Wow, I didn't expect to post this so soon, but I've had this chapter in my head for a long time and it was really easy to write it.

I really hope you'll like it!

Don't forget to review! :)

"Elena! Hi!" Rose exclaimed with a huge grin on her face. Catching Elena by surprise, she threw her arms around her.

"Okay, girls, I've had enough of this crappy music, I'm changing it," Elijah, Rose's boyfriend said with annoyance in his voice.

"No!" all three of them yelled in the same time.

"Elijah, that is not crappy music. You can't just change the radio station when the Spice Girls are on," Rebekah said to her brother from the back seat.

"Hey! Don't you roll your eyes, mister!" Rose, who was sitting on the front next to him, punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Ugh, I should know better than to drive a car full of girls," the only boy in the car frowned.

Elena and Rebekah exchanged glances and burst out laughing. It was always fun to hang out with Rose and Elijah. They were seniors- two years older than Rebekah and Elena who were in the same class. They've been dating for a long time and Elena always thought that they were going to marry each other one day and have kids.

Girls started singing loudly, making Elijah join them after a couple of moments.

"Elijah, watch out!" Rose shouted suddenly. After that, Elena heard creak of the brakes and a loud bang. And then it all went black.

When Elena woke up, the car was upside down and all she could hear was Rose screaming Elijah's name in panic. She could smell twisted metal and fire around her. When she looked left, she saw Rebekah covered in blood. She tried to free herself and help her friend, but instead of breaking free from the seatbelt, Elena felt terrible pain in her head and she passed out one more time.

"I haven't seen you for ages! You look great!" Rose said when they pulled away from each other.

"You too," Elena grinned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting Damon," she smiled. "We just headed to his house to catch up, you should come!"

"Oh, no, thanks for the invite, but I should go home."

"Come on, Elena," Damon said behind Rose. "Live a little. You can't possibly refuse a reunion," he smirked.

Elena opened her mouth to protest one more time, but instead Damon grabbed her arm and started dragging her to his car.

Elena woke up to the beeping sound of machines. She recognized the smell of hospital. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw her father sleeping on the chair next to her and her mother sitting on the other side, holding her hand.

"Elena! Oh my God, Grayson! She's awake!" tears shone in Miranda's eyes as she leaned over her daughter. "Elena, honey, how are you feeling?"

Elena wished she could answer that question. She wasn't sure how to feel. Happy that she's alive, freaked out because she's just been in a car accident, worried about her friends? She felt all of that.

Instead of responding to her mother, Elena just started crying when she remembered Rose's screams, Rebekah covered in blood, the smell of fire…

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now," her mother said, hugging her and caressing her hair as Elena sobbed in her shoulder.

"Oh, sweetie," she heard her father who sounded relieved. She squeezed his hand when he grabbed hers.

When she finally managed to calm down, she asked "How are the others?"

Grayson's look dropped and Miranda let out a deep breath.
"Mom… Tell me," Elena said, her voice trembling.

Just when her mother lifted her head, the door opened and Rebekah rushed in. Her face was bruised, her arm broken, but otherwise she seemed fine. Elena felt a small weight falling from her chest. Rebekah threw her arms around Elena and started sobbing.

"Bekah… What's going on?" Elena asked, terrified of what's her friend going to say. She rubbed Rebekah's back soothingly.

"It's Elijah… He's… He's dead, Lena," Rebekah managed to say between the sobs. Elena could almost hear the sound of Rebekah's world shattering. She was devastated when she heard the bad news and she couldn't even imagine how hard it must be for her friend. Loosing Jeremy would be the end of her, Elena was sure of that.

"No…" Elena started crying too. "And what about Rose?" she asked quietly.

"Rose has suffered a concussion and she has a few broken ribs, but she will be fine," she heard her mother behind them.

As she felt her friend shaking under her arms, Elena knew that after this, things won't be the same. Their lives will change a lot. Elena had no idea what will happen to all of them. But she was sure of one thing- she wasn't ready for this.

From the inside, Damon's house was just as it seemed from the outside- huge, with antique furniture, wooden windows and expensive-looking rugs. It was the most beautiful house Elena's ever seen.

"Okay, girls, I'm going to go change my clothes and then get us drinks," Damon said, loosening his tie. "Elena, make yourself at home. Rose, I don't think I have to tell you that," he winked and walked away.

Rose lead Elena to the couch, which also looked fabulous and expensive like everything else in the house.

"I feel so ashamed," Elena admitted, sitting next to Rose. "I won't stay long, I promise."

"What are you talking about? What are you ashamed of?" Rose looked at Elena with a puzzled look on her face.

"For coming here… Just one drink and I'm going home. I hate to be the third wheel," Elena said, looking down.

"Elena. I still have no idea what you're talking about," Rose said flatly with her British accent that Elena always loved. She wished she could talk like that.

"Aren't you and Damon like… a thing?"

At first, Rose looked at her like she was crazy. "No, we're not a thing," she laughed. "We're best friends. We've never been anything other than that. I live in New Jersey, you know. I come in New York every couple of months just to check up on this idiot. I have a husband who I love very, very, very much," she smiled. "His name's Slater. We're actually planning to have a child soon."

"Wow, I had no idea. That's great, congratulations!" Elena smiled, feeling embarrassed for making wrong assumptions.
"Yeah, it is great," Rose grinned. After a couple of moments of silence, her grin faded. "You know, after Elijah died… I didn't think I could love again. Hell, I didn't think I could live anymore," there was pain all over her face as the old memories came back. As she was talking, Elena felt a sting in her heart.

