A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in an unforgivable amount of time. Thanks for all everyone's patience. This chapter was on my laptop for quite some time actually because there was something bugging me in this chapter, but I feel comfortable enough with it now. Damon's still understandably angry and Elena's always in denial, so it's not exactly the nicer Delena some of you guys wanted, but they'll get there…sometime. You guys have already endured a lot of pain and suffering for these two…what's a little more? ;)


Elena's sitting on the grass with her legs outstretched in front of her. She is taking some time alone to think about everything – like her friends told her to – and basking in the sun.

She has decided to forget about the contradictory feelings that Caroline and Bonnie conjured up.

She knows what her friends were trying to force it out of her. So yes, "conjured up" – as in completely fabricated – were exactly the right words.

Because she certainly didn't love Damon. Not in that way anyway.

They were friends. That's it.

She isn't denying what she said to her best friends about the fact that she has strong feelings for Damon, but it's nothing romantic. It's not like her feelings for Stefan – feelings she's so sure of that she would risk her life over it. She can't actually say what love is, but she can't imagine the feelings that she has for Stefan isn't love.

So now, she's at the point where she's asking herself why she can't choose Stefan – something that really irked her when Caroline brought it up.

She has a list in her head ranging from the fact that she's just too nice of a person to it's just some supernatural curse for Petrova doppelgangers to be forever trapped between two vastly different brothers.

But down at the very bottom of the list – in the very back of her mind – is the simplest answer. It's the thought that she really does love Damon.

That her friends have been right all along and that the feeling of wanting to kiss him again isn't just the result of a physical desire.

And it scares the hell out of her that she can't just cross it off.

She decides to sleep on it for a while, because it's driving her crazy and she's starting to get a headache. A few seconds later though, she hears the distinct sound of footsteps approaching and she turns to see both brothers, equipped with fishing gear – yes, fishing gear – in their arms.

Just her luck.

She knew it would happen. She knew she couldn't avoid them forever. She just didn't think she would have to deal both of them at once.

Her head hurts again just thinking about it, but she gets up and brushes off her jeans anyway.

Her body moves towards them despite all logic – and her friends' warnings – and greets them.

Stefan presses his lips together when he hears her approach. Damon groans when he hears her speak.

"Hey. Wh-what are you guys doing out here?" she starts tentatively.

"It's nice out. We're fishing," Stefan says politely. Elena's heart soars at his reply because even though it's short, at least she knows that he's not completely livid with her.

"Since when did you two fish?" She says it easily, as if it's meant to be a conversation starter.

Damon snorts. "We've lived for over a hundred and fifty years. There are a lot of things you don't know about us." Elena winces a little. Too bad Damon is still mad.

"Oh. Okay." She hesitates, but she doesn't move.

"Sorry, Elena. We only have two poles…you have to find another one that you haven't used."

Elena's eyes widen at his insinuation, and she looks to Stefan to perhaps, jump in or defend her. He doesn't and Stefan's eyes are actually gleaming in amusement. She scrunches up her eyebrows and there's an internal debate in her head.

She should have listened to her friends when they said to avoid them at all costs. Everything she's done lately has just come to bite her in the ass.

"Well…I'll see you two around then," she sighs, turning to leave. She heads back to her car because there's no use trying to share the waters with the two of them. Maybe she can't stay away, but at least she has always been able to leave when they tell her. That's got to be something, right?


"I'm proud of you," Stefan smiles at him, patting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"For what?"

"For coming out with me. For showing Elena that we're still brothers and that she can't come between us like that."

"We're just fishing," Damon replies, shrugging his shoulders

"Maybe…but we haven't fished together in a really long time." Damon has to admit that this is kind of nice – this bonding thing. They haven't hung out with each other just for the sake of hanging out with each other since…well, he's not exactly sure when, but it's been a long time, definitely before Elena came into their lives. And considering Elena was the reason for their bonding, everything seems to have come full-circle.

"You're such a sentimental. What? You gonna tell me you love me now?" he teases.

"I love you, Damon," Stefan coos, just to piss him off.

"Knock it off!" Damon gives him a hard shove, sending Stefan stumbling backwards several feet away. Stefan takes it all in jest.

"Why won't you say it back to me?" Stefan goes on, altering his voice a little to make it whinier.

"I swear, I'm going to throw you in the water when we get out there," he mumbles.

