Note: Okay, I like to incorporate a lot of the actual dialog in my fan fictions so keep reading and you'll see where the story changes...
Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena were all sitting around a box of old ornaments at the lake house, talking about Jenna and beautiful times that seemed worlds away. In a place where they knew nothing about vampires or werewolves or any of it really.
Elena picked up a died piece of mistletoe and headed out to where Damon was sitting on the railing outside.
"With all the drama, you're missing the actual fun part." She said, holding the mistletoe above their heads. Damon looked up but his face fell.
"Elena we can't. I can't."
She lowered the plant with disappointment.
"Damon, you can't keep telling me that this isn't real. I know how I feel and that you feel it too so stop fighting it."
Damon glanced inside to where Bonnie and Jeremy were still sitting, laughing and smiling then back to Elena.
"It's good to see you like that. All normal with your brother. I want that again for you. Christmas was always mine and Stefan's favorite holiday when we were kids. Not that I've celebrated it since. Kinda miss that."
"You're thinking about how upset he'll be when he finds out that you and I are together."
"I've been lying to him all day."
"No, you were helping me with Jeremy."
"Point is not what I was doing, the point is that I'm here with you. I was suppose to invoke the sire bond, Elena. Send you away. I was suppose to do the right thing by you and the right thing by my brother. Which is what I'm gonna do right now."
He looked deep into her eyes. "You're gonna go home."
"What?! No! Damon!"
"I'm going to stay here with Jeremy," he continued, "I'm going to help him complete the mark. I'll teach him how to hunt. I'll protect him. And we'll kill vampires without you."
"Damon, please!"
"I'm setting you free, Elena. This is what I want. This is what will make me happy."
Elena blinked several times.
Moments later, Bonnie was getting into her car and Damon was seeing Elena off.
"I was ready to fight you on this but suddenly every part of my body is telling me that I need to get in this car and leave you."
"So do it." He replied.
He noticed a subtle change in her stance.
"I love you, Damon." she said directly to his face. She enunciated every word as if she was desperately trying to get it out.
Elena's expression steeled as she backed up, tensed muscled with her steps to the porch. She sat down with a look on her face as if she was fighting something with every ounce of will that she had and wrapped her arms and legs around one of the beams.
Damon looked to her with confusion.
"I LOVE YOU, DAMON!" she screamed at him. "And I will NOT leave you! I will NOT!" Her tears ran down her face and her hold tightened around the beam.
"Elena-" Damon began.
"I will do anything you want me to, Damon, but not this. This is MY choice. I choose you. I will ALWAYS. Choose. you." she recited words back to him that he'd once said to her.
"My will is stronger than some stupid sire bond!" her tears were streaming hot, blurring her vision. "I loved you before my transition, you know that. I love you now. And to love someone, really, genuinely love them, sometimes you have to do what's right no matter what you're told."
Again, Damon started to speak but again she interrupted him with her eyes squeezed shut as if in an effort to block something.
"'Set something free. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, it was never yours to begin with.'" she quoted. "You set me free, Damon. You ORDERED me free. And I won't do it. I will not leave. I will never stop coming back to you! And if you start invoking that stupid bond again, I swear I will drive a stake through your gut just to make you shut up!" She yelled.
Damon stopped and just stared at her.
Elena was rejecting the Sire Bond. Something so strong that even Tyler couldn't overpower it. But Tyler hated Klaus. Elena, however, loved Damon. Was love really stronger? He wondered. Was it so strong that it could fight against his sending her away? Was that corny fairytale myth about Love conquering all true?
Damon dropped to the ground at her feet and looked at her. Her eyes were shut tight but still the tears were coming out.
"I won't look at you," she said, "Not until-"
"Okay, Elena. Okay," Damon hushed her. "Do you want to stay with me? Of your own will?" He asked.
"Of course." Came her hoarse voice as her eyelids eased.
"Then how about this: The one thing that would make me the happiest is for you to stay with me so long as it's what YOU want," he emphasized.
Elena opened her reddened, wet eyes to look at him. "Really?!" The biggest smile spread over her face. It was infectious and then spread to Damon's as well.
