Chapter 6
As darkness fell upon them, they were all thankful for the shelter the cabin was providing especially with a storm coming. The wind had picked up and they could hear the cracking of the wooden walls and the rattling of the window as the wind whistled throughout the night.
Caroline had done a quick cleaning of the place, dusting the windows and fluffing the pillows on the couch trying to make the old cabin a little homier. Laying out the sleeping bags on the ground Caroline made sure everyone had enough room as well as making sure Rebekah was on the opposite side.
Stefan came into the cabin carrying fire logs to put in the fireplace and warm up the place for everyone. As he set them down on the ground by the fireplace he started to build the fire while Elena came into the room wearing her pajamas and carrying her diary. While Stefan built the fire, Elena got herself comfortable on the couch, opening her diary and flipping through the pages that started with her describing her amazing relationship with Stefan. As she read over the entries it felt a little foreign now. Looking up at Stefan he was the fire going and Elena kept wondering what was wrong with her. Any girl would be happy and lucky to have a guy like Stefan that loved them and yet she found herself not being able to appreciate everything about him. Getting comfortable on the couch she started to write a new entry just as Stefan was taking a seat on the other side of the couch with a book.
With the fire crackling the others were starting to reappear in the room, Jenna and then girls huddled around the warm fire while Damon, Alaric and Kol got set up for a drinking game at the small kitchen table. Elena was still shocked as the sudden bromance between Damon and Alaric who now seemed to be getting along like they had been friends for years.
"This place is cold and smells terrible, how long do we have to stay here?" Rebekah complained as she had her sleeping back wrapped around her while she complained to Damon and her brother.
"Take a shot!" Alaric called out and as they ignored Rebekah and all three took a shot.
"What are you doing?" Rebekah asked, "are you all just planning to get drunk off your asses?"
"Try and relax Bex" Damon told her.
"I don't want to relax I want to get out of here!" she snapped at him.
"Shot" Kol called out with a laugh and then all three took another shot of bourbon.
Letting out a grunt Rebekah spun on her heels and stomped off to sit by the fire next to Bonnie and Jenna who were watching as the guys were laughing and drinking. "Really, you guys are just going to get drunk? How predictable of you Damon" Bonnie said, as she looked anything but pleased.
"That's a shot!" Damon called out and then Kol and Alaric picked up their shot glasses and through back another one.
"What are you guys doing?" Jenna asked, as the guys seemed to have their own little inside joke as they were drinking and taking shot after shot.
"Playing a drinking game" Kol told her, "Come on join in!" he invited as he set a shot glass on the table.
Caroline rolled her eyes at the guys as she sat by the fire and warmed herself up. "Of course you're playing a drinking game," Caroline stated.
"SHOT!" Damon yelled out and with a laugh they all took a shot.
"That's not a drinking game that's just Damon's regular Friday nightt special" Elena stated with a huff.
"And Shot!" Kol yelled with a laugh, "god this is getting us drunk, whose idea was this?"
"That would be Ric" Damon said as he pointed at Alaric.
"Wait you call him Ric now? Since when did you two become friends?" Caroline asked finding this to be a very strange friendship.
"Well sharing a girlfriend does create a weird connection"
"Oh that's a shot!" Damon yelled and poured everyone another shot. "And correction she wasn't my girlfriend."
Jenna looked between the guys as she got up from her spot on the floor by the fireplace and made her way to the table and took a seat at the empty chair. "What exactly are the rules to this drinking game?" she asked them as Damon slid a shot glass towards her.
"See if you can figure it out" Damon challenged her.
"This is so boring, can we please do something else" Rebekah begged.
"SHOT!" the three guys yelled.
Jenna took the shot along with the guys and as she put the shot glass back on the table and let out a giggle. The three guys smiled at each other and then poured another glass and took a shot.
"I don't get it" Caroline said as she stood up and watched the guys and they're made up drinking game.
