Her eyes flew open. Her mind tried to piece together her life. Her life which was scattered in fragments around her brain. She remember everything clearly up until the night after her blue eyed stranger kissed her and bundled her into a taxi. After that it was a mess of emotions, heartbreak and deep, piercing blue eyes.
The heard shouting around her and machine beeping insistently. Her mind worked in overdrive.
Who was he?
"Miss Gilbert? What is the last thing you remember?" A kind voice registered in her brain.
"The-the night I met him. He had blue eyes." Concern flooded the doctors gaze.
She heard him say softly to a female nurse.
"Tell him what she said." The nurse looked so sad it made her want to cry. She was causing someone pain, she needed to know who.
She didn't remember his name, but she remembered his eyes and her feelings towards him. A mess of jumbled memories was all she could remember of their time together.
Her confusion lifted slightly as a blue eyed man – so different from the one she remembered flew through the door, yelling and asking where she was.
Her eyes lifted and met his gaze, the pain and loss etched there but undeniable happiness and love shone from their depths.
A blur of memories slotted into place and a haze of feeling and emotions washed over her.
A cab screeched to a stop in front of them and he gestured for her to take it. She looked at him regretfully before leaning in to kiss him softly on the cheek. He rose and eyebrow before capturing her lips, pulling her in and holding her tight. Her world exploded with fireworks. The magic spell was broken by the cab's horn beeping loudly. She glanced at him smiling before jumping him
Sitting in a coffee shop with this mysterious man when a name is called out. Two figures appear, one warm; one cold.
Blank. Her mind struggled to remember.
"See you, brown eyes." He didn't even glance at his parents before pressing his lips to her softly. She smiled. She nodded once to his father and smiled at his mother- polar opposites she thought- and walked out the room holding her head high.
She didn't say a word but her raised eyebrows said it all. That was all it took for his to launch himself at her, tickling her mercilessly. She fought back. Hard. She was master at this. It wasn't until they ended up rolling around on the carpet, out of breath that they stopped. He was currently pinning her to the floor with one hand holding both of hers about his head and the other taking his weight off of her. His eyes were dark with lust and she was sure hers were full of hunger and passion.
There was no hesitation now. He crashed his lips to hers, devouring her with fire and electricity that exploded under his touch. He freed one of her hands and it twisted it's way up to his hair with one hand still pinned above her head. She bit his lower lip softly and he moaned and began to place kisses down her jaw, her neck, her shoulder blades. She freed her other hand and used both hands to pull his lips back to meet hers. Her hands snaked down his neck to his shirt slowly unbuttoning it and revealing his perfect chest. Her hands ran over the hard planes of his stomach, feeling every muscle and tendon. He grabbed her hands and moved them back to his neck while his started exploring her body. With each touch she was on fire.
A beautiful haughty girl stepped into her apartment. Katherine Petrova. Ex-fiancée.
She gasped as so many memories filled her brain, some where as clear as if they had just happened and some were slight and blurred, only certain memories and key points registering.
Those blue eyes looked at her as if they looked right into her very soul
"I never loved her and I never thought I would love anybody, but here I am, and let me tell you, I'm falling for you, brown eyes. I'm falling for you hard." She didn't answer him, she didn't need to. She answered him with a kiss so full of passion she almost exploded. She didn't tell him she loved him back. But she did. Oh she did.
She felt her heart breaking as she walked away from that man. She knew he hadn't meant to hurt her but he had. She'd bared her heart for him and he'd shattered it into a million pieces.
That night, so filled with heartbreak she hadn't had the strength to open the door. The memories were painful but precious. He had confessed his love and she had made him walk away. She knew one thing for sure: she still loved him.
Those painful days leading up to his wedding. Planning with Caroline. Throwing herself into her work to distract herself. It hadn't worked. Her feelings hadn't faded.
Her heart pounding in her chest as she prepares to crash someone's wedding. She took a deep breath before hearing her cue.
"Speak now or forever hold your peace."
She stepped out into the aisle, watching as the audience fell silent.
His mother, Elizabeth, stood up, coming towards her and murmuring comforting words – not just to her, but to the entire audience – but she wasn't listening. She was staring at him, urging him to make his choice.
Tense seconds passed that each felt like a lifetime.
She barely registered him leaving his bride's side and launching himself at her, cupping her face and staring at her face, as if intent on memorizing it.
He crushed his lips to hers and devoured her with the pent up desire and longing they had been denying the past month. Her arms wrapped around him, holding him closer to her.
"God I love you, I love you so fucking much."
Her eyes flew open again. The fell on the blue-eyed man who stared at her as if unsure of how to react.
"Elena? Do you know his name?"
She wanted to scream "I don't know his name but I know everything else!"
She struggled to make her mouth work. She couldn't put this situation into words. So she shook her head. She watched as his eyes lost their shine, they turned into haunted shadows of what was once beautiful, icy orbs.
The stranger walked towards her and crouched beside her bed.
"I love you, brown eyes, don't forget that." His eyes glistened with tears.
"Mr Salvatore! She does not remember you! Do not confuse her!" The words sounded so harsh that even this blue eyed man, who had always seemed so strong, faltered.
Salvatore. Salvatore. Stefan Salvatore. Stefan's brother. Salvatore.
"Damon." she breathed out, so amazed by this man. This man had walked into her life and turned it upside down.
She hesitated no longer before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly but so full of love he was taken aback. He returned her kiss and under his touch, everything – all the missing memories and unimportant details slotted into place. She pulled away and he pressed his forehead to hers.
"I love you." A tear escaped her and rolled down her cheek. She felt him wipe it away with his thumb.
"Mr Salvatore, you must go home and rest. You many come back as soon as you have refreshed and eaten."
She wanted to tell him not to go but he was a mess. A beautiful mess at that, but still a mess. His face was gaunt and pale, his clothes were crumpled and his hair was out of place, of course, it always was but in the current circumstances...
He kissed her lightly, and she felt the same fireworks she'd always felt. She closed her eyes and sank back into the cushions. Exhaustion washed over her and her eyelids felt heavy. Before she could open her eyes again she had drifted into a deep sleep. The kind that always helps you recover; the kind that could refresh you even if it was only for five minutes; it was a sleep filled with images of her blue eyed stranger. A stranger who had stolen her heart.