DISCLAIMER: I do not own TVD! I would like to though.

Stay-Rihanna (ft. Mikky Ekko)

7. Stay

*Damon POV*

"I said I'm not staying here anymore!" She yelled, with delicate tears falling from her soft eyes. "I need to get out of here. I can't stand looking at your face!" She ran up the stairs and I followed after her. I was fast enough to grab a hold onto her shoulder, but she shrugged it off quickly. "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me." She yelled while turning around to look at me.

"Elena, I know you're angry. You have the right to be. I lied to you, and I'm sorry. Please, just-" I said softly before I was interrupted.

"Just get me out of here. Please..." Hasn't she been through enough? I sighed and looked into her doe eyes. She was crying and it was my fault.

"Okay," I began. "Okay, we'll find you a place to stay."

*DE*

It's been a couple of weeks since I've seen her. She's been staying at the safe house (aka Caroline Forbes's house). It was the best Liz could have done at such short notice. I've been trying to get Elena out of my head, but working on the Trafficking Trio case has not been helping at all. We've been getting tips that they are still in New York, but why? Why would they risk getting caught? They could've gone anywhere, but for some reason they remain in New York. I put that aside from my thoughts when I see Caroline. "Hey! Care!" I call as she leaves her mother's office. I saw her turn around, and a huge smile crept across her face.

"Damon!" she yells while running toward me. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a huge hug. Caroline and I have been pretty close friends for a long time now.

"How are you?" I ask her while walking toward the exit. I hear her talk, but I don't comprehend a word she says. When she's done speaking, I ask her another question. "How is uh," I clear my throat. " How's Elena?"

"She's holding up just fine. I think we might actually be on the friend basis, but I think she has trouble opening up," she explains.

"Oh.. Why do you say so?" I ask her curiously.

"I try to talk to her about her… um.. well.. 'experience' and she won't say anything about it. I just don't think she's quite ready to open up, but I am going to take her shopping for the gala tonight. Maybe then, we'll form some kind of bond and she may be willing to open up," she says.

"Wow," I laugh. We stop walking and she looks at me.

"What?" she asks with one of her hands at her hip.

"You're starting to sound like a shrink," I laugh once more as we begin to walk again. Caroline slapped my shoulder playfully and laughed.

"Well, I did get a psychology degree!" she retorted.

"Wait, what did you say you we going to take Elena shopping for?" I try not to sound to eager, but I think I am failing miserably.

"The gala?" Caroline look at me with confusion. "The annual gala that the bureau has every year? Are you even going, Damon? It's kind of mandatory." I completely forgot. The F.B.I. has a gala every year to celebrate all the successes they had during the year. I went to last year's gala when I was in the academy. Usually, academy students don't go, but since I was at the top of my class I was given the opportunity to attend. The gala is very extravagant, and extremely formal.

"Is she allowed to attend? I thought only agents were allowed to go?" I asked curiously. Despite the fact that I haven't seen Elena in a while, I knew that the last thing she would want to do, was see me.

"She' my plus one," Caroline says with a sly smile.

We reach the elevator and Caroline gives me another hug. "See you later, Damon," she says waves goodbye while entering the elevator. The doors close and I realize that I don't even have a good suit to use.

*Elena POV*

Shopping?

I can't remember the last time I've been shopping. Caroline told me that she was going to take me to a gala tonight and that "I needed a new wardrobe." I don't even know what a gala is. The phone began to ring loudly. I searched through Caroline's messy house for it. I could hear the phone, but I couldn't see it under all of her mess. Finally, I looked between the couch cushions and saw Caroline's home phone. I picked up the phone and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Elena! It's Caroline. I'm gonna be home in about 10 minutes, so get ready because we are going to buy you a new dress, new shoes, and just about new everything," she says overenthusiastically.

"Okay, I'll get ready," I sigh into the phone as Caroline hung up. I got dressed, and brushed my hair. Afterward, I went to the bathroom to look at myself. I was decent. I wore faded blue jeans, and a black hoodie. Hopefully, we aren't going anywhere fancy.

