Chapter 2

Elena wasn't sure what to expect when she pressed her lips to Damon's. Kissing him was something that she secretly had dreamed about more then once. She had always assumed he would respond aggressively and passionately. The last thing she expected from his was for him to pull back. He turned his head avoiding eye contact with her.

"Damon." She whispered her eyes pleading with him to look at her.

"I am not good for you. Elena running off with me, that's the worst thing you could do." He shook his head.

"No you're wrong." Elena shook her head. "The worst thing I could do would be to just give in. Give myself up to Klaus save all of you. That's plan B Damon."

"The hell it is." He said finally looking at her.

"We won't ever be able to come back. You realize this right? I mean maybe someday if we actually managed to kill Klaus which is a huge if, we could come back but by then everyone will hate you."

"I know." Elena sighed. "But they will be alive. You say you're not good for me, and maybe in some ways you're right. I'm human, you're a vampire. But it is what it is. I'm in it now it's not like I can just get out. The supernatural world is sort of like the mob in that sense."

Damon rolled his eyes and shook his head reminding her of old easier times between them for a moment. That she could deal with forever if she had to. This living with all these secrets, lies and forbidden feelings on top of all the danger she couldn't continue to bare.

"Besides in a lot of ways you are good for me Damon. You get me to lighten up when I need to. I can have fun and relax around you." She told him with a smile. "And you really can't deny that I am good for you."

"I thought I was the cocky one in this...what are we?" He asked.

"We have a lot of time to figure that out." Elena said.

"What if I want to know before I agree to run off into the sunset with you?" He asked his trademark smirk back in place...It had been a while since she had seen it she missed it.

"You are the one who just refused to kiss me." She spat out crossing her arms.

"I still should be. Elena we shouldn't do this." He said his voice a lot less committed then it was before.

"Damon what is our other option? Wait for Klaus to come here? Involve everyone in trying to kill him only to probably lose everyone anyway? If we take off and hide out we can research him. Try to get figure out how to kill him maybe figure out a way to dupe him somehow. I don't know. The point is when and if he finds out about me he will be looking for us and I know and trust you more then anyone. You will make sure he won't find us unless you want him to." Elena sighed.

"You know she's right Damon." Rose said coming down the stairs. "Elijah is dead and if he told the others they would be here by now. Which leads me to assume Klaus does not know about Elena yet. You have a small window of time to make an easy escape."

"You have a point." Damon murmured. Elena felt her heart race with excitement he was about to cave any minute now. She knew he wanted to do this. She wasn't sure what exactly Damon felt for her but she knew he cared about her and it wasn't like he hadn't been trying to steal her from Stefan since the beginning she figured he would have jumped at this chance. His hesitation only showed her just how much he really was changing. He was putting her first she realized in a way he had been doing that for a while now. She was just to angry about what had happened that night and angry at herself for her feelings to really see it.

"Elena if we do this." Damon stopped and stared into her eyes. "That's it no turning back."

"I know." She said standing firm.

"You can't just change your mind and decide you want to come home." He said.

"I know." She said again.

"You can't decide you made a mistake and you want to go back to Stefan." He said his voice breaking just slightly.

"I know that Damon." She stressed. "Don't you think I know that?"

"You've only been broken up for a few weeks." He said his eyes cold as he put his walls back up. "You guys do the two week break up and epic makeup scene every few months."

"That is not what this is." Elena sighed.

"Are you sure?" He asked trying to look annoyed but she could see a glint of a plead in his eye.

"Yes Damon if we do this it's me and you. I don't know what that means yet we'll figure it out but I'm not going back. I'm not her." Elena said looking frustrated.

"I know that." He said harshly.

"Then trust me." She said.

"Okay." He said pressing his forehead to hers she gasped thinking he was going to kiss her. He peered down into her eyes.

"But if we're doing this. We're doing it my way." He said staring down at her. She gulped and nodded feeling sort of intoxicated by his mere presence now that she wasn't pushing the feelings down they were a bit overwhelming.

Damon pulled back with out warning and started pacing.

"She needs to disappear without a trace." Damon said looking at Rose who nodded.

"Everything she owns gone." He directed. "Don't leave anything that she could be tracked with."

"Got it." Rose nodded.

"Can I leave a letter?" Elena asked.

"No." Damon said.

"I just want to explain..." Elena started.

"No. Elena if you don't want Stefan to look for you he has to hate you." Damon said.

"If he gets no word from me then he will assume the worst and be desperate to find me." Elena pointed out. "I planned on writing him an honest letter but encouraging him to move on and be happy."

"It's Stefan we're talking about here. He will read and re-read every word in that letter until he can convince himself you are in danger and go crazy trying to find you." Damon said.

"I will tell him you ran off." Rose said. "I'll tell him the truth you can't hide your feelings for each other anymore and you don't want to sit here and wait for Klaus so you left together. It will hurt but it's better he hears it from me then has a letter he will read over and over again. "

"Okay." Elena agreed. "Why are you being so nice? I was kind of rude to you earlier..."

