Dear Diary,
Well the school year has come to an end and I can now say that I survived my first year as a student and a mother. I had some very rough moments through out the year as I had to go on little sleep when taking care of Claire or having to focus on writing a paper when really all I wanted to do was play peek a boo with my little girl.
It wasn't the junior year I had first envisioned for myself but I made it through. I wasn't able to enjoy a lot of the school activities and events like most of the other kids but as a teen mother I had to sacrifice some things to find time for my little girl. Bonnie and Caroline enjoyed a trip to Washington with our history class a couple weeks before school exams and from the sounds of it had a great time.
When I told them I wasn't going they were pretty disappointed. Caroline did her best trying to convince me but I told her I couldn't leave Claire. I find sometimes that Caroline especially doesn't realize that I can't just get up and go like she and Bonnie can. It wasn't so bad when we were in class but now that it's summer Caroline has a number of things she wants us to do together and for much of her plans I have to bail out on.
I find that they don't realize it's not as easy for me to just up and leave for the day like it is for them. I have Claire to consider, who will watch her if I'm gone for a day, if she is sick and needs me, or maybe didn't sleep the night before. As much as I would like to enjoy some normal teenage summer fun, my responsibilities are different then Caroline and Bonnie. Plus I only have two months with Damon before he has to leave for school and I want to spend as much time with him as possible. These two months are going to fly by and before I know it I will be saying goodbye.
Elena
As the sun started to peak through the windows of Damon's room, Elena was lying in the middle of the bed. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were wide as her breathing was very heavy. She was holding the sheets up to her chest as she was staring up at the ceiling. The sheets around her were all bunched up and winkled around her as Elena's body started to calm down. "That was… Wow" was all Elena could say, as her breathing was still very heavy.
Just then the sheets started to move and Damon's head peaked out from underneath the sheets as his naked body crawled back up to the top of the bed and rested his head on the pillow next to her. Damon too was panting as he looked at Elena with a smile as he leaned into plant kisses on her neck. "See, you never know until you try" Damon told her as he started to brush his fingers through her hair while he had a huge smirk on his face.
Elena smiled as she turned her body in the sheets to face Damon so that their noses were just barely touching. "Oh My God" Elena said in a shaky breath as a smile grew on her face as well. Bringing her hand up she brushed the pads of her fingers along Damon's jawline before slowly trailing her hand to the back of Damon's neck and then pulled him closer to her as she capture his lips and in a hot kissed.
Damon's hands slowly caresses down her naked body under the sheet until his fingers reached her hips and then pulled her even closer to him. "So we have the Founder's Day Gala today," she told him and watched as Damon let out a groan and frowned.
"Do we have to go?" Damon asked as he pulled back from the kiss and brought his hand up to Elena's chin.
"Yes, my best friends are entered into it" Elena told him with a giggle. "Come on it will be fun," she told him and then pressed a quick kiss on his lips.
"That's what you said about last night's party at the new kids in town's house party, the Mikaelsons or whatever. It was just a night with bad food, drunk teenagers and a lot of teenybopper drama," Damon said trying to convince her that they should just skip the gala. "Come on we can spend the whole day in bed," Damon suggested as he rolled on his back pulling Elena with him so that she was now straddling his waist.
"Come on I can make it worth your while" Elena told him with a seductive smile as she leaned down to capture his lips.
"Really" Damon replied as he became very intrigued and ran his hands up and down her naked thighs. Just as they were getting pretty hot and heavy the sound of cries could be heard coming from the baby monitor on the nightstand. Damon threw his head back on the pillow and let out a disappointed groan as their time alone had come to an end.
Elena gave him a sorry smile as she fixed her hair and let her own disappointed sigh. "Well I guess you'll have to wait and see how I make it worth your while' she told him as she rolled off him on to her side of the bed and reached for her shirt and pajama pants on the floor by the bed and pulled them on. "Find something nice to wear" Elena told him with a smile as she left the room to go and get Claire.
"You owe me big time!" Damon called back to her, as he lay sprawled out on the bed and looking up at the ceiling for a moment longer.
When Damon had showered and changed he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where Elena had Claire sitting in her highchair and was bringing over some pancakes for the little girl.
"Pancakes, aren't you lucky ladybug" Damon said with a smile as he leaned over the highchair and kissed Claire on top of her head. "Try not to throw it all over the kitchen tis time."
"Hey you're the one who laughed when she first did it" Elena reminded him as she gave him a disapproving look as she sat in the seat in front of Claire's highchair and placed a few pieces of pancakes on her tray.
"Well she threw them at Stefan it was funny" Damon said in his defense with a smile and Elena gave him another disapproving look.
