POV: Elena

That next morning, I woke up feeling sated. What Damon had done had surprisingly energized me. Still, I could not ponder the oddness of the situation. My brother's boyfriend had his fingers inside me last night. That's a little strange. I knew his intentions weren't sexual, which made me want it so much more. The Damon that everyone knew would have just leered and told an obscene joke, but this was a different side of Damon. A glimpse that was rare and hard to bring out. His eyes held gentleness, admiration. There was no mistaking the fact that he was tearing up when I told him about what happened. A light fluttering in my chest continued as I remembered seeing Damon's concerned face from between my legs. I'd never forget that image, even if I wanted to.

Without dwelling on it, I jumped out of bed and dressed as if it were any normal day. Going to the window, I tore down the curtains and rapidly blinked at the oncoming light. Geez, that was bright as hell. I toyed around in my room for a bit before packing up and closing my door. I nearly skipped down the stairs, which caused Jenna to completely do a double-take at my appearance.

"Elena? I thought you were sick. Are you feeling better?" She doted.

I struggled not to roll my eyes. Jenna was taking this guardianship very seriously. I strolled into the kitchen with Jenna anxiously following me. Jeremy was sitting at the table lazily eating his cereal. Before he could react, I grabbed his bowl and took a big helping before giving it back. He glared up at me, and I answered his glare with a cheeky smile. I noticed Jenna out of the corner of my eye, looking worried.

"Relax, Jenna. Yes, I feel better. I think that flu was just a week-long one," I explained easily.

She nodded slowly but didn't seem convinced.

"This flu seemed really bad, though. I've never seen you be so despondent before," She countered as she went to the fridge.

While her back was turned, I rushed down the hallway to the front door. Before I closed the door behind me, I yelled a quick 'goodbye' and was on my way to school.

I struggled to appear normal and carefree while also checking to see if Stefan was anywhere on campus. I wasn't mad, per say, but I was kind of spooked. Honestly, I didn't want to talk about it anymore or bear the weight of his guilt. Classes went by without too much excitement. In our history class, Stefan's desk remained empty. Hmm. Guess he was detoxing or something. Maybe human blood wasn't such a good idea after all.

Exiting the classroom, I was pulled into a great, big, suffocating bear hug from Bonnie and Caroline. They pulled me outside with them for lunch and peppered me with questions. They knew missing school was a big deal for me, so they were really concerned about how sick I was. I brushed them off with a casual smile. When they went to sit on the hard seats of the outdoor picnic table, I paused. Shit. Could I sit down without wincing? I was still sore, and the thought of sitting down after all those classes made my heart sink. As casually as I could, I began to eat my lunch standing up but also leaning halfway onto the picnic table.

"Oh my god, Elena. Sit down," Caroline joked and gestured to the empty seat beside her.

Grinning uneasily, I shook my head.

"Nah. I wanna stretch my legs," I excused.

They seemed contented with my answer, and we continued to eat and chat like no time had passed between us. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before someone brought a Salvatore into the conversation.

"Where's Stefan?" Bonnie wondered idly with wicked grin.

I had come clean to them about my little secret. They were interested in all the details of me and Stefan's trysts. I tried to push the anxiety down as I answered.

"Not here. Thankfully," I breathed and then cursed myself.

Dammit. That looked suspicious. I hadn't meant to say that last part aloud. With interested looks, Bonnie and Caroline turned their gazes on me.

"Trouble in paradise?" Caroline teased with a glint in her eye.

Of course, to them, Stefan was my dream beau. We were suited for each other in every way. At least, it seemed that way.

"Uh, no," I chirped, almost too quickly.

They accepted my answer with suspicion written across their faces. Perhaps, they were waiting until we could go somewhere more private, and then I would spill the details. Sighing, I shifted from one leg to the other. Caroline noticed this and could only tolerate the repetitive motion for so long.

"What's wrong? Stop that," She ordered in an annoyed voice.

I stopped right away. Unaware to myself, I had the guiltiest expression on my face. Dropping her sandwich bag into its baggie, she turned to give me her full attention.

"What's your deal?" She questioned.

