OBS! I am using music in this chapter! The song is called "Right next to the right one" and is written and performed by Tim Christensen. Some of you may know him from the "oldschool" band "Dizzy Mizz Lizzy". If you don't know the band, check them out. They're pretty cool!
That being said, THANK YOU SO MUCH for 282 reviews! Oh my God, I can't believe it! It is totally crazy, and I am so happy about every single reviews. This chapter is a bit longer than the other ones, thank God. I am still working on chapter 22, but I'm going to back to school again on Monday, and then the updates will probably slow down a bit again.

Okay, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Damon

I sighed happily, as I pulled my girlfriend closer to my body. She was actually my girlfriend, and she was actually resting in my arms right now. We had been through one hell of a fight to get here, but we were here. I was holding her, and she was watching me with dazed eyes.

That could be from the orgasm she'd just have. This practice thing was the best idea I'd ever had. She was learning to explore her body, my body and everything sexual. And she actually seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with it. If that was what I got after two nights of teaching her stuff, I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen when we returned.

"It's really not polite to stare, Lena," I said, chuckling at her. She smiled at me, and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

"I know. But I like looking and you, and knowing that I'm yours," she said, blushing a bit, as she looked down. I smiled at kissed her forehead, remembering exactly what I wanted to show her a couple of days ago.

"Elena... There was something I really wanted to show you. Would you mind going downstairs with me?" I asked, feeling my heart speed up. I was actually going to let her know how she had been my inspiration. I was going to let her hear something I'd written about her.

"Sure, Damon. You lead the way," she said ,standing up from the bed. We both quickly got dressed, her in my sweats and shirt, and I just put on a pair of sweatpants. Then I grabbed her hand, leading her down to the beautiful room in the basement. She didn't say anything, as I sat down by the piano pulling her with me. She knew this was a big step for me, and as always, she knew exactly what to do. Just give me time. And she did. She just sat there, all quiet, next to me, her small hand still in mine.

"There's... There's something I've never told you... And I really don't know why I've never told you, but I guess I was just pretty nervous about how you would react... I mean, we've always had such a strong friendship, and you've always been the person that mattered the most to me..." I struggled to continue. Write a song about just how much I loved her, no problem, but telling her she was my inspiration made me speechless. Great.

"Please tell me you're not sick," she said, her eyes watery and begging. My eyes widened for a second as I looked at her scared face.

"No, no! Lena, no! Don't worry, I'm completely healthy. God, no, it's nothing like that... It's just..." her face was a lot more relaxed now, and she was giving me time once again, "ever since I started writing my own stuff, you've been my inspiration... And I wrote a song a couple of days ago... After I'd seen you with Matt and thought... Yeah, well... I'd love for you to hear it. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want..."
Her soft lips were on mine, cutting me off. She pulled away again and smiled at me, love radiating from her beautiful eyes.

"I'd love to hear it, Damon," she said, squeezing my hand, before letting it go to let me play. What was this girl doing to me? I always had the upper hand, I was always the one knowing exactly what I was doing. But with her, I was nothing but hot lava. She had me completely wrapped around her finger, and there was nothing I could do to get out – not that I wanted to.

I put my hands on the key, starting to play calmly, as I closed my eyes, and let the words flow from my mouth.

What if we were meant to be together?

What if you were meant to be the one?

I could hide a million years and try to believe

That any time the girl in mind will come and rescue me

I felt the nervousness leave my body, as the music rang through me, filling me entirely with the love I felt towards this girl. This beautiful girl sitting next to me. She was supposed to be jut there. Just by my side.

'Cause you're the fire, you're the one

But you'll never see the sun

If you don't know, you're right next to the right one

And I could call it many names

But it's myself I need to blame

If you don't know, you're right next to the right one

I let the music power my voice, as I poured every single emotion into the song. I remembered the way she felt in my arms, the insane need I had for her to be by my side constantly. The way my heart was pounding every time she just touched me, the way my life felt complete every time she kissed me.

I remembered every single time I'd seen her, and my heart had skipped a beat. I remembered how beautiful she'd looked, when I'd escorted her to her senior prom. We'd been friends, of course, but as she's stepped down the stairs, my heart had skipped a beat. How could I not have noticed just how much I cared for her?

Of course I'd hooked up with one of her classmates. We'd found some bushes and I'd rocked her world, before I'd returned to the gym, not noticing Elena's red eyes. I'd made her cry on her freaking prom night.

Pushing the image out of my mind, I remembered the times I'd seen her sit and write in her diary. The way the sun had shun on her, making her beautiful face even more beautiful.

