Another chapter. Can you believe it? I can't believe I started this story over a year ago. I had no idea anyone would be interested in this story. Thank you for all of the love and support. I truly appreciate each and every one of you. This couple is such a passion of mine and it's so good to be able to share them with people who feel the same way. There's some angst in this chapter but also some sweet stuff too. Lots of Katherine. What could she really be up to? Guess we'll have to wait and see. There's another Author's Note at the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

Chapter 25

DPOV

Enzo, Stefan and I are spending the day at Ric's loft watching college football. Its guy's day while the girls are catching up over at Elena's. Jeremy is the only one missing and it's not my day to watch him.

"What's going on with you and Elena?" Ric starts as soon as the first round of beers has been passed out.

"Nothing. What makes you think there is?"

"Well, she rode to and from the masquerade ball with us, Bonnie and Caroline have not left her side, and the girls quit talking every time I walk into the room." Ric lays out what's been going on since we've been back.

"How do you know you didn't do something and they're talking about you?" I deflect. I really don't want to think about what's going on with me and Elena. It could be that she just missed Jenna and is still recovering from this being the longest she's been away from the other two. It has nothing to do with me.

"Because Jenna is incredibly happy with me right now." Ric grins like the Cheshire cat. "I asked her to marry me on New Year's Eve and she said yes." We all congratulate him and give him a hard time about getting married. He then asks me to be the best man and Stefan to be a groomsman. We don't hesitate to say yes. "Now, what did you do that has Elena in a tizzy?"

"Tell him what you did." Stefan can barely contain himself.

"I can't wait to hear this." Enzo is suddenly interested.

"Elena missed Jenna so that's why she went with you all last night and same thing for Bonnie and Caroline." That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Ric and Enzo continue staring at me until I give in. "Fine. I asked her to live with me while she's in college."

"Damon, you didn't." Ric says, disbelievingly.

"I did and I offered to buy her a house."

"She turned you down?" Enzo asks, looking as confused about it as I felt. What girl wouldn't want to live with her boyfriend in a house instead of a dorm? Apparently, mine.

"That's not the best part." Stefan prods and I roll my eyes. "Tell them the rest." I am so glad he is having such a good time at my expense. Why did I tell him anything to begin with? This is why I don't share.

"Elena pointed out that she, Bonnie and Caroline have always planned on rooming together when they went to college so I offered to buy a house big enough for all of us. And Stefan, if he decides to go to Whitmore and I don't kill him before then."

"You are going to live with Bonnie and Caroline?" Ric asks. "I can just imagine how that would go. The three of you would be fighting on the first day and in turn, driving Elena crazy."

"Offering Caroline a walk-in closet might get her on board and the other two would follow." Stefan teases.

"Anything else happen?"

"Only that Katherine was Klaus's date last night."

"Your ex Katherine?"

"And Elena was not happy when she found us talking outside in the hall. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do." I sigh. Seeing Katherine was a nightmare. I always had it in the back of my head that we were too young and that's why it didn't work. It had nothing to do with her not really loving me or anything else that happened. Then when I met Elena, my perspective changed. I realized what love actually is and it wasn't me and Katherine. It made me appreciate Elena all the more and want to protect her from Katherine.

Meanwhile at the Gilbert house…

EPOV

"Tell us all about Jamaica." Jenna starts the conversation rolling. We are sitting in the living room with Bonnie and Caroline, eating popcorn and just relaxing. It's been awhile since we've had a girl's day and it's kind of nice.

"It was so much fun, more fun than I had even imagined. We went ziplining, snorkeling, swimming, bobsledding, sailing and we went on an off-road safari. Not to mention the beach parties and dancing that the resort hosted." While listing it, I'm amazed that we were able to do all that within a week.

"Elena, that's boring. I want the juicy details about all the sex you guys had." Care

"Caroline!" I shriek. She's still staring at me so I decide to give her a morsel. "Let's just say not one part of our vacation was boring whether we were alone or not."

"Fine but you know I would tell you everything."

"In great detail." Bonnie complains.

"So what's going on now? You've spent most of your time with us instead of Damon since you got back. Tired of him already?" Jenna jokes.

"No but I needed to clear my head. On Friday, he asked me to live with him when I go to college."

"But you're supposed to live with us." Caroline points out, while Bonnie glares at her.

"He thought of that. Damon's plan was to buy a house big enough for all of us to live in and he would commute to Mystic Falls from Whitmore."

