Chapter 2

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Are we switching Salvatores, Elena?" They heard Stefan say from behind them.

"Damon and I are just talking," she retorted.

Stefan snorted. "Yeah. Sure. Talking about me from what I heard. Do you want to know why I haven't killed you yet, Elena?" He asked as he moved in close to stand in front of her. "Because I want to see how far you'd take your pathetic little crusade to save me."

He reached out to capture a tendril of hair and she felt a shiver of trepidation shoot down her spine; chilling her. Never before had Stefan's touch repelled her. Maybe Damon was right. He really was gone.

She shook herself from his touch and backed up towards Damon. Stefan noticed and speared Damon with a glare. "You can have her, brother. I find I'm quite bored with her. I like my women with more spunk and fire to them. I fear dear old Elena is too tepid for my tastes anyway. Maybe you can spark some fire from her, if she has any."

Elena gasped in shock at his harsh words. Damon came forward and stood in front of her. "Don't be such a dick! The only way you can get any woman to have some fire and spunk is if you compel them to. I've never seen you ever get a natural reaction like that from any woman except for Elena and you clearly fucked that up!"

Stefan folded his arms across his chest and smirked. "You always did go for my sloppy seconds, didn't you?" He sneered.

Damon growled and lunged at Stefan, punching him in the face sending him reeling backwards over the couch and into the wall.

He was greeted with Stefan's sarcastic laughter. "Aww, what's wrong, Damon? Did I hit too close to home?"

"Please! Katherine came to me first. You seem to forget, baby bro, that it wasn't me who had their cherry popped by her. I wasn't an unschooled boy when she came to me, so I'd say it was you who had my sloppy seconds. After I was done burning up the bed sheets with her, she went to you for a cool down period because she knew you wouldn't last as long." Damon sneered.

Stefan felt his blood burn hot from Damon's taunting words and rushed at him. Damon side stepped him causing him to miss and laughed. "Oooh, now who's hitting too close to home? What's the matter, Steffy? Can't handle the truth? Maybe it's you who's tepid in bed. Lord knows I've never heard Elena gasping and shrieking your name."

Elena felt herself flush from their conversation. She always wondered how Damon would be in bed. She imagined he'd be passionate and vigorous. From that thought, she felt her body grow warm and aroused.

"I'm not going to get into this with you, Damon. It's not worth it. If you want Elena, take her. I'm done. She's too needy and pathetic," He spat.

Elena felt her heart grow cold from his statement but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he hurt her by giving in to tears. "Maybe I'm glad you're done with me because you're definitely not the person I thought you were. You're a heartless, soulless, lying bastard!" She hissed and slapped him with all the strength she could muster.

He was surprised by her slap and rubbed his jaw and smirked. "Have fun, kiddies. I'll be seeing you." He said then sped out.

Damon and Elena exchanged a glance and he saw the hurt in her eyes from Stefan's words. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

She nodded but she felt shattered and numb inside. It was truly over. Stefan had cast her away as though she were no more than mere trash. He felt nothing for her anymore. It made her wonder if their whole relationship was a sham. Had everything been a lie? Did he ever once care about her? Then the enormity of her suppressed feelings crashed over her and she broke down.

Damon went up to her enfolding her in his arms and gently rocked her trying to soothe her as huge, wracking sobs broke free from her shaking her slender frame.

"Shh," Damon whispered as he held her, stroking the back of her head and her back.

She pulled back and said with a sob but managed to gain some composure, "I feel like our whole relationship was nothing but a lie."

"No, I wouldn't say that. I think he was really trying then to have something good and normal. I believe he really wanted to try to be a better person," Damon said as he wiped away a tear that fell from her eye.

"How can I believe otherwise after all he had said and the way he acted? Who was that? I don't even know who he is anymore. It's like Jekyll and Hyde."

"Unfortunately, that's who Stefan really is. The do-gooder Stefan wasn't really him. Granted, when we were human he wasn't that cruel, but he was more self-centered than you ever knew him to be. He does have goodness but he never wore it on his sleeve the way he did before Klaus compelled him." He told her.

She looked at him then. Her expression softened. "Thank you, Damon," she said softly.

"For what?" he asked; brow raised in confusion.

"For being so kind and for being here for me now and all the times before."

He didn't know how to respond to that. Part of him wanted to grab her and kiss her, confess his feelings for her but he didn't know how she'd react to that and especially so soon after Stefan openly broke up with her. So, to be safe he nodded and said, "My pleasure."