Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the books or the television show of the Vampire Diaries. I am merely borrowing the characters and temporarily pulling their strings.

A/N: I love to write, unfortunately I rarely get to the actual act of it due to time limitations. Hence, I have been working on this story for about a week now, wanting to get it all written down in one piece instead of turning this into a very short story. I am currently obsessed with the show and the pairing Damon/Elena, although I do like Stefan as well. It is my first attempt at a Vampire Diaries piece, so I apologize for anything being out of character. I just had to write this and get it out of my system. :)

Save Me

"Nothing in the sky said run for cover…"

Elena felt her seatbelt strain under the weight of her body as her car flipped onto its back. A sound escaped her, something between a scream and a moan, as she was extremely uncomfortable and in pain once the car came to a halt. She threw a nervous look through her now shattered window, in the direction of the figure she had hit only seconds earlier. She frantically pulled at her seatbelt; the feeling of being upside down making her nauseous, and the pain wasn't helping either. She was trying very hard to ignore it, but she felt parts of her body throb in tenderness.

Her eyes flew back out the window as she heard a shuffling noise. She let out a gasp as she saw that the figure had begun to move, straightening out his limbs one by one and getting up. Elena suppressed the urge to call out at him for help, though did let out a scream as the figure turned and began to make his way over to her. It wasn't human after all. She struggled against her seatbelt, but it was no use: he got to her and ruthlessly pulled her from the car, dragging her a fair distance away from her it before letting go.

"Katherine," he said to her while licking his lips.

"I'm not," she replied meekly. She tried to get on her hands and knees, very aware of him towering over her as he watched her in silence. He generously gave her a few more merciful seconds before diving onto her, forcing her back flat onto the ground as he lowered himself down to her, placing his body on top of hers.

Elena screamed and beat her hands against his chest in a desperate attempt, though he simply caught her by the wrists and pinned them above her head, not caring about the shards of glass as he did so. He traced the veins in her wrist with his thumb and did the same with the one in her neck, feeling the blood pump through her. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise," he mumbled to himself, looking her over once more before leaning in and bringing his mouth to her neck. She felt him lightly kiss her and she closed her eyes, knowing it wouldn't be long until he would bite her.

She tried to even out her breathing, remembering something Damon had told her once: the less you put up a fight, the less it hurt. But the bite never came; instead, a sound was heard, like the wind raging and then footsteps followed, and the rush of air on her face. She opened her eyes, ready for the worst and usually he was, but for the moment, she was relieved to find Damon standing over her.

Unfortunately, the relief didn't last that long and she scampered up from the ground. " Damon!" she cried out his name, putting distance between them as she felt for a necklace that she knew was no longer there.

"You okay? You're kind of bleeding all over the place," he returned, his tone calm and expression worried instead of menacing, yet she reacted the way she did out of habit, and he couldn't really blame her for that. He was known for toying with his prey, after all.

"I'm fine… I'm fine," she repeated, stumbling backwards and away from him as she remembered how he had looked at her the last time she was bleeding, and how he had sounded when he had told her to get away from him. Somewhere she thought that he had only done so because Stefan had been nearby, but now she was alone with him and vulnerable after an attack, and hurt.

He snorted at her behavior. "Now that's a little childish, don't you think?"

"Just a precaution."

Damon rolled his eyes at her. "Please, you don't have your necklace on you. I would've bitten you by now if I'd wanted you."

"Damon," Elena said again, her eyes on him though it seemed as if she were looking right through him, as if she wasn't really there. He watched as her face twisted up and her arms reached out for him, registering the shock before she felt it. "Damon!" She was screaming now, her head in her hands as she doubled over in pain.

He didn't understand at first what was happening to her, what was wrong, but then it clicked in his head. Her attacker, he had heard the impact of her car, and had sensed another presence, one that hadn't been human. He moved forwards quickly and caught her with his arms. "He's in your head," he realized. "Damn it!" It was a trick he knew all too well.

He steadied his hold on her and tried to counter whoever was in her head with his own power. It took him more energy than usual, but eventually the power subdued and he felt her body relax and slump against him in exhaustion. "Damon… I need to … Stefan… I'm not Katherine and—"

"Wow, there," he said in a soothing voice Elena didn't think he had. She looked up at him, there not being enough time to spare to appreciate the way he felt against her. "I have to be sure that he doesn't go after him."

"Weren't you the one who ran away from my brother?" Damon cocked an eyebrow, holding her slightly closer to him than was necessary. "Plus, why would he go after Stefan?" he wondered out loud, trying to picture Elena's attacker in his mind despite not having managed to get a good look at him at all.

