A/N: Wow you guys! You are too sweet for always reviewing and being so supportive! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy this little chapter. And please let me know what you think. Reviews help my creative process immensely :) Disclaimer: TVD belongs to whomever it belongs to (definitely not me) and I'm just having fun with it. Love you all! 3


12. TROUBLE

"What matters is not how well you can avoid trouble, but how you cope with trouble when it comes."
― Paul Auster, "The Book of Illusions"

Elena was woken up by a soft touch on her shoulder. She turned around, startled, and gasped when she was met by two bright blue eyes.

"Damon?" she whispered and then looked around to make sure she was in her bedroom.

"Yeah," he said just as quietly and looked at her intently. She sat up and just stared at him for a second, trying to wrap her head around the fact that he was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I haven't seen you in two days…" he began and looked at her with such pain in his eyes that it tore at her insides. "I missed you," he said and leaned in closer. She could smell his aftershave and feel the heat radiating off his body.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

He gave her a sly smirk. "Magic!" he whispered and raised his eyebrows playfully. The look she gave him must have been full of disbelief because shortly afterwards he chuckled and lowered his eyes in defeat. "Fine, I took a cab," he admitted and threw her a boyish smile.

"How did you…" she started but he cut her off.

"Elena," he said in a low, sensual voice, "you need to stop questioning every little thing." She looked up at him with wide eyes as he slowly leaned in further. Suddenly she felt his warm hand on her cheek, his palm soft against her skin while the gauze that was wrapped around his broken finger scraped lightly against her ear. "No more questioning," he said before closing the distance between them.

She couldn't believe what was happening. He was kissing her. She felt his soft lips on hers, felt his hand in her neck pulling her closer. And then she felt his lips opening slightly. She was having a hard time keeping up with reality. This kiss felt too good to fight it. She couldn't believe she was letting him kiss her, but the only thing she was physically able to do was to part her own lips in response. Smoothly he captured her bottom lip between his. She felt her hands move behind his head and pull him towards her. She felt her fingers sink into his silky hair and run over the soft skin of his neck. She felt him intensify the kiss and couldn't help a slight moan escaping her throat. Encouraged by her actions, he leaned over more insistently and made her sink back into her mattress. When her head hit the pillow, she felt him slowly pull back. She opened her eyes quickly, afraid that his breaking their kiss meant that he had changed his mind and wanted to leave. But she was met with his intense stare. His beautiful blue eyes were drinking her in. She would have felt uncomfortable, had she not felt like she was the only person he would ever look at in that way.

"You can see," she said quietly and raised one of her hands to touch his cheekbone that had just two days ago been covered by bandages.

"Yes," he whispered back, his eyes never leaving hers. She lifted her hand slightly higher and let her thumb run over his eyebrow. He closed his eyes and reveled in the way her fingers travelled across his skin. When he opened them again, he fixed them back on hers and sat up straight. Not breaking eye contact, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and finally shrugged it off. Elena couldn't help staring at him. She had seen him shirtless before, but never like this. Never with the moonlight reflecting off his pale skin and the darkness of the night making his muscles look even more dramatic. And never had she been in a situation where he was shirtless just for her and she could allow her aching fingers to touch him. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand again and let her fingertips trace his abs. He leaned over her to grant her better access and she let her hands travel up his torso and around his shoulders. His skin felt so soft. The bruises had all faded and he looked glorious in the almost black and white lighting. Elena could feel her heart rate quicken and her breathing turn flat. He let his body sink down on top of hers and held himself up on his elbows, propped up on either side of her head. She felt completely enveloped by him. All she could feel was his skin against hers and all she could see was his face, hovering above her. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and pulled him back down towards her, reinitiating a kiss.

