A/N: Thanks for the amazing reviews! Some of you really made me smile! ;) And as always, a big thank you to Bibi and Jamie for beta reading the chapter! I love you, girls!

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own The Vampire Diaries.


Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 6

Match Maker

Day 14: Part one

It was still early in the morning when Elena got up; she could've stayed in bed for much longer, but her nerves were keeping her wide awake. Today was the 'Annual Blind Date' evening and she was going insane. Already, she regretted her decision to accept Caroline's offer and participate. Why again was she doing this to herself? She would get a heart attack if her heartbeat didn't calm down soon. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this anxious.

She had spent the past days working on a few articles for the local tabloid (Caroline had asked her if she wanted to participate). It had gone really well and she started to question why she was still staying here without a real job. Ms. Lockwood had informed her that she could get a job at the Mystic Falls Gazette without a problem. Why didn't she take this huge opportunity and see what would happen? Probably because she was afraid, afraid of what the future would hold if she stayed in town.

What would happen to Bonnie? They had been friends for years, never apart for more than a week. What would she do if she knew that Elena would stay in Mystic Falls? She didn't want to disappoint her friend; she loved the woman too much to do so.

Her phone started buzzing and she quickly opened the text message she received from her notary. Apparently, he had found a few things about the Salvatore brothers and his secretary sent her an email. While reading the message, she felt herself grow nervous. What did the man find out? Only one way to know for sure, she thought, taking her laptop from the desk on the left side of the room. Shortly after her arrival she'd bought a desk to put in her bedroom so she could do her work upstairs instead of in the study. It was much quieter here and the peace helped her to work faster.

She let out a sigh while waiting for the computer to start up; she had a habit of getting impatient while waiting for her start screen to appear. After a full two minutes, she could finally open her internet explorer and search for her emails. The mail account opened and she saw she received three emails, one from her ex-boss Marc, one from Bonnie and finally… the one from her notary James.

Taking a deep breath she opened the email, anxiously waiting to read her notary's notes.

Dear Ms. Gilbert,

Here are the findings Mr. Howard made while he completed your task.

First off, about the mansion in Mystic Falls, there were a few envelops with money at Mr. Jonathan Gilbert's residence. These included the exact amount of money the brothers claimed to pay Mr. Gilbert every month. The brothers may have been telling the truth. However, there were no legal documents that confirm these assumptions.

Secondly, Mr. Gilbert was indeed living across the country. He met a divorced woman a few years ago and decided to move in with her when they started a relationship, though they never got married. According to the close friends of Mr. Gilbert, he was quite fond of her. However, they never made their relationship official. She stayed with him until he passed away, but no one has heard from her since. She could've left the country ,but there's no real evidence.

The money that was found inside the envelops will be sent to your new address along with the other belongings Mr. Gilbert left in the house he shared with Isobel Flemings.

Regards,

Denise Jordan, secretary of notary James Howard.

A smile appeared on her face when she finished reading the email. Her premonition had been confirmed, the Salvatore brothers did tell her the truth about sending envelops to her uncle. Although, she was quite surprised when she read the man did have a relationship with someone before he passed away. Since he wasn't married and didn't have any children, she thought he would have been single. Apparently she had been wrong, though she wondered where the hell this woman was.

Putting her laptop back on the desk, she started pacing through the room while trying to decide what she would do next. She still had an entire day to get through before she would have to leave for her 'blind' date. Truth been told, she didn't think she would feel this nervous for a date. When Bonnie set her up on dates, she usually didn't know who she was going on a date with either. Although that was different, she trusted her friend to make the right decision. What she didn't trust was Caroline's innocent hand that would grab two names out of the jars.

She walked back to her desk and opened the remaining emails. The first one came from Bonnie. Apparently, she had made progress on her research in the hospital and got a raise. Also her relationship with Luca was getting serious and they were talking about moving in together. Bonnie wanted to know if Elena had a problem with the fact that Luca would share the apartment with them.

The question made Elena realize that she still had to tell her friend about staying in Mystic Falls. She couldn't keep lying to Bonnie about her plans for the future. The woman had the right to know that her best friend wasn't coming back home. Although Elena felt quite bad about it, she knew it was for the best. She couldn't go back to her old life anymore because it would only make her sad.

She was slowly rebuilding her life after realizing she hadn't moved on from the death of her mother. Instead, she had tried to forget about the past while, in turn, she became a ghost of her former life. Here in Mystic Falls was she finally finding herself again and starting to have new dreams.

