A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. J I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story so far. To let you in on a little secret….I'm writing this whole things chapter at a time and just writing as the ideas come to me J I honestly never thought this story would turn into something that would be enjoyed so much by the fan fiction readers so thank you. Here is the next chapter in the story. I hope you enjoy it and please do drop me reviews like you have been doing so far.

Chapter Five:

Damon got out of his car and walked to the house, a frown set on his face and his stride one of someone on a serious mission. He walked inside and closed the door.

'Oh little brother, are you home?' he called out in a sort of sing song tone.

No response came and Damon smiled slightly to himself. He listened carefully and heard movement upstairs. He made his way up towards the noise and found Stefan in his room moving about, picking things up and tossing them into a bag. Damon leaned against the doorway, arms folded across his chest.

'You know it's very rude not to answer someone when they ask you something,' Damon said with his usual smirk.

Stefan stopped when he saw his brother, frowned and shook his head before continuing with his packing.

'Where exactly are you off to?'

'It's none of your business what I do with my life and the last I checked you didn't really care,' Stefan replied in a cold tone.

Damon pushed away from the doorway and walked into the room.

'You're off to go and find Katherine aren't you?'

Damon sat down on the chair, setting his feet up on Stefan's desk.

'Yes, Damon I'm going to find her and then I'm probably going to stay with her for a while.'

Stefan continued to pack his things not once looking at Damon.

Damon shook his head. 'Do you realize Stefan what you have just thrown away?'

Stefan stopped then and looked at Damon but did not answer.

Damon stood up and walked over to his brother. 'You have just thrown away the love of a woman who never used you once in any sort of little game, a woman who was warm, soft and caring, a woman who would fight for things even if she didn't have to because they weren't worth fighting for in someone else's eyes. In her eyes they were worth it. She loved you Stefan, truly and whole heartedly loved you and you just tossed it all aside…for what?'

Stefan glared at Damon now. 'I know Elena loved me…but that love became questioned the moment you two started forming a close friendship. There's that factor and the honest truth that I still had feelings for Katherine….still have feelings for Katherine. I just kept them buried deep down and tried to move on with my life because I thought she was dead. But when I found out through you that she wasn't, all those emotions came flooding back to me. I still love Katherine and I'm going to find her and prove that to her. And I know she still loves me.'

Damon laughed at his brothers words.

'Stefan you're an idiot! Katherine doesn't understand the true meaning of the word 'love'. The concept evades her completely. She is nothing but a cold, heartless bitch that uses people to amuse and entertain her.'

Stefan growled and lunged at Damon throwing him across the room.

'Lies, all lies!' Stefan yelled at Damon as he walked towards him.

Damon was on his feet when he felt Stefan grab him and throw him up against the wall, pinning him there. Damon glared at his brother and then grabbed Stefan's hand twisting it away from his neck before throwing him across the room.

'How can you be so blind Stefan, you of all people? You were always the sensible one and now you're acting like a complete fool! If she truly knew how to love then she would have chosen only one of us to be with!'

Stefan stood up from the ground, glaring at his brother his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily.

'I'm not listening to this anymore Damon. I know she can love someone and that someone will be me,' he hissed at his brother before grabbing the bag on his bed. 'And let me tell you something else, dear brother, she would have loved only me from the beginning. But then you had to come along and ruin all of that. I blame that entirely on you just the same as you blamed it on me.'

Damon glared at his brother as he walked to the door. Stefan turned around then, a cold, almost evil-like smile on his lips.

'You get to keep Elena now Damon. She's all yours.'

And with that Stefan disappeared down the stairs. Damon heard the car start down in the garage and then it pulled out and headed down the drive and away into the distance. Damon let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair before walking downstairs and towards his room. This was really not like his brother at all. He clearly had very deep feelings for Katherine or else he wouldn't have acted the way he did. He really had fooled Damon into believing he didn't care about Katherine anymore. And then a thought occurred to him and it made him growl low and feel sick. If he suddenly started having all these feelings for Katherine come flooding back to him after Damon told him that she was alive…then that meant he had simply been using Elena as a replacement for Katherine. Fair enough before that he probably wasn't using her at all for that but now he had been.

'Wow, when did he become the asshole and me the hero here,' Damon muttered to himself as those thoughts fell into place.

Stefan was acting like a complete asshole. Granted he would never be as charming, cocky or as good looking as Damon but he was still acting the way Damon used to act and, on occasion still did. He felt like he had stepped into the Twilight Zone. Damon let out a sigh and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and read the message from Elena. He shook his head slightly and tossed his phone down on the bed before going to clean up before heading to The Grill.

Once he was cleaned up and had a fresh set of clothes on Damon headed out of the car and began the drive to The Grill. This was not going to be a pretty conversation tonight and he was prepared for what was to come…well as prepared as he was ever going to be.

Elena parked the car and got out. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before walking into The Grill. She looked around the busy restaurant and spotted Damon sitting at a table in the back. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as his intense sapphire blue eyes met hers. She let out a sigh and then walked over to him, not looking forward to this conversation but she knew it had to be done.