"Cause he was looking for him… prying into my thoughts… and memories, Katherine's memories, but I don't have them cause—"

"You're not her," he finished for her, knowing that it was the truth despite the resemblance being right there in front of him, and he had to admit, it hurt just a little bit, looking at her while carrying the memory of Katherine with him.

"I need to go see him." Elena pulled away from him and headed towards her car, obviously fighting back the pain she was feeling all over.

"Uhm, you weren't thinking of driving that, were you?" He gestured at the wreck that was her car. He took out his keys and held them up for her to see. "I'll drive you."

She stopped, took a deep breath to stifle the pain and looked at him, doubt clouding up her eyes. "You won't. You'll say you will, but once I get in the car with you, you'll drive us anywhere but where I want to go."

Damon grinned at her comment. "Such little faith." He paused as she turned and began to walk, past her car and on. "You know me too well," he said under his breath before pushing himself through the air and placing himself in front of Elena within seconds. She gasped in surprise and pain as her muscles contracted and released themselves again.

"Look, you're in no shape to walk so I'll drive you to see Stefan, I promise," he added with a sigh.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't believe you."

"What, you don't trust me?" he joked.

"No."

And he had to admit her answer stung just a little more than he was comfortable with. "You know, instead of offering nicely, I could just force you to get in the car," he said between gritted teeth.

Elena shook her head. "You would want me to come with you out of my own free will."

He clicked his tongue a few times and threw his hands up. "Fine, you want to walk, then walk. I just hope the person who attacks you doesn't come back. He might be watching you now… waiting for me to leave so you're at your most vulnerable, alone, with no one to protect you…" he trailed off and then turned around, slowly heading to his car.

She wanted to be stubborn, but the pain was too much and everything hurt, just standing up cost her all her energy. Suddenly, her legs gave out from underneath her and she buckled forwards, dropping onto her knees ungracefully while one arm clutched her stomach. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Damon turn and the expression on his face lose its edge. He was by her side before she knew it and lifted her from the ground, being careful with where he placed his hands and his eyes clear and concerned as he looked down at her. That was all she saw before her eyes fell closed and she gave in, she was too tired to fight anymore.

~*~

When Elena opened her eyes again, she saw nothing but darkness for the first few seconds, though once her eyes had adjusted she realized it was dark outside and she was in a car. Still groggy she slowly attempted to move all of her limbs, after which she automatically dropped her hands down to her stomach, gently pushing down on it and moaning when she felt the pain that followed. Though the bleeding had stopped, in fact, the shirt she was wearing didn't feel wet at all… She looked down and gasped when she saw that she wasn't wearing her own shirt anymore.

"I had to take off your shirt in order to get to the wound… I fixed you up quite well, don't you think?" Damon looked over at her with another cheeky grin plastered onto his face, though his eyes weren't in it as he watched her lift up her shirt and examine his work. Her fingers ran over the clean bandage and grasped at the end of the shirt she was wearing: dark blue and big on her. "Yours?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "Yep, and you're welcome by the way."

"Thank you," she told him softly and brushed her hair from her eyes as she glanced at him quickly, only to look back out of the window when his eyes sought out hers. "Are we…"

"Yep."

"You're actually keeping your promise?"

"Don't sound too surprised. And don't expect me to mean what I say ever again," he said after a beat, teasing Elena ever so slightly.

She opened her mouth to say something, but all words flew from her mouth silently as her lips closed in a tight line and her hands flew to her head. "Damon," she called for his immediate attention. "I feel him… He's in—" Her own screams cut her off.

Damon pulled the car over and reached out for her with both hands, clasping her own in his as he began to push the person who had invaded her mind to its edges, slowly forcing him out. Her breathing began to even out and he managed to control it with just one hand on her, leaving his other free to drive again.

"We need to get to Stefan," she told him. "He's on his way there, he was looking for where he lived, you lived, an image… I felt him, I can't explain it."

"Shhh, it's okay. We're close." His grip tightened on her and she held on to him for her dear life, needing him to be there in order for her to hold on. "Damon," she said his name again.

"Mmm."

"Can… will Stefan be able to fight him, I mean, he won't… he won't die, will he?" Her eyes leveled with his. "You told me his powers weren't as strong as yours because he doesn't feed on human blood, but will he be able to… survive until we get there?" she asked carefully, fearing the answer.

He stayed silence until Elena pulled her hand from his and crossed her arms. He sighed. "Look, Elena, my brother has a lot of will power, I'll give him that, but he's not strong enough to take him."

"Are you?" she countered after a beat.

