Elena woke to the sound of her alarm clock going off and she immediately wanted to cuss the day. Her roommate had made sure that she didn't get much sleep last night, with his coming home late and being loud with his bedpartner until the wee hours of the morning. She was almost afraid of what she would find out there once she opened her bedroom door.
How someone was able to live his life that way was beyond her. Damon Salvatore was 26 years old and still didn't exactly do much with his days, besides partying and earning a few extra notches on his bedpost. He had told her once that he had graduated from Virginia Commonwealth Business School and was working at his father's company, but she never saw him actually leaving their apartment on time… or slaving away on a laptop.
Elena was studying medicine herself and needed to be serious about things. Her parents had passed away some time ago and she was paying her tuition by herself, so there was no time for slacking off. She needed to make her mom and dad proud, even if they weren't there to see it.
She quickly showered and got dressed, before finally facing what would be out there in her living room. Of course, Damon never ceased to shock her when it came to how bad it had been the night before. This time was no different. As soon as she came out of her room, his naked rear popped out from underneath a sheet as he snored quite loudly on his sofa bed. His conquest of last night was nowhere to be seen, which wasn't a surprise. No one ever actually slept in Damon Salvatore's bed. Beer bottles were strewn everywhere… and she could see his underwear dangling from a lamp in the corner.
Elena rolled her eyes at the sight in front of her and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. She made sure to handle her plate and cutlery extra loud. Ten minutes later, Mr. Slouch was growling in front of her, wearing nothing but a sheet that was wrapped around his waist.
"Oh, am I being too loud?" she said in her most sweet, innocent voice.
"You're doing this on purpose."
"What? Me? Of course not."
Damon leaned against the counter and gave her a once over. "If you've got something to say, Elena, say it with words. Not with noise."
Elena whirled around, a butter knife still clutched in her hand as she pointed it at him.
"You've got some nerve to talk to me about noise, Damon Salvatore! In case you had forgotten, I have a test today. Now, I will show up with bags underneath my eyes because you came home with some bombshell that couldn't keep her mouth shut for 5 seconds."
Damon held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry. It's not my fault the lady was a screamer," he winked.
"You really do think that you're God's gift to women, don't you? You know, one day you're going to wake up and realize that your life is empty, because no one actually cares what comes out of your mouth. They only want your for the size of your dick, not for your brain."
"You've seen the size of my dick? Elena, have you peeked?" Damon waggled his eyebrows at Elena suggestively.
"Like I would actually care!"
Elena picked up her sandwich and decided to eat it on the way to college. She wasn't in the mood to face Damon any longer. However, he deliberately blocked her path.
"Move!" she almost yelled at him.
He didn't budge and simply stared at her with a smirk playing on his lips.
"You know, I regret this arrangement of us being roommates. I signed up for your brother as my roommate, not you. He was decent and most of all, quiet during nights! I needed a place to stay and he was the one to take me in. Why did he have to go study half way across the States and leave you in his place?! You're shallow and obnoxious and you smell like you've slept in a cesspool!"
Damon stepped even closer towards her until she could feel his breath on her face.
"Please don't hold back on me now," he said, when she snapped her mouth shut, a bit distracted by his proximity.
"Do you actually enjoy all those hangovers and all of that meaningless sex that you have?" she questioned.
She regretted the question the minute it left her mouth, since he threw his head back and laughed.
"That is a very redundant question, Miss Gilbert."
Elena poked her finger into his naked chest.
"So you're saying that the way you are is a conscious choice, conscious being a relative term?"
"Well, yeah."
"Okay, I give up then. There's no talking to you," Elena shrugged. She grabbed her bag and opened the front door.
"You never really talk to me, Elena. You're always hiding away in your room, studying or doing god know what else. Get to know me a little," Damon interrupted her leaving. She turned around and rolled her eyes at him.
"What do you propose we talk about?"
