Damon POV

Of course I would follow her.

From where I sat, hidden in the shadows at the back of some dive bar on the edge of town, I could watch her without being close enough for her to sense me there.

Not that it mattered. Elena was so far gone that she was no longer half in the bag. Elena Gilbert was in the bag. Wholly.

Don't get me wrong- fun is a damn good look on her. One that she buries under that cloak of doom and gloom and Stefan-esque martyrdom far too often. I have only ever gotten glimpses of this Elena.

That being said, there are certain things that I would change about the image that is currently playing out in front of me.

For one, I am not a part of it.

Secondly, and more importantly, Elena currently has her drunk ass glued to some random stranger's lap. She is sitting there, perched atop some asshole's thighs, as he crawls his fingers all over her waist whilst encouraging her to drink and drink. Creep.

And to make things a little more interesting, he is not alone. The creep has brought along some buddies, who form a semi-circle around Elena and the bar. Kudos to Elena though, she can really entertain a crowd when she so desires.

She's eating up all the attention.

Well, lucky for me, she is not actually eating any of them. Yet.

I hear her let go another inebriated giggle, and I have to grip the table in front of me to quell the urge to stomp over there, grab her, and drag her home where she belongs. A few deep breaths ground me enough to remember that she doesn't need me to be her knight in shining armor anymore. She can take care of herself now.

I repeat that last bit like a mantra.

When I finally look up, it takes me a second to process what I am seeing. Or rather, not seeing. No Elena. No frat boys.

Where the hell did they go—for fuck's sake Elena!

I can't take my eyes off that girl for a minute. I burst out of the booth, hoping that I am not too late.

Elena POV

Ironically, I end up at a bar after all.

It was late, and a bar was just about my only option- not counting the 24 hour convenience store. I opt for a smaller, dingier place on the far side of town. I would have preferred the Grill, but didn't want to risk running into Stefan or any of my friends. This was by far the safer choice.

Still, it was a little icky.

Once I am inside and seated at the bar though, it's not so bad. In fact, right away I pick out some familiar faces- guys that went to my high school a few years back. They graduated a while ago, but I guess they are still hanging around Mystic Falls.

One of the guys catches my eyes and smiles a cocky little smile. He doesn't seem to know who I am. Good.

As he approaches, I try to remember his name—James? Josh? Something with a 'J'

He was popular in high school, I remember. I was just a freshman at the time, and dating Matt, but he caught the attention of a lot of girls at school. He had that all- American look: blonde hair, blue eyes, and a permanent tan. He was still pretty attractive now, if not a little run-down looking.

"Hi there," he flirts, twinkling those blue eyes at me. I can't help my thoughts drifting to a certain vampire whose blue eyes I have found myself lost in too many times. This guy had nothing on Damon.

I am about to shoot him down and send him back to his friends a little dejected but a whole lot safer, when something stops me. That little voice is back, and she is begging for some fun.

So I vow that I will keep it innocent but let myself loose a little tonight. Afterward, I can go back to the boarding house and let boring, worrisome, vanilla Elena take the wheel again.

"Hi," I say. "I'm… Brooke." I almost chuckle at the lie.

"I'm John," he says in return, still laying on the charm. I give myself an internal high-five for being right about the 'J' name.

After that, it only takes me about twenty minutes to throw that whole innocence vow out of the window.

Who knew that vampires could get so drunk.

I feel like I have only been throwing back shots for a short time, but then again, John and his friends keep lining them up faster than I can get them down.

I don't remember when or why I got off my barstool and climbed onto john's lap, but I don't want to move away just yet. A tiny part of me is just about screaming at how wrong this whole situation is, but honestly, it feels good to be held by someone who isn't judging or badgering me. So I stay right where I am. I will deal with the whole Stefan situation later. Ditto for the Damon situation.

John is, at the moment, whispering some pretty dirty things in my ear, and I feel his hands on my waist and his stubble brushing against my neck. This gets me thinking about what I want to do to his neck, and I giggle girlishly.

Unfortunately, he takes this to mean that I have agreed to whatever he just suggested and he says that we should all get out of here while sliding me off his lap and into a standing position. Darn it! I am too drunk to deal with this right now. Things are happening too quickly and I can't process them fast enough. Shouldn't vampirism prevent me from getting this drunk- quick healing and all that? But I know that I have seen Damon drunk before. Caroline too.

Before I know what is happening, we are outside.

"Um, so this has been fun, but I think it's time for me to go." I can hear the slur in my voice.

The guys can too.

"I don't think so, Brooke," John sneers. He doesn't look handsome anymore. Just dangerous.

Somehow through my drunken haze, I feel my defensive instincts kicking in. Suddenly I am very hungry.

"Please," I manage. "I don't want to hurt you." I try to break through the circle they are forming around me, but one of the guys grabs my arms, pulling me back in.

They are laughing.

I feel my human façade start to slip, and now the atmosphere has changed. They are frightened. They are shocked. They are running.

It doesn't take me very long to kill the first. And then the second. They are slow from the alcohol they have consumed. But I am no longer drunk. I am hunting. And it feels so good.

By the time I reach him, he is the only one left. He has not gotten far—an ally a few blocks away. As our eyes meet, his cocky smile is gone. He is no longer the alpha male; he is my prey.

"What are you!?" He is choking back tears.

I smile at him one last time before ripping into his neck. And just as I am finishing him, and his blue eyes no longer sparkle, I cry out in shock.

What have I done?

The world is crashing down around me and I can't help the barrage of tears that are raining down. I try to shake John, to wake him up, but it is no use: he is dead.

They are all dead.

I drop the body and feel my sight start to darken. I am blacking out. I am falling.

But just before I hit the ground a pair of strong arms tighten around me, scooping me off of my feet. "Sleep Elena," he murmurs right before everything goes completely dark.

Damon.