This is a one shot, written for my friend in honor of her upcoming nuptials.

If you like this story, check out my other ones!

The Big Day

I looked in the mirror on what should be one of the happiest days of my life. I looked perfect. With Caroline's help, my hair and makeup were flawless. Nothing was out of place. But, something was missing.

It's been four years since I've felt a hole in my life. Four years since nothing has seemed quite right. Four years of missing my best friend.

I never thought he would actually leave. He promised me that he would never leave me again. I know that I didn't choose him, but I only did that because I thought he would stay. I would have never chosen Stefan if I had known he would leave.

He never came back.

Klaus died, Ester decided to grant mercy and keep all the vampires in his line from dying. Without that reprieve, Caroline, Stefan, Tyler, Bonnie's mom, and thousands of other vampires would be dead. I never found out what happened to Damon or Alaric. They never came back.

We all searched for them for months, but never had any leads. Eventually we all had to move on. Elijah promised me he would keep looking and let us know if he ever had any leads.

I know that there is a chance that he died that day. He died knowing that I didn't choose him. He died alone; possibly killed by his best friend.

Some days I dreamed that he was on a beach somewhere, both him and Alaric, flirting with island girls. This dream hurt as well, as it means he never wanted to come home. He left me on purpose.

I sighed as I tried to focus on this day. Today is my wedding day. I am about to become Mrs. Salvatore. Stefan asked me to marry him two years ago. While I said yes, I had tried to put this day off as long as I could. Marriage just seemed so out of place in our relationship. I wasn't a vampire. I was getting older every single day. In a few years people would really start to question us, thinking I am his mother in a few more. I know that Stefan will never change me. Someday I will grow old and die. I also know that he will never leave me. I take some comfort in that.

I honestly think Caroline is more excited about this wedding than anyone. She has been in event planner mode for the last two years, ensuring that this will be a perfect day. Caroline is leaving town shortly after our wedding, so she sees this as her last big hurrah. People are starting to wonder how she still looks so young. He own wedding to Tyler was three years ago. They've been very happy, but I can tell that Caroline yearns to have a family.

Bonnie and Jeremy are still dating. No talks of marriage yet, but they're happy. As the last human couple among us, all of us wish they would get on with it and start having children.

"Elena, it's time." Caroline walks in, looking stunning in her deep green bridesmaid dress. She looks so beautiful; it's almost painful to the eye. "Do you have everything?" she asks.

"Yes. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I force a smile. My dress is gorgeous, a flowing princess gown, full of taffeta. It's not really my style, but Caroline loved it and Stefan will as well. So much of this day seems like it's for someone else, not me.

"Elena, you look wonderful. I'm so happy for you." Caroline gives me a hug and a little squeal. "Oh, Elena, all of our dreams have come true!" With that we head out the door and take our places.

"Are you ready for this sis?" Jeremy asks me with a knowing look.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Jeremy smiles back at me. He leans in and whispers in my ear, "Damon would have thought you looked beautiful." I look up at him, feeling the tears coming to my eyes.

"You still don't see him?" I ask.

Jeremy sighs, "No, I haven't seen any ghosts in years. We don't even know if he is a ghost…"

"I know. I can't help but wondering…"

"Elena, you don't have to go through with this if you don't want. I'll love you no matter what."

I give Jer a big hug at this. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I know he'll love me no matter what. He's the only one who every really understood my deep sense of loss at losing Damon and Alaric. Jer felt it as well. Alaric was the closest to family we had.

"I love you to, Jer."

"Sis, don't ruin your makeup." He says to me teasingly. I take his arm as we hear the music change.

"Here we go." I say, as we start to head down the aisle. I can feel the love in this room as we walk. Friends who are as close as family surround us. Our own family is gone, but the one we gained is almost worth it. Everyone is smiling; I can hear a few soft sobs in the background as well.

I focus my eyes forward on Stefan. He looks handsome, young and fresh. He has the largest smile on his face that I have ever seen. I know he loves me with all of his heart; I will work hard to love him just as hard.

We've reached the end of the aisle; Jeremy turns to me and kisses me on the cheek, taking his place at Stefan's side as his best man. Stefan takes my hands. He has so much love in his eyes, it almost makes me sad. He'll never have all of my heart, but I will try to never let him know that.

The minister starts speaking, but I'm not really listening. There is a change in the air. Something is different. Stefan looks at me questioningly, and then I see a realization and look of shock on his face. He turns to the door.

The world freezes. I turn; I know what I'm going to see before I turn. I can't breathe. There, across the room is the most striking set of blue eyes I have ever seen. I feel like I've melting into the floor from that one look. Damon is standing in the doorway looking absolutely stunning in a charcoal gray suit with a lilac dress shirt. He smirks at me and the world starts again. I can hear the commotion from the guests, it's so loud it's almost overpowering. At that moment I don't care. The rest of the world doesn't matter.

