Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summer Love

PART XI

"Hey Matt!" Elena greeted cheerfully by the kitchen's entrance. When she came down to get some breakfast, she saw the older Salvatore and Matt sitting across from each other with a tense atmosphere. There were two mugs of coffee on the mahogany table. Damon and Matt evidently hadn't touched them after placing them on the table. The sun was hitting their face at an angle, highlighting some of their handsome features.

"Hey Elena!" Matt exclaimed, a grin instantly showing on his face when he turned his head to look at the other blonde.

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked. She didn't know whether or not to ignore Damon, so she directed the question to both of them.

"Upstairs in her room," Damon answered, his hand reaching for the cup. His cup felt cool.

"Oh. Does she know that you're here, Matt?" Elena asked, strolling over to her friend. Matt stood up and opened his arms. Elena smiled softly and loosely hugged him.

"Yeah, she knows," he answered. They pulled away after a moment.

Damon cleared his throat. And then Bonnie appeared at the entrance with Stefan following closely behind.

"Matt, this is Stefan. Stefan, that's Matt," Bonnie quickly introduced. She was nervous, Damon could tell; what with the rushed words and introductions she's doing. "Want some breakfast? Eggs? Bacon? Both? All?" she asked, walking towards the stove.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Matt," Stefan said, smiling in an amiable manner. He was aware that this was the son of the Honeycutt's. Plus, Matt seemed like a nice guy.

"You too, Stefan." He returned Stefan's smile with one of his own.

Elena, however, kept her cool and remained to be herself. "So. Happy Fourth of July, guys!"

"Oh! I almost forgot about that!" Bonnie exclaimed, pouring some oil in the pan. She stood on her tip-toes and leaned over the sink beside the stove to reach for a spatula. "There's a parade by the beach. And I heard that the locals were going to set up a few stands there too."

"That sounds great," Matt said. "Are we going?"

"We are," Damon said. Stefan gave his brother a look, clearly urging Damon to invite Matt along. His older brother never did.

"You wanna come along Matt?" Bonnie asked, whisking some eggs in the pan. She focused her eyes on her task. "I bet it'll be fun."

"Sure. When are we leaving to go to the beach?" he asked.

"We can leave after we're all finished getting ready," Elena suggested, lifting her eyebrows as she looked at Damon.

"Can you set the table for us, Elena?" Bonnie asked.

"Yep," Elena replied. She went over to the cabinet where the dining utensils are held and grabbed five of each. Plates, forks, knives, and glasses. She neatly put them on the table and slipped in a chair.

"Thanks Elena," Bonnie said, lifting the pan from the stove and carrying it over to the table. Using the spatula, Bonnie scooped out the eggs and placed an equal amount of portion on each plate.

"Looks yummy," Matt complimented, his eyes glancing up to meet Bonnie's. Bonnie simply smiled.

"Appears like we're going to have a good breakfast today," Damon commented with a smirk. The redhead glanced over her shoulder and smiled sarcastically.

"So. Matt's here," Elena said softly, straightening her best friend's bed sheets.

"I know," Bonnie mumbled. She ran a brush through her red curls, watching her reflection. Her brown eyes stared back at her, mirroring the confusion she felt inside. But, she thought, why am I confused? There's nothing going on with Matt and I . . . but Damon . . .

"-Damon's just probably jealous," Elena was saying. "I mean, he's more cynical than ever. Okay, maybe not cynical but . . . more of, like, rude."

"Well, you have mentioned that a few weeks ago- when you first met him . . ."

Elena paused, her mind racing back to their conversation so many days ago. "Yeah, I guess, but that's not even this rude."

"I suppose," Bonnie murmured, turning around to look at her best friend. "And anyway, what's there to worry about?"

"Oh I don't know," Elena said slowly, shrugging, then she gave Bonnie a look, "Maybe his crush on you?"

"He doesn't like me in that way, and you know that very well!" Bonnie exclaimed. Elena gave her another look, one that orders her to keep her volume down, so the redhead placed her hands over mouth. "Just . . . dun wawa bow it."

"What?" Elena asked. "Don't mumble in your hand, jeez!"

"I said don't worry about it!" Bonnie whispered-yelled. "Nothing bad would come out of it. I know you know that Matt doesn't like me in that way. Plus, now . . . he's like a brotherly figure . . . to me . . ."

