The rest of the evening was short. All the alcohol Elena had consumed had caught up to her and almost immediately after Stefan's storm-out she passed out on the ground in front of the fireplace.

The next morning Elena woke up wrapped in soft silken sheets. She tossed her arms and legs over the entirety of the bed and knew exactly where she was…Damon's room. She slowly lifted her head and checked out her surroundings, her vision still blurry from a mix of sleep and hangover.

The thing she was most relieved about was the fact that she was still completely clothed. It wasn't that she didn't trust Damon; she knew he wouldn't take advantage of her, it just always made her feel good when Damon did something that proved he was a good man…but she must admit that she liked the way he could veer of the "good" road at just the right times. She always had a little thing for the bad boy.

Elena slowly pushed her body up until she was sitting with her back against the bed frame.

"Well, well, sleeping beauty awakens," Damon was leaning against the doorframe, holding a cup of coffee in his right hand. He must have heard her stirring. Elena smiled at the sight of him, but was quickly overtaken with guilt from the events of the previous evening.

"Hey," Elena greeted, clearing her throat.

"Hey," Damon flashed her a quick smile. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the side of the mattress. He handed Elena the cup of coffee which she accepted graciously.

"Thanks," She said, taking a small sip, "I really need it. I'm pretty hung over."

"Yeah…crazy night," Damon responded. He watched Elena with curious eyes, wondering if she would bring up the public display of affection. When she didn't, he stood up, preparing to return to the lower floor of the boarding house.

"Wait, where are you going?" Elena asked, stopping Damon.

"Downstairs. You need to rejuvenate…ya know…get all normal Elena-y without any hangover." Damon looked at Elena and shrugged his shoulders, "Shouldn't take too long to kick it, now that you've joined our super-exclusive vamp club." He gave her a half smile and continued walking to the door. When he reached the threshold, Elena stopped him once again.

"Wait! Damon?" Elena asked hurriedly, as though she was afraid that he'd just disappear on her. Damon stopped immediately at her plea.

"You don't need to sound so panicked," Damon said, turning around to face her again and leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe, "You ask, I do. I'm easy like that." Elena smiled inwardly at his joke, but kept her face serious.

"Where's my friends? Bonnie, Tyler, Matt, Jeremy?"

"They're still here. I think they're taking the whole 'boarding' part of the Salvatore boarding house a little too seriously." Damon responded. He slightly shifted his stance, and when he did his shirt rode up, exposing the flesh right above his pant line.

Elena did her best to avoid looking at the newly exposed skin. Unfortunately and fortunately, she lost the battle.

"My eyes are up here, Elena," Damon said, gesturing from his pants to his eyes. Elena rolled her eyes at this, even though his statement held some validity. After all, she was staring. That's when a pressing thought hit her.

"Stefan?" Elena asked, choking on the sound of her boyfriend's (or ex? She honestly didn't know) name, "Where is he? Is he alright?" Damon's body tensed up at the new conversation topic, but he answered anyway.

"It's okay, Elena," He said comfortingly, "Caroline texted me. They spent the night at her house. No crazy ripper spree or anything of that sort."

Elena nodded in recognition of his answer. A new thought occurred to her, one that she felt awkward asking about, but she had to know. She cleared her throat before diving into the awkward question.

"Did they—?"

"Hah! No." Damon laughed at her assumption, "At least, I doubt it."

"Great. Really comforting, Damon," Elena said, worry painting her countenance. What if Stefan was just mad enough to actually go there?

"I shouldn't need to comfort you, Elena," Damon stated, "It's called logic. Barbie's in love with her dick of a hybrid boyfriend, and Stef's upset, sure, but no guy in his right mind could ever remain that mad at you." He paused, looking her over. She was silently watching him. "I mean, my relationship with you is either fawning after you, or hating you, but either way I'm helplessly in love with you."

Elena was taken aback by his sudden confession. It wasn't a surprise for Elena; she always knew that he was in love with her. It just seemed weird coming out of his mouth in this particular situation and context. After all, he was just trying to console her about her boyfriend who also just happened to be his brother.

Maybe the oddity of the confession was also stemmed from aftermath of the events of last night. Elena woke up this morning still feeling tingles on her lips left from Damon's kisses. She didn't know if this was a curse or a blessing.

"Damon…" Elena stated hesitantly. She didn't know what else to say. Did she love Damon Salvatore, as more than just a friend? Yes, in her different, scary, weird sort of way. Did she want him to know that she loved him? No.

"I know," Damon responded, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," Elena knew he wasn't because with feeling sorry comes feeling guilty and he didn't feel guilty. She knew this from the nostalgia of their first real kiss: If I'm going to feel guilty about anything, I'm going to feel guilty about this.

Her first kiss with Damon was amazing; it had totally surprised her and when they're lips connected legitimately for the first time on that porch, she felt butterflies consume her stomach and the feeling of his callused hands on her neck was so comforting that everything in the world slowed to the point where everything was momentarily right.

"You're right, I'm not." Damon responded. He pushed himself off of the doorframe until he was standing erect, "Come on down, I made breakfast." He said as he disappeared out of sight. Elena watched him go, and furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You made breakfast for us?!" Elena shouted after Damon.

"Let it go, Gilbert!" Damon shouted back.

Elena laughed at his response and steadily rose from the bed. Thoughts of the elder Salvatore brother flooded her mind and she realized that she might be a little too fond of him for the good of anyone.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I'm not sure how long this fic will turn out to be, but it has the potential to last a little while. Reviews are greatly appreciated!