A/N: Helloooooo again! So this chapter doesn't do a whole lot for plot development, but it sure was fun to write. I hope you guys find it enjoyable to read.

"A night back home in the big city, D! What do you suppose we should do with ourselves?" Enzo draped his arm over Damon's shoulder and lazily remarked as they strolled through LaGuardia airport.

He, along with Alaric, had managed to drink enough during the 90-minute flight to float a small cruise ship. They were in the air for less than five minutes before Enzo had taken to flirting with the flight attendant. It had been an interesting flight, to say the least. Of course it always was with the boys.

"Well, my plan was to head back to my apartment and call Elena. I'm sure you guys can cause enough trouble without me though, right?" Damon replied as he glanced over to a stumbling Alaric and a very annoyed looking Stefan.

"Oh c'mon Salvatores! Don't be buzzkills! YOLO! Isn't that what the kids are saying these days?" Alaric responded, hiccupping a little in the end.

Stefan finally cracked a smile. Despite being the youngest, he'd always fallen into the dad role of the group. At times, he felt overwhelmed with the task but other times he would laugh at their hysterics. On the very rare occasion, he'd join in. He was only 24, after all. It wasn't like he was an old man yet.

"Alright guys," Stefan chuckled a little as they exited out of the arrivals gate to the awaiting paparazzi. Being back home in Roanoke, the four of them had almost forgotten what it was like to have their every move photographed and documented. They handed their bags to their driver and all piled into the back of the black stretch Hummer.

Damon let out a breath once they were safely tucked away from the flashing cameras. He was truly worried about Elena and had been a bit of a nervous wreck for the entire flight. Luckily, Enzo and Alaric's antics had proved to be a temporary distraction every now and then. Without that, he doubted he would have been able to sit still for 90 seconds, let alone 90 minutes.

Stefan sent a quick text to Caroline, letting her know they had landed safely. Normally, she'd be in the limo right beside of him. She almost always traveled with the band. She'd been traveling with them since the very beginning. This time, she chose to stay behind with Anne. Something about lady bonding time, Stefan kind of tuned her out a little after she started squealing about baking cupcakes.

John, their driver, rolled down the partition just a bit. "Should I drop you all off at your apartments?"

Alaric looked expectedly at the rest of the group. "C'mon guys. We don't have to be at the set until like five tomorrow evening. The Tonight Show doesn't even air until like 11:30. We could go out."

"Yeah! Out! Out!" Enzo cheered.

Damon focused his attention on Stefan, whose eyes were still fixed on his phone. He was hoping that Stefan would veto this whole thing so that he didn't have to. He really just wanted to get home and call Elena. "Stef?" he urged him.

"Hm?" Stefan replied.

"Caroline would probably want you to stay in tonight, right?" Damon continued on, silently praying that Stefan would say yes and that would be the end of it.

He finally glanced up from his phone and shrugged his shoulders a little. "Eh, she said for me to have fun."

"Alright! Got the blessing from blondie!" Enzo celebrated before high-fiving Alaric.

"Fucking shit," Damon muttered under his breath before grabbing his phone out of his back pocket. He glanced at the time. It was only three in the afternoon. Maybe a quick outing with the guys would be okay.

Lena, we landed. The guys want to go out, but it's still early so we should be back home before too late. Can I call you around 10 tonight? – D

Shoving the device back into his black jeans, he huffed a little. "Fine, fine. But I'm still sober and I'm still working shit out with Elena so no feeding me shots and," he pointed his finger directly at Enzo "no strippers."

"That was one time!" Enzo laughed.

"John, can we start out with a late lunch at Sushi Yasuda?" Stefan asked their driver and he nodded in response.

Elena woke up from her nap around five that evening, her eyes somehow still a little red and swollen from earlier. Matt had packed and left without waking her to say goodbye. As she eased herself off of the couch, she reached for her phone and read Damon's text message.

She shook her head slightly. Did she think it was a good idea for him to be out partying in the middle of the day? Not really. Unfortunately, that was the least of her problems right now.

Sure, ten works for me. – E

Placing her phone down onto the coffee table, Elena padded into the master bathroom so she could to try to fix her makeup in the mirror. It actually didn't look half as bad as she thought it would. She glanced down at herself and realized she had started to sweat when she was napping earlier so she hopped into the shower.

As the water washed away the day's grime, Elena prayed to herself that it would wash away the guilt and the lies too. Even though she swore that she didn't have anything else left to cry out, the privacy of the shower allowed her to shed a few more tears. Now that she had come clean to Matt, she had to come clean to Damon. What if he didn't forgive her? What if Elena was back to where she was three years ago, pining for a man who had tried his best to forget all about her?

