Chapter Four

Bedeviled

Elena took a deep breath. "Damon?" He swiveled around on his stool and attached his gaze to hers.

"What are you doing here?" He deadpanned, his mood completely unchanged by seeing Elena before his eyes. She took the seat next to him before continuing.

"I came here to bring you back home."

Damon lifted an eyebrow, looking surprised. "I? Stefan didn't come with you?"

"I decided to do this myself." She confessed and Damon laughed.

"Let me guess, Steffy didn't care. I guess he's happy to go back on our original deal."

"What do you mean?" She asked with a confused look. Damon took a mouthful of bourbon before answering.

"Stef and I made a deal, whoever you didn't choose had to leave." He laughed again. "But then he begged me to stay, saying you would need my help. Then he wouldn't listen, so why would I bother to stick around. More fun here." He then smirked and nodded to the bartender, silently asking for a refill.

"I didn't know about that." She said, shaking her head at the bartender, refusing a drink. Elena couldn't believe the brothers had made such a deal, because of her, one brother would have to leave the other.

"Now I bet my brother is overjoyed that I left, not having to deal with his insecurities anymore." Ignoring his comment about Stefan, Elena moved closer to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"Stefan doesn't know I'm here." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I know what you did, Damon and I know why." Damon's body shifted at her words. "Stefan was right you know, I do need you, Damon. Just like I needed you when Stefan left." Her honest words bring a slight smile to her face. Damon only stared back at her blankly.

"What exactly do you need from me, Elena? You have your boyfriend and Vampire Barbie."

"I need many things from you, Damon." Elena wanted to mention she needed help with feeding from humans, but the proximity of the bartender kept her from sharing. A slight darkness arrived in Damon's eyes before he spat out his next words.

"What makes you think I care about you anymore?" His harsh words removed the smile from Elena's face, but she didn't recoil her touch. She knew Damon wasn't feeling anything right now, including his love for her but she wasn't backing down.

"I know I hurt you, Damon and I'm sorry. You don't know how sorry I am." Elena could feel her eyes starting to get heavy, she was hoping to get through this without crying.

"I came here for fun, Elena and you're ruining it." He deflected, starting to feel his steel chest rattling inside him. Elena needed to keep pushing.

"No, you came here to run away but you could've gone anywhere, Damon. You could've taken a plane ride, instead you chose the closest city to Mystic Falls." She breathed. "A part of you wanted to stay close." Her words were full of truth, so much so it made Damon uncomfortable, so he finished his drink quickly and took off from his stool and headed outside. Elena felt like she was getting through to him, breaking down a wall, so she followed him without a second thought. "Damon, stop!" She called out as they both made it to the street, blazed in the afternoon sun.

"You let me go, Elena. So why don't you do that!" He said without slowing down or looking back.

"No, I'm here for you Damon and I'm not going home without you." She argued, trying to catch up to him to grab his arm. Her words made him slow his pace, but he kept walking, heading straight for his car. When Elena noticed his intended path and what he was going for she became terrified. Getting into a car chase was definitely not part of her plan and losing track of Damon now would be worse. Before catching up to him she decided to stick with her original plan.

Past memories.

Moments between them.

Using his love for her to bring him back.

Damon got alongside his car and inserted his key in the door, before turning it, Elena grabbed his hand, saying his name again. Before he could protest, Elena looked at him deeply and spoke.

"Do you remember when you found me in the hospital, Damon? The night Stefan attacked me, and Klaus drained my blood." She asked but he didn't respond. Elena pulled his hand toward her collarbone, pressing his hand into her skin and continued. "You found me, weak and scared. I don't remember much after Stefan bit me, but I still recall it being one of the worst nights of my life." She took in a shallow breath and tilted her head slightly. "You found me, and I was so grateful that you did. I never got to tell you how grateful I was." She confessed, moving closer so she could take his other hand in hers. "You then promised me you would never leave me again." Elena could've sworn she saw some emotion on his face when she finished off those last four words, but he still didn't talk. "I would like to do what you did for me that day, Damon." She paused before mentioning the night that had destroyed him. "I know that night was terrible for you Damon and I'd like to be there for you. I'd like to make the same promise you did, to never leave you." Elena had poured it out, filling her words with truth and her heart. She felt like it was going to happen, that the metal chest was going to unlock and bring his humanity back. She was suddenly shocked when it went the other way.

