A/N: Thank you so much for all the gorgeous reviews! :]:]:]

Chapter 7

It was such a relief to finally escape to his room, away from everyone trying to tell him that there was something wrong with him. That, and Elena looking as if she was about to burst into tears, which made him feel very uncomfortable and a little annoyed, because he did feel sorry for her, but just what he was supposed to do about her tears?

First of all, he didn't feel there was anything wrong with him at all. His thoughts were a little hazy, he was willing to admit that, but it wasn't much worse than an average hangover and he certainly didn't need to be told all those irritating things about not feeling what he was supposed to be feeling. What kind of concept was that anyway? He wasn't supposed to feel anything. He either felt something or he didn't.

Having closed the door behind him and taking a few steps across the room, Damon picked up a skimpy nightgown from the bed.

And right now he felt... pretty much nothing. For some reason. At least not anything they were implying.

He folded Elena's nightdress and put it away. How disorderly this room had become. No wonder he felt such a strange, strong aversion at the idea of thinking about the past.

Of course if he was being perfectly honest with himself, there was something baffling about the fact that he couldn't quite place the reason for not caring about being with Elena anymore. Because he couldn't help remembering that there was a time when he'd wanted that very much. Only now he couldn't remember, or rather... couldn't understand why he'd wanted that? Nothing came to mind when he was trying to think about it.

Damon grimaced when he almost tripped over Elena's white shoes on the floor. And not even one pair. Four different pairs of white shoes! That's why he'd never been living with any woman under one roof. Until now, apparently. Why would she at once take out all of her white shoes? He felt like he knew... but he didn't really want to think about it. His head was beginning to hurt from the effort whenever he tried to dwell on anything related to Elena or his brother or his mother...

His mother. He frowned, walking into the bathroom. She'd done something to him. The memory flashed through his head and it kind of made sense in the context of what everyone was saying... But he really didn't want to think about it.

He needed a plan, Damon thought, absently shoving all the lipsticks, eye shadows and other superfluous items off the cabinet into one of the drawers. Firstly, Elena had to move out of his room, so he could have some peace. Secondly, he needed a drink somewhere far, far away from everyone here.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Damon browsed through the contacts in his phone: 1 Elena, Baby Bro In-Law, Barbie Mayor, Bon-Bon, Enzo, Donovan, Least Annoying Original, Liz (why hadn't he deleted this number yet?), Meredith the 49th, Stefan, Ric the Eraser, The Evil Guy. Unfortunately, no one from this list qualified for a stress-free date.

The phone buzzed in his hand and Damon squinted at the name that appeared on the screen.

But maybe someone to just take a drink with would do.

xxxdelenaxxx

"What do you mean you're at the airport?" Stefan asked, perplexed by Caroline's answer. "Why?"

"Why? What do you mean why?" Caroline asked, grumbling under her breath when kicking one of the back wheels of her carry-on didn't make it spin. "It's stuck."

Stefan's frown deepened in confusion. "What is stuck?"

"Nothing," Caroline replied with a grimace. "I just woke up this morning and realized that someone's got to talk to Klaus."

There was a pause. "Yes, that's why we called Elijah yesterday," Stefan said evenly.

"Yes, we did. And we had a riveting conversation with his voice mail," Caroline huffed, searching her purse for... her phone. She rolled her eyes at herself. "Don't you think that hardly counts?"

"We let him know what happened and I'm sure he'll come to pick up Hope as soon as he gets the message," Stefan said matter-of-factly, walking back into the living room where Bonnie was comforting Elena, repeating for the tenth time that everything was going to be OK.

"Or maybe his plane will crash and he'll never make it here!" Caroline said so loudly that a few people in line turned around to look at her.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate your concern, but I'd say there's a big chance his plane won't crash," Stefan said, wondering if he'd find the conversation amusing if he wasn't currently preoccupied with worrying about his brother. But no, after a moment of consideration he was rather certain he'd find Caroline chasing after Klaus irritating regardless of the circumstances. "Not to mention that you can't know if Klaus really went back to New Orleans."

