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Chapter 3

Summer break finally arrived and things were starting to get a lot more normal for everyone. Of course they all felt the loss of their loved ones on a daily basis, but they were able to cope with it and at least attempt to have a normal life. Bonnie and Jeremy were going strong in their relationship so she spent a lot of time at the Gilbert house. Her and Damon were even on good terms, or at least as good as could be expected from them. Once in awhile when Bonnie thought no one was looking, Elena could see her crack a smile at some smartass comment Damon made. The four of them spent a lot of time together, along with Carolyn and Tyler. They had been through a lot themselves so it was great to see them growing so close and relying on each other to move on. Matt was still uncomfortable with the vampire situation, so they did not see him much. It was tough going to the grill with the whole group together and Matt on the outside. They tried many times to get him to hang out with them, but it was just too much for him knowing that vampires had killed his sister after turning her into one.

One afternoon about four months after Stefan's disappearance, Elena and Damon were sitting on the couch watching a movie. They had done this many times over the past few months, both content in their newly strengthened relationship. They had grown to be very close friends, some may say more than friends because of the fact that they slept in bed together, curled up on the couch for movies together, even held hands sometimes when they were out, but nothing sexual had ever occurred between them. The last kiss they shared was the night Stefan left, and neither of them were ready to even talk about that kiss yet, let alone relive it. As they were watching the movie a passionate love scene came on. Elena fidgeted, slightly uncomfortable being so close to Damon with such an intimate moment on screen. Elena glanced at Damon out of the corner of her eye and found him staring right at her, not at the TV.

"What?" She asked shyly.

"Oh, nothing." He coyly replied.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She pressed, not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer or not.

"Just thinking about how beautiful you are." He said with a grin.

Whether it was loneliness from Stefan being gone, the compliment Damon had just given her, or merely the fact that Damon looked like Adonis himself sitting on her couch, Elena suddenly had the urge to kiss him. So without thinking about it she threw herself into his lap and kissed him with everything she had. He froze for a split second and then kissed her back just as passionately. This went on for a few minutes until Damon pulled away.

"Wait. What's going on here Elena?" Damon asked in a gentle voice, trying very hard not to upset or offend her but needing to know why she was suddenly in his lap, kissing him as if there was no tomorrow.

"What do you mean? We're kissing. Why do you have to ruin it by talking about it?" Elena said with a mixture of embarrassment and anger in her voice. She could not believe she had just attacked him like that, but she was even more horrified that he had stopped her. Isn't this what he had always wanted, to be with her in this way? So why did he stop her and make her feel like an idiot for making a move?

Damon let out a sigh knowing that she was teetering on the edge of getting mad and storming out, possibly not speaking to him for awhile until she got past the embarrassment she was obviously feeling. He knew he had to be very careful about what he said next. "Look Elena, that kiss was amazing and I would love nothing more than to continue it," Damon paused for a moment to let his statement sink in. "but if something is going to happen between us, I want it to be because you love me and want to be with me. Not because you miss my brother. I know it's going to take time for you to move on from him, and I really don't think you are ready for that yet. So as much as it kills me to say it, we can't do this. Not yet."

Elena sat quietly for a moment, stunned by his speech. Who would have thought Damon could be so noble? She knew in her heart that he was right. She was starting to grow strong feelings for Damon, but she was not over Stefan. Having him gone still hurt every day and until she got past that, it was not fair to Damon to use him to move on from his brother. She was so embarrassed for her actions, she just wanted to get out of the room and away from him.

"I'm so sorry Damon. I don't know what came over me. I'm just going to go to my room for awhile. I'll see you later." She said quietly and began to walk out of the room. Damon was in front of her in an instant blocking her path.

"Don't do that." He said and waited for her to respond.

"I'm not doing anything, just going to my room. I just need to be alone right now." She said without making eye contact. Damon lifted her face to meet his gaze.

"Don't push me away Elena. Not now. We both need each other right now. This doesn't have to be a big deal, okay? I won't even bring it up again if you don't want me to. But please, don't withdraw yourself from me. Not now." They stood there with their eyes locked for a long moment and finally Elena let out a sigh and spoke.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Let's just pretend it never happened, okay? Maybe we should skip the rest of the movie. I think I'll get started on dinner. Jeremy should be home soon and I think Bonnie is coming over as well."

Damon was relieved that she was not retreating back to her bedroom, but he knew there was no way he was going to pretend that the kiss never happened. How could he? It was the most amazing kiss he had ever experienced, and that was saying a lot considering all the kisses he'd had over the years. He vowed to himself right then and there that they would kiss again, but not yet. Not until they both had more time to mourn Stefan leaving and really move on without the burden of his absence. He agreed to help her with dinner and after about fifteen minutes things seemed to be back to normal with them. They were joking around and having a mini food fight when there was a knock on the door.

