the vampire diaries matt and elena first date by l.j smith (e reader comics .TXT) đ
- Author: l.j smith
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Finally he had to admit that nothing else but the bare fact mattered. The hundred was gone.
And the terrible thing was that it hadnât had to happen this way. There was a rumor that Elena Gilbert never went out if she didnât pay half. Sheâd actually confirmed that to him when heâd gotten up the courage to stammer out the words, âWill you go out with me next Saturday?â He remembered exactly how her blue eyes had lit up and how sheâd said, âYes, but I always go Dutch.â And he, idiot of idiots, had puffed out his chest and said, âNot this time, you wonât.â
Hoist on his own petard. Whatever that meant.
Now, what to do about it? God, what could he do? Most of his buddies were practically broke in autumnâbesides it was a half hour drive for them. His momâhe glanced at his watch and winced. It was after 9:00âno wonder that waiter was so madâand his mom would be asleep by now. Her shift at the bakery started early.
Damn! He could almost cry. This wasâhow was he going to walk up to Elena and tell her that he didnât have the money to buy her dinner when they were already there eating it? Oh, God, she wouldnât speak to him for the rest of his life. And heâd be arrested, locked up as a con man . . . or whatever you called it . . .
He couldnât do it.
But he had to.
It just had to be done.
And telling himself that, the way a soldier on the night of his very first battle might, he made himself march back to the table. There he made himself sit down facing Elena.
She was bubbling with good cheer. âMonsieur GarÏon came by but I sent him away. Heâs going to be back inââ She suddenly stopped, her whole manner changing. âMatt, what happened?â
Matt opened his mouth but nothing came out, not even the dry brown moth he imagined being inside. What could he do? Did they even let you wash dishes to make up for it if you couldnât pay for a meal? Or was that just an urban legend? He couldnât imagine Elena, in her sparkling moonlight-blue dress, washing dishes.
What if he just let the meal progress to its conclusion, and then tried to have a word with the manager in private? Things were tight around the Honeycutt household right now, but when werenât they? Surely, his mom would lend him the money in the morning? But one thought of how the waiterâs face would look and that plan bit the dust. Besides, Elena would be humiliated. Elena! His perfect precious angel would beâ
âMatt, youâre sick. Youâre freezing. We need to call a doctor.â
Matt blinked, the world slowly coming into focus. He could just imagine how he must look: blue-white in the face, with icy hands and a constant tremor going through him. Hell, maybe that would work. Maybe if he acted really sickâ
âI lost the money,â he heard himself telling Elena.
âMatt, youâre delirious.â
âNo, itâs the truth.â He found himself pouring out the story of his Uncle Joe to her, of the way heâd worked to make this date perfect, and of the horror it had become.
He watched as Elenaâs face took on a different lookâhe couldnât tell if it was a good look or a bad look. It was a look of quiet, lonely, suffering.
Finally, he finished the story.
He stared at the spotless white tablecloth.
And then he heard the most incredible sound. He had to turn his head to make sure he had heard it.
Elena was laughing.
Laughing at him? No, laughing with him, her head tilted to the side and tears of sympathy in her eyes.
âOh, Matt, what youâve been through. What youâve done just to make all this happen! But you can stop worrying now. I should have plenty to tide us over.â She scooted and picked up a little purse that matched her blue outfit. âHere, let me seeâoh!â Suddenly she was biting her lip in chagrin. âI forgot; I blew it all on this purse and some new makeup. Oh, Iâm sorry.â
That âIâm sorryâ was enough to rip a hole in Mattâs side and hull him. But then again, he heard melodious, mischievous laughter. He looked up dully, not really caring what happened to him anymore.
âMatt, itâs okay.â Under the table a warm hand found one of his and gave it a quick squeeze. âItâs all going to be fine. Now listen to me, because Iâve got a planââ
Years later he learned to be wary of that phrase âIâve got a plan.â But this was the first time heâd heard it. So he listened. And his mouth dropped open. And then kept opening and shutting, like a goldfishâs.
âYou really think we can do that?â
âI know we can, because of this blank space here.â She pointed at the menu. He stared.
Then, slowly, he looked up at her and smiled.
âOkay, now wipe your face off, because you look as if youâve just run a marathon. You lost your napkin? Here take mine.â
It had to be his imagination, but Matt actually thought he could smell her fragrance on the napkin. He wiped himself down just in time for the waiter to return. Elena immediately entwined her fingers with Mattâs on the tablecloth.
âHave Monsieur et Mademoiselle vinally decided to eat here tonight?â the waiter asked, heavily, looking at Elena, who nodded, âMademoiselle?â ââMadame,â siâl vous plait,â Elena said sweetly. âAnd Iâd like a chocolate soufflĂ©, with two spoons, merci.â
âMademoiselleââ The waiter looked about to explode.
â âMadameâ â Elena reminded him.
âMadame, you cannotâcannotââ The waiterâs face was brick-red.
