A/N: I am so, so sorry this chapter has taken me so long to publish. I have been writing, and re-writing this chapter and chapter six over and over again. That said they're done *does happy dance*. I'm happy with this chapter. I've changed the direction of this story a lot and I'm really excited about where it's going. Thank you to everyone who hunted me down, and reminded me they still wanted to read this. You all made sure I kept going.

For aj81writing, who gives me more support than she could ever realize. Thanks for showing me how much fun it is to read about Damon and Elena getting physical in an Olivia Newton John kinda way. This chapter is for you.

Chapter Five

No End of Trouble In Sight

"You could be in trouble there," Elijah said to Damon, the moment after Elena left the ballroom.

"Big trouble," Damon agreed.

Damon had to work out how to fix this situation between them, before it spun any further out of control. Unfortunately, he had no idea how he was going to do that. He didn't understand how he could screw up something so much without even trying to. Now, did he tell Elena he'd been thinking about her; about what it would be like to go to bed with her when they'd been kissing? Or did he allow her to believe he'd been thinking about Katherine? Come to think about it, there wasn't a thing he could say to fix this. Elena had always been a rather forgiving person, but if he didn't stop acting like an idiot he was doubtful they'd even be on speaking terms by the time they left the island.

He turned to Elijah. "By any chance can this wait until the morning?"

"Of course. You should go after her. It would be unwise to make her wait any longer for you than she has already."

"It's only been a minute."

Elijah chuckled softly. "But she has been in love with you for that much longer."

"Right," Damon said awkwardly.

"I admit I was surprised when you said you were bringing Elena to this couples week away. The last time I saw you, you seemed completely unaware of how she felt about you."

Damon gave him a rather strained smile. He felt relieved in that moment that Elena had her Mr X. If Elena actually had feelings for him, it would make this situation that much worse, and that would be saying something.

Elijah clapped Damon on the back. "We'll speak tomorrow. Go fix things with your lady."

Elena walked straight into their room, lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over her head. She blinked away the tears that were threatening, and concentrated on her breathing. Agreeing to this had been the biggest mistake of her life. She had effectively marooned herself on an island with the man she loved, and the woman he was in love with. What type of person would do something so masochistic? The kind who would do anything for her best friend, that's who.

Even with her grand plans to move on, Elena worried that her heart may not survive their week away, especially if he kissed her again. Katherine was the only reason Damon had kissed her like that; that amazing, magical, make you tremble at the knees kiss. It hadn't been about her at all. And isn't that why she was so mad? Because for a moment she'd forgotten they were acting; that she was supposed to be acting. Instead she'd kissed him without holding anything back; without holding her heart back.

It was the second time that day that she'd believed that he wanted her; that he might even be attracted to her, only to have cold harsh reality set in quickly enough. Any minute now, Damon was going to come through the door wanting to talk about what had just happened. Talking about it was the last thing she wanted to do. She didn't know what to say to him. Letting out a sigh, she slipped out of the bed, grabbed her pjs, and headed for the shower.

When she walked out of the bathroom Damon was sitting on the couch.

"Hey," he said when he saw her.

"Hey."

"I would have been up sooner, but Elijah-"

"It's fine," she told him. "I wanted a shower before bed anyway."

They looked at each other.

"Can we talk?" he asked her.

She wanted to tell him she was tired. She wanted to go to bed and pretend tonight had never happened, but Damon wasn't going to let that happen. She just had to get this over with. She reluctantly took a seat next to him on the couch.

"About before-" he started.

"Forget it," she told him.

"Forget it?"

"I don't need to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget the whole thing."

He looked surprised for a moment, but then his expression changed to one of relief. "I'm sorry for being a giant tool since we arrived here. I just want us to be okay," he said to her.

"We're fine," she told him. "Stop worrying."

She was about to stand up when he took her hand and held it in his. "You know how much your friendship means to me, right?"

She nodded, and tried not to cry. Friendship was all he wanted from her. Ugh, she didn't think she could feel any worse tonight.

"I don't want us to change," he told her. "I don't want things between us to be different."

"I know," she told him. Her throat was so tight she could barely swallow.

"I'm not good with change, Elena."

