A/N: Here we gooo picking up after the cliffhanger ;) This chapter officially marks 20,000 words! I'll either update next Tuesday, or when I get six new reviews or six new follows. Thanks for the support! XO, Eden.

Song: Crash Land

Artist: In Flight Safety

We're playing at our part of fools who do no harm
We're parted to the part that's pushing us along
We're looking for a way to stop or hit rewind
A way to say goodbye
To leave it all behind
We'll hold our hands as we crash-land into the sea
We'll ride it down into the ground
Just you and me
It's changing up its course
It's headed for the fire
Carried down in days
Until the dust is hard
As every true love's changed

"Damon." I gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Damon was standing just a few feet away, leaning against a tree. He looked incredible, wearing a button down shirt over a black t-shirt, and jeans paired with black boots. I had no clue where he came from. I hadn't heard any footsteps behind me; I must have really been absorbed in my own thoughts.

"Just trying to figure out if you're incredibly stupid or just suicidal." Damon said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms.

"I'm pretty sure every person in this town has told you it's not safe to be alone because of the animal attacks." Damon retorted. "And what do you do? Just go marching off on your own into the woods. You know, the place where animals live."

"It- it's daytime." I stuttered, still caught off guard by his presence.

Damon gestured towards the sun. "Not for long. Besides, they can come out in the day."

"Okay, so if it's so unsafe then why are you out here alone?" I asked.

"I assigned myself to neighborhood watch duty." Damon smirked. "Which is clearly needed, since we have teenagers running around in the woods like idiots. What is it with you kids these days and not valuing your lives?"

"I value my life, thank you." I pressed my lips into a firm line. "I just wanted to take some pictures."

Damon gestured towards my camera. "With that thing? I haven't seen one of those in half a century. Is that really worth risking your life over?"

"Half a century? Don't be dramatic, what are you, 20?" I glared at him.

"Give or take a few years." Damon shrugged. "You really didn't think to bring a single friend with you? I'm sure my annoying brother and his hero hair would love to play bodyguard in the forest."

"Your brother," I said. "Is on a date with Elena."

"Is that so." Damon raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure they would have cancelled their plans if they knew what you were getting into."

"And why do you care?" I asked.

"Well contrary to popular belief, I do actually care about Elena." Damon replied. "And for whatever reason, she seems to care about you, so I don't think she'd be too happy to find out that you were walking around playing prey just for the fun of it."

I sighed. He was an asshole, but he was right. To be honest, I hadn't been taking the animal attacks that seriously. I figured it wasn't that serious and that everyone was just making a big deal out of it because not a lot happened here. But it wasn't smart of me to come here, alone.

"Come on, it's getting dark. I'll walk you back." Damon put his hand up to silence me before I could protest. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."

"I can walk back by myself." I mumbled.

"Can and should are two very different things." Damon said. "What's the hold up?"

My mind went back to Elena's tear stained face as she shoved Damon outside of the grill. Somehow I knew that she wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of me spending time with him.

"Elena." I answered.

"Elena what?" Damon asked.

"Elena clearly doesn't trust you." I said, matter-of-factly. "So I don't trust you."

"Elena and I had a . . ." Damon's eyes widened as he trailed off. "Misunderstanding."

I crossed my arms. "So why don't you clear it up for me? How did you know Elena's birth mother?"

"I'm not talking about this with you." Damon stepped closer to me. "Now come on. Let's go."

Damon looped his hand around the crook of my elbow, and tugged me towards the direction of the parking lot. I snapped at him. "Don't touch me."

I jerked my arm around from his grasp and turned to storm away from him. He shows up, out of no where, after upsetting my friend and offering no explanation for it, and thinks he can just tell me what to do? Absolutely not.

Blind with anger, I didn't watch where I was going as I stepped down from the rocks. My foot landed on a patch of leaves, and my ankle twisted as they slid out from under me. Instinctively, I braced my fall with my right hand, and grabbed a sharp edge of rock.

"Shit." I said.

Damon was instantly crouched beside me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine I just . . ." I raised the hand that I had landed on. Blood was dripping from the small gash in my palm. "Okay maybe not completely fine."

"Jesus could you be more careful?" Damon turned his head away from me.

"Oh sorry, are you scared of blood?" I asked, clenching my fist to hide the cut.

"Trust me." Damon looked back at me, his eyes dark. "I'm not scared of blood."

"O-okay then." I said, not convinced.

