A/N: So, this sat on my computer for a while and was written as a bit of fun. I wrote it as a one shot. Hence, the fast pace. However, if there's more interest I might write more chapters. Damon and Elena are distant relatives and there's an age difference; the warning is there, people. Don't like it, don't read it. Let the scandal begin!

Scandal

I was never one to create a scandal; always on my best behavior, straight A student and attending the best of schools. On top of that I was shy and a bit awkward at times. I was the pride and joy of this family. It all started around the time that I was 21; my friend Caroline Forbes had given me a make-over and for the first time in my life I received a lot of male attention. My father disapproved, for in his opinion, it was more important to be well educated than having a few notches on your bedpost to show for yourself. Nevertheless, I continued to behave like the good girl that he wanted me to be.

Damon Salvatore was the exact opposite of me. He was considered the black sheep of this family, always coming and going as he pleased. I only saw him a few times a year; on weddings, funerals, family reunions and such. It was always the same; he rode in on his motorcycle, got drunk and, if there was a party, went all out crazy. He had jet-black hair that fell just under his jaw-line and crystal blue eyes. Women fawned all over him and there was talk in our family about him sleeping with the entire female population of our town. Oh yeah, he was considered drop dead gorgeous. My family tried to understand his behavior, since he had been through a lot in his life; he had lost both his mother and brother at an early age and his fiancée had left him standing at the altar. It wasn't exactly a cheerful path that he had followed. Still, his wild and carefree attitude annoyed my family and everyone was hoping for him to settle down at one point in his life.

I never thought much of him; he was my father's second cousin, plus he was 15 years older than me. What on earth could there be to think about? Well, my view on Damon Salvatore changed on the night of a 25th wedding anniversary party hosted by a mutual family member…

It was actually the first time for some to see my new appearance. I got a lot of compliments and immediately caught the attention of some 25-year-old guy named Roland. I checked to see who he was and if he was family. He wasn't, thank goodness; as it turned out, he was the stepson of a distant cousin of mine. So we danced and laughed and that's when Damon Salvatore walked in. He took up at the bar and I watched him scan the crowd until his eyes landed on me. A frown marred his features as if he couldn't comprehend who I was. I wanted to laugh at that assessment. Getting a make-over had really changed me then.

I continued to have fun with the 25-year-old, but an hour later, I realized that he didn't really do anything for me. I excused myself and went over to the bar to get something to drink. Damon was standing next to me, still trying to figure out if he knew me, until his eyes suddenly widened.

"Elena Gilbert? Is that you?" he asked in surprise.

I took a sip of my drink and eyed him with a smile.

"Yes, I am."

Damon turned my way completely as his eyes took me in from top to bottom.

"Wow, you've become very beautiful. No wonder that guy you were with earlier is standing there pouting like some lovesick schoolboy. You don't like him?"

"No, not really."

"Well, he's not giving up yet. He's coming over again," Damon warned me.

I hid my head in my hands, not really sure what to do. I wasn't good at this.. I wasn't good with men.

"That's my cue to go to the bathroom then," I said, wanted to bolt out of there. Damon, however, grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Don't hide. He'll be trying all night if you're not honest with him. You have to let him down."

I felt hugely embarrassed as Roland stopped in front of us with a smile on his face. "Elena, you didn't have to get yourself a drink. I would have been glad to do it. Do you want to come back out on the dance floor with me?"

"Uhm no, I'm a bit tired," I answered him with a face that was beet red.

Roland didn't get the hint yet and tried again. "Oh, we don't have to dance then. I could get you another drink and we can talk. What do you say?"

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. How did you let a man down without hurting his feelings?

"Uhm no… Roland… I…"

Damon stood next to me with an amused look on his face. He had probably done this hundreds of times, I figured, and he was now making fun of me. Finally, he took pity on me and helped me out.

"Listen, Roland.. is it? I'm sorry, man, but try to listen and take a hint. She's obviously not very interested."

Roland turned to look at me and I could barely keep eye contact with him, staring at the ground with great uneasiness. Then, he finally understood the hint, wished us a good evening and left.