Damon shook both hands, removing her touch and finally spoke.

"Yeah, that's not me anymore, Elena. That guy died when you did." He turned back and opened his car door. Elena felt a pain in her chest, like glass mixed with sea salt, tearing through the skin and reaching her heart. Her tears didn't want to stay inside her eyes anymore, she started to cry. Her trip down memory lane had failed. He was still emotionless and still not interested in coming home. Before he could drive away and possibly disappear forever, Elena tried a simpler tactic.

"We need you to come back Damon!" She yelled as he sat behind the wheel of his car. "There's weird stuff happening and that hunter is still lurking around." Damon turned, facing her.

"I totally forgot about that hunter." He murmured, a slight smirk coming to his lips. "Hunting him would be fun."

"So, you'll come back to Mystic Falls?" She asked, leaning inside his opened door.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've hunted a human. It'll be a blast." He smiled at her.

"I'll see you again when we get back." She said, wiping a tear away with her sleeve. She moved back so he could close his door.

"Doubtful." He finished, before closing his door and starting the engine. Elena stood and watched the Camaro as it drove down the street and took a left, a left that led you to the highway and took you south to Mystic Falls. Elena let out a sigh of relief. Her plan hadn't worked like she hoped but at least she got him to come back. She jogged to her car and started following him back home. As she pulled onto the highway and traveled south, she started thinking of a new plan. The solo approach with the past memories was a bust and she needed a new angle, and she couldn't do it alone. She had finally admitted to herself that she needed help. She was dreading her return. By fixating, she had abandoned Stefan and kept her plan from everyone. She tried not to dwell on it, just thinking about it was causing more feelings to arise. She turned on the Bluetooth and synced her music to the car. She thought some gentle tunes would put her mind at ease, but she kept thinking about one thing. Damon.

A little under an hour later the sun was beginning its descent, making shadows dance over the road. Caroline and Stefan were heading north in Caroline's car. They had spent the first half of the ride going over Elena's breakdown again and then talking about her unusual behavior.

"I get that she feels guilty about it, but she needed to make her choice. I told her so." Caroline said.

"Yeah, but that guilt has been amplified now. Knowing how much she hurt him is now hurting her." Stefan said with his head turned, resting back and peering out the window.

"What, so that justifies her ditching you and leaving us in the dark?" Caroline complained.

"I'm having trouble understanding that part myself." He replied.

"She can explain it to us when we find her." A moment passed as Stefan was watching the oncoming cars go by. "You don't think she went after him because of…" Caroline paused, unsure if she should bring it up. Stefan turned his head to face her. "You know, her feelings for him?" Stefan turned his head back, not wanting to talk about it but he was trapped, in a moving car, with Caroline Forbes.

"I'd rather not talk about that, Caroline." He dismissed, Stefan was content with living in denial about Elena feelings for his brother. She had chosen Stefan but that didn't mean her feelings for Damon were going to just disappear. "She just wants to help him, so her guilt goes away."

"That doesn't explain why she went after Damon alone. She could've asked for help." Caroline pointed out.

"I don't know, maybe she..." Stefan couldn't finish. It was a better idea to just wait and have Elena explain herself instead of throwing around assumptions.

There were three reasons why Elena went after Damon the way she did, but Elena was only aware of one at the moment. She felt responsible, and wanted to help him deal with his pain.

It would be a few more days until she was ready to learn the other two.

"Don't worry, we'll figure all this out and Elena will…...Wait! Is that Damon's car?" Caroline shouted as she spotted a blue muscle car in the oncoming traffic.

"Ahhhh, yes it is." Stefan replied, narrowing his focus out the window to watch the car he knew well pass them.

"Was Elena with him?" She asked and Stefan pressed his lips tightly, not wanting to picture that.

"No."

"She must be still in Richmond. You should try calling her again, I'm pretty sure she'll love to know that Damon is heading back home." Caroline lets out in a judgy tone. Stefan pulled out his phone from his jacket and dialed. It rang five times, but it was then declined. Stefan couldn't help but let out a curse and drop his phone in the center console."Really, again?" Caroline responded to his reaction. Stefan didn't reply, he only took a deep breath and went back to window-staring. Caroline thought it would be best to change the subject. "So, what do you think about that hunter with the invisible tattoo?"

