Damon groaned softly as he began to wake up. After the movie night he remembered bringing Elena upstairs and putting her to bed. He had sat by the window to make sure Stefan wasn't coming back and he guessed he must've fallen asleep. "Hey. You awake?" He mumbled looking over at Elena as he stretched, trying to regain comfort in his body.
Elena slowly opened her eyes at the sound of his voice and blinked a little, barely remembering her semiconscious state as Damon had put her to bed. "Yeah, I am. That couldn't have been comfortable"
"It wasn't." Damon grumbled stretching once more. "I was checking for Stefan. Just in case he came back." He yawned. "He didn't. But I must've fallen asleep. You're just lucky I didn't jump into bed with you." He teased as his lips curled into a smirk.
Elena's cheeks flushed a little as she climbed out of bed. "Well, Katherine must be keeping him quite preoccupied. After all, she did yesterday"
Damon made a face before a chuckle left his lips. "Okay ew. Let's just agree not to mention the she-devil's distraction techniques before breakfast. Or ever. Let's instead be grateful that Stefan without humanity will do just about anyone no matter the consequences. It means...we have more time to have fun. Like yesterday. That was fun right?" He smiled a little. "Don't worry I'm not going to drag you to another water balloon fight, but we can do something else that's equally fun."
Elena sighed and went over to her dresser, pulling out some clothes. "It was," she admitted, thinking about everything. Tonight was senior prank night. School started up again tomorrow
Damon couldn't help but smile. He knew she had fun. But hearing her confirm it made him feel a thousand times better. "Why don't...we have dinner tonight? It's not exactly scandalous but, you deserve a nice meal out of the house in a nice restaurant." He knew he was most likely pushing his luck, but he couldn't help himself. If he could have just one moment alone with her away from all this, maybe she could finally give him a chance.
"Damon..." Elena sighed softly. "I enjoyed yesterday. And im not opposed to dinner tonight. But we do have a current problem. More than one actually. Hope and Klaus. Gone or not, we need to be ready for when they come back. And Stefan, who we need to figure out a plan to make him stop being Klaus' puppet."
Damon sighed at the mention of his brother. Of course that was who she was worried about. He didn't really know why it continued to surprise him at this point. Logically he should be used to it, yet he wasn't. "Alright well last time I checked I can't undo an original vampire's compulsion on someone. But hey if you want to sit here and dwell on it be my guest." He muttered heading out of her bedroom. He wasn't trying to hurt her. But he was hurting too, and right now all he wanted was for it to stop.
Elena watched him leave, hating the way her heart ached painfully. She cared about him a lot and hated seeing him in so much pain. "Im not an idiot, Damon. I know we can't reverse the compulsion. But we can try getting his humanity back on. And don't act like i wouldn't be doing this for any of you. If it had been you, I would be saying the exact same thing right now. Same if it had been Caroline. Do you think I want to sit around and think about this? I'd rather spend time with you, eat popcorn, have fun, but I can't just not help someone that needs my help. Whether it's Stefan or someone else. Its not who I am. And you may not have been able to see that a whole lot because I'm just human and need saving, but its true. I also need to train with Ric. So I'll at least I'll stand a little of a chance if I need to fight Stefan. I need him to train me to be like a hunter"
Damon sighed in defeat as he slowly turned around to face her. He knew he was overreacting. After all, she couldn't be blamed for caring about Stefan. She wasn't used to any of this. But he was. "I know that. I know you care about people Elena. It's one of the best things about you. You'd save everyone if you could because that's just who you are. But turning on his humanity is a lost cause. For one, it could take weeks before we make any type of breakthrough and by then Klaus will have been back. And two, it wouldn't really fix anything. He would still be compelled to do whatever Klaus says. I've seen him like this before. He'll go back to normal on his own time." He sighed once more and leaned against the wall. "I know you don't want to see it. But this is Stefan. The version you know isn't him. It's who he pretends to be."
