I am so so sorry I'm late, guys! Life is hectic, trust me! But I have chapter 28 right here and I will do my best to be on time, next week!


Chapter 28

Three days later, I was once again in a black dress, this time headed to the church in the town square. Damon was in a suit again - I had thought he was going to stay home, since he didn't exactly approve of Matt, but he had put a suit on and came with me to the funeral. The aftermath of prom had been complete chaos. Caroline had gotten Bonnie out of there while I had been throwing up next to Matt's body and Damon had stayed by my side, picking me up and getting me out of there. He had then gone around, compelling everybody who had seen anything, and then he had taken me home, where he had explained everything to me about witches and in specific, Bonnie's bloodline. I had been too confused and too upset to really understand anything, so Damon had promised to tell me again when it had been a while - right now, there was just too much going for me to understand it.

The whole town was at the funeral, but since we were close to Matt and his family, we sat in one of the first rows. Vicki and Matt's father had flown in, sitting at the first row. I had thought Kelly would have come as well, but there was no sign of her. It made me angry, but I really didn't have any time for that specific emotion - I was there to mourn one of my oldest and best friends, not to be angry about who came and who didn't.

The girl who had been lying behind Matt turned out to be Dana, who oddly enough survived. She did have three broken ribs and a broken leg, but she was sitting front row as well, shaking and crying. Damon had modified her memories, so she didn't remember anything about Matt flying through the air and Bonnie being a witch. I really didn't approve of using compulsion, but Damon was right. The town couldn't know what really happened. Instead it was being presented as a horrible accident.

"You'll be okay," Damon whispered, as we sat down on the pew, him with his arm around me. Caroline and Stefan were here too, but Bonnie was nowhere to be seen. After finding out she was a witch, she had gone to New York to stay with her granddad for a while. He was apparently the only warlock in her entire family line and he had agreed to help her figure out how to control her powers, so she didn't accidentally killed more people. She was also being eaten alive by guilt from killing Matt, so she wasn't exactly doing good. I had sent her several messages and tried to call her, but she never answered.

Her granddad had assured me that she was seeing a therapist while doing her magic. Apparently there was a major witch and warlock community in New York, and they had a licensed therapist, who also knew what it was like to have magic powers.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked Damon, looking up at him. He gave me a small smile and rubbed my upper arm with the arm he had around me.

"Because you are strong and I know you can get through most anything. And I'll be here to help you," he said, and then we quieted down, as the organ started playing. A white coffin was standing on the podium in front, with lots of flowers around it and a picture of Matt on top. It was odd. I had never imagined seeing Matt's picture on a coffin like that.

Most of the funeral went by in a blur for me. I caught a few words from the pastor, but not many and the ones I did, didn't seem right for Matt.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

I knew it was something that gave a lot of people a sense of hope and believe that Matt was in a better place, but for me it seemed totally out of place. Matt had not been religious in any way, so having something as religious as that mentioned at a day, that was supposed to be dedicated to him, seemed wrong.

I hadn't thought I wanted to say something, but when the pastor asked, I decided I wanted to. So I slowly stood up and made my way to the front, where I took a deep breath and thought back to the Matt I knew.

"Matt Donovan went up to me the first day of kindergarten together and asked me to be his friend. That was the first day I met him and we were inseparable from that day on. We spent almost every day together, and I could never have imagined a better best friend. He protected me from everything and always made sure I ate enough food and that I was well."

"Matt Donovan always cared more about everybody else than he did about himself and his first priority was always his friends. Those of us who were lucky enough to be his friends, knew that. When his sister was big enough to walk, he insisted on bringing her every time we went somewhere, because what could be more important than your little sister. Vicki was always trailing along to our adventures and every time we went somewhere, Matt made sure that she was alright."

"Matt did not deserve to die this early. He was a good person and he will be missed sorely by everyone whose lives he touched."

Tears started pressing on behind my eyelids again, and I let them roll down my cheeks, as I walked down from the stand, to sit down with Damon again. He put both arms around me and let me hide my face in his neck as I cried.

"You did good," he whispered and kissed the top of my head, "I think Matt would have appreciated that."


The weeks following that were odd and empty. Although it had been a while since I'd really hung out with Matt, it felt weird not seeing him in the hallways, and seeing all the flowers and candles in front of his locker at school. Bonnie came back after 3 weeks, but she didn't say a word to me and avoided me wherever I went. When we had class together she sat as far away from me as she could and made sure to get out before I had any chance of talking to her.