Damon shrugged. "I don't know."

"You might have to work together."

"If Stefan makes it that long…" Elena withdrew from him completely and thought about Stefan and the person who had attacked her. Her hands went up to her throat, searching for the necklace that wasn't there before settling at the spot where the bite marks would have been.

~*~

Both of them were silent until they had reached the house, Damon already out the door before she had even opened hers.

"What do you think you're doing?" he inquired, spinning back around when she got out of the car.

"I'm going with you."

Damon shook his head.

"I have to, I can't just sit here and wait… for one of you to die, or both of you. I have to help, do something. Please don't force me to stay here?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, you're death wish." He turned and casually strolled over to the house, before he went in he threw her one more look. "Stay behind me and Stefan okay?"

She nodded and followed, hurrying into the house and running in on the thing she had most feared. Stefan, though still alive, was pressed up against a wall by some invisible force, looking weak and bleeding. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, spotting Damon just before he was lifted up into the air and thrown against the wall as well, beside his brother.

Elena forced herself to look away and move, able to grab the two items from the dresser before the man's focus was shifted on to her. She put one item in her pocket while her hand tightly held on to the other. Panic froze her in her steps and she was afraid to turn around, but she knew that she had to. She heard Stefan call out her name and saw him struggle against the unseen restraints that kept him in place. Her eyes widened in surprise and hope when Damon managed to get an arm free, though it was shattered when he was released completely and flung back against the wall violently.

"Stop it!" she demanded. "Stop hurting them. If it's me you want to hurt, then just do it."

The man turned to face her and his outer appearance exuded no intimidation: the golden curls and warm eyes were very pleasing, although his demeanor was the polar opposite. He shot Elena a smile, revealing all of his teeth, lifting his chin slightly to catch the light properly and his fangs gave off an alarming gleam.

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, Elena." He licked his lips and eyed her. "It is true that I wanted to hurt you before, when I thought you were Katherine. The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?" he asked and turned to the two Salvatore brothers. "But of course you already know that, huh? Anyway, on with the chitchat, oh and let's not forget the introductions, shall we?" He smiled and held out his hand to her. "My name's Landon, Landon Crowfield, fitting isn't it?"

He laughed when she didn't take his hand and he merely reached for hers instead. "Don't be rude now. It's nice to meet you and, yes, the pleasure is all mine." He tugged her closer to him rather roughly and examined her more closely. "Yes, you do look just like my sweet Katherine… or should I say our sweet Katherine." He chuckled. "She had a thing for more than one guy apparently; turning everyone she had the faintest affection for into a creature of the night. I was just passing through here, to visit her grave, so to speak."

He leaned into her and pressed his nose into her hair. "Imagine my surprise when I caught a glimpse of you and discovered your close acquaintance with the Salvatore brothers." He paused briefly. "And when I discovered you were human, well, my nostalgic side took over and I just had to have you, make you mine," he whispered in her ear. It sent shivers down her spine and she began to struggle against him, more determinedly when he dragged his lips down to her neck. "Shh shh, it's okay, it won't hurt."

"Please, no." She braced herself against his chest with one hand and tried desperately to push him away, but he wouldn't so much as budge. Landon simply chuckled and intensely set his eyes on her. She went to turn her head away, but he forcefully took her by the chin to keep her from moving. "Elena…" he said her name in a singsong voice.

"Don't listen to him, Elena!" Stefan yelled.

"Stefan…" Elena said softly as she tore her gaze from Landon to look at Stefan. He was in agony over her. She couldn't help but give the other Salvatore brother a quick look as well. Unlike Stefan he was still wasting his energy fighting, even though he must know it would do no good. "It's okay," she said to both brothers. "Thanks for looking after me, even you Damon," she thanked him playfully.

His eyes twinkled back at hers, appreciating her humor at a time like this, though they lost their shine of amusement when she asked Landon the following question: "Will it hurt?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes, but I'll repay your compliance with a painless death… or life, depending on how you want to look at it."

Elena nodded and waited silently as Landon grabbed her by the back of her head and drew her to him, tilting her head to the side slightly so he had easy access to her neck. She felt him kiss her neck at first, like he had done earlier and she fought against closing her eyes and giving up the fight. Her eyes found Damon's instead and she almost saw the humor in the fact that her fear of him was nothing compared to what she had felt tonight. Damon might not be human anymore, but humanity had not left him completely, not yet. If it had, he would have killed her a dozen times by now and he wouldn't be struggling and trying anything he could to get to her, to save her. A savior…

She tightened her grip on the thing she was holding in her hand as she felt Landon's teeth graze her neck gently. "I like the sunlight," she took him off guard. She felt Landon smile against her skin and saw both Stefan and Damon look at her in their shared confusion. "I like feeling." She made up her mind and defiantly brought her hand up, while she continued to speak. "I don't want to be a monster." She placed her free hand against his chest, where his heart was supposed to beat, her other hand snuck closer. "I don't want to be like you." And that was when she struck and jammed the pencil she had been holding on to all this time into his chest. She pushed with all of her strength, wanting to get it in as far as she could, hoping it was effective.

