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Chapter 4

"He's insane!" Damon complained as he was packing up his duffle bag as they would all be leaving for spring break later today in that god-awful van that Kol had rented for the trip, given the number of people now going down.

"It's Kol, I'm not sure why you are surprised" Rebekah stated as she was lounging on Damon's bed watching him pack a very limited amount of clothing.

Kol seemed so proud of himself for finding the van and claimed he got a very good deal on it. Damon did a quick inspect of it and there was a part of him that wasn't sure if the van would make it all the way to West Palm Beach. For one sometimes it took a few times to get it started and the shocks on the van were awful. Yet while Damon wasn't a fan of it Stefan seemed to think it was a good idea but of course he would since now he and his girls would fit. Fancy pants Caroline and Rebekah weren't a fan of it and it didn't help that Damon mentioned it looked like a van that could be used to transport a dead body.

"Room or not I didn't want Stefan and his girlfriends tagging along!" Damon snapped. Growing up he didn't like the girls and made no effort to be nice to them because he didn't care about them. Elena, well she was judgy and they have been bickering since they could walk, Caroline was a only child spoil brat who seemed to think the world revolved around her and Bonnie she seemed to think she was better then everyone and was brownnoser when it came to school.

"Who cares its not like you're going to spend anytime with them" Rebekah said as she sat up and crawled over to Damon and leaned up to wrap her arms around his neck. "You'll be spending all your time drunk and partying" She told him before leaning in for a kiss. "And I bet a lot of time in bed" she said with a giggled before Damon pushed her back on the bed and then pounced on top of her.

As he kissed her and started to tear off her clothes, Damon planed to make it very clear that on their trip down for spring break she wasn't his girlfriend. He had every intention on flirting and screwing other girls down there, but he figured he was going to be stuck in a stupid van for 13 ½ hours may as well start it off with a bang.

Checking her phone, Jenna was sitting on the front steps of the Salvatore house with her suitcase set beside her while she contemplated if this was a good idea or not. With Jeremy away at football camp she didn't have to worry about him because he was away all week so he wouldn't be getting into any trouble. The only issue was she wanted to get drunk and be a regular 24 year old and not a guardian this week and although Elena was 21 she still wasn't sure about letting lose completely in front of her niece and her friends.

"All set?" Alaric asked as he came up the driveway with his own suitcase and came to sit beside her on the front step. As much as he was looking forward to going down south for spring break he still wasn't thrilled about the fact that he would be forced to spend the week with Damon. "Cause I'm starting to wonder what the hell I'm doing," he added with a chuckle.

Jenna gave a smile knowing just how much Alaric hated Damon and the fact he was his ride down to West Palm Beach to meet his Internet girl Meredith. "Just do what I do and get drunk, you won't have such an issue with Damon," she told him.

"Of all the people I thought I would be spending my spring break with Damon was not on the short list" Alaric stated with a sigh.

"Yeah and I didn't think my drunk week would involved my niece but here we are" Jenna said with a laugh. "A part of me is just glad my 19 year old nephew isn't here at least."

"Well I just like to see Damon as the part of the deal of getting out of this town for a week and finally getting to meet Meredith face to face. When I told her I going down she as so thrilled and bought her plane ticket that day with a girlfriend."

"You really like this girl huh?" Jenna asked Alaric with a smile as she remembered when Alaric had first told her about the girl from Seattle and he had a sparkle in his eye whenever he talked about her. They had tired to get together back in the summer but plans fell through so this week was very important to Alaric. So much so that Jenna was going to try really hard not to bring down his mood with her sorrows of her ended relationship from Logan.

"Yeah I do" Alaric told her happily as his excitement of what was to come grew even more as Kol pulled up on the driveway with the van all filled up on gas and ready to hit the road. "Well here we go" he said and then stood up and reached out to help Jenna up.

With a van parked everyone started to come out of the house with their suitcases and prepared for the long ride head. While the guys came with small bags that still seemed empty the girls bags were packed full but in Caroline and Rebekah's case they had two large suitcases as if this was a month long trip. Elena stood back and watched Kol opened up the trunk and started to pile in the bags, food and beer. Biting her bottom lip Elena wondered just how everything was going to fit even in the large van. "Are you sure there is going to be enough room?"

