#beyondtherubydroplets

       "I was having a really bad day and I needed it."

       "You know sometimes you just have to look in the mirror and be like wow, my ass looks great today."

The second the world erupted in color, Kol was bewildered. The fact that it happened just as he bumped into Elena had him even more out of sorts. He'd heard about this, the world would gain color when you found your soulmate, when your bodies made physical contact it was as if everything would be lit aflame. But he'd thought it some ridiculous love story made up by sappy, annoying couples.But here he was with Elena freakin' Gilbert, his hand holding tight to her arm after he had instinctively grabbed a hold of her to keep her from falling. This was not possible. If there was anyone in Mystic Falls that should not be his soulmate, it was her.

It was Damon's least favorite time of the year. Christmas hadn't meant much to him in a very long time and really it still didn't. In fact this one was particularly unnerving, Stefan went off on another ripper binge and they had practically just gotten him back. Damon had endlessly searched for him, following dead end trails of bodies with absolutely no luck. The weather forecast was predicting a large snow storm, so Damon decided not to go on a hunt, it was Christmas Eve after all. Or so maybe that's what he was telling himself, in truth he knew that Elena was at home by herself since her friends had gone on a skiing trip and she refused their offer to go in case Stefan came back. Damon knew better, Stefan wasn't going to -just- come back. There was a medium-sized package sitting on his bed wrapped in red paper with a silver bow and a simple green gift tag which read 'Elena' on its shiny surface. Inside was a new journal, black leather-bound with silver accents and complete with a lock and key as well as a black and white paisley printed scarf. Damon knew it was a bold statement, especially with Stefan out of the picture but he couldn't let her spend Christmas alone, maybe it was a little selfish but he would be the last person to admit it. Throwing on his jacket he grabbed the gift and headed out to his car, a light snow beginning to fall from the night sky, sparkling under the light from the porch. It didn't take him long to drive to her house and when he got there he second guessed himself but ultimately decided to get out, walk up the small set of steps and ring her doorbell, rocking gently back on his heel as he waited. beyondtherubydroplets

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" The redhead asked curiously. "I mean, the flowers are lovely, but I don't quite understand why you got them for me."