𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐓, ᵗʰᵉ ᵛᵃᵐᵖⁱʳᵉ ᵈⁱᵃʳⁱᵉˢ

𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 + 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

it was night already and phoebe hadn't heard back from stefan yet since he went to pay mr. saltzman a visit.

still at the gilbert household phoebe and elena just came downstairs and started to walk in the direction of the kitchen.

"hello, elena. phoebe" the two girls heard the familiar voice of damon salvatore when they walked into the kitchen with furrowed brows at the sight before them.

damon was standing in the kitchen behind the counter, cooking while jenna sat across from him with a glass of wine.

the older salvatore looked up to the girls with a small smirk, making them give him a look until jenna turned back to them with a smile on her face and the glass in her hand,"hey, where you two been? we're cooking dinner".

phoebe pressed her lips together in a smile, moving to stand on one side of jenna whilst elena stood on the other.

"is stefan with you?" damon asked, looking towards phoebe.

"he'll be here soon" the dawson girl assured him with a nod, not to be suspicious.

~~~~~~~~~~

an hour or two passes and phoebe is now setting up the table for dinner.

the teen was just finishing setting the utensils on the table and looked up to see elena bringing the plates.

the girl went to get them, but damon decided make a move in the progress, getting close to elena, lingering for a second,"whoa. mmm".

phoebe scoffed at the flirtatious act, placing a hand on her hip while elena passed him with a chuckle, handing the plates to the girl,"don't do that".

"do what?" damon expressed, nonchalantly like he had no idea what the gilbert girl was talking about as he moved to the stove where the food was.

"you know what. that move was deliberate" elena stated, turning back with her arms crossed her chest.

phoebe listened to the conversation as she set the plates down around the table.

"well, yeah, i was deliberately trying to get to the...sink" the raven-haired vampire quickly came up a lie, making elena shake her head and scoff.

"speaking of stefan, where is he?" he directed that question toward his brother's girlfriend,"he's missing family night, which i am enjoying immensely" he smirked back at the two teens after that, leaving them to give him looks,"is it real?"

"is what real?" phoebe released a sigh.

"this renewed sense of brotherhood" damon paused for a moment to taste his cooking before looking back at the dawson teen,"can i trust him?"

phoebe looked up at the older salvatore, hoping he wouldn't see right through her guilt as she nodded,"yes, you can trust him" she then turned back to the table, not even sparing elena a glance, already knowing what it would say.

the teen then felt a whoosh behind her, she turned to see damon in front of her, looking her in the eye,"can i trust him?"

the teen looked into the man's eyes and saw not demand or manipulation, but desperation and hope.

in that moment, she felt more guilt and doubt about deceiving him, but somehow she managed to swallow her feelings and keep a straight and honest face,"of course you can" she spoke in a soft manner, with a small nod.

~~~~~~~~~~

still in the gilbert kitchen, damon was telling phoebe and elena about a time where he trusted stefan more than anyone.

"trust breeds trust. you have to give it to get it" elena responded.

"are you lecturing me?" damon titled his head toward the gilbert girl.

"oh, i don't know, damon, do you need to be lectured?" phoebe chipped in from her spot by the counter, placing a hand on her waist and giving him a look.

"i just want her back" damon turned his head back to phoebe,"i'm sure you can understand that".

the girl nodded,"i can understand that you would do anything for her, yes" she moved from her spot to the table, where damon was, to place something on it.

"then you understand what i will do if anyone gets in my way" phoebe heard from damon over her shoulder, causing her to gulp down slightly, but also to keep her heartbeat steady just in case he was listening.