Chapter Three
"Before you say anything, I love you Stefan. And I have no idea where that just came from…" She trails off, moving to him, taking his hand.
He pulls his hand away, the hurt clear in his eyes, "I don't know if I can trust you."
"I've never done anything for you not to trust me. And you know your brother. He…"
"He loves you, Elena. More then I have ever seen him love anyone. More then Katherine. And I can tell you love him, too. You try and act like it's only me. But I know you love him. And I won't get in the way of it." Stefan stands, walking toward the window. "I love you Elena. But I won't get in the way again."
"Stefan. I love you. Please don't leave me. I-I LOVE YOU" Elena starts to run over to him, but he's gone before she finishes talking. She takes in a shaky breath, before yelling, "STEFAN SALVATORE. GET YOU ASS HERE. NOW!"
In a flash he is beside her. "What Elena?"
"You can't just walk out on me."
"I'm doing this for you."
"No. You don't get to make my choices for me. I've told you this before. If you want to leave, leave for yourself. Not for me."
"Don't you see that? If you've given me this speech before can't you see I want to leave? I want to leave because I-I am still in love with Katherine."
"So I was just a replacement of her to you?" Elena says, the tears gathering in her eyes.
"Yes. Okay? So just let me leave. Call Damon and he'll be here for you. I won't be a cover up for you to anymore!"
"You are not some replacement to me, Stefan. I loved you, but… if you only see me as Katherine's replacement then just leave. I can't deal with this anymore." She says, grabbing some clothes and walking to the bathroom. She takes out her phone, dialing Damon's number.
"That was a fast shower."
"I haven't gotten in yet. Can you get over here? I need you." She sighs, sitting on the floor.
"What happened?"
"It'll be easier to tell you this in person. Can you just come over here?"
"Open the bathroom door." He hangs up.
Elena stands up and walks to the door, she opens it to see Damon standing in front of her. She lets a tear escape and moves closer. "He-he-he…" She trails off letting the tears fall freely as he pull her into a tight hug.
"Shh. Shh. It'll be okay." He kisses her cheek, pulling her to her room and setting her onto her bed. "Elena? Kitten?"
"Stefan ended it! I am only a-a-a replacement of Katherine!" She cries, burying her head into his shoulder.
"Elena. You are not a replacement of that bitch. If he said that he is incredibly stupid! Elena?" he pulls back, looking her in the eye.
"Yeah?"
"Why would you call me now? Why not Bonnie or Caroline?"
"Because you care. You care about my feelings. The just want me happy the easiest way possibly. Not even happy. Just… I don't know but they don't care weather I'm happy of sad, as long as I don't bother their life's. You care about me. You… You love me. I think…"
"Oh Elena… I love you so much! More then you could imagine. But… How do you know?"
"I… Didn't you tell me when you gave me my necklace back?"
"Yeah… but I compelled you to forget…"
"And I awoke this morning remembering. I think… Remember I told you that I remembered something I shouldn't?"
"Yeah. You did… I didn't think it would be that though…" He caresses her cheek.
She smiles, "I'm happy I did… and I do care about you…"
"I'm sensing a but right about now?" He smirks, doing that flirty eye thing.
Elena smiles, "But I'm not ready to say I love you back."
"I understand Kitten. You just got your heart broken. It'll take you time to heal."
"And I hope you'll be here to protect if when it does."
"Of course. Anything for you, Kitten." He smiles, kissing her cheek.
"Thank you." She sighs, looking down, noticing that for the second time that day they were in her bed, her still scantily clad in her night clothes. "Umm… I better shower…"
"I'll wait here in case you need me." He smiles, caressing her cheek.
She smiles, and kisses him gently, before getting up and heading to the bathroom. "Thank you again, Damon."
"No problem, Kitten." He lays back, playing with her teddy-bear on his stomach.