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Elena walked back inside, her head swirling.
Chris had practically just given her the "go-ahead" she'd been needing, and admittedly, slightly dreading.
Chris was okay with her being with Damon.
Part of her was ecstatic, but another part was scared beyond belief.
It was like her security wall had been shattered, and while this left her free to move forward, it also left her exposed.
She didn't have Chris as an excuse anymore, if things got too heated.
But isn't that what she wanted, for things to get heated between her and Damon?
She opened the front door, walking inside.
Damon had been nothing but perfect since coming back.
Sure, he'd made a bad choice, when leaving all those years ago, but she'd made plenty of wrong choices too.
Like keeping Chris a secret.
She could see now how different things could have been if Damon had been able to be active in their son's life.
But where did that leave them, personally?
She knew what Damon wanted; he'd been clear about that since the beginning, but was she ready to jump into that with him?
To let herself actually trust a man again, or worse, the very man who took that trust away in the first place?
It wasn't going to be easy...but she thought that maybe it could be worth it.
She let her mind drift back to the night before, when he held her in his arms.
At first, she'd been afraid that their "feelings" was the left over sexual tension that clearly still existed between them, but that was only part of it.
Last night, once he'd come to her bed, hadn't been about sex.
It was, as he had said, intimacy.
And she had definitely missed being intimate with a man, intimate with him.
No one had ever known her better.
She moved toward the kitchen, where she caught sight of the man in question, rinsing off their plates and placing them on the drying rack.
He looked comfortable in her kitchen, and she could imagine him being there every day, in her life, in Chris's.
But she had to be willing to take that chance.
He must have felt her staring, because he turned around, his gaze finding hers.
"The bus come?" he asked, folding the rag he'd used and laying it across the divider in the sink.
She nodded, "Yep, it's just us now."
He deliberated, before asking, "Is he mad? About what he saw? I mean, with us?"
She shook her head, "No, I don't think he is...he saw us last night."
Damon's face lost some color, "On the couch? When we were-"
"No," she jumped to correct herself, "After that. He saw you in bed with me."
"Oh."
Damon didn't really seem to know what to say, so Elena continued.
"He noticed that you weren't on the couch. I think it freaked him out. He just assumed that you'd left again."
Damon blinked, then she watched as the guilt flooded his face, "I still have a long way to go, to earn his trust, don't I?"
Elena sighed, stepping closer to him, "I think it's going to take time, yes, but I also think you're closer than you'd expect. He cares about you, Damon, already. I'm just not sure he knows that, yet."
He nodded, then looked up at her, "And what about you?"
"What about me?" she challenged.
"Do you still care about me?" he asked, and she noted that same hesitant look he'd had last night.
As if he was waiting for a rejection.
She took those last few steps forward, before deliberately grabbing his head, and pulling him down to her.
She kissed him slowly, pulling herself against him, and his arms wrapped around her waist.
Her fingers interlaced at the nape of his neck, and she pulled back, though neither of them let go.
A little breathless, she answered, "You know I do."
His smile was melting, "Good...and do you trust me?"
She considered that, answering honestly, "I think I do. I mean, I trust you with Chris, obviously. I trust you not to leave us, but I have to admit that on everything between you and me, personally, I'm still a little hesitant."
He nodded, "That's good enough for me, sweetheart. I'll take whatever I can get."
She smiled, kissing him again, "Thank you, for being patient with me."
He cupped her cheek, "I hurt you, Elena, I know that. And that's not going to magically go away. I'll do whatever I have to do," he dropped his forehead to hers, "to earn your trust...and your love."
She could tell by his blazing eyes that he meant it.
She closed her eyes, letting her body settle against his, "Just keep doing this."
His arms tightened around her as she swallowed, "The rest will work itself out."
Chris loved English, he really did.
Especially since they'd started writing the essays, which he was mostly finished with.
Now it was basically unlimited free time, as those who weren't finished were allowed to work, while those who are, were able to find quiet ways to entertain themselves.
"Seriously," Kol was whispering, as their group huddled their desk in the back of the class, "How are we supposed to have fun on Halloween if you two are stuck at the Fall Festival tomorrow?"
Tyler shrugged, "I don't know man, maybe after?"
