"…Where does he get off?" Damon takes another heavy swig from the bottle before returning to his tirade. "If this becomes pattern I'll need to build an underground tunnel out of here." He places the bottle down and stares at his naked finger, a break in his tan where his daylight ring usually rests. "You never left me behind like this…" He mumbles to no one. His eyes burn into the bourbon. "And she backed him up… I get that she picked him but I still thought… don't know what I thought. Hey, if they're dead at least you and Jenna will have company." He laughs bitterly and sets the bottle down.
They'd been gone for a couple of hours. Chasing after Jeremy to keep him from getting killed trying to get his tattoo completed to get his sister back from the land of the dead. The odds of them finding him were infinitesimally small, and no doubt the idiots would need him to save them from whatever their martyr complex got them into this time. Only an hour till nightfall. He takes to pacing again, bourbon in hand. The sun is, unsurprisingly still lethal.
Growing bored of waiting, he opts for a quick shower, but when he realizes he's putting soap in his hair he gets out and throws some clean clothes back on. When he walks back into the room, rubbing a towel against his damp hair, Elena is standing by the window awkwardly. All the fight leaves his body at the sight of her. She's safe, and now he just wants to be alone. Maybe once it's dark he'll swing by the Grill for a pretty little snack.
"I'm tired, Elena."
"I brought you this." She said, raising a hand cupped around his ring.
He smirks and moves towards it. "Didn't think I was getting it back this time... Thanks." His hand reaches for his ring, but she pulls it away. "Please give it back."
"I just have to say something." Her face contorts with determination as she grips the ring tightly to her chest.
"Why do you have to say it with my ring?" Her shoulders sag a little, but she manages eye contact. "Because…what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life." His brow furrows as memories flood back. "You realize you can't compel me, right?" She nods but refuses to back down. "I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it…I love you, Damon." She says through glassy eyes. He's about to say something but she silences him with two fingers on his lip and continues. "And it is because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. Why you need to forget this, I don't deserve you. But your brother does, and I can't be the wedge between you two anymore." Her hands rise up to cradle his neck, pulling him down to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. "God I wish you didn't have to forget about this…but you do."
He can't control his eyes closing as her lips touch his skin, and a moment later when they open again; he's alone in his room, the ring back on his finger.