If you haven't read my other story, 'The truth is out and i can see what's real' please do, otherwise this wont make any sense. Thank you! i hope you enjoy it!

I'm still trying to figure out this site...the way you post stories is weird...but if anyone would like me to start a series, let me know with a review. I'll try and figure this site out enough to do so ;)

~May These Memories Break Our Fall~

"You have to open your eyes." Damon whispered softly when Elena shut them as she spoke her 'thank you'.

Elena took in a shaky breath. Without realizing it she had taken a step back from him, her hand covering her necklace to hold it in place before he could take it off completely.

Damon looked at her confused. What was she doing?

"I can't do this…" She whispered, her eyes opening to meet his. "I can't forget."

Damon's brow furrowed as he took a step closer to her, his hands coming down onto her shoulders gently. "You said…"

"I know what I said, Damon. But I can't forget. Not yet." She replied, re-fastening her necklace. "not ever."

"Why?"

"Because you're right. I do have feelings for you. And if I forget now, these feelings are only going to be buried long enough for something else to come along and force me to realize them all over again."

Damon nodded in understanding. "So what are we going to do now?"

Elena looked into his stunning eyes for a moment, wishing she could drown in them so she wouldn't have to face what came next. But life wasn't that kind and she had no choice but to swim to shore. "Now, I have to figure out what the hell I'm going to do about you."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I can't be with you…I love Stefan…But I can't be with Stefan while I'm feeling this intense about you…" She confessed, running a hand over her face. She suddenly felt exhausted.

"You broke up with Stefan, Remember?" Damon reminded, a little more aggressively than he needed too.

Elena sighed, not bothering to hide how broken she felt. "I love, Stefan." She repeated, But they both thought it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than to convince Damon.

Damon took another step towards her, taking her soft face in his hands. "But you love me too." he wasn't asking. He was telling. He knew it was true. He could see it every time she looked at him, every time she was near him. He could see it in her eyes right now, as she looked up at him.

"I do." She conceded, "I do, Damon." a single tear escaped her eye, but Damon's thumb gently wiped it away before it could travel far.

And that was really all Damon needed...

Before Elena knew what was happening, he was pressing a passionate kiss to her lips, pulling her body into his and savoring her taste.

Shocks of electricity ran through her body everywhere they touched as her tongue tangled with Damon's. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself into him.

"Say it…" Damon ordered breathlessly, pulling out of the kiss and resting his forehead against hers again. "Just once. I need to hear you say it once."

Forcing her eyes open, Elena took Damon's face in her hands and rubbed soft circles into his cheeks as their eyes met. "I love you…Damon Salvatore."

Damon's eyes softened at her words and a sigh of relief was released before an almost hysterical laugh escaped his lips. "I never thought I would hear anyone say those words to me and mean it…" He confessed, his eyes now closed so she wouldn't see how weak her words made him, the tears they formed in his eyes.

She had this uncanny ability to make him feel weak with a simple look or phrase. Sometimes she even made him feel human. It was something he wasn't sure if he loved or hated.

Before Damon could open his eyes, Elena had once again pressed her lips to his. A sense of rightness overtook her the moment their lips met. She suddenly felt at home. It was something she hadn't really felt since before her parents died.

"Oh, God…" She whispered as the kiss broke. "I'm so screwed…" she mumbled softly, keeping her eyes closed as she once again resting her forehead against Damon's.

"I don't want to be without you, Elena." He confessed, causing her to open her eyes. "I don't think I can. Not now."

Tears were once again filling her eyes as she whispered, "I can't not be with you either." She confessed, knowing it would be the end of her. But then again, Damon would have been the end of her either way. She knew that now. He was going to kill her one way or another. Hell, he'd probably kill her in every way possible anyway.

Damon smiled, lacing his fingers with hers and bringing their hands up to kiss the backs of hers. "Come with me." He said, reluctantly letting go of one of her hands and turning to start walking.

"Where are we going?" She asked, not fighting him as he lead her further into the woods.

Damon turned back to look at her, but didn't stop walking. "Do you trust me?"

"Despite my better judgment." She replied, giving him a playful smile so he would know she was kidding, sort of.

Damon couldn't stop the smile from tugging at his lips as he gave her arm a little jerk to pull her closer. He quickly pulled her up into his arms to carry her bridal style before she even had a chance to react. "Close your eyes." He whispered, smiling a little brighter as she did what he asked.

