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The seventh chapter is here. Please LIKE & FOLLOW my story.

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I do not own TVD nor any of its characters, but this story is mine.

A beautiful setting, pleasant ambiance, brightly lit surroundings with soft music that elevated the romance in the air, in short, it was a perfect evening. I was surrounded by all my loved ones, and also the blue-eyed man who was making it increasingly difficult for me to concentrate on anything other than him. Earlier when Damon arrived, Alaric informed that, the reason why he had invited Damon over was that, he wanted us to meet formally, before starting our session. Of course, he didn't know that we had already met, more than once, before this. I had told Jenna about meeting my physiotherapist, but it seemed that no one had told Alaric about it, not even Damon. So we played along, shook hands and smiled at each other.

Jenna also smiled and shook hands with Damon, then she looked at me with wide eyes and whispered in my ear, "He is ridiculously hot." Also making a fanning movement with her hand under the table, that made me chuckle and I shook my head and whispered,"He is an ass". She made a 'yeah-whatever' face and looked away, so I turned my head and saw Mr. Smart-ass smirking. I was sure he had heard us, the glint in his eyes and his smug smirk were quite the evidence of his eavesdropping. The food had arrived and everyone had started eating and talking, Alaric was sitting on one side, Damon across him, Bonnie and Jeremy were sitting opposite of Jenna and me. So I looked at Damon and asked, "What's so funny?", he was still smirking when he looked up from his plate and said, "Nothing."

I didn't press him for an answer, rather I asked him something else, "So, did you know that Alaric was planning to make us meet?" I asked him, he shook his head, and said, "No, he just told me to meet him here, he knows I don't like the awkward 'meet and greets'." I pursed my lips and made a face. Did he think he was doing a favor by being here? I couldn't help myself and muttered something in a low voice, so it was his turn to ask now. "What?" he asked confused, I huffed and said, "Nothing." He titled his head and looked at me with zero conviction, but I kept eating in silence. I didn't look up, but could sense his eyes on me, so I looked elsewhere.

Jenna and Alaric looked happy, she was giggling and blushing at his words. Bonnie and Jeremy looked comfortable, lost in each other's eyes, and here I was getting affected by the words of a stranger. What did I even know about Damon? Nothing!. Why did he leave his profession? What does he do now for a living? What kind of a past did he have? Was there someone in his life? And I also didn't know whether I had the right to ask him about these things. After all, we merely had a professional relationship and all these questions were quite personal.

Halting my thoughts he asked me, "So, what did you decide about coming back?" I wanted to go back but was not sure yet, we would have a professional relationship without any involvement of personal feelings or emotions, but I just couldn't bring myself to agree with that. So I replied in a low voice, "I didn't get time to think about it." He looked grim and nodded, I could see a blankness coming over his eyes, was he feeling bad because of me? I wanted to reach out and cup his face in my hands, and make him look at me then kiss him deeply so that he never had to feel like that again... No, no, no Elena, you can't think like this! It is not right!. I looked in front and talked with Bonnie, we shared laughs and teased each other. Damon and Alaric also talked in between sometimes. When Jenna asked how they knew each other, Alaric shared that though Damon was younger than him by three or four years, they had been best friends since both of them met in New York a few years ago and were always together from then onward.

The way Alaric talked about them, showed that he trusted Damon a lot, that reminded me of what Damon had told me about Alaric earlier today. I smiled to myself sensing their mutual admiration. I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Why did you move from New York to Mystic Falls?" Damon who was finishing his drink coughed, and Alaric hesitated, then he continued, "It was due to work, you know, Damon came here three years ago and I followed him after a year. We are inseparable." He said chuckling and Damon snorted at his words looking happy, "Ric, if you don't stop with your stupid stories, they will start imagining us, braiding each other's hair and riding off into the sunset." We all laughed at his words, and Alaric raised his hands as if to surrender.

