Not that I didn't totally love all of the Delena from the episode a week ago, but unfortunately we'll have to pretend that didn't happen. I think Damon might be a little bitter to joke around with Elena. So while reading this, pretend that didn't happen, but a new episode is tonight!
"That Looks Good on You"
The door swung open and Alaric automatically began to shove it back shut as soon as he saw Damon. Damon, though, just smirked a little and slapped one hand on the door to stop it from shutting. "I know you're mad at me, Ric," he said, "but I'm here for Elena."
"Oh, no." Alaric rubbed his hands over his face. "You're her date?" He stalked to the kitchen, Damon following him. Alaric offered him a glass of bourbon, but Damon shook his head. The last thing he needed was to be temperamental tonight. All that would accomplish was making him act like a douche and making Elena turn a little bit more to Stefan.
"I know you don't like me hanging around Elena. But you also know how her track record is for school dances," Damon muttered. Alaric grunted. So he at least agreed, but he wasn't happy about it. As far as Damon was concerned, Alaric didn't have to be happy about it as long as Elena made it through the night unharmed - physically and emotionally. "Stefan's keeping an eye on Klaus, so I'm the babysitter for the night."
Damon straightened when he heard footsteps in the hallway upstairs, and he and Alaric moved to stand at the bottom of the stairs until Elena appeared.
Her dress was a long black ensemble, strapless with a sweetheart neckline. A long slit revealed one smooth leg as she stepped down the stairs, and the way the dress swept the floor and glittered all over stayed true to the Red Carpet theme of the school dance. Her hair was kept straight - thankfully - and was in a long sleek ponytail that trailed over one shoulder. All Damon could look at, though, her lips. He had a hard enough time keeping his eyes off of them, and now they were highlighted with bright red lipstick.
"You look nice," Elena commented as she stepped down. She reached forward to adjust Damon's bowtie, and he got a whiff of her floral perfume. "Very Hollywood." Damon smirked as he caught her hand before she could pull it away, and he planted a kiss on it. He heard Alaric mutter something under his breath, far too quiet for a human to hear. Elena stiffened at Damon's touch and said, "Well, we better go." She gave Alaric an awkward one-armed hug, which he returned just as awkwardly. "See you, Ric."
"Have fun." Alaric gave Elena tight smile. Damon put his hand at the small of Elena's back and began to usher her out the door. Again, too quietly for Elena to her, Alaric whispered, "Don't try anything stupid, Damon." Damon just laughed and closed the door behind him.
Damon opened the car door and Elena slid smoothly in - or at least as smoothly as she could in her dress. Damon clenched his fists when the dress slid to reveal her leg again. He swore the stupid slit in that dress would be the death of him.
As Damon got in the car and started it, he chuckled to himself. Elena looked at him questioningly, but he just held a straight face and said, "That looks good on you." She muttered a quick thanks. "It would look amazing on the floor in my bedroom."
"Ha. Real funny, Damon," she said, brushing it off, but Damon could hear her heart speed up and knew her palms began to sweat.
He smirked to himself and drove towards the school.
"You Lost Your Teddy Bear"
Elena stepped out of the shower, slipping into her pajama shorts and tank top, and brushing her teeth quickly. She knew if she went to sleep with her hair wet she would have a total mess of tangles on her head tomorrow, but she was so tired she didn't even care. Sighing, she left the bathroom. She didn't even turn the light on to plug her phone in before tumbling into bed. She sighed as she pushed her wet hair out of her face and closed her eyes, relaxing her muscles and eager to fall into the oblivion of sleep.
Not one who naturally fell asleep quickly, no matter how tired, Elena lay there and listened to the ticking of the clock and the whirring of her fan. It was hot, but she always slept with her blanket over her. She didn't feel safe otherwise. Which was stupid, because it wasn't like her measly cotton comforter would stop Klaus if he suddenly decided to go through with his plan of kidnapping her, but it was comforting to believe it would.
Elena groaned and rolled onto her back, peeling her eyes open and staring at her ceiling. She wasn't getting much sleep tonight, she knew that already. Her mind was whirling from all that'd happened with Ric's psycho-killer alter ego. Still, she snapped her eyes shut and rolled onto her side, curling into a ball and resting her cheek on her arm.
And then she felt a breath on her face. Her eyes snapped open to see a pair of bright blue ones in the dark of her room, and she automatically cried out, flailing and nearly falling off of her bed. But Damon, who she could clearly see now with her eyes adjusted, moved forward with vampire speed and caught her wrist, pulling her back onto her bed. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stood there.
"I saw that you lost your teddy bear," was all Damon said. Flashes of Damon holding her precious teddy bear flashed through Elena's mind.
"W - what?" she muttered, still half-asleep.
Damon grinned and repeated, "I saw that you lost your teddy bear. I was wondering if I could sleep with you instead." Damon plopped down onto the bed before Elena could answer.
Elena's fuzzy mind didn't even really process what Damon was saying, or how much more drama this would cause if anybody figured it out. So she just smiled, curled into Damon, and fell easily asleep.