Hello everyone! This is far from my first story and far from my first fan fiction, but it is my first Vampire Diaries fan fiction. As of now, this is merely a one shot. If enough people respond and show interest, I have an idea of how to form this into a story. I hope you enjoy it! And reviews are greatly appreciated!!!

The Storm

I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you. But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do… I knew you loved me then.

-Evanescence

Elena stood in the shadows and watched him come toward her. His eyes were a vivid red. She should have been terrified that his eyes mimicked the blood that flowed through her veins, the blood he wanted. For some reason, however, she wasn't scared. She stood there eagerly and waited for his lips to crash down on hers. It didn't take long for his lips to trail down her face and onto her neck. He planted one soft kiss there before he bit down. It hurt, but she stood there like a mannequin and let him drain her body of the blood she needed to survive, and oddly, the blood he needed to survive. The pain she felt meant nothing. He was her one true love and she would give up anything to make him happy. She needed his love and was at such an irrevocable point that she didn't care about her pain. His happiness was all that mattered.

She suddenly realized that he was still drinking her blood. Her head was pounding and her eyes were starting to lose their focus. The pain had intensified and was all consuming. She couldn't shake off how she felt. She looked to him to try to get him to see her current pain, but his eyes looked so completely guttural that he didn't care about her. He was lost in his lust for her blood and nothing would turn him back. She was vaguely aware that she was dying. The pain no longer felt as sharp or as real. Now, it was just a dull reminder of her life and the place she was leaving behind. She grew tired so she closed her eyes and just let the dim traces of her humanity slip away.

Elena woke up with a start in the dungeon of the Salvatore manor. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and even when recognition hit, it took her a few more minutes to remember why she was there. The previous night felt like a nightmare, and its fear still lingered in her body. She wanted to take back the night she had given Stefan her blood, but knew that idea was impossible. Not only did he have to learn to deal with his lust for blood, she had to deal with it too.

Pushing herself off the cold floor, Elena looked to where Damon stood. She knew he'd heard her get up, but he didn't acknowledge her. Instead, he stared into the cell that held his brother, the one they'd worked together to capture last night.

"How long will he have to be in there?" Elena asked and broke the eerie silence. She wrapped her arms against her body to try to regain her warmth, although the action didn't help. The dungeon was cold, but so were her memories.

It felt like hours before Damon finally responded. "I don't know."

"There has to be something we can do. Anything." Her voice was desperate.

"We just have to wait Elena," he shrugged. "He has to come out of this on his own."

Elena crossed her arms and frowned. "When you first came into town, Stefan worked nonstop to try to save you."

"I didn't need saving," Damon replied with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Elena rolled her eyes before she finally let them rest on Stefan. He looked completely innocent in the cell. It was hard to believe that only the previous night she'd been afraid that he'd take her life.

"Stefan isn't going to be the same person, even if he does come out of this."

Elena held onto the bars of the cell and tried to fight back the tears. Although Damon's words hurt, she knew they were true. The man she'd fallen in love with was gone. He had been buried the night Stefan had drunk her blood to survive.

"We still have to try," Elena finally said. "I owe it to him Damon."

"I know," he replied. "I just don't want you to be hurt when nothing changes."

She nodded and pointed vaguely to the door. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a little while."

Damon's immediate frown told her of his disapproval, but he shrugged. "I have a jacket thrown across the couch if you want it. It's cold outside."

"I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself."

Elena had to force herself to take the stairs one at a time. She wanted to rush out of the dungeon-like prison Stefan was trapped in, but didn't want to be that weak. This vampire mess was nothing new to her, but she had always had a vision of things getting better. She had fooled herself into thinking Stefan was her prince charming. Now, she had to deal with a blood thirsty vampire and far too conflicting emotions.

Despite what Elena had said to Damon, she grabbed his jacket before she went outside. The day was gloomy and mirrored her mood far too well. A thin line of fog hung in the air and trapped the sunlight out from the world. Her happiness was blocked out now by the darkness Stefan had become. She longed to see the sun again.

As she walked, she concentrated on her breathing. It took all her effort to keep her heart steady. Stefan had been practically stripped away from her and even if he did come back, they couldn't be together. Not only had he attacked her, but she had attacked him too. She had mercilessly fed his body with vervain. Would he even attempt to forgive her, or would this be the beginning of a long phase of pain and suffering?

