Chapter 16

The next two days of their trip was not much better as the tension between everyone was still there and the Florida weather was not as it usually was as the rain continued. This was definitely not the spring break that any of them had in mind but here they were and after another two days of being all cramped in that small beach house things had to change or this spring break was going to ruin friendships left and right.

For the majority of the last two days Damon and Elena didn't say more then three words to each other and were never in the same room alone. The two would share secret glances in the others direction but would always looked away before the other could look back. The rest of the houseguests in the house also never brought up what happen between Damon and Elena as they could see the growing tension between them and it was obvious that what ever they were was over.

As Elena walked over to look out the big window in the living room she saw the sun shining bright and not a cloud in the sky for the first time since they had arrived at West Palm Beach. Needing to get out of this house even if it was just for a couple hours she had on her chocolate brown bikini. With her sunglasses on and her purple beach towel in hand, Elena picked up her beach bag and was all set for a day in the sun.

"It's about time there was sun in the sunshine state," Jenna said as she too came dressed in her swimsuit and sunglasses.

"Yep and there is no coming back until we are all nice and tan" Caroline told them as she too was prepared as well. "I'm not coming back until I don't blend in with the white sand," she added as Bonnie came out of the bedroom as well.

"How about Lobster red?" Bonnie teased but Caroline just rolled her eyes.

Elena just gave them all a smile as she pushed open the back door looking on to the beach and her and the girls headed on out. Over the last two days Elena had got herself to forgive Bonnie for spilling her and Damon's secret because it was obvious she felt horrible about it. At first Elena just needed time to herself but she soon came around and girls found a way to get past it. As for Caroline and her Team Stefan t-shirt Elena and her decided to call a truce and they both promised not to talk about it anymore. What happened between Elena and Stefan would remain between Elena and Stefan.

So here they were now, back to getting along and they all decided to have a girl's day at the beach. While Elena really only wanted to get some peace, she had a feeling the reason Bonnie and Caroline were coming was because they knew things with her and Damon had hit a brick wall and they weren't speaking. Caroline had mentioned something about it being for the best but Elena hadn't really been listening to her friend as she watched Damon take off with Alaric in the early morning to do who knows what.

"Come on Elena, let's spend some time out in the sun and forget about all the drama for a few hours" Jenna told her niece as she wrapped an arm around her as they walked.

"Yeah okay" Elena answered with a slight smile and then her and the girls headed out and down to the beach. Unfortunately as the girls lay on the beach taking in the sun Elena found her mind wondering to Damon, his eyes, his touch and his smile. She also thought about how she felt being with him and how it was a new kind of happy she hadn't felt before. Her mind then wondered to Stefan and the hurt in his eyes when he learned the truth about her and Damon. One of the last things Elena ever wanted to do was hurt Stefan and yet seeing the pain in his eyes haunted her. Stefan had been there for her through everything, they were best friends and that last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt him the way she did. She hadn't been able to talk to Stefan since everything blew up and a part of her didn't blame him for not wanting to talk to her.

"Things will get better" Jenna told her as she saw how stressed Elena seemed.

"I thought we weren't going to talk about it" Elena mumbled without looking at her aunt as the hot sun shined on her skin.

"I'm just saying because I know that's what you're thinking about" Jenna stated as she sat up to apply some suntan lotion.

"Trust me you have all made your opinions known and you will be happy to know your concerns are no longer an issue" Elena stated annoyed that her quiet time in the sun was being turned into a dating lecture.

"Better to end it now before you get hurt" Caroline said joining in on the conversation that Elena didn't want to have.

"Yeah thank god you helped me avoid the heart break and tears I would endure" Elena replied as she sat up on her towel. Taking off her sunglasses she gave them a quick glance and then ran off towards the blue water and dove in, no longer interested in talking to them about Damon or Stefan for that matter.

"She knows we are only looking out for her right?" Caroline asked Jenna as she watched Elena cool off in the water.

"Doesn't mean she wants to hear it" Jenna replied as she watched her niece in the ocean swimming around and ignoring them.

