A/N: Sooo, here it is, the new chapter. I hope I don't disappoint with it... Because it's my personal favorit chapter so far and that's gotta mean something, right? It would be really kind of you if you'd let me know after reading the chapter :) Thank you! And also a big thanks to everyone who commented so far! It always makes my day :)

Chapter 6

Damon watched Elena as she stepped out of his arms, shock and pain and confusion written all over her face. Something pierced at Damon's heart, seeing her like that. Seeing her so vulernable and lost. All he wanted to do was take her back into his arms and make it all better for her. And he wanted to apologize for his unforgivable behaviour. It took Elena at least another ten seconds to finally realize that her cell phone was still ringing.

"Hello?", she asked, her voice breaking with raw emotion. Damon knew fully well that she hadn't kissed him back, yet she still seemed very affected by what they had just shared. He regarded her as she truned her back towards him, the back of her hand stroking over her left cheek.

Damon could hear his brother's voice at the other end of the line. Another wave of guilt washed over him at the thought of what he had just done. Stefan trusted him, he had saved his life and they had both agreed that history won't be repeating itself were Elena was concerned. And what had he done? He had taken advantage of her situation. She cared for him and just wanted to be his friend and he of course had to screw it all up.

Then again, wasn't it Stefan's own fault? He's her boyfriend. He shouldn't leave her like that for three weeks, without so much as calling at least every other day. What the fuck was he even doing? What took him so long? He should just give up and come back home, seeing as he wouldn't be standing a chance against Katherin anways.

Elena was whispering into her telephone, something about love and missing and Damon couldn't stand it another second longer, moving past her and out of the window in an heartbeat.

What the hell was he doing? Damon didn't want to hurt her, yet he had succeeded in diong just that again. The thought ripped his already shattered heart into even more pieces and he had no idea how he, or anyone, would ever be able to put it back together again. He hadn't even realized how broken he was until he allowed himself to feel again all those weeks ago.

Damon was sitting in the grand, cushioned armchair in the far corner of his room, pondering about what to do. Hours and hours had passed since the encounter in Elena's room. He had watched the moon rise and had watched it set, as sleep just didn't want to come. Afterwards he had watched the sun raise, which was now right above his house, announcing the midday. He hadn't eaten, hadn't drunk, just sitting there doing nothing. Time meant nothing once you were a vampire because you had a whole eternity of it. Sometimes it even was too much, especially when you were feeling like Damon did in that moment.

He looked at the book on the dark coffee table beside him. He had tried to entertain himself by reading Jack London's Call of the Wild, trying to get lost in the story that usually always gave him comfort. But it was to no use. Nothing seemed to be able to keep his thoughts on it for more than a couple of seconds.

Damon had thought about going to see Elena again, to apologize for real. Absentmindly, his hand wandered to his face, a finger tracing his lips. Now he finally had what he wanted, the feeling of her soft and gentle lips on his. The feeling was even better than he would have ever anticipated. And now he had to live with the fact that he would never get so close to her again.

That kiss had awakened something in Damon. Not awakened precisely because looking back at it now he knew that it had been there all along. But it had made him aknowledge something that he had been afraid of all this time. Now, he knew without a doubt that he loved her. He loved her with a passion the paled everything in comparision. Even what he had felt for Katherin seemed like a mouse compared to an elephant. Damon needed Elena. He needed her arms around him, he needed her lips on his, he needed to drown in her eyes. He needed her healing light on his bruised soul.

No, he couldn't go to her yet. Time would make her forget that the kiss ever happened and that he had practically told her what she meant to him. Time would heal his wounds. And after some time they could maybe talk about it.

A week later, Damon still wasn't able to go to her. He wasn't even able to guard her house at night anymore. Katherin hadn't come back those last three weeks, she probably wouldn't come back now. He did stop by once a night, to check if everything was okay, before he went to some bar, where he spent the rest of the night drinking.

It was a late Tuesday afternoon when Damon decided that he had to get out of the house. He couldn't stand sitting around any longer and getting some fresh air sounded like a good idea to him. He wasn't the kind of guy who took walks but he knew a place where he wanted to be, a place that might give him some comfort.

Five minutes later, Damon was clad in his black leather jacket and on his way. He went straight for the garage, his blue convertible safely stored in the corner. Since the sun was shining brightly, he opened the deck of his car, before jumping into it and starting the engine. The music started playing automatically, dulling the sounds of everyday's life around him. Seeing as he didn't really care about speed limitations - he would just compel any police officer that might stop him - the drive to his destination was over in no time.

