"I'm too pretty for an ugly sweater Damon." Anna exclaimed as she was dressing for the last party of the semester. Finals were next week and he couldn't wait to be home.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He rolled his eyes at her as she stood in the mirror turning, and admiring her outfit from every angle. "Well I'm going to be ugly in a button up since I don't own any sweaters, let alone Christmas ones." He laughed. He didn't own much in the clothing department other than oversized sweatpants, black shirts, and every sports team's hat known to man. On occasion he'd pull out a pair of black jeans and some sort of nice shirt he kept hidden in the dark abyss of his closet.
He grabbed his backpack and cell phone sitting on a chair in Anna's dorm. "I'm going home to get my ugly on" making it a point to refer to being ugly as many times as he could to piss off Anna. He was tired of this, maybe going home for Christmas break was exactly what he needed to clear his head.
He walked out into the cold winter air fumbling with his keys in his pocket. Once he made it to the car, he got in and set his things in the back seat. He stuck the keys in the ignition, hoping the damn thing would start. Having an old car in the winter was a struggle, but having an old sports car in the snow was next to impossible. "Please fucking start." He prayed. Turning the key and hearing the rumble of his engine he closed his eyes and placed his head against the head rest, thankful. It was only a matter of time before his beloved Camaro died on him.
As he pulled away to drive to the exit of campus, he slowed letting people cross. He was getting ready to continue on his journey home when he saw her walking in his direction on the sidewalk nearby. He sat at the corner a second longer to watch her. He hadn't seen Elena since his run in with her last month in the library. He tried like hell to run into her, but he didn't know her schedule. He watched her from the distance, admiring her smile. As she got closer he noticed she was walking with Lexi. He stepped on the gas to go and reached into his pocket for his cell phone.
"Hello?" Lexi answered the phone.
"Hey." He said, suddenly not sure of why he called Lexi in the first place.
"Hi." He could see Lexi cover the mouth piece and say something to Elena in his rear view mirror. "What's up?"
Shit. What could he say, he had no reason to call her. "Tell Elena hello." Instantly he smacked himself in the forehead. Really Damon, that's all you could think of to say? He shook his head as he heard Lexi laughing into the receiver.
"Tell her yourself" she quickly responded and handed the phone to Elena.
"Hi Damon." Elena giggled into the phone. Her laugh. He forgot about that laugh, it was the sweetest laugh he'd ever heard and every time he heard it he swore he fell harder for her. "So what are you doing?"
"I'm driving home actually. What are YOU doing?" he said back to her.
"I'm going to walk home, the suns going to be setting soon and I want to get back before dark."
"Don't move." Damon said as he hung up the phone.
"What? Damon….. Hello?" Elena said into the dead phone. "He hung up on me." She looked at Lexi and handed her the phone back.
After two minutes Damon pulled up to the curb where they were standing. He rolled down the window "I'm glad you waited. Get in."
"…What?" Elena looked at Damon and then to Lexi.
Here's your chance, Damon thought. "I'm giving you a ride, it's too cold to walk home in this weather." To his surprise, she hugged Lexi and opened the door of the car and got in beside him. Wow it worked.
Elena laughed. "You're lucky I love Camaros. What year is this? A '69?"
Damon's jaw dropped. Oh holy heaven this girl is perfect. "Yeah. Yeah it is." He said with a smile.
"I love cars. Especially muscle cars. However I am more of a mustang girl." She smiled and threw her head back over into the head rest, glancing at him over her shoulder.
Elena pointed him in the direction of her house which was less than a mile away.
"What are your plans for tonight?" he asked. "There's an ugly sweater party at the frat tonight, you should go."
"You're in the frat?" Elena looked at him, confused. "No offense, you don't seem like that type."
Damon laughed. "None taken. No, they are my neighbors. We live in a duplex we share a house."
"Oh! I got ya." Elena looked away slightly embarrassed. "We'll see. I haven't been out much since Matt and I broke up this semester." Damon took his eyes off the road to look at her, a sad expression on his face. "Oh, sorry. Matt was my boyfriend. Long story."
