AN: Hello fellow readers! Here is the next part of Finding Love. Hope you enjoy it and give me some feedback.
Also thanks to everyone who has taken interest in my story and I do not own The Vampire Diaries.
"Damon, I forgot to ask where we are going for dinner tonight?" Elena asks curiously, not sure where they are going for dinner.
Damon looks at his best friend. "Well technically this isn't a date since that would be really awkward so I picked the Mystic Grill. I would pick another place if I could, but there aren't any other restaurants in Mystic Falls anyway so hopefully this works out good," he answers with an apologetic tone in his voice.
Elena nods her head sadly understanding where Damon is coming from, but still slightly disappointed that they can't go somewhere else.
It takes a good ten minutes before they arrive at the Mystic Grill. When Elena steps outside the car she gasps at the scenery in front of her. What used to be a normal looking restaurant is now beautifully decorated with flowers, confetti and balloons. The inside has a buffet of food including vanilla cake on a table in the centre of the restaurant and there's even relaxing music playing in the background.
"Damon, this is...beautiful. I've never seen the Grill looking so nice before," Elena finally manages to say, still a little speechless at the scene.
Damon smiles, happy that Elena approves of the work that he's done. "Well since this is the only restaurant in town, I thought I would add decorations to make the place look better," Damon answers which makes Elena smile.
He then extends his arm which Elena happily accepts. The two of them then enter the restaurant surprisingly finding a lot of people sitting down, dressed up in tuxedos and dresses. The scene makes Elena wonder if Damon secretly told Caroline so that she can use it as an excuse to go shopping.
A waiter then approaches them. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, looks like he is in his 20's and is dressed up like everyone else.
"Hello and welcome to the Mystic Grill. It's a special night tonight so you picked the right place. Do you have any reservations?" He says politely.
Elena is confused and is about to say no when Damon says, "Yes we have reservations for two under the name Salvatore," he answers the man who then looks up the name on the computer. When he finds it he then shows a friendly smile and leads the way.
While walking through the Grill, an announcement goes off, "Hello Mystic Falls! Tonight is karaoke night so if you have any requests or just want to get on the dance floor, then feel free to let us know and hope you have fun," the voice says which belongs to a DJ up on stage. Elena raises her eyebrows, now knowing why Damon brought them here and made reservations.
The waiter then brings them to a medium-sized table that has a rose in the middle of it. Damon sits at one end of the table and Elena sits at the opposite end. They then order drinks and the waiter disappears.
Elena then faces Damon with a smile on her face. "Why are you smiling at me like that, Brown Eyes?" Damon asks confused.
Elena just shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, guess I am still a little speechless that the day you chose for us to go for dinner just also happens to be karaoke night at the Grill."
Damon smiles at her answer. "Elena, you have been my best friend for the longest time; always standing by my side and even forgiving me for some of my past actions that have been considered unforgivable. You always have this smile on your face which makes everyone smile and can put even the saddest person in a good mood. I'm not the kind of person who does a big Oscar winning speech, but what I am trying to say is that I really appreciate you being my friend so that's why I made reservations for the two of us here".
Elena just sits there quietly, still trying to recover from the shock. During all the years she has known Damon, he has never done a speech or been so open to her before. Usually when they hung out and she would ask a question, he wouldn't really give a proper answer since that's the kind of man that Damon is.
"Well, I'm flattered that you said that although I don't personally think it's all true but thank you for the compliment," Elena finally answers, although her voice has an uncomfortable tone to it.
The waiter eventually comes back with their drinks and afterwards the room suddenly falls into silence which wouldn't make you think that you're in a restaurant.
After a few minutes, Damon is the one to break the silence. "So since we haven't seen each other in awhile, has there been anything interesting happening lately?"
Elena puts her drink down and bites her lip nervously. "There hasn't been a whole lot happening now other than Jeremy coming to visit once in a while. How has work been for you?"
Damon just shrugs his shoulders. "It's fine. I mean it's nice not having someone to boss me around since I do own the company. Other than that, there isn't anything overly exciting," he answers which makes Elena a bit confused. She knows that Damon has been having issues with Klaus since Caroline once told her about it, who heard from Stefan.
The waiter then arrives with their food and they start eating. It's during this time that Elena can't help but wonder why she didn't tell Damon about Matt and Rebekah. Sure she told him about Jeremy coming to visit, but she still has that guilty feeling inside...
"Matt and Rebekah are getting married!" Elena blurts out before she can stop herself. By now, Damon has stopped eating and is looking at her with a confused look. "He called Jeremy who told me and Bonnie when he came to visit at the Diner," she explains.
Silence. Damon doesn't say anything but looks at the ground. "Damon? Please say something," Elena said since the silence was starting to scare her and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
Damon just stares at her and then starts laughing which makes Elena even more confused
He eventually stops after a few minutes and stares at her. "That's a good one Elena but it's not true since your ex-boyfriend would never go for someone like her," Damon says believing that what she just told him is a joke. However, when Elena stays silent and doesn't say anything, the smile wipes off Damon's face and is replaced with a frown.
"You gotta be kidding me! Matt Donovan is engaged to Rebekah Mikaelson?! Don't you realize that she is the sister of Klaus?!" Damon yells angrily.
