"Give me another, Matt!" Caroline's drunkenly loud voice demanded, her newly manicured hand shooting into the air. Matt rolled his eyes, filling up another glass with a mixture of many different alcohols. Elena sat next to her best friend, chuckling. If she'd been in a more sober state-of-mind, though, Caroline would have really been grating on her nerves.
Matt sighed and handed the bubbly blonde her drink, raising an eyebrow at Elena as if to ask 'another?' Elena shook her head and gulped down the rest of her drink.
"Care, I think your phone is ringing!" Elena yelled to the girl sitting only inches away from her, over the loud music. Caroline, nearly spilling all of her drink down her shirt, retrieved the small cell phone from her purse that hung on the back of her bar stool.
"Ohmygosh! You will never guess who it is!" Caroline exclaimed, clutching the phone to her chest and smiling excitedly.
Elena rolled her eyes, "I don't know Ca-"
"STEFAN!" Caroline yelled, shoving the phone into Elena's face, and laughing hysterically.
"Are you really going to answer that douche?" Elena scoffed, throwing back a shot that Matt placed in front of her, but Caroline heard nothing as she began to talk into her phone low and seductively.
"So, what'd he have to say?" Elena asked, crossing one tanned leg over the other.
"Uhm.. He is in the area.." Caroline twirled a piece of her hair in between two fingers, not meeting Elena's dart throwing eye contact.
"No!" Elena groaned, "You didn't tell him where we were, did you?" Caroline only giggled, feeling no remorse for inviting her douche bag ex-boyfriend to the girl's favorite bar. Soon, the many consumed alcoholic beverages began to leave Elena's body, leaving her feeling tired and irritated with Caroline.
"Excuse me," Elena said to her friend as she darted into the bathroom. Tonight was meant to be a girl's night only, Elena remembered, her eyebrows pulling together. She smoothed down her strikingly blue, one-sleeved, cocktail dress; ready to give Stefan Salvatore a piece of her mind.
"Caroline, I think tha-" But again, Elena was interrupted by Caroline's drunken babble, "Damon is with him!" Elena felt her face turn hot with anger. Both of the Salvatore brothers were familiar with Caroline, seeing as how she dated them both, but Damon, being the asshole play boy he was, decided Caroline wasn't enough for him. His brother, Stefan Salvatore, was following in the footsteps of his older brother, throwing Caroline to the side when something better came along, and pulling her back in whenever it was convenient for him.
"Let's hope Damon looks better," Elena muttered signaling Matt over to her seat.
"Double my last order." Matt smiled, whistling low.
"Someone isn't having a good night." Her best friend of many years began to fill two small glasses to the brim with a clear liquid, supplying her also with two lemons.
"Caroline decided to invite tweetle-de and tweetle-dum to the bar." Matt raked a hand through his blonde locks, not saying a word as Elena threw the shots back with ease, trying to get as drunk as she could before they arrived.
"Thanks Matt. Keep 'um coming." Elena swiveled around to face her friend, only to see her scanning the room eagerly while sipping on the pink, umbrellafyed cocktail.
"They're here. Ohmygod, Elena does my hair look okay?" Caroline's eyes doubled in size as she turned towards Elena, frantically smoothing at her platinum blond curls.
Elena grabbed her wrists, laying them in her lap.
"You look amazing. I promise. He won't know what hit him when he sees you." Caroline, looking grateful, bit her lip and looked past Elena. Elena sighed, seeing the goofy, bright eyes look on her best friends face, and forgot all about her plan to tell Stefan where to shove her black stiletto. She turned, preparing herself to look at the two boys.
But, Elena only caught the eyes of one. "Stefan," She said, sneering in his direction. He payed no attention to her as he slid his body right up against Caroline's, whispering something in her ear that made Caroline melt into a puddle at her feet. Elena almost gagged, facing her three shots Matt had lovingly supplied. She drank one, then after hearing Caroline's drunken giggle, drank another for safe measure.
"This seat taken?" A velvet voice purred into her ear. Elena turned, facing the other Salvatore, her smile turning upside down. She flopped both of her legs into the seat, "It is now." And drank her third shot.
Damon smiled, looking down at her beach browned legs, stopping at her shiny black peep toes. "You might want to slow down with the shots, alcoholism isn't a desirable trait." Elena scoffed and rolled her eyes, not moving her legs an inch.
