a/n: Okay, so as a rule, I don't write more than one fic per show/movie/book, etc, however, Damon and Elena are just too easy and perfect to write for! I have a few ideas for this story, but we'll see where it goes. I would especially like to thank Alex Bee for suggesting the plot idea of this story to me. This story won't be as long as my other one, but I can assure you that it will still be an awesome Delena adventure. Now, if only Sept. 9th would hurry up and get here so we can stop speculating on what happened! And as always, thank you to my amazing beta; Zoraya Windwalker :)

ONE

The atmosphere in Stefan's car was so tense it could have been cut with a knife. My attention was focused on the trees and houses passing us by on the way to my house. I tried to think of anything other than what Isobel had said about Damon, but my mind kept replaying the scene over and over again. I could tell from the way Stefan sat in his seat and gripped both the steering wheel and the gearshift that he was dwelling on it as well. The moment he parked in front of my house, I bolted from my seat just to get away from the tension in the car. I sighed and wiped my palms on my jeans while I waited for him to walk around. We made our way up to the porch in silence and then sat on the bench that was off to the side. I knew we had to talk about it, but neither of us wanted to bring it up.

I sighed again and looked at him. "Thank you for coming with me."

He nodded and placed his hand over mine where it rested on the edge of the bench. "There was no way we were going to let you go see her by yourself." My lips quirked into a half smile which faded instantly when he withdrew his hand and stood up. "I get that you and Damon are friends," he started and focused his gaze on the ground.

"But?" I supplied in a tight voice while I trying to contain my anger.

"When did that happen?"

"We've been over this before Stefan. We bonded while we waited for you to get better. He's not as bad as he used to be. He's different. At least he is around me. He's proven that he won't hurt me before and, for the record, I never thought he would."

"What about what he's done to Bonnie? To Caroline...to me?"

I stood up then, the blood was boiling in my veins. "I didn't say he's a great guy, I just said he's good to me. Is it so wrong that I want to be friends with my boyfriends brother? He's part of your life and as long as I'm in it too, I want to get to know him. It's better than being afraid of him; that I have to watch his every move when I'm at the boarding house in case he might decide that he wants to get back at you one day."

"Elena-"

"I never slept with him Stefan," I interrupted strongly before he could finish his thought. "I'm in love with you, but you're too busy comparing me to Katherine to notice," I stated and strode past him and into the house. I slammed the door and stood with my back to it so that I could rest there. I waited until my breathing had returned to normal and I was sure that I wasn't going to cry before I headed upstairs. I noticed that Jeremy's light was on and I knocked lightly on his door. He opened it and all emotion drained from his face. "Jer, I think we should talk."

"So you can lie to me some more." It wasn't a question and it hurt.

"I don't know where Anna is. If I did-"

"Just like you told me about Vickie? I know you're a damn good liar which makes it hard for me to believe you now."

"Jer-" My heart was racing in my chest at the mention of Vickie's name. He wasn't supposed to remember that.

"Don't worry, I got all of my information from your journal." He took a step back and gave me a judgmental look.

"I'm so sorry Jeremy. You were...It was like telling you Mom and Dad were dead all over again and I couldn't bear to watch you fall back into your drug phase."

"You don't get to call them that," he said tightly and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes again. "Don't you think you should have asked me if it was okay? I don't care how hurt you felt; it's my life Elena." He took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. "Out."

"Jer-"

"Out!" he shouted and I left without saying another word.

I jumped at the sound of the door slamming behind me and took a deep breath. As I stood there, my breathing became shallower and I felt as though the walls were closing in on me. I hurried down the stairs to grab my purse from the foyer and dug around for my keys while I walked to my car. I didn't even think about where I was going as I drove at a speed well over the limit, but somehow I ended up at the ruins of the original Salvatore house. No sooner had I shut the engine off did my phone ring. I pulled it out to see Stefan's name on the display and let it go to voicemail after returning it to my pocket. I got out of the car, leaving my purse in the front seat, and began the little walk to the site. I rolled my eyes as my phone rang again; this time I didn't even take it out to see who was calling.

Once I saw the ruins, I felt all the emotions of the day beginning to take their toll. My legs grew weak and I began to shake slightly and wrapped my arms around myself while I leaned against one of the thicker trees. I hated that Jeremy was mad at me although I was throughly to blame for his feelings. What I hated even more was that Stefan thought I would cheat on him with Damon; just like Katherine. My arms went up so that my fingers could run through my hair to keep myself from taking my anger out on the trees. My phone rang again and I swore under my breath and pulled it out. Sure enough, it was Stefan again.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" came a familiar voice from behind, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I shoved the phone back in my pocket, wiped hastily at my face, and then turned to see Damon. He had a slightly amused look on his face as he stood there, thumbs hooked in his belt loops. "What are you doing here? Trouble in paradise?" he asked and I detected a hint of mockery in his voice.

