Feel This Moment
Disclaimer: I don't anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.
Again, your response to this story is blowing me away! So I couldn't wait to post another chapter so here it is a day earlier than planned :)
This chapter is set just a few months after Crying Lightning ended. So Elena is 18 and Damon is 20. It also refers back to chapter 44 from Crying Lightning.
Elena was nervous, no, she was terrified.
It was the day before Thanksgiving and she and Damon were back in Mystic Falls for the long weekend.
Tomorrow she'd be having a huge thanksgiving dinner with Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy, Damon, Caroline, Bonnie, Sheriff Forbes and Bonnie's Mom and Dad.
Today however she is having dinner with another family.
Her other family.
Or at least they are by blood.
"Stop looking so petrified, you'll be fine." Damon parks the car outside of Isobel's house in Gladstone, reaching his hand across to push some of her wavy curls behind her ear. "You've met Isobel's husband before, right?" he asks and she nods her head.
They met a couple of days before she moved to New York, she met up with Isobel for lunch and Alan her husband drove to pick her up, their meeting was very brief, but he seemed like a nice enough guy.
"Ok, so that's one down." He draws a tick into the air with his finger. "So now you just have two little kids." He shrugs.
"Their practically teenagers, they aren't little kids." She sighs nervously as she checks her makeup in the side mirror. "What if they don't like me?"
"Why wouldn't they like you?" Damon's hand grips her shoulder and the other one tilts her chin, bringing her eyes onto his. "You're amazing." He smiles at her and she blushes. "Don't forget that."
"You're my boyfriend, you have to say that." she rolls her eyes slightly but smiles none the less.
"Meh, if you sucked, I'd tell you." He winks at me before climbing out of his beloved Camaro that he's been missing while we've been in New York. He rushes round to my door, opening it before she gets the chance and pulls her up with a smile, he closes the door over her shoulder and pins her against the car for a moment. "And if they really are stupid and don't like you, then so what? Their kids, their opinion doesn't mean anything anyway." He says lightly and she lets out a laugh despite herself. "And if there is any moment in there when you want to leave, just tell me and I'll make up some bullshit obvious excuse and get us the hell out of there, ok?"
"Ok." She smiles, suddenly feeling much better but then she's not surprised.
Damon always has that effect on her.
"Come on then," he links their fingers together and they walk up the short steps of Isobel's porch before ringing the doorbell.
It's barely seconds later when the door swings open and their greeted by a smiling Isobel, who has an apron wrapped around her and she notices Damon's eyebrows raise from the corner of her eye.
"Elena," she smiles widely and immediately pulls her in for a hug, she obliges, even if somewhat less enthusiastic, but it has been a while since they last seen each other.
She and Damon hadn't been in Mystic Falls since they moved to New York two months ago.
Isobel pulls away from her and turns her attention to the young man beside her. "Damon." She greets with a smile. "Good to see you again."
"You too Miss Flemming." He smiles mockingly at her and she immediately elbows him in the ribs. "Sorry, Isobel."
Isobel however just rolls her eyes with a smile and mutters something about how he hasn't changed.
We walk further into the house and Damon takes her hand back in his larger one, his grip strong and tight and she's thankful for the comfort as she looks around with her eyes.
It's cosy, and homely.
And there are a lot of family photos on the walls.
"Ah, Elena." Alan, Isobel's husband walks into the hallway, a towel placed over his shoulder, a smile on his face. "So good to see you again."
She smiles back, immediately feeling less nervous by the welcome he has given her but then Damon starts squeezing her hand extra tight, almost like he is trying to tell her something and she immediately feels anxious again.
"You must be the boyfriend," he turns to face Damon with a smile and holds his hand out.
Damon uses his spare hand to shake it back and nods his head. "That's right, I'm Damon."
"Alan." He greets him and she watches confused as he eyes her boyfriend for a moment. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Nope." Damon shakes his head and instantly smirks. "I just have one of those faces."
"Right…" Alan doesn't seem convinced and she sends Damon a questioning glance as they follow them through into the dining room, Damon however just widens his eyes at her and mumbles "Later" under his breath and she's left to let her imagination run wild.
