TITLE : What Hurts The Most
DISCLAIMER : I don't own TVD, unless you count DVD's or my excessive Damon Salvatore poster collection. No, I didn't think so. Also, I don't own any of the recognizable characters. Sadly, the show belongs to L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries, et al.,and CW Network.
AUTHOR'S NOTE : I hate spoilers. I just HATE them. But I keep reading them, so what does that say about me? Anyways, this fic is based partly on what I've read on the internet, which may or may not be true. That being said, this may or may not be a One-Shot.
SUMMARY : Elena asks Ric to compel her to forget about ever loving Damon. What happens when Damon returns to find out that his one great love has no memory of him?
PAIRING(S) : No definite pairing as of yet, but you know how much I love Damon/Elena.
RATING : T for the time being. Not really sure where this is going, so the rating may or may not change.
CHAPTER ONE – Somebody That I Used To Know
"What the hell do you mean Elena doesn't remember me?" Damon growled at his best friend, Alaric...the 'best' part of their friendship being questioned at the moment.
They were at Whitmore College, inside Ric's classroom, where Damon went to reunite with the woman he loved, only to have a rather huge bombshell dropped on him. Enzo, the one responsible for Damon's return, sat in the middle seat of the front row, with an insipid smirk on his face, while he watched the heated exchange.
"Damon, we all thought that you were dead," Ric began to explain, still struggling with the fact that Damon has, indeed, returned from the dead, and that his best friend really is standing right in front of him. "Elena was having a really bad time coping with the loss of you. So, she asked me to compel her to forget about ever falling in love with you...that way, she wouldn't hurt anymore."
"No...NO!" Damon shook his head vigorously. "Elena would never do that, Ric. She loves me!"
"Yes, she did. And that was the problem, Damon," Ric said with a sigh. "It was crippling her. She couldn't function without you. The thought of living an eternity without you almost drove her insane."
"So, you compelled her to forget that she ever felt anything for me?" Damon had a hard time understanding why Ric would do such a thing.
"Yes...no...not exactly," Ric stammered. He rubbed his hand all over his scruffy face in frustration. "Look...it's not like someone gave me a manual for any of this. I'm not an expert on vampire compulsion, especially with other vampires." Ric stared at Damon, who had a mix of hurt and betrayal plastered all over his face. "Elena wanted me make her forget that she was ever in love with you. For me to do that, I had to know the exact time when she fell for you. Unfortunately, even she couldn't tell me that. Look, I had not other choice, buddy. In order for me to help her...I had to remove any memories of you." Ric raised his hand to pat Damon on the shoulder, in attempts to comfort the broken-hearted vampire.
Damon swatted his hand away. "So...you wiped me out completely from her brain?"
"Yes...I didn't-" Ric tried to make him understand. He turned to Enzo for some assistance. "A little help here?"
Enzo shook his head and raised his hand to wave him off. "Two is a fight...three is a brawl."
"Give it back," Damon demanded.
"What?" Ric asked confusedly.
"Give her memories of me back to her," Damon repeated, making sure that he spoke slowly enough and enunciating every word to make sure that Ric understood. "You can do it. You're like an Original vampire, Ric. You can do that. Do it...for me."
"I don't know how, Damon...I wouldn't even know where to start," Ric confessed to his best friend.
Damon was about to say something, when he heard her voice. She was giggling...she was actually giggling, like a happy little school girl. Enzo perked up from his seat, suddenly gaining interest in the scene that unfolded before him. Things were about to get a little more exciting.
"Stop it! Stop that, Liam! It tickles!" Elena playfully swatted a young man's hand away.
"All the more reason why I should keep going," replied the young man, who Damon guessed was named Liam.
"Quit it!" Elena chuckled, as she lightly slapped Liam's hand away once again.
