Ah it seems a lot of you don't like where this is going...hmm...let's see

.

.

.

-Elena's POV-

I hadn't seen Damon all day. Isadora had said she'd seen him leaving this morning, something about going to see Klaus but nothing more; apparently he didn't seem in the best of moods. She and my mum had been more focused on insisting I get back upstairs and berating me for such 'strenuous exercise' that was coming down on my own. The worst thing? Stefan joined in! Like he wasn't part of it. What a d-bag. But would it ever end? I know I was injured and all but how was I ever going to get better if they insisted on doing everything for me? No matter how many times I'd quoted the doctor's demands for me to get used to moving around, they persisted in ignoring me. Sometimes I find myself questioning why whoever was up there bothered to give me a voice at all. Nobody ever listens to me!

So I suppose that's how I found myself here. Lying flat on my back, in that same bed that I felt like I'd spent the past few years in, doing...nothing. Just the usual staring up at the ceiling and thinking; pondering life and my existence because what else was there to do? In my boredom I'd planned my graduation, next birthday, wedding, children's names (and order)...even funeral. What was this? But this time, today, was different because I wasn't thinking about the other subject constantly on my mind, Jason and burning gymnasiums, smoke and blood. No, this time I was thinking of that nightmare last night, which I guess did include all those things but I was perfectly calm. My heartbeat wasn't flying, the wound on my stomach wasn't burning...I was fine. I suppose you could say I was analysing it this time, trying to remember every tiny detail; everything I could have possibly said that would have upset him so badly. I wasn't thinking about it like it was me, something that had happened; instead just as a...case study...

I came up blank. Of course. All I could remember was Damon suddenly being there and dying instead of me and telling him that I loved him. So if I'd said that then how could it have been so bad? Unless he didn't feel like that and he was angry about that but...no, I wasn't sure if I could believe that. An asshole he may be at times but he was definitely sensitive when it came to serious matters. Like that...

Colour me confused.

Jeremy brought over my computer and a load of DVD's, hanging around for a while and keeping me company with Stefan. After they left my mum came in, helping me through a shower and redressing the wounds, acting all doctorly and talking to me about doctory things. I joked that she was missing her work too much to which I just earned myself a gentle slap on the back of my head. It was shortly after she left at around eight in the evening (and after she'd informed me that Damon still wasn't back) that I received a text from Caroline. I knew there was a big party happening at the Lockwood Mansion tonight which I would be going to...had I not been a cripple. She'd probably be there now: Hey Len, hope you're feeling better. We're coming over tomorrow with all the party gossip! Speaking of, Damon's here…and he is completely shit-faced …something happen?

Feeling the frown join that sinking sensation in my stomach, I lay back down on the covers, staring at the screen for a moment. What the hell had I said?! I tapped back a quick reply: I have no idea, tell him I need to talk to him…does he look okay? And that's fine, I'm so bored. Drama will help everything.

It must not be a very good party if she replies this quickly…: Will do, but no, he can barely stand up straight. What the hell happened!?

Yeah, that makes me feel so much better. Sort of a cocktail of panic, frustration and concern mixing inside me, I let it out in a quiet groan. What could I do?: Think I said something last night when I was asleep…spent the whole day trying to figure it out. Just make sure he gets home okay.

Will do, we're on Damon-watch. We'll try and stop him doing anything stupid.

At that I paused again, reading the message in the light grey bubble over a few times. What did she mean? I'd seen Damon drunk quite a few times, and yes, he could get a little out of control but that was always fun out of control because we were always having a good time. But what did she mean 'stop him from doing anything stupid? What could he do? I trusted him completely but I wasn't an idiot...I wasn't naive anymore. But he couldn't be drunk enough to do that...

.

-Bonnie's POV-

This party was getting way too chaotic. Sure they usually were a bit crazy but this was plain out of control. Everyone seemed completely drunk, the jocks turning one room into a giant mosh-pit worthy of a Prodigy gig and I swear I just saw a guy with blood all over his face coming out. I started up the stairs towards where Kol was standing; picking my way through couples doing things I really didn't want to know about. Someone pushed me from behind and I stumbled into my boyfriend, his arm instantly wrapping around my waist as I shot a glare back to the drunk, totally oblivious girl, "This is crazy." I shouted over the near deafening music, looking down at to where a fight had broken out between two girls below. You could barely walk through the mass.