Damon rolled his eyes, and stood up. He reached out a hand to help me up, and I took it with my uninjured one. I winced as I put weight on the ankle that had twisted. Damon looked at me with concern as I tried to limp down the path.

"It's fine." I said. "I'm fine."

"No you're not fine. Let me help you." Damon put his arm around me.

"I can walk, I don't need your help." I glared at him.

Damon looked at me. "Ok you can walk back. Maybe you'll make it there by your high school graduation."

"You don't need to be so rude." I whined. I kicked myself for how much I sounded like a child as the sentence escaped my mouth.

"Rude? Imagine if you were alone right now and had gotten hurt" Damon's eyes narrowed, and his face was so close to mine that I had to cross my eyes a little bit just to look at him. "You're lucky I'm here to help you."

"Lucky?" I scoffed. "I wouldn't have gotten hurt if you weren't pissing me off."

Damon unwrapped his arm from around me and took a step back. "Okay fine. I should just let you be alone, see how you fare. Have fun getting back to your car when you can't even walk."

Damon turned and walked away from me. Before I could even form a thought, he had already disappeared around the corner. I huffed with anger, and tried to walk after him. My ankle throbbed and threatened to give out when I stepped on it. It really hurt. Shit.

The sun was quickly disappearing behind the trees causing the temperature to drop, and I felt the chill even with Damon's jacket on. I cursed myself mentally for refusing his help. But he was being an ass. And I didn't trust him. I couldn't trust him without understanding why Elena hated him so much. I heard a rustling motion from beyond the trees along the path.

"Damon?" I called out, my voice shaking.

Damon poked his head back out from around the corner, and I exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight of him. He tilted his head to the side and smirked as he walked back over to me.

"I'm just kidding, I wouldn't actually leave you." Damon said. "Stefan and Elena would kill me if I let something happen to you."

I forced a laugh, and looked back towards the tree line where the noise had come from. Damon stepped closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing I just . . ." I shivered. "I thought I heard something in the woods."

Damon clenched his jaw as he looked in the same direction. "Okay. That's our cue to get the hell out of here."

Before I even realized what he was doing, Damon had picked me up and was carrying me. One arm was underneath my legs, and another around my back. I knew he was fit, but he was seriously holding me like I was no heavier than a bag of groceries. I opened my mouth to say something, and immediately decided against it.

"What?" Damon asked, catching my eye.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Damon smirked, and walked down the trail. I let myself lean my head against his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of being held in his arms. In that moment, I let myself forget about whatever had happened between him and Elena. I felt safe with him.

Somehow, Damon navigated the trail back to the parking area while carrying me quicker than I would have been able to while uninjured on my own. Despite his speed, it was still dusk by the time we had reached my car.

"Keys?" Damon said expectantly.

"Pardon?" I asked.

Damon looked at my hand. "Do you really want to drive and get blood all over your steering wheel?"

I sighed, and reached into my- well his- coat pocket and handed him the keys to my Mustang. No one else had ever driven it, but I knew there was no use arguing with him. Damon smirked as he unlocked the car, and plopped me down directly into the passenger seat. I placed my camera on the floor, and got my phone out to send my parents a quick text letting them know I was fine and not to wait up for dinner.

Damon started the car and reversed onto the road. He was driving so fast, yet looked so cool and collected as he did so. Nervously, I let my eyes glance over at him. One hand was draped lazily over the console, and the other was gripping the top of the steering wheel.

"Nice ring." I commented, noting the large piece of jewelry on his middle finger.

Damon pursed his lips and stretched out his fingers, as if to examine the ring. "Thanks. Stefan has the same one. Brotherly bonding and all."

"Huh." I said. "You two don't seem that close."

Damon shrugged. "Used to be. And now we aren't. But it's the sentiment of it all."

"What happened?" I asked. His expression made me immediately regret it.

Damon glanced at me. "We fell in love with the same girl."

I nodded. "Katherine?"

Damon clenched his jaw. "Who told you about Katherine?"

"Elena mentioned her in passing." I realized that the backstory Elena had given me was something I wasn't supposed to know. "What was she like?"

"She was . . . beautiful." Damon paused. "A lot like you in that department. But she was also very complicated. And selfish. At times not very kind but very sexy and seductive."

I nodded, my cheeks flushing at the subtle compliment he had given me. "So, which one of you dated her first?"

Damon chuckled, but it wasn't a happy laugh. "Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan, I'm sure his answer differs from mine."