"That's a hell of a commute every day." Bonnie comments.

"Do I get a walk-in closet?" Care's priorities are intact, as always.

"I told him that I wanted to live with you both in the dorm like we always planned. I want to have as close to a normal college experience as I can."

"I think that's probably the best decision, for now, maybe later, when you're older and ready you can live together then." Jenna

"If there is a later." I mutter. "When Katherine showed up with Klaus last night, it didn't make things any better especially when he took her to the foyer to talk. Not my idea of what you do with the ex you supposedly don't care about any more."

"Elena, you know he doesn't have feelings for her anymore. He was probably being his normal, protective self and keeping her away from you." Jenna assures me.

"I'm sure you're right." We continue to analyze Damon and Katherine without much resolution. Then Jenna gives me her serious look and I'm terrified.

"Elena, I need to talk to you and Jeremy about something but I wanted you to know first."

"Okay. What is it?"

"On New Year's Eve, Ric asked me to marry him."

That send us into squeal mode. I am so excited that Ric is officially going to be my uncle. It's about time. I wish my parents were here; they loved him so much and thought he was so good for Jenna. He lets her do her wild and crazy stuff and goes along for the ride without trying to ground her or change her. She asks each of us to be in the wedding, with me as her maid of honor.

"We were thinking a June wedding but we want Ric to go ahead and move in now."

"I think that would be great. He's here all the time already." I don't see what the problem is. Of course, he's going to move in.

"That's not all." Jenna takes my hands and takes a deep breath. "We are planning on moving into your parent's bedroom. Would that be okay with you or too weird?"

"It's a little weird and it'll take some getting used to but I think it would be okay. It's what they would want and this is where you are going to start you're married life together. You should be in the master bedroom."

"Will you help me talk to Jeremy? I'm not sure he'll be as okay with it."

"What is Jeremy not going to be okay with?" John asks, surprising us all as he pops into the living room.

"Ric and I are getting married in June and he is moving in here within a couple of weeks."

"Poor guy. He really is a glutton for punishment." Apparently nothing changed around here last week.

"Like I care what you think." Jenna rolls her eyes. "However, this is going to affect you because you if you are staying, you will need to move into my room because Ric and I are moving into the master."

"No, you're not. It's not your house."

"It's not yours either. It's mine and Jeremy's and I say she moves. Jeremy will too. I am going to college this fall and then he'll be going the next fall. We are not going to be here but Jenna and Ric are. They should be in the master, not you."

"I think you've been spending too much time with Damon." John comments.

"Because I speak my mind? I'm just telling you what's fair. I have always stood up for that."

"Speaking of Damon, who was that beauty he was secluded with last night?"

"He wasn't secluded with her and that's Katherine, his ex." Then I quit talking. He doesn't need to know any more than that, not that I myself know much more.

"I just want you to watch yourself with him. You never know when an ex is really an ex." John says cryptically and leaves as suddenly as he came in. Damn him. I have let him plant seeds of doubt about Damon in my head.

After gossiping for a few more hours, Bonnie, Care and I go to my room because I want to talk them about Damon and Ben. I feel better that it's off my chest but I'm apprehensive too. I've been very reluctant to talk about this aspect of our relationship and I almost feel like I'm betraying it.

"Why didn't you tell Jenna?" Caroline asks.

"Because she doesn't want Jenna to know and she doesn't want Jenna to give her a hard time about it."

"Exactly. I don't think this is something I can share with her. She'll go into overprotective mode again and it's not that big of a deal."

"Of course it's a big deal. He almost got into a fight because some guy dared to touch you." Caroline says, obviously frustrated. "Is this how it's going to be as long as you're with him?"

"Caroline's right. You need to think about if this is the way you want to live your life. Are you always going to have to be on guard for what's going to set Damon off?"

"I don't think so." I say, frowning, while turning everything over in my mind. "I think it's still part of him accepting that I love him and am not going to leave. We've never really talked about the future other than me going to college and that we'll still be together then."

"Elena, we don't want you to ever be in a dangerous situation because of his possession issues." Caroline points out.

"It will never get that far. Once he realizes I'm here for good, he'll chill. Maybe I shouldn't have shot him down so quickly when he asked me to move in. I said it was all because of you guys, and while that's true, it's also because my love for him consumes so much of me already. I don't know how to be with him all the time and not lose myself completely."