Letting out a deep breath, Elena sat down on the grass underneath an oak tree. She could feel Damon's eyes on her from the house and was glad he hadn't physically followed her to this location. She needed time to think away from him and his sorry excuse for a vampire brother.

A smile crossed her lips at that thought. If Stefan had really been what he was meant to be, they wouldn't be in this mess now. If Stefan would have accepted his vampire heritage long ago, he would have never come to Mystic Falls and she would have never fallen in love with him. She would have never met Damon, never found out Bonnie was a witch, and never had to watch her brother lose Vickie. There would have been so much less pain.

Elena shook her head at that. Despite the pain she had been through, she wouldn't be the same person without the events that had taken place. She had made herself stronger and had gained knowledge of the unknown of this world. She had found out about her mother and the truth of that alone had set her free in a way she had never known it would. She just wanted to be set free from the mess she was in now.

For the next few hours Elena sat underneath that tree and debated what she wanted to do. No matter what road she chose to take, her thoughts ended up in the same place. Whether or not she liked the circumstances she was in, they were part of her life. She had to learn how to deal with them somehow.

It had just started raining when Elena decided to go back inside. She held Damon's jacket close to her body in an attempt to keep her clothes dry. The sky had turned frighteningly dark in the short time the clouds had rolled in. A trace of thunder echoed in the distance. She didn't want it to storm, but with the way her luck was going, it probably would.

When Elena entered the Salvatore manor, the warm smell of food drifted through the air. She wasn't aware she was hungry until a lone growl issued from her stomach. As her curiosity built, she walked toward the smell of the food. When she entered the kitchen area, she was surprised to find Damon cooking behind the stove. She arched an eyebrow and let an unsure smile cross her face.

"You're cooking."

"You're wearing my jacket."

Confusion lined Elena's features as she glanced down at the jacket. She quickly took the jacket off and tried to hand it back to Damon. When he shook his head, she laid the jacket across the back of one of the chairs. Her eyes then drifted to the contents of the pans on the stove.

"What are you cooking?"

"Grilled chicken with fettuccini alfredo," he shrugged. "There wasn't much here."

Elena smiled weakly at him as she peered into the pans. A portable grill had been sit up by the stove and the chicken was grilling perfectly inside. The food looked absolutely amazing and she was ready to eat.

As Elena glanced to Damon, she creased an eyebrow.

"What were you going to do if I still wasn't in by the time the food was finished?"

A mischievous grin crossed Damon's face. "I had my ways of getting you inside."

Elena rolled her eyes and fought back a smile. It was nice to feel happy after the long week she'd had. Her happiness didn't last long, however, as guilt crept into her features.

"It's not a big deal Elena," Damon spoke up, as if reading her thoughts. "He'd want you to be happy, even though he's going through this mess."

"This mess could get all of us killed," Elena snapped. "It's not something I want to take lightly."

"I wasn't asking you too."

Elena shook her head and glanced to food. Thankfully, it looked like it was ready to eat. She needed any distraction she could get right now.

It didn't take long for them to put the food in bowls and sit it on the table. She took her first bite of food in near silence. When she glanced at Damon, however, she could tell that the meal wasn't going to remain that way.

He offered a rouge smile before he motioned to the window. "It's going to storm soon."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I can tell."

"I don't want you going home in this kind of weather."

"I never said I was going to."

Damon creased his eyebrow as a smile played across his lips. "Miss Elena Gilbert, where did this attitude come from?"

"It's not something I'm going to talk to you about."

She quickly looked away from him and took another bite of her food. She knew exactly where her attitude had come from. Something inside of her was glad that this whole mess had happened. It had opened her up and allowed her to see how shallow her feelings for Stefan truly were. She didn't love him, at least not anymore. And to make matters worse, the man that loved her had disappeared behind the façade of a monster. Or maybe Stefan had been right about the whole mess. Maybe Stefan really was a monster and he had just hidden beneath the pretense of being human so long that he had started to see himself that way. Either way, the outcome was the same. She didn't love him anymore and that guilt claimed her body.

Yet the real reason of her guilt lay deeper than that. Not only did she no longer love Stefan, she also didn't miss him now. Shouldn't there time together have meant more to her than that? She certainly thought so.

When Elena ate the last few bites of her food, she got up in one fluid movement and moved over to the sink. Damon followed her, but she shook her head in protest.

"You made the food, the least I can do is clean up."

A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he held up his hands in mock surrender. "Yes master."

