Fic: This is Not a Love Story
Post: S04E04
Katherine is back in town, and she's finally ready to tell the real truth. She's come to claim what is hers and no stupid little vampire doppelganger is going to get in the way.
Chapter Two
Bridges Mended
Elena hadn't been at the boarding house for very long, when she heard Damon returning from wherever he'd been, after dropping her off at her house.
She hadn't actually intended staying with Stefan at all, but he'd seemed so eager to have her with him, she just didn't have the heart to say no.
She'd been on her way downstairs to get herself a snack, when she'd heard the front door close. She had frozen on the landing momentarily, before fleeing back up stairs with a less than dignified burst of vampire speed.
She just couldn't face seeing him again tonight, not after everything that had happened.
Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing the anger and the disappointment on his face. Those, she could of handled, she was used to him looking at her like that since she'd become a vampire. What she couldn't handle, was the expression she'd seen on his face as Stefan closed her front door. It was defeat, tinged with the one thing that she'd never expected to see in Damon's expressive eyes ever, blatant painful surrender.
Damon Salvatore, had finally given up on Elena Gilbert and she was terrified by what it might mean. More than that, she was just plain scared to death over what it said about his feelings for her; how it made her feel to realize they could change.
She hated being a vampire, but her secret truth was that she hated it a lot less, when she was with Damon.
Damon, made her feel nearly normal, he didn't make her feel like a monster, or someone less than who she'd been. And that scared her far more than anything else had, since becoming a vampire.
She'd told him earlier, that she didn't want to be like him and it was true to a certain point. She wanted to be the Elena that everyone else knew, not the passionate and fiery creature that Damon drew out of her.
She'd always been a different person with Damon, and that was before she had died. The person that only Damon had glimpses of, at least since her parents had been killed.
The girl from before, the one that had partied and laughed; that had been instantly attracted to a mysterious stranger she'd met on a lonely stretch of highway. That girl was gone and she had to stay gone; that girl got people killed and broke boys hearts. She didn't want to be that girl.
Stefan never brought out that girl; not even when she was human. He was thoughtful and caring and considered things from all angles, before acting. He would never let her lose control and forget herself, he would always be there as a reminder, that being the way she was before her parents death, was not who she should be.
Damon made her reckless and wild, he was passion and adventure and danger, everything a good girl shouldn't (couldn't) want.
So, If his feelings were changing, then that was good. It would be better for everyone, if he just stopped loving her. She'd chosen Stefan, and Stefan was who she loved. It would always be Stefan.
But then; why did her heart ache, when she remembered the look in Damon's eyes.
And why had her heart sung with some unnamed emotion, when he'd flung his angry words at Bonnie.
Stefan was asleep when she re-entered his room and she couldn't help feeling a little pang of relief, that she wouldn't have to face him with so much on her mind. She was sated from her earlier feeding with Damon, but she still felt wired and stretched too thin, as she gently lowered herself onto the bed.
Careful not to disturb her boyfriend, she lay back and tried not to think about tonight, about how good it had felt to have fresh human blood flowing down her throat and how right it had felt to be held in arms, that weren't her boyfriends.
laying there, staring up at the ceiling, she gradually became aware of noises that seemed disturbingly out of place, in the usually quiet house.
When it finally dawned on her what she was hearing she felt her blood rush to her face and her fangs begin to drop.
Damon had a girl in his room. He'd brought home a woman and he was very obviously, not having a problem with broadcasting the fact.
Straining her ears, she could make out the sounds of low moans and groans, and with each gasp she could feel her temper flaring.
Getting up from the bed; still mindful of not disturbing Stefan, she moved towards the door. She tried to tell herself she was pissed because the last girl he'd brought home was that bitch Rebecca and she needed to know if it was her that he was having sex with. It wasn't about Damon, he could sleep with whoever he liked, just as long as it wasn't the fucking cow that had killed her.
Ire rising at her thoughts; she slipped into the hall soundlessly.
How fucking dare he bring that bitch here, to this house. How could he do that to her. How could he sleep with the thing that was responsible for her being a vampire.
Moving down the hall towards Damon's room, she tried to ignore the little voice in the back of her head. The one that was insisting that Damon wouldn't do that to her, not this time. He'd wanted to kill Rebecca himself, there was no way he'd sleep with her again.
Pushing her doubts away, she stopped outside Damon's room.