This one wasn't as careful. The first kiss had been cautious. They had tested each other's reaction. This one was anything but. She felt the spark of passion immediately. She felt his hand travel down her body and reach the sliver of naked skin between her tank top and her shorts. She felt his fingers burn against her suddenly oversensitive skin. She felt a heat spread from her abdomen through her entire body, felt it twirl in her stomach and tingle in her arms and legs. Another moan escaped her, this one more needy. She grabbed onto his shoulder with one hand and let the other travel down his muscular back, wanting to feel every tensing of every muscle as he shifted his weight further onto his left arm while slowly moving his right hand. He had been drawing small, probing circles on her belly but started to move his hand with more intent now.

Elena shifted her weight slightly and angled her left leg to let him settle more comfortably between her legs but instead she encouraged his hand to travel further south. She gasped quietly when she felt his fingers slowly tracing the hem of her shorts but wasn't capable of refusing him access now. She instead encouraged him by slightly rolling her hips and as she felt his hand pass over her hip bone, another wave of intense heat flooded through her body and made her emit a loud moan.

She jerked up suddenly, a vicious alarm blaring next to her, bright sunlight streaming in through the window. For a minute she felt completely disoriented, trying to figure out where she was and where Damon had gone while feeling an uncomfortable sensation settle between her legs.

"Motherf…" she mumbled, exasperated, as she dropped back onto her pillows.

It took her a while to get ready that morning and when she arrived in school, she was almost late for her first class. She sank into her chair and desperately tried to focus on her teacher and the lesson, but her mind treacherously wandered. While listening to explanations of algebraic formulas, her gaze slowly drifted out of the window and her perception shifted, until she no longer saw trees and cars in the parking lot, but was enveloped by darkness and met with piercing blue eyes that belonged to a naked Damon, cradled between her thighs. She felt an embarrassed heat rise to her cheeks and prayed to God that no one would look at her and see it.

This was all wrong. She was not supposed to have these kinds of dreams, these kinds of thoughts, these kinds of desires. She cared for him as a friend, not as someone more than a friend and she definitely didn't want to. Maybe it was a good thing that she would have an entire week before she saw him again. Maybe she shouldn't even go see him after her appointment. She felt bad about letting him spend his days all by himself, but it was obviously the best solution.

The period went by surprisingly fast as Elena was busy trying to fend off more memories from last night. When the bell rang, she had to admit that that was an impossible feat and also that she had no idea what her teacher had said in the past hour. Defeated, she grabbed her books and made her way to her next class, preparing for a day of uncomfortable flashbacks. By the time lunch came around, she was eager to see her friends. Surely some animated discussion would help distract her and animated it would be, if she knew Caroline at all. And sure enough, the bubbly blonde did not disappoint.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed as she plopped down next to Elena, followed immediately by Bonnie, who calmly scooted in next to them. "You guys are going to flip!"

"What's going on?" Elena asked, thankful for the diversion.

"I think I'm dating Matt Donovan!" she exclaimed, looking at both her friends with wide eyes, waiting for a reaction.

"What?" Bonnie asked, sounding shocked.

"You think?" Elena questioned. Leave it to Caroline to break news like this in the weirdest way possible.

"Well we haven't… like… talked about it," Caroline explained, opening up her smoothie.

"Then what did you do?" Bonnie asked, regretting her question instantly as she saw her friend's eyes begin to sparkle at the opportunity of sharing details.

"Well, I was feeling alone Saturday night and we just sort of ended up hanging out and talking and then we just sort of ended up making out," Caroline recounted. "And then we didn't speak afterwards and I was getting pissed off, but then last night he texted me. Asking how my day was and what plans I had for the weekend. So that means he wants to go on a date, right?"

"With Elena's Matt?" Bonnie inquired, a little incredulous.

"Well, he's not Elena's Matt anymore," Caroline replied, throwing Elena a look asking for support.

