Trial + Error = Love
DG32173
Sarah: and I'm back with chapter 2! This is gonna be fun. And, though the gang came up with just five different plans to attempt to get Damon and Elena together, there will be a lot more hilarity than just that. I hope everyone enjoys what I have in store for you. I'd be most appreciative if you reviewed with your opinion and maybe even offered a vague outline of a hilariously ill-fated plot you want to see the crew come up with. Also, for those who are wondering about my other fanfics, I do intend on finishing my other TVD fanfics as the muse inspires me, but right now I'm in the mood for writing a bit of comedic action. I'm also working simultaneously on this one and When Things Change, so don't worry about slow updates on that one in favor of this one.
REVIEW REPLIES
Xxpercabethdelena1DxX: dear lord, you have a long screen name! And I'm not sure I even got it right! Anyways, as I said above, I actually do plan on updating all my TVD fanfics as the muse hits me. But, unfortunately, my muse is being quite uncooperative in regards to what I need to work on and what she wants me to write. And since you mentioned that you particularly enjoyed Playing Cupid, you should know that magical shenanigans will appear in this fanfic as well, though not nearly so successfully. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.
JMHUW: by Winchester brothers, are you referring to the Supernatural TV series? I've seen the first episode but I've been intending to watch the others. And in the case that you are referring to those two, I have to agree with you. Stefan being so sensible when it comes to what Elena deserves is cause for suspicion of some sort of supernatural interference in the situation. But I'm not going to take that route with Stefan's motives. Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 2
Wet T-Shirts
Elena groans as Caroline explains what, exactly, the blonde had signed them both up for without asking Elena's permission. "Seriously, Caroline, didn't you think to even ask me?" she asks plaintively.
"Well, no. But, I mean, you and Stefan are on the quits," Caroline says. "And you made it clear that you're not going to go back to him. So, I figured you need something to get your mind off recent events. The Elena I knew before last May would have been jumping for joy over this," she points out sullenly. "Aren't you even a little tired of lugging around all that grief and guilt after all these months? I mean, no matter how guilty you feel about something, you can't change the past. Look at Stefan, for crying out loud! All those brood-lines are a sure sign that he's carrying around a lot of guilt! And not even he can change what's happened in his past. Do you want to end up with brood-lines like that for the rest of your life?"
"Well, no," Elena says slowly.
"Then you got to start living again! I mean, I know we all have this unvoiced agreement not to bring up what happened that night. But, seriously Elena, how are your parents ever going to rest in peace if you're always feeling guilty over what happened? Or, at least, as much peace as they'd be in considering the crowd you hang around this days," Caroline points out. "Unless you want to end up as broody as Stefan, you need to let it go. Besides, even if you hadn't gone to the party that night, where would that put you now? You'd probably still be making yourself miserable at Matt's side. And don't look so shocked. Even I could see that you were craving to find someone who could give you something Matt just wasn't capable of. And, apparently, you couldn't find whatever it is you are looking for in Stefan either. So, now that you're single, you have a wide array of options. And participating in a wet t-shirt contest just might get the attention of a bad boy. I mean, after all, you tried dating two guys who fall in the 'good guy' category and it's now obvious that you were miserable about it. Sure, for a while there, it looked like Stefan might have had whatever it was you were looking for. But Fun Elena never came back completely from her hidey hole. So, I'm determined to drag her out by the ear if I have to. And I plan to start on it with a wet t-shirt contest." She gulps. "I mean, after all, Matt made it clear that he wasn't willing to risk our friendship by trying to date me because he had played it all out in his head and decided that it wasn't worth it. So I'm going to make it perfectly clear to him what he's missing out on. And, really, I need some actual competition in this contest."
"Caroline, if that's what you're after, I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be in it," Elena protests.
"Nonsense! If Matt's still stuck on you after all this time when you've made it perfectly clear that you're not returning to him, then I need to find someone new myself," Caroline retorts. "Besides, it's too late to back out. The bonfire the contest will take place during is tomorrow night. I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, Elena!"
Elena sighs, knowing that when Caroline says that, she'll do whatever she has to in order to get her way. "Fine. I better not regret this," she warns her friend.
