Don't own TVD…just really enjoy reading the books and watching the show!

"Really, Bonnie? That's your lame excuse? Just admit you're in love with me too and we'll call it a day or you can hang up now and never speak to me again."

My house, 6 pm

I decided to make an Italian favorite, manicotti. I figured Damon may like it or dislike it…he is Italian and I'm not. So I don't know if he'll think this is a lame attempt at cooking or what. But I absolutely adore this dish and if he doesn't eat it, then that's just more for me! Jeesh, I'm so nervous, why am I so nervous? I've known Damon for over ten years, hell I think it's actually closer to fifteen. I should not be this wound up!

I went ahead and put on the pink chiffon dress I bought for the reunion tonight, since we'll be leaving from here and going that way. I don't know if I should wear my hair swept up in a French twist or leave it down in loose curls. Maybe I should call Elena and get her opinion… I don't do anything, I just leave it down. I like my hair down. And I know he won't care either way. So that's one less thing to worry about I suppose.

6:45 pm

There's a knock at the door, guess he's here already here. Okay, calm down Bonnie. It's just Damon…

"Hey, Lady. Don't you look sexy." Damon looks unbelievable, he's wearing a pair of khaki slacks and a white oxford button shirt. He even has on a tie, it's navy with salmon stripes. We sort of match, it's a sweet turn of events.

"Hey, you look amazing too, Damon. Our pinks are almost the same." I point out, he frowns when he looks at his tie.

"It's not pink, Bon. It's red. This is a shade of red." I have to laugh because this is such a Damon thing, he doesn't want anyone to think he's wearing pink with his manly self.

"Okay, if you say so. Are you ready for dinner? Why don't you come on in." I say. I'm a bit more relaxed now. He nods and takes a look around my apartment. I realize he's never been here before, I was living with Meredith before she married Alaric. And once that happened, I moved into this place alone.

"Nice digs. Just as I imagined your home would be. Neat, tidy, everything in its place." He seems nervous as well, maybe I need to make this a little easier. I walk over to where he's looking at the pictures in frames of the girls and me.

I slide my arms around his waist, he smiles and wraps his arms around my shoulders. The awkwardness is gone now and I feel him relax against me. He pulls slightly away and lifts my chin to look at him. Our eyes meet and he leans down, as I push myself up on tiptoes to kiss him. It's slow at first, then he starts kissing me as if he's waited a lifetime to do so. It's passionate, desperate, and I can almost feel the loneliness he's experienced over the last few days since Stefan's death. My own knees feel as if they could buckle underneath me. I think he feels it, so he steadies me by pulling me closer with one arm behind my back. The world fades around us, and it's just the two of us.

"Feel better?" I inquire, he smiles that sexy Damon smile and replies, "Much."

He actually liked my manicotti and complimented how it almost tastes like his great-grandma's. It's very flattering. We have a light conversation, and soon we know we'll have to leave our private sanctum and rejoin the masses at the reunion.

"This should be interesting. I'm somewhat looking forward to this and somewhat not." Damon says as we are heading to his truck. I give him a curious look.

"Well, all right. I'm eager because I'll be seeing some of my old friends. But I'm not because I'm afraid of what Caroline has planned for Stefan. Plus, I don't want to spend the entire evening, fending off people giving me their condolences. I just don't need that." I got in and buckled my seatbelt while he finished explaining this. I just listen because this is the first time all night that he's mentioned his brother. And I know Damon, he'd rather not talk about it when he's trying to have a good time. That's not because he doesn't care, but because he cares too much.

"I'm looking forward to seeing some people myself. But I'm there for you, you know that. And if I have to, I'll tell everyone over the P.A. not to ask you about Stefan if you'd like." I smile at him with a conniving undertone, he just rolls his eyes.

"You look like a demented Keebler Elf, please stop." He laughs at me as I give him an indignant look. We both break out in laughter and it relieves some of the tension of our impending reunion.

