really hope you enjoy this, and dont hate me for the super long delay. truth is, this has been written for over a month but i was having computer issues and nothing was going according to plan. but i hope you like the date. i put a lot of thought into it, one of my favorite dates ive ever written. its mostly fluff. Let me know what you think. :) I love hearing what you guys have to say, it motivates me to keep going. i promise the wait for the next chapter wont be so long. Thank you for sticking with the story after the delay. :)
I own nothing.
The "something incredible" that Damon had planned involved him getting Elena out of bed at 6 am. A prospect that she wasn't entirely pleased with.
"Why am I up this early?" she asked with faintly disguised annoyance creeping through her voice.
"Because we need to get an early start. I have lots planned for us tonight, and we need to get moving." he explained.
"Is there breakfast somewhere in this plan this morning. Or do I have time to eat some cereal?" she asked.
"We will go for breakfast first." he said.
"Good. I am starving." she said quietly, not wanting to wake Caroline who was sleeping. Forgetting about Caroline's newly developed super hearing, Caroline snapped up in bed.
"It is only 6 am. I need my beauty rest, and you two talking so loudly is starting to annoy me." she snapped rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Sorry Caroline. We're leaving now." Elena apologised.
"Good. Now why exactly is 6 am a reasonable time to pick someone up for a date. There has got to be some sort of etiquette rule against that." Caroline mumbled, laying back down and pulling a pillow over to cover her face.
"You know, I think I agree with Caroline." Elena said softly.
"Well, if you don't want her to bite you're head off, we better get going." Damon said pointing to the door.
"Yes we should. And for the record, I don't think she would bite my head off, I'm thinking more of yours." she said.
"Right. She couldn't catch me." he remarked leading her down the stairs and out the door to his car.
"I cant do this. I really cant do this. I cant betray Elena like this." Stefan fretted to Klaus.
"And I care why?" Klaus asked rhetorically.
"Because what kind of help would I be, if I killed myself before you could use me?" Stefan asked.
"That would make me very angry. But you do make a valid point. What is it that you want Stefan?" Klaus asked.
"I need to talk to Elena. I need to see her once more. And let her know that I still love her, and that I will be back home sometime. I will come home to her. Because we are meant to be together forever." he said.
"How cute. What makes you think that Elena, didn't move on the minute you left town. The way I remember it, you have a lothario like brother there, and he could have taken her affections." Klaus said.
"Elena wouldn't do that. Elena's not Katherine." Stefan said firmly.
"And so what you're saying is that, you will kill yourself, rendering yourself useless to me. If you don't get to go back to Mystic Falls, to see Elena. If you see her and talk to her, you will willingly come back to me and continue the rest of you're sentence?" he clarified.
"Yes. I promise. I just need her to know that I will come back to her someday." he said.
"Fine. I will accompany you, just to make sure you don't get some smart idea to run away. You know the kind of life someone has when they run from me. Look at Katherine, she spent her entire life as a fugitive. You don't want that." he said.
"I don't." Stefan agreed.
Damon drove then to a pancake house, so Elena could eat. He sat across from her eating a stack of pancakes.
"Are you really going to eat all of those?" he asked laughing.
"Yeah. These pancakes are so good. I may not be able to walk afterwards, but I will eat every bite." she said.
"I cant wait to see that. Although today kind of requires you to be able to walk." he noted.
"Oh, you're strong. You can carry me if necessary." she said.
"uh huh. I guess that is true. Besides it's a win-win. You wont have to walk, and I will have you really close to me." he said.
"Exactly." she said grinning. Once they finished at the pancake house, he drove to a spot in the woods and parked the car.
"Are you bringing me out here to kill me?" she asked jokingly, seeing nothing around her for miles.
"No. Not yet. We have a little walk to take. I'm taking you to one of my favorite places in all the times I have lived here." he said.
"What makes you think I've never seen the place before?" she asked.
"You may have. Stefan knows of it too. But you havent seen the place from my perspective. I've went here every time I've had some big thinking to do. Or when I finally discovered that Katherine was using both me and Stefan." he said.
"Can I tell you something?" she asked as he took her hand and they started walking.
