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And please don't hate me by the end of this chapter; everything happens for a reason.

Chapter 16

Bonnie stood hesitantly on the other side of Damon's hotel room. She wanted so desperately to go inside and talk to him, but the guilt of betraying her best friend was weighing heavily on her mind.

With a shaking hand, she knocked on the door and held her breath. She had no idea what was waiting on the other side and suddenly she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

The door flung open before she could walk away and her hazel eyes were met with the icy blue ones of the man she loved.

"Damon," she murmured, taking in his appearance; he looked as if he hadn't slept or fed in days. He could probably use a shower, too.

"What are you doing here, Bonnie?" He asked coldly, his eyes glinting with malice, "You've already managed to ruin the one good thing in my life, so why are you here? Come to rub it in my face or what?"

She shook her head fiercely, tears threatening to fall, "No, Damon! It's not like that at all. I just-I just needed to clear the air with you. None of this is right-"

"Just go away, Bonnie. What we had was just a fling. I'm not going to take you back just because Elena left me. The love of my existence left me," he murmured the last part to himself as he looked down, "I spent so many years chasing after her because I loved her more than anything in the world. And then you come along and fuck it all up."

"What? No!" The witch was outraged, "It takes two people to do what we did. You were as much of a willing participant as I was. We're both at fault."

"Leave, Bonnie," Damon demanded, his voice tight with anger, "Whatever we had is done. I don't want to see you or hear from you. Understand?" When she nodded he continued, "Good. Now run along and leave me alone."

Bonnie watched as the door shut in her face. She had thought for sure that Damon would take her back after everything that happened. Elena left him, but she wasn't completely at fault.

She walked out of the hotel as tears were streaming down her face. Times like this made her miss Jeremy even more.

Elena sat at the bar at Rousseau's, thinking about how messy her life had gotten within the past month. She had began to fall in love with Finn, Elijah had almost killed her, Damon had made a miraculous return. What was she supposed to do?

She swirled her finger along the rim of her glass, staring down at the clear liquid with a slight pang of regret. She couldn't allow herself the sight of Bourbon; the memories were just too painful for her right now.

"You know, we've been looking everywhere for you."

Elena turned towards the voice and smiled, "Well, you found me."

Stefan sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug, allowing her head to fall against his shoulder, "I was so worried about you," he breathed into her hair, alighting small tingles along her body, "I haven't stopped looking."

She pulled away and looked at his face closely. Dark circles rimmed his eyes and his skin was paler than usual. She cupped his face in her hands and rubbed her thumbs under his eyes, "You should know better than anyone that I can take care of myself, Stefan. You didn't need to worry about me."

"I love you, Elena," he sighed, leaning into her touch, "I hate Damon for what he did to you. I had to know you were okay."

She pulled her hands away and started fiddling with her glass again, "I don't know why Caroline didn't tell you I was okay. I saw her this morning."

"She's been spending too much time with Klaus to remember to tell me anything," he snorted, a small smile gracing his lips, "And I doubt my family is high on her list of priorities."

"Don't remind me," Elena shuddered slightly at the thought of Caroline and the hybrid, "Besides, she's not the only one avoiding the Salvatores."

Stefan reached up and stilled her fidgeting, "Elena…I'm sorry for how I acted when Damon left. You didn't deserve that from me. I still love you and that kind of love just doesn't go away."

"I know," she smiled, lacing her fingers through his, "I'll always love you. I know that if I were still human, we'd still be together. Damon and the sire bond was too much baggage for you when he left. I couldn't dump all my problems on you."

He carefully brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her cheek, "We could try again. No Damon, no sire bond, just us. I know that finding the cure drove us apart more than we already were, but we can forget about all of that know. I just want a chance to be happy with the woman I love."

"I wish we could've been human, Stefan," she sighed, looking into his warm green eyes, "I wanted a family with you. I wanted to be human with you. I didn't want the cure because I knew Damon wouldn't like me anymore, but now I know it was just because of the sire bond. I would've done anything to make him happy and in the process I lost you."

Cupping her cheek, he smiled brightly, "We have eternity, Elena. We can start over and be happy."

Elena looked down, suddenly ashamed of her brazen confessions, "It's not that easy. I've kind of been seeing someone since Damon and I, well you know."

"Who?" His brows furrowed slightly, looking at her with curiosity.

"Elijah."

"Well, I guess that's better than Kol," Stefan finally said, his face slightly relieved at her confession, "I'd definitely pick Elijah for you to be with than any of the other Originals."

She let out a breath she hasn't known she'd been holding, "You're handling this extremely well."

"Are you committed to him?" He questioned intently, "I'd rather know before I attempt to get involved with you again."

She shrugged her shoulder, "I don't think so. I mean, it was just sex."

Stefan's smile returned, "Good." He stood up before turning around and facing her again, "Oh! I almost forgot. I know how much you love the city, so I decided to get an apartment for a while. You can come over after you settle things with Elijah."

"That would be great, Stefan," she smiled as he handed her a key, "I just need to stop at the Plantation house and pick up a few things. Can you text me the address?"

