Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated - as I explained in the last chapter, I've been going through some pretty rough stuff, which includes flying from Australia, to Denmark, only to fly back again a week later. I got to be a part of my granddad's funeral, so that meant a lot to me. Thank you for all the sweet reviews I've been getting - it means a lot to me.

I seem to be back again, now, though. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you at the bottom!

Chapter 20

Elena seemed to try and stay away from me after that, but lucky for my sanity, she didn't seem to be very good at it. We were still training together, but she didn't say a word to me, that wasn't related to killing people or vampires. We still studied, but she kept the talk completely on school stuff.

Elena still sat with me in the library. And I heard her walking in front of my door at night, but she never came in.

What happened had me worrying more about the sex thing than I thought. We'd never talked about sex before and I'd always just assumed that she didn't feel ready for it at all and I had no problems respecting that. Actually, I preferred it.

But suddenly, she was the one to initiate a hot make-out session and it didn't seem to me as though she wanted to stop. Not that I'd wanted to stop, but I had to.

Ric's words were still in my head, making me remember how I used to be with women. I would never be worthy of Elena, but she was my Singer and I would never be able to handle her being with another man.

Not after our relationship had changed like this.

As if that wasn't enough to stress about, Caroline had decided it was her sole duty to throw a major party for Elena's birthday. I had told her over and over that she was only turning 17, but Caroline had brushed it off and told me to focus on getting her a gift.

I suddenly had the same issue that I'd had at Christmas, only this time it was worse. This time, I knew I couldn't go out and spend a couple thousand dollars on her, but I also knew I had to get her something special.

I just didn't know what. I had asked Caroline for advice, but she just shot me a look and told me to figure something out myself.

It wasn't until one day when we were training with butterfly knives, that I got the idea.

We had only begun to use them a few weeks earlier, but she had a special talent for them. They seemed to just be an extension of her arm, and she had shredded a lot of things with them, doing patterns and other cool stuff along the way.

She had even confided in me, that she felt much better using those, than using a knife.

The next time Caroline asked me if I'd finally found something, I just smirked at her and told her not to worry. That seemed to cheer her up immensely.

A week after our make-out session, I knocked on Elena's door knowing she was in there.

It was morning and I knew she hadn't left her bed yet. She looked up at me when I came in, but then looked down at her journal again.

I sighed and went to sit down on her bed, close enough to put my own hand over hers. She quickly shut her journal, but she didn't pull her hand away.

"Elena, what we have right now, is new. You're a teenager and I can promise you, that being with me, is going to be different from being with Matt. We have all the time in the world, and I don't want to rush anything. I care about you a lot and I hope you understand why we have to wait," I said.

It was so unlike me to be so emotional, although it did make me laugh a little to see her running around trying to avoid me while still being close to me. I wanted her to know how it actually was. And that meant I would have to overcome my personality.

She looked up at me, no sign of tears in her eyes this time.

"You want to take it slow?" she asked, looking at me with confused eyes.

I nodded and stroked her hand with my thumb. She cocked her head, in that way only she does and looked me over with those curious eyes.

"How come? I know you're used to having a lot of sex. I don't want you to be bored with me," she said, her voice slightly insecure.

I smiled at her and gave her hand a little squeeze.

"I could never get bored with you, Elena. And I don't mind waiting. So, let's just take it slow, okay?" I asked, looking to her beautiful face for signs of what she was thinking.

She didn't seem relieved, but she didn't seem as mad as she had the other day either.

"If that's what you want," she whispered, looking at me.

I smiled at her and moved my hands to her face leaning forward until our noses were touching.

"For now," I whispered, and then I kissed her trying to covey as much of my emotions as I could.

She responded immediately, by putting her arms around my neck and climbing into my lap, keeping our lips tightly sealed together. I moved one hand to her back, holding her close, while I let my lips explore hers. I didn't want to use tongue, because I didn't want it to develop like it had the other day. When we broke apart, she leaned her head against mine and looked directly into my eyes.

I let my hand go through her long, beautiful hair and looked right back at her.

"Okay," she whispered.

Everything seemed to look up from there. We started talking again, and not just about school things. Elena seemed fine with taking it slow. She hadn't brought it up since that day, and I was grateful. I didn't want to have to reject her again – however much I was trying to be the adult, she was beautiful and I was me. Patience was not in my nature and my willpower only goes so far.