She'd always wanted to become a writer so she started writing her own novel. She had never wanted to live in an apartment in a crowded city; she liked the peace of a village much more. Another dream came true. Conclusion, she couldn't go back to her old, silly life.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the next email. Her boss, Marc, wanted to know if she was planning on coming back since he found a young, talented girl that was searching for a job. She would be the perfect candidate to replace Elena, but Marc didn't want to give the girl the job if Elena was still planning on working for the paper.

The brunette quickly sent a mail back telling her previous boss that she wasn't planning on coming back any time soon. The young girl deserved to get an honest chance at making a career, the opportunity to start something beautiful. Elena wouldn't make it hard for her.

After writing ten emails to Bonnie and deleting all of them, she decided that she would call her friend at night. She couldn't seem to find the right words to explain what was going on in her head.


Three coffees later, she still felt as anxious as before, if not worse. She didn't know why, but she just had a feeling that something would go wrong on her date. She couldn't seem to get the thought out of her head and it was slowly driving her crazy. The last time she felt this way was eight years ago when her mom passed away.

When her cup was empty once again, she stood up and walked towards the coffee machine to make another one. She let out a curse when she realized that the box with coffee pads was empty. Damn, she forgot to buy the pads when she went grocery shopping! She should make a list of all the things she needed the next time. Back in San Francisco, Bonnie was always the one that went shopping since she truly enjoyed it while Elena hated grocery shopping.

"Couldn't sleep?" she heard someone ask from behind her. When she turned around, she stood face to face with a smirking Damon. He was clearly in a good mood and probably couldn't wait to start firing his snarky comments at her.

"Not really," she admitted softly, cursing herself for making so much noise. He probably heard her when she got up at five in the morning. After she'd checked her emails, she'd taken a long and relaxing bath (though the relaxed feeling didn't last very long). When she was done getting ready, she decided that she could use a coffee even though the caffeine only made her feel worse

"If you're lucky, Stefan usually hides his coffee pads so he never runs out of coffee. You should check the cabin on your left," he told her, pointing at it. Nodding her head, she opened the cabinet and searched for the pads. He seemed to know his brother very well because, in a matter of seconds, she found what she was looking for.

She turned around again and smiled, thanking him softly before starting the machine. While Damon sat down at the kitchen table, she made two coffees and handed him a cup once she was done. He smiled back at her before taking a sip of the hot liquid.

They drank their coffee in silence, both clearly much more at ease around each other than only a few days ago. Elena had tried to get to know him a little better, though she found out that Damon was very tight-lipped when she asked him personal questions. He usually avoided the question or didn't even bother to answer it at all. She guessed that he wasn't really used to opening up to people, because no one seemed to know the real Damon Salvatore. She, for one, was very curious as for who he really was

"My notary has sent me an email, you were indeed right about the envelops," she told him after a while, trying to have a normal conversation. She expected him to answer something like 'Told you so', but he was awfully quiet.

"That's good," was his answer instead. He didn't even look up at her, he just kept staring outside through the window. She realized something was up, but she didn't know what to do. If she asked him, he probably wouldn't answer.

When she wanted to get up he said, "I found a place across town. The rent isn't too expensive and the house looks pretty good." Her eyes widened in surprise when she listened to him. He actually searched another place? She hadn't really expected him to do anything about it and, when she didn't bring it up anymore, she'd thought that he would realize that she didn't want them gone anymore.

After her conversation with Caroline, she had been waiting to find the perfect moment to tell them that they could stay, but she didn't know how to bring it up. Caroline still hadn't asked Stefan to move in together so she hadn't said anything either.

Damon looked at her confused. Why wasn't she answering? He'd thought that she would be thrilled when she found out he would finally be gone. At first he'd been against the idea of searching another place, but after talking to Stefan frequently about it, he'd realized that he couldn't push Elena into letting them stay. He just had to suck it up. In normal circumstances he would've never given in, but when it came to Elena he seemed to have a weak spot. "Shouldn't you be jumping up and down?" he questioned sarcastically. He didn't get her reaction, why did she look so… disappointed?

"I was actually thinking of letting you stay," she answered him honesty, taking a deep breath. She was kind of nervous to see his reaction to her proposal.

The confused look on Damon's face turned into one of pure surprise. She was letting them stay? What the hell? He'd been trying to convince her for two weeks but she wouldn't budge. Now, all of a sudden, she changed her mind?

"I've been thinking about it for a while now, but I didn't know how to tell you," she went on when she saw the surprise on his face. The moment she'd spoken the words she had known that it was the right decision. She suddenly felt like there was a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and she could finally breathe normally again. It definitely felt good to do something nice for someone else.