"I know how that goes." He said, disgusted with his own relationship. "It's the last Friday of the semester, you need to end it with a bang. Plus I never see you out."
"We'll see." She quietly responded. She did go out, but usually to the bar with her girlfriends. She had just turned 22 so house parties weren't quite her scene anymore. "Turn here." She pointed at the street up ahead. "This is it." She smiled at him and he smiled back. "Thank you so much!" She opened the door to get out. "Anytime." Damon smiled back. As she began to make her exit he grabbed her left hand. "Elena wait" he stopped her. "I really hope I see you tonight." He didn't notice until she looked down, but his thumb was gently brushing the top of her hand, back and forth. He fought the urge to pull his hand away and just smiled at her. "I hope you come." He let go of her hand and watched as she closed the door and ran up onto her porch.
Once she was inside, Damon took notice of the grand entrance way into the home. Holy hell he thought. His entire house back in Maryland could fit into just the garage of this house alone. He passed here on his way to school from his down town apartment each morning in order to avoid the main roads and their traffic and had always admired its beauty. He never would have imagined she lived here. He puts the car in drive and the motor rumbled as he pulled away, not noticing her silhouette from behind the large curtained window watching him.
"I'm going next door without you if you don't hurry up."
"What's your problem today? You've been acting like you have a stick up your ass all day."
Damon shook his head, finally fed up with her nonsense and stood up. "You're my problem. Not just today, every day." He walked out the bedroom door and down the flight of stairs. His bedroom was on the third floor, he had the attic all to himself.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. "Stefan open up." Damon banged on his brothers bedroom door.
"What do you want?" Stefan cracked the door open, "Caroline is in here getting ready."
"Well tell her to hurry up I need to talk to you." Damon put his hands in his pockets and leaned up against the hallway wall as he let out a low sigh. "Wait, why is Caroline in your room?" Damon leaned forward and yelled through the door. She was his best friend and he was always slightly over protective of her. He knew she was close with Stefan as well, but curiosity got the best of him.
"Because Anna is in your room and we all know how well the two of us get along!" Caroline yelled back at him. Immediately after the door opened and Caroline walked out placing a quick kiss on Damon's cheek and kept walking. Damon watched her round the corner of the hallway and then proceeded into his brothers room.
"Dude…." Damon walked to the vacant computer chair and threw himself down. "I don't know what to do."
"Wait." Stefan proclaimed. "Is this conversation going where I think it is?"
"Probably." Damon admitted. There weren't too many people who really liked Anna, they tolerated her and from time to time everyone enjoyed each other's company, but the longer she and Damon were together the less people seemed to even tolerate her. "I ran into Elena today."
Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What happened?"
"I don't even know. I saw her and randomly called Lexi with nothing to say…. I got lucky because Elena took the phone from her and mentioned walking home so I went back and picked her up." Stefan didn't say anything, he just continued to lay on his bed. Damon spoke up again, trying to get his thoughts straight. "I don't understand it. I've never been nervous with a girl before. I've never not know what to say, I've never been at a loss for words." Damon ran his hand up over his forehead and through his hair. He leaned forward in his chair and stared at the floor. "I barely know this girl. Look what she's doing to me."
"Well what are you going to do about it?" Stefan said. Damon knew that he was referring to Anna.
"I have no idea. My relationship with Anna has been heading south for quite some time, I just don't know how to end it."
"It's okay if you don't. I'm sure a part of you doesn't want to let go of her because lets face it, she did make you happy once. But if she's not doing it anymore, you can't hold onto the past. If Elena is the future you need to go with it. Obviously this girl is something special if she's making you this confused In the 19 years of my life I don't think I've ever seen you like this over a girl."
Damon didn't say anything, he just continued to take in everything his little brother was saying because he was right. "You're right. I'm going to make the best of tonight and see what happens. It's worth a shot." As Damon stood to leave he and Stefan heard a bang at the door.
"Damon?! Are you in there?"
Damon looked at Stefan without saying a word. He walked to the door and exited, taking Anna by the arm and going next door.
