Elena Gilbert was the typical girl next door. She was nice to everyone, even to the people that were mean to her. Elena always tried to make those people see that she didn't care about what they said or that she was someone who didn't give people a reason to dislike her.
She was an almost straight A student and in her free time she hung out with her two best friends Bonnie Bennet and Caroline Forbes, spent time with her boyfriend Matt Donovan or she helped others. Elena loved it to help people; she voluntarily worked in charity organizations, organized charity events, donated money, helped with homework and did babysitting for neighbours.
She dreamed of a perfect life with a husband, several kids, a dog and a house with a white picket fence. But her life changed when she met the handsome bad boy Damon Salvatore.
xxxxxxx
It was Elena's first day of her last school year. She has imagined it perfectly in her head; spending at much time as possible with her boyfriend or her two best friends, becoming a straight A student, helping in a lot of charities, getting in her dream college and ending her last school year with a perfect prom.
She stepped out of her car and made her way to her friends that were waiting for her.
Caroline immediately hugged her tightly and made her jump up and down with her; she was definitively excited.
"I can't believe it! We're seniors! That's our school year, I can feel it! It's going to be the best year ever!"
Elena giggled at the overexcitement of her best friend.
Bonnie was also in a good mood and smiled brightly at Elena, but she wasn't nearly as overenthusiastic as Caroline. Her hug was less bone-crushing.
Elena was happy to see her besties after she spent the last two weeks with her family at their lake house.
But she was even happier to see her boyfriend Matt again. He embraced her in a hug and then leaned down to kiss her. His kisses were always sweet and gentle and she loved it.
"Hello, beautiful. I missed you."
"Hi, I missed you too."
She smiled warmly at him and received a happy smile back from him.
Hand in hand they made their way to their first class, Caroline and Bonnie following right behind them.
Their first period was history with the new history professor. The old one, Mr. Tanner left because he had some family problems.
Elena took her usual spot in the first row, Matt on her right and Bonnie and Caroline on her left.
They still had some minutes until class started, so they used it to talk about the last two weeks.
Suddenly Caroline's face lit up and she stopped talking, which was extremely untypical for her, her eyes were glued to the entrance of the classroom door and her mouth was wide open. Elena followed Caroline's gaze and saw a new boy stepping in the room. He had brown hair and green eyes and he was handsome, but nothing special in her opinion.
But the boy, no man, who entered the room after him, took her breath away. He wasn't as tall as the boy in front of him, but he had broad shoulders, a muscular body, a strong jaw line, raven black hair and ice blue eyes, that were the most beautiful eyes Elena had ever seen. He looked older than the boys she usually saw in this school. His dark clothes fitted his body perfectly and emphasized his beauty. Elena couldn't even call him handsome or good looking; those words weren't good enough to describe him.
The younger guy sat down on the free place next to Caroline. She smiled widely at him and instantly started a conversation with him.
Elena and Bonnie exchanged a meaningful glance.
The older guy rolled his eyes and looked around the room. When his gaze landed on Elena, he looked at her intensely before he winked.
She blushed deeply and looked down at her table.
When she glanced back up, she saw that he walked to the back of the classroom. She looked over to Matt; luckily he was too busy with his phone and didn't notice her gushing over another guy.
The new teacher walked in and wrote his name on the blackboard.
"Hello, everybody. I'm your new history teacher. My name is Alaric Saltzman. I heard that we're having two new students here. Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Would you two mind to stand up and introduce yourself?"
'Salvatore, so the guys were brothers.' Elena looked back and forth between them, but she couldn't see any similarity. The younger guy stood up and started introducing himself.
"I'm Stefan Salvatore. We moved here, because our father thought that living in a nice and small town would be good for us. Before that we used to live in New York. I'm 18 and I like football. You all seem really nice and I'm happy to be here."
He smiled brightly at everyone and sat back down.
Elena couldn't help, but to look at Damon, the name suited him somehow.
"Thank you, Stefan. What about you, Damon?"
Mr. Saltzman looked expectantly at Damon; he looked annoyed but stood up.
"You can probably guess that my name is Damon. I'm the older and funnier brother. And well what can I say more? Stefan already told you everything important."
