Looking around the spacious hotel lobby, she was in awe of Jenna's work. There was lush green garland hanging everywhere and harp music playing softly. The smell of a delicious, old fashioned feast was wafting through the air. Elena was really proud of everything her aunt had done as the new head of the Mystic Falls Historical Society after her mom's death, and the Bracebridge Dinner tonight would be no exception. With another quick glance around the room, she saw Jenna herself taking nervous gasps for air before guests began to arrive.

"She looks nervous."

"Stefan!" She whirled around to face her boyfriend, her face breaking out into a smile and throwing her arms around him. "Hey."

"You look gorgeous," he whispered. She was wearing one of her standard little black dresses that she saved for town events. This particular one had a sweetheart neckline and pencil skirt. She had worn it before, but she always appreciated Stefan's ability to make her feel special. She slowly untangled her arms from his neck and took a step back to look at him.

"I'm so glad you're here. I've been here all afternoon helping Jenna set up, and I really think this is going to be amazing. Although she's convinced it's going to be a catastrophe."

The Bracebridge Dinner was a new town event hosted by the Bracebridge Hotel that Carol Lockwood had come up with. The main event of the evening was an Old English banquet style dinner, but Elena was really excited for the horse drawn carriage rides around town afterwards. The hotel had also blocked off rooms for all of the guests to stay the evening. Everyone in town was looking forward to tonight.

"Well, I'm excited. I get to spend an entire weekend with my girlfriend at a beautiful hotel" he said, gently brushing his hand up and down her arm. He was looking at her so tenderly. Like a prized possession. That thought for some reason unsettled her.

"Did you get your room key?"

"Yeah, I just picked it up from Mrs. Lockwood. Are your things already up there?"

She looked at him for a second in confusion and then burst into a fit of giggles. "You seriously thought Carol Lockwood would let us share a hotel room together? Have you met her?"

Stefan's face fell for an instant, but then he smiled at her amusement. "A guy can dream, right?"

"Why don't you take up your bag, and I'll meet you later for dinner. I'll send Damon up whenever he gets here," she said, her laughter subsiding into a soft smile.

"Wait, Damon?"

"Yes, brother?"

Suddenly Damon appeared next to Elena, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. An involuntary shiver ran up her spine at his closeness, which she quickly tried to mask by sending him a fierce glare.

"It seems we'll be sharing a room." Stefan crossed his arms, eyes squinted with frustration.

"What? Not happening." His eyes widened in surprise and entertainment at the mere idea. He swung his gaze down to Elena. "Are you telling me I don't get my own room?"

"Sorry, Damon. But Mrs. Lockwood wanted to be family friendly with the room arrangements, and considering you're Stefan's brother and legal guardian, she thought it would be best if you guys stayed together," she explained exaggeratedly, with a roll of her eyes. She hadn't thought it would be this big of a deal, but apparently she had overestimated the Salvatores' tolerance for each other.

"Why doesn't Damon just stay with Alaric or something?" Stefan sighed, grasping for some kind of easy solution.

"Because he's staying with Jenna. And he would probably kill you for even suggesting that," she laughed.

"Ouch, Elena," Damon smirked, his blue eyes twinkling. "You know Ric and I are BFFs."

Grabbing his brother's arm, Stefan started dragging Damon towards the stairs. "Let's just get this over with."

"Fine, but I want the bed by the window!"

Elena smiled at the two of them and slowly turned towards the entryway. Feeling oddly lighter, it was just then that she realized Damon had kept his arm around her that whole time. Her face turning hot, she groaned to herself.

The guests were all seated and dinner was just starting as servers began to bring in the first course. She was supposed to be seated in between Jenna and Jeremy, but she found herself next to Damon. He had apparently paid Jeremy to switch chairs with him after finding out he was next to Stefan. She glanced over at him and frowned. They had really just started becoming friends again after the whole neck snapping incident, and she was already feeling comfortable around him. Definitely more than she should be. But she couldn't seem to help that there was an easiness between them.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts, she looked down at her soup and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Almost reading her mind, Jeremy leaned over the table to whisper, "We totally should have eaten before we came."

