Chapter 2

A.N. This story is a lot harder for me to write. My other story just kinda falls out of me so I'm sorry if this seems more forced but I finally have a direction so let me know what you think. Favorite parts and all that. Oh and I don't own the Vampire Diaries, duh.

"Well, one of the main things we have in common these days is the fact that we've both been left behind by people we loved and thought loved us, so why do you think you loved Katherine? And do you think you really were in love? There, that's two so now we are even at 17 each" Elena said confidently. She never really asked either of the Salvatore brothers about their relationship with Katherine. It seemed to be a taboo subject so she always avoided it, but the curiosity was always there.

"Katherine was amazing, in theory. She had this fire. She was beautiful and she really knew how to play the role of a timid sad little girl who had just lost her family. But once you got past the mask, she was pure evil. She never really cared about anyone; she just kept up the act of love for people that she knew would protect her if she ever needed it. At the time, yes, I loved her more than anything. I loved who I thought she was and what she had the capability of giving me. But it wasn't real. It took a long time for me to realize that" Damon said, visibly lost in his memories. "Hey, where's the bottle? I need a refill" he said, taking Elena's glass and his own back to the bar for refills. They had already gone through one bottle together and were shamelessly diving into the second.

"So it seems we are even with 17 questions each and it is my turn" Damon said, trying to salvage his good mood. Katherine always had the power to be a buzz kill in a conversation. He really didn't want to talk about her anyway, not with Elena. "Well, since you brought up my ex it's only fair that I do the same. Tell me something that Stephan did while you guys were together that really drove you crazy" he said, wanting to take note of any flaws they had in their relationship.

"Stephan never really drove me crazy" Elena said but the forgotten flashlight caught their attention sitting in between them on the couch. Damon raised an eyebrow. "Really Elena, that wasn't even a good lie. We should turn this into a drinking game, a shot ever time you lie" he said mischievously. "Okay, so some things drove me crazy. Like the fact that I never got off during sex and he would always lie to me "for my own good"" She said using air quotes around Stephan's exact words. "I mean we were together for 6 months, you would think he could hold out for me to get off, just once. But no such luck. And the lying thing was never for my own good and I always found out about it from someone else which made everything worse" Elena rambled, the alcohol finally having some effect on her mental state.

"Okay, I'm going to keep my mouth shut about the first part but I always wondered about the lying thing. I knew how you were about honesty and it was something you made a big deal about with me but I always wondered if you honestly thought that he was protecting you" he said. Elena shook her head.

"Eventually I just gave up and stopped fighting it, on both subjects. The sex stopped and I stopped asking questions, then the human blood relapse started and everything kinda fell apart" she explained.

"Well, if you ever need help with that whole orgasm thing, let me know, I would be happy to help" Damon said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"If we keep it up with these drinks, I might just take you up on that offer" Elena said with her own mischievous smirk. Damon's head jerked up to look at her face in shock and Elena giggled. "Anyways, I believe it is my turn" she said while reaching over to steal his glass to replace her now empty one. "Speaking of my ex, where is Stephan? I know you know, and now finally, you can't lie to me about it" she said while sipping his drink.

"Elena…"he said warningly. "Oh come on Damon, you have to answer" she said, proud of herself for making him uncomfortable but also honestly wanting to know the answer. "He's in Italy, I checked his credit card statements online. He bought two tickets to Tuscany four days after he told me he was leaving" Damon said hesitantly, not meeting her eyes. "Two tickets, he left a couple days after the Founders Day fiasco, who would he take with him?" Elena pondered. "Oh god" it was like Damon watched the light bulb above her head light up with those works. "He took off with Katherine and didn't even have the guts to tell me himself" she vented. "I can't believe it. I had the decency to tell him that I was developing feelings for you and he couldn't even tell me he wanted to be with Katherine" Elena mumbled to herself, vaguely aware of Damon's shocked face in response to her confession. "You told Stephan you had feelings for me? When?" Damon questioned. "That counts as two questions Damon" she said before answering "I told him after the fire in my father's office building, when you almost died on Founders Day. He wasn't happy but I told him history wouldn't be repeating itself and then I backed off being around you for a while. And everything seemed to go back to normal. That is, until he left" Elena said with a shrug.

"Wow, my brother really is the coward I always thought he was. He has a little problem with you and then he runs back to that bitch and her undying love" Damon said through gritted teeth. "Undying love? Damon what are you talking about?" Elena asked. "That counts as a question, and after this we drop the subject, got it?" Damon requested and Elena nodded her head in agreement. "Elena, I'm sorry that I have to tell you this and that my brother didn't tell you himself but Katherine came back for him. She had a talk with him that didn't end well at the Lockwood memorial, as I'm sure you remember but I'm sure St. Stephan never told you exactly what she said" Damon explained and Elena shook her head. "All he said was that he let her get to him. She got under his skin and he pissed her off, which resulted in the stab wound" Elena remembered. "Well, she told him that she came back for him. The she missed him and loved him. He told her he hated her and that when the stabbing occurred" Damon said with a small chuckle.

Then Damon's eyes went vacant and he was visibly lost in memory when he said "She came to me that night; I poured my heart and soul into a speech to get her back and she told me, exact words, are you ready for um: "I've never loved you. It was always Stephan". After that I went to see you and you know the rest of the story" Damon finished. "Oh god, I practically said the same thing to you when you came over" Elena realized, dropping her head into her hands in guilt. "Damon, I'm so sorry. No wonder you freaked out the way you did" she said, finally understanding his reaction that night. "Yeah well, that night was bad for all of us" Damon quietly said, not wanting to remember all of that night. The guilt from hurting Jeremy and in turn hurting her was something he dealt with often.

Damon grabbed both of their glasses from the coffee table and refilled them. He downed half the liquid in one gulp, enjoying the burning sensation in his throat. "So how about we get back to the game. Whose turn is it?" he asked. "Mine" Elena said after her equally large gulp of scotch. "Okay, last Katherine question and then I'm done with the subject" she said hesitantly. He nodded his approval. "Why did you and Stephan allow her to be with both of you at the same time? Why didn't you force her to choose? Oh, I guess that's two questions" she concluded.

"Elena, you should know by now, No one can force Katherine to do anything. Stephan and I just assumed that eventually she would choose. I knew she planned on turning me but I didn't know of her plan to turn Stephan. I thought she had already chosen me and she just hadn't told Stephan yet. Well, we both know how wrong I was. I didn't know how wrong I was until I woke up after being shot and saw my brother laying unconscious next to me. I think deep down we both enjoyed the rivalry, its sick I know but still the truth" as if to prove his words, the flashlight never flickered. Elena was sickened at the idea of one woman putting two of the strongest men she knew against each other for her own amusement. Finally, they let the Katherine conversation die out. "Looks like we are both tied at fourteen questions left a piece and we've already had the awkward ex's conversation. Maybe we should've made this game truthful 10 questions. This game is taking forever. I think it's because we keep getting distracted. And it's not even a good kind of distraction" Damon said smirking.

"Well Damon, it is your turn. Why don't you think of a good distraction" Elena taunted, secretly excited for the distraction he would come up with. 'Hope it's a good one' she thought to herself.

A.N. Okay let me know what you think. Favorite parts are appreciated. It helps me know which direction you guys want to see it go in. I'm falling in love with this story. Let me know what you think. Thanks for all the love. Keep it coming- Ashley

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