Spoken For
DG32173

Sarah: Chapter 4 is finally here. Makeover chapter. I just know you guys are all excited about this. To be honest, so am I. So, without further delay, here are the review replies and then the chapter. Starts with Elena. Enjoy.

ABOUT THE MAKEOVER!
For a visual on the makeover that Elena gets this chapter, look up the pictures of her from Miss Mystic Falls. Same dress, same hairstyle, same makeup, just on a twenty-one-year-old Elena rather than her seventeen-year-old self.

CREDIT
Since my last update on this story, I lost the beta I had, gained and lost another one, and am on my third beta. So credit goes to crzykittyfangirl for her help in making my stories the best they can be. Thanks so much for your help.

REVIEW REPLIES

jairem: yep, Damon has feelings for Elena as well. And yep, the girls do feel awkward when Damon brings them home and they find out that he lives with a girl. Here's the makeover chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Just A Girl: thanks for the compliments. Here's the next chapter.

Guest 1 of Chapter 3: wish you had left something for me to call you by. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Here's the update.

nallemorin: yeah, it is absolutely adorable that Damon is jealous of himself but doesn't realize it. The makeover and reactions take place this chapter. Enjoy.

kfulmer7: I'm glad you enjoy what I've written so far. And I'm not about to start any romance just yet. Maybe after this chapter, things might start to heat up between them, but I'm not sure yet.

TVDvamplover: glad you've enjoyed it so far. Damon will find out soon enough. As for the mild smut thing you mentioned, I'm gonna wait a bit for any sort of smut. Gonna fan the flames, if you know what I mean. I can promise you that when they do finally get together physically, it will be well worth the wait. I hope you continue to enjoy what I've written.

Mallorie B: yep, Damon is dense. Glad you're enjoying it. Here's more.

Sorrybout'ya: sorry about the long delay in updates. Here, at long last, is the update

Florayezi: glad you enjoyed so far, here's the update.

Sere'sLight: yes, Damon is so sweet in this universe.

kaybaby1127: thanks for reviewing all three of my chapters I had posted so far. You're right that Elena doesn't need a makeover for Damon to see her. As for your question about Katherine coming to town, I'm not sure yet. Yes, Damon should do something about his feelings for Elena but he's in the same place as Elena is, not realizing that she likes him just as much as he likes her and not wanting to risk ruining their friendship

my 2 guys: glad you have enjoyed so far, hope you continue to enjoy it.

TVDTVDTVD: here's the update at long last.

Guest 2 of Chapter 3: I wish you had left me something to call you by to differentiate you from other guest reviewers. Glad you enjoyed it so much.

Guest of Chapter 1: I wish you had left me a name to differentiate your reviews from other guests. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the plot.

Guest 3 of Chapter 3: yep, Damon's the mystery crush. Was there any other option when I don't write any other pairings? Glad you enjoyed the story so far. I just wish you had left a name for me to call you by.

HouseofNightUniverse: at long last, here's more. Your wait is over for now.

Guest of Chapter 1-3: I wish you had left a name to call you by. The only reason I think you are the same person for all three reviews is because of how closely they were made. Damon's reaction to finding out he had been the one tearing up Elena's heart will be portrayed very soon, so no spoilers. As for Chapter 2, the makeover and Damon's reaction will be this chapter. And in response to your review of Chapter 3, here's the update at long last.

HoneySexy: I'm glad you were able to put aside your dislike of AH TVD stories to fall in love with this one. It's my first attempt at this and I'm glad you enjoy it. Here's the update at long last.

Chapter 4
Makeover Mayhem

I awake with a start when a loud banging rings through the apartment. It takes a moment to realize that it's not gunshots that woke me up. Another moment reminds me that it's just my girlfriends come to fetch me too damn early in the morning to start on my makeover in an attempt to catch Damon's eye.

Next to me, Damon groans as the banging rings out again. "It's too damn early," he grumbles.

"You go tell them that while I get ready," I reply groggily. "They're going to keep it up until someone lets them in. We can't have the neighbors calling the cops again."

He grunts but obediently climbs out of bed. He leaves my room to go let the girls in and start a pot of coffee. I groan and decide it's time to get my ass out of bed. I force myself into a sitting position and rub the sleep out of my eyes, or at least attempt to. I glance at the clock on my nightstand and swear as I look out my window to make sure my clock's right. The curses come fast and fluent when I see that it is quite literally the crack of dawn.

"I'm going to kill them," I vow when I come to the end of my blue streak.

My girlfriends know better than to come to this apartment at such a godforsaken time of day when neither Damon nor I are required by our schedules to be up this early. Damon's going to give them an earful for this blasphemy. Right on cue, Damon's infuriated voice rings out from down the hall as he lets the girls in. I listen for a moment with a small grin before climbing out of bed.

I make my way over to my closet and pick out a pair of skinny jeans and a nice blouse. Then I go to my dresser and grab the set of sexy, ice blue underwear that Damon had given me as a gag gift on my last birthday.

