Ok, ok, ok…Elena thought, panic still filling her. Her neck hurt like hell, having been abused for the second time this day and she felt as if she might faint. She leaned heavily against the wall behind her and closed her eyes for a second. The world was spinning. Her hands were shaking violently. Elena wished she would just be able to lie down for a while… to close her eyes… to forget. But there was no time. Not yet anyway. You need to get it together, she tried to convince herself. This is your chance! You need to use it! Yes, Damon was knocked out for the moment, but for how long? Elena considered using the syringe filled with vervain which she had hidden in her bag this afternoon but decided against it. No, this was her backup for the case that he would wake up. It would get her nowhere to waste it, just because she was afraid right now. The amount of vervain in his blood should be enough to take him out for at least half an hour, she tried to reassure herself. To be honest she had no real clue how this kind of things worked. It could be minutes or hours until he woke up again. She just had to hope for the best.

Her eyes fell on Damon, who was lying motionless on the floor. There was still some of her blood on his mouth. Staring at him, Elena realized that she would have to take care of that. Even if she would have loved to expose Damon to the council, it would endanger Stefan as well. And she couldn´t risk that. Fighting for control, she moved over to her bag and pulled out a handkerchief. When she looked at it, she saw that there was already a small strain of blood on it. It was only then, that she realized that her hands were covered over and over with blood. She stared at them in disbelieve. How could she not have noticed before? Because you´re at the brink of having a panic attack, some voice in her head whispered and Elena silently agreed. She knew that she had to get it together if she wanted her plan to succeed. Carefully, she wiped her hands clean before she closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, then another. Immediately, she felt calmer again. The fog that had numbed her thoughts slowly disappeared. You can do this, Elena, she told herself. She opened her eyes and looked down at her bag again. She noticed a small bottle of water which she had carried with her. Slowly she crouched down, opened the bottle, and soaked a new handkerchief with it. Then she carefully touched the wound on her neck, trying to discard as much of the blood as possible. When she was content with the results, she grabbed for the scarf which Damon had carelessly discarded on the floor. There was a little mirror next to the door and she went over to it, making sure that she looked presentable. Luckily, there didn´t seem to be any blood on her dress and therefore she was able to hide every trace of the vampire attack she had just endured.

When she was finished, she took a big gulp of the remaining water. The cold fluid ran down her throat and it felt like heaven. After having taken care of herself, she finally went over to Damon and observed his body. Luckily, he still didn´t move. Right now, Elena felt confident that he would be out for a while. Bending down beside him, she carefully touched his lips with the handkerchief making sure nothing would give him away. It felt strange to see him like this. He looked calm. Vulnerable even. Nothing of the evilness that she had seen a few minutes ago remained. Elena just hoped that she would be able to put an end to all of this tonight. This day had literally been hell. She couldn´t stand another day like this one. She just couldn´t.

Taking another deep breath, Elena pushed herself up again. She felt weak due to the blood loss but there was no time to think about it right now. If she really wanted to pull this off, she had to be quick. Yesterday, when she had come up with this plan, the first steps had been quite easy: convince Stefan to give her vervain, drink it to make sure Damon couldn´t compel her anymore and angry Damon in a way that he would lose control and bite her. After Damon had taken her blood this morning, she had almost been sure that she could get him to do it again. She had seen the greed in his eyes. She had seen how much he lusted for her blood. And she had intended to use this to her advantage.

What had been much more difficult was to decide what to do with him when he was unconscious. He had compelled her not to kill him so that had not been an option. And even though Elena really hated him with all she had, she still wasn´t sure if she´d be able to put a stake in his heart.

The problem was that she couldn´t go to Stefan as well. Even though she wanted to, she just couldn´t. Damon had compelled her to do everything in her power to keep this situation between them a secret. And if she went to Stefan right now, he would notice that something was wrong. He would probably realize that she had been bitten. He might even smell the fresh blood. And if she showed him Damon´s unconscious body, it would be obvious that it was Damon who had bitten her… and this was why she couldn´t go to him. Elena full-heartedly hated him and his compulsion.

