AN: I got like 20 great reviews on last chapter! That's a personal best for me! Awesome! *dances with joy* Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and reviewing and alerting, even if I do try to thank my all my reviewers personally ;-) Also a big thanks to Shadowfaxangel: your suggestions for this chapter were most assuredly welcome!

I wanted to let you know that Bianka (Bibi 13ca) asked if she could write an alternative smut-ending to Dancing in the rain. Thanks, honey, I'm truly flattered that you would even want to do that! I got a sneak peek already and it looks great! I'll be sure to let you guys know when she's posted it!

Just a warning… after last chapter, everything that could possibly follow, would obviously be… well… anticlimactic. But I tried my best nonetheless… Enjoy!


Previously in Shadowdancing …

At vampire speed the house wasn't that far away, and Damon reached it without further incident. When he leaped up the stairs to the porch, a thoroughly wet and dishevelled Elena clasped firmly against his chest, the front door swung open as if by magic. But Elena already knew that magic didn't have anything to do with it. She looked up…

… and saw Caroline's blond curls. She breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Stefan who had opened the door.

"What happened? Is Elena hurt? Why are you carrying her? Where…?" Caroline fired off a barrage of questions, but Damon just looked at her, silencing her with one look. She shut her mouth with a snap, curiosity clear in her eyes.

Damon stepped across the threshold and slowly lowered Elena to the floor, sliding her down his body but keeping one arm around her shoulders to steady her. He looked at her concernedly and asked: "Are you okay? I'm sorry for the rush, but it was too dangerous to linger there in the woods with the thunderstorm and all…" Dammit, he was babbling!

He stopped himself from saying anything more, but Elena didn't seem to notice: she just nodded gratefully and turned reluctantly to face Caroline.

Caroline's eyes widened when she got a good look at Elena's bedraggled figure in the – by now hardly covering anything – soaked white dress, and she immediately took charge. She was at Elena's side in an instant and put an arm around her shoulders, pushing Damon's arm away with a withering look. "Come on Elena, let's get you out of these wet clothes and into the shower. You look like you could use it!" She eyed Elena's dripping hair and guided her up the stairs in the direction of Stefan's room.

Elena balked when she noticed where they were going and whispered, "Caroline?"

Caroline continued walking and said in answer to the question Elena hadn't asked, "Stefan isn't here, Elena. The house was empty when I arrived. I'll stay with you if you want."

Elena nodded appreciatively and followed Caroline into Stefan's room. When they passed by the long standing mirror, Elena automatically glanced at it and halted abruptly, her eyes going round. She exclaimed, "Caroline! My dress… it's gone completely transparent!"

Caroline nodded matter-of-factly and said, "Hmm. I did notice that, yes. I take it you didn't just get wet when rushing for the house?"

Elena closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. "No," she mumbled, "It started raining some time before we left for the house…"

"Okay. Normally I'd say that you would certainly have made a conquest of whatever guy was with you if he caught a glimpse of you like that, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference where Damon is concerned."

Elena gave Caroline a warning look, but Caroline shrugged and said, "Oh, please, Elena! Don't be coy! That you don't want to hear it said out loud doesn't make it any less true. It doesn't take a genius to see that the guy is totally head over heels for you!"

Elena pressed her lips together but didn't say anything; she just walked into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and mechanically stripped off her wet dress and underwear, trying not to think of that timeless moment in the woods. But when she looked in the mirror for just a moment, her face looked different: upon closer inspection her eyes seemed bigger and her lips were kiss-swollen. She concluded that she looked thoroughly kissed, which was exactly what she had been, of course. She stepped into the steaming shower, letting the hot water pelt her back. However much she tried to block out all thought, the kiss kept replaying again and again in her mind. She leaned her head back against the wall and sighed.

When she came out of the bathroom, tucking the towel firmly around her body, Caroline was sitting on Stefan's bed, impatiently awaiting her return. She looked up at Elena and said, "So, are you going to tell me what you were doing out there in a thunderstorm?"

Elena sank down on the bed and told Caroline about the idea to go practicing in the woods, and that they had been dancing when the rain started.

Caroline pursed her lips and remarked, "But Elena, it was raining for nearly an hour before the thunderstorm even started. You can't tell me you were so far away that it took you that long to get back to the house, especially with Damon carrying you."

Elena looked down at her hands and said quietly, "So maybe we didn't head out for home immediately. I just wanted to dance in the rain for a while…"

Caroline raised an eyebrow and repeated, as if stating a fact, "You wanted to dance in the rain."

She paused, seeing in her minds' eye the picture of Damon and Elena frolicking in the rain, getting thoroughly wet, and said shrewdly, "How very romantic, Elena. And you didn't hear the thunderstorm coming in?"

Elena blushed, averting her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the knowing look on Caroline's face, "I suppose not. We must've been too distracted to pay it any attention."

"Too distracted to hear the thunderstorm of the decade? Must've been some distraction! What were you doing, Elena? Just dancing, or was it something else?"

Elena looked up at Caroline then, her eyes desperate. She whispered, "We… we kissed, Care. I honestly don't know how it happened. But it did!" She sniffed, and Caroline pulled Elena into her arms to comfort her, "Shh, it's okay."

