Disclaimer - I don't own TVD or Masterchef – they're the catalyst for my imagination.

…

You make me feel like I'm losing my virginity

The first time, every time when you touch me

I make you bloom like a flower that you never seen

Under the sun we are one buzzing energy

…

Damon Chevrolet pulled up against the street. Elena looked around at the unsuspecting street full of offices and skyscrapers. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. She couldn't help but wonder what they were doing in the heart of the city in an area that looked quite frankly, dead. Damon smiled as he opened his car door and stepped out. Walking around to Elena's door he opened it for her and offered her his hand. "Welcome to the aviary" he smiled.

Elena took his hand and looked around puzzled. There was nothing on the street but parking meters lined in neat rows and a train station cowering in the lights of the tall city buildings.

"Come on, this way," he said, replying to a question she didn't ask. He pulled on her hand gently and led her into the unsuspecting train station.

"Where are we going?" she asked, "Are we catching a train?" her voice was laced with sarcasm.

Damon rolled his eyes and gave her his trademark smirk, "Ah.. No."

They walked past the stairwell leading down to the platform for the station. No, they weren't catching a train. Elena felt butterflies as Damon lead her to an elevator surrounded by a dark stone clad wall.

"This is one of my restaurants" Damon said proudly, "Its one of the very few I have that people don't actually know I own the joint."

Elena couldn't contain her smile "Really?" she looked at him excitedly. This was one of her to-dos, to go to one of his restaurants, even if this wasn't an official one. And now she was, with none other than him as her tour guide! Then fear washed over her. "Damon… won't someone see us? I don't think we should be doing this."

"Ah contre, there is a private function being held in the restaurant adjacent to the bar, luckily for us they have hired the whole place. So we wont be disturbed by anyone for at least…" he looked at his phone again, checking the time, "two hours." He winked.

Elena swallowed thickly. Alone with Damon. For how ever long he decided to have her for. Elena swept the hair from her face. A nervous action and stepped into the elevator with him. He was still holding her hand, caressing it softly, she looked down and watched his movements on her skin, feeling the tingle of his thumb against the top of her hand as he lazily traced circles on her flesh. The elevator door closed and Elena pulled her hand from Damon's slowly.

"I don't know what your doing Damon, I've read the tabloids, I know what your like." she whispered as the elevator made its ascent.

"Why Elena, you know nothing about what I'm like," he replied cockily to her judgement.

On cue the elevators doors dinged open to an open roof top bar. The atmosphere drew her in, to the left there was a glass balcony, it looked as if you could walk right off the roof to your death. The dusk of night offset against the vivid colors of the astro-turf flooring, Palms lined the balcony with bar tables made of timber with cute yellow chairs dotting around them. On the right was the longest bar she had ever seen, stocked with every type of alcohol the mind could fathom. Not that she had seen many bars like this, the only place to drink in Mystic Falls was the Grill and this put that to shame.

Damon walked from the elevator leaving Elena to follow him out. He walked over to the bar and sat down at one of the multicolored stools that lined it. The bar was empty except for the single barman behind it cleaning glasses. As Damon sat down the barman placed a bourbon glass on the bar and reached to the top of the shelves behind him to grab the expensive stuff.

"Alaric can you put some music on while your at it?" he looked over to her and nodded his head for her to come and join him. The sweet sounds of bon iver started playing as she walked over to him, feeling the tension between their bodies swell with each step closer she got closer. Elena pulled the bar stool and took a seat next to Damon, her knee gently brushing against his jeans, The barman asked her what drink she would like.

"Wow, this place is amazing," she said as she sipped her white wine. She looked out beyond the roof top bar and watched as LA came to life underneath them.

"I know, right. I'd rather be drinking at a bar than eating in a fancy restaurant any day." He replied sipping his bourbon and applying his trademark smirk. "So Elena, from what I already know about you, from your application, you live with your two best friends, like to bake cookies and you're passionate about pastry." He laughed remembering line by line what she had written.

