Previously on Flightmate...

E,C and B are on a plane that crashes. D&E are stranded, bond on an island. E escapes to get to J, meets A&G. D re-enters, E seduces A for information. E fesses up to A, they part ways. D decides the carnival will cheer up E.

Chapter 19: A Relatively Pleasant Day

The carnival was a colorful event in Whitmore village. Nearly everybody came out to celebrate in the streets. The air buzzed with chatter. Smells paraded together in a thick haze over the crowd. Elena felt heady with all the sensation. The streets were packed to the maximum, people swarming the small booths, making best of the one-day sales. Elena and Damon watched the artistes juggle flaming knives, a painter at work and a magician entertaining the younger demographic. Walking past the stalls, Elena stopped by an accessories booth. Damon groaned. He disappeared in the crowd of people not before Elena heard a 'Find me when you're done.'

She looked at all the various objects in the store. There were hairpins in red, blue, green, yellow, orange and purple. An astrologist was offering fortune advice... to the mentally weak. Elena was taught at a very young age to not put faith into things that have no basis in reality. Well that worked out well for me. She was wrong about vampires, witches, spells, potions... and who knows what Elena looked around, she stared in awe, impressed by the diverse hairstyles of the Whitmore residents. Some hairstyles involved elaborate braids, while some had lots of beads.

While she was browsing the selection, a lady came up to her.

'Hi, are you looking for something?'

Elena looked up to see the tall woman with short red hair, wearing a leather jacket and tight jeans. Her appearance was a lot like Damon's, Elena observed.

'Hi, can I have the.. um...' Elena picked the prettiest one she could see. 'Waterfall braid?'

'Sure!' she smiled. 'Would you like any sequins or beads?'

'I don't really care, whatever you like. I just want to fit in with people here, so you are probably the better judge of what's cool.'

'Oh honey, you don't have to do that.' Elena looked away hoping she couldn't read the lie in her eyes. Elena didn't care about fitting in anymore. Sage smiled knowingly at her. 'You don't want to fit in with the people here, do you? Who is it?'

Elena stared at her. 'Who is it?'

'Wanted to look irresistible for the blue-eyed devil that just walked past the store?'

If Elena had water or food in her mouth, she'd've spat.

'Blue-eyed devil?' she exclaimed. Did people really say that anymore? She was probably a witch so there's that. Elena's eyebrows raised and a tiny smile played at her lips.

The red-haired woman rested a hand on Elena's. 'It's okay honey. You don't have to admit it. I get it. The attraction,' she continued casually, weirdly enough not making Elena uncomfortable for once. She seemed more into realism than tween gossiping. 'He looks at you like you're a friend, a best friend possibly and you want him to really notice you. That's completely normal. But don't you worry darling - I'll make sure you look fabulous.'

Elena spluttered but gave up. She always looked fabulous as far as she was concerned. Elena didn't say anything further. She just wanted to have a relatively pleasant day.

Elena swallowed.

'Do you have a dress to go with the hair?'

Half an hour later, Elena looked at herself in the mirror. The blue floor-length dress fit her perfectly and even emphasized her figure. Her hair fell straight on her shoulder and curled at the end, behind her back. The braids looked effortlessly smooth with a bright red flower on the left side of her head. She felt the small orange beads threaded into the braid under her fingertips. Elena was satisfied. Smiling at her reflection in the mirror, she twisted to check her dress in every angle.

Oh no. NO.

'Sage?' she called the store lady. 'The back is way too low. I can't go out like this!'

'Elena, it's not that low! Don't worry. If you want', she handed Elena a soft black jacket. 'He won't know. It can be your little secret.' She handed Elena a black jacket. No one would know about her nakedness in the back. The risk remained however that if Damon tried to feel her up, he'd be in for a surprise.

'Thank you so much Sage! You're amazing.' Elena said gratefully, hugging Sage. Sage took a few seconds to return the hug. She probably thought Elena wasn't a hugger what with her nervousness and anxiety to step outside her comfort territory.

'Anytime. See you later Elena!' she waved her out. 'And good luck!' she yelled. Elena raised a hand in acknowledgement.

Phew. Here goes.

Elena searched in the crowd for Damon. More people had come out to celebrate. Where had Damon said he'd wait for her? Oh right. He didn't.

She found him in the middle of a huge crowd of people, dancing in pairs. He was watching the couples from the sidelines, hidden emotions reflecting in his eyes. The song was a pop one with a catchy beat. Elena found herself bobbing her head in time to the music. Dancing her way through the crowd, she got to him.

'Having fun?' she yelled, trying to yell over the music even though she was standing right next to him.

'Yeah' Damon paused midway, his voice trailing off. His eyes widened. Elena wanted to laugh at his reaction but something in his eyes made her blush. There was no other way to say it... he began to undress her... with his eyes.

Elena's skin was supersensitive to anything remotely sexual and the blood came rushing to the surface. In all her life, no one had looked at her the way Damon did right then. Even if they did, she'd never noticed. He looked positively entranced.

His reaction gave her the extra boost she wanted as she pulled his hand from his pocket and held it in hers. She looked up to meet his gaze, turning back to the safe ground immediately when she saw Damon looking like he was going to bolt. Pulling him to the dancing couples, she noticed that he froze. In fact, he did not seem aware of anything except her. Elena had never seen him like that before. Your magic worked Sage, she thought smirking. Thank you.

