Chapter Text
The next Friday, Damon and Stefan would be out of town so Elena had the house to herself. At school everything was running smoothly but Elena hadn't seen much of Caroline and Bonnie. She missed her best friends. They didn’t have many classes together and neither Bonnie or Caroline attended school half of the time. So when she saw both of them talking quietly together she grabbed her chance. She greeted them and went straight to the point.
“Stefan and Damon are out of town so I was thinking about having a slumber party, just the three of us, like old times.”
Bonnie agreed enthusiastically but Caroline needed a little more convincing. “Don’t they mind that we would take over their house.”
“It’s kind of my home as well, right now. Besides, I asked Damon and he didn’t have a problem with it.”
Elena could feel some tension at the back of her mind but she didn’t heed it. She wanted to have a fun night with her friends and she wasn’t going to let a little disagreement get in the way of that.
“I mean if the Salvatores don’t mind, I’m in!” Bonnie exclaimed and Caroline agreed after a look from Bonnie.
“Okay, see you tonight!” Elena waved them goodbye.
Elena had missed this, being with her two best friends. They had all been caught up in Boy drama and Elena had to admit that she had forgotten how important friendship was as well. The girls had had a great night so far. Elena had borrowed a bottle of Champagne from the wine cellar. She had googled to check she wasn’t stealing one of their expensive bottles. They had popped the bottle, each drank their fair share. The music was blasting from the speakers, they danced and they talked. Elena was having a great time.
She should have known it would go downhill at some point. Caroline had asked to see her room at Chateau Salvatore. All her stuff was in her room but it was quite obvious that she wasn’t actually sleeping in it. Caroline clearly noticed this. Bonnie was trying to distract her to the best of her ability and thankfully Caroline didn’t say anything about it. She inspected her closet and the bathroom until she concluded: “This is a nice room, Elena, It must be weird sleeping here and not in Stefan’s room”
“Oh, not really.” Elena replied.
Bonnie looked at her apologetically
“Thankfully the boarding house has other rooms because otherwise you would need to sleep with Damon.”
It wasn’t Caroline’s first comment of the night about Damon but they were getting on Elena’s nerves. She knew her friend didn’t like him but this was getting ridiculous. At first, Elena tried to ignore it but Caroline kept going on and on about how awful he was until Bonnie intervened: “Caroline?” She half shouted.
“What?” Caroline exclaimed. “He’s horrible and the idea of sleeping in the same bed as him is vile.”
Elena exploded: “And what if I wouldn’t mind sleeping with Damon, maybe I already did.”
Caroline shut up and looked at Elena as if she had grown a second head.
“You slept with him!” She shouted. Elena hadn’t actually meant to say that but her anger had gotten the best of her.
“Stefan was right, Damon has gotten completely into your head.”
“Caroline…” Bonnie started but Elena interrupted her.
“I know you hate him Caroline, but you do not have to mention it every five minutes. Besides, breaking up with Stefan had nothing to do with Damon. It is something that I felt was right for me. For me, Caroline! If you want to blame it all on Damon, he had nothing to do with it. He didn’t even know I was going to do it.”
Caroline wanted to interrupt but Elena wasn’t done. “And I have indeed fallen for Damon, I am not going to deny that. You’re the one who has been trying to convince me for months that I’d fallen for him and you were right, I had.” Frustrated she threw her arms in the air “Yet, I still chose Stefan in the end and then I died and the only one who didn’t treat me differently was Damon. Things between me and Stefan couldn’t go on like they had, so I broke up with him. How are you going to judge me for that, Caroline? Damon makes me happy.”
“He doesn’t make you happy, Elena, He’s manipulating you.”
That’s it, she was done. “You need to leave!”
“Elena” Caroline pleaded.
“Now!”
Elena was done with the slumber party. She had known Caroline would react this way and yet there had been a sliver of hope. That hope had now been crushed.
Bonnie looked very apologetic. “I’ll try and talk to her.” She promised Elena.
“Thanks” She hugged her friend goodbye. Before they could open the door, Damon entered with a fresh bouquet. His expression showed that had clearly not expected them there.
