Author's Note: Wow, thanks for all the reviews, guys! I'm thrilled that my first fanfic was received so well, and to give you all a big thank you, I decided to finish chapter 2 asap so I could share it with you all. There's no greater reward to me than lots and lots of reviews and critiques, so keep them coming! I hope you all like reading this chapter as much as I liked writing it.
Elena's heart hammered in her chest. In the blink of an eye, Damon blurred in front of her, his icy blue eyes staring intently into her chocolate brown orbs. She involuntarily took a step back, but then wanted to kick herself when she came in contact with the car.
Her face was so close to his that he felt the air escape from between her lips. Fear radiated off of her in waves. For the most part, she did trust Damon, but she also wasn't naïve enough to forget what he was underneath the human façade.
"So, Elena," he began in a perfectly conversational tone of voice. "Care to enlighten me as to why my digits are featured oh-so-prominently in your phone?" He tossed the phone back at her. Elena's hands came up quickly to catch it, holding it protectively against her chest and glaring at him. "You're an ass," she retorted, refusing to be cowed.
He took an intimidating step towards her, delighted to hear her heart rate increase to a dizzying speed. Damon circled her slowly, like a predatory animal, sending a shiver down her spine. Reaching out, he took a lock of her hair and twirled it around his finger. Twisting, Elena pulled out of his reach, breaking his caress.
"You can't bully me, Damon," Elena huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, undoubtedly to appear tougher, but it just jutted her breasts out. "What, are you going to threaten to break my arm again if I don't tell you?" she asked in a snarky tone, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow. To make her point, she muttered "ass" again under her breath as an afterthought.
"I may be an ass, but I'm also a vampire, so therefore I don't care. You can sling all the little barbs at me that you want," Damon pointed out, waggling his brows at her. He felt a little irritated that she breezed past the fact that he had repeatedly saved her life and instead chose to focus on the little threat he'd made to keep her safe. He'd never have done it, but he felt a bit aggravated that she would use it against him, making him sound damn near abusive.
"Damon, aren't we past that? You care and you know it, and you know I know it too, so you can stop with the whole I'm-a-vampire-and-therefore-better-than-you bullshit act." Her arms dropped to her sides.
"I never said I was better than you," Damon replied mildly, a little bemused that she'd know him so well. "And slick subject change, Elena. Kudos." He slung an arm over her shoulder, which she briefly resisted, then realized there was no way she could really get him off her if he really wanted to be there. Besides, she'd gotten used to him invading her space bubble; it might have almost been endearing if he didn't always have some rude or pervy thing to say.
"Damon…" Elena began to say, but he cut her off.
"No, really, I'm intrigued." Damon's piercing blue eyes fixed on her face, strangely unblinking. "Why am I your ICE contact?" All traces of amusement had vanished from his features, leaving him with a modicum of sincerity on his face. Ever since he'd met her, he had felt…a connection to her. There had always been understanding between them, and while it might not have always included trust, they had always had that special spark, that chemistry. Understanding had always come easily, but the friendship, not so much.
Trying not to let her see how important her answer was to him, he released her from his hold and stood back to face her. "Why me?" he repeated. The "and not Stefan" was left unsaid, but they both heard the words in their own minds. He hadn't meant for it to come out sounding needy, and he hoped she didn't notice. He'd have to pull some other asshole stunt if she did, maybe snacking on the Wendy's cashier (he was getting pretty hungry); he didn't want her thinking he'd suddenly gone soft.
"You're better in a crisis," Elena said finally with a sigh, as though the admission had cost her greatly.
Damon absorbed this, finding it hard to believe that Elena thought he was better in a crisis than Stefan, Mystic Falls' resident white knight. Before he could ask her to elaborate, her mouth was open and she was speaking.
"I know people think you're impulsive and reckless and don't think things through. But I think you do think things through and weigh the consequences, but then go right ahead and do it anyway. You go with your gut instinct. It's not always right…" Here Elena paused, reliving the epic lack of control Damon had demonstrated when he'd attacked Bonnie in the woods so long ago, and more recently, when he'd snapped Jeremy's neck.
Clearing her throat, she added, "It's not like in the movies. Good and evil isn't as black and white as I'd like it to be. There's shades of gray. You're a shade of gray." Her brow furrowed as she realized he probably wasn't following her thought process. "You can always tell who the bad guys are in a movie, right? It's easy to pick out the villains and the heroes. You're the kind of person who's both good and bad at the same time, and weirdly, that combination makes me feel safe. After what you did to Jeremy…" her voice caught and she blinked back tears that brimmed to the surface, "…I honestly didn't think I could forgive you. I think I hated you, but even I wasn't your friend anymore, I knew you were still my friend. I knew you had my back, and…" Elena trailed off, trying to gauge his reaction. He was just staring back at her with an unreadable, penetrating expression. "And I'm glad that you didn't stop trying to win me back. Even when I despised you the most, I couldn't imagine my life without you in it."
