Preface: I really didn't think I was going to update this story. Mainly because the writing was terrible, which is understandable since I was young when I wrote this. Occasionally, I'd remember this fanfic and see a new comment from a reader. I thought that maybe I should try continuing this, just to see if I've improved. I hope I did, shit I'm in college now. I might stray away from the original summary just because I genuinely don't remember where this was going to go. Also I think this was an AU, not sure.

Elena walks to her vanity, for the first time feeling a sense of relief. She'd known the risks of telling Damon how she's felt, of the possibility of losing him. Afterall, you can't force someone to want you, to love you the way nature intended. If it was any evidence, Damon's reaction alone reminded her of that. She wasn't sure why, but she finally felt free. There wasn't this looming secret that always felt like it could implode at any minute.

Still, Elena wasn't sure what the endgame for this would be. When everything settles and the emotions run low, could she really pretend none of this happened and continue her routine with Damon? Did he even see that as a possibility?

Don't overthink it, Elena.

"Hey"

She looks up from her vanity and sees Zac. He sits down, kissing her cheek.

"How are you feeling? I made you breakfast by the way."

They pulled away and she rests her head on top his shoulder, letting out a small sigh.

"I think I'll be alright. I don't know. How are you supposed to feel after this?"

Zac lets out a small chuckle and shrugs.

"I think it'll feel like that. It'll be frustrating and it'll feel like you can't breathe at times but that's okay. Just don't let it consume you."

She grabbed his hand and closed her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"You know." He rubs his neck. "It's a little past seven"

She lifted her head.

"Why don't you go ahead, and I'll just meet you downstairs?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She instantly replied and got up immediately. "It won't take long."

He nods and dips his head to give her a kiss on the head but was met with a quick swivel.

He stood silent for a moment, wondering what could have caused that. It wasn't the reaction that he was hoping for. If he was being honest, the last few days with Elena were some of the best he's ever spent. It wasn't like he never spent time with her but to constantly live in Damon Salvatore's shadow made it almost impossible to live up to anything.

The last few days he finally felt like Elena was seeing him for who he was and not another placement holder for Damon.

Zac nodded at Jeremy as he passed down his open room, on his way downstairs. Their talk last night brought a small smile back to his face. Despite only being a couple years younger than him, he still sees him as that seven-year-old kid clinging on to him while they followed Elena around.

"Hey Zac" Jeremy called out

"Yeah man what's up?" He replied looking up the staircase. "Is Elena up yet? We're going to be late for school."

"Yes." He turns around to completely face him "But she might not go, you know with the ways things have been so I wouldn't wait up if I were you."

There could be a million and one explanations on why she was feeling the way she was. She could feel her heart sink deeper each time Zac showed any ounce of compassion towards her. Here she was Damon free, guilt free for all that matters but she still couldn't help feeling like she was cheating on him. The easy friendship she has with Zac was now replaced with doubt, worry and concern.

She lifted her covers and buried herself under them. How was it possible that Damon was still the focal point of her worries when she was never his? She glanced at her phone. She left it turned off for the whole night because she knew that temptation to constantly wait for a text that'll never come would be too much. But maybe it was different.

Despite everything that's happened, she refused to believe that they ended so abruptly, so unfinished.

She grabs it and turns it on.

Stefan: 12 unread messages

Damon: 1 unread message

"Stefan: Elena, I know things between you and Damon aren't looking good, but can you just give me a text back, a call back, something? I'm worried about you. Please."

"Damon: I'm sorry."

What did she think was going to happen? Have him beg at her feet, begging for her to take him back and at the same time profess his love for her? That was a fantasy, and this was reality. This was nothing but another inconvenience that Damon would get over. After all, he had Katherine but this time he didn't have her breathing down his neck, forcing what little attention he had for her to begin with.

Despite her wishes to stay at home and let the days meld into one, school still existed. It was the perfect distraction, there wouldn't be time to wallow over this whole Damon situation when mundane things like history projects and English essays existed.

Yes, Elena Gilbert's going to be alright

"You know, you should be celebrating." Stefan started, grabbing the dirty dishes from Damon's table. "Weren't you the one complaining about Elena? How she was cutting from your time with Katherine?"

Stefan gave him an unamused smile.

"Thought you were on her side" Damon mumbled, resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

To him, things like breakups were supposed to be clean. No harm, no foul. If things didn't work well that just means it wasn't supposed to work. But Elena was different. She's been with him since they were kids making paper planes and pretending monsters were real. They were never not together. Their parents would joke around that it would take a machine to pry them away from each other and yet here they were, hardly speaking.

Damon groaned; he knew he was wrong. He wanted her to accept Katherine like how she was with the other women he's dated in the past. This was different to him. He didn't know how to explain it but Katherine was different. His love for her consumed him in ways that he didn't know love could ever do.

Of course, she drove him crazy too. The late night arguments, constantly questioning his devotion towards her all to end up hushed apologies. That was love, right? It comes with it. He needed Elena to be a part of this. She would know what to do when things got rough with Katherine. She always does.

She's been the only consistent thing in his life. The definition of loyalty; their bond could never be replicated. She believed in him when his own family wouldn't, loved him at a time when he questioned if the idea of it was even real.

"I am." Stefan nodded, letting out a sigh "Look Damon, maybe you should just let her-"

"Don't finish that. You better stop right there."

"Well why the hell not?" Stefan spoke up, throwing his hands up in the air. He was also tired of being a silent participant between whatever was going on between Elena and Damon. He just wished things were much simpler than what they are now instead of this.

"Obviously, you don't love Elena. At least not the way she wants you to. Things wouldn't be the same if you went back to being friends."

Damon grabbed his arm, holding on to it tightly.

"You don't know what you're talking about so just quit it."

At first, Damon tried to keep it to himself. He knew Stefan was just doing it to get a reaction out of it but the longer he kept talking, the louder he heard himself agreeing with him. He hated it. He hated that he knew Elena deserved better than him. He'd always known that but he was just glad Elena loved him enough to ignore that fact.

"I can still fix this. It'll be okay, you'll see."

Damon didn't know who he was trying to convince. Him or Stefan.

sidenote: hehe so I finally updated ah so sorry for the long wait but if you guys would like to leave a review I would really really appreciate it! Thank you and I'm going to try to update this more often than just having an update every seven years lmao. As of right now, I don't know where this story is heading so that's fun