**I do not own Vampire Diaries or any characters within it. An older story I created a while ago… still debating how long it should be.*

Elena ran up to her room. She slammed her door shut, leaning against it to steady herself. She tried to catch her breath, panting hard, hand on her stomach. She closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth slowly, trying to calm herself down. Her head was spinning and her legs felt weak. How had she let this happen?

Damon had gotten under her skin. She knew it was wrong. She knew she loved Stefan, but there was something about Damon that drew her in. After all this time, all the terrible things he'd done, she found him in her thoughts more often then appropriate.

It started off with dreams. They were few and far between, but when they occurred, they shook her to her very core. She'd wake up in a hot sweat, tangled in her sheets, hand between her legs. She would be in a fog for the rest of the day after a dream like that. But they were so infrequent; she was able to brush them off. She never worried. Her and Stefan had never been stronger, and she knew she loved him. She knew he was her one.

But Damon began having a reoccurring role in her unconscious world. He'd appear out of no where, saving her life, saving her friends, carrying her off into the sunset, carrying her into his bed. It became so regular, she was afraid to sleep. Afraid that these dreams would become a reality, and she would lose Stefan forever.

Elena had become delirious, fighting the urge to close her eyes. She felt like a zombie day in and day out. Stefan had become increasingly concerned, worried that she was unable to rest, not knowing she was just refusing to.

Stefan brought Elena up to his bed one night after dinner at his house. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She tried to protest, asking him not to let her sleep.

"Elena, what is going on? Why won't you sleep?" Stefan asked, his eyes filling with tears of concern.

Elena's eyes rolled back as her head hit the pillow. "Damon," she whispered, before she went under entirely.

Elena woke early the next morning, feeling guiltier then ever. She could still feel his hands guiding her hips against him as he slid in and out of her. She was still throbbing between her legs, even as she shook her head, trying to erase the dream from her memory. She looked around, feeling the pit in her stomach widen as she realized she'd been asleep in her boyfriend's bed having dirty dreams about his brother. She sighed and rolled over to curl up with Stefan, hoping it would make her feel better.

Elena froze, a cool shiver running down her spine. Stefan was not beside her. In his place, a toned, raven-haired man lay asleep, facing toward her. His lips were parted, and he breathed heavily, sound asleep. She stared at him, unable to move away. Without a conscious thought, she brought her fingers up to his faces, and ran her thumb over his bottom lip. He stirred in his sleep, and reached out to wrap his arms around her. He pulled her closer to him, their faces inches apart. Elena's lower belly heated at his touch and she couldn't stop herself. She ran her hand up his bicep and down his back. He moaned softly in his sleep, and she placed her dainty fingers on his face. She traced his hairline and chin, back to his lips.

'Just one kiss,' she thought. 'One kiss, and maybe this will all be over.' She hoped it would satisfy her inner need. She stared down at his lips and bit her own. She leaned over, her mouth watering in anticipation.

Elena bolted upright in bed, sweat pouring from her face as she heaved to catch her breathe. She turned side to side, gathering her bearings. She turned and saw Stefan asleep next to her, and concluded she was in his room. Her body trembled from the realness of the dream she'd just had and she looked down at the man she loved. Her heart broke into a million pieces.

Elena wept as her inner pain dominated her. She quietly got up and grabbed her things. She kissed Stefan, whispering something about Caroline needing her, and snuck out of his room. She felt the air closing in around her as she tried to make her way to the door, eyes blurry and body unstable. She shuffled down the stairs, holding onto the railing as she went, doing her best to stay quiet. 'Almost out,' she told herself. 'Just a little further." A voice came from behind her.

"Elena?"

She let out a choked cry, tears running down her face. She couldn't bring herself to turn around. She took shallow breaths, trying to regain her focus.

"I've got to get going Damon. Caroline called, she needs-"

"Caroline is out of town, Elena. Are you okay? You sound sick," Damon said, as he put his hand on Elena's arm. She jerked out of his reach.

"Don't touch me, I'm fine Damon. I have to go."

Damon went silent, then grabbed Elena's shoulder and whirrled her around. Her damp lashes and running mascara gave her away, and Damon's eyes filled with pain and concern.

"Elena, what happened? What is going on, are you okay?"

Elena couldn't move. His hands on her sent electricity through her body. She kept her head down, not trusting herself to look into his beautiful eyes and not do something stupid. She cried harder, the pain in her heart overwhelming her.

"Elena," Damon said, taking her in his arms, "talk to me, what's going on?" He stroked her hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other.

Elena sobbed into his chest, slowly running her hands up his pectorals, back down his abs, around to his back and up to his biceps, feeling every sexy muscle she'd been dreaming about for weeks.

"Elena, I'm here for you. Talk to me, what's wrong? You're really scaring me," Damon said, as he cradled her head on his chest. She ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders and up to his face. His cheeks felt damp. She looked up at him, tears still spilling down her face.

