"You should leave," Elena said quickly. She whipped past Damon and opened the door. "Stefan will be here and—and I can't risk him finding out about this." Her honest brown eyes stared deep into Damon's eyes as she whispered, "Please?" Her long brown hair fell down her back perfectly as she turned her head to see Stefan's car coming. "Damon—please, just go."

Damon started to walk out, but turned to mutter, "I don't even know why I do things for you anymore." His thick black hair was messed up and his light blue eyes were now directed at the ground. He zipped up his black leather jacket and said, "Hello, brother," to Stefan. He got in his sleek black car and drove away, leaving a confused Stefan and a frightened Elena.

"Why are you here?" she asked, trying not to sound like she was hiding something. Elena wasn't the best liar, but at least she wasn't the worst. "I told you to come at five, and it's—" She looked at her clock. It was 5:30. "Oh," she said softly. "Did you, uh, come earlier today? Were you on time and then left, or…?" She stared into Stefan's eyes and saw him look away.

He nodded, facing the opposite direction. "I came at five, Elena, and I saw…" He gulped. Instead of finishing his sentence, he changed the subject. "Why don't we go to the movies? Or do you want us to go on that roller coaster again?" His perfect brown hair was standing on end and his white face was paler than ever, even for a vampire.

"Stefan—I just want to visit Bonnie," said Elena. This time, it was her to turn away. She walked into the kitchen and sat down on a stool. "I haven't talked to Bonnie in a while, and I want to go see her," she explained quickly. As she was about to put on her coat, Stefan grabbed her arm.

He was sad again. He hadn't been sad ever since he finally told Elena he was a vampire and she wasn't afraid of him. "I saw you," he croaked, "with Damon. Why, Elena? Why would you sneak around with him behind my back? He is dangerous, Elena, and you know that.

I don't want you getting hurt."

"Stefan, you're dangerous, too!" Elena snapped, flailing her arms. "You're a vampire, too, you know." She angrily turned and walked out the door, bumping into Jeremy.

Jeremy's face lit up. "Elena, how are you? Why are you mad? Oh, Damon passed me. He asked me to give you this, Elena." He handed Elena a small crumpled paper with scribbles on the page.

I'm going to leave town. Hope you're not mad.

~Damon

Elena read it and tears appeared in her eyes. "I have to follow Damon." She pushed past Stefan and ran to her car. Stefan used his vamp-speed to block the door. "Stefan, get out of the way! I love Damon, okay?" She tried to punch him, but Stefan caught her first in mid-punch and laughed.

"He drinks human blood, Elena. He's bad. He's…" Stefan got cut off by Elena, who was both really angry and crying her eyes out.

She growled, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER? YOU DRANK HUMAN BLOOD, TOO!"

Stefan narrowed his eyes. "But I don't drink it anymore," he said softly, touching Elena's cheek with his fingers.

"How do I know that?" she asked.

Jeremy walked over, looking defensive. "Dude, don't bother my sister," he said to Stefan. "If she loves Damon, she should be able to be with him. Just like when she loved you, she was able to be with you."

"She's crazy! She only loves me! I will rip your throat out if you don't believe me," threatened Stefan.

Elena screamed. "Stefan…what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, now come with me." He yanked on her arm and pulled her into his car.

"JEREMY, GET DAMON AND CAROLINE AND BONNIE!" shrieked Elena. She saw Jeremy running away to Bonnie's house where Caroline was sleeping over and Damon's car parked not too far away. The window closed and wouldn't break, no matter how hard she pounded on it.

"Good job," said a male voice. He snapped his fingers and Stefan fell to the ground, unconscious. "Ah, it really is you, Miss Gilbert. I've been waiting. Elijah, tie up the Salvatore." He pointed towards Stefan, who was shaking and turning over from side to side.

Elena spoke slowly. "Who…are…you?"

"Oh, I'm sure you know. Elijah, move faster!" He turned to Elijah, who was tying Stefan up with thick ropes.

She frowned. "Klaus," she whispered.

"Correct," said the very satisfied Klaus. "Now—you die. We still need to get that witch and that werewolf, and then get the moonstone and some crucial information, and we'll be done." He walked towards Elena, showing his fangs.