"That was horrible. Thanks for helping me out," I said after releasing a breath I didn't even realize I had been holding.

Damon turned to the bar to order another bourbon.

"You might have to get used to it, though. With the way you look these days, you'll have to swat men off of you like flies," he complimented me.

I grinned. "Thanks."

The evening progressed and Damon and I both got drunk. The first time for me actually, since I had recently turned 21. I felt like my awkwardness and inhibitions fell away with each drink. Damon and I laughed and talked, and for the first time I saw him as something other than a let-down to our family. He wasn't just a womanizer and a blatant party animal… you could actually have a really nice conversation with him. Something shifted when I almost stumbled and he put an arm around my waist to hold me upright. We leaned into each other and I suddenly felt my stomach clench with a warm feeling. It spread through me like a wildfire. I took notice of the fact that he wouldn't let go of my waist and I put my arm around him as well. We talked and laughed, but I was highly aware of his fingers brushing against my side. What was happening? The music got louder near the end of the evening and Damon had to lean close to say what he wanted to say in my ear. I could feel his warm breath on me and I desperately wanted to kiss him for some reason. I didn't, but my stomach was performing flip-flops. And then… then the evening was over and the lights went back on. Damon let go of me, said his goodbyes to everyone and left, leaving me high strung.

I realized that it would probably be months before I would lay eyes on him again and that was probably for the best. My brother Jeremy came up to me the next morning and took me aside.

"Uhm, last night was a bit strange," he began.

I frowned at him "What do you mean?"

"From where I was standing, it looked as if you and Damon Salvatore were a bit too cozy. I thought that the two of you would kiss each other at one point!"

I quickly brushed him off.

"Don't be ridiculous. We were just drunk and having a good time, nothing more."

"Yeah well, dad isn't too pleased with the fact that his little girl got drunk. He wants to talk to you in a few," Jeremy warned me.

My father lay into me pretty hard and expressed his disappointment in me. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed the underlying current between Damon and me, so in spite of his harsh words, I was relieved that me being drunk was all that he was pissed about. I promised him that I wouldn't embarrass him anymore and be sensible when it came to drinking.

In the months that followed, I brushed off the strange feelings I had that night and blamed it on the alcohol. I went on to study medicine, making my father even more proud. Also, I landed myself the perfect boyfriend; well-mannered, studying law and gorgeous. Caroline was proud and prided herself in her make-over, believing it had set things in motion.

When the next family gathering happened, Damon was late. Everyone was wondering if he had somehow skipped the thing all together, when his brother Stefan came in, said that Damon had been in a motorcycle accident and that he had broken his leg. My family took that as a sign that he definitely needed to get his act together and become a bit more sensible.

A few more months went by and me and the perfect boyfriend broke up again, to my father's chagrin.

"I just don't understand. The boy was perfect for you!" he had exclaimed.

"Maybe he was in your eyes. But the feeling… it just wasn't there. He was almost too perfect."

So what was it then that I wanted out of a man? Clearly, perfect didn't do it for me. I needed someone that I could get a little crazy with one day and have a smart conversation with the next. I needed someone to be perfectly flawed with me.

It took another two years before Damon and I saw each other again. Cousin Danny was getting married, and once again, it seemed that Damon's bed partner-range went wider than we thought. Cousin Jasper, Danny's brother, had invited a date to come with him to the celebration. The woman took one look at Damon and said: "Hey, I know you!" Then, she blushed with realization and Damon's eyes widened. It was hilarious. To get away from the embarrassment, he asked me to dance at the party afterwards. Then, it happened again… those feelings… They weren't supposed to happen, but they did. When I held him and he held me, all those strange things that I had felt that night long ago came flooding back again. This time, I couldn't blame it on the alcohol, because I only had had one drink the entire night. My hand practically burned in his as he guided me across the dance floor and I closed my eyes at his scent invading my nostrils. I reveled in the fact that he pulled me close to him. When the song ended and he let me go, I could feel the loss immediately. He kissed my cheek and left the dance floor. I left soon after, needing to cool off. Damon was outside as well…

"It was a bit warm in there, wasn't it?" he said as soon as I stood next to him.

