Hearts Like Ours

Little bit of a filler chapter. Sorry for the slow update, have been so busy with school this week! Don't forget to please leave a review!

Home.

So why didn't it feel like it? The car pulled up to my house. I glowered, I suppose it was Damon's know, and hers. I let out a long sigh, and got out the car, I walked to the driver's side with Kol and tapped lightly on the window. It rolled down and I handed him $20, he nodded and gave me a small smile. And then the car was reversing and driving away from us. Kol took my hand in his and squeezed it lightly. I smiled, thankful for his presence.

We walked up the front steps and I pulled my key out my bag and let us in, and flicked on the lights. Nothing had moved at all in my absence which meant Damon hadn't been back since we left for the wedding. I sighed when I saw the photos, pieces of clothes, receipts, bonnie and Nora's wedding invitation. I let out a shaky breath when I saw Kol looking at a photo of me and Damon at Jenna and Alaric's wedding. I walked over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder as I used the other to turn the photo face down.

'Time for me to disappear.'

Kol looked at me and I nodded reassuringly. I went to the back room and pulled out two suitcases and a couple of cardboard boxes. I started filling the cardboard boxes with all the photos of us together, receipts of any places we'd been together, any gifts and souvenirs of holidays etc., photos of him and family and any bits and pieces that belonged to my family that had been left behind.

I went into the bedroom and started packing in all my clothes, shoes, make-up and toiletries, books, dvds, hairbrush, jewellery. I was completely erasing myself from Damon's life, like I'd never existed. I zipped up my cases and took them through into the front room, and Kol automatically jumped up to take them. I tossed him the car keys, which he caught perfectly, and then he headed out the front door to my car. I headed to the three cardboard boxes and was wholly prepared to leave silently when the image of Damon and Bonnie pounding it out in the car made me pause and make me stare at my engagement ring. My cheeks were burning so I went to the bathroom to splash some cool water on them when my eyes landed on Damon's wash bag. A lovely leather piece I'd bought him last Christmas.

For a moment I thought about filling it with shaving foam, but froze with a flashback as I picked up the can. Him hunched over that cow, all sweaty and confused. I wondered if maybe I should throw it out the window. Then I remembered him smiling at her. Smiling at her, in front of me, in those scummy boxer shorts.

And so I sat on the loo and pissed in the bag. It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever done, and I was so so proud. Once it was nicely ruined, I took off my engagement ring, zipped it up in the bag and left the bathroom. I walked it into the front room and picked up the cardboard boxes and walked out the house, flicking off the lights as I did so.

I loaded them in the car, and felt pride surge within me once more. Hadn't even left a single tampon behind, I was pleased with myself. I climbed into the driver's seat, still smiling, I turned to face Kol, who laughed in disbelief at my good mood.

'You good to go?'

He asked. I turned on the ignition and revved the engine, god I'd missed my car. It was a blue camero, that had belonged to Damon in high school and he had given it to me a few years ago after he used his first pay check from his hot shot lawyer job to buy himself his current nice new car and so I inherited the 'useless piece of crap'.

'Never readier.'

I replied with, as we tore down the dead streets. I took the roof down and laughed as the wind whipped through my hair. I looked at Kol and smiled as he took my free hand in his and kissed it, as he started to laugh too.

It was 4am and we were just back in the car after to being to a completely empty 24/7 diner for pancakes and coffee, when Kol turned to me and opened his mouth to say something but thinking better of it he kissed me instead. I melted into him, and didn't argue about the fact that we still had another two hours of driving left before we made it back to the city, and that I was really tired and needed sleep. Preferably with him. His phone ringing brought us out of the moment momentarily, realising it was Caroline, he passed it to me. I answered and gasped as Kol began kissing down my neck.

'Elena?'

Caroline said, confused.

'Yea, sorry, trying to stop myself from yawning.'

I said meekly, as Kol continued to feel his way around my body.

'That's okay! Heard you'd be back around 6, and thought I'd call before you passed out from exhaustion. Just wanted to make sure everything went okay?'

She was checking on me? God I loved her. Pizza was on me, when I finally made it back to the land of the living.

'Yea just getting ready to head back on the road.'

'Great then I'll see you soon!'

Caroline hung up and I shrieked as Kol began to tickle me. He began to laugh too. It was a perfect moment. I eventually got off rather quickly when one of the other customers left the diner, I started up the car, and soon we were on the road again.

Finally made it back to New York at around 6am. And I was just passing out in my bed, after Kol had left with his ripped shirt (I may have been exhausted, but I was determined to let him have his way with me, as he was having a hard time keeping himself together on the road. (I would say it was just a teenage thing, but if anything I was just as bad if not worse than him) When Caroline knocked on my door. Groaning I got up and let her in. I was unceremoniously dragged back to my car, where Caroline then drove to my new apartment.

I barely remembering it happen, but I signed over for it, and got my keys. To my surprise Caroline, Hayley and Valerie had furnished it for me, as my welcome to New York house warming gift. The colours had been left untouched as they were all pretty shades of cream, apart from the pale blue bathroom, and deep plum feature wall in the bedroom. But they had furnished it all and freshly stocked my fridge, and when I would finally get round to unpacking my things, it would add that perfect personal touch.

Despite growing up in Mystic Falls, I'd always felt slightly out of place, even with Damon. Moving to London had been a great relief to me, and now that I was officially a New Yorker, I felt like I belonged, and I'd found the place where I needed to be, with people that needed me.

It was little after four in the afternoon when I awoke. I padded through into the kitchen and found that although Hayley and Valerie had left to go back to work, Caroline had stayed. Her shift must've been a late night/morning one, as she was out like a light on my sofa, an episode of friends playing quietly on my super flashy wall mounted tv. I clicked it off, and Caroline slowly stirred and sat up slowly. I yawned and stretched, while she rubbed furiously at her very smudged eyes.

'Pizza? My treat.'

I asked as I stifled another yawn. Caroline mumbled some sort of response which sounded like a yes? Before dragging herself to the bathroom. Date evening, before we headed out with the girls tonight. I smiled happily, everything was falling into place.

Four am. A very Drunk me and Caroline stumbled into my new apartment.

'Best night ever!'

Caroline yelled. I nodded my head in total agreement. While Caroline made it to the bathroom to FINALLY pee, after a cab ride of her telling me she was convinced it was running down her leg (It wasn't, she made me check.) I stumbled into my room and stripped off my dress, shoes and jewellery and checked my new phone that we'd picked up that afternoon to find a text from Kol asking if I could pick up him and his sister Rebekah up from school tomorrow as their parents were too busy and couldn't send a driver for them. I swiftly replied saying yes. When it came to getting what he wanted, damn he was gifted, and who was I, to say no to him?

I got into bed and allowed myself fifteen more drunken minutes of shameless recollection of some of Kol's other gifts before I got up to find Caroline falling asleep in the hallway. I hauled her up, and we both collapsed on my bed and started singing, I can't even say what time it was when we eventually did fall asleep.

Tomorrow was step three of my new life. Get a job.

That thought made me a stress a little, and I knew it wasn't just going to be that, that wouldn't feel good in the morning, but the sugar-wine coma I was slipping into with my best friend felt great at that moment.