"I forgot half of these songs existed." Matt said as they pulled up to the tiny diner. Hope laughed as she parked and shut the car off, leading Matt into the only restaurant she had ever been with her dad, back when she was ten.

Walking in was like walking back in time, the girl's wearing Pink Ladies jackets, their hair coiffed into curls that just dust their shoulders, and black circle skirts that hit at their calves. The men wore tight black shirts, black jeans, and motorcycle T-bird jackets, their hair gelled back. There was a jukebox in the corner, sputtering out some Elvis song, and pink and green plastic covered booths lining the three walls of the diner, a serving counter facing the opposite wall and into the kitchen where a cook was flipping burgers. All around the room were pictures from the movie Grease, and there were even life sized cutouts of Danny and Sandy standing in the back corner next to the Jukebox. Hope dragged Matt over to them and forced him to take a picture with them, much like she had begged her dad to take a picture of her in front of the cutouts. She stood between the two cutouts and struck a pose. Matt laughed as he took the picture, his heart happy to see her enjoying herself. The last week has been hard on her, staying in the house alone while her cousins were away at school. He knew that she was busying herself with all the housework and cooking, really becoming a surrogate mother to the Gilbert kids. A woman in her fifties waited patiently behind Matt and then ushered them into a booth at the back and placed menu's in front of them.

"Can I get you some drinks while you figure out what you would like to eat, darlings?" She asked, her voice sweet. Hope thought for a second and ordered for them: one chocolate and Coke milkshake for Matt and a cherry vanilla one for herself. She smiled after the waitress and looked back at Matt.

"Sorry, I just remembered chocolate was your favorite ice cream flavor and their chocolate Coke milkshake is amazing. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted." She felt foolish now, and reprimanded herself for ordering for him. He beamed at her.

"No, that's fine. I trust you, Hope." She smiled, relieved, and they scanned the menu and both settled on old fashioned hamburgers and fresh cut french fries. The waitress brought them their shakes and took their order. When she left Matt took a long slurp of his shake and closed his eyes, throwing his head back.

"Oh my God!" A few people turned around to look at him causing Hope to erupt in laughter. She hid her face behind her hand while she watched Matt squirm and look down at the table, a smile creeping its way onto his face.

"It's good isn't it?" Hope tried to fight the giggles working their way out of her throat, but it felt so good to laugh that she didn't want to fight them. She wanted her laughter to swallow her whole and take over. She wanted to laugh forever and never stop, giggle after giggle erupting from her mouth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her smile never leaving her face.

"It's good to see you smile, Hope, and to hear you laugh." Matt said, his eyes on her flushed face. She pressed a hand to her cheek and looked out the window, not being able to bring herself to meet his gaze. She rummaged a hand through her curls and flipped them away from her face.

"Thanks, I guess. It feels good to laugh." She smiled softly at him and then took a sip of her own shake. Her eyes closed and she smiled as she took another drink.

"This is good. My dad got this when we came here about five years ago. This was the only place we ever went, just the two of us." She said quietly, her mind surfing through the very few memories she had with her dad. Matt felt guilty being here with her, this place was supposed to be special, but on the other hand, he felt pretty honored she would bring him to a place she shared with her dad.

"You've never spent a lot of time with you're dad, have you?" He asked. She shook her head and gave a little shrug. He knew how that felt, his own dad had run out of them when he was just six years old. If Matt remembered Elena correctly, Jon had only stuck around for a year or two before he left Hope's mom and only started seeing her again when she was ten.

"My dad ran out on us when I was six, just left with no explanation. My mom...I guess she's on the same track." He said as he reached across the table and squeezed her hand softly to show his support.

"Me and my dad have a very different relationship. We don't see a lot of each other, and when we do it's only for a short amount of time, but we talk on the phone often, and I know he loves me. He just has a hard, and odd, way of showing that. I have Jeff at home, he's great, and I have...had Grayson. Grayson was the first dad I ever remember knowing and when Jon left my mom I guess Grayson came and stayed with us for a few weeks. He's always been there, for whatever I needed. He's the one who taught me how to ride a bike, how to drive, how to chase after I want. I just can't believe he's gone." Her lower lip trembled and her hands began to shake. Matt got up and rounded the booth and sat next to her, his arm slung around her shoulders. He held her close as she pulled herself together. She took deep breaths while she clenched and unclenched her fists, drawing strength from the support Matt was showing. She pulled away from Matt slightly and wiped at her eyes.

"Matt, you're precious." She laughed and moved over so he was more comfortable. They were chatting about her plans for applying to colleges when their food came.

"Oh my God, these look amazing." Matt said as he squirted some ketchup on his fries.

"What are you doing!?" Hope asked. Matt shrugged as he picked up one of the ketchup drenched fries.

"What?'

"You did that wrong! You're supposed to designate a corner of your plate to dip your fries in, not drown them in ketchup." She teased, laughing along with Matt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were the french fry police."

"Yes, I'm the Sheriff."

"Well my bad officer." He said before he took a bite of his burger. She smiled and did the same. They didn't speak for a while as they finished their burgers in silence. She watched Matt finish off his shake as she pushed her plate away.

"So, what did you think? Change your life?' She asked as the glass emptied. He nodded his head in agreement and pulled out his wallet. She grabbed her purse and he put his hand over hers.

"I got it." She protested, to which he acted like he couldn't hear her. The waitress came with the check and he followed her. Hope threw a few dollar bills on the table and watched with a small smile on her face as he paid their bill. He held the door open for her and they walked back to the car in happy silence.

"Pick a year." She asked as they got in the car, her in the passenger seat and Matt driving.

"What?" He threw the car in reverse and backed them out of the spot and drove out of the parking lot. Hope rolled her window down and let her hand hang out.

"Pick a year, it's a simple question Matt."

"2005." She grinned and tapped a few times on her phone before the car was filled with the opening riffs of the Killers' Mr Brightside.

"Oh my God, I love this song." He turned up the radio as they both sang along.

Jealousy, turning snakes into the sea

Twirling her sick lullabies

Choking on your alibis

But it's just the price I pay

Destiny is call me

Open up my eager eyes

I'm Mr. Brightside

That's how the whole car ride went. Matt throwing out years and Hope picking her favorites, or songs she knew Matt liked. They both sang at the top of their lungs and smiled the whole way home.

"Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard." They were just now passing through Grove Hill and would be home to Mystic Falls in a little under fifteen minutes. She nodded and they both serenaded each other, the wind blowing in their faces, and their heartaches pushed to the backs of their minds. Matt loved the way she made him feel, like everything was going to be okay. Every minute he spent with her, he felt like his old self again, not the boy dumped by Elena. If she was helping him forget the hurt just by being his friend, he wondered...

"I'm in the mood for some country." She stated out of the blue. Soon, he heard the twang of a guitar, the voice of Blake Shelton, and the first words of Mine Would Be You. The pair of them sat in silence as they let the words soak into their brains, the song too well written for them to act silly or sing off key. Hope mouthed everyword, her eyes closed and head leaning back against the seat. She felt very warm sitting there in the car with Matt, the afternoon sun shining softly on her face.

She felt safe for the first time in a while, and felt like it would be the last time in a long time.

Ahh the feels! I just ship Hope and Matt so much its unreal! god they're so perfect for each other! I hope you enjoyed the Hope/Matt interaction because these next couple chapters...

Please review God they mean so much to me:)