I have been planning this chapter since the first chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 20 (Day 29-Day 31)

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Elena answers as grabs a little black dress from the rack for tomorrow's graduation.

"Huh… I thought he's gonna fight for you more. I don't know, maybe with flowers or chocolate," Rebekah shakes her head, heading for the next rack to find her perfect dress.

They are currently at Sophie's, one of Mystic Falls renowned clothing shops that sell various kinds of dresses. Rebekah literally has to drags her out of the bed earlier; putting on a lot of concealer to cover Elena's puffy eyes, then straps her into the car herself. The blonde bombshell comes to Elena's house intended to find out about Damon's and hers side of the story but when she sees her best friend laying on the bed, looking miserable with tear streaks on her face, she gathers her in a flash into her arms.

"So, you witnessed him with another woman in a compromising position?"

Elena can't tell Rebekah the truth about the problem. There's no way she will know that Damon is vampire and the universe has been playing with her with all that soul mate stuff.

"How many times do I have to tell you that he's cheating on me?" Elena asks exasperatedly.

"It just doesn't make sense," Rebekah huffs. "I hate him for hurting you and I'll castrate him myself if I see him. But you can't deny that his love for you is real. I can see it, you can see it, and the whole school saw it at prom. He was holding you like he won't let you go, like he couldn't let you go."

"Can you just drop it, please? Can we just find a dress and call it a night?" she asks tiredly. Tired of the situation. Tired of crying everytime she thinks about Damon.

"Okay," she sighs.

While Rebekah searches for her dress, Elena waits on one of the sofas next to the entrance as she already found hers; a midnight blue colored dress with, strapless with lace covering the bust.

She thinks back at yesterday's events. Why, why his kiss felt like goodbye? Like they're never going to say each other again. Sure, she's still a bit mad at him right now but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to see him anymore. He has made her happy, that's a no brainer statement. Like Rebekah has said, the whole school now knows that they're in love. She wants to call him or maybe just text him, but wouldn't she be a hypocrite if she does that?

"I'm done. Bright pink dress to go with my silver heels," Rebekah announces happily.

Elena sends her a small smile. "Now can we go?"

"Sure."

In a moment they're sit comfortably in Rebekah's car and she starts the engine. "You know, you won't be sad forever."

Elena muses slightly, "I know, but today I'm allowed to be depressed."

"Just don't forget that you have a graduation speech for tomorrow."

Today is the graduation day. Elena has to be at the school at least an hour before the ceremony starts. Right now is ten thirty a.m since she doesn't get much sleep last night; she has woken up at nine as she only slept for four hours. She doesn't have to be at the ceremony actually, if she wasn't the valedictorian she won't be going. Besides, her diploma will be sent by mail anyway. Somehow, she feels something big going to happen today.

She has promised Jenna that she will try to look happy and try to act as her normal self. So, she would come down, she would eat breakfast with her aunt and for the rest of the day she's going to pretend that she's okay. That she's not a heartbroken girl.

"Morning," Elena greets as soon as she's in the kitchen, looking at Alaric with slight of surprised as he sits on the dining table, "Ric."

Jenna, looking nervously at her boyfriend, asking her to sit down.

"Is this an intervention or something?" Elena asks as she sits down in front of them. The pancakes that Jenna has made still hot but she doesn't even care. Something is definitely wrong.

"We need to talk," Jenna starts.

"Okay. Talk, then." She straightens up.

"Elena…" Alaric grabs her attention. "What we're about to tell is not because we want to meddle in your business or anything. But seeing you so down lately, we think that it's best for everyone."

"Just cut to the chase, Ric, you're freaking me out," Elena starts fidgeting on her seat.

"Okay, I'll start from the beginning, then," Jenna nods at Alaric, then turns to look straight at her only niece. "Almost a year ago, I'm assigned to sell a house just a little outskirt of town. It's hard, since most people say it's haunted. So, I check it out myself. At the house, I find, no, the journal finds me," looking at Elena's reaction, Jenna can tell that she knows what journal she's talking about.

