Now that I've lost everything to you
You say you wanna start something new
And it's breakin' my heart you're leavin'
Baby, I'm grievin'
But if you wanna leave, take good care
I hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there

Grabbing a hold of the desk's edge, my knuckles are white from the force of my grip. Closing my eyes momentarily, I exhale deeply as I struggle to take in this news. "How is he back, Ric? He died! Where's Bonnie? Did she come back too?"

"No, Elena. From what I gather, Bonnie did not come back with him. I haven't seen him in person yet so I don't know any of the details as to how he made his way home."

"You have to promise me you won't un-compel me. He's a killer, please Ric." I plead anxiously.

"You're only saying that because I took away all the good things. You loved him so much it was killing you to be without him." Ric says while staring at me pointedly.

"I know you never would've made this choice if there was even the slightest chance that he'd come back. Please Elena, let me do this. You told Caroline that if by some miracle, he returned, you'd have me restore your memories of him. Yet you won't even consider it now. I don't understand, Elena."

"No, Ric. You have to promise you won't do this." I tell him firmly.

"I won't. Not until you ask me to but I really hope that's not far away. He's my best friend Elena. Can you imagine how he must feel? Somehow he slayed the universe to get back to you only to find a you who wants nothing to do with him. Think about that okay? I'm going to go now. I really hope you'll give all of this some serious thought." he says eyeing me sharply.

I search my mind. I can imagine no scenario in which I would ever fall in love with Damon. He was the bane of my existence after he killed Jeremy. What ever could've possessed me to move beyond something so heinous? How is it even possible that I could fall in love with him after that? My head is a whirlwind of conflicting feelings. Sitting down at the edge of the bed, my head drops to my hands. Frustration is coursing through my veins as I stare at the floor. The ring of my phone grabs my attention.

"Hi Liam. Yeah, I'd love to go for a drink. I'll meet you there. See you in a bit." Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I know he's no more than a distraction but he's what I need right now.

A knock on the door rouses me from my reverie. I get up to answer it. "Who is it?" I ask.

"It's me." he says softly.

"Damon?"

"Yeah, it's me. Look Elena, I know why you did what you did. I'm back now. Please baby, just open the door. There was a time when I doubted it too. But do you know what you did? You placed my palm flush against your heart then you cradled my cheek with your other one. You asked me if the sparks felt wrong. I told you that no matter what, I had to do right by you, Elena. That's what I'm trying to do. I thought I'd never see you again. Somehow for whatever reason, I was given this miracle. You're just inches away from me. Please, please, just open the door?"

"Those feelings are gone. I have a new life now. Please understand that?" I beg him.

"Elena," he whispers. "You know compulsion is a lie. It's running away. You're a fighter, Elena. You never give up on the people you love. I admire that indomitable spirit of yours more than you know. I made you a promise. I said I'd come back to you. And I know it took a little longer than I had hoped but I'm here now, sweetheart. Please, just let me see you?" he says pleadingly. "Open the door or at least get out of the way so you don't get hurt when I kick it down."

Feeling overwhelmed with panic, I twist the nob to open the door before leaping out of my third floor dorm room window. I have to get away from him...

I've managed to successfully avoid Damon for a week. I'm here at a college social having asked Liam to be my date. Ric is also here schmoozing it up with Jo. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. Electricity surges through my body from the point of impact. Holding my breath, slowly I turn to face him. I know who it is without even having to see his face. Looking into those magnetic baby blues of his almost cause my knees to weaken. Awestruck, my mouth drops, no words escaping. Feeling like a fish out of water, my mouth opens and closes without any sound escaping. Gazing into those eyes, I find myself unable to look away.

Just then Liam is beside me. He glares at Damon before wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me away to dance with him. Unable to help myself, I seek out his eyes when I look for him over Liam's shoulder. His eyes are so expressive. They're full of pain, deep visceral pain that I put there. Feeling my resolve beginning to weaken, I turn away and steel my spine by remembering he's nothing but a monster.

Just after turning my back to him, Damon taps Liam's shoulder to dance with me. He gives Damon a dirty look but does step aside. I feel the same crackles of electricity when he takes me into his arms yet I can't give in to it.

"Look Damon, I'm happy now." It takes every ounce of strength I have but I can't succumb to his charm.

"I have a whole new life now. I'm sorry, I feel nothing for you anymore." I don't know why but it hurts to be cruel to him.

He steps back in shock as if I'd slapped him, his eyes glistening a bit when he turns away for a moment. He turns back to me then reaches into his jacket pocket. I'm stunned when he pulls out my necklace, the necklace. The necklace Stefan gave me that came to mean so very much.

"Here, take this then. I'm going to leave Mystic Falls." Swallowing hard, I hear his voice hitch a bit when he continues. "It hurts too much to see you with someone else. I won't bother you any longer."

He steps closer, wraps his arms around me for a hug. He kisses my forehead then turns his back on me before stiffly walking away and out of my life.

I look at the necklace in my hand. The emotions it stirs are so overwhelming, it almost feels like I'm suffocating.

"Are you alright?" I hear Liam say softly.

"I don't know. I have to go. I need to be alone. I'll call you tomorrow."

I cradle my necklace as if it's my most precious possession. I walk around in a daze until I find myself in the cemetery. Some unknown force leads me into the Salvatore crypt. I lean against the wall and slide to the ground. When I close my eyes, my brain is bombarded with memories associated with my necklace. I remember him giving it back to me after he and Stefan rescued me from Elijah and Rose. The haze in my head clears even more when I see myself standing in front of a mirror. I turn to face him. He's opening a little box. Then he pulls my necklace out, gifting me with it on my eighteenth birthday. And then the dam breaks as memories come flooding back, one after the next. I drop my face into my hands, sobbing uncontrollably, unable to comprehend the magnitude of what I've done.

I have to find him. I can't lose him again. I don't even know where to begin to look. I pick up my phone to call him but it's routed to voice mail. "Please pick up Damon. Please, I love you. I'm so sorry, Damon."

I'm on the verge of complete panic when miraculously, inexplicably, I hear his voice. Cautiously stepping out of the crypt, I see him standing near Bonnie's grave, a bottle of bourbon in hand, whispering thank you to her.

Ever so gently so as not to spook him, I make my way over to him. "Damon," I whisper softly. His eyes widen when he turns to look at me. "I'm so sorry, Damon. You deserved better from me. Please don't leave. I gave you my heart a long time ago. I never got it back to give to someone else. You are my life, Damon. Can you ever forgive me?" I ask, my voice thick with emotion, tears trickling from my eyes. I start chewing on my lower lip while waiting for him to respond.

He shakes his head for just a moment before raising his eyes to mine. My breath hitches when I see the tears that I put there.
"Loving you is the best decision I ever made. I'm so proud of the man you are Damon. I have no excuse for what I did. I just want you to know that I couldn't cope with losing you. It was killing me. I started using hallucinogenic drugs just so I could see and talk to you. It was a drug cocktail that Luke conjured up. The blood lust became overwhelming which resulted in me being careless and hurting people. Please say something, Damon."'

He opens his arms and pulls me to him, hugging me as if it's the last time. I pull his lips to mine, conveying everything I feel for him with the sheer force of it. It's him who pulls back breathlessly. He wraps his arms around me once more for a long moment. He laces his fingers with mine as we walk out of the cemetery together, now and forever after...

Fin

A big special thank you and hugs to Eva. Don't forget to hit that review button. I own nothing. Lyrics: 'Wild World' by Cat Stevens. If you want to follow me, I will be updating 'Only Time' later this week. I also have a Christmas story done. I will start posting that in December.