AN: Ok, new DE fic. A few points I need to make...

I'm setting this AFTER Season 2. So I'm basically making Season 2 up in my mind first! When Season 2 starts, I am sticking to my story...so I will only use things from the show if they fit in with what I have already planned. All characters that are alive still as of NOW are alive in this fic. And while I actually think Jer may be a vamp in Season 2, he is still human in my story.

Also, thanks to Gaby. You are my official new BETA. :P

This fic is about DE but I am incorporating EVERYONE and not EVER chapter will include DE interaction...though there will always be something referring to them.

I think that is everything...hope you enjoy. This is just a short prologue; it really begins in the next chapter!

Kaine.

Prologue.

Elena sat bolt upright, a tortured gasp rasping from her throat.

Her eyes darted around her room wildly, certain that they'd find something...something waiting to hurt her, lurking in the shadows. Her heart raced, her skin crawled and her head pounded. It was only when her eyes finally adjusted to the gloom that she remembered where she was.

She was at home. She was safe.

She took a deep breath and fought to steady herself. She rubbed her forehead gently, soothing the throbbing pain and peeled the sheets off of her legs. She was glistening with sweat all over. Elena locked her jaw defiantly, she would not cry.

She stood slowly, not trusting her shaking legs to hold her weight. She curled her toes into the carpet, gripping on tightly, and then she ambled across her room and into her bathroom. She moved her hand blindly across the wall until she found the light switch and flicked it on. A loud groan escaped as the light blazed overhead making her vision swim and her head protest angrily.

This had to stop.

She couldn't go on with these sleepless nights; they were draining her physically and mentally. Yet every time she closed her eyes it was the same and the dream...it felt so real. It was more than a dream - it was a memory, and it was haunting her. Katherine was dead. Elena had seen her wilt and fall with her own eyes. Yet somehow that cold bitch managed to torment her, even from beyond the grave.

With trembling hands, Elena filled the glass by the sink with cold water and threw it down her throat with one big gulp. She closed her eyes and rested her palms against the cool marble surface before her. She considered ringing Stefan, but what was the point? He'd simply tell her not to worry. That she had witnessed something horrific and that it would take time for her to get over it. But it had been three months and the dream was as vivid as ever. Every time she relived the fear as Katherine came upon her, she felt that familiar surge of adrenaline as she drove the vervain dart into Katherine's neck. She saw Damon appear and she felt her stomach twist as her eyes fell upon his face, so tortured and so beautiful. Then she'd hear Katherine's last words ringing in her ears...

'Killing me won't change a thing Damon. They won't stop until they have Elena...and they'll kill you without a moments pause if you try and stop them.'

A shiver ran down Elena's spine and her eyes shot open to meet those of her reflection. They. Who were they? What would they ever want with, Elena Gilbert? Stefan told her that it was nothing, that Katherine was just playing one final game with them all. That she was safe. But Elena didn't believe it. She wanted to ask Damon. She knew he'd agree with her. But he had disappeared. He had stood over Katherine's paralyzed form; he had driven the stake into her heart. He had killed the woman he had loved for over a century, for Elena. And then he had turned to her...and Elena could do nothing but break his heart all over again.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut again to hold back her tears. She had had to do it. She couldn't be Katherine, playing with both brothers' hearts. But she hadn't realised what it would mean. That he would leave Mystic Falls and that she would never hear from him again. To never see that smirk, never hear that laugh, to never feel his strong arms slipping around her again... She hadn't realised how much it would hurt to miss him.

Elena pushed herself away from the sink and the mirror, which simply taunted her with how pale and tired she looked. She slumped back into her room and eyed her bed warily. But there was no way that she would fall back to sleep. So instead she lowered herself wearily onto the stool beside her dresser. She kept her eyes averted from the mirrors and instead studied the mess scattered in front of her.

It was mostly rubbish. Old pay slips from work that she knew she should file away safely, but never would. Various photos gathered over the years of her and her parents, Jeremy, Jenna and all her friends, and a big framed photo of her and Stefan. Everyone she cared about was staring up at her and it was some comfort. But there was no Damon.

Swallowing thickly, she pulled open the lowest drawer of her jewellery box. A delicate silver band glittered in the sliver of moonlight lancing through the gap in her curtains. It was embedded with small ruby stones and Elena smiled, suddenly unable to stop her silent tears.

She had found it in a box on her bed on her eighteenth birthday. There had been a small note inside which had read: 'Red is the colour of passion. The colour of you.' There had been no name, but Elena had known immediately that it had been from Damon. She had wanted to thank him, but there was a reason he hadn't given it to her himself. He wasn't comfortable with big gestures, and she had understood that.

But she'd never worn it. She didn't want to lie to Stefan about who it was from, but she knew he'd ask if he ever saw it. So she'd kept it hidden away, like she did with every emotion and every thought that Damon brought out of her.

But now? She needed him. She needed this tiny part of him with her, the only part she had left. So she slipped it on with a small, sad smile. It fit perfectly, glowing against her olive skin. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and stifled a yawn. She glanced across at her window. It was getting lighter and she knew she could get away with having a shower without worrying Jenna too much.

So she stood, arching her back into a long stretch. It was going to be another long, miserable day. Since Katherine had died, since Damon had left - every day had been miserable.

Her stomach churned with a mix of conflicting emotions as she turned away from the window towards the bathroom. She didn't notice the dark shape looming at the glass. She didn't notice it watching her.

But she felt it. It was like death. And suddenly her fingers were white as she clutched Damon's ring in her hand.

AN: Hope that wasn't too boring! Please read and review. Alot more going on in the first chapter...

I can't promise a quick update. I am currently on an intensive language course and I am VERY busy. But I shall do my best!