Hey guys! Thank you so much for the follows and reviews! You people are awesome and your support means all the world to me. So, here we are with Chapter 5! I worked hard on this one. Hope you like it :)

WARNINGS : Self harm.

"Elena?" Damon pushed open the door to Elena's room.

A faint sound, like a sob, came from within the bathroom. He knocked softly.

"Elena?" He called again, trying to sound calm. He had a hunch that something was terribly wrong, but he patiently waited for a response instead of barging in, not because it was the chivalrous thing to do, but because he didn't want to give Elena the wrong impression. Again.

He heard a sniffle and then a moan. A few moments later, he decided to follow his instinct, but Damon wasn't prepared for what he saw when he stepped into the bathroom.

Elena sat naked in a pool of blood, hugging her knees to her chest. Terrified, Damon bit his tongue. Her long, moist curls- almost straight now- draped her body, making it impossible for him to perceive the source of the colossal amount of blood.

It was smeared on her arms and neck, neither of which appeared to be wounded. Damon internally cringed when he found her fingers clutching a box cutter drenched in blood. Elena rested her head against the wall for support.

Damon sank to the floor, kneeling before her and noticed that her face was wet with tears.

"I'll take this," He whispered, deftly prying her palms to take the cutter. He wanted it as far away from her as possible. "What happened?"

Elena shook her head as more tears spilled from her eyes. Damon's heart constricted at the sight of her. All along, he was under the impression that she was just a defiant teen who had lost her parents too young and liked to revel in attention, but he had certainly missed something. Alaric had been orphaned and rebellious. Elena was… broken.

"Let's get you cleaned," Damon wrapped his hand around her waist to pull her up and recoiled when she gasped as if in pain.

She was bleeding. Fine lines crossed her thighs, leaving wet red tracks across her glowing skin. The cuts weren't too deep. She hadn't slashed her veins. It was a relief to know that death hadn't been her goal.

She warily met his eyes. "I didn't mean to- I- I'm sorry. Please don't tell Ric," she cried. "I couldn't stop. I was upset and I freaked. Please-"

"Shh, baby" Damon hushed her sobs, "I've got you."

Damon wrapped a towel around her and carried her to bed, where he gently laid her down on her back. When he was convinced that none of the cuts needed stitches, he disappeared into the bathroom and emerged with Savlon and cotton wool.

Elena stiffened when he sat down and reached for her legs. "Damon, I don't need-"

"Elena, just relax."

"I'll do it," she said, getting on her elbow, "Damon!" she whined when he lifted the towel a few inches until her cuts were exposed.

Damon glared at her, his expression grave. A voice deep inside her warned her not to push it. So Elena slumped back onto the mattress, defeated.

He tenderly cleaned the cuts, foolishly praying that it didn't cause her any more pain than she had already inflicted on herself.

Elena welcomed the biting sting of the disinfectant and the hazy afterglow, the sensation almost making her sigh. What was happening to her? The throbbing pain blended with Damon's touch, made her back arch.

When Elena gripped the sheets, Damon stopped instantly. "Does it sting?"

Elena froze, her head tipped back and her eyes closed shut from the pleasure of the pain. It was wrong and bewildering in so many levels that it scared her. Physical pain had only ever been a distraction to her. It was the weird way she coped with things that upset her. It served as an escape from her emotional distress, but this felt different.

This felt good. Euphoric to be exact. Oh no! Elena sat up, catching her erratic breaths.

"I'll get you some wine," Damon smiled. "Don't look so tough, Elena. Crying helps."

Elena tossed and turned for a long time, restless and desperate for sleep to take over, until she heard her door creak. A beam of brightness from the hallway pricked her sensitive eyes, making her groan.

"You awake?" It was Alaric. He had returned from his date.

"Look who's back," she said, her voice groggy.

"Damon is asleep on the couch," he turned on the light tentatively. "I hope you're decent."

Elena buried herself beneath the quilt when she realized that she wasn't actually and then peeked from under. Alaric held a tub of Ben and Jerry's.

"What's this?" she asked. "A peace offering?"

He put the ice cream on the night stand. "What have I done now?"

"Getting Damon to babysit? Honestly!"

"Oh god, he just couldn't stick to the damn script, could he?"

"I've never been more embarrassed! You don't trust me enough to leave me alone for five minutes?"