Elena fell silent as she looked at Damon. Finally she spoke up again. "What about locking him up?" She asked. "Keep him from going on a killing spree in this town, which he might do if he stops getting distracted by Katherine"
"Yeah. Maybe. I mean it could work. And technically as long as you stop by to see him every so often, he'll still be obeying the compulsion." Damon reasoned, though it was clear he didn't really care what she did at this point. Not where Stefan was concerned. "But we'd need to convince Katherine to help us." He made a face. "I can't believe I just said that but it's true. Stefan wouldn't trust us anywhere near him."
Elena bit her lip slightly, an idea occurring to her. "There's a bonfire tomorrow. I might be able to get close to him. If I'm acting wasted" She didn't exactly trust Katherine. "I just dont exactly trust Katherine to help us lock up Stefan. Especially with what she is getting from him being free"
Damon's lips parted open slightly but eventually he simply nodded. He didn't trust Katherine either. But somehow he hated the idea of Elena getting close to Stefan even more than idea of choosing to trust Katherine. "Yeah. Fine. Whatever. You're right. Even if she was the most trustworthy person in the world, she'd never agree with it. If anything she'd just tell him what we're planning. Just...be careful okay? And-" He hesitated. "Try to remember his humanity is off and he's compelled. He's not the Stefan you know."
"I know he's not the same" Elena said, looking at him. "I can do this. I can pull this off." She was silent for a moment. "Well now that we have a plan, I dont need to spend today trying to come up with one" She wasnt sure if the dinner offer still stood after that conversation. And she was nervous to ask. Because the answer would probably hurt. It already hurt seeing the look in his eyes. It made her want to go back and not say anything about Stefan, But she knew she would have said something if anyone needed to be taken care of. If any of her friends needed her help, not just romantic interests,
Damon slowly nodded, at this point having given up to convince her otherwise. Despite his hatred for Katherine, he would gladly let her continue to distract Stefan by whatever means necessary. He had been the first one to ask her to do it in the first place. Not that he was planning on telling Elena that of course. But naturally, Elena wanted to do something else. She wanted to save him. To get the man she loved back. And he had to follow what she wanted, because he was so terrified that making one move against her wishes meant he would lose any and all progress he made so far. "Okay." He said softly. "Well. We can go out to dinner if you want to. But we don't have to." He clarified. If he was honest, he was happy doing anything with her. Dinner. Movie night. Even just sitting down somewhere and talking. All he wanted was to be with her. And yet it was the one thing he could never have.
"Dinner is fine" Elena said, looking at Damon, glad her words hadn't changed anything. Damon had helped keep her together this summer. He was her friend, and she cared about him a lot. More than she wanted to admit.
Damon gave her a small smile. He liked that she was still willing to go to dinner with him, but he also knew he couldn't allow himself to have too much hope. "Dinner it is then." He only hoped Stefan wouldn't interrupt. Tonight might just be the last time in a while where he can be alone with her.
"Great" Elena said. "When do you want to go?"
"I'll get back to you on that." Damon said as he finished sending a message to Katherine. If he could know when she was with Stefan, then he could know the best time to take Elena out. "For now, you should probably practice some of that training you mentioned." He grinned. "I happen to be an excellent teacher."
"Alright" Elena said, surprised. She was going to ask Alaric. "Fair warning, I have no training. How should we start?"
"Well. Normal people say with the basics, but personally I think that's stupid. You're not going to take down a vampire with basic fighting moves. The key to successfully staking or capturing one are three very simple things. One, surprise. Vampires have supernatural hearing and speed. Finding a way to still sneak up on them even with that is important. Two, agility. Vampires also happen to have an insane amount of strength. But none of that will matter if you can quickly identify their weak points. And finally, endurance. Vampires rarely get tired in comparison to a human. So you need to be ready to keep fighting even when you think you can't." Damon explained simply and then reached for a chair. He snapped off one of the legs and handed it to her. "Now. Let's see what you got. Give me your best shot and then I'll make sure to give you some pointers." He said with a playful smile.
Elena tried attacking Damon, though obviously as an amateur she wasnt great at it
Damon easily moved out of the way, not even needing to use his vampire speed. Not that he was surprised. She did say she had no previous training. "Too slow. Also predictable. Why don't you try..." He trailed off reaching for her arm that held the chair leg and positioned it near his side. "That way, when I go to do this." He gripped her arm. "You can do this." He said tugging her closer to him as he moved her arm behind him and turned her wrist a little, feeling the tip of the chair leg pressing against his back.
