Elena Gilbert woke up bright and early, ready for the start of a new day, before she remembered the dream she'd had that night.

"Ugh, bright new day be damned." She muttered, then fell back into her blankets and pillows.

"Aw, don't be such a sour puss! Up and at 'em, Elena! Come on!" Elena hid her face, and burrowed deeper into her blankets so Damon couldn't see how red it was. Dream or not, she felt awkward looking at him now that she saw how his eyes could change if he looked at her. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she forgot about Damon trying to wake her up right now, and since nothing had worked, he was trying a new technique. So, he got up off the bed, started stretching, then sat right on Elena's back.

"AH, Damon get off!"

"Only if you get up!" They had both laughed themselves tired, so when Elena agreed to getting up, Damon had collapsed on her bed, where she had previously slept.

"No fair, you get to sleep but I have to get up?"

"I didn't say it would be fair, did I? Though I will say... it'll be worth it." He smirked. "Trust me." Elena sighed.

"Okay, but I need to make my bed, so get up." He gracefully got up, made the bed himself, then walked out my door.

"Oh, and Elena?"

"Yes?"

"Wear the red turtle neck. It looks nice on you." I raised my eyebrows as he used his vampire speed to make it down the stairs then out the door.

Elena had been walking out the door, with her black boots on and red beret when she'd seen Damon and Caroline standing next to his car.

"Hey, Elena! Nice hat." Caroline smiled then flicked the top with her finger.

"Thank you. Yours looks adorable too." Both girls were wearing matching berets. Ah, the irony, thought Elena.

"As much as I love to discuss fashion with two girls, Elena and I really have got something to do. So, Barbie, if you could be so kind as to-"

"Maybe catch up with us later? Call or text if you need anything, if there are any problems, okay?" Caroline nodded, winked at me then put an expression on her face expressively saying; tell me everything after! Elena smiled, rolled her eyes, and nodded. Caroline squealed, and before Elena could comment, zoomed out of my yard.

"So, what are we doing today? Are you planning on telling me?" Damon, who had beendrumming on the hood of his car during the girls' brief exchange, grinned and pulled me into his car.

"Patience, princess, you'll see!"

"We're not going to be tracking Klaus or Stefan or whoever other nut job vampire is town now, are we?" Elena playfully sulked. Damon chuckled then sighed.

"Nope, this will be more fun! Trust me!"

After what felt like a lifetime of driving, the pulled over and parked.

"What is this place?" Elena asked in wonder.

"I used to come here all the time with Stefan, when we were younger and could tolerate each other's presence." They were standing in the middle of a huge field, with a modest pond that had little animals around it, swimming in it.

"It's beautiful." Elena whispered. She looked over at Damon, saw how devastated he looked, and thought about how much he must miss his brother. She walked over to him and put her arms around his waist, and he rested his arm over her shoulders.

"I really wish that Stefan wasn't such a lost cause, Elena, so I could get him back. I'm sorry." I shook my head, then laughed.

"Damon, don't worry about it. It's not like its hell being stuck with you. If anything, you were always better than Stefan. In a crisis, with friends, with conversations, any moment you had to think of something, and fast. You did all you could. We just have to move on. If he wanted to come back, he would've. Nothing, not Klaus, not even compulsion, would've been able to get in his way. He would've come back, and he would've fought if he had to, if he really had wanted to. But he didn't. So really, don't blame yourself Damon. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I would've come back, Elena. And I would've killed Klaus on the way, too." Damon whispered against Elena's hair.

"I know you would've. I don't doubt it for a second." Damon smiled, then released all of Elena besides my hand. He had that mischievous glint in his blue eyes that meant he had an idea.

"What? What do you have planned?"

"Nothing bad. Trust me." He smiled, placed my on his shoulders, then tossed both of them in the water.

I can get used to this, Elena thought, trusting Damon. And they dug deeper into the pond.