Chapter 2

Elena woke up the next morning to see the glittering rays of the sun burst into the hotel room. She rubbed her head as she tried to sit up but couldn't because of the two arms holding her down. Elena breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just Damon laying there and not Stefan.

The memories from last night came back and hit her like a ton of bricks. The yelling, crying, the breaking of bones, and Stefan's sneer as he watched Elena slowly die inside. It was plain as day infront of her face what he was now, what the human blood made him become. He was a danger to her now, and as much as she wanted to deny it, she didn't love him anymore like she used too. Elena was sure Stefan didn't love her now. After what he did to her last night proved that he wasn't the same Stefan she fell in love with.

Elena didn't know what she was going to do now. As far as she knew, they were on the run and she probably could never return home because Stefan might be there, waiting for her to walk through that front door with a knife in his hand and a stake in the other. Elena thought of Jenna and Jeremy, how much she was going to miss them. I wonder if I'll ever see them again. she thought miserably.

A stirring next to her brought her back to the hotel room. She watched as Damon sat up in bed and smirked at her. "Good morning Elena."

Elena rolled her eyes. Still the same cocky Damon as usual. "Good morning Damon." she said weakly, not in the mood to talk.

Damon grinned. "What do you say we round up a bunch of rabid squirrels and throw them on Stefan? Then he'll leave us alone!"

Elena shook her head. "Must you always be so childish?"

"Must you always be so breakable and weak?"

Elena glared. "I am not breakable and weak!"

Damon laughed. "You won't believe how many bones you broke yesterday. I couldn't even count!"

Tears slowly started to form in Elena's eyes as the memory of Stefan hitting her came into her mind. She quickly turned away from Damon so he wouldn't see her tears fall. Damon sighed and turned Elena's body so she was facing him. Warm water splashed onto her shirt as she wept. "Elena, look at me." Damon instructed.

Elena slowly moved her eyes to the deep blue ones that were staring back at her intensely. "I'm sorry for what I said, ok. I didn't mean it."

Elena shook her head, tears flinging off of her face and onto the floor. "No, it's my fault for being so sensitive."

Damon slowly took his arms and wrapped them around Elena's shuddering body, holding her tightly close to him until her cries subsided and her body stopped shaking. "I'm not going to let that happen to you again Elena."

Elena stared into his ocean eyes, searching for a buried treasure that she knew was there. She knew that somewhere deep inside those watery depths was someone who cared about her, someone who wanted to protect her, and someone who, as much as he wanted to deny it, fell in love with this mortal girl.

Elena sighed as she laid back onto the feathery comforts of the bed, wanting nothing more then to sleep away her troubles. Damon laid down next to her, playing with a lock of her hair. "You know we can't stay here forever."

Elena nodded. "I know that. But I'm just not ready to leave yet. This is the first time in awhile that I've actually gotten to lay on a bed without being forced against my will."

Damon nodded, putting his hands behind his head. "You know that Stefan isn't the only vampire that can make girls do things against their will."

Elena laughed. "You won't do anything to me."

Damon raised his eyebrows, looking at her. "Oh really? Why is that?"

"Because you're not like Stefan. You don't abuse girls unless they're under compulsion and won't remember a thing when they wake up."

Damon laughed. "Point taken."

They laid there for a minute, each lost in their own train of thought. Finally, Elena broke the silence. "Why did you let it continue for so long?"

Damon quirked an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Why did you let him abuse me for so long?"

Damon sighed as he stared at the ceiling. "I thought…I thought my brother would change. I thought he would see how much he was hurting you and stop. But I was wrong."

"So why did you save me, of all people?"

Damon turned towards Elena, his blue eyes dancing with glittery whiteness. Because I care about you. he thought to himself. He would never breath these words out loud because he didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to admit he was falling for Elena. At first it was Katherine. It had always been Katherine. But ever since he found out she wasn't in the tomb and couldn't care less about him he felt great pain for quite awhile until Elena showed up. They danced together, they helped Stefan get back on bambi blood, but somewhere along the way, he had fallen for her, just like she had. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in this room with him, she would be with Stefan, still convinced that he wouldn't lay a hand on her even though he already did. He wasn't going to give his brother the chance again. He was going to protect Elena from his deranged brother.