Caroline walked past him angrily.
“I thought it would liven up your room.” He explained and he clearly wanted to get away from the girls who had been fighting so he went into the kitchen to get a vase to put them in.
When Bonnie and Caroline had left, he returned. “I’m sorry,” He said “It appears your night didn’t go as expected.” He put the vase down and took her into his arms.
“You could say that.” Elena said melting into his embrace. She had to do her best not to cry. “The flowers are beautiful, thank you.” She kissed him softly. “you’re quite good at this romantic thing. The corners of her mouth turned up a little.
“There is this girl, you see,” He said while starting to move them slowly towards the couch, “that I care for very much.” He sat down and pulled her into his lap. “She is the kindest person, with the biggest heart, so I wanted to make sure I am worthy of her.”
Elena smiled up at him. She was already starting to feel her dread ebb away. “Tell me about your night?”
Damon sighed
“Not great either?” She asked.
“We haven’t told him yet, Elena, and it is starting to feel like a burden.”
“I promise I will tell him when I next see him. I told you I wanted to be the one to tell him. He deserves that much at least.”
“I know but I don’t like it.”
“Soon, I promise.” She said with a kiss.
Soon came quicker than expected. They had been handed a group assignment in history and you’ll never guess who her partners were. Stefan and Caroline. After Class, she asked them to meet up so they could discuss their plan of action. She honestly didn’t want to but she had done so well recently and she needed this grade. All her hard work couldn’t have been for nothing.
Stefan and Caroline were both already at their meeting place. When Stefan spotted her his eyes were dark. She could sense he was livid. This wasn’t a version of Stefan she had ever seen before. It was hate that she saw in his eyes. She was taken aback by it. Extreme awkwardness she had been prepared for, not this. What made Stefan so angry at her? They hadn’t spoken since the breakup. She thought he would have been able to process it a little. The hurt should not have been this fresh. What had changed?
When she looked at Caroline she knew the answer. Her face was riddled with guilt. Everything suddenly made sense. She had told him. Knowing Caroline it had probably been accidental as she wasn’t very good at keeping secrets. She had told him. Suddenly Elena felt her anger ignite. She wasn’t going to let them destroy the things she had been working so hard for.
She sat down and took the assignment out. “How are we going to do this?” Her voice wasn’t even wavering. They didn’t answer.
“You’re not even going to say anything to me?”
“What do you want me to say, Stefan?” She snapped.
“Maybe an explanation about why you are sleeping with my brother?”
Elena looked at Caroline who could barely look her in the eye.
“I had hoped I would be the one to tell you that,” She said. “But someone beat me to it.”
“So you admit it.”
“Yeah, I admit it Stefan, What do you want from me, an apology? Because I’m sorry Stefan, I’m sorry about the fact that I hurt you. I know I did but I’m not sorry about Damon. He makes me happy and I’m not apologizing for trying to make the best of my life.” She stood up. “I suggest we meet up another time to do the assignment. I’m done with all of this.”
When Elena came home she was still in a foul mood. Of course Damon noticed immediately. He took her into his arms and cuddled her closely. “Is everything alright?”
“Stefan knows.” She explained.
“I take it, he didn’t take it well.”
“He was very angry with me, but I didn’t get the chance to tell him.”
Damon looked at her “What do you mean?”
“Apparently Caroline had already told him.”
“What?”
“Yeah” Elena sighed. “And yet I can’t bring myself to be angry at her because I know it was an accident.”
“How are you so certain?”
“Her face. She looked so ashamed of herself. Besides I have known Caroline my whole life. She was never good at keeping her mouth shut.” Elena brushed her fingers through her hair. “It’s all such a mess.”
“You don’t regret it do you?” Damon asked.
Elena sat upright. “No, of course not! This has been the most fun I’ve had and relaxed I have been in ages! And it’s all because of you, Damon.” She looked at him and cupped his face in her palm. He kissed her palm tenderly.
