The next morning Elena awoke, still entwined in Damon's arms, both of them long since having lost their clothes. She lay, half awake, half not, enjoying the moment as if in a dream- the warmth of Damon beneath her, the hard plans of his stomach, the rise and fall of his chest...

Slowly, not wanting to wake him up, she climbed off and out of the bed, pulling on her clothes and slipping out of hi bedroom. She was almost to the door of the boarding house when- flash- in vampiric fashion, Damon was right in front of her, blocking her exit.

"Leaving so soon? I'm starting to think my little Katherine comment wasn't so far off the mark," Damon quipped, his voice clipped and sarcastic. She was not dealing with the Damon from last night- this was a scorned Damon. He was hurt she was leaving.

"Damon." And that was all she had to say. He could hear in her voice what she was feeling, as if her eyes hadn't already betrayed enough.

"You regret what we did. You're ashamed of it." He laid the truth out on the table, sick of wanton looks and fleeting touches. She could say she couldn't loose him and she could spend the night in his bed, but in the morning light she couldn't bare to wake up to him. Why was he still surprised? No one ever wanted him.

"No." Elena's reply was firm as she shook her head in disagreement. "I'm not ashamed of being with you Damon. I just..."

"You just what?" Damon spat, getting in her face. "You just wanted a quick lay? St. Stefan hasn't been around to fix the itch you can't scratch, so one roll in the hay with everyone's second choice should do the trick?" He knew he sounded vulgar and he knew he was going to wish later on that he hadn't said those words, but damn it, he was angry. And living on the edge wasn't helping.

Elena shook her head at him in disgust. "I'm not you, Damon. I don't use people when they're conveniant. And I'm certainly not Katherine. It's just a little hard to admit to yourself you've fallen in love with and then slept with your demented ex-boyfriend's even more demented brother."

"Ahem."

The quarrelling duo turned to look at the source of the intrusion.

Alaric had his hand around the back of his neck, an uneasy expression revealing that he'd heard everything they'd said to each other. "You really need to learn to lock your front door."