TWENTY-TWO

My head was resting on the edge of the bed while my feet were propped up on the headboard. I stared at the ceiling, making shapes out of the stucco while the music from my headphones blared into my ears. My hands were atop my stomach, absently playing with my ring; the only reminder of that night. I sighed, shoving those thoughts away and refocused on the lyrics that filled my ear canal. As I began to zone out again, my phone vibrated against my hip. I ignored it for as long as I could, but it kept going off. Whoever it was, it must have been important. My hand slid down to my pocket and I read the message from Bonnie. I'm sorry.

For? I typed back, mildly curious.

You'll see, she replied and I rolled my eyes instead of messaging her back, slipping the phone back into my pocket.

I shifted to get comfortable again and closed my eyes once more. This time it was much easier to get lost in the music and tune out the world around me. My breathing was deep and even; my body completely relaxed. As something touched my shoulder, my eyes snapped open and I sat up faster than I ever had before. My head collided with someone else's causing my hand to go immediately to my forehead. I pulled out my headphones and stared at Lucy, an acquaintance from some of my classes, who was wiping blood from her nose. "I'm sorry!" she mumbled behind her fingers. "I thought you were sleeping!" She tipped her head back and headed out of my room for the bathroom.

"It's okay Luce," I assured her and followed her to help her. Bonnie stopped in the hallway outside her bedroom door. "I didn't know she was going straight to your room."

"I knocked!" she said loudly, shoving toilet paper up her nostril to stop the flow of blood. She sat on the closed toilet seat and smiled at me, keeping her face tilted upwards. "Anyway, Bonnie said it's your birthday."

My head whirled around to give her an astonished expression. She shrugged, "I said I was sorry," she whispered, leaning against the linen closet just outside the bathroom door.

"So we're going out to celebrate," Lucy concluded, pulling the tissue from her nose and throwing it away. She got up and washed the excess blood from her skin. "I'm appalled that I've known you for three years and I'm just now finding out about your birthday."

"It's not something I celebrate," I said darkly, earning a look of sympathy from Bonnie.

"Why not?" Lucy asked, shutting off the light, forcing us out of her way before we ventured to the living room.

I shook my head and smiled lightly. "I don't want to talk about it," I answered, perching on the arm of the couch.

"Well, whatever the reason is, it's your twenty-first birthday and it's a Saturday night. There's no way in hell that I'm letting you stay home."

I sighed, when she was in this sort of mood there was no getting her to change her mind. I simply nodded. "Alright, we'll go out."

"Fantastic!" she screeched causing Bonnie and I both to wince. "I'll swing by around eight to get you," she added and headed for the door.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," she sang and shut the door behind her. Bonnie and I exchanged the same look and jumped when the door opened again. "You better dress up," she added and left again.

"You told her?" I asked once I was sure Lucy wasn't coming back.

"She found me in the library and asked what my plans were and the words were out there before I realized what I said. I'm really sorry, I know you like to be alone, but maybe this could be good for you. It's been four years..." her voice tapered off and she offered a small smile before coming to put her arm around my shoulders. "It's been a long time and I hate seeing you this way. You know you can talk to me right?"

"I've been trying all day not to think about it," I said quietly before moving out of her grasp and into my room. I paced in front of my bed with my phone in my hand ready to call Lucy and cancel on her. I stopped moving and tossed my phone onto my bed, cursing Bonnie as I did. She was right; four years had gone by and it was time to move on. What made it worse was that the incident at Mayor Lockwood's funeral had been a week before my seventeenth birthday. Of course I hadn't felt like celebrating that year and my mood kept getting worse and worse as time went on. Junior year I cut everyone out of my life except for Bonnie because she was the only one I could talk to. Even then I had trouble voicing my feelings to her. My life had changed so rapidly in the course of a week that I wasn't sure who I was anymore.

