Notes

I'm sorry it has been a couple of days, but it is my first week back to school and I won't be able to update as often as I have been. Also I am sorry but the next two days I won't be able to update because my Great Uncle passed and I have to go out of town. I hope you enjoy this chapter; it took a lot of time to get it just right. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.

Chapter 10- Go It Alone.

Damon's P.O.V.

I notified Stefan about Elena and Bonnie's road trip. Her sudden decision to leave town didn't surprise him as much as it did me. Every time I think about what had happened earlier, I keep getting a bad feeling that something is not right. I keep telling myself that I need to calm down and just trust her, but with Elena, you never know if she is hiding something. As the night progressed, I had finally come to the conclusion that she will be ok and I need to stop worrying about her, until my phone started to ring.

I answered the phone, "Hey Rick."

"Hey Damon, can you do me a favor?" Rick asked politely.

"Of course, what do you need?" I answered him without hesitation.

"Since Elena left her car at the school today, could you come get her keys and drive it home?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." I hung up the phone and was out the door in seconds.

After I went to Elena's to pick her keys up from Rick, I arrived at the school moments later. I immediately noticed that not just Elena's car was parked at the school, but Bonnie's car as well. I immediately call Stefan in a panic.

"Stefan, both Bonnie's and Elena's cars are still at the school. Do you find that as suspicious as I do?" I asked him curiously.

"It seems strange that neither of them took their own vehicle, but I trust Elena told us the truth. I wouldn't think too much on it Damon, it will drive you mad. I'm sure that they must've taken Bonnie's dad's car, since it is more reliable anyway." Stefan replied.

"Stefan do you understand how crazy you sound, she has the most feared vampire in history after her. She could have been compelled for all we know to tell us a lie." I said in aggravation.

"There is no way she was compelled Damon, she has vervain." Stefan said, trying to state the obvious.

With anger building up, I said, "Stefan, that necklace didn't stop her from being compelled last time, that vampire ripped it off her neck like it was nothing. " I cannot believe that he is being this ignorant, why can't he just trust that I have a bad feeling about this.

"No Damon, Elena has been drinking vervain ever since the night she was kidnapped; I didn't want to risk her being compelled again. She has just been wearing her necklace to add to the protection." He said trying to inform me, so I would stop worrying. Little did he know that reality had just set in, and I was now worrying about something completely different. Worrying that Elena might have never been compelled the night I confessed my love to her.

I was in shock from what I had just heard, I felt as if my heart had dropped to my stomach. Trying to make out the words in a hurry to get off the phone with Stefan, I felt nauseated. If I were still human, I probably would have vomited. "Stefan, I have to go, something has come up." While Stefan was saying his goodbye, I hung up on him in mid-sentence.

As soon as I got off the phone I immediately fell to the ground next to Elena's car. I kept saying out loud to myself, "this isn't happening, this isn't happening, THIS ISN"T HAPPENING!" I just couldn't believe what I had just heard. In utter shock, I tried to make myself feel better by thinking maybe Stefan only thinks Elena was on vervain, what if Elena drank the vervain after I left? The more I thought about it, the more I started to notice Elena's change in behavior ever since that night. How she had been flirting with me, she also trusted me over Stefan lately. Not to mention she even took up for me when Stefan was blaming me. What if Elena loves me back, could this possibly be the reason why her and Stefan are having problems.

As I was sitting in the parking lot, I kept playing the last few days in my head over and over. The only way to know for sure is if I speak to Elena directly about the compulsion, but first I will need to find her. If she is in Richmond, I know a witch up there that can perform a locator spell and I will be able to find her quickly.

I had finally made it to Elena's house with her car. If a witch does a locator spell, then I will need blood from Jeremy. I snuck up into Jeremy's room, and there he was listening to music on his bed.

"Little Gilbert." I said in a creepy tone. "Can I borrow some blood from you? I'm getting a witch to perform a locator spell to check on your sister." I said quickly so he wouldn't ask a bunch of questions.

"Why do you need to locate Elena?" Jeremy asked very suspiciously.

"Look, I just want to check on her to see if she is alright. By checking on Elena I will also be seeing if Bonnie is ok as well." I added trying to convince him.

"Fine." He said while holding out his arm, so I could extract some blood from his wrist.

"Thanks and by the way, don't tell anyone of this little arrangement." I said, as I sealed the blood in my flask and put it away in my pocket.