I look back at Stefan for a second, and I see the look of loss in his eyes. He knows where my heart lies. I kiss him on the cheek and whisper in his ear, "Thank you for always being there for me."

I lift my huge princess skirt into my arms and run as fast as I can down the aisle. I only make it about halfway when I feel his arms around me, lifting me up, carrying me in his arms. "Did you miss me princess?" He asks, and it is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

"More than you'll ever know." He carries me right out of the church, which seems to be in a state of shocked silence. He brings me over to his Camaro, which still looks brand new. He set me down and opens the door. "Damon…" I start to speak, but he brings his finger up to hush me, saying "I'll explain soon. Right now we just need to get out of here." I smile at him and get into the car. The people in the church are starting to flood out of the doors, trying to figure out where I'm going and what just happened. I see Jeremy lift his hand in a silent wave. My eyes tear up at the sight. I've let all these people down. I'm not the girl they thought I was, but as I turn and see Damon again, my chest fills up with hope and I realize I don't care. My only reason for being, for existing, for living every day has been to see Damon again, and here he is, it's like a dream.

Damon is directing the car down the road, towards the boarding house, and I can't help but reach over and touch him. I feel him, he's real! The sensation of his skin starts to explode my brain with feelings that have been long dead. I sit in silence, just enjoying the view and feel of him, the smell of him. I feel drunk on the headiness of his scent. He consumes my soul, and he hasn't even said more than a few words. How could I have even existed without his presence?

A thought comes to my mind, and although I don't want to kill the mood, I need to know. I don't know how to ask, so it comes out as one word, "Alaric?"

A look of gloom comes over his face, an anger mixed with guilt and a deep sadness. "He didn't make it."

Somehow I knew it was true before he said the words. Alaric would have never stayed away. Damon had been alone, all this time.

"Where were you Damon?" I ask, almost crying at the thought.

"I got lost." He says simply. We remain silent the rest of the journey to the boarding house.

He opens the door for me when we arrive, and I try to get out of the car in my massive dress, almost tumbling to the ground. He steadies me and says, "This dress really is a little too much."

I smile at him, "you have no idea."

"Let me guess, Caroline?" I laugh as he hits the nail on the head.

"You know Caroline; she doesn't waste a chance for an epic event."

"Elena, I really shouldn't have interrupted. I should have just let you live your life." All the hurt and rejection from all these years is there, pooling in his crystal blue eyes. This pain is my fault, my rejection; he never knew how much I really cared. "I shouldn't have taken you. It was selfish. Let me bring you back." He says this with finality, and I feel the panic in me growing. I have to stop this before it gets worse.

"Damon," I reach up and grab his face in my hands, "My life has been on hold the last four years, waiting for some news as to where you were. I'm sorry I never told you how I felt, how I feel. Damon, you are my best friend, my savior, my love. I've been empty without you. I gave you my heart long ago, even if I didn't know it. When you left that part of my heart went with you, leaving me incomplete. Don't ever leave me again." I feel my heart starting to fill up with everything that's been missing for the last four years.

Damon is looking at me with shock at my words. He seems to be trying to process them, mull them over in his brain. "You were going to marry Stefan." It doesn't come out as a question, as an accusation, more as a plea, a need for reassurance.

"You were gone. We'd seen no sign that you were still alive. Elijah's been looking for you for years; we searched for you for months. I had no way of knowing you were still alive. I tried to move on, but I was empty inside. It was safe, but it was not love." I stop for a moment, knowing I need to know the answer, "Why did you leave?"

"Elena…" He holds my face in his hands, looking in my eyes, searching, desperate. "I left because you chose him. We had a deal, if you chose one of us, the other one would leave. You chose him. Alaric was dead. There was nothing left for me in Mystic Falls."

"I only chose him because you said you wouldn't leave me. I didn't want to lose either of you, but I wasn't ready to accept my feelings." I close my eyes and swallow, clearing my head enough that I can make these next words come out right. "I didn't understand, like I do now. You were more than my friend. I was consumed by my love for you so much that it frightened me. Damon, I love you."

I can see a glimmer of hope shine in his eyes. Recognition as to what I just said is starting to hit. "but… you said it was always going to be Stefan?"

"Stefan doesn't own my heart. You do."

He pauses for a moment, and then I feel his lips crash onto mine. The intensity of this kiss is a thousand times what any of our other kisses were. It's as if all the passion and need from the last four years, maybe more, were bottled and let out at this one moment. When we pull part I look him deep in the eyes. "Wow." is all I can say.

"You can say that again." I smiles and does that eye thing at me. He pauses for a moment and says, "I love you too, Elena."