AN: I know, I know, it's been longer than usually, but I've been trying to get my projects for school done and as well as other stuff that required my attention. I thought that it's time to post another chapter for you, so here you have it. Please enjoy it and review, review, review (it's been a long time and I really want to hear what you have to say about this)!

Cause when the lights are blinding,

I don't mind it, if you require my shade,

But when the nights are darkest,

All I want is for you to shine my way.

"Well, I'm going to miss this. Until next Christmas, Mystic Falls!" Elena whispered her last words and signaled to her brother that she was ready to get in the car. Jeremy and Jenna were going to stay one more day to visit some friends but the rest of the group was heading back to New York. Damon put the bags in the trunk and before she knew it, he was next to her in the car, holding her hand.

"My mom was so sad that I had to go, you have no idea. She practically begged me to stay." Caroline said as she looked through her purse for her sunglasses. It wasn't even remotely sunny outside, but she just told them she needed to protect her eyes from the powerful reflection off the snow.

"She can come visit us anytime, baby." Stefan said and he finally started the engine. He drove slower than he did when they left New York, possibly because the snow was trouble. Elena shuffled in the back of the car and let her head rest in Damon's lap, as her legs were extended on the rest of the bench.

"Does it hurt, 'Lena?" Damon's soothing voice made her raise her head a little and she gave him a goofy smile, followed by her shake of the head. "Good," he smiled.

She had no idea when she fell asleep, but she felt his fingers running through her hair the whole time. Her sleep was easy and not turbulent, like it had been the last few weeks and she guessed it was because of the painkillers they gave her at the hospital. As much as she loved taking them a few years ago, she hated them just as much now.

It just reminded her of how weak she had been and how she tried to ruin her life. She would never be able to forget that dark period in her life, when she almost gave up on living. And if she would've done it, she wouldn't have met Damon, she wouldn't have seen her brother going to college and she wouldn't have seen her best friend get married. She would've lost so much, much more than she would've won.

Elena heard her phone ringing. She lazily opened her eyes and withdrew the buzzing object from her pocket and pressed the green button.

"Bonnie. I've missed you so much. Yes, I'm actually on my way back." Elena mumbled, the exhausting sensed in her voice. "There's a problem with that, actually. I can't come and see you. You'll have to come over." She sighed, before she explained what happened to her friend.

"No, Bon. I had a little accident and I broke my leg. Now I'm stuck inside for like two weeks. Yeah, I know, I'll take care, I promise. Love you too." She hung up the phone and snuck a peek at Damon, who was looking at her.

"About staying inside. Elena, you know someone has to be permanently by your side, right?" Damon raised a brow. She nodded shortly.

"Yeah, I know. I'll just call the hospital and ask them to send a nurse over."

"Forget about that. You're staying with me until you get better." Damon announced and he smirked his signature smile that made girls' panties drop for him; at least that was the effect it had on her. "We'll be roommates, it'll be fun."

"No, no way." Elena shook her head disapprovingly. She wasn't going to let Damon become her personal assistant just because she was incapacitated at the moment. She would much rather have a stranger look after her.

"But, Elena, you-"

"I said no, Damon."

"Well, I don't care. You're coming with me and that's it." Damon seemed to have proven his point because she didn't say anything else. "Plus, we work together so it will be a big perk to hear the news directly from me and I can help you with your work."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes annoyed at his points. She knew he was right, but the thought of her not being able to take care of herself made her sick.

"You have to get a wheelchair." Caroline chirped in, making Elena's eyes snap open wide with rage. Good God, these people were going to make her pull her hair out!

"Yeah, thanks, Caroline. I almost did not feel totally dysfunctional." Elena's sarcastic tone cut in.

"I'm sorry, 'Lena, but I have a point here. Unless you want to stay in bed for two weeks, you can get that freaking wheelchair and I don't know, destroy Salvawhore's apartment with it." The blonde giggled and winked at Elena and she couldn't help but laugh at her words, until they sank it. Wait, she was actually going to Damon's apartment? She was going to live with him for a freaking month? This would've been such a great thing if she wasn't in this situation.

"I can walk with crutches!" She snapped and the moment she saw Caroline's eyes filling with unshed tears she wanted to take it back.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Care. I didn't mean it, I swear."