"It's fine," Elena reassured her. "As long as you guys are happy." She tried to smile at her encouragingly. Truth be told, it was weird that Caroline was dating her ex. Also, the reasons why it hadn't worked out with her an Matt made her doubt that he and Caroline were a good match. But she didn't harbor any feelings for him anymore and he might actually be good for her friend. Their personalities might level each other out. Despite all their problems, Matt was an incredibly sweet guy. One of the good ones. And after what Caroline had been through with Damon, a supportive and wholesome relationship might be just what she needed. At that thought Elena frowned. She knew what Damon had put her friend through and yet, she couldn't shake the image of his naked torso and the fluttery feeling it gave her in the pit of her stomach. What was wrong with her? Where did this come from all of a sudden? Yet another good reason to not go and visit him after her appointment.

"Don't be so judgy," she heard Caroline chide Bonnie. "It's all your fault anyways."

"How is it my fault?" the accused replied indignantly.

"We were supposed to hang out Saturday but I called you all day and couldn't reach you. What the hell were you doing anyways?" Caroline interrogated.

It hit Elena immediately and a knowing smile curved her lips. "Oh I think I know," she said teasingly. Bonnie threw her a wary look that served only to confirm her suspicion. "You were with Jer, weren't you?"

Now it was Caroline's turn to look shocked. "What?"

"My brother had a mystery date on Saturday. I say it was with Bonnie," Elena explained. Bonnie only sighed with downcast eyes. That was all the confirmation the girls needed.

"Why would you go on a date with Elena's little brother?" Caroline almost screeched, earning her nasty looks from both of her friends.

"Thanks Caroline," Bonnie said in an annoyed tone. "I'm very glad you could help me make that public knowledge. Plus, we already went to the Founders' Ball together. Why are you so surprised?"

"Because I thought that was a pity date. Or like a last-resort date. Or a let-him-down-easy date. Or at the very least, if it was a real date, that you came to your senses afterwards," Caroline listed in a high-pitched but thankfully quieter voice.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about," Elena scolded.

"Exactly!" Caroline exclaimed. "He's your little brother. Plus, he's a total stoner, Bonnie. What are you thinking?"

"He's a really nice guy," Bonnie tried to defend herself weakly.

"My dad's a really nice guy. Do you wanna date him?" Caroline questioned with disbelief in her voice.

"Your dad's really not that nice," Elena mumbled. "No offence."

"You know, you should be on my side on this," Caroline reproached Elena.

"I actually think it's a good idea," she replied with conviction in her voice. "She makes him smile and he makes her more adventurous. You have my full support," she said in Bonnie's direction.

"Thanks." The girl beamed at her. "Plus, he's really hot."

"Ew!" Caroline cried out, while Elena only giggled.

"You haven't seen him without his shirt. He filled out over the summer," Bonnie went on, clearly enjoying teasing her friend.

"Please don't talk about my brother without a shirt," Elena whined, only half serious.

"You should see him when he comes out of the pool. The water running down his abs…" Bonnie continued while Caroline scowled at her. Suddenly Elena was thrown back to her own memory of water droplets rolling down a man's toned chest. Damon's, to be more specific, in the motel room. She hadn't thought about him at all for the entire lunch break and all of a sudden his broad shoulders were back in her mind, tantalizing her. She gulped uncomfortably, her playful mood suddenly gone.

"Stop it Bonnie, you've made Elena sick with your stories," Caroline reprimanded, having noticed the sudden look of discomfort on her friend's face.

"No, no," Elena quickly assured them. "It's not that."

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, now looking concerned.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Elena tried to smile and shake her uneasiness off. "Just had a weird dream last night."

"What, like a dirty dream?" Caroline jumped at the information, a gleeful smirk adorning her face.

"No!" Elena almost shouted. "Just… weird."

"What was it about?" Bonnie asked.

"I bet it was dirty. Those are the best," Caroline butted in before Elena could answer.

"Oh yeah? Who have you had dirty dreams about?" Elena prodded, glad to shift the topic away from herself.

"Lots of people," the blonde replied nonchalantly. "Tyler… that new kid, what's his face, with the nice hair… anyways, him… Mr. Saltzman," she wanted to continue.

