AN: MERRY CHRISTMAS OR ANY OTHER HOLIDAY YOU'RE CELEBRATING, GUYS!

Here's a small update for your Christmas mornings. My head is really empty right now so just go!


"I'm home!" she walked into the room with a smile that lit up the whole house.

He smiled back, feeling his heart swell. She was so beautiful.

"Hi honey", he kissed her gently on the lips. "You're home early."

"Well after you told me that you wanted to talk, I became so curious that I had to leave", she giggled. "So what is it?"

"Let's go outside", he suggested.

She took his hand and followed him to the backyard. They walked around the garden for a while, admiring the flowers. Finally they stopped at a stone bench. They sat down.

"Elena, I've lived for a long time but never before have I felt like this towards anyone else. I love you and I want to be with you forever. A lot of people say that with a different meaning but with us it really means that. All I want is for you to be happy, but I was hoping if you could make me happy and be my wife", he kneeled before her and pulled out a ring.

She gasped, eyes jumping from him to the ring. "Of course!"

He let out the breath he was holding and put the ring on her finger. Then he got up and pulled her in for a heart-stopping kiss. She smiled brighter than the sun again as they separated.

"I love you too", she said and grabbed him for another kiss.

...

"Oh come on!" Damon thought out loud and rolled on his back. That must have been the most disgustingly cute dream in the universe. He would never say or think something as cheesy as that. Of course he thought she was beautiful, but putting it like that made him feel sick.

The lack of blood had made him have these half-hallucinating dreams. They seemed to be getting cuter and grosser by the hour.

And marriage? Would they really do that if they were together? Maybe after she'd turn.

What was he thinking again? Elena turning? Them being together? All those things that weren't true or going to happen.

It was kind of depressing, though. Elena could have had any future she'd want, but instead she was ready to choose him over them. Wasn't it her choice? It shouldn't be. Again it was his fault for getting into her life, messing it up.

But wasn't this love thing about sacrificing and compromising? After spending this much time away from her, Damon had come to the conclusion that he couldn't live without her. Of course now it wasn't his decision to make, but he knew it anyway. Maybe she wouldn't regret it so much after turning… Maybe love was able to fix everything.

There's the cheesiness again. Of course she would regret it. She wouldn't be able to have kids and have a family – and she was way too motherly for that. She would have to watch her family die and never have a future – just the state she was frozen in.

Still the little, stupid, cheese voice spoke up. BUT YOU WOULD BE TOGETHER FOREVER. It was a powerful thought. YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE TO LOOSE HER. So tempting, so wrong.

...

Elena walked through the school halls. On her right she saw Stefan, on the phone with Katherine. It was one of those rare days when he actually came to school. He was smiling… not like an idiot like most people – idiot wasn't Stefan's style – but slyly. And for that Elena didn't want to hear a reason. A painful reminder of his brother.

On the next aisle there were Bonnie and Jeremy. They were laughing together, this time with the idiotic smiles. She used to smile like that, like nothing was wrong with the world. When did she become so expressionless?

Still one more obstacle before reaching her class: Caroline and Tyler. Now they weren't talking or smiling or laughing, they were making out… right there… right next to the classroom's door. No way to dodge.

Elena didn't use to be a jealous person, but nowadays she was jealous of every single person she saw. It wasn't an easy way to live, but she couldn't help it. Her own life seemed to be a mess so she had to focus on others.

And all this because of a boy. Except that it wasn't a boy but a vampire… and it wasn't like she was just dumbed, but she had to find out if the love of her life was gone forever. No pressure.

...

November came along with their anniversary. Elena stayed at home that day because she was sick. It wasn't too surprising: she wasn't really eating or sleeping well and she was very stressed.

On that day she felt even worse. Two years had passed. She wasn't going to believe that she'd thrown them away. But it got harder every day. It got harder to believe that he was somewhere to be found or that he would come back.

She just lied there, thinking about Damon. Of course she remembered what he looked like, what his voice sounded like, all the little things he did… but they were becoming blurred and distant. Sometimes when she was about to fall asleep, she accepted the fact that he was gone. Then after waking up she fought back again.

Trish had been following John for a while. She was ecstatic because of the ring. But it was a lost cause: John wasn't doing anything suspicious. And neither was the sheriff. The only thing Caroline had said was that she'd smelled musty – and that didn't really say anything since the office wasn't the freshest place to be.

Elena was daydreaming about their one-year anniversary. It had been amazing… nothing too fancy… just the two of them.

What we had wasn't real. We could never really be together. That can't be fixed with you turning.

Then she crashed back to reality. The damn letter wouldn't stop haunting her. It would be easier to give up, wouldn't it? She just wanted to scream sometimes.

...

