AN: Wow, so, it's been 6 months. And i am so so so so so sorry that I couldn't update until now, but you can officially say that the hiatus for this story is over. And what better way to celebrate than with a new chapter? So, I hope that you guys like this chapter, and I hope that Chapter 4 won't take as long to upload as this one. Thank you to all that have stuck through these past 6 months.
And, without further ado, I give you CHAPTER 3!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3

"Come on, Elena, you slow-poke." Jeremy Gilbert laughed as he ran past his sister.

Elena grumbled. They had been hiking for three hours straight. Couldn't they stop for a break? Her feet felt like lead and her back hurt from the heavy backpack. Why had she let her parents talk her into this again? Oh right. They thought their family could use some more "family time", Elena remembered with a grimace.

"Mom? Dad?" Elena called out to her parents in front, "could we stop for a couple of minutes? I'm dying back here."

"We're almost at the river, honey. Come on, just a few more minutes. You're doing great." Her mom shot her a proud smile. Miranda Gilbert was walking a few meters up ahead, her brown hair pulled up into a messy pony tail with a few hairs that had escaped her elastic. Her face was glowing with happiness and sweat. She waited for her daughter to catch up to her and wrapped a supporting arm around Elena.

"This is amazing, Elena. I haven't felt like this in a very a long time. Thank you so much. You and your brother. This hiking trip is going to be great for us, you just wait and see." She gave her daughter a knowing smile.

Elena tried to smile back. "Yeah, I know, Mom."

Miranda gave her daughter another squeeze and dragged the smaller brunette further. "Come on, lazy."

"You two still back there?" a familiar voice shouted to them. They heard footsteps and a man emerged from between the trees. Grayson Gilbert came bounding at them, not stopping for anything. He quickly tackled both women to the ground, and all three fell down in a heap, laughing. Jeremy came running and joined the dog pile, all four of them still caught in hysterics.

After a while, they decided that it was time to finally get to the cabin. The four of them got up and started walking again, Jeremy and his father taking the lead. Elena smiled broadly. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad after all, she thought. She linked arms with her mother and they continued on their way.

"Elena. ELENA! YO, SIS, WAKE UP!"

Elena cracked open an eye to see a brown haired boy hovering very close to her face, ready to scream at her again.

"Ugh, what do you want, Jeremy? Can't you see I'm doing something very important?"

Jeremy scoffed. "Yeah, like what? Sleep is for the weak." He said as he winked. "Oh, and by the way, isn't your art class in 20 minutes?" Jeremy hopped off her bed and left her room.

Elena's eyes flew open and she hastily grabbed her alarm clock. Angry red numbers glared out at her, telling her that she did indeed only have twenty minutes to get ready. She jumped out of the warm haven that was her bed, and flew for the bathroom door. Why hadn't her alarm woken her up? Elena took a deep breath as she looked herself over in the mirror.

Today would be the day, she thought. Yesterday had been wonderful, after all. She and Bonnie had gotten coffee at the Grill and hadn't left until late in the evening. Elena had found out that Bonnie was not only an artist, but also liked to study medicine. She had initially wanted to go to medical school, but her father's death and her mother leaving her to live with her grandmother had caused her grades to dip below admittance levels. The two girls had just sat there for hours, doing nothing but talk and learn more about each other. Elena felt as if she had known the other girl forever, and by the end of the night, she had resolved that she would definitely have to introduce Bonnie to Caroline. They would be great friends, she had thought to herself.

In ten minutes, Elena was showered, dressed, and ready to head out.

"Hey Jer, can you call a cab for me, please? I really don't see how I'll ever make it to class on time, but at least if I go by cab, I won't be half as late as I would be if I took the bus."

"Sure thing, 'Lens."

"Jeremy Gilbert!" She chastised him. "I told you not to call me that! How'd you ever even go from calling me Lena to Lens! Jeez. You make me sound like I should be wearing glasses or something."

Jeremy laughed, "Well maybe you should." He said as he winked and ran away to call a cab before his sister stabbed him with her fork.

Elena laughed and shook her head. Her brother could be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

Just then, Elena noticed her phone vibrating in her bag. She picked it up as it chimed again.