Following their day out in the sun the girls returned to the beach house and found Stefan had resurfaced from his bedroom and was making something to eat. While Caroline happily went over to talk to him, Elena held back and ended up just standing at the kitchen table nervously flipping through whatever was on the table to avoid looking up at Stefan.

"All right everyone, time to mix things up in this depressing beach house" came Kol's voice as he clapped his hands and entered the room. "Big beach party happening at Castaway Tiki Bar and we are all going" Kol informed them.

"I'll pass" Stefan told him as he picked up his lunch off the counter and started to make his way back to his room.

"Nope, no more moody Stefan" Kol told him as he jumped in front of Stefan to stop him from leaving. "You are coming you are getting drunk and maybe even meet a smoking hot party girl," Kol told him.

"Kol leave him alone," Caroline snapped.

"Look we are on vacation! If all you wanted to do was hide away in your room you could of done that at home. I want one night, one night where relationship crap is put aside and we all get drunk"

"Classy Kol" Caroline responded.

"Trust me darling for tonight there will be no classy Caroline, just tequila drunk Caroline who picks fights with all the other blondes in the bar."

"You know what I'm in" Stefan said.

"YES!" Kol cheered.

"I don't see why Damon should be the only one to have fun like no one else matters," Stefan said as he took a glance in Elena's direction.

"Well one step at a time Stefan, you may not be ready to party with the big boys" Kol teased knowing Stefan was a goody goody unlike him and Damon.

"We'll see about that" Stefan stated and then moved to take a seat at the table across from Elena to eat his sandwich without even looking up at her once.

"Where are Damon and Ric anyway?" Bonnie asked noticing they were still missing from this morning.

"Beats me, the new bromance duo didn't invite me to go along with them" Kol stated sounding a little jealous of Damon and Alaric's friendship. The beginning of this trip the two hated each other's guts and now they were new partners in crime.

"Aw someone's being left out?" Jenna teased. "Need some cheering up?"

"Yea what do you have in mind?" Kol said with a wink.

The girls all rolled their eyes at Kol's attempt to sweet talk them. "Never going to happen Kol" Jenna said as she hit him on the back of the head.

"The day is still young and tequila hasn't been put into play yet," Kol teased back.

"Alright I think it's time to change the subject," Bonnie stated quickly.

Elena and the girls laughed as they watched the sweet interaction between Kol and Bonnie as they hugged and playfully flirted with each other. It was nice to see that during this very interesting trip that at least two people seemed to be happy. Bonnie and Kol were totally smiting with each other and lucky for them nobody seemed to be on their case about their relationship. The two of them could be together without feeling guilty, without hurting someone they cared about and without everyone turning on them.

Her thoughts were broken when they all heard the front door of the beach house open and then within seconds Damon and Alaric walked in the door. Once they were in the room everyone stopped what they were doing to look at them. Bonnie and Kol stopped their cuteness and Elena's smile faded and she looked down at the counter away from Damon.

"Where were you two?" Jenna asked as she pulled out a tub of ice cream out of the freezer and moved over to share it with Elena by handing her a spoon. She held a scooped of the chocolate ice cream and then licked the spoon before handing it off to Elena so that she could get a scoop.

With a smile Damon waved tickets in the air and then set them down on the table in front of Stefan so that everyone could see them. "Plane tickets, I figured one ride down here was enough" Damon announced.

"Nice, when do we leave?" Kol asked as he picked up one of the plane tickets.

"In two days" Damon told him as he moved to take a seat on the couch and lift his feet onto the coffee table.

"Awesome we will be back for the Mystic Falls flag football game" Kol said happily.

"Yeah where we will whoop your butts!" Jenna said with a smile as she took back the tub of ice cream from Elena.

"Oh I don't think so," Alaric said with a laugh as he walked over to Jenna and tried to get the ice cream away from her. With a giggle Jenna did her best to keep it away from him as she ran around the kitchen table with Alaric hot on her heels trying to get the chocolate ice cream. "Come on hand it over!" Ric laughed as he chased after her and Elena couldn't help but laugh as she moved out of their way as they ran past her.