Elena mischievously ran away from Liam, who impishly chased after her. Elena was laughing, as she tried to dodge Liam's fingers, not knowing that they were being watched. It was when Ric finally cleared his throat that they looked around, and saw three sets of eyes staring at them.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ric," Elena apologized. "I didn't know you had company." She then turned to nod at Enzo. "Didn't know you were back in town, Enzo. What brings you back?" she asked, before tilting her head at Damon. "And who's your friend?"
"Wait...you remember him?" Damon asked, looking back and forth at Elena and Enzo. He gave Ric a confused expression.
"Yeah, he's an ass but he is...was... a friend," Elena answered. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name," she stared at Damon, having no recollection of who he was.
"I never threw it at you," Damon replied curtly, all the expression leaving his face, until it was almost blank.
"Excuse me?" Elena asked incredulously.
"Never mind. I'm nobody. At least, nobody you'd want to know," Damon replied, as he turned to leave.
"Hold on!" Ric shouted. "Nobody move! Everyone...just stay right where you are!" Ric turned to Liam. "Except for you," he said. "Leave!"
"Ric!" Elena protested, as she watched Liam leave the classroom.
"There's something we need to discuss Elena," Ric turned to the young vampire. He raised his hand and place them on her shoulders. "Look at me," he ordered her. "I need you to remember, Elena. I need you to remember everything that I made you forget."
Elena merely stared at Ric, the look of confusion written all over her face. "Ric...I don't understand what you're saying. What did you make me forget?"
"Not 'what'...WHO," Enzo chimed in, which only confused Elena even more.
"Elena...please! I need you to-" Ric implored her, before Damon interrupted.
"Forget it, Ric," Damon told his friend. "It's no use. It's quite clear that she has no intention of remembering," he added, his voice faltering. He turned to face Enzo. "Let's go."
"But things were just getting interesting," Enzo protested.
Damon just glared at him. "I said, let's go!" he growled angrily, before heading towards the door, immediately followed by Enzo.
Ric stared at Elena, shaking his head in frustration. Everything was completely wrong, and he blamed himself for it. How could he have done that to the man he called his best friend, and to the young woman he regarded as his own daughter? He then turned to the door and ran after his best friend, leaving Elena alone and confused.
"Damon, wait! You're leaving? Just like that?" Ric asked disbelievingly.
"This was her choice, Ric," Damon reminded him, continuing to walk at a faster, yet still human, pace.
"Yes, but you're here now..." Ric pointed out.
"She seems happy," Damon said. "With that Liam guy," he scoffed.
"But he's not you," Ric replied.
"Who cares?" Damon snapped. "Clearly, ELENA doesn't! She doesn't even remember me! No memories, Ric. Not the bad times. Not the good times. No memories of me at all!"
"I'll fix this..." Ric ran his hand through his hair.
"How?" Damon retorted, as he kept on walking...with Enzo walking beside him.
"I-I..." Ric stammered.
"You have no idea," Damon answered for him. "You said so yourself, you don't even know if you can."
"I'm so sorry, Damon..." Ric sighed as he apologized.
"It's fine, Ric. Like I said, I think I'll go now," Damon told him.
"I'll see you tomorrow-" Ric said, before he was cut abruptly.
"No...you won't," Damon shook his head.
"What do you mean?" Ric asked, lightly grabbing Damon's arm to stop him.
"It means that I'm leaving," Damon replied, as he shook Ric's hand off. "And you'll never see me again."
"Damon...think bout this, buddy- Ric tried to reason with him.
"I have...I've made up my mind, BUDDY," Damon retorted, throwing that last word mockingly at his friend. "And so...this is goodbye," he said, before vamp-speeding his way out to the parking lot.
Ric glared at Enzo. "You know, you could've said something," he growled angrily.
Enzo just gave him a smug smile. "Sorry, mate. It's not my fight," he gave Ric a mock salute, before he followed Damon in a flash.
Damon sat silently inside the car, while Enzo drove. He wasn't moving. He wasn't talking. He was just staring off into blank space. Unable to stand the uneasy silence, Enzo was the first one to speak.
