((Mystic Falls | Same Day as Chapter 14))
Elena slowly opened her eyes as the sun came through her curtain. For a moment, she had forgotten the night's events. That is, until it all suddenly hit her. What happened to her. What happened to Stefan. Poor Bonnie in the middle of this again because of her. Stefan was under Klaus's control, and he had no humanity. And he had orders to watch her.
Damon gently draped his arm around Elena, beginning to slowly wake up. After yesterday he didn't want to leave her alone and somewhere along the line he fell asleep as well. "Mm. Morning." He mumbled tiredly as he opened his eyes and looked at her.
Elena looked to her left and met his eye contact. For a brief moment she struggled on saying anything. "Morning" she said, looking at him.
Damon couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. Waking up next to her had to be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "Hi." He whispered and slowly sat up on the bed. "Sorry I uh fell asleep on your bed."
"It's fine" Elena said, sitting up as well. It had been a long day anyways. And she knew he wanted to make sure she was alright. Besides he just fell asleep. Its not like anything happened. "Ill need to talk to Bonnie about Hope today. See what she knows"
Damon gave her a small nod, and despite how much he didn't want to, he forced himself to get out of the bed. He would give anything in the world to have been able to stay there with her. To hold her in his arms for real instead having to imagine it. "I'll come with you." He offered though he knew it was hardly a question. He wasn't going to risk her being all alone again. Even with Klaus out of town. "Do you want some breakfast?"
When Damon mentioned food, Elena suddenly realized she was in fact hungry. She nodded a little, getting off of her bed. "I'm kind of hungry. But we probably have poptarts or something. You dont need to worry about making anything"
Damon gave her a look. "Poptarts? Klaus practically drained you yesterday and you expect me to just let you eat poptarts for breakfast?" He chuckled. "Shower, get dressed, and I'll worry about making you an actual healthy breakfast that doesn't involve six pounds of sugar and artificial flavors."
"Hey. Poptarts is a great breakfast for people who have very little cooking knowledge" Elena chuckled and nodded.
Damon chuckled. "Well it's not a very healthy one. It barely counts as a snack." He said giving her a playful look before heading for the door. "I'll see you in a bit." He said before exiting her room and shutting the door behind him.
Elena rolled her eyes with a slight chuckle. Once Damon was gone, she let out a sigh, feeling the pain hit her again. She picked up the photo of her and Stefan for a moment, running her thumb over the photo. She set it back down finally and went to take a shower.
Damon headed into the kitchen and began his task of cooking breakfast for her. He enjoyed cooking for her, plus it was a good distraction from everything that was going on.
Elena enjoyed the hot shower, but all of the thoughts resurfaced in her mind. She closed her eyes and ran a hand through her wet hair. The events of yesterday came crashing back to her. Elena got out of the shower and started getting ready, feeling a bit numb. Stefan was Klaus' slave and had no humanity. She was a human bloodbag. Klaus had a very powerful witch on his side that could heal like a vampire. And she wasn't sure if there was anything they could do to stop her.
Elena came downstairs, her hair damp but mostly dry. She took a seat slowly, still a bit surprised over dinner and breakfast. Damon couldn't help but smile when he heard Elena. "Alright. We have pancakes, eggs, bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice." He said looking over at her as he set the plate of bacon near the rest.
Elena's jaw dropped a little at the sight. "You know you really didn't need to do all of this" she said, looking at Damon.
Damon smiled and shook his head. "I don't mind. I wanted to." He said and began serving her a plate making sure to get her some of everything. "Plus it's a good distraction." He added setting the plate in front of her along with a glass of juice.
"Thank you," Elena said. "And at least one of us has a distraction. If I tried cooking by myself, this house might burn down"
Damon snorted. "Yeah I don't doubt it. Which is why I plan on cooking for you from now on. It keeps me preoccupied, it keeps you healthy, and as a bonus, it also prevents you from burning your house down."