"Well if you stay behind there will be even more room for the whisky" Damon said as he shoved by her and almost knocking her over with his bag.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance after she caught her balance Elena snapped back in a mouthy tone, "We'll have less hassle if we leave your snarky ass behind!" She then moved to the back of the van and stood beside Damon as they both started to put their bags into the back and got in a shoving match and saying the other wasn't doing it right.

"Come on guys we're not even on the road yet" Jenna said with a sigh moving in to break up Damon and Elena or also known as the oil and fire before they blew up.

"Can you hurry up!" Rebekah snapped at Caroline who was moving a little slower then she cared for as the two girls carried out two big suitcases each.

"Try keeping your pants on for a second, I know it's hard but give it a try!" Caroline snapped back and watched as Rebekah's jaw dropped in shock. Letting out a grunt Rebekah rammed one of her suitcase into Caroline and watched the blonde fall with a thud. Caroline let out a shriek as she went down and Rebekah wore a pleased look on her face.

As Caroline looked back at Rebekah she gritted her teeth and then with another shriek she lunged at the spoiled Mikaelson and tackled her to the ground and started pulling her hair. The two girls let out screams as they pulled each other's hair while rolling around on the front yard on the Salvatore property.

Bonnie brought her bag over to the back of the van where Damon was passing bags to Elena who was standing inside the back on the van trying to make room for everything. When she handed it to Damon he couldn't believe how heavy it was, "What the hell do you have in here? All your textbooks?"

"Just a couple, you're being a little dramatic" Bonnie said as she rolled her eyes and then turned to see Caroline and Rebekah trying to kill each other.

Damon turned and saw the wrestling match going on and shook his head. "This van can't hold two self-absorbed blondes," he stated as he watched Alaric and Stefan peal the to girls off each other.

"Trust me, your ego is a lot bigger then two self-absorbed blonds" Elena stated with a smirk.

Damon gave her a look not at all pleased with her comment then reached out and slammed the van's backdoor shut with Elena still inside. He could hear her banging on the door wanting out but Damon just smiled and walked away while Stefan let go of Caroline and then ran to let Elena out of the van.

"Really Damon?" Stefan snapped at his brother as he ran over to reopen the back of the van to let Elena out while Damon just walked away.

"This is going to be a very long ride," Elena told him as Stefan helped her step out of the van.

"Don't worry we will be fine" Stefan assured her with a smile as they moved around to the side of the van so that they were away from everyone and could get some privacy.

"You really think so?" Elena asked and just by looking into Elena's eyes he could tell that she wasn't talking about the ride down south but in fact was thinking about their relationship.

Stefan gave her a smile and then pulled her into a hug. They wrapped their arms around each other as if desperately clinging to hope that this wasn't the end of their story and that they weren't heading down different paths. "Trust me this trip is going to be one that we will remember and one that will change everything," he told her and Elena truly wanted to believe him. "Plus there is a good chance that being in a van full of people that hate each other some may not make it back" he said trying to lighten the mood and finally got a smile out of her.

"Okay your taking up too much room!" Caroline whined as her and Rebekah where once again dueling out whom got to put their suitcases where in the van as it was now becoming over crowded.

"Your bags are bigger!" Rebekah snapped as she tossed one of Caroline's back on the driveway.

"Really mature" Caroline grunted as she stepped over to pick it up and try to squeeze it into the van but with the spare tire sitting against the one side there wasn't enough room. "It's this stupid tire!" she said with a huff.

"Then get it out," Rebekah suggested.

Caroline bit her lip for a second and then let out a sigh as she tried to pulled the tire out. "It's too heavy" she told her still trying to pull the large tire out.

Rebekah rolled her eyes and then leaned over to help Caroline and then the two were able to pull it out. With smiles of achievement on their faces the two girls looked at each other for a brief second but then they remembered they hated each other and the smiles disappeared. "Just put it at the side of the house, it's not like we will need it anyways" Rebekah said with a shrug of her shoulders as she put the rest of the bags into the van.

