I've hurt too many people. I need to do this for everyone. It's what's best. Stefan thought. After all, Damon hates me. This thought clenched Stefan's heart in a way that couldn't be described. It was painful, at the least. As Stefan stood, looking out at the water, he looked down at his finger as well. He saw the bare skin where his ring was supposed to be. It's better this way Stefan reminded himself. He heard the leaves on the ground crunch ever so slightly, so he turned, expecting to see Elena. Stefan wasn't expecting to see Damon standing there. Stefan quickly turned, trying to mask the tears that were welling up rapidly in his eyes. Damon already mocked him enough, and this would just make things worse. Stefan moved toward the water.

"Don't take another step, Stefan." Damon's voice cut through the air. At this, Stefan took another step. "Listen to me, Stefan. Don't take another step." Stefan again took another step.

He very quickly found himself pinned to the ground by Damon.

"Damon, get off." Stefan ordered.

"You didn't listen to me, so why the hell would I listen to you? Besides, I'm older." Damon said. This time, his smirk didn't follow the statement like it normally would have.

"Damon, let me go!" Stefan screamed. He tried to push Damon away, but because he hadn't eaten, he was no match.

"No. Now tell me, what the hell are you thinking?" Damon asked. What surprised Stefan was how worried he seemed.

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're my brother."

At this, Stefan let a couple of tears escape from his eyes. Damon reached out and wiped them away.

"I can't do this anymore, Damon. I'm a threat to everyone. Do you know how many people I've hurt? I've lost count, Damon. And how about the total amount of people that we've hurt?"

"Don't blame yourself for what I've done. That's my burden to carry. You aren't allowed to feel pain for what I've done...I won't let you." Damon said.

"Just let me go. This is what's best for everyone." Stefan whimpered. Damon's face crumpled for a moment when he heard Stefan sounding like that.

"No, it's not. You're what this town needs. If any of us are getting rid of themselves, then it's going to be me. Understood?" Damon asked, loosening his grip on Stefan.

Stefan took this as his chance and managed to get out from under Damon. Damon's reflexes were faster, and Stefan once again found himself on the ground.

"Damon, why won't you just let me?"

"Because you're all that I have left!" Stefan looked up at Damon, and the expression on his face was just painful to look at. Stefan moved his arms from under Damon's and wrapped them around Damon's neck in a hug. "Just don't do it, Stefan." Damon sighed, burying his face into Stefan's shoulder. Stefan wasn't sure what to do. It had been so long since he and Damon were like this. He settled for nothing. However, this seemed to send Damon the wrong message. "I'm sorry...I should go." Damon choked out. Then, he stopped. "But I'm not going without you."

"You can't make me come back, Damon." Stefan sighed.

"I will drag you back there if I have to," Damon paused, observing Stefan's reaction. "Or, I could do this." He said, slipping off his own ring.

Damon knew that he was entering dangerous territory, seeing as the sun would come out soon, but his message was simple. If Stefan went, he went."Damon, put your ring back on." Stefan said nervously.

"If you go, I go. It's simple, Stefan. You're what keeps me going, and it'll always be that way." Damon replied. "Let's go home."

Stefan nodded, but didn't move.

"Stefan-"

"-I'm scared. What if I can't control it?" Stefan asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'll look out for you. I promise." Damon smiled. He shyly took Stefan's hand. "Now let's go home."

And they did, knowing that things would have changed for the better by the time that the sun came up.