"Are…are you sure?" Damon answered, slightly stuttering. He couldn't believe it. What changed? When did she realize that they could indeed live together in peace? Damn, why did he have to be such an ass to her when she first arrived here? Clearly, she was a good person and maybe if he had at least tried to be friendly in the beginning they wouldn't have had to go through all of this.

"Yeah, I'm sure. At first, I thought that it would be impossible to live together with strangers. However, I got to know you both and I think I'd actually like it if you stayed. The house is too big for me to live here all alone," she told him softly. She meant it; she would feel very alone if they were gone. The more the merrier… the saying was certainly true.

Damon just nodded, still trying to progress what she had told him. He didn't have to go? He didn't need to search for another house? That was fucking brilliant! It was the best news he'd gotten in the past few years!

"I've got to go now. I promised Caroline I'd be at her place early in the morning so we can go shopping to find me an outfit for tonight," she explained while getting up, putting her cup in the dishwasher.

"You're going to participate at the Annual Blind Date Night too?" he asked her curiously, following her example and putting his cup in the dishwasher.

Too? She thought confused. Did that mean he'd be there to participate just like her? Oh god, that's probably where the bad feeling came from! "Yeah, you're one of the Blind dates?" she questioned, anxiously waiting for his answer. When he nodded in approval, she could feel a wave of excitement going through her and, though she would never admit out loud, she would actually like to go on a date with him. It would be a very interesting evening, that's for sure.


At exactly five o'clock, Elena walked into the Grill where the date night would take place. After going out of town to shop with Caroline, the time had flown. She hadn't even realized it was already getting late until the blonde dropped her off at the boarding house.

She was wearing a velvet blue dress tonight, paired with a set of matching high heels and a silver bracelet. Her reflection in the mirror had surprised her, she couldn't even remember the last time she wore such a beautiful dress, it was even prettier than the one she wore at the Mystic Falls Ball. It fit her perfectly and she had to get used to this new side of her. Back in the city, she never wore dressy clothes. Caroline had certainly helped her to rebuild her confidence and have a little make-over.

As she stepped into the dark room, a waiter immediately brought her a glass of champagne and told her to go backstage where the other 'Blind Date' girls were waiting. The grill was covered in darkness with only a few candles burning and soft music playing in the background. It looked kind of cozy, though it was definitely mysterious too. Her friend had done a great job with decorating the place.

Behind the stage was a hallway that lead towards the bathroom. She didn't know how Caroline did it, but everything looked so beautiful. If you didn't look around thoroughly, you wouldn't even recognize the Grill anymore. Even the corridor was decorated with long curtains that were draped across every wall so it looked like you were walking through a sea of red.

When she finally reached her destination, there were a few girls waiting for her, all smiling at the time she walked in. "Hi, you must be the new girl," a red head said, shaking her hand. "I'm Rachelle, a friend of Rebecca," the girl went on, introducing herself.

"Hi, I'm Elena," she answered politely, smiling at the girl in front of her. Apparently, Caroline had told the girls that she was the new girl in town cause all of them wanted to get to know her. At first it had been a little awkward, but she soon realized that they were all very sweet girls and she started to feel more at ease. She didn't even know how long they had been talking when Caroline finally walked in to tell them that they would be going up in less than ten minutes.

After that, the blonde left the room again, but not before telling Elena that everything would be fine. Elena smiled at her softly, glad to know that her friend understood how nervous she was. So many things could go wrong tonight, it was taking all her strength and control not to start running the hell out of there.


Every single year he let Barbie convince him to participate in this foolishness, though he never actually met an interesting girl that was worth his time. Not that he wanted to sound arrogant or anything, but most girls in Mystic Falls weren't that special. He could still clearly remember his date last year. Her name had been… Sarah, Sandy or… right, it had been Sharon. At first she had seemed to be a nice girl, not bad looking at all, though as soon as she started chattering about the newest handbag by Louis Vuitton, he'd known that she wasn't the girl he was searching for.

Most woman were only interested in money and once they got to know that he didn't have a huge bank account, they stopped texting him or returning his calls. He hadn't even tried to date anymore after Katherine dumped him for that idiot. He wasn't the guy that women were searching for. He would never be enough.

Just like his father had always told him, he wasn't good for anything and he certainly didn't deserve love. He never understood why his father acted the way he did and after a while, he'd started to believe that he actually wasn't worthy of love. Besides Stefan, there was no one that actually liked him for who he was because, honestly, they didn't know him at all. No one ever took the time to get to know him better; they just assumed he was someone he was not.