He smirked and let himself fall back down to his stool. Hearing his velvety voice did things to Elena that she couldn't describe.
xxxxxxx
Two weeks later Caroline and Stefan were practically glued to each other. They spent so much time together that Elena barely saw Caroline without Stefan. They weren't together yet, but it was just a matter of time. Elena liked Stefan; he was nice and sweet. Caroline clearly deserved someone good like him. Stefan had told them that Damon was still in school because he constantly skipped school in New York; therefore he had to repeat his last school year. He is also a troublemaker and heartbreaker. Damon was the real reason why they moved from New York to Mystic Falls. Their father wanted Damon to finally get his life in order. Stefan said that he loved his brother, but it's sometimes better to just stay away from him. Elena didn't expect something else. His whole behaviour just screamed bad boy.
Elena walked to the parking lot; she came from cheerleader practice and wanted to go straight home.
"Nice uniform." Elena gasped surprised and nearly jumped.
Damon was standing in front of her with that annoying smirk on his face.
"God Damon, you scared me!"
He just kept smirking and looked her up and down. His gaze lingered a little too long on her long tanned leg and her short cheerleader skirt.
He looked up at her face and there was a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. Heat made it way to Elena's face and she looked down. What was it about him that made her all nervous and insecure?
"Have a nice day, Elena." He walked past her and she could smell his cologne. It invaded her senses and made her feel light-headed. The way he said her name, it was like he wanted to caress it, didn't made anything better.
'Stop it, Gilbert', she thought to herself. 'You have a boyfriend! And he is trouble, remember? Don't let him get to you!'
xxxxxxx
It was a week later and the Giuseppe Salvatore was throwing a party to meet all his new neighbours and to introduce his sons.
Elena was nervous; the dress that Caroline made her buy was far too revealing. It was red, strapless, with a sweetheart neckline and it was a mermaid dress. Matt would clearly like it, but she wasn't used to be in the centre of attention. And with that dress it would be inevitable. She looked at herself in the mirror and had to admit that she looked beautiful. Caroline had outdone herself; her hair was curled and her lips were light pink. She asked herself, if Damon would like her like this.
'Elena, stop thinking about him!', she reminded herself. She couldn't believe it, she only knew him since a few weeks and he already got under her skin. Elena felt terrible; she had a boyfriend, but she constantly thought about another guy. Her mother knocked on her door.
"Are you ready, sweetheart?"
She came in and looked at Elena proudly pressing her hands against her heart.
"You look so beautiful, Elena."
"Thanks, mom. She hugged her mom and made her way downstairs.
Her father was standing in the hallway talking to Matt, who already arrived.
They both turned around and looked speechless at Elena.
"My little girl is all grown up", her father hugged her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
Matt slowly approached her and held out a hand for her.
"You look amazing tonight!"
A short car drive later they arrived at the Salvatore boarding house. Elena's mouth stood wide open. It was big and with all the lights shining it looked beautiful. Matt took her hand again and led her to the entrance. Giuseppe and Stefan were standing next to the entrance and greeted everyone, who came.
Matt and Elena stepped inside the house and were speechless; the house was even more majestic from the inside. Elena looked around and took everything in; she then spotted Caroline and Bonnie, who were talking to Tyler, on the other side of the room.
"Come on, let's join our friends."
Matt nodded and they made their way to their friends. Caroline and Bonnie both welcomed Elena with a hug, while Tyler just nodded at her; he was too busy giving Matt a manly hug.
"Wow, you look gorgeous, Elena." Bonnie smiled warmly at her.
"See, I told you that this dress would look amazing on you." Caroline appreciated her work once again. She actually helped Elena preparing before she went home to change.
"Stop it, you two! If someone looks beautiful tonight, then it's you!"
Caroline wore a light blue dress, with beads as ornaments, a sweetheart neckline and a long slit on the side of the dress. She looked like a goddess. Bonnie also looked gorgeous, she wore a floor-long dark purple princess dress, just with not so much décolleté and a skirt, that wasn't that big. Instead the skirt flooded around her legs.
Half an hour later Giuseppe welcomed everyone and held a little speech about how grateful he was that he had such nice neighbours. The music started playing and Matt asked Elena for a dance. She agreed and together with other couples, like Stefan and Caroline, they went to the dance floor and started dancing. During their dance she wondered where Damon was. This was his home, but she hadn't seen him since she arrived.
'God damn it, Elena! Why are you thinking about him again?'
She put her focus back on Matt and the dance.
