**important** Alright, chapter 7..here it is. I do admit this is one of my favorite I've written. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted. Means a lot to me! Also, I'm hoping for 100+ reviews. We can do this! :)

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I've decided my story will be at least 15 chapters long and no more than 20. You've been warned. :P

xXx

"He kissed my lips I taste your mouth.

He pulled me in I was disgusted with myself."

~Thinking Of You - Katy Perry

xXx

"Damon!" I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, lunging forward to reach him where Klaus has him pinned against the wall. I feel someone's hands (Caroline's?) around my arm as I watch Stefan reach his brother's side. I shake Caroline's arms off of me and lunge forward, only to be stopped by a pair of weaker, human hands. Jeremy's face comes into my peripheral vision and I stop, hanging off his arm, the salty taste of tears on my tongue.

Damon's head is at a funny angle and a trickle of blood is coming from his ear. That cannot be good.

Klaus has Damon's blood on his hands, casually wiping it off on his dress pants and looking disdainfully around the room. He drops Damon on the floor and takes a step back, surveying his handiwork.

"That wasn't the cleanest job I've ever done, now was it?" He asks us, and he winks at me playfully. As if this whole thing is a joke.

I'm sceeching horrible, horrible things at him as I watch Stefan pick Damon up. He hangs in his arms like a limp china doll, his black hair flopping away from his forehead.

"Silence, love," Klaus holds up a hand, "You'll be dealt with in good time. You all will." His eyes flick over me and then trace a long trail through us all, finally ending on his brothers. Elijah and Kol swallow nervously even as they politely smile back. I put a hand over my mouth and bite it viciously to stop another flow of insults.

Klaus leisurely opens the Boarding House door, walking down the driveway, baring his back to us all.

xXx

Damon stirs in his bed where Stefan had left him, making a little sound in the back of his throat that goes straight through me. I trip over myself in the effort to make it to his bedside.

"I'll just leave him here. Let me know when he...wakes up." Stefan lays Damon down on his bed, tenderly wiping the trail of vampire blood from his ear away, "I have to get the group settled. Figure out what we're gonna do. When he wakes up..."

I only nod and cross my arms, "Thanks, Stefan. I'll watch him."

Stefan presses his lips together, looking unsure. He reaches out to take my hand and I let him. He squeezes it reassuringly. Safe. I'm safe. And then he's gone.

"Damon?" I shake his shoulders gently, "Damon are you awake?"

"I.." Damon's lips crack open and he seems thirsty, "What..."

"There was something in your drink, I think," I'm fluttering around him like a motherhen before I change directions and zip over to his dresser where I'd put a glass of blood earlier. It'd been difficult resisting my own inclination to drink, but I'd done it. "...but I brought you some blood." I shove it in his face in my flustered state and immediately retract my arm back just as he reaches forward for the glass.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologize quickly and hand him the blood more gently. I watch, transfixed, as the tiniest hint of black veins trickle underneath his skin as he drinks.

He drops the glass on the floor and it shatters. I cringe just as Damon groans, eyes scrunched tight. "I need more."

I fly across the room to retrieve the blood bag I'd used to fill up the glass and re-fill it. I sneak a taste for myself. Oh god, it tastes good. But Damon is waiting patiently in the bed, bewildered look on his face. He seems to be getting stronger, and as he drinks the second glass, I bend down on the floor to pick up shards lying there.

"You don't have to do that you know," he says softly, and I only laugh.

"So what exactly happened?" Damon muses as he sips.

I stand up and lean forward, eyebrows furrowing as I wipe away another trickle of blood from his ear. Damon hands me the emptied cup of blood and I set it on his nightstand before talking. It's a well known fact Damon always gets a little loopy when he talks and drinks blood at the same time. I surprise myself by not moving from my stance, hovering above his face, his blue eyes watching me. I smile weakly, "You pissed Klaus off."

"Klaus?" Damon's eyes go wide, "Why am I not dead?"

"You were, for a little bit."

And I love you, I love yousomuch, I was terrified for you.

But I don't add that part.

"My drink did taste funny." Damon cocks his head and licks his lips as if he can still taste the drug, "Bet it was Katherine, I knew we shouldn't trust her. She came in with the Originals."