I quickly get dressed and run a brush through my hair. I wonder what my girlfriends are going to do to me today. I fear one of the things they will want to do is put me in a dress. I haven't worn a dress since I was a baby and had no choice in the matter. I might have for Prom, if I had gone. But I had come down with the flu and was out of school that entire week. So I didn't get to go.

Of course, Damon made up for that missed opportunity by insisting on having a mini-prom in our apartment living room the night of, just the two of us so I didn't have to miss out completely. We danced, me in my pajamas because I was still sick, him in a tailor-fitted tux. In the end, he wound up catching the flu bug from me but he said it was worth it to make sure I didn't completely miss out on my senior prom. Personally, I think I had a better time with the way things turned out on prom night than I ever would have had I actually been able to go.

As I was saying, I have never willingly worn a dress in my life, much preferring t-shirts and jeans that is my normal everyday wear. Damon is always teasing me about liking the girl-next-door look. I always tease him back for his expensive taste in clothes that usually end up getting ruined by his job.

In the end, I decide that since I have never worn a dress before, then Damon has never seen me in one. Maybe actually seeing me in a dress might wake him up to the reality that I'm a girl, too. That's the very least that the girls are hoping for with this makeover they insisted on today.

I sigh, grab my purse, and head out to where Damon's still giving the girls hell for coming at the crack of dawn. "I think they get the picture," I tell him as I pass by on my way to the kitchen to grab a Poptart, which is all I have time for right now. I leave the other Poptart for Damon, as has become our habit.

"Yeah, well, if they'd gotten it through their heads the last time they had come so damn early, I wouldn't be giving them hell in the first place," Damon grumbles as he grabs the other Poptart and takes a bite.

"Anyways, I'll see you later, when the girls are done with me," I say. "Don't get too bored on your day off."

"I'm sure I'll find something to do," he assures me. "Maybe I'll read Gone with the Wind again."

I roll my eyes. "You and that book," I mutter.

"Hey, it's a good book," he protests.

"It is. Doesn't mean you have to reread it over and over. We do have other books to choose from," I point out.

"I could say the same thing about you and To Kill a Mockingbird," he points out.

I chuckle. "Touché," I concede.

"C'mon, Elena! We don't have all day!" Caroline calls.

I quickly finish my Poptart and chase it down with a glass of milk. "Coming," I call back, sitting the empty glass in the sink. It's Damon's day to wash the dishes. "Later, Damon."

"Later, Elena," he replies.

Two hours later, downtown Richmond

I put the brakes on hard as my girlfriends try to drag me into the best formal dress shop in Richmond. "Uh-uh, nope, no way, no how," I protest. I had changed my mind since earlier. I am not letting them talk me into actually wearing a dress for the first time since I started picking out my own clothes.

"C'mon, Elena, quit being so stubborn. Damon hasn't seen you in a dress since you were a baby. It's about time to change that," Caroline says, pulling one of my arms while Bonnie pulls the other and Rebekah pushes me from behind.

Between the three of them, they actually get me inside the store. I groan at the extravagant gowns. "Why must I get a dress that I'll probably only wear once in my life?" I ask.

"Hey, it's not like you're buying it," Rebekah says. "We're paying for it, remember?"

"And that makes it better how?" I demand.

"C'mon, Elena, you had promised to wear a dress for senior prom back in high school. Well, since you didn't get to go because you got sick, you can fulfill that promise now," Bonnie replies.

I groan, having forgotten that I had actually made that promise. Before I can formulate a rebuttal, my eyes land on a beautiful blue dress with thin straps that would fall just to my ankles being displayed on one of the mannequins. Almost in a trance, I pull away from my girlfriends and walk over to stare longingly at it.

If ever I were to wear a dress, this would be my dream dress. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say the dress I had dreamed of wearing off and on since I was seventeen and watching Caroline win the Miss Mystic Falls crown had leaped out of my dreams and onto this mannequin. "It's beautiful," I whisper, daring to raise a hand to touch the dress and make sure it's real.

"Hey, we need assistance over here!" I vaguely here Rebekah call out. "I think my friend found the perfect dress!"

It isn't long before I'm ushered into the changing room with my dream dress. I eagerly try it on and find that it might as well have been made for me, it fits me so perfectly. I turn this way and that as I examine my reflection in the mirror. I never thought I could look so beautiful.

"Hurry up, Elena! We want to see!" Caroline calls through the door.

I slowly step out and my three girlfriends immediately stop talking to study me. "I never thought I could look so beautiful," I admit.

"The dress is great," Rebekah admits.

"But we have to do something about your hair and makeup," Caroline continues.

I frown. "What do you mean?" I ask. The most makeup I've ever worn was flavored lip gloss and a touch of eye shadow. The grins my girlfriends get sent a chill down my spine, especially when they refuse to answer.

Bonnie turns to the saleswoman waiting nearby. "What do we need to do so that she can wear that out of here?" she asks.

"I'll ring it up right now," she replies.