"Of course." he said looking at her.
"Okay, this is going to sound so stupid. But sometimes, I feel like Katherine. I mean I was with Stefan and now I'm with you. I didn't waste any time getting with you once Stefan was gone. It's like the feelings I had for him just vanished, being replaced with the feelings I have for you. Katherine did the same thing. When you weren't around she had her fun with Stefan, and when Stefan wasn't around she was with you." Elena said looking at the ground as she said it.
"Elena. Look at me. You are nothing like Katherine. Katherine was evil, and she was with the both of us at the exact same time. You on the other hand are good, and kind and beautiful. And virtually flawless in every way. You are nothing like Katherine. I promise you that." he said grabbing her chin and forcing her to look in his eyes.
"Thank you." she whispered before reaching up and kissing his lips softly. When they broke the kiss, he took her hand again and they continued walking.
"You know this could go a lot faster if you carry me and use your super vampire speed to make it to the top." she said glancing up at the mountainous hill they had to climb.
"I'm sure I could. But what's the fun in that. Besides you see so much more taking a slower pace." he said.
"Fine. But at the very least you could carry me. I don't think I can make it." she said.
"Fine. Climb on up." he said bending down so she could climb up on his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, as they continued the pace they were originally doing up the hill. About halfway up the hill he kissed the side of his neck.
"what's that for?" he asked.
"To say thank you. The day has barely begun, but its still one of the best days I've spent in a long time." she said.
"You're welcome. When we get to the top, we'll take a break. But then we have to travel some more." he said.
"We're not stopping at the top?" she asked.
"We're having a little stopover. There's a great view from the top. But we still have a long ways to go my dear." he said nearing the top of the hill. When they reached flat ground, Damon put Elena down and she stared around her.
"Wow it's beautiful." she said of the view in front of her.
"I brought you're camera in case you wanted to take a picture." he said fishing the camera out of the backpack he was carrying.
"Thanks." she said taking the camera and snapping pictures. "Come here" she said pulling him over to her. She wrapped one of her arms around his waist and he mimicked the action, wrapping both of his arms around her. She held the camera out in front of her and snapped a picture of the two of them.
"Perfect." she said.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"Yep." she answered holding out her hand for him to take. He laced their fingers together, and began their journey down the other side of the hill.
Stefan and Klaus arrived in Mystic Falls, and the first place they went was the boarding house. Stefan searched all the rooms, and found no sign of Damon. He knew there was a distinct chance that Damon may not have survived, that Katherine would not have delivered the medicine. And he hoped that wasn't true, because if it was then Stefan sold his life to Klaus for nothing.
"He's not here." Stefan said upon returning to Klaus.
"Maybe he's dead." Klaus said shrugging his shoulders.
"Maybe. Now we just have to find Elena. She could be anywhere." he said. They drove by Elena's house but didn't stop because Bonnie and Caroline's cars were parked outside. He didn't want to disturb their sleepover or anything. He would come back later.
Damon and Elena walked for miles. For Damon it wasn't a big deal, but Elena's legs were beginning to hurt.
"Damon, can you carry me again. My legs are turning to jelly." she said.
"alright." he said smiling at her dishevelled state.
"Thank you. I don't think I could take another step." she admitted.
"It's a good thing we're almost there." he said pointing ahead of him.
"That's where we're going?" she asked pointing to the cave ahead of them.
"Yeah." he said.
"It doesn't look like much." she said deciding on honesty.
"Not from here. From here it looks cold and dark and almost cruel with all the pointing and jutting rocks. But once you see the inside its beautiful." he said.
"Sounds like someone else I know." she whispered kissing the side of his neck.
"Have you ever been here?" Damon asked.
"No. the only place I've seen is the waterfall back there somewhere." she said.
"Well you're in for a surprised then." he said as they neared the cave. Elena wondered how she could have lived in Mystic Falls her entire life but never knew place existed. It was a grey cave in the middle of lush evergreen trees. It definitely didn't look like it belonged. Elena could understand why Damon felt such a connection to this place, and it amazed her that he wanted to share it with her. He put her down when they got near the entrance and just took her hand.
