Chapter Three- Nothing Was The Same

I couldn't even judge how long I stood there staring after him like an absolute idiot….but it was far longer than my pride would have liked to have admitted. I could hear heated chatter in the distance and began fighting an internal battle between wanting desperately to eavesdrop and also wanting to give Damo and Stefan their privacy. Whatever was going on between Damon and I was completely separate from their relationship and regardless of everyone in the house possessing extra human hearing…we all deserved to have our own discretion in each different relationship. In laymen's terms it was none of my damn business. My morals yet again beat out my desperate curiously and I begrudgingly carried my tired feet up the staircase and towards my room. It had been a very long and tiresome day, and now with the sudden homecoming of soulless Damon, I had a feeling it was about to get even more so. I walked into the room I had been occupying at Salvatore Manor since my transition and kicked my painfully high shoes off into the corner. I didn't much have the energy to check any more emails tonight and decided that a nice glass of scotch and a steaming hot bubble bath was the only thing that would keep my sanity intact.

I impatiently tapped the side of the tub as the water slowly filled it and wished, as I often did, that most things in life could operate at the same speed as I could. You have no idea how monotonous it was having to wait for things to happen on regular human time when you yourself were not a regular human. But that was just yet another adjustment that I needed to get used to since transitioning, another item in the bag of reasons why immortality sucked. Literally. The oversized ivory tub was finally steaming hot and after slipping out of the corporate uniform I had become ever so accustomed to I glided inside it, moaning delightfully to myself at how lovely the hot water felt against my cool skin. I curled my fingers around the rim of the scotch glass I had filled and placed on the tub insert a few moments before and brought the amber liquid to my mouth, enjoying the abrupt burn it had on my throat on its way down. I didn't even know where to begin to gather my thoughts. Should I start with the stress of the biggest merger in the company's history that I had somehow become responsible for? The New York executive who I had managed to coerce into leaving his home to move to Mystic Falls to help? The same New York executive who my best friend and PA was ruthlessly attempting to manufacture a romantic relationship with? The end of my human life and the beginning of an immortal eternity as a monster? The fact that my brother had been compelled not to return to Mystic Falls unless Damon himself command him to which meant I hadn't seen him in over 6 months or the big daddy: The return of the vampire previously known as Damon Salvatore. That one was weighing on my mind the most but it was the topic I was most afraid of facing. He was under the same roof as me right now, and I don't think I could quite comprehend that yet. I had spent so many occasions daydreaming of his return…..daydreaming of the incredibly romantic reunion that we would have….and tonight, well, tonight was something that I hadn't imagined would happen in my dizziest daydreams. I had decided earlier today that I would never give up until I had him back….never give up until the man I knew and loved had come back to me, but seeing who he was tonight, seeing that empty shell of a person standing on the front porch, I wondered if maybe it was naiave of me to think that my love would magically lift the spell. Stefan and I had had many discussions about what the ramifications of flipping the switch on your humanity were. I don't necessarily think he was trying to scare me, although the darkness he talked about was frightening, but I think he more wanted to make sure I was prepared for anything, and that my hopes didn't get destroyed when eventually, like tonight, he blew back into town like a bat out of hell as a completely detached guy. Perhaps it was foolish of me to think simply seeing me again would reawaken the humanity he had discarded. Perhaps Stefan was 100% correct, and the depths someone needed to reach into and go through in order to gain even a slither of it back was near impossible. I couldn't comprehend that kind of hedonistic being. I was a giving and compassionate person and my humanity was something that I thrived on. Someone so attached and feeling could never comprehend the state he was in right now. But that still didn't mean I was going to give up, it was just going to be a rockier and longer road than I ever could have imagined.

"Why do you consistently look so glum Elena? You're a contender in knocking the selfish martyr crown off Stefan's head" I jumped in surprise as if I had been hit with an electric shock. It wasn't very often that someone could sneak up on me since my transition, but Damon had managed it twice this evening. I guess my mind certainly was a thousand miles away. I placed the scotch glass back on the tub insert and made a vain attempt to ensure all of my body parts were covered in bubbles

"Do you mind? I'm kind of naked here!" I shrieked at him.

