A/N: Many thanks go out to Despina Kanaki-Chrysochoidou, who left me an unsigned review that had me giggling with happiness for the next couple of hours. Thanks!

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Mistaken Observations: Do You Like The Way I Hate At You?

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In the morning, when all was said and done, Elena wiped the sleep away from her eyes with weary and sore fingers. She looked out the window, saw the yellow of the sun being cast on her hands and feet, and then she glanced over at Damon. He was still sleeping, curled up beside her like he had every right in the world just to be placed near her body.

His chest glistened like early morning dew on grass and her eyes lingered near his pale, milky-white hip. There were scratch marks on the indentation there; her finger nails marks from where she had gripped his skin. She tried not to contemplate about what others would think about her if they saw them.

Then, she got out of the big bed, walked out the door, and softly closed it behind her.

And it felt like she was hurting him more than she was hurting herself.

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"I hope you know why I told you about my little plan." Caroline twirled her pink straw around her fruity drink. Her face, which usually glowed with pride and her own characteristic bubbliness, was now currently set in a frown. She looked, somewhat, like a child who had just been scolded at; she looked like a puppy with its tail between its legs.

But, Elena was going to stay strong. She was not going to be swayed into apologizing to Caroline when it was really Caroline who needed to be the one saying sorry. Caroline always had been one to carry the burden of 'diarrhea of the mouth.' Elena really couldn't blame her…but, she was going to anyway.

"Little?" Elena scoffed beside her blonde friend. "You practically dropped the weight of the world on my head and walked away with my money. Thanks for that by the way. It really made my night." She rolled her eyes with a dramatic flair and stared at the mahogany wall before her.

"It really was bad, wasn't it?" Caroline cringed and downed her drink with a snap of her wrist. She was going on her tenth drink, something that was completely not lost on Elena. The blonde vampire had an extreme tolerance to alcohol.

"That's pretty much an understatement. But, if you want to make yourself feel better, then yes, it was really bad."

Caroline sighed and swiveled in her barstool. "See! This is why I don't drink. I always end up say the wrong thing, " she waved a hand, "It would just be so much easier if no-one liked hanging around me. That way, I wouldn't have to give out so much damn advice."

Elena snickered, but didn't have the heart to tell Caroline that she usually always said the wrong things, sober or not. She watched as Caroline waved the compelled bartender over for anything drink.

"Is that why we're at a bar right now? Because you don't like drinking?" Elena fingered her own drink lightly, trying to decide whether or not consuming it would be appropriate.

Caroline gave her a guilty look, taking her drink with a fake smile towards the bartender. "God, I'm as bad as Damon," and then, she gave Elena her best predatory grin, gripping her elbow like she wanted to hear all the best gossip floating around the town, "Speaking of, how are you and Damon doing?"

"Damon?" Elena squeaked, trying to feign innocence without giving away what had happened that previous night. "Damon who?"

Caroline gave her a 'duh, of course you know who I'm talking about' look. "Come on, Elena. Don't be such a tease. How many Damon's do you know, exactly? Dark, sexy, blue eyes…the one you're undeniably attracted to? Is that ringing any bells?"

Holding up a hand to silence Caroline and her useless rambling, Elena finally threw back her head to devour the alcohol in front of her in one big gulp. "Give it a rest, Care. You know that there is absolutely nothing going on."

"Do I?" Caroline gave Elena a skeptic look, like she didn't believe half the things that were coming out of her best friend's mouth. "Because, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that you guys could pass for an old and bitter married couple."

Elena scoffed, but let her long hair shield the blush that had crept up her throat at an amazing speed.

She knew that she and Damon liked to partake in some fun- maybe even flirty- banter that didn't really hurt anyone. They would argue about silly things, and things they knew they shouldn't laugh at because it was supposed to be serious, and they even poked fun at the things that weren't even funny at all. But, when things had rapidly progressed into more serious territory, Elena couldn't help but find completely idiot things amusing. She blamed it on the sleep deprivation and the not knowing of what was going to happen that next day.

Sometimes they just laughed at the situation they had found themselves in. And that was almost funny in the most sinister way possible.