"It's actually not that bad. A little too much garlic, though," Stefan appraised.

"No, I'm with mini Gilbert on this one." Damon glared at the soup, willing it to disappear. Picking up his spoon and pointing at it, he turned to her. "What's the green stuff?"

"Out of the two of us, you're the one that actually knows how to cook."

"I'm a master chef at Italian cuisine, Elena. God knows what this is."

"Will you stop being a baby and just try it?"

"Only if you feed it to me," he whispered seductively in her ear, his hot breath on her skin causing her to heart to beat into overtime. She was vaguely aware of Stefan shooting daggers at them across the table. She took a deep breath and slowly turned to him, their faces mere inches apart.

"No." She smirked, and swiftly kicked his shin under the table.

He winced, caught off guard, and grumbled at her. "Unnecessary."

"I guess it's just me," she told the driver of the horse drawn sleigh, pulling a blanket up on her lap. She had been in charge of making sure every couple had gotten on a sleigh that wanted to, so now she was the only one left. When she had imagined her carriage ride around town earlier, it had been a romantic moment that she and Stefan would share. They would be wrapped in a blanket, holding hands, and looking at all the Christmas lights. But Matt had to work at the Grill tonight and Sheriff Forbes got an important call, so Caroline had begged Stefan to ride with her. She sighed.

The carriage had only moved a few feet when she felt a weight shift next to her.

"Damon! What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Well, I heard it was two to a sleigh. No more, no less. You were breaking the rules." He pointed a finger at her, teasingly.

"Yeah, because you're a regular law-abiding citizen of Mystic Falls," she huffed, crossing her arms and looking out at the town square.

He cocked his head and stared at her, slight confusion in his eyes. "Are you mad at me or something?"

Turning on him, and meeting his gaze, "What was that at dinner, Damon? I don't appreciate you constantly flirting with me to get a rise out of Stefan."

"That's why you're mad? Seriously, Elena?"

"I know you both have some deep-seeded issues to work out, but I just don't understand why you guys are constantly fighting each other. And I definitely don't like being caught in the middle of it!" she sighed exasperatedly, leaning lack in the carriage seat.

Damon's face softened at her. He leaned in and lightly tilted her chin to look at him, his fingertips shooting electricity through her skin. "Elena. I would never use you as a way to fight my battles. You're worth more than that."

His eyes locked with hers, the truth of his words exposed in his intensity. She couldn't seem to turn her gaze away from his, the deep blue of his eyes mesmerizing her. "Damon…stop…"she managed to murmur, looking down. Yes. Definitely too comfortable, she thought.

Pursing his lips, he turned away from her and casually tossing his arm on the top of the seat. They both sat in awkward silence, looking out the carriage on their respected sides. Frustrated, Elena pulled her blanket tighter around her lap and let her eyes wander until something caught her attention.

"Look! It's the snow man competition!" she exclaimed, eyes shining, practically reaching over him to point out all the different snowmen in the park.

"I saw." He smirked at her obvious excitement.

"It's one of my favorite things about winter. Caroline, Bonnie, and I have entered the contest together since we were kids," she said smiling at her memories and settling back next to him. "When we were eight, Caroline practically begged us to make a Jonathon Taylor Thomas snowman until we finally agreed. It turned out awful," she laughed. "Have you ever made a snowman?"

"Nope."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, the whole practice didn't really get popular until around the 40's. And after I was turned, I never really felt the desire," he explained flippantly.

"Damon! You're so deprived! Building a snowman is like a rite of passage for a kid! You have to promise me you'll build one before winter's over." She looked up at him with a critical eye. She knew she sounded silly, but this was something that was important to her as a kid, and she wanted Damon to have that experience.

Turning his head down to meet her scrutiny, he smiled a genuine smile. "If you help me. Considering you're the expert, of course." She returned his smile and nodded her head. Leaning her head back to rest on his arm, she let her eyes close. She reveled in the quiet of the night and as light flurries of snow began to fall, she found peace.