"Geez, thanks for ditching us," Caroline said her arms folded tightly across her chest, a betrayed look hardening her once vibrant eyes as the couple made their way towards the two girls. Elena kept quiet, the feeling of Damon's lips on hers still lingering on her mind. She focused on the feeling, still trying to believe that it actually happened. While simultaneously attempting to not think in order to stave off the impending guilt threatening the outskirts of her mind.

Bonnie looked at both of them curiously, sensing the change in the air. "Are you guys, okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Elena said in a clipped voice. She was torn between a million thoughts. What did I just do? Holy shit, I just kissed Damon Salvatore. Damon – freakin- Salvatore. I can't even believe it. This makes no sense. This is my daydreams coming into reality. Damon, Stefan's brother, Damon. Fuck. I just kissed my boyfriend's brother. I should be punished. I'm just like Katherine. I'm horrible. I'm a horrible, horrible person. But…but it was so amazing. How can it ever be wrong, when it was that good?

"Sure?" Bonnie asked, shaking Elena out of her thoughts.

"Yes," Elena said with a forced chuckle. "We're fine." She forced her eyes to look at Damon, who was uncharacteristically quiet beside her. She half expected him to make some cocky comment about not being able to resist him, or anything else but this. His silence made her feel apprehensive; it added a certain sort of gravity of realty between them that would normally be relieved by a comment from him. But those annoying, endearing little quips never came, making way for that gravity to settle heavily between them. "…right, Damon?" she finally pushed herself to say.

He looked at her, a smirk forming on the corner of his lips. Ahh, there it is. "Oh, we're more than fine," he said smoothly, in that suggestive tone of his, quickly earning looks from Bonnie and Caroline. Elena would've elbowed him if it wasn't for the slightly strained way in which he said it. Or the faraway look in his eyes. Any other person may not have picked up on it, but Elena could feel that it took more from him to brush it off than he let on.


"Soo… what were you and Damon doing all night?" Bonnie asked lightly, breaking the tense silence which enveloped them as soon as the car doors were shut. For a moment Elena panicked, her guilty mind trying to wrack up some excuse before Caroline spoke up.

"Nothing. Nothing, interesting anyway. We just rode rides, walked around. The usual. He didn't even get my number."

"Really? I'm surprised you didn't ask him."

"Well it doesn't matter anyway does it? How about you, Elena? What were you and Damon doing all night?" Caroline asked bitterness dripping from her voice.

"Caroline, please," Elena pleaded, not in the mood to get in another scuffle with her.

"I can't believe you."

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked exasperatedly, Caroline's accusatory tone rubbing off on her, dampening any good feelings she had from the kiss.

"I get it. You're mad at me. But I just think it's pretty messed up telling me I can 'go for it' when there's obviously something going on between you guys," Caroline finally said, her anger breaking out of its confines.

"Wh-Why would you think that?" Elena asked, we're they really that obvious? Had she seen them on the Ferris Wheel?

"Come on, I'm not stupid. He was itching to get back to you and Bonnie. Then you and him just leave off as soon as we turn around."

Elena gave a huge sigh, her head in her hands as if doing so would somehow ease the flow of thoughts bombarding her. "Trevor was there, okay? He had to pretend to be Stefan, to get him to let go of me because Trevor wouldn't believe that I had a boyfriend. We were trying to get away from him. It wasn't some conspiracy to hurt you, okay? I would never do that."

"Well, you did," Caroline said, however her words lacked a bit of the fire which it held earlier.

"Then, I'm sorry you got hurt. Alright? …I-I didn't mean to."

Caroline had remained silent for a long moment that Elena thought that she was finished there. However Caroline spoke up once more, "So there's really nothing between you and Damon?"

Elena opened her mouth, but her mind went blank; teetering among the many possible responses to that particular question. She was saved however by Bonnie who decided to speak up, "Wait a second, Trevor was there? Your stalker?"

Elena let out a breath, thanking god for Bonnie for saving her. She then replayed the event, while of course omitting every sweet moment between Damon and her. And by the end of it all, to Elena's relief, Caroline hadn't brought up the incident at the fair anymore, opting instead to talk about other meaningless subjects to which Elena hadn't cared for. And before she could help it, she found herself slowly transporting back to that scene with him on the Ferris wheel.


After a quick goodbye at Bonnie's house, Elena found herself reluctantly returning back to the boarding house, where Damon would inevitably be waiting. She fought to stifle the fluttering in her heart and her stomach's nervous quivering during that tumultuous drive back home, not really knowing what would take place once she reached her destination.

She hesitated at the front door for just a second, bracing herself for whatever may come. Once entering, she heard clattering coming from the kitchen, and after a deep breath she found herself marching in that direction, a surge of urgency making its way through her at the prospect of just getting that unavoidable talk out of the way. But as soon as she entered the archway, Stefan's appearance froze her steps, a fresh wave of guilt dissipating whatever fire she held in her demeanor earlier.

"Ahh there she is," he said, keys still jangling in his hands. Elena's eyes made its way from her boyfriend's innocently cheerful face to his sitting contrary in the form of Damon, with his black hair casting a shadow on his face and his hand with its loose grasp on the ice cold beer resting on the table. He looked up then and they locked eyes for just a second, a knowing look passing between them. She tore her gaze away from him and back to Stefan. "How was the fair?" he asked. "Damon told me."

"It was fun," Elena said, trying to divulge the minimum amount of information in order for her facts to not clash with something Damon might've already told him. "Did you just get in?" she asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "Sorry, I know you wanted me to come earlier."

Guilt surged through her again at his remorseful expression. "No, it's totally fine."

"No it's not," he said and gestured for her to come closer, a playful look gleaming in his dark brown eyes. "How about I make it up to you?" A grin spread across his face as he wrapped her arms around her waist.

