Hey guys! Welcome back ;) This chapter was so much fun to write, teehee :) Enjoy!


The first stretch of road was accented with singing along to the radio, Damon doing some rather hilarious dance moves to some old songs from the OldGold station – head-banging, some air-guitar, and even a little disco – which Elena, of course, decided to secretly video on her phone.

She was holding her phone down by her knee and angling it up at Damon, perfectly capturing him enthusiastically jamming to Staying Alive by the Bee Gees; eyes closed, disco moves galore and complete with falsetto singing. She giggled and sang along, enjoying the fact that he was letting go for a while.

A high-pitched beeping interrupted his dancing mid-move, and realized, in horror, that he had been videoed making an idiot of himself. Elena quickly tried to save the video before he could grab her phone – the beeping had been the low-battery warning – and held it way out of his reach; or so she thought. A look of pure determination now adorned his face and he lunged for the phone, managing to keep the wheel straight with his knee while leaning completely over the top of Elena while she bucked out of her seat trying to prevent him from snatching the phone off her. She squealed, and he growled in response, trying to extend himself that much further – his hand was only around four inches from succeeding.

Elena's arm was trapped beneath them, and suddenly an idea sprung to mind. She wormed her other hand up to tickle Damon under the arm, and he reacted instantaneously; letting out an enormous squeal, much like a piglet, and shrunk back into his seat before glaring at her venomously and turning back around to take the wheel with his hands again.

'I'll get you for that, Elena. Be afraid, be very afraid.' She giggled at this and relaxed, thinking she was safe for now; but suddenly his hand shot out again to knock the phone out of her hand and onto the floor in front of her seat. He immediately reached down to pick it up, but Elena had the advantage of being able to see where it was, and being able to reach properly; and kicked it under the seat where she knew he couldn't get it right now.

'Ha! Shame! You'll have to wait until we stop the car and get out until you get it now!' She pointed her finger at him teasingly and he just continued to glare out the windshield at the road ahead and the sun starting to set.

'But so will you. Kinda defeats the purpose, don't you think?' He turned to smirk at her before returning his gaze to straight ahead.

She realized he was right; that probably wasn't the smartest idea, as he was much quicker and stronger than her; and she sank back down into her seat, a small frown shaping her features.

The radio had been completely forgotten while they fought their little battle of wills, and Elena now focused on it – the song now playing was 'You Can Leave Your Hat On' by Joe Cocker, and she could see Damon trying to resist singing along; his lips were forming the words and his head was bopping ever so slightly along to the beat, but when he noticed her looking at him, he stopped completely and stared straight ahead. She smirked and faced the front as well, and after a few seconds she could see him continue out of the corner of her eye.

She decided that he was being silly, and the next time the chorus came around, she turned the sound dial right up and sang really loudly, albeit badly; but Damon got the hint and joined in.

Little did she know, when she kicked her phone under the seat she had accidentally speed-dialled Caroline, and she hadn't hung up yet because she thought Damon and Elena's singing voices for every song from renditions of Queen to Johnny Cash were the most hilarious thing she had ever heard, and was recording the whole thing from her end.

Damon had been driving for a few hours after darkness set in when he pulled over at a motel sporting the sign 'Last motel for 100 miles!'. Elena yawned widely and sat up from her previous position, slouched against the car door; eager to stretch her legs and take a look at the night's accommodation. They exited the car, Elena reaching for the sky and scrunching up her face so comically that Damon just had to snigger very unsubtly.

'What?!' She finished yawning, again, and glared at him; folding her arms over her chest huffily.

'You made a very unattractive face while you were stretching,' He sniggered again and imitated her, deliberately exaggerating everything. She frowned playfully and smacked his arm before heading in the direction of the reception.

'I'd like to see you try not to make an unattractive face while yawning and stretching, Salvatore,' she called over her shoulder.

'Oh, I can assure you, my face stays very much attractive while doing anything,' His silky voice sounded from right next to her and she jumped slightly. Recovering quickly, she hit him again and gave up completely. She was tired from sitting in the car all day and just wanted to hit the shower and collapse onto her bed.

When they arrived at reception, she let him do all the talking and wandered over to inspect some sort of cheap artwork that was hanging on the opposite wall. She was jolted out of her thoughts by Damon's hand brushing her upper arm.

'They only had one room left, and it was a couple's room,' he started off hesitantly. Elena wasn't really onto it and didn't catch on to what he was trying to say.

'Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Whatever. I just want to sleep.' She closed her eyes again and leaned into his hand, almost falling on top of him.

'You'll be able to in a minute, I'll just show you where the room is and then you can go straight to bed, okay?' He steered her to the left once they left reception, and she followed his lead without complaining.

On reaching the room, Elena headed straight for the bathroom for a much needed loo break while Damon went back to the car for their luggage. There was a knock on the door after about two minutes, and she opened it to reveal Damon handing her a pink bag of toiletries, obviously taken from her suitcase.

'Thought you might need this,' He held it out to her, and she took it from him.

'Thanks. I'll only be a minute,' She smiled tiredly and closed the door again.

Thankfully the shower had decent water pressure, as she discovered upon turning on the relieving jet of water before dumping all her clothes in a pile on the floor. She stepped over the edge of the bathtub/shower and let the shower massage her back and wash the day's travelling off.

Feeling satisfied, and tired enough to drop right there, she toweled off and gathered her things, heading back to the main room. She smoothed down her oversized tee and pulled up her soft green sleep shorts after dumping all the stuff previously in her arms on top of her closed suitcase. She then ran a hand through her semi-wet hair and straightened up, properly taking in the room. She stiffened when her eyes alighted on Damon lounging on the only bed she could see – a queen bed that took up almost the whole room.

'Uh, Damon? Why's there only one bed?' She glanced at him nervously.

'I did tell you that the only room they had left was a couple's room,' He sighed and got up to collect his things before heading to the bathroom. 'Don't worry, fair lady, I can sleep on the couch if you want me to,' He shut the bathroom door behind him before she could answer, and she sighed heavily. The couch in question was really an oversized chair; far from long enough for a decent bed.

Elena climbed into bed, relishing the feel of clean sheets after a long day; leaving enough room for Damon before she changed her mind. Her head sank into the feather pillow, which annoyed her; Elena Gilbert liked her pillows firm. She discarded it, then thought better of it and thought, Well if I'm going to have a decent sleep, I'll need a pillow; firm or not. She snuggled right down and started dozing off when she heard the shower stop, shortly followed by the door opening and Damon coming out wearing only a pair of loose-fitting, black linen drawstring pants. She opened her eyes and sat up slightly when she heard him go over to the couch.

'No, no, it's okay. You can sleep with me in here.' She mumbled drowsily and felt the bed dip beside her, Damon answering softly.

'You do realize what you just said, don't you.' He chuckled.

'No funny business. Goodnight, Damon.' She yawned and snuggled back down.

'Goodnight, Elena.'


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-M