Hey, again! First of all I want to say that I am overwhelmed by you, guys! The story got almost 300 hits, a descent amount of people put in in their alerts and some of you even in their favorites. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. I really don't know what to say.. wow, thank you, this is amazing! I would really love it if you spare the time and write your thoughts about this, because I really want to know what you guys think!

Now, to the story. I don't know if I am taking this too slow or too fast, it's up to you to decide. This chapter involves quite a lot of DE, so I hope you like it :)

Elena's teeth were deep into the young girl's neck. She was drinking lustfully. The feeling she was getting was too hard to describe. It felt like her whole world, all of her problems were slowly fading away, with every sip she got, her mind was becoming more blank, her whole body was trembling with pleasure, all of her attention was focused on the blood that was entering her mouth. Its taste was better than everything she had ever drunk or eaten. It was like a fiest in her own mouth. She needed this feeling to never end, she couldn't stop, and frankly, she didn't want to. But with every second the girl's small body was becoming weaker and weaker in her arms. She felt as it collapsed, and something inside her clicked. The girl was dying, she was killing an innocent human being, a student, probably, who knows if she even had her first prom yet? She was so young, and Elena was taking the life out of her. She pulled her teeth out of the girl's skin and backed away to the wall. It was probably the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Her breathing was coming out in short, heavy breaths. She was still trembeling, but it was not because of the pleasure anymore, she felt afraid.. of herself.

Elena slowly whipped the blood out of her mouth. This couldn't be happening. She had almost killed a human being, she was turning into something, she never thought she would be. A murderer. She could feel her body growing strong again. It was then when she heard a cold, mocking laugh behind her. She turned around and saw Rebekah standing in the exact same spot as she had last seen her.

„Why did you do this to me?", Elena cried, tears were falling from her brown eyes, and rolling down her cheeks.

„I was bored. And it seemed like a funny thing to do. See, I should have killed you a long time ago, stabbing an Original in the back, not a very smart move, but my rigeous brother, of course, had to stop me. What is it with you and vampires, huh? Anyway, now that you would really die, I've decided I want to have a little more fun with you before I stake you myself.", she smirked evily at Elena.

„So, this is all a game to you?", Elena screamed through her sobs. „You just decided to doom me to an eternal misery, because you had nothing better to do?", she was furious. This was too much. She could feel the adrenalin circulating through her body. She ran and pushed the blond vampire with all her strength. Rebekah flew across the room and fell into a bookshelf, knocking it down.

„Oh, you're strong", she whispered, with the same mocking voice. „Don't play with me, little girl, you don't know who you're messing with.", she hissed, and in a blink of an eye she was gone.

Seconds later Damon and Stefan stormed out through door. They needed only seconds to figure everything out. Damon stood there, at the door frame, watcing the chaos inside. Everything was a mess, there were books and blood all over the floor. A dangerously pale-looking girl was lying on the floor, with two big holes on her neck. Elena was staying in the middle of the room, her hair messy, there was blood on her shirt and pants. He watched as she slowly broke down on the floor, took her face in her hands and started crying. He wanted to go there, take her in his arms, and never let her go. He wanted to shield her from the world. She looked so vulnerable like that, hadn't she been through enough already? His heart was aching as he watched her, but he couldn't move. He could hear Stefan talking to her, but he couldn't concentrate enough to actually understand what he was saying. His eyes moved to the blonde girl on the floor and he forced himself to take a step to her. He bit his wrist and forced the blood down to the girl's throat. He didn't know if it was too late, he could only hope that she was still alive. He knew how hard it was to cope with taking a life. Especially the first time.

„...shh, I promise you, I am not going anywhere, everything will be okay.", Damon finally focused enough to hear what his brother was whispering soothingly to Elena.

Elena slowly lifted her head to face him. „Everything will be okay? I probably just killed an innocent girl Stefan, how is that okay? NONE of this is okay. I didn't want that, I didn't want to become a murderer. This is all messed up, and it's definitely NOT okay.", she was screaming, and a fire was dancing in her eyes. Damon had never seen her like that, and despite everything that was happening, he couldn't deny how much he liked this side of Elena, the feisty one, the one that was actually standing up for herself, and was saying what she was really thinking, instead of saying what people expected her to say.

Stefan was as shocked as Damon, and he couldn't even form a proper sentence.

