AN/ Hey guys, it's been a while since I've written anything but thinking of poor Damon made me itch to write something. I didn't have much time to edit, so it's probably kind of rough, but let me know what you think!

He knew it had to be too good to be true.

Knowing he was the reason for Stefan and Elena's break up was...terrifying. Wonderful, but terrifying. He couldn't believe it was real, that she could finally return his feelings, that maybe he finally had a chance at love. He should've known that he was right not to believe her.

He should've expected it when Stefan came to see him. Elena had gone to school and Damon remained in bed like a love-sick teenage girl. He'd be ashamed to admit it, but his sheets, his pillow, his entire room still smelled like her and she was finally his, so what if he was being a giddy little girl about it?

He heard the door open downstairs and he knew it had to be Stefan. Begrudgingly, he got up, put on his shirt (the one that Elena had been wearing earlier that morning) and went downstairs, pouring himself a drink in order to better deal with Stefan's whining.

He should've expected that this whole thing with Elena would end badly, or that it wasn't real, but what he didn't expect was a sire bond.

Stefan explained his theory and a large part of his theory actually made sense, and every word of reason hurt. But he had long ago perfected his performance, and he had to retain some shred of hope, so he shrugged it off and told Stefan that it was a lie. Still, he dreaded telling Elena to drink from blood bag. He dreaded knowing for sure that her love for him had all been a lie.

He picked her up from school that day. She saw him and her face immediately brightened into the most radiant smile he'd ever seen. And all it did was hurt him.

She ran to his car and got into the passenger seat. Before he could even get a word out, her lips were on his...he could feel the smile on her face as she deepened the kiss. They pulled away; Elena with a small "hey," and Damon with a breathless "wow." But the feeling left as soon as it arrived, because he knew he'd have to make her drink from a bloodbag, and he knew there was a great chance that Stefan was right.

They drove to the boarding house, Elena chatted to him about her day, about Caroline's reaction and cold shoulder, about Bonnie's strange relationship with Professor Creepy. All Damon could think of was, this is how it could be, me and Elena, if this was real, this is what it would be.

He considered being selfish; heading out onto the open road with Elena, feeding on human blood, being with her, ignoring the nagging feeling that she was sired to him. But he could never be selfish with her. So he pulled up to the boardinghouse, they got out of the car and he smiled and joked and kissed the way he always would. They sat by the fire and he finally asked Elena to do something for him.

He pulled out a blood bag, he opened it up, he handed it to Elena and he told her that she could drink blood from a bag or an animal or anything she chose. She looked confused of course, she had tried already hadn't she? But she tried once more, for Damon.

And she kept it down. They waited a few more minutes but nothing changed. She drank from the bag, she was fine, there was no reaction. Damon swore he could hear his heart break as Elena turned to him happily.

"How did you do that Damon? I can do it! I don't have to hurt people!" she lunged at him with a huge hug. He tried to smile, of course he was happy that Elena could do this...he knew it made her happy.

He pulled out of the hug and watched as Elena smiled brightly at him, he stroked her cheek and pushed the hair out of her face. She leaned up to kiss him and he moved away.

"Goddamn it, why do I always have to do the right thing?" he muttered angrily

"Damon, what are you talking about?"

He could feel his humanity switching off, how was it possible for things to change so drastically in less than a day? He stood up and turned to the love of his life.

"Don't you see Elena? This isn't real. You can drink from the bag because I said you could. You stopped worrying about Jeremy because I told you to. You're sired to me. None of this is real, you can go back to Stefan now." he walked out of the room, making sure to grab a bottle of whisky before leaving.

"Damon, what are you talking about, sired? That's not-"

Stefan had chosen that exact moment to walk in. Good, because Damon didn't feel much like explaining why she didn't really love him.

It wasn't till much later, when he'd already passed out on his bed that he heard his door creak open. He heard someone pick up the empty bottle of whisky from the floor and return it to his night table. He felt cool, delicate fingers run softly through his hair, and then he heard it, a soft whisper: "I don't care what they say about the sire bond. I'm going to show you that this is real, that I'm yours in every way, no matter what it takes. I'll break the sire bond and I'll still come back to you."

He wished to every imaginable god/spirit/demon/creature that her whispers could be true, but she loves Stefan.

It's always gonna be Stefan.

Depressing, yes, but I think it's all very hopeful! Delena is gonna happen, I know it. Just you wait, maybe I'll even add to this for a happier ending if the mood strikes me!

Annyyywaaays, drop me a message, let me know what you think!