Everything was fuzzy, Damon tried to open his eyes but everything was so bright he shut them instantly. He heard a woman's voice that sounded like she was miles away asking him if he was alright. Everything was coming back, he could he Elena crying out in pain and suddenly he remembered where he was. Why was everything so cold? He thought, eyes still closed. The cold tile serving as his safe place. He tried to open his eyes once more and as soon as he did and it hit him what he had been looking at in the first place and why he was on the floor, a sleepiness took over him again just as quickly as it had the first time.
"Damon we're up!" Tyler had called from along the back wall. It was their turn for pong. Both boys took their place opposite of Stefan and Aaron.
By the end of the third round, the alcohol was going down much easier. Damon glanced around the room with the front door in clear view, hoping that a certain brunette would walk through it at any moment. He was hoping she'd show up, even though he figured that was a long shot considering she didn't sound too interested earlier. Damon felt a hand on his shoulder and it suddenly broke him out of the trance he was in.
"There you are. I've been looking for you all night." Anna place her arms around his waist and snuggled up against his back.
"I've been in pretty much the same spot since we got here." He yelled over the blaring music. "I've been playing pong. I think we're going to switch it up to flip cup soon."
"I'm going to go back upstairs with Vicki." Anna said as she turned to walk away.
Damon caught her by the arm and pulled her close before giving her a quick kiss. As soon as he did, he wondered if it was the alcohol, she seemed to be slightly less annoying to him at the moment. He didn't think much of it, she was still his girlfriend but his feelings hadn't changed.
The next game resumed, this time losing a victory to Stefan and Aaron. This was the final game and they decided to switch to flip cup. Stefan and Aaron managed to recruit three more people to play on their team, while Damon and Tyler were still one short.
"Wait, we need another person!" Tyler slurred as his head flew around the room searching for someone to grab. Before Damon had his back to Tyler looking in the other room when his train of thought was interrupted.
"Mind if I take this spot?" Elena said setting her glass down on the table. "I'm actually really good." She laughed.
Damon's smile was from ear to ear. "You came." He said to her. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you tonight."
"Yeah, well Lex and I figured we'd skip the bar for one Friday night." She smiled, noticing Damon just looking at her. "I used to love parties you know, I used to throw the best ones, too." She winked at him. "Come on, let's kick their asses." She said raising her glass as if she was giving a toast.
Damon smashed his solo cup into the side of hers spilling his drink everywhere. "Let's do this." He laughed with her.
After their game of flip cup, Damon and Elena sat on the couch in the corner of the room talking. Anyone watching the two of them would have known how obvious it was that she was extremely into Damon. She kept nudging her way closer and touching his arm which was nicely toned and defined. They sat and talked about anything and everything, getting to know one another a little bit better. They started getting into some more personal topics before being interrupted. Anna came stumbling down the steps and her eyes scanned the room. She spotted Damon on the couch and made her way over, too drunk to notice what was going on between him and Elena. She threw herself onto his lap and her arms wrapped around his neck as she buried her head into his chest.
"Take me home, babe" she said short of it being a whisper. She giggled and looked up, kissing Damon's neck and chin.
Before Damon could say anything, Elena got up off the couch and stormed into the crowded room, until he was unable to see her. He shook his head and slammed his fist into the arm of the couch. Damnit. Damnit Damnit. He repeated over and over in his head. He grabbed Anna's hands and removed them from his neck and told her to stand up as he stood, not giving her much of as choice as she slid off his lap. "I'll take you home." He responded. He pulled out his cell phone and made a quick phone call and after 5 minutes he walked her through the door and down onto the side walk. It wasn't long before a car pulled up driven by Anna's roommate.
"Thank you for coming and picking her up." Damon smiled at her. "She's a little drunk."
"Wait, I don't want to go home! Take me back to your room." Anna managed to babble out. "Who was that girl you were with?"
"Goodnight, Anna." Damon said as he opened the car door and ushered her inside. He stood street side until the car was out of site and then panic started to set in. He rushed back inside the house and couldn't think of anything else other than hoping that Elena hadn't left. When he opened the door to step back inside a small sense of relief washed over him when he saw Lexi talking to a girl with short red hair. Seeing her meant Elena was still here. He approached Lexi and before he could say anything her eyes were on him.
