Damon walked up the stairs and to his bedroom. He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt and pants and collapsed onto the bed. He needed a few hours sleep before the next lot of confessions started. He pulled the covers up over him, got a little more comfortable and within minutes he was fast asleep.

Chapter Seven:

Elena woke to the feel of the warm rays shining through the window and caressing the skin of her arm. She opened her eyes slightly and winced as the glare of the sun was too intense. She sat up in the bed and then immediately lay back down. Her head was pounding and the entire room seemed to be spinning. She threw her arm over her face to block out the sun and waited for everything to stop spinning.

After a few minutes Elena crawled out of bed, grabbed her bag and shuffled off to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth to get rid of the horrid after taste of alcohol before turning on the shower. She washed up quickly and felt a lot better once she was cleaned up and in a fresh set of clothes. When she came out of the bathroom she set the bag down on the floor and looked around it. She knew she was in the boarding house; she wasn't that drunk that she did not remember where she had passed out the night before but the room was strange to her. It was clearly one of the guest rooms and it was one she found to be quite beautiful. Elena's pounding head was becoming too much to bear so she opened the door and headed down the hall to Damon's room. She opened the door quietly and found him stretched out on the bed in a deep sleep. She walked quietly into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. She watched Damon as he slept taking in every detail of him once more and every time she seemed to take them in the more gorgeous they seemed to be to her. Her eyes moved from his tussled, dark hair, down to his soft lips that were slightly parted, across his angular jaw line, down the length of his neck and stopping at his bare chest, watching it as it rose and fell with every steady breath he took. Elena shook her head and looked away from him. This was not the time to be thinking about him like this because there was still so much to be spoken about and today Elena felt like she would be able to do that without bursting into tears or having a complete break down.

'Good morning Elena.'

Elena looked back towards Damon. He was sitting up now, his eyes wandering over her obviously trying to assess if she was about to break down or not.

'Good morning. Um, do you happen to have anything for a headache?'

Damon gave her his usual smirk. 'You're lucky I do.'

He threw the covers aside and got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants before walking over to the desk. He opened up a drawer and pulled out a bottle of aspirins. He walked back to Elena and handed her two before going into the bathroom to get her a glass of water. He came back, handed her the glass and sat down next to her.

'Thanks,' Elena said before swallowing the tablets with a sip of water.

'No problem,' Damon replied and took the glass from her, setting it on the bed side table.

Elena let out a sigh and glanced at Damon for a moment before looking down at her hands.

'Right…time to really sit down and talk about all of this,' Elena mumbled.

Damon looked over to the clock on the bed side table. 'Do we have to talk about this right now?'

Elena looked up at him. 'The sooner the better Damon, I just want to get this all out of the way.'

Damon nodded and then stood up walking over to the desk. He picked up the letter addressed to Elena.

'Well before we get into all that drama…this is for you.'

Damon walked over to Elena and handed the letter to her.

Elena looked down at it, frowning slightly.

'It's from Jeremy. He was here last night.'

Elena looked up at him with shocked eyes and then back down at the letter.

'Why did he come here?'

Damon frowned. 'I think maybe you should read the letter. He'll probably explain it all in there.'

Damon walked back over to the desk and leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest as he watched Elena.

Elena opened the folded letter carefully and then began to read the words her brother had written:

Elena,

I really don't know where to begin so I'll just start off with…Sorry. I'm sorry that I have been such a cold, angry asshole towards you lately. I know that what you did, or at least asked Damon to do was all out of love for me. I know you wanted to just protect me and not drag me into this entire thing but, well it looks like I got dragged in either way.

A part of me has been so angry at you for what you did but I wanted to thank you for doing what you did because I would never have wanted to remember Vikki as someone who wanted to hurt me. So thank you.

Now to tell you the big truth…I have become a vampire. I wanted Anna to turn me, at first because I wanted to be with Vikki because I thought she was still alive and that that was what had happened to her. But the more I got to know Anna, the more I cared about her and then I wanted her to turn me so that I could be with her. She came to see me on Founder's Day, before the parade. She gave me a vial with her blood in it and told me what I had to do to become like her. I was skeptical about it. I didn't know if I wanted that to happen anymore and it obviously hurt her feelings. She wanted to turn me because she loved me and because she needed me to be with her seeing as our dear Uncle John was 'kind' enough to take her mother's life. She was all alone. They took her away from me and, if you don't know by now, they killed her. Damon saw Uncle John kill her. He told me he wanted to help her but he couldn't. He came to speak to me that night, after the Founder's Day celebrations and he told me.

After he left I made up my mind that I wanted to turn. I was angry and hurt and the only thing that had made me feel the slightest bit alive had been ripped away from me. I wanted to turn because I know that being a vampire means I don't have to feel like this anymore. I don't have to feel like there is a hole in my chest where my heart used to be. I don't have to feel anger, or hate or anything like that and for now that is what I want. I've asked Damon to compel Jenna into thinking I've just left town, which I'm sure he's done and I wanted you to know that he helped me. He gave me all the advice I needed, gave me a ring to wear so I could walk around during the day and even got me clothes and allowed me to clean up here.

