ONE-SHOT.
"Does this thing even work?" a muffled voice muttered, snapping the camera into focus.
The screen blurred for a moment before zooming into the ceiling above him. He cleared his throat a few times, the silent ruffling of sheets heard in the background. He sighed.
"My name is Damon Salvatore," he whispered calmly, talking to the camera. "I'm a hundred and sixty-eight years old. Still looking like a 21-year-old. Pretty creepy, if you ask me. Anyway, it's a beautiful Sunday morning. I'd say it's seven AM, but I'm not sure. I'm too lazy to check. I don't feel like doing anything today so I'm not—"
"Damon," a woman warned him. "Shut up. Go back to sleep, or something."
He turned the video camera at himself, making a face that clearly asked what crawled up her ass. "What was I saying? Oh, I don't feel like doing anything today, so I'm not. Just going to lie in bed, because I'm awesome. I should have done this years ago. Why haven't I done this before? Damn."
"Are you talking to yourself?" the woman said, voice thick with fatigue and sleep. "Shut up, or I swear, I will hide the bourbon. Don't tempt me."
He pointed the camera at the petite brunette next to him, laughing at how close up it was to her nose. "This is my… I don't know what she is. Hell, I don't know who she is."
The woman opened her eyes, one at a time, and shook her head. "Where in the name of all things holy did you find that contraption?" she said, reaching her hand out to cover the lens. Damon groaned, the screen going blank.
"Found it in my drawer," he replied. The display was still black, their words the only thing to pay attention to. "What it's doing there, I don't want to know. I just found it."
The woman grunted, drawing her hand back, bringing life back to the monitor. She turned her back to Damon, showing off her bare back.
"Aw, don't be like that," he said, reaching out to poke her. She shifted, breathing out loud enough for the microphone to hear. "Okay, fine. This woman goes by the name of Elena. She's… How old are you? 18? Yeah, she's 18—almost 19. Isn't that just gross? I'm, like, 168 and she's 19."
"I hope you've bid your goodbyes to the bourbon. You're not going to see it ever again," she said, face still hidden from view.
"Okay, okay—will you turn around? Please?" he said, inching his way closer to her. For a moment, the camera was in her hair, and the strands of brown were all that was visible.
Elena turned around, covering herself with the blanket up to her chin. The camera is back a safe distance away, shaking as Damon regained his former position. He faced the camera at him again.
"I'm making a time capsule," he said, shrugging. His hair was complete disarray against the white of the pillow his head was against. "In, what? A hundred years? We will come back to this boarding house, find this tape and watch it. I have no idea what the world will look like, but Future Damon, you'll know."
"You're serious?" Elena said. He swiveled the camera around, focusing on her. "Future Damon, I want you to know that I, past Elena, fell in love with past Damon. I don't know what you're like now, but let's hope you're not as crazy as you… were—Damon, this is weird."
"Nobody asked you to play along," he said, laughing. "But you're doing great. Go, talk some more. Tell us… Uh, tell us how you feel. Like, right now. At this very moment."
"Uh, well," she said, beaming at the man behind the camera. "I'm annoyed and sleepy, and to be honest, I think I'm still dreaming. But—this is going to sound so cheesy, Damon; just turn it off."
"No, no, I want to hear," he said. The camera quivered a bit; Damon readjusted his stance. "Are you seriously going to make Future Damon disappointed? He won't be very happy with Future Elena."
She closed her eyes, probably wracking her mind on what to say. They opened again, a new sparkle in them. "I'm happy," she said, a small grin forming on her face. "I'm happy where I am right now, actually. This is one of those moments in life when… when you think you've got life figured out. You know? If I look back at this moment, I would tell myself, 'That right there is a girl who has everything worked out.' If I could stay in this moment forever, I would. I'm that… I'm that happy."
"That's probably the…" Damon started, pivoting the camera at his face. He rolled his eyes, chuckling already. "…Sappiest thing I have ever heard."
A pillow came flying at his head, covering his face for a second. "Shut up; I hate you," Elena grumbled.
"I was kidding," he said, pointing it at her again. "That was beautiful."
"Oh, yeah, right," she said, burying her face in the sheets. "I practically embarrassed myself in front of the future."
"I'm a jerk, okay, I'm a jerk," he said, sounding like he stifled laughter. Elena shook her head against the comforter. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'll hate myself for the rest of eternity. Elena, I'm in front of the window right now; I can very easily take this ring off—"
Elena raised her face again, a smile in place. "You totally fell for that," she said, pushing herself up to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "Love you."
She grabbed the camera out of his hand and "Aha!"-ed in triumph. He covered his face with his hand, attempting to cover the camera with the other.
"The tables have turned, Damon Salvatore," she said. She knelt up, causing the display to wobble. He pried his hand off his face to admire her, front exposed. "You're a sick freak."
