Chapter 8- Heavyweight Title

"Elena this is insane"

"It's one night. We'll drive straight through and be back for work in the morning" I reassured Caroline. She had been pestering me for the last ten minutes about what a bad idea this read trip down to Bree's bar was, and I knew her concerns had merit. One wrong sentence and emotionless Damon was likely to kick me out on the side of the interstate with not even so much as the blink of an eye, but that was a risk I was willing to take.

"Do you really think I'm concerned about you missing your meetings in the morning? If you do you are more clueless than you realise" I rolled my eyes at her statement. I wasn't a fool, I knew he was capable of almost anything, but a few hours alone together in a car with nowhere to hide was the perfect opportunity to continue picking his brain. Surely she had to realise that.

"I know what I'm doing" I told her firmly, placing a pair of pyjamas in my overnight case and zipping it shut just in case whatever Bree had for us took more than a few hours. I wasn't going to be stuck with the same old smelly clothes like the last time we had gone down there. Although, I highly doubted Damon and I would be held up in a hotel room having passionate sex again.

"Yeah. Well so does he. And I don't give a damn what 'developments' there have been in the past 24 hours; I still don't trust the guy as far as I can kick him" I hissed lowly at her statement as soon as the words had left her tongue

"Ears" I warned. Damon was still in the house, and he would fly off the handle if he knew I had divulged the kiss that we had shared last night to anyone. It was bad enough that I brought it up with him, if he knew Caroline was aware of his behaviour he was likely to retaliate in a unforgivable way just to prove the point of how 'unimportant' it was. That was the current state of things, but my optimistic nature had me hoping for an improvement after this trip.

"Oh I don't care. I'll yell it out the window if it means you'll listen to me" She grumbled as she flopped down on the side of the bed "Not that you have ever done that"

"I listen" I defended with a smile on my face, knowing full well that my sarcasm would fall on unwelcome ears

"Yeah right". Caroline watched me pack the rest of my small overnight case and accompanied me out of my room and down the stair case in a way that reminded me of a security guard. She had certainly noticed how much positive progress I had been making with myself lately and her caring nature seemed not to want anything to disturb or disrupt that. She was a fierce lioness when it came to the people she loved and it was just one of the qualities about her that I so highly valued.

"So what kind of uber romantic evening do you and Stef have planned for tonight?"

"None actually" She answered a little more non-chalently than usual

"Oh come on. You've got the entire manor to yourself until the wee hours of the morning…maybe even longer…and you're telling me that you're not going to use that to your advantage? Her right hand flew to behind her ear and she began rubbing the skin roughly. A sure sign of her being uncomfortable. "Caroline? What's going on?"

"Nothing…I am…I wasn't going to say anything because I know it makes you upset but…I'm having dinner with Bonnie"

"Oh." Bonnie hadn't spoken to me in months. Not since that day at the park where she outlined that she wouldn't want to extend her hand of friendship my way for the foreseeable future. And it had been an array of unanswered phone calls and text message ever since. It hadn't exactly been at the forefront of my mind and for that I did feel slightly guilty. I had been friends with Bonnie as long as I had been friends with Caroline, and I knew that I had blatantly showed more care for my relationship with Care, but she was in the loop with this entire supernatural thing, and I needed to keep my loved ones left; Bonnie and Jeremy; as far away from it as possible. I promised myself that once things had settled down and I felt 100% in control of myself that I would tend to my decayed relationship. That's if it was still able to be salvaged. "Well tell her I said hi and that I miss her" A sadness filled Caroline's light eyes at these words and I knew that if the shoe were on the other foot I would feel guilt for being able to see her when Caroline couldn't.

"Sure" She said with a hopeful smile as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a reassuring hug. She clung to me firmly and I knew there was more behind the embrace than she was letting on.

