A/N: Let me just start off with saying that I am terribly sorry for not updating in such a long time. After Spring Break school got really crazy and I haven't really had any inspiration to write. Now that I am on summer vacation, I am going to try to get an update out every week. It might not be for this story specifically, but I will get one out. I feel that now this update is out of the way, I'll be able to get the others out more smoothly. Enjoy!
ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW
"Easy," I breathe out a labored breath with one of my hands around his waist and the other holding his hand that's over my shoulder. It's been a week since he woke up and he was finally discharged from the hospital. The nurses recommended him being in a wheelchair until his leg heals more, but being the stubborn person he is, he ditched the wheelchair as soon as we stepped foot out of the hospital. He whispered something about not wanting to seem weak in front of the paparazzi that were swarming the door. Which I think is absolutely ridiculous because he was just kidnapped and injured, he can seem weak, even if it is just for a moment or two.
Now, the big challenge was standing up the whole way in the elevator, the floor that our condo is on, and walking all the way to the end of the hall. I don't know why he couldn't have sucked it up and sacrificed his manliness for, at the least, thirty minutes until we got home. This is probably the hardest I have ever worked to get into my house. I've already broke into a sweat because of basically carrying him down the hall, then holding him up with fishing the house key out of my bag. When I finally unlocked and pushed open the door, a wave of cool air blew on us and it felt like heaven.
"Let's go get you into bed." I say, starting to drag him towards the bedroom. If I didn't know it, I would swear someone replaced his feet with damn cinder blocks because it feels like he weighs a ton.
"No, I want to sit on the couch." He whines, which makes me, roll my eyes.
"No, you're getting in bed because I'm not taking the time and effort to move you off of the couch and into the bedroom when you get tired." I reply, more snarky than intended.
"I love it when you get sassy with me." He whispers in my ear and moves his lips to my neck. My breath catches in my throat and I almost trip over my own feet, but I slightly shake my head and step into our bedroom. We finally make it so he can sit on the bed and I go to grab him some pajamas.
"Here put these on." I throw at him as I walk by and into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I brush my hair while I'm in there, then walk to the closet that's on the opposite side of the room. I strip off my shirt and jeans and discard them on the floor then walk back out into the room and to my dresser. I'm in my black panties and matching bra, searching for matching pajamas when I feel his eyes burning into my side. A small smirk comes to my face knowing I can make him stop and stare for that long. "Would you like to take a picture or just sit there and stare all day?" I break the silence and stand up straight, putting my hands on my hips and smiling at him.
"I wouldn't mind getting a live feed." He replies quickly and I laugh. "Grab one of my shirts." He points to his dresser and I raise an eyebrow.
"Now why would I need one of your shirts when I have much comfier clothes to sleep in?" I say slowly and cross my arms over my body.
"One, I can see that you're struggling to find a pair of pajamas. Two, if you hadn't noticed… it's kind of a turn on when you wear my shirts." He smirks and I lower my head to laugh.
"You are just a pain in the ass, you know that, right?" I tell him and he sends me a signature smile. "First, you treat me like a slave and make me drag you all the way home and now, you're telling me what to wear?" I lower my voice and uncross my arms. "But it sounds like if I wear your shirt… it will only benefit you." I slowly start to saunter towards him, still in my bra and panties, and I smirk. He is still sitting with his legs off the edge of the bed so I walk around to stand in front of him.
His eyes scan over my body he bites his bottom lip. I stand a little taller and push out my boobs so they'll catch his attention, and thankfully they do. I crawl on the bed and straddle his lap. When his look locks on my face I run my tongue over my lip and run my hands up from his stomach to his shoulders. I speed things up and push him down on the bed and then press my body to his.
"I think you're becoming to controlling." I whisper in his ear as I start to nibble on his it, then find the weak spot by his collarbone and he inhales a sharp breath. His hands find their way around my waist and he squeezes me closer to him. I roll my hips against his to get a rise out of him more quickly. He groans and I smile against his neck. I smile at the things I can do to him. I move my lips to his and nip at his bottom lip. We start kissing until we're both gasping for air and his lips are at work on my neck now. "We're breaking the rules, you know?"
"What rules?" He asks breathlessly, his lips still on my neck. I push my hands on his chest and sit up. He stays lying down on the bed as I hop off of him and stand in front of the bed.
"Your doctor said no demanding physical activity for at least three weeks." I say with a small smile like nothing happened as he slowly sits up.
"Are you serious right now?" He asks through confusion. "You start this," he points at his manhood, "And expect us not to go through with it?" He says.
"I was just having some fun, Stefan, and you know we wouldn't have been able to finish that anyways." I remind him and cross my arms over my chest.
"Why are you making this so hard on me, Elena?" He asks and I hear a phone ring in the other room. I start walking towards the door and he calls after me once more.