8:00-don't forget;)

-D

Elena imagined him standing in front of her saying this, with that annoying smirk of his. God, he was so... cocky. That was the right word, Elena thought to herself. She glared at the text, pretending like he could see her. Maybe she should ask him for a ride. I mean, he'll probably be here faster than a taxi..and it wouldn't cost anything.. Elena put down the phone. She picked it up again. Put it down. Picked it up. She breathed out in annoyance. She did want to see him again.. In one quick movement, she dialled his number. Her thumb moved to hit the call button when she heard her brother.

"LENA! Your cab is here! Hurry up! You're going to be even more late than you already are!"

Elena sighed. Maybe another time. She quickly got her stuff, gave Jeremy a hug, and ran out the door.

"Where am I taking you, miss?"

Elena promptly told her driver where she needed to go, and ten minutes later they were at the college. She paid for her trip, got out as fast as she could, and ran to her classroom. She pushed the door open just as Alaric was starting off the class. Elena moved as swiftly through the body of people as she could, and sat down beside her new friend.

"Took you long enough. Why are you so late?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

"Oh, my stupid alarm clock didn't ring this morning and my brother decided to wake me up 20 minutes before class."

"Jeremy, right? He sounds...cute."

"BONNIE! That's my brother we're talking about there." Elena said, crinkling her nose.

"I was just kidding!" the brown-haired girl beside her said, giving her a friendly nudge.

Elena laughed. Oh god, if only Bonnie actually knew her brother. Then again, she thought, who knew? Maybe they would become good friends.

"Okay, guys. Today, we're going to learn a little more about the history of all this stuff. It all started off with..."

Elena zoned out of Alaric's lesson, letting her mind wander to her parents, Jeremy, Caroline and her mystery man, Bonnie and her family, and last of all, she let her mind wander to the blue eyed man with whom she was spending the afternoon with. Possibly naked.

Damon stared out of the window of his car. Why was he meeting with the man that he despised, again? Oh right, it was because the man in question wanted Damon to work for him. Just because Stefan could forget what he had done, didn't mean that Damon could too. No, he could never forget how his father had hurt his mother, and he wouldn't ever forgive him either.

"Mr. Salvatore, we have arrived at the store." Francesco then looked sceptically at the building he had just pulled up to. "Are you sure this is the right building? If you don't mind me saying, it doesn't look like a very safe place."

"Yes, this is the right building. And I'm not a little boy anymore, Francesco. I can handle myself. But thanks for the concern." And with that, Damon got out of his car and stepped onto the pavement. He looked up at the building. It was a dark grey building, just like all the others. Though, to Damon it looked sinister. Just as he was about to go in, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Damon Salvatore there?"

"Yeah, this is Damon. Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Caroline Forbes. I'm, like, Elena's best friend. Seriously. I've known her for such a long time. I know everything about her. And I gotta say, that's a lot of things. I mean, there is so much more to her than just looks, you know. She's really complicated and I swear, if you ever do -"

Damon grew impatient and cut her off.

"Excuse me, I don't even know who you are. Now, why are you calling me again?"

"Oh, right. Elena told me to call you and tell you that she won't be ready until eight-ish. Oh, and she also wanted to know what she's supposed to wear."

Damon rolled his eyes.

"And why couldn't Elena call and ask me herself?"

"Oh, 'cause she's at school and then she's going out with her new friend from her class, and last night she told me to tell you. Oh, but wait what is she supposed to -"

"Okay, thank you Caroline. I actually have some really important business to attend to right now so let Elena know that I got the message."

Damon hung up, exasperated. That girl sure knew how to talk. But he still didn't know why Elena just hadn't texted him. If she had time to tell this Forbes girl all these things, why not come to him directly? He shrugged the thought off, and opened the door to the building. As he stepped inside, he could tell that this would be the perfect place for his friend to set up. As he walked around, he heard the clicking of heels behind him.

"Damon Salvatore, is it?"

Damon groaned inwardly. Too many people were saying his name today.

