It wasn't a regretful thing - sleeping with Elena. If thought about - I was single, and so was she. So why did I feel so guilty?

When we were finished, I showered with her. Sweat is sexy in its own way, but not if it's left to sit and simmer. I didn't want to explain to Damon why I needed a shower after I just got one earlier, so I opted to get one with the woman whom I previously loved on. After that, we read one of Bonnie's grimiores about vampires.

With showers and reading done, we went for a walk to the square, and then the park. It was like the sex brought us closer, but didn't change the fact that we were still friends.

'Having sex' seems like such a thrown around word. I didn't just 'have sex' with Elena. No, I made love to her. Whether she returned that love or not is unsure, but I know that I put my love into that hour with her as I did my absolute best to satisfy her every whim and need.

Currently, we were looking at the little children playing on the equipment while their parents yelled for them to be careful. The bench we were sitting on wasn't the best, but it was pretty comfortable with this brown-haired beauty sitting next to me.

She sighed and smiled as she looked at one of the kids going down the slide, "They're adorable."

"They're alright," I said, "but I wouldn't want them to be mine."

"Well, I want kids someday," she said while continuing to look at them.

"Damon once told somebody that I was his son," I recalled. The memory wasn't remembered by me, but my mother told me when I was older. "I was just a few months old and Damon was seven. He told a bunch of people that I was his son named Damon Junior."

That one received a big laugh from Elena.

Just as I was about to say something else, her phone rang. Elena pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Oh, hi, Caroline," Elena said cheerily. "How are you?"

I heard static.

"Oh, yeah, I've seen Stefan," she laughed as she looked over at me and put her pointer finger up to her mouth to keep me quiet.

…More static.

"I doubt he left because you were trying to put the moves on him even after he said you were just friends," she put her hand over the speaker and laughed. "He may have left because he forgot to turn the coffee pot off or something."

"But he doesn't drink hot coffee!" I heard her yell from the other line.

I widened my eyes and pulled my phone from my pocket. My fingers dialed Caroline's number.

"You have a call coming in?" Elena asked surprised after more static came over the phone. "Well, yeah, you can call me later if you want…Okay, bye."

"Hello?" Caroline's voice said over the phone.

"Hey, Care," I said in a cheery voice. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," she said. Her voice seemed kind of shaky.

"I just wanted to call and say that I abruptly left earlier today," I began. "I had a uh- problem with the uh- coffee pot."

"But you don't drink hot coffee," she repeated. "Did you forget to turn it off or something?"

"No, no," I struggled for words. "Mrs. Flowers needed me to fix hers because she drinks it. I told her I'd fix it today, but I totally forgot. I had to leave right away and go to repair it because she's my landlord, and I didn't want her to lose her faith in me. It'd be a terrible thing to not be on good terms with her since she is also my roommate at the boardinghouse."

"Oh," she said. "Then why couldn't you tell me?"

"I was too much in a hurry to form coherent words," I lied. I sucked at this, but she seemed to believe me.

"I see," she said quietly. "Well, Damon says that you left because you had a problem getting it up for me, and you didn't want to be embarrassed."

"What?" I said surprised as I sat upright to put my phone on speaker. "Well, Damon can go screw himself!"

"No need," she said with a bit of pride. "He's already has me for that. I'll talk to you later, Stefan. Your brother is calling me."

She hung up.

"That man-whore!" I said to Elena once I was done staring at my phone, dumbfounded.

"Don't let it get to you," Elena laughed. "Caroline's had sex with Matt, Tyler, and now Damon. It's nothing new to her. I just hope she won't break your brother's heart."

"Trust me," I said, "she won't be breaking his heart. I'm not sure he even has one anymore."

"Don't say that, Stefan," Elena said. "Just a few days ago you were complimenting him. You love him and you know it."

"Yeah," I sighed. "He's the only brother I have; I have to love him."

Eventually, as the sun faded and set over the horizon, Elena sighed and placed her head on my shoulders.

"Do you regret today?" I asked.

"No," she looked up at me with surprise. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because if what Bonnie said was true," I began, "then we're in big trouble. I did love Katherine, but if she's a crazy blood-sucking murderer, it may change my perspective just a bit. I'm glad we found out, but I don't want to drag you down with me."

"Stefan," she smiled and grabbed either side of my face whiled giving me a soft, quick kiss on my lips, "if there's anybody I want to get into trouble with, it's you. We'll figure this out. I understand you loved Katherine. I respect that, but you can also let her go. As far as anybody is concerned she's dead - end of story, but it's not like you can't love her still."

"Yeah," I agreed, although I was still unsure about all of this.

"Stefan?" she asked softly once she leaned her head back down.

"Yes?" I said.

"I don't know what today was," Elena admitted. "I'm not sure if it was just an itch that needed scratching, relief of stress, lust, or love, but I do know that I don't regret it. I don't know what it was for you, and I'm not sure if this is a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship, but I do know that I love you. Whether it is real love or love for a real good friend, I don't know, but I love you."

"I love you, too, Elena," I said as I began massaging her shoulders. "I love you more than just a good friend. Katherine has nothing to do with it anymore. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Stefan," she said softly as she grabbed my right hand, turned it over, and kissed my wrist. "Here, take this. Bonnie said it'll repel vampires."