"Scoot over," Alaric sat on the bed beside her. "Look, I don't expect you to be okay with what I do to look out for you, but that's not going to stop me."

Pleased by the warmth of his assertion, Elena winked. "I had fun."

Alaric chuckled, "Thought you would."

He had thought right. When Damon had returned with the drinks, they had set about watching Out of Africa. Elena had had a wonderful evening and had utterly enjoyed Damon's company. It had only taken two glasses of chardonnay to fully appreciate Damon's wicked sense of humor and forget about all of her problems- at least for the time being.

He really was great when he wasn't looking at her like she was a guinea pig on steroids. His raven dark hair was shiny and thick and perfectly framed his breathtaking face. His eyes reminded her of a lake she used to visit in the countryside during summer, as a kid, which was odd considering that just a few hours ago, the blue had reminded her of stormy seas.

Damon Salvatore was mercurial as hell, but there was something exciting about his mood swings. He was unpredictable. Dangerous. Everything Elena wanted in a man.

Throughout the film, Damon had caught her several times staring at him, unmoved by his raised brows. When she had finally gotten herself to break away from the mental fantasies, Damon had leaned across her lap to get the wine. When he hadn't been able to reach it, he had tapped her arm and pointed toward it. She had almost swooned when she handed him the glass, his fingers touching hers. Elena hadn't felt so gloriously intoxicated for quite some time.

On screen, Meryl Streep gasped at Robert Redford as they heaved about under the mosquito net. "Don't move," he said to her. "Don't move."

Eight years older. Eight years older. EIGHT YEARS OLDER! Besides, what would he see in a silly teenager? Damon probably liked real women. Grown up ones with big breasts and pouty lips. But he had almost kissed her, hadn't he?

"Back to earth, you." Alaric teased.

Elena cleared her throat. "So, how was your date?"

"Nice," Alaric grinned.

"Nice?" Elena scoffed. "That's all I'm going to get? Nice?"

"Mm- hmm."

"That's not fair. Come on, girlfriends share!"

"What?" Alaric faked hurt. "Take that back and I'll tell you."

Elena giggled, "Is Miss Sommers as uptight as she seems?"

"Jenna," He corrected. "Oh, no, she's fun. I could've taken her right there up against my car, but since it was our first date, I had to do the gentlemanly thing and-"

"I did not need to know that!" Elena squealed. She could've lived without that haunting image in her head.

Alaric uncapped the Ben and Jerry's and scooped a spoonful.

"Hey, get your own!' Elena snatched the spoon from him and dug in.

"I thought girlfriends shared," Alaric imitated her.

"Get out," she kicked him off the bed.

He laughed. "Wait, how are you doing?"

"Why?" Had Damon told him?

"With everything that happened," he dragged.

"I think we've done enough sharing for one day," Elena's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Elena, I was there when that Lockwood kid said those things in class. I want to know if-"

"It's true?" Elena snapped.

"If you're alright," Alaric frowned. Elena scrutinized him until he conceded. "And if it's true."

Elena sighed, "No, they're not. I wouldn't go anywhere near those two."

"Then, why did you just leave? Do I have to teach you how to throw in a right hook?" Alaric threw his hands up in the hair.

"If you want me to get expelled, yea, go on by all means."

Alaric stared at her like she was out of her mind. "You're not serious? Since when does Elena Gilbert care about getting expelled?"

"I just didn't want to give you yet another reason to kick me out," Elena breathed, realizing how ridiculously pathetic that sounded. May be her motives weren't as selfless as she assumed.

"Kick you out? Elena," Alaric shook his head. "This is your home and I would never make you leave. Not unless you turn eighteen and decide to go to college."

"But I-"

"Like it or not, missy, you're stuck with me," Alaric declared.

Elena almost believed him. She wanted to, but ten years of experience said otherwise.

"Lockwood will pay for what he said. He won't be getting anywhere near you anytime soon," he said as he got to the door.

Elena tensed at the promise in his words. Tyler Lockwood was the Mayor's son and Alaric could lose his job if anything happened. "Let it go, Ric. Besides, what's the point? The whole school knows that I cut now."

"Silver lining! You don't have to bunk P. E. anymore," he smirked.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Out."

"Get some sleep," he nodded before closing the door.