"I know."

"I need you to promise me something," he said to her. "Promise me we'll always be in each other's lives."

"Yeah, of course we will be," she said to him looking down at the floor. "I should go to bed," she told him.

Damon tried to smile, but he couldn't quite manage it. "Sleep well," he told her. "I have no idea what Klaus and Elijah have planned for tomorrow."

"I will."

He let go of her hand. "Goodnight, Elena."

Damon knew that had not gone well. She'd told him everything was fine, but it wasn't. He could feel things weren't right between them. She had every right to be pissed at him about tonight, but she hadn't even wanted to talk to him about it. In fact it seemed like she couldn't wait to get away from him. Whatever was wrong between them was bigger than tonight, he was realizing now. He couldn't understand why she seemed to be putting distance between them, but she was. She was shutting him out. He was losing her. He was losing his best friend, and he had no idea what he had done, or how to change it.

There was no light from the lamp on the corner of the street, and it was snowing heavily. He was freezing. He was hungry. He was lost. Where was everyone? Why was he outside in his tee-shirt and boxers? A path appeared in the snow in front of him. He followed the path up to a red brick house. He knocked on the door, but no-one answered. The door disappeared and he was suddenly looking at a foggy window.

He banged on the glass, and when he stopped, there was suddenly a table in front of the window. A family of four sat there; two dark haired children, one faceless man, and Elena. Relief filled him at the sight of her. She was beautiful, he thought; she looked so happy. The food looked good, and the house must be warm. The hunger was starting to gnaw at him now. Elena would let him in. He knocked on the window, but she didn't look at him. She was too busy laughing at something the man had said. He knocked again. Damn it, couldn't she hear him? Didn't she know how hungry he was?

Finally, she stood up. Was she coming to get him? She disappeared for a moment and when she came back into the room she was smiling and carrying a baking dish. He didn't have to see it or smell it to know it was peach cobbler; his favorite.

"Peach cobbler," the man said, as she set it down on the table.

"I know it's your favorite," she told the man, cutting a piece and putting it on a plate in front of him.

Who was this ass-clown eating his pie? Why was this man getting pie, and he wasn't? She was making a mistake. That pie was meant for him. Elena belonged to him.

"Elena," he called, banging on the window again.

The man wrapped his arm around Elena's waist, pulling her to him, and she lowered her head and kissed him.

"Elena," he called again, banging the window with both fists now. "Elena let me in. Elena!"

"Damon!"

He opened his eyes and found Elena standing over him. "It was a dream," he said.

"More like a nightmare from the sound of it."

"I was hungry," he told her.

She nodded. She was the only person who knew how much he feared being hungry again; how being hungry reminded him of days when he had felt helpless, and abandoned. He sat up, and she came around the back of the couch, put her arms around his neck from behind. She rested her chin on his head, giving him comfort in a way no-one else had ever been able to. He placed his hand over hers, grateful that this felt normal, even if he everything else between them wasn't right now.

Damon couldn't remember the last time he'd ever felt this low; depressed even. After the events of yesterday, and his realization that his friendship with Elena was in trouble, his subconscious had thrown his biggest fear in his face. He was now dreaming about her mystery man as some faceless dude who literally kept her from seeing him. He'd hated feeling like he was on the outside looking in. He'd hated watching her with him.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" she asked him.

"Breakfast on Heaven, is something you have to experience," he said to her, standing up. "Come on, get dressed."

If he was going to fix what was wrong between them, then he needed to find out what had gone wrong. He wasn't sure where to start, but hopefully spending some time together would help. He should probably avoid touching her as well, since that had ended so disastrously last time. They would have to pretend to be together without the public displays of affection.

Once the two of them were ready, they walked downstairs together. Breakfast was served in the dining room, however the doors leading into the ballroom and onto the terrace were open, and there were tables and chairs set up outside. He could smell the salty sea breeze rolling in off the ocean as he guided her to the long buffet table laden with everything one might desire for breakfast.

Elena took in the cooked breakfast, pastries and fruits, and tried to work out where to start. They piled their plates, accepted the mugs of freshly brewed coffee that were handed to them from one of the servers, and sat at one of the tables out on the terrace. If she turned to her side she had a view of the early morning sun hitting the water, and if she stared straight ahead, past Damon, she had a superb view of the mountain ranges.

