"Elena, Elena.." Rachel shaked her lightly. "Mmmhh…" Elena mumbled half asleep. "Your phone is ringing, it's been like five times now. Seems pretty important?" Rachel asked, heading her Iphone to her.
Elena thanked her giving a soft smile and then picked up the call.
"Hello?" she answered still half asleep.
"OMG Elena! It's like a hundred times that I'm trying to call you." Katherine replied from the other line, sounding pretty annoyed. Elena could imagine her sister rolling her eyes and tapping her foot even from the telephone.
"Five, actually. It's 8,00 in the morning and I wanted to sleep." she said with the same bothered tone. Yeah, Katherine made a big deal for everything. Now five missed calls were turned in a hundred? Elena loved her sister, of course – but to be honest she could be the most annoying person in the world sometimes, so at that time in the morning Katherine was like the last person who she wanted to talk with.
"Whatever..how are you? Jeremy, Bonnie and Stefan said that they talked to you the day after you arrived. Now it's been a week 'Lena..why didn't you call me?" Katherine asked with accusatory tone, and again Elena could tell every facial expression that her sister was making. "Kath – I tried. When I called Stefan I asked him if you were there with him but he said no, and everytime I tried to call you didn't pick up. For dear life don't make such a big deal for everything! We texted, didn't we? Plus, I've been pretty busy. Fixing all the stuff and getting used to all this.. it's quite exausting, believe me. But I'll try to call more..happy?" Elena responded trying to please her sister, but not being able to keep a sigh on her last words.
"Yeah well..by the way, how are things going? We're missing you here you know. Matt hired Jeremy at the grill and he and Bonnie are searching for a loft to move even if Jenna seems slightly contrary..Caroline is still messing around– you know, she still can't decide between that dumbass Lockwood guy and poor Matty – and I'm like, please get over it Care!" Katherine liked to gossip and chitt-chat like crazy. Quite the opposite of Elena. She asked about you and yet the second after she was the one who was talking. Before Elena could even reply, she continued – "..And Stefan and I..well, we're always the sexier couple in town. You know the other day there was this girl who was clearly hitting on him and.." at this, Elena stopped her.
"Katherine." Elena let out frustrated. "You woke me up at 8,00 am when I still could have slept for another couple of hours…just to rant and gossip?" she spat out even more frustrated.
"Ups. Sorry. No, actually, I called for another reason..I..no okay, Stefan and I, wanted to know if you heard D." Katherine asked.
Elena frowned. Okay, that made her even more pissed. Her sister called at eight in the morning, blabling, now even asking about this? How was that anyone just couldn't understand that it was over?
"No, Katherine. And I'm not going to hear him anytime soon."
"Oh come on, you two have to clear things up and talk like two adult people. I bet that things can still be fixed, you love each other. Very much." her sister insisted firmly.
"He hates me, Kath. I've been a chicken before and I can keep doing it, okay? And please, it's been a year! He moved on, obviously. I want to do the same because I'm just being delusional and I can't stand it, so you keep talking about it isn't helping. Now since this argument put me in a bad mood, I'd appreciate if I could just go back to sleep." Katherine let out a sigh. "Elena Elena..you are a chicken, and you even have a brain of one!" she replied.
"Hey! Ugh- well, whatever..bye Katherine!" Elena almost shouted, hunging up and turning off the phone. She got back to sleep even if she really didn't feel like sleeping anymore.
Elena woke up one hour later, still feeling a sense of anxiety from the talk with Katherine. She just wanted to move on – was that so hard for her friends to understand? They weren't helping still pushing with this story. If anything, they were just ruining her new experience. She rosed from the bed, going to the kitchen to make some coffee.
"Oh hey Rose." she said smiling and yawning. "Oops, sorry!"
"Well, good morning Elena." she smiled and giggled too. "Want some coffee?" Rose offered politely. Elena liked the girl, she really did, but compared to Rachel…Rose just seemed less spontaneus but just very polite and formal. "Oh thank you, I was hoping for it to be already done." Elena said taking the cup in her hands. "Free day?" she then asked.