Parking the car in a safe distance, Damon could already hear the splashing sounds of the little waterfall hitting the lake. Immediately a feeling of familarity and comfort flooded through him, while he made his way through the trees to the water. But there was something else as well, a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that brought all his senses to overload. The same kind of feeling he always felt whenever she was around. But that was impossible, wasn't it?

Damon walked slowly through the trees, enjoying the sun and the warmth and the sounds of nature, branches and leaves crackling under the soles of his shoes. When he finally stepped into the sunlight at the edge of the waterfall, a beautiful sight played out before him. The sun reflected itself on the tiny lake, making the surface sparkle like a million diamonds. The trees around it stood green and tall, some of their branches hanging so low that they gently touched the water.

And there, at the far end of the lake under one of the huge oak trees, Damon saw her sitting. Had his heart been beating, it would have stopped right that second. Instead he couldn't take his eyes away from her, her long and dark hair falling around her shoulders like curtains. Her back rested against the tree trunk, her eyes closed in concentration, letting the sunrays caress her face. Damon could see the journal laying in her lap, her right hand holding the pen that she kept batting against the page. She looked like an angel. His angel. His salvation.

Fate was a bitch and Damon wanted to kick its ass. Would his battered soul never find peace? He had come to this place to find some comfort but would he find comfort now? He should probably leave and let her be, but he couldn't bring himself to move. And while he stood there, watching her like some creepy stalker her eyes suddendly snapped open, looking directly his way.

They stared at each other over the lake, so many uncertainties, so many unspoken words and feelings floating between them. Again Damon thought that he should leave. He wasn't ready yet to talk about his feelings, to confide his soul in her. And again, he couldn't make himself move. Because every step he took brought him closer to Elena instead of farther away, until finally, he stood in front of her, looking down at her with an intent gaze.

Wordlessly Damon sat down beside her, watching Elena as she closed her journal and put it back into her bag. Neither knowing what to say, they both just sat there for several minutes, staring over the lake.

"You haven't been around my house those last couple of nights." Elena finally said after another moment. Damon tore his gaze away from the waterfall and looked at her questioningly.

"Aww, don't tell me you missed me!" Damon said jokingly with a slight smile on his lips, but even to him it just didn't feel right. He really wasn't in the mood for joking, didn't want to scare her off with his usual behaviour. So before Elena had chance to reply anything, he continued:

"How did you know that?" he asked a little more serious, acutally a little surprised that that would really be Elena's first words to him after everything that happened.

"I..." Elena started, looking back at him for a second but then broke the gaze.

"I could always somehow feel that you were there when... when I awoke in the middle of the night."

Damon was a little shocked by her honest words but at the same time he was beyond thankful that she still trusted in him, still talked to him openly. God only knows, he didn't deserve it.

"Why do you wake up in the middle of the night?" Damon asked with concern in his voice.

"I'm having nightmares. Ever since the night Katherin attacked... she shows up in my dreams. Every. Freaking. Night." Elena explained, not able to look back at him yet.

Damon eyed her from the corner of his eyes and wanted to kick his ass for not having noticed earlier just how sad and exhausted she looked. All this time he had only cared for himself, cried about his broken heart, drowned in self-pity. But not once had he actually asked her how she was dealing with the whole situation. Katherin had killed her biological father, Jeremy had tried to kill himself (and who knows what it might do to her if he told her that Jeremy only wanted to turn himself into a vampire), and her boyfriend left her for four weeks and barely gave any sign of living. And he, the selfish little bastard that he was, had failed her as well. She saw him as a friend and he had disappointed her. He was lucky she still even talked to him.

"God, I'm so sorry, Elena." Damon said honestly, looking at her directly now.

"For what? It's not your fault when I'm not able to deal with my fears..." she replied, slowly turning her eyes back to him and for the first time Damon could see the deep sorrow in them.

"I'm sorry for being such a crappy friend to you. I should have been there, instead I went all psycho on you."

"You don't have to apologize. You couldn't have done anything for me..." Elena said, looking sadly at him.

"A good friend of mine told me once that talking is better than keeping it all inside." Damon answered, again surprised at how openly they could talk to each other, as if nothing had ever happened between them. Wasn't she at least a tiny little bit mad at him? Not, that he wanted to complain, but he just couldn't believe that she would let him off the hook so easily.

"There's nothing really to talk about... I guess I just need a little more time... and for that mess to finally come to an end." she said and sounded so helpless that it physically hurt Damon. And there he thought she looked like a damsel in distress when he pulled her out of her car after she ran away from Stefan. It was nothing compared to how she looked at him now.

