Hey, everyone. My name is Vixey, and I'm Chinese. I live in Beijing, and I usually update at night, so due to the time difference, that'll be your morning. (Assuming you're in North America.)

Since English isn't my first language, I hope you'll forgive my many, many grammar mistakes and odd phrases. (I'm still working on my English!)

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This is my first story, so the reviews meant a LOT to me! :D

Oh, and I'm totally biased when it comes to Delena, so to anyone who really likes Stefan or hopes to see more of him: sorry! XD

P.S. I don't own the characters. (But I wish I did. :P)

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Chapter 3

Delena and Friends.

Bonnie was surprised when Elena showed up at the Boarding House. She didn't think Elena would approve of this spell. But then again, the choice was Elena's. She gave Elena a quick hug, "You came. I wasn't sure you'd be up for this."

Bewildered, Elena let go of Bonnie, "Up for what? What's going on? What are you doing here, Bonnie?"

Bonnie looked over Elena's shoulder at the smirking Damon. "You didn't tell her?" She asked in a disapproving voice.

Damon saw Stefan coming into view behind Bonnie and felt his smirk disappear, "You told him?"

Elena caught sight of Stefan and walked towards him, letting him embrace her in a hug and kiss the top of her head. Damon purposely looked away. He consoled himself that he wouldn't have to deal with this any longer when the spell is cast.

"Stefan. What is all this?" Elena asked, raising her head to look at him.

Stefan let go of her but took her hand. He looked around at Damon, who was no longer smirking, and turned his gaze back to Elena, "Bonnie's doing a spell, Elena. And you're…you're a part of it. I've discussed it with Bonnie already, and we both think it's for the best. But if you don't want to, no one is going to force you, ok? It's all up to you." He asked gently, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ears.

"A spell?" Elena turned sharply to look at Damon, but he was determined not to look at her, "What kind of spell?" She asked with an edge to her voice.

"A spell to make him fall out of love with you." Bonnie answered quietly.

Elena's eyes widened with surprise. She knew that Damon had feelings for her, but he never said it was love, and he never expressed it. She had no idea she had such a deep impact on him, so deep that he's turning to witchcraft.

"And…and you agreed to this?" She asked, directing the question to Bonnie. She knew Bonnie better than she knew anyone, and she was sure Bonnie did not like Damon, so why was she going along with this?

Bonnie's eyes flickered, "He promised me to leave town after this."

Elena's breath got caught in her throat. She looked at Damon in disbelief, not quite processing all the information. He was leaving? She didn't want him to leave. What would Mystic Falls be without him? Every time she was in danger, he was there for her. How could he just make this decision and just…leave? It was true that when he first arrived, she wanted him gone, but over the time she had gotten to know him, and he's more than he gives himself credit for. He's not a monster at all; he had a heart. He just wasn't comfortable letting people in.

She whirled around and saw Stefan and Bonnie standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting for her response, yet how was she supposed to respond to this?

"It's for the best, Elena." Stefan repeated broodingly.

Elena ignored him and faced Damon, "Is this what you want?"

Damon clamped his jaw shut as he watched Elena's expression. He thought it would be simple to leave, but it's not. Elena had not said that she wanted him to stay, but he knew she wanted him to. She looked so hurt and so confused that he couldn't bear leaving her. But he was selfish, and he could never be with her anyway. Stefan was right. It was for the best.

"Yeah." Damon answered finally, "It's what I want." He lied through his teeth so convincingly that he almost fooled himself.

Pain swept over Elena as Damon's icy words reached her ears. It was like he was saying he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. He sounded so adamant that she felt like he just didn't care anymore.

"Fine, then." Elena stated, "It's better this way anyway." She pressed on, not really meaning what she said.

A flicker of anguish flashed across Damon's face, but he turned away before anyone could see him.

Bonnie looked unsure again. Damon, Elena and Stefan had all agreed to this spell, but none of them looked too happy about it. She wondered whether she should proceed or not. Taking a deep breath, she started explaining the process, "This is…a spell that's originally not effective to vampires, but since Elena is involved, it should work."