"I think you make it hard on yourself." I reply and stop to look at him.
"No pun intended, right?" He says through thick sarcasm. I laugh and turn around to exit the room.
"Pun most definitely intended, Mr. Salvatore." I throw over my shoulder before leaving the room and running to the kitchen to answer the phone.
"Hello?" I say into the phone as the smile leaves my face and I hear Stefan start to shuffle around in the bedroom.
"Elena, right?" I hear a male voice come from the other end of the phone.
"Um… yeah, may I ask who this is?" I say slowly.
"Damon… Salvatore. Stefan's brother." He replies to me. I hop on the kitchen counter and swing my feet back and forth.
"Oh, sure… Hey, Damon. Um, sorry Stefan's not by the phone right now." I tell him and start inspecting my nail beds.
"I actually wanted to talk to you." He says skeptically.
"About what?" I ask him.
"I talked to Stefan and I think that you and I should get to know each other a little bit more. It seems like you're going to be around for a while. So maybe you and I can have dinner together tonight? There's a good Italian place on Sunset Boulevard called Bella's." He offers and I'm honestly confused. I don't know what him and Stefan talked about, but I guess I need to get to know him. He's right.
"Um… yeah, sure. I'll just have to get Stefan some food because the doctor wants him to stay in bed. But after that I can meet you at about seven?" I ask him and he agrees with me.
"Alright, I'll see you later." He says and then hangs up the phone.
I sit there for a minute, staring at the phone, wondering what on earth had just happened. I put the home phone back on the dock and hop off the counter. I walk into the bedroom to see Stefan already in bed and watching T.V.
"The weirdest thing just happened…" I tell him, jumping up on the bed and sitting next to me. He doesn't respond, he doesn't even look at me. "Excuse me?" I ask him, waving a hand in front of his face. He keeps his eyes on the T.V. and I punch his arm.
"What the hell?!" He yells and I start to laugh at him.
"You were seriously about to give me the silent treatment?" I accuse him through a smile. "I'm going to tell you anyway." I say and turn towards him. "Damon called and he asked me to dinner. Said something about getting to know each other better."
"Yeah, he was an ass after you left us in the hospital room, so I asked him to do this for me." He replies, keeping his eyes on the T.V. I raise an eyebrow at him and squint my eyes.
"He's taking me to a restaurant called Bella's. You heard of it?" I ask and he finally turns to look at me.
"Yeah, it's fancy. Wear something pretty." He says and goes back to the T.V.
"Alright. I'm gonna make you some food before I get ready. What do you want?" I ask him, sliding off the bed and towards the door.
"Grilled cheese and tomato soup sounds good." He tells me, his eyes flicking to me just for a second. He looks a little bummed out for some reason and I furrow my eyebrows. I walk over to his side of the bed and grab his hand.
"What's wrong, baby?" I ask him with a caring voice.
"Nothing." He brushes me off quickly. I raise my eyebrows at him and squeeze his hand a little bit harder.
"Stefan, tell me." I practically beg him.
"I've just been thinking a lot lately. And you know that thinking doesn't do well with me." He tries to pull a joke but he doesn't even laugh himself.
"What have you been thinking about?" I climb up next to him and keep his hand in mine.
"The first thing I thought about while I was with Noah was how I didn't want to leave you. I didn't want to leave our baby and if he would have killed me, I would have had so many regrets when it comes to you. But what he did to me really made me think and worry about my life. I'm scared that I'm not going to be ready to start training for the next baseball season. But then I thought, screw the whole baseball thing… I'm worried about being a shitty father. I'm worried that I won't… know how to change a diaper correctly, or I'll make the milk to hot, or I'll just sleep through the night even if they've been crying for hours. Then that makes me thinks back to baseball. Because baseball is literally the only thing I've ever known how to do perfectly. If something prevents me from playing this season. I'll have nothing." His voice died to a whisper and I didn't know how to respond to him. So I do the only thing I know how to do. I kiss him.
"That's not true." I whisper against his lips once I've pulled away. I grab his hand that is resting on the other side of his body. I grab both of his wrists and lead his hands to my stomach. "You have us." I quickly press my lips against his before pulling back and looking at his still closed eyes. "We're not going anywhere."
"Okay." He says quietly.
"Okay." I smile back at him. "I'm gonna go make your food. I'll be back in less than fifteen minutes." I kiss his cheek before hopping off the bed and leaving the room.
Ten minutes later, I was walking through the bedroom door with a perfectly golden grilled cheese and steaming tomato soup on a tray. I set it down on Stefan's lap and disappear into the bathroom.
"Elena," Stefan calls my name.
"What?" I ask him from the bathroom.
"Come here please." He says a bit quieter.
I exited the bathroom and made my way to him. I set my hand on his forearm and raised my eyebrows.