"Did you really mean that?" Enzo asked his friend and former cellmate.
"What?" Damon finally acknowledged him.
"That you're leaving for good?" Enzo repeated.
"I'm here...with you...inside your car...as you drive away. You don't hear me complaining," Damon pointed out. "What does that tell you?"
"We can always turn back..." Enzo suggested, offering him an out.
"You can turn back if you want," Damon scoffed. "I'll just have to find another means to get the hell out of Dodge."
"We're really leaving?" Enzo asked again.
"We really are leaving," Damon reiterated. "I think it's time that I sever ties with these people. And this hellhole of a place."
"And Elena?" Enzo pressed.
"Weren't you paying attention?" Damon snarled at his friend. "She doesn't want to remember me! I wasn't even gone half a year, and she'd rather forget about me than find a way to bring me back!"
"The Other Side collapsed. We thought that you were gone. We all believed that there was no other way to bring you back," Enzo tried to reason with him.
"Obviously, not all. YOU found a way to bring me back," Damon pointed out.
"Yes...but I have my own selfish reasons," Enzo reminded him.
"And Elena didn't? Love wasn't a good enough reason?" Damon spat in anger.
"I can't answer for her, mate," Enzo replied calmly.
"Doesn't matter now, does it? She can't remember me. And she won't remember me. I am so sick and tired of having to fight for my love for her, when it's quite clear that the Universe doesn't wan't us to be together! Guess what, Universe? You win! I give up! I am so fucking done with all of your bullshit! So let's just drop it, okay?" Damon scoffed, as he turned his attention back to that blank space he was staring at earlier.
"So...where to?" Enzo asked softly.
"Keep driving," Damon ordered him. "We still have a Bennett witch to find."
Elena's eyes snapped open, as she panicked when she awoke to an unfamiliar pair of hands that was wrapped around her waist. She was confused. She was still in her dorm room, in her bed, but she had no idea who the man was that slept beside her.
She held her breath and looked at herself to check. Still fully clothed. She exhaled thankfully. She extricated herself from the man's arms. The man beside her stirred and tried to pull her closer. She slapped the man's hands away and jumped out of bed, which finally woke him up.
"Who the hell are you?" Elena screamed at the guy.
"Elena-" the guy stared at her confusedly, as he tried to reach for her again.
"Get away from me!" Elena slapped his hands away again.
"Elena, sweetheart-" he tried to calm her down.
"Don't call me that!" Elena's anger only grew. She rushed towards the guy, slamming him into the wall, her hands wrapped around his throat. "Who the hell are you? And what the fuck are you doing in my room?" she snarled as she pressed him for answers.
The door swung open, with Alaric rushing inside, quickly followed by Caroline. "Whoa, whoa...easy there!" Ric tried to calm her down, urging her to release the man.
"Ric!" Elena sighed in relief, as she hugged him . "I don't know what's going on..."
Caroline stared at Elena, then to the semi-conscious man slumped on the floor. "Oh,my God! Elena, what did you think you were doing?" she shouted. "Liam, are you okay?"
"Care, you know this guy?" Elena asked, surprised and even more confused.
"Of course I do." Caroline scoffed. "He's your boyfriend!"
"What do you mean , my boyfriend? I know you want me to forget about Damon, but this is low, even for you?" Elena accused her blonde vampire friend. "You know that I'm not even done grieving for him, and you want me to move on?"
"Elena...I didn't want you to forget about Damon," Caroline tried to remain calm as she explained. "YOU were the one who forgot about him."
"Can somebody tell me what the fuck is going on?" Liam finally found his voice, and spoke up, the shock still visible on his expression.
It was then that Ric decided to intervene. "Hey, kid...look at me. You need to go back to your place-"
"No, I want answers-" Liam tried to argue.
