Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews and love. I am forever grateful. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's really fluffy! Please continue to review too! Lots of love to all my readers!

Chapter 16

Elena's Point Of View

My last class for the day had finally ended and I was rushing to my locker to put my books away because Damon was waiting for me were going to have dinner together and it sounded so romantic when Damon texted me earlier. I hadn't been able to sit still all day and I was excited to see him. However, apparently my friends had other plans. I spotted Caroline and Bonnie surrounding my locker from the other end of the hallway. I halted in my steps and tried to turn around and leave before they saw me but of course, Caroline saw me before I could escape and yelled out for me. It seemed like every other head turned in my direction and I began to blush furiously. With an annoyed sigh, I bent my head over and quickly walked to my friends.

"Really Caroline?" I asked as I push my way through my friends to open my locker.

"I'm sorry. You were trying to avoid us." Caroline defended herself. "Anyway, we need to talk."

"About what?" I asked as I slammed my locker shut and faced them.

"About weather you and Damon are a couple or not!" Bonnie blurted out.

"Bonnie!" Caroline gasped incredulously.

I frowned at them both. They obviously planned for some beating around the bush first. "Really guys? It's none of your business. I'll tell you when I'm ready." I said as I tried to leave. Caroline stepped in front of me quickly.

"We're your best friends Elena. Don't we deserve to be the first to know?"

"Okay look, things are not that stable right now between Damon and I. We are still trying to find our footing with all this. We agreed to not say anything for the moment."

Just then, I looked up and saw Damon standing at the other side of the hallway. He smiled and nodded at me, indicating that I should follow him. I quickly sucked in a nervous breath. "I'm sorry. I have to go guys." I mumbled as I pushed past them and followed Damon.

"Elena!" I heard Bonnie complain but I ignored her.

I could feel my friends staring at me as I walked off but now I had only one thing on my mind. Damon. When I got outside, I looked around and finally my eyes landed on Damon. He was leaning against his car with his hands in his pockets. He smiled at me as he stood up straight and walked over to me.

"Well hello there gorgeous." He greeted as he leaned down to give me a kiss.

"Hey. I missed you." I said, suddenly shy.

"Me too. You should just stay at home. I know everything you'll ever need to know and I can teach you." He proudly commented as he took my books and bag from me and put his free arm around my shoulders.

"I bet you will." I giggled as we reached the car and he opened the door for me like the gentleman he he was.

We had been driving for ten minutes when I realized that we were not taking the usual route back home.

"Damon? This isn't the way to my house."

"I know." He said calmly.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He said with a small cheeky smile.

It was almost time for dinner and I was hungry. Not to mention that I was dying to taste Damon's cooking. I wondered what he had planned.

We drove for another hour before Damon stopped. We were in the middle of nowhere. There were trees and greenery all around and only a tiny dirt path for cars.

"Here we are!" Damon announced cheerfully as got out and stretched. He came over to open my door and I peered out cautiously.

"Where are we? There's nothing here."

He chuckled before moving to the back of the car. "Just trust me." He pulled out a picnic basket out of the trunk and set it on the ground before slamming the truck closed and waiting for me to get out. "Hurry up slow coach! We only have a few hours of daylight left and we have a lot of ground to cover."

I stepped out and closed my door so Damon could lock the car. "We're walking?" I asked incredulously.

"Well we aren't exactly going to set up a picnic right here are we?" He said as he picked up the basket and began walking.

I frowned and started to follow him. We hiked for an hour before I started to get irritated.

"Damon! I'm not dressed for this!" I called out. He was much further ahead of me.

"We're almost there. Be patient." He called back.

I groaned. "Why can't we use our vamp speed to get there?"

Damon stopped and turned around. He waited for me to catch up before answering. "Because that would take all the fun out of it." He grinned widely and put an arm around my shoulders.

"I'd hardly call this fun." I mumbled.

"Just a short way more love. It's worth it." He promised gaily.

He was right about it being a short way because after five more minutes, we finally emerged in a huge clearing. Right in front of us was a magnificent waterfall and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The grass was as green as a shiny emerald and there were the most gorgeous of flowers littered all around. The waterfall was emptying itself into a huge but contained body of water and the water was being channeled away by smaller rivers. The trees were huge and they spread their branches out proudly towards the sky.

"Wow." I breathed.

"Told you it was worth it." He said as he set the picnic basket down. He turned to me and while looking into my eyes, he leaned down and kissed me. "I wanted to make our first date special." He said softy while holding my face in his hands.

I swear, I melted. I could only stand there and nod mutely like an idiot. After a few moments, Damon gently released me and picked up the basket again. "Now, we climb it!" He announced.

