Elena pulled her feet up onto the couch beneath her and wrapped the blanket over her shoulders more. She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. It was nice to finally be herself again. She wasn't sired to Damon anymore and she had her emotions back. She was her own person. So what was wrong? She could finally be with Stefan without any complications. Stefan, the man who… Who let her drown. Elena knew she shouldn't be angry at him because it was her who told him to save Matt. But it wasn't just that. What Elena had said about Stefan that one night at the school was all true. She had been compelled to say how she felt about Stefan, so she did. Stefan made her feel like a broken toy. Elena bit her bottom lip. Why did things have to be so complicated? She heard something behind her and turned around. "Damon?"

"Elena." Damon greeted her and nodded his head in her direction. He poured himself a glass of bourbon. "So how are you feeling? Humanity back and all." He leaned against the wall.

"Better. I'm feeling better. More me." She took another sip of her coffee. "Damon." She paused. "Thank you. For… For helping me get my humanity back."

"Don't thank me. I'm the one who made you turn it off in the first place, remember? And anyways, it was your feelings for Matt that brought you back. I didn't do anything but snap his neck."

"I understand why you did it. I was freaking out and you made it stop. I can't say I'm thankful, but I understand. And you did more than snap his neck. You knew me well enough to be sure that it would bring me back. So thank you." She gave him a slight smile.

"Yeah…" Damon looked down. "Elena?" He set his bourbon down and walked closer to her. She looked up at him. "Was any of it real?"

"Any of what real?"

"Any of what you felt. During the sirebond." Damon looked almost if he was uncomfortable asking the question.

"Oh. That." She looked back down at her coffee and sat up straight, putting her feet back on the floor. "Damon. Can we not talk about this? Not right now."

"Then when, Elena?" He stepped closer.

"I- I don't know. Just not right now, okay?" She set down her coffee. "I just- I don't know what I feel." Damon groaned.

"Elena. I think you know exactly what you feel, but whatever it is, you can't admit it, not even to yourself. But I need you to. I need to know for once." He reached out to touch her shoulder but she moved away.

"Need to know what Damon? Need to know if I feel for you? Because you know I do! So why bother asking?'

"Because I need to hear you say it! When you were sired to me, I thought for once I could be someone's first choice. And I don't expect that to change, I know it's always going to be Stefan and all, but I just need to know if…" He trailed off.

"If what?" Her voice got softer and she was now stepping closer to him. "If what?" She repeated.

"If you could ever love me." He said in a voice so low that it would be impossible for an ordinary human to hear.

"Damon." Deep down she knew that's what he was going to say, but another part of her was surprised. Could she love Damon? Did she love Damon?

"Don't. It was stupid. I shouldn't have bothered asking. Have a nice night Elena." He forced a smiled. Elena tried to reach out for him, but he walked off.

"Damon." She practically whispered. "Damon!" It was no use. He was hurt. He went for days thinking that she had really chosen him, only to learn that it was all fake… But was it all fake?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Damon turned on his phone to look at the time. 4:06am. He decided it was time to rest. He got up from his spot on the couch, set down his drink, and started toward his bedroom. Damon didn't bother turning the light on when he walked in and began unbuttoning his shirt. He removed his shirt and turned around facing the bed. He tilted his head to the side. There, in his bed, was Elena, staring right at him.

"I- um. I'm sorry, I just…" You could hear that she was barely awake. "I just didn't want to sleep on the couch and your room was right here and I'll get up and-" She began sitting up.

"No." Damon smiled softly as he spoke. "Stay. I'll sleep on the couch. Or one of the other bedrooms."

"No! Damon, it's your bed." She sat up and swung her feet over the edge of the bed. As she was about to hop off, Damon stopped her.

"Elena. Sleep."

"But Damon-" She stopped. It was no use to try and stop him. She was going to sleep in that bed whether she wanted to or not. "Fine. But you're sleeping with me." Damon gave her a seductive grin. Elena rolled her eyes. "You'll be on the opposite side of the bed of course."

"Oh of course." He grinned again. Elena moved back into bed and lay down once more. Damon slowly came up to the bedside opposite her and climbed in. The bed was big enough to fit many more than 2 people, so touching shouldn't have been a problem, but once they had both been in bed for a little while and they were both asleep, she rolled over and ended up right against Damon's bare chest. When Damon woke up the next morning, they were still in that position. Damon looked down on her and smiled. He heard her waking up and pretended he was still asleep. He knew she was now awake, but she didn't move away from him. He smiled a little. Elena spoke.

"Damon?" She whispered. Damon opened his eyes a little and looked down, meeting hers. He smiled at her.

"Good morning sunshine." He said warmly. Elena looked down and remembered that she was still laying so close to him and she shied away. Damon's smile faded as he sat up. He looked at the clock and saw it was 7am. "I guess you have to get to school… See you later." He forced another smile and got up. He started unbuttoning his pants. "I need to take a shower, and you need to get to school. Unless…" He grinned and undid another button.

"Nope. Goodbye Damon." She hurried and rushed out of the room, taking one quick look behind her shoulder.