Chapter 26: Nice To Meet You

"Hey." Someone was shaking her. "Elena. Wake up." The shaking got more forceful, and Elena reluctantly opened her eyes to see Damon next to her, a smirk forming on his lips.

"And the Sleeping Beauty is awake."

"Damon?"

"The one and only." Then he frowned. "Do you have amnesia or something?"

Elena groggily sat up straighter only to find out her arms were around Damon just as his were around her.

"You do remember where we are, don't you? Because I really don't want you to freak out when we land in Genova. That's in Italy, by the way."

Elena removed her arms from around Damon, feeling slightly embarrassed, because there was no way in hell she'd fallen asleep snuggled up to him. That was all on her subconscious.

"I remember," she said. That's when she remembered another thing – Stefan's existence. She pulled away from Damon even farther, straightening up.

"Hi," she whispered to Stefan. She realized she hadn't talked to him in ages.

"Hey."

"How long more before we land?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. Since when was talking to Stefan so hard that I felt forced?

"About an hour and a half, I guess a little bit more."

Surely enough, one hour and forty minutes later, the seatbelt light flickered back on, and the lady talking through the speakers told everyone to return to their seats and that the plane was ready for landing. Elena stiffened as the plane rocked slightly. She tried to reach for the armrests again, but her right arm found Damon's arm instead. She clutched to it tightly, not caring about what he thought. He smirked. He turned his hand around so he could lace his fingers through hers, intertwining them. He stroked the side of her hand softly, silently reassuring her it'd be okay.

Stefan pretended not to notice the gesture, and the calming effect it had on Elena. He turned away from the two as she smiled, not pulling away from his brother.

When the plane finally reached the ground, Elena sighed in relief.

"You okay?" Damon asked her. She smiled.

"Yeah." To his pleasure, she still hadn't removed her hand. But, as all good things must come to an end, when the seatbelt light flickered off and people began to get up, so did Elena, pulling her hand from Damon's. Stefan forced a smile at her as he handed Elena her handbag. She smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Damon got up as well, and then the followed the other people out.

After retrieving their luggage, the three stepped out into the warm air.

"So, where now?" Elena asked. Stefan was smiling the widest smile she'd ever seen on his face since Lexi.

"There," he said, already moving towards a young man. Damon and Elena followed him. Stefan pulled the man into a hug.

"Hey bro! I've missed ya'!" The man said.

"I've missed you, too," Stefan said as he pulled back, laughing. Only then Elena noticed that the man wasn't a man at all. He was just a boy. His appearance was youthful – he was half a foot taller than her, with dark blond hair worn in short messy spikes. His green eyes danced with amusement as he grinned widely. He was currently laughing with Stefan, and Elena found his laugh pleasantly contagious. He seemed like a carefree, good friend material.

Stefan guided him over to where Damon and Elena were standing silently.

"Elena, meet Derek. Derek, meet Elena. And you remember Damon, of course."

Derek grinned and shook Elena's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Elena."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

Then he turned to Damon. His grin widened even further as he shook his hand, clapping him on the shoulder.

"It's great to have you around again, mate."

Damon smirked. "Yeah, great to see you."

"Let's get going?" Derek asked, placing the guests' luggage in the trunk of his car.

They sat into the black Camaro and Derek started the car. Stefan had conveniently chosen the passenger seat. He'd had enough of Damon's over-sweetness.

"Oh, and a little warning," Derek said as they pulled away from the parking lot. "Gwen's home."

Stefan stiffened visibly and Damon groaned. Elena had no idea who it was they were talking about.

"Who's Gwen?" she whispered to Damon.

"Derek's bitchy older sister. Stefan had a crush on her back in the day. Scary woman, that one."

Elena looked at him, eyes full of worry. Damon smirked at her, understanding her fear.

"She won't try to chow down on you, if that's what you're scared of. She's smart enough. But she's still scary. You'll see for yourself soon enough." Damon smirked again, and Elena heard Derek chuckle from the front seat.

"Yeah. Gwen might be a bitch sometimes, but at the end of the day, she's still my sister."

"Yeah, I know how you feel, mate," Damon muttered, earning a glare from Stefan. Derek chuckled, and Elena suppressed a smile.

Soon they fell into an even silence. Elena looked out of the window, finding everything around her beautiful. Suddenly, Damon's voice was just at her ear, whispering,

"It gets even better."

Elena shivered as his breath caressed her skin. She hated when he did that.

"Oh, it does?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Mhm," Damon quipped, smirking deliciously as he pulled away. "The place we're going is much more beautiful than that little village there," he said, pointing towards a bundle of houses farther away. Elena smiled. She liked Italy already. Out of the blue, she found herself fighting back a yawn.

"You're still tired?" Damon asked.

"Jet lag."

He chuckled.

"You can sleep if you want. No one's stopping you."

"Yeah, but I don't want to miss all the beaut-"

"You have enough time to experience the beauty of Italy. I'll make sure of that.

Elena smiled tiredly, letting her eyelids droop. In less than a minute, she was asleep.