Reckless Love (Elena & Damon)

4 - Party

Raise a cup to touch your lips,
To numb the fact that no one else will.

Elena arrived at Caroline and Stefan's penthouse and could hear the pounding of the music from the elevator. She had never really been a massive party person as they usually just ended up with drunk people stumbling around trying to find someone to pretend they love for a night, just so they won't seem as empty. And whilst Elena would love someone to hold for a night, she knew that someone found at a party would only stick around for that long; a night.

Elena opened the door and the music blasted in her face and was far louder than it seemed from the outside, even though you could still hear it. As soon as she stepped inside, she felt someone jump on her and wrap their arms around her.

'Elena! You're here!' Caroline screeched. Elena could already smell the alcohol on her breath and laughed softly.

'And you're drunk!'

'And you're hot!' Caroline retorted, looking Elena up and down. Elena had put an extra amount of effort into the way she looked tonight. Partly because Caroline had promised she'd set her up with someone there, and partly because she wanted to show Damon what he missed when he didn't turn up. Although at the same time, she was still promising herself she didn't care.

'Oh this old thing,' Elena joked, swatting Caroline away and running a hand down her red, mid-length dress. 

'Come, I'll introduce you to people.' Caroline took Elena's hand and started leading her through the sea of people that crowded Stefan's, and now Caroline's, penthouse. Elena tried to search for a face she knew among the crowd but she couldn't find one, not even Bonnie. She had no idea how she couldn't even find one person she knew, seeing she had known Caroline her whole entire life. It seemed as if everyone around her was starting their new lives, the next chapter, whilst Elena was flicking through the pages of the past.

'I think I need a drink first, Care,' Elena admitted, as she pulled away from Caroline's hand and made a bee-line for the drinks table. 

She poured herself a cup of passion fruit punch and upon taking a sip immediately realized that there was more alcohol in it than there was any fruit. Still, she kept drinking it. Whilst Elena did usually turn her nose up at the thought of drinking away the night, tonight there was something appealing about it.

'Only a bit of punch, huh?' A voice said behind her. Elena turned and was greeted with the face of a stranger, and a handsome stranger at that.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Elena's mouth curved into a smile as the man in front of her smiled also.

'I thought maybe you'd want something a little stronger.'

Elena shook her head. 'I'm not much of a drinker, really.'

The man frowned. 'Caroline said you worked at a bar?'

'Ah, of course Caroline has already spoken to you.' Elena turned her back to the man and quickly swallowed the rest of the drink. She had no idea how Caroline had made it to this guy before she did, and it left her wondering, would this man had made it to Elena if Caroline hadn't made it to him first?

'I'm sorry, was I not supposed to say that?' 

Elena turned back to the man who looked uncomfortable and awkward, and let a smile fall back over her face. 'Don't worry about it. So, who are you?'

The man no longer looked tense and let a soft laugh fall from his lips. 'I'm Jake. I'm in the same course as Caroline at college.'

'I'm Elena,' she replied with her hand outstretched, 'but you already know that.'