Hand on the door knob, she was about to burst in and let fly, when she heard something that made her heart skitter in her chest and her blood run cold.
"Fuck yeah... That's it Kat."
"Oh God Damon, Fuck I love you."
Elena's world spun dizzily, as she registered the identity of the voice that could have been her own. Though that particular sentiment, was not one she'd ever expected to hear; not coming out of the mouth of Katherine Pierce. It didn't negate the realization, that Damon was at this moment, fucking Katherine, a woman that he had loved for nearly a century and a half. And what was worse... she wasn't just fucking, she was making love to him. Elena's doppelganger was back and from the sounds of it, she'd finally come to claim what was hers.
Reeling in shock and desperately trying to stifle the tears she could feel building, Elena turned and fled back to Stefan's room.
Closing the door in a panic, she stood for a second, before striding over to the bed and shaking her boyfriend awake.
His startled "What" indicated that she'd probably been less than gentle in her method, but at that moment she couldn't find it in herself to care.
"Katherine's back!" she blurted, not knowing how to say it any other way.
"She's with Damon right now Stefan and you have to stop it."
Stefan blinked and then shook his head.
"Okay, hold up a minute. Katherine is here, now... and she's with Damon. What's she doing with Damon?" he rose from the bed and reached for his jeans.
"Are they fighting Elena? Jesus what's he done now." muttered Stefan, pulling up and fastening his pants.
Elena, barely resisted rolling her eyes at her boyfriends obtuse attitude.
"No, he's not fighting with her, but you have to go down there and tell the bitch to leave. I don't want her here Stefan, she's trouble and Damon has already been through enough at her hands. She doesn't get to come back here and play with his head like that." she exclaimed heatedly.
Stefan's eyes widened fractionally, but it didn't stop him from striding to the door.
"You better stay here Elena, Katherine is still stronger and older than all of us and with the mood you're in, I don't relish refereeing any supernatural catfights." he smiled gently to take the sting out of his words.
"I'll go down and see what's going on and I'll be right back."
The moment the door closed Elena started to pace.
Oh God, Damon was sleeping with Katherine. How could he touch that woman, after everything she had done to him, to all of them.
How had this happened? Not more than three hours ago he'd been dancing with her, hugging her and now he was in bed with his ex girlfriend. The woman that looked like her twin. He'd yelled her name and Katherine had been very vocal in the fact; that apparently for her at least, it was no longer all about Stefan.
She wanted to believe it was a trick, a game on Katherine's part, but as much as she wished that was true, she knew it wasn't, because she knew that voice like her own. There was no way Katherine was faking what she felt, not when she'd screamed out her love, not with that much feeling in her declaration.
Why did she have to choose now to come back, Damon was at his most vulnerable and it was her fault. If she hadn't pushed him away so hard, he might not have given in to Katherine, he hadn't before.
Elena's hands came up to cover her mouth, as it hit her all at once.
She'd done this... she'd pushed Damon into Katherine's arms and now she'd probably lost him for good. Katherine was everything he wanted in a vampire, she was brave and ruthless, cunning and strong. She'd never be ashamed of what she was, and she would definitely, never be ashamed of wanting someone like Damon.
She may look like Elena, but if Katherine really loved him like Elena believed she did, she'd never treat him the way Elena had. Katherine was a bitch, but she was honest about what she wanted and if it was Damon she'd finally decided on, then there would be no games this time around. This time she'd be playing for keeps.
Katherine Pierce would take Damon and leave Mystic Falls and Elena would never see him again. Never feel his arms around her, never see his beautiful eyes look at her with the love that he'd reserved only for her. All of that would belong to Katherine. All because Elena had been too blind to see what was right in front of her, the whole time.
She was going to lose Damon and she had only herself to blame.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Stefan approached Damon's room, warily. It had been a long and tiring day. Between Klaus, Rebecca and the hunter, he'd had just about enough. And now with the secret he was keeping, all he'd wanted to do was to go home and curl up, with Elena safely in his arms.
He'd thought about telling her what Klaus and Rebecca had revealed, but he didn't want to get her hopes up about a possible cure, in case the trail turned out to be a dead end.
No, he'd wait and see what Klaus had found when he came back from his trip and in the mean time, he'd planned on spending some time with his girlfriend, just reconnecting and getting them back on track.
