Good morning, everyone!

I appreciate every single alert/favorite/review this story receives. I also like that some of you chose to share with me your frustration on certain parts of the plot/characterization. I am willing to discuss, explain, etc. as long as you are not downright rude!

Anyway, this chapter was really bothering me at first; I think me trying to add Bonnie in here, was the main reason. In the end, it turned out to be really fun to write! To be honest, I did postpone Bonnie's appearance. You don't mind, do you?

Hmm, what else? Right… about Elena's choice to trust Stefan. For everyone questioning her decision, here's what I replied to those who shared their thoughts with me:

First of all, keep in mind that this is Elena of season 1, and not the Elena of season 3. Her experience with and knowledge on vampires is minimum. Over the last few months she has fallen in love with Stefan, and gotten in a relationship with him. A relationship based on trust, and honesty. So, when Stefan tells her that he is better, that he can control himself, and that he won't put her in danger again, she believes him. She believes that it was one bad moment, that is never going to be repeated.

And honestly, Elena is doing nothing but what many women(unfortunately) would do. She refuses to understand the seriousness of the situation. Instead of accepting the fact that she is-more or less- in an abusive/ harmful relationship, she prefers to focus on her hope that "it was just one time" and that Stefan really cares about her.

She's trying to be optimistic, and see the best in him, because, honestly... you can't tell me that this isn't what she's been doing on the show, too.

Plus, she is feeling guilty. She believes that if she hadn't forced him to take her blood, he wouldn't have gotten out of his animal-diet, and there would be no reason for him to attack her.

Anyway, as you probably noticed in "We all hide something" Elena deep down knows that Stefan is dangerous, and her fear will eventually be confirmed. And it's not going to be pretty.

Elena didn't have any physical reaction to being close to Stefan only because the signals he was sending her indicated that he would never again hurt her, and because, like I previously explained, it's easier for her to cover her eyes and not see what's right in front of her.

Ready for the new chapter? Go!

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD, even though I'd love to!

Instinct:[mass noun] the fact or quality of possessing innate behavior patterns.

e.g. Instinct told her not to ask the question.

Elena sighed as she watched Bonnie practically flying out of her seat the moment the bell rang. The first time it had happened, she thought that perhaps Bonnie needed to go to the bathroom, or talk to a teacher. But this was the end of the seventh period, and Elena could no longer name it 'coincidence'. No matter how weird she found it, she had to accept the fact that Bonnie was avoiding her. Was it something she had done? Something she had said? She could use a friend she would be able to talk freely with at that point, but how was she supposed to fix things between them, if she didn't even know the reason why they had broken apart?

"What are you doing this evening?" Stefan asked bringing her back to reality, and placing his hand on the small of her back.

"I don't know…. I guess I should catch up on homework. With everything that's been going on during the last months, I've really fallen behind," she replied, giving him a small smile, and inserting the combination to her locker. "Alaric is not at all pleased with me after my last test. Honestly, I'm not pleased with myself either. I mean… C on a history test? It's not even Maths, or Chemistry!"

"Do you want me to deal with him?" Elena looked back at him in surprise. His voice was unusually sharp, and anyway, she was growing tired of everyone around her dying to 'deal' with others. They were humans, or something close to that, not silly tiny bugs that you could spray, and not care less about their death.

"I can study, and do better on the next test, Stefan. This is how humans deal with their issues," she snapped, angrily pushing her notebooks in the locker, and meticulously avoiding his gaze.

Stefan inhaled deeply through his nose as he felt his vampire features coming to the surface. He had worked so damn hard to form a perfectly detailed plan, one that wouldn't fail, one that would mark his epic return to the real vampire world. And there she was… a mere human like herself, getting him so riled up, that he was actually contemplating simply getting this over with. But that wouldn't be fun, now, would it? he thought, gathering all of his will power to push his fangs back into his gums.

"Elena, hey, Elena," he whispered, ever so gently touching her arm. Her small frame tensed under his touch, and he waited until she slowly turned around to face him. Their eyes met, and she audibly swallowed.

"I'm sorry, okay," her hands sneaked around his neck, and touched his skin. He barely kept from laughing out loud. How could he have believed he was in love with this girl? She was too naïve, too easy to be played with. At least Katherine was smart.

