Disclaimer: I don't own the book or television series the Vampire Diaries. All I own is my imagination.

A/N: I am still in the process of looking for a job and, although I have graduated from college now and have more free time on my hands, with the lack of job and all, I still don't have enough time. Can you believe that? Looking for a job is a stressful activity, so please cross your fingers for me? It does make me happy that the television series I love have started back up again in the United States, Vampire Diaires included. I'm not a big fan of the change in Elena's personality up to this point; she is becoming more like Katherine. And Damon is a true son of a gun, per usual, but I love him when his vulnerable side comes through. I have tried to capture this Jekyll & Hyde element in this moment. It takes place after the second episode, in which Damon "kills" Jeremy. This is my take of the immediate aftermath.

State of Distress

"We'll never get where we're going…"

Elena was in some form of shock, barely able to keep it together as she held on to her brother. Her body had stopped shaking, but her hands hadn't. She couldn't believe that Damon had just done that, had snapped her brother's neck like his life had meant nothing. Of course she was aware of how different his nature was from Stefan's, but he had been timid lately and, at moments, even caring towards her. But that had been until Katherine decided to reappear; he had gone back to being malicious, even more so than he had been when she had first met him. There were no moral limits to his behavior… Elena had been a witness of that tonight when Damon killed her brother right in front of her just because he wasn't having a good day. Jeremy had been the nearest punching bag. She didn't see his face, but she doubted that she would have found any remorse.

Fortunately, Jeremy's death had been temporary due the ring he was wearing, a smart move on his side that made her hug him even tighter. She could tell that he was also in shock as he realized what had just happened. Elena had called Stefan and he had been by her side almost instantly because his love was unconditional and good or bad, it didn't matter. The way it was supposed to be. She let go of her brother, keeping a close eye on him as Stefan helped him onto her bed.

"Will you stay with him?"

"I don't need a ba—"

"Of course," Stefan said, cutting Jeremy off while Elena threw her brother a look. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to have a little talk with your brother." She reached for her keys, but Stefan placed his hand on top of hers, temporarily stopping her. "Are you sure that's a good idea; like you said, he isn't exactly stable right now."

"Is he ever?" She raised her eyes to his and Stefan nodded. "Rarely, and I'll be the first to admit that… which is exactly why you shouldn't be near my brother, especially not now."

Elena shook her head. "He won't hurt me. He could've just now, but he went after Jeremy instead." She placed her other hand on top of his. "Look, Stefan, if he has a problem with me, then he can at least talk to me about it, like a normal person."

Stefan sighed, but removed his hand. "Damon's not a person."

"He has feelings, nonetheless; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone this far to get back at me."

"Right," Stefan remarked, crossing his arms before continuing, "get back at you for not reciprocating the feelings he obviously has for you."

"Has for Katherine," she corrected him and grabbing her keys. "I'm just the doppelganger, remember." She sighed and he crossed his arms, neat lines creasing his brow. "You almost sound wistful for these misplaced feelings," he pointed out.

Elena looked at him and shook her head. "I'm not having this conversation again, especially not after your brother just killed mine." She didn't tell and reassure him that she had already told Damon to his face that she was with Stefan, and not with him, and that he basically didn't stand a chance at being anything but a friend. It had hurt Damon, to say the least, but that wasn't going to stop her from confronting him with his inhumane actions. She was going to be brave and face him. She touched her hand to Stefan's chest and leaned in to him. "Watch him. I'll be back soon, okay?"

Stefan nodded and placed a kiss on the crown of her head. "Please be careful," he cautioned her. "Don't be the reason why I finally had to put a stake through my brother's heart."

He offered her up a slight smile as she left the room.

Elena wasted no time in getting to the Salvatore mansion, entering without knocking first and making her presence known. She didn't have to. And Damon was there, leaning against the old fireplace with the fire roaring dramatically with one hand resting on the mantelpiece while the other was encircling a glass filled with some kind of alcohol.

"Elena," he acknowledged her before she could get a word out, though his back remained turned to her. "You know, it's a not so smart move to follow the vampire that just killed your brother back to his home." He lifted his glass, bringing it to his lips and pausing. "It's almost foolish."

He took a sip and she shook her head. "Jeremy's not dead… which is fortunate for you; otherwise, I would have had to kill you myself."

"Uh uh." Damon lifted his index finger from the glass and shook it, turning slightly to look at her, his eyes bright. "Don't act all cocky, like you actually have a chance of killing me, because you obviously so don't. And as for your brother, I am intrigued to how he was resurrected from a very violent death."

