"Are you okay?" Damon asked, cursing at himself mentally for asking such a dumb question.

Elena sniffed and quickly nodded, "I uh, just had a phone call from my mom."

"I heard," Damon replied before explaining, "I was about to come down to grab some food and I heard you and your brother on the phone."

"Oh," Elena let out softly before shivering slightly, she looked up and realised she was sat directly under the air conditioning.

"Hey, do you want to come in here for a while? I know Barbie means well but she might be a bit too much to handle at the moment," Damon said as he helped Elena up and into his room. Why is he being so nice? I must look a mess..

Elena gave him a small smile and followed him back into his room, it was only then she noticed she was only wearing a bikini. "Do you have any clothes I could borrow? It's a little cold.." Why didn't I bring any spare clothes with me?!

Damon turned and looked at her, noticing her bikini clad form. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before, she had the most perfect figure he had ever seen, the curvature of her back accentuated her hips, "Sure," He replied shifting his focus from her body and pulling a plain black t-shirt out of a draw before handing it to her. She quickly slipped it on and sat down on the edge of his bed awkwardly.

"Make yourself comfortable," Damon said as he turned his tv on and handed her the remote. She slid up his bed and rested her head on one of his pillows before flicking through the channels and opting for How I Met Your Mother.

Damon smiled when he noticed her choice and sat down on the opposite side of the bed, "Thank god you didn't pick Keeping Up With The Kardashians.."

Elena grinned, "Nah, that's probably more Caroline's sort of thing. But I never liked how they ended this show, I always rooted for Barney and Robin."

"Really? I would have thought that you were more of a Robin and Ted girl."

"No, I like Ted but he was too safe for her, too predictable. There was always more passion and excitement with Barney," She answered before letting out a yawn, Damon smiled as he saw her eyes flutter shut, for a moment he thought she'd already drifted off when he heard her mutter, "You know, you're not as bad as you make out you are."

He softly draped the blanket over her before tiptoeing quietly downstairs. When Jeremy saw him he quickly came over, "Where's Lena?"

"I found her outside my room, she didn't want to come down yet so she's in my room now. She looked pretty tired so I'm letting her sleep," Damon explained and Jeremy nodded, Damon found himself expecting the 'Hurt my sister and I'll hurt you' speech but was pleasantly surprised when Jeremy smiled and said, "Thank you."

Elena rolled over and looked over at the clock, noticing that it was 6:00 already she jumped out of bed and headed into the shower. Today was her first day at Mystic Falls High and although she had made some good friends already, she was nervous. She knew that people would realise she was new, it was a very small town after all. After her shower Elena blow-dried her hair before straightening it and applying a small amount of make up. She threw on her favourite pair of jeans, converse and a dark red tank top. She threw a cardigan over the top before shoving her things into one of her bags.

After getting ready she quickly headed downstairs to find Alaric making breakfast with Jeremy, "Mm smells good. Where's Jenna?"

"Just got out the shower, she'll be out in a minute. You want some coffee?" Alaric asked, Elena nodded and he passed her a drink.

"Morning," Jenna sung as she walked into the kitchen, she walked over to Alaric and placed a soft kiss on his cheek causing Elena to smile. They're so cute, I'm glad Jenna's happy.

"So, you two excited for school today?"

Both Jeremy and Elena sent her a glare causing her to laugh. Alaric handed them both a plate each of pancakes and they quickly cheered up. "Has your mom got in touch with you today?"

Elena shook her head, "No. Last time she talked to us was Saturday, why?"

"Oh, she mentioned to me that she was going to call you to wish you luck. Maybe she'll call tonight.." Jenna mused as she made herself a coffee. I doubt it.

Elena and Jeremy shrugged it off and finished their pancakes in a comfortable silence. Elena glanced at the wall clock noting that Stefan would be here any minute to give her and Jeremy a ride to school. "Hey Jenna, we should probably go and wait outside for Stefan. See you later."

"Good luck!" Jenna said giving them both a hug before watching them walk out the door where Stefan was now waiting for them.

"Hey Elena, we're over here!" Caroline called as she waved her arms frantically to Elena as she got out of Stefan's car.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Because she would never have found us on her own."

Elena could feel the eyes on her as she shut the door to Stefan's car. Great. I wonder if it's going to be like this all day.Thankfully she spotted Caroline waving at her and walked over with Stefan and Jeremy. "Hey guys."

"Hi, you ready for today?" Bonnie asked, laughing at the faces Jeremy and Elena pulled. "It won't be that bad, I promise."

"How about we go and get your timetables?" Caroline suggested as she linked arms with Elena with Stefan on her other side. Bonnie and Jeremy followed behind, falling into comfortable conversation. Once they reached reception, Elena explained who she and Jeremy were to the secretary and finally received their timetables.

"Okay, so apparently we have an assembly in the hall first period and after that its normal lessons," Bonnie explained to Elena and Jeremy as she pulled her own timetable out of her bag, "We still have a good twenty minutes until we have to be there."

