AN: As always I can't thank you enough for your alerts, favorites, and especially reviews! I love reading what you think and they really make my day so keep them coming. :)

In this chapter you can see that things are definitely developing in all the ways...good and bad, maybe. I'll just tell you that. ;)

Thank you for reading and please review!

Elena was finishing to get ready for her date with Mason Lockwood, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. He travelled a lot from Mystic Falls to Florida due to his job and his passion for surf, but those few times when he came home they used to hang out from time to time.

This time though his staying seemed to be permanent and that's why he officially asked her out. It had been a long time since she'd been on a real first date and she didn't know if she was ready. What if she screwed up? What if she made herself ridiculous in front of him? Somehow it didn't feel right and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

She was wearing a black tight dress with long sleeves, her hair up in a high pony-tail and long earrings and heels.

Around her neck hanged her mother's necklace and she stroked it fondly.

Just then her phone started ringing and she sighed in relief when she saw that it was just Stefan.

"Hey." She answered as she put eye-liner on.

"Getting ready for your big date?" Damon asked with his snarky tone.

She gasped in surprise when she heard his voice and she suddenly felt butterflies all over her stomach. Why was she happy that it was Damon and not Stefan? What was happening to her? And most of all why did she feel those butterflies?

"Yes, Damon." She said pretending to be annoyed. "What do you want? Why are you calling from Stefan's phone?"

"My credit is over." He replied nonchalantly.

"Mmh, spending a little too much time on the phone with Andie?" She said and just then she realized how bitterly it came out.

"Hell no." He said with a snort. "I do have a job, you know. I call. They pick up. Rings a bell?" He replied sarcastically.

"Whatever, you still haven't answered my question. What do you want?" She asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Annoying you." He said.

"Excuse me?" She said scoffing.

She heard him chuckling his devishly laugh and she stomped her foot. He was unbelievable.

"Goodbye Damon." She said as she was about to end the call.

"Oh come on, don't be so fussy." He said. "Why don't you ditch your date and come over here hanging out with Stefan…and me?" He said in a mischevious voice.

For just one second she thought about saying yes and she mentally slapped herself for it. She really did want to go out with Mason. He was hot and he was nice with her. Most of all he was going to be a good distraction…especially to pull her out of her 'crushing on Damon'.

"You have your girlfriend Andie for that. Call her." She quickly replied before hanging up.

She bit her lip as she realized that maybe she'd been somehow a little too rude. She didn't have time to think about it though as she suddenly heard the doorbell ringing.

She pulled her brown leather jacket on and took her purse, heading downstairs.

She took a deep breath before opening the door and her expression was of utter shock when she opened it.

Instead of finding Mason, she was currently faced with a smirking Damon in front of her.

"You've gotta be kidding me." She spat rolling her eyes.

"So nice to see you too, Elena." He said still smirking as he entered.

"Oh sure, come in, make yourself at home!" She said sarcastically.

He took a sit on the couch in the living room and started playing with something he found on the table.

Elena closed the door with a sigh and went to sit next to him.

She took the baseball ball he was playing with from his hand and ignored the tingles that she felt when she made contact with his hands.

"What's up? Just spill it, Damon." She urged.

"I don't like that Lockwood guy." He said knitting his eyebrows with a thoughtful expression.

She actually laughed out loud and shook her head at him.

"You came here just to tell me that you don't like Mason? Are you serious Damon?"

"Of course not." He said rolling his eyes. "I need to talk to you about something."

She suddenly looked into his eyes, surprise written all over her face. She hoped it was something positive because all of a sudden a feel of pride hit her. He was starting to trust her, no matter what she subject was about.

"About what?" She asked.

"My mother." He said as he gulped nervously a little.

"Oh." She just managed to say as her eyes widened a little in shock.

It was such a touchy and important matter for him; she couldn't believe that he was going to talk about it with her.

"Don't worry I won't keep you too long." He said as he smiled slightly.

He seemed so vulnerable and nervous all of a sudden that she just wanted to hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be okay. And she would have, if it was any other person. But with Damon physical contact seemed to be a problem and she couldn't figure out why.

"She's coming back on Wednesday. And uhm…I really don't feel comfortable talking about it with Stefan, but since I know you're close to her too I thought that maybe you could help me." He said.

"Sure." She immediatly said as she unconciously reached to place her hand on his arm.

"Does she talk about me often?" He asked.

"Every now and then." She said with a shrug. "I think that it probably hurts her to talk about you when she she hasn't heard from you in years. But she loves you so much, Damon. I can see it in her eyes and from the adoration in her voice."

"I…I just missed so much time. Do you think that she will ever forgive me?" He asked just above a whisper, his eyes stripped in nothing but vulnerability and insecurity.