When I find out the price of my dress, however, I try to balk at allowing any of my girlfriends to purchase it but I'm overruled. Caroline swipes her card and the saleswoman cuts off the tags on the dress while I'm still wearing it.

Five hours later, I find myself standing outside of the door to the apartment Damon and I share, wringing my hands nervously. I'm still dressed in my new dress but the girls had taken me to a beauty salon and gotten my hair and makeup done in a way I had never allowed before. My hair now boasts a very slight curl at the ends and is trailing over my shoulders while I'm wearing makeup that was done so subtly that it's nearly impossible to tell that I'm wearing any at all. I'm also wearing one-inch black heels. The only thing that I'm still wearing from this morning is my underwear. The girls had confiscated everything else until after Damon has a chance to see me.

Caroline finally gets fed up with my nerves and takes the apartment key from my hands and unlocks the door. "Maybe this was a mistake," I murmur as she's doing so.

"It was not a mistake," Rebekah retorts. "You look magnificent. You'll knock his socks off and have him eating out of the palm of your hand."

"But this isn't me," I protest.

"It is you," Bonnie assures me. "It's just a side of you that you buried years ago."

"But the dress …" I start.

"The dress called you almost as soon as we went into the store," Caroline says firmly, shoving the door open. "It's meant for you. It fits you like it was made with you in mind."

"But …" I start, trying to think of another argument.

"Damon!" Caroline calls into the apartment. "Come tell Elena she looks good so she can stop feeling so nervous."

"What are you doing?" I hiss.

"What's going on?" Damon calls from the back of the apartment.

"Nothing!" I call back, my heart in my throat. "You don't have to come! Everything's fine!"

Silence for a moment. "Now I have to see for myself what the big deal is about," he calls. "Ready or not, I'm coming out. Be warned, I just got out of the shower." Damon appears in the hallway, scrubbing his hair with a hand towel while another is wrapped around his waist.

I see my girlfriends lick their lips at the deliciousness that is Damon fresh from the shower and I frown at them. "You have your own boyfriends," I hissed at them.

"Doesn't mean we're dead," Rebekah murmurs.

"Yeah, we still have eyes in our heads. So long as we don't touch, the guys don't mind too much," Caroline whispers.

"I can't believe you get to see that on a daily basis," Bonnie breathes.

Before I can reprimand them, Damon finishes drying his hair and looks up. As soon as his eyes land on me, he nearly trips over his own two feet in shock. "Wow," he says breathlessly.

"It's a bit much, right?" I ask sheepishly, feeling my cheeks heat up at the open male appreciation written all over his face.

"No, no, you look gorgeous, Elena" he protests. "Not that you don't usually look beautiful," he's quick to amend when he realizes how that could come across. "You always look beautiful. It's just, that dress really suits you. Not that there's anything wrong with the clothes you normally wear!" he says. He looks at the girls behind me. "Help a guy out a little so he doesn't dig his own grave?" he begs.

"Oh, I think you can manage just fine on your own," Caroline says wickedly.

"I think our work here is done, girls," Rebekah says. With that, the girls leave, closing the door behind them. Thankfully, they leave my bag of clothes by the door.

I chuckle at the forlorn look on Damon's face as he stares after the girls.. "Relax, I understand what you mean," I tell him.

"You do?" he asks hopefully, turning to me.

I shake my head. "It's the dress," I reply, grabbing my bag of clothes from where the girls had left it. "You haven't seen me in a dress since I started picking out my own clothes. It's no wonder you'd get tripped up." I head down the hall with my clothes. I knew it was a mistake to go along with the makeover. I want to win Damon's heart because he loves me, not because of a pretty dress and a new hairdo.

Damon

I frown when Elena thinks that I only got tongue-tied because she's wearing a dress for the first time since she was a toddler. Sure, the dress is gorgeous and hugs her curves just right, but the dress, hairdo, and even the makeup only serve to enhance her natural beauty. How can she not see that?

Normally, I'd let it go at that. But something tells me to follow her. I don't ignore my instincts when it comes to Elena. I find her struggling to reach the zipper in the back of the dress, tears in her eyes. I sigh and help her with the zipper, revealing that she had actually worn the sexy bra and panties I had gotten her as a gag gift on her last birthday, though I had thought she would never wear them.

"It's not the dress," I whisper in her ear. "It's the woman in the dress. Putting that dress on anyone else would not get the same reaction."

I place a tender kiss on the back of her neck and leave the room, closing the door behind me. While I'd love to follow up on my words by tumbling her into her bed and showing her with my body I meant every word, I know Elena. I know she'll need time to absorb my words and go over them in that pretty head over hers. Sometimes, her high IQ is a bad thing because she doesn't always listen to what her heart is trying to tell her.

I just hope her heart gets through to her head what I really meant soon. I'm getting tired of the lifestyle I have spent the past five years living. I'm starting to see that maybe I can have a shot at the one woman my heart wants. But only if her head doesn't get in the way.