Homecoming – Chapter Eleven

11:39pm. December 31st 2011.

New Years Eve.

So I had twenty minutes to midnight and I was standing with Caroline and Tyler in the Lockwood's ballroom. There was a huge party; just about the whole town were invited. The older, more civilised inhabitants of Mystic Falls were congregated in the living room and here, the ballroom. Then the younger, teenagers were having the time of their lives at the other end of the house in the den and the few rooms around it. That was like that extra house at the end of the Lockwood Mansion; the size of my entire house. Jeremy, Stefan and Bonnie had disappeared off there a few hours ago and I hadn't seen them since. Damon and I hadn't talked all day, for no reason in particular; we just hadn't felt the need. And, aside from a few flashes, I had barely seen him here.

Caroline and I had gotten all dressed up because, come on…it was New Years Eve! I was currently wearing a black bodycon dress with scalloped edges; the back dipping low and the front was just about decent. Then thick black tights because it was freezing cold outside (my fur jacket was in Tyler's room, as was Caroline's) and finally some 5-inch black block heels. My only accessories were some simple earrings; an inch long thin silver bar with a little glass ball on the end and then the bracelet from Damon.

With a sigh I glanced up at the clock; 19 minutes. I needed to find me a date. And I knew exactly who. The man I'd seen not ten minutes ago disappearing in the direction of the younger half of the house with Mason Lockwood. I made a quick excuse to my friends before heading in that direction myself. There was no way I was hanging around while they had their 'Midnight Moment' as we used to call it. Damon and I hadn't told anyone about 'us' yet…we'd barely even talked about it. Maybe tomorrow…or the day after. It wouldn't be easy, that was for sure.

I tried not to count the number of wolf whistles I received as the music grew louder and the people became younger. By the time I reached the main room it was almost deafening, the bass pounding around the walls. Lucky the Lockwood's had decided to soundproof this half of the house. The room was completely crowded; to the extent that you couldn't go anywhere without touching someone. And everyone was dancing too, moving to the music. Most of them being either Juniors or Seniors, I had a moment of nostalgia. Those were good times.

It was then that something caught my eye. Or rather someone. There was Damon, in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with some blonde in a non-existent blue dress. Arms crossed loosely over my chest, I leant against the wall at the top of the few steps in the doorway and watched. It didn't take too long for him to feel my gaze and looked up, his blue eyes shining in the dim lighting.

Without a second glance at the blonde who was grinding up against him like he was interested, he started walking towards me, not for a second breaking eye contact. When he was at the bottom of the steps he stopped, looking up at me with a small smile on his face, the same on mine.

"Having fun?" I questioned.

"I am now." What a line, "How long do we have?"

I didn't have a watch on me but the guy standing beside me did. I picked up his arm and looked at the watch, not sparing him a glance, "Ten minutes." I told Damon, dropping the guys arm as he shrugged away from the wall and came towards me, grin on his face. Drunk.

"Alright baby, you wanna-"

"No. She does not." Damon said quickly, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the guy, down the steps and through the crowd. On the other side of the room was a door that lead into a second overcrowded room; it was bigger and a large bar sat at one end. That was clearly his goal. When we stopped there I turned, leaning back against the bar as he grabbed two beers from the ice box, handing me one, "Only the finest of liqueurs."

I laughed, taking a swig of the Stongbow, "Exquisite."

Across the room I spotted Bonnie standing with Vicki Donovan and a few others I didn't know. I didn't see anyone else until Damon spoke again, "Get in there Jeremy." He said, laughing as he nodded towards the couple on the sofa. I cringed, really not wanting to see my kid brother making out with Anna Smith on the couch…gross.

I immediately turned back to face Damon, my back towards them, "That is so not something I want to see."

He just laughed, "Well you're yet to walk in on them having sex."

That was true, "Didn't you walk in on Stefan during his first time?"

"Well how was I supposed to know?" He exclaimed, "He was still irritating innocent little Stefan! I sure wasn't expecting it." That just made me laugh more. It must have been when Stefan and Jeremy were 14, Damon was 19, me almost the same. "Speak of the devil." I looked up at his words, seeing Stefan approaching. "Hey there baby bro." Damon called in that mocking way he does as soon as he was in range.

The younger Salvatore just glared at his brother, sending a smile in my direction, his eyes lingering a little too long and I shifted uncomfortably. Please, please don't make this awkward. "Hey Elena."

"Hey." I responded, trying not to acknowledge the way he said my name, "Enjoying the party?"

He shrugged, "It's alright. Surprised to see you two in this part though."

"What can I say? She just couldn't resist me." Damon said in his most cocky voice and I gave him an angry look. He wasn't meant to suggest anything! He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, the civilised party is kinda dull."

For a minute we didn't say anything, just let the bass pound in our ears, then Stefan spoke, "Hey Lena, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

I froze, feeling Damon tense beside me. It was now five minutes to midnight, on New Years Eve. Him wanting to talk to me now only meant one thing…"Urm…it's almost midnight Stefan." I said quickly, not sure what to do.

"I know." He said, "I really need to talk to you."

Oh god. Before I could say anything though, Damon cut in, "I don't think that's such a good idea Stef." It surprised me how serious he sounded.