"It'll be too late after," Jeremy pointed out, "We have to sneak into the hotel before the sun goes down, otherwise that stairway is too dangerous. Not enough light."
"We could use flashlights," Tyler suggested.
"Only if you want to take the chance of falling six floors to your death," Kol reasoned.
Tyler shrugged, "Then I don't know. Maybe we'll just have to find something else to do."
"Like what, exactly?" Jeremy asked moodily, "We've been planning this for months."
Chris, who'd been listening to them banter finally sighed, "You guys are acting like this is the end of the world. Shit happens. It sucks, but it does. We can't do the hotel this year, big whoop. There's always next year."
"Okay, then what do you suggest we do, instead?" Kol pressed.
Chris shrugged, "Who said we had to do anything? Hell, why don't you two try being constructive and actually join me and Tyler on the set up committee?"
Jeremy scoffed, "You're kidding right? We have all night to do whatever, and you want to hang out at the town square?"
"I'm sorry Jer," Chris eyed him, "Is that cutting into your plans of dressing up and going door to door for candy?"
"Screw you, man," Jeremy shot, "I'm just saying that those town events are lame. We need something with a little more action!"
"We could always sneak booze and babes out to the cemetery," Tyler offered.
Chris rolled his eyes, "No."
"Why not?" Tyler shot.
"Uh, okay, A, that plan sucks, and B...what I just said."
"Want to elaborate?" Tyler urged.
"Every cop in town is going to be out patrolling on Halloween, dumb-ass. I don't know about you, but if Liz catches me doing anything illegal again, my mother is likely to ship me off to some form of military academy."
"He has a point," Kol noted, "It would be too easy for the cops to bust us there."
"Thank you," Chris stated, "And while we're on the topic, you gotta stop calling the girls "babes" man. They don't like that much."
Tyler shrugged, "Whatever. So if you guys are too afraid of the police, what legal things would you suggest?"
Chris considered this, "There's that Murder House that the theater's hosting in Grandville."
"Murder House?" Jeremy's nose cringed.
"Yeah, it's like an assortment of Haunted houses or something," Kol explained, having heard of it before.
Chris nodded.
"It's like what, a twenty minute drive? Cheap, close, scary, and," he turned to Tyler, "the babes would probably be up for it."
The others looked at each other, then Kol grinned, "Sounds good to me."
Tyler nodded, "Yeah, I can drive. And I'll ask Vicki to come. Her car can hold at least four more."
"There you go," Chris smirked, "A little effort, and a new plan is all ready to go."
"Yeah, yeah," Kol rolled his eyes.
Just as their conversation changed to who would look hottest in a nurse costume, the speaker from the office buzzed, calling Christian out.
They guys looked at him, "You in trouble?"
He shook his head. He'd mentioned it to April that morning, but had forgotten to tell them that he was leaving, "Nah, I almost forgot, Damon's picking me up early today."
"Lucky," Kol shot, and Chris smirked.
"See you guys later."
Damon was more nervous than he realized, as he spotted Chris in the hallway.
He'd already signed the kid out, and they were free to leave.
"You got everything?" he asked, once Chris was close enough.
His son nodded, "Yep. It's Friday, they don't assign much homework on the weekend."
"Ah," he noted, opening the doors of the building so they could walk out, to his car.
Once they got to the Camaro, Chris hesitated, "You fixed the window."
Damon nodded.
He'd gotten the call that the piece had come in a few minutes after Elena had left for work.
"Yeah, finally."
"Yeah...sorry 'bout that," Chris offered, seeming a little sheepish.
Damon shrugged, "It's nothing that couldn't be replaced."
They got in the car, and he almost smirked at Chris's widened eyes.
"This is nice," he stated, "What year is she?"
"1969," Damon praised, "I practically rebuilt the engine."
Chris's brow raised at that, "You know cars?"
Damon had to laugh at that, "I do other things beside sing hit songs, you know."
Chris smirked, "Yeah...but cars? Not everyone's thing."
"No," Damon admitted, "But it is something I use to enjoy, and occasionally mess with, seeing as the classics take constant looking after."
He started the car, a smile on his lips when she purred to life.
He seriously loved this old thing.
"Nice," Chris offered, but other than that, fell silent.
Damon figured he'd wait until they got to the Grill, before starting another conversation.
Alright, next chapter will be the Grill scene!
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