The journey continues…thank you so much to all of you who are sticking with my story and reviewing regularly! The only time I have to write anymore is late at night, so I hope these chapters are up to par and not getting tedious. Here we go again!

Chapter 9: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Previously:

Elena looked up and realized she had company. A man, silent and deathly pale in the moonlight, was standing not a foot away from her, watching her intently. His brows drew together, and with a questioning, evil glint in his eye, he uttered-

"Katherine?"

…

Elena instinctively stepped back, wary of his nearness. "I'm sorry, you're mistaken. You've got the wrong person." The man sneered, taking another step toward her.

"You can't try to lie your way out of this one. I've waited 145 years for this."

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm not who you're looking for." Her heart rate increased as she noticed his eyes darkening, the veins growing prominent over his high cheekbones.

"Don't pretend it isn't all your fault we got locked up in that hellhole for over a century! Of course, it matters not to you. You just wiled your way past the guard and left us all to rot!" He shot forward and wrapped his hand roughly around her neck, slamming her back against the tree and snarling with fury. Elena gasped, but no sound escaped her mouth; her windpipe was being crushed under the hand of a vengeful tomb vampire. She kicked against his shins, infuriating him even further.

"There's no escaping. Your charms appear dulled over the years; no one will save you now. I'm going to torture you into understanding what you put us through, got that? Say goodbye to the afterlife, bitch!" With that he flung her by the neck to the ground, and dropped on his knees next to her, his cold hands tugging jerkily down at the waistband of her jeans.

…

"So there haven't been any recent attacks?" Damon reaffirmed with Sheriff Forbes, relieved to hear it.

"No, none have been reported since we found that Amber girl in the woods, and she's recovering nicely."

"Glad to hear it. I've got to go, keep me updated if you hear anything, Liz."

"Will do." She gave Damon a grim smile, and he nodded, turning to head back towards the tree he left Elena under. A shockwave slammed against his body as he saw Elena on the ground, struggling against a man whose hands were in a disgustingly wrong place. He sprinted in that direction, panicking and frustrated as hell that he couldn't use his vampire speed because of the crowd.

…

Elena writhed in panic, trying to shove off the extremely powerful vampire from his assault. She closed her eyes, willing a scream that just wouldn't come. Suddenly, the hands ripped away from her upper thighs and she felt his weight leave her. She rolled over on her side and curled up in a ball, trying to see what happened. Damon had the offender in a vise-like grasp, but the tables suddenly turned and Damon winced in pain, realizing that the vampire was clearly older than he was. The man clamped his hand over Damon's throat, squeezing mercilessly. Damon groaned and spluttered, then yanked away from the filthy creature and assumed a menacing protective stance over Elena, who was whimpering. The old vampire grinned toothily, revealing his fangs.

"Ah, I see how it is. Some things don't change after all. "He eyed Damon with a knowing squint. "I must be taking my leave. Until next time, Mr. Salvatore…Katherine." Then he was gone. Damon immediately turned and kneeled next to Elena, pulling her by her shaking shoulders into a sitting position.

"Did he hurt you? What did he do? If that bastard ever lays a hand on you again, I swear to God I'll…" he trailed off, focusing on Elena.

"He's convinced I'm Katherine…he said he was going to torture me for leaving them to rot. And then…then…" Elena hiccupped, looking down as she sobbed.

"Shh, shh, it's alright. I know. I promise you I won't let him hurt you anymore." Damon soothingly rubbed her back, shuddering internally at the thought of what would've happened if he had come a few seconds later. He leaned his forehead against hers, relieved that the scumbag hadn't gotten any farther with her. She looked up at him, her eyes shining.

"C-Can we go home?" she asked, her voice thick with tears.

"Sure, I'll drop you off there right now." He pulled her up by her elbows, steadying her. He then closed his eyes and clicked his heels together three times, chanting "There's no place like home." Elena shook her head.

"N-No. I mean h-h-home to the board-ding h-house." Damon nodded, his heart swelling at the fact that she thought of his home as her home, even with Stefan gone. He half-carried her across the street, leading her to the car. She leaned into him, shielding herself from the constant cold wind. They drove home in silence, with Damon sneaking looks at her every five seconds to make sure she was holding up.

At the boarding house, Elena ran upstairs to change clothes, trying to rid herself of the feeling of the vampire's hands all over her body. She yanked on a plain black t-shirt and dark green pajama shorts after vigorously scrubbing her face and neck with a hand towel. She walked back down and entered the kitchen, finding Damon leaning against the countertop and sipping from a tumbler of blood.

"You want me to fix you some food?"

Elena shook her head. "I'm really not hungry."

Damon looked at her closely before observing "Considering there's a crazed and vengeful tomb vamp running around out to get us right now, I think it would be best if you stayed here a little longer. Just to be safe."

"That's fine. I want to. I feel safer here." She looked down, her head bowed in anguish. Damon couldn't stand to see her this way, moping and brooding like Stefan did. He put down his tumbler and closed the distance between them, taking her hand.

