Thanks so much for the reviews! And a special thanks to Perfect Pirate Captain, monnalisa, Elle0731, Crimson-kiss 17(What does 17 stand for? It's my lucky number. :P), smithsbabe65 and Barbara SGB. Your names are getting very familiar to me! :D

If you have any suggestions about where the story should go, please let me know. ALL ADVICE WILL BE CONSIDERED.

Thanks again!

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Chapter 5

Elena.

School was horrible the next day. With Stefan and Bonnie gone to look for Lucy, Elena was left almost friendless. History class was the worst. Whenever she caught sight of the empty seats in front of her, she immediately thought of the spell she was under. She spaced out the whole day, not hearing anything the teacher was saying. And of course, her thoughts always led to Damon some way or another.

Caroline had asked her about Bonnie's whereabouts, and Elena, not wanting anyone else to know about her current situation, had answered that she didn't know. Caroline was skeptical, but was distracted because at that exact moment, Matt had walked past. Elena was thankful for his timing.

When school was finally over, Elena found herself thinking of reasons to go to the Boarding House. She'd very much like to run into Damon right now, but she convinced herself that she only wanted to see him because he's the only one here now.

Listing various excuses to stop by at Damon's, Elena walked out of the school with her head buzzing with thoughts. However, she needn't have come up with a reason. Damon was standing right there by her car, waiting for her.

"Damon!" Elena exclaimed, failing to hide the cheerfulness in her voice, "What…what are you doing here?" She looked at him closely. It seemed that he had recovered rather quickly after last night. He was wearing his favorite leather jacket with black jeans, and his boyish grin was back on his face.

The corner of Damon's mouth twitched. There it is again. The "what are you doing here". Can't she think of any other ways to greet him? But she looked happy to see him, and her heart was beating so much faster, so he offered her a lopsided grin, "Thought I'd pay a visit to a girl who's hopelessly falling in love with an unbelievably handsome gentleman." He winked playfully, "AKA, me."

Elena couldn't help but let a small smile take place of her current frown. Damon was the same Damon, still deviously handsome and cocky. It was nice to know he didn't change after what happened. It almost made the situation seem normal.

"I'm not falling in love with you, Damon." She said firmly, talking to herself more than him.

"Really?" Damon asked, faking genuine astonishment, "And is that evidenced by your heart going twice its speed when I showed up?" He cocked his head a little to the side, as if expecting an answer.

Elena felt her cheeks burn and hoped he didn't see it, "You caught me by surprise." She tried to explain.

"I tend to do that." His smile stretched even wider. Now Elena was sure he saw her blush.

"I'm going home now." She said, walking towards her car, wanting very much to end this conversation.

Damon opened the passenger's door and jerked his chin towards her car, "Hop in, then."

Damon.

Damon was in a very good mood as he drove around with Elena sitting next to him. It brought back some memories of when he drove them to Georgia. And that were some great memories. They had such a good time. He hoped they would again tonight.

He purposely missed the turning when they came close to her house and took another route, wondering when she would realize that he wasn't taking her home. Sure enough, Elena's back arched as she peered out of the window at the passing houses.

"This isn't the way back home." She frowned, turning her head to look at Damon.

The confused look on her face was so vulnerable that Damon had to force himself to keep his eyes on the road. "Very observant." He said mockingly.

Elena chose to ignore the sarcasm and focus on the more important matter instead, "Where are you taking me? I have to get home before dinner, you know. Aunt Jenna is expecting me."

"No, she isn't." Damon said easily, "I told her you'd be with me."

"You compelled her?" Elena asked disbelievingly.

Damon felt offended that she would think he's do such a thing. He knew to respect her and her family, and couldn't help feeling a little hurt that she would think so little of him. Then again, after the Jeremy incident, he couldn't really blame her for thinking this way.

"I didn't compel her." He assured her, "I asked, very nicely, if I could take you out. She didn't seem too thrilled though. But after the flowers, she was less reluctant to say no."

Elena could hear the proud note in his voice, but she doubted that Aunt Jenna liked Damon. The flowers must have gotten him a lot closer, though.

"So," She asked slowly, "is this…a date?"

"Do you want it to be?" Damon asked back.

Taken back by the question, Elena felt her throat tightening. They were walking on dangerous ground here, and she didn't want to cross the line. As much as she wished that this was a date, she told herself that these feelings were just the aftermath of the spell.

"…No." She finally replied, but her voice didn't seem too convincing even to her.

Damon, however, overlooked that fact. "Then it's not a date. Just two friends hanging out."

Elena.

A half hour later, they were at the destination. The sun was setting, leaving everything in semi-darkness, which was really quite romantic.

As Damon opened the car door for her like a perfect gentleman, Elena stepped out of her car and took in the sight in front of her.

She'd be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. It was a beautiful open-air restaurant by the lake. The tables were set all around the water, and there was light music playing in the background. Because the sun had finally set, the moonlight gave the perfect sheen. The whole place seemed so tranquil and so romantic that Elena felt truly awed for being in its presense.

