A\N Oh my God I'm so happy-15 reviews for last chapter! Thanks so much. Sends you all kisses! Love you! Anyone else is having the same problem though, on the story it says 20 reviews but when I counted and on my Author Page it says I have 34… I'm so annoyed.

Important: Some of you asked me to write in third person. I don't usually do that since I change POVs, but since I didn't seem to suck on the first chapter of the story written in third person, I think I'll give it a try. So, third person it is.

A week.

Elena had been locked up in Damon's house for an entire week. When she slowly started to realize that there was no hope for her at all, Elena decided to lock herself up in her room, simply staring at the back gardens from the window. Due to her stress and lifestyle Elena's physical appearance had changed too. Her already slim body looked slimmer, and not in a good way. She had been throwing up everything she ate, not on purpose, but it was just that her body couldn't take food anymore. Since it had been long since she felt the sun, she looked paler and beneath her eyes were dark circles, the evidence that she wasn't sleeping at all.

The second time Damon had come to feed on her she barely had the strength to fight him off, but she did try to struggle, resulting in the same pain. But on the third time, Elena didn't even try to protect herself, or tried to beg him like usual. He instantly knew that she had given up and a part of him filled with pleasure for this, but the other part made him feel sorry for her.

Elena ran straight to the bathroom, feeling nauseous and weak. But there was no food to be lost.

"Elena?" She heard a light knock on the door, and then it opened a little. "May I come in?"

When she didn't say anything, Damon stepped in and went near Elena. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sick," She basically breathed, almost struggling for air. "I-I don't know what's happening to me."

Her legs were almost giving out, and Damon's arms shot up to keep her still before she almost fell. He half carried her on the bed and rubbed her arm, almost in a soothing way. If Elena didn't know what he was capable of, she would've thought he cared.

"You haven't been eating," He stated.

"I wasn't hungry… but when I actually started to feel hungry again, I just-"

"You have to eat, Elena. You lose blood frequently, and you need to replace that by food and enough rest." He took her chin gently in his hands, forcing her to look him in his eyes. Elena tried to avoid his gaze.

"You'll end up killing yourself," He said, almost in a whisper, and then to Elena's surprise his fingers ran up to caress the space beneath her eyes, were her dark circles were formed.

Elena seemed to step out of her trance and she cringed away from his touch, leaving him with his hand still raised. "I don't have anything else to live for," She spat.

Damon let out a sound which seemed like a growl. "What do you plan on doing, Elena? Make yourself sick till the point of death?"

"What, are you actually implying that I'm doing th-" Elena started to say, but Damon's gaze on her shoulders made her shiver as she remembered what she tried to do the night before, with a knife.

She was going to do it, she was going to press the blade in her own chest and end her life right there at that moment. But something inside of her kept her from pressing the knife any further, leaving her with marks on her collarbone and shoulder only, but no permanent damage.

"What is that?" Damon said, a look of fear on his face.

"Nothing," She said immediately.

"That is not nothing!" Damon roared as he roughly pulled the sleeve away from her shoulder, seeing the tiny cuts that surrounded her body like needles being pressed to her skin. "What did you try to do, Elena? How could you…"

He was basically shrieking now, and he lost his patience, grabbing Elena roughly from her arms. "Why are you making this hard!"

"Because I want to go home!" She yelled back at his face, and she felt herself pinned to the wardrobe. "Dammit, Elena! Just stop it!" His fist hit the space near her head, and Elena closed her eyes expecting an impact on her face or her body. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes only to see Damon inches away from her face, his hands slowly releasing her waist.

Elena took a few calming breaths and he raised his hand to stroke her hair. "Elena, destiny's written the second we are born," He reasoned in a calming tone. "This is your life now." He tilted her chin up again. "Stop fighting, Elena. Otherwise, you'll be putting your family in danger, too."

Elena gasped at the threat. "You won't hurt them, they're innocent!"

"Only if you behave," Damon said sternly. "This can't go on. I'll give you medicine, you'll start to eat and sleep and we will start over."

Not wanting to put her family at risk, Elena had no choice other to nod her head.

.

.

Days passed, and Elena started to recover. Damon didn't feed on her when she was taking the medicine and getting better, and she even started to eat some small meals more frequently. Even though her heart was never free, Elena told herself to make the best of everything that was going on around her, especially for her family's sake.

Elena stirred in bed and after putting some clothes on; she went downstairs to have a decent cup of coffee and some cereal in the kitchen. She had been seeing Damon more frequently and her relationship with him seemed to develop to a different type.