"Fine" Caroline grunted, "But my bags better be in that van!"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and then lifted Caroline's bag and threw them in the back. "Happy?" She stated before Caroline rolled the tire away. Shaking her head once everything was in the back of the van Rebekah closed it up so that they were ready to go.

"Alright lets get this nightmare of a drive started" Damon mumbled as he held the keys in his hands while Everyone got ready to pile on in, "Stefan go the map" Damon said and then he made his way to the drivers seat.

"That's my seat!" Caroline snapped at Rebekah as she was sitting in the one behind Damon.

"No darling its not" Rebekah told her with a smile and refused to move.

"Just come in the back Caroline" Elena said as she and Stefan had to squish in the far back. Caroline finally gave in and climbed into the back and Bonnie squeezed in as well. Alaric and Jenna climbed in beside Rebekah and found themselves, squeezing because Rebekah thought she needed a spot for her purse.

"Not get the show on the road shall we?" Kol announced from the passengers seat with a smirk as he looked into the back of the van and all their frowning faced as they were all in snug. "Tough crowd" he said shrugging his shoulders while Damon started up the van to begin their long journey ahead.

The trip got off to a horrible start as people started to complain about space, being hot and who wouldn't stop moving. "Can you not kick my chair?" Rebekah snapped at Elena as she turned in her seat to stare at her.

"I wasn't kicking your chair!" Elena growled back and then as hard as she could she kicked Rebekah's chair. "That was me; kicking your chair!"

"Bitch!" Rebekah yelled and turned her body to swat at Elena and knocking Alaric in the process.

"Are you incapable of sitting still?" Alaric snapped at her and forced Rebekah to sit forward.

"Don't touch me!" Rebekah yelled at him.

"Okay Bonnie you need to put the books away, my lap is not a desk!" Caroline whined as Bonnie was taking this time to study.

"Sorry" Bonnie said a she rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Why did you even bring all theses books on our vacation?" Caroline asked.

"Vacation or not we still have school," Bonnie reminded her that the school year wasn't over yet.

"Well they're taking up too much room!"

"Caroline gave it a rest please! It is hot enough in this van without you whining!" Jenna called out.

"You're hot, well there are four of us crammed back here" Stefan told her.

"Five if you count all the books" Elena mumbled.

"ALRIGHT THAT IS ENOUGH, EVERYBODY SHUT UP OR THE NEXT PERSON TO TALK IS GETTING KICKED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!" Damon yelled having had enough of listening to them all whine 30 minutes into the long drive. "Now Stefan can you pass up the map?" he asked.

"What map I though you had it?" Stefan asked.

"No I said Stefan got the map?" Damon repeated.

"No you said Stefan I have the map," Stefan repeated.

"Stefan why the hell would I say I have the map when I don't have the map?" Damon snapped back.

"Well why did you say you had the map?" Stefan argued back.

"DOES ANYONE HAVE THE STUPID MAP?" Alaric yelled.

When there was no answer Damon slammed his fist on the dashboard. Shaking his head at how awful this trip idea seemed to be he looked at the sign on the highway that said Lovingston as the next town so pulled off to find a gas station and a stupid map. Turning off the car Damon and hopped out without even a word to the others and headed into the gas station variety store.

"I need some air" Elena mumbled as she undid her seat belt and squeezed passed Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie to try and get out of the hot van that she was stuck in the far back corner of.

"I'll join you" Jenna said needing to get away from Rebekah and opened up the back door so that they could hop out.

Shutting the door before anyone else could join them Jenna and Elena headed in the direction of the variety so they could get some snacks. "You okay?" Jenna asked as she wrapped an arm around her niece whom she could tell was looking pretty down.

"Things with Stefan… I not sure what I'm doing, or if I even care" Elena told her and the thought that she didn't care made Elena feel like such a horrible person. They had been together for six years now and while her friends loved to joke about weddings and babies for the two, Elena found herself not being the least bit interested in that kind of talk and it made her wonder where she saw herself in five years. Truth was she had goals for herself, finish college then take a year off to travel, get a job at a major newspaper as a journalist but out of all that she wants to achieve getting married and having kids with him isn't something so clear in her future. "I must be the worst girlfriend ever," Elena said with a sigh as her and Jenna slowly made their way into the store.

