Chapter 12

"What do you think of him?" Caroline asked, pointing to a guy. She was sitting with Elena and Bonnie at the local mall's food court.

Bonnie made a disgusted noise. "He's cute, but he's ordering a Big Mac and large fries. Plus a soda!"

Elena understood where this was going. "Car, that guy looks more interested in his burger than us," she said, taking another bite of salad.

"Ugh, you're right. Hey, speaking of guys, whatever happened with that guy you flirted with in Mystic Grill?" Bonnie asked Elena, suddenly intrigued in their conversation.

And then Elena remembered the girls hadn't actually seen Damon's face, so she could cover things up. As much as she wanted to tell her friends, Elena knew that the whole school would be the next to know, including Jeremy, who would most definitely tell her parents. And there was also a jealous, protective, part of Elena that didn't want anyone to know about Damon. He was her little secret. That made their relationship exciting. The need to be alone. Away from everyone else, in their own separate world.

It had been a week since her first date with him, and they had spent every possible moment together. They would picnic in the meadow, slow dance to David Archuleta, and kiss. A lot. In public, Damon was sarcastic, and a bad boy. But Elena could see past that, and he wasn't like that with her. He was a hopeless romantic.

Elena knew it. …

"Elena?" Caroline asked suspiciously, noticing her friend's dreamy, far away gaze.

"Oh yeah!" she said, slightly frazzled. "Um… he left for…. Uh, college."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Caroline said, pouting. "Bonnie said he had a hot back."

Elena giggled a little, while Bonnie looked embarrassed. "His back was hot."

Then they all broke out into laughter. The girls talked until they all decided to say goodbye around four in the afternoon.

"I'm gonna hang around for a while," Elena said while her friends started standing up. "I forgot to get Jeremy something for his birthday."

Caroline and Bonnie nodded, and after saying their goodbyes, left. Elena got up and headed for the stores, clueless about what to get her brother.

After wandering around store to store, Elena was absolutely clueless. She had no idea what a guy would want for his birthday.

Suddenly, when she was about to give up, Elena noticed a bright red head walking toward her.

"Jonah!" she shouted desperately. He smiled at her, his face friendly.

"'Sup E?" he asked.

"I need your help!"

Jonah looked very interested. He was liking the sound of this. "What's the problemo, amigo?"

She chuckled nonchalantly. "My brother's birthday is coming up… I have absolutely no idea what to get him… can you help?"

"Totally. Have you checked out Abercrombie?"

Elena looked at him, confused. "Why would Jeremy want something from Abercrombie?"

Jonah just grabbed her wrist and led her into the beach themed store. They walked to a table, displaying designer perfumes and colognes.

Jonah gave Elena a smirk and lifted up a bottle of store brand cologne. "You know how whenever you get a shirt from this place it smells… great?"

"Yes…" Elena said, not following.

"They spray this stuff in the morning. Girls love the smell. So when a guy wears it, he's a major chick magnet. See look."

Jonah sprayed the cologne on his neck, and was surprised when Elena leaned forward to inhale the scent without using any compulsion.

"Mmmmm," she said closing her eyes. Now Jonah was using compulsion just to keep her there.

Elena realized that there was something different about this smell, because Jonah himself smelled… in a weird way, good. Not nearly as amazing as Damon smelled, but still… amazing.

She was taken out of Jonah's trance by the sound of a phone ringing.

"Hello?" she said, turning around.

"Guess who?" the other person asked on the phone, causing Elena to smile.

"What are you doing, Damon?" she asked softly, still smiling like an idiot.

"Nothing… what are you doing, princess?" Elena laughed at Damon's pet name for her.

"I'm just at the mall. Jonah's helping me pick out a gift for my brother," she said simply, giving Jonah a look that said, thanks again. He nodded in return, giving her a smirk.

And then Elena realized that Damon still hadn't replied. After a few more seconds, Damon's began speaking, his voice rigid. "Jonah's with you?"

"Yeah, he knows a lot about Abercrombie," she joked, leaning against a shelf. Jonah laughed, agreeing with what she was saying. "Hey, Damon, do you want to meet us here. I miss you." Her face was pouty, and she knew Damon could tell what her face looked like by the tones of her voice.

"I miss you too," he chuckled, still not used to the whole "couple" dynamic, and very annoyed with Jonah. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"M' kay," she drawled.

"Mmmmhmmm, bye now!" he said sweetly before hanging up.

"So, I guess we'll get the cologne for Jeremy," Elena said to Jonah, changing the subject.

"Sure," he said.

…

After checking out at Abercrombie, they were sitting on a bench, eating a soft pretzel. "I guess this counts as my dinner," she joked, ripping off a peace and handing it to Jonah. He accepted it and took a bite.

"Hey… Can we talk about something? Friend to friend?" he asked, suddenly becoming serious.

Elena noticed the concern on his face. "Yeah, sure. What's wrong?"

Jonah sighed. "It's about Damon."

"Oh," she said simply. "What about him?"

"You really like him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." She smiled and took a sip of lemonade. She really, really liked Damon.

"Did he tell you about… Katherine?" Jonah asked nervously, or at least he pretended to be nervous.