"Yes. The entire week. You know we hostesses – we work for a week, or even two, but then we have to rest. Jet-lag and travelling just kill you and they're not very good for the health." – "Look Elena, since I really like you and you're here from barely a week I'd like to introduce you my friends tonight..what do you think? Don't worry, Rachel will be there too since we have a couple of friends in common." Rose asked.
Elena thought about it for a few seconds – why not? Rachel and Rose were two good girls and she was sure that their friends were too. Plus, she really didn't know anyone here besides them and other few people that she met at the university. So she decided to go for it.
"Absolutely. Thank you Rose, at least you two will even show me the city a little." Elena accepted happily. "Great! Then we'll go out around nine o'clock tonight. And Elena.. put on some casual mise, but still something a little sexy. Okay?" she said winking at her. Elena just nodded and laughed.
Today she didn't have to go to the univeristy – they told her that for the first year you had to be there three times at week, and then the rest of the week working on your laptop and do what the professor assigned.
After taking a shower and cleaning up, Elena started working on her laptop. When she mistakenly opened the images file, lots of pictures appeared. She, Katherine and Jeremy when they were little.. pictures with their parents.. from the first day of school.. and then the file 'Us' that Elena created when she was with…Damon. She knew that if she opened that album she was just being masochist and hypocrital with herself, but she just couldn't help it. She thought that all those memories were gone when she had renewed her laptop because of a virus.
Her heart started racing like a jungle drum, her head just couldn't concentrate at the sight of all those images. Plenty of pictures of all the type – but in every single one Damon was there. They had pictures with the rest of the group, but mostly alone. Hundred from their trip to Paris (Elena remembered when Damon took her there after her parents death anniversary to distract her – it was just during Easter holiday and they'd been four days in Paris. Hell, their, her, first time had been there…). Then she found silly and random pictures and she just laughed looking at them. They were so perfect, so united, and most of all in love.
Elena just decided to be even worse of a masochist, if that was possible. Since only her used her laptop in the house, and it had a pin to be used, she decided to put one of her and Damon's pictures as background. That was her favourite picture from the album. She had her arms wrapped around his neck with a wide smile, and he was kissing her on the cheek with his arms wrapped around her waist too. She looked at herself in those pictures and just couldn't help but think that she was so happy, so free, so honestly content of her life. Not to mention that she was even physically better – not that she changed a lot in one year, but in those pictures she just seemed more radiant and beautiful because of her happiness.
And again, she couldn't help but wonder how she got in this situation. Still madly in love with her ex-boyfriend, but trying so hard to deny it to herself. Call her stupid or dumb, but maybe Stefan and all those other people around her were right. She needed Damon back in her life, she needed to do something to get him back. Elena decided that tomorrow she would have called him – no excuses. She was ready for everything though; she knew that things could go in many different ways. He could immediatly forgive her, take her back and confess his undying love to her, he could just yell at her and pushing her away, he could want time to think, or he could have simply moved on. After all, it had been a year. A year is very much for a lot of people, and for other isn't. After a jump in the past, Elena turned her laptop off and decided to check out a possible mise for the night. At that moment she had to thank Katherine if she indeed had something sexy to wear. Usually her sister gave to her dresses and clothes that she didn't use anymore but thought that 'could help her blant personality', or they just went shopping together and Kath forced her to buy something like that. Elena decided for something very sexy and yet very classic. After a few hours she was ready in a black sheath without straps, which thightened around her beautiful body and showed her long flawless legs. She was then indecided between a pair of flats or high heels..after a long thought she decided for the heels. She curled her hair just a little, put some make-up on and there she was. Okay this could really be Katherine's photocopy!
Rachel and Rose were waiting in the living room, and when they saw Elena their jaw instantly dropped for a few seconds.
"Wow 'Lena! You look.. amazing!" Rachel said sincerely, emphasizing the last word. "I pretty much agree." Rose said too, scanning her from tip to toe.
"You say? I don't usually dress like this, in fact this is one of my sister's mise. I don't feel actually comfortable." Elena replied shyily. "Oh well – but you're very hot Elena. Trust me." Rachel pressed.
