Alright! So here's to being almost 5 months late on this update. I have found out that if people beg me enough to continue something then I will continue it out of pure guilt. I have almost forgotten were I was originally going with this story and I am pretty sure that I have lost my once awesome mojo. So please don't hate me too much. I am only 14 and pretty much stupid like that. I have tried to make this chapter very long so that hopefully I can make up for how much I suck at this job I love you guys!

"So, since you practically told the whole human race that you are sleeping with your alcoholic vampire boyfriend, does that mean I can tell all my friends that I'm sleeping with you…and that you have a birthmark on the inside of your-"

"One," I cut in before Damon could say something both mortifying and completely inappropriate. "You don't have any friends. You only have me and two; if you tell anyone about that birthmark then I will slap you so hard that your dead father will feel it." I had the grim satisfaction of watching Damon's smirk slowly fall from his lips. He stuck his tongue out at me. "In plus," I started from my side of Damon's bed. "I doubt that anyone really heard my little…spur of the moment confession."

Damon snorted as he put his long arms into his favorite leather jacket. "Is that what you're calling it? And you're right by the way."

Wow, never thought I would see the day when Damon admitted he was wrong. Well, there was a first time for everything. I scowled at nothing in particular and turned back to the mirror, carefully applying more lip-gloss.

"But you're only right because the whole world didn't hear. But I am pretty sure that any vampire within hearing range did. And may I remind you that the range for a vampire is pretty damn big." Damon spoke nonchalantly, like he was just giving me a friendly reminder on some random fact, but I knew better. I had cracked this whole Damon code a long time ago.

So I just pretended that I had no clue what he was talking about. "I honestly don't know what you mean. As far as I'm concerned there are no vampires except you around here." I mean, it wasn't all a lie. But we didn't know where Stefan had gone. He didn't even have to go in the first place! But if I had gotten dumped by my boyfriend for my sister then I guess I would have booked it out of town too.

A fresh wave of quilt had spread over my face, making my eyes darker and my lips tighten in a noticeable scowl. Talking about Stefan that way, even if it was in my head, just didn't seem right. I had loved him. I still do love him, but more as a sister than anything else. It just wasn't fair. Why did I have to choose in the first place? Why did they both have to be so wonderful in their own way?

I slammed the lip-gloss down on the dresser harder than I meant to, shaking the antique mirror against my force. "It doesn't even matter anymore, Damon. It is what it is. If Stefan heard me, then fine. He already knows I chose you instead. He was bound to figure out anyway." It sounded like I was trying to reassure myself more than anything. "And I would really appreciate it if you didn't bring up Stefan in the first place. Or imply it or whatever you were trying to do."

I expected to hear some snappy comeback from Damon but all I heard was the chirping from the serene birds outside of his window. That wasn't right. Damon always had something to say back. When I looked over he was looking at me with sympathetic blue eyes. I could clearly see my reflection in them. I looked scared out of my mind. "Damon?" I hoped it wasn't what I thought it was. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Damon continued to say nothing, shaking his head softly. I hoped that meant he didn't have anything bad to say. Either that or I was majorly screwed.

I gnawed on my lip gently. "Are you shaking your head because you have nothing to say to me or because you're afraid of telling me really bad news? I can never really tell with you."

He suddenly took a deep breath and moved a hand through his dark hair, making it stand up on end. "Maybe I should tell you a little bit later. Like after we go see Jenna."

That was probably a good idea because at the mention of Jenna's name I broke out in a cold sweat. She still didn't know what was going on. She didn't know why I was spending all my time at the Boarding House, or that I was even at the Boarding House and she most definitely didn't know about me and Damon. Maybe news from the school got back to her though. It wouldn't be surprising. She didn't even know that Stefan was in Italy trying to track down my evil doppelganger and somewhere in between that time I found herself falling for Damon…hard. And I was sure that all hell would break loose when I told her about what I was really doing; heating it up in Damon's bed, shower, floor and couch. But I really didn't need to go into details, did I?

"Yeah," I took a shaky breath to compose myself. It was Saturday. I should have been having fun with my new freedom, or at least what lasted of it, and not worrying about all that supernatural crap. "Maybe we should." I f what Damon told me was really bad news then it would probably just screw the whole meeting with Jenna up. When she would be asking my where in the hell I had been I might just burst into tears. Maybe that was a good thing considering tears always seemed to sober Jenna's rage up just a tad bit.