Elena looked at Damon, overwhelmed by the closeness and what she felt at that moment. She looked up at Damon in the eyes. for a long moment before looking down at the position. "Alright" she said when she could speak.
Damon inhaled softly as he suddenly met her eyes. He wasn't sure he could look away even if he wanted to. It was then he realized how close they were. He would barely have to move in order to kiss her. Thankfully she managed to break their gaze, otherwise he was sure he would've given in to what he wanted. "Okay. Um." He cleared his throat and gently stepped away. "Why don't we try something else? You also need to learn how to improvise when you're out of stakes." Teaching her that was certainly better than ending in another compromising position.
"What improvisation do you have in mind?" Elena asked, moving a little away from him as well, trying to push away how she felt inside
Damon gave a quick look around the kitchen, easily spotting a few different wooden utensils. "I want to see how fast you can find a makeshift stake before a vampire kills you." He smirked and took a step back. "Okay. Time starts...now."
Katherine entered the Salvatore boarding house once more with a blonde woman, clearly compelled, trailing behind her. After having spent the night with Stefan, she snuck out early but came back with a gift. "Oh Stefan." She called out flirtatiously as she entered his bedroom. "Look. I brought you breakfast in bed." She grinned, stepping aside to reveal the blonde.
"Mmm. She looks delicious" Stefan observed, looking at the blonde.
"Yes she does." Katherine smirked leading the girl over to the bed. She urged her to lie down before she too got on the other side of the bed, leaving the woman between the two of them. "And she's all ours. Well, until she's dead of course. But for now...we can enjoy her." She grinned and sunk her fangs in her neck.
Stefan bit into the other side of the girl's neck and drank from it, his arm snaking around her, giving into his hunger and enjoying it.
Katherine slowly drank from the girl, savoring the blood before slowly retracting her fangs. She smirked and reached over, tearing the hideous yellow top the blonde had been wearing in half, leaving her chest nearly exposed. "What do you say Salvatore? Up for a little fun?" She murmured, now kissing along the girl's neck and licking away the blood from the still opened wound.
Stefan gripped the girl tighter as he fed a bit more before finally pulling himself away from the blood.
Katherine smirked against the girl's neck as she observed Stefan. She didn't hesitate before taking off her own shirt, tossing it across the room and inching closer to Stefan once he pulled back from the girl. She quickly pressed her lips to his, while her hands worked on further undressing the girl.
Hours later, as Katherine looked around, she noticed that Stefan's bedroom held entirely too much evidence on what had occurred. Clothes were torn and scattered all over. The previously white sheets were now stained with blood, and of course perhaps the most obvious piece of incriminating evidence, there was a dead body sprawled on the floor. "Mmm." She stretched a little, enjoying the comfort of the bed and being beside Stefan of course. "That was fun." She mumbled closing her eyes for a moment. "And exhausting. But mostly fun." She giggled looking over at Stefan.
"It was. A little more fun than vampire twister" Stefan said. He at least got sex out if this one
Katherine chuckled softly. "I told you." She said smugly as she turned on her side and looked at him, admiring his bare chest. "Next time you should listen to me. Threesomes are always more fun to feed than weird games."
"Vampire twister is not weird" Stefan stated, though he didnt care what she thought.
"Yes it is." Katherine giggled. "There is something chaotic and cruel about it, but if you want cruelty and chaos, there are ways that are so much more fun."
"Oh yeah? Such as what?" Stefan asked, looking at Katherine.
Katherine smirked. "Such as what I like to call the servant survival games. Five contestants work to make me as comfortable as I can be. And whoever I am the most displeased with, dies. Until there's only one person left. Then I have sex with whoever the winner is and I kill them too. It's always fun to see their shocked 'but I won' face." She chuckled. "Then there's the classic grabbing someone in a club. And of course, all the things you and Klaus did in Chicago in 1922. My point is, the possibilities are endless. And twister is lame in comparison." She grinned, looking up at him.