He was still standing there half naked; the man was drop dead gorgeous, she had to give him that. She understood why women crawled all over him. She just didn't want to be one of them.
"I don't know… what we both want out of life?"
Elena shook her head, still smiling.
"Just to get something clear, Salvatore: I'm too smart to be seduced by you."
"So how is your hot roommate these days?" Caroline Forbes, one of Elena's friends, questioned during lunch hour.
"Well," Elena began, "I saw his naked rear this morning."
"Another one to bite the dust, huh?"
"Yep, this one was a screamer. She kept me up for most of the night."
Caroline gave her a sympathetic look. Elena knew she never had to say anything with her; they had known each other since kindergarten. They could sometimes have whole conversations without words.
"Maybe you should move out so you can focus on your school a bit more. Move in with me!" she proposed to her.
"That's really sweet, Care. But you just moved in with Klaus and that apartment is so tiny. I don't want to impose on a couple in love."
"I'm sure Klaus will be fine with it once I explain the situation to him."
"No, Caroline. I can handle this myself. I'll be fine."
"Okay, if you're sure…"
"I'm sure. So how do you think you did the test?" Elena quickly changed the topic.
"I think it went well. It wasn't too bad. You?"
Elena shrugged.
"I hope I did okay on a few hours of sleep."
"I'm sure you did fine. You're a straight A student. If you didn't, we'll have ourselves a ladies night with lots of movies, fun and vilifying Damon Salvatore. So whatever way it goes, you'll have something to look forward to," Caroline winked at her. Elena threw her head back and laughed.
"You're the best friend a girl can have."
"Hey, I know. Save for the fact that I introduced you to Stefan Salvatore when you needed a place to stay. How was I supposed to know that he would trade himself for his brother?"
"Look, we'll just make do with this situation. There will come a time when I can move out and get on with my life."
"What situation are we talking about?" Bonnie Bennet, another one of Elena's friends, suddenly joined their conversation.
"Damon Salvatore," Caroline informed her.
"Damon is a situation?"
Elena sighed.
"Guys, I don't want to talk about him. Can't we find a topic a little more interesting?"
"Good point, how about we go out tonight? There's this new club on the outskirts of town. It's the best way to forget about the test we had today and all other things we had to deal with."
"I can't. I have to study," Elena explained.
Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Elena, it's a Friday night. Besides, it'll be Christmas in a few days and school will get to be on hold. Let go just once, it'll be a whole new experience."
"I'll think about it. I'll call you later."
With that, Elena went home…
The smell that was wafting through the air as soon as she entered her apartment was delicious. It seemed to be something Italian, as Elena followed her nose straight into the kitchen. To her shock, Damon was slaving away behind a stove.. and he was wearing an apron!
"Are you cooking?" she asked incredulously.
"Hey, there's my favorite roommate! How did your test go?"
Elena was still watching him, somewhat dumbfounded by the vision in front of her.
Damon smirked.
"Would you stop looking at me like you're seeing something extraterrestrial. I cook, yeah. I just never find the time to do it. My mother once taught me, since she thought it was important that we stayed somewhat true to our Italian heritage."
Elena hopped up onto the kitchen counter and peeked into the pan.
"It looks delicious."
"Well yeah, I just thought that I needed to make it up to you. I forgot about your test… I should have been a bit more considerate."
"Well, if this is the way you wanted to apologize… you're forgiven!"
Damon scooped up some sauce and held the spoon out to Elena. She carefully tasted the sustenance and groaned her approval as soon as it hit her taste buds. "That is so good!" she sighed. He was giving her a funny look that she couldn't exactly pinpoint, until she saw that he had moved a bit closer and his face was hovering close by, his eyes searching hers.
"Keep groaning like that and I won't be able to focus on dinner anymore," he warned her with a grin.
"Okay, Mr. Italian Job, step away now."
Damon held up his hands in surrender and went back to his pots and pans. Ten minutes later, they were seated at the kitchen table.
