Sorry this one took so long guys. I've been super busy with work, but I'm on a roll this time so the chapters should be pouring out of me now! Enjoy!

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Elena watched Damon approach Alaric, ready to intervene if things got too intense. She was often forced to play mediator when Damon's temper flared. To everyone else, he was a predator; a beast who couldn't be tamed but to her, he was more like a puppy who didn't know his own strength. She seemed to be the only one who could communicate this to others. Sometimes people understood and gave up the fight, but most of the time, they didn't.

From where she stood, she could see the conversation very clearly. Damon was on a sarcastic rampage. She could tell just by watching his eyebrows. Up and down, up and down, left one up while the right stayed down. He must have made his point because his face stayed cocked to the left like he was preparing for a backlash. Ric didn't look too happy. He retorted, practically spitting the words into Damon's face before turning back to his drink.

Damon began to say something else and then he stopped, looking past Ric at something on the other side of the bar. Elena followed his gaze until she saw Andy Star standing by the door. Andy scanned the bar, clearly looking for someone but by this time, Damon had jumped off of his stool and was making a beeline for her. Oh Shit, Elena thought. She didn't know the details of Damon's relationship with Andy but she did know that Andy wasn't hanging around anymore. It was no secret that when Damon broke up with a girl, he didn't do it nicely. In fact; Andy was lucky she was still alive.

Andy didn't appear to see Damon until he was practically right in front of her and when she did; Elena could see her stumble backwards in fear. Damon didn't even hesitate; grabbing Andy by the upper arm and practically dragging her out the door.

"No no, shit no!" Elena cursed under her breath; grabbing Caroline's attention. Caroline had watched the whole exchange from the corner of her eye. What was left of her human instincts told her to stop him; to go after him and help Andy, but her vampire side understood: Damon needed this. He had been on edge all day and if he didn't water down that fury growing inside of him, there was going to be an accident.

Elena however, didn't understand this. She didn't care so much about Andy's life, or about protecting anyone else's. Her main concern was protecting Damon from himself. There always seemed to be a war raging inside of him. With every victim came more and more fuel for the bad side; the side Elena feared would one day consume him. She didn't even stop to think about the dangers to her own life, she just ran after them; determined not to let him do something he might regret.

Caroline watched Elena go. She briefly considered going after her to stop her from seeing what was happening just around back, but she decided against it. This is what she needs, Caroline thought. She'll never understand unless she sees it for herself. And without a second thought, she turned back to the pool table, deciding to intervene when the time was right

Elena, outside now, had to stop to let her eyes adjust to the darkness around her. The sun had gone down hours ago and it must've been a particularly cloudy night because the sky was pitch black. There was a small crowd of people outside smoking. Elena approached them, unsure of who to ask.

"Has anyone seen Damo..." She stopped. These guys only looked vaguely familiar, clearly from the area though not from right in town. They wouldn't recognize Damon by name. "Andy...Andy star. Has anyone seen her?"

"The news lady?" the guy standing closest to her asked. She nodded, hoping he could point her in the right direction. He shook his head and shrugged; clearly he couldn't help her. "Not since this morning...on the news." They all erupted in laughter. If only they knew she thought.

She scanned the parking lot, looking for a clue of some kind as to where they might have gone. Andy's little red Honda was still in the parking lot; Elena recognized it from the many times she'd seen it at the boarding house. She approached it slowly; afraid of what she might find inside. A strange mixture of relief and disappointment came over her as she peered through the windows, seeing nobody.

Elena scanned the lot from this new perspective, still seeing nothing. She was about to head back inside to recruit Caroline when she saw a flash of white rounding the corner of the Grill. It was Jason Anders from school. He was dressed in a white cook's uniform, the kind they wore in the kitchen at the Grill. He was clearly out of his element; stumbling around seemingly without a purpose.

"Jason! Over here!" Elena called to him. He glanced over, seeing her now.

"Hey Elena. How's your summer going so far? I haven't seen you since school got out." He met her half way across the lot.

"Well...you know, its going." She said hurriedly. "Hey have you seen Damon at all?" He shook his head; a vacant expression on his face. "Okay, well then what about Andy? Andy Star?"

"No." Still blank. "Neither."

This was not the Jason she knew. In school he was the class clown; he always had a response to everything. Right now he was acting like a robot. Everything suddenly clicked in Elena's mind. His confused expression and the fact that he was out in public with his uniform on told her enough; he had been compelled.

"What are you doing out here Jason? Are you on a break?"

His eyes registered a slight recognition. "Yeah...I'm on a break. I was smoking on the back step but then I came around front because...I'm not supposed to be smoking back there..." Puzzlement resumed on his face.

"Why aren't you supposed to smoke back there?" Elena knew the answer before it even came out of his mouth.

"I don't know. I just know that I can't." And with that, Elena took off running around the back of the building.

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Damon had Andy pinned up against the brick wall outside the back door. He tried to keep his face from changing so as not to freak her out, but was a futile effort, considering the position they were in. He held both of her wrists above her head so she couldn't fight while his other hand was clamped around her mouth to keep her from screaming.

"Shhhhhhh Andy. You're good. It's me, Damon. I'm not going to hurt you."

He may not have had himself convinced but Andy slowly started to relax. He took his hand from her mouth; allowing her to speak.

"I thought you didn't want me anymore. You told me you would kill me if I didn't leave. So I did." Oh, you sweet, stupid girl he thought to himself. Of all the toys or "distractions" he had in his long life, Andy was his favourite. She required the least of his efforts to compel, but she also had an iron will that remained intact, even after he had been in her head.

