Hey there!
Thank you guys so much for still reading and supporting the story, I love how passionate you are about this characters and though lately it's been really for me to get a lot of writing time I still do my best to try and find it because I know how much you love the story so thank you so much for always being there f or me. I also want to thank Vidhi for being an amazing beta and always being there for me.
I know this is a short one but next one will be up sooner than you think so please enjoy!
"She was there waiting for me with a wound so wide that looked like a smile"
.
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The morning was a cloudy and humid one; chilly air caressed his face and made his nose cold as he walked towards her. She was wearing a cherry red ruffled top with a pair of jeans and ankle boots, she was a vision in red and not for the first time in his life he wondered how it was possible for her to be his.
"Hey there" He said cheerfully as he moved towards her. She was sitting down on the grass and her back against the trunk of a tree; he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek but she moved her face before he could make contact with her skin "Are you mad at me now?" He asked as he observed her face and realized there hadn't been a smile gracing her lips as he approached
"Of course, I'm mad at you, you jerk!" Elena crossed her arms over her chest and a worry line appeared on her forehead, her cheeks tinted rose and he almost wanted to smile at how adorable she looked.
Damon dropped his bag on the grass and slumped down in front of her "What did I do now, pretty girl?" He asked her as he placed his hands on top of his knees.
She gave him a stern glance "You promised me you wouldn't do anything to Matt and Tyler"
He shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes roaming the grounds behind her "I didn't"
Elena huffed and rolled her eyes before leveling him with a stern glance "Don't play dumb with me Damon, I've seen their faces"
The telltale smirk that characterized him so well appeared on his face "So? They do know how to annoy many people" When he saw that she didn't smile back at him he sighed and leaned forward towards her "I wasn't going to let that one slide so easily, Elena"
"You don't know them, Damon" She whispered, worry marring her face "He won't just back off, he'll retaliate and it won't be good"
Damon smiled softly at her and raised his hand to caress the side of her face "He won't, trust me in this. I've made everything better" Elena couldn't help but nod and tilt her face to the side so it could rest on his hand "Now let me hold you and let's forget about everything"
He moved their bodies so he was the one now resting with his back to the tree and her body was cradled between his, her back to his chest; they were technically still on school grounds but he didn't think the authorities would frown much on two teenagers being innocently affectionate towards each other.
"So, today after school?" He asked as he laced their hands together over her lap.
"Yes, though you might have to wait me for an hour after your last period because it seems Mr. Rodriguez actually showed up today so Spanish class won't be cancelled"
"Just our luck" He nipped below her ear softly and she giggled "Did you manage to find the information?" She nodded and proceeded to explain to him about some of the journals of her ancestors she had been able to find between her father stuff. With Founder's Day approaching Alaric Saltzman had assigned them a project based on the story of their hometown, said project was going to be worth a big part of their grade and since Elena had slacked on their previous work already she had promised Damon she was going to be all in on this one.
Damon liked seeing her talk about subjects that she loved, like history. Her whole face lighted up and even her voice acquired a cheerful tone, he wished she could see herself through his eyes so she could realize how passionate she was about certain things. Sometimes he worried that despite the popular girl façade Elena thought too little of herself.
"Excuse me but it sounds to me you have the whole project nailed down" He joked once she was over explaining to him the structure of the project she wanted them to present.
She laughed and swatted his arm playfully "Don't be silly, we still have to make the posters and the models." Her hands twisted over each other in her lap like she did when she nervous "Oh and I was also wondering if you would like to be my escort for the event"
"Excuse me?" His eyes widened and he looked down at her face, a quirky smile on her lips as she stared at him.
"You know I'm running for it this year right?" She said, her face was slightly craned back so she could stare at him "As reining Ms. Mystic Falls Caroline has decreed that she would not give up the crown unless it is to me and well, it's something my mom has been excited about since forever"
Damon knew all too well about that event, the entire town went crazy for a couple of days as the new belle of the town was chosen. Not even once he had been to one of them or wished to be in them but Elena had always been part of that world and now she was asking him to be part of it too.
Damon couldn't deny that a part of him swelled with happiness at the thought of her wanting him there in front of the entire town knowing she was his, that despite his background and low birth, Elena had chosen him, but there was also the part of him that feared their reaction, that fearing having his dream crushed because he wasn't good enough for her.
He cleared his throat "And will your mom be okay with me escorting you?"
"Well, I don't care if they don't like it, I want you there" She answered without hesitation. He remained silent and Elena started to second guess her request "You don't have to if you don't want to"
"No, I do" He answered quickly as he tightened his arms around her and kissed her below the ear "I do" Elena smiled into his embrace and two of them remained quiet for a while, the sound of the rustling leaves and the scattered birds in the sky filling the silence between them "What color you'll wear?" He asked after a while "You should wear blue"
Elena laughed "I'll keep that in mind"
He loved to be like this with her: calm, just enjoying being together, being able to hold her in his arms and talk with her about things he never imagine he could talk with a girl like her. He enjoyed every single bit of her that was revealed for him and he relished on learning that Elena was not the girl everyone knew, that there was a secret part of her that only he was able to see.
