Chapter 8

The brothers looked at Elena and then at each other as they tried to assure themselves that she was actually standing before them.

Smiling, Elena drank in the sight of the two of them. They had sacrificed so much for her and were finally starting to treat each other like actual brothers. She didn't want that to change.

Stefan was the first to speak. "How was your trip?"

"It was good. Jeremy was good. How are you? Stefan? Damon?"

"I'm fine." Stefan muttered, not sure of what to say to her.

"Just peachy since you left without saying a word," Damon replied.

"I had to go. There were things I needed to think about."

"And?" questioned Stefan. Both he and Damon were curious as to how her trip went and what it meant for the three of them.

"And I still feel the same. Life will never be simple for us and I don't want that to affect…everything else." Elena said with a sigh.

"Of course not," Damon replied growing angrier with each word. "Because this is working out so well for all of us. You know what? I'm just going to take myself out of the equation. Elena, Stefan, good-bye."

Damon couldn't believe what had just happened. He didn't think it would be a difficult choice. It was either be with him or be with his brother. He really didn't see it as a difficult choice. He was a much better option than Stefan in his opinion. He made his way upstairs and into his room. Picking up his phone, he thought about calling Bonnie and seeing how her chat went with Caroline. He couldn't help but smile as he thought about all the ways vampire Barbie was disparaging his character. And I'm not even there to defend myself. I wonder is Bonnie is defending me. I can tell…I'm starting to get to her.

"Damon, we should talk." The voice interrupted his thoughts. He knew it was Elena, but in his mind, there was nothing left to discuss. She didn't want to choose. End of story.

"Not sure what else there is to talk about. Not really interested in hearing about Denver," quipped Damon.

"Not about that. But, we really should talk."

"Talk? Shouldn't you be talking to Stefan?"

"He got a phone call and had to rush off. I asked to stay so we could talk."

"Oh, goody."

"Damon, please. Don't act like that."

"Act like what? You can't choose between us. There's nothing left to say."

"It's not that simple."

"Well, I'm making it that simple. No need to choose because I'm no longer an option."

"What?"

"Yeah, never thought I'd say that, huh? But, it's true. I'm moving on."

"Is Rebekah back in town?" Elena sneered at Damon.

"Been there. Done that. Literally." Damon smirked. "No, I found someone a little more of a challenge."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Damon said with a shrug. "So, this conversation doesn't need to happen. I'm moving on and now, nothing will ever change for the three of us. We can all be besties."

"Who is she?"

"Jealous?"

"I'm not going to lie. A little. But, I understand."

Despite everything that had happened with Elena, Damon knew that she wasn't trying to be mean and spiteful. If he told her he was moving on with the witch, that might hurt her and he didn't know if he could do that to her. She helped him realize what a vindictive liar Katherine was and she made him feel like a better vampire. Could he do that to her?

"It doesn't matter who it is, Elena. You should be happy for me."

"Can't I be both?"

"No. You can't. Not anymore."

"You're right," Elena finished softly.

Have we just made peace? Damon wondered. He felt like they had. He knew where she stood and he was willing to accept it. Besides, being with the witch wasn't so bad. Actually, it was kind of fun. And after everything they had been through, he was ready for a little fun.

"Don't you dare do anything that will hurt Bonnie!" Caroline raged as she entered Damon's room. "She is like a sister to me and if you do anything to her, I will get you. Just remember that."

Only then, did she notice the figure in Damon's room. "Um, hi Elena. Welcome back!"

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Once again, thanks to everyone who reads, comments, favorites and follows. I will be traveling for the next 2 weeks, so I may not have a chance to update until then. But, I hope you enjoyed what you read so far.