Nine years ago

Sitting in her seat in the front row of the lecture hall, Elena tried to listen as Professor Tanner started to talk, but her neck was sore and aching. She rolled her head, her hand pressed to the back of her neck, trying to ease the pressure.

It didn't work.

Her neck was stiff because she had spent the night on the floor of her best friend, Bonnie's, dorm room—and not by choice.

Elena and Bonnie had gone to high school together, and they had decided to come to Harvard together. They had agreed that they would room separately, so they could meet new people.

Bonnie had gotten an awesome roommate—Caroline.

Elena had gotten the roommate from hell—Vicky.

And she had to crash on Bonnie and Caroline's floor because Vicky had locked her out of their room.

The thought alone made Elena gritted teeth in anger, and she ignored the ache in her chest when she recalled the reason Vicky had locked her out of their room.

Damon Salvatore.

The guy Elena stupidly had a crush on. Not that he even knew her name. A girl like Elena Gilbert would never register on the radar of a guy like Damon.

He was ridiculously beautiful with a dark brown, almost black hair and striking blue eyes contrasting wonderfully against darkened lashes and eyebrows. He was very handsome, standing 5'10" in height with a well built, toned physique.

Damon was part of Harvard's elite. The rich, beautiful crowd.

And he spent last night in Elena's dorm room, screwing her roommate.

It had made sense that he would go for someone like Vicky. She might be a bitch, but she was gorgeous. Thin, big boobs, long, blonde hair, and olive skin. She looked like she just stepped out of a L'Oréal commercial. And she came from a wealthy family. Her father was the CEO of a bank.

She was Damon's kind.

Elena, on the other hand, came from a working-class family. Her father an electrician, and her mother was a teacher. She was here at Harvard on a scholarship. She had always been too focused on schoolwork to care about boys, but the moment she saw Damon, there was just something about him. Something she liked.

Until last night, that was.

Of course, she had heard the gossip—that Damon was a player—but she had always chosen not to listen to rumours.

Her mother, Miranda Gilbert had always said that what people project wasn't necessarily a true reflection of themselves. She said most people would only ever show people what they wanted people to know, and if one wanted to know more, then it would be up to one to dig a little deeper and get to know them properly. So, Elena would never make snap judgments about people.

Maybe that should change.

Because she was clearly wrong about Damon Salvatore. Not that she had known much about him before last night. But, in the little she had gleamed from him in her time at Harvard, she had thought he seemed nice. He was always smiling and joking around with his friends. And she had figured, even if he was a player, it didn't make him a bad person, so long as he was up-front with the girls he was dating with.

But she was wrong.

Damon wasn't a nice guy.

He was an asshole in the first degree.

A bastard.

Late last night after a long-ass shift at Starbucks, Elena was tired, and all she wanted to do go to bed and sleep. But, when she got back, she couldn't get in her room. The door was locked, and her key wouldn't turn, like the lock had been jammed from the other side.

Initially, she had a flash of worry for Vicky—until she heard a load moan come from behind the door and the sound of Vicky giggling. That was when she realized that Vicky had locked her out of their room. It wasn't the first time Vicky had done this. Elena was angry. She hammered on the door, and when Vicky finally opened up, wearing only her bra and panties, she had a scowl on her face, her hair all tousled up.

Then, Elena saw Damon lying on her bed, naked, except for his boxer shorts.

And she wanted to throw up.

"What?" Vicky snapped.

Elena blinked at her in surprise. "Um, I'm really tired, Vicky. I have had a long day, and I really just want to go to sleep."

"So?" Vicky's hand went to her hip.

"So, can you find somewhere else to…" Elena gestured a hand in the direction of Damon without looking at him. She wasn't going to say the words, and she definitely wasn't going to look at him again.

"No," Vicky said.

"No?" Elena echoed in surprise.

"No. I'm busy, and we are going to be busy all night, so you will have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

While Vicky was saying that, Damon had gotten up from her bed, and he came up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist and kissing her neck.

All Elena could do was stare at them. Angry at what Vicky had said and crushed, watching him touch her like that.

Then, his eyes lifted, and he looked straight at Elena. His eyes were glazed from alcohol. "Let her in," he said to Vicky but not taking his eyes off me. "She can watch. Maybe even join in. She looks like she could do with some loosening up."

Elena heard a strangled noise, and when Damon smirked, she realized that it had come from her.

Embarrassment stung her cheeks. She curled her hand into the hem of her work shirt.

"You ass!" Vicky slapped his arm as she turned in to face him. "Aren't I enough for you?" She pouted.

"Course you are, babe." Damon let an arm drop from around her and shut the door in Elena's face.

Elena was too flabbergasted to react.

Then, she heard Vicky's words from behind the door, "You didn't mean that, did you? About her joining in?"

He chuckled, deep and low. "Course not. I was just joking."

"Good, because I didn't think Damon Salvatore was into fat chicks."

Fat? Elena looked at her body. She was not fat!

Damon laughed, and that hurt more than Vicky's comment. Because his laughter only confirmed that he agreed with her.

And it was proven when he said, "You know me, babe. Anything over a size four, and I show her the door."

Elena sucked in a painful breath as she staggered away.

She didn't want to hear any more. She had heard enough.

Damon Salvatore thought that she was fat.

She had never been called fat before. She knew she wasn't super skinny, but fat never came into the equation.

She glanced down at her body, suddenly seeing herself through their eyes…his eyes.

Tears started to blur her vision, and she swiped a hand over her eyes. She hated them both in that moment…and herself for letting them get to her like that.

And for having a crush on such an asshole.

An asshole who only cared about the physical size of a girl and had no qualms over kicking her out of her room with no regard for where she would be sleeping tonight just so he could get laid.

Those two things told Elena everything she needed to know about Damon Salvatore

The bang of the door in the lecture hall brought Elena's eyes to it, as it did everyone else in here.

It was Damon, arriving late for the lecture. His arm was slung around the shoulders of a girl was not Vicky. Honestly, Elena was not sure if she had ever seen her in this lecture before. He probably just picked her up outside.

The girl was definitely under a size four, so Elena guessed she wouldn't be shown the door.

He was truly an asshole.

Elena would not let Damon's comment from last night bothered her. She didn't care what he thought about her.

Only that was a lie, and she did care.

Damon strode through the lecture hall with the girl, heading for the seats. Neither of them apologized to their professor for their tardiness.

Rude bastard.

But, even still, Elena's eyes tracked him without her permission.

Without warning, Damon looked straight over at her, like he felt her staring at him.

Heat rose in her cheeks, but she didn't look away. She let all her anger into her eyes.

She wanted him to know that she was pissed at him for last night.

She saw a whisper of confusion crossed his brow, like he couldn't figure out why she was annoyed with him.

The fact that he couldn't remember annoyed Elena even more. The moment—no, she was so insignificant for him that he couldn't even remember.

Her hands curled into fists, and her pulse started to throb in her neck.

She wanted him to remember. And she wanted him to feel bad.

She watched in those seconds that felt like hours, hoping for a hint of an apology in his eyes. Hell, she would even take guilt.

But she got neither.

Well, Elena got something, but honestly, she would rather have had his ignorance.

Damon smirked and winked at her.

Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach, and hurt and embarrassment filled her.

And that was the exact moment that she stopped crushing on Damon Salvatore and started hating on him instead.


Thank you for the support and wonderful reviews. I'm really glad that you guys/gals enjoy this Delena story. I was laughing out loud when I finished writing last chapter. It was always fun to write Damon's character - some of you may not like him but I think he is adorable, LOL! I have always enjoyed writing "bad boy" Damon:)

Go check out some amazing stories in this website - Eyes Without a face and November Rain by scarlett2112, Captive of her beauty by Salvatoreboys4ever, Apologize by vamphony etc.