There was a part of him that feared she was nothing but a mirage, that a girl as perfect as her couldn't exist. He remembered watching her parading herself around with Caroline and thinking how sad it was that a girl as beautiful as her could be as ugly inside, but Elena wasn't ugly; she had proved him wrong and revealed herself to be as beautiful inside as she was on the outside.
That made her addictive, that made him a love ridden fool and he never craved anything more than the high he got whenever he was around her.
After a while she shifted slightly in his arms and nodded towards a pair of figures in the distance "They have been spending a lot of time together, don't they?" Damon followed her line of sight and found his brother laughing out loud with a certain blonde girl. He sighed loudly and Elena chuckled "What was that sigh about?" She asked.
He tightened his arms around her and lowered his mouth to her ear "He's a softie and she isn't, she'll break him"
Elena smiled widely and threw her head back against his chest "Probably, but don't you think that's the excitement?" Her eyes twinkled with mischief "I mean, he has to experience his first heartbreak somewhere, right?"
Damon nodded wistfully before bumping his forehead into hers "Indeed"
Elena's expression changed and it became serious suddenly "You won't break my heart, don't you Damon?" She was peering up at him with fearful eyes and he felt his heart squeezing inside his chest.
With a half-smile on his face he took a hand to her cheek and pinched it softly "The way I see things pretty girl, it is more likely you'll break mine"
"I would never" She said fervently and he smiled at the certainty in her voice before leaning down and kissing her lips gently.
Little did they know that both hearts would end up broken and with no guilty one at sight.
Elena was feeling sad; she didn't know if that was the correct way to express it but ever since the night when Tyler and Matt had slipped something into her drink she had felt like the walking dead, perhaps it was that the effect of the drugs was still in her body, she certainly didn't know but it was like a dark cloud was following her around all the time.
She didn't feel like getting up from bed or taking a shower, she didn't want to make small talk with her parents or even being around Damon and Caroline; if she was being honest with herself she just wanted to crawl underneath her blankets and remain there until the end of time.
Of course she knew she was Elena Gilbert and certain things were expected of her; so she got up every day and dolled herself in the best way she could, she went to school and laughed with Caroline, sighed lovely in Damon's arms and pretended that everything was okay because she loved them and she didn't want them to worry about her, it was the last thing they deserved after everything she had done to them. Elena knew she was a disease, a virus consuming everyone around her and she feared the day when they would realize the trouble she was and decided to abandon her, she definitely didn't think she could survive without either of them.
The obsessive thought followed her around the entire day, crawling inside her mind like a nasty bacteria, infecting everything she did, not allowing her to concentrate, she couldn't stand the thought of Damon walking out of her life, of not having his words and his kisses, of losing him now that she knew how amazing it was to feel loved.
Elena arrived home from school that Friday night and found her mother and father making their suitcases; her heart speeded up at the thought of them leaving again, not that she had seen much of them in the week since their return but idea of being all by herself in that big house once again was enough to suffocate her.
"What are you doing?" She asked her mother in a soft voice while she sat in the corner of her bed and watched her neatly fold dresses in the cream colored leather suitcase.
"What does it looks like silly?" The woman said with a smile "We are going on a road trip"
Elena made a face "Again?"
Miranda chuckled "Again? It's been ages since we've taken a trip together, Elena"
Elena's heart seemed to lose the heaviness and her eyes lit up at the idea "Together? Where are we going?"
"To visit your brother of course" Grayson Gilbert said as he emerged from the bathroom carrying a bag with toiletries "We're going to spend the weekend there with your grandparents, perhaps the change of air will do you good too"
Miranda lowered her eyes back to the her clothes, trying not to look at her own daughter. Elena didn't like the tone of her father's voice nor the implications in the statement "I don't need a change of air, Daddy"
The older man chuckled coldly as he started throwing things into his own suitcase "Well if you think the notion of dating that nobody of Damon Salvatore is a good idea then perhaps you don't even know you need it sweetheart"
"Grayson" Miranda hissed under her breath
"Well we can't ignore this forever can we?" He said in a raised voice "I saw Peter today at the club; he says poor Matt is heartbroken"
Elena felt the looming cloud above her once again; the tightness in her chest and the need to run away intensifying with every word that came out from her father's mouth "I'm going to get my things ready" She said abruptly as she stood up.
"We're leaving in an hour so hurry up" Grayson said harshly "And don't believe this conversation is over" She all but ran towards the door, closing it behind her with a loudly thud, she heard him whisper "Silly little girl" and felt her eyes watering with tears but she didn't let them fall. She went to her room and packed up her things without uttering a word, she was nothing but a pretty little doll after all and everyone knew they were lovely because they were always silent.