"Hey Jeremy," Matt said, greeting his new friend. Jeremy looked up and smiled, "Hey Matt."

"We've got football trials tomorrow. Do you wanna try out?"

Jeremy thought about what his mom had told him on Saturday, "I'll think about it."

"Great. The guys are all over there if you want to come sit with us?" I feel a bromance coming along!

"Okay. I'll see you all later?" Jeremy asked before pulling his sister into a quick hug, "I'll come find you at lunch."

Once Jeremy had left the girls and Stefan, they began to compare their timetables. "Does anyone else have Tanner for history?" Stefan asked, letting out a small groan. Is he seriously that bad?! I guess I'll find out later..

"I do," Bonnie replied with a sigh.

"Me too," Elena chimed in, slightly grateful that she had Bonnie and Stefan with her.

"Ugh same. He's such an ass," Caroline complained.

"Oh come on, is he really that bad?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow at her friends, they all nodded. She then went on to ask, "Who else has Mrs Anderson for English?"

Both Caroline and Stefan said, "Me!" Whilst Bonnie shook her head sadly.

After finding out that Elena had History with all of her friends, English with Caroline and Stefan, French, Math and Geography with Bonnie and Sports with Bonnie and Caroline. The rest of her subjects she had either Lexi, Elijah, Tyler or Matt in. At least I won't be on my own.

After her first day at Mystic Falls high school, Elena felt herself fitting in well, despite all the whispering and staring as she walked down the corridor with Bonnie and Caroline. "Okay, so I was thinking about it and I might try out for the cheerleading squad.." Elena said, causing Caroline to squeal, "Great! The trials are tomorrow after school, I have Spanish last period so I'll meet you by my locker after school?"

Elena nodded, "I have Calculus with Bonnie so we'll meet you there."

"Speaking of Bonnie, I need to go and find her 'cause she's my ride home today. I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Caroline said, she pulled Elena into a quick hug before leaving Elena on her own. She quickly grabbed her history textbook out of her locker and put it in her bag before heading outside where Stefan told her he'd meet her, but when she got outside she found Damon there instead. Great, this is just what I need. I hope he's forgotten about his t-shirt, I really don't want to give it back yet. It's too comfortable.

"Damon? Where's Stefan?" Elena asked, a smirk formed on his face as she approached him noticing every girl giving her a death glare.

"He texted me to tell me he was staying for football practise and said you needed a lift home," Damon explained and Elena felt slightly annoyed, why would Stefan not text me? She pulled out her phone and felt stupid when she noticed she had three missed calls and two texts from Stefan. Oh.

"So why were you so eager to drive me home?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow as she got into the passenger seat of his Camaro.

Damon smirked, "Don't flatter yourself. Stefans in debt to me now."

"Right."

"So how was your first day?" Damon asked as he put the key into the ignition and started it up.

"Better than I expected, though everyone kept staring at me. Oh and Stefan was right, Mr Tanner is the biggest ass I have ever met," Elena said letting out a sigh. Damon laughed.

"Oh come on, they're only staring because they're jealous. You're the prettiest girl at that school," Damon said, even surprising himself at the last part he had let slip out. Whoah, did he just call me pretty?

"Thanks," Elena mumbled as she blushed slightly and Damon's smirk was back. Stop blushing!

Once they arrived Elena quickly got out the car and muttered a quick goodbye to Damon before practically running to the front door. She fumbled in her bag for a key before realising she had left it in a different bag, letting out a groan she knocked on the door hoping that Alaric or Jenna would be in, but unfortunately she got no reply. Damon watched her curiously before realising her situation, he parked his car before getting out and walking over to her. Shit, why did this have to happen today?!

"You want to wait in my house for someone to come home?" He suggested, Elena nodded gratefully and pulled out her phone to call Jenna. After getting no reply she sent her a quick text and put her phone back into her pocket. She followed Damon into his house and was then greeted by Mrs Salvatore.

"Hello Elena," She called out as she appeared from the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying a bowl of what looked like cake mixture.

"Hi Mrs Salvatore," Elena said politely, smiling at Damon's mother.

"Elena forgot her key and she can't get in so I said she could wait here," Damon explained before he turned to head upstairs, until his mom stopped him. "Uh uh Damon, Elena is a guest in this house so you will look after her and make sure she feels welcomed." Damon seems different with his mom, I like her.

Elena grinned as Damon rolled his eyes at his mother's antics, "Do you need any help Mrs Salvatore?" Elena asked as she followed the two Salvatores into their kitchen.

"Please, call me Mary and if you wouldn't mind could you keep stirring this? I have to start preparing dinner before Giuseppe gets home," Mary answered handing Elena the mixing bowl. She then began gathering food from the pantry to prepare dinner.

"So where does Mr Salvatore work?" Elena asked as she started to mix.