"Sorry, mommy's right no throwing food" Damon pressed another kiss on the top of Claire's head. Claire just looked up at her daddy with a smile on her face as she grabbed a piece of pancake and brought it to her mouth with her tiny fists.
"You should go see if Stefan wants any" Elena suggested as she nodded towards a plate of pancakes.
Damon nodded his head and then as he let out a loud breath he headed out of the room and upstairs to Stefan's room. Checking his watched it was about 8am now and usually Stefan being a morning person would be up already. Damon figured that after him and Elena left the party last night Stefan must have stayed pretty late. As he climbed the stairs to the attic where Stefan slept he knocked twice on the door before pulling it open. "Stefan if I have to go to this gala so do you" Damon said as he stepped into the room. "Come on time to-" as he turned to face Stefan's bed he came to a halt at the sight in front of him. Stefan wasn't alone in bed.
Damon's eyes widen with shock as his jaw dropped while his eyes moved from Stefan over to Katherine as they both started wake up and scramble for their clothes. "Well isn't this a strange turn of events" Damon said with a clenched jaw while his eyes moved from Katherine and to Stefan.
"Oh God" Stefan said a he moved as far away from her a possible on the bed and held a hand over his forehead obviously dealing with a hangover. Shaking his head and pressing his lips together Damon couldn't believe what was looking at.
"What the hell Stefan, I tell you to lay off the crazy chicks, that didn't mean move on to psychopaths!" Damon yelled at him.
"Damon your over reacting" Katherine said as she roll her eyes as she pulled on her shirt and slipped on her jeans.
Shaking his head Damon pointed to the door, "Get Out!" Damon told her with a firm voice. Reaching down to pick up her high heels she scrambled past Damon and out of the room. Once she was gone Damon looked back at his brother who was pulling on his shirt and avoiding eye contact with Damon.
"Stupid, idiotic!" Damon said out loud as he followed Stefan down the stairs and into the main room. Elena was sitting on the floor with Claire on her play matt and when the brothers entered the room she looked over at a very terrible looking Stefan as he moved around to collapse on the sofa.
"Why did I see Katherine running out of here?" Elena asked as she handed Claire her rattle.
"Ask the bonehead, dimwit," Damon started to say as he followed behind Stefan and moved to stand at the back of the sofa where Stefan was crouching over with his head down and his hand holding his pounding headache.
"Damon!" Elena said quickly, "Remember we are suppose to be watching what we say in front of Claire now. She's starting to talk and I don't want her picking up on anything she shouldn't be saying."
Damon looked at Elena for a moment and then looked back down at Stefan, "Well what would you call Stefan after he slept with Katherine?"
Elena's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Stefan not totally believing it until she saw that Stefan couldn't meet her eyes, "um-" she started to say as she was pretty much stumped on a nice way to say about Stefan's lack of thinking. "Not smart?"
"Yeah, it's foolish, ludicrous, crazy, oh Elena cover Claire's ears because it's moronic, dumb and you're a nitwit!"
"I get it Damon!" Stefan groaned while his head remained bowed down looking at his shoes.
"Stefan, what the hell were you thinking? Well actually it's obvious you weren't thinking with your head or at least not with this head?" Damon yelled as he hit Stefan on the back of the head and made the hung-over teenager finally raised his head and let out a painful groan.
"DAMON!" Elena snapped not liking how the conversation was going.
"What the hell happened Stefan?" Damon asked loudly demanding an answer right there.
(Night Before)
Standing against the wall with a soda Stefan looked out onto the patio where he saw kids drinking from a keg. Looking around the house the damage of partying teenagers was definitely starting to show at the Mikaelson house party. With their parents out of town Klaus and his younger siblings who had returned from boarding school were getting to know the kids in the neighbourhood.
Klaus seemed to be very interested in Caroline from what Stefan could see as he tried to charm her very boldly in front of Tyler like he wasn't even there. Kol Mikaelson the other brother was a champ with the keg and making out with a number of girls, he even tried to make some moves on Bonnie but they fell flat quickly. Next there was Rebekah the only daughter who was busy socializing and laughing with a number of the girls in town.
"Alright I've said my hellos to the people who think they matter so I'm ready to go" Damon said as he came over while drinking a beer.
"We've been here less the half an hour" Stefan replied as he looked at his brother while drinking his own soda.
"That's thirty more minutes then I want to be here," Damon told him as he chugged back the rest of his beer. "You can't tell me you're enjoying yourself. You're drinking pop!" he said as he reach over and snatched Stefan's can. Stefan tried to reach for his can but Damon kept it out of his reach. "Come on you're at a party you should be drinking beer and getting wasted! You're such a goody, goody," Damon complained.
"Yes because your carefree life style worked so well," Stefan told him as he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah play the teen parent card again" Damon said as he rolled his eye at his brother and then pushed himself off the wall and then made his way into the other room and wrapped an arm around Elena as she was chatting with Bonnie and some other girls.