She threw vervain at him. He dodged it and it fell on Stefan. "Please, let me go. There has to be another way to break the curse!" She turned to Stefan, who had vervain on his face.

Caroline broke through the window of the car with Damon, Bonnie, and Jeremy behind her. She grabbed Elena and Stefan, and sped off.

"Thank you, Caroline," Elena said before falling unconscious.

"Everything happened so…so fast," said Elena.

Damon stared at Elena. "I think I should get going now."

"No!" said Bonnie and Elena. Bonnie continued, "You were the only one that really made Elena happy after her parents died. You add fun to her life. Now, we can tell her anything and see a smile on her face. Please, don't go. Stay here, for her. Please?"

He shook his head. "Stefan…"

"Who cares about Stefan?" asked Caroline.

Elena said, "He won't like this. This whole time—I think—Klaus was compelling him."

"Vampires can compel other vampires?" Jeremy asked curiously.

Damon shrugged. "Only the Originals because they were, well, the first vampires."

"Were they born as vampires?" he asked Damon.

"Don't ask me! How should I know?" Damon mumbled.

Jeremy shrank down in his seat.

"So, Stefan still doesn't really know about you and Damon?" Caroline asked Elena, flipping some blonde hair behind her shoulders.

Damon looked from Stefan to Elena. "He doesn't know."

"Damon's right." Elena fidgeted in her seat, looking uncomfortable.

Bonnie patted Elena's back. "It'll be okay. He'll understand."

Elena hugged Bonnie. "Thanks, Bonnie." She turned to Stefan, who was slowly waking up. "I'm ready." She stood up and walked over to him.

"Elena," he whispered. "You…you saved me from Klaus."

She shook her head. "Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Damon did. I was kidnapped, too. Actually, you kidnapped me."

"What?" He jumped up. "I would never…" He trailed off. "I was compelled wasn't I?"

Damon nodded. "Yeah, okay. Anyways, Elena has something to tell you."

"Yes, Elena?" Stefan looked so honest, so polite. And Elena was about to break his heart. "What is it?"

She stuttered, "Uh…I…I have to tell you that…I love…" She looked at Damon, and then back to Stefan.

"Damon? Elena, I thought you and me…" Stefan had tears in his eyes and shook his head. "If you're happy, then I'm happy." He sped out the door, using his vamp-speed.

"I…I hurt him," Elena said softly. "I can't believe it." She turned to Damon. "Why am I so confused about my feelings? I mean, one minute I love Stefan, the next minute I love you." She sighed.

Damon shrugged. "You don't have to feel bad. It's his fault for being boring." He held Elena's hands in his, and stared deep into her eyes.

"I wouldn't say that he's boring," Elena corrected, "just…not as fun as you." She suddenly grinned. "Speaking of fun, where's that one amusement park that we've been dying to go to?"

Damon said, "You mean that you've been dying to go to. I am not a big fan of little kid roller coasters."

"They aren't for little kids! It's Wonderland, Damon. It has stuff for adults and teens, too." Elena got a cup of coffee and then sat back down on her stool.

He laughed. "I'm sorry. When I was a human boy, Wonderland wasn't an amusement park. It was just what Stefan called his dreams that included Katherine."

"Wow." Elena giggled. "I didn't think he would be so…different. He's usually so straight-faced and serious."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

Elena shrugged, still smiling. "I don't know." The clock said 3:15am. "School is tomorrow. I have to get to bed."

"Aw, can't you stay up a little longer?" Damon pouted jokingly. They went upstairs to her bedroom.

She shook her head. "I need sleep." She put her coffee cup down.

"You won't be able to sleep with that in your system. Here—let me suck it out of you." He laughed as Elena jumped back.

"No thanks." She got under the covers and fell asleep.

Damon frowned. "What do drink, what do drink…?" He glanced towards Tyler Lockwood outside and shook his head. "Nah—he's too stinky." He looked at a random nerdy girl clutching a math dictionary and mumbled, "She won't be missed." He heard a scream from Elena's room. As he went back to her house, she was gone.