Now, it looked like he had Katherine to worry about; something he really didn't need and a person he'd hoped not to see again, for a very long time.
Poor Damon, he'd already been devastated by Elena's decision and now here was Katherine; back to remind him of yet another woman that had chosen his brother. Not that Stefan cared that Katherine had picked him, it was Elena he loved, after all. Nothing Katherine could do or say, would change that.
He sighed heavily.
Oh well, they can't have done too much damage to each other, he hadn't heard anything breaking, maybe she'd left already. Still, he'd better check on his brother. Elena would give him hell, if Katherine had done something to Damon, that Stefan could have prevented.
Opening the door quietly, Stefan squared his shoulders prepared to see the worst; a furious Damon and a confrontational Katherine. Hoping for the best, he entered the room and immediately froze in place.
There; in his ridiculously large bed, lay Damon. And in his arms; a soft and content smile on her face, Katherine Pierce, slept the sleep of the innocent, or in her case; the truly sated.
Stefan; the moment his brain registered what his eyes were telling him, experienced a number of very uncomfortable and totally unexpected emotions. First, was a startling sense of rage and jealousy as the scent of blood and sex hit his nose. Then, a rending pain in the region of his heart, as he watched the woman who'd made them both, sleep so peacefully in Damon's arms. This was followed closely by despair; as he realized that Katherine had come back and this time it wasn't for him. And last but by far the least; the horrified realization, that he'd really fucked things up this time. He was going to lose Damon to Katherine and worse than that, he might have lost Katherine forever this time.
Damon must have sensed his presence, because the next time Stefan looked directly at his brother, his eyes were open.
"What happened to knocking?" snarked Damon. "I could have been indecent".
He lifted the covers up, giving Stefan a brief flash of Katherine's alabaster skin, before dropping them with a snicker.
"Oh right... I am". He shrugged and smirked. "Sorry little Brother, did you want something?' he asked, his tone suggestive, as he ran his hand down the curve of Katherine's back.
Stefan gritted his teeth and glared.
"What the hell Damon. Why is she here and why the fuck are you in bed with her?"
Damon just rolled his eyes.
"Well it's like this baby bro, when a mummy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very very much..."
"Cut the crap Damon." exploded Stefan, his anger barely contained.
"What do you think you are doing... She doesn't love you; you know that. She's just come back to screw with your head and you're going to let her, aren't you?"
Stefan snarled at the look on Damon's face. And his next words nearly pushed Stefan to real violence.
"Hmmm, she's screwing with something alright, but I'm pretty sure it's not my head, at least not the one you're thinking of." Damon winked, but his eyes were colder than Stefan could ever remember seeing them, and it was those eyes that stopped Stefan from losing his temper completely.
Reining his temper in, Stefan got himself under control.
Attempting to be calm and reasonable, Stefan extended an arm conciliatorily and gestured towards the woman in his brothers bed.
"Come on Damon, you know she's only doing this to try and get to me. If she stays here, it's Elena that will suffer, and I know you don't want that."
Damon's eyes; if possible, got even harder.
"Well Fuck you Stefan. I really don't care what you think. So why don't you run back to your little vampire girlfriend and leave us grown up vampires alone. Katherine hasn't told me why she's back yet, but until she tells me differently, I'm choosing to believe she's here for me. Actually little brother, it might interest you to know that she didn't want you knowing she was here. And it sure as hell wasn't your name she was screaming right before she passed out. So get the fuck out before I make you."
Stefan snarled and started to move towards the bed.
Damon tensed, on the verge of getting up to meet him half way, he stilled when the woman in his arms let out a large and exasperated sigh.
"For fuck's sake! Can't a girl bask in the afterglow for longer than five minutes, without you two having one of your spats?"
Pulling herself up and tucking the covers under her arms, she moved back into Damon's arms, and unashamedly snuggled.
Damon's arm came around her and she turned her face up to study his expression. Seeing the wary look in his eyes, she felt a sudden and furious burst of anger towards Stefan and herself; she acted accordingly. Reaching up, she cupped her hand at the back of his head and pulled him in for a surprisingly sweet and lingering kiss.
It was of course, at that moment, that Elena decided that rather than waiting for Stefan to fill her in, she needed to see what was happening for herself.
And that's why, when Damon opened his eyes to look at his brother, he met the devastated stare of Elena Gilbert, instead.