"I only meant that Alaric would understand that school hasn't been your priority, lately."

"I know he would," she nodded at his words. "But I don't want him to. Yes, our town is full of supernatural creatures, but I can't let that distract me from my own life anymore."

"Does that include me, too?"

"No, of course, not," she whispered, pressing a quick kiss on his lips.

It was less than a day ago that Elena had asked herself a similar question. How would her life be if she hadn't met Stefan? Would things be better, or worse for her? Then again… it didn't matter, anymore, did it? She owed him, now. She had to help him.

"Elena!" Caroline's chirpy voice broke her train of thoughts, as a blur of blonde hair passed in front f her eyes, and a set of tiny but strong arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"Caroline!" she shrieked back, taking a few steps to steady both of their bodies. "What is it? What happened?"

"The Founders' Court happened!" the other girl replied with an excited expression on her face. "You know, Miss Mystic Falls?"

"Oh, right," Elena mumbled more to herself than anyone else. "We signed up for this so long ago… I completely forgot."

"So, does this mean you are dropping out, then?" Elena chuckled at the hopeful tone in Caroline's words.

"No, I can't. It was my mother who wanted me to participate."

"Oh," Caroline said awkwardly, mentally scolding herself for being stupid once again. How was it that she always managed to lead the conversation on so touchy subjects? "Anyway, we need to find ourselves the best dresses. I am thinking about something black, or purple. Definitely purple. What do you say? What will you wear?" Elena burst out into booming laughter that had Caroline smiling, too. They hadn't spoken a lot, lately, but they had known each other for a ridiculously long time. She didn't need Elena to say anything. Just from looking into her eyes, she could tell that she wasn't happy anymore. Something was clearly bothering her, and Caroline wished she could be the one to help her.

"I honestly have no idea, Care. I mean… I only just found out, didn't I? I don't even officially have an escort, yet."

"Oh, that's nonsense," Caroline brushed Elena away with a flick of her wrist. Was she seriously worried about this? "You have your lovely boyfriend Stefan! I'm sure he'd be more than happy, and honored to escort you. Wouldn't you, Stefan?" she asked, linking their arms, and bating her eyelashes to him. Stefan would always be an attractive man to her eyes, but the moment he became Elena's boyfriend, he was off limits for her. Yes, even Caroline Forbes didn't do best-friends' boyfriends. Now, ex's… that was a completely different issue. Even though, if she wanted to be honest with herself, things with Matt had started falling apart over the last few days.

"Of course I will escort Elena, if she wants me too," Stefan replied in that sweet tone that normally made her cry out 'awww'. She didn't, however, because something else caught her attention. A short moment before Elena's lips quirked up into a smile, a flash of something akin to discomfort crossed her brown eyes. What was that?

"Thank you, Stefan," Elena eventually murmured, and Caroline clapped her hands, as she added in a mental list to find out what was going on between these two ASAP.

"Great! Now that this is settled, all we need to do is find a dress, shoes, jewelry, and figure out what we're going to do with our make-up and hair." Caroline could feel her anxiety rising up to almost insufferable levels. She had so many things to organize and so little time…

Damon pulled at the handle of the first drawer, and let his gaze shamelessly wander over its insides. He pushed around the seemingly endless white and pink panties, in search of something that would be worth his attention. Oh, and it was definitely worth his attention. He couldn't keep the smirk off his face, as he grabbed a red lacy thong in his hands. Bringing it towards his nose, he found out that it unfortunately didn't smell like her. So, he closed his eyes, and imagined it on Elena's toned body. She would look ravishing in this, he thought, his sensitive ears picking the sound of her car's ignition. He casually sat up on the desk, his fingers still playing with the small underwear, while Elena's steps moved closer to her bedroom. One second she was calmly walking through the door, and the next one she was running like a crazy woman.

Elena couldn't believe that this was happening. She didn't really mind that Damon was at her house, she had been meaning to call him, after all, but her plans hadn't involved him unearthing this particular piece of clothing. Unceremoniously, she dropped her bag in the middle of the floor, and lunged for the red thong. But Damon being Damon, and never missing an opportunity to embarrass her, raised his arm in the air, and grinned triumphantly, when she huffed in annoyance.