After high school, I decided to move to the west coast and go to Arizona State University. Bonnie came with me and I was grateful for it. I was sure I would have dropped out a long time ago if she hadn't been there with me. Lucy was the only other person I let into my life. She didn't know about my past other than something tragic had happened and I didn't want to talk about it. She reminded me of Caroline; full of life and always needed to be in control of the situation. She always invited me to parties or out on group dates, but I mostly turned her down unless it was just her, Bonnie, and me. I looked down at the ring on my finger and my heart felt heavy. It was still healing after all these years, but it was time to start speeding up the process.

I took a deep breath and headed back into the living room to find it empty. I knocked on Bonnie's bedroom door and pushed it open gently. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I know you're here when I need you."

She smiled and nodded at me. "Are we going out?"

"You're right, it's time to move on," I said with a grin before going back to my room to get ready. I stood in front of my closet and stared at the contents before making a selection. It took me seven different outfits to finally settle on a black halter dress with an empire waist and an ice blue belt to go with it. I spent the majority of my time doing my hair, making it curl perfectly down my back. My make-up was simple yet elegant before I picked out accessories. When it was time for the shoes, I had to stand in front of my closet again.

"Elena?" Bonnie called as she knocked and then came in. "You look gorgeous," she breathed, our eyes meeting in the mirror.

"Thanks, you look great too," I said. "I can't decide on shoes. Help?" I asked and she moved to stand beside me.

She looked at my dress and then back at my collection of shoes before reaching for a pair of black boots. "Those should work."

"That's what I was thinking," I said and sat on the edge of my bed to put them on. I stood up and looked down with approval. The heels weren't outrageously high but weren't too low either; perfect for just going out with the girls.

Just as I grabbed my phone from the bed, it rang, displaying Lucy's number. "Do I have to come up there and kidnap you?" she asked.

"Nope, we're ready. We'll be right down," I assured her and hung up, offering my arm to Bonnie. She linked her arm with mine and we headed out the door of our apartment. I slid into the front seat next to Lucy and narrowed my eyes at her. "One mention about a set up with some random guy and I'm leaving. Understood?"

"Message received, loud and clear," she said and sped off. "But keep in mind I can't be held accountable for what I do when I'm drunk. Bonnie, would you mind be the designated driver?"

"I was planning on it," she said from the back. She had turned twenty-one almost four months ago, bought a bottle of liquor for the two of us, and that was it. That brought me to wonder if I could get drunk wearing the ring since I hadn't had much to drink that night. I didn't want to risk misplacing it to find out.

We ended up at a somewhat upscale dance club with a huge dance floor and a bar that lined two walls. "I'll get us the first round, then we can dance!" Lucy shouted over the music.

I scanned the crowd, looking at nothing in particular when I got the feeling that someone was watching me. I looked around carefully but came up with nothing. I shook that feeling aside when Lucy returned. She raised her shot glass. "Happy Birthday!" Bonnie toasted and we clinked our glasses together before downing the contents. With that, we headed out to the dance floor.

In the space of an hour, Lucy had taken double the amount of shots that I had and was beyond tipsy. She could handle her alcohol pretty well though, to give her some credit. Bonnie and I exited the dance floor to catch our breath while Lucy went to the bathroom. I moved to stand closer to her so I didn't have to shout as loud. "Someone's watching me."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "I've been feeling it since we got here."

She pulled away to look at me for a moment. Before she could say anything else, Lucy was headed back to us. "That was fast!" Bonnie shouted to her.

"There is a guy at the bar who is ogling you and if you don't go up to him right now, I'm so going to slap you!" she yelled back.

She half turned to point him out to me and my heart stopped in my chest. The distance between the two of us disappeared and it felt as though I were standing right in front of him. Four years worth of emotions came bubbling to the surface as I tore my eyes from him and looked at Bonnie with alarm. "Go."

I shook my head. "He doesn't want anything to do with me."

She grabbed my shoulders and gave me a gentle push in his direction. He had already turned his back to me as he sat at the bar. "Go or you'll never forgive yourself," she hissed in my ear and gave me another shove.