*DE*

It took quite a while to get to the mall because Caroline lives in a quaint, little house just outside New York City. However, this mall was not just an everyday mall. It was a palace. There was elegant, white marble, and countless floor levels filled with high-end shops. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. "Welcome to Manhattan Mall," Caroline says as she leads the way through the huge building. I don't know how, but Caroline must have spent thousands of dollars buying me and herself clothes. We visited an infinite amount of stores, and bought infinite amounts of clothes, shoes, makeup, and a lot more. We finally reached a very expensive looking store with tons of dresses and heels. I looked back and Caroline was on the phone with someone just outside the store. We made eye contact and she motioned for me to go inside by nodding her head. I walked around the store and admired all the dresses. There was a long, blue dress that caught my eye. It was made of pale silk and expensive material. I found the price tag nearby the waistline, and gasped at the sight of it.

$1,599.99

How can something be that expensive?

"Hey, did you see anything you liked?" I heard Caroline's voice behind me.

"No," I lied. "Not really. Everything here is too flashy and too expensive. Not really my taste, plus we already bought something I can wear," I answered her. Caroline looked a little confused. "You know," I started. "That floral dress from, what was it? Um…" I forgot what that place was called.

"American Eagle?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah! American Eagle! That was a pretty dress." Caroline started laughing, but I didn't know why.

"You're kidding, right?" she continued to laugh for no apparent reason. She finally got herself together and put a serious face on. "Oh, you're not kidding," she said softly. "The gala tonight is extremely formal, so we need to find you a formal dress, so you don't stand out. We can go to Macy's or something." I felt completely embarrassed, I was probably turning red.

"Okay, let's go," I embarrassingly responded.

"Wait!" Caroline called after me. "I told a friend to meet me here because he was shopping for the gala too. You know what, since we have a lot more money to spend, just buy a dress in here while we wait for my friend," she told me. It was probably a guy that she liked. I smiled and turned around to look at her.

"Ooooh," I teased while walking toward her. "What kind of friend?" Caroline began chuckling. "A boyfriend?" I asked.

"No!" Caroline responded. "It's just some guy that I've known for a while. I think you actually know him."

"Wait, really?" I stopped teasing her. "What's his name?" She was going to respond, but a huge smile formed on her face when she looked at someone behind me.

"Damon!" she yelled while jogging pass me to hug him.

Great. Just the person I didn't want to see.

"Hey Care!" Damon said while awkwardly wrapping his arm around her neck. "Hi, Elena," he says sheepishly. Being polite, even though I didn't want to, I turned around and smiled at him.

"What are you guys doing in this store?" he asks while looking to Caroline and then to me. I couldn't bear to look at his face. I just wanted to punch him right in the nose. How dare he come here and act like nothing happened. I have just began to accept that I had tried to kill myself after I found out about my family's whereabouts. If I can even call it 'whereabouts.' I turned around and began walking around to find that blue dress I was looking at, but I could still hear Damon and Caroline talking.

"We were just looking for a dress that Elena can wear to the gala," Caroline said. I walked farther into the store, and stopped hearing Damon and Caroline talking. I found the blue dress and walked to the cash register. There was an old lady with glasses and an elegant dress.

"Hi," I greeted her. She looked at me strangely. "I was wondering if I can try this dress on." She looked at me again from head to toe and shook her head in disapproval.

"Honey," she started. "We only let people try on dresses if they are serious about buying it," the old lady told me.

"I am serious about-"

"I'm sorry, but you can't try it on." I stood there looking at this old woman and I felt myself grow hot. She wouldn't let me try on a dress because I looked poor. I was about to walk away.

"Is there a problem here?" he said from above my head. "Why can't she try this dress on. It's obvious that anyone would want to try on a dress before they buy it," he said calmly. The lady looked slightly intimidate. She cleared her throat and looked at me and then to Damon. She looked shocked to see me with him. I was simply wearing some old jeans and a hoodie, and he was wearing slacks and a formal collared shirt.

