(Hello everyone… Honestly I just made this because I love Damon so much. XD I'm totally a Delena fan. Damon just broke my heart in this episode (4x11)… when he said "I'm sorry" I felt like crying because I didn't feel like it was because he was sorry he was going to kill Jeremy, but it was because he was sorry he had to leave her. I think that he finally realized that no one was going to help them and that the only way he could save Jeremy…Elena's humanity…was for him to die. He knew his fate. God, I love him so much. I'm so sick of Stelena fans calling him selfish. Grr… Okay... anyway… This is meant just to be a one or two shot.. may go on for a few chapters. I hope you all like it (: Let me know if you think I should continue. It will most definitely deviate somewhat from the storyline, if not a lot, lol. If you have any ideas or constructive critism, I'd love to hear it. Thanks! R&R!)

"Damon, stop!" Elena screamed, running as fast as she possibly could, her newborn strength and speed not nearly enough. I can't keep up with him, she thought, unable to believe how things could have changed so fast, unable to believe the stark fear running through her veins. How could she be afraid of Damon, Damon, the man who had always been there for her, the man who had always loved her? Someone who had protected her, no matter the costs to himself, for days on end? Who would do anything for her. Anything. Even force her to leave him when it was finally right for them to be together, when it was finally their time.

She knew Damon. She knew his faults, but also knew him, all of him. Elena knew his kindness and his tenderness, knew the familiar glimmer in his striking blue eyes, knew the softness of his lips, lips that had left her own sore with longing. Most importantly, she knew that he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to do this to her, in fact, it killed him to do this to her . . . and he didn't want to do this to Jeremy, who she knew he cared about, even if he'd never admit it because it could compromise the stony walls he built around himself, the things he did to make people think he was cold, or arrogant, or cruel, when he was none of things—all to cover himself, like clothes.

She finally reached him. "Damon, please stop. I know you don't want to hurt Jeremy. I know you don't." The desperation was there in her voice and suddenly her fear made sense. She wasn't afraid of Damon—how could she be? She was afraid for her brother because deep down she that Damon couldn't stop, afraid for Damon, afraid of the steps he'd surely take to stop because above all, he couldn't hurt her, not now, not like this.

Damon did in fact stop, it taking everything he had to. Kill him, the compulsion sang. You know you want to. You have to. You can't fight it. Not for him, not for yourself. Not even for her. He looked back, his eyes full of pain. "I can't." The words obviously pained him, because for just a moment it wasn't Jeremy he was afraid of hurting, it was Elena. He couldn't hurt her. He did ghastly things, deplorable things. He never did the right thing. He lied to his brother, he fell in love with his girl—he never did the right thing. He did what he wanted to do. He didn't have the strength to do anything else—he hadn't even had the strength to send her away, not really. He hadn't had the strength to really break the sire bond, to tell her to forget him, to never think of him again, to forget whatever feelings she had for him. Yes, he did horrible things…but this he couldn't do. He couldn't hurt her, he couldn't take away what could be her humanity, when she was obviously his.

"Yes you can," She argued, stepping forward and closing the distance between them, her dark, mysterious irises sparkling in the night, her fear and desperation echoing in them. She was so beautiful, he thought. So beautiful that it hurt him. Even in the night, in the middle of the forest with true danger descending upon them, he could notice her perfect olive skin and long black brown hair, hair that he knew was long and silky and dark both because he'd spent a lot of time studying it and because he'd ran in fingers through it. Despite Jeremy's blood tainting the air, he could smell her, smell the lavender that made him melt. "I know you can," she continued, voice encouraging, full of hope that broke his heart even further. She could believe in him, even now, even when he couldn't believe in himself. She knew he couldn't break the compulsion—she had to-yet she pushed on anyway. Hearing that hope in her voice… it tore his already shredded heart in to even smaller pieces, pieces he was sure could never come back together. "You're strong enough to resist the compulsion, Damon, I know you are."

The pain in his eyes broke her heart. I can't. His words echoed in her mind, over and over again. Two words filled with such agony, such hopelessness. Damon was one of those people who should always be smiling; he was someone who should always be there to make snarky comments that would either spark one of two things in her, a rolling of her eyes or laughter. He shouldn't have ever had to of felt that pain.

Yet he had. Over and over again. His father had hurt him. Katherine had hurt him; she had hurt him, time and time again. But despite all of that… she knew she had hurt him the most. That this had hurt him the most. It was one thing for her to reject him, but this… this was different. There was something inside him, she knew, that had wanted nothing more than to protect her, and so he had. To give her everything she wanted, she needed. He would keep her safe, even if she hated him for it.

It was something entirely different for him to deny her something, to have nothing left to give her.

"Why because Stefan did?" Bitterness laced his words as he turned away, Jeremy's blood calling to him, the compulsion daring him to defy it. It felt as if there were iron chains pulling Damon toward him, unbreakable chains, an unbreakable force. He kept trying to think about something else, anything else, to think about what Elena had said to him the other night.

I love you, Damon. I love you. He thought about the excitement in her voice, the happiness at this realization. He pictured her smile, her beautiful, bright smile, something so different than the look on her face now, so different than the tears in her eyes.

"No! Because I love you! Because you love me!" Elena countered, taking another step forward, passion in her words, paired with love and even a bit of anger. She analyzed his beautiful features, his eyes, ruffled raven hair, high cheekbones, a kind, gentle face, one that turned flirty and awry when he laughed or angelic and tender when he kissed…

It was true, she couldn't be positive that wasn't the sire bond. But after all that they'd been through…she didn't care anymore. She loved him, and it felt real, more real than anything she'd ever felt before in her entire life…and that was what mattered.

He turned back to her, her words hitting him with full force. Because I love you, because you love me! Damon couldn't help but repeat those words in his head. Because I love you.

It went against everything he'd ever believed; it was impossible.

Yet…In that moment, he finally believed that she loved him. Maybe it was the sire bond, but in some way, she loved him, loved him like no one else had loved him before.

She knew he would do anything for her. He would die before he let anything happen to her. Time and time again he'd proved that. When he'd stayed by her side as she'd tried to free Stefan over and over again, not caring about the cost to himself, when he'd fended off Kol . . . Don't touch her, he'd said fiercely. "And I know that you would do anything for me. So please, do this for me."

This time, the pain was clear on his face. He looked at the ground, as if he couldn't look at her anymore. He couldn't see the faith in her eyes, faith in him, couldn't see the desperation. Couldn't bear to see the love.

Elena stepped forward, forcing him to look at her as a tear fell down her cheek. It was so different than all of the other times they'd been together… he'd always comforted her, made sure she was okay. And now it was her turn. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you, Damon."

Suddenly, a drop of blood fell from the tree, her brother's blood.

That was when it all went to hell. They both could hear Jeremy's breathing, his struggle.

He couldn't resist any longer—the pull was too strong.

"I'm sorry, Elena," He told her, words full of anguish, his face changing…changing to something darker. More sinister.

And then he was gone.

He hadn't said that because he was going to kill Jeremy, she realized. It was because he…

It was because he was going to leave her—he was going to do what she asked… something that would inevitably destroy her in an entirely different way.

(R&R!)