So in the end it all depends on whether you'll find

Warm embraces when I replace the one you had in mind

I felt her lean slightly closer to me, as I reached the final chorus, and let the music run out by it self. When I lifted my fingers off the keys, she was looking at me with tears in her eyes and a happy smile printed on her lips.

Her small arms wrapped around my neck, as she pulled me into an earth shattering kiss. I held her, around her tiny waste, and pulled her closer. I felt her wet tears on my cheeks, as my lips gently molded against hers.

"I love you so much, Lena," I whispered, feeling way too emotional for my liking. I wasn't used to show my emotions in the way I was doing, but somehow, it actually felt good. Maybe because the girl in my arms were Elena. My all time best friend, the one I knew I could trust.

"I love you too, Damon... Don't ever doubt that," she said, her voice shaking.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, pulling away just enough to see her face. She laughed and started removing the tears from her cheeks.

"That was amazing. Nobody has ever done anything that sweet for me before... Thank you," she said, kissing me quickly, before looking down at the piano.

"Lena... I meant what I said. You've been my inspiration for years," I said, grabbing her hand, feeling a bit uncomfortable being this close. She was only in my clothes, and my upper body was bear. It happened all the freaking time. She turned me on, beyond my wildest imagination. Her hands found my cheeks, as she pulled me closer and kissed me. It wasn't a sexy kiss, it wasn't erotic, nothing like that. This was sweet, romantic and filled with love. She was showing me her love, the only way she could.

When we pulled away from each other, she had shed more tears. I knew it wasn't from being sad. She was happy. I smiled and wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

"Let's go get some breakfast."

We'd been cooking for around twenty minutes, when Caroline joined us in the kitchen. Her hair was ruffled and she looked nothing like her perfect self. Oh yeah, I have no troubles admitting the petite blonde was pretty. If I didn't know her, I'd probably hooked up with her.

But to be honest, she had nothing on Elena. No one would ever have anything on her. Of course they wouldn't. Because I didn't love any of them. But I loved Elena. It was clear as the sun.

"Morning, Care," Elena said. She was sitting on the counter, watching me move around the kitchen. I probably should put on a shirt, but to be honest, I really didn't feel like it. It was way too hot to be wearing a shirt.

"Morning... Urgh, this is way too early. Why am I even up now?" Caroline said, sitting on one of the chairs and burying her head in her hands. I held back a laugh, as I tried focusing on the food, letting the girls talk.

"Well, you can go up and go to sleep if you like," Elena said, being the good friend she always is. I smiled a bit, thinking about just how lucky I was. She was all mine.

"Nah. Matt's a sleep. So how did the things with you an-"

"Care!"

I chuckled as Elena hissed, trying to stop Caroline from asking how things were going. So that was what the girls had been talking about, while the quarterback and I had been shopping liquor. Caroline had probably wanted to talk to Elena about our sex life, and she'd told her about the experimenting we'd done.

"I think you could use the words fantastic, amazing, mind-blowing, earth-shatter-"

"DAMON!"

I let out a full blown laugh, as Elena's face turned completely red from my comment.

"You guys did it?! I don't believe that, you were way too quiet!"

Caroline probably couldn't have chosen a worse comment to say. Great, Blondie. Make her even more insecure! Elena sighed behind me.

"No, Care. Please, let's just talk about something else. What are we doing today?" she asked, pretty desperate to change the subject. I let go off the food for a minute to move between Elena's legs and kissed her with as much love as possible. She smiled at me, probably seeing right through me. She knew I was afraid of Caroline getting her even more insecure. And with the next kiss, she assured me that everything was fine.

"I was thinking bonfire tonight! I'm way too exhausted to go out and actually do something today. Disneyland was fun, I admit that, but I am sooo tired," Caroline said, looking at us. My hands were resting by Elena's hips and her arms were wrapped around my neck.

"If there's alcohol, I'm in," I said, pressing my lips to Elena's, before going back to the food.

"I'm in," Elena said, and followed me to the counter, starting to prepare coffee.

"Lena?" I knocked at the door, before opening it and walking into our bedroom. We had just finished eating diner, and Caroline and Matt were in their room, doing things I'd rather not think about.

"Yeah?"

She was sitting on the bed, writing in her diary. I smiled at the thought of our bet, knowing that I wasn't the one who had lost. I'd written in that damn thing every single day, even though the entries had been a bit dull. She had never said anything about the content of the entries!

"I was thinking that you might wanted to go to the beach before the bonfire. You know, go and get a dive or something. Just the two of us," I said, sitting down next to her, as she shut the journal, and put her pen inside it. She leaned over and sat closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"I'd really like that. But nothing big, okay? I don't really want to play and race and stuff like that," she said, smiling at me. I nodded and kissed her head.

