Chapter 2! Let me know what you think!

:)

16 years later.

The coffee in her hands felt warmer than usual, thanks to the brisk outside air, but Elena wasn't complaining. She loved the cold.
She got into the car, and waited for Caroline, who finally climbed into the driver's seat.
"I swear, it's not even November yet!" the blond complained, "Why does it feel like it should be snowing already?"
Elena shrugged, "No idea. You can ask Tom when we get to the station."
Caroline nodded, starting the car.
For years now, both girls had been working at a big news/magazine company, just a twenty-minute drive from Mystic Falls.
Elena enjoyed writing the advice column, while Caroline had pursued a career as a Journalist.
A few years ago, the blond had married Stefan, and had been blessed with two children since.
Elena was happy for her friend, and had eventually gotten her own life in order.
"So I think Valentina is wanting all of us over for Thanksgiving dinner," Caroline informed her.
Elena nodded, "Yeah, she called me. Though it's beyond me why she is trying to plan this so far in advance. It's still over a month away."
Caroline shrugged, "Eh, could never hurt to be prepared."
Elena let it go, taking a sip of her coffee.
Caroline turned up the heat, then the radio, as they rode in silence.

A few minutes later, Elena flinched, as a growingly familiar tune blew through the speakers.

"So Come on, come on,
Baby, I'm buying
I got enough to last us all night and
You got the kiss that tastes like honey
And I got a little beer money
Tonight, Tonight
Baby, we're drinkin';
Lets wake the town that never stops sleeping
You got the kiss that tastes li-"

Elena reached over and switched the station.
"What was that for?' Caroline asked, clearly having been enjoying the song.
"I just can't right now," Elena told her.
Caroline's blinked, "Is that one of his? One of Damon's songs?"
Elena nodded, and Caroline sighed, "It's been forever Elena, when are you going to move on?"
"It's not about moving on, Care…you know that."
The blond shot her a sympathetic look, "You never did get in touch with him did you? To tell him about Christian?"
Elena shook her head, keeping her gaze on her coffee, "No. I figured that if he's been gone this long, there's no point. He clearly has no intention of returning home, so there's no need to drag it up."

These were the same words she'd been telling herself since she first found out she was pregnant, all those years ago.
Damon had left at the end of that summer, but true to his word, had returned for Christmas.
Elena had been so excited, so ready to see him.
The moment she was back in his arms, she felt like she was home.
They had a perfect day, and one long night…and then it all changed.

She remembered his speech, as if he'd given it to her yesterday.
About how they were at a fork in the road, going different ways with their lives. They needed to give themselves space, and she needed to be free when she went to college, and should go wherever she wanted, not just to California to follow him.
It was everything she had feared come true.
Damon had left, and had gotten over her.
So a few months after he'd left, when she found out that she was pregnant, she'd refused to tell him.
Hell, she refused to tell anyone but Caroline and Bonnie at the time.
But a baby isn't exactly something you can hide, and soon, she'd had to come out to her parents.

Miranda had cried, but Grayson…he'd been furious.
Elena had never seen her father so angry.
On top of giving her the scolding of her life, and calling Damon every name in the book, he had demanded that she go to the clinic, to "get rid of it".
That idea, more than anything, had lit a fire under her.
There was no way that she was going to get an abortion. She let her father know this too, and luckily, her mother was there to back her up.

It was hard, especially at first.
Everyone looked at her differently around town, and people whispered behind her back.
Not that any of that mattered when her son, Christian James Salvatore, was born.
He became the most important thing in her life, and she worked hard to support him.

Luckily, she had the help of her parents, who after a while, came around to the idea, and treated Chris with nothing but love.
Then of course, the Salvatore's had stepped up.
They knew it was Damon's baby, even before Chris was born.
The whole town knew it.
And Giuseppe and Valentina had been an enormous help, keeping her name from being drug through too much mud.
They had also agreed not to mention it to Damon, until Elena could talk to him.
She had drilled this to them again and again.
She did not want Damon coming back to Mystic Falls for the ex-girlfriend he knocked up.

Not that it had been an issue.
Besides from the occasional call to his mother, Damon had all but disappeared.

It wasn't until Christian was four years old, that she heard Damon's voice on the radio.
Waves of emotions had crashed through her then, and still do now, each and every time she was forced to hear his voice…every time Christian was forced to hear it.

She hated that Christian had never met his father, but it was probably for the best.
As long as Damon didn't know about Chris, there was no disappointment. It would destroy her if he found out, and chose to have nothing to do with his son.