"W…Where am I?" Elena rubbed her head. "Who am I?" She looked at the door and narrowed her eyes. "Who…what're you doing here?" she asked a brown-haired man.

The man just stood there, as still as a statue. He finally smiled, almost evilly, and growled, "I knew it would work. Klaus will be so proud of me." He looked stiff, as if he couldn't move an inch or an alarm would go off.

"Please," Elena pleaded, "I—I'll do whatever you say, just tell me who I am and where I am." Her long hair was messed up from her deep sleep, making her look overwhelmed. "Please."

He shook his head. "If I give you just one piece of information, you will instantly remember everything, which is really bad," he murmured slowly, being careful with his words.

"Well—fine. I won't do what you say." She turned her back on him.

In a half-second, the man was in front of her again. "Don't mess with a vampire," he warned, "especially when you're dealing with Originals."

"Originals?" she repeated. "Why would you say it like the word is something super-special? I don't get it." She raised an eyebrow, waiting for a clearer response.

"You don't need to understand," he told Elena. "You just need to die."

Elena jumped back, against the wall. "Die? What did I ever do to you…?"

He moved closer to her, so close that he could smell her blood so strongly that he had to force his fangs to stay put. "It's not—well, we just need you to die, okay?"

"Sorry, but I don't want to waste my life for someone who won't tell me anything about my life but immediately wants to kill me!" she said quickly, and jumped out the open window.

The man jumped after her. He seemed to be flying, which made Elena even more scared. She landed in a bush full of twigs, and shrieked. "Miss, I'm afraid you'll have to come with me," the man said, looking annoyed. "It's just what needs to be done." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a big van.

"So she just disappeared?" Bonnie asked Damon, looking frantically around Elena's room for any trace of her. "How does that—" She stopped. "Elijah. He said—in my vision—that he was coming to get Elena, and he had a bottle in his hand. He said that all he needed was for her to inhale the scent and she'd be 'out of it'. I'm not sure what he meant, but I think he poisoned her or something!"

Damon sniffed the air. "Not just any poison," he muttered. "It's one of those poisons that make you lose your memory. That's the easiest way to capture a person—make them smell that, and bam, they forget almost everything. But the thing is, they remember everything but their life, family, name, friends, and boyfriends. And it only works on humans."

Bonnie plugged her nose. "Will it, like, kill me or something? I don't want to lose my memory." She fluffed up her black hair with one hand and kept the other over her nose. Her dark green eyes were glassy as she saw another vision. She gasped. "I'm right! Elijah's got Elena and she doesn't remember anything!" She almost released her hand from her nose, and took a deep breath.

"Bonnie, didn't you hear me? It only works on humans. Not werewolves, not vampires, and not witches." Damon didn't seem to hear about Bonnie's vision. He was too busy tracking down Elena. "She went this way—I can smell her blood down under the window. I guess she jumped."

She nodded. "Yeah, look at the blood on the bush. I think she jumped to get away from Elijah." She repeated what she said about her vision.

"Hold on tight," whispered Damon. Bonnie was on his back as he flew down to the bush. "I smell her blood. Right…here." He picked up a loose twig with some blood on it.

Bonnie gasped again. "That van! It's going past my house!" Her eyes were looking from house to house, watching the large van going slower and slower. It stopped at a huge building: the school. "They're going to drop her off at school?"

"No, they aren't." Damon stopped smelling the twig and faced the school which was far away, but close enough for Bonnie and him to see it. "Why would they do that, Bonnie? They're bad."

She shut her mouth. She opened it, squeaking, "That's what Stefan would say about you before we knew you had a good side."

"Well, my only good side is the one that protects you and Elena, and maybe even Caroline." He sped to the side of the school, peeking in.

Bonnie giggled. "We can just try the roof, you know."

"You're right." Damon picked Bonnie up and flew to the rooftop. "Let's see…Caroline is trying to talk to Matt…Tyler is looking really scared at his locker, now staring at Caroline…Elijah and Elena are walking to the office. Ah hah…" He opened a little door, leading to the attic of the school. He climbed in with Bonnie and made sure they didn't make a sound. He used his vampire senses to hear what was going on. He peered through a window, too.

