The tent setup is comfortable enough, and I sleep well. I wake up alone.
For one split second I worry about Damon before I laugh at myself. He has no reason to be afraid of anything. At least not anything he could come across in these woods. After a few minutes, I crawl out of the tent, looking around the fire pit and the clearing we're in. I may not be worried about Damon, but I don't like the feeling of being alone in this unfamiliar territory.
Same as the night in the graveyard, I smell him first. This time there's less bourbon and something else I can't put my finger on. I get the feeling that something has just flown past me, and I whirl around fast enough to make my head spin. As I recover, I see him sauntering from the tree line, like it's normal for him to have been sprinting through the forest at six in the morning.
"Hey," I greet him, preparing to make my next sentence as normal as I can. "How was breakfast?"
He smirks at me, "I was hoping I'd make it back before you woke up." He's standing in front of me now, an apology in his eyes. He was still going to try and hide his feeding from me, even after last night's conversation.
I reach up and wipe a few small specks of blood from his chin, wiping it off on my jeans before chiding him, "and I was hoping you wouldn't treat it like something to hide."
He shrugs, "Looks like this new arrangement will take some getting used to." He pecks me on the cheek before cleaning up our campsite with lightning speed.
"Oh, I could get used to this," I chuckle. All of the vampires I know are very cautious about using their inhuman speed in front of normal people. I'm not used to it now, and I never really thought about the benefits of it. It's pretty nice. "Where to, my speedy friend?"
He looks up with a smile, excitement fresh and new in his face, "Louisiana."
When we arrive in New Orleans a few days later, I'm full of adrenaline and ready to explore, and so is Damon. He has a million things he wants to show me, and he's booked a hotel for a week. We park the Camaro and head to the French Quarter, Damon leading the way while I take in the brand new sights. There's so much happening. Street performers dressed head-to-toe in silver and gold, people selling clothes and jewelry, and an unbelievable assortment of food, all of the smells somehow blending together and making my mouth water. Looking around, I honestly have no idea why he would ever return to Mystic Falls after spending time here.
"Damon, this is amazing. All of the people, the music, the food. It's so alive!" I exclaim, eyes wide. He smiles at me like he was hoping that's exactly what I'd say. "How long did you stay here?"
"A few years," he shrugs. "Maybe ten. I mostly kept to the French Quarter. Same song and dance as Charlotte. Bad people, bad decisions. The only thing better here was the booze," he winks at me.
"Is this where your love affair with bourbon began?" I tease.
"Yep! And I've never looked back." He looks genuinely happy to be here, and I can't wait to see what he has to show me.
We spend the next few days eating and drinking and exploring the old city.
And then it happens.
In one of the few rare moments Damon isn't by my side, I'm walking back to where he's waiting. Rounding the corner, I slam into what feels like a brick wall that came out of nowhere. Looking up, I gasp. "Stefan!" I exclaim, immediately wishing I had kept my voice down. I'm not sure what's about to happen here, and I don't know if I want Damon to know I've seen his brother. "What are you doing here?"
He grabs my shoulders and pushes me back around the corner. He looks furious to see me, and I can't keep the shock from showing on my face. "I should be asking you the same question," he's quiet but aggressive. "Why the hell are you here? Are you by yourself?"
"No, I'm not. I'm with Damon."
He looks around. I'm not sure if he's looking for Damon or just trying to get a grip on what I've told him. He straightens up and steps away from me. "You need to leave. Now." He's short and cold. I have no idea what's going on. "I'm sorry you wasted your time looking for me, but I won't be returning to Mystic Falls. You have to understand. It's over."
"Oh.. Stefan. I'm not...I mean…" well this is awkward. "We're not here to look for you."
His eyes narrow, and in them I see suspicion, betrayal, hurt. "You're here...hundreds of miles from home. With Damon. But you're not looking for me." He speaks slowly, clearly trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle in the his mind. Looking at a fixed point above my head, he speaks low and dangerous, "You're with Damon." Finally he looks down into my eyes and repeats, "You're with Damon."
I answer cautiously, not wanting to stir up any more problems but not wanting to lie to him, "Yes, Stefan. I'm here with Damon. I'm sorry, but we're not looking for you. We're just...here."