"I can promise that you won't. You need to start living again. And if that means I have to force you into doing so, so help me God, because I will do whatever it takes," Caroline says forcefully. "So, you better pick out a nice bra for tomorrow night and accept that I'm not going to let you back out!"
Elena sighs and resigns herself to go along with whatever her childhood friend has planned. She just sends up a silent prayer that Damon won't be in the crowd. It's bad enough that she's been shanghaied into this. She'd probably die from embarrassment if he is there to see her in a soaking wet white t-shirt that will leave nothing to the imagination of what's underneath it.
Boarding house at that moment
Damon frowns as Jeremy does his damnedest to convince him to go to the bonfire tomorrow night. "Now, tell me again why I should agree to this?" he asks coolly. In the weeks since he had snapped the kid's neck, they have somehow developed an interesting bond of brotherhood that is based on something far deeper than mere blood relationship.
"One, Elena's going to be there and we have no idea if she's actually safe even with Katherine trapped in that tomb," Jeremy begins. "After all, that bitch had to have some reason behind her games with Elena. And you and I both know you're by far the strongest of us and the best able to protect her. And, as if that isn't incentive enough," he adds, though they both know that it's more than enough incentive to get Damon to go, "there's going to be a wet t-shirt contest at the bonfire. Though no one knows you as well as my sister does, even I know that you're the kind of guy to jump for a chance to see girls submitting themselves to such a thing."
Damon sighs. To be honest, he could care less about the contestants of the contest. Though, he amends, if Elena happened to be one of the contestants, well, that would be an entirely different matter. But he knows she would never willing submit to such humiliation unless someone went so low as to blackmail her into it. After the close call they had just had a few days ago, none of her friends would be willing to blackmail her into something as ridiculous as a wet t-shirt contest. Not without a damn good reason for doing so, though he really can't think of any reason that would be good enough.
But the mere thought that she might still be in danger even with Katherine locked up is more than enough to get him to agree to go. "Fine, but let me make it perfectly clear that I'm only going to keep Elena safe," he tells the kid.
The oddly triumphant gleam in Jeremy's eyes warns Damon that the kid is up to something more than merely getting Elena's best defender to keep an eye on her at the party. But, for the life of him, he can't think of any possible reason behind that gleam. But he had already given his word. And if nothing else, Damon is a man of his word and would strive to keep it at any cost to himself.
Bonfire party the following evening
Damon sighs as he scans the crowd for any sign of Elena. "You said she'll be here," he growls to the kid standing next to him.
"And she is. Caroline picked her up a little before you showed up at our house," Jeremy replies. "Elena was complaining the entire time about coming, but you know how Caroline gets when she makes up her mind to do something."
Damon grimaces. When the blonde vampiress makes up her mind to do something, she'll get it done come Hell or high water. Well, since Caroline had decided that Elena will come here, then Elena is definitely in the crowd somewhere. He'll just have to look harder. He returns to scanning the crowd of high school kids milling about the large clearing.
"Oh! Looks like they're about to start the contest," Jeremy comments, craning his head to the stage that had been set up so that everyone in the crowd will be able to see the contestants clearly. For something that had been set up over the course of just a couple hours with every intention of dismantling it after the party, the thing appears to be surprisingly sturdy.
"Uh-huh," Damon says, not even looking at the stage as the contestants file onto it. He's still trying to locate Elena in the crowd.
Unfortunately, the crowd surges forward to stand at the foot of the stage, carrying him and the kid with it. He can't fight to stay where he had been standing because he could end up hurting one of these kids in doing so. And, dammit all, Elena has worked some spell on him that makes him actually care if an innocent bystander got hurt by his actions. So he has to allow the crowd to carry him forward in its surge to get prime spots for viewing the contestants. Even so, he still doesn't turn an eye to the stage.
Not until the names of the contestants are announced. The very last one called is the name of the very girl he's been trying to spot. He snaps his eyes to the stage and his jaw drops at seeing that she is indeed standing up there with the other girls dressed in a white t-shirt, looking decidedly uncomfortable with her position.
In the split second before the water is dumped on all the girls at the same time, something makes Elena turn her head towards him. Her expression clearly shows the exact thought going through her head: 'Oh, shit.' Damon decides that the evening has taken an unexpected turn for the better.
