Before she knew it, a month had flown by. A month of first dates and first kisses. A month of smiles and laughs and tickling. A month of thinking of and missing Damon. She ignored it as best as she could during the day, but at night, all alone in her room, he haunted her thoughts. She was currently in her room, packing a duffle bag for the weekend. They were all going to the Lake House. She zipped her bag, looking out the window. Her phone buzzed and she rushed towards it, her heart beating quickly as she read the name. Damon. She opened it, holding it to her ear. "Hi." She whispered.

"I hear you're going away with Tyler for the weekend." She rolled her eyes as she heard the jealousy in his voice. "Please, don't start. I didn't ask you to call me so we could fight about Tyler." He was quiet for a moment. "Then why did you want me to call?" She sat on her bed, swallowing. "I wanted to ask you to come with us." Her eyes closed and she bit her lip. "Why would you want me to come? No one else is gonna want me there. They hate me, Amber." She sighed, nodding. "I know they do. But this weekend isn't about them. It's about me. I know you care for me, Damon. You're my friend and I need all of my friends there with me."

He was quiet for so long, she thought he would say no. "Alright. I'll meet you all there." He stated before hanging up. She smiled and put her phone in her pocket. Her smile faded however, when her door opened. Elena popped her head in, looking at her. "Are you ready?" Amber sighed, putting her hand on her bag. "As ready as I'll ever be." She lifted the bag and made her way out of her room, only to blink as Stefan took it from her. "I'll get this." He started down the stairs. "Be careful please." He looked back at her and nodded. "I'll treat them as precious."

She smiled gratefully to him as Elena put her arm around her shoulder, hugging her softly. "Let's do this." Amber sighed as they walked out of the house. Everyone was coming. Stefan and Elena, Jeremy and Bonnie, Matt and Caroline, Alaric and Jenna, Tyler and Damon too. She was so lucky to have this many people to care about her. They loaded up into all the cars and began their way. Tyler might have been holding her hand, but her thoughts were only about Damon.

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Damon had been spending the past month drinking. Every day. He didn't care anymore. Sure they texted and Amber said she wanted to be friends, but he knew he couldn't do that. So when he got a text from her to call him, he was surprised. He was even more surprised that she wanted him there. In a flash, he was upstairs, packing a bag. He paused and smirked, feeling his brother behind him. He continued packing, ignoring him for the moment.

Stefan was leaning against the doorjam, watching his brother pack. "Going somewhere?" He asked, frowning. Damon took this moment to smile smugly and turned to him. "Yep. I'm going to the Lake House with you guys." Stefan blinked, watching as he went back to packing. He then smiled, shaking his head. "Very funny joke Damon." Damn shrugged. "NO joke, brother. I got a personal invite by Amber herself." Stefan sighed, shaking his head once more. "I don't care who invited you. You're not going." Damon stopped and looked at him. "How exactly are you gonna stop me?"

"I'm hoping I can get you to see the common sense. I can't trust you around her. Or even Tyler for that matter. I can't have you trying to kill him." Damon blinked, his eyes going wide. "You know, I didn't think of that. Thanks for the idea, Stefan." He chuckled, turning back to packing. Stefan put a hand on his shoulder. "Damon, please..." He was cut off when Damon threw him across the room, his eyes wild. "Don't upset me, Stefan. She asked me to go as her friend, and I'm going. End. Of. Discussion." And with that, he zipped his bag and headed downstairs with it over his shoulder.

Stefan picked himself up off the floor and sighed, speeding out of the house to tell Elena the news. She wouldn't be happy about this.

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Amber put her bag on the bed she'd chosen, feeling someone coming up behind her. She turned to see Tyler, smiling at her and leaning against the doorway. "You know, we could have shared a room." Amber frowned and gave him a look. "No way." He came into the room, looking at her. "Why not?" She sighed. "Because we've only been dating a month. I'm not ready for room sharing." She admitted, turning back to her bag. He sighed and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to be patient. It's just that I like you so much."

She blinked, looking at the window. "I know you do. And since you do, you need to respect my decisions." She whispered. He sighed again, rolling his eyes. "I know. I will try harder." He stepped away from her and walked out of the room. She lowered her head and sighed before she began unpacking.

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A few hours later had everyone in the living room, staring at the fire. They'd ordered pizza and everyone was stuff. They didn't say much. No one really knew what to say. Soon there came a knock at the door. Elena turned to Stefan and sighed, getting up to answer it. She, Stefan and Amber weren't surprised to see Damon there, but everyone else was. "Uh, what's he doing here?" Caroline asked, taking in the bag next to his leg. "No, he's not staying here, right?!" Bonnie gasped. Amber stood, looking at them. "I invited him here." Everyone looked at her in shock, except for Tyler. He looked at her in anger. He knew Damon wanted her. He wasn't stupid. "Why?" He asked, frowning at her.

She sighed, looking at them all. "I wanted my friends with me, and Damon is my friend." She put her hand up as their mouths opened. "I'm sorry if you don't like it, but this weekend is about me and I wanted him here." She turned to her cousin, who was standing by the open door and a smirking Damon. "Let him in."

Elena turned to glare at him as she stepped aside. "Come in, Damon." He smiled at her as he grabbed her bag, stepping over the threshold. "Thank you Elena." He turned his ice blue eyes to the group. "Hello everyone. Where am I sleeping?" He asked, as everyone looked at each other with a frown.