~For Alex, Megan, and all of the other Poey shippers out there…~
"Don't even bother, Pacey; it's always been Dawson. It will always be Dawson."
Damon glared at his TV with irritation. Why was he even watching this? At this present moment, he was lounging on his bed, watching the last few episodes of the third season of Dawson's Creek. He was watching a damn teen soap, for crying out loud!
A very good teen soap, everyone had said.
A very relatable teen soap, he had begun to think as he made his way through the first few seasons. Pacey Witter had been labeled the family joke, not to mention he had serious daddy issues. Damon scowled; throw in the whole "perfect brother" complex, and it was a little too relatable.
Then Pacey falls in love. With his best friend's "soul mate". Doing his best not to gag at the term, Damon sneered. He knew this situation far too well; boy falls in love with girl, girl will always choose his broth- …friend.
"Just setting yourself up for heartbreak…" he mumbled as he continued to watch the episode unfold.
"I called Bessie, Bessie called you; I tell you, it is not easy work finishing things off."
"Pacey, what does this mean?"
"Well, it means that you were right. That my leaving would be giving up on you, and I'm not quite prepared to do that just yet. But, it also means that I have to know that you're not prepared to give up on me yet, either."
"Here it comes…" Damon mumbled, preparing himself for Pacey's inevitable rejection.
"So, that being said, I refer to the wall with its hastily yet adoringly written SOS, which, I guess, kinda speaks for itself…"
Damon blinked, emotionless, at the screen, reading the words that Pacey had messily painted in vibrant white paint on the wall; "Ask me to stay!"
"I spent an hour and a half staring at this half painted wall after we talked last night. Just staring and thinking. So, the way I figure it, it's your turn to stare now."
Damon blinked as he watched Pacey walk away. Good, he thought, save yourself the heartbreak.
Lying on his stomach on the bed, Damon was tempted to turn the show off as it began to go down the same old Dawson and Joey path; until the ending made him stop.
"…you're going to turn around and walk away from me. Aren't you?"
"I have to. Otherwise, I'll never know…"
"Just go."
"Dawson…"
"Joey, go! Before I take it all back. Just go."
Holy shit, Damon thought with disbelief, sitting up and paying extreme close attention to the next few scenes in attempt to will it to whatever was about to happen between Pacey and Joey. Finally, the last scene arrived.
"Pacey, I think I'm in love with you."
"You think, or you know?"
"I know. I've known it since the moment you kissed me, and maybe even before that, and…"
"Holy shit…!"
"…scary as it is, I don't wanna run from it, and I don't want it to run from me."
Damon dropped the remote with shock.
"She… she… she chose… she chose Pacey…?"
He blinked at the screen without moving for a good solid ten minutes. Then he jumped up, grabbing his wallet before dashing for the door.
He was buying Elena a wall.
… . … . … . … . … . …
Carol Lockwood looked up with confusion as she heard someone walking down the hall to her office, singing.
"I don't want to wait… for our lives to be over… I want to know right now, what will it be…?"
She blinked and raised an eyebrow when Damon Salvatore walked in, looking oddly chipper. Well, this was bound to be interesting…
"Damon Salvatore," Carol blinked curiously when Damon swaggered into her office, a look of purpose in his eyes. "What can I do for you?"
"Carol, I would like to buy a wall," Damon stated plainly, placing his hands on the edge of her desk. Carol paused and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, you would like to what?" she asked, perplexed, and Damon rolled his eyes before pressing on.
"You know, a wall; a large structure used to keep the weather out of a building…"
"I know what a wall is," Carol said, rolling her own eyes. "What do you mean, you want to buy one?"
"A public building. The wall of a public building. I want to buy the rights to one, so I can… paint it or something.
Carol raised an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you want to do that? I didn't think you liked painting."
"I don't," Damon remarked, sighing and running a hand through his hair as he struggled to explain his motives. "Look; have you ever watched Dawson's Creek?"
Carol raised an eyebrow. "That teen soap from the 90s that's been airing reruns for the past nine years? I think everyone has seen it, Damon…"
"Who did you ship?" he asked, leaning closer.
Carol gave him a bored look as though it should be obvious. "Dawson and Joey, of course; they were soul mates!"
Damon narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, what? All they did was kiss when they were together! That doesn't make them qualify as soul mates!"
"You haven't gotten to season six yet, have you?" Carol asked. "You know, the dramatic speech on what a soul mate really is?"
Damon stood up straighter, looking out the window. "No… I only just finished season three."
"Season three, season three… oh," Carol murmured, looking up at him. "You're going to pull a Pacey!"
Running his hands through his hair, Damon shrugged. "Well… yes, in a nutshell."
Carol rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Why don't you just pull a Dawson? Everyone knows the girl always ch-"
The look in Damon's eyes made her stop, and he snapped out in a clipped tone, "If you value your life, you won't finish that sentence. Now just let me buy my damn wall!"