She walked over to the table and took off her jacket before sitting down.

'Hey, Damon,' she said trying her best to smile.

'Hello Elena,' he replied his usual smirk on his face.

The waitress came over to them and set down the menus. Elena looked through the menu, not really paying attention to it, not really feeling hungry at all. When the waitress returned she simply ordered a burger and fries and so did Damon. When the waitress left Damon turned his attention back to Elena.

'You look terrible Elena.'

Elena rolled her eyes. 'Gee thanks Damon, that's just what I needed to hear.'

'Sorry, I'm just…not used to seeing you look so…exhausted and as if you have the world on your shoulders.'

'Yeah well it feels like I do.'

The waitress brought through the order and drinks. Once she was gone Elena looked over to Damon.

'Alright, let's talk about all of this.'

Damon nodded. 'What do you want to know?'

'Have you spoken to…Stefan since your last argument?' she asked, swallowing a lump that was forming once more in her throat.

'Yeah I saw him before I came here actually.' Damon replied, picking up a French fry from his plate and eating it.

'And, what did he have to say?'

'Well another argument erupted between us but in a nutshell…he's still in love with her and has now gone off in search of her and once he finds her he is going to tell her how much he loves her and then I suppose they'll live happily ever after,' Damon replied, a smirk on his as he said the last few words.

Elena looked down at her plate, tears threatening to escape her once again at his words. A part of her wanted to know his exact words that he had used but the other part of her had been hurt far too much already by all of this and she knew that hearing exactly what Stefan had said would just cause more pain than she could handle. Elena drew in a staggered breath and fought back the tears.

'I'm sorry Elena.'

Elena gasped as she felt Damon's breath on her skin and his words whispered into her ear. He had seen she had been upset and had moved over to her side of the table without her even noticing. She looked up into his eyes and she could see that he hated seeing her like this. He had that same pained look in his eyes that he had had when Katherine had a hold of her in the kitchen the other night. Damon hated seeing Elena in any form of pain, physical and emotional. She could see that clearly.

'It's not your fault Damon,' she whispered, her eyes not leaving his. 'You're not the one who has shattered my heart.'

Damon frowned at her words and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.

'No I didn't but I can sense just how much this has hurt you and…it's almost suffocating to me. And it sucks for me because I had to be the 'good' friend who doesn't lie to you and keep things from you and tell you all of it. To be honest I think I now understand what it's like to be a doctor telling a family that a loved one has died. It must feel exactly like this,' he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

Elena smiled slightly. 'But at least the doctor knows he did everything he could to try and save that family's loved one Damon. You've done everything you can but,' she sighed and shook her head looking down, 'it wasn't any use because he was set on his decision already. So the best you could do was tell me the truth and, even though it hurts, I'm thankful that you did. Time heals all wounds. I'll be fine.'

Elena looked back at Damon then and he could see her trying to hide her pain behind a fake smile, just like she had done with the pain of losing her parents.

'Don't give me that fake smile Miss Gilbert,' Damon said with a slight smile, 'I know it too well.'

'What would you have me do then Damon?'

Damon moved back to his seat and took her hand in his across the table.

'Tonight we take a break, just like in Georgia,' he said with a smirk on his face.

'Oh no I told Jenna I'd be home-'

'I will not take 'no' for an answer Elena. We've talked enough about this. You've suffered enough for one night. Now it's time to just take a break, let loose and let the salt settle into the wounds. You can deal with these problems tomorrow. They'll still be there and you know that.'

Elena sighed and nodded her head slowly. Damon was right and she didn't want to feel like this just for one night. She was about to agree when something else came to mind.

'Damon, there are things I need to talk to you about….things that were said that night in the kitchen…did you mean what you said?'

'Elena…no talking about any worries you have.'

'But-'

'No talking about any of it. No Katherine, no Stefan, no broken hearts, shattered emotions…nothing. Tomorrow is another day.'

'Fine, tomorrow then.'

Damon's lips curled up into their familiar smirk and he called the waitress over and ordered beers for them. The waitress was about to obviously ask for Elena's ID but Damon compelled her into believing Elena was old enough.

'You do know you wouldn't have to do that if we weren't here at The Grill, right?' Elena whispered to Damon across the table as she picked at the French fries on her plate, eating a few.

'I know,' Damon whispered back. 'But then I wouldn't have as much fun as I'm having now.'

'I thought this was my evening?' Elena asked with one of her first genuine smiles on her face.

'It is but I need to have a little fun too.'

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head.

The waitress brought over the beers and then disappeared again. Damon held up his beer.

'To one night of….not talking,' Damon said, looking at Elena.

'To…not talking,' Elena replied and clinked her bottle to Damon's before taking a long sip.

The night carried on with a constant flow of beers and after the beers came the stronger liquor. She started off with stealing Damon's glasses of bourbon until eventually he simply started ordering it for the both of them. Elena went from tipsy to drunk in under an hour and in that space of time she went from giggling like a giddy school girl to breaking down into sobs. The fun stopped then and Damon picked her up in his arms and carried her out to his car. He put her in the seat of his car and rummaged through her bag to find her phone. He scrolled through her numbers until he found Jenna's.

