A/N: Ugh. Sorry, sorry, sorry for the super late update. I had some serious writer's block and could not get out of it. This chapter is definitely completely different than what I originally intended for this story, but I think [hope] it works. I have a little bit of a vacation so I'm hoping to be able to get the next chapter out soon. I'm still sightly blocked but I've got some ideas. Please, please let me know what you think of this story. Reading your reviews always helps.

Thanks - O

Eleven

Please Don't Go

I walked back into the boarding house and smiled as I watched everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. The engagement party was a huge success. Jenna and Alaric were thrilled and everyone was having a good time, even Carol Lockwood had mentioned how impressed she was and had even asked me if I would be interested in helping her organize an event.

I let my eyes wander, looking for one person in particular, but he was nowhere to been seen. I saw Bonnie and Tyler dancing and Caroline surrounded by a group of guys. She noticed and waved and I just waved back and smiled. I noticed Jeremy and Matt talking near the window and slowly made my way over to them and I smiled when they looked my way.

"Hey Lena." Matt said.

"Hey guys." I said before turning my attention to Jeremy. "Hey how about taking your sister for a spin around the dance floor."

"Sure," he said smiling before we excused ourselves from Matt and made our way to the middle of the dance floor and started swaying to music. "You did an amazing job Elena. I certainly could have done without all of the manual labor you put me through today, but I definitely have to admit this place looks amazing."

"Well it is amazing what you can do with someone else's deep pockets and a few big ideas." I say smiling, "I don't know though, I just figured its Jenna she deserves all of this especially after all she has done for us."

"Yeah, I still can't believe she's actually getting married," he commented looking over to where their aunt and Alaric were dancing and laughing on the other side of the dance floor. I glance over at them as well and smile. "Whoever would have thought that Jenna Somers could take care of two teenagers on her own when she never quite grew up herself." he said and I laugh.

"Good point."

We swayed silently to the music for a moment, neither of us saying anything. "I never thought it could be like this again." Jeremy said suddenly.

"What?" I ask pulling back to look at him.

"Happy, content," he said shrugging but I could see the emotion in his eyes, "Thins just feel good right now. After mom and dad I just…"

"I know." I say softly nodding my head in understanding, "You really scared me there for awhile Jeremy. I wasn't sure if you would ever come out of your emo phase. I haven't wanted to push you but what happened, you just seemed to come out of it?"

He shrugged. "Nothing really I just well, I told you I started talking to Damon. He approached me at the Grill one night when I was just hanging out and drawing and he told me how good it was and then we just started talking about stuff and he was telling me these stories and I don't know he just reminded me of dad. You know how dad used to encourage us and was constantly telling us that we could do anything we wanted to do and well I just got that feeling again." He explained, "Damon he made me see that maybe all of those things that I had dreamed about growing up were still possible. I miss them but he helped me realize that mom and dad would want me to move on and be me again."

Elena felt a tears spring to her eyes at her brother's words. "You're right they would have. I'm glad you see that Jer."

"Me too." He said and I pulled him into a tight hug. Over his shoulder I spot Damon and my eyes lock with his and I can't help but smile and mouth 'thank you' knowing that he probably heard every word Jeremy and I had just said.

I had barely seen him all night, glimpses here and there. I was sure he was still avoiding me and now that I was able to get a look at him I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Damon for his part just stood there staring right back, but he seemed to be debating with himself until a determined look suddenly washed over his face and he started walking towards us, his eyes never leaving mine. I stop moving when he reaches us and Jeremy turns to see why I've stopped and looks between Damon and me and shifts from foot to foot. My eyes finally leave his as he holds out his hands to me and I find myself blushing but smiling looking at his outstretched hand. I think Jeremy mumbled some type of excuse to leave because he's suddenly no longer there. After a moment I put my hand in his and wrap my arms around him.

We sway silently to the music, our eyes locked enjoying the moment. The song suddenly changes, a slightly faster beat but we don't move away from eachother and keep swaying slightly.

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch
And it's bringing me out the dark

"You've been avoiding me." I say matter-of-factly breaking the silence.

"And what would make you think that?" he asks raising his brows.

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all

"I don't know, probably because you're leaving and it either slipped your mind to tell me or you just weren't planning on saying anything at all," I say giving him a knowing look.

Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

"Let me guess Stefan, no wait big mouth Lexie told you," he concludes frowning.

"It was Stefan but it doesn't matter. By the look on your face I'm guessing you were just going to disappear without even a good-bye." I say sadly starting to pull away but he tightens his hold on me and I glare at him.

Baby, I have no story to be told
But I've heard one of you
And I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Making a home down there
As mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all

He looks at me for a moment and shrugs, "What's the point, it's best for everyone if I leave and plus I figured you'd be happy that there wouldn't be anymore deadly vampires lurking around Mystic Falls anymore."

Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it with a beating

I stop moving and look at him incredulously, feeling myself get angry. "Is that what you really think Damon? That I wouldn't care if you just disappeared without a word?"

Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow

A brief flash of surprise passes through his eyes and he opens his mouth to say something but quickly shuts it. He seems to be thinking about something and I can see doubt in his eyes, "Elena I…"

"Hey mind if I take my future niece for a spin around the dance floor." Alaric says as he and Jenna dance up next to us. Neither of us say anything right away and after a moment Damon smiles.

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
We could have had it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
It all, it all, it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

"Of course, but only if I get to dance with Jenna. I need to make sure she knows what a giant mistake she's making and that there are better options out there, mainly me." he says before he releases me and sweeps Jenna up into his arms and dances her over to the other side of the room.

We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)

But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat.

"He certainly has always had a flare for the dramatics." Alaric says shaking his head before offering me his hand.

"I suppose he does." I say stepping into his arms, glancing at Jenna and Damon dancing and laughing. "I suppose you should give me an 'I told me so'.

"Why would I do that?" he said looking down at me curiously.

"Because you told me I shouldn't judge Damon simply because he was a vampire and that he wasn't so bad and well you were right." I admit.

"Well he does have a way of growing on you." Alaric said smirking then gave me a curious look.

"What?"

"Well it looked like Jenna and I interrupted something when we cut in." he comments.

I shrug before glancing briefly at Damon then bring my eyes back to Alaric, "Did he tell you that he's leaving with Stefan tomorrow?"

"No, but I'm not surprised. Damon isn't one for staying around for too long." he says glancing over at Damon before turning back to me with a knowing look on his face, "But he's also never had a reason to stick around before either."

I look at him and smile, "Ric have I told you that I'm glad you're going to be my uncle."

Later that night after lying in my bed for an hour unable to sleep, I finally push back the covers and climb out of bed. I start pacing the room going over everything in my head. After my dance with Alaric, Damon was suddenly no where to be found. I left the Salvatore house without saying good-bye to him and it left me feeling unsettled. I had to see him before he left. I quickly made a decision and went to my closet and threw on a hoodie and a slipped my feet into a pair a flip flops, grabbed by oversized bag and started to make my way out the door.

"Going somewhere?" a familiar velvety voice says from the window. I turn and I'm not surprised to find Damon's familiar form standing there.

I nod my head before putting my bag down and I take a few steps toward him. "I was headed to see you actually."

A look of surprise briefly flashes across his face but he quickly hides it. "Its late Elena, you know you shouldn't be wandering around in the middle of the night. It's dangerous."

"More dangerous than being in my bedroom alone with a vampire?" I counter.

"Touché."

I smile slightly at the smirk on his face, "What are you doing here Damon?"

He sighs before sitting down on the window seat behind him then looks at me. "You were right. I had been planning on leaving without saying anything to you, without saying good-bye."

"Why?"

"Honestly, I figured it wouldn't matter to you if I had left."

"That's crap and you know it Damon. You know that's not true," I say before sitting next to him with my body turned towards him.

"Do I?"

I took a moment and looked down at my feet to collect my thoughts before bringing them back up to meet his familiar expressive crystal blue eyes. "When you came into town I was afraid of you mainly because I didn't know what to expect and my knowledge of vampires came from the Founder's council, clearly a biased group. Then I hated you because you acted like this arrogant womanizing jerk who treated pretty much everyone like crap with the exception of me and Alaric." I said and he smirked leaning forward on his knees, "But then without my realizing it you broke down every defense I had. You grew on me and I…I don't know…I…I care about you Damon." I said sincerely looking into his mesmerizing eyes.

"Elena you shouldn't care about me. I'm not someone anyone should care about." He said adamantly but not taking his eyes off of mine. "I'm not worth giving a damn about."

"Why? Because you're a vampire or because you view yourself as some kind of monster?"

"I am a monster Elena!" he hisses, "There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That is what I am."

"I don't believe that for a second Damon," I say shaking my head stubbornly. "You fight everything in your nature, all of your urges to kill and to feed on people, you fight it. I don't know why you do it but you do. You care even if you pretend not to, you came to this town because you knew Stefan would come back here and he probably wouldn't be able to control himself. You sent Ric here to make sure that didn't happen, my father was your friend and my father wouldn't be friends with someone who was a monster, you protected me, you gave my brother hope again. Would a monster really do all of that?" I say scooting closer and placing my hand on his face and he leans into it slightly, "You are not a monster Damon. Being a vampire doesn't make you a monster."

He doesn't say anything and instead pulls away and stands and turns away from me to look at the window. After a moment he turns back and looks into my eyes with a resigned expression on his face. "It doesn't matter Elena. What matters is that it's better that I'm leaving. It's better for everyone especially you."

