A/N: 10 hours of sleep, and I am ready to write a chapter! I hope you enjoy this one.
Sleep was insufficient, dreams haunted by his face, his voice whispering into her ear. Each time the dream would come to a bitter end, Elena would jolt awake, her chest heaving with each jagged breath she took, wishing she could be wrapped in his arms again. It was one night in New York, she would tell herself. It couldn't have meant something.
Even with those thoughts, Elena still knew deep down in her heart that that one night in the Big Apple meant everything to her. It was killing her how she couldn't remember even his first name.
She rested her head back on the pillow, wishing for more sleep. It all came to a deadly halt when the door to her room flew open and two bodies began jumping on her bed.
"Wakey, wakey!" Once voice called out while the other giggled.
"It's that day, Elena!"
Elena rubbed her eyes before sitting up onto her elbows, "What day?"
A hand flicked the lights on, invading Elena's vision of the once-dark room, "The day we leave this God-forsaken city and go to Vegas." Caroline pulled Elena to her feet on the floor, allowing Bonnie time to grab Elena's packed suitcase from the closet.
"Get dressed; you have an hour before we leave." Bonnie instructed before tugging Caroline out of the room.
Elena was fully-dressed when she made her way down the small hall of the apartment towards Bonnie's room, quietly.
She halted when she heard her name pop-up in a conversation between her two friends.
"I don't know, Care. I still think that she has to get over this guy." The voice came from Bonnie.
Caroline swiftly replied, "I agree, it's tearing her apart."
Elena quietly inhaled sharply before stepping into the room, acting like she heard nothing, "Ready?"
The two girls nearly jumped from their skin before collecting themselves and nodding, then all three walked out, rolling their suitcases.
Stepping off of the plane felt like pure heaven for the three of them. The Nevada sun poured rays of light onto their pale skin, sunglasses being forced up the bridges of their noses.
"Welcome to North Las Vegas." A tall woman in a dress suit welcomed. She looked down at the clipboard in her hand before looking back up to the girls in front of her, "You must be Caroline," She pointed to Bonnie who tilted her head.
"I'm Bonnie, that's Caroline." She pointed towards the tall blonde who flashed a smile.
The woman nodded before looking towards Elena, "And that means you're Elena. It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Jessica, and I will be your personal assistant for your trip. I will be giving you a tour of the entire city before we head over to the grand luncheon later in the day to have a meet-and-greet with Mr. Briggs."
The girls nodded, allowing Jessica to continue, "If you will follow me I will show you to your limousine."
Caroline gasped, "A limousine?"
Jessica chuckled, her dark brown hair flowing in the light breeze, "Yes. It is parked in front of the airport."
Once they made their way through the large, executive airport, they were greeted by the sight of a large, black limousine parked just as Jessica had said. The limousine driver, who later introduced himself as Emmanuel, opened the door, allowing the girls to slip inside.
Jessica was seated last across from the girls who were gawking out the windows to see the sights.
"It's quite a city. I hope you all will enjoy your time here."
Elena giggled, looking over to the gray-eyed assistant, "Most definitely."
Jessica cleared her throat after a few minutes, gaining their attention, "Mr. Briggs is expecting us to arrive at the Monte Carlo, where the luncheon will be held at André's."
"André's? Is that a restaurant?" Bonnie asked.
Jessica nodded, "The most honored and awarded restaurant in Las Vegas. Mr. Briggs has asked the owners to have the entire restaurant reserved for this luncheon."
Elena flashed a wide smile, "Is it me or do I feel like we're celebrities?"
Caroline nodded, laughing as well. Jessica raised her eyebrows before texting away on her phone.
There was a knock at the door of the band's hotel room, jolting them from their spots.
Anthony rose to answer the door, pulling it open before leaning against the side of the door, "Yeah?"
The man before him in a tailored suit straightened his back, "Is this the room of the band Serpenti?"
Anthony nodded, narrowing his eyes.
"I have important information from Mr. Carson Briggs."
Anthony immediately straightened his back, stepping to the side to allow the man inside. Damon glanced over the counter in the kitchen to see who it was, "Who is it, Anthony?"
Anthony walked towards the kitchen, "Some guy with info from Carson Briggs."
Damon's eyebrow rose, "The Carson Briggs?" Anthony nodded before gesturing to Damon to walk into the living room where the entire band sat down on the couches, allowing the man to talk freely.
The man stood in front of the group, hand clasping a clipboard, "Mr. Briggs has heard talk about the up-and-coming band, Serpenti. He has gained an interest in you and would like for you to join him for the Conference for the Performing Arts this coming Friday."
Damon looked to his band mates who all nodded in agreement before standing up, "Sure, we'll attend." The man smiled, "My name is Alfred, I will be your assistant as well as escort. Mr. Briggs would like for you to meet him at André's, located downstairs, tonight at 3:30 sharp for a private lunch. I shall escort you down there when the time is right."
