Author's Note: I wil never get enough of feeling the thrill every time I post a chapter and I get flooded with emails because you guys love my story so much. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Because of the amazing response to the last chapter, I decided to post this chapter slightly earlier than I usually do. I'm going to Manado for 10 days on a vacation in two days. Don't worry, I will be bringing my iPad so i'll still write but I don't know if I will be able too get wi-fi all the time. So, if I post slightly late, do forgive me. I'm also kinda upset because I will miss two episodes of TVD while I'm away. Thankfully they will be there when I get back but I'm still very unhappy... Anyway, I loved writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading. Please review and continue to read! :)

Chapter 4

Elena's Point Of View

I forced myself to get out of the house today. I needed to see Stefan. I had not seen him at all since the night he came to break the news of Damon's death to me and I had many questions for him.

While I understood that losing a brother was traumatic and that Stefan needed to deal with his grief like I did, I didn't know why he was hiding from me and being slightly shady about Damon's death.

I rang the door bell and Stefan answered.

"Elena. Hi."

"Hey. Can I come in?"

He nodded and stepped back to let me in, we went into the living room and my eyes immediately fixed onto the table behind the couch where Damon always got his alcohol.

"How are you?" I asked as I tore my eyes away from the table.

"Managing I guess. And you?"

"Managing." I echoed.

We sat together on the couch but I noticed that Stefan kept his distance.

"Listen, I know this is hard for you but I have to know. What did you do with his body?" I asked cautiously.

He got up and ran a hand through his hair. "I buried him. I buried him far out of town. If you were expecting a funeral, you should know that's not going to happen."

"I know we can't have a traditional funeral. I just hoped that I could say goodbye." I was losing my confidence. Stefan's sudden anger was piercing.

"Well you can't. I'm sorry but he's been buried and I'm not taking you to him nor am I telling you where it is." He threw back.

I stared at him in shock. No matter how badly he was grieving, there was no need to treat me like this. I didn't do anything!

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I stood up and walked out while fighting tears. I heard Stefan call out to me but I ignored him. I was hurt.

The second I got home, I called, Bonnie, Caroline, Alaric, Matt, Tyler and Jeremy. We may not be able to have a proper funeral but we were going to honor his life no matter what. We had to. He had done so much to save this town and the people in it. He had played a big part in all our lives.

Stefan had been calling and texting me saying that he was sorry and he was just upset about Damon. I was still unhappy about the way he had treated me but I knew that if we were going to have a memorial for Damon, his brother should be there. So I texted him.

'We are having a memorial for Damon. Outside the school. 7pm. Everyone's coming. If you want to, join us."

I went out to get sky lanterns for each of us. I planned that we would all say something about Damon and then we would release our lantern into the sky. It would be beautiful.

When I got to the school, most of my friends were already there. Alaric was just arriving too.

Matt and Tyler each took turns hugging me and asking how I was. Stefan was not anywhere in sight and of course, that did not go unnoticed by anyone. I just told them that I had invited him but I did not know if he was going to show or not.

I handed out the lanterns once everyone but Stefan was present. I was quite angry that he had not bothered to show up. This was his brother's memorial and he was hiding away. Especially after everything Damon had done for him.

"So, we are going to pass this lighter around. Each of us will say something about Damon, light their lantern and when everyone has lit their lanterns, we will release them together. Okay?" I instructed.

Everyone nodded and I handed Matt the lighter. "Why don't you go first Matt."

"Um, okay. Damon was a great guy. He was a good brother and and a great friend. May he rest in peace." Matt lit his lantern and handed the lighter to Bonnie.

"Damon always did the very best he could to make sure nobody got hurt even though there was so much going on around Mystic Falls. He protected this town in the best way he knew how." Bonnie said and then passed the lighter to Caroline.

"I was in the house the night Damon died. I knew that Damon forced Elena to go home because he wanted to protect her for the horror of watching him die. Till the very end, he wanted to protect her. That protective quality was admirable of him." Caroline recounted while looking me in the eyes before passing the lighter to Tyler.