"Sorry for the misunderstanding." She got out from behind the register and opened a dressing room for me. Damon followed me to where the dressing rooms were, and sat down on one of the waiting couches. I turned around and gave him a smile. In spite of him lying to me, I was still thankful.

"Thank you," I mouthed to him as I walked into the dressing room. Damon kindly returned it with another smile. I took off my jeans and sweater and pulled on the dress. Wow. It looked great. I actually looked nice. I opened my door to see myself in the full body mirror outside. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Damon immediately stand up. I forgot he was even there. He was walking toward me, and for some reason my cheeks felt warm. "What do you think?" I asked him while doing a 360 degree spin.

"It's nice," he said sounding unimpressed. What the hell? The dress was gorgeous! He obviously had no sense of style.

"Well, I like it," I said smugly while turning around to go back to the dressing room.

"You know," I heard Damon say. I turned to look at him. He was kind of beautiful. The lighting in the room brought out his cerulean eyes. He was handsome, but I still hated him. "That dress," he pointed to a tannish and black sparkly dress on a mannequin inside the dressing room. I looked back at him. "Would look even better than that one," he said with a smirk. I looked back at the dress, and it was undeniably beautiful. The mannequin was wearing black gloves that went halfway up the forearm, but the dress was the best part. It was strapless, and was black on the chest and waist. It was a light brown color everywhere else. There was very detailed beading on the torso, and when it caught the light, it sparkled like a million stars. The whole outfit on the mannequin was breathtaking. It was like one of those dresses you would see a princess wear. The dress was amazing, but I was not willing to swallow my pride, especially not to Damon.

"I like this dress," I told him while patting the dress I wore. I saw Caroline enter the dressing room with a smile.

"Elena! You look gorgeous!" She said while walking around me and inspecting my body.

"I was just telling Elena how much better she would look wearing that dress," Damon said to Caroline while pointing at the mannequin. When Caroline saw it, she was instantly mesmerized.

"HO-LY COW! Look at that thing," she practically yelled loud enough, the whole mall heard. "Elena, forget about that dress. Damon is right. Look at that thing. It's amazing!" I looked at Damon and saw a smug 'I told you so' look. I could barely hear my own thoughts while Damon and Caroline talked over how pretty the dress looked.

"No!" I yelled. "No," I whispered to calm myself down.

"Elena, we were just trying to-" Damon began.

"I saw this dress and I'm sticking to it," I told them while storming out of the dressing room.

*DE*

*Damon POV*

Caroline and I looked at each other in awe.

"I wonder what's up with her," Caroline wondered.

"It's because of me," I confessed. She looked confused. "When I found her, I told her that I would look for her family. All along, I knew where they were, but I never told her," I explained.

"Wow. That's pretty harsh." Caroline looked stunned. "So… where are they?" She asked the question I did not want to answer.

"They're dead," I said. It came out worse than I had it expected it to. For being quite the talker, I was surprised that Caroline didn't respond to me. She just walked away. I felt like an asshole, even Caroline knew it. I needed to make it up to Elena. "Care," I called to her.

"What, Damon?" She sounded angry.

"Look, I know what you want to say to me. I know I'm an asshole, but I need to make it up to Elena somehow," I pleaded with her.

"What can you possibly do, Damon? You lied to her in the worse way possible." She was right. I don't know how I would ever be able to make up for the terrible thing I have done.

"Let me pay for her dress," I suggested. "Don't tell her, because she would never accept it." Caroline gave a disapproving chuckle.

"You are unbelievable. You want me to lie to her now?"

"Caroline…. Please." I took out a few bills and gave it to her. She was reluctant to take it, but she eventually did.

"Only because we're close." She took the money and walked away. I knew that my presence was unwanted, so I left the store to go home and get rest for the long day ahead of me.

*DE*

*Elena POV*

We took the elevator to the roof and when the doors slid open, I was immediately welcomed by the sound of chatter and stringed instruments playing a classical song. There is something about New York that makes everything seem elegant. The rooftop had an indoor section with dark gray marble and a crystal chandelier that lit up the whole room. I followed Caroline to the outdoor section, but she stopped walking to look around. The expression on her face lit up when she saw a group of men laughing and having drinks at the far end of the section.

