Hey guys! okay, this is my first continuous story eeeep! It's set sometime during season 3, but before 3x19 and their little arguement thingy, so not as much conflict happening there. Originally, I thought this would be a depressing story about Elena finally falling apart, as you will see from the first paragraph ;) but I then decided to take completely random turn and make it another roadtrip!Yay! So have fun, enjoy, and hopefully I will be posting regular updates every week or so :) Enjoy!


Everybody's waiting, for you to break down

Everybody's watching, to see the fallout

Even when you're sleeping, sleeping

Keep your eyes open

Elena was falling apart at the seams. Stefan was off on some sort of tangent, his excuse being 'Oh, Elena, I can't be there for you at the moment because I'm dealing with some things right now (aka trying not to kill everyone in sight) and I need some time away from everything to clear my head. Don't come looking for me.' She knew he was only going to indulge his cravings, just somewhere far away where she wouldn't hear the news from. She didn't care what he did, to be completely honest. She gave up caring and trying to help him a long time ago, he even told her he didn't need any. That, in her view, was enough reason to cease and desist. With Ric off his rocker with the whole 'Evilaric' thing going on, she wasn't sure of her safety at the Gilbert household anymore. Hell, she wasn't sure of her sanity anymore.

She sat in the parlour at the boarding house, contemplating, when her thoughts were interrupted by the front door slamming. The sound of heavy boots echoed down the hallway, signaling the arrival of, most likely, Damon.

Elena continued to stare at her hands, refusing to express the relief she felt when it was confirmed that some nasty hybrid or a bored Original hadn't caught him in the crossfire while he was out doing whatever Damon does in his spare time – it wasn't usually a topic of conversation between the two.

The footsteps halted somewhere near the end of the couch she was leaning against, still sitting cross-legged on the floor by the dwindling fire. It wasn't a particularly cold day, but she needed the reassuring light and heat that emanated from the fireplace.

She could hear him fiddling with something, waiting for her to give him her attention. She stoically refused, but a small smile grew from the corners of her mouth.

'What's so funny, may I ask?' He sounded a little annoyed.

'Just thinking.'

'About?' He sat down next to her, staring straight ahead as her gaze hadn't shifted from her intertwined hands.

'Life. Future. The 'good old days'.' She mumbled, sighing. They sat together in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the comforting sound of each other's breathing.

'Well, I've got a surprise for you. It's road-trip-time. Come on, pack your bags. We're leaving in two hours.' He got up and smoothed down his clothes. Elena just sat there, astonished. 'Oh, and pack a bikini, we'll be going someplace warm.'

'But, Damon…' She tried to protest but he had already walked off, presumably to pack himself. She sighed and collected her car keys from the bowl next to the front door. She hoped Ric was himself, if he was there when she arrived at her house; she didn't particularly want to die whilst rifling through her drawers to find last season's bikini or a decent pair of shorts.

Once she had made sure there were no scary monsters inhabiting the house, she headed upstairs to her room – not that she would be able to do anything about it if said monsters were hiding in the closet – and pulled a chair over to her wardrobe so she could reach her duffel bag. She had to dust it off a bit, having not gone anywhere exciting in probably a good six months.

Then came the actual packing. Damon had been reasonably vague as to the destination of this road trip he was suddenly possessed to take, and she wasn't even sure she agreed with it yet; but something told her that she wouldn't complain if it meant spending time with a relaxed Damon, alone, for at least a week. At least she thought they were going for around a week; she pulled out her phone and texted Damon to check.

How long are we going for?

-E

His reply arrived in an instant, but didn't shed much light on the subject.

As long as we feel like, Lena.

-D

Helpful.

-E

You know me ;) alright, more than a week, maybe two. Happy?

-D

Considerably. Meet you back at the boarding house soon.