I took a deep breath and began moving across the room to take the empty barstool next to him. My heart raced and my throat was tight, but I forced myself to speak. "You have some nerve coming here," I said in a normal voice, knowing he could hear me.

"I didn't even know that you were here," he said, finishing his drink before turning to me. "Where's Stefan?"

"How should I know?"

An array of emotions passed through his eyes at a speed almost too fast for me to catch up with but I saw all of them. "You're not together?"

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Why was he so baffled? "You were there when he broke up with me." The look on his face confirmed my suspicions; he had seen Stefan kiss me and took it the wrong way.

"I thought-"

"You thought wrong," I interrupted. "I told him to leave and never come back."

"You did?"

I nodded. "I told you I was over him and the moment he kissed me I realized that the love I felt for him was gone too." He reached for my hand and held it in both of his. I pulled back and stood up. "You abandoned me, making me feel the way you did when Katherine abandoned you," I breathed and took off for the bathroom before he could see the tears welling up in my eyes.

By the time I made it to the sink, he was already behind me. I stared at his reflection, keeping my back to him. "I killed her." His voice was tight and his body went rigid beneath his clothes. "I know I said I would have no problem doing it, but it took everything I had in me to do it. When I saw her using Bonnie to do her dirty work, I saw a bit of myself in her. When I saw you with Stefan I knew I would never be good enough for you. Elena, I am not a good person."

I turned to face him and shook my head. "You're a horrible person. A killer, a liar, a cheat. You're not even a person." He looked defeated and I couldn't blame him. "But that didn't stop me from falling in love with you."

Whatever he had been prepared to say escaped him upon hearing what I had to say. He studied me for a long time without a trace of emotion in those steel blue eyes. I waited for him to say something, anything to mention that he still loved me, even after all this time. My heart rate increased and my breathing became shallow. I didn't know how much more I could take of him staring at me. Every second that passed by added a spark of tension to the air; desire coursing through me. "You love me?" His voice sounded strangled and full of disbelief. I wanted to answer him, but my throat was too dry to even attempt speaking. My tongue absently darted out to wet my lips as I nodded my response. "You love me," he repeated, trying to process the words. He shook his head just a little and refocused his eyes on me, taking half a step closer to me. "Why the hell didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"It never seemed like a good time. Everything happened so fast I barely had time to process one incident before another came along." I took a deep breath and looked down. "Every time I tried to tell you, I found myself thinking of Katherine and I was so determined to not be like her that I kept my feelings to myself."

"You're not like her," he said in a stern tone, not liking the fact that he had to say that for the hundredth time.

I raised my eyes back to his and let my lips curve into the faintest smile. "Maybe not completely, but in some ways I am," I stated and widened my smile. "But I don't care anymore." His brow quirked up and he risked another step forward. I reached out and laced my fingers with his. "I'm not letting you go again."

He shook his head fervently. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured me.

In the blink of an eye, I was pinned against the wall, his front pressing tightly against mine. He raised our hands up, the back of mine touching the wall as he applied a bit of pressure. His lips came down to meet mine, delivering a kiss that I returned with equal force. He released my hands and I let them fall to his shoulders, gripping his shirt tightly. He reached down and lifted me up so I could lock my legs around his waist. My dress slid up to reveal almost all of my thighs, granting him easy access as he ran his hands over them. I felt my hips flex at his actions and I groaned in frustration as his hands never went any farther than the hem of my dress. He smirked into the kiss before sliding his hands up my torso to cup my breasts through the material of the dress. My body began to tremble; I wanted his touch, craved it, ached for it. However, a bathroom in a bar wasn't the right place.

"Not here," I managed to get out without really breaking the kiss. He shifted, getting so close to me that I could feel his arousal pressing against my core. It sent a shudder of want through me and I kissed him harder. "Damon," I moaned, getting an animalistic growl from him in response.

Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. My hands lay flat on his shoulders as I waited for my breathing to slow down before I unhooked my legs and put my feet on the ground. "Where?" he asked in a husky voice.