He's a good guy behind his arrogant asshole front that he puts up. I couldn't see it before but tonight I did. He really does care about you Elena. I can see he does, or else he probably wouldn't have done what I asked him to do. I asked him to do it for you because I knew you would want it like that, I know you wouldn't want Jenna pulled into all of this just yet but you know one day it's going to happen.

I'm not good at writing down my feelings and thoughts too much but I just wanted to tell you that I love you. You have been a wonderful sister and I hope that when I am ready to come back to Mystic Falls that we can just have things go back to the way they were between us. I was being stubborn and I didn't want to work things out between us so…please accept this letter as an apology for not doing that.

I love you Elena. Take care of yourself and Jenna. And I know Damon will look out for the both of you.

Love,

Jer

Xoxoxo

Elena folded the letter back over and stared down at the floor. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with tears. She was happy and sad all at once. Happy because she knew her brother was alright and that he had forgiven her and she was sad because she hadn't gotten the chance to hug him and tell him she loved him before he left and she didn't know when he would come back to Mystic Falls.

'Elena?'

Damon knelt down in front of her and looked up into her eyes. Elena looked at him as the tears began to fall and she pulled Damon up to her. She placed a soft kiss on his cheek and hugged him tightly.

'Thank you so much Damon for helping him,' she whispered through soft sobs.

Damon closed his eyes as he held her tightly against him. 'You're welcome,' he whispered against her neck.

For a few minutes all she did was hold Damon close as she cried softly. Damon ran his fingers up and down her back soothingly, his eyes closing as he inhaled her sweet scent. Eventually she pulled away, much to his dismay, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'Alright, now that's enough crying,' she said with a small smile on her face. 'I'm tired of crying.'

Damon brushed Elena's hair away from her face, brushing it back over her neck.

'Come on, let's go downstairs and make you something to eat. We can talk about everything else there.'

Elena nodded and smiled.

Damon stood up and held out his hand to Elena. Elena looked to his hand and then up to him.

Damon rolled his eyes. 'My hand's not going to bite you Elena or give you some disease you know.'

Elena chuckled softly and shook her head before sliding her hand into his, their fingers locking together. He pulled her up off the bed and walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Damon loved the feel of her soft warm hand locked with his in such an intimate embrace, even though he was sure she did not see it as anything more than a simple friendly gesture on his part.

Elena looked down at their hands locked together and to her, even though it felt strange to be holding his hand like this, it also felt good and right. It made her feel relaxed, calm and at peace. She frowned slightly as she seemed to feel a surge of electricity course through her as her mind comprehended that she was holding Damon Salvatore's hand. Her heart was racing and her face grew hot. She tried to compose herself. She would not feel that way about him because they were just friends and she would not fall for Stefan's brother. And besides IF she ever did she wouldn't fall for him right in the middle of this mess with Stefan running off. She still had so many emotions and thoughts to sort through about this whole thing. She let out a low sigh and set her mind to focus on getting all of this sorted out once and for all.

Damon moved around the kitchen whipping up some food for Elena to eat and once he was done he placed a plate of eggs, bacon sausages and some toast down in front of her to eat.

'Bon Apatite,' Damon said with his usual smirk as he poured her a glass of juice and sat down next to her, a glass filled with blood perched on the counter before him.

'Thanks,' Elena replied and began to eat the food.

'This is really good Damon. I'm still amazed that you know how to cook so well.'

Damon sipped the blood and rolled his eyes. 'Well I had to do something to pass the time considering I was going to be living for an eternity.'

Elena laughed slightly and shook her head at his comment.

Damon sat and watched her as she ate. It was his turn to take in her features once more. Before it used to always shock him how much she looked like Katherine and there were often times when he almost called her Katherine and there were many times when he thought she was Katherine and he wanted to just pull her close and smother her in kisses. Now as he looked at her he didn't see her as Katherine's doppelganger at all. Now he saw her as Elena Gilbert a kind, warm, caring girl who cared about her friends and family, a girl who helped him get into a tomb full of vampires to try and rescue a woman he loved because in some weird way she understood why he was doing it. She was a girl who came back into the tomb for him, she pleaded for him to get out and when they were out she hugged him close and he could feel that she was concerned about him, he could feel that she was truly sorry. She fought for his life when he didn't deserve it. She truly was something totally and completely different from Katherine. She truly cared about Damon and his feelings. She worried about him and showed concern for him.

'Damon, are you okay?'

Damon's eyes focused on Elena's and he could see a look of concern in them.

'Sorry….spaced out there a little I guess,' he replied sipping the blood again.

'Well I'm finished with the food, thank you, it was delicious.'

Damon stood up and took the plate to the sink to wash up. 'It's my pleasure.'

'Can we go sit down in the parlor and talk about everything else now?'

Damon turned off the water, dried off his hands and grabbed the glass from the counter.

'After you Miss Gilbert,' he said holding out his hand in gesturing for her to go first.

Elena grabbed her glass of orange juice and walked out of the kitchen and into the parlor. She curled up on the chair and waited for Damon to get comfortable in the seat next to her.

Damon set his glass down on the table and turned to face her.