When Elena got no answer, she sighed and gave up on asking him. He was probably going to give some slide remark like he always does. Typical Damon.

Damon suddenly got out of bed and threw on some clothes. A black shirt, black pants, and leather jacket. Elena watched him curiously. "Where are you going?"

Damon slipped into his leather jacket and flipped the collar up. "I'm going hunting. You'll be safe here."

Elena nodded. "Okay. I might just order some breakfast in the meantime."

"I won't be long." Damon closed the door behind him and walked out of the hotel and into the woods that were nearby. As he went deeper, he spotted a woman walking alone. He smirked as used his vampire speed and got infront of her, compelling her to let him drink her blood. Once he was finished, he made the woman forget everything that happened and started to walk back towards the hotel when he was suddenly thrown to the ground. He quickly sprang back to his feet just in time to have a punch thrown to his face. His growled as he grabbed the hand and deflected it, jumping into the air and doing a roundhouse kick, sending the figure flying back a couple of feet. He slowly got to his feet and Damon looked on in surprise as Stefan charged at him once again. He quickly recovered and managed to duck out of the way, grabbing Stefan's arm and throwing him a couple of inches away from him. Damon glared. "What are you doing?"

Stefan stood up with a smirk on his face. "I told you. I'm going to kill you. Then Elena can finally get over you."

Damon started laughing. "Get over me? She's already over you. You are so last month. She doesn't love you anymore."

Stefan let out an enraged cry and leaped at Damon, wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing hard. Damon brought his knee up and it connected with Stefan's jewels. Stefan screamed out in pain as Damon rolled out from under him and stabbed him with another vervain dart. He eyes filled with a little sadness as he picked up Stefan's body and ran back to the boarding house using vampire speed. He made it to the cellar and threw Stefan in, locking it and making sure he couldn't escape. "That'll hold you until you're ready to face Elena like a man."

Damon took one last look at his brother before the cellar door slammed shut behind him.

Elena was finishing up breakfast when Damon walked through the door, looking worn out and exhausted. Elena bit into a piece of her toast, chewing absentmindedly. "What's with you? Was the human too much of a challenge?" She sniggered at the last part.

Damon's eyes darkened. "No, it was my brother. He found us."

Elena gasped, her toast falling back onto her plate. "Don't worry I took care of him. He's locked up now."

Elena breathed a sigh of relief at that news. "Thank goodness."

Damon's face turned serious. "I think we better get out of here if dear brother finds a way out of that cell."

Elena nodded, pushing her tray of food back onto the table and standing up, clad in a pink shirt and blue jeans. Damon smirked. "No tank top?"

Elena smacked his shoulder playfully as they both grabbed their stuff and walked out of the hotel. "What? I was making an observation?"

Elena finished putting her stuff in the trunk of the car and turned to Damon. "So where are we going? We can't just stay in hotels."

Damon nodded as an idea came to mind. "How about we take another road trip?"

Elena put her hands on her hips and glared as Damon laughed. "What? It'll be just like last time!"

"And where exactly are we going?"

"How about Italy?"

Elena groaned. "Be serious Damon."

Damon grinned. "But I am serious. Stefan would never think to look for us there."

"But what about my aunt and brother? We can't just leave them. Please Damon, I just want to be at home for a few days. Just so I can wrap my mind around things."

Damon sighed, but complied with Elena's wishes. "Fine, you can go. But I'll be checking on you every so often."

Elena nodded. "Deal."

The drive to the Gilbert house was long and silent. Neither said a word until Damon turned onto Elena's street. "How are you going to deal with Stefan?"

"I'll handle it, Elena. There's no need for you to worry."

Elena sighed, but let the subject drop. She didn't want to push Damon into answering something he didn't want to answer. She just hoped that he was going to be okay.

Once they pulled into the driveway, Elena grabbed her bag and her purse and opened the door. She turned back to Damon and flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you Damon."

Damon scoffed. "Whatever. You better get going."

Elena cast one look back at the blue Ferrari before slamming the door and going inside.

A/N: Glad so many people liked this story. I'll try and make Damon more IC. Sorry about that! Please review and Happy Twlight Eclipse Day! Lol who is going to see it?