Holy smokes it's been a month since my last update!

I am deeply sorry guys but my brother got married a couple of weeks ago and as you can imagine everything was hectic at home and after that I got a case of flu so terrible that I've been a mess for the past two weeks and I'm still recovering so as you can imagine I haven't been feeling in the mood to write lately.

I really want to thank Vidhi por being the beta for this story and to all of you who are still reading this, I love you all. Now please enjoy and I promise I'll try to update faster next time.

"He had the awkward tenderness of someone who has never been loved and is forced to improvise"

-Isabel Allende-

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The first thing her eyes saw when they opened that morning was the worried crease between his brows; they were both resting on their sides in her big cushioned white bed; the beginnings of morning light crept from underneath the curtains and the distant sound of cars passing by filled their ears on that quiet morning.

The moment she woke up every single thing that had transpired the night before rushed back to the surface and left her with a hollow stomach along with the bitter taste of shame in her mouth.

"I'm sorry" those were the first words that were muttered in the cocooned silence that they had created in that upstairs bedroom that had seen so much of her young life.

"Shh, I don't wanna hear any of it" He answered softly and reached his hand to move a tendril of hair out of her forehead "All that matters is that you are all right"

But was she?

Elena couldn't help but wonder as she moved her body towards his and snuggled into his chest; the safeness of his embrace enveloped her and she allowed herself to sink into the pleasurable comfort of knowing she was protected from all harm.

"I was a fool" She whispered against his chest and felt his hand going towards her back, up and down as he caressed in the most soothing of manners "I shouldn't have been at that party… I shouldn't have sat with him… I–"

The tightness of his embrace on her cut her words short, she felt him taking a deep intake of breath before his words were heard in the stillness of the morning "Nothing of what happened last night was your fault Elena; I want you to understand that"

"But I was reckless and I–"

"You were with someone who a few months ago was the man you should have trusted above anything else" He told her calmly and yet she could detect the hint of pure fury in his voice. "With people you've met since childhood and who should have never harmed you. You lowered your guard but none of it was your fault"

Elena felt the emotions getting stuck in her throat as she pressed her face into his neck and inhaled the deep scent of his skin "I'm sorry for what happened earlier too, between us"

His face moved and soon his lips were pressing against her forehead in the most gentle of ways "I had guilt in that too"

Elena shook her head as she detangled herself from his body and sat upright, for the first time truly taking notice of his rumpled clothes and weary eyes; she wondered briefly if he had managed to sleep even for a minute the night before.

"Bonnie was right" She said and surprisingly the words came out way easier than she expected "Caroline made me see the stupidity of my actions and it turns out she was right Damon, I am no good for you"

He frowned as he sat down so he could be facing her "That is not true, Elena"

"But it is, Damon" She answered stubbornly "I keep dragging you on" Her voice wavered for a second and she took a deep breath to compose herself "I have never thought about the way my actions affect other people because up until you I never cared" Her eyes filled with tears and he had the most intense urge to reach for her and wrap her in his arms but knew he had to let her say whatever she was holding inside "All I ever had before you was Caroline and she… like me… we always manage to get with everything we want because of who our families are but you don't Damon"

He clenched his jaw involuntarily; the reminder of how different from her he truly was left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"You work hard for the things you want, you aren't given chances just by being who you are… you are worth it of everything and yet it's never easily handed to you" Her tear filled eyes meet his as she reached to him and cupped his face between her hands "And I haven't realized how wrongly my actions were impacting you, how much you could lose because of me and Damon… I don't want to make you lose your dream; I don't want to be this person anymore"

Unable to resist any longer Damon reached for her and wrapped her in his arms; her quiet sobs muffled by the fabric of his shirt "It'll be okay Elena, I promise you"

She pulled away from him slightly, her face tipped up so she could stare at him "I promise I'll be better Damon, I promise"

He smiled tenderly at her and gently stroked her face, "It's okay my darling, it's okay"

Elena breathed deeply to control her sobs and cradled his face between her hands once again "And I want you to promise me something too"

"Anything" He answered before kissing the palm of her hand softly.

Elena stared deep into his eyes "You won't do anything against Tyler and Matt"

Damon's jaw clenched and he pulled away from her touch slightly "You can't ask me that!"

Elena bit her lip and moved his face closer to hers again "I don't want you getting in trouble, one more suspension and your entire future will be ashes, Damon"

Elena know how visceral and angry Damon could be, it wasn't for nothing that half the school was afraid of him, she knew from the moment she saw him last night at the dinner that he would find a way to get back at Tyler and Matt and she also knew he had almost been expelled last year for that kind of behavior.

Something he couldn't afford at the moment.