"No clue, I've never met a hunter like that before. The fact that he was as strong as me is a worry." He spoke.

"Yeah, it's weird that only Jeremy can see his arm tats. Maybe Klaus might know something." Caroline gave Stefan a suggestive look and he turns to face her.

"Are you silently asking me to ask Klaus about the inked hunter?"

"You caught me." She grinned. "Things are strained between me and him and Tyler right now, I'd rather not need another reason to see him." She explained.

"Yeah, I'll get around to it." He moved back to the window and just in time to see Elena's black SUV pass by the window. "Elena!" He blurted out.

"What?" Caroline said as she jumped at his outburst.

"I just saw Elena's car pass us, you need to turn around."

"Are you sure it was her?" Her eyes met his and she could tell, he was sure. As soon as it was possible, Caroline turned the car around and began chasing Elena back home.

Damon was first to arrive back in Mystic falls and instead of going to the boardinghouse, he began his exciting hunt for the mysterious vampire slayer. Damon wasn't sure who he was looking for, he hadn't met anyone that resembled a hunter. But then he recalled the day at the church. The tall stranger wearing gloves and talking about a 'pollution' problem. Damon's instincts told him he was on the right trail, and he thought the Grill would be the place to start. If a stranger was in town, the local barkeep would know, and Damon just happened to know one.

Elena passed the sign that welcomed her to Mystic Falls. She was feeling so many things; she was nervous and worried but also determined to see this through. Unlike Damon, Elena wasn't sure where to start. Following Damon wouldn't help right now because she needed help. She knew a possible fight with Stefan was on the horizon, and she knew Caroline would need a lot of convincing to help with Damon. Elena decided to go home and make her decision there.

A drink of hot tea and a diary entry later, Elena noticed her hunger had come back which was making her gums ache. She hadn't fed since this morning. She really needed Damon back so he could teach her, feeding off her friend Matt just felt wrong. Suddenly, Elena heard multiple footsteps on her porch and then followed by a knock at the door. She took a deep breath and left her room and descended the stairs. She answered the door, finding an upset looking Stefan and a furious looking Caroline, bearing flared nostrils.

"Where the hell have you been?" Caroline hissed out, holding none of her anger back. Caroline knew where she was and what she was doing but she wanted her best friend to confess everything. Elena held her ground.

"I went looking for Damon, I told you that when you called me." She reminded her.

"I asked where, Elena, not what!" Caroline said, now crossing her arms.

"I was in Richmond, I found Damon there." She admitted and Caroline grunted.

"Don't you think you should've bought someone with you?"

"I told you on the phone Caroline!" Elena raised her voice. "This all happened because of what I did to him. I wanted to be the one to help him."

"Did you help him?" Stefan joined in. Elena's face changed to a defeated look. She hadn't helped Damon yet, not the way she wanted too but she at least got him back in the town.

"No, I couldn't. But I saw in his eyes that I was starting too. I managed to convince him to come back home." She explained and Stefan felt a sudden sickness in his stomach once he realized Elena was Damon's emotional trigger. It made sense obviously, but it still hurt.

"Okay, so you brought the emotionless Damon back to our town, that sounds fun." Caroline said sarcastically. "What about Stefan, huh? You've been ignoring him all day, why?"

"Caroline." Stefan said in a soft voice, trying to calm her down.

"No Stefan, she needs to explain." She twirled around giving him a look.

"Yes, but not like this. Will you give us a moment?" Stefan asked. Caroline lets out an exhale of frustration but agreed.

"I'll wait by the car." She said, giving Elena a pointed look before walking away. Elena moved back, letting him inside. A conversation like this will need privacy. They both moved to the living room but neither of them went for a seat.

"What were you thinking, Elena?" Stefan began, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I was thinking, I should do something to help your brother." She snapped.

"Yes, but you didn't have to do it alone. You could've taken me with you Elena, or Caroline." Elena scoffed and crossed her arms.

"I don't think Caroline cares enough for that." She replied.

"What about me, huh? I already planned to spend the day with you. It would've been easy."

"Really?" Elena gave him an accusing look. "It seems like you don't even care, Stefan."

"How could you say that?" He said with an offended expression on his face.

