Author's note: Hi everyone! Now that Elena knows both about vampirism, everyone can finally be on the same page, and we can move the plot swiftly along!
And thank you for the absolutely LOVELY feedback! I feel warm and loved and so filled with happy-fuzzies!
September 2009
Elena tried to wrap her mind about everything that transpired during her conversation with Anna the night before. She was a vampire – a vampire! The supernatural was real. Witches were real.
This was incredible.
But most importantly, Anna's mother was alive!
They stayed up long into the night, discussing the various aspects of vampirism. Elena learned about vervain and compulsion – and why it was so important that she never take off her bracelet under any circumstance. Sadly, vervain was hard to come by, Anna informed her, or she'd have gotten her some to brew into a tea, which would render her blood poisonous to any vampire who tried to drink it, and give her protection against compulsion that wouldn't be so easily removed.
'Tween Damon had a fondness for stage magic and hypnotism,' Elena scoffed derisively, mimicking Anna's not-quite-sympathetic-bordering-on-smug tone when she delivered the so-called news. She had to admit that the ruse was clever, and certainly couldn't fault her in assuming it would be a far greater deterrent than telling her that the alluringly dangerous guy she was attracted to was, in fact, dangerous. Of course, he was! But in a manner that made her heart flutter a rising crescendo.
And then came the biggest bombshell of the evening, at least concerning Damon – she was an exact replica of Katherine. Down to every last little mole and beauty mark – and probably some of those hidden under layers of clothing, as well.
Elena's entire countenance fell upon hearing that. So that's why he seemed so interested in her – or at least in teasing her. She was a carbon copy of his lost love – one he'd spent over a century trying to rescue.
It was never about her, Elena surmised miserably, and the feeling certainly hurt.
At least it wasn't Stefan's entirely-too-attentive fascination with her, before his several-days-long disappearing act from school. Damon mostly exploited Anna's ruse for his own amusement, which, while douchey, didn't rile her nearly as much as Stefan's seemingly openly unending stare that refused to leave her no matter where she moved.
Right. Maybe it was a good thing he took some time away from classes, for her sake, though she was starting to worry it might be something serious. Even if his behavior bordered on creepy at times, she still didn't want anything bad to happen to him.
Wait, did that mean that Stefan was a vampire, too? Maybe he was out of town doing vampy things? Ugh, did he take her diary with him? Rude. The least he could have done was drop it off with Anna.
It was at that moment, she elected that she'd put both brothers out of her mind. Perhaps telling her about her resemblance to Katherine would have worked just as effectively, Elena made sure to tell Anna sulkily, still salty over having been tricked, despite her general excitement over all the newfound possibilities Anna's unwitting invitation to the world of the supernatural just provided.
Her mother was alive!
And Damon was certainly eager to play along with the ruse, wasn't he? Aaah, she was such a fool. Why was she thinking about him again? No matter. She'd go over to the Salvatore Boarding House after school – the address for which Caroline apparently already had well in hand, somehow – get her diary from Stefan, which she was increasingly sure he had, and only interact with either Salvatore when strictly necessary. That's it. That'll work.
Easy.
It was with this affirmation in mind that she drove over to the gorgeous estate after classes had finished for the day, doing all that she could not to gawk at the elegant architecture. She braced herself to knock on the door, hoping to make the transaction quick and breezy. No need to delay. One quick interaction, and she'd put both vampires out of her mind.
Vampires! Her life was officially wild. Her best friend was a vampire, and she apparently had an ancient vampire who could pass for her doppelganger trapped in a tomb below Fell's Church.
She backtracked mentally for a few moments. Maybe she owed Damon an apology. It wasn't his fault that Anna decided to tell a lie about him, and maybe this was his way of making the best of a bad situation. What if he was really shy and sweet, and just trying to adapt and be accepted? Her heart ached at the possibility that she could have made him feel even worse.
Before she could even complete the motion to knock, the heavy oak door to the Boarding House opened to reveal the devastatingly sultry form of Damon Salvatore. Her eyes scanned his body before she could stop herself, hovering over the too-tight black tee he wore that was practically glued to his form and did almost nothing to hide the gorgeously-proportioned muscle and bone structure beneath. Stop drooling, Elena – stop it, she chided herself, before forcing herself to breathe normally. She narrowed her eyes, noticing a smirk embellish his handsome face right after her breath hitched.