Landon gasped in surprise, flung her from him, only to reach for her once again, his hands tightening around her throat. She began having trouble breathing, though before she could lose conscious, Landon was pulled from her by Damon and Stefan was there to catch her before she hit the ground.

Landon turned to ashes in front of her, the pencil falling to the ground. Damon bent to pick it up. "Huh, guess it had just been sharpened."

Elena breathed in slowly and leaned against Stefan heavily. "You okay?" Stefan asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's just been a little much, this whole night with the car crash and the being almost bitten twice…"

Stefan's brow furrowed as he shot Damon a look, who threw the pencil aside with a smug shake of his head. "Oh come on, Stefan, don't look at me like that, I'm your brother and I don't kill girls you like, well, actually I have, but…"

"He helped," Elena urged on.

"…not Elena," Damon finished his sentence simultaneously.

"So no biting, no threatening?" Stefan asked in mock amazement.

Elena shook her head. "No, he was a perfect gentleman, well, for his standards anyway," she rambled on, earning her an amused smile from Damon as he crossed his arms and sat down on a desk. "He even cleaned me up, got the glass out."

"You should've seen her before. It wasn't a pretty picture."

Elena and Damon exchanged a look and she smiled.

"Explains why you're wearing his shirt," Stefan observed.

"Yeah, about that, I wasn't conscious for that part, otherwise I would've stopped him."

Damon snorted. "Oh please, you didn't have the necklace."

"Or at least would've put up a fight," Elena went on and pulled the vervain necklace from her pocket. She threw Damon a smug smile while attempting to put on the necklace. She fidgeted with the lock, but every inch of her was just so drained and it was finally hitting her. The necklace slipped from between her fingers and she fell back against Stefan for support. The room spun and she had to close her eyes. "Can you take me home?" she whispered.

"Too much excitement for one day," Damon remarked, the playfulness not reaching his face as concern took over. He got up to pick up her necklace. He motioned for her to lean toward him a little and she willfully did, Damon gently brushing her hair aside as he fastened the necklace around her neck.

"I'm only human after all," Elena commented pointed out.

"Hey, give yourself a little more credit, you survived a car crash and an evil vampire," Damon returned and she smiled. "Technically I survived two, if you still count that is? How do I thank you?" Their eyes met just as Stefan began to lead her towards the door. Damon leaned in closely and whispered, "I can think of a way, and it doesn't include me killing you or turning you." His lips briefly brushed against her ear and he felt her shiver, not out of fear this time, but out of unexpected pleasure at the feeling. She looked back at Damon before disappearing through the door.

~*~

Stefan dropped her off and helped her up to her room, under the watchful and worried gaze of her aunt. She had believed the story they had told her about a hit and run and Elena being the dupe of it, her car totaled and her, luckily, having nothing but a few scratches and bruises to show for it. Stefan had helped her change into her grew sweatpants, loose at the legs and low at the hips so they were comfortable enough for her, and she had kept on Damon's shirt. Stefan left afterwards, needing to recover himself.

Elena tossed and turned for a while, but was unsuccessful in achieving sleep of any kind. The day's events were too fresh in her mind and whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Katherine's eyes looking back at her, a small smile playing on her lips, almost taunting her as she had each of her hands on one of the Salvatore brothers' heads. She had them literally at her feet, Stefan looking up at her lovingly, while Damon's envy filled eyes were on his brother. It was unfair of Katherine not to be able to pick from the many men she had came across in her life and simply turn all of them into vampires, so she had eternity to think it over. But wasn't she like that? With Stefan, but not fully committed because a fragment of her heart would always be condemned, drawn to Damon.

Elena wrung her bed covers between her hands, causing her fingers to ache and her to softly moan in frustration and restlessness. She wasn't going to do this; she wasn't going to be torn in half, not when she had already made her decision. She flew upright in bed, kicking her covers off in the process, and her hands tangling themselves in her tousled locks. The movement was too quick and sudden, though, and she cringed as a wave of pain made its way through all of her body. The wound on her midsection throbbed and she cautiously lifted up Damon's shirt, biting her lip when she saw how the blood had slowly seeped through the bandages and colored them a shade of red. She should have thought of changing them or have had Stefan look at them.