"My place is close," I returned. He took my hand in his and we raced from the bathroom, through the crowd, and out to the parking lot. His car was there meaning he had come back to Mystic Falls sometime to get it. The dent I had caused when Isobel threw me onto it was long gone. Before he could open the passenger door for me, I shoved him against the car before reaching up and bringing his lips down to mine for another kiss. I let one of my hands drop to his chest and slowly began to move downwards until I was cupping him. "I want you," I breathed.

To my surprise, he shuddered, cupping my face only to pull it away. "Get in the car."

His broken voice made me smirk with satisfaction. I stepped back and got into the car while he slid in behind the wheel and began to drive. I moved as close to him as I could get and turned so I could nip at his ear while I whispered the directions to him. I contemplated teasing him even further, but his driving was erratic enough as it was so I kept my hands to myself. I told him where he could park once we drove up to my apartment building and the instant he shut off the car, he reached over and drew me across his lap. I inhaled sharply and laughed at the feel of the steering wheel pressing against my lower back. My laughter died in my throat as he sank his hands into my hair and pulled me close for another searing kiss. At this rate, we were never going to make it upstairs. My hips ground against him as his rose up in mock thrusts.

He ran a hand up my stomach and cupped one of my breasts before his hand pushed the material aside to expose the hardened nipple. He let out another growl at the lack of a bra, and dipped his head to sample my skin. I sat up as straight as I could, my fingers combing through his hair. I groaned his name as he slid his other hand up my thigh and brushed over the outside of my panties. I inhaled sharply as he moved the cotton and touched me for the first time where I craved him most. My hips automatically moved towards his hand and his finger slid into me with ease, his thumb teasing my clit. His mouth moved from my breast, kissing his way back up to reclaim my lips. My eyes squeezed shut as my body began to shake from the oncoming release. His lips left mine once again, kissing that spot on my neck just behind my jaw. His lips parted and I felt the sweep of his tongue. My hands fell from his hair to his shoulders where I held onto him. I took another sharp breath in, anticipating both my release and his fangs on my flesh at the same moment, but instead, I felt him pull away.

I opened my eyes to scowl at him only to find that trademark smirk on his face. "Payback for the car ride," he growled and reached to the side to open the door.

After we had managed to get out of the car, I grabbed his hand and led him to my building. The moment we got inside, he picked me up and used his speed to climb the stairs to my apartment. We stopped at the door and I realized I had no clue where my purse was. Damon thrust it into my hand and turned me towards the door. As I searched for my keys, he swept the hair away from one side of my neck and kissed me, making it that much harder to find them. Once I managed to grasp them, I hurried to get the key in the lock and once the door was open, I stepped inside. I turned around when Damon wasn't behind me only to see him impatiently waiting for his invitation.

I smiled at him as I flung my purse onto the couch. "Bonnie?" I called out, earning a confused look from Damon.

"She's not here. Let me in," he demanded.

I approached the door, making sure to stay completely out of his reach and tipped my head to the side. "Maybe I don't want to let you in."

His jaw ticked, the edges of his eyes giving signs of the change. "Elena," his voice was strangled almost beyond recognition.

"I will let you in on one condition."

"Name it."

I smirked again, this was too easy, but I was torturing myself in the process by making him wait. "You'll still be here in the morning."

His eyes were burning with mock hate as he stared at me. "You're kidding me right?"

I moved to grab the door and rose my brows at him. "Your call."

"I'm going to be there in the morning," he vowed. "And every morning after that for the rest of your life if you'll let me."

I stopped moving and the smirk was wiped from my face. I wasn't expecting him to say anything remotely close to that. I nodded absently, "Get in here," I demanded softly and faster than I could blink, I was in his arms again as he carried me down the hall to my bedroom. It was a little eerie that he knew which room was mine, but I figured it had to do with my scent and left it alone.

"How much does this dress mean to you?" he asked, never breaking the kiss.