I stood up from my spot and looked at the room. "Well, I sure did trash the place." Damon's normally clean and tidy room was covered in my clothes that he managed to sneak out of my own room. My makeup was strewn across the length of the cabinet with the mirror attached and even from here I could see my toiletries in the bathroom. "Too bad you don't have room service. Sure would have come in handy." I managed to give Damon a small smile from where I was standing.

Damon walked over to where I was; each step as graceful as the last. "Yeah, if I didn't know any better than I would have sworn that this was a much larger version of your room. It's kind of sad." He suddenly leaned over, scooping something in his hand. It was my pink underwear. "But then again…sometimes you can't complain."

I punched him lightly in the arm but then made up for it by grabbing his hand. It was warm in my grip and the ring he wore glinted in the streaming sun, causing pretty patterns to glow on the opposite wall. "I think we better go before I change my mind."

Damon smiled at me, flashing bright white teeth in my direction. "You ready to go get yelled at?" He tossed my undergarment on the edge of his bed, like he wanted the whole world to know that I was his. His and his only that is.

"Well, better late than never is what my mom always used to say. Didn't we originally tell Jenna that I was away at a summer camp or something?"

Damon shrugged, dragging me along and out of his room. "I think so but I don't really remember."

I quickly followed him down the stairs and made my way over to the grand door, putting my shoes on in the process. "But how come she never called here? She knows that if I didn't come home then I would've come here. Don't you think she would know that it's called summer camp for a reason? Summer's over and school has started. She has to know that I should be home by now or at least here."

Damon disappeared around a corner, probably to the kitchen, and the appeared before me, an apple in his hand. I took it with a silent 'thanks' even though my stomach was in knots over what I was about to endure.

"Oh, she's called." I looked at Damon, the apple hanging from my mouth. There was a light smile on his perfect mouth and a glint of pure joy in those cobalt eyes.

"I'm sorry," I held up one finger, trying to figure this out. "Can you run that one by me again? What do you mean she called? How did I not know about this? If I answered her calls and told her I was over here then maybe I wouldn't be getting yelled at in about a couple of minutes."

"I know, but I like watching you suffer. It's pretty funny. In plus, if you told her that you were over here after coming back from this so called 'summer camp' then she probably would have told you to come home. And I for one would not have been okay with that." He grinned suddenly, a real Cheshire cat grin. "And then we wouldn't have been able to get in double digits."

I groaned and yanked open the heavy door, smirking when Damon grimaced and covered his eyes with his sunglasses. The sun was exceptionally bright today; something I'm sure Damon could have felt right about now. "You really don't like making things easy for me, do you?" I stepped out into the bright sunlight and padded down the stairs. Up front his car looked extra shiny and very expensive. Too bad Damon cared for it like it was his own flesh and blood. I wasn't even really aloud to touch it.

"I was just using logical thinking. I did you a solid actually. If you had to go back home then you wouldn't have been able to spend all that time with me."

I rolled my eyes and muttered accusing words along the lines of 'jack-ass,' something that didn't go unnoticed by Damon. "I hope you know that if you take the O out of your name you would get 'damn,' as in 'Damn, why did I ever agree to go out with this conceited jerk?'

"Yeah, well I heard that in some languages the name Elena just means annoying and bitter."

I plopped down in the comforting leather of the seat after almost ripping the door of its hinges, relaxing in it as a headache formed between my eyebrows. I still had the energy to scoff at Damon's ridiculous accusation. "Okay, Damon I have a C in Foreign Languages and even I know that is complete bull. At least my name doesn't sound close to 'demon.' And why would it matter if I had to go home? You could have just climbed up my window for goodness sake!"

Damon pushed the keys in the ignition and started the car, the rumble of the engine deafening my ears. "Well, I could have but my bed is bigger and you are way too loud in bed.

My mouth dropped to the floor. I was the loud one in bed? And how the hell did this conversation turn to this? "I'm not talking about sex!" I blushed when I realized that we weren't driving yet and passing joggers looked at me like I was nuts. Well, I was. So they all could just suck it. "I'm talking about how we could have easily seen each other even if I was staying in my house and in my room. The way it's supposed to be! Not everything has to be about sex, Damon. I swear sometimes that's all I feel you want me for…" I grimaced as that made its way through my lips.