As Stefan stood there and watched as Damon was acting very affectingly with Elena by kissing her temple while his hand ran up and down her back stroking her sides. He watched them for a little longer as Elena reacted by leaning back into Damon's arms. With a sigh Stefan walked down the hallway past a confrontation between Tyler and Klaus and over to the kitchen. There were a few drunk teenager playing beer pong but Stefan walked right past them and over to the sink fill with beer. Reaching for one he stared at it for a moment and then popped it open and chugged back a bit. Exhaling after he left the room and took a seat on a bar stood in the other room and could now see Damon and Elena again.
"Not fair is it" came a voice and then when Stefan turned around he saw Katherine taking a seat next to him. Rolling his eyes and shaking his head his face expression was anything but amused that she was here.
"What do you want Katherine?" Stefan asked with an annoyed sigh in his voice as she sat next to him drinking her own beer.
"Oh I just came over to see how you were doing," Katherine told him as she too looked over at Damon and Elena. "It must suck when you see a guy like Damon getting a girl like Elena instead of you," she told him.
"I don't know what your talking about" Stefan said with a growl not wanting really listen to anything Katherine has to say. He took another sip of his beer hoping that his lack of attention for her would make her leave but Katherine wasn't taking the hint at all.
"Come on Stefan, you are a good guy that every girl wishes their guy could be like. You were so close to having Elena but your bad self-absorbed brother slept with her a couple weeks earlier and knocked her up. If it wasn't for the inconvenient baby Elena would be yours right now" she told him.
"You don't know what you're talking about" Stefan said as he turned to look at her in anger.
"Really?" Katherine said as she moved a little closer to Stefan and when he didn't move she smiled and continued. "Stefan you are a nice, respectful and honorable guy and yet you're carefree love then and leave them brother got the girl. She only dumped you because she was knocked up with your brother's baby. He got to her first and you missed out."
Rolling his eye Stefan downed the rest of his beer and then reached for another one. He watched as Damon and Elena's eyes met and loving kisses were given as his hands were resting on her hips. "I guess its true bad boys always gets the girl. The good ones have to sit on the sidelines" Katherine whispered in Stefan's ear as he quickly gulped down the beer.
A good beer case later and after most of the party guests including Damon and Elena had left, Stefan and Katherine were all over each other in a back room. His mouth claimed hers while she tore his shirt. Stefan was tired of being the good brother and tonight he was going to do something really out of character.
As Stefan sat on the sofa with his head down he too couldn't believe that he had allowed things so go are far as they had with Katherine. He despised Katherine and yet after a few too many drinks (okay more then a few) he forgot everything and jumped into bed with her. "God what the hell is wrong with me?" Stefan thought out loud.
"What's going on in here?' came Zach's voice as he entered the room and saw a very terrible looking Stefan. "Stefan what's wrong?" Zach snapped looking pretty upset. While Stefan was planning to answer his very guilty face expression gave him away first as Zach put the pieces together. "Are you hangover?"
"The prodigal son has headed down a dark path," Damon teased and Stefan just let out a groan.
"Unbelievable" Zach said as he shook his head at Stefan and put his hands on his hips.
"I got a little carried away last night" Stefan said and then heard a sarcastic laugh from Damon. Turning his head he glared at his brother because he had no intention of the tail of him and Katherine getting out to his uncle. "I just need a aspirin and I should be fine."
"I don't think so" Zach shot back. "I want you to suffer through the consequence so no you will not get an aspirin and Mrs. Lockwood is looking for some hands to help set up for the gala today so you will do that."
"Uncle Zach" Stefan groaned.
"No I don't want to hear it! You are to be at Mrs. Lockwood's in two hours!" Zach said as he straightened up his tie. "I'll be stopping by later and you better be there!" he warned and then grabbing his briefcase made his way out the door.
"Damn when did uncle Zach become so strict?" Damon asked knowing he never got punishments like that after a night of drinking.
"Probably when his seventeen year old nephew got a girl pregnant!" Stefan shot back as he got up from his seat and started to leave the room.
Elena bit her lip as she watched Stefan leave and then turned to look at Claire as she was lifting herself up on the sofa and slowly moving herself from one end of the sofa to the other. "Oh Damon get the camera she may start walking!"
"We've been saying that all week," Damon said as he pulled out his phone out of his pocket and turned on the camera. As Claire moved herself along the couch Damon started to record while Elena tried to encourage Claire to let go and walk towards her. The little girl smiled at her mom but when she couldn't reach her mom without letting go of the couch she dropped to her bottom and then crawled over to her.
