Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry its been a week since my last update. I outlined this chapter and tried writing it all week but it just wasn't happening. Last night I started fresh with no outline and this happened. This was not how this chapter was supposed to happen but it did. I thought this would be the last chapter but turns out the Damon & Elena have more of a story to tell then I thought. I hope you like this - again since it wasn't my intention to continue past this I don't know how I feel about it but I'm happy enough to share with all of you. Enjoy :)

I take a deep breath and roll over in my bed. Instinctively, I reach to pull her body back into mine; my hand connects directly with the Egyptian cotton instead. My eyes flutter open and they confirm what I already knew - she's gone. I take a deep breath and roll onto my back. Dragging my hands along the length of my face, the same word keeps repeating in my mind - Shit.

And her disappearing before I woke up is exactly why I asked her if she was sure. Shit. This is not how I wanted to start my day. Not today when at long last I was getting everything I wanted. Of course this is happening; I'm not supposed to have everything I want. The world as I know it would collapse in on itself.

I should have expected this. Shit. I'm such a dick. I should have been stronger; had more self control. She's the only person in the world that can make me weak; five words and a kiss. That's all it took. Congratulations Damn. You managed to unequivocally ruin the one good thing in your life. I throw my legs over the side of the bed and my feet meet the hardwood floor. The floor creaks under my weight. How did she sneak out without making a sound?

Shit. This is not good. Her lavender scent is still invading every pore of my body. I need to shower. I need to think. How can I even begin to fix this? I can't. That's the only answer... and it fucking blows. As my feet touch the cool bathroom tile, my eye catches a foreign object on the mirror. I flash over and examine it. Pulling the piece of paper off the glass, I decipher her script.

Damon -

Sorry school. Be back later - promise.

-Elena

Immediately I feel like a weight is lifted from my shoulders. A smile pulls at the corners of my mouth as I reread the message. She didn't really sneak out. I'm just a dumbass that forgot that his birthday fell on a Thursday. At least that's what I'll tell myself until I see her again.

Putting the note safely next to the sink, I imagine what this morning must have been like for her. Waking up next to me is nothing she isn't used to but our limbs were tangled together when I drifted off. I could not get close enough to her; the intertwining was a feeble attempt to remove any space between us. I turn on the water and let a smirk escape my lips as I imagine her unknotting our extremities.

I feel the temperature and look back over towards the sink. I can't see the words that cover the green post-it from here but I don't need too; I've memorized each word. I shake my head and smile. She did not want me to think she changed her mind so she took the extra time to let me know where she was; she's incredible. Or maybe once she's had time to process the new us she'll want things to go back to how they were. Just friends. Shit.

As I step under the stream of hot water, I wonder what time it is. How many more hours do I have to wait to see her again? How long before we can talk about what all this means? I close my eyes and tilt my head back under the steady stream. As I run my hands through my raven locks, I replay every moment of last night over in my mind; questioning if at any point I could have stopped myself.

I have not been able to focus on a single thing today.

My body is here but my mind... It's like I'm having an out of body experience. I'm sitting here in fourth period history just like any other day. I can see Alaric writing furiously across the black board but I can't make out any of the words. I have no idea what the lecture today is about. Actually, I have no idea what we did in AP English either; or anything I may have had the chance to learn today. Shit. I should have stayed in bed.

Mentally, I'm so far away from this place it's astonishing. I usually have life and death matters on the brain; nothing new for a doppelganger. But today it's about Damon. Damon and I; how are things ever going to be the same with us. They won't. Shit. I took a gigantic risk last night; saying I am in love with him. Kissing him.

My hand is rested lazily on my neck as I stare directly through Ric; I can't see anything but flashes from last night. I can still feel Damon's hot breath on the base of my neck. I shiver at the memory. His lips leaving a trail down my spine. An audible moan breaks free from my lips. Shit.

For the first time today, I can concentrate on my surroundings and it's because everyone is staring at me. I didn't mean to do that. "Sorry." I manage to spit out as I lower my body in my desk; desperately wishing I could disappear. I can feel the blood rushing to my face as pale turns crimson. Then the laughing starts and another wave of embarrassment continues to wash over me.

Alaric just stares at me with his hands on his hips. He looks irritated and disturbed - but mostly the former. "Knock it off," he shouts as my peers fall silent and turn back towards him. "Let's get back to the Italian renaissance. Where was I... oh yeah, Bramante designed St. Peter's..."

Again I stop listening. I mouth 'thank you' to him and he just nods; continuing with his lecture. He knows I wasn't home this morning when he left for school. When I looked at my phone I had six missed calls. Ten missed texts. All from this morning. All from him. Oops. I didn't mean to leave my phone in the car. I was just nervous about Damon's birthday. And from the events that transpired I had a right to be.

I cannot stop reliving every second of last night.

I still feel his hands twisted deep in my hair; my fingers in his. The memory is so fresh; so new. I feel his hand against my skin and my body ignites. The bell rings; giving me a break from my thoughts. The room is empty by the time I feel I have enough balance to stand. It's just me and Ric now. Shit. I walk cautiously up to his desk. His back is towards me as he drags the eraser chaotically across the board; his words of knowledge - or gibberish in my case today - vanished in an instant.

"I should have called," I offer as I tuck my hands into the end of my sleeves. He doesn't say anything. He is just repeating the motion even though the words are long gone. "To be fair this isn't the first time I've spent a school night at Damon's." Still nothing. I might as well be talking to a wall. I might get a better response. "I'll try to remember to call." He doesn't answer. I nod and start to walk towards the door.

"Damn it Elena," he yells as he slams the eraser on the ledge. I stop mid-step and twist towards him. He turns to me and we make eye contact. "Whatever you and Damon are doing - it needs to stop."

