A week later as promised. In exciting news today, I have a beta now! This is the first chapter that the amazing Livlovesdelena has helped me with and I can't wait for you guys to read it. So, here we go!

Chapter 18

Damon's POV

I had never been this torn in my entire life.

The last month had been so confusing between Elena and I. At first, I had been so happy when she kissed me. I was overwhelmed, one raging mess who wanted to pin her against the wall and fuck her into next week, but a part of me had taken over – the part that knew we couldn't do it.

She was 16 and her expectations of a relationship might be very different from what I could manage. I hadn't been in a proper relationship since I was human and I had no idea how to make it good for her. I had no idea how to build her up to things and I knew there would be a lot of firsts – a lot of firsts that I wasn't sure I could make into a pleasant experience.

But fuck, I wanted her.

Sleeping in the same bed with her every night, was getting increasingly harder, particularly because I was waking up with a raging hard-on and I wanted nothing more than to wake her up with it. Ever since she'd kissed me, I'd wanted more.

I'd wanted to know the sounds she made when I brought her to climax and I wanted to see her face when I claimed her as my own.

Rejecting Elena was one of the most difficult things, I have ever done. I hated seeing her face and the hurt in her eyes when I told her that we couldn't, but fuck, I have to be the adult in this relationship.

However, instead of being able to explain it to her, like a proper adult would, I'd done what I always fucking do, and pushed her away – and there could be no worse time to do it.

The attempt at the pool seemed to have been Elena's breaking point. She wouldn't be sleeping, if it weren't for the pills I got her, and I never saw her smiling anymore. Her heart was always pounding a little harder than usually, and I knew I would have to spend more time and effort on catching whoever was trying to kill her.

After getting her on the sleeping pills, I'd been out almost every night, looking for any type of clue, but I was coming up empty every time. The pictures of Elena floating in the pool, the water around her red with her blood was still haunting me and I couldn't believe how close I came to losing her. I reacted pretty fast and gave her my blood – not thinking about it until after she had woken up.

If she didn't make it, she would have been a vampire.

A few days after the pool attack, I found myself back in Elena's room, trying to look for clues on the area that had been burnt. It was hopeless, I knew that, but I still found myself looking, both at the outside and inside of the window. Once I was satisfied, yet again, that there was nothing there, I sat down on Elena's bed, and hid my face in my hands – I had sat down on something, though.

It was a little blue cardboard box, with the word "Tampax" printed on the top. I frowned and looked at it. I'd never seen anything like this before.

Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the box and inside, were little plastic packages. Okay, now I was curious. What was Elena hiding? I would have to Google Tampax later to figure out what it meant.

I took out one of the small plastic packages and opened it – the contents did not make me any smarter. What the hell was this girl hiding on her bed?

Inside was a little plastic tube, with a white string at the end. I pulled the string and out came what looked like a finger-sized tube made of cotton. I looked at it for a moment and was just about to feel it, when the door opened and Elena walked in.

"Damon, what are you doing in my roo-" she looked horrified as she saw what I was holding, "Oh my God, why are you playing with my tampons?!"

She was shrieking and then ran to me to pull the box away. I looked at her, perplexed for the first time in a while. She was embarrassed?

"Tampons?" I asked.

For the first time in a long time, I had no sarcastic or snide remarks. I was legitimately curious and I wanted answers.

"Yes! Tampons! Oh my God, Damon, what are you doing!" Her head was turning the color of a tomato very fast and I was dying for her to explain to me.

"You've got me intrigued, Elena. What are tampons? What's so dirty about them, that your face is resembling an Italian dish?" I asked, holding out the white cotton thing.

For a moment, she stopped shrieking and looked at me, with a gaping mouth.

"Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me that you don't know what a tampon is?" she asked, her mouth still open.

She really had to stop doing that.

"Should I know what it is?" I asked perplexed, still holding it out.

Now she was the one laughing at me. I didn't like where this situation was headed. I didn't want her to get the upper-hand in this conversation.

She was too busy laughing to answer me, before she sat down on the bed and put the cotton thing back into the plastic cylinder.

"Do you know what happens to human girls once a month?" she asked, the laughter still visible in her face.

God, how I loved to see her laugh. Making a fool out of myself was almost worth it to see her laugh. When I didn't answer, she sighed at me.

"Periods, Damon, we bleed," she said and I looked at her even more perplexed.

What did periods have to do with this?

"So imagine this is a... you know what," she said, blushing as she formed her index and thumb into a circle.

I raised my eyebrows at her and smirked. Then she took up the cylinder, pushed the end of it and the cotton thing shot upwards.

"You put that thing in your pussy?" I ask, looking at the cotton.

It could not be pleasant to have that shot up.

"Yes, Damon. It sucks up the blood. We just change them a couple of times a day and we're all good. No need for annoying pads," she said, pushing the cotton thing back in and putting it back in the box.