Katherine is back in town, and she's finally ready to tell the real truth. She's come to claim what is hers and no stupid little vampire doppelganger is going to get in the way.
Chapter Two
Bridges Mended
Elena hadn't been at the boarding house for very long, when she heard Damon returning from wherever he'd been, after dropping her off at her house.
She hadn't actually intended staying with Stefan at all, but he'd seemed so eager to have her with him, she just didn't have the heart to say no.
She'd been on her way downstairs to get herself a snack, when she'd heard the front door close. She had frozen on the landing momentarily, before fleeing back up stairs with a less than dignified burst of vampire speed.
She just couldn't face seeing him again tonight, not after everything that had happened.
Every time she closed her eyes, she kept seeing the anger and the disappointment on his face. Those, she could of handled, she was used to him looking at her like that since she'd become a vampire. What she couldn't handle, was the expression she'd seen on his face as Stefan closed her front door. It was defeat, tinged with the one thing that she'd never expected to see in Damon's expressive eyes ever, blatant painful surrender.
Damon Salvatore, had finally given up on Elena Gilbert and she was terrified by what it might mean. More than that, she was just plain scared to death over what it said about his feelings for her; how it made her feel to realize they could change.
She hated being a vampire, but her secret truth was that she hated it a lot less, when she was with Damon.
Damon, made her feel nearly normal, he didn't make her feel like a monster, or someone less than who she'd been. And that scared her far more than anything else had, since becoming a vampire.
She'd told him earlier, that she didn't want to be like him and it was true to a certain point. She wanted to be the Elena that everyone else knew, not the passionate and fiery creature that Damon drew out of her.
She'd always been a different person with Damon, and that was before she had died. The person that only Damon had glimpses of, at least since her parents had been killed.
The girl from before, the one that had partied and laughed; that had been instantly attracted to a mysterious stranger she'd met on a lonely stretch of highway. That girl was gone and she had to stay gone; that girl got people killed and broke boys hearts. She didn't want to be that girl.
Stefan never brought out that girl; not even when she was human. He was thoughtful and caring and considered things from all angles, before acting. He would never let her lose control and forget herself, he would always be there as a reminder, that being the way she was before her parents death, was not who she should be.
Damon made her reckless and wild, he was passion and adventure and danger, everything a good girl shouldn't (couldn't) want.
So, If his feelings were changing, then that was good. It would be better for everyone, if he just stopped loving her. She'd chosen Stefan, and Stefan was who she loved. It would always be Stefan.
But then; why did her heart ache, when she remembered the look in Damon's eyes.
And why had her heart sung with some unnamed emotion, when he'd flung his angry words at Bonnie.
Stefan was asleep when she re-entered his room and she couldn't help feeling a little pang of relief, that she wouldn't have to face him with so much on her mind. She was sated from her earlier feeding with Damon, but she still felt wired and stretched too thin, as she gently lowered herself onto the bed.
Careful not to disturb her boyfriend, she lay back and tried not to think about tonight, about how good it had felt to have fresh human blood flowing down her throat and how right it had felt to be held in arms, that weren't her boyfriends.
laying there, staring up at the ceiling, she gradually became aware of noises that seemed disturbingly out of place, in the usually quiet house.
When it finally dawned on her what she was hearing she felt her blood rush to her face and her fangs begin to drop.
Damon had a girl in his room. He'd brought home a woman and he was very obviously, not having a problem with broadcasting the fact.
Straining her ears, she could make out the sounds of low moans and groans, and with each gasp she could feel her temper flaring.
Getting up from the bed; still mindful of not disturbing Stefan, she moved towards the door. She tried to tell herself she was pissed because the last girl he'd brought home was that bitch Rebecca and she needed to know if it was her that he was having sex with. It wasn't about Damon, he could sleep with whoever he liked, just as long as it wasn't the fucking cow that had killed her.
Ire rising at her thoughts; she slipped into the hall soundlessly.
How fucking dare he bring that bitch here, to this house. How could he do that to her. How could he sleep with the thing that was responsible for her being a vampire.
Moving down the hall towards Damon's room, she tried to ignore the little voice in the back of her head. The one that was insisting that Damon wouldn't do that to her, not this time. He'd wanted to kill Rebecca himself, there was no way he'd sleep with her again.
Pushing her doubts away, she stopped outside Damon's room.
