Title: Miles To Home
Summary: For Elena Gilbert life couldn't be more perfect. She has the perfect life, perfect boyfriend, and headed towards the perfect dream job. Everything is going, well, perfectly. There's just one catch… her twin sister Katherine. When Katherine disrupts Elena's perfect life, she runs away to New York. It was the perfect plan… until she has to return home and face everything she ran away from; including her ex-boyfriend Damon. Based off the amazing trailer of the same name by the extremely talented minds and video editing talents of ElePatro (noralsel) and Caro (_LightToMyDark).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.
A/N: I think some of you will have opinions about this so I'll see you down below...
Sunlight kisses my skin and the sweet smell of saltwater drifts towards me in the light breeze. I've been coming to this beach for as long as I can remember and I am still as in love with it since the first time my feet met the water. I've made memories from my family vacations and day trips with Caroline and they're always full of bright sun and laughter. It's amazing how relaxing the simple act of watching waves crash against the sand over and over again can be. I remember reading a quote once about how someone believed the waves continued to try and kiss the shore and the beach continuously and harshly sent it away. But I have never seen it that way. The swift, clear caress of water over sand and the way the covered beach absorbs it into itself is much more beautiful than the cruelty of that view.
It's a dance that has been going on for as long as there has been water and land and the moon. And still the waves continue, never leaving the damp beach for long. Coming back each time a little different than it left it.
I feel Damon's hand pushing back my hair from my face and I turn my view from the water to the man beside me and peer at him through my sunglasses. His full smile is enough to sputter my heartbeat and as my eyes take in the sight of him bare-chested and in a pair of black trunks resting low on his hips I feel my heart race. He looks completely relaxed beside me and I can't believe that it was only a few weeks ago that we were dealing with the aftermath of my sisters trick.
Since then she has been noticeable absent from home. Not that I've ventured into asking. But I hear my parents talking about how she spends all her time at parties and with Mason. Not that I care. The less I see of her the better.
Instead, I focus on the fact that I have this gorgeous man beside me who loves me and is moving to New York with me in just a few short weeks. We have to enjoy this wide open, small town living until we're living in the crowded streets of the city. Part of me is going to miss home terribly. It's the only place I've ever known. But another side is just excited for this adventure.
And the fact that I get to bring along a piece of home with me.
I catch Damon's hand as it drops from my face and link it with my own, squeezing tight.
"Having fun?"
He smiles and nods, leaning forward and kissing me quickly on the lips. "And the view isn't too bad either."
His eyes drop down to my coral bikini and he smirks in a way that makes me practically moan. I playfully shove him away before ruffling up his already messy hair. Damon laughs and it's so light and effortless that I tug back on his hand and pull him towards me, kissing him firmly. Something about Damon's smiles do wicked things to me.
I guess it's because of all that he's told me about his past. It's almost as if for every smile he gives me, it mends a shattered piece of his past. Because I remember the Damon I first met and knew of. The one who deflected and gave closed lipped smiles. The one who eventually opened up and let me in. The one who now smiles for real now, toothy and wide and full of crinkles.
When he smiles like that, we're on even ground. He's not the boy with the troubled family life and I'm not the girl with her life all together. We're just happy. Together. Carefree. No past. No planned future. No expectations or broken dreams. My need for perfection and Damon's imperfections come together and make something beautiful. Something that teaches me to see past perception to the true beauty and value of a person beneath.
Damon becomes more than the former bad boy with the troubled past and I shed my labels as perfectionist, head cheerleader, valedictorian, prom queen. I stop overanalyzing a moment and chose instead to experience it. And it's all thanks to those smiles.
When we finally pull apart, our foreheads connect and we just stay like that, taking breaths and letting all of the built up tension out.
"I love your smiles," I whisper to him and he awards me with another one.
Damon pulls back to press a quick kiss to the tip of my nose. So sweet. So tender. So unlike the version of himself that everyone else knows. This is the side of himself he shows to me. Where his walls are down and everything he's feeling is written on his face.
It's why it was so easy to believe him when he said he knows the difference between my sister and me. The reason I believe that whatever him and Katherine had was just a shared understanding, not anything more. One look into Damon's eyes and I know I'm the only girl he loves. No question about it.
Despite what my sister tries to pull.
