Hey so this chapter is a lot longer than the other one's but I really like it. There's way more Delena in this one too which is always good. As always enjoy and review!
Chapter 9
EPOV
I got home from the party and went straight upstairs to shower and wash the stench of this entire night off of me. Things with Stefan had officially taken a turn for the worst. At this point I was ready to stop giving him more chances, but we've been together for over 2 years and I was afraid to actually break up with him. I just didn't want to end things unless I was absolutely positive, and I'm still not. I got out of the shower, put on my pajamas, and went to lie in bed and watch some TV. I couldn't help but wonder what Damon was doing right now. I hoped he wasn't hooking up with another sleazy girl, not that I'm jealous or anything. I turned towards the television and tried to distract myself with some Friends reruns. It wasn't working so I just turned it off and went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to a text message, I assumed it was from Stefan and that he was apologizing for how he acted at the party, but it was Damon.
Hey I was thinking we could get together and work on our project today, just text me whenever you want to come over
I couldn't help but smile. Just the idea of being able to see him made me happy and I responded immediately.
I'll be over in an hour
I got up and went in the bathroom to straighten my hair and put on makeup. Then I came back into my room to pick out an outfit. I couldn't figure out what to wear. I finally settled on a pair of skinny jeans with my Steve Madden combat boots and a Wildfox sweater. The September air was already starting to get a bit nippy. I got dressed and looked in the mirror pleased with my appearance; these jeans highlight my long legs and make my butt look really good. Not that I'm trying to impress Damon, I just like to look nice, you know for myself. I walked downstairs and said a quick hello to my Aunt Jenna before grabbing my keys and heading out towards the Salvatore boarding house. I know Stefan always spends Saturdays at football practice before he goes over to Tyler's to play video games so I wasn't worried about running into him. I wasn't really ready to face him quite yet. I drove over to the boarding house on the outskirts of town and rang the doorbell. Damon answered almost immediately and invited me in.
"So do you want anything to eat or drink," he asked," there's coffee and bagels in the kitchen."
"Uh sure," I said," I did forget to eat breakfast this morning."
"Too excited about seeing me," he teases," I get it Elena."
"Yes exactly," I laughed," I couldn't contain my excitement." I knew he was teasing, but it was actually true. I forgot to eat because I was in a rush to get here and see him. He grabbed some coffee and bagels and I followed him up to his room so we could work on the project. He opened the door and ushered me in, I'd never seen his room before. It was actually really nice, way different than I thought it would be. He had a huge four-poster bed with all black bedding, of course, a big bookshelf with all the classics on it, and I could see his huge bathroom through an open door. It looked like it belonged in some sort of museum, but it was really homey at the same time. Stefan's room was always a mess, and it looked like every typical teenage boys room. He has football and sports memorabilia everywhere, and he always leaves his dirty work-out clothes on the floor that leaves this gross stench. Damon's room was the polar opposite and I loved it.
"Wow," I said," your room is really nice, and it's so clean."
"Well what did you expect," he asked with a chuckle," a mattress on the floor and empty liquor bottles everywhere?"
"Something like that," I said laughing," but this is way nicer than Stefan's room."
"Yeah," he said," Steffie doesn't have great taste, well except his taste in women that is." He smiled at me and I smiled back. God he was so perfect. I could see his toned muscles through his tight black V-neck, and his bright blue eyes could literally drown me if I looked hard enough.
"Anyways," I said awkwardly," we should probably get started. I brought my laptop and saved a few pictures we could add to the slides."
"Ok yeah," he sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him and I looked at him questioningly.
" I promise I don't bite," he said.
I smiled and went to sit next to him. I opened my MacBook and we got started. We spent a few hours copying our analysis down onto the slides and then we added a few effects to make it look good. I had to say it was one of the better projects I had done. Around 3 o'clock we had finished up with our last slide.
"Ok," I said," now we just have to write down some information on notecards so we know what to say when we get up in front of the class."
"Ugh," he complained laying back on the bed," do we have to?"
"Yes we do," I said laughing," come on get up we're almost done." We spent another hour working on our speech and then we were completely done.
"Thank god," he said," I don't think I have ever done this much homework in my life."
"Well considering you're an 18 year old junior," I teased," you should probably start."
"Yeah you're probably right, but if I didn't ignore all of my past academic responsibilities I never would've been able to hang out with you," he said smiling.
"Well how can I argue with that," I said sarcastically.
"Anyways," I said," I should head home, my Aunt wants us to do family night tonight. She's going to try making lasagna and I better make sure she doesn't burn the house down in the process."
