We're going back in time a little bit for this chapter. You'll get an introduction to Damon and Elena prior to the events of the prologue. Thank you all so much. We'll see you on the bottom.


Having overslept, Damon practically has to run into the school building. Rounding the corner to get to his locker, he slams into someone, sending them both sprawling to the floor. "I'm so sorry," he blurts out. Jumping to his feet, he offers her his hand, helping her up. "Are you okay?" he starts to say before recognizing who it is that he knocked over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she utters, wiping the dust off of her jeans. Stooping over, he picks up her books and hands them to her.

"You're in school already. The last time I saw you, you had braces and pigtails."

"We all have to grow up sometime, Damon," she retorts, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, um, I have to get to class," he blurts out. Darting around her, he hurries to his locker, grabs his history book and runs into the classroom just as first bell starts to sound. Although he likes history, he can't help but think about Elena Gilbert. She's literally a knockout now. If Damon were to allow it, he could easily see himself drowning in those endless doe eyes of hers. His dad would have a coronary if he started to hang out with her. Not only was she a Gilbert but she's also only a freshman. Dropping his eyes to his desk, he starts to shake his head back and forth.

"Is there something you want to share with us, Damon?" Mr. Tanner asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Um, no sorry. I just have something on my mind."

"Well, get history on your mind NOW," the teacher says, admonishing Damon. Rolling his eyes, he sits up straight in his chair, his eyes peeled on the blackboard.


"Hey girlfriend, what's up?" Rebekah asks, taking a seat beside her best friend in the lunch hall.

"Nothing much," Elena adds, picking at her food. Rebekah shrugs her shoulders, picks up her fork and starts eating. She happens to glance over at Elena, noticing who she's staring at.

"Why are you looking at him?"

"Him who?"

"I've got eyes, Elena and I can see why though, he is hot," Rebekah teases, smirking at her friend.

"Yes, he's hot but he's also full of himself. He walks around like he's God's gift to womanhood and all mankind," Elena scoffs, sticking a bite of chicken in her mouth.

Laughing, Rebekah adds, "Well he has reason to be. He's gorgeous, star athlete, letters in track and field. I mean, he's got everything going for him."

"Except that he's an arrogant jackass."

"To each his own, Elena, to each his own," Rebekah mumbles, staring at him herself. Rolling her eyes, Elena finishes picking at her food. The lunch hall has posters for upcoming events plastered all over the walls. When she happens to notice the one for the decade dance, she can't help but smile. She's really looking forward to it. Even though no one has asked her yet, she and Rebekah are going to go and have fun. The seventies are being showcased this year. Although she wasn't yet in high school, she knows they did the sixties last year because her brother went with his girlfriend, Anna. Glancing at the clock, she gets up to empty her tray so she can get to her biology class.

"You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," she says, licking her lips. Elena happens to notice him staring at her friend, challenging Rebekah with his eyes.

"Could you be anymore brazen?" Elena teases, rolling her eyes.

"What's wrong with flirting?"

"Nothing I suppose but surely you know what he'll expect if you go out with him. Are you ready for that?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll see," she adds. Getting up, she follows Elena out of the lunch room, separating from her only then, Elena going to biology while she goes to Algebra class.


Staring at his himself in the mirror, Damon gets lost in the reflection. Although he's looking at himself, he can't seem to get her out of his mind. He's completely captivated by one Elena Gilbert. And it's not just those doe eyes that suck him right in or her stunning looks, it's the fact that she can hold her own against him. She seems immune to his charms which turns him on all the more. He loves it that she has a mind of her own and doesn't fall all over herself in front of him. Yes, he's had fun with some of those girls but none of them are important to him, not like she is. Hell, he doesn't even know if she'll agree to go out with him but he's still going to ask. When he hears Stefan yelling that it's time to go, his reverie is broken. Pausing long enough to splash some cologne on, he grabs his backpack and hurries down the stairs. After telling his mom goodbye, he runs outside, jumping into the car just as Stefan ignites the engine.

"Cologne? What girl is on your radar this time?" Stefan laughs. Looking out the rear window, he backs out of their driveway and onto the road. Slipping his car into first gear, he presses on the gas pedal, accelerating their speed.

"What makes you think I have any girl on my radar?"

"You don't always wear cologne, especially not that expensive stuff you got for Christmas last year."

