Chapter Four - Thunder Rolls

Damon POV

Devil's Elbow, Missouri

I had been hungover before, many times, but a tequila hangover was what I would equate to slow death. I was one loud noise away from going Linda Blair on everyone, complete with head spinning and green puke. At least I had faired better in that department than Elena had. The thought made me laugh.

"What's so funny?" My brother practically fell into the folding chair next to me and offered me a beer, which I gladly took. Best thing for a hangover? More alcohol.

"Life, brother. Life is hilarious." I admitted. "Although, your bestie all liquored up is pretty hilarious too." I lifted the sunglasses from my eyes and grinned over at Stefan. Stefan's jaw clenched almost minutely, but I noticed it anyway.

"What are you doing, Damon?"

"I'm nursing a hangover with a Corona. What the hell do you think I'm doing?"

"I meant with Elena. Don't be a smart ass." Stefan paused and picked at a frayed spot on the chair. "She's not in a good place right now and I don't want you messing with her."

I wasn't messing with her. Stefan just didn't know how to have fun and was afraid I'd ruin his study buddy. "Are we seriously having this conversation right now? Come on, Stef, you and I both know I didn't make her do anything. She's an adult. I'm an adult. We had adult drinks."

"I've never seen her so hungover. That's all I'm saying," my brother added with a shrug. "Just...leave her off of your hit list. You don't wanna piss Caroline off."

"I get it now. Blondie doesn't like me, so Elena can't like me either. If I knew she was gonna play the immaturity card I would've acted accordingly." My eyes rolled underneath the sunglasses. The night before had not been planned and it was genuinely fun. The fact that Stefan was busting my balls over it kind of pissed me off. "And since we're on the topic, little brother, I doubt Elena would want you sweeping in like some half-assed white knight, trying to defend her honor. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself."

Stefan gave me a confused look. "You spend one night with her and suddenly you're the Elena expert of the group?"

"Ya know, I don't like the tone in your voice, Stefan. It seems to me that you're trying to pick a fight and while, on any other occasion I might be proud of you because I invented that tone, this is not the time."

"I know you, Damon, okay? You invite yourself along because you need to kill time while Katherine moves all your shit out of her house and you're bored. We are not your entertainment. Elena is not your entertainment."

My chest tightened at the mention of Katherine. What a waste of time she'd been - a waste of years of a career. The relationship, if I dared call it that, had left me jaded and unwilling to believe that commitment was worth the effort anymore. "I give her a hard time now and then, so what? It's harmless."

"That's the thing," Stefan paused to drain the remainder of his beer and open another, "you don't know her. She takes things personally and it's not really my place to tell you this but Elena just got out of a long relationship. Like I said, her head isn't in the best place."

"All the more reason to show her a good time!" I pushed, feeling annoyed with the back and forth of the whole conversation. "When you and Caroline finally stop tiptoeing around her like she's gonna break you'll see...and I'm not sorry for being myself. What is with you people trying to control everything?"

Stefan didn't have a rebuttal. He knew I was right and all the energy he had to argue whooshed out of him in a heavy sigh. "Fine. Elena's an adult, you're right, but she's my best friend. She's Care's best friend. We're basically family. I won't stop worrying."

"Seems we're at an impasse, brother."

"And there we'll stay," Stefan stated firmly.

"Yeah…" I chuckled to myself and shook my head. "Until one of us builds a bridge and gets over it." Our bottles clinked as we knocked them together. Agreeing on an impasse was the Salvatore way.

Amarillo, Texas

"Amarillo by morning...up from San Antone," I sang, and took a few steps back to inspect my artwork on the day-glo colored Cadillac, first in the line of a handful. "Everything that I got, is just what I've got on…"

"When that sun is high in that Texas skyyyy," Elena jumped in with the next line as she walked up behind me. "We've got to stop bonding over old songs and booze."

"You make a good point," I answered back, mostly distracted by the spray paint art project, "especially since neither one of us can sing."

She tilted her head and studied the picture, glancing over at Caroline who hadn't let Elena out of her sight for two days. "Is that a penis?" Blondie asked hesitantly.

"Bingo! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. Tell her what she's won."

Elena laughed and earned herself a glare. Caroline crossed her arms with a trademark huff. "Seriously, Damon, are you twelve?"