Hand on the door knob, she was about to burst in and let fly, when she heard something that made her heart skitter in her chest and her blood run cold.
"Fuck yeah... That's it Kat."
"Oh God Damon, Fuck I love you."
Elena's world spun dizzily, as she registered the identity of the voice that could have been her own. Though that particular sentiment, was not one she'd ever expected to hear; not coming out of the mouth of Katherine Pierce. It didn't negate the realization, that Damon was at this moment, fucking Katherine, a woman that he had loved for nearly a century and a half. And what was worse... she wasn't just fucking, she was making love to him. Elena's doppelganger was back and from the sounds of it, she'd finally come to claim what was hers.
Reeling in shock and desperately trying to stifle the tears she could feel building, Elena turned and fled back to Stefan's room.
Closing the door in a panic, she stood for a second, before striding over to the bed and shaking her boyfriend awake.
His startled "What" indicated that she'd probably been less than gentle in her method, but at that moment she couldn't find it in herself to care.
"Katherine's back!" she blurted, not knowing how to say it any other way.
"She's with Damon right now Stefan and you have to stop it."
Stefan blinked and then shook his head.
"Okay, hold up a minute. Katherine is here, now... and she's with Damon. What's she doing with Damon?" he rose from the bed and reached for his jeans.
"Are they fighting Elena? Jesus what's he done now." muttered Stefan, pulling up and fastening his pants.
Elena, barely resisted rolling her eyes at her boyfriends obtuse attitude.
"No, he's not fighting with her, but you have to go down there and tell the bitch to leave. I don't want her here Stefan, she's trouble and Damon has already been through enough at her hands. She doesn't get to come back here and play with his head like that." she exclaimed heatedly.
Stefan's eyes widened fractionally, but it didn't stop him from striding to the door.
"You better stay here Elena, Katherine is still stronger and older than all of us and with the mood you're in, I don't relish refereeing any supernatural catfights." he smiled gently to take the sting out of his words.
"I'll go down and see what's going on and I'll be right back."
The moment the door closed Elena started to pace.
Oh God, Damon was sleeping with Katherine. How could he touch that woman, after everything she had done to him, to all of them.
How had this happened? Not more than three hours ago he'd been dancing with her, hugging her and now he was in bed with his ex girlfriend. The woman that looked like her twin. He'd yelled her name and Katherine had been very vocal in the fact; that apparently for her at least, it was no longer all about Stefan.
She wanted to believe it was a trick, a game on Katherine's part, but as much as she wished that was true, she knew it wasn't, because she knew that voice like her own. There was no way Katherine was faking what she felt, not when she'd screamed out her love, not with that much feeling in her declaration.
Why did she have to choose now to come back, Damon was at his most vulnerable and it was her fault. If she hadn't pushed him away so hard, he might not have given in to Katherine, he hadn't before.
Elena's hands came up to cover her mouth, as it hit her all at once.
She'd done this... she'd pushed Damon into Katherine's arms and now she'd probably lost him for good. Katherine was everything he wanted in a vampire, she was brave and ruthless, cunning and strong. She'd never be ashamed of what she was, and she would definitely, never be ashamed of wanting someone like Damon.
She may look like Elena, but if Katherine really loved him like Elena believed she did, she'd never treat him the way Elena had. Katherine was a bitch, but she was honest about what she wanted and if it was Damon she'd finally decided on, then there would be no games this time around. This time she'd be playing for keeps.
Katherine Pierce would take Damon and leave Mystic Falls and Elena would never see him again. Never feel his arms around her, never see his beautiful eyes look at her with the love that he'd reserved only for her. All of that would belong to Katherine. All because Elena had been too blind to see what was right in front of her, the whole time.
She was going to lose Damon and she had only herself to blame.
What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Stefan approached Damon's room, warily. It had been a long and tiring day. Between Klaus, Rebecca and the hunter, he'd had just about enough. And now with the secret he was keeping, all he'd wanted to do was to go home and curl up, with Elena safely in his arms.
He'd thought about telling her what Klaus and Rebecca had revealed, but he didn't want to get her hopes up about a possible cure, in case the trail turned out to be a dead end.
No, he'd wait and see what Klaus had found when he came back from his trip and in the mean time, he'd planned on spending some time with his girlfriend, just reconnecting and getting them back on track.