Having her phone squeezed in between her cheek and her shoulder, Caroline lifted her luggage onto the roller conveyor. "I've got to start somewhere."

"No, Caroline, you don't have to do anything. Klaus is not your problem."

"And Damon is?" Caroline blurted out, busy taking her shoes off and only after saying the words regretting them immediately. "That's not what I-"

"No, it's fine. Is Bonnie your problem? Because she wants to talk to you," Stefan said, a hint of irritation all too clear in his voice.

He handed his phone to Bonnie.

Caroline froze with one shoe in her hand, the other one already on its way to be screened. She wasn't used to Stefan being openly upset and so she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"So what's your plan for saving Klaus? A true love's kiss?"

"Ugh, Elena! Get the phone away from that alien who looks like Bonnie!" Caroline yelled into her phone, before dropping it into a plastic tub and quickly walking through the security to pick up her phone on the other side.

Bonnie shrugged and handed the phone over to Elena.

"She's insufferable lately!" Caroline exclaimed after collecting her things and putting her shoes back on.

"I now have vampire hearing, just so you know," Bonnie said, leaning toward Elena who was holding the phone near her ear.

"She used to be so nice!" Caroline continued, ignoring Bonnie's interjection. "And I thought it was just becoming a vampire that's changed her, but you know what, I actually think it started earlier. It started after she came back from the dead. Being stuck with Damon in a prison world for three months has ruined her personality, I'm telling you."

"That's an extremely sensitive thing to say right now," Bonnie pointed out with a sigh, drawing her legs up onto the couch. "And I've never been 'so nice,'" she added with a grimace after a moment of consideration. "Where did that come from? Unless you're comparing me to you. Then yes, on a scale from Caroline to Elena, I'm probably somewhere closer to Elena."

"OK, I think we'll call you later-" Elena started, beginning to feel like the conversation was going nowhere, but then Caroline interrupted her.

Parking her carry-on next to a row of chairs, Caroline sat on the edge of one of them and propping her elbows on her knees she said in a suddenly serious, gentle but determined voice.

"Listen, Elena. I know it's hard for you to imagine it right now, but once upon a time, you didn't love him and he didn't love you, so all you have to do right now is just start from there once again."

Elena drew a breath. She wanted to believe that, but... "He said he saw a future with me the moment he saw me for the first time," she said shakily, but then jolted upright at the complete change in Caroline's tone that somehow, oddly enough, seemed to revitalize her.

"Give me a break, Elena," Caroline groaned. "They always say stuff like that! I have to go. But please, don't worry," she added in a calmer tone. "I'm sure that even if they cut out his heart and his brain, you could still make him fall for you. Talk to you later, bye!"

"That was probably intended to make you feel better," Bonnie said, smiling weakly at the nonplussed expression on Elena's face. But then her smile turned into a frown. "And where are you going?" She asked, her eyes darting away from Elena.

Elena looked up and Stefan turned around, meeting Damon's utterly unconcerned gaze that didn't seem to linger on anyone long enough to even notice their concern.

"Out," Damon said with a brief, artificial smile, heading for the door.

Elena jumped to her feet and rushed after him.

There had to be a way to undo this spell, she told herself, strengthening her resolve. There had to me, she thought, running outside. Maybe... maybe if she found a signature moment, like the one that Alaric had used to compel her memories away. If she found such a signature moment for Damon, the moment when he'd realized that he loved her... Maybe such a memory could trigger something? Maybe it could be a start?

It felt so bittersweet not to know what that moment was. She wondered why she'd never asked him. Perhaps it was because love always felt eternal, like it had no beginning and no end. It had taken her so much effort to remember, to admit to herself what that signature moment for her was, so maybe it was the same for Damon. Maybe he wouldn't have even been able to tell her had she asked him. Or maybe he knew exactly. But right now it was up to her to discover it, to remember for them both.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked with a grimace when Elena ran in front of his car, forcing him to stop abruptly, tires screeching against the road.