Just a few minutes before with the contestants
Elena sighs, tugging nervously at the white t-shirt she's wearing. "I can't believe you talked me into this," she grouses at Caroline, peering around the make-shift curtain that is hiding the contestants of the wet t-shirt contest from the crowd. She doesn't immediately see any of her other friends, but that doesn't mean anything. Considering the size of the crowd, all of them could be scattered among the throng of people and she would never know it until it's too late. She sends up the umpteenth silent prayer that Damon isn't here that she has made since Caroline made it perfectly clear that Elena will be one of the wet t-shirt contestants this evening, whether the brunette wanted it or not.
"Well, you can't back out now," Caroline points out logically.
Elena grimaces because the blonde vampiress is speaking with utmost honesty this time. It's much too late to back out. She fidgets uncomfortably as the group in charge of running the contest lets the anticipation build in the crowd until it reaches the boiling point.
"Elena, remember, you said you would try to bring back Fun Elena," Caroline says sharply. "You gave me your word that you would try to return at least partially to the girl who loved to party and have fun that you locked away last May."
Elena sighs. "I did," she concedes. She taps the shoulder of one of the guys making sure the contestants aren't left out on the refreshments in their confinement behind the curtain. He glances at her. "Grab me a beer," she tells him.
"Me too," Caroline pipes up.
He chuckles and moves off to fulfill her request. Though pretty much everyone here is underage, that's the beauty of a party comprised almost entirely of teenagers: there is bound to be a variety of cheap booze stashed in various places around the clearing the party is being held in. Within minutes, the guy returns with their beers. Both girls are pleased to see the buds of moisture dripping down the glass bottles. They are even more pleased when their first swallows prove that the beers had been kept in a cooler full of ice, water, and just a dash of salt to make the temperature drop even further.
By the time the girls have finished their beers, Elena has just enough alcohol in her system to let her wilder side slip free of the confinement she had put it in last May. She begins to actually look forward to what is coming. That excitement lasts up until she's on stage and she catches sight of a familiar face out of the corner of her eyes. She turns her head and realizes with a jolt of panic that her worst fear has come true: Damon Salvatore is staring at her standing on stage with the other wet t-shirt contestants with so much shock that his jaw unhinges slightly.
"Oh, shit,' she thinks just before the cold water is poured over her head at the same time the other contestants get soaked. She sputters and gasps as the chill, though she should have expected it, in all honesty. Every other wet t-shirt contest she had been in had water just as cold if not colder. The crowd cheers and Elena's eyes clear just in time to make out Damon's highly amused expression as he openly runs his eyes over her body from her neck down. The announcer quickly manages to get the crowd to fall silent again before asking for its opinion of each girl one at a time by holding up her hand. Caroline, standing next to her, causes the crowd to go wild. But when Elena's hand is raised, the whole crowd goes berserk. Even Damon voices his thoughts on the matter. If it weren't for the fact that the cold dampness is pulling the color right out of Elena, she would be blushing crimson at the open appreciation in his eyes.
In the end, Elena is given the dubious honor of being crowned Queen of Wet T-Shirts. And unfortunately for her, she knows exactly what is expected of the Queen. Silently promising herself that she will jab a wooden No.2 pencil in Caroline's arm for this, Elena proceeds to throw her shirt up to give the audience a good view of what had barely been concealed by it. The hoots, hollers, and cat-calls in response to the display last long after the contestants file off stage.
And waiting with vivid impatience at the bottom of the steps leading up to the stage is none other than Damon. Elena gets the urge to bolt and the only reason she doesn't give in is because she knows he could give her a five minute head start and still catch her before she got very far. Even now, even after her humiliating flash of her torso, Damon is eyeing her with open admiration and just a hint of hunger. And she knows enough by now to recognize the hunger as sexual rather than that of a vampire in need of blood. She sighs and climbs down the stairs.
"You look cold," he greets.
"Freezing," she grumbles, shoving her wet hair out of her face. "I've forgotten that the guys who are in charge of the water used for this sort of thing must have taken the coolers from the freezer before bringing them here."
