Elena paced through the Salvatore house, trying to quiet her mind. Klaus was trapped in her living room. Kol was dead. Jeremy's mark was compelete…and everyone was stuck in the Salvatore house until they flew out to the island the next day. Elena looked back at Damon, sleeping soundly in his bed. He looked so peaceful…so sure that everything was going to be okay. She wished she were that sure. She moved and the floor creaked and she heard Damon stir. "What are you doing? Come back to bed…" he mumbled, patting the empty space beside him sleepily. "Just…can't sleep. Nerves." she confided. "I'm going to go get a drink of water. Go back to sleep. I'll be fine." she said, walking over and leaning down, kissing his forehead. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. "Okay baby." he mumbled, drifting back to sleep.
Elena left Damon's room and walked downstairs toward the kitchen. She saw a light in the parlor on, and turned that way instead. "Jer?" she asked. "Jer, you should be slee-" she stopped when she saw him. "Stefan. Sorry…I figured it was Jeremy…raiding your liquor stash." she said. Stefan didn't move…as if he hadn't heard her at all. "Stefan?" she asked again, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked up at her. "Is it really the sire bond, Elena? Do you really feel nothing for me?" he asked. By the look on his face she could tell that the glass in his hand had been emptied several times that night. Elena sighed and sat down next to him. Her hand slid down from his shoulder to his bicep, resting in the crook of his arm, her thumb tracing his muscle lightly. "I don't know if it's the sirebond or not." she said, honestly. "But I don't feel nothing. There are times…especially when I first wake up in the mornings…I forget we aren't together." she said. "I miss you." she admitted. "But you love Damon?" he questioned, as if the two things happening at the same time were a crime. "Yes. I do." she admitted. "Do you love me? I don't mean in love. Just…do you love me. I can make you fall in love with me again. If this cure is fake…I'll find a way, Elena. If it's really the sire bond…if the girl who fell in love with me is still in there somewhere—" Elena stopped him, putting a finger on his lip. She leaned in, putting her forehead against his. "I think…I think that the sire bond masks how I feel for you. I believe that I am in love with Damon. I believe that everything I feel for him is real. But…I think that if I wasn't sire bonded, I'd still be that confused girl trying to make a choice." she said. "But you chose me." Stefan argued. "I did." she confirmed, pulling away. "But I'm not the girl who chose you, anymore, Stefan. And that's not the sire bond…it's dying. Coming back, learning how to be a vampire…it changed me. It changed what I wanted out of my life." she said. "And I just—" Elena stopped when Stefan's lips crashed down on her's. "Ste-Stefan." she stuttered, but he kissed her again. She gave in for a moment…for a split second before reality set in. "Stop!" she said, pushing at him. "I'm sorry…but…we can't. I can't. It isn't right. For you, for me…for anyone." "For Damon, you mean. You are his little slave girl, after all." Stefan spat. Elena stepped toward him "Stefan…it's not like that." she soothed, putting a hand on his arm, but he shook her off."Everything okay down here?" Damon muttered sleepily from the stairs. "Why are you yelling? Nearly woke the whole damn house up." he muttered. Elena turned, confused. Stefan was gone. He'd zoomed away before Damon could see him. "Stefan was—" she pointed."Ah…that explains the yelling then." he said, offering his hand out to take her upstairs. Elena took it and sighed, walking back upstairs with him. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I—yeah…no. I don't know." she said, honestly, crawling into bed. "He was just…drunk. And sad…and…" Damon, who'd just laid down, shot up. "Did he hurt you?!" "NO!" she answered. "No, Damon…no. He didn't hurt me. He…he tried to…he—" she fumbled, trying to figure out a way to say it. "He what?" Damon demanded. "He kissed me."