Hello my lovelies! Six chapters and Delena haven't kissed yet!? Time to fix that don't you think? Thank you so very much for the follows, favorites and the thoughtful reviews. You have no idea how much you guys inspire me. Special thanks to '1 DELENA fan' for her detailed reviews that really help me focus on key points and I always look forward to them- Thank you, love! This chapter is for you. :D Hope you guys like it. Heed warnings because it's pretty intense.

WARNINGS: Self harm, swearing, underage relationships., etc.

Elena frantically rummaged through her cabinets, struggling to keep the racket to a minimum. She was positive she had stashed a spare in there somewhere. Damon had craftily gotten rid of the one he had caught her with and she hadn't cut since, but she always kept a spare just in case.

Even though she hadn't cut for over three weeks, the urge was there all the time. The only way she was able to distract herself from such anguish was by 'throwing herself at guys' as Damon had ever so kindly put it. She didn't expect him to understand her pain. How could he possibly even begin to? He hadn't suffered through it.

"Please, just-" Her breathing was erratic as she searched for the cutter once, twice and then three times. She was beginning to look in the same places and her patience was wearing out as she came out empty handed. "Damn it!"

"You looking for this?" Damon was leaning against the door frame, holding up the cutter.

Elena jumped a little when she saw him. She definitely hadn't expected him there at that ungodly hour and yet there he was, standing in front of her with a look that could only be described as apprehensive. She inhaled sharply when her eyes landed on the cutter. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you," Damon admitted. "I'm sorry about what I said. It came out all wrong. We should- we should talk about this. How you feel."

She drew closer unable to look away from the shiny piece of metal in his palm. "Give it to me," She breathed.

'Alright," Damon stepped into her room and shut the door. "Let's deal with this like adults."

"Damon," Elena spoke through clenched teeth. "Give me the damn cutter."

"Calm down," Damon's voice was mild, but the fear was evident. "Calm down."

Elena ran her fingers through her hair at a frenzied attempt to compose herself, but she was too far gone. How could he not get what was going on? Did he honestly think his stupid intervention was going to be effective?

"It's okay," Damon whispered, carefully placing the cutter in his back pocket. "You're okay."

Elena shouted, finally meeting his eyes. "It is not okay! Not until I get my hands around that blade and cut and cut and cut right down to the bone and bleed."

"Elena," Damon's expression was pained. He could feel his eyes almost tear up but he couldn't let his guard down. He had to stay strong for her. "This is not normal. Please."

Elena let out a laugh that sounded more like a scoff. "If I go an hour and don't think about cutting, I worry there's something wrong with me. Cutting is the new normal."

Damon slowly inched toward her, his arms bringing her in for a hug. He was careful not to make any quick movements. "There's nothing wrong with you," He rubbed her back soothingly, holding her like she was fragile. He gently brushed through her soft curls, feeling her gradually relax in his arms. Her words had felt like needles to the skull.

What had this girl gone through to relate to such pain? What had life done to her? Keeping an arm around her, he pulled away just enough to be able to see her face. She looked lost. Confused. Scared. At that moment, all he wanted was to make her feel anything otherwise and so he cupped her face and their lips met.

The kiss was pure, sweet and blissful, with no despair or darkness. But when Elena wrapped her arms around his neck, he could no longer hold back. He held her a little tighter and the intensity of the kiss increased. It was still blissful but was also hungry and powerful. The electricity they had felt numerous times before resurfaced and crackled between them.

Damon invaded her mouth with his tongue, causing her to moan into his mouth. He could feel himself harden at the sound. He laid her back down on the bed. His hands wrapped around her waist, and then one of them slid down the back of her thigh and pulled it up so that it wrapped around him.

"Damon," Elena gasped at the bulge she felt between her legs. Damon pulled back, as if suddenly realizing what was happening but she held on.

He smiled and then his mouth was on hers again. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so much emotion at once. Affection. Awe. Lust. Elation. This sixteen year old girl right underneath him somehow coped to elicit everything he kept buried.

Elena slid her hands down along his hip, her nails practically digging in and leaving fiery trails behind as she reached his back pocket. She stealthily slid her fingers in and clasped the cutter, feeling her self- will returning to her in spades.

She slowly brought her hand back to her side and just as she was about to slit her skin, Damon grabbed her wrist, breaking the kiss.

"Nice try," Damon hissed as he tried to take it back from her but she resisted, clutching it like it was her lifeline.

"Let me go," Elena begged. "Don't you see? Don't you see that I have to do this?"

Damon paused, giving her a concerned look. "Elena, I know you're upset, but this isn't the way to grieve. This is savage."

"Yeah? What's wrong with it?" Elena could barely stay still. All she wanted was to run and find someplace to cut in peace. She started to get up but his hands were on her shoulders in a flash, shoving her back down. His expression was a mixture of worry and fierceness. She fought against him and his fingers bit in tighter.

"We can make this easy or difficult," Damon warned. "There's no way I'm letting you cut. If you can accept that, I'll release you. If you go against, I'll restrain you. Tie you up to the bed in chains."