"There's a girl I like but she's pretty aloof. I haven't really been able to get anywhere with her so far."

"It's Elena Gilbert isn't it?"

"How!?" Damon asks, stunned that Stefan has it all figured out.

"I've seen you staring at her, Damon. You make it too easy."

"She's beautiful, Stefan," Damon stresses, rolling down the window, letting the breeze blow through his messy dark hair. "She's smart and sassy and doesn't take any of my bullshit..."

"You have it bad, little brother."

"I guess I do. Don't tell mom and dad, okay?"

"Don't worry, Casanova, your secret is safe with me," Stefan adds, giving his brother a quick smile.

"Thanks Stefan, I appreciate it." Staring at the trees as they drive through their neighborhood, Damon feels uncharacteristically insecure about his prowess for the first time in as long as he can remember. They live in a small town, less than seven thousand people so there's only the one school. And even though it is a small town, there's so much to do here. They can go boating, golfing, and many other things. They're only an hour's drive from Glacier National Park so Whitefish is a bit of tourist mecca in the summer time. There are several motels, restaurants and shops to accommodate visitors as they pass through on the way to Glacier. And even though everyone knows everyone elses business, Damon wouldn't want to live anywhere else. With his mind elsewhere, he doesn't even notice that they're at school till he feels the car come to a stop.

"Where were you?"

"I was just thinking," he admits, stepping out of the car. Reaching into the back seat, he grabs his backpack and pushes the door closed. As soon as Stefan locks the car, he steps beside Damon, keeping pace with him as they walk into the school building. Looking around, he sees Elena. Luckily she's by herself. "Wish me luck," he says to his brother, pointing at the Gilbert girl. Smiling, Stefan nods and walks away towards one of his classes. Nervously, Damon closes the distance between them. Just as he's about to reach her, his gut twists uncomfortably. Warring with himself as to whether he should ask her or not, closes his eyes and takes a deep shuddering breath. Although his palms are clamming and his gut is churning, he forces himself to put one foot in front of the other.

"Elena?"

"Oh, it's you. Hi."

"I know you're who you are and I'm who I am but I'd really like to take you to the decade dance."

"You want me to go to the dance with you? Ha," she laughs, turning away from him.

"I'm not joking, Elena. Honestly I'm not. I want to go with you."

"Why?"

"Why not? I like you that's why. Will you at least think about it?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I swear this is above board."

"I don't think it's a good idea, Damon."

"Please just don't say no right away, please?"

"Fine, I'll think about it but don't get your hopes up," she says, turning her back to him to pull something out of her locker. After closing it, she shares a look with him then hurries off to one of her classes, completely flummoxed, wondering if he's being truthful or if he's lying to her.


Sitting at the table with the rest of his family, Damon sets his fork down to take a drink of water. Looking around, he sees his dad stuff a bite of meatloaf in his mouth, his mother is adding some salt to her green beans while Stefan is eyeing him conspiratorially.

"How was school today?" his dad asks, taking another bit of his food.

"The usual. I have track practice tomorrow again though. So will you pick me up or will Stefan stay and wait for me?"

"I'll pick you up on the way home. I'm leaving the office at three tomorrow. What time are you done?"

"We finished at five today," Damon replies, taking a bite of his bun.

"Damon is crushing on a girl," Stefan adds, winking at their mom.

"Who is she?" she asks, smiling at him.

"Um, just a girl. She's a freshman."

"That young?"

"Mom, she's only two years younger than me. That's nothing."

"Do I know her?"

"Yeah, I think that maybe you do," Damon adds, glaring at his brother for opening this can of worms when he promised that he wouldn't.

"Who is it?"

"Fine, don't get mad, okay. It's Elena Gilbert."

"Oh!?" she starts to stammer, her eyes darting to darting between Max and her son. You like her?"

"I do, I like her a lot."

After sharing a another look with her husband, Josie Salvatore turns her attention back to her son. "If you like her, your dad and I will support you. But there's no one else that you like?"

"No mom, there isn't anyone else like her." Smiling tightly at her son, Josie drops the subject altogether. While the conversation at the table veers to other topics, Damon can't help but feel a little irate at his brother. As soon as he's done eating, Damon excuses himself, grabs his jacket and goes outside. Since the Salvatore's live on a ranch just outside the city limits, he walks outside, whistling for his dog, Andromeda to follow him. Stooping down, he nuzzles with his Golden Retriever. With the dog at his side, he walks around the property, not wanting to go back inside till he cools off a bit. Otherwise, he might be so inclined as to land a punch to his brother's jaw.