"Twister is not lame. However, those do sound...fun as well" Stefan said, relaxed against the blood soaked sheets "Lets go to a club. After I shower" Stefan got out of bed and wiped the blood off of his lips. He didn't mind being distracted by Katherine since it gave him a hell of a lot more entertainment than watching over Elena nonstop
"Correction Salvatore, they sound more fun." Katherine chuckled softly, sitting up a little and resting her back against the headboard. She then nodded at his following words, glad she didn't need to suggest anything. She only hoped Damon would stop using her as a distraction tactic. She wasn't ever going to find anything about Hope if she was here all the time having sex with Stefan. Not that she minded, but she did have things to do. "Mmm. Any chance I could join you in the shower? I could use one as well." She said seductively before casually reaching for her phone and sending a text to Damon.
Katherine: 'We're going clubbing. You have approximately four hours. After that I'm gone. So make your move or do whatever it is you're doing with Elena so I can leave.'
She hit send and set her phone back down before standing from the bed and stepping closer to Stefan.
Stefan wiped the blood off his lips. "If you want to join, then by all means, join." He walked over to the bathroom part of his room and started the water.
Katherine heard her phone buzz but she didn't bother going to it. Mainly because she didn't want to make Stefan suspicious, but also because she knew Damon was just going to ask her to stall for more time. She nearly rolled her eyes. She couldn't possibly be expected to take care of the Hope problem, help Stefan with his compulsion, and have sex with him 24/7, all while staying off Klaus' radar. It truly was exhausting to be her. "I definitely do. You owe me for this morning." She murmured following him into the bathroom.
Stefan stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water and exhaled a bit as the water started cleaning blood off of him.
Katherine slowly stepped into the shower and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his back a little. "Mmm. This is nice." She mumbled closing her eyes for a moment. She didn't think she had ever bathed with him before. It would've been sweet. Had it not been when his humanity was off and he couldn't possibly care less about her.
Stefan suddenly found himself considering getting rid of Katherine. In this moment it felt more like she was clingy than a hot distraction. Though he'd wait a bit to discard her. Besides she definitely did bring a hot distraction usually.
Katherine pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder, enjoying the moment just for a second before she slowly pulled away. "You know, when Klaus comes back into town I'm going to have to keep my distance. I know you don't care about anything right now but I'd rather not die or be tortured. So you better take advantage of me now." She murmured sliding her hands around him and lightly caressing his chest.
Stefan turned around to face her,closing the bit of gap between them as the water hit his back. Katherine smirked, looking up at him. She didn't hesitate before sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.
Damon knocked softly on Elena's door, having snuck into his house to shower and change so he could take her out to dinner. He was only glad Stefan had been preoccupied when he went. Which whether he wanted to admit it or not, had been thanks to Katherine.
Elena opened the front door. "Hey" she greeted Damon with a bit of a smile, glad he was there. She wasnt sure what she would have done without him and his support. Even if he was too overprotective
"Hey." Damon couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. Despite only being away from her for thirty minutes at most, he couldn't deny he missed her. "Ready to go to dinner?"
Elena nodded. "I am" she confirmed, looking at him with a small smile. "Where are we going?"
Damon smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm not giving that away. You're just going to have to wait until we get there." He said holding out his hand for her.
Elena took his hand, trusting him completely. Even if she didn't always agree with his decisions.
Damon led her to his car and opened the passenger door for her. "I do have a little bit of another surprise, but that'll be after dinner."
"You really like having surprises for me" Elena commented as she got in the car, a bit surprised he opened the door for her.
"Yes I do." Damon confirmed with a faint smile, though his attention was currently on his phone as he typed a response to Katherine. 'Keep him longer. Go find some cheerleaders to drain or something.' He pocketed his phone and gently closed the door before getting into the driver's seat. "But you'll like these surprises I promise."
Elena nodded and didn't question further, though she was curious
Damon started the car and began to drive. "Stefan didn't bother you at all did he?" He knew he had been home when he went to shower. But that didn't mean he couldn't have called or texted.
