A/N: Wow! Thank you for your reviews and support! I wasn't sure whether or not I should continue this story, but now I am! You can start expecting more frequent updates :D Thanks again.

Important: You will be seeing this childlike figure (Damon) and therefore to emphasise on his simplicity, I will be using short sentences and see the world "through his eyes". Stay tuned for the AN below for a Recap.

Huge thanks to my close friend and beta ThroughMySoul44, please support her story "Words Unspoken" and her other fanfictions.

Damon stepped out of the shower, a towel secured around his waist. It was raining, and the sound of the water droplets pounding against the roof always seemed to calm him down whenever he felt nervous. He did hate the thunderstorms though. They made him feel scared and helpless.

Still, his worst fear was his own appearance. Taking long breaths, he dried his hair and avoided looking at the broken mirror in the bathroom. That was what he usually did-he would either poke his face repetitively, get lost in a mass of hysteria while doing so, or else just ignore his appearance and remain calm.

He didn't go out anymore. He had realised over time that it was no use to go out, when it would just ruin his calm and good mood. Humans were evil. Everything around him was evil. He could still remember the evening he went out by the river, where he saw a family camping. The young girl was playing beside the water and he had gone there to try and say 'hi', but she had screamed bloody murder. Even her parents shooed him away. He had returned home, tears streaming down his cheeks, gasping, and he had broken everything that reminded him of his ugliness. He couldn't stand it-He only acted normal when he wasn't reminded that he was ugly. His worst regret was that he hadn't listened to Enzo. Enzo had told him once that it was better to remain in the dark. If he had listened, then he wouldn't have known that he wasn't like other people. He wouldn't have known that he was ugly. Enzo had been right on that one. The only fresh air he got now was from the gardens, and it would always end up badly. The garden was a nice place, but his plants were all dead. Damon usually thought that his ugliness had scared the plants away, killing themselves from the sight of him.

Damon's nerves were tight as drum. He was curious but scared of the idea of having someone so close to him, even if she was going to stay in the basement. He would only feel more vulnerable. But he knew that he couldn't say no to Enzo—Enzo would never let him. He always had to do what Enzo said. Enzo, at least to Damon, was always right.

Yet Damon knew that Enzo wasn't kind at all. In fact, sometimes Damon felt disheartened by him. Enzo was always criticizing Damon and making him feel worthless. At times, Damon felt so hurt that he started to actually believe that he was indeed worthless, but then he realised that maybe he was good in something after all-in art. And by art, it wasn't just painting, it was literature as well as music. He found solace in music and bonded with the poems as if they were the friends he yearned for. He was severely underestimated by Enzo and by others around him, yet Damon, on countless occasions, had proven that he too had the ability to think and feel, even if it was done differently from others.

Suddenly excited by the thought of the girl living with him, Damon headed to the living room and grabbed his painting set. Turning his attention to the easel, he attempted to draw a picture of a girl, but he soon realised that he had forgotten what women look like, or humans for that matter. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, his hands shaking as they rested on the easel, but to no avail.

Too long.

It had been too long since he talked to someone face to face. He always talked to Enzo through the door, and he felt the need to just face someone. At the same time, he didn't want her to see him, he knew that she'd be disgusted. And how could he talk to her, when he struggled to form words? Damon sighed, feeling sad like he always felt when he thought of his inferiority. He wasn't asking for much. He just wanted someone to talk to, to look into their eyes without seeing fear. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He knew that it wasn't normal to be alone.

It occurred to him that Enzo didn't exactly tell him when he was coming. He hoped it was in the morning, because now that he was assured that she won't be seeing his face, he was actually rather excited to meet the girl. Even though Enzo had warned him not to talk to her, he was still planning to at least try to learn everything about her, even if he was going to do so secretly at first. He had to see her. He had to take in her appearance and memorize it so that he could draw her, so that when she left, he'd never forget what it meant to be able to look at a woman and drink in her every detail.

Happy by the thought, Damon went down to the basement. There was already an old mattress there. It'd have to do until he'd find something better. The basement was also fairly clean, and Damon seemed satisfied enough. He hurried up the stairs to get into bed, so that somehow, morning would come quicker.

Damon awoke at six thirty, just like usual. His life was always the same, boring routine, as if he were stuck in a loop. He walked to the kitchen, popped a blood-bag into his microwave, made himself a piece of toast, and tapped his fingers on the table impatiently. He was feeling nervous and it was also because for once in his life, he wasn't going to listen to Enzo. He was going to try and bond with her even though the man had told him not to.

A few minutes later, there was a firm knock on the door. He basically flew off his seat, over-excited when he heard Enzo's voice.

"Damon, I need you to step outside…The girl is asleep. You'll have to carry her."

Damon started to shake his head in refusal, but then realised that Enzo couldn't see him so he started to pound at the door to show his disapproval.

"Come on, Damon, just this once…" Enzo tried again.

"No." Damon said firmly, though his accent was thick. "Enzo, no see I's face."