"Okay," Elena breathed.

Damon hesitated a moment, wondering if she was telling the truth, and then let go of her arm.

She made her move then, leaping out and shoving him away. It got him off her, but she didn't get too far. She'd barely gotten two feet from the bed when he seized her again and pinned her down on the floor, this time using the full weight of his body to keep her immobilised.

"Let me go!" She pleaded, trying to free her hands. It was a surprise Ric was sleeping through all of this commotion.

"Elena, look at me," Damon shook her. "Look at me!" He commanded.

She did.

"Talk to me."

Nothing.

"I couldn't have upset you this much," Damon sighed. "I said those things because I was worried about you."

"You?" Elena groaned. "You think you're the reason I cut?"

"Tell me," His voice was hard and almost desperate.

"It's not you. It's me," There were hot tears in her eyes. "It's me. It's me."

Damon's heart was breaking at the sound of her sobs. "Elena," His voice cracked. It was only her name but it was so powerful, filled with so much.

Elena stopped fighting him and slumped against the floor, her head flopping back. Damon recognised the change and rolled off her, collapsing beside her.

They lay there for a while, neither uttering a word and simply seeking comfort from their mingled breaths.

"Oh my god," Elena said, her voice shaking.

Damon turned over to face her and touched the side of her face. "Are you okay?"

She swallowed back tears. "I- I think so. For now."

"It's over," He said, brushing the hair from her face. "It's over. Everything's alright."

Elena shook her head. "No, it's not. You- you don't understand. It'll never be over, Damon. It'll happen again and you won't be here to-"

"Shh," Damon hushed her. "I'll be here. I'll always be here."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "You shouldn't. I'm not-"

"I will," He cut her off. "I won't let you. No matter what, I won't let you."

Emotion filled her body. It was warm and wonderful and made her heart ache- in a good way. "You are not why I cut," She sniffled. "You're just the tip of the ice berg. There's so much underneath it. Layers you can't reach."

Damon baulked. He hated contributing to her suffering. It didn't matter what his share was. He couldn't stop thinking that the whole night had gone to hell for her because of him. All she had asked was that he stopped a douche- bag from molesting a fifteen year old, which didn't sound like such an unreasonable demand now that he thought of it. Nevertheless, he had jumped to the girl's rescue as soon as Elena had left the party.

If he had done it when he was supposed to, Elena wouldn't have left with Ben McKittrick in the first place.

"I want you to promise me something," Damon's voice was urgent. "Don't you cut because of others. Don't you hurt yourself because of others, don't you dare."

His ferocity took her breath away. She nodded.

"Good girl," His face softened. "I just couldn't bear to think that you would- that I-"

Elena handed the cutter to him.

Damon's face broke into a grin at her gesture. He knew how much it took for her to do that. "If you ever feel like cutting, ever, no matter if it's day or night, I want you to call me. I mean it, Elena. Promise me you'll call."

Elena nodded.

"You might anyway want to put me on speed dial because your guardian is deaf," He raised his voice more than usual to prove his point. Yet there were no signs of Ric. Elena giggled.

The following morning was warm and clear. Damon had slept over and Elena was as balanced as ever. Caroline called her to talk about Matt and so she spread a rug on the back lawn and settled with Ric's copy of The Bird's Nest, munching cereal in the sunshine while Damon lounged on the couch like he hadn't spent the previous night in her bed. Although nothing had happened, they had come to an agreement that Ric didn't have to know about them for the sake of everyone involved.

"He plays the viola. Did you know that? I mean I didn't even know what that was until last night. It's like a violin but sounds like a cello? Whatever I wasn't listening. I was too busy trying to fish a date out of him." Caroline's voice was shrill on the speaker.

Elena laughed. "Careful, Care. I'd say my charm is rubbing off on you."

"Rolling my eyes just so you know," Caroline said as if to concede her statement. "So when he saw you making out with Ben, he finally asked me to go to the movies with him tonight!"

Elena stiffened at the mention of Ben. Well, her mistakes were at least working out for someone. She was to her own surprise, thrilled for Caroline. "Dinner and a movie? That's great, Care."

"Will you help me pick a dress?"

"Sure, I'll call you." Elena hung up.

"Did I hear someone say making out?" Alaric said, coming out with a coffee.

"Oh look," Damon teased. "His majesty is risen."

"Don't tell me you were here last night," Alaric sat cross- legged on the grass. "Where's Karen?"

"He's with someone called Lisa now," Elena couldn't help the jealousy in her voice.

"No I'm not. I'm with Melissa."

"What happened to Karen?" Alaric asked.

"What happened to Lisa?"

Alaric chuckled, "He's fairly racing through the alphabet, isn't he?"

"Still here guys," Damon wandered out lazily. His hair was messy, his slacks hung low from his hip and he was shirtless. Elena feasted her eyes on him.

"So who are we talking about?" Alaric turned his attention to Elena.

