I spent the better part of the next half an hour rubbing furiously at my aching head trying to will away the pain. What was once just a dull throb surrounding the affected area had now radiated across my skull making me feel like my eyes might pop out at any moment from the pressure it created.

"If you rub any harder you might start feeling bone," Damon commented from next to me.

I guffawed, "Well maybe if some vampire didn't elbow me in the head."

"Maybe if some vampire hunter didn't shoot me in the leg."

I shook my head, "No, your immortal, that doesn't count."

Damon scoffed as he turned the car onto the highway.

Giving up on the rubbing, I laid down, placing my head in Damon's lap in order to block out some of the bright sun; he didn't seem to mind, for as soon as I was situated, his hand automatically made its way down to my hip. As he rubbed his hand back and forth, I couldn't help but close my eyes at my new-found comfort.

I felt Damon shift his position a little bit, and seconds later a freezing cold breeze was attacking my small body. I immediately got up and reached for Damon's jacket that I took off when we first entered the car. I looked over to see where the coldness was coming from.

"Damon what's wrong with you? Close the window!"

Damon was quick to catch me as I attempted to reach over him to roll up the window.

He took a deep breath in and smiled as he let it out. "Hm, nothing like that nice fresh air to wake you up in the morning."

I crossed my arms over my chest, rolling my eyes. "Oh you're hilarious," I said sarcastically.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat, and then continued on the road. The closer I got to being back in Mystic Falls, the more I dreaded it. I didn't even want to think about how much school work I had to make up; I might want to give myself over to the coven by the end.

We pulled up to the Salvatore house in a comfortable silence. Half-way through the drive Damon deemed it okay for me to sleep, so I spent a good portion of the trip drifting in and out of consciousness. Even though I didn't get any consistent rest, my head was still feeling a little bit better.

For the first time in weeks, I felt relaxed. Damon and I weren't arguing, I couldn't sense him, and I could sort of defend myself against the coven. But, the closer I got to the house, the more that serene feeling dissipated, only to be replaced by an uneasy wariness. When we stepped in the doorway it got even worse. I looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the impending danger.

Damon put his hand on my shoulder; I jumped at the contact.

He looked at me confusedly. "What's wrong?"

"Something is here…"

I stopped midsentence when I saw Stefan and Elena walking down the stairs, immediately realising the source of my uneasiness. I may not have any problems with Damon, but I could still sense Stefan.

"What?" I turned back to Damon, who had a slightly worried look on his face.

I shook my head. "Never mind."

I looked back away from him, unable to keep my eyes away from Stefan. I didn't want this; Stefan was not the enemy. Following my gaze, it looked as if Damon was starting to see the source of my discomfort as well.

"Stefan, get out of here. Go catch a rabbit or something."

I immediately protested. "No, it's fine; it's his house."

Stefan looked to Damon, a beyond confused expression on his face, but as the two brothers continued to stare at each other, Stefan seemed to realise the truth of the situation.

"Damon, why don't you come as well," Stefan said, not breaking the eye contact.

Damon nodded in agreement and turned to me. "Why don't you stay the night," he asked walking up to me so our bodies were just touching.

"Alright."

He leaned down, kissed me, and then proceeded to follow Stefan out the door, leaving Elena and me alone in the house.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding as Stefan walked further away.

"What was that about," Elena asked from behind me with a slight edge to her voice.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Why don't we go upstairs? I am in desperate need for a shower, and when I get out I will tell you everything."

Elena rolled her eyes, but followed me none the less. She went into Stefan's room and me into Damon's.

As soon as I shut the door to the bathroom in Damon's room, I immediately slid to the floor, cradling my head in my hands. When I was getting my senses back, all I thought about was how it would affect my relationship with Damon, I didn't think about how much of an affect it would have on my life. Both Elena and Jeremy were dating vampires that were at the house for nearly twenty-four hours a day; not to mention also seeing them at school. It's not like I could ask them to break off their relationships, but if I continued to live at the Gilbert house I would be miserable.

I got up off of the floor, stretching out my sore limbs and walked over to the mirror to undress. When looking at all of the nasty scars and bruises that I had acquired, it was hard to believe that just less than four months ago I knew nothing about this world. I traced one particularly angry scar that started at my left collar bone, went down across my right nipple and wrapped around my ribcage. I found it even more striking that I couldn't remember if I got it when I was attacked by the coven the first or second time around.

