A/N: longest chapter yet! ya know why? cus i loveee writing damon and elena :D

Elena paced around her room, a thousand emotions rivaling each other to be first and foremost in her heart.

"You're angry," She said aloud. Talking to herself probably wasn't the best indicator of sanity, but she was too amped up to sit down and write in her diary.

After confronting Stefan and Damon, one of the two had apparently gone to check on her brother, because a text from Stefan told her he was going to be okay. She felt guilty for not having been the one to go see him first, but a part of her had simply given up.

"You're angry, and you're sad," Elena spoke again, running her fingers through her hair as she collapsed on the edge of her bed.

But Elena knew she didn't have it in her to remain angry at the Salvatore brothers for very long. She loved Stefan; and whatever she felt for Damon, that was strong, too.

"If either of you actually gave a damn about me, you would have left before you ever met me."

Her own words echoed back through her mind, and Elena could feel the sting at how unfair she'd been. Damon and Stefan were both accountable for their own actions, and their own mistakes. But she knew she couldn't blame them for their own existence. They couldn't help what they were, or that vampires existed. She could have had her mind erased of them along with Jeremy's after Vicki died, but she'd refused. In the end, it was all on her.

"And you don't know what to do," Elena whispered, as a tear slid down her face.

"About what?"

Elena's head went up, and she locked eyes with none other than Damon himself.

She didn't respond, she merely looked at him, and in almost a timid fashion, Damon sat down next to her on her bed.

"You don't know what to do about what, Elena?"

His voice was soft, caring, and for some reason she was reminded of the fear she'd felt earlier that night when she thought Damon was going to burn.

"About my life," She replied. She was surprised at the sarcasm that came out; it would appear that the more witty side of Damon Salvatore had begun to rub off on her.

"Well," Damon started, a casual tone to his voice. "You could start out by taking a shower. You reek of smoke from the flames. Not to mention cotton candy."

Elena recognized the sound she made in response to Damon's joke as a laugh, and she wondered how she was still possible of laughter.

"And then you'll eat something, because I know you're starving. And then you'll go to sleep, visit your brother in the morning, and all the rest will work itself out over time."

Elena eyed him, wondering how he could say it would be so easy.

"Three issues with that: One, my kitchen is still officially a crime scene, which makes it hard to cook dinner in. Two…I really should go see Jeremy tonight. And three, I don't know if I can sleep in a house where somebody was just murdered."

Elena stood up, and Damon watched as she resumed her pacing.

"And- and how can I even say that? 'Somebody'? All nonchalantly? He was…my father."Elena pronounced the word father as if it were a phrase from a foreign language.

" I should be in hysterics, and all I've done since I found him was space out, and then attack you and Stefan for things completely out of your control."

Damon's brow furrowed at the sight of her so upset.

"You didn't space out, Elena. You had a breakdown. And everything you said to me and Stefan was true…although, if that's your way of apologizing, I accept."

Elena smiled weakly, leaning against her dresser. "So what now?"

"Now, I make a new plan. I take you to visit your brother now, you eat some amazing hospital food, and then you can spend the night at the boardinghouse."

Elena sighed, finally noticing that Damon was once again holding her teddy bear. Damon had a way of taking her out of the chaos of her own mind.

"And I'm sure Stefan will be thrilled if I agreed to have a sleepover with you."

Damon scoffed, a playful edge to his voice.

"Please. Unlike you two, I still have my virtue. A sleepover of any kind, and you're taking the couch."

Elena mock-gasped, stealing the bear away from Damon before punching him across the shoulder with it. She though she heard Damon mutter "ow" before she sat back down, but she couldn't be sure if she heard right through her own laughter.

"How do you do that?" Elena demanded, turning to look at Damon just as he turned to her. Their eyes locked as he swallowed and asked, "Do what?"

Elena tilted her head. Maybe it was just the soft lighting of her bedroom, or everything that had happened that night, or everything that had happened in general- but Damon looked so much different than he had when she'd first met him.

His eyes were still a light, piercing blue; his hair still a dark-colored mess; and his charm and witty banter was just as up to par as usual. But something seemed to glow about him now, giving him a softness and a strength that she didn't know he could possess. She wondered how he saw her.

"Make me forget. Make all of this," Elena gestured with her hands, "Not seem so bad."

Damon clenched his jaw, a worried look crossing his face.

"I don't make you forget, Elena. I just take you away. Remember what I said in Georgia. Your problems will still be there when you get back. You just need five minutes."

Elena smiled, but Damon could see how tired she was.

"Now come on. We have brothers to visit, food to eat, and naughty sleepovers to arrange."

Elena stood up, consenting to Damon's plan. But in response to his words, she couldn't help but think, Not to mention funerals.