"Eh, it's okay. I'm just melodramatic." The blonde agreed and smiled coyly.

"I'm glad we agree on something." Damon interfered and Caroline threw him a dagger look. Seriously, this man was going to end up dead and thrown on to the side of the road. Elena shook her head. She wondered if they would ever stop bickering. She didn't want her best friend and her friend/sex buddy to constantly fight their whole lives.

Hours later, they arrived in the biggest metropolis of the USA. Her pretend home. She sighed when Stefan parked the car in front of Damon's building. But she couldn't go to his place like this. She needed clothes and she needed them now.

"Wait. Can we go to my apartment first? I need clothes." Stefan nodded and he drove them there, no one saying anything as he drove through the crowded streets of New York. Damon seemed to be really happy to be back though. She recalled him saying that he loved New York and that he could not wait to be back. Well, now they were all back.

"Is it too much to ask you Caroline to go upstairs and pack up some clothes and bring them over?" Elena asked, partly ashamed that she had to make her friends do the job for her. "You know what to put inside. Better than me, actually." With those last words, a smile appeared on the blonde's face and she nodded her head immediately.

"Sure I'll go. Oh, trust me, I know what you need." Caroline mumbled enthusiastically and she jumped out of the car and practically sprinted to the entrance.

Elena's face lit up as she looked at Damon and saw him glancing at her, a little smile playing on his lips. She wondered why he was smiling, but she didn't ask him. Instead, she closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Stefan's clearing throat made her pull away from him.

"Mind telling me what's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, playing dumb. That was a stupid question to ask. Of course he knew what was going on between her and his brother; he has seen them the other day in her bed, making out and being naked one on top of the other. Why was he even asking?

"I mean about you two sleeping together. You know this is a low thing to do, right?"

"Look, Stefan, me and Elena, it's-it's complicated, alright?" Damon interfered and it seemed to Elena that he didn't tell Stefan about their arrangement. At least not yet.

"It's your problem. But I don't want the two of you to be fighting and even worse-not be able to look at each other later on because this thing that you have didn't work out. It will break Caroline to see her friends growing apart and not only this, but you two will suffer as well." Stefan's words reminded her of Caroline's, but not in the same measure. She told her that sleeping with Damon wasn't an option. Her friend warned her that she would get burned and that she would be hurt, but she didn't care. And right now, after hearing Stefan, Elena could just hope that Damon would keep his promise and not hurt her.

They both nodded ashamed. At least she was. When Elena glanced out the window, she saw the blonde approaching the car, carrying a big suitcase behind her. Elena's jaw dropped to the floor as she saw her. From what it seemed, Caroline grabbed all her clothes; what the hell, she wasn't moving to across the country. She just needed some clothes to last her for a month. Caroline brought clothes for a lifetime.

"And it's done." Caroline giggled, amused and Elena wondered if her friend would always be like that. She loved her, she really did, but sometimes it was difficult to cope with her behavior. What would sher be like when she had children? Will her children be the same? Maybe not, because Stefan wasn't an eccentric guy. But who knew, maybe they'll only get Caroline's genes. Elena shook her head at the thought; why was she thinking about children and genes now?

"You've brought a lot of clothes." Damon stated simply and Caroline nodded as she looked at them from the front seat.

"She needs clothes."

"Maybe she likes to walk around naked." Damon said, winking at her and she felt her face turning crimson at his words; God, could he be more evident to the fact that they sleep together?

"You know, now that I think about it, Elena should come and live with me. I'm her best friend since-well, since kindergarten, while you're just a guy she met a few months ago and whom she likes to screw." Caroline bit out and Elena gasped as the blonde's words sank in. She knew. Her best friend knew that she was sleeping with Damon. And then she wondered how could she not know. Caroline had the eye of a hawk and even if she didn't, it was more than likely that everybody noticed they had something going on because they were kissing and making out in front of everyone. She inwardly cursed herself for her bad choices.

"Caroline, we-I mean, I-" She stuttered and luckily Damon interfered because she didn't know what to say. Why was it so hard for her to admit something like this? Caroline flat out admitted that she slept with Stefan the same night she met him. And Elena had known Damon for months, so it wasn't such a tragedy.

"Are you jealous that you're not getting a piece of me, Blondie? Because sharing is good, you know."