I didn't even know if she had gotten into the college she wanted. My letter from Whitmore had come a few weeks back, and I had been excited to find out that I had been accepted into creative writing. Damon hadn't been as thrilled as me, which had been surprising, but I think I found out why a few days later - me going to college also meant me moving out and it would mean that we couldn't share a room anymore. We would be a 2 hour drive from each other and while I was planning on trying to come home on the weekends, our lives would change a lot. I wanted to think about it and talk to him about it, but I very simply couldn't get myself to, because I knew I had to fix things with Bonnie first. If she got in, she would be going to Whitmore as well and we had both applied to have each other as roommates, so I didn't want it to get too awkward before we went.

I tried to catch her after classes and during our breaks, but she seemed to disappear every time we had a break, so it was impossible. I even went to her house after school, but her dad just told me she wasn't home. It was a bit confusing, because I had no idea where she would be, if she wasn't there.

In the end, I decided to take Caroline's advice and just give Bonnie some time. She had, after all, gone through something horrible and traumatizing, so she probably needed time to process it and I wasn't sure she was going to appreciate talking to her now dead boyfriend's ex about it. So, while it hurt, I let her be and concentrated on enjoying the last of senior year, now that the pressure of school and grades were gone.


Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, Caroline and I were shopping for graduation dresses. It was weird, shopping without Bonnie, but we didn't want to force her to come, and even if we did, she was impossible to track down. Hopefully she would be at graduation.

The day of graduation was supposed to be one of the best days of my life, but it wasn't. Not only was I missing my parents and my brother, to be there and watch me graduate and finish with high school, but now one of my best friends were missing as well. I had hoped Vicki would stay in town, but as soon as the funeral was over, she had left with her dad. I was pretty sure I wasn't ever going to see her again.

As I stood in the classroom where all our graduation gowns were, I didn't feel right. The crowd around me was very 50/50. The people who had known Matt were as upset as I was, knowing he wasn't going to be with us, while others were happy, celebrating their newfound freedom. A part of me wish I was able to celebrate with them, even though it would have been mean to the memory of Matt. Caroline, Stefan and Damon were all waiting in the crowd in front of the stage and I knew Caroline had brought a camera, because she had been taking pictures of me all morning in my dress, in the car, going into the school and so on. I think she had taken the role of a mother upon herself, since I didn't have a real one to fuzz around me.

"Are you okay?" I turned around, surprised to hear Bonnie's voice. It was the first time she had spoken to me since before prom, and I didn't really know how to react.

"I… no… what about you?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. She had done a great job of putting makeup on and actually curling her hair, but I could see how the tears were already threatening to spill from her eyes.

"No… Listen, Elena, I'm sorry," she said, looking down at the graduation cap in her hands.

"There's no need to say sorry. You went through something really bad and I know all of this can't be easy… especially with your new powers and everything," I said, although I whispered the last part. I wasn't too worried about anyone hearing us - most students in here were busy with their own conversations and making sure everything was in order before we went on stage.

"No, it's not, but my granddad has been a really big help. He moved down here when I came back so I have someone close who can help me with my powers," she said.

"I had no idea he moved here! Bonnie, that's awesome!" I said, happy we were finally talking about something a bit lighter than Matt. In all honesty, I wanted this day to be good, but with so many people dead, who should have been here, I wasn't sure it could be.

"It is. He's taught me some tricks and I've got my magic way more under control now," she said and I could see a genuine smile on her lips. It was a big relief because I had almost been more worried about her, than myself. She had been closer to Matt towards the end and she must feel a ton of guilt, even though it hadn't been her fault, that she couldn't control her magic. She didn't even know she had magic.

"That's so good to hear, Bon!" I said and on instinct I stepped forwards to hug her, only remembering in the last second that maybe she wasn't ready for that.

But I was worried for the wrong reasons - she folded her arms around my neck and hugged me back. I finally felt like we were back at a better point, although nothing would ever be the same.


I was beyond nervous as we stood in line to go on stage and receive our diplomas. I wanted to cry, for several different reasons - I missed my family, I knew Matt was supposed to be in this line and I was finally finished with something I had been fighting for, for so long. There had been a few times in the past year where I hadn't thought I was going to make it, but now that I was standing there, ready to be done with it, it wasn't what I had expected.

It wasn't until I was on the actual stage and was able to look over the crowd and see Damon, Stefan and Caroline all looking at me, so proudly I thought my heart was going to burst. Caroline was actually holding a tissue.

And when the principal called my name, I didn't feel as sad anymore. I may not have had my biological family, but I had another family and they were here to support me.

