N: Hello, yes, this is an update and I already started on the next chapter (which is going to be in dual pov from both Damon and Elena).

I am sorry if there are any mistakes in this. It is not betaed. Speaking of beta, if anyone is interested in helping me out with that as a beta reader, please contact me with a pm.

Same goes for those of you who have any questions, concerns, suggestions or simply want to chat about the story. Please feel free to pm me any time!

Don't forget to review, it means the world to me.

In the Dark

"Elena," a third questioning voice came from near my window. Damon and I both looked for the owner of the voice. Stefan was standing just a few steps away watching us confused.

Double busted.

"Stefan," I mumbled and forced a smile on my face. A quick glance at Damon proved my suspicions. He looked positively ecstatic. His 'up-to-no-good' cocky smirk already firmly placed on his flawless face. "Damon came by to talk to me about Bonnie and he agreed to let me be there during their first lesson," I said and this time when my eyes drifted from the younger Salvatore to the elder I held his icy blue gaze. I expected him to protest or gave me a warning stare, but what I saw in his eyes was amusement.

"I told her she doesn't have to go_" Damon started, but I interrupted him.

"I want to be there!"

Damon shrugged, his eyes still sparkling with amusement. What the hell was so funny? "There you have it little bro. No matter how much I insisted she didn't have to, Elena insisted on coming with Bonnie and me to Duke University this week," came Damon's deep voice. There it was. The reason for his inappropriate amusement. He gave me enough rope and I hung myself with it. Without meaning too, I agreed to go on a road trip with Damon Salvatore.

"Why is he in your bed?" Stefan asked without taking his eyes off me. For the first time since we started dating, Stefan looked just like the menacing predator he was. I must admit, even though I was intrigued, I would've thought Stefan would have had more to say about my upcoming trip rather than the current situation.

Damon opened his mouth, but I bit him to it.

"I was feeling a little light headed. It must be one of those twenty-four hours bug. I was about to lose my balance when Damon helped me back to bed." I watched as Stefan's expression changed from menacing to concern right before my eyes. "I am ok," I added quickly. "It's probably just the lack of protein in my body. I tried to eat but I wasn't very successful."

Stefan nodded and made his way towards the bed. Just as he reached the bed, Damon stood up so abruptly that he startled me.

"Well, that's my cue. I will be seeing you Friday, Elena. We will be leaving right after you and Bonnie finish school. We should be back by Sunday afternoon. Even morning if all goes well." And with that he was gone in a blink of an eye.

"You are going on an over-night trip with Damon?"

Ah, there it was. The moment I knew was coming where Stefan will try to convince me not to go. Too bad I already made up my mind.

"And Bonnie, yes."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I don't want to let Damon go alone with my best friend, Stefan," I explained rolling my eyes. I mean, it was obvious.

"What exactly do you think you can do if anything happens? Do you really think you can stop Damon from doing what he wants? Let me come with you."

He took Damon's place by the edge of the bed. I moved to the right to make space for him in bed, but he didn't seem to want to lay beside me. He just stood still, watching me, awaiting my explanation. Truth was, I had no idea what I would do if Damon decided to hurt Bonnie. I just knew I wanted to be there. Also, I didn't think Stefan's presence there would help. On the contrary, I had a feeling it might make it worse.

"I don't know Stefan. But I have to be there, to support my friend. Maybe being the two of us will discourage Damon from... misbehaving." 'Yeah, right!' I mocked myself. "As for you coming. Thank you for volunteering, but I don't think it's a good idea. It would just put you and Damon on edge and make him even more of a pain to deal with. I am sure I will be fine, Stefan." It was the truth. First and foremost I wanted to be there for Bonnie. This was about her. I could only imagine how hard it was for her. Learning that she was a supernatural entity with power, strong power she couldn't control. It must suck.

Stefan let out a deep sigh. "I know that my sweet, I just hate the thought of you with him," he said and I was barely able to hold on the eye-rolling. Damon had raised a good point. He and Stefan barely knew each other. They were practically strangers and the way Stefan kept thinking the worst of Damon and pushing it onto me was starting to piss me off. Only a fool would let his guard down where Damon was concerned, true. But I liked to think I was no fool. I was aware of the danger surrounding the elder Salvatore, but I was also aware that he has never hurt me even though he had plenty of opportunities to do so.

***DE***

After trying to start her car for the third time, Bonnie let out a frustrated breath and got out of the car slamming the door as hard as she could.

"You useless piece of crap!" she yelled kicking the front tire.

