I do not own Vampire Diaries or it's characters in any way. Nor do I own any works of E.E Cummings. This work is strictly fan based. Hope you enjoy.

Driving home the next morning after my sleepover with the girls I couldn't help but to smile. Although Caroline was very shaken up and needed some comforting, over all it felt really good to be all together again. I couldn't help but to feel a tiny bit of sadness, because it took our sleepover to realize how much things had really changed. We had truly grown in many different ways. Sometimes I felt like there was nothing but trouble on the horizon for us these days and that might even be completely true. But somehow I still felt happy. I had Stefan, who was, as always, wonderful. I had my family and my friends.

I pulled into the driveway at my house and walked in. I heard voices in the kitchen and it only took a second to recognize Damon's voice along with John. I walked into where they stood. John stood at the counter while Damon leaned casually against the fridge. I noticed that their conversation ended as soon as I appeared in the room.

"What's going on?" I asked, slightly annoyed at the secrecy.

"Oh, John and I are just plotting." Damon answered with a smirk. "Well, he's plotting against the werewolves...and I'm plotting against him." Damon's smirk turned into a sparkling smile as he looked over at John. John sighed and shook his head as if he were done dealing with Damon for the day.

"Elena, I'm going to grab some food for the house, to hopefully make Jenna a little more pleased with my stay. Want to come?" John asked.

"I'm sure it won't work and no." I said acidly.

John had amazing resilience and patience. We worked really hard to make him feel unwanted but it never seemed to deter him from making himself at home. He smiled and kept on walking and then he was gone from the house.

"That was quite the Kodak moment." Damon said slipping on his jacket. "I'll see you later." He said beginning to walk by to leave as well. Something was strange about Damon. He seemed almost like he was in a hurry to leave because it was just the two of us and I wasn't sure when Damon had become uncomfortable around me. Or uncomfortable in any situation for that matter.

"Hey, wait...uh. I was wanting to ask you how you're doing." I said, shoving my hands in my back pockets and walking closer to Damon, who was now stuck awkwardly reaching out for the doorknob.

"Well, I'm doing fine Elena how are you?" Damon answered sarcastically with a tight smile.

"I'm being serious Damon, how are you holding up, after Rose and everything?" I asked.

"What is it going to take to make people leave me alone about that?" He shook his head smiling, as if it were a ridiculous notion that he would be upset.

"I guess it's going to take you acting like you care, because I know you do." I said. He stood looking at me for a moment and then took a few steps toward me, opening his mouth to speak but a knock at the door interrupted him. I reached out to open the door but Damon suddenly jerked me back. His eyes piercing through the small window by the door.

"What are you doing?" I asked confused.

"It's Elijah." Damon said gravely.

"Okay, fine! Open the door." I said.

"I don't trust him Elena." Damon said.

"Well, I have to trust him right now, and he's here to see me, not you, so open the door." I ordered growing angry. Damon's eyes flashed a brilliant frustration but he swung the door open, his eyes boring into Elijah as a silent warning.

"Nice to see you again Damon, is Elena here?" Elijah asked, with all the commercial politeness in the world.

"What do you want with her?" Damon challenged.

I rolled my eyes and ducked under Damon's guarding arm.

"Elijah, hi. Come on in." I said.

Damon reluctantly moved out of the way.

"I assure you I mean no harm Damon, I just needed to speak with Elena...alone if you don't mind." Elijah said.

Damon smiled dangerously. "Oh, Elijah...I do mind. A lot."

"Damon, please. Just go okay. I'm heading to the boarding house right after this so I'll see you very soon okay?" I said.

Damon sighed, looking at me for a few moments.

"Fine...I'll be expecting you very soon than." Damon said looking away from me and to Elijah. Once he was gone I sighed out of relief.

I looked at Elijah who was smiling.

"I'm so sorry about that. He's a little on edge. He just lost a good friend and I think he's just angry." I explained.

"That friend you're referring to, would that be Rose?" Elijah asked.

"Yes." I answered.

"Hmm, that's a shame." Elijah said but still managed to look amused. "But it's not anger that's got him on edge. He's just in love with you." Elijah said.

I was almost physically knocked off my feet. "I'm sorry what did you say?" I said.

"I said, he's in love with you." Elijah smiled.

"Damon is not inlove me, you're mistaken. I mean he's a had a little crush in the past but no more than that."