"What? I'm not allowed to admire my girlfriend's body? C'mon, Elena," he said, squinting at her. He tossed a black button down at her direction. She expertly put it on with one hand grasping the camera.
"Where are we going and why are you making me dress up?" she said, getting off the bed. Damon shrugged his pants on, remaining topless. Elena didn't complain.
"Time to wake my baby brother up."
"We're here in front Stefan Salvatore's room," Damon whispered, the camera still in Elena's hand. "I'm going to wretch this door open, and you go in there, okay? Disturb him, I don't care."
"We're not Charlie's Angels, Damon," Elena said, voice awfully close to the microphone. "On three. One…"
"Two…"
"Three!" they said together as Damon swung the door open.
Stefan was in bed, eyes wide open in shock. "What the hell are you doing? Do you mind? I was sleeping! Get out," he said, appearing next to Damon's side in a beat, pushing him out. The camera didn't even catch it.
"Give us a second, Stefan," Damon said, clearly having a good time fight his brother off. "We're making a time capsule."
"What?" Stefan replied in disbelief.
"Yeah," Elena said from behind the device. "Introduce yourself. Tell us what you think of today. Tell us how you feel. Go, just do it."
Stefan breathed out heavily, running a hand through his hair. "My name's Stefan Salvatore. I'm a hundred and sixty-three. Today sucks because my brother and Elena waked me up. I want to burn this recording as soon as it's finished just for kicks."
"You're evil," Damon said jokingly. "Seriously, go tell the camera." He walked out of view, probably to stand next to his girlfriend.
"Okay, uh, I'm glad that these two are here to make my morning interesting. I'm glad that everybody I care about is alive. I'm glad that I'm alive. I'm glad that Klaus isn't. I'm glad that Katherine is safe—don't look at me like that. And I'm glad I woke up today. Okay? You happy?
"Now, give me that," Stefan said, snatching the gadget from Elena. "These two are crazy. I'd prefer them out on the streets at this very moment for disturbing my sleep."
"Fine, we'll leave you alone," Damon said, reaching for the camcorder. "You can go back to your beauty sleep, princess."
Elena laughed, hand cupped over her mouth. He already had the door closed before Stefan could respond.
"Okay, fun's over, Damon," Elena said, catching her breath. She sauntered off to the direction of Damon's room, turning around to say, "You coming?"
"Look. At. That," he said, zooming in on her ass. "That's my miracle right there. How I got her, I don't know. What I did to get her—long story. You'll probably remember, Future Damon."
"Future Elena, if you haven't left him yet, be my guest," she said sardonically.
"Harsh," Damon said, zeroing in on her face. "Future Damon, if she is not by your side watching this video right now, you get off your ass and look for her. You got it? You better rake through the Earth ten times over—whatever, I don't care, it's your problem now—just to find her."
Elena smiled, eyes soft and enlaced with bliss. "You know what? Future Elena, if you're not seeing this right now—if you're not by his side, watching this—you better be a) dying or b) ash."
She walked over to his side, and the camera followed after. Elena led the way back to his room and the soft close of the door sounds off.
"You're going to be with me forever?" Damon said, almost sarcastically, but waiting for her answer nonetheless. "In a hundred years, when we're watching this in a hologram, you'll be with me? Still? Really?"
She laughed humorlessly. "Is that really a question, Damon?"
The screen goes dead.
A few awkward beats, the monitor comes back to life. The sun is gone and the moon's light played along Damon's face as he breathed steadily in front of the camera.
"It's probably two in the morning," he whispered. "I just realized that I didn't get to tell you, Future Elena, Future Damon, how I felt. I mean, why would you want to hear what I have to say right now? You're probably bored out of your pants to have come back to Mystic Falls and dug up this recording. But I'm going to tell you anyway. You don't have much of a choice."
He readjusted the way he held onto the camera, the figure in his arms fidgeting. He held his breath for a second, staring at the crown of her head.
"Future Damon, if you're watching this, if you're there—obviously—I want you to know that at this moment, two o' clock in the morning of Monday, November 30th, you are… You're beyond anything you ever thought you'd ever be.
"You… You shut out your emotions—maybe you're shutting them out right now, how should I know—for so long, and… Here you are, a hundred years back, turning them on in hyper-mode.
"If she isn't next to you right now, I was serious. You look for her. She… She's the reason why I'm still alive on this day, and I bet she's the reason why you're alive too, and you and I know you need her.
"When the day comes, when you've roamed the world a thousand times already with her by your side… Future Damon and Future Elena, you take those rings off, and face the morning. You got that? Just don't leave each other. Ever.
"She's the best thing that will ever happen to you. And, probably for the first time in a long time, I could say that I'm perfectly happy."
And he still is. A hundred years later, a very much alive Elena tucked under his arm. All he could do was smile.