"Did you call Liz this morning?" This question hit Stefan like pointed ice. He wasn't sure why he didn't follow up on that call. He was looking forward to taking Elena away and helping her forget about the struggle she was having about becoming a vampire. By the time he remembered too, Caroline had done it for him. Elena read the silence but wanted to get her feelings out. "You never called, did you? He's your brother, Stefan!" She yelled. No doubt it was loud enough for Caroline to hear from the street.

"I know he is Elena. I just wanted today to be about you, I wanted to take you away for some fun, so for a moment we could forget everything else." He took a breath. "Damon made his choice, he can wait another day." He spoke. Elena replied with a shocked expression on her face.

"Seriously Stefan!" She yelled, swinging her arms down to her side. "You didn't actually care about him because you were being selfish? Damon was there for both of us when Klaus forced you to flip your switch." She reminded him.

"You think I was selfish?" Stefan asked in a bitter voice, paired with a narrow gaze.

"You wanted us to run away, Stefan. Our problems and my vampirism still would've been here when we got back." Stefan didn't want to hear it but that was true.

"Damon's not our problem right now, Elena. He chose to shut it off, he chose the easy way out. I wanted to be there for you."

"And he did that because of me! I feel responsible, Stefan." Elena could feel her eyes starting to water. There was another pause between them until Stefan needed to ask an important question.

"What happened in Richmond? How did you convince Damon to come back?"

"My plan didn't work." She admitted.

"What was your plan?" He pressed and Elena hesitated for a second, but she continued to tell him the truth.

"I told him that I understood why he did it and that I was sorry. I reminded him of the times he was there for me in the past and how I wanted to do the same for him." Elena took in a breath and added. "I promised him I would never leave him."

"So, you were counting on his love for you to break through..." He trailed off, not wanting to hear the honest truth. Elena didn't hesitate for a second.

"Yes. It was the best way, and it almost worked." Stefan's face changed and he turned away from her, taking a step away.

"I'm curious, if you couldn't bring Damon's emotions back, how did you get him back here?" He asked, turning back to her.

"I told him we needed him here, I mentioned the hunter and he…" She trailed off. Stefan understood where her sentence was going to end, Damon was going after the hunter. Earlier in the day, Stefan had learnt more about the hunter from Caroline who heard about it from Matt, and he was planning to ask Klaus about it.

"He's going to kill him." Stefan stated.

"I know. How do we save him, Stefan?" She asked but Stefan couldn't hear more of Elena's mission to save Damon. He started walking around the couch, heading towards the door. A wash of panic came over his face. The tattoo hunter was still a mystery and Stefan wanted to know more. Now that Damon was on the hunt he had to speak with Klaus urgently.

"We can talk about Damon later, I need to go do something before it's too late."

Elena wanted to shout at him again, asking him why he walked away but she wanted him to leave. She followed him to the door and watched him walk down the path to rejoin Caroline in her car.

If she wasn't going to get Stefan's help, she needed someone else. Minutes after Caroline's car took off, Elena left her house again and drove to the Grill. She walked in as the evening began and the restaurant was starting to fill with families. She spotted Matt working behind the bar.

"Elena, hi." He greeted her as she leaned on the bar near the end, avoiding the other customers.

"Hey. Have you seen Damon today or that hunter?" She asked.

"Funny you should say, Damon was here ten minutes ago asking me about the hunter. It seemed like he was in a hurry."

"Crap! What you'd say to him, do you know where he's going?"

"Yeah, I told him who the hunter was, but I think he already knew. I know where he lives, Jeremy told me he has a motorhome on the west side of the lake." Elena shook her head. "What's going on?" Matt asked as he threw a towel over his shoulder.

"You don't need to worry, I'll figure it out." She replied.

"Alright. You can call me if you need anything, you know." He told her. She nodded in response. A seated customer at the bar signaled Matt and he went back to work. "I'll see ya." Elena knew there wasn't much on the west side of the lake, only a few cabins but mostly thick woods. She didn't have to worry about a flashlight thanks to her new vampire vision, but she wouldn't be strong enough to subdue Damon. He said he would kill the hunter and leave again, and she didn't want that. She decided she needed to take out Damon with vervain and lock him up, so she'd have more time to figure out how to help him switch his humanity back on.