"Believe what you want." Elijah shrugged still smiling.

I felt myself growing angry.

"What is it that you came here for Elijah?" I asked.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, make sure everyone is in tact and that I've done good at keeping up my end of the bargain." Elijah said.

"Yes, everything is fine, for the most part. So if that's all you wanted to talk about then I need to get going." I said. I grabbed my jacket off of the coat rack.

We walked outside.

"Bye." I said as I headed for my car.

"It's funny isn't it?" Elijah said suddenly after I had turned my back to him.

I turned back around to face him.

"What?"

"The similarities between you and the Salvatore's and Katherine." Elijah smiled.

"So I've heard a hundred times before. But it's not quite exactly the same, and you know what I mean by that." I said sharply.

"Not yet." He said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes.

"From what I've heard, time has very much taken a toll on the brothers. Stefan is a lot nicer these days. And Damon, well...he's gathered quite a different reputation for himself. He wasn't always like the way he is now. But...I am going by hearsay...so who knows." Elijah shrugged.

"Yeah...who knows." I repeated.

I pulled into the driveway at the boarding house just as Stefan was calling me.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"I just got to the Boarding House, where are you?" I asked shutting my car door.

"I'm so sorry. I've gotten a little hung up. I'm with Alaric right now. He's a little shaken up about John being in town and he's starting to feel like he's going to have to tell Jenna the truth about everything." Stefan explained.

"No!" I said, feeling panic rising.

"Exactly." Stefan said. "I'm going to be a while. But go on in, make yourself comfortable."

"Alright, I love you Stefan."

"Love you to."

I walked in the door and shut it and made my way into the living room.

"I see you survived." Damon said. I watched him quickly close a book and slide it back on the shelf.

"Yeah, he just wanted to make sure everything was alright. I guess he caught news of the attack. I still can't get over how many werewolves are out there." I said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm more of a cat person." Damon smiled.

I couldn't help but to laugh as I sat down on the couch.

Damon grabbed a remote and switched on the tv and sat on the couch next to me.

"Damon?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Do you think now that they know you personally killed Mason, that they will come after you again?" I asked.

"Probably." Damon said, almost sounding amused.

I guess my face showed worry cause when he looked over at me he laughed lightly.

"Don't worry Elena, I've pissed off a lot of people in the past, and I've always managed to escape." He smiled and nudged me with his shoulder.

Something about the feeling that he had just given me made me think of Katherine. It made me wonder off in my head. I began to think about what it must have been like all those decades ago when she had the hearts of both Damon and Stefan. How easy it may have been to wind up in that situation. Then fear as to why I would let my mind travel down that road snapped my thoughts in half and they retracted away in a split second. I looked over at Damon who was flipping carelessly through the stations. I wondered what he was reading in that book. Then there was a knock at the door. Damon got up and opened it.

I heard him speaking to someone but it was obvious that they weren't coming inside. I got up and made my way over to the book shelf. I remembered it was the old powder blue book that had obviously faded in it's color with age. I picked it up and saw a the page dogeared where he had obviously looked at that page many times. I opened it to an E.E Cummings poem. I read:

Somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which I cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily un close me
though I have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

I ran my finger over the line 'Your slightest look will easily un close me' It was a beautiful line, powerful. It was tender. And judging by the page being more worn than the rest...this meant something to him. I heard the door creaking shut and I quickly placed the book back on the shelf.

"Who was that?" I asked casually crossing the living room back towards the couch. We both sat back down.

"It was sheriff Forbes. We have to have a council meeting tomorrow to discuss all these recent murders." He said kicking his feet up on the table in front of him.

"When is this town not having a crisis?" I said shaking my head.

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, maybe we should all pack up and move to Barcelona."

I smiled. "I wish John would pack up and leave. I hate him being around. I've can hardly stand it." I said hearing my voice break the tiniest bit. I guess Damon took notice of it because he suddenly put his arm around me. And out of frustration and weariness I leaned into his side letting myself be comforted by his embrace. And before I knew it my lids grew heavy, my eyes fluttered shut and I was off in a soundless sleep in only a few minutes.

I hope you are enjoying this. I know it has started off slow but if you've read any of my other work you know it won't stay that way for long lol. Let me know what you thing, please please leave reviews. Thanks.

Alexis