"Yes, that's me." He said as he turned around to face a tall, lean woman with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Hi, I'm your dad's secretary, Laurel. Mr. Salvatore is actually waiting for you in his office."

Damon looked her up and down. She looked alright. Actually, she was kind of hot.

"Yeah," he said, flashing her one of his smirks. "Well thanks. Is my brother here yet? I wouldn't want to..interrupt my father when he's doing business."

"Actually, your brother is already here. He's with Mr. Salvatore in his office right now. They were just waiting on you."

Damon's smirk fell slightly. Of course his brother was here already. Why wouldn't he be? Stefan was clinging to his father like he was his life support or something. Why didn't he understand that he didn't need his father? Stefan could do this all on his own, if he really wanted to. He just needed the confidence to leave his pig of a father and make it on his own. One day, Damon thought. One day his brother would learn this. And that day, he would be there for him, just as he always was, encouraging him.

Damon nodded a thanks to Laurel and got in the elevator. The sooner he got out of this building, the better.

The blonde picked up Elena's favourite necklace. "Here, wear this one."

Elena put on the necklace. What was she supposed to wear? Something that was easy to take off? A parka? How did he expect her to know what to wear? The brunette glanced around at what used to be her bedroom floor.

"Caroline, what am I supposed to wear?" Elena asked for what seemed like the thousandth time that night.

"I don't know..." Caroline shrugged and eyed the disaster all around her. "Uh, what about this skirt with this shirt?" She held out a white, mid-thigh high skirt with a fire-red, silky shirt.

"What am I? Going to a club or something? No, not that." She shook her head. "You know what? I'll just wear my normal skinny jeans and converse outfit and if he has a problem with that, he can deal with it. " With that, she threw all the clothes from her floor into her closet and started touching up her make-up.

Caroline gave her a scared look. "Are you alright?"

Elena gave her a smile. "Yes, Care, I'm fine. Now, do you want to help me with my hair or should I attempt at combing this mess myself?"

Caroline gave her a relived smile. "Of course I'll help you! After all, it's what I'm here for."

Half an hour later, Elena found herself sitting at her kitchen table alone, having said goodbye to Caroline. She was just about to call Bonnie to ask how she was when she heard her doorbell sound. She instantly felt her stomach flutter and she tried to calm it down as she walked to the front door.

"Elena." Damon smirked and then looked her up and down.

"Damon." Elena rolled her eyes at him and then gave him a smile.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Elena let him go a few paces ahead and then let out a short breath. She could do this. What was the big deal anyway? She grabbed her bag, locked the door behind her, and headed after Damon to his car.

"So, where is it that you're taking me?"

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." Damon told her with a wink.

Elena groaned. "So you're not going to tell me where we're going?"

Damon looked at her pensively.

"Actually, you know what? You need to loosen up before we go to this place. First, we're going to a bar." Elena was about to tell him that he could just turn that car right around but Damon interjected.

"And you're not allowed to say no because in case you forgot, you still owe me. So you have to do whatever I ask you to do."

Elena groaned again and looked out her window. What had she gotten herself into? A whole night Damon Salvatore, that's what. She turned her face back to him and glared at the man beside her. He turned to her too and smirked his annoying smirk that he did when he knew he was getting what he wanted.

Soon, they pulled into the parking lot of the Mystic Grill and Damon thanked the driver, got out, and while Elena was getting her bag, came around and opened the door for her. Elena stuck her legs out and looked at him questioningly as she slowly got out.

"You're welcome." Damon grinned at her and closed the car door. He then walked to the door of the Grill and held the door open for her. Elena stopped in front of the open door and a playful smile flitted across her face.

"Wow. Aren't we feeling like a gentleman tonight?" she said, with a touch of sarcasm.

"Oh Elena, you should know I'm always a gentleman. Though, I'm not that gentle." He added, with a wink.

Elena rolled her eyes and went straight to the bar and ordered a beer. Damon followed her and ordered a bourbon on the rocks.

"Quite classy, you are, miss Gilbert." Damon asked with a smile on his lips.

"Quite old, you are, mister Salvatore." Elena retorted.

One beer and two shots in, Elena was feeling buzzed, and felt like she could actually stand Damon a lot more now. Damon was still on his second drink, but Elena could tell he was just as buzzed as she was.

