Damon took the multitude of items and gingerly placed them in box upon box. Elena said she would get to it sometime today, but he'd decided to take it upon himself. The girl had enough on her plate as it was, and regardless of how small a task this was, he felt that he should at least do something for her.

Elena's transition hadn't happened with ease. When she woke up she was completely confused as to why she was even alive. And once they'd explained to her exactly what happened, she had a look of disgust on her face when she glanced at the lone bag of blood.

When she'd blatantly refused it Damon began to argue with her. As per usual she was acting all too stubborn for his liking.

And as for Stefan? He'd muttered how he'd wish Elena would complete the transition, but in the end it was "still her decision."

Don't even get Damon started on his brother's free will crap. He gets it, you need to be able to have freedom, and not have every choice made for you. But really? We're talking about life or death here!

He just couldn't wrap his head around it. While Stefan supposedly loved her with "all his being" (ack!Don't even let Damon talk about how cheesy a line that was) how is it possible for Stefan to talk about Elena dying so calmly? Why wasn't he trying to make sure she survived?

And that's probably where they differed most. Stefan cared more about "loosing Elena's respect" and staying in her good graces than he did for challenging her when she was so clearly in the wrong. And Damon, he let her do what she liked, unless it was any of the following: reckless, stupid, and reckless. (And knowing Elena, her plans and ideas were each of them in some way or another.)

She looked at Damon triumphantly after his brother spewed that idiotic free will line, and he thought about how he'd never met someone else in his lifetime that felt as determined to die as she did.

After their comments bounded back and forth, Damon's points making more sense than hers, he grew tired of the conversation. He'd decided to bring out the big guns and go for the kill.

Damon softly pointed out that without her, Jeremy would be truly alone, now that both Jenna and Alaric were gone for good. A vampire Elena was better than no Elena at all. As if to solidify his point, Jeremy walked in the door not seconds later. Damon could see how he had her, and without much more protest she promptly drank the blood.

Now here Damon was not week later, cleaning out a room for Jeremy all the way across the boarding house.

Not that he had anything against him, that wasn't why he sought a bedroom so far from Elena's (she was sleeping in Stefan's room). Rather, Elena still didn't have the best self-control in the world. He wasn't about to take any chances and put Jeremy in a room not ten feet away from hers.

And why was Jeremy staying with them you ask? Though Damon would never admit it, he felt sorry for the kid. Since Elena was staying with them at the boarding house Jeremy would have been all alone in a house that held nothing but memories of his parents and Jenna. Not to mention the fact that he'd seen Alaric's ghost in the hallway the night of the crash. It wasn't fair to leave the kid with his mind running rampant with thoughts of "Why does everyone have to die on me?"

And since then Elena was never alone at all really. For just about every second of the day someone was by her side, helping her to make sure she had a grip on everything.

The only one who Damon hadn't speak to Elena was Bonnie. The last time he saw them together was the day Bonnie made Elena her daylight ring. Since then she was nowhere to be seen.

Being who she was, Bonnie was probably trying to process the fact that this actually happened. While Damon couldn't exactly blame her, he thought it wasn't exactly right for her to ignore Elena at a time like this.

Damon tossed a couple more items in the nearly full box before stacking it alongside the other three. He grabbed a suitcase and a box preparing to make his way out of the room, when he glanced at the doorway. Stefan was standing there, leaning against the door jamb with nonchalance.

"So brother...where do you plan on heading next?"

Damon looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about? I'm just clearing the room for baby Gilbert." Did Stefan seriously think he'd take off at a time like this?

Realization dawned upon Stefan. "Oh. I just, I'd figured you were leaving because of that pact we'd made."

Damon snorted. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily little brother." He sidestepped Stefan and began to head to the next room over to deposit the stuff. "You actually thought I was going to leave Elena when she needs us all most? Besides, I don't think I was going to leave even if she hadn't been turned."

Stefan's eyes darkened a shade. "And why exactly is that?"

Damon sighed. "Because Stefan, don't you think Elena's lost enough people in her life? How happy do you think she would be if I just up and disappeared? Yeah I know, she chose you but I don't really care at this point. We're friends, as much as I know that bothers you, and I doubt she'd be elated to see me leave, even if I am, well, me."

"I just thought had it have been me, I'd probably have left because I'm not exactly ecstatic at the thought of you two ever being together."

"And that is the eternal difference between you and I, brother. While you're all for being an insufferable martyr in times of need, you're not as selfless as you appear. And I get it, believe me. It's so much easier to be selfish and save yourself the pain, but we both know that's not the right thing to do." Damon paused. "Besides, at this point, it shouldn't matter how I feel seeing you two as a couple again. The right thing to do is be there for her regardless of how I feel."

So this is my first Vampire Diaries story. I'm not sure where exactly it's going to go, or the number of chapters, but I have a good feeling about it if that counts for anything!