"Finally! You guys took forever!" Caroline chirped, hopping up and down excitedly. Stefan cracked a fond smile.

"Actually, it's only been five minutes." Bonnie corrected. She looked wary, standing a little apart from the group, obviously extremely aware she was surrounded by vampires. They stood outside of the restaurant, which was just opening for the early eaters. "Anyway, let's go and get this over with." She gave them a pointed look and marched inside.

Damon cocked his head. "You think she told Elena?" he asked Stefan.

"She couldn't have." Stefan said, but he looked slightly panicked.

Caroline looked back and forth between the two of them. "This is so weird. Do you like, still think the same? Is it weird taking showers?"

Damon rolled his eyes at his brother and noticed that he was smiling, his eyes sparkling with humor. What? Before he could assess this further, the door opened. "You guys coming or do you actually want to be stuck like that forever?" Bonnie asked impatiently. Everyone quickly followed her inside.

It was just how Damon remembered it, except a lot more empty. A couple gossiping waitresses in the corner were the only people in sight. The hostess, who was texting, looked up in surprise at all the people.

"Table for four?" she asked.

"Oh no actually we…" Stefan began. The host smiled flirtatiously and leaned forward.

"How about table for two?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Stefan looked bewildered. Damon held behind a laugh with a cough.

"He's with me." Caroline said suddenly, placing a possessive hand on Stefan's shoulder. The two girls stared at each other menacingly, a silent battle of wills.

Finally, the girl leaned back, defeated. Caroline smiled. "So what do you want?" she said, arms crossed.

The four stared at each other questioningly. "Umm…" Bonnie began, her mind searching for the right words. "We're looking for a certain waitress…"

The host pulled out a magazine and flipped idly through the pages. "Go look over there. Have a nice day Barbie." She said, motioning over to the group of waiters in the corner. They all willingly walked over there, except for a belligerent Caroline, who had to be dragged.

The group of waiters watched with interest as they walked over. "Can we help you?" a pretty brunette asked. Her strange hazel eyes looked confused as they flicked between the four.

"Yeah. We're looking for a waitress…" Stefan supplied this time.

Now her eyes flashed with understanding. "You too?" she muttered, more to herself than anything. "Follow me."

The foursome exchanged hopeful glances before following her. She led them to the back of the restaurant and through a door marked "Employees Only." Down the small hallway, she stopped at a door. "Here we are. Just knock. And good luck." With one last smile, she squeezed past them and disappeared.

"Well that was weird." Damon said.

"Tell me about it."Stefan muttered.

Bonnie sighed and knocked at the beat up door. Almost immediately, it opened, revealing the same waitress who gave them that strange fortune cookie only two nights ago. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw who was behind the open door. She tried to shut the door, but Damon quickly placed his foot in the corner, stopping it. He hissed in pain.

"Stefan…you seriously need to eat a human or two." He said.

The door creaked open again. "I'm busy." She said.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "Well that's too bad. We have a couple questions that you need to answer."

The woman stared at them for a while before sighing. "Come on in."

XXXXXXXXXX

Elena sat unsurely on her bed, yellow light filtering through her diaphanous curtains.

She needed to talk to someone.

But Bonnie and Caroline weren't answering their phones, and both Jeremy and Jenna were both gone. Then who? Elena was staring depressed off into space when it hit her. Of course. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Elena was smiling as she pulled out her ever faithful diary and a pen.

Without hesitation, she began to write.

Dear Diary,

So much has happened in this past day, most of it having to do with Stefan. Whenever I think about him, I get this warm bubbly feeling that I haven't felt in so long.

There's something different about Stefan. Something amazing. He has a fire I never knew he had. And I'm falling even harder for him.

