Prologue

Owner of a lonely heart

I wish that I could say that I wasn't one of those girls. Those girls whose entire world stops once she meets a guy. And maybe that's the thing, he wasn't just a guy. He was my soul mate, my twin flame, my person. He was everything. Was.

I still remember the first time that I saw him; it seems like it was just yesterday. But at the same time like it was centuries ago.

I practically relive that memory everyday in my head. The insistent goose bumps that formed starting at my feet all the way up. The way my hands suddenly turned clammy and unpleasantly damp to the point that I had to discreetly shake my hands behind me in the hopes that they would air dry. The abrupt gasp that left my mouth when I got a clear look at his indescribable eyes. I could tell you that they were blue, well more ocean blue like to be specific but that wouldn't do them justice. Nothing ever could.

*Summer of 1982, New York*

"Okay which one," I ask my BFF, Care, while holding up two shirts

The one on my right is an oversized black top that would actually match with the black stretch stirrup pants that I'm wearing though it might make me seem a bit Goth with all of the black I'm going to wear and on my left I have a tight fitting one shoulder t-shirt. Care obviously suggests the tight-fitting shirt and I don't blame her we are going to a bar. I quickly put on the rest of my accessories such as my black combat boots and one of my many big hoop earrings.

It's currently Friday night which means everyone is out and partying about especially since it's the first week of summer. Now usually during the school year I rarely go out since I'm always busy with school stuff and extracurricular activities minus the occasional outings during the weekend. So Caroline, my social butterfly of a best friend, is insisting that I accompany her to this bar tonight where we're suppose to meet up with some friends from school. If it were any other day I would whine and stomp my foot in resistance but I really need to get out before I drown in the cave that I've set myself in in my room.

It's not that I'm depressed or anything –though that may be questionable with my recent preference of a fictional life rather than real life. I swear I've been reading so many books lately and at this point it can't even be considered 'reading' no it's more like consumed. I've been so consumed by fictional worlds and fictional characters lately that I go to sleep reading and wake up reading. It's kind of scary really.

Of course my family hasn't noticed much or at all really. My father, Grayson Gilbert, is one of the best doctors in New York and if he isn't at the hospital which seems to be 24/7 then he's experimenting with his friends in his lab. Yes, his lab. And yes he and his friends wear lab coats and act all crazy scientists like. Honestly, I don't know what he does in there since I've only been there a few times and I don't really want to know since I remember that the last time I was there I was practically kicked out after walking into a room that I wasn't supposed to be in.

And my mom? Well she and my dad got divorced when I was around ten. I don't know the exact reason for why they got divorced; all I know is what I briefly remember from the night that she left. She kept screaming that she couldn't take it anymore and that he was never around so she was leaving. As you can probably tell my dad didn't listen to her since seven years later he's still the same man he was before. I occasionally see her whenever she comes to visit or I go and visit her, usually on the holidays. Honestly, I don't mind this at all. Sure I sometimes miss her and what entails of having the comfort of your mother but it's not like my mom is the cuddly, 'how are you, I really want to know' type.

I have a brother who is two years older than me and though we use to be much closer when we were younger I still love him to death. We look very similar appearance wise, with our chocolate brown eyes and brown hair. Now our similarities stop at appearance because we are nothing alike in our personalities or actions. Jeremy's kind of a stoner and he use to be much worse when he was in high school but after he met Anna, the love of his life basically, he doesn't get as high as much. Notice the 'as much'. There's only so much a guy can change I guess. But Jeremy's still a decent brother and he checks on me every once in a while since he moved out a couple of months ago to live with Anna when she got pregnant.

"Elenaaa are you done yet," Care shrieks from across the room since I'm in the bathroom adjusting my hair

I decided to leave it down and since I washed it a couple of hours ago now it's all frizzy and wild looking but I'm able to tame at least the front after tying a red bandana on the top of my head. It actually looks kind of cute.

"Gilbert, you look hot," Caroline compliments me once I join her back in my room

"Right back at you, babe," I giggle

She really does. Care is a tall, slim blonde and has these baby blue eyes that make all the guys at our school go crazy. She's also one of the happiest people I know; seriously I've never met anyone that's so positive and optimistic about life. Her mood is contagious and if it weren't for her I would probably be under the covers of my bed at the moment, reading like there's no tomorrow on a Friday night.