I gaped at her.

"Don't tell me I need to explain what pads are too," she said, laughing at my expression.

I looked down at the box.

"Women are strange creatures. And no, when women were unclean, they would wear pads too," I said indignantly.

Elena gaped at me.

"Women in Italy in the 1700's wore pads?"

"Well, I could imagine they have evolved a fair amount since then, but basically yes," I said, finding it odd that she would care about that.

"Wow, I had no idea," she said, sitting back, with the pack of tampons in her lap.

We sat like that for a while, until she blushed fiercely again. I instantly wanted to know what was on her mind, but lucky for me, she asked me, before I had to get her to talk.

"Can you... does my... uh..." she turned even more red and I was now even more curious than I had been about the so-called tampons.

"Just say it, Elena, periods don't bother me," I said – that part was true.

I hadn't had anything to do with periods for over 2 centuries, but it wasn't as though it wasn't a normal thing. Most human females went through it and it was only blood. I would be the worst vampire in the history of vampirism if I had an issue.

"Does my period blood bother you? Do I make you.. uh.. hungry?" she asked, hiding her face in her hands.

I smirked and grabbed her wrist, gently prying her hands away from her face.

"It smells delicious and it doesn't bother me. Don't worry about it, Elena. I'm not some silly human boy," I said, winking at her.

She looked like she wanted to dig herself into a hole in the ground.

"Well, thank you for the interesting information. I'll be sure to stock the house with..." I took a glance at the box, "tampax. Now that I know what you prefer."

I left her room, fighting hard to hold in laughter at her embarrassed face – humans were cute, and my singer was a special kind.

I was fearing when the next attack would be, but I didn't have to wait for long.

Elena was in general a lot more free now, so I wasn't worried when she didn't come home directly from school. Her heartbeat was normal, so I didn't think any more of it. But an hour after she was done in school, her heart sped up and I felt her panic and fear crept in on me.

I was talking to Stefan when it happened, and I stopped in the middle of a sentence. I didn't even bother telling him what was going on.

I just sped to where my heart was pulling me. Where Elena was. I'd been practicing that skill ever since the attacks started, and I was grateful for it now. Even with my vampire speed, it took me almost 20 minutes to get to where she was.

Everything felt wrong when I got there – it was an old abandoned farm-house that looks like it should have been torn down years ago. I knew she was underground – I wish I could explain how my inner Elena-GPS works, but I can't. I just know where she is. I was prepared to figure out how to get in without having been invited in, when I busted down the door and was able to step right inside.

I didn't even have time to frown – instead I sped to the stairs leading to the basement. I let out a feral growl when I saw what was going on.

Elena was lying, stark naked on some type of surgical table. She was tied down, gagged, and tears were running down her cheeks. She had several cuts on different parts of her body and blood was gathering on the floor – it didn't seem like they were fatal, though.

Holding a scalpel to her breast was a soon to be dead man, at least if I had any say in the matter. He looked insane – his face was shrunken and his eyes permanently red, with dark circles around them. He seemed like he was strong, but yet his skin looked unhealthy.

He looked up at me, holding out the scalpel. I let out a sinister laugh, as I let my vampire face come forth. The man paled and held the scalpel out in front of him.

"What are you?" he asked.

"Your worst fucking nightmare," I said and pounced.

It was pathetic how little the man did to defend himself. I tore into his neck to weaken him as he dropped the scalpel. Then, I knocked his head into the wall to get him unconscious so I could focus on Elena.

I removed the gag first and a big sob escaped her.

"Damon, h-he..."

"I know, Elena, it's all over now, I'm here."

My human face was back in place, as I tore through the bonds holding her down and then bit into my wrist, holding it out to her. She looked at me first, but she must have seen how much I needed her to drink, because she grabbed onto my arm and pulled it toward her face.

I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is to have Elena drink from me. I've shared my blood with a few humans over the years, but nothing compared to this. We became one, as she suckled on my wrist, my pants became uncomfortable and in one swift move, I had her pulled towards my body, stroking her hair as she greedily sucked my blood.

Everything she felt was running through me and it was as though there were no boundaries between us. I looked at her cuts healing, scarring and then disappearing completely from her skin and even though we should stop, I didn't want to.

And neither did Elena.

I let out a low growl as she bit with her blunt teeth, trying to get more blood out.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted by a scalpel being stabbed into my back. I was suddenly happy I had decided to feed on the bastard, because without, I would have been too weak. I gently pushed Elena away and turned around, my veins still pulsating from Elena drinking my blood.

The man looked even more pale, as he realized it didn't make a difference that he stabbed me.

"Bad choice, pal," I said.

I then forced his hands onto his back and pushed him ahead, to get him on the table that he'd tied Elena down on. When he tried to resist, I looked him straight in the eye and convinced him.