"Of course she will. It may take her a while to understad why you just took off maybe, but you're her son. She will be nothing but happy to finally have you back." She said giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you Elena." He said sincerely, pronouncing her name like a caress.

She blinked a couple of times feeling some kind of dizziness and smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry if I bothered you. But I really didn't want to talk about it on the phone. To be honest it went better than I thought it would." He said with an embarassed chuckle.

"Well sometimes people can surprise you." She whispered holding his gaze.

He stared at her intently as he caught the double meaning and just when he was about to reply they were interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"This is probably Mason." She said as she cleared her throat a little.

"I would just get out from the back door but he's probably seen my car. Ops." He said.

"It's not like we have something to hide, Damon." She said rolling her eyes.

He chuckled a little and as she went to open the door he suddenly took her arm stopping her in her tracks.

"You look gorgeous, by the way." He said smiling probably the only genuine smile she'd ever seen him wear.

"Thanks." She managed to say as her heartbeat increased rapidly and those damn butterflies came back in her stomach.

She finally opened the door finding Mason grinning at her with a bouquet of orange tulips. They weren't one of her favorite flowers but she appreciated the gesture.

"Hello, sweetheart." He said as he handed her the flowers.

"Mason. Hi." She said smiling back. "Thanks for these…they're awesome."

"Hey of whose that car in your driveway?" He asked knotting his eyebrows.

"Mine." Damon said as he walked towards Mason with his usual cocky smirk. "Damon Salvatore." He said as he shook his hand.

"Mason Lockwood." Mason said shaking his hand back, looking a little confused as he looked between Damon and Elena.

"He's Stefan's brother and he was just leaving." Elena said the last words a little bit more firmly as Damon stood there with his smug irritating smirk.

"I'm gonna put the flowers in a vase. I'll be right back." Elena said as she headed towards the kitchen.

Mason kept staring at Damon somehow annoyed and confused and he glared at him, getting closer.

"Be a gentleman, or I'm going to kick your ass." Damon said calmly but firmly as he patted his shoulder.

Just then Elena came back and he smiled at them.

"Have a great night guys." He said heading outside.

Elena looked at him as he walked towards his car and then at Mason who looked a little frightened and she mentally rolled her eyes realizing that Damon had probably annoyed him with one of his usual snarky remarks.

"So…" Mason said sighing a little as they headed to his car. "You look gorgeous, Elena."

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

She noticed that he'd used the same words as Damon, and it hit her immediatly how utterly different her reaction was.

With Damon she had blushed and felt butterflies all over her stomach, knowing that he thought she was gorgeous. With Mason even though she was flattered she was just thanking him as she would thank a friend like Stefan. It did nothing to her.

They finally drove off and as Mason started chatting and asking her how her day had been, she forced herself to stop comparing or thinking about Damon at all. She was out with Mason. She had to focus her attention on him…or at least trying to.

Damon-land was forbidden for the time being.

Damon pulled off the Boarding House driveway and headed inside, slamming the door shut roughly.

"Hey!" Stefan immediatly appeared from the kitchen with a scolding look. "Would you mind not being such a caveman?"

"Here's your phone." Damon said annoyed as he handed him his phone.

He went into the parlor, immediatly pouring himself a glass of scotch. His mood had drastically changed since he saw that Mason dude crossing Elena's front door. He just had a bad feeling about the guy. He kept wondering where he would bring her tonight, what would they tell each other, and especially what they would do later. He had the urge to be there and spy on them during all the time. What was wrong with him?

"Have you talked to Elena? And anyway I don't know why you had to ask her the same things you could be asking to me." Stefan said as he threw himself in the armchair.

"You're all judgey and annoying. I just didn't feel like it." He said with a shrug as he finished his drink.

"Always so sweet, my big brother." Stefan said sarcastically.

"Get used to it." Damon said with a grimace.

Stefan rolled his eyes and sighed a little.

"Oh by the way I had to turn your phone off. It kept ringing." He then said with an annoyed huff.

"Wasn't it in charge?" Damon asked as he refilled his glass.

"Yeah here in the parlor but I'm telling you it kept ringing every minute."

"Weird." He said knotting his eyebrows as he stood up to pick it up.

He turned it on and his eyes widened in shock at the thirty missed calls. What the hell?

"Oh for fuck's sake." He spat angrily as he threw his arms up when he saw from who they were coming from.

"What happened?" Stefan asked.

"Andie happened." He muttered as he threw the phone on the couch.

"That chick that was basically drooling all over you the other day at the Grill?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. That one. I knew that it was gonna bite me in the ass. Why do I always pick the psychos?" He said sighing and shaking his head in frustration as he deleted all the missed calls.