Damon hadn't seen Stefan this drunk in quite a long time and he'd be lying if he said a part of him wasn't dying to have a drink with his baby brother. The addict in him kept just urging him to have one drink, but Damon knew one drink was never just one. He'd have another and another. He couldn't do that. He'd come too far.

The guys all sat in a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. All of them had dug into their sushi rolls and all except for Damon were downing sake like there was some kind of shortage. They were laughing about something Jimmy Fallon had put on Twitter about their upcoming appearance tomorrow night. It was a good dinner and it occurred to Damon that it had been a few weeks since the band had been together with just them. It was nice to be in a band with your best friends. It was one of the things that made The Ravens so successful.

Alaric glanced at his watch before trying to get everyone's attention. "Guys, guys. Its five o'clock now. Let's get home, unpack, change clothes and all of that. Then we can go to Avenue."

They paid their bill before heading out the back door of the restaurant to avoid the photographers outside.

Post-shower, Elena called Bonnie to update her on how things had gone with Matt. She was happy that Bonnie was there for her as a support system, but Elena didn't want to keep her on the phone long since Bonnie was making dinner for Jeremy when she called.

Sitting in her empty living room, Elena really wished that Damon were in town so that she could be with him tonight. More than anything, she really just didn't want to be alone right now. Swallowing a little, Elena called Caroline to see if she'd want to come over for a bit. Seeing her at Anne's house made her remember all of the great memories they'd shared and she thought it would be great to reminisce with her again.

Caroline answered on the first ring. "Lena! I'm so glad you called! Shit, hang on! I'm going to put you on speaker."

Elena heard some rustling on the other end of the phone and giggled a little to herself. She was smiling; that had to be a good sign.

"Sorry. Anne and I are baking cupcakes. I had frosting literally all over my hands. Say hi Anne!" Caroline spoke again.

"Hi, Lena!" Anne yelled a little too loudly, clearly not quite understanding how speakerphone worked.

Despite the fact that she'd yet to even utter a word, Elena already felt a little better just hearing someone else's voice. "Hi Anne! Mmmm, cupcakes. What kind?" she asked.

"Swiss chocolate with hazelnut frosting," Caroline answered back. "I know it's a weeknight, but do you want to come over and have some?"

Elena nodded her head enthusiastically before realizing that no one could actually see her. "That would be amazing. I'm just going to change really quickly first. I'm kind of in my PJs already."

"No way, dear," Anne interjected. "You can stay here tonight if you'd like. Caroline and I are doing all of the girly stuff that we can't do when the boys are around."

"I'd like that very much, Anne. See you two soon." Elena hung up the phone before going to pack an overnight bag.

Avenue had proven to be a little too much for Damon and he'd ended up heading home early, leaving the rest of the guys there in the VIP section. Though Damon was strong in his sobriety and he did okay being around his friends when they were drinking, it was a lot harder to be the only sober person in a room full of strangers.

He settled onto his bed, started to tune his guitar for tomorrow, and looked at the time. It was only nine. He picked up the phone and dialed Elena's number.

"Hi you," she breathed into the phone. Damon was surprised to hear such an upbeat tone in her voice. He was relieved that she didn't sound like she'd been crying, but he also kind of expected her to be a little upset still.

Pressing the phone between his shoulder and ear, Damon started to fiddle with the strings on his guitar. "Hi babe. How are you doing? You holding up okay?"

"You'll never guess where I am right now," she giggled a little. "And you'll never guess what I'm holding."

"Tell me you're in New York right now and that you're holding a key to my apartment because I miss you like crazy," he smiled.

"Nope," Elena replied, popping the p.

"Well then I'm out of guesses." Damon set his guitar down next to the bed and laid his head back on his pillow.

"I'm in your childhood bedroom holding a cupcake that Anne made for me. Well, actually this is more like the fourth one she made for me but still. It pairs really well with my fifth glass of wine."

"Well that was certainly an unexpected answer. How did that happen?" He asked her as he threw one hand underneath his head for extra support.

"Hey, who knew you had Superman boxers?" Elena burst out laughing.

Damon shot straight up in bed, his cheeks turning an unusual shade of pink. He recognized that she changed the subject, but he decided to allow it this time. "You aren't going through my drawers, are you?"

"Maaaaybe," she answered. "So far, just the underwear drawer. Why? Something you don't want me to see?"

"Maaaaybe," Damon countered in a mocking tone, laughing a little at himself.

