Big time gap this time between moments and my plan is to have them continue this way. That could change, but it's my plan. Besides that, a few of you asked if you could read about Damon's reaction to Elena telling him that she loved him, so I threw that into this chapter. It's not too detailed, but I hope it did the reaction justice.
Please Enjoy!
- April 2014 -
To the right, to the right.
I followed the direction of the Cuban Shuffle blasting from the speakers and took four steps to the right. I wasn't sure how this song had ever become signature for wedding receptions, but I wasn't complaining. It was simple and surprisingly fun for how mundane and repetitive the dance steps were. Plus, it was nice to have a song designated only for us girls, while the men watched from the sidelines as we added our personal touches to the mix.
To the left, to the left.
Caroline and I switched and side-stepped towards the opposite direction. She was laughing and wearing the exact ridiculous smile I had plastered across my own face. The same upward curl that now made regular appearances in my life. As a matter of fact, it hardly ever disappeared and when it did Damon immediately found a way to pull it out again.
That giddy expression had permanently adhered itself to my face because somehow those five-minute breaks Damon used to supply me when things got too heavy became my entire life. It was still in that absolute perfection stage, complete with an amazing boyfriend, fabulous friends, and a successful college experience that was quickly coming to a close.
Columbia's MFA writing program had been two years of brutally hard work and dedication, but I had made it through and now felt ready to tackle anything the real world threw at me; including the all-important process of finding a publisher willing to invest their faith in my work.
That step should have terrified me, but I only felt ready for the challenge. Damon's constant insistence of my brilliance had taken effect, and maybe a bit of his confidence had rubbed off on me over the past two years. Whatever the reason, I whole-heartedly believed it now as well. I was going to be a writer, a successful one at that, and I'd be damned if anyone or anything tried to stop me.
But tonight wasn't about me and the awaiting obstacles in my life, it was about Ric and the fact that he had managed to rise from the dark ashes of our past.
When Jeremy had left last fall to attend NYU with Caroline, we'd all feared the worst for our old history teacher and the man that had become the closest thing to a father figure I'd had since the passing of my parents. But then Meredith had appeared vanquishing any of our concerns. Their romance had been a whirlwind, but at their age the pace had been appropriate. And now we were all gathered to celebrate their marriage.
So it only seemed fitting that these smiles were stretched so tightly against our lips. Ric was happy and we were all together.
"Have you seen Tyler?" Caroline asked as we kicked our feet forward in timing with everyone else.
"Yeah, he's sitting back at the table with Bonnie and Jeremy," I said and pointed my finger towards the back of the room. "You know for being what you are, your senses kind of suck."
Caroline glanced in the direction and shook her head from side to side. "I just can't keep track of the boy. I really need to get him on a leash."
I laughed at the idea of Caroline's toting her werewolf around on a linked chain and deadpanned, "I'm sure that would go over well."
She cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her nose. "Probably not; but not all of us can be as in sync with our boyfriend's as you are, Elena. Some of us need to take drastic measures to keep our relationships afloat."
As we stepped to the right, I twisted my head to look at my best friend and asked, "What does that mean?"
"You know what I mean," Caroline scoffed. "You are Damon are perfect for each other. He's the yin to your yang and all of that crap."
"And Tyler's not the yin to your yang?" I asked; eyes wide and eyebrows arched.
She waved her hand through the air dismissively and countered, "Oh he is, just not the way Damon is to yours." We took a few steps to the right before she added as a side note, "It's just sometimes I envy the way you two are together."
I grabbed onto her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Care, I know it's hard living in different states, but you guys have made it work and you'll continue to."
She shook her head and admitted, "That's not what I meant." She then rolled her eyes as though she was annoyed by my ignorance and continued, "Yes, Tyler and I are crazy happy and in love, but you two take it to a whole other level."
It was true and the smile crept back over my lips. Damon and I were what happiness was, far beyond the overuse of it as a word, and instead straight to its root meaning.
"Aha, see," Caroline shouted in giddy excitement as her index finger reached over and almost tapped my lips. "You know exactly what I'm saying."
I laughed at how excited she always seemed to get when someone accepted one of her observation as the dance forced us to spin around. Caroline's back stood in front of me, but that didn't stop her from peering around in my direction and confessing, "I have to admit, in the beginning I had my doubts about you and Damon, of all people, making it work. But somehow you've tamed the beast that was Damon Salvatore and you've made it look effortless."
"It's wasn't effortless; trust me," I replied, although it really hadn't been that difficult. Taming Damon hadn't been the problem at all, it had been getting me to realize that, despite everything, he had been the right choice for me to make.
We twisted around again as my eyes landed on Damon's. He was standing off to the side talking with Ric and my stomach flip-flopped at the image of him in a tux. It had done this at least twenty times over the evening and I was still waiting for the reflex to cease. With our eyes locked on each other's, he shot me an adoring smile and I realized exactly how correct Caroline's assessment of our relationship had been.
I racked my brain for the reason Damon and I fit, before I accepted that it wasn't something I could pinpoint. And that's because it was everything about the two of us together that worked.