„I.. I.. Okay.. if you want to, if it would make you feel better, I can teach you how to feed on animals?", he suggested in a quiet voice.

Damon laughed coldly.

„Bunnies? Really, Stefan?", he shot his brother a poisonous look. He still couldn't forgive him for letting Elena die. He couldn't accept that he had chosen to respect her wishes in a moment like that, and let her die. Stefan was the main reason they were in this situation right now. He shook his head and continued. „She is young, Stefan, new! She needs human blood, at least at first, then you can teach her all about hunting bamby. People even give their blood voluntary, it's not like she has to kill someone! And there are blood bags, if she's more comfortable like that! Drinking this animal swill will only heighten her thirst in public.", his voice was low and cold.

„I think I'll try Stefan's way first, I just, I can't imagine doing this to another human being. Even drinking it from a bag. It's still human.", she shivered thinking about the blood, the warm and delicious blood that was filling her mouth and making her feel like nothing else mattered in this fucked up world. She shook her head, to make that thought go away. „Okay?", she looked at Damon.

Damon was shocked by the softness in her voice. Just a minute ago she had been screaming frantically at Stefan, and how her voice was calm and relaxing. He turned to face her and their eyes locked. Even when her hair was messy, her clothes were soaked in blood and her eyes were puffed, she still looked beautiful.

Elena's breath stopped as she met his blue gaze. She felt like she could stare at those eyes forever. It was like the ocean was reflected in them, they were gorgoues and you could easily get lost in their beauty, but they were also dangerous.

The girl on the floor started to move slightly, and Elena broke the intense moment between her and Damon, to let out a sigh of relief.

„I better go and take her to the hospital, just to be sure she's okay", Stefan mumbled.

„Yes.", Elena said firmly. „I would do it myself, but..", she put her hand out of the curtain and the sun burned her skin instantly.

Stefan smiled tiredly. „Which reminds me, I have to go talk to Bonnie, we might need another ring.", he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and got out of the house, carrying the girl in his arms. Elena thought this might be pretty difficult for him, he still needed to be careful around blood, and what did she do? She sent him into a house full of injured people.

„He will be okay", Damon's voice came from behind her, as though he had read her mind exactly.

„I hope so", Elena replied. „I feel awful, I am going to go and try to get some sleep"

„Sure, make youself at home. I'll be in my room if there's something you need." Elena nodded and touched his shoulder slightly before heading to the stairs. Her touch sent chills down Damon's whole body. He sighed and went to pour himself a glass of was going to be a long week.

Elena was staring at Stefan's bed, wondering if she should sleep here, or take the guest bedroom. But then, why would she do that? Stefan was her boyfriend, right? She should sleep in his bed.. with him. His bed used to bring her comfort, whenever she felt bad, it didn't matter if he was around or not, she would come and curl up in his bed, breathing his scent and remembering that he would be here soon to take her in his arms. Now, all it brought her were memories of a life, she had left behind – her human life. She decided to go to the bathroom first. She walked down the hallway to get a towel and while she was walking, she couldn't help herself and peeked into Damon's room. He wasn't there yet. Her eyes instantly fixed on the huge bed. It looked so comfortable, and for a moment she let herself imagine what would it be like, to fall asleep in this bed, having not Stefan, but Damon to hold her in his arms. She pictured his strong arms holding her tight as she was peacefully resting her head on his chest. It was getting harder and harder for her to take her eyes off the bed. The sound of a breaking glass, and Damon's voice screaming "Damn it!", was the thing that got her out of her trance. What was she thinking? This was wrong on so many levels. She had already chosen, and it was weird how often she had to remind herself that lately.

In the shower, the memory of Damon's arms and lips wandering all over her body outside of that motel was haunting her. And having him so close to her, just in the other room, didn't help very much. She got out of the shower quickly and decided she was probably just too tired. After a few moments of consideration, she reluctantly crawled into Stefan's bed. The moment her head touched the pillow, she felt her eyes feeling heavy and she fell asleep.

"… I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later.", Elena was saying to Bonnie in her phone. She hung up and turned around to find a complete stranger looking at her with wide eyes. He looked so shocked that she thought there was something wrong with her. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Katherine..", his voice was so low, almost a whisper.

"Um, no, I am Elena.", she said looking around, thinking he probably wasn't talking to her. But since there was no one else, she assumed it had to be her.