"What's to get they drink and drink, sounds just like Damon favorite game" Stefan stated as he flipped through his book. Elena looked over at Stefan who didn't find the game fun at all and yet Elena found herself attracted to the game that seemed to be a lot more fun then what she was doing.
"Your just mad you wouldn't be able to keep up," Damon teased and Stefan just furrowed his brow and shook his head at his brother as they took another shot. They continued taking shots and Damon and Alaric were really hammered at this point. Jenna was almost as bad and the more she drank the more she giggled and that meant the guys had to take another shot.
"At least some of us are enjoying the trip," Elena said with a sigh.
"I don't see how drinking until you are falling over is fun" Stefan said as he shook his head.
Elena bit her bottom lip as she looked over at Bonnie who was studying, Caroline doing her nails by the fire, Rebekah pouting in the corner and Stefan reading on the other side of the couch. This was insane they were suppose to be having fun because they were on spring break and yet the majority of them sat around doing nothing. "That's it" Elena said as she hopped off the couch and getting the attention of Stefan, Bonnie and Caroline.
"What are you doing?" Stefan asked her as he eyed her closely while he furrowed his brow.
"SHOT!" Kol yelled and Stefan turned and glared at them, which only had them doing another shot.
"LOOK I GET WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING!" Stefan stated.
"Getting on our nerves, yes they are" Bonnie mumbled.
"SHOT!"
"Look we are on spring break and I'm not just going to sit around here and mope" Elena told Stefan who still seemed shocked as Elena was walking over to the table.
"Pour me one" Elena ordered as she walked over to the table as Alaric was pouring her a drink.
"Miss goodie, goodie is coming to the dark side," Damon teased and Elena glared at him as she took the shot.
After throwing back the shot, Elena felt the burn of the alcohol and scrunched up her nose as she swallowed. "God that is awful" she stated as she gave a shudder.
"Well have another it will soon taste better" Damon promised and held the bottle while Elena held her glass out for another one.
"Pour another before Kol loses anymore of his clothes" Elena said with a laugh as she looked at Kol who was doing what he usually did when he was drunk; he started to remove his clothes and toss them around the room while he danced.
"You know if I wasn't already drunk I would find this very awkward," Jenna said with a giggle.
"I believe that means shot," Elena said with a smile and everyone cheered and took another shot. As they threw back their shots, Elena found herself letting loose and actually enjoying herself for the first time during the trip.
Stefan was watching as they took shot after shot and Elena was up and dancing with a half naked Kol at this point. He figured it as about time he stepped in, "She's gone mad!" Bonnie stated as she watched her friend jumping around while taking shot after shot of bourbon. Getting up from his spot on the couch Stefan walked over to Elena and gently put his hand on her arm to get her attention and she almost fell over in the process. "Maybe you have had enough" Stefan suggested.
"Oh she is fine" Damon stated with a laugh as he wrapped an arm around her and handed her another shot. "Get ready the furrow brow is coming," he whispered and as if right on cue Stefan furrows his brow while staring at his brother. Elena let out a giggle and then threw back her shot.
"Elena, come on your done" Stefan told her as he tried to pull her away from the bad influence Damon.
"No!" Elena laughed as she pulled herself away from Stefan. "Stefan I'm not even drunk," Elena told him as she shook her head and looked around for someone to pour her another one.
"Seriously Elena how are you not on the floor yet?" Jenna asked as she was leaning against Alaric so that she wouldn't fall off her chair.
"If anything the dancing is sobering you up," Damon laughed as he spun her around before pulling her back in to dance.
The scene was so weird to Stefan as he watched Damon and Elena laughing and for the first time in probably their lives they were getting along. Caroline and Bonnie also found it very strange to see the two getting along as they laughed and drank with Alaric, Jenna and Kol. It was hard to believe that a group of people who usually didn't get along were laughing and carrying on as if they were the best of friends. Instead of biting each other's heads off Elena and Damon seemed to be getting along and actually enjoying being around each other, which was not the case when they were sober.
