Day Old Hate

Now you still speak of day old hate
Though your whole world has gone up into flames
And isn't it great to find that you're really worth nothing
And how safe it is to feel safe

Day Old Hate by City and Colour

A/N: Takes place beginning halfway through Season 1 Episode 10- 'The Turning Point'. Elena and Stefan do not make love and Elena does not find out about Katherine. She also does not end up driving away and hitting someone in her car. Everything starts the night of the career fair after Damon and Stefan take on Logan. Damon lets Logan get away and Elena drives Stefan home, but doesn't stay.

"I know that it's hard to understand," there was a pause as he took in a breath, Stefan's eyes set on Elena's. "But I'm doing this for you."

Elena's eyes closed, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip. She listened as he opened the door and got out of the car. Her eyes opened slowly, and watched as Stefan walked into the house. And then she drove away, back home with her aunt and her brother. She would make Stefan see that she belonged in his life; that despite what he thought, he brought more good into her life than bad. She would make him see it, even if it was the last thing she did.

The drive home was filled with regret for not stopping Stefan when she wanted to. She should have gotten out of the car, she should have stopped him. She should have told him everything that was going through her mind, because she knew that him leaving was not for her benefit. It was because he was afraid of letting her close.

Now, Elena sat at the bay window in her bedroom, her diary open on her lap. But despite sitting there for several moments, she had yet to write anything down. Instead, she sat staring off into the inky blue black sky, thinking about Stefan. She was convinced not to let his last words to her be his last words to her. She would see him again; tell him how deeply she needed him in her life. He would show up at least to say goodbye. And then she would tell him everything. The last several weeks had been anything but normal, and as much as she wanted to think that she could not be with him, her mind and her heart were both convinced of the fact that she could not be without him.

A deep sigh passed her lips as she realized the problem with this scenario. Despite knowing that Stefan and his brother were both vampires, the problem was just that, the vampire that was his brother. Damon had been a thorn in her side since he had arrived. Elena had tried to see the good in Damon when she had first met him, but she had seen him do too much damage to have any illusions about him. The Salvatore name and those deep, endless green eyes were the only things the brothers had in common. Damon was the Hyde to Stefan's Jekyll in every way. The yin to Stefan's perfect, beautiful yang. Elena shook her head, laughing silently to herself. That just sounded ridiculous.

Besides, there was no use in trying to deny that Damon was not also equally good looking. It was no wonder Caroline had gone after him so quickly. She could never let Elena show her up, especially not when it came to men. Once Stefan had favored Elena, it was only a matter of time before Caroline found someone better looking.

Not that Elena would admit she found Damon better looking. She squeezed her eyes shut and smacked her forehead with her diary. Not even in thought was that okay.

It would never matter anyway. Elena was in love with Stefan. She got weak in the knees just looking at him and after he had told her that he wasn't leaving yet, there was no reason for her to wonder what she would do without him there. She had seen the look of concern in his eyes when he told her that she needed to be safe. Those deep green orbs held more love and concern for her than she had ever seen in anyone else.

And after seeing what Damon had done to Bonnie and Lexi, there was no way she could be friends with him. She had no inclination to be friends with him anymore. Damon was dangerous and volatile at best. And he always had some hidden agenda that he would share with no one. After the heartache she had felt in her young life, he was the last person she needed to be befriending right now.

----

Bonnie answered the door in her pajamas, surprised to find Caroline there.

"Hey, what's going on?" The former questioned, worried.

"Can I come in for a bit? My mom's not home and I just can't be there alone right now."

Bonnie moved to let her friend pass through the doorway. "Yeah, definitely, of course."

Caroline pulled her jacket off and flopped down on the couch. Not only was she in no mood to be alone, Caroline was in no condition to be alone. Not after what she had been through that night. Logan had attacked her, and then she had woken up in Stefan's arms. He had laid her down in her bed and then disappeared. It had seriously been the most ridiculous night of her life.

Bonnie grabbed a blanket and sat down beside her friend, covering the two of them before flipping on the TV.

"I don't want to watch anything," Caroline complained, turning to face Bonnie.

"Alright…" Bonnie replied, switching the television off and returning Caroline's gaze. "What happened to you tonight, anyway?"

Caroline gulped. "Logan Fell… attacked me."

"He… attacked you?"

Caroline nodded. "Why am I always the one that bad things happen to? Why is it only the crazy guys that go for me? Damon… what he put me through. And I can't even remember most of my time with him, Bonnie. That's the weirdest part. I would wake up with bruises all over me, and no memory of what happened. And now Logan. I mean really, what else can really happen to me? Why me?"

Bonnie sighed and pulled her friend close, running her fingers through Caroline's beautiful blonde hair. "I don't know, sweetie."

"I just want to… I don't know, forget everything, move on from it all. I want to forget about Damon, forget about Matt and how he's been leading me on, because I swear to God, if I have to hear him say one more thing about Elena, I'm going to scream! Why can't I just… forget?"

Bonnie smiled, stood up from the couch and held her hand out to Caroline. "I think I can do that for you."