Now, it looked like he had Katherine to worry about; something he really didn't need and a person he'd hoped not to see again, for a very long time.
Poor Damon, he'd already been devastated by Elena's decision and now here was Katherine; back to remind him of yet another woman that had chosen his brother. Not that Stefan cared that Katherine had picked him, it was Elena he loved, after all. Nothing Katherine could do or say, would change that.
He sighed heavily.
Oh well, they can't have done too much damage to each other, he hadn't heard anything breaking, maybe she'd left already. Still, he'd better check on his brother. Elena would give him hell, if Katherine had done something to Damon, that Stefan could have prevented.
Opening the door quietly, Stefan squared his shoulders prepared to see the worst; a furious Damon and a confrontational Katherine. Hoping for the best, he entered the room and immediately froze in place.
There; in his ridiculously large bed, lay Damon. And in his arms; a soft and content smile on her face, Katherine Pierce, slept the sleep of the innocent, or in her case; the truly sated.
Stefan; the moment his brain registered what his eyes were telling him, experienced a number of very uncomfortable and totally unexpected emotions. First, was a startling sense of rage and jealousy as the scent of blood and sex hit his nose. Then, a rending pain in the region of his heart, as he watched the woman who'd made them both, sleep so peacefully in Damon's arms. This was followed closely by despair; as he realized that Katherine had come back and this time it wasn't for him. And last but by far the least; the horrified realization, that he'd really fucked things up this time. He was going to lose Damon to Katherine and worse than that, he might have lost Katherine forever this time.
Damon must have sensed his presence, because the next time Stefan looked directly at his brother, his eyes were open.
"What happened to knocking?" snarked Damon. "I could have been indecent".
He lifted the covers up, giving Stefan a brief flash of Katherine's alabaster skin, before dropping them with a snicker.
"Oh right... I am". He shrugged and smirked. "Sorry little Brother, did you want something?' he asked, his tone suggestive, as he ran his hand down the curve of Katherine's back.
Stefan gritted his teeth and glared.
"What the hell Damon. Why is she here and why the fuck are you in bed with her?"
Damon just rolled his eyes.
"Well it's like this baby bro, when a mummy vampire and a daddy vampire love each other very very much..."
"Cut the crap Damon." exploded Stefan, his anger barely contained.
"What do you think you are doing... She doesn't love you; you know that. She's just come back to screw with your head and you're going to let her, aren't you?"
Stefan snarled at the look on Damon's face. And his next words nearly pushed Stefan to real violence.
"Hmmm, she's screwing with something alright, but I'm pretty sure it's not my head, at least not the one you're thinking of." Damon winked, but his eyes were colder than Stefan could ever remember seeing them, and it was those eyes that stopped Stefan from losing his temper completely.
Reining his temper in, Stefan got himself under control.
Attempting to be calm and reasonable, Stefan extended an arm conciliatorily and gestured towards the woman in his brothers bed.
"Come on Damon, you know she's only doing this to try and get to me. If she stays here, it's Elena that will suffer, and I know you don't want that."
Damon's eyes; if possible, got even harder.
"Well Fuck you Stefan. I really don't care what you think. So why don't you run back to your little vampire girlfriend and leave us grown up vampires alone. Katherine hasn't told me why she's back yet, but until she tells me differently, I'm choosing to believe she's here for me. Actually little brother, it might interest you to know that she didn't want you knowing she was here. And it sure as hell wasn't your name she was screaming right before she passed out. So get the fuck out before I make you."
Stefan snarled and started to move towards the bed.
Damon tensed, on the verge of getting up to meet him half way, he stilled when the woman in his arms let out a large and exasperated sigh.
"For fuck's sake! Can't a girl bask in the afterglow for longer than five minutes, without you two having one of your spats?"
Pulling herself up and tucking the covers under her arms, she moved back into Damon's arms, and unashamedly snuggled.
Damon's arm came around her and she turned her face up to study his expression. Seeing the wary look in his eyes, she felt a sudden and furious burst of anger towards Stefan and herself; she acted accordingly. Reaching up, she cupped her hand at the back of his head and pulled him in for a surprisingly sweet and lingering kiss.
It was of course, at that moment, that Elena decided that rather than waiting for Stefan to fill her in, she needed to see what was happening for herself.
And that's why, when Damon opened his eyes to look at his brother, he met the devastated stare of Elena Gilbert, instead.