"This is like a alternate universe!" Caroline told Stefan as she watch as Elena let lose and was having fun with Damon.
"All I can say is that tomorrow morning isn't going to be pretty," Stefan stated.
Sure enough their drinking game fun came to an end and the rest of the night involved Elena's head over a toilet and Stefan holding her hair back. She was in for a long night and was cursing Damon and Ric for continuing to feed her alcohol. As bad as she felt she took in some comfort that at the same time she was hunched over the toilet Damon and the guys were outside dealing with the aftermath of their made up drinking game as well.
The next morning as the sun was shining into the cabin and the sound of birds chirping filled the room Elena let out a tired groan. Covering her head she had a massive headache from her night of fun and the payback was a killer. Looking around she checked the time and then noticed that Stefan was up and standing outside. With everyone else still sleeping Elena figured that maybe this would be the best time to talk to Stefan alone with out the influence of anyone else. She got up and her body moved very slowly as she got to her feet and then wrapped her sleeping bag around her. Stepping over Caroline and Bonnie, she looked over to see both Damon and Alaric passed out away from their sleeping bags while Kol seemed to have his plus Damon and Alaric's sleeping bag wrapped around himself. Jenna had claimed the couch the other night and had a trashcan by her face incase she needed it during the night.
Stepping over everyone, Elena quietly snuck outside and slowly walked over to the tree Stefan was leaning against. He smiled when he saw her strolling over to him and he quickly noticed that this was probably not a very good morning for her given she only got about two hours of sleep after leaving her post at the toilet. "Hangover still in full swing?" Stefan asked her and Elena gave a mumbled for a response.
Stefan gave a smile and shook his head as he thought back to how Elena wanted to be carefree and now was paying deeply for it. "I told you not to try and keep up with Damon and Kol," he told her.
"Yeah last night I wasn't really the smartest person," Elena said with a laugh. "I definitely should of stopped drinking before Kol suggested the no hands shot challenge" she said as she brushed her hair back behind her hear. "Though I did come in second with four in a row," Elena stated proudly.
"Because Alaric couldn't stop laughing and Kol couldn't navigate himself from one shot glass to the next" Stefan told her.
"I like to see it as, I was this close to beating Damon" Elena told him as she held her thumb and index finger about an inch apart to show how close the contest was.
"Yeah well either way I'm sure you are regretting it now "Stefan stated with a smile as he looked over at Elena who just seemed to be thinking over the other night and whether she regretted it or not. "You do regret it right? I mean getting drunk isn't you" Stefan told her.
Elena gave a sigh as she though about it, "Well why not, I mean we are 21 not 81 we should be having fun" Elena told him as she shrugged her shoulders.
"And you think getting so drunk you can't stand on your own two feet is fun?"
Elena let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, "it wasn't about getting that drunk it was about letting go of all our problems for one night and just having fun" Elena told him.
"Our problems?" Stefan asked as he realized her little out of character night was due to forgetting about them. "You got drunk to forget about us?"
"Don't say it like that Stefan" Elena said a she rolled her eyes.
"Then how should I see it Elena? Last night was not you," he stated.
Elena let out a sigh as she brushed her hair back and tried to understand where Stefan was coming from. Yet the thing was she had a lot of fun for probably the first time in a long time. It had been a long time since she had laughed and smiled all night. Sure it was weird that it involved Damon and his drinking games but either way she had fun. She was 21 and this was spring break and even though it wasn't exactly the greatest start to spring break it was nice to let loose for a night. "Well maybe I need a change!" Elena snapped at him with a huff. "Things have been so blah and predictable lately that I needed to do something different."
"And how much of a change do you want Elena?" he asked her as he gave her a serious tone and then his eyes bore in hers. Although he wasn't saying it she knew he was talking about them and their relationship. With things between them being rocky for quite some time he wondered if her change would be so drastic as to break up.