The calming effect of the slight twine of my fingers lacing through his whenever we're around others and someone says something that I know is about to trigger Damon's dangerous side. The comforting way he pulls me into his lap when were alone and my frustration and impatience gets the best of me over a deadline. The way his expression always seems to mimic what I'm thinking because he's just that in tune with everything going on in there.
How our fights, although rare, seem to explode like a nuclear combustion, fueled by passion and our similar stubborn natures, because neither one of us is afraid of the other walking away afterwards. How that one single action of his lips against mine has the ability of making the entire world fade away. How we've managed to fix and meld the damaged pieces of the other; both from vampires we held more faith in than we should have, into a combined solid structure. One that held the capability of withstanding anything, or at least that's how it certainly felt.
All of those things were just examples of why we worked, but it was the combination of them all and so many others that really solidified it. We just worked; plain and simple. And according to Caroline, we made it look effortless.
So I smiled back at him, cocked my head to the side and whispered, "I love you," knowing he could hear the words perfectly.
He mouthed them back to me as the Cuban Shuffle faded away and the DJ announced that it was time for the last dance of the night.
"Tyler's not weaseling his way out of dancing with me this time. I'll be right back. " Caroline informed, causing my eyes to break from Damon's and glance in her direction, before she hastily made her way to our table.
"How can you say something like that and expect me to keep my hands off of you," Damon suddenly whispered into my ear as his hand stretched around the front of my waist.
My flow of time had managed to switch itself into vampire speed over the years, so him sneaking up on me this way didn't come as a shock. I smiled as his breath played on the frame of my ear and teased, "It's called restraint. I know you have some buried in you somewhere."
"I'll try my best to find it," he replied as the sounds of Edwin McCain's I Could Not Ask For More floated through the air. His hand slid down my side to find mine and as his fingers laced themselves between my tiny ones, Damon forced my body out into a twirl. I spiraled out before he gently yanked me back in against his chest and laced his arm around my back. He leaned his head beside mine and whispered once again into my ear, "But the way you were just undressing me with your eyes has me very appreciative that this is the last dance of the night."
I laughed against the side of his face before I pulled back and corrected, "I was not undressing you, simply admiring the way you look in your tux."
He narrowed his eyes seductively at me and said, "It's okay, Elena, I know what goes on in that dirty mind of yours, but I promise to keep it a secret."
"Whatever you say," I concluded and rolled my eyes, deciding not to argue the matter anymore. If Damon wanted to believe I was undressing him with my eyes, then he could believe it. And so what if I kind of had been?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Caroline tow Tyler to the side of dance floor. He wrapped his arm around her as they began dancing to the music and I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. Caroline might not have believed it, but observing them this way allowed me to see that they were equally as happy as Damon and I were. They bickered, yes, but their love was obvious; as obvious as the love between my brother and Bonnie who were swaying beside them and whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.
Our three pairings had lasted through everything; through the distance, the supernatural realm, and the heartaches. And it appeared we truly were unbreakable.
Feeling content in simply enjoying the moment, I lowered my head against Damon shoulder and inched my body against his as we swayed to the slow rhythm of the music. It was peaceful and, with his hand rubbing smooth circles against my back and the subtle way his thumb ran over the flesh of my hand, it felt so right being this way with him.
We continued our motions through half of the song when Damon finally broke the silence and asked, "So what were you and blondie talking about?"
I lifted my head and pulled back so I could narrow my eyes at him. "Like you don't already know."
He cocked his head to the side, shot me his gleaming toothy grin, and replied, "True, but it still doesn't hurt hearing you say it."
I smiled back and rolled my eyes before I repeated what he already knew. "She was just saying how perfect we are for each other."
"I knew there was a reason I let you keep her around," Damon commented as his hand slid from behind my back and he whirled me onto the dance floor.
Under his control, I gracefully swept back in and recalled, "I think you were the one who originally tried to drive a stake through her heart."
Damon shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "Eh… that was only once and a long time ago at that. But points to you for remembering."
"You tried to kill one of my best friends, I hardly doubt that's something I'll forget," I responded making sure to keep the tone of my voice light so he didn't mistake my statement as a dig. Of course, the effort was completely unnecessary considering he already knew how forgotten his devious actions of the past were to me.
He lowered his face down to my level, bringing me inches away from the blinding brilliance of his eyes, and stated, "So you might not forget, but you did forgive."
"I did, because you proved that you deserved my forgiveness. You proved you deserved a lot of things," I responded and slowly pressed my lips against his.
It was an innocent kiss, completely void of tongue and only lasting a few seconds, but equally as satisfying as any of our others.
When out lips parted, Damon rotated his head so that his forehead rested against mine and proclaimed, "She's right, you know?"
"Caroline? About what?" I questioned.
"You and me," he answered. Plain and simple.
"She is, isn't she?" I agreed with a satisfied smile lighting up my face.
He pulled back, shot me a wicked smirk, and joked, "Who'd of thought, right?"