"No, he didnt" Elena shook her head a little. "Though I'm sure he will soon enough. He's probably been too preoccupied with Katherine"
Damon gave her a nod. "Good." He didn't want Stefan ruining this night. Which was why he hoped Katherine just played her part for a while longer. "Is it really such a bad thing if it keeps him away from you?" He asked softly, mainly testing to see if he could trust her with his plans.
"I dont want to see him until I have to for the plan" Elena said.
Damon nodded slowly, relaxing a bit of that. "In that case, you don't have to worry about him showing up tonight. At least not if Katherine keeps her end of things. I asked her to distract him tonight. Since I wanted to take you out."
Elena looked at him, not quite sure how she felt about that. "Well at least I dont have to worry about him spontaneously showing up" she said, though she wasnt thrilled about the rest. But she didn't want to think about that right now. She wanted to forget about everything for just an hour or two. "Do you think she will find anything about Hope?"
Damon glanced over at her, easily noticing she wasn't exactly happy with his confession. Which was why he decided to leave it at that and not tell her the rest. The last thing he wanted was for her to get mad at him when he was trying to make her have a good time. "Probably. I mean I hate to say it, but Katherine has a tendency to always get what she wants. If she wants to find out more about Hope then she will. I just hope she ends up sharing whatever information she does find with us."
Elena nodded and was silent for a moment. "Im not mad. I'm just... thinking"
"Thinking about how you're trying not to be mad by applying reason to my actions." Damon said in a slightly playful tone, though he very much meant it.
Elena shook her head a little. "No actually. Just wondering how long one person can distract someone with no humanity before they find someone else to distract them."
Damon looked over at her, surprised. He suspected she would've been mad. Especially if she still loved Stefan. Why would she not be mad he told Katherine to distract him? A small part of him dared to hope for the impossible, while the logical side in him told him the only reason she wasn't mad was because she was also being logical and didn't want to be around this version of Stefan. "Long enough apparently." He was silent for a few minutes before speaking once more. "I was kind of the one who told her to distract him. She's been successful so far."
"Yeah, but I imagine without a humanity it wouldn't take too long to get tired of the same person" Elena said. "Though what would I know? I've never been a vampire, much less had my humanity off."
Damon's surprise and confusion only increased as Elena spoke. Those weren't the words of a jealous person. Which only increased his hope that her love for his brother really was gone. "It...depends I guess." He said, briefly remembering his time with Lexi in the 70s. "You'd only grow tired of them if they're annoying you. But if you're enjoying yourself it shouldn't really be an issue. It's just one more thing to add to your fun no humanity life."
"I suppose that makes sense" Elena said, looking over at him, thinking. She tore her gaze away, her conflicted mind thinking about everything. She sighed a little.
Damon looked ahead at the road, only glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Does it bother you?" He finally asked, taking advantage of the fact that they had quite a bit before he reached the place he wanted to take her to. "Knowing he's not tired yet of being around her?"
"I mean if he was, he'd probably move on to some other girl he can use for a distraction or some fun" Elena said, looking ahead. Yes it bothered her. Him being involved with Katherine bothered her. It didn't help she still didn't let herself understand what she felt for Damon. Her mind finally tore away from Stefan and slipped towards a memory of her and Damon playing water balloons. How she had forgotten everything and just enjoyed herself. She forced those thoughts away. She couldnt think about that.
"That's not what I asked." Damon said keeping his eyes on the road. "And yet somehow it answers the question anyway." He mumbled to himself even though he knew she heard him. "Look, it's just until we deal with Hope and Klaus. Once that's done, I'll lock him up and force his humanity back on Lexi method and you'll have your boyfriend back. I know you don't like it, but it's either he spends time with Katherine or he spends his time stalking you. I thought I was doing what was best for you. Unless you want to see your no humanity compelled vampire boyfriend every second of every day. If so you might get your wish soon anyway." He rolled his eyes now thinking about Katherine's last text message.
"I know, Damon. And we already agreed to lock him up tomorrow. Humanity can be dealt with later. But we don't need him killing people. Then we can figure out what to do about Klaus and Hope. Also technically not my boyfriend" she added, her heart aching. "Speaking of Hope, do you think we will figure out who she is?"