"If you're going somewhere..." Elena said with a faint smile, getting into the car and making herself comfortable in the passenger seat. "I want to go with you."

She reached out for his hand but he moved it before she could touch it.

"Why?"

"Because I love you. Because I spent the last five years away from you," Elena said quietly, her hand lingering in the air for another second before she let it fall onto her lap.

Damon frowned, trying to understand why her words bothered him so much. Was it because it was irritating that she was bringing up something that was of no interest to him? Or because... because...

"Whatever we have... had... I don't think it's working. I don't think we can be together anymore," he said, aiming for a matter-of-fact tone of voice, but somehow it seemed like she wasn't taking it seriously enough. "I don't... I don't love you," he said, not wishing to hurt her, but just hoping that being honest with her would solve this strange situation.

Oddly enough, however, even though he saw tears well up in her eyes, she seemed to quickly overcome them and blinking them back, to his further stupefaction, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

For a few heartbeats, the afternoon landscape morphed into a dark, dark forest. Her arms had been wrapped around him, just like they were right now, but he hadn't been hugging her back, just like he wasn't right now. And yet... and yet...

But then the unyielding pressure of not wanting to think about any of that pushed the memory away.

"We'll survive this. We always survive," Elena whispered into his ear.

Damon pulled away, trying to disentangle himself from her embrace. "I'm sorry, but I just don't feel anything for you," he said, confused by her undeterred attitude.

"But it's a spell, it's not real," Elena pleaded, cupping his face in her hands.

He brushed her hands off. "I know how I feel, Elena."

"No, you don't. Not right now."

He smiled sourly, fighting an urge to roll his eyes.

"It's a spell-" Elena trailed off, suddenly hit by a thought. "That doesn't work on humans!" Her eyes brightened up at the realization. "If you took the cure, maybe it'd go away!"

Damon blinked, the frown on his face deepening. "Why would I want to take the cure?" He asked, leaning away from her and for the first time entertaining the thought that maybe there was something seriously wrong with her.

Tears flashed in Elena's eyes, but she mustered a small, brave smile. "You wanted to take it today. You must remember that," she said softly.

The memory of all those white shoes scattered on the floor flickered through his head, but he couldn't draw any conclusions from the image without feeling his mind becoming all hazy, trains of thought snapping like overworked strings.

"I don't know, maybe," he said dismissively. "Doesn't matter. I don't want to take it anymore. Now could you kindly get out of my car?"

"It's our car," Elena said a little impatiently, drawing the second set of keys out of her pocket, her name engraved on the key.

She gave Damon a questioningly triumphant look that he ignored.

"Fine. But don't blame me if you won't be having fun on this trip," he muttered, starting the engine.

xxxdelenaxxx

He really hoped that Enzo would prove an entertaining company, or at least less whiny than some other people, but to his unpleasant surprise, after a few sentences he was all Team Elena on everything.

"It's been only an hour and I'm already fed up with hearing about nothing else but this 'spell'," Damon grunted, looking between Elena and Enzo. "So what if it's a spell? I feel amazing."

"I think I've heard that somewhere before," Elena mumbled, poking the slice of lemon in her water with a red straw.

"I'm actually willing to cut him some slack, since it's technically your fault," Enzo said, receiving a stern look from Elena. "The whole Damon-must-die-so-you-could-wake-up spiel should've given you a clue Lily was a lost cause."

Elena glanced at Damon, but none of what they'd been saying seemed to have much effect on him. He seemed distracted, his eyes wandering around the space around them.

"Klaus, on the other hand," Enzo snorted. "How dumb do you have to be to drink a tea served by murderous undead witches?"

"I'd say almost as dumb as you have to be to actually volunteer to be subjected to that spell," Elena retorted sourly.

Enzo raised his eyebrows, watching her pretty much destroy the poor lemon with her straw while she was watching Damon exchange winks with a blonde three tables away.

"Hey, want a piece of good advice?" Enzo asked, waving his hand at Elena, because her attention seemed impossible to be drawn to him otherwise. "Get out of Lily's sight for the time being. Take the oblivious guy and the hybrid kid and go. Your blood is the cure and Lily's friends may want to absorb whatever magic the child has."