"I'm sorry." I put my hand on Damon's arm, and he furrowed his brow. "About Katherine. That you lost her."

Damon's expression softened for a moment, and then he shook his head and clenched his jaw. "I no longer have any desire to see Katherine. Ever again."

I squeezed his arm, but didn't say anything. For the first time since Saturday night, I began to see him differently. I realized that maybe it wasn't as simple as Stefan being the perfect boyfriend, and Damon being the jerk of an older brother. Did Elena even know that Stefan also dated Katherine? I shook my head. Of course she did. Maybe that was part of why she hated Damon so much, she had only heard Stefan's side of things.

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. I half expected Damon to pull his arm away from me, or say something that was equally snarky and flirtatious. But he didn't. He pulled off into a driveway, and I instantly recognized the massive Salvatore home.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"What, you didn't think I was going to drop you off at home looking all bloody and gross, did you?" Damon shook his head, and pulled my car around to the back of the house, where there was a massive garage.

Somehow he managed to be at the passenger door opening it for me before I could even get my hand on the handle. He picked me up once again, and carried me into the house. It was even more daunting at nighttime, the dim light dancing around the extravagant pieces of furniture and casting shadows everywhere. Damon brought me upstairs into a different bedroom than the one I had been in before, and into the bathroom. He set me down on the counter in between two sinks.

"Wait here." He instructed, as if I really had a choice.

My fingers tapped on the counter as I looked around the bathroom. It was huge, practically the size of my bedroom. In one corner was a freestanding tub, and next to it was a massive glass walled shower. There were four showerheads, and I wondered why on earth someone would need that many shower heads.

Damon came back into the room holding a bag of ice. He handed it to me, and I held it against my swollen ankle with my left hand.

"Let's take a look at that hand." He said, and held my right hand in his.

He reached over me into the mirror cabinet and pulled out a bottle of witch hazel. I tried not to wince as he wiped the cut clean. He was so gentle as he wrapped my hand in a bandage; it was such a contrast from the brazenly snarky persona he put on in the forest. I looked at him with admiration as he worked, his brow just slightly furrowed and his dark lashes shielding my view from his beautiful eyes.

"There." He smirked as he looked up at me. "Good news, you'll live."

"Damon . . ." I lost my train of thought for a moment as I looked into his eyes. "Thank you. I mean it."

"Don't mention it." Damon shrugged. "You can thank me by not running around endangering your life like an idiot anymore."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to him to ruin an almost sweet moment. But he caught me off guard once again, and brought his hand to my face. He tilted my chin up to him, and then off to the side.

"You know, you kind of look like her, too." He said, examining my face.

"Like who?" I asked.

"Katherine." He murmured. "Not exactly. But there's something very . . . familiar about you."

My eyes lingered on his as his thumb ran across my cheek. There was no way for me to respond to him telling me that I reminded him of the woman who broke his heart. I wondered if he looked at me and felt the same resentment he felt towards her.

I put my hand over his, holding it to my face. He inched closer to me, his eyes still wandering over every feature of my face. For just a moment, I wanted to close the distance between us, let myself succumb to the undeniable attraction I had for him and just ignore every sign that said he was dangerous. But he pulled away and made a face before I could let the thought turn into a reality.

"Goody." He mumbled. "Here comes the neighborhood."

"What?" I tilted my head with confusion. Moments later, I heard their front door open. "How did you . . ."

I pushed myself off of the counter, and limped into the hallway. I looked over the railing to see Matt, Caroline, Elena, and Stefan. Apparently their double date had gone well, as they had decided to extend it by coming back here. None of them had seen me yet, so I leaned against the railing and used it as a crutch to get down the stairs.

"Man I've always wanted to see what it looks like in this place." Matt's voice echoed across the massive ceiling.

"Yeah I guess it's uh, a bit much." Stefan replied, clearly uncomfortable.

Matt chuckled. "Yeah my entire house could fit in here like, twice."

"I feel like I've been here before." Caroline said. "It's . . . weird."

"Do you guys want to watch a movie or something?" Elena suggested. Her eyes scanned the room and fell upon me, leaning in the doorway.

"Hey." I said, and waved awkwardly.

"Lucy what? What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

I heard Damon's voice behind me. "Found her wandering alone in the woods. Figured you wouldn't be too happy if a bear or something ate her, so I dragged her back here."

"Damon." Elena stormed towards him. She looked me up and down, her eyes falling on my bandaged hand. "Damon did you hurt her? Did he hurt you?"