He stares at me for a moment and finally lets out a breath, a rush of air carrying disbelief and pain. "I don't understand," he struggles to get out. "Do you even know how you're able to be here with Damon? Do you understand the sacrifice I made so that he could even be alive?" His hands are in his hair now, and he's starting to pace. "Elena, I risked everything for him, and now he's walked right into Klaus's home, his kingdom! You have to leave."
"Stefan, we're just passing through here. We're not on some mission or supernatural quest. We're not even looking for Klaus."
"Yes, but you should be running from him! He thinks you're dead. How could you be so stupid to just roam around the country?!"
"I'm not stupid, Stefan," now it's my turn to be exasperated. "I'm feel like I'm dying! I've been trapped in a town that breeds death and misery. Constantly reminded of the loss and pain my life has been full of. I can't even walk out of my bedroom in the morning without being slapped in the face by life. I'm over it. I'm here now, enjoying my time in New Orleans. We'll leave if we need to, but I will not go back to Mystic Falls and waste away."
He sighs heavy and deep. He looks into my eyes and I see compassion there for one quick second until he puts back on his mask and takes a step back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his hand move forward, like he might want to reach out for me. He stops himself, and then he's gone without another word. No more warnings. No argument. Just gone.
I fall back against the wall, completely spent over less than five minutes of tension and confusion. If Stefan is here, is Klaus nearby? Does Stefan's loyalty to Damon run deep enough to stop him from ratting us out? I have no idea, and I don't know what to tell Damon.
Apparently, I don't have to worry about that just yet because when I return to him, he smiles and resumes our conversation where we left off. I'm thankful my face doesn't show the fear and confusion that I'm feeling inside. I have no idea what just happened with Stefan, but I know we need to get out of here soon.
He rambles on for a bit about the building we're in and the history behind it, but I'm too distracted by the effort it's taking to gather my thoughts. I have to tell Damon that we're in Klaus's territory, but what if it's too late? What if Klaus knows exactly where we are at this very moment? I can't let myself think about it too much, I just have to find a way to tell Damon without having him freak out. After lunch I suggest we take a walk down by the river, and I resolve to tell him so we can come up with a plan.
We walk along a park that sits against the river until we find a gazebo with some steps to rest on. It's such a beautiful day out, but I can't enjoy it. I look down at my fingers in my lap, twisting around each other, trying to keep myself calm. I feel Damon's fingers brush my cheek as he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear, and I look up. Everything I've been trying to avoid is there on his face, and I'm not sure why I thought I could hide anything from him.
"Hey," he says gently. "What's going on? You're not having regrets about our trip, are you?" He smiles but he looks a little sad, too.
"No, Damon," I assure him. "Not at all. It's just...I saw Stefan earlier." I can't meet his eyes, can't look up. Until he says the last thing I expected.
"I know," he says. Plain as anything. He knows.
"You know?! And you let me get an ulcer worrying about what I was going to tell you? And you're not worried or freaking out or pissed off?!" Pissed off like I am now.
His hands frame my face now, but it only makes me an iota calmer. I'm relieved because Damon usually has a plan, but I'm so mad that I spent the last hour racking my brain and worrying about our next steps. "How did you know?" I can't keep my voice from sounding like a whine. I can't believe my news wasn't a surprise to him. "Did you see him?"
He taps his finger to his ear. "Vampire hearing. There's not much I miss." He smiles down at me, "Plus, I'm more attuned to hear your voice in particular. Especially when there's fear or sadness present." I breathe a sigh that's somehow relief and frustration mixed together.
"Elena," he soothes. "I promise that nothing will happen to you. I know we're in Klaus's territory, and I know Stefan has seen us. If I thought my brother would sell us out so quickly, we'd be long gone by now." He stands and takes my hand, pulling me up with him. I stand with him and keep my hand in his for another minute. I need to know this will be ok.
"We'll leave tonight." He releases my hand and starts off walking through the park. "Let's enjoy the rest of this beautiful day and not let them ruin our time." He looks back at me, where I'm stuck, hesitating by the gazebo. After a long moment, I finally follow him. I want to believe him, but I also want to run like hell.