"Well, I'm sure Jeremy and I both appreciate the last bit. " she said, starting to eat. She hesitated and pulled out her phone, sending Ric a quick message. Elena set her phone on the table after texting Ric that she wanted to get training to defend herself. She continued eating her food.
Damon chuckled a little and took a seat next to her. "I'd be glad to cook for you any time you want." Granted he figured that once Stefan was back to normal, she would have him cook instead. At least he could enjoy these moments with her in the meantime. He looked at her, smiling a little as he observed her. "Why don't we go out today?
"Well as nice as that sounds, I hate to remind you of the situation, but Klaus wants Stefan to keep an eye on me. We can try. But I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up. Or watched us from a distance" Elena said
Damon rolled his eyes, already having been expecting that. "Well I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's where the she-devil might actually come in handy. If she's still busy chasing after him, he might be a little preoccupied."
"Maybe" Elena said, looking at him at that. "I hope you're right. The last think I want is to be stalked or bodyguarded by humanity-less Stefan"
"I know. Believe me it's the last thing I want too." Damon sighed softly. He wasn't worried about Stefan hurting Elena. Not physically anyway. But all he wanted was to make Elena happy. And that wouldn't happen if they ran into him. It was why, as much as he hated himself for doing it, he sent a quick text to Katherine, asking her to keep Stefan preoccupied for a while. "But why don't we at least try okay? Surely it's not going to kill us." He grinned.
Elena sighed a little and nodded. "We can try." She said, though she did later want to figure out a way to save Stefan.
Damon's smile widened at that. "Good. Because you need a distraction. And I'd be more than happy to give you that." He said quietly. He felt tempted to reach for her hand, but in the end he decided against it.
Elena looked at Damon at his words. "What do you have in mind?"
Damon grinned and shook his head. "Oh no you don't. That's a surprise. We can do anything you'd like later. But first there's something I want to do with you. Something that'll definitely get your mind off everything."
Elena had the ghost of a smile form as she finished up her apple juice. A few months ago, she would have been wary of whatever plan he had, but she trusted him. Even though he had lied to her for months, keeping the secret that Stefan was killing people, that leads were panning out, he had been there for her, helped keep her sane. And he continued to do so all summer. She had her friends, who were very important to her. But they had been caught up in their own problems lately. She didnt need to ask them
Damon looked at her curiously, already having been prepared for her to protest. But when she didn't, he couldn't help but smile. He wasn't sure when it happened, but it seemed Elena trusted him. Even if he couldn't think of a single reason why she should. "If you're done, I can clean up later. Right now having fun is more important."
"Yes, I'm done" Elena said, looking at him for a moment before tearing her gaze away and standing up
Damon smiled and reached inside one of the cabinets, pulling out a cooler. "Alright then." He then held his hand out to her.
Elena raised an eyebrow at the sight of the cooler but forced away her curiosity. She needed a relaxation day before focusing on getting Stefan back. She took Damon's hand
"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough." Damon said playfully, noticing her obvious curiosity. He held her hand comfortably and then sped them away towards the woods.
Stefan was at the Salvatore House. He knew he had to go watch Elena very soon. But at the moment, he was enjoying the pleasures of vampire twister with a bunch of girls, some with more clothes than others, blood smeared on the twister mat
Katherine stood in front of the boarding house and sighed softly. Judging from the smell of blood it was obvious to her that Stefan was inside, which was why she didn't hesitate before stepping inside. Instantly she wrinkled her nose at the sight. "Really Stefan? If you're going to drain most of the female population of Mystic Falls, you could at least do so in a classy manner." She scolded and walked past his mess, towards a bottle of bourbon. She slowly poured herself a glass and looked at him as she took a small sip.
