Disclaimer: I do not own TVD. If I did, Damon and Elena would already be together.

This is just a little Delena drabble set after "Dangerous Liaisons." It is loosely based on the song, I'd Come For You by Nickelback. Even if many of you are Nickelback haters, at least appreciate the beautiful lyrics of this song. P.S. This is how things should have gone in my humblest opinion. The scene with Stefan at the end of 3x14 never happened in this story.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Guilt

"Time to be honest,

This time I'm pleading…

Please don't dwell on it,

'Cause I didn't mean it…"

Elena woke up in the morning feeling as if a twenty ton weight were resting on top of her. She stared at the ceiling, remembering the events of the night before and wondered what she could have done differently. Not only had she helped seal the fate of the entire Original family, she had looked Damon in the eyes and said the one thing that could make him flip the switch to "old Damon" again.

She wasn't entirely sure what had made her say it, but she couldn't have been more wrong. She had known it the moment the words escaped her lips. Who was she to say his love for her was getting in the way of everything? Who was she to suggest that tapping into his humanity had made him care too much—had made him a liability, as he had so coldly stated. The thought of that icy stare and numb shock etched across his face chilled her to bones. She was truly guilty this time. Not simply because of what she had said, but because of all that they had been through together.

It was her who had wanted him to care more—to be the better man. She had wanted him to act more human, and even though his humanity was exactly what he wanted, it was nearly impossible to go against the blood-thirsty, murderous instincts that being a vampire entailed. She had all but begged for him to change; to be more like Stefan. And he had become exactly what she wanted him to be.

And Elena had practically destroyed all that progress with her simple response, "Well maybe that's the problem…" She didn't even know how she could think that after all the times he had saved her. She wouldn't even be alive if it hadn't been for Damon's selfless—well most of the time selfish—acts of love.

Then her thoughts wandered back to the night she had asked Damon to compel Jeremy to leave Mystic Falls. It wasn't very long ago, but she had thanked him for everything he had done for her, and she had meant every word. He had been her rock, her support, and her safety for the last six months, and when he kissed her that night, she had allowed herself to kiss him back. Then she acted like none of that had even mattered—and practically kicked him to the curb for being in love with her.

Now, she truly felt like a horrible person. She had no idea where she had gone wrong. She knew she had betrayed his trust again; the only thing was that she didn't know if he would forgive her this time. If she was being completely honest with herself, she had allowed herself to use him as a crutch in Stefan's absence.

She had acted like Katharine would have—and that was far from acceptable.

The strange thing was that it wasn't the kiss or her feelings for both Salvatore brothers that made her feel guilty. It was the fact that subconsciously, and even consciously at times, she had played on both of their feelings for her, to get them to do her bidding. She had them wrapped around her finger, especially Damon, and she knew that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her—no lengths that he wouldn't go to as long as it made her happy. That was what made her like Katharine. That was what terrified her the most.

It was then that she bolted out of bed, took the quickest shower of her life, and was driving over to the Salvatore Boarding house within 20 minutes. If there was one thing that separated her from Katharine, it was her ability to feel guilty—and her ability to apologize, which was exactly what she was about to do.

She walked up to the door of the mansion—always so daunting, she thought—but when she reached the door she hesitated. Sure, it was her house, and she had always been welcome there, but somehow after the events of last night, she just didn't feel welcome at the moment. So she knocked, and within moments, the door flung open, revealing a very wet and towel clad Damon.

She hardly had a moment to take in the sight of him in all his half naked, dripping wet, sexy, muscular glory, before he greeted her with contempt. "Elena." It wasn't his usual warm and tender way of saying her name. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Sarcasm. Great. She realized she would have to work extra hard to fix her slip-up from the night before.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she had no idea how to convince him that she really, truly hadn't meant what she said.

"If you don't have anything worthwhile to say, you can leave." Damon said coldly, and began to shut the door in her face.

"Damnit Damon!" She finally came to her senses, and pushed her way into the house. "I came here to apologize. But if you're going to act like that, maybe you don't deserve it!" There she went again—she really needed to shove a sock in her mouth for all the things she had said to Damon that weren't true. She saw the hurt momentarily flicker across his face again, and sighed.

