comfort zone ➳ the vampire diaries

chapter twenty two

It was hard for me to even look at Elena. Everyone knew I had been compelled to forget it, but how could Elena act like my friend day by day when she knew that I loved Damon and we were together and she kissed him? And then he compelled me to forget about it, about us?

And to top it off, I had to stay at the Salvatore house because according to Stefan, I'm a risk to Elena and Jeremy.

I turned the shower off, stepping out and wrapping a towel around my body. Maybe going out for a drink would do me some good.

I tossed on a dress and flats, leaving my hair damp and headed down the stairs.

"Whoa there, where do you think you're going?" Damon said, appearing in front of the door.

"Out." I hissed, allowing my fangs to show.

"So threatening, so scary, wow!" Damon clapped slowly.

"I want. A drink." I say slowly.

"Well baby vamp, you can't go out. Stefan's orders,"

"I won't eat anyone,"

"That's exactly what ripper Stefan used to say, now, go into that room," Damon pointed to the living room. "And I'll get you a drink."

I walked into the room, defeated. Memories flooded back as soon as I sat on the couch, hearing myself telling Damon that I loved him.

"I need to leave," I say as Damon enters the room with a bottle of some sort of alcohol. Probably bourbon.

"Too bad you can't,"

"Watch me,"

As soon as I was at the door, Damon was too.

"You'll go after Elena,"

"So that's what this is about? You guys saving Elena, again?"

Damon didn't say anything, confirming my theory. I went upstairs and starting packing anything I had in this house into a bag. I can't stay in Mystic Falls anymore. Not with these feelings, not with this reduced amount of freedom.

I grabbed the first item I saw and tossed it through the window, the glass shattering. Damon would be up at any second, so I took the opportunity and jumped out of the window, running at vamp speed down the street. A bus stop.. I need a bus stop.

I finally came to one, hoping that Damon didn't tail me all the way here. I sat on the bench, breathing heavily.

"You know, you almost got away,"

I groaned at the sound of the voice.

"You've made it clear that the only important person to any of you is Elena, why would I stay?" I ask, Damon sitting down beside me.

"Because we all care about you,"

I laughed at his statement, a perplexed expression across his face. "You used to care, Damon."

"You're being so dramatic, Tatiana!"

I saw the bus approaching in the distance.

"Imagine if you loved someone so much, with every single ounce of your existence, and then they kissed Stefan. And Stefan just went along with it, and the person you loved ignored you for months and didn't tell you why, only for you to find out that they kissed your brother and fell in love with him. And then you were compelled to forget. I think that deserves this response."

The bus slows to a stop and I pick up my bag, the doors opening.

"Tatiana, don't get on that bus."

"You can't tell me what to do anymore, Damon." I say, stepping into the bus.

"I still love you,"

I turn around, feeling my heart ache. "What?"

"I made you forget because it hurt you to know what happened and I couldn't see you that way,"

"Wait." I compelled the bus driver, picking up my bag and stepping out of the bus. "Are you lying?"

"No,"

I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around Damon's neck, pulling him into a hug. I felt a sharp pain in my back and Damon lowered me to the ground as a burning feeling swept through my veins. Then everything went black.

-

I woke up in Damon's room, confused as to what was happening. Wasn't I just at the bus stop?

"Vervain? Really?" I said out loud, suddenly remembering what happened. Damon tricked me.

"I knew I couldn't get you here on my own," Damon said, appearing at the end of his bed that I was currently sitting on.

"So you were lying?" I hiss, tackling him to the ground and straddling him with my hands wrapped around his neck.

"Not completely," He breathes, throwing me back onto the bed.

"You can't half lie about loving someone."

"I don't know what's happening, alright?" Damon sighs, sitting on the bed as well.

"I'm not going to wait forever for you to decide if you love me,"

"I know I don't stand a chance with Elena, not with Stefan. History repeats itself,"

I really don't want to hear Damon talk about his love for Elena.

"And in history you loved Katherine,"

"There was a time when I wondered where Natalie went after Stefan and I turned."

"I thought you hated her,"

"I did. She didn't stop us and she left the first chance she had."

"So why did you wonder about her?"

Damon looks at me. "Because she was beautiful,"

I feel my cheeks get red, averting my gaze to my lap.

"Dam-"

"You're going to ruin the moment,"

I rolled my eyes and did what my heart told me to do. I kissed him. Shockingly, he kissed back.

"If anything was intensified after turning, it was my love for you, Damon,"

I know he said that he loves Elena, but I just felt like I owed it to myself to tell him. Like if he knew, it would change something. I don't even care that he vervain-ed me to get me here - I love Damon Salvatore.