"Oh come on Gilbert it's not like I haven't seen it before" He chortled, sitting on the edge of the bathtub and scooping a hand full of bubbles into his hand "I've definitely seen better but I've seen it" he blew the bubbles from his hand in my direction and gave me a strange little smile at his comment. Is this who he was now? A sarcastic, cruel asshole? Because if that was the case this was not a narrative I wanted to be a part of.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked through gritted teeth

"Yes actually, I wanted to know what the fuck happened to my bedroom?" Stefan had cleared out the room a few months ago when it was clear that Damon wasn't coming home. He didn't do it because we necessarily needed the space: the manor was huge, I think he did it more to stop me from going in there and cuddling up on his bed when I was feeling particularly down. It was beyond pathetic, I knew that, but sometimes I enjoyed being able to smell him again. If I closed my eyes tight enough I could pretend that he was still here and I had a feeling my pathetic attempt to feel close to him again bothered Stefan a little. Not in a bad way, more, him being troubled that I was revelling in the heartache. He had assumed an almost unofficial big brother role over me lately, and if I were honest with myself it was comforting to have a male around that I knew I could rely on. Damon's stuff had been put in storage and the room had been converted into yet another guest room that wouldn't be used. Vampires didn't exactly entertain much at home. Guests often turned into dinner when that happened.

"Stefan didn't think you were coming back so he cleaned it out" I told vaguely with a shrug "I'm not sure where your stuff is you'll have to go and ask him"

"Uh well I attempted to do that but according to Barbie he is asleep and I am not to disturb him. I'm not certain who died and made her Queen Bitch but she certainly wears the second title quite well"

"You'll just have to wait until morning then" I commented lightly.

"I can always crash in here with you though right Gilbert? Just like old times" There was nothing sincere or inviting about his sentence and I had never in my entire life felt less attracted to him than I did in this moment. He had an aura of emptiness about him, like an abandoned house on a cold winter's night, and it sent shivers down my spine to hear him talk so off the cuff about our past relationship

"Yeah I think I'll pass on that one Damon" I responded coolly. How was this happening right now? Half an hour ago I didn't have the faintest idea where in the world he was, and now here he was making casual, if not patronising, chatter with me while I was taking a bath. It was surreal.

"Oh come on Elena I see the way you look at me. You still want me" I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug smirk off his prick of a face, and thanks to my newfound vampirism I liked my chances of kicking his ass in a fight. "Not that I can blame you"

"Things are different now" I warned with venom in my voice

"Yeah they are. Like if we fucked now you would be doing it because you're in love with me and I would be doing it because your tits look good with those bubbles on them" My hands automatically flew up to my chest to cover the area of my body that he was referring to so casually. I had seen him be cruel before but it was almost always a defence mechanism. Underneath it all he had a good heart. But now? This? He was purposely toying with my emotions and enjoying it. It was truly frightening.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I questioned, not particularly wanting the answer. I knew what was wrong with him yet I was completely and utterly powerless to stop it.

"Oh too many things for your tiny brain to comprehend Elena" He leant down into the tub, cupping some water in his hand and splashing me roughly with it before standing up "I'm going to hit the hay before I fly out tomorrow. As delightful as it's been I really must return to my life of leisure…which is located as far away from this dump of a town and you tedious vampires as I can possibly get" I felt a sharp pain stab into my heart at the thought of him leaving again. Even though he was different, even though nothing was the same, I wasn't sure I was quite ready for him to be gone again. He held my gaze for a little longer than necessary, and for the smallest of moments I thought I saw a glimpse of him, the old him, but I had a feeling I was projecting my desires into it. He broke out of the gaze and lifted himself off the edge of the bath, walking out of the bathroom and quite possibly my life. I couldn't be here. I didn't want to deal with this. So I decided to do the one thing that had been keeping my sanity lately: retreat to my office and hide behind my work.

