They were settled on a bearskin rug beside the fireplace. It was fall and there was a crisp coolness to the air so Elena requested that Damon light a fire. He had sighed and rolled his eyes but soon the library was filled with a cheery flame cracking in the hearth.

Elena sat with her legs out in front of her and her body leaned back on her arm, bracing her weight. She wore a scant, thigh length Grecian lavender dress. Damon had packages delivered to her almost daily with clothing, jewelry, and random knickknacks. She stared blindly into the fire while her hand absently ran through Damon's hair. Damon's head was resting in her lap while his legs were stretched out in front of them.

"I'm taking you out tonight," he said casually.

Elena's attention diverted quickly and she looked down at Damon. His eyes were still closed and his expression was passive.

"Me? Tonight," she asked, trying to keep the excitement from her voice.

"Mmhmm."

It had been four weeks since Elena had been turned into a vampire. It had been four weeks since Elena had last been anywhere beyond the Salvatore Boarding House. She had grown increasingly restless and suspected cabin fever. Elena had continued to feed during her peculiar sleeping spells. In turn she had developed panic attacks and tried to stave off sleep as long as possible.

Damon was curious as to how random bodies would be found across the property. He tried lurking in the shadows and standing guard over Elena but nothing ever happened. It wasn't until he left into town that these occurrences took place. He was skeptical at first to Elena's claim of having no knowledge of the incident. But after seeing her manic state as of late, he actually had come to believe her. It worried him. But he didn't show it. Though, he intended to find out what exactly was going on. His thoughts were cut short when…

"Well…where are we going?"

Damon smirked, his eyes still closed.

"Its your debut back into society."

He opened his eyes as she stared back at him dumbly.

Damon sighed and sat up. He stroked the side of her face as he spoke.

"Well thanks to your little letter, everyone thinks you ran away. You'll say you went to a holistic healing retreat. You went to seek alternative medicine. And," he gasped, "it worked ! Hallelujah."

Elena looked away, working the scenario in her mind.

"What about school?"

"What about it?"

"Well…what do I do about school?"

"Do what many of your peers will be doing by the end of the semester—drop out."

"Drop out?!" The idea was inconceivable.

"Elena," Damon said dryly. "Are you kidding me? You missed a month of school. You can't go into daylight. Take your GED if you're so interested in finishing. It's really irrelevant when you think about it in the grand scheme of things. I mean, what are you going to do with your degree? Go to college & work at a Fortune 500 Company? Give me a break. What the point of you having a brain if you never bother to use it? Christ."

Elena moved away from Damon and stood.

"What now?"

Elena walked towards the fire and pushed her palms towards the warmth. Her back was turned to Damon as she spoke.

"Why are you always so cold to me?" She asked.

He said nothing and that was enough encouragement to continue.

"Most of the time you treat me like I'm nothing. Less than nothing. You have me stuck here at the house and I'm virtually a prisoner. You don't even seem to like me half the time. You're like ice. You don't care who you hurt and how. You don't have a conscience to understand right from wrong. And I'm wondering why you even bothered to turn me…"

Damon said nothing but stood. He walked up to Elena until her back was pressed against him. He moved her hair softly from her neck and leaned into her ear while his hand slid underneath her arm and over her throat in a possessive manner.

"I turned you because I pitied you."

His words chilled in her veins as he softly kissed her ear lobe.

"I turned you because I was bored."

She turned to move away but he stilled her against him.

"I turned you because I wanted to see if I could turn a cherry blossom into a ragweed," he whispered with amusement in his voice. "Do you want me to say its because I love you? Lets not have illusions here, Elena. I know I was your dead last option. No pun intended. Otherwise you wouldn't have come close to my front steps, let alone come inside my house. You were a coward who couldn't bear the thought of death. So you came to sell your soul for the price of eternity. Do you think I don't see you when you think I'm not watching? Do you think I don't know who you waste the day daydreaming about?"