I turned to look at him and frowned. Did he mean that he had felt it as well? Or was it just an observatory statement?

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Poor cousin Danny for ending up as a ball and chain."

"Marriage isn't supposed to be all ball and chain-like, Damon. Sometimes, it actually works between two people."

Damon threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh please, don't tell me that you're one of those people who believe in the importance of marriage? Why do people make it such a big deal? Isn't it more important to be together and happy?"

He had me there. I also understood where he came from, after his ordeal with being engaged.

"I guess most women just like to wear that dress once… to be the center of attention for a day. I understand how it's different for men."

Damon nodded and stared out at the black sky in silence.

"So, is there anyone important in your life right now?"

Wow, had he really asked that? Was he fishing? Or was I reading into things too much yet again?

"No," I answered truthfully. "You?"

He turned around to face me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "I somehow find that hard to believe with how beautiful you are. Someone should have taken you off the market a long time ago."

Was that my heart pounding so loud?

For the love of god, I still don't know how it happened or who initiated it. But we crashed into each other, kissing hungrily and… hard. It was a kiss beyond any others that I had ever experienced. His tongue slid between my lips and began to duel with mine in such a possessive way that it made my knees buckle. He slipped his arm around me and pulled me against him with so much force, that it seemed as if he would perish if he didn't. I groaned at the sensations that came over me. Just as quick as it started, it ended. He apologized, saying he didn't know what came over him and left.

Three more years went by until the next time we met up. Around that time, I didn't live with my parents anymore and had my own place. I had started my internship at Mystic Falls Hospital, getting to know the gist of becoming a doctor. Again, my parents were boasting with pride, telling every family member who would listen about the great career I had ahead of me. The only thing missing was a man at my side.

Damon had apparently had a relationship in the past year, but it had all gone wrong. I felt bad for him, as it was obvious that he was at least trying to settle down and get more comfortable in his life. I saw him as a lonely soul, lost and drifting through life without purpose.

He wound up drunk again and I took him home to crash on my couch, for he lived an hour and a half worth's driving away. He stumbled inside and then it happened; the reason why the family still gossiped about us to this day. We had created a scandal. We had sex.

I still remember it very vividly.

He suddenly couldn't stand on his legs anymore and fell against me, his face now a hairsbreadth away from me. I could see it in his eyes… the sheer need to kiss me. I searched his face and quietly leaned forward until our lips softly touched each other. After that, it wasn't so soft anymore. We tore into each other with our hands and tongues and teeth, ripping each other's garments away. It was by far the best sex of my life; the way he brought me to the brink with his talented fingers over and over again, until he finally let me topple over the edge. The way his cock slammed into my body so hard that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk the next day…. We were as different as night and day, but we made magic together… the black sheep and the golden child. Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to take anymore, he turned me over one last time, pounding into me from behind. For the life of me, I didn't know what he was doing with that excruciatingly good dick of his, but he brought me to another orgasm with it. Afterwards, we fell asleep, deeply satiated.

My father came by my apartment the next day and caught us. He took one look at our disheveled appearances, the clothing strewn all over the floor and the tussled sheets in my bed and he knew. He blew up, punched Damon for ruining his perfect daughter and practically ordered him out of our lives. Every time we had a family thing after that, they would whisper. Some actually came up to me and asked me about it. Suddenly, I wasn't the golden child anymore. I was a walking scandal. Damon and I steered clear of each other after that. We were never seen in each other's presence again.

I was in love with him, but fate was against us. The love story ended as abruptly as it began. We moved on. To this day, I still think back on that night. I will never forget it. I'm slowly making my way back to being the precious one of this family, but what I wouldn't give to trade the good reputation all in for one more glorious moment with him. I'm officially becoming a MD tomorrow. My father is proud once more. I just hope someday another man will rock my world the way Damon Salvatore did…..

Please leave me a review and let me know what your thoughts were. Thanks for reading!