But, when they put all their teasing and chiding aside, they were just doing it because…they were Damon and Elena. They didn't need a reason beyond that.

"Everybody fights, Caroline," Elena reproached, "It's not my fault that you read into things more than I do."

Caroline stuck her tongue out in response, crossing her grey-blue eyes to Elena's great amusement and causing her to giggle.

"But, it's not just the flirty fighting, or the things you say to each other to get the other to laugh," Caroline sobered up, wiping her tiny, sticky hands on a napkin. "It's the way you look at each other when you do it."

Elena swallowed around the lump in her throat, feeling like a deer caught in someone's headlights. "I don't know what you're talking about, Care."

"Really?" Caroline raised a delicate eyebrow, "You want to run that one by me again?"

Okay, so yes, Elena did see the way Damon looked at her when they were in the middle of a mock argument, but she had only guessed he did it to show her that he didn't mean any of it- that it was just something he did to get a reaction out of her. Damon seemed to like her best when she was all fired up, and to be honest, she liked Damon even more when he was all fired up, too.

Elena felt wrong for even admitting that. But, she did like it when Damon was enthusiastic, because it brought out the passion behind his eyes- the passion that she knew was always there, but still needed a little digging in order for it to be brought up to the surface.

Infect, she was all too aware of how Damon looked at her, but was she really looking back at him with equal desire? If she did, then did Damon see it? But, he surly would have called her out on it, so maybe she didn't look at him with anything but a fierce respect for someone much older, and much wiser than her.

"Then how do you think I look at him if you are suddenly the 'all-seer' of all complicated relationships?" Elena found herself hissing over to Caroline.

"Hey, honey," Caroline sipped the dregs from her glass before slamming it back on the counter, "I don't make up these things; I just let the facts come to me."

Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Could her friend be any more dramatic?

"It's easy," Caroline shrugged. "You look at him like you want him. Excuse me if I thought you really did; it's practically plastered all over your face."

The crowded bar suddenly felt too hot, and Elena pulled the collar of her shirt away from her chest, trying to circulate air into her lungs. It was to no avail, and she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. When did the room abruptly feel like it was spinning around her?

"What's the matter, 'Lena?" Caroline smirked, pulling her mouth up at the edges, "Scared that I'm right?"

"No, of course not," Elena replied, irritated. "Why can't you just drop it, Care?"

Because," Caroline shrugged, "I'm just trying to get you to see the facts. You are only hurting yourself by denying what you truly want."

Something akin to anger bubbled up in the back of Elena's throat. She quickly swallowed it down, but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"And how could you, Caroline Forbes, possibly know what I want? You don't even live with me and Damon." While leaving Caroline to ponder the question, Elena waved the bartender over much like Caroline had done earlier. She really didn't need the extra alcohol, but it felt good to have something run down her throat that could also prove as a distracter at the same time.

Elena sipped at her sugary drink lightly, watching in half amusement and half frustration as Caroline tried to come up with an explanation to everything she had assumed.

A couple minutes later, Caroline snapper her fingers and gave a light clap. "I know," she exclaimed, "It's because I'm your best friend, and therefore I always know what you're thinking. It must be some freaky sixth sense thing."

Elena huffed, much more un-amused than she was before. "Can you at least try to be serious for five seconds?"

"What do you want me to say, Elena?" Caroline threw up her hands in exasperation. "Trust me, I just know what you're thinking when you think it. It's not my fault you're such an open book."

"Open book?" Elena scoffed, oddly hurt by what Caroline had said about her. "I really don't even think that's true. I'm not the one who gets all freaky faced when I get near blood. If that's not an open book, then I don't know what is."

Caroline recoiled and Elena internally bit her lip. Oh, great. Why did she ever have to open her big mouth; she was worse the Caroline when it came to these things.

"You know I can't help that," Caroline whispered.

And Elena knew that Caroline really couldn't help it, but all she was doing was assuming the wrong things, and Elena couldn't take it anymore. There was a time when certain people knew when to shut up, but Caroline had never gotten that memo.

"I know, I know," Elena rubbed at her brow, feeling a pounding headache brewing behind her eyes, "I just hate it when people assume about me too much. And you know that, Care. If I haven't already said this before, people don't know anything. They take one look and Damon and I and see that Stefan is gone, and they automatically think that we're hooking up or something wrong like that. It's infuriating."

