A/N: Good morning, my sweets. So, I don't watch Teen Wolf, but a dear friend and reader does, and when I opened my twitter this morning she seemed to be having a rough night and day and made a comment about how an update would help, and so, somethinprettty, here you go darlin'. And may I also say to everyone else, there is no way to express how much your enthusiasm and support means to me. Sometimes writers have rough weeks, confidence can stray a little and you begin to question everything, but a constant stream of hugs and pats on the back from your wonderful, lovely, superb reviews does just the trick :) I can't tell you guys enough how much your comments kept me going over the last few days. All my love :)

Trogdor19, you are simply the best friend I could ever imagine. It takes a hell of a woman to do all that you do, to be with me every step of the way, and to always know the right thing to say. I am so proud of you for all that you have accomplished in your writing career, and that I have the honor to hopefully help you as much as you always guide me. I am so blessed to have you in my life, and I love you dearly.

Enjoy!

Chapter 12: Best Laid Plans

I lean back in my chair, twirling my pen over my fingers as I wait for a call, trying to ignore the fact that Elena kicked off her one-inch heels so she could more comfortably tuck one of her feet under her bottom. Her other foot is resting against the front wall of her cubicle under her desk, using it as leverage to gently rock back and forth, and because she's in one of those wicked little pencil skirts I can see every slight flex of her toned calf muscle. Yep, I'm not paying attention to that at all.

"Claims reporting, this is Elena. How may I help you?" she asks and I drop my head back, letting her voice wash over me because I am an idiot. "Oh, well that is very kind," she says graciously to her caller and I feel myself smile.

She giggles lightly and I peek over at her and okay, now she's just screwing with me because she raised her foot on the wall a bit and her skirt slipped up so I can see maybe a quarter inch of the creamy skin above her knee and she may as well have just flashed me because good God.

"Oh my goodness, that is too funny!" she tells her caller and I sit up, grabbing a piece of paper.

I hastily jot down a note, folding it up into an airplane like I learned from Billy Krazinski in second grade because I am a mature, adult male, and this is what we do in our spare time at work instead of researching the latest DOW points. I soar it over the aisle and Elena jumps when it lands perfectly on her keyboard, her head turning to smile at me in the amused-scolding face she has perfected.

"No, I haven't seen that movie," she tells the caller and I mime for her to open the airplane, then go back to being a beacon of productivity by starting to make another one.

I hear Ric snort behind me about the same time as she should be reading "Roses are cliché."

I glance over at her and she's facing me completely, shaking her head but grinning like crazy while saying into her headset, "Mr. Williams, you are a hoot!"

I turn towards her, acting like I'm preparing to fly the next airplane, and when I mouth "Ready?" she nods; silently laughing when I fake her out three times before I finally let it go.

She catches it, blushing vigorously when she reads "But lilies are sexy…"

She grins despite her pursed lips and crumples up the paper into a ball, and I chuckle when she nails me with it. I hold up a finger and mouth "One more" and I get a full eye roll. But she's still smiling.

I take my time writing out the last line, making a show of folding the airplane into something way more advanced than appropriate for the situation, but I'm having too much fun.

"You too," I hear her say sweetly. "Take care, Mr. Williams."

She closes out her claim screen and I wait until she faces me again, then after one easy flick of my wrist I lean back in my chair and lace my hands behind my head. I wink at her, and she bites her lip before she opens the paper airplane.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims, bursting out laughing at my poetic brilliance of "And Ric still wets his bed."

"Damon," Ric says and I glance at him. "It's five after," he tells me smugly and I glance at my phone.

Whoops. I switch into my lunch setting, taking off my headset and dropping it onto my desk.

"Ric," Elena says with a wide grin and I narrow my eyes at her playfully. "Did you know Damon was a poet?"

"No, Elena, I did not know that," he says while cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Yep," she tells him proudly, then tilts her head at me. "He's practicing for tonight. Open mic."

"Oh no," I laugh and she nods insistently. "If you think I'm getting up on that stage and having hippie Tourettes, you are sorely mistaken."

She snaps her fingers repeatedly and I roll my eyes.

"Open mic at what?" Ric asks and I look at him.

"Elena likes to piss off Daddy by hanging out at a dirty hookah lounge."

"Hey!" she laughs. "That is not why I go. And besides, it doesn't make him mad."

"Uh-huh…"

She takes off her headset, and after smoothing out her hair she crosses her arms. "For all you know, he's gonna be there."

