Chapter 19

"How dare he?" Elena spat.

She paced around Damon's room unable to sleep, too full of emotion to let herself relax.

"Where does he get off coming back here after all this time, thinking everything can just go back to normal?"

Damon sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard, letting her rant.

"And the thing is, I might have been able to forgive him for what happened. I would never trust him again but I might have been able to come to a point where I accepted that they didn't die because of him…but now…"

She broke off and ran a hand through her hair.

"I will never forgive him for writing that letter. He just lies to me, he always lies… It was all lies." Her voice cracked.

Damon got off the bed and walked over to her, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes.

"It wasn't all lies, Elena. He loves you, that's not a lie." It hurt him to say those words, but they were true. And it hurt him even more to see her so distraught.

She stared up at him, smudged mascara making her eyes look enormous.

"It doesn't matter. He hurt you, I hate him for that." She whispered.

He was slightly thrown by the complete sincerity in her dark orbs, the overwhelming trust.

Elena suddenly became very aware of his hands on her face, the proximity of his body, and the intensity of his gaze. Her heart rate picked up and she found herself wishing he would put his hands somewhere else.

Damon seemed to sense the change in her mood and surprise flashed across his face.

Elena's eyes flicked to his lips and she realized that she was unconsciously leaning in towards him, he seemed to be frozen in shock. She knew she should back away now, clear her throat and disperse the tension. But she didn't want to. She wanted him to kiss her, to hold her, touch her, make her forget about everything but them. She tried to feel guilty for having those thoughts but she couldn't summon any remorse.

Acting on instinct, she reached up and traced the lines of his face, his hands slipped from hers, falling to her waist. She stood on her tip-toes and before she could think twice, leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. He didn't move for a second, before he automatically responded, drawing her closer and kissing her with a passion that made her stomach flip.

He held her flush against his body. She was burning, her whole body felt like it was on fire, the kiss was the perfect mixture of gentle and lustful. She felt her insides melt, all thoughts disappeared from her mind, it was just him. The feel of him against her, his lips moving against hers. There was nothing else.

Suddenly he roughly pulled away, she stumbled slightly and blinked in surprise at the sudden movement. He stepped back and she immediately missed the contact. She was breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest.

Damon looked at her, his eyes betraying his confusion, the mix of lust and pain. She watched him, surprised by his reaction. Isn't this what he wanted? Didn't that feel as magical to him as it had for her?

"You're tired and upset…You're not thinking straight." He muttered, turning away from her.

She frowned, reaching out to grab his arm. He had it all wrong.

"Damon…"

"You should get some sleep." He cut her off before she could speak and suddenly she was standing alone in his room.

She felt tears sting her eyes and she blinked them back, taking a deep shaky breath. She crawled into his bed and switched off the light, pulling the covers up around her chin.

Tears fell down her cheeks and she didn't stop them.

Damon left the boarding house as though the devil were on his back. Her kiss was burning on his lips and her very presence was intoxicating him. He ran at vampire speed to the grill, letting the cold night air clear his head.

He needed a drink, or two or three. He couldn't remember the last time something as insignificant as a kiss had made him feel like the whole world had come to a standstill. Actually he could remember; never. He had never felt so complete, so loved as he did in that moment. But it wasn't real, she was confused and she was going to regret it tomorrow, she would apologize and say that it didn't mean anything.

It killed him that this human girl had the power to break his heart with a few words. But she did, and she would. And he would live with it, he would mask his hurt and pretend that it didn't matter. He would be there for her, help her when she needed it, protect her when her life was at risk, and make her smile when she was sad. He would be the eternal friend and that was fine. He would cherish the position, but he would always want more, he would always want to just grab her and make her his.

The feel of her pliant body against him, her soft, strawberry flavored lips caressing his… He shook himself out of that train of thought and sat at the bar, ordering his usual scotch.

"Damon?"

He turned to see Ric mirroring his position, slumped against the counter, alcohol in hand.

"Ric, long time no see." He said dryly, gesturing for the bartender to get him a refill.

"I'll say! I thought you took off." There was a slight accusatory undertone in his voice.

"Nope. Turns out baby bro has a knack for forgery." He sighed.

The teacher raised his eyebrows.

"Stefan wrote that letter?"

Damon nodded and downed his drink in one.

"So what actually happened?"

"It's a long and unpleasant story."

Ric grabbed his drink and moved to sit next to him.

"I got time."

Damon glanced at him.

"I have a bone to pick with you." He said with a scowl.

Ric suddenly seemed fascinated by his glass.

"Oh?"

"Elena. You could have kept an eye on her." He glared.

Ric grimaced slightly.

"I know. I did at first, but there wasn't really any getting through to her. She sort of cut herself off."

Damon rolled his eyes.

"Still, you just ditched her, she had no one left. Dick move, man."

"I know, its been eating away at me actually. I didn't really know how to help her." He sighed.

There was a pause.

"You've seen her since you've been back I assume?"

Damon nodded.

"How's she doing?"

"She was in pretty bad shape when I found her." He murmured.

Ric swirled the contents of his glass.

"And now?"

Damon shrugged.

"I'm working on it."

Ric sensed that he didn't want to talk about it anymore and nodded, gesturing for a refill.

"So what's the story?" He asked.

Damon rubbed his forehead.

"Apparently I've managed to make quite a few enemies over the years." He muttered.

Ric chuckled.

"You don't say."

Damon smirked, surprised at how easily they slipped back into their usual banter. He would never admit it, but he enjoyed Ric's company. They had developed a sort of tentative friendship. It was a relief to see that it was still there.

Well this was sort of a random chapter... I know Damon might be a little OOC with the kiss, but I just think that at this point he would pull away if he thought he was just going to be the rebound.. I don't know. Tell me what you think! :)