Elena took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock at the door. However, at that very moment, Damon flung it open, in the process of pulling on his jacket. He stopped short when he saw her standing there.

"Elena," he said, with a smile. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, effectively blocking her entrance. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Um, is Stefan here?"

"Nope," Damon answered nonchalantly, not moving. "He's at school." He leaned towards Elena conspiratorially, "And shouldn't you be there, too?"

Elena leaned back slightly, ignoring Damon's smirk. "Stefan's not there. I thought something must have happened..."

Damon raised his eyebrows, "Little bro is skipping school, huh? I'll have to talk to him about that." He glanced at Elena, "He didn't ask you to go with him?"

Elena shrugged, looking down, "I wouldn't expect him to."

"Well, well…trouble in paradise?"

"No," Elena snapped, getting annoyed. "You know what, never mind. I shouldn't have come here—"

"Wait," Damon said, his voice losing its sarcastic edge. "Do you want to come in?"

Elena stared at him suspiciously, but he merely moved aside. "Thanks," Elena said slowly, closing the door behind her. She looked him over, "Are you going somewhere?"

"I was just about to head off to the Council meeting," Damon replied, walking into the living room. He took a seat in the armchair, and she sat down across from him. He stared at her briefly, watching as she twisted her hands together nervously. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Any news about Tyler?"

"He didn't kill those people last night, if that's what you're asking."

"What?" she demanded. "I thought they said it was a large animal—"

"Oh, they were right about that. But there's no way it was Tyler."

"So you found him last night?"

"Yup," Damon answered, getting up to pour a drink. "After I dropped Bonnie off, I swung by Tyler's house and listened in for a while. He and his mother were both home."

Elena frowned, "Do you think it was Katherine then?"

Damon shook his head, "I checked out the crime scene late last night after I heard what happened. It was definitely an animal of some sort."

"How do you know?"

Damon sat back down across from her, swirling his drink thoughtfully. "A vampire attack usually leaves its victims drained of blood, as you should know." He paused and added, "And of course there would be bite marks."

Elena swallowed, "And what did the bodies look like?"

Damon shrugged, "Pretty much ripped to shreds. The animal was clearly pissed."

"Do you think it was…personal?"

Damon grinned, lounging back. "You know, Stefan doesn't give you nearly enough credit, Elena. Yes, I do think it was personal."

"You think it was the mayor," Elena stated. "He turned into a werewolf and attacked the two cops that put him in that burning building."

"Seems reasonable to me."

"We never found out for sure whether or not he died in that fire," Elena mused. "Did you check out his grave site?"

"Nope, I was planning on making a graveyard trip later today if you're interested," Damon replied, downing his drink.

"What else did you do last night?" Elena asked suddenly. "After you found those guys in the woods?"

Damon didn't answer for a second, looking confused. "Why?"

"Stefan said you never texted him to tell him what happened."

"It was a long night," Damon replied, getting up.

"You're avoiding the question," she accused, walking towards him. "You went to see Katherine, didn't you?"

Damon didn't back away, but he looked surprised. "Well, I didn't exactly see Katherine, but—"

"I knew it!" Elena exclaimed, her frown deepening. "We told you it was too dangerous to go over there by yourself! What if she had been there?"

"Well, she wasn't," Damon said, sounding offended. "I just dug around her house for a bit…tried to find a reason she's sticking around Mystic Falls."

Elena sighed, placing a hand on Damon's arm. "Look, I understand why you're still obsessed with her, but that was all a really long time ago, Damon. You need to get over her…"

"Obsessed," Damon repeated flatly, removing her hand from his arm. He made his way towards the door, "I didn't know I had a meeting with my therapist today, Elena."

"No, wait," she said, hurriedly blocking his path. She took a deep breath, "Look, Damon. I'm just trying to tell you that I understand."

Damon crossed his arms, "You understand what, exactly?"

"Why you're…still in love with her," Elena faltered, noticing Damon's darkening expression. "And it's okay," she continued quickly. "Stefan told me about how she compelled you guys into loving her and all that, so it's understandable—"

"She didn't compel me," Damon hissed, leaning towards Elena. "It was real for me. I loved her." Abruptly, he leaned back. "And now I'm over it."

He reached out for the door, but Elena grabbed his arm, "Wait."

"What is it now?" he snapped, whirling around to face her.

Elena took a step back, but steeled herself. "I'm not saying you're still in love with her," she tried again. "I'm just saying…there must be something in your subconscious that still wants her on some level…which is why I understand why you did what you did."

"What?"

Elena bit her lip, "You know what I'm talking about."

Something changed in Damon's face, and his expression took on an almost dangerous quality. He began moving toward her, and she involuntarily backed away until she was pressed up against the wall. "Enlighten me, Elena," he said, placing an arm on either side of her so she couldn't escape. He leaned in, until she could feel his breath on her face. "Say it."

"I'm talking about the kiss," she finally bit out, meeting his gaze squarely. "That night, after Founder's Day…" She trailed off, but he didn't say anything. "Katherine told us after that whole memory spell," she muttered.

Damon didn't move, and Elena shifted. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" Damon asked suddenly, a glint in his eye. "Because it's not my intention…"

"Yes it is," Elena said, resisting the urge to punch him in the face. "You live to make people uncomfortable."

"Would you like to know what other memories I have of you, Elena?"

"N-no," Elena stammered. "Look, it wasn't right for Katherine to violate your privacy like that. I know what she did was wrong—"

"How about when you were sitting in the graveyard, writing in your journal?" Damon interrupted, watching her carefully. "Perhaps you remember a certain crow?"

Elena frowned, confused. "A crow? That—that was you?"

Damon cocked his head, "Scared of me yet?"

Elena clenched her jaw. "No," she said firmly. "You're not a bad person, Damon…"

"Well then," he whispered, his lips brushing her ear, "Maybe I should tell you about how many times I sunk my fangs into Caroline's neck—"

"Stop it," Elena demanded, and Damon pulled away, smirking. "I know you didn't say it to me, but that doesn't make it less true…" She looked up at him, "I do believe you're worth saving."

Damon looked shocked for a second, his smirk disappearing. "You're welcome," she added softly.

Damon still didn't move, and they stood like that for a few moments, his face inches away from hers. She felt her heart start beating rapidly, and saw Damon's eyes drift down, almost as if he heard—and then she had to remind herself that obviously he had heard. "I should…probably go now," Elena said, and Damon looked at her, his expression uncertain.

"I got something last night at Katherine's," he said finally, and reached into his pocket.

Elena stared as he pulled out a chain and held it up to her. "My necklace," she gasped. "You…went back for that?"

Damon shrugged, "I know how much it means to you." He eyed her for a second before slowly reaching around her to clasp the necklace around her neck.

He rested his hands on her shoulders when he was done, and Elena touched the pendent absentmindedly. "Thank you," she said quietly, meeting his gaze. "It means a lot."

Damon nodded, and slowly pushed her hair back. She shivered, whether because his hands were cold or because she was nervous, she didn't know. He brushed a thumb gently over her lips and then without warning leaned in and carefully kissed her on the cheek. "I wanted it to be real," he said quietly and pulled back to look at her. His gaze lingered on her lips, and Elena suddenly knew what he was going to do. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to move away and she watched as he moved closer, her heart thudding painfully.

He leaned in to kiss her, when suddenly the door flew open. Stefan stood there, his eyes flitting between them. "What's going on?"