Thank you so much to everyone who followed this story! I'm excited to dive into it. Hope you enjoy it!

It's easier than I could have imagined getting everyone on board with my trip with Damon for the summer. Jeremy and Bonnie are tied up in each other and too distracted to really worry. Caroline and Alaric each have their doubts, but they know that sometimes you just need some space and time to sort out your feelings. And everyone has seen the change in Damon lately. He's softened. I have no doubt that the darkness he battles still lies beneath the surface, but I know that he's working hard to earn and keep my friendship.

We leave town on a Sunday morning, the few bags I brought crammed into the back of his Camaro. The early summer sun already beating into the leather seats, begging for air conditioning. I keep expecting anxiety to fall over me, reprimanding me for being totally alone with Damon, especially for so long. But the only thing I feel as we drive south away from Mystic Falls is pure freedom. I hadn't realized how I'd been walking on eggshells, even with all of our friends being more than pleasant about our growing friendship. I had been so sure that the guilt and shame would appear and break through the peace. Apparently, I had been wrong, but that doesn't stop me from relishing in the freedom of driving away.

I roll down the window and stick my arm out, my eyes closed and hair whipping around my face. It's something I've loved doing since I was a little girl. I smile at the way it makes me feel like an innocent child and a beautiful woman all at once.

"Enjoying yourself?" Damon's voice slides its way into my daydreams, not an interruption but an addition. I hear a softness in it that makes me look up. He's giving me a gentle smile that tells me he's enjoying me enjoying myself.

"Yeah," I say through my own smile. "I'm already glad we're on this trip."

"Well, good. I was hoping you would be. Where do you want to go first?"

"Wait, I thought this was your trip. Why are you asking me?"

"Courtesy," he jokes. "I do have plans for us, but I'm more than happy to accommodate you and your desires, being the gentleman that I am." Cocky.

"Well…" I think for a moment and make up my mind. "I want to see places that are important to you. The places you've lived, your history."

For some reason, this catches him off guard. He looks at me, as if trying to find out if I'm joking or serious.

"I just feel like I know so much and so little about you all at the same time," I explain. "I know you now. Who you are. Who you're becoming. But I don't know anything about your history, where you came from. What you love. I'd like to start this new phase of our friendship by finding out as much as I can about you."

If he was caught off guard before, he's completely knocked over by this confession. Poor Damon. He's never let himself believe that anyone could care for him or want to know his heart. He quickly regains his composure, though, and I instantly miss the more vulnerable side of him.

"New phase of friendship, huh?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "Does that mean you're finally starting to trust me?"

I sigh, "Damon, you know that I trust you and that I have for a long time. With Stefan gone, some days it feels like you're all I have."

His demeanor hardens slightly, "You know, you had me before Stefan was gone. I don't have to just be a rebound for you."

"No, Damon, it's not like that at all. You're not a rebound-"

"Because you'll never feel that way about me. Even with Stefan gone. God, how stupid was I to think that you would change your mind about me."

"No! Damon, I do care about you. At the root of it all, I'm not sure how I feel exactly, but I know that you're no rebound. I don't need someone to pick me up and save me. I need a friend. Someone who cares about me. Someone who will take care of me. Someone I trust implicitly, who really knows me and loves me. And I know that at the end of the day, that person is you, and it's always been you. You've always been there for me. I need you. I just don't know what that looks like from here on out, but that's part of the reason I agreed to this trip. You know me so well, and I want to return the favor. I want to know your heart and learn how to care for it. I want to try for...something. Do you trust me?"

He stares ahead without answering for a moment. I know I haven't been very fair to him over the last couple of years. I've led him on and pulled away from him. I've given him hope and then shattered his heart. I don't deserve him. I think I want him, but he has to know that I can't dive into something with him so soon. Some days it feels like it might kill me, giving away my heart again.

"Damon," I whisper, "I'm sorry for the way I've treated you." My voice threatens to break from the tears I'm trying to hold back. "I'm so sorry for putting you through everything. I've been so selfish, but I would love to have a fresh start with you. Will you forgive me...please?"

He inhales deeply, and I wonder if it's really this difficult for him to make the decision to forgive me or if he's just playing with me. When he finally meets my eyes, I can tell there was a struggle happening in his head. He's always so strong and guarded that it's easy to forget how painful it can be for him to share pieces of himself, even with me.

Finally, his voice cuts through the silence that sits heavy in the space between us. "Of course," he sighs. "Of course I forgive you. This trip will be good for us. No distractions, no one else's opinions, just us. I'm sorry for getting frustrated. Sometimes I forget how young you are and how quickly you were thrown into this supernatural life. There's no way you could have realized how wrong you were for choosing Stefan over me," he says with a wink. Thankful to be back on good terms with him so quickly, I let out a small giggle.

He gets back on topic, "so where are we going first?"

"I actually know the perfect place. Last time we went, the circumstances weren't right, but I think they are now. Can you guess?"

He smiles and belts out with a surprisingly good voice, "Ohh Georgia, lead me through your heartlands. I need to see them one more time before I'm gone."

I let out a laugh and put my arm back out the window, letting the summer air flow through my fingers.

[song is "Georgia" by Elton John]