AUTHOR'S NOTE : yeah, I'm back with the second chapter! ok, first, I wanted to update sooner, I swear. but you guys have no idea how this chapter has been a pain in my ass. not because it was hard to write, that actually was the easy part. no, really, my laptop decided to erase Microsoft Office so I lost half my chapter when Word suddenly disappered. I had to write it back, but then it wasn't what I had first and I didn't feel like it was as good. then, somehow, I could find my document again and arrange something to fit the two parts of the same chapter in there... so, it was crappy enough for me, I can't even work on my school projects because my laptop sucks! fortunatly, I have a computer so I could write this and deliver it to you tonight. no more sucky-laptop talk, here's the second chapter! enjoy and review!

"Damon…"

Elena felt the air leave her lungs. She tried to breathe but just couldn't. Raising her hand to her throat, she took a step back, leaving Damon on the door step. Giving her a questioning look, Damon opened his mouth to make a joke about how he could still make her breathless, but then he saw that she really couldn't breathe when she bent down and started to make choking noises.

Without hesitation, he stepped in the house and in a second he was kneeling in front of her, one hand on her knee and one on her shoulder.

"Breathe, Elena, breathe" he asked, searching for her eyes through the curtain of long brown hair that hid her face. "Take deep breaths, slowly, come on!"

Elena looked up and stared back into his worried eyes. Oh, those eyes… She could still remember a time when she would have given everything just to see them looking back, when she would have done anything to light that spark she loved so much… When she would have killed for his blue eyes. Now those same eyes were staring right into her soul, like they used to but the spark that used to be there was missing. As her mind started to get foggy from the lack of oxygen and her head getting heavier and heavier, Elena couldn't help but think about how absurd it was to end this all the same way it had started…

Elena was walking out of the school when she heard the familiar music of her ringtone. She sighed loudly as she transferred her books in one hand while the other tried to reach into her purse to find the ringing device. Trying not to make it fall from her shoulder, she grabbed her purse and opened it wider to see if she could spot her phone inside. Feeling the strap sliding slowly, Elena leaned a little on the side to make her shoulder go high so the bag wouldn't fall to the ground. Her heavy backpack added to her 3 inch heels instantly made her lose her balance but she miraculously kept herself on her feet. Her things didn't get that luck. The books in her hand crashed to the ground and her purse slid from her shoulder, joining her other belongings on the concrete. She groaned and knelt to pick up her things, while her phone kept ringing. Elena found it inside her purse and cursed when she saw the time.

"Oh, shit!"

She was almost late for work! Damn Caroline who had made her stay after school! She knew she should have said no. Caroline may be her best friend, but sometimes she really felt like she was going to strangle her. She just couldn't understand that she needed to work to help her family. Her dad had lost his job a few months before and had then begun to drink. It was usual that she would find him passed out on the couch when she would come home from school, his clothes reeking of alcohol. Her mom was rushing to keep the family afloat, but working as a sales clerk in a small clothing boutique wasn't enough. A couple of months ago, Elena had taken a job as a waitress to the Grill, Mystic Falls' favorite and only restaurant/bar. The salary wasn't enormous, but it wasn't bad either. She made great tips and her boss understood her situation and was flexible with her work schedule. Now, she had to juggle between work and school and her family. She even had to take care of everything surrounding her 15 years old brother, Jeremy, because her parents were either working or too drunk to do it.

Trying to gather her stuff, Elena touched the answer button and tucked her phone between her ear and her shoulder.

"Hello?"

Finally getting everything back in her hands, she got up and started walking as fast as she could in the Grill's direction.

"Miss Gilbert?" asked a familiar female voice.

"Yes, it's me." Elena answered, rolling her eyes. The woman was calling on her phone, the one registered to her name. Who else could be answering?

"It's Sheriff Forbes, Elena. I'm calling from the hospital. Can you meet me here?"

Elena stopped dead in her tracks. The hospital? Why was Sheriff Forbes calling her? Was Caroline injured? No, she had just left her; she was still at school… Feeling the panic raising in her, Elena inquired in a worried voice:

"Sheriff, what happened? Who is in the hospital? What's wrong?"

She heard the Sheriff take in a deep breath before answering.

"Elena, dear, there was an accident. Your parents… Their car ran off the road and hit a tree. They… they died on the impact. I'm sorry."