"Lay down on the table and don't make a move."

It felt good to have compulsion running through my body again.

Since it didn't work on Elena, it had been a while since I'd used it and it was a satisfying feeling when the man did as I said. As soon as he was lying down, I strapped the bonds around him, tighter than I needed to – it was even more satisfying to hear a few bones crack.

I was just about to stab him open when…

"No, Damon, stop!" Elena said, jumping to hold onto my arm.

I looked at her in confusion.

"Elena, this man has been tortu-"

"I know. I want to know why," she said, a pleading look in her eyes.

I sighed. I just wanted to make him suffer, like he had made Elena suffer.

I then looked down at the man again.

"Well, it's your lucky day. What the lady wants, she gets. Who are you?"

"Martin Jensen," he said, his voice quivering.

"Jensen? As in Rachel Jensen?" Elena asked.

I looked confused at her. Who was Rachel Jensen? I hadn't heard of her before.

"Yes. Your father is the reason my little girl is dead. I wanted Grayson to feel the same amount of pain I went through," he sneered at Elena, spitting at her face.

I moved quickly and broke three of his fingers.

"Talk nicely to the lady, or I start breaking every bone in your body," I growled.

Elena's heart was racing and tears had started falling down her cheeks again.

"But my dad is dead. Why are you after me?" Elena whispered, hugging herself.

I felt so sorry for her and I wanted to hug her and comfort her, but right now, I needed to get the man talking.

"Grayson is dead?" he asked, his voice changing.

I let my head fall back and let out a laugh.

"You didn't even know? And yet, you tried to kill her. Oh, buddy, you've been a stupid son of a bitch," I said, flashing my fangs.

He started shaking.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know he was dead," he said.

"Elena, is there anything else you want to know, or can I kill this insect?" I growled, cracking my knuckles dramatically.

"Kill him? Damon, we have to hand him into the police," Elena said.

I widened my eyes at her. She had to be kidding me.

"Elena, you have no injuries after the attacks, there's no proof. And this asshole doesn't deserve to live another day," I growled looking at the scum on the table who was now beginning to cry.

She looked at me and grabbed my face, her innocent eyes looking at me in a way that had me spellbound. I hated what was coming next, because I knew I couldn't do anything but what she asked of me when she was looking like that.

"Please, make it quick. Be a better man."

Okay, I was surprised.

She wasn't talking me out of killing him. I would have figured that she wanted me to let him go or to compel him – but she just wanted to make his death quick. In that moment, I couldn't help myself. I grabbed her face, leaned forward and kissed her trying to show her everything I was feeling that I couldn't show her normally.

She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me back, tears leaking from her eyes again. I had to break away soon, I had business to take care of. I made a promise with my eyes, before I walked over to the son of a bitch on the table.

"The lady is very kind towards you. You should be grateful for her," I sneered, as he looked up at me.

At first, his mouth opened in surprised, as though he believed I would let him live. Then I laughed and quickly snapped his neck, tearing his head off in the process. I couldn't help it.

When I turned around, I realized I should have asked Elena to leave first. She shouldn't have seen that.

"I'm sorry, Elena, I should have..."

Instead of being mad, she ran towards me, and I dropped the head in my hand, to catch her, when she jumped onto me and sobbed like crazy into my shirt. I put my arms around her, holding her as close to my body as possible.

"It's okay... it's all over now."

I ended up burning the house, with the corpse in it. Elena and I were watching it, her wearing my shirt and my boxers. It had been awkward at first, when we both realized she was naked and her clothes were nowhere to be found, but I ended up taking off my shirt and my underwear, which basically looked like a long dress and a pair of shorts on Elena.

Luckily, I hadn't gone commando that day.

As we were watching the house burn, I felt like Elena had found a calm, she hadn't had, ever since this started. The guy out to kill her was dead, and she was safe again.

"Are you ready to go home?" I asked her, as we were standing there.

She turned and looked at me. Her makeup was all over her face and she looked so different, that I wasn't sure what to think.

"You kissed me," she stated.

It wasn't a question, it was just a matter of fact. I nodded. She walked closer to me, reached up to my face and let her thumb caress my cheek. The delicate touch was so unfamiliar that it made me shudder.

"Are you willing to give us a try?" she asked.

Her voice was filled with emotion, but I could almost see the scars in her eyes, from what had just happened.

I knew I should reject her again.

I shouldn't put her through what it meant to be with me. But, as she stood there wearing nothing but my clothes, her eyes looking so trustingly at me, even though she had just been kidnapped and tortured, I couldn't do it.

I was selfish to the core and I wanted her.

"Yes."

There's the story behind the attacks. What did you think? And Damon is going to give them a try! Lots of Delena coming up! Please leave me a review with your opinion and I'll see you guys in a week!