No, another solution was needed. She had wrestled about this problem for quite some time. In the end, there had only been one possibility she could think of. It was not the best plan in the world, and she knew it. The risks were immense. On the other hand, what was left to lose? She couldn´t just leave Damon here like this. She didn´t even dare to imagine what he would do to her if he would wake up and get his hands on her again. That thought was simply too terrible to entertain it much longer. No, she needed to act…

Taking a quick look at Damon to make sure that he was still out cold, Elena hurriedly left the room and looked around. She knew whom she was searching for. Luck seemed to be on her side because she found Matt in less than a minute. He was standing in one of the corridors and talked to Tyler. Elena quickly went over to them and forced a smile on her face. "Hey, guys."

They both looked at her and Elena hoped that she appeared calmer than she felt. She was almost sure that one look would be enough to realize that something had happened to her, but neither Matt nor Tyler seemed to think that something was strange. Tyler even smiled easily at her. "Elena, hi",he replied and Elena had the feeling that the beer he was currently drinking was not the first one this evening. "I haven´t seen you for quite some time. How are you?"

Elena tried not to let her impatience show. She didn´t have time for small talk. She forced a smile on her face. "Thanks Tyler, I´m fine," she lied before looking at Matt. She suddenly felt shy. "Matt, would you mind coming with me shortly. I have something I need to show you… alone." Elena couldn´t help but blush.

Matt´s eyebrows rose in surprise. "Eh…ok sure," he said, his voice betraying his confusion. He looked at Tyler apologetically. "You don´t mind, do you?"

Tyler grinned as if he knew exactly what Elena wanted from Matt. "No problem, man." He padded on Matt´s shoulder before smirking at Elena and leaving in the direction of the party. Elena wasn´t sure what he thought she could want from Matt. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

Matt´s eyes followed Tyler until he couldn´t be seen anymore before turning around to Elena again. His eyebrows rose. "You know, you really made me curious."

Elena looked down uncomfortably. It felt strange to involve Matt in this, but he had been the only person she could think of who would help her. "I didn´t want to disturb your evening. It´s just… I have some kind of… problem. And I just didn´t know who else I could ask for help. I mean, I know that we haven´t been talking much, lately, and maybe I really shouldn´t ask you… but…"

"Elena," Matt interrupted her before she could finish her stuttering. "It´s fine. Really. You can ask for my help anytime you want."

Elena looked up at him and in his eyes. She felt relief flash through her. Her lips quirked up in a smile. "Thank you, Matt! I wouldn´t know what to do without you." For a moment, she the intense urge to hug him overmanned her, but she held back in the last second. The atmosphere between them had been strange since she had ended their relationship and Elena was almost sure that hugging him would not be good for neither of them. She wished they could just go back to being friends, but it was not as easy as it sounded.

If Matt could guess her thoughts, he didn´t let it on. The smile on his face seemed real and warm. "What kind of problem are we even talking about?"

This was a difficult question. "Maybe it´s the best if I just show you."

Matt nodded and Elena led him to the office she had left Damon in. Her right hand touched the doorknob and she silently prayed that Damon was still unconscious. If he wasn´t, that would be a real problem. She carefully pushed the door open and peeked inside. To her great relief, Damon hadn´t moved at all. He was still lying on the floor exactly like she had left him. She quickly entered the room and Matt followed her swiftly. His eyes found Damon´s body and she could hear him gasp in surprise. He obviously hadn´t expected something like this.

"Ok, Elena, what the hell is this?"

Elena shrugged, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "He drank way too much. I found him on the corridor, being really out of it. I tried to convince him to take a taxi home but he wasn´t even capable of walking let alone going home. The whole time he begged me to make sure that no one would see him like this. You know, he is new in this town and being that drunk on a party like this, would not leave the best impression." She shrugged. "I didn´t know what to do, so I took him to the first room we reached and was just about to get him some water when he fell asleep."

She looked at Matt. "And now, we´re here."

Matt sighed. "What a prick," he said more to himself than to Elena. He went over to Damon and slightly nudged him with his foot but Damon didn´t react. He looked over at Elena again. "You´re sure we shouldn´t call the ambulance? It might be good if a doctor would look at him."