Elena shakes her head. "Damon, please let me explain..."
"No Elena, you don't have to explain at all!" Damon interrupts. "I get it, you and Jeremy are pals with your ex and now you are going to act the same way with the Mikaelsons," Damon accusingly tells Elena who puts her head down. "Oh did I also forget to tell ya that me and Klaus are on bad terms right now since he wants me to file his papers for him when I don't really give a damn! Now he is going to probably brag about you since you are best friends with his sister's fiancé."
It's then silent after Damon's spat. Elena is the one who breaks it this time. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, but you were already stressed out and I didn't want to make it any worse. Please understand that I wasn't trying to hurt you," Elena answers pleadingly.
Damon faces her and then gives her a sad smile. "I get it. You were just trying to protect me, but friends don't keep secrets from each other. Why don't you think about that?" Damon says and then walks outside to the patio leaving Elena standing there processing what he just told her.
When Damon goes outside, he starts pacing back and forth and asking himself questions. Why did Elena have to keep secrets from him? Sure she is trying to protect him but they never keep secrets from each other so why start now.
"Damon," Elena's voice says which makes him turn around to find her right behind him.
"I know you don't want to speak to me now, but please listen to me. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier about Matt and Rebekah, but I know that you and...Klaus don't get along so that's why I didn't want to tell you. Also, just because Matt is going to be a part of the Mikaelson family doesn't mean that I am going to be friends with them too," Elena says, trying to comfort and get her friend to understand.
Damon looks away. "You know, I was good friends with Matt. We would sometimes play football together and I would always see him when he was with either you or Stefan. He was a nice guy and a good boyfriend to you. I'm just finding it hard to believe that he decides to marry Rebekah of all people."
Elena stays silent letting Damon have his moment since he doesn't have one like this often. She knew that Damon approved of Matt, but never thought that the two of them were once good friends.
Eventually Damon asks, "I forgive you for not telling me sooner since I get why you did it, but I just want to know why are you always so concerned all the time?"
Elena walks up to Damon and grabs his hand. "Damon, I'm concerned about you because you're my friend and I just want to look out for you. This is why I am asking you not to do anything to Matt since it's not his fault."
Damon looks at Elena and then looks down to find their fingers entwined. "Alright, I won't take it out on Matt since you're my friend and I don't want to hurt you," Damon says which makes Elena smile. They then let go of each others' hands and head back into the restaurant.
When Damon and Elena come back inside, they notice that there is loud music playing and everyone is now dancing. A man then comes on stage and walks up to the microphone.
"Hello Mystic Falls! Hope everyone is having a great night so far. Our next song will be playing shortly so feel free to head to the dance floor. This song is called 'My Best Friend'."
As the music starts playing, Damon extends his arm out to Elena. "Would you like to dance Miss Gilbert?" Damon asks teasingly.
Elena laughs. "I would like that Mr. Salvatore," she responds in the same teasing tone. She then takes his arm and the two of them then head to the center and dance to the music.
I never had no one
I could count on
I've been let down so many times
I was tired of hurtin'
So tired of searchin'
Til you walked into my life
It was a feelin'
I'd never known
And for the first time
I didn't feel alone
As the song goes on, Elena notices that there is something familiar about it apart from the title; something that causes her to have butterflies in her stomach. She then thinks for a moment and realizes that the music perfectly described her and Damon.
You're more than a lover
There could never be another
To make me feel the way you do
Oh we just get closer
I fall in love all over
Everytime I look at you
I don't know where I'd be
Without you here with me
Life with you makes perfect sense
You're my best friend
You're my best friend, oh yeah
Damon listens to the music while thinking at the same time that dancing with Elena feels right. Just the feeling of having her in his arms makes him feel happy and also gives him the urge to kiss her. He doesn't however since she is his best friend and kissing her would be stepping out of that boundary.
Eventually the song ends with Damon and Elena staring intensely into each other's eyes. "You two make a cute couple," a woman interrupts which makes them come out of their trance. "Oh, thank you, but we're not a couple. We are just friends," Elena answers which makes the woman frown but then apologizes and walks away.
Elena then turns to face Damon who just shakes his head and then the two friends head out the door.
"Thank you for dinner Damon, I had lots of fun," Elena says after they arrive at her house.
"It was no problem, I had tons of fun too. We should do it again sometime," Damon answers with a smirk on his face.
"Ya we definitely should for sure," she says and then afterwards, it falls into an awkward silence. Damon then walks down the steps from the porch. "Well hope you have a good night and I will see you later."
Elena nods and Damon heads down to the car all the while thinking about what just happened tonight and how it felt more like a date. Little did he know that Elena was inside her house thinking the exact same thing.
AN: Well did you like it? I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations since it wasn't the easiest to write. I also hope you like the twist I added with Damon being friends with Matt since he doesn't like him on the show.
The next chapter will have a time jump so that we can get closer to the party. Also, only a few people will know by then what has happened between Damon and Elena so expect confrontations, jealousy and dates.
I will also not be updating as often for the next two weeks since I am taking a night course so I hope you will be patient with me. :) Also, the song is my best friend by Tim McGraw so feel free to listen to it.
Also, if you have an account can you perhaps vote on my poll that's on my profile? It's about my newest story that I might write in the future.
Until next time! :)