"Then I'm really not going," I tell her. "I've been arrested enough, thank you."

"Your dad's a cop?" Ric asks her and she blushes.

"It's better than that," I chuckle. "Tell him, Elena," I tease and she purses her lips. "Come on, don't be shy…"

"Damon," she whines. "It's not that big of a deal..."

"Yeah, because you don't have a di-"

"Ah-hem," Ric bursts out, loudly clearing his throat to cover my voice because Elena always gets all moody when I mention the male anatomy.

"He's a Ranger," I tell Ric and his eyes widen. He looks at Elena and holds up his hands in surrender, scooting his chair back away from her inside his own cubicle.

"See?" I tell her, pointing at Ric in vindication, and she throws her hands up.

"He's retired!"

"Does he still carry his gun?" I ask and she daintily clears her throat. "I rest my case," I smile.

"Whatever," she laughs. "He's not even coming. But you owe me after taking me to the 'meat market' last night and displaying me as the daily special."

"You had fun and you know it."

"I plead the fifth," she says snootily and I widen my eyes mockingly. "And you're still coming."

"I don't know what's worse," I chuckle. "That you're gonna make me listen to that horrible crap or that you're gonna starve me to do it."

"Then we'll eat first," she shrugs. "But I get to pick the place."

"Fine, but I'm driving because if you think for a second you're going to get me in that little Prius of yours, you've got another think coming. And I am not," I say emphatically, "eating tofu or anything made out of soy. Wherever we're going better have something edible. As in meat."

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to eat something healthy once in a while…"

"Yeah, it might."

"You eat tomatoes," she says confidently and I narrow my eyes at her. "Tell you what," she says and stands up, slipping her heels back on. She comes over and leans against my desk, and for my own self-preservation, I re-lace my hands behind my head. "I'll give you the tomatoes out of my salad if you stop whining."

"You can keep your tomatoes…" I smirk, glancing down at her feet and then up at her eyes, my voice dropping huskily. "If you tell me what color toenail polish you're wearing."

She gasps with a blush. "I am not telling you that!"

She heads down the aisle towards the break room to get her lunch from the refrigerator, and I watch every single sway of her hips in that lovely little pencil skirt.

"Dude," Ric says flatly and I tear my gaze from Elena's ass to his face. Such a step down. "Is this why you're always complaining about me and Jenna? Because honestly, I want to switch departments if this is gonna keep happening every day."

I flip him the bird and he shakes his head before grabbing his keys, standing up and pretty much taking up the whole aisle when he leans against the divider between his and Elena's desks.

"I don't know why you won't just eat from the café," I tell him and he rolls his eyes.

"Because I'm not paying ten bucks for a burger."

"Run away," I say and shoo at him. "Go get your precious Subway."

"Yeah, before I do…" he says and clears his throat. "Jules is hounding me."

"And I care why? Besides, that's your fault."

"Yeah, well I'm paying for it," he mutters. "She invited herself over to dinner tonight in the not-so-subtle hopes that you would be there."

"I'm busy," I grin at him.

"I noticed," he says sarcastically and I snort. "But is there any way to do it another night?"

"No, and she can get over it," I snap, turning away from him to restart my software systems because if I don't reboot them during my lunch break, they'll start glitching by the end of a ten-hour day. "She's annoying and prissy and entitled, and I have no interest in having dinner with her and spending more hours of my life listening to her yap about organic peas and eco cars and all that other granola-munching-"

"Excuse me," Elena says softly from behind me, and I turn to see Ric swallowing before taking a step back so she can get past him, sitting at her desk and gently setting down her salad and bottle of water.

"Let me guess, rib eye with a cheeseburger appetizer?" I taunt her and she smiles at me tightly over her shoulder before turning pointedly away.

Okay.

Ric comes over to lean against my desk and we both watch as she reaches down into a drawer to take out the vegetarian cookbook that she reads like a novel, her Mary Poppins purse next producing her iPod and earbuds. And with another slight swivel of her chair she graces us with her back, the muffled sounds of music beginning to float across the aisle.

My brow furrows and I look at Ric questioningly, shaking my head with a shrug, and he taps his ear. My head whips towards Elena and as I watch her take a bite of her salad, Ric flicks me in the ear. I turn to scowl at him and he pulls his phone out of his pocket, messing with it for a second before he hands it to me. Which is a currently displaying a website for a flower delivery company that is asking if I want to purchase the bouquet of roses he selected.