"What are you dreaming about?" he wanted to know, scooting a few inches closer to her, not leaving her eyes once. She didn't seem to mind, so he relaxed himself.

"This and that... But she's always there. And sometimes she kills John again. Sometimes she kills Stefan. And sometimes she kills you or Jeremy or all of you guys." she explained, whispering carefully as if it might become true if she talked any louder.

"It's just dreams, Elena. She'll never hurt you again." Damon promised and he sounded almost convincing.

"What if she comes back?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you or your family. And Stefan will see to it that she doesn't come back." he said with more insistence.

"Does he even stand a chance against her?" Elena asked, not believing her own words.

"Hey, you should put a little more faith into your boyfriend." Damon replied, trying to not let the hurt of mentioning Stefan reach his voice.

"It has nothing to do with trust. I'm just being realistic here. Do you trust him?"

Damon looked at her, thinking about what to say. He didn't want to scare her any further by being honest with her but at the same time he couldn't really lie to her either. He didn't want to lie to her.

Before he could say anything however, Elena jumped in.

"Don't bother. That second of hesitation is answering my question well enough." she said, her shoulders sacking in a little, hope leaving her.

"He's strong, he's intelligent and he's very determined. That might be enough to beat her." Damon said seriously and hoped to make her feel better. "Speaking of Stefan... How's my little brother doing?"

"How would I know? I haven't heared from him in over a week." Elena replied bitterly, Damon being surprised that she could acutally be so angry. "When he called last Sunday..."

Damon's whole body stiffened at the mention of last Sunday and he held his breath, trying to calm his nerves.

"When he called last Sunday he only said that he didn't have time to talk but that he was close to being finished. He said he'd be back soon and that I shouldn't worry." Elena said, still sounding angry but confused at the same time. "I just don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to feel or what to do. And I don't want to feel worried all the time anymore either. It's just so damn exhausting." she finished and let herself fall back against the tree trunk.

It broke Damon's heart to not being able to do anything for her. He wanted to hug her, to hold her in his protective arms close to his body, to promise her that everything would be just fine. But Damon also didn't want to scare her, so he closed the small distance between them only with his right arm instead of his whole body. His hand reached for hers, giving it a tight and encouraging squeez. At the contact, a bolt shot right through him, up and down his whole body and it made him take a deep breath. He let go of her hand immediately, looking at her with wide eyes before breaking the intense gaze.

For a moment, there was silence between them, the splashing sounds of the water the only sound to be heared. Damon let his eyes wander over the lake and the trees, thinking back to a time when he sat there with his brother, only a few feet away from where he was sitting now with Elena. It was here where he declared to Stefan that he would rather die without Katherin than become a vampire. It was also here were he did become a vampire after all, Stefan making him drink from that innocent young woman. Damon had hated him for that for many decades before finally coming to terms with it. Had he died back in the days, he never would have met Elena and that thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

"Damon?" Elena said carefully, pulling him out of his thoughts. Damon looked sideways at her, signaling that he was listening.

"Is it true, what Isobel said?"

Damon's breathing stopped alltogether. Not that it was acutally necessary for him to breath anyways, it was just a habit that he had come accustomed with, just for the benefit of blending in with humans. He looked away from her again, staring at the trees across from him, watching as the sun slowly began to set behind them. Fuck. Think, you idiot! You brought yourself in that situation now see how you get yourself out of it! Damon had no idea what to do, what to say. He just wasn't ready for this. He might never be ready for this again, his heart like a box with millions of pieces of a puzzle in it.

Damon looked back at her helplessly, begging her with his eyes to not make him answer that question. Moments passed, it might have been hours, but Elena didn't seem to understand, or didn't want to understand. Either way, he had to say something to get himself out it. He was the master of indifference, he could do it. Damon thought about what to say for another couple of seconds, before he cleared his throat to steady his voice.

"Isobel doesn't know a thing about me. Nor about Stefan or Katherin or you for that matter. She has no idea what she was talking about that night." he finally replied and looked directly at Elena, his face blank. Damon held her gaze as she probably tried to figure out what his answer meant. He hadn't lied to her when he said, that Isobel had no idea. Because it wasn't just that he was in love with the woman in front of him. Damon loved her with everything that he had in him, he trusted her more than life itself, and he would give his life for her without hesitating. What he felt for Elena would never be able to be described in words because those words probably would have to be invented first and Damon shook his head because of how cheesy that thought had just sounded. But it was the truth, just as he was telling Elena the truth.

