AN: Hi everyone, I don't know why, but this was a hard chapter to write. It took me a bit longer than usual, and I'm sorry for that. Anyway, you'll learn a bit more about Damon's past, I hope you like that :).

Enjoy!

(also: my sister is sort of my beta, and she's on a trip to Italy, so please tell me if you find any mistakes :) )

Damon POV

It was dark outside when Damon and Elena left the Mystic Grill, and it had started to drizzle. Elena didn't seem to mind the cold, but Damon gave her his jacket anyway. He drove her home and they talked about the movie night the school had organized, he hadn't planned on going and realized he wouldn't miss anything when she said she wouldn't go either.

When they arrived at her house, he walked her to the porch. She paused before opening the door, and turned to him. She was standing so close, they were almost touching.

"I had a very nice evening." she said, smiling up at him. "Thank you."

He smiled.

"But I've been talking about myself all night, now I want to know something about you. You're being so mysterious, tell me one thing about yourself." Her eyes gleamed curiously.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." He said, and leaned down to kiss her.

She froze, and for a moment he thought she would push him away, but then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

It was a short kiss, but it left them both flushed and staring at each other.

"You barely know me." She said, commenting on what he'd said.

"I don't need to. You're wonderful." He didn't just say that, and he hoped she knew that he really meant what he said. It was more than just a compliment, it was the truth: she was one great miracle.

Her fingers intertwined with his and she kissed him again, softly. He knew this meant she wanted to take it slow, keep the kisses sweet and soft.

"Thank you." she said again, and then she turned to enter the house.

Damon watched her get inside, she waved shyly before closing the door.

This had been his first kiss.

Had this been a good idea? Years ago, he'd told himself that he couldn't get close to anyone. And he'd followed his own rule, knowing that it was for the best. Why had he broken it with Elena? Why did she have to be so mesmerizing?

He caused everyone he loved pain, he knew that by now.

It had started with his parents, he'd been eleven at the time and no one had told him much, but since he was the one who'd found their bodies, he knew how bad it had been.

He and his family lived in a small town, much like mystic falls, and a lot about the dead of his parents was kept a secret, even now he didn't know what exactly had happened.

People had been disappearing for some time, and his parents went to secret meetings with the sheriff and some other couples. He knew about that, because sometimes the meetings were held at his house. He wasn't allowed in the room, but he listened to one of their conversations once, his ear pressed against the door. They talked about demons, monsters and murder, scaring him so much he never asked them about it.

No one paid any attention to him after his parents died, everyone was too busy with stuff for which he was considered too young. He imagined them hunting down the monsters who had hurt his mom and dad, because he was sure it had been the demons he'd heard them talk about.

The only one who was there for him was his cousin, Aly. She was eighteen, and she lived next door with his aunt and uncle. They took him in when he was orphaned, but she was the only one who really cared for him. She held him when he missed his parents or when he had nightmares, and he considered her his sister. Until their home was attacked one night.

He was reading in his room, which was in the back of the house, when she yanked the door open.

"Get the sheriff, go through the window!" She said frantically, while opening the window. "Run, and don't come back until they tell you it's safe." She held his face in her hands and kissed his forehead.

He was confused, but he climbed out the window. "What's happening?" He asked, already backing away from the house.

"They're coming here! Run!" She yelled, and then she closed the window and ran out of the room.

He started to run, crossing a part of the woods to get to the town's centre faster. When he alerted the sheriff, everyone at the police station left in a hurry and he was told to stay in a room. Through the half open door, he saw deputies running down the hallway, carrying guns and weird looking knifes. He felt sick and threw up in the waste bin, somehow he knew that the same thing that had happened to his parents, was happening to Aly.

No one would answer the questions he had afterwards, they told him to never speak of it again. His home was burned down to the ground, and the only thing he had left was the leather bracelet his mom had given him.

They'd sent him to the last member of his family, his mother's brother. And that was when Damon had forbidden himself to love anyone. He'd been twelve, so his reasoning hadn't been very logical, but he'd never questioned his rule and still followed it.

He never thought about his past, it had all been shoved to the back of his mind, never to be brought up again.

He felt dizzy on the way home, still feeling Elena's lips on his, her arms around his neck. He greeted his uncle when he entered the house, surprised to even find him home, and then retreated to his room. He lay down on his bed with one of his favourite books, and read until he was too tired to keep his eyes open. Then he turned off the light and fell asleep.

The next day, before school even started, he'd already been asked five times if he was dating Elena. Apparently, she really didn't go out, because their arrival at the Mystic Grill had been shocking to say the least. Elena wasn't at school and everyone asked him where she was, as if suddenly he was an expert on whatever she did. When Caroline approached him on his way to the cafeteria, he'd had enough of it and he started to walk faster to shake her off. She kept up with him easily, though, and stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Would you calm down? I didn't know you were allergic to people. It does make sense, though, you're always alone. I just thought it was to keep up your 'mysterious guy' image."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, I went to the Grill with Elena, no, I don't know why she's not at school. If that is what you wanted to know, you can leave now."

She snorted. "That's what you're so worked up about? People asking about Elena?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I'm here to talk about her, too. But I think you'll like what I have to say."

