Disclaimer: Not mine. But our flat has half a Christmas tree :D

So, yep, I took a few hours out of my coursework – 2,000 words done, by the way – to get this done for y'all!

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Chapter 4

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Elena gasped as the whole jug of iced water went over her head, Damon thrust the jug at Stefan and smiled innocently, Meredith and Bonnie were biting their respective bottom lips and trying to hold in genuine guffaws, and Stefan just stared at Elena, unable to think or speak.

"Seriously?" She shrieked, "What the hell is going on?" Melodramatic as usual, Elena stormed from the kitchen and pounded her feet on the stairs as she ran off, Stefan following comically behind her still holding the jug.

"Elena! My Lovely Little Love! Come back!"

Damon watched his brother leave, so glad he wasn't entirely as pussy-whipped as Stefan. Then he glanced at Bonnie and smiled, feeling his chest swell with joy at her silly grin. Happy, that was, until Meredith turned to talk to the pair, fixing them with a stern gaze.

"So, what is going on?"

Bonnie looked completely and deservedly blank, and Damon pulled out his best innocent stare.

"I thought... w-wasn't it an accident?" Bonnie looked up at her best friend, totally unaware of the underlying current of sexual tension in the room. Meredith believed her best friend – she just wasn't that good a liar... Damon, on the other hand... well, he couldn't be trusted.

The icy-eyed vampire stared at Meredith as she held his gaze and growled. She did freak him out sometimes, with that direct and angry glare.

"Well?"

"What do you mean, Merry?" And he pulled out the puppy-dog pout.

"You know exactly what I mean, Damon and I will get to the bottom of it." Meredith muttered, shaking her head at him. All of a sudden, Damon had no doubt that she would get the answers she was looking for.

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Stefan had finally put the water jug down on top of the dresser, and was no longer flinging droplets about in his haste to get to the room he shared with Elena. The blonde had grabbed a towel from their en-suite bathroom, and was starting to dry off her hair, hoping that it would still be straight after she had spent ages doing it that morning. Sighing, she looked up at her boyfriend and levelled her boyfriend with a furious stare.

"Stefan, what the hell was going on at dinner? You and Damon were fighting to get Bonnie's attention!" Stefan blushed, but there was no way that he was going to let Elena know about the conversation that he and Damon had the previous night. He knew it was just a harmless fantasy, and that he loved Elena. He was in love with Elena.

And he had been quiet for far too long. His girlfriend was staring at him quizzically, head tilted and a tad confused.

"My lovely little love, I was just trying to protect Bonnie... I think that Damon is planning something."

Satisfied with that explanation, Elena smiled at Stefan and wrapped her arms around him.

"Stefan! It's just like you to think of others..." She sighed against his lips and wrapped her arms around him tight, kissing him.

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Meredith and Bonnie had started to clean up, and, as usual, Damon had vanished at the mention of hard work.

"Bon, what do you reckon was going on at Dinner?" Meredith asked as she reached up to put their plates back in the cupboard.

"Merry, I honestly don't know what you're going on about." Bonnie's gaze was pure innocence, a look that told Meredith that she was lacking kind of idea about what was going on plastered all over her features.

"I was afraid of that." Meredith sighed.

"Explain it to me?"

"I will... but I think I need some more coffee before I can even start with this kind of talk."

Eventually, they finished clearing the kitchen, crossing to the living room with a pot of coffee and noting the noises from upstairs along the way. Elena had clearly forgiven Stefan, then. Damon was nowhere to be seen – probably off getting a midnight snack, Meredith assumed, but before he had gone, he had kindly lit a fire in the grate, sending a deep warmth and flickering light across the overstuffed sofas and mismatched furniture in the living room.

Bonnie curled up in her seat, blowing on the hot drink and sighing as she felt the pulse of Damon's presence in the house. She wasn't sure exactly where he was, however, so she kept her mouth shut and watched as Meredith started to speak.

"So, explain to me the 'blatantly obvious' stuff that I missed at dinner." Bonnie asked quietly.

"Well, Stefan and Damon clearly both trying to get your attention." Bonnie's eyes widened as Meredith took in her reaction. No idea.

"What? What do you mean?"

Behind the curtain, Damon was curled up in one of the window seats, observing Bonnie in the shadows of the living room. Her pale skin was warmed by the firelight, the glow turning her hair from red curls into a fiery halo. The fire was reflected in her eyes, and as she looked up at Meredith, Damon realised that he had never, ever seen anyone that was as beautiful as Bonnie.

Meredith rolled her eyes at her best friend. She could honestly be so naive at times.

"Bonnie, they both rushed to get the seat next to you at dinner; Stefan had the weirdest look ever when you hugged him earlier on... Damon has been watching you closely and let's not talk about the absolute farce that went on at dinner!"

Bonnie really hadn't thought about it – she had just assumed that the boys were being nice to her, for once, and she told Meredith so.

"Well, Bon, I promise you, I will figure this out." She stated, putting her arm around Bonnie's shoulders. In the corner behind the curtain, Damon nodded as she spoke. There was no question that Meredith would find out what was going on – but, Damon wondered whether her meddling would unintentionally aid his quest for Bonnie's heart.

Wait. Her... heart? When did he get so pathetic?

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