Another couple of friends who seemed to be getting really close over this trip was Jenna and Alaric and although the two seemed to be just friends, Elena couldn't help but notice that the two were very close and especially more since Jenna had broken up with Logan. While Alaric was in a somewhat relationship with Meredith it was no secret that him and Jenna had a very unique relationship.

Taking her eyes off Jenna and Alaric playfully fighting over the ice cream, Elena's eyes ended up falling on Damon accidently and he as staring at her. Yet as soon as she was staring at him he quickly looked away as if he didn't trust himself if he stared at her for too long. It was so frustrating that some people could be so happy together like Bonnie and Kol or comfortable like Jenna and Ric but her and Damon had to stay away from each other. It wasn't fair.

"Okay come on another round of drinks!" Caroline called out at the bartender as the girls all gathered around to refill their drinks.

"We need to get you to loosen up," Jenna said as she stood behind Elena and had her hands on her niece's shoulders. "We are on vacation and spring break is all about having fun," she told her.

"I am having fun" Elena lied.

"Come on Elena," Bonnie said as she slid a drink down the counter so that it was in front of Elena. "The vacation may not of started out the way you wanted but now its time to forget and have some fun!"

With a nod Elena picked up the glass of god knows what and chugged it back as the girls around her cheered and clapped in delight. It was time to let go and let loose Elena thought as she had spent too much time being depressed and upset about everything going on with Damon and Stefan. For tonight she didn't want to deal with them or her feelings and instead she wanted to have some fun and live a little.

"Drunk Elena here she comes!" Caroline cheered as she ordered another round for the group.

A few more drinks later and Elena was up and dancing without a care in the world with the girls as they sang along to the songs. The girls danced around the tiki beach bar with their hands up and taking turns spinning each other around. Elena was having fun, and this was a first it what felt like a long time on this trip so she kept on drinking and dancing.

Across the bar the guys were sitting at the counter having a few drinks and Kol was doing his best to get Stefan to loosen up as he ordered him a number of drinks that Stefan had never heard of before. "Alright man here you go an Irish Car Bomb" Kol told him as he set a drink in front of Stefan.

"Damn Kol are you trying to get him pissed drunk and on the floor?" Ric asked as him and Damon sat next to them drinking their bourbon.

"I can handle it" Stefan answered as he picked the drink up and tossed it back and felt the instant burning in his throat.

"Easy Stefan" Damon said as he saw how quickly he finished the drink that contained whisky, baileys and Guinness. Stefan wasn't much of a drinker at home and while he seemed to be intending to have fun tonight Damon wasn't about to watch his little brother drink more then he could handle.

"Nice!" Kol said as he held out his hand to get a high five.

"I'm good" Stefan said slowly as the alcohol was starting to really take effect. "I'm fine," he repeated.

"Well keep in mind Kol that if he is passed out later you have to carry him back to the beach house" Ric said as he chugged back his drink and then got up to go and dance with Jenna and the girls.

"Give the boy some credit, he can handle it" Kol laughed. "Alright we will have three Adios Mother F*&%ers!" Kol called out as the bartender came to take their drinks.

"NO, Kol no!" Damon said as he shook his head.

"Why what is a Adios Mother F*&%er?" Stefan asked as he saw the concern growing on Damon's face as the drinks were brought over to them.

"It's nothing" Kol answered him.

"Its Vodka, rum, tequila, gin, blue Curacao, sour mix and 7Up" Damon informed his brother. "Stefan you will spend the night with your head in the toilet" Damon warned him.

Stefan was already drunk and as he stared at the liquid poison in front of him, he hesitated a bit before picking it up and getting ready to take the drink. "How bad can it really be?" Stefan said out loud.

"It's not bad at all," Kol said as he held up his to clink it with Stefan's. "Bottoms up brother" he said and then chugged his back.

"Stefan don't be stupid" Damon told him as he watched his brother getting ready to take the drink.

Ignoring his brother Stefan tipped the glass back and let the mixture of alcohol touch his lips and then slowly go down his throat. He was only about a sip in when he suddenly had to pull the glass away and felt like he was going to be sick.

"That's it your done" Damon announced and reached for Stefan's glass and finished it himself so that Stefan wasn't tempted by it.

