him too easily. He's still trying to capture you. But when he does..."
"What makes you think he hasn't changed?" Elena wants to loathe Damon for what he's implying, but after learning of what happened with Stefan and Katherine, she is starting to have doubts. Her beliefs in Stefan are starting to crumble. She's questioning if she does love him or if that is false? "Why should I believe you anyways?"
"What reason do I have to lie about it?" Damon asks. "Think about it, Elena. Why do you think Stefan gets so jealous when I'm with you? He thinks I'm going to try and do to him what he did to me. He doesn't trust me. That's why he hates me so much. That's why he made you hate me."
"You did a good enough job getting me to hate you on your own," Elena reminds him.
"I know," Damon concedes. "But Stefan feuled the fire. If you really want to be with him after this, we're going to have to figure out some way to hold him off for the time being. I can't pretend to be his loving girlfriend. It's disturbing. He kissed my lips the other day. I almost threw up in his mouth."
"Rebekah did way worse to me," Elena reminds him.
"Look, Tyler groped me too," Damon admits.
"Tyler?!" Elena says, sitting up with a start, face panicked and deathly pale. "Tyler Lockwood? No, Damon, you didn't. Please tell me you didn't!"
"I didn't do anything," Damon insists, "Once he started trying to take off my clothes, I ran out. End of story."
"But Tyler is Caroline's boyfriend!" Elena grimaces, pulling at Damon's short, thick hair in frustration. "What the Hell? She's never going to speak to me again! She's been one of my best friends since the third grade. The third fucking grade, Damon. How would you feel if I did that to you? What if I cost you your relationship with Klaus?" With that, she storms out of the room. She should have known her truce with Damon wouldn't last long. He always messes up something or other.
Shortly after Elena leaves, Caroline calls. It's like girls have some sort of psychic ability to always know when someone is talking about them. Especially Caroline Forbes. She is the definition of a social butterfly; always coordinating a party or girls' night or school event. She is in the middle of everything.
But she's Elena's best friend. And Damon, in Elena's body, made out with her boyfriend last night, and almost did more. Truth is, he regrets it. It's one of the only things he regrets doing, and he doesn't understand why he's feeling so terrible about it. Yesterday, he wanted nothing more than to ruin Elena Gilbert's life. Today, he's having second thoughts. He's wishing he could take back what he did. How weird is that? Damon Salvatore doesn't have remorse. He's never felt bad over anything he did to Stefan. Why is Elena different?
Damon convinces himself he's only feeling this way because of the curse. It must be some side-effect. He's feeling closer to her because he's in her body. That makes sense. Right?
"It makes sense," Damon confirms out loud.
He finally picks up Caroline's call before it goes to voicemail. Her cheerful voice comes through, "Hey Elena! What are you doing tonight? Want to come over for a girls' night?"
See? There's another one of those girls' nights she's always having. What is a girls' night anyways? Damon wonders. He is tempted to say yes just to find out, but the guilt over what happened with Tyler last night, and Elena's words fresh on his mind, he knows he can't.
"Aw, I wish I could, but I can't tonight, Care," Damon answers regretfully. "I've been feeling sick since yesterday. I'm in bed." He tries to make it sound believable by adding a little cough.
"What was up with you yesterday?" Caroline asks curiously. "Someone trying to steal Stefan from you or something?"
"No, no, I don't know," Damon tries to brush it off, "I think the fever made me delirious..."
"Ha. Ha. Seriously, spill!" Caroline presses for more details.
"I just haven't been myself lately," Damon insists, "So if you hear anything weird about me, just, don't believe it."
"O-kay crazy," Caroline giggles. "Well, I hope you feel better. I'll see you on Monday."
"All right, bye, Care," Damon replies before hanging up. He hopes what he says won't cause Caroline to be more suspicious. That was the complete opposite of his intentions.
He can feel a growing knot in his stomach, a ball of nerves, and he wonders if this is a side-effect of being in Elena's body. He's never felt guilt so strongly before. She's the one who's always nervous and unsure of herself. She's the one with the conscience. Not him. Damon doesn't care if someone thinks what he does is wrong. He does it anyways.
Please, He thinks as he leans back in bed and stares up at the ceiling, Gramma Witchy, figure this out. I need to get back in my body.
Sunday morning, Sheila Bennett wakes up with an answer. She had a dream, and in her dream she found the answer in a book. The only problem is, the book showed multiple pages, all different spells. Sheila doesn't know which is the right one, but certainly all of these spells are not the key to switching back Damon and Elena's minds.
Ayana was known to be a trickster though, and Sheila is aware of this. She thinks maybe Ayana is interfering with her dreams and possibly planting false solutions in her mind. But two of the five spells have to do with a connection of body and of mind, and Sheila is almost positive one of them is the correct spell.
Sheila calls Bonnie after gathering all she needs for the spells, and tells her to have Elena and Damon meet her at the house at noon.
Bonnie calls Damon, since she only has Elena's cell number, "Hey, are you awake?"
"I am now," Damon replies in a grumpy tone. He doesn't like being woken up early. "Did your Grams figure something out?"
"She thinks so," Bonnie confirms. "She's getting everything ready to try a spell on you and Elena later. So be ready; I'm picking you both up at eleven-forty-five."
Damon's heart beats faster with the hopeful thought of possibly being himself again by this afternoon. He tells Bonnie they'll be ready and calls Elena to tell her the news. She takes the call, only to hear what he has to say about Sheila, and then hangs up on him. She's still pissed. Damon feels that pang of guilt creep back, but he ignores it as best he can. Soon, he'll be himself again, and he won't have to worry about Elena anymore. In fact, it's not okay for him to worry about her, because Stefan will kick his ass if he keeps hanging around his girlfriend. Elena will apologize to everyone for going crazy once she's herself again, and shit will go back to normal. It always does.
He'll just keep telling himself that until he believes it's true.
Review & Follow! Do you think Sheila will be able to break the curse? Anything funny you'd like to see happen next? I'd love to hear what you want to happen:)
Take the poll on my profile page if you have a minute.