"Running away is never-"

"It's not running away," Enzo interrupted her gruffly. "It's regrouping and strategizing."

Elena seemed to consider this for a second. "How do you fight it?" She asked after a pause, grabbing Damon's arm when he tried to stand up.

"What do you mean?" Enzo asked, glancing at Damon who tried to remove Elena's hand off his forearm, one finger at a time, but whenever he'd succeed in taking one finger off, the others would stick right back on.

"You're aware of everything. Damon... it seems like something is not right with his memory," Elena whispered through her teeth, grasping Damon's other hand.

"You'd know," Enzo quipped, but then raised his hands in an apologetic gesture when the expression on Elena's face made it clear she didn't find the allusion amusing in the slightest.

"Talking about me as if I weren't here seems a little rude, don't you think?" Damon said, wishing to at least finish his drink, but with his hands bizarrely trapped in between Elena's it wasn't even an option.

"This spell isn't like a cloak thrown over someone's feelings. It's like a virus trying to destroy them. Memories are a threat to it, so it may be distorting your memories or it may be making you feel like you don't want to remember."

"Or maybe I just really don't want to remember?" Damon argued, giving Elena a narrowed-eyed look and leaning down to take a sip from her glass, because only her drink had a straw.

He expected an annoyed look from her, but instead a smile flitted across her face and he suddenly realized he didn't mind her skin on his all that much.

Elena turned to Enzo who went on about that non-existent problem with the spell while Damon continued looking at Elena's profile, slowly taking in all the details of her face.

Maybe trying to break up with her was too hasty a decision? He smirked to himself. If she insisted on being his girlfriend, he could give her a chance.

xxxdelenaxxx

Not that she seemed particularly desperate to take it.

Damon glared in the direction of the bathroom, more than a little baffled when Elena had adamantly refused his idea to bathe together. Her inconsistency was infuriating.

She had spent an entire day stalking him, ruining his meeting with Enzo, ruining all of his potential dates by clinging onto his arm as if her life depended on it, wasting his time by dragging him onto some lake-side clearing in the middle of nowhere, babbling about the weather and trying to dance with him in the middle of an empty road. But then when they were finally indoors and he wanted to do something that, unlike everything she'd been doing all day, made sense, she was pushing him away.

His train of thought was interrupted by the realization that he didn't hear the water running, which meant Elena must've stepped out of the shower.

Soundlessly rising off the bed, Damon walked toward the bathroom and leaning against the entrance frame watched Elena wrap a towel around herself.

She spared him a fleeting glance, but didn't say anything, proceeding to drying her hair.

Her behavior was growing even more confusing and ridiculous by the minute. Damon tilted his head to the side, not sure if he even needed enhanced vampire senses to hear her uneven breathing and quickened heartbeat.

"Are you coming to bed?" He asked in a no-nonsense tone.

Elena's movements stilled for a second, but then she reached out for a brush, her tone casual. "Yes, I'm going to read and then I'm going to sleep."

She shuddered inwardly at the latter part, wondering if Damon cared to remember anything about her nightmares.

"You mean we're not going to do anything?" Damon sounded so openly petulant that it brightened Elena's mood a little. "I thought you said you wanted to be my girlfriend?"

"I am your girlfriend."

"Then act like one," Damon retorted and Elena abruptly turned toward him, her eyes sparkling with defiance.

Perhaps Caroline was right. They should start all the way from the beginning and chronologically it was perhaps time for a slap.

"Do you really think I'm going to sleep with you after you plain told me you didn't love me?"

The brush in Elena's hand looked almost like a weapon and yet Damon couldn't help finding it utterly adorable how she was trying to look threatening wrapped in a towel, with wet strands of hair adoring her face, her beautiful brown eyes ablaze.

"I was being honest," Damon said with a shrug, wondering if she was wearing any vervain right now. It didn't look like she was, so instead of engaging in a pointless conversation he could make her do anything. The memory of her lips on his skin sent a rush of heat through his body. "I could compel you to be more obliging."