"When did you plan on telling Elena about Anna?" Lexi spat out. "I thought you did"
"Lex where is she, I want to talk to her. I have to explain."
"She's upset, she went downstairs" Lexi looked toward the basement door. "I wouldn't go looking for her."
"No, I need talk to her."
"I know you two have literally ran into each other, oh I don't know, twice maybe? But still Damon, it's pretty damn obvious she's captivated by you. You should have been honest from the get go. Anyone with eyes can see she's into you."
"How can I be honest with her when I can't even be honest with Anna?" He yelled.
"What are you talking about?" Lexi looked at him, confusion softening her expression.
"I may have a thing for Elena… and you know that mine and Anna's relationship has been heading south for quite some time." Damon blushed.
"I figured as much." Lexi affirmatively answered. She paused before saying what she wanted to next. "I thought you may have had a thing for Elena since that day in the library. I've never seen you like that before and you didn't stop staring." She laughed, her mood lightening and her attitude dwindling away.
"Yeah, well…. You caught me." Damon said lifting his hands in the air. "I'm going downstairs."
Damon pushed past Lexi and made his way down to the basement, stumbling and stepping over the people who lined the steps not wide enough for multiple people. Lexi was right behind him.
The basement was slightly less packed and there she was, sitting on a couch all by herself. He made his way over to her, her eyes on the ground. She looked up when she felt his shadow on her, sadness in her eyes.
"Hey." He said softly to her. "Mind if I sit?" She didn't pick her head up, but she did shake her head acknowledging that it was okay. He sat down and placed his hand on her leg. "I can explain."
"No you don't have to. You don't know me and I don't know you. You don't owe me an explanation." She picked her head up to look at him. "It's stupid of me for assuming…."
"Assuming what?" He cut her off with the gentlest of tones.
"Nothing. It's not important." She stood up to leave but Damon grabbed her hand.
"Don't go. Sit, please." He held his hand out toward the couch and reluctantly she sat back down. "Look, I can't lie to you. Yes, I have a girlfriend but it's really, REALLY complicated. We aren't right for one another, at least she isn't for me. I realized this a little while ago and just haven't acted upon it. It's time, and I plan to soon." He looked at her, a piece of hair falling over her face. He brushed her hair back behind her ear and smiled. "I…" he looked at Lexi who was flirting with some guy over in the corner of the room. "I don't know what it is…. But I really like you, Elena."
"You don't have to say anymore." She smiled back. "Thank you for being honest with me."
Damon's phone lit up in his hand and he looked at the screen, Anna written across it. He hit the deny call button and all of his attention focused back to Elena.
"I think I am going to get going. I am going to go round up my brother and head home." Damon said releasing her hand that he hadn't let go of since she sat back down. She opened her arms to him to hug him good bye, but he didn't return the gesture. Before he was aware of what he was even doing, his lips were on hers. The kiss started out passionate at first, but when she didn't back away, he caressed her tongue gently with his own. He finally pulled away slightly, enough that their noses were still touching and he opened his eyes and smiled. Her beautiful brown eyes staring back into his. "Good night, Elena" he whispered. He kissed her forehead and stood up to leave and made his way up the basement steps. She watched as his silhouette disappeared into the darkness of the upstairs and the music filled the air as the door opened. Everything's Magic by Angels & Airwaves now had an entirely new meaning to the both of them, one they wouldn't forget anytime soon.
[AUTHORS NOTE: Again, I suck so bad at updating. I just never have the time, its not that I don't want to. You just have to bare with me if you want to read my stories. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. I am exhausted and plan on going to bed soon, so I might need to do some extra spell check and editing in the morning. But I have so many amazing ideas for this story that incorporate my story with the real characters and I am beyond excited. Let me know what you guys think, I promise there will be another update soon - as in this month. Not that my word means much, because I know I've said that before, but I mean it. Happy reading, and thank you to all my dedicated followers! I love you all!]