When the music stopped, Matt went in the direction of the buffet.
"Just stay here. I'm going to get us something to drink."
Elena nodded and watched alone, how the others danced to the next song.
"Hello, Elena." The sound of Damon's velvety voice made her turn around. He gasped for air when he saw her completely. Damon stared at her with his mouth open. She had to admit that her reaction was mirroring his. How could someone look so breathtakingly good in just a simple black suit? She could barely see his hard muscles, that she knew were there, underneath his dress-shirt, but that only made him sexier.
He smirked at her. "You look really lovely tonight, Elena."
"Thanks." Elena felt something warm spreading through her whole body. She knew that she looked beautiful, but hearing Damon say it, made her actually feel beautiful.
"May I have this dance?" He held his hand out in front of Elena.
She looked down at his hand. She couldn't say yes, could she? It wasn't a good idea to dance with someone like him, especially when she felt that undeniable attraction between them.
Elena looked back up to him; he looked expectantly at her waiting for her answer. She could also see a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, because of her hesitation. This made her nod and she gently put her hand in his. She was surprised by the electricity that she suddenly felt where their hands were connected.
He led her to the dance floor and a new song started to play. She immediately recognized the song, because it was one of her favourites. It was 'Thinking out loud' from Ed Sheeran.
When your legs don't work like they used to before
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks
Damon put one of his hands on her waist and grabbed her right hand with his other hand. Tingles appeared on her whole body. He started to move them.
Darlin' I will be lovin' you
Till we're seventy
Baby my heart could still fall as hard
At twenty three
Elena couldn't do anything against locking her eyes with his beautiful blue ones during the whole dance. They stared so intense at her and she wanted to drown in them.
I'm thinkin' bout how
People fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Me, I fall in love with you every single day
I just wanna tell you I am
Damon twirled her around. She never felt like this with anyone. He made her feel happy and free. How could someone she barely knows make her feel like this?
So honey now
Take me into your lovin' arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are
She forgot everyone around them. There was just the two of them being caught in that magical dance.
When my hair's over grown and my memory fades
And the crowds don't remember my name
When my hands don't play the strings the same way
I know you will still love me the same
Elena didn't thought about her friends or her boyfriend. She was lost in this moment with Damon and she couldn't get herself out of the spell he put on her.
Cause honey your soul
Could never grow old
It's evergreen
Baby your smile's forever in my mind and memory
She thought about the lyrics and somehow she could see herself and Damon dancing like this when they were old and grey. That song will now forever be connected with him.
I'm thinkin' bout how
People fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan
I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand
One look in his blue eyes and she could see, that he was just as lost as she was. That wasn't one-sided or just in her mind, he felt it too.
That baby now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are
He gave her a genuine smile, his whole face lit up. It made him look so unbelievable beautiful. 'He should do it more often', she thought.
Baby now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars (oh darlin')
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Her heart was beating frantically. Her whole body reacted to him, to this new sensation, he made her feel.
Maybe we found love right where we are
We found love right where we are
And we found love right where we are
The song came to its end. Damon dipped her down, their warm breaths were mingling with each other and their noses were almost touching. She thought that she would probably faint, if he kissed her. But he pulled her back up.
She immediately disconnected their bodies and ran away. Elena ignored the people she was passing, including her brother, who shot her a questioning look; she needed to get out of this room. Elena pushed the backdoor open and was surrounded by the fresh air. It calmed her down a bit. She took deep breaths and thought about what just happened. How could she let that happen? She knew that he was nothing more but trouble. She shouldn't be around him and she should definitively not have danced with him, especially with her boyfriend being here. Why was her body reacting to him so strong? This was clearly just physical. If she stayed away from him, whatever this is will go away.
"Elena? Are you ok?" She was startled out of her thoughts by Matt. He was standing in the doorway with two cups in his hand. She thankfully took one out of his hands and drank a little bit. It was pure alcohol, but she needed it right now.
"Do you want to go home?"
"No, I'm fine." She lied, but Matt didn't seem to notice.
"Alright, let's discover this mansion!"
Elena just nodded and followed Matt inside. She tried to not look for Damon, but his presence was magically pulling her sight to him. He was talking with a beautiful brunette in a gorgeous black dress. She was basically throwing herself at him and he didn't seem to mind. Of course not! He was Damon Salvatore, a womanizer, who would never say no to such a beautiful girl. Why did Elena suddenly feel so disappointed and even slightly jealous? They danced once, that probably didn't mean anything to him. She averted her gaze away from him.