Elena felt a short gust of wind, and then nothing.

"Open your eyes." Damon whispered, gently setting her on her feet.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around as she asked.

They seemed to be deeper in the woods, the trees were a lot thicker and there was no sign of human life except for the small red shack she was now standing in front of. It looked to be in pretty good shape, but the paint was chipped and one of the shutters was falling off the only window.

"I found a few months ago when I needed to get away from Mr. Brooding Brow." Damon told her, referring to Stefan.

Elena gave him a chastising look, before turning her attention back to the shack. "So why are we here?"

"I've been fixing it up whenever I get a bit of spare time-" He turned to look at her, "-Which doesn't happen very often, mind you-" he turned to look back at the shack with a chuckle after she flipped him off. "-But never the less, its kind of like my home away from home." He told her.

"That's nice." She said, looking at the place with a new light as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"So now it can be ours." he told her calmly, waiting to hear her reaction.

Elena turned her head to look at him in shock. "What?"

"Now it can be ours…Until we get everything figured out with Stefan and the moonstone spell…We can be together here. It can be our place." he said, turning to look at her as well.

A smile spread across her face, causing one to tug at Damon's lips as well.

"Its perfect." She whispered, holding her hand out to him.

Damon let the smile grow on his face as he took it in his own.

"Lets check it out."

"Its small," Elena started as they stood on the middle of the single roomed shack. There was a bed just big enough for two…equipped with a rather warm looking white blanket and one pillow, a knight stand with a small lantern sat next to the bed. There was also a single folding chair in the opposite corner and a bookshelf loaded with books. Another small table rested beside the chair where there were a few candles and a book that sat open with a bookmark in it. "but I like it." She finished, turning to give him a happy smile. "Can I bring some stuff too?" She wondered, excitement lighting her eyes and making him chuckle.

"Of course." he replied, running his fingers through a few front wisps of her hair. "Its our place. As in you and me. Our escape from the disasters of real life."

Elena smiled, gripping his shirt in her hands as she stood on her tipy toes to be at his eye level. "You want to escape with me, Damon?" She asked, knowing it was what she needed right now. She needed to escape reality. She needed to escape everyone and everything in the real world.

All she wanted was for Damon to touch her, to kiss her, to take her away to that special place that she knew in her heart of hearts only he could get her to.

When he touched her, it felt right. When he kissed her, she was finally whole.

She'd always thought Stefan made her whole, but she knew now she was only pretending. Feeling what she so desperately wanted to find, wholeness again after her parents demise, so she pretended to find it in Stefan. He understood her in so many ways that no one else did…

But it was Damon who could truly save her…

And then his lips were on hers, and they were melting into each other. Lost in the bliss of finally getting to be with the person they were truly meant to.

They easily got lost in each other. Touching and kissing. Exploring each other for hours, just enjoying the fullness of being together, the rightness.

"I don't ever want to leave this place…" Elena whispered as she snuggled into Damon's body hours later. They both lay on the bed, wrapped in the warmth of the white blanket and each other.

"If only we could stay…" He agreed, kissing the top of her head as he held her a little closer.

Elena's head rested on his chest and she kept her eyes closed as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Will things ever be this simple?" She wondered out loud, her eyes opening to stare at the bare wall at the end of their bed. "Will we ever be able to just…breath?" she asked, once again feeling tears in her eyes. She was so tired of crying. She didn't want to do it anymore!

"Hey…" Damon whispered, gently pulling her top of him and making her look into his eyes. "Its going to be okay." He promised. "I'll protect you. I love you too much to lose you now."

Elena smiled, pressing her lips to his deliciously bare chest. "When this is all over…when we've handled this moonstone, Elijah and Clouse situation and you and I are out in the open, you're going to take me on a real vacation." She informed him, running her fingers through his hair.

Damon smiled. "Anywhere in particular you want to go?"

Elena smiled. "Anywhere, Everywhere."

Damon smiled brighter, leaning up to press their lips together once more. "Anywhere and Everywhere it is."

okay so there you have it...how it should have ended...and really how it always did...i just have a tendency to forget no one else lives in my head with all the charactors i write for running around yelling at me about how thw story should be and telling me what happens next...so i decided to finish it for you all so everyone could stop hating Elena. poor girl... lol

okay well i hope you enjoyed! please review! thanks for reading!