"Good Morning," Damon's voice greeted from the kitchen. He was having a cup of coffee himself and reading the newspaper, and Elena tried to fight away the thought of how normal he looked doing these things.

"Good Morning," Elena said, having the coffee and studying Damon's face which was buried in the newspaper now.

She was about to sip the coffee when suddenly her eyes saw the picture on the front page and her hands shook, spilling the hot coffee on her. She winced in pain, however she was thankful it wasn't boiling hot.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked startled.

"T-the n-newspaper," Elena whimpered. "F-Front page!"

Damon immediately saw the front page, but he couldn't think of a reason why any of what was written was bothering the girl in front of him that much.

She took it with shaking hands as she examined the picture. "Jenna!" She cried, fat tears streaming down her cheeks. "She was taken!"

Damon looked at the picture Elena was pointing at, to see that that section had a headline named, "Vampires in Mystic Falls". He examined the pictures, and also saw Elena's own picture.

"Oh my God," Elena sobbed, "J-Jeremy! He's all alone now! He's just a child!"

"It's not even legal," Damon heard himself say. "Children under the age of sixteen can't be left alone, and they can't be taken, either."

Elena was crying quietly now, but then Damon cupped her face in his hands. "I'll try and talk to the person in charge, but I can't guarantee anything…"

Elena couldn't believe her ears. He was caring? He was actually going to help her?

"Thank you," She said with a gasp, and Damon nodded slightly.

.

.

After Elena finished her cereal, she helped Larissa Damon's maid in the housecleaning. After all, she didn't have anything to do and it wouldn't hurt her to clear up some rooms. Damon had given her the priority to change the room how she liked and she moved the furniture around to her like.

"Do you want me to help you push the wardrobe, too?" Damon smirked, and as usual Elena turned to find him behind her.

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't think there's anyone who can move that wardrobe, it's enormous."

Damon smirked again and flashed near the wardrobe, and with a lightest push the wardrobe moved. "Where to, Madame?" He asked in mock politeness, and Elena couldn't help not to let out a chuckle.

"Hmm, there," She pointed.

"Thanks." Elena stared at the place where the wardrobe now was.

Damon stared at Elena for a moment, until he said quietly, "Do you want to get out of here for a while?"

Elena thought she was imagining things, but when Damon clearly was expecting an answer, she nodded silently.

"Can I trust you enough to take you out for a little while?"

"Yes!" Elena said immediately.

"Okay," He sighed. "Get ready."

Elena felt her heart almost beating out of her chest. Maybe this was how she could escape, she kept thinking.

She immediately changed to a dark blue skinny jeans and a purple tank top, matched with a pair of black converse. She brushed her dark, tangled hair and in a few minutes she was ready.

Damon was waiting for her near the backdoor, and as soon as he saw her coming down the stairs he eyed her over, mesmerized by her beauty even in just a simple jeans and top. She was too beautiful it was almost unbelievable. He could still hear her heart beating faster every time he was nearer, and who blames her? It was still too early for her to trust that he wouldn't hurt her. Hell, he wasn't so sure himself yet-After all, it was his nature he was fighting against. He never liked having one human, he liked variety.

"I trust that you won't create any scenes," He said, his voice now cold. "One wrong move and you'll never get out of this house again."

"Okay, I get it," Elena said simply, a shiver running up her spine.

"Here," Damon said, tossing something at her and Elena unfolded it neatly. She cocked an eyebrow. "A scarf? It's a hot day."

"Keep it on," He simply ordered, but he himself started securing it around her neck, letting his fingers caress her side of her neck gently.

"Your hand," He demanded again, and as soon as she slipped her hand to his he started to lead her towards his parked blue Camaro.

"You drive?" She asked with a surprise.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes. And I even call my car my baby," He added with a sly smile, showing her that he knew exactly how they lived these days.

It was Elena's turn to roll her eyes as she sat on the passenger's seat.

.

.

After a few minutes of driving Damon stopped the car near a bar and got Elena something to drink before heading to a store which sold nice expensive clothes. Elena couldn't believe that Damon had those kind of money as she looked at the price tags.

"Go on, pick anything you want," He urged her, giving her a light pat on her back.

She didn't need to be told twice and with Damon following her she made her way to the section of tops which she really liked, and got some of those. As she made her way to the dressing room, her eyes caught a most beautiful black dress, it almost hurt to look at it.

She was desperate to try it on, and she grabbed it and entered the dressing room, taking off her clothes to try the black dress.

