Chapter 7: Tell Me Lies

"Tell Me Lies, tell me sweet little lies
~Tell Me Lies, Tell me tell me lies~
Oh no no, you can't disguise
~You can't disguise, no you can't disguise~
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies." –Fleetwood Mac

It was nearly three in the morning, when Elena finally found herself standing in the silence of Stefan's bedroom. The moonlight shone brightly through the curtains and ironically lit a path from where she stood to the large four poster bed that awaited her. She heard Stefan move into the room behind her and close the door quietly, but she didn't have the courage to turn around and look at him. She had spent the past month waiting to see the passion in his eyes that she saw in the bar that night as they were leaving and now that she saw it, it terrified her more than anything in the world. The past few days had been part of a plan that was supposed to help make a night like this possible and it had. The fact that Elena had started to let loose and enjoy herself, obviously had stirred something in Stefan that since he had come home had remained dormant. Everything she had wanted to accomplish by the agreement between her and Damon had worked, but now that it had, she secretly wished it hadn't.

Slowly, Elena turned around and faced the man that waited patiently for her at the edge of the bed. Timidly, she began to make her way closer to Stefan and tried to swallow the confusion that night had brought her. She knew she shouldn't have drank as much as she had. She knew she shouldn't have let her jealousy of that stupid waitress affect her and she definitely knew she shouldn't have drug Damon into that alley with her. The alley….

"You give me a few more days Elena, and you won't even remember his name."

Damon's words echoed in Elena's brain as she stared at the man in front of her. She had made a mistake. She had gotten in too deep. Damon was right, things got messy, they got complicated and it was her fault. Now she was standing in front of what she had wanted all along and found herself wanting to run down the hall and seek comfort in the arms of a man that she knew would only destroy her. Elena swallowed. No. She wasn't going to do this. She wasn't going to let herself lose Stefan after everything she had done to get him back. She wasn't going to let Damon suck her in just because they had a physical connection. Her heart had to belong to Stefan, it always had and there was no way she was letting it falter now.

"Come here." Stefan said softly as he lifted his hand toward Elena's shaking form. Elena let out a deep breath and nodded as she began to move closer to him.

"I missed you Stefan." She said softly and she knew she wasn't lying. Missing him was the whole reason that all of this had started and she tried to remind herself of that as her body finally met his. Stefan wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips softly against hers.

"I missed you too Elena." He whispered and then leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

As Stefan's lips touched hers, Elena felt the same thing she had felt for the past few weeks move quickly through her…emptiness. She didn't know what it was, but something was still missing from the kiss she had been longing for ever since his return. She deepened their kiss by pulling him closer to her and reached her fingers up and tangled them in his messy brown locks. She concentrated as hard as she could and tried to pull out of him the emotion that she had been seeking for so long. She didn't just need passion or fire, she needed something more. She needed….what she had only an hour before.

Elena's mind found its way back to the alley quicker than she was able to stop it. Suddenly, she felt her body pressed against the cold brick building and felt Damon's hands on her body. She tasted his lips against hers and felt the hunger that bit at her lips as he tried to keep the monster that ached inside of him at bay. She felt the need, the desire, and something stronger that burned just under the surface that was too complex for her to decipher.

"Mmmm….you did miss me." Stefan whispered as he pulled gently away from Elena's lips. Elena's eyes snapped open and suddenly she realized she was no longer in the alley. She looked up into the piercing green eyes that stared hungrily back at her. Pain shot through her chest and her stomach began to churn violently inside her. She took in a deep breath and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Stefan…I." Elena started as she tried to think of something to say to her boyfriend after all this time that would make any of this better. She tried to think of something to say to him that would change the feelings that rushed over her and made her brain swim in confusion. Stefan lifted his hand and traced his fingers over her lips.

"What's wrong honey?" He asked softly. Elena looked up and tried to blink back the tears that were beginning to invade her vision.

"I umm….I don't feel so good." She said quickly as she covered her mouth with her hand. Stefan nodded and began to help her toward his bathroom. Elena stopped and shook her head.

"I think I'm going to use the guest bathroom. I don't want you listening to me throwing up all night. You need to rest." She said quickly as she turned back to the door. Stefan smiled warmly.

"Elena, it's fine. I want to take care of you if you are sick. Hold your hair and what not." He said with a smile. Elena smiled.

