Hi everyone :)) First off, I want to thank my beta, Callie for editing this chapter for me. Second, thank you thank you thank you, for all the wonderful comments and the new subscribers. This chapter was a pain in the ass to crank out, but it's a filler, before the wedding. :)
find Elena's maid of honor dress here: lexosmolderhalderx dot polyvore dot com
Hearing his voice was a miraculous feeling, it made her happy. In another thought, she was extremely shocked by his choice of calling her this time.
"Hi, Damon, how's California?"
Damon scoffs, "Its okay, not much has changed, except my business, but that will be fixed soon enough."
"Oh." Her answer lingered more than it should. Elena sighed, walking to her car. He quietly clears his throat and speaks softly.
"I didn't know I was going to miss you this much…"
She stopped what she was doing, almost dropping her things grasped in her hand.
"What did you just say?" He mutters the same exact sentence and freezes. She smiles, full of glee.
"I didn't know you could miss me."
Damon smirked and nodded to himself. He was quiet, and not quite sure what his next move should be.
"I guess it is possible." Elena isn't sure what to say herself, but his answer was surprising.
"Are you doing, okay? How bad is the business?" She stutters, almost falling into her car. On the other line, Damon is smiling wondering what is on her mind.
"It's a process, like your business. It takes time, and this time, it will take a lot of it." Damon didn't have a care in a world about his business right now, but rather making sure Elena was okay. Things were changing, and he knew it.
"How's planning for the wedding?"
She felt a lodge in her throat and coughed.
"Um, well. It's going okay I guess. Caroline is almost done with the preparations. You know, wedding is in 6 days, and she just now has gotten everything the way she wanted it." It was rambling—all of it. She couldn't help but feel the need to keep the conversation going.
"Sounds more fun, than what I'm doing!" He jokes. Damon Salvatore was joking about work? Was this a trap? He was uneasy though in his voice. It was nervous, something was bothering him, and Elena was determined to know.
"I guess so. I just got off work, so I'm heading to the boutique now." she says turning the ignition on, and putting her car in drive.
He smiles, but he's quiet. Damon Salvatore always has something to say, but now he doesn't have a clue. "Well, have fun. Remember, California is two hours behind, so…"
"Oh, right. So you are probably still at work?" she asked, stopping at the red light.
"Yes, I am. Stefan isn't around, he left early apparently. So I'm trying to clean up his horrific mess." he grumbles in disgust about his brother. The brothers were never close, except when they were children. They were all they had. Their parents pushed Damon into a company because they knew his expertise would be business, while Stefan dragged his feet. The other hardship on Damon was that Stefan got away with most of the acts he did.
Stefan was always irresponsible, which wasn't—especially now, the best thing for Damon. He took pride in his company, but his bitterness had set in too soon to care.
"Well, I'm here. I have to go catch up with Caroline before she has a fit." She giggled softly.
"Alright, we'll talk later okay?" He reassured Elena.
"Sure, Damon," Elena smiled. "We will. I gotta go, bye."
"Bye, Elena."
"I'm here, I'm here! Don't worry!" Elena said frantically running to where Caroline was, while shoving her iPhone in her pocket.
"You are a little late…" Caroline informed her.
"Sorry, I was on the phone with someone." Elena said blowing it off as it was nothing.
Caroline grinned with a mischievous smile. "Oh really—who was that?"
Elena raises an eyebrow at her best friend and shakes her head.
"Um, Damon." she said trying her best once again to blow it off easy.
"Damon!? He called!?" Caroline yelled putting attention on them.
Elena pressed a finger to her mouth and shushes Caroline. "Yes."
"Is he coming back?" Caroline started off as Elena's excitement dies.
The only thing Elena could think of was to shake her head and be done with it, and that's exactly what she did.
"W-Why not?" Caroline plopped down on the nearby cushioned bench.
Elena shrugged. "I don't know. His company is a mess. He needs to fix it, Damon is a very busy man."
"Oh, alright then," Caroline shrugged walking back into the dressing room, and trying on a dress. What number was this?
"That's a pretty dress, Care. What happened to the other one?"
"Oh, I still have it, I just wanted to try on a few since you were late." Caroline giggled perkily. She watched Caroline attentively, making her way to the stand, and twirling around in the beautiful dress.
"I see…" Elena said walking towards Caroline and stares up at her best friend. "So you wanted me to get fitted?" she mumbled.
"Yes, yes, then we need to go see the venue, it's perfect. Things are really coming together 'Lena!" Caroline yelled ecstatically.
"Sounds great, Caroline," Elena smiled, grabbing the dress off the hanger and walking into the dressing room.
Caroline stooped down and knocked on the door Elena had entered. "Are you alright?"
Elena's answer was a lie. "Of course, yeah, why would you say that?" She was rambling again. Why was this so difficult for her? It just was Damon. He was coming back soon, but the thought of being at the wedding without him crushed her. She pulled on the black and white dress, and sighed looking in the mirror.
"You don't sound okay," Caroline muttered. Whether Caroline meant it or not, she could read Elena like a book, and see right through her.
Elena was silent, continuing to stare at her reflection in the mirror with a troubled heart.
"Elena I want to see!" Caroline said excitedly.