It suited her body perfectly, and she smiled at the reflection in the mirror as she looked down at the small petal-like designs on the dress, but nearly screamed as she saw Damon in the mirror.

"Oh God! Stop doing that!"

"Sorry," He laughed. "Liking everything so far? We'll be going soon."

"Yes, I'll just change back to my clothes."

"Okay," He said. "This dress makes you look beautiful."

Elena didn't expect this comment, and she blushed slightly. Damon reached out and stroked her hair for a small moment, then cleared his throat. "I'll wait outside."

A few minutes later, Elena came out with a few tops, however she noticed that the black dress was somehow being squeezed closer to her heart as she carried it.

.

.

By the time Damon bought Elena some lunch it was late in the afternoon already, and since Damon had promised Elena that he'll find something about Jenna he knew where to go.

"He owns a mansion and uses it for vampire meetings," He explained. "I could talk to him, I'm close to him. His name's Vladimir Black. There's a rest stop along the way, humans are expected to be as formal as possible when they enter his house." Elena narrowed her eyes in disgust, but changed to a new top and skirt and a pair of new shoes when they stopped. The drive was a long one and it was dark by the time I got there.

"Good Evening, Mr. Salvatore," A man greeted, "Mr. Black is waiting for you. Your human should be put upstairs."

Elena stiffened, were they serious? Was she a coat now?

However she obeyed and went upstairs, and there was a girl about seventeen years old. Like her, she was wearing a scarf and in her eyes Elena could see her pained look. She was sitting on a chair, looking blankly at an empty space.

"Hello," Elena said lamely after a while.

"Hey," The girl replied.

"Are you okay?"

"Are any of us okay?" The girl mumbled again, looking at Elena. "Does he hurt you?"

Elena wasn't expecting her question, but before she could answer the girl said, "I got taken away a few days ago… I didn't even know about the vampires. I came from Europe and apparently in my town everything was normal. I'm already struggling."

"I'm in the same position…"

"I don't think so," The girl said, exposing her arms and Elena stared in horror as she saw bruises, scratches and bite marks all around the girl's body. It was not just feeding, this was physical abuse. Elena wanted to give her soul in order for that girl to be free of such cruelty, and she knelt beside her. "Oh my God, I'm sorry…"

Before anything else could happen, she heard a voice barking from behind the door. "Susan! Susan!"

The girl shot up. "He's calling me… he's mad, he's going to kill me!"

"Why? You didn't do anything!"

"He's drunk, can't you hear it in his voice?"

Susan hurried to the door before it slammed open. "Come with me," He barked.

"No," Elena said determinedly. She would protect her.

"Who the fuck is she?" He yelled at Susan, almost ready to bite her, but Elena tried to push him away. Now he was beyond pissed, and his attention was now focused on Elena. He pinned her underneath him, and in a second her dress was almost torn from her body as he whispered, "Trying to look tough, aren't you?"

He started to roll the hem of her top up, and his fangs were almost piercing her skin as suddenly the weight disappeared from her. She saw Damon growling and the other vampire on the floor.

"What the hell, Salvatore?"

"You know she's mine," He screamed.

"And you know here we share," He persuaded. "Besides, what's so special about her? I was just having fun, seeing how tough she tries so hard to be."

He let out a chuckle. "I want to taste her," He pointed at Elena. "You can take mine for now."

"No. I didn't even let my brother touch her, and I won't let you scar her."

"Go home in peace, Salvatore," He dismissed. "We'll talk when you're conscious, not like this. Vladimir will not be happy once he learns that Damon is protective of a thing."

.

.

Damon practically pulled Elena from the house to the car, rather roughly. He then pushed her against the car, and roared, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"I-I didn't m-mean-"

"You tried to stop a vampire from feeding for God's sake! You ended up making me fight against those with better authority than me. If anything happens to me and I need their services they won't make it easy!"

"Why didn't you let me get drained then?" Elena challenged, her body almost on fire.

"Because I couldn't just stand there and see you get chewed on, dammit!" He cursed, grabbing her from her shoulders. "Don't ever do something like that again."

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "But I couldn't help it…"

As Damon saw her big puppy eyes filling with tears again, he knew he was being harsh. After all, she tried saving a girl like her. He put a finger on her cheek carefully and stroked her cheek. "Vampires are dangerous creatures, Elena. You can easily get hurt."

Elena nodded as Damon wiped a tear away.

"Get in the car. We're going back."

Elena climbed in without hesitation.

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