"Really, it's alright. I'll be right back." She said and then quickly turned and ran from the room.

Elena ran into the hallway and looked around the darkness in desperation. She felt as if the walls were closing in on her and she couldn't breathe. She ran down the hall toward the guest bathroom, but stopped suddenly and felt as if her body was frozen in its place. She turned slightly and stared at the closed bedroom door that separated her from the one that had caused all the confusion that was now causing her mind to swim and her body to defy her. She stared for a moment and then as if moving by some outside force, she suddenly felt her body being pulled in the direction of the door that she knew she shouldn't go anywhere near. But, before she could reason with herself, she was standing in his doorway. Standing in the doorway that led to her demise, the doorway that led straight into hell.

Elena pressed her hand against the cool oak wood and closed her eyes. For a moment she envisioned that she had opened the door. She imagined that she had went inside and crawled into his bed. She let him touch her, make her crazy and torment her with satisfaction. She imagined for a moment what it would be like to lay next to him after he had made love to her. What it would be like to watch him sleep and touch him softly as he was lost in his dreams. What it would feel like to see that softness in him and be there in the morning when he opened those beautiful blue eyes. Elena shook her head to rid herself of her obviously alcohol induced thoughts and forced her eyes open. Quickly, she removed her hand from the door, turned around and ran straight into the hard chest of the dark figure that now stood silently in front of her. Elena let out a ragged breath as she felt her heart begin to quicken in her chest. Slowly, she lifted her eyes and stared into the icy blue eyes that she prayed couldn't see into her thoughts.

"I was just…" She started, but she wasn't exactly sure what she could say to help herself out of this situation. Damon had just found her standing in front of his door longingly with her eyes closed. This definitely did not look good.

"Lost, Elena?" His smooth velvet voice whispered as he moved closer to her. Elena backed up against the door and nodded.

"Yeah, I was trying to get to the bathroom." She said quickly. Damon nodded.

"Across the hall, but judging by the fact that you practically live here, you knew that. Would you like to come in, Elena?" He asked as his eyes seemed to penetrate through hers and search for answers. Elena stared up at him, but the darkness of the night shadowed his face enough that it was hard to read his expression. One thing that couldn't be shadowed however, was the fire that burned deep in his eyes and straight into her. She quickly looked down.

"Damon I can't. I need to go to the bathroom and then get back to bed. I think we…" She started, but she didn't know if she was ready to have the conversation that she knew she needed to have with him now, in the hallway at after three in the morning. Damon smiled and slid his hand over her hip. Elena closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she felt her body ignite, but quickly felt his hand slip off her skin and hit the door behind her. She heard a click and suddenly felt the door behind her give way and open.

"Come on. Whatever it is you want to say to me, you probably should say while you still have some of the liquid courage left, don't you think?" He said as she saw a smirk come across his face. Elena steadied herself and nodded. Slowly she turned and walked into his dark bedroom, praying that she would make it out alive.

Elena moved into Damon's bedroom and finally planted herself in the center of the room next to one of his overstuffed leather chairs. She made sure to stay a safe distance from his bed and also stay far from any surface where she could easily end up on her back. She needed to be strong, she needed this to end.

"So, I find you standing outside of my door in the middle of the night when you are supposed to be rocking my baby brother's world. What's going on?" He asked smoothly as he closed the door tightly behind him. Elena swallowed as he moved closer toward her.

"Umm….I think we need to talk." She said quickly as she started moving backward. Damon stopped moving and even though he still wore his trademark smirk, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"This is about tonight I presume?" He asked as his voice lowered. Elena shrugged her shoulders and then wrapped her arms around her body.

"It's just about everything. I appreciate you helping me and you really have. I mean, Stefan was all over me tonight and really seems to want to move forward, so our plan worked. Mission accomplished." She said quickly. Elena didn't want to give Damon too much information into why she had the sudden change of heart. Exposing weakness to him was a dangerous thing to do, one never knew when he would turn around and use it against them and she definitely did not want to become one of those people. Damon nodded and moved closer toward her once again.

"If everything worked so well, why are you in here?" He asked as he unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and slowly rolled them up revealing the tight muscles of his forearm. Elena quickly turned and looked toward the window, looking at him like that was not going to help her tonight.

