For the most part, she simply cried in the passenger seat of his vehicle while he droves; knuckles white on the steering wheel. He didn't know what to say to her - only that, if she wanted to say something to him, she would of. He had no idea Stefan would ever go this far. God damn it. Why had he been so stupid? He was a threat to her.
The temptation of looking at her, reaching over and brushing away her tears was strong and he willed himself not to. She didn't need that right now. He could sense she just wanted to get it out of her system. And so he waited until she stopped crying (which happened to be when they were a few minutes from her house.)
As he walked her to the porch, he still felt queasy; worried sick about her. And then she broke the silence. "Thanks for picking me up." Her voice was hoarse and dry.
"Anytime." he answered warily though he meant it with every fiber in his body. She didn't enter, only stood in front of the door looking quite lost. "You gonna be okay?" he asked. Stupid question.
Elena didn't meet his eyes. "I'll survive. Somehow I always do." and she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly which, to be honest, drove him crazy. Didn't she know she didn't have to be strong for him?
"You know, Stefan won this round for us today." he admitted. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth slightly gaped. "He pushed Klaus over the edge. Klaus blinked."
She rolled her eyes and took a few cautious steps away from him, quite speechless as what to say next. She turned back around and said pitifully, "Well his method sucked."
"Still." Damon persisted. "We needed it. Klaus has been calling all the shots….Stefan beat him at his own game. He was the better villian."
She stepped towards him now, head shaking in disbelief. "Don't sound so impressed."
"Well I can't help but be a little proud." and he smirked that Damon smirk of his, hoping to brighten her up a bit. Just as he predicted, it didn't.
She sighed and looked away, so to keep her there he extended his arm and tilted her chin towards his face; capturing her eyes. She froze under his touch. "Really. Tell me. You gonna be okay?"
She stared deep into his eyes wondering how on Earth she managed to get here. Flashbacks of the previous night flowed through her mind. Here, on this porch, Damon had kissed her. And she hadn't been able to forget about it since. Her heart fluttered with the intensity of it all. The way he was looked at her then…the way he was looking at her now.
She almost smiled if not for the sad truth of it all. "You can't kiss me again." she murmured, eyes sad. "It's not right."
And to her surprise, he murmured back, "I know." His fingers gently stroked her chin, the tips of them softly soothing her. Her eyes seemed to water strangely.
She leaned into him but at the same whispered, "I can't." At this he removed his hand. "It's not right."
And it wasn't right. Why would it be right? How could she kiss him, again, with the events that happened? Or the events that would happen? Stefan betrayed her, hurt her, and she could never forgive him. She could never forget. And so she couldn't find it in her to kiss him. At least not tonight.
"It's right." he said softly, and then a smile tugged at his lips before it faded just as quickly. "Just not right now."
She searched his face, shocked at his words. Shocked because he was absolutely, one hundred percent correct. It was right. Kissing Damon would never be wrong, especially not with how close they've gotten and how much he means to her. But tonight was simply not the time. Tonight, there would be no kisses exchanged. There would be no hugs. There would be no more tears shed. Tonight, it seems, wasn't the right time for anything. Nothing at all.
"I'll never forgive him, Damon." she whispered seriously.
He blinked slowly and then nodded. "You will. Eventually."
"No." she argued quickly. "No. Not this. I'll never forget. He knew, Damon. He knew my parents died in that water. Under that bridge…. He was going to do it."
"Elena." Damon sighed, then took her face between his large palms. "I'm so sorry."
This confused her. What could he be sorry for? "Don't." she shook her head. "Don't apologize for him. He doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve me."
"I should have known." he said quickly. "I should have never taken a risk with him. Never let you out of my sight. I was.." his voice trailed off and Elena's brow crumbled in confusion.
"You were…what?"
His eyes met hers. "I was afraid I was going to lose you." he dropped his hands. "I've felt that feeling more than once in my life and … I felt it tonight. I was so damn sure I was going to lose you, Elena. By my brother - of all people!"
"I know." she whispered. Her voice began to crack. "You should of seen the look in his eyes, Damon. He was going to drive off that bridge if Klaus didn't do what he wanted."
Damon didn't say anything, only sighed deeply and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'm still going to worry about you. You'll call me if you need something?"
She almost smiled. "Of course."
And he almost smiled, too. "Good night, then."
"Night, Damon."
He pulled away from her, only to stop short and turn his head toward hers. She froze again, afraid what he might do. No - he couldn't kiss her! What-
His lips brushed against her cheek and lingered there. She closed her eyes slowly, memorizing the feel of his lips against her skin. They were soft and warm; like him. By the time she reopened her eyes, he was gone, and so were his lips.
Where his lips had touched her cheek continued to burn all through the night and once again she found herself sleep deprived - kept awake with memories of him and only him.