He arches an eyebrow. "You've done this before?" he asks, wickedly amused as he shrugs out of his jacket.
"Before …," she starts only to stop and grit her teeth. Finally, she sighs. "Before my parents died, I used to do things like this all the time, as Caroline has reminded me incessantly since she convinced me to participate."
Damon thinks about that as he wraps his designer leather jacket around her shoulders. He wraps an arm around her shoulders to guide her toward the bonfire. "Want anything to drink?" he asks after he situates her on one of the logs rolled near enough to the bonfire to serve as a seat without being so close that it is in danger of lighting on fire itself.
Elena grimaces. "The main drinks served at these parties are cheap alcohol. And while I'd love to have another beer, I know that it is the last thing I need if I want to warm up. And the other drinks run a high risk of having been spiked. So, thank you, but no," she replies, gripping Damon's jacket tightly around her as she huddles on the log, trying to soak up as much warmth from the flames in front of her as possible.
Damon nods his understanding and takes a seat next to her. He decides that he needs to make up for all the teasing he's missed out on by giving her time to recover from the near-miss they had gone through the other day. He casts a sidelong glance at her, a lecherous smirk on his lips. Elena catches his look from the corner of her eye and suppresses her groan. Apparently, he's decided that her reprieve from his merciless teasing is up. And now he's going to do his damnedest to make up for the missed opportunities. "So, tell me about that little stunt you pulled when you were crowned Queen of Wet T-Shirts," he says mercilessly.
This time Elena doesn't even try to stop the groan that falls from her lips. "It's tradition," she replies, keeping her eyes firmly focused on the bonfire in front of her. "There's a wet t-shirt contest during a bonfire party about three times a year around here. And each time a girl is crowned Queen, she is expected to flash the crowd for the so-called honor. The girl gets to determine how long she flashes the crowd, but it's a tradition that she does so. And you know the thing this town has about tradition. Up until tonight, it's been Caroline who was crowned Queen when we entered together. And I never entered unless she did too."
"And why did you even agree to enter tonight?" he asks, amusement lacing his words.
"As I said, Caroline's been reminding me that I can't hold onto grief and guilt over the crash that killed my parents. She kept complaining that I used to be more fun. She's determined to draw out 'Fun Elena' no matter what it takes. And after she pointed out that I'm going to end up as broody as your brother if I don't start learning to live again, I gave her my word that I would at least try to be more fun in the sense she was referring to," Elena replies. "It takes a helluva lot to get me to take it back when I give my word to someone. She was determined to make tonight a start in that direction. And if this is just a start, I'm dreading what she will come up with next."
"Oh, I won't do anything that you wouldn't have enjoyed before last May," Caroline says s she takes a seat next to Elena.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Elena sighs. She notes that Caroline's also sporting a man's leather jacket. Closer inspection reveals that it's also a pricey designer jacket, so it definitely doesn't belong to Matt. "Who's jacket is that?" Elena asks.
Caroline's cheeks turn pink. "Well, Tyler caught up to me and saw that I didn't have a jacket so he gave me his," she admits sheepishly. "I couldn't exactly protest that I would be fine without one without revealing everything."
"Better to keep it a secret," Damon says cryptically.
"Anyways, I actually came over to tell you guys that Tyler asked me to go shoot some pool with him at The Grill," Caroline says. "So, Elena, do you think you could find a ride home on your own? I mean, I could drop you off at your place then go to The Grill but that would involve a lot of backtracking."
"I'll take her home," Damon speaks up while giving Elena a look that tells her he won't tolerate any arguments.
Elena sighs. "I'll be okay with Damon," she assures her childhood friend. "You go have fun. Though, if Matt is working, wouldn't that send him mixed signals?"
Caroline shrugs. "Matt's here, somewhere. I saw him just before those guys doused us with water. The fact that he wasn't waiting for me when I got off stage is a pretty clear sign that either he's still sensitive about the way I laid into him over his audacity to come to the conclusion on his own that we wouldn't work out or he is still strung out over you. Either way, maybe seeing me leave with Tyler will make him realize that I won't sit around and waste away over him until he's gotten his act together. And, if not, I will still have fun kicking Tyler's ass in a game of pool. Maybe some higher power or other is trying to get me to realize that there are still plenty of guys out there who would be willing to be with me. If anything comes of tonight, well that's all good. And if not, I'm still not going to hold my breath over Matt."