But to my amazement, she didn't bring it up.

She just happily accepted what our relationship was now. She was still sleeping in her own bed, and we hadn't told Blondie and Hero Hair yet, so we weren't holding hands or kissing around them – we were actually kind of sneaking around. I felt more like a teenager than I had for centuries. when she'd pull me aside in hallways and make out with me until I noticed the smell of her arousal. Then she'd pull away, smile coyly at me and disappear again.

Let's just say I took a lot of cold showers and had to excuse myself a lot to take care of the throbbing mess Elena left behind, every time.

Not that I let her see it, though.

She seemed to finally be understanding that we couldn't do more than that and I wasn't about to ruin that by letting her see how much she was affecting me.

I wouldn't be able to take another round of Elena grinding on me and clinging onto me, panting like she might die if I didn't fuck her. Just thinking about it, made me hard enough to regret my fashion sense.

She would kiss me in front of the whole school, though. It seemed that Elena's classmates had started noticing the hot car in the parking lot after school, and it didn't help when they saw the equally hot driver.

I couldn't help but smirk, when I heard how they were all talking about how I must be in college and who I was here for. Several of them were talking about trying to talk to me, with their friends gaping at them as though they were insane.

Elena must have heard this too, because she came striding out of the school, her eyes locked on mine and as soon as she reached me, she pressed her lips hard against mine dropping her bag on the ground to wrap her arms around my neck. I smirked against her lips, knowing that she was staking a claim and then I wrapped my arms around her pulling her closer and letting her very persistent tongue into my mouth.

My vampire hearing picked up on several gasp and groans of frustration.

When she let my lips go, I expected her eyes to be dark and vixen-like, but I was surprised to see her looking all shy and innocent.

"Well, hello to you too," I said, taking off my sunglasses, so I could look unobstructed into her beautiful brown eyes.

"Did it work?" she asked, looking expectantly at me.

I laughed and nodded.

"Yes, Elena, you just made your whole school aware that you're dating a 'college' guy."

Her eyes lit up and she gave me a quick kiss before grabbing her bag and getting into the passenger seat. I didn't even have time to marvel at the fact that she'd just been staking her claim on me before getting in the car with her. I drove away with the most stupid smile ever.

When Elena was done with her finals, we got to spend a whole lot more time together. Caroline was still planning her birthday in secret, although I had a hunch that Elena knew what was going on. She and Caroline had become so close since the accidents, that I think Elena was almost able to read Caroline's mind.

She did, however, pull a surprised face when she walked in on a ton of people, all wearing party-hats with the number 17 on it. It seemed like Caroline had invited a lot of people who Elena didn't actually know.

The parlor had been dressed up with banners and other colorful party things that I have no idea what they're called and no desire to know. What was important to me, was that Elena was happy. We all had cake and then came the time where Elena opened her presents.

For the first time in a while, I was nervous about her reaction. I'd gone on instinct to get her the present, and now that she was standing here receiving clothes and other normal teenage stuff, I was getting nervous.

I was clever enough to not just put it in the pile. Her friends couldn't know that she was training to protect herself against humans and vampires alike, so I waited until people started dancing and digging into the alcohol Caroline had supplied to pull Elena aside.

"What's up, Damon?" she asked, her entire face lit up with happiness.

Apparently Caroline had really done the right thing.

"I wanted to give you your birthday gift," I said quietly, pushing the nervousness away and focusing on her.

The happiness evolved into flushed cheeks and a shy smile. She was the most adorable thing I had ever seen.

"You didn't have to, Damon. You got me so much at Christmas," she said, but she couldn't hide her curious smile from me.

I groaned at the thought of our failed Christmas gift exchange. Why did she have to remind me that I'd already fucked it up once?

"Please, don't remind me..." I said.

She blushed even more and mumbled a sorry with the smile still visible on her lips.

I handed her the package, and she looked at me curiously before she opened it. Inside were two custom butterfly knives with wood ingrained into the blade so she could use it for both humans and vampires. The smile disappeared as she looked it over, awe in her look.

"Damon, this is incredible," she whispered.