"I take the journal, read the only passage on it then come home. Several hours later, as I just finished getting ready for bed, Alaric comes. He claims to be my soul mate," Elena let out a gasp, widening her eyes. "He tells me that he is my soul mate. I don't believe him at first, because how come a ghost is my soul mate? Yes, Alaric was supernatural as Damon's a vampire."

Elena's breathing labors, she can't believe her ears.

Alaric was a ghost?

"But how… you're human, Ric." Elena stutters. Alaric only replies with a small smile.

"I was getting to that part," Jenna chides. "Anyway, we start spending time together. I get to know him and he gets to know me. And in three weeks and a day, when he confesses that he loves me, without hesitation I say that I love him. Then… magically, he turns into a human. After that, he exposes that the passage on the journal, the spell, has given Ric and I thirty days to fall in love and then he will turn a mortal so that we can spend the rest of our lives together."

Elena looks at her aunt dumbfounded, still processing the story. "But… so…what?"

"The spell, Elena, gives Damon a chance to make you fall in love with him and you have to say it in front of him for the spell to turn him into a human so that you can live happily ever after together as soul mates do," Jenna informs softly.

She takes an intake of breath. "But, Aunt Jenna, Damon and I… we…"

"I know. This whole time, Ric and I plan everything. For you go to the house to get my document. After that, the spell worked itself. It found you. I just wanted you to start living your life just like before, before your parents' accident. I thought that by bringing you a soul mate, you'd confide in him so that you don't have to be so sad all the time. I'm just sorry that I have to keep this a secret from you," Jenna reaches out to hold Elena's stilled hand on the dining table.

A tear falls down Elena's face as realization comes down to hit her like a bucket of ice. "That's why he… he said goodbye." She mumbles to herself.

"What?" Alaric asks, a thick frown adorns his handsome face.

She sniffles, wiping the tear off her cheek. "Damon came here a couple of days ago. He apologized, I told him I needed a lot of space and time and he said goodbye. But the way he said it… it sounded a lot like goodbye. Goodbye… for good."

"Elena…" Jenna comes to her side as she embraces her niece and letting her cry on her shoulder."

"Aunt Jenna," Elena sobs, the sound of it breaks Jenna and Alaric's hearts. "What am I gonna do?"

"Find him. There's still time. Today's his last day on Earth, Elena. You have to find him before midnight tonight," Jenna orders.

Suddenly Elena sits up, with tears still running down her reddened face, "Ric, where is he?"

A regret splashes all over Alaric's face, "I'm sorry, Elena. He hasn't come home since Thursday."

The brunette feels her heart breaks again into a million of pieces, "I… I have to… my phone…"

Jenna rushes to her niece's bedroom to retrieve the rectangular phone from her backpack then goes downstairs to the kitchen in a minute. "Here."

Elena forcefully takes it from her aunt's hand and punches some button before putting it on her ear. As she waits for him to pick it up, she sniffle some more, taking the tissue that Jenna shoves to her.

Nope, can't take your call at the moment. You better pray I'll call you back.

Elena closes her eyes in pain, a new set of tears streaming down her face. "He doesn't answer."

Jenna and Alaric look at each other with worries and sadness; they know there is nothing they can do for Elena and Damon to be together as they already done what they can do.

"Maybe he's at somewhere… some place special that you both visited or something," Alaric suggested.

Elena pauses her sobs, thinking really hard at the places they've been to. He likely won't be at Romeo's since it doesn't even open until twelve. He won't be at the school since Elena clearly has asked him for space. Then she remembers.

"The falls. He took me there once." Elena laughs ironically between hiccups.

Jenna leaves her side to get her a glass of water which she takes greedily.

"Find him, Elena," Alaric encourages, sending a smile at her way.

She shoots up, ready to get her car keys. "Wait… the graduation. I'm the valedictorian."

Jenna grins, "I'll tell them you're sick."

