Author's Note: Hi everyone. Merry belated Christmas and a happy new year to all my readers. I hope it was a good one for you all. Today, I got the mail and there was a package. In it, was Elena's Vervain Necklace, a small packet of Vervain and the diamond bracelet that Klaus gave Caroline. I ordered it a few weeks ago and its finally arrived! Im so excited. I'm gonna wear it everywhere!

Anyway, this is week 2 without The Vampire Diaries. AHH! Anybody else going crazy? I know i am. So, i present to you, CHAPTER 12!

Chapter 12

Elena's Point Of View

I started feeling better after having my mug of coffee and the glass of water that Damon forced me to drink. I was feeling awful from all that drinking last night but Damon's simple tips quickly left me feeling better.

When my head finally stopped spinning, Damon drove me home. On the way, we were completely silent. We stared ahead and stayed absorbed in our own thoughts. I was trying to figure out how to tell Damon how I felt and what I realized about us earlier. I knew he would be happy. This was also the right time to tell him. After all, Stefan and I had made up last night so maybe there wouldn't be hard feelings after this.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Damon stopped the car and I realized that we were outside my house already. We sat in silence for a few seconds more before I spoke up.

"Damon, during this time that we've spent somewhat apart, I've realized something."

"And what's that?" He asked with a small, encouraging smile.

"I've realized that I'm in love with you and that I want to be with you. I want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you and be your girlfriend because I can't fight this feeling anymore. I can't suppress it. I'm not being fair to you or myself." I blurted out quickly without meeting his eyes.

He didn't say anything for a while so I looked at him. His small smile had grown into a huge grin. He reached out his hand and gently stroked my cheek. "I'm in love with you too Elena." He whispered before leaning forward and gently pressing his lips against mine in the sweetest of kisses.

When he pulled away, we were both flushed. "Wow..." I whispered.

"I don't want to fight it anymore either." He told me softly.

"Come inside?" I asked quietly.

He nodded and got out of the car. Before I could reach my door handle, he was already outside, opening the door and offering his hand to me.

"Such a gentleman." I laughed as I took his hand and stood up.

We went into the house and I went to make us coffee while Damon got comfortable on the couch.

"Elena?" I heard Jeremy call from upstairs.

"It's me Jer! " I called back. "I'm making coffee. You want some?"

"Yeah sure." He said. I heard him coming down the stairs.

"Oh hey Damon." Jeremy greeted as he realized that he and I were not home alone.

"What's up little Gilbert?" Damon said back.

I smiled in spite of myself and Jeremy caught me as he walked into the kitchen. "Little Gilbert? That's hardly funny."

"I'm sorry. Here." I said as I handed him a mug and brought the two other mugs to the living room.

Damon accepted his mug and I collapsed next to him on the couch. We remained in awkward silence until Jeremy went back upstairs. Once we heard his door shut, we burst out into laughter.

"That was so subtle! I'm sure he didn't notice anything." I said sarcastically.

"If you don't want your brother to find out about us, I shouldn't even be here."

"I know. But I want to tell him and Caroline and Bonnie and even Stefan." I said as I moved closer to him and put my head on his shoulder

I saw him put his mug down and then wrap his arms around me. "Let's just enjoy one selfish, secret day together. We won't tell anyone till tomorrow. Just one day. Just us two." He suggested as he kissed the top of my head.

"Well that is tempting..." I was struggling to form a coherent thought. Damon was threading his fingers through my hair and the shivers and sensations it sent through my body was overwhelming.

"Mmmhh…" He murmured in contentment.

I sat up suddenly and Damon groaned. "I just got an idea!" I said excitedly. "C'mon."

I took his hand and pulled him up.

"JEREMY! I'm going out. Don't wait up!" I called up the stairs.

I waited till Jeremy emerged from his room and acknowledged me before I dragged a very confused Damon to my car excitedly.

"Woah. Woah woah woah. Hang on princess." He said as he grabbed me and forced me to stop and look at him. "Where are we going?"

"My family's lake house. We can't stay here and we can't go to your house. If we want our special, private day, we need to be away from everyone." I explained.

Damon hesitated for just a second before he smiled and led me to his car. "Okay then. But I'm driving. I do want to get there." He teased.

"Oh when are you going to let that go?" I cried, exasperated.

He just smiled and shook his head as he opened my door for me.

The trip to the lake house was so fun. Damon and I were in such high spirits. We blasted music, brought down the top of the car and enjoyed the feel of the sun on our faces and the wind blowing our hair back. We were almost at the lake house when my phone started to ring.

"Turn down the music will you Damon?" I asked as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

However, the second I took my phone out, it was instantly gone. I stared blankly at my empty hands for a second.

"No phones." Damon ordered before throwing both our phones into the glove compartment.

"It could be important." I reminded him.

"Elena, today is just about you and me. Everybody else can wait today. You can't spend the rest of your life putting everybody else above yourself. No phones and no worrying about what's happening at home. Its just one day." He told me as we pulled up in front of the lake house.

"Okay. You're right. I'll stop worrying. Its just you and me today." I agreed.

"Good girl." He said as he leaned in and gently kissed me. "Now lets go."

I was wrapped up in a thin blanket and I was standing at the deck over the water. I was thinking about how I had stood here with Stefan and talked about our future with him. It seemed like a million years ago now.