"Now are you sure that Mason Lockwood won't be there," I ask Care the same question for like the tenth time that night but I just really need to be sure that Mason won't be there or else I'm not going to the bar tonight

Mason Lockwood was a senior at my school this past year –I being a junior- and though we weren't anything serious I really didn't want to make the night awkward like I know it would be if I had to face Mason. Again we weren't anything special, just went on a couple of dates and fooled around a bit and I was his date to the last dance of the school year for the seniors. He was really attractive with his broad shoulders and pretty golden eyes but I wasn't feeling like we were making any progress and I just kind of gave up on him after I realized that I actually didn't even really like him. It took me weeks and several uncomfortable dates to realize that he was just a cocky douche and that we weren't really going anywhere.

You see I wanted that all consuming love and passion that I read in my novels and maybe just a tinge of danger to accompany it. I wanted to be loved, to feel loved and of course adventure. I wanted to look forward to the next day and I wanted to be happy, most of all happy.

"Yes," Care exclaims in her annoyed yet high-pitched voice, "I've already told you so around a hundred times tonight. Now take a chill pill, Elena, because tonight we are getting drunk and we're going to dance and possibly make out with the first cutest guy we can find"

I can feel myself lightning up and nodding along to her positive thoughts about what the night is going to entail when a flash of headlights interrupt us just as I'm locking up the house and putting the key inside my small bag.

"Oh, that's Tyler," Care states all excitedly as she skips down the last steps while pointing at the Mercedes that has stopped in front of my house. I cringe at the loud rock music that can be heard all the way from here despite the windows being up.

Tyler is actually Mason's cousin; however, he isn't the pompous ass like the other Lockwood. Care and I have known and been friends with Tyler since around freshman year and he's always around whenever we go out to parties and stuff, being our partner in crime.

We follow the rock music down my little sidewalk and in a blink of an eye I find myself situated in the back seat of Tyler's ride, music bleeding out of my ears, and cigar smoke filling the room since Tyler and his buddy are smokers. Care and I chat excitedly with Vicky and Lucy –some friends from school- until we arrive at a bar that I've never been to before.

The bar doesn't look all that exciting with its simple sign at the top of the building that says Billy's and there aren't that many people on the outside, just a couple scattered around. However, as soon as we get out of the car the loud atmosphere surrounds us and I actually find myself bobbing my head up and down as a Bon Jovi song starts playing.

Believe it or not I actually really enjoy rock music. People usually assume that I prefer pop music over rock but really another passion of mine is rock music. You can usually find me every weekend at the record stores buying vinyl records and tape cassettes. I also enjoy making mixed tapes, their addicting.

We walk inside the bar quite easily, no one stopping us to ask for an id in fact no one even pays attention to us though that might be due to everyone here being intoxicated. I immediately cringe as the first whiff of cigars, alcohol, and something that cannot be legal enters my nostrils. Gosh I hadn't been in a bar or party for a while so I felt quite anxious as I took in the mood of the party. Caroline as if sensing my nervousness suggested that we go and get drinks first before seeing the band that was currently playing. I lingered behind my group of friends and let them do the ordering of drinks, grateful when Vicky handed me a drink and I instantly felt a calm settle over me after a couple of drinks of the fruity drink. It was delicious!
We drank for a while more before joining the group of people that were crowded around the stage that was settled in the middle of the bar. The band that had been previously playing seemed to be taking a break; however, the music didn't stop and people continued to dance with drinks still in hand.

"To the best summer ever," Care shouted and we all agreed as we shouted 'to the best summer ever' followed by a raise of our drinks in agreement and just as I was about to drink from my plastic red cup I bumped into someone. Luckily I didn't spill any of the contents on the stranger though I could feel myself cringing when I realized that I had spilled more than half of the drink on the floor, nonetheless I turned around to apologize to the stranger and immediately felt myself freeze as I got a look at him.

The first thing I noticed was his cerulean blue eyes that were hidden by these amazingly long black eyelashes; I had never seen a man with such long eyelashes. And boy was this a man not the cute boys I was use to seeing from school, I had to force myself to blink as I took in his broad shoulders which were covered by a leather jacket. He was wearing black boots and black jeans with a white t-shirt yet the shirt contrasted so well with his pitch black hair.

