Damon was at a bar somewhere totally wasted. He downed another of the countless glasses of bourbon. Bourbon was his poison. One that he chose himself to inject into him. He was wallowing in remorse and guilt. 

These few days that had passed after Stefan had gone were the most depressing days Damon had ever known. Melanie hardly spoke to him and there seemed to be miles between them. He often found her crying away in corners. 

He couldn't sleep or rest and the only way to get rid of it all for the time being was to get wasted. 

"She hates me," he repeated to himself for the hundredth time. A tear made its way down his cheek and he roughly brushed it away, "stupid. Stupid dumb moron. Idiotic Damon. Plain idiotic." 

He took in a deep breath and sighed muttering in a self loathing voice, "I can't be what she wants me to be. Because I'm a monster and this is who I am." 

He was cursing himself and mumbling a lot of incoherent words under his breath. Finally he stood up and made his way out still muttering nonsense.

Thunder and lightening was raging outside. Melanie crawled deeper in her bed. It was too cold and the storm outside terrified her. Damon had not yet reached home. She was alone and scared. The clock ticked the midnight hour. 

"Where are you, Damon Salvatore?" she mumbled. 

She waited for a while and when it had been enough for her, she decided to go and find him. She knew he would get definitely pissed off and horribly angry if he found out that she risked her life and went out in a storm all by herself. But she didn't care. 

She draped a shawl over her shoulders and silently crept out. She was terrified by the stormy weather but Damon was more important to her then. The streets were dark and empty, no one was to be seen and a deathly silence had gripped the place. 

She had no idea whatsoever where Damon could be. However she knew about the deserted forest nearby and even though it scared her immensely still there was some hope that Damon could possibly be there. 

He had once forbidden her to set foot in there labeling it as a no go area and she was perfectly aware that these no go areas were the very places where Damon retreated to after anything unpleasant. 

It was eerily quiet as she proceeded silently and cautiously. Her heart was hammering in her chest as if she expected someone to pounce on her any moment. Finally she reached the road which weaved in through the woods. Inching a bit closer she saw someone lying down still and motionless in the middle of the road.

Her curiosity overwhelmed as she stepped closer. It was dark so the figure wasn't specifically visible. She silently bent down on her knees close to the supposedly dead man in black on the road and her hand reached out to turn the face. 

For a moment her heart stopped: what if it was Damon? As soon as her hand touched the rough leather jacket she knew at once that it was Damon. Her voice got stuck in her throat. Her mind was whirling with questions; why was Damon so still, why was he lying almost dead in the woods, why was he not at home? He was staring up at the sky with solidified eyes and had not blinked even once. Fear coursed through her veins as she cupped his cheek. 

"Damon?" she whispered softly. She drew closer and noticed that he was breathing heavily. "Hey what happened?" she coaxed, "look if it is because of what I said earlier, I'm sorry. Come on let's go home. Please." 

Finally a weary sigh escaped him as if he had noticed someone's presence. In the blink of an eye he was standing right in front of her and she discovered he had pinned her to a tree. Her eyes widened in shock and terror. 

As if he had suddenly realized who she was, he slowly dropped his arms to his side. Pain and sorrow was reflected in his eyes, "why are you out here? You could catch a cold." 

The terrifying look was wiped off his face as if not wishing to scare her away. But the regret and torn expression in his eyes wrecked her soul. She asked softly, "Damon, what's wrong?" 

His jaw clenched, "everything." 

She spoke in a low voice, "why are you here alone in a storm? What were you doing?" 

He rolled his eyes, "I was looking at the stars and listening to the universe laugh at me. Hey look there goes; Mars is making fun of me and its two moons just joined. Phobias and Demos. See, everyone hates me." 

She whispered, "why?" 

His brow knitted in frustration and his eyes seemed struggling, "because I'm a monster. There's nothing good, nothing human, left in me." 

She tried to reassure him, "maybe there is. You're not a monster, Damon." 

His eyes were sorrowful as he laughed bitterly, "sadly though its the truth what I just told you. I don't feel, I don't care and this is who I am. I don't need anyone and no one needs me. Every single person in this world hates me and I don't give a damn about it. I don't care anymore about anyone. And I mean it." 

