No Strings Attached

Day 266

            "You aren't allowed near him. I don't want you throwing punches," Dean mocks as he aggressively washes his hands. "Well if you don't want me throwing punches, you should just break up with the mother fu—"

            The bathroom door swings open, causing Dean to abruptly straighten up and freeze. He really had run out of luck.

            "Hey man, you alright?" The blue-eyed devil saunters over to one of the urinals, glancing at Dean over his shoulder. Dean just stares at Damon's reflection in the mirror, his hands shaking.

            This monster of a man standing not five feet from Dean is the man bringing pain and heartbreak into Elena's life. Dean has never been so close to him before. He can see the thin hairs on the back of his neck, the creases in his jacket, and even the exact shade of his ice-cold eyes. Dean doesn't have the self-control to keep his anger in check around this man.

            "Dude, why are you staring?"

            "Sorry," Dean hisses, clenching his jaw. Giving him a weird look, Damon returns to his business. Dean averts his eyes, staring intensely at the sink until Damon comes to wash his hands.

            "Seriously, what's your problem?" Damon bumps Dean's shoulder, causing a surge of hatred to rush Dean's system. Slowly, Dean meets Damon's eyes in the mirror.

            "Girl trouble," Dean says stiffly, mustering up everything he has to come across casual. Damon offers Dean a smirk, nodding as if he completely understands Dean's situation.

            "I feel yah, buddy. Sometimes you just gotta tell them what's what, you know?" Damon raises his eyebrows at Dean before shaking out his hands. "Well buddy, that's my advice. Put her in her place." With one last smirk, Damon gives a little wave before pushing open the door and exiting the bathroom.

            Dean collapses against the sink, letting out a puff of air. Now he knows how Elena felt when she had to spend time with Lisa. Except there is something monumentally different about the two situations: Elena wasn't in love with Dean at the time.

            Saying it hurt was an understatement. It's like a stone was dropped into his stomach, changing his center of gravity and causing him to shrink in on himself. The feeling is overwhelming, taking control of Dean's entire body as it attempts to incapacitate him. The only thought running through his head was that that man was destroying Elena, and Dean let him walk out of here unscathed.

            Splashing his face with water, Dean takes one more deep breath before mustering up his courage and heading back into the restaurant. Damon and Elena are nowhere to be found, but Dean ignores the crush of panic that overrides his brain. Instead he sits back down across from Lisa, a fake smile plastered on his face.

            "Are you having stomach problems or something?" Lisa leans forward to whisper the question. Dean just shakes his head, hoping it will be enough. "Good. I don't want to be stuck on a plane with you tomorrow if you're having stomach problems."

            "Because that is the worst thing imaginable," Dean mutters, chugging his beer as he pictures Damon and Elena going home together.

. . .

            "Dinner was nice," Damon says, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Elena hums a response, following after him. "Why don't we finish off the night with a bottle of wine and dessert upstairs, hmm? What do you say?"

            "Don't you think you've already had enough to drink?" Elena rubs her arms uncomfortably as Damon disappears into the kitchen to get the wine. Sighing, Elena leans against the wall and pulls out her phone.

U still out with L? —Elena

No. We just got home. You okay? —Dean

Yeah fine. Not a big deal :) —Elena

It is to me. —Dean

            Smiling softly, Elena hugs her phone to her chest. She couldn't deny the butterflies that spring to life in her stomach.

            "Do you want white or red?" Damon sticks his head into the hallway, holding up two bottles of wine.

            "White," Elena says, setting her phone down on the coffee table to hide it from him. Smirking, Damon disappears back into the kitchen. "I'll meet you upstairs okay?"

            "Okay! I'll be right up to get you out of that dress," Damon calls, causing Elena to roll her eyes. Pulling off her sweater, Elena quickly steps out of her heels and heads upstairs.

We're still on for tomorrow right? —Dean

I think I'm gonna order the biscuits and gravy —Dean

I know I ordered it last week, but this time I'll get bacon instead of sausage —Dean

So technically it doesn't count as a repeat —Dean

            "Elena! You left you're phone!" Damon comes out of the kitchen, two glasses of wine already in his hands. He spots it sitting on the coffee table, still buzzing with the incoming texts. "It keeps buzzing! Elena!"

You know eventually I'm gonna run out of things to order —Dean

Okay where did you go? —Dean

Elena? —Dean

Hello? —Dean

            "Wait, Damon, hold on!" Elena rushes back down the stares, her eyes wide and terrified as she takes in the scene before her. Damon's face is lit up by the phone's screen, his eyes slowly taking in the information before him. "Damon, Damon, look at me."

Guess you went to bed. See you tomorrow *kissy face* —Dean

            Elena quickly closes the distance between them, her hands reaching for the phone. Damon quickly moves it out of her reach, tilting his head to the side to scrutinize her.

            "Damon, it's not what you think. I promise you, it's not what you think," Elena pleads, panic and fear ripping every thought from her mind. She's been so careful. All these months she's worked her ass off to keep Damon from discovering her dirty little secret. But because of one stupid, careless mistake...

            "Who's Dean?"

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you liked this chapter because I spent way too much time on it. But I am excited to write the rest of this story, and I hope you're excited to read it! As I said last chapter, I am winding things down. That being said, I've spent some time on the outline and I think I'm going to be able to squeeze a few more chapters out of this story. So as long as I stick to this outline, there are going to be FIVE MORE CHAPTERS. 

Anyway, thank you again for reading! Please don't forget to comment/share/vote!

Side note: sorry for the quick and awkward author's note, it's like midnight here and I'm exhausted.

Until next time!

~ spnjackles