I could tell Damon was using his new found frustration on the gas of his car because when he started driving it felt like we were being launched out of a rocket. Or maybe this was how he drove all the time, I wasn't so sure though.

"Well, maybe I should have told Jenna that you were over with me then. Maybe I should have told her that while she was out of her mind with worry on where you were when you were supposed to be home that you were screwing me. Apparently that's all I'm good for to some people." He said the last part quietly and I felt a sharp pang in my heart.

I always managed to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. First I bring up that our ages in human years were too big a difference a couple days ago, and now this. He probably felt like this many times, deep down. I bet that whenever he got with a girl in his past life that he felt it was just sex. He probably felt like everybody only liked him because he was good looking enough to be liked. And he wasn't trying to be self-absorbed and cocky when he thought that; it was just the truth. And know I just managed to make things 99.9% worse. I could never quite manage to keep my mouth shut sometimes, especially when we bickered like this. But we bickered all the time, even when we weren't together and I should have expected by now that Damon would have been the one to get his feeling hurt. I remembered when there was a time when I thought he didn't have feelings. But then I saw his face when he found out Katherine was gone. Then I knew; I knew that he did feel something in that cold dead body of his and that his heart did ache even if it didn't beat like it was supposed to.

Damon continued to weave throughout the winding road, his face an unreadable mask behind those mirrored Ray bans. It made me wonder what he was really thinking. He couldn't possibly think that I was just using him for my own personal gain, could he? Who did he think I was, Katherine? And how did he manage to make this seem like it was my fault when I was the one being offended? Was this what they called reverse psychology? Well, it sure did work.

Deciding to be the bigger person, I was the one that spoke up first. "Damon, you know that I would never use you like that. I'm not that kind of person. You know that better than anyone." I said it so quietly that I wasn't sure that even with his super human hearing that he would be able to hear me. It sure didn't look like he was listening, let alone actually hearing me.

Finally he spoke. "My whole life I've been used, Elena. I guess the fact that someone actually likes me for me is going to take some getting used to." Despite the grim tone his voice held the fact that he smiled at the end made me feel loads better.

I was most certainly satisfied by our little Dr. Phil session. It felt like every day I was learning something new and interesting about him. We had about 168 years to make up for so I was sure there had to be some weird things about his childhood buried deep within him. But as soon as I settled back into my seat I heard Damon mumble something under his breath. It sounded remotely like 'but you're still by far the loudest in bed.'

Instead of starting up another round of bickering like I usually would have in other situations, I did the only other thing I could think of without hurting his feelings again. I pressed the palm of my hand against his upper thigh, lightly stroking and then said, 'you better believe it, Honey.' This was exactly what he had said a couple nights ago when I told him that he drove me crazy.

"But I'm sure you can get pretty loud yourself, especially when I do that one thing with my mou-" I chuckled when I saw Damon turn towards me, a big old grin on his face.

"I think I've finally managed to corrupt you. I knew it was only a matter of time before you cracked."

"Was that your life goal right there? To turn me over to the dark side so I could be with you? Or was it just easier to get in my pants that way?" I snickered and reached for the zipper to his pants, slowly pulling it down and undoing the button.

"You know if we crash that not only will it be your fault but I could just walk away while you probably couldn't." His voice implied that he was completely in check with his emotions but I knew him, knew that just on the edge of his voice was the beginnings of desire. I found out that I was good at tampering with this side of him. It was a lot easier than you would think it would be. Just because you were a vampire didn't mean that you couldn't get down and dirty and have some actual emotion behind it. Damon was living, well non-living, proof of that.

"Well then I guess you better be extra careful… and hope that there are no oncoming deer." I toyed with the edges of his black boxers, leaning over so that my hair was fanned out against his thighs. This really was dangerous, especially since I wasn't really in my seatbelt like I was supposed to.