He lifted an eyebrow.

"She told me she had a great time last night, and she said many good things about you."

"She did?" He smiled a little.

Caroline looked at him sincerely. "Thank you for making her feel happy. She really needed that."

Damon nodded. He'd seen her face light up the night before and he'd come to the same conclusion. "Do you know where she is?"

"She and Jeremy had to accompany Jenna to a lawyer, something with papers about her parents." Caroline grimaced. "Oh, and you should take Elena to the movie night this Friday, I think she'd like that." She smiled and then turned to leave.

Damon watched her walk down the hall and thought about what she'd said. Maybe she was right, maybe he should ask her.

He did, when he called her later that day, and she sounded surprised but happy. The movie started at eight and he told her he'd pick her up at half.

She was wearing a jeans and a soft white sweater when he picked her up, since they showed the movie outside on a big screen. He wondered whether he should kiss her again, he'd never really dated someone he actually wanted to be with and he didn't want to ruin it. He shouldn't have worried though, when she'd gotten into the car, she softly kissed him on the lips and laced her fingers through his.

When they reached the town's square, Damon was surprised by the amount of people that had shown up. Students had set up tables where you could buy drinks and food and the place was crowded. Caroline waved at them from behind the hot chocolate stand and some heads turned when people heard about their arrival.

"The movie won't start for a while, let's get away from the crowd for a second." Elena said, tugging at his arm.

Damon followed her to the edge of the square, where a pile of cushions and beanbags was leaning against a wall.

"I know we only just arrived, but… I felt like I was suffocating." Elena said.

"We can leave if you want to." He said, squeezing her hand.

"No." She shook her head. "It's fine." She smiled. "Can we just wait until they start the movie, grab some cushions and sit down?"

"Sure." Damon didn't mind waiting until everyone calmed down. Right now, people were pushing against each other, trying to get from one side of the square to the other. It seemed as if the entire school had shown up.

"Elena?" The voice came from behind them, and Damon turned to see who it was.

A guy he'd never seen before was frowning at him.

"Stefan." Elena said, moving to stand at Damon's side.

Damon didn't know Stefan, but it was clear that there was something weird going on between him and Elena.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked, her eyes narrowing.

Stefan's gaze darted to Damon before he answered her. "Caroline invited me. She has already tricked me into buying four hot chocolates. I'd stay away from that table if I were you." He smiled a little, but he looked intently at Elena.

Damon felt Elena relax a little at his side. He somehow knew that he was missing a big part of the conversation, there seemed to be a hidden meaning behind Stefan's words.

Stefan glanced at Damon again, nervously, and then turned to Elena. "I didn't get to talk to you the last time I saw you, with the situation being… you know…" He glanced at Damon again.

"Do we really need to talk about this right now?" Elena said, sounding slightly annoyed. "This is Damon, we're dating." She added, placing her arm around him. Damon couldn't help but notice that she seemed almost… protective of him?

"I heard about that." Stefan nodded at Damon in greeting. "And you're right, we don't need to talk now. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, for what happened before. I thought I should say it in person instead of leaving a message on your phone."

Elena sighed, and something stirred inside of Damon.

"Just leave it, okay? Come on, Damon, let's go find a seat."

She pulled at his arm, but he couldn't make his legs move. He began to understand what this conversation was about, why Elena suddenly wanted to get away before Stefan could say more.

"Elena, is he the one who stabbed you that night?" He said, clenching his jaw.

"I thought you wouldn't bring that up again?" She hissed, pulling at him.

"Why did you hurt her?" Damon asked Stefan, who was frowning at them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Stefan said.

"Don't give me that crap! I saw you that night!" Damon moved closer to Stefan, glaring at him.

"Damon, stop." Elena said urgently.

But he wasn't listening to her. The only thing he could think about was this moron hurting Elena. The image of her, on her knees in the rain, having to pull his weapon out of her own body, danced in front of his eyes and he moved even closer to Stefan.

His hands curled into fists, but he didn't get the chance to do anything. He was pulled back forcefully, his both hands pinned together by Elena's slender fingers.

"Leave. I'll call you." Elena said to Stefan. Damon watched Stefan nod and leave, but he couldn't concentrate on that. Not while Elena held his wrists together with one hand, and held him back by clutching his jacket with the other.

She looked down at his wrists and let go of them quickly, moving her hands behind her back.

He knew he was staring at her, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, looking down. From everything he'd seen just now, those words were the most confusing.

"For what?" He asked, automatically wrapping his arms around her to comfort her.

She shrugged, and he felt her tremble. He had no idea what was going on with her, but even though it was one big, confused mess inside his head, the last thing he wanted was her being unhappy.

"You know what? Something weird happened just now, and I'm not going to forget that, but let's take a beanbag and sit down. I'll let it go for now, and you can have some time to think and calm down, okay?" He was stroking her hair by now, because he could tell she'd become all worked up about something.

She nodded, and she followed him when he pulled a beanbag from the pile next to them and found a place for them to sit.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please tell me what you liked or hated, I'd love some feedback since I'm a bit uncertain about some parts of the chapter. thank you so much for reading!