Hey everyone!

Well FINALLY i'm back home from my internship in London, and just in the nick of time with all the rioting going down. If any readers are from the UK and living in a riot zone, I hope you're all safe and well!

So I return with Chapter 16 of 'Love Lessons.' I'm sooooo pleased you all liked the ending to my last chapter. It was a lot of fun to write and I'm glad it came across that way. Thank you for letting me know in your reviews. I appreciate and enjoy all of them.

Okay so this chapter was a toughie to write, but it was also really fun to put together. It's not a huge chapter, but it's pretty intense so I didn't want to drag it out. Please let me know what you think and Chapter 17 will be right around the corner for you all.

P.S - how amazing are the new DE spoiler pics for S3? *squee!*

Damon's POV

Okay, so the quickie didn't exactly turn out to be quick enough. Damon checked the time on his return to the bedroom to find it was almost past ten. He cursed several times under his breath as he threw a black t-shirt over his damp body, knowing he and Elena needed to get a move on.

"Tick tock, Elena!" he called out as he grabbed whatever clothes of his he could find and stuffing them into his bag. He heard her muffled response through the closed bathroom door. He really, really hoped she wasn't putting make-up on. She looked flawless 24/7 and they should already be on the road towards home.

As Damon hurried down into the lounge area, he cursed once again at the sight of unwashed plates, pans and bowls.

"Oh fuck, fuck, fucking hell!"

With an animalistic growl, Damon dumped their bags on the floor and quickly washed, or rinsed rather, the dirty dishes. The sooner they were in that car and on the road the better. Damon suddenly realized how ignorant it was of him to not ask when Alaric would definitely be arriving.

"Okay I'm ready!" Elena said, a little breathlessly as Damon glanced up to find her twisting her hair into a ponytail. He loved it on the rare occasion when she would scoop back those gorgeous locks to reveal her slender neck. She looked so...

Snap out of it! screamed his thoughts, while mentally slapping himself around the face too. Damon shook the soapy water from his hands, remembering he needed to get his phone charger and camera.

"You should have your hair up more often," he commented while he dried his hands.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" she asked, hand innocently twirling through her hair.

Damon silently stepped over to place a single, soft kiss on the curve of her neck.

"That's why" he whispered gently, then wandering off into the lounge to find his gadgets. It sounded crazy, but it was almost like he could hear her shuddering with pleasure.

"You're mean to do that when we're about to leave" she pouted.

"I know" he said in a cocky manner, twirling the phone wire in his hands and zipping it into his bag, "Okay..." he said, clicking his fingers and turning to the coffee table, "..camera."

Odd.

It was gone.

Damon frowned and moved around the magazines, a pointless act considering they were as flat as pancakes and the bulge of his camera would be easy to find between the pages. It wasn't under the table, and with a quick brush under the couch it wasn't there either.

"Have you got it?" Elena asked.

Damon shifted around the cushions, blankets, even dragged back about a million of the annoying rugs that were over the floor and came out empty.

"Sure you didn't move it?" he questioned, feeling the panic swell a little in his chest.

Elena shook her head slowly. A tiny frown appearing on her face as she did so. Damon stood up from his knees, trying desperately to think where he put the damn thing. They'd taken so many photographs and the shit would hit the fan if Alaric stumbled across it. But Damon was so sure he'd left it right there on the coffee table. The doors were locked all night so who could possibly steal it? Cursing under his breath he got back to his knees again, looking as hard as he could under the couch.

"Are you sure you left it on the table?"

"Yes Elena, I'm sure" Damon said, trying to keep his temper under control. Oh how he wanted to spit out the word 'fuck' over and over while kicking the odd bit of furniture around. However on his last attempt at looking between cushions and carpets, Damon couldn't help but kick the couch as hard as he could, causing Elena to jump from behind it.

"Hey, hey" he heard her hush. Damon looked up to find her rounding the couch, her hands automatically reaching up to his face to cradle his head. He instantly felt calmer when she was near.

"Sorry," he growled, enjoying the feel of her fingertips on his face while he still scoped the room for the damned camera. But he was cut off as she made him look at her.

"We'll find it don't worry. Lets just get our stuff in the car and we'll retrace our steps, okay?"

Damon took a deep breath and nodded. She placed a quick, reassuring kiss on his still lips.

"Thought I was meant to be the adult here," he smirked.

"Well from what I've heard, men never exactly grow up" she replied, patting his face mockingly as she moved away. Damon, not one to be out done, playfully slapped her behind.

"Ow, Damon!" she squealed, turning around to scowl at him. Damon wiggled his eyebrows, loving how she couldn't hold back her amusement as she turned to hide her laughter.

"You love it really," he teased, hauling both of their bags into his arms and making his way to the door.

"Oh I would be so sure about that," she replied, giggling to herself as she opened the door, allowing the sunlight to leak into the dim cabin.

"Now we both know that is..."

Damon stopped in his tracks halfway down the dusty, wooden steps. Elena with a gasp, had fallen silent behind him too. Because right there in front of them, casually leaning against the hood of his car, was Alaric Saltzman.