Nope. She took back her earlier thoughts immediately and any consideration of apology flew right out the window. He wasn't trying to cope – he was enjoying it. What an arrogant ass.
"What brings you here, Elena?" Ego Incarnate asked, sounding very flirtatious. How did she even partly believe Anna's insinuations before? There was absolutely nothing about him that suggested any juvenile-centered retrograde amnesia was afoot. The guy was pure sex. Stop. It. She practically growled at her own wayward thoughts.
"I'm here to see Stefan," she said succinctly, hoping to cover her very obvious attraction with a cool demeanor. She noticed his jaw tighten, something flash in his eyes briefly – something almost painful. Did those two have issues? Issues with girls? Of course, they did. They were probably hundreds of years old, so they were bound to have an awkward romance story at some point. Was Stefan here for Katherine, too? Is that why he was being so weird with her? Before Elena could properly analyze what she saw behind Damon's eyes, his earlier expression returned, now tinged with amusement. "He's not home, but ooh no, Elena. I'm not supposed to let strange girls in! What will mommy say?"
Elena just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, nonplussed that he was having way too much fun with playing with her. "Probably that her immortal son is a lying jackass."
"Ooh, so Anna told you the truth? Didn't think she'd 'fess up so soon. I'm honestly impressed." His smirk widened in outright excitement, Elena noticed. He tilted his head to the side to scrutinize her. "So, are you here to take the Eternal Stud out for a test spin? Sorry to disappoint that I don't sparkle," he said in a mocking display of sincerity, his astoundingly blue eyes widening in an alluring way that made Elena lean forward toward him as though pulled by an invisible thread until she caught herself. "Or is this more of a fang fetish?"
Elena felt a chill go down her spine. "How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything you've done? You tricked me!"
"And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire 'arrogant and glib'?" He asked pointedly, and there was something about Damon that she'd never noticed before. Sure, she immediately sensed the danger upon meeting him back in May, but there was something else – almost elusive – like his eyes would continuously switch between portraying too much and nothing at all. There was flirtation, but there was also a subtle warning. He wanted her to think he's dangerous, Elena realized. But why?
"Wow, vampire posturing. There's something I didn't expect to encounter on a random Thursday afternoon," she deadpanned, and only realized how true the statement was. What was her life becoming? "If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead," she shot back, raising both eyebrows sharply.
"Yes, you would," he drawled, apparently back to feeling amused, at least outwardly.
"But I'm not," she shot back, inflecting up.
"Yet," he said impatiently.
Okay, enough was enough. Even Anna admitted eventually that Damon was was unlikely to cause her any real harm until the tomb was open, and then spent all night trying to awkwardly convince her that he would immediately become the height of hazard to her health right afterward, without giving her a solid reason aside from his apparent love for Katherine, between answering the questions with which Elena relentlessly peppered her. None of that made any sense to her. Why would his love for Katherine render him such a danger to her, and why after the tomb was open? She planned to question Anna about this some more, but the hours got away from them. Regardless, Elena could recognize posturing when she saw it. She had a little brother, after all – and she'd spent enough time with the testosterone-driven football team to recognize an annoying bout of machismo for what it was. With just the barest hint of a self-indulgent smirk, she shoved Damon to the side and walked into the house.
"I am a very dangerous predator!" Damon called after her scandalized at her apparent comfort in his presence. At least a little intimidation would have been nice.
Damon's outburst prompted that satisfied smirk in Elena to grow exponentially, and she only managed to hide it because she was facing away from him, the effect of which was ruined when she rounded on him. "What you are is an ass! You let me carry on believing you had amnesia."
"Hey, don't get mad at me," Damon replied with his hands raised in mock-surrender, evidently finding the situation entertaining again. "Your little buddy came up with that delightful ruse, fun for everyone."
"She was trying to protect me, at least," Elena replied, flustered. "You were just trying to have a laugh."
"One must seek joy in all things, Elena," Damon affected with mock serenity, affecting a Yogi's Heart Pose by pressing the palms of his hands together before his chest, as his body bubbled in laughter. "Why are you here to see Saint Steffie, anyway?"
"I lost my diary right outside the cemetery, and it wasn't there when I doubled back. Anna doesn't have it so –" Elena began.
