E, C and B's plane crashes. D&E are stranded on an island. E escapes to get to J, meets A&G. D&E reunite, E&A fall out. D&E meet K, make escape plans. D&E sleep together for the first time.

Chapter 24: See If You Love Him Now

Elena opened her eyes - dazed but happy. Bright sunlight hit her and she abruptly closed them again. Blood rushed through her tired and numb body, alerting her to the fact that someone was draped over her. She impulsively reached out to shift away before last night flashed before her eyes.

Realizing that it was Damon, did not make her nearly as guilty as she wanted.

It made her smile.

Unable to resist his raven bedhead, she ran her fingers through his hair lightly. She watched as Damon slowly blinked his eyes open. Confused, he looked at her fingers and then at her. Wearing the best happy face she saw on him, he pulled her closer. He began kissing his way up her breasts as Elena giggled. She was still ticklish when he reached her lips.

'Hello sunshine,' he greeted, huskier than Elena was used to.

'Hey,' she replied breathlessly. It's not her fault that she was thrown off her tracks because of sexy danger guy.

Damon suddenly looked like he wanted to run. He also looked like he wanted to lay in bed with her forever. The skin between his eyebrows was folded, and he hunted her face, trying to find an end to his clearly turbulent mental state. He kissed her softly on the cheek and rolled on his back next to her. Not letting him hide himself like that, Elena pulled his face up to meet hers.

'Damon, what is it?'

Damon simply stared, looking pained. It hurt Elena to look at him. She let him speak first.

'Last night...'

Oh.

'Damon,' she held his head in between her hands. 'Last night... I don't regret one moment of it. I did it because I wanted to, Damon. It was all me. You didn't pressure me or coerce me or... any other thing that you think you did. I chose you, Damon, as my first' she said, smiling sweetly. 'And I am so glad I did.'

Pressing her lips lightly to his, she hoped madly that he believe her. And that he'd stay. Did he know how much last night meant to me?

If he did, he wouldn't be staying, Elena.

As she pulled back, Damon crashed his lips onto hers. She felt white hot electricity pass from his lips to hers, as though they were two bulbs, positive and negative terminals, connected to light up. Rolling over him, she angled his head for better access inside his mouth. She was pleasantly surprised at how brave she was getting in her display of affection. She hoped his was as real as hers.

'Elena,' he mumbled between kisses.

'Hmm,' she replied, her hands feeling his upper half.

'If we don't stop now,' he breathed, 'I may or may not rip into your velvety neck and feed from you.'

She stopped.

Oh.

'Right,' she said, pushing herself away from him.

Damon shifted on his side as though he wanted nothing more than to be wrapped around her again. Elena watched him as warily as he was watching her.

'How are you going to take care of that?'

Damon said nothing. Elena heard the unspoken words.

'Damon, no way, no.'

'You know I can't feed from you Elena, I'm not going to.'

Elena stared at him incredulously. 'You're going to find a random unsuspecting human in the town and drink their blood, aren't you? How is that any better than feeding from me?'

Damon looked at her like she'd said something offensive.

'They're not you, Elena.'

Elena's heart skipped. He heard it as prominently as she felt it.

Fine.

She stretched her wrist. 'If you're going to feed on somebody, it best be me. I don't want an innocent getting hurt. I am too roped into this to even contemplate a different life so... get on with it and please try not to make it hurt so much.'

Damon gaped at her, his misty blue eyes clearing for once. He gazed at her, wondering if she was out of her mind. Elena for once, knew this was the right thing to do. Self-sacrificing was oddly always clear to her to be the right thing.

Elena nodded softly and raised her wrist closer to his lips. Damon didn't once take her eyes off of her. His eyes darkened, his expression turned lustful, as he gripped her waist and flipped her under him. He raked his gaze from her eyes to her neck, dropping his head closer and closer with every passing second.

Elena's heart was beating almost as fast as last night. The first time he fed was racing behind her eyes.

She stayed still as Damon swerved, dipping lower to her right ear. Expecting his fangs, she felt his all-too-familiar lips on her neck, kissing. He was trying to soothe her before the act. It was working. Her erratic heart calmed just a bit.

Then, she felt his fangs part her skin slowly, as though he was trying to cause the least amount of pain. Cautiously, he fed on her. After fighting her initial instinct to kick him away from her, she realized that the pain was transitioning to pleasure. Her breathing got labored as Damon's palms skated over her breasts. The double stimulation threw her into an all too different high.