"Insulting it won't help, trust me," Damon's voice came from behind her and Bonnie jumped at the abrupt intrusion. She turned around just in time to see Damon get out of a blue convertible. His car looked older than hers. For some reason the thought that his old car was working and her new one wasn't made her even more pissed off at the universe. Like it wasn't enough she was given power she didn't want and had to rely on a dangerous vampire to help her, apparently a crappy car was also part of the deal. "The battery's dead witchy," he went on before she could say anything.

"Don't call me that!" she busted.

"Such a teenage thing to say," Damon rolled his eyes and got back into the driver seat of his car.

"No, don't go!" Bonnie's desperate voice came, making Damon smile in the corner of his mouth. "I don't know what to do."

Damon waved a hand into the air. "Relax Sabrina, I am not leaving. I am just pulling my car closer to yours to give you enough power to start your car. Unless you are content sitting here yelling insults at it, of course," he raised an eyebrow and Bonnie smiled.

"No." she said quickly. "I mean, I will take the help, thank you," she continued as she watched Damon maneuver his car in front of hers. The fact that he called her "Sabrina" made her feel both angry and amused at the same time.

***DE***

"Stefan," I started softly. For what I was about to say, I had to make sure to use the right words. I knew full well that the brothers had issues and that I might be making it worse rather than helping, but I felt I had to try. "I think you should try to give your brother the benefit of the doubt," Stefan's mouth flew open but no words came out. "Look, I know a lot happened between the two of you, but it was such a long time ago."

"Why are you defending him Elena? Don't you think I tried? I did, but he didn't want to change, he will never change," Stefan protested. He looked as if I slapped him.

"Antagonizing him instead of meeting him half way is not trying, Stefan," I said tilting my head to the side. I was just as stubborn if not more so than him. Ready to stand by my words one hundred per cent. "He is your bother, Stefan. The only family you have left. Don't you think it's worth trying as many times as necessary?" I asked.

"I will see what I can do," Stefan sad in a tone that let me know he was done talking about his relationship with his brother.

After that we spent a few more minutes talking about what I missed at school. Apparently I missed a pop quiz in psychology. Surely Mrs. Jar-Jar was going to have something to say about that. Her actual name was Gina Preston, but we all agreed that she not only resembled the beloved Star Wars character, but she was just as clumsy as him. Not the mention the occasional talk about herself in third person.

***DE***

"Thank you," Bonnie said in a whisper and attached her seatbelt.

"No worries. This is me, I go around saving damsels in distress in my spare time," he mocked and Bonnie smiled. "Oh and for Friday, please do pack light, as you can see I don't have much space in the trunk."

"Don't worry, both Elena and I are light packers. Now if you wanted to take Caroline with you, you would've needed an extra car just for her luggage," Bonnie said and Damon had to take a few seconds to remember who Caroline was.

"The bubbly blonde?" he asked unsure.

Bonnie smiled. "That would be the one."

***DE***

As soon as Stefan left I went into the bathroom to change for bed and brush my teeth. I splashed cold water on my face a few times. It felt good. I was feeling better but there was still a dull pounding on top of my head. Was Damon right? Did I have a vision or was it just some nightmare I had? And if it was a vision, did that mean it would actually happen?

The moment I stepped back into my room I could tell I wasn't alone. A look towards the window confirmed it.

"Damon," I called, not really surprised to see him there. I knew Damon will not let it go.

"I have two questions," he said, taking a few steps away from the window. His icy-blue gaze scanning me from head to toe. Suddenly my pyjama shorts seemed too short and I became fully aware about the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra. His intense stare seemed to burn through my clothes. I moved uncomfortably, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. "Why are you keeping Stefan in the dark?"

His question pulled me out of my thoughts.

"There was nothing to tell."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that's the reason and not the fact that you called my name? Which brings me to my next question. What exactly did you see, Elena?" my name off his lips sent a shiver through my body. He rarely called me by my name, which made it… special. "And I want the truth. I hate being lied to. So you either tell me the truth of your own volition or I shall take it from you."

From instinct my hand flew to my chest and my fingers took a hold of the pendent at the base of my neck. In a split second Damon was in front of me. So close I could smell him. And God he smelled so good. He smelled like wind and fire. He smelled like the night.

"This," he started grabbing a hold of the chain around my neck. "Can be taken away from you at any time mia piccola farfallina," he pulled at it gently. "I could rip it off so easily."

"Then why didn't you?" I asked surprising myself. "Why not rip it off and compel me to be with you?"

He immediately let go of my necklace and took a step back. "Elena, I never, never in my very long existence had to compel a woman to share my bed."