There was the ding of the bell and as they were entering the store they saw Damon leaning over the counter flirting with the pretty cashier while she twisted her sandy blonde hair and batted her hazel eyes. They both looked over at the door as Jenna and Elena came into the store and given the look on the cashiers face we were interrupting something. "Honestly we can't take him any where" Elena mumbled under her breath as her and Jenna moved down the isles and picking up chocolate.

"I need lots of chocolate, I've got no one to impress in my bathing suit" Jenna stated as her arms were full of chocolate bars.

"Logan finally stopped calling?" Elena asked as she picked up a chocolate bar for herself.

"No but I've stopped answering, I don't care what he has to say we're done" Jenna said firmly and there was no hesitation in her voice. She was finished with Logan and she wasn't looking back.

"I wish things were a lot clearer for Stefan and I" Elena said with a sigh.

"Well honey you know what they say, The couple that fights the most is the one most in love... it shows they care enough to notice the other one screwed up and care enough to mention it to the person so they can fix it. When you stop fighting it means you stopped caring," Jenna told her and she saw the look of worry on Elena's face because her and Stefan seemed to think fighting was too much of a hassle. She looked like she totally second guessing her relationship and Jenna wasn't sure that was the best example. She loved Elena with Stefan and thought he was an amazing boyfriend to her but Elena's happiness meant the most. "Well then again there is also that quote, Relationships don't always make sense. Especially from the outside" Jenna added hoping to let Elena know that only her and Stefan knew what their relationship meant.

"Sorry to break up the girl talk but we got a van full of people who hate each other to get back to" came Damon's voice as he was now standing behind them holding the map he had just bought. "Oh what are you getting me?" Damon chirped as he reached and grabbed a chocolate bar from Elena's hands.

"I'll get you a black eye!" She snapped as she snatched her chocolate back from him.

"I'd like to see you try" Damon challenged her before he started to saunter out of the store and head back to the van of hell.

Getting back on the road the fighting in the van didn't settle much but at least they took time to eat. They drove for about two more hours fighting about what to listen to on the radio and how high the air condition was on. Rebekah and Caroline were especially driving Damon nuts and he was ready to just toss them to the side of the road and watch them try to hitch hike on this very deserted road. There was a point Damon was about to bring the van to a halt to yell at them but before he could the van suddenly there was a bit of a pop sound and then van jerked and started to lean to one side as Damon's steering was wobbling and had everyone in the van tossing side to side in their seats. "Damn it!" Damon mumbled not quite sure what had happened.

"What the hell did you do?" Alaric yelled at Damon as he pushed Rebekah off him as she was leaning against him.

"I didn't do anything, this van is a piece of CRAP!" he snapped back as he opened up the door and moved to the passenger side where the van was leaning. The back doors opened and they all jumped out as Damon was crouched in front of back tire on the passenger side, or at least what use to be the tire.

The tire was now folded in half and had obviously popped. Damon shook his head not believing their luck and ran his fingers through his black hair. "We blew a tire," he told them.

Alaric gave a nod because this wasn't the end of the world, "We'll be fine, we have the spare in the back" he reminded Damon and then Stefan quickly moved to open up the back. It was then that both Caroline and Rebekah gave each other guilty looks because they knew they weren't going to find the spare tire in the van.

"It's not here!" Stefan yelled getting both Damon and Alaric's attention.

"What are you talking about it's right…" as Damon and Alaric came around to stand next to Stefan they were staring at Caroline and Rebekah's bags, where the spare tire use to be. You could pretty much see the steam coming out of their ears as they turned to glare at the guilty looking girls.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" Damon yelled. Here they were in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in North Carolina, with a popped tire, a group stranded and cell service that was pretty much non-existent. What the hell were they going to do?

uh oh things aren't looking good for the gang!