---

Damon made it to the warehouse in lightning speed. He spotted the sheriff several feet away and slowed his pace to a normal human walk.

"Where's the body?" He growled, eyes locked on Sheriff Forbes. She swallowed hard, stunned by the ferocious tone in Damon's voice. He had only ever been respectful and helpful.

"Over there," the sheriff answered, pointing toward the ambulance whose doors were mostly closed.

This was not part of the plan. Someone else had gotten to Logan; and if Damon found out that it was his brother who had done this, his wrath would not be quick or painless for Stefan.

Damon made his way to the ambulance, shoving the doors out of his way and climbing into the back of the emergency vehicle.

"Damon, what's going on?" Sheriff Forbes questioned, moving closer to the ambulance.

Damon's eyes searched the body quickly, his nose picked up faint traces of someone. The scent of whoever it was that had killed Logan Fell. And it was Stefan's lucky day that the scent didn't belong to him.

---

Elena switched off the light and climbed into bed. Her hand rested on the necklace she hadn't taken off since Stefan had given it to her. She wondered what, if anything, Damon would try to do if the necklace had mysteriously disappeared. But her better judgment told her not to test fate.

Glancing at her nightstand, Elena picked up her phone, nails idly drumming as she considered whether or not to call Stefan. She was still thinking about how she should have stopped Stefan from getting out of the car earlier that night. The regrets were piling up and as much as she didn't want to think he would, there was a part of her that wondered if Stefan really would leave without saying goodbye. Maybe that night had been his way of saying goodbye.

That did it. Elena had to have her last say. And she knew that Stefan would be enough of a gentleman to at least give her that much. Hopefully, she would be able to change his mind.

Opening a new text message, Elena thought for a moment about what to say to him. Finally she settled on the short and sweet. "I need a proper goodbye before you go. Meet me at my house tomorrow morning."

Elena hit send and closed her phone, setting it back on the nightstand and rolling over onto her other side, closing her eyes and praying that sleep would come quickly and dreamlessly. Oh, that she should be so lucky.

---

Bonnie stared down at the candles on the table. She had just lit them with her mind and she gulped, wondering if what she was about to do would do any good. Grams had not taught her much about witchcraft, but with the book she had borrowed from her grandmother, Bonnie was sure that she could pull off the spell that she had in mind. Things with Caroline had gotten into a perfect disaster because of Damon. Bonnie's teeth clenched at the thought of his name. What a horrible, wretched person she had come to know Damon Salvatore as. He seemed interested in nothing else than his own schemes. Everything he had done to Caroline, everything he had done to Elena. Bonnie shuddered at the conversation she had with Elena. Learning the truth about Stephan and Damon was more than she had bargained for, but she would rather know the truth about them. She was less likely to get into trouble involving them if she knew. Or at least, she hoped so.

Her fingers touched the hollow of her neck as Bonnie recalled the last time she had seen Damon. She was grateful that she could not remember much about that night. Emily had done plenty of damage inhabiting Bonnie the way she had, and Damon's attack on Bonnie afterward left little to the imagination as to what would be done if anyone ever dared stand in his way again. Even though she felt bad that Stefan was leaving Elena alone and heartbroken, Bonnie would be all-too happy to see their town rid of Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie took Caroline's hands in her own and closed her eyes. God, she hoped she didn't screw this up.

---

Stefan closed his eyes tightly. Elena would never understand why they couldn't be together. In fact, he was beginning to wonder why he had come here in the first place. He had been compelled to see her, to know her. The girl that mirrored Katherine in looks, but was so different under the surface. Elena was strong and talented. She took care of herself and those she loved in a way that Katherine had never been capable of. Elena was warm; she was kind and caring and she accepted him with all of his faults. She knew the truth about him and still she cared.

And now, this message from her about a proper goodbye. How could he, in good conscious, deny her anything? She, who meant so much more to him than his own life? Of course he would see her, try as he might to escape it. His feelings for her would never alter, the way his feelings for Katherine had. His feelings for Katherine had been weak, human emotions. It had taken more than 100 years and truly loving Elena to realize that what he had shared with Katherine paled in comparison.

A knock on his door.

Stefan pulled his arm out from behind his head and sat up, watching Damon saunter through the door like nothing at all had happened that night.

"What do you want Damon? I'm not in the mood for games."

"Come on now, Stefan. What happened to teamwork and all that bullshit from earlier?"

Stefan's brow furrowed into a deep scowl.

"Logan," Damon said, an amused look on his face. "Never confessed to me who turned him."

Stefan raised a brow. "I don't understand…"

"Looks like you and I are going to be sticking around Mystic Falls for a while longer, little brother," Damon's voice lacked the concern that should have been apparent. He smirked instead. "Haven't you heard, there are vampires in our midst."

A/N: This is my first attempt at a Vampire Diaries fic and I would love some feedback. I wanted to get a general plotline down for everyone before I started delving into my crazy idea. I hope that you all enjoyed it so far, and I promise I will update as soon as I am able. Please review. I'll write sexy Damon out of the story if I don't get any. Thanks a million. :)