Spoken For
DG32173

Sarah: I've been reading a number of AU/AH Delena stories lately and figured I could try my hand at one of my own. I hope everyone enjoys.

CREDIT
Credit goes to my outstanding beta for all his wonderful help and his incredible amount of patience in putting up with my wayward muse. Thanks, Cameron.

DISCLAIMER
If I, my beta, or a reviewer is responsible for the creation and use of a concept in this story, I will put a credit section like the one above and give credit for ownership of that concept. Otherwise it is safe to assume that it is copyrighted to someone with a much bigger bank account than mine.

WARNINGS
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! All human. Rated M for more than just my sanity. Alternating views between Damon and Elena. Damon's view this first chapter.

SUMMARY
Damon Salvatore thought he knew everything there was to know about his best friend, Elena Gilbert. When he discovers that there are things about her she's kept from him, such as a secret crush, well, things get complicated by unexpected jealousy mingled with curiosity. Damon/Elena

Chapter 1
Secrets

"Are you going to be bringing another one home?" Elena asks, not looking up from her textbook.

"Why? Jealous?" I tease.

"Just wanting to know if I should make myself scarce this evening," she replies smoothly. "You don't want a repeat of Heather, do you?"

"Who's Heather?" I ask, frowning.

"Short, spiky hair dyed a blinding shade of blue with cocoa colored eyes. Raised a huge fuss two weeks ago today when you brought her here and she caught sight of me coming out of the bathroom in my PJs and assumed I was your girlfriend. Took you thirty minutes to calm her down enough to tell her that no, I am not your girlfriend and an hour more to convince her that I'm just your best friend slash roomie. By then, you were no longer interested in doing anything more than kicking her out. We watched all three Spiderman movies and dined on Chinese delivery," she recites, glancing up at me. "You nearly choked on your fortune cookie when I told you she's in my Psych 101 class."

"Oh, her," I say, shrugging. "I'm not picking up any girls tonight. Gonna be hanging with the guys at The Grill, shooting pool and the like."

"Good, then you won't mind if I invite Caroline, Bonnie, and Rebekah over for a girls' night, right?" she ask, making the puppy face at me. I scrunch my nose at her. "C'mon, Damon. You know damn well how long it's been since the last time I got to hang out with them for an entire evening. Our schedules are so diverse that it's a miracle we're able to even say 'hi' as we pass each other on campus. I got word from them while you were in the shower that they are all miraculously free this evening and want to meet up. And it is my turn to host the get together."

I groan. "Fine. Just don't have the apartment smelling like a salon when I get back. And please don't trash the place," I all but beg. "I don't want to find feathers in the toaster ever again."

She rolls her eyes. "Damon, seriously, the pillow fight was to distract Caroline because of her temporary breakup with Klaus," she points out. "You know how she gets if something doesn't distract her immediately after he breaks things off as things get busy. Better feathers in the toaster than nail polish on the walls. Remember that one?"

I groan again. "I thought I told you to never mention that event around me again," I tell her. "We had to repaint the entire apartment and we were living with my brother while the paint dried and the fumes cleared out."

"Better your brother than mine," she points out. "At least Rebekah makes sure their place is neat. I have never set foot in Jeremy's apartment after moving him into it and I don't plan on doing so any time soon."

I roll my eyes. "I should get going. I'm going to be late. You call the girls. Have fun tonight, Elena," I tell her.

"Don't get so drunk that Matt has to call me to come pick your ass up. I still stand by my word of making your life a misery if I have to do that again. And you know damn well I'm capable of doing just that," she says.

I wince. I know full well what she's capable of when she wants to make someone's life completely miserable and I know it from personal experience. "I'll be careful," I promise.

"Oh, and tell Rick to say 'hi' to Jenna for me," she says. "I'm gonna study for another half hour before calling the girls. God knows I won't be getting any study time after they arrive and that Psych test is Friday."