"Alan, go and get the kids, tell them that Elena is here." Isobel orders her husband who does as she says obediently.
Elena takes a deep breath and glances at Damon who again squeezes her hand, giving her a comforting smile. She can tell that Isobel is nervous too, she keeps folding and then unfolding one of the napkins on the dinner table and the three of them are just left standing in the dining room in an awkward silence and suddenly all she wants to do is run back to her tiny dorm room in New York, snuggle up with Damon in her single bed and watch a movie, just the two of them.
Unfortunately, life isn't that easy.
Alan soon returns to the room, two smaller people following him.
A boy, and a slightly shorter girl.
James and Amber.
Her brother and sister.
"James, Amber." Isobel smiles instantly at them, her eyes light and happy as she steps behind them and places each hand on each of their shoulders. "This is Elena, Elena, this is James, and this is Amber."
"Nice to meet you." Elena makes the first move and holds her hand out, not entirely sure if this is the most appropriate way to greet for younger unknown siblings for the first time but it's not like there's a freaking handbook for this situation.
Thankfully, James sticks his hand out immediately and shakes Elena's, a smile creeping onto his face and she instantly feels more relaxed. "Nice to meet you too, Elena." He smiles formally, his voice slightly croaky like it is about to brake. "My Mom has told me lots about you."
"Oh really?" she glances at Isobel who is smiling and she looks back at James. "I've heard a lot about you too." She smiles genuinely and James grins.
She turns her head to Amber who is stood a little further back, a little less welcome, she instantly realizes.
"And you must be Amber." She smiles slightly at the girl, who just barely forces a smile back. "I've heard a lot about you too."
She doesn't say anything back and Isobel immediately nudges her. "Amber, don't be rude." She looks back up at Elena. "She's shy."
"No I'm not." Amber huffs immediately and she swears she hears Damon chuckle behind her. "I'm not shy."
"Well, I am." She smiles down at her. "And nervous, I'm very nervous."
Amber stays silent and Elena doesn't know what else to say, she doesn't really know many 11 year old girls, and when she was 11 she already had her best friends from practically being a baby and never had to worry about making new ones until High School, but she was a lot more mature and socially adequate then, so she had no idea how 11 year old girls deal with meeting new people.
Is this normal?
"Well, I'm Damon." She feels his hand land on the small of her back and she immediately feels better. "It's nice to meet both of you."
James greets him with no problem, a smile on his face just like there was one with Elena and she watches as Damon turns his attention to Amber, who is trying to hide her smile when a red blush immediately crosses the younger girl's cheeks.
"Hi." She squeaks out at her boyfriend and she sees Isobel roll her eyes from behind them.
"Why don't we all take a seat?" Alan breaks the tension in the room. "Isobel darling, the roast should be ready now?"
Isobel nods her head and walks through a door which Elena is guessing leads to the kitchen, motioning for James to go with her to help her.
She takes a seat at the long rectangle table, Damon immediately sitting beside her and she watches as Amber reluctantly takes her seat opposite her.
"Do you two want anything to drink?" Alan asks politely. "We have wine…beer…" he looks unsurely. "Are you both of age?"
Elena shakes her head no and requests an orange juice, Damon saying water is fine with him and Alan leaves the room to get them.
"So…Amber." Damon breaks the awkward silence. "You're 11, right?"
"Eleven and a half!" she answers immediately, a blush back on her cheeks.
"Eleven and a half." Damon nods his head in acknowledgement and turns his head to Elena. "What were you into when you were eleven and a half, Elena?" he asks with a smirk.
Elena glances back at Amber to see that she actually seems semi-interested in the conversation. "Make up." She confirms. "I remember me and my friends always used to have sleepovers and practice putting make up on each other." She smiles thinking back to it.
"Me and my best friend do that." Amber replies instantly and she smiles.
"Yeah? You'll have to show me some tips." She asks her and Amber immediately nods her head in agreement.