I felt Damon come up and wrap his arms around my waist from behind. He rested his chin on my shoulder and whispered, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just remembering the last time I was here. I was with Stefan and we stood here and talked about our future. Now it's only a distant memory and I cant even remember how I could have been so completely in love with him. Suddenly everything has changed. You're back and you're my every thought." I admitted as I turned in his embrace to face him. "Do you think it's possible that I've fallen in love with you so fast?" I asked in a whisper.

"Its not impossible. I know because I'm in love with you Elena. I too fell fast and hard." He whispered back.

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He responded immediately with the same enthusiasm. I felt him push me back against the railing. He lifted me up by the waist and I sat on the railing so that he didn't have to bend down.

I could feel him arm pressed against my back to keep me from falling backwards into the lake. When I couldn't take the lack of air anymore, I pulled away gasping. He too was trying to catch his breath. I loved how we always ended our make-out sessions trying to catch our breath.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" Damon suddenly asked.

"What? A swim? Now? It's freezing."

"You'll warm up really fast." He said with a cheeky smile and a spark in his eyes.

"Damon…"

"C'mon. Please?" He asked as he trailed his fingertips on my hips.

"Mmh. That's not fair." I complained as I grabbed his hands and pulled myself closer to him.

"You won't be cold if you go in with your clothes." He murmured in my ear.

I barely had time to register his words before he grabbed me around the waist and jumped into the lake with me. I screamed and spluttered as I kicked up to the surface. I was going to kill him.

As soon as my head cleared the surface of the water, I started screaming. "DAMON!"

I heard him chuckle somewhere behind me. I was treading water and I turned around to see him behind me. Furious, I hit him on the shoulder.

"Ow." He complained lightly. I knew I hadn't hurt him at all.

"Ugh! You're worst then Jeremy!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Jeremy?" He asked.

I sighed. "Never mind." I said. The memories were flooding back and I could already feel a small lump forming in my throat.

Damon gently put a hand under my chin and made me look at him. "Tell me Elena." He said as he moved closer to me in the water and used his other arm to wrap around my waist and keep me afloat without much work on my part.

Knowing that he would not let it go, I decided to tell him. "Four years ago, my parents, Jeremy and I came here to stay for a few weeks in the summer. We were all out on that deck and my dad was barbequing steaks on the grill. My mom was sitting on a deck chair with a magazine but she wasn't really reading. She was talking to my dad and laughing. I remember that the sun was setting and we were enjoying it. I was reading a novel at the edge of the deck with my legs hanging over the edge and Jeremy was trying to annoy me. I was getting really upset with him and finally I turned around and begged my parents to stop him. They chided him but he didn't listen. Finally, for his final move, he pushed me onto the lake. I was fully dressed and my book was now completely destroyed. I was screaming and struggling because I couldn't swim. My dad jumped in and saved me and the next day, he started teaching me to swim. I know how to swim because of my dad. And because Jeremy pushed me into the lake." I recounted. Tears started to fill my eyes as I remembered how I would grip my father's arms in fear at the start because I was afraid I would drown. He would always tell me that he would keep me safe. Over the summer, I grew into a stronger swimmer. I no longer needed to grab my dad to stay afloat. I could manage myself. It was one of the best memories I had of my dad.

"I'm sorry Elena. It was not my intention to ruin that memory."

"Ruin it? I'm pissed that my clothes are wet but you didn't ruin the memory. You just made it better." I said with a small smile

He pulled me closer to him and I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my arms around his neck. "I'm still sorry. Don't be mad at me?" He asked with that smile on his face that always melted my heart.

"Hmm…I'll consider it…" I trailed of teasingly as I brushed my fingers across his neck.

"Mmhh…Is that so?" He said as he pressed his lips to my neck and gently ran his fingers over my waist under the water. "How about now?" He asked.

"No just yet." I gasped. I could barely breathe. His lips and hands were intoxicating.

Damon started to move slowly down into the water with me. I barely noticed it because the sound of my blood pumping in my ears was so loud and my attention was occupied. When I felt the water at my chin, my eyes flew open. Damon calmed me by pressing his lips to mine and we were suddenly completely underwater. We were kissing underwater. I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. I smiled self-consciously before kicking upwards and reaching the surface, Damon popped up beside me. "How about now?" He asked as he reached for me.

I giggled before answering. "All will be forgiven once you get me out of here."

"No problem Kitten." He said as he took my hand and we swam together to the edge of the water. He got up first and held out a hand to me. Instead of pulling me to my feet, he picked me up in his arms. "Damon!" I cried.

"Relax love." He said as he carried me to the house.

He only put me down when we were in front of the bathroom. "Go have a warm shower. I'll shower in the other bathroom and start dinner." He told me as he kissed me.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Come with me?"

"Elena, lets slow down okay?" He said slightly uncomfortably.

"Why?" I asked. I was offended.

"I just don't want this to be something you regret."

"Regret?"

"You just broke up with Stefan. Lets not rub it in his face okay?"

"He's not here."

"No but he might find out. And that would crush him. I can't do that to him Elena. He's my brother." He argued.

I stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "Its' not you. It's not that I don't want this with you. I just won't ever be able to look Stefan in the eye again if we do and I know you won't be able to as well." He said softly as he rested his open palm against my cheek.

"Okay. You're right. I'm not being logical." I agreed. I knew Damon was right but at the same time, I also knew that I wanted Damon. We had a complicated relationship. I took his palm and kissed the centre of it. "I love you." I said with a smile.

"I love you too baby." He murmured.