Elena's eyes narrowed and shot daggers at him. She had boldly taken a step forwards, even though the couch still stood between them. "He was wearing John's ring," she told him matter-of-factly, catching the surprise on his face and something else, something she chose to read as relief. "But that doesn't excuse what you did, Damon." Her finger was now pointing at him. "Look, I know you're heartbroken over Katherine and that her being here brings back memories, probably bad ones since you're so out of control—"

"Oh, you haven't seen me lose my control… yet." Damon turned around fully and continued drinking his drink.

They looked at one another in dead silence for a few seconds before Elena began shaking her head again. "I can't believe I actually thought, for a second, that you were capable of being anything but what you are." She took a step back. "You're not anything like Stefan; you don't have feelings…"

Damon nodded.

"… when it comes to anything but Katherine! And as soon as you don't get what you want, you lash out, which ironically enough reveals your humanity."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, you're contradicting yourself because for me to be able to reveal this so called humanity to you, I would have to care, which I evidently don't… except when it comes to Katherine, of course, although she, too, is a vampire." He downed the last of his drink, licking his lips afterwards. "Secondly, I'm a vampire, Elena. Acting spiteful and showing no remorse is what I do and take pleasure in."

Elena glared at him. "Fine, do whatever you feel like you have to do and shut out everything, but stay away from my family. And me," she added. Her voice's volume was soft, but the tone sounded final as she turned and planned to walk right back the way she had come in.

However, by the time she had spun completely around, Damon was right there in front of her, blocking her way. "Move, Damon."

A chuckle escaped him as she attempted to push her way past. "Superhuman strength, remember." She hadn't heard this tone of voice in a while where he squeezed the words through his teeth with force. She knew he was dangerous when he intended to be and he had threatened her before, but there was always something playful in his demeanor to counter it. Something that wasn't there now. There was nothing charming about this Damon. Still, she felt some sympathy, but not enough to stay and allow him to encroach on her good side again, not after what he had done, not yet. Elena placed a hand on her hip and flipped a strand of hair away from her face, feigning confidence. "Please?" she attempted.

"Fine," he said to her surprise and took a step to the side. "You can go…" But somewhere she knew that he would be right back in front of her as soon as she moved. "… when I'm done with you."

"When you're done with me," Elena repeated. "I'm not yours in any way, Damon, so stop taking out your frustration on me and go drown your sorrow with some more alcohol," she took a stab at him, now shoulder to shoulder with him as she didn't back cower.

Damon only smiled. "That was good, although stupid as well, considering who you're talking to." His smile turned into a grin as he reached for her, but she jumped back quickly and in reflex lifted her hand. For a second or two it simply floated there, in the air right in front of Damon's face, until she made the decision and slapped him across the face. The contact was brief but sharp as her hand landed with quite some force, because she knew that she would never be able to kill him and this was probably all the damage she would be able to do. It was at her own risk of course, something she fully realized before he had taken a hold of her elbow and twisted it painfully behind her back, causing her back to arch and chest to heave.

"Careful now," he hissed into her ear.

"Coward," Elena spat at him. "You're such a coward."

The hate seeped through and dripped off every word, burning him as it hit him, and he couldn't deny it, but aware that he deserved much worse after having killed her brother. He could lie and tell her that he had seen the ring, but he hadn't. Instead of voicing all this, he feigned disinterest and the coldness coming off him. He brushed her hair aside and bared her neck. "And why is that?" he inquired while leaning in to her and bringing his teeth perilously close to her neck. Damon felt her squirm beneath him and released his hold on her, just like that. "Humor me."

Elena stumbled backwards a step or two and she clasped her elbow. "Because you were upset," she began shakily. "Upset at Katherine and then at me for not returning your feelings either and choosing Stefan…"

"Call it a case of a déjà vu," he remarked humorlessly.

"But the difference between me and Katherine is that, for me, it has always been Stefan. I never wavered."

"Oh, please!" Damon exclaimed. "There was definitely some wavering on your side."

Elena shook her head. "I love Stefan, Damon. He's good to me, always. And what I felt for you—"

"Felt?" he raised an eyebrow.

"… is affection," she went on. "I care about you and worry about you, not so much right at this particular moment, but I have… And I thought we had gotten past the… threats and you hurting the people I love to get to me." The memories flooded her mind and washed over her features, putting the pain on display for him and exposing what she tried so hard to conceal from him. All the effort it took her to act unaffected, it almost equaled his. "Next time you want to hurt me, hurt me, and not my friends or my family, my brother. He's all I have," she confided, taking yet another risk as she knew full well that he was capable of using her vulnerability against herself. Lately, she felt that all she had been doing was taking risks when it came to Damon; even the most normal things seemed to have an added weight to them. His love had turned into obsession and his heartache was destructive to himself and to anyone around him.