Surprisingly Stefan didn't fight his brother on it, instead he let him take the drink and finish it for him while he set his head down on the bar counter and let out a groan. He had reached his limit and he was not feeling good at all.

"Nice job Kol" Damon said to his friend who just shrugged his shoulder and then got up to go and dance with the others. Bouncing over to them he wrapped his arms around Bonnie and danced close to her as they all moved to the music.

Shaking his head Damon looked over at a very intoxicated Stefan and ordered a glass of water for him. "Here drink this it will help a bit," Damon told him as Stefan let out a groan and accepted the water.

"I'm suppose to hate you right now" Stefan reminded him.

"How about you focus on not getting alcohol poison tonight and go back to hating me tomorrow" Damon suggested and Stefan just let out a groan in response so Damon took that as a yes.

"Hey" came a voice as a cute brunette came over to the counter to stand beside Damon as she leaned over the bar counter and did her best to get Damon's attention by pushing her breast forward and practically in his face.

Across the bar as the girls were dancing Elena noticed the pretty girl talking to Damon. While dancing around with Caroline she did her best to not let herself look over at the two talking as the girl seemed to be hanging all over him. Jealousy boiled inside her as she saw the two of them laughing and the girl was obviously interested in Damon as she had a huge stupid smile on her face while she flicked her hair back. She was only talking to Damon for a few minutes before she walked away but it seemed like an eternity to Elena even though she was trying not to watch. She couldn't take her eyes off the two of them and after the woman left she had a sigh of relief. She was then quickly pulled away from her thoughts as Caroline came over and grabbed her by the arm as they danced and she had to force herself to look away from him.

Next to them Jenna and Ric were dancing up a storm as the laughed at each others ridiculous dance moves such as the robot, shopping cart, chicken dance and Egyptian walk to name a few. Jenna found herself laughing more then she had done in a long time as Ric spun her around and was singing loudly to the songs. With his hands on her hips they started moving together with her back against chest. With his face pressed against her cheek they both had smiles on their faces as they whispered to each other. Ric's hands slowly started to move up and down her thighs until she felt a sudden vibrate on the back of her legs.

"Sorry that's my phone" Ric said as he pulled away and then reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Turning to look at him Jenna bit her bottom lip as she waited to see who was calling him even though she had a pretty good idea who it was. "It's Meredith, I should take this" Ric told her.

Biting her bottom lip, Jenna ran her fingers through her hair and then gave him a nod and a forced smile. "Yeah go ahead" Jenna said and then watched as Ric took off out onto the beach to answers his call from Meredith. Once Ric had left the dance floor, suddenly all the fun she was having disappeared and Jenna didn't really want to be there anymore.

"Jenna what's wrong?" Bonnie asked as she was dancing with Kol.

"Nothing" Jenna said as she gave her a smile and shook her head. "Listen I think I'm just going to go back to the beach house" Jenna told them.

"What? No come on!" Caroline said as she came bouncing over while pulling Elena along with her.

"Look you guys have fun I'll see you later" she told them and then quickly left the dance floor. She knew that there was a good chance that Meredith was going to be coming to see Ric and she didn't really want to be there during that time so figured it was best if she just left.

"Where you off to?" Damon asked as Jenna came and picked up her purse that was hanging on the back of Damon's chair.

"I'll see you back at the beach house" Jenna told him.

"Where's Ric?" Damon asked.

"Meredith called," she told him and although she didn't want to go into detail about it she could see that Damon kind of got what she was saying and didn't make her explain anything else. Before leaving she took a glance over at Stefan who still seemed to be half dead. "Is he?"

"He'll be fine" Damon told her with a smile as she looked over at his brother who still had his head down. "I'll tell Ric you left," he added.

"It doesn't matter" she told him and then with her purse swung over her shoulder she set off out of the bar and down the street to the beach house.

About ten minutes later Alaric walked back into the bar and went straight to the dance floor but he found himself standing there looking around. He saw Elena Caroline still dancing and Bonnie and Kol making out in the corner but the person he was looking for was no where to be seen. Pressing his lips together he looked over at Damon and Stefan at the bar as Stefan was finishing another glass of water. As he walked over to them Damon had just ordered another drink and was taking a sip as Ric slipped onto the stool next tom him. "Hey where is Jenna?" he asked.

