A/N: Hey Guys! How're you doing? Is anyone still interested to read this story. Well I surely do not have courage to ask any one anything, it's been months and I just have no excuse to justify the delayed updates. This impromptu one is for Damonfangirl. As it's her birthday and I had this chapter ready lying in me computer. Happy Birthday Darling, thanks for your text. :)
Also I'd like to mention about my sister Amazing Aisha, because of her only I have started writing again, but no promises when's the next chapter going to come.
As for ATTN, I don't have any update but maybe next month, again no promises.

Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

2012

Damon was perched on the sofa, nuzzling an ice cream tub, eyes fixated at the television. Bouts of laughter rumbled from speakers, the audience was clapping aloud, comedy night was on full spree, but he seemed to be lost in another dimension. Almost mechanically he was scooping spoon full of the creamy goodness and bringing it all the way up to his mouth, gulping down the mouth full he dived again in the sugary pool, repeating the process over and over again.

"Seriously, didn't we go over this last weekend?"
Turning his head back, he spotted an extremely frustrated Elena standing near the armrest, dressed in pajamas and an oversized tee. His lips curled into a smile seeing that adorable circle on her nose, which did little to nothing to alleviate her anger.
"Do I look like a clown to you?" she boomed, "At least switch the TV off if you're not watching. And is that…" she crooked her head to get a glimpse of the tub that he tried to hide, "Did you finish the full tub of strawberry sundae?"

He peeked into the tub; his gaze meeting with the base of the container immediately. Looking up, he flashed a toothy grin, attempting to feign innocence, "There's still something, a spoon or two…" As soon as the words left his mouth the back of his head was met with a smack. "Aww…what was that for…" he complained, jutting his lower lip while rubbing the sore spot.
"Damon, you're 29 not 2. I mean how can a fully grown man finish one tub full of ice cream within, I dunno 2hours." She huffed, "Someday, you're gonna become diabetic, at the rate your going, it would come sooner rather than later."

"Um, Diabetes doesn't have anything to do with sugar consumption." He said while shifting to the side, urging her to sit next to him.
"But the docs don't let you have sugar in…"
"Yeah, but eating excess sugar will not cause the disease, I will gain some weight especially here," he pointed at his stomach, "and might lose my pearly whites. But that's about it." He said nonchalantly.
"Ewww… That's gross." She shrieked.
"Now, don't be mean, think about the bright side, how cute it will be me giving you gummy smiles." Covering his teeth with his lips he pretended to be a toothless grandpa, "Eee-leee-naa…"

She stared at him incredulously, before bursting into laughter. Damon couldn't help but join her contagious laugh, and they didn't stop anytime soon.

Never in his wildest dreams had he seen this coming, him befriending her, being in this free flowing companionship. Life was anything but easy since that dreadful day of his mother's funeral. The heavy rainfall had washed everything that he held dear to heart, leaving him broken, abandoned without a shelter. But fate has gifted him something precious, someone he'd longed for. Was it friendship, or a deeper bond, or maybe a casual relationship, regardless of the tag he knew he'd desired this, needed it, perhaps…

His momentary stupor was broken by the feeling of a warm body grazing against his, her laughter has subsided, her chocolate brown eyes stared deep into his, faces mere inches away. He couldn't remember when he slanted down on the sofa, left motionless by her hovering figure. Consumed by the spell, he gaped at the beautiful sight, her face befuddled by her untimely wake, her lips slightly chapped having a tint of the red color she must have worn throughout the day, and those eyes, untainted, angelic and something else.

In that moment all he wanted was to be held captive in those deep pools, he wanted to be the only one to be able to stare into those mesmerizing eyes, feeling the sudden urge to claim her sinful lips, wanting to wipe the crimson tinge from them. Adrenaline coursed through every cell of his body, arms clutched her waist while he covered the distance between their mouths. Brushing his lips against her, a mere caress and he was drowning deep. As his tongue came out to taste the forbidden sweet she jerked herself out of his grasp.

She stood up in frenzy, breathing jagged, one hand on her hip another tightly clasped over her mouth. Damon sat flabbergasted, realization dawning upon him of the moment they shared minutes earlier. He muttered several curse words under his breath, the last thing he intended was to jeopardize this relationship, what happened was just in the heat of the moment, it didn't hold a deeper insight to it, it couldn't, but, what if…

Now was not the time to dwell on 'what ifs', sucking in a deep inhale he started, "Elena, this…"
She held out her hand, she scrunched her nose in disgust. He could feel the tale tell signs of hurt rising to his heart, but decided to stay silent for the time being. "Damon, you pig! How long has it been since you've taken shower?"
He gulped the imaginary lump forming in his throat, pulling one arm up he sniffed his armpits. Waiting for the stench to hit his nostrils, but it never came, he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her grimacing face.