With that, she tucks her pert little nose back into her textbook. I shake my head with a grin and make my way out of our two-bedroom apartment. I know Elena and I know that as soon as I shut the apartment door behind me, she's going to be on the phone to her girlfriends and telling them to get their asses over to our apartment ASAP. And I also know that she has absolutely no need to study for her Psych test because she will pass it with flying colors. She is quite literally a genius, after all. Ever since she was five, she's been dreaming of being a psychological analyst with the FBI as her day job and a supernatural romance writer in her spare time. She's already got one New York Times best-seller that flies off the shelves almost as soon as it's stocked. And I have my own personal copy, signed by the authoress. She gave it to me as a birthday present last year, just two days after it went into print. She swore up and down that the copy she gave me was quite literally the first off the press. And I believe her.

I shake my head free of thoughts of Elena and climb behind the wheel of my dusty blue 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible. As I start the engine I glance up toward the window that leads into our living room. As expected, Elena's looking down at me. I stick my arm out the window and wave. She waves back. The window is too far away to see her expression but I'm sure she's smiling. I pull out of the apartment complex's parking lot and turn my Camaro in the direction of the Grill.

By the time I arrive, I see that most of the other guys have made it. I find a parking spot and climb out. I lock up my car before heading inside. As I near the largest table in the room, the only one big enough to hold a group our size, Stefan spots me and says something. Immediately, they all stop talking and gain innocent expressions.

"Okay, why are we talking about Elena tonight?" I ask, raising an eyebrow as I take the chair between Stefan and Rick.

"Who says we were talking about Elena?" Jeremy asks.

"Because you all shut up as soon as Stefan spotted me," I retort, signaling a waitress. She nods and signals she'll bring my glass of bourbon in a minute. The staff here knows all of us and our preferences. "History of such an occurrence proves that you were talking about Elena just prior to my arrival and knew damn well that if I found out there was talk about her that I knew she wouldn't like, I'd tell her and the ones who were making that talk would have their asses handed to them by a five-foot-seven brunette with a black belt in three different fields of martial arts. So, do I have to tell her that you lot shut up on a topic about her as soon as I was spotted and let her assume worst case scenario or are you going to start talking and tell me what the hell you were talking about?"

I can tell you right now that it takes a great deal to take the macho out of my friends. But the mere hint that Elena might assume worst case scenario on a discussion about her has all of them wincing. "It's nothing big," Jeremy admits. "It's just Stefan, Klaus, and I were talking about our girlfriends and then Tyler mentioned that there is one girl we know who hasn't had a single serious date in years. We realized he was right and we were trying to figure out what was up with that. You're never serious about anyone so we figured you'd rather not talk about it."

I frown. "Dude, she's my best friend," I point out. "You honestly think I wouldn't want to discuss why she hasn't gone on a second date since she was fourteen?"

They exchange startled looks. "We knew it's been years since she last got beyond the first date but are you serious about it being seven years?" Rick asks, dumbfounded.

"Who do you think she came crying to when she caught that bastard cheating on her?" I retort. He grimaces. "I helped stop her tears, made her laugh, let her fall asleep on the boarding house sofa, then went and kicked the shit out of him. The asshole was her first and last boyfriend. She says she's too busy to bother with dating. I pointed out that hasn't stopped her from hanging with her friends. She shrugged and said she hasn't been asked out by anyone who was worth a second date. I agree because I had our good Sherriff do a background check on each of the guys she went out with. Nothing major against them, but they were all douchebags who weren't worthy of even a first date with her." The guys exchange knowing looks and secret grins, causing me to frown. "Okay, what is with you lot?"

"You sure look after her," Jeremy says slowly.

"And don't bother saying it's what any friend would do," Klaus interrupts me as I open my mouth to say just that.

"What are you guys trying to imply?" I demand, accepting my bourbon from the waitress.

"You care about her," Stefan points out.

"A lot," Tyler adds.

"Not to mention she's practically the only girl in the area that you haven't hooked up with," Matt adds.

I roll my eyes. "Idiots, I live with her. She's been my best friend pretty much since she was born. It would be only a hundred kinds of awkward if I try to hook up with her. Not to mention the fact that she'll most likely say 'no'. Besides, she deserves better than a one-night stand," I point out.