"Hey Elena, I'll be back. You can go inside and find a spot to sit and I'll come find you after I'm done." Caroline walked to the end of the section and started talking to the group of men.

Great. Caroline just left me on a crowded rooftop filled with people I don't know. I returned to the indoor section and looked for an empty table. I quickly found one and sat myself down. The table set up was completely beautiful. There was a white table cloth with a colorful, floral center piece and fancy tableware. As I further inspected the table, there were folded cards by each chair. The card in front of me read, "Honoria Fell." I realized that each table has assigned seats.

"Excuse me, maa'm," somebody behind me called. I turned around to see that it was one of the gala's waitresses. "Are you Mrs. Fell?"

"No, actually I'm-" I began.

"I'm sorry but you can't sit there. There is assigned seating in this room, but if you are a plus one, you are welcome to sit on the balcony upstairs," she said politely before walking away to attend to the real guests. Embarrassed, I stood up and walked awkwardly away from the table. I went back to the end of the room and found myself by the elevators again. There was a flight of black, velvet stairs and I decided to climb them. The stair case led to a roomy outdoor balcony with rusty, metal chairs. I pulled out a chair and was appalled by the rusty residue it left on my glove. Not wanting to ruin my dress, I decided to not sit down. Instead, I walked to the end of the balcony and stared at the party going on below me. People were drinking alcohol, socializing and laughing. I saw a tipsy Caroline dancing to Vivaldi and people laughing while watching her. This party might have been fun if I actually knew people…. or if I knew how to talk to people. I felt a tear roll down my face and wiped it with the gloves I discarded from my hands.

"No, Elena," I whispered to myself. "Not here." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I stared into the distance and admired the city landscape of New York City. I admired the beautiful building that towered over the others and for a split second, all my problems disappeared.

*DE*

*Damon POV*

"Right back at you, asshole!" I yelled as some taxi driver gave me 'the finger.' How is this even possible? Traffic is not moving at all. Damn it. It's already 9:00. The party started an hour and a half ago. This is ridiculous. I know that it's partially my fault because I decided to get ready last minute, but still, New York City isn't supposed to be this crowded. After about another twenty minutes, I'm inside a smelly ass elevator heading to the roof of a tall building. Bad news… They've started playing contemporary music. Usually, they play live, classical music during the early part of the gala, then they play modern music when everyone starts leaving. As I make my way around the hallway into the indoor section of the roof, I see a sparse amount of people in a drunken state. I see my boss, Liz, and make my way to her. "Liz, I am so sorry. Traffic was extremely heavy, but hey, I'm here, right?" I force a laugh.

"Damon, you're about two hours late and I know where you live. There wouldn't have been any traffic if you had left on time. I have to say, I'm pretty disappointed, Damon." I feel speechless, but I feel like I need to say something to redeem myself to my boss. Before I can say anything she walks away and goes to the outdoor section at the end of the room. I look around and see some of my co-workers drunk out of their mind and leaving with strangers for one-night-stands. I'm about to leave when I see Caroline talking to her mother outside.

If Caroline is here… then Elena is still here. But where?

I quickly walk to Caroline and Liz. "Where is Elena?" I quickly ask her.

"What?" she says while her mom looks at us with confusion.

"Elena. The girl who is staying at your house. The girl I saved from… that… that facility?" I say almost angrily.

"Oh my god," Caroline whispers.

"What is going on here?" Liz interrupts.

"Unbelievable!" I yell. "Caroline, you're the one who brought her here and you don't even know where she is?"

"You what?" Liz shouts at Caroline. "Caroline, this is supposed to be strictly F.B.I. You can't just invite random people here, let alone a victim!"

"Caroline, she just attempted suicide, not even two weeks ago. God knows what she could doing!" I want to punch something, but I just clench my jaw instead.

"Okay, we'll split up and try to find her," Caroline suggests. "Call or text each other if any of us finds her."