X

I had been at the office since Damon had gone to bed last night. Being under the same roof as him, even if it was just for the night, was just too much for me to deal with. I think the glass of my delusion had finally shattered. I'd seen the full ramifications that came with flipping the switch and it was far worse than I ever could have imagined. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the guy who I had encountered last night. The guy who toyed with my emotions as a form of sadistic sport. It reminded me of Katherine. Not that it mattered anyway, he would probably be halfway back to Guam or Belize or wherever the hell it was he had been. I wanted to fight for him, I wanted to put every single fibre of my being into bringing him back, but I didn't know if I was strong enough yet. I was still struggling with my own transition. Still picking up the pieces of the implications of my own immortality, and I needed time to think and to deconstruct everything. It scared me though. I knew I wasn't ready, wasn't prepared to help him find his way back to himself, but I worried that the longer I left it, the longer he lived his life with no emotion, the harder it would be to get him back.

I reached over and grabbed my coffee and noticed it was around 7am. I'd got a tonne of work done last night, but my mind had been continuously drifting to the pressing Damon situation at hand. Where would I even begin with him? I guess it was pointless now. The coffee soothed my throat and I hoped that the caffeine would give me the jolt that I needed to get through the day ahead. Regardless of what was going on in my personal life, we still had the biggest merger in the company's history going through, and my attention needed to be 100% focused on that. Deflection certainly was a beautiful thing. I saw my phone buzz and I glanced over to see Caroline's name on the screen. It was quite literally the 50th call she and Stefan had made to me throughout the night, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. They were obviously wanting to tell me the news, unaware that I'd already had not one but two encounters with the new and definitely not improved Damon. I knew they were watching out for me and cared about me, but I didn't have the energy to be coddled right now. I just wanted to hide out in my foxhole and wallow in my misery for a little bit. I think I had earnt that. I heard the doors of the elevator ding and I looked at the clock again, double checking that I hadn't misread it. It was a little too early for Caroline to be in and I had assumed Stefan would be dragging his feet this morning like he usually did after one of his little 'trips'. My curiosity was soon answered when I saw Damon come tearing out of the elevator like a bat out of hell with a furious looking Stefan hot on his heels. I had never been physically frightened of him, even back in the early days when his violent mood swings used to intimidate me, but in this moment, seeing the ferocity on his lifeless features, I was terrified. He stopped short at the edge of the desk but threw his body across it so his face was a mere inches from mine.

"What the fuck do you call this then?" He roared at me.

"DAMON!" Stefan warned from behind him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out of my space. I felt my own anger start to rise in my stomach and I had to use every bit of energy inside my exhausted body to prevent my fangs from popping out in defence. Anger certainly was your go to emotion of immorality, and Damon Salvatore was quickly becoming the number one instigator of mine.

"No this is not right!" Damon roared at his brother, shaking out of his grip with clenched fists

"What the hell is your problem?" My tone was irater than I had anticipated and I needed to be careful here. I had cautiously cloaked my emotions in the past few hours, and the last thing I needed was a straw to break the camel's back.

"My problem? My problem is you!" He grimaced at me "Pretty great plan of yours Elena. Get me out of the way so you can snavel my job. Congratulations are in order. You really are a cunning bitch"

"How many times do I have to tell you that this was not her decision. I am the one who appointed her, and I had to beg her to do it"

"I'm sure you did"

"Wait I'm sorry. You're pissed off that someone else is taking care of the job that you abandoned?" Was he freaking kidding with this?

"I did not abandon it. I was simply taking some personal leave. That's what the press release said right? Well it's your lucky day because my personal leave has officially ended. You can go ahead and get your bony ass out of my chair now thanks" Breathe Elena. Just breathe.

"She's not going anywhere Damon"

"Like hell she isn't. This is my job at my father's company. You might be living in the Manor and moonlighting as the CEO honey but you are not a Salvatore"

"And thank fucking god for that!" I roared at him causing the black veins under his eyes to pop out. We stared at each other, blind hatred pulsing through our veins, and I wanted nothing more in this world than to hurl myself across the desk and tear him apart

"That's enough! Everyone just needs to calm down!" Stefan screamed in a firm but pleading tone. I knew he hated conflict, especially when it was between the people closest to him "Now Damon, if you want to come back to work you're more than welcome to, but it will be in another, lower tiered position"

"What" Damon growled in response

"Are you honestly delusional enough to think that I would reinstate you as CEO after you've flipped your switch?"