"She laughed!" I exclaimed and pushed Elena lightly at her shoulder, who continued to laugh but removed herself from the situation. Smart girl. Triumph over the small win emerged in a smirk that chased Caroline away too. I was on a roll.

"Nice dick."

My brother walked past with a can of spray paint in each hand but I barely looked in his direction. "It's to scale," was the best response I could come up with.

Things had been easy, breezy, nice and easy since the great tequila-gate debate. I knew it was only a matter of time before the cover blew off and exposed us all for frauds because that's how it worked. That's how it always fucking worked. Not to say that I wasn't guilty...because I was.

The mechanics of a healthy relationship in any fashion escaped me. Any and all attempts made were usually doomed from the start. My mother died when Stefan was born. My father died a handful of years later. Stefan and I were raised by an uncle who, in all honesty, did the best he could. I don't think I'd dealt with any of that shit so once I was able, I got the hell out of dodge. I just left my little brother to wade through all the crap by himself and it wasn't until I set foot on the RV in Illinois that I realized Stefan had turned out alright.

Years of estrangement left the door open for my mind to create shitty scenarios, when in reality, my little brother had turned into Joe College and made a good life for himself. Me, on the other hand, hadn't quite gotten there. The cover of my biography was the only thing decent about the story of Damon Salvatore. My one and only romantic relationship was with my boss. She called and I came. I was her fucking puppy before I even knew it was happening, but the sex was good, and I made a lot of money taking pictures of chicks in expensive clothes. It wasn't until I didn't have Katherine anymore that the need to be more and do more awoke within me. Hitting rock bottom sucked, don't get me wrong, but I'd gotten my little brother back. Well, I was working on it anyway.

Abandoning the most accurate portrait of a dick via spray paint ever, I pulled my camera strap and lifted the lens gingerly. I brought the viewfinder to eye level and began to document the moment. That's what this road trip was to them, the three people I'd locked on to photograph, and that's what it was becoming for me. Moments. Yeah, okay, so I wasn't innocent with all my intentions but I was trying and that gave me points. It wasn't until Elena and I befriended fifty or so random bikers in Missouri that she became a blip on my radar. Ruffling her feathers was almost too easy. That all changed though, the night at Elbow Inn. Underneath all her hesitation and perfectly calculated, pre-approved actions there was one hell of a woman.

The way I saw it, she needed me to show her the light. Maybe loan her a pair of sunglasses after.

Clovis, New Mexico

"No disrespect to the lovely people of Clovis, but why the hell are we here?" Elena pretended to walk an imaginary tightrope that I casually pushed her from. She recovered and began to pace again. "I mean, Stefan is off geeking out over the fact that people lived here in 9000 B.C. and we're here babysitting one another."

"You can't tell me the Norman Petty Recording Studio wasn't fun. Everyone loves Buddy Holly, Damon." She said it so matter of factly and all I offered in return was an eyebrow raise. Bored is, as bored does.

A quick search of the RV revealed a liquor stash, bourbon to be exact, and I held it through the open door proudly for Elena to take. She shook her head but twisted the top off and took a swig anyway. That's my girl. "Are we just gonna mope around and get drunk?" She questioned, "Because I'm completely okay with it if you are."

"No moping, young lady." I emerged with camera in hand and point it at her, capturing the tilt of her head and bottle, the slight smirk on her lips, and it made me pause. "We're going to have some fun." My voice was less sure than I needed it to be but I'd been thrown off - caught off guard by the photo. "Tell me about the ex-boyfriend."

It wasn't an off the wall question considering Elena and I had grown into some sort of odd comfort zone. The longer all of us were on the road, the more she and I were thrown together as a pair while Stefan and Care Bear bonded over whatever it is they did when no one was watching. She sighed heavily. Way to go, Salvatore. "Since when does fun consist of ex-boyfriend talk?"

"Since I asked," I stated simply. Wind crept up out of nowhere and swept dust from the trail ahead into little dirt tornadoes. I knelt to take a picture but Elena kept moving slowly.