"What the hell, Damon? I wouldn't touch you even if you were the last man on Earth and we needed to repopulate it. Yikes." Caroline made a face that showed she really didn't want anything with Damon. Elena wanted to laugh because she could bet that her friend was attracted to Damon as well. Who wouldn't be? He was dripping with sex as he walked, it was something every woman agreed on. And Caroline couldn't be the exception from that.

"You keep saying that but I don't think even you believe it." Damon playfully winked at his future sister-in-law and she just rolled her eyes. Maybe Caroline didn't want to sleep with Damon. Maybe she loved Stefan that much that she didn't have eyes for another man. But damn, it was so hard for Elena to buy it, because her friend had always been a flirt.

"Okay, enough is enough." Stefan snapped and stopped the car, turning to them. "I don't care that you two are sleeping together, you can do whatever the hell you want. Just don't ruin this friendship that you have and most of all, don't bring Caroline into this, Damon. I know that you two like to bicker and I like it. I know that she's like a little sister to you, brother and that you care about her. But when it comes to this, I'd really like if she would be left out of it; I really have no interest about hearing you talk about you screwing my fiancée. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Damon said as Elena only nodded her head. She turned to look at him and wondered how come that he didn't say anything else, but just agreed with Stefan. The Damon she knew would've made his brother even angrier and provoke him to much worse talk, but he didn't. She smiled inwardly at his achievement.

"Good." Stefan said as he started to drive again, his hand now resting on Caroline's leg as she didn't say anything else all the way back to Damon's. There was an awkward silence in the car until Stefan parked in front of the building.

Damon opened the door and got out of the car before helping Elena. He put his arm around her tiny body and she shifted in his arms as she tried to find a comfortable position. A man with a hat approached them and Damon looked up at him.

"Mr. Salvatore, it's good to see you. What do you want me to do with the bags?" The young man asked him, pointing to the opened trunk.

"Grab them and bring them upstairs, Daniel." Damon mumbled and headed for the entrance. Elena's eyes snapped up as she wanted to take one more look at the building. She has seen it so many times in passing and she had no idea that Damon lived here; how could she know? It was one of the biggest and most expensive apartment buildings there was in New York. Her head started to spin as they entered the huge lobby with a lot of elevators; but what had her mouth open was that there were at least six policemen, three on each part of the hallway. Man, they really had some protection here.

"Margaret, I need a set of spare keys from my apartment." Damon stopped at the reception desk and Elena looked at the woman he was talking to. She seemed to be a simple girl, maybe a few years older than Elena. Elena felt so embarrassed to be carried by Damon like that. In other circumstances, maybe ones that were more romantic, she would feel graceful, like a princess carried by her prince, but right now, she just wanted the ground to swallow her as she noticed how everybody was turning to glance at them and especially at her.

"There you go, Mr. Salvatore." The blonde handed him a set of keys and he nodded, not thanking her. In the time Elena knew him, she learned that Damon wasn't a man who liked to thank others and she guessed it was because he was doing most of the things for himself.

"Did someone ask for me?"

"Yes, Ms. Katherine came to see you. She insisted on going upstairs, even though I told her you were out of town." Damon's eyes bugged at hearing of Katherine's name. And Elena didn't react any better. If she didn't know herself any better, she would think that she was about to rip her head off if she would have the bitch in front of her.

"But you didn't let her up, right? If you did, you can pack your bags, Margaret." Damon threatened and the girl started to shake her head, scared that he might fire her. In that moment, Elena was on Damon's side whatever he wanted to do, even if it wasn't right for the girl.

"No, no, I didn't let her up, Mr. Salvatore."

"Good." Damon recovered some of his composure but as he saw a certain man walking toward them, he tightened his grip on Elena's back and she let out a sounds, announcing him that she was hurting. "Sorry."

"Hello, Damon. Katherine, always a pleasure. Though I thought you two are over for good." The man was tall and lean and he had green piercing eyes and curly golden hair. If Elena wouldn't have known Damon, she would think he was one of the most good looking men she'd ever seen, but compared to Damon, he was nothing. Her eyes snapped open wide as she heard him call her Katherine. She always knew that she looked like the bitch, but she never thought someone would actually mistake her for Katherine. She wanted to kill her and cut her body in tiny pieces, before feeding her to the piranhas. Elena had never felt this feeling for anyone in her whole life, but Katherine, she destroyed Damon. The woman made sure he would never love someone else again in his life and it was something Elena wouldn't forgive her for.