It was the end of the day and Elena had managed to get through without running into Tyler Lockwood and his friends. Students were bustling around their lockers, dragging books into their bags, making plans on their cell phones, or getting their gear for sports practice, making her feel like a loner. She missed Caroline's incessant babble if that was even legal.

She had caught Alaric walking past her with a copy of Joan of Arc stuck under his nose enough times already to know for a fact that he was stalking her. She had to deal with that when she got home. It was frankly like having a bodyguard.

Just when Elena banged her locker shut, a guy stepped in her path. His mouth stretched into a broad grin. "Hey Elena," he said leeringly. "I'm Matt Donovan."

Elena looked into his seamless blue eyes, racking her brain, trying to recall where she had heard his name. Oh, of course, he was the Matt Donovan Caroline constantly talked- gushed about. Matt Donovan is a legend in the making. He's a senior and he's totally gorgeous. Every girl in school has pictured him naked whether they admit it or not!

Not bad, Elena thought. He did look good in a boyish, captain- of- the- football- team kind of way. Elena flashed a confident smile, "Hey."

"I've heard a lot about you," his grin widened.

Oh god, this can't be good. "Is that so?"

"People in this town love to talk," he leaned against the locker. "You're fresh meat. They'll back off eventually."

"If you're on the Welcoming Committee, you're almost a month late."

Matt laughed. "I could always make it up to you."

Elena shifted her books to the side and flipped back her curls. "How do you propose to do that?" she flirted. Matt was the man. He was popular and a senior, which meant instant hall cred. And he was nice.

Right when Matt opened his mouth, Tyler 2.0 sauntered up next to Matt. "Elena, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Elena stared at him like he had grown an extra head and he looked like he had. There was a bump the size of a baseball on his left cheek. "Excuse me?"

"About the other day… I didn't have anything to do with that. Tyler made me say those things." He was shaking.

Matt's confused expression mirrored Elena's. What was this about?

"If he finds out… you'll tell him?" Tyler 2.0 looked uneasy. "I mean you'll tell him I didn't have anything to do with that?"

Him? Him who? And then suddenly it all seemed to make sense. Alaric! Despite her asking him to stay out of it, he hadn't. No doubt the poor kid looked like he had been ambushed by a mountain troll. Who knew what Ric had done to Tyler?

"Elena?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"Where's Tyler?" She asked, already knowing the answer. She hadn't seen him in school after all.

"He- he's in-" Tyler 2.0 stuttered, "In the hospital. He fell off his motor bike and-"

"Excuse me," Elena said to Matt, turning on her heel and almost sprinting to Alaric's room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elena yelled as soon as she spotted him.

Alaric jumped back a little. "Uhm, packing my bag?"

"Good. Yea, empty your desk because this is possibly your last day here."

"What?"

"I told you to let it go!" Elena fumed.

"Hold on, what are you-"

"Have you seen a therapist for your anger issues?" Elena cut him off.

"Anger issues? Where is this coming from?" Alaric looked perplexed. He had no idea what she was going on about.

"Tyler Lockwood is in the hospital!" Elena completely lost her calm. "What did you do? Did you run him over with a truck?"

"I didn't-" Alaric started to protest and then paused, "Come again?"

Elena groaned, exasperated. "Don't act so innocent. His friend just told me that he was in the hospital and that he had fallen off of his motor bike. Couldn't find a less cliched story, could you?"

"I have nothing to do with any of that, if that's what you're suggesting," Alaric slung his bag over his shoulder. "Now do you need a ride home?"

Elena narrowed her eyes, "Do you expect me to believe that he just ended up in a stretcher just hours after you more or less swore to beat him up?"

"I never-"

"You know what I mean!

"Elena, you're not listening," Alaric raised his voice. "I did none of the stuff you're accusing me of."

Elena glared at him for a moment and when she realised that he wasn't backing down, she breathed. If Alaric hadn't done it, that only left one other suspect, but he couldn't have known. Unless he had eavesdropped on her conversation with Ric.

So, that's that. Elena and Ric are still getting along and Damon is a bit more dangerous than he seems. He cares about Elena, but does he have feelings for her? Elena has some freaky fetishes when it comes to pain and more of that later. What do you guys think about the chapter? Good? Bad? Let me know! Love you loads. XOX