As he stood immobilized, Elena spun in her spot, showing off her dress. She giggled, praying frantically that the nervousness didn't show.

Damon smiled a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Grabbing her hand, he spun her and pulled her into his embrace. Elena would normally freeze and push him away or do something that wasn't enjoying herself. For once though she wanted to live a relatively pleasant day. An invisible cage had opened and she was free. Damon held her hands and pulled her flush to his body. Her heartbeat got faster as he held her in that position for a second too long and both of them knew it. None of them curiously enough did anything about it. Their eyes were not moving from the other's.

The DJ switched to a new song. A slow one. Everybody immediately stopped, changed pace; the men bent down and stretched their hand for their partner's. As Damon followed suit, Elena shook her head at him, like he was going to extreme lengths to fit in. Damon's face fell from light-hearted dancing to intense eye-f...drowing. Elena had no other word for it. That's what he did to people, he used his eyes as a weapon, as a sea for them to drown in and not realize who he really was. And damn him, if it was working.

Elena placed her hand into his, trying to act like she wasn't thinking inappropriate thoughts about him. Damon didn't seem to notice but Elena did get a kiss on her hand with unwavering eye contact. Again with the eyes. He smiled wickedly and Elena knew he heard the change in her breathing.

Trying to calm her emotions and control the dopamine, she placed her hand on Damon's shoulder. His hand curled around her waist. Elena hoped as hard as she could that his hand would stay where it was. If it felt its way up, she could not guarantee her actions after said displacement. Oh please let it go up.

Wait.

What?

'You look stunning if it isn't obvious,' he said. Elena looked up to meet his intense eyes.

'Thank you,' she replied, shyly.

They danced around the courtyard, not taking their eyes off of each other for a second. Elena's inappropriate thoughts were bubbling under the vault she'd locked them in. How she'd even kept all that locked up for so long was a mystery. Speaking of mysteries, Damon and Elena managed to avoid crashing into people. She blamed it on Damon's vampire agility.

Her lower back was still on high alert. Damon's hand still painfully on the fabric, rested just before the edge. Elena didn't know what she wanted anymore. All she knew for certain was that she was frustrated with Damon's hand. It was so close...it seemed very out of personality for Damon to maintain dignity. It didn't seem very him. She looked at him curiously, finding nothing. Was he waiting for her permission? Was there a part of him that was decent after all?

I hope so.

Deciding to trust her gut, she did what she wanted to do. She slipped her hand out of his. Elena then pressed her body into his, her arms curled around his neck. She was hugging him but they were dancing, so technically, they were swaying to and fro. Like prom dates.

He froze under her touch, clearly bewildered by her move. Elena didn't know how to make this more comfortable and natural so she decided to enjoy it as long as she could. Her face pressed into his chest, which was surprisingly warm. Damon seemed to recover in good time. His hands slowly returned back to where they were. Except they were higher than they used to be. Much higher. Rigidness was Elena as she pressed froze involuntarily. He had realized the working of her dress.

Elena wanted to dissolve into his black shirt and through his chest and disappear into nothing, so strong was her embarrassment. She did not dare look up. Then, he was speaking to her beside her right ear.

'This is my new favorite outfit on you,' he breathed, in a low voice. Elena's grip tightened unconsciously around his neck. He tilted his head and kissed her now-salmon pink cheeks. She shivered when she felt his tongue lick a patch of her cheek. His fingers drew patterns on her skin, giving Elena a massive bout of goose bumps but also, simultaneously relaxed her. The music was all around them as the dark-haired duo let it move them.

'Elena?' Damon said after a few minutes. 'Are you tired?'

She looked up incredulously giving her her best we-barely-danced-dumbass look. Dropping it to a polite look, she shook her head.

'Do you want to go somewhere quiet?'

'Yes please.' Elena replied. She was feeling slightly woozy actually. Whether it was because of Damon or the song or the dancing, she couldn't tell apart.

'Follow me,' he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the dance floor (in this case, courtyard), tracing their steps back to where they came from.

Song: You know it. All of Me by Within Temptation. It's so gratifying to write this scene knowing that this was when Elena thought Damon was sexy.

I GOT 99 REVIEWS AND A FLAME AIN'T ONE. As we step forth into the triple digit number on the Reviews, I just want to thank two people with fresh mango smoothies who shared their thoughts and constructive criticism from the very beginning WITHOUT MISSING A SINGLE CHAPTER: kfulmer7 and jairem. Bamon Blue Glasses go to Ninaandianforever, Alyssa92, sharpie78, SchwartzShifter and YAZMIN V for following the mantra at the very bottom of every chapter.

6x03: I ship Bamon, guys. Brotp and otherwise. I don't even feel guilty about this - let's just say... they could sleep together and I wouldn't be upset. I'd be mildly cheeky about it though ;) The ship development from 2x02 when she tried to kill him with fire, and 6x03 when she saved him using fire, breaks my heart. Also, I want to kill the dude who kissed Elena. Piss off bruh, she's taken. Even if she doesn't remember it *wails loudly*. Tell me your episode feelings down below.

Thanks for giving Flightmate so much love.

FOLLOW ME (I mean, stalk):
Twitter: anupapaya
Tumblr: arrogantanupapaya
YouTube: anupyathekiddo (Anupapaya Poopy)
8tracks: Anupapaya (Listen to ALL TVDS6 songs. Updated with 6x03.)

You clicked, you read and now you REVIEW! :D