"Then let's go to the police"

Elena sighed as she dropped her hands from his face "You know who Tyler's dad is Damon, who Matt's dad is"

"Caroline's mom will support us"

"And it could cost her everything too!" She told him harshly. Elena knew that Liz Forbes will believe her in a second but she also knew the entire town was owned by the Mayor "Please Damon"

He gritted his teeth "I can't have him trying to hurt you again"

Elena shook her head in exasperation "Caroline will keep Tyler in check and in turn he would do the same with Matt, you have to believe him"

Damon let out a sardonic laugh "How can you be sure of that?" He asked and frowned when he saw the way her eyes moved around the room, as if somehow she was afraid to meet his gaze "What you are not telling me?" He asked her and when she did not answer he grabbed her chin gently and forced her to look at him.

Elena sighed in defeat "Caroline has something on Tyler's dad… she's been holding that over his head for a while, trust me he won't risk getting on her bad side again" Something clicked inside Damon's head as he remembered Caroline's reassurance that Tyler wasn't lying about the drug the night before.

Elena dropped her forehead into his and fisted his shirt at the sides "Promise me, Damon"

He nodded before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips "Fine, I promise" He told her, knowing fully well he didn't intend to keep that promise.

Elena smiled slightly and pulled away from him "Wanna get some breakfast?" She asked and somehow the entire subject seemed to be over. He looked down over her hopeful face and couldn't help but smile and be grateful for having her safe and sound in his arms.

"Sure"

With a tentative smile they got up and took a shower before heading downstairs so they could have breakfast, Elena instructed Pearl to prepare them scrambled eggs and pancakes before they headed into the living room.

"I'm definitely not used to having other people preparing my meals "Damon said as they sat on the carpeted floor of the living room waiting for their breakfast.

Elena smiled slightly at him while she sat across from him with her legs crossed below herself "She likes it, if there's no one she complains about not doing anything all day"

Damon seemed to detect a slightly melancholic hint on the sound of her voice but decided not to comment on it, if he was being honest Elena looked very down, something he believed to the effects of the drug; the mere thought of it made the blood in his veins boil with rage.

They sat there for a couple of minutes and talked all nonsense; he told her about the assignment Professor Saltzman had left them with on Friday and she convinced him to allow her to do it all by herself to make it up for ditching him, she told him about her express trip with Caroline and what she had bought at the fair, he told her about a new book and most importantly they tried to spend time together and ignore everything bad that had happened over the last two days.

No longer after Pearl had brought their delicious looking meal the subject about colleges aroused; Damon was telling her about how nervous he had been before sending his application to Harvard since he didn't believe he was good enough for the school to offer him a scholarship, Elena watched him talk and wished she could feel as certain about something as Damon was about his future, she envied that about him.

"Have you managed to send any of your applications?" He asked her once he was over discussing his applications and frowned when he saw the hesitation on her face "Elena….?"

Her eyes lowered and she started playing with a loose string in the hem of her cotton shorts "I still haven't found the time?"

Damon nearly chocked on the orange juice he had been drinking "You- haven't found the time?"

Elena snorted and tried to joke "You sound like Caroline"

"I can imagine" He answered, looking appalled instead of entertained like she had hoped after her statement.

She huffed in exasperation before letting her upper body fall back onto the couch "I don't even know where I want to go, Damon" She said as she threw her hands up in the air "I'm not like you or her, I'm not good at anything in particular"

He moved closer to her and rested his hand on her lower back, forcing her body to straightening up again "Which is why you have time to declare your major" Damon told her gently before pinching her nose playfully "Plus don't bring all that bullshit to me"

"What do you mean?"

He smiled knowingly at her "You love classics, love to read and write" Elena's cheeks tinted with a hint pink as he spoke since Damon was the only person in the whole world she confided the secret of her diary and about how much she enjoyed writing poetry "You love history and culture and art, languages and you are passionate about all of that"

She rolled her eyes and tried to play him off "I am not"

Damon chuckled and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers "Of course not little miss I have a secret blog"

Elena's eyes widened and she pulled slightly away "How do you-?" His eyes danced with mirth and she almost wanted to laugh at the irony of Damon Salvatore knowing more about her than any of the people she had spent most of her life with "Never mind"

"Don't hold off your future any longer, Len" He took hold of a lock of her hair and Elena followed the movement intently, he was always touching her and Elena loved that about him "I'll help you out filling them"

"Okay" She answered but not because she felt a particular need to fill applications but because of how beautiful his eyes looked as they shone with hope "But we'll have to invite Caroline too or she will never forgive me"

He smirked. "Deal"

Elena sighed and moved so she could rest between his legs, his back was supported by the lower side of the couch and their eyes trained themselves in the big glass sliding doors that let onto the backyard "I was wondering…" He asked after a couple of minutes, his hands were moving up and down on her arms and she was melting into his touch.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to come for dinner tomorrow… with my mom and Stefan"

She stiffened in his arms "I can't"

"Why?"

"Mom and dad are coming home"

"That is amazing!" He answered enthusiastically and frowned when she didn't answer him back "Isn't that amazing?"