We got up from the bed, and both of us found our bathing suits. She was about to walk into the bathroom, when I stopped her.

"You can just change in here. I mean, we've been naked together now. And I'd love to see more of your body," I said, pressing a kiss to her lips. She blushed, but nodded at my request. I widened my eyes, surprised that she actually went on with it. I'd expected her to refuse and walk to the bathroom, but here she was, slowly getting undressed. I couldn't keep my self from staring at her, as she took off the shorts she was wearing, shrugging out of them. The top came off next, and before I could blink, she was unclasping her bra. As soon as it was off, I walked to her, gathering her into my arms and kissing her with all I had. My hands found her panties, and I slowly pulled them off her, enjoying her in all of her naked glory.

"Would you be fine with undressing me?" I asked, looking at her. Her eyes were darkened a bit, her hair was messy and she looked perfect. She bit her bottom lip, almost making me groan, before nodding and moving her hand to my button down shirt. Her hands were steady as she slowly undid every button, revealing my skin inch by inch.

The shirt came off, and she started pulling off my jeans, making sure the underwear came off at the same time. We were standing completely naked in front of each other, and I let my lips meet hers in a soft kiss.

"Are you starting to feel more comfortable doing these kinds of things, Lena?" I asked, wanting her to answer me honestly. I wasn't sure whether I was pushing her too much or not. Of course I needed to push just a small bit. She needed to overstep boundaries. But I wasn't going to push her too much. I wanted her to feel safe, to feel comfortable with me.

"Kind of... It's still... It's new. And I want to be so much better. I want to be able to give you what a girlfriend should give her boyfriend," she said, looking at my chest. Normally she would've looked down, but if she did, she would be looking at my penis, and she didn't really seem that comfortable about that.

"Hey, sweetie. You're giving me everything I need. You're giving me love. And that's the only thing I need," I said, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. She looked up at me again, pressing a kiss to my lips.

"Thank you... For being so patient. And for wanting to teach me these kind of things..." she said, blushing a bit at the thought of what we'd been doing that morning, and the night before.

"Don't thank me for that. It's just as enjoyable for me, as it is for you," I said, kissing her forehead, before starting to put on my swim trunks, "now, put on that sexy bikini, and let's go to the beach."

As the sun began to set, Matt and I built up a small fire on the sand, and Elena helped Caroline move our things to surround it. Caroline and Matt had joined us after we'd been at the beach for around an hour. We'd been enjoying the hot water, swimming around and being all mushy and fluffy. I was whipped, and I loved it.

Elena seemed to like the fire, as it helped dry her slightly damp hair, and warmed her skin. I sat down next to her, and she leaned into me.

"You warm enough?" I asked, noticing that she had put on a light sweater over her bathing suit. I didn't want her to become sick.

"I'm fine, " she smiled at me, "did we bring the smore stuff?"

"Of course!" Caroline promised, as she reached around Matt for our bag of 'Beach Supplies'. That would mean smores, water and a bit of alcohol. Perfect for a beach bonfire.

"What's a bonfire on the beach without smores?" she said, as she began to distribute the marshmallows. I shook my head at their statements.

"I have a better idea." I reached under my jacket, that had been casted to the side, and pulled out a bottle of Bourbon.

"Really?" Caroline shot me a look, "can you go anywhere without alcohol?"

I smirked at her comment. Time to tease little Blondie.

"Not anywhere you're gonna be."

She rolled her eyes at me and looked at the bottle.

"Well, if you bring it out, the least you can do is share."

I shrugged, taking a swig then passing it over, "Drink up."

An hour later, laughter could be heard spilling from our group, as the now empty bottle was thrown to the side.

"We need to play a game!" Caroline insisted. Seriously? We were drunk as fuck, and she wanted to play a freaking game?

"Aren't we a little old for games?" I said, suddenly feeling the age gap between us.

"NO!" The blond grew serious, "we are NOT."

Matt just shrugged.

"I'm cool with whatever."

"Okay, let's play Truth or Dare!" Caroline said, a big smile printed on her lips.

There was a three-way groan from Elena, Matt and I. Truth or dare? Seriously?

"Oh, suck it up!" she insisted, her words excited, "We're playing!"

Unwillingly we all agreed, as Caroline pointed at Matt, "Okay, you first, Truth or Dare?"

Matt shrugged once again. Didn't that boy care about anything?

"Dare." Caroline thought it through, and Elena laughed at the look on her friend's face. This was gonna be a good one.