Damon rolled his eyes at the mention of Stefan not being her boyfriend. "Could've fooled me." He muttered under his breath but didn't say anything else on the subject. "I have no idea. I mean a witch that can heal like a vampire? Even Katherine was stumped. I'm not sure continuing to poke around is going to do much. You heard the she-devil. There's no record of her anywhere. I'm not sure there is a way to find out anything about her. Right now the only thing I'm concerned with is figuring out a way to kill her. No Hope equals no extra power with Klaus."
Elena nodded. "That makes sense. But if she is extremely powerful and heals like a vampire, then what chance do we have against her?"
"Right now? Zero." Damon said with a sigh. "But if there's a way to disable her magic for a minute at least, I can kill her. Even with her healing powers, no one can just bounce back from getting their heart ripped out." He smirked. "All I have to do is find one little weakness."
Elena felt conflicted at his words. Hope was a teenager. And Elena wasn't fond of killing anyone. However, she also knew how dangerous it was for Klaus to have a witch that powerful by his side.
"I know what you're thinking." Damon spoke up glancing over at her. "But we don't have a choice here okay? She's too powerful and last time I checked, she wasn't exactly interested in making peace."
"I know. I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it" Elena sighed, thinking about everything.
Damon sighed softly. "I know. And if it helps, I don't like it either. But what are we supposed to do? Klaus is powerful enough as it is. We can't just let him control a very powerful witch that can take down vampires like it's nothing."
"I know." Elena said and looked at him. "How close are we to where you are bringing me?"
Damon smiled. "We're almost there. Trust me, you'll love it." At least he hoped so. It was the first time he actually tried to do something romantic. With her at least. A few minutes later, he pulled up at a classy looking restaurant. "This is our first stop. I did promise you dinner." He grinned.
Elena's lips parted open in surprise. "I suddenly feel underdressed" she commented, getting out and looking at the restaurant.
Damon smiled. "Don't worry about that." He said but offered no further explanation as he stepped out of the car as well. He led her inside the restaurant which was actually empty. "I rented the place just for us. Other people tend to ruin stuff." He said with a playful smile.
Elena's lips were still a little apart as her surprise only continued. She walked inside and looked around at the empty restaurant. "It's a very nice place" she said, not at all used to it after living in Mystic Falls her whole life
Damon smiled, pleased she approved. Admittedly, he was a little nervous. This wasn't exactly something friends did for each other. But that was the point. He didn't want to be her friend. He wanted more. "It is. But this isn't where we're eating. Our table is this way." He said as he began leading her towards the stairs that led to the roof.
Elena followed after him, frowning curiously. She was interested in what exactly Damon had planned. "We're eating on the roof?" she questioned as they reached it
Damon answered her question with a grin as he led her towards a booth set up by the fire. "My lady." He said approaching the booth and gesturing for her to sit first.
Elena's lips parted open in surprise yet again and walking further onto the roof, looking into the decorations. She walked over to the booth and took a seat, lost for words
Damon smiled taking a seat next to her. "What do you feel like eating? I have the chefs compelled to make anything you want, even if it's not on the menu." He said leaning back against the seat a little. "So, order to your hearts desire."
Elena looked at Damon and was silent for a moment before she said "Do they know how to cook chicken parmesan?"
"They should. They charge way too much for them not to have that basic skill." Damon chuckled and waved over one of the waiters. He placed their order, deciding to go with chicken parmesan as well. He didn't really care what he ate. He just wanted tonight to be perfect. And with Elena by his side it would be.
"You know when you suggested dinner, I wasn't expecting... all this" Elena said, looking around a bit at everything.
"What were you expecting?" Damon asked with a playful smile. "Because this is how I do dinner." It was obvious he was joking. He just wasn't sure how to honestly tell her he did all of this for her. Because he wanted her to smile. Because he loved her. "Besides. This is just our first stop. The night isn't over yet."
"I guess I pictured something not that different from our trip to Georgia" Elena said. The one Damon technically kidnapped her and brought her on after saving her
"That was on a whim." Damon said looking at her. "This was...something more planned and organized." He admitted quietly. "I just, wanted you to have a good time."
