Damon plopped down on the bed next to Emma, Emma was quick to regain her balance from the movement of the bed.
"So Kitty Kat is in there now, seeing what she can pull from Elena," Damon told her.
"One of you should be watching her, we all know by now that bitch has a motive behind everything she does," Emma cautioned.
Damon scoffed, "Elena is too weak. Besides, Stefan and Caroline are downstairs."
"In that case," Emma smirked as she crawled on top of Damon's lap and pushing him down on the pillows, kissing him softly.
"All that pain and torture, I've worked up quite a thirst," Katherine said from the doorway, startling Emma, she quickly moved off of Damon and sat on the side of the bed that faced away from the door.
"Ever hear of knocking?" Emma asked sarcastically while she adjusted her shirt.
Damon growled in frustration, "It didn't have anything to do with the fact that Elena called you out on your recent boy trouble, could it? Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear."
"Did you ever think Elena would've been better off if she'd never met you?" Katherine asked before smirking, "I mean, here you are breaking her heart by getting frisky with someone else."
Damon laughed as he stood up, "Are you trying to get a rise out of me? 'Cause my emotions are fine, guess you missed the memo about my amnesia clearing up."
Katherine sauntered over to him and reached up, she began playing with a strand of his hair, "Mm, so romantic, so doomed to fail. You know, as soon as she goes back to her old self, she'll go straight to Stefan. That's the tragedy of you, you never get the girl. Someone will come between you and Emma; again, and again, and again. Until ultimately you give up."
"Petty never did look pretty on you," Damon pushed her away from him.
Stefan came running into the room, "She's gone."
"What?" Damon glared daggers right at Katherine.
"Elena's not in her cell," Stefan explained, "I'm gonna check the grounds. Find out what she did."
"Oops, did I forget to lock her in?" Katherine pretended to be in just as much shock as they were, but quickly lost interest in that game, "Let's just say I've lost interest in Elena's recovery. I'd rather watch her tear through an orphanage. Imagine trying to come back from a spiral like that."
Damon shoved his way past Katherine and rummaged through a dresser drawer before he stormed downstairs and into the living room, Emma was right on his heels.
"Donovan," Damon pointed right at Matt, "you're coming with me."
Rebekah crossed her arms and stuck her nose up, "Why should he?"
Damon rolled his eyes, "Because Elena's hungry and missing. For once, his life might actually have purpose."
Emma smacked Damon in the arm for the off handed comment but he didn't react, he just motioned for Matt to follow him. Matt stood up and followed Damon and Emma out the front door.
"You trust me right?" Damon looked at Emma.
"Always," she smiled up at him.
As they approached the area where Elena was walking weakly down the road Damon had Matt drop him off at the side of the road before he continued approaching Elena. Elena tried to wave them down and she looked relieved when Matt stopped his truck, she stumbled and fell to the ground. Matt got out and began to approach her while Emma stayed in the truck.
"Please, help-" she said weakly before she saw that it was Matt that had found her, "Matt, thank god you found me."
Elena's eyes turned dark as she stood up and began stalking towards Matt, a low growl escaping her.
"Elena, stop, I know you don't wanna do this. I know you don't wanna hurt me," Matt took a step back away from her.
Elena let out a laugh, "I'm a vampire, Matt. The thing about vampires is that we need to feed."
Elena began moving fast towards Matt as he continued his short retreat back to his truck.
"No, but you're more than that! You're my friend! You're my oldest friend," Matt tried to find the sentimental side of Elena, "you're the girl that I've loved longer than I can remember. Whatever wall you wanna put up, I know that still means something to you."
Elena's eyes softened and she stepped closer to Matt, "Deep down, it probably does mean something. But I'm really hungry."
Before Matt could react she was on top of him and sinking her fangs into his neck. Emma jumped out of the truck but saw Damon and Stefan in the tree line, Damon motioned for her to stay put. Emma pressed her lips together in frustration, but trusted Damon's plan. She flinched as she heard Elena throw Matt to the ground.
"Oh come on, I barely drained an artery," Elena kicked Matt's side slightly to bring him around faster, "come on! Get up, I'm hungry. My head's fuzzy, I can't think straight. I need more."
"Elena stop," Matt said weakly.
"But you're so good," Elena teased before speeding back to Matt and beginning to drink from him again.
Stefan rushed up behind and pulled her off of him, "Hey, hey, you're cut off."
Elena struggled against his grasp, "Let go of me!"
"Stop it!" Stefan yelled harshly.
Damon pulled Matt up from the ground and held on to him so he couldn't go anywhere.
"Enough! You are acting like a little spoiled brat, you know that?" Damon almost growled at Elena, "You think that we can't punish you. Maybe not; but I can sure punish him."
"Elena," Matt pleaded quietly.
"Seriously? You think this-" Elena started to mock Damon but he was done with her games, now it was time for this to be done his way.
"Shut up!" Damon yelled at her, "I'm done playing nice. Turn your emotions back on right now, Elena, or so help me god, I will give you something to be sad about. I will kill him right here in front of you."
"Damon," Stefan cautioned his brother, Emma wasn't sure if he was in on the illusion Damon had planned or not.
"Don't 'Damon' me. She doesn't love anyone? Fine. Prove it. And if I'm wrong, what difference does it make? One less busboy," Damon moved Matt so that he was in a headlock.
Elena's eyes narrowed, "You're bluffing. Emma would never forgive you."
Damon shrugged and snapped Matt's neck before letting him fall to the ground dead. Even though Emma was in on everything it still made her sick to her stomach as soon as she heard the cracking of the bones in his neck. Elena's mouth fell open in shock.
"How about now? You feel anything now? You angry I just turned your buddy into roadkill? Or are you sad that the guy that everybody loves is just a bag of bones? Remember when he was a little kid, huh? Warm heart, big goofy smile, his whole life ahead of him. I guess it was a good thing he was wearing this," Damon knelt down next to Matt and pulled his hand up to show her the Gilbert ring on his finger, Emma took the chance to step out from beside the truck and join Damon, "I also brought Em, just to speed things up."
"Oh my god Matt," Elena began sobbing.
Emma put her hands on Matt's chest and focused her energy into her hands, picturing his heart beating, Matt sat up gasping. He looked over at Emma, thankful that he didn't have to rely on the ring to bring him back, knowing the consequences of using the it.
"You feel that weight lifting off your chest? That's joy, because your friend isn't dead," Damon forced Elena to look at him, "that's emotion, Elena; that's humanity."
Elena turned into Stefan's arms and began sobbing, almost uncontrollably.
"You're gonna be okay," Stefan assured her.
She pulled away from him, "No, no it's not okay."
"Elena," Damon sighed, half relieved that everything was over, but stressed because he knew the long road Elena had ahead of her.
"What have I done?" Elena looked down at her hands in shock, "What did I do? I almost killed Matt. I almost killed Bonnie...and Caroline. I just-that waitress, I actually killed that waitress."
Elena punched through the window of Matt's truck as she began spiraling.
Stefan forced her attention on him, "Hey, hey, look at me, look at me. I know this stage, okay? The emotions are overwhelming you. You just have to focus on one thing, okay?"
Elena began crying again, "No, I can't. I can't-"
"You just find that one thing inside of you that makes you strong. It's in there, just latch onto it. Channel everything you're feeling into that one emotion. Find the thing inside of you that makes you wanna live. Elena, let it in. Let it in," Stefan coached her.
Elena was suddenly calm as she seemed to find a single emotion to focus on.
"You okay?" Damon asked.
Elena shook her head, "No, I'm not okay, but I'll get better."
Elena turned and walked away, everyone just watched her go.