"I dare you to...do the cheer to your school's theme song! You play football, so you've watched the cheer be done!"

"You really want me to prance around like a little girl, singing a song?" Matt groaned, trying to get out of the dare, but Caroline had absolutely no mercy.

"Yup. Suck it up and do it."

Matt complied. I had to give Caroline props. It was hilarious trying to watch a slightly tipsy Matt try and stay balanced while cheering and shouting random "pep" phrases. Elena was laughing so hard. I enjoyed seeing her like that. Having fun. When Matt finally sat back down, he turned to me. Did I really have to be a part of this?

"Your turn man." I leaned further against Elena, as I answered "truth."

Matt thought it out, then asked, "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done?"

I considered it for a long time. I had done way too many stupid things over the years, and it was hard picking one out.

"Decided to go skinny dipping at a high school party. Not my best moment." Elena rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh, that is not the dumbest thing you've done!" she said with a big laugh. I smiled at her and raised my eyebrows. What did she have in mind?

"Then what is, Miss 'know it all'?" I asked, not sure what she was going to mention. She had known me my whole life, and I had told her almost everything I had done throughout the years. This could end up being very embarrassing.

"How 'bout that time you got wasted and crawled up the stairs at home yelling 'I'm a fucking bear'?" I laughed along with the others, remembering the night. I had been way too drunk to walk, which had resulted in me actually crawling up the stairs. Then Elena had come down, and helped me get to bed. I didn't remember much else.

"I forgot about that one... Okay, yeah, that then." Matt seemed satisfied with the answer, and I couldn't help but kiss Elena's cheek. I was having a hard time keeping my hands away from her. "Your turn, babe. Truth or Dare?" I asked, hoping that she would pick dare. Oh, the things I could make her do. But something in her eyes made me see that she was never going to pick dare. And I was completely right.

"Truth."

I grinned, trying to find something I wanted to know.

"Okay...what five words would you use to describe yourself?" She thought about it. It actually looked like she was going to answer. Normally, she would've blushed and shrugged at the question, turning silent. But something had changed during our vacation in Cali. She had become a lot more carefree, and it felt like she was getting more confident.

"Probably quiet," she started, "friendly, average, hopeful, and stubborn."

I chuckled, surprised at how well it described her. Except for the average part. And I would've added 'beautiful, wonderful, amazing, mine' to the list as well.

"Oh, we all know how stubborn you can be! But average? Really? You are too beautiful to be average."

Elena smiled at me, "as my boyfriend, you have to say that."

I winked, then leaned over, kissing her lips. I would never get used to the feeling of kissing her. It wasn't like any other girl I had ever been with. I wanted to kiss her all the time. To hold her, to make her happy, to care for her. Every small kiss of ours felt special. Nothing like our first kiss, but every single one was special, and made my heart speed up. What had I done to deserve someone as amazing as Elena?

"Awww!" Caroline squealed excitedly, "you guys are so adorable."

I groaned a little. Did she really have to interrupt every moment between Elena and I? Every time we had been kissing in the living room or anywhere else than our room, Caroline had been there to squeal at us or clap her hands. It was getting annoying.

"Don't ruin the moment, Blondie!"

Caroline just smiled and ignored my statement, "I'm just saying how cute you guys are! I am so happy things worked out! Now Elena doesn't have to hurt herself anymore!"

Elena's eyes widened as the words slipped out, but Caroline didn't even seem to notice her own words. My brows furrowed. What the hell was she talking about? Hurt her self? Elena?

"What do you mean?" I turned to look at Elena, who, I noticed even in the dim light of the fire, had turned pale, "what is she talking about?"

"Uh, nothing," Elena answered quickly. Too quickly. She pulled her knees to her chest, closing around herself, like she wanted to hide. I was so not letting her get away with this. No way. She may be stubborn, but so was I. And this seemed like a somewhat serious case.

"She didn't mean anything," Elena said, burying her head in her knees. Caroline giggled. She'd had a lot too much to drink.

"Don't be sad, Elena. It's good! Now you can be happy!" Okay, what the fuck?

"Caroline!" Elena warned and raised her head again. I wasn't to be distracted though. I was not letting this go.

"What are you talking about, Caroline?" The blond blinked up at me as she moved to lay across Matt's lap. Somewhere, I really feared for the answer.

"All the scars. Elena was so sad..." Caroline's face fell as she said this, but soon she was smiling again, "but that's not a problem anymore! She can be happy now."

Was this what I thought it was? What the hell? Why hadn't she told me anything about this?

