Chapter Two
Change Is In the Wind
"What's going on?" Bonnie asked Elena as they began to close up the store.
"What do you mean?"
"You've been miserable ever since Damon left."
"I haven't had time to be miserable, Bonnie."
There had been a mid-afternoon rush, and the two girls had been run off their feet.
"You look like you've just lost your best friend."
It was an ironic choice of words really.
"Someone dropped their drink in the self-help section too by the way," Bonnie added.
"That's just great," Elena muttered.
The bell above the door jangled as Caroline Forbes walked into the store, her arms full of clothes in plastic bags. Every Friday, Caroline picked up her dry-cleaning from the shop next door, and then dropped in to say hello. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline had met in college and became fast friends when they'd all taken a business class together.
"What's happening?" Caroline asked them.
"Not much," Bonnie replied.
"How's work?" Elena asked.
"Website's gone down again, and I had a man ask for a refund because his date lied about her height on her profile page."
Caroline ran a dating service on the other side of town. Elena was fast learning that things didn't always run smoothly when it came to the business of love.
"Tough day then," Bonnie said.
"You could say that. I wish you two would reconsider letting me put your profiles on line. I could really do with some fresh meat right now."
Elena grimaced at being called fresh meat.
"Sorry, Caroline. Not my style," Elena told her.
"You mean anyone that doesn't have black hair, blue eyes, and a leather jacket isn't your style," Bonnie joked.
"How is Damon?" Caroline asked.
"Fine," Elena told her.
"He's taking Elena away on holiday with him," Bonnie told Caroline.
Caroline's eyes lit up.
"It's not what you think," Elena told them.
"What I think," Caroline said, "is that he can finally see what's been right in front of him all along."
"And that's where you'd be wrong," Elena told her. "Damon wants me to go with him to make Katherine jealous.
"What!"
"That's-"
"It was my idea," Elena told them hastily.
Both of them were looking at her like she'd just lost her mind.
"He's in love with her."
"You're kidding?" Caroline asked.
"I'm not."
"That's it then?" Caroline asked crossly. "You're just going to give up so easily?"
"Give up? I have been waiting years for him to see me as more than a friend, Caroline. I'm tired of waiting for him to notice me."
"When have you ever done anything to make him see you differently?" Bonnie asked.
Never. She'd never tried, but what had been the point in him seeing her as more than a friend when he was hell bent on feeling nothing for every woman he had sex with. Obviously Katherine was the exception to the rule.
Elena sighed, and splayed her hands on the desk in front of her. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm getting over him."
"In that case, you'll let me put your profile up," Caroline said to her.
Elena glared at her.
"You totally should," Caroline said. "How are you going to move on without another man to move on with?"
"She's right," Bonnie said. "If you're serious…"
"I am serious."
Both Bonnie and Caroline looked at her like they didn't believe her. Could she blame them? She'd been in love with Damon for as long as she'd known them.
"Fine," Elena said. "Put it up. Let's see what happens."
"You know what else you need to move on?" Caroline asked, looking Elena up and down.
"Not a make-over."
Making over her clients was Caroline's favorite pastime.
"We don't want to change the way you look," Bonnie assured her.
"Maybe just what you wear," Caroline said.
Elena didn't have to ask them what was wrong with what she wore. When she'd lived with them, they had both told her on more than one occasion that she didn't exactly dress to draw attention from the opposite sex. At the time she hadn't cared because she'd only been interested in one person anyway; one person who she'd never had the courage to tempt.
Now, however, she did want to attract the opposite sex. She wanted to find someone, and move on, and she wanted to do it before her heart broke over him anymore. It had been difficult enough to watch him going from woman to woman without any of them meaning anything, but if she had to watch her best friend falling in love with that woman, she was going to need a love life of her own. Perhaps she should just let her friends help her do this. At least then they'd believe she was serious.
"When do we go shopping?" she asked them.
"You never know," said Caroline, smiling with approval. "We may just shock Damon into seeing you differently after all."
A little over two weeks later, Elena put the last of her new lingerie and clothes in her suitcase and closed the case, zipping it shut. A moment later she heard Damon knock on the door. Today they would fly to Heaven's Isle, and Elena was taking all of her new outfits for a test run. Caroline had been adamant they would knock any guys socks off, and Elena had to admit she felt good wearing them. She moved her case from her bed to the hall and went to open the door.
It was a good day for flying Damon noted, as he waited on Elena's doorstep; blue skies, minimal wind. He found himself looking forward to the week. Yes, it was a compulsory work event, but Heaven's Isle was beautiful. He couldn't wait for Elena to see it, and he was looking forward to spending the week with her. They always had fun together. He checked his watch, making sure they had plenty of time to get to the airport. The Smith brothers had hired a private plane to fly their employees out, just as they did every year. He was just about to knock again when Elena answered the door.