“You are the reason I function as a vampire.” She kissed his right cheek. “You’re the reason I get up in the morning.” She kissed the other cheek. “You’re the reason I am happy.” She softly kissed his lips. “There is only one certainty in my life right now and it’s you. I am sad that we hurt Stefan but now I can kiss you every morning and every night and I know it will be okay in the end.”
Damon held her more tightly. “I would do anything to make you happy, Elena, but I need to do right by my brother as well. I think it is time that I talk to him.”
Elena agreed. “Maybe you can get through to him.”
Damon was standing at the entrance of his childhood home. Whenever he came here memories of 1864 pilled up. If he thought about Katherine now the only feeling was loathing. But he had to admit that he wouldn’t be here, with Elena, if she hadn’t done what she’d done.
“Why have you chosen this place?” Stefan’s voice came from behind him. He turned around and faced his brother. “It’s where it all began." He said, “Look, Stefan.”
“No, I know what you’re going to say. You’ve just come to gloat.”
“See, this is how much your vision is tunneling. I’ve not come to gloat. I know exactly what you’re feeling right now. It’s what I went through weeks ago.” He looked Stefan in the eye. “No matter what you are thinking right now, brother, I love you, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”
Stefan was clearly taken aback by this. “It’s because I care about you that I’m going to say this. I know you're angry, Stefan, and you're allowed to be angry, but right now you’re not angry for the right reasons.”
Stefan looked away as if in shame.
“You know that I was fully prepared to leave town like we had decided,” Damon continued. “But then Elena drove of that bridge and everything changed.” He stepped closer to his brother, hoping he wouldn’t turn away. “No one had seen that coming. We didn’t even know she had vampire blood in her system. But she came back and she had to adjust to life as a vampire. So naturally she turned to you.” Damon couldn’t help the little jealousy that steeped into his voice. “It is no secret that you have never been good at this whole vampire thing. Which isn’t inherently a bad thing but at that time Elena needed someone who could support her fully. She came to me out of desperation, Stefan.”
Damon put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I never expected her to want me. But she did. And I love her! If there is nothing you believe about what I’m saying then trust this: I love her. I love her so much! I want her to be happy but she is still hurting, Stefan. She cares about you and she hates that she hurt you. We understand that you don’t want to be around her or around me right now. We understand that you need time. But she hopes and I hope that in time you can forgive us.”
That was the end of his speech. “That’s all I wanted to say.”
Stefan looked at Damon and then to the ruins of their childhood home. “I once vowed to you that I would never let another woman get between us. It seems I broke my vow. I can’t say that I’m alright with everything. And you’re right I am angry. But if Elena is happy with you, I cannot be the one who gets between you. But I need time.
Damon looked relieved: “Of course, brother.” And hugged him. To his surprise Stefan hugged him back.
“Is Elena at the boarding house?” He asked
Damon nodded
“I have some things I need to set right.”
Elena was waiting rather anxiously for Damon to get home. She wished he would be able to get through to Stefan. She loved Damon and it would sadden her if the relationship with his brother was lost forever because of her. She had always claimed she would never be like Katherine but maybe it was unavoidable. She loved Damon. She realization hit her suddenly. She didn’t just like him, she loved him. Now the realization hit she wanted to tell him as soon as possible. At that moment the door opened. Elena got very excited and was ready to run up to him, but it was Caroline who appeared, not Damon.
“Can I come in?” She asked.
Elena held open the door further.
“I have come to apologize.” Caroline started. “I talked with Bonnie after you left and she knocked some sense into me.”
“Oh, Caroline.”
“No, I need you to let me finish otherwise I won’t be able to say what needs to be said. I’m also really sorry I told Stefan about you and Damon. I didn’t mean to and I think it made thing a bit more difficult for you.”
Elena walked over and hugged her friend close. “I knew you never had any ill intentions, Caroline! But thank you!” She whispered. They stayed like that for a minute.
“What are your plans for graduation?” Caroline asked
Elena laughed because it was such a Caroline Question. “I haven’t thought much about what comes after graduation to be honest. I have been so focused on trying getting to that point that I haven’t thought of anything else.”
“I was thinking about doing a big celebratory dinner with everyone.”