"Sweetie," Caroline says softly while pulling my head onto her shoulder, "you need to talk to Damon. Be completely honest about how you feel, how you want to be with him and talk to him about how his possessiveness makes you feel."

"Do you think I should talk to him about Katherine too or let it go?"

"You need to talk about that too." Bonnie advises. "I think she plays into the jealousy issues and after what John said, I know you're worried now."

"I was upset because he talked to her outside but I didn't think about it meaning he might still have feelings for her. I was upset because we weren't facing her together. Maybe John's right."

"Stop right there. Your Uncle John is never right, especially about Damon." Caroline rolls her eyes.

I wish I shared their confidence but they're right. I need to have a big conversation with Damon. The problem is when to do it.

The first day back at school as an ex-cheerleader whose social life consists of her much older boyfriend and aunt and soon-to-be uncle is not exactly the most enjoyable experience. I still have my core group which is important but I feel out of place. It's almost like I'm beyond everything here already when I still have a semester left to go.

Maybe it's Senioritis or maybe it's being back in Virginia where it's freezing cold when I should still be in Jamaica. Or maybe it's because I haven't seen Damon since Saturday night and I'm probably not going to until tomorrow. He's working late trying to catch up on everything he missed.

Whatever is going on with me, I decided to hang out with the gang at The Grill after school instead of going home and brooding. It's hard to believe it's been almost five months since the first day of last semester and we were in the same place only it was warm and I had just met Damon.

I'm daydreaming about that day on my way back from the bathroom when I hear my name. I stop short and almost run into Katherine.

"Katherine."

"I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more on Saturday night."

"I'm not."

"What's with the hostility?"

"It's not hostility. I just don't have anything to say to you." Jeez. Now that she's in Mystic Falls am I going to have to see her or hear about her every day? Doesn't she have a boyfriend to occupy her time?

"Could it be that you're jealous?"

"I think that would be you, not me."

"Why be jealous when I could easily have him back?"

"Is that why you're here, to try to get Damon back? If so, don't waste your time. It's not going to happen."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

"Sure, whatever you say." I roll my eyes and walk away.

DPOV

"Katherine, what are you doing here?" I ask, surprised to open the door and find Katherine, especially when I had hope it was Elena.

"I thought I would come by and see you when I knew you were alone."

"How do you know I'm alone?"

"I just left The Grill and your brother and your teenage girlfriend are there with their high school friends."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"Can you at least let me in? It's freezing out here." Katherine then flashes me her big brown eyes and as much as I'm going to regret this I can't let her freeze. She's not going anywhere until I hear her out. I lead her into the parlor and make myself a drink but don't offer her one.

"Now, Damon, it's rude not to offer your guest a drink." Katherine pouts.

"First, you're not a guest and second, I don't care. Just say what you have to say and get out."

"Fine." She gives me her patented Katherine glare and then in a second it's gone. In its place is her most innocent expression. It might work on me if I didn't know her. "You deserve to know the real reason I'm in town. When I found out Klaus was from Mystic Falls, I thought dating him would be the perfect excuse to be in Mystic Falls. Then when I get here, imagine my surprise, you're in Jamaica with an 18 year old."

"Did you think I would be moping around here, just waiting for you? You really are delusional."

Katherine sidles over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. This is interesting. Let's see where this is going. "I knew how much we loved each other and I wanted to see if we could work things out."

"Correction. You knew how much I loved you."

"Damon, that's not fair. I loved you but I didn't know it." So that's the card she's going to play.

"It's too little too late. It's the opposite with me. I thought I loved you but I didn't. Elena showed me that." I walk out of her arms because I can't stand to let her touch me at all. "And she is ten times the woman you can ever hope to be."

"Damn you." Katherine screams and then pulls her arm back to slap me but I grab it instead.

"Don't even think about it. Just because you had this insane fantasy of us getting back together and you aren't getting your way does not mean you get to hit me."

"I hate you."

"That's more like it. Now get out."

"With pleasure."

EPOV

"Damon, no fair Facetiming me while in the bubble bath." I sigh but am loving the view I have right now.

"You could always get in your tub."

"The tiny one I share with my brother that hasn't been cleaned since before Christmas? No, thank you. I'll just suffer." I roll my eyes and pretend to pout.

"You could always come over. Dad lets me have overnight guests." Damon gives me that smirk that I absolutely love and if I wasn't already sitting down, I would be weak in the knees.

"That's not fair either. My monthly visitor is still here."