"I was angry. I'm sorry Andy but you need to promise me something..." He stopped to make sure she was paying attention. She was looking up at him with doe eyes, fully alert. "Next time I tell you to do something, whether I compel you or not, just do it," he spat through clenched teeth.

She nodded. I slight smile on her face. "Okay. Does this mean you want me again?"

"Yes Andy, like I want a headache. Now tilt your head for me and relax."

She did as she was told, pulling her hair away and letting it fall down her back. Damon could feel the change coming over his face. There were no words to describe the feeling; especially after going so long without it. His fangs slowly started to protrude, instantly relieving the continuous ache in his gums. He could feel the blood vessels in his eyes start to swim; reacting to the sudden rush of blood to his head. It only took a moment but he savoured every last bit of it. He opened his mouth, pulling his lips back over his teeth, enjoying the stretch in his jaw. Then he struck; sinking his fangs into the column of Andy's delicate neck.

It was then that Elena rounded the second corner, softly panting from a sudden rush of adrenaline. She stopped right in her tracks when she found what she sought. She had expected to see Andy's lifeless body on the ground, already drained with Damon standing over it. What she found instead caught her off guard. She didn't expect to witness such an intimate moment between the two. More importantly, she didn't expect how it would make her feel.

Elena slowly tiptoed back around the corner, suddenly feeling like she was intruding on something very personal. The way Andy's arms were wrapped around Damon, her hands running through his hair; the way her legs were tangled with his. The very proximity of their bodies to each other would have given any outsider the impression that they were locked in a sensual embrace, not a feeding frenzy.

She continued to watch as Damon's hand came down and wrapped around Andy's waist, allowing him to step closer; which he did. Elena's stomach lurched with butterflies. She had always been disgusted with Damon's feeding habits. Even more so, she was disgusted with the girls who allowed him to feed on them. She could never understand how they put up with the intense pain that was involved in the act. Elena had only experienced it a few times but it had been enough. She would rather slice through her own skin than have another set of fangs sink into her. However, Andy appeared as though she was enjoying herself immensely. Her head was tossed back and she was emitting throaty sighs of what Elena took as pleasure. Suddenly, Elena longed to be in Andy's position. She felt an ache of loneliness when she realized that there was no one around to hold her like that, to illicit those kinds of sounds from her mouth.

One thing Elena noticed was how gentle Damon was being with Andy. He held her body to his now, keeping her upright while he drank. There was nothing feral in his posture; he could have been kissing her neck for all she knew.

Elena heard a small sigh, and Damon's head came up.

"You alright?" He whispered softly to Andy. She nodded her head sleepily, slumping backwards. He caught her, chuckling to himself while slowly lowering her into a sitting position on the ground.

"ELENA. There you are; I've been looking all over for you." Elena's head whipped around to see Caroline walking towards her. "Did you find Damon and Andy?"

Elena looked back towards where Damon was now standing, Andy still on the ground. He had a mortified expression on his face. He clearly did not want Elena to see this side of him.

Caroline rounded the last corner, catching a glimpse of the scene she already knew had played out. "Oh," was all she said. She made eye contact with Damon, who knew he had been busted. Go she mouthed, hoping Elena didn't see. He turned right away and disappeared into the night, evoking a short cry from Elena's lips. She looked as though she was going to try and follow him but Caroline put her arm out, stopping Elena from going anywhere.

"Let him go." She said, making eye contact with Elena. She assessed the scene before her. Andy wasn't dead but he had taken a lot of blood, causing her to slump over sleepily. It was nothing a good night's sleep couldn't help. "Elena, listen to me. Go back into the Grill and tell Bonnie and Tyler I'll be right there. I'm going to take care of this and then meet you inside. Deal?"

Elena couldn't take her eyes off of Andy. "I want to be here when she wakes up. I want to talk to her."

"I don't think that's a good idea Elena. Please, don't make this harder than it has to be."

Elena's brow furrowed, like she was considering something she had never thought of. She started backing away reluctantly until she turned and rounded the corner to the front of the Grill. Caroline watched her go. She was glad she had chosen to intervene when she did. If she hadn't, Elena could very well be wandering in the woods behind her; looking for Damon, who was probably back at the boarding house by now.

Caroline walked over to Andy, who was slowly coming to. She knelt down, gently taking Andy's arm and pulling her up.

"Up we go," she whispered softly.

She half carried, half dragged Andy back to her car. She tried to be gentle as she lifted Andy into the front seat. Her head immediately slumped over the steering wheel, barely conscious but still mumbling. Caroline grabbed her underneath the chin and pulled Andy's face towards hers.

"Andy. Andy open your eyes. Open them...there you go. Now look at me." Andy did as she was told, looking at Caroline with a lucid expression. "Forget what happened to you tonight. The last you saw of Damon was back at the boarding house, the night he broke up with you. Tonight you went into the grill and sat at the bar by yourself. You had a bit too much to drink and started feeling queasy, so you came back to your car and took a nap. You're hangover tomorrow will be a doosy but it was worth it, because now you're over Damon. He was an asshole anyways right?" She nodded her head. "And you deserve better than him now don't you?"

"Yes. I deserve better..."

"Good. Now go to sleep Andy. Everything will make sense in the morning."

Andy laid her head back down on the steering wheel. Caroline closed the car door softly. She then walked around the car, making sure all the doors were locked. Satisfied, she turned and walked back into the Grill.

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There you be folks. Chapter 5. Chapter 6 will be along shortly...

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