"Right, Elena, because I just love the constant reminder that I don't deserve you. Now if you don't mind, I'm a little busy at the moment."

He began ascending the staircase, leaving her in the doorway, feeling like she wanted to curl up in a corner and die. Why was it so hard for her to think before she spoke with Damon? When it came to her, he was always so vulnerable. It was way too easy for her to hurt his feelings, and she just couldn't leave the house without making amends. "Damon, please. Just hear me out," she pleaded.

He stopped on the fifth step, considering her for a moment, but didn't turn to face her. He couldn't allow her to see the mixture of hurt and longing that seemed to be burned into his conscience as of late. He knew the moment he turned around and saw her beautiful, brown eyes pleading with him, that he wouldn't be able to resist her power over him.

"Not this time, Elena. You've worn out your welcome." Despite the tone of bitterness he had managed to convey, it took every bit of his resolve to deny her of what she wanted. "Leave. Before I make you leave."

She stared at him in utter disbelief as he continued his ascent. "No, Damon, you won't make me leave, and I'm not leaving until you hear what I have to say." She folded her arms across her chest in stubbornness. In a flash Damon was in front of her, glaring daggers, and looking angrier than ever.

"Leave, Elena," he threatened. "NOW."

"NO." She knew he wouldn't hurt her, no matter how angry he was with her at the moment.

"You stupid girl. What part of leave don't you understand?" Rebekah appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing Damon's shirt; her hair tossed in a messy array of blonde locks. Elena had definitely not expected this, as understanding dawned on her face.

She turned to Damon. It was her turn to glare daggers. In fact, she was so livid with anger, she had no idea what was actually going to come out of her mouth this time. "YOU SLEPT WITH HER? She tried to kill me less than 24 hours ago, and you just slept with her? How dare you…"

If Damon was being honest, he had felt a little guilty about his indiscretion, but her last comment dispelled any traces of said guilt. "Oh, how dare I? Really, Elena, that's the best you can come up with? You're the one who enjoys having me wrapped around your pretty little finger, to do your bidding and be there for you, when it's convenient for you. You made it perfectly clear last night that I'm a liability. I care too much, remember? So yes Elena, you're right, how dare I finally accept that I will never be good enough for you." He was in her face by now; anger, disappointment, and total anguish flowing through every fiber of his being.

Shame and guilt hit her full on like a freight train. She knew he was angry and upset with her, but this was too much to bear. The moment she felt the hot tears spill from her eyes, she bolted out the front door and drove away as fast as she could, leaving Damon in the doorway to stand with the fresh image of her tear streaked face etched into his memory.

The next moment, Rebekah appeared behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, beckoning for him to join her in his bedroom. He ignored her and walked into the parlor to his Bourbon stash, pouring himself a generous glass of the amber liquid.

"Damon?" she prodded.

"Take the hint blondie, and get out of my house. I want to be alone."

Insulted, she was upstairs to grab her things and back down in the parlor within seconds. When she spoke it was with an air of haughty indignation, "I'm not sure what it is you see in that little doppelganger bitch, but you'll both be sorry you messed with me."

"Already am." He shot her an annoyed look, and she stalked out the door with her chin in the air. "Bye now," he said with mock conviction. He heard something smash in the entry, and then the door slammed, shaking the entire house.

He drained his glass of liquid comfort, and quickly poured himself another one. He brought the glass to his lips, thought for a moment and hurled the glass into the fireplace as the anger consumed him. As the flames that erupted at the contact with alcohol subsided, so did his anger, and the only thing he was left with was the guilt of causing pain to the woman he loved. He had made Elena cry—again—and even though he was beyond angry with her, he was just as equally angry with himself. He was just as guilty of causing the rift that had somehow formed between them as she was.

But it didn't matter. Nothing changed the fact that he would never be good enough for her, and nothing would make him more deserving of her love. That was just how it was—how it had to be.

I really hope you enjoyed this! At first this was only going to be a oneshot…but after I wrote this chapter, I realized I had a few ideas that I could pursue :)

Let me know what you think! Reviews are always welcome!