Caroline still didn't look Elena in the eyes, keeping her gaze on the counter where her fingers traced imaginary patterns. Suddenly she spoke, resentment clogging her speech. "You're just afraid, Elena."

"What," Elena leaned forward; barely believing that Carline still hadn't dropped the lingering subject, "did you just say?"

Caroline squinted her eyes and pursed her lips, meeting Elena's gaze head on, and straightening up in her chair. "I said that you're just afraid, Elena. You're just afraid that I'm right; you're afraid that once I say these things, you're going to finally realize that what I'm talking about is actually making sense."

Elena felt the air leave her lungs in a rush. "You don't even know what you're talking about. How are you supposed to convince me of things that I don't even believe in?"

"Yes, I do to know what I'm talking about," Caroline almost sneered, sounding much like a five year old, "Infect, why don't we just admit it right here and now."

Before Elena could even stop her actions, Caroline had climbed to the top of her stool until she was standing on it with tottering feet. All the people in building looked at her with curiosity, probably all thinking that she was just another drunk girl at the bar.

"Get down," Elena hissed, trying to tug on the blondes skirt so she would see how childish she was acting.

"No," Caroline slapped her hand away and stood, spine erect, until all eyes were on her.

"Attention," Caroline called and all Elena wanted to do was body slam her into next week. "Attention, I have some great news! My friend over here," she pointed towards Elena, "is in complete denial over a guy. She seems to think that she doesn't care for him at all, when all she really wants to do is fuck his brains out! And while she is denying these emotions, she likes to go around and tell people that this guy is just another person who likes to fawn over her like some lost puppy."

Besides the burning need to get oxygen flowing inside her chest again, Elena felt a new emotion tear up her insides: furry. It rushed throughout her veins, and left the tips of her fingers tingling with a sense of anticipation. She had never, ever wanted to hit something so hard in her life. And Elena was not a violent person…unless she had to be. And where were those sudden feelings coming from? They were just, until moments ago, talking about normal drama, and suddenly she wanted to punch her fist through a wall.

How dare Caroline accuse her of such things! It was ridiculous and pitiful, and Elena could barely resist the urge to jump up and place a good, hard slap on the right side of Caroline's face. She was her friend, and she was supposed to be supporting her- not telling her what she felt and what she wanted to do about Damon.

Barely even realizing she had, Elena sprung up from her spot on the barstool, pointing an angry finger in the direction of Caroline's overly enthused and flushed face. "You are in no position to be telling me what my feelings are. You can barely even control you own feelings, Caroline! You love a werewolf for Christ sake, and you want to preach to me about feelings?"

People were staring at the both of them with annoyed expressions now, and Elena had never been one to cause a scene, but that was all she wanted to do now. She wanted people to point and stare and tell their children when they got home that they didn't want them to end up like this crazy girl they saw when they were out that night.

"Just because you thought Damon was a good fuck, doesn't mean that I have to follow in your footsteps. He never even liked you- he still doesn't like you!" Elena was on a roll, the words flowing from her mouth like honey would off a warm biscuit. She couldn't even stop the words, and she definitely did not know why she was saying them. All she knew was that it felt good to release so much pent up frustration.

"Elena, I-" Caroline tried to get a word in, her face reddened with her own rage and excitement, "I don't even know why I did-"

"No," Elena held out her hand, shutting Caroline up almost immediately, "Just don't talk to me. You have done nothing for the past couple of months but try to convince me that I need to pick Damon, or tell me how much better I am when Stefan is gone. It's always about Damon, Damon, and more Damon and I have had about enough of that crap." Elena breathed out hard. "And telling me that I need to sleep with him? That's only something a true narcissistic bitch would say. It's pathetic; you're pathetic."

A universal gasp seemed to fill the air as Caroline's hand shot out and connected with Elena's face. The force of the blow was enough to knock her down on her knees, but with the combined force of super-human strength, and all the anger in the world at the brunette, it sent Elena half flying across the room.