I looked at Damon, he was looking towards his drink, his lips curled into a smile. As if sensing my eyes on him, he too looked towards me, our eyes were locked on each other, so I smiled back and asked him, "When should I come by for the session?" He seemed taken aback, his eyes widened full of surprise and hope, he parted his lips, but before he could say anything, the song that was playing in the background changed and some couples started making way to the dance floor. Jeremy and Bonnie excused themselves and went to dance, even Alaric asked Jenna to dance with him. She hesitated but with my encouragement went with him to join the dance floor. I was looking at them from a distance with a smile on my face. My food was forgotten, my eyes moving with the dancing couples, I had even forgotten that I had asked something to the man sitting by my side, when suddenly I heard his deep voice near my ear, "You look beautiful tonight."

I turned my face towards him, lowering my eyes I said, " Thanks." My cheeks were red because of his closeness and the compliment, my head was lowered because looking into his eyes would make me want to kiss him again. But I could see his hand moving towards my face, so I looked up, he raised his hand and caught one of my stray lock of hair, twirling it between his fingers once, he tucked it behind my ear. I gulped, and breathed deeply, the air seemed to be getting thicker with tension. He looked sinfully dashing, with his hair slightly wet, his thin lips parted, eyes reflecting the bright lights that were all around us. I was staring at him without realizing, when he said, "Give me some time Elena and I'll make sure that the next time you get a chance to dance, you will not even have to think for a second, before joining the dance floor." I inhaled sharply, because I didn't expect him to say that at all. He was gazing into my eyes, his baby blues urging me to believe him, but I was scared.

That was a very big promise that he was making. How could he be so confident about this? I'll be grateful to even walk properly. I furrowed my eyebrows and said with tear filled eyes, "But how? I can't even feel from under my waist." He said, "I know it's a very big thing to say or think about right now, but it is not an impossible task. I am not asking you to trust me, just trust in your abilities." Our eyes were still locked, but I wasn't looking at his features now, I was looking at the man underneath, trying to understand the depth of his words. I had believed once, that I would heal, but when it didn't happen I was crushed. Yet why was I nodding at his suggestion? Why was I ready to believe that I would not only start walking but maybe more than that? It was a dangerous thing because the man who himself didn't know if I should trust him or not was giving me immense hope for a better future.

The song ended and everyone came back to the table. Bonnie and Jeremy started sharing how they kept stepping on each other's foot, Jenna was glowing and Alaric was smiling at her as they held hands under the table. I was shaken after the conversation between Damon and me, so I thought it would be best to go out in the fresh air for sometime. Thus I excused myself for sometime, everyone looked worried, so I told I was going to freshen up and moved towards the washroom. I could feel Damon's eyes following me, till the door closed behind me. I took a deep breath, looking at myself in the mirror. I had promised everyone that I would do physiotherapy and give my best effort to start walking again. I had even gone to Salvatore house for the same reason, but why did it sound so different when Damon said the same thing to me?

My head felt heavy with confusion so I splattered some water on my face and decided not to ponder over it anymore. Wiping my face with a tissue I went outside, but I got startled seeing Damon leaning on the opposite wall. "What are you doing here?" I asked, looking up at him with curiosity, he had his arms crossed across his chest and said, "Waiting for you." I looked right and left and continued, "Here? In front of the washroom?" He rolled his eyes and said "Yes, let's go." Saying that he came to stand behind me and started pushing my wheelchair forward. "Damon you don't have to...Wait, where are we going?" He stopped and brought his face down to my ears and said, "You ask too many questions Ms. Gilbert." I gasped at his warm breath that was tingling my neck. Then he started pushing me again towards the entrance of the restaurant.

I was curious to see where we were headed to, but when we came outside the restaurant I looked back towards him and said, "Why are we outside? Where is everybody?" He came to stand in front and had a mischievous expression, "Everybody went ahead, so we have to join them, and here comes our ride." The stunning blue car came to a halt in front of us, Damon's car, the one I had seen yesterday. The restaurant staff exited the car and gave him the keys back. I was still ogling the car, when Damon came towards me and said, "What do you think?" I looked at him smiling, awed by the classic beauty. "Its gorgeous." He smirked at my compliment and looking like a proud parent he said, "It's a 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible. Now come on let's go." "But where?" Before I could say anything Damon opened the passenger door of the car and came towards me. Bending down he picked me up like it was no big deal.

