Who: Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert What: Post semtex, dealing, talks....angst. Where: Damon's penthouse When: July 11 2012 Rating: TBD Status: In Progress
In all the time that Elena had been in Lawrence, she was pretty certain the only time something happened to her directly, at least that was life threatening and truth water or forced singing, was when she'd been struck by Pestilence as switching powers or not powers as it were with Anakin hadn't been life threatening. But Pestilence could have killed her had she not been treated, and then the fact that she'd been so delusional as to listen to Lucifer and nearly drown? Every other time that something had happened, Elena had been the one doing damage control. The one left behind and unable to do something. She wanted to protect those she cared for but she was finding it more and more impossible in Lawrence. The stress was beginning to crack through all of Elena's lies to herself that she was fine. And the past month and a half had been the worst of it. Between the anniversary of her parents' death, to Rose being taken by the Autons, to the bitchfest that was Father's Day and her conversation with Vicki.... to her ability to bake being taken from her and now this, the questions on how to handle an evil like this, the options and how compromising this place could be, and now nearly losing Damon.... The well crafted walls of self denial were slowly crumpling down.
Elena always had had issues with losing people. Everyone she cared for left, they died. Something happened. Things were more stable in Lawrence, which was just pathetic really, but they were. But people weren't. The Seal could take them at any moment, and then what? Some would live their lives, and others... Anakin... they would go back to death and that was something she couldn't reconcile. Losing people was bad enough, losing them to death was permanent and she just couldn't do that.
Why she hadn't expected people to go with her, Elena didn't know. She knew that not everyone liked Damon. Very few did, really. And he did that to himself. He tried to protect himself with a mask of not caring, to not give into expectations, he tried to be the bad guy but there was pain underneath it. They had grown close here. In Mystic Falls, and even if her feelings for Damon weren't what he wanted... the feelings that had been there before she got sent back... she still cared for him. He meant too much to her and she couldn't lose him. She couldn't face him dying. He had nearly died back home. And god they had to say those words all over again. He had to say words that felt familiar in the back of her mind that she couldn't place. She had expected to go alone with one person to help with the bomb. Possibly Elphie as she cared but no... Rose and Lancelot had come along, and even Lexi... she didn't like him for what he did and she didn't have to, yet she had come.
Everything was a blur of what had happened. Elena just had to make sure that Damon was okay. She had to make sure that he would survive this and not self destruct. So once it was all said and done, she had decided to go back to his penthouse. She knew her room was still set up, he had told her as such. Besides, Anakin had Jaina to worry about so at least he couldn't argue with her on this or stress at her in text for not returning. But he'd understand and if he didn't, maybe he wasn't who she thought. But she wasn't going there because she wasn't losing anyone. Not to stupid doubts, or to death. Not if she could control it.
So what if the eighteen year old didn't know what to say. She had been avoiding so much since coming back. Not because she didn't care, but because she knew that if she spent too much time with those from Mystic Falls... with Damon and Stefan, that she would be forced to think about the things she didn't want to think about. About the Wickery Bridge. About her last memories there. About everything leading up to it. Even though Damon was from so far before then, as was Stefan... they still were reminders of the deaths she should have gone through. The pain and betrayal and confusion. But when they needed her, she did as she always did. She locked it away and went to their aide. Which was why Elena was bringing out bourbon for Damon.
"Here." Smiling faintly, Elena handed the bourbon to the vampire before sitting on the couch, pulling her knees up beside her.