My hand cups his face, my thumb caressing his cheek. I'm about to lean in again and lose myself in his kiss when the sound of Damon's phone halts us both. He sighs and fishes his phone out of the zippered pocket on the arm of his chair and pulls it close enough to read the caller ID.
The tension in his body is evident as he swipes to answer and places the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
I can't hear the other end of the conversation but judging by Damon's change in demeanor and the firm set of his jaw, I can only assume that it's his father. He's the only person who could get my boyfriend this agitated and edgy. All I can do is sit beside Damon, holding his hand, while I wait to see what this phone call is about.
"We're at the beach… Yes, that one…. No, it'll take longer than that… I don't know… Why do you need me back? Since when do you care what I'm up to?... I am going to act like that… No… I said no. I'll be home when I'm home… Don't play the role of caring father now… Cause you never have!... Whatever. I have to go… No. Bye."
And he hangs up the phone, sliding it back into the zippered slot. His hand pulls from mine as he leans forwards to rest his elbows on his knees and place his face in his hands. My hand reaches for him, and I see the slight flinch before he gives in to my touch.
It seems to be a common thing now with Damon. Whenever I see a part of his life that he's ashamed of, he pulls away from me. The wall that he's let down for me slides back up with one fight with his father, one glimpse of imperfection. I have to find a way to mend our differences. Let him know that just because we grew up in very different homes doesn't mean he can't let me in. Can't talk to me.
"Damon? Do you want to head home? Does your father need you?"
He barks out a humorless laugh. "Yeah, he needs me," he says sarcastically.
"It just sounded like he needed you to come home. That's okay if we have to."
His hands drop from his face and he scoffs. "I don't jump and run when my father calls me, Elena. You may be more than happy to be your parents little lap dog but I'm not. Oh, I'm sorry…my parent because I only have one."
His words hurt me and I remove my hand from his back and lean into my chair, crossing my arms over my body. All I was trying to do was be helpful and try to understand him but that wall of deflection is up in full force like a steel wall between us. Any words I may have had for him die in my mouth at his remark.
Our perfect little beach day ruined.
"I want to go home now."
Damon is already standing up and folding up his chair, gathering the cooler and our chairs before the words leave my mouth. His haste has me jumping up and throwing on his All Time Low concert tee that I borrowed this morning and folding up my Tommy Bahama chair and slipping it on to my back before reaching down to grab hold of my Havana flip flops. Damon is ready—still shirtless—and waiting for me by the time I'm settled and the anger on his face has me just walking in front of him without another word.
We make it into his car wordlessly and the hour long drive back to Mystic Falls is handled in much the same way.
In silence.
I'm sitting cross-legged on my bed, writing in my diary about this morning's fight with Damon. I just can't believe how quickly everything dissolved. It had been an easy, fun day and then with one call from Giuseppe, we were suddenly at odds with each other. Our differences creating such a rift between us that we could barely even talk.
Instead Damon dropped me off and only stayed long enough to see me step inside my house. Then he sped off down the street without so much as a wave. It has me feeling empty. I don't know what this means for us. We've never not been able to talk it out. Damon has never been so dismissive before.
What's killing me is this isn't even a fight stemmed from either of us. It was a phone call with his father that set him on edge and in my attempt to reach out to him it pulled us apart. As I pour my heart on the pages of my worn diary, my eyes flicker over and over towards my phone. Not a text. Not a phone call. Nothing to tell me that we're going to be alright.
I hear the faucet turn on in the adjoining bathroom my sister and I share and i cringe. The last thing I need is a run in with her today.
Instead I turn on my TV and just keep writing out my feelings since right now Damon doesn't care nor want to hear them. At some point I'm out of words and I close the book and slip it underneath my mattress, focusing instead on an old rerun of Friends where the whole gang is getting ready for Ross's dinner and all Joey wants him to do is drink the fat.
It isn't until a knock on my bedroom door makes me realize that I'm six episodes in and I haven't moved.
With a quick stretch, I walk over to the door and unlock it. I open it, slowly, revealing Damon standing there looking lost and distraught. Despite the urge to slam the door on his face, I step aside and let him walk in, closing the door and locking it up behind him. Then I just stand there, arms folded, foot tapping, waiting for him to begin what I'm hoping is one hell of an apology.
"Elena, I… There's something I need to tell you."
I balk at him. "Something to tell me? Well, I hope it's an apology."
"An apology?" He seems confused.
"Yes. An apology. For earlier today. For how dismissive you were!"
