“It’s okay, you know, to love them both.” Rose said.
But it’s not okay. Katherine did that, not me. “I just can’t. It’s not possible. And they deserve better from me.” Elena replied still a little uncomfortable. Rose was past her delirious phase and wasn’t trying to kill her anymore but that didn’t mean it wasn’t in the back of her mind.
“I don’t know what you think is so wrong with it. Loving two men can be confusing but it’s certainly not an evil trait. You just have a lot of room in your heart and honestly, Damon needs to know he captured a piece of you like that. Elena, now that he knows he can love someone else, he needs to know that he is able to be loved in return.”
It made a lot of sense. Damon really had no one ever since Katherine told him she didn’t love him. Stefan filled her in a little on things that had happened there.
“He needs you,” Rose went on. “I’m not telling you where to go from here but just realize for yourself that he means more to you than just a friend. Look at him, I mean really look at him and let yourself see him for the first time. You might be surprised.”
That was just what Elena was afraid of though. If she admitted anything or opened herself up to anything, something could creep in and poison what she had with Stefan.
Now, with Katherine in the tomb and everyone apparently safe thanks to Elijah, her and Stefan had been all over one another. I guess we’re back together. I’m not really sure. We never clarified.
“It’s just not fair to either of them if my affection is divided. I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.”
“There’s the problem- it already has. Stefan is still in love with Katherine. Damon feels the sting of her but he’s over the bigger part. The brother you’re with now still hasn’t let her go.”
Elena was shocked. “That’s not true. You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie? I’m dying from a werewolf bite. There’s nothing I could get out of telling you anything that wasn’t true. Damon loves you and you alone Elena. Just think about it.”
“Uh, I have to go. I’m late for school.” Elena was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the conversation. She needed to get out of here. Leaving Rose when she was like this wasn’t the greatest thing to do right now but sitting here listening to her talk about Elena’s love life was worse.
Rose nodded accepting what she knew was a cop out and Elena grabbed her bag and walked out the door.
She almost ran down the stairs in her haste to get out of the manor. She was almost to the front door when Damon intercepted her.
“You mind if I drive you to school? I need some air.” He said.
“I have my car here.”
“I know. I was going to take you in it and then super speed back here.” He said with a lipless awkward grin.
Elena couldn’t think of a reason why he shouldn’t so she just nodded and they headed out to her car and she threw him the keys. She was about to reach the passenger side when he was there in a flash, opening it for her. With hesitation and watchfulness she slid inside and let him shut it.
“It’s really nice you know, you sitting with Rose. I know she’s glad for the company.” He was trying to make conversation as he was starting the car. “I think she needs female interaction right now. It’s good.” he nodded as if agreeing with himself.
Elena didn’t saying anything and they pulled out of the drive. She could hear Damon take a deep breath. “I just can’t stay in there with her all day. It drives me crazy. I’ve threatened the wolf girl and god knows I’m going to kill her but I can’t seem to get any information out of her. I would torture her but I can never find the she-mutt.” He ended with a bit of disgust in his voice.
“It’s going to be okay.” Elena said and put her hand on his arm to reassure him. However, all it really did was make both of them hyper aware that she was touching him so she quickly removed it and looked out the window.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence.
They arrived at the school a little while later and after getting out Damon handed Elena the keys but didn’t let go of her hand. “Damon-” Elena started but he pulled her into a tight hug as if he just needed to be held. She rested her head on his shoulder and let him stand there with his arms wrapped around her, vaguely aware of him smelling her hair. His warmth, a thing she shouldn’t have felt coming from him was engulfing her and she relaxed in his embrace just as he let her go and started walking away.
Elena stood there for a while looking at him walking across the parking lot to a place where he could start speeding back across town. She shook her head and looked behind her across the lawn of the high school. Bonnie was standing at the doors seemingly looking for someone.
“Hey”, Elena said as she reached her friend.