"You go have fun with Tyler," Elena tells her friend. "If I see Matt and he asks about you, well, I'll tell him the truth: I saw you wearing Tyler's jacket and that you left early to go play pool with him."
"Thanks, Elena," Caroline says, wrapping her arm around Elena's shoulders for a quick hug before standing up. "Well, I'm gonna go. You two should enjoy the party. After all, it'll probably be the last one until spring comes."
With that, she makes over to where Tyler had been waiting at a respectful distance from them while Caroline had let Elena know about the change of plans. Elena watches closely as the young man she had always thought of as hot-headed gently wraps an arm around Caroline's shoulders and leads her into the trees in the direction of where everyone had parked their cars. At seeing such tenderness between the two, Elena is torn between a longing for being on the receiving end of such attention from a man interested in her and relief that at least Caroline's not going to pine over Matt like a lovesick fool.
She begins wondering what reaction Matt will have when he finds out that Caroline, who had clearly shown romantic interest in him, had been seen wearing his best friend's jacket and leaving the party with said best friend. Almost as if her thoughts had summoned him, Matt finds them. He pauses briefly at the sight of Elena wearing Damon's jacket with Damon's arm around her shoulders before shaking his head and finishes approaching. "Have either of you seen Caroline?" he asks hesitantly.
Damon opens his mouth with what is obviously going to be a wiseass comment when Elena jams her elbow into his ribs. He winces and takes the hint, closing his mouth on whatever comment he was about to make. But even Elena feels that Matt needs to realize that not even Caroline will wait around for him while he pines over Elena, who had made it perfectly clear that she will never return to him. "She just came to ask me if I could find another ride home," Elena tells him, deciding to draw it out.
"Why would she do that?" he asks, confused.
"Well, she was wearing Tyler's jacket, which he had generously given to her when he found her shivering in just her wet clothes," Elena says, adding just a bit of a lie. Matt winces at the not-so-subtle hint that Caroline had been left stranded and freezing after the contest was over. "She mentioned that Tyler had asked her to leave early with him to go shoot some pool at The Grill, so she came to make sure that I would be able to get home okay without her. Damon has generously offered to drive me home later. For now, I'm gonna try to warm up and dry off while I hang out with him," Elena tells him. "She mentioned that she had been hoping to see you but she couldn't find you after the contest. My guess is when Tyler turned up to suggest going somewhere she can dry off in comfort and warmth, she couldn't refuse. Sorry, Matt. Maybe you can catch up to her tomorrow, if she doesn't make plans with Tyler tonight."
Even as she says it, Elena knows that last sentence was a cruel jab designed intentionally to make Matt realize that he just might have missed his opportunity with Caroline by insisting on pining away over his ex. And if he comes to the conclusion on his own that she and Damon are now an item, well, she just won't enlighten him to the fact that she and Damon are just really good friends. A little deception as harmless as this would be won't be so bad if it makes Matt finally accept the fact that Elena will never again view him as anything more than a childhood friend.
As if sensing her thoughts, Damon draws Elena closer to him while Elena lays her head on the vampire's shoulder. Matt grimaces at the image they make. "I should go," he says. "I do have work all day tomorrow, considering it's Saturday."
"Cya, Matt," Elena says, waving at his back as he hastily retreats into the crowd.
Damon chuckles. "You were more than a little cruel there, Miss Gilbert," he murmurs in her ear.
Elena sighs. "I know I was. But Matt needs to wake up and realize that he can't spend the rest of his life pining over me. There are very few women in this world that would put their heart on hold for a man who is as blatantly caught up in pining over another woman as he is pining over me," she replies. "And he needs to wake up and accept that I have moved on. I may be single right now, but that doesn't give him nor Stefan any right to hope that I might go back to either of them. I gave it my best shot when I entered a relationship with both of them. But Caroline made it clear to me that I'm obviously looking for something specific in my significant other, something neither of them has. I can't figure out just what it is I'm holding out for, but I know she's right. I'm looking for something special in a man, something no other man could give me. I'm sure I'll find it eventually, I just have to be patient."
