Chapter 1

I watched as Damon poured himself yet another glass of scotch. He sat down opposite Stefan and I and watched us indifferently. I felt uncomfortable sitting next to Stefan like that; it made me feel as if we were ganging up on Damon. I wondered if that had been Stefan's intention to begin with. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

I loved Stefan but he was driving me crazy. He was constantly telling me to keep my distance form Damon, it was purely out of jealousy and it was selfish. I had made it very clear that I had no intention of staying away from him; Damon had sort of become my best friend, the only person I was absolutely positive I could count on.

I could see that his walls were up as he watched us together. I knew that it hurt him that I was with Stefan, and I didn't like to exploit our relationship in front of him, Stefan seemed to be thinking the exact opposite. He wrapped his arm around me and kissed my cheek. I gently but firmly pushed him off and put a little more distance between us on the sofa. I saw Damon take another sip of his drink to hide his smirk.

We were here to discuss John's return to town. Damon and I agreed that he was nothing but trouble, but Stefan seemed to think that he wanted to help me. Naive bunny eating vampire, I thought to myself.

"So what to do about daddy?" Damon asked sarcastically.

Stefan glared at him disapprovingly. I snickered.

"He's here to help us Damon." Stefan said with a sigh.

"We don't know that Stefan, he's done nothing to prove that we can trust him." I chimed in.

Stefan looked exasperated and was about to say something when there was a resounding crash from the kitchen. I nearly jumped out of my seat and, frowning, Damon jumped up and ran towards the noise. Stefan quickly followed him and I trailed behind, inhibited by my human speed.

"Damon?" I called. "Stefan? What's going on?"

I entered the kitchen and froze, a group of men stood around Stefan and Damon who lay unconscious on the floor. There were vervain syringes next to them and I realized with a sinking feeling that they had been drugged. I felt sick as I looked at their bodies; I prayed they would be all right.

Jules stepped out from behind one of the men and walked towards me.

"So you are the Petrova doppelganger." She said calmly.

I took a step away from her, understanding that all the men were also werewolves. Damon began to regain consciousness but not his strength; he looked up to see Jules closing in on me. He growled menacingly and struggled to get up. One of the wolves grabbed a stake and plunged it into his leg. Damon cried out in pain and my heart broke at the sound.

"What do you want with me?" I asked shakily.

"We don't want anything with you…yet. We just came for the vampires." Her voice was cold and cruel and my heart began to beat faster in fear.

"Please don't hurt them." I whispered.

Jules laughed and the others joined in with her.

"They'll kill you eventually, one of them will lose control, rip your pretty little neck and suck you dry." She said; she looked at me as if contemplating what to with me.

I shook my head. Stefan and Damon would never hurt me; I knew that.

"You're wrong." I said, I tried to sound firm but my voice wavered, giving me away.

She rolled her eyes.

"They're vampires Elena. They kill and they destroy and then they repeat."

I was shaking my head before she had even finished. How could she be so naive to think that all vampires were the same? Stupid werewolf.

"Stefan and Damon would never hurt me." I spat out.

"So how dos this work anyway, do they share you?" She asked curiously.

I felt sick, I couldn't bring myself to answer her. A small smile crept onto her lips.

"I have an idea." She looked at the man who was standing next to her and whispered something in his ear, he laughed cruelly.

"Why not, this could be amusing." He said.

Damon had obviously heard what had been whispered, because he stopped struggling and layback on the floor closing his eyes. I realized in horror that he was accepting, accepting that he was going to die. No, no, no I frantically muttered in my head.

"So Elena, here's the deal. You get to save one of them, and then you get to watch while we kill the other." Jules looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

My heart froze in my chest at her words. Now I understood why Damon had given up, he was accepting the fact that I would save Stefan and let them kill him right in front of me. I felt tears trickle down my face at that thought.

"Please don't make me do this." I whispered.

"Choose one, or I kill them both." Jules said menacingly.

My chest heaved with unshed tears as I looked at the brothers on the ground. Stefan still hadn't regained consciousness and Damon kept his eyes firmly closed. My first thought was that of course I would choose Stefan; he was my boyfriend. I loved him. But when I looked at Damon, I physically hurt at the thought of him not being here anymore, of him being dead. Pain ripped through my chest and I grasped the counter for support.

The thought of Stefan dying hurt too, it filled me with sadness and regret but not the physical ache I felt when I thought of Damon. I was so confused; did I love the elder Salvatore? I knew I cared about him, more than I liked to admit, but I had never considered that I might actually love him more than Stefan. It was true that Damon and I seemed to get along better but Stefan was… Stefan. Could I just let him die? I started to cry in earnest.

"Please." I begged. Damon shifted slightly and I knew that he was mentally preparing himself.

He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Elena." He said softly.

I looked at him and he smiled reassuringly.

"It's ok, do it, I understand." He whispered.

My heart broke as I realized what he was saying; he was asking me to save Stefan, telling me he didn't mind. He was telling me to let them kill him. I found myself shaking my head slowly, holding his gaze; his beautiful blue eyes were full of sadness.

Jules raised her eyebrows and nodded at the man closest to Damon. He shot Damon twice in the stomach with a gun loaded with wooden bullets. Damon yelled and groaned in pain.

"No!" I cried out.

The man looked at me.

"Make your decision cupcake, I'm getting bored."

I didn't say anything, my mind desperately trying to understand what was happening.

Jules sighed.

"Do it." She said.

The man grabbed a stake out of his pocked and held it over Damon's chest. This was it, the final moments. Damon was going to die. I couldn't let that happen, I felt an undeniable pull and suddenly understood.

I threw myself at Damon and landed hard on his chest just as the man brought the stake down. Damon opened his eyes in surprise at the sudden weight, and gasped in horror as he saw the blood soaking the back of my shirt.

"Elena." He yelled. I turned slightly to meet his frantic eyes.

"I couldn't let them do it Damon." I whispered.

He looked at me in complete shock and confusion, the wolves looked on in surprise.

"You stupid girl." Damon said, his hand reaching around me to see the extent of my wound. He was relieved to find it very shallow, the wolf had stopped as soon as he saw me. It didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell though. "Thank God." He muttered.

"Well looks like she's made her decision." Jules said.

I buried my face into Damon's chest as someone plunged a stake into Stefan's heart. Damon stared in horror.

"Elena…why?"

I just shook my head and sobbed for Stefan's loss. I had loved him, I really had but at that crucial moment my heart had known whom I had to keep alive at all costs. Damon, it was like we were connected, my love for Stefan, which had been diminishing over the last few weeks, anyway, had suddenly looked weak in comparison to the pull I felt to Damon. My mind didn't understand my decision, but my heart did. for once in my life I had decided to follow my heart.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I moaned.

Damon stroked my hair softly.

"What for?" he asked, even more confused.

"He's your brother, I know you love him."

Damon nodded.

"Yeah, but so do you…"

I didn't reply, we had a lot to discuss but now wasn't the time. I looked around to see that the wolves had left. I wondered why they had let me save one of them, I wondered why they had let me live, I didn't understand. I was so confused, how had everything gone so wrong in the space of twenty minutes?