WOW! I am so happy for all the reviews and subscriptions to my story that have bombarded my email today! You guys gave me so much inspiration I decided to update again. I probably won't be able to update as often as I'd like though from now on. I am going to Prague over Spring Break, and I have mountains of homework to get done before I leave, so please bear with me.

Also, I decided to add a few more songs to my inspiration for this piece. :) Feel free to check them out if you wish!

I admit my muse is taking me places I hadn't expected, so I apologize for lying yesterday when I said the scene with Stefan at the end of 3x14 never happened….apparently it did. Lol

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Defeat

I can't figure out

Why you don't love me now.

So why'd you tear me down?

I'm faceless in the crowd

So tell me is this real?

'Cause I can't help but feel

I'm heading for heartache….

I Can Tell- Adelita's Way

Damon had given up. He loved Elena dearly, and he would still do everything he could to keep her alive, but since trying to win her love fair and square had clearly failed him, he just couldn't put himself through the rejection anymore. And she had rejected him—over and over again. He laughed bitterly as he wondered why it took so long for that simple concept to sink in, and downed another shot of bourbon.

Tonight, he had betrayed her in the worst way. He had won the coin toss with Stefan fair and square, but he still chose to be the one to destroy the Bennett witch line by turning Bonnie's mother into a vampire. He figured Elena was probably at her best friend's house—expressing her newfound hatred for him no doubt. In truth, he felt bad about it, but what was the use of being the better man and doing good deeds, if it still meant he could never be with the woman he loved.

Besides, since Stefan had admitted he was done drinking human blood again, there was no doubt in his mind that Elena would welcome him back with open arms. It really was unfair that he had tried so hard to be the man she wanted him to be, and had kept his word to her time and time again, but as soon as he made one wrong move—even once—it seemed she just couldn't leave it be. Yet, then there was Stefan, in all his bad-ass ripper glory, and she could forgive him for everything he had done to her at the first sign that he still cared.

Damnit. Why did he always have to lose to his brother? First with Katharine, now with Elena. He vaguely wondered if he would ever find a woman that actually wanted to be with him, but his thoughts were rudely interrupted by the sound of a familiar heartbeat approaching the door.

Before she could knock, Damon had the door open, and was leaning against the door frame staring at her with those piercing blue eyes. It unnerved Elena and she involuntarily took a step back. She had been crying. Damnit. Just what he needed right now—an Elena pity party to dampen his already dampened mood.

"Stefan's not here," he stated matter-of-factly, and returned to his shot glass and already half empty bottle.

She was slightly taken aback by his assumption, but it didn't matter because she had business to attend to. "Why, Damon? You just couldn't set your anger with me aside for the night, could you? You just had to ruin Bonnie's life yet again….Is this how you lash out at me? I'm going to lose my best friend …and all because—because I hurt your feelings?" She stood in the entry to the parlor with an exasperated and extremely sullen expression on her face. Her eyes were glazed over yet again with the tears that had been threatening to spill over the moment she set foot in the house. She was so angry with Damon, and she wished more than anything that she could take back the events of the last two days in the hopes that none of this would have happened. But it had happened. She had hurt him, and he betrayed her, and now she had no idea where the two of them stood.

This was bound to come sooner or later I suppose… He leaned against the back of the couch, merely staring at her. He really had nothing to say to her at the moment, because even if he had let Stefan do the dirty deed of turning Abby Bennett into a vampire, she would still be angry with him for not stopping Stefan.

"What would you have suggested I do, Elena, let you die? 'Cause I sure as hell can't do that."

"Why? All I do is cause you pain, don't I? I mean, let's face it, wouldn't you be much happier if I were gone? You wouldn't have to watch me with your brother. You wouldn't have to keep saving my life every damn day. I'm sick of running. I'm sick of losing people. And I'm sick and tired of fearing for my life, Damon. So yes, let me die, because then everyone else can stop suffering on my behalf." The tears spilled down her cheeks and she slid to the floor in anguish.

Her thoughts returned to her conversation with Caroline earlier that night. It hurt to hear that her best friend didn't want to see her, and it felt like a giant piece of her heart was being ripped from her chest, but she had understood perfectly.

