Disclaimer: Who would have guessed? I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

When All Else Fails, Go Have Fun

Elena jumped. She was afraid that maybe Stefan was hurt, that he had to fight to get to her. Guilt immediately started to take over her mind. She had been so worried about her own problems that she didn't stop to think that something might have happened to her ex-boyfriend. She approached him, her steps slow and slightly clumsy. Though she didn't want to admit it to herself, she was still afraid of him. She had no idea whether he would jump, grab her and drag her away to Klaus. But at the same time, she feared that something would happen to him if she didn't help, if she just ignored him. As much as she would like to deny it, to make things simpler, she still cared about him.

She stopped in front of Stefan's limp body, eyeing it warily. Trusting didn't come too easily for her after all what she had been through in the past few months. She looked at Damon, waiting for an answer, for a reason as to why Stefan had passed out so suddenly. But he didn't seem to know any more than she did.

Still apprehensive, Elena crouched beside him. She didn't know what to do. She shot another glance at Damon, pleading him to give her an answer, anything that might lead her to knowing what to do. She watched as Damon's expression changed from worried to annoyed. She couldn't imagine why he was acting like that, but at that moment she didn't really care. All she wanted was to know that Stefan was going to be ok.

- Let's take him to his room and see if he is wounded. - Damon ordered, his voice dry and cold.

Elena nodded. She would do anything that he asked of her as long as she could find out what was wrong with Stefan. She picked up his legs while Damon lifted his torso, not bothering to hold his head. Had the situation been different, Elena might have complained about his lack of care, but she couldn't concentrate. Her mind was mounting several scenarios depicting Stefan's situation and none of them ended well.

By the time they got to their destination, Elena was already shaking out of fear that he would die. She kept looking at Damon, the desperation clear in her eyes. Every time she did so, the look on his face changed. Sometimes he seemed worried, other times he was just annoyed.

They laid Stefan down on his bed and Damon leaned close, smelling the air.

- There isn't even a trace of blood in the air. - He murmured, absentmindedly passing a hand through his brother's hair. - I don't know what to do, Elena. I don't even know what caused him to pass out.

Elena almost shivered at the tone of Damon's voice. It was cold and emotionless. But she knew that he was worried, she had seen the look in his eyes when they were climbing up the stairs. But even as his brother laid in bed, unconscious by no apparent reason, he still tried to pretend, he still kept the walls on his mind up, keeping any kind of sympathy from ever showing on his stone cold facade. She only wished she could do something to help him.

She climbed down the stairs, her head bent low in defeat. There was no way of helping him without knowing what had caused him to pass out. She tried to take her mind off him by thinking about the mysterious kiss she had shared with Damon earlier that day. She had expected him to be bragging about it, to be hitting on her uncontrollably, but he was acting almost normally. The only thing that had changed from his usual behavior were the mood swings he seemed to be experiencing, which Elena couldn't figure out why were happening.

With a ghost of a grin, she thought about her promise to herself that she would enjoy Christmas, no matter what. It wasn't looking like she was going to be able to keep it. But there was still hope. Her best friends and their boyfriends were there, ready for a party, and she intended to give them one. At least then, if she didn't manage to enjoy the night, she could say that she tried. She took one last hopeful glance at Damon, wondering what was going on in his mind. Something might be very wrong with his long missing brother and there was nothing they could do that night. That was bound to wake up some of the dormant emotions he kept hidden and locked up deep inside his mind, behind so many barriers.

Shaking her head, Elena scolded herself mentally. She was there to have fun, to enjoy herself by eating way too expensive food, chatting about non-supernatural things with her friends and dancing, not to worry and obsess. That was her normal routine.

She put a hand on Damon's shoulder and whispered with a slightly playful edge to her voice:

- You might want to take the drinks out now.

Damon allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. Elena almost sighed in relief. She could still count on him to literally force her to have fun, like he had done in Atlanta so many months before. She smiled slightly at the memory. It seemed like that day had happened so long ago, in another life, a life where she could actually have fun, where she didn't have to worry about Klaus, other Originals, sacrifices and bloodthirsty boyfriends. She only wished she could live another day like that.

As a thought crossed her mind, she grinned. She might not be able to have another day like that, but she most certainly could have another night like that. As she allowed her mouth to form a smile, she shoved all her problems aside, as much as she could, and braced herself for a night of fun.

When the idea popped up in her mind, it had seemed to easy, so simple. If worrying was so complicated, then she had supposed that not worrying should be easy. But it didn't work like that. A minute had just barely passed before her problems started nagging at the back of her mind, telling her that she needed to do something, that she needed to think about them.

With a sigh of pure and simple exasperation, Elena made her way to the kitchen, hoping that she just needed to cool off a little. She didn't even hear as Damon followed her.


Author's Note: Double chapter! Well, I have a lot of work to do. R&R!