"Oh for gods sakes girls; can you save your chick flick moments for when I'm not at the house?" Damon's unimpressed voice bellowed as he came down the staircase

"Fine, as long as you save your pathetic 'I'm a soulless bad boy with no emotion and nothing to prove to anyone' bullshit for when we are not home?" Caroline retorted at him with a scowl. I couldn't hold back the snort of laughter that erupted from my mouth at her comeback. His eyes squinted in distain as the air in the room became thick with tension. These two had been furiously dancing around each other for weeks; with Caroline not able to spend more than a few minutes in the same room as him since he got back. Her completele hatred for him in his current state was blatant and he seemed to take pleasure in stirring the pot and eliciting a reaction from her. He was a fool in that regard because Caroline Forbes could muster the sharpest words and now that she was a vampire she could back it up with even sharper strength. She may look like the A typical blonde sorority type; but she was not a force to be reckoned with. "It's as pitiful as it is thinly veiled."

"Careful Caroline" He growled at her through gritted teeth

"No you be careful driving my best friend down to Georgia. I would like her back in one piece please. And that includes your behaviour toward her. If I hear that you were anything but nice and civil, I will rip your spine out through your nostrils Salvatore. Understood?"

"Take your threats somewhere else Blondie. You don't frighten me"

"Damon" She warned in the lowest and most threatening growl I had ever heard come from her. It was scary, not in an in your face way, but a quiet fear. It seemed to hit him on some level because will an almost embarrassed bow of his head, he submitted to her.

"Whatever" Was the only response he could muster as he stormed past her in a huff towards his car. I let go of the uncontrollable laughter that had been boiling in my stomach and smiled in approval at her. Leave it to Caroline to scare the living hell into an emotionless vampire. She could frighten Satan with one look.

"Drive safe and be…."

"Careful" I finished for her and with one more hug, I followed Damon out the door toward his vehicle. I put my bag in his trunk and joined him in the front seat, noticing immediately that Caroline's show of dominance over him had put him in a bad mood. Surprise surprise. We sat in silence for a few moments and I knew he was waiting to say something to me; it's why he hadn't started the ignition yet.

"Spit it out" I finally said, turning to him. He didn't meet my gaze and instead continued looking forward, consumed in his tantrum.

"What?"

"You've obviously got a little speech prepared before we hit the road so get on with it" I responded forcefully. He growled at my words, obviously annoyed that I knew him so well.

"I've been waiting for that call from Bree for some time. And the only reason I am letting you come with me tonight is because she won't give me the information I need if you aren't with me"

"Why would she do that?" I asked sceptically.

"A pathetic attempt at torturing me. But looks like I'm going to be stuck in the car with you for the next few hours so on second thought it's working"

"Oh get over yourself Damon and let's get on the road"

"We will. As long as you understand that you are here because Bree wants you to be. Not me"

"But you're making me feel so comfortable and welcome" I retorted with an eye roll

"Why don't you do us both a favour and keep your little commentary and chatter to yourself. Things will go a hell of a lot smoother if you do"

"Whatever you say Damon"

My plan had originally been to use the few hour drive down to Bree's to my advantage by badgering Damon into obedience but he had been rendered into a dark vortex of grumpiness from Caroline's warning that I knew not to test his patience. I didn't want to send him off the deep end, and even though I was growing impatient to rectify the situation, I had to pick my battles, and this wasn't the time to push him. I used the first hour to catch up on my mountain of weekend emails so I didn't have a vast see of unreads when I got back into the office in the morning, but I had too much on my mind to give them the full attention they needed, so halfway between our gas stop in Winston-Salam and Charlotte, North Carolina, I had pulled out the Hemingway novel I shoved into my purse and allowed myself to be emerged in the beautifully written words of the final book of A Farewell to Arms. It had always been my favourite of all of Hemingway's' works, even though like most, the ending was terribly sad. I could feel Damon turning to look at me every now and again, and after a while he interrupted my thoughts with questions of his own. What went through his mind nowadays? What kind of thoughts did a vampire with no humanity have? Were they simple: I'm hungry. I'm tired. Or where they more complex than that? It was a curious thing but something I couldn't ask him without him getting the wrong idea. Besides, he had been quite vocal about not wanting to hear my 'chatter' on this road trip and for once, I was actually happy to oblige him.

About twenty minutes outside of town, the grumpy captain finally spoke.