"Mmm, these are good," Elena told him, biting into a croissant filled with chocolate.

"Here, try some," she said, breaking off a piece and holding it out for him to eat.

Before he could stop himself, Damon was imagining licking the gooey chocolate off her fingers, before conducting a more thorough examination of how she tasted all over. He wanted to hear her moan again, but for him. He reminded himself quickly that he was supposed to be keeping his hands off her. He ate the piece out of her hand and let her pull her hand away, only to watch her lick the chocolate off herself.

"I wonder how many calories are in these," she said to him.

"Who cares? You're on holiday, and since when do you worry about calories?"

"Since I'm eating this for breakfast."

"You're not going to turn into one of those women who worry about everything she eats, I hope."

"I just want to be in good shape when I join Caroline's agency."

Damon almost laughed. Most women would kill for her shape.

"Listen, if the guy doesn't like you the way you are, he's not worth it. And you didn't need the make-over either."

"Caroline and Bonnie think I don't stand out."

"What do they know?" Damon asked.

He liked Caroline and Bonnie, but he was annoyed Elena seemed more intent on listening to her girlfriends than him on the matter.

"They're right, I don't stand out. Guys don't see me."

"You mean he didn't see you?" he asked her, trying to tamp down on his irritation.

"No," she said. "He didn't see me."

The hurt in her voice cut right through him. He was really beginning to hate this asshole she'd fallen for.

"If I can have your attention," Elijah announced. "Please take the morning to enjoy the island. Lunch will be served at midday, and you will be briefed on the afternoon's events from there."

Trying to move the subject away from her mystery man seemed like a good idea right now. While he was still itching to know his identity, he didn't want to cause any more conflict between them

Damon sat back, and linked his fingers behind his head. "What do you want to do this morning?" he asked her.

Elena looked down at her now empty plate. "Jog and a swim?"

"Jogging?"

He hadn't been jogging since Elena had been on her health kick several years ago, and she'd forced him to run with her.

"It's a good way to see the beach," she told him. "Of course, if you're worried you can't keep up…"

"I can keep up," he said to her, unable to resist whenever she threw down a challenge like that.

"So you say," she replied, her eyes twinkling.

Damon found his mood lifting when she smiled at him.

"Oh, I can definitely keep up, Elena."

The statement was so loaded with innuendo that she stopped smiling. He watched her eyes widen and then darken, shooting a bolt of hot lust straight through his middle.

She leaned forward slowly. "Why don't you prove it to me?"

He had to tell himself she wasn't inviting him to bed with her.

"With pleasure."

She stood up. "Come on then."

He couldn't stand right now without showing just how much he wanted to 'keep up' with her. That was not the way to fix their friendship.

"I'll be up in a minute," he said, pretending not to be done with his coffee.

"I'll be waiting for you."

What was she thinking, Elena asked herself as she headed back to their room? She was meant to be getting over to him, and she'd just been flirting with him shamelessly. She put her running shoes on, and was in the process of tying her shoe laces up, when Damon walked into the room. He didn't say a word as he removed one shirt and swapped it for another.

"Ready?" she asked him, grabbing the drink bottle she'd brought to the island with her.

"I'm ready."

They made their way down to the beach in silence, stopping in at the large industrial sized kitchen to fill her bottle up with filtered water. After some gentle stretching, she turned to him. "Try and keep up."

She shot off down the beach, and Damon took off after her. They jogged for a couple of miles in companionable silence.

"Race you?" she said after a while.

"Where to?"

She pointed to a rock formation that jutted out onto the sand, a half a mile or so down the beach.

"On the count of three?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"One, two-"

She never said three, she just sprinted. Damon raced after her. She had a head start, but his legs were longer. He ran past the rocks just before she did. They both stopped to catch their breaths.

"Told you I could keep up," he said to her, giving her a cocky smile.

"You win. I guess I should give you your prize now," she told him.