Damon relished in the blush that crept up her cheeks, as she glared at him through narrowed eyes.

"Give it back, Damon!" she growled, and he shook his head from side to side.

"Nope, can't do," he replied, allowing the underwear to dangle from his forefinger. Elena's eyes were focused on his every move. Ever so slowly, he lowered his arm bringing it to a level that she could reach, if only she jumped. And jump, she did…

Elena didn't even pause to think how childishly she was acting. All that mattered was that Damon's hands stopped touching this underwear. This underwear that she had bought for none other than herself, in a rather brave moment of her life. She wasn't exactly a girl with low self-esteem, she knew she had a fine body. But from time to time, she enjoyed wearing something a little more revealing than her usual clothes, and gaze at her reflection on the mirror. Or add something a little sexier under her normal attire, something like this red thong. But no one was supposed to find out. It was her dirty little secret. This was why the clothes and underwear she had bought for that reason alone, never found their way to the Gilbert laundry. She didn't dare do that. No, instead she would hide them in a safe corner of her closet, and then wash them with her own two hands, when she knew that the house would be empty, and no one would get a glimpse of them.

So, Elena didn't hesitate as she jumped forwards, only to once again fail in getting hold of her priced belonging. But if she failed in that, she definitely achieved something else entirely. Her breath hitched in her throat, when she found herself standing in between Damon's parted knees, her hands resting on the insides of his thighs, mere centimetres from his crotch.

"Just a little bit higher, baby," Damon whispered against her face, and much to Elena's surprise, her brain instead of turning off at the close proximity, started working faster than ever before. There was a part of her cursing her for what she was about to do, but the other one, the one that made her tongue dart out, and seductively- or so she hoped- wet her lips, was more dominant. She refrained from smiling when the first signs of distractions appeared on Damon's expression, and the moment she started moving one of her hands, she knew she had won.

Damon couldn't keep his eyes off her cute lips as he felt her fingers massaging the skin of his leg. The Elena he knew would have never acted like that, but he wasn't about to ruin this, and question her sudden change of heart. Hell, even the promise he'd made to himself to keep his distance from her, because he couldn't afford falling in love again wouldn't stop him from pressing his mouth against her own, or running his hands all over those sweet curves of her body.

The situation changed so quickly, that Damon couldn't figure out what the fuck had happened. They were supposed to be grinding against each other by now, why was she leaning against the wall, one hand clutching her stomach, while her entire body shook with laughter? Was she actually laughing at him? His own hands balled into fists at his sides, and that was when he put the pieces together. His hand. It was now empty. Her sexy little thong. Was in her own hands. She had more, or less toyed with him. That was a first. If he forgot all about the hard on he was currently sporting, he was in fact proud of her.

"Bravo, Elena, bravo!" Damon said clapping, and Elena glanced at him in an attempt to get a read on his mood. He looked amused, and relatively relaxed. "I admit, you surprised me! I wasn't expecting you to pull a card like that!"

"Is that a compliment from the great Damon Salvatore?" she asked, now her turn to be shocked, as she moved towards her dresser, and put the disturbing piece of clothe back in place.

"It depends. Do you want it to be a compliment?" She rolled her eyes. There was the familiar Damon. Always hiding his true intentions, and feelings behind tricky questions, and witty comebacks.

"I want to talk to you about yesterday," she dove immediately into the main subject, shifting so that they were facing each other.

"About the party?" Damon asked, jumping off the desk, and approaching the window.

"No. About how I treated you after I woke up," she clarified, and he shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Damon, are you seriously going to pretend as if I wasn't being a bitch to you?" she cried out, amazing even herself with her blunt confession. She hadn't been planning to say that out loud. Apparently, even Damon was taken aback, since he span around, an eyebrow raised high on his forehead.

"So, you admit you were being a bitch?" he slowly asked, and Elena stuck out her chin defiantly.

"It depends. Do you admit that you were being a jerk?"

"Touché," he mouthed at her, and Elena involuntarily smiled. It was always like this between them. In a matter of a few minutes, he could make her relax, and forget all about her problems.

"So, how are you after everything that happened last night?" Damon asked after a while, as neutrally as he possibly could, and just like that the smile faded from her lips.