"Actually yes. Unlike some other people, my thought process is purely logical, I don't let emotions interfere with my judgement"

"That may be so but you haven't proven to me that you're capable nor committed enough to be reinstated."

"This is just as much my company as it is yours"

"That's correct. But we also have a board of directors to answer to, none of whom are very happy with your abrupt departure. So, let's make a deal. I'll make room for you as Operations and Quality Control Manager. You will work directly below both Elena and myself and assist us in the preparation of the buyout and merger of Ace Inc. ETA is roughly 3 months and considering it's the biggest our company has ever handled we've had to fly a senior account manager in from New York to assist us so another experienced person working on this as well will make it go a lot smoother. You know the account, you know the GMs and you know the buyout process so it should be a walk in the park for you. If, after that time, you have proven that you are committed to the company, and you don't just want back in because you're feeling burnt that Elena has stepped up to fill your shoes, I will reinstate you as Chief Executive Officer. Lollygag about, pull any stunts or so much as even think about compelling anybody in this office to get your way then I will dissolve your shares in the company quicker than you can say Salvatore and SON…..and you know with my pull with the board I have that ability" They both entered a staring competition, waiting for the other to back down but neither wavering. They had always had this almost telepathic ability to communicate without words, and this was certainly one of those times. They were having a conversation with their eyes and I was completely oblivious to what was going on

"Fine. We have a deal" He growled "But when you reinstate me, you're paying to redecorate this office. Something just feels off about it now"

"And just so we are clear. Elena is the interim CEO of this company, and the moment you sign your employment contract that means she is your boss, so you will treat her with the respect that title commands or our deal is off. Are we clear?"

"Crystal" Damon grumbled through gritted teeth. He threw me a heated gaze that almost cut right through me before turning on his heels and high tailing it out of the office in a flash. Once the elevator doors had closed and he was on his way down to the lobby, I let go of the breath I hadn't realised I had been holding, and I finally felt my anger dissipating. I composed myself for a few seconds before noticing that Stefan's worried eyes were on me

"I'm guessing you knew he was back then?" He asked lightly

"Bumped into him last night" I replied shortly with a faux smile on my face "We had a lovely chat"

"I'm sorry"

"Why are you apologising, you don't even know what happened…"

"I don't need to. I know this version of him a little too well" Stefan's face fell a little and I noticed just how much seeing his brother like this hurt him. He was always rooting for him, always believing the best in him, and I saw the frustration it caused him to know just how close Damon was to finding true happiness….before everything fell to absolute shit. He dragged the chair from the side of my desk that had been pushed aside when Damon came flying into my office and sat directly across from me with a penchant look on his face "I didn't want you to see him like this but, I knew once he found out you were alive he would come back. Even the darkest version of him would come back"

"He certainly is different" I responded coolly. I knew what this was. This was big brother Stefan making sure I wasn't falling apart. Truthfully, how could I not be, but I had the ability to lock it away now. I had the ability to push it down to the deepest parts of me and not feel it as much. That was one vampire ability I was grateful for at the moment. "How did you find him?"

"I got a call from one of my private eye guys. He located him about an hour south of Dangriga…"

"Yeah Belize, I caught that much"

"He asked me if I wanted him to go in and I told him to stand down until I got down there. By the time I got to the villa I walked in on a massacre of my guys, they'd got wind that he was getting ready to move so they went in. Idiots. They didn't quite know who or what they were dealing with. Anyway, I thought he'd be halfway down the South American coast by then so I decided to head home and put it down to another loss. Imagine my surprise when Caroline tells me this morning that my big brother arrived late last night…" I was trying to comprehend what Stefan just said but I couldn't wrap my head around it. The thought of Damon murdering those men, in complete and utter cold blood was just…inexplicably sickening. "It's not him Elena" Stefan whispered, creepily reading my mind like he often did. I gave him an appreciative smile

"I know. I understand it, what you've been telling me, better now it's just. It's hard to believe. Even seeing it with my own eyes I don't think I one hundred percent believe it. It's just a completely different guy. I feel a little embarrassed that I was so naïve about the whole thing until last night"

"He was awful?"

