Elena's mom once told her that "if we could decide who we love it would be much simpler, but much less magical." She had tried to uncover the exact moment she fell in love with the wrong brother, but she never did find that specific point on a timeline.

Maybe that was because her falling in love with him felt so natural that she didn't even notice it happening until it happened.

When she first met him, she inappropriately found him attractive. Then, she got to know him, and hated him with a burning passion. But that didn't mute the fact that they had something, an understanding, an unspoken connection. After years of battling with her feelings, she was finally put into an inevitable position that would prove to alter the course of her life.

It was a Friday night at the Salvatore boarding house. After a week of begging her current boyfriend, Stefan, to let all her friends come over for a sleepover, she finally won him over with cheeky smiles, puppy dog eyes, and kisses.

The evening started out innocent with the influx of her closest friends. First, came Caroline, determined to be there fashionably early, meaning an hour in advanced. Next came Matt, arms loaded with boxes of booze that he "borrowed" from the Grill. Finally, Tyler, Bonnie and Jeremy arrived together, joking about Jeremy's awful driving skills.

The first activity of the evening included getting totally hammered and dancing obnoxiously to loud music. Stefan and Elena danced closely together, clinging on each other as the music carried them around the room.

"Oi! You two! Stop slow dancing!" Matt yelled at them as loud as he could, "This is dance music!" He jumped up and down to the beat making him look like a chipmunk that had too much coffee. At the sight, everyone burst into a drunken laughter that almost drowned out the music. That's when the music suddenly stopped. Confused, Elena looked around to see what had happened. Her eyes draped the room and then finally traveled up the staircase to find the conspirator behind the crime.

There he was, leaning against the wooden rail, black shirt unbuttoned, abs visible and a small line of hair trailing down from his belly button to the top of his jeans. The remote that stopped the music was visible in his hands and his mouth was curved into an annoyed line. His appearance was very intriguing to Elena, as it always had been. She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't let her eyes wander a couple times.

"Buzzkill," Elena said, looking him from toe to head, and when she reached those beautiful blue eyes, she couldn't look away. There was something about his coloring-pale skin, electric blue eyes, raven black hair-that produced a feeling that she couldn't describe.

"I'm sorry, Elena, but some people inhabiting this house are older, more mature, and more attractive than all of you and those people don't want the house to be deafening with teenagers," Damon responded with a sarcastic smile.

"What made you such a Debby downer?" Elena said, pulling away from Stefan and drunkenly stumbling to the landing of the stairs. Her friends all giggled in the background as Elena teased Damon, but Stefan didn't find the sight as amusing.

"I guess after 164 years of living, I've become a curmudgeon." Damon responded, "Keep it down, okay? If you are gonna have fun without me, I'd rather not hear it."

"Ooooooh, so thaaaaat's it!" Elena giggled and clung to the rail, "You're sad because you're feeling left out!"

"No, that's not it, I really couldn't care less about what you and your group of weirdos are doing." Damon said defensively. Maybe it was the alcohol, or something else, but at that last sentence Elena felt a shot of pain reach her heart. She wanted Damon to care about her, she needed Damon to care about her.

"Damon," Elena said with sudden seriousness, "Why don't you join us?"

"What?" Stefan questioned behind Elena.

"Yeah, what?" Caroline also questioned. Elena rolled her eyes and glared at the two of them before returning her attention to Damon. Damon could tell by looking at Stefan that his baby brother was jealous and feeling a little territorial, so naturally he decided to see how far he could push the boundaries.

"No, Elena," Damon declined, meeting her eyes and giving a small smile, "I wouldn't want to intrude. Obviously, I'm not welcome here."

Elena perked up at his response and furrowed her brow. She didn't know how he did it, but him rejecting her invitation made her want him there even more than before.

"Damon, please," Elena begged, reaching out her hand, "I want you here." Damon looked down at the girl whom he'd fallen in love with abegging him to stay right in front of her boyfriend and he felt a strange sense of hope. He couldn't resist her plea. All he could do was nod, completely infatuated by her and slump down the stairs. She grabbed his hand when he reached the landing and led him back to the group.

She didn't know what was worse, the look of shock on her friends face, the look of jealousy on Stefan's face, or the warmth between her and Damon's hands that gave those looks validity.

She quickly released his grasp and fell back into Stefan's arms. When she did so, she felt something that she wished she didn't feel, emptiness.

"Well, turn it up, Mr. Salvatore!" Elena shouted playfully, winking at Damon who restarted the music.