Alan walks back into the room before they can take the conversation any further, handing everyone their drinks and before long dinner is set and everyone is around the table to eat. James sat next to his Dad, and opposite Damon, Isobel at the other head of the table, between her and Amber.
"So, are you two spending Thanksgiving together?" Isobel asks curiously as they tuck into the meal she made.
"Yeah," she answers with a smile. "Damon's Dad is in Chicago, and Stefan is staying in California at Stanford, so we decided to come back to Mystic Falls and have it with Jenna, Ric and Jeremy." she decides to leave the rest of the invite list off.
"So you're not from around here, Damon?" Alan asks curiously.
Damon looks confused for a moment before answering. "Well…I was born in Mystic Falls, and then I moved to Chicago when I was seven before moving back to Mystic Falls when I was fifteen."
"No, no, I meant here, as in Gladstone." Alan clarifies and she looks between them curiously, wondering if this has something to do with Damon's strange actions earlier when they first arrived.
"Nope." Damon answers simply. "Mystic Falls, Chicago, Mystic Falls and then New York. That's it."
"Hm. I'm just trying to think where I know you from." Alan shoves his fork into his mouth and suddenly an idea crosses her mind.
What if he recognized Damon from local newspapers reporting the shooting incident where Katherine was killed? She remembered it being in the papers a lot at the time, but she didn't think it would have left Mystic Falls. She hopes that is not the case, it's not exactly a good thing to base an opinion of her boyfriend on and Damon deserves better than to be judged from that.
But then again, why was Damon acting so sketchy earlier?
"I showed you the yearbook after Elena's graduation, remember?" Isobel joins in the conversation. "Maybe it's just from that."
"Yeah, maybe." Alan replies but he doesn't seem convinced and when Damon gives her a side glance, she knows that there is definitely more to this story.
It's not until a couple of hours later, when James and Amber have left to go to their bedrooms and it's just the four of them chatting casually in the living room, Damon's arm draped around Elena's shoulders as she leans into him on the couch when Alan remembers where he knows Damon from.
"That's it!" Alan leans forward, placing his bottle of beer on the coffee table between us. "I know where I know you from!" she glances at Damon who immediately stiffens. "You're one of the kids who trashed my bookstore a few months ago!"
Elena almost chokes on her drink. "What?"
"Yes that's right! I remember you now, you and two other kids just rolled right in there, you knocked down an entire stand of antique bookshelves, and it cost me hundreds of dollars of damage!"
Damon immediately cringes and she looks at him for an explanation. "I was kinda hoping you'd forgotten all about that…"
"When was this?" Isobel asks confused, briefly remembering her husband being angry and pissed off at teenagers messing around in his store and causing damage.
"Damon?" she pushes for an explanation and he turns his head to look at her apologetically.
"Remember the time I drove you to meet Isobel here in Gladstone and Jeremy and Bonnie tagged along?"
"Yeah…"
"Well…Bonnie wanted to go to the bookstore while we were waiting for you, and dragged me and Jeremy along with her, the two of us were mucking around a little and we fell over and knocked down a stand or two." He explains before turning back to face Alan. "Look man, I'm sorry, it was an accident."
"An accident?" Alan shakes his head in annoyance and she wonders when this night suddenly took a turn for the worse. "If it was an accident you wouldn't have ran away! Those shelves were antiques!"
"I can reimburse you, if that's what you want…" Damon offers.
"I don't want your money kid, not that you'd able to even give me it! Those were expensive cases!"
She glances at Damon nervously for a moment, her hand immediately resting on his thigh in an attempt to keep him calm.
"Write me a cheque, and I'll pay it." He answers stubbornly, hating that this guy just assumes he's broke just because he's a college student.
"Five thousand dollars." Alan replies almost smugly and Elena can't help the frown that appears on her face.
"What?!" Damon looks at him disbelief. "There is no way in hell we made that much damage!"
"Look, this is silly." Isobel cuts in and attempts to calm the situation. "This was months ago, the damage is done, we don't need to dwell on this."
She's about to agree, but it seems that Isobel's husband is just as stubborn as her boyfriend.
