What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.
- Gertrude Jekyll
Damon stepped into the florescent lights of Mystic Falls P.D the next morning. Sheriff Forbes had called him and asked him if he could swing by and talk about the case. As soon as he entered the building, Liz was standing at the front desk. She greeted him, then took him to her office where they could sit down and talk.
"Look Damon, I'm not supposed to be talking about any cases with anyone not on the police force. I'll only bend the rules because you are on the council, and you've helped with previous cases." Liz started, and Damon knew this was because it was Elena's brother. Damon nodded silently and urged Liz to continue. "We wouldn't normally be so caught up in a car accident, but the fact that whoever was in the car disappeared, we decided to investigate."
"I though you said you knew who's car it was." Damon stated, ruffling his hair slightly.
"I know who's car it is, but that doesn't mean they were driving. There were tire tracks all over the road, it was drunk driving. There were beer bottles and joints scattered everywhere in the vehicle. Since it's such a small town, and nothing really happens, we're looking for him. Klaus." Liz informed him. "We've sifted through birth certificates and hospitals and insurance and properties, and so far nothing. There are a few more files to go through, and we're hoping we can find a connection. If not, the case is a dead end and we're giving up."
"Liz, an innocent kid is in a coma. We don't know when he's going to wake up." Damon argued, but she placed her hands on the desk in front of her.
"That's why we're going to find him." She finished, nodding her head towards the door. Damon stood, giving a sigh and leaving the department.
Elena searched through box upon box of old things that used to belong to her parents. Alaric appeared in the kitchen then, and she looked up and nodded at him.
"Watcha doing?" He asked, as soon as her head fell back to the boxes. He sat down at the table with a glass of water and watched her.
"I am looking through my parent's old stuff. I'm feeling all sentimental." She explained, watching as Aunt Jenna walked into the room as well. They'd just gotten home for God knows what, and weirdly enough, Elena didn't find it awkward for her history teacher to be dating her legal guardian.
"I hate those days." Her aunt commented and then smiled at the girl. "It takes so long to put everything away."
"You're just lazy, Jenna." Elena smiled back, setting the box back on the table and standing up. "I think I'm going to go see Jer." Elena said, removing her sweater and placing it on the back of the chair. The couple nodded and watched her leave the room silently.
The hospital was extremely busy today. Apparently everyone liked to hurt themselves on Fridays. She made her way to the elevator, holding the door for the cutest of old lady's with a little walker. She smiled and pressed her floor number, asking which floor the woman needed and pressing it as well. When she finally got to Jeremy's room, Bonnie was there. The small, dark skinned girl stood at the foot of his bed, pursing her lips at his still figure.
"The doctor said to always speak to him. Coma patients usually hear what's going on." Elena suggested, raising her sunglasses to the top of her head and smiling at her friend.
"I don't know what to say to him. I've said sorry God knows how many times. There's really nothing else to say."
"That you love him?" Elena asked, sitting down in the chair beside Jeremy. The room was made to completely accommodate her, Jenna, Ric and Damon. Their belongings were scattered all over the room. Elena's jacket hung on the back of the chair. A few of Jenna's things were stashed beside the bed. A couple folders of homework Alaric had yet to grade sat on the desk. And of course, Damon's leather jacket sat peacefully on the large window sill.
"I thought I did. But after watching you and Damon, I don't think I know what love is anymore." Bonnie said, and Elena turned to look at her, shaking her head continuously.
"Bonnie, love is different for all of us. It doesn't matter what Damon does or says or how much he contradicts me, he tells me he loves me every night before we fall asleep. He knows I'm not there yet, I'm almost seventeen, I still have a lot of growing to do. But, whatever you feel for Jeremy, is you. It has nothing to do with what I feel." Elena told her. Bonnie knew she was right. She was stupid to think that all love was the same.
"I think I do." She said. "Love him. But I'd rather him respond to me when I tell him." She turned for the door and looked back at Elena. "Thank you." She smiled, before leaving.