"Sooner or later she is going to do it!" Elena told him as she lifted Claire into her arms and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Actually it's got me thinking that once she starts walking she will be able to get into a lot more stuff. This place, as well as my house isn't exactly up to baby safety standards."
"Elena there will always be someone watching her" Damon replied.
"I saw this thing on the news this guy said that it only takes a second got something to go wrong" Elena told him. "Look we would just need some stuff to stop her from opening cabinets and getting near the stairs" she assured him.
"Alright I guess if it's for her safety" Damon told her as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Great I'm gonna run out and get some things," Elena told him as she handed Claire over to him and gave him a quick kiss as she made her way upstairs to get dress and do some shopping to baby proof their houses for Claire.
Zach was sure to make sure Stefan's post drinking was as unenjoyably as possible. Following helping out setting up for the gala Stefan was out running errands for his uncle when really all Stefan wanted to do was lie down and pass out. Now as the Founders Day Gala was starting Stefan arrive along with his uncle, Damon, Elena and Claire.
"If you know what's good for you, you won't repeat the night before," Zach warned him as he set off to talk with some of the adults.
Stefan nodded his head as he rubbed his hand across his forehead. Dressed in a suit and tie Stefan hoped it wouldn't be obvious to anyone that he was hung-over. Standing next to him Damon who was also wearing a black suit and tie leaned close to his brother just as they both caught sight of Katherine at the other end of the room. "I suggest you stay close and not go running off, who knows what will happen" Damon suggested.
"Why don't we all just avoid her," Elena suggested as she came to stand next to the boys while she held Claire on her hip. Elena too was dressed up wearing a black halter dress that came to just above the knee with black-strapped sandals. Her Hair was done half up and half down and straightened. Little Claire had on a white summer dress that had a detail bottom of three layers; light pink, fuchsia and sage green ribbon running along the bottom. At the waist there were three beautiful butterflies that had light pink, fuchsia or sage green ribbons flowing down from the wings to give the dress a of a whimsy look.
"Trust me I'm not going anywhere near her" Stefan said firmly.
"Good well while you boys plan to stay out of trouble I'm going to go see Caroline and Bonnie before it starts" she told them with a smile. "Oh and Damon, remember to watch what you say around her!" Elena said as she handed Claire off to him with a smile.
"She'll be fine!" Damon said as he took Claire into his arms and started to bounce her gently up and down. "You are being too over protective. I saw the bag of baby proofing stuff and trust me unless you told the guy at the store we live in a hell dimension he scared you into buying all that stuff for his commission" he told her.
"Claire, falling down the stairs, burning herself by the oven, pinching her fingers on cupboards and drawers or wondering out of the house are all real scenarios!" Elena replied as she thought back to everything she was told and would need to baby proof the house.
"Your just being paranoid but hey I'll go along with it" Damon said knowing that they really didn't need all that stuff but figured it was not worth arguing over. "Come on ladybug, how about we go spill some chocolate of this nice white dress" Damon said in a happy tone.
"Damon!" Elena warned.
"Fine we'll stick to healthy strawberries and raspberries, those don't stain do they?" He joked as he waved Elena off. "Come on Stefan you may as well come to" Damon said as he suggested Stefan not stand by himself since Katherine as lurking around.
Elena made her up the stairs while everyone was downstairs chatting away. As she reached the top step she could hear the voices from the Miss Mystic Falls contenders, as they were all getting ready. Peaking her head into the rooms she saw Amber Bradley, Tina Fell and as she reach the end of the hall she saw Bonnie and Caroline.
"Elena!" Caroline squealed in excitement as Elena entered the room. Her friend was wearing an emerald green long strapless dress that had a slit along the left side. Her blonde hair was curled at the ends and pinned back on one side. Elena thought she looked so beautiful as she had on a huge smile when she came up to hug her. "I'm so glad you came!"
While Caroline was hugging her tightly Bonnie came into Elena's view over Caroline's shoulder. Bonnie had her hair old done up in an up do and curly. Her dress was a deep purple colour with a one-shoulder style with a comfortable fit to show off her curves. "You guys look amazing" Elena told them as she pulled away from Caroline and moved to give Bonnie a hug.
"Elena you should of competed!" Caroline told her with a huge smile. Back when they were signing up Caroline had convinced Bonnie to join but Elena thought it would be best if she didn't compete. For one she probably wasn't the best role model because she was a teenage mother but she also wasn't involved in as much community service. Juggling school and studies in between dealing with dirty diapers and spit up.
"Hey at this point I'm lucky to not have spit up all over this dress" Elena replied.
"Well you missed out on some fun dance lessons," Bonnie teased. "But I'm glad you came out today" Bonnie said sincerely. "I mean your mom was a Miss Mystic Falls, see!" Bonnie said as she stepped back to pick up an old photo displayed on a table of former Miss Mystic Falls. As she handed the picture frame to her Elena's got a little teary eyes as she saw her mother smiling in the photo wearing a long dress and a Miss Mystic Falls sash. She looked so happy in the photo and Elena found herself thinking about her mom and imagining what was probably going through her mind at the time.