Stefan kept laughing at him and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe you're not looking in the right direction…" Stefan said casually.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He scoffed.

"I'm just saying." Stefan said with a shrug.

"What about you?" Damon asked.

"What about me what?"

"A girlfriend? Someone special?" Damon said with his devilish smirk.

"No one really." Stefan said playing dumb.

"Oh come on Saint Steffy." He said with a scoff. "Just tell already."

"Well there's someone actually…" He said tentatively.

Damon gave him an expectant look and he finally confessed.

"It's Elena's co-worker at the Grill, alright?" He finally spilled. "Rebekah."

Damon grew thoughtful for a few moments as he tried to remember her.

"Nope. I don't remember her." He said out loud.

"Mmm maybe that's because you only have eyes for Elena." Stefan said with a knowing smirk.

"What?" He spat, his eyes wide in shock at Stefan's words.

"Hey relax I was just kidding. Even if actually she seems to be…no whatever." He finished shrugging it off with a chuckle.

"She seems to be what?" Damon asked narrowing his eyes.

Stefan kept playing dumb as he played with his phone. "Oh did you run into Mason while you were at her place?" He said trying to change argument.

"She seems to be what, Stefan?" He urged.

"Nothing, really…I just had a chat with Caroline yesterday and she told me some things. That's it." He said.

"What kind of things?" Damon found himself asking.

"Elena is my bestfriend, I'm not going to talk behind her back. I'm not Caroline who gossips even with her cat." He said.

"But I'm your brother. Bros before hoes?" He asked tentatively.

"Nope. Knock it off Damon you won't get a word from me." Stefan said.

"You're an ass. You hinted to whatever it is and now you won't tell me anything. Have I ever told you just how annoying you are?" He spat as he stood up.

"Everyday dear brother. I'm just staying true to your words." Stefan said with a smug smile as he got up and headed upstairs.

He huffed and rolled his eyes at Stefan's stubborness but a Chesire grin appeared on his face when he noticed his phone on the armchair.

He then heard Stefan moving upstairs and he immediatly went to pick his phone, copying Caroline's number from his phone to his.

"I'm going out with...Andie. See you later or tomorrow." He shouted as he put his leather jacket on.

"Okay. Bye." Stefan shouted back.

Now all he had to do was to put some credit on that damn phone and call blondie.

She seemed so surprised and shy when he called that he just wanted to roll his eyes during the whole call. She kept giggling and blabling but luckily he cut it short.

He told her to meet him at the Grill at 9 pm and even though she seemed to be more than a little surprised she agreed. She was already there anyway since her boyfriend Matt worked there.

He slid into a seat and looked around a little searching for Caroline. He was interrupted by a female voice and he looked up to the waitress standing there with a smile.

"What can I bring you?" She quickly asked.

Just then he noticed the little target on her chest saying 'Rebekah' and he smirked as he realized that it was Stefan's Rebekah.

Cute little thing she was.

"Nothing for now, thanks. I'm waiting for someone." He said.

"Okay." She said with a smile as she walked off.

"Hi there." Caroline said as she slid in the seat in front of him.

"Good evening blondie." He said.

"Stop calling me that." She said rolling her eyes.

"Whatever you want blo…err, Caroline." He said batting his eye-lashes sarcastically.

She groaned but then she just chuckled a little when she saw his expression.

"Okay, I have to admit that I've found your call to meet me here a little bit odd." She said. "So first of all I'm taken. And secondly I would never break girls code."

Wasn't she a presumptuos little thing? He rolled his eyes and scoffed a little.

"Slow down. I'm not interested in you." He immediatly clarified.

She raised an eyebrow confused and he spoke up again.

"Has Elena been talking about me lately?" He then asked.

Caroline gasped a little and her eyes widened in surprise at his question.

"Why so curious?" She said as she leaned in.

"And why did you mention 'girls code' before?" He threw back raising an eyebrow as he leaned in too.

He could see from the look on her face as she realized that she really did mention 'girls code' or whatever it was called that it was something that she wasn't supposed to say. God forbid if they broke a rule in that code of theirs.

"She…told me about you." She acknoweledged casually with a nod. "Some stuff, but nothing major. There's really nothing to talk about."

"Are you sure? Because I had a little chat with my baby bro earlier and he seemed to be getting into something that he just wouldn't tell me that you said to him. Apparently he respects girl code too." He said with a cringe.

Caroline laughed a little shaking her head and then looked at him.

"Elena's right about you." She said nodding. "You act like a tough cookie but you're really nice when you want to."

"She told you that about me?" He asked surprised.

"She tells me a lot of things, honey." She said knowingly with a wink.

"Care to share?" He said quietly doing his eye-thing.

