Ok, here's the next chapter...I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you enjoy it aswell! Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews!

Chasing memories

Fateful meeting

The next morning, Jenna blew into Elena's room with an incomparable enthusiasm and before she knew it, she was sitting in the car on her way home. Home, whatever that meant. Elena stared out of the window trying to find anything or anyone familiar while they were driving through Mystic Falls. It seemed to be a nice small town, the streets filled with people and laughter. Elena observed everything in silence and was glad that Jenna left her in peace. Eventually they pulled up to a white house, standing in the middle of a beautiful yard. Elena found that she liked it straightaway. The entire house radiated an atmosphere of life, warmth and openness. As soon as they entered through the front door, Jeremy came storming down the stairs and hugged his sister fiercely.

"Come on, Elena. I'll show you around."

He took her hand and within minutes, she had seen the light-flooded kitchen, the comfortable living room and her brother's cramped room. At last, they were standing in front of the door leading to her own bedroom. Elena felt slight fear rise up in her once again. Was she going to see the room of her memory? Was this the place where Damon had told her about his love for her? She looked up to Jeremy who eyed her curiously and gave him an uncertain smile:

"Well then, this is it, huh?"

"Just turn the knob, Elena. You're room is not that scary."

Her brother gave her an encouraging nod and so Elena finally entered the room, in which she had apparently spent a great deal of her life in. It was the room. The room she had remembered. A huge smile spread across her face as she took in every detail. There was the window sill Damon had been sitting on. There was the door to the bathroom she had seen herself in. She approached the dresser standing in the corner and scanned the pictures attached to the mirror above it. In some of them she saw herself surrounded by two girls, one with blonde, curly hair and another one with olive-brown skin and sparkling eyes.

Jeremy pointed to a picture showing a young girl and a boy playing in the living room.

"That's us. You were five, I think. I must have been three years old."

He continued, his voice suddenly hollow:

"These are mom and dad. They died in a car accident a year ago. They were wonderful people."

Elena only nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she took in the man and the woman smiling at her like everything was all right. She choked:

"I hate it. I hate that I don't remember them."

Jeremy squeezed her shoulder, silently communicating that he understood her and that he was there for her. Elena tore her eyes away from the painful picture and fixed another one, showing her and Stefan, looking blissfully into the camera. She felt a pang of guilt upon realizing how in love they must have been. She hadn't seen Stefan since his awkward visit at the hospital and knew that she should probably try to talk to him.

"Does Stefan live nearby?"

"Well, he and Damon live in the old Boarding House on the outskirts of the town. Are you planning on going to see him?"

All of the sudden visiting Stefan seemed like the perfect idea to Elena. Not only would she be able to talk to him, but maybe she would also finally meet Damon.

"Do you think you could drive me over there?", she asked Jeremy, giving him a pleading look.

He laughed at her vain attempt to hide her excitement and agreed:

"Let's eat something before we go. Aren't you looking forward to get some real food after all that junk they tried to make you eat at the hospital?"

When they finally arrived at the Boarding House an hour later, it was already afternoon. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the old house and made it look even more impressive. Elena felt intrigued by the aura of mystery and secrets, the house was spreading. She quickly thanked Jeremy for giving her a ride and assured him that she would be all right on her own. After making her promise that she would be back for dinner, he finally left. Elena approached the front door, feeling the knots in her stomach grow. She knocked feebly and was just about to give it another try, when the door was opened.

"Elena!"

Stefan looked at her, the shock at seeing her clearly overweighing the surprise. Elena couldn't tell if he was happy to see her, but somehow she immediately got the feeling not to be welcome.

"Hello Stefan. I, uh, Jeremy gave me a ride. I was wondering whether we could talk."

The thought that coming over here maybe hadn't been such a good idea after all, passed through her head. She was just about to apologize for not having called before visiting, when Stefan seemed to remember his good manners.

"Yes, of course. Come in. It's really a surprise to see you. I mean, I knew you were getting out of the hospital today. But I didn't think you wanted to be bothered, so...anyway, yeah, come in."

He moved aside and Elena stepped into a dimly lit vestibule full of antique furniture. An essence of old books and wood hit Elena as she slowly stepped towards a huge parlor. She took everything in, her eyes scanning the interior in wonder. She turned around and expressed her admiration:

"This is a beautiful home, Stefan. I really like it."

Stefan, holding his hands behind his back, looked at her warmly.

"You've spent a lot of time here in the last months."

"I know this is hard for you, Stefan. I mean, you have all these memories of us, while I don't remember anything. I am trying…I don't want to hurt you."

Stefan didn't seem to have expected this, especially in the light of her detached attitude during his visit at the hospital. His eyes were full of gratitude and he closed the distance between them, taking her hands into his.

"I know that. Don't strain yourself trying to remember. In the meantime, let's just get to know each other again."

Elena, who wasn't comfortable with such closeness yet, squeezed his hands and let them go. She walked away and continued her investigation of the house. She let her fingers trail over the hundreds of books stored in the shelves along the wall, she admired the high ceiling and at last sat down on the soft red couch standing in the middle of the room. She decided it was time to ask the one question she had wanted to ask since she had entered the house:

"So, do you live here all by yourself?"

