5 YEARS EARLIER

Damon awoke that morning to the sound of gushing water coming from the bathroom

"Wanna join me?" he heard a voice call to him from the bathroom.

Damon lifted his head to see his beautiful girlfriend standing naked in his shower cubicle, drinking a glass of champagne despite the fact that it was 7am.

"Honey, you know I want to but I can't afford to be late for work" he said, jumping out of bed to get dressed.

"Come on Damon, you know you want to" she purred. Damon fake smiled.

"Alright, but for a few minutes" he agreed, entering the bathroom and opening the shower door. As soon as he entered the cubicle he grabbed him vigorously, pushing him up against the shower door, as she began to undress him from his pajamas.

"I said I only have a few minutes!" he exclaimed.

"A few minutes it's all we need" she said, when she finally chucked the last of his clothes over the shower door. She then began to kiss him violently, first on the lips then working his way down to his neck. Damon tried to object, but pleasure overtook his persistence and he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards him. He began to run his hand down her, starting at her neck and working his way down. Just as he was about to go any further, he glanced at the clock sitting next to the sink.

"Oh shit it's already 6:45!" he said, pushing his girlfriend away from him and bursting out of the cubicle. "I'm supposed to catch the 7 o'clock train"

"Oh come on Damon", she moaned, hopping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around her bare body. "Can't you just call in sick? I'm sure another teacher can sub in for you."

"You know how much this job means to me. I need it to support both you and me", he snarled, buttoning up his shirt and walking towards the door.

"Damon wait!" she called, rushing towards him. "Look I don't want to fight again. Please. I'm sorry okay? I know that you're working hard for me, for us."

Damon sighed. "I know. I'm sorry too. I know lately you feel like I don't have enough time for you but that's not true. I love you Katherine, okay?"

Katherine smiled, running her hands along his broad shoulders. "And I love you, Damon." She said, kissing him firmly before letting him rush out of his bedroom door. As soon as Damon knew Katherine was out of earshot, he snatched his phone out of his pocket and pressed the number 1 on speed dial. It rang for only a few seconds before he heard the familiar voice of the women that he truly loved on the other end. "Babe I'm so sorry, I'm stuck in really bad traffic," he said, hopping into his car and turning on the engine. "I'll be at your place in 20 minutes, okay?"

When Elena finally found her classroom for first period, she was already 10 minutes late. Whitmore College was one of the biggest colleges in Virginia, and it was a maze to Elena with all its towering buildings and multiple sections. When she walked into the lecture hall, she was surprised to see that there was no teacher present, but only dozens of chattering college sophomores. She didn't recognize a single face in the classroom, so she just vacated the first seat she could find. On her left sat a nerdy girl with big square glasses that reached down to her cheeks. She was already scrawling notes in her notebook, even though the teacher hadn't turned up yet. When Elena glanced to her right, she jolted in surprise.

"It's Stefan, right?" she said turning to face him.

"Right" he said, extending a hand towards her. "Your Caroline's friend, right?"

"That's what all my friends call me" Elena replied jokingly.

Stefan laughed. "I'm kidding, Elena. I remember your name.

"So I take it you were the one occupying Caroline's time last night?" she asked, hoping she wasn't stepping past any boundaries.

"Yes, I was", Stefan grinned .

"Let me tell you something about Caroline" Elena advised. "She's not one of those take it slow, have your first kiss on the 3rd date, talk about past relationships sort of girl. She's the type that wants to jump your bones the second she see's you."

Stefan was silent for a moment.

Before he could reply, the doors to the lecture hall opened, and a tall, black haired professor walked through the door, wearing a black suit and carrying a briefcase. Elena clamped her hand to her face, her eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked.

"Uh.. nothing" Elena lied, still shocked and horrified by the man that had just walked into the lecture hall.

The teacher set down his briefcase next to the desk in front of the room, picked up a white board marker from the table, and scrawled his name in messy handwriting on the white board. "Professor Salvatore".

"Good morning class, and welcome to your first lesson of economics for the year. I will be your teacher for at least the first semester. Now my first name isn't really Professor, and since I am not going to go call you guys by a name that you don't really own, feel free to call me Damon."

Elena managed to get through the whole of economics class without drawing any attention to herself. She couldn't believe that her first lesson at Whitmore College was taught by the one guy she had met the night before, and had strange had strangely vivid imaginations about.

"Elena!", she heard someone call just as she was leaving the lecture hall. She swiveled around to see Damon beckoning her to his desk. Before she could object and flee from the room, she began to approach him.

"So you did see me?" Elena said, her cheeks hot.

"I'm a teacher, Elena. I make it a point to know all my students."

