"Definitely broken" Damon said, after examining my arm, he kept at arms length, at first I thought it was just because he was upset about having to kill the woman he loved but then I felt the pain in my head and realised it was still bleeding.

"Great" I sighed sarcastically, though it came out weak, getting chased about the house by a vampire was exhausting.

"I can help with the head injury" he said, letting go off my arm and taking hold of my hand instead.

Maybe it was the loss of blood but it took me longer than normal to understand what he meant. "You mean taking your blood?" I looked around my empty bedroom, where we had retreated before anyone had the chance to ask questions I wasn't quite sure how to answer.

"It'll stop the bleeding and close the wound but we'll still have to go to the hospital to get your arm sorted" He was trying not to look into my eyes, doing everything he could to avoid catching a glimpse of the blood that trickled down my forehead. It was easy to forget sometimes that blood had a lot of control over him; it would have been his natural instinct to want to drink my blood, not offer me his own.

When I didn't protest, he lifted his wrist to his mouth, his canines extending and piercing through his skin. His blood was a deep red, thicker than human blood, finally his eyes met mine, two endless dark holes, guarded as always, but for once I finally knew what he was thinking, what he was trying to tell me without him having to say it. He loved me, so much that he would put past the fact that my blood was tempting him to no end, because he didn't want me to be hurt, that's what you do for the people you love; you do whatever it takes, no matter how much you have to sacrifice.

He raised his wrist to my mouth, offering me the cure to ease the pain, and I took his blood without hesitation, the sweet, warm liquid trailed its way down my throat. I could feel the dull throbbing in my head weaken, new skin closing over the bloody gash on my head. My arm still hurt, I would need more than blood to fix the broken bone. I pulled back, and Damon look more relaxed now that the bleeding had stopped.

He took the damp towel from a basin filled with water, which he had earlier retrieved from her bathroom, wiping the excess blood from my forehead. "Are you ok?" Stupid question, one I regretted asking as soon as it left my lips. Of course he's not ok, the girl he had mourned over had faked her own death, and then when she came back into his life he had to kill her.

He rolled his eyes, smirking, "You're the one with broken bones are you ok?"

I stood up from the bed, to be able to look him in the eye, "You don't have to pretend, I'll understand if you're upset"

His hand reached up to push my hair behind my ear, stroking my cheek lightly, he stayed silent for a few seconds, almost like he was trying to figure out if he was upset.

"I don't regret killing her, because if I didn't you'd be dead" he paused, eyes thoughtful, not quite answering my question, "I might have loved her once, but that was a very long time ago and most of the time I was being compelled. She turned me against my own brother, and then ruined both our lives, damning us to an eternity alone. So, no I'm not upset, but I do feel grateful towards her" My eyebrows drew together in confusion, "If I wasn't turned into a vampire, I would have never been able to meet you, it's taken me five centuries it feel this way. I love you, Elena" he admitted, hearing him say those words made my knees weak, seeing the affection in his eyes was one thing but for him to admit not only to me but to himself, took my breath away.

He leaned in closer, his lips gently pressing against mine, "I love you too" I murmured between his chaste kisses. His lips curved into a smirk against mine, as his arms wrapped around my waist, careful that he didn't touch my arm.

"Promise me something?" he asked, his eyes closed, our foreheads leaning against one another.

I thought about it for a second, not sure I could possibly say no to anything he asked of me, "Anything"

He smiled, his eyes opening as he says, "Don't ever change"

My head leaned to the side without any conscious decision to do so; did he mean what I thought he did? Did he mean to always be who I am, or to never grow older, forever young? Before I could ask, shouting erupted from downstairs.

"Matt" Damon put simply, rolling his eyes, when he looked back at me he was serious again, waiting for my answer, and I could have sworn I seen a vulnerable look in his eyes.

"I promise" I wasn't quite sure what I was committing to, but I knew I loved him and would give him my all, that's all that mattered.

His smile light up the whole room, almost as bright as the sun, but it only lasted a few seconds before he turned it off, "We should go downstairs, Matt's getting shirty" he scoffed.

"What are we going to tell them?"

"It's your choice" he said, not seeming fazed about having to go downstairs and face Matt and Meredith.