I lean back in my chair with a groan and toss the phone at him, and he chuckles as he shoves it back in his pocket.

"It's not funny, and this is your fault," I glare at him.

"Yeah…" he drawls, then tilts his head at me. "Do you want red roses or pink?"

I narrow my eyes and he turns, heading out towards the parking lot.

Dick. Like he couldn't have warned me Elena was standing right behind me.

I sigh and get up, heading over to Elena's cubicle. She blatantly ignores me as I stand next to her and when I bump her chair with my knee, she finally pulls one earbud out.

"What's up?" she asks, but she is still looking at her book and not at me.

"I wasn't talking about you," I explain quietly.

"Okay," she says quickly, then picks up her iPod to change the song.

Okay my ass.

"Great," I smile falsely. "Then where are we going for dinner?"

"Oh, sorry," she says and shrugs one shoulder. "I just remembered I had plans with a friend. Maybe some other time."

She goes right back to picking at her salad, and I scoff. "You're a horrible liar, Elena."

"Thank you," she smiles sarcastically at me, then faces her book again.

Someone I don't recognize walks down our aisle, looking way too interested in what we're talking about, and only when they're safely away do I lean down a little closer to Elena, my voice dropping privately. "You're seriously going to blow me off over something that wasn't even about you?"

She drops her fork and blows out a breath. "It was about me."

"No, it wasn't."

"Damon," she says warningly, and I swallow. "Whoever that girl is, it sounds like I'm no different than her. Snobbish and health conscious and not much more than a thorn in your side. So, yes, it was about me."

I discreetly reach down to brush my knuckle over the back of her hand. "I admit, I do not understand your obsession with eating lettuce, but you are not a thorn in my side."

"Look," she starts and pulls her hand back. "I'm not mad, I don't care. I just want to eat my lunch in peace and read my book and you need to go do the same."

I lock my jaw closed because opening my fat fucking mouth has never gotten me anywhere but on her black list, and I'm already in deep enough shit as it is.

But when she looks away and mumbles, "None of this even matters," it pops my restraint right off.

"And why doesn't it matter?"

"Because," she says sharply, glaring up at me. "We're only friends. Sometimes."

I cross my arms and when I arch an eyebrow at her, she swallows, looking away and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Right. Have fun tonight." I smile tightly and push off from her desk, heading down the aisle towards the café.

I grab some food but I'm not even hungry, and when Ric comes back forty-five minutes later I'm just sitting at my desk while Elena continues ignoring me, her back facing the aisle as she reads her cookbook and listens to whatever female angsty crap is coming out of her earbuds.

"Hey," Ric says when he pauses by my chair, and I jerk my chin at him. "I, uh, I talked to Jenna."

"Congrats."

"I told her you were busy."

My eyes dart to Elena and then back to him. "Jules still gonna be there?"

"No. Jenna's gonna have lunch with her later in the week."

"Great," I tell him and clear my throat. "I'll be there tonight. And you're dealing."

His brow furrows before he knowingly nods once, going back to his own desk and leaving me with a perfect view of Elena. I scoff and shake my head, putting my headset back on and actually staring longingly at my Auto In button.

I flip on my TV and flop back onto my bed, ready for some quality cuisine made by DiGiorno and a little bit of guns blazing revenge starring the indomitable Bruce Willis. I've spent the entire day messing with the bumper of my car, unsuccessfully, because after dropping almost two hundred bucks on Elena last weekend it's not like I can just take it to a dealer and say "Money's no object." Yeah, it is an object. One that I'm lacking because I didn't want to take Elena to some shitty little golf course for her first time out, and the nicer the place, the higher the green fees. Too bad my car is paying the price over a woman that is barely speaking to me in anything longer than one syllable words.

My phone rings just as I'm about to take my first bite and when I check, it's fucking Mason. At 11 o'clock on a Friday night? Yeah, there's only one reason why he's calling me and not currently buried in some chick.

"I'm not bailing you out of jail this time, it's Elijah's turn."

"Is it? Good to know…" Mason says over a whole bunch of music and people talking in the background, and I snort. "You will never guess what I'm looking at…" he sing-songs and I scrub a hand over my face.

"The Easter bunny."

"Sure," he says lightly. "If the Easter bunny is a brunette with big doe eyes and long, long legs that I can see every inch of because she's wearing basically nothing."

"What?" I ask and sit up.