"Ready to…" his voice trailed off as he took in what she was wearing.
It wasn't like he'd never seen her in a dress or a skirt before. He knew she had a body under the jeans and jackets she always wore, and he wouldn't have been male if he hadn't acknowledged at some point that it was a good one. She was an attractive woman, but normally he didn't dwell on the point. She was his best friend, and it wouldn't have done either of them any good for him to let certain drives get in the way of what they had.
Now, however, Damon didn't seem to have any control over the direction of his thoughts. He'd never seen her body quite so prominently on display before. The skirt she was wearing was short enough to be highly flirtatious, but not indecent. The skin-tight, ruby red top she was wearing didn't just hint at her breasts, it showcased them. And as she invited him into the house, and turned around, the way she walked in her matching heels drew his gaze to her backside, igniting a fire in him that threatened to burn away everything they were to each other.
"New outfit?" he asked her.
His mouth was too dry, and his voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar. She leaned over to pick up her case, making her skirt ride up. He took the case from her, needing something to do with his hands. This was Elena, he reminded himself.
"Caroline and Bonnie took me shopping to buy some new outfits," she told him.
He'd have to thank them for that later, he thought, before eyeing the suitcase he was holding suspiciously. Did she have more of those outfits in here? God he hoped not.
It wasn't just the outfit, Damon realized then. She was wearing slightly more make-up than usual. Not so much that she looked artificial, but enough to highlight the perfect features on her beautiful face. She was wearing her hair in a high ponytail, exposing the delicate column of her neck, and if he leaned in he could smell the perfume she was wearing.
"Ready?" he asked her, needing to put some space between them.
She nodded. "Let's go to heaven," she said to him.
He wanted to show her heaven alright; heaven between the sheets, in his arms, with his mouth. Stop it, he ordered. Just what the hell was he thinking? Elena was his best friend. He didn't think about her that way. He wasn't supposed to think about her that way. She'd be horrified if she could see the way he was imagining her right now. And he was in love with Katherine. Not Elena, he told his body. Never Elena. You didn't screw around with your best friend. Big mistake.
When they arrived at the airport Damon noticed he wasn't the only male having trouble keeping his eyes off Elena. Men of every age turned to look at her. Some of them were rude enough to stare at her, while others tried to be discreet about it since their wife or partner was with them. Damon gripped the handles of the suitcases he was carrying a little tighter.
After what felt like an eternity, they reached the boarding gate for their flight. They were taking directions for how to get onto the tarmac when Damon observed Katherine and Stefan walking towards them, pushing a trolley piled high with luggage cases. Once Katherine spotted him, Damon slipped his arm around Elena's waist, resting his hand on her hip and pulling her against him. Her eyes were wide with confusion as she looked at him. He nodded his head in the direction of the other couple who were fast approaching.
"Oh," she said softly.
"Stefan. Katherine," Damon acknowledged casually once the four of them stood facing each other.
It seemed like Elena's plan was working already, judging by the way Katherine was looking at Elena. What he hadn't counted on, however, was the way Stefan was looking at his friend. Elena and Stefan had met on several different occasions. In fact Stefan had shown some interest in asking Elena out after the first time he'd met her, but Damon had put him off. At that time he and Stefan could almost have been considered friends. Stefan hadn't mentioned it since then, and he hadn't pursued her either. Then again Stefan had been too busy competing with Damon for women.
"It's good to see you again, Elena," Stefan said, giving her one of his typical smarmy smiles.
Katherine glared at Damon. "Why is she here? It's partners only."
"Elena and I are together now," he told her.
"Since when? You told me she'd never be more than a friend."
"Things change."
Katherine looked at Elena. "So you finally got him to notice you. How clichéd you had to use the whole make-over ploy to get his attention."
Elena hadn't really thought about what she would say to Katherine about her new relationship with Damon. Now that she was on the spot the truth seemed like the best way to go. Damon would never believe it because the idea was so far from his reality, that he would pass it off act part of the act.
"Well, I had to use something," Elena told her, looking up at Damon. "I've been in love with him since high school."
Elena looked so serious that for a moment Damon thought she was telling the truth, until he remembered he'd asked her to play a part in this charade. Of course she wasn't in love with him. She was telling a lie; a very convincing lie.
"I told you she was in love with you. You never believed me," Katherine said accusingly.
"Seems I should have listened to you, Kat."
"I finally found the courage to tell Damon how I feel about him," Elena said, still looking at him.
If Elena could be convincing, then so could he.
"And I realized I felt the same way."