Was I losing it or did he sound hurt? I could swear I detected a hint of hurt in his smooth tone.

"I compelled the truth out of people, I compelled away the fear, but I never put desire where there was none. Call me cocky, but I never had to."

I cleared my voice before specking. "Then why not compel me to tell Stefan about… about us?"

He smirked, "I quite like sharing this secret with you. It's something that is just between you and me and no one else."

"You could've compelled me to break up with Stefan," I said. I really had no idea why I was pushing him. Maybe I just wanted proof that there were lines that not even Damon Salvatore would cross. Or maybe I just wanted to know more about him. About the way he thought.

"Now, where is the fun in that? I would much rather have you do that all on your own."

"How do you know I will?"

He smiled. An actual smile. For the love of everything holy, why did he have to be so damn gorgeous? Of course he never had to compel a woman to want him. With that smile and that body… and his crystal, blue eyes. No, he most certainly didn't have to compel me.

"You are so young, so naïve my little angel. You think what you and my brother have is it? You think that's as good as it gets?" he was mocking me. "What you have with him it's nice, it's easy, it's all hearts and rainbows and simple. Real love is not like that. Real love is brutal. It shakes you to your core," his words were like warm waves on my body, each syllable touching my very soul. "It takes you over, it consumes you until you don't know where you end and the other person begins," once again he was so close to me. All I had to do was stretch my hand a few inches and I could touch him. But I couldn't. I shouldn't.

"Only people with half a brain say that money makes the world go round. It's not. Passion. Passion is what makes the world go round. It is passion what gave the world its most valuable masterpieces."

His eyes were so bright, so beautiful. It felt as if he was compelling me, but it wasn't possible. My hand was still clenched around the pendant filled with vervain. I could swear the little pendent was pulsating against my palm. But it wasn't the pendant that I was feeling. It was my own heart. Beating hard against my rib-cage as if it was its own way of agreeing with the man in front of me.

"But I don't expect simple human beings to be able to understand the complexity of this world. The lifespan of a human is not nearly enough to comprehend all there is to know around them. I have waked this earth for over three hundred years. I have watched kings and queens come and go. President after president make his print upon the nation. I have watched countries sacrifice their people for power and land. I have witnessed French and English colonies form and develop. I have lived all around the world and after all this I still learn something new every day," he went on and all I could do was listen mesmerized. Another huge difference between Damon and Stefan. With Stefan, most of the time I felt like he was just an eighteen years old guy. The same could not be said about Damon. In front of me was not a twenty something man. No, in front of me was an over three centuries vampire. "Now, let us end this silly distraction and get back to the present. For the last time, what did you see when you past out in my arms?"

"I…" my voice sounded weird to me. This proximity thing wasn't working. It was making me all confused. So I walked to my bedside table and put some cream on the back off my hand and started to slowly rub my hands together. I needed something to do. "I was in a forest. It was dark and cold, end of fall. There were fallen leafs everywhere, but no snow yet so I would guess October, November. I was running from someone or something," Damon looked at me with a questioning look on his face. "I don't know what it was or whom. I just know I had to get away from it," he nodded and made a quick gesture with his hand letting me know he wanted to hear the rest. "My body was in a lot of pain. Every muscle was throbbing with pain from the effort it took to keep running. I was looking around for a place to hide, but there was none. I had to keep running, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep doing it for long. Just as I was about to collapse, I called your name," I finished. My eyes wide, daring him to make sense of it.

"Why my name?" he asked after a few minutes of perfect silence. "Why not your brother's or my brother's name for that matter? Why me?"

"I don't know," I lied. But I didn't want to tell him I thought he was the only one strong enough to help me. I didn't want him knowing just how much I wanted to see him in that moment. "Now if you don't mind I would really like to go to bed. It's late and I am exhausted," I said pulling the covers off the mattress.

He made his way towards the window. "If you have another vision, write it down. Try writing it down right after you have it, put in as many details as you can," he said. "Please," he added and I nodded.

"You can use the door you know," I said pointing at the door to my bedroom. "My aunt is working night shifts and my brother usually gets home pretty late."

"He has been home since I got in," he said and I frowned. "And I quite like the mysterious window exit," I smiled at his words. In a blink of an eye he was gone. I waked over by the window to close it, but changed my mind half way there. It was pretty hot inside and I preferred an open window to the noisy air conditioner.

***DE***

Without any nightmares to keep me awake, I slept all through the night and some of the morning. I got to my first class late. Bonnie had been trying to get my attention for the entire duration of history. As soon as the bell rang we both stormed out of the class.

