SEMPITERNAL ━━ Damon Salvatore ²

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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Carter sat in a chair, a book open within her palms. The soft blue light was her only way of scanning the words, her fair skin looking more porcelain doll-like. She was drawn out of her fantasy when Damon heaved a strong breath, pushing himself off the floor. "Easy, buddy. Don't want you doing anything stupid," Stefan teased, his palms out. Carter set the book she was looking over aside and stood. Damon rushed at Stefan, throwing him into the bookcase. "Damon!" she shouted, alerting the vampire of her presence. "I'm not the one who came up with the plan. Elena did, right down to the broken neck." Stefan's words caused a fire to build within the older Salvatore's stomach; fueling the rage growing within him. "Damon, stop!"

He wanted to rip his brother apart. Leaving Elena defenseless; leaving Carter slightly less defenseless. He released Stefan with a low growl, stepping back a few steps. "I know you're upset, babe, but Elena—"

"Oh, so you're on her side now?"

"What? There aren't any sides!" Damon glared at the strawberry blonde. His chest heaved with each breath he took. He was angry, not only at his brother and Elena, but at Carter. "I can't believe you were apart of this!" he pointed at Carter. The harshness of his words took her by surprise. Her green eyes widened at the man, his own still narrowed. "You know damn well she had nothing to do with this," Stefan growled angrily. Carter felt her throat close at the inevitability of the situation. "Really? Then why is she here?" She clenched her fists tighter, ignoring the sharp stinging of her nails piercing the smooth skin of her palms. "Let it go, Stefan."

The younger Salvatore looked astonishingly toward the strawberry blonde. "Its okay, Damon. You're mad and you want someone to blame. If it has to be me, then so be it. But no matter what, I love you and I'm not letting you ruin what we have." His eyes dipped to the floor. Without a word, he stormed out of the library, leaving Stefan and Carter alone once more. "I'm sorry." Stefan's proclamation wasn't expected. The strawberry blonde looked to the vampire curiously, her eyebrows drawn. "I know. But I am. Sorry about my brother." Her shoulders lifted in a halfhearted shrug. "It could be worse. We could have gone back to square one." The thought of Damon hating her made her skin crawl. After everything they had accomplished, she wasn't going to let him ruin it.

"Do you want to go dance?" she asked the vampire. Her voice was soft, distant almost. He stared at her for a moment. He had missed her. He missed their friendship almost as much as he missed being with Elena. He watched as her lips moved into her radiant smile, exposing the deep dimples in her rounded cheeks. He didn't know why he nodded. He didn't know why he took her hand and lead her to the dance floor. But he didn't mind his hands on her and the swaying the did as they danced to the classical music wafting through the warm air. And as they twirled through the cluster of dancers, lighthearted and finally expressing happiness, Stefan didn't want to be anywhere else. "Do you miss her?" Carter asked blatantly. Stefan quickly disregarded his last thought and quickly made up his mind that he did, in fact, want to be anywhere but there.

"Who?" he faked confusion, allowing the girl to twirl away from his grasp before colliding once more with him. "You know who." Her face became dull at his lack of confession, a sigh slipping past her pomegranate colored lips. "I know she misses you," she voiced. He began to dip her, watching as her curls lowered around her. She snapped upright with a slight smile, following his lead. "Of course I miss her... We just can't go back to the way things were. I hurt her," he explained in a taut voice. Her eyes searched his face, noting the slight anger beginning to build up. "I'm sorry." He glanced away from the girl, sighing when he spotted Elena move down the stairs. "She's out." Carter paused the dance to turn toward the brunette. She had seen this before.

Carter was taken out of her thoughts when the clinking of crystal echoed throughout the room. Everyone stood impossibly still, their eyes focused on the woman atop the stairs. "Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne," she began. Waiters moved through the crowd with full trays, offering champagne to all guests. Carter and Stefan took a glass, their eyes not once moving from Esther's form. "I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!" The masses all cheered, and everyone drank from their glasses.

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"Elena, did you get what you want?" Damon asked angrily. He had been avoiding Carter the rest of the evening. Of course he kept an eye on her and made sure Kol hadn't tried to dance with her again, or whisk her away. Elena turned to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, yes," she replied. "Good, tell me on the ride home. We're leaving. Come on." Elena could tell her was drunk. The way he grabbed her arm told it away. "Uh no, Damon let go of me. Look, I'm sorry that I had to cut you out of the plan."

"There shouldn't have been a plan. You shouldn't be here."

"Do you think I like going behind your back? I don't. But if I hadn't asked Stefan to help, then you would've tried to be the hero, and it would've ruined everything."

"Sorry for trying to keep you alive. Clearly Stefan doesn't give a crap anymore."

"Now you're mad at me for including Stefan?"

Damon dramatically let out a loud groan. The arguing duo had begun to attract eyes, and Damon tugging at his hair didn't help. "No, I'm mad because you're making me lie to her! You're making me go freaking insane keeping your dirty little secret because you think she's going to spill it to Stefan. Now, I fucked up. And I'm mad because its your fault!" She looked back at the vampire in shock. He knew deep down that it wasn't completely Elena's fault. Of course, she could have kept her lips to herself and/or left Damon out of it, but she didn't and now he was dying from excessive lying to his one true love. But the alcohol currently flooding his system was not making his judgement any more trustworthy.

"Jesus Christ, Damon, shout it out to the world!" she hissed. He rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. "You need to tell her, or I will." His words didn't phase the Gilbert girl. She knew his threat wouldn't be remembered in the morning. Not when he and Carter go home and fall asleep in each other's arms. She didn't buy his bluff, only shaking her head at the man. "Screw you, Damon." He smirked. "Yeah, you'd like that, huh? You know, considering you can't keep loyal to one person anyway." The hard slap echoed through the now hushed room. Elena's eyes were wide in shock, staring at the vampire in front of her. "Damon, I'm–" He turned on his heels
without another word, leaving the party alone. Or at least that's what Carter thought, anyway.