Chapter Three - Don't Stop Believing

"Devil's Elbow? More like Devil's armpit," Caroline mumbled as she walked alongside me, fanning herself. "There's no breeze and I'm melting."

"Suck it up, buttercup," I replied in a sing-song voice and bumped my shoulder against hers. "I have it on good authority that there's waterfalls at the end of this trail."

She gave me a look and bumped me back, laughing. "Tell me again how my research is unnecessary. That binder has saved our asses twice so far."

I turned my head a bit, trying to casually glance back at Stefan and Damon. There was enough distance between us to offer a little privacy, something none of us had in the RV, and I was still cautious around Damon. He rubbed me the wrong way which made me want to figure out his endgame even more. Pushing my limits seemed to be a game to him - a game that I wasn't so willing to play. He argued with me about sharing my bed in the RV but set up a tent to sleep in instead. Stefan left me half a banana at breakfast and Damon ate it, grinning the entire time. He asked inappropriate questions. Somehow, I had become his target. "Care...what do you know about Damon?"

"I know about as much as you do, Elena. Why?" She had a tone to her voice.

"You're dating his brother...c'mon, I know you know something. Caroline Forbes, voted most likely to become a gossip columnist senior year, cannot be fresh out of information."

"I try to mind my business, thank you very much. I mean, maybe I've picked up some things here and there…"

"I knew it. Spill." It wasn't like me to dig for dirt on someone but in my opinion, Damon had it coming.

Caroline sighed and shaded her eyes, looking out over the mountain trail we were walking along. "Stefan told me he's trying to move back to the east coast. He had this really high profile job, a studio...he photographed for big names, and he lost it."

"With that attitude, I'm not surprised."

"That's not all," Caroline added, adjusting the straps on her backpack. "I heard Damon and Stefan talking last night and apparently, the woman he was seeing was his boss."

"Wait," I said a little too loudly before realizing my mistake and quickening my pace to put a greater distance between us and the guys. "Damon was dating his boss?"

"The fact that he was dating anyone at all is what threw me, but that's not the bad part. She sold him out over a mistake she made and he just let it happen. Didn't even try to stand up for himself. Who does something like that?"

Considering the relationship issues I had, it didn't feel right to say anything about Damon's. Especially since the information was secondhand, but, my curiosity was at a fever pitch. "I don't know, Care...I mean, we don't really know Damon all that well. Who's to say he didn't make the right choice?"

"Right choice? Elena, dating your boss is like playing with fire. They even lived together." My eyes went wide and Caroline nodded. "Oh yeah, it was serious. Her name is Katherine and she's the reason Stefan and Damon's relationship has been strained all this time. She's the reason for a lot of things."

We hadn't gossiped like that in years and a small part of me felt guilty. The rest of me needed to know more about the mysterious Salvatore brother. "He's been seeing her all this time?"

"Stefan called her a manipulative bitch and according to the pieces of the Damon puzzle I've been putting together, he's right," Caroline spat with a hint of anger. "He's an ass but to be strung along for years? No…"

This certainly was a new turn of events. The pieces and parts of Damon's story were starting to align slowly and I didn't know if I felt sorry for him or if I understood. Suddenly, the little bit of what I knew before made so much sense. "It's all an act," I mumbled.

"What?" Caroline gave me a confused look. "What's an act?"

"You know...the arrogance, the know it all air of confidence. It has to be an act."

"Oh no, Elena. Don't give Damon that much credit, you know, you always do this with people. You always have. You did it with Matt."

My mouth opened in slight shock but my feelings weren't hurt. Finding the good in people was something I did naturally. Unfortunately, sometimes I had to look a little too hard. "So you really think Damon is an asshole - that he can't possibly be reacting the only way he knows how?"

"Damon is a d-bag," Caroline grimaced. "That doesn't make it okay that his ex treats him like a toy, no, but Elena...don't read too much into his issues. It's not your job to fix everyone."

"I never said-"

"Off to the right, check it out," Stefan called from somewhere behind us, unknowingly cutting me off, and putting an end to that conversation.

The falls were beautiful. Rainbows jumped around in the spray at the bottom when the sun hit the water just right. I stared in awe at the waterfall as Stefan caught up to us and wrapped an arm around Caroline from the side, kissing her temple lovingly. Damon fell into place next to me and I couldn't help but look over at him, the newfound information still fresh on my mind. His profile was shadowed by a halo of sunshine and I found myself captivated, staring at him while he stared at the natural wonder before us. The rushing water and sun and sound all melded together in some strange feeling of euphoria that threatened to hold my attention forever - until he turned and caught me staring. His eyes locked on mine seconds before I realized it but instead of the annoyed look I was expecting, Damon smiled a half smile. Then he walked away.


The rocks at the base of the falls were warm from the sun and the water cool. Stefan and Caroline played in the shallower part of the river, laughing and splashing. I envied them, mostly for the freedom in which they lived and loved. It was like they didn't even have to try. I rolled onto my side and propped my head up in one hand to give my back a rest from the warmth of the stone. A soft clicking drew my attention and I looked lazily over my shoulder to Damon, armed with his camera. Without a shirt the filtered sunlight left patterns of leaves all over his fair skin. The shapes danced, holding my attention long enough to distract from the fact that he was taking pictures of me.

