"What should we do tonight?" Elena turned to face her incredibly hot boyfriend, who was staring intently at the road in front of him. He had one hand on the wheel and another currently intertwined with hers.
"What we always do?" He smirked, squeezing her hand. "Go home and…"
Elena felt her cheeks going warm as she finished his sentence in her head. She knew exactly what he was referring to. Most nights they just ended up in his bedroom, their bodies keeping each other warm under the sheets…
"I heard Caroline is having a party at hers. We could make an appearance there?"
Damon let out a groan, "Do we have to? I'm not sure I'm in the mood to pretend I enjoy spending time with vampire barbie. And don't get me started on your witch friend."
"Bonnie. Her name is Bonnie and she's my best friend." Elena rolled her eyes and released her hand from Damon's grip, sighing loudly. "Please, Damon? I want to go and I want you to be there."
After a little more convincing, which included a promise that he would get something in return later in the night, Damon changed his course and instead started driving towards Caroline's house. It took them no longer than thirty minutes to finally pull into her driveway, behind a number of other cars. Damon didn't hide his disappointment that he would be spending the night surrounded by high schoolers.
"We still have an opportunity to get back in the car and go back to mine," He whispered, wrapping his arms around Elena's waist and pulling her towards him. Damon leaned in and placed his lips against her ear, "I could show you an even better time in my bed..."
Elena inhaled the familiar smell of her supernaturally handsome boyfriend and felt herself tempted by his offer. If it wasn't for her best friend, Bonnie Bennett, coming to the door she probably would've found herself in Damon's bed all night. As usual.
"Elena?" Bonnie shot Damon a disgusted look before smiling warmly at her best friend, "I didn't know you were coming!"
"Neither did she." Damon responded, releasing Elena's waist and instead wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "And if it were up to me, we'd be somewhere else right now."
"At an old people's home?" Bonnie responded without missing a beat, "Because that's where you belong. How old are you now anyway? 300?"
"170 actually, Bon-" Damon began, before being interrupted by a finger on his lips.
"Let's go inside!" Elena exclaimed, sighing deeply before pushing her two favourite people inside.
The party was buzzing. Elena had never seen her friend's house so full. There were a number of faces she recognised around the room, all smiling knowingly at her when their eyes met. Some of them, the ones she knew well, raised their cups up at her.
"Elena! Bonnie!" A high-pitched voice screamed, "You guys made it!"
Before Elena even had time to register the voice, she found herself being hugged tightly by Caroline. Damon took a step back awkwardly, not wanting to be pulled into the hug.
"Hey Care." Bonnie responded, "Thanks for inviting us along tonight."
"Um, of course!" Caroline beamed, "As if I would have a party without inviting my two best friends!"
Elena and Bonnie exchanged awkward glances before finally being released from Caroline's grip.
"Looks like a great party, Care." Elena quickly smiled at Damon who rolled his eyes in response, "Did you set it up yourself?"
"Of course I did!" Caroline laughed, "You really think anyone else at our school could have pulled this off?"
Before anyone could respond, Elena's ex-boyfriend Matt appeared behind Caroline. He shot Damon a dirty look before leaning in and whispering something into Caroline's ear. Elena looked up at her current boyfriend apologetically, but Damon didn't seem phased at all. It wasn't exactly a secret that none of Elena's friends were fans of her boyfriend.
"Are you kidding me?" Caroline let out a loud groan, "We're out of ice already?! I can't just leave my own party to go and get ice… Where's Tyler? Wasn't he bringing more?"
"Tyler isn't coming." Matt said quietly, "He's, uh, hanging out with Vicki."
"I can go and pick some up, if you want?" Elena suggested when nobody said anything. "I'll go quickly now and be back in 5."
Elena bee lined out the door, Damon close on her heels.
"You stay here," Elena said, reaching into Damon's pocket for his keys. "I'll be back in 5!"
"You're kidding, right?" Damon laughed, "What am I supposed to do while you're getting ice? Talk to people?"
"That's exactly what you're supposed to do." Elena climbed into the car and started the engine. She winded down the window to kiss her boyfriend goodbye before reversing out of the driveway.
"Hey, Elena. It's Damon. Your boyfriend. Just thought I'd remind you that you've left me stranded at this pathetic excuse for a party for over an hour now. Hurry up and come and save me from this hell. Thanks." Damon let out a small sigh before sliding his phone back into his pocket. It had been a little over an hour since he had watched Elena reverse out of the driveway, smiling at him mischievously. He spent most of the time following Bonnie around, trying to pretend he didn't hate everyone at the party with every fibre of his being.