"I'm sure you heard that Jer. It's not your fault, she's just not ready." Elena explained to her brother. She kicked her feet up so that she was sideways on the small chair, her legs and head dangling over the sides of the chair. "So, I was looking through pictures and stuff today, and I've got to say, you had some pretty bad ass 90's hair." She commented.
Elena talked to Jeremy for hours before she realized the sun setting in the sky, a sign that it was getting later than she thought. She felt a weird absence. Damon had been by her side for so long now that she didn't remember what it was like to be alone for a while. She thought she'd take advantage of the opportunity to really think about things. To think about Jeremy and Caroline and Bonnie. To think about Damon and Jenna and Tyler. Tyler. She was free, she might as well give him a call and set something up for tonight.
Luckily, Tyler didn't have any plans either, so he picked her up at eight to take her out to dinner. Her phone rang as she was getting ready and she picked it up without looking at the ID.
"Hello?"
"Hey, babe. What are you up to?" Damon asked. How would she explain this to him?
"Nothing, just getting ready for dinner… with Caroline." Elena finished. She knew Damon would not be fond of her going out with Tyler Lockwood so she agreed to keep it on the down low.
"Nothing like mending broken relationships on a Friday night. I'd rather not be there to see it." Damon commented and Elena rolled her eyes.
"You're the one who broke the relationship, that's a good reason why." She added.
"Yeah, yeah. Just call me when you get home." He said, before hanging up.
The dark restaurant made Tyler's blue eyes stand out even more than usual. She smiled as he stood to greet her at the table. A second later, he was pulling out her chair, then climbing into his own. The waiter came and went a couple times, and when a plate of ravioli was finally placed in front of Elena, Tyler looked up at her expectantly.
"You have every reason in the world to hate me." She started, twirling her fork on her plate. "I led you on when I was with Damon, and I shouldn't have done that. I should have broken it off, and for that, I'm deeply sorry. I genuinely liked you Tyler, and I knew we weren't official or anything, but we did date and that means something to me." She looked up to meet his icy stare. She had no idea why Tyler was wasting his time on her, but she was thankful he gave her a chance to explain everything.
"I'd liked to think we were a casual boyfriend and girlfriend deal." Tyler said, and Elena nodded as well. "I should have realized I wasn't who you dressed up for, or who you smiled about, or who you thought of." Tyler said, and Elena looked down awkwardly.
"But you were important to me." Elena stated.
"I know that." Tyler gave her a smile. "And I think it would be good to be friends again. Back to how it was before there was an 'us'." He suggested, and Elena nodded.
"I don't know how much Damon will like that, but I think it's a great idea." She smiled, and it looked like Tyler's entire facial expression changed for a split second.
"You make it sound like he owns you." Tyler flinched.
"No, I just mean he's very…" Why couldn't Elena form the phrase? He wasn't controlling or anything. "You know how he is." Elena said, at loss for words.
"I really don't." Tyler said. "Why don't you tell me about him, because I've met him a couple times and he seems like a total douche." He said, sort of angrily, she observed.
"He doesn't really like people." Elena started. How was she supposed to sum up Damon? "He's a lot like you. A pain in the ass and extremely stubborn, but when we're alone, sweet. I think you'd like him." She stopped then frowned. "Actually you'd probably hate him, you're personalities would sort of clash. Though he's a little meaner than you." She said, and Tyler looked up at her frowning.
"So you're like, legit together now?" He asked, and Elena nodded.
When they were both done, Tyler offered to drive her home, since she'd gotten dropped off by Jenna. He paid the check and opened her car door for her. This was something she wasn't used to, because Damon didn't go out of his way to be a gentleman. When they pulled up at Caroline's house, she smiled over at him.
"Thank you for tonight, Ty. I had fun." She gave a smile.
