"I hate family reunions."
"It's not a family reunion, Damon." Elena stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair. She had already showered and was fully clothed; Damon on the other hand, was still lying in bed wearing nothing except a sheet.
"Same concept. Reunite with a group of people that you're forced to be civil with, play nice until a fight breaks out and we all decide that we will only make the reunion an annual thing," Damon stood up and tossed the sheet back onto the bed. He picked up his pants from the floor and made eye contact with Elena in the mirror, "I might actually prefer being memory-less again."
Elena scoffed.
"I bet there are things that you'd rather be doing," Elena's eyes panned down his body and she raised her eyebrows before looking back at herself in the mirror, "I'm positive that there are things that you'd rather be doing, but I think it's important that we do this."
"You know what I think?" Damon prowled predatorily towards her. Elena stopped everything she was doing when she noticed Damon's movement towards her. She slowly placed her hairbrush back on her dresser and swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
"What?" Elena's voice came out weaker than she expected.
"I think we should stop thinking about obligations and start thinking about new positions," Damon whispered, he was suddenly directly behind her. His mouth was right by her ear and his eyes were locked with hers in the mirror.
Damon's hand slowly snuck to the bottom of her shirt. His fingers toyed with the fabric and he steadily began lifting it up her torso, his skin soft against hers.
"Damon…"
"Do you want me to stop, Elena?" Damon asked, his eyes abnormally piercing and blue in the light.
"No," Elena admitted.
"Good," Damon whispered, fully grabbing the bottom of her shirt and lifting it over her head. He spun her around to face him and pressed her back against the dresser. He tossed her shirt carelessly to the dresser and smiled wickedly down at Elena.
Elena immediately responded by lifting her lips up to his. She began kissing him gently and slowly. Damon's hand travelled down the side of her torso to her waist and he hooked his thumb in the waistline of her jeans.
Elena began growing impatient, even though she knew that everyone would be showing up soon for a debriefing, she couldn't seem to control herself. Elena placed her hands on his abs and turned him around so he was pinned against the dresser. A primal growl rumbled in the back of her throat.
She had missed the feeling of his skin pressed against hers, the feeling of mutual love and attraction, the feeling of his expert hands exploring her body.
"Oh, Elllenn—a—OH!" Caroline's voice sounded from the threshold of Elena's room, interrupting the couple. Apparently, they had forgotten to close the door again. Caroline was standing dumbfounded with her mouth agape. She stared in shock at the naked Damon with the partially-naked Elena.
Damon's cheeks were painted with his usual smug smile. He noticed where Caroline was staring.
"Like what you see, Blondie?"
"Damon—." Elena said, grabbing her shirt off the dresser and using it to cover her boyfriend.
"What?! No, ew, Damon! Not interested!" Caroline's words came out at a rapid speed.
"You seemed pretty interested," Damon wiggled his eyebrows. Caroline scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Elena knew they were joking around, but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous and territorial about the blue-eyed, black-haired vampire that was braced against her back.
"Alright enough," Elena demanded, handing her shirt over to Damon to cover himself up. Damon sensed her jealously and smiled at her—it was still surreal that Elena Gilbert got jealous over him. "We're going downstairs. You, Mr. Salvatore, should get dressed."
"I'm going naked."
"Damon," Elena said, looking at him disapprovingly.
"Okay, okay, grumpy pants." Damon teased. Elena tried to maintain her upset façade, but she couldn't help but let a small crawl across her cheeks.
"See ya down there," Elena said, pecking him on the lips before grabbing another shirt out of her dresser and taking a few quick strides to where Caroline was standing. Elena pulled the shirt over her head and together, they walked down the hallway and descended the stairs.
"That was disgusting," Caroline eventually said.
"Yeah…sorry about that." Elena chuckled and sat down on the couch. Just then, the doorbell rang. Elena began standing up to get it, but Caroline gestured for her to stay down.
"I've got it," Caroline said, walking over to the door. She opened it to find Stefan. The two looked at each other and then quickly looked down at the floor. Stefan awkwardly shuffled his feet and Caroline bit her bottom lip the way she did when she was uncomfortable. It was awkward between them ever since they confessed.
"She's back there," Caroline eventually broke the silence.
"Oh yeah, um, thanks." Stefan cleared his throat and entered the house. He quickly walked over to Elena and sat down next to her on the couch. Caroline followed him in. The three of them rested in a void of uncomfortable silence until Caroline finally spoke again.
"Hey, Elena, I haven't eaten at all today. Do you mind if I—?"
"No, of course not, help yourself. They're in the fridge." Elena gestured towards the kitchen. Caroline nodded and walked off down the hallway. The moment she left, Elena turned her attention to Stefan.
"So…" Elena hesitated, attempting to fill the silence.
"So," Stefan repeated. His green eyes watched her intently and Elena couldn't help but feel a little squirmish under his gaze. Just a year ago, she would've been completely content in his eyes. But, that was a year ago, and that was when she hadn't yet found comfort in electric blue eyes.
"How are you?" Elena spat out.
"I think we should talk." Stefan said at the same time. Silence fell across the room again and Elena smiled timidly at him. Stefan smiled back, "I'm good, thanks. And you?"
"Great, yeah." Elena responded, "So, what about talking?"
"Well, I think we should talk about what happened last night…" Stefan alluded. Elena cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow in pure confusion. Stefan instantly picked up on her confusion and Elena watched as a little bit of light escaped from his previously sparkling eyes. "Last night?" Stefan asked. Elena cocked her head to the other side, "When you came to me…"
"What?" Elena interrupted.
"You told me that seeing the amount of love Damon still has for Katherine bothered you and made you realize where your heart truly lied?" Stefan asked. Elena's heart sunk at his words—not because she said them, but because she knew who did, and she knew she would have to reject Stefan...yet again. Stefan interpellated her silence. "You told me that you still loved me, how can you not know that?"
"Because it wasn't me, Stefan," Elena struggled through the words. She hated having to hurt him all over again. She watched as the hope faded from the green of his irises and sadness crept back in.
"Then, who was it?" Stefan asked, even though he already knew the answer. He wanted to hear it, he needed to hear it.
"Katherine," Damon's voice sounded from the stairwell. He was steadily shuffling down the stairs. His hair was wet and water trickled down his cheeks, making him almost angelic. He was wearing black jeans that hung low on his hips and an opened button-up shirt. Elena watched as he descended the stairs and walked over to her. He rested his hand on the back of her neck and bent down to kiss the crown of head.
Elena instinctively smiled and closed her eyes at the contact. When she opened her eyes, she saw Stefan. He had watched the entire gesture and was trying (and failing) to hide his pain. Elena's smile was quickly wiped off her face.
"Katherine…" Stefan repeated. "But why would she—?"
"It was her final hoo-rah! Her big finish. Her bang…literally," Damon said sarcastically, as if the answer wasn't obvious.
"You mean she's—?"
"Gone? Yes." Damon interrupted Elena before she could finish her question, "Which can only mean one thing…"
Damon glanced in between Elena and Stefan until finally it occurred to Elena what he was alluding to. Fear pumped through her veins and she turned to look Damon full-on.
I can't lose you again. Elena thought, but all she said was, "Klaus."
Damon met her eyes and nodded slowly.
"I'll betcha that we're about to get a house visit from a really pissed off Original."
AN: sorry it took so long to update, I've been busy. Review please!