Damon Salvatore was walking, his hands in his jeans pockets. Wandering the streets, he was making his way around the town, reminiscent of the time he had lived here. He was born and had grown up in Mystic Falls, but his father's hate for him and his own hate for small towns had pushed him to leave the day of his 18 birthday. He left everything behind, only taking with him a duffel bag with some clothes, a few books and other things that meant something for him, like his mother's wedding band. Eliza Salvatore had died when he was 10 and his little brother Stefan was 3. Giuseppe had only gotten worse since then. He turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows and would sometimes hit Damon when he was drunk. Only Damon though. He would never touch Stefan.

Stefan was the golden boy. He was everything his father would have wanted him to be. But Damon just wasn't that person and no one, not even his father, especially not his father would change the way he was. He had moved to New York City and had never looked back. He felt bad for Stefan but supporting his father was too much of a price to pay to be with his little brother.

Five years later and there he was. Back in the town he had sworn he would never go back to. But things were different now. Giuseppe had passed away two weeks ago and had left Stefan without someone to take care of him. At 23 and being the eldest brother, Damon had inherited all of his father's fortune as the rich man never took the time to write his testament. He missed Stefan so when the social services had called him to ask him if he would come back to Mystic Falls to be his legal guardian, he didn't hesitate a second. He had gotten an arrangement with his boss-he was working as a lawyer in New York-, had packed the same duffel bag he had taken with him when he had left and had jumped on the first plane back to Virginia.

He was currently walking around, seeing that nothing had really changed in the past five years. He passed by Mystic High and smirk at the memory of his high school years. Yup, that was something he could never forget! Distracted, he was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the sound of something crashing on the ground. Damon looked around and saw a dark haired girl standing in the middle of the sidewalk, a couple of books splattered on the ground at her feet. She was staring at something before her, holding a phone to her ear. Her eyes seemed empty. Damon continued to stare at her, judging that she couldn't be more than 19. Damn, maybe she was a little young for him… Not that it had stopped him before, when he was in New York, but in his home town… Something felt wrong. Fuck his conscience! That girl was just so beautiful! He could already picture her lying in his bed, her hair spread out on the pillow as she would moan his name and beg for more… He shook his head and saw her dropping her phone to the ground. Frowning, he took a step in her direction. Something wasn't right with her. Unless people had suddenly started to randomly drop their things to the ground while he was in New York, this girl before him was in trouble or something.

Elena felt rather than saw her phone sliding from her hand and hit the ground, shattering in pieces. Tears started to fall from her eyes and she jumped a little when she tasted the salty liquid on her lips. She didn't even know tears had come up to her eyes. All she could feel right now was the shock. The emptiness. Then came the panic. Her whole body started to shake and soft sobs tried to escape her trembling lips but the air had been taken out of her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Soon she felt too weak to even stand. Elena's knees gave in as she was crying soundlessly, her pain so strong she never thought someone could survive hurting that much. Fallowing the same path as her books and phone previously, she dropped to the ground. But she never felt the shock that usually comes with falling. Instead, Elena felt two strong arms catching her and holding her tightly.

Damon started running the moment he saw the tears coming out of her eyes. Her knees were shaking badly, he knew she was seconds away of falling and hitting the hard concrete. As predicted, the girl let herself drop down but he was only a couple of steps of her and he could catch her before she hit her head. She was shaking and crying, but he couldn't see her breathe. Her full lips were starting to turn blue. She was so panicked that her lungs wouldn't function. He wondered what put her through such pain, but pushed that thought away for later. He needed to make her breathe more than to satisfy his curiosity. Taking her face between his hands, Damon searched her eyes and when he locked his gaze to hers, he instructed her to take deep breaths.

"Relax. I'm here. I'm taking care of you. Just breathe. Deep breaths. Like me."

Damon took a deep and slow breath, his gaze never leaving hers. He saw her trying to copy his gesture and smiled.

"That's it. Good, now try another one. Keep trying, for me, please. Don't you die on me."

Elena saw the eyes poking into hers. Her head foggy, she thought how ironic it was to die from a lack of oxygen while looking into eyes as blue as the ocean. Maybe they would say she had drowned… She let out a small laugh that seemed to kick her breathing back in. She felt a strong burn to her lungs as she gasped to fill them with the much needed air.

Damon sighed when she started to breathe again. Slowly, he could see the blue on her lips fade away, like death was withdrawing its mortal wave from her. As her breaths became even and deep, he saw her looking up and locking her eyes to his. Smiling, he tucked a long strand of brown hair behind her ear and left his hand on her cheek, caressing it gently. The girl smiled back and let out a small thank you, almost inaudible.