“Hey” Bonnie said back absentmindedly.
“Who are you looking for?”
Bonnie blushed and said “No one. Come on, lets get inside. It’s a little chilly out here.”
The day passed by faster than normal. Elena’s mind had been on what Rose had said that morning and couldn’t shake thoughts of Damon who was incidentally waiting for her by her car when she came out.
“Ready?” He asked.
“Sure.”
The drive to her house was just as silent as the one before had been and when she got out and retrieved her keys he again walked away. Elena huffed out a small rush of air thankful that he was leaving. She couldn’t keep entertaining thoughts about him. They were seeping into her mind when she just wanted things to go back to when they were simple. She wanted to go back to thinking Damon was an evil son of a bitch and loving Stefan more than anything in the world. But what Rose said about Stefan really bothered her. Could it be that he was still in love with Katherine? Why would he be?
The questions that she had had after she had seen Katherine’s picture for the first time started flooding her mind again. Was she just a replacement? And now that the original was back, what was going to happen? She hoped that when Klaus came he would do whatever to the look-a-like vampire and be done with it. Then all this would be over with. No more haunting questions and maybe things would get back to normal or as close to normal as they ever were around here.
The house was quiet when she walked in. “Jenna?”
“In here!” She called from the living room.
“Hey, what’s up?” Elena asked dropping her bag on the floor by the couch.
“I’m finally getting to my research paper. Damon was here all day trying to get on my good side. All he really accomplished was bugging me. I guess he means well but he’s still to grabby with you. And what’s with all the hushed conversations with you three?”
Jenna wasn’t stupid. She knew that things were going on involving the two brothers. Not like she would comprehend just how big and horrible things were but there was no getting by with nothing noticed.
“Just stuff” was all Elena could think to say.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m going to go do my home work. Christmas break is coming but that doesn’t mean I can slack off.” Elena grabbed up her bag again and headed up the stairs to her room.
Maybe her surprise reflex was getting numb because seeing Damon stretched out on his back on her bed with his arms relaxed behind his head didn’t startle her at all. Elena gave an exasperated sigh and plopped down on her stomach beside him. Trying to get him to go away just seemed like too much energy to spend. Energy that she just didn’t have.
“What would you say if I told you I didn’t care about the werewolves anymore? That I could accept Rose dying?” He asked.
Elena thought about it for a minute. “Didn’t Jules say that Rose would die in agony?”
“Yeah but I mean I would stake her to make sure she didn’t have to endure the pain.”
“Oh... Well, I’d say ‘Alright’.”
“Really?” He turned his head to look at her.
“Why not? I don’t really have an attachment to Rose. I was only going to help because I thought you cared for her. And it’s probably healthy that you give up you’re little war against all people that turn furry at the full moon. It’s kind of turned into an unhealthy obsession of yours.”
He looked back up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”
“We probably still need to take care of the ‘she-mutt’ as you so eloquently put it.”
“Yeah, that could come back to bite us. No pun intended.” He said and they both broke out laughing. “I just want to stop taking everything so seriously. I want to relax. This is our one problem right now and if we can take care of it, I don’t see why we can’t all just take a breather.”
Elena thought Damon was making sense. He was backing off and cooling down his temper. He was finally seeing not just the bigger picture but his true wants within it.
“So, where do you think you’ll go?” Elena assumed he’d be taking off.
“I kind of thought all three of us should go. Maybe even the whole group- You, me, Stefan, Jeremy, Bonnie, Jenna, Caroline.”
Elena’s brow scrunched in thought. “Jenna would never go for it not to mention other complains from everyone else.”
“Would you go for it?”
She was trying not to read to much into what he was saying. The thought was a tempting one. Get away and just live life. Klaus wouldn’t be able to find them if they just up and left. They could get rid of multiple issues all at once. At this point there didn’t seem much point in hoping for a normal life but maybe there was a peaceful one on the horizon. Could she ever just up and leave everything she’d ever known?
