"No. No, Elena. You will not. Jeremy, remember? Think of Jeremy...of everyone," she chided under her breath. If those near Damon were questioning his sanity, she doubted they felt much different observing hers. Talking to yourself? Yes, that was definitely, definitely a sign of insanity, of lost marbles, but then again, with all she'd faced, that was least thing on her resume that would make her seem crazy to anyone. Knowing vampires, being one...yeah, that would have sent her to nuthouse a while ago, but someone, she had the feeling, trying to fight off her urge to kiss Damon would be the one thing that pushed her over the edge. Still, when had love ever not been complicated, especially when it came to Elena Gilbert, when it came to any of her friends really. None of their relationships had ever really been successful, had they? Perhaps she should have figured the odds were against them from the start and not just from past experience. Since the first kiss, the first moment they'd openly declared their love to everyone, the odds had been against them because the one she chose was Damon. He was the "bad brother" the impossible to save Salvatore sibling except to her. Elena refused to give up on him, refused to believe he was completely and utterly irredeemable. He was the one that killed because he could. He'd almost killed her brother...again! And yet, Elena still had faith. Even when she was saying good-bye to him, his lips brushing her forehead for possibly the final time ever, she still believed in him. She still believed he could be saved.
Her greatly increased sense of hearing picked up Damon's voice, beyond the door, a few steps away and Elena paused. She took a shaky, deep breath, lungs expanding beneath her tight top, but it did nothing to soothe her anxiety about coming face to face with the man she'd loved-she still loved possibly-and try to pretend she didn't. To unfeel all she felt. Elena's emotions, her passion, was her strongest attributes, her strengths, but in this case, in this moment, they were her greatest weakness. Another deep breath and Elena had her hand on the door knob, shaking fingers working to turn the old brass. There was an audible creak, crushing any chance of him not realizing her presence instantly. As she stepped into the lobby, a smile tugged at her lips. Existential crisis? "It's pretty "not you"," she greeted, arms moving to fold upon her chest. "But lucky for you, I found you first. Secrets safe with me."