He wasn't much taller than me, just a couple of inches, yet I found myself staring up at him as if he were the sun and I a civilian who despite being told not to stare at the sun directly couldn't help herself. Wow either the alcohol was making me feel all mushy or this guy wasn't human, he was like a Greek god, he was how I imagined the hot guys to look like in the books that I read.

"Woah you okay there, sweetheart," the blue-eyed stranger asks me and I instantly feel the blush spreading throughout my cheeks at his nickname

"What," I blurt out, surprised that he even noticed me, "I'm sorry I didn't see you, I was dancing and then I bumped into you and my drink spilled. I'm sorry if I spilled anything… I'm so-"

"It's okay, really," he interrupts me and I shut my mouth close when I realize that I was just rambling- something I tend to do when I'm nervous- in front of this very hot guy

"I'm Damon," he introduces himself as he sticks out his hand in my direction

I'm confused for a moment before I realize that he wants me to shake his hand, gosh what is wrong with me I ask myself as I too extend my hand and try not to let out a gasp when his hand envelops mine. I notice that his hands are so big and my small thin hand is easily covered by his as he shakes my hand for a couple of more seconds than what can be considered a normal handshake.

"El… Elena," I stutter out and I can tell that he's very amused with my response when he bites on his lower lip in a childish manner but there's this gleam in his eyes that just screams trouble

We're not able to say anything else because a guy who seems to be in his late twenties interrupts us when he approaches Damon and pats him on the back like they're long-time buddies. The new guy whispers for a couple of seconds something into Damon's ear and I feel myself taking a couple of steps back, all of a sudden feeling like an intruder. It's not like I can hear anything with the loud music but I do try to not stare at them though that fails when I feel myself making eye contact with Damon a few times. There's a look of indifference, like he's wearing a mask as he nods at the stranger in understanding before the stranger wanders off.

I can tell when the blue-eyed man re-settles his gaze back on me as I feel like his stare is burning me as he looks me up and down before a smirk settles on his face. My eyes widen considerably when I notice he walks closer towards me until I can practically feel his warmth radiating off towards me though that may be due to the lack of space since everyone is dancing so close to each other that I barely have any space to breath.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Elena," he half-shout's so that I can hear him and I freeze for the second time that night when he grabs my hand again and brings it up to his face as he sets a kiss on the top of it.

I barely have a moment to process what he just did and what he just said before he winks at me and walks in the opposite direction leaving me dumbstruck in the middle of the crowd.

I don't know how much time passes before Caroline and Vicky find me again. They sense my hesitance and ask me what's wrong but I tell them that I'm fine and as if to prove my point I steal Caroline's drink and down it in seconds flat. They of course cheer at this and I soon find myself in search of something else to drink.

I was already feeling quite buzzed a while after and I could tell that Caroline and my other friend Vicky were way worse than me as they started giggling when two guys approached us three.

They were both blondes –which wasn't really my type since I preferred guys with dark hair- but they both had pretty eyes, especially Nick who had these piercing green eyes but they weren't as pretty as my blue-eyed stranger from earlier. I had been hoping to run into Damon again but it seems that he disappeared or left after our little encounter. I could tell that Nick took an interest in me when he stood directly next to me after Vicky and Caroline started flirting with the other guy who I couldn't remember his name now.

Since the music was so loud we could barely exchange conversation but I did hear the part where Nick asked me to dance and I hesitantly accepted. He was a decent dancer and I was actually having fun until his hands suddenly started wandering into dangerous territory. It's not that I was a prude or anything because I had done things with guys before but I wasn't one of those girls who flirted with the first guy she saw and I definitely wasn't one of those girls who let guys grope her when they had just met not even an hour ago.

So when his hands settled way too low for my comfort I started panicking and told him that I needed some fresh air, he offered to accompany me but I quickly declined and told him that I would be right back. I managed to make it outside after a lot of pushing and shoving thankfully everyone was too drunk to get offended or notice.

I shivered at the coldness of the night as it hit me when I stepped outside and I immediately regretted not bringing a sweater; that's what I get when I listen to Caroline on what I should wear or not.

"Aghh," I groaned as I settled myself against the wall adjacent from Billy's

It must have been way past midnight since we arrived at the bar around ten and it certainly felt like we had been here for hours. I really wanted to go home now because I was feeling pretty dizzy and I knew no good decision would come when alcohol was involved. Unfortunately, I hadn't come here alone and my house was way too far away for me to try and walk the distance over there. It was a cold night despite it being summer and I was a young girl who couldn't even protect herself if she tried, so walking the New York street's alone at night definitely didn't sound like a good decision.