But it’s not okay. Katherine did that, not me. “I just can’t. It’s not possible. And they deserve better from me.” Elena replied still a little uncomfortable. Rose was past her delirious phase and wasn’t trying to kill her anymore but that didn’t mean it wasn’t in the back of her mind.
“I don’t know what you think is so wrong with it. Loving two men can be confusing but it’s certainly not an evil trait. You just have a lot of room in your heart and honestly, Damon needs to know he captured a piece of you like that. Elena, now that he knows he can love someone else, he needs to know that he is able to be loved in return.”
It made a lot of sense. Damon really had no one ever since Katherine told him she didn’t love him. Stefan filled her in a little on things that had happened there.
“He needs you,” Rose went on. “I’m not telling you where to go from here but just realize for yourself that he means more to you than just a friend. Look at him, I mean really look at him and let yourself see him for the first time. You might be surprised.”
That was just what Elena was afraid of though. If she admitted anything or opened herself up to anything, something could creep in and poison what she had with Stefan.
Now, with Katherine in the tomb and everyone apparently safe thanks to Elijah, her and Stefan had been all over one another. I guess we’re back together. I’m not really sure. We never clarified.
“It’s just not fair to either of them if my affection is divided. I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.”
“There’s the problem- it already has. Stefan is still in love with Katherine. Damon feels the sting of her but he’s over the bigger part. The brother you’re with now still hasn’t let her go.”
Elena was shocked. “That’s not true. You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie? I’m dying from a werewolf bite. There’s nothing I could get out of telling you anything that wasn’t true. Damon loves you and you alone Elena. Just think about it.”
“Uh, I have to go. I’m late for school.” Elena was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the conversation. She needed to get out of here. Leaving Rose when she was like this wasn’t the greatest thing to do right now but sitting here listening to her talk about Elena’s love life was worse.
Rose nodded accepting what she knew was a cop out and Elena grabbed her bag and walked out the door.
She almost ran down the stairs in her haste to get out of the manor. She was almost to the front door when Damon intercepted her.
“You mind if I drive you to school? I need some air.” He said.
“I have my car here.”
“I know. I was going to take you in it and then super speed back here.” He said with a lipless awkward grin.
Elena couldn’t think of a reason why he shouldn’t so she just nodded and they headed out to her car and she threw him the keys. She was about to reach the passenger side when he was there in a flash, opening it for her. With hesitation and watchfulness she slid inside and let him shut it.
“It’s really nice you know, you sitting with Rose. I know she’s glad for the company.” He was trying to make conversation as he was starting the car. “I think she needs female interaction right now. It’s good.” he nodded as if agreeing with himself.
Elena didn’t saying anything and they pulled out of the drive. She could hear Damon take a deep breath. “I just can’t stay in there with her all day. It drives me crazy. I’ve threatened the wolf girl and god knows I’m going to kill her but I can’t seem to get any information out of her. I would torture her but I can never find the she-mutt.” He ended with a bit of disgust in his voice.
“It’s going to be okay.” Elena said and put her hand on his arm to reassure him. However, all it really did was make both of them hyper aware that she was touching him so she quickly removed it and looked out the window.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence.
They arrived at the school a little while later and after getting out Damon handed Elena the keys but didn’t let go of her hand. “Damon-” Elena started but he pulled her into a tight hug as if he just needed to be held. She rested her head on his shoulder and let him stand there with his arms wrapped around her, vaguely aware of him smelling her hair. His warmth, a thing she shouldn’t have felt coming from him was engulfing her and she relaxed in his embrace just as he let her go and started walking away.
Elena stood there for a while looking at him walking across the parking lot to a place where he could start speeding back across town. She shook her head and looked behind her across the lawn of the high school. Bonnie was standing at the doors seemingly looking for someone.
“Hey”, Elena said as she reached her friend.
“Hey” Bonnie said back absentmindedly.
