A.N: Just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed! To those that are still reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Notice: In case you somehow remained oblivious up to this point, this story contains both het and slash.

Disclaimer: Still don't own The Vampire Diaries. JSYK.

Chapter 2

Elena closed her eyes, forcing herself to breath slowly and fully. Coming to the Grill had been a terrible idea. So much blood... pumping just beneath the surface...

God, it was like she could feel the blood in Matt's neck, and she hadn't even moved from her seat and attacked him or anything. He was with Caroline right now, so she couldn't get away with eating him even if she wanted to. Her gaze fell on a pretty brunette, and she swallowed hard. Bloodlust wasn't the only kind of 'lust' she was resisting. How lovely it would be to just sink her fangs into a warm neck, and sink something else into warmth...

She groaned, Damon's voice leaving her lips. Was this what it was like being him? She wanted. She wanted everything. How did he ever resist? She licked her lips, the sound of pumping blood leaving her dizzy. She closed her eyes. She couldn't do this. She needed help.

Pulling out Damon's phone, she hesitated. Her first instinct was to call 'Elena', but what if she just ended up eating her own body? Damon was in her human body now- what if she murdered and raped herself? No, she couldn't call him. He would be of no help in his current condition. She bit her lip, scanning the limited contacts list. It was probably a horrible idea, but she could think of no one better.

She hit call.

Damon washed his hands. He had been worried about using the toilet, but it turned out to not be that big of a deal. He was just glad Elena wasn't on her period. The sound of the doorbell caught his attention, and he made his way downstairs. He was unsurprised to find Stefan at the door. Half the time he rang the doorbell, the other half he just appeared in Elena's bedroom.

"Hey," said Stefan, a small smile on his face. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

Now that Stefan mentioned it, Damon was quite hungry. "Nah, not yet."

Stefan revealed a basket. "Come on, we can have a picnic."

Damon resisted the urge to laugh. Was he really going to go on a romantic picnic with his brother? He managed to pass the laugh off as happiness instead of disbelief and mockery. What would Elena say? "Nice." ...that didn't sound particularly Elena-ish, but Stefan wasn't alerted, so he guessed it didn't matter. Stefan held out a hand, and Damon took it, allowing himself to be guided out of the house. Fingers soon intertwined, as they made their way down the street.

Elena really owed Damon for this. There were so many things he wanted to say to Stefan right now. So many opportunities to rip him to shreds. The moment Stefan realized Damon wasn't Elena, though, Stefan would be the one with the upper hand. Stefan would be the one ripping Damon to shreds. So instead Damon remained quiet, playing along.

They stopped at a park. Stefan set a blanket down on the grass, placing the basket on one side. He sat on the other, tugging Damon down beside him. The silence of the walk had left Damon jittery and anxious, just wanting it all to be over with.

Stefan ran a hand through Damon's soft brown locks. They were fluffy, but after a shower with plenty of conditioner he had at least removed the tangles. He gave up when it came to makeup, but had decided to at least try and match. He wondered how Elena would feel about the overtly sexy outfits.

Something was placed in his hands, and he looked down to see a sandwich. Stefan... had made him a sandwich? Seriously? A smile quirked at his lips. "I didn't know you could make food."

Stefan laughed. "I can't promise it's any good. You just seemed to be in a weird mood lately, so I decided a picnic might be nice."

Damon batted his eyelashes, even though he knew it hardly worked without the usual mascara. "Thank you." Oh, Elena had better thank him for-

Lips were suddenly on his, and his mind went into hyper drive. Stefan was kissing him. It had been so long... and it couldn't hurt to respond, not in this body... Stefan went to pull away when he got no response, but Damon followed him, keeping their lips connected. He placed his hands on strong shoulders to hold himself up, nearly sitting in Stefan's lap as he deepened the kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, Stefan whispered, forehead pressed to Damon's, "I love you, Elena."

Damon flinched. He couldn't help it. That had been an effective mood killer. "...me too," he finally responded. It wasn't a lie, so much as a play on words. Damon also loved Elena. Before Stefan could say anything else, Damon pulled him back into a kiss.

"So why are you here, again?" Alaric sat in a recliner, drinking a cup of Bourbon. Elena had one in hand, but had only taken a sip of it so far.

"I told you. I need to get away from people I can kill or compel to have sex with me."

Alaric sighed. "If you really think staying here makes people safer, then stay as long as you need. Just don't drink all my Bourbon. I'll be grading papers if you need anything."

The picnic had been surprisingly delicious. Damon still found it lame and corny, though. He was being romanced by his brother. Whatever they had in the past, it was rough and passionate, and sometimes comforting. But never was it sweet and romantic. He didn't know how he had restricted himself to only three sarcastic comments during the picnic.

They were on their way back to Elena's house when Stefan's phone began to ring. As he answered it, Damon really missed his super hearing.

"I see...yes...I'll be right there," said Stefan, hanging up. "Sorry, Elena. I need to go."

"What's going on?" Damon asked. He really hoped Elena wasn't messing things up for him...

"It's Damon. Alaric says he's acting really weird," said Stefan.

"Weird how?"

"I don't know- that's all he said. He sounded panicked, though."

Damon was becoming panicked. "I'll come with you."

"That's unnecess-"

"I'm going with you," Damon insisted. At the surprised look, he added, "He listens to me better."

"Damon, stop it."

Elena had Alaric backed up against a wall, her hands braced against the wall on either side of his shoulders as she nuzzled his neck. It smelled so delicious... "Mm, I want to eat you," she said, voice coming out in a breath against heated flesh.