'Alright, let's get all of this sorted out now.'

Elena chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to think where best to start. She ran her fingers along the rim of her glass and frowned slightly as she thought about it.

'Okay, well I really don't know where to start off so let's just start with the most recent drama and talk about Stefan.'

Damon nodded and rolled his eyes. 'This should be fun.'

'Well I only really have one thing I want to know about him and then I'm letting it all go.'

'And what would that be?'

'When you spoke to him…about this whole thing, I'm guessing I came up in the conversation so…did he look…like he was having any doubts about…you know…breaking up with me?'

Damon looked at Elena's eyes, seeing a glimmer of hope that maybe Stefan did have doubts because for Elena that's all it took. A simple glimmer of hope and she would go marching off determined to try and win him back. Damon sighed and shook his head slightly. Elena drew in a staggered breath and looked down at her glass again.

'Alright, thank you. That's…all I wanted to know.'

'So what else do you want to talk about?'

Elena set her glass down and sat closer to Damon.

'That night in the kitchen, when Katherine asked you if I was worth dying for…you said yes…did you mean that or…were you just…trying to throw her off, make her lose her concentration so that you could attack?'

Damon looked down for a while and then let out a sigh.

'Yes, it was true. I didn't say it to simply throw her off,' he looked up then at Elena. 'I said it because it was true. If I had to die in order to save you I'd do it…because you're about the only person I would ever consider worthy of dying for…you…mean that much to me.'

Damon didn't know why he had told her that and now he was seriously regretting it. He was usually so good at not showing people how he really felt and that was because usually he didn't really feel anything for anyone. But Elena was different and now…it was like he just couldn't hide his feelings from her and the more he tried to keep those feelings hidden, the more they tried to claw their way to the surface. Elena smiled slightly at him and it held a glimmer of the sort of smile she only ever gave to Stefan and that glimmer seemed to make Damon's whole stomach twist and knot.

Elena felt warm all over at his words. She didn't know how much Damon had actually cared about her until now. Fair enough Isobel had told her that he was in love with her but at this moment in time she fully realized just how much he truly loved her.

'Thank you Damon…for caring that much for me.'

Damon smiled slightly. 'Trust me it was never intended to happen but…I guess you kind of grow on people,' Damon replied in a teasing tone, his usual smirk failing slightly.

Elena rolled her eyes. 'I could say the same for you.'

Damon smiled and leaned over the arm of the chair to pick up his glass of blood. As he took a sip of his drink he felt soft lips on his cheek. He swallowed the blood and turned to look at Elena, who now sat inches from him.

'What was that for?' Damon asked a slight frown on his face.

'A simple…'thank you' kiss,' she replied, smiling warmly at him.

Damon set his glass down again and looked back to her, she still had not moved. He could hear her heart racing, feel the heat coming off her body. She was either lying to him about why she had given him that kiss or…she was excited.

Damon's 'logical' side switched off completely became detached from the rest of him. Damon moved in closer to Elena, she did not move. He swallowed and then closed the space between them, their lips locking in a soft, hesitant but electrifying kiss. He could feel the heat of her body seeming to flow through the kiss into his own. He heard a soft moan escape her and that was all he needed. He pulled her closer to him, kissing her passionately, her heart racing away. He felt her hands move into his hair, gripping at the roots, making him groan softly. He pulled her onto his lap, his hands resting on her hips as he tasted more of her sweet lips. This was nothing like what he had imagined a kiss from Elena would be like…it was a hundred thousand times better. It was filled with heat, passion and a surge of electricity. But at the same time, beneath that burning passion it was soft, intimate, warm and it was her giving herself completely into that kiss. Damon could not believe this was happening. He was actually kissing Elena Gilbert, a woman he was so sure he would never get, a woman he had not wanted to begin with, a woman he had merely wanted to use to get back at Stefan but found himself falling more and more in love with her. Her hot breaths in his mouth made him groan softly once again, his hands gripping her hips, the heat building up, becoming even more intense. He was surrounded by her once more but it was not just her scent anymore, it was her hot breath, it was the feel of her skin beneath his touch, it was her soft moans ringing in his ears. She completely surrounded him. But just as suddenly as it all started it was brought a sudden, screeching stop.

Elena broke away and then got off of him, trying to slow her breathing, running her hand through her hair.

'What…Elena…what is it?' Damon asked in a whisper. His breathing heavy as he looked at her with concern.

'Damon…I…'she swallowed, trying to rid herself of the lump in her throat. She looked down. 'I…I can't do this…I'm sorry.'

Elena ran out of the house and disappeared down the drive. Damon was frozen, he couldn't move. He didn't understand what had happened to make her stop. What had he done to cause her to break such an intense, intimate moment between them? Damon let out a low growl and stood up. He grabbed the glass and threw it into the fireplace hearing it shatter. He went upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him before he began to pace back and forth in his room, replaying the scene that had just occurred trying to find out what had happened, but he just couldn't find anything that he may have done wrong. He let out a low sigh and flopped down onto his bed, brows furrowed as he stared up at the ceiling.

'I just can't ever get what I want,' he whispered to himself.