I would have to find my friends first –especially Caroline- and beg them to take me home, if I could persuade Caroline that we had to leave than she would certainly be able to convince Tyler who had always had a sweet spot for the blonde.

That's it. I was going to find Caroline and then we were going home, I decided as I rubbed my arms up and down one more time in the hopes of cooling down before starting my walk back towards Billy's.

My mission was stopped however when I opened my eyes and nearly jumped out of my combat boots when I noticed a strange man who had to be in his late thirties staring at me. He wasn't much further from where I stood and I shuddered –not in a good way- when I noticed his tongue slip out of his mouth to lick his lips as he invaded my body with his eyes. Oh no. This was not good.

New York was haunted with criminals and psychos out of their mind. I had always heard stories similar to this, seventeen year old girl found dead in the street after being raped by multiple men. Some victims were even found dead with bite marks having died from blood loss. What if this guy turned out to be a cannibal as well?

The memory of my next door neighbor always warning me to be careful every time I went out at night invaded my thoughts and I now felt so stupid for not listening.

"Now what's a pretty girl like you doing out here, all alone?" the man asked me yet he didn't even make eye contact with me, no he was too busy staring at my chest.

As if on instinct I raised my arms and settled them on my chest, I also turned more to the side in the hopes that this would cover me up more. The man of course chuckled at this and I started shaking like a leaf when his feet walked him towards me as he settled himself a couple of inches from me and raised his hand to run through my hair.

"Don't touch me," I cringed in disgust not wanting his hands to touch me or to even be breathing the same air as him

I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot red no doubt from the drugs that he had probably been doing earlier and his breath stunk; it's like he had decided to eat an onion for breakfast this morning and on the side had a glass of whiskey. Okay my imagination was running wild, blame it on the writer in me but I just really wanted to go home and hide myself under my bedcovers-where I felt safe- and never get out.

What would happen if this man killed me? Would anyone even miss me? No doubt my father wouldn't care. He'd be too busy with his labs and medical stuff to care and my mom would probably find out that I had died months later when she felt that enough time had passed since we had last talked and wanted to know if I was going to visit for the holidays or not. I'd like to think that Jeremy would miss me since I'm his only family left. And Caroline… Caroline would probably have a break down.

I stopped my scary thoughts when I realized that I had to fight harder and so with that I did something very unlike me. I practically growled 'don't touch me' before shoving the stranger. I had thought that this would actually make a difference, that the guy would step down and apologize for his actions but no he just laughed out loud throwing his head back before re-settling his gaze back on me.

"You heard her," I heard someone growl and my eyes popped out of their sockets when I looked up to see who was my savior and I discovered that it was Damon.

Damon was here! And by the looks of it he looked rather pissed with his fists clenched at his side and his blue eyes as dark as a storm as he glared at the stranger. I instantly felt joy and hope filling me up but the hope dwindled down a bit when the stranger only rolled his eyes and muttered 'mind your own business' towards Damon's direction before settling his hands on my neck. He continued caressing my neck and I closed my eyes in panic for a second before opening them again when I sensed that the hands that had been on my neck previously were no longer there.

I looked around confused when there was no one in sight. The vile man was no longer in front of me and even Damon had disappeared or so I thought until I heard a scream that did not sound good. In fact it sounded like the man was in pain and he was about to die before the scream became muffled and only low grunts of pain could be heard.

I walked towards the alley from where the sound could be heard and felt my heart stop at the sight in front of me. I knew it was Damon who was attacking the man despite not being able to see his face but no one could mistake that unruly black hair and leather jacket. I noticed the man looked rather pale, his eyes no longer open and to my horror Damon was attached at the man's neck. What the hell?!
"D…da..damon," I whimpered no longer curious

Damon seemed to have become aware of my presence because he stopped doing whatever he was doing on the man's neck as his head stopped bobbing to the side. He seemed hesitant at first and almost as if he made a silent decision his tense shoulders dropped and slowly turned around to face me having no other option.

Without thinking I let out a shriek which caused Damon to move towards me except he reached me in a second flat which couldn't be possible because I didn't even see his legs make the first step before he was in front of me almost as if he had glided towards me. I felt a tear leak out involuntarily out of my left eye and I felt ten times more scared than I had been minutes prior when the man was attacking me as I caught sight of Damon. He had blood dripping down his chin and I frowned at the sight of blood covering his white t-shirt, well now it wasn't so white, it looked like someone had decided to color random spots on his shirt with red paint. Except it wasn't paint. It was blood.