Elena didn't seem to want to push the issue any further, either having figured it out by herself or just not wanting to put him under any more stress - or maybe both.

They both just sat there in silence again, neither the one nor the other feeling the need to say something in that moment. It wasn't until the sun set entirely behind the trees, illuminating the lake into a dark light and cooling the air off, that they broke out of the silence. Elena was only wearing a dark red tshirt and she began shivering slightly.

"It's late. I should probably get you home before you catch a cold." Damon said, getting up from the ground and holding his hand towards her to help her up. She looked up at him with those brown, trusting eyes, before grabbing his hand and letting herself being pulled up by him with ease.

Elena came to an halt right in front of him, their bodies almost touching. Damon could feel her still holding on to his hand, while her eyes bore into him. Whenever she did that, it felt like she put a spell on him, since he wasn't able to look away from her. But he needed to, he needed to put some distance between them before he lost control again and destroyed everything they both had rebuilt that day. But he couldn't move. And she didn't move. Instead she looked at him, trying to find something in his eyes and if he didn't pay attention she would find everything.

"I..." Damon stammered, finally taking a step back and pulling his hand out of hers. "We really need to leave..." before I kiss you. Damon finished inside of his head. And make you mine. That darker part of him, the part of him that always got what it wanted, the part that hungered for her, added.

"You're right." Elena agreed, nodding her head. She put her arms around herself, trying to keep herself warm. Damon shrugged out of his black leather jacket, still warm from the sunrays constantly shining down on it.

"Here." he only said and put the jacket tightly around her shoulders. "I'll give you a ride. My car's right over there." Damon pointed into the direction of the waterfall.

They started their hike around the lake, as it was becoming darker by the second. Damon walked around the trees and over the roots with ease but totally forgot that Elena didn't have the ability to see in the darkness. He was painfully reminded of it, when Elena stumbled and fell against his back from behind, Damon turning around quickly to break her fall. He helped her steady herself but didn't let go of her hand when she was standing on both her feet securely again.

"Here, let me lead you." Damon said and started walking again, a little slower now so she would be able to keep track. After that, a "careful" or a "this way" was the only thing that was said on their way back to Damon's car.

About twenty minutes later, they finally reached his blue convertible. He quickly closed the deck, since it would be way too cold now to drive with it being open, especially for Elena. He opened the door for her and let her in, before getting into the car himself.

"You wanna come inside for a little while?" Elena asked when he stopped the car in front of her house and turned off the engine.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." Damon replied, being torn between really wanting to spend a little more time with her and getting as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.

"Just for a few more minutes? I have to give you something." her voice sounded almost like begging and how could he deny that? Selfish and weak as he was, he just couldn't come up with any more reasons right now to stay away from her. Even though he'd probably regret that decision pretty soon.

"Okay... I guess I have a few more minutes." Damon agreed and gave her his onesided smile, that for once even reached his eyes.

They both got out of the car and made their way over to her house. Elena hoped that Jenna would be in her room already so that she wouldn't notice that they had a guest and to her relief there was no sign of her aunt.

"She's upstairs, snoring." Damon noted at seeing her straining her ears.

"Oh, okay." she replied and went up the stairs, Damon following her closely. Why the hell was she taking him to her room? That was so not a good idea...

Reaching her room, Elena turned on the light and made room to let him in as well. She hadn't really cleaned up her room in a few days but she didn't really care. Damon probably wouldn't mind either.

"Looks like the battlefield of Willow Creek in here." Damon said jokingly, trying to lighten up the mood a little, after all the serious talks that afternoon.

"Haha." Elena replied dryly, but a small smile crept across her lips nonethless. "That's what I call an organized chaos."

"Elena Gilbert, were you just joking?" Damon asked, sounding suprised.

"Yes, Damon Salvatore, I was just joking. Don't sound so surprised, you're not the only one to constantly crack jokes."

"Oh, you wound me. I thought I had a monopoly position on it." Damon replied, holding a hand over his heart. They held each other's gaze for a few seconds, before Elena turned away and headed for her nightstand. She grabbed the book that was lying there and handed it to him.

Damon looked down at the brown leather cover, black letters reading "Grimm's Fairytales".

"I kinda stole that from your house a couple of weeks ago. I finished reading it a few days ago and thought that I should probably return it to you." Elena explained, looking apologetically at him for taking something without his or Stefan's permission. She knew that both of them probably wouldn't care but it wasn't really like her to just take things.