Elena pulled away again, dashing her hand over her eyes, and said emphatically, "No, it's not okay, Caroline. We were dancing, and then we were not! It was like I just couldn't resist him!"

Caroline looked at Elena and said ruefully, "Well, if there's anybody who can relate to that – the not being able to say no to Damon part, I mean - it would be me, wouldn't it? Been there, done that, wouldn't even have known what happened if I hadn't grown pointy teeth myself. Are you sure he didn't compel you?"

Elena lifted her eyebrows and pointed to the vervain-filled necklace that was still clasped around her neck. "If only it was that simple. God, how on earth am I going to keep dancing with him now?"

Caroline looked surprised, "You're still going through with the dancing contest? With Damon?"

Elena said resolutely, "Yes. It's so much fun, Caroline."

She caught the amused look on Caroline's face and clarified, "The dancing, Care! I'm getting better and I've found that I really like it now."

"And that has absolutely nothing to do with the teacher?" Caroline wanted to know, arching an eyebrow in disbelief.

Elena hesitated for a fraction of a second too long before shaking her head, "No. I've always loved to dance; you know that! And now I'm learning a whole new dance and I'm not ready to quit just yet."

She looked at Caroline again and said, sounding determined, "I'll make sure it won't happen again! I'll just have to tell Damon that it was a mistake."

"And was it? A mistake?" Caroline inquired, playing devil's advocate.

Elena fidgeted and said, "It has to be! We were just caught up in the spur of the moment. Like you said, it was kind of romantic, the dancing in the rain and getting all wet. I'm sure he'll understand."

Caroline looked doubtful, "Will he? You're kind of playing with his feelings here, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes in self-disgust, "I can't believe I just expressed worry for Damon's feelings!"

"We're both adults, Care," Elena stated, "We can keep practicing salsa without giving in to those… urges, even if it might be awkward at first. Those were very strange circumstances out there in the woods, and I'll just have to see to it that it won't happen again."

"Then I take it you're also not going to tell Stefan?" Caroline wanted Elena to be clear on the consequences of her decision.

Elena clapped a hand to her mouth and moaned, "Stefan! Oh, God!"

If Caroline thought it was strange that Elena only now seemed to remember her own boyfriend, she didn't let on.

Elena said, trying to sound reasonable, "Well, I can't tell him, can I? I could never go on dancing with Damon if I do."

She was silent for a moment. Then she let herself fall backwards on the bed dejectedly and sighed, "Why am I making such a godforsaken mess of things, Care? I honestly don't know up from down anymore." She lifted her eyes towards Caroline, and continued miserably, "How could I let Damon kiss me like that when I love Stefan? There's got to be something seriously wrong with me!"

Caroline was quietly observing Elena, and said, "Well, I don't know about that… There's no denying Damon is kind of hot, Elena. And you have to admit the attraction between you two has always been there, simmering beneath the surface. If you ask me, something like this was bound to happen eventually."

Elena frowned and insisted doggedly, "I still say it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten carried away, Caroline. I just wasn't thinking with my head anymore! But now I am! Like you said, he's positively dripping with sexiness and we do have a certain chemistry between us. That doesn't mean I'm so shallow that I have to act on those feelings of lust, right?"

Caroline lifted an eyebrow and said slowly, "I suppose not…" She thought to herself that Elena could dissemble all she wanted, but she wasn't convinced: in matters of love, shouldn't Elena be thinking with her heart rather than with her head?

As if Caroline's hesitant answer had settled it, Elena sat back up suddenly and said, "Well, then! I'll just tell Damon that it was a mistake and that it never should have happened in the first place!"

"You'll have to ask him to keep it from Stefan too then." Caroline cautioned, unsure whether she wanted to help Elena in this kind of subterfuge. Still, Elena was her oldest friend…

Elena sighed, "I know. We wouldn't want him taunting Stefan with it and ruining everything. I'm going to have to tell him he'd better forget that kiss ever happened."

Caroline frowned, "Truly, Elena? Do you think that will work? Are you going to forget about it?"

"No, I suppose not," Elena said unhappily. Then she perked up, "But Damon doesn't have to know that, right?"

Caroline shook her head disapprovingly, "He's not going to be happy about it, Elena. And frankly, I couldn't blame him either."

Elena sighed, knowing very well that Caroline was probably right, yet she just couldn't bring herself to acknowledge it. She looked away, her thoughts in complete turmoil...

Caroline was quiet for a minute, and then asked hesitantly, "Was it good?"

When Elena turned her head back and looked up at her, Caroline hastily explained, "I only… He compelled me to not be afraid of him and to do stuff for him, and it's just that I always wondered if he compelled me to like his kisses too…"

Elena just looked at Caroline for a moment, then her eyes got a faraway look and she whispered, "It wasn't just good. It was simply amazing…"


AN: I know many of you were expecting Stefan to be the one to open the door. sorry, I just wanted to surprise you by keeping Stefan out of the equation a little longer ;-)

Also I'm sorry if Elena goes slightly OC here. I hope her reasoning doesn't come over too warped, but then we all know that she can persuade herself that the earth is flat where her feelings for Damon are concerned! All I know is that I for one want them to go on dancing together ;)

Please let me know if it was ok? That means: review, please? And to continue with the self-promotion: follow me on Twitter val_victrix ;)