"Hi," Damon says, hurrying over to where she's waiting, sitting on a slab of cement at Riverside park. With her feet dangling in the water, she tears up some bread and throws it to the ducks that are swimming around in the water.

"Hi yourself," she says, leaning forward, meeting his lips in a kiss.

"It's nice here," Damon mentions, lacing his fingers with hers. Looking out over the water, he picks up a piece of the bread she bought, breaking a little off and tossing it onto the water's surface. Before it can sink, one of the ducks snatches it up. The water is calm and although it's a little chilly yet, he admires Elena's grittiness. She's fearless and strong and beautiful. He thanks his lucky stars everyday that she agreed to go out with him. With the school year ending, Damon has a summer job lined up in Polson while Elena is going to spend the summer with her aunt in a small town about ten miles from Polson. With the distance so small, he'll be able to see her as often as he can. Although his original plan was to work in Kalispell, there's no way he'd survive the whole summer without her. Next year, he'll be a senior and she'll be sophomore, he just hopes that they can maneuver their way around any obstacles that spring up. It's just that he can't imagine being with anyone else. No one has ever captured his heart the way she has.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You," he whispers, wrapping an arm around her.

"What about me?"

"I'm just lucky that you're you and that out of all the guys that were interested, you chose me. Thank you for that, Elena." His eyes dart from her mouth to her as he moves close enough to capture her mouth in a long searing kiss that makes her knees weak. Their lips mold and slide together as if they were made for each other. When she teases the seam of his lips with her tongue, she thrusts her tongue inside to tangle with his. Moaning, Damon cups her face with his hands, titling her head just the way he likes, deepening their already heady kiss. In moments, the smoldering embers ignite sending heat deep into his belly. Knowing that they're out in public in the middle of the afternoon, Damon reluctantly pulls away. Trailing his mouth to her ear, he adds, "I love you." When their eyes meet, he can see forever. Just the throat makes his heart stammer wildly against his ribs. After sucking in much needed breath, he drops his forehead against hers, wanting nothing more than to stay like this with her for now and for always.

"I love you too," she says softly. With their foreheads still flush one against the other, she feels her own heart about to burst out of her chest. Although she knows her parents don't like Damon, she's in much too deep to give him up now.


"Hey, I know you're a big boy and all," Stefan teases, "but a bunch of us are going to Flathead Lake for the weekend. I though maybe you'd like to come along?"

"Stefan, I don't know," Damon utters. Although he doesn't say it out loud, Stefan knows that Damon doesn't want to leave his girlfriend.

"Come on little brother. It's just for the weekend. We're coming back Sunday afternoon."

"How soon do you have to know?"

"We're leaving tomorrow morning so you need to make up your mind. I just graduated, Damon. I don't have to start my summer job till next week and then after that I'll be leaving for college. We won't be able to do things like this once I'm gone," Stefan adds, piling on the guilt.

"Fine, I'll go. It'll be fun."

"Yes, it will," Stefan adds, giving him a wink. Rolling his eyes, Damon watches as his brother walks out of his room. Grabbing a duffel bag from his closet, he packs some cargo shorts and a pair of jeans and a couple of tee shirts. Once he throws some underwear and toiletries in it, he zips it up and sets it down by his door. Picking up his cellphone, he plops down on the bed. As soon as he gets comfortable, he goes to the photos smiling at each one he has of her. There's a selfie of the two of them that he uses for his wallpaper. He's still so completely in awe of her beauty and grace and stunning sense of humor. Because she's out of town, on vacation with her parents, he hasn't seen her in over a week and God, he misses her. Scrolling through his photos, each one designates a memory they have shared. Needing to talk to her, he texts her a message and waits, hoping she'll reply soon. When it vibrates, he lights up like a firecracker. Her reply fills his heart, making it burst at the seems. It simply says, "I love you, Damon."

The next morning after saying goodbye to their parents, Stefan drives them over to the truck stop where the group decided to meet for breakfast before driving the forty miles to Flathead Lake. As soon as the Salvatore brothers slide into a booth, a couple of girls approach. Damon recognizes them as Andie Starr and Sage Green, both girls graduated with Stefan.

