Chapter 21:

When I got home I ran straight to my room. I crawled on my bed, I wanted to sob, cry, yell, hurt somebody, and do something! But I was better than this, I was stronger than this, I wasn't going to cry over a guy, or that I didn't get what I wanted. So that night I ordered Chinese take-out, watched The Vow and The Notebook then went to sleep.

The next morning I was too upset to write in my diary, so I just put on a fake smile and went downstairs for some pancakes and coffee.
"Hey Elena." He said.

"Hi Jer."

"What happened to you? You look awful."

I glared at him, "thanks." I said sarcastically.

"So what happened between you, Caroline, and Bonnie?" he asked.

"Nothing, we're fine." I said.

"So that has nothing to do with the way you walked out the door yesterday?"

"What are you-…oh," he was talking about my clothes. "Yeah, I was just trying something new." I giggled as I looked down embarrassed for the way I dressed.

"Yeah, well that look doesn't suit you all that well." He chuckled.

"So what did you do yesterday?" I asked.

"Nothing really. Just met up with some friends at the grill when you came home and then did some homework."

"Oh, good. Well, see you later." I said as I started walking away.

"Wait, where you going?"

"To meet up with some friends." I said with a smile. Jeremy could always help me even when he wasn't trying to. What I need right now is my friends support, and that's what im going to get.

When I got upstairs, I got dressed into my NORMAL clothes and grabbed my phone to call Caroline and Bonnie so they could meet me at the grill.

AT THE GRILL…

"Bonnie, Caroline, hi. Glad you came, we have to talk." I stated as I sat down at the table they were sitting at.

"Hey Elena, is there something wrong?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, Elena you look like you had a rough night. But before you tell us that, tell us how your first date with Damon was like!" Caroline said.

Bonnie nudged Caroline and I sighed, "Well, yes, there is something wrong and my date with Damon is exactly what's wrong."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, I wore the hooker clothes he bought me, and I met him at the grill. He was pretty shocked on how…hot, I looked and then we left to go someplace more public. We held hands and laughed. And he was actually really funny." I sighed. "And then we went back to his place and," I took a pause holding back the upcoming tears.

"AND!" Caroline shouted.

"-and then I sat on his lap in the couch and laid my head on his shoulder." I continued. "and there was a moment of silence and then he said, 'My brother is so lucky to have you.' And I said 'he doesn't' then he asked, 'then who does?' and I said 'you.' And I kissed him."

"WHAT!" Caroline shouted. "And that's a problem?"

"What? No! The kiss was great, amazing actually. It wasn't anything like when I kissed Stefan. The problem was after the kiss." I said.

"Oh god." Bonnie said preparing herself for the rest.

"He pushed me back and basically threw me off of him as if I were a toy. Then he started to pace around the room, and I asked what's wrong and he told me I was the problem and how it's always going to be Stefan. "

"Oh my god, Elena im so sorry." Caroline whispered. Bonnie nodded her head with a sincere look on her face.

"Uh oh, hottie 6 o' clock." Caroline said with a cold expression. I turned around to see Damon walked towards us.

"Hello, Elena…and friends. So listen Elena, we need to talk…" he said gesturing outside the grill.

"Alright. Guys just a sec." I said and left with Damon. As I walked outside my cheeks turned rosy red.

"We need to talk about last night." He stated.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

"Well, im…sorry for what I said about you and…Stefan. I know it was a…rude thing to say. I understand it hurt your feelings so…im sorry." I noticed how hard it was for Damon to admit that he was wrong. I giggled. "What?" he asked. "This isn't funny. Im apologizing for what is said, I don't apologize to just anyone you know."

"Oh I know." I said and laughed.

"Then what's so funny?" he asked clearly frustrated.

"Nothing, it's just it's so hard for you to apologize."

Then he walked up to me intimidating and serious face and he cupped his gentle hands around my face. I looked at his eyes…oh those gorgeous blue eyes could not be more blue. "Listen, all I wanted to say was im sorry, and I mean that ok?" he asked.

He said it so seriously, so sexy, all I wanted to do was kiss him again. But before I did, I had to know one thing. "Did you like the kiss?" I asked.

Before answering he looked away to think about his answer. "Yes, yes I did…a lot actually."

I smiled, "and if you could do anything differently, what would it be?" I asked.

He looked away before saying anything to see if anyone was around, "You wanna know?" he asked.

"Yes." I said confidently.

As I watched his every move, I noticed him leaning in closer and closer, I only realized what was going on until his lips gently touched mine. I had only felt this feeling once before, the feeling of belonging, safety in his arms as I wrapped mine around his neck, and most importantly the feeling of being loved. After a couple more seconds we took a pause for breath, both of us breathing heavily. I looked into his eyes one last time and whispered, "Damon Salvatore, I love you." He nodded and I pulled him back in for round two.