When Caroline and Elena arrived at the ball, Elena spotted Damon immediately sitting by the bar and chugging down a bottle of bourbon. Next to him was Elena's history professor, Professor Saltzman. Caroline traced Elena's gaze.

"So much for not caring," she said. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Let's get a drink," she said, taking off her fur jacket and giving it to the coat man. Beneath it she wore a pink leather dress that stuck to her skin, and had a heart shaped hole just above the bust. Caroline's dress was of a darker shade, and was strapless with gold lacing around the hem. Elena and Caroline strutted down the grand staircase, which opened up to a large ballroom that had been decorated to match the occasion. Pink streamers hung from the ceiling and pink fairy lights lined the wall. When they had reached the bottom of the stairwell they were greeted by Klaus- Caroline's 'friend'.

"Ladies," he said, beaming at them both. "You both look beautiful."

"I'll leave you too," Elena said, browsing the room.

"I'll come find you later," Caroline said to Elena.

Klaus took Caroline's hand and led her onto the dance floor, resting his hand on her waist. Caroline bit her lip.

"Klaus…" she said, pulling away slightly. "I'm with Stefan you know that."

"That I do know," he said, letting go of her hand.

"Look, I think your great," Caroline said slowly.

"Do me a favor love and don't finish that sentence," Klaus said, and with one last quick smile he vanished among the crowd. Caroline sighed as she saw Elena begin to approach her. "I know what your gonna say," Caroline said. "So save it"

Elena laughed, linking her arm in her friend's. "Come on," she said "Let's go get a drink." Elena led Caroline to the bar, where they both ordered a beer.

When they had gotten their drinks, Caroline sipped hers before pointing across the room.

"Alright, lets see who we've got. That's Aaron Whitmore", she said, pointing to a blonde guy in a blue suit. Elena had seen him around before. "His grandfather was the founder of this school, which makes him filthy rich. And over there is Sean- kinda shy at first, but he's smoking hot."

"I pick Aaron," Elena laughed, and with that, she handed Caroline her drink and marched towards the shredding station.

"Stay away from her."

Klaus felt a firm grip on his arm as he swiveled around to see Stefan wearing an angry and stern look. Klaus laughed and wrangled free.

"You have nothing to worry about, Stefan" he replied innocently. "You've got Caroline wrapped around your little finger."

"If there's one thing I've learnt about you, its that you never stop until you get what you want," Stefan hissed.

Klaus chuckled. "And what makes you think that she's what I want? Perhaps I just want to destroy you. The way you did me all those years ago. You know something Stefan? You never said thank-you to me once. For making you matter. For taking you in and teaching you what it really meant to be a vampire. Giving you the only friendship you ever had after your brother abandoned you. Instead how did you repay me? By killing the only person that mattered to me. The only thing I had left. Maybe it's time I do it back to you, so you can see how it feels to be ripped of the only light in your life."

Stefan was silent for a moment. Then a genuine smile came across his face.

"But you wouldn't hurt her, would you? Caroline. Because you care about her too, don't you?"

Klaus inched forward, so that he and Stefan were almost touching noses.

"I wouldn't count on that"

After only a few minutes of talking to Aaron Whitmore, Elena knew instantly that she would never have true feelings for him. He was too innocent- too gentle. But she flirted with him nonetheless- hoping that Damon would glance in their direction. After 30 minutes of hearing Aaron talk about his grandparents and their legacy in starting the college, Elena decided she had finally had enough.

She stopped Aaron mid sentence. "I'm thirsty, let's grab a drink," she said, clutching his arm and dragging him towards the bar, where Damon was still sitting with Mr. Saltzman.

When they reached the bar, Elena pretended that she hadn't seen Damon- and instead ordered 5 tequila shots. She then began to caress a very confused Aaron's hair, hoping Damon would glance at her- but he didn't. He was too busy talking to his drinking buddy and downing his own glass of bourbon. It was then that Elena finally decided that she had had enough.

"Professor Salvatore! It's nice to see you outside of your usual element."

Damon swiveled around, staring Elena right in the eye. For a second, he just stared at her through his pale green eyes. Then he spoke.

"Nice to see you too Miss Gilbert" he said, smiling.

"Oh how rude of me!" she grabbed Aaron drunkenly behind the waist and pulled him to her side. It was only then that she realized exactly how intoxicated she really was. Her head was pounding, and she began to feel dizzy.

"This is…" before she could say his name, she collapsed onto the floor, staring up at the heavily decorated ceiling before her heavy eyelids collided.

When Elena opened her eyes, she was no longer in the ballroom- but was now in a dirty apartment room that smelled heavily of tequila and cigars. When she lifter her head, she saw that the entire room was scattered with dirty clothes and newspapers. She suddenly realized she was lying on an old stripped couch that was blotted with coffee stains- she was no longer wearing her pink dress, but instead a mans polo shirt and track pants. Although Elena had never seen this place before, somehow, it felt like home. There was a book lying on the coffee table titled "The Bloodsucking Truth About Blood Suckers Uncovered, by Katherine Pierce". Before she could flick the page open, she heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. She looked up to see Damon walking towards her, a teacup in hand.