-E

She threw her phone onto her bed and started searching through her drawers; summer stuff, summer stuff, was running through her head. She had to rummage right through every drawer to finally find what she wanted, but when it came to finding a bikini she came up blank. It was absolutely nowhere to be found. She sighed angrily and decided to just buy one when they got there after looking in every possible space for it; the only downside being how flirty Damon would get once he found out they would be going bikini shopping. Fantastic, she thought.

After managing to find everything else, she zipped up her bag, which was full to almost bursting, as she still wasn't confident on the location of their little getaway. She heaved it down the stairs, checking a final time for her phone and ipod chargers, camera cords and at least one pack of tampax. The house looked oddly sad, as if her departure was the last of many; which, technically, it was. She gazed at it one last time before locking the front door, knowing that she would be the last person to inhabit it until Ric managed to overcome his 'Evilaric' stage. She then hauled her bag into the, thankfully, spacious boot of her car before sinking into the soft fabric of the driver's seat and setting off in the direction of the boarding house. The sky was darkening, and she looked at the dashboard clock to discover that it was now evening; hopefully Damon hadn't left without her.

Her worries were resolved, however, when she pulled up in front of the boarding house to find Damon's Camaro still happily parked to the left, boot and driver's door open, as well as the front door left ajar – probably for more trips to the car. She got out and left the car unlocked; no one was going to come and steal anything with Damon around.

Elena headed up to Damon's room, where she heard rustling and thumping sounds; presumably from hurried packing on Damon's part.

'Damon?' She peered around the doorjamb.

'Yep? Almost done,' She found him leaning over a dark suitcase, the contents very much matching the exterior, as Damon wore not much else apart from his standard black ensemble. She then got a chance to look around the room – spotless, as always – and saw something hanging over the back of a chair; something that looked vaguely like a bikini. In fact, it looked just like the one she had misplaced, a bright fuchsia halter with ruffles. She slowly walked over to it, trying to be subtle. When she reached said chair, she snatched it and held it in the air, walking sternly over to his bed.

'Why do you have my bikini in your room?' she questioned, flustered. He looked up nonchalantly.

'Uh, I think you left it here over the summer. I kept it just in case you needed it again, which now you do, so you're welcome.' He smirked and returned to his packing.

'Damon! You could've just told me that I'd left my bikini behind! I've been looking for it everywhere and I was thinking we'd have to go shopping once we got there -'

'We can still go shopping if you want to, Elena, I'm just pointing out that it's not necessary now.'

'But-'

'And as to the whole it-was-here-not-there situation, I thought you would have at least one other bikini if you so needed one, and what if you were caught here without one? Then you wouldn't have to go rushing back to your place and take another half an hour. So, you're welcome.' He stressed the last sentence unnecessarily, which caused Elena to huff and take both pieces of her swimsuit down to the car, stomping as she went. Maybe a road trip with Damon isn't such a good idea after all, she thought.

She was in the process of shutting her bag again, with much difficulty, when Damon came outside, along with his suitcase, a case that looked strangely like a well-loved guitar case, and a cooler full of blood bags. He arranged them carefully in the boot of his own car, then promptly came over to Elena and lifted her bag right out of the boot; her still trying to do up the zipper while he walked in the opposite direction.

'Oi! Trying to do up my bag here,' she protested. Damon placed the bag down beside his car, and proceeded to zip up her overflowing bag with ease. She folded her arms in irritation, though it was obvious he would be able to do anything with more ease than her, she was still annoyed.

He carefully arranged all the baggage so no part of his car was damaged, then gestured for her to get in; he walked over to her car, shutting doors and locking them, before doing the same to the boarding house. Once he was seated next to her, he let out a sigh.

'Alright, let's get on the road!' he yelled enthusiastically, then revved the engine a few times, and even in her sulking state, Elena couldn't help but crack a smile. 'That's it! Smile, we're on holiday now! Wooooooo!' He noticed her smile, and returned it with a genuine one. She giggled at his outburst and joined in.

And so they laughed delightedly as they drove off to new adventures.


Reviews are love!

-M