Matt led her to one of the rooms in the upper floor. He pushed the door open and pulled Elena with him inside.
"I'm not sure, if we should do this, Matt."
"Come on, this will be fun."
He closed the door and shoved Elena against it, his lips were bruising her and his arms trapped her between his body and the door. He smelled like alcohol and Elena wanted to throw up.
"Matt, stop! What are you doing?"
"We're already together since two years. I want to sleep with you!"
"Matt! We're in someone else's room. This is unromantic! I don't want this."
"I don't care! You basically just had sex with Damon Salvatore on the dance floor! So why not with your boyfriend? I want you to show me that you love me!"
Elena pushed Matt away and shook her head. This wasn't the Matt she knew and fallen in love with. Why was he suddenly acting this way? Was he drunk? Tears started to form in her eyes.
"I don't want to sleep with you like this, Matt."
He let out a bitter laugh. "You are interested in that Salvatore boy right? You are my girlfriend! You are supposed to love me and make me happy."
Elena looked in disbelief at Matt. In that moment she realized, that she wasn't in love with Matt. It had been just puppy love between two best friends, but nothing more. And now he was acting childish and irrational, she didn't want to be together with someone like him anymore.
"No, Matt. It's over!"
"WHAT?!" Anger was clearly visible on his face and this terrified her. He grabbed her wrist hard and hurt her. She let out a loud scream and the door was abruptly opened. Damon stood in the doorway like her knight in shining armor. Relief washed over Elena. He quickly observed the situation and when the realization hit him he turned mad. He shoved Matt away from her before punching him and then he dragged him downstairs and threw him out the main entrance.
"Go away! Never come back and if you touch Elena one more time, I'm going to make you regret!"
Matt got up, gave Damon a dirty look and then ran away.
Giuseppe marched over to Damon and spoke angrily at him with a low voice, but Elena could still understand him.
"What happened, Damon? Why are you suddenly throwing people out of our house? Let me guess, you probably got drunk and then got into a fight with another drunken guy. I moved here with you so that you could have a clean start. But no you threw that away. Why are you always such a disappointment, Damon?"
Damon looked stubbornly at his father.
"Why are you always so fast at accusing me of something, father? That boy got himself drunk and hurt Elena. I just showed that asshole, that he isn't welcome anymore."
Elena wasn't happy about witnessing that fight and their obviously strained relationship.
"Is this true?" Giuseppe addressed Elena. She nodded slowly. He sighed loudly before going back to the big living room. Damon stared after his father with an unhappy expressing on his face.
After a few minutes he turned around to Elena.
"Are you alright?" She tried to wipe away her tears.
"Not really, but I will get better. And thank you."
"Any time."
Elena was embarrassed, her ex-boyfriend had tried to force her into sleeping with him and everyone just witnessed that something terrible had happened between them. She was crying and worst of all Damon probably knew exactly what happened between her and Matt. That night was absolutely not going like she planned it.
"Come on, let's get you home." She looked surprised up at Damon.
"Oh, you don't have to bring me home. My friends will certainly make sure that I get home save."
She looked at her friends, who were visibly worried about her.
"No, I want to drive you home."
Elena looked up at his blue eyes. He saved her tonight. Was there a better person to bring her home?
"Alright, just let me ensure my friends that everything is alright."
After she convinced Caroline and Bonnie to let her go home with Damon, he drove her to her house. During the car drive he kept looking over to her like he wanted to make sure that everything is ok. He even gave her a tissue to wipe the tears away. She couldn't let her parents see her like this. She would already have enough explaining to do to her friends, her brother and curious people that were there tonight. Damon pulled up her driveway and got out to open her door.
"I promise you that I won't let that idiot come near you again. And if you need someone to talk to about it, I'm there."
Damon was surprisingly nice to her.
"Thank you, Damon."
He gave her a small smile.
"Good night, Elena."