"Well this is sufficiently awkward," Elena laughed embarrassed, "You know all about me but I hardly know anything about you."

"Sure you know about me" Damon remarked, "I'm sure you have heard all about me in the tabloids" he waggled his eyebrows and downed another swig of bourbon.

"How could I not, your reputation is kind of hard to miss" Elena replied.

"Yeah, with all my charm, fame & sex with supermodels."

"You're an ass, you know that right?"

Damon laughed and nodded in reply. "Hey, no judging the judge, that's not allowed."

Elena rolled her eyes at him, he was such a hypocrite. But a very cute and funny hypocrite.

"What? and this isn't?" she gestured to the bar and them, "Having me here, I'm sure this not allowed. Taking contestants out to your bar in LA."

Damon ignored her comment. He got up and walked across the expanse of the astro turfed floor to the edge of the balcony and leaned over. She watched him look out into the LA night. His black hair being blown by the cool breeze. Like a moth drawn to light she followed him and took a place next to him.

"So are you having fun in the competition so far Elena?" Damon asked, his tone more serious than the previous conversation they had begun.

"I wouldn't exactly call it fun" Elena laughed softly. "Obviously the pressure is heavy, but there is this one judge who is taking it pretty easy on me and I have no idea why. I don't think that would be allowed either." Elena looked over to Damon and he was already staring at her, her eyes connected with his and the invisible tether that tied them together felt stronger. It felt good to finally talk about it.

"Oh, I'm sure it isn't. That would be a huge no no"

"Do you think that certain judge would get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out?"

"I think the contestant would too". He replied coldly.

"I… I can't do this Damon" She pushed off the balcony edge. She liked Damon but was he worth losing the competition? Was he worth getting into trouble? She didn't think so. Nothing was going to stand in the way of her winning this, except for herself. It what she came here to do and she was going to be damned if a crush on Damon would ruin this opportunity for her.

"Elena, stop" His voice pleaded. She turned around, waiting.

"But were not doing anything, I'm just getting to know you and your getting to know me."

"Okay, but for what purpose? I'm not here to flirt with some gorgeous chef judge, I'm here to win this damn competition!"

"Did you just call me gorgeous?" he smirked.

"Ugh!" Elena threw her hands in the air "you are insufferable!"

"And I think you deserve to win the competition."

"Really?" she squeaked, "You believe in me that much?"

"Yes," he smiled. " And for the record, I'm not just 'some' chef, I'm 'the' chef." He winked.

Elena laughed at Damon but also at herself. Was she about to put her dream in jeopardy to get to know him? Would he keep this friendship secret? She needed to leave but her body was screaming to stay and even if she had all the will power in the world to walk away from this, she didn't think she would be able to.

"Well, come on then chef, show me what you're made of, but I just want to make one thing clear. We are just friends okay? And stop flirting with me when were filming. You make me nervous." She slapped his chest playfully.

"You know that was two things right?"

"Damon! I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay" putting his hands up in surrender.

"Oh and no one finds out about this little agreement or friendship or whatever were doing, last thing you need is more scandals in the tabloids about you."

"Is that all Elena?" he questioned her exasperated.

"No and your not allowed to help me anymore. I can do this on my own Damon, I don't need to feel like I've cheated by you feeding me inside information. I think that's all." Now she was the one to wink.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"So you going to show me what you're made of?" Elena swallowed the rest of her wine.

"Huh?"

"In the kitchen? If we can, I don't want you feeding me inside information about the show but you can help me with my techniques and stuff right?"

"Yeah that's fine, were supposed to help you guys with that anyway in the show, we can have a private lesson, let me just check who is in the kitchen and we can get started." Damon got up and walked to where the doors lead into the kitchen leaving Elena with her thoughts.

The barman walked up to her with the wine she was drinking previously, "Refill?" he asked her politely.

