Elena sat rather impatiently in her desk in Alaric's class, praying that the bell would ring soon and end her misery once and for all. Both Stefan and Matt's eyes were on her, curious as to why she was so tense, and she could feel their concerned stares burning into her back. Shit. Why did she have to go and have those damn dreams? It had been three days, and yet they were all she could think about, creeping into her mind every second of the day. It wasn't like she was attracted to Damon, because that was impossible. Hell, that would be like being attracted to Jer. He was like her brother, with creepy comments and sexual innuendo's added on. Besides, she was dating Stefan. She loved Stefan. And if there was anyone she was going to let hop in the shower with her, it was going to be Stefan...right?

But in her dreams, everything with Damon had seemed so natural. Their bodies had moved in perfect unison, each knowing what the other was going to do or say before they even did it. It was like they had been one person, not just connected with their bodies – although she was pretty sure that in that sense they were as close as two people could get – but they were also connected in their minds. It was like their souls had been fused together to make up one perfect creature, one that was filled with passion and lust and other emotions that were impossible to identify.

Of course, that had been dream-Damon, who was nothing like reality-Damon. Her dream lover had been sweet and gentle, whispering sweet nothings into her ears and looking at her as if she was the most precious creature in all the world. His voice had sent butterflies fluttering into her stomach and caused her heart to beat at a rate that was so fast it was nearly unheard of. Basically, dream-Damon was romance novel material, like Fabio without the grossly long hair. However, reality-Damon was something completely different. He was crass, rude, and completely ignorant, with a too-sharp tongue and an ever-present smirk. The only words he whispered to her were suggestive taunts, and the only way he looked at her was like she was something to eat...which she supposed to him she was, in a way. The only feelings that he gave her were ones of discomfort and irritation, save for the few moments where his gaze would send shivers down her spine, or his words would melt his soul. Those times used to be few and far between, but recently they had been popping up more often, something that worried her. What if reality-Damon was slowly transforming into dream-Damon? Well, then she would have an even bigger problem.

It was moments when Elena saw the elder Salvatore's soft side that she felt herself begin to genuinely care for him. The night when they had went to the tomb only to discover that Katherine had never been there was one of the most dramatic nights she had ever experienced, and that was saying something. No memory, no matter how good, could ever replace the look of pain and suffering that she had seen cross his beautiful place, and that alone was enough to make her heart squeeze. Yes, there was no doubt in her mind that she cared deeply for Damon Salvatore, she just had yet to figure out how deep those feelings went.

If her subconscious was trying to tell her anything, they went pretty damn deep.

The bell finally rang, and Elena flew out of the classroom and into the hallway before either Matt or Stefan could catch up to her. There was no way she could face either of them, not when her mind was still stuck on the dreams from last night. One look into her ex-boyfriend's soulful blue eyes or her current boyfriend's deep green ones, and she knew for a fact that she would find herself spilling her soul out to either – or both – of them. Elena had to get it off her chest, but there was no one she could go to, not right then. Bonnie hated Damon, so that wasn't going to work. Caroline had had a relationship with him, which made her an even less likely choice. And Jenna was at work, which meant that she was going to have to wait until the end of the day to talk to anyone about it. For then, she would just have to find some way to survive lunch without running into any of her friends.

That left her one option, which was going out. The Grill seemed like the most appealing of her options, only because it was the darkest place she could think to go. The brunette needed somewhere that had atmosphere to suit her dreary mood, and The Grill was the best and first place that came to her mind. Besides, she could already see Caroline walking towards her with Bonnie in tow, which meant that she only had seconds to get out of the school and into her car before she was bombarded with questions.

Getting to her car was like a spy mission, attempting to avoid people she knew while moving fast and staying out of her two best friend's field of view. It seemed like hours before she made it to the large double doors, and as soon as she was out she ran like hell. Luckily for Elena she had done one thing right that day and snagged the closest possible parking spot to the school, and she was safe and sound in her car before Bonnie or Caroline would have the slightest idea where she went. Sighing in relief, she rested her head on the wheel, allowing herself to take a quick breather before slowly pulling out of the parking lot. Ever since her accident, Elena had been the most cautious driver you could find, so much so that people refused to drive with her. Every speed limit was followed exactly, sometimes a mile or two below, and that was the way that she liked it. People thought it was weird, but then again, none of them had nearly died alone in a car wreck with an angry vampire advancing on you. She could only thank God that Damon had been there to save her.

Damon.

Just thinking of his name caused her to lose focus and nearly drift into oncoming traffic, making her the recipient of many angry horns and jeers. She let out a deep breath and trained her eyes back onto the road, her heartbeat slowly starting to calm down. No matter how many times Damon Salvatore saved her, he was still going to be the fucking death of her. Of that much, she was certain.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

By the time Elena pulled up to The Grill, she realized that there was only half an hour left of lunch. Cursing under her breath, she decided just to skip her last two blocks – after all, it was only Gym and Foods, two things that she could easily catch up on the next day. Locking the car door behind her, she crossed the gravel parking lot and entered what had become one of her favourite places to hang out. It was filled with the typical Monday afternoon crowed, beer-bellied drunks with sad looks on their faces, hunched over a pint of beer and not speaking to anyone but, on occasion, themselves. She couldn't help it, she gave them pitying looks as she headed over to a table, but one of the "drunks" in particular caught her eye.