"I like it this way. Whoever invented twister was brilliant" Stefan said, spinning the wheel. "These ladies are helping me be all that I can be. Uh-oh. Alexandra, left hand" He said, watching as the brunette walked over to him and held out her left arm, which Stefan took and bit into
"I sincerely doubt that." Katherine rolled her eyes before quickly downing her drink, definitely needing it at this point. "However...if it's chaos and blood that you want, I know a way that's a thousand times more fun than this. Not to mention sexy." She smirked.
"I need to check on Elena Gilbert soon" Stefan said once he pulled away from the girl's arm
"And I needed to get my nails done. Instead I'm here." Katherine said placing a hand on her hip and giving him a look. "Come on. If you're wasting time playing twister, surely you can waste a little more time trying it my way." Her smirk widened a little.
Stefan looked at the girls. "Time to go. We can continue this later" he said and watched them all leave.
Katherine rolled her eyes as she watched him. She never cared if his humanity was on or off, but even she had to admit that she missed his old caring self at the moment. Still. She also knew the upside of his humanity being off was that he didn't care about anything, and that included the consequences of being with her. "You know Stefan...if you wanted to get me alone, all you needed to do was tell me." She flirted stepping closer to him.
"And why would I want to get you alone?" Stefan questioned, stepping closer to her
Katherine smirked against his lips and eagerly kissed him back, pushing him up against a wall while her hands reached for his shirt. She didn't care if once his humanity was back on he went back to hating her. At least for this one moment in time, Stefan wanted her. And she knew she would choose to remember it forever.
Stefan continued kissing her, pulling her closer before slipping off his shirt and then hers. He held her close to him, welcoming the current distraction
Katherine slid her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply and passionately. She waited nearly a century and a half to be close to him again. She didn't care if it was just a momentary lapse of judgment because his humanity was off. She'd take whatever she could get. Because she loved him. And she missed him so much.
Stefan sped her back to his bedroom and kissed her passionately once more, not wanting to let her go. Because he knew once he did, he would be a babysitter again.
Katherine smiled a little against his lips when she felt her back hit the soft mattress. She swiftly flipped them over so she was on top of him. "I did miss this." She murmured leaning in closer, planting soft kisses along his bare chest.
"I can't stay too long. Enjoy it while it lasts" Stefan said
Katherine smirked. "Says who? Klaus? Because that name...has no business in this bed." She said smugly, bringing her lips back to his and kissing him passionately.
Stefan kissed her back passionately before pulling away a little. "You're the one that brought up the reason" He said before kissing her again
"Mmm. Forgive me for my mistake then. It definitely won't happen again." Katherine whispered seductively before eagerly returning his kiss.
Once Damon was far enough away from everything did he finally stop. He then slowly let go of her hand and set the cooler down. He grinned as he reached inside and pulled out a water balloon. He didn't hesitate before throwing it in her direction.
"Damon!" Elena shrieked at the cold water that hit her, letting out a small laugh, despite the emotions that were weighing heavily in her chest. Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't that.
Damon laughed. "What? I never got to do this when I was young. Mainly because it wasn't a thing. But still, I figured I owed myself at least one water balloon fight. And what better person than you? Especially since I know you'll go easy on me." He teased reaching for another water balloon inside the cooler.
"I used to do this with Bonnie and Caroline when we were kids. Of course, Caroline was the most competitive" Elena said fondly
Damon snorted easily imagining a younger Caroline intensely competing in a water balloon fight. "Well you don't have to worry about the competition with me. I'm just looking to have fun. Feel free to even the score." He grinned and set the fresh water balloon he grabbed in her hand carefully
Elena grinned at that. "Good." She said and moved away, pushing back how ridiculous she found this. She threw the balloon at Damon.
Damon laughed feeling the water soak through his shirt. He quickly reached for another and threw it at Elena. "I do have an advantage though. Vampire aim beats human aim every time. But I'll let you have a bit of fun." He chuckled.
Elena chuckled. "Thanks" she said, amused as she tried to lessen the splash. Her clothes were already very wet. This was helping distract her from her problems at the moment, but she knew it wouldn't last that long.