"So what, I suppose you're angry with me now?" It took his words a few seconds to register in my brain. I had just reached the part in the novel where our couple had successfully fled to Switzerland and my attention was completely wrapped up in their love story. I turned to look at him perplexed once I comprehended what he had asked me after four hours of dead silence

"Pardon me?" I responded confused.

"You haven't said a word to me since we left.."

"You asked me not to?" Was he on drugs?

"Yeah, and when have you ever done anything you've been asked?"

"All the time, when it serves my own interests" I smiled sweetly before returning my eyes to my book. His never left me and I could feel his penetrating stare burning a hole through me. Frustrated, I finally turned back to face him "What?"

"Nothing"

"You're staring at me"

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm trying to see what you're reading" He shot back with a snarl. I contemplated dishing out a daggered yet witty response to him but didn't have the energy to bicker. I sighed in defeat and lifted the open book up to reveal the cover to him

"A Farewell to Arms" I told lightly watching his inquisitive change of face "By.."

"Hemmingway I know"

"Have you read it?" I asked in the hopes of having a casual conversation. I really should have known better.

"No" He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter "What's is about?" I was slightly unnerved by the simple question, a little shocked that he was engaging

"A soldier during WW1. And his romance with a nurse. She is grieving and unknowingly craving a deep love while he has been left emotionally detached and cold from the war. They initially engage in a casual game of seduction but after he is wounded and she cares for him, their love becomes powerfully real"

"So what happens?" He asked, slightly hypnotised by my brief plot summary "They live their pathetic little happily ever after?

"No actually" I said with an almost laugh. The book didn't have a happy ending, and it sometimes made me wonder why I loved it so much "He gets arrested by the military police but escapes and they both flee to Switzerland. They live a happy existence for a short time but she dies during childbirth after giving birth to their stillborn son" I had not been prepared for his furious reaction to the end of the story and I didn't understand what had lit his short fuse

"Tell me something Elena. Do you just have a generally shitty taste in literature or do you have a particular fetish for drunken buffoons like Poe and Hemmingway?"

"My taste in literature is fantastic" I retorted "And obviously I have a particular fetish for drunken buffoons….I dated you didn't I?" Of things to say to him, that seemed to be one of the worst. It was like a scene in a cartoon where a character is furious and has those squiggly unreadable words and shapes above their head, and in one swift motion, he grasped the novel that was clutched between my relaxed fingers and flung it out the driver's side window. I sat there, slack yawed and mouth wide open for a few seconds as the sight that had just unfolded in front of me sunk into my brain. I had a sudden and powerful wave of rage inadvertently overcome every sense in my body, and for the second time since he had returned to town, my hand curled into a fist and I lunged forward to smack him straight in the face. It was a wretched response that could be likened to a toddler throwing a temper tantrum after having one of their toys taken away; logically I knew that, but the fact that he had taken my property out of my hands and tossed it out the window without so much as the flick of an eyelash had pushed me over the edge. I tried not to whimper as the ache of my knuckles began coursing all over my body and between the rage that was filling my body and the blood that was pouring out of his what looked to be broken nose, the car was swimming in red. He swerved his Chevy violently to the shoulder of the rural dirt road. We both leapt out of the car, panting with fury and preparing our arsenal for the war that was about to erupt.

"I let you get away with striking me once Elena. And I told you not to let it fucking happen again" He roared

"Well maybe if you weren't the king asshole of planet earth 100% of the time I wouldn't feel the need to hit you!" I screamed back at him. The darkness in the pit of my stomach was swirling, and I was in danger of losing control of my emotions at this point. But I was too far gone to care. All I knew was in this moment, I hated him, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him as hard as I could in his pretty little face again. In a normal scenario, the physical strength of a woman could rarely overcome that of a man's. But this wasn't a normal scenario, and I really liked my odds.