I had tears in my eyes and so did Alaric and Caroline.

"I didn't get to experience a lot of the positive stuff about Damon. But I know that he was very protective and cared a lot about his friends. When Caroline was kidnapped and tortured by Jules, Stefan and him were the first to respond even though they knew that getting hurt was a very real possibility. I hope he rests in peace." Tyler gave the lighter to Jeremy.

"Damon came to me the night that Anna, all the other vampires and himself were locked in the basement and set on fire. He told me that Anna had died and he offered to take away the pain. As screwed up as that was, he still cared enough to want to do that for me. I'm grateful for that." Jeremy lowered his gaze and I knew that he was thinking about Anna. He gave Alaric the lighter.

"Damon. Well, Damon was my best friend and my worst enemy. He turned my wife and shrugged it off with humor, he killed me about three times already and he annoyed the hell out of me. But despite all that, he was the best drinking buddy and a great friend. During the sacrifice, Damon tried to protect me by having Bonnie trap me in the burial ground of the witches. I was angry at him for not letting me try to save Jenna but now I see that he was just protecting me from getting hurt or killed. He was a good man." Alaric choked up and hastily lit his lantern and gave the lighter to me.

I wiped my eyes. I was doing this for Damon."Damon was a great friend and brother. He loved all of us even if he could not show it well. I know that he regrets what he did to Vicki and Isobel. He had a good heart and he made sure we all saw that at one point. To me, Damon, was a friend, a protector and someone who when he loved, loved with all his heart. I will never forget the fact that if it were not for him, I would be dead, Stefan would be dead and Bonnie would be dead. I wish I could have been with him during his final moments but even at his deathbed, as Caroline said, he had to protect me. I will always remember and love him." I was silently crying and with a shaking hand, I lit my lantern.

I was just about to release the lantern when I heard a voice behind me.

"Damon was a good brother. I would not be alive if it were not for him." Stefan picked up the lantern on the table that was meant for him and took the lighter from me. He smiled slightly at me before lighting his lantern. Then, we all released them into the sky. I felt Stefan's arm around my waist and I leaned into him as I watched the lanterns. It was a beautiful sight. I hoped we had honored Damon in a way that would have made him happy.

We stared at the lanterns till they had disappeared out of sight. I looked around me, Bonnie was wrapped in Jeremy's arms, Caroline had Tyler's arm around her and Alaric and Matt were sitting on the bench. So much love surrounded me.

Stefan volunteered to drive me home instead of Jeremy and I agreed to go with him.

"Elena, I'm sorry for the way I talked to you earlier. I didn't mean it."

"I know. It's okay." I said softly and then continue, "I missed you."

"I missed you too. We should have leaned on each other during this time. We should not have let his death drive us apart. I'm sorry I allowed that."

"I'm sorry too."

He kissed me before I got out of the car and I knew that we were okay again.

Stefan's Point Of View

I let so guilty for treating Elena the way I did. I was just frustrated that his 'death' affected her so much and I was angry at myself for sending him away and lying about it. I was upset that so many people were affected. I had not thought this through properly.

When Elena told me about the memorial she organized, I did not want to go. However, I knew that if I did not show, it would cause more problems between Elena and I. So I drove to the school and watched my friends from a good distance. I listened to everyone talk about my brother and I almost decided to confess. I decided to join them when I saw Alaric give the lighter to Elena. I'm glad I did because I made up with Elena but the guilt I felt as I watched the lanterns was almost crippling. Here I was honoring my brother's life when he was very much alive. I needed to stop this guilt before it overtook me and I ended up spilling my guts to Elena.

Damon's Point Of View

I drove and drove for days and finally I arrived in New York. I lived here for a few months in 1912. I was here when titanic sank and I was at the docks when the survivors were brought in. That was quite a memory to have. I compelled a landlord to give me an apartment and I walked in silently. I fell into the bed heavily and lay there just thinking about Elena, Stefan and my life in Mystic Falls.