As soon as I got off the stage, Damon, Caroline and Stefan came over to congratulate me. I was surprised when Caroline handed me a rectangular velvet box, with a bow on it and a small tag, saying congratulations. I certainly hadn't been expecting presents.

"Open it," Caroline said with a smile. It was a charm bracelet, which already had two charms on it - a heart and a graduation cap.

"This is too much, you guys," I said, looking around at them. Damon held his hands up and took a step back.

"Don't look at me, this was all Caroline and Stefan. My present is waiting for later," he said, winking at me. I blushed, and took the bracelet out of the box, to put it on. Caroline gave me a hand with the lock and I enjoyed the sight of the silver on my wrist.

Then they gave me some time to run around and write in yearbooks before we took off. We were going out for dinner together, where Caroline snapped a bunch more pictures of me and Damon together and just of me doing random things.

I tried to ask Damon about his present, but he just shook his head and kept telling me it had to wait until later. I knew it wasn't something sexual, because he had tried to pull something like this on me before. He was trying to trick me, and I knew it.


When we got back to the boarding house, I was exhausted and a little drunk on the wine we'd had for dinner, so I thought he would just give me my gift and then we could go to bed together. That plan was ruined when I walked into our room and two large suitcases were sitting on the floor.

"Are we going somewhere?" I asked, confused. Had he packed for me?

"Yep. Change into something comfortable, we've got a long trip ahead of us, but I promise you can get a lot of sleep on the trip," he said, grabbing the suitcases and putting them by the door. Then he started taking his clothes off to change from his suit.

"How long do we have before we have to go?" I asked, looking at his trained stomach with a smirk. He smirked right back at me and started unzipping my dress.

"Sorry, baby, we've got to get going. We'll find somewhere in the airport," he said, planting a kiss on the back of my neck. I sighed and took off my dress, finding a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in our closet.

"The airport? How far away are we going?" I asked, curiously.

"Don't bother, I won't tell you where we're going. It's a secret," he said and pulled out a pair of loose jeans to wear. I knew it was pointless to try further - Damon was twice as stubborn as I was, which meant there was really no way I was going to get it out of him. Instead of trying to get it out of him, I just focused on changing into some different clothes and remove my make-up.

"Did you grab my passport already?" I yelled from the bathroom, as I checked if he had packed my make-up and toiletries, which he of course had.

"Yes, it's on top of your backpack. I packed your diary, with pen and a few books, but if you want to add anything, you can do that," he yelled back. I smiled at the consideration - Damon did know how much I loved journaling, so he made sure I had it with me. He had forgotten one thing, though. I quickly grabbed the notebook he had gotten me for Christmas and made sure it was in my backpack. I couldn't leave without it. It was great for inspiring me to write, and now that I knew I was going to do creative writing in college, it was a good idea to get in the habit of writing more.

Once that was done, I was all ready to go. I had put the backpack on my back and was grabbing my suitcase, when Damon stopped me, with a look that told me he really wasn't going to let me carry my own things. Instead, he stacked the suitcases on top of each other and grabbed the backpacks with his other hand and carried them downstairs. I knew he was extra strong because of the vampire thing, but I hadn't really seen it used like this before. I mean, had he been human, that would have been impossible, even for a bodybuilder.

I followed him down, kinda waiting for him to drop the suitcase on top, but it never happened. Apparently he didn't just have strength, he also knew how to balance them.

He got them in his car and still managed to open the door for me, before I had gotten around the car. Vamp speeding really was cheating. He got into the driver's seat and as soon as he started the car, I could feel myself getting tired, despite the excitement of going somewhere. I had never been outside the country, and since I needed my passport, I imagined we were going far away. It really was too big of a graduation gift, but my excitement of seeing the rest of the world overcame my feeling bad about him spending money on me.

I was getting more and more used to it - he paid for my college education as well, since the money I had inherited from my parents were locked in a bank account until I was 21. I had tried to talk Damon into just loaning me the money, but he wouldn't hear it. I wasn't sure where he had so much money from, but I also kinda didn't want to know. It probably wasn't really in a legal way.


I managed to fall asleep in the car, so I felt a bit better when we came to the airport. Damon hauled our luggage out and grabbed a trolley for them, since he couldn't just carry them around here. It would look way too suspicious. I had figured the secret would be blown as soon as we checked in, but he compelled the lady behind the counter to let him check me in and kept my boarding pass hostage after that. I had no way of knowing, and Damon knew it.

As soon as we'd handed off our suitcases, we carried each our backpacks and made our way to security. Damon went first, but he kept a close eye on the officer checking me, when the alarm beeped. I gave him a smile and mouthed that it was okay, but he still didn't really seem to relax.