Damon's silent as she speaks, his thoughts whirling a mile a minute in his head. "Do you have any idea of what some of the qualities you're looking for might be?" he asks after several minutes spent in companionable silence.
Elena closes her eyes and thinks about it, not moving from her relaxed position next to him with her head resting on his shoulder. "One of the main things I want in my significant other is that he knows just what to do to make me laugh when the world around me seems to be falling down. I want someone who will be completely honest with me. I'm not saying he has to give me the whole truth every time. Even I understand that there are times when giving only part of the truth is a safer bet than laying it all on the line. But I don't ever want find myself with a man like your brother, who thinks outright lying to my face is acceptable. It's not. It just makes me wonder more and more often just how much I can trust that person. That's one reason why I refused to go back to Stefan after Katherine was captured. I am at the point where I'm analyzing every word that comes out of his mouth, wondering if he's lying to my face again. And it's not like I'll be able to tell he's lying right off the bat because he's just too good at it. I have no idea how many times he's lied to me without ever getting caught. Another thing I'm want in the man I'll spend my life with is that he takes the time to learn as much about me as he can find out, learning information about me that I don't outright give him myself. Stefan never bothered getting to know me any better than what he has seen since the night he saved me from drowning alongside my parents. That's not love and I can see that now. It's merely infatuation with some image of me he's put together in his head that isn't even remotely like who I really am. I want a man who can light up my world just by walking in the room. I want someone I can laugh and joke with, someone who I can have ferocious fights with and even if we both walk away with hurt pride as well as hurt feelings, I want to know in my heart that I can still depend on him to be there for me should I need a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to about anything." Damon's starting to recognize something pretty significant about the details she's describing but keeps his thoughts strictly to himself for a change. She may as well be describing her relationship with him. But if someone were to point that out to her, particularly if that someone was him, she would get furious and turn her wrath on him. So, he's going to just keep his relationship with her the same and wait patiently for her to realize it on her own. After all, he's got time. As he thinks, he makes sure to keep his attention on her words as well. "I want someone who will be able to know even before I do when I'm close to the breaking point and will step in to either help me face my problems from a different angle where they don't appear so severe or at least whisk me away from them long enough for me to clear my head and then stand at my side, helping me face my problems once I am able to handle the task of doing so. All Stefan wanted was to hide me away from the problems of the world. I have a feeling that if he thought for even a second he could get by with locking me away in some reclusive tower, he would have done so in a heartbeat. And I couldn't make him understand that I am not some fairytale princess who would be a-okay with such nonsense. This is real life, not a fairytale. Real life comes with pitfalls and storm clouds and bumps in the road when we least expect them. Trying to pretend they aren't there or, worse, to hide such realities from someone can be far more dangerous than anyone could realize. But Stefan refuses to see that simple fact." Elena shakes her head viciously. "You were asking if I had an idea of what I wanted in my significant other. And I just keep ranting about Stefan's faults."
"Well, that apparently means that the kind of man you're looking for would be my brother's complete opposite," Damon points out wryly.
Elena frowns. "Not complete opposite," she admits. "Stefan portrays many traits I don't want in the man I will spend my life with. But there are a few of his traits that are good and I'd like to see in the man I give my whole heart to. Loyalty, for one. But, unlike in Stefan, I want to be forced to earn the loyalty of the man I will spend my life with. I don't want it to be just handed over on a golden platter. In my opinion, the loyalty that is hardest-earned is also the loyalty that runs deepest."
"And that means what, exactly?" Damon asks.
