Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the books or tv series The Vampire Diaries. All I own is my imagination.

A/N: Once again, I have been absent from the fanfiction writing scene for a little while, but behind the scenes my mind is constantly processing new ideas. I managed to turn one of these into a story that turned out really well, I think! It takes place while Stefan is still down in the tomb with Katherine, which gives Damon and Elena some alone time. That's all I have to say about it really, so please read on because it is definitely worth it and I am proud of this little piece.

Hate Love

"And even angels have their wicked schemes, but you take that to new extremes. "

She was the prisoner and he was the ward, always there just outside her door. It was a nuisance at first and an invasion of privacy, even if he wasn't directly in the same room as her, but, at last, it became a comfort, knowing that he was there even when she didn't directly see him. She had been brave in her actions when she had intended to sacrifice herself for the ones she loved, but in her heart she had felt great relief when Damon had shown up when he did. She owed him her life and he knew that, so she knew that he would take advantage of that.

She missed Stefan. In the beginning she had missed him so much that she had made herself feel sick. She had been so mad at Damon for not doing more for his brother. He was stuck down there, with an old flame, all for her. Still, she felt a flicker of worry pass through her whenever she pondered the fact. The worry had simmered down eventually, from the raging envy she had started with to some twisted feeling of relief that, at least, Stefan wasn't alone down there. She had made herself believe that he would remain faithful to her no matter what, but somewhere down the line she had come to the realization that something was doomed to happen between him and Katherine.

They had years and years of history between them.

But until Stefan resurfaced, she didn't have to face it, although she couldn't help but inflict some torture on herself by visiting his bedroom every night. She sifted through the memories more quickly with each visit and found it less and less hard to leave his room with each day he wasn't there. It wasn't right, but it was what happened.

Her spirits were high one day and at an extreme low on the next. It was just how it was and that Damon was there to witness the rise and fall was also something that just was, and she couldn't change.

She had taken enough of her frustration and anger out on him.

They had come to blows several times, where everything all of a sudden would become too much and she would just lash out. The words were harsh and hit him where it hurt, though the physical blows were much easier for him to simply take. The fists on his chest, the frantic breaths of air, the wasted energy, they had all been better than the silence she had slipped into recently. It was troubling, but he didn't voice this to her. He had merely mimicked her altered behavioral patterns, though he was still with her wherever she went, following her like a ghost.

Tonight wasn't any different. She was in his brother's room and he was downstairs, perched on the edge of a table with a drink in his hand as he listened to her breathing. She had been calm the past couple of days, too calm for his liking, but at least she had stopped attempting to run off to see Stefan.

Damon felt a pang of guilt when he kept the two star-crossed lovers apart, but it was for the best. Maybe now he could focus more of his attention on actually getting Stefan out of the tomb without having to drag Katherine along for the ride. He frowned ever so slightly, not at the thought, but at the creaking of the wood as Elena moved across it, her bare feet not making enough sound to detect to a human listener.

He downed his drink and decided to go up. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, watching her.

She stood in the middle of his bedroom, taking everything in before letting her gaze settle on Damon's desk. It was cluttered to say the least, so she sat down at it and began rummaging through the miscellaneous pieces of paper. She was just bored and without a purpose now that Stefan wasn't here. She hated that about herself because she didn't want her happiness to rely on anyone but herself. Elena sighed as she sifted through the papers, finding nothing of interest until she had almost reached the bottom of the pile. From there, she pulled a picture or was it an etching of some kind… It didn't matter; all that did was that the person on it resembled Damon, a younger version of himself, but it was undoubtedly him.

She ran her fingers over the surface before turning it over to look if the image had been dated. It was. She caught a glimpse of it before everything went dark before her eyes and her heart stopped for just a second. She held on to the picture and swatted Damon's hand away with her other one.

"Having fun invading my privacy, are we?" he asked sarcastically.

"You're one to talk," Elena remarked, her voice lacking vigor as her eyes had already fallen back onto the image she held in her hands.

"So, what incriminating evidence have you found?" Damon inquired, resting his hands on the back of the chair as he looked over her shoulders.