I took two steps back when I took notice of what seemed to be fangs popping out of his mouth and as if Damon noticed my observance he … he retracted them!? Oh god I had to be seeing things, this couldn't be real. Damon… Damon looked liked a… a vampire. Which was completely hysterical because come on a vampire? The supernatural weren't real. And vampires certainly didn't exist. This had to be some sort of joke, a really cruel joke.

However, I felt doubt rising more and more in me as I kept taking him in, unable to take my eyes off of his face. He had these… these veins around his eyes and his eyes had been bloodshot but not like the guy who had been attacking me moments before.

THE GUY! I sneaked a peek past Damon's shoulder and to my horror the guy was lying on the floor… dead

The guy was dead! And Damon had killed him! Oh god. I had thought he was my savior and maybe he did save me from the now dead stranger but now who was going to save me from Damon?

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Damon whispered yet I found his words hard to believe when someone else's blood was dripping down his face and he still seemed rather mad. Almost like he was mad that I had found out… found out about what, I'm not sure, I had no idea what was happening right now.

Damon hesitantly outstretched his hand towards me and I felt myself shaking in panic when he grabbed my chin, forcing me to make eye contact with him. I flinched at the hardness his eyes showed but I reluctantly let him grip my face too afraid that I'd do something that would set him off and make him even more mad

"What you just saw," Damon started out slowly as he kept his eyes locked with mine, I tried to look away but I couldn't, I was trapped, "you tell no one. Do you understand me?"

And to my horror I nodded my head in agreement and unwillingly repeated what he had just asked of me. What was I doing? My mind was telling me no yet my body had opened up its mouth and now I had agreed to not tell anyone. It's like he had hypnotized me or something. Had he set a spell over me? If he was what I thought he was than what's to say that magic didn't exist?

The blue-eyed man seemed pleased with my answer because he let out a small smile and proceeded to pet my hair almost gently and as if he suddenly realized what he was just doing he dropped his hand back to his side but just as he was about to open his mouth I blacked out.

*end of flashback*

It took me weeks to find out what he had done to me that prevented me from telling anyone who Damon was or in better words what he was. He had compelled me. Basically vampires have this supernatural ability called mind compulsion where they can control their victim's minds and make them do whatever they want as long as they're making eye contact. I later learned that vampires also had other special abilities, for example the ability to hear from a distance, they also have super strength and speed. They can even control your dreams but one ability that they have that I've always been interested in was their ability to control their emotions. Damon always called it the ability to turn off your humanity, basically a vampire could dull feelings such as guilt, fear, depression and be a walking zombie having no remorse because really they didn't feel anything. However, he always explained to me that eventually the switch would just flip back on and really it was just pointless trying to turn your humanity off.

He's always told me that when he first met me his humanity was off; that it had been off for several years until one day he realized that it wasn't. He was in no way humane or human after that, he was after all a serial killer who showed no pity to his victims but I always thought that there was good in him, that there was a light in him.

Of course that's what he used to describe me. He called me his light in the darkness that was his life.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I hear the unmistakable sound of an engine running and as if to confirm my guess a pair of headlights almost blind me as the car stops hastily a couple of feet from me. Finally, someone's here.

A man who seems to be in his early twenties gets out of his car and I feel myself grinning at how exhilarating and easy all of this is. I thought I was going to have to wait hours in the middle of nowhere staring up at the sky from my position on the floor.

"Mam, are you okay?" The stranger asks me and I can feel his confusion as he stares at me in puzzlement

I don't blame him really. I probably look like a psycho, lying in the middle of the road in complete and utter darkness.

"Yes," I answer

"Do… Do you need a ride? Are you lost? Are you sure you're okay," the man fires his questions at me and I can quickly feel irritation spreading throughout me due to his questions. They're not supposed to be this nice or this gullible really.

"Actually, no I'm not okay… But I am really hungry," I growl and before the stranger can even really process what I just said I launch myself at his neck

A/N: Wow! It's been so long since I've posted anything on fanfiction.

You probably have a lot of questions right now but I hope you guys give this story a chance and stay to find out the answers to those questions.

Please REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW and let me know what you think!