This is what I brought you this you can keep,
This is what I brought you may forget me.
I promise to depart just promise one thing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

This is what I brought you this you can keep,
This is what I brought you may forget me.
I promise you my heart just promise to sing,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

This is what I thought,
I thought you need me,
This is what I thought so think me naïve,
I promise you a heart you'd promise to keep,
Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep.

Song: Prelude 12/21 by AFI

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CHAPTER 36

Damon rushed to the Hilton, using his vampire speed to get to her room. He passed Blaire and Stefan easily, in a blur. Damon was thankful that his brother did not choose to follow him. He needed to find Elena in time. But knowing Elena, she was probably long gone.

His assumptions were correct. When Damon arrived at her room, it was completely vacant, except for Elena's countless bottles of expensive liquor. He let out an annoyed groan and rushed back to the boarding house, running up to his room.

Damon searched through the contacts of his phone, until he found Elena's cell phone number. He immediately called. Damon sighed in relief when he heard the phone ringing on the other end, and grew extremely excited when he heard someone picking up.

He was just about to speak when the line went dead. Damon's face dropped. She hung up on him! Damon clenched his fists and threw the phone against the wall, watching it break into many small pieces.

He just stood there frozen for a few moments until Damon heard a knock on his door. He turned his head, to reveal Blaire. He grimaced at her. "What do you want?"

Blaire continued to stare at him confidently. "Elena left, didn't she?"

Damon nodded. "She's gone. She's not coming back. She never will." He tried to control his breaths again as he got himself worked up over this. He felt so helpless, not knowing where to look for Elena.

"Don't say that," Blaire commanded, with a stern expression. "Look, as much as I hate you, I'm willing to help."

His eyes were full of confusion.

"Just tell me one thing, Damon. Do you love her?" she asked, hands on her hips. Blaire stared at him intently, waiting for Damon's answer.

He swallowed uncomfortably. He was never one just to pour out his heart and soul, especially in front of his enemies. Blaire rolled her eyes and turned around to walk away.

Damon's words stopped the witch in her tracks. "Yes. Yes, I do. I love Elena." He found the words difficult to get out, but as soon as he said them, he wanted to repeat them over and over again. "I love Elena."

"That's all I needed to hear." Blaire smiled at Damon. She really had misjudged him. Maybe he wasn't a self serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities. She didn't get it, but somehow, Elena, the one who had created the monster of Damon, was the one to bring out his humanity. Damon had every single reason in the planet to hate the woman who made him a vampire, but he never did. He couldn't.

Blaire quickly grabbed a safety pin from her pocket and approached Damon slowly. She pricked his finger and watched as a drop of blood fell into her left palm. She gave Damon one last glance before speaking. "Even though I broke the mental blood bond, technically her blood will always be in your veins. With this spell I'll be able to see what she sees, and get into her thoughts. Are you sure you want this?"

Damon nodded. He had never wanted anything more in his entire life… or un-life for that matter. He concentrated on the witch's face as she began to chant foreign words, trailing her index finger of her right hand along the drop of blood, creating the letter E in her left palm. And then she began mumbling words, her tone of voice sounding very much like Elena.

"My throat burns… My head burns… There's a dull ache in my chest. It's a feeling that I'm not used to. I hate this. I absolutely hate the way he makes me feel. He makes me feel like it's 1864 all over again. If only he could see that I'm not the love struck idiot I was back then. I'm not like that anymore… I don't think. It's all his fault. That's why I had to leave. But, god, I want to turn back. I want to turn around more than anything…"

Damon's eyes lit up with hope as he let Blaire continue to speak what Elena was thinking.

"I just need to shut out the pain again…" she mumbled, and then Blaire's eyes became regular again, looking into Damon's eyes. She remembered the scenery perfectly. It was a fairly familiar setting. She had been there before…

"Williamsburg!" Blaire immediately shouted to Damon. "She's in Williamsburg."

He froze, unable to say anything else. "Oh my God! Go!" She chuckled a little bit as Damon came out of his temporary shock and was gone within a moment. She smiled to herself as she walked down the stairs.

