Author's note:

This is my very first fanfiction in english. I'm from Germany so my native language is german.

I hope my english doesn't suck too bad, but I just can't think about "The Vampire Diaries" in german... it's not possible. :-)

So if you are a native speaker and wouldn't mind to do some beta-reading for me in the future, feel free to contact me! It would be great!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Disclaimer:

I own nothing!

At least nothing remotely related to the awesome show "The Vampire Diaries"... it's sad, but it's true.

It's all Julie and Kevin! I love you guys for creating such an incredible show!

Oh... and I do not own the books either... haven't even read them!

Elena was deep in her thoughts. She knew she had to make a decision and she knew she had to make it soon. But how was she supposed to choose. She loved them both… kind of. She knew she loved Stefan once. She fell for him the second she saw him. He stepped into her life at a time, when she desperately needed someone who made her feel safe, who protected her, who made her life worth living again. Stefan did all these things. And wasn't that what love should be like? Being with someone who makes you glad that you're alive?

Damon on the other hand, wasn't as safe as Stefan. At least not in the 'he'd never do anything she doesn't want' kind of way. He always protected her though. When Stefan left town to go on his "Tribute-to-the-Ripper" tour with Klaus, Damon was there for her. He helped her go on with her life again, like Stefan did when her parents had died. He helped her to find Stefan and did everything in his power, to keep her safe. Somewhere along the way, she kind of developed feelings for him. She knew that. But these feelings were not familiar to her. She couldn't quite classify them.

She shook her head as if to get it cleared, but it didn't help. It was just then when Matt's phone rang. It was Jeremy. He told Matt that Klaus was dead. When Matt told Elena her heart nearly burst out of her chest. "We have to go back Matt!" she shouted again and again until he told her, that she had to choose right now. Damon wasn't in Mystic Falls. He was a hundred miles out of town in some storage department where they wanted to hide Klaus' body. So Matt could either continue driving to Damon or he could turn around and drive her back to Stefan and her friends.

Suddenly, she felt like her heart and her brain both went completely numb. Her heart couldn't feel anything anymore and she wasn't able to think about it either. She just couldn't wrap her head around it. The thought of losing one Salvatore was barely bearable, but losing one of them without being able to say a proper goodbye… she was close to lose it right here and right now.

"Elena… you have to focus!" Matt yelled at her. "What am I supposed to do? Keep driving or turn around? Who gets the goodbye?"

Damon's phone rang. It was Elena. "Hey…" he answered the phone not knowing if her calling him now was a good sign or a very bad sign.

"Hey… how are you feeling? Are there any symptoms yet?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Nope, still feeling fine…" he answered. "I'd say Klaus is a big fat liar, but with Finn and Sage it took her about an hour to feel something was wrong, so I guess I have at least 10 Minutes left…" he tried to lighten the mood.

"Guess so…" she simply stated.

"Hey, where are you?" he asked, scared to hear her answer. But he had to ask her. He couldn't possibly die without knowing her choice.

"I don't know for sure… Matt drove me out of town… I guess I'm…"

Suddenly, he couldn't hear her over the phone anymore. Instead he heard her voice from somewhere behind him.

"I guess I'm in some creepy kind of storage department…" she finished her sentence and smiled a warm smile that made Damon's cold heart almost melt.

They were rushing towards each other and Elena flung her arms around Damon's neck while he brought her as close to his body as he could without breaking her spine or risk getting accused of indecent assault.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, not breaking the embrace.

"I had to see you…" she answered, running her fingers through his hair.

"Why?"

Yeah… why? She knew this question would cause her some serious trouble. She couldn't explain her feelings to herself, how was she supposed to explain them to him?

She let go of him and took a few steps backwards. "I can't really explain…" she stuttered.

"Elena…" Damon sounded annoyed, she could hear that clearly. And he had every right to be, she strung them both along way to long…!

"In 10 minutes I'm probably a dead man. So please, try to explain why you came here – to me – instead of going home to Mystic Falls. To all of your friends… and to Stefan. I can't die without knowing who you would choose. If it was just down to him and me… no 'Klaus died so there's a good chance we all end up dead very soon' situation… just your choice between two brothers who both love you."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She blinked once, one single tear running down her cheek. She swallowed hard, assembled all her courage and all her strength and just rushed back into his arms, her lips crashing against his as if she would die along with him in a few seconds and that was the last kiss they'd ever share.

He responded immediately with the same passion. They stumbled back against a wall behind Elena, never breaking the kiss. Elena had to breathe eventually and leaned her forehead against his.

"It would be you…" it was merely a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear. He waited so long for her to say these words… this evening couldn't get any better.

"I love you Damon…" she added.

Okay, maybe it could get better…

"But what…? How…?" he couldn't get out one straight sentence, he was so overwhelmed by her confession. She chuckled, she'd never seen him like this.

"Everything okay with you?" she asked, smiling at him with the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

"I've never been better…" he said and kissed her again. "I love you, too Elena!" he murmured between kisses.

When Elena had to take a breath again he had to ask her… he hated it, but he had to be one hundred percent sure!

"Why? I mean, not just why you choose me, but also why did you come here? I mean I know how much your friends mean to you… it must be really hard for you to know you can't say goodbye…"

"It is the hardest thing I've ever done…" she confessed. "But it would have killed me, if I couldn't say goodbye to you!" she looked him in his beautiful blue eyes and knew she made the right choice. She also knew this unfamiliar feeling now… It was love. A consuming love. It was not comparable to the love she felt for Stefan. This was different… She knew she'd never wanna miss that feeling in her life… ever!

"I told Stefan… he knows I chose you. And he understood. He asked me to tell you, that it's ok for us to be happy, that you deserve to be happy… his words, not mine…" she smiled. "And I talked to Caroline on the phone. She understands, too. She knows she's one of my best friends and that I'll always love her." Elena said and tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

"Hey… everything's gonna be fine… I promise. I don't feel anything yet, I bet Klaus fooled us all." he tried to soothe her. "Let's just spend the night here and see if anything happens, ok?"

"Ok…" she replied and they looked through the storages. After about 10 rolling gates they finally found a couch in a storage. They made themselves comfortable and Elena snuggled into Damon's body, hoping this wouldn't be the last time they were spending the night together.

"When did you realize?" he suddenly asked, whispering into her hair.

She turned around to face him, caressing his cheek with her fingers. "I don't know… I guess I knew it for a long time, I just couldn't figure out my feelings. What I feel for you is so different to my feelings for Stefan. I knew I loved him so I didn't know what I was feeling for you. But I realized now, that my love for you is a much stronger love. A consuming love. I guess it's true what they say…" she said, almost lost in her thoughts and in his eyes…

"What are they saying?" he asked.

"If you fall in love with two people, choose the second one. Because if you truly loved the first, you would never have fallen for the second." she smiled.

He answered with his typical smirk and they lost themselves in another kiss.