As the Gala was about to begin Katherine stepped out on to the back patio and glanced around the busy crowd. Her eye quickly fell upon Jenna who was now holding Claire on her hip while she chatted with Alaric Saltzman. Sitting at the table behind them was Stefan and his uncle, but Damon didn't seem to be with them. As her eyes looked around the outside garden she caught sight of the new kids in town or at least the ones who had recently returned from boarding school in England.
One of them was a pretty blond girl who was probably a couple years younger then her and just by looking at her Katherine knew that she wasn't going to like this girl. Her family surrounded her and by the looks of it she was the only daughter with four brothers. Continuing her gaze around the garden she seemed a little disappointed until she heard a voice come from behind her.
"Going after my brother, you really don't understand get lost huh?" Damon growled as he came to stand next to her.
"You said I had to leave you alone, you never said anything about Stefan" Katherine said with a devilish smile.
"Stefan's not your type" Damon snapped at her.
"Your right" she answered with a sigh, "He is a little inexperienced for my liking much like Elena is for you but I had an itch and Stefan was there" Katherine said as she strolled over to the drink table and poured herself some punch.
Damon wasn't quite finished talking to her yet and followed her as he grabbed her arm and forced her to look at him once more. "Whatever you're doing leave my brother out of your sick games Katherine!" The two kept eye contact for a moment longer as if daring the other to blink but both stubbornly held their stare before Damon released her arm and then started to walk across the garden just as Elena was rejoining them.
As the Miss Mystic Falls contenders were announced and were escorted out into the garden everyone gathered around. Elena had a smile on her face as she watched Caroline and Tyler dance and Bonnie and Nick Fell danced together. Damon was holding Claire but as she started to fuss and not wanting to be held anymore he snuck past the crowd and over to a quiet corner.
Setting her down so that she was standing on her own two feet he let her tiny fingers wrap around his index fingers for support at she started to walked along the patio. She had on little white dress shoes that had a butterfly on the buckle to match the butterflies on her dress.
As the dancing began Klaus moved his way to the front of the crowd so that he would have a better view. He smiled and nodded his head to Caroline and that didn't go unnoticed by Tyler. In fact Tyler was focusing most of his attention on watching Klaus ogle over his girlfriend.
"Tyler" Caroline said in a harsh whisper as he missed a step in the dance.
"Sorry" he whispered to her as he tried to regain is concentration in the dance. But he found himself looking over at Klaus who seemed to be laughing at the fact that he screwed up.
Klaus watched the two dancing and shook his head as he realized just how insecure he was making Tyler and he loved it. "Cut it out" came a whisper from behind him and Klaus let out a grunt as Elijah stepped up beside him. "Whatever you are planning just stop! Caroline has enough on her plate without you causing problems with her and her boyfriend.
"I'm not doing anything," Klaus said with a smile. "Look she's your client not mine" Klaus pointed out as if to say she was fair game for him.
"Just back off!" Elijah told him before turned back just in time to see the dance come to an end and the crowd started to clap. Klaus just rolled his eyes at his brother and walked off to put some space between him and Elijah.
Elijah watched his brother for moment and let out a frustrated sigh. He knew at this point it was useless trying to get Klaus to forget about Caroline because once he had his mind set on something or someone he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. As Elijah turned around he saw Elena walking through the crowd obviously looking for someone. "Elena" he said with a smile.
"Hi Elijah, it's good to see you" Elena said with a smile.
"I'm surprised you weren't up there," Elijah said as he pointed to all the candidates getting their pictures taken.
"School and a baby don't leave me much time to get out" Elena told him, "This is the first time I'm been able to wear a dress up and go out in a long time."
"Well you look lovely," he told her sincerely.
"Well thank you" Elena told him with a smile as she felt herself blush a little. She then started looking around the crowd before turning back to Elijah. "Have you seen Damon?"
"Uh, I think he went around the corner" Elijah said pointing in the direction he had seen Damon take Claire a few moments ago.
"Thank you" Elena said with a smile and then turned on her heals and headed in the direction that Elijah had told her. Excusing herself past a few people Elena found the two she was looking for as Damon was helping a cheerful Claire walked while she babbled away to herself. "Well look at you!" Elena said happily as she crouched down to look at her little girl.
"Look at this mommy" Damon said with a smile as he slowly let go of Claire's hands so that she was standing all on her own. For a couple seconds her little arms were up in the air waving around trying to keep her balance but she soon brought her arms down to her side and was standing on her own two feet all by herself. Looking at her mommy who was now at eye level with her she had a huge smile on her face.
