Disclaimer: Oh, if only I owned The Vampire Diaries... What, you think I do? Nope, sorry. I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

A Dream of Love

Chapter One- Realization

Elena stared out her room's window, watching as the sun shone brightly, inviting her to go outside. She didn't want to, not when she had so many things on her mind. She couldn't shake the memory of that dream out of her head.

The living room was quiet. She hated it when she went downstairs to read a little on the couch and the night was completely silent. It always gave her the feeling that someone was outside, watching her, just waiting for her to make one wrong move so that they could kill her. Ever since Stefan had gone away, that feeling had been constantly haunting her during the nights. Elena knew she was in danger at all times, but something about the night made her even more scared.

Tired of the tension slowly building up inside herself, she decided to go outside and prove to the irrational part of her mind that she had no reason to be more scared at that moment than she normally had.

As her fingers brushed the doorknob, she had the distinct feeling that she did have a reason to be so scared, that there really was something waiting for her on the other side of the door. Brushing it aside as mere paranoia, Elena turned the handle and stepped outside, smiling as she saw that there was no one there. But as she turned around to go back inside, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. She let out a cry as she felt sharp fangs ripping the skin off her neck and piercing her carotid artery.

Elena tried to calm herself by thinking that the vampire, whoever they were, would let her go when they realized that she was wearing vervain. But as she felt the blood flowing freely out of her, she lost all and any grip she had on herself. Her heart started racing, making her bleed even more and she thrashed around, tears running down her face. Her vision started to fade as life slipped out her.

She had already given up on saving herself when she heard a faint noise, followed by many screams. She couldn't identify the voice, but it brought her comfort and warmness. At least, if Elena died, she would die happy.

Something was poured into her mouth and her senses started to return to normal. As her sight focussed and the black spots disappeared, she could see who had saved her. Damon. When she had most needed him, he was there for her. Not Stefan, him. Elena's rational side argued that the younger brother couldn't have been there, since he was paying the cure for his brother's werewolf bite with his servitude. But something inside her was telling her that it wasn't just that, that Damon had done many other things to earn her gratitude. She regretted that thought the minute it popped into her mind. It brought up so many other things, so many unsolved issues, suppressed feeling and memories.

As Damon kneed beside her and stared into her chocolate eyes, she realized that she couldn't run anymore, she couldn't play hide-and-seek with her emotions. She had to confront them, she had to show them that she wasn't scared of them, because if she didn't, they would never stop chasing her. She had to put an end to all those games. And thus, she made her choice.

- I love you, Damon. - Elena said.

For the first time in what seemed like eternity, she felt truly safe and happy. No more running, no more hiding, no more lying. She said the words that would define her life for a long time with more confidence than she knew she had within her. Elena had never felt so sure of something than she felt of the fact that she loved Damon Salvatore.

The dream didn't seem to get off her mind. She didn't want to love him, but that dream was making her doubt the true nature of her relationship with the older brother. Elena always told herself that she was only friends with him, that she didn't feel anything for him, but what she had felt on that dream was love. She was sure of it. But she had never felt anything like that with Stefan. She hated herself for doubting her love for her ex-boyfriend, but she knew of only one person who made her feel that way. Damon. Every time she was with him, she could feel a little bit of the wonderful sensation she had felt on her dream. Never with Stefan, always with Damon.

She picked up her diary, wondering what she could possibly write about all what was going on in her mind. She thought about writing down her dream to see if it made more sense on paper, but she knew that it wouldn't make any difference. Elena knew exactly what her dream meant, she only didn't want to face it.

How one dream could change so much, cause so much doubt, Elena wasn't sure. She thought it might be her subconscious mind telling her something, but it wasn't telling her anything useful. For a long time, she had known that Damon awoke something within her and for a long time she had ignored it and buried it under all the things that the vampire had done that could keep her from liking him.

But she knew she couldn't keep it up anymore. That dream had taken away all of her defenses and thrown them away, making her vulnerable and forcing her to face reality. Maybe she had loved Stefan, maybe they had had something special. But what she could have with Damon was so much better. Stefan had left her, and he wasn't coming back. He had his chance, once he was free of Klaus' compulsion, to come back, but he hadn't. Damon was there for her, and he was never going to leave, she knew that.

Elena picked up her phone and started to dial his number, but stopped once she realized that she couldn't have that kind of talk through the telephone. With a nervous sigh, she slipped on the first jacket she saw, not carrying about whether she looked nice or not, and ran to the Boarding House.