"Oh.. you just look.. " He looked incredibly confused. "I am sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I am Damon.", he said cockily, trying to shake from his shock.

"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere.", she said.

"You're the one to talk.You're out here all by yourself", he smirked.

"It's Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here", she replied with a shrug. "I got into a fight with my boyfriend", Elena continued, not knowing why she was trusting a complete stranger with her problems. She just felt this connection to him instantly.

"About what, may I ask?"

"Life, future, he's got it all mapped out.", she said with a frown.

"You don't want it?", he asked her.

"I don't know what I want", she said. This was probably the sincerest thing she had said in a long time.

"Well, that's not true, you want what everybody wants.", Damon continued, with a half-smile.

"What, mysterious stranger that has all the answers?", she smiled back at him, and his smile got even bigger. She couldn't deny how handsome he was. He was older than her, definitely, but he looked magnificent. And with that cute smile on his face, "I could just eat him up", Elena thought to herself and giggled slightly.

"Well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learnt a few things"

"So, Damon, tell me, what is it that I want?", she smiled with the same cocky smile as his own.

"You want a love that consumes you", he got closer to her. Now she could see his bright blue eyes, perfectly, they were so, very beautiful. "You want passion, and adventure. And even a little danger.", he smirked at her.

"So, what do you want?", she asked, and he looked a little confused for a moment. Then they heard a car approaching. "That's my parents.", she said. Not knowing exactly why, she didn't want to leave this stranger. She felt good talking to him. She felt… herself. But when she turned around he had fixed his beautiful eyes on hers.

"I want you to get everything you're looking for. Right now, I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I am in town yet. Goodnight Elena."

And in a flash he was gone, and all of her memories of that night had gone with him.

Elena woke up was in a cold sweat. Could this be real? Because it seemed very real to her, she remembered that outfit, she remembered that phone call with Bonnie, because she had been getting over it a thousand times in her head, thinking what would have been different if she hadn't called that night for her parents to pick her up. Because this was the most horrible night in her entire existance. The day she lost the people she loved most. Maybe they would still be alive and breathing somewhere if she just had asked someone else for a ride. Tears filled her eyes, as she quickly got out of bed. She had slept for no more than 30 minutes, but she knew she couldn't get back to sleep. Not after this dream. Stefan wasn't home yet, so Elena put on a dressing gown, since she was only in her underwear, and went silently into Damon's room. She couldn't help but gasp, when she realized that she could see everything perfectly clear, even in the dark. She could see the finest details of the painting on the wall across the room. She hadn't really paid much attention to the burning thirst in her throat, since Rebekah left. She was trying to keep it out of her mind, hoping that by ignoring it, it will go away. Of course she knew she was just kidding herself, but she just didn't have the strength to deal with this right now. When she got to Damon's room the door was slightly open. She opened it and she saw Damon sitting in a chair with bourbon in one hand and book in the other.

"Damon,", Elena started.

"Elena,", Damon said, in a tone similar to hers, not taking his eyes off the book.

"I need to ask you something.", her voice started trembling. What if this was all just a dream and she would make a total fool of herself. For some reason she couldn't explain, she didn't want to disappoint or look stupid in Damon's eyes. She gathered up the courage, took a deep breath, and blurted out. "When was the first time you saw me, talked to me?"

She got his attention. He took his eyes off the book and snapped his head in her direction. His eyes widened, and a look of surprise settled there. Between all the drama with Alaric and Klaus, and Elena becoming a vampire, he had totally forgotten about the 'side effects' of turning. She had caught him completely off guard.

"On the day your parents died. You were at some kind of a party.", he replied quietly, looking directly into her eyes. She knew that whatever happens, Damon would always be honest with her, if she asked him directly, he would always tell her the truth.

"Oh!", she said. She needed to hear it from him, although she knew it was true from the moment she woke up. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wouldn't change anything, Elena! By the time we 'officially' met, you were head over heels in love with my brother. Telling you this would have just complicated things even more. You got everything you were looking for. Mission accomplished." He motioned to her with his glass.

"Yeah, because things are not complicated right now, huh?", Elena rose her voice.