"Mason. I can't say the same." Damon hissed through gritted teeth.

"What happened to you, Kath? I told you that one day playing dangerous would bite you in the ass." The man said to Elena and she narrowed her eyes. She put her arm around Damon's neck and extended the other to Mason.

"My name is Elena. I would ask you not to mistake me with cold hearted bitches." She threw him a sweet smile that held nothing but hatred towards the woman who was present in their lives even if she wasn't literally there.

"I'm sorry, what kind of game is this that you two are playing?" Mason asked and Damon scowled and he seemed utterly annoyed by his presence.

"What the fuck is your problem, Lockwood?" Damon snapped and Elena started to draw circles with her thumb on the back of his neck, soothing him. She was getting mad and she wanted that man to disappear.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't think we have to give you any explanations, but if it's going to make you leave us alone, then fine. I'm Elena and I'm Damon's friend. Katherine is his former girlfriend, if I'm not mistaken. Are we clear now?"

"Fine. I'll see you at the meeting, next month, Damon. It was nice to meet you, Elena." Her name rolled off his tongue and she hated how it sounded. It didn't sound like when Damon said it; sensual, beautiful and natural.

They walked to the elevator and Damon pressed the button to get them to the top floor. This was going to be a long ride. After the doors closed behind them, Damon pressed his body against the wall and he brought his lips to Elena's, starting a hot make out session right there. Their lips crushed together and it made Elena's tummy clench with desire as he kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Her fingers curled in his hair and she knew he was struggling not to touch her, because he couldn't.

It felt like the ground wasn't under them anymore and her head started to spin as he kissed her senseless, dipping his tongue into her mouth, eliciting moans from her from time to time. Her eyes snapped open after she felt an odd sweetly perfume in the elevator and she knew it wasn't hers; someone had entered the elevator and they didn't even notice. Elena pulled her mouth away from Damon's and she blushed as she saw the old lady. She thought she was about fifty and she was dressed in a light blue dress just above the knee.

"Damon, I see you're back. And you have a new girlfriend. She's so pretty." The woman mumbled in her sweet voice and she smiled at Damon who nodded in return.

"Mrs. Fell, it's so nice to see you. I've missed my favorite neighbor. How's your dog?"

"Oh, Ted is just fine. What's your name sweetie?" She looked at Elena who smiled.

"I'm Elena."

"Elena's going to stay with me for the next month. She's your new neighbor." Damon stated simply and Mrs. Fell smiled, appearing happy that she now had a woman to chat with.

"Oh, that's great, Damon. I like your new girlfriend. She's nothing like Katherine, even if they do look alike." That was the thing that made Elena's smile drop to the floor the next second. And before she could say anything else, the elevator stopped and they were out of it.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Fell." Damon said and with that, he opened the door to his apartment and entered it, pushing the door closed with his foot. Elena thought that he would need a good massage for his arms because he had carried her for the last fifteen minutes and she swore he couldn't feel his arms anymore. He pressed a button and the living room was soon filled up with a white light and she was placed on a big black leather couch. In fact, as she looked around, she noticed that his whole apartment was white, black and grey; ironically, he was always dressed in those colors as well, and they really suited him.

"Damon, who was that man?" Elena asked as she watched him go to what seemed to be a mini bar and grab an old bottle of scotch. He poured some into a glass and sat on one of the armchairs, sipping it from time to time.

"Oh, that idiot? That's Mason Lockwood, an associate of mine. And the man that I thought was a good friend of mine. I was wrong on that one too." Elena wondered what he meant by that and she asked herself if he had anything to do with Katherine, because he seemed to know her pretty well.

"What's his problem with Katherine?" Elena asked and she hoped he wouldn't get mad at her for wanting to know these things; it was just the fact that she had been mistaken asher that made her question the man.

"Katherine and Mason were lovers after she left me. For a short while. Then she got bored and moved on to another one."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Damon." Elena said and looked at him, holding the glass firmly in his hand, the amber liquid shining in the light.