"Come on." he said pulling her to the partially hidden entrance. She followed behind him willingly. When he pulled her inside she lost the ability to breathe. The interior was so beautiful she couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't think.
"This is incredible." she said glancing at the shining walls of the cave. It looked like it was embedded with diamonds and other jewels.
"There's more." he said as he pulled her further down into the cave. The further they went in Elena could hear the sound of running water. Curiously she picked up her pace to match Damon's.
"Check this out." he said as they rounded a corner. As with the beginning of the cave, her breath was taken away. Inside this cave, was this waterfall with all sorts of flowers and other greens growing around it. It was by far the most beautiful place she had ever seen in her whole life. "Damon this is amazing." she said. He spread out a blanket on the rocks and motioned for her to sit down.
"I know it's a little past lunch but I brought us a lunch for today." he said.
"That's perfect." she said.
"Good." he replied smiling a dazzling smile at her. He pulled out the sandwiches and the bottle of wine from his backpack. They ate in silence, Elena busy ogling the cave. Once she finished eating, she stood up and grabbed her camera. She walked through the cave and took pictures of various parts of it. She turned back towards Damon and saw the most peaceful expression on his face that she had ever seen. It was a picture of a man that let all his walls go down. She snapped a picture of it before he knew what she was doing.
"Now I suggest we get a good picture." he said standing up and walking over to her. Like before he wrapped his arms around her, but this time he kissed her temple. She held the camera out in front of her and smiled. The flash went off and the picture was store in the camera. She looked at the camera and smiled.
"That picture is amazing." she said showing Damon.
"It is. But we should head out if we want to be home before late." he said. She nodded and took his hand as they left the cave.
"Will you bring me back here sometime?" she asked.
"Of course whenever you want." he said. She smiled at him and followed him out of the cave. Once they were out, they turned to face it before leaving.
"The place reminds me of you Damon. I mean on the outside you can be cold, heartless, cruel and dark. But on the inside you have the most beautiful soul. You are kind, and romantic and beautiful. Just like you're cave. Have you shown anyone else it before?" she asked curiously.
"No. Only you. Stefan found me there once before. But other than him and now you, no one else knows. I really must love you." he said smiling at her.
"That's good because I love you too." she said.
Later that evening Stefan parked just across the street from Elena's. He knew she had to come home at some point, so Klaus had agreed that they could stay put until she arrived. Klaus decided it was the only way to keep Stefan from pouting and brooding the entire time they were working together. Stefan's eyes peeled when he saw Damon's car pull up outside Elena's house. He saw a happy Damon and a happy Elena climb out. He could see them speaking so he focused his hearing.
"Thank you so much for today Damon. The best day of my life." she said walking up the side walk with him.
"Mine too. And my life has been considerably longer than yours." he said smiling at her. By this time they were standing by her front door. Caroline and Bonnie's cars were gone. Stefan watched intently, he didn't like where this was going.
"So what now?" Elena asked.
"I was thinking like the perfect gentleman I would leave and bid you goodnight." he said.
"what would not perfect gentleman Damon do now?" she asked not really liking the first choice.
"I would kiss you then leave." he said.
"Uh huh. How about he take option two, but with a little alteration." she suggested.
"What kind of alteration?" he asked.
"well first you're gonna kiss me." she said. Stefan's eye's widened. But remained impassive, because just because their kissing doesn't mean they are together for real. Damon obliged and kissed Elena softly.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Now I am going to talk." she said. "I love you. Stay with me tonight." she said.
"I love you too. And if you want me here, I'll stay." he said smiling.
"Good. Because I love you, and right now I don't think I ever want to spend a night away from you. I'm so in love with you. Especially after today." she said. He kissed her once more before she unlocked the front door and they disappeared behind it. Stefan gripped the steering wheel tighter. He would never have guessed it, but Elena was just like Katherine. He was wrong about her, but this time she fell for Damon instead. It wasn't fair. Damon was the bad brother. The dangerous one. While Stefan was the one people could depend on. The good brother. But yet Damon still got the girl.
"Are you ready to join me now Stefan?" Klaus asked.
"I guess. There's nothing left for me here now is there?" he asked rhetorically, before they sped away from Elena's house.