Elena felt a fury that she had never known before. How dare he say these things and try to demean her? How dare he presume to know anything that crossed her mind? He treated her like a dog—an amusement, a pet. She was suddenly disgusted. She felt a violence that made her shake. It was bubbling to the surface, begging to erupt. And then…

Elena turned her body swiftly around to him and she kneed him in the groin.

Damon grunted in pain and doubled over.

"Now I see why Katherine ran from you," Elena spat. "Because nevermind your conscience! You don't even have a heart, you don't have a soul."

She began to run from the room. Damon recovered quickly, stumbling towards forward. He grabbed at her leg as he did so, bringing them both to the ground. Elena kicked him in the face and he yelled out and grabbed blindly at her, catching her dress in his hands. It ripped and gave him leverage to grab her knees and pulling her to him, underneath him. Her hands were wild and she scratched at his face and tried to bite his shoulder. Damon pinned her down.

"I hate you," she said passionately.

"Say it like you mean it," he teased. His eyes were lethal.

She struggled underneath him, trying to lift her torso to create enough give to shove him off of her. But he did not budge.

"I hate you so much," she said again. She stared him daggers, imagining herself clawing him like a tiger to its prey.

They moved at the same time, they're mouths colliding into one another—claiming, attempting dominance. His mouth was hot and demanding. His tongue swept around hers almost daring her to deliver something better. She was unyielding. She wrenched her arms out from under him and threaded her fingers in his hair, pulling at it roughly as she slid her tongue along his lips and suddenly bit down on his tongue. Damon hissed in pain and tore his mouth away. He looked down at her as she looked up at him, their mouths filled with blood. He growled low and ripped at her dress, tearing it to ribbons. She ripped at his shirt, buttons skittering across the room before she threw it away from them. Her smooth skin peaked out in between shreds of ripped lavender gossamer. He didn't want to give her any time to think of anyone else or anything else but this moment. He demanded all of her. They fed off of each other, a dark sweet blood that although provided no sustenance, was pleasing to the taste. Elena shrugged off what was left of her dress as Damon unbuckled and discarded his pants. Elena moved up to touch him but he pressed her back down to the floor. He glided down her body then, teeth raking over hot skin. And when his mouth came in between her legs, she lost all coherent thoughts. It was only Damon--Damon whose tongue was lapping at her slowly, deliberately. Damon's fingers that slid inside her and found her wet and wanting. She was moaning almost like a kitten with her head thrown back and her back arched. She said his name over and over…and he smiled, smugly, into her and then moved. He put her legs on either side of her shoulders and entered her then. Her moan was became deep, primal, as was his. His pace was slow at first, building a fire inside of her. She pulled his head down towards her, claiming his mouth and murmuring encouragement. Her nails raked down his back, leaving a bloody wake as his thrusts increased. Harder. Faster. She was coming undone. She was embraced in nothing but sheer pleasure and it was all because of Damon. He could feel himself losing composure. Words couldn't adequately express how it felt being inside of her. So tight, so warm, and all of it was his. And then suddenly she moved and was on top of him, riding him. That's when he lost it. He grabbed her hips and guided her down on him again and again and again.

"Elena…" He groaned. "Fuck…"

He reached down in between their joined bodies, the pad of his thumb rubbing circles over her rosebud bundle of flesh. And it was like an avalanche. It was unstoppable. The build was almost too much to bear for either of them. Rapture came in intense wave after wave. It was as if liquid heat filled and coursed their veins. It was indescribable. And as the waves slowed and stilled, they were left with a warm pleasant hum. Elena collapsed on top of Damon, their bodies still joined, as she felt vibrations from head to toe. Damon wrapped his arms around her, trying to contain himself, and said nothing.

After a long moment, Elena felt him kiss the top of her head.

"You say I'm cold," he said finally. "Maybe I am. And maybe that's all I've ever been. I can't be anything else, Elena. I don't know how. "

Elena's head rested against his shoulder and she snuggled into him. Her hand reached up and caressed the side of his face.

"Yes you do," she whispered.

He turned to look at her then. He stared at her peculiarly, as if gauging something. He turned away after a long moment and looked at the ceiling.

"Maybe so," he said quietly.