Girls only saw him as a nice distraction or someone to make their guy jealous. And his friends? He didn't really have friends besides his buddy Ric. He had been an ass to the man in the beginning, but Alaric never took his shit. He told him the truth and defended himself. Soon, Damon started to respect the guy and, after a while, they even became friends. He found out that Alaric was also new in town and that he'd found a job as a teacher at the local high school. That was about nine years ago and they still hang out from time to time, but not as much as they used to. They were both very busy. Ric was taking cooking classes to impress his wife and Damon was busy with the Grill.

His boss had given him the opportunity to improve the menus and make new dishes so that the tavern would look like a real restaurant instead of a local bar. Also, they were redecorating the place; it would all be finished by the end of the month. Luckily, Caroline had offered to help them out since she knew the right people to get the job done. He felt really excited about it, maybe now he would finally be able to show the world how great of a cook he was. At the moment, lots of people passed the tavern because they thought it was a bar and not some place where they could eat in peace.

He was brought back to earth when Caroline's chirping voice told the crowd that the "Blind Date Night" would get started. As always, the place was loaded because everyone was curious about the new couples for tonight. The blonde always knew how to make things interesting. She sure as hell set all the dates up even if she told everyone that it was faith. She was an eternal matchmaker. He was surprised she didn't marry Cupidon.

When the girls that would participate the 'Blind Date Night' appeared on the catwalk, he gulped. Elena was wearing a beautiful, ocean blue dress that enveloped her body like a second skin. She looked absolutely marvelous. He had to take deep relaxing breaths to control the urge to run towards her and take her far away from the party. Damn, he shouldn't think that way about her. Only a few days ago, he despised her. Now, he was already growing strong feelings for her, cause honesty, he couldn't bring himself to say that it was just lust. He knew what lust felt like and this thing, whatever it was between them, was much more than primal lust.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I please introduce to you our fabulous single women for tonight," Caroline yelled, cheering at the crowd. "Maya, Lisa, Rebecca, Rachelle, Sharon and the new girl in town, Elena!" Everyone started to whistle and cheer, totally going crazy with their hostess. As usual, his future sister-in-law was doing a remarkable job; she was really good at things like this. He wondered why his brother still hadn't asked her to marry him, or at least to move in together. They had been dating since forever, though neither of them seemed to want to take the first step.

Ten minutes later, Caroline had introduced everyone and was ready to reveal the first couple that would be going on a date tonight. After the names were announced, the couples would get an envelope with the location of their date inside. The lucky ones would get a limo to drive them to the Lockwood cabin across town, a place that had more luxury than anyone could afford. The ones that were less lucky would end up having a picnic in the park underneath the stars, though it still was a quite romantic setting.

The organization, the founding family members, always handed over a few dollars so that Caroline was able to set up wonderful dates. It was very kind of them, though Damon didn't exactly get why this entire thing was so important. If people wanted to date, they just had to sign up for a dating site.

"And the first lucky male will be…" the blonde hostess announced, smirking. "Damon Salvatore!" she yelled when the spot light stopped right above his head. He looked up in surprise while Caroline waved at him to come closer. It was the first time his name was chosen first, which he didn't expect at all. Usually, they would pick one of the new guys first.

"Let's see who will be lucky enough to go on a date with Mr. Salvatore," she winked, looking around at the women who were eagerly waiting to find out if they could go on a date with him. Every girl in town would kill for a date with Damon. He was the hottest, single guy in town, though Caroline would never say that out loud. His ego was big enough as it was.

After a long silence, Caroline finally revealed the name which made the crowd go wild all over again. "Elena Gilbert!"

Damon thought he was having a heart attack. Did he just hear her name? No, that couldn't be true. Caroline wouldn't set up a date between the two of them, would she? Apparently she had, cause in less than a minute he was standing on the stage with a totally shaken-up Elena beside him. The people in front of him were applauding while some of the men whistled at Elena, making her blush a little.

She looked so beautiful standing next to him, her cheeks slightly crimson. He would love to go on a date with her but, he wanted her to go with him because it was her own choice, not because someone was pushing her.

"Seems that you're one hell of a lucky girl tonight Elena because you're going to the Lockwood cabin," Caroline said, showing the envelop to the crowd.

Elena had to blink a few times to get used to the bright light that was shining in front of her eyes; she still couldn't believe Caroline actually set up a date between Damon and her. Honestly, she couldn't believe for even a minute that this was just pure coincidence. She should've known that the woman was planning something like this. It was so typical! Well, at least she couldn't say she was that disappointed with who turned out to be her date…

To be continued…


The date will be for the next chapter. I had to split it up, because the chapter was already getting too long. The next part will be up by next week.

So, how did you all like part one?

I'm sure you all guessed that DE would be going on a date together, I just couldn't write anything else :D

See you all next chapter!

Follow me on Twitter: Rosesforever94.

xoxo