His fingers barely brushed against her, but she felt them nonetheless. It was when he was this close to her that emotions stirred within her that she could suppress and doubt about when he wasn't around. She shook her head and shifted in her seat so her back straightened itself. "Nothing incriminating, just evidence of your humanity."

He leaned into her, breaching the small distance she had struggled to create only a few seconds ago so his whisper would be heard. "I have proven the existence of my humanity countless times, Elena."

He reached for the picture, but she held it out of his grasp. "You were human here, weren't you?" she asked, referring to the image.

Damon quickly eyed his counterpart in the picture, not paying attention to Elena's mirror image that was standing beside him, parasol in hand, an inside joke. He nodded, though she couldn't see it. "That was a few weeks before… everything," he carefully decided on his final word.

"And you would have done anything for her, wouldn't you?"

"Until I discovered what a class-A bitch she really is, yes." He snatched the picture from her. "If there's a point, you better get to it," he continued on just as coldly as he folded the picture and swiftly slid it into his back pocket.

"You did everything in your power to reunite with her," Elena rehashed the bad blood between Damon and her doppelganger, and the taste it left behind in Damon's mouth was as bitter as ever. "Stefan's right there and all I want is to go see him," she went on, knowing that the statement was no longer a hundred percent fact, nor fiction, but lay somewhere in between.

"Stefan," Damon repeated his brother's name. "Everything does seem to revolve around him. Like a lovesick puppy, you are at his constant beck and call, even when he has one just like you to play with down there. Where's my credit?"

"I didn't ask you to follow me around like a lovesick puppy. You volunteered," she returned his comment, holding his gaze in the mirror hanging above his desk for a couple of silent beats before getting up. "I'm going to see Stefan," she told him. Elena didn't look at Damon when she intended to pass him, but was forced to when he took a hold of her lower arm, the sound a dull snap as skin came into unexpected contact with skin.

He held her in place as he pushed the following words through gritted teeth, "I'm really not in the mood for one of your little tantrums, so I suggest we continue to play nice with one another and you just do as I say. Please," he added, tilting his head cockily to the side.

He knew how to push her buttons and did so more than he had to, but they had a love/hate relationship and right now, love was out of the question so he would have to do with the hate part. It was incredibly selfish on his part, especially now that he had her to himself, but he couldn't help himself when they were at such a close proximity to one another, something that seemed to happen more often lately.

Elena's eyes narrowed and the look she was shooting him would have been able to stake him right there and then, but he saw the resistance fade from her features. She made a noise that lay somewhere between defeat and frustration and the little moan was enough for him to wish himself down there in the tomb and to be the one on the receiving end of her affections.

"It's not fair and you know it. You can only keep me from him for so long." Her eyes landed on his forcefully before she pulled her arm free and stormed out of the room.

"It's for your own protection!" he called after her, waiting until she had already made it halfway down the hallway before strolling out of his bedroom himself, hands in his pockets. His fingers were aching to touch her with something other than force. "And don't even let the thought of sneaking out of this house cross your mind," he said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I'll chain you to the bed if I have to," he warned her, the threat in his voice convincing enough, though the smolder in his eyes only drew her in more and more.

It had them both taking his words literally. He heard her pulse speed up and licked his bottom lip as he contained himself and managed to stay on his side of the hallway. The idea of tying her to the bed was tempting him for all the right and wrong reasons. It would almost be familiar; he already knew her body, but the experience would be much different, so much more satisfying and real.

"That's not fair," she pointed out the obvious. "Especially because I don't stand a chance with your vampire strength and speed." She eyed him more like she admired those traits than she abhorred them, and it was during moments like these that she confused him. "When you and Katherine were apart, no one was there to keep you from searching the globe for her. You were able to do something and I can't because I'm not allowed to. And I'm climbing the walls, Damon." Her hands flew to her hair, tangling it to to match the knots in her stomach as the honesty came to light. "I need to do something with all I'm feeling." Her hands fluttered down to her stomach and he couldn't resist cracking an irresistibly roguish smile. "Now that I can help you with."

Elena looked back up at him, one half of her face covered with strands of hair, looking like she had just gotten out of bed, or maybe that was just his mind going overboard. "I'm not sure Rose would find that ideal," she snapped him back into the moment.