Lifting the bottom of his shirt up, I pressed my lips against the soft, warm flesh right above his bellybutton. I absently wondered what it would look like if people in passing cars saw us. Hopefully they would be so busy with their own lives that they wouldn't notice me wrapped up in mine. Really, the whole object of what I was doing was to prove to Damon just how loud I knew he could get. And I couldn't do that if I didn't toy with him a little bit. Hopefully he wouldn't be too made when I pulled away all the sudden.

Glancing up at Damon and making sure that his hands were still firmly planted on the wheel so that both our lives were not in danger, I managed to push his jeans further down his lap, which proved difficult considering he was sitting down. But I was in determined Elena mode and I usually got what I wanted in this stage. I was surprised that Damon had just not called it off already. Maybe he was as determined as I was to win this little game of mine.

"You can toy with me all you want Elena but I am not going to give. This is 168 years of keeping quiet during these situations coming to hand. Good luck, Sweet cheeks."

"But why would you have to keep quiet?" The intellectual part of me wanted to know more but that didn't stop me from multi-tasking and moving part of his boxers away, kissing the part of his bare waist that they had had once fell flat across. "Why would it matter?"

Damon sighed, like he had to explain this to young girls all the time. "Back in the ancient times it was considered almost rude to be loud during sexual intercourse."

I couldn't help but snort at this little fact. "Of course you have all the experience in the world at being quiet. I should have known I was going to get foiled sooner or later." I looked down at his lap. Damn! He didn't even look remotely aroused.

"Well, this is honesty going to be no fun if you aren't even going to be remotely affected by it. Maybe I should find someone who isn't so advanced in suppressing their male urges."

Damon chuckled. "Give it time, Elena. I'm sure your day will come. Pun intended."

I swatted his stomach. "Okay that was just inappropriate and un-called for. You should really give me some warning before you start spouting off innuendos like that. I don't know how it was in ancient times but now-a-days it's just crude."

Damon gave a light shrug of his shoulders. "Sorry, guess I'm not that advanced in suppressing that male urge. I'm not that changed."

I somehow managed to compose my strong instinct and slug him as hard as I could in the jaw and just settled in a heavy eye rolling. "Well, I can already tell you that you and your little friend here," I nodded to his lap, "aren't going to be very much fun this morning." I huffed, held back my major pout and sat in my seat the right way, readjusting my seatbelt. I stubbornly crossed my arms over my chest. "I was going to button your pants back up but now I don't think I will."

Damon muttered, "Oh, the horror of it all," and pulled his shirt back over the exposed patch of skin on his stomach. This just made me pout harder. You think that someone like Damon would be all over casual sex and then he decides that he wants to be the responsible one? Sheesh. It was hard keeping up with him sometimes.

Noticing that we were rounding the road to my house my heart suddenly seemed to be beating a million miles a minute. Okay, so maybe I wasn't ready for this. Maybe I should just bag it and put the lid back on before it was too late and beg for Damon to turn this darn car around already. But surely Aunt Jenna could hear this car approaching, even though the all the windows appeared to be closed despite the humid heat of the day. And she knows what this car sounds like. She just has to know that this is Damon.

"If I go down," I told Damon between clenched teeth as we came to a stop in front of the house. "Then I'm bringing you down with me. Are we clear, Salvatore?"

Damon just smiled and zipped his pants back up nonchalantly. "Peachy. Let's just hope that Jenna doesn't try to kill me with the nearest kitchen utensils." He got out and I followed him, closing the door to his car carefully. Maybe if I was extra quiet about this then it would buy me enough time to get the hell out of-

"Oh my God, Elena Clair Gilbert! You are in so much trouble!" I grimaced at Jenna's piercing voice that was almost hysterical with worry. I tried walking over to where Jenna was standing but she had run and met me halfway. "Do you even understand how close I was to calling the police? Do you even know what you put me through? What you put your brother through? Where the Hell were you? Your summer camp ended days ago! School just started and you don't have the decency to call me and tell me where you were? I can't believe this." Jenna paced back and forth, hands on her forehead.

I, on the other hand was enclosed with relief. So I had said that I was away at a summer camp. Now the rest of the explaining would come almost easy. But before I could tell Jenna to calm down and explain this whole mix up she was screaming again. Well, at least the neighbors would get a free show. I was glad I could make somebody happy this morning.

"And what is Damon doing with you? You hate him! And now suddenly he's driving you around?" Jenna's face was turning an ugly shade of purple.