"I just am not feeling very good tonight. I obviously drank too much and so that is why I was looking for the bathroom. But, since I found you I figured we could take care of this too." She said as confidently as possible as she continued to stare into the distance. Damon nodded.

"Ah, well for the record. I found you, standing at my door thinking about opening it. And from the look on your face Elena, you weren't thinking about coming in here and talking to me when I found you." He said as he looked up and finally caught her gaze. Elena let out a sigh.

"Damon, I am not here for that. You helped me. I appreciate it and now it's done. Now, I go back and work on things with Stefan. You, well, you can go find that waitress again. She's probably mad that I stole you away tonight, I'm sure she will be more than happy for you to come rescue her from minimum wage hell." She said smugly as she shifted her weight. Damon smiled as he nodded and slowly moved closer.

"You mean the waitress you were jealous of?" He questioned as he raised his brow at her. Elena began twisting her hands as she thought of the woman in the green dress and the way she had been pressing her body against Damon as they danced. She remembered the rush of rage that had washed over her body when she saw the woman's hand slide over Damon's pants and how in that moment she would have gladly killed her.

"I was drunk Damon." She said quietly as she tried to put a reason to why she had felt so intensely. Damon nodded, but the smirk on his face only seemed to widen.

"You were drunk? Alright, I suppose you were. Can I ask you something though, Elena?" He asked slowly as his body finally stopped only a foot in front of hers. Elena looked up timidly and nodded.

"Is this sudden guilt and newfound connection with my brother in any way connected to the fact that tonight didn't exactly feel the same as the other times we were together?" Damon asked he rubbed his fingers over his lips. She hated when he did that, it was like he was purposely always trying to draw her attention to his mouth. Didn't he realize it was hard enough not to stare at him, without him running his hands all over his gorgeous features?

"I don't know what you are talking about Damon." She said quietly. Damon smiled.

"You know exactly what I am talking about Elena. Every other time I initiated it and made you feel as if I was teaching you something or that in some way every move that we were making had to do with your relationship with my brother. When you slept with me the first time it was about showing you how to let go, so that you would be able to relax more with my brother. The time in front of the mirror was about you learning what you wanted and how to get it, so you could show that to Stefan. The time in my car was about you being assertive, trying to get his attention, so that he would know that you wanted him and hopefully bring that fire back. But, tonight. Well tonight, not even my best lies could explain tonight." He said as his eyes stared into hers and darkened as the memories moved over them both. Elena looked away and shrugged her shoulders once again.

"Tonight was about me being drunk and that is it. I was merely exploring my exhibitionist side." She said quickly and she was quite proud of her lie since it had been on the spur of the moment. Damon smiled and nodded.

"Elena, you can tell me you were drunk a million times and it still doesn't change what happened in that alley. You don't have sex with someone in an alley every time you are drunk, sweetheart. You wanted me. You wanted me bad enough that you put your life in danger to be with me. You gave yourself to me when you knew that if I lost control for just a moment, a single second, I could've killed you. You knew I was drinking too fast, you knew I was taking too much, but you didn't fight me. You gave in completely because you wanted to and that…" Damon stopped as Elena saw a shudder move through his body. She tried to look away from him and not let him pull her in again, but fighting the urge to touch him was beginning to actually cause her physical pain.

"What?" Elena asked cautiously as she watched his expression change. Damon looked up and met her eyes.

"That is why you are saying this now. You are scared because you never thought you would do that for anyone. You've never done it for him and you did it for me without thinking and that terrifies you." He whispered thickly. Elena stared at him and knew in that moment that he was completely right. The guilt that she now felt, the confusion, the fear, it was all because she had never once questioned what had happened tonight, until it was too late. She never thought about if it was right or wrong or if they would get caught, she just gave. She gave and she wasn't supposed to. She was never supposed to give to Damon. Damon was not the man that could be trusted with something like that. He exploited weakness, he prayed on the meek and the only person he protected was himself. Elena swallowed and pulled herself together. She wouldn't do this, not with him. This was the wrong brother; Stefan was the one for her. He was the one she needed to give herself to and whatever she had given to Damon that night she needed to now take back.

"You're wrong Damon. I made a mistake. I was drunk. I apologize for any confusion and I do appreciate everything you have done. You helped me when I needed it and I appreciate it very much. I think it would be best if now we just returned to friends and that is it. Stefan and I can work on us and you can get back to torturing the lives of the innocent." She said sarcastically as she faked a smile. Damon nodded and looked up at her. He knew the sudden edge in her voice was her self- preservation kicking in and as much as he hated it, he understood it.