"Matt," Elena said quickly.

"Matt Donovan?" Alaric relaxed. "He's nice. Very courteous. The kind of boy your mother would approve."

"If you had a mother," Elena retorted.

"Then why are you making out with him?" Alaric shot back.

"Oh, she's not making out with-" Damon stopped mid sentence when he saw Elena staring daggers at him. "I need coffee," He ducked back in.

"Have you got sunscreen on?"

"Don't nag, Ric."

"Why not? That's what I'm paid for."

Elena frowned at that. "Do you get paid for being my guardian?"

Alaric chuckled. "Of course not, nitwit! Grayson and Miranda adopted you and named me your legal guardian."

"Does that mean no more foster homes?" Elena asked with her head stuck inside the book, but Alaric could sense the suspicion in her voice mingled with the hope of a child. He would know having spent most of his childhood in foster homes himself.

"That part of your life is over, Elena," He assured her. "So who is the mystery guy?"

Elena grunted. He wasn't going to give up. Since that incident with Tyler and Ralf, he had gone on a rampage and psycho analysed the entire male population in Mystic Falls High and now she knew why. She was going to regret this. "Ben McKittrick."

Alaric waited for her to add 'just kidding' but seeing that it never came, he shook his head. "You're not serious about that useless heap of junk, are you?"

"He isn't a heap and why not?"

"Let's just say there's an element of expertise about him that you're not ready for."

Elena leaned on her elbows. "Excuse me, but being my guardian doesn't give you the right to tell me whom I can and can not date." Even if he's your best friend.

"May be not, but I can tell you that you're not equipped to deal with someone like Ben."

"I have to learn sometime."

"Not now, you don't!" He jumped. "You don't have to learn what he has to teach. Besides, what about Matt? He strikes me as a nice kid. A nice safe kid.

"He's a bore."

"They become the nicest men. I was a bore."

"Yea, I doubt that," Elena shrugged. "Anyway, you can't stop me from going out with whoever I want."

"I can and I will too." Alaric declared.

Elena sat up, "You...!"

"You're a bright girl, Elena, but if you start throwing yourself at guys like Ben, I'll be there to stop you."

Elena lay down again and put her arm over her face.

"Hey, we're not going to start having fights over boys, are we?"

No reply.

"You know this isn't easy for me, Elena," Alaric sighed. "Trying to exert some sort of parental control when I'm still trying to be you friend doesn't come easily."

"You could've fooled me."

"Look, I'm not planning to put all your prospective boyfriends through a suitability test. I'm only saying that we need to know where we stand about relationships and- and things." Alaric awkwardly cleared his throat.

Elena sat up again. "What things? I don't need a pep talk about being careful. They've done that in school and I'm sixteen."

"That's right. You're only sixteen."

"And I know all about contraception and AIDS awareness, if that's what you mean."

"That's not what I mean," Alaric looked away. "Christ, trust Miranda to leave me with the difficult bits." He turned back to her. "This isn't about contraception, Elena, it's about seeing through people and you only have to look at Ben to know what he's after."

"This isn't awkward at all," Damon smirked. "Don't stop on my account."

Alaric ignored him. "Look, I don't mean to come across like an overbearing father- figure, but the fact is you're growing up without the day to day guidance of your parents, and I just want you to know that I'm in there somewhere, trying to be a bit of both."

Elena found this whole conversation mortifying. She had never expected Ric to be so straightforward which made him very difficult to manipulate. She hated the way he had manoeuvred himself into a position of authority in her life. He handled everything from her dental appointments to her bad moods and it was somehow straining the buoyancy of their relationship. Elena wished it didn't.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Never mind, love. We'll get this right with time," He stood up. "Don't forget we're visiting my parents for dinner."

"Oh god," Elena groaned. "Is this really necessary?" From what she'd heard Alaric's mother was a bit neurotic.

"Nik will be there." Nik was Alaric's adoptive brother. "That would divide some of mum's attention and besides, you said you'd come along," Alaric looked at Damon.

"I'll keep Elena company," Damon winked at her, making her sigh internally.

Alaric narrowed his eyes at him. "Put on a shirt, will you?" As he went inside, he called over his shoulder. "Put on sunscreen, Elena."

"Nag."

"Hey, lighten up," Damon laughed. "You could've done a whole lot worse than have us for family."

Elena felt a warm swell inside her. He was right.

Intense right? Okay honest opinions. How many of you actually felt like it wasn't Damon's place to stop her from cutting? Was he right in controlling her? Aww I love writing Alaric/ Elena- even when they're having boy talk. They're fun especially when Damon is messing around in there too.

Elena has many unresolved issues with herself to start with and she has been burned before which makes it all the more difficult for her to trust anyone but she's beginning to. She has had a rather ugly life while in Foster Homes, but that part of her life is over as Ric put it, or is it?

Can't wait to update the next chapter. Dinner with Ric's parents? How do you guys think that will go? Let me know everything! Do leave some suggestions too! Cheers! Xoxo