I was your only friend || Enzo St. John

Shake the Shiver [III]

Life for DAMON SALVATORE has been pretty damn good lately. He felt like he was the king of the world. He had everything he's ever wanted. First of all and most important, he had the girl. Him and Elena were in a happy monogamous relationship, no games, no cheating, no lies. Once Katherine fled the scene, there was nothing that could break down the incredible bound the two of them have worked on over the years. After all the drama, they deserved a little peace after all. He was in a good place with Stefan too. The brothers were back together, stronger than ever. They learned the secret of brotherhood - they both had to let go a little and be more emphatic. His friends were safe, as well as the town - they have been for a while at least. There were no ancient supernatural threats banging at the door. Things were too good to be true.

That one night, of course everything had to go wrong. Leaving Elena's house after fighting and shouting for the past hours, Damon was headed towards the grill where he planned of getting so wasted that he would no longer remember Elena's tears the moment she said that everything was over between them. How could everything be over? After all they've been through together, he just couldn't bear the thought. So maybe, just maybe, after he'd drink himself to sleep, Damon would wake up in the morning by her side, realizing it was just a horrible nightmare. He found his brother pathetic as well, how he would just take her side as he's always done, secretly hoping that the two of them would break up eventually. "Everyone's team Stelena", Damon mumbled to himself in a mocking voice as he set foot into the bar.

Delighted to see the grill empty, he slid towards the bar, thinking of what his choice of poison would be. But before he could speak, he noticed that he was not alone after all. There was this man with his dark hair, a black leather jacket and fancy matching shoes. One thing was clear - he was not from the neighborhood. Only when he heard that cockney accent did Damon have an epiphany. He knew that voice, even though he had not heard it in over 50 years. It was a voice he could never forget. That very moment, he felt the ground sliding from underneath his feet. His first instinct was to reach for his arm, so when the mysterious man would finally turn around, Damon's darkest dream would come to life. "Lorenzo St. John", he thought for himself, but the words could not escape his mouth because of the shock.

For half of a century, Damon has lived his life, knowing that Enzo was dead for good, trying to make peace with the fact that he had sentenced him to death, hearing his desperate screams as he walked away. No one knew what he had to do in order to leave his best friend behind, yet no one would have understood. It was the first and only time Damon shut off his humanity, otherwise he was well aware of the fact that he could not have lived with himself after what he'd done. It took him everything he had in order to abandon Enzo. He had always seen the younger vampire his salvation, the only reason that he was still alive after those dark years of imprisonment - oftenly Lorenzo would volunteer to be an Augustine lab rat instead of him, saving him from all the torture that was ahead. If only things didn't go wrong...But they did. And it all lead here, to this particular night.

That pair of big black eyes, like marble, pierced the back of his skull. It was almost as if he saw a ghost. That was Enzo for him - a ghost from the past who has arose from the dead to haunt him. Many times after Damon turned back on his humanity, he appeared in his nightmares, his face, his screams, the flames, they kept the older Salvatore awake at night. The words just seemed to float in the suffocating air, mixing with the smoke, sending shivers down his spine. Never before did something like this happen to Damon, yet he was unable to move, unable to speak. But then it hit him. "I was your only friend", he repeated beneath his breath. It was the truth, and truth hurts.

"You were my only friend. And I abandoned you. And all those years, I thought you were dead", he finally managed to form the words, even though he did not know exactly what to say, nor what Enzo wanted to hear. "But you know what? You would have done the same damn thing. I had to save myself, or else we both would be dead right now. And everything we've been through, would have been worthless. You know you would have done the same if you were in my shoes, Enzo. You would have left me behind in order to save yourself."

Song: Shake The Shiver [3]
https://youtu.be/YEgdA8UM0uY