"They all came in with the Originals." I reason, and run a hand through his damp hair, unable to help myself. Damon's eyes flicker up to my fingers and his mouth opens just a bit. I stumble an apology and pull my hand back, forcing it to stay in my lap. "Why would anyone drug your drink?" I try to play my tiny display of affection of as cool indifference, but I'm failing miserably.

Damon rolls his eyes, letting it go. "Why would anyone not want to drug my drink? Have we seen Ric's old girlfriend around recently? Meredith?"

"Meredith wouldn't drug you." I roll my eyes at his ridiculous statement. Although it reminds me of something that I've kept to myself. My sire-bond. The blood she used...

Damon and Stefan can't know.

Damon sighs and flexes his fingers while tossing his head to the side, "I feel better. Where's Stef? He and I need to...talk." Damon's already hastily trying to get out of the bed and I slam a hand into his chest, pushing him down forcefully.

"Whoah," He smirks at me, "Don't want me to leave?" He raises one eyebrow and gives me his best seductive stare, raising his arms to rest behind his head. I smile weakly and look away. I can't trust myself around those eyes.

"Damon I haven't even kissed Stefan," I shake my head and bite my lip, "-since I turned. I..I can't think about that sort of stuff now."

That sort of stuff. Love. I can't afford to go there. What would happen if I were to kiss Damon now with heightened senses and emotions? Disaster, that's what would happen. And I'm fairly certain Stefan would know my feelings weren't the same if I were to sleep with him now.

Not to mention I've done enough prancing around with these two. Jeremy would quit rolling his eyes and start using the Alaric-Is-Watching-You card, and Caroline...

"Ooh, Stefan must be going out of his mind. He's one ice cream carton away from a complete breakdown."

I stay silent. That may be very well true. The image is almost funny and I have to bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"I feel bad for you," Damon muses, snapping me out of my silence, "I bet you wanted children."

"Oh...well..." I feel and probably look flustered. Yes, I did want children. But I knew with Stefan that'd never be possible. The thought was appealing, and it hadattracted me to spend more time with Matt..."I guess it doesn't matter anymore." My voice is quiet, small.

Damon frowns and looks me over in a way that makes my spine shiver. "I'm curious. What color did you want your kid's eyes?"

Silence. I stand there with my mouth open as he watches me with those beautiful baby blues. I know exactly what I want to say. Except I'm not going to say it. No. "Damon I..." I shake my head, "I can't answer that question."

Damon laughs bitterly, "Alright, I can't put this off any longer. We should talk."

"Right now?" I'm a little surprised given the circumstances. I mean the man just recovered from some sort of drug-induced thing that made him into a living nightmare of inappropriate social standards. Hell of a drug, if you ask me. Stefan had promised to look into it.

Even so I perch on the side of his bed Indian style, feeling one of his legs pressed against my knee, causing me change positions and hug my knees to my body.

It's now or never.

"Yes, now," Damon sighs, "I could die again, Elena, for real."

I press my lips together in an attempt to keep my face indifferent. It's killing me.

"I know," I say, and my voice is small.

"-and I want you to know exactly what's going down," Damon raises one eyebrow, "It seems like Klaus is back for good, which means I can't leave right now..."

"You're leaving?" I interrupt. Panic courses through me. No. No Damon can't leave. The last thing to set my decision in stone was seeing him broken and lifeless on the floor. I know exactly what I want now and he can't just leave.

"I was going to leave," Damon corrects, and he looks wary, so wary. Much different from just little over an hour ago. "I can't anymore, not until I know you're safe. But there are certain things you should know as long as I'm here."

What? I want to ask, That you love me? Because I love you too. It's already on my lips when he suddenly impulsively grabs for me, his head finding my neck and resting there.

I put my hands on his hips and breathe in deeply. His cool breath is resting against my barely-there pulse, his nose pressed into my neck, I can feel his lips hovering just above my skin.

"You still smell delicious, Elena," he murmurs into my skin before pulling away, tangling his fingers in my hair, finding my eyes with his eyes.

His eyes reflect what I feel. Want. Lust. Love. Need. Frustration.

Damon's lips are just above mine and he's savoring the moment, resting his forehead against my own. His fingers trail down from my hair and begin to trace my cheekbones with a featherlight touch.

