So, this is something new I'm just starting to write in hopes to get over my writers block for 'Life as we know it.' I'm so sorry, I'm so rubbish. Anyway, I hope you like this enough not to hate me if you were previously reading my first fic, I will get a third chapter up someday!

Disclaimer-I own nothing... yet.

Broke and completely down on her luck, Elena Gilbert feels as though she's hit rock bottom. That is until her ad in the local paper is finally responded to and things start to look up. Elena|Damon. AU/AH Rated T.

Prologue- Sleeping with Strangers.

Elena.
When I wake up, head pounding and mouth dry, I immediately realise I am not in my own bed.

The soft, white cotton sheets that swaddle me like a baby are not the one's I had purchased whilst on my holdiay in Spain last year, and the shirt that hangs around my frame is far too large and musky smelling to be mine. Afraid to even sit up and inspect my surroundings, I keep my eyes closed, screaming inside at how stupid I had been to end up in a strangers bed.

Pot's clattering break my endless inward curses, and I hear a male voice. I sit up immediately and swing my legs over the side to stand, the shirt hanging from my shoulders. Bare-footed, I creep along the hardwood floors. The voice gets louder, my heart pounds faster; I've never been good talking to strangers, especially not after I've slept with them.

The sight that awaits me is not one I'm prepared for. A shirtless man stands at the island in the middle of the kitchen, a pair of sweats clinging to his bottom half and a sexy, dishevelled head of raven black hair that lets onto our earlier activities. As if he senses that I'm standing halfway behind a doorframe studying him, he looks up, blue orbs unsurprised as they land on me. I give an akward wave and step into the room, unable to shake my self-conciousness, aware that I am wearing only what, I presume, is his shirt. He smiles at me: a heartbreaking smile that I can't help but return.

"Good morning," He says, smile unwavering. His voice drips with sex, so much so, that I find myself having to swallow massive amounts of saliva to keep from salivating all over him. I nodd my head in reply and watch as he retrieves some orange juice from the fridge. He holds it up to me in a sort of peace offering way. I smile. "OJ?" He asks.

When I don't make a move, he simply places it on the counter. "I don't bite, ya'know." He teases.

"Thank you," I finally say, and he hands me a glass. I don't realise how thirsty I am until the cool orange liquid slides down my throat, and within seconds I have downed the whole glass. The blue eyed man laughs at my expression and nudges the carton towards me. "You can have some more," He tells me. "OJ isn't a rare species."

Again, I can't help but smile. Taking a seat at the breakfast bar, I try to drink this glass slowly, and watch as he works on making pancakes. Expertly, he flips them, then slides them onto the two plates he's already prepared. He hands me one and I wait until he joins me to dig in. After we've eaten, I murmur a small thank you and compliment him on how delicious it all was. He blushes.

"I'm Damon, by the way," He breaks the silence as he stands and takes my plate. "In case you forgot."

It's true. I have forgotten. I smile sheepishly and shrug. "I'm sorry I don't remember you. It's just that... I can't really remember anything from last night."

"That's okay," He says. "Last night was..." He struggles for words. "Crazy."

Now it's my turn to blush. I grin softly and motion to my surroundings. "Yeah," I agree. "Just a bit."

Damon laughs throatily and places our plates in the sink. I pull at the hem of his shirt as I stand up in attempts to make it longer and grab a tea towel to help dry them. We stand at the counter for a few minutes, enjoying the silence that isn't at all akward, before he points towards the bedroom. "I don't know where your clothes are." He says, then blushes again. "I just kinda... ripped them off wherever I could."

"That's okay." I reply, then I scour his apartment for my belongings. As I'm searcing for my bra, I realise that he's obviously rich. A flashy home like this was hardly something anyone I knew could afford. Its when I'm looking underneath pillows and sofas for my heels that I notice the array of stuffed animals, but I simply carry on and don't mention it to him; its none of my business what he keeps around his house. Damon coughing in the corner breaks me from my search, and, aware that I am bending down almost to the point you can see everthing underneath his shirt, I quickly stand back up to face him. He's holding my lacy red bra in one hand and my matching panties in the other, wearing a sheepish smile. I take them from him as I pass and declare the bedroom out of bounds as I dress. He doesn't object, just hands me my delicasies and leaves me to it.

Once I've slipped back into my black dress, fluffed my hair into shape and wiped the mascara from underneath my eyes, I can't help but feel like a cheap prostitute. I stare at my reflection in the mirror hanging beside the wardrobe and adjust my heels, reprimanding myself with a simple, disgusted look. A knock on the door makes me jump. "Come in." I say.

Damon suddenly appears leaning against the doorframe, a sympathetic look plastered across his features. "You're not cheap." He tells me quietly as if he knows what I'm thinking. "You're human. I don't know about you, but I don't regret last night. We both needed it, and it stops there."

I just stare at him, his blue eyes drawing me in closer with every word that comes out of his mouth. "It was nice to have met you Elena." He carries on. "Take care."

Then he's gone, and before I know it, I've slipped into my coat; hailing a taxi outside in the biting wind.

He's right. I did need it. But that didn't mean i didn't regret it.

Damon
Elena leaves without so much as a word, so I have to creep back to my room to make sure she had actually left. She has. Then, I tidy up around the apartment, picking up endless toy animals as I go. I bite my tongue in pain as I feel something dig into the sole of my foot and I collapse onto a chair to inspect what I had just stepped on. Its a silver necklace, ripped at the claspe. I open the locket attatched, a small picture of a baby tucked away safely inside and I find myself wondering who it could be.

I try my best to fix it, but to no avail, then make a mental note to have it mended and returned to Elena as soon as possible. But then it hits me, I'm not alone in decision making anymore; I can't just up and leave like I used to. A strangled cry comes from the box room as if they're reminding me, a room I had no use for before everything changed, and I drag myself up to a standing posistion to slide the necklace into the pocket of my joggers.

"I'm coming," I murmur, mostly to myself, then grab two stuffed animals from the pile of toys to act as my weaponry. I had gotten this all down to a science now; giraffe's and hippo's made everything better.

"Hey princess," I soothe as I step inside.

So, there's chapter one up. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

If you did, drop me a review because you'll completely make my day. I'm not even joking, you seriously will. Thank you!