With a heavy heart, she walked out to her best friend to see what she thought. Elena was practically the guinea pig for this bridesmaid dress. "It's perfect! You look gorgeous, Elena!" Caroline clapped happily. "You should send him a picture!" she volunteered. Shit. Caroline was full of ideas today.
"No, no, no!" Elena said running after Caroline who was entering the dressing room searching for Elena's iPhone. She was frantically trying to stop her.
"Oh come on, Elena! You miss him, and he did ask about the fitting right?" she grinned.
Elena nodded slowly still gritting her teeth toward her best friend. "Please," Elena begged, 'I don't want to bother him, he's busy."
Caroline smiled. "But he'd probably like it…"
Elena rolled her eyes, snatching the phone out of Caroline's hand. "He is a busy man. He won't care. He's Damon, his brother has messed up his true aura, and now he has to fix it. No distractions."
She saw Caroline come sit down next to her. "It would probably make him smile. He's probably under a lot of stress. The way you talk, it sounds like he wants to be here. He himself even told you he misses you."
Caroline had proven once again she's always 99.9% right. "We'll take it together. Maybe it'll get him here faster." Her smile was comforting like it always had been. Before they got settled, Caroline handed the phone from Elena's hand, to the employee and asked graciously to take a picture. They positioned themselves close, to make sure they both got in the photo, and placed their hands in their lap, as they sat on the bench.
Elena smiled as brightly as she felt, thinking about him, as did Caroline still in a wedding dress. The picture was taken, and the phone was given back to Elena. She loaded the picture for a text, and wrote at the end: "Caroline made me. ;) Hope California is treating you right. –Lena."
As she pressed send, she became caught in a daydream, while Caroline went to remove the wedding dress. Caroline finished rather quickly, and made her way back to the large room. "Okay, I'm going to go take this off. It's beautiful, Care! I'm so glad you picked this one," Elena said looking down at the dress, leaving her phone on the bench.
Caroline gazed down at the iPhone seeing it light up, as Elena had a banner pop up, showing she had a new message from Damon. Caroline grinned with excitement, and waited until Elena returned. "Hey, don't forget your phone, you left it there," Caroline smiled at her best friend knowing what will probably come next, even though she never read it.
Elena nodded, putting her jacket back on, and clicked it on to see if she had any messages, and there it was what she was expecting. She slid the button on her iPhone to view it, as she felt herself fall back onto the bench, her face still glued to the phone.
Are you trying to distract me from my work, Miss Gilbert? If so, it's working. ;) You both look gorgeous. Send my best wishes to Caroline. –Damon
Elena slid her iPhone back in her jean pocket and smiled. "Are you ready to go?" Elena smiled, perky as can be. Caroline's smile widened with a nod.
"Yup! And I see you are...happier," Caroline commented. Her eyes were full of joy for once, and Caroline knew it. As hard as it was to accept the heartless CEO, Caroline knew for once in Elena's life, she was happy. It was always work for Elena. They made their way out of the boutique, but Caroline was feeling nosy today.
"So did it make him happy?" Elena smiled, typing quickly on her phone, and then handing it to Caroline.
"You tell me." Caroline read the text slowly; with every word it made her smile. "Awe!" She cooed, "I'm so happy for you!"
Handing the phone back, she stopped at Elena's car, as Elena unlocked it. Elena smiled, and got into the driver's seat. "You're going to have to show me where this place is exactly!" She laughed.
"Alright, Elena; it's not that hard to find anyway, it's just tucked away from the busy streets of New York." Caroline reassured, putting on her seatbelt.
"What direction am I going then?" Elena questioned Caroline. Caroline pointed, placing her purse on the ground.
"Uptown. It's in a really fancy neighborhood. Klaus lives close to it." she explained. Elena nodded, putting the car in drive and fell quickly into traffic, watching her signs carefully.
"What's after this?"
"You hit that road that leads to the bar we used to go to all the time, and then make a left, and it's kind of smack dab in the middle." Caroline said. It wasn't long after Caroline's directions led them straight to the parking lot of the large venue.
"This is so beautiful, Caroline!" Elena commended turning off the car, and heading to the door.
"I know right!? It was Klaus's idea. He knows a lot about this kind of stuff." she giggled.
Elena only nodded, not having much more to say. Her smile was forced, and her heart wasn't in it; if it wasn't for Caroline she wouldn't have a thing to do with it. They made their way into the large Hudson Terrace, nestled safely away from the chaotic, busy streets of New York City.
"Klaus has good taste!" Elena much-admired the large venue. The place had an exotic aura to it, with hardwood floors, and outdoor areas. Caroline was giddy once again. "It has a full bar, rooftop party areas, a wonderful view of the river, and a patio," Caroline explained once again in great length and excitement of her choice.
Elena stood back as Caroline talked thoroughly to the employees of the Hudson Terrace, and made sure everything was set. She glanced around, while walking the long distance of the venue. The beauty was extravagant.
As Caroline finished up, Elena was near the exit waiting patiently for Caroline. "Okay, everything is set!" Caroline smiled.
Elena looked from the ground and nodded, "Oh good!"
"Let's go home then. I have things to finish up with Klaus."
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Wedding chapter is next :))