A few days had passed. Things between Caroline and Elena had settled back into their normal pattern. Elena could relax; there was no mention of Damon or any sightings of him in town. Elena didn't have to stress about what would happen if she ran into him at work or the gym.

On the flip side, things between Matt and Elena haven't changed. He was very distant and had no patience for anything. No matter what Elena did it wasn't good enough or she did it wrong. He was constantly yelling at her or slamming the door on his way out. The last few days were everything other than how a relationship should be. Ever since their fight before that game when Elena told him how she really felt, he'd been acting odd.

It really did hurt her deeply to see Matt acting like this. There wasn't an explanation or a reason for it but he had been slowly working his way up to this point now for some time, the game was just the last straw. Matt wasn't just Elena's boyfriend, they were supposed to get married so that alone made Elena scared and clouded her judgment on just about everything that was happening. She thought her feelings for Matt have been declining now for some time, but the incident with Damon confirmed this for sure. Once before, she'd never even look at another guy. For the last few months that was the only way she could picture herself, with someone else. She found herself thinking of the what if's and the who could I end up with type of things. She even left the house without her ring more times than not.

She knew Caroline was right, she just hated to admit it. If this incident did anything for Elena, it made her realize that she wasn't happy with the way her life was right now and only she could do something to change it. She was done settling for any old thing. She wanted more out of her life, she only got one. Her mother's passing made that extremely clear and she took it seriously.

She was in the moment and ready to talk so Elena picked up the phone and dialed Matt's number. She held her breath, waiting for Matt to pick up. Once he did she'd tell him everything. She was ready and she had to do it now. After 4 rings the call went straight to voicemail. Elena hung up the phone and decided that now might not be the best time to talk about it.

Both Caroline and Elena had the day off today so they had decided that they'd have a girls day and go to the beach. It was about an hour and a half outside of town and it was a beautiful day for a road trip.

"Hurry up, Elena!" Caroline called up the steps to Elena who was taking longer than usual to get ready.

Elena was looking at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. Something looked different, she felt different but she couldn't figure out what it was. "I'm coming!"

There was an unusual glow to her skin. Her eyes had more life and color to them than they ever had and something about her body reflected the radiating change within her.

Elena finished admiring her new seeming self and made her way down the stairs to find Caroline sitting on the couch looking puzzled at a white square of paper held in her hands.

"So I went to throw away my flowers because they finally started to die but when I picked them up I saw this peeking out of the side." Caroline handed the white piece of paper to Elena.

In Elena's hand was a set of tickets to the Werewolves last home game of the season. Elena stared at the tickets in disbelief. Elena's eyes caught the price located in the upper right hand corner, $619.00

"Say something Elena!" Caroline looked at her, excited. "The flowers were from Damon. I knew it! I knew it!" Caroline threw her hands up and smiled. "I like this guy's way of thinking."

When she finally spoke, the only thing that came out of Elena's mouth was "Jack…" Elena looked up at Caroline. "Jack knocked the flowers off the table the other day and I picked them up. Where were these? How did I not see them?" Elena glanced back down at the tickets in her hand. "Damn flowers." Elena laughed and so did Caroline.

"…and who in their right mind pays $619.00 for a ticket to a baseball game?"

"People who are out of their freaking minds and have more money than God or Damon who probably asked for them and with the snap of a finger had them in his possession. However that's not all that was in there. When I took the flowers out of the basket there was this too." Caroline handed Elena a white envelope. "I didn't open it."

All that it said on the front was Miss Elena Gilbert in perfect penmanship.

Elena didn't say much to Caroline about the flowers. She couldn't admit that she was flattered by the flowers and that she was excited that she had the two best tickets in the entire ballpark sitting on her lap. She did all she could to avoid Damon the other night but this made he realize that no matter what she did, he'd still try to find a way to get to her. Even at work she knew deep down that she didn't want to avoid him but she was scared and her nerves got the best of her. She could never think logically and rationally when she'd been on the spot even in the past.

"Well aren't you going to open it?" Caroline looked at Elena, watching in anticipation as Elena held the envelope in one hand and kept smacking it off the palm of her other hand.

"Not yet. Tonight I will. I want today to be as it was supposed to be; two friends enjoying a fun day together at the beach. Come on lets go before we have even more surprises."

