Damon had a plan. Well, it wasn't a new plan, but it worked. Every. Single. Time. He smiled up at the stars as he laid in the middle of the abandoned road waiting for a car to drive by.

He liked to image who his next victim would be. He always hoped it would be a beautiful young woman. Nothing like food that tasted and looked great. Though, he also liked the fit, middle aged men. They reminded Damon of a steak: warm and tender with a certain heavy scent that made his mouth water. He stayed away from children and the elderly. Even 169-years-old, he had morals - however hazy they had grown over time.

Then, he heard it. Her voice. No. It couldn't be. His mouth grew grim and his brows furrowed.

"I know, Bonnie," her voice said. Damon turned his head. The rest of her words were a blur as he took her in. No. His mind refused believe it. But how? She looked just the same. Could it really be her?

Damon stood and flashed to her side as the girl hung up her phone. "Katherine," he breathed. The girl staggered back a bit, startled by the sudden appearance of this stranger. Katherine, Damon thought. Only, her eyes...

"Umm, no, I—" The girl looked around, thinking that the man in front of her must be talking to someone else. Who is Katherine? When she noticed that the space around her was empty, she continued. "I'm Elena."

Damon stared at her for a minute, still not totally convinced that she was who she said she was. "Oh," he said, simply. "You... You just look…" He let out a sharp breath. She is an exact replica. But what reason would Katherine have to lie? "I'm sorry," Damon managed. He sent her a quick smirk and swaggered closer toward the girl. "You just really remind me of someone."

As he drew closer to Elena, he caught the sound of her heartbeat. It quickened as he came closer, but it wasn't fear that he smelled on her. The sound of her thumping heart brought many emotions to the surface: confusion and sadness and a little bit of relief. She's still in the tomb. Of course, she is. She's waiting for me to save her. Quickly, Damon composed himself the girl before him his name. "I'm Damon."

"Not to be rude or anything Damon, but it's kinda creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

Damon smiled and shrugged. "You're one to talk," he said. "You're out here all by yourself." And what a stupid mistake that is, he added internally, although he had no real drive to harm this girl who looked so much like his lost love.

"It's Mystic Falls," Elena shot back. "Nothing bad ever happens here." The way she said it, with a smile in her voice and the wide shrug of her shoulders, it all reminded him of Katherine. Only, in that moment, all he saw Elena. This girl, he thought. She's so... intriguing. And her eyes… so… light.

After a quiet moment, Elena began to speak, telling Damon she was alone because she got into a fight with her boyfriend.

Ugh, high school drama, Damon thought. Yet, in that moment, he wanted to know more about Elena. He wanted to hear her voice - the same voice he had been longing to hear for 145 years. "About what? May I ask?"

Elena answered without really thinking about it. "Life. The future. He's got it all mapped out."

Damon smirked. He knew the answer to his question before he uttered it. "You don't want it?"

"I don't know what I want."

Damon could have laughed. He wondered for a millisecond if she was more like Katherine than she appeared. Indecisive. Confused. Damon moved on. "Well, that's not true," he said, giving her the same look he gave Katherine when she had said the same thing to him all those years ago. "You want what everybody wants."

"What? A mysterious stranger who has all the answers?" Elena asked out loud, eyeing the man before her. We've been speaking for a few minutes at the most and he thinks he has me figured out?

Damon laughed shortly. "Well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."

"So, Damon. Tell me." Elena's eyes sparkled at the stranger before her. "What is it that I want?"

Damon was ready to accept the challenge Elena had presented him with. He had a flirtatious comeback ready to spout back at her, but the thought of flirting with an mirror-image of Katherine – who was not Katherine – hurt. Already, after only two minutes, speaking with Elena was easy as breathing. Especially when Elena seemed so light and carefree. She could have the life he wanted for Katherine. She didn't know their torment.

Instead of continuing their flirtation – knowing where it would lead and foreseeing the heartbreak he would experience the next morning waking up next to Elena and realising she was not Katherine – Damon walked toward Elena, slowly. He breathed in every feature and it was a bittersweet moment. Soon, he thought. I'll free you soon, my love.

"You want a love that consumes you," Damon said when he'd neared close enough to Elena. He knew that he would need to compel her before he left. Though, not before he finished his piece. "You want passion. And adventure. And even a little danger."

Elena studied Damon for a moment, unaware of his internal monologue and curious as to how he knew her so well when they had only just met. Then she asked, "So, what do you want?"

Damon let out a shaky breath. He pictured Katherine in his mind. He deep, cool eyes that held so hurt and pain. He had wanted to save her then and he was determined to complete his mission. Not yet…

A car horn broke the moment between Damon and Elena. Elena recognised the car as her parents' and Damon thought quick. He needed to end this. Now.

Without too much warning, Damon stepped forward so that his face was a breath away from Elena's. He looked her in the eyes and begun the compulsion. "I want you get everything you're looking for," he said. He was surprised at how strongly he meant those words. "But right now, I want you to forget that this happened," he continued with a smirk. "Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet."

He took a moment to soak Elena in. His face grew more serious and he thought about what their next meeting would be like – if they ever did meet again.

"Goodnight, Elena," he said with intense eyes. He waited until the last possible moment to tear his eyes away from Elena's and vanish into the night.

When Damon disappeared, Elena blinked. How could he move so fast? The space around her was illuminated by the lights of her parent's car but she was still too shocked to move. And what did he mean when he said he wanted me to forget? Elena shook her head clear. Then, she glanced down at the vervain bracelet on her wrist. She looked back at the spot where Damon had been not even one second earlier and thought vampire.