"Dismissive? Elena, I just had a lot on my mind. You don't understand."
I roll my eyes. "Oh, here we go again. How am I supposed to understand if you don't let me in?"
"Because how could you possibly understand?" There's desperation in his eyes. "You're parents have been planning your life since the day you were born. Mine stopped caring."
"But I care! And that means I want to be a part of your life. I want you to talk to me, not push me away cause you're ashamed."
"Ashamed?" His eyes flare at me, the bright blue burning like the center of a flame. "And why wouldn't I be? You tried to make me this perfect boyfriend for you. I had to stop my ways, get my grades up… be worthy of you. This isn't who I am, Elena! I'm not a good guy."
My eyes search his face. He's never been this way with me. We've fought over who he was and who I wanted him to be. But he's never acted like I forced him into being something he's not. It's always been followed by thanks for helping him get out from the dark place he was living in before me. I've never heard him filled with such disdained for making him a better man.
Before I can get words out to prove to him how wrong he is, there's a knock at the door. I'm frozen in place, my eyes on Damon as my mind tries to make sense of where all of this is coming from. He had something to say to me before my anger and hurt got in the way of it. Now here we are fighting and I can't make myself stop.
Damon doesn't seem as frozen as I am because he goes over to the door and opens it. I take my eyes off of him to see my twin sister standing in the doorway, her hair straight and dressed casually in jean shorts, green tank and black cardigan. Not her style at all. In fact I think the cardigan is mine.
She smiles at us, placing her one hand on her hip before asking, "Are you two love birds fighting already? I thought you two were way past the shower debacle."
Damon's head falls against the door as he groans, "Katherine."
My sister giggles at his discomfort causing me to shoot daggers at her with my eyes. This catches her attention and she saunters into my room and gestures to her outfit. "Not very me, is it?"
I roll my eyes. "That might be because everything except for the shorts are mine."
"Oh, that must be it. Looks like Mom switched up our laundry." She gives a little knowing smile that lets me know it wasn't Mom who messed it up. She's been rummaging through my closet again.
I sigh. "What do you want Katherine?"
She shrugs, making her way towards our adjoining bathrooms and unlocking the door, pushing it open. "Just wondering what all the yelling was about." Her hand knocks against the wood door. "These walls aren't exactly soundproof, you know."
"I'm aware of that."
She kinks her one shoulder. "Just try to keep it down. I want to get some sleep before Mason's party tonight."
"Will do," I respond, curtly.
Katherine gives me a little wink and heads into the bathroom. Just before she closes the door I see her grab for her curling wand and give us both a little wave. Then suddenly the room is filled with silence and my eyes wander back over to where Damon is standing by the open door looking like he's ready to bolt.
I sigh. "Can we just start over? What did you want to tell me?"
My voice seems to have snapped him from his own thoughts because I notice his body jump before his eyes gaze back towards the hallway. "I'm no good for you, Elena. I'm no good for anyone."
And with that he turns and heads out of my room. I cry out his name but it does little to stop his quick descent down my stairs and out of my house; leaving me more confused than I was before he came.
"And then he just left?"
I nod, digging my spoon into the small pint of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. Caroline is just staring at me with her spoon filled of Cherry Garcia in absolute puzzlement. It seems I'm not the only one lost with my boyfriend's behavior today.
"I tried calling him, texting him." I sigh. "No response."
"This isn't like him. You two have fought before but never like this." She shakes her head. "Something happened with his Dad."
"That's what I'm thinking." I bring the spoon to my mouth. "But what? He was about to tell me before I went off on him."
Caroline looks down into her pint after pulling her spoon free from her mouth. "What was that about? Why did you lose it?"
It's the million dollar question, isn't it? Overall, despite how the day started it just wasn't a good day for Damon or myself. My readiness to fight and his anger just blew this whole thing into a bigger mess than it should've been.
I take a bite of my ice cream, mulling it over in my head. "We've been fighting a lot lately. About our differences."
"But why now?" Caroline asks. "It's not like you haven't been dealing with it for over a year."
"I think with the move and my apprehension over what he'll be doing while I'm school and his own issues from his dad… I just think we're both on edge. I want more drive from him but I don't want to push him too much because I don't want him to think I don't believe in him."
Caroline frowns. "But… Do you, Elena?"
My head snaps up. "Of course I believe in him. Look how far he's come."