"Go take a shower. In future I'm going to revoke your free access to my apartment if you continue to behave like a smelly teenage boy." She announced authoritatively.
"Elena, it's the middle of the night, I'll catch cold if I…"
"Fine, as soon as the sun comes up I want your ass in the bathroom."
Damon chuckled, he could see straight through her act, but it was fun to just play along for a little while. She was about to run out of the scene when he halted her, "We need to talk, Elena, I don't want to ruin our friendship by…"
"God! We're not ruining anything. We're friends and we'll always be friends, nothing is going to change that. These things happen, you're a testosterone charged male and I'm…" she trailed off, "well, I'm me, the irresistible one. So no big deal. But if you try that again I should remind you, I've taken karate lessons…" she strikes a Ninja pose, slashing the wind with blades of steel (her palms).

He stifled his laughter with great difficulty while putting his hands up in the air gesturing his surrender. Satisfied, she turned on her heels and disappeared behind her bedroom door. Damon's laughter resonated through her tiny apartment, but all she heard was the loud thrumming of her heart. Squeezing her eyes shut she sank down against the white door. Hoping to calm her tingling nerves, she prayed sleep to claim her body.

"Umm, Damon… Don't…" she moaned, head thrown back, her hands pinned to the mattress, mouth agape, every hair on her body aroused. His mouth trailed down her bare skin, slowly proceeding south travelling through the mountains and valleys of her beautiful body. His head settled down at the apex of her thigh, his sultry breath ghosting over her damp undergarment.
"Damon… Please…" she rasped, writhing beneath him. Behind closed eyes she could see his nervous gaze roaming over her figure; reaching for his face she coaxed him to meet her eyes. Her tenser gaze conveyed every word that was needed, desire, need, permission. Without wasting a minute his mouth connected with her clothed core causing her to moan out loud.

"Elena…" his voice acted like a stimulant, causing her body to hum with pleasure. "Elena…" the word resonated again and again, and somehow it felt different. She furrowed her brows in confusion, keeping her eyes shut she tried to focus on the sound.
"Come on, Elena, wake up!"
She flutter opened her lids, finding herself in a rather embarrassing state, her tee was pulled up revealing her naked breast, one of her hand kneading the mound while the other was hidden inside her shorts.

Pulling the material down in a hurry she sat up, baffled by the situation, she couldn't unravel what was stronger, her wanton need for this man she called a friend or the distress to have such feelings in the first place.

He continued to pound on her door, "If you don't open this door within 5 seconds I'm gonna…"

"What is it Damon, why are you shouting like a mad man at the crack of dawn?" She asked in a groggy voice.
"Dawn? You need to get your eyes tested," he said "it's 10 in the morning." Before she could attack him with a witty reply he continued, "I… I got a text from my boss, there's a review meeting in two hours and everyone in the hierarchy should be present. Including the new recruits."
"But it's Sunday, aren't Sundays suppose to be like an eternal holiday or something. I mean this is… this is violation, exploitation and…"

He chuckled, "My sweet Elena, you're too naïve." He ruffled her already disoriented hair, "Wish everyone shared your views, world would have been a better place, no unsatisfied employees, all rainbows and fluffy bunnies." He swooned, "Um maybe horny bunnies." He winked.
Her eyes threatened to come out of its sockets, a deep shade of red spreading over her face. "You, you're…" Before her hand could swat his arms he caught hold of it mid air, capturing them behind her back.
"Damon, let me go…" she squirmed attempting to break free.
He smirked, "Make me, Karate champ…" His eyes moved to hers again, descending quickly to her lips, then back to her eyes.
"Damon… Please…" the sound was similar to the dream she had mere moments ago, only this time she didn't know her pleas were of protest or of acceptance. "Please…" without conscious effort her eyelids dropped and behind the thick lashes a tear slid down her cheeks.

Releasing his hold, Damon's hands immediately crept their way to her face, cradling her soft cheeks. "I'm so sorry… Elena… I didn't mean to… mean to hurt you. God, I'm so stupid!" His hand reached for her slender arms inspecting her tender flesh for a sign of bruise while the other hand stayed glued to her face.

The lingering touches did nothing to sooth the flame igniting inside her bloodstream. She had to disengage from his tantalizing hold. Finding him distracted she bent her knee and in a swift movement jabbed it against his stomach, not to hurt him but her sudden move startled him nonetheless.