Sheriff Forbes walked down to the old cells. She hadn't been there for a while.

"It's still down", the deputy stated.

"Okay, go take your break", sheriff Forbes nodded.

The deputy walked away and sheriff Forbes was left alone in the shades. She walked slowly to the door. Damon was lying there on his stomach. She turned away from the door: she still wasn't quite comfortable with all of this.

"Elena…"

First it was a quiet moan but soon it turned into multiple cries. Sheriff Forbes couldn't help but to stare. Why was the vampire calling the human girl's name? Vampires were liars and killers… he couldn't really care about the girl.

Then the cries stopped. There was a growl and she heard him shift. Sheriff Forbes stepped into the cell.

"Well look what the cat dragged in", Damon croaked. "How can I help you, Liz?"

"You were talking", sheriff Forbes said.

"Woops, my bad. I guess the fact that I'm starving to death might affect on my ability to keep quiet while I'm almost hallucinating", Damon snorted.

"You were calling her name. Why?"

"Haven't we been through this already?" Damon rolled on his back and rubbed his eyes.

"Tell me the truth!" sheriff Forbes pulled out her gun.

"Oh come on! I'm almost dead – again. You don't have to shoot me to make me feel pain anymore", Damon huffed.

"Tell me the truth", sheriff Forbes repeated.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why were you calling her name?"

"I don't really like repeating myself…"

Sheriff Forbes shot right next to his head.

"Jeez! What do you think? Is it so hard to understand that I can feel something?" Damon snapped.

"Yes, it is. Vampires don't feel, they kill", sheriff Forbes stated.

"You're such a racist. I'm getting tired of fighting over this. It's your fault for not doing your homework right", Damon rolled his eyes. "If you're seriously looking for a vampire 101, I'm not up for it."

"I'm just doing as I know is right", sheriff Forbes noted.

"So you think it's right to ruin people's lives. I know you don't care about mine, but what about Elena's?"

"She has moved on. You can't infect her life anymore", sheriff Forbes shrugged.

"What?" Damon gushed.

"I guess your hooks weren't deep enough", sheriff Forbes mocked.

Damon didn't say anything. The air had left his lungs. It was like he'd literally taken a punch in the stomach.

She's moved on? No way… Well he did write the letter almost a month ago… But she believed it? It was all lies after all. He would never hurt her like that – probably not even if it was best for her.

But you did. Right, he did.

"Who told you that?"

"I've seen her and John lives with her. You need to give up, Damon. She's not under your spell anymore", sheriff Forbes said bluntly.

"I have never compelled her!" Damon shouted. He was loosing his temper very quickly.

"I don't believe you. The only thing you've done is lying."

"Well if you're such a saint, why won't you tell me the truth why you think I've compelled her", Damon tried to keep his voice down.

"You're a vampire. You don't care. You can just play with humans without thinking it twice", sheriff Forbes put the gun back to the holster.

"I'm glad you know me so well. Now if you don't have anything else to shove to my face, leave", Damon rolled back on his stomach and closed his eyes.

"You still didn't tell me why you were calling her name."

"For the love of… I love her. I. Love. Elena. There you have it. Now would get the hell out of here!" Damon yelled.

Sheriff Forbes just shook her head and left the cell, letting the deputy in to inject the vervain.

...

The next month crawled by. Elena was still pretty weak. Right before Christmas Jenna snapped.

"Elena, we need to talk right now."

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Elena asked with a fake-chipper voice.

"You. I know your boyfriend left you and all but it was over three months ago! You've been practically fading right in front of my eyes. I've let this go on for too long. You're not eating and apparently not sleeping either. Why are you still hanging on to him?" Jenna blurted.

"I eat", Elena said weakly. "And sleep… sometimes."

"I know you can see it too. Have you taken a look in the mirror? You're looking unhealthily skinny. You've never been the eating disorder –type. Please Elena, talk to me", Jenna begged.

"I love him, Jenna. What do you want me to say?" Elena sighed.

"I want you to promise me to eat. Even if you think you're not hungry. I know you can't force yourself to sleep, but maybe we could go and see a doctor… You have your whole life ahead of you, Elena. Don't let it slip away", Jenna took her hands.

"I promise", Elena said honestly.

"I'll call doctor Fell today", Jenna nodded. "You'll get through this."

"I hope so."


AN: Hi again. I was kind of hoping to get to 2000 views before Christmas but oh well, I like you anyways.

So... What do you think now?

AND MERRY CHRISTMAS OR HANUKKAH OR KWANZA OR SOMETHING ELSE AND I HOPE YOU EAT YOURSELF SICK AND GET PRESENTS OR WHATEVER YOU DO AND STAY SAFE (IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. FUCK I NEED SLEEP)