"You asked for it," Stefan laughs.

"When do you ever do the things I ask?"

"Now that we're spending some quality time together."

"Just give me the tackle box," Damon huffs. He lets himself smile a little when Stefan's not looking.


Damon is staring disgustedly at the bottom of his shoe as Elena watches several feet away. He mumbles something to himself when he notices her, but she ignores it.

"What the hell do you want?" he snaps, as she approaches.

"I just wanted to talk, Damon." She's calm, and she honestly wants to work things out.

"Go talk to someone else and leave me alone."

"Damon, please listen to me."

"Well, this day couldn't get any worse. What do you want?" Damon sighs, "Make it quick." Elena smiles and sits down next to him on the bench.

"I know I screwed up."

"You're damn right you did."

"I want to make things right with you…with everyone," she continues.

"Too late." He's still angry, but she keeps pushing.

"I didn't mean to hurt you.

"I'm not hurt," he denies. Elena bites her lip and stares at him silently for what seems to be an eternity.

"I told you it was going to be Stefan. It's always going to be him. I thought you understood," she says.

And that's the last straw.

"You said that months ago, Elena! How do I know you haven't changed your mind? That we haven't changed since then? That what happened between us didn't make it so fucking ridiculous and impossible that we'd actually want the same thing?" he snaps.

"Because I can't be with you Damon."

"Because you don't want to be with me or because you don't want to be Katherine?"

And suddenly, the tone shifts and her stomach drops. She wants to go back to the vulgar comments and back-and-forth yelling of the past couple of weeks now more than ever. She should be mad as hell at him for his accusation, but her hesitation is an answer in itself. She's starting to think that Caroline and Bonnie are right. And she's really starting to think that she and Katherine have more in common than just looks.

"Please, Damon. What do I have to do to make it up to you? You're still my friend."

"Sorry. The feeling's not mutual, Elena. You know I've never thought of you as just a friend."

Elena looks around nervously, unsure of what to say. There was a time she just thought he was messing around with her because he loved messing around with Stefan. And then she thought they understood each other – that they cared about each other because of a mutual interest in Stefan. But everything she thought she knew was starting to fly out the window.

She snaps her head up from the ground and figures that she must have been in her own world because she sees him impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Just give me another chance to make it up to you."

"You had your chance. You had days to make it up to me. Instead, you go back to my brother and I have to find out from him that you two are shacking up again. Yes, that was such a welcoming surprise."

"You have it all wrong, Damon." She pauses and she decides to leave some details out about the night. "I didn't just get back together with Stefan because we slept together. I went to Stefan because being with you made me realize how much Stefan means to me, how much I don't want to break you two apart." He frowns and she instantly wants to take those words back.

"That makes it so much better. I think we're done here," he says resolutely, pursing his lips.

"That's not – " she begins, before being interrupted. He makes a noise of disgust.

"Not what you meant?" he finishes for her. She eagerly nods her head in agreement. "It seems that's happening a lot lately…You didn't think you were breaking us apart by sleeping with me? Are you delusional? You know what? Nevermind. You're worse than Katherine. At least Katherine was a manipulative bitch because she was running away from Klaus. You don't even know what you're doing to everyone, and that's just pathetic."

She's stunned by his harsh words but he continues on with his rant. "You Petrova women think you're all strong and tough? Well, newsflash. You just manipulate people. You're only strong and tough when you use other people's love for you and put them down. Where would you be without us?"

Before she can respond, he gets off the bench to leave. When he's a few feet away from her, he stops but doesn't turn around to look at her.

"You told me to be a better man, and I tried," he says in a low voice.

"You did become a better man, Damon," she says, getting up instinctually to reassure him. Tears are streaming down her cheeks now, and there was a time when Damon would run over to catch them falling into his hands as he told her in his most soothing voice that it was going to be okay.

Damon looks into her deep brown eyes and he actually begins to feel sorry for her. He doesn't understand how she can be so clueless, and the pity for her that starts to fill his unbeating heart is actually because he doesn't think she understands what she did.

But it isn't okay. Damon Salvatore doesn't pity people, and certainly not Elena. Not after what she did to him…to the both of them.

"My brother and I both became better men for you…because of you," Damon corrects slowly, "Too bad you weren't a better woman."

And just like that, he takes off into the night, before she can get a chance to stop him.


A/N2: Yeah, I'm evil. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated :)