The worst part wasn't the chaos of her friends' thoughts. The worst part was their feelings and emotions. At first, all the linking spell appeared to do was give them mind-reading capabilities. But then, Elena began to feel all the emotions of her friends'.
It was brutal. She didn't even know that it was possible for one group of people to harbor so much pain.
They were still in the Mayor's mansion's living room, arguing with each other over the consequences of the spell and incriminating thoughts that were accidentally overheard.
"What are you hiding from me?!" Tyler shouted at Caroline. Stefan stepped in between the hybrid and vampire with his back protectively to Caroline.
"Tyler, calm down," Stefan reasoned.
"Shut up, Stefan!" Tyler exclaimed, "I know you have something to do with it."
"Bonnie," Elena whispered to the witch standing next to her as she watched the scene unfold, "You have to reverse this part of the spell."
"I can't." Bonnie whispered back. "There's always a consequence. This is it."
Elena could feel every emotion that Caroline was going through. She was extremely scared by Tyler, and angry with herself, and guilty…unbelievably guilty.
"Look, you need to calm down so we can figure this out." Stefan tried to diffuse the tension.
"No! You're keeping something from me, and I need to know what it is. Now!" Tyler demanded.
Elena felt everything that Tyler was feeling—hurt, distrust, suspicion, anger, and overwhelming betrayal.
She could feel the pain inherent within Stefan; all the sadness that haunted him.
Stefan glanced at Elena out of the corner of his eye and when he saw her standing next to Damon, the image of her kissing Damon in the hallway of Caroline's house flashed through everyone's mind, as though they were all watching the same movie. Elena felt his heart break. She could hear the memory of her words pulse through her own brain.
"I've been sleeping with Damon."
She never knew the extent of damage her love for Damon had caused Stefan.
She felt like she was choking on her own spit. Everything was hitting her like a tidal wave, and because she was a vampire, every emotion was magnified. She was panicking. Her heartbeat was deafening in her ears, but she could still clearly hear everyone's thoughts.
Her mind instinctively searched for that little switch that was hidden in the concaves of her brain. It was a survival tactic. All she would need to do was flip it. It was simple. Like turning off a light.
She stood silently with her eyes squeezed tight. She pictured her hand drifting towards the switch. She would lose all of it, everything that made her Elena Gilbert—her humanity. Her mental hand hovered over the switch.
Next, she felt the pain exuding from Matt, the way he carried the death of Vicki on his shoulders. His hurt was so real to her that it almost seemed like she had also lost a sibling.
That did it. She imagined her hand touching the switch, but before she could flip it, his voice came over her mind, consuming all her senses.
"Don't do it," Damon told her.
Instantly, her hand retracted from the switch and she opened her eyes. She felt hot tears that she didn't even know existed running down her cheeks. Damon was standing directly in front of her, examining her face intently.
"Damon…" She choked out. Her breathing had not calmed. She was still overwhelmed by everything in the room.
"Elena, look at me." Damon requested. Her eyes relentlessly scanned the room, watching the argument between Tyler, Caroline, and Stefan. "Look at me, Elena. Ignore them."
His tone turned demanding, catching Elena's attention. She locked eyes with him.
"It's too much." She whispered.
"I know." Damon responded. Elena broke eye contact with him and drifted back to the argument, but Damon caught her face between his hands. She quickly turned her attention back to him.
The moment her eyes met with his, she began to calm down. She could feel the tingles crawl across her skin from the contact.
"Focus on me…" Damon whispered.
Elena obliged, focusing on every part of him. She could feel his thoughts enter her mind. He was attempting to only think of the happiest moments in his not-so-happy life.
She saw a little boy running into a room in an old fashioned house. He was laughing; his black hair fell over his electric blue eyes as he emerged through the door. Inside, there was a large four-frame bed and a tall oak dresser. A lone candle burned in the corner and the sound of a baby crying echoed across the room. Elena watched as the little boy walked up to the bed. On it laid a woman, smiling down at a newborn in her arms.
"Do you want to meet your baby brother?" The woman asked. The little boy nodded eagerly. She lifted her upper body up from the bed and gently positioned the baby in the little boy's arms. The little boy looked down at the newborn with a smile. "His name's Stefan."
"Stefan…" The little boy repeated.
Elena felt her heart swell with love as the scene changed.
Little Damon was sitting in class, obviously bored. He was toying with a piece of paper on his desk as the teacher droned on and on about "the role of the proper gentleman."
Damon turned around in his seat to look at a little Stefan who was paying close attention to the teacher, formally sitting with proper posture. Damon crumbled up his piece of paper and the second the teacher turned around, Damon threw the paper at Stefan's head.