Damon heard Enzo sighing. "Fine. I'm placing the girl on your bench, on the porch."

Damon didn't say anything, but he did hear Enzo walking away.

"When you come for her?" He asked him.

"She'll be staying here, for now," The voice answered without answering at all. "Just do as I say, and be a good boy."

Damon nodded his head from behind the door. "Okay."

He failed to see the smirk on Enzo's face as the latter hurried off the property, because Damon was too preoccupied with the thought of the girl actually being this close to him. Hesitant, he opened the door slightly and stepped out. He hoped that she was still asleep, he didn't want her to scream bloody murder at the sight of him.

He took slow, hesitant steps, lowering his body and his head to check whether her eyes were open or not. He took a deep breath and finally headed towards the bench, fear, excitement and nervousness overwhelming him. Sweat was actually covering his forehead, but a smile was still tugged on his lips, a sign that he yearned for this-for having someone around, to lurk in the shadows and simply study another person. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that the young girl asleep on the bench...it was nothing like he could've imagined. He was sure that even if he had managed to draw a woman, it wouldn't be anything like the girl sleeping in front of him. Her hair fell in long waves down her back, dark and clean. Her lips were full, rosy, and her cheeks bright pink, as if she were shy. She was little, compared to him, at least. In fact, she looked too skinny and fragile, lying there on her right side.

Elena, Enzo had said. Her name was Elena.

He had never heard such a beautiful name, and he had read many books and poems. She hadn't been there for five minutes and she had already astonished him. Everything about her seemed like magic to Damon's eyes, it was as if Elena was a mythical creature.

He knelt down in front of her, watching her curiously. He noticed that her chest was rising and falling with each breath she took, and he wondered why. Lost in observing her, Damon didn't even realise that his hand had automatically found its way to the girl's body. He was surprised by how soft she felt as he ran his hand down her side and then back up.

The man was surprised that she hadn't woken, and suddenly scared by the thought, he let go of her and tried to see how he could carry her without waking her up or possibly dropping her. He didn't know how to be gentle or soft. He usually broke everything that he carried, and he didn't want to break such a beautiful creature. Hesitant, he took a deep breath and hooked a hand under her knees and another behind her back, surprised by how light she was. Tightening his grip on her to the point that the girl's knees actually turned red, he carried her down the basement and placed her on the mattress, studying her further. He was still surprised that she hadn't woken up.

Nonetheless, he was grateful. Now he could observe and touch her as much as he wanted. He wasn't close to being done with her yet. He was fascinated by her smell, by her looks and softness, and he couldn't help but run his fingers down her hair a couple of times. His eyes fell on her knees, which were red from the pressure, but Damon didn't realise that it was his hold on her that had marked her. He looked at it in confusion before reaching out to stroke her leg, stroking upwards past her thigh, exploring, and then stopping on the hem of her skirt.

Before he could do anything else, however, the girl twisted and turned, and at that Damon immediately withdrew. His heart ached at the thought that he might not be able to see or touch her again, because as soon as she awakened she would definitely not let him. Letting this insecurity get the best of him, Damon swiftly took off his scarf and put it over Elena's eyes, raising her head a little to be able to make a tight knot behind her head. That way, he could visit her whenever he wanted and observe her without the girl even knowing that she was being observed. It was the only connection he was going to have with her, for now, and he planned to devour it.

Elena, her name repeated in his head like some kind of lullaby. A small smile tugged on his lips as he closed the door behind him and headed to the library, grabbing one of the books that had a lot of baby names written on it as well as their meanings. He had seen the book once, on the shelf, and he never really paid attention to it until then. He quickly turned the pages until he saw it.

Elena. Light.

His light.

*Enzo brought Elena over. We still do not know why, but as stated, Enzo is not a genuine friend.

*Enzo is mainly the reason why Damon never goes out, as he makes Damon feel worthless (More of this through flashbacks in the coming chapters)

*Damon feels simply curious about Elena. He hasn't seen a woman, or any other being in that matter, for a very long time. He is confused, as on the one hand, he wants to bond with her, but on the other hand, he fears that if he allows her to see his face, she'll end up running from him. He is also a bit intimidated by the idea of letting someone get close to him.

*Since he is curious, at least for now nothing he says or does is intentionally "mean" or "inappropriate". When he touched Elena this chapter, he didn't know that it's inappropriate to do so. For now, he has the innocence of a child due to his mental disability, however we already know that he is not as "stupid" or "worthless" as Enzo makes him feel.

As you can see, Damon has a low self-esteem, and as stated in my first AN, he is almost childlike (He thinks that the plants die because of his ugliness, he doesn't think anything through; i.e. he blindfolded Elena without realising that when she's going to wake up she's just going to untie it since she's not bound)

For those of you who asked, the story is NOT BASED on Beastly or Beauty and the Beast, HOWEVER, yes, I was INSPIRED from both movies as well as a tv show that used to run in Malta (my country) in which a girl helps a deformed man overcome his solitude. :)

Thank you for your support, please REVIEW xx