"Mr. Saltzman?" Bonnie laughed "You never get to judge me and Jeremy ever again."

"It doesn't mean I'm attracted to him," Caroline replied indignantly.

"It doesn't?" Elena was surprised.

"No. It's just a dream," Caroline giggled dismissively. "It's your subconscious."

"But if it's a dream about sex with someone, doesn't that mean your subconscious wants to have sex with them?" Elena prodded.

"Not necessarily," Bonnie joined the conversation, looking serious. "Dreams are a way for your mind to sort your impressions and desires. But it's always metaphoric, not literal. So a sex dream can mean many things. Like when you dream about sex with a stranger, it might just mean that you want to make new experiences. Not necessarily that you actually want to sleep with some random guy."

"Finally your penchant for esoteric stuff is useful for something," Caroline grinned.

"That's not esoteric stuff, that's psychology," Bonnie replied, irritated with her friend.

"You know what I mean," Caroline said to appease her. "I bet my dream about Mr. Saltzman means that I'm going to get a good grade in history this semester."

"Or it means that you like old guys," Bonnie shrugged.

"Shut up. At least he's of legal age, unlike this guy someone I know is seeing," Caroline teased in return.

"But we're not of legal age," Bonnie replied, rolling her eyes.

Elena zoned out. She might be okay with Bonnie dating her brother, and she did think it was good for the both of them, but that didn't mean that she wanted to hear the details. Instead, she tried to figure out what her dream might have meant. If it didn't mean that she wanted to sleep with Damon, what then?

At that moment the bell rang, announcing the end of their lunch break. They all sighed and started walking to their lockers to get their books for the next lesson.

"History," Bonnie announced in a sing-song voice, poking her elbow in Caroline's side who only giggled in return.

Elena spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what her dream could have meant. It wasn't actually about sex with Damon; she had convinced herself of that. Now she only needed to come up with a suitable alternative. Maybe she had just gotten used to seeing him. She had seen him every day for the past weeks. Maybe her subconscious simply tried to make up for the fact that suddenly he wasn't in her life anymore. As the day dragged on, Elena started feeling more and more restless and as the bell rang to release them into their afternoon freedom, she made an impulsive decision. She would go see him. And she would go now.

She said good bye to Bonnie and Caroline who were going to cheer practice but instead of getting on the bus home, she texted Jenna that she would quickly go to the library for an assignment and got on the bus that headed downtown. She wasn't sure of the exact route the bus would take, but Mystic Falls wasn't that big and since the hospital was right in the city center, it was sure to pass somewhere nearby. When they stopped in front of the library however, she knew she had gone too far and with muffled curses she got off the bus to stand in front of the irreverent brick building of gathered knowledge, reorienting herself. The hospital was just down the street and to the left, but it was a long street and she just knew that it would be straining to walk that far on her crutches. With a defeated sigh she started hobbling in the right direction, rapidly getting annoyed with how little progress she was making. After about fifteen minutes her leg was starting to feel heavy and the sun burning down on her was beginning to prickle her skin. This was the dumbest idea ever, she thought to herself as she persisted in her path. After another ten minutes she couldn't go on and sat down on a bench to gather her strength. As she was sitting there, staring at her leg and wondering what she had been thinking, a car came to a hold in front of her and the window was lowered slowly.

"Elena?" she heard the sheriff's voice. She looked up in shock. "What are you doing here?" the older woman continued.

"I was going to the hospital. I'm just taking a break," Elena explained.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" The police woman now sounded concerned.

"No no, I'm fine." Elena tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"Do you have an appointment?" the sheriff continued to question.

"No," Elena simply answered, looking down, getting increasingly uncomfortable.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride," Mrs. Forbes relented, leaning over with a smile and opening the door for her. Elena got up and maneuvered herself into the car with a relieved smile. "It's hot out there," the sheriff commented to which Elena only nodded. After a short pause the older woman spoke again. "So which one are you visiting?"