"What do you want me to say, Damon? We were high school sweethearts and we grew apart. Whatever Matt and I had didn't last…"

The urge to roll my eyes was strong. "I didn't ask for the CW version of what happened. I asked for the truth." Bourbon sloshed back in forth as she shook the bottle. I couldn't help but watch her retreating form swirled in dust and pieces of earth. There was a storm brewing. "Katherine, my ex, is probably one of the worst people I've ever met and even knowing what I know...I can't hate her. I've said the words and thought the words, but I don't mean them." I can tell that tidbit of information caught her off guard by the way she turned and stared back at me with those big, brown doe eyes. There was no way she didn't already have the TMZ version with Forbes as a BFF but I wanted her to know she could trust me. Why? No idea.

"Oh, I know Matt hates me," she offered. "He gave up everything to move to New York because that's where I wanted to be and deep down I knew it wasn't gonna work." Elena hastily drank from the bourbon bottle. She peered over her shoulder to me. "I've never admitted that to anyone before."

It sounded like she'd just admitted it to herself. "I'm guessing this Matt guy isn't real good with change."

A train whistle sounded off to the left, catching Elena's attention. I studied the darkening sky and she kept right on talking. "Nope. He had his idea of who I should be and I had mine. He wanted marriage, kids, the picket fence and two story house in Mystic Falls."

I scoffed because that sounded too fucking apple pie for anyone. Then again, all I had to compare anything with was what I'd had with Katherine. The idea of having kids with her would've been, well, a shitty one. "And that's not something you want? Could've fooled me," I admitted. "Give me that bottle, stingy. Sharing is caring."

Elena glared when I snatched the bottle away but couldn't hide the tiny grin that eventually surfaced. I gave her the side eye as I drank noisily on purpose. The wind was even stronger and it whipped her hair around her head in strange patterns. The sweet scent of her, apples, shampoo, and sweat from the midday sun coerced me into a deep inhale. It was unlike anything I'd ever smelled before and I had to force a pout off my lips when the wind calmed. Her eyes were dark, probably because I'd set her inner wheels into motion and she seemed to retreat when the subject matter in a conversation got tough.

So, we stood there and passed the bottle back and forth. Every time the bourbon changed hands our fingertips met in the middle. The first couple of times it was completely accidental but the third was all me. I liked the warmth of her skin and the small thrill it gave me when we touched.

"I don't know what I want," Elena mumbled after all the comfortable silence, only to be interrupted by rolling thunder. It spread past us and through the sky behind me. Her eyes turned toward the sky. "It's gonna rain."

Correction, it was raining. I jogged my camera back to the RV and kicked the outer door shut with my foot. "Have you ever danced in the rain?"

She cocked her head and gave me the cutest damn look. "Can't say that I have. Are you asking me to dance, Damon?"

The raindrops had started to hit us more frequently but her expression was enough to force me to see the idea through. I answered her question by taking her hand and pulling her to me. "Wait a sec…" She stood there, pressed against me in the intermittent rain with baited breath. "Music," I wrenched my phone free with the opposite hand, searched a moment, and then hit play with a laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me," Elena slid her small hand around my waist and threw her head back in amusement. "Garth Brooks?"

"The Thunder Rolls. Only the single most appropriate song for this moment." The sky opened up further, covering us faster with warm drops of water. I tried to shield her from it all as we danced but the wind, the rain, our clothes growing soaked and heavy didn't seem to matter to her. "Are you okay?" I inquired softly when she rested her cheek against my chest.

The atmosphere shifted somehow and I hadn't noticed it at first. I was afraid I'd pushed too far or upset her and all I could think about was the lackluster warning Stefan had given me almost a week before. Thunder pounded through the sky twice more and Elena lifted her head, our eyes locked long enough to cause a stir in my chest that I immediately pushed away. "Look at that sky. How beautiful," she murmured breathlessly.

"Gorgeous," I murmured back. Except, I wasn't looking at the sky.

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

"My parents went to to the Grand Canyon before they had me. My mom told me once that it was the single most religious experience she'd ever had." That smile. It showed up whenever she talked about her parents and though I felt a twinge of jealousy, I also found that this wistful, open version of Elena was my favorite. She was much different from the woman Stefan and Caroline made her out to be in their warnings to me.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Mama Gilbert on this one. I've been a few times. I did a photography showcase based on Havasu Falls and the Hualapai Indian Tribal Lands."

"Stop bragging," Stefan chastised without even turning around.

"Stop eavesdropping," I shot back. "You might miss an extra petrified tree that doesn't look like the hundred others we've seen today." Caroline and Elena laughed openly. Apparently, they were Team Damon for this little excursion. "Hey, Care Bear, why isn't there any super anal plans for the Grand Canyon in your binder? Hmm?"