She sighs and I can tell she wants to tell me something that she knows I might react badly to. So I ready myself for it, keeping her gaze and hoping my face is as open as I'm trying to be. Finally, she just plows on through though the apprehension is visible on her face. "It's just… Damon has literally done a complete 180 for you. You're the only person who believes in him. Naturally, he would become whatever you wanted him to be to get that approval from someone he loves. Lord knows his father doesn't give it to him. But you can't completely change who someone truly is. If you don't love Damon for all his wit and danger and screw-ups as well as the man he's become than you don't love Damon. You just love the idea of him."
As I listen to her viewpoint of my relationship, I try to see it through her eyes. Have I forced Damon to become something he's not? Have my needs for perfection caused him to fit himself in a role he's not. Do I love the Damon I have as much as the guy I first met? The one who flirted with me shamelessly and wouldn't stop until I agreed to a date. Or have I forced him to lose himself enough to become the version of him I wanted? Worse even… Will he resent me?
It can't be. I love Damon. Even the parts of him I didn't like. I just always wanted more for him. I wanted him to have direction and drive so that we could be partners. The way my parents are. The way they've raised me to be. "No, Caroline. I love Damon. The good and the bad."
"Then you can't be so hard on him for closing down. He shuts himself off for a reason. You've made him feel like he can't show you those sides of him."
"You mean the side of him Katherine knows." The words taste like acid in my mouth.
"Listen, Elena," Caroline says, soothingly, her hand reaching out to take a hold of mine. "I love you. You're my best friend and I will never forget all that you have done for me. But you have everything up on a pedestal and it's because your parents placed you there. Not everyone is going to live up to those standards."
"I just want everything to be perfect."
Caroline smiles, sadly. "Life isn't perfect. You're talking to someone who had the most idyllic life on the outside. But real life is more complicated than that. People are real and make mistakes and just try to give their best. When I first saw you and Damon I was nervous because of your differences but then I saw how much he loosened you up. Before him you were just checking life off of a checklist. Damon got you to actually enjoy and experience it."
"See? We changed each other."
My best friend shakes her head. "But Damon gave in more. You didn't want him to be the party boy with issues. You wanted him to be the doting boyfriend. But he has issues, Elena. Real ones."
"I know that. Don't you think I know that? I just want to help and understand but he never talks to me about it. He doesn't let me help him."
"He doesn't need you to make it right. He just wants you to understand. Be in the dark with him."
I frown, hoping I can push aside my need for things to be happy and bright in order to actually feel these things for him. Katherine was able to and we grew up in the same house. If she was able to reach into that sense of similarity with Damon, so could I.
Caroline must sense the determination on my face because she gives me an encouraging smile, pulling out her phone as I pull out mine. As I begin to call Damon to find out where he is so we can talk—hoping against hope that he actually responds this time—Caroline makes a sound of shock and my head snaps up to hers.
"Aimee Bradley is at Mason's party tonight."
"What's so shocking about that?" I ask. "She's always trying to party with that crowd. Her and her friend Sarah."
Caroline turns her phone towards mine where it's open to a recent Instagram post. At first I don't see the significance; it's just a group photo of a bunch of our classmates raising red solo cups and bottles of beer. But my eyes search the faces and right beside my sister—who's earlier straight hair is now curled to perfection—is Damon.
It takes me a moment to recognize him because unlike the rest of the group his face is obscured by the bottle he's drinking from. Katherine has her arms linked around his waist, her body pressed up against him. What the fuck? I know I need to get over there and confront him, make him talk to me. Because right now he's falling back into old habits and if I know my sister she's taking advantage of it.
"We have to get over there now."
A/N: Okay... If you caught the amazing trailer by Ele then you know where this is headed. My original plan was to put this off for a bit longer and let Delena be happy to show their connection before everything goes wrong. But these characters and especially Elena's POV kept pushing in this direction and things wanted to reveal themselves before I'm ready for them to. The angst is already brewing and it wants to spill over. So, it's happening earlier than I expected. Putting it off has been the main issue for the delay in updates. The chapters were immediately going to them fighting because of their issues and it was making it hard to write the fluff. Hopefully now I can at least update every other week if not once a week.
As always read and review and let me know what you think... What is Katherine's deal? What is going on with Damon's father? Will Elena get knocked off her pedestal already? Tell me your thoughts... xx