Despite the fact they were in the middle of a forest, Damon suddenly felt incredibly claustrophobic. He was void of all speech and thought, he could only feel and what he was feeling didn't have a name for it either. All he could do was to simply stare into the eyes of his friend, and in a naive way wondering what on earth he was doing there.

Alaric shifted his right hand from the hood to reveal he had Damon's camera. He began flicking through the images; the tiny, electronic ticking sound of each 'click' echoed through the vast expanse of air between them. With each sound, each image of what Damon knew was on that device flashed through his head; cuddling on the couch, kissing on the jetty, it was all there and Ric had seen each and every one.

Damon swallowed the thick, heavy lump in his throat as Alaric switched the camera off again. He looked back to Damon, then with the camera he gesturrf to the frightened teenage girl behind him.

"Not exactly the blonde babe you were telling me about is it, Damon?"

Elena grabbed Damon's tense bicep, causing him to look back at her. She was terrified. The healthy glow in her cheeks was replaced with a grey, ash-like colour.

"Damon," she whispered, shaking like a quivering, autumnal leaf about to fall.

"Go wait in the car, Elena" he said lowly, knowing Alaric could still hear him.

Her watery, brown eyes stared down at him, looking terribly lost and confused. Damon reached for her hand that still gripped the muscle of his arm, stroking her skin softly. He gently eased her arm foreword to coax her down the steps to go to the car. Damon silently thanked her for doing as he asked as opposed to wanting to stay for whatever discussion or argument awaited with Alaric. She hurried down the steps, giving Alaric a wide berth as she approached the car, swinging the door open so quickly Damon feared it would break off its hinges. The door slammed shut, and then it was just Damon and Alaric.

As Damon opened his mouth to speak, Alaric marched towards him. Damon didn't know whether to brace himself for a beating, but Alaric walked right on by and into the cabin, leaving the door open as a silent invitation.

Damon glanced over to the car, seeing Elena, wide-eyed and on edge as she watched him about to disappear indoors. He smiled at her, somewhat sadly. Damon was under no false pretense that this was going to end well. He followed Ric inside and closed the door.

The man who had quickly grown to be one of the best friends he'd ever had was busy pouring himself a large scotch, then filling up a second glass for Damon. The atmosphere was tense and for the first time in his life, Damon was actually scared to speak. Alaric took a large swig of his drink, scrunching up his face at the bitter taste as he wandered through his cabin, planting Damon's drink forcefully into his hand. The dark liquid sloshed onto Damon's fingers and arm as Alaric walked away to pace back and forth in the lounge.

After a few moments of silence, apart from Alaric's scuffling footsteps on the wooden floor boards and rugs, Damon knew he had to say something.

"Ric, I..."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Damon snapped his mouth shut at Alaric's sudden outburst, watching the man point at him angrily with his camera, where all the evidence of his relationship with Elena was stored. Alaric was disgusted and clearly horrified by what he'd found. Damon knew he needed to get him on his side, to get him to see his perspective. Otherwise he may as well march himself down to the nearest police station and make himself comfortable in a cell for the next however many years. The thought caused a cold tremor to wrack Damon's body.

He downed his scotch, knowing he needed it.

"I know what this looks like, Ric, but you at least have to try and understand.."

"Understand what, Damon? That my friend and colleague has turned out to be paedophile? Is that what you want me to understand?"

That was painful. That word was painful to take in. It tore through Damon like a knife and if it were anyone else who used it he would have beaten several shades of shit out of them. But this was Alaric, not some acquaintance who didn't know the first thing about him. Alaric himself looked taken back by his own choice of words, finishing off his drink and slamming his glass onto the table. As he began his pacing up and down act again, Damon chose to speak.

"I want you to understand that all the negative crap that you're thinking about myself and Elena right now couldn't be more the opposite..." Damon paused to choose his next words correctly, feeling under pressure as Alaric scoffed at his comment. "I know you see all this shit in the news about teachers sexually exploiting their students, manipulating them, taking advantage of their age and God knows how many other perverse stories. But I am telling you now that we're nothing like that. There's no seedy back story to it, we just... happened."

Alaric laughed again as though Damon were talking rubbish. Damon actually felt his fingers flex into a fist.

"Come off it, Damon. It always turns out that either the teacher is forcing the kid into the situation, or the kid black mails the teacher into it. It's either one or the other, so what'll it be?"

"You know me better than that, Alaric" Damon spat through gritted teeth.

"I dunno, Damon. I've known you for what, two months? How do I know this isn't some incredibly convincing act to cover up your perver-"

"Don't you fucking dare associate me with that word" Damon warned, stepping closer to Alaric with only the coffee table between them. "There is no act, there is no black-mailing, no forcing anyone into anything. We fell for each other as a girl and a guy do every single, fucking day on this planet."

"Oh," Alaric quipped, sarcastically nodding as if all was well and good, "so if it's all genuine from your point of view, how sure are you that Elena isn't simply enjoying the fantasy of this whole thing between you both? The hot teacher falls for her and whisks her away, the kind of thing that naive, teeny-bop girls dream of."

