Prologue

Chapter One

The bus was driving down some backside road, windows down, music blasting, the warm southern air filling her lungs, the dark sky filled with stars- Elena Gilbert was home.

Home? This wasn't her home anymore, it was just a memory of what was lost, this was a bad idea.

The band was offered to play at a festival in Virginia, the bands home state. Everyone loved the idea even if it was just a bunch of college kids finding an excuse to get drunk and listen to music, according to Caroline their manager and her best friend, the band needed "To return to their roots."

Instead of continuing to overwhelm herself with the location she pulled out her phone to send a text to her brother, at least then this trip would be tolerable.

"Jer, the band is in Virginia for the next couple of days, were playing some college town festival, I can email you two VIP passes if you want to stop by with a friend, miss you 3 – E"

She hadn't seen her brother since he started college, she wasn't welcome back home and left to tour with her band so visiting became pointless, sometimes they'd call on holidays or birthdays but otherwise that was it.

The bus pulled up to a hotel in Richmond, everyone got checked in and went up to the room to most likely party, any other night she would be doing the same, laughing, drinking, getting fucked up but right now she just wanted to make it through the night without losing it.

But of course, her long term on and off boyfriend since she was 14 had other plans, Kai knew exactly why she didn't want to be here, for god sake the couple had left together in the first place, but he could care less about her mental state going to shit over being back.

"Lena' come on, just relax and have some fun" He whispered in her ear as he pulled her into him.

"I don't want to talk about this right now, I need a drink and I want to take a walk"

She responded pulling away from his grasp. She grabbed her purse and walked out of the hotel, hoping to find a quiet bar and just breathe for a moment.

She kept walking while searching her purse for what she had on her, a few different pills, two tabs and a pack of smokes. 'I can do this, I can do this' she repeated in her head, hoping at some point she'd believe it. She found a small jazz looking bar, nothing fancy, not to busy- perfect.

She walked in taking note of the two couples drinking in the corner of the dim lit bar, four men drinking silently at the bar, the blond bartender with a babyface and sweet green eyes reminding her of dill weed in a park in early spring but what really caught her attention was the piano tucked in the corner of the bar with a small light illuminating it.

She ordered a glass of bourbon and sat on the piano bench, she rarely ever played anymore, the band mostly went for punk rock sounds and it's not like she can bring a classical piano with her on tour. She opened her purse to pull out the tabs of acid, she just needed one night to be with herself and the music, the rest of the world would float away.

Damon wasn't one for small bars, usually he would just drink in his apartment or go to one of the bigger clubs to find a woman to have a goodnight with and then go back to his daily plan.

But tonight, was different, after yet another awful argument with his father over working for him, he just wanted to drink for a while where no one would bug him, which how he found himself at Marco's Bar, it wasn't anything special, just a small jazz club usually filled with maybe six or seven people getting off work or hiding from reality.

After he ordered his drink, he noticed the men at the bar were all looking in one direction, curiosity got the best of him and he turned around from the bar and saw it or rather her.

A girl who couldn't be less than a few years younger than himself, she had curly brown hair with red streaks falling out of a messy ponytail. She had skin tight black jeans with rips going down her legs which only enhanced how long her legs were, a faded band shirt the was cut so you could see the slightest bit of her toned stomach and worn-down combat boots that matched the color of her hair and the same red for the laces.

Before Damon could admire her anymore, she sat down at the piano stool and started pulling out a small bag from her purse, the bar was dim enough that if you weren't paying attention you could miss what she was doing, but he payed attention- drugs. Damon watched as she put something under her tongue before putting the small bag back and taking a sip of her drink, completely oblivious to the rest of the bar.

He walked over to the piano before talking quietly behind her "This isn't a very fun place to party sweetheart"

she immediately turned around to look him in the eyes. She had deep dark doe eyes but showed no sign of being fazed by his presence.

"Who said I'm trying to party?" She asked with a slight smirk.

"Well considering you clearly just took something, your makeup in a bit messy and you're sitting alone in a small-town bar it would make the most sense"

He gave her a smile, she would be fun.

"You see mister small town stranger, I'm not here to party or talk, just to lose myself in this piano"

"I could give you something else to lose yourself in" His charm never failed him before and it wasn't going to start tonight.

She gave him an annoyed look before rolling her eyes "I'm content with my plan, sorry buddy" She then turned her back to face the piano again before he could respond she spoke up again still not facing him, "If you want, your welcome to join me in my plan though, you might actually enjoy it"

He wasn't one for drugs or listening to a piano at midnight, but he was beyond interested in this girl so for once, Damon Salvatore took a risk with no promise of anything in return.

"Well when you phrase it like that" he sat next to her on the bench as she pulled open her bag and handed him a small square that looked like a pink piece of paper, she opened her mouth and pointed to the square under her tongue, he popped it into his mouth.

She gave him a slight smile before running her fingers over the keys of the piano, he noticed the blue ring on her middle finger, a silver band that looked like vines of a plant, he wasn't sure where, but he had seen that ring before. She slowly started playing a tune, closing her eyes and letting her hands do all the work.

Before he could realize what was happening she took his left hand and put in over hers, dragging his hand to play a few notes, guiding him till he started getting the hang of it and then let go as he continued to play what she was showing him, she gave him a nod before she moved her hands to the other side of the piano and added to the music.

What was happening? He was playing the piano? With a girl who gave him drugs? This was beyond weird, but he for some reason felt comfortable, she didn't speak to him, she just kept going before she started singing quietly but load enough for him and a few others to hear

"Jet te laissearai des mots, en-dessous de ta porte, en-dessous de la lune qui chante. Tout près de la place où tes pieds passent"

Her voice was soft and kind, it reminded him of his mother singing him to sleep, warm and loving. He didn't even know what she was saying but it felt like being at home.

Before he knew it, he understood what she meant by losing herself in the music, the light of the bar and the softness of the music made him completely forget the outside world,

he was just under the hypnotic spell of this moment.

She guided his hands again as she finished the song, the small group clapped as she gave him a warm smile and taking a gulp of her dark drink. He felt like he was trapped, her dark gaze was captivating him in every way. She led him into the same action as before with helping him with the chords before she started singing again and playing the other notes

"Or if I weren't so nice, I convince my friends that you were right, I can promise you my heart don't cry, would it all make sense? 'Cause I, I've been feeling pretty small, sometimes, feel like I'm slipping down walls…"

Even with her eye's closed she looked like she was the most alive person in the world, the only thing that existed was her and the piano, she played the last notes and opened her eyes.

"So? Was I right, enjoy yourself dark stranger?" She asked him with a slight smirk as she finished her drink and checked the time on her phone, he hadn't realized hours had past.

"You know, I actually did mystery girl, you've got some real talent you know?" He gave her a genuine smile, one he lost he had lost years ago. She got up and held out her hand for him, he took it but as soon as he was up, he felt the room almost spin, she laughed a bit as she watched him regain his balance. She spoke up softly.

"When you get home lay down, listen to music, watch a movie, just enjoy the feeling. Also get a ride home, you probably shouldn't drive home." She kissed his check softly before she spoke again "Goodnight stranger" Before he could get her information, the mystery girl was gone.

Authors Note 3

I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of the characters from the show,

Music in this chapter is Je te laisserai des mots by Patrick Watson and Sense by Tom Odell