When Elena landed in a crumpled up heap in one of the corners of the bar, she almost gagged when she felt something wet and warm running down her cheek. She touched the offended spot, wincing at how heated and raw it felt, and then wincing even more when she felt the blood run over her fingertips. Caroline had actually hurt her with those brutally long nails of hers. And maybe Elena had deserved it.

No, she thought, I know I deserved it. What were you thinking when you said those things, Elena? You know that you didn't mean any of it. You love Caroline like she is your own sister; like she is your own flesh and blood.

She was thinking that she was tired of playing the nice girl that got pushed around so many times in her life that it almost made her head spin. She was tired of being herself; she was tired of living this way.

"You bitch,"

Elena's head volleyed up as Caroline's voice filled her ears. People were still staring at them, and this time, Elena wanted nothing more for them to just disappear. The traitor tears that were falling over her face stung on their journey down, sliding into her jagged cuts and making them fester and swell.

Caroline sure was a sight to behold. Despite the audience they had attracted, she had her deadly fangs bared, black veins crawling up and under her eyes like slithering snakes. She looked like she wanted to kill, and afraid that she really would murder something in the room, Elena scampered up further into the corner, bringing her knees up to her chest in a sore attempt to shield herself from Caroline's rage.

"I've done nothing but try to help you!" Caroline stood in one spot, clenching and unclenching her fists until Elena could almost see one of the knuckles crack from under the added pressure. "Do you see Bonnie anywhere? Do you think she wants to put up with you? Because, honestly, if I were her, then I would stay the hell away from you, too. She has enough to deal with, Elena! She doesn't need you to complicate things for her. I'm the only one who really wants to put up with your shit."

Somewhere deep inside her, Elena could feel it; she could feel her heart breaking into a million little pieces. Why did she have to bring Bonnie into the equation? That had always been a tender subject with her.

"You said she was just busy," Elena said quietly and almost to herself. If she said her words any louder, she was sure that Caroline would implode.

But, her saying the words quieter seemed to make Caroline even angrier. "What was that, Elena? You don't have any bitchy remark for me now? No surprise there. I guess Damon fell in love with a true fake- just like Katherine."

Maybe it was the fact that Elena had never felt so undeniably mad at one person in her eighteen years, or maybe it was because Caroline had suddenly added Damon into their painful web of lies that made her snap completely. Whatever the reason was, it still made Elena storm up to Caroline, fear completely vacant from her strong gaze, and look the frosty blonde directly in the eyes.

In a threatening voice, Elena whispered the words that she knew she was going to regret later on. "You know what? I pity Tyler. He's the one who has to put up with you. And believe me when I say that I will have Damon personally deal with you if you come anywhere near me ever again," she leant in to Caroline's ear, "He won't even think twice about it. So, just get the hell away from me and stop telling me what to do!"

Caroline paled in front of her, and it took a while for Elena to fully comprehend what she had just said. The whole world made a slow spin around her, and then she gasped, her hand flying to her throat in an attempt to stop any more words that were sure to explode from her lips. She was the one acting like a fourteen year old girl who was throwing a major temper tantrum- not Caroline.

"Wait, Care," Elena reached out, placing a shaking hand on Caroline's arm. "I didn't mean it-"

"Don't touch me," Caroline snapped in response, wrenching her arm from Elena's embrace. Her eyes briefly found their way over to Elena's wounded and swollen cheek, and she tried her best not to feel any remorse. The little imp deserved it!

"You can just go to hell, Elena. I'm done with trying to help you; I hope you and Damon are happy together." But Caroline's voice implied that she really didn't hope they ended up happy together. She said it more like: I pity Damon for having to love you.

Elena tried to reach out again, but when she blinked, Caroline was suddenly gone. The only thing that she had left behind was bubblegum smelling air and the tangy bitterness of her anger.

She stood by herself, surrounded by a sea of people whom she did now know, shifting her feet from side to side and not knowing what to do with her hands. She felt so pathetic; she had always laughed at the drunken people that caused riots in public places. And she really was no different than any one of them. Infect, she was probably worse.

When the people around her started to go back to their old conversation, and some of them even laughing at her stupidity, Elena knew that it didn't take someone being a vampire to make them cold and hostile. And this just made her feel even worse. Not only did she just potentially lose one her best friends, but she was being smothered by individuals that clearly didn't give a rats-ass about whatever happened to her.