For a while, I was scared. Things were falling apart almost. Stefan was pulling away from me, and we lost that spark that hooked me from the beginning. Things were so much simpler back then. Stefan brought me back to life. He made me happy again. And then came his dark secret, that he was a vampire. It took me some time to realize that it didn't matter. I still loved him. But the secrets kept coming. When I saw that picture of Katherine, my life was torn apart again. I was just a replacement for him. So I ran away or, really, got kidnapped by Damon. I still loved Stefan, and he convinced me I was the only one he loved.

Things went smoothly (as smooth as they can go with me) for a little bit, but I couldn't keep that nagging voice out of my mind.

Then Katherine came back and my whole world got turned upside down. Stefan seemed more distant than ever, but I just convinced myself that any guy would feel the same if their crazy ex was back in town.

And then there was Damon. He confused me, making me think about things I didn't ever consider. I care about him. But recently, I felt…I thought

Elena chewed on her pen and looked nervously out the window.

I don't know. If it wasn't for last night, I don't know what would've happened.

It was one of the best nights of my life. I felt alive again, which I just realized was slipping away again. I love him. I really do. And now finally, I can see myself with him again. I can see our future without flinching or feeling sick. But…no matter how much I love it, how much I want it…it's not Stefan.

It's not who he is.

Elena put down her pen and stared at her reflection. The girl in the mirror looked sad, her eyes drooping, a crease between her brows. She picked up a picture on the edge of her mirror. It was the only one of her and Stefan, the only picture he would allow. He looked puckered and broody, while Elena looked cornered and trapped. She threw the picture in the wastebasket. She only had it there for necessity.

She returned to her bed and laid there for a long time, trying not to think.

XXXXXXXXXX

The room was extremely small, and it was a wonder that all five of them fit. The woman sat behind her tiny desk, while the four of them fought over the only chair. Bonnie was the one who finally sat, after threatening to use her witchy aneurisms.

The woman stared at all of them.

Stefan cleared his throat awkwardly. In a sudden burst of wild movement, Damon shot forward, his hands reaching for her throat. It took a collective effort to pull him back and calm him down. "When will you learn that killing people doesn't solve anything?" Stefan said.

The waitress looked indifferent. She shrugged at the heaving Damon.

"Ignore him." Stefan said, embarrassed. "Did you do this to us? Switch us?"

Her glittering black eyes narrowed. "Yes. I'm a witch." She said simply.

Bonnie gaped. "W-What? How? But you're not black-"

"Don't be racist Bonnie." Damon quipped from the floor.

"But why?" Stefan asked.

"To help you. You are brothers, and fight like wolves over that poor girl. You both love her." They all immediately knew who that girl was. Bonnie's mouth set in a hard line. Caroline looked lost. Damon looked nervously at Stefan. Stefan was seething.

"So you decided that the best way to help this was to switch us?" Stefan asked, hands in fists.

"Yes."

"Damon loves Elena?" Caroline asked aloud.

"He better not." Bonnie warned, glaring at him.

Damon said nothing.

Stefan took a deep, calming breath. "Can you change us back?"

"No."

"And why not?" Stefan asked through clenched teeth. Damon stood up.

"I can't. That is for you two to solve."

"What? How do we do that?" Stefan asked slowly, ever patient.

"Read your fortune. It contains the answer."

Bonnie reached into the pocket of her skinny jeans and pulled out the small crumpled up piece of paper. "We did. It made no sense." She said.

The woman raised a delicate eyebrow, "Think about it. It will make sense in time."

"Or…" Damon said, his green eyes flashing menacingly. "You could tell us now."

"No. Now leave. I have work to do." She waved them away dismissively.

Damon started forward again, this time with Stefan. Both Bonnie and Caroline held them back and began to push them out the door.

"Wait." Stefan said. "I have one more question."

"Yes?" she asked, never looking up from her paper.

"When we switch bodies, do we take on the characteristics of the person whose body we're in?" Damon looked at Stefan, his eyes wide. The woman looked up, studying him with those intelligent black eyes.

"No. You are still yourself even in the other's body. You may feel outward experiences like the other, like smells or tastes or…" She looked Damon straight in the eye. "Kisses. However, you are still you. Everything you do is still from your own mind."