"Damon," I whisper, Kiss me. But even asking him that seems like betrayal. Not with Stefan downstairs. I'd have to be a thousand miles away from this place to feel as if I wasn't being heard.

There's a moment between us that is so charged, so right, I almost pull away because it scares me so bad. But Damon's lips crash down on mine, his teeth tugging on my lower lip, hands going down to my waist and pulling me into him. We fall back on his pillow, intertwined, kissing fiercely. It feels right. Righter then the last time I gave into him. He grinds his hips against me and I let out a soft whimper of encouragement..

Is this really happening?

The answer is no. Because one moment I'm locked in his arms and the next I'm pushed back into some wall, Damon pinning me there with one hand.

"Damon? What -" I cock my head, confused.

"That is," and Damon is still breathing heavily, "the last time we're doing that. The last time, Elena." He seems to be convincing himself instead of me.

I shove his hand aside and he lets it go without a fight. "No, you don't understand, I -"

I love you.

Damon's hand shoots back, re-slamming my body into the wall, effectively shutting me up. "No don't you dare say that," he hisses, "don't you dare."

My eyes are about to pop out of my head I'm so surprised. So scared. This isn't the Damon I know. My dead heart is doing funny little pitter-pats it's never done before. I feel my emotions choking me and they cloud out everything. It's just Damon. That's all I can think of and it's all I see. Damon.

"I love you, Elena," he grits out, "I love you more then anything in the world," his eyes flare as he clenches his hand around my shoulder, driving his point home, "and Stefan doesn't deserve you, not anymore, but I'm done. You left me to die that night. Alone. You went back to Stefan. I promised I would never leave you again and you wouldn't even grant me my dying wish.."

"Stefan was dying too!" I argue weakly, and then I shut my mouth, realizing that was wrong. So wrong.

Damon bites his lower lip and his left eyebrow raises in disbelief. I feel the sting of hot tears washing down my eyes, "Why are you doing this?" I ask weakly, trying to shake his hand off again.

This isn't a loving touch. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

"Because you hurt me, Elena, and I'm done. I'm done trying. I'm done with yours and Stefan's bullshit." He releases my shoulder and I wince in pain as the tender muscle reassembles underneath my skin, "I'm staying until I know you're safe and then I'm leaving."

He takes a step back, grabbing a stray bottle from his liquor nightstand and swigging it, "I wish you well with Stefan and eternity." Damon deadpans it perfectly, like he always does, and his voice leaves no room for more discussion.

I sink to the floor trying to bite back my tears, my eyes swimming, heart hurting like hell. He won't accept my apologies this time. My 'I care about you's. Frankly I'm not brave enough to say that I love him. Not anymore.

So instead, as he storms towards the door, I call out his name one last time.

He stops but doesn't look at me. Damon looks like a dark being. His button down black shirt fits his lean body and his black pants hugs him in all the right ways. I want to get up and run to him right now, hell, I'll grab his ankle and beg until he has to drag me out of the room with his feet. I'll do anything.

"Blue. My child's eyes would have been blue."

I blink back more tears.

"I'm moving on, Elena, I suggest you do too."

He's gone the second I shut my eyes.

xXx

I don't know how long I stay leaning against Damon's bedroom wall. Fifteen minutes maybe. I hear Stefan, Caroline, Katherine and Jeremy fighting heatedly about Damon's drink and the fact that Klaus is still alive. I know they're all frightened and I know I should go down there and tell them that Damon is gone. But I can't. I can't move my legs.

I'm moving on, Elena, I suggest you do too.

The wolves are just outside the door and Damon Salvatore has fled.

Maybe to a drink at the Grill, maybe to a night with a sorority girl, but he fled just the same, and I led him to it.

I'm left so deep in thought that I barely register someone is in the room. Jeremy, maybe. Or Stefan, here to check on me. I run my hand through my hair and straighten my shirt, sniffling a little bit. "Hey," I greet the figure.

"What's the matter love?" The voice turns my limbs to ice. A heavy, cold fear starts forming in my stomach. "Why are you crying? Is it because of what I did to Damon?"

I look up and there he is. Grinning cockily at me with his arms crossed. "Klaus." I stand up and try to look unfazed. Klaus is a parasite, I remind myself, he feeds off of fear. "How did you get in here?"