Stefan was standing in the kitchen, pacing. "What's wrong?" she asked concerned. He looked at her momentarily before fretting again.

"It's Katherine," he stated, rubbing his temples. "She hasn't been answering her phone, and isn't at her house! She's missing."

…

Elena was sitting on a bench, staring at a brown haired man who walked by. Her eyes were concentrated on him, prepared to stalk her prey. She was so hungry, and craved his blood more than anything. Not only did she want to assuage her hunger, but she knew that as soon as his blood was in her system, she would be able to flip the switch inside of her. And, oh, how terribly she needed to stop feeling everything…

Elena was just about to approach the man when another person walked into the streets. She inwardly groaned and rolled her eyes. She didn't want this person to get a heart attack while she killed the other victim.

Except this person was approaching her. She couldn't see his features at all. The night was foggy while heavy rain fell from the sky. Thunder and lightning crashed together in the distance. Suddenly, a flash of lightning appeared in the sky, causing Elena to completely freeze as she got a quick look at the man.

His eyes were the color of blue ice as he stared down at her, still keeping his distance. His black hair was soaking wet and dripping onto his face. Elena frowned at the sight of him, not sure how to react.

"Damon," Elena stated with wide eyes as she stood up, slowly approaching him. "Why are you-?"

"Don't talk," Damon demanded as he rushed up to Elena, gripping her by the forearms and pulling her to him hungrily. His lips met hers instantly, but she pulled away.

"No, Damon," Elena pleaded, shaking her head. He could see the self conflict in her eyes as she looked at him. Dark brown on light blue. A perfect contrast. "Please, don't do this…"

Damon placed a finger on her lips. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but… I love you. When it's real, you can't walk away," he said quietly, holding onto her hands for dear life. Elena just wanted to fall into Damon's arms and kiss him, but she knew she would end up hurting him someday.

So, she put on a poker face and stared at him with cold eyes. "I did."

Damon shook his head, eyes narrowed at her. "Don't pretend like you shut out your humanity. I know you haven't."

Elena bit her lip and hung her head, embarrassed. "Look, Damon," she said matter-of-factly. "There are so many reasons why we won't work. So many that I can't even name them in one hand… or even two for that matter. And you were absolutely fine without me for those 145 years. So was I. You'll find someone else, Damon. Someone who can love you to the fullest. But I can't do that… I'll just end up hurting you later."

She stared at him one last time before turning around and walking away. They both knew that her words were complete lies. They both weren't fine all of that time. He would never find someone else… and no one could possibly love him like Elena did. But none of it mattered; her mind was made.

Damon's head fell as he watched Elena turn the corner. She hadn't even looked back. Everything hurt. Damon suddenly saw a raindrop fall onto his shoe… or at least that's what he told himself it was.

He stood there completely frozen for a few long moments, all hope lost. His just shook his head and was in shock how completely and utterly lost he felt by her rejection.

…

After Elena knew that she was out of Damon's sight, she stood against the wall, her thoughts overwhelming her. She cared about him so much, too much just to lose it all. She knew that it was better if they were separated, but the look on his face when she turned around was heartbreaking.

The way his face fell when she said I'll just end up hurting you later was unforgettable. She shook her head and could feel a tear falling down her cheek. Or maybe it was just a raindrop…

Elena clenched her fists. He loved her! How could she just leave this all behind? In all honesty, it was impossible to just forget about him and move on. She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments before turning back around the corner, to see Damon still standing there with his head hung. She took a deep breath and ran up to him.

Elena hoped she wouldn't regret this… but deep down she knew she wouldn't.

"Who cares about later," she whispered to Damon, before pulling him into a passionate kiss.

There's the chapter! What did you think? I hope it wasn't too cheesy! Tell me what you thought!

And what happened to Katherine? And Blaire actually cares! Haha!

Sorry for the slow update! I've been really busy!

Please review. You all know how much your feedback means to me!

Thanks!

-Sara