Elena declined, her head was already swimming and she was feeling slightly buzzed. If she had anymore she would be on her way to a drunken night. Try explaining a hangover to Tyler and Jules in the morning.

"I'm Alaric, Ric for short."

"Nice to meet you Ric," she smiled up at the middle aged yet handsome man. "Elena."

"So, you must be special. Damon never brings women here. How long have you two been dating for?" Ric asked. His eyes were kind and his smile was genuine. Elena's stomach fluttered when he mentioned Damon never brought women here.

"We aren't dating, were just friends," Elena replied.

"Oh, sorry I just assumed. I'll leave you be."

"That's fine." Elena said. "So have you been working here long?"

"Yeah, since the joint opened. I'm actually co-owner with Damon."

In that moment Damon strode back into the bar and over to them. "Alaric, I hope your not harassing Elena".

Alaric laughed, "I'll let you two get back to whatever it is your doing. Nice to meet you Elena, Damon see you tomorrow." He walked back over to the bar to finish cleaning up.

Damon turned to Elena, "Okay, so were good to go in the kitchen, my sous chefs are finishing up dessert and they will be off. No one will notice us."

"Great!" Elena perked up. The excitement bubbling in her as she walked into the huge industrial kitchen. If stainless steel could blind she wouldn't be able to see. Each appliance, oven, bench top was pristine stainless steel. The kitchen was huge, it would easily hold 40 chefs and from where it was positioned it separated the bar and the restaurant.

"Do you do much cooking here?" she asked Damon, as he got prepared, leaning over and pulling out utensils and a chopping board from under the bench. Her stomach clenched as she got a good look of his arse. He was a chiseled work of art.

"No, I've only cooked here once before" he said not looking at her, he was still searching under the bench. "Where's the fuc"

"Looking for this?" Elena cut in, holding up a sharp pointed knife.

"Yes, I was actually" Damon pinched it from her hand.

"Now I have some rules in the kitchen Elena, you need to understand I hire hundreds of people to work for me. I like to be in control. When I ask you to do something in any one of my kitchens its 'Yes Chef, understood?" his voice was hard. It sent heat since to Elena's belly.

"Yes chef," Elena breathed heavily.

"Good girl" Damon replied smoothly. "Now because you love baking so much I'm going to teach you the perfect way to make pastry. I hope your making mental notes as this is going to come in handy."

Elena noticed something flicker inside Damon when he began to talk about food. He became serious and deadly. This was his passion and he reveled in his love of food and cooking. She relaxed into his teaching, he was a good at it and she opened her mind to his techniques and hints that she would have never known if she was on her own.

"And if you need to trim the dough, use the sharpest scissors you can find as using a knife tends to stretch it." Damon finished his speech while he rolled out the dough. He was so focused and meticulous making sure the crust was even on every angle.

"Now watch me as I put the pastry in the pie tin" Damon rolled the pin so the dough stuck to it and flipped the pastry into the dish so it gently fell into the tin perfectly. He reversed the action and gestured for Elena to do it.

Elena picked up the rolling pin as Damon stood behind her, his hands on top of hers, his chest lightly pressing into her back. Elena begun to roll the pin and Damon corrected her technique with a whisper in her ear.

Elena tried again and watched as her hands ghosted by Damon's, do what he did previously.

"Perfect" Damon breathed into her ear.

"You're a good teacher," Elena replied.

"Your only a good teacher if you have a student willing to learn."

Elena felt lost in the moment, lost in cooking, lost in Damon's passion for food. She needed to breathe, come up for air.

"Hey, I thought I told you no flirting while were cooking?"

Damon pushed his body into Elena further making her stomach erupt in butterflies as his body molded to hers. She couldn't mistake the way he made her feel, like everywhere he touched lit a flame within her.

"Elena, you specifically said no flirting while we were filming in the kitchen, well I see no cameras here."