"What? No." I answered. "I fell. He actually helped me. I'm . . . lucky he was there."

I didn't need to turn around to know that Damon was smirking behind me. He must love hearing me admit I'm happy he ran into me. Stefan was eyeing Damon with so much intensity that I was half expecting Damon to burst into flames at any moment. Matt and Caroline were exchanging glances with one another; I felt horrible for how awkward they must feel watching this exchange.

Elena crossed her arms. "And what were you doing in the woods Damon?"

"Just keeping an eye on things." Damon said, and changed the topic. "I saw our friends Pearl and Anna today, Stefan. They say hi."

Elena ignored Damon and looked at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise." Elena shifted awkwardly, and looked back at Stefan who also seemed unsure of what to say.

"See Elena. I'm not always the big bad brother." Damon stepped forward and his arm brushed against mine. "So what's this I hear about a movie? What are we all going to watch?"

Elena's eyes narrowed at Damon. I had never seen her so infuriated. It was so clear she didn't want him to join them. I wasn't even sure she'd want me to join them. Not just because I'd be crashing her date, but also because she was so mad that I had been hanging out with Damon. If you could even call it that. Stefan was so tense; I could have sworn he hadn't even breathed in a few minutes.

Elena turned to Stefan for support. "Stefan- tell him-"

"Woah these are great." Matt walked over to a shelf, clearly trying to distract from the uncomfortable tension in the room.

Stefan welcomed the distraction. "That's just a little hobby of mine."

"I did the entire Mustang series when I was nine." Matt smiled, eyeing Stefan's shelf of model cars.

"You like cars?" Stefan asked him.

"That's an understatement." Matt laughed.

Stefan nodded. "Come with me."

Elena was still staring at Damon and me. I awkwardly gestured towards Stefan, Matt, and Caroline, whom were all leaving the room, and she huffed and turned to follow them. Damon offered me his arm for support, and I took it, praying that Elena wouldn't turn around and see me holding on to him. She was already mad enough.

Stefan led us outside and to the garage. Elena shot a glance at my car as we passed it. Stefan opened one of the garage doors and uncovered a car. I almost gasped; it was a red Porsche Coupe from the 60's. It was easily worth over a hundred grand, though given the house I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Woah wait, how do you have this?" Matt asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Got passed down through the family."

Matt gestured at the car in awe. "Why don't you drive it?"

"Well it uh, doesn't run." Stefan admitted. "At least not that I could figure out."

"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline interjected, sounding annoyed.

"Be more of a girl right now." Matt teased, and Caroline rolled her eyes. I wondered if maybe their night hadn't actually gone that well.

"Hey why don't you come take a look at this for me?" Stefan suggested.

"Elena remember the old Camaro your dad used to have?" Matt asked.

Elena smiled. "Of course."

"Yeah. I built and rebuilt that engine 20 times." Matt told Stefan with pride.

"Wow." Stefan nodded.

"Well I don't like sports cars." Caroline interrupted their bro fest. "They're too hard to make out in."

Matt looked at Elena. "Nah it wasn't that bad."

Elena froze, and glared at Matt. The look on Matt's face let me know he instantly regretted what he said. Caroline turned and stormed out of the garage, and Elena sighed. Somehow I knew that this wasn't the first issue the foursome had run into that night. Elena had told me that she and Matt used to date, and it was clearly causing issues for Matt and Caroline. Or maybe just Caroline.

"Lucy, can you come with me?" Elena asked.

"What?" I was confused; I thought she didn't want me around right now.

"Please?" She looked at me. "Trust me, after the night we've had I can't tackle this one alone."

I nodded, and Elena turned to follow after her. Damon winked at me, and I just shook my head at him. Hobbling along, I trailed after Elena, leaving the three boys in the garage to work out the many levels of discomfort between them.

We measure out our time
Time to say goodbye and leave it all behind
We'll hold our hands as we crash-land into the sea
We'll ride it down into the ground
Just you and me
We'll hold our hands as we crash-land into the sea
We'll ride it down into the ground
Just you and me
We'll hold our hands as we crash-land into the sea
We'll ride it down into the ground
Just you and me

A/N: Yay! A long awaited Damon/Lucy scene. Please leave your thoughts! I'd love to hear how you feel about the slow building tension between them. Do you think Lucy will prioritize her friendship with Elena? Or will she let herself fall for Damon?