Elena fought back a smile as she turned around. When she did, the kitchen lights flickered and quickly went off. She looked back at Damon in time to hear the crashing thunder that followed. All she could see was his silhouette in the near darkness. She could make out his profile and knew he was looking outside, but she wasn't sure what he was looking at or for.

"The dishes can wait," Damon finally said. He rummaged through a nearby drawer and quickly found the object he was looking for. "Let's go somewhere where we can see."

Elena nodded and a smile crossed her lips when she knew Damon had seen her motion. Most people would have laughed at her trying to reply with a nod in the dark, but with Damon, it made no difference. He could see her no matter how dark the room became.

He touched her arm then and a shiver raced down her spine. She hadn't been paying attention and the touch took her completely off guard. Her body tensed and she immediately retreated back a step. When a laugh escaped his lips, she wished she wouldn't have moved.

"I was just trying to lead out of this room. I wasn't trying to seduce you."

"I never implied you were," Elena snapped and instantly regretted it. This storm had her on edge and if she didn't calm down soon, she was going to go crazy.

This time when Damon touched her, she didn't retreat. Instead, she held onto his arm and allowed him to guide her into the living room. Although this room had more windows in it, little light filtered into the room. The storm was too dark to allow too much sunlight to escape.

Damon left Elena at one of the couches and moved toward the fireplace. He lit the wood quickly and Elena welcomed the warm light that consumed the room. It didn't completely lift her mood, but it made her feel slightly better.

Then, she watched as Damon moved and sat down beside her. It made her nervous having him so close to her, but she wasn't about to tell him to move. That would only make things worse.

Elena looked at the room and tried to think of anything to talk about. She opened her mouth to speak and turned to face him again, but stopped her half-formed words and frowned.

"Have you been staring at me this entire time?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Elena lost contact with his eyes for a split second and shifted in her seat. She didn't like where this was going, but didn't know how to stop it.

"Go ahead."

"You don't think Stefan will change after this, do you?"

Elena let out a deep breath and shook her head. "No."

"Then are you staying here now because you still have hope or because you feel like it's your fault?"

When Elena opened her mouth to speak, the words didn't come. Even if Stefan did come back, she knew she wouldn't be with him. And even though she felt like this whole mess was her fault, she wasn't about to stay because of it. As the real reason of her staying hit her full force, she looked to Damon and pleaded.

"I can't do this," she said before she stood up and started walking away. She heard him get off the couch and then felt his arm grab her wrist. He turned her around to face him and she felt everything shatter.

"I know," he said softly and that was all it took to put everything back into place. No matter how her friendship with Damon had started off, it was now something she cherished. She wouldn't leave him. Not now, especially when his brother was going through this mess. Damon had become her rock in the midst of this evil laden storm. She needed him.

Slowly, Elena closed the gap between them. She glanced up into Damon's confused eyes and tried to muster up the strength to smile. Her lips brushed over his gently and she savored the intimacy of their first kiss. He had barely moved, but had somehow managed to let go of her wrist. The second time she kissed him, he kissed her back lightly. A chill raced down her spine that completely intoxicated her. By the third kiss, Damon held her head gently in his hands and kissed her with a delicacy she had never been kissed before.

The fourth kiss was no longer as gentle. Damon held onto her hips now and pulled her to him. By the seventh kiss, she felt Damon hesitate and then he pushed her away quickly. He held onto her with shaky arms to keep her from coming back or running away.

"I need to ask you something," Damon finally breathed.

"Yes."
"Am I compelling you to do this? Do you have your necklace on?"

A look of confusion spread across her face. "You're not compelling me and I have my necklace."

"Good."

And then his mouth was back on hers. She savored the taste of him and longed to take this farther. But then fears swam into her own head and she pushed him away.

"Who am I?" she asked suddenly.

Damon knew where this conversation was going. "You are so completely Elena."

She melted back into him quickly. Whatever was going on between them was all-consuming. She didn't know how to deal with it so she simply lost herself in him.

An echo of thunder erupted through the house then and Elena was snapped out of her trance. She looked to Damon in confusion and shook her head.

"Let's go check on Stefan," she said quickly. She needed any distraction she could get.

All Damon did was nod. Elena was secretly thankful he didn't speak. His voice would have catapulted her into another daze.

As they walked down the stairs to the basement, Elena secretly wondered if what had happened was a onetime thing or if it would happen again. For now, she was glad she didn't have to deal with it.