Her voice shook, "no, you do. You care for me and even though you don't know it still you care for Stefan." 

His eyes were staring fiercely down at the timid girl, "what's the point in caring by the way? Whenever I care for someone all I can feel is pain. Hurt. Distress. There is only so much hurt a man can take. There is only so much hurt I can take. And I'm done with it. I'm so done with everything. All these hundreds and hundreds of years I spent my life as a cold hearted dick because I figured it was easier that way. Know why? Because expectations hurt so I don't give anyone any reason to expect good from me. And after all these years there's nothing good left. I'm not human. And that's my secret. I'm not human and I miss it! I miss it more than anything in the world! And guess what the unbearable part is? I have to put up with all this nonsense for a gazillion years or more." 

She was at a loss of what to say, "Damon if someone really cared for you would that make a difference?" 

A sarcastic smirk etched up on his face but she knew how it was breaking him inside, "good one, Mel, really that's like the most ridiculous joke I've ever heard in these pathetic 170 years. Why would anyone care for me? No one cares for a psychopath killer. And if anyone does they're completely insane to begin with." 

She spoke, "I care for you." 

He raised an eyebrow, "you do? No, you think you do. Because last time I checked you hated me since I kicked Stefan out. And you should hate me. Doesn't make a difference. I'm used to people hating me." 

She was getting desperate, "I don't hate you! No one hates you! You're the one who hates yourself more than anyone else." 

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not that stupid to go down that path again when I know everyone hates me. My father hated because he thought I was a worthless abomination, Katherine hated me because I could never be Stefan and now I'm beginning to think that you hate me too. Because of Stefan! Stefan Stefan Stefan! Why does it always have to be him?" 

She had had enough, "STOP IT! Do you hear me, Damon? JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" 

He was taken by surprise at her outburst so he actually shut up. 

"You're so hopeless, Damon," she resumed, "you're right: you're NOT Stefan. And you can NEVER be Stefan. And tell you what, its a blessing you aren't Stef or anyone else because you are you and I love you for who you are!" 

He tilted his head to the side, "sorry to disappoint you Melanie but I thought I heard that you loved me." 

She was frustrated, "of course I do! I do love you and I care for you. Do you need any proof of that?" Anger and desperation was blazing in her equally piercing blue eyes. 

Damon took a deep breath and let out a soft sad sigh, "I know that." 

She asked, "then why were you being so mean? Why were you scaring the crap out of me?" 

He kept silent for a moment then spoke, "maybe because I don't want you to suffer anything in the least like I have been through." 

She breathed deeply in relief, "that means you do care for me." 

He whispered, "and that's the problem, Mel. I care too much about you that its foolish. And you can come to harm because of me. Perhaps it was better if you stayed with Stefan." 

She rushed forward and hugged him tightly, her tears streaming down onto his jacket. He didn't hug back at first. He just looked down at her, confused. Still breathing heavily. His breathing gradually returned to normal. Slowly and softly he wrapped his arms around her delicate frame, holding her close. 

"I don't wanna lose you too," she stammered between her choked sobs, "you think I hate you but I don't. I can't bear this distance between us. I don't want us to live like strangers. I...I need you, D-Damon." 

He was speechless. He was experiencing a lot of emotions at the moment: pain, longing, hurt, remorse, anger, guilt and distress. He gently hugged her back simply keeping her locked in his arms, just holding her close to him. 

"I feel so...al-alone," she mumbled. 

"You're not alone nor will you ever be," he whispered back in a low voice. His brow knitted together in anxiety. He realized he had been cruel to her by making her choose between him and Stefan. 

But of course, he was Damon Salvatore. The cold hearted Vampire who never looked back, who did what he wanted how he wanted, who didn't feel, didn't care and gave not a damn about love. But right then holding the frail little girl close to him as she yearned for love and comfort, he felt as if everything about him was just lies. 

He had put up a facade and hid behind impenetrable walls but she had managed to sneak into his heart. She was the only one with whom he was himself. She was the only one who had melted him and brought out the good in him which he had concealed for years.