"Or Stefan," he cleverly countered.

"But for you this is perfect, isn't it," she said accusatively.

His lips twitched as he fought back an instinctive grin. He turned his head from her for a split second, his face free of all humor and his eyes clear when they locked on hers again.

"I know you think I'm sly and cunning, but this wasn't my doing. Stefan, as much as we differ, will be my brother for eternity. And I have enough enemies, so I could always use an extra participant on team Damon. Of course, I'd be more than willing to kick him off the team if you're willing to join?" He moved closer and brushed the remaining hair from her face in one sweep. "But," he said, tilting his head when she did so they wouldn't break eye contact, "we both know that you can't play for both teams… And now that my competition is out of bounds, so to speak, it's only natural that I make my move and see if I can convince you to cross over to the other side." His fingertips trailed down the side of her face before he settled his thumb on her bottom lip, having this need to touch it as she was biting it.

"Does the choice have to be definitive?" she questioned honestly, not shaking off his touch, although she didn't lean in to him completely just yet either.

Damon nodded. "That's the thing about having shared a girl with my brother before, it hurts more when said girl is in love with both and can't make up her mind. Of course, now she has…" His gaze appeared empty for a minute as he reflected on the past and present simultaneously. He snapped out of it soon enough and removed his hand from Elena's face.

A wistful smile was visible to her as he began to back away, but before they could extract themselves from the moment fully and it would be lost, she pulled him back in. She couldn't let this just pass, not when there was something lingering at its edges. "What about Rose?" she wondered softly, not wanting to be the heavy load on the hearts of two people. "You two seem close… and happy…"

He chuckled. "Appearances can be deceiving, we both know that."

Elena turned her head away and within the second it took her to do so, she felt Damon move right front of her and both of his hands on her face as he took hold of it. His touch was tender and the look in his eyes the rare one she caught on him whenever they were both on opposite ends of the room and Stefan was in the middle. It was heartfelt and earnest, and reflective of the side of him she adored the most.

For the first time that evening, she released a full breath and she placed her hands on top of his, closing and opening her eyes again before removing them and reaching for him instead. Her fingers hooked themselves into the fabric of his shirt and she pulled herself into him. One of his hands landed on the small of her back while the other disappeared into her hair, forcing her head back and chin up just a little to align their lips perfectly. He had been the one to start it all up, but she was the one to finish it as she brought herself up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.

It was an explosive kiss, the kind where every part of her body buzzed contently and she saw a star sprinkled sky when she closed your eyes. It left them both wanting more, but their first kiss of the evening was harshly cut short as Elena felt herself being pulled from him before she was thrown forcefully to the other side of the hall. Her landing was ungraceful and all breath escaped her for about half a minute and struggled to get it all back.

She tried moving all of her limbs, relieved when all of them reacted. She saw no cuts of any kind, although she felt all the different spots where bruises would be forming as she got back up. It was only then that she looked back over at where she had been standing and spotted her attacker. Rose was blocking her view of Damon and was obviously arguing with him from the hissing she heard and frantic arm movements she saw.

Knowing better than to involve herself in another vampire fight Elena quietly collected her shoes from where she had left them and crept downstairs. She left the house and made her way over to her car, just managing to open the car door as the front door of the house opened. Rose came strolling out and stopped on the other side of her car. She seemed hesitant about just walking past so Elena acknowledged her. "Rose."

Rose nodded at her. "I'm sorry for attacking you like that. Are you okay?"

Elena nodded and offered up a weak smile. "Just a couple of bruises."

"I didn't mean…" Rose cleared her throat. "I was out of line, Elena. It's not my place to claim Damon as mine, something we were clear on from the very beginning of our little… arrangement." She went on, cutting Elena off before she could say anything, "I knew he was in love with you when I met him and I know my place, and I accept it… now." She smiled. "That back there was just me looking out for you, making sure that he wasn't messing with your head. He's a good man, Elena, just burdened with a very long and blackened past. I hope you understand the consequences of that, as well as the consequences your choice will have on your relationship with Stefan…"

Her questioning eyes sought out Elena's, who nodded after a beat. "I do. I just don't want you to—"

"Don't worry, Elena. We're cool, as are Damon and I."