"You were anxious to talk to Damon maybe a being a bit territorial?" Rose smiled.

She could hear Damon scoff and found herself blushing.

"Thank you for doing this." Elena said. "For helping us."

"It's no problem. Let's get to you're house." Rose said. "You invite me in. Grab what you need and pack it up. Wait for Damon to come and get you tonight. I'll come clean out your room right after you leave."

"I want to go now." Damon said shifting impatiently.

"Are you kidding we had to tag team to talk you into this and now you're all antsy?" Elena rolled her eyes.

He just gave her a kind of crooked grin and she smiled back feeling butterflies in her stomach.

"Just wait until dark." Rose suggested.

"I might not ever see anyone again." Elena realized biting her lip.

"No turning back remember?" Damon said.

"I know, I'm not changing my mind. I just wish I could say goodbye." She sighed.

"You can't." Damon said.

"Thank you Mr. Sensitive, I feel much better now." She glared at him and shook her head before leaving with Rose.

"He's going to be a challenge." Rose turned and looked at her as they drove to Elena's house.

"Believe me I know what I'm in for." Elena smiled. "I can handle him."

"You may be the only one." Rose said."You get him to open up to care."

"He needs me." Elena said. "I get how that sounds but...it's like he came here a complete monster and through our friendship he changed. When Stefan freaked out and lost control for a while Damon was the one that stood up and was there for me and Stefan. He was so close to finding his humanity again. Had Katherine not messed with his head that night...well it's not really her fault entirely. It was me that he had fallen for and my rejection that hurt him and after that he started to put his walls up again."

"Feeling again after centuries only to be rejected by the very person responsible for it. That would be a tough pill to swallow." Rose commented.

"I didn't even think of it like that." Elena said frowning.

"That doesn't make it you're fault though. You were with someone else. You didn't intend for him to have feelings for you. You clearly never intended to return them." Rose said.

"I think in some ways they were always there though." Elena said quietly. "There was always something between us. I was sort of drawn to him. But I tried to do the right thing and ignore it. I just can't anymore. It's selfish I know."

"No it's not. You had to hurt one of them. Because of you a homicidal vampire has managed to find his humanity how in the world could you not fall for for him?" Rose rolled her eyes and they pulled into Elena's driveway.

"Ready?" Rose asked.

''Yes." Elena said.

"Make sure you get anything in the house that is yours into you're bedroom. Pictures included." Rose directed.

"I have to take pictures?" Elena winced.

"Damon said untraceable. We can't leave anything a witch could use." Rose said.

"What about my family? That's how Bonnie.." Elena started.

"As long as Klaus doesn't find out you really are a Gilbert he should be okay." Rose sighed. "I will stick around do what I can."

"You don't have to do that for me..." Elena said her eyes wide.

"I actually sort of feel like I belong here Elena. Stefan has been very welcoming and you're friend Caroline is pretty fun. I..I've been running for so long but it was okay because I had Trevor. Now he's gone and I want to stay here and I want to help Stefan not just for you but because it's what Lexi would do."

"I know you kind of liked Damon." Elena said awkwardly.

"I knew his heart was with someone else. I would have shagged him but I wasn't tryingto pursue anything romantic with him." Rose said honestly.

"But you didn't..." Elena pressed.

Rose laughed. "No Elena I didn't shag him. Don't worry."

Elena smiled at her as she pulled into her driveway.

She held her breath, here we go, she thought.

Elena shut off her phone and left it for Rose to destroy with everything else. No need to to tempt herself. She hugged both Jeremy and Jenna for a little to long tonight. But she figured they would get it when they saw she was gone. They were going to be surprised to find everything completely cleaned out. She hoped it didn't hurt to much. But she would rather they hate her then die for her.

She packed up one large duffel bag of clothes and necessities figuring they could get stuff on the road. Luckily Stefan hadn't tried to stop by. He didn't seem to take the breakup seriously. He was acting possessive and protective again since ever since they had rescued her. True she hugged him and was happy to see him but she was actually heading towards Damon. Stefan kind of surprised her. She remembered feeling so guilty when she saw the deflated look on Damon's face and just let him think she was running for Stefan and not him.

She was glad Caroline had successfully manged to keep him distracted all day. The last person she needed to see was him. He could read her like a book. He would know something was up right away. She started getting nervous Damon wasn't going to show up when it was dark for a while and started biting her nails.

Finally the window opened and Damon stepped inside. He looked kind of nervous.

"Last chance to back out." He whispered.

"I'm not backing out." She said standing up and picking up her bag.

"Let me take that from you." He said taking it out of her arms their eyes locked as a weird type of deja vu ran through each of them.

He shook his head and dropped the bag staring at her intently.

