Damon's eyes started to flutter open. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his shirt soaked through. Every vein in his body was pulsing with a desperate thirst. It had been a week since he had fed, a week since his brother had kidnapped him and locked him up. Each time Damon tried to move in his chair the vervain soaked ropes reminded him that he was unable to escape. Wounds which would have otherwise healed by now still fresh and bleeding due to his lack of a meal and the vervain.

Each day had passed where he had grown weaker. The first day he had yelled and swore and fought tirelessly against the ropes to free himself. The second day he had cursed at Stefan and swore the moment he freed himself he was a dead man. The third day Damon pretended to be sorry, he pretended he cared and pretended he was no longer the murderous vampire he still was. The fourth day he begged his brother to let him go, pleaded with him for another chance. The fifth day Damon grew angrier then he had been previously, he thrashed against his restraints using up every last bit of energy he had left. The sixth day Damon gave Stefan the silent treatment. Lastly, the seventh day (today) Damon had nothing left. No energy. No anger. Nothing. He felt nothing.

Damon groaned as he felt the familiar burning of the vervain burning his skin. He could faintly hear footsteps and desperately pleaded with the God he didn't believe in that it was not Stefan. He couldn't take anymore. He hoped it would be someone more forgiving, someone who might let him go. Hell, even Klaus would have been a better option then his brother. But Damon was not that lucky and as the door to the cellar opened Damon's eyes briefly managed to focus on Stefan's face.

"Hello brother." Stefan greeted Damon, a joy in his tone that Damon despised.

He was only met with silence, Damon far too weak to join in any pleasantries Stefan might have.

"Are you ready to talk? Ready to stop pretending this is who you really are?" Stefan asked, pulling up a chair so he was face to face with Damon.

"Go. To. Hell." Damon mumbled.

"Let me help you." Stefan growled.

"I don't need your help." Damon spat.

Stefan stood up and pulled something out of his pocket. Damon for a moment swore he saw a wooden stake. He waited as Stefan walked around him and just as Stefan had walked behind him Damon felt a piercing pain through his back. Stefan had staked him, missing his heart by inches. Damon yelled out in an immense pain, feeling it more because he was starving and weak.

"Feel something." Stefan ordered.

"Screw you." Damon replied, wincing as Stefan pulled the stake out.

This time Damon opened his eyes and looked his brother in the eye as Stefan came around the front of Damon and pushed the stake into the top of his hand. Damon knew exactly what Stefan was doing, this was exactly how Lexi got Stefan to turn his humanity back on. Even if Damon was feeling a hatred towards his brother, it was an emotion and it was better than nothing. But Damon wasn't playing this game, he knew better.

"This won't work!" Damon hissed. "I'm not you."

Stefan pushed the stake into Damon's shoulder. Blood pouring from his wounds that were healing very, very slowly.

"All you have to do is turn it on Damon and I'll stop." Stefan said.

"Why? So you can tell Elena you're the good guy? She already knows that. Why are you doing this Stefan? Why do you care!?" Damon snarled.

Damon felt the twist of the wooden stake against his collar bone as Stefan dug it in deeper.

"Klaus was going to kill you if I didn't stop you. You were leaving tracks. I can't let you do that and I won't let Klaus kill you. Even if it's what you want." Stefan replied, removing the stake.

"It's not what I want anymore. I was pathetic in that moment. Weak and pathetic. I don't care anymore and I'm fine with that. Fuck Klaus and what he wants. I'll take him on if I have to." Damon spoke.

Damon looked up at his brother and remembered times when Stefan was the one who needed saving. Damon had never needed saving. He had always been able to bring himself back. But it wasn't a question on whether or not he could bring himself back this time, it was if he wanted to do so. He knew that he didn't. He didn't want to turn his humanity back on and have to feel his heart break all over again. Damon didn't want to remember what it felt like to be so miserable that he actually wanted to die.

"I know you asked to die Damon. I know you did that because of Elena and I'm sorry it had to come to that. I am. But you did the right thing breaking the sire bond, even though it hurt you. I'm thankful you did that for her." Stefan sighed, sitting back down in his seat.

"Let me go. I'll leave town. I'll leave the country. Just let me go." Damon whispered.

"No. Even if feeling again is going to hurt, you need to do it." Stefan replied.

Something inside Damon turned on.

"No I don't!" He bellowed. "I wanted to die because the pain of my heart breaking over Elena was so bad I couldn't live anymore. I didn't want to live without her!"

Stefan smiled. "Emotions. That's good."

But just as quickly as it had turned on Damon had turned it back off. The flicker of pain he had felt in that one moment where he had let himself feel again was enough for a life time. He couldn't imagine feeling that for the rest of his life. He was better of without his humanity. A life alone wasn't so bad when you didn't care. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You don't care whether some girl loves you or not and you don't care whether they live or not. It's just you. He was better off this way.

"I think that's enough for today. We'll revisit this tomorrow." Stefan announced.

Damon didn't reply. He watched his younger brother leave and close the door behind him. He listened as Stefan's footsteps got quieter and quieter as he retreated upstairs. He closed his eyes once again trying to block out the pain. But as silence fell in the cellar he started to hear voices coming from above him. Upstairs.

"Elena what are you doing here?" Stefan asked.

"I came to see you. We haven't spent any time together in almost a week. I missed you." Elena replied.

"I've been busy I'm sorry. Let's go to the Grill or something. Get out of here." Stefan said.

"I have a better idea. We could stay here. We could have some alone time." Elena giggled.

As the words seeped into Damon's ears he felt the pang of jealousy and outrage and heart break fill him. He didn't know how to turn it off. It wouldn't go away. As much as he tried not to feel the way he did, he couldn't. Her innuendo about spending alone time with Stefan pierced his heart and once again Damon wanted nothing more then to die. He pleaded with himself to turn it off. It took him awhile but after a few minutes the pain stopped and Damon once again felt nothing, even though he knew the girl he was in love with was upstairs with his brother. He felt nothing.


A/N: So I know this is really short and I apologise for that. Hopefully it was still good enough.

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