I'll always come back to you Chapter 4: Dreams, Hallucinations, and Reality, a vampire diaries fanfic

I don't own The Vampire Diaries.
I don't own Damon and Elena or any other characters used.
I only take credit for the story line and plot.
It might start off slow but things will pick up. It won't be a happy story from the get go but it will be interesting.
If any of this is copyrighted or already written tell me and I'll take it down but I don't believe it is. The hallucinating that Elena is experiencing will be explained throughout the story.

Read and Review please.

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In order to tell this part of the story the way I want to the POV's will switch back and forth. So if you see a line that means it's going from Elena to Damon. It will start with Elena's POV and end with Damon's. Her hallucinating is explained and she actually has an hallucination as well. And Damon gets the shit scared out of him...a few times.

Chapter 4- Hallucinations...Dreams...Reality

Damon, his face flashes before my eyes. He's scared but I can't hold on to him.

Then it's not Damon...it's Stefan. We're younger...probably 10 years old or so and he's chasing me around the park. It's someones birthday...I run into someone, Damon. He holds a finger over his mouth and leads me to a more private area of the park. I remember this memory, he's 15 and it's my birthday...I'm turning 11. He'll be 16 in three months. We're best friends...Stefan stops chasing me when he sees me walking with Damon. He looks sad but I don't think very much of it. I was always closer with Damon, we had a connection and unlike most parents ours seemed to understand and never tried to stop it. We sat down under a tree and he seemed nervous. He told me that he talked to my dad the other day and he wanted to give me something special for my birthday. I didn't know what it was but then he kissed me. It wasn't a french kiss just a peck on the lips, but it meant so much more. He smiled at me and that's when I let myself admit it, I was in love with Damon Salvatore. We were interrupted when my dad came to get us, I was scared he saw Damon kiss me but then he just smiled at us and winked at Damon. He knew...my dad knew what we felt.

The scene changes and we're older by only a year. It was a few weeks after Damon's 17th birthday. I had turned 12 a few months earlier. We were having dinner and then my parents wanted to talk to both of us. We had always thought it was surreal that they were okay with Damon and I flirting with each other. I learned that night when they talked to us that they were even farther apart in ages than Damon and I. Where as 5 years separated me and Damon...7 years separated my mom and dad. They told us that Damon's parents didn't object to our feelings either and again age was just a number. But they told us to be careful, that people wouldn't always understand and that when we were older...adults that it was only then when people would start to understand. That was the first night that Damon stayed the whole night in my room. He told me that he loved me. I told him that I loved him too.

The last thing I see is the day they left me alone...I'm 14 now and I sneak out to go see Tyler before he leaves for college. I didn't know that he'd end up staying in town because of the events that happen after I leave. I didn't know that he'd stay because he's one of the best friends I've got. He's having a party, it gets late and I need a ride home. I call my Aunt Jenna but she brings my parents with her. I'm being lectured in the car when I see it. Lights...my dad swerves, the tires squeal loudly and then I'm underwater. I can't breathe...the water is weighing me down. Jenna is tugging on my seat belt and she gets it undone. My mom and dad aren't moving. I had my window cracked and I feel Jenna push me towards it. I look back and grab her hand but she shakes her head. With her last bit of strength she pushes me into the window, it shatters into pieces and I'm out of the car.

Blinking my eyes I wake up in the hospital. I hear the beeping of the heart monitor and I lift my arms to see the bandages covering them. The events from the evening come back...I heard Damon talking to someone downstairs on his phone, Katherine. He tries to talk to me but I don't listen. He says he did tell her he loved her but he didn't mean it...he says it will always be me. I stopped listening because it hurt too much. I felt the same way I had when Stefan had shown up 3 months earlier and said he talked to Damon's girlfriend. I didn't believe him then but I did now. I remember grabbing the marijuana from under my bed and without being careful at all I swallowed the whole bag. It was much more than I knew I should have at once, hell it was more than I should have in one week but I didn't care. It did nothing to help numb the pain so I looked through every drawer until I found the pocketknife that was in the desk drawer. I remember making the cuts, one on each wrist. After a while the pain stopped and I didn't feel anything. The next thing I remember is wanting Damon. I was scared when I saw the men standing over me outside my house. Damon was there and he said it was his fault, I saw his pain but I still needed him. He stayed with me...he held me...he said everything would be okay.