"Put yourself in her shoes… Everything that happened tonight was to save you." Her friend paused, hesitating with her next words, "…and that's okay, because she loves you. So much." Another pause. She knew where this conversation was going, and she felt a lump form in her throat as she held back the tears. "But somehow…She's always the one who gets hurt." Her words weren't harsh, but it didn't make hearing the truth any less painful.

Caroline Forbes was absolutely right, and it was her fault that everyone she loved kept getting hurt. She had no idea how Bonnie could ever forgive her for putting her in that situation, even if she wasn't directly responsible for the actions taken by others. Now here she was on Damon's floor, crying her eyes out, and hoping that for once their lives could go back to normal. The one thing she had done right was sending Jeremy to live with relatives in Colorado. She envied the fact that he could now live a normal life, but if she could have saved everyone from the fate that being her loved one entailed, she wouldn't think twice about it. She truly would rather be dead than watch everyone else suffer.

As Damon watched Elena in her vulnerable state of emotional chaos, he felt every last bit of his resolve slipping away from him. He wanted to comfort her, to kiss her, to be there for her, and he would have done just that had the other Salvatore brother not walked in at that exact moment.

Stefan took one look at Elena, concern for the girl apparent in his every feature.

"She's alright. She's just furious with me is all. I'm sure she'll get over it sooner or later." He turned his back on Stefan, his resolve falling perfectly back into place, and in a blur of motion he was gone from the room.

Elena didn't even have to look up to know who was now standing in the room with her. She took a deep breath, wiped her tears and rose to her feet to face the man she still very much loved.

"Elena… are you alright?" She noticed that the question seemed almost forced when he said it, but she was still taken by surprise at this newfound level of concern.

"Do you think I'm alright Stefan? Damon just turned Bonnie's mother into a vampire, and now she refuses to talk to me. And personally, I just wish you would all stop saving my life all the time! I can take care of myself." She really needed to get off this roller coaster ride of emotions that she was on, because it was getting really difficult to handle all the twists and turns. She sighed, and started for the door, but Stefan caught her by the hand and pulled her into a warm embrace. She stood frozen for a few moments, and then settled into the familiar comfort of his arms. "Stefan...why are you doing this?"

He released her and took a step back while keeping his arms rested on her shoulders. "This is me….allowing myself to care again. I still love you, Elena. I never stopped."

Upstairs, Damon was listening intently on the conversation taking place in the entrance hall downstairs. If he had any glimmer of hope, it vanished when he heard Stefan utter the words that were sure to destroy any trace of feelings Elena might have still had for him. He simply couldn't bear the pain any longer, and he vanished out into the cold winter night air, before he could hear her response.

She looked at Stefan with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "Stefan, I—now really isn't the time for this…" Her tone was apologetic, but she spoke the truth. She was angry and upset, and as much as she had wanted to hear him say those words again, it didn't make her feel the way she had expected it would. Yes, she loved him, but the moment he said those words, she was reminded of a certain other Salvatore brother, whom she undeniably had feelings for also. "I can't do this right now. I'm sorry." And with that she left the house, while Stefan stared blankly at the place she had previously been standing.

The moment she was home, she collapsed onto her bed in a heap of emotional exhaustion, but was unable to settle her thoughts long enough to drift off into sleep. It seemed one name in particular would not stop its incessant invasion of her thoughts, and she gave in and pressed speed dial.

Damon's phone rang moments later, thirty miles away, as he stood in the middle of the highway next to the terrified form of a young man who was about to be his next victim. He grasped the collar of the man's shirt with one hand while he fished his phone out of his pocket.

He looked at the name on the lit up screen of his phone. Elena. Inner turmoil consumed him as he thought about the woman on the other end of the line, and the man whom he was about to drain of blood. He continued to look between the phone and the man, and finally hit the ignore button. He shoved the phone back into his pocket, looked regretfully at the innocent man, and allowed his bloodthirst to consume him. He sank his teeth into the man's exposed jugular, relishing in the warmth of the liquid flowing down his throat.

But when the body was drained, he was left with nothing but the guilt of the crime of passion he had just committed. He felt lifeless—defeated—and he realized it was best if he just didn't return to Mystic Falls that night, if ever. With that, he disappeared into the night once again.

Ahhh, I was not expecting my muse to take me there. I wonder what's going to happen next? Keep reading to find out!

As always, please let me know what you think :)

~Aya Mae~