"Yeah. Me too." He said, leaning over to give her a kiss. She hadn't expected it. It wasn't a sweet kiss on the cheek, it was a hard and strong kiss on her lips. She pulled back after a couple seconds, and instead of saying anything that would make the situation awkward, she smiled again, opening the door. It was a goodbye kiss, she told herself. She saw the curtains shutter and walked up to the Forbes' house quickly.
"Hey." Elena smiled, she didn't know why she was excited just to hear his voice.
"Heeeeey, baby." Damon slurred, and Elena stopped smiling.
"Are you drunk?" She asked. She had just left Caroline's house, and now it was around 1:00 in the morning, and she just wanted to say goodnight to Damon and go to bed. She now had a feeling she'd have to save Damon from some kind of lonely drunken state.
"Uh, no. Okay maybe a little-lot bit." Damon said quickly and she rolled her eyes.
"Do I have to come and get you?" She asked, and she could hear a scratchy noise on the other line, then someone talking extremely loudly to Damon. "Is that Alaric?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah, I have to go, love." Damon laughed, and she knew he was probably laughing at something stupid Alaric was doing.
"Damon!" Her voice rang out, loud and annoyed in the phone.
"Come on, 'Lena, go to bed and come over in the morning." She sighed heavily through the phone. She didn't like this Damon getting drunk and her not being there to take care of him thing.
"Don't do anything stupid." She warned, and she could practically hear his eyes roll.
"Okay mom," He mocked and when he heard a growl he offered a laugh. "Love you babe."
"Goodnight, Damon." She fell back in the bed, tossing her phone on the bed side table. Thoughts of Damon filled her head, then her mind wandered off to Tyler, lingering on their kiss. It shouldn't have. She didn't want Tyler, she wanted Damon, that was obvious to anyone who had eyes. But their was something about the way Tyler had kissed her that felt unfamiliar. He's never kissed her like that before. Like he poured everything into it. She sighed and repositioned herself in her bed, it would take her a while to fall asleep now.
The next morning, Elena's ears tuned into the consistent banging on the door. It felt late, Jenna probably went out to see Jeremy. She rolled out of bed slowly. She was guessing it was Damon, just having woke up on someone's lawn and stumbling to her bed. She made her way downstairs slowly, rubbing her eyes. When she finally opened the door, Damon wasn't standing in front of her. Caroline and Bonnie stood on her doorstep, carrying boxes covered in wrapping paper and large bows.
"Elena!" They yelled in unison. And Elena jumped a little. "Happy Birthday!" They finished, and she gave a laugh.
"It's my birthday?" Elena asked. And Caroline and Bonnie pushed her inside the house, sighing. Running upstairs, Caroline found her hand and dragged her along with them. They settled on her bed and Elena combed a hand through her hair.
"Okay, so, my gift first." Bonnie urged, pushing her gift towards her best friend. "You're going to love it." She smiled widely. Elena hesitantly unwrapped the box, then pulled off the lid to look inside. It was a diary. A rustic looking book covered in brown leather. Her name was engraved on a metal plate on the front. She admired it, opening the diary to fly through the pages.
"Oh, Bonnie. It's amazing." Elena hugged the dark skinned girl and smiled down at the book. "Thankyou."
"Okay, me now." Caroline cut in, handing Elena the box. "It's more of a gift for you and Damon, but a gift none the less." Caroline gave a smirk and Elena lifted one perfectly sculpted eye brow and opened the box.
She squealed as soon as she saw what was inside. "Caroline!" She scolded, covering her eyes with an embarrassed smile. Both Caroline and Bonnie laughed at her and Elena rolled her eyes. Elena slowly pulled the undergarments out of the box. It was all leather. Leather panties, a leather bra and high black socks that clipped onto the edge of the underwear.
"You know how Damon loves his leather." Caroline said, and Bonnie pretended to puke. Elena threw the gift back and its box.
"Thank you, Caroline." She said in an annoyed, yet amused manner and hugged her best friend. "Okay, so what are we doing today?" Elena asked, looking to both of the girls sitting on her bed.
