Falling for Eternity

As I slolwy opened my eyes, I inhaled in a small breath of air and re-adjusted my head on the pillow. The bright streaks of sunshine that broke through the curtains, shined gloriously throughout the bedroom and as I sat up, a strong scent of flowers caught my attention. They smelled like lilies, their fragrance earthly and sweet."Hm", I murmered as I got up off the bed and walked into the hall. Seeing that Elena, Jeremy and Jenna's doors were all closed, I made my way downstairs, only to find that everyone was already up.

"Hey, you're up"Elena said, as I walked into the kitchen. "You hungry?"

"Not yet"I replied, as I took a seat at the worktop.

"Oh, okay. Well, Stefan's just gone out to get coffee and bagels"She said.

"And it's just like being back home after all .."I said, as a laugh escaped my lips.

"Typical New Yorker breakfast, right?"She replied, chuckling.

"Yup"I smiled.

"Oh, I meant to tell you"Elena said, as she walked into the dining room. "The flowers for the Memorial came this morning"

"Isn't the Memorial tomorrow?"I asked, as I realised it was Saturday.

"Yes"She replied, walking back into the kitch "But we wanted to have them a day in advance, just incase anything went wrong with delivery"

I inahled in their scent, as she rested the 2 beautiful bouquets of white, madonna lilies into a vase, which had explained the fragrance I had smelled this morning. I sighed lightly, as my eyes met with the brilliant white purity of the petals. They had been her favourites, symbolising all that was beautiful and serene in this world. He was also fond of them, originally wanting Elena to be named 'Lilly' or 'Donna'. And to think it had almost been 6 months to the day that they had left us, was completely mind blowing.

"Blake?"Elena asked, as I broke my gaze from the flowers. "Are you alright?"

I nodded my head as my eyes met with hers, openly lieing, as a small tear strolled down my cheek.

1 Day Later

'In loving memory of Grayson Gilbert and Miranda Sommers Gilbert'

I sighed, as my eyes read over the marble tombstone. I had prayed so hard, that today would be different. That somehow, the sadness and melancholy that once was, would be replaced by a better presence. One that didn't linger on the past, of the tragedy of it all. One that instead, brought us together, as a family looking forward. Yet, as we stood there, standing infront of their graves, it felt like the day they died all over again. My eyes travelled to Elena's, who was being comforted by Stefan. Next, to Jenna, who was standing so still, that I wondered what she was thinking. To be looking down on the remains of her sister, was beyond anything I could ever comprehend. Lastly, I looked to Jeremy. His eyes were dark, his hair scruffy and the tie on his shirt sat loosely around him. A small tear escaped my eye, as I slowly walked towards him. "Jer"I whispered, as I intertwined my hand with his own. He sighed lightly, as he looked down at me with his beautiful brown eyes.

"I don't want to be alone anymore Blake"He whispered, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Forcing a smiled, I gripped on to his hand tighter. "You won't be"I replied, "You'll never be alone Jeremy"I said, as I could feel my heart slowly breaking.

When everyone had said goodbye, I didn't feel ready to leave. The church memorial had been short, the visit to the grave even shorter .... and somehow, it felt like I needed to spend a little more time here than everyone else did.

"Blake, you ready to go?"Elena asked, as my eyes lingered on the white lilies.

"Uhm, do you mind if I stay a little longer?"I asked, "I don't feel ready to leave yet"

"Ofcourse not"Elena replied, "We were going to the Mystic Grill for lunch, so do you want us to keep you a seat or ..?"

"Oh, no it's okay. I'll eat later"I said, "And i'll meet you guys there in a while"

"Are you sure?"Elena asked, as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Positive"I assured, as she let me go. "I'll meet you guys in a while"

"Alright, just don't stay here too long. It gets a little lonely"She replied.

I nodded my head in understanding, as she made her way to Stefan. I then turned my head back to the lilies, and took a seat on the grass once they were gone. I looked around me, as the quaint sound of birds chirping brightened up the atmosphere. It definitely made being in a graveyard way less creepy. I stretched my legs, situating them in the most comfortable way possible, as not to dig my heels into the mud and breathed in a gust of air that was flowing freely throughout the trees. It was peaceful, peace that I hadn't felt in a long while. Relaxing and almost comforting as I sat, surrounded by the faithful departed.

"Blake? ...."A familiar voice questioned, as I turned my head to see a tall, dark figure.

"Damon"I replied, "I didn't see you there"I said, as I stood up abruptly.

"Well, I didn't mean to disturb you. I thought you had left with the others, I'll come back later"He replied, before I stopped him.

"No, you don't have to go. It's actually nice that you're here"I told him, as his eyes set on mine.

"Only if you insist"He smirked, before taking a seat on the grass beside me.

I smiled, as another gust of light wind blew past us. "So, why didn't you come earlier?"I asked.

"I didn't want to come uninvited. And as i'm not family .. oh, you get it"He said.

I laughed, "Well, i'm glad you can be here now. Y'know, with no awkward atmosphere or anything"I said.

"I beg to differ"He tested, "Who said being here with you isn't making me totally uncomfortable, huh?"

A smile spread across my face, as that cocky smirk appeared on his.

"Believe me Damon, when you're surrounded by a bunch of dead people, humans aren't that intimidating .. surely"I said, "Unless, i'm an exception to that?"I teased, this time capturing his gaze. He didn't say anything, as his eyes lingered on mine. They travelled to my lips, my cheek bones, my neck? Then back to my eyes, where I slowly began to get lost in his. I didn't even notice that I was moving towards him, and that he was leaning into me. I didn't notice that he whispered something so quietly, that I could barely hear him. And it was only until his lips were about to touch mine that Elena's words came flowing back into my mind.

'Please Don't Fall For Him'

Moving quickly, I turned my head to Damon's right side, where I placed a tender kiss onto his cheek. His eyes then shot open, as a look of confusion spread across his face.

"What .. "He murmered, as though I couldn't hear.

"More intimidating than you think, huh?"I said, as I bit my lip.

He was silent for a moment, as though contemplating what had just happened. What had just happened? I sighed, as the question then began to linger on my mind. Damon suddenly stood up, before offering me his hand.

"We should probably go"He said, as I took hold of it.

"Yeah"I agreed, as he pulled me up, off the grass. "Uhm, do you want to come to the Mystic Grill? Everyone's going to be there for lunch?"I said, as we walked to his car.

"Why not"He smiled, opening the passenger side of his car door for me. "Besides, i'm starving"He said, flashing his eyes in my direction. I thanked him, before getting in.

As we made our way to the grill, I occasionally kept my gaze on Damon. I watched the way he steered the car so smoothly, how the muscles in his arm flexed whenever he changed the gear stick, and the way he'd look back at me whenever there was a red light. I had no idea what stopped me from kissing him in the graveyard, partly because I wanted to kiss him. More than anything, I wanted to kiss him. Which was completely insane, since i'd only met him less than a day ago? So maybe, it was a good thing I had listened to Elena's words that lurked in the back of my mind. Yet with that, came the question ... what was so dreadfully awful about Damon, that Elena didn't want me falling over?