"Am I going in your new book?" I asked jokingly before turning my attention back to Stefan and Caroline. "Those two sure are having a good time."

Damon lowered his camera but he was laughing. Good sign. "Blondie and I don't really get along but she sure as hell makes my brother less moody. That's less whining I have to put up with," he explained and sat next to me on the rocks.

"Yeah, they're good for one another...total opposites, but apparently opposites attract." I sighed, mostly out of relaxation, and sat upright. "Having fun?" Having fun? My conversational skills suffered greatly in his presence.

The look he gave me was one I couldn't read but at the very least, there was amusement in his voice. "Constantly. Maybe I should be asking you that question. Are you always so...uptight?"

"Are you serious?" Every time I considered giving him a chance, he proved to me why I shouldn't. My eyes narrowed, "What's your obsession with my social life, Damon?"

He shrugged as if it were all a game to him. "It's not really just you. My brother...he's just as bad. College Barbie is probably the most exciting one out of you all. Which is a damn shame."

I was starting to see why Caroline steered clear of Damon. "I'm sorry but you seem to think I want your opinion. I'm perfectly happy with my life." My arms crossed just to drive home the biggest lie ever. It didn't even sound believable.

"I don't need to know you to see how much of a lie that is, Elena. You're a shitty liar."

"Who's a shitty liar?" Stefan questioned, appearing on my right side and spreading out a blanket to sit on.

"Your bestie, Elena." Damon grinned, pleased with himself. "I'm still waiting for her to shut the autopilot off and do something worthwhile."

"You are a bad liar," Stefan agreed easily and that surprised me a little.

"Great, so the two of you are ganging up on me now? If I knew this trip would be like this I would have stayed home. I've got better things to do than be your stand in punching bag, Damon." I stood and glared down at him, frustrated that I couldn't dispel the tension between he and I.

Damon stood too, but the mischievous look didn't fall from his face. "You can't control anything, Elena. You don't have that power and neither does anyone else, and I'm tired of watching you pout already. I can't take it anymore."

I was swept off my feet before I realized what was happening. Damon gathered me up bridal style in his arms and ran toward the edge of the rocks, jumped into the pool at the base of the falls, and took me along with him. For a moment, all there was, was rushing water and confusion. It took me a moment to break the surface but when I did he was right there waiting and he looked pleased with himself. Everyone was laughing...except me. Why wouldn't he just leave me alone? How had I become his scapegoat? The thoughts ran wild and all I wanted to do was escape. And that's what I did. I gathered my things, despite the pleas of Caroline to stay, and started the walk back. Stefan called after me, but ultimately let me go and Damon didn't even try. He wasn't the least bit sorry and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt over the entire situation. This was supposed to be my time to figure stuff out, and relax, and find myself. My head was full of questions with no answers which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for Damon, challenging my patience at every turn. We weren't even halfway to our destination. We had miles and miles to go before I could be free of this man who acted like a bored child - who passed the time by making me uncomfortable. Rather than wait for the others to get back, I changed my clothes, fought with my tangled hair, and disappeared off into the woods. I needed a break.

Remember, fear not, be candid, promulge the body and the soul; dwell a while and pass on - be copious, temperate, chaste, magnetic. The words struck something within me and I hadn't been able to stop thinking of them. They'd been on a constant loop the entire walk back to our camp site. I'd made peace with myself, mostly, and with the fading light I knew that it was time to show my face again. Not to mention, I was starving.

Damon was sitting at the picnic table, back to me, when I rounded the end of the RV. It didn't look like Caroline or Stefan were even there and I hesitated, but pushed myself to join him. "Hey…"

"She lives and she speaks," he mused. "We were starting to worry you were lost in the woods."

"You were worried?" I shot back teasingly. "I find that hard to believe."

"What if you got hungry? Hmm? You'd have to eat wildlife. Berries. Sticks." He was having far too much fun being a smart ass.

"Now that you mention it, I am pretty hungry. There was a lack of squirrels." I quirked a brow in challenge and Damon looked impressed at the attempt in humor.

"There's a place up the road that claims it has the best barbecue around. Let's go."

I stumbled over the bench trying to follow him before he disappeared into the dark and he was laughing when I caught up. "Where's Caroline and Stefan?" I asked, silently hoping they would join us and save me from spending the night alone with Damon.

"Date night...whatever that means. Could be code, but, I'd rather not know."

Date night meant they wanted to be alone and I was with Damon on that one. Of course, that meant we wouldn't see them for a while. I tried not to think about having to make awkward conversation with him all night. "I started reading Leaves of Grass. That's what I was doing…"

"When you ran away?" I started to defend myself but he shook his head and I clammed up. "It makes you think and it'll open your eyes to a lot of things."

He almost sounded wistful and it intrigued me. "Have you read the whole book?"

"More than once. I know some of the poems by heart." There must have been a quizzical look on my face because he embellished his statement further. "It was my mother's book. She read it to me when I was little. It turned me into the genius I am today."