"You could give her better than that," Klaus points out.

"Yeah, there's still the fact that she'll most likely say 'no'," I retort. "She knows I'm not one for the whole settling down and being devoted crap."

"Have you ever wondered why she really blares her music in her ears or makes herself scarce when you choose to take a girl home?" Jeremy asks curiously.

"What are you even getting at?" I demand.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Jeremy says. "Seriously, man, you must be blind."

"Okay, I think this topic needs to be dropped," I say firmly. "I came here to chill with you guys over some pool and drinks, not to discuss this nonsense. Either drop it or I'm leaving."

They decide to drop it.

Four hours later

I give myself a mental pat on the back for cutting myself off from alcohol after only two glasses. Elena will be so proud of me. I unlock the door to the apartment and step inside. Something tells me to stay quiet when I realize the girls don't realize I'm back. I carefully and silently shut the door.

"Elena, are you ever going to tell him?" Bonnie's voice asks from the living room.

I frown and duck into the kitchen. I have a feeling that I'm going to find out something I actually hadn't known about Elena.

"There's nothing to tell," Elena says.

"Jeez, Lena, you like the guy. You need to tell him." That would be Caroline. And who the hell does Elena like?

"I can't. I just can't. It would ruin everything," Elena says softly.

"How do you know? Maybe it will make him wake up and see what's right in front of him!" Rebekah snaps.

"More likely it will make him run for the hills and kick me out of his life. I'm not going to risk it. I'd rather friendship than nothing," Elena says firmly. "Besides, he's never shown the least sign of being interested in me like that."

"Because he's so used to you just being there that he hasn't really seen what he's been missing!" Caroline says impatiently.

What the hell have I stumbled into? Who is it that Elena likes? And how can the idiot be so blind as to not realize it?

"Guys, we've been going at this since you arrived. And you've been at the topic like a terrier with a bone for over a year now. Give it a rest. I am not telling him. Besides, he deserves someone special. Someone who'll light up his whole world just by walking in the room. And as much as I hate to say it, I just haven't been able to do that. God knows I've tried to get him to notice me. But it's like all he sees is a sister when he looks at me. And really, I'm okay with that." She's lying. I can hear it in her voice. Whoever this dick is, he is tearing her apart by not realizing what's right in front of him. "Please, guys. Just let it go. I've accepted that he's not going to see me as anything more than a sister and a really good friend. I'd rather that than nothing at all."

"Elena, you know as well as I do that you haven't tried everything you can do to get him to notice you," Rebekah says.

"How about this, complete makeover, this weekend, on us," Caroline suggests. "If we can't get him to see you after we're done with you, we'll concede defeat."

"I don't know," Elena says hesitantly.

"Consider it a post exams celebration if it makes you feel better," Bonnie says.

Exams? This is exam week? I glance at the calendar thumbtacked to the wall by the fridge and realize that it is about the time for the fall exams to take place.

"You're not going to let me get out of it, are you?" Elena asks with a sigh.

"Nope," Rebekah affirms. "By the time we're done with you, there won't be a guy in town whose jaw won't have to be picked up off the ground. Including our boyfriends. Now, we'll be over bright and early Saturday morning, so don't do anything crazy Friday night."

"Have I ever done anything crazy the night before you guys say you'll be over bright and early?" Elena asks grumpily. "I wish you three would wait until a decent hour instead of the crack of dawn. Damon was complaining for a week the last time you guys came banging on the door 'bright and early'."

"You two need to see more sunshine, Elena. It's like you're trying to turn into vampires or something," Caroline says.

"I have never been a morning person. Neither has Damon. And you know that," Elena says.

I realize that I'm not going to get anything else on the subject of the mystery guy who's tearing Elena apart by not recognizing what's right in front of him. I sneak back to the front door, open it, and shut it loudly. "I'm back," I call as I walk into the living room. "You'll be proud of me, Elena. I only had two glasses of bourbon," I tell her.

She wrinkles her nose at me cutely. "Good job. Anyways, be prepared to have your Saturday morning ruined because these three decided to take me out 'bright and early'."

