Chapter 4

Elena.

Elena's phone rang again, but she ignored the call as usual. It was Stefan. He had called nine times, but she wasn't in the mood to discuss this matter yet. She turned off her cell phone and went back to writing in her journal on her bed. Her hand was moving across the pages, and she was writing words, but she didn't even know what she was writing about. It seemed like everything was a "blank" to her now. Sighing, she closed the journal and put it back behind the painting.

Elena brought her knees to her chin and rested her forehead on them. She was scared and very confused. The thought of falling in love with Damon, and against her own will, scared her more than anything. She wished her hadn't gone along with the spell. She wished she hadn't lost her head back there. Maybe if she hadn't pulled out her hands, the spell would have gone differently. Maybe it would have worked, and she'd be here, in her room, mourning Damon's absence instead of worrying about her love-life.

Bonnie had called countless times as well, but Elena didn't feel like speaking with her either. She read the many texts Bonnie sent about how sorry she was and how she was trying to find a way to break the spell. More like the curse, Elena thought bitterly. Making someone love someone else was a cruel thing to do, and a cruel thing to experience too. A part of her couldn't help but wonder if Damon had planned for the spell to fail this way. It is just perfect for him that the spell backfired like this.

She shook her head dismissively. How could she think such a thing? Damon wasn't like that. She was getting paranoid due to the earlier events. Elena slid down on her bed to rest her head on the pillow. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed for the nightmare to go away. She didn't want to knowingly develop feelings for anyone. She was with Stefan. What's going to happen to their relationship when she stops loving him?

"Elena?"

Her eyes snapped open as she recognized the owner of the concerned voice. Turning her head slowly, she saw Damon, looking as gorgeous as ever. Gorgeous! Was the spell working already? He's always been gorgeous. She knew that. There's no reason to notice it right now.

"I don't really want to talk, Damon." Elena replied, and rolled over so she didn't have to face him. She didn't hear anything in return. Supposing he had left, Elena sighed again softly and closed her eyes. But a second later, someone was sliding into bed next to her, although he did have the decency to stay on top of the covers.

Damon did not push towards Elena as he sat next to her with his head resting on the headboard. He could see her back tense, but after a few moments, she relaxed.

Neither of them said anything, but the silence was comforting. Elena no longer felt alone. She wasn't in this by herself. Damon was here too, like he's always been. She pulled herself into a sitting position right next to him.

"What's going to happen to me?" She asked in a small voice, not really expecting an answer.

Damon gathered her into his arms. He did this in slow motion so that if she felt uneasy, she could push him away. She didn't, though, and that made him feel slightly happier. However, she was trembling as she buried her face in his chest, seeking comfort.

"Nothing." He answered adamantly, "I won't let anything happen to you."

I swear. He added silently.

Delena and Friends.

The next day, Elena, Damon, Stefan and Bonnie met at The Grill to talk over this whole incident. None of them were in a very good mood, and both Bonnie and Elena looked restless and tired. Damon and Stefan, being vampires, looked just the way they normally did, which was ridiculously handsome.

They had picked a booth in the corner, not wanting to be overheard. Even so, Bonnie kept her voice low when she spoke.

"I looked into that particular spell last night," She looked very disturbed as she filled them in on the latest information, "and…my hypothesis was right. Elena…is going to fall in lo-"

"Yeah, okay. I got that." Elena said quickly, cutting off the last words Bonnie was about to say. She wasn't sure she could handle this yet. She still wasn't ready to face reality.

Stefan remained cool and calm as always. Taking Elena's hand assuredly, he turned towards Bonnie, "Is there any way to break the spell?"

Bonnie bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "…No. Since Elena let go during the incantation, the spell is unfinished. I can't perform another spell when the first one wasn't done properly."

"So this is going to be effective forever?" Stefan asked with a stunned look on his face as he subconsciously tightened his hold on Elena's hand.

"The spell is only effective as long as it still has its targets." Bonnie answered elusively.

"What do you mean?" Elena spoke up.

Damon sighed exasperatedly. It was like he was the only one here who could put two and two together. Elena and Stefan were just hopeless. He shot a look at them and saw their fingers entwined under the table.

"She means that the spell is effective until one of us dies." Damon said in a detached voice. All three looked at him with different expressions. Bonnie's was accusing, as though she couldn't believe he would just say it so straight-forwardly. Elena and Stefan's were alarmed, as though that thought never crossed their minds.

Damon leaned back onto his chair and directed his gaze at Bonnie, "Am I not right?"

Bonnie avoided his gaze immediately. "You are." She murmured in a low voice.

"Well, that's not an option." Stefan said in a final sort of tone, "We'll have to keep searching for other ways."

"But there are no more ways." Bonnie said in despair.

"Then we'll make one." Damon told her firmly.

Bonnie sighed. She didn't want to leave them with no hope, but she couldn't lie either. The truth was that they, Elena and Damon, are going to fall in love, and there's nothing she can do about it. If Grams were here, she could ask her. But, Bonnie thought grimly, she's not here anymore. There's no one to turn to for help. No one except…

"Lucy!" Bonnie suddenly exclaimed, letting a smile break over her face and making Elena jump in her seat. "I can ask Lucy what to do! She's a witch, a powerful one too, and…and she's family."

"I'll go with you." Damon volunteered at once. This was his fault that Elena was stuck in this place anyway. If he hadn't been so selfish and asked Bonnie to perform this spell, none of this would have happened. Going with Bonnie, even though she didn't like him very much, meant that he'd be away from Elena. Hopefully, with him gone, she'll be able to continue with her life like nothing happened. By the time he comes back, maybe this could all be over, and Elena would no longer be the victim of this spell. Plus, it wasn't safe for Bonnie to travel alone that far by herself. He could offer some protection, if she let him.

Elena felt disappointment surge through her as Damon quickly jumped at the opportunity to get away from her. She understood, of course. He didn't want to be around when she's under this spell, and she didn't want him around either in case she did something stupid. Like try to kiss him. Elena blushed as she pushed that thought away. Here she was, sitting at The Grill and discussing how to break this spell, and she's thinking about kissing Damon? Thank God it was dark that no one could see her cheeks reddening. What was wrong with her? Was this all because of the spell? All of a sudden, she was very aware of the fact that Damon sat impossibly close to her. She was wedged between Damon and Stefan, and even though she had no skin contact with Damon, she felt herself tense up.

Elena's thoughts were interrupted as Bonnie looked uneasy again at the offer Damon just made. Trying to phrase this as impassively as she could, Bonnie kept her tone cautious, "You can't go with me, Damon." She said carefully, "Elena's going to have to see you as she develops feelings for you. If you're away, she's going to get depressed, moody, miserable…" Her voice trailed away.

"Great." Elena said sarcastically. So much for her plan to avoid Damon before the spell is broken.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie said, and she looked it too. "Just think of it as…a side effect, or something."

No one said anything for a while. When someone finally did speak, it was Stefan.

He did not let go of Elena's hand as he said in a resolute voice, "I'll go then."