"You're welcome." Damon said with a playful grin as he reached for two more balloons. "Just don't tell Caroline we did this. The last thing I need is her thinking she can throw water balloons at me."
"My lips are sealed" Elena promised
"Good." Damon grinned and tossed another water balloon in her direction.
Elena continued throwing water balloons with Damon, letting her mind ease up for the first time in a while. She welcomed the distraction it provided, despite wanting to search for a solution
Katherine smiled brightly and slowly inched closer to Stefan, resting her head on his chest. "Mmm. Admit it. Staying here with me was so much more fun than anything else you could've done."
"It's not like I want to be doing what I need to do. Which I will have to be doing very soon" Stefan said. He could feel the compulsions effects getting stronger and knew it was a matter of time before he got up and left. He needed to keep an eye on Elena. Even though he could care less. "Though I will say this provided a distraction" Vampire sex was usually a good distraction.
Katherine forced herself to smirk instead of letting it be known that the word distraction was used to describe all they just did. She knew his humanity was off, and therefore there wasn't anything he cared about especially her. But it still hadn't been an easy thing to her. "I know. Believe me. But there's always a loophole to compulsion Stefan. And now you have the vervain I gave you. Which means anything else he orders you to do from here on out won't really work." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and sat up, resting her back against the headboard. "Alright. What were his exact words when he compelled you? If you're not going to look for a loophole, it's my job to help you."
"There isnt one. So you can have your vervain back. He covered it before you showed up. Compelled me to do everything he says until he says otherwise. Which is why I really do need to go soon. The only loophole I get is if he doesn't specifically tell me what to do. Which he nearly didn't this time."
Katherine sighed softly, feeling hopelessness set in. She wanted to help him, but he was right. If he was compelled to do anything Klaus asked until the hybrid himself said otherwise, there wasn't much the vervain or her could do. "I don't want it back. Keep it. You'll need it. Believe me he's not done. You're an idiot if you think his great act of revenge for you lying to him for months is to just have you as his puppet. That's just insurance while he's out of town. As soon as he comes back that's when the real fun begins."
"It wasnt his idea to have me as his puppet. It was Hope's" Stefan said, looking at Katherine. "It was also her idea for me to have my humanity shut off" Which Stefan was, well, for the lack of a better term, glad about. It felt so much better not being bound and controlled by emotions that seemed to destroy his life.
Katherine's eyes widened a little at that. She was already dreading what other punishment Klaus could come up with besides making Stefan do anything and everything he asked for. But if it was Hope's idea then he really was screwed. "Then you're dead. Because if this wasn't even his idea...he'll be thinking of something so much worse the entire time he's away." She sighed running her fingers through her curls. She was trying to think of way to get him out of it, but all her mind could come up with were scenarios of her greatest fears.
"Wait...you said he compelled you to do anything he says until he says otherwise right? And right now that only qualifies as checking up on Elena right?" She smirked. She found the loophole. "He never said you had to stay here. Nor did he specify you needed to check on Elena in person. It was implied but never actually said. Which means you can fight it."
"Klaus' original idea was for me to stay in Chicago while he came here and ripped the heart out of who had the necklace. Elena" Stefan rolled his eyes at the thought of the obnoxious doppelganger who would no doubt ruin his fun. "Hope suggested this because the guilt would hurt whenever this switch gets turned back on. It's like she had a better idea than he did. He was impressed." Stefan said. "And no unfortunately he specified. I've been loophole-ing the when, but I still need to check on her. And soon. Have I mentioned how much I don't want to be someone's puppet? I feel like I'm usually someone's. Yours, Lexi who is the whole reason I am not like this on a normal day. Elena who has pathetic humanity me doing everything she asks. And of course the original hybrid who compelled me to be his puppet"
Katherine frowned slightly at the information given about Hope. She couldn't tell Stefan what she found out about the witch just in case Klaus compelled him for information later on. But she really did want to tell him. She trusted him as stupid as it was for her to trust anyone. However, for the time being she had to keep her mouth shut. "I can see why likes her then. Hope. She has more of a devious mind than he does, and that's really saying something."