"Hi Damon!" Caroline yelled, rewarded with only a nod in her direction by the older brother. Damon was tall. Taller than the younger Salvatore, and taller than Elena in her favorite, and tallest, heels. He had on a black button up with matching black jeans, his Chucks on his feet the only thing on his body that wasn't fully black. His hair, matching the color of rest of his clothing, was thick and messy, giving him a bad boy look. Under his clothes, a strong build of muscles was only slightly visible, leaving Elena's mind wandering.
"Staring?" Damon whispered smugly, his lips inches away from hers. Elena gasped, startled not only by the proximity left between their bodies, but the two azure blue orbs staring at her. The blue reminded her of the ocean on a cloudless day, mingling with the distant horizon of the sky, unable to detect where one ended and the other began.
"Most definitely not!" She huffed, quickly turning away. The drunken feeling she'd been trying to receive all night flooded over her after only one look into those mesmerizing eyes.
Matt walked over to Elena, eyeing Damon. "So this is them, huh?" He huffed, slightly poking out his chest. Elena groaned, shaking her head.
"Its going to be a long night." Matt filled two shot glasses, sliding one to Elena and drinking the other himself.
"I didn't think you were allowed to drink on the job," Damon said sweetly towards Matt. Elena slapped Damon on the shoulder, feeling her newly drank confidence swimming through her veins. Damon looked back at Elena with a lust filled, predatory gaze. Her cheeks flamed, a light throbbing beginning in her stomach.
"'Lena, lets go dance!" Caroline squealed, pulling Elena onto the dance floor. Inwardly, she thanked her dubious best friend, following her through the crowd.
Strobe lights were the only thing illuminating the sweaty, grinding bodies around them, creating a seductive atmosphere. Elena felt the stress float away from her body, allowing her to dance freely. Elena's hips gyrated to the beat, her heart thumping in time with the music. Her arms were reaching towards the ceiling as she swirled her hips. In her line of vision, she saw Damon, watching her. He had a drink in his hand that he sipped carefully. Elena's lashes hooded her eyes as she slightly bowed her head and began to feel every music note reverberate through her body. The crowd slipped away, leaving only Elena, free to dance for Damon. She ran her hands through her dark brown locks, seeing the obvious desire in Damon's eyes from across the room. Again and again, her hands found themselves tangled in her hair as she twirled her hips suggestively. A slight ache began in Elena's thighs, but she pushed away the discomfort, savoring the white hot desire Damon was sending her way.
"I didn't know you could dance like that!" Caroline exclaimed, excitedly watching her friend.
"Neither did I." A husky and low voice said, very close to her sweat drenched body. Flirtatiously, Elena bit her lip, looking up at Damon, "There are a lot of things you don't know about me."
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed as a slower, more intimate song began. Elena, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, began to push past the slow dancing couples. "I need some air." She said to Matt as she reached the bar, throwing a look over her shoulder at Damon and Caroline who were following closely behind her. Quickly, before the two could catch up to her, Elena darted out one of the back doors, pressing her body up against the cool stone. With a shaky hand, Elena smoothed out her hair that had been mussed by her own hands.
"Hey, you alright?" Damon's silhouette was outlined by the lights from inside the club, unable for Elena to read his expression.
"Yeah, I just needed some air." Closing her eyes, waiting for him to leave her alone, she rested her head against the building. The door clicked shut, leaving Elena outside, closed out from the social scene inside.
"The stars are beautiful tonight." Damon said quietly, closer now. Elena's heart stuttered… he'd stayed.
Peaking above her, Elena quietly gasped, "Try counting them." The familiar line her father had uttered to her millions of times, rolled off of Elena's tongue. The proverbial ache of loneliness cascaded around her small frame, leaving her wishing she could erase the stars from the sky.
Damon looked at her out of the corner of his eye, watching her slowly fold in on herself. Feeling some strange and unfamiliar need to pull her back into life, he closed the small space between them, pressing his body against hers. Full of surprise, Elena's chocolate brown doe eyes latched onto Damon's smirking face. Under his hands, he could feel the not so girlish curves that Mother Nature had blessed her with. Deliciously, Elena flushed with bright red color. His body reacted immediately, wanting to hoist Elena's slender, and heel clad legs around his torso. He dipped his head dangerously close to her mouth before jeering off to the side, planting a tender kiss on her bare shoulder.
Rewarding Damon with a shiver, Elena's legs became weak. His angelic face came back into her view, "You have fun counting those stars." He whispered, disappearing back into the club. Elena felt the blood rush back to her head as she sighed heavily, releasing a breath she had had no idea she was holding.