"Oh you know. Emotionless, cruel, sadistic. Almost, Katherine-esque, without the constant attempted murder" I chortled in mock laughter "I wonder if we'll see her return now that Damon is back"

"Who knows? She's been quiet ever since he left, it wouldn't hurt us to take some extra precautions now he's back in town" Stefan commented lightly. The only good thing that had come from my death was that for some reason, Katherine had completely disappeared. Bigger fish to fry we had figured. Stefan had a theory that she was on the run from someone, it's why she never stayed in one place for too long, but I couldn't imagine the kind of person that would scare Katherine Pierce. It was too much evil for me to comprehend. And now we had another unpredictably dangerous vampire in town, except this one used to be our greatest ally "I need you to prepare yourself for what's about to come Elena. It's going to be, well, hell, especially for you"

"What?" I asked confused

"For some reason, you having this job has really gotten under his skin. He didn't give a goddamn when I wanted to talk business with him this morning, until he found out that you are interim CEO. He flew into this maniac rage. Literally 0 to 100 in a second flat. It was scary, even for him"

"Why? I mean, it's just a job?"

"I don't think it has to do with the job Elena. I think it has everything to do with you"

"But why?"

"Right now, you're the only thing that's got a shot at making him flip the switch….and deep down, this dark horrible version of him knows it. I know how he thinks when he's like this, and he sees you as a threat. He's going to come after you in anyway he can, and I guess he sees this as a perfect opportunity"

"To do what! Kill me!" I shrieked in a panic

"No, no, of course not. Just, break you. Physically, mentally, anyway he can really. That's why I need you to prepare yourself, because things are about to get really, really, rough"

"You've got to be kidding me" I sighed in defeat. Was he serious right now? We had just come off high alert in regards to Katherine and now what, I had to be on constant alert for Damon? This was insanity

"I know I ask too much of you Elena. I have from the very beginning when I begged you to help me with him. And the past few months, putting the pressure of this job on your shoulders when you've been struggling with your transition and struggling with him being gone. I know I don't have a right to ask this of you, after everything that you have suffered because of my family, but I'm going to, I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked that morning at the waterfall. For you to help him see the light, to help him find his way back to himself"

"Stefan…"

"Please Elena. You have to see that you're the only shot I have with this"

"I can see it but I just. I don't know if I have it in me anymore" I spoke honestly "I'm not the same girl I was then. I was so hopeful and optimistic, even when everything around me told me otherwise. But now? I'm tired. I'm mentally exhausted every second of every day and I have this, this anger inside of me that scares the life out of me. Most days I struggle to see the light within myself, how can you expect me to help someone else see their own?"

"Because I know you. I know the compassion and love that drives you. And even though you're burying it as far down as it can go at the moment, it's still there. You just need to let it out, even if it hurts"

"Stefan, I can't…"

"How about you start giving yourself a little patience and kindness. And then we can focus on Damon" I smiled brightly as the memory of that morning by the waterfall came into my mind and those words he had spoken to me. Patience and kindness. I hadn't known him as well back then, and I'd only seen a glimpse at what a wonderful person he was. He had a way about him that soothed people, like the eye of a storm, and no matter what I was feeling, he could always calm me down, and make me see reason.

"Okay. I'll give it a shot"

A/N Thank you so much for all of you who have followed this sequel. It truly warms my heart to see more and more of you each day following me as an author and this story.

Side note- I've been getting a lot of feedback from people who are worried there will be an Elena/Enzo cannon. I will be firm in saying this is strictly a DELENA only cannon, so please do not fret. Under no circumstances will Elena and Enzo's relationship evolve into anything romantic- he is simply a friend outside the vampire foursome for Elena to start enjoying herself with. Because Bonnie is NOT featured in this Fan Fiction (Nothing against the character for those who like her I just personally don't enjoy writing her) I think it's important for Elena to have an outlet outside Stefan, Caroline and Damon, especially a human one.

Thanks again for your loyal readership and I hope you enjoy this and the coming chapters.

P.S I will be on vacation for the next three weeks so I may no update until late August.

Littledove xx