“We could do it here, at the Salvatore boarding house. There is enough space for everyone?.” Elena suggested. “I’ll ask Damon if that’s okay with him.”
“Okay great! Leave the planning to me. And I will make sure it’s a night to remember for everyone.”
Elena’s face fell a little. “You think Stefan will want to attend with both me and Damon?” She asked.
“It’s in a month. If you two do not act to couple-y then I think it will be fine. Besides he needs to be here with the rest of us. He doesn’t really have a choice.”
Elena still wasn’t completely convinced.
“That is a problem for another time, Elena” Caroline said. “He’ll come around. He just needs some time.”
“I know. I just hate seeing him hurt and it’s worse because I know it is because of me.”
Caroline hugged her close and tried to comfort her. “Sometimes life hurts you a little but when you come out at the other side you will find you have grown and can become even happier.”
Elena smiled at her friend. “you’re the best!” She said.
When Caroline left Elena felt really exposed in the living room so she decided to try and do some homework in her room. Someone knocked at her door. “How did it go?” She asked but for the second time that day it wasn’t Damon. Stefan stood awkwardly in her room. She was taken aback. She had not expected Stefan to willingly come talk to her.
“Hey,” he started.
He looked a lot less angry than he did yesterday maybe Damon had gotten through to him.
“Hey” she said back.
“As you know Damon came to talk to me and I came to tell you that I realized and accepted a few things.”
Elena nodded her head as an invitation to go on.
“Firstly, I want to tell you that I understand why we broke up. It hurt, I was incredibly angry and I needed someone else to blame. That’s why I blamed Damon. Now, I can accept that it had more to do with how I behaved. I am still hurt but I hope that it will be alright someday.”
“Yes,” Elena said, “I hope we will be able to be friends again. I understand that you need time. I want you to take all the time that you need.”
Stefan smiled a sad smile. “I am glad that at least one of us is happy.” He said, “And I’m glad my brother is able to give you what you need when I couldn’t. That’s what I wanted to say.”
He started turning towards the door when Elena said: “Caroline and I are planning a dinner with everyone to celebrate us graduating. It’s in a few weeks. It would be nice if you came as well, but no pressure.”
“I’ll see, but knowing Caroline she will force me to come.”
“Definitely” Elena laughed. “But I promise there will be no hard feelings if you decide against it. It’s still your choice to make.”
When Stefan left, Elena felt like a huge burden had dropped from her shoulders. She had been able to talk to Caroline and even Stefan seemed to be coming around. She went downstairs to look for Damon, She could use a kiss.
Elena had gone to bed a little earlier than usual. Honestly, she was exhausted but sleep evaded her. She was still awake when Damon came in and got ready for bed. She had told him about her plans to have a big family celebratory dinner. He’d smiled “Whatever makes you happy.” She had asked what he had said to change Stefan’s point of view so drastically and but he’d apollegized and said it was something between him and his brother. When Damon noticed she was still awake he got into bed and cuddled her close to him.
“Can’t sleep?”
“No, but maybe I just needed you. Now I’ll sleep like a baby.” She teased.
“I’m glad my purpose in life is fulfilled.” He kissed her softly. “Who else can say their Elena Gilberts body pillow.”
“I realised something today.” Elena said more seriously.
Damon hummed “What’s that?”
She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “I love you, Damon.”
His eyes lit up and a small smile formed on his lips. Elena knew that smile. It wasn’t one he wore often, only when he was truly amazed. He took her face softly in between his hands.
“You have no idea how many times I dreamt you’d say those words to me.” He whispered so only she could hear the profound truth in them.
“I love you too, Elena”
“I know”
But he wasn’t done: “All things good I had lost, I found again because of you, you are my heart, the one who keeps me going and I want to do good by you. There is not a thing on this earth I love more than I love you.”
She kissed him, slow and gentle. She took everything in. His eyes, his smile his hands which took her apart and put her back together. Tonight was a night for slow lovemaking. Besides they had all the time in the world. While she was laying in his arms, near slumbering, Elena felt like the happiest girl in the world.