"Don't worry. I'll get rid of him. Everything's going to be fine." He gently raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, barely grazing her warm skin. She felt her insides twist up in a desire that she desperately fought. Then, out of the blue, her dropped her hand and scratched at her side, tickling her with a mischievous light in his eye. She let out a strangled laugh, bending to the side in an attempt to block his hand. He then tickled the side of her neck, and she squirmed and shouted with involuntary laughter. She playfully slapped his hand away.

"Hey! That's not fair! You're taking advantage of a weakness you shouldn't even know about! You better stop it now or I'll…" he didn't cease, amping up the tickling by poking her on both sides, grazing his fingertips along her ribcage. She ran around behind him in mock anger, attacking him by grabbing his shoulders and jumping up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist from behind. He put his hands behind her knees and ran out of the kitchen. She shrieked with laughter and draped her elbows over his shoulders, beating her fists against his chest in protest. He continued to fly through the house, content her mind was currently off of the rest of her life as she pushed against him while pretending to be mad. He knew he had to give her this fun while he could, because he knew there was nothing but trouble to come.

Elena fell back against the couch, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up at Damon with an amusingly irritated expression, and he smirked back, his eyes flashing.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" Damon questioned innocently.

"You know what." A smile crept onto Elena's face, realizing that they had used the exact same words in that conversation they had that one time in her kitchen during "family night," as Damon had called it. "That eye thing that you do?"

"Why. Does it bother you?" He waggled his eyebrows at her quizzically.

"Uh, no." Elena lied.

"Then I guess there's no reason for me to stop, then is there?" Damon tossed his head arrogantly. Elena blushed, regretting bringing it up in the first place. His eyes flickered over to her as he listened to her heart stutter in her chest. A sliver of hope rose within him, wondering if this whole thing wasn't a lost cause after all. In his mind, they were a match made in heaven; they understood each other. They were two lovers, both abandoned in a gut-wrenching manner, and left alone to pick up the pieces together. They both brought out the life of each other, and he was going to stop at nothing to make it right and win her over. Her slowing heartbeat brought him back to reality.

"Oh, hey I cleared out one of the guest rooms for you to crash in, since I figured you'd rather not sleep on the couch again or in my brother's room."

"Oh, thanks. Now I know where to dump my suitcase." She sighed as her phone rang, interrupting them. She looked at the screen and flipped it open.

"Hey, Jenna."

"Hey. I was just wondering why you haven't called, is everything ok over there?"

Elena paced around the room. "Yeah, everything's fine, I've just been really busy."

"'Kay. Just be sure and check in with me every once in a while, alright? When do you think you're coming home?"

Elena glanced over at Damon, knowing he could hear both ends of the conversation. "Um, Stefan…he's worse than I thought. He's got mono." Damon shrugged, then nodded flippantly. "It'll probably be a few weeks before he's ok on his own."

"Okay, sweetie, as long as you're fine over there. Call me eventually, will you?"

"Sure thing. 'Night, Jenna."

"Bye honey." Elena hung up, snapping the phone shut with a flick of her wrist. Damon walked over to the stairs and motioned for her to follow.

"Come on, I'll show you your room. It's right down the hall from the bathroom." She followed him up the stairs and he grabbed her suitcase, disappearing through a door to the right. She walked in to see him dumping her suitcase on a silky bedspread that matched the wallpaper; the entire room was a cool shade of blue, tinged with gray. The bedside table and dresser were both mahogany with clawed feet. The heavy curtains pulled back to reveal a massive floor-to-ceiling French window facing the west. She looked over to Damon, raising her eyebrows as she inclined her head.

"Thanks. I like it. It…fits me." Damon's mouth twisted into a crooked grin.

"I thought so too." They looked at each other for a beat, both expressions unfathomable. "I'll go, you probably want to get some sleep. See you in the morning." He slowly walked out, closing the door behind him. Elena unpacked her things and put them in the dresser, guessing she would probably be here for a while. That vampire was stronger than Damon, and it was going to take some time to get rid of him. She opened her door and padded down the hall to brush her teeth and comb her hair. As she returned to her room, she smiled at how Damon had somehow managed to pick her favorite guest room without her saying a word about it. It was almost eerie how well he knew her. She climbed into the huge bed, snuggling into the incredibly soft, cool sheets. Spreading out on her back, she stared up the blue canopy, willing herself to go to sleep. She suddenly jerked up on her elbow, wary at the scratching noise outside her window. It's just a tree outside, probably hitting your window in the wind, that's all. Calm down, she thought to herself. She rolled over restlessly, turning her back to the window and burying herself further under the comforter. Paranoid thoughts skittered across her mind, followed by consternation, reassuring herself that she had an overactive imagination. Yet for the next half hour the scratching continued, occasionally accompanied by a shifting noise and a howling wind. Suddenly her bedroom door flew open, followed by a dreadfully familiar gust of chilling wind. Elena yanked the comforter over her nose, her eyes wide as they peeped out over it.