"Thanks."

Along the road, Elena tries so hard not to think about worst case scenario. As tears keep falling occasionally from her doe eyes, she holds her sight solely on the road ahead. It takes almost an hour to get to the falls if she remembers clearly. She prays to all the mighty above that Damon would be there. She doesn't know where else to go if he wasn't there.

God, I'm so stupid.

Her love for Damon bursts inside of her. She no longer can contain it anymore.

She just wants to find him, to hold him and to tell him that she loves him. She loves him so much it hurts.

She looks at the clock on the screen of her GPS, it shows twelve fifteen. She tries to call him again but it goes straight to voicemail.

"Come on, come on… wait—do I go left or right?" she murmurs to herself as she looks at the crossroad in front of her. She stops the car for a while, blinks her eyes as she thinks which way to go to Damon. After what feels like forever, she chooses to go to the right.

She drives and drives, feeling nervous by the minutes.

What if he's not there?

What if he's already completely giving up on me?

"Fuck! Come on… faster, Elena." She scolds herself as she hit the gas, almost touching the floor.

She looks at the white numbers from her peripheral; it shows her that it almost twelve forty-five. She's getting scared if she's lost or something.

Finally, she hears something like water hitting a rock and she smells the humidity. As she gets closer, she sees Damon's blue Camaro and she can just kiss it if it wasn't sound crazy. She parks next to her soul mate's car and starts to hike for at least fifteen minutes.

When she gets to the top, looking straight at the enchanting waterfall, she tries to catch her breath. "Damn, I need to do more cardio."

After getting her breath and heart rate normal, she starts to look around. She searches her left and right before she walks hopefully to the hills surrounding the falls not far away from where she stands, "Damon!" she yells as loud as she can, hoping he will hear her.

"Damon, are you here?" she shouts once again, feeling the tears start to gather in her eyes as her hopes fall by the second.

"Damon, come on," she whispers. "Damon!" she half-yelling half-sobbing as a single tear rolls down her face.

She starts to enter the darken hills, even though it's still afternoon the tress cover almost all the lights from the sun, when she hears foot steps behind her. Instinctively she looks back, finding her soul mate looking at her curiously as well as hopefully.

"Elena?"

She sees him squints his eyes. She knows he can't wrap the fact that she's here, standing in front of him.

Elena's long legs carry her to Damon faster and faster until her chest collides against his and she wraps her arms around his neck, "Damon, thank God."

She feels his arms gather her tenderly yet possessively as usual; his neck hides in her long brown hair as he breathes in her scent. "What's wrong, baby?"

She pulls away but keeps her arms around him, tightening her hold on him. She feels happy tears running down her face uncontrollably. She falls speechless as she can't believe she has her soul mate, the love of her life, in her arms once again after everything they've been through.

"Are you okay, 'Lena?"

She sobs, shaking her head signaling that she's not okay.

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

Damon's caress on her cheek feels right and warm. His other hand takes a hold of her head gently, his frown getting deeper as he doesn't have any idea what is going on with her.

"You were going to leave me," Elena utters breathlessly. "You can't leave me."

"Elena…" he breaths heavily, still holding her lovingly in his arms.

"You can't… don't leave me, Damon."

"I love you, 'Lena. You make me happy. You make me feel wanted, needed. I will do anything so that I can stay, but I can't, baby, I'm sorry—"

"I know everything." She cuts him. She lets go of him so that she can think clearly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know… what exactly you know?" he asks carefully, keeping her at arm's length as he knows she needs her space.

"That you have thirty days to make me fall in love with you," Elena answers softly. "And that today is the last day. If I didn't do something about it, you'll… you will just vanish." She sobs once again.

"I couldn't tell you…before. I wanted you to say it because you want to say it, not because some spell forced you to," he explains calmly.

"Okay, then."

