"Do you ever think about us, Elena?" he asks her one night when they're alone.
They're at the Grill with Stefan and Caroline, but Caroline excused herself to the ladies room and Stefan had to go talk to Damon for a moment and it's just the two of them. It's the first time they've been alone together in so long, and Elena's just remembering how nice it used to be with him. It was never exciting with him, but she was happy. Matt was her first love, and that is something she knows she'll never forget.
"Sometimes," she admits, glancing at the table while stirring her drink with her straw. "When things get…complicated with Stefan, or when Damon does something stupid, or when my life starts spinning out of control…yes. Sometimes I remember how easy things used to be with us."
"Do you ever miss it?"
Elena sighs. "I miss the peacefulness. I miss the innocence of us. I miss how uncomplicated my life was back then."
"You didn't answer the question," he points out.
Elena looks up at him. "I don't know," she answers. "We were happy, though. And now…happiness is harder to come by with all that is going on."
Matt doesn't ask what she means—he's learned to live with the fact that all his friends keep secrets. "Remember the time we snuck over twenty kids into the Lockwood pool the summer after freshman year?" he asks out of nowhere in an attempt to cheer her up.
Elena laughs at the memory. "And the next day, Tyler called you because he could not figure out why his yard was completely trashed!"
"So we had to cover for him and say he was with you that whole night studying so he didn't get in trouble."
Matt smirks devilishly, an expression she rarely sees on his face anymore. "That party really did get out of hand, didn't it?"
"Yeah, it did, but it certainly was fun, wasn't it?" she counters with an evil smile.
"We could always try for a repeat performance."