"Good night, Damon."
xxxxxxx
Two months had passed and Elena sat together with her friends at lunch. She had told them everything that happened between Matt and her, despite it making her feel sick. They all supported her and stopped being friends with Matt, even Tyler and Matt's older sister Vicky. She actually didn't like that, but her friends had insisted on this. Matt had tried to apologize a few times, but she never wanted to talk to him, besides there was always someone with her, who tried to get rid of him for her. She was glad that her friends and also Damon helped her to processthe bad experience with Matt.
It was unexpected, but she started to spend more time with Damon. He had shown her this new side of him, it was much realer and it made her want to be his friend. He had the ability to make her feel carefree. Damon made her see that life would be wasted if she lived it like she planned it to live. Life shouldn't be planned, it should be spontaneous, it should be fun and sometimes it was good to take risks. And being friends with Damon was a risk; she knew that if she didn't fight it she would probably fall in love with him and she couldn't let that happen, it would just end in heartbreak. And she had enough of that.
He also brought out her reckless side, it made her do things like skipping cheerleader practice and going with Damon to that bar, he found as an escape for them. An escape of their complicated lives. He understood her in a way that no one else could and she could see behind his mask of arrogance. They were a perfect team.
Caroline wasn't so fond about Elena's friendship with Damon. She was now officially together with Stefan and obviously heard a lot of stories about Damon from him, mostly bad ones. Bonnie wasn't exactly happy about it, but she didn't judge her like Caroline.
"I really don't understand how you can actually like Damon, Elena. I honestly think that whole nice act he does around you it just an act to get you to fall in love with him. And then he will break your heart. You just had a terrible break-up with Matt; you don't need more boys messing with your feelings."
"Nice to hear how you think of me, Barbie." Caroline face turned deep red, when she realized that Damon heard everything.
"I actually thought that I could make an effort and get to know the friends of you two." He looked at Stefan and Elena. "But it seems like I'm unwelcomed here. You should better teach your girlfriend some manners, Steffie."
"Damon!" Elena gasped in shock.
Damon's comment made Caroline's face even redder, but this time she was angry.
"Just go away, Damon. You deserved what Caroline said about you." Stefan put protectively an arm around Caroline and glared at his brother.
Damon glared back before storming away.
Elena sighed. "Thank you very much, guys."
She stood up and followed Damon.
After a while she found him behind the school. She slowly approached him.
"I'm sorry you had to hear this. Caroline is just really protective of you and your reputation is not the best here."
"Don't worry too much about this, Elena. I'm fine."
"Thanks for trying to make an effort though."
He gave her that annoying smirk.
"Well, you did get on my nerves with that, but you and Ric are actually the only decent people here."
"Ric? As in Alaric Saltzman? Since when are you two friends?"
"Since we realized that we have one thing in common, we both like bourbon."
Elena let out a giggle.
"So you and the history teacher."
He wiggled his eyebrows and made her laugh.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a brunette approaching them. Katherine.
She had been the brunette flirting with Damon on that party and Elena knew her name, because Damon talked about her a lot, which Elena didn't like.
Katherine also just moved to Mystic Falls recently, she was together with them in class. She was the new crush of every guy and nightmare of every girl.
Katherine was always sweet and at the same time sexy. Elena got jealous when she noticed that Damon's eyes lit up at the sight of Katherine.
She fluttered her long thick eyelashes that emphasized her green eyes.
"Hello Damon." Her voice was low and seductive.
"Oh and hello Eliza."
Elena wanted to scratch Katherine's eyes out. "It's Elena", she said with an ice cold voice.
"Whatever." Katherine took Damon's arm. "Come on, let's have lunch somewhere else. The food here is inedible."
Damon agreed and started walking to his car with Katherine letting Elena stand there alone.
At least he turned around again.
"I see you tomorrow, Elena."
She just nodded. Great! She was being a friend of someone no one wanted her to be friends with and there was still that connection between them that made her feel jealous when another girl got his attention. Why was life so hard on her?
xxxxxxx
A few weeks had passed and it was Damon's 19th birthday. Elena didn't know what she should wear. He wanted to celebrate just with her at their bar, Bree's bar. He had told her that she was the only person he wanted to spend his special day with. That had warmed her heart.
Caroline actually apologized to him, because she felt bad and Damon accepted. They weren't friends, but at least they acted civilised around each other. Stefan and Damon had their own issues. Damon told her that she shouldn't worry about it.
She stared at her wardrobe and decided that she needed to go shopping. Those clothes all screamed boring and sweet. She didn't want to be like that anymore. But right now she had to wear something from her closet. Elena texted Caroline for help.