“Who are you looking for?”
Bonnie blushed and said “No one. Come on, lets get inside. It’s a little chilly out here.”
The day passed by faster than normal. Elena’s mind had been on what Rose had said that morning and couldn’t shake thoughts of Damon who was incidentally waiting for her by her car when she came out.
“Ready?” He asked.
“Sure.”
The drive to her house was just as silent as the one before had been and when she got out and retrieved her keys he again walked away. Elena huffed out a small rush of air thankful that he was leaving. She couldn’t keep entertaining thoughts about him. They were seeping into her mind when she just wanted things to go back to when they were simple. She wanted to go back to thinking Damon was an evil son of a bitch and loving Stefan more than anything in the world. But what Rose said about Stefan really bothered her. Could it be that he was still in love with Katherine? Why would he be?
The questions that she had had after she had seen Katherine’s picture for the first time started flooding her mind again. Was she just a replacement? And now that the original was back, what was going to happen? She hoped that when Klaus came he would do whatever to the look-a-like vampire and be done with it. Then all this would be over with. No more haunting questions and maybe things would get back to normal or as close to normal as they ever were around here.
The house was quiet when she walked in. “Jenna?”
“In here!” She called from the living room.
“Hey, what’s up?” Elena asked dropping her bag on the floor by the couch.
“I’m finally getting to my research paper. Damon was here all day trying to get on my good side. All he really accomplished was bugging me. I guess he means well but he’s still to grabby with you. And what’s with all the hushed conversations with you three?”
Jenna wasn’t stupid. She knew that things were going on involving the two brothers. Not like she would comprehend just how big and horrible things were but there was no getting by with nothing noticed.
“Just stuff” was all Elena could think to say.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m going to go do my home work. Christmas break is coming but that doesn’t mean I can slack off.” Elena grabbed up her bag again and headed up the stairs to her room.
Maybe her surprise reflex was getting numb because seeing Damon stretched out on his back on her bed with his arms relaxed behind his head didn’t startle her at all. Elena gave an exasperated sigh and plopped down on her stomach beside him. Trying to get him to go away just seemed like too much energy to spend. Energy that she just didn’t have.
“What would you say if I told you I didn’t care about the werewolves anymore? That I could accept Rose dying?” He asked.
Elena thought about it for a minute. “Didn’t Jules say that Rose would die in agony?”
“Yeah but I mean I would stake her to make sure she didn’t have to endure the pain.”
“Oh... Well, I’d say ‘Alright’.”
“Really?” He turned his head to look at her.
“Why not? I don’t really have an attachment to Rose. I was only going to help because I thought you cared for her. And it’s probably healthy that you give up you’re little war against all people that turn furry at the full moon. It’s kind of turned into an unhealthy obsession of yours.”
He looked back up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”
“We probably still need to take care of the ‘she-mutt’ as you so eloquently put it.”
“Yeah, that could come back to bite us. No pun intended.” He said and they both broke out laughing. “I just want to stop taking everything so seriously. I want to relax. This is our one problem right now and if we can take care of it, I don’t see why we can’t all just take a breather.”
Elena thought Damon was making sense. He was backing off and cooling down his temper. He was finally seeing not just the bigger picture but his true wants within it.
“So, where do you think you’ll go?” Elena assumed he’d be taking off.
“I kind of thought all three of us should go. Maybe even the whole group- You, me, Stefan, Jeremy, Bonnie, Jenna, Caroline.”
Elena’s brow scrunched in thought. “Jenna would never go for it not to mention other complains from everyone else.”
“Would you go for it?”
She was trying not to read to much into what he was saying. The thought was a tempting one. Get away and just live life. Klaus wouldn’t be able to find them if they just up and left. They could get rid of multiple issues all at once. At this point there didn’t seem much point in hoping for a normal life but maybe there was a peaceful one on the horizon. Could she ever just up and leave everything she’d ever known?