Warning her was obviously counterproductive, but at least he was gratified by an indignant expression on her face. Then again, she looked as hot upset as when she was being all nice and sweet, he'd give her that.

Elena put the brush away and walked up to him. "So do it," she said, thrusting up her chin.

She was challenging him him, although it wasn't entirely clear to him if she was counting on him to back off or just the opposite.

"Nah." He smirked, lifting his hand to brush a drop of water off Elena's lips. He licked it off his thumb while holding her gaze. "It's more fun doing it the old-fashioned way."

Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt and then undressed completely in front of her before heading into the shower, making sure for his skin to brush against hers when he walked past her.

It took Elena a moment to collect her senses before she scurried out of the bathroom.

xxxdelenaxxx

"Why so many straps?" Jeremy thought out loud, confused, the installation of a car seat proving more difficult than the manual seemed to suggest.

"I'm sure they didn't add some extra ones just for the kicks," Sarah said, leaning over the side of the camaro to make sure the car's seat belt was threaded through the correct slots.

Jeremy shot her a grin that turned into a thoughtful expression when Bonnie's car pulled into the driveway.

Sarah gave him an encouraging look, having told him more than once that he should talk to Bonnie and get rid of that strange tension between them.

"Wrecking Damon's car?" Bonnie asked, getting out of the car after taking an extra second to brace herself for the encounter and sound as lighthearted as possible. "Good choice for a revenge."

"Actually, we're just installing a car seat for Hope," Sarah said conversationally, not avoiding the eye-contact with her and as difficult as it felt, Bonnie decided to try doing the same.

"Stefan said they need to leave at dawn. Any idea why?" Jeremy asked and unlike in case of Sarah, Bonnie found his attempts at sounding friendly and casual slightly aggravating.

"He said he wanted to talk to Lily tomorrow. Maybe he wants to do that after Damon, Elena and Hope leave," Bonnie offered, already heading toward the house.

"Bonnie, wait," Jeremy hurried after her. "Do we really need to be doing this whole awkward exes thing?" He asked with a weak smile when she turned around.

Bonnie looked at him, his sudden proximity somehow increasing her aggravation. "I don't know," she said with a shrug, telling herself that technically she was probably the one more responsible for that conversation never taking place, but her new vampire view on life made justice more of a subjective phenomenon. "I'll tell you when we break up," she said, turning on her heels and walking into the house.

xxxdelenaxxx

What a ridiculous situation, Elena thought, bustling around the room and nervously shaking her head at herself. What was she thinking? That she could out-seduce him? It wasn't as if he really didn't love her anyway. He only thought he didn't, so maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to just give in and start from there. That way she could keep an eye on him. They'd be together and he wouldn't be trying to run away from her.

Rummaging through a drawer, Elena pulled out a white nightdress and put it on. So much for the wedding, she thought sadly, sighing at the color.

But of course that was just her trying to find an excuse to give in. The spell was making him feel like he didn't love her and if he thought he didn't love her, what was stopping him from vanishing the next morning and finding himself a new girlfriend?

Maybe if she proved very skilled in bed he wouldn't. Elena grabbed a book from the nightstand and tucked herself into the bed, stifling a chuckle. She never quite knew what it meant, but she could perhaps conduct a research. It'd surely make one heck of a family anecdote one day.

Collecting all the pillows from the bed, Elena stacked them behind her back, leaning comfortable against them.

She opened the book and started to read, although at some point she caught herself reading the same sentence over and over again, just waiting for Damon to finish his shower.

When he did, she made sure to keep her eyes glued to the page, because she was sure he'd walk into the room wearing nothing at all and there was only so much self-control she possessed.

Sure enough, not only did Damon stroll into the room naked, but he also didn't bother finding himself anything to wear and simply slipped under the bed cover next to her.

"Do you really need all the four pillows?" He asked, squinting.

Elena muttered something in a non-committal confirmation, turning the page.