He heard Elena talking to the secretary and principal. "Hi, my cousin wants to transfer. He was home schooled his whole life, and he's my age."

"What's his name?"

Elijah spoke up. "Elijah Gilbert."

"Another Gilbert, I see…" The principal grinned and went back to her office. The secretary didn't look amused.

She said, "I think that you should go to Elena's classes with her, Mister Elijah, just to see how the classes work and how your schedule will go for each day."

"I will do that," Elijah said. He stared into the secretary's eyes and said, "I don't need paperwork. You can tell the principal that, and make sure the school board never finds out."

The secretary nodded. "Okay, Mister Elijah."

"What're we gonna do, Damon? Elena is saying that Elijah is her cousin, and that means she's either really out of it or compelled. Can you tell if someone's being compelled?"

Damon gave Bonnie a sly smile. "I know what to do. Follow me."

"Are you sure this is safe?" asked Bonnie. "I've never done this spell before, and Grams isn't here to teach me how it works."

Damon rolled his eyes. "I've worked with witches for, like, 100 years. Trust me; I've picked up on their stupid spells." He looked into Bonnie's eyes, about to compel her, to tell her that this could kill her, but that it was all for Elena. He looked away, feeling angry with himself.

"Were you about to compel me?" she demanded, looking offended. She glared at him.

All of a sudden, Damon felt like he was on fire. "OW! Bonnie, stop it!" he shouted in agony. The pain stopped.

"I know what spell this is," she remembered. "I could die, you know. But…it's for Elena, right? Let's get on with it."

Damon's jaw almost dropped. "You…You're going to risk yourself for Elena? You're not as stuck up as I thought. Huh."

Elena spotted Damon and a light glowed around her. Elijah dropped to his knees, not pleased with himself. "No! She saw him! Klaus will kill me…"

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" she asked slowly. "Where's Damon?" She looked up and saw him. He jumped down with Bonnie. "Damon! Bonnie! I missed you guys so much! It felt like I was dead or, like, sleeping. Like, I saw all black."

Damon hugged her. "We just—we had to find a way to help you. Elijah poisoned you and made you lose your memory." As he said that, Elena sniffed the air which unfortunately had the memory loss poison in it. She fell to the ground.

"Elena!" Bonnie yelled. "Damon—she's poisoned again."

Damon sniffed the air. "This is the—oh no. She'll be stuck with the memory loss for life." He stared at the ground, motionless.

"Who are you?" asked a shy voice. Elena stood there, looking dizzy. "What's going on? Who am I?"

Bonnie had tears in her eyes. "Your name is Elena. I'm Bonnie, and this is Damon."

"Oh. Okay."

Damon stiffened his back. "I have to go. If she recovers, tell her I've left town forever."

"Damon, you can't leave!" Bonnie cried. "We need to help Elena remember!"

Elena raised her eyebrows. "Remember what? All I need to know is that my name is Elaine, you're Britney, and that was David."

"You're Elena, I'm Bonnie, and that's Damon," Bonnie quickly repeated, feeling queasy.

Elena didn't like to be corrected. "Fine, I'm Elena, you're Bonnie, and he's leaving." She turned to Damon. "Bye, Damon! See you when you come back!"

"Which will be never," Bonnie muttered quietly.

Elena shook her head, making her sleek hair fall out of the loose ponytail. "He'll come back. He will, Bonnie, he will! He's a good friend, right?"

"Not really," Bonnie admitted. After seeing Elena's childish glare, she corrected herself. "Oh, yeah, Damon was a really good friend. Always there for us." She added a silent, "NOT!" in her head.

"I feel bad for Elena," Caroline told Bonnie. "I mean memory loss? What wrong has she done in this world?"

Bonnie sighed. "She has to die, to break the curse before the werewolves do. I need to die, and so do Tyler and Stefan. Maybe they might use you, though, if they don't want Stefan."

"What about Damon?"

"He left town," replied Bonnie. "Now it's up to you and me to help Elena."

Caroline snorted. "I knew Damon wouldn't stay for Elena. Sure, he loves her, but would he really stay and be a good boyfriend?"

"Yes," Bonnie whispered. She stared out the window.