I blink my eyes open and look for him. "Damon?"

"Lena, thank God you're awake. Come on...let's go home."

I sat there with Ric and Jeremy as the doctor explained everything. The cuts weren't the thing that worried him the most, it was the marijuana. She had taken so much that it nearly killed her. I had no clue what the drug did but apparently Ric did because his fist met the wall many times and he cursed himself for not seeing the effects earlier. The doc's words were on a loop in my head as I tried to grasp what he told us.

"It wasn't the fact that she slit her wrists that nearly killed her, it was the marijuana in her system. It was...much more than one body can take in a month let alone a day. It seems as though she had swallowed it. What worries me is that you said she's hallucinated before, I think I know why. I think it's the drug and I think it would be wise to get professional help for her to walk away from it. In my opinion I think the hallucinations are brought on by the drug itself. You see, marijuana is a psychedelic type of drug but unlike most others hallucinating is rare unless ingested in large or concentrated amounts. From talking to Meredith about her previous hallucinations we both believe that she's taking too much of the drug but she also seems dependent on it now, which is why she would need professional help to quit it. I'm afraid it's not something she can just walk away from like alcoholism or even like Jeremy did with the Oxycontin."

I began pacing in the small office once again. Jeremy had left the room after hearing that Elena would most likely have to go somewhere to get the help she needed, he didn't want that and truthfully neither did I. It would scare her but I also knew that if she needed the help I'd make damn sure she got it whether by her own choice or if I had to make the choice along with Ric for her. I was only allowed to be involved in this because Ric as Elena's guardian said I was the one person she would actually consider listening to. It all came back to that damn L word, love...

"She's gone!" The door had bust open to reveal a very worried looking Jeremy. I swear when I looked at him I saw the 11 year old kid that I had told 'be a good boy and I'll always be there for you' to before I left for college.

It was almost like a cartoon as Ric, the doc, and myself all lunged for the door at the same time. After stumbling into the hallway we ran to the next hall over where her room was and sure as hell she was gone. We split up and begin searching for her, she can't have gone far right. I mean she just literally got herself hydrated again thanks to that IV they had set her on in the ambulance. I'm looking like a mad man around the hospital when I see something that causes me to stop.

"Katherine?" The bitch is sitting there reading a magazine like she owns the fucking place. A few chairs down is Care and Ty. I shake my head at the bitchy brunette and walk instead to my best friends. "Elena's gone. Please tell me you've fucking seen her." They shake their heads.

"I'll check outside. Maybe she went to look for you or something. We'll find her Damon." Ty runs outside and I feel blondie grab my arm. She pulls me beside her just as I see Katherine's arms going to give me a hug from behind. I shoot blondie a thankful look and she nods her head once and turns to face Katherine again.

"What are you doing here Katherine?" I don't add the last thought of no one fucking wants you here.

"I was worried about your little friend. Ellie right?"

"It's Elena and she's Damon's girlfriend you slutty bitch." I hide a laugh as blondie steps right into Katherine's personal space. "Now. How about you leave the hospital or better yet town before I call my mother, the sheriff, and have her personally escort you out hmm? Damon has obviously had enough of you. Plus I heard he got better pleasure over the years from his hand than you, guess you don't do it for him. Buh bye." She grabs my hand and I let her pull me next to her down the hallway leaving a very furious but at least for now defeated Katherine behind us.

"Thanks Care. I really don't see why she's here. I don't..."

"I know Damon. I saw it in the way you looked at her."

We are still checking rooms like maniacs when we meet up with a very out of breath Jeremy. He holds up his hand and starts walking us back towards the parking lot while trying to catch his breath. When we reach the waiting room I look around quickly and note that Katherine took Care's advice and left. She's smart for doing what blondie said, she really would have gotten her mother to escort Katherine out of town and made sure as hell that she never came back. I stop Jer once we're outside.

"Jer. What are we doing outside?"

"The security tapes. She walked out and drove off. In my car." He gets the three sentences out with a deep breath in between each one. "But we heard it...she was hallucinating. She thought she was with you Damon. I saw it though, she wasn't WITH anyone. I'm scared. We need to find her."

Tyler's car comes to a stop in front of us and the window rolls down. "You getting in or just going to stand there?"