I smiled, knowing that I'd done something right.

"Happy birthday, 'Lena," I said, as she leaned against me pressing her lips against mine.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her even closer as she showed her gratitude through her kiss. Her lips became more persistent, as she pressed me up against the wall to my back and drove her fingers through my hair.

I noticed the immediate change in the kiss and told myself I should stop it, but something in me wanted it to go on. And I couldn't say no.

My hands moved from her back to her ass, lifting her up slightly, so we were more at the same level and her tongue drove deeper into my mouth as she pulled me closer using my hair. She ran her tongue up and down mine, and my erection was once again present and throbbing through my pants so close to her core.

"Oh. My. God."

I swear, I could have fucking killed Caroline for walking in on us.

In hindsight, it was probably for the best, but at that moment I didn't care. I wanted Elena, and Caroline interrupting us meant bad news.

"Thank you for the present, Damon," Elena said and then slid around Caroline back to the party.

Did she just leave me alone with one very mad vampire?

"What the hell were you thinking, Damon?!" Caroline said, anger clear in her voice.

"Me?! She was the one pushing me into the wall, again. She was the one who turned a perfectly respectable kiss into something dirty, again. And guess who's left with the blue balls, again? Me!" I shouted angrily.

Caroline smirked at me, as though she had just won something.

"I knew it! You two have been together for a while now, haven't you?" she said, looking triumphant.

I sighed and let my head fall back.

"Yes, Caroline, we have, but I'm not going to have sex with her while she's still so young," I said, wanting to get the hell away from her before she decided on the anger again.

"Stefan and I had sex after I turned. I was still 17," Caroline said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yes, I'm fully aware of that, but Stef is also 17. My body is 24, and I can't do that to her when she's so young. We're going to have to wait," I said.

Caroline groaned at me.

"You are so frustrating. Elena is obviously crazy about you and you're crazy about her. Why not act on it? Fate literally told you, that you guys are perfect for each other."

"I don't want her to sleep with me, because fate says so. I want her to sleep with me because she's ready! And right now, she's not. Elena doesn't even know what she is and I'm not about to ruin our relationship with it," I said, tired of explaining this to her.

She should already fucking know this having been through the same.

"Ruin your relationship? How would Elena knowing she's your Singer ruin your relationship?" Caroline asked, suddenly looking perplexed.

God, I wanted to bang my head against the wall, how was this not obvious for her?

"Do you honestly think she's going to want me after she figures out it was never her choice to fall for me, but some predestined, supernatural thing? Do you think she's not going to hate me after she figures out that I'm the reason she's either going to die or have to turn into a vampire? I just want a few selfish years with her, before telling her," I said, pained that I was being so selfish.

I should tell Elena, so she could make up her own mind, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted her to be happy, just for a few more years.

"Damon, that's not-"

"Yes, Caroline, it is! And there is no apology in the world that encompasses all the reasons why I'm wrong for her! so, for now, I'm just going to let her have a few happy years," I said, banging my fist through the wall.

She looked at me, no trace of a smile left on her lips.

"Damon," she said, her voice very soft, "Elena's never going to hate you. She's going to be confused about the choice she's going to have to make and it's going to be hard, but you're the one she's gonna go to for support. She's going to look at you to guide her through her choice and she's going to cling to you, as you help her. If she could have hated you, you would have known a long time ago... Stefan told me about what it's like when that happens... you know, long before you know about the Singer choice."

I groaned, not wanting to revisit that.

"Bye, Caroline," I said, trying to push past her to go back to the party.

She stopped me, being surprisingly strong. I should have been stronger, since I have over a hundred years on her, but she was able to stop me.

"She's 17. She's not too young. If you both want it, go for it."

"I said bye."

I thought I was going to be sulky all night, but watching Elena dance with her best friend Bonnie made my entire night. I already knew she was probably going to have powers very soon, but for now, she looked so carefree that she probably didn't know.

She probably didn't know I was a vampire either. She would. Sooner rather than later I would imagine.

When Elena spotted me standing in the corner, she pulled Bonnie with her on her way to me.

"Damon, this is my best friend, Bonnie. Bonnie, this is Damon," she said, seemingly very excited about introducing us.