"Because we're not going to the Grand Canyon." Her shrug kind of bugged me, like my question wasn't that important.

"Why, might I ask, aren't we going to the Grand Canyon? It's literally on the fucking way. Just, right there. On. The. Way." I made sure to enunciate every word to be sure she didn't misunderstand how ridiculous she sounded.

"Damon-"

"-No Stef, inquiring minds, which would be me," I pointed to myself dramatically, "want to know why we're gonna wave at the Grandest of Canyons as we drive right by. Please, enlighten me."

Caroline stopped walking with a soft stomp of her foot and turned to give me an annoyed look. "Drop it, Damon. We're not going because Stefan and I have been more than once. You've been too, so I don't understand what the big deal is here."

My gaze landed on Elena who had thus far, remained suspiciously quiet when she had every reason to speak up and tell Blonde and Blonder we were stopping. Well, damned if I was going to let her miss the opportunity. I knew for a fact that she'd never been anywhere but Virginia and New York until this trip. "Elena's never been. But, I'm sorry I didn't realize this was a majority rules kind of excursion."

"This was planned before we invited Elena!" Caroline realized what she'd said and clapped both hands over her mouth in shock. "That's not what I meant...I'm so sorry." She reached for Elena, who drew back a few steps.

"No, I got it Care. It's fine." But it clearly wasn't fine judging by the look on Elena's face. "You know what, I'm gonna head back to the RV."

"You done did it now," I muttered and Stefan punched my shoulder, pulling Caroline off ahead of us. "Ouch...hey, wait up!" Elena was a few beats ahead but I caught up to her easily.

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Damon." The annoyed tone was warranted but really, I was innocent. I was the good guy this time.

"Seriously? You don't think standing in the same place your parents once did is a big deal...because I do. Not to mention, your bestie just brushed it off without even asking you if you wanted to stop."

"Drop it, Damon!"

Whoa. She was upset. I lifted my hands in defense and stopped, letting her walk ahead by herself. With an agitated groan I wrestled my phone from my back pocket and spun in a circle slowly. "No service. Fuck." I couldn't even Uber my way out.

It was almost dark when I finally decided I could handle babysitting the kids again. The lights were on in the RV and the doors wide open. Stefan and Caroline's voices floated out into the night air and Elena lay horizontal on a blanket, on the ground, staring up at the sky. "Can you find the big dipper?"

Her sour mood apparently long gone, she pointed up at the sky and my eyes followed. After a moment's hesitation I stretched out next to her on the blanket to do a little stargazing myself. She turned her head toward me with a soft sigh. "Thank you...for earlier. I was wrong to lash out at you."

"Don't worry about it, Elena. You clearly have come to your senses." I casually poked her in the ribs.

She squirmed but laughed regardless, sighing again. "They only invited me because they were trying to cheer me up after Matt and I split. This was their trip."

"Then don't worry about them. Do what makes you happy. Be a little selfish." I didn't know if I was giving her advice or reassuring my own self.

"We're gonna get some sleep you guys," Caroline called out to us from the RV. "Don't stay up too late. Damon, you're on chauffeur duty for tomorrow."

"Joy of joys!" She flipped me a middle finger and let the door close loudly. "She's a ball of sunshine," I announce to the cool night air and poke Elena again.

"Stop it," Elena growls playfully and returns the favor as violently as she can manage. "You act like a child."

My head turned and I stared at her long enough to see the outline of her face and the faint movement of eyes blinking back at me. "Not when it really counts." The words hung heavily in the air between us, full of innuendo...or not. I couldn't read her in the dark. "Anyway...I should get the tent set up. Gotta be bright eyed and bushy tailed to drive you kids around."

Her hand on my arm stilled me when I moved. The coolness of her skin was surprising, considering the warm air. "You can share the fold out…"

Well...this was a shocking turn of events.


First, I want to say thank you for those who have taken the time to let me know what they thought! It's so helpful and I appreciate it greatly. Second, I've gone over this so many times that it's possible I've missed errors. Doing all of this without a beta or someone to bounce ideas with has been stressful. Bear with me! :)

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed a peek into Damon's mind. I know I did. Until next Wednesday...