Something Stupid

36

One and a half months later

Elena and Elijah entered the Cafe Sheila hand in hand. As soon as they did, they were greeted by everyone. Lexi was the first to reach them. She instantly engulfed the brunette in a big hug.

"Welcome back, sweetie. How was Bulgaria?"

Elena grinned. "Amazing, thanks."

"I believe it. Seen the pictures." Caroline said, gently pushing Lexi aside so she could hug the brunette as well.

Doing more small talk and hugging a lot of people, Elena and Elijah joined the party with a proper welcome.

Bonnie, carrying little Zoey, was beaming at her friend. "How did it go with Nadia and Nikolai?"

"Really good. We spent a lot of time with Nadia, especially when Nikolai was busy working. We took her for hikes, went swimming, to the movies, a museum, and so much more. I think that was the biggest holiday I've ever had with her. I loved it!" Elena told them, smiling happily.

Elijah laid an arm around her. "Our trip also seems to have solved the issue with Katherine once and for all."

"Really? How so?" Enzo asked.

The dark-haired man exchaged a glance with his girlfriend. "Well, Nikolai made it clear that he would be more than happy letting Elena see Nadia whenever she wants. He told Katherine that. And when she heard it, I guess she realized she couldn't win this war. The only way for her to prevent us from seeing her more often than we could through Nikolai would have been to stop bringing Nadia to America alltogether. Which would mean she herself wouldn't get to see her daughter much. And, after a little talk with her, we're pretty sure that even Katherine doesn't see revenge as more important than Nadia."

"Sounds like things are working out for you. That's great." Bonnie stated, "Would you like to hold Zoey? I think she missed you."

"Aw, of course!" Elena squealed and took the infant from her tired mother.

Meanwhile, Davina and Kol were talking with Enzo.

"So, what kind of wedding are you two thinking?" Enzo asked.

Kol laid an arm around his fiancee. "Oh, we're thinking something small but awesome."

"Yeah. Like a ceremony in one of those little churches and then a reception in a cool venue with an awesome party scene. You know, with a DJ, lots of booze and a mirrorball. Maybe even a pool." Davina added.

Her fiance grinned at her dreamily. "God, I love you!"

Meanwhile, Damon, Lexi any Camille were chatting at the bar.

"So I hear you're babysitting Zoey a lot?" Lexi asked.

Damon nodded proudly. "Spending time with the little mouse, having chicks swoon over me even more than usual when I take her for a walk plus an excuse to get unlimited access to Bonbon's awesome coffee machine. All in all, a pretty rad new hobby."

Lexi rolled her eyes while Camille raised her eyebrows in skepticism. "I'm assuming the dirty diapers are a lady magnet too?"

"Uh... yeah. Those are a subject we won't be talking about." Thinking back to his last encounter with Zoey's diaper, the ink-haired man shuddered. He quickly decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I'm going to a festival this weekend. From what I've heard it's gonna be all kinds of awesome. Hey Cami, wanna tag along?"

The blonde barista was instantly taken aback by his question. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I've got an extra ticket, you're pretty cool and I wouldn't mind seeing you in a funky party dress." Damon shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

Camille scoffed. "Wow. What a charming invite."

"Okay, so maybe I'm not the greatest guy in the world. But seriously, I can be fun. And this festival most definitely will be fun." he said, "Just think about it." Then, he took his empty coffee mug and headed to the buffet for a refill.

Lexi turned to Camille. "Do you think you're gonna go?"

The blonde woman exhaled, feeling thrilled, but also unsure and a bit irritated. "I don't know. Perhaps."
In her mind, the idea seemed better the longer she thought about it. About a year ago, she was expecting to be a single mother now, struggling hard to get by. Instead, she was a single woman with a solid income, no problems so far and lots of free time. She still had time to eventually meet someone amazing, get married and have kids. So, the question she asked herself now was: why not enjoy the life of being free and single while she had it?

A new song from the music box in the corner made two people in two different places of the room listen up and instantly look for each other. Elena and Elijah exchanged a knowing smile and walked to each other simultaniously, meeting each other in the middle and lovingly went into a dance position. Getting blissfully lost in each other, they swayed to the sounds of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's voices like they did so man, times before. It had become their song.

I know I stand in line
until you think you have the time
to spend an evening with me
And if we go so.e place to dance
I know that there's a chance
you won't be leaving with me

And afterwads we drop into
a quiet little place
and have a drink or two

And then I go
and spoil it all
by saying something stupid
like 'I love you'

For a while, everyone else at the party simply stopped talki g, made rolm for them to dance and watched. Then, as the song went on, more couples joined Elena and Elijah on the dancefloor. Klaus led Caroline to the centre for a waltz while Kol spun Davina around before gathering her in his arms for the dance. Lexi agreed to hold Zoey for a while so Bonnie could dance with her husband and Camille, with a slight smile, accepted Damon's hand for a dance as well.

And so, dancing and swirling around, they all celebrated the happiness life had brought them.

Hi, 😊

I hope you enjoy this story. This was the last chapter. Don't worry though, there's going to be an epilogue, so one more update. I just wanted to say, thank you so much for all your support, your votes and your comments! 😊 I really appreciate it!