"So," Damon began. "Any plans for tonight?"
"Well, my friends asked me to go out, but I still need to study."
She watched as he rolled his eyes at her. "What?"
"It's what you always do, Elena. You study, you eat and you sleep. Where's the fun in your life?"
"I can't afford fun. In case you've forgotten, my parents have passed away. Sure, they have left me some money, but I can't slack off. I need to get through this school unscathed."
"From what I learned about you, you're at the top of your class. There's no harm in going out just once. I appreciate that you want to make your parents proud, but your whole medical career is not going to go to waste with letting go once in a while. People need to unwind, Elena," Damon advised her.
Elena put her spoon down and glared at him.
"Not everyone wants to go through life partying all the time, Salvatore."
"Am I telling you to become a party animal? No. Besides, when was the last time you went out with some male company? I never see any around here."
"I don't have the time to meet a man and get to know him."
Damon smirked. "Who said anything about getting to know them?"
"Ugh! Unlike some of the wishbones you call women that you've known most of your life, I don't do that."
"Why not? There's nothing wrong with a little sex to help you relax."
Elena got up from the table and put her plate in the sink. "Thank you for dinner. I'll be up in my room."
She threw the door shut behind her and sighed, feeling a headache fast approaching. Maybe Damon was right; she never relaxed and always kept on going when it came to her school. She just felt like she owed it to her parents.
Her phone was lying on top of her bed and she eyed it warily. There was no harm in having a bit of fun, she supposed. Just once. She quickly dialed the number of Bonnie, before she changed her mind again.
"Yeah, Bonnie? I'm coming out tonight. What time do you guys want to go?"
When she woke up the next morning, she sat up in alarm, immediately regretting that decision when she felt her head begin to throb. What the hell had been the matter with her, to be drinking so much last night? It was highly unlike her. What troubled her even more, was that she couldn't remember how she had gotten home. Had Damon been there to see it? Had he been the one to put these pjs on her? Lord, she was never doing this again!
She rubbed her burning eyes and slid out of bed, moaning when her stomach began to churn.
Well, great! She just knew that Damon's annoying smirk would be plastered all over his face after he had been the one to tell her to let loose just once. It seemed like she did. How would she face him?
She stumbled towards his sofa bed, squinting her eyes as if that would help with her swimming vision. He was lying on his back, one arm over his eyes, as his pecs shone in the moonlight. It was really unfair for a man like him to be so goddamn beautiful!
She sat down next to him, giving him a once over, before he stirred.
"Elena?" he said in a groggy voice. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. My eyes can't seem to focus, though."
Damon sat up a little.
"That'll clear up in the morning. Unfortunately, then you'll be dealing with other things."
Elena nodded and then frowned.
"How did I get here, Damon?"
He smirked at her as she said this. "Well, Elena, that's a bit obvious. Don't you think? You've had a bit too much to drink and Caroline and Bonnie took you home. I promised them that I would take care of you from here on out."
"That's not what I meant." Elena sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What I mean is, how did life take such a turn that I wound up here?"
Damon shook his head, not understanding her.
"Where?"
"I don't know. I look at you and you're having so much fun in life. I can't. I always have to worry about money and studying and passing the next test. It must be cool to live a worry-free life."
"We all have our demons to face, Elena."
Elena scrunched up her nose at him.
"You have demons? Where? Your bed is practically made by your father. Women fall at your feet, you are attractive as hell. Shall I continue?"
"You think that I'm attractive?" Damon said with surprise, giving her a playful smile.
"Please! I doubt that there's a woman out there who doesn't find you attractive and you're annoyingly aware of it. Don't deny that, Damon."
"Well, yeah.. I'm aware of women taking an interest in me. I wasn't aware about you, though. You're a tough cookie to crack, Gilbert."
"Moving on. What are your demons?"
Damon looked down, obviously contemplating about telling her things. He ran his hand through his hair for a second. Elena noticed his hesitance and put a hand on his chest, trying to reassure him.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me."
