My Story (Damon's POV)

Ch. 27: Growing Pains

It's a beautiful day, as Stefan and I stand in Elena's room. Stefan is standing at the foot of her bed, and I'm seated in a chair not far from the door.
Elena opens her eyes, when she finally comes around.
She slowly sits up.
"You've been in and out for hours," Stefan informs her.
"What happened? How did you save me?" she asks.
"He didn't," I tell her.
"Wait. What?"
Stefan explains to her what Meredith has done.
"So, what? Am I dead?"
"You're in transition. You're not fully alive, and you're not fully dead."
"No. I can't be."
"I have Bonnie looking into it. She might be able to reverse it."
"No. You feed, or you die. There's no third door," I say, before getting up and leaving the room.
I go downstairs to the kitchen to get a shot glass of liquor from Elena's cupboard.
Stefan comes down the stairs just then, and into the kitchen.
He watches me.
"You know, you can't do anything about it," I tell my brother. "If she doesn't feed by this afternoon, she'll die tonight."
"Damon, you weren't there when Elena looked me in the eye and told me she didn't want to become a vampire. We still have a day before she has to turn."
"Whatever. Always the hero," I comment, grabbing my glass from the counter and slowly sipping it.
Stefan leaves the room, as I finish my drink.
From the kitchen, I hear Elena and Jeremy from the hallway upstairs with my vampire hearing.
"Jer," she greets.
"Are you okay? I watched Vicki go through this. She was a mess. Her emotions were all over the place. All these old memories came flooding back," Jeremy says.
"I'm fine. I'm not Vicki."
"No, you're not. You act like everything's okay, so no one worries about you, but you need help."
"I said I'm fine, okay?" she says all snappy. "I-I'm sorry. I...Have you talked to Bonnie?" she then says more herself.
"Yeah, she said when I was shot, she made some plea to the witch spirit to bring me back, and they listened."
"Yeah, but the consequences were horrible."
"And what could be more horrible than you turning into a vampire? I need my sister. Not another one of them."
"We're going to find a way out of this. Everything's going to be okay," she tells her little brother.
"I hope so," he says.

I enter the room at the Mikaelson house behind Rebekah.
"You should know better than to sneak up on a lady."
"Good advice. Have you seen one?"
Rebekah turns around to face me.
"Tragic about Elena. Not to make a grey cloud grayer, but does Matt even have automobile insurance?"
Rebekah turns back around.
I rush at her with the indestructible white oak stake. She grabs my wrist and prevents me from killing her. She pushes me against a dresser and I drop the stake.
Suddenly, someone starts firing wooden bullets through the window. I manage to escape, but Rebekah gets shot in the heart with an arrow, and falls to the ground.

I'm picking things up that was knocked down during the commotion, when Liz walks into the Gilbert house, and Meredith comes into the living room where we're at from the kitchen.
"They're gone. Whoever nailed Rebekah, took them too. Please, tell me you have something. Anything," I say.
"I can't. The Council locked Carol and me out of our offices. Files, computers, everything," Liz answers me.

"So, the Mayor and the Sheriff never contemplated a backup plan, Liz?"
"Damon, relax. When Caroline called to say she got away, did they know where they were planning to take her?" Meredith says.
"No. Just that she was in some van in the middle of nowhere, and she managed to escape," Liz answers her.
"Perfect. We've narrowed it down to nowhere," I imply.
Someone knocks on the front door and then Matt enters the house.
"Hey, is Elena here?"
I turn around and rush towards Matt. I grab him by the throat and pin him to the wall, choking him.
"In what world are you the one that gets to live?!"
Meredith tries to pull me off of him.
"Damon, stop! It wasn't his fault!" Meredith says.
"Let him go, Damon! Now!" Liz says.
Matt tries to pry my arm off his throat.
I finally release him.

That night, we find out where the council have them at, and Matt Donovan and I go there. I feed a little from the side of Matt's neck before I yell, "Yoo-hoo, big, bad vampire out here!" to try and get someone out of the house. It doesn't work, though. Nobody comes out.

Suddenly, Donovan and I have an argument and I attack him. And just as I go after him, Elena, vamped out, puts herself between Donovan and I, facing me, and says, "Leave him alone!", so I back off.

Later that night, vampire Elena and I stand outside the boarding house, as we talk, facing one another.
"Damon," she says.
"Yeah?" I reply.
"I remember. Everything. Why didn't you say something?"
"It wouldn't have mattered," I answer, before adding, "What is it that you feel for me?"
"I care about you, Damon," she answers, though I know it's a lie. She just doesn't see that there's something going on between the both of us. Even my brother can see it. She's lying to herself, Stefan, and I every time she says that she cares about me. It hurts me every time she says that.
I walk inside quietly, leaving Elena outside, alone in the darkness.