I noticed her cheeks were still pink, and her breath smelled a bit like alcohol. I was surprised she was drinking, and made a mental note to keep an eye on her – I didn't think she had ever been drunk before, and I wasn't about to let her wander off and wake up in a pool of puke tomorrow.

"I've heard a lot about you," Bonnie said, reaching her hand out to me.

I smirked, knowing what was going to happen when I took her hand. She was going to know something was up.

"Don't believe anything she says," I said, taking her hand.

Just as I'd expected, she pulled back quickly and she frowned at me. I was almost certain she didn't know what it meant yet.

"Have you girls been dipping into the liquor?" I asked, smirking at them.

Elena giggled in an adorable way, that made me want to take her into my room and never let her leave – it also answered my question with a resounding yes.

"Well, Elena told me we'd be safe with you, so why not get wasted," Bonnie answered.

Clearyly, she'd regained her prior good mood after whatever nasty vibe she'd gotten off of me moments before.

"Oh yes, of course. I always watch out for Highschool students who get drunk in my parlor," I said, as Elena giggled even more, "are you guys gonna bunk tonight?"

"Yeeep," Elena said, leaning into my chest for a snuggle.

I smiled at her and wrapped my arms around her, knowing that if Caroline knew, everyone else might as well know too. I was tempted to ask if I was invited to the inevitable pillow-fight, but decided that after all the talks I'd given her about no-sex, I shouldn't be making jokes like that.

Again, so very unlike me.

"Well, Bonnie, help yourself to anything. Any friend of Elena's is a friend of mine," I said, smirking at her.

She blushed, something I had not expected from a Bennett and then turned to Elena, doing that same annoying telepathic thing that Elena and Caroline could do.

Girls.

Then, Elena looked up at me smiling in an innocent way that made me think she was up to no good. She then stood on her tippy toes, landed a soft kiss on my lips before moving her mouth to my ear.

"Do you have a bottle of something better than what Caroline got for the party?" she whispered, before biting down on my earlobe.

I damn near sped her to my room, still having a case of serious blue balls, but I had to focus on what was at hand.

Elena wanted alcohol.

"Are you two planning on getting drunk?" I said, fake gasping.

In all honesty, I was a bit nervous about Elena getting drunk since I didn't think she had all that much experience with it, but I also knew I could never deny her anything. Especially not when she asked like that. So, when they both blushed and Elena started mumbling, I smirked at them.

"I'll get you something nice," I said, winking at them, before I walked to the library. We'd closed off that section so that nobody would ruin the books we'd worked so hard on gathering.

They could party all they wanted to, just stay away from my books.

One of the secret walls in the library (yep, we have those) had my stash of bourbon, and I grabbed one of the newer bottles for the girls.

However much I cared about Elena, she was not getting my best bourbon. It was not meant for getting mindlessly drunk, and I was saving that for something special.

Elena and Bonnie were in the same spot where I left them, talking quickly. Elena's cheeks were flushed and Bonnie's mouth was practically on the floor. I wonder what they were talking about. Normally, I would just use my vampire hearing, but there was loud music and a ton of dancing people, so I was unable to single out the sound of her voice alone.

Elena's eyes locked with mine through the crowd and as she smiled, I could hear Bonnie clear as day. It's as though we've established a connection that lets me hear what she hears.

"So, he does want to kiss you now? Have you gone to second base yet?" she asked excitedly, obviously caught up in Elena's lovelife.

How very high-school to ask if we'd gone to second base. I could almost laugh at how young and cute it was.

Had Elena not been as young and vulnerable as she was, we would have been way further than 2nd base – we would probably have christened every room in this house by now.

Some day, I was going to have to show her just what it was like being with an adult. And a vampire (hopefully).

Elena blushed and sent me a shy smile, the sexiness from earlier totally hidden away. I held up the bottle and she lit up seemingly ready to get drunk.

I was with her on that page.

Drunk Elena turns out to be the funniest, most clumsy and touchy girl I've ever met – and she was fucking adorable, while doing so.

I did help them with the bourbon bottle (two teenage-girls shouldn't share a whole bottle, so I tried to take swigs, to keep them from getting too drunk). Somehow, it was gone when the night was over and Elena was dancing on the tables, while Bonnie was sitting on the lap of some guy making out with him.

