I think what's different here is that neither Elena nor (even) Damon meant to burn up the dance floor. They were both preoccupied with Stefan, and were just going through the pageant to keep appearances up and suspicions down. And then BOOM! Spontaneous combustion. It's real and right that they would only feel the heat, only let themselves feel the heat, when Damon wasn't leering at, flirting with, or otherwise pursuing Elena. She'd never fall for that crap, and if she did fall for that crap, he wouldn't respect her. He's easy to turn off when he's being a drama queen, or setting her up to button his shirt and what have you. But determined, understated, serious, considerate, concerned Damon? In a tux? Elena isn't made of stone, and neither am I. Whatever. I'm finishing up now, so I can go watch that scene, again. Lord have mercy.

See you Friday morning with my recaplet/review of "Blood Brothers," in which we (and Elena) learn more about the Brothers Salvatore. I cannot wait. In the meantime, hop on over to the forums, where everyone's a Prozac poster child.

Cindy McLennan is wasting away in front of the TV. Try to break its thrall by e-mailing her at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, or following her on Twitter. Speaking of Twitter, check out her "TVD Cast and Crew" reading list, in the righthand sidebar of her Twitter page, to follow the good people who bring us our vampire crack, week after week.

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