The Summer That Changed My Life

Chapter 7: Taking the First Step

In school the next day

Stefan POV

When the lunch bell rang, I spotted Caroline walking towards the cafeteria and I picked up my pace in the hopes that I could catch up with her before Elena and Bonnie appeared. I tapped the shoulder and she spun around in shocked.

"Hey, you must be Caroline? I'm Stefan, Elena's exchange partner, remember me?"

"Hey, erm yeah I'm Caroline. What's up?"

"So erm... if you didn't hear about what happened yesterday, Elena met my brother Damon. I need you to help me keep Elena away from him when I'm not around. He's a player and I don't want Elena to get attracted to him because her heart will surely be broken. Trust me, I know my brother better than anybody else."

"Erm ok... I'll pass the message to Elena and Bonnie and we'll do our best to keep him away from her."

"Thanks Caroline. I really appreciate it."

I turned around and walked away, smirking to myself.

Caroline POV

Ok that was so weird. Stefan just asked me to keep Damon away from Elena. But Elena seemed really smitten with Damon even though they just met. I mean she saw the sadness and loneliness in Damon's eyes, and with regards to the 'eyes are the window to one's soul' saying, I kinda believe that Damon wasn't some playboy. But on the other hand, Stefan is Damon's brother and they have known each other for more than ten years, and he would be the one who probably knows Damon inside and out. Argh. Who should I listen to? I'll probably listen to Elena since she's one of my best friends and usually her instincts and intuitions are right. Girlfriends before boyfriends right? But since Stefan warned me, I should tell Elena just in case. I would hate it if she got her heart broken...

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"Hey Lena, hey Bon! So guess what, I ran into Stefan just now and he told me to tell you to stay away from Damon, apparently Bonnie and I have to make sure both of you don't talk to each other as well."

"Ok... that was one weird conversation to have with Stefan Salvatore. I mean why would he care about my love life? And telling me to keep my distance from Damon is going to be any help. You know how I am Caroline, this will just make me want to talk to Damon more."

"I guess you're right Lena, just be careful okay?"

"Yeah be careful Elena, those Salvatore brothers seem a bit creepy to me..." warned Bonnie.

"Oh my! I can't believe I just thought of this! Elena, do you think that Stefan is attracted to you and that's why he's making all these comments about his brother so that he can get you all to himself?"

"True that's one possible explanation as to why Stefan was behaving weirdly, but I can't see myself as Stefan's girlfriend. I mean he's nice and sweet, but I feel that he isn't really my type. And if that was really the case, I feel quite sad for Damon, I can't even imagine doing that to my own sister, if I had one. Plus, I remember that I told Stefan that I would stop talking to Damon if he was really such a cocky idiot like he said, but Damon was really nice, so why can't I talk to him?"

Elena POV

I was actually feeling quite angry with Stefan. If both the Salvatore brothers had a crush on me, bad-mouthing the other to get my attention was definitely not the way to go. I mean, how could you do that to your own brother?! But since, I didn't know what the actual full story was, I wasn't going to jump into conclusions. If Damon was really a player, then fine, I'll protect myself should the need arise. But for now, I'm just going to take my time to get to know the two brothers since it's only week one of summer exchange! Although I can't deny that even the sight of Damon is enough to make my legs feel like jell-o, make my insides feel mushy and have this warm feeling spread throughout my whole body.

I hope I'll be able to meet Damon today, he seems like a nice guy and I wanna get to know him more. There's gonna be a risk that my heart will get broken if I fall in love with him, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right? And I'll never get the chance to know Damon's true identity if I don't at least try to get to know him...

"Lena! Lena!!"

Caroline was waving her hands frantically in front of my face.

"Sorry Care, I must have spaced out unknowingly again. Yeah what did you say?"

"Yeah you spaced out again. What were you dreaming about? Anyways, lunch break is almost over. I think we should get ready to head back to class."

I picked up my tray and as I was about to put it back, I thought I saw Damon. He was sitting with another guy and it looked like they were about to head back to class as well. 'The perfect opportunity to get to know Damon better' I thought.

"Hey guys I'll meet you in class, I just have to use the bathroom."

"Ok, we'll see you later then!"

Perfect! Now that Caroline and Bonnie are on their way to class and Stefan isn't anywhere close by, I can have the chance to talk to Damon as I walk to class. I took in his features as I walked towards him. Black leather jacket, black t-shirt, black pants and black shoes. Black was definitely his signature color and he pulled that all black outfit off with ease. He was so muscular that I had to check for drool before I was about to tap his shoulder. Yeah Elena Gilbert was checking out Damon Salvatore.

I tapped Damon's shoulder and he immediately turned around to face me. There was a large grin on his face and his bright ocean blue eyes were twinkling away. Definitely a large contrast as to what I had seen yesterday. I wondered what was the cause of his sudden change in emotion.

"Hey Damon, I'm Elena. We met yesterday."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey everyone!!! 

So I got into a bit of a writing mood and thought I should post more before I end up slacking and going on a longggg hiatus again since school is starting again and I have hockey competitions for the month of July. Thanks for all the reads and support!!! I really appreciate it!!

A side note that I don't really know the American schooling system. I know that different states have different school holiday timings. So in this story, let's just say that in Elena's hometown, Whitmore, holidays have already started, while in Mystic Falls school has just started . Ok I'm confusing myself lolz. Anyways, anyone else who is confused, when Mystic Falls is having their school term, Whitmore is on holiday and vice-versa.......

Oh and also to put into perspective, Elena is younger than Stefan by a year,so example, Elena 16, Stefan 17, while Damon will be 3 years older than Elena, 19. I don't really know how the age and school levels go in America so yeah.... Elena has just ended junior year while Damon is in senior year. If anyone can tell me their proper ages and the right term for their schooling years, that would be greatly appreciated!!! :)

And lastly, it's Day 3 of their exchange program #justsaying :)

MUAKS MUAKS xoxoxo Cass :)