Damon turned to look at Ric as he set down his glass and gave his friend a smirk. "You are an idiot" Damon told him and watched, as Ric seemed so confused and unsure of what he was going on about

"What?" Ric asked.

"You're an idiot," Stefan repeated as his head was still pressed against the counter.

"You got a call from Meredith and Jenna took off" Damon told him, "I'm sure you can figure out the why." Alaric sat there for a moment starring straight ahead as he took it all in.

Without another word Ric was off the bar stool and out of the bar as fast as he could as he ran down the dark streets of the beach town heading back to the house. He had taken the call from Meredith and while he had come down here in hopes of finally meeting her things had changed. Running up the steps of the beach house Ric was out of breath but he didn't care and reached out to knock on the door.

Waiting a moment he looked around the quiet street and tried to peak inside to see if there was any movement. Knocking again he leaned his hands against the doorframe praying that Jenna hadn't gone to sleep yet. Just before he was about to give up the doorknob started to jiggle and finally opened up. Looking up, Alaric stared at Jenna, as she appeared at the door in her pajamas, obviously she was getting ready for bed.

"Ric? What are you doing here?" Jenna asked knowing that he should be with Meredith.

Alaric stared at her for a moment in silence and without saying a word to her he stepped forward and cupped her face as his lips pressed against hers. She was caught off guard at first but as her eyes slowly closed and she responded to the kiss, she brought her hands up to touch his and leaned into him.

When they pulled apart Jenna found herself speechless at to what had brought this on seeing how in love Alaric was in Meredith. "What are you doing?" Jenna asked him, as their eyes never left each other.

"I stopped being stupid" Alaric answered and then his lips were back on hers. This time they were more desperate in their kiss. They stumbled back into the beach house and after closing the door Alaric picked Jenna up and carried her to the bedroom without breaking from the passionate kiss.

During the night at the bar Damon had a number of woman come up to him hoping to get his number and maybe a little more. Elena for the most part sat a few seats away from him and had to watch him talk to these woman who were all over him. Whenever a new girl came over to talk to him she could only roll her eyes at the lame flirting and the girls not so subtle attempt to get Damon to leave with them. It was disgusting and every time they tried get him to go home with them she had this growing fear that he may say yes to one of these bimbos.

Having drank her way through at least a bottle of vodka on her own Elena decided it was time to leave. Caroline had tried to get her to stick around since Bonnie and Kol had taken off down the beach but Elena couldn't really handle watching Damon any longer. Saying bye to Caroline she left while Damon was talking to yet another blonde. She couldn't take it anymore and she had to get out of there so she could breath. Walking back to the beach house Elena had her arms crossed over her chest and made her way up the pathway to the house.

"I wouldn't go in there it I were you" came Damon's voice as he came running up behind her.

Hearing his voice Elena turned to look at him a little shocked that he had followed her but also wondered what he was talking about. She just stood there and waited for Damon to catch up to her. He had his hands in his pockets as he climbed the steps of the beach house and came to stand beside Elena without saying another word.

"Why shouldn't I go inside?" Elena asked him as her and Damon both took a seat on the steps in front of the house.

"Alaric and Jenna are in there," Damon told her.

"So?"

"They are in there…" Damon repeated but this time his tone was very suggestive and he gave her a wink.

As Elena put two and two together in her head her eyes widen in realization and she immediately shut her eye and looked disgusted by the thought and buried her face in her hands. "Oh god no, that's my aunt" Elena told him.

Damon just laughed as he watched Elena getting pretty grossed out by the images in her head and he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close. "Sorry I figured this would be less traumatizing" he told her and Elena gave a nod. The two sat there in a comfortable silence a little longer as Damon had his arm around her. It felt good; she felt so comfortable with him and didn't want to leave his arms. Yet they soon found themselves wanting more and knew that they couldn't give in to those temptations. Damon reluctantly pulled his arm away from her and forced himself to put some space between them. Now what started off as them being so comfortable with each other and like it was something they do all the time they were back to awkward silence and trying to figure out what to do next.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Elena asked sadly without turning to look at the man who had her heart.