"You still on earth over there?" Caroline's voice cut through her thoughts."
Elena blinked, and looked over at her, "What? Yeah…yeah, I'm here."
The blond chuckled a little, "

"So, uh, how is Chris?"
Elena sighed, sinking into this topic all to easily, "Same as ever. Did I tell you he got suspended again?"
"No!" Caroline threw her a look, "What for this time?"
"Another fight," Elena told her, "He only got three days this time, but still. I'm running out of punishments."
Caroline sighed, "There's always a good old fashioned grounding…"
Elena scoffed, "He's already grounded for life. And I've taken away his Xbox, and threatened that I'm not going to pay for his driver's class if he keeps it up."
"Damn, is he fifteen already?"
Elena chuckled, "Don't remind me."
"Well, maybe it's just a phase. God knows we weren't the perfect teenagers."
Elena raised a brow, "Obviously…he wouldn't be here if we were."
"Good point," her friend noted.
"Still, though, I think it's more than classical rebellion. His grades are perfect…and his manners are usually good. He doesn't really fight me on his punishments or anything…he just doesn't behave when he's not at home…and I can't keep him home indefinitely."

They pulled into the building's parking lot.
"Maybe you just need to get your mind off of it," Caroline proposed, "Maybe go on a date or something….wasn't Elijah interested?"
Elena nodded, "Yeah, he was. We did go out, actually."
Caroline parked the car, and glanced over, "I take it from your tone that it was a bust?"
"Pretty much…thanks to my lovely son. God, I'm lucky I still have a job."
Caroline's eyes widened, "What happened? And I don't think Elijah would fire you for personal reasons…he's always seemed more respectable than that."
"He is," Elena insisted, "But you know how Chris is….I left them alone downstairs for ten minutes after our dinner, and that was it. I walked Elijah to his car afterwards, and he seemed…uncomfortable. I still don't know what Christian told him, but this wouldn't be the first date of mine he's chased off."

Caroline's brows drew together, "Do you know why he does it?"
Elena shrugged, "Maybe he's afraid of change? I don't know…it's not like he'd ever go to a counselor, and he definitely isn't going to talk to me about it, so I might as well get use to not knowing.

They got out of the car, and began walking toward the building.
"Well, if you need some time to yourself, Stefan and I are taking the kids to the lake this weekend…we can take Chris with us," Caroline offered, "He usually has fun up there."
Elena considered this, "Thanks…I'll ask him."
Caroline nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

The studio apartment was small, and reeked of booze.
But Damon couldn't care less.
He sat on the edge of his bed, a guitar in his hands for what seemed like the first time in forever.
"Can you actually play that thing?" a female voice called from the other side of the bed.
He glanced over at her, not realizing she was awake…what was her name? Brenda? Or maybe Brittany? He'd only caught it briefly as they were leaving the bar the night before.
Same old routine…

Except for the dream he'd had last night.

Those had stopped years ago, and he was a little surprised that it had randomly popped into his head.
"I guess we'll find out," he answered her, and strummed a few chords.
Admittedly, he was a bit rusty.
But he hadn't had to actually play in years.
All of the music was done in the studio now days, and in concert, he had the entire borrowed band to do his sounds.
All he had to do was sing the words they told him to.
Like a puppet on a string.

His fingers traced over the strings of the guitar again and again.
He liked the sound of her.
It was a simple acoustic that he'd won in a poker game the night before, but it played good as new.
Before long, a familiar melody was sounding from his fingertips.
He closed his eyes, the words coming back to him.

"One boy, one girl, two hearts beating wildly
To put it mildly it was love at first sight
He smiled, she smiled, and they knew right away
This was the day they'd waited for all their lives
And for a moment the whole world revolved
Around one boy and one girl…"

He trailed off at the end, unwanted emotions clouding his thoughts.
That was a long time ago, a life of "what could have been's".
Not that he didn't have a lifetime of regret because of his choices then. The promises made, and the lies he'd told…they'd all quit making sense years ago.

"That was good," his bed guest praised, "I can see why you're famous."
He wanted to roll his eyes. That girl wouldn't know the difference between a lyric and a melody, let alone what it takes to be famous…and being able to sing really had nothing to do with it.
Instead, he just thanked her.
"Sooo," she sat up, draping his sheets around her naked form, "You want to go get breakfast or something, baby?"
He sighed, putting the guitar down on the bed, making a mental note to wash his sheets.
"No, I actually have somewhere to be soon…so uh, you're actually going to have to leave."

She gave him the same affronted look they always gave him.
Like bringing them home for one night meant he was ready to wine and dine them.

They all dreamed that they would be the one who he'd chose to flaunt in front of the paparazzi, their one glimmering chance of getting in a spotlight.

He didn't wait around to see if she did leave, or to see if she chose to wreck his entire place, which had happened in the past.
All he wanted was a nice long shower, then another drink.
Unfortunately, since he had to meet up with Alaric, his manager, in just a few hours, only one of those things were an option.
He shook his head, heading toward the bathroom, praying the day would just speed by.
And that, this time, it would remember to take him with it.

Sooo...?

That little button down there...

Yeah, the one that says "review".

Click it.

;)