"Alright, you win. When I am wrong I'm wrong. I might be a vampire, but only those Twilight guys can read minds I guess. But, there is one more thing that I need to show you before you skip off to Stefan and it is probably the most important thing that could have possibly come from any of this." He said as he moved toward her. Elena met his eyes nervously.

"Damon, I said…" She started, but his icy blue pools locked on her brown ones and a serious expression moved over his face. He ran his fingers over her jaw and smiled slightly as he brushed a few strands of messy hair away from her face.

"When you asked me to help you Elena I promised I would. Come to my room when Stefan goes hunting tonight and let me finally show you what you came to me to learn in the first place. Give me a few hours and I will send you back to my brother and you and I will go back to snide comments and tense shared glances. After tonight I promise that I will never touch you again in this way…until you ask me." He said softly with the hint of desperation seeping from his words. Elena stared into his eyes. She let out a labored breath and then against her better judgment she slowly nodded her head. Damon nodded and then moved away from her body.

"This is it, after tonight, it's over." She said sternly. Damon nodded, his jaw tight and his eyes dark.

"After tonight, it is over." He said in a dark tone. Elena swallowed and even though the words pained her, she sighed and nodded.

Slowly, Elena turned and began to walk back toward Damon's door. She paused once she reached for the door knob and closed her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she tried to hold back the millions of things she wanted to say to him, but found it hard to hold back it all.

"Did you try to make me jealous tonight Damon?" Elena asked as she opened her eyes and looked down at her now shaking hand that still rested on the doorknob. She heard footsteps and in a second felt Damon's body behind her. He didn't touch her, but the electricity from his body near hers burned through her in an instant.

"Yes." He whispered softly against her hair. Elena swallowed and closed her eyes.

"Why?" She stuttered nervously. She heard Damon let out a sigh as she felt the whisper of his fingertips move across her bare shoulder.

"It doesn't matter now Elena." She heard him say between gritted teeth. She could tell the alcohol was fading from his system as his walls were now being set back firmly in their place. Elena nodded.

"You're right. I'll see you later." Elena said quickly and then turned the knob, moved as quickly as she could and then closed the door behind her.

Elena sat on the cool bathroom floor until the sun came up. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and couldn't believe that she had let herself come to this. How could she have done the things she had over the past couple of days? How could she have felt the way she had outside of the bar only a few hours before? How was everything changing so fast that she couldn't even keep up anymore? She shook her head, now was not the time for this. Now, she needed to peel herself off of the cold floor and move into another day. She would take a shower, put herself together and go to breakfast with Caroline. She would give Caroline the briefest description of what had happened as possible and then come home and spend one more night in Damon's bed. She would do it because if he had meant what he said and it was the most important thing he could've shown her, then she had to do it to make any of what had happened the past couple of days make sense. After tonight she would return to Stefan. She would give him all that she was and use what she had learned over the past couple of days and make him want her again, the way he used to. She and Damon would return to friends and everything would be simple again. If she told herself that enough times, she was sure she would believe it.

After a hot shower and an hour in front of the mirror, Elena kissed Stefan good-bye and headed out the door to meet Caroline. She breezed past Damon in the hall and pretended as if she hadn't seen the smirk that he carried on his face as always. She drove faster than she should have toward the Café on Eighth Street and parked next to Caroline's ruby red convertible. She quickly rushed to the first patio table in the corner of the restaurant and sat down opposite of the blonde with bouncing curls and curious eyes.

"Sorry, I'm late. Long night." Elena said quickly as she dropped her purse next to her. Caroline nodded as she took a drink of her coffee and then set it carefully back on the table.

"How was everything with Stefan?" She asked curiously as she raised her brow. Elena shrugged and found it hard to meet Caroline's eyes.

"Everything was fine. I spent most the night in the bathroom. Tequila and I are not friends anymore." She said with a smile. Caroline smiled and nodded.

"Us either. I woke up in the hall and had no idea how I got there. Luckily my mom worked late last night otherwise I probably would be grounded right now." She said as she flipped one of her blonde curls behind her shoulder.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. I suppose you want me to explain last night?" Elena asked as she raised her eyes hesitantly to Caroline's. Caroline smiled.

