Here I am again! I'm sticking to canon for the most part here, except for toward the end when I'll probably add some original "firsts" in there. Basically here I'm highlighting the key points in the progressions (and regressions?) of Damon and Elena's relationship, all from Elena's POV, in groups of 3 scenes per chapter. I'll be doing this all the way up through the season 2 finale, and then adding in my own pieces to the story. And who knows – if this goes over well, maybe I'll write a companion fic doing it from Damon's POV. So, without further delay, here is my take (through Elena's eyes) of the ups, downs, forwards, backs, firsts, and lasts of the "something" that Damon and Elena have.

… … …

The first time Elena Gilbert met Damon Salvatore, something inside her shifted. Settled into place. She never would've guessed that Stefan had an older brother that was so completely different from himself. Different from anyone else. She had been blinded by new love, and at that moment had still considered Stefan the handsomer of the two. But even then, she had been struck by the iridescent, icy blue of his eyes. Ice that seemed opaque, emotionless in one moment; and in another, completely warm, liquid, and feeling – as if all of the hardness had melted out. When he first looked at her, with such intense curiosity, she had wanted to close her eyes. If she left them open, she was afraid he would see her – really see her – and that scared her. She couldn't let it happen. But then he welcomed her with such ease, such nonchalance… she couldn't help but push her fear away and feel comfortable around him too. As comfortable as she could be, anyways. But something in his manner (or maybe only his eyes) kept her on her toes…put her on edge. The contrasting instincts were almost too much.

Then Stefan showed up. The tension in the room told her that there was something indescribably wrong between the brothers, and yet Damon kept up his witty running commentary effortlessly. He was the one born with the lighter heart, she thought. In truth, it was the stronger one; that she would realize in the many months that followed. When he kissed her hand in farewell, she knew she should be rolling her eyes at such a move. He had to be a tool. His eyes glinted, as if they were steel, and she turned to walk away; past Stefan, who barely acknowledged her. Her anger toward Stefan was at the forefront of her mind, but underneath, intrigue for his older brother simmered through her veins. She ducked her head as she walked back to her car, clenching her fist as the imprint of a kiss burned into the back of her hand.

… … …

The first time she ever saw the real Damon Salvatore, Elena didn't understand what had been right before her eyes.

She had been folding placemats, cleaning up the remainder of a tense dinner party, and he had been following her around the kitchen, helping her with miscellaneous chores and keeping up a conversation. She had been more than a little surprised when he told her to quit cheerleading; mainly because she had wanted to do exactly that ever since pulling on her shorts and tying her hair back, before her first practice had even started. And here he was, almost a complete stranger, older than the rest of them and so unlike anyone she knew – reading her like a book. He had been the only one to realize how she really felt, and she knew him the least of anyone around her. She knew that looking into his eyes had been a mistake; they really could see right through her. It scared her even more that she could look right back into those pools of blue and not be able to decipher a thing herself – only a shield. She looked back up, hearing him advise her again to do what she wanted and quit cheerleading.

"Some things could matter again," she reasoned, sending him an open look.

"Maybe," he allowed her, "but it seems a little unrealistic to me." As he spoke, Elena thought his expression almost seemed…regretful. Earnest. A look that wore strangely on a face that she was so used to seeing as lively and sharp. Suddenly, she got the feeling that he wasn't entirely talking about cheerleading anymore. He was talking about something…deeper. Something inside of him that she couldn't begin to grasp. Feeling the serious turn of the conversation, she wanted to say something, anything, to comfort him. To show that she didn't take his words lightly.

"I'm sorry," she said in a low voice, tucking her hair behind her right ear. Damon's eyes shifted from side to side in confusion, his eyebrows puckering upward in the middle. "About Katherine," she clarified, inclining her head toward him. Damon's eyebrows fell, his eyes growing slightly wider as he sat up, blinking rapidly and taken aback. He didn't speak, and Elena continued.

"You lost her too."

For a split second, Elena saw the shield fall from his eyes as he was taken off guard. His lips came together, and his head tilted slightly. He still remained silent, and Elena realized that he looked like a lost little boy; one who had not received nor expected kindness for a long time. Compassion flooded her, realizing she had hit a nerve somewhere deep inside this seeming man of steel. She didn't rip her eyes away from his until Bonnie walked into the kitchen, offering her help. As if a wire had snapped, Elena and Damon tore themselves from the moment simultaneously, turning toward the intruder with polite expressions. As if some part of the two of them was inexplicably synchronized. She glanced sideways at him, and knew that the shield in his eyes was back up, their connection broken.

She didn't know what exactly had just passed between them, but she couldn't help replaying the scene in her mind like a broken record. There was definitely more to this brother than meets the eye, and she had a hollow, sinking feeling that it was nothing like the witty, devil-may-care façade that he put on. No – it was something entirely different; it was something heartbreaking.

… … …

The first time Elena realized Damon was bad news was when she found the bite marks on Caroline's back and neck at the founder's party. It rocked her to the core; she couldn't even imagine a person abusing someone in such an animalistic way (she would later shake her head at such a completely naïve reaction). Caroline and she hadn't always gotten along so well, but Elena couldn't stand by and let that happen to anyone, much less a friend she'd known since she was little. Anger roiled up inside of her, and she marched down the Lockwoods' steps, giving Damon a furious shove and nearly walking right through him. The smirk immediately fell from his face, and he slid down a step, looking bewildered and a bit alarmed; if she hadn't been so enraged, she might have felt self-satisfied at this (if only she'd known, then, that he easily could have ripped her head from her shoulders in half a second).

"There is something seriously wrong with you," she informed him lividly. "You stay away from Caroline, or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff." Elena's voice sounded threatening in her own ears, and her eyes flickered to his own icy, intrigued, and somehow bemused ones; she stepped around him, and those eyes followed her. "Got it? Stay away from her." Elena very nearly sneered, walking away. She'd accomplished exactly what she wanted to – needed to – and yet she hadn't gone a hundred feet from him when she paused, closing her eyes and feeling the cool night air dance across her flushed cheeks. Behind her eyes, images rushed forward of him apologizing for his rude behavior at the football game and telling her about his tragic ancestral (personal) history with Mystic Falls. His voice filled her head, telling her that he hoped he worked things out with his brother too. Then one thing he had said struck her, echoing through her mind and pitting in her stomach:

"Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"

She could see in his eyes when he said that, that he was admitting a great weakness, a vulnerability of his. She could feel that he really meant what he was saying here, not like the light, mock-sincerity of every other word he spoke. The look on his face then when he bowed his head, his eyebrows lifting in the middle and somehow enhancing the sadness in his eyes, tugged at her chest now, even in her anger. She didn't know how a man with such a face could do such terrible things to her friend; to any girl. She couldn't help but both pity and hate him simultaneously, her reasonable side attacking her emotions for feeling anything for him at all. He was an enigma – one she knew would probably be disastrous to untangle, but one that she couldn't stop thinking of, all the same.

She opened her eyes and continued walking, looking for answers, for safety – for Stefan.

… … …

And that's that! Scenes from this chapter were from the episodes "Night of the Comet" (1x02), "Friday Night Bites" (1x03), and "Family Ties" (1x04). Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review to let me know if I should keep going or not!