"Aren't you a big girl!" Elena said with a giggle as she watched her daughter standing all on her own. Holding her arms out she motioned for Claire to come to her. "Come on, come to mommy!" she told her as for a moment Claire looked at her mommy's hands. She tried reaching for her mom's hands with her own but when she found that they were too far she then dropped to her bottom. "Aw" Elena said with a little pouty lip while Claire crawled over into her mother's arms.
"I'm determined to get her walking before I leave" Damon said with a laugh. "I'm not about to miss out on it," he told her.
"Well it's a good thing I bought all that stuff to baby proof the houses then" Elena said as she got Claire up on her feet as she held her hands and helped her walk across the garden.
"You look lovely" Klaus said as he approached Caroline as he held two champagne glasses. When Caroline turned around to face him she couldn't help but smile at the very polite British boy.
"Thank you," she replied with a smile.
"Well you better get going" Klaus said with a smile as he waved her towards the other side of the room where all the candidates were gathering. "Looks like they are about to announce the winner."
Caroling eyed Tyler as he entered the house and for a moment as she noticed Tyler eyeing Klaus with jealousy and silently told him not to cause any problems and then made her way over to join Bonnie and the others. Putting on a smile as she stood beside Bonnie she tried to pretend everything was all right. Although she did try the tension didn't go unnoticed by Bonnie. "What's that all about?" Bonnie whispered to her friend.
"Boys being boys" Caroline said as she tried to keep smiling to the crowd.
"I would fist like to take this opportunity to thank all of these young ladies who have been a positive role model and have worked hard to better our community" Mrs. Lockwood said and then everyone in the room started to clap.
As the crowd clapped Stefan was sitting at a table with Claire on his lap and when she saw everyone clapping she started clapping as well. Stefan smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head as he too clapped.
Once the room fell silent again Mrs. Lockwood continued, "It is my honour to announce our Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Bonnie Bennett!" she called out and everyone in the room including little Claire started clapping again. Bonnie's eyes went wide in shock as she couldn't believe that her name had been called. At first she wasn't sure she had heard him right but them suddenly felt Caroline wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tight.
"Oh my god!" Bonnie said as the smile grew on her face. Looking out into the crowd she caught Elena's eye as she clapped away for her friend. Stepping forward Mrs. Lockwood then came forwards with a sash and a bouquet of flowers and thanked Bonnie for all the work she does in the community and also kept up her grades in school. She then started to pose for pictures as the photographers came up and started to snap some pictures of Bonnie.
Over at the table Claire was still clapping her hands and giggling. "Your auntie Bonnie won" Stefan told her as he bounced her up and down on his lap.
"She's a adorable" came a British voice from behind him and as Stefan looked up he saw the sister Mikaelson, Rebekah. She smiled down at Claire as she took a seat at the table next to Stefan. "You are such a cutie," she said to Claire as she reached out and tickled Claire's tummy.
Claire immediately started to giggle and Stefan let out a chuckle, "Yeah she's very ticklish," he told her.
"So you're on babysitting duty I see," Rebekah said as she flipped her hair back and crossed her leg over her other.
"She's keeping me out of trouble" Stefan said with a smirk.
"Ah, so really she's babysitting you?"
"In a way I guess" Stefan said with a laugh.
"So did you have fun at the party last night?" Rebekah asked.
"Yeah. You guys definitely know how to throw a party," Stefan told her.
"I'm glad, being new in town we wanted to get to know some people" Rebekah told him.
"I'm sure after you got many of us drunk you really got to know some secrets about us town folks."
"Yes I must say the alcohol did help" Rebekah said with a laugh.
"So how are you liking Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked her as he reached into the baby bag and pulled out a bottle for Claire.
"Yeah, I like it, it's a cute little town and the people seem pretty nice an all" she told him.
"Well I'd love to show you around if you like, find the cool spots to hang out" Stefan to her as he continued to feed Claire her bottle.
"I'd like that" Rebekah told him and then slowly got off her chair and as she left waved to Stefan on last time.
Just as Rebekah was leaving Damon showed up and smiled at Rebekah as she left before turning to look at his brother. "Whose the knew chick?" Damon asked as he took the seat she was sitting in seconds ago.
"Rebekah, it was her party you were at last night," Stefan reminded him.
"Hey I was only there because Elena wanted to go, I didn't pay much attention to the details of whose party it was" Damon said as he picked up a champagne glass that had been left on the table and chugged it back. "Do I have to worry about a repeat of the other night though?"
"No trust me I learned my lesson with Katherine and alcohol" Stefan said as he shook his head.
"Good" Damon said as he got to his feet. "Come on time to go, this party is getting rather boring now" he told him as he reached for the baby bag.