"Yeah, with all of the Originals and stuff, I guess it's pretty hard to live your happily ever after.", Damon snapped at her.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about.", Elena was close to screaming now. She had lost the little bit of self-control she had. In a flash, she was so close to him that their noses were touching. She could feel his breath on her lips. Warmth spread through her whole body. He felt how her body slightly shivered when she touched him. "How do you know I got it? Everything I was looking for?", she hissed at him. They looked at each other for a while, and since Damon couldn't say anything, they just stared into each other's eyes, until Elena realized exactly how close they were and backed off.

"Should I expect more of your little secrets?", she asked him, her voice strangely weak. She had asked just to break the tension, but Damon looked away. "Oh, god, there are more, aren't there?", Elena fell onto the chair next to Damon. She wasn't sure what to expect now, after this, it could be pretty much anything. "Tell me, what is it!"

"I think it's better you see this one for yourself.", he said bitterly, lifting his head and looking her in the eyes again.

It was so big, he couldn't even tell her. Elena felt dizzy. She stood there, lost in her own thoughts. This was too overwhelming for her, everything was happening way too fast. She didn't know what to say so she asked him the first thing that popped into her mind.

"How do you do it?", she asked him quietly.

"How do I do what?", Damon looked confused by the sudden change of the topic.

"How do you live with this every day? How do you wake up every day and try not to kill Stefan for forcing you to turn? How do you live with yourself, after you've killed someone?", her voice trembled and she couldn't stop her tears, they rolled down her cheeks. Damon just looked at her sadly and he brushed away her tears with his thumb, caressing her skin gently.

"I.. want to kill him. I want to get a stake and drive it through his heart every time I think about 1864. But I don't do it. You know why? Because he's my brother. And because I like to use this little trick", he smirked playfully. "I like to imagine killing the people that have pissed me off in my head in the most brutal ways I can think of, so that I wouldn't really snap"

Elena laughed through her tears. He could make her laugh, when she thought she wasn't even able to smile. "This sounds like a good strategy."

"It is", Damon winked at her. "As for the killings..", his face got serious again. "They stay with you, no matter what, even when you try to turn it off, it still sneaks up on you. It's there, always, haunting you.", his bright eyes darkened for a moment.

Elena looked at him, realizing his thumb was still on her face, massaging it lightly.

"I.. should go." , Elena mumbled, although the last thing she wanted was to get in that bed. In Stefan's bed.

Damon just tilted his head and smiled at her cockily.

Elena went back to Stefan's room and curled up in the bed again, afraid of what would happen when she falls asleep again. After some time, she felt how she's drifting away.

She was in her room, in her PJs, getting out of the bathroom. She walked towards her room, to find Damon standing at the window holding something in his arm. She jumped slightly, a little surprised by his visit, though she should have gotten used to It by now. He looked a little weird, distracted.

"Cute PJs", he commented.

"I am tired, Damon", she tried to cut him off. And she wasn't lying, she felt exhausted.

He got up and moved closer to her. She finally saw what he was holding. It was her necklace, the necklace that she loved so much, and she thought it was lost forever.

"I brought you this", he smiled at her with his usual half-smile.

"I thought that was gone, thank you!", Elena said, surprised. She motioned closer to him and tried to take it, but he didn't give it to her. "Please give it back." There was something wrong here.

"I just have to say something", Damon told her, looking unusually serious.

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?", no, no, no, this couldn't be for good.

He looked a little off. "Because what I am about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."

"Damon don't go there", Elena tried, realizing where this was heading.

He got closer. "I just have to say it once, you just need to hear it. I love you, Elena.", Elena stomach dropped down, she couldn't say a word. She had known Damon has feelings for her, but love wasn't what she had expected even in her wildest dreams. "And it's because I love you that, I can't be selfish with you… Why you can't know this.. I don't deserve you. But my brother does." There were tears in his eyes. Elena was so shocked she couldn't even say a word. "God I wish you didn't have to forget this.", he said looking her right in her big, doe, eyes. "But you do.", a single tear rolled off his eye, and it was simply the most heartbreaking thing Elena had ever seen. And then, just like that, he took all of her memories with him, again.

"Oh, damn.", Elena said, jumping out of her sleep for the second time this night.

I didn't know how exactly to put the flashbacks in the story, but in the end, this is what happened. The next chapter will be more about Elena and her thoughts on the brothers, and a little bit of Caroline and Bonnie, it was real pleasure writing it :D