"Well, the harder it is to earn someone's complete loyalty, the less likely they are to take it back. Not that I think Stefan will take his loyalty to me back! But, really, having someone being completely loyal to you is a priceless treasure that I feel should be earned over time and through many trials. That way, you can prove to that person that you honestly deserve their loyalty. My mother was always ranting about the topic when we watched movies. She would always complain about the person who just handed their loyalty over to someone without making that person prove that they deserve it. And she was always right that in the end, the person who just gave their loyalty almost never gave it to the right person. On the rare occasion that they did give their loyalty to the right person, they never gave it for the right reasons and were inadvertently used as the weak point in Team Good that they were. No, you have to fight hard to prove to someone that you deserve their loyalty. Those who choose to give their loyalty to someone only after it has been hard-earned fight the fiercest to protect that someone. They may not always be the strongest fighter, or the bravest, or even the most skilled, but in the end, it is the one whose loyalty is earned through hard work and many trials that inevitably has just the right resources available to them for Team Good to win. It's been true in every book I've read, every movie I've watched, and I've even seen examples of it in real life. Someone's loyalty must be earned, and the harder it is to earn their loyalty, the less of a weakness they will be in the end."
"Any other traits you want to see in the guy you will spend your life with?" Damon asks.
"I want him to listen to my opinions and decisions. Should he think that my decisions are not the best course of action, I want him to explain to me just why he thinks that and work with me to come up with a compromise we are both satisfied with. And if, in the end, we can't agree on a compromise, I want to know that he will have my back in whatever I decide to do and will risk life and limb to save my ass when his opinion is proven valid," Elena replies. "I want him to know in his heart that I'm not perfect, that I will never be perfect, and accept that about me. I want him to know that sometimes I need to take a fall to learn just how foolhardy I'm being and know that I can handle the bumps and bruises I suffer from such a fall. I want him to be all-too-willing to take me down a peg or two when I get full of myself but also to do so in such a way that I know that he's just looking out for me. I want him to know and accept that I will do the same damn thing to him should he need it. As I said earlier, I place a high value on honesty. But even I know that there are times when it's better to be diplomatic and give only part of the truth rather than tell all. But, in spite of that, I want the man I give my heart to, to know that I will expect to be filled in completely at the soonest possible point. After all, if ever I had to use that kind of diplomacy with him, I would make damn sure that I explained everything at the first point it can be done safely. And, though I will accept that it is natural for a man to take note of a beautiful woman should he see one, I want to be able to know in my heart that while his eyes may wander on occasion, his body never will. Another thing my mom drilled into mine and Jeremy's heads is that trust is the most important part of a positive relationship. Her favorite saying was 'Trust for Trust'. That means to be able to give your trust fully to someone you have to be able to receive it just as fully in return. When I discovered that Jeremy had read my diary to find out the truth of what happened to Vicky, he threw that saying in my face. He reminded me that 'Trust for Trust' works both ways. I couldn't trust him with the knowledge of the truth of this world, and he couldn't trust me to tell him the truth. It was a hard blow to receive. But it was also one I deserved to get. I had no right asking you to meddle with his memories without his permission. I knew it even then but I did my best to tell myself that it was for a good cause. But I was lying to myself and I knew it. I did tell him a few weeks ago that you might be able to return the memories to him. But he had already talked to Stefan about that night and told me he'd rather not remember just how close he came to watching me be killed by his psychopathic vampire girlfriend, though he did appreciate my attempt to make things right between us. But he told me that I should keep Mom's saying in my mind from then on, just so that such a betrayal of trust isn't repeated. And he wasn't talking just about my relationship with him. He wouldn't tell me what other relationship of mine he was referring to. I wasn't going to push him, though. It was the first time he talked so openly and freely with me since before he read my journal. But Jeremy's right. Mom was right, too. Trust is quite likely the most important thing in making any relationship a positive one. Above all the other qualities I told you, I want to be able to trust the man I will spend my life with undisputedly, knowing that he can and does place the same amount of trust in me." She's silent for a moment. "But there is one other thing I want to see in the man I spend my life with," she admits.
"What's that?"
"I want the same kind of relationship with him that I have with you, Damon. I want to be able to talk openly and freely about any topic under the sun with him and not worry if it would be too embarrassing for one or both of us. And I want him to be among my closest friends. But, before you can begin to worry, I'll promise you this much," Elena says. "I promise that I won't let anyone get in the way of our friendship. What you and I have is special and unique. I don't want to lose it just because I happen to fall in love."
Damon fights back a grimace when she mentions falling in love in such a way that the 'with someone else' is so obvious that she doesn't need to say the words. When he's back in control of himself, he smirks at her. "Do you honestly think I'd let anyone get in the way of our friendship?" he asks wryly.