Words couldn't describe how fantastic the steaming hot water felt as it ran down my back. The hottest the water got at Bobby's was lukewarm, and that only lasted for a couple of minutes. I was reluctant to get out of the shower, but remembered that Elena was waiting for me.

Not wanting to put back on my clothes, I searched through Damon's draws, looking for something that I could wear. After looking high and low, I finally found a dresser full of t-shirts next to his bed, and pulled out the first one that I found. But as I was about to close the draw, something caught my eye.

It was a very old picture, black and white with worn edges. The girl was extremely beautiful despite the frown on her face, dressed in old-fashioned clothing with a plunging neckline and a beautiful necklace that fell perfectly in place. The strangest part however, was that she looked exactly like Elena. Was it Elena?

I dropped the picture back into the draw as if it were on fire and slammed it shut. I took a step back and slid Damon's shirt over my naked body, trying not to think about what I had just found. I decided right away that I would not bring it up to Damon. What he kept in his room was his business; it would only seem like I was snooping. But, I would be lying if I said that it didn't gnaw at me for the rest of the night.

I walked into Stefan's room, not quite prepared for an angry Elena. She was sitting on the bed, legs crossed, with a sour look on her face.

"Hey, what's up," I said looking anywhere but her.

Elena did not look impressed. "I'll tell you what's up; you were gone for a week without telling anyone where you were. I've had to lie to everyone, not that I could tell them the truth, because I didn't know it myself. I had to tell my aunt that you were working things out with your brothers, I had to tell the school that you had mono, and I had to tell Bonnie and Caroline that you went on a trip with your family!"

I was really tempted to just run out of the room, but held my ground anyway. "It's not like I went by myself, I was with Damon," I defended.

She scoffed. "That's exactly what worried me; I had no idea what he was doing to you."

This time I glared. "Elena, he wouldn't hurt me just as much as Stefan wouldn't hurt you. If anything this trip proved that I was the danger in the relationship. Didn't you hear that I shot him?"

A slight smile formed on her face as she nodded her head. "Yeah," she said, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

I smiled back. "It wasn't on purpose."

"I know, but I still get a certain satisfaction out of it."

I slapped her arm. "You're horrible."

We spent the rest of the night talking about what happened around town while I was gone, and I told her bits and pieces about what I did while I was away. It wasn't until around nine-thirty that Damon walked through the door.

"Elena, Stefan is waiting in the car for you."

I walked Elena out and waved as the two of them drove away.

I shut the front door, and when I turned around, Damon was leaning against the wall with his arms across his chest and a smirk on his face. His eyes were drifting up and down my body.

"My clothes look good on you." His smirk got wider.

I rolled my eyes then walked past him and headed for his room. I was absolutely exhausted. I was about to start up the stairs when I was suddenly whisked off my feet. Before I knew what was even going on, I was lying on the bed in Damon's room, and Damon was kissing me.

Adrenaline began pumping through my body, washing away any traces of tiredness. I wrapped my arms around his waist, snaking my hands under his shirt. While he began kissing and softly biting my neck, I took the opportunity to explore his body with my hands, feeling every muscle along his stomach and back.

He hit a soft spot right under my ear that caused me to moan. I felt sharp teeth graze my skin as he moved down to my neck, and despite knowing that I wasn't in any danger, my body instinctively tensed. I knew he noticed as well when he rolled off of me, putting an end to the heated moment.

When I looked over he was lying on his back, his face had changed, his fangs were out, and his arms were spread out above his head. I didn't speak; I just curled up against him, using his left arm as a pillow. We didn't say anything, just laid in silence, waiting for our breathing and his face to go back to normal. The silence was beginning to make me nervous. I was waiting for him to tell me how much of a mood killer I was. I was not expecting what came out of his mouth next.

He broke the silence, "I think you should move in." He stopped and when I didn't say anything he went on, "I can keep a better an eye on you here, and after everything that's happened in the past weeks, I don't think you're safe out of my sight."

I was speechless. Damon just asked me to move in with him. Part of me wanted to tell him that I could take care of myself, but another part of me was screaming to say yes.

"What about Stefan," I asked. "I don't want to kick him out of his own house, and I can't live with him."

"I already talked to him. He stays at Elena's most of the time anyway; it shouldn't be a problem."

"Then I guess it would work out," I started. "Elena told her aunt that I was working things out with my brothers anyway. I could just tell her that I'm moving back in with them."

Damon kissed the top of my head as I moved closer to him, and I fell asleep in his arms. For the first night in weeks, I slept without a single nightmare invading my dreams.