"BONNIE!" Spinning around as I heard my name, I spotted Caroline rushing through the crowd, shouting rude 'get out of my way's' to loiterers before she, slightly tipsy herself, crashed into the balustrade beside us, a slightly panicked look in her eyes, "Where's Damon? Have you seen him?"

Frowning, I shook my head, just as Kol did, "No, why? He's probably with Klaus."

She shook her head, "No, I just saw him. We were looking for him and he just disappeared-"

"-Whoa, chill Barbie he can look after himself." Clearly Kol wasn't worried, leaning nonchalantly against the railings and to be honest I couldn't understand why she was so worried. It was just Damon...

"Exactly, he's fine Care-"

"No he's not! He's completely drunk and pissed off and he's going to do something completely stupid! You know what he's like."

Frowning again, I was confused, "But so is everyone. What's wrong with him?"

She heaved a frustrated and impatient sigh, glaring at someone as they barged past her, "He and Elena had some argument, I don't know what it was about. But he's upset or whatever and now he's completely shit-faced and you know what he is like when he's drunk!"

"Ah…" See now she had my attention and Kol's too. Sure he'd changed since Elena arrived in town but...let's not be naive now. He's Damon Salvatore.

A moment of quiet passed before we all jumped into action, "I'll check upstairs, you two look downstairs." Kol ordered, finally a tad worried about his idiotic friend. We jumped to it, heading straight downstairs. Halfway through the crowd though, I grabbed hold of Caroline's arm, pulling her to face me while trying my best to control the worries inside me.

"Care, what if he's with someone?"

It was voicing all our worries, wasn't it? I mean he and Elena hadn't slept together yet, I knew that. And it was only for the simple reason that she was injured and because of what Jason did to her…but this was Damon Salvatore we were talking about; he was the epitome of a man-whore and they'd been together for a pretty long time… "He wouldn't. Not even he's that stupid."

"But-"

"-No buts' Bonnie!" She said, cutting me off, shaking her head, "He's completely in love with her, he wouldn't throw that away. And you know she loves him…he wouldn't risk it."

"He doesn't know that!"

"Yes he does, don't be stupid. Everyone knows that! He won't do anything Bon."

She was right…I knew that. But god I hope she was right…

.

-Caroline's POV-

It wasn't five minutes after we'd left Kol that my phone buzzed in my hand, a text from Klaus telling us to go back upstairs and somehow the four of us all reached the hall at the same time. Running through the crowds and up the crowded staircase, shouting at people to move, "What's going on Nik?" I had to shout over the deafening music, keeping hold of his hand as we reached the top of the staircase and turned right.

"I know where he is. He's being a fucking idiot." He muttered as we broke out into a run again, him and Kol running ahead as we struggled in our heels. We got to the room just a moment after them though, the one at the end of the corridor... I couldn't withhold the gasp any more than Bonnie could, clasping my hand over my mouth as I took in the sight before us.

I saw Damon first, completely past it and slumped against the wall but it was the other girl who got me so angry. I didn't even know her name but she looked fucking pleased with herself, halfway through ripping his shirt off as he kissed her, hands fisted in her long brown hair. When Klaus pushed her out the way, I swear he was about to punch him, the alcohol in his system putting his aim off (thankfully) and he ended up just falling back against the wall a little way away as the girl shouted out her objections, ignored.

"What the fuck are you doing man?!" Klaus yelled, pulling back his first and aiming a solid punch to his jaw and I couldn't help but yelp, darting forward and grabbing my boyfriend's arm as Damon groaned in pain, gripping his jaw with confusion in his unfocused eyes.

"Klaus don't!" I shouted, the music from downstairs still too loud to talk normally.

"Lena?" The slurred voice came from behind, trying to find his absent girlfriend. "Where'd she go?"

The other girl had stormed off by now, luckily for her because I swear I would have slapped her. If she went to our school then everyone knew he was with Elena, "He thought that was her…" Bonnie pointed out in a dejected voice, sighing and shaking her head. Oh god…

"My god you're such a fucking idiot Salvatore." I muttered, fury building up. No matter what had happened between him and Elena, she didn't deserve this. Yes he was blind drunk and had no clue what he was doing but still. My loyalties lay with her. What would she do when she found out? After all that shit with Jason, being shot three and then almost being burnt alive- no…no this wouldn't go down well. "Klaus let's take him to yours. He needs to sober up and then I swear I'm going to make him wish he was dead."

Yeah…you should be scared.

.

.