"Hey, if he can't own up to it and pay it then that's fine, I'll drop the subject." Alan holds his hands up.
"I can own up to it and I can definitely pay it." Damon snaps defensively and she immediately squeezes his thigh.
"Damon," she mumbles quietly under her breath, a hint of warning to her voice.
"It's fine, baby." He acknowledges her for a moment before turning back to face Alan. "As soon as I get back to Mystic Falls I'll get my chequebook out and write one out to you for five thousand dollars, ok?"
Alan shakes his head with a none-believing smile. "Sure son." He says in a patronizing tone that doesn't seem convinced at all and she knows that Damon will continue to get riled up if they stay here for much longer.
"It's getting late…" she makes a move to stand up, pulling Damon up with her and Isobel immediately jumps to her feet.
"Elena no," she sighs apologetically. "You don't have to go. Alan, apologize!"
"He doesn't need to apologize." Damon cuts in in annoyance and she rolls her eyes.
What is it with men and their pride?
"See, you heard the boy, I don't need to apologize." Alan replies stubbornly.
"It's fine, really." she ignores them both and looks at Isobel. "We have an early start tomorrow and we're still tired from our flight this morning, it's been a long day, and someone gets cranky when he's tired." She jabs Damon in the ribs and he grunts slightly but doesn't argue.
"Are you sure?" Isobel asks still feeling hesitant.
"Yes." She smiles firmly, because she really is ready to just crawl into bed. She wasn't lying when she said they'd had a long day.
Between the flight from New York to Richmond and then the drive from Richmond to Mystic Falls before then later having to drive from Mystic Falls to Gladstone, she was beyond exhausted.
They say their goodbyes to James and Amber quickly before Isobel walks them to the door, apologizing yet again and promising that the next time they all meet up together it will be better.
Elena's sure it will be.
They say goodbye with the promise to meet up when she comes back to Virginia for winter break, and the second Isobel closes the door and they walk down the porch steps towards Damon's car she immediately pushes him in the side, watching as he tumbles on his feet for a moment before regaining his balance.
"You're an idiot!"
"What?" Damon smiles slightly as he regains his balance. "He was an ass!"
"You were both acting like asses; it was like you were having a pissing contest!"
"He doesn't think I have the cash to pay him back, little does he know that I'm a secret millionaire." He smirks proudly as he opens the door for her and she rolls her eyes before climbing inside, Damon immediately running around into the driver's seat.
"Yeah Damon, emphasis on the word secret." She reminds him. "I thought you were the one who didn't want to splash your cash around."
"I don't, but I guess I do owe him for the damage, and if he is insisting that it was five thousand dollars, which I really don't believe to be the case but he is obviously trying to prove something to me, then I'll pay it easily."
"Even if he is ripping you off?" she asks in disbelief.
She really doesn't understand male pride.
"Especially if he is ripping me off." Damon smirks as he pulls away and starts driving. "The guy thinks he's all that with his big house and his shitty bookstore in small town suburbia, but little does he know that it is like loose change to me." he says smugly.
"Oh my god, Damon!" Elena groans and puts her head in her hands. "You can't say stuff like that!"
"I wouldn't say that to him, geez, Elena, come on!" he rolls his eyes and she turns her head to face him and watch as a small smile creeps onto his lips. "Oh I wish I would be able to see his face when he gets my cheque."
She can't help but smile because Damon is right, Alan one hundred percent believed that Damon wouldn't be able to afford to pay him back and she wishes she could be there when he does in fact receive the cheque that Damon insisted he would get.
"I'm sure it'll be a picture." She smirks and Damon chuckles before holding out his arm, Elena immediately taking the hint and shuffling along his comfy padded seats and resting her head against his shoulder as his arm wraps around her comfortingly.
"Next time he'll think twice about making assumptions about a Salvatore." He smiles smugly and she laughs and shakes her head.
Men and their pride, she'd never ever understand it.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, please review and let me know what you thought, your feedback and comments always keeps inspiring me to write more :)
Until next time!