All I want for Christmas
I don't want a lot for Christmas . There's just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents . Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own .More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
" What's that in your hands?" Elena asked as she opened the door.
Caroline was standing on her front porch , a little grin graced her lips.
" I think it's pretty obvious that I'm holding a box."
" I can see that. I meant what's in it?"
" Guess."
Elena rolled her eyes at her blonde friend, she wasn't in the mood to play games.
And apparently, it was quiet obvious as Caroline's smile dropped a little before she quickly composed herself and continued.
" I thought it would be a great idea to put up a few Christmas decorations ."
" Not today. I'm just not in the holiday spirit." Elena spoke, hoping that Caroline would understand.
" It wasn't a question."
" Caroline, please…" she hated to beg but in this case it was necessary .
She just wanted to stay home, sit on the couch with a warm blanket wrapped around her, hot chocolate in her hands, watching a movie until she would fall asleep.
Elena watched how Caroline lowered the box a little, behind her eyes she could see the determination.
" No Elena, I don't care if I have to drag you along with me but you're not getting out of this one."
" You have to understand that after everything that happened this past year, I'm not the most cheerful person right now."
Caroline nodded, her gaze softened when she saw the sad expression on Elena's face.
" I understand believe me I do…..And that's why you need this, that's why we all need this.
We deserve a day to have fun, to act like normal teenagers without a care in the world.
Only one day , Elena. That's all I'm asking."
" You aren't going to give this up? Are you?"
" Nope." Caroline smiled, shaking her head.
" Fine. One day without any worries." Elena sighed as she opened the door a little further, gesturing Caroline to come inside.
But Caroline shook her head again.
" Grab your jacket."
" My jacket? Why?" Elena frowned.
" I didn't say we were going to decorate your house." She smiled sweetly.
" Then where are we going?"
" We are going to the Boarding House…I thought it could use a Christmas touch."
" Does Damon know about this?" Elena asked suspiciously, already knowing the answer.
" I prefer the element of surprise."
This time it was Elena's turn to shake her head :" He will kill you, you know that right?"
Caroline shrugged : " I would like to see him try. Now get ready I will wait for you in the car."
When Elena closed the door behind her, the first snow started to fall…
" Explain to me again why I let her in?" Damon hissed through his teeth.
They had arrived at the Boarding House an hour ago, and Caroline hadn't wasted any time since then. She had went straight to work, ignoring Damon's snarky remarks and attempts to make her leave.
And within the hour, the place was almost unrecognizable.
Outside the house, there were two large, green Christmas wreaths hanging on the front door with red ribbons placed in the middle.
A few trees were decorated with bright shining lights, illuminated the whole path that lead to the house.
Inside, Christmas stockings were hanging above the fireplace, filled with candy canes.
White and red bows were elegantly draped across the ceiling.
Caroline was busy, placing a Santa Claus and two reindeers in the hall, who greeted everyone who passed by with a little song and dance.
Elena had to suppress a giggle when she saw the horrified look in Damon's eyes.
" Because she didn't give you a chance." She smiled.
" Why isn't she at her own house, decorating the place with these stupid things." He huffed, looking at a silky red ribbon, he was holding in his hand.
" Her mother drew the line when she brought out the glitters."
" Glitters?" Damon gulped, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of it.
" Oh yes ! You had to see it. The whole sitting room was sparkling."
Elena couldn't help herself, with one last glance at him she burst into laughter.
He shifted a little beside her, crossing his arms over his chest.
" I don't think this is funny, Elena."
" You would, if you saw the look on your face right now."
" Well, I'm glad one of us finds this amusing." Damon growled.
Elena opened her mouth ready to reply when the doorbell rang.
Damon looked at her, confusing written all over his face.
" Did you invite someone else?"
Elena shook her head, she was just as confused as he was.
" Oh that must be Bonnie, Matt and Tyler. I asked them to bring the Christmas tree." Caroline smiled happily as she walked past them.
" She brought a tree?" Damon whispered into Elena's ear, making her shiver.
She could clearly hear the disbelief in his voice as he spoke.
Elena shrugged : " This wasn't my idea."
Caroline made sure that everyone had something to do.
Tyler and Matt were in charge of placing the Christmas tree with the right instructions which were given by Caroline.
Bonnie and Elena were posted in the kitchen, making gingerbread cookies.
And for the first time that day, Elena was glad she had listened to her friend and had come
along. She was actually enjoying herself.