"You're drunk, Elena. I highly doubt that this is the time or the place. Look, I've got issues… we've all got them. Maybe my life seems perfect to you, but it's not. Trust me. That's all that we need to get into right now."
Elena nodded and gave him a sweet smile.
"All right. I won't pry."
Only then, Elena realized in what kind of position they were in, in the dark with her hand on his naked chest. For some reason, her heart began to pound rather painfully in her chest. He was aware of the shift as well. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Elena…," he whispered. "Let's not start something that you'll regret in the morning."
"But if I wasn't drunk, would you go there?"
It was bold, yeah. Right in that moment, she couldn't care less. She leaned forward a little, making it clear that her intention was to kiss him. He could have pulled back, but didn't. Elena took it as a sign that he felt it as well; that push and pull that had always been there between them. He was always flirty with her, she always gave him the cold shoulder, even though she felt things bubbling underneath the surface.
For a fleeting moment, their lips touched, and Elena felt everything that she knew that she would feel once she really touched him. It was exhilarating to have those butterflies dance in her stomach.. to have her skin break out in goosebumps.. Then, he let her go.
"Go to bed, Elena..."
Elena leaned her head against her door, feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of seeing him again after that memory came back to her… She had kissed him! What the hell had she been thinking! Of course, she could always blame it on the alcohol, but still… she knew that wasn't true. She had been in love with him since the moment that they had met...
She could hear him right outside of her bedroom door and realized it was now or never. It was impossible to hide in there forever. Shaking, she opened the barrier between them and took a deep breath.
"Good morning," he said, when he saw her. "Back in the land of the living?"
"Ha ha."
He looked impeccable, she noticed as she approached him. He was dressed in his usual bad boy look, with dark jeans and a dark shirt. The first three buttons were open, revealing just a hint of his pale chest and Elena had to try real hard to block out the image of them and their kiss last night.
"How's your head?"
"Not too good, but it'll clear."
He nodded and went into the kitchen, coming back with a glass of water and two aspirin.
"Thanks," she said, taking it gratefully.
"You're welcome. Do you remember Bonnie and Caroline taking you home? You were pretty out of it last night."
Elena felt her heart skip a beat. Was he trying to figure out of she still knew about their kiss? This was it, then; her way out. If she told him that she didn't remember, she could stop acting so awkward. Maybe it would be a relief for him as well… she was way too serious for him. Besides, she had always been the one to hold him off. Men like Damon were dangerous; they could play with your heart. That's why she never wanted to be one of those women who gave into him.
"I honestly don't remember all that much. But good to know that they brought me home. I was kind of worried about it when I woke up. I hope I didn't impose on you too much?"
She had blurted it out before she could stop herself. All chances of talking about the kiss and her feelings were now gone with the wind. There was something in the way that he looked at her in that moment.. a hint of.. what, really? It was almost as if he was disappointed about something. But that couldn't be, right? There was no way that someone like her would make an impression on him. He flirted, yes. That was the way he was with everyone who didn't have a dick. She couldn't read too much into it.
"You didn't. You slept like a log all night."
"Good."
Her stomach churned with the knowledge that he was lying to her. She was right then; he was relieved that she wouldn't mention the kiss.
"Yeah, look. My little brother called this morning. He's invited me to spend Christmas with him. I should be back before New Year's. Will you be okay?"
Elena swallowed something.
"Of course. When will you be leaving?"
Damon threw a bag onto his sofa bed and began to pack up some things.
"Tonight, actually."
Tonight? Was he running away from her or something?
"Okay. Well… have yourself a Merry Christmas, then."
"Yeah… you too."
A/N: So this is a quick two-part story I'm throwing in here for Christmas/New Year's Eve. The next part should be up before December 31st After that, I'll be back to 'Only Time.' Merry Christmas, everyone! Love, Mardre.