I bit my lip. Now or never, I told myself. Maybe I could just test the waters and see what happened. I wouldn't give everything away, but I would give them some crumbs to see how they'd react. Then, I would know who I could really talk to about this.

"Has a guy ever...?" I murmured before drifting off in embarrassment.

"Has a guy ever, what?" Caroline prodded bluntly.

I bit my lip again and tried to stifle my embarrassment.

"Has a guy ever...fucked you so hard that it hurt?" I rushed.

Both of them startled at my question. That was not what they were expecting. Not at all.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," Bonnie squeaked and nearly tore out of there.

My gaze followed her with a melancholy look. So, definitely Bonnie wouldn't understand. Looking back at Caroline, I could tell she was confused at my question.

"Here, sit down. Let's talk," She offered, gesturing at Bonnie's empty seat.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to talk as quietly as I could.

"I. Can't," I insisted.

Silently, I tried to beg her to understand with my eyes. She looked into my eyes for a long time before all the blood drained out of her face.

"Oh," She breathed.

"Yeah."

"You can't sit because...?"

"Yeah."

"Jesus, Elena," She sighed with a haunted look on her face.

I just shrugged and picked at my shirt while she scanned my face for more clues.

"Was it Stefan?" She whispered and leaned towards me, grabbing one of my hands in a comforting manner.

"No, it was Damon," I snorted. As if.

Her eyes narrowed for a second before giving me a saucy grin.

"Oh, I'd know if it were Damon," She laughed and fanned herself.

I rolled my eyes at her antics. Part of me was reluctant to remember that Caroline had been with Damon. I didn't know why this bothered me, but it did.

"Caroline, please take this seriously," I chided lovingly.

Her head snapped up right away, her blonde pony-tail swinging behind her.

"Right, right. So, it hurt with Stefan?" She checked.

I nodded in agreement.

"I don't know why. This was the only real time it hurt. Like, a lot," I admitted with a lost look.

Caroline's face softened and her eyes glowed in sympathy.

"Oh, Elena," She murmured.

I shrugged again, but it really did bother me. Even if I couldn't tell Caroline everything, it still felt good to talk to another girl.

"Has it ever hurt for you?" I asked with a shy voice.

She considered this for a moment.

"No...not particularly. Are we talking rough sex here?" She prodded.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed at her blunt question.

Slowly, I lowered myself on the bench next to her. Much to my pleasure, I barely winced as I sat down. She turned to me and held my hands in hers.

"Yeah, I guess...we'd never done that kind of stuff before," I confessed.

God, I felt like I was talking to my mom! This was so embarrassing, but I really had to know if this was a common thing or not.

"Huh. Well, did you tell him that? That it hurt?" She wondered.

Her gaze narrowed onto my face so intently that I felt she was burning holes there.

"Um...," I chuckled and shrugged.

"Elena! You have to tell him! Otherwise, he will have no idea," Caroline complained and threw her hands up in the air.

I leaned my head against the table and closed my eyes. Silently, Caroline played with my hair as I tried to formulate how I was going to go from here. What I should do with Stefan. Definitely, we needed to talk. It might be painful, but it needed to be done. Slowly, I began to feel more like myself. I turned my head up at Caroline and smiled meekly.

"Thanks, Care," I murmured softly.

She answered me with a smile and a relieved expression. She was happy to help me out, I could tell.

"So, speaking of rough sex, this one time...," She began excitedly.

I shrieked and covered my ears, although I could still hear Caroline laughing at my prudish behavior. In the moment, it seemed like we were in the past. Caroline laughing and oversharing about her sexual conquests and me playing the shy and unassuming friend.

"Too much information!" I squealed.

Gently, Caroline removed my hands from my ears with a serious expression. I sat up and leaned in because I could tell that she wanted me to hear something important. Gradually, a sly grin spread across her face.

"Elena...next time you're with Stefan, try cow-girl style. It's really nice," She encouraged in a dreamy voice.

"Ugh! Ew! Stop!" I giggled and slapped at her harmlessly.

Together, we got up and linked arms before strolling off to our classes.