Alaric shivered. "Damon, I'm serious. I know you're not in the best of moods lately, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you eat me." He went to duck under Elena's arms, but she quickly slammed him back into the wall, thrilling in the sound of a pounding heart. Alaric groaned, pressing a hand to his head.

"Damon, get off of Alaric."

Elena blinked, turning her head to see Stefan. And... Damon, in her body. She stared for a moment. She was unaware she owned such a revealing dress. Was Damon buying new clothes or were these really buried in her closet? Alaric took advantage of her distraction, escaping from her grip. He was soon across the room, a crossbow in hand.

"What are you doing?" Damon demanded. "Attacking Ric?"

Elena scowled at him. Like it was her fault? It was his body making her this way. "I can't help it, Elena. It's a miracle I've resisted biting him for the last hour and a half."

"Are you going to take care of him?" asked Alaric.

Stefan sighed. "Damon, I told you, if you need any help I'll help you." Green eyes were pleading. "Come home with me."

Elena hesitated, but couldn't resist his plea for long. Could he really help? Would he really keep her from eating innocent people and having sex with strangers? Searching Stefan's eyes, she felt reassured. She could trust him. She gave a curt nod. He was immediately at her side, a hand on her back guiding her in the right direction.

"Elena, do you mind driving home by yourself?" asked Stefan.

"Not at all," Damon replied. Still, his eyes remained narrowed as he watched them pass. Elena grimaced. He was clearly upset at her. She had just tried to maul one of his few almost-friends...

The 'walk' home had been quick, as Stefan utilized vampire-running, forcing Elena to do so as well in order to keep up.

The door to the Salvatore Boarding House closed behind them. Stefan gazed at her for a long moment. "What's going on with you, Damon? Attacking Alaric... it's not like you."

"What do you care? It's not like I could kill him, with that ring of his," she defended.

"I care because you're my brother, Damon, and brother's look out for each other," said Stefan. "I care because you're finally beginning to show humanity, and I'll do whatever it takes to help you keep this part of you. So long as you let me help."

Elena was nearly brought to tears. She wanted little more than to embrace her boyfriend and tell him how much she loved him. She held back, however, knowing that would ruin everything. No, she had to act like Damon... She managed to keep the regret out of her voice as she said, "That's your problem, Stefan. You assume 'humanity' is a desirable trait. I don't want your help, and I don't need it. I'm perfect just the way I am, as a predator." She turned to the door. "I'll find someone that can actually help. Maybe a pretty little brunette."

Stefan appeared before her, halting her trek to the door. "I'm not giving up on you."

"It's not your choice to make."

"You came home with me for a reason. It wasn't just to blow me off and leave." Stefan stared deeply into her eyes, searchingly.

Elena went to walk around Stefan, only to have all thoughts frozen. Stefan... was kissing her. She groaned, feeling her borrowed body respond. She missed this. Missed kissing her boyfriend.

...but he thinks I'm Damon... Elena forced herself away, with such abruptness that Stefan was left confused for a moment as to what had happened. Why had Stefan just kissed his brother? She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What was there to say? She had to get out of here, before she gave herself away. She needed answers.

"-and then he kissed me. Damon, why was Stefan trying to kiss you? You're brothers!"

"Why do you think? You're an idiot if you can't figure it out," Damon replied, rolling his eyes. "At least tell me you said something hurtful before you ran away."

"I was too busy freaking out that my boyfriend would kiss his own brother," she said. "It's weird enough that he'd cheat on me, but with you?"

Damon couldn't help himself. He broke into full out laughter. The look of hurt Elena placed on his face only made him laugh harder. "Seriously? It's ok for him to kiss me in your body, but not in my own?" Elena's eyes widened, and he knew he had gotten to her. He settled down, smirk firmly in place. He couldn't get rid of it if he tried. "One hundred and forty-five years is a long time to be alone with one person. Granted, we didn't spend all that time together, but we spent quite a bit of it together. Eventually, we ended up getting physical."

"That's sick," said Elena, yet somehow her features didn't reflect her statement. If anything, there was curiosity. "What happened?"

Damon shrugged. "Same thing that always happens. I realized I was making him happy. My life goal is to make his life an eternity of misery, so I told him he's disgusting and I wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Don't know if he believed me, but it definitely ruined his mood."

"Does he... try to get things to be like that very often?"

And there was a question Damon didn't want to answer. "No."

Blue eyes narrowed. "What are you not telling me? If I'm going to pretend to be you, I need to know."

It was a bullshit reason and they both knew it. Elena was just curious. Too bad. She wasn't entitled to know every detail of Damon's existence. "Just mock him if he tries anything, and he'll believe you're me."

"But-"

The door swung open, both of them looking up. Jeremy stood in the doorway, eying the two of them strangely. "...do you know where the extra toothpaste is? We ran out." Damon was quite pleased with Jeremy's choice of just pretending the situation didn't exist.

"Under the sink," Elena answered. That got a strange look from Jeremy. All the same, he thanked her and left.

"Nice going," said Damon. "Stir the pot a bit. Make it seem like you and I are up to something together." He flashed overtly flirty eyes at her. He had practiced his expressions in the mirror, and he had to say that this one was quite nice.

Elena cast him a glare. "I am not letting you ruin my relationship with Stefan."

"Oh, I won't be. It's you that will, if you don't turn down his advances."

Damon rejoiced at the horrified look on his body in a way he never thought he would. Then he realized others could very well be privy to such an expression on his body. At this rate, by the time the witch came back, he would probably be too humiliated to want his body back.