He had a messy head of dark hair, signifying that the only thing he had done before coming to The Grill and ordering a glass of bourbon was wake up. Even though the room was dark, she could tell that his skin was pale, a startling contrast against his black leather jacket, black shirt, black jeans, and black boots. He wasn't hunched over his glass like the others, staring off into nothing as he drowned in his sorrows. No, this one man was staring straight at her, piercing right into her soul with those eyes, those brilliant aquamarine eyes that made her melt into a puddle just by looking into them. In short, the man was absolutely, without a doubt one of the most beautiful creatures that she had ever seen in her entire life, and he was also the man that had been invading all of her dreams for the past week and a little bit.

Snapping out of her trance, Elena marched up to his table and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. She was just thankful that she had taken the time to look nice that morning, and judging by the pleased look on Damon's face, he seemed to appreciate her effort. The hungry look that the raven-haired vampire was giving her sent the all-too-familiar shivers down her spine, and she had to stop herself from pouncing on him right then and there. Instead, she just stared down at him from her position in front of his table, happy to finally be the one that was looking down on him.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking, Salvatore?" she asked, a small smirk gracing her lips. It was her first time seeing him since...well, since the morning, and she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to act. Deciding just to go with the whole 'nothing ever happened' act, she gave him a playful smile and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

"Elena, you look ravishing," he told her in some bizarre British accent, dark eyes twinkling. "Sit down and let's have some fun." Grinning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down into the chair across from him, leaning forward excitedly. It was nothing like the reaction that she had been inspecting, but one whiff of his breath and one glance at the plethora of empty glasses surrounding him told her that the drink in his hand was far from his first. Fucking brilliant. Elena knew better than anyone how out of control drunk Damon could get – 'kill your brother' kind of out of control. He didn't mean to cause any harm, but as soon as alcohol got into his system the whole act was dropped and the emotional switch was flicked back to 'ON', which meant that he let himself get a little stir-crazy. It wasn't exactly what she had been hoping to experience, but hey, it would provide for some good entertainment.

It was then the she realized their hands were still intertwined, and that Damon's face was getting closer and closer to hers with every passing second. Yanking away, she leaned back in the wooden chair and gave him a curious look. "What happened, Damon?" he wasn't one to get drunk for no reason, she knew that, so there had to have been something that triggered the bizarre emotional state that he was currently in.

"Life happened, Elena, and it's beautiful!" Tossing his arms up in the air, he laughed like a giddy teenager and clapped his hands together once. "But there is something that we can do to make it more beautiful." Now he was getting much too close for comfort again, leering at her suggestively with an animalistic glint in her eyes that made her heart stop beating and her brain fear for her safety all at once. "Remember your dreams, love? I have ones about you, too. We can try some new things out if you want, I've got some ideas..." she swatted his arm, effectively cutting him off before he could continue his sentence. The darker, nastier side of her wanted to give in to temptation, but she knew perfect well that someone that they knew could walk into the bar any minute and see them in the act.

That and she didn't even want to do anything. Because she didn't. Really.

"I'm serious, Damon," she urged, reaching forward and grabbing one of his hands in hers. She knew that he wasn't in the best state of mind right then, but she knew him well enough to know when he was in pain, and now was one of those moments. Anyone with two eyes and a good dose of common sense would be able to see it, she was sure. "What happened?"

They were encased in silence for a moment, one so strong that it nearly deafened her. Their eyes were locked together, neither one wanting to break the moment that was occurring. Even Damon, in the state that he was in, was able to comprehend how serious she was, and how badly she wanted to be a part of his life, a part of his pain. We're friends, she reminded herself firmly, still not allowing herself to break the eye contact with him. Friends care about what's going on in each other's lives, and they want to help. That's what I'm doing, and that's the only reason that I'm doing it. No way in hell was she doing it for any other reason – Damon was in pain, and she was being a good friend and trying to help. That was it, plain and simple.

He was the first one to break the silence, clearly brought down from the momentary relief that the alcohol had given him. "I was looking at her ring today." Damon said simply, the slur in his speech not taking anything away from the seriousness of his words, and right away she knew who he was talking about. The sharp pain of jealous stung through her body, and she forced herself to keep a straight face as she waited for him to continue. She had no right being jealous – Stefan was her boyfriend, not Damon, but it was impossible to help. "It's not like that," he said, sensing what she was feeling right away. "I was just thinking about the past 145 years of searching for her, and how she never loved me. Which made me wonder – am I that impossible to love, Elena?" his face was clouded with such desperation, such sorrow that it nearly made her break down into tears, thoughts of her boyfriend completely banished from her mind. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words were able to come out of her mouth. It was like her brain had left her body and was now floating somewhere on the opposite side of the room. All she could do was shake her head quickly while inwardly she screamed at her brain to just get on it and work already.

However, it was too late, because Damon was already giving her a sad smile and standing up from the table. He stood with quite a bit of unease, and she was fast to stand by his side, shocked by her sudden protectiveness of him. What was wrong with her? Before she could ponder the thousands of answers to that question in her mind, he was already off of her and out the door.

"Fucking hell," she cursed, flopping down into the chair in an incredibly un-ladylike manor. Her body was buzzing, filled with thousands of feelings that she couldn't even describe, and she knew without a doubt what – or, more specifically, who – the cause of all of her uneasiness was.

It was Damon mother fucking Salvatore, the one person who was going to be the death of her.

A/N: Sorry there wasn't much steamy Delena action in this one, but I promise that the next one is going to be filled to the brim with lots and lots of it, so stay patient! Thank you to all of the wonderful people who left me such kind reviews, and favourited this story – you guys are the best! 3

Xoxo, Tiff