I disclaim! This was written for a lovely twitterpeep of mine who has kind of made me fall for these two. I just kind of whipped this up, and I don't often write from Elena's POV.

XXXXXX

She nearly falls apart at the sight of him. She's kind of afraid, yeah, but the shock is what nearly does her in.

Also, the realization that Jenna really needs to stop inviting strange men into the house, but she quickly gets back to looking at the slightly terrifying vampire standing in front of her. He's not exactly the bunny rabbit type.

And he's also kind of hot—but that's totally not what she's thinking about. (It kind of is, but it's not like she's going to say that.)

She's not having dark fantasies about the dangerous vampire who . . . apparently wants to make a deal with her. And apparently he's not trying to kill her . . . she's not sure how much she believes that.

She's definitely not turned on by him though, because that would be ridiculous. (It also might be true, but she's not going to admit that. Not to herself, not to anyone.)

She realizes she has to pay more attention, because otherwise she might miss something important.

Of course, given the first opportunity, she asks for Stefan.

She misses him, she loves him, and when he's gone . . . there's something wrong with her world.

At least that's what she tells herself. And, well, it's true.

But it's a little less true than it should be.

XXXX

Seeing him again, she jumps his bones.

She missed him, in more ways than one.

As she kisses him, and he kisses her, she tries to ignore the weird feeling that something isn't quite right.

As Stefan slips inside of her, she tries to ignore the voice in her mind that suggests that something has changed. Stefan still loves her, and she still loves him, nothing has changed.

At the peak of her orgasm she sees Elijah in her mind's eye, and she knows she's wrong.

But she's still going to lie to herself. That's all she can do.

XXXX

He's attractive, and there's something sexy about how assertive and powerful he is, but that doesn't mean anything.

That she sometimes wonders about him, or catches herself imagining him—that means nothing.

Because she's still in love with Stefan, right?

She is, she assures herself.

Nothing has changed.

XXXX

Something has changed, and she can't figure out what it is. It's not just Elijah, though he's definitely part of it.

Stefan isn't quite distant, but he isn't the same either.

And she's different.

She thinks it might have been her trip with Rose. It had been so terrifying, and she'd seen how dangerous Elijah was first hand. She'd been fine though, right? She could have handled herself if Damon hadn't ruined everything.

But then everyone had turned against her, not trusting her ability to protect herself. She said she'd do anything for them, to protect them, but they hadn't believed her. That had hurt, deeper than she liked to admit, even to herself.

But when Elijah came and he just . . . dealt with her like she was an equal? That changed something inside of her.

No one ever treated her like that, except him.

And maybe that meant something.

XXXX

She doesn't mean to do it. She doesn't even realize what's happening at first, but she's incredibly glad that Stefan isn't there when she does realize it.

She's asleep at first, dreaming of inconsequential things that suddenly become less inconsequential.

She dreams of Elijah, which isn't too bad, because he's been haunting her nightmares for weeks.

This, however, isn't a nightmare.

He's there, right in front of her.

She doesn't even know what he's saying, or what she says in response, but she does know that she steps forward, almost as if she's challenging him, which has to be one of the stupider things she's done in her life.

He smiles at her, and it's kind of dark and just really . . . hot.

It's a dream though, so it's not like she cares if she refers to someone other than Stefan as hot.

But when he steps forward, and suddenly they both move at the quickest speed possible, she kisses him and he kisses her back.

And that's more than a little bit wrong.

It's sexy.

It's dangerous, and exhilarating, and Elena has never felt anything like his lips on hers, biting at her lip, and then nibbling on her neck—but not really in a vampiric way. Just as a lover.

It's almost funny, except it's a dream, and that's not how this works.

She's the one who pushes him back onto her bed.

She's the one who pulls his shirt off, who unzips his pants.

There's no guilt, because she's caught in the dreamy moment, and she doesn't have to feel guilty.

When she slips him inside of her, and rides him, she feels nothing but ecstasy.

Just as she's about to orgasm, she feels herself snap out of the dream.

She wakes up with his name on her lips, and her hand down her panties, and she has no excuse for this.

XXXX

She's never going to tell anyone, and nothing is ever going to come of it.

She tells herself this, but she's not sure if it's true.

It doesn't matter though, because she's going to say it till it is true.