" So…is everything alright with you?" Bonnie asked, leaning against the kitchen table.
" Of course it is…" Elena sighed, placing the cookies inside the oven ".. Why does everyone keep asking me that."
" Because, we are all worried about you. Since Stefan left, you…"
" What ? I look depressed ?" Elena interrupted, her voice sounded rather harsh but she didn't care. She was tired of always being seen as the poor helpless victim.
Bonnie shook her head fiercely " That's not what I meant. It's just…."
But before she could continue, Elena rose her hand.
" I'm fine Bonnie. The first time Stefan left, he did it to protect me and to save Damon. So I had hope he would return someday. And he did, after all those months, he finally came back…as a changed man. We tried to help him, talk sense into him but he didn't listen and he didn't care anymore.
He made his choice, he left me for the second time. And this time I'm not going to sit around and wait for him."
Bonnie nodded : " Are you sure ?"
" Yes. It's time to move on."
" And….is there already someone to move on with ?" Bonnie teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Elena only smiled in response but Bonnie didn't miss the sad look that had returned in her chocolate brown eyes.
" Then what's stopping you ? If there's one person who would deserve to find love, it would be you."
Elena let out a heavy breath : " Quilt, I think."
" Quilt ? Care to explain ?"
" Because I'm not supposed to fall in love with him, it's wrong."
" I don't understand….It's not wrong to fall in love again. All that matters is if he makes you happy and…"
But Bonnie couldn't finish her sentence as Elena placed a finger on her lips, motioning her to keep quiet.
Slowly, both girls turned around until they were facing the door.
" Am I interrupting something ?" Damon smirked, leaning casually against the door frame.
" You are always interrupting." Bonnie snarled.
" Aren't we friendly today. Why don't you just hop on your broomstick and fly away, Sabrina ? " He commented with an innocent smile plastered on his face.
" If I had a broomstick, I would use it for something entirely different."
" I feel some hostility in this area."
At this point, Elena decided to step in before their argument could go any further.
" Enough. Seriously you two are giving me a headache."
" I'm sorry Elena but I can't help it that your friend uses violence to express how much she likes me" Damon grinned, earning a deathly glare from Bonnie. She huffed as she walked past him, refusing to pay any more attention to him.
" What do you want, Damon." Elena asked, glancing up at him so she was staring directly into his blue eyes.
" I need your help." He grinned.
" And why is that ?"
Damon sighed dramatically before he responded " Caroline is going mad, you have to see what she had done to the room. It's pure horror…actually no words can describe how it looks."
" You are acting like a drama queen. You don't have any Christmas spirit." Elena laughed.
" I have enough spirit, thank you very much."
" If you say so. Now come on Scrooge…I want to see that scary Christmas tree."
Elena looked around the room and she had to say she was amazed with what she saw. Caroline had done a terrific job. Everything breathed Christmas.
She saw her friends sitting around the tree; Matt was gently stroking Bonnie's hair while talking and laughing with Tyler.
Caroline was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, she was leaning into something that was standing in front of her.
She let out a enthusiastic cheer before she swiftly turned around until she was facing the door where Damon and Elena were still standing.
" There you two are. I was wondering if I had to start a search party."
" Don't be ridiculous, Care." Elena smiled brightly.
And at that same time, soft noises filled the room.
" What's that horrible sound ?" Damon muttered under his breath.
" For a 170 year old vampire, I thought you would recognize a Christmas song by now." Caroline replied, rolling her eyes at him.
" I try to avoid these cheesy things but then vampire barbie walks in and all my efforts were for nothing." Damon commented dryly.
Elena slightly pushed him, knowing it wouldn't hurt him : " Be nice."
" It's a tradition." Bonnie smiled warmly at Caroline.
" You can't ignore a tradition." Elena skipped in.
" Yes it is, Every time we decorate the tree and the entire house, we let these songs play in the background. It creates the right mood." Caroline explained but she could see he still wasn't convinced.
" Oh what wonderful !" He said sarcastically " But unfortunately, the tree already stands and the house is completely restyled. So…turn the music off."
" I don't think so." She singsong " Besides speaking of traditions, you are standing underneath one, right now."
Damon and Elena both looked up; seeing a green twig covered with white berries hanging above their heads.
"Mistletoe…" Elena breathed, and when she took a quick glance in his direction she could see that his eyes were darker.
" Forget everything I just said. You are right : Traditions are fun." Damon smirked.
" Care…no…."She whispered to her friend, she could feel her cheeks turn bright red.