He frowned, looking at his older brother, "What do you mean?" He asked, confused and clearly a little annoyed. When neither of us replied, avoiding his eyes, he looked between us, realisation slowly spreading across his face, quickly followed my hurt and…betrayal…why betrayal? And why now? Why did this have to come out now of all times? He spoke to me next, "You and him?" He said it like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. I opened my mouth to say something but he spoke again, "You're with Damon now?"

"Stefan-"

"No…just…no-"And with that he stormed away, through the crowd and out of the room.

I let out a groan of frustration, dropping my head into my hands. Why did it have to be like this? I'd never encouraged it…I don't think. At least I'd never knowingly showed any attraction towards him. Not that he wasn't good looking but…we'd already been over this. Why did he have to like me like that? And now he'd hate me…but what could I do? Not be with Damon? No I couldn't do that. What did he want me to do?

When I felt Damon's hand on my shoulder I raised my head, sighing and shaking my head, "You alright?" He asked, his expression somewhere between concern and annoyance at his brother.

"No." I admitted, "I never encouraged him. And if I did I didn't mean to. I've never suggested that I like him like that. Why does he have to? And he'll hate me because I'm going out with you and he just looked like I'd betrayed him or something! What can I do? Damon, what am I meant to do?" I ranted, tears in my eyes as I did so. Another relationship ruined. It was like I wasn't allowed to be friends with both Salvatore brothers at the same time.

He frowned, shaking his head, "Elena don't blame yourself. It's just a silly crush, we all had them. When I found out that Rosie Tuffley had a boyfriend I cried. Lena, I was 12 and I cried because a Senior had a boyfriend. It took me a week to realise that it was pathetic. This is just like that. It's just a school boy crush."

"But-"

"No buts. Not tonight. It's two minutes to midnight. We can deal with the angst in ten." He assured me, linking our fingers together and tugging lightly on them, "Come on, let's go somewhere quieter."

I didn't question him or say a word in face as he led me out of the foggy, crowded room. Instead of heading back to the older half of the house, he turned to go through the Mayors study, off limits to party-goers but we always came in here with Tyler. We still didn't stop, ducking through the door behind the desk, into another room and finally out onto the porch that wrapped around the whole house (if you could call it a house that is).

There were still people dotted around everywhere, mostly couples finding somewhere more private for midnight. I didn't pay much attention to them though. Damon pulled me to a stop by the white wooden balustrade, gently pushing me back against it while he caged me in, arms on either side on the railing. I smiled at him, hearing the countdown start around the house.

Ten

Nine

Eight

With each number he placed a small kiss somewhere on my face, making me laugh quietly.

Seven

Six

Five

"Four…three…two-"I didn't get to one, cut off when his lips crushed against mine. I smiled into the kiss, holding onto his shoulders to steady myself. His arms were around me in a dead-lock, I couldn't move even if I wanted to…which I definitely did not. There was cheering all around the house as loud cracks went off to signal the firework display. Surprised by the noise, I opened my eyes, twisting my head away from his to see the huge elaborate light display. I heard Damon chuckle beside me and I looked back at him, a grin on both our faces before I gave another shorter kiss to his lips. "Happy New Year Damon."

He let out a sigh, pressing a chaste kiss to the top of my head, "Happy New Year my love." I hugged him a little tighter, little shivers running around under my skin. I'd never get used to this.

But just as I was about to settle my head on his shoulder and relax, I heard him mutter a quiet 'Oh my God' and I looked up, following his gaze to the side until I found what he was looking at. Yes, not five metres away, stood our dear friends Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood, in a very similar position that we had been, also just having noticed us.

I caught Caroline's eye, somewhere between shock and amusement, smiling as a grin spread across her face and I knew what was coming next, "I can't resist." She began, "Elena Gilbert I told you so!" I laughed, burying my face in Damon's chest for a second before looking back at her, "I told you this would happen!"

"Fine, Forbes you are psychic." I gave in, "Happy New Year though." I added to both of them and they both responded in kind, saying it as a loud cheer and we all laughed. They made a motion to go inside before disappearing back through Tyler's father's office.

After a second Damon spoke, "Care to explain?" he questioned.

I looked up at him, instantly getting swallowed up in his ice blue eyes. It was strange though, the way that they were reflecting the fireworks behind me…magical almost. I sighed, shrugging, "I was talking to Caroline before I came here. She said you liked me and that we'd be together by the end of the holiday. Then I told her that Tyler had moved across the country to an alright college when he could afford to pay Harvard fees for all four of us, just to be close to her. Seems I was right."

He laughed, shaking his head, "You two have it all worked out." I nodded in agreement. Of course we did. We were girls, therefore we knew everything. Long-running joke that because we were girls we were better than Damon and Tyler. Mainly because they never used to let us do any of the 'manly' jobs until we had enough and did one such job better than them. Oh victory. "I love you Gilbert."

Warm fuzzies again! "Well I could say the same about you Mr Salvatore."

He smirked, pulling me away from the banister and wrapping and arm around my shoulders, "Home time?"

I nodded, nestling into him and winding my arms around his waist, "Home time."

I do realise how long ago New Years and Christmas was but who cares? To quote Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, 'since when does a queen need an excuse to sing?" If you haven't seen that film I advise you watch it, it is amazing.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, a little bit of Stefan awkwardness. He really annoys me, always ruining things for Damon and Elena. What a dick.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you