"No, but I'm letting you know that I won't let it happen, either," she replies. She lifts her head from his shoulder and pulls out of his embrace so that she can check on how dry her shirt is. "Well, your jacket's gonna be pretty damn wet on the inside," she says regretfully, peeling the wet leather of her skin. "Sorry about that," she adds, passing the jacket back to him.
"Don't worry about it," Damon assures her, draping his jacket over his arm. "I gave it to you when I knew you were soaking wet. Now, we should get moving. While being among the last to leave one of these parties is what all the popular kids try to achieve, being the last to leave is decidedly unpopular. And I really don't feel like getting cast in with the loser crowd. With just the cleanup committee left, we need to scram now or it'll be all over town that we were the last ones to leave this party."
Elena looks around in surprise. While she had been sharing the traits her dream guy would embody with Damon, the bonfire had been allowed to die down and most of the partiers have already vacated the clearing. Those that are left are the unfortunate teens who had been shanghaied into being the cleanup crew. Damon gets to his feet and holds out a hand to her. She obediently puts her hand in his and allows him to help her to her feet. He then wraps an arm around her shoulder and guides her out of the clearing in the direction of where he had parked his Camaro.
"Wait, where's Jeremy?" Elena asks, pausing halfway between the clearing and Damon's car.
"Before I went to greet you as you got off that stage, the kid told me he'd catch a ride home with one of his friends. Didn't quite catch the name, didn't really care because he wasn't part of our crew, and told him that if he wasn't home by the time you got there, I'd be hearing about it from you and he would be hearing about it from me," Damon replies, tugging at her shoulders with enough force to get her walking again. Elena sighs and obediently allows Damon to escort her the rest of the way to his car.
Neither of them notice the shadow in the trees behind them. Stefan sighs. All that careful choreography and Elena and Damon are no closer to getting together than they had been at the start of the night. He sets his shoulders. He had been listening in as Elena had explained the qualities she wanted in the man she would spend her life with and even he recognized that every quality she listed was one his brother has portrayed since falling victim to her influence. And, by the look of amusement Daman had been struggling to keep off his face, Stefan knows he's not the only one to realize that his ex might as well have been saying that it was Damon she wanted to spend her life with. The only one seemingly oblivious to it was Elena. And considering her implied notion of falling in love with someone other than Damon, she quite likely was oblivious to the fact that she had been describing Damon perfectly when she listed those traits.
Stefan shakes his head and pulls out his phone to let everyone know by way of a text message that their mission to get the two together will have to continue. He will wait to tell them about the traits in Elena's dream man lining up perfectly with the ones Damon portrays now until they can all get together again and figure out what to do next and when. As soon as the text is sent, he takes off through the woods at top speed in the direction of the boarding house. As far as Damon knows, Stefan had spent the night brooding over Elena's refusal to take him back. And if Stefan's not there when Damon gets home … well, that's just not going to happen.
Sarah: even though I am the authoress, I'm feeling sympathetic for Damon's plight in this chapter. I mean, the girl he loves tells him that the traits she's looking for in her dream man are pretty much every trait he has now but then she turns around and turns it into a case of "I want my dream man to possess all the positive traits you possess but, I'm sorry, he won't be you. Don't worry, though, I won't let him get in the way of my friendship with you." I mean, come on, Elena. Jamming a stake into him would have probably hurt him a helluva a lot less. But, I have to share a secret with you guys before you spew hatred from your mouths: this is just a case of a girl spewing her thoughts to her closest and dearest friend while completely forgetting that said closest and dearest friend is a guy that not only is in love with her, but she might very well be thinking about him as she dictates her thoughts. I probably won't reveal where her mind had wandered off to during that timeframe. But I assure you, she will realize exactly both what she said to him and how she probably made him feel in saying all that as soon as she starts writing about it in her journal. But, be warned, next chapter picks up nearly a week later and you'll find out precisely how Elena deals with the realization that she had opened her mouth and inserted her whole damn leg in this chapter. So, please don't leave me! There is more to come, so much more, and I promise you, things will start to improve between our reluctant lovebirds.