She lifted herself up from her bed and reached for the bandages, gasping when two hands beat her to them. She stumbled backwards just as her eyes landed on the person in front of her and instant recognition followed. "Damon," she said his name, in relief she realized, happy he was here. She needed him. She shook her head, her own mind playing tricks on her by not even being on her side.

He caught her by the elbow and gently drew her toward him.

"You need to stop doing this," she told him and freed herself from his hold. "Showing up out of nowhere," she explained when he merely cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I thought I'd give you a chance to thank me."

She shook her head, resisting the small smile that was tugging at the corner of her mouth. Instead, she turned and headed over to her mirror. "I'm with Stefan, Damon, and even if I… wanted to thank you," she lifted her head up just enough to meet his gaze in the mirror, "I can't." Her hands went down to her stomach and her gaze followed, but not before she caught her own eyes in the mirror. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and out of her own mouth nonetheless, and he wasn't making her do it either; she was still wearing the necklace.

"Excuses, excuses," Damon chided, smiling at her charmingly as he walked over to her.

"Need some help with that?" he nodded at her stomach.

Elena bit her lip, thinking about it, but finally nodded. "Blood makes me squeamish."

Damon rolled his eyes as he went to get the first aid kit out of her bathroom. "What a good vampire you would make." He strolled back in and led her back over to her bed, sitting down on it as he positioned her to stand directly in front of him. "Like the shirt that much, do you?" He tugged at it before lifting it up and instructing her to hold on to it.

"Oh, no… it's just… You want it back?"

Damon chuckled and began to unwrap the stained bandages. He bit the inside of his cheek in concentration as he cleaned the wound, trying to apply as less pressure as he could when dabbing at it. There was something tender about it, something loving even… He even blew on the wound to keep the stinging down and she smiled. "I'm not a baby, you know?"

He simply looked at her and the blowing stopped, the hot air replaced by his lips as he gingerly kissed her stomach instead. He began trailing them upwards slowly; standing up and placing his hands on her hips as he brought his lips back down on her collarbone. It was then that panic took over her body. He was getting closer to her neck and Damon wasn't Stefan, he wasn't good… or as good, she didn't know anymore.

"Damon," she said his name, placing her hands on his own and pushed him off. Surprisingly, he let her do so. "It's been a long day," she said, pulling the shirt back down over her stomach, though she felt it throb again, not out of pain this time, but pleasure. She had liked his lips being there, chasing the butterflies around before finally getting up. "It's too much for a girl to take, a human girl to take anyway," she corrected herself.

He nodded and headed for the window compliantly.

"Thanks," she said as an afterthought. "For saving me, for this." She hugged her stomach. "And for not killing me," she added with a small, almost secretive smile.

"Well, I'm no Stefan," he countered with a roll of his eyes. He made an attempt to leave, but didn't; instead he remained standing by the window, his back turned to her. "Hey, Elena…" He threw her a look, his brow furrowed. "Do you truly believe that we're monsters, Stefan and I?"

He waited patiently for her to answer him, nothing threatening about him as he stood there, looking at her.

Elena turned her head away for a few seconds before finally shaking her head. "I believe Stefan is a good person, or trying to be."

"And me?" he inquired, genuinely interested.

She shook her head again. "No. Damon, you're not a monster… You just have to find another way to deal with your past and your love for Katherine," she told him carefully. "I mean, at one point, hurting people must get old and lose its satisfaction."

Damon briefly bowed his head and smiled to himself. "Maybe." He raised his head again. "Elena, as always, it has been a pleasure." He winked at her and disappeared out of the window.

Elena went to close the window and caught a glimpse of her own reflection in it: her face was flushed, she had stars in her eyes, and her palms were sweaty. She shook her head. This wasn't happening, Damon wasn't anything like Stefan. He was the lightning and Stefan the thunder: menacing and restless, though not harmful at all, whereas lightning was rare, dangerous, but also beautiful. Sometimes you could have one without seeing or hearing the other. But they were connected.

She crawled back into bed, wearing only Damon's shirt, one hand beneath her head while the other was on her stomach, touching the places where he had kissed her with her fingertips. She thought of Stefan before she closed her eyes, though once closed, all she could see were Damon's eyes and accompanying smile. And as he trailed kisses down her body once more, her dreams turned frantic.

Please review? I would really appreciate it if you could let me know what you thought about this piece? And I hope you didn't mind the length. Thanks for reading. :)