She sighed and slid back down on the bed, resting her head on his chest once more. She wanted to enjoy the little bit of time she had left with him. Especially since it turns out that Klaus did cover his bases and specified his compulsion. She guessed he learned after having her trapped in Alaric's apartment.
"Wait me? How were you ever my puppet? No offense but you were the difficult one to deal with. In any case my puppet was Damon. He always did what I wanted easily. Even after supposedly hating me, I could always easily manipulate him in any situation." She smirked, glancing up at him. "You on the other hand, I literally need to get you with no humanity just for you to do what I want and even then you're leaving me for Elena yet again." She held a hand up. "I know you're compelled. Before you say it. But that's not the point." She chuckled softly, pressing a kiss to his chest.
"Mmm. I guess you have a point there" Stefan said. He paused. "I met Hope the day before we came back. She was in my apartment in Chicago." He didn't care about anything, but he would appreciate freedom eventually. And if Hope was out of the picture, he might have a chance of actually getting free and able to mind his own humanityless business elsewhere
"Yeah. I heard." Katherine mumbled closing her eyes for a moment. "I went to see Damon, who happened to be with Elena. She told me." She bit down on her lower lip, trying to decide if she should tell him what she knew or not. Even if he told Klaus what would it really prove? That he researched Hope? Well. That could get him in more danger. In the end she settled for something in between. "I'm handling it. The Hope issue. I can't exactly tell you how or what I know because it could put you in danger if Klaus compels you for information. But trust that I'm working on it."
"Good." Stefan said. He paused. "Gloria, the witch Klaus saw in Chicago, was wary of her. She wasn't even wary of Klaus. But she said Hope radiated power. More than she had ever seen"
Katherine nodded slowly. "If my theory is right about her then, that doesn't surprise me. I just need proof but, I'm pretty sure in what I believe." She sighed. She had enough to worry about with Klaus. Now she had this witch to take care of too. She was suddenly glad Stefan currently didn't care if he was with her or not. She needed something to remind her why this was so important.
Stefan looked at Katherine, almost curious about what her theory was. But it only really mattered if it impacted his plans of eventual freedom
Katherine smiled a little and leaned in closer, kissing him softly. "Don't worry about it. I'll tell you once I know it's safe to. For now I just can't risk the information falling on Klaus' hands."
Stefan kissed her back. He moved away from her and got off of the bed. Katherine smiled, turning on her side and watching him. She wished she could stay here forever, in his room with him. It definitely beat sneaking around and running from Klaus. But then again she was sure everything beat that. The words 'I love you' were on the tip of her tongue, but she refrained on saying them. She knew they wouldn't mean anything to him, especially not now with his humanity off.
"I should get going." She said instead. "I know you have to check on Elena and, there are a few things I need to do too."
Stefan nodded and slipped on some clothes, not even bothering to say goodbye since he didn't care. She could get killed in front of him, and he wouldn't bat an eye.
Katherine slowly got out of the bed and gathered her clothes that were all over the floor. "I'll come by later. Maybe I'll even let you convince me to play your version of twister." She winked at him and finished getting dressed. She looked at him for a few seconds longer, wanting to memorize him, his scent, his room. Everything. Because she knew once he got his humanity back this all would be nothing but a distant memory. She gave him a small wave goodbye and sped out of the house.
Damon sighed contently as he rested on Elena's bed, already having showered and changed into dry clothes once they had gotten back from playing with water balloons. He couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun. Probably when he had been human. "Hey I was thinking when you're done we could put in a movie?" He called out looking at the closed bathroom door.
"Okay. I need to call Bonnie first" Elena said as she got out of the shower. She still hadn't talked to her about Hope. And it was better to get that done now than later.