"Your diary!?" Damon interrupted, grin grew astronomically in a way that made Elena profoundly uncomfortable – both because it made those butterflies she associated with him come back and that she strongly suspected another scheme was afoot. "And what would my frown-line-magnet little brother find in this diary?" Damon purred, inching closer, a little too aware of the effect he had on her. He raised his voice a few octaves, bringing the back of his hand to his forehead in dramatic fashion. "Dear Diary, today I met the sexiest man in existence, and he unveiled life's wisdom to me, but my annoying bestie says it's not to be – because he had a very bad accident, you see –"
"She said those bits of 'wisdom' came from a YouTube video targeting a tween audience, and I'm starting to think she's right," Elena replied with a smirk of her own.
"But ooh!" Damon continued in a mockery of Elena's voice, as though not hearing her interruption. "It turns out he's a sexy and forbidden creature of the night. What am I to do, Diary? Will he sparkle for me? Will my blood be his 'personal brand of kryptonite'?"
"Are you a fan of Twilight, Damon?" Elena asked innocently. "Because that definitely supports Anna's tween theory. You seem to know an awful lot about it."
"I saw some clips," he shrugged, back to using his own voice. "Thought some of them would make a great drinking game – for vampires, of course. Or really burly humans. Or humans with a death-wish."
"You officially know more about it than I do," Elena said in a faux-sympathetic tone, as though breaking it to him gently, taking a step closer. "It's okay to admit it, Damon. I won't judge," then her grin widened. "I lied. I'll judge. Excessively."
He raised his eyebrows appraisingly at her, then tilted his head to the side, clearly studying her again with a widening smirk. "So, what kind of literature do you like, then, Elena?"
"I like lots of books," Elena shrugged, a little surprised at the direction in which the conversation was going. "But I find myself re-reading The Neverending Story a lot."
"Maybe all the people who say ghosts don't exist are just afraid to admit that they do," Damon quoted the novel from memory to an increasingly impressed Elena, then winked. "The same can be said for the supernatural. All the clues are there, but no one wants to see it," he added smoothly, talking a walk to his wet cart to take out two tumblers. "Drink?"
Elena bit her lip nervously, then nodded. Damon was giving her more information without her prompting than Anna had in months – and she had so many questions – especially about Katherine. "You mean the 'animal attacks' that the town's been covering up for centuries?" Elena asked, affecting air quotes, before taking a glass from Damon.
"What else did Anna tell you about us?" he asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.
Elena couldn't quite place if he meant to intimidate her or if this was just a vampiric instinct. She took an appraising sniff of the amber liquid. Definitely some kind of whiskey. Great. If past experience were to be trusted, this wasn't going to be fun for her. Bracing herself, she took the smallest of sips before the burn down her throat rendered her entire countenance a coughing mess, to her profound embarrassment.
Damon just laughed, looking oddly charmed as he guided her to take the seat on the sofa, and brought her a glass of water. "Definitely not a whiskey girl. Noted."
"She told me about your pupil-dance mind control," Elena said, clearing her throat as she took the proffered water, trying to move the conversation along and away from her humiliating whiskey reaction.
Damon chuckled. "Pupil-dance mind control? You mean compulsion?"
Elena nodded after she took a few sips, relieved that her throat felt a measure better. She felt warmth flood her cheeks when he sat next to her, closer than he'd ever been except for the night they met, when he started to tell her that he wanted her to get everything that she was looking for – right before Anna showed up. She felt her breath tremble, then forcibly steadied herself, lifting her wrist to display her bracelet with a wry smile. "Mmhmm. And vervain."
"Wow," Damon rolled his eyes. "A whole bracelet that can be easily removed. How clever of Anna. You should have several on you – and start ingesting it, too."
"Anna said it was hard to come by," Elena replied indignantly, instinctively defending her friend.
"It is, actually," he conceded. "Lucky for you!" he called as he got up, and disappeared from view, only to reappear less than a second later, carrying a bag of herbs that distinctly resembled lavender, placing them on the table in front of them. "We happen to grow it."
Elena gingerly took one in her hand, feeling its soft petals before taking a cautionary sniff. It almost smelled of roses. "This is the weirdest lavender I've ever seen."
"That's because it's not lavender. It's vervain," Damon corrected wryly.
"Yeah, right," she rolled her eyes, by now used to Damon messing with her. "You just happen to have this exceptionally rare herb, and you're willing to part with it, just for me."