Embarrassed to the extreme point of physical pain, Elena finally moved her feet, dodging people and pushing them away as they got in the way of her haste. She had her eyes set on the women's bathroom; it was the closest thing she could have compared to a safe haven at this point. Behind her, the laughing mocked her, echoing in her ears and leaving her wanting to tear her hair out in clumps. The tears blurred her eyes as a man gave her a dirty look when she shoved him out of her way.

"Watch it, lady," he growled, but Elena was already at the bathroom door before he could say anything more.

She let out a strangled cry of frustration when she pulled on the door handle and it didn't budge. Some bitch must have locked it from the inside; she was probably hooking up with her boyfriend or something slutty like that.

Elena looked around. There was no way she could have faced those people again- even if they didn't know her, they still had witnessed one of the most heart-wrenching moments of her life, and that had to at least meant something. And Caroline had probably taken her car with her. Why would she leave it if her and Elena's companionship was practically ruined?

A somber looking man escaped the confines of a room across from her, and, without even thinking of the consequences, Elena dived into it before the door could close on her.

She breathed deeply and slumped her back against the door before leaning over to turn the lock with a click. While avoiding herself in the mirror, she noticed a figure clad in black from the corner of her left eye. She jumped back, letting out a small yelp when she realized that she was in the men's bathroom.

As if her night couldn't get any worse. Life always had a funny way of screwing her over like that.

"Sorry," she mumbled her apology, not even looking at the man in question, "I guess I didn't see which bathroom this was." She tried to leave, opening the door and letting a rush of voices, smells, and colors fill her senses. She so badly did not want to go out there again.

"Oh, but you just got here,"

The voice stopped her in her tracks. She knew that voice; she knew that voice better than she knew the back of her own hand. What the hell was he doing here?

She turned around slowly, closing her eyes and praying that she was just imagining things. But when she opened them again, she saw what she was dreading more than facing those wicked people back in the bar. Damon Salvatore, the epitome of all things God-like, was standing before her with a mixture of glee and concern in his clear blue orbs. Why did he always seem to show up at the wrong times?

"Do you usually come into the men's bathroom looking all hot and bothered? People may get the wrong idea, Elena," he tsked, and then upon seeing the ragged scratches marring her smooth cheek, he stopped, malice flashing throughout his hard body.

"She never said anything about hitting you," he growled, moving towards her with slow, even steps.

Out of instinct, Elena's hand moved to touch her wounds. She inwardly cringed when they stung more than she remembered the first time she dared to graze them.

"Caroline talked to you? And how are you even here? She left only a couple minutes ago."

"She just told me that you guys had a conversation," he reached out, taking her heart shaped face into his hands and wiping away the lingering tears, "It seems that it was one hell of a talk."

She slapped his hand away with venom, not wanting him to touch her after he had basically started the argument between her and Caroline. "Knock it off, Damon. I'm fine."

"Yeah," he grunted, inspecting her bloody cuts, "You sure do look fine." His fingers browsed over her cheek and she grimaced in pain.

"I said to get off me, Damon! Just get your hands off me," she pushed at his chest and he stumbled backwards.

As he regained his balance, Damon looked at her with a muddled expression. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

You, Elena wanted to scream, you have gotten into me! Are you happy now? You have finally got what you wanted! I am affected by you and everything you do. But, please, just for my sanity, get the hell away from me. I will at least be able to think if you do.

"Nothing," she mumbled instead, running a haggard hand through her hair, and pacing in a small circle as Damon watched her with uneasy eyes. She probably looked like she was having a raging break-down. "It's nothing at all. What could possibly be wrong with my life right now? It's not like I have a psychopath of a boyfriend who goes around trying to kill his own brother or anything. And it's not like I having my own personal busybody who tells me who I should sleep with. And you," Elena pointed an accusing finger in Damon's face, "How is it that you can cause trouble even when you're nowhere to be found?"

Damon raised his hands up in surrender, but Elena was nowhere near finished. She still had some extra steam to blow off thanks to her little episode with Caroline.