Caroline's blonde hair almost hit Bonnie in the face as she whirled around. "No," she said, "because Damon left forever."

"Maybe he needs time," Bonnie suggested.

"I know that he left forever, Bonnie. I'm not as stupid as you think I am." Caroline narrowed her eyes and saw Stefan lurking on the streets. "What's he up to?"

Bonnie shrugged. "Ever since Elena told him about her love for Damon, he's stopped drinking blood and just taking walks. I think he'll die if he keeps it up, Caroline."

"We should tell him, he deserves to know." Caroline walked out the door faster than Bonnie, leaving her confused as she saw Caroline speaking to Stefan. He looked shocked, then happy as Caroline mouthed the word, "Damon."

Elena wanted to die. She felt like she was on fire. "Britney—I mean, Bonnie! Help me!" A man was hurting her. He was trying to bite her. What kind of creep did that?

"Shut up," he growled. "Just be quiet, and accept the fact that you're going to die." Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.

The word vampire popped into Elena's head. "I know! You're a—a vampire! I'll tell everyone unless you let me go."

"You can't tell anyone, sweetie," he snickered. "You're locked in a dark room with me and my boss, Klaus."

Klaus stepped up. "Ah, yes. The blood of the doppelganger is just so tasty. Especially when she's the third one…" He paused. "Am I right, Elijah?"

"The first one—one of the beautiful Originals like us—was just like her: spunky but sweet. Just like Katherine, too."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "No one cares about Katerina. Miss Petrova is a vampire, and we do not need her anymore, Elijah." He spoke in a harsh voice, making Elena cringe.

"Put your hands where I can see them," a female voice said, and they heard a gunshot on the other side of the room.

Klaus jumped. "Who's there?" he demanded, making Elijah shake with fear.

"Are you a vampire?" the voice asked, ignoring Klaus's question. "Are you or are you not a vampire?" she repeated, sounding angry.

Elena squealed. "Whoever is there, help me! These vampires are t-trying to kill me!" Her hair fell in her sweaty face, and her eyes had dark circles under them.

"Elena? Elena Gilbert?" A blonde lady stepped forward. "It's me, Sheriff Forbes. Caroline's mother." She bent down to face Elena, who was sitting on the cold floor. "Are these men vampires?"

She nodded, looking helpless. "Uh-huh. Get me out of here," she wailed. "Please, I'll do a-a-anything. Please!"

Sheriff Forbes noticed that Elena's arms were tied to a thick pole, and her legs were tied to two sticks in the ground. "Here, let me." She untied the ropes. "Run, okay? I'm telling you to run like crazy until you get home."

"Home? Where's home?" she asked.

Elijah proudly stood up. "Memory loss, ma'am."

"Shut up, before I stake you in the heart."

Klaus smiled. "I see you've come prepared. The good thing is, so have we. Ladies? Gentlemen?"

Over a thousand vampires stepped out from behind the dark walls, surrounding Elena and Sheriff Forbes. Sheriff Forbes tried to shoot them, but they were so fast that they dodged everything. Elena grabbed a piece of paper, gave herself a paper cut, and threw the paper across the room in the shape of a paper airplane.

"Take THAT!" she yelled, running up the long staircase with Sheriff Forbes. They followed them, growling as they ran.

Damon came out of nowhere. He picked up the two females and left.

"Oh, thank you, Damon," said Sheriff Forbes. "Now, I'd better get home to Caroline. I'll see you around." She walked out the door.

Elena wrapped her arms around Damon. "I remember, Damon. I remember everything!" She kissed him.

"That's amazing," he said, and then he kissed her again.

Stefan came in slowly. "So, you've decided to come back. And now you're compelling her. Great."

"Stefan, I remember everything!" Elena said. "And I remember that I love Damon!" She hugged him again.

Damon kissed Elena, right in front of Stefan.

"I'm right here," Stefan muttered.

Elena grinned, looking half crazy. "So what? It's not like we care or anything!"

"D-Damon, did you compel her?" asked Stefan, looking slightly dazed.

He shook his head. "No, I didn't. But maybe Elijah or Klaus did!" His eyes were just as wide as Stefan's.