"Oh yeah," he laughs. "Now, I don't know anything-"

"News to no one."

"But it looks to me like someone is out to score some revenge sex."

I clear my throat. "And how's that going for her?" I ask hesitantly.

"Well, it'd probably be going better if she didn't look like she's ready to stab any of the sharks that are circling."

"Is there a problem?" I ask seriously and he blows out a breath.

"I'd give it five minutes. The blond piece she came with is currently busy getting her ass grabbed, and there's a line around the block for the chance to do the same to your girl. Although they're not exactly thrilled at her rebuffs…"

"Dammit," I mumble. "Alright, where are you?" He gives me the name of the bar and I shake my head. It could be worse, but she still has no business being there. Fucking Caroline. "I'll be there in ten. Thanks, man," I say sincerely because I really, really mean it and he knows why or he wouldn't have called in the first place.

"No problem," Mason says casually. "See ya then."

I'm in my car not even two minutes after hanging up and throwing on better clothes, because there's no way I could pass right by the bouncer like I need to while wearing a shitty old AC/DC t-shirt and jeans with oil stains on them. There are too many people in this city and when I get to the bar, there's a line to get in just like I knew there would be. But the guy at the door looks me over and then he nods at me, and I blow right by everyone stuck grumbling in line.

Thank you, Dad, for giving me some decent genes for times like this.

It only takes me a second to spot her, and fucking hell what is she wearing? Her hair is up, which leaves her entire back exposed because the black shimmery top that I'd bet my car came out of Caroline's closet is hooked around Elena's neck, but then it just dangles over her chest and is barely covering her breasts until it transforms into what is supposed to be a skirt, but is scarcely covering her ass. I've seen bathing suits that covered more skin and this is Elena. Elena who never wears a skirt above her knees and who buttons her sweaters up to her throat and this is just…wrong.

"Hey," Mason nods at me when he comes over, clasping my hand and pulling me into a one-armed hug.

"How's it been?" I ask over the music and look towards Elena, who is currently busy ignoring the guy that's hitting on her.

"Pretty much like that," Mason tells me. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of it," I tell him. "I'll hit you up next week, drinks are on me."

"Sounds good," he grins, then claps me on the shoulder. "Alright, I'm out," he tells me before he leaves the bar.

"Shiner," I tell the bartender because he's looking a little pissed that I'm just standing here and not drinking yet, but I don't mind paying for a beer I'm not going to drink as long as it gets me in his good graces. He slides the bottle over to me and I drop two twenties on the bar. "Brunette," I say and nod my head towards Elena. "What's she drinking and how many is she down?"

"Ask her," the guy tells me and I slap my hand down over the money he's picking up.

"I'm asking you."

He narrows his eyes at me before saying quietly, "First vodka martini."

"Thank you," I say sarcastically and pull my hand back. "Then that should cover her tab."

He rolls his eyes at me and goes to serve someone else.

I scan the dance floor and Caroline is doing exactly what I expected, and I give it five minutes before she's out the door with the guy whose hands are getting an extended preview of her curves. I check on Elena again and she's downing her martini, but for now I just take a sip of my beer and watch as the guy next to her continues trying to get her attention. I'm not in the habit of rescuing girls that are perfectly fine and Mason made it seem like there was a problem, but for all I know she does this all the time.

I swallow tightly when the douchebag flattens his hand on her bare back, and it makes me sick to see him touching her. That skin is prized and has to be earned. She squirms and pulls away and I set my beer down on the bar, ready to intervene, but I pause when I see her ask the bartender for something. His eyes dart to me before he hands her a bottle of water, which she immediately opens and then dumps all over the guy who had the audacity to touch her.

I grin proudly while the sopping and furious moron yells an insult that gets Elena to square her shoulders, and then her head turns as she watches him stomp towards the door and yep, she just saw me. Because her eyes widen and shoulders sag, and I'm making my way towards her before I ever remember deciding to.

"Hey," she says timidly when I reach her, and I smirk. Her eyes are heavily shadowed and her lips are stained dark, and I find myself desperately missing the soft pink color she always wears.

I lean closer so she can hear me over the music, and I'm surprised that she smells the same as she always does. It's weirdly comforting. "Your mother know you're wearing that?"

I pull back to give her some space and she glances down with a wince.

"How's your night going?" I ask over the music that just got a hell of a lot louder, and she shrugs one shoulder. "That good huh?"

