I know that I've left the previous story unattended for months now, but I've been having a hard time putting that story into words lately. Instead, with every thought of DE, this one keeps propping into my head, and I've made more progress with this than I had made with Not Forgotten. This is going to be a considerably short story, of maybe 18-20 chapters. I'm down 3 chapters, and I will be posting twice every week.

Enjoy :)


Prologue

It was raining in California when she landed from a long and awfully delayed flight that evening, and hailing a cab took almost an hour. When she reached her single-bed hotel room, her shoes were disgustingly wet and so was the rest of her outfit. Without wasting any time, she propped her only suitcase on a table by the window and unlocked it; quickly grabbing her night robe and toiletries, she headed into the bathroom and turned the shower on, allowing the water to heat up while she undressed.

30 minutes later, Elena was sitting cross-legged on the bed, patiently listening to the consistent yelling on the other side of her phone.

"What the hell were you thinking just taking off like that in the middle of the party?" said her best friend Caroline Forbes, irritated.

"Elena, you cannot just pack your bags and head off to the first tip you receive about his whereabouts!" warned Aunt Jenna, an otherwise cheerful, bubbly young woman.

"Yeah Elena, listen to them" yelled Jeremy from somewhere around, probably after way too many glares and elbow nudges from these scary women.

"You come straight home to Mystic Falls or help me God, I'll find you and lock you up in your room." Added Jenna again in a high-pitched voice.

"Geez Jenna! You'd think I'm 14, not 23" Elena chuckled and continued in a voice she knew would calm them, "I will see him in the morning, I will have a mature conversation with Damon Salvatore, and we will decide where to go from there. Now please stop- " "Haaa-Choo!" She sneezed and blew into a tissue as Jenna and Caroline gasped together.

"Elena Marie Gilbert! Are you sick?" Jenna asked. "Elena, did you see a doctor? Are you okay?" Came Caroline's concerned voice, who would believe them to be relentlessly yelling at her not 10 seconds ago.

"Jenna, Care! It's just the rain, I'm FINE, everything is fine. And it will still be okay after tomorrow." She replied in a firm tone, indicating that this wasn't up for conversation anymore.

"But Laney, from what Stefan saw last week, I reckon if he's even in the place to have a civilized conversation with you right now, or ever. He's, well he's Damon, You know how arrogant he is, we just don't want you to get hurt, not in this state." Caroline explained softly.

Elena sighed, "I know Care, but I'll be fine. He isn't as bad as you think he is, I'm sure he'll understand. If anything, it's his potential decision about it that's making me anxious."

"But no matter his decision, you're doing what you had planned to do, right." Jenna asked.

"Of course! Nothing is going to change my decision Aunt Jenna, I just want him to know and see for myself where we stand after this." How could they even fathom that she would change her decision? She had made her mind weeks ago, and it was final.

"Just, be careful, okay? You'll be fine, and we're just a phone call away." Jenna assured.

"And don't you dare think we're letting this 'sneaking out to the other side of the country' move off the hook! You're going to face one hell of an encounter Gilbert!" Caroline screeched, making Elena giggle.

After extended goodbyes and trails of warnings, Elena disconnected the phone and plugged it to the charger. She noticed that it had stopped raining now. Quickly, she gathered her boots and laid them in the balcony, willing them to not be soggy in the morning. Snuggling into the warm covers, she set an alarm for 9 AM, hoping to see him first thing tomorrow. Switching the lamps off, she also hoped that the next day would either give her closure or a promising start to something beautiful.

It was 9:42 AM when Elena stepped out of the elevator into his penthouse. About a dozen chairs were toppled or scattered, and empty bottles of beer and other drinks lay on the patio. She knocked the penthouse door with a shaking hand once, twice, thrice, to no response. She tried the buzzer too, but upon receiving the same results, she tried the door knob, which eventually turned.

Elena entered with a frown, her high-heeled boots clicking the hard-wood floors, why isn't the door even locked? There was a blond man completely passed out on the couch, a young woman lying face down on the carpet, a brunette drooling girl on the armchair and a sandy-haired man with his back turned to her, changing channels on the television with a bottle of bourbon in hand.

"Umm.. excuse me?" Elena asked politely.

He turned, eyeing her up and down with a confused expression, perhaps thinking she was underdressed for this party. She fidgeted with the hem of her flowing blue tank-top and tightened the leather jacket around her, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"I'm sorry, who are you? Sales?" He asked frowning, probably drunk too. Great.