"Sorry," Damon said, trying to force a laugh, sniffing gently, "there must be something in the air." He wiped his eyes gently. "Seriously though Elena, I don't know what's going on. Please talk to me. It hurts to see you this way," he sputtered out, clearly feeling stupid. Elena's heart skipped a beat. Damon never spoke about his feelings.

Elena wiped his cheeks with her thumbs and he brought his hands to her face and did the same. They laughed quietly at this silly moment, both of them crying for unknown reasons. Elena then ran her thumb over his bottom lip, like she had in her dream, and Damon's face darkened as his breath caught. She couldn't stop herself. She looked in his eyes, then down at his lips and leaned closer. Damon took her hands in his and gently pulled them down.

"Wait, wait, Elena" he said quietly. She pulled back confused, and worry creased Damon's face. Elena read his features and rejection shot straight through her heart. All these weeks of her pining for him, thinking he felt the same. Now here she was, about to blow up her incredible relationship with Stefan just for a quickie with his brother, and it turned out he didn't even want her.

Elena's eyes filled with fresh tears as she wrenched her hands out of Damon's. Horrified, she turned and ran out. Damon didn't try to follow.

Safe in her room, Elena lay on her bed, feeling sick to her stomach. The fear and the pain of the last few weeks overwhelmed her and she let it take her over entirely, sucking her into its darkness. She had finally stopped crying, assumed she'd cried herself out, and now lay silent, lost in her thoughts. She told herself she could have the day to grieve over the inevitable loss of the two Salvatore brothers from her life. She would pick herself up tomorrow.

Elena's eyes were swollen from crying, and her lids felt heavy. She considered trying to stay awake but knowing the end of her relationship was near, it comforted her guilt and she allowed herself to sleep.

She dreamt of both brothers, of her happy memories with both. She dreamt of the first time Stefan kissed her, and told her loved her. She dreamt of Damon holding her, telling her he cared about her. She woke, feeling rested for the first time in what felt like eternity.

She looked at the clock, and realized she'd slept the entire day away. It was dark out and Elena rolled to turn on the light.

"Good morning," a voice came from the darkness and Elena jumped, almost tumbling off the bed.

"Oh sorry, did we scare you? It's about time you woke up, we've been here for hours."

Damon came creeping out of the shadows and Elena's voice caught in her throat unable to speak. Even in the dark his fit frame was evident and she felt a flicker of heat rush inside of her. She felt frozen in place.

"Did we shock you into silence? Elena? Oh Christ, Stefan will you deal with your woman please?" Damon waived his hand, and Stefan stepped out into the moonlight. Elena's heart sank, afraid of the pained look Stefan would have plastered on his face. A look she knew all too well.

"Stefan," she croaked, unable to say anything else. She gazed at him, waiting for him to speak. She felt the guilt rise. Were they going to make her confess everything in front of them both? The pit in her stomach was back and bigger then ever.

Stefan, however, was smiling. Elena leaned closer, studying him. He looked genuinely happy. Elena paused and eyed him suspiciously. She tried to analyze the situation, then decided she absolutely had no idea what was going on.

"Stefan?" She asked slowly.

Stefan grinned at her, then looked at Damon and they both chuckled a little. Elena felt a cold sweat form on her forehead as she began to panic. Stefan caught this and approached her.

"Elena, Elena, hey hey, relax. It's okay. We're here for you. Both of us, we're here," Stefan said, sitting down on the bed next to her. Elena felt even more confused and forced herself to catch her breath and form a coherent sentence.

"What the fuck is going on?" she blurted out, irritation and hurt all spilling out in the same sentence.

Damon smirked and Stefan actually laughed.

"Um," Stefan started, still grinning, "look, I know what's been going on. Inside your head, I mean."

Elena's stomach dropped. The sweat on her forehead accumulated and her hands shook nervously.

"Real nice Stefan. Be as cryptic as possible," Damon said, as he sauntered over to the bed and sat on Elena's other side. Elena looked at Damon and he continued as he got comfortable.

"Look, Elena, Stefan knows you've been having those pesky little sex dreams about me every night, basically wanting to bone my brains out. We were worried so we did a little dream digging the past few nights. Now, while I wouldn't mind that one bit," Damon gestured to Stefan, "technically, you are still with him. Now, we both know you're all concerned about hurting one of us or both of us, because your sweet little human heart just wouldn't be able to take it if you were the reason behind our 'pain,'" Damon air-quoted the word sarcastically, "So, we felt it was our job to come to a conclusion so that no one was going to get hurt. Now this has been in the works for quite some time now, but we weren't really sure if you were ready. Then this morning, when you tried to do me in the hallway of our house while Stefan was asleep upstairs, we figured it was about time."

"Time for what?" Elena asked.

Damon stroked Elena's chin with his fingers and smiled.

"Time for me to make love to you, Elena."

**I do not own Vampire Diaries or any characters within it. An older story I created a while ago… still debating how long it should be.*