Eyes blood red, with a trail of blood trickling down his chin, Damon let the dead body of the innocent girl fall to the ground. He looked up in horror; Klaus was smiling in satisfaction. "There, now; that's two down, one to go. Elena, sweetheart? Would you care to say anything?"

They were standing in front of Mystic Falls High School, and Klaus had compelled Damon to feed on three cheerleaders, who had had the misfortune of hanging around the school after practice. Klaus was punishing him. He had needed to take more of Elena's blood, and Damon had tried to help Elena escape. Of course, that hadn't gone over well. Now, Klaus was getting even. Elena was trapped leaning against the flagpole, surrounded by hybrids. She was crying. "Damon. Damon, don't do it. You don't have to! Fight it! Fight it for me… please, Damon…"

Klaus smiled at her, and then turned to Damon. "Damon, rip into Elizabeth's throat and don't stop drinking until she's dead."

Damon was trembling; he was trying as hard as possible to stay in place, and not lunge at the whimpering blonde girl a few feet away from him. "No… I don't… want her…"

Klaus walked over to Elizabeth and brushed her straight blonde hair away from her throat, caressing it while he grinned at Damon. Elizabeth was whimpering louder now; she had been compelled, along with her two, now deceased, friends to stay in place and wait for Damon to kill them. "Don't you, though, Damon? Just look at her… so warm and…" the whites of Klaus's eyes turned red as his fangs extended. "Delicious." He bit into her neck, and she screamed, sobbing. Klaus pulled away without drinking a drop, letting the blood flow temptingly down her flawless skin. "Come now, Damon; drink."

Damon shook his head. "No… no, I won't…!"

Klaus let go of Elizabeth and walked over to Damon, glaring into his eyes. "Kill her."

Involuntarily, Damon lunged forward, his eyes growing even redder. Elizabeth sobbed louder when he appeared before her. Tears brimming in his red eyes, he stroked her cheek. "I'm so sorry for this…"

"Please don't…" she begged him.

"Kill her!" Klaus yelled, and Damon viciously sank his fangs into Elizabeth's neck, drinking deeply while she wreathed and screamed against his grip. Elena sobbed in horror, her hand covering her mouth as she watched.

Damon continued to drink until Elizabeth stopped screaming, and then stopped moving, and her heart stopped all together. Agony shining in his blue eyes, he let her body fall in a heap beside her friends; red haired Megan, and brunette Ashley. Ashley had been the worst; the resemblance between her and Elena was unmistakeable, and he knew Klaus had handpicked her for that precise reason.

"There now; excellent work, Mr. Salvatore. Would you like another?"

"No." Damon gasped out, shaking.

"Well, that's your choice. Hopefully this will teach you not to mess in my affairs. Boys," he turned to the hybrids surrounding Elena, "Let Miss Gilbert go. Elena, love, I'll come collect you for your donation tomorrow night."

Elena stared at Damon, her mouth open in horror, her eyes wide and filled with tears. He was staring at the dead girls, blood covering his face, tears streaming rapidly down his cheeks. He fell to his knees by his destruction, and Elena ran to him, falling beside him and clutching his shoulders.

"Let's go, boys." Klaus said, and then they were gone.

"Damon. Damon, look at me."

He turned his agonized blue eyes up to her. "I killed them. Elena, he made me kill them…" he shook his head, disgusted with what he had done. He hadn't fed on live humans in so long… let alone killed one. But three? Three teenage girls?

"Damon, it wasn't your fault. He compelled you…"

"I killed them. Elena, I killed them…" trembling, he buried his face in her shoulder. "I killed them… he compelled me… I killed them…"

"Sh…" she whispered, tears falling down her own face. "Sh…"

"I… I'm a monster…."

"No." she pulled away so he had to look at her. "No, you're not. Klaus is. Klaus is the monster. He did this. Him. Not you."

Damon's mouth hung open in words he couldn't say.

Elena reached over and wiped at the blood on his face with the sleeve of her sweater. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

He cast his eyes down.

"Damon. Hey," she tilted his face back up. "Listen to me, okay?"

After a moment, he nodded.

"I'm going to help you. It's all going to be okay. I'm here, alright?"

He nodded again.

She ran her hand through his black locks, which were matted with blood. Seeing the horror and agony mixed in his eyes tore her up. She needed her Damon. She needed him to strong for both of them, like he had been. He couldn't remain a torn up shell of himself. Not at Klaus's hands. Not like Stefan was.

She wouldn't lose Damon, too. She refused to lose Damon. She would not lose her Damon.

"I love you." She whispered, and he looked up in confusion. "What…?"

"I love you, Damon. I love you so much… I'm sorry for being so selfish with you. It isn't right for me to use you like this… with you thinking that I don't care. But I do. I love you just as much as you love me. You need to know that. You need to remember that. Okay? I'm not giving up on you. I won't lose you, too."

He held her hand firmly. "Elena…."

"You don't have to say anything. There's something else I have to do, too."

"What is it?" he asked.

Without answering him, she leaned forward and wiped the blood off of his lips with her sleeve, before she kissed him.

He whimpered and kissed her back. "Thank you. Thank you, Elena…" he whispered when she pulled away.

"Come on. Let's get you home." She said, helping him stand up.

"The girls…" he said quietly, glancing at them again.

"We'll call Sheriff Forbes."

Damon looked at her. "What will you tell her?"

"The truth; Klaus did it."

Taking his hand, she led him away from yet another emotional blow Klaus had caused them.