"I hope not" Damon responded quietly and they both sadly sat there on the front steps of the beach house looking up at the sky.

Stefan gulped back one last water as he sat up at the bar looking around as many started to call it an night. Licking his lips he saw a few of the girls Damon had been talking to earlier they were pretty hot and the fact that his brother never took any of them up on their offer to go home with them was quite a surprise. For years he had watch his brother go through women like changing socks. Stefan had thought Damon was over exaggerating how easy woman came on to him but tonight proved that many women were pretty forward with him. Yet no matter how gorgeous they were here in West Palm Beach he turned them down and went home alone.

"So hard partying is not your thing huh" came Caroline's voice as she slipped on to the bar stool next to him. It was obvious that she had a bit too much to drink herself but was at the state of being a happy drunk.

"Yeah, there is a reason I left the hard partying to Damon" Stefan said with a chuckle. "Yet I must say until I agreed to let Kol give me drinks I had never heard of before things were going great.

"You did seem to be having some fun and that's good," Caroline told him. "Things have sucked for you on this trip so letting loose a bit did you some good" she added.

"I guess I'm just coming to terms with things being over between me and Elena" Stefan told her as he gave a slight sigh. "Its time I let her go" Stefan said and although Caroline wanted him to fight for her she also didn't want to see either of them getting hurt anymore.

'Things will get better" Caroline told him. "They may be awkward for the time being but a time will come when begin in the same room won't feel like a pain in your heart."

"Fake it until you make it" Stefan responded.

"Yeah" she said with a giggled.

Stefan gave a nod and then pulled out his wallet to pay for his drinks. Setting the bills down he turned to Carline with a smile, "ready to go?"

"Yeah I think we have had enough fun for one night" she answered and they both got up from their seats. Both stumbled a bit as they headed out of the bar and on to the beach and with a laugh reached out for each other so they could use each other for support. "I can't remember the last time I was this drunk," Stefan told her with a laugh as they stumbled together along the beach.

"I'm thinking prom," Caroline told him as she thought about it. "You had the flu on your 21st birthday" she added.

"Right, worst 21st birthday ever" Stefan said.

"What are you talking about I made you a cake," Caroline laughed.

"That I didn't get to eat," he reminded her.

"Right" Caroline said with a realization and let out a giggle. "I totally should of made you soup instead."

Before Stefan could respond he heard Caroline yelp and then she was tripping over her feet and pulling him along with her to the sandy ground. Both were laughing and tried to get back up but that may have been a bit easier a few drinks ago. Instead they continued to laugh, as their attempts to stand back up were unsuccessful. "I can't breath," Caroline cried as she was laughing so hard and needed to catch her breath.

"Then stop laughing" Stefan told her, as he too couldn't stop laughing.

"I can't I can't" she laughed as she just fell back on the sand.

"Shhh!" Stefan responded with a whisper, "You are going to wake everyone up" he told her with a chuckle.

"Who? We are on a deserted beach," Caroline reminded him.

"The crabs you are going to wake up the crabs" he said and this only made Caroline laugh even more.

"Stop it your making me laugh more!"

"Hey you are the giggly drunk not me" Stefan answered.

"I'm not a giggly drunk," Caroline snapped back.

"Yea-huh" he snapped back.

Both stayed silent for about two seconds before the burst back into laughter and both having no idea why. Instead they just fell back on the sand beside each other looking up at the sky as they started to calm down. Looking up at the stars their heads were just inches apart and they had no problem hearing the other breathing as it started to go silent again. All they could hear were the waves coming in behind them on this starry night and everything was so peaceful.

"I guess this trip hasn't been so bad," Stefan said as he broke the silence.

"Just wait until morning and you might feel different" Caroline giggled as she turned to look at him and their noses were just an inch apart.

"I don't think so," he answered as his eyes met hers. The silence took over again but they never broke eye contact as both seemed to be breathing a little faster as well as their hearts beating quicker then usual. No words were spoken as slowly they moved in closer and closer until Stefan's lips touched Caroline's.

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