"Okay, I'll stop teasing you then."

"Can you come over tomorrow night? I miss you."

"I miss you too and I was planning on it. It might be a little later than normal but I'll be there. I'll make something for dinner too."

"You don't have to do that. I just want to see you."

The next afternoon, I am standing in front of the fridge door trying desperately to find something to snack on when I hear the front door open and I know those footsteps because they are ingrained in my soul. I slam the door and run around the corner and straight into Damon's arms. He has to steady himself on the wall so we don't topple over. If this is what two days does to me, how am I ever going to go a whole week? It's a question I keep asking myself.

"Miss me?" Is all he can get out before I am devouring his lips. He carries me over the island where he sets me down and we are all hands and tongues and I absolutely cannot get enough of him or get close enough to him. I have shoved his jacket off and am working on the buttons on his shirt. I'm still on my period but I don't even care about that at the moment. Damon is my only consideration. That is until I hear a cough behind Damon.

I look over Damon's shoulder to see my little brother standing there. Damn. I forgot other people live here too. It could have been worse. By worse, I mean Uncle John.

"I thought Jenna told you not in the common areas." Jeremy teases.

"Sorry about that. We're going up to my room."

Once in my room, Damon is eager to pick up where we left off but after the interruption I remember that we really need to talk. I hint that there may be a reward if he lets me talk but otherwise nothing's happening.

"Okay. What's so important?" Damon is in his usual position on my bed, leaning against the headboard holding my teddy bear. I love the sight of him holding my bear but I can't get distracted. He tends to do that to me which is part of the problem. I sit cross legged at the foot of the bed facing him and take a deep breath.

"I wanted to talk more about living together."

"I think we said all that needs to be said. I want us to live together but you don't."

"That's why we need to talk. I do want to live together and I think Bonnie and Caroline would be on board. More Caroline than Bonnie but I think she'll agree too."

"Great. I'll start looking for houses tomorrow."

"Now you're getting ahead of yourself. I said I want to live together. The problem is I don't know if I can."

"Okay. What's the problem?"

"The problem is I love you so much that it hurts. Being away from you for the last two days has been so hard on me that I don't know how I'm going to go one week much less any more than that. But when we are together, this love consumes so much of me that I'm not sure where one ends and the other begins." I pause to look up at him and he seems like he's paying attention and thinking about what I'm saying. Since he's not interrupting or saying anything I decide to go on. "I can't focus on anything but you. If we are living together, am I going to be able to concentrate on my schoolwork?"

"Let me get this straight. You think if you live with me, then we're going to have sex all the time and you're going to flunk out of college?"

"It's not just that we'll be having sex all the time. Even when we're not I can't concentrate on anything else." Now, I can't look him in the eye.

"Elena, I have a hard time concentrating when you're around too but it won't be like Jamaica all the time. We had no responsibilities there but we do here. I'll be working and commuting and there are some instances where I'll have to stay in Mystic Falls. Then you'll be studying, doing stuff with the girls and other people that you meet. You'll be busy."

"That makes sense. I think I was overthinking it but I still want to consider living in the dorm at least our first year."

"Fair enough. How about I look for houses, show you any that look like potentials and you still apply for a dorm room and we'll go from there?"

"Perfect." I snuggle up next to him and we both end up laying down side by side. "I know we haven't really ever talked about a future together because I don't want to scare you off. That's how Matt scared me off and we had been together for years. It's just been a few months with us but I do see one."

"You won't scare me off. What do you see?"

"It's incredibly embarrassing but okay. After I graduate from college, I dream about us leaving Mystic Falls and going to New York."

"The city or upstate?"

"Definitely city, maybe East Village. You'll buy a bar and we'll live in an apartment above it. I'll write while you run the bar. During the not busy hours, I can write at the bar but I can also help bartend when it's busy."

"I would love to see you bartending."

"Then, after a few years and I've published a couple of books, we'll have kids."

"How many?"

"Two, I think, so they can keep each other occupied."

"Perfect."

And that's enough talking for today. Even though we didn't talk about Katherine or his possessiveness, I am feeling really good about our relationship again and that's all that matters.

I know her idea of their future is a lot like the one on the show in Season 6 except she's a writer in my story. I really like the thought of them getting out of Mystic Falls. We'll just have to see if we can get them there. Also, I know you all hate that I ended it there with the tease earlier but we'll get to that stuff soon lol.