Gripping the steering wheel, you stared absentmindedly into the road ahead as you drove towards the Salvatore boarding house. You needed to speak with Damon immediately. You were sick and tired of him dodging your calls and your texts ever since the Mikaelsons were in town. It was like every time you two were left alone for even a split second, Damon found an excuse to always leave. Of course, he had a right to worry about your safety because of the originals in town but that didn't mean he should continuously ignore you. After all, you were his girlfriend. You just didn't understand how things got so awkward between you two.

As you parked your car in the driveway, you repeated the speech you were going to tell him over and over again in your head. You were going to demand he tell you what was wrong. You wanted him to stop acting strange around you.

"Damon?" You said out loud as you walked inside the house. You knew for a fact Stefan was with Elena so he wouldn't be much of a bother at the moment. Finally, Damon and you could have some alone time together without him bringing up his countless excuses.

"What are you doing here, Y/N?" He asked, appearing in front of you in a split second. Your breathing hitched up, your heart beating faster and faster. He still had this effect on you even after months of dating.

"I'm your girlfriend, Damon. Do I need a reason to see you?" You put your hands on your hips, your gaze refusing to leave his. You weren't going to go soft on him, not this time. "What is it with you? Why haven't you been returning any of my calls?" Your voice unintentionally cracked at the end. Damn it, you needed to put up a better front than this.

Damon walked towards his alcohol stash and started pouring himself a drink. Typical, you thought to yourself. "I've been busy." He said, taking a large sip from his glass. "Maybe you shouldn't be so clingy. You keep mixing me up with one of those jocks from your high school." He smirked, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

You tried to mask the hurt you felt. You knew he was taking a dig at the large age gap between you two, and you weren't going to let him treat you this way. "Drop the asshole act, I've seen it all Damon. Tell me what's really wrong." You let out a huge breath you had been holding, and prepared yourself for the worse.

"Nothing Y/N. I'm just bored of you. You're a bit too immature for my taste." He sat down on the couch, looking straight ahead into the fireplace. You felt like he was trying way too hard not to look you in the eyes.

"Oh? So it's a surprise that you're about fifteen times my age?" You scoffed, digging your nails into the palm of your hands. "You didn't mind my age when you were fucking me." You spat out completely appalled. What the hell was wrong with him?

Damon shook his head as he chuckled. "You naïve little girl. See, that's the thing." In one swift moment, he was in front of you. "I only used you for the sex." He looked you up and down cockily. "Pity you weren't that hard to get." He whispered the last part making sure it was loud enough for you to hear.

Using all the force you could muster up, you slapped the side of his face. Your hand stung from how hard you hit him – it most likely caused you more harm than him. "You can stop trying to do whatever it is that you're doing to push me away Damon." You inched your face closer to him to make sure he saw how his words were affecting you. "You care about me and there's nothing you can tell yourself to stop." You said quietly.

Damon threw his glass of alcohol against the fireplace, making you jump in surprise. "I don't fucking care about you. I don't fucking care about anyone." He spat.

"That's where you're wrong." Your voice was solemn. You knew something was wrong with him. This wasn't the Damon you knew and loved. He was doing this because of ulterior motives. You took Damon's hand in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Please just tell me how I can fix this." You softly asked, pain seeping through your voice.

He used his vampire speed to have you pinned between him and the wall, his hands holding your arms tightly against your sides. His breathing was ragged, his eyes were erratic, and you knew he could hear your pulse going crazier by the second. "You can't fucking fix this, don't you get it?" He shouted, his eyes turning a shade darker. "You can't care for me when there's so many people that want me dead. I don't want you in the crossfire." He yelled out exasperated.

It started making sense in your head. He thought he was putting your life in danger by being with you. For once, Damon was actually terrified of losing you. "Are you talking about Klaus? I.. I'm not scared of him. We can face him together!" You said, trying to reason with him. "You're all that I have Damon.." You let the words slip out of your mouth, not caring about how stupid it made you look. Hell, it made you look even more like a child that was trying to hold onto their parent.

Damon rested his forehead against yours. Without you even feeling it, he ripped off the bracelet of vervain you had around your wrist. The very same bracelet he had given you a while ago. "I can't be selfish with you Y/N.. It's not safe for you to be with me right now, and that's why you need to forget." You felt Damon's mesmerizing eyes stare deeply into yours. You just couldn't look away no matter how hard you tried. "Forget we ever dated, forget you ever loved me, and remember how much you hate me." Damon commanded as the memory of the last couple of months vanished from your mind.