-Damon's POV-

Sweet baby Jesus the sun was the most motherfucking painful thing in the world. I think my retinas were burnt to a crisp. And to top it off there was a fucking herd of elephants in my head. No…a whole stampede. Then another burning sensation on my jaw, like you get after a punch… Who punched me? Asshole...Whatever it was it hurt like a bitch.

After the pain came the gradual awareness that I wasn't in my own room…Before I'd even opened my eyes it hit me that I hadn't been woken up by Elena's nightmare last night... Then that led to the fact that I wasn't in my house. In fact I wasn't even in a bed. I was on a couch. Thanks Klaus, you have about ten spare rooms in your house and you put me on the couch in the one room with no curtains and loads of windows. Yeah…I must have done something bad. Shit, what had I done? What the hell happened last night?

Pushing myself to sit up, wincing at the pain in my head, rubbing my eyes as I tried to piece together what had happened. I remember coming here yesterday morning, we'd just hung around for a while…oh yeah, I was pissed because of what Elena had said. Or not said. We'd been drinking and then we went to that party at the Lockwood's and then…no, from then on it was all a blur.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Wincing at the overly-loud voice, I was a little confused seeing Blondie and the judgey one enter the room, setting down a mug of tea on the metal table top a little more forcefully than necessary, sounding like a cymbal clashing right by my ear and I almost cried I swear, "Please…keep it down." I mumbled, taking the hot tea and sniffing it first just to make sure it wasn't poisoned (you never know with these two). This hangover really was a bitch. It was another minute before I realised that they were both glaring down at me as I drank, fury blazing in their eyes and arms crossed over their chests…oh god I really was in trouble. What had I done? I set the mug back down gently before speaking, "What?"

Blondie was, predictably, the one to speak, "If that tea was a little cooler I'd be throwing it over you right now."

Oh dear, "Why? What did I do?" So I'd established that whatever I'd done was bad but what could it be? Had I beaten someone up? Did I kill someone? No...not by their expressions. Disappointment and anger from my girlfriend's best friends.

The silence dragged on, painful but that growing sense of foreboding just made it worse, "Well we were trying to keep an eye on you, because Lena said she thought you seemed upset." I almost scoffed at that, thought falling quiet; not thinking it the time or company. Upset was one way of putting it. "And you were fucking out it, I don't know how much you drank. But we lost you for a while and when we found you I'd say Klaus had a good reason for giving you that bruise. If he hadn't I certainly would have."

Frowning now, I actually felt nervous, wincing as I touched my obviously bruised jaw. A million scenarios ran through my head, her words suggesting nothing good. "I didn't…" cutting myself off, I looked between them warily, "Did I do something to Elena?"

"Oh no, not directly. And we haven't told her anything yet."

Nerves and fear growing, I got a bit exasperated, standing up, "Tell me then! What did I do?" If I hadn't done anything to her directly but they were acting like this then I must have done something with someone else- oh god I couldn't think of anything worse. Please tell me I didn't. I honestly had no control when I was that drunk and I'd just been so pissed off…fuck. What idiot let me get that drunk? I had the worst fucking friends.

It was the voice of my best friend that cut in at that point, turning to see Klaus watching me from the doorway with a blank expression on his face...something like a disappointment which I'd never seen before on him... "We found you in one of the spare rooms with some girl." Now at that everything fell silent…it just stopped. I think my heart stopped beating for a moment. They had to be kidding; no…no I wouldn't have done that. Even that drunk I wouldn't. Of all things I wouldn't have done that to her. Please god tell me I hadn't done that-

I think my legs must have given out because suddenly I was sitting down again, completely speechless, "I didn't-" I couldn't even say it.

He shook his head, "No, you didn't." Now at that relief flooded through me, but the panic was still there.

Bonnie carried on, "You were kissing her though. You thought she was Elena. But if we hadn't got there when we did you would have slept with her. You had no fucking idea what you were doing. Imagine what that would have done to Elena; if you had. It's bad enough that you kissed the girl. For all the shit she's been through and now this-"

"-I'm sorry."

"-Save it. It's not us you should be apologising to."

.

.

.

To 'Guest'...DO NOT THROW YOUR LAPTOP ACROSS THE ROOM. Trust me.

I know you're all probably hating me right now but just stay with me and I'll work it out I promise. In fact...I already have.

Please, please, please review and tell me what you think! It's so much help and a lot of motivation knowing that people actually want to know more.

Thank you for reading

M