Elena looked down at her hands uncomfortably but knew there was no use trying to avoid the question. "Damon," she said with a forced smile. Sheriff Forbes only nodded. "I heard Stefan woke up," Elena stated after a brief bout of silence.

"Yes," the Sheriff replied and after a beat added: "He's been asking to see you." The woman turned her head to look at the girl sitting next to her, trying to gauge her reaction. Elena's eyes were wide with shock.

"He has?" she asked, not because she couldn't believe it, but because she didn't know how else to react.

"Yes," the Sheriff replied again. "We have told him you were still in recovery. I will come over to your house later this week and talk to you about it. Just know that you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Elena smiled at her and nodded as the sheriff turned off the road and onto the hospital parking lot. "Thanks for the ride," she said while getting out of the car.

"No problem. But please take a taxi home," the sheriff advised and after Elena had reassured her with a promising nod, she waved and drove back towards the police station.


The air conditioned temperatures inside the hospital soothed Elena's overheated skin as well as her nerves. Still, she wandered the hallways hesitantly. She had gone from not wanting to see him at all to deciding to see him right away and she wasn't sure that that was a good call on her part. Would he even want to see her? Did she even want to see him? Maybe avoiding him would have been the better choice after all. When she reached Damon's door, she saw that it was open and the nurse's wagon of lunch trays was parked outside. She knew he didn't like her being there while he ate, so she decided to wait outside until he was finished. She propped herself up against the wall when she heard the nurse giggle from inside his room.

"Stop it Damon, it's not gonna happen," the female voice scolded playfully.

"Come on, Rose, you're breaking my heart!" he replied in mock hurt.

"The world is a cruel place," Rose returned with a laugh. Elena heard a chair shuffle and then the clinking of dishes that told her that the nurse was getting ready to leave.

"This is how it's gonna be, isn't it?" he questioned dramatically. "No girl is ever going to want to have sex with me again, now that I'm a cripple."

"I'm sure many girls will," Rose said in a warm voice. "Just not me."

"Who other than a compassionate nurse would do it with a cripple? You're this invalid's last hope, Rose." Elena could practically hear the smirk in his voice. She also couldn't help a stab of something in her chest. She would have classified it as jealousy, had she not previously decided that she wasn't interested in Damon. She knew he was a notorious flirt, it shouldn't surprise her. But still she couldn't get rid of the tightening in her ribcage. What was she doing here, standing in the hallway, listening to them flirting? She couldn't help but feel stupid.

"First of all thanks, that's very flattering. And secondly, you're not an invalid, Damon. You'll heal and in a few weeks you'll be as good as new." Rose tried to reassure him.

"Or a few months," he interjected.

"Or a few months," she conceded. "But the important thing is that you'll be fine."

"A few months is a long time, Rose."

"I know." She made a small pause before speaking again. "Maybe it'll be good for you."

"It'll certainly be good for all womankind," Elena quipped from the doorway before stepping into the room. She had decided to not feel like a stalker anymore and be proactive about the situation.

"Sneaky," she heard Damon say with a smile. "Who let you in?"

"The door was open. No sneakiness required at all," Elena retorted. She saw him lying in his bed the way he had been the last time she saw him. His eyes still covered in bandages, the IV still attached to his arm. It pained her to see him like this again, after having believed in the illusion of his recovery only hours ago.

"Well, now that you have company, I think I can leave you with a clear conscience," Rose threw in before absenting herself with a smile.

"And what brings you here?" Damon asked after the door closed. "I thought your doctor's appointment was next week."

"It is," she confirmed.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked again.

"Visiting you," she replied curtly.

"Why?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"You need to stop questioning every little thing," she said, grinning at her private joke. He was completely quiet for a while, therefore Elena decided she should speak again. "You know," she started in a teasing tone, "they only let me come here because they think I'm your girlfriend. They will rescind all my visiting rights if you keep hitting on the nurses."