She handed me a small vial of liquid vervain (at least that's what the vial said) and a plant.

…

It took me a while to get back home, but when I went for the stairs, Damon stopped me.

"Had a productive day, did we?" he asked as he lounged on the couch while sipping on his scotch.

"Maybe," I said with my back to him. "You're not the only one who got lucky today."

"Please, Little Brother," he laughed. "Luck had nothing to do with it. I'm just irresistible. That's a good thing, too, because I really wanted to get into that little blonde's pants."

"Don't hurt her, Damon," I said. "Caroline's my friend. Don't ruin that for me."

"No need to worry," he said casually. "We agreed that it was just a one-time thing - just an itch or whatever. Although, I told her that if she wanted it again, to call anytime. She's a fiery little pistol, I tell you. Of course, redheads still hold the number one title in hot sex, but she comes in a close second."

I rolled my eyes and attempted the stairs again.

"So, you screwed Elena?" he asked as I made the first three.

"Don't make it sound so dirty and common," I said, "but yes."

"Was it good?" he asked.

"Quite memorable," I answered.

"Was she better than Katherine, or did you just pretend Elena was her?" Damon asked as he set his scotch down and sat straight up on the couch.

"I'm not going to get mad at what you just said," I replied, "because it's obvious that you can't comprehend the fact that Katherine is dead and that I'm allowed to move on. I miss her, but I can't bring her back. Elena cares about me, and I love her."

"You love her because she's a second Katherine!" Damon yelled.

"Shh!" I said harshly. "Mrs. Flowers lives here too, you know! Have some respect!"

"She's not here, Stefan," Damon said. "She packed up what little stuff she had today and moved in with her daughter."

I eyeballed him. How could Mrs. Flowers just up and leave everything that was here? This was her home. I hoped that it wasn't my fault.

"I don't know why she left," Damon continued. "It's like she was compelled to just up and leave. She said that you didn't have to worry about finances or anything. She'd pay for all of them still since her daughter is paying all of her bills."

"Where does her daughter live?" I asked.

"Tennessee," Damon replied like it was nothing.

I just gave him a look and ran upstairs to Mrs. Flowers's bedroom. The door was open, and when I stepped into the room I knew that Damon was telling the truth. It was completely empty. The only things left were a bare bed, a tall mirror, a completely empty dresser, and a closet with only hangers in it. She was gone.

"I told you," Damon said from behind me, which caused me to jump and turn around. How'd he get up here so fast? How'd he not make a sound in the process of coming up here? I stared at him like he was crazy. I squinted at him and caught sight of something at the corner of his mouth. It was red.

"What's that?" I said as I pointed to his face. He wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand.

"Oh," he replied as he looked at it. "I guess I got some grenadine on me."

"You don't drink grenadine with scotch," I stated.

Something in my brain nudged some sort of plug to fit into a mental outlet, but I wasn't quite there yet to finish the electrical process.

"I had some today for the first time in a while," he said as he squinted his eyes at me. "You will not question it again."

For a moment it felt like I was under some sort of spell - like a blank haze - but it quickly left as soon as it came.

"No," I said. "I'm going to question it. I find it completely odd how you just show up and continue to stay when you have no reason to, I find it odd that you move in and then Mrs. Flowers moves out, I find it odd that you get mad at me for being in a flower store, I find it odd that you're moods switch faster than both of our cars put together, and I find it odd that you're randomly starting new habits. You hate grenadine, Damon, yet you're supposedly drinking it!"

He grabbed me by the shoulders and rammed me up against the mirror, causing it to shatter into a million small shards.

"Quit questioning everything!" he said as he looked me dead in the eyes. His pupils contracted. It seemed a bit creepy to me.

Just as he was about to say something else, his nostrils flared, and he looked down at my wrist. I followed his glance to see that it was cut. Blood began to trickle down my hand.

"See what you did, you idiot!" I said as I grabbed my hand, but Damon remained quiet. "Make yourself just a bit useful and get me a wet cloth and some Neosporin."

Damon didn't move.

"Did you hear what the hell I just said?" I looked up at him only to freeze before I said anything again.

Damon's eyes were red, and he had black veins pulsing about them.

"Oh, shit!" I yelled.

Click!

My brain finally got the plug into the outlet…and I understood why Damon suddenly crept up on Elena and me the day at the bridge. I understood why he was so quiet. I understood why his moods and feelings were enhanced. I understood why he was so strong. I understood why he drank "Kool-Aid" the other day, which wasn't Kool-Aid at all.

He stared at me.

"Mrs. Flowers didn't move out, did she?" I asked.

"Nope," he gave me a truly evil smile.

"That's her on your mouth, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"You mother fucker!" I yelled and pushed him off of me, but he was too fast. He came at me again and neared his mouth to my wrist. "You're not making a meal out of your own brother. There's no way in hell!"

I grabbed the clove of vervain in my pocket and smashed it into his face.

Damon dropped to the ground and screamed in agonizing pain as his face burned and seared.

I wasted no time as I ran down the stairs, out the door, and sped away in hopes of him not being able to catch up to me.

My brother, Damon Salvatore, just tried to eat me!

My brother, Damon Salvatore, is a…

Is a…

Is a…

Vampire!