(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Forty-Three

Damon sits on the couch in the boarding house living room. A half-drunk glass of whiskey in his hand. His jaw is tightly clenched. Cell phone in his other hand. He's annoyed. With Daphne. The morning after their rather enjoyable night, he woke up cold and alone and he can't say he wasn't disappointed. He has been feeling all.....soft and human. He snorts and shakes his head. That still doesn't mean he's not disappointed. He felt something, feels something with her. She's not just another woman to sleep with. Not another notch on his bedpost. There is a connection there. It's why there has been tension and heat in every interaction. He didn't think she had it in her. To up and leave in the middle of the night. He thought she'd stay.

.....

Elena stands in Daphne's bedroom, her arms folded over her chest as she watches Daphne working on a little experiment. Her sister is distracted though. Making mistakes. Daphne's phone rings on the dresser, Elena's eyes shifting to it but Daphne makes no move to answer it. She actively ignores it. Only twitching as it rings out. It stops. Daphne then lets out a breath.

"Are you going to be watching me all day?" Daphne complains. Elena lets out a breath and goes to respond but then Daphne's phone starts ringing again. Elena's eye twitches in annoyance.

"Are you going to answer that?" Elena asks.

"What?" Daphne counters, Elena then motions to Daphne's ringing phone, Damon's name flashing on the screen. It stops, the phone going black.

"Are you ignoring him?"

"Why would I be ignoring him?" Daphne muses as she goes back to her experiment. "I'm busy" Elena doesn't know what happened but Daphne has been held up in her bedroom, doing these blood experiments for a couple of days now. She's not even sure her sister has been eating or sleeping. She has no idea what happened with Damon but it is very clear that something did.

"Daph" Elena starts. Daphne lets out a breath and looks up from her notes. "What's going on?" Daphne clenches her jaw and then looks down.

"We slept together" She admits. Elena smiles widely and moves to hug Daphne. To celebrate but Daphne gives her a look which stops her.

"Why aren't you smiling? You not happy about this?" Elena asks her. "You two flirted...you both seem to really get along, I thought he liked you...I thought you liked him" She argues. "Was it terrible?"

"No" Daphne is quick to defend. "It's complicated" She whispers. It's very complicated. She should never have allowed it to go that far. She rubs the stone of her necklace between her fingers. Worrying at it. It was spectacular with Damon. Hot and sweaty and pleasurable. Best sex of her life. But they don't know how dangerous she has the potential to be. To put these people at risk by getting close to them. She'd never really thought about it. Not till she was laying there next to Damon and staring at his face as he slept. The danger she is putting them in. She went through her entire school years being told that she can never unleash what is inside of her. Never. That she is meant to be careful. And now, being around her family. Being around her friends. Around Damon. She's at risk for the first time. She could get killed. And then she'll be a threat to everyone. She should be distancing herself from everyone. Locking herself away from them all. "It was great, but it's just better this way"

"Better what way, Daph?" Elena asks.

"There are just things you don't know about me, dangerous things, things...." She clenches her jaw. "Just leave it alone, Elena" Elena gives her a look and sighs. There is going to be no arguing with her when she's in this mood, whatever the hell mood this is. Elena's never seen Daphne like this before. Daphne lets out a breath and then turns back to her experiment. Elena shakes her head and leaves her sister alone. Daphne's not going to talk to her right now, and it is likely best to leave her alone. Plus she might have a better shot of getting it out of Damon, to find out just what happened between the two of them.

............

Elena finds Damon, easily. There aren't too many places he'd go in Mystic Falls. Damon is propping up the bar. Elena suddenly feels very angry. Her mind is telling her that it has to be him at fault. Daphne is not a bad person. She can't wrap her head around how it went so sour so fast. So Damon has to have done something. She takes a deep breath and then walks towards him just as he orders a new drink from the bartender.

"What did you do?" Elena asks him, Damon turns a confused look on her.

"What?" He argues.

"With Daph" She continues. "What did you do?"

"Me?" Damon asks her, turning on his seat. "As far as I am concerned it was good, great...." He points out. "It was really great, she's a real firecracker in the sack...." He smirks a little but she's not amused. "But" He continues and sighs. "I woke up and she was gone" He gives her a look.

"Wait, Daph...hit it and quit it?" Elena asks him, he hums and nods. Elena finds that hard to believe. Daphne doesn't exactly seem like the type. And there was way too much build-up. Too much connection. And if she saw it, then they damn well felt it. "And nothing strange happened?" She asks him, he shrugs and shakes his head.

"Not that I know" He answers and gives her a look. "You're looking at me as if you think this is weird"

"It's not Daph" Elena defends. "I don't think, I mean...." Damon raises an eyebrow. Elena sighs a little. "Look, I'm sure it's not that simple. Daph likes you, I know she does...." Damon pulls a face and turns away. He's not too sure about that. He too thought that there was something between them, but then if there was, why the hell did she leave him high and dry like that?

"You know what, Elena?" He starts and accepts the fresh drink from the bartender. "I think I want to drink alone" Elena lets out a breath and then leaves him to his drink. Damon swallows a little and leans on the bar. He's getting all caught up on one girl. Since when did he become this person?

A/N - SO I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FUTURE STORYLINES FOR DAPH AND THE OTHERS AND TRYING TO WORK OUT HER PLACE IN THEM. OBVIOUSLY, THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT SEASON WILL BE WORKING AROUND HER AND HER NEW PHOENIX STATE AND STUFF. 

BUT I AM CURIOUS AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU SEE VAMPIRISM IN DAPH'S FUTURE. IT WOULD CUT OFF HER MAGIC, BUT SHE WOULD RETAIN HER PHOENIX ABILITIES. I KIND OF HAVE IN MY HEAD THAT WITH THE VAMPIRISM, AND IF SHE WERE TO TURN OFF HER HUMANITY, THAT'S WHEN WE'D SEE A VERY DARK PHOENIX-ESQUE DAPHNE. BUT IF YOU GUYS DON'T WANT THE VAMPIRE STUFF, I DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT TO THEM. (IT WOULD LIKELY HAPPEN AFTER SEASON 4 ANYWAY; SO PLENTY OF TIME TO MAKE A CHOICE)

- Also curious if you see her going to Whitmore. There isn't much in the way of magical colleges or anything and I don't know if I see her doing something muggle.