"I don't want water." He says, grabbing the glass of water and pushing it towards me. I don't grab the water but I just stare at him.
"Then what do you want?" I ask, getting annoyed with his neediness. It was only the first day he had been home and I already wanted to lock him in that room. If I am like this with a grown man who had been kidnapped, how would I be with the little life growing inside of me.
"Beer." He simply states.
"No" I reply quickly.
"Why not?" Stefan whines, setting the glass of water back on the tray.
"Because the doctor said no alcoholic beverages with your medication. That's why." I explain and start walking away.
"Why do we have to listen to him?" He whines again.
"Umm… let me think, well he's your doctor." I emphasize and tilt my head to the side.
"Elenaaa" Stefan whines.
"Stefan, I said no. End of discussion." I sharply say and take a breath. "I'm gonna shower and get ready for my dinner with Damon." I tell him, walking back into the bathroom and closing the door.
Thirty minutes later I was exiting my closet, showered and dressed, heading back to the bathroom to finish my hair and make-up. My white pumps click every time they touch the hardwood floor and my eyes flick to Stefan's face for only a second and his look is intently on the T.V.
I quickly dry my hair and run a straightener through it, just to rid of some of the wavy parts, then applied a small amount of blush on my cheeks. I line my bottom lid with black eyeliner and make my eyelashes pop with jet-black mascara.
I look in the mirror and take in the little black dress that stops mid-thigh, has a deep V-neck, and hugs to my body. I ruffle my hair a little bit before grabbing a light pink lip gloss, applying it, and then drop it in my clutch. I press the home button on my phone that is sitting on the counter and the screen lights up. The time says 6:15, so I exit the bathroom and walk to Stefan.
"I'm leaving in fifteen minutes." I say coldly, leave a light kiss on his cheek, and then leave the bedroom.
I sit on the couch and play on my phone until I have to leave. I call out to Stefan to tell him I'm leaving and get a small goodbye in return.
I don't know what happened between us, but within fifteen minutes we went from being happy and playful to being distant and solemn. I didn't mean to get harsh with him, but I want him to get better quickly. I don't want to be the wicked witch of the west and make him miserable, but I need to do what the doctor told me.
I just hope we have both cooled off by the time I get home.
It doesn't take too long to get to the restaurant and by the time I get there, I see Damon sitting at a table by the front window. I quickly walk inside and tell the hostess that I'm with Damon. He sees me walking his way so he gets up and pulls out my chair for me.
"You look… nice." Damon says awkwardly as he settles back in his seat.
"Um, thank you." I reply to him. I pick up the wine menu and start to look at it until I remember that I can't drink. How did I forget that I'm pregnant? Is that even possible? I quickly set the list of wines back on the table and set my right hand on my stomach while I open the large menu in front of me.
A short girl with light skin and blonde hair starts walking towards us. She has tight black dress pants on and a white button-down shirt with a black apron around her waist. She also has a wide smile plastered on her face and pulls out her order pad before stopping at our table.
"Hi, guys! My name is Amelia and I'll be serving you today." She introduces herself cheerfully and smiles at us. "Can I start y'all off with something to drink?" She asks.
"What do you have on tap?" Damon asks her and I eye him from behind my menu. The waitress proceeds to name every type of beer they have on tap until he finally shows interest in one. "I'll take a Yuengling." He says before smiling and looking at his menu. Amelia looks at me and smiles.
"Just a water with lemon please." I say with a smile and look back at my menu.
"I'll be right back with that." Amelia said with a smile and left.
"So…" Damon starts when Amelia is out of sight. "Tell me a little bit about yourself."
I quickly decide what I want from the menu and set it on the table. I look up at him and take a deep breath while thinking about what to say. Why does he want to know about me so badly? So he can find my flaws and point them out to Stefan.
"I'm not all that exciting." I let out a nervous laugh. "Born and raised in Virginia, went to college at Wesleyan University in Connecticut then moved out here after I graduated. When I came out here, the Dodgers needed a new, young, and freshly out of college statistics keeper. They were impressed with my college resume so they hired me." I explain to him.
"Family?" He asks.
"Mom, dad, brother. I'm close with my aunt, too. My brother is younger than me, his name is Jeremy." I say quickly.
We fall into an awkward silence and I try to keep my eyes away from his as much as possible.
I just can't wait for this night to be over.
MIRANDA'S POINT OF VIEW
"I can't believe my little girl is going to have a baby." I say while sitting down on the couch in front of the fire.
"I don't know how I feel about this, Miranda." Grayson says to me and I look over to him with confusion.
"What are you talking about?" I ask him.
"What if this baby ruins her life?" He asks, keeping his eyes on the fire.
"Grayson, our daughter is responsible and strong. This baby will not ruin her." I tell him while grabbing his hand. He looks over to me with worried eyes.
"What about that boy of hers?" He says.