"Seriously, Bon-Bon. Where's Elena? Is she responding to your messages?" Damon snatched Bonnie's phone out of her hands and opened up her messages. He let out a small laugh when he saw she had been exchanging steamy messages with some boy, but frowned again when he realised Elena hadn't been responding to her either.
"You're the most annoying person I have ever met." Bonnie growled, snatching her phone back. "I'm sure Elena's fine. She probably just got lost on her way back."
"Ah, yes. You're probably right, Bon." Damon responded sarcastically, "She got lost on the way back to her best friend's house. A house that is located in the town that she has been living in for seventeen years. I'm sure she just got lost."
"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Damon! I don't know where she is." Bonnie cried out, frustrated.
"I want you to do a location spell, little witch." Damon demanded impatiently.
Bonnie looked up at Damon and examined his face. She sighed, defeated, when she really saw how worried he was. Without wasting another second, Bonnie grabbed his hand and led him into Caroline's bedroom.
"I'll need something of Elena's for the spell," Bonnie began, before being interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Damon stared angrily at the phone, then back at Bonnie, hoping that she would just ignore it.
"It's Jeremy." Bonnie said quietly, staring at the caller-ID. "He never calls me…"
Damon was suddenly filled with dread. He had a feeling that whatever Jeremy needed to say wasn't going to be good news.
"Pick it up, Bon."
"J-Jeremy? Is everything okay?" Bonnie felt her heart in her throat. "I-Is Elena okay?"
Damon focused in on the sound of Jeremy's voice on the other line.
"It's bad, Bonnie." Jeremy sounded as if he was barely holding it together, "She was hit by a truck that lost control. They're prepping her for surgery as we speak."
Before Bonnie even had a chance to look at Damon, he was gone. All he left behind was a cool breeze that sent shivers down Bonnie's spine.
"Where is she?" Damon pushed his way past a number of the hospital staff, searching in each of the rooms he passed for his beloved girlfriend. "Where is she?!"
It wasn't until he finally set his sights on Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's younger brother, that he managed to calm down a little. Jeremy was sitting down outside one of the rooms, his head in his hands. There was no one else with him – Bonnie hadn't made it yet and Damon didn't know where Aunt Jenna, their guardian, was.
"Jeremy," Damon rushed to his side, taking the seat next to him. The two of them had never gotten along, to Elena's dismay, but Damon would be lying if he said he didn't feel sorry for Jeremy in this moment. "How's Elena doing?"
"Not great," Jeremy responded quietly. He sounded completely defeated. "She's in surgery. They keep saying they're doing everything they can."
The two of them sat in silence for what felt like forever before Bonnie and Aunt Jenna finally showed up. Jeremy perked up a bit at the sight of them, probably happy to see people he actually liked. Damon stood up and signalled for Aunt Jenna to take the seat next to Jeremy. "How is she?" Bonnie whispered, grabbing Damon's hand and pulling him away from Jeremy and Jenna. She watched on sadly as Jeremy completely broke down and cried as Jenna held him.
"I don't know. Jeremy says she is in sur-" Damon started, but quickly shutting his mouth. He watched as a surgeon approached Jeremy and Jenna. Her face was unreadable, but Damon could hear exactly what she was saying.
"She's okay," She began, causing Damon to sigh in relief. "She's going to be okay."
Without even thinking, Damon wrapped his arms around Bonnie and pulled her in tightly.
"Elena's okay." Damon laughed into her hair, happy tears streaming out of his eyes.
A Week Later
Elena's head was spinning as her eyes slowly started to open. The first thing she registered was how bright the room she was in was. All the walls around her, and even the door, were painted white. There was a mirror in the corner of her room where Elena caught her reflection. She stared at herself for a moment, noting how beaten up she looked.
"W-where am I?" Elena whispered to herself, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Elena?" Damon sat up suddenly, surprised by the sound of his girlfriend finally speaking. It had been a week since he had heard her voice. It was one of the longest weeks of his life. "You're finally awake."
Elena stared back at the dark, mysterious man at her bedside. She furrowed her eyebrows, but said nothing.
"How are you feeling?" Damon reached for Elena's hand, but she pulled away. Silence filled the room as the two of them just stared at each other.
"I'm sorry…" Elena muttered under her breath, narrowing her eyes at Damon. "Am I supposed to know who you are?"
It was in that moment that Damon's world stopped spinning. He felt as if everything around him had just stopped moving. The only thing he could see was Elena, his beloved girlfriend, staring back at him as if he were a complete stranger.