"Uh huh," Elena said, obviously not being swayed by Bonnie's reasons. "Maybe I should just ask him if he-"

"No, no don't do that," Bonnie interjected quickly. "It would cause problems. Or something. I'm sure he sees me as a sister. I mean, the only person he's actually been romantically inclined to was you. You know that," Bonnie repeated.

Elena sighed and lied down on her best friend's bed, throwing her arms overhead. "Romance is so complicated."

"But the feeling of being adored is worth it," Bonnie mumbled, beaming a bit as she thought of her Italian admirer in the room across from hers.

"Totally," Elena agreed, a nearly tired tone in her voice.

"And the ladies finally decide to appear," Matt stated, watching as his friends walked down the stairs. Stefan was easy to get along with- he realized that the minute he and Stefan began talking about sports. Damon, on the contrary, was a very hard cookie. He hardly talks, hardly even acknowledges his presence, and hardly smiles. Only when Bonnie appeared in sight did he smile crookedly.

"Shall we walk around?" Elena asked, then she added, "It's only noon and the parade doesn't start until two."

"Yeah," Matt replied, shrugging his shoulders. "It's been a while since I've been here."

"When was the last time you've stayed here?" Stefan asked curiously. The girls were already walking out of the door, Damon following closely behind them, and Matt and Stefan leaving last.

"A few years back," Matt replied, trailing behind the trio- which included the girls and Damon. Matt was tempted to call him a girl in his head . . . "How do you like it here?"

Stefan's eyes glimpses at Elena, Matt noticed, and with a smile, Stefan said, "It's quite nice here."

"Does your brother like it here too?" Matt asked, his voice lowered.

Green eyes glanced at the back of Bonnie's head. "I suppose so," Stefan murmured. He didn't elaborate.

For one and a half hour, they strolled around the blocks, finally settling at the beach where the parade would pass. Stands were everywhere; lemonade stands, hotdog stands, snow cone stands, etc. It was amazing; Bonnie and Elena surely loved it.

"Here," Matt said, handing Bonnie a snow cone; Elena had already gotten herself one.

"Thanks," Bonnie said with a huge, childish grin. She accepted the snow cone and dug up some ice. The parade was going to start. The floats were lined up at the end of the street, where it would pass by the beach houses and roam around their neighborhood and other nearby places. The crowds were already walking towards the cement.

Damon, having watched the interaction between Matt and Bonnie, walked over to a cotton candy stand and bought the biggest, blue cotton candy he saw. It only costs a few bucks. Once he purchased the cotton candy, he broke into a light jog to catch up to the redhead with the snow cone.

"In case you get hungry," Damon muttered, handing her the big fluffy cotton candy.

"Oh, thank you Damon!" Bonnie squealed happily. She loves cotton candy! Who care if they're overly sweet and junk? They're good. With her left hand, she grabbed the stick, and with her right hand, she held her cold cup of snow cone. Matt sent Damon a knowing look.

One that accepts the challenge Damon had thrown at him.

Trumpets began playing and Bonnie jumped up and down, trying to see above people's heads—which was futile—and sometimes trying to peek through the people's body gaps. She couldn't see the parade! Damon and Matt stood beside her, towering over most of the people and easily watching the parade go by. She wondered if she should ask Damon to lift her up—even for just a second—but . . . maybe she should just ask Matt? Damon seems like he's in a bad mood . . .

But before Bonnie could decide, Damon had already grabbed her forearm and pulled him to her, her body temperature doubling its heat. It was so hot today! She hated it; all sticky and sweaty . . . humid-

"Want me to lift you up?" Damon asked, his lips hovering over the shell of her ear, his warm breath drifting in her ear.

"If you don't mind," she mumbled shyly, a blush forming on her cheeks. Bonnie was completely unaware of Matt studying them. Damon, however, hid a smirk and was utterly conscious of his staring. Matt's lip twitched.

The game's on, Salvatore.

A/N: Sorry for the late update guys! I just finished writing the chapter today, but don't worry- I shall write up the rest of the story this week . . . and hopefully be finished with it. C: Thank you guys so much for everything! :) Sorry if this was short! I wanted it to be longer, but I'm so tired and I feel weak . . . i dunno.

review?