"Alright. I'll make popcorn in the meantime." Damon said unable to help the smile on his lips. For a moment he almost thought she would've told him to leave by now. But it seemed she actually enjoyed his company lately.
"Hello?" Bonnie answered as she flipped through another page of her grimoire. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. Currently taking a day of relaxation before dealing with everything else again. But I was wondering about Hope and what all you know or guess about her. Katherine did some searching with her various contacts around the world and says she shouldn't exist. That none of her contacts know about her" Elena said
Bonnie blinked in surprise at that. "Wait what?" That didn't make any sense. But then again neither did Hope working for Klaus. "Unfortunately I didn't really find much out. She's a very closed off person. All I know is Klaus doesn't appear to be threatening her. She just wants to help him. She seems very protective of him which is definitely a first. I mean his own brother tried to kill him." She rolled her eyes. "I remember she was looking for this magical object. A prism I think."
Elena took mental note of this information. "Is there anything else?" She asked, wanting to know as much as she could.
Bonnie thought for a moment. "She looked sad. Like she had been through a lot. But she didn't really get into detail as to what that was. She also said something weird." She said as she thought back to the conversation she had with Hope just before getting to the mansion. "She gave me a guarantee that you would live. Before Klaus found out your blood made his hybrids work. It's almost like she knew what would happen somehow."
Elena frowned at that. "I wonder how she knew about that" She said, confused. "Alright. Thanks for letting me know. Hopefully we can figure out who she is"
"I know. There's...I don't know. There's something about her. She doesn't look cruel. Not like Klaus. She looks kind and determined to do anything for the people she cares about. I just don't know how that's related to Klaus yet. I mean from my understanding they just met and suddenly she wants to help him more than his own family does. It doesn't make any sense." Bonnie sighed.
"Alright. Thank you, Bonnie. For everything. I'll let you know if we figure out anything about Hope or if anything else happens"
"Of course. You know I'd do anything for you." Bonnie smiled a little. "I'll keep researching on my end. If we can't convince her to join our side then we're going to have to stop her. And she's powerful."
"I know" Elena said, inhaling sharply at the idea of anyone getting hurt during this. "Ill uh talk to you later" she said and hung up the phone after Bonnie said goodbye. Elena went over to Damon, thinking.
Damon had just set the bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table when he saw Elena. "Hey. How did it go?"
Elena hesitated before filling Damon in on everything Bonnie had said about Hope. She was worried about everything that would happen. She told him about what Bonnie had said about Hope seeming to know that Elena would survive before Klaus even knew Elena's blood helped make hybrids.
"That doesn't make any sense." Damon frowned. No one could've predicted Elena's blood was needed for the hybrids. The curse was made to have the doppelgänger be killed. "But...if Katherine's right about her being an older, resurrected witch then, that's plausible. Maybe she was even around when Klaus was human and knew the real details about the curse."
"I suppose that's the only logical explanation" Elena said, looking at him.
"Yeah." Damon sighed, wishing they knew more than what they currently did. "I'll see what I can find out too. I mean Katherine's not the only one capable of doing research." He said giving her a playful smile.
"Mm. And how many sources do you have?" Elena questioned, stealing a piece of popcorn from the bowl
Damon grinned and grabbed some popcorn, gently tossing them at her. "Well not nearly as many as Katherine I'm sure, but there are a few witches I can reach out to."
"Hopefully we can figure this all out. I just wish I was able to be more helpful" Elena admitted, looking at him.
Damon's playful expression slowly turned into a more serious one as he nodded. "Hey. Right now you're only job is to relax while Klaus is out of town. We know he won't kill you. So focus on that. And in the meantime I'll do everything I can to get rid of Hope." He promised and wrapped his arms around her.
Elena slowly hugged him back, though it was somehow different than the other hugs they had shared before.
"Well, isn't this sweet" Stefan said mockingly, suddenly standing in the doorway as he crossed his arms and watched.
Elena pulled away from Damon at the sound of Stefan's voice and looked over at her humanity-less ex.
