We Always Survive ♥ (A Damon and Elena Fanfic)

Chapter 2 - Something's Not Right

Elena POV 12/26 10:00am-4:00pm

Sunlight streams in the room and I turn over, placing the pillow firmly over my head to block out the light. I hear Bonnie laugh as she tries to pull it off, “Wake up! Don’t make me de-spell your daylight ring.”
      “Well that’s a little harsh, don’t you think??” I scoff as I pull the pillow down and sit up, burying my face in my hands and brushing my fingers through my hair. Bonnie’s sigh fills the room and I look up at her, “What?”
      “Nothing, what do you want for breakfast?” She turns her solemn expression into a smile and sits on the edge of the bed by my feet.
      “We could eat some cereal?” I suggest tiredly, but she shakes her head.
      “Actually, I was thinking we could get coffee at the grill, Caroline is meeting us there at 3:30 so we can hang out in town until then. You know, go shopping or something. Prom is coming up soon! So get dressed up,” Bonnie hops up and prances down the hall. I can’t help but laugh quietly; Bonnie has seemed so much happier lately and, although she understands that I’m hurting, she knows how to make me feel better.

I get up and walk over to my closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and white shirt with lace sleeves. I pull on some brown boots, straighten my hair, and head downstairs, preparing for the day. I make my way down the staircase but stop short, pulling out my phone. I dial the number and the line on the other end rings. It continues to ring until I hear: You’ve reached the voicemail box of Damon Salvatore. Of course he didn’t answer. I take a deep breath and wait for the beep, “Hey, it’s me. Look, I know why you sent me away. You think what I’m feeling for you is because of the Sire Bond but I hate not being near you and I miss you, Damon. I wish you would just let me come to you.” I hang up reluctantly and continue down to the front door where Bonnie waits. She smiles and throws a jacket at me, “Alright, let’s go.” I smirk and follow her out to the car as I put the jacket on. As we drive to the Mystic Grill, Bonnie’s idle chatter fills the car, but I don’t really pay much attention to what she’s saying until she notices my thoughts are elsewhere.
      “Elena?” She questions. I turn my head and ask what she said. “I asked if Caroline told you why she wanted to meet us.” She repeats.
      “Oh, no. I don’t know. Probably some Caroline crisis, like losing her makeup.” I joke. Bonnie snickers and nods lightly.
      “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised. But she did say it was important. You’d think we’d have enough to deal with because of Klaus, Jeremy, and the sire-“ She cuts off and quietly apologizes for bringing that up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“ But I just smile and look out the window, letting my broken smile fade away.

We arrive and spend the day shopping and talking, it was nice keeping my mind off of Damon and feeling almost like a normal teenage girl, but I never truly stopped thinking about him. He was always in the back of my mind and certain things reminded me of him. At 3:30, we walk in and look for Caroline. We see her sitting at the far booth near the pool tables. We go over, but I stop short when I see Stefan sitting across from her. Caroline spots me and waves me over. Hesitantly, I look to Bonnie and walk over, taking the seat by Caroline but not looking at Stefan. I can see that he’s upset, but I’m not sure why, or if he knows about Damon and I yet. Regardless, I’m guessing that’s not what this lunch was called for so I figure its best not to bring it up at the moment. Caroline looks serious as she looks around cautiously before turning back to me.
      “So we have a problem,” she hesitates, as if nervous, “There’s another hunter. Vaughn.” I look at Bonnie, and she seems to share my confusion.
      “Uh, why is that a bad thing? Didn’t we want to find another hunter? So Jer wouldn’t have to lose his humanity?” Bonnie questions.
       Caroline nods at Stefan and continues, “Yeah, well we thought that too. So we went out to find him. Which is where the problem arose.” Stefan hesitantly looks down and speaks up to finish Caroline’s thought.
      “We tried to convince him that we were looking for a cure for vampires so that there would be no more evil. He had said he heard stories but didn’t believe it and still doesn’t. He wants to finish the mark because, once its finished, the overwhelming urge to kill goes away and they go back to the way they were. We told him we knew of another hunter that could tell him it was true so we told him where Jeremy was,” He apparently sees my eyes widen in fear and hurries to reassure me, “But he wouldn’t hurt Jeremy, don’t worry. They’re both part of the Five and it’s a brotherhood, a supernatural bond that connects them. A hunter would never hurt another hunter.” He looks to Caroline to conclude the story.
      Caroline’s face grows pale as she does, “He said he needed to finish his mark to fulfill his duty and return to normal and only needed one more vampire kill to do it. But he would make it count. Connor was like his brother and he said he wants to avenge him,” her voice falls to a whisper, “and he knows it was you who killed him, Elena.”           
      My eyes widen in fear once again as I stutter, “Wha-what?” But Caroline immediately swoops in to comfort me.
      “But don’t worry! We told him it wasn’t your fault, you were sired and it was out of your control. But don’t worry, he doesn’t know who your sire is either,” She purposefully avoids speaking Damon’s name, making me suspicious of Stefan’s irritated behavior. Did Caroline tell him? Regardless of my thoughts, she continues to prattle on, “He told us that he wouldn’t kill you and he left, but I just wanted you to know so you’d be careful. You never know when these people are lying and I don’t want you to get hurt.” Caroline smiles and puts her hand on top of mine, patting it.

They all sit around with smiles on their faces, but my stomach drops, “Wait, why did he say he wouldn’t kill me?”
      “Um, well I don’t know. But the important thing is that we think you’ll be okay. He said he wouldn’t kill anyone in Mystic Falls and he called Jeremy,” Caroline says cheerily with a sigh of relief, but I was not so relieved and neither was Bonnie.
      “Why did he call Jeremy?” Bonnie inquires nervously.
      “I don’t know, to talk about the cure I guess. And other hunter-y stuff.” Caroline responds with a casual tone, as if she is unconcerned. Something made me feel uneasy and I’m not sure what. I would be okay, Jeremy would be okay. What was it that had me terrified? Then it hit me. I stand up with my mouth open and look blankly at the door, “Damon.” It comes out in a whisper, but I know they heard me. Stefan looks down, not sure if it was with worry or anger, but I don’t stay long enough to find out. I bolt out of the grill as fast as I can without giving away that I was not human. I could hear them rush after me as Stefan whips around and stops me, grabbing my shoulders. I fight his grasp but he won’t let go.
      “Elena, Elena! Look at me.” He yells with a calm voice. I stop fighting for a second and look him in the eyes as he continues, “What’s going on?” I try to formulate my thoughts into a coherent explanation to offer.
      “You said he talked to Jeremy on the phone. You said all of the Five are connected by a supernatural bond, like brothers. Vaughn didn’t know Connor, he just knows he has to avenge him. Well, Jeremy is part of the Five too, and he knows who my sire is.” Stefan’s face scrunches as he puts the pieces together, but I continue talking, “Jeremy needs to avenge Connor but he isn’t strong enough to kill whoever was responsible for Connor’s death, but guess who is.” Stefan freezes and looks down.
      “Vaughn. Jeremy called Vaughn to kill Damon,” Stefan whispers in a broken voice.

Bonnie drives up in her Prius with Caroline in the passenger seat and tells us to get in. I don’t hesitate and neither does Stefan. It doesn’t matter how much Stefan loves me and wants me to himself, he and Damon are brothers and they would do anything for each other.