- TRANSPIRE-

Disclaimer: I don't own any of L.J. Smith's characters, as well as CW's.

DAMON SALVATORE

It was amazing how being an immortal, a supernatural being, capable of what humans dreamed of for centuries, Damon felt weaker than any mortal on this planet. Staring back at him were his intense blue eyes, surrounded by wet eyelashes. The sclera of his eyes was now red, making the blue stand out more than ever.

He put the piece of the shattered mirror back down on the floor and rubbed his swollen eyes.

As a human, he had enjoyed whatever life had to offer him. As a vampire, he had sought a reason for his immortal existence. A reason to live.

However, that reason died two years ago, leaving him a broken mess on the floor. Had he been himself, he would've drowned the pain away with a few drinks. But he wanted to feel every single iota of the pain of losing Elena. Maybe he'd be so numb from hurting that he'd never feel a single emotion again.

Stefan, the one person Damon had expected to stay back and lament over their greatest loss, had disappeared. And the others? Damon couldn't care less. They were able to get on with their petty human lives. Go to school. Graduate. Work. Marry and grow old.

"Why Elena?" Damon wanted to know. He wanted to know why God was punishing him like that. For being damned creature?

He'd spent his days hurting, but it suddenly hit him that he was no longer able to stay here. Damon wouldn't be able to escape the pain, but being around where Elena's essence still lingered from the last time she was here, was torturous.

Weak as he was, Damon finally managed to stand up and stagger towards the door.

Without even looking back at the Salvatore mansion at least one last time, Damon starting walking straight ahead with no specific destination. He was too weak and hungry to think clearly anyways.

ELENA GILBERT

Breaking up with Matt wasn't easy. There was a lot to consider, which she wished she had done before agreeing to date him. Like the facts that she'd be seeing him in school every day, their potentially wrecked friendship, and that they lived in the same small town.

Sighing, Elena smoothed her already smooth, blonde hair for the tenth time.

"I need to stop being so immature." Talking to herself wasn't really the first step to improve herself, characteristically, but saying it out loud made her intention seem more official to her.

In her past sophomore year, she had made nothing but mistakes. Back then though, she didn't think of them like that.

But now that she had to face the consequences of her boy-freakishness, like Tyler's obsessive behaviour, Matt's feelings that she hurt, and what she had done that had ended her friendship to Caroline, she knew better.

"I won't be that girl anymore. I won't be the loose flirt anymore. I'm a senior now. Composed, popular and mature."

And with that, she felt ready to leave for school. Her aunt had already left, and her little sister was dropped off at school already, which meant that Elena was late on her first day of school of her senior year. Great.

But she didn't feel like going to school just yet. The cool, yet sunny morning filled her heart with hope and longing. It yearned to be filled with something more than a crush.

On her way to school, Elena tried to think of different ways to fix the problems she had caused herself, biting her dry lips furiously.

She stopped to search her purse for a lip gloss, unaware of the dark figure passing by her until he slightly bumped her shoulder with his.

"Hey!" She called out, flustered at the person's rudeness.

The man dressed in black, from his shoes to his leather jacket, turned slowly, almost menacingly. "I apologize." And bowed to her slightly, not to mention mockingly.

"Some apology," muttered Elena to pick up her lip gloss that she had dropped. When she stood up, she saw that he hadn't moved an inch.

His eyes focused abruptly he immediately appeared to have snapped out of his earlier haziness. "Elena?"

"Wait, do I know…"

Smiling lazily, the stranger with the glimmering blue eyes shook his head. "I'm sorry. After I lost her, every girl looks like Elena to me. Again, I apologize," he said, raising his hands in the air and turned around to leave before Elena could say anything else to him.

How does he know my name?

It's the question she kept asking herself until she had reached school. Apart from his overwhelming presence that had left her heart racing madly after he left, there was something else about him. The sadness in his eyes. The lack of focus in them when he had looked at her, but apparently knew her name. And there was this otherworldly element to his very essence…

"Elena! Helloo?" Meredith snapped her fingers in front of Elena's face several times. Ripped out of her thoughts of the strange encounter she had made with that sad, dark haired young man just that very morning, Elena found herself sitting in the cafeteria with her two best friends, Meredith and Bonnie.

Bonnie, the more easy-going and bubbly girl of the three, was already for the lookout of possible candidates to pick out for the next dance.

Her more serious friend Meredith, on the other hand, was always aware of any strange behaviour amongst her friends. Observant and composed. The two best words to describe the olive-skinned beauty.

"Sorry. What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing because the only other person not drooling over boys keeps spacing out. What's wrong, Elena?"

The incident earlier had been so bizarre, no matter how many times she kept replaying it in her head, that she felt it wouldn't be right to share it with them. Plus, she wanted to be more mature this year, and not gush over some mysterious, dark stranger.

"Just stuff. Have you guys seen Matt anywhere?"

Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't about Matt," Bonnie accused Elena immediately. "You never behaved like this concerning him. Did something happen back in France?"

Not able to think of a better story, Elena replied, "Yes. And I'd rather it stays there. What about you guys? Anything strange happened to you lately?"

DAMON SALVATORE

Hallucinations of Elena had become as common the clouds that covered the sun, temporarily shadowing the world. Sometimes they talked to him. Sometimes it felt as if her scent was surrounding him, overwhelming him with the sweetness. And sometimes he would stroke her dark, soft hair. Or rather imagine himself doing so.

Today's hallucination was a bit odd though. Because usually, they all looked like the dark haired girl that had stolen Damon's heart and sanity, at times. But not this time. Same aura. Same determination. But different appearance.

"What tricks are you playing on me now, Elena? Haven't you caused me enough pain already?" Asked Damon, agonized by Elena's constant and illusory presence in his mind and pretty much what was left of his life.

"Damon, please, you know I wouldn't do that. I just want you to get on with your life. You still have yours to live."

Did he still want to live a life without her? Or was he alright with resorting to be surrounded by hundreds of Elenas?

She hadn't changed at all, since…that day. Determined to reason with him. To make him understand.

"Come here, Elena." He sat up from his lying position on the park bench. Up until imaginary Elena had showed up, he had peered into the sky, willing the brightness of it to blind him for good.

"You're becoming self-destructive, Damon. What are you going to gain from it?"

Damon groaned. She wasn't going to sit next to him. Instead, she'd lecture him on how to go on with his life without her. Classic Elena.

And destructive? Starving himself of human blood had made him feel closer to her as ever. And even gave him a glimpse of what it felt like to be more human again. Weak, emotional, and soft-hearted.

"Why did you lead me here, Elena?" Turned out that he didn't just walk around aimlessly. Because he wasn't alone when he had arrived to this little town, ironically called Mystic Falls too. He was going insane, wasn't he?

"I'm not going to just hand you the answer over like that. Find out for yourself," she replied, arms crossed and her expression stern.

The image of the light blond haired girl flashed his mind. He had to find out what the deal with her was. And if she was real or not.