Ric grabbed Liam by the back of the neck, and made him stare into his eyes. "You're gonna go back to your place. You're gonna forget all about this. You met a girl. Turned out she was a crazy chick. You broke it off. And you're going to move on."
Liam's eyes glazed over. "I'm gonna go back to my place. I'm gonna forget all about this. I met a girl. Turned out she was a crazy chick. I broke it off. And I'm going to move on," he repeated what Ric had said.
"Good," Ric said, satisfied about the compulsion. "Now get the hell out of here."
"I can't believe that you'd want me to replace Damon already," Elena glared at Caroline, with a pained look on her face and tears welling up in her eyes. "He just died a few months ago, for Christ sake!" she reminded them.
"Several, actually..." Caroline told her.
"What?" Elena shook her head, dumbfounded.
Caroline sighed. She took Elena's hand and steered her to sit down back on the bed. "Damon died almost a year ago, Elena," she softly told her.
"I don't understand," Elena said, as she met Ric's eyes, asking for answers.
Ric exhaled loudly. He turned to Caroline, and tilted his head towards the door, signalling for her to leave. "I got this. Go check on Liam," he told the blonde. After Caroline reluctantly left, he sat beside Elena and pulled closer. "You asked me...no, you BEGGED me to do it, Elena. You wanted me to make you forget about Damon," he explained.
"No..." Elena argued, pushing him away.
Ric shushed her and pulled her back into his arms. "You were suffering. You couldn't handle losing him. So you asked me to to compel you you to forget-"
"NO!" Elena screamed louder. "I wouldn't ask you to do that! I loved Damon...I STILL do. I would never ask you to compel me to forget about him just because he's dead!"
"Was. He WAS dead," Ric said to her.
"What do you mean?" Elena asked, her brain starting to hurt as the revelations kept on coming.
"He's back, Elena," Ric revealed to her. "He's been back. Enzo found a way to bring him back from the dead."
Elena stared at him at first, unsure whether she had heard him correctly. When the information finally sunk in, she spoke again. "Where is he? Oh my God! Where's Damon? He came back to me. Just like he promised he would. Tell me where he is! I have to see him!" she demanded.
"I don't know where he went," Ric said apologetically.
"What do you mean?" Elena yelled, panic starting to rise again. "You just told me that he was back..."
"Elena, he WAS back...but that was several weeks...almost three months ago. He's gone again," Ric reluctantly informed her.
Elena shook her head. "What do you mean he's gone? You just said-"
"I know what I said," Ric rubbed his hands all over his face in frustration. "He came back for you. And when he found out that you've forgotten all about him...that it was your choice to forget..."
"And he couldn't stand to be anywhere near me," Elena finished for him. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out on her. Defeatedly, she just slumped on the floor. "He must think that I never really loved him," she whispered.
"That's not true," Ric said, as he pulled into his arms again.
"You don't know him the way I do. God...he must think that I never loved him enough! To just want to forget about him like that!" Elena said, her eyes welling up again. She angrily wiped the tears away, then abruptly stood up. She rushed into her closet, took out a travel bag, and then began stuffing it with clothes.
"What are you doing?" Ric asked her.
"Packing. I'm leaving as soon as possible," Elena replied without stopping.
"Wait...where are you going?" Ric put a hand to her arm to slow her down.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to find him!" Elena snapped.
"How?" Ric asked again.
"I don't know!" Elena hissed. "I don't know where...I don't know how! All I know is that I have to find him. I need him to know how much I love him. I need to be with Damon, Ric."
"I know...I know," Ric nodded in understanding.
"And once I find him...I'll make sure that we'll never be apart ever again." Elena said with great determination.
~END OF CHAPTER ONE~
A/N :
*There you go. The plot bunnies spat this back at me after I read those damn spoilers. Little tip...never, ever read or believe in spoilers, unless you wanna turn like me.
*Any comments, theories, or violent reactions, hit me up by clicking the REVIEW button.