"That would be nice, but I understand if you can't." She said slowly. Elena nodded and for a moment contemplated not telling her. No one should know about this. This was supposed to be a secret between her and Damon and if Stefan ever found out everything would be ruined. But, as she looked up into the soft blue eyes that stared back at her, she knew that she could trust Caroline and someone needed to hear this. Someone needed to hear this so that maybe they could pull her from the fantasy land she had been living in the past couple of days and tell her what an idiot she was.

"Please keep an open mind when I tell you this, because it's going to sound crazy." Elena said as she began to fiddle with the napkin that lay in front of her. Caroline nodded.

"Alright, go ahead." She said as she studied Elena's expression. Elena nodded and let out a deep breath.

"Ever since Stefan has got home, things haven't been the same. He has been distant, always gone; he doesn't pay attention to me anymore and doesn't seem to want me anymore. Something has just been missing and I thought that I was doing something wrong." She said as she looked down at the table.

"I noticed he had been acting different, but I figured it was just transitioning back to his diet and this world again. But, even if that isn't what it is, that still doesn't explain last night." She questioned as she stared at Elena. Elena nodded.

"As I said I thought I was doing something wrong, so I asked Damon to help me…I asked him to tell me what I was doing wrong." She said quickly as she refused to look at Caroline's face.

"What do you mean you asked him to….oh my god." Caroline stuttered as the realization began to wash over her. Elena finally looked up and saw the expression on Caroline's face. It was a mixture between disbelief and slight amusement.

"You mean….you?" She started as she stared wide eyed at Elena. Elena swallowed and slowly nodded.

"Yes, I did." She said softly. Caroline laughed loudly and then quickly covered her mouth.

"Elena, I'm sorry. I just…I mean…so…now?" She questioned quietly. Elena shook her head.

"No, it's over and done. He helped me and now it's done. I told him that last night." She said quickly. She knew she was only half lying to Caroline. It was over, or at least it would be after tonight. That was over enough in her mind. Caroline nodded and tried to put on a straight face.

"Gotcha…but it was freaking incredible wasn't it?" Caroline asked with a smile as she sat forward in her seat. Elena stared at her. She had almost forgotten that when Damon had blown in to that town a year ago Caroline had been the first to enjoy his…abilities.

"It was…different." Elena said quietly as she refused to gush about Damon's amazing bedroom skills, when she was clearly still dating his brother. Caroline nodded as her smile widened.

"Yes, very different. Different like it was mind blowing and like tasting heaven and hell all at the same time while being thrown around in a tornado of fire…different." Caroline said as her voice trailed off. Elena laughed and felt her body relax slightly.

"Well Caroline, seems like you have a good memory." She laughed. Caroline nodded.

"Yes, I do, but while all that might be true, Damon is still Damon. He might be amazing in bed, but he can't give you what Stefan can outside those four walls." Caroline reminded her voice suddenly more serious. Elena nodded as she straightened her body.

"I know and that's why like I said, it's over now. I know that while I might have a physical connection with Damon; I have a deeper connection with Stefan. I love him, I know I do. Damon and I, well we are done. Stefan and I, we are forever." She said as she felt her throat tighten. Elena couldn't tell if the words she was saying were lies or the truth anymore. The only thing she did know was that it pained her to say them. Caroline nodded.

"You don't think it will be difficult for everything to just go back to normal with Damon? I'm sure feelings have changed and being around him all the time might make that more difficult." Caroline said as she tapped one of her manicured fingernails against her coffee mug. Elena smiled and shook her head.

"No, the thing between Damon and I it was just physical and a learning experience. No emotions, no bullshit. That was the agreement, so it won't be a problem." Elena said confidently as she looked over the table at Caroline. Caroline nodded as she studied Elena's face. Elena just smiled and quickly waved her hand toward the server. It was the first lie she was definitely sure she told Caroline and one she prayed that they both would learn to believe.

Please read and review! So what do you all think? Don't worry I am not ending the story yet. There will be many more chapters, more tense crazy situations and smutty smut goodness. I am working on the next chapter now and will have it posted tonight so I apologize about taking the couple day hiatus, I had a lot of stuff going on. Please click the button below and let me know what you think. Your reviews help me stay inspired and write better!