"Really."
She launched herself into his arms and hugged him, kissed him and finally took his head with a hand on either side of his face.
"I will only say this one more time." She was stern. "I love you. I did before I turned, before there was ever a drop of your blood in me. Sire bond or no Sire Bond, I love you. It didn't create anything that wasn't already there. So stop trying to be the martyr. That's Stefan's thing. You make me happy, you don't MAKE me happy." she laughed getting the distinction across. "I love and want you and you love and want me. It's that simple." She ended.
Damon was smiling. "Were you serious about staking me in the gut if I tried it again?"
"Yes." Elena was straight to the point, no pun intended. "Never in the heart of course but I would inflict some serious pain."
He looked deeper into her eyes with awe and wonder. "It IS real. Everything you feel. And... it's so strong that you fought with it." He sounded absolutely amazed.
He lowered his mouth to hers, pressing her tightly to his body and they started kissing in a kind of frenzy when they heard someone clear their throat.
Oh yeah, Elena thought, Jeremy and Bonnie are here.
Damon and Elena both looked embarrassed but smiled awkwardly and put an arm around one another.
Elena gave a wave and a smile to her friend. "See you later, Bonnie. I'm staying here with Damon to help Jeremy."
Bonnie opened her mouth as if she were about to say something but then closed it with a smile and a nod. She lowered herself into the seat and closed the door. Elena heard the car go into drive and the car eased out onto the gravel road toward Mystic Falls.
"Well," Jeremy began from behind them, "I guess we start in the morning. Uh, not to spoil all the gross vampire romance going on but the two of you and professor Shane might want to take shifts watching me tonight. It might be okay so far but..." He trailed off.
Damon nodded and so did Elena. They understood.
Jeremy headed into the house first and shook his head a little "Jeez, who knows what Stefan's gonna think." he muttered.
Elena and Damon slowed their pace and their smiles faded a little but they kept walking until they were in the house giving one another that yeah-but-what-can-we-do? look.
***The next chapter will be comprised of both Klaroline and Delena. Hope you read the part before this that I wrote. It will all make much better sense that way. Hope you liked it!
Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena were all sitting around a box of old ornaments at the lake house, talking about Jenna and beautiful times that seemed worlds away. In a place where they knew nothing about vampires or werewolves or any of it really.
Elena picked up a died piece of mistletoe and headed out to where Damon was sitting on the railing outside.
"With all the drama, you're missing the actual fun part." She said, holding the mistletoe above their heads. Damon looked up but his face fell.
"Elena we can't. I can't."
She lowered the plant with disappointment.
"Damon, you can't keep telling me that this isn't real. I know how I feel and that you feel it too so stop fighting it."
Damon glanced inside to where Bonnie and Jeremy were still sitting, laughing and smiling then back to Elena.
"It's good to see you like that. All normal with your brother. I want that again for you. Christmas was always mine and Stefan's favorite holiday when we were kids. Not that I've celebrated it since. Kinda miss that."
"You're thinking about how upset he'll be when he finds out that you and I are together."
"I've been lying to him all day."
"No, you were helping me with Jeremy."
"Point is not what I was doing, the point is that I'm here with you. I was suppose to invoke the sire bond, Elena. Send you away. I was suppose to do the right thing by you and the right thing by my brother. Which is what I'm gonna do right now."
He looked deep into her eyes. "You're gonna go home."
"What?! No! Damon!"
"I'm going to stay here with Jeremy," he continued, "I'm going to help him complete the mark. I'll teach him how to hunt. I'll protect him. And we'll kill vampires without you."
"Damon, please!"
"I'm setting you free, Elena. This is what I want. This is what will make me happy."
Elena blinked several times.
Moments later, Bonnie was getting into her car and Damon was seeing Elena off.
"I was ready to fight you on this but suddenly every part of my body is telling me that I need to get in this car and leave you."
"So do it." He replied.
He noticed a subtle change in her stance.
"I love you, Damon." she said directly to his face. She enunciated every word as if she was desperately trying to get it out.
