Alaric awoke to the sensation of soft kisses trailing down the side of his neck. "Damon?" he mumbled groggily.
"Rise and shine," Damon whispered in his ear.
Alaric rolled over and wrapped his arms around Damon. He put his head on his lover's chest and was almost lulled back to sleep by his heart beat. "Nope. You have to wake up," Damon said, attempting to wriggle free from Alaric's grip.
"No I don't," Alaric laughed. He pressed his lips against Damon's, who immediately reacted to the kiss. Alaric wrapped a leg around Damon's waist and wrapped his fingers into the hair at the back of Damon's head. He pulled him closer and deepened the kiss.
Their lips moved against each other's and Damon's tongue slipped into Alaric's mouth and danced lazily about the top of Alaric's. Alaric's moan was muffled by the kiss and he in turn messaged the underside of Damon's tongue.
Damon pulled back, "Save this for later," he whispered.
Alaric shook his head in protest.
"No. You have to get up and get ready, Darling. I'll be here when you get back," Damon winked.
"God, sometimes, you're such a tease," Alaric groaned. He sat up and swung his legs over the opposite side of the bed and trudged to the bathroom to get ready.
Elena's alarm interrupted her dreamless sleep. She rolled over and turned it off. She sat up and stretched her still-sleeping muscles. As she got up to go the the bathroom, she stopped suddenly. I woke up with my alarm. I got a full night's sleep.
I feel…okay.
She managed to smile to herself. It was true, for the first time in a long time, she awoke without the dreadful feeling of not being able to face the world.
Stefan awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking. He rolled over and groaned. At first he cursed himself for waking up so early, then he recalled yesterday's events.
"Mr. Salvatore, it's a little bit late to be applying for classes," the faux sweet school official said.
I gripped my phone a little tighter and tried not to lose my temper. "But ma'am, I'm not interested in an academic course. I'm more interested in your extra curricular majors. Something in the culinary department, to be exact."
"Oh," she said blankly. There was a pause and I could hear the distinct clatter of fingers on a keyboard on the other end. "Well, I could fax over the application. You can fill it on out and fax it back. I'm sure you haven't missed much. Take care."
We politely said goodbye and I hurried over to the study. A small stack of papers was accumulating in the output of the fax machine. I couldn't help but grin. This was really happening.
Stefan showered quickly, pulled on some clean clothes, and headed downstairs. The rest of the household was gathered at the kitchen table and they were chattering softly. Stefan took a seat in between Alaric and Elena. He helped himself to a plate of sausage, eggs, and toast.
"Why are you up so early?" Elena asked.
Stefan swallowed before answering, "I actually have to go to some classes today."
"Oh, at the community college?" Elena inquired further.
"Yup."
"So they let you apply late? That's great. What are you studying?" Damon asked.
"I'm taking some culinary classes," Stefan grinned.
Damon smirked.
"How much salt do I add, Mama?" Stefan inquired. He looked up at her with his soft sunbaked eyes. He could barely see over the kitchen counter, but he looked so thrilled to be helping mother cook.
I sat on the floor mixing batter for the dinner rolls in a glass bowl. It was such a chore. I showed mama the contents of the bowl again.
"They're a little lumpy, Sweetheart," she said sweetly. "Just mix them a little more."
Who cares if the rolls are a little lumpy? I don't see how Stefan could enjoy something as tedious as this.
Stefan noticed that my patience and attention span were running low. "Here Damon. I can finish mushing the rolls," he offered.
"Thanks, Stefan," I replied. I got up and fled the room.
"Good for you, brother," Damon said.
When they were finished, Damon cleared away the dirty dishes and piled them into the dish washer. "How about we car pool," Alaric suggested.
"Sounds good," Stefan said and Elena nodded in agreement. It beat walking to school.
Alaric and Stefan got up to fetch their things. Elena was ready to leave the room when Damon stopped her.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
"I think so," Elena said reassuringly.
"Okay," Damon said, pulling her into a paternal hug. Elena returned it gratefully.
"If I need anything, I know you and Alaric are just a phone call away," she said quietly.