"Oh" Elena said, surprised at how harsh his tone was.

"Anyway, I just wanted to clear up any weirdness that there is between us," Damon said matter-of-factly. "Firstly, I am your teacher, and I will therefor treat you as a student, not the way I treated you last night when I wasn't aware that you would be my student."

"I know." Elena spat back, offended that he would think she would feel differently.

"You think just because I was talking to you it means I have feelings for you?"

"Well, it's happened to me before." Damon replied, his expression indifferent.

"Well Professor Salvatore, don't expect it from me." she said, angry and embarrassed at the same time. And with that, she swiveled on her heel and walked swiftly out of the classroom.

When Elena arrived back at her dorm after dinner that night, she was surprised to find it desserted. Where were Bonnie and Caroline? Elena had had a pounding headache all day (from the sun, she presumed), so she flopped onto her bed, not bothering to take off her shoes. Did Damon really think that low of her? That she would actually expect special treatment from him? Was he really that cocky, to think that she already had feelings for him? Elena groaned in frustration. She hadn't been able to get the conversation out of her head. Just then, the door opened and Bonnie came trudging through, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Sorry I'm in so late, I was at a study group" she said, kicking off her sneakers and removing her jewelery.

"It's okay" Elena said. "God, I just hate Damon!" she blurted out, not expecting it to come out so load.

"Whoa, where did that come from?" Bonnie asked.

Elena sat up. " Okay so I walk into first period this morning, and guess who the teacher turned out to me? Damon Salvatore. Then, at the end of the lecture he pulls me aside just to tell me that he hopes I don't expect special treatment from him! As if I would!" Elena said hastily.

Bonnie cocked her head. "Damon.. the one you met last night?"

"Yes!" Elena almost yelled.

'And do you have feelings for him?"

"No!"

"Okay okay, just making sure" Bonnie said defensively. "All you have to do is prove to him that you don't and he wont pull you aside again.

"Your right. Your right Bonnie! I just have to show him that I'm gonna be professional, and treat him like I would any other teacher."

"Right." Bonnie said, standing up and heading for the shower.

" I just cant belive he would think that though!"

"Elena! You can't keep doing this! Just forget about him okay? He's just your professor."

Elena sighed. Bonnie was right. She just couldn't get Damon out of her head.

For the next few weeks, Elena tried her best not to think about Professor Salvatore. She even refused to right his name on her Econ assignment, and asked Stefan to hand it in for her. Caroline was out almost every night, with Stefan, Elena assumed. However the other night, Elena overheard Caroline's phone call, to which she had referred to the recipient of the call to be 'Klaus'. The first 5 weeks of the term had flown by, and Elena had counted to having exactly 24 econ classes. In the 9th class, Damon had called her name to answer a question, to which Elena replied with a simple 'Yes', not even bothering to look up. In the 13th class, he had requested they all change seats, and had put Elena in the second row. In the 21st class, he handed Elena her econ paper back, to which he had commented "Well done." As much as Elena tried, Damon kept sneaking up on her and getting under her skin; and she could do little about it.

On the 12th of October, Whitmore College was hosting its annual Bitter Ball for the broken hearted.

Elena had decided that she wasn't going. What was the point anyway? She wasn't broken hearted. She didn't feel like moping around about her past relationships and drinking away her feelings.

That night, 2 hours before the Ball, Elena found herself reading her Econ text book for some last minute revision before her test the next day. She had been studuing all week, as this was the first big Econ assignment and she wanted to prove to her professor that she was a hardworking and diligent student."Elena! Please come with me!" Caroline called from across the room, where she was applying her lipstick. "Damon will be there.." she enticed.

"Firstly" Elena said sharply, slamming her text book shut. "His name is Professor Salvatore. Secondly, I don't care, and thirdly, how do you even know that?"

"Stefan told me" Caroline said simply.

"Oh so your with Stefan" Elena said. "What about this Klaus guy? I've seen you two together around school" Elena joked.

Caroline glared at her. "Klaus is just a friend" she clarified

Elena shrugged, reopening her text book.

"Come on Elena! You don't have to see Damon if you don't want to. I can introduce you to some cute guys if you want?"

Elena thought about it for a second. Maybe that was the best way to get Damon out of her head. Besides, she hadn't been out or had a single drink in weeks.

"Alright alright, I'll go" she said, a little too enthusiastically.

Caroline squealed in delight. "Okay okay, let me lend you the sluttiest dress I can find.

AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Im so so sorry I havent updated in so long- things just got really hectic in my life- but if you guys want me to keep writing, please let me know by leaving a review! I read and appreciate each and every one :)