Elena's gaze remained on Damon, still surprised but pleased. Though she was perfectly fine with Bree's Bar type of restaurant too.
Damon cleared his throat and reached for one of the glasses of water resting on the table. He took a small sip and looked at her once more. "I guess I wanted you to know that, you still have someone willing to make you happy."
Elena inhaled a bit at his words and tore her gaze away. "Thank you" she said. It was getting harder and harder for her to deny the truth that part of her has known for months.
Damon tensed a little at the way she now seemed to avoid him. Did he do or say something wrong somehow? He wondered, but he didn't ask. If it was that bad, surely she'd tell him. "Don't think you're going to get me to tell you where we're going after this." He warned playfully just as their food arrived.
"I think I'm getting used to being surprised by you" Elena said without thinking and her eyes went to look over at him.
Damon felt a small genuine smile form at her words. They also seemed to relax him and push away the thought that he had done something wrong. She wasn't acting like he had. "Good. Cause there's plenty more where that came from." He mumbled and sent out a text. Suddenly soft music played in the background. The same that played at the Miss Mystic Falls event when they danced.
Elena's eyes widened a little and exhaled a bit, of course instantly recognizing the song. The same song she was listening to when they danced together for the first time. The same song they listened to when Elena first let herself realize how sexy he was
Damon very slowly reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. "I thought it was about time we hear this song again." He said trying to sound playful and lighthearted just for the sake of not overwhelming her or forcing her into a situation.
"Time for another dance?" Elena half-joked and froze at her own words. "I- I didn't mean to ask you to dance" she admitted and looked down at their hands. His touch was like igniting a flame in her. Her heartbeat was a little faster than usual.
Damon couldn't help but chuckle a little. He now found himself feeling a lot more confident with this. Maybe he was letting his low self esteem control him once more. Maybe he needed to do what he used to do before and just take a chance with her for real this time. "Tell you what." He slowly let go of her hand and stood up then. "How about, I ask you to dance with me?" He smiled warmly at her.
Elena's mind wasnt in the right place. She wasnt really thinking much about anything. Which usually she overthought everything. She usually forced herself not to do things she might have done. Forced herself not to think of Damon. But here she was, months after realizing she was in love with him. She didnt think about it but instead stood up to dance with him. "What made you think of this place?" she asked.
Damon smiled, leading her a little further from the table and placing a hand on her waist, while the other continued to hold hers. He was so completely lost in her that when she spoke, it took him a minute to actually answer. "Hm? Oh. I just...I kept looking for something you might enjoy. I needed something classy but, not too obnoxiously so. Definitely no huge crystal chandeliers hanging in ceilings." He chuckled. "I also needed one with tables on the roof so...I guess I just kept looking until I found this place."
"Really wanted this all on a roof, didn't you?" Elena questioned with a small smile as she looked at him, getting lost in his blue eyes.
"Definitely." Damon returned her smile with one of his own as he met her eyes. "How else was I going to get to do this?" He asked softly before effortlessly lifting her and spinning around with her before gently setting her back down.
Elena let out a sound of surprise as she was lifted off of the ground, her warm brown eyes widening. When he lowered her, she kept her gaze on him the whole time, now very close to him. She struggled for air and breathed out slowly, looking at him. Her lips were not far from his, and she moved a little closer naturally before snapping out of it and pulling away completely.. She walked over towards the edge where the edge was, blocked by a half wall. She looked at her surroundings and tried to collect herself. She had not been prepared for this.
Damon exhaled softly, his gaze locked on hers once he set her down. He could feel her breath on his lips and he wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them and kiss her like he's been thinking about for so long. Anyone who looked at him now could see he was completely and helplessly in love with her. But just as he was close to forgetting about everything and giving in to what he's wanted for so long, she pulled away, leaving him a little breathless. Once he managed to focus on reality again, he slowly approached her keeping his distance. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I shouldn't have..." He shook his head. This was stupid. "Come on. We can just eat dinner and head back home. Or we can head home now if you want."
