Into Your Arms

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Elena's P.O.V.

I'm driving down the dark street, tears brimming in my eyes. It's taking everything inside of me not to pull over and break down right now. I don't know where I'm going until I'm there. I arrive at the familiar mansion that is the home of my boyfriend and my best friend. I get out of the car and wipe the tears from my eyes, trying to compose myself. I know it won't work, but I'm hoping it won't be noticeable enough. I get to the front door and knock. After a few seconds of waiting, Damon opens the door. I smile in relief that someone is here.
"Hey. What're you doing here?"
"I just got in a massive fight with my parents."
"Oh. I'm sorry, come in."
"Thank you." He steps aside and lets me walk in. Something about him seems slightly off right now.
"What was it about?" He asks. We go into the living room and he looks at me, he hasn't noticed that my eyes are red and puffy yet. I'm really glad about that because I don't want to make a bit deal out of it, but at the same time, I want him to notice. I really just want to cry to someone right now.
"It was about dating you. They don't like that I'm dating someone older."
"Oh. Well, screw them."
"Damon, those are my parents."
"Oh. Sorry. Well, who cares, all that matters is how you feel."
I sigh with relief and he steps towards me to give me a hug. I'm wrapped in his embrace, but he's covered in the thick odor of alcohol. I finally realize what was off about him. I push him away.
"Are you drunk?" I say.
"No."
"Yes you are. I can smell it on your breath."
"So what? I'm in my house, I'm aloud to drink it I want to." He says this with a slight menace in his voice.
"I'm not judging you. It's just that, I came here to see you, to talk to you, and it really sucks that you're drunk right now."
"It kind of sounds like you are judging me right now actually, and I don't appreciate it!" He's raising his voice. And it's beginning to scare me."
"You know what, screw this, screw you. I'm going to the bar where I won't be judged." He pushes past me and slams the door shut. I'm trying so hard not to break down right now. I can't give in to this. I thought I was alone until I hear someone coming down the stairs. I wipe my eyes that unintentionally filled with tears.
"Damon?" It's Stefan. He's looking at the door, then turns his head to see me.
"Hi."
"Hi. What are you doing here? Where'd Damon go?"
"I came to talk to him, and when I said he was drunk, he stormed off."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Anything I can help with?"
"No. It's fine, really, I should really just be going home." My voice cracks on my last word and his face changes from confusion to worry. He begins taking large strides over here right as I break down crying, no longer able to hold it in any more. He wraps his arms around me tightly and I fall into him. I wrap my arms around his torso as he holds me up. I'm unable to support any of my weight. He's comforting me by speaking softly, saying, "it's ok. You're ok. I'm here" as he strokes my hair. I calm down and look up at him. He wipes the tears from my cheeks.
"Better?" Still catching my breath, I nod my head.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really. My parents and I got in a fight, then so did Damon and I. It's being a long night."
"Ok. So what do you want to do?"
"I just want to go to sleep. I'm exhausted, but I have no where else to go."
"That's ok, you can stay here."
"Thank you."
"You can sleep in my room, it's the first one on the left."
"Then where will you sleep?"
"On the couch. It's fine, as long as you're comfortable, it's ok."
"No. This is your house, you should sleep in your own bed. I can sleep on the couch."
"It's fine, really, you've had a long night, I just want you to be comfortable."
"Well, I don't feel right taking your bed. You could sleep in it with me? I don't want to take it, and honestly, I don't want to be alone right now."
"Ok. Are you sure? I don't want to do anything that will make you uncomfortable."
"It's fine, really. It would make me feel better."
"Ok."
"One thing though, I need a pair of clothes to sleep in. Do you have anything of your mothers that I could borrow?"
"I don't, but you could just sleep in one of my t-shirts. It would probably be long enough on you to work as a night shirt."
"Ok."
We go up into his room and he pulls out a long black shirt and hands it to me. I step into the other room to change, and realize that he never gave me any pants. I put the shirt on with just my underwear underneath. It barely covers everything, but it will work for tonight. When I walk back in his room, his eyes are glued to me, looking me up and down. I blush.
"Is that ok?" He asks.
"It's fine. Thank you."
"Anything for you."
"Seriously, I cannot thank you enough. You've been so nice to me tonight. It's more than I deserve."
"No it's not, Elena. You need to start giving yourself more credit. You deserve the world, trust me."
I'm blushing again. We stand there, staring at each other from across the room.
"I'm beat." I say, breaking the silence and getting into his large bed. I look at him, inviting him to join me. He gets into bed. I just notice he's wearing shorts and a tight, white shirt that shows off all the edges of his very toned body. He gets into bed, making me look away.
"Good night." He says.
"Good night."
We lay not facing each other, until he turns around. I don't turn, but I can hear that he's asleep by the way he's breathing. He continues to move a little until I feel his arm wrap around me. His arm tightens around my waist, protectively. Something about this makes me feel very safe. I know I'm with Damon and I should stop this, but I don't want to. For the first time in a while I feel very loved and safe. As much as I care about Damon, I don't feel that way with him, we're just not there yet. And I know Stefan and I are just friends, he doesn't see me that way, but it still feels nice to know that someone cares about me. I move to adjust myself with his arm around me, and he moves with me so that we are spooning. I can feel his warm, slow breathing on my neck which relaxes me. I look down at his arm that's wrapped around me and start drawing circles on the back of his hand with my thumb. When I feel myself getting sleepy, I intertwine my fingers with husband hold his arm against me until I fall asleep.