She shook her head at herself. The only reason she wanted to look good was Damon. She wanted to get a similar reaction like on that party from him.
Elena couldn't deny it anymore.
She was in love with Damon Salvatore.
It just happened, they had spent a lot of time together and he always did things that made her heart beat faster like suddenly taking her in his arms and spinning her around, just because he was happy.
He was so different with her than with other people and that made her honestly believe that he didn't just put on an act to seduce her. No, he genuinely liked her and she loved it.
The only problem was that he didn't saw her as a girl he could be interested in.
Sure, he had been attracted to her before they became friends, at least a bit. But he knew that she wasn't a girl he could have a one night stand with. So she was off his radar, she was just a friend.
Elena didn't know how she could make him like her too and not just in a friendly way.
He always flirted with other girl and it made her insanely jealous, especially when the girl he flirted with was Katherine.
Katherine just couldn't keep her hands away from Damon and Elena hated her for that.
Her phone beeped with a text message from Caroline. Elena grinned when she saw her best friend's outfit suggestion.
An hour later she arrived at Bree's bar. Damon was already sitting at the bar sipping on his bourbon. As always he looked gorgeous with his completely black clothes. Elena made her way to him a little smile on her face.
"Happy Birthday, Damon.
He got up and hugged her making her feel all warm and excited.
"This is for you." She pulled out her gift for him from her bag.
Elena had asked Damon for weeks what he wanted, but he always told her that he didn't wanted anything. Then she got on Stefan's nerves before she finally found the perfect gift.
Damon looked speechless at her. He took in her whole outfit, dark skinny jeans that emphasized her long legs, a dark blue top that fitted her curves perfect, a simple black leather jacket that Caroline once gave her as a gift and black heels that she borrowed from her mother and made her legs even longer. In her had she held a bottle of bourbon, but it wasn't just any bourbon, it was a really exclusive bourbon, that had been probably expensive.
"Wow, Elena. This is amazing, but I can't take it."
"No, Damon. I got it for you and I want you to have it.
Damon stared at her brown eyes and smiled.
"Alright, thank you, Elena." He embraced her again in a hug.
"Let's drink it." The barkeeper, who already knew them, grinned and put two glasses in front of them.
Damon carefully opened the bottle and poured something in for both of them.
"To you." Elena held up her glass.
"No, to us." Damon clinked his glass with hers and they both took swig.
Elena had to cough from the burning liquid.
Damon chuckled at her.
"How about we go easy on the alcohol and get something to eat first.
Elena nodded and he ordered fries and burgers for them.
They had been already there for a few hours and Elena felt tipsy. She had turned on the jukebox and danced to the song that was playing. Damon stood on the side of the dance floor and watched her amused. She knew that she would regret it when she sobered up, but right now she didn't care. She felt free and alive.
"Come on, join me." She held out a hand for Damon.
He just laughed and shook his head.
"No, it's funnier to watch you dancing."
Elena walked over to Damon, grabbed his arm and pulled him to the dance floor.
Damon grinned. "At least let me chance the song."
He walked over to the jukebox and chose another song.
'Silhouettes' from Of Monsters and Men started to play.
Damon went back to her and pulled her closer. They started to dance and stared intensely at each other. Elena felt like she was in heaven. She put her arms around his neck, she wanted to never let go of him. That song with Damon's hands on her made her feel unbelievable things. She felt like she was high just from dancing with him. The song ended, but they stayed connected.
Their foreheads touched and their eyes stayed locked. His smell invaded her senses; she desperately wanted to kiss him.
Damon hands on her back held her tighter and then he came nearer.
She could feel his breath on her lips before his lips were finally touching hers.
It started gentle at first, but then her hands wandered to his hair and it got intense.
He hungrily kissed her mouth and ignited a fire inside of her that she didn't know she had.
Their tongues connected in their mouth and he battled her for dominance.
We he pulled away, they were completely breathless.
He leaned his forehead back at hers.
"You are the most amazing woman I ever met, Elena." Elena felt shivers running down her spine.
She smiled brightly at him and stood up on her toes to kiss him again.
It was already dark outside when they arrived at his house. They wanted to stay longer at their bar in their perfect little bubble, but Stefan and Caroline both nagged them with text messaged to they decided to head back home to see what they wanted.