I heard an annoyed scoff and then Damon's voice. "Hardly."

I was trying to send little telepathic daggers towards Damon. Telling him to please shut up before this turned to the point of no return. I was already in too deep for my liking.

"Jenna," I tried to make my voice as calm and reasonable as possible. Maybe this wasn't going to be so easy. "Please just come inside so we can talk. I can explain everything." She must have been pretty out of breath from her previous screeching because all she did was node her head, like the effort of anything else was too much to handle. I didn't know whether bringing Damon inside would make things better or worse. I chose the latter, so I just told him to stay put.

We made our way through the front lawn, onto the porch steps, in through the front door and that is where I stopped. Just around the corner I saw Jeremy lounging on the couch. I waved to him. It felt like forever since I had seen the kid even though it was about 4 weeks tops. To my immense surprise he waved back but there was a wicked looking grin on his face. He was happy to see me back but even happier to see me suffering for my actions. Same old Jeremy.

I was about to ask what I had missed when I was away when Jenna came storming into the living room, sitting on the couch.

"Leave." She told Jeremy in one simple pert sentence. He didn't need to be told twice and I didn't blame him. I would have been gone too. In fact I wish I was gone right now.

She turned on me as soon as he was gone. "I hope you have the time because you have a lot of explaining to do." It looked like some of the fire was gone from her eyes but it could have just been a trick of the light.

"Well," I began what I was thinking was going to be a long story. "After camp got done I just decided that I didn't want to go home just quite yet. And I wanted to spend some time with Stefan." I almost chocked on his name but managed to suppress it back down my throat. "I figured that since I had all my clothes and everything over there that I would just stay for a while. And the reason I couldn't call you was because the phones were down. Damon's car broke down and he just got it back yesterday, otherwise I would have come over and told you what was going on." And just for good measure I started to tear up a little bit. I had always thought myself a good actress and I took this time to congratulate myself on making up that story so quickly. "I'm so sorry, Aunt Jenna. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I just don't get any of this, Elena. Why didn't you just come home first and then go stay with Stefan? At least then I would have known where you were."

"I don't know. I was just being an idiot and irresponsible and selfish." And this time when I said it I wasn't lying. I was an idiot and I was most definitely being irresponsible. A responsible person would have told Jenna about the vampire card a long time ago. "I guess I was just so caught up in what I wanted that I didn't realize what I was putting you through. But I swear that nothing like this will ever happen again. Not if I can help it at least." And there I went again; being deceitful. I knew better than anyone that there would probably be a time when I had to stay with someone who could protect me if another cracked- up vampire was on the loose. It was what you got when you pissed the paranormal off. It was what you deserved, but I never had a choice. I was born to be a beacon for the dead and the crazy! It wasn't my fault that I was put into the wrong bloodline.

"Well, I can definitely assure you that you will never be put into one of those damn summer camps ever again. They don't even teach you anything! All they do is give kids an excuse to get knocked up."

I couldn't help but smile and surpass a laugh at Jenna's directness. She really did have a child-like mind. It was like someone had placed this adolescent, pink bubble gum chewing, gossiping girl into the body of an older physique. "I'm glad you disapprove Jenna because I never want to go back to one of those things for as long as I live." And that was the truth, but I had a sense that maybe I wouldn't be able to help where I was put, even if it was make-believe.

"And do I even want to know why Damon just happens to be driving you here? The last time I checked you wanted to rip his heart out and then dance all over it." Jenna looked like she was trying to put up the 'concerned parent' façade but I knew that she was dying to hear what was going on. She was so unlike my mother that it wasn't even funny.

In my head I cracked my knuckles and my neck. Time for round two of the lying! Ding ding ding! "Yeah, well I didn't really want him to but Stefan was at an early dentist appointment and Damon just offered. He promised he would be on his best behavior." Something about my sentence seemed incorrect, probably because I couldn't imagine Stefan at the dentist. I could tell that Jenna was thinking the same thing because she was giving me an awfully lengthy and solid look. I was almost expecting her to jump up from her spot and scream 'Liar!' right in my face, but all she did was sit there and absently chew her lip.

"So have you forgiven him or something? Do I have to put him on the list of people that you are absolutely not allowed to see for as long as you live?"