"No!"

Elena could see Matt´s eyebrows scrunch and realized that her reaction had been too strong. She cleared her throat and tried to cover up with a smile. "I mean, I´ve already seen him drunk quite often. I´m sure he just needs some rest. He´ll hate me if I bring him to the hospital."

Matt didn´t seem convinced. "So, what do you suggest doing?"

"I thought we could bring him to my car and then I´ll drive him home. I would have done it myself but I simply cannot carry him the whole way. He´s just too heavy."

Matt didn´t look convinced. "I´m sorry that I ask Elena, but why didn´t you ask for Stefan´s help in this one? He´s his brother, isn´t he?"

Elena sighed. Because I´m compelled not to, she wanted to answer him but of course couldn´t. "Damon and Stefan have a difficult relationship", she improvised. "I´m convinced that the last thing Damon would want, is his brother to see him in such a condition."

"You´re thinking a lot about what Damon would want", Matt remarked. "I didn´t even know that you two liked each other?"

Elena clenched and unclenched her hands. She knew she was wasting too much time. She had no clue how long Damon would stay unconscious. "We´ve become friends lately", she told Matt before looking at him with her best puppy dog eyes. "Please, Matt, just help me carry him to my car." Matt had never been able to reject her when she looked at him like this. This time was not different. He sighed and nodded in her direction. Elena felt a pang of regret because she was using him like this but pushed it in the back of her mind. She would have time to think about this when she was free of Damon. Now, she needed to focus on the task ahead.

"Thank you, Matt!"

He sighed, obviously unhappy about the situation. His eyes scanned Damon´s body. "So how are we going to do this?"

"My car is parked at the back entrance already. We just have to carry him through the corridor and to the back door. It´s not far from here. Then we can put him in my car and I´ll take care of the rest."

Matt still didn´t seem to be convinced but went over to Damon anyway. He grabbed under Damon´s arms and pulled him up. "Are you coming, Elena?" Matt asked her and she nodded grimly while she went over to his body and lifted his legs. Since Matt carried most of his weight, she barely managed. She just hoped that all her effort would pay off.

It didn´t take them long to bring the unconscious Damon over to her car. The corridor had remained empty, and Elena was almost sure that no one had seen them. She was extremely thankful that Matt had helped her. She would never have been able to do this alone.

When they reached the parking lane, she led go of Damon's legs and opened the backdoor of her car. She wanted to help Matt again, but he shook his head. "I have it from here." He easily put Damon´s body in the backseat. Elena carefully observed him. He still didn´t stir. When Matt closed the door, she felt relief flood through her. Without being able to help it now, she hugged Matt. "Thanks! I don´t know what I would have done without you!"

Matt still seemed to feel uncomfortable. He loosened the hold she had on him and looked down at her. "Look, Elena, I´m really not sure if what you are doing is the best idea."

She smiled at him reassuringly. "It´s fine, Matt, really. I´ll stay with him until he wakes up. And if his condition gets worse, I promise that I´ll call the ambulance." She hated all these lies…

Matt sighed. "And how do you think you´ll get him from the car in his house?"

She had to admit that this was a good question. Elena realized that this was going to be really difficult. But she simply had to manage it. It was the only way. Matt seemed to see her doubts. He sighed again. "Ok, I´m going to come with you. I´ll just take my car and drive behind you. I´ll at least help you to get him inside."

"Matt, you really don´t need to…"

"You asked for my help, now let me help you. Really, it´s no problem."

Elena still looked at him undecided. In a way, Matt helping her to carry Damon inside would make everything easier. On the other hand, Damon could always wake up. And if he did, he´d be more than angry. Elena didn´t even want to imagine it. It was bad enough that she had to take this risk… but Matt? She just wanted him as far away from Damon as possible.

Matt didn´t seem to take no for an answer though. He was already on the way to his car. "Matt!", Elena called after him in a last attempt to stop him. "Can you even drive? Didn´t you drink something at the party?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Don´t worry so much Elena. I only had one beer. It´s fine."