Damon's fingers tightened on her hip ever so slightly, and Elena's breath caught as she realized what he was about to do. He dipped his head and brushed his lips ever so softly against hers. Though the contact was fleeting it didn't lessen the impact any. Her heart slammed against her ribcage, as feelings that were years old, and the sensation of his lips on hers, mixed together and exploded inside her.
Damon had intended the kiss to appear innocent and affectionate, but there was nothing innocent about his thoughts right now. He put the overwhelming desire he was experiencing for his friend down to his earlier imaginings, when he'd seen what she was wearing. He obviously hadn't quite gained control over either his thoughts or his libido. For the second time that day, he reminded himself this was Elena.
"I suppose I should say I'm happy for you," Katherine said to them.
She clearly wasn't happy, and Damon had a brief moment of satisfaction before taking in Stefan's expression. By bringing Elena along as his date, Damon had re-sparked Stefan's interest in her, and now he was looking at Elena as if she were some kind of prize to be won. Damon felt sick. By using Elena to win Katherine back, he'd just insured Stefan would see Elena's affection as another competition.
"It's nice you'll be joining us anyway, Elena," Stefan said.
At that moment they were joined by their work colleague Tim Mackenzie, and his wife Colette, saving Stefan from having his head ripped off. Elena wasn't a game, and Damon had no intention of letting his friend become a conquest of Stefan's. After greetings had been exchanged, the six of them made their way down to the tarmac and boarded the plane. Damon made sure they sat some distance away from Katherine and Stefan.
"That went well," Elena said to him.
"Yes it did."
"Katherine seemed to buy it."
"Well, you were very convincing," he said to her, shoving her carry-on under the chair and looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"We needed her to believe it."
"The whole loving me since high school thing was a nice touch," he said, looking at her properly now.
"Never let it be said I'm not creative."
"The outfit worked too. She thought it was part of some elaborate make-over plan."
Elena laughed. "Well it was part of a make-over plan."
"It was?"
"Caroline and Bonnie thought I should buy some new outfits for all the dates I'm supposedly going to receive through Caroline's dating agency."
"What?"
"Caroline has finally talked me into putting my profile up on her website," she told him.
Damon felt as if he'd been hit in the stomach. It was just so sudden, he thought. She'd had a few boyfriends over the years, and she'd taken her share of lovers. He knew that, even if he tried not to think about it, but she'd never been interested in dating before. Not that he knew of anyway. Now she was just joining Caroline's agency. She'd been saying no to Caroline for ages.
"This is sudden, Elena."
She shrugged. "I realized I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I want to share it with someone."
Of course what she was saying was completely reasonable. Somewhere deep down he knew she'd eventually find someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but this was coming out of nowhere. She hadn't talked to him about it. Normally she talked to him about everything. Something just didn't seem right. Something had triggered this and he wanted to know what.
"When did you realize this?"
"Since I realized the person I'm in love with will never see me the way I want them to."
She couldn't have shocked him more if she'd tried. He turned so that his whole body was facing her. "You're in love? With who? Since when?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm getting over him."
She wasn't going to tell him, he realized. She looked away from him. Damon felt irritation course through him. They told each other everything. Or at least he thought they did.
"You never even mentioned anything," he said to her.
"You've been…preoccupied."
Now he was just plain hurt. Yes, he'd been upset about Katherine. Okay, so he'd been devastated, but he always wanted to know what was happening with his friend. He was there for her. He was always interested. The fact that she thought he was too busy thinking about Katherine…too preoccupied to mention that she'd fallen in love, hurt like hell.
He racked his brain, trying to think of the last conversations he'd had with her. He must have asked her how she was doing at some point, though he was struggling right now to think of a conversation he'd had with her that didn't revolve around Katherine. Okay, so maybe he had been a little self-involved, but he'd been going through something. Obviously, so had she. Yet, here she was, helping him out despite the fact she was hurting over some guy; some jack-ass who he didn't have the satisfaction of punching out for her. And who wouldn't want Elena? Who wouldn't be interested in her? She was too good for most of the guys he knew.
He would make it up to her, he decided. Yes, they were here to make Katherine jealous, and for work, but he would make it up to her. If she wanted to get over this guy, he would make sure she had the best week of her life. He would make sure she was so busy having fun that she wouldn't have time to think about the guy once. And then maybe they could get their friendship back on track, because right now he felt like she was putting some kind of distance between them. She was holding back from him, and he didn't like it one bit.
A/N: I always find it amusing when they make over the pretty girl in movies. How about you?
Just Friends is one of my favorite movies. Damon's feelings about Stefan in this story remind me a little of Chris Brander's feelings about Dusty Dinkleman. Thanks so much for reading, and please review.