Damon stood still as Elena walked up to him, ran her tongue over her bottom lip, leaned forward, and then squirted him in the face with her water bottle, before taking off again. He chased after her, and when he caught up with her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and picked her up. The drink bottle fell out of her hand and landed in the sand.

"You know, Elena, you're all hot. I think you need to cool down."

She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder and ran toward the water.

"Damon put me down!"

"As you wish."

"Dam-"

The rest of his name drowned as she landed in the water. She surfaced, spluttering and kicking. Damon laughed and offered her his hand, but she just glared at him, and stood up by herself. Once she was on her feet she spent a moment wringing out her pony tail.

"You're an ass," she told him as she put her palms flat against his chest, and tried to push him into the water.

"That's what you get for cheating, Elena. And this is what you get for squirting me in the face," he said, hooking his foot around the backs of her ankles and trying to sweep her legs out from under her.

Elena put her hands on his shoulders, and held on tight as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her under with him, dunking both of them. When they surfaced, his arm was still around her, and Elena was still clinging to him. As his gaze locked with hers, time seemed to stand still. She couldn't hear anything except her own heart thundering in her ribcage. When his gaze flitted down to her mouth, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to close her eyes and lean in, but instead of kissing her like she wanted him to, he abruptly let her go.

"We should get back," he said to her.

"Of course. I'm sure you want to get back to Katherine," she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She was so utterly embarrassed she didn't know how to act.

Elena started walking out of the water, but not before Damon saw the look of hurt on her face. What the hell just happened, Damon wondered? One moment they were laughing and playing in the water like they'd done a hundred times before, and the next she was waiting for him to kiss her. When she'd leaned in towards him he'd frozen. All he could think of was how he'd kissed her last night and everything had ended all messed up. Now, this morning, he hadn't kissed her, and things were all messed up again.

He grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him. "Jesus, Elena. What's going on? What am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, not looking at him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "We need to get back for lunch."

Elena picked up her drink bottle, and tried to keep it together. She'd just made a complete fool of herself, and if he didn't know how she felt about him now, it would be a miracle. From the way he'd practically pushed her away, he found the idea of kissing her without an audience completely unappealing. But then why would he suddenly be interested in her now? She began jogging back, hating the feeling of her wet sneakers on her feet. Damon fell into place beside her, and Elena wondered if there was any way to save her heart from evisceration while she was on this island with him.

As they slow jogged back towards the house Damon watched Elena out of the corner of his eye. They were supposed to be acting like they were together in front of Katherine, but she was angry he hadn't kissed her just now. He was sure of that much. What he wasn't sure of, was why. No-one had been on the beach watching them. Moreover, she was meant to be in love with her mystery man, so why on earth would she want him to kiss her? The answer to that question hit him with such force it almost knocked him off balance.

No, he told himself. He was not her mystery guy. No way. It couldn't be him. She was here helping him win Katherine back. She wouldn't do that if she was in love with him, would she? Of course she would, he thought. She would do anything for him, just as he would do anything for her. He turned to see her wearing a determined look on her pretty face, as they continued to jog along together silently. Elena never kept a secret from him, but she refused to tell him who her mystery man was. Suddenly he couldn't shake off a slightly sick feeling that there may have been more truth to Katherine's constant accusations than he'd originally thought possible.

"Since I realized the person I'm in love with will never see me the way I want them to."

He didn't want it to be true. Not after he'd asked her to come here to help him make another woman jealous; not after he'd spent the past few weeks talking non-stop about Katherine. She hadn't wanted to come, he remembered that now. At the time he'd never asked her why. He'd been too focused on his desire to win Katherine away from Stefan to think about it properly.

The idea that she was helping him with Katherine, while she might have feelings for him, made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world. No wonder things had been off between them, since they arrived. The look of hurt on her face when he pulled away from her in the water flashed before his eyes, and the queasy feeling that he'd had for the last mile or so worsened. Was this why she was putting distance between them? How much had asking her to come here hurt her? Elena was the last person he ever wanted to hurt.

"…no-one hurts you and gets away with it."