Damon nodded, "Have a good day at school, okay."
"Alright," Elena said, pulling away from him and going to collect her backpack.
x~x~x~x~x
"Where's Alaric?" Stefan asked checking his watch.
"Dunno," Elena replied. They were both sitting in the car waiting for their driver to make his appearance. The silence loomed between him and Elena decided to break it.
"Did you drop out of Penn because you wanted to study cooking?" she asked.
Stefan nodded, "Yeah, I've been interested in it for a while and my other major was not quite as interesting. I'm not sure I'm making the best decision, though."
"Don't worry about it. If it's what you really want then, I'm sure it will work out," Elena said.
Stefan turned to smile at her. "Thanks," he said. For some reason, he felt a little bit more confident.
x~x~x~x~x
Alaric searched frantically about the master bedroom. It has to be in here somewhere.
"Looking for this?" a sly voice said from the doorway.
Alaric turned. Damon was standing there holding out the item in question. Alaric's brief case. Alaric sighed, "Thanks Day, you're a life saver."
Damon handed him the case and gave Alaric a quick peck on the cheek. Alaric rushed downstairs and got into the car.
x~x~x~x~x
Alaric and Elena sat in the car for a moment. They were parked in front of Mystic Falls High. Stefan had been dropped off at Mystic Falls CC only minutes before. Elena felt a little unsure about leaving the car. She had been feeling so good, so ready, until this moment. Alaric looked into the rear view mirror. "Elena," he said.
"Yeah?" she responded, looking out the window at the horde of people gathering on the lawns in front of the school.
"It's going to be okay," he said softly.
Elena nodded, "I know."
I'm not alone, She told her self. I can do this. She opened the car door and stepped out into the chilly autumn morning.
x~x~x~x~x~x
Damon pulled into the Lockwood driveway and killed the engine. He reached into the passenger seat and grabbed his computer bag before leaving the car. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he approached the Lockwood mansion. The days were getting colder and he cursed himself for not grabbing his coat on the way out of the house.
He rang the doorbell and waited. The door opened slowly, revealing Mr. Lockwood. Mr. Lockwood managed to smile shakily, "Hello Damon, good to see you," he said.
Damon returned his smile, "Hello, Mr. Lockwood. I'm here to see Carol"
"Come right in," his host said and led him to a small parlor that opened off the side of the entrance hall. Damon took a seat in one of the antique, but rather comfortable arm chairs. "Is there anything I can get you?" Mr. Lockwood said. His friendliness could have passed as genuine if he wasn't eyeing Damon in the same way you look at an almost extinct animal.
Damon shook his head, "No thank you," he said.
"Carol shall be with you shortly," Mr. Lockwood said. He turned and left the room.
Good ole Mr. Lockwood, Damon thought. So conservative. At least he's not one of those people waving "FAGS GO TO HELL" signs on street corners.
A few minutes later Mrs. Lockwood entered the room and beamed at Damon. "Damon, Darling, how are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine Carol. And yourself?" Damon replied.
"Fine, fine. Now to discuss the upcoming event. I really liked your lantern idea," she said taking a seat across from him and pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. "We could sell the lanterns for four bucks a piece. People can write special things on them, then at eight o'clock, everyone lights their lanterns and they all sail up into the evening sky."
Damon nodded, "Pretty much sums it up," he said.
"The only thing left to decide is when and where."
"How about here," Damon suggested, "Your backyard is more than large enough to accommodate everyone."
"No, no, no. The clean up is a nightmare. Plus, people get into the house, sometimes things go missing. It's dreadful," she replied.
"How about the town square?"
"Perfect!" she cried, scribbling a few things on her notepad. "Of course we'll need volunteers to make the whole thing look nice. Email the regulars. The Forbes family, the Donovans, you know. Tell them that all proceeds will benefit the Founder's Association."
"When is this event going to take place?" Damon asked.
"How about next month?"
Great. Damon gritted his teeth. Just when I thought my schedule was going to be a lot more free.
"Sounds fine," he said without smiling