Damon was like wildfire, fiery and unrestrained. But lately, underneath all the violence, impatience, and frustration…he'd somehow found a small sliver of humanity. Slowly but steadily, it was growing, but Elena wasn't kidding herself; she knew that his humanity existed for her only. He was fighting everything he once was for her, and at least that was a step in the right direction.
Not breaking eye contact with him, she bit her lower lip. "You make me feel safe, Damon, and I trust your decisions. I know that when they concern me, you won't steer me wrong." She flushed, suddenly feeling guilty for implying that she didn't trust Stefan's decisions. It wasn't what she had meant at all, but somehow it had come out that way, and she didn't know how to take it back.
"You're kidding," Damon said baldly, stunned at her assessment of him. "I make you feel safe? Hell, Elena, you should be running away from me screaming your head off!"
He had no idea how much Elena wanted to scream – at him. Her carefully worded, deeply thought out answer seemed to have been totally disregarded. She was embarrassed that Damon had turned it around to make her seem like an idiot for not being more frightened of him.
Not wanting Damon to read too much into her confession, Elena added quickly, "Not to mention, you're like, wicked strong. If I was in trouble, you have more experience." That was pretty factual; in a fight, there weren't many vampires that could get the better of Damon, even if they were older.
Damon let a self-satisfied smirk spread over his face as she admitted that he was physically powerful, more powerful than Stefan. He might not be able to compete with his little brother for Elena's heart, or in any other aspect for that matter, but at least in terms of strength, Damon knew where he stood. He knew, for one thing, that he was strong enough to protect Elena even if Stefan couldn't.
Her admission of why he was good in a crisis terrified him. It was so weird to have actual responsibilities after several lifetimes of not caring about anybody except himself, and the fact that Elena, the epitome of goodness, saw something redeemable in him made his chest tighten where his heart should have been.
"Come on," he nodded his head towards the fast-food restaurant. "I'll buy you dinner, all gentleman-like," Damon smirked.
"You're doing that eye thing again," Elena pointed out in annoyance, still miffed that he hadn't acknowledged her heartfelt estimation of him. To which he merely held his arm out to her with his lips curled upwards in that ever-present smirk of his.
"This isn't a da-" she began to say as he tugged her towards the door of the establishment, but he interrupted her.
"Yes, yes, Elena, this isn't a date, I know. Besides, if it was a date, which it's not, don't you think I'd take you somewhere a little nicer than Wendys?" Damon retorted, scrunching his nose. "I promise I'm not going to try to get in your pants. Scout's honor."
"You were never a Boy Scout," Elena replied, unable to resist a small smile at the thought of Damon as a little boy, earning merit badges.
"No, but I probably ate one once," Damon said offhandedly, unable to resist teasing her.
"Damon!" Elena groaned, hitting his chest half-heartedly. She peered up at him as he held the door open for her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Damon replied, letting the door swing shut behind them.
"No, not for that. For coming after me. Saving my life, yet again, even when I didn't want you to. That's the Damon who is my friend."
"Is?" Damon quickly latched onto that word. "Does that mean the Cold War between us is over?"
Elena stared up into his swirling blue eyes. "You're my friend, Damon, and I'm yours," she said simply. "It would suck if that was gone forever," she said in a low voice, turning to move to the counter to place her order.
Damon stared after her, hearing her echo the words he'd said to her a few weeks ago. Emotions began racing inside him, and as he stepped up beside her to examine the menu board, he'd never felt so damn human in his entire unlife.
A/N: Whew! There was a bit of angst in the beginning but it ended with some cuteness, so on the whole I'm pretty pleased with this chapter. For chapter three, I'm torn between doing a D/E scene where Elena is forced to confront some feelings of jealousy that arise when she sees Damon flirting with another girl…or doing a Jeremy/Katherine/Stefan scene leading up to Stefan being trapped in the tomb (but with a MAJOR twist). While this is Delena-centric, I adore the heated dialogues and flirty banter between Katherine and Stefan (although NO ONE can rival D/E's sexual tension), and I'd love to try my hand at that, so I know I'll be doing both ideas for chapters 3 & 4, but I'll let you guys vote on which should come first. :D Once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, it's very much appreciated.