"We are going shopping for a hot dress for your party tonight." Bonnie said, standing and going through Elena's wardrobe for jeans and a t-shirt. She threw the clothes at Elena.
"Guys, you know I don't like big events." She warned.
"Relax," Caroline started. "It's just a small gathering at the grill."
"Caroline, this is not a small gathering." Elena stated when they walked through piles of people at the Grill. The girls had chosen a silky purple cocktail dress for Elena to wear. Her little black high heeled boots clanked on the floor as she walked.
"Shut up and enjoy it." Caroline whispered to her as they made their way to a table. Jenna was already sitting, and she smiled when Elena approached them.
"Happy birthday, kid." She laughed, patting her on the back. The Grill was bursting with life. The music played loudly, the majority of the people were dancing. She was actually enjoying herself, watching the people file in and out, most of them stopping to wish her a happy birthday. Her eyes fluttered up at the sound of the door opening. She was leaning over the bar, talking to the bartender, an old friend from school, when she saw him. His hair was tousled, slightly wet from a recent shower, and his eyes were extremely blue against the dark bags underneath them. Alaric followed him in, looking much the same. Elena turned back to her old friend and smiled. The girl wished her a happy birthday, and when Elena felt arms wrap around her waist she smiled. The bartender walked away to tend to a couple people.
"Happy birthday, beautiful." He kissed her neck once then turned her around in his arms.
"Thank you." She pressed a sweet kiss to his lips and smiled.
"Happy Birthday, 'Lena." Ric gave a wave as he walked by them to Jenna. She offered him a 'thank you' then looked back at Damon.
"Where have you been all day?" She asked, her hands rubbing the back of his neck comfortably.
"Hung over. Yeah, I'm sorry about that, we just got a little out of control. But, I'm here now, so let's celebrate." He smiled, letting go of her so he could take her hand. "Ugh, what's Tyler Lockwood doing here?" He asked and Elena shuddered mentally.
"He's here because my party committee invited him. So be nice and say hello." Elena urged just before Tyler walked up to them.
"Elena! Happy birthday." He smiled, not touching her due to Damon's closeness. "Hello, Damon." Tyler nodded.
"Tyler." Damon nodded back, and the other boy turned and left.
"That wasn't so bad." Elena commented and Damon gave her a curious look.
"I was restraining my fist. Something about him just makes me want to punch him every time he talks." She laughed and dragged him over to the table that Jenna, Alaric, Caroline and Bonnie were sitting at. Stefan joined them soon after, saying his hellos, and giving Elena a birthday hug.
Jenna placed her hand on Elena's.
"I'm going over to Ric's, tonight. I'll be home in the afternoon, okay?" She asked, and when Elena nodded, she gave her niece a hug and left with Alaric.
When Stefan was ready to go, Damon and Elena agreed to go as well. They said goodbye and thank you to everyone. Since Damon needed to get a few things from the house before they went back to her place, they all went home together. Stefan strolled in first, he and Elena were having some conversation about ninja's while Damon carried her in on his back because her feet hurt.
"Stef, a ninja would kick a cowboy's ass." Elena stated, her arms wrapped around Damon's neck tightly, her legs wrapped around his waist. A loud crash came from the other room and they all stopped talking immediately. Clanging of heels sounded, and a slim figure appeared in the doorway to the parlor.
"Katherine." The boys gaped in unison.
kay; long chapter. soooooo don't hate me but i brought back katherine. well, actually you probably wont hate me cause Katherine is pretty much TVD's coolest character. other than Elijah. before he was a douche. #ElijahForMayor. done my fangirling, anyway. sorry it took me so long to update, i have been working on this chappie for a while. soo tell me what you think in the reviews, cause i love it when you do. i read everyone's. if you want to follow me on twitter: cieratee ; i love followers.
Next chapter we're going to see Damon being a little more vocal about everything going on. And you won't like it. But uhhh, read and review and i'll love you forever.