I was in his arms for the second time today, reveling in the comfort of his warmth and the scent of his cologne. He carried me to the car and placed me on the passenger seat, then he went, grabbed my wheelchair and put it at the back of his car. Finally he came to sit on the driver's seat and looked at me, I was staring at him, observing every detail, when he said, "Ric suggested that everyone should have desserts from the new store in town, so he and Jenna went by his car, your brother and his girl took Jenna's car and I suggested to wait for you and join them later, which by the way, your Aunt seemed to be very supportive about." He shook his head and chuckled, and I loved the sound of it.

Imagining Jenna's face, I rolled my eyes and laughed. Damon was still looking at me with a thoughtful expression and said, "But before joining the others I wanted to show you something. " I furrowed my brows and waited for an answer. But he didn't reply, just started driving. It was surreal, sitting in his car. Sometimes it seemed that Damon was a totally different person than he showcased himself as. The mask which he constantly wore, was much more harder than his real self, the arrogance and rudeness were all a part of it. As if he had learnt to be hard. Had he been betrayed in his life or had his heart been broken ever? Because the hopeful glint of his eyes sometimes reflected his inner self, the softer side of him, the side which is more accepting and forgiving, which made him look almost childlike.

I was looking out of the window, the night air was cold and moist due to the cloudy weather. We were speeding past the familiar roads and I was enjoying the speed, the wind that was hitting my face, made my earlier tension disappear. I wanted to forget all my worries and thoughts and to just enjoy the moment. and so I did. I took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air and smiled to myself. I didn't feel conscious of the man sitting beside me. Suddenly, I realized that I trusted Damon, in spite of all the confusion, he had crept into my heart and I trusted him. He didn't make me feel uncomfortable, rather his presence made me feel confident. He was still a stranger, on so many levels but, this, sitting beside him without a worry of the world was so liberating.

I looked back at him, "Damon?" "Hmm?" he answered without taking his eyes off the road. "How are you so sure?" I asked in a low voice. He looked at me, his face seemed peaceful and he said, "About what?" I bit my lip and looked towards the road, "That I'll start walking again?" He smiled, "Hold that thought, we are almost there." I turned my head to look outside, we were driving into the middle of the woods, I looked around and didn't see anything, so I kept gazing left and right. I didn't feel afraid, rather curious to see what was it that he wanted to show me. Then we drove towards a clearing in the forest, and I could see a lake from inside car, as we kept going closer, it kept increasing in size, finally he stopped the car. There was a big lake in the middle of the woods, I couldn't stop myself, "Wow, this is so beautiful." He was smirking in glory, "See, I knew you would like it." "I love it, how come I never knew about this place?"

"It's not a famous location, I just like coming here sometimes." he replied turning off the ignition. He opened the door and got out of the car and came towards my door and opened it, I looked up at him, he looked so handsome, I knew he would have to carry me out again. But it didn't feel embarrassing rather exciting. He came closer and stooped to my height, slower this time. The butterflies in my stomach were going mad, all craving for some face was close to mine, I kept blinking to avoid turning red, placing one of his hands under my knees and the other under my back, he pulled me closer to him. I stuck to his chest just like in the morning, his face was too close, I couldn't stand it anymore, I wanted him to kiss me, but he didn't. He just waited for some seconds before pulling me out of the car. My head was resting on his shoulder, eyes stinging with tears at his ignorance.