"It's not my secret to share though, it should be up to you" he took hold of my good hand, running a hand through his hair to push it away from his face.

"We'll tell them together" he said it like it would be simple, like it would be as easy as saying by the way I'm not just your history teacher, I'm a vampire.

My heart was racing as I walked down the stairs, Matt's raised voice getting louder the closer I came to the door; Damon squeezed my hand in reassurance before opening the door.

Everyone turned to stare at me, silence replacing the earlier arguments. They were all waiting for me to explain, Stefan was standing near Matt, obviously trying to calm him down. Bonnie sat beside Meredith who looked like she was in shock.

"What's going on?" Matt broke the silence, he looked tense and ready for a fight but I could see the undeniable fear in his eyes.

I had to bite my lip to keep the words from tumbling out of me, I should brace him for this, but how are you suppose to tell someone that everything they know is wrong, that everything isn't just black and white?

"Stefan" Damon began before I could think of how to start, "Would you mind explaining this?"

"What?" Stefan looked uncomfortable, he barely knew any of them how was he suppose to explain his life story to strangers?

"If you all hadn't noticed, Elena's arm is sitting at an unusual angle, she needs to go to the hospital" he was leaning against the wall looking more relaxed than ever, if not slightly bored by having to explain everything.

Stefan looked over to me, looking genuinely concerned, though he looked different, paler? I nearly hit myself on the head when I realised what was wrong, Damon wasn't the only one who had loved Katherine once. "Yeah, you should get that looked at" Stefan agreed.

"I can take her" Matt said, eyeing Damon suspiciously, I couldn't blame him though; he had witnessed Damon killing someone who looked exactly like me.

"Then you'll miss story time" Damon said sarcastically, putting his arm around my waist to lead me out, signalling Stefan to follow us into the hall.

"I'll be fine" I said to Matt who looked like he was about to follow, he looked thoughtful before nodding solemnly.

"Should I really be the one to tell them?" Stefan asked once he had closed the door behind him, his voice low.

"You're a people person, no worries, besides Bonnie may be able to help you she already knows what we are" he shrugged, "if they look like they're about to run around town screaming 'Vampire' just compel them" I looked over to him with a stern look and he held up his hands in surrender, "Only if the worst comes to the worst" he corrected, guiding me towards the front door.

"Wait, Damon-" Stefan began but Damon cut him off.

"What?" he asked exasperated.

Stefan shifted his weight to one foot then back to the other, a guarded look in his eyes, that made him look a bit more like his older brother, "What about… the body?"

Damon nodded, considering his options of where he would put the decaying body that lye on my kitchen floor, "I'll sort it when I get back" he promised, finally leading me out the door and into his car.

…

After playing twenty questions with the nurse about how I managed to break my arm, while she sent glares to Damon, I finally got a cast on my arm. I had to tell her I tripped over my own feet and fell down the stairs, so really it's not like I lied… that much. She didn't seem to believe me though; convinced Damon was somehow involved, but unable to accuse him she let us go.

"I'm sort of disappointed" he said with a sigh, as he opened the car door for me, "You didn't even get a sticker"

I laughed but it didn't sound right, it was too forced, thankfully Damon was too busy moving around the car to the driver's side to notice. I couldn't stop thinking about what he had said earlier, why did he always have to be so cryptic? This was definitely going to keep me up at night, so I took a deep breath, just about to ask him what he had meant by his words don't ever change… when his phone rang.

He put it on speakerphone, placing it on the dashboard "What?" he asked tiredly.

"I think you should come back, we've got a…problem" Stefan's voice answered, he sounded dazed?

"We're on our way back; didn't I tell you to compel them if they lost it?" he asked his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"It's not that, it's Katherine" Damon grabbed the phone putting it off speaker phone and lifting it to his ear; a stomach-churning feeling overwhelmed me.

"What about her?" he asked voice tight, showing he was not to be messed with.

"Her body, it's gone…it's just disappeared" I had to strain to hear him, at first I thought I had misheard, but Damon's tense posture proved I hadn't. I thought when Damon had pierced that stake through her heart it was over, but no, I was wrong, this was only the beginning.