Disclaimer: I don't own anything…

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On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain
We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

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Elena was warm. Too warm.

She drifted slowly out of her dreams with a small yawn. She just wanted to fall back asleep before her parents came to wake her up for school. She needed as much rest as possible these days. She stretched out on her bed, and frowned a little when she found it to be uncomfortable and hard. Where was her pillow? Elena clutched at her sides, only to find there were no blankets either. Small noises drifted unfamiliarly around her. The small shake of breeze through trees. The swish and roar of water. Cawing of strange birds. Nothing made sense.

She opened her eyes, but was met by a blinding light that forced them closed again. Had she fallen asleep with the lights on? She rubbed her eyes and tried again. She squinted painfully and was able to focus after her vision adjusted. She saw the yellow sun high in the sky, rimmed by white cheerful clouds. What was the sun doing in her room?

She sat up in alarm as her thoughts collected in her head. The world spun around her dizzily. No. This was wrong. She had to be still sleeping. She was sitting on a white beach, small waves rolling up and tasting her feet. The blue water stretched on as far as eye could see, with no land in sight. Palm trees laden with coconuts surrounded her, layering heavier and heavier the farther she looked. Next to her lay a boy, his dark head face down in the hot sand. His clothes were soaked and caked with sand, with small bloody cuts ripped in his jeans. Elena's eyes widened in alarm. She scrambled uncoordinatedly over to him and turned his head in her lap, breathing hard.

Damon. She almost fell back as memories flooded her, and she held her head in pain. Her parents were dead. Nothing was normal about her life anymore. Stefan, her love Stefan, was stuck in a tomb with Katherine, and she was going to die. Only Damon wouldn't let her. He didn't understand. But why was she here? Where was she?

"Damon. Damon. Wake up. Please." She shook his head a little, and slapped his cheeks. Damon groaned softly, but his eyes stayed close. She stroked him gently, and frowned at the slight smile that lit up his face.

"Mmm. Elena…" he sighed. Elena bit her lip, and fought back an involuntary shiver. His eyes fluttered open. "What-?" He looked around slowly. "Where am I?" He looked at her again, and Elena watched mutely as the vulnerability left his eyes and hard walls were built back up. He sat up and cupped her face with his wet, rough hands. "Elena? What happened?" She resisted the urge to rip her face from his restricting hands. He clutched her harder, and Elena almost cried out at the sudden pain. "Elena!"

"I don't know." She said, her teeth clenched in frustration. "Let go of me." She said, her words spurring up a memory of her and Damon at the front of the tomb. She shoved it to the back of her mind, along with the pain and tension it brought. Damon complied, slowly and reluctantly dropping his hands. He looked around again. "I was kind of hoping you would remember."

Damon looked at her shorts and bright tank top. "Honeymoon maybe?" he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows. "R & R away from Stefan?" Elena rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her sand caked hair.

"Damon, I know this is hard to understand, but this is serious."

He smirked. "No worries Elena. I can just flash us out of here. Whever here is."

Elena looked uncertainly at the water. "Vampires can swim?"

"I'm pretty sure we're related to mermaids somewhere along the line." He said. "Just hop on my back and I'll-" Damon groaned suddenly. As he was talking, he attempted to get up, but quickly fell back down, clutching his side, eyes shut in pain.

"Damon!" Elena cried, and flopped over to him.

He pushed her away. "I- I'm fine. Just a little sore is all."

"A little?" she questioned. "Here. Let me see." Elena cajoled, tugging at the bottom of his shirt. Her maternal instincts kicked in.

"I'll be fine." He said gruffly. Elena sighed.

"Don't lie to me Damon. You're hurt." She reached for his shirt again, but Damon yanked it out of her reach.

"I'm fine." He growled. "I don't need your help."

"Damon. Come here. I know you're-"

"No!"

"Damon! If you don't get here right now I'll-"

"You'll what?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

Elena looked around quickly. "I'll go in the forest without you." She said, gesturing to the heavy tropical forest behind her.

"Ooh I'm so scared." He mocked sardonically. Elena ground her teeth together, and stomped away. "Aww, come on Elena I was just kidding around." Elena held her head up high and continued walking. "Fine. I'll let you look at the damn wound. God. You're like a stubborn three year old." The last bit was whispered under his breath, but Elena heard it all the same. With a triumphant smile she turned back to Damon.

She lifted his shirt and winced when she saw a long, bleeding cut. It was swollen and slightly purple.

"Like what you see?" Damon asked. His smirk faded when he saw Elena's horrified look. He whistled when he saw the injury. "Woah. Nice battle wound. Why isn't it healing?" he asked curiously.

Elena ran her soft hand over it. "I don't know." She said, worry etched on her face. Damon stood up suddenly, ignoring her squeaks of protest.

"Don't worry. I'm a big vampire. I can take care of it."

"You feel fine enough to get out of this place?" Elena questioned, her eyes searching Damon critically.

"I'm as fit as a fiddle." Damon muttered. "I'm just going to take a quick run around the island and figure out where we are."

"Sure." Elena said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Be careful."

Damon flashed her a brilliant smile. "When am I not?" He started off, and Elena's eyes slowly widened in horror. "What the-?" Damon said.

"Damon. Stop joking around." Elena said, her light tone underplayed by worry. Damon was running in human speed, confusion obvious on his face.

"I'm not. I can't run…" He circled Elena slowly. He was fast as a fit human could be, but did not possess the inhuman speed that had frightened Elena many times. He finally stopped, hands on his knees, breathing erratic, face flushed. Elena never thought she would see Damon like this. He was always so cool, composed, and indifferent. It frightened her. "Am I not a vampire anymore?" he asked, more to himself than Elena, his voice small. He went up to Elena and bent his head towards her neck, causing her breathing to accelerate quickly. He breathed in dramatically, and then breathed out just as slow. Elena could not stop the shiver as his breath tickled her neck. "Nope." He said, popping the 'p'. "I still want blood. Then why…?" his voice trailed off as he looked around thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Elena's vision tightened around her. The world grew blurry, and all noise faded out, except her own exaggerated slow breaths. "Does…" she swallowed painfully, and tried not to faint. "Does that mean we're stuck here?" Please. Please not have her be stranded on an island with Damon Salvatore. As if her life couldn't get any more worse. It was the 21st century. There had, just had to be a way out of this. She didn't know anything about survival, excepting some Man vs. Wild episodes she watched in pretty much a different lifetime. This couldn't be happening.

She was aware Damon was talking again, but she barely registered the words. "I think so. For now at least." His voice gained an authorative tone. "Don't worry Elena. This thing can't be permanent. First, we'll need to look around and get our bearings here. You ready for a hike?" Elena didn't answer, as the world was still spinning around her as a single thought was carved in her mind.

She was stranded on an island with Damon Salvatore.

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When you're on a golden sea
You don't need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

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So this was kind of an experiment to see if I could keep Damon and Elena in character, something I sort of struggle with. How'd I do? If you liked it too, I could continue it. Haha. So drop a line and tell me you your thoughts. Thanks!