I hoped she knew he wasn't staying here. No way she was going to ditch Elena, to have sex with some random guy. I knew Elena was looking forward to spending time with Bonnie, so I wasn't going to let her ruin that because she couldn't control her hormones.

I'd compel the guy if I had to next time Bonnie left him alone.

"Daaaaamooooon!" Elena bumped into me giggling as she dropped the plastic cup she'd been holding.

Had she been drinking more alcohol?

"Hi, Elena," I said, smiling at her.

"I think I'm drunk," she said hiccuping and then laughing at herself.

I raised an eyebrow at her and then couldn't help but laugh with her. She was quite adorable.

"Yeah, I think you are too," I said, holding her, as she put her arms around my neck.

Her brown eyes were 90% pupils, and her face was lit up by her beautiful smile. She really was gorgeous.

"Damon, what's between us," she said, her eyes going all serious.

I frowned at her, as she cocked her head at me.

"I always feel safe with you. Even when you're being scary. What aren't you telling me."

Here I thought I was doing well to hide my own thoughts and emotions around her. Guess not. Panic clawed at my insides. She couldn't know – nobody could have told her and I wasn't about to tell her.

"Maybe you just like danger," I said, wanting to hit myself for that comment.

Really? Tell someone who's been through more than most adults have been, that she loves danger? Idiot of the century.

"Why won't you tell me about your past."

I quickly re-evaluated my opinions about drunk Elena – if it meant she was asking questions like these, I didn't like her being drunk. Lucky for me, we were interrupted by the Quarterback walking in. He was looking for Elena.

I started growling, pulling Elena closer to me, not wanting her to be anywhere near him. She giggled in my arms and put her hands on my face.

"I think you're sexy," she said, then reached up and started kissing me.

I knew I should be pulling away – she was getting too close to the truth and I needed to put some distance between us, but I had to show the Donovan kid that Elena was taken. I felt his eyes on us as I started kissing Elena back, pressing my lips hard against hers. Her hands fell back to my hair pulling me closer, while her tongue started begging for entrance.

I growled against her lips, opening my mouth and letting her in.

When we broke apart, it wasn't because Elena wanted to. She was panting and her eyes had gone dark, but I heard the quarterback coming over and I wanted to tell him to fuck off once and for all.

His look was all tormented and teenage-angst and I knew he was going to try to manipulate her feelings. Anyone who's ever known Elena, knew that she would bend herself into several inhuman shapes in order to make everyone happy, but seeing someone taking advantage of it like that, made me feel like ripping him limb from limb.

"Can I talk to you, Elena?" heskied, obviously trying not to look at me – an impossible task, since Elena just so happened to be perfectly coiled up in my arms.

"Sure," she answered, but made no move to get out of my arms.

She smiled drunkenly at him, before wrapping her arm around my back. He paused to look at us for a second, probably wondering whether or not he should explain to her that he wanted to see her in private.

Right.

That was not happening.

"I've really missed you, Elena... and I think breaking up was a mistake. I'm so lonely without you and I want you more than anything."

The boy was shaking – maybe he could sense that I was dangerous. Some humans can do that.

I've experienced it a few times before, where my next victim had fled from me before I even bought them a drink.

It was very rude of them.

"Matt, are you blind?"

Had our lives been a cartoon, my eyes would've popped out of my head right about there.

Elena hadn't missed a beat before she had raised her head a bit and uttered that sentence.

"Uhm, no, not tha-"

"I was just making out with Damon. I'm over you. You should get over me too."

I was fighting to not break down into a laughing fit. There was that fire I hadn't seen in her for a little while. I'd never seen her like this towards anyone other than me, but I was thoroughly enjoying it.

"But, Elena."

"No buts. Done, Matt, as in over," she said and then she turned around and planted a big kiss on my lips.

I was sure this had something to do with the fact that she was totally drunk, but I really didn't mind her using me to prove her point. Why wouldn't I indulge her?

I could almost hear his heart shatter into pieces. Had he been someone Elena cared about, I would have cared, but he wasn't. So, instead, I took pleasure in the fact that Elena just showed him the door.

For me.

Thank you so much for reading and for sticking with me, guys. See you next time - and keep the reviews coming!