"Damn it! She could be anywhere!" I shout furiously. The people inside focus their attention on me but I ignore their drunken asses.

"Look, Damon. Calm down. You are overreacting. We will find her, okay," Liz assures. Enraged, I just walk away.

*DE*

I must've searched the entire rooftop, and I still haven't found her. I group message Liz and Caroline to see if they found her. No luck. Defeated, I went back to the elevator, ready to search the entire city for her until I find a flight of black stairs leading to a balcony. i didn't notice this part of the roof, so I went to see if I would have any luck up on the balcony. I reach the top and see a slim figure standing by the edge of the balcony.

"Elena?" I called. The figure turned around and I was stunned by what a saw.

She was beautiful. She wore silky black gloves and a black and tan dress that sparkled in the dim light of the balcony, she wore the dress that I suggested to her instead of the other one.

"Oh, hey," she says softly. I smile at her and approach her slowly. I keep a safe distance, not too close, but not too far.

I quickly pull my phone out and text Liz and Caroline, "Found her. Rooftop Balcony." I look up and there is an awkward silence.

We are both startled when the speakers on the balcony come alive and play a familiar song with a piano playing in its intro.

"What are you doing up here all alone? It's a party, you should be having fun," I chuckle. I see a smile on her face, but know it's forced because the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

All along it was a fever
A cold sweat hot-headed believer

"It's kind of hard to have fun when you don't know anyone, and the only person you do know, ditches you to hang out with some guys," she says with a forced laugh.

I threw my hands in the air, said, "Show me something."
He said, "If you dare come a little closer."

"Well," I say while getting a little bit closer to her. "Maybe I can help with that problem." I smile while I reach out and offer her my hand.

Round and around and around and around we go
Oh now, tell me now, tell me now, tell me now, we know

I don't quite think she has processed what I am offering, because of the look of confusion on her face as she stares at my outstretched hand.

"I umm…" she chuckles nervously. "I don't know how to dance," she says while looking down at the floor.

"I'll show you," I say reassuringly. She pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath before placing her delicate hand in mine.

Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move

"Im gonna put my hand on your waist." I don't know why I say that, but knowing her past, and how she feels about people touching her, I say it anyway.

Makes me feel like I can't live without you
It takes me all the way
And I want you to stay

As my hand meets her waist, she shifts slightly and inhales as if she were scared, but she quickly adjusts. She looks into my eyes for a split second before she puts her head down. "And now we sway," I say calmy as we begin to move. Our movements begin to match the song as we sway. I look down at her but she is looking at her feet trying to make sure she gets the steps right. I smirk at the fact that she is trying to replicate my steps exactly. In a nanosecond, she looks up at me again with her chocolate eyes.

It's not much of a life you're living
It's not just something you take–it's given

"Thank you," she says sincerely. I gaze into her eyes while she looks into mine. I can't stop staring. She is unbelievable.

"It's just a dance lesson, Elena. It's not even a good one," I joke around. She gives a genuine laugh before returning her eyes to mine.

"Not for that, Damon. For saving me from.. from that place and saving me from… myself. I don't know what I would've-"

Round and around and around and around we go
Oh now, tell me now, tell me now, tell me now you know.

"I didn't save you, Elena," I interrupt. She looks at me with a dazed look. "You saved yourself, because you are strong." She smiles and I see tears forming in her hers."Hell, if we're being honest here, you're the strongest person that I know." I don't know if I said something bad or wrong but a look of sadness overcomes her face.

Not really sure how to feel about it.
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can't live without you.
It takes me all the way.
I want you to stay.

"Except that I'm not," she says so softly that it is barely audible. "I was ready to give up, Damon. After fighting for my life for two years, hoping that I would see my family again, I was ready to give up. Because I have no one." We stop swaying to the music as I watch a tear escape her eye. "I have no one, and it hurts. It hurts and I-"

"Hey, hey, hey," I say while cupping her face with both of my hands. She is shocked and flinches by my action but, I don't shift a muscle.