"Well I'm not. If it hadn't been for this, I wouldn't have known what a bitch she was. I would've probably crawled back to her." Hearing him say that made a lump form in Elena's throat and she wanted to go and hug him tightly and ask him to never leave her, because she would be dead without him. But she didn't do it; she sat there, looking at him in silence as he seemed to remember those dark times.

"How many rooms does this place have?" Elena asked, trying to change the subject.

"Five rooms, three bathrooms, the kitchen, a balcony and an attic." He itemized and she opened her eyes wide. The place was enormous! She could get lost in it and she already missed her little apartment, with only two rooms and a bathroom, a kitchen and a very small closet.

"Can you show me my room? I want to get settled in and then take a bath." She secretly hoped that he would let her sleep with him, because she wanted to feel his body next to her and to be warmed by his arms.

"Sure. Upsy daisy." He smiled as he once again lifted her up and walked up the stairs. She looked at the walls and saw that there were some photos of Stefan and Damon and of Damon and a woman that she thought was his mother. There were no photos of his father. She didn't expect there to be. When he opened the door to the room that was going to be hers for the next month, she found the switch and turned it on, taking in the room as he sat her on the edge of the bed. It was all white and it had grey furniture. She couldn't say she didn't like it; Damon had great taste and she could tell not only from the way he dressed, but now from his apartment as well. It was welcoming and there was even a plasma TV hung from the ceiling. It was the biggest TV she had ever seen and she guessed she could watch her whole collection of movies and TV shows there, while eating Cheerios and drinking soda.

"If you don't like it, you can choose another one." Damon said when he noticed she didn't say anything for a while. She shook her head, telling him that the room was perfect for her.

"Then I'll go downstairs and pick up your luggage. Wait here." He said and walked to the door.

"Like I could go anywhere." She chuckled sarcastically and she knew he heard her, but he didn't say anything. Two minutes later, he was back and opening her suitcase, he started to arrange the clothes in the closet.

"Can I take a bath now?" Elena asked and Damon looked up at her and nodded.

"Of course. Let me go fill up the tub for you." He said and she nodded, waiting for him to come back. And he did, ten minutes later, grinning as he walked. "The thing is, I don't have any products for women."

"It's fine. I mean, if I can use yours." She muttered. She remembered how many times she craved to try his cologne and how the smell felt intoxicating to her.

"Sure can."

"I'll ask Caroline to bring me my products tomorrow." Elena said as she prepared her body to be carried by Damon once again. He made their way to the bathroom and she sat on the edge of the huge tub,waiting for him to leave her alone. Because there was no way she was bathing with him inside. At least not on her own.

"Can you, uhm, leave?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, thank you." With that, Damon was outside the next minute and she was left there, figuring out how to bathe herself. How ridiculous. She took off her sweater and threw it on the floor, followed by her jeans and underwear. Elena slowly sunk into the tub, careful to put her injured leg up on the spot reserved for people to sit. She grabbed Damon's products that he set out for her and pulled the cap off, inhaling deeply as she poured some shampoo into her hand and started to rub her scalp with it.

Fifteen minutes later, she was done and somehow managed to wipe her body and wrap the big fluffy towel around herself. When she was completely ready, she called for Damon, who seemed to be waiting outside the room while she had the bath because he was just a step away from her.

"Maybe I need that wheelchair after all." Elena said as he sat her on the edge of the bed and handed her some panties, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that she asked for. Damon took his time to look at her black panties before handing them to her and she wondered what was he thinking.

"You sure you want it?" He finally asked as she slipped her panties on, still holding the towel to her body so he wouldn't see her naked.

"No, I don't, but I can't have you carrying me around all the time. Besides, what do I do when you go to work?"

"Well, if it's any comfort, I won't be staying at work as much as I used to. I can work from home too."

"It doesn't matter Damon. I bet you can barely feel your arms and I hate to know that I won't be able to walk for the next month. At least that thing will help me get around."

"Then you'll have it tomorrow." After she was done dressing, she laid on the bed and Damon tucked her in. She grabbed one of the books she had been wanting to read for a long time now and turned on the lamp on the night stand.

"Goodnight, Damon." She yawned and he smiled as he leaned closer and left a tender kiss on her cheek.

"Sleep well, Elena."

A few weeks later...

