Damon stared deeply into Elena's deep brown eyes.
"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" She shot off the couch and into his arms.
"No...I never wanted this Damon." She cried. He ran his fingers through her hair in comfort.
"Shhh...it's going to be alright. I'm going to teach you everything I know, you'll be okay. I promise." She nuzzled into his neck, curling into his chest as he picked her up to cradle her. He walked her slowly up the stairs to his bedroom and once again laid her in his bed. He kissed her forehead and told her he'd go get her a bloodbag. When he reached the doorway she called out to him.
"Damon?" He turned and gave her a half hearted smile, not used to seeing her like this.
"We don't have time for chit-chat, Princess. I need to get you fed, then we can talk, okay?" What she said next stopped him in his tracks.
"I remember." She whispered. His heart froze and he took a deep breath, preparing for what she might say.
"So what? I doubt it really changes things." He said nonchalantly, keeping his walls up for safe measure. She almost looked hurt.
"Damon it changes everything...if you hadn't compelled me to forget those things I would have made different choices...and it's sad because I bet you don't even know do you?" He walked back into the room and took her roughly by the shoulders, doing the thing with his eyes that he knew drove her crazy.
"What don't I know, Elena?" It came out harsher than he meant for it too and she flinched. She looked as if she were about to cry, but she smiled up at him.
"I love you, Damon. And despite everything that's happened between me and Stefan...I know he wasn't the right choice. I've known for a while now...I just didn't know how to say it...I choose you, Damon. It'll always be you." Damon swallowed hard and got dangerously close to Elena's face, stopping when their foreheads touched. Elena shivered when their eyes met, unsure of what all he was feeling.
"Promise me one thing, Elena. Promise me that you mean it when you say that it will always be me, because if you turn right around and leave me for Stefan...that's it. I will officially be done, no humanity left, not an ounce. Don't do that to me." She placed her hands on the side of his face.
"No more Stefan. I want only you, I want to be with you forever." She whispered. That did it for Damon. He crushed his lips hard against hers, everything he'd felt for her since day one flooding into one act. No one had ever chosen him, not before now.
"Finally." He breathed as he pulled away from her.
"I knew you couldn't resist me for much longer, girls always fall for the bad brother." He said with an arrogant smirk. While his words weren't exactly romantic, she saw the playfulness behind his eyes and just grinned at him.
"Don't make me regret it Damon." He winked at her and promised to be right back, exiting the room to fetch her dinner.
Damon was particularly happy now that he'd finally gotten what he wanted, so it came as no surprise that he avoided Stefan who had just walked into the house. He wasn't going to let his brother ruin this mood. He grabbed two bloodbags and hurried back to his room, sitting beside Elena to share the experience with her. She snuggled into his side and he whispered "Bottoms up." They both downed a bag, completing Elena's transition, and then he wrapped her in his arms as she dosed off. He felt so at peace...he hadn't been that happy or content in over a century.
"I'll teach you to hunt properly when you wake up, okay?" She just nodded sleepily, eager for the long night to come to an end with a good sleep. Stefan walked in right about then. He gave Damon an icy look.
"What, you just going to let her kill people Damon? You're trying to turn her into a murderer such as yourself?" Damon snorted.
"I'm trying to teach my girlfriend self control, something her ex is seriously lacking in, Mr. 'Ripper of Monterey'." Stefan's expression grew darker, angrier.
"What the hell do you mean, girlfriend?"
"What does it matter? You ended your relationship with her the moment you struck her, brother. You know that. I meant what I said by the way. If you ever touch her again, I will rip YOU to pieces and put you back together, see how you like it." Stefan rolled his eyes.
"Oh we'll see about that." He growled, leaving the room and slamming the door so hard it snapped off its hinges.
Damon mumbled profanities under his breath, pissed that he'd have to fix that later. He picked Elena up again and carried her to his Camero. He figured Elena wouldn't want to hunt her prey anywhere near Mystic Falls, so he was taking her on another road trip to Georgia.
When she woke up in the car she shot Damon a sleepy grin.
"You just love to kidnap me don't you?" He gasped in mock-hurt.
"Are you saying you wouldn't come by free will? Ouch babe." He laughed carelessly. She enjoyed seeing this side of Damon, it was a nice break from brooding bunny stalking Stefan. She just gave him a coy little smile and they drove to Georgia in a comfortable silence.
When they got there Damon took her to a trashy little restaurant that looked considerably insanitary. Noticing the disgusted look on Elena's face he whispered "No worries, I took you here because I figured it'd be easier to find a scum-hole to eat instead someone people would miss. It'll help with the guilt if you accidentally..." She glared at him.
"Damon don't go there." He noticed a few escaped tears and immediately felt bad.
"Hey, look at me. I'm only teasing, I won't let you do that okay?" His tone was sincere, so she nodded and chocked back her fear. He got out and opened her door for her, extending his arm for her to take. They were approached by a bald waiter with purple bags under his beady bloodshot eyes and breath that reeked of whiskey. He seemed to be staring quite hard at Elena, which Damon did not take a liking too. He jotted Damon's order down and then turned every ounce of his attention to Elena. She hadn't been paying attention, she was staring down some jerk that had just crushed an anti-depressant into his wife's wine.
"Listen doll face, you going to order or am I going to have to teach you to pay attention in a man's presence?" He asked roughly, squeezing her leg hard with his enormous hand. Elena felt Damon's entire body go rigid beside her and when she looked over at him his eyes seemed to be on fire.
"Elena... Why don't you go catch yourself the druggie for breakfast...I've found mine right here." He whispered bitterly. She nodded and went to go sit with the wretched man while his wife was in the restroom.
"Excuse me, Sir? Would you like to join me outside for a little...experiment?" She asked seductively with a wink. He grinned.
"We'll have to make it quick before the old lady comes back, but sure." As soon as Damon was sure Elena was out of sight he compelled the waiter to follow him to the men's room. He was glad Elena had taken her meal outside, he didn't want her to see how angry he was...he usually treated his victims a lot nicer than what he had planned. However he realized quickly that Elena probably needed his help, so he sighed and went for the quick kill, snapping his neck and walking outside to Elena. He figured he didn't want that creeps blood in his system anyway and left mumbling something about the bastard getting lucky.
He found Elena with her fangs sunk deep into the druggies flesh, drinking wildly...it was kind of sexy to see her animalistic side.
"Care to share? I ended up just snapping the dick waiter's neck, he royally pissed me off."
Elena didn't want to stop but the thought of Damon starving was enough to make her let go. He smirked and wiped some of the blood from her mouth lovingly with his coat sleeve.
"I told you I wouldn't let you kill anyone." He said with a smirk, his own fangs springing out and biting into the other side of the mans neck. Elena smiled to herself and wondered if this had been part of Damon's plan all along. She loved how smart and devious he was. When Damon let go he compelled the man to forget this ever happened and to start treating his wife the way she deserved to be treated. The man ran back into the restaurant and Elena gave him an enormous smile.
"Why don't you let people see the good in you?" He inched closer to her, one hand in her hair and the other pulling he chin to her face until their lips were most touching.
"Because when people see good they expect good." Her heart fluttered, his words only making her fall deeper in love with him.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I know." He said with a smirk, finally closing the distance between them with a passionate kiss.