She gulped afraid he was going to back out after all when he suddenly pulled her towards him and kissed her. She was stunned for a moment and then the fireworks went off and she kissed him back feverishly feeling the heat in her toes it was so damn good. So this is what its like to kiss Damon Salvatore, she found herself thinking as his hand started running through her hair while his tongue explored her mouth. Finally he let her go so she could breathe and she looked up at him her eyes wide. The expression on his face was intense and made her feel weak in the knees.

"Thank you for choosing me." He said softly picking her bag back up and throwing it over his shoulder.

"You chose me too over Kathrine so thank you." Elena responded.

"That was not even a choice Elena. You're real." He said stroking her cheek.

She was speechless and just gazed back at him. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

"Ready?" He said swooping her up into his arms bridal style.

"Let's go." She replied and he flew out her window holding her closely to him.

Her heart was pounding through her chest as they drove through Mystic Falls. She was freaked out someone was going to see them and try to stop them.

"Elena you're making me hungry." Damon whined.

"Shut up." She flushed. "Are you serious a racing heart makes you hungry?"

"Usually." He said honestly. "Yours makes me kind of horny too."

"Damon." She groaned.

"I'm just being honest.." He said they were out of Mystic Falls and she felt herself instantly relax.

"So where are we going?" She asked.

"You assume I came up with a plan that quick?"

"Didn't you?" She countered.

"First we get as far out of this town as we can. Then we go dump my car. Then we back track a ways and get a new car going the opposite way. This way if Stefan gets Bonnie to do a locator spell on you again he will follow our first trail and then lose us." Damon explained.

"Rose said she is going to try to be there for him and help him." Elena sighed.

"That's actually what he needs. He needs to be around other vampires so he can learn how to be a vampire and accept who he is." Damon said. "She will be able to keep his head on straight."

"She's a good person." Elena nodded.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye to anyone." He said quietly.

"We have to do it right. I know that. They need to be angry at me and think I just took off. That's what Klaus needs to know. It sucks but it has to be done." Elena said.

"We really have to dump your car?" She asked.

"Afraid so." He said patting the dashboard. "I'm gonna miss her."

"Damon I'm sorry." She said her eyes wide.

"Elena." He laughed. "I don't care about the car. I get to be with you. Don't be sorry for choosing me. "

"I'm not." She promised taking his hand.

"So why now? Why did you choose me?" He asked looking so vulnerable she wanted to throw her arms around him.

"I did love Stefan. I never intended to fall for someone else especially his brother. He helped me through a very dark period and a part of me will always love him but I was really young when I met him. I mean I know I'm still young but in the last year I've grown up so much, the trouble is I grew into someone that didn't fit as well with him. When Stefan lost control on human blood my feelings for you started to intensify. We always had this thing between us but it was stronger and hard to ignore but then Stefan almost killed himself and I felt like he needed me more and that leaving him for you would be too selfish and cruel. I made a choice then never to do that and forced it all down inside of me. "

"No I did. I need you more. He was eating bunnies and hanging out with humans long before you and he will after you. I felt like hell when you told me I'd lost you." Damon admitted.

She winced at the memory and continued. "I know that now Damon. When Katherine showed me the dream and I realized how much I meant to you. I couldn't bury them anymore. My feelings just came pouring out and I just can't hide anymore."

"It didn't help that I kept messing up and pushing you away." He said frowning. "I decided to give up you know. I was going to leave you and Stefan alone. Then boom there you are."

"You were going to give me up?" She asked gently.

"You weren't mine to give up." He said. "It was time to face that. I knew I didn't deserve you."

"You do and that proves it." She said taking his hand and squeezing it.

"There is more to that story." He said in a soft tone staring ahead.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Just wait, you'll find out the rest someday." He grinned glancing at her.

"Come on tell me now." She said.

"Tell you what?" He smirked closing the subject.

They drove in silence for a while. Damon seemed lost in his thoughts. Elena studied his face. His eyes were softer and his lips were curled slightly into a smile.

"So where are we going after our little diversion?" Elena asked after a while.

"You'll see." He said turning to stare at her his eyes studied her in that way that drove her crazy. "No one looks better in my passengers seat then you Elena."

She smiled at him. "Good you're doing the eye thing again. I missed it.

"I missed you." He said smiling back at her. "I'm glad I didn't really lose you forever. Not to get sappy but you mean a lot to me. I don't want to go back to a life without you in it."

"This is our chance to put the past behind us and just focus on the now." Elena suggested putting her head on his shoulder. She felt him lean down and gently kiss her head and closed her eyes allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

** Hey guys, I decided to go ahead and do a little mini-fic out of this. I'm aiming for about 10 chapters. This is strictly delena from here on out. I decided to add a little Rose/Elena because I really liked the scenes they had together in the last episode and someone had to help them get away. No other characters from Mystic Falls will be in this one.

I hope you like it so far! Please review! :)