"Can I ask you what put you into this state?"enquired calmly Damon, still holding the pretty girl to his chest.

Elena's face fell as the memories of the Sheriff's call came back to her and tears begun to form again in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, easy there. I didn't mean to make you cry again. I' m sorry…"

"It's alright, it's just… I just learned that my parents were in an accident."

"Shit, are they alright?"worried Damon.

Elena felt a single tear run down her cheek as she closed her eyes. She heard the man curse again and felt his arm tighten around her. He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered that he was sorry. Elena smiled sadly and opened her eyes to find him staring at her, a pained look on his face. 'He understands' realized the brown haired girl. Feeling an inexplicable pull towards him, she placed her hand on his and said:

"I'm Elena."

Elena. 'What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl' Damon thought. He smiled at her and opened his mouth to respond to her but was cut by someone yelling his name.

"Damon, Damon!"

Damon lifted his head and saw Stefan running to him, a bright smile covering half his face. Helping Elena back on her feet, he rose from the ground and took a step in his direction. When Stefan was within his reach, Damon grabbed him and pulled him into a tight but still manly hug. Yeah, he missed his brother but he still wanted to look like a man in front of Elena. Didn't want the girl to think he was an emotional wimp. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and Stefan let him go. He looked behind Damon's shoulder and smiled at Elena. Turning to face Damon again, he declared:

"Ah, brother, so glad you're back in town! I see you have already met Elena, my beautiful girlfriend"

Both Elena and Damon stared at Stefan wide eyes.

"Your brother?"

"Your girlfriend?"

Elena lifted her head and looked at the man in front of her. There were so many memories attached to his image. For a second, she felt drawn to his eyes like a magnet. Damn him and his magnificent blue eyes! She had always felt weak while looking him into the eyes. It was comforting but yet alarming to find that it still had the same effect on her 19 years later. His worried stare on her face made her snap out of her thoughts and back to reality, where she was currently suffocating. Closing her eyes, she did as Damon instructed and took a long deep breath. She continued taking slow breaths, making hoarse sounds each time air would come in and fill her lungs. After a few moments, she realized that Damon was knelt before her with his hands on her. Elena fought back a shudder of disgust and gently but firmly pushed his hands away. She was still in her pajamas, which were only short shorts and a tank top. The skin on skin contact was too much. There had been a time when she had craved this contact every second of her life, but now it just felt inappropriate. As hard as it was to admit, it felt foreign. He who used to be her comfort, her safety, her home, was now feeling as unfamiliar as a stranger.

Elena could feel that her body still wanted to react to his touch, but her brain was clearly winning this fight. Her body may not remember all the pain he put her through, but her brain did, and he wouldn't let her feel so comfortable near him so soon. His touch felt dirty, the sound of his breath was annoying. He was too close. Just knowing that he was back in town put him in a too close position. She didn't want him here. She didn't want him in her life anymore. There was a time when she would have given anything just to see him show up like this on her doorstep but now all she wanted was for him to be gone and for good. She wouldn't, she couldn't let him back in. Things were different now. It wasn't just her and her stupid teenager feelings. She had grown in all these years where he left her.

Damon smiled softly to Elena. She hadn't changed. After all those years, she hadn't changed at all. She was as beautiful as she was the day he left but now she had grown. She was a woman now. And it suited her so well. Yeah, she was beautiful.

He got up and took a step towards her, still smiling. His face fell as he saw her take a step back, a flash of emotions crossing her eyes. He could recognize hurt, sadness, fear and pain. There was so much pain in her eyes… His heart sunk at the thought that he was the one that had caused this pain. If he had known it would have hurt her so badly…

Elena continued to take multiple steps back in the living room until her calves hit the couch. Unsure how long she would be able to stand after so much emotion, she sat and stared helplessly at Damon. Benjy hissed at Damon again and jumped on the couch next to her, sensing her distress. Fighting hard to keep her tears from falling and her voice from breaking, Elena looked him dead in the eye and asked:

"Why are you here?"

Damon stepped forward but was stopped when she raised her hand, signaling him he was not allowed to come further. Tilting his head to the side, his eyebrows forming a frown, he delivered an answer that shocked Elena to the point where she was left open-mouthed and unable to move or speak.

"I came back for you."