"What about Elena?" Stefan asked.
"She's going to stay back for pictures, stories or whatever," he told his brother as Stefan started to follow him out while he had Claire on his hip. "Either way I convinced her to let me leave and I'm taking the out."
"I swear I'm gonna have her running by the end of the summer" Damon said as him and Stefan entered the house. With a smile Stefan looked at Claire who was on his hip and let out a chuckle. Claire had definitely had quite a day and as she let out a big yawn she rested her head on her uncle Stefan's shoulder and rubbed her fists over her eyes. Damon looked over at his tired ladybug as he set the diaper bag down on the floor in the front hall.
"Someone is tuckered out" Damon said to his tired Ladybug while Stefan carried her into the main room. Both brothers' were laughing at her when all of a sudden Zach came running up and stepped in front of them looking a little flustered.
"What's wrong with you?" Damon asked noticing how strange his uncle was acting.
"She's baby proofed everything," Zach said and he didn't seem real happy about it.
"You said you didn't mind" Damon pointed out not sure why his uncle now all of a sudden had a problem with Elena baby proofing the house.
"But she has baby proofed everything" he said as he motioned for the boys to take a look. Stefan and Damon for the first time looked around at the room and all the changes Elena had made. She had put corner cushions on pretty much any piece of furniture that had a sharp corner whether there was any way for Claire to reach it or not. The one step in front of them was now padded and as Damon moved around the room he realized that she had used something to stick the sofa and other furniture to the floor. The phone and objects on the coffee table and side tables were also stuck down so that Claire couldn't move them at all.
"She's even baby proofed my office and I can't get the bourbon out to offer to my business associates" Zach told him rather frustrated. "She's got so many locks on it, ever mind the one that I put on for you."
"Well maybe now I won't be able to get into it" Damon teased.
Zach didn't seem at all impressed and then Damon put his hands up and bit his bottom lip. "I'll talk to her, get her to ease up on some of this stuff" Damon assured him. With a nod Zach left the room to rejoin his guests
"Look every door not only has a baby gate in front of it but she has a doorknob covers and a lock up by the top hinge" Stefan said with a chuckle as he moved around the room to see what Elena had done.
"She said she had only done a few adjustments," Damon said as he to inspected Elena's thorough job. "All the drawer have laches on them" he added as he tried to get it open but couldn't. "This is like Fort Knox"
The fireplace had padded guards all over it and a net was in place to stop Claire from climbing inside the fireplace even though they could just lock up the glass windows on it. The bookcases were all safety strapped to the wall and her toy chest had a lid support to stop it from coming down on her fingers. Elena had put covers on all the outlets and all visible cords were securely taped to the floor or now out of sight.
"Damon she has even got the toilet!" Zach said as he came running back into the room. "We can't get the lid to lift up because she has put some kind of safety lock on it."
"She has the kitchen all done too," Stefan said as he returned to the room still holding Claire in his arms. "The fridge and oven doors have locks, all drawers and cupboards have latches" he told them as he moved to set Claire down on the floor as she crawled over to pull herself up on the sofa. She babbled away to herself and held onto her plush ladybug while the adults in the room looked at all the ways Elena had baby proofed the house.
"That damn idiot at the store practically had her believing that the house was torture chamber!" Damon said as he remembered how Elena had mentioned an employee telling her all the stuff that could happen if she didn't have this and that.
Zach rolled his eyes and then moved over to the sliding door to the outdoor patio. As he tried to open it the door came to a halt and he couldn't move it past about 4 inches. "You have got to be kidding me!" Zach yelled as he tried to pull at the door.
"Well at least she didn't bubble wrap everything" Damon joked with a smirk.
"DAMON!" Zach yelled back at him not really in the mood for Damon's sarcastic jabs when he had clients in the other room he was trying to impress.
"Alright, alright I'll get Elena" Damon said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed Elena number.
Showing off her big smile Bonnie posed for more photos on the Lockwood spiral stairs as she wore her sash proudly. As her right arm rested on the railing her other was on her left hip. She was looking down the stairs as a number or photographers snapped her picture. One photographer in particular was very thorough as he snapped many shots and at many angles of Bonnie.
As the crowd of photographers dwindled Bonnie flicked her hair back and then started to descend down the stairs. The photographer that seemed to be very interested in Bonnie stuck around and smiled at her while she came to stand in front of him. "Miss Bennett that dress is definitely your colour, you look beautiful," he told her as he held out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Connor Jordan," he told her with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you" Bonnie told him as she shook his hand.
Connor's eye never left her while Bonnie brushed her hair back behind her ear. Licking his lips he reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a card. "You have no idea how long I've been looking for someone like you. Your eyes are stunning that smile is beautiful, Bonnie I'm a modeling agent and I have to say you have the look we have been looking for" he told her as he held his card in between his two fingers and held it out to her. "If you are in anyway interested Bonnie I really believe you could go far."