"What's wrong Bonnie?" I asked.

"I need to talk to Damon. Can you give me his number or something?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you need to talk to Damon? What happened?" Bonnie looked away for a moment. She seemed really uncomfortable.

"Uhh…" she started and my eyes opened wider to urge her to go on. "It's something I… witch stuff," she mumbled. There was something she wasn't saying. I knew that because I have known Bonnie since we were children.

"Damon doesn't have a phone. Or if he does I don't have his number."

Bonnie let out a deep sigh. "But I can drive you to the boarding house. We both have a free period after calculus and Stefan and Caroline have football and cheerleading practice," I went on and she nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"Yeah, alright," she agreed and we both made our way to class.

***DE***

"Wow, big house," Bonnie said as I pulled the car in the driveway of the Boarding House. Yes, I suppose it was. I've gotten used to it. We walked to the door and just as I was about to knock the door flew open.

In the doorframe, like she just stepped out of a photo-shoot stood a tall brunette with baby blue eyes and a satisfied smile on her full, pink lips. She took the bag from Damon's hand and I noticed the two puncture wounds on her wrist. My eyes immediately shifted from her hand to Damon, but my words got stuck in my throat. His black shirt was unbuttoned raveling his perfect chest and abs. it was as if he did it on purpose. A distraction for anyone who looked his way.

"Please call me anytime," the brunette practically purred before stepping out.

"Thank you Jessica, I will," Damon said pleasantly, waving casually at the woman as she closed the car door of a red BMW I just noticed. As soon as she drove away Damon moved aside. "To what do I owe the pleasure ladies?" he asked and buttoned his shirt after another glance in the corner of his eye at me. Without hesitation Bonnie got inside and I had no choice but to follow. Damon walked us all the way to the kitchen. "Can I offer you a refreshment?" he asked opening the fridge door. He made a grimace and closed it right away. "I am afraid I don't have anything without alcohol or plasma and red cells in it beside water."

"We're fine," I fired with a little more attitude that I intended. Did he just offer us blood? "Bonnie wanted to talk to you," Bonnie nodded energetically. Damon turned towards my best friend and watched her expectantly.

"Well," Bonnie started. "I had a dream. Only it wasn't a dream," she stopped for a second as if to gather her thoughts. "You see… I wasn't asleep. I swear I wasn't."

"Bonnie," Damon started in a soft tone. "I believe you. Now take a deep breath," he put a glass of water in front of her and she immediately closed both her hands around it. "And tell me exactly what you saw," he went on.

"I saw you," Damon simply nodded. "With…" once again Bonnie Bennett seemed lost for words. "With Elena. In front of a lake. I think it was Lake Morris outside Mystic Falls, or at least it looked like it. And you were," she moved uncomfortably avoiding looking at me or Damon. "You were kissing," she finished in one breath. Damon and I looked at each other. As soon as our eyes met however I immediately shifted my gaze back to Bonnie. "Elena was wearing one of those old, long, puffy dresses in pale yellow and your hair was longer. I was not able to understand what you were saying because you were both speaking a foreign language."

After contemplating Bonnie's words Damon's brows narrowed. "It wasn't Elena you saw. It was Katherine," he said with a frown that had me worried. "And it wasn't a dream, it was a vision. From the past which is odd because witches usually have visions of the future not the past. I myself never had one from the past, let alone someone else's past."

"I didn't know vampires had visions too," I said.

"They don't. It was a gift from a very generous witch I met in Romania in 1868," Damon said with a shrug. As if receiving the gift of visions from the future was no big deal.

"So what does this mean?" I asked impatiently.

"It means trouble. It means what I suspected for decades might actually be true and the vampire blessed with the same face as you is not dead."

"Could you be wrong about this?"

"You better pray I am."

"I thought Katherine liked you and Stefan?" I asked confused.

"Yes, but Katherine has a bad habit of playing with the things she likes," he said and I let out a frustrated breath. 'Things'? Stefan and Damon might not be human, but to go as far as to refer to them as 'things' was just crude. "You two should get back to school. Let me know about any other visions you might have. I will take care of the rest," he said almost pushing Bonnie and me towards the door. Right before reaching the entrance door, I took myself my surprise and turned around.

My eyes found Damon in a split second. "Please be careful," I said and Damon actually chuckled.

"Worried about me love?"

"I…" What was I supposed to say? I guess I was. Shouldn't I be? "Whatever," I made a gesture with my head that by some miracle Bonnie understood. She opened the door and I walked to my car without another glance back.