"But, even though it was hard, I've managed to carry on, as you can see. Actually, Damon was the one who helped me get through that."

"What do you mean?" Now Elena was the one looking confused.

"Since Damon always hung out with Elijah, he was also shocked by his death. It was really hard for the both of us, but we stuck together. If it hadn't been for Damon, I don't think I'll be sane as I am now. He helped me so much after the accident. He took care of me, comforted me, he was my rock… We've been friends before that, but it was never like that. And since then, we're inseparable."

When Rose finished talking, Elena stared at her for a couple of moments. "Wow… I… I never realized…"

"That that side of him existed?" Rose finished Elena's sentence for her, smirking. "Neither did I, until I saw it in him. There's more to him than you think. You'll see it soon, if you haven't already."

Elena smiled, knowing exactly what Rose was talking about. She and Damon don't know each other for a long time and there hasn't really been a lot of opening up from his side, but she saw the good in him. She knew that he was hiding behind that sassy and incredibly handsome façade.

"What are you gals talking about?" Damon entered the living room, carrying a bottle of bourbon and three glasses. He wore a smirk on his face, as always.

"You, actually," Rose smiled at him.

"Do I want to know?" he frowned.

"I don't think you do," Elena laughed. She hoped they couldn't see that she was blushing a little bit.

Elena shook her head when Damon offered her a drink. "Nope. Not a chance. I'm not drinking alcohol tonight."

Both Rose and Damon stared at her like she's gone nuts.

"Yes, you are," Damon rolled his eyes.

"Damon, no. You've seen me drunk. Whenever I drink, it does not end well."

"Oh, come on, Elena, one drink, for old friends," Rose said.

"Yeah, Elena, live a little," Damon threw herself on the couch next to Elena, giving her a little nudge.

She rolled her eyes and took the glass from him. "For old friends," she raised the glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"There you are. I've searched the whole house," Elena leaned against the door frame of Damon's bedroom, crossing her arms. She smiled at the view of him lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I wanted to get up, but I couldn't," he said, stumbling on his words.

Elena laughed a little. It was funny to see Damon drunk.

"Where's Rose?"

"She passed out on the couch," Elena said, crossing the room to stand next to the bed.

"That doesn't surprise me," Damon smirked.

"Well, I'm going to head home. I think I've had enough partying for the whole month."

Just when she turned around to leave, she felt Damon's hand gently grabbing her wrist.

"Are you crazy?" he raised his head and focused his look on Elena. "You can't drive in this condition. You've been drinking. A lot."

"Fine, then I'll take a cab," she shrugged.

"No, Elena. Don't go. Stay. I have a lot of spare rooms, as you can see," he said convincingly, still holding her wrist.

At first, Elena hesitated. But after some thinking, she realized that it's a bad idea to go home alone at 4 am. "Fine, I'll stay. Thanks," she smiled.

"That's better," he smirked. Just when she was about to turn and walk away, Damon pulled her to the bed next to him. Elena lost her balance and found herself lying so close to him that she could feel his breath on her face.

For a moment, they just laid there in silence. It was nice to be so close to him. He smelled like bourbon and cologne which made Elena wish she was even closer. Elena's heart fluttered a little and, if she wasn't tipsy, she would probably be ashamed for getting that sort of feeling. But now she just didn't care. She just knew that she loved being near him. In that moment, their business relationship didn't matter. They were just Damon and Elena, lying next to each other, both a little drunk and without a care in the world. And in that moment, Elena remembered how good it felt to live a little.

"I never knew about that…" Elena broke the silence, remembering Rose's words. "What you did for Rose. After the accident."

"Yeah, well, it never came up," Damon said, frowning.

"Oh, Damon," Elena sighed, running a hand through Damon's hair. It was soft and silky and Elena felt like she could do that all day. It was probably the alcohol that made her do such a bold move, but for once in her life, she didn't think of what she was doing. And it felt really good.

"Why don't you let people see that side of you?" she asked, smiling. "The one that Rose saw… And the one that I saw, for a moment."

Damon stared at Elena's eyes, like he was searching for something. "I have some trust issues, as you can probably see. I don't really… Open up to a lot of people because I don't trust them."

"So does that mean that you trust me?" her hand dropped at his cheek, his skin warm against her skin.

"I guess it does," he smiled. And it wasn't one of his smirks that were sometimes really annoying. It was a genuine smile. There really was more to him. Rose was right. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were… Special. You aren't like the other people. That's why I like you."

Elena smiled, moving her hand from his cheek. He stopped her and placed his hand in hers. She froze when he linked their fingers together. Elena felt warmth spreading through her whole body.

Somewhere in the back of her brain, Elena knew that she should get up and go to one of the spare rooms he promised. She knew that what she was doing was wrong and that she shouldn't get attached to her clients.

But she refused to listen to the voice of conscience. Instead, for once, she decided to listen to her heart. How could something like this be wrong when it feels so right?

Elena couldn't stop her eyes from closing. Before drifting off to sleep, she heard Damon whispering "Sweet dreams."

Okay, I have to say that this is my favorite chapter so far and I've really enjoyed writing it.

Delena is finally bonding! Aww :)

So you've all been wondering about the conection between Damon and Rose and Rose and Elena... Well, here is your answer and I hope you like it! I guess most of you are relieved.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Please review, let me know what you think.

Love you all xo