When I wake up in the morning, I can still feel Stefan's slow breathing, but it's no longer on my neck. It's on the top of my head. I am more awake from my drowsy state to see how I've somehow changed my sleeping position so my head is laying on his chest. His head is now resting on mine, my arm is wrapped around his waist, and now both his arms are wrapped around me, in a protective hug. He is holding me and I don't want to move, I feel very comfortable. Sadly, my feeling of comfortable bliss has ended when he wakes up and releases me from his embrace.
"I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I did that."
"It's fine, I don't remember doing it either." I say, blushing. I roll off of him and realize that I'm still in his T-shirt and my underwear. He gets out of the bed and his tight white shirt is slightly lifted from his back, briefly revealing his lower back muscles until he pulls his shirt down.
"I'm going to go make breakfast." He says. I can hear it in his voice, he's embarrassed. He can't wait to get out of this room fast enough, and I can't blame him. I would have done it if he hadn't done it first. Maybe. I realize he's looking at me and I'm staring off into space.
"Ok. Yeah, that's fine. Thank you. I'm going to get in the shower anyways." He gives a slight grin and chuckles.
"Would you like anything?" He says, as if I was completely oblivious to what he was implying when he said he would make breakfast. I realize I must've sounded so dumb.
"Um... anything is fine."
"How about pancakes?"
"I love pancakes!"
"Great, then pancakes it is!" He says with a boyish grin.
I get in the shower and I realize I can't turn on the shower. He lives in such a nice, fancy house, I should've guessed he has a fancy shower too. There's no turn dial like the one on my shower, it's like it's a keypad. I am completely lost.
"Stefan!" I yell. I can hear him yell something back, but I don't know what he said.
"Can you come here? I need your help."
He knocks on the door.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes."
I'm naked in the shower, tinted, textured glass covers me so he doesn't see anything.
"What's up? I was about to start the pancakes."
"I don't know how to work your shower." I say, laughing.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to explain it to you. I know it can be a little confusing."
"I'm not used to showers this fancy."
"Yeah, when we first moved here, it took some time to get used to."
I can see him mostly clear, and I see him turn his face towards the ground so he doesn't see anything. Very gentlemanly. He reaches his hand in the shower and knows exactly where the keypad is. He hits a few buttons and water starts coming out of the over head sprayer. The water pressure is bad and inconsistent.
"I think the shake head is broken. Would you mind helping me with that too?"
"Sure, but you'll need to stand back. I have to be in the shower to fix that."
"Ok." I suddenly fully realize that I am naked and he's about to get in the shower with me.
He walks in with his hand over his eyes and turns towards the shower head. I am completely flat against the wall, not wanting us to touch at all. That would be too awkward, I know it, it would seriously damage our friendship. He turns the shower head and suddenly hot water is coming down rapidly with a strong pressure. Instinctively, and without thinking, Stefan turns around to avoid getting to wet. When he turns, we are standing face to face, staring at each other. Our eyes are completely locked onto each other. As he stares at my face, clearly trying not to look at my body, the water is dripping down his face. His white shirt is completely soaked, making it see through and hugging his body. It shows me how muscular and toned his body is. His face is glistening with the water droplets and his hair is darker, and wet, pressed down against his face. His eyes are glistening against his wet face as he looks at me. His perfectly white smile is forming on his face as he begins to laugh at this awkward situation. When he smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkle, and his slight dimples show. He looks so handsome in this moment. I'm overcome by how he looks and what happened last night that I take one step towards him. He steps back. I can't help but smile at that. I know it's just him trying to be a gentleman, but I don't care. I take two more steps forwards, closing the distance between us so our bodies are nearly pressed up against one another. We are both breathing heavily  and the smile that was on his face is completely lost now. It's been replaced by a look of... almost desire. I'm sure my face looks the same way. My eyes flick down to his lips. Screw it. Screw Damon. I grab both sides of his face in my hands and pull his face down towards mine, kissing him hungrily. Stefan pulls away for breath and looks at me.
"I'm going to go make breakfast." He says. Looking at me one last time. I notice once again, his eyes don't leave my face. When he gets out, I press myself up against the wall, breathing heavily. Maybe my feelings for him aren't so one-sided. But then there's Damon. I am still with him, and I do care about him. Ugh, what has my life become. I'm literally in some teen tv show. I finish my shower and get dressed in the bathroom, using an unopened toothbrush that I found in the drawer, I brush my teeth and brush my hair. When I step outside, Damon is at the door, waiting for me. He steps towards me and kisses me, taking me by surprise.
"Elena, I'm so sorry. I had no right to say those things or be angry with you. I was just drunk. I'm so sorry. I'll stop drinking, just please, don't break up with me." I don't know what to say. If I break up with him, who knows if Stefan and I would even get together. Maybe me thinking he has feelings for me is all in my head. At least with Damon, I know he cares about me in that way, and I care about him.
"Ok. I forgive you."
"Thank you! You're the best!"
He gives me one more kiss, but I can't help but think of Stefan.
-
-
-
Again, sorry it took me so long to post this chapter and the one before it and next ones after it. I've been busy with school and work. I always repeat myself in this part, and honestly, who actually reads this part, so I'm not going to repeat myself. I hope you enjoyed. Bye.