Hand in hand they stepped through the entrance. It was dark inside but suddenly the whole room lit up and people jumped out behind the furniture.
"Surprise!"
A banner was hanging from the ceiling. It read: 'Happy Birthday, Damon'
Half of the school was gathered in the living room. Music was playing, there were balloon everywhere and there was a buffet.
Stefan approached Damon and pulled him into an awkward hug.
"I'm sorry that I was such a crappy brother to you. I want us to start over. That's why I decided to invite people over to celebrate your birthday."
Damon shook his head in disbelief.
"This wasn't necessary, but thank you, Stef. Can I ask you why you suddenly changed your mind?"
Stefan smiled. "Elena was right about you, you changed for the better. I figured you deserve a chance."
He looked at Elena and then at their connected hands.
"Seems like she has the best influence on you."
Stefan grinned and let them further into the room.
As soon as Elena let go of Damon to go to her friends Katherine went over to Damon and tried to flirt with him. Elena watched with an uneasy feeling, but was relieved when Damon shook his head at her and shoved her away.
She went back to Damon.
"What did you not understand, when I said 'no'? I'm spoken for now."
Damon looked to Elena and gave her a wide smile. Katherine looked unhappy between them before almost hitting Elena with her bag and then she stormed out of the door.
Damon pulled Elena against his chest and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"So are we together now?"
She meant to ask him playfully but now Damon looked a bit unsure at her. "Do you want to be together with me, Elena?"
"Yes." She gave him a warm smile.
His whole face lit up and he leaned down to kiss her properly. Elena was completely happy.
xxxxxxx
They put their last school year successfully behind them. Elena didn't get straight A's in all her classes, but she didn't care about that anymore. She was still good enough to get in her dream college, Columbia. And Damon improved his marks enough to be accepted by the NYU. So after the summer they will both move to New York and start their lives together there. Luckily Giuseppe hadn't sold their house there, so they didn't need to worry about an apartment.
The people in her life had reacted all different when they found out that she and Damon were together.
Bonnie was happy for her, but she still warned Elena to be careful. Caroline had declared her crazy at first and wanted to make a rant about how wrong this was. Luckily Stefan had calmed her down and he managed it to convince her, that it was good for both Elena and Damon. Caroline then promised Elena to try with Damon; she told him however that she will kick his butt, if he ever hurt Elena. Damon had assured her that he will never hurt Elena.
Her parents and Jeremy had been more difficult. Her mother wasn't fond of him, because she heard bad things about him and her father didn't like the fact that his little girl was now in a serious relationship with an older guy he didn't know. Jeremy was also wary about their relationship; he knew that rumors weren't something you could believe, but he saw how Damon flirted with many girls and wanted to protect Elena.
Damon and Elena managed it together to convince her family, that Damon just wanted the best for her and that he genuinely liked her.
Matt had been not happy at all when he realized that they were in a relationship. He thought that Elena would give him another chance, but it was clear now, that she moved on. Elena had forgiven him for his behaviour; she wasn't one to hold a grudge for long. Tyler and Vickie were back to being friends with Matt after he promised to never treat Elena or any other girl like that again. Matt actually wanted to be friends with Elena again, but even though she forgave him, she still needed time until she could trust him again.
Katherine had the nerve to try to seduce Damon and break them up. She even tried to convince Matt to help her; it was good that he refused. She gave up though when she realized, that it was no use.
It was their prom and Elena couldn't be happier. She wore a dark blue dress, it was floor-long and simple, but it still hugged her curves perfectly. Damon couldn't take his eyes of her. He himself looked dashing in his neat black suit.
After a lot of dancing, eating and celebrating, they decided to go out to the balcony. They stood there and looked at the stars.
Damon laid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
"I love you, Elena Gilbert. Without you my life wouldn't be as wonderful as it is now."
Elena melted; she was the happiest woman on the world right now. There was no man that could made her feel like Damon, no one could make her feel safer in his strong arms, no one could make her heart flutter like this, no one made her feel more beautiful, no one knew as good as Damon. He once told her that he wanted a love that consumed him; he wanted passion, adventure and a little danger in his life. And she wanted that too, with him. They were perfect for each other.
She crashed her lips with his and kissed him with all the passion she got inside of her.
"I love you, too, Damon Salvatore."