Elena sighed but realized that she wouldn´t be able to stop him. He was right. She asked for his help and she should have known that he wouldn´t leave her alone with the task of bringing some drunk guy home and carrying him in his house. This was not who Matt was. It was one of the things she had loved about him.

Matt was already climbing in his car, so Elena succumbed to her fate.

With a bad feeling in the depth of her stomach, she also climbed into her car. For a short moment, her eyes mustered Damon´s still form in the back of the car, making sure that he wasn´t moving. When she was convinced that he was still out cold, she started her car and slowly descended from the parking lane. A short look in the rearview mirror told her that Matt was following her. Deciding not to push her luck too much, she stepped on the gas, driving as fast as was barely allowed.

She already knew that this was going to be the longest ride of her live.

Elena´s gaze drifted to the rear-view mirror, looking at Damon for what seemed to be the hundredths time. All her nerves seemed to be on overdrive. Every now and then she was convinced that she could see movement from behind but when she looked in the mirror, Damon was still lying there like before, not having moved at all. Was she imagining things now? She wasn´t sure. A look at the clock told her that it was 9:33 pm. It had already been 27 minutes since she had drugged him with vervain. How much longer could he stay unconscious? She didn´t know, wasn´t sure.

Her thoughts drifted to the syringe with vervain that she had in her pocket. She wondered whether it would be smart to stop the car and inject him with it. The only thing that was stopping her right now, was Matt who was driving right behind her. What would she tell him if she just stopped? What could she tell him? There was only five minutes of way left. Surely, he wouldn´t wake up in these five minutes? Right? Right?

Elena had almost reached the Salvatore boarding house when she saw it. At first, she thought she had just imagined it, like all these times before. Her eyes scanned him in the mirror and suddenly there it was, the one thing she had dreaded in the last 35 minutes. Damon´s hand twitched. Ones. Then again. Her blood ran cold. Almost instinctively she stepped on the gas, accelerating her car. She could see Matt´s car lights disappearing behind her. But in this moment, she didn´t care. She was almost there! He couldn´t wake up now!

Another gaze in the mirror, however, verified her worst fear. Damon was moving again even though his eyes were still closed. She could hear him moan lowly and had to do her best not to scream. Her hands tightened around the wheel and her heart was making loops in her chest. Just in this moment, she turned around the last corner and finally the boarding house was right before her. Screaming triumphantly, she pushed on the brake and parked her car rather poorly. She didn´t care though. All her thoughts were focussed on Damon, who was moaning again, pushing himself up slightly. He blinked. Within a second, Elena had sprung out of her car and was at the backdoor. She pushed it open, while all the time her hands were rummaging through her bag, desperately trying to get a good grip on the syringe with vervain. Damon had pushed himself up by now and was looking at her. His eyes were the bluest she had ever seen him. "Elena?" he asked, and she could tell that he was still confused, didn´t know what had happened. She knew her only possibility was to take his current confusion to her advantage. "Damon!", she cried and simply threw herself into his arms. "I´m so glad that you´re alright." Despite his confusion, his arms still closed around her body, hugging her tightly. "Elena", he said again. "What happened?" Then suddenly, from one moment to the other, his voice got darker, and Elena knew he remembered. "Did you drug me?"

Elena didn´t loosened the hold she had on him. "Yes," she whispered in his ear before plunging the syringe right in his neck and emptying it hastily. She could feel his body stiffen and was able to scramble away from him. For a moment, he still looked at her, before his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed just again. Pure relief floated her. Just in this moment, Matt got out of his car and went over to her. His eyes were scanning Damon´s body curiously. "Did something happen, Elena?" he asked.

She laughed awkwardly. Her right hand was still clutching the now empty syringe. Quickly, she hit it behind her back. "I heard him moan and thought he might be about to wake up, but I seem to have been mistaken." She shrugged and looked at Matt, trying not to show how shaken she really was. "What do you say. Want to bring him inside?"

What is Elena actually planning? And will she really be able to get rid of Damon? Stay tuned ;)