"Hey" he said. "You passed out when we were at the bar". He put his hand to her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Elena felt herself smiling. "How long was I out for?"

"Only a couple of minutes"

Elena felt someone begin to shake her. Harder. Harder. She blinked. Damon's hands weren't on her shoulders. Who was shaking her? The scene around her began to disappear- and she was staring into darkness. She could still feel someone's tight grip around her. She began to scream, louder and louder until her throat began to ache. After what felt like hours, her eyes finally opened and she was staring into Professor Salvatore's face. She backed away quickly, still screaming.

"Elena! Elena please calm down, I'm just trying to help you."

Elena looked around. She suddenly realized that she was in an empty classroom- Professor Salvatore's lecture hall.

"Where did you take me?" she screamed at him. "Where was that?"

"Elena! Please stop!" he yelled. "I didn't take you anywhere! You passed out at the ball so I brought you into my classroom until you woke up!"

Elena breathed heavily, more confused than ever. Why had she first woken up in an apartment, and suddenly appeared in his classroom? Her head was still throbbing, only she knew it was no longer due to the alcohol. She suddenly recalled the night that she had first met Damon- and how she had had that strange dream about meeting him on a bridge. Maybe it was happening again. Why did it keep happening?

Without controlling it, Elena began to cry. She had never really been the crying type, and what made it worse was that she was sobbing like a baby in front of a guy that she fancied. She felt Damon's arms wrap around her, as she bawled into her knees on the floor. "What's happening to me?" she whispered. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Hey" Damon said, wiping her eyes with his hands. "Your gonna be fine. Everything is going to be fine" he said, rubbing his hand gently against her back. "Why don't you explain to me what you saw?" he asked softly.

Elena sniffed. "I was in an apartment, a really messy one," she stammered between sniffs. "I.. I didn't recognize it… only… I felt like I'd been there a million times. There were clothes and paper all over the floor… and I was lying on a stripy couch and there was this book on the table called-"

"The Bloodsucking Truth About Blood Suckers Uncovered" Damon cut her off.

Elena looked up at him.

"How… how did you know that?"

Damon shook his head.

"Umm.." he stammered. "It's not important. What's important is that you're okay. Okay?"

For the next hour of so, Damon and Elena sat side-by-side leaning against the teacher's desk. They talked about their past- Elena telling him about how her parents had died, and how she had been brought up in a foster system before meeting her two best friends in high school. Damon told her about his abusive father, and how he had run away from home, leaving Stefan to face their father alone. Elena knew that after every word that Damon spoke, she was falling harder and harder for him and it killed her to think that she could never be with him- or could never kiss him as long as he was her teacher. After a moment of silence, Elena asked him "Why did you bring me here? To your classroom?

Damon was silent for a moment.

"I just didn't want to leave you alone in there, passed out and all. Your date stayed here a while before he went back to his dorm room" he said indifferently. Was that…a twinge of jealously Elena detected in his voice?

"Well.. thanks for sticking around" she said slowly.

"Of course" Damon nodded. "What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't?

Right. He was her teacher. Nothing more.

"How did you know, Damon? I mean Pro-"

"You can call me Damon if you want" He interrupted, smiling at her.

She smiled too. "Okay, so Damon, how did you know what the book was called?"

Damon sighed heavily. "Like I said before, Elena, its not important. In college I studied Biology and neuro-science, and the scene that you had described to me, how you were surrounded by blackness, is a common episode that a lot of people experience. It's really nothing to worry about" Damon lied.

Elena wasn't sure if she believed him or not. It still didn't explain how he had known.

"Well I should get going" Elena said.

"Wait" Damon said, before she reached the door. "Do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

Elena stood still for a moment, a million thoughts racing in her head. What was he doing? Trying to buy more alone time with her? No, she thought. He was just trying to be a responsible teacher, and making sure she got back safe while she was still slightly intoxicated. Elena nodded, and together they walked outside the lecture hall, Damon's hand around her waist to steady her.

For the most part they both remained silent, hearing only the night sounds of the crickets and the steady rhythm of each other's breath. It wasn't until they had nearly reached her room that Elena finally spoke. "Thank-you, Damon. Not just for walking me home, but for everything. Staying with me, keeping me distracted."

"I wouldn't do it for just anyone," Damon smiled. "Goodnight Elena."

"Goodnight" Elena said, still facing Damon, their noses. Inches apart. For a moment, they stayed like that before Damon cleared his throat, stepped away, and said;

"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Miss Gilbert."

AN: Hope you guys enjoy! Next chapter may or may not be in Damon's POV… let me know if you guys would like to see that! And please do leave a review! It doesnt matter how short- I just want to know if you guys actually want me to continue! :)