"Okay, I'll drive." Caroline grabbed her car keys and Elena grabbed their beach bag.

The car ride to the beach was long. Traffic was heavy and it was a beautiful day out. A lot of people were probably going to the city too since you had to pass the exit on the way.

"We should go to Mystic City one of these days. I need to do some serious shopping. Especially since things with Alex seem to be going well. More dates equals more outfits."

Elena started laughing and Caroline knew why.

"I know what you're thinking Elena. Don't say it." Caroline was laughing too.

"Marathon shopper" Elena whispered in Caroline's direction and Caroline playfully punched her in the arm. She hated when Elena called her that. Elena called Caroline the marathon shopper because she could go into each and every store on a street and come out with something in about 2 hours tops.

"You want to go too and you know it." She did. Elena loved to shop just as much as Caroline, but she wouldn't make any special trips to the city just to do it.

Caroline turned the knob for the volume up loud. The two girls sang and jammed out for the remainder of their ride to the beach.

The sun was hot and the ocean was the perfect shade of blue. The sound of the waves crashing among the shoreline was like music to Elena's ears. The ocean breeze was the perfect feeling on her bare back as she tanned in the sun. Caroline was in the water cooling off. Both girls had recently finished playing beach volleyball with the group of people next to them on the beach.

As Caroline was walking to take her position next to Elena on their beach mat, she heard someone call her name. Alex came running over to where she and Elena were sitting and sat down. He sat with Caroline and Elena and the three talked for about an hour.

"I'm hungry. I am going to go get some food. Would either of you like anything?" Elena stood up out of her chair and brushed some of the sand off of her legs.

"I'll come with you, I am starving." Caroline got up and extended her hand out for Alex. He placed his hand in hers and he too went with the girls for some lunch.

By the time lunch had been finished, it had gotten hotter out and the tide rose about 3 feet. Alex had gone back with his buddies and let Caroline and Elena get back to their girls day.

"I like him Caroline. He seems good for you."

Caroline smiled. It was easy to please her and complimenting her current boyfriend always seemed to reassure her. "Thanks. I really have a good feeling about him. He's not like the others."

Elena sat back on her beach chair and soaked up more of the sun's rays. Drifting off, listening to the sound of the waves Elena managed to fall asleep. Even in her dreams there was only one thing on her mind.

Soon enough Caroline and Elena were packing up their car to go home. Their day at the beach was over and it was time to go home and deal with all of their problems.

"Caroline?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you think of me if I told you that I kind of want to go to the game? I don't feel bad about wanting to go."

"I think you're stupid if you don't. I wasn't going to say anything because at this point you really need to make up your mind about what you are going to do. I don't know why you feel bad about wanting to do something." For the first time since everything happened, Caroline was calm and actually thinking about what she was saying rather than getting excited and yelling. "Have you read the letter he left for you yet?"

"No I haven't. I told you when I get home later. So you don't think it's wrong for me to want to go?"

"I think its natural. You're attracted to him Elena and there is nothing wrong with that. 99.9% of woman in the world are attracted to him he's rich and he's absolutely beautiful. What's not to like?" Caroline laughed, "besides, you really do have a reason to be attracted to him on a different level if you know what I am saying. You're an adult you need to make your own decisions and stop letting your feelings get in the way."

"Well what about Matt. I still have that hurdle to jump over."

"When the timing is right you have to tell him. You know that already though. You can't hide it forever. "

"Who are you? You certainly aren't the Caroline that I am used to. Who did this to you?" Elena laughed and lifted Caroline's hair as if she was looking for the device making Caroline so collected and calm. She was unsure of where this sense of maturity was coming from.

"I had a lot of time to think today. I am sorry for the way I behave most of the time and I want to work on changing it. I am very impulsive and say things I don't mean. I am trying to look at everything from a different point of view and be a better friend and person. I over-react a lot." Caroline looked at Elena and smiled. "Look I am happy that this happened to you. You know I don't like Matt but it's not because of him that I don't like him as a person. You know how close me and him used to be growing up. It's the way he manipulates you and changes who you are. Maybe it would be a good thing to see where this … whatever you want to call it… with Damon will go. Behind all that anxiety and nervous energy you display from time to time, I can tell you're happier. The old Elena is peeking out behind that mask you're trying to hide behind."