As the evening progressed, things began to calm down as people started to get tired. They stopped dancing and now sat in a circle. Matt sitting next to Bonnie who had her head resting on Jeremy's shoulder. Tyler and Caroline were next to them, hands interlocked, leaving Elena to be in between Stefan and Damon. Stefan kept trying to put his arm around Elena, or at least rest his hand on her knee, but Elena felt almost dirty showing such affection in front of Damon, so she pushed him off. They all sat quietly, trapped in their own thoughts when Caroline finally pulled them from the silence.

"I've got an idea!" Caroline beamed, "Let's play Truth or Dare!"

"Why not?" Elena sighed, straightening up and looking at the faces of all her friends, "Who should ask who first?"

"I'll ask first!" Matt volunteered. He looked at each person with eyes that suggested wickedness. People squirmed under his stare, all except for Stefan and Damon who felt no fear about what Matt could do to them, "Caroline." He finally resolved.

"Alright, bring it on," Caroline laughed, "Dare!"

"I dare you..." Matt began, pausing to think of the best possible dare, "I dare you to strip off with..." He paused, thinking again, "Damon."

Damon grinned largely and nodded, standing up. "You're so going down." Damon joked. Caroline looked at him with unamused eyes.

"Fine, let's do this," She said begrudgingly, "But first I think we should establish some ground rules."

"Fair enough, as the original dare-er I will lay those down. Rule #1, there are no rules. Now strip." Matt laughed loudly and begin playing Feel so Close by Calvin Harris. As the first beat boomed through the house, Elena flashed back to her trip with Damon to Whittmore College. This was the song that they dirty danced to. Damon also remembered this and made eye contact with Elena. She blushed violently as she stared into his eyes and he began stripping.

Slowly, he began removing his shirt and started moving his hips in rhythmic circles to the sound of the music. He kept his eye contact with Elena and as she watched the entrancing dance, everyone else in the room disappeared and it was only her, Damon, and the sway of his hips. In the back of her mind, she knew that Caroline was also there stripping and Stefan was probably watching Elena's reactions to Damon closely, but she didn't care.

Damon traced his finger's down his abs until he met the button of his jeans. He began to unbutton and unzip his jeans, all the while thrusting his pelvis. At the sight, Elena gulped to try attempting to moisten her mouth and she leaned forward, eagerly awaiting the next part of the dance, but it never came. Damon stopped moving, the music also stopped and reality hit her as Caroline's voice overwhelmed her senses.

"That's it! I'm done! He wins!" She sat back down and Damon smiled smugly. He reclaimed his seat next to Elena. Elena leaned back and tried to cool down now that she was broken from her trance. She didn't have it in her to look at Stefan.

"Okay!" Elena quickly tried to alter the energy of the room, "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Tyler volunteered. He, unlike Matt, knew exactly what he was going to do, "Elena. Truth or Dare."

Elena sat still for a moment, trying to weigh the benefits and disadvantages to both options. If she said truth and Tyler asked if she had feelings for Damon, she couldn't answer that. Yet, if she said dare and he dared her to kiss Damon, she could blame that on Tyler and hopefully have no repercussions. So, she made her choice.

"Dare." Elena said.

"I dare you to kiss the hottest guy in this room." Tyler raised his eyebrows wickedly. Stefan straightened his posture, waiting for his girlfriend to turn and kiss him. Her friends sat in silence, staring at her as she stayed frozen in place.

Elena didn't know what came over her, alcohol, lust, instinct, maybe even love, but she never regretted it.

Elena turned to her right to Damon and quickly grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to her lips. Everyone in the room was stunned, mouth agape as they watched Elena trace her hand down Damon's exposed bicep. She pulled herself closer to him and he wrapped his hands around her waist, as she straddled his lap. After a moment, Elena pulled away and lightly pecked his lips one last time.

They breathed heavily, resting their foreheads against each other's. Together, they slowly opened their eyes and made eye contact and when they did, Elena smiled broadly and let out a happy laugh. Damon smiled in response, but he didn't have much time to revel because Stefan grabbed Damon by the back of the neck and flung him out from under Elena.

Stefan tackled Damon on the ground and punched him in the face. Everyone watched in horror as Stefan lashed out, and Damon just lied there, taking it. At least he did until Elena ran up and flung Stefan off of Damon. She slowly helped Damon up and shielded him with her body as she stared down the crazed Stefan, ready to fight him.

"Stefan," Caroline said, edging her way to him. She reached him and rested a hand on his arm, "Stefan, c'mon. Let's get out of here before you hurt one of them." She began pulling him towards the door and Stefan hesitantly followed, angrily slamming the door behind him.