"Damon, look! I can walk!" Elena giggled enthusiastically as she was slowly walking-or better, crawling on her feet-with the metal crutches Damon bought for her with her money; because she shoved her credit card into his nose until he accepted to take it, telling him that she would go home if he didn't let her buy her own things.

His head snapped up from the pile of papers he was working on and looked at her. It had been four and a half weeks and since the accident that stopped her from walking. And now, she was able to walk, even if it was with those crutches because she got to give up on the damned wheelchair. She never had to be in one again and for the first time in her life, she understood how it felt to be incapacitated and she pitied the ones who weren't able to walk.

"Elena, that's great!" Damon jumped to his feet and approached her as she tried to speed up to get to him. "Be careful. Don't run a marathon now." He laughed and when she finally got to him, she let the crutches fall to the floor and she practically jumped in his arms, clenching her legs around his waist and burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm so happy I can finally move by myself." She had been secretly trying to walk with the crutches while he was at work and every time she failed and fell on her butt. She had so many bruises on it that she avoided sleeping with Damon for the last week just so he wouldn't notice. Every time he cuddled with her at night and pulled her body closer to him, she would turn to face him because it hurt too bad to stay glued to his hard body. He never asked why she was doing it, although he probably suspected.

"After so many days of falling around on your ass trying to walk you're finally able to do so." Damon mumbled and she broke the hug, but she leaned on him, as she was careful not to fall.

"What do you mean?" She frowned; he knew it. She was so busted.

"You think I didn't know about your little escapades while you were alone, 'Lena? Please, your butt is purple with bruises and yes, as a matter of fact, I've seen you naked this week a few times, to know it wasn't just one fall. And that's the reason why you've been avoiding sex as well."

"Well I wanted to be able to walk before anything else. Can you blame me?" She pouted a little and she noticed his expression softening and his eyes warming.

"You could've asked for my help." Damon said and she sighed.

"I wanted to do something by myself. You've helped me more than you should've. You've been my personal nurse, Damon, I think enough is enough."

"Fine." She noticed his face flash with sadness and she wondered what was wrong. Grabbing her crutches, she slowly moved to the couch and sat down, pointing for Damon to do the same.

"What's wrong, Damon?"

"You're better now and in a week or so you're going to go home and I'll be alone again. I've grown accustomed to your presence here." Hearing his words made Elena's heart beat faster and she wanted to tell him that she didn't have to go, that she could stay with him all her life, but she couldn't do that. She had to go home.

"Damon, we're going to see each other everyday at work and we can always hang out outside of work as well. You don't have to worry about this." Elena cupped his face with her hand and ran her thumb along his jawline.

"Stay with me."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, frowning at his request.

"You know what I mean, 'Lena."

"No, I actually don't." She had no idea what he meant, she really didn't.

"Move in with me, Elena." He had her mouth open with his words. She never expected him to ask her that, not in a thousand years. Last time he had asked a woman to stay with him, he regretted it soon after, and she knew it was a hard thing for him to do.

"Damon, I-" She stuttered; she really had no idea what to say to him. Of course, she enjoyed staying there, with Damon, but moving in with him, she was sure it wasn't a good idea. She was growing too attached to him, it was hard not to miss him when he was at the office and she had to stay home and moving in with him would only make things worse.

"It's fine, Elena, you can say it. You don't want to live here. I get it. No one would like to stay with me." His words made her sad and she wanted to tell him she does want to stay with him forever, but she was afraid that this would only lead to her feeling something more for him than she already did. He had no idea how hard it was for her not to give in to the feelings and let her heart lead her.

"No, Damon, it's not that. I'm not ready to move in with someone. It's not you; I couldn't live with anyone at the moment, not even with Caroline. This last month, with you, it was amazing, don't get me wrong. You took such good care of me. But right now, I need to go home. You have to have your own space. You don't see it now, but after a while you'll get bored of me and this thing that we have, it will probably be over." She didn't want to go there, she wanted to think that what they had it will last forever, but it was such a foolish thing to think about it. Elena had no right to think about staying with him forever.

"Some other woman will take my place and I don't want us to reach the moment when you tell me I have to move out because there's some other girl you want to move in with you." Elena looked at him as he ran a hand through his damp hair, watching as he digested her words.