As soon as I got the blood from Jeremy, I ran straight home to get my car. I was surprised that Stefan was outside waiting on my arrival. I tried to hurry upstairs to grab me some clothes and supplies, but he was following me.

"Damon, what the hell are you doing?" Stefan asked me, with anger in his eyes, while I was walking up stairs to my room.

"What does it look like I'm doing Stefan? I am going to Richmond to check on Elena." I said, just waiting on what he was going to say to my response.

"Why in the hell would you do that? She told us the truth and we both should respect her enough to believe her." Stefan said, trying to stop me.

"That's the problem brother, I don't believe her. I have a feeling that she is in trouble and I want to check on her to make sure. There should be nothing wrong with that, she won't even know I am there." I said as packed my clothes, not giving him eye contact.

"See that is where you are wrong Damon, Elena doesn't want us going or she would've invited us."

"She needs our protection; she is just too stubborn to ask for it. Klaus wants to kill her and she happens to be out roaming freely somewhere, just waiting to be snatched up. I can't even get ahold of her; I have tried calling her over a hundred times, straight to voicemail is all I get." I said, trying to get through him. I grabbed my stuff and started to head out the front door.

"Maybe she just doesn't want to talk to you, ever think of that. Calling her over and over just makes you look pathetic. When are you going to get through your head that she is not your girlfriend, she's mine. She doesn't respect you or want you Damon, and by going up there and checking on her is only going to make you look desperate and that you don't trust her." Stefan said with immaturity. I never thought that my brother would ever stoop that low.

I opened my trunk to put my bags in. I walked over to him slowly, looking him straight in the eyes and said, "You're completely right Stefan, she isn't my girlfriend. So I don't care if she hates me after this, but I would rather her hate me forever then for something to happen to her." We just stood there in silence, then I decided to ask him, "What if she is lying and in danger? How do you think you will feel when I am the one who saves her, again? I love her too Stefan, that is why I must to protect her."

I opened my car door and was about to get in, when Stefan said "She doesn't love you Damon; you are just giving her more reasons to push you away." I knew that he saw the hurt in my eyes; he knew he had offended me and didn't care. I got in my car and started the engine, when Stefan yelled, "Just do whatever brother; I'm done giving Elena excuses for your irrational behavior!"

"I never asked you to do that." I said as I drove away, with a pain filling my chest.

Stefan's words had really cut me deep. I kept asking myself, does Elena really feel that way about me? If she had heard my confession, if she loved me back wouldn't she tell me? I guess that I will just have to see if she really was compelled or not, but I have to wait for the perfect time. I love my brother and I want him to be happy, but I also want Elena happy too. Lately they just seem unhappy with another and distant. That got me thinking that maybe he is worried about their relationship and taking out on me.

When I finally made it to the highway, there was someone in the middle of the road waving me down, it was Rose. I rolled my window down as I approached her.

"What in the hell are you doing? Did Stefan send you?" I asked her, thinking that she was here to try and change my mind about going.

"No he didn't, I was just wondering if you would like some company on your road trip? Rose asked, with a smile on her face.

"Why not, get in." I said. She got in my car in a matter of seconds, and then I continued to drive down the long highway.

"I overheard you and Stefan fighting, do you want to talk about it?" Rose asked me with concern.

"Not really Rose, and if you plan on me opening up to you, then you might as well go back home." I informed her.

"I wasn't planning on it." She said with a giggle. Then she turned to face me, placing her hand on my shoulder and said, "What Stefan said to you wasn't true, I believe that Elena cares a lot about you and respects you. Honestly, I think that she loves you, and you are right to go check on her. I believe the reason Stefan was so cruel tonight is because he knows that Elena cares for you and is scared to losing her." She paused as I looked at her. She took her hand off my shoulder and added." In case you were wondering what I thought about it."

"I wasn't." I said with a grouchy tone, but then added, "I'm not trying to get in-between them Rose, Stefan should have no worry of losing her to me. There is no way that I will ever deserve her, too much as happened."

"That is where you are wrong Damon; you deserve her just as much as Stefan does. Just because there are things that you regret, doesn't mean you will never be forgiven." Rose said, trying to make me feel better.

I didn't respond to what Rose had just said, I know she was just trying to make me feel better. I'm hoping that having Rose around will distract me from thinking so much. Bringing her could also have the reverse effect and she will drag my feelings out, either way I would rather do that then go it alone.

Thank you for reading, I am sorry to leave you hanging. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review.