"He runs a business over in Arlington, quite a long distance from here for work but we fell in love with this place so its worth it," Mary gushed as she starting preparing dinner, "Damon you don't mind Lasagne for dinner do you?"

Damon shook his head, "That's fine."

"Good. So how was your first day at school Elena? Jenna told me you were quite nervous."

"It was good. I'm lucky, I already knew Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie so that was quite comforting. It's strange how different this place is from Phildelphia."

Mary gave her a sympathetic smile, "It must be. Have you always lived there?"

"No. Well I lived in New York City until I was three so I don't really remember it much and then we moved to Philadelphia and lived there ever since," Elena explained whilst Damon and Mary listened intently, though Damon would never admit to it.

"Ah I always loved New York, Damon hasn't been before," Mary replied, continuing to make the dinner.

"You should go one day," Elena said as she faced Damon. "My father used to take me and Jer back there on the weekends after we moved, he'd take us shopping, to see ice hockey and basketball games," Elena recalled softly, smiling as she thought about her dad. Of course she missed him but he had gone long enough for Elena to be strong about his absence.

Elena finished mixing the ingredients in the bowl and handed it back to Mary, "Thank you dear. Damon why don't you and Elena go and watch tv in the lounge? Your father will be home soon so he can help me out," Mary suggested as she kissed her son's cheek. Damon nodded before he and Elena went off to watch tv.

"I like your mom, she's lovely," Elena gushed, following Damon. Damon gave Elena a small, rare smile which surprised her as she assumed he would make some sort of sarcastic remark. Hm he is different around his mom, I like this side of Damon.

After Elena and Damon had spent an hour watching tv and Damon helping Elena out with her history essay set by Tanner, Stefan arrived back home surprised to see his brother and Elena laughing and chatting away on one of the couches.

"Hey Elena, what are you doing here?" Stefan asked walking into the lounge after hanging shoving his jacket into the coat closet.

"Oh I left my key in the house and no one was home so Damon said I could wait here. How was football practise?"

"It was good," Stefan smiled, "Your brother was great. I really think he might make the team."

"Great. I'm glad he's fitting in so well, I was worried that moving here would upset him," Elena confessed with a huge smile on her face.

Stefan nodded, "I'm gonna go see mom. Do you two want any drinks?"

"Water would be great," Elena answered. Damon just shook his head.

A few minutes later Stefan came back with two glasses of water. He quickly handed Elena her drink and she smiled gratefully before taking a sip. "Do you need any help with your history essay? It was pretty harsh of Tanner making you do that on your first day here," Stefan commented as he sat on the couch opposite to Damon and Elena.

"Wait, he only made you do the essay?" Damon asked as he turned to Elena.

Elena nodded, "It was so I could get a good idea of the history of this town."

Damon looked angry for a moment but before he could say anything Mary came in, "Elena, Jenna's back now but I was just coming to see if you wanted to stay for dinner? We have more than enough."

Elena looked at Stefan and Damon before nodding, "That sounds great, I'd love to."

"What time is dad coming home? He promised he'd watch the game with me tonight," Stefan asked as he turned to his mother.

"He won't be back until late tonight, he just called to tell me that they've got a lot of work to do."

Elena turned to Damon who was now frowning intensely at the floor, she quickly reached over and squeezed his hand, he turned to face her and soon his frown disappeared. This didn't go unnoticed to Mary and Stefan who both looked at each other questioningly. Damon quickly pulled his hand away. "Stefan, why don't I watch the game with you tonight?" Did I really just hold his hand in front of his mom and brother?!

Stefan smiled, "Sounds good."

As Mary walked back into the kitchen, a small smile spread across her face. Maybe this new girl would bring change to both her sons' lives for the better.

"Thanks for the dinner Mrs Salvatore," Elena said as she took the plate that Damon had been washing and began drying it, she then handed it to Stefan who put it away.

"It was a pleasure. Feel free to come over any time."

"I should probably get back now. I'll see you tomorrow Stefan?"

Stefan nodded, "I'll drive you a little later tomorrow, I'll see you at about ten to eight?"

"Okay. Bye Mrs Salvatore, bye Damon," Elena said as Mrs Salvatore gave her a hug. "Enjoy your football game!"

Damon stopped her quickly, "Hey I'll walk you home. I need to stop in and talk to Alaric about something."

Elena smiled, "Okay, bye Stefan."

The two walked out of the house in comfortable silence, once they were out of the house Damon stopped which then caused Elena to stop walking. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thank you," Damon explained, "For calming me down earlier."

"Look I know you probably won't want to talk about it, but I get the feeling that you don't get on with your dad.."

"That's an understatement," Damon joked, laughing humourlessly.

"I'm always here if you need to talk okay?"

"Thank you."

"That's what friends are for Damon," Elena said grinning as she turned to open her door, he quickly followed behind.

AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, how do you all feel about this side of Damon and how will Elena feel?;) Please review and I'll update as soon as I can. It means a lot to me that so many of you are enjoying this and reviewing so much, thank you!:)