I tried my best to scoff and wave a hand in her direction. "Please, I'll visit Damon on my own free will when alien robots start taking over the world. We didn't even talk to each other on the way over here." Yup, that's right. We did a lot more than talk. Well, at least I did. Damon just tried to prove to me how much more mature he was than me, so my outright seduction wasn't very impressive.

"I just really want you to know how I much I regret not trying to tell you where I was going to be. I truly never thought it would get this out of hand and I would do anything to take it back if I could.

This time I could most definitely see the fight draining from Jenna's eyes. Now she just looked sad. She reached over and put me in a bone-splinting hug that felt oddly comforting given the circumstances. "Oh, I was just so worried about you, Honey. I didn't know where you were or if someone had taken you. I'm just so glad you're okay."

From over Jenna's shoulder I could see Damon through the window. He was grinning and giving me a big thumbs up sign. I rolled my eyes and pulled back from Jenna's hug.

"And you have no clue how long you are grounded for. We are talking the mother of all groundings." Great, just when I thought I was out of the shark pit I get pulled back in. "And there is no way in heck that you will be spending any time at that Boarding House any time soon. You'll only see Stefan at school. That means no dates, no shopping, and no seeing your friends. You also get your cellphone taken away. You are to drive straight home after school and that is that. We'll see if a month is long enough for you." She put out a hand and I groaned as I pulled out my cell from the back pocket of my jeans.

It was obvious that Jenna didn't realize that I wasn't dating Stefan anymore and she definitely did not count on Damon coming through the window of my room anytime soon. Guess Damon would just have to do with my small bed and being quieter than usual tonight. At least we'll get to test that theory.

"I completely understand." Even though I really didn't. If she was so worried about me then why didn't she just come by and look in the Boarding House herself? "Can I at least go and get my stuff out of Dam-" I stopped myself. I had almost said Damon's room. "I mean can I at least go get my stuff. I promise to come straight back, no stops along the way."

Jenna almost looked like she was about to say no but after a while she complied. I made a show of rushing back out of the door and to Damon's car. I tried my best not to look like I was relieved when I saw him again. We were supposed to hate each other right now, not making goo-goo eyes at one another when we thought Jenna wasn't looking. Maybe my acting wasn't as sharp as I thought it was.

"Act natural," I said to Damon. "She's still watching us." I didn't relax my limbs until we were pulling out of Jenna's range of vision. "We have to hurry unless I want to have an early death wish. You think that being terrorized by sadistic vampires would make me less afraid of her but it really doesn't."

"You're a really good actress by the way. The crying was a little over the top though." Damon making fun of my really wasn't necessary (I already felt like crap) but I appreciated him trying to lighten the heavy mood with his annoying Salvatore charm. Some people never really learned.

I shrugged. "I did what I had to do. But the funny thing was she never said that I had to avoid you. Well, she brought it up but I pretended to hate you. So technically if you snuck in my window tonight that wouldn't be going against her wishes." I looked at Damon, hoping he got my not so subtle hint.

"But your bed is so small." He groaned

"Put a sock in it, Damon. You either take it or leave it." I already knew what the answer was. Of course he was going to say yes.

"Well, of course I'm going to say yes." He paused for a while, looking at me from above his sunglasses. "I just have to tell you that not so good news we were talking about earlier. That might ruin the mood for you though so don't be so surprised when I tell you, okay?"

"I'm pretty sure that I will be fine, Damon. We've been through a lot of crap and a little bad news never hurt anyone." I sounded confident but inside I was nervously awaiting the news. It couldn't be good if even Damon looked bothered by it.

He spoke softly, almost to himself. "Alright, just don't shoot the messenger."

I looked at Damon from the corner of my eye, hoping to catch a sign of what it was he was talking about. Bu there wasn't anything. "This isn't about Stefan is it?" I could have sworn that I saw his stiffen and his jaw clench, but when I turned to face him he was back to his lounging state. Maybe I really was seeing things. "You would tell me if it was, wouldn't you?"

"I told you that I'll tell you tonight. In that extremely small bed of yours. Hope Jeremy doesn't hear anything. Young ears really should be guarded by such adult things."

This time I did punch Damon.