"Now that I'm awake, I can have anyone visit that I want," he assured her nonchalantly. "So you, little lady, can come over any time you want." A smirk spread across his face.

"You're winking at me right now, aren't you?" Elena said accusingly.

Damon couldn't help but chuckle. "In my head," he confirmed, to which she only scoffed. "You know me so well."

"You don't even like me and you flirt with me, crippled and all. They should conduct studies on you. I'm sure you're like an anthropological phenomenon or something."

He laughed lightly. "Give yourself more credit, Elena. You're not the worst company in the world," he said in that tone that told her that, had his eyes not been covered in bandages, he would be winking at her again.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she replied haughtily but she was sure he heard the playful undertone.

"I'm sure it'll get you into my bed though," he smirked and started scooting to make room for her. "Come on. It's better for your leg, remember?" he coaxed her in a teasing voice.

She only hesitated for a second before moving towards his bed and climbing onto it, sitting in her usual position at the foot-end. "You know me so well," she replied in an equally teasing tone to which he replied only by chuckling lightly.

"You know," he started, "you shouldn't knock the goods before you've tried them."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"That snide little comment about my incapacitation being good for women. You can't judge that."

"Well, I've seen my friend try the goods, so I can judge a little," she replied, half teasingly and half accusingly.

Damon let out an annoyed sigh. "Is this about what happened with me and blondie? Look, I told you, that was mutual. You really need to let that go."

"Her name's Caroline. And I'm having a hard time letting it go. You can call me a prude, but a girl is not supposed to look like that after making love." How could she explain this to him? He confused her. He could be fun and playful and make her feel at ease but when she remembered what he had done in the past, she couldn't move past it.

"Look," he started with a deep sigh. "Sex with Caroline wasn't about making love, okay? It was about dominance. Your friend was the one who started dishing out so I… retaliated." He smirked again. "It was rough, but it wasn't abuse."

"That doesn't excuse what happened at the ball," Elena couldn't help but continue to reproach him.

He was quiet for a second before speaking again: "You know if you came to yell at me all day, you could have just called. I was having a good time before you and your guilt trip showed up."

"Well, actually I came to see how you were doing because I figured you might like the company. I couldn't know I would be interrupting something," she spat back, instantly regretting it. She sounded like a jealous girlfriend and she knew it. She wished she could take it back but since that was impossible she hoped he would be either ignorant enough or merciful enough to disregard it.

He surprised her by letting his hand touch her shin lightly as if to get her attention. She was wearing shorts because of the late summer heat and the contact of his skin against hers made her shiver imperceptibly. "Thanks for visiting," he said in a surprisingly serious tone. "It's very nice of you."

She saw it as the biggest peace offering she was probably ever going to get from him and swallowed down her anger. "You're welcome," she answered.

"I do hope you're friend's okay," he said, still sounding sincere.

"She's fine," Elena conceded. "She's seeing someone new."

Damon chuckled. "See. Girls like her don't stay sad and single for long."

"I guess not," Elena replied quietly.

"So… how's the outside world? Please share your tales of freedom."

"It's the same as before," she said, staying as general as possible while getting as personal as possible at the same time. "Stefan's awake," she continued after a short while.

"I heard," he confirmed. "Have you seen him?"

She shook her head before realizing that he couldn't see it. "No," she added to her movement. "The sheriff said he wants to see me."

"Do you want to see him?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't think I can right now."

"Maybe it'll be good for you. Maybe he will give you the answers you are looking for."

His hand was still lying on her shin. The physical contact made her leg crawl with something that might have been anticipation. It was soothing and burning at the same time and she hated her body for reacting to his touch in this way. She heaved a heavy sigh. To him, it probably sounded like she was contemplating his advice but if she was being honest, it was something else entirely. The dream may not actually have been about having sex with him, but there was no denying that she was attracted to Damon Salvatore. She was in trouble.


A/N: Alright, there you have it :) What do you think the dream was about? Have at it my little detectives, I'd love to hear your thoughts. xoxo