Hi Jenna,

I decided to spend the night at Bonnie's place. I'll be home tomorrow.

Elena.

After he sent the message Damon started the car and drove off back towards the boarding house. Tomorrow morning he'd fetch Elena's car and bring it back to the boarding house.

During the drive home Elena looked over to Damon, her eyes unfocused in her drunken state.

'What's wrong with me Damon?' she asked, her words slurred.

'You're drunk Elena,' he replied with a smirk, knowing full well what she meant by that question.

Elena hit his arm as best she could.

'I know that. I mean what's wrong with me…as a…person? What…didn't I have…that… that she does?' She asked with a frown on her face.

Damon glanced over to her and sighed. He pulled into the drive and stopped the car, turning to face her.

'Well there's a lot wrong with you Elena,' Damon said with a smirk. 'You're a little goody two-shoes, you can be annoyingly persistent when you want to be, you don't know when to drop things and you're stubborn.'

Elena sighed and looked down.

Damon lifted her face again, holding her unfocused gaze. 'BUT….those aren't bad things, Elena. They're what make you so…special. And as for what she has that you don't…well I don't really see what he finds so appealing in her, other than perhaps her coldness and uncaring ways. She can't be compared to you because you're so much better than she is Elena.'

Damon brushed a hand across her cheek and Elena let out a soft sigh as her eyes closed.

'Thank you, Damon.' She whispered.

Damon smiled slightly. 'Come on, let's get you to bed.'

Damon got out of the car and moved to her side of the car in a matter of seconds. He opened the door and pulled her out, picking her up into his arms before shutting the door with his foot. He walked inside and went upstairs, opening the door to one of the guest rooms.

He sat her down on the bed and took off her shoes. He set them one side and then laid her down on the bed. He stood up and pulled the covers over her and turned to leave. He felt a hand on his arm.

'Damon, please…don't go.' She whispered to him, her words still a slur.

He couldn't deny her anything…he knew that already. He had proved that over and over again. Damon kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed next to Elena. She curled up next to him, burying her face in his chest. He draped his arm over her side and held her close, running one hand gently, soothingly, through her hair. After a few minutes of quiet sobs she was asleep. Damon kissed the top of her head.

'You'll be alright Elena, you'll get through this,' he whispered to her, hoping it was true.

He lay there next to her and wondered that if Stefan could see the state Elena was in right now, if he could see the damage he had caused, would he feel bad about it? Would he realize then what he had thrown aside? Would he realize then that he had made a mistake? The answer to all of these questions resounded with a hard and definite NO. Somehow Damon just knew that Stefan would not be bothered now about Elena or the damage he had caused because, after all, she had simply become Katherine's substitute until now. Damon growled low at that thought and Elena stirred next to him. A soft whimper escaped her and he saw a few glistening tears roll down her cheeks.

Damon frowned and leaned down, kissing them away. A soft sigh escaped Elena and the she leaned up and kissed him softly below his bottom jaw. Damon tensed slightly as he felt her soft lips on his skin, his mind trying to will his body to respond to that kiss. But he wouldn't. One, because she was drunk and he would never do that to Elena. The second reason was because she probably thought she was in bed with Stefan, as much as that hurt to think about it was the truth.

'I love you Stefan. Please…don't leave me,' she mumbled in her sleep.

Damon's jaw clenched at her words, his blood boiling. He couldn't be angry at her, she didn't do anything wrong but how he wished it was his name in that mumbled sentence and not his brother's. Elena snuggled closer to Damon, her breathing steady and even. Damon needed some time on his own. He kissed the top of Elena's head and then slowly and quietly slid out of the bed. He picked up his shoes and headed back to his room. He closed the door and set his shoes down before taking off his shirt and pants, tossing them one side. He crawled into bed, pulling the covers over him. He let out a sigh and frowned slightly. Tomorrow he would sit down with Elena and talk about anything and everything she wanted to talk about. For a few hours she had been her normal, happy self but he knew she wouldn't be able to really be herself again until everything was sorted out. Damon was about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door downstairs.

Damon grumbled to himself and got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants before marching down to the front door. Damon pulled the door open, now highly irritated with whoever had decided this was a good time in the night to come knocking at a vampire's door.

'What!' he snapped.

'Damon, please I need somewhere to stay. I…I can't go home.'

Damon stared at Jeremy standing on his doorstep, clothes ripped and bloodied, his lips stained with blood, his eyes dark, still filled with pain and pleading.

'Sure just…don't make too much noise. Elena's here too.'

Jeremy hesitated for a moment and then walked inside. Damon closed the door and led Jeremy into the parlor.

'Jeremy, what did you do?'

Jeremy turned to look at Damon a frown on his face.

'I…I don't know why…'

'Sit down.'

Damon pointed to a chair and Jeremy sat down letting out a sigh. Damon poured two drinks and handed one to Jeremy. He sat down across from Jeremy and sipped on the Bourbon.

'Right, tell me everything.'

A/N: Hope you like this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. J