Stefan's eyebrows shot in the air as he knew exactly what she was getting at. He had been so happy to see that Elena was doing well, but he wished she wouldn't have come over. Once again all his plans to keep her away from his brother had been destroyed. He knew that Damon was somewhere in the vast house, listening to their conversation. He would surely make his presence known sooner or later and so Stefan didn't have a choice but to answer:

"I live here with my brother, Damon. Our parents are dead since a long time."

Elena looked at him sympathetically, the pain of seeing her own parents in the photograph still fresh.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

Stefan only gave her a short nod and sat down next to her. An oppressive silence came over them and Elena combed her hair back uncomfortably, before she continued:

"So is your brother older than you?"

Stefan's eyes were fixed on an old painting as he answered:

"Yes, he is."

Unnerved by his sudden reluctance to share details, Elena persisted:

"Is he here?"

Stefan's patience had a limit and before he thought it through, he said, unable to hide the anger in his voice:

"You seem very interested in him."

"Well, why wouldn't she be, brother?"

Elena jumped up from where she had been sitting on the sofa, whirling around to look for the source of the voice. There he was. Damon was leaning against the door frame like he had been standing there all along. Elena's feet were moving of their own accord as she approached him slowly. Like in her memory he was wearing a black shirt and like in her memory his blue eyes were of such intensity that she blushed under his stare. She breathed:

"Damon!"

At the sound of his name out of her mouth, a smile crept on his face and he closed the distance between them in a few quick steps. All of the sudden, everything around Elena dissolved into nothingness. She only saw him and before she realized what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck. Damon's body went rigid for a second, as was clearly surprised by her impulsive reaction. But soon he relaxed and his arms embraced her waist. He chuckled softly and whispered into her ear:

"Well hello Elena. I missed you, too."

Elena buried her head into his chest, breathing in his scent. She could hardly believe that he was finally standing in front of her, flesh and blood. The shots of electricity running through her body felt absolutely amazing. She hadn't felt this alive since she had woken up.

It was only when Stefan cleared his throat loudly, that Elena recalled that they were not alone. Her cheeks by now crimson red, she quickly unwound herself from the embrace and took a few steps back. Ashamed of her lack of self-control, Elena didn't dare to look at either one of the brothers. Her hope that they would both ignore what had just happened was crushed by Damon, who said smugly:

"That was quite the warm welcome. Do you throw yourself at every stranger you come across?"

As Elena was racking her brain for an appropriate answer, she wished the ground would just swallow her up right there. What could she say to get herself out of this situation? Why did she have to hug him? No matter how much she regretted her actions now, the embrace had felt warm, safe and oddly familiar. Suddenly a bolt of pain shot through her brain, forcing Elena to the ground.

Next thing Elena knew she was sitting on the red couch again, however this time, she was alone in the parlor. She was also dressed differently, now wearing a blue sweatshirt. She was apparently waiting for someone, as her eyes were fixed on the vestibule. Suddenly the front door opened and Damon appeared. He seemed to be taken aback by her presence and said, his voice unmistakably cold:

"You were supposed to leave."

He looked exhausted and a pang of sorrow passed through Elena at his sight. What had happened causing the young man to act like this? Being used by now to her body parts moving on their own free will, she wasn't surprised to hear her voice declaring:

"I did. And then I came back to make sure that you're okay."

Elena reached for a glass filled with Bourbon standing on a table beside the couch. She had obviously prepared it for him, maybe hoping that the alcohol would calm him. Damon took it gratefully and emptied the glass in one gulp.

"I appreciate the gesture. I'm just glad it's over."

His careless attitude didn't fool her and she replied at once:

"You know I don't believe that."

The anger in him was now taking over as he snapped, tilting his head in the direction of the door:

"Go home, Elena. Get some rest. It's a whole new day tomorrow."

Elena didn't let herself be turned away that easily, though. She knew that this was his way of dealing with his hurt. She softly tried to reach him by reminding him of their friendship.

"Damon, I'm your friend."

He was too far gone to acknowledge her attempt and only replied:

"I'm well aware of that."

"And a friend usually knows when their friend is hurting."

At this point, his voice had become quite loud and his blue eyes wide, he retorted:

"What do you want to hear? That I cared about Rose, that I'm upset. Well, I didn't and I'm not."

Desperately Elena argued with him in a pleading voice:

"There you go. Pretending, pretending to turn it off, pretending not to feel. Damon you're so close, don't give up."

"I feel Elena, okay? And it sucks. What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me! Jules was coming after me!"

She realized that hurt wasn't the entire reason for him acting this way, there was also guilt consuming him. She couldn't help but be surprised by this:

"You feel guilty."

"That would be human of me, wouldn't it, Elena? And I'm not human. You're one to talk about giving up. All you've done is give up. Go home. There's been enough doom, gloom and personal growth for one night. "

Elena finally gave in, defeated. She hated not being able to help him. Why couldn't he see that she was there for him? Trying not to show her hurt, she snapped:

"Okay, I will."

She looked at him one last time to make sure that this was really what he wanted, when she saw him stare into the flames dancing in the fireplace, his eyes empty. All of the sudden her arms were around his neck again and she was pressing her body against him, trying to comfort him. It was at this moment that Elena realized she was reliving another memory. And just like the first time, she opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for air.