"Consider it done," he placed a kiss to the top of her head before walking out of the bar, leaving her smiling after him.

She finally had her friend back. Maybe this time they could remain friends instead of being anything more.

"Have you seen Elena?" Elijah asked Finn as he walked into the parlor, slipping off his coat before taking a seat opposite his brother.

Finn bristled slightly as he looked up from his book, "I usually don't take it upon myself to keep track of your bedmates, Elijah."

Elijah's eyes narrowed at the veiled contempt in Finn's tone, "Is that what you're upset about? That Elena and I had relations?"

The elder brother sighed and stood, placing his book carefully on the coffee table, "I don't care who you've taken to bed, Elijah. That is your business."

"So, you weren't bothered by hearing her scream my name as she fell apart around me?" Elijah gloated slightly as he remained in his seat, staring up at his brother, "You weren't bothered by listening to us go at it until the early morning?"

"How can you talk about her like that?" Finn roared, visibly fuming, "You're talking about her like a common fuck. Does she mean so little to you?"

Elijah snorted, "What she means to me is between her and myself. You have no say-"

"So, am I just another conquest to you?"

Both brothers paled at the voice. Neither had heard her enter the house due to their incessant arguing.

"Well?" Elena asked, her hand on her hip as her eyes glared daggers at Elijah, "Going to defend yourself or not?"

Elijah stood and was in front of her before she could blink. He reached out for her and held her shoulders lightly, "You were never merely a conquest, Elena."

"Then why the fuck were you bragging about me like I'm a goddamn trophy?" She pulled herself out of his grasp, squaring her shoulders and she looked him over, "Look, the sex was great, but that's the end of it. We're not exclusive by a long shot. Ugh, just-just nevermind."

"Elena, I-"

"Just shut up, Elijah," she said exasperated, her shoulders slumping as she looked at him, "You knew I had feelings for you and you used it to your advantage. I can't even say that I'm surprised; that's just what your family does. They exploit the weaknesses of other people to suit their needs. Well, with the exception of Finn," she smiled slightly at the oldest Original before turning back to her target, "He helped me, he took care of me, he saved me. And he never asked for a damn thing in return."

Elijah looked down at his shoes bashfully. What Elena had walked into was sibling rivalry at its best; Elijah had gotten to play with the shiny new toy before Finn. He still loved Elena, he was sure of it. But he had messed things up the instant he baited his brother with bedroom talk.

"I can explain everything, Elena," Elijah begged, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I care about you. I apologize for making you doubt me."

"Look, we can still fuck if that's what you're worried about. But no emotions, no exclusion. That's it, that's all. I've been stuck between brothers for too long, I'm not letting it happen again."

Elijah cringed as she referred to their love making as simply fucking. He was sure that it had meant more to her as well, but she was hurt. He knew that she didn't want to admit her true feelings for fear of being hurt even more than she was now.

He watched as she swept upstairs, leaving the two brothers dumbstruck in her wake.

"For claiming to be the noble one in our family, you sure know how to make things worse by opening your mouth," Finn glared at his brother, thoroughly upset at how he treated the brunette upstairs.

"She heard everything," Elijah breathed, angry with himself, "I had her and I lost her all within a span of a day."

Finn pursed his lips, "And now she's running because she can't stand being around our family. Perhaps if you would've listened this could've all been avoided."

"Don't you think I know that?" The younger man hissed before collapsing into the chair and burying his face in his hands, "I can't lose her."

Finn clasped his hand on Elijah's shoulder, "You already have."

As soon as Elena had made it upstairs, she slammed the door as hard as she could. Retrieving her suitcase, she stuffed what little she had brought inside and gave a final look around the room.

Her eyes stopped on the bed as she remembered how it had felt to be with Elijah. Both of them had taken their time and enjoyed every intimate moment together; never rushing, just loving.

Love.

No, Elena couldn't even dare to think about loving Elijah. He had hurt her when she was already so vulnerable. She made a mistake by jumping into bed with him when she was still healing from Damon's betrayal.

She needed to get out there and enjoy her unlife. She couldn't be tied down to a jealous Original right now.

Grabbing her suitcase, she bounded down the stairs. She practically skidded to a stop to avoid colliding with Finn who was standing in the foyer, staring at her apprehensively.

"Elena, you don't have to leave," he said softly, "I promised you that you could stay here as long as you need."

She nodded, "I know, I just think I need some time away right now. I'll be staying with Stefan temporarily."

He pulled her against him, enveloping her in a tight hug. She smiled before dropping her suitcase and hugging him back in earnest. She loved his scent; it always calmed her down when she was on the edge.

"Please check in periodically, darling," he murmured against her hair as he placed a gentle kiss atop her head, "I'll worry if you don't."

Elena pulled out of his embrace and looked up at him, "I promise I will." She kissed his cheek softly, letting her lips linger as she smiled. Picking up her suitcase once more, she gave him a small wave before opening to door and walking out into the night.

Finn watched her retreating figure with unease, not wanting her to be alone. He sighed as he shut the door, "Goodbye, my love."

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~Grace