The group nodded before watching the freakishly tall man leave.
Armand cleared his throat, "Well, that was...odd."
Seated around a large, round table was the three girls, one of who were constantly checking her watch.
"It's 2:42. He told us to be here at 2:30 sharp, and he's the one that's late." Bonnie huffed, fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
The doors to the room bursted open, revealing a short, skinny man with licorice-red cheeks. His voice echoed throughout the large restaurant, "Girls! How nice to see you again."
Elena nearly rolled her eyes, for they had never met Carson Briggs before. Caroline nearly jumped from her seat to hug him, but Bonnie managed to pull her back to her seat.
He smiled as he took a seat, "How are you all this fine day?"
"Great." The three girls chimed in.
A waitress came and took their orders, returning ten minutes later to give them their meals.
"Have you toured the city yet?" He asked suddenly.
Elena shook her head, "Only a little bit. We didn't even get to see our hotel."
Carson nearly burst out laughing, "Why, sweetheart, you're in the hotel. Monte Carlo, the grand hotel of Las Vegas, is where you all will be staying. I'm guessing Jessica has shared with you the details of when and where the conference will be held?"
Caroline shook her head, "She only told us about this luncheon, but that's about it."
His smile faltered for mere seconds before being plastered to his lips once again, "That's alright, I'll just tell you myself," He wiped the corners of his mouth from the pasta sauce before continuing, "The conference will be held here at André's this Friday. I have invited fifty groups, mostly bands, to attend. It's like a meet-and-greet."
The girls nodded before silence filled the room.
When the luncheon had drawn to an end, Elena quietly excused herself, rushing to the bathroom for the umpteenth time. Mr. Briggs leaned forward to ask quietly, "Is she feeling alright?"
Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, "She's never really open about those subjects."
Mr. Briggs nodded before standing up, the two remaining girls doing the same. He stretched his hand out to shake both of their hands, "It has been a pleasure meeting you all. I look forward to seeing you this Friday." It was only Monday and the girls were already counting down the days until the conference.
The girls smiled before rushing to the bathroom located just outside the entryway.
"Elena?" They called out, hearing a small groan in reply.
"I haven't been feeling well for the past week." Elena's voice echoed out.
Bonnie and Caroline sat on the counter of the sinks, listening to the crude noises of her puking.
Bonnie eventually couldn't take hearing it anymore and began to walk towards the exit.
"I'm going to go get our stuff from the table. Be right back!" She said over her shoulder, watching Caroline's face twist with each horrid echo of Elena regurgitating her lunch.
Bonnie's heels clicked against the marble flooring, hearing the voices from the table they were just at.
"Is that a purse?" A male voice asked.
Another voice answered, "I think so." Bonnie rounded the corner, picking up her pace as she saw one young man lifting up her purse.
"I'll take that." She politely said as she grabbed the purse from his grip, resulting in all of the young men's heads to turn their direction to her. "Did any of you also happen to see two white purses?"
Little did she know that the men sitting in front of her were the two men that Caroline and Elena were still yearning to meet again. The black-haired man, Damon, searched his chair before lifting up one purse, and the man seated next to him, Armand, lifted up the other. Bonnie grabbed both of them, thanking the two of them.
"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Briggs." She apologized.
Carson shook his head, "It's alright, sweetheart. See you and your friends on Friday!" She smiled and nodded before walking back towards the bathroom, only to be greeted by her two friends waiting outside.
"What took you so long?" Elena asked, slightly pale.
Bonnie sighed before handing them their purses, "I needed some help finding these."
Once they found their room after a day of touring the city with Jessica, they soon realized they would have problems with the neighbors who were clearly rehearsing at the time.
Elena angrily sighed, having enough of listening to two hours of their rehearsal. Storming over to the wall, she pounded her fist against it, yelling, "Keep it down!" Bonnie and Caroline stood behind her.
Damon glared towards the wall as if he could see the person pounding against it. Laying his guitar on the ground, he walked towards the wall and pounded back, "We're rehearsing!" There were seconds of silence before another fist pounded against the wall, added to the first woman.
Bonnie yelled out, "In a fucking hotel! We're trying to sleep, jackass!"
Thirty minutes of this, and the boys finally gave up, turning off their amps and slipping into bed.
Before falling asleep, Damon walked towards the wall, "You win!"
The girls high-fived each other, smiling. Damon snickered before yelling again, "Bitches!"
Caroline grew red, grabbing the phone and calling down to the lobby, "I'd like to know who is in room 135." She got her answer before slamming the phone back on the receiver, "A god damn band named Serpenti. Who the hell names their band Serpenti? I can't believe that our only neighbor on this floor is a fucking band."
Elena giggled before rushing into the small kitchen, and running back out with objects in her hand, dispersing them to each girl. "Make as much noise as you can with these." She instructed, wickedly grinning.
The girls spent a good hour slamming wooden spoons against the pots and pans, while the band next door encircled their heads with their pillows.