"I'm not an asshole this is just my personality"

"It's pathetic that you are still trying to convince people of that"

"No. What's pathetic is your sad puppy dog routine you've got going on. Every time I say something that 'upset's you or don't fucking look at you the right way you either start crying or hit me. It was an easy manipulation tool at first, but you're sad school girl crush on me is really becoming an inconvenience now"

"You're delusional if you think I chase after you like a sad little puppy dog"

"No sweetheart. Thinking that your unrequited love for me is going to magically 'turn' my 'switch' back on is what's delusional. It was semi entertaining in the beginning but now, well, I'm embarrassed for you" So this is what we were going to do? We were going to stab each other and put salt in the wounds. We knew each other on a level that no one else did, and both of us knew exactly what to say to get underneath the others skin. "I have his memories you know. The pussy version of me. I can see inside him. I can see what he felt. And I hate to be the one to break it to you Elena, but he never loved you. You were just a piece of ass that he didn't have to travel too far to fuck"

"You're a big boy Damon, so how about you start acting like it and quit pretending that 'human Damon' is this whole other person. And even if he were, I'd wager he's pretty lose to resurfacing"

"What the hell would you base that on?"

"Well the fact that you're still in town for one. And secondly, you not only punching a guy in jealousy but kissing me last night" I thought my tone was fairly threatening, but the chuckle that escaped his throat told me he thought otherwise

"Honey, what did I tell you earlier? Don't mistake me thinking your ass looks good in a cocktail dress and wanting to get my cock wet for the night as any indication of feelings for you. I don't love you, hell I don't even like you: I endure you; that is until I can figure out a way to get you out of the picture permanently so I can have my house and my company back."

"And what makes you think I'm not trying to do the exact same thing? Get you out of the picture that is?" He chuckled again

"Elena. You're as shitty a liar as you are a lay" without hesitation, my right hand cocked back and just as I had moment before, I hit him hard in the centre of his face. The veins around his eyes darkened and he bent forward to spit out the blood that had formed in his mouth

"You hit like a girl" He growled

"Well you behave like a child!" I spat at him, reaching my arm back in fury to hit him again. My hand was stopped in mid-air by his own and I desperately attempted to pull it out of his grasp. We stood, dark eyed and fuming at each other for what felt like an eternity. In an unexpected move, my hand was suddenly jerked forward, pulling my body toward him. I didn't know what he was playing at, but after speaking those poisonous words to me, I was absolutely disgusted to feel his hateful lips against mine. I managed to free my arms, positioning them on his rock hard chest and launching myself backwards out of his grip. Once I was free, my hand forcefully slapped him across the face. I was not a violent person, nor had I ever been, but the level of anger that was coursing through my being at this moment was uncontrollable. Never had I experienced this type of anger towards another person, and the rational part of me that was cowering in a corner deep inside of my chest knew that hitting someone, even an asshole, was completely wrong. But the vengeful vampire side, the scorned woman side, the side that was currently in control of my emotions and my actions, didn't care. I had been concerned about me pushing him over the edge; when it had been him to shove me head first off the cliff. He had the same dangerous look on his face as he had a few moments ago, and yet again, his hands grabbed mine and pulled me forward to him; connecting our lips again. He tasted like poison to me; the same lips that once upon a time I had craved, the same lips that I had melted into not 24 hours earlier now seared a burning hole of betrayal into my own. I struggled out of the prison he had created with his arms and once again, slapped him across the face. His hand flew up to the cheek I had hit and he flinched in pain.

"Stop hitting me!"

"Stop kissing me!"

"Well stop looking so hot when you're angry!"

"Well stop making me angry!" In a scene reminiscing an old western, we stood, staring each other down, both completely unsure of what to do next. It was clear though that the fight was over, and neither of us was going to draw any more weapons. The cloud of rage was beginning to fade and all that was left was a looming migraine. My hands moved up to my temples and I closed my eyes for a moment, wishing myself into a better frame of mind that was more in control of myself. There was too much between us. There were too many things left unsaid and too much history that whenever I was around him it all seemed to morph into this irrational passion that manifested into anger, and I couldn't do it anymore. No, I wouldn't do it anymore. The shame of my morals being violated from physically attacking him was starting to flood my thoughts, and it was the last thing I could handle right now. "Let's go"

We drove the rest of the way into town in complete silence and I prayed to whatever deity was listening that our roadside heavyweight title was the worst part of the trip. Hopefully, Bree would give us whatever 'information' she had and we could be back on our way home as soon as possible. One thing was for sure, I was going to sleep the entire car ride home so I didn't have to so much as look in Damon's direction.