"Welcome to my sanctuary," Damon said from behind her when words failed Elena.

Elena took in the sight again, entirely impressed by Damon's aesthetic standards. "It's…it's beautiful, Damon." She gushed. She never gushed, but this seemed like a good time to start.

At that moment, a well-dressed waiter came up to them. Recognizing Damon immediately, he smiled and gave them a small bow, "Mr. Salvatore! The usual spot?"

"Yea, thank you, Arthur." Replied Damon in a polite voice that Elena never heard him use before.

"What's the usual spot?" She asked in an undertone, wondering if any more surprises will greet her.

"See for yourself." Damon winked.

The waiter led them to a table right under a huge willow tree on the edge of the bank. With the reflections of the moonlight in the water and the gentle breeze causing the wickers to waver, the landscape looked serene and enchanting, as if a scenery from a movie. Elena was deeply astounded as the waiter pulled out her chair for her. She sat down across from Damon, who was still grinning mischievously at her.

There were no menus waiting for them. Instead, the waiter brought their courses one by one, and they were all delicious. Elena couldn't remember the last time she ate this much. She was so full, but the food was simply too good to waste.

When they finally finished the last course, Elena felt bloated, but very delighted. She still couldn't believe Damon could be so romantic. And this wasn't even a date. Just two friends hanging out, as Damon had said.

Across from Damon, Elena smiled at him. The moonlight made him look even more mysterious and intriguing than he did. He grinned lazily back at her, obviously satisfied with himself.

When Arthur brought them a basket of breadsticks, Elena glanced at Damon hopelessly, "I don't think I can eat another bite." She confessed.

Damon, however, got up from his seat and took the basket with him, "These aren't for you, Elena." He said with a smile.

Elena got up too and followed him to the water. She watched as Damon knelt down and tore at the breadsticks. When he was finished, he threw the fragments into the lake. Minutes later, a flock of ducks swam slothfully towards them and started gobbling down the pieces.

Quickly, she joined him to feed the ducks. This night was turning out to be one of the best nights she had ever encountered. When the last piece of bread was thrown into the lake, they sat shoulder to shoulder on the grass for a long time, watching the moonlit ripples of the lake. Elena didn't want to admit it, but she was wishing more and more this could be a date which ended with a kiss. Sitting so close to Damon after a fantastic evening wasn't something she had planned for today, but it was her favorite event so far.

"Damon?" She asked quietly as she stared into the beautiful view in front of her.

"Hm?"

"Why'd you take me here?"

Damon used a moment to compose his words, "…I used to come here whenever I wanted to get away from reality. It's just…peaceful here. I was hoping it'd take your mind off the spell."

Elena smiled. He was so thoughtful and considerate that right now she couldn't connect him to the monstrous vampire he once was. "It did. Thank you." She said genuinely.

"Your welcome," Damon replied and stood up abruptly, "Now, would you like to dance?" He offered her his hand and smirked at her expression.

"But…" Elena looked around. There were other couples here, but they were all eating and chatting quietly. "There's no one dancing."

"So?" Damon shrugged and pulled Elena to her feet, "There's music, isn't there?"

Smiling, Elena let herself be pulled into his arms. She must have looked ridiculous dancing with Damon in jeans and a T-shirt, but at that moment, she didn't care. She didn't care about the other people staring at them, or the spell, or anything else at all. All she cared about was being in Damon's arms, feeling his touch on her and returning his never-faltering grin.

When the waiter, Arthur, saw them dancing, he changed the music to a faster beat. Elena shrieked with laughter as Damon twirled her around. She couldn't remember the last time she had fun like this. Trust Damon to always make her laugh. And as the last note of the song was played, Damon dipped her. At that moment, she was sure her heart fluttered.

Damon.

Pulling into the driveway in front of Elena's house, Damon hopped out of her car and opened her door for her again, "See? Back before ten. Am I a perfect gentleman or what?"

"An obnoxious gentleman, more like." Elena corrected, rolling her eyes.

It had been a long time since he last heard Elena joke. It was nice to hear it again. And he was proud he had made her happy. Back when they were dancing, he had to use all of his self control to not kiss her. For a moment, he was sure she had wanted him to. But the moment passed as quickly as it came, so he had tried his best to recover from it.

"Damon…" Elena started what seemed to be a very long speech. Damon waited patiently for the rest, but it didn't come. Elena seemed to be fighting with what she had to say. After a long pause, too long to be considered natural, she simply smiled at him and said, "Thank you for tonight."

Damon almost lost himself in her smile. She was so beautiful that right now, there were no words to describe her. He knew he would miss these moments dearly when they're over, but also knew that they would make a great memory which he will treasure forever.

"That was a great non-date, wasn't it?" He asked in a haughty voice.

Elena's laughter warmed him inside out. "The best." She assured him.