"What the hell." He growled, clutching his stomach.
"First rule, never let your guard down. Second, if your opponent is stronger divert his attention, wait for the right moment and strike!"
Damon narrowed his eyes, his face hardened, indicating this feud is far from resolved. "Get ready, we'll grab a quick breakfast and then I'll drop you at Molly's before I head towards office."

Half an hour passed and the two of them were at the parking lot, Damon unlocking his 1965 Ford mustang. It has been a year that he found an opening for regional sales trainee in a small advertizing company. It's a small agency and his fancy degree outshined the other interviewees. The crimson beauty caught his eye on a fine Wednesday morning while he was rushing towards his office. This new job earned him minimum wages that he was able to strike a deal with an adamant garage owner. The rusty car engine doesn't always agree with him, it's old, to most it's nothing but a piece of junk but it's precious to him, something that he's earned and the feeling is nothing short of exhilarating.

Damon smiled glazing at the car; suddenly his vision of red metal was bartered with denim jacket and shorts. "Hold up, little missy, where do you think you're going?"
Rolling her eyes she started, "To the driver's seat, genius! I'm driving today, cause if you drive there's…"
He didn't let her finish, "Over my dead body! What makes you think I'm gonna hand my baby over to you?" he huffed, "Besides, you don't even know how to…"
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. I'll be good, I promise." Her voice honey coated, flashing her best puppy dog eyes she asked, "Now can I drive, please."
He smiled, placing his hands on her shoulder, "Elena, my sweet, manipulative vixen, you're not going to fool me with those doe eyes." His voice stern as he shoved her lightly and walked past her pouting form claiming his rightful position behind the steering wheel.

They drove past the steel city, the holiday aura was evident, empty streets, abandoned shops, a few kids strolling here and there. None in a hurry to begin with the day's chore, no hustling crowd hurrying to subways, a break from the uptight life. They entered their usual café next to Molly's apartment, placing their order at the counter they slid down a booth.

As the food arrived they quietly started munching on it, both looking through the glass window, lost in their own trance. His lazy gaze fell on her face, taking in the oblivious girl seated in front, stuffing the remaining French toast inside an already gorged mouth. He chuckled inwardly not to interrupt the amusing scene. He knows these moments are to be cherished; the beauty of life lies in these simple emotions, joy, laughter, care, amusement and… and this girl…

His reverie was broken by the waving hand of the said girl he was gawking at mere seconds back. "Damon, you have that weird grin on your face again." She said swallowing her mouthful.
He shook his head and took hold of the coffee mug, sipping the hot liquid he brushed these thought to the back of his mind. "Damon, what's going on?" She tried again, her voice a tad bit serious.
"Nothing, it's just I was thinking about all this."
"About what?"
"Life, me and… you…"
Pinned by his incessant stare Elena drew in a sharp inhale, words came slow as she gazed into those mesmerizing depth of his blue irises, "What about me?"

He opened his mouth to answer but stopped seeing the marred expression on her face. Her eyes were fixed at something behind his head, palms balled into fists, face a shade paler than before. Furrowing his brows he snapped his neck back to catch hold of the intruder but he was met with an empty stand. The bell dangling in air indicating one's presence.

Before he could get a whiff, Elena rose from her seat, fixing her jacket in a hurry, "Wait, what happened?" He enquired, baffled by her sudden action.
"Um, it's nothing. I need to get to Molly's, I'll text you later." She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her wrist halting her in her position.
"What's the rush, besides; I always walk you to Molly's door. What are you hiding Elena, whom did you see?" His concerned tone only fueled her agitation.

Yanking her hand from his grasp she blurted out, "Damn it Damon, I'm not a kid anymore. And you…" She pointed a finger at him, "You're certainly not my father nor my boyfriend. Weren't you suppose to be at office by this time? It's 11:45 already."

In a quick suction he dropped his eyes to his hand and when he glanced up Elena was nowhere to be found. Never before he'd experienced this side of her, he didn't know how to respond, he could feel anger rising up to his face, but his mind was clouding with worry. Sighing out loud he made his way to the counter once more, after clearing their bill he headed straight for office.

There's not a chance in hell that he'd reach on time, but somehow all he could concentrate was on her sudden outburst. Something was terribly wrong, he could feel dread settling down in his bone, the feeling all too familiar. Holding the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip, he exhaled a few times. 'Let her be safe.' Was the only word he mumbled as he drove to his destination.

A/N: Review!