Damon exhaled softly, his eyes fluttering shut as he held her. In this moment he wanted nothing more than to tell her everything he felt for her. How much he truly loved her. If it hadn't been for Stefan's familiar voice echoing in the room then, he wasn't sure what he would've done. "Seriously? Don't you have anywhere better to be?" He muttered though truthfully he was grateful Katherine managed to distract him for this long.
"I have been busy having sex with Katherine. However, compulsion still is set, and I need to keep an eye on Elena" Stefan said, not caring how his words hurt Elena. "Despite how much comfort and protection you have been giving her"
Elena's face faltered at the announcement about Katherine, but she straightened up.
Damon's eyes widened a little at his words, but truthfully he couldn't be that surprised. He knew Katherine having gone to see him meant something along the lines of that. And without his humanity on, he also knew that Stefan was more susceptible to something like that happening. He just hadn't expected him to so casually say it in front of Elena. "Ignore him." He mumbled to Elena before glaring at his brother. "Okay well you've seen her, she's fine. You're free to go."
"She is more than fine, I'm sure, with you by her side. The one who never gets the girl yet pines after her anyways. Though I do agree you need to get rid of Hope"
Damon scoffed, trying his best to not pay attention to his words. He knew he was only trying to get a rise out of him. If he got angry then he won. "Yeah well what can I say? Maybe I got bored of you always being the hero. It was getting a little predictable." He smirked. "I gotta say I'm surprised though. You wanting to get rid of Hope. What? Are you jealous Klaus isn't your best bud anymore?"
"I dont want to be his puppet forever. If Hope's gone, it's one less person to worry about" Stefan said. He turned away to leave.
"You do realize that even if I did have an answer for getting rid of Hope, I couldn't tell you right? Right now you're the world's biggest liability." Damon rolled his eyes. "But hey maybe try seducing Katherine again. I'm sure one look with those sparkling green eyes will have her spilling all her secrets."
"I didn't say you should tell me. Just get it done" Stefan said before walking out of the house.
Damon scoffed and shook his head. The only reason why he was even listening to him in getting rid of Hope was for Elena and nothing more. "Is it just me or is he just so much more annoying now?"
"It's not just you" Elena said, watching the empty doorway before shaking herself out of it and closing the front door. "Look, enough about Stefan for now. Though we do need to get his humanity back. Right now, I need a distraction before I work on a plan to get our Stefan back."
Damon could feel the disappointment slowly settling in his heart at the sound of her words. "Right." He did his best to smile and forget the fact that once Stefan had his humanity back, she would be his once more. "What movie were you thinking?"
"I didn't really have anything in mind" Elena told Damon
Damon gave her a nod. "Alright then. Are you up for a horror movie or is that a little too close to home?" He asked playfully.
"After our lives, horror movies aren't usually scary" Elena chuckled. "Especially the old ones. But yeah, I'm up for it"
Damon chuckled. "Horror movie it is." He settled and began looking through the dvds, finally choosing one. He put in the movie and took a seat on the couch, patting the space next to him.
Elena carried over the popcorn and took a seat next to Damon. "What did you put in?" She asked curiously.
"The Shining." Damon answered with a grin. "It's a classic. And a personal favorite."
"It is? I think I've only seen it once" Elena told him.
"Of course. One of the best horror movies of all time." Damon smiled and hesitantly placed his arm around her.
Elena forced herself not to inhale sharply. She reminded herself of the other times he had done. It. Once when she was a prisoner in her own home. But he hadn't been this close and it hadn't made her feel like she was losing her breath. She shook her feelings away and watched the screen
Damon glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know if it was just him imagining things, but he could tell she looked nervous. Not to mention her heart was beating a little faster than normal. He couldn't very well confront her about it however. Not if he didn't want to ruin the little bit of hope he had. Instead he simply kept his gaze on the screen while subtly inching closer to her.
Elena forced herself to focus on the screen and watch the horror movie.