Stefan and Damon looked at each other, horrified.

"Oh and good luck Damon and Stefan."

With a sudden gust of air, the door shut on them.

"Well…that was extremely creepy." Damon said.

And for the second time that day, Stefan agreed with him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The walk outside was silent until Bonnie read out the fortune again.

"What could it mean?" she asked aloud. Silence once again fell on the group by the restaurant as they all pondered this.

Damon, with a feeling of dread, knew what it meant.

He had to give up Elena.

XXXXXXXXX

Elena didn't react as the light around her dimmed. When it finally disappeared she reluctantly got up and turned on the light. She gasped loudly when the sudden light revealed Stefan, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Oh. Stefan." She said. For a fleeting crazy second, she wished it was Damon leaning casually against the wall, a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"No." he said, he looked down, the shadows darkening his hard jaw.

"What, are you not Stefan?" she laughed, sauntering up to him.

"Yes. I'm not." He said, swallowing hard. "I'm Damon."

She stared at him for a minute. "What?" she whispered.

"That night…after the restaurant, Stefan and I switched. I'm really Damon. In Stefan's body. And he's in my body." He said slowly.

"Stefan… are you feeling all right?" she asked, worried.

He sighed. "Elena. I'm not Stefan. I'm Damon. Think about it. Have I acted like Stefan lately?"

Elena looked down. "No. It makes sense. Everything makes sense now." She sat down on her bed, a hand to her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Your boyfriend didn't want me to." Damon said bitterly. Elena's big brown eyes searched him intently, pulling the truth out of him. He sighed and sat next to her on the bed. "And…I wanted a day."

"A day?"

"Without you looking at me with hate. With the fun Elena. The one I miss."

Elena swallowed hard. She bit her bottom lip. "I…You took advantage of me. You kissed me."

Damon looked down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. It won't happen again. I promise." He looked away from her and got up. Elena felt a strange surge of panic at those words.

"Damon…" she said, getting up also. She grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn. Those familiar green eyes stared at her, but they looked different. Angry.

"Let go of me." He said suddenly. "I know this doesn't change anything."

"What do you want me to say Damon?" she said, flaring up in that way she did only around Damon. "That I just had the best night of my life with my boyfriend's boyfriend? That I knew Stefan was different and changed, and yet I didn't even care because I loved it so much?" She let go of his arm and the anger drained from her face. "It changes everything."

They stared at each other, Damon speechless. "Elena…I'm sorry." He finally choked out. He carefully and hesitantly reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Elena flinched away from his touch and Damon winced and stepped away. "I was wrong." Elena staredat him, confused. "I should have never gone after you. You love my brother, and he loves you. I can't take that away from you. I don't want to ruin your lives anymore. I won't be that selfish. You both deserve to be happy. Without me."

"Damon..." She said, overwhelmed. She couldn't think. Her mind was buzzing, warring. She slumped back on her bed, her head in her hands.

"Goodbye Elena." She felt the softest pressure of something on the top her head. When she looked up in alarm, the room was empty.

Damon jumped down from her window and closed his eyes hard. When he opened them, Stefan was standing in front of him, his expression unfathomable.

"You heard that?" Damon asked simply.

Stefan nodded. "We need to talk."

Elena wiped at a stubborn tear and reached for her diary, which lay in between her sheets. She flipped through it until she got to the entry she had written today. With an angry flourish, she tore out the page and ripped it into small tiny pieces. She tossed them into the wastebasket along with her picture with Stefan and searched in her drawer until she found her matchstick box. She drew one out, lit it, and dropped it in. Then she watched the remnants of her heart burn and shrivel into ash.

XXXXXXXXXX

So what'd you guys think? Sorry, I tend to be a bit dramatic haha.

Wow. I cannot say enough how amazing you reviewers are. Hugs for you all!

I'm sorry to all I confused last chapter. As you can see, that won't be much of a problem anymore. ;)

Please review!