"You want proof?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up with challenge, right before he took one of the flowers in his hand.
Elena gasped as she watched it singe his skin, instinctively knocking it out of his hand, her chest heaving in horror. Why did he look so smug? "Oh my God, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"
"I'm a vampire, Elena. I can handle a little –"
She inadvertently interrupted him with an extended wrist, surprising herself with her forwardness before she could think better of it, stunning him to silence. "Anna said you need blood to heal, right?" she stammered, not sure where this was even coming from. He was a vampire, but so was Anna, and Anna was her best friend. Somehow, she couldn't connect the thought of him being able to seriously hurt her when he was the same kind of being as the girl she loved like a sister. All she saw was that he was hurt, and that she could heal him.
He looked at her strangely, and something in his gaze softened. It wasn't the coolness or the mirth that she usually saw, but he almost appeared vulnerable for a split second before taking her wrist in both of his hands, and pushing it back onto her lap. "You were really offering, weren't you?" he asked rhetorically, looking like he was wrestling with himself for a few moments. "No, I'm fine," he finally said after he appeared to have made a decision, opening his palm to her. "Already healed, see?" he said playfully. "Ta-da!"
"That's incredible!" Elena gasped. "How did you heal so quickly?" she queried, her curious mind fully active as she examined his palm. She hadn't actively nursed an interest in medicine since the time her father was alive, and suddenly, she felt that passion attack her like a tidal wave. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so …
…Alive.
"Species-specific secret," he winked.
She laughed, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable, and drew her legs onto the couch to cross them beneath her.
"Shoes, off! Off my couch," Damon chided with a wag of his finger, tapping each one.
Giggling she removed the offending attire, and resumed her previous, cross-legged position. "Yes, Vampy-Poppins!"
"Don't you forget it," he winked, polishing off the remaining bourbon in his tumbler.
"So, what's your favorite book?" she asked curiously, thinking it only fair that she got to learn about him, too.
"Hard to say," he replied as he walked to pour himself another glass. "I like a lot of them – like you. But I find myself returning to The Call of the Wild a lot."
"The story of a dog named Buck shedding his domestication to adapt to a wild, new world awaiting him," Elena summarized, then turned her own scrutinizing glance at him. "A bit like a human shedding social conventions to become a vampire?" she asked insightfully.
Damon couldn't help the genuine smile that rose on his face at the assessment, studying her anew. She wasn't what he expected – at all – he had to admit to himself. When he caught her sweet, open, and innocent expressions, he was honestly fascinated by someone wearing Katherine's face showing polar opposite personality traits, though he was more entertained by it than anything else. But then her intelligence surprised him. She seemed keenly perceptive, but not manipulative, and wholly unaware of her own power and sex appeal. She'd even managed to catch him off guard, and that's become an increasingly impossible task with a vampire of his experience.
He didn't know quite how to feel about it. On the one hand, he found her endlessly curious. On the other, she'd already made him feel several things throughout the span of several conversations – especially the one currently and disturbingly short-circuiting his dimmer switch – and a part of him was terrified of the natural endpoint of this obvious trajectory.
He noticed her drumming her fingers on the glass of water he gave her, obviously anxious, and he could have sighed at the relief from the self-examination. "Go ahead. Ask. You're clearly dying to know something."
"Do I really look like her?" she blurted out inelegantly before she could stop herself.
"Katherine?" he asked, surprised at the turn of the conversation. "Anna told you about her?" he asked almost nervously, knowing precisely how she felt about his sire.
Elena nodded sympathetically. "You did, too. I don't know if you remember – but you called me by her name when we first met," she said softly, inching closer, then took his hand in hers. His eyes shot up to hers in alarm, confusion. "I'm sorry," Elena breathed, taking a few seconds to elaborate. "I'm sorry you've been without her for so long. It must have been so hard for you. But I'm helping Anna get her mom back, and I'll help you get Katherine back, too," she said with a warmth in her voice that clenched his heart, and he wanted to look away so badly – look at anything else – but all he could do was get lost in the expressive, dark eyes that were so much like Katherine's and yet inherently different. The genuine and undisguised empathy in them was almost overwhelming him. "I can't even imagine what it's like to be separated from someone you love for almost a hundred and fifty years."