"Hello boys," Sage says, taking the seat next to Stefan while Andie slides beside Damon. "Hi Damon, are you ready to be a senior?"

"I guess I'll have to be," he replies, feeling somewhat uncomfortable by the way she's rubbing up against him. Damon relaxes for a moment when the waitress steps up to the table. After filling their coffee cups, she takes there orders. Just as Damon is about to speak, Andie grabs his junk, giving it a squeeze. Trying not to make a scene, he latches onto her wrist and pulls her hand off of him. "Don't do that," he warns, shaking his head back and forth.

"Are you being naughty, Andie?" Sage laughs. Getting on her knees, she leans over the table, getting in Damon's face, "A hot guy like you can't still be a virgin!"

"Let the kid alone, Sage. Besides we're in public," Stefan laughs, giving her a wink.

"Can I get out?" Damon asks.

"Sure sweetie. I didn't scare you away, did I?" Andie teases, running her fingers along the curve of his jaw.

"No, I need to use the bathroom." Smirking at him, she gets up so he can get out. Not wanting to go back to the table, Damon quickly heads to the bathroom, dropping his chin to his chest when Caroline Forbes steps in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Caroline. I'm going camping with my brother. Those girls just happened to show up.

"It looked like you were enjoying having those girls flirt with you. Does Elena know?"

"Yes, she knows I'm going to Flathead Lake with Stef. If she was around, I wouldn't go. And besides, I don't have to explain myself to you," Damon adds, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to use the men's room."

Indignant, Caroline steps aside. As soon as Damon disappears into the bathroom, she grabs her cellphone to text her best friend.


"There you are, Elena! I've been looking all over for you," Caroline scolds, halting in her tracks when she sees her friend crying. "What did the bastard do?"

"Why is that the first thing you think of?"

"Because Damon Salvatore is nothing if not a heartbreaker. I warned you about him but you just wouldn't listen would you?"

"No, Caroline, I didn't listen. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Where is he anyway? I'm going to give that jackass a piece of my mind."

"He's on a camping trip with some of his friends. Come on, let's go to a movie or something," Elena suggests, wanting nothing more than to forget about her problem for a few hours.


Slamming on his brakes, the man parks his car. Jumping out, he gets to the bridge just as the back end of the car sinks below the surface of the water. No knowing how deep the water is, he sucks in a breath and jumps in. Opening his eyes, he swims toward the submerged car. Seeing the driver, he slams on the window but the guy doesn't react. With all his strength, he pulls on the door. Running out of breath, he gives it one last tug but still can't get it open. Swimming for the surface, he sucks in another big breath before going under again. Hearing a splash, he looks up, grateful when he sees another man swimming towards him. Between the two of them, they finally manage to get the door open. Pulling the guy out, they get him to the surface, dragging his body onto the grass.

"I'm going to go back down there, I thought I saw a shadow. There might be someone else in the car." The other guy nods then drops to his knees to check the kid out. Feeling no pulse, he yells for someone to call 911 and then commences CPR. Suddenly a woman drops to her knees at the boy's head. "I know CPR too," she says, taking over the chest compressions. After several rounds of CPR, the kid starts to choke, coughing up a mouthful of river water. Because they don't know if he has a spinal injury, they try to keep him as quiet as possible. Having not seen the other guy come out of the water yet, the man jumps back in to see if he can help.

Struggling to open his eyes, Damon tastes his own blood as it trickles out of his mouth. The wail of sirens is the last thing he remembers before drifting into oblivion.


As this unfolds, I want to reassure you that Damon and his struggle with mental illness will be treated with dignity.

Thank you, Eva so much for everything. There is no way that I could do this without your brilliant mind, your steady hand and your friendship. We share ideas back and forth, she prompts me when I get stuck and always has the most amazing suggestions to make the stories better. I can't begin to express my gratitude, my friend.

HUGE THANKS to all of you for the warm response to this. It means so, so much to me.

Chapter title: 'Let's Dance' by David Bowie

Please have a look at St. Helens. Both Eva and I are ecstatic to the response to this story. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH! I will post chapter 4 before the end of the week.

Please click the review button for me. Have a safe and wonderful day. And thank you all again.