"You see this?" This time, Elena pointed his attention to the four scratches on her face. "This is because of you. This is because I can't stand to have people talk shit about you and me."

If Damon was surprised at her choice of vulgar language, he sure didn't show it. His face remained as stony and impassive as ever; he didn't even seem fazed by the wording of 'you and me' put together.

"And it's because I got all defensive over your honor," she spit the word out like it was a sin, "that I ended up with one less friend and a screwed up face."

But Damon didn't think she looked screwed up in anyway. He thought that she looked wildly beautiful when she was all infuriated and pissed. Her makeup was smudged all over her eyes, making her look a little feral, her lipstick was smeared from drinks being consumed from over the counter, and her cheeks were red with heat and an added mixture of blood leaking from her cuts, and he still thought she was the most gorgeous thing he had ever laid eyes on.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Damon sighed, tuning back into Elena. He couldn't help but notice how broken and damaged she looked, and he wondered what he could have possibly done to cause her this much pain on his behalf.

"Yes," he grunted, "I am."

Elena sighed before him; she obviously was not impressed with his attentive skills. "No, you're not. Why do I always turn to you when I have problems? You never listen to me…"

He watched as she thumped her head against the wall she was leaning on, and then he observed her face carefully when she slid against it until she was sitting on the floor in a heap of a messy, disoriented female bundle.

As if it would help, Damon walked up close to her and sat adjacent to her body, their thighs touching. "You come to me Because I'm the only one you have right now. I didn't think you would forget that fast."

Elena turned to look at him, new, fresh tears rimming her lower eyelashes. His own eyes bored into hers, willing her to say something- anything that would reassure him that she still depended on him.

"I know," Elena finally answered, tearing her gaze away from him, "And that's what keeps on getting me into these messes."

Damon didn't try and contemplate what this all meant. Instead, he asked, "What happened tonight, 'Lena?"

"Do you really want to know?" Elena's voice broke, and, almost out of instinct, he took her trembling hands in his own and squeezed gently.

"Yeah, I think I really do."

A deep breath escaped Elena's mouth; she should have known that Damon was going to want to know what happened between her and Caroline. In response, she put her head in the crook of his shoulder, and she let herself believe it was because she was unbearably tired. Damon still soothed his thumb over her hands, trying to tell her that it was okay to tell him because he wasn't going to judge.

He wasn't ever going to judge her.

"Caroline and I," she paused, struggling to find the right words, "We had a little disagreement." That was a pretty big understatement on her part, but it was all she had.

"About what?" Damon probed.

That was the one question Elena was hoping he wouldn't ask. "Just about things," she swallowed nervously.

Damon didn't look convinced at all. "And that's why she bitch slapped your face? Because you guys were just talking about things?"

"Yup,"

Damon shook his head lightly, causing Elena to shift to a more comfortable position against him. "Do you want to tell me the real reason?"

"No," Elena answered almost automatically, "Not really."

Damon huffed. "I actually wish you would this time."

"I know."

"And that's it?" Damon asked, "You're just going to keep my guessing?"

Elena wished he wouldn't try to figure it out at all. It was better for both of them if they just let it go. If Damon ever was to ever figure out that Caroline had wanted Elena to sleep with him, then he would never be able to look at Elena the same again.

What was left of their friendship would be gone, and Elena wouldn't tolerate that.

"Yes," Elena replied, "Yes, I am."

Damon sighed but didn't try to pry from her anymore. "One day you're going to trust me enough to tell me these things, Elena. You can't deny me forever."

Elena easily caught the double meaning behind his words. "I know, Damon. I know."

And, for once in her life, she meant it more than ever.

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A/N: And there you have it! Bet you weren't expecting Caroline and Elena to go all ninja on each other. And neither did I! I just felt like I had to write it, because it showed how much people around Elena saw how much Damon affected her. Which leads me to the question…Does anyone else think it's ironic that the only person who doesn't see how much they like each other is Elena herself?

I had the worst possible day today, so make my night and review just a tiny bit (or a lot; it doesn't matter to me!)

And I can't wait for tomorrow's mid-season finale! My friend Peri and I are anxiously hoping that there is a kiss involved!