Elena nodded and returned Rose's smile, waiting for her to disappear. Her body seemed to ache less now that she knew there wasn't anything to solve. Rose had been coming from a good place and had acted before she thought twice about it. So had she. She had kissed Damon only minutes ago and it already seemed like it had never happened.

She got in the car, followed by a sharp intake of breath at Damon's unexpected presence in the passenger's seat. He subtly gave her an once-over, openly relieved when he saw she wasn't hurt.

Elena threw him a look before sighing and sticking the keys in the ignition. "I'm fine," she answered his unasked question and turned on the car. "Rose even apologized."

Damon nodded. "Good." His eyes briefly ran across hers before he leaned over and turned the car back off, taking the keys as he did so. "Still, I don't think you're in any state to drive."

She rolled her eyes. "And I think you should stop making decisions for me." She held out her hand. "Give me the keys, Damon. I'm tired and I just want to go home."

"Without taking a detour?"

"Do I have a choice?" She shrugged, almost helplessly and he leaned back over to put the keys back in the ignition. "There's always a choice, Elena. You just have to learn to pick a team and stick with it." One of his mouth corners rose as he flashed her half a smile.

She shook her head. "It's more complicated than that and you know it. We have something unresolved between… us." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against her seat, holding her breath when she felt Damon's fingers trail a path up her arm.

"We have time," he argued rationally. "Stefan's in the tomb for the time being."

"Damon, stop," she told him. "This isn't a game." She opened her eyes as Damon pulled back his hand. "I want Stefan out of there."

He nodded, an unsympathetic look in place as he glanced at her. "Fine… but getting Stefan out of the tomb won't automatically make everything better and okay. It won't relinquish the feelings you have for me and—"

"It won't undo tonight," Elena finished for him, watching his expression soften when he realized she wasn't going to pretend like nothing had ever happened. "Don't worry," she continued. "Despite my world being filled with evil vampires, I have my feet firmly grounded in reality."

He raised his index finger and brought it to his lips. "Which poses an interesting question; would you undo this reality, if you could?" He waved his hand, gesturing to something that wasn't there.

She ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "I feel like I have lived this life before… with you… and Stefan." She shook her head. "But that can't be, because I know I'm not Katherine… and when we kissed…" She bit down on her bottom lip and turned her eyes from Damon as a light blush began to spread. "I haven't felt like this before."

"And how exactly do I make you feel?" He scooted closer to her and she turned her body towards him. She shook her head. "Like I'm in this surreal dream where I can do whatever I want because I know I'll wake up and my actions won't have affected me."

Their knees were touching and both had their hands awkwardly sprawled in their laps. He had his fists loosely balled while she had the fingers of one hand clasped around her other wrist. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and grab a hold of him once more, just to reassure herself that it hadn't been a onetime thing, but that there was more to it than a mere human infatuation. And he was restraining himself and keeping his hands to himself, although in his mind he had already left his fingerprints behind everywhere. He didn't want the attraction between them to come second again to his brother's good heart. He once had a heart that was good and she reminded him of what it felt like when it raced for someone else.

He nodded. It was a late reaction to her last sentence as he spread out his fingers and gently tugged at a loose strand of her hair, just to make contact of some kind with her before she left for the night. "Yeah, life's a bitch like that. Everything you want, you don't always get it." He let go of her hair and prepared himself to leave the vehicle. "Still, I really hope you'll decide to play on team Damon. It's a winner," he added, his eyes burning into hers for a second longer and setting her heart aflame, bringing everything dangerously close to the surface.

Elena wrapped an arm around her stomach, holding herself in place.

Damon left the car as quickly and quietly as he had entered it and she started the car.

There would be more moments like these.

Please review? So... what did you think? It was dark and bittersweet knot of emotions, I think. Like always, comments are more than welcome as well as any critique you may have. I am here to learn. Thanks for taking the time to read and 'till my next creation. :) Oh, and happy new year! May 2011 be filled with love and luck.