"You have me," I tell her as I gently wipe a tear from her cheek with my thumb.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, the reason I hold on
Ooh, ooh, ooh, 'cause I need this hole gone

We are there, frozen in time, and I don't even notice that our faces are getting closer and closer to each other. Her eyes are focused on my lips and I look down on her long lashes. I can feel her cool breathe on my lips. We are impossibly close and our lips are about to touch.

Funny you're the broken one but I'm the only one who needed saving
'Cause when you never see the light it's hard to know which one of us is caving.

"Damon!" I hear a voice from behind us. Elena quickly pulls away from me and turns toward the voice.

"Ric," I say disappointed. He looks baffled as his eyes shift from Elena to me.

"I need to see you... Now." I see the tension in his face and the clench in his jaw. Ric quickly leaves the balcony and I turn back to Elena. That was awkward.

"You should probably go." I was a little disappointed by her response. "It seems like its really important."

"Yeah, umm. Here." I reach into my pockets and offer her my keys. "You can take my car back to Caroline's place because I think she left. I'll get a ride home from Ric."

"Are you sure?" She asks me with her doe eyes.

"Yeah, I have another car and I'll get it back later," I say as I smile.

"Thank you, Damon." She gives me another smile. "Now go. That looked important."

"Okay, okay. I'm going," I say as I walk toward the black stair case. Before I am out of sight I turn back to Elena. "By the way... nice dress." I see her laugh at the corner of my eye as I hear the beautiful song come to an end.

I want you to stay...

I make my way downstairs and see a silhouette pacing the floor. "Ric," I call. His attention focuses on me and I immediately see the worried look on his face. "Look, I can explain what that was-" I started.

"Never mind that, Damon," he yells. What the hell is his problem? "I got a call from an anonymous person. Fuck!" he is practically punching the air by now.

"What the hell is going on, Ric." I grab a hold of his shoulders hoping to get his attention.

"They're coming after her, Damon. Why do you think they're still in New York. They want to tie up all the loose ends."

Well, shit.

*DE*

"Would you please hurry up!" I yell at Ric from the passenger seat. I called Caroline and she told me Elena hadn't come home. I needed to get home and get my badge, vest, and gun before I can go out to look for her.

"Why are you in such a rush, man?" Ric questions me as he speeds through a yellow light. I can't tell Ric why I'm in a rush because I know he'll lecture me about giving my car to Elena and about… other things.

"I need to piss!" I stutter thinking that was a terrible excuse.

Before I know it we speed into my parking lot and I'm taking the elevator to the penthouse. As I step into my penthouse, I rush to my room, change out of my suit, grab my ballistics vest, badge, and take my gun. I'm about to leave when a familiar and relieving sight surprises. She didn't go back to Caroline's…. she came here.

She was wearing one of my black shirts and a pair of my very loose, plaid pajama pants. Elena had fallen asleep on my couch. I couldn't let her sleep on the stiff, uncomfortable couch, but I didn't want to wake her up. I placed my arm under her neck and under the back of her knees and lifted her up off the couch. She was incredibly light. Unknowingly, she put her arm around my neck as I climbed the stairs to the guest room. When we got to the room I awkwardly turned on the light with my shoulder and headed toward the bed. I placed her legs on the bed first, then gently lowered her head, making sure it didn't hit the bed frame. When her body was completely rested on the bed, I began to remove her arm from around my shoulder, but she would not let go. She wrapped her other arm around me and I stumbled onto the bed next to her. I move to get up, but before i know it, her head and arm is resting on my chest. What do I do? I keep thinking about what I should do or how I should move to get up without waking her, but as I am thinking, I subconsciously close my eyes and fall asleep next to Elena Marie Gilbert.

Wow.. it has been a while guys. I am so sorry. I have been so busy with everything going on in my life. A few days ago, I stumbled upon this unfinished chapter and decided to rewrite it. SO MUCH has happened in the TVD world and it's devastating. Anyway hope you guys liked this chapter. PS.. bold lettering is the lyrics to the song :)

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