Why did he have such an effect on me? Maybe it was just me, maybe he didn't reciprocate any of it,... and here I was wishing him to kiss me. It hurt, I never felt this way about anyone before, its not like I never had boyfriends but I didn't feel so strongly about anyone. It had just been a day with Damon, and I was already feeling this way, this was not right. So when he put me down on the bonnet of his car I looked towards the beautiful lake instead of the gorgeous man who came to sit right beside me. The sound of the water along with the sounds of the forest were calming my nerves. It was dark due to the cloudy sky but the fireflies all around us made the setting perfect. Damon looked at me and said, " I am sure because I know it's possible, you are strong and you will work hard to stand on your legs again. You are confident and you love being independent. You will break any barriers that come between you and your freedom, and I will help you get that freedom back. Just stay positive and believe that you can do it."

"I believe you", I told looking at him. He looked shocked, his eyes were widened, searching something in mine, but I had meant what I had said, so he wouldn't find any bluff. Maybe he didn't think I will trust him so soon, or maybe he was not used to this. I looked around again, I didn't know why he had brought me here but he was sharing a part of himself with me, and I wanted to take in as much as possible. The night air was cold, making me shiver sometimes, so I held my arms and started rubbing them. He got up and shrugged off his jacket wrapping it around my shoulders. His cologne enveloped me and I hugged the jacket closer. "Thanks." He smiled looking at me like he was seeing me for the first time, so I asked, "What are you looking at?"

"You." His eyes were boring into mine, I was afraid that he would see through me, that my feelings for him would surface in my eyes. So I looked down, avoiding his eyes. "Why did you bring me here Damon?" He came forward and said, "I come here when I need to clear my head, and I know you needed that too." But how? How did he know so much about me, why did he understand me this much? It was so unnerving that I looked at him with irritation, "Don't pretend to understand me, you don't even know what I want, we are just strangers and that's it!" I said with gritted teeth, my tears threatening to fall, I didn't know what instigated this but this man was making me mad, mad with anger, mad with passion, mad with lo... I didn't even want to think about it, anymore.

His eyes looked hurt, he didn't move, just stared at my face, then he said, "You want what everybody wants..." I furrowed my eyebrows and snorted. He was generalizing me, rather repeating a well practiced cheesy line. But that was not what i wanted to hear now, so I challenged him with a pointed stare and said, "So Damon, tell me, what is it that I want?" He had a peaceful expression on his face, no pride in his eyes or smugness in his smile, but when he opened his mouth he left me speechless, "You want a love that consumes you, you want passion, adventure and even a little danger." I couldn't stop myself anymore, overwhelmed with so many emotions my tears started rolling down. I couldn't tear my eyes from his, those hooded eyes were expressing more than I could handle. Then he came closer, raising his hand, he touched my face. Rubbing the tears with his fingers, he placed his forehead on mine and I closed my eyes, then he said, "We may have been strangers before this Elena, but no more." Saying that, he kissed my forehead and my heart made a cartwheel at this innocent gesture.

Then he moved away, and gave a mischievous smirk. So I smiled slightly and said, "I think we should leave now or Jenna will send out search parties to find me and my kidnapper," I teased him. He snorted and said, "That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?" I giggled at his defensiveness and said, "What can I say, it seems I am fond of dangerous mysterious strangers who have all the answers." I said with a smirk of my own. He just stared at me with his lips parted, his blue eyes were glinting in-spite of the darkness, "I like you, you know how to smile." That made my heart soar into ecstasy, he liked me! In an innocent way, but still he liked me. I was grinning widely when we went inside the car again, finally we drove back to the house cause it was already late.

When he dropped me outside my house, I tried to shrug of his jacket, but he stopped me, saying, "Keep it, you look bad-ass in black leather." I blushed at his comment, "or you can also return it tomorrow" I was confused, "Tomorrow? but we are meeting on Sunday, right?" He shook his head and said, "If you want to get better, faster, then we start from tomorrow. Otherwise we can start from Sun..." I didn't let him complete,"I'll be there tomorrow." I said confidently with a happy smile. He nodded and got into his car and drove away. That night I went to sleep remembering the sweetest forehead kiss and dreaming about my blue-eyed stranger, or maybe not so much a stranger anymore.

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