Elena smiled, and didn't say anything the rest of the ride home. She thought about what Caroline had said and she was right. She was going to tell Matt much sooner than later and go from there. There must have been a reason why she felt this morning was a good time to tell him. It was time she took control of the things in her life that bothered her. If she didn't change them, who would?

Traffic wasn't half as bad this afternoon and the girls made it home in what seemed to be record timing.

It was a beautiful day and Elena felt it was much needed between her and Caroline. They needed some down time to bond and just talk about what has been going on in their lives.

After dinner Elena decided it was time to read her letter from Damon. Caroline was outside in the yard doing god knows what so Elena took it as an opportunity to use the privacy she was given. She took the letter off the coffee table in the living room and went upstairs. She shut the door behind her and plopped herself on her bed. Her hands trembled as she opened the envelope that held the letter she desperately wanted to read all day.

"This is it.." Elena unfolded the paper and glanced over the perfect handwriting. It looked fake it was so perfect and neat, just like his appearance.

Elena,

Please, just hear me out. I know what happened between us wasn't exactly something that a girl like you would think of as normal, but it may have been one of the most meaningful nights in my life. I can't get you off of my mind and I don't think I want to. I want to see you again, but at your own will. Please, take these tickets and come to the game. Even if I have to see you from a distance, it would be better than not getting the chance to see you at all. You left a lasting impression on me, a strong impact. So many things were put into perspective for me after just one night. Give me a chance to explain, let me show you the kind of person I am capable of being.

I'll be waiting for you.
Damon

Elena wiped the tear from her eye as she read the note and noticed at the bottom there was card stapled to the paper. She pulled it off and read it. It belonged to Damon's agent. On the front were Damon's agent's name and his contact info along. She flipped it over and On the back there was some scribbled writing and a cell phone number. Take this, along with the tickets. If you want to talk to me, you can call the number on the back of this card, I'll pick up. If I don't hear for you by Saturday, I'll have to respect your wishes.

No matter what she thought in a certain situation, her body always reacted differently. Just like the night Damon was in the grill. She really didn't know why she tried to desperately to avoid him that night. At the time it was just the only solution she could come up with.

Elena realized she was fighting a losing battle. No matter what she told herself, she knew her feelings won and would continue to win over and over again. She couldn't fight it anymore. Deep down, Elena wanted to see him again. Just hearing his name gave Elena her butterflies in her stomach. More importantly, he made her feel happy in a way no other man ever had, not even Matt. He talked to her so deeply, and shared so much in such a small amount of time. There were still things about Matt that Elena didn't know and they grew up together. Elena wasn't sitting in front of some hot shot baseball player that night; she was sitting with a regular, ordinary person who had problems and emotions just like anyone else. She just happened to be the person in the right place at the right time. As long as she was with Matt she was going to have to keep up with pretending that she didn't want more out of life, and that wasn't the case anymore.

Elena flung open her bedroom door and flew down the steps as if her feet never made contact with the hard wood. It's as if she was floating in another world looking down at what she was familiar with from this one. She felt as light as air and on top of the world. The emotions she felt were sending her head and heart into a tailspin and she didn't know how to handle it. She frantically searched around the house for Caroline until she found her in the back yard, watering flowers.

She was happy. She reached the point that she didn't care anymore and she knew there was a reason that Damon kept creeping back into her life.

"Caroline! Don't make plans for Saturday!" Elena shouted across the yard.

"Why?" Caroline never looked at her, she just continued to water the plants.

"We have a baseball game to go to!" Elena's smile stretched from ear to ear, and Caroline's did too as she turned around to face Elena. She dropped the hose and ran over to Elena, hugging her tightly.

"I made up my mind Caroline. Now come with me to get the phone, I'm calling Matt."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! I am sorry this update took longer than expected. My internet was out last night so I couldn't post anything. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and how the story is going so far. There's going to be a lot more Damon/Elena interactions in the upcoming chapters so just hold tight! Chapter 7 is already more than halfway done.

As I said before, please follow my new twitter account for updates on my stories mmv_fanfiction !

I also fixed the link on the previous chapter for the pictures from the convention.

Happy reading, please review!