"What scars?" I said, trying to get Barbie to focus. God, she was annoying when she was drunk.

"Damon, drop it," Elena tried to cut me off, but Caroline interrupted. She had clearly gotten way too much to drink, but I didn't care. I wanted to get to the bottom of this. No way I was letting Elena get away with this.

"The one's on her arm...but they went away. I made her stop. I don't like Elena hurting." I was feeling a little pale now my self, as I turned to my girlfriend. How could this be possible?

"Scars?" She held my gaze. I could practically see the hurt in her eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it." Oh hell no, she wasn't going to pull that now.

"Too damn bad." I didn't want to yell at her, especially when she already looked fragile, holding herself like she was about to fall apart, "show me your arms, Elena."

"No!" There we have the stubborn thing again.

"Damn it, Elena-" Before I could get another word out, she had stood and was running across the sand, toward our beach house. I couldn't let her get across the street before me. Then she would be locked in our room all night, and I would never find out. I shot off the ground, ignoring the questions of the other two. Elena was the only thing that mattered right now.

"Elena! Wait!" I came up behind her, and reached for her arm.

"Talk to me, Lena!" She tried to get out of my grip, but I wasn't going to let her go. I wouldn't let her push me away. Not now.

"No! Let me go!" I saw the tears streaming down her cheek and felt my heart break. God, I hated seeing her like this, but I couldn't let this pass.

"Elena, please, let me in." As the sobs shook her, she dropped to her knees. I hated seeing her like this. God, I hated it.

"Elena..." I fell to the sand, becoming even with her line of sight, "what's going on, babe?" Wordlessly, she pulled back the sleeves of her sweater. Sure enough, there were faded scars layering the skin. A lot of them. HOW had I not noticed?! All the times we'd been at the beach, all the times she'd been laying in my arms, half naked. How hadn't I seen that she had needed me? Every single scar was a symbol of a moment where she had needed me, and I hadn't been there. This was all my fault. I should have been there, I should have done something. Instead she had done this.

I looked for the right words, but only found one.

"Why?" She was shaking, not meeting my eyes. I was already fearing for the answer. Something had to be really off, for her to start doing something like this. I had a really bad feeling that this didn't have anything to do with our parents.

"Because you didn't want me."

If I hadn't experienced heartbreak before, I did now. The hurt in my chest was almost unbearable, by the thought of why she had done this to herself.

I sat down in the sand and pulled her onto my lap, embracing her. I wanted to hug her so tightly that I was sure she was never going to leave, but at the same time I had to be careful. She seemed so fragile. Like I could break her bones, by holding onto her too tight. But I couldn't let her go again. Never.

"When was the last time?" I asked, as I comforted her, trying to get her sobs to still. I hated seeing her cry, and I really didn't want to dig into this, but I had to know. The scars were faded, but most of them look violent. How had I not noticed them?

"A couple of months before my 20th birthday... Caroline made me stop. Please just, let it go." Her voice was fragile, small and very insecure. I tightened my grip around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. She seemed like she could use it.

"Why didn't you tell me, Lena? I would've helped you. We would've gotten through it," I said, trying to reason with her issue. Just like she had reasoned with so many of the things I had done. She had been there for me, and I needed to be there for her as well.

"I couldn't... I just... Couldn't," she said, keeping her eyes locked at the sand. Following my instincts, I gently grabbed her arm and moved it to my lips. Then I started kissing every single scar. She broke down again, and started crying, but I knew it wasn't from sadness this time. As I pressed my lips to the last one, I put her arm back and tightened by grip around her.

"Don't worry, babe. It's okay. You're good now. You've got me, and I am never letting you go. Promise."

Chapter 21 everyone! I really hope you enjoyed it, despite the serious part here. That part has been written for a VERY long time, and I've looked so much forward to posting it. Now I am almost biting my nails (ALMOST!) for your reviews. I'd really liked to hear what you think about this chapter.

If there is anyone here following my other fic "How to save a life" I have bad news. I am sorry to say that I am putting the story on hiatus for now. It's not that I don't want to write it, but I'm dealing with some stuff at the moment, and the fic seems to be a trigger to me. Let me just make it clear that I am NOT a victim of abuse in any way, though!
I'm really sad to tell you guys it, but for now, it's on hiatus. I DO plan on finishing it, but I don't know when. Right now, it's too much for me.

The bad news being over, I think that you should all clap your hands for the wonderful Foreverfirstloves if you loved this chapter! As always she's been there to help me, and without her, this story wouldn't be where it is today. So, thank you Kasy! 3
Go and check out her stuff, after you leave a review!

Until the next time!