a/n: This is just a quick fic that I wrote on a break from homework. I hope you enjoy, and as always, please review!

Burning the World

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn,
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts.
-Love the Way You Lie Part 2 by Rihanna

Elena followed Damon into the Salvatore Manor without saying a word to him. While Damon disappeared upstairs, Elena walked over to Damon's bar and took out a bottle of vodka.

As much as Elena wanted to say she felt fine, she knew that was a complete lie. She had expected to feel some form of unending pain, but that hadn't come yet. Instead, she felt a numbness that drove her so crazy she wanted to find something to make her feel again.

When the alcohol went down her throat, a burning sensation followed its path. Welcoming in the pain, she took another shot.

As the vodka entered her body, she began to open up to all the things she didn't really want to face.

She had spent the majority of her waking hours since Stefan had left trying to find a way to get him back. After all the work she had put into his rescue, he had made it perfectly clear earlier that night that he no longer cared about her. The very thought that he could throw everything they had away that quickly made her want to get sick.

She had heard many stories about girls who sat around and cried when their true loves left them for eternity. Elena wasn't the type of girl to sit around and watch herself die.

A fierce anger rose up within her as she took another gulp of alcohol. She had never known how amazing pain could feel before now. For the first time in almost a month, Elena didn't care what she felt as long as she felt something.

"You need to stop," Damon's voice called, and Elena spun around to see Damon standing in the doorway. His expression was one of concern, but also one that told her he wouldn't be crossed. Shrugging, Elena sat down the bottle of vodka and crossed the room to where Damon stood.

"You know all about stopping, don't you?" she said harshly as she pointed a finger at his chest. The burning of the alcohol spread through her body as she let her anger take hold of her. "You spend every minute of your day looking for a way to save precious Stefan," she spat. "If he wanted to come back, Damon, he would have a long time ago."

"You think I don't know that?" he yelled. "I know how lost he is. But you found something inside of me that was worth saving. I owe him the same chance."

Elena laughed, a simple, almost evil laugh. "Screw chances," she snapped. "We're spending all this time trying to save someone who doesn't exist. And we're dying, Damon. Our lives are passing us by. And for what?"

He arched an eyebrow. "What did Stefan say to you?"

"It doesn't matter." She rolled her eyes. "I'm finished with this conversation."

As she moved past him, Damon grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her back. The same burning that had been inside of her spread along the skin where he touched her. For so long she had ignored the fire between them, but with everything that had happened, she no longer had a reason to deny it. Maybe this was the night she was meant to burn.

"Stefan-"

"Forget Stefan," Elena interrupted before she pulled Damon toward her.

Her lips met his, and the burning inside of her intensified. There was a moment where she felt his resistance, but she kissed him again and all his will power faded.

As the fire danced underneath her skin, Damon pulled her closer to his body. His hands tangled in her hair as his kisses devoured her.

She moaned, and he growled in response. He moved and positioned her so that her body was pinned between his and the wall. Their eyes met for a split second before Elena reached up and kissed him again.

There was something about this burning that made Elena want to never stop. The pain was completely real, but it was a pain she could control.

As his kisses trailed down her face and onto her neck, Elena's hands reached for the hem of his shirt. Before she could remove it, she felt a gust of wind, and Damon was standing at the other side of the room.

The second he was gone she felt a throb go through her heart. Although she hadn't meant for things to go that far, a small part of her already missed the contact.

"We can't do this, Elena," Damon half-pleaded. "I can't survive you kissing me and then going back to him."

"I know," she breathed. She suddenly felt a wave of shame wash over her body. She hadn't even thought about how much this was going to hurt Damon. She couldn't believe she'd ever been that selfish.

"I truly am sorry," she whispered before she turned and left the house. She heard Damon calling after her, but didn't stop to see what he had to say. For a moment she had wanted to burn the world, but now she knew she had to try to save it.

But now that a fire had been kindled inside of her, she wasn't sure she'd be able to deny it.