"What dress?" I returned playfully and heard a ripping sound before the words had even fully left my lips. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and began undoing the buttons while his hands ran up and down my back, making me begin to tremble even more. When I had his shirt completely unbuttoned, I placed my hands on his hips and began to slide them upwards until I was able to push the shirt off of his shoulders. The moment the shirt hit the ground behind him, he picked me up and set me down on the bed, climbing on top of me. His mouth moved down my body, planting strategic kisses as he went. I never imagined that my body could feel this way and right now it was on fire. Every nerve was raw and ready to explode at any given moment.

He moved off of the bed, kneeling in front of me so he could take my boots off. Once he had set them aside, he began kissing his way up my calves, my thighs, and my hips; purposefully avoiding my nether regions as he worked off my underwear with his teeth. Before I even had time to get mad at him, he stood up to finish undressing himself, moved me to the middle of the bed, and was hovering above me again. I wrapped my legs around his waist, sunk my fingers into his hair, and pulled his head down so I could kiss him. He reached down between us and guided himself inside of me. We moaned at the same time; both of us had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. This was much better than any fantasy I had ever had about him.

My back arched to accept more of him and my hips met his rhythm evenly. Since he had brought me so close to my release in the car, I could already feel it coming back. I pulled my lips away from his to grind my head against the pillow. He turned his attention to the curve of my neck and I could feel his fangs, sharp and insistent on my flesh. My hands drifted down to his back where I scraped it with my nails. "Damon..." I moaned, giving him all the encouragement he needed. His fangs slid into my skin the moment I felt my release, making it that much more intense. I called his name more than once until I felt him come with me. We rode out our orgasm together before he detached his fangs and collapsed on top of me. In that moment I envied him since I was trying to catch my breath and he was just fine. His tongue darted out to lap up the excess blood that had spilled onto my skin.

"You, my darling, were well worth the wait," he whispered having moved his lips to my ear before nuzzling my cheek with his.

"We didn't have to wait," I returned and he playfully nipped at my skin. He moved to lie on his back, arms tucked behind his head. I rolled onto my stomach next to him with my chin resting in my hands. I was feeling a little lightheaded from the blood loss, but the ring was due to kick in any moment. "We need to talk."

"I'm not done with you yet."

I grinned. "I know, but we're getting this out of the way now."

"Ah, you're testing me," he said and winked. "Carry on."

I rolled my eyes. "It's about you being..." For whatever reason, I couldn't say the word out loud without resisting the urge to laugh.

"A vampire?" he supplied.

I nodded. "I don't know if I can, or want to, give up my life."

"As I said before, you would make an excellent vampire," he said, staring up at the ceiling as he lived out some sort of fantasy in his head.

I smiled at that. "It's just not something I ever considered when I was-" I stopped before I said Stefan's name and bit my bottom lip. "It's just not something I considered," I concluded.

He brought one arm out from behind his head and put his hand on my shoulder, massaging it lightly. "The choice is yours Elena. All you have to do is say the word. Until then, we can take this one day at a time. I made a promise to you once that I would never leave and I broke it. I have many years of making up to do. Like I said, I will be here with you for as long as you'll let me be in your life. The one regret that I have after all these years of living was leaving you and I won't put either of us through that again. I love you, Elena."

I smiled at him, tears of bliss clouding my vision. I moved to hook one leg over him and pulled myself up to straddle him completely. I leaned down and kissed him deeply. "I love you too Damon," I breathed and reached down to guide him into me once more. I looked down at him and smiled.

Finally, we had found each other and I definitely had no intention of letting him get away from me again.

a/n: alright, this is the end of Love Never Dies. I want to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, and favoriting this! Especially Zoraya Windwalker for being my beta and Alex Bee for suggesting the plot! I had a blast writing this! I know it took forever for Delena to be together, but it worked out in the end. There will not be a sequel to this one...however, I am writing another D/E story. So if you want, keep a lookout because it'll be coming out soon :)