"Damon, it's not that simple. If it was, don't you think I'd already have done that?" Elena raised an eyebrow at him. She knew what he was doing, she'd seen it so many times before, and she shook her head a little, "Please don't push me away, Damon, not now."
Elena was more than aware of Damon's tactic, trying to push her away early so that it hurt less if she went back to Stefan. And while she was sure that Damon thought it would work, not only did she know from past experiences that it wouldn't, but it made things for her that much harder.
"Damon, don't start pushing me away now. If you don't want- if you're just going to shut me out then you're basically choosing for me. I'm trying to tell you that it's not as easy as just choosing Stefan. It's harder than that. He left, and you were there when no one else was. I need you to be honest with me, Damon, or what's the point in even having this conversation?"