"Okay Gilbert, I think we're ready to head out to our mystery destination now. But oh," he said, giving her outfit-de-jour a once over, "On second thought, we need to get you a new outfit. This won't do. Much too..cover-y."

With that, he hopped off his stool and started walking to the car, which was no doubt still in the parking lot. Elena's jaw dropped and she looked down at her clothes.

"They're not that bad." she said to herself, and with a little pout, hopped off her bar stool and walked through the open door that Damon held for her once again.

One hour later, it felt like Elena and Damon had hit every store in town. Thankfully, they had managed to pick out an outfit Damon had liked, since Elena had no say in it at all. He had ended up choosing a short, tight, black skirt with a white shirt (that practically had no back). Damon had also insisted he buy her a pair of seven inch red stilettos that, in Elena's opinion, made her look like a prostitute and possibly be the reason her back would break.

"Elena. You do not look like a prostitute. And your back won't break, don't worry. In fact, you look hot. So we're buying them, okay? And I honestly don't care what you say. You're going to need them, where we're going," he had told her.

Now they were back in the car going god knows where, and Elena was wearing her all-new outfit. Damon looked at her.

"You know, you really do look good."

Elena smiled at him.

"Thanks, Salvatore. You too."

The two felt the car come to a stop. "Mister Salvatore? We're here."

"Okay, close your eyes." Damon said, looking at Elena.

"What? No! It's bad enough I've had to wait all this time! I am not going to close my eyes."

"Elena. Close your eyes."

Elena sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine."

"Good." Damon said, and Elena swore she could hear the smirk that was most likely playing on his lips. She felt a hand on her arm guide her out of the car, and slowly they walked to their destination. Elena stumbled a few times because of the shoes, and soon enough she could hear the faint, but steady, pounding of a beat.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Elena asked, and she heard Damon laugh. They got closer and Elena could hear more of the song. "A club? Really? Why a club? What does this have to do with painting?"

"No, you can't open your eyes. And no, it's not exactly a club. And you'll see, don't you worry."

Elena heard footsteps approaching them.

"Damon! You're here, finally! Star was saying something about losing her favorite underwear last night, and Rose said something about her bondage taking too long? You really need to fix this. Now."

"Mason, calm down. I'm here, okay? Tell Andie that that's her problem, not mine. It's not like I stole her favorite underwear. And tell Rose that she can go buy other ones. Jeez, do I have to do everything?"

"Yes, you do. You are co-owner. You practically run the place! I just provide the money. Oh, and who's this girl? She gonna work here too? And why are her eyes closed?"

"One question at a time, man. Her name's Elena, no, and because I told her to."

Elena grew tired of not knowing where they were. "Damon, I'm opening my eyes now. I have no clue what you and this guy are talking about, or where we are. And frankly, I want to know already." Elena didn't wait for an answer and opened her eyes to find a brown-haired man in front of her. He had green eyes and broad shoulders. He was kinda cute, actually. Then, she glanced at the building behind the man. Even though it was dark, she could still see the building and it's flashing lights above the doorway, and a big man in a suit underneath the sign.

"Is this a strip club?"

"Hi, I'm Mason." Mason stretched out a hand and gave Elena a friendly grin. Elena took his hand and shook it politely. She then looked up at Damon.

"A strip club?"

Elena felt Damon's hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the entrance of the building. The big man nodded at Damon and Mason, and let them inside.

"Ms. Gilbert, welcome to Savior's." Damon gave her a wink.

"But why a strip club?" Elena asked, confused.

"Well, you need to learn a few things. If I'm going to paint you, you have to be comfortable with taking off your clothes." He said with a smirk and guided her through the red velvet curtains.

AN: So, I hope you guys enjoyed it. As you may have noticed, this fic IS rated M, and you will see why in upcoming chapters. ;)
Thank you all again for reading, and dont forget to review! They do mean a lot, and it makes me feel all fuzy inside when I read them.

ALSO- Many many thanks to Kaisa for Beta reading/proofreading this chapter for me! I don't know what I would have done without you!