Elena is lying in wait when Damon comes through the door, sitting on the sofa trying to pretend that she's not there just because she's worried about him. Really, though, there's no other reason she can come up with. Rose is dead, she saw Damon carry her body to his car. Stefan is off somewhere hunting down Isobel. There's no reason she should be here, in the boarding house, rather than sensibly in her own room, in her own house, staying as far away from troubled vampires as possible. And yet here she is.

Damon opens the door and just for a moment, she can see on his face how exhausted he is, how much pain he's in. Then he notices her and in an instant, his expression is as blandly unreadable as she's ever seen it.

"Hello Elena. I thought we agreed you were going home," he said.

"I did. I came back to be sure you were OK. Damon – " she catches his arm and turns him towards her as he starts to walk past – "Damon, talk to me. Rose died today, you're upset, and I'm here because I'm your friend."

"Upset? We've been over this Elena; upset is an emotion specific to those who care. Which I don't. Rose died. In fact, I staked her, since she was taking far too long to die on her own. It's done. I don't care. And you should go away again because right now, I have a great deal of drinking to do and I'd like to get started on it without a high school girl holding me back. Go home. "

"Damon. Stop it. You care, I know you do. Stop pretending you don't feel anything." She has hold of both his arms now, she's looking up into his face and for a moment Damon is tempted, terribly tempted, to put his arms around her and bury his face in her hair and try to forget how awful this day has been. But he's already made his decision about Elena – I don't deserve you, but my brother does – and so he breaks away from her hold and tries to think of something to say that will make her leave before she sees just how easily she can make him feel far too much.

"Forget it, Elena. Rose was my fault, it should have been me. I riled up Jules, I made her angry, and now Rose is dead because Jules came after me. So in your best do-gooder, killing is wrong judgment mode, shouldn't you be angry with me? Usually you're pretty pissed off when I kill people. Or in this case, get them killed. Don't go changing on me now. We've all got our roles to play: you're the moral high ground, Stefan is the martyr, and I – I, Elena, am the evil bloodthirsty vampire who snaps and kills people. And I like it that way. So leave me alone and go home, " he's leaning in, to say as threateningly as possible into her ear, " Before I decide that you look tasty."

Elena just rolls her eyes at him. "Are you kidding me? Like I believe you're going to eat me, after all the times you've saved me. It's not going to work this time Damon, I am not afraid of you. And Rose is not your fault. Sure, you provoked Jules. But you argued with Jules in a freaking bar, Damon. She knew you wouldn't kill her there. She could have slapped you. Put vervain in your drink. Outed you to the sheriff. But no, she went straight to hunting you down to kill you, and when she couldn't bite you, she bit Rose, who she had never laid eyes on before. So Rose is not your fault, and I will never blame you for her dying."

Elena steps closer, trying to convince him, because she can see this line of reasoning isn't getting though. "Damon. Our actions set events in motion, sure. But we are not always responsible for the outcomes. Other people's actions matter too. Jules murdered Rose. Tomorrow, you can be angry about that. You can go find Jules and rip her heart out. But tonight – tonight, Damon, just be sad, and let me take care of you. Please. "

Damon sighs, crosses his arms and leans back against the wall of the hallway. He can't find the energy to fight her any more. "Fine, Elena. Whatever. What exactly did you have in mind? This friend intervention you're doing had better involve bourbon, not chick flicks and ice-cream, or I might have to rethink the not killing you plan."

Elena just smiles at him now she's won. "Go have a hot shower, Damon. I'll meet you in your room in a few minutes, and I'll bring the drinks. Promise."