Elena took in a deep breath and Damon could tell straight away that her demeanor had shifted. "Is it okay if I sleep in here tonight? It smells like you here and I just feel really alone at my house right now."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course you can, Lena." Damon wanted so badly to be there for her right now, but it just wasn't possible.

"Caroline's calling me from downstairs. I should go. Sext me later if you want!"

"Sext you?" Damon smirked.

"Yeah, consider it practice for when you're back on tour and I'm still here in Roanoke. Make it dirty." With that Elena hung up the phone, leaving a very sexually frustrated Damon several hours away from her with no relief.

For the next couple hours, Damon continued to tune his guitar and practice the two songs the band had decided to sing. He was nervous about playing on national TV, even though it was far from his first time. The Ravens had been on SNL, The Late Night Show, and Ellen, basically any show that management could book for them to promote their music. The interviews were always the easy part. Damon never seemed to have any problem talking about himself or his music, but putting his music out there was a whole different story. Truth be told, he still got nervous every single time before he went on stage. He used to just suppress the nerves with alcohol and drugs, but trying to suppress them sober was a whole different beast. It wasn't nearly as easy.

His phone lit up and buzzed from the nightstand. He really hoped it was Elena, considering the fact that she'd left him painfully hard after their earlier conversation. As he picked up the phone he had no such luck, glancing at the screen and seeing Enzo's name.

Damon swiped to answer the call and before he could get out a greeting, Enzo was already yelling into the line.

"Damon! Thank God! Listen, Stefan went home already and Ric found some broad that he wants to take home in the Hummer. Any chance you want to pick me up?"

Sighing to himself, he stood up from bed to grab his jeans and shirt off the floor. He started to get dressed. "Yeah, yeah. You still at Avenue?"

"Yeah, mate! Call me when you're out front!" Enzo's voice boomed over the loud music in the background before he disconnected the call.

Damon reached for the keys to his Range Rover. The Camaro was his baby and he'd decided not to bring it to New York a couple years ago when he bought his apartment here. Better to keep the car at home where she belongs. He jammed his feet into his boots and shrugged on his leather jacket.

Luckily, the ride to the club was free of paparazzi. It was always nice when Damon could move about the city without the worry of someone tailing him, even if the occasion was kind of rare.

He didn't have to call Enzo when he pulled up because he was already standing out front, his arm draped around some blonde in a short black dress. Enzo opened the door to Damon's backseat and started to help the woman into the car.

"No. No way. She can't come," Damon turned around and gave his friend a most annoyed look.

"Oh, c'mon D! She's my Lena! I'm in love!" a very drunk Enzo smiled back.

Damon shook his head at the insane thought. "If she's your Lena, then you can call her tomorrow. She can't come. Does she have any friends here? Go leave her with her friends."

"Bloody buzzkill," Enzo muttered under his breath before slamming the car door shut and taking the woman's hand to lead her over to a group in girls in equally short dresses.

Damon watched as Enzo kissed her on the cheek and started walking back towards to Range Rover. He opened the passenger side door and climbed in.

"Well I hope you're happy. That woman was the love of my life!" Enzo slurred his words a little and leaned his head back against the headrest as Damon put the car into drive.

Laughing a little, Damon maneuvered his way through traffic to get back to his apartment. Enzo could sleep it off on his couch. He didn't feel like making a special trip to Enzo's place just to drop him off.

They took the elevator up and Damon unlocked the front door, Enzo staying silent the entire time. He might have actually been pissed at Damon, but it was past midnight at this point and Damon didn't have the energy to care.

"You can sleep here," Damon said as he pointed to the couch. "I'll grab you some blankets."

"No need," Enzo said as he plopped down onto the couch and made himself comfortable. "This is kind of like old times, yeah? Back in Roanoke, I'd pass out drunk on your couch all the time. Difference is that you'd normally also be drunk and shagging some girl in the room over."

Kicking off his boots, Damon took a seat in the chair across from his couch. "Well things change, you know?"

"Yeah. Remember when you first met Elena? Now that was quite the fucking shag. She made you work for that one." Enzo chuckled to himself, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey, watch it," Damon warned. "You can't talk about my girlfriend like that." It was the first time he'd ever referred to Elena as his girlfriend out loud and to be honest, he didn't totally hate it.

"Girlfriend?" Enzo questioned.

"Go to sleep, man. We have shit to do tomorrow." Damon dodged the question as he stood up to walk into his bedroom. He was exhausted and ready to pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The music boomed through the speakers as The Ravens started to play one of their best songs. It was their first time playing this particular venue, but the crowd had been amazing and they knew they would definitely want to play there again.