"You're being a little melodramatic," Damon pointed out, gesturing at her as his eyes made a sweeping movement from left to right. "You're not alone. You never will be, not in your lifetime anyway." He took a couple of seconds, amused at his own sense of humor. "You have people who supposedly care about you. I, on the other hand," he brought his hand to his own chest in a dramatic movement, "have no one but my brother." He eyed her as she remained quiet and continued rubbing her elbow as if in a trance. He sighed. "Like I said, just a tad overdramatic, just a smidgen," he said and nodding at her elbow.

Elena's eyes widened in slight offense, but she dropped her arm. "Superhuman strength," she said. "Sometimes you forget that I'm not like you and Stefan."

Damon snorted. "I am so much stronger than Stefan. I have years on him." He walked over to the dresser and poured himself another glass of whatever he had been drinking before, raising his glass to her before taking a sip. "And as for forgetting what you are," he set his glass back down, his fingers lingering as did his eyes on her, "there's absolutely no chance of doing so… with your remarkable resemblance to the psycho ex my brother and I share… and your constant presence due to you being involved with my brother." He shrugged. "Those are just a few examples of why it is just so damn hard to avoid you, not to mention rude, of course. I can't bite you either, which takes the fun out of it for me, but Stefan—"

"Damon," Elena stopped him. "I get it; you're upset, angry at the world." She sighed, looking away briefly. "Look, I want to feel sympathy for you, especially because we have been spending more time together, getting closer… but you make it almost impossible to do so. Killing Jeremy…" She set her eyes on him again. "I can't just pretend like you didn't do that, on purpose to—"

He raised his hands, indicating for her to stop. "We've been over that and I have no desire to hear you profess your unconditional and incredibly annoying devoted love for my brother."

"Damon."

He shook his head and apologized to her, something he rarely did. "I'm sorry. My outburst obviously wasn't intended for you. I was just at the wrong place, with the wrong person."

And while he ran a hand across his face, she worked on keeping hers composed, trying to shrug of the comment and not taking it personally. She had known from the get-go that Katherine was the love of his life and that she was just a substitute. She couldn't compare, especially when forever wasn't possible for them.

"I need time, Elena," he shared with her, still standing near the dresser.

She nodded. "So do I." Yet, despite their mutual need for distance from one another, she couldn't help approaching him and saying a few more words. "I'm sorry," she began. "I'm sorry Katherine is no longer feeling what you remember her to be feeling. And I'm sorry that I look like her, even more so at moments like these when you lash out." But her tone wasn't harsh and almost understanding, and she shot him the smallest of smiles, a careful one because she wasn't sure what he would do or how he would react.

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but you need to remember that when you go all dark and evil and are so eager to show everyone your fangs and how much damage they can do." She placed her hand on his chest. "You can be a good friend when you want to be, Damon."

She intended to pull back her hand, but as soon as she had dropped it, he reached for and laced his fingers with hers, needing the contact.

"We're holding hands now?" Elena asked, a smile in place.

"You know, I haven't been someone's friend in…" He crunched his brows together. "… I can't even remember, so you might have to fill me in on the terms." He began rubbing his thumb across her hand. "Like, does it involve sleepovers where we share our deepest darkest secrets with one another?" he asked playfully, tugging at her hand so she was forced the final step forwards, no distance left between them.

Her free hand landed on his chest and she couldn't help feeling a little giddy at their closeness. She got up on her tiptoes and he leaned in to her, like she had expected him to. She waited until their lips almost touched before speaking. "I think I already know all your secrets, Damon," she whispered the words, catching his gaze with her own.

Then, just as suddenly as the moment had occurred, she separated herself from him and was on the other side of the room.

"I didn't hear you say no to the sleepover!" he called to her.

Elena shook her head and bowed her head to keep the smile that was forming on her lips from him. He had his blemishes and he could be unforgivable at times, but somehow he always found his way back onto her good side.

Please leave behind a review? As always, I hope that you will leave behind a review to let me know what you thought? The good and the bad is all welcome because only that is the way to improvement. :) I appreciate you taking the time to read this and on to the next episode! I also really like the fact that Tyler is finally getting more attention on the show, he's an underrated character, I think. Also, Caroline as a vampire, didn't see that coming, although her developing friendship with Stefan is very cute. Okay, done. Please review and thanks again!