Mystic Falls High Goes To Disney

Chapter 3: Hooray For Hollywood

Elena blinked sleepily at the sunlight piercing through the hotel room window. It took her a moment to remember that she was in Disney World on her school trip. They were staying at the beautiful Grand Floridian Resort & Spa which was one of the most spacious resorts in Walt Disney World, according to Jennifer who told stories of how she stayed there countless times with her family. Elena had a feeling that Damon might have used his compulsion skills on the leaders of the Mystic High senior trip committee to convince them to choose such grandiose accommodations for the trip. Elena sat up in bed to find Caroline asleep on the other side of the bed and her friends Ana and Jennifer sleeping on the bed next to theirs. She looked around the hotel room which she did not have much time to explore when they arrived at the hotel late the night before after a long and somewhat terrifying day in the Magic Kingdom. The room was large and elegant with two large queen size beds with polished wood headboards, a large chestnut wood dresser that held a flat screen television and several drawers for storage, a nice sized bathroom, and a floor-to-ceiling window on the far side with a spectacular view of the Magic Kingdom.

Elena rose from the bed and walked to the window to enjoy the morning view when she heard a sudden knock on their hotel room door. She walked to the door and looked through the peep hole at a smiling Damon. She unlocked the door and Damon walked right in. "Good morning sleepy heads!" he said cheerfully as he walked through the room. Ana, Jennifer, and Caroline woke suddenly, startled slightly by Damon's loud greeting. Caroline stalked out her bed and made a face at Damon. Without any other greeting to him, she declared that she was going to take her morning shower and locked herself in the bathroom for her morning routine. "Good morning to you too Damon" Elena said, still a little sleepy "and to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?". Damon looked at Elena with a slight smirk and said "We're in Disney World! Time to wake up and ride some rides and have some fun!". Then Damon walked over to Ana and Jennifer's bed. "But first we need to have some breakfast" he said as he pulled out two bloodbags: one for Ana and one for Jennifer. "Drink up princesses" Damon said as he handed each girl a bag and they immediately tore them open to feed. Elena thanked him silently for waiting for Caroline to leave because the fewer people who knew about this, the better. Elena watched them uneasily but Damon was immediately by her side with an arm around her shoulders for reassurance. He looked into her eyes and sent her a look that said it's all okay, trust meand she wanted nothing more than to believe him. When he gave her little smile, Elena allowed a similar smile to light up her face. Ana finished her bloodbag first and look quite refreshed. "Ah that blood is some good eating" she said cheerfully as she jumped out of bed and ran to the dresser to pick out her outfit for the day. Jennifer finished her meal soon after and followed suit to get ready for the day.

Elena walked toward the hotel room door and motioned for Damon to come with her. "I'll be back in a minute" she said to Ana and Jennifer as she and Damon stepped out the door and into the hallway. Damon closed the door behind them as Elena began to speak. "What are we going to do about Stefan and Klaus?" she said worriedly with a look of terror on her face. Damon looked slightly flustered as well. "I'm not sure but I promise I will not let anyone else get hurt. What Stefan and Klaus did yesterday was stepping way out of line and Klaus knows that Stefan is in a bad place right now. But we have to carry on! We can't show them fear because that is just what they want" he said as he placed his hands gently on either side of her face "but you have to know that I am here for you always and that we will make it out of this together. Okay?". Elena nodded slowly, still slightly unsure. Damon pulled her to his chest for a hug and then pressed a light kiss to her forehead. After a few moments of allowing herself to be wrapped in Damon's comforting arms, she pulled back slightly. "Well I need to be heading back in there and getting ready to go. Hopefully today will bring slightly happier memories" she said with a slight smile as she pulled her room key out of her pocket to unlock the door. Damon nodded his head in agreement but then said "Call me when your ready to go down to the busses. I'll escort you ladies down to the lobby". With a slight smirk at Elena, Damon walked back down the hall to his room and Elena stepped back into her room where her three best girlfriends were getting ready for a day of fun.

About an hour later, Elena, Caroline, Ana, Jennifer, and Damon were all standing in an elevator on the way down to the lobby. Elena had chosen to wear a pair of Hollister shorts with a black tank top while Caroline decided to go with a short denim skirt and green Abercrombie t-shirt. Ana and Jennifer were dressed in matching white denim shorts with Jennifer wearing a Beauty And The Beast t-shirt and Ana wearing a Little Mermaid t-shirt. Damon was of course dressed in his black jeans and black t-shirt but opted to not wear his jacket because of the steamy weather predicted for the day. When the doors opened up to the hotel lobby, Elena's face lit up as she once again took in the spacious decor that she had seen the night before on the way to their room. The lobby area was filled with comfortable seating areas, grand staircases, an extravagant check in area, a seven piece live band, and a monorail station on the second floor. Damon was the first to spot the Mystic Falls High group gathered in the middle of the lobby with Alaric standing in the center taking role call. Elena and her friends arrived just in time to hear their names being called. After Alaric had checked to make sure all of the students were together, Alaric led the group out the front door of the lobby to the buses that were waiting for them.