"She's not like that. No offense to the girl, but if this was Caroline Forbes we were talking about then maybe i'd see your side. But this is Elena we're talking about here; the brightest girl in the school, glowing grades, a girl whose been forced to grow up faster beyond her years. She's not some air-head teen. She's a young woman."

Finally Damon could see a glimmer of hope that he was slowly inching his way to getting the upper hand. Alaric shook his head and rubbed his tired eyes in thought.

"This is crazy, Damon" he sighed, meeting his stare dead on. Damon didn't know if it were his mind playing tricks, but it almost looked as though Alaric was beginning to understand him.

"I know it is. You don't need to tell me that" he said lowly.

"But maybe I do," Alaric suddenly piped up, "maybe you need someone to tell you how wrong this is. You're sleeping with your student, an underage girl who has just lost her parents. If you get caught they'll play the, oh I dunno... 'taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable child' card on you, no fucking question about that. No matter how many times that girl out there in that car will tell a court room it's genuine between you, they'll see her as a brainwashed kid who doesn't know any better. Have you thought as far as that into it, Damon? Have you?"

By this point, Damon's eyesight had drifted over Alaric's shoulder, staring into space as he thought long and hard about what his friend was saying. It terrified him because everything he was saying was completely and inescapably true. Those in a court room would know all the little tricks, work around each and every flaw they had until it drove them hard into the ground to the point where there was no way of coming back up. Who was going to be on their side? Perhaps Elena would get sympathy but what would Damon have? He had no friends, no family - he had nothing.

"I know what you're saying, Ric" he said after a few moments of deafening silence. He stared into Alaric's hazel eyes, once penetrating with anger but now softened and calm. "But that's if we get caught. And you're the only one who knows."

"Damon..."

"Are you going to blow our cover, Ric?" Damon demanded, needing to know his answer.

"It's a lot to take in Damon, I need to think."

"What else is there to take in?" Damon spat, watching Alaric wander away towards the fire place, ruffling a hand through his dirty, blonde hair. "You know this isn't anything sinister."

"That's besides the point, it's still wrong in the eyes of the law."

"Maybe so. To the outside world looking in, I'm a sick paeodophile freak who needs his dick cutting off. But you're on the inside of this, Ric. And as much as this cripples my masculinity to say this - I am in love with that girl. I wouldn't dream of harming a single hair on her head, and if she wanted to walk away then I wouldn't stop her. We both know how dangerous this is, but we were willing to take the risk."

Damon was physically shaking from his words; wanting and willing so much to finally get Alaric to see his side. Alaric had listened intently to him, Damon could tell. But he didn't realize that their was a third member who had eased into the room.

"Please Mr Saltzman.." came a tiny voice from the door.

The two feuding men looked over to find Elena had somehow entered unnoticed. Damon wondered how long she had been stood there and how much she had heard.

"Everything Damon has said is true, I swear" she said nervously. "Please don't say anything."

Damon looked from Elena to Alaric. The man looked so conflicted and more than a little uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Please Ric," Damon added, needing this emotional turmoil to end. "I'm not asking for your support. But I am asking for you to keep this quiet."

With a sigh, Alaric looked back and forth to the obscure couple. A less than approving look on his stubbled face. Damon felt his heart clench tightly in his chest as Alaric brought the camera into view, staring down at it for a few seconds before handing it over. Damon took it, almost feeling as though he could pass out with relief.

"If I were you i'd end this. Don't expect any more favors from me." Alaric said under his breath before storming away.

Damon watched him brush passed Elena who stood silently by the door. Alaric held it open, silently telling them he wanted the pair out of his holiday home. Wordlessly Damon slipped the camera into his jeans pocket and met his young girlfriend by the door, taking her hand supportively as they faced the first and hopefully only person to discover their secret.

"Thank you" Damon said, trying to get Alaric to look at them. But as soon as the couple held hands, Alaric couldn't seem bring himself to look their way, instead choosing to stare out onto the porch.

He wasn't going to reply, he simply waited until they got off his property and into Damon's car. As soon as Damon started up the vehicle, Alaric disappeared inside the cabin with a heavy slam of the door.

Elena let out a shaky breath beside him as Damon hastily reversed away from the cabin and onto the uneven, country road. As Damon checked the time on his watch, the last half an hour suddenly didn't seem real.

"Do you think he'll say anything?" Elena stammered.

Damon wanted to say 'nah, of course he won't.' A small part of him hoped he could actually come away believing that. But was Alaric that convinced and on their side? Damon could not come up with an answer for that one. But on gut instinct and all logic pushed aside, he felt Alaric would keep quiet about them.

But still...

"I don't think so," he replied, quickly scrabbling for Elena's hand and squeezing tightly on her lap.

"Damon?"

His stomach dropped at the thought of having to answer more of her questions that he simply didn't have the answer for. But that didn't matter to him, because he would reply as best as he could to make sure Elena was reassured and confident about them being safe and secret.

"Yeah?" he responded, bracing himself.

"...I'm in love with you too," she whispered.

Soooo, what's the verdict!

Please let me know what you think, or what you think could or even should happen in the future. It'd be interesting to know, hehe.

I look forward to reading your reviews! Thank youuuuuuu!

Anna x