As he drank, Elena rested a hand on his head and urged him on; not because it felt so good (that too) but because she wanted her blood to last until after their escape. Damon drank and drank, making little noises that Elena found a turn-on.

As Elena felt her brain getting fuzzy, Damon licked the wound one last time and pulled away. He lifted her waist, rolling over, resting her head on his chest. She was sat on his lap with her back to him. She heard a crunch. A hand pressed to her mouth and warm liquid wet her lips.

'Drink,' she heard him say softly.

Hesitant at first, she remembered somewhere in the deep dark recesses of her brain that it would help her. Opening her mouth, she let the blood enter drop on her tongue. The blood rejuvenated her, a specific thrill jolting her. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her open mouth. His chest rose and fell faster behind her, his breath on her hair. She drank and drank and drank a bit more.

Showing no signs of stopping, Damon realized she wasn't going to put a full stop until she'd drained him dry. Or at the very least, tried to.

'Okay Elena come on,' he assuaged, slowly releasing his hand from her grip.

Ashamed that she had lost her inhibitions so easily, Elena focused her gaze on the ground, bending her neck at a painful angle. She hoped the physical pain on the back of her neck could take her mind off the embarrassment and trauma that she faced. She only looked up when she felt two warm comforting hands on either side of her head.

'Elena, look at me,' she felt him whisper. Hesitantly, she met his eyes, only to find them as soft and welcoming as ever. She could practically feel his concern and love for her.

'There is nothing wrong with what happened just now. It is completely normal to feel attracted to a vampire's blood.' Elena blushed at 'attracted'. 'No look at me,' he assured. She blushed and looked away. 'It is part of being a vampire Elena. We are supposed to be appealing to our victim. It's part of your biology.'

Elena was still embarrassed. Biology or not, it wasn't supposed to happen.

He continued in a small voice. 'Elena, I hope you don't think that you are another victim. I am only being clinical here to get your mind off of it. To me, you were always so much more than that.'

Did Damon Salvatore just-

Oh my god.

'What the hell-'

Elena and Damon spun around as they heard the intruder. A disheveled looking man in his pyjamas was standing at the entrance. It was Aaron.

'Elena?' His voice was full of hurt and confusion.

'Aaron, I'll exp-'

Her words were cut off by the sudden loss of the warmth next to her. Damon had his shoulders in a tight grip.

'You saw nothing. You're not mad at Elena and everything's fine between you two,' Elena shivered at how remorseless and commanding Damon sounded. 'Now go make breakfast for yourself.'

Aaron stared at Damon as though in a trance, before snapping out of it. Shaking his head in confusion, he turned around and walked back downstairs.

After she was sure he was out of earshot, she stepped out of bed, anger uncontrollable. Striding briskly over to Damon, she reached a hand to turn him to face her but Damon was already there.

'I know what you're going to say-'

She slapped him.

'What exactly' Elena enunciated every syllable in a heated breath, 'did you think I was going to say Damon? Tell me exactly what you ignored and shut off when you compelled Aaron.'

Damon gaped at her. His mouth was miraculously shut.

'Tell me Damon how Aaron was so insignificant to you that you just dismissed him like a nobody. How you dismissed my respect by going against everything I feel about compulsion. Go on, Damon.'

Damon's brain began functioning again. 'Elena, it was the easiest way, and you know it. Now you have one less problem to deal with. You're welcome.'

Elena took a few steps back in shock. How-what- 'I'm welcome? As much as I didn't like Aaron romantically, he never hurt my feelings Damon. The reason we fought was all me.'

Elena knew how much her relationship with Aaron drove him crazy. She was really manipulative in that sense.

'Well you're not fighting anymore. Isn't the world a lovely place again?'

Elena blanched. 'You can't compel me a friend, Damon! That's not how it works!'

'You want to do things the right way, Elena. I get it.' He rolled his eyes. 'The difference is that you take the high and annoying road. I take the fun, low road that always results in easy, efficient ways to get things done.'

She gawked condescendingly at him. 'You can't just go on making up excuses for what you do Damon! And if you are all about the low road, why aren't you compelling me right now to forget about what you just did? It is obviously the easy route. Be the bad guy, if you like it so much. Compel me to forget, Damon.'