I groan, theatrically placing a hand over my heart. "My sleep!" I exclaim. "What will I ever do without my Saturday morning of peace and quiet?"

Elena giggles. "I'm sure you'll make do. It's not like you have any trouble getting back to sleep once someone's woken you up," she points out.

"So, what will you be doing?" I ask, crossing my arms and grinning at her.

"It's no secret," Elena says with a shrug. "They want to pull a complete makeover on me and wouldn't back down until I submitted to their will. I'll probably be gone most of the day. But I promise that I won't let them go overboard."

"Let me guess," I say, glancing at the other three girls lounging around our tiny living room. "You're going to get her some new outfits to go with her new look?" I ask.

"You better believe it," Caroline says, smirking.

"By the way, I won't be finding any feathers in the toaster this time?" I ask, frowning at Caroline.

"Nope," she assures me.

"No nail polish on the walls?"

"Nope. And yes, your shampoo and conditioner are completely safe and color-free," she says.

"Good. Because I really don't want to have red hair again," I say. "Even if it did wash right out, that was not cool."

Elena giggles. "Anyways, you girls should get going. If Damon's here, that means your boys are probably waiting for you," she tells her girlfriends.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Caroline says, pushing herself to her feet from where she had been lounging on the floor. "Bye, you two."

"Later, Elena," Bonnie says. "Cya, Damon."

"Later," Rebekah says.

With that, the three make their way out of the apartment. I lock up behind them and make my way back to the living room. "Up for a race?" Elena asks, holding up her sky blue Xbox 360 controller.

"You're on," I say, grabbing up my red one. I turn on the TV and the Xbox. I go to flop on the couch next to her but she stops me.

"Careful about my feet," she warns. "We painted our toenails tonight."

I glance at her toes to see florescent orange nail polish winking at me. "Florescent orange?" I ask mockingly.

She chuckles. "Not just florescent," she says. "Glows in the dark, too."

"No way," I scoff.

"I'll prove it to you after our race," she says. "C'mon, start the game. D-class cars."

I roll my eyes and start Asphalt 8: Airborne. She has her nifty little Audi while I go with my Tesla. And of course she wins because in spite of having practically no time for herself, she's still able to max out the abilities on her favorite cars while I always try to figure out how to get time and credits to do that. "I call rematch," I declare.

"I can't, Damon," she says regretfully. "I gotta get up and be in class by eight for an exam. And it's exams all day everyday this week. At least after Friday, classes will be over until January. Besides, I thought I was going to prove to you that my toenails now glow in the dark."

"Yeah, this I really do have to see," I admit, turning off the Xbox and the TV. I surge to my feet and hold out my hand with a grin. She smiles and places her hand in mine so I can pull her to her feet. I follow her down the hall towards our rooms, flipping off the living room overhead as I pass the switch. And she's right: her toenails are glowing orange in the dark. "Okay, I'll admit, that is pretty cool," I tell her as I stop outside my room. I had told her in no uncertain terms when we got the apartment that she's getting the master bedroom while I got the slightly smaller second bedroom. She tried to protest but I put my foot down on the subject. "G'nite, Elena."

"G'nite, Damon," she says. She presses a kiss to my cheek in the dark before heading further up the hall to her room. She does that every night.

"Oh, Elena?" I call as she opens her bedroom door.

"Yeah, Damon?" she asks.

"Next time, you need to make your fingernails glow in the dark, too," I tell her. "It would be so much cooler."

She laughs. "I'll tell Caroline that," she promises. "Should I have glow in the dark nails after my makeover?"

"Hey, it's your makeover," I tell her.

"Damon, just answer the question," she says.

"What glow in the dark colors does Caroline have?" I ask.

"Orange, green, blue, pink, red, and yellow. She was talking about picking up a few other colors at some point," she says.

"Glow in the dark blue nails, this weekend, after your makeover," I tell her. "Don't take 'no' for an answer."

"Gotcha," she says. I can hear the smile in her voice. "G'nite, Damon. Pleasant dreams."