Damon had been eyeing a brunette who had pushed her way though the crowd and up against the front of the stage. She was jumping and dancing to the beat of Alaric's drums with her friend.

As she turned her head, he caught sight of her eyes and he swore that they pierced directly through him. She flashed him a smile and he smirked back at her as he strummed his guitar. They held eye contact for the entirety of the song, each silently daring the other to look away but neither budged.

The song came to an end, Stefan started to speak to the crowd, and Damon took the opportunity to set his guitar down for a brief moment and grab his glass of bourbon from beside him. He gulped down the entirety of it before turning towards Alaric.

"You killed that last song, Ric! Slayed it!" Damon congratulated his band mate.

"Whose the brunette?" Alaric mouthed to him; pointing in the direction of the girl Damon had his previous staring contest with.

Damon shrugged his shoulders in response before picking up his guitar to get ready for the next song.

"And we really just want to thank all of you for making it out tonight. I know we've never played here before, but it means a lot that you all have been such a good crowd. This is our last song for the night. Once again, we are The Ravens. Hope to see you guys again soon!" Stefan finished as he looked back to Enzo to start off their final song.

The bass line started and Damon saw the brunette turn to her friend. It looked like they were both about to leave. In a flash, he walked across stage and leaned down into the crowd towards her. "What's your name, beautiful?" he yelled to her.

"You have a song to play!" she yelled back over the screams from behind her. She smiled and blushed a little.

"Then come help me play it!" Damon offered his hand to her and she glanced back to her friend. It seemed she was silently asking for permission and thankfully her friend enthusiastically nodded back to her.

Biting her lip a little, she placed her hand into Damon's and a flash of heat raced through him from the contact. Damon placed his other hand under her opposite arm to better hoist her up to him. "Jump," he mouthed to her and she complied, allowing Damon to raise her onto the stage.

He continued to hold her hand as he led her back over to wear he'd been standing for the entire show.

Stefan shot him a look like he was a crazy person, but he didn't stop singing.

"You're about to miss your solo, D!" Alaric tried to get his attention.

"Stand here," Damon breathed into her ear as he released her hand and took hold of the guitar that was strapped over his shoulder.

It wasn't a second too early either as he started in on his solo just in time, all the while staring into her brown doe eyes. She was swaying along to the music, but continued their staring contest.

The band played on, finally ending their show with a very epic musical send-off. The lights went out and the rest of the guys shuffled off the stage. Enzo and Alaric were looking to get a drink and Stefan was no doubt looking for Caroline.

Damon grabbed the brunette by her wrist and led her backstage. Without another word, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close to him, and kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that makes the room suddenly feel like its 100 degrees. Damon slid his hands up to cup her face and he managed to slip his tongue into her mouth. He felt her arms snake around his neck and pull him impossibly closer to her.

All too soon, she pulled away from him and took a step back. "My friend's waiting for me. I have to get going." She was panting a little.

Damon appreciated the playing hard to get act, but there was no way he was going to leave this bar without this girl. "Your name, beautiful. I still don't know it."

"Elena Gilbert," she smiled at him before staring down at her brown boots.

"Lena," he began. "That's a beautiful name. I'm Damon Salvatore. Tell you what, Lena? Why don't you grab your friend and you can both come hang out with us tonight?" He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head up to meet his eyes.

He could see her mentally waging a war in her own head on whether she should take him up on his offer or not. He decided to try to sway her opinion.

"My friend, Alaric, kind of thought your friend was cute. We can play matchmaker." He encouraged her a little. So what if it was a lie? Alaric would be more than happy to play along.

Finally she smiled at him, seemingly gaining a little bit of confidence. "I would like that very much, Damon Salvatore. Let me go get Isobel."

She turned to leave, but Damon caught her by her shoulder and pulled her in for another quick kiss. "I have to start packing up the instruments and shit. Don't wander too far. I'll find you when we're ready to go."

Nodding her head, she turned around to go find her friend. Damon shook his head. This girl wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met and he couldn't wait to find out everything that he possibly could about her.

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter. I loved reading all of them! The encouragement that you guys provide motivates me to write even more.

A mighty big welcome to my new readers! (Particularly kfulmer7, who stopped to leave a comment for each chapter.)

I know this chapter wasn't the best, but we have some drama and SMUT coming up so soon so stay tuned!

Also, how'd you guys feel about this past ep of TVD? I think I stopped breathing a little when Elena asked Damon out for dinner. His little nervous face was just too much.