Elena pressed his palms against his chest to push him gently away and gestured towards Damon, but it was unnecessary for Damon had already stood up. "Don't mind me," he said a bitter smile on his face as he passed by the couple.

Elena hung her head, feeling even more ashamed. Stefan lifted her chin, "You alright?" She was forced to look up, and she gave a half sort of smile, hoping that it looked a lot less pained than it felt. "Yeah," she said, looking away from him.

"Then come on," he winked, grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs. She tried to pick herself up, she really did, but no matter what she tried to do to focus on the situation at hand it was always Damon's face materializing in her head. The sound of their closing door shook Elena out of her thoughts. Stefan turned then, a devious smile on his lips as he placed both hands on either side of her face, leaning in in order to capture her lips. But before he could reach them, her head turned quickly to side seemingly of its own accord.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a slightly hurt look gracing his features.

"Nothing, it's just been a long night is all."

Stefan let out a huge sigh and let his hands go limp on his sides. "Alright." He let go of her then and walked away and into the bathroom silently. Elena sat on the soft covers of his king-sized bed, feeling as if something switched inside of her. She looked at the sheets, once a place of comfort and sanctity, but now she felt as if she has no right to be even near it. But, nonetheless she took off her sneakers and made her way beneath its mocking covers, barely acknowledging the slight tip of the bed indicating Stefan's presence as she let her eyes close, hoping for the comfort of sleep to calm her turbulent thoughts. But the comfort never came. She couldn't help the incessant thoughts in her head, the turmoil inside of her preventing her from any type of desperate peace that she hoped to achieve. After countless minutes of tossing and turning, to the point where Stefan had actually let go of her in order to turn to the less chaotic part of the bed, Elena finally opened her eyes. She sat up, finally deciding to go downstairs and get herself a glass of warm milk hoping that it would somehow aid her.


Meanwhile downstairs...

Damon's mind was swimming; thoughts, feelings, all jumbled up inside his head mixed around and dulled by the beautiful amber colored liquid in his crystal-cut glass. He liked this. Being numb, being free, whatever you call it. Letting himself go, and for once not being pulled down by the weight of his own solitude. He was happy. Even if it was an artificial happiness, he still indulged in it. But even in the haze of his grateful confusion, a stubborn feeling was still cutting through. However, before he could make sense of what this feeling was, the sound of padded footsteps jostled him out of his mind. He turned around and saw her, probably at the same time she saw him by the way her footsteps suddenly came to a halt, before proceeding once again a few seconds later. "Hey," he said as he gave her one of his patented smirks.

"Hi." She averted her gaze away from him as she walked in the kitchen with hurried steps. Damon turned his face back to the crackling fire in front of him, feeling it's warmth on his skin. So that's it? Did it really mean nothing to her? The way that she fucked with his brain and turned his world askew with that one pathetic, mind-blowing kiss? He let a small, humorless chuckle out. Why is she still awake, anyway?

He stood up, it was a clumsy gesture but he was somehow able to make his way to the archway connecting the hall and the kitchen. He watched her, just like he had that afternoon when she was so busily laboring over her sandwich, wearing those shorts that made him so damn crazy, that he had to physically calm himself down before he could trust himself near her. He could see her shoulders tense as she poured herself a glass of milk, her movements becoming more mechanical, before she turned to him. "Damon."

"Shush, shush. Little brother might be listening," he said a goofy smile on his face as he pointed his finger up, and walked closer to her, stumbling a little bit on the way.

Elena watched him warily. "He's asleep."

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Hmm…I see." He sauntered nearer. "Guess we should talk then." He placed a hand on the counter, trapping her.

"Damon, you're – you're not yourself right now," she began, her brows furrowed as her eyes tried to find something else to latch on to besides his own. Her concerned face struck something inside of him, as if they were invisible hands grabbing him from his self-induced intoxication pulling him back to reality. Back to caring. She always had that effect on him and it pissed him off like no other. But this time he refused, this was a conversation best had during a time like this. During a time when whatever blow she would give him would only hit the padding of alcohol which surrounded him. If only he had this convenience when he dealt with that other brunette with the same molten chocolate eyes, seemingly forever ago.

Damon threw his head back in laughter, "This is the only time I'm completely myself. Come on, Elena. Don't you want to get inside my head? Don't you want to know my secrets?" He trailed his thumb down the side of her chin eventually making its way to her plump lower lip. He heard the hitch in her breath, and he saw the way her eyes fluttered close before she slowly pulled his hand away.

"Damon. You…You know we can't," she stepped out of his hold, grabbing her glass on the counter behind her. "I'll just…I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

He turned around and watched her leave, that persistent feeling in his chest somehow sinking deeper with every step she took towards his brother's room. But before being completely out of sight she looked back at him, her gaze containing such a mixture of longing and heartbreak that he wasn't sure if he'd only imagined it. But he didn't have the time to look again before she turned back around. He sighed, walking back to take his place on the couch as if nothing happened, yet in reality it was like she opened a dam inside of him that he'd been spending years to build and he couldn't help but wallow in the flow of feelings rushing forth. The alcohol acting as a double-edged sword as it prevented him from completely stifling it.


It's a bit of a filler chapter really, since I felt bad about not updating quicker. The continuation of this chapter was taking a bit longer than I planned, so I decided to post this part. :) I hope you don't get mad at me at the lack of action, all in due time. ;)

Next chapter is Stefan's long awaited twentieth birthday. :D You think she should tell Stefan about the 'incident' ? Or leave it as is? What would you do in this situation? Should she give in to Damon? Should Damon give in to her? Oh, so many questions.

Please though, review. review, review, review. Make me feel horrible about not updating faster. :P