"I make a great lasagna," he said," It's my favorite."
"You can cook," I asked.
"Of course I can cook," he smiled," I am Italian."
"Hmm well," I paused nervously," do you have plans tonight?"
"Not at the moment," I said," Klaus' dad is in town so I he isn't going out and I figured I'd just stay home."
"Well if you want to," I said," you could come to family night. We could use your cooking skills. I'm not in the mood to get food poisoning and my Aunt Jenna will surely let that happen."
"Uhh sure," he said smiling," I might as well. I'm always up for lasagna."
"Ok perfect," I said," come on I'll drive." He grabbed a few things and put them in his pocket before following me downstairs and getting into my car. My cd player automatically turned on what I was listening to before and Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" came on. Damon let out a loud groan.
"What," I asked laughing.
"Taylor Swift," he said," really Elena?"
"Yes really Damon," I said," suck it up this is my car."
"I happen to pride myself on my impenetrable ability to listen to Taylor Swift," he said," but I expected better from you."
"Well sorry to disappoint," I said laughing," but I'm a big fan."
We pulled into my driveway and got out of my car before walking into the house. Jeremy and Jenna were sitting in the living room watching television.
"Hey guys," I said," I hope you don't mind that I invited a friend to dinner."
DPOV
I walked into Elena's house and it was just as I expected it would be. It was very homey, there were family photos everywhere, and you could tell it was the home of a once happy family. Part of me envied her, but she lost all of it. It made me feel even more sorry for everything she had been through. She obviously had a really close family, I cant believe how well she holds it together, it makes me admire her even more than I did before.
"Hey guys," she said," I hope you don't mind that I invited a friend to dinner."
I waved kind of awkwardly before they got up to say hello.
"Hi I'm Jenna," a woman I'm assuming was her Aunt said as she shook my hand.
"Damon," I said," nice to meet you."
"Hey man I'm Jeremy," her brother said as he too shook my hand. After the introductions were over Elena led me to the kitchen. Aunt Jenna was more than happy to relinquish her cooking duties and Elena helped me get out all of the ingredients. I began getting it all ready when she sat at the island across from me.
"So I know you're Italian," she said," but really who taught you how to cook?"
"My grandmother did actually," I said," she used to stay with Stefan and I when we were younger and our parents were out of town, which was often. We were really close and she was the most amazing cook, she taught me everything I know."
"Where is she now," she asked.
"She died a few years ago," I said sadly," She had a heartattck in her sleep. It was quick."
"Oh my god," she said," Damon I'm so sorry." She grabbed my hand from across the counter and I sent her a reassuring smile. I never really like to talk about my grandma; it was kind of personal for me. Klaus was the only one that really knew anything about it, but it's not like he held my hand and cried with me. Our relationship isn't really like that. Elena just made me feel so comfortable. It was like I knew I could spill all of my secrets to her without any worries.
"It's ok Elena," I said going back to what I was doing," I mean I still miss her, but life goes on."
"Yeah I get that," she said," I mean you know I've lost people too. Stefan never mentioned her I mean was he close with her too?"
"Uhh not really," I said," he was always busy doing his own thing."
"Yeah he's not much of a cook," she said laughing," when we first stared dating he invited me over for dinner and burned microwavable macaroni and cheese."
"Yeah that sounds like my brother," I said laughing with her," he's no Gordon Ramsay that's for sure." We continued chatting as I cooked and when it was in the oven I helped her set the table. As soon as it was done I pulled it out to cool and we all gathered in the dining room to eat. Everybody dished it up and we talked as we ate.
"Wow Damon," Elena said," This is seriously amazing."
"Yeah seriously," Jeremy said," you should have a show on the Food Network."
"I vote Damon comes to all of our family nights from now on," Jenna said.
"I'd be honored," I said politely," my family never really does family night. That would require us to speak to each other."
"You don't get along with our family," Jeremy asked.
"Not really," I said," my mom and dad are almost always out of town, I don't think they ever really even wanted kids. Stefan, my brother, doesn't exactly enjoy brother bonding so we all pretty much just keep to ourselves."
"I'm sorry that's terrible," Jenna said," I never really got along with my parents either. I was kind of a rebellious child."
"Oh god," Elena said laughing," no more stories about your wild youth please."
"Hey I tell good stories," Jenna said.
"No you don't," Jeremy said," especially when it's like the 100th time we've heard it." I had to admit I actually really liked the Gilberts. They were pretty cool, I looked over at Elena and she smiled at me. She was so beautiful when she smiled. I had to admit I was really falling for this girl, god I'm so screwed.