Lying on his side, Damon propped his head on his elbow and looked at Elena, waiting for her to look at him, but she seemed determined to keep reading. Even when he draped his leg over hers she didn't react, even though her mouth twitched and her breath hitched, so he could tell she noticed.

"What is the book about?" He asked, craning his neck to look at the cover.

"It's a memoir of an orthopedic surgeon," Elena replied tersely.

Damon groaned under his breath and reached out, catching a lock of her hair and twirling it around his finger. "You're thinking about going back to college?"

The question was simple enough, his voice still laced with that unbearable hint of indifference, but at the same time it was him, he was here, she was here, they were here together after a five-year-long separation and it wasn't possible not to find some comfort in it.

"Rather about starting anew," Elena said and after a moment of hesitation she closed her book and caught Damon off guard by giving him back two pillows and leaning on her side to face him. "I didn't even finish my first year."

Her movement left his hand suspended in the air, but after a few seconds he resumed twirling her hair and sifting through them with his fingers. There was something calming about doing it, although he couldn't pinpoint what exactly and why.

"But maybe you wouldn't need to retake some of the exams."

"But I want to retake all of them," Elena said quietly. "I want to be sure I know and remember everything."

Damon's mouth quirked into a small, lop-sided smile. "You're going to be the best doctor."

"If you say so, I'm going to believe it," Elena whispered with a soft smile and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss him, but she rolled over onto her other side away from him instead and turned off the lamp on the nightstand. "Good night, Damon."

He didn't move and remained propped up on his elbow, his gaze fixed on the back of Elena's head.

Her brown hair looked darker against the back of her white nightdress, but the strands illuminated by the moonlight streaming through an open window looked almost silver.

He vaguely recalled something about her nightmares... And even though he felt like forgetting about it as soon as the thought crossed his mind, his stubborn streak made him focus on a twinge of sadness that the memory evoked and so his hand glided through her hair and onto her waist until it settled over her hand.

He could feel her tremble under his touch and he didn't know how, but he thought he knew that it was only then that she closed her eyes.

"Good night, Elena."

xxxdelenaxxx

"Yesterday was full moon?" Hope looked so distraught by what Sarah had hoped would be a nice morning conversation starter that she couldn't be more grateful for Elena to appear downstairs so early.

"We have a floating mattress, but we'll have to get shovels, rakes and molds when we get there," Elena said with a smile that turned into a concerned frown at the expression on Hope's face.

"Yesterday was full moon! And I didn't see my Mom! I always go to see my Mom on the full moon!" Hope explained before Elena or Sarah had a chance to ask what was wrong.

"I'm so sorry." Elena said, inwardly scolding herself for forgetting about it.

Klaus had explained to Caroline how the curse cast over Hayley and other werewolves worked. Not that they knew where to look for Hayley and without being able to get hold of Klaus or Elijah it wouldn't be possible to arrange for Hayley and Hope to meet, but still. They should've at least tried. Maybe they were always meeting in the same spot? If so, maybe Hope even knew where it was? It just didn't cross anyone's mind to worry about the full moon on top of other things. Elena, for one, hadn't even noticed it was full moon last night.

"Maybe..." Sarah started, but trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"But you did see your mom yesterday," Damon said, drawing everyone's attention to him.

He propped his hand on one of the suitcases he'd carried from upstairs and gave Elena a half-hearted glare. She smiled, very glad that after grumbling for half an hour about not going anywhere, especially not to a beach, especially not today, especially not as a babysitter, he promptly appeared downstairs anyway.

"No, I didn't," Hope protested getting very close to stomping her foot and Elena was about to intervene, but Damon distracted her by putting swimming goggles over her head.

"Yes, you did. But yesterday was Forgetful Full Moon, that's why you don't remember it."

Sarah raised her eyebrows in a dubious expression, but to her surprise Hope's mood seemed to immediately change from sad and perturbed to curious and intrigued.

"Forgetful Full Moon?" She echoed, blinking.

Elena freed herself from the goggles and exchanged uncertain looks with Sarah before they focused on looking between Damon and Hope.