"I can be very creative on how to break in what I want to be, sweetheart," Klaus takes a step towards me, and the way he stands reminds me of a panther stalking it's prey. All muscle-covered limbs and calculating eyes. "I'm here to have a friendly chat with you."

His hand extends slowly, teasingly, and he traces my jawline with his thumb as if I'm the most precious thing in the world to him. Maybe I am. I try not to let on that my body is shaking, but I know he can see it. Klaus is back, back from thedead, and he's probably fighting the urge to put a stake through my heart right now. The disturbing things is, I may just let him. "You're supposed to be almost-dead." I reach up and grip his hand, removing it from my face.

Klaus laughs, "I'm one-thousand years old, give me some credit, Elena. I saw this coming and I made the necessary preparations." He flashes me a quick, charming smile, and there's something like hurt hidden in the depths of his face, "I knew you'd be turned the minute I was no longer a threat. I counted on it."

"That's not true -" I supply helplessly, "Stefan wouldn't have -"

"But Damon would've." Klaus shakes his head, "Tsk, tsk, my little doppelganger changes alliances so quickly."

He wants to get under my skin. I will not give him the satisfaction. "If you need something from me, take it." I extend my arms and jerk my chin up. I'm going to die. I'm going to die but I'm going to die with my dignity intact.

Klaus laughs again, loudly, and I half-hope it draws my friends up here. "I need you, love."

My hands drop to my sides and I feel my jaw fall open. He needs what? "Me?" I shake my head, "I can't do that." I wave my hands up in the air, "You know I can't do that, not anymore..."

"Oh, but you can, Elena," Klaus purrs, "Bonnie cast a wonderful little spell on the vampire blood -what was her name?" Klaus gives off the vibe that he just can't be bothered to remember anyone trivial, "Meredith, I think it was. Yes, Meredith." He nods his head and I feel my eyes narrow in confusion, "The vampire blood Meredith gave you allows you to produce the bestkind of blood."

"That's not possible. I'm sired to Stefan, he's just like any other vampire." I blurt it out and then clasp my hands over my mouth. Shoot.

Except Klaus doesn't look surprised at all, "No, you're sired directly to me. And Bonnie did something quit shocking to the blood."

"Explain." I choke out, "Explain right now." My fists clench and unclench and the room is spinning, I'm so shocked and confused.

Sired toKlaus?

In the hospital when I had collapsed Meredith had asked Jeremy who's blood to use on me. Stefan's or Damon's? Naturally Jeremy had chosen Stefan's blood, and thusly I had died with his blood in my system...

"I've got Bonnie wrapped around my finger, poor thing," Klaus frowns, "All I have to do is threaten one of you and she'll do whatever I ask. It comes at a price, though," Klaus grimaces and I can't help but wonder what price Bonnie made Klaus pay, "but I compelled Meredith to replace all the blood with my own before you even started your master plan to destroy me. She's forgotten all about it completely." Klaus cocks his head and his hands jerk my chin up roughly.

"You're such a pretty little thing," he murmurs, mouth barely above mine, "I'm going to take you along when I leave. We're going to be best of friends," he smiles jovially, "Perhaps we'll take Caroline, too. And you'll be around forever to donate your perfect, dopplevamp blood."

"How-" I interrupt, but Klaus holds up a finger and releases my throbbing jaw.

"It was a very interesting spell to see cast, almost killed Bonnie for good." Klaus's lips curl up in a devilish smile, as if he actually enjoyed the spectacle of Bonnie clinging so frantically to life.

"Burn in hell." I hiss and reach forward to do something, slap him or scratch him or anything to cause him even momentary pain, but he grabs my wrist with ease and crushes me against him.

His eyes burn into mine and I can't look away. They're dark blue pools of secrets. Klaus's eyes are fascinating, holding one-thousand years of experience and no room for anything but revenge. "You will give me blood." He isn't compelling me, but the words drill through my head just the same, "I have to track down Rebekah before I leave so you'll have plenty of time to say your goodbyes. Get to it, love."

He winks at me and releases my wrist. I stumble backwards and watch through the dark curtain of my hair as he ghosts out the window, and disappears into the night.

xXx

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