Elena sighed before letting her head fall back into the crock of his neck "Yes and no"

"How so?" He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Elena's own hands went to his which were now resting on top of her stomach and started stroking them gently "I miss them so much but dad still doesn't know about me and Matt… and about me and you"

He stiffened behind her and a muscle started twitching on his jaw "And you think that will be a big problem?"

Elena remained silent for a couple of seconds, her mind lost somewhere else but a soft kiss to her forehead brought her back to reality "When we were children… I remember one of my favorite moments of the day was when I got to play with you at the park"

A gentle smile appeared on her lips as she remember how mischievous she and Damon had been as children, she didn't have many happy memories of that time but she always remembered how happy she and her mom where whenever they went to play at the park.

"I remember" He told her and nuzzled his face into the side of hers, somehow needing to feel her closeness.

"Once dad came to pick me up instead of mom… and he saw me with you, I think we were around eight" She told him slowly, as if somehow she didn't want to utter the words that were looming in her head. "When we got home he told me to never talk with you again… he called you white trash"

Damon let out a sardonic laugh "Go figure"

Elena bit her lip before continuing "I wanted to please him so badly that I never played with you again… in that moment I went into a spiral down of finding ways to be perfect in his eyes until I became something I didn't like"

"I see"

Something in the sound of his voice made Elena crane her neck to stare into his eyes "I won't do it again, Damon" She told him and hoped she was able to convey in her voice how much she meant that statement.

His clear blue eyes looked straight ahead, veiled so thick that not a single emotion could be seen and yet on the shadow of his face Elena could see the hidden vulnerability and the fear "I love you, Damon" The minute the words left her lips his eyes snapped down to hers and they unraveled a world of emotions to her "This time I won't let him take away what I want the most, I could never let you go"

He dropped his face down to hers, his lips resting gently on top of hers "I love you too, Elena, I have always loved you" She smiled into his mouth and allowed herself to be swept away by the comfort and security he provided to her.

When Damon left Elena's house the sun had started to set and she had snuggled into her soft white comforter and fallen asleep almost instantly, Damon had said his goodbyes to Pearl and had parted in direction of the school tracks where he knew Tyler and Matt trained every day.

Damon had known the moment the words left his lips that he was going to break his promise to Elena, simply because after seeing the deploring state she had been the night before he couldn't sit around and do nothing, he was thirsty for blood and he was going to get his fill.

He stepped out of his car and counted his lucky stars that the place was empty; an aura of danger followed him as he approached the running tracks and saw Elena's ex-boyfriend getting closer to him. The minute Matt spotted him a sly smirk started to appear on his face and Damon felt the need to rip it out of him.

"Is there something you want, Salvatore?" The blonde man said as he slowed down and went to stand in front of him, Damon didn't even gave him time to speak again before he landed his fist straight into his nose "Hey what the fuck man" The other man said as he brought his hands to his bleeding nose, Damon didn't give him time to recover and knocked him into the ground

"What the fuck?" Damon hissed "You little bitch; you know damn well why I am here" He kicked the other man on the ribs and watched him double in pain.

The sound of footsteps approaching made him turn around and he saw Tyler running towards them, he kicked Matt once again before turning around and facing the other man.

"Back off, Salvatore" Tyler Lockwood spat as he moved towards him, his face was carved in stone and fire danced in his eyes but Damon didn't care, he went to him and knocked him into the ground before he had time to react.

Matt started to stand up but Damon went to him and kicked him again before he could recover, he barked out a laugh as he watched the other man doubling in pain "You are a pair of idiots if you don't think I can take you both. You had the upper hand last time but not now" He crunched down in front of Tyler and grabbed him by the shirt "I don't ever wanna see you close to Elena Gilbert ever again all right?"

Tyler laughed at his face "Or what?" He bit out "I'm not afraid of you"

Damon chuckled before he smacked him across the face, blood dripping from his lip "Well maybe you should you little rat" He leaned down until he was whispering in his ear "I doubt you want the entire town watching how your daddy fucks your uncle in the woods"

Tyler's face blanched "What?"

The minute Elena told him about Caroline holding something over Tyler's head he had started piecing things together and remembering that not long ago he and Stefan had believed to have seen the mayor with someone in his car yet they never imagined who the other person could be; but before leaving Elena's house he had asked her one more time about Caroline's leverage and she had confessed that the mayor had an affair with his wife's brother and that they had accidentally gotten hold of a tape that showed them together.

Damon knew that wasn't an opportunity he was willing to waste and had gone straight to Tyler's jugular

His lips curved in a cruel smirk when he saw Tyler's shameful expression "Oh yeah, you think she was the only one who knew your little secret? Think again Lockwood" Damon took a deep breath and nonchalantly stood up, dusting off his clothes and he looked down on Tyler and Matt "So you will back off and leave me and Elena alone are we clear?" When the other man didn't answer Damon propped him a kick to the ribs and asked again "Are we?"

"Yes" Tyler chocked up as he clutched at his sides.

Damon looked down at them with disdain "And keep your dog on a leash" He threw one last nasty look in direction of Matt and walked out of the running track without a single scratch.