"Truce! I have to get the door!" Elena yelled with a laugh and headed to the living room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Alaric standing there. She had not seen him since the day after Stefan left. He said he needed to get away for awhile, figure things out. They all wished he would stay, knowing that he would be better off with loved ones around than on his own, but it was his choice so they said goodbye and wished him luck. "Alaric! Come in, how are you? I'd hug you but I think you'd probably rather I didn't right now." She said with a grin as she moved out of the way for him to step inside. He let out a chuckle at the state of Elena's clothes and hair, which happened to be covered in flour and eggs.

"I'm good. School starts back up in a few weeks so I figured it was time to get back to town. Just thought I'd stop by and make sure everything is going okay for you guys before I head home." There was a tinge of sadness in his statement, even though he attempted to cover it with a smile.

"We're doing okay, hanging in there as best we can anyway. Damon and I were just making dinner. Jeremy and Bonnie should be here soon. Why don't you stick around and eat with us? It will be nice to catch up."

"Sure, that sounds great." Alaric said, seeming to perk up slightly. Damon came into the living room then, causing Alaric to let out a full belly laugh as he saw the state Damon was in. He had definitely gotten the worst of the food fight.

"Hey Ric. What's so funny, do I have something in my hair?" Damon said with a smirk. He had heard Elena and Ric's conversation from the kitchen and could tell he was in need of some cheering up.

"Now this is quite a site. A vampire that clearly lost a food fight with a human, that's a good one." He said with a chuckle.

"Don't be fooled teach, I let her win obviously." With that Elena smashed another egg onto his back and then took off running to the kitchen to finish dinner and let the guys catch up.

An hour later dinner was ready, Elena and Damon had cleaned up, and they were all sitting around the table reminiscing about old times. For the past few months, Elena and Jeremy had a ritual that every night at dinner they would talk about everyone they had lost; Jenna, Stefan, their parents, Anna and Vicki, and even John and Isobel. It was a way of helping them all cope with the great loss they had experienced. Damon even joined in some days, although most times he would just sit quietly and listen to their stories.

Alaric had been on his own since shortly after the funeral, so he did not seem to be dealing with the loss as well as they had. However, that night he was able to really smile and laugh again without it being forced or faked. He realized that he never should have left in the first place. This is his family now, and they all need to stick together. He had to hold in a slight chuckle when he thought of Damon being included in that 'family.' Who would have thought a few years ago that he would end up thinking of a vampire as a friend and even family? But that is exactly how he felt. Even knowing that Damon could be a complete ass at times, they had grown to care about each other and oddly enough Damon was probably his best friend at this point. He shook off the thought and headed for the door, ready to go back to his apartment alone. That thought was enough to kill the good mood he had gained throughout the night.

As Ric was getting ready to leave, Elena could tell his spirits were dropping again. She knew that being with them for a few hours had improved his mood greatly and she really hated the idea of him going home to an empty apartment and getting back into the funk he was in when he arrived. So she decided to take action to help him move on.

"Hey Alaric, before you go I wanted to talk to you about something. I haven't had a chance to discuss it with Jeremy yet, but I was thinking maybe you would want to move in with us." She could see in his eyes that he was going to refuse the offer, so she continued on with her plan in a rush so that he could not say no just yet. "We have two empty bedrooms, so if you want Jenna's old room you are welcome to it, but if that is too much you can also have the other room. Jer and I have lost a lot of family in the past few years, so I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we aren't willing to let that happen again. If we all live together, we can watch out for one another and feel comfortable knowing that we are all safe. What do you think?"

The comment about family caught Alaric slightly off guard. He definitely thought of them as family, but he was surprised to hear that they felt the same way. He considered saying no, feeling as though he was imposing on them, but the thought of moving in here made him feel a sense of relief that he could not look past. So he agreed.

"That would be really great Elena. As long as Jeremy and Damon are both okay with it." He said and looked to them for their response.

"Absolutely!" Jeremy said.

"Well Ric, it would be nice to have someone else around to drink with once in awhile, so I guess it would be okay with me." Damon said with a smirk. Elena knew that Damon was actually happy about the idea, but of course he couldn't show too much excitement to anyone and ruin his 'I don't care about anything' image. She just smiled knowing that Alaric also knew this to be the case.

That weekend Alaric moved out of his apartment and into the Gilbert house. He decided to use the spare room, thinking that it would be too hard to move on from Jenna living in a room surrounded by memories of her. He felt happier than he had in a long time, and he was really glad to have met such wonderful people to call his family. He knew it was going to be hard to move on from Jenna, especially because he had recently lost Isobel for the second time as well, but he knew that with the help of his family he would be able to eventually do it.