"Where do you think he is?" Elena spoke for the first time in what felt like an hour. She and Stefan had left Mystic Falls earlier that morning, embarking on their journey to find Damon. Elena didn't know exactly how long they had been driving but it felt like forever.

"I can't be sure…" Stefan replied softly, "But I have a feeling he's gone to visit his old friend Klaus."

"Klaus?" The name didn't ring any bells for Elena. "Did I know Klaus?"

"No, and be thankful that Damon never introduced the two of you." Stefan laughed darkly before continuing, "He only visits Klaus when his humanity is off."

"I'm guessing you aren't a big fan?" Elena raised an eyebrow at Stefan.

"Let's just say Klaus isn't my favourite person in the world."

Elena sunk back into her seat and turned to look out the window. Stefan was driving fast, making the trees flash by like a green blur. She had agreed to go with Stefan so suddenly, without even thinking. She didn't truly consider how dangerous this all could be.

"Am I safe with you?" Elena turned to face Stefan, examining his facial expression in search of an honest answer. She watched as his face went hard.

"I honestly don't know," He whispered, not able to meet Elena's eyes. He kept his gaze on the road. "All I know is that Damon would never let anything happen to you. Not even with his humanity off."

The rest of the drive to New Orleans was shared in silence. Neither Elena nor Stefan had anything more to say. All either of them could think about was what they were getting themselves into. And neither of them even knew exactly what that was.


"Now there's a face I haven't seen around here in a very long time."

Damon watched as a familiar figure slipped into the seat next to him, signalling the bartender over.

"Klaus." Damon smiled mischievously, "Fancy seeing you here, old friend."

"I live here." Klaus laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "I run this whole damn city. But you knew that already. What are you doing here, mate?"

"Can't a guy just come and visit an old friend without being interrogated?" Damon took a big sip of his drink before slamming it back down on the bar. He signalled the bartender for a refill. Klaus studied his old friend, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He watched Damon closely, trying to figure out why he was here for the first time in at least 3 years. The last time Klaus checked, Damon was living happily in Mystic Falls. He had even heard that Damon had a new girlfriend. The first one since he had his heart broken by his ex.

"Where's the girl then?" Klaus asked, smiling mockingly. "A little birdy told me that you were all loved up with some girl in Mystic Falls."

Damon stiffened. His grip tightened around the glass in his hand, causing it to break into little pieces. Klaus raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

"Let's just say she isn't in the picture anymore." Damon responded finally. He signalled the bartender for another refill, but the bartender wasn't looking. Without missing a beat, Damon was behind the bar with his fangs protruding into the bartender's neck. He didn't like to be kept waiting. Klaus quickly compelled the other customers in the bar to forget what they had just seen and to leave the bar immediately.

"I see what's going on," Klaus ripped Damon off of his best bartender before throwing him across the room. "You had your heart broken again and now you've switched your humanity off. Am I right, mate?"

Damon groaned before picking himself off of the ground. Klaus fed his blood to the bartender before compelling him to go home and forget that Damon had just tried to kill him. It was just the two of them left in the bar now. Klaus signalled for Damon to sit with him again.

"You're here because you want to let loose. Cause some trouble. Maybe even kill some innocent people…" Klaus continued, an evil smile occupying his lips. "Well, you came to the right place. Welcome back to New Orleans, Damon."


After driving for a full day, spending a night at a hotel and driving some more, Stefan and Elena had finally made it to New Orleans. It was a lot quieter than Elena had imagined. There weren't many people out on the streets, and the people that she did see seemed zombie like: they looked drained and walked around very, very slowly.

"They've all been compelled by Klaus." Stefan explained when he saw how confused Elena looked. "If you're not a vampire in this town, you're pretty much just a human blood bag."

Elena's eyes widened. She watched as a woman walked into a store, just to exit again. The woman didn't look particularly lost but continued to walk around aimlessly anyway.

"They don't have any identities anymore. Klaus made sure of that." Stefan continued, "When they aren't being used for their blood, they just walk around with nothing to do."

Elena's heart sunk as she watched people walk from shop to shop. They didn't even bother to browse before exiting and moving onto the next one. They were literally just walking around, killing time until they were needed by a vampire.

"Hide!" Stefan suddenly grabbed Elena's arm and pulled her into an alley way. He leaned around the wall to look back onto the street, his face sinking. Elena peeked around the wall too, her mouth dropping open when she realised what Stefan was looking at.

"Is that Damon?" Elena gasped as she watched a tall figure in a leather jacket sink his teeth into the neck of an innocent woman.

"That's Damon." Stefan sighed, looking away. He advised Elena to do the same. It took her a moment to tear her eyes away, too shocked by what she was seeing. Elena was friends with vampires. She was dating one, before she forgot she had ever met him. But she hardly ever saw them attacking an innocent human. All of the vampires she knew avoided drinking straight from the source and opted for blood bags instead.

"He looks like a monster…" Elena commented quietly. When she had agreed to go with Stefan to help Damon, she had felt an unexplainable love for him. An unexplainable need to help him. But now, seeing him like this, Elena felt nothing but fear towards Damon. Stefan looked at Elena sadly, wondering to himself if bringing her along with him really was the best idea. He no longer saw love in her eyes – the love that he thought could bring his brother back. All he saw in her eyes was an intense fear of Damon.