Stefan was so caught off guard that he fell off his seat, taking all the items on his desk with him. The teacher turned around and gasped at the sight of Stefan on the floor.
"Mr. Salvatore! Detention!" The teacher boomed. Stefan looked up with an adorably upset face and Damon laughed at his misfortune.
Elena laughed with little Damon as the scene changed.
A twenty year-old Damon ran through the garden, tossing a football up and down. Stefan followed him.
"What's this game called again?" Stefan asked. Damon turned around and threw the football at his brother.
"Football." He responded. They commenced playing around, tossing the ball back and forth and occasionally tackling each other.
Elena smiled as the scene changed once again.
"I'm Elena."
Elena gasped at the sudden memory of their first meeting.
"Oh you—you just look…I'm sorry. You just really remind of someone. I'm Damon."
She watched as they had their first ever conversation. She felt the imminent, instantaneous attraction that existed between them.
"So Damon…tell me, what is it that I want?"
"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion, adventure, and even a little danger."
Elena remembered the way she felt when he said that—shocked because he was so right.
"So, what do you want?" Memory-Elena asked.
"I want you to get everything that you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened..."
Elena smiled as the scene changed yet again.
"You know what? No. If I'm going to feel guilty about anything, I'm going to feel guilty about this."
Memory-Damon marched up the steps to her and grabbed her face, pulling her into their first real kiss. Except, this time it was like she was experiencing it from Damon's point of view. She felt her own lips on his and she felt as her own hand gently clasped his wrist.
She felt what Damon felt—love, joy, and relief that she actually kissed back.
Her heart swelled as the scene changed again.
"Damon…I choose you."
His mind was going into over speed, thinking about all the moments in his 170 years of living that made him happy. Elena had given so many happy moments that he had trouble condensing them. So, he gave her snippets of each.
"I like you now…just the way you are."
She felt her lips press against memory-Damon's and a tear fell from her cheek onto his face. Damon barely felt the kiss due to his impending death, but he still loved every second of it.
The scene changed again.
"I love you, Damon." It was the first time she told him, and it was the happiest moment that Damon had showed her thus far.
The scene changed again. Elena instantly caught on to what he was showing her. It seemed like so long ago. Klaus had Stefan and Damon was giving up, and he was so hurt about it.
"We're never getting him back…" Damon skeptically said, staring at the fireplace. Memory-Elena rested her hands on Damon's neck. She felt the way Damon's walls began to break down as she stared at him.
"Then, we'll let him go."
Elena realized that that was the moment when she actually chose Damon. The moment she decided that Damon's well-being was more important than retrieving Stefan from Klaus.
The scene changed again.
"I know what I want. I want you, and I want you now."
Elena felt heat rush up her body as the memory of her first time with Damon in the front seat of his Camaro flooded her mind.
"Damon, there's nothing I want more than an eternity with you."
Her own voice echoed in her mind as he brought her back to reality. She stood dumbfounded, searching his blue eyes. The room was totally silent.
"Thank you," Elena whispered to him. Damon nodded.
"Don't mention it." He responded. Elena raised her hands to rest on each side of his neck. She slowly stroked his skin. She smiled at him and a tear escaped from the bottom of her eye. Damon used his thumb to brush it away.
"Really. I'm so glad you were here. I almost—."
"I know," Damon interrupted. "I will always be here for you." He stroked her cheek with his thumb and Elena leaned into his touch. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, centering herself.
"I love you." Elena whispered.
A small smile twitched onto Damon's cheeks.
"I love you too," He whispered back.
She felt her heart leap and she leaned forward, kissing him slowly and tenderly. This kiss was unlike any other because she not only felt her own emotions, but also Damon's. The love they mutually shared seemed like enough to end all the hate in the world.
Elena broke from his lips and sighed, her forehead pressed against his.
"Wow," Caroline whispered.
That's when Elena and Damon noticed that everyone in the room had stopped everything and was intently watching the intimate moment.
A wave of embarrassment hit Elena because everyone just watched and felt the most intimate emotional moment of her life. She also felt something coming from the group, something that hadn't previously existed—acceptance.
It was obvious that some people were still disappointed in their relationship, but at least they now accepted it.
Stefan was still obviously heart broken, but all the anger he harbored towards them disappeared.
Elena looked around at all the dumbstruck faces of her friends' and cleared her throat.
"So, can we get back to work now?" She asked.
Everyone slowly nodded in consent. She smiled at them as they all settled down on the couches. Elena grabbed Damon's hand and together, they joined the group.
A/N: So, super fluffy. Anyway, review please!