"It's not like he did it intentionally. He doesn't even know"

You don't know it's you, he reminded himself. But that didn't mean he didn't need to find out. Already knowing what he had to do, Damon stopped when they reached the house. His clothes were almost dry after their run back, but his sneakers and socks were still soggy, and sandy. He took them off, and Elena did the same with hers. They walked back to the room in silence.

"I'll be back soon," he said to her, after changing his shoes. He walked out the door before she could say anything else.

Elena sat on the edge of the bed after he left the room. This was torture, she thought. She was so sure she'd given herself away, but he hadn't said anything, so he didn't know, right? He was so clueless, and thank god for that. The only thing that could make this week worse was another talk about how much he valued their friendship. She felt like she was walking on eggshells, waiting for her feelings to be discovered at any moment.

Damon made his way down to the office near the front of the house. He knew they weren't supposed to make personal calls there unless it was an emergency, but he didn't care at the moment. Elena would kill him for this, but he couldn't ask her about it; not right now. Things were so strained between them already, and he didn't want to risk doing anymore damage to their friendship. At least that was what he told himself as his dialed the number he knew so well.

"B&G Second Hand Books, Bonnie speaking."

"Bonnie, its Damon."

"Damon," Bonnie said, surprised. "Is everything okay? Is Elena okay?"

"She's fine."

There was a slight pause. "Then why are you calling me?" she asked warily.

"Can't I just give you a call? See how you're doing?"

"No, and shouldn't you be busy making Katherine jealous?"

He chose to ignore the hint of disgust in her voice. "Elena informed me on the flight over here that she's in love with somebody, and she won't tell me who he is."

"I really don't have time for this, Damon. The store is currently being overrun by-"

"Just tell me it's not me, and I'll go."

Bonnie sighed deeply. "You need to talk to her about it."

"Things are…weird between us."

"Things are weird between you?"

"Please tell me it isn't me," he begged.

"You know Elena is going to kill both of us for having this conversation, right?" Bonnie asked him.

Damon fell into the desk chair behind him, now one hundred percent certain he was her Mr X. If he'd felt sick before, it was nothing compared to what he felt right now.

"How did I not know about this?" he asked her.

The question was aimed more at himself rather than Bonnie.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked him.

"Because I don't feel like enough of an idiot already. How long has she felt this way?"

"Damon, I have to go."

"What am I going to do?"

"You're in love with Katherine, right?"

"I think so."

He'd come here with every intention of making Katherine his again. Damon couldn't explain why he felt such a connection to the woman, he just did. The chemistry had been instantaneous, and even though she wasn't perfect, who was? Damon didn't know much about love, but he knew that loving someone meant overlooking their flaws no matter how big they were.

He loved Elena too, but it was a different kind of love. They'd always been friends, and he liked it that way. Elena was so much more to him than a girlfriend. She was above all the girls he'd met in his lifetime. No-one compared to her. Friendship had always been the safe option for them, and until this week away, he'd thought it was the way to guarantee that they would always have each other.

"You think so?" Bonnie asked now.

He could practically hear her shaking her head at the other end of the line. "What's your point?" he asked.

"My point is that Elena is finally trying to get over you."

"The whole dating agency thing?"

"Yes. Finding out you're in love with Katherine was pretty hard on her, Damon. So, just…just let her get over you. She needs to move on. I have to go."

"Right. Thanks."

"Damon," she said, before he could hang the phone up. "It might be better if Elena never knew we had this conversation, and you forget you know. Let her keep some dignity while she's stuck on that island watching you with Katherine. See you when you get back."

Damon took his time walking back to the room. He had no idea what he was going to say to Elena. Perhaps he could start with 'sorry I'm an oblivious idiot who had no idea how you felt about me'. Or perhaps he should just keep his mouth shut. Elena was getting over him after all, according to Bonnie. Let her keep her dignity, Bonnie had told him.

Elena was just coming out of the bathroom, drying her hair, when Damon stepped back into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the way he was looking at her. She felt the panic hit her straight away. Oh my god, Elena thought. He knows.

A/N: For anyone interested, I finally got myself a Twitter account (LoveEpicLove). I am always one step behind the masses, but am making up for it now. I have also started working on Bet Me again. My muse has returned on that story, so I'm going to make the most of her while she sticks around. Thanks for reading, and please review.