"Elena, I wouldn't ask some other girl to move in with me. I care about you in a way that I haven't cared about anyone else. You're my best friend, of course I want you here with me. But I get that you have to go on with your own life. Don't let me slow you down."

Right now, she wanted to cry so badly, because she wanted to tell him that in fact, all she wanted was to live with him, but she was afraid; afraid for her heart, afraid to get hurt all over again. Because if she let herself fall for him, she would only get her heart shattered into a million pieces. Damon wasn't able to fall in love again; Katherine ruined him for her and for any other woman.

Everytime she slept with him, she put her heart first and even if her head told her not to do it, not to let her feel something more for him, she felt like she sank deeper and deeper into this turmoil of feelings and emotions towards him. And the only thing he wanted was her friendship. You're my best friend...

"You're not slowing me down. In fact, you've helped me when I needed it the most. My life is already on pause; I keep moving backwards, instead of moving forward like I should do. I can't write, I can't work properly. Hell, I can't even cook an omelette. So whatever you think you're doing wrong by me, Damon, you should reconsider it, because you're totally wrong by thinking that." She muttered as she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, not being able to look into his eyes, because she knew that if she did, she would see the determination in them and she would let him convince her to do whatever he wanted her to. Damon nodded shortly and next thing she knew, he was sitting next to her, on the sofa, kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

Her hands traveled up and down his chest and they stopped when she cupped his face. He buried his fingers into her satin-like hair, while his lips moved feverishly against hers. Elena broke the kiss when she felt she couldn't breathe anymore and right after that, the sound of the bell startled her and she looked at the door intently. She moved to grab her crutches, but when Damon was up and moving to open the door, she gave up on the idea and instead sank further into the couch. Her lips were swollen from their heated kiss, but she didn't mind it; it was only a reminder that he was really in her life.

"Hey." The petite brunette said as she approached Elena and sat on the couch next to her, embracing her. She missed her so much. Of course, she saw her almost everyday and if not, they talked everyday, but it wasn't the same as with Caroline, who was her constant stalker.

"Hey Bon. How are you?"

"Walking on sunshine. How are you feeling, 'Lena?" She asked, smiling widely at Elena as she pulled some packages from her enormous bag. "I brought you some Hershey Bars and Jelly Bears. They're your favorites."

"Thank you Bon. I haven't had those in years. It's like I forgot I love them." Elena squeaked happily and she pulled Bonnie into a tight hug.

"How are you, Damon?" Bonnie asked, looking over to Damon, who was grabbing some of the folders and papers from the table.

"Great, Bonnie, thanks. I'm going to leave you guys to it, then. I have some stuff to work on." He said and with that, he turned around and walked into his study, leaving Elena and Bonnie in the living room that was the size of her apartment.

"Thank God!" Elena let out a sigh of relief as he finally left the room. If she would've stayed in his presence for a few more minutes, she would've agreed with his proposal and not think about the consequences of it.

"Thank God for what?" Bonnie asked and Elena shook her head, still amazed by what happened just a few minutes ago.

"Damon just asked me to move in with him. Like forever, or something like that." Elena said and looked at Bonnie who opened her mouth in shock.

"He did what?!" Elena just nodded her head at Bonnie's reaction, knowing that she wasn't able to say more.

"He said that he cares about me that much that he can't stand the thought of being away from me. I don't know, Bonnie. You know how I feel about him. I care so much and since we, well, you know, since we made that deal, it's even harder to keep my promise not to feel something more than affection towards him. He doesn't make it easy on me, Bon." Elena sighed. She was so messed up right now, she wasn't a good influence for anybody. And just like that, she felt a necessary urge to go home right now, but she couldn't. She had to stay her at least one more week.

"Oh, Elena, you're going down, sweetie. You have to stop this, whatever you two are doing, before you get hurt. And this time, you're not going to heal as fast as you did with Dylan. Damon's not him; he's so much more dangerous." Bonnie said and Elena knew she was right. Her friend was totally right, like Caroline had been all along. She had to stop whatever she was doing with Damon as soon as possible, otherwise her heart would die in the process. That was it; it was the end of it.

AN: I'm sure you didn't expect this, huh? Many of you probably want to kill me now, but you'll probably get over it. Drop me a review and tell me your plans for killing me, haha.