" Sorry, you can't ignore a tradition. I believe that were your exact words." Caroline giggled.
" That' s exactly what she said." Tyler teased.
Before Elena could protest any further, soft lips met hers. She couldn't remember what she was going to say, she didn't ware that there were other people in the room.
She just thought of one thing…..him and nothing else mattered.
Damon placed his hand on the back of her neck while the other one rested on her waist, pulling her closer to him.
Elena let her hands travel to his chest, completely mesmerized by his touch.
She felt warm and loved, she knew that he was pouring all his feelings in this kiss.
And she didn't want to let go, this was it…this was where she was meant to be….she was home.
Elena didn't know how long they were standing there when a loud cough interrupted them.
Feeling a little bit embarrassed she stepped away from Damon and made her way to the cough. She knew that everyone was looking at her but it was Tyler who dared to speak.
" Well Gilbert, I didn't expect you doing that." He said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.
" What kiss him ? Please that was nothing, if it wasn't for that stupid mistletoe I wouldn't even consider doing it. So can we just move on." Elena snarled, she regretted the words immediately when they left her lips, she didn't mean it of course she didn't.
That kiss meant everything to her. For the first time she felt complete again. But she couldn't say that, her friends would call her insane
And then she made the mistake to look at him, she could see the hurt in his eyes , deep down she felt her heart break.
" Alright then, well it's almost midnight which means one more hour until Christmas…" Caroline spoke, trying to change the subject.
" And ?" Matt frowned.
" I think it's time to write are wishes down." She rose from her seat, grabbing some papers and started to pass them around. " The idea is that we write what we want the most for Christmas, then we tell it to each other before we throw it into the fire so they can come true."
" How can they come true if we tell our wish to everyone ?" Matt asked again, this time more skeptical.
" They don't, Caroline is just so curious to know what we will write." Bonnie laughed, earning a pillow against her head.
" That's not true. Now stop discussing and start writing."
" Okay Matt, what is your wish ?"
" I don't really have anything. Two months ago, my wish already came true." He smiled warmly as he placed a kiss on Bonnie's forehead.
" Bonnie?"
The young with shook her head " if I had a wish it would be to make everything normal and perfect again but that's only a dream. So I'm happy with what I have and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."
" Tyler, do you have a wish ?"
" No" He answered, although there were words written on his piece of paper.
Caroline nodded, she knew there was no reason to push him into telling her.
" And you Caroline, what's yours ?" Bonnie asked.
" I…-" Caroline shot a quick glance towards Tyler, who was still trying to avoid her gaze, " – I wish I could go back to yesterday when I had that one person that matters to me." She whispered softly and the whole room grew silent.
" Care…"
" No it's okay," she smiled " Okay Damon your turn. Tell us your big wish."
" I'm not playing this stupid game." He snorted.
" Come on, don't be a kill-joy. Just tell us."
" Forget it. I don't see the point in all of this. Why do I have to wish for something I can't have ? Why do I have to keep my hopes up, only to see them crushed once I get to close."
Elena stared at him , she shivered when she heard the coldness in his voice . This was because of her, she did it again, she caused him pain.
She looked back at the piece of paper in her hands and without any hesitation she stood up.
" Elena ?"
" I'm sorry, I'm tired so I think I'm going to bed-" she turned slowly towards Damon " Do you mind if I stay here?"
" You can sleep in Stefan's bed."
Elena nodded, saying goodnight to everyone before she headed upstairs.
She didn't go to Stefan's room, instead she made her way to Damon's.
She sat on his bed, staring at the piece of paper in her hand, what seemed like hours before she wrote something down.
She smiled as she placed it on his pillow.
It was midnight when Damon finally managed to get everyone out of the house.
He sighed heavily as he walked to his room.
He slowed his pace when he passed his brother's room and he quickly peered inside.
Damon frowned as he found the room empty, he was expecting to see Elena curled up on Stefan's side of the bed.
' Why do I even care?' He thought as he moved away from the door.
From the moment, he walked into his room he could smell her honey scent.
Confusion was written all over his face as he heard a steady heartbeat, his eyes wandered towards his bed and there she was.
Damon couldn't help thinking how beautiful and innocent she looked sleeping. And that's when his eyes caught something else.
Without waking her, he grabbed the piece of paper where his name was elegantly written on.
For the first time since long, a genuine smile graced his lips as he read the words, Elena had written over and over again :
All I want for Christmas is you