"Fine. I mean… you healed me, and Stefan is feeling better. Fine." His eyes widened as her own fixed on a random spot on the floor. Had she been talking to Stefan?

"How do you even know what Stefan is doing?" he asked again, moving closer to her, and she took a step back. That brought him back to his senses. He didn't want to scare her away, not after everything she'd been through. He needed her to trust him, this was the only way he would be able to help her, to protect her.

"We… we talked on the phone, and then I saw him at school, too. He said he's feeling better, he said that the worst part is over."

"Oh, that's what Saint Stefan, said? And you of course believe him?"

"Why wouldn't I believe him, Damon?" Elena shot back, matching his angry tone. "Stefan has no reason to lie to me."

"What are you implying, Elena, that I have reasons to lie to you?"

"That isn't what I said, okay?" her arms were raised in front of her chest, her palms in view.

"Then enlighten me, Elena, what did you mean?" When she took a deep breath, his emotions cooled down a little bit, too. How the hell can she do that to me?

"I cannot understand why Stefan would lie to me at this point," Elena said, her voice barely a whisper, as she inched her way towards the bed, and soundlessly sat down on the mattress. "I admit I haven't given much thought to this scenario, because… well, because frankly I'm scared to even acknowledge it as a feasible one. But anyway, if Stefan wanted to hurt me again, wouldn't he have done it, already? It's not like I can defend myself against him."

Damon sighed. It was obvious that this conversation wasn't easy on her. She was afraid of Stefan, even if she didn't want to say it.

"Elena, this isn't how things work out in our world. We are vampires, Elena, and vampires love the hunt, sometimes and some ones even more than the actual kill." He winced when Elena fidgeted uncomfortably at the last word. "I am not saying that Stefan will try to attack you," that's a given, he added in his mind "I'm just saying that you have to be careful around him. You don't know him like I do, you've only ever seen him in control. And the Stefan you met has nothing to do with the Stefan on human blood. Plus, I have a feeling that yours wasn't the last people blood he had."

"What?" Elena's eyes widened so much, he feared they'd pop out of their sockets. "Why would you say that?"

"He's not himself, Elena. He's not the brooding brother I love to tease, he's not him."

"Then, who is he?" the picture that Damon had been trying to paint terrified Elena. Could this be true?

"He's someone who only cares about blood. Nothing else." Damon's eyes looked full of honesty, why would he lie, anyway, but still…

"I… I can't accept this, Damon. If he really is like this, then why would he consider your way of living wrong, if he's basically doing the same thing?"

"Oh, no, trust me, Elena, me, and Stefan have nothing in common," he murmured, coming closer, and kneeling in front of her. "Stefan has turned off his switch, he has absolutely no remorse."

"And you have?" she didn't mean to hurt him, she was simply trying to understand how this was working. Weren't they all vampires? Didn't they all have the same urges? How could their reactions be so different? And how could it be that Stefan had the worst, more violent one? No, that made no sense at all.

"This isn't about me, Elena!" Damon said coldly as he stood up, and walked towards the door. Suddenly, he stopped, and looked at her over his shoulder.

"I really hope I'm wrong, Elena, but if I'm not, then you are in great danger. Keep your eyes open, don't be so quick to trust Stefan, or anyone else for that matter. He could be using anyone. Anyone."

"Then, how can I trust you?" Because I'd never hurt you.

"You can't," he replied, instead. "You can only trust your instincts, Elena."

And with that, he was gone again. Leaving her with more questions than answers. Leaving her more confused than ever before.

"What do my instincts tell me?" Elena wondered aloud in the empty room.

Instincts…

They are there from the very first moment you enter the world, till your last breath…

To a greater, or lesser extent they affect your life…

Sometimes, they can help you take advantage of tremendous opportunities…

But sometimes… sometimes they can lead you to make terrible choices…

Deadly mistakes…

This was more, or less a filler chapter. Tiny details that you perhaps didn't notice will play a critical role in the following chapters. Even the plan Elena came up with to get her underwear back from Damon will affect their relationship!

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Next chapter is the Miss Mystic Falls competition, which was, and still is one of my favourite episodes! The 'fun' will begin shortly! * winks*

Feel free to tell me your opinion in your reviews!

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Until next time, take care!