"Shouldn't I be the one to decide what's best for me?"

"God you're so stubborn. You have your entire life ahead of you. Vampire free! No danger. Take it Elena!" he says throwing his arms out to the side exasperated.

"What if I don't want to?" I say softly before standing and bringing my hand up to touch his arm. "Damon I'm…I'm asking you not…"

"No….no don't." He says forcefully stopping me from saying anymore and I wonder if I look as hurt and stricken as I feel. "Don't ask me something you'll regret later."

I'm silent for a moment trying to find the right words to say knowing that he's on the defensive and will argue with everything I say. "Damon I think, no I know that I'd regret it more if I didn't say this to you…and well I want you…no I need you to hear it."

He starts to say something but I put my fingers to his lips silencing him. I look into his eyes and I can see a mixture of surprise and longing in them. "Don't leave." I say simply and quickly, "Stay. I'm asking you not to leave Damon."

He takes my hand and puts it down and looks at me sadly. "You shouldn't ask me that. You don't know what you're asking?"

"Yes I do, you're just so stubborn you won't hear me." I say forcefully. "Well I'm stubborn too and I'm not going to stop because you need to hear this. I want you to stay."

"Why?" he says and I can see a vulnerability in his eyes that I had never seen before. I grab his hands and intertwine them with mine. He looks down at our intertwined hands before bringing his eyes back up to mine.

"Because I…I care about you Damon. You make me feel in a way that no one has ever made me feel before. I don't know how to describe it and in my head and rationally I know it would be better if I lived a vampire free existence which would mean it would be better for me if you left." I said and he nods his head in understanding and looks down at the floor, "But the thing is the thought of you leaving it just breaks my heart and it makes me physically ill. Damon when I look at you, I don't see a vampire anymore. I just…I just see a man that I feel like one day…I well…I don't know…" I say shrugging. "What you really need to know Damon is that you've proved everything I originally thought about you wrong. You proved me wrong."

His head snaps up and the look of surprise on his face is evident. He's searching my eyes for what I'm assuming is a lie but I'm sure he doesn't see that. "Elena…"

"I can't make you stay, but I'm asking you to. Please."

"You don't know what you're asking Elena." He says shaking his head slightly but I can see his walls starting to crumble.

"You need to stop telling me how I feel or what I want." I snap. "I'm standing here telling you that I don't want you to go. I know how I feel about you right now; I know how I can possibly feel about you in the future." I take a step closer to him and lock my eyes with his, "stay Damon, give us a chance."

"You really mean it?"

"Yes."

Suddenly he pulls me flush against his body, his one hand snakes its way though my hair until it's resting on the back of my neck. "There's no going back after this you know?"

"We're already way past that." I whisper before I lean forward and press my lips to his. He responds immediately and pulls me closer, his lips pressing against mine hungrily. I feel his tongue against my lips and I part my lips to allow him entrance. He tastes like a mixture of scotch and honey, absolutely delicious and so Damon.

My hands start to wander and I trace the muscular planes of his back. He in turn has one hand in my hair slightly tugging at it and the other has found its way to my butt.

I bring my fingers to his belt and start pulling it loose but he stops me and pulls back suddenly and I feel confused. His eyes are dark with lust, his lips swollen from our kisses. "Why did you…don't you want…"

"No I do. You have no idea how much I do but it's just…" he says as he runs his hands through his hair pulling at it a bit. "I can't believe I'm saying this but we can't do this at least not now."

"What don't you want me?" I ask feeling slightly hurt, wondering what I had done wrong.

He takes a step closer to me and cups my chin and makes me look at him, "You have no idea how much I want you, what you do to me, but I…I…well you mean a lot to me Elena. Far too much and I don't want to ruin it. For the first time in my life I don't want rush something. Does that make any sense at all?"

"Yeah." I said smiling, "I think I get it, I think."

He kisses me softly and leans his forehead against mine and sighs.

"Do you think that for tonight you can just stay and hold me?" I ask.

"Yeah."

Damon scooped me up into his arms and laid me down on the bed and he lay down behind me and wrapped his arms around me. A feeling of contentment washed over me and after awhile I felt myself growing tired.

Hours later I woke up with a smile on my face. I turned in my bed with eyes still closed to reach for Damon only to be met with cold sheets. I opened my eyes and sat up looked around my room to find he wasn't there, but there was a note on top of the pillow. I picked it up with an uneasy feeling and read it.

Sorry but I had to leave. I'll be back I promise but for right now I just need some time. D

He was gone, he left, but then he did never say he would stay either.

Eek...hope you like it. Please review. Thanks for reading it.

The song referenced here is Rolling in the Deep by Adele.