My lips quirked into a smile but it lasted only a fraction of a second. "Not exactly."

He tilted his head to the side and my eyes went to the ground. "What brought you here out of all the places you could have run to? It's not exactly safe for you to be running around by yourself at night."

My arms wrapped around myself again and I shrugged. "I figured Stefan wouldn't look for me here right away. If he came looking for me at all."

I dared to look up and immediately regretted it. There was an unreadable emotion on his face that disappeared the moment our eyes met. "What did my brother say that would make you hide from him and ignore his calls?"

"It wasn't really what he said, but rather what he didn't say." I looked down again, moving some of the dirt with the toe of my shoe. "Jeremy sure as hell didn't help me feel any better."

"What did he do?" he asked, concern radiating off of him.

It made me look up out of curiosity and the gleam in his eyes made me a little leery on telling him. I took a deep breath and looked up at him. "He told me that he read my journal."

"So he knows everything."

I narrowed my eyes slightly and nodded. "Yeah and he hates me. He didn't say the words, but I know he does."

"You don't-"

"He told me not to call his parents my mom and dad anymore," I said flatly and cleared my throat. "The point is, he knows and I don't want you to erase his memory. Eventually he'll calm down to the point we can talk about it."

"If you say so," Damon said and leaned against one of the stone pillars that hadn't crumbled to the ground yet. I studied him, watching him move the dirt in front of him around with one foot as I had been doing. It made me smile a little, causing my thoughts to drift back to what Isobel had said only a couple of hours ago. I tried to think of a way to bring it up, but failed each and every time. He looked up and caught me staring, a grin spreading instantly on his face as he straightened up. "Why are you dodging Saint Stefan's calls?" he asked.

I shifted uncomfortably; I wasn't ready to have this conversation with him. "He asked me about my friendship with you. About the time we spent together while he was...recuperating."

He shook his head and gave a light laugh. "Oh my darling baby brother is quite stupid when it comes to women." He looked up and shrugged. "To be fair, if it hadn't been for Katherine, he wouldn't be acting jealous or untrusting."

"Jealous?"

"He came home and gave me the 'history will not be repeating itself' speech. That I'm to stay away from you."

I smiled and put my hands in my pockets. "I'm guessing you said something to make it worse."

"Depends on your idea of worse."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, but smiled anyway.

"I simply told him that I was your friend and would always be there when you need me. What did you tell him?"

"I told him that as long as I'm a part of his life then you'll be a part of mine. You're his family and I don't see anything wrong in wanting to know you."

"That's all you said?" he asked doubtfully.

"Not exactly," I muttered and took a few steps closer to him. "I may have yelled at him for thinking I would play the same game as Katherine did." His eyes were sparkling with laughter as I said that. "I'm just tired of him looking at me and thinking Katherine, Katherine, Katherine when it comes to things like my friendship with you. Am I really that much like her?"

His amusement vanished and was replaced with a seriousness that made me shudder. "He's an idiot. You're nothing like her."

We fell silent, that awkward tension back in the air while we thought of something to say. "Can I ask you something?"

I saw the look of hesitation on his face, but he nodded. "Sure."

"Is the only reason you both stayed in Mystic Falls for this long because of my resemblance to her?"

"It had us both curious, but after spending more than a minute with you, it was obvious that the only trait the two of you shared is your looks. If you're asking me if that's why Stefan decided to pursue you, you'll have to ask him."

I took a deep breath and started to pace. "For once, I just wish he would look at me and see me not her."

"Like I said, he's an idiot."

"Why didn't you tell me I looked like her?" I asked, stopping suddenly.

He looked taken aback at that question and I smiled at having the ability to catch him off guard. "I wasn't the one dating you."

I smirked, "Meaning you waited for Stefan to do it so I would come running to you?"

He returned my smirk with his signature one and took a step towards me. "It worked didn't it? We ended up in Georgia by ourselves less than a few hours after." He winked and I shook my head, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. "As I recall, that was the trip where you learned you could trust me because I would never lie to you."

"Have you ever had a friend before me?" I asked, changing the subject before it went too far in the wrong direction.

The sparkle in his eye dimmed and he looked withdrawn as he shook his head. "I had a best friend. We got into trouble together; spent every waking moment by each other's side."

"What happened?" I asked, stepping forward.

"We fell in love with the same woman," he breathed and averted his gaze.

"Oh," was all I could say. I cleared my throat and straightened up. "I should go. It's getting late."

He looked up at the sky and smiled. "Even for a human this time of day is usually considered early."

Before he could stop me, I moved forward to hug him. It took him a moment to put his arms around me gently. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

I pulled away to answer. "For talking to me; letting me vent my anger, and answering my questions. For giving me the device and coming with me to give it to Isobel."

I instantly regretted saying her name, but he said nothing on that particular topic. "You're still breathing, that's all that counts. Goodnight Elena."

"Goodnight Damon," I returned and turned to head back to my car.