"Excuse me?" Is he serious? He has to be kidding. Alaric can't tell me what to do.

"I've told Damon to take a beat more times than I can count," he says as he walks to the front of his desk. He stops a few feet from me as my eyes search his face to get a sense for his reasoning. "Now I'm telling you. Last night..."

"Was his birthday." I finish for him. I will defend Damon; and my choice. It's nothing I'm not used to doing at this point. "And you told me to go over there."

"Damon is not good for you Elena." Direct. Honest. To the point. Just like Jeremy was last night.

I cross my arms across my chest and take a deep breath. I really just want to scream 'Screw you Ric. You don't know what you are talking about'. It's probably better I don't act like a spoiled brat whose father is threatening to take away her car keys. I'll try to take the high road here; the mature one. "So, it's okay for you to be friends with him but not me?"

"Elena, this isn't about you two being friends and you know it."

Alaric is right. I should have known this was coming. I just was not prepared to deal with all this today; right at this moment. I'm still processing everything that happened. Damon's fingers locked into mine. Stop Elena. Focus. I shake my head, clearing the inappropriate thoughts, before I start again. "I'm not going to stop staying over there," I say as I drop my arms to my side.

He keeps his hands placed firmly on his hips as he looks at me; shaking his head in response. "This is going to end badly. You know that right?" He asks with an outstretched hand.

I shrug my shoulders and let out a sigh. "Maybe." It's all I have left to say. I can stand here until I'm out of breath trying to justify my decision to continue to have Damon in my life but it's not going to change anything. Alraic won't stop trying to look after me; I know he feels that he owes Jenna that. He just needs to stop trying to save me from this. Damon may be his friend but in the grand scheme of things in means nothing. Damon is still a dick. I know it. Ric knows it. Everyone knows it.

"You deserve better than Damon."

I nod in agreement and smile. "He tells me the same thing. Maybe you're both right." I concede. "The funny thing is that my feelings for him don't take into account his worthiness." I add air quotes as I stress the word. It's such a stupid word to describe a person.

How do you even measure a person's worth?

"Elena," he starts as the door opens and a fresh batch of students file in.

"I better go before I miss lunch." I turn on my heel and push my way to the hall. I break free from the crowd and lean against the metal lockers across the hall. The coolness is soothing against my skin. I close my eyes and all I can see is Damon's hand brushing the hair out of my face as he hovers over me. I can feel his finger tips caress my check. I can feel his eyes studying every contour of my face; as if he's seeing me for the first time. Shit.

I take a deep breath and move the memory to the back of my mind. I can think more about this later. I open my eyes and find myself alone. I'm determined to finish this day on a normal note. Lunch with Bonnie and Caroline will be a good precursor. I make my way down the hall towards the cafeteria as I say a silent prayer. Please get me through this lunch in one piece; physically and emotionally.

It's only 12:30.

I'm slowly running out of things to distract me. Again usually not a big deal; I've spent a hundred plus years keeping myself occupied. I just cannot stop thinking about last night; about how it changes everything.

Ripping the tab off the blood bag, I pour the contents into a glass. I miss drinking the real thing. I'm a vampire; drinking fresh blood, as the heart continues to pump it effortlessly through the body, is an indescribable high. I have not had fresh blood like that since Andie. Poor girl. She didn't deserve to die. Stefan is a douche. I've thought about holding a grudge about that but honestly why waste my time. He'll do enough self loathing to outlast an Original.

Sitting on the couch sipping at my lunch, I indulge in the irony; it was not supposed to be like this. I was never supposed to stay in Mystic Falls. I also never imagined falling so deeply in love with anyone; let alone Stefan's girlfriend. I'm pathetic. She isn't Stefan's girlfriend anymore; hasn't been for months. He left her. She let him go.

I'm in love with you.

I'll never let go of those five words; for as long as I live they will always mean everything to me. When she told me that taking this step wasn't about Stefan or Klaus I breathed a sigh of relief. This was about us. How I always wanted it to be. I never wanted it to be tainted with her regret.

Then don't.

Two words that gave me permission to kiss her and not stop. We stood in front of the fire for a long while just enjoying the taste of each other. Our tongues exploring the new territory; fighting to conquer each other. I pulled away to let her catch her breath. She keep her chocolate eyes locked in my icy blue as she started to fiddle with the buttons on my shirt. I grab her hands into mine to stop her; slow her down. It was all moving so fast I didn't want to rush her.

I want you Damon.

She looked deep into my eyes as she breathlessly let out four more words I've been longing to hear. Immediately I brought my lips to hers. As our mouths moved in sync, she continued unfastening while my fingers got lost in her brunette locks. She finished her quest and broke free from our hungry kiss. She brought her finger tips to my forehead and lazily moved them along the length of my face; I closed my eyes at her touch. Her fingers continued down my neck and my chest before resting on my abdomen.

I opened my eyes and she was staring at me again. I felt her hand grab mine as she lead me out of the living room. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs; hesitating again. I've never been so nervous in my life; not about sex. It's really the only thing I've excelled at in my lifetime. I'm good at it; really good. Or so I've been told a time or two. I was anxious last night because it was never about just sex with Elena. If it was, I would have just taken her on the living room floor.

Damon, I've never been more sure about anything. She assured me as she leaned down from the step and touched her lips against my cheek. Trust me.

Lost in my thoughts and fresh memories, I shut out the outside world. Just for a few minutes, I wanted to relive every step leading up to making love to Elena.

"You're losing your touch." I will always recognize his voice. "I could have walked in here and drove a stake right through your heart."

I look over and see the only person who could have ruined this day for me. "Stefan."

So... what do you think?

This was not where I was orginally going with this but hey sometimes the characters take over.

Read & Review!

Next chapter soon :)