I laughed and it was genuine enough to surprise me a little. Damon had a way about him that made it so hard to be angry in his presence. "It's so different from anything I read in school. Whitman breaks the rules...he doesn't rhyme or follow the standard for line length." No wonder Damon enjoyed it so much.

"But it's still beautiful. It's sexual in an elusive way. That's what happens when you don't follow the norm." His eyes almost sparkled, illuminated with excitement.

"Is that what you love about photography?"

We were nearing the restaurant and the streetlights were illuminating the way and his face. His expression softened. "That's exactly what I love about it. A picture is worth a thousand words."

"Why, Damon, how incredibly cliché," I marveled in mock surprise. "I think all the mingling with us commoners has lessened your wit."

"The little people are more fun. I have to come down off my throne now and then to remind myself where I came from," he wiggled both brows and grinned at me, one hand on the door to the restaurant.

The moment broke quickly unfortunately, when I realized the parking lot was full of motorcycles and I could hear a dull roar from inside the building. "Elbow Inn," I read from the sign near the road. "Wait...this is a biker bar. Damon, I don't think we-"

"Live a little, Elena. Get inside." He yanked the door open and lightly shoved me through.

Spending time alone with Damon was like being in a black hole. I just got sucked in before there was time to stop myself from losing ground. Granted, the bar full of people meant we weren't technically alone, but we may as well have been. Dinner led to a heavy discussion about alcohol and just how much one had to drink before all inhibitions were lost. It wasn't until he and I were halfway through a bottle of tequila that I realized we had become the guinea pigs.

"Gentlemen...and ladies," Damon shouted down the bar above the music. "One...two...three, drink!" He watched us all throw back shots and slam the shot glasses on the bar top. "Elena, you make me proud - that's three in a row."

I could hear him better as he moved closer to me and I laughed, wiping liquor remnants from my chin with the back of my hand. "Reigning champion! You guys have got to keep up." Our new acquaintances laughed and groaned almost in unison. Damon's arm circled my shoulders and I leaned into him, laughing. "This might be the night I drink a guy three times my size under the table."

"A few hours ago I wouldn't have taken you seriously, but now…" He trailed off as the music changed and swung me away from him, toward the small crowd of people dancing. "...I know you mean business." The conclusion of the thought brought his lips to my ear so I could hear him and the sensation almost rendered me speechless. Almost.

I stared up into those blue eyes for what felt like forever, reveling in the feeling of a slow smile spreading across my face. In the background, somewhere outside the tequila dimension we existed in, I heard familiar lyrics and didn't even try to stop myself from singing along. "Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere…"

Damon's face lit up and he nodded, singing along just as the chorus began. Everyone around us joined in moments later. I laughed, we danced, and everyone sang in the biggest, drunkest sing along I'd ever witnessed. The emotions coursing through me felt so foreign because I hadn't truly let go in years. Every moment, every decision had been well thought out and so calculated that there was never any room to have fun.

We were surrounded by strangers in a biker bar, in the middle of the Ozarks but it felt right. The weight lifted further with every laugh and off key note we hit but it didn't matter. I danced with everyone as I bounced through the crowd toward the bar with Damon in tow, his hand linked easily with mine. He motioned to the ceiling and laughed. There were hundreds of bras hanging above the bar where bold women before me had left their mark. I wanted to leave mine too.

"What are you doing?" Damon yelled over the noise when I climbed onto a stool and then the bar, carefully dodging glasses and bottles.

I grinned, unfastening my own bra underneath my shirt. "I'm having fun!" Whether he heard me or not didn't matter, because the look on his face was priceless when I pulled a pink bra free and twirled it above my head. Those who noticed cheered me on as I swung it up and it caught on the pipe with the rest. A piece of me would always be at the Elbow Inn...literally.

Damon helped me off slide off the bar after that and pulled me to him, laughing. "You're crazy, Elena."

Maybe it was the shots or the positive charge in the throng of bikers singing Journey, but deep down I knew Damon was right. "You're damn right...now buy me another drink."


There was a marching band playing an endless drum solo in my head and no way to make it stop. I couldn't remember why, right away, but slowly as I woke, the countless tequila shots came back to me in more ways than one. My stomach did a somersault and I tried to roll onto my back but there was something...no, someone, behind me. One bloodshot eye cracked open to take a visual survey.

"Stop moving," the lump behind me groaned and I froze.

Damon. The bar. Lots of alcohol and bikers. It all rushed back and I wanted to throw up. "Why are you in my bed?" I felt around, silently praying I had clothes on. I did. Thank heaven for small miracles.

"You wanted to play big spoon, little spoon...why the hell else would I be in a bed? Now be quiet. Sleep." His arm snaked over my waist and both my eyes shot open.

I wiggled my way out of his hold and over the side of the bed only to land in the floor with a thud. "Oh my gosh, I'm dying. I don't remember coming back at all…" I glanced back at Damon who was passed out once again until I smacked the bed.

One blue eye cracked open and glared weakly. "Sleep, I said."

"You can go back to sleep... in your own bed, right after you answer this question. Where the hell is my bra?"