"Oh... I already wondered where the book went." Damon said absentmindedly, still staring at the cover. "It's been my mother's... she used to read from it to Stefan at me, when she brought us to bed... It's one of the few things of her that we still own..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know... I would have never taken it without asking for your permission."

"Don't worry, it's okay. I know it was in good hands." he assured her, looking up from the cover and smiling at her. "If I would trust anyone with it, it's you."

Damon watched Elena, as she pulled off his jacket and threw it on the bed. After that she went for the window and opened it, letting in some fresh air. She roamed about the room for another few moments, putting some of her clothes away to make her room look more presentable.

"I should probably go now. It's really getting late and you have to go to school tomorrow." Damon said and pointed with his thumb towards the door. Elena just watched him as he grabbed his jacket from her bed and made his way for the door.

He looked back at her one last time. "We'll all get through this together." he assured her, smiling at Elena encouragingly. "Have a good night, Elena." he turned around and had just grabbed the handle of the door, when her pleading voice stopped him.

"Damon?"

Damon turned around, his eyes on her. "Yes?"

"Would you... would you please stay here tonight?" she asked, her voice barely above whispering. He heared her clearly nonethless.

"What?" Surprise echoing through it.

"Would you please stay here tonight? I'm... I'm so tired... and I just wanna feel safe again for a night." Elena explained, the pain and exhaustion back in her face and her whole body.

Damon didn't know what to say. The same fight from just a few minutes ago right back on. He shouldn't stay with her, he knew it wouldn't be good for him or his soul. But he was her friend and for once he wanted to do something for her. This friendship wouldn't work if he was the only one doing the taking all the time, but never giving.

So instead of saying anything, he just nodded, hanging his jacket over the back of the chair beside her dresser. He took a seat on it and tried to get comfortable for the night. Damon must have totally lost his mind for actually doing something like that and he couldn't really believe himself. This was so unlike him, yet he probably shouldn't be surprised. Because he was doing it for her.

Elena left him sitting there alone for a few moments, disappearing in the tiny bathroom to speed-brush her teeth and changing into her pajamas. She was back within minutes, looking way too good in simple black, plaid pants and a white tank top.

She crawled into her bed, lying her cellphone and to Damon's big surprise her vervain necklace on the nightstand, before she looked at Damon.

"You... I mean... It's not necessary... If you don't mind..."

Damon raised an eyebrow at her. "Look at that. Someone's getting nervous because she's having a boy in her room?" he said, winking at Elena.

"What I wanted to say is that you don't have to sit over there all night. My bed is big enough for two." she said and scooted to the left edge of the bed, making room for Damon.

Not a good idea. Really really not a good idea. Would it be selfish to stay on the chair all night, pretending that it was way more comfortable than it looked? Or would it be selfish to just go over to her bed, lay down with her and enjoy the closeness? He had no idea and since no one would probably answer that question for him, he just followed his instincts.

He got up from the chair, walking over to her bed slowly and sitting down. He pulled off his shoes, before making himself comfortable on her bed. He stayed on the covers, resting his head against the headboard, keeping himself half-sitting, half-lying on her bed.

Damon looked over at Elena, who lay down and rolled herself into her covers, moving closer in his direction. He had no idea if it was accidental or if she was doing it deliberately, but only when her head touched his shoulder did she finally stop moving, probably having found a comfortable position.

When he looked down, Elena already had her eyes closed, letting out deep and even breaths. She really did look comfortable and Damon prayed that for once the nightmares would just stay away. Elena opened her eyes, smiling thankfully at him. "Good night, Damon."

"Good night, Elena." Tonight you'll be safe. he finished silently.

Elena scooted just a tiny little closer after that, the warmth of her cheek creeping through Damon's dark shirt. The feelings he was feeling right that second topped everything he has ever felt before. He had no idea that after living for over 150 years, there could still be something surprising him in this world. But where Elena was concerned, nothing seemed impossible. And that thought excited and scared him at the same time.

Just when Damon thought she had finally fallen asleep, he could hear her murmer something.

"Thank you, Damon, for being a fr..." Elena began, as Damon went rigid. Please, don't say friend, please. I beg you, for once, make the pain stop. And as if hearing his thoughts, she corrected her self:

"... for being you."

A/N2: I don't wanna sound desperate by begging you again to let me know what you think about the chapter. Sooo... (*cough*lemmeknowplease*cough*) I won't beg you ;-)

And I'm going through serious TVD withdrawl. I know almost all episodes by heart now. And I only just realized that we still have to go through a lot of weeks without TVD *sigh* Good thing there's fics, right?