Without thinking twice I walk around to the drivers seat and motion for him to move. It seems like he agrees because he unbuckles and slides over to the passenger seat while blondie and Jeremy climb in the back. Jeremy points to where his car and left the lot and I followed the only way we could go. We were now heading out of Mystic Falls. The only thought in my mind was to find the woman I love and make sure she got the help she needed, even if I had to force it on her.

I had taken the IV out of my hand and walked silently out of the hospital. No one questioned me or even noticed me except for a brunette sitting in the waiting room. She looked up at me and smiled but it didn't seem like a friendly smile, it seemed almost...evil. I shook it off and found Jeremy's car. Damon told me the whole way here that Jeremy had said I could use his car so I didn't have to ask permission. I knew this was the truth because Jer was my baby brother and he was always happy to share his stuff with me, whether it be food, clothes, or cars. I climbed in and fished around in the glove box until I found the spare key, I never understood why he kept his spare IN the car but I didn't care at the moment. Damon wanted me to go with him so I'd go with him. I'd follow him anywhere.

"Where are we going Damon?"

He shrugged. "Just for a drive out of town babe. Just drive."

I nod my head and exited the lot and head out of town. I turned to talk to Damon again once I got on the freeway but it wasn't Damon, it was my dad. My dad was dead. I shook my head but he didn't leave, he just sat there with this scared look on his face. "Dad?"

"Turn around and go back Elena. Go back now."

I shake my head. "I can't." I look at the passenger seat and it's empty. A part of my mind registers that it's always been empty but that doesn't scare me. It actually makes me keep driving. Maybe I need to leave town in order to keep the people I love happy. I know I make Jer, Ric, and now Damon sad, they worry about me too much. Jer is only 16, he should be having fun not worrying about his crazy sister. Ric...he should be trying to put the pieces of his life back together not looking after his ex girlfriend's niece who has actually gone around the bend. As for Damon, he should be happy. He'll be 23 in two weeks, I'm surprised I know that with everything else that's in my head but I've always remembered his birthday...even when he's forgotten mine. He should be settling down and starting a family. He's already gone to college, he even met someone he admitted it himself...Katherine. Her name still sticks out in my mind, I wonder briefly if it was her I saw at the hospital...I shake my head. It couldn't have been her.

RING!

I look at the radio which has stopped playing the music and is now telling me that 'My cell' is calling. "Jeremy." I let it ring until it stops. The music starts playing again and I notice the song. Kiss me by Ed Sheeran. I mumble the words along with him.

I had forgotten that Jeremy's car had it's own phone number. Stupid technologically advanced vehicles. I see the sign that tells me I've reached Richmond. I don't intend on stopping until the low fuel light comes on. I spot a gas station and pull into it only to realize I have no money.

"Elena now that you have your own car I think it would be smart to always keep a 20 in your glove box."

Ric's words of wisdom come back to me and I check around Jer's glove box. AHA! A 20. I smile, he listened to our almost uncle. I go inside and pay for the gas. I watch as the numbers slowly tick away from $1 to $20. I put the nozzle back and get back on the freeway. I need to keep driving. I need to get as far away from the people I love so that they won't have to worry about me anymore.

RING!

I glare at the radio again. It's not 'My Cell' anymore. Now it says 'Care Cell'. I groan and let the ringing continue until the radio comes back. Unfortunately now it's a commercial. At least now I know for sure that they know I'm in the car. That doesn't mean I have to talk to any of them.

RING!

'Ty Cell'. "Well this seems like it will get old very soon." I look around with one hand keeping the other on the wheel as I look in Jer's center console. His iPod? Who leaves an iPod in a car? "Well when you live in Mystic Falls you really don't worry about car jackings. Nothing bad happens in Mystic Falls...well okay bad things happen to me but not the rest of Mystic Falls." Okay, lovely, now I'm talking to myself.

"You can always go back." I ignore the familiar voice of my aunt Jenna. Now that I know I'm hallucinating I know for sure she's not with me. It's just crazy me in the car driving to absolutely no where.

I put on the song Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It's not the Wizard of Oz version it's a cover of the song by someone whose name I cannot pronounce but something tells me Jer can. "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole...?" I give up after attempting it 3 times. It's useless but at least he's a good singer.

RING!

"Unidentified Number" this time I say the caller name out loud. Who the hell could that be?

RING!