She says something that I don't catch, and when I grin and shake my head in confusion she stretches up on her toes so she can basically yell in my ear. "What about you?"

"Well," I tell her and tilt my head. "I got about two-thirds of the way through my Die Hard marathon, so I'd call that pretty successful."

She gets a crinkle above her nose because I know she doesn't understand the movie reference, and when someone approaches the bar from behind her she fidgets a little and tugs at the hem of her dress.

I lean down once more so she can hear me, and she scoots a little closer into my body. "Look, I know that you're still pissed at me about the whole thorn in the side, rabbit food thing-"

"I'm not mad at you," she interjects, and my brow furrows.

"Since when?"

"Since maybe I realized I might have overreacted." I arch an eyebrow that she doesn't see, and she slightly shakes her head. "I still don't get how you can say those things about her and not think the same about me..."

I clear my throat and lean a little closer. "First, you don't know her. And second, isn't that for me to decide?" She turns her head away a little, her hair brushing my jaw. "Elena, I'm not trying to complicate your night and I know you can take care of yourself, but I still need to make sure you're okay. So either I leave and you promise me that you're going to be very careful," I tell her and she rests one of her little hands on my chest. "Or if you want, I will take you home."

I tilt back enough that I can watch her face, and she peeks up at me. "You don't want to stay?"

I give her an easy smile. "Not tonight. We can go out some other time." She glances down and I touch under her chin and make her look in my eyes. "Do you want to stay?" I ask and she pauses for a moment before slowly, she shakes her head no. "Okay," I tell her soothingly. "Go tell Caroline."

She glances towards the bar. "I have to-"

"Already taken care of," I smile, then nod towards where Caroline is on the dance floor.

Something flashes over Elena's face that I don't recognize, but maybe it's because I only catch a glimpse of it before she slides an arm around my shoulders and stretches up to hug me, tucking her face into my neck. I cup the back of hers, making my other hand stay still because I can't bring myself to feel any other part of her skin right now. Not like this.

"I'll just be a second," she tells me and I nod, letting her go and keeping an eye on her as she makes her way through the crowd.

I tilt my head when it starts to look like Caroline is trying to guilt trip Elena into staying, even though Elena is steadily shaking her head no. This is ridiculous. If they're such good friends Caroline should know this is the last place Elena would ever want to be.

"Come on, Elena," I hear Caroline whine as I get closer to them, and I jerk my chin at the guy she has recruited for the night when I stop behind Elena so he doesn't go all RAWR on me approaching. "It'll be so much fun!"

"Care, I really don't-"

"Caroline," I say and Elena jumps, then leans back securely against my chest. "We're gonna head out."

"You guys sure you don't want to stay?" she pouts. "It's Friday night!"

I roll my eyes and look at the guy, and he kinda chuckles. "You mind if I borrow Caroline for a minute?"

"No problem," he tells me. "Drink?" he asks her and she smiles appreciatively before he heads towards the bar.

"Why is everyone being so weird tonight?" Caroline says and crosses her arms.

"I'm not being weird," Elena tells her and I run my fingertips over the back of her wrists as they dangle by our sides, trying to control my temper. "I just don't feel like staying."

"Damon," Caroline says imploringly, "back me on this. You know you want to stay…"

"Maybe you should take into consideration that Elena worked all damn day," I warn and Caroline looks down guiltily, Elena sliding her fingers through mine. "We're going."

"Fine," Caroline sighs and rolls her eyes. "Y'all can be like that."

"Thanks, we will," I smirk at her, then clear my throat. "You gonna be okay?" I ask and nod towards the guy coming back with her shot glass.

"Yeah, we're friends." She waves me off. "We're, um, probably going to head out soon, too." She shifts her weight and bites her lip. "Are you guys going to be at the apartment?"

I chuckle and Elena's back straightens, her hands disentangling from mine. "Caroline," she hisses, embarrassed. "It's not like that."

"It's fine," I tell Caroline. "We'll be out of your way."

"What?" Elena asks, looking at me over her shoulder. "Where are 'we' going?"

Caroline saves me from giving an answer I don't have by hugging Elena when the guy reappears, then she takes her shot glass from him. "See you guys later," she winks and throws back the liquid.

I grab Elena's hand and start to lead her through the throng of people, and she follows at a distance until someone whistles at her and I pull her closer, winding my arm behind her back. My hand automatically settles on her hip, and she flinches.

