Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 25

Bonnie kept her comments to herself when they rolled up to Damon's house, but she did steal a glance at Elena, letting her know that this house was ridiculous too.

Stefan remained close to Elena as they walked. He was imagining every possible situation that would play out at dinner. All bad too. Bonnie and Jeremy walked hand in hand behind Stefan and Elena. Bonnie was still enthralled with the place and Jeremy was lost in thought.

It didn't take long for any of them to be interrupted from their thoughts and worries. Lily came running full speed down the walkway towards Stefan and Elena. "Uncle Stefan!" she squealed, jumping into his arms. "I've been waiting all day for you!" she told him.

Stefan smiled, forgetting all about his worries over his brother and Katherine. If there was one person he could count on to make this dinner bearable, it was Lily. "I've been waiting all day for you too" Stefan countered.

"I know" Lily said, scrunching her nose. "Who are they?" she asked, looking past Stefan to see two people she did not recognize.

Stefan turned around to face Jeremy and Bonnie. "Lily, this is Elena's brother, Jeremy, and her friend, Bonnie" he introduced. "They're visiting from California" he explained.

Lily's eyes got wide at the mention of where they were from. "Disneyland?" she asked excitedly.

Bonnie stepped forward, extending her hand to shake Lily's. "We live about an hour from Disneyland" Bonnie smiled.

Again, Lily's eyes got wide. "Can I come and live with you so I can go to Disneyland every day?" she asked.

Bonnie laughed at that. "I don't know if you could live with us, but maybe you could come for a visit. We live near the beach, too" she added.

"Please Uncle Stefan can I go?" she begged. "Please please please!" she continued. When Stefan didn't answer, Lily turned to Elena. "Please Elena?" she asked, giving her an adoring look.

"I don't know. What do you think Jeremy?" Elena asked, smiling at him.

Jeremy smiled. "Only if you can ride the fast, scary rides" he told Lily.

"I can!" Lily exclaimed. She wiggled out of Stefan's arms so she could stand in front of Jeremy and Bonnie. "Come on" she said, grabbing their hands and leading them towards the house. Both smiled as they looked at Stefan and Elena.

"I've told you she's adorable, right?" Elena asked.

Stefan smiled. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me" Stefan told her, beginning to walk again towards the house. Elena thought that was the sweetest thing he could say. But then he stopped and looked back at her momentarily. "But she's not the only best thing anymore" he added, locking eyes with her before turning and continuing to walk.

Elena remained where she was, concentrating on his last words. Maybe she was reading too much into it, but she got the feeling that he just might have been talking about her. Her phone buzzed suddenly and she quickly grabbed for it, seeing that she had a new text message from Stefan. I was totally talking about you, in case you didn't know that. Elena smiled and pocketed her phone before heading inside.

"Hi, you must be Jeremy and Bonnie. I'm Damon" Damon said, introducing himself. "This is my wife, Katherine. And I see you've already met our daughter, Lily" he said.

"No time to talk Daddy. They're taking me to Disneyland so I gotta pack" she informed, pushing past him and leaving her two new friends behind.

"Elena, always nice to see you again" Damon said, being his charming self. Katherine resisted the temptation to make a gagging noise and opted instead to show her news guests around her home.