Elena was silent, staring off at their surroundings. At the trees. At the night sky. This place, the dance, the music, his eyes, their closeness... It had all affected her more than she wanted it to. It was getting harder and harder for her to deny the truth she wasn't quite ready to face. She was in love with Damon Salvatore.
Damon watched her for moment, before slowly turning away and going back to the table with a defeated look in his eyes. He took his seat but didn't even touch his food. The worst part was, he was actually disappointed. Because somehow he had been dumb enough to believe things could be different. But if his conversation with her on their way here told him anything, it was that she loved his brother.
Elena breathed out slowly and finished collecting herself before walking over to where their food was and taking a seat. "You dont have anything to apologize for" she said, looking at him, hating the expression on his face. The pained look in his eyes. "I just needed some air. Some space" She was silent for a moment, thinking about everything and eating her pasta. "Thank you for everything lately" Her gaze was on him as she remembered everything he had done for her since she had fallen in love with him. It definitely didn't help her efforts to push her feelings away. Especially here, now, in a romantic setting.
Damon practically visibly flinched at the mention of her needing space. He really was stupid. He didn't know why he made a constant effort to believe she could see him the way he saw her, when it was obvious that was impossible. It was enough of a miracle that she cared about him as a person. Why couldn't that be good enough? Why couldn't he just take what he could get? Why did he have to ruin everything? "Yeah." He mumbled but it was obvious he hadn't heard a word she said. "You're welcome." He finally added and took a small bite of his food mainly just to distract himself slightly.
Elena sighed softly at the sight of his expression, hating that she was hurting him. It tore at her heart, but she wasn't sure what to do. And that feeling hurt her the most. Because she could easily make Damon's day right now if she told him. But what about Stefan? And what if she wasn't ready to get involved with someone? Especially knowing she would see Stefan tomorrow and work on locking him up. She shook herself out of her thoughts and continued eating. "This is really good" she said, wanting to fill the silence.
Damon gave her a small nod, now slightly more alert as to what she was saying. "I'm glad you like it." He said softly. He was silent for a moment, looking around just to avoid looking at her. It hurt too much. "So uh. Do you just want to go home after this?" If she was uncomfortable just with this, he was suddenly dreading taking her to the next thing he had planned.
No, Elena thought immediately. No she definitely didn't. She wanted to stay here. Enjoy whatever plans Damon had made. Forget about all of their problems. The doppelgänger let out a small sigh, frustrated with her own thoughts. Why couldn't life be simple? Or at least simpler. Especially relationships. But Elena couldn't stop thinking of him saving her repeatedly, the way she had fun with him, and now this. Before she knew it, she said "No I dont"
Damon blinked in surprise and looked directly at her this time. "Are you sure? I don't mind going back." He didn't want her to spend the rest of the night with him if she really didn't want to or if it made her feel uncomfortable because of Stefan.
"I'm sure" Elena said, looking at him. Reality would hit in tomorrow. But for now, she wanted to spend time with him. Because things were about to get complicated. She wanted to let herself do what she wanted. And she wanted to be here.
Damon couldn't help but smile at her response. In the back of his mind he knew he was only kidding himself. He knew that once this night was over, everything would just go back to the way it was before. But he couldn't seem to care. Not right now. "Okay." He resisted the temptation to take her hand but did begin to actually eat his food instead of lightly picking at it. "Then as soon as we're done, I'll take you to the next destination. Oh. But we're not leaving without dessert. It's the perfect ending to a good dinner. Otherwise it's just completely ruined." He grinned.
"Oh and what dessert will we be having?" Elena questioned with a playful smile, finding it easier to be free around him. When she wasnt forcing herself to push him away. And she was tired of pushing him away. It was hard
Damon grinned, happy to see her smiling at him again. "Well let's see." He picked up the menu, looking through dessert items. "What about this dark chocolate tart? Or do you hate chocolate?"
"No I do not hate chocolate" Elena replied. chuckling a little as she looked at him. "Dark Chocolate tart is fine" She wasnt really picky about what she ate.
And so they ate Dark Chocolate Tart and talked and talked, enjoying that night more than either of them wanted to admit