Damon swallowed the lump in his throat – looking for something, anything, to distract him from the tumult of emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him. What the hell was wrong with his switch? He needed to get Katherine back and get out of town fast before this place turned him into the pathetic sap he was as a human – or even worse, Stefan. Ugh, okay, that did it, he shuddered in disgust. Nothing like subconsciously comparing himself to his Mope-Master and Mole-Muncher brother to shake off any excess sentiment and threat of returning humanity.
Before Damon could elaborate further, the subject in question evidently returned, and he could practically feel the seething rage coming off him in waves. "Hello, Stefan," Damon greeted without turning around, still facing Elena with a wry grin, and added a wink for good measure, just to see a hint of a pretty blush embellish her cheeks.
"Damon," Stefan greeted stiffly, watching his brother with overt suspicion.
"Stefan!" Elena jumped up, sensing the sudden awkwardness in the room. "Are you okay? You haven't been in school for the last few days."
"I'm fine," Stefan replied, keeping his gaze on Damon. Although the moment was decidedly rife with tension, Elena was relieved to note that she wasn't the only one on the receiving end of one of Stefan's exceptionally intense stares. She'd have to ask Damon about that later. "Just getting over a bug. I'll be there tomorrow."
"Great!" She said nervously, locking her hands behind her back, and choosing not to acknowledge the lie about having a human illness in favor of getting out of there as quickly as possible. "Do you have my diary?"
"Uh, yeah," Stefan said awkwardly, finally looking at her and taking it out of his jacket pocket, holding it out to her. "I didn't read it – I promise," he said, and Elena looked a bit dubious, but took the offered item. "I was just by your house to return it, but you weren't home. Now I see why," he added with narrowed eyes, returning his gaze to Damon.
"Fantastic!" Elena chirped, eager to exit this clearly uncomfortable environment. "I'll be going now. It was good to see you, Damon," she said, gathering the bag of vervain and her diary into her backpack.
"Great seeing you, too, Elena," Damon said with more sincerity than he intended, placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand just to listen to her breath catch again. She nodded once, not trusting herself to speak, then practically ran out the door.
"You gave her vervain?" Stefan asked suspiciously, as soon as they both heard Elena get into her car. "What game are you playing at, Damon?"
"Wow, you really have no imagination, Stef," Damon shook his head playfully, pouring himself yet another glass of bourbon. "No vision – at all! She's a founding family member, so I'm obviously trying to gain her trust to keep them all in my back pocket," he said easily, though inwardly he was wondered if he was trying to convince Stefan or himself.
"It's always some kind of angle or scheme with you, isn't it?" Stefan replied, nonplussed with his brother's attitude.
"That's right!" Damon exclaimed with faux cheer, taking his tumbler and walking out of the room. He was done with this conversation. He'd already felt too many unwelcome emotions for one day, and the last thing he needed before he opened the tomb was that kind of dangerous, humanity-affecting introspection.
I really wanted to use some canon dialogue for this, because I always felt that the scene would be a lot more amusing (to me) if she was very clearly not afraid of him, and he would obviously be bothered by that. I've wanted to write it for a while, too, so I'm just happy to finally be able to fit it into a story somewhere.
I honestly expected this to me more banter-y and less of a heart-to-heart, but here we are. I guess they wanted their first interaction to be a bit more sincere. Not to worry – Damon was quite serious when he said that he doesn't get mad, but gets even. He's going to get Anna (and Elena) back for their prank soon enough – and then the prank war can finally commence.
Stefan will get better. He knows his bro has his humanity off (or at least on a dimmer, that seems to swing a little toward humanity when Elena's around), and Damon loves to taunt him, so he was bound to be suspicious of his motives. (Although, to be fair, he does have a sad tendency to think the worst of his brother, and Damon seldom corrects him). Buuut, I like writing characters empathetically, so he will get better, definitely.
We learn that Elena apparently hates whiskey in S4, so I like to work that into my stories, since it's fun. :D
At this point, I almost want to say that Elena's a little too trusting and comfortable around vampires. That's going to change. There's going to be a paradigm shift, but I wanted to her to have a very soft intro and Anna was able to provide it.
I gave Elena The Neverending Story because it's a pretty typical INFP book - and it's really good. Damon's canon fave is The Call of the Wild, per S1.
Much love to you super-awesome humanoids! :D