"Stefan you know I love" Elena said as she stepped closer to him and took his hands in hers. "You were my rock when I lost my parents and I'm not sure I would of made it through it without you. We have been through so much together and I'm not sure what I would ever do without you," she told him as tears were in her eyes. "But I don't think we should stay together because its familiar, we could end up resenting each other later on" she added.
Stefan wrapped his arms around her tightly and they held onto each other as they thought about everything they had been through in the six years they had been together and everything before as well. This wasn't just a break up with a boyfriend girlfriend, they had been best friends practically from birth and they didn't want to lose that.
"But I can't imagine not having you in my life" Elena told him as her head was resting on his shoulder as her arms were wrapped about him tightly.
"Hey," Stefan said calmly as he pulled back and cupped her face as he saw tears in her eyes while his was were also watery. "That will never happen I promise you" he told her and as he stared into her eyes he hoped she would believe him because he didn't want to imagine a life without her even if they were just friends.
As the fear of losing him completely went away Elena gave a nod and wiped away her tears. "Okay" was all she could say as she leaned back in to the hug and let out a shaking breathe. She was so thankful that no matter what happened with them in the future she was happy to know that she was never going to lose her best friend.
Inside the cabin Caroline and Bonnie were watching through the window with smiles on their faces as they watched Elena and Stefan hugging outside. "I think its going well!" Caroline chimed happily as she clapped her hands in excitement.
"Of course they did, they are Stefan and Elena" Bonnie said happily.
"Well now that their relationship is back on track I can focus on keeping your head out of the books" Caroline said as she the two walked over to the kitchen where they found Damon and Alaric hunched over the table looking very wrecked after their foolish night of drinking.
"I'm guessing you regret using us as part of your drinking game huh?" Caroline said as she was looking through their box of food for something to eat.
Damon was squinting his eyes and the sound of Caroline's screeching voice was not at all helping his hangover. "Maybe if you weren't so whiny and didn't roll your eyes at us so often we wouldn't be like this.
"We could have gotten drunk if we just played by you rolling your eyes and Rebekah complaining" Alaric mumbled as he covered his face. "Never mind drinking when Damon was sarcastic, Stefan frowned, Jenna giggled, Elena bickered with Damon."
"Or you mentioning your ex Isobel, Bonnie looking disappointed, or Kol losing an article of clothing which didn't take long" Damon said as he nodded toward Kol as he was slowly starting to wake up as he only had his boxers on at this point. He was looking around very confused as to where he was and wondered how his clothes were scattered all over the room.
"Well it serves you right" Bonnie stated with a smile as she loudly looking through the box of food for something to eat.
"Not so loud" Damon begged as he bowed his head in pain.
Just then Elena and Stefan walked back into the cabin and both couldn't help but laugh at how horrible Damon and Alaric looked. The two had drunk the most the night before as they continued long after everyone else had to bail out. "Oh look it's Damon's usually morning after look," Elena teased.
"I look a lot better then you" Damon snapped a back. "I'm not the one who cuddled with the toilet last night" he added with a smirk. Elena shook her head and rolled her eyes as she stepped further into the room just as Jenna was waking up over on the couch. Moving to get something to eat her and Stefan had decided to keep their break up to themselves for a bit and would try to act as normal as possible. Elena was at least happy that things with Damon were back to normal as they bickered over everything again now that they were sober.
"Alright pass me the last bit of the bourbon," Damon said as he reached for the bottle and poured him and Ric a glass.
"Really bourbon for breakfast, haven't you two had enough?" Jenna asked as she slipped on to an empty chair and rested her head on Alaric's shoulder while dealing with her own hangover.
"Hey, getting drunk is the best way to get rid of a hangover sweetie" Damon said as he laughed at Jenna. Holding up his glass Damon and Alaric clanked their glasses together before they threw back their drink hoping to rid themselves of the hangovers as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!