'Unidentified Number'...again. They call again and again. It's almost as if they are hitting a redial button. Finally after the fourth interruption of my song I angrily push the accept button.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Elena please. Stop the car."

Damon. I hear the accelerator of a car. He's following me. I look in the rear view mirror and the side mirrors. I can't see a car anywhere around me. "No. I need to stay out of town Damon. I can't make anyone happy. Go back to Katherine, it was her at the hospital right? I saw her. She's pretty." I lied. She was physically pretty but she seemed like a bitch and that alone made her ugly as hell.

"You make me happy. You make Jeremy, Ric, Caroline, Tyler, hell even Bonnie and Matt happy. Now listen to me. You can either keep driving until you run out of gas again. Or you could stop and wait for me, then we will decide where to go and go together. What'll it be Lena?"

"You want to come with me?"

"If that's what you want. We either live together or die alone right baby? Hell if you want a vacation I'll take you to the lake just like old times. Just you and me Elena. What do you say?"

I act without thinking. I take the next exit and pull over at the rest stop. "I'm at the rest stop outside of Richmond."

"I know. I beat you here, you seem to forget that I drive much faster than you and I didn't need to stop in Richmond for gas."

I see him leaning against the picnic table with Care, Ty, and Jer sitting behind him. He's looking right at the car as he sets his phone down and walks up to the car.

It didn't take me long to catch up to her. She drives like driving miss daisy, while me on the other hand I drive like the fast and the furious. I quickly passed her and kept an eye on her. I watched as she stopped for gas in Richmond. Everyone had tried calling her. It was just now 8pm it had just gotten dark. I pulled Ty's car into the rest stop outside Richmond and pulled out my own cell phone. She couldn't ignore me. I don't give up.

Jer didn't have my cell saved on his on-star so I knew she would be curious as to what unknown caller would be calling him. After 4 tries she finally answers.

"Who the hell are you?!" I smile. My girl...she's got a fire inside her like no one else. It's one of the things I love about her. She's a fighter and she's so strong.

I ask politely for her to stop the car. She comes back with some crap ass excuse of not making anyone happy. Depression. I know depression better than anyone, been there done that...twice. I tell her that she makes us all happy then I surprise everyone by telling her I'll go with her if she just stops the car.

"You want to come with me?" The hope in her voice. I surprised her by knowing again exactly what she wants and needs. She needs to be alone...with me. We need to talk about everything before I can even begin to help her.

"If that's what you want. We either live together or die alone right baby? Hell if you want a vacation I'll take you to the lake just like old times. Just you and me Elena. What do you say?" The lake house. It's where I first asked her to be my girlfriend. She was only 12 but she accepted and our families actually threw us an 'it's about time bar b que'.

She pulls over and I watch her. I hide back laughing because she doesn't seem to notice that Ty's car is sitting there with the radio on. Waiting for her. I meet her surprised but semi-happy gaze. I set the phone down, I've had enough with phone conversations. I need her, just as much as she needs me. I walk up to the car and open her door. She steps out but makes no move to hug me or anything.

The distance is too much. We've been distant for so long that is physically hurts. I grab her and pull her to me and our lips collide. At first she's hesitant but as I run my tongue along her bottom lip she grants me the access that we both desperately needed. Tonsil hockey. I could feel every ounce of love, passion, and mind/heart consuming feelings that have been missing from my life for the past 5 years come back to me. I show her just how much I've missed her and how much I've loved her. ONLY her. I forget all about our audience as I cling to the only person I NEED to have in my life to be completely whole. We pull away only when we remember that we need to breathe.

"So...lake house vacation? Just us."

She nods her head and I open Jeremy's passenger door and she gets in. I walk back to grab my phone, luckily my duffel bag is in the trunk still and the lake house still has clothes for her there already.

"Jer. Give me one weekend. I'll bring her back home and we'll get her the help she needs. Just give me one weekend with her. We both need just one weekend alone with each other. Please." He nods and gets back in Ty's car.

I climb in the drivers seat and we head back towards Mystic Falls. We don't stop when we get to town. I keep driving until we get to the lake house. I open her door and lace our fingers together. She grabs the spare key from under the mat and we walk into the Gilbert Family lake house. This one weekend will make or break us. It will be our weekend.

Hopefully we'll come together and this time never separate again. It would literally break me if I lost her again. I can't let that happen.