Damon Salvatore. There was no forgetting him. Once you've met him, there's no way to force him out of your mind. He takes over your head, and fills it with thoughts of only him and him alone. You find yourself unable to think of anything but that charming and witty - yet dangerous - personality of his.

Or... is that just me?

"Elena?" Damon's voice pulled me from my thoughts, and back to reality.

It was Thursday night, almost time for dinner. Damon was here, and Stefan was on his way over. It was the third time this week the brothers had joined us for dinner. I enjoyed having them over, Jeremy and Jenna did too.

Anna was coming over more and more herself. She was here tonight, too. She was in the living room with Jeremy and Jenna. Stefan hadn't gotten here yet, but Damon had arrived almost an hour ago.

We were preparing dinner, Damon was doing most of the work though. He did give me one job, rather reluctantly. I was chopping up vegetables for the salad when I'd lost myself in thoughts of Damon. Now, thinking about that, I realized just how wrong that was. Damon wasn't my boyfriend, he wasn't the Salvatore I was in love with. I was with Stefan. My thoughts should be of him, and not his brother. I instantly got mad at myself for thinking of Damon the way I was. It was disrespectful to Stefan.

"Yeah?" I said, trying to focus on cutting other than Damon.

"Nothing. You just seemed kind of out of it. I didn't want you to hurt yourself."

I hid my smile with my hair. He was worried about me. He'd noticed I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't help but wonder, would Stefan have noticed too? Probably. Stefan was quite the observer.

There was a sudden stinging in my index finger. I looked down to discover I'd just cut my finger in my lapse back into thought. I swore quietly, dropped the knife and turned for the sink all in one motion. The thought of being in the same room as a bloodsucking killer hadn't even cross my mind until I caught sight of Damon.

His eyes were black, and the look on his face sent chills down my back. Faster then I could blink, Damon was in front of me. His eyes staring at my steadily bleeding finger. I paid little mind to the fact that blood was getting on the kitchen floor. The only thing that mattered now was what Damon was going to do.

Would he drink from me? No, a better question: Would he kill me?

My heart rate sped up at that thought. He wouldn't kill me over one little cut would he? Give him a little credit, Elena. I scolded myself. Damon's got some self control. But looking at those eyes, locked on to the blood coming from my finger, I hardly believed that. It was more then oblivious to even me that this was quite hard for him.

I jumped when Damon's hand wrapped lightly around my wrist. His face fell a little, like he knew right then I didn't exactly trust him not to hurt me. Damon took me to the sink, and ran cold water over my cut. I looked at his eyes again, they were no longer that dreadful black but back to his normal blue.

"Are you okay?" He asked, eyes baring into mine.

"Yes... it's just a small cut." I tried to keep my voice calm. I was still half expecting him to drink me dry without a second thought.

There was a sad, hurt look on Damon's face. I got the sickening feeling Damon had picked up on my earlier fears. I'd hurt him by thinking the worst of him so quickly.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Don't be."

We stood there, just staring at one another for what felt like hours. My finger had long since stopped bleeding, but the cold water continued to run over it. Neither of us seemed to give it much mind. In this moment, it was just us. Jeremy, Anna and Jenna weren't in the other room. Stefan wasn't on his way. It was just Damon and I.

As if we were one person instead of two, together we leaned towards each other at the same time. I felt his breath on my face, and I felt goosebumps cover my arms. Gently, our lips touched. Slowly, the kiss became a little more passionate. It was hard, to take things so slowly, but I was afraid if I moved any faster then I was, our world would be shattered. We wouldn't be alone, and we'd realize just how wrong this was.

I wasn't allowing my mind to talk me out of this though. I wanted this kiss. I needed this. And, if I'm really going to be truthful with myself, I'll admit that this is something I feel is far over due.

Relief washed over me when he was the first to press his lips harder against mine. This gave me a good reason to do the same.

Before I knew what I was doing, my arms were placed around his neck. My stomach did a small flip when his hands went around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

At this point, the kiss had turned into something other than passion or lust. It was more like a desperate kiss. It felt like this was going to be the last kiss we would ever share.

It wasn't until we heard someone clear their throat that Damon and I broke apart. We jerked our heads in the direction the sound came from. Fear flooded my body at the thought of Stefan being the one to catch us.

"This is awkward." Anna said. She was standing next the the fridge, her face full of embarrassment. "I'll just leave now." Anna backed slowly out of the kitchen, before disappearing into the living room.

Damon and I turned our attention back to one another. It was clear on our faces that we knew what we'd done was wrong.
Blush colored my cheeks as I slid my arms away from his neck and crossed them over my chest. Damon removed his hands from my waist, and slipped them into his pockets. I took a step back, just as he did the same.

"Do you think she'll say anything?" I asked in fear. If Stefan ever found out about this...

Damon's face took on a thoughtful look. "I doubt it." I sure hope he was right. Things were going good with Stefan - even though I kissed Damon, I was still in love with Stefan - I didn't want this kiss with Damon to ruin that.

An awkward air surround us then. Neither of us knew what to think of what had just happened. We surely didn't love each other but there was no denying there was something between us. Something that threatened my relationship with Stefan. At that moment, I made a promise to myself and Stefan - I wouldn't let myself fall for Damon. No more secret kisses, no more getting lost in thoughts of him. I'd cut off all ties I had with Damon if I have too. But, this won't happen again. It can't. Not if I want to stay with Stefan.

"You don't have to say it." Damon said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Say what?"

"I know that'll never happen again. I understand, that it can't. Your in love with Stefan, not me." I was taken back. How did he know so much about what I was thinking? Damon smiled a little. "Your easy to read, Elena. Almost like an open book."

"Let's hope Stefan doesn't see me that way." I said softly.

Damon's face became serious again. He shook his head. "No, Stefan doesn't see you that way. That's just me."

a.n.: My first attempt at something other than Twilight... How'd you like it? Did I do a good job or not?

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