"Stefan," I say and he nods. "He seems like a really good young man, Grayson. You've known him for a few months, you can't judge him as harshly as you are." I tell him softly.
"I just don't want Elena to get hurt again." Grayson replies with a large sigh.
"Elena is a big girl, Grayson, she can take care of herself. Plus, I don't think that Stefan would let anything happen to her." I say and Grayson scoffs. "Did you see the way he looked at our little girl? Even if she doesn't know it, hell, even if he doesn't know, he's in love with her. He looks at her like she's the most precious thing in this world. You can't give him a chance if you won't let go of what happened in the past." I tell him and get up from the couch. I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass out of the cupboard next to the fridge. I press the cup against the small trigger in the fridge and the cup begins to be filled with water. I take a sip before turning around.
I see Jeremy and I take in a sharp breath and put my hand to my chest.
"Oh my God, Jeremy, you scared me. I didn't hear you come in." I say through a laugh.
"Sorry, mom," he smiles at me. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something."
"What, honey?" I ask him.
"I wanted to know if you're cool with me going to visit 'Lena soon." He says quietly.
"Jer, what about your college classes?" I ask him, being genuinely concerned. I haven't been keeping up with his progress in college and he's graduating in a year. I don't want him to tell me that he won't be graduating because he's not concentrating on school. He's twenty-one and will be off on his own soon. I need to know that he's prepared for it.
"Mom, all my classes are online this semester. I can do work while I'm there." He reasons.
"Jeremy, how are you doing in school?" I ask him.
"Fine, mom, why are you getting worried all of the sudden?" He asks, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"We just never talk about it." I tell him truthfully.
"And if something was wrong, you would be the first one I would come to talk to." He says with a small smile on his face.
"You can go," I say and his smile widens. "Only if Elena says it's okay." I add.
"Mom, I want it to be a surprise." Jeremy says shyly.
"What has gotten into you?" I ask him with a smile.
"What are you talking about?"
"When you found out Elena was seeing someone, you were mad at the world. Wondering why she would make herself vulnerable again. When she came out here and we figured out she was pregnant, y'all barely talked." I say, my Virginian accent coming out.
"I don't want to be that brother that shuns his sister because she's with someone. Besides, Stefan's really cool." He says and I laugh.
"I guess it's alright with me. But," I start and he groans. "Just warn Stefan you're coming."
"Fine," he jumps up and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "I'll go call him now."
He runs out of the kitchen and I hear his footsteps start up the stairs.
"Jer!" I call out to him.
"What?"
"Don't stay up too late; you and I are going to the Farmers' Market in the morning." I say and I hear a loud sigh.
"Alright, momma!" He says before his bedroom door shuts.
DAMON'S POINT OF VIEW
"So, what do you do for a living?" Elena mentioned, taking a bite of her Ceaser salad.
"As of right now?" She nods. "Nothing."
"Stefan mentioned something about medical school, though." She says, setting her fork down.
"Yeah, medical school wasn't for me. I stopped going about three months into the first semester." I say with a laugh.
"He's under the impression that you finished." She replies fiercely.
"Well I didn't, Elena. I'm sorry but I don't know what to tell you." I tell her the only thing that I can think of.
"What were you doing the entire time that he thought you were in school?" She asks me with her eyebrows furrowed.
"We still kept in contact; we just didn't talk about school at all." I explain.
"So you're unemployed." She simply states. I nod to her. "Does Rebekah just provide for the both of you?" She asks.
"My relationship with Rebekah and what goes on in it is none of your business." I tell her harsher than I meant to.
"Does she know you didn't graduate; or even stick around for school an entire year?" Elena asks, looking genuinely concerned.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." I say with a smirk.
"So you lie in your relationship?" She asks another question. Damn, I don't know how Stefan puts up with this girl. She's throwing questions at me left and right.
"No…" I start. "I just don't tell her the full truth." She cocks an eyebrow at me. "It's to protect her from getting hurt." I tell her defensively.
She raises her hands a little in surrender and just nods her head while letting out an airy laugh. She looks down at her plate and starts messing with her fork.
"What?" I ask her, getting annoyed with her behavior. Why did I ever agree to this damn dinner?
"Oh, nothing." She says, wiping the smile off of her face.
"Just spit it out."
"Just the fact that you lie to your girlfriend; it amazes me." She explains.
"Seriously?" I raise my eyebrows at her. "So, you're telling me that you and Stefan never lie to each other?" I ask her, having some sort of intention of starting trouble.
"Nope, we promised to not lie and tell the truth to each other. We don't keep anything from each other. That's why we can be our complete selves when we're around one another." She says with a proud smile on her face.
Oh yeah? I think to myself. Let's test my brother's honesty.
"So you know about our bet then?" I ask with my signature smirk.
Let's make things interesting.
A/N: Well, shit.