Author's Note: Things starting to pick up a little more. Hoping to get at least this chapter and maybe the next one up tonight. I also apologize for spelling Stephan/Stefan's name wrong. I think on some level I knew that I was spelling it wrong, but my fingers kept typing it the other way. I am going to leave it the way it is, not only for habit, but just to not change the story from one way of spelling it to another. Enjoy!

Damon stood very still.

Shit. He wasn't sure he had any intentions of telling her at all, especially not like this. He wondered how she would react, what she would say. Judging by her current state he didn't think that this was going to go very well.

Elena moved closer to him. She took slow and deliberate steps, her eyes still locked on Damon's. The tears that formed in her eyes were now gone, replaced by anger and mistrust. She stopped in front of Damon, no further than a foot away. She paused and looked at him for a moment.

Then she slapped him across the face.

It was a hard slap, decent enough for a girl. He knew that Elena meant to hurt him, but a slap from a human wouldn't do the trick. What hurt him more was the emotional aspect. She slapped him because she was angry at him for what he did. Immediately after she grabbed her hand and cradled it to her in pain. Damon gave a small smirk, but tried to contain himself, fearing to only piss her off more.

"How dare you!" Elena screamed in whispered tones. She may be more than upset at Damon but she didn't want to draw the attention of the others.

"You, you kissed me—kissed her! But you thought it was me…I, I would never kiss you Damon. Ever. Not in a million years." Elena stammered.

"Good thing I have all the time in the world then." Damon said jokingly.

She raised her hands to shove away his close proximity but Damon grabbed her before she could make contact.

"Now, now, you don't want to further injure your hand. It's already going to bruise." Damon started. He now held her hands in both of his softly checking for broken bones.

Elena stammered. Damon hands on hers felt nice. But it was nothing more than a soft touch. What was wrong with her? Elena looked up to find Damon's eyes searching hers for acceptance of the situation.

"Look, I appreciate you helping us on Founder's Day. I also meant what I said. I do see good in you and I'm glad that we can trust you now. But whatever you think is going on here, it's not going on. I don't have feelings for you. I care about you as a friend, but that's where it ends. Stephan, your brother, is the man I am in love with, and I don't see that changing in the future."

Elena finished her rant by taking her hands out of his own.

"If it were truly me on the porch that night there would not have been any kiss. Quite frankly, I don't understand how you didn't know that it was Katherine but that is beside the point. I am not going to tell Stephan about this. I don't think Alaric will either. I will have to make up something to tell Jenna….God, that's why she was so mad at you!" Elena started to walk away but Damon grabbed her other hands, the one that she didn't slap him with. He pushed her up against the wall, and got about as close as he could without invading too much personal space.

Elena wondered what the hell Damon was doing. All this was too much for her. Since the conversation with her birthmother, Isabel, things had changed between Damon and her. Elena couldn't quite place the feeling but it was entirely different than the way things were before. Now she was pinned against a wall by him. Just great.

"Elena you sound like you are trying to convince yourself more so than you are trying to convince me. There is something happening here. Why have things changed so much in the last week or two? I know that you know when I am watching you and I can feel your eyes on me, too. You can trust me still, Elena. But that doesn't mean that I am going to pretend to want you any less." Damon paused, looking Elena up and down for emphasis. "Unless you want to stop pretending." Damon finished by smirking.

"Screw you Damon" Elena said and proceeded to kick him in the only place that she could think of that it would actually hurt him.

Damon drop to his knees with a resounding thud, while Elena walked away.

While Elena was walking back to the rest of her friends she was cursing herself for not thinking the situation through more. Of course Damon would have been more than "excited" by the situation. After she kicked him she more than got a feel of him with her knee. Not that it really mattered, she wasn't some innocent little virgin, but Damon was right. Things between them had been weird. Elena and Damon both sensed it. She didn't think that anyone else had picked up on it yet, counting out Alaric and Jenna, but it was still there.

Elena knew she wouldn't be running into Damon's arms anytime soon, but she was trying to avoid anything and everything that could make matters worse. That included copping a feel. Elena sighed. She was going to make things go back to the way that they were. That would be the only way this situation could be resolved. The only problem with that idea is that Damon had been obsessed with her in one way or another ever since he came to Mystic Falls. Things going back to the way they were meant a crazy, psychotic vampire chasing her around Mystic Falls with intent to make her life more difficult. Or Elena could have a vampire seeking redemption with some weird love infatuation chasing her around Mystic Falls also making her life more difficult. This was clearly a lose-lose situation.

Once Damon was fully recovered he began to process what happened. Once he knew that Elena overheard his conversation with Alaric he decided to take the cocky route. Elena already saw too much vulnerability from him and he wasn't going to let her think he was a big softie. Even if he might be. Then she kicked him where it hurt most; Damon couldn't have planned that any better himself! He saw the look on her face as she ran away. Her cheeks were hot and blushed, clearly confirming that she felt his excitement of the situation.

Damon chuckled to himself as he walked back to the living room. Once he got back Elena was sitting obnoxiously close to Stephan, ignoring him at all costs. If for some reason they had to speak to one another, she refused to look at him. She was a determined little thing after all.

Several hours passed by and Stephan, Damon, and Alaric were getting ready to leave. Elena and Bonnie were still searching through a mess of spells and incantations, searching for anything that might be of use.

"I think we're ready," Stephan said. They had a stockpile of stakes, vervain, and weapons a piece. They weren't planning for a fight but they were definitely prepared in case there was one.

Elena embraced Stephan and told him to be careful. They shared a quick kiss. Meanwhile, Alaric was on the phone with Jenna, explaining he would be back shortly. Elena briefly talk to Jenna as well.

Damon waited for his brother to finish his disgusting love display with Elena before he spoke.

"Alright Elena, plant one on me right there," Damon spoke gesturing for a kiss on the cheek. For the first time in hours she looked at him in the eyes and spoke, "Not a chance in hell Damon." After she quickly diverted her eyes back to Stephan.

He chuckled slightly before outstretching his arms. "How about a hug then?"

Elena clearly annoyed, ignored him and continued to go over the plan with Stephan. "Ok so you will all be back here by midnight? No fighting or confronting, just strictly information gathering."

Everyone was heading out the door. Damon was the last to leave.

"You sure now? I don't want you ever regretting properly saying goodbye to me in case anything happens." Damon snickered.

After waiting several seconds and getting no response from Elena he began to leave. As he was walking towards the street he heard Elena speak, her voice merely above a whisper. If it were not for his vampire healing abilities he would never have caught it.

"Please be careful Damon."