Once the officer was satisfied I wasn't carrying anything dangerous, he let me through and Damon put his arm around me protectively. He had my backpack in his hand and lead me out to the shops. We went around looking at the things for a little while and we got snacks and gum in one of the stores and then we sat down on one of the benches. Damon refused to let me go to the gate until it was boarding time, because he knew the surprise would be spoiled, if I knew which gate we were going to.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at the gate and I finally knew where we were going.

"Rome?" I said excitedly. He smiled and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head as we walked to the lines in front of the gates.

"Yep," he said, "I want to show you my home."

I knew how much that meant to him, since he wasn't exactly one for emotions and storytelling. Just telling me about Katherine had been hard enough. I was about to stand in the economy line, when he pulled me over to first class, and I gaped at him.

"We're in first class?" I asked, as we stood there with a handful of other people.

"Congratulations on graduating," he said and pushed me forward, as the stewardess motioned for us to come. I handed her my passport and the boarding pass Damon had kept from me and then we were walking on board together.

Since we were flying so far away, it was one of the really big airplanes and the first class seats were amazing. I would be able to sleep here with no issues and I would still be right next to Damon. They were soft, we had TV screens with movies and games on them and there was lots of leg space.

We sat down in our seats, after Damon had put our luggage in the overhead storage and buckled our belts, so we were ready for takeoff. Now we just had to wait for the rest of the people to board. We didn't really talk, since we were both pretty tired, and I almost felt myself dozing off. Just before I was about to fall asleep, memories from prom night came into my head and I suddenly felt wide awake, as I remembered what Damon and I had been doing just before Bonnie came into her powers.

"I saw you at The Grill when I was 13," I blurted out, sitting up straight in my seat. Damon frowned and looked at me.

"What do you mean? Where is this coming from?" he asked, obviously confused. I had wanted to tell him on prom night, but with everything that went down, I had pushed it to the back of my mind, trying not to focus too much on that night.

"When we were dancing, right before everything happened with Bonnie, I remembered something. When I was 13, you were at The Grill. You were smiling at me and you made me feel all safe," I said, frowning as I remembered the sensation. I shouldn't have felt safe with him, to be honest. Even though I had no idea he was a vampire at that point, he screamed bad boy, with his blue eyes and leather jacket. Not to mention the alcohol in his hand.

He was the guy my Aunt Jenna had warned me about, that could break my heart, but for some reason I had still felt completely safe with him.

"Oh, we did?" he said, but there was something off about his voice. Something told me he wasn't telling me the entire truth.

"I mean, it's a while ago for me, but I remembered it that night. Have you been coming to Mystic Falls for a long time?" I asked. I knew there were lots of things about our story together that didn't really match up, but everything in my life ever since I had met him, had been so hectic, I hadn't had time to sit down and properly think it over. And I was too terrified to ask him.

A part of me felt like I wasn't going to like the truth.

"Yeah a few times over the years. I lived here for a while back in the 1940's. I had been living in Europe, but with the war going on I'd rather be here," he said, shrugging, "you should really get some sleep. There'll be lots of stuff to see once we land."

I looked at him for a little bit, thinking that something was off, but he was right. I did need sleep. It had been an exhausting day and I was going to need my energy for following him around in Italy.

"You're right," I said, leaning over to kiss him, "as soon as we take off, I'll try to sleep."


Damon woke me up at every meal they served and then he woke me up again when the pilot told us to sit up straight again and buckle our seatbelts. I grabbed the opportunity to look out the window and I was amazed to see how different it was from the states. We couldn't see much yet, but the rooftops I had seen so far had been different, with the red tiles and bricks. I was well rested and really excited about getting out of the airplane. It had been a pretty long trip, and I was going to appreciate getting out on solid ground again.

When we flew over Rome, to land at the airport, I was floored to see all the buildings from the top. I could already see how much older they were than what I was used to, and I couldn't wait for Damon to show me around and play tourist.

As soon as we touched down, I realized that I was actually on foreign ground for the first time in my life.

"Welcome to Italy," Damon said, smirking at me. I smiled back at him, getting up to get our bags.

"Welcome home," I said, and the smile faded a little from his mouth. I cursed myself, remembering that Damon's memories from this place wasn't the best ones.

"My home is with you."


Alright, there it is! I'm sorry if my Italy references won't be accurate - I have been in Rome, but it's 6 years ago, so it's been a while. Feel free to correct anything.

There will be more timejumps from now on, since we're getting closer to the end, but I've tried to keep it somewhat natural. Let me know what you think in a review! I love hearing from you guys! See you on Thursday next week