"Who'd of thought," I repeated still mesmerized by the idea that this worked; that we worked.
I leaned into him and pressed my nose against his; the smile still stretched across my lips. God, I was happy and it was a direct result of the vampire whose hold was the perfect medium between dominant and light.
We remained in that position, eyes locked onto the others, the world a distant blur around us, as the music decrescendoed and finally faded into silence.
Damon rotated his head so his lips, once again, pressed into mine before he pulled back and suggested, "Let's say our goodbyes, but then I want you to take a walk with me."
"Okay," I said before he led me through the dance floor and over to our friends. I hugged them all and said my goodbyes, congratulated Ric and Meredith one last time, and made my way through the French doors into the backyard of the reception hall.
It was the beginning of spring, but the dogwood trees had already started to bloom. Christmas lights had been strewn over them, supplying the area with an enchanting light glow just suitable enough for me to make out the pink of the flowers amidst the dark night. Stars speckled the sky and I felt like I had just stepped into a scene from one of my favorite romantic films. That was how picturesque the scenery was.
As my eyes roamed the sight, we walked in silence a few moments and I couldn't help but notice how nervous Damon appeared. It was almost un-nerving considering how sure of himself he usually was, but there was something about his eyes that screamed vulnerability and I waited to see what had him strewn out in such a way.
We took three more steps before Damon finally situated himself in front of me. If I hadn't known him better, I would have sworn his hands were shaking as he took mine in between them, but I did know him and there was no way that was possible.
With my tiny hands fitting perfectly inside of his strong ones, Damon lifted his cerulean eyes and confessed, "Elena, I have no idea what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along."
"Damon, it's okay because I did and we're…," I started to get out.
But he shook his head and interjected, "Just let me get this out, okay?"
I sealed my lips because I could feel it in my gut that whatever Damon was about to confess would be monumental. There was something about the shade of his eyes and the way the edges of his lips kept shifting that had me yearning for whatever came out of his mouth next.
He smirked at my obedience, before it faded and the intensity of the moment crept back over his expression. "Like I was saying… I was content living the malicious existence I had been until I met you. It didn't happen immediately, but somehow you crept in and managed to change everything I stood for. You pushed me towards embracing something I hadn't known I was capable of becoming. You forced humanity back into me and made me realize that I was capable of more than just a soulless existence."
He paused and took an unnecessary deep breath before continuing, "You gave me something to fight for, even when you made it perfectly clear that you were the furthest from obtainable. You forgave me for everything I put you through. You trusted me enough to break down in front of me time after time and let me piece back together the shattered fragments of your life. You opened up to me, finally let me into your world, and it still surprises the hell out of me every morning when I see you lying beside me."
He then reached up to stroke the side of my cheek with the back of his hand. I leaned into it and noticed just how powerful the gleam in his eyes was as he admitted, "You've changed me, Elena, there's no denying that. But I don't want to."
Damon then slowly let his hand fall as he slid and took a knee on the ground. I imagined he resembled the way he would have been in 1864; eyes full of innocence and hope, untainted by the life he had lived. His vulnerability, raw and flopped across the grass underneath of us.
Seeing him that way forced my breathing to stop abruptly and my jaw to fall lifelessly as my awareness of what was about to happen crept in.
He reached into his pocket and flipped open the small box revealing the most beautiful ring I had ever laid eyes on. Even in the dim light of our surroundings, the thing seemed to sparkle majestically.
He then smiled at me, the type that always seemed to unhinge my extremities, while his insecurities fluttered over his eyes, and asked, "So I wanted to know, will you marry me?"
I know when someone proposes, your future's supposed to flash before your eyes; littered with all of the possibilities that type of union can create. But that didn't happen to me. Instead, the only thing I thought about was the way Damon had reacted when I told him I loved him.
The way his eyes had brilliantly illuminated when he heard those three words escape from my lips. The ethereal expression that had spread over his features when he realized that he was the recipient of that type of devotion from me. Yes him; the darker, dangerous brother who had never been chosen and always stood second best against his sweeter, softer sibling.
The way he had followed that image with the physical act of pulling me in and wrapping his arms so tightly around my fragile frame; clearly portraying how much the words meant to him and how valiantly he would continue to fight to make sure they never lost the meaning they currently possessed. And then finally, the way his lips had smashed against mine, invigorated with passion and hunger and satisfaction.
The memory of his reaction to that already unspoiled moment had been stored in my private arsenal; one I replayed quite often because he had been just so damn beautiful.
And all I wanted was to see that beauty painted on him again and to revel in the fact that I was the reason it was there. There was nothing I needed more than to experience that moment again.
So, I lowered myself to the ground as my hands lifted to touch the side of his exquisite cheeks and answered, "Yes," before I pulled his lips against mine and absorbed the repeated magnificence that came with that simple answer.
Please Read and Review! :)
I know I did it again and cut it off right before Damon's reaction, but when I picture this thing in my head it seems fitting that these little future glimpses would cut off right when Elena feels the peak of the moments emotional mountain.