"Yeah, you mean you didn't know that?" Damon asked, giving her an odd look, before taking the floating mattress from under Elena's arm, grabbing both pieces of luggage and heading out of the house.

Hope wrinkled her nose, at first confused, then dismayed, finally in denial about not knowing anything about the Forgetful Full Moon.

"I think I knew, I just forgot," she allowed with a frown, grabbing her very small pink carry-on and running after Damon.

"We'll be in touch," Elena said, giving Sarah a small smile before following them.

When she walked outside, Damon was placing the luggage in the trunk while Hope listened with her mouth agape to the long list of different full moons, each of them with their own, special rules.

"What does the Swooping Full Moon do?" She inquired, tiptoeing after Damon when he closed the trunk.

He picked her off the ground and lowered her into her car seat.

"On the Swooping Full Moon nights the moon is hanging so low you can actually touch it," Damon explained matter-of-factly, fastening all the car seat clasps with such dexterity that Elena made a mental note to tease him about it later.

"I want to touch the moon! When is the next Swooping Full Moon going to be?"

"Well, it's a very rare phenomenon. The last one happened seven hundred years ago."

Hope wailed in disappointment, but somehow it didn't diminish her overall enthusiastic interest in different kinds of full moons.

Damon produced the car keys out of his pocked, but as soon as he opened the car's door, the keys were snatched out of his hand.

"I'm driving," Elena announced cheerfully, promptly jumping into the driver's seat.

"What? No. Why?" Damon asked with a grimace.

"I was asleep for five years. I missed it," Elena replied with a shrug, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight, her lips impossible not to stare at.

Damon's frown deepened as he tried to remember why exactly he had just let her sleep last night.

"And what am I going to do?" He asked grumpily, reluctantly getting into the passenger's seat.

"I have three Barbie books in my backpack," Hope offered. "You can read the Barbie and The Diamond Castle one, but don't tell me how it ends, because I haven't read it yet."

Elena turned on the engine which helped to muffle her laughter a little. To her further exhilaration, Damon managed to keep a poker face.

"Thanks, but I've read that one," he said, resting his arm on the side of the car, his eyes following Elena's every movement.

"Have you read Barbie of Swan Lake?"

"Yep."

"Barbie and the Secret Door?"

"Of course."

"Barbie and the Three Musketeers?"

"Twice."

"Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses?"

"Cover to cover."

Hope was clearly impressed. Elena was chortling under her breath and Damon couldn't tear his gaze away from her smiling face.

"Hopefully we'll get there before winter," he quipped, tapping his fingers on the car door.

Elena gave him a narrowed-eyed look and then pressed the accelerator so hard that Damon glanced at the speedometer to see if the arrow was still there.

He looked away with a smile. Maybe this trip was going to be fun, after all.

xxxdelenaxxx

Stefan knocked on the door, taking two steps back and one step forward. He really didn't like doing it. But he'd tried a different approach. Elena had tried a different approach. And even just taking his mother's friends' victim count into consideration, it was probably more of a community service than anything else.

At least that's what Bonnie had said. Granted, there was a difference between Bonnie right now and Bonnie he'd met in high school several years ago, but he wasn't going to dwell too much on the fact how much all of them had changed, especially that he believed they had changed for the better... on the most part.

The door opened and one of Lily's witchpire companions appeared in the doorway.

Then there was also the fact that Klaus would've probably approved of this approach, which was disturbing enough, but Stefan wasn't going to dwell too much on that either.

"Hi, could you pass a message to my mother?" Stefan asked in a mockingly casual voice, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. "It says: Hi Mom. Give me a ring in case you're ready to talk about reversing that irreversible spell and other such things. Cordially, S." Stefan read the note and with a thin smile handed it to the man.

Wordlessly, the man read the note for himself and shifted his eyes to Stefan. "I'll tell her," he said, trying to give the note back to Stefan who shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm afraid the written version is necessary," Stefan said with another thin smile and then in a seemingly one, smooth movement ripped the man's heart out of his chest and his head off his neck.