Elena couldn't help but roll her eyes and laugh, "Damon, I- "

"Ah, were still in my kitchen," Damon tsked at her.

"Chef" Elena said, "I think its time to go," she said looking up to the clock in the center of the kitchen. It was nearing 10pm and she needed to get back to the house.

"Fine" Damon sighed, Elena couldn't help but feel happy that Damon wasn't ready to leave yet but time was not on their side.

They got the bench cleared and began to make their way out of the kitchen, Damon instructing a kitchen hand to clean the majority of their mess. The young man seemed terrified of Damon and couldn't even look him in the eye. Elena sensed Damon was a hard man to please in the workplace.

The way back to the house they joked and laughed the whole time, Elena couldn't help but think about the blue-eyed man next to her. He was someone different in the kitchen compared to the man he was alone with her, he seemed different when he was speaking to the kitchen hand and the way he spoke to other contestants in the show. Elena hoped the Damon she was speaking with now was the real deal. This was by far her favorite Damon. He was carefree and snarky and side splitting hilarious.

He pulled up to the side of the house, both becoming silent as she was now having to leave him, tomorrow he would go back to being her judge. She sat in the car, enjoying the last moments with this Damon.

"Thank you for tonight" she smiled at him. "I still don't know why you're doing all this for me."

"I told you Elena, you're different." He reached out to touch her face but pulled his hand back the moment he was about to touch her cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Elena whispered and opened the door. Stepping out into the dark night. The cool breeze surrounding her, clarify her thoughts. Damon's car drove down the drive to the road as she walked up to the house.

Her mind begun to realize what just transpired, Damon had captured her mind and heart. She was totally crushing on him. Just thinking about him and what happened tonight made her stomach flutter and which left her with hope. Hope for the future, hope for whatever this was between them. She knew nothing could happen right now, yet she yearned for his touch. She couldn't wait to get into her room and pull out her diary. She would be able to sort her thoughts out once they were in that little book.

She walked around the back of the house silently. All she could hear was the sound of the breathing and the crunch of gravel under her feet as she walked in darkness. Searching for the back door she reached out and grabbed the handle. She unlocked it and as quietly as she could entering the house. Her room was near the back entrance, as she got closer she noticed the light was on shining around the door frame giving off an eerie glow.

She opened the door slowly peeking in and who else was sitting on her bed, than that bitch Andy. Elena's good mood vanished instantly and was replaced with hot anger.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Elena's voice rose with each word.

Andy didn't move from the bed, she sat up straighter looking Elena in her eyes silently challenging her.

"Where have you been?" Andy asked, ignoring Elena's previous question.

"None of your damned business. Get. Out. Now" Elena replied through gritted teeth. Her heart was beating fast. How dare Andy waltz into her room and just sit there on her bed, looking like she owned the place.

"No, I think I'd rather stay, you know have a girly chat."

"I'm going to get Jules" Elena turned to the hallway.

"What and tell her how you have been out for almost three hours? Where have you been Elena?"

"I'm not saying anything."

"I didn't lie when I said I'd be watching you, I'm like a journalist Elena, I will keep digging until I get the truth. I know you were with him, all I need is the proof and your out on your ass."

"GET. OUT!" Elena yelled, she was pretty sure the whole house would be awake now, their voices rising with each retort.

Andy shimmied off the bed and walked swiftly past Elena, bumping her shoulder on the way out. Elena saw red, she wanted to pull, kick and punch Andy's pretty little face in, but she instead slammed the door behind her and ran to her bed. Pulling out her diary she began to write and cry. Pouring out each emotion to the white lined pages. There were so many new feelings gushing out of her heart onto the pages. Before long she was so tired that she couldn't even be bothered to shower. She kicked her shoes off and snuck under the covers. She switched the lamp on her bedside table off and closed her eyes. It had been such an eventful day filled with so much emotion and challenge. Once she shut her eyes she was met with those blue eyes that ushered her into a deep sleep.

xoxo