It doesn't take long to reach the hotel where the function is being held. He and I walk inside the enormous conference room decorated with tables, chairs and old yearbook pictures on the walls of different sporting events. There's a monster picture of Elena, Meredith and I when we were on the pep squad. I hang my head, Damon jeers at me. Then I pick at him because there he is on another wall with the debate team! We all know just how much Damon loves to argue. We're admiring some other pictures when he spots one with Stefan, Matt, and Tyler during football season. I tighten my hold on his hand, he squeezes in response.

I see Elena, Meredith, and Alaric sitting at a table with Matt. I pull Damon's attention away from the poster on the wall and to a chair beside myself and Matt. He seems to relax, but then we hear Caroline coming over the P.A. system talking about losing a dear friend recently. Damon almost looks horrified, but I continue holding his hand, willing some of my strength to enter him. And here it comes: the opening of Caroline's memoriam to Stefan Salvatore. Soft music starts playing, the lights are turned lower, and a slideshow starts before we can prepare ourselves. Elena starts tearing immediately. She takes a few deep breaths and she's calming herself.

"Stefan Salvatore was a friend to anyone who knew him. He was an all around nice guy, whom often helped others just because. It's hard to believe that he's no longer with us, but his memory will be in our minds and our hearts forever. Stefan became a friend to me, when it seemed all my friends had turned against me. He was there for me when I was upset. Of course, my friends and I patched things up, but it wouldn't have happened had he not moved to Fell's Church." With the last statement, Caroline looks to our table. We smile at her, even Damon nods his head signaling that he is appreciative of what Caroline is doing. She continues with more about Stefan. I am completely amazed at how well Damon is taking this, he wasn't too keen on it in the beginning. But I think now he's realizing that it's a positive way to remember his brother.

"I would also like to mention that Damon Salvatore is here tonight and I'm sure, though he would appreciate your condolences, please don't give them. We had the honor of saying goodbye to Stefan a few days ago, and now it's time to enjoy life and rejoice in the fact that he's in Heaven smiling down on us and wishing he was partying it up with us." That's how Caroline closes the Stefan memoriam. I am both impressed and grateful that she made it a point to mention to people not to bother Damon with a lot of questions. He seems impressed too, as does everyone at our table.

She walks over to us with Tyler and joins us by pulling up two more chairs.

"That was beautiful, Care. I'm really glad you did that." Elena was the first to speak. Caroline tells her thank you and they hug.

"Yeah, way to go Caroline, I really am thankful that you constructed this whole affair. It looks so great in here." Meredith tells her. Alaric agrees and give Caroline a hug himself.

"Well, Bonnie, Damon. What do you guys think?" She seems very weary of our answer.

"It's wonderful, Care. The place looks amazing like Mere said. That memoriam was just perfect." I tell her, she grabs my free hand and squeezes.

"I have to say, Caroline. I wasn't exactly thrilled to begin with. But you did an unbelievable job with the slideshow, music, and this place…all those pictures. I'm actually in awe of you!" Damon says while looking around. This makes Caroline smile brighter than I've ever seen. And Matt and Tyler start talking about how much they like the pictures as well.

The whole reunion was nice. Though I spent the night with the ones I still talk to on a daily basis, it was nice to see the one's I don't. Damon seemed to enjoy himself immensely, even took some photos with some of the classmates he'd ridiculed during high school. They all seemed to flock to where he was. I guess they wanted to feel important. The Salvatore brothers were an institution at Robert E. Lee high school.

But, in all honesty, everyone changes after high school. They aren't the same people, well to an extent they are, but mostly they grow up.

The ones you might have picked on in high school grow up to be the ones who often do better than you. And sometimes the popular crowd turn into the ones who often do worse than you. The hot football player that wouldn't give you a second look going down the hallway often turns into the alcoholic or drug addict. The head cheerleader gets pregnant right after high school, then has more children and weighs three times the amount she did in high school. The shy girl who couldn't talk to anyone often turns into a business owner. And then you have the people who goofed off more times than not, who got in trouble more than others, and who got you in trouble more than others…yeah they enter law enforcement. Everyone changes and everyone grows up.