Elena and Damon and her friends boarded the same bus that they rode yesterday as instructed by Mr. Saltzman. Once they were on the bus, Caroline immediately found Tyler who was saving a seat for her. Damon led Elena down to an empty row and Jennifer and Ana took the row behind them. After Elena had settled down in her seat, she looked around the bus and was pleasantly surprised to find that Stefan and Klaus were not present. Elena looked at Damon and noticed that he shared the same surprise as well. She let herself let out a calm breath and allowed herself to put on a genuine smile. Everything is going to be okay she told herself as the bus pulled away from the hotel. After the bus had left the hotel parking lot, Alaric stood at the front of the bus holding a microphone. "Okay listen up students" he said as he glanced at the clipboard that he was holding "today we are going to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We will arrive at the park in about five minutes so I am now going to hand out your park tickets for today so please hold onto them carefully". Alaric started walking down the hallway handing each student their tickets. When he reached Damon and Elena's row, Mr. Saltzman handed each of them their ticket and then whispered something into Damon's ear. As soon as he had moved onto the next row, Damon turned to look at Elena with a look of slight concern. "Alaric got a text from Stefan this morning" he whispered into Elena's ear "and it said 'Beware'". Elena felt her stomach drop.

Elena tried to reassure herself that the text could just be a fluke and Damon tried to help by putting a comforting arm around her and initiating excited small talk with Jennifer and Ana behind them. Elena and Damon both knew that they had to play it off like everything was perfectly normal and that they were all going to be okay. "I can't wait to see the Beauty And The Beast show!" Jennifer said cheerfully "Did you know that it is one of the original Disney World theme park shows?". Ana was exclaiming about how she could not wait to ride Tower Of Tower because she had heard that is one of the most thrilling attractions in the park. "Thrilling hmm?" Damon said with a slight smirk directed at Elena and she couldn't help but send him a little smile and giggle back. When the buses pulled into the Hollywood Studios bus parking area, the students started exiting the bus and meeting up with their friends who were on the other buses as they walked toward the park entrance. Tyler and Caroline exited the bus together but told Elena that they would all meet up later for dinner. As Elena exited the bus, she stayed next to Damon with Ana and Jennifer trailing close behind them.

Once they reached the entrance to the park, each person slid their ticket and entered through the turnstile. Damon clasped Elena's hand in his as they walked down the replica of Hollywood Boulevard that ran down the middle of Disney Hollywood Studios. "Let's go to Tower Of Terror first!" Jennifer said as she pointed to the park map that Ana was holding. Elena let Jennifer and Ana take the lead as she and Damon trailed behind enjoying the scenery around them. Like Magic Kingdom, the park was filled with lots of people all enjoying a magical Disney day and Elena could feel the magic flow into her too. When she looked at Damon, she knew that he felt it too by the twinkle in his eyes and the rare genuine smile that he displayed. They soon approached a tall dark looming tower with an illuminated sign that read "The Hollywood Tower Hotel" attached to the front. Ana jumped with glee and grabbed Jennifer's hand as they both ran towards the ride entrance. "Come on Elena!" Ana yelled as over her shoulder as she made her way past the ride attendant at the entrance. Elena and Damon followed them into the line and she could feel the trembling begin. She never like the big scary dropping rides at amusement parks so she was not so sure about how much she would enjoy this one. Elena knew that Damon could sense her fear because he put an arm around her waist and comfortingly whispered in her ear "This is going to be fun. Trust me." She looked Damon in the eyes and knew that he was right. She could always trust him, no matter what.

As Elena and her friends walked through the line, they move from an outdoor walkway to the inside of the hotel. They made their way through the replica of the hotel lobby that looked like it had come from the 1920s but every piece of furniture was covered in a fine layer of fake cobwebs and dust. "Creepy much?" Damon whispered into Elena's ear as he smiled down at her in reassurance. The ride attendant at the end of the line instructed the guests to move towards what looked like a library door. The doors then automatically opened and Elena and her group made their way into a replica of an old fashioned hotel library. The doors closed and the entire room went pitch black except for a small television. On the television played a video that told the story of the mysterious elevator that travelled to the Twilight Zone and how they would soon travel in that elevator too. Elena started to shake and she reached out to clasped Damon's hand. She felt his hand squeeze hers but then she realized that his hand didn't feel the same as before. Then she felt lips at her ear and cold shiver down her spine.

"Hello sweetheart".