[Elena nods. She doesn't expect him to approve of it necessarily. She doesn't know what his world is like enough to know his feelings on the matter. But the way she sees it, hiding is safer.]

People think we're monsters.

[Elena draws an uneasy breath. She never thought Stefan was a monster. She had even been willing to give Damon the benefit of the doubt for a very short window in the beginning. But now? Now she knows it's not that simple as being a monster or not. They're predators sure, but they're people before that. They make choices that are monstrous or not.]

I think if I hadn't turned up here without my humanity on the first time around, I wouldn't have told anyone what I was for a very long time. It just wouldn't feel safe. But people that were here then know what I'm capable of because at the time I didn't care. And now they know I won't ever choose to do it.

[Just like she won't choose to hurt Dean.]