"Stay here. Don't move, okay?" Stefan gave Elena one last look before moving back out onto the street. Elena watched on as Stefan suddenly appeared at Damon's side, ripping his brother off of the helpless woman.

"What the hell?" Damon got up and quickly threw his brother across the street in frustration. Just as he was about to inflict more pain onto Stefan, Elena stepped out from around the wall causing Damon to stop in his tracks. It was the first time he had seen Elena in weeks. He could see the fear in her eyes as he wiped the blood away from his mouth. Stefan groaned as he pulled himself off of the ground, his eyes widening at Elena.

"I told you not to move, Elena!" Stefan yelled, quickly appearing at her side. He stood in front of her protectively, not sure how Damon might react.

"What is she doing here, Stefan?" Damon finally tore his eyes away from Elena, staring angrily now at his younger brother.

"We've come to take you home." Stefan responded confidently, "Come home, brother."

"We?" Damon laughed, "Last time I checked, Elena couldn't even remember who I was. And, while I'm being honest, she looks pretty scared of me right now."

Elena flinched at Damon's directness. He wasn't afraid to say exactly how he felt. But nothing he said was wrong. The last time she had seen Damon, Elena told him that she didn't know who he was. Not long after, she decided she wanted Damon to keep his distance. It was because of her that Damon was in New Orleans in the first place.

"Well she's here now, brother," Stefan said finally, "And she wants you to come home. Don't you, Elena?"

The Salvatore brothers both turned to look at Elena. Her heart was suddenly in her throat, making it hard for her to swallow properly. She didn't know what to say. When she first left Mystic Falls to look for Damon, she had felt a strong need to help him. She couldn't understand it, but it was there. Now, after seeing him attack an innocent woman, that need was replaced by fear.

"Judging by her silence and that look of fear, I'm going to say no." Damon said, smirking. His voice was hard, but Elena swore she saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes. It was soon replaced by an icy stare directed at Stefan.

"I'm going to need a second, Stef." Damon lunged at Stefan and quickly snapped his neck. Elena gasped as she watched Stefan fall to the ground. Her heart was beating out of her chest as Damon appeared right in front of her, his face inches from hers.

"Don't be afraid." He ordered, his hands on her face. Elena suddenly felt calm and stared back into Damon's eyes. The iciness had been replaced by warmth and a love that Elena couldn't remember ever seeing before.

"I love you, Elena." Damon whispered gently, not moving his hands from her face. "But I can't pretend to be happy when the love of my life can't even remember who I am."

Elena said nothing but continued to look into Damon's eyes.

"I need you to forget you ran into me tonight." Damon continued, his face hard. "As soon as Stefan wakes up, ask him to take you home to Mystic Falls. Don't take no for an answer. I can't have you two ruining my fun here in New Orleans."

Damon reluctantly removed his hands from Elena's face and disappeared down the street. Elena shut her eyes momentarily. She suddenly felt her legs give in underneath her, causing her to fall to the ground. Her head was spinning… until everything finally went black.


Flashback: A Year Ago

"You look beautiful." Damon appeared at Elena's door, admiring his beautiful girlfriend. Elena was finishing last minute touch-ups for the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. She was wearing a long, blue dress that complimented her figure nicely. Damon couldn't take his eyes off of her. She looked stunning.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Elena responded, turning to admire her undeniably handsome boyfriend. It wasn't often that she got to see him in a suit. She couldn't deny that it was a nice change from his usual tight jeans and leather jackets. Not that she didn't love him in a leather jacket… it was just nice to see him dressed up every now and again too.

"Yeah, well, I don't wear a suit for just anyone." Damon winked, leaning against the door frame. "I must really love you."

Elena felt her heart skip a beat, "What did you just say?"

Damon narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, confused. Did Elena not hear him?

A small smile crept onto Elena's lips, "Did you just say that you love me?"

Damon furrowed his eyebrows as he watched his girlfriend stand up from her seat and walk over to him. He stood up properly as she approached, admiring the way the dress fell against her body. When Elena was close enough, she wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, breaking out into a huge smile.

"That's the first time you've told me you love me." Elena said happily, butterflies filling her stomach.

"Verbally anyway," Damon replied, wrapping his arms around Elena's waist and pulling her into him, "I much prefer to express my love to you physically in my bed."

"Don't ruin the moment, Damon!" Elena laughed, punching her boyfriend jokingly in the chest.

The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other. Neither of them wanted the moment to end. It wasn't until Bonnie came to give them a five-minute warning that the ceremony was starting that they spoke again.

"I love you, Damon Salvatore." Elena said warmly, leaning in to kiss her boyfriend. She felt shivers through her entire body when his mouth slowly opened into hers.


Elena groaned as she slowly gained consciousness. Stefan was already awake, sitting up beside her.

"You're finally awake." He said gently, "Are you okay?"

"I just had the weirdest dream…" Elena responded, furrowing her eyebrows. "Damon and I were at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant… He told me he loved me for the first time."

Stefan's eyes widened slightly, a small smile creeping onto his lips. Elena raised an eyebrow up at him, willing him to speak.

"I don't think that was a dream, Elena." Stefan explained, smiling wider. "I think you're getting your memories back."