The silence that descended was loud and final. Damon glared at her until he scrunched his eyes and turned to the dark fireplace, trying to strategize his line of action. Elena realized at a very inappropriate time that they were both naked.

Nothing concealed from each other. No holds barred. See if you love him now.

'Fine! You want an answer? It's because I care about you Elena.'

He flinched at his own truth. 'Is that what you wanted to hear? The jerk, the annoying unfeeling vampire that you let sleep with you actually cares about you? I am not going to compel you, Elena,' he said it like he hated the word, 'because you're not just anyone. I don't like seeing you sad or making you said. I can't explain why I feel the inexplicable need to make you happy, why I want to fix all your problems so you never have to feel pain, why I stop you, rudely at times, from making the mistakes I made because that is how much I-' he stopped himself. 'I wish I didn't feel things that way but I do, Elena.

'Don't worry though. It won't happen again. Goodbye.'

He sped around the room, put his clothes on in record time and disappeared, leaving Elena alone. With her raging emotions.

Her world ended but not really. She hated him so much more now but it wasn't hate, more frustration. Elena found herself stuck in the annoying phase where there was no guideline what to do next. Survival was her guideline in the island when she first landed. Sorry, rescued by Damon. Now, she had absolutely no idea.

She just knew that she was protective by nature. She does not let people down. Especially not ones she loves.

Finding her clothes under her bed, around the room and in the balcony took a long time. She remembered sadly that her dress was ruined by Damon in their throes of passion last night. The wardrobe in the room didn't have a spare pair of jeans and a tanktop.

In fact, it was empty.

Panicking, she yanked the bedsheet and wrapping it around herself, went to find Aaron. Minutes later she did in the kitchen in his nightrobe.

'Aaron?'

He turned around, blushed cherry red and immediately turned to the sink when he saw her state of undress.

'What do you want Katerina?'

Katherine?

'No Aaron, it's me Elena.'

He didn't turn around. 'Stop lying to me.'

Elena reassured him. 'I'm not. Aaron, look at me, it's Elena. Elena Gilbert.'

Atleast he looked her in the eye then. 'I'm not stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice, Katerina. I'm sorry I spilled your secret to Elena but harassing me is not going to undo the past.'

She backtracked. 'The secret about the moonstone?'

Aaron paused then. He looked carefully at her before realization set in.

'Oh my god, you are Elena.'

Then completely taking her by surprise, he walked forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. Elena returned the hug and let go of the sheets in an attempt to free her hands.

As he released, she caught the cloth just in time before she got exposed. Aaron definitely saw something.

'Aaron, up here,' she said, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

He blushed furiously. Elena grinned in return.

Yup. Still got it.

'When did you get here?'

'Last night. Sorry, I needed a place to crash. Hope you didn't mind.'

'Do I mind? Of course I don't! I was out cold last night. The house could be run down by werewolves for god's sakes and I wouldn't hear a thing.' Elena grinned. 'For heaven's sake Elena, you and Damon helped me with that,' he gushed, pointing to his now fully healed wound.

Elena stared at it in awe. How the hell is it already-

'Aaron, that was not supposed to heal for atleast a few days! How are you even walking?'

'I don't know… sorry, I don't remember anything from last night. I was knocked out cold. Gloria's drugs, I'm assuming.'

Elena's mind was whirring with possibilities. Were Gloria's herbs magical – so magical, that they could heal a person's wound over night? But then, why would she not want to tell me? What else could it be that she'd want to-

Of course.

'Aaron, do you have any spare clothes for me? I need to go find someone.'

'Damon? Yeah, tell him thanks for last night, will you?'

Oh he's adorable.

'Spare clothes, upstairs first room on the left.'

'Thanks,' she told Aaron. Before she headed off though, she felt a hand grab hers.

'Elena I want you to know: I forgive you. I am not the kind of person to hold grudges. What you did was not nearly as bad as what she did. So...'

Elena tried to smile but she couldn't. He was just too nice. She felt the guilt rising up in her chest but she squished it before it could overpower her.

'Thanks Aaron. Really appreciate it.'

So many David Tennant references this chapter. "You take the high road, I take the low road", "Yup, still got it". I can't resist guys.

Happy 2 year and 2 day anniversary of the 4x07 Delena sex scene, DE-ers! Go vote for them and get them a PCA for the second consecutive year.

TVD THIS THURSDAY WUT WUT

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