"You, too," I tell her before walking into my room and closing my door behind me.

I strip completely and leave my clothes in a pile on the floor before climbing into my bed without turning on the light. Neither Elena nor I are body shy around each other. Not after we've been living together in one small apartment for four long years, sharing one cramped bathroom. That's right: our apartment only has one bathroom. And you have to go through the master bedroom to get to it. It took us a full year to get down with the routine of not really caring about the other walking right into the bathroom while we're in the shower. But it took just three days to remember that we are not to flush the toilet while the other is showering. Having nice hot water suddenly turn ice cold and take forever to heat back up is a damn good way to learn that lesson.

As I make myself comfortable under my sheet, I think back on the course of tonight. The guys had hinted that I have some blind spot when it comes to Elena. I didn't think for a second that they were serious until I came home to overhear Elena talking to her girlfriends about a secret crush she has. Whoever that guy is, he must be completely blind to not see that someone as amazing as Elena has placed her heart in his hands. And I could hear in her voice that she truly is afraid that if she let her feelings be known, he'd kick her out of his life. What kind of an idiot would do that? Hell, I'd probably give up my life of sinful nights for her. But it's not as if she's in love with me. Surely I'd know that, right?

Of course, I didn't even know that she was even interested in anyone. But seriously, Elena couldn't possibly be in love with me. I can't help thinking that whoever this dumbass is, he sure is lucky to have a heart as kind and pure as Elena's in his hands, even if he doesn't realize it.

I groan and tell myself to stop thinking about it. I've got be at work at ten and the clock on my windowsill says it's already after one. I gotta be up in seven hours and there's no way in hell I can afford to get caught snoozing on the job again. Liz will definitely put me on probation.

Suddenly a soft knock comes at my door. "Damon?" Elena's timid voice says through the wood.

"Can't sleep?" I ask, already scooting my ass over in my bed.

"No," she admits, opening the door.

"Get in here," I say, bemused. It's not like she hasn't seen me naked before on many occasions. She sighs in relief and makes her way across my room to climb in my bed beside me. She sighs when she realizes that I'm sleeping nude tonight. But she doesn't comment on it so I know whatever's bugging her is serious. "Want to talk about it?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she curls up next to me.

"Katherine called," she whispers.

It takes every ounce of willpower I've built up in my twenty-four years of life to keep my mouth firmly shut on the blue streak I want to give voice to. Katherine is Elena's twin sister who split town practically as soon as Elena got out of the hospital after the crash she was in that killed their parents. She only calls Elena when she wants something. "When?" I ask when I'm firmly back under control.

"Just after you pulled out of the parking lot," she says softly. "Right as I was reaching for my phone to call the girls."

"Explains the nail polish party," I mutter. "What did she want this time?"

"The thing is, she didn't even hint at wanting anything other than to check up on me," she says, her confusion in her voice. "And I couldn't detect any hint of deception. But I can't help feeling uneasy."

"Yeah, your sister's been trouble for four and a half years. I see no reason why she would change her M.O. now," I say.

"I'm worried, Damon. While I couldn't detect any deception when she said she didn't want anything from me this time, I can't really place my finger on why, but something is telling me that she's in trouble again."

I groan, knowing she'll want me to look into it. "Fine, I'll see what I can dig up. If it's nothing criminal, I'll see about making the trouble go away," I tell her. "I'm not going to risk losing my job by covering up a crime, Elena."

"I know that," she assures me. "You're a damn good cop and I'm not going to ask you to take risks with your career."

"Good. And now we need to get some sleep because your alarm is going to go off too damn early as it is and you've got a big day of exams."

Elena presses her lips to my cheek. "Thanks, Damon," she murmurs drowsily. Seconds later, she's asleep.

Elena is the only girl to ever have the honor of being in my bed without sex coming into the equation, even if there are times that I was stark naked when she climbed in the bed next to me. I force my mind off the warm, soft body curled up next to me and force every muscle in my body to relax one at a time, a trick that has never failed in getting me to sleep. And it works like a charm yet again.