"What!" I immediately snapped out of my stupor. "Damon! Please let's just set up here!" I begged.

"And ruin the whole thing? No way!" He insisted. "But since you're tired, we can use our vamp speed to get up. Okay?"

I sighed in relief at the compromise. "Okay."

We joined hands and the next thing I knew, we were flying. We were running so fast, it felt like my feet weren't touching the ground. It was a exhilarating feeling. When we finally stopped, my hair was messy from the rushing wind and we were both laughing hard. I found that I was clutching Damon's hand extra hard and quickly loosened my grip. Though Damon apparently had other ideas. He grabbed my other hand and twirled me around before catching me around the waist, crushing me against his chest. He kissed me passionately again before letting me go.

I couldn't stop smiling and giggling. Damon made me so happy. He made me forget that I would have to live forever now. And anyway, I wouldn't mind living forever if I had him by my side. Damon picked up the basket and slipped his other arm around my waist. He gestured to the wide open space before us. "Was it worth it?"

I nodded breathlessly. If I thought the clearing was beautiful, then the top of the waterfall was magnificent. I could see everything from here. The grass and flowers were even more vibrant and beautiful up here. I could hear the sound of the waterfall behind us and I could see the horizon where the sun would set in less than an hour.

"Look there." Damon pointed. "That's Mystic Falls."

"Wow." I whispered in awe.

"Did I manage to impress you?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah. You did." I admitted as I turned and reached up to kiss him. "It's beautiful."

He smiled and then asked, "So, pick a spot. Where shall we set up?"

I pointed out an area and together we laid out the mat and unpacked the basket. There was so much food. There was my favorite kind of pasta, grilled chicken, strawberries and a whole lot more of my favorite foods.

"Did you make all this?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Hard to believe huh?"

"I guess! How...I didn't..."

He cut me off. " You didn't know I could cook."

"Well yeah. You've never exactly cooked for me before."

"I'm full of surprises love." He said proudly.

"Indeed you are." I muttered as I sorted though the containers.

We settled down quickly and started to eat straight from the containers. Of course, the first thing I picked was the pasta. Damon had cooked my favorite kind. In between bites of pasta, Damon would lean over and feed me some grilled chicken from his container. The sun started to go down pretty soon and Damon made sure to point it out to me. He moved closer to me and we watched the sun dip lower into the horizon.

"Did you know that the sun rotates once every twenty seven days?" He asked softly.

"No. That's so cool." I replied as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"And did you know that the sun does not actually rise or set? It's just the earth moving."

I laughed quietly. "When did you get so smart?"

"I've been through college several times over babe. For a human, that's pretty much as genius as it gets."

We were silent for a while then. Each of us lost in our thoughts. I finally broke the silence.

"Why did you go Damon?" I finally asked him the question that I had been dying to know the answer to since he showed up at the Miss Mystic Falls dance.

"What do you mean? I told you. I wasn't thinking it was stupid." Damon was suddenly tense.

"That's not a real answer."

"What do you want me to say Elena? I don't have another answer for you."

"The Damon I know would never have allowed anyone to tell him what to do." I argued.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking back up at me. " I went away because I thought I was doing you a favor. You were daring Stefan but you were in love with me too. You just couldn't and wouldn't admit it. I thought I was doing right by you and my brother by leaving. I thought that if I took myself out of the picture, it would make things easier for you. I guess I just hoped that you would be able to experience that blissful and pure joy that you should have been experiencing every day. I was making you miserable. I was tainting your relationship with my brother by making you question your feelings for him every time you saw me. I could see it on you face! It was always there and Stefan saw it too. So when he asked me to leave, I took that chance."

I stared at him, stunned. When I laid in bed at night and thought of all the reasons why Damon left, it never stuck me that he might done so to make me happy. It was almost unthinkable that he left just because I had feelings for him.

"You left to make me happy?"

"In simpler terms, yes I did. Of course, I see how wrong I was now."

"I don't know how to feel about that." I admitted.

"That's why I didn't want to tell you. I knew if I did, you would not stop thinking about it till you figured it out. And you never would have because even I can't figure it out. I'm still wondering how I could have been so stupid and blind."

"I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to leave." I whispered with my eyes downcast.

He paused and was very quiet for a while. Then he gently put a hand under my chin and forced me to look up at him. "Don't apologize and don't you dare feel guilty for even a second. This was not your fault. You had no control over your feelings and I left based on the assumption that you might be happier. It was an assumption that I had no right to make. You are not at fault. You understand?" He finished forcefully.

I nodded hesitantly and Damon kissed me. "I love you. Lets just be here. Lets not relive the past. I want to be here with you."

I smiled and reached out to hug him. That was fine with me.