"She's right Elena..you shouldn't be so insecure, you're a beautiful girl. And I know a couple of friends of mine that would pay gold to go out with you!" Rose said smirking, "You don't have a boyfriend or something, right?" she then asked. Elena vaguely nodded no. "Perfect. Now let's go." and with that they were out of the house. They used Rachel's car to get at the bar and they were there in fifteen minutes. She was excited yet scared to know Rose and Rachel's friends. When they entered the bar, all the eyes were on them..those three were attractive women, but most of the eyes were on Elena.
She then saw Rose gesturing to someone at the bar and they all gestured 'hi' too. Trevor, Vicky, Pearl and Elijah. Those were their names.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Rose and Rachel talked about you a lot!" Elena said smiling sweetly.
"Hey if they talked so much about us, how much did they talk about Rose's new boyfriend, Damon?" Vicky said laughing. "And you Rose should have told us that you had such a hot friend!" Elijah pointed out flirtariously and with a grin. Elena laughed feeling a little embarassed. A blonde, charming, tall man was heading towards them. "Is that Damon?" Elena asked to Rachel.
"No, that's Klaus. Rose's ex and Elijah's brother..but they're still very good friends." Rachel replied smiling, almost telling with her look to go for him. "Well..I'm going to the restroom just a minute." Elena then said.
When she returned to them – mixed feelings rushed through her body. No…this wasn't happening. Oh please, that was a hell of a bad joke.
She saw Damon, her Damon, heading to Rose and placing a light kiss on her cheek and talking with the others. Was she on candid camera or something like that? Elena honestly didn't know what to do – if just run out of the bar, or being brave and even if her heart was beating so fast that could explode from a moment to another, going to them.
"Damon I want you to meet our new roommate and friend Elena." Rose said to him. "Oh sure. Where is she?" Damon asked, looking around the room. Elena. That name… "There she is!" Rose replied interrumping his thoughts, pointing at Elena who was now pale as a walking dead.
Damon's smile dropped and looked at the girl who was walking towards them in shock and disbelief. He didn't expect this – at all. When their gaze finally met, they did what they had always been able to do; reading into each other's mind and soul. Elena looked at him in shame and sadness. He just looked blant – even though he still had that disappointed look on his face, it was like he didn't want to see her – the devoted way she was used to be looked at one year ago was now gone, replaced by coldness and distance. For some reasons, they both faked to be strangers.
"Hi. I'm Elena." Elena said trying her best to fake a smile, but the little shakes in her voice betrayed her. She headed her hand at him, but he didn't take it.
"Damon." he just said coldly, still staring at her in shock. Hell, if possible she was even more beautiful than he remembered though.
Rose and Rachel gave them weird looks but didn't say anything – the others were just too distracted to notice. Damon needed air, he felt like he was going to freak out and it wasn't the case. "I need to make a call. Meanwhile take the table." he said to Rose, smiling slightly. Elena excused herself saying that she forgot something in the restroom and followed him outside.
"Damon!" she shouted when they were out, trying to reach him. "Damon.." she then said more softly and stopped on her tracks when he turned back to her.
His eyes were red, like he was about to cry, but his cold expression was still there. She looked at him with her beautiful doe eyes and he had to do everything in his power not to melt at them – his gaze softened just for a moment, when he remembered how good it was to be looked and loved by those eyes. By that girl who still owned his heart. He got closer to her which gave Elena chills and goose-bumps. But his next words just gave her chills of shock.
"I hate you. I wish you'd never came back in my life." he said firmly and glacialy, staring at her for a few seconds before going back inside.
That was even worse of what Elena expected. She knew that he was still mad at her and she had to put effort to conquer his trust again…but this. When that morning she said to Katherine that Damon probably hated her, she wasn't serious, how could she be? But now she felt like her whole word was coming down, crushing on her. She felt hugely disappointed – but most of all, hurt and devastated from those three little words which one year ago were the total opposite of 'I Hate You'. Tears began to stream down her face and she just didn't feel like go back inside – she took a taxi and got back home, texting Rachel and saying sorry but she didn't feel so well.
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