"Fine," Carol said, rolling her eyes. "I'll make a few calls. Meanwhile, I suggest you go finish watching the series; you're shipping wrong."
"I am not!" Damon snapped. "Pacey and Joey belong together!"
"Whatever," Carol snapped, picking up her phone and waving him out of her office, muttering, "Damn Poey shipper…"
Grinning smugly, Damon walked out of the office.
… . … . … . … . … . …
"Oh, come on, Elena! Everyone knows that Clare belongs with Jake!"
"Are you nuts?" Elena cried into the phone to Caroline as she turned up the volume on the newest episode of Degrassi. "Clare belongs with Eli! What they have is passionate, and exciting, and-"
"And he's a psychopath! Clare being with Eli would be like you being with Damon!"
Elena shifted awkwardly in her seat, shaking her head. "How can you even ship Cake? Their parents are married! They're technically siblings!"
Caroline laughed without humor. "Not by blood relation! Eli is bipolar; he's dangerous!"
"He takes meds now!" Elena snapped. "Besides, Jake is boring! Who wants to be with someone boring?"
"Jake is not boring-!"
Elena tuned out of Caroline's rant when she heard a knock on the door, picking up the remote and turning the television down.
"Care, I gotta go…"
"-drove his car into a wall for-! Wait, what? Why, we were just getting to the good part!"
"There's someone at the door," Elena said, a hint of curiosity in her voice. Who the hell could be at her door at eleven-thirty at night? Everyone knew that was her Degrassi time! She swore if this wasn't important, someone was getting a stake through the heart.
Hanging up her phone, she glanced longingly at the TV screen. "Sorry, Eli," she muttered before dashing for the door, pulling it open. "Who disturbs my…?! Oh, hey, Damon. What's up?"
Blinking at her outburst, Damon raised an eyebrow. "I have a surprise for you," he stated, regaining his composure, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Elena furrowed her brow. "A surprise? Damon, it's nearly midnight! Couldn't it wait until tomorrow?"
"No!" Damon said, shaking his head, and she sighed.
"Well, what is it?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it? Come on; we have to go!"
Frowning deeply, Elena shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere! This is my Eli time!"
Damon's eyes widened with shock before they narrowed angrily. "Eli? Who the hell is Eli? Is Elijah in there with you? That Original bastard…!"
Eli Goldsworthy!" Swatting his arm, she continued, "From Degrassi. Which you are very rudely interrupting, by the way; I was in the middle of a riveting ship war with Caroline about Eclare vs. Cake, and I was winning!"
Damon blinked for a moment before taking her hand and dragging her outside, shutting the front door. "Forget about Degrassi; my surprise is better."
"Nothing is better than Munro Chambers…" Elena grumbled, and Damon rolled his eyes, turning to face her.
"You come with me, and I'll find a way for you to meet this Eli guy. Deal?"
Widening her eyes, Elena nodded rapidly. "Help me meet Munro Chambers and I'll love you forever."
Pausing, his eyes wide, Damon muttered, "…really…?"
Watching her nod rapidly, Damon smirked. Maybe he wouldn't even need the wall.
"Come on; the sooner you see your surprise, the sooner you can meet this Pablo guy."
"Munro."
"Oh, whatever…"
… . … . … . … . …
"Closed… keep them closed…"
Elena hesitantly continued to step forward, holding Damon's hand as he led her across what felt like a very cold parking lot. "Can I open my eyes yet?"
"Just a few more steps…" She felt him finally stop and move to stand beside her, releasing her hand. "Alright; open your eyes!"
Elena's eyes snapped open, and she frowned, glancing around. "Well? Where's my surprise?"
"This is it!" Damon said, gesturing forward.
Elena blinked as she stared straight ahead at the blank, boring brick wall of Johnson's Convenience Store.
"I don't get it," she said, and Damon's grin faded.
"It's a wall," he said, hoping she would understand. Turning her head, she gazed at him with confusion.
"A wall? My big surprise that I'm missing Degrassi for is a wall?"
"Yeah…"
"Why did you buy me a wall?"
"I bought you a wall because… because…" Damon trailed off and looked down. "Well, shit."
"You bought me a wall because…?" Elena prodded and Damon heaved a sigh.
"I bought you a wall because it worked for Pacey!"
Elena blinked for a few moments, just gaping at him. Gaping and staring. Staring and thinking. Thinking and realizing…
"OH MY GOD."
Damon grunted, suddenly finding Elena thrusting herself into his arms as she pounced on him, her eyes shining with adoration. "You ship Poey!"
Blinking rapidly, Damon nodded slowly, his voice shaking a bit with shock. "Yes…"
"You wonderful, wonderful man! Ugh, Stefan always shipped stupid Doey; it was impossible to have a conversation of any substance with him. But you…" Her grin widening, Elena closed her eyes and leaned closer. "You're perfect."
Damon was fairly certain he had died and gone to heaven when her lips touched his. The entire time they were kissing, Damon could only think one thing.
Walls really work! Pacey Witter, you devilish genius, you!