When we reached the house I all but flung myself out of the car and through the door of the Boarding House. I made sure to remind myself that I wouldn't be seeing this for a long time. Not if Jenna didn't trust me enough to walk out the front door of our own house. In Damon's room everything was how I left it…sadly. In times like this I wish that I wasn't such a slob. My room sure didn't look like this. Maybe this just had to do with what Damon was talking about. Perhaps he really had tarnished me.

I absently started picking up free clothes that were strewn across the floor and putting it in the small suitcase I had brought when I first knew I was staying here. All of Damon's clothes that were also covering the floor I managed to carelessly place on his bed. If I knew I was coming back here and staying then I would have just placed everything in the washer and dryer. But I knew that I wasn't coming back soon and that hit me kind of hard. I was used to this house and all of its rooms and complicated turns and twists. I think that I would even miss the stairs where I had tripped frequent times and almost managed to get killed. See, I didn't need the vampires to know that I was going to die young. I just had myself to worry about.

I was looking under Damon's bed for many missing and torn undergarments when I head Damon come in and place his keys on his desk. "Is there a reason you look like you're never going to see this room again? Jenna is going to let you have your freedom back sooner or later. I know Jenna's type. They can never really stick to the idea…but they do make good company."

I nodded, thinking that Damon somehow managed to insult Jenna and compliment her all in one sentence. "Yeah, I know." I straightened up and dusted my hands against my jeans. "I guess I just feel guilty that she doesn't know about you and me or even Stefan." I hadn't realized how true those words were until I said them. It wasn't fair to keep Jenna in the dark all the time. These lies were going to get the best of me one day. "Do you think I should tell her?" I walked over to the dresser and avoided my reflection, scooping up an armful of cosmetics and throwing them into my overflowing suitcase. "Or do you think I should wait for the right time?" was there even a right time?

Damon didn't respond. I didn't even hear him walk over to me, so when he put his arms around my waist and his chin on the top of my head I gave a little surprised jump. "I think," he whispered into my ear. "That you should tell her tonight when I come over."

I blanched at his idea. "You just want to hear me get yelled at twice in one day." I turned around in his arms and pushed him firmly in his chest, causing him to stumble a little towards the bed. "And if you think you're getting any tonight then you should really reconsider. I think you should just come over tonight to tell me this horrible news that I can tell you've been begging to tell me ever since this morning."

Damon sat on the edge of his bed and watched as I trailed into the bathroom. It was a relief seeing that there wasn't nearly that much stuff in here that I thought there was. I was running out of room. When I walked back into his view I could see an admirably cute crease in between his eyes, his nose wrinkled up like he smelt something bad.

I started to flatten my luggage down and try to zip the suitcase up; noticeably ignoring the face he was making and pretending he hadn't done anything in the first place. "Unless you aren't going to tell me. In that case then you won't be seeing the inside of my bedroom for the rest of your long life."

"That is probably the scariest thing you have said to me since I've met you."

I reached into my back pocket when I remembed that my phone had been jacked by a concerned parent. I groaned. "We better go before Jenna thinks I managed to escape to China or something."

Damon grabbed the hefty bag from my hand and sauntered out of the door before me, waiting until I was out and then closing it behind him.

"I really hope Jenna doesn't try to kill me when I tell her that the boy I'm dating just happens to be the one person I hate the most in the world."

"So you are going to tell her." It wasn't a question and I had full access to Damon's sneer.

"Yup, so that is exactly why when I die you are going to say very nice things at my funeral. If you don't then you better believe I will come back from my grave just to tell you all the nasty things I found out about you over these past weeks. Including that time in 1971 where this random girl thought you were stalking her so she called the cops. She said that you were a crazy male stripper on drugs…"

"In my defense I actually had dappled in some pole dancing."

Oh God, my hands are severely cramped from all this typing. I think I might actually need surgery. I really hope that this chapter made up for some of the hard feelings I am sure that some of you might have developed for me over this time period. And how excited are you guys for the season 3 premier of Vampire diaries? The first episode Elena is turning 18! And I even heard from a certain Ian Somerhalder on Twitter that Damon will also be getting naked…for like the billionth time! And do we have any Teen Wolf fans here? I sure do like that show for some odd reason. It must be something about the paranormal. Make sure to review and make my frown turn upside down

Love, Eden…