Hey everyone! This story came from seeing a sign that said "Thank you stranger for your smile." This is AU/AH and a one-shot. Hope everyone enjoys! Please review!

Love,

Alex

Check out my other Tiva and Delena stories!

Discalimer: I don't own Elena, Damon, or the Vampire Diaries.

Thank You for Your Smile

Elena walked along the streets of New York City trying not to look too dejected. She had lost her best friend, her job, and her boyfriend in the time span of an hour. Granted, her boyfriend was her boss and her best friend was sleeping with her boyfriend aka the boss to get Elena's job. Therefore she was now jobless, best friend-less, and boyfriend-less.

She walked into Times Square trying not to slap all of the couples she saw making out in the street. Elena couldn't believe Bonnie and Stefan.

Elena stopped at a newspaper stand on the corner of the street to buy chocolate. And lots of it. Might as well impulse purchase now that she had no job. That totally makes sense.

When the other man who was buying something at the stand smiled at her, she forced a twitch of her lips that could be a smile if you squinted.

"Miss? Are you alright?" The guy who was purchasing a newspaper asked.

It was then that Elena realized that she was crying while looking at a Cosmo magazine. "What? Oh, yes I'm fine." She said hastily wiped away her tears.

"I see six different kinds of chocolate and four magazines. Everything is obviously not fine." The man remarked. "The names Damon. What can I do to make you feel better?"

"You don't have to do anything. I'm fine. Really." Elena said as she purchased her candy and magazines.

"C'mon. Let's go get some coffee and you can tell me what's wrong." Damon said, as he took her hand.

Elena sighed. What could coffee hurt? It wasn't like she had a job to go back too. "Okay. Coffee it is."

They walked a couple of minutes before they found a Starbucks. Damon held the door open for her and she smiled a little. It was nice that gentlemen still existed in the world. They ordered and he paid. When their order was ready he went to pick them up.

When he was back at the table he said "Coffee. Now tell me what's wrong, so we can put a smile back on your beautiful face."

Elena blushed "You're a complete stranger! Why do you want to know what's wrong?"

"When I saw you at the news stand you looked so…despondent. A beautiful girl should never look that sad." Damon explained. "Now tell me what happened so we can get that frown upside down."

Giggling, Elena smiled a little "I lost my job, my best friend, and my boyfriend."

Damon's mouth fell open. "Yikes."

"Sure you don't want to run while you can?" Elena asked.

"Please continue." Damon said as he leaned back with his coffee.

"So my best friend, Bonnie and I work at the same company. Well I worked, it's a publishing company. Smith and Salvatore. We normally publish indie books. I was Stefan Salvatore's personal assistant. Bonnie was Elijah Smith's secretary. Stefan was also my boyfriend. That's not how I got the personal assistant job, by the way." Elena said.

Damon nodded, telling her to continue.

"Today when I got to work, I walked into Stefan's office to say good morning like I always do. Stefan and Bonnie were in his office screwing like bunnies." Elena scoffed, "Couldn't they have been any more imaginative? I mean, really? His office? Anyway, I catch Stefan with his pants down and Bonnie on top of him. He doesn't even say anything. He just keeps on going. I know he saw me. I was in such a state of shock that I just walked right back into the lobby. Do you really want to hear this?" Elena stopped and asked Damon.

"Yes. Now continue." He said.

"Five minutes later, Bonnie comes out and says that Stefan wants to see me is his office with this little smirk on her face. Then she walks out. I go into see Stefan and he says that I'm fired. Bonnie is now his personal assistant. More like sex slave." Elena laughed with no humor. "And that is my sad tale."

"Wow." Damon said. "No wonder you looked so sad."

Elena just sighed and took a sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry that your best friend is a bitch and your boyfriend is a jackass. That's really rough." Damon said putting a hand over hers. "But now we can work on fixing your bad day. I know the surefire cure to a terrible day."

"What's that? Chocolate and ice cream?" Elena asked.

"Nope. Better." Damon said with a grin. He stood up and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"

"Where are you taking me?" Elena laughed, already feeling a little better.

Damon just shook his head and dragged her along. He ran and she ran with him. They dodged people on the busy streets and went into the subway station. They rode for a while before getting off in Queens.

"Why the hell are we in Queens?" Elena asked.

"You'll see. Be patient." Damon replied taking her hand.

They entered the Gantry Plaza Sate Park. It was dark by now, and as the pair walked to the waterfront, they saw the impressive Midtown skyline with all of the lights on.

Elena gasped, "Damon. This is beautiful."

"I thought you might like it." He said, taking in the city before him. "I come here when I need to get away. I can still see the city, but I'm surrounded by green."

"Thank you." Elena said. "Thank you for your smile, and your company, and your listening."

"You are very very welcome Elena." Damon replied, "It was my pleasure. We turned that frown upside down."

Together they stood looking at the city, and Elena's problems didn't seem so huge here. She was very glad that she had met Damon that afternoon.

FIN