âBut we can,â Elena answered in her sweetest voice. She pointed to the menu. âThereâs nothing that says thereâs a minimum charge per customer.â
âThat,â the waiter said as if he were trying to keep his haughty attitude, but was blowing up like a balloon ready to hit the ceiling âis becauseâis becauseâbecause ze clientele we serve knows better without being told!â
Elena put her free fingers to her lips. âMonsieur, people are starting to stare.â
The waiter controlled himself, obviously gathering all the dignity at his command.
âAnd monsieur?â he said in a voice like ice, turning to Matt.
âOh, um. me? Iâd like, um, two scoops of vanilla ice cream. And two spoons,â Matt found himself saying, and curbing equal urges to flee and to burst into hysterical guffawing. âOhâand two cups of coffee.â
âYou wantââ
âTwo scoops of vanilla ice cream.â Matt was afraid he the waiter would burst.
âCâest impossible . . .â murmured the waiter, but he wrote something on his pad. The crisis seemed to be over now. The man had gone from red to pale, and he managed to turn away from them without detonating. âIt weel take âalf an hour for ze soufflĂ© to cook,â he said, with his back to him. âMeanwhile . . . Bon appĂ©tit!â
Once he was gone, Matt and Elena collapsed into out-of-control laughter.
âOh, God, did you see his face?â Elena gasped. âThe poor manâweâll have to give him all we have left for a tip . . .â
âTip, nothing. He was rude to you. As far as Iâm concerned he gets no tip, and Iâm gonna ask him to âstep outsideâ if it happens again.â
âOh, Matt. You really are a knight in shining armor. But can I tell you something? My favorite restaurant is Hot Dogglesâyes, the hotdog place back in Fellâs Church. And my favorite thing to do on a dateânow, I donât want to sound spookyâbut I like to walk around the graveyard or the Old Woods in the moonlight. IâI donât really care about fancy stuff. If I like a guyââand here her eyes seemed to be saying something Matt could hardly let himself believeââIâd rather just go to his place and listen to music, or bring him over to eat dinner with the family. The rest is justââ She made a dismissive motion with her hand. âJust for the idiots I have to put up with sometimes. The jocks
who need jockstraps for their brains.â She tossed her head, so that her beautiful, waving. golden hair flew from side to side.
Matt opened his mouth and again nothing came out. There was no Uncle Joe to kick him in the behind.
But somehow there was. In spite of the missing bill he felt a kick, and words just dropped out of his mouth, âIf Iâd known you were that kind of girl, Iâd have asked you out a long time ago,â he blurted. âI thought you wereâsome kind of pampered princess.â
The next minute he could have bitten his tongue off. But Elena wasnât mad. Instead she was saying sadly, âLots of guys think that. I guess I am, really. I know what I like when I see it. And I want what I want when I want it.â And once again her eyes said something to him. And this time he couldnât help but believe it. And he knew that his eyes were saying something back to hers, too.
âSo thatâs why you never asked me out. I guess itâs up to me to set the record straight.â She sat up and smiled again, this time brilliantly, âAnd when I take you out on our next three datesââ
âThree dates!â
She nodded solemnly. âTheyâll be dates at places like Hot Doggles or something like thatâhave you ever tried Midgeâs, right at Main Street and Hodge? Itâs greatâand weâll talk and just have fun. When spring comes weâll go on picnics. Have you ever flown a kite? I know itâs for kids, but itâs really exciting to run and run and suddenly feel the wind bite. Then you let go.â Her expression went dreamy. âSometimes I donât want to let go. I want to go up with the kite.â
âLike skydiving,â Matt said, watching her face eagerly. He loved to look at her when her cheeks flamed and her blue eyes took fire.
âOh, yes, like skydiving. Wouldnât that be fun to do together? Or a balloon ride. . . I hear they have those over in Heron. Weâd have to save up, thoughâin winter we can make snow people!â
âSnow âpeopleâ?â
âOh, thatâs Meredith. She says we always say âmenâ when we mean âmen and womenâ so weâre all used to using âpeopleâ for everything by now. I want you to meet them all: Meredith, and Bonnie, and Caroline.â She held up a finger sternly. âNo dating them though. Bonnieâs got a crush on you. But I have first dibs.â
Matt didnât know where he was going. He didnât care, either, because it felt as if he were headed straight for Heaven.
âIâve known Caroline for years and years,â he heard himself say. âI thought you were like her, only, like, multiplied by ten.â Then he saw her glance at him and wanted to clap his hand over his mouth.
âWell, sometimes I am,â Elena said. âYouâll just have to find out in what ways, wonât you?â
Just then the dessert arrived. Matt watched as the waiter solemnly placed a chocolate something-or-other in front of Elenaâand two spoons, and two round balls of vanilla ice cream by his placeâand two spoons. Then he poured them coffee, put down a little folder with the bill inside it, and turned on his heel as if he never wanted to see them again. He didnât even say âBon appĂ©tit.ââ
âDid we make it?â Elena whispered as Matt frantically calculated the tips for waiter and valet.
âWith a dollar to spare!â he whispered back, and again they broke out into laughter together.
They each wanted to let the other one
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