"Wow thank you!" Bonnie told him as she accepted his card and couldn't stop smiling,
"Give me a call and we can talk," he told her as he flashed her one last smile and then turned and walked away. Looking down at the card she read his name again and rubbed her thumb over the printing. Before she could do anything Caroline and Elena came bouncing over to see how they're Miss Mystic Falls was doing.
"Who was that?" Elena asked as she watched the mystery man making his way out of the Lockwood house. As she watched him leave she felt her phone in her pocket start vibrate and pulled it out and glanced at the screen to see it was from Damon.
"Uh, his name is Connor Jordan and he is a modeling agent. It sounds like he wants to sign me or something" Bonnie told them and Caroline seem very thrilled about this.
"Oh my god I best friend is gonna be a model!" Caroline squealed as she clapped her hands together.
"Lets not get carried away Care" Bonnie told her friend not wanting to over react but a part of her was very flattered by the thought she could maybe do some modeling.
"Well a bunch of us are going over to The Grill to continue celebrating" Caroline told them as she looked over at Tyler and a number of other kids heading out.
"Sounds great" Bonnie said as she moved to the other side of the room to grab her coat.
As Caroline started to head for the door she glanced back at Elena who was texting on her phone. "Hey are you coming?"
Caroline's voice pulled her you of her back out of her thoughts as she looked up from her phone. "Uh, yeah I don't think I can make it. I need to get over to Damon's," she told Caroline with a sad face.
"What? Are you serious" Caroline said rather disappointed. For the first time in a long time she was able to hangout with Elena more then usual since they were celebrating Founders Day. "Come on why can't you come?"
"It's late and Claire will be going down for the night soon" she told her friend.
"Can't Damon put her to bed? I never get you see you" Caroline whined.
"Caroline, we were together pretty much all weekend" Elena reminded her.
"Come on just let Damon take care of her tonight" Caroline told her wanting to spend time with her friend.
"Care I would love to but I was out last night so I should be home tonight" Elena told her.
"You're no fun," Caroline pouted.
Elena bit her lip and shook her head. As much as she wanted to go out and party with her friends all night long she wasn't just an ordinary teenager. She was a mother and couldn't spend all her weekends partying like her friends. She knew that at times her friends didn't seem to understand that and felt like she was blowing them off but as a mother she had to think about Claire first. "Sorry Caroline, I hope you guys have fun but I'll have to see you later" Elena told her as she made her way to the exit to head over to the Salvatore house.
Making her way to the front door Elena threw her over night bag over her shoulder and pulled her key that Damon had given her out and inserted it into the doorknob. Turning the key she heard a click and then started to turn the knob to open the door. Unfortunately the door only moved an inch and then came to a halt. Looking up at the door she tried it again but it still wouldn't moved past an inch. Biting her bottom lip Elena was a little confused as to why it wouldn't open when her key did work. She shook the door trying get it to open but it didn't open any further. With a huff she knocked on the door and rang the doorbell.
As she stood there on the porch she waited as she heard footsteps on the other side of the door and waited. She then heard the doorknob giggle and then the door moved an inch and that was it.
"What the hell?" Elena could hear Damon say as he tried again but the door still seemed jammed. "The baby lock is jammed!" Stepping back Elena waited as she heard Damon trying to unlock the door but couldn't seem to get it to unlock all the way.
"Unbelievable!" Damon mumbled to himself.
"Guess they make them parent proof too" Stefan said with a chuckle.
Damon pulled on the door again and let out a frustrating grunt. "Stefan, get me a screw driver" Damon called as he continued to pull on the door annoyed with his brother and the Pentagon style security on the house now.
"I tried" Stefan said as he came into the hallway. "There is a baby lock on the toolbox," he explained.
"And how exactly does she think Claire would managed to get near the toolbox with so many locks on the door to even get into the garage and never mind the toolbox?" Damon asked out loud as he shook his head. "Damn baby expert at the store!" Damon snapped as he continued to pull and pull on the door. "What about a knife?"
"There are locks on the drawers and I don't know how they work" Stefan told him.
"What's going on over here?" came Zach's voce as he entered the hallway after hearing such a ruckus down the hall.
"Damon can't get the door open for Elena" Stefan said although he couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.
"Shut up Stefan!" Damon snapped, as he pulled as hard as he could and finally broke off the lock and the door swung open. There was Elena standing on the other side looking very concerned as the baby lock fell to the floor in a couple pieces. Damon looked over at the broken lock and then backed at Elena as he bit his bottom lip. "Yeah I think we have to talk about the extreme Fort Knox baby proofing."
Let me know what you think!