moving on - damon salvatore [1]

prologue

chapter 1 - it's always gonna be stefan

Damon's heart sunk in his chest as he realized what she was saying. Who she was picking.

"To Stefan." He completed his thought, swallowing back his tears.

"Not just to Stefan." He heard Elena's sad voice from his phone. "To Tyler, to Caroline, to-"

"I get it." He interrupts her. And he did. Or maybe he didn't. He was selfish, but she wasn't. She was always there for the people she cared about, and if several of them could be dying at this very moment, it made sense she'd want to be with them. But it still hurt, and he couldn't help but wonder.

"If it was just down to him and me, and you had to make a choice," he began, a small tone of hopefulness in his voice. "Who got the goodbye? Who would it be?" His question was layered. The answer to one would lead to the other. And maybe it was unfair, unfair to Elena to ask her this question over the phone, minutes from his death, from her friends deaths, from his own brother's death, but he didn't care. He had to know, once and for all.

He let a small smile float onto his lips as he thought of the moments they recently shared together. The most recent was a kiss, an intense, passionate kiss that he felt with every fiber of his being. And he could tell by her heart thumping wildly in that moment, that she felt it too. That she loved him back.

But the silence grew larger, and the hope dropped from his chest in an instant, and was instantly replaced with a feeling of dread. There was tension in the air, like even the dust in the air could sense what was happening, and chose to quiet for it. Even though he knew what was coming at this point, it didn't hurt any less when he felt those all too familiar words leave Elena.

"I love him, Damon." She said in a soft whisper, and a tear slipped from Damon's eye. "He came into my life at a time when I needed someone, and I fell for him, instantly. And no matter what I feel for you, I never unfell for him."

"Hey I get it. It's Stefan. It's always gonna be Stefan." He tried hiding the miserableness in his voice, but failed.

"I can't think about always, all I can think about is right now. And I care about him, Damon. Which is why I have to let you go."

The unpleasant memory once again rushed through Damon's head as he drove. It's Stefan. It always was, and it's always gonna be. He was stupid for thinking otherwise. For thinking he had even the slightest chance. His car lightly scratched the gravel as he pulled into the driveway of the familiar, quaint, yellow house.

He rang the doorbell, and knocked on the door, but to no avail. "Hello?" He asked, twisting the door knob and pushing inside. The house was quiet. Almost too quiet. "Blondie?" Damon called out again, once he came to a stop in front of her bedroom. "Anybody home?"

"Go away Damon." Caroline huffed angrily, causing Damon to roll his eyes in return. He pushed open her door "Listen, I-"

Damon stopped when Caroline's eyes snapped to meet his. Her eyes were red, and swollen. Her cheeks shiny, flushed a slight pink. She had been crying.

"You okay?" He shifted uncomfortably after a moment, unsure of what to do.

"I'm fine." Caroline scoffed, narrowing her eyes and looking away from him, but something in her voice told him she wasn't. "What do you want, Damon?" She barked, startling him.

She looked impatient, as he walked closer to her, eager to get this over with. "It's Elena. She's gotten worse." He sighed, as he noticed Caroline's expression change to some of worry. "We've tried everything. Bunnies, blood bags. Blood sharing." Caroline looked surprised at the last part, but didn't say anything as he continued. "Nothing seems to help. She's starving."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Help her." He sighed. He looked at her again, like he wanted to add something else, but then shook his head and turned around, walking out of the house.

***

End of chapter 1. How are you liking the book so far, is it living up to your expectations? I'd love to read your thoughts and comments! Please don't forget to vote and comment, it means so much to me!! Thanks for reading!