"Yes. He said that I looked like her," she sighed. "But that's not why he cares about me."

"Do you know how much you look like her?" She just came up blank. "Elena, it's identical."

She gasped. "Well, he dumped her, didn't he?"

"No. She went missing a few years ago. Poor guy never got over it from what I've heard. He never stopped looking."

Elena opened her mouth, quickly covering it with her hand. "Oh my God… do you think I'm just some replacement?"

"I don't know," Jonah told her, his face sincere. "But even if you're not, I don't think this will last, considering he's on the rebound still, and is quite a heartbreaker."

She didn't say anything but bury her face in her knees.

"I'm sorry I had to tell you this. I think you should know before he hurts you. Damon's my friend; I care about him. But I don't want you to be left heartbroken, you know?"

She just nodded. "So, Damon's like this with every girl? It's not just me?"

"He's with a new girl every time I see him."

Elena just closed her eyes, ashamed. How had she fallen for this game? She was nothing but a toy to Damon, a replacement of the girl he still loved.

Just when tears were threatening to fall, Damon walked up to them, grinning. "Hello, Jonah," he said, trying to be friendly.

Then Damon noticed Elena's sad expression. "Princess, what's wrong?"

She looked at Damon, extremely hurt. That look would haunt him forever. "I'm just feeling a little sick. I should be getting home. Thank you for helping with the gift, Jonah."

Elena immediately stood up, walking away swiftly. Damon's hand brushed against her arm for a moment, but she never turned around.

He looked over to Jonah, who was smirking wickedly.

"What did you say to her?" Damon asked.

"Everything to get her to come running into my arms," he replied, an evil, sinister expression covering his face.

Damon knew Jonah was up to no good, so he did the only thing he could think of. He rushed out of the mall doors, determined to fix everything with the only girl that mattered.

…

Elena walked inside her house, to find it empty. Jeremy was out with friends and her parents were on a date.

She was glad to be alone.

Elena ran up to her room and locked the door. She sat on her bed, and her eyes were watering. She had only spent a few weeks with Damon, but it was all for one reason, one reason that made her stomach twist:

Katherine.

…

After long minutes full of self hatred and sadness, she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She didn't know who it was, and she didn't care.

"Go away," she demanded, expecting that it was Jeremy or one of her parents.

The voice that answered shocked Elena. "No." It was Damon's voice.

She walked up to the door slowly, and opened it. "You shouldn't just walk into people's houses, you know."

"Please tell me what's bothering you, Princess."

Elena laughed halfheartedly. "How many girls have you called 'princess' in your life, Damon?"

"One," he answered honestly. "Is that what this is all about? My past relationships?"

Elena exhaled deeply, and decided just to get to the point. "You told me I looked like Katherine. You didn't say I was her twin! I don't want to be your sick replacement of her. I am not Katherine."

"I know."

"And worst of all, I'm also your rebound girl?" Damon looked at her, concern covering his face. "Well, I'm sick of this. Jonah told me Katherine was missing. So, stop wasting your time with me and go look for her if you love her so much!"

"I know where she is," he said simply. "And I don't care. I want to be with you."

"I don't understand why you're using me like this! Please, just go. I don't think you know where she is, and that's why you're playing your little mind games on me… because she's out of reach and I'm right here."

"Yes," Damon confirmed. "You are right here. Katherine was the past. You are the present. And I want to be with you!"

"When you look at me, who do you see?"

Damon didn't hesitate to answer. "You are Elena Gilbert. A beautiful girl, inside and out, something Katherine never was. You are caring and sweet, and you have the most amazing brown eyes I've ever looked at. And I don't want to lose you."

Elena was a bit taken back from this. "But, even you told me the resemblance was why you met me…"

He placed a finger on her lips. "It was. But like I said in the clearing, I got to know you, and I realized how special you are. And I hate myself for doing this to you."

And there was something that sparked in those fathomless blue eyes, something that told Elena he was telling the truth. And when he reached out to hold her, she didn't reject him. She cuddled into his arms instinctively.

"I'm sorry this happened," he whispered in her hair. "Jonah knows nothing."

Elena nodded at him, and he slowly led her to her bed. She crawled into the covers immediately, but she just couldn't take away this moment with Damon. There would always be that fear of waking up to find out everything was a dream, that eternal fear that he would run off, searching for Katherine.

But somehow, she knew he wouldn't. Damon knew it too.

He started to walk away from Elena once he thought she was asleep, but she grabbed at his arm, pulling her over to him.

Damon followed her orders.

He crawled into the bed, wrapping his arms around Elena, until her breathing slowed and she was resting.

So, Damon fell asleep, holding Elena Gilbert in his arms for the first time.

But still, he had that pain inside, that pain of knowing what he was and how much he didn't want to hurt her...

So, there you go! I was originally planning on this to be a one or two page chapter but it turned into a full six pages! WOW! Longest individual chappy ever for me! Please comment! What do you think of Jonah. He's getting diabolical!

And Thank you jessica6634 for the idea of Jonah and Elena spending time together!

Thanks! Review PLEASE! Highlight of my day!