Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why

-Lana Del Rey

They were no longer welcome in the small town of Mystic Falls. As outcasts, they drove away from the town that turned their backs on them, not thinking of turning back. In the blink of an eye, they were on their own, searching for anywhere better. It was worth it to them; no more people telling them their love was something foolish. They would make it; they would show them all how wrong they were.

They had so much to prove.

Damon was a small-town boy with big dreams of money and the American dream that was just out of his reach. Elena was a young girl with aspirations that were over her head. Together they would accomplish the once impossible; at least that's what they set out to do.

It was the mid 1940's when they first met in June and became inseparable by July. He was a little too old for her but neither of them cared. Their love burned like fire and never once faltered through the struggles their disapproving families put them through.

"I'm never going to stop loving you," he told her as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Never stop loving me."

Finding a rundown abandoned house in a town deep in the south, they made a life for themselves. They were both so young, money didn't come with ease but before they made their escape to a new life they each managed to save enough money to survive for awhile. Elena began working at a local diner, only making a few bucks an hour while Damon desperately looked for work where he could finally become someone.

One day their life changed when Damon met a no good business man named Klaus that offered him the world for a big price in return. Damon instantly knew that he was a bad man with even worse intentions. As badly as he wanted the things Klaus offered, he couldn't bring himself to turn his back on his morals.

That night his views changed.

"This wasn't what I had in mind," Elena whispered with pure disappointment into the darkness as the laid across the cold ground together. They were failing.

The next day he found Klaus and it began. He stayed out late every night with no explanation where he was but Elena was a bit too naive to notice the difference in Damon. His touches still fueled the desire in her and that's all that mattered.

It wasn't till the day he came home with bruises and cuts all over his body that she realized the extra cash they had was not something that could come without sacrifices.

She had hoped for so much better.

"It's not worth it," she simply told him as she cleaned his wounds and bandaged him up. That was the first and last time they spoke about it until the day he came home and destroyed her world.

"No, please, you can't!" The reaction he was waiting for was much more powerful than he prepared for. He was going to provide for them. Didn't she see that this was all so they could have a life together?

"I won't be gone for long; Klaus needs me and we need the money."

"This is going to ruin you, Damon! You're getting caught up in it. We don't need the money, we just need each other."

"I'm doing this for us. It's going to be worth it one day."

"Don't leave me," she begged, falling to her knees and screaming for him to stay with her. Her eyes were burning with tears and he couldn't look at her anymore. The shame overcame him but the desire to provide for her and give her a life she deserved outweighed the guilt.

"I'm sorry," he quietly whispered. He crouched down and cupped her face while kissing her hard. With no other explanation, he left her.

The screen door slammed behind him and so did any hope Elena had for their future.

A few days turned into a few weeks and so on. She tossed and turned at night thinking about him; wondering if he was still alive and if he missed her as much as she missed him. It was slowly killing her. The nights and days spent alone were wearing her down to the point where she wondered is it was ever worth it. Then she would remember the way he made her feel and how she never was whole without him and that's why it was so hard.

She did her best to remind herself that he didn't leave her behind like they did Mystic Falls. It was all going to be worth it one day. But she was sure if he didn't come back for her, she was going to miss him forever.

She finally broke down after two years. She found the life she set out for with Damon in a man named Stefan. He provided her with the things she wanted and that was enough; for the moment. When he touched her she did not ignite and her heart didn't flutter the was it used to but the big house with the white picket fence he bought her kept her satisfied.

She wasn't even given a week to get used to the large diamond ring that weighed down her finger before there was knock on her front door.

She never believed she would see his face again. The boy she ran away with was now a man. He took her breath away.

No words were spoken before she was in his arms, clutching onto him as if he'd disappear at any moment.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when she was finally able to speak again.

"I'm here for you."

He told her all about the past two years and promised her he wasn't lost in that world anymore.

"Tell me you stopped loving me and I'll let you go."

Without hesitation, she turned her back on the white picket fence and ran away with him for the second time.

AN: I'm having a bit of writers block so I thought I'd write this. It's a little out of left field, I know. It was fun to write though. Tell me what you think