Elena's expression steeled as she backed up, tensed muscled with her steps to the porch. She sat down with a look on her face as if she was fighting something with every ounce of will that she had and wrapped her arms and legs around one of the beams.
Damon looked to her with confusion.
"I LOVE YOU, DAMON!" she screamed at him. "And I will NOT leave you! I will NOT!" Her tears ran down her face and her hold tightened around the beam.
"Elena-" Damon began.
"I will do anything you want me to, Damon, but not this. This is MY choice. I choose you. I will ALWAYS. Choose. you." she recited words back to him that he'd once said to her.
"My will is stronger than some stupid sire bond!" her tears were streaming hot, blurring her vision. "I loved you before my transition, you know that. I love you now. And to love someone, really, genuinely love them, sometimes you have to do what's right no matter what you're told."
Again, Damon started to speak but again she interrupted him with her eyes squeezed shut as if in an effort to block something.
"'Set something free. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, it was never yours to begin with.'" she quoted. "You set me free, Damon. You ORDERED me free. And I won't do it. I will not leave. I will never stop coming back to you! And if you start invoking that stupid bond again, I swear I will drive a stake through your gut just to make you shut up!" She yelled.
Damon stopped and just stared at her.
Elena was rejecting the Sire Bond. Something so strong that even Tyler couldn't overpower it. But Tyler hated Klaus. Elena, however, loved Damon. Was love really stronger? He wondered. Was it so strong that it could fight against his sending her away? Was that corny fairytale myth about Love conquering all true?
Damon dropped to the ground at her feet and looked at her. Her eyes were shut tight but still the tears were coming out.
"I won't look at you," she said, "Not until-"
"Okay, Elena. Okay," Damon hushed her. "Do you want to stay with me? Of your own will?" He asked.
"Of course." Came her hoarse voice as her eyelids eased.
"Then how about this: The one thing that would make me the happiest is for you to stay with me so long as it's what YOU want," he emphasized.
Elena opened her reddened, wet eyes to look at him. "Really?!" The biggest smile spread over her face. It was infectious and then spread to Damon's as well.
"Really."
She launched herself into his arms and hugged him, kissed him and finally took his head with a hand on either side of his face.
"I will only say this one more time." She was stern. "I love you. I did before I turned, before there was ever a drop of your blood in me. Sire bond or no Sire Bond, I love you. It didn't create anything that wasn't already there. So stop trying to be the martyr. That's Stefan's thing. You make me happy, you don't MAKE me happy." she laughed getting the distinction across. "I love and want you and you love and want me. It's that simple." She ended.
Damon was smiling. "Were you serious about staking me in the gut if I tried it again?"
"Yes." Elena was straight to the point, no pun intended. "Never in the heart of course but I would inflict some serious pain."
He looked deeper into her eyes with awe and wonder. "It IS real. Everything you feel. And... it's so strong that you fought with it." He sounded absolutely amazed.
He lowered his mouth to hers, pressing her tightly to his body and they started kissing in a kind of frenzy when they heard someone clear their throat.
Oh yeah, Elena thought, Jeremy and Bonnie are here.
Damon and Elena both looked embarrassed but smiled awkwardly and put an arm around one another.
Elena gave a wave and a smile to her friend. "See you later, Bonnie. I'm staying here with Damon to help Jeremy."
Bonnie opened her mouth as if she were about to say something but then closed it with a smile and a nod. She lowered herself into the seat and closed the door. Elena heard the car go into drive and the car eased out onto the gravel road toward Mystic Falls.
"Well," Jeremy began from behind them, "I guess we start in the morning. Uh, not to spoil all the gross vampire romance going on but the two of you and professor Shane might want to take shifts watching me tonight. It might be okay so far but..." He trailed off.
Damon nodded and so did Elena. They understood.
Jeremy headed into the house first and shook his head a little "Jeez, who knows what Stefan's gonna think." he muttered.
Elena and Damon slowed their pace and their smiles faded a little but they kept walking until they were in the house giving one another that yeah-but-what-can-we-do? look.
***The next chapter will be comprised of both Klaroline and Delena. Hope you read the part before this that I wrote. It will all make much better sense that way. Hope you liked it!