She takes steps forward, taking his cold hands in hers, "I love you, Damon. I love everything about you, the bad and the good. Just basically everything. You've been… a terrible person, you drink blood from humans for God's sake," Elena chuckles lowly. "My decision today, will be the best or the worst one I've ever decide in my life, but I don't care. Because I'm in love with you. I love you and I don't think I will ever stop."

Damon's eyes widens in disbelieve.

For over a hundred years, he's been waiting for someone to say that to him and means it.

He practically runs a short distance towards Elena, forcefully but tenderly grabs the side of her head and kisses her. He kisses her deeply, as deep as he has never been before. Elena reciprocates immediately, feeling the softness but the dryness of Damon's lips against her. He angles her head so that he can get more access to twine his tongue with hers. Elena's hands cover his on her face, squeezing them gently to let him know that she is here.

She is real.

And she loves him.

Damon lets go of her lips to trail kisses along her cheeks and jawline, barely touching them earning a low moan from her. Her hands themselves have been move to caress his biceps to his back soothingly. He traces kisses and licks to her neck before he feels her grab a handful his dark hair and leads him to her face once again. She kisses him ferociously, nibbling his bottom lips, trapping it between hers. She feels his hands grab her butt, squeezing it rather harshly to let her feel his hardness.

"I love you, Damon."

"I love you t—"

Suddenly Damon falls to the ground with a thud, pulling Elena down as well.

"Damon? Damon, wake up!"

His closed eyes scare the living lights out of her. She taps on his cheek but she gets no response. She places his head on her lap, laying him fully so he can get comfortable.

"Damon," she strokes his jaw, "Damon, please wake up. Don't… don't leave me, Damon please." Her eyes sting as she weeps and sniffle. "I love you, Damon, please."

He still does not wake up.

The warmth from the soft skin touching his is probably what makes him open his baby blue eyes. He can feel that he's shirtless only with dark grey sweatpants on. He doesn't even remember he owns sweatpants. He blinks twice before looking down to find an arm, a woman's arm, loosely drapes around his middle, pulling him close to the arm's owner. Brown hair starts to tickling his neck as he realizes that a head, a woman's head place itself securely and comfortably on the crook of his neck. He cranes his neck a little, smelling the faint strawberry shampoo from the hair and it relaxes him a bit. His own hand seems to be having its own mind as it moves up and down to caress the woman's arm softly, relishing the feeling of her soft skin against his.

"Mmm… Damon." Elena murmurs, sending shivers along his body.

"Hey," Damon replies against her hair.

Elena's head snaps up, with wide eyes looking straight down at her soul mate, "Damon? You're awake."

He chuckles. "Yeah, I am," he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

She giggles, "Oh, thank God." Elena wraps her arms around him, hugging him close to her. "I thought… nevermind."

She lets him go to send him one of her gorgeous smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm… I feel okay. I feel good, actually." Damon takes a deep breath, too deep that he starts to cough a little. "What… am I—"

"You're a human," Elena states with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I'm a…human? I'm a human?" He asks disbelievingly with a smile starts to form on his handsome face.

She nods eagerly. "I called Ric after you passed out. He brought you home. He told me that it's okay. You fainting actually is a process for your body to turn… mortal."

"So, it works? I'm really human?"

"Human from your head to your toes." Elena confirms cheekily, shooting him a kiss on his cheek. "Are you… do you even want to be human? Be human with me, I mean?" Elena whispers, feeling doubts about whether he will stay with her or not now that he's human he can do whatever he wants without an expiration date.

"Silly girl," he taps her nose earning him her small giggle. "My life without you would be meaningless. A lifetime with you is all I want."

"Damon," her eyes feel hot, feeling the tears forming in her eyes.

"Stop it, now. Don't cry, baby. I love you and I will never leave you. I promise you."

"I love you too."

And just like that, Elena bails on her high school graduation for Damon. She spends the entire night rediscovering each other, whispering love and affection throughout the night.

And she won't have it any other way.

And there you have it! Just one more chapter left. Thank you for being with me for like, since the beginning of the story, I really appreciate all your time and reviews!

Have a nice day!