"No, I'm- Is this Damon's house? Damon Salvatore?" She questioned uncertainly.

"This is Damon's house alright, but who the hell are you?"

"I'm… I'm a friend of Damon's" she answered, hoping it was true to some extent.

He chuckled and murmured something like 'friend of course'. "He's in his bedroom, find your way. But I would rather not go in there if I were you." He said, amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Thanks, but this is kind of important. I'll find my way then, hopefully before tripping on these mummified drunks." she shook her head and headed towards the hallway. She heard him laughing from behind as she navigated through the house.

Making out murmurs sounding from the second door on her left, Elena slowly knocked. Somebody groaned in response, "Ric, I thought you'd take a hint and leave!" Damon said. Elena could feel her heart flutter at his voice. Her hands were already cold and sweaty and she felt like a giddy teenager, even though it had already been more than 2 months since they parted.

Not trusting her voice enough, she knocked again.

"Come on in", he grunted.

She slowly pushed the door open to a sight of Damon sitting on the foot of his bed, a bottle in hand, wearing a jeans and an unbuttoned black shirt. To his left was a long-faced girl with shoulder-length dirty blond hair, and to his right was a barely dressed girl sporting shocking pink hair. She watched as his eyes widened in recognition which, in his drunken state, took longer than usual.

"Elena" he said, with a blank expression on his face. She couldn't quite make out if he was glad to see her here or pissed, and she found her intention of talking to him wavering now that she saw a glimpse of the life he's living.

"Damon, hi" she murmured nervously, pulling at her top and taking small shaky steps forward.

He immediately stood up, causing the pink-haired girl to fall backward on the bed, but she was too spent to care, the other girl still eyeing them curiously. She looked around the bedroom, trying to avoid meeting his piercing blue eyes as he approached her, slightly stumbling.

"Couldn't resist me hmm?" he asked when they were close enough, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Can we um, talk?" God above, the reek of alcohol made her gut twist, but she kept still. "Should I get you a glass of water to sober down?" she asked, taking a step back.

Damon groaned and dropped the empty bottle, "Why the hell would you want to talk when we could have so much fun! Come on 'Lena, loosen up." He leaned against his dresser to her right, using the nickname he gave her and smirking devilishly.

She placed a hand on his bicep and tried again, "Can we sit somewhere and talk for a while? It's kind of important."

He raised his eyebrows and just as he began to reply, the blond girl stood on his other side, "Who is this girl Damon? She's spoiling our after-party." she whined, tracing a finger on his chest.

"Damon, can we?" Elena asked, getting irritated now. And he was simply staring at her with a frown.

"Who is she Damon?" The girl asked again.

"She's Elena, we used to be…" he paused contemplating, "friends" he settled, flashing a feral grin towards Elena. She gulped, not being able to think straight at all. Damn hormones. "Damon please, you should hear me out, I'll wait for you in the living room until you freshen up."

"God Elena, what is it? Did you forget something at my place? Do you need something from me? What the hell are you doing 6 hours away from New York?" The love of her life finally blurted out.

"I'll tell you all about it, just hear me out." She walked towards the door. He was too quick for her as he grabbed her arm and whirled her around. "What the fuck Elena? We had decided upon this agreement, we were never gonna see eachother again, now what are you doing, building all this mystery here?" His voice boomed.

She snatched herself out of his grip and ran her hands in her hair from agitation. This man seriously had a way of riling her up, couldn't he just do what he's told for once?

"Is it so difficult to just get you to talk Damon? I came here to have an important conversation, but you know what, forget it! I have my answers." She yelled, her eyes stinging in hot tears.

"Then stay and have fun or leave Elena. I don't do heartfelt conversations!" He yelled back.

She picked her bag up that lay sprawled on the floor and looked at him once more, searching for just one sign to indicate that she was doing the right thing.

"You're not knocked up, are you?" Said the pink-haired girl from the bed, as Elena's breath hitched in her throat.

"Well, if that's the case, then come on, take some cash from Damon and get rid of it." Scoffed the other one.

"Exactly!" came Damon's voice. Her head snapped up in his direction, treacherous tears now cascading down her cheeks. "God, you really aren't though, are you? That would be one fucking disaster." Damon said, disgust evident in his voice and frown. And it was that, more than anything, that made her shake her head in the negative and sprint out.

She will do this without him, they will do this without him, she thought placing her hand on her belly once she was out of that building.