He saw her blushing a little and shifting in her seat and he realized that he was winning her over with his charm. She was so easy to mess with.

"Well…" She said grinning, her tone seeming excited as she started with the gossip. "Elena likes you!" She then said squealing.

His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock as he heard those three little words that made his day. Elena likes you. Elena likes me, he thought.

Of all things he expected to hear this was definitely in the very last options. He was actually ready to hear how she thought that he was an unworthy ass, or that she just didn't like him in general.

"Are you okay?" Caroline said a little worried, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm great." He said with a nod, still clearly affected by what she just told him. "Go on."

"Well she told me that at first she thought that you were a jackass of first class, but then you started opening up to her a little and she said that you were so sweet bringing her ice-cream and talking to her and you know all this girly stuff." She said dreamily.

"Girly stuff?" Damon said almost offended.

"She also said that you're sex on legs." She said with a mischevious smile.

"Seriously?" He asked snorting a little with an amused expression on his face.

"No okay not exactly those words…but that you're hot." She said.

"Are you being serious? Becuase if you're playing me you better tell me right now blondie." He then said firmly.

She frowned and rolled her eyes. "First of all, I told you not to call me blondie. And secondly no, it's all true. Pity that you can't believe me."

"Then why isn't she acting on it? I mean yeah, I know that I've been kind of an ass when I first came back and that I was holding grudges but…I really am willing to look past that. I thought that I was showing her that." He said honestly.

He noticed Caroline being thoughtful all of a sudden an he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"Crap." She immediatly said bringing her hand to her forehead. "I'm such a moron. I just told you everything that I couldn't tell you. I'm in so much trouble." She said frantically.

He chuckled a little but then grew serious again when he saw that she was still half panicked.

"I like her." He then said bluntly. "A lot."

Caroline immediatly looked up at him and shook her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"I want to win her over." He said.

"I'm sorry but now who's playing who? Elena knows that you're not into her like that. Besides when you forgot your phone at her place she saw a text from your girlfriend Andie saying how much she missed you and yadda yadda crap. So damn yes I'm in so much trouble for putting her in such an awkward position!"

Did Caroline drop bombshells like that everytime she opened her mouth? Elena saw a text from Andie? He had to admit that he didn't give her many reasons to think that he actually liked her, his walls were almost always up when she was around, but thinking that he wasn't into her because of Andie was just ridiculous. And she was so not his girlfriend.

"Oh for the love of god." He groaned rolling his eyes. "Andie is not my girlfriend. She's just someone I am…I was having fun with."

That's why Elena seemed to act so weird when he came back to pick up his stuff. Just now he realized it. But never in a million years he expected that she could be affected by something like that.

"Look Caroline." He said sighing. "If you're willing to pretend like this conversation never happened, even though it seems very hard for you to keep things to yourself, I promise you I'm going to show you that I'm not playing you. Or especially Elena for that matter. Deal?"

"Okay." She said sheepishly.

"Promise me?" He said giving her a pointed look.

"Pinky promise." She said with a nod holding her pinky up.

He grimaced at her and she laughed out loud.

"I gotta go now." He said as he read a text from Stefan telling him to come home 'ASAP'. "But remember your promise." He said pointing his finger at her as he put his leather jacket on.

"Yes, yes, okay. I promised. But you better keep yours of promise or it's not going to end well for you Damon Salvatore." She said.

He smirked smugly as he headed out of the Grill. And this time he really had every reason to feel smug and sure of himself.

"It's been lovely tonight." Elena said as Mason walked her to her porch.

"It was." He said with a smile.

She smiled back at him and started fumbling through her purse to find her keys. She was caught by surprise when Mason cupped her face and brought his lips to hers.

He kissed her passionately and she kissed him back. Her keys forgotten for a few moments.

"Wow." He said as he pulled back and smiled happily. "I had been dying to do this all night."

"Oh really?" She asked a little breathless.

"Yeah..and I'm looking forward to more. Friday night?" He then asked with a grin.

"Fine by me." She replied smiling.

He gave her one last chaste kiss and finally walked off. Leaving a confused Elena on the porch.

The night had indeed been lovely. He'd been nothing but a gentleman to her and the resturant was amazing. And now on top of that he was a very good kisser.

But there weren't sparks, tingles, butterflies and all those kind of things that you felt when you kissed the someone of your dreams. She had felt none of that and she wondered if it was just because he caught her by surprise and he was the first person she kissed in a long time.

He was nice though. And she liked him. So why not giving it a try?

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she got a text from Stefan, saying her that his mother was coming back tonight. Wasn't she supposed to come back on Wednesday? As thoughts of Maria finally coming back started filling her mind, it suddenly popped up in her head the one person that she had promised herself not to think about tonight; Damon.