She set down a fat candle between Elena and Damon. As soon as the candle touched the floor, it lit up on its own. Reaching into her pocket, Bonnie pulled out a small container and took two hairs from it.

"What's that?" Elena asked.

"It's hair that belongs to both of you. Damon got it." Bonnie explained.

Elena's eyes traveled to Damon, "You took my hair?"

"I got it from Stefan's bed." Damon said grimly in a monotonous voice that sounded almost glacial.

All of them watched as Bonnie lowered the hairs to the flame. Weirdly, the hairs didn't burn. Instead, they stayed the way they were.

"I need you two to sit down, and hold hands." Bonnie said, "When the spell starts, I'll be chanting in Latin, and I won't stop until it's over. No matter what happens, don't let go of each other's hands until I say you can, ok? If you let go, then you break the spell in mid-way. When the spell is done, the flame will go out as a sign of the demise of your relationship."

Wordlessly, Damon and Elena sat down across from each other. Damon held out his hands, and felt Elena hesitate before she slipped her smaller, warmer hands into his. He grasped them tightly, not sure whether he could have another chance of taking her hand after this.

Elena let him squeeze her hands and refused to break eye contact. She could feel his desperation, and it matched her own. She didn't want this. She didn't want him to feel nothing towards her, and she certainly didn't want him to leave Mystic Falls. But when the first words of Latin poured out of Bonnie's mouth, Elena knew it was too late. Instead, she held Damon's hands firmly.

Bonnie continued chanting in Latin as the flame wavered and danced, casting distorted shadows on Damon and Elena's faces.

Elena felt a tear make its way out of the corner of her eye, leaving a trail of salty water across her cheek. In just a few minutes, it'll all be over, and Damon would be gone from her life. Suddenly she wondered why she didn't choose Damon over Stefan. Was it because of the fact that Damon was leaving that made her feel like this?

Across from Elena, Damon watched as Elena shed a silent tear. It was breaking his heart, but he knew he couldn't let go. There was nothing for them to do right now except hold on to each other. He couldn't jeopardize the spell, so he stroked the back of her hand instead, and she gave him a watery smile.

Bonnie chanted faster in a more urgent voice as she reached the end of the spell. As the last word was spoken, the flame, instead of dying out, lit up so high that the blaze came dangerously close to burning Elena's hair.

Elena shrieked lightly as the flame reached its highest level and backed away from it, jerking her hands out of Damon's altogether.

"No! Elena!" Damon yelled, but the tips of her fingers had already left his palm.

"NO!" Bonnie echoed even more frantically as the flame continued to shoot higher.

For a second, all four of them stared at the abnormal height of the flame, then Stefan came forward and pulled Elena back from harm. Her foot got in contact with the candle and knocked it over. At once, all the fire went out as if it never happened.

Ringing silence reached Elena's ears as she remained motionless, watching the burnt out candle. It had gone wrong. The spell had gone wrong. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew it wasn't going to be good. She turned her head to look at Bonnie, but she looked just as helpless as she did.

"Bonnie," Elena choked, getting up from the floor, "Bonnie, I-I let go of Damon's hands. W-What's going to happen?"

"I don't know!" Bonnie said in an equally messed up voice, "The flame wasn't supposed to light up! Unless…unless…" Her voice died down.

"Unless what?" Stefan asked, gripping Elena's shoulder from behind tightly.

"Unless it was indicating not the demise of the relationship, but the beginning." Bonnie whispered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damon asked sharply.

"It means…that instead of an anti-love spell, I did a love spell." Bonnie said in a strangled voice, "And since you already love Elena, I guess it means that…that Elena's going to gradually have feelings…for you."

Elena inhaled deeply, not believing what she had just heard. Her mouth was so dry that her lips were chapped. She opened her mouth several times before she could speak into the deafening silence, "Do you mean I'm going to fall in love with Damon?" Her voice broke in mid-sentence.

Seeing Bonnie nod slowly was the last straw. Elena stumbled away from Stefan and hugged herself around the middle, "I-I need to leave." She mumbled and made for the door before anyone could stop her.

No one did.

They were just as shocked as she was.