"Sorry," I tell her, but don't move away. I need to keep her close until I get us out of here because it feels like we're being circled by wolves just waiting for their moment to pounce. "Just a sec…"

Thirty more seconds and I get us out the door and it's a breath of fresh air when we hit the street, the music from the bar instantly fading. I begin leading us down to where my car is parked and I start to pull my hand away from her hip, but her tiny fist grips my shirt and I hold her a little tighter.

I can literally feel her relax when she spots my Charger and I don't know why that makes me feel so strong, but I fractionally tighten my grip before I let her go so I can pop the trunk. She hugs her arms around herself but it's warm out tonight, and I know the temperature is not the problem.

"Here," I tell her and hand her my leather jacket, and she takes it with that same little confused wrinkle above her nose. I blow out a breath and close the trunk gently. "The passenger seat sits low and the knees go up and the skirt comes back…"

"Got it," she says and holds the jacket a little closer, stalking off to get in the car. I open the passenger door and look down the street, trying to give her some privacy as she slides in and settles the jacket over her legs. "Okay," she says quietly and I flash a quick smile before I close her door, going around and getting in my side.

I put my keys in the ignition, but I don't start the car because Elena is looking pointedly out her window and even from her profile I can tell she's embarrassed, and that just kills me.

"Hey," I say softly, and when she glances at me, I smile as comfortingly as possible. "Nice job on drowning that douchebag." I hold my fist out and she blushes a little before bumping her hand against mine. "So, what does one normally do when their roommate is doing…that?"

She laughs softly then looks down. "Usually, one goes to the movies or to a bookstore for a few hours."

"Right," I nod. "Except…" I drawl out because if she was to go to a movie or a bookstore, she's going to get some very disapproving looks and there's no way she's up for that. Elena doesn't do rejection.

"Exactly," she sighs. "It's fine, I'll just go home. I'm really sorry for ruining your night, Damon."

I scoff. "Bruce Willis will always wait for me," I say with a wink and get another half-smile from her.

I sit back in my seat and bite the inside of my lip, because I'm about to suggest something that I don't do. Ever. But then again, Elena has a way of getting me to break my own rules. Plus I hate the idea of her going home and listening to Caroline and whoever getting it on in the room across that very tiny hall. There are so many things wrong about that, I don't even know where to begin.

I look towards her, and she widens her eyes at us just sitting in my car and not moving.

Here we go.

"Okay, so as an alternative," I start and try to hide my swallow, "we can go kill some time at my place. Watch a movie or you can read, not that I have any actual books and I'm pretty sure my movie collection is going to earn me a whole bunch of glares, but it's an option for a few hours and then I'll take you home."

"Oh," she says quietly, and I can already see her stiffen up. "I don't know…"

"I'm not suggesting anything," I say very, very quietly, but I know she still hears me because she looks down and then out the window. "If I was, I'd never take you back to my apartment."

She looks towards me and man, are those wheels spinning. "Why?" she asks hesitantly, and I shrug.

"Because it's a shithole."

"Damon!" she gasps, getting that familiar scandalized smile that takes about twenty pounds of weight off my shoulders. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

I cock an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, well now I have to see it, just so I can tell you how wrong you are," she smiles, and I nod once.

"Suit yourself," I tell her. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

She rolls her eyes while I start the car, and I almost stall it when she takes down her hair, tossing the wavy strands.

"What?" she asks and I shake my head.

"If you want anything to eat, you better speak now because I'm pretty sure the only thing I have is pizza and pie, and I don't share my pie."

She laughs and crosses her arms. "Is that because your mom made it for you?"

"No, it's because it's the best damn pie in the city," I tell her incredulously. "The fact that my mom made it has no bearing on the matter."

"Mm-hmm."

"Buckle your seatbelt," I snap playfully, breaking about three laws when I pull out of the parking lot and gun the engine down the crowded streets.

"Damon!" she shrieks with a laugh hidden in there, her hand shooting out to land on my arm. "If you kill me in a wreck, you're gonna have to deal with my dad," she warns and I flare my eyes at her.

"He'd have to catch me first," I smirk, speeding up even further.

A/N: Whoo! Fun times ahead! I just adore this couple, they are too cute. And Damon, UGH! He just melts my soul. And the FEELS! ALL THE FEELS! Just you wait and see what kind of *feels* we be talking about, *cough make sure you follow 'cause you don't want to miss the next chapter cough* See y'all at the next chapter!

-Goldnox