She left the restaurant and drove to Alaric's apartment, where she found three syringes of vervain. After putting them in her jacket, she drove up to the lake and began searching the woods for anyone.

After a storyteller session with Klaus, Stefan had discovered that there was a cure for vampirism. A treasure at the end of a quest that included cryptic maps, vampire hunters, an ancient sword and though he didn't know it yet, but also a 2000-year-old immortal that was buried in a tomb. Klaus had asked Stefan to keep it to himself to protect the cure from others. It was difficult, Stefan wanted the cure for Elena, but he had to lie to her to get it. It wouldn't be easy keeping this from Damon either but at the risk of losing the cure, he obliged Klaus's secrecy. With the knowledge that the hunter was the key to the cure, he knew he had to protect him, especially if Damon was hunting for him. He had no time to waste. Stefan rushed out, leaving Klaus.

He needed to get to them before it was too late.

Hunting a human was the most exhilarating thing a vampire could do, of course other physical activities were improved by heightened feelings but there was something primal about being a predator hunting the prey. The way a crocodile feels when it waits patiently for an unexpected deer or water bird. The tingling of anticipation, the adrenaline and then snap! The satisfaction of the kill.

Damon was moving through woods, dressed in all black which worked as an advantage under the darkening sky. He noticed a single light inside the motorhome, but he couldn't hear a human heart beating. He stalked slowly, doing a complete loop around the vehicle. Suddenly he heard subtle footfalls and a faint heartbeat behind him, which meant another vampire was here too. Then he heard his name being called in a female voice, a voice he had heard many times and could easily pick out of a crowd.

"Damon!" He turned to see Elena walking towards him. For a moment he relaxed but in the next second he heard a rushing heartbeat and footsteps running in his direction. He turned in time to see Connor tackle him to the ground, stake in hand. They rolled and struggled, kicking up dirt and dead leaves, Damon was surprised how strong the hunter was, he had almost got the stake in his chest in the first stab. Damon managed to remove the stake from his grasp as it rolled away from the brawling men. Elena was close to see them both clearly now. She wanted to help Damon, but she wasn't strong, not strong enough to be in a fight like this. Her last feed was this morning, where Matt had offered his wrist. She knew if she got hurt now it would heal quickly but it would make her feel weaker and worse, hungrier.

Damon was reaching for Connor's throat with both hands, going for a neck snap but he resisted by punching Damon across the jaw and rolling on top, Connor then reached down to his boot and pulled out a second stake and aimed for Damon's heart. Damon took the power of the swing against his forearms and caught the stake in the palm of his hand, the sharp wood pierced through the skin, muscle and crushed the tiny bones of his hand, he yelled out in pain. The awful sound made Elena jump in her skin and her eyes widened. She looked around and spotted the discarded stake off to the left and her instincts told her to vamp speed to it and throw it to Damon, but she had a different idea. She looked back at Damon, seeing his hand bleeding profusely, she couldn't meet his eyes. She took a deep breath and then vamp sped to the grounded stake, gripping it as hard as she could, she sped up behind the hunter and stabbed him in his shoulder. He groaned loudly, getting up to his feet and moved a hand behind him, breaking the hold on Damon. He removed the stake and faced Elena, with a dark look in his eyes.

He really hated vampires. In that moment of distraction, Damon got to his feet quickly and attacked Connor from behind, plunging his fangs deep into his throat. Connor screamed again, and in a desperate move he jabbed the stake upward, hoping it would find one of Damon's eye sockets. Damon anticipated the move before Connor could think of it and caught the arm, in the next second Damon pulled his head back in a sudden quick motion while keeping his fangs attached, ripping a gash in the hunter's neck. Damon smiled through the blood as Connor fell to his knees, gasping and bleeding. Elena looked at Damon and was reminded of the monster he once was, the one who killed many when he first arrived in Mystic Falls. Elena didn't want this Damon, she wanted her Damon back.

Before either of them spoke, Elena gripped a syringe from her pocket and vamp sped to Damon, injecting him in the neck. He mumbled something unintelligible before collapsing forward and falling onto the forest floor, she knelt down to him, pulling his body into her lap and tucking in his injured hand. She rested for a moment and then figured out how to move him to the Salvatore cellar. While holding him, she pulled out her phone and called a friend for help.

"Elena?"