No Strings Attached

Day 266

            Elena looks across the room and meets eyes with a startled Dean. With his mouth half open in shock, he watches her as she helps the waitress pick up the fallen plates before rushing off toward the bathroom.

            "Poor girl," Lisa comments, watching her as well. "Can't even walk properly."

            "If you'll excuse me," Dean mutters, pushing back his chair and standing up.

            "Wait. Where are you going?" Lisa turns in her chair as Dean hurries away from her, completely ignoring her. "Dean!"

            Dean pushes through the tables, hurrying after Elena as quickly as he can. By the time he reaches the back of the restaurant, she's already ducked into the girls' bathroom. Dean hesitates, but only for a moment before pushing down his reserve and shoving open the door.

            "Elena? Are you okay?" Dean glances around the bathroom, lowering his eyes to the ground when he sees the two women at the sinks. Scoffing, they both push past him on their way out.

            "Creep," one of them hisses before disappearing out the door. Rolling his eyes, Dean steps further into the bathroom and peeks under one of the stalls.

            "Elena? I saw you come in here," Dean says, looking under another. His luck seems to have run out because this stall contains a petite old woman. Shrieking, she hits him with her tiny purse. "Sorry, ma'am! Sorry! I didn't see anything, I swear."

            Dean stands back as she exits the stall, her face bright red as she hurries from the bathroom.

            "You forgot to wash your hands," Dean calls after her, but she's long gone. "Alright, if anyone else is in here, I recommend you take this opportunity to leave because I'm not going anywhere until Elena Gilbert gets her butt out here and—"

            "Okay, Dean, I get it," Elena snaps, coming out of the far stall. She still has plenty of salad in her hair, but Dean holds himself back from laughing. "You already scared everyone off."

            "Are you okay?" Dean crosses the bathroom, lifting his hand to pluck a tomato out of Elena's hair. "That was quite a show you put on out there."

            "You startled me," Elena says, laughing dryly. "When you said you were going out with Lisa, I didn't think we'd show up in the same place."

            "Neither did I. No offense, but Damon is pretty cheap," Dean teases, attempting to lighten the mood. Rolling her eyes, Elena walks toward the mirror and begins shedding herself of the salad. She pauses, meeting eyes with Dean before smirking.

            "Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna help me?" Laughing, Dean strides over to her and helps speed up the process of picking food out of her hair. "So what are we gonna do? If Lisa or Damon sees us—"

            "Whoa, whoa, slow down. This isn't a Spanish Telanovela. They aren't gonna see us," Dean says, smirking at her in the mirror.

            "And you aren't allowed anywhere near Damon. I do not want you throwing punches in a fancy restaurant filled with snobby people," Elena continues, causing Dean to snort a laugh. "He can't find out, Dean."

            This makes Dean stop, his eyes lingering on hers in the reflection of the mirror. Her gaze wavers with fear, but only for a moment before she blinks and returns to the task at hand.

            "I know," Dean mutters, his fingers shaking as he plucks the last bits of salad from her hair. "There. All better. You ready?"

            "Yeah, we should probably get back out there," Elena agrees, turning to leave. Before she can get far, Dean grabs hold of her wrist, gracefully pulling her back into his arms. He kisses her firmly, his hand sliding up her arm and into her hair to hold her in place. When he finally pulls back, she gasps. "What was that for?"