"Damon!" she whispered frantically, knowing he would hear her. Not 2 seconds later he was standing in her doorway, still dressed in all black.

"What?" he whispered back, shoving his hands in his front pockets.

"Something's outside the window." Damon quickly crossed the room and shoved the curtains aside, looking out into the pitch black night. His eyebrows knit together, his jaw flexing in discontent, obviously not liking what he saw, or rather, felt.

"He's circling the grounds. He found us; I can sense his presence. Since this house isn't owned by a human, he can come and go as he pleases." Damon related bleakly. Elena's eyes widened even further as she curled up into a ball under the covers, gripped with fear. Damon walked to her bedside, yanking her covers back and pulling her out of bed by the hand.

"Come on. You're sleeping with me. The closer you are to me, the easier it is for me to keep you safe." He pulled on her hand lightly as her feet hit the floor. He glanced back, expecting her to protest, but she didn't; she was too terrified to object to his offer of protection. He led her out into the hall, and she followed behind him like a small child. It slowly registered with her that she was getting to see his room while she was actually in a state to realize what was going on; she unconsciously quickened her steps. He led her up a dark staircase at the opposite end of the hall. The top of the stairs stopped at one door, standing slightly ajar. He drew her into the room and released her hand, shutting the door behind him and locking it. The room was fairly large, but it felt smaller due to the fact that the walls were painted black. The heavy black and gold curtains were drawn, and the room was lit solely by candlelight. Against one wall were rows and rows of bookshelves, filled with old tomes and various gadgets. There was a sturdy wooden desk on an oriental rug a few feet away from the bookshelves, and across the room was a king size four poster bed, made up with black complete with gold accents. The room fit him to a T. Damon strolled over to the bed and pulled down the comforter, jumping back onto the bed and reclining lazily. He patted the bed next to him, inviting her to sit down. She folded her arms and hesitantly made her way over to the bed, climbing onto the unoccupied side and sitting cross-legged, facing him. They sat in silence for a moment before she remembered something.

"Damon?"

"Yes?" he drawled.

"Lately in the house I've been feeling this really cold breeze whipping around. It's a pretty strong wind, yet none of the doors or windows is open. Is there a possibility it has anything to do with the tomb vampire lurking around here, or am I just paranoid?"

Damon pondered her question a moment before responding. "No, you're right. It's probably him. Remember when I first came to town, before you met me, how there was often a spontaneous fog?" She nodded. "That was me. Normal vampires who drink human blood can often control a certain element. He's probably using his power to produce the wind."

"That's just great." Elena groaned, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. Even so, she couldn't help but feel safer. Damon's presence made her feel like nothing could harm her. Something about him seemed to radiate strength, and it was incredibly reassuring. Feeling the tension in her body relax, she stretched out and pulled the covers over her, leaning back against the soft, downy pillow. As her head sank into the pillow, she was enveloped by Damon's warm, heady scent. She drowsily turned her face into it, her mouth suddenly watering. Surrounded by it, she felt herself dozing off. Not knowing why she was doing this in her clouded state of mind, Elena suddenly spoke up, her voice slow with sleepiness.

"Hey Damon?"

"Mhm?"

"This morning when you said I was talking in my sleep, when I was having a bad dream?"

"How could I forget? You bit me." Elena was too comfortable to roll over and slap him.

"Well that important thing on God's green earth, the person I was yelling for?" she yawned. "It was you."

Damon's eyes widened in shock, the look on his face identical to the one he wore when he first had dinner at Elena's, and she had apologized for him losing Katherine too. He couldn't believe that she had been so distraught about his welfare, even if it was only a dream. She cares. The thought hit him like a train, blowing his mind. She's the first person that's cared about you in 145 years. At that moment, he fell harder than he ever dreamed he could. His heart exploded into uncharted territory. He eased himself a little closer to her, knowing she was already asleep. He wrapped his arm around her waist, lightly resting his chest against her back and pressing his face into her hair. He felt her side rise and fall slowly under his hand as she breathed. He closed his eyes, breathing in her irresistibly sweet aroma. He loved her, and he wasn't about to let some bloodthirsty old member of the undead take her away.

Creepy old bat of a vamp, isn't he? Lurking about in the shadows, liable to spring an attack when we least expect it. I can feel the Delena coming, for those of you getting impatient. Elena is realizing she feels something WAY more for Damon, she just needs to come to terms with it. Please review, the last few chapters didn't get a great response and I'm hoping I'm finally doing this all justice. Reviews mean more than anything to a writer. Thanks for reading, I love you all! (But just not as much as I love Damon. No offense, surely you guys can understand) But really. I appreciate all of you SO much. I'll try to get another chapter up this weekend! Feedback is Love. Over and out.

- Annie