MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
There was so much silence between the couple after Damon had finally been willing to speak again, while he refused to discuss anything Buffy related or even Sunnydale related, he had discussed his time in Augustine with a fellow vampire Enzo.
As Elena processes all of this information a small spark of hope fills her "Oh, my god, Damon. Okay, Stefan is gonna figure this out. When you don't come home, and no one hears from me...he will...he will find us."
Damon couldn't help but sigh, there was only one person on this planet that he told about Augustine and she was long gone and buried in the ground "Points for optimism. But unfortunately, Stefan doesn't even know this place exists."
At his words, Elena's eyes widen in disbelief, how was that even possible? "But you were here for five years."
"Yeah, and the first year I thought he'd rescue me. He didn't. Once I escaped, there was no point in giving him more to feel guilty about. I never told him what happened here...I..." Taking a shaky breath as that laugh and green eyes filled his mind again he sighs "I...only ever told one person."
Elena frowns in confusion and glances over at him in confusion, if someone knew then maybe just maybe there was a chance "Yeah but you told someone..."
"She's gone." Damon tells her causing Elena to quickly clamp her lips shut "She's not coming to my rescue, not this time."
"She." Elena whispers before her eyes widen "The girl...this is the girl from Sunnydale. You told her?" She whispers in shock, leaving out the obvious statement that was left unsaid, Damon had trusted someone once and it wasn't Elena Gilbert and honestly, Elena had no idea how to feel about it.
Damon sighs before nodding refusing to meet her curious eyes "Yeah...I did."
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 2001
After being thrown around like a rag doll by a freaking Vampire Slayer Damon was beyond pissed off, right now all he wanted to do was rip into the bitch's throat out and be on his way. Once he got his information out of Spike he would be driving right out of this freaking hell of a town.
Following the trail of demon bodies she had left in her wake he follows in the direction the Slayer had gone in, hell he didn't even know her name but he was man enough to admit she was an impressive warrior.
He had never seen anyone like her, there was something almost intriguing about her. While yes, having Slayer blood made her smell intoxicating her skill and beauty, maybe just maybe he could understand why Spike had been curious.
He just couldn't figure out how he had actually managed to fall for the girl.
Finally catching up with her scent, the vampire was shaken from his thoughts as he comes to a stop by a tall very badly built tower, this town was just getting stranger by the second.
Looking up his eyebrow quirks as he spots the mysterious Slayer standing at the edge of the top-level staring down below "What the hell." he breaths before beginning to head up the steps.
As he approaches the upper levels he freezes as he finally hears it for the first time, her voice.
It was soft and kind and he could tell this was a true California girl born and bred...but there was sorrow and pain in her voice, which was more evident than, anything.
"Dawnie, I have to."
Damon hears her whisper as he reaches the top floor and quickly spots her standing stationary at the edge of the platform staring down at the ground below them. He couldn't help but frown, this chick really did have a death wish.
"Sorry, not Dawnie." He taunts causing her to spin around only to frown as she spots Damon standing on the other end of the ledge watching her with a smug smirk on his face.
Tilting her head she watches him completely uninterested before turning back to the edge staring back down at the ground below just as the tower shakes violently.
Damon groans in annoyance as he balances himself before turning to the suicidal Slayer "Okay Slayer off you get, I'd like to have my dinner without being buried underneath a damn tower."
Buffy merely ignores his words not even processing anything he was saying to her as she continues to stare down at the ground below them, memories of the portal that had taken her life filling her mind.
Damon sighs in annoyance as he watches the Slayer, his mind starting to spin with thoughts as he realized something, this woman could be useful to him. If he ate her Spike would never help him with his demonic contacts whereas if he returned the Slayer Spike would owe him, then the minute he got what he needed he could eat her then.
Groaning the vampire clenches his jaw hating the fact that his mind was thinking rationally "Okay come on blondie." He tells her "Just come here and I'll take you home. You're pretty useless to me if you're nothing but blood and guts on the ground."
"Is this hell?" She whispers suddenly causing him to freeze staring at her with wide eyes, he had to admit he hadn't been expecting that.
"Huh?" He questions only to freeze as the blonde spins around to face him throwing him a look that made him completely halt, that vulnerability, that terror...it touched something in him and he didn't know why, which drove him crazy but looking into her eyes he could feel some humanity spark...he felt bad for her, there was 1% of his brain that right now saw her as a person and not a blood bag.
Buffy merely clenches her jaw as she stares at the unknown man in confusion "Is this hell?" She questions again causing Damon to shrug "Hellmouth yeah...my own personal hell yeah...but hell, hell unfortunately not."
As the bridge shakes violently again Damon groans in annoyance "Okay we're done with this." He tells her taking a step forward only to freeze as she glances back down at the ground "Is was so clear..." She tells him, well at this point he was pretty sure she was speaking to herself but from what she was saying it was quickly starting to click in his brain.
"On this spot." She continues "I remember how...shiny...and clear everything was but now..."
Slowly Damon's head starts connecting the dots, he had heard the Slayer died saving the world, but it didn't click that this was why she was here till right now.
It was in that spot...she had died here saving the world "You died here."
Buffy sighs before glancing back over her shoulder at the vampire nodding her head softly "For Dawn...I had to for Dawn. I had to...I had to save my sister."
That was it, the mention of saving her sister and memories of his own brother filled his head causing him to clench his jaw, this woman was driving him nuts right now, she was hitting all of those points he kept buried and he couldn't figure out why.
Growing in frustration he quickly speeds over to the blonde and before she could stop him he picks her up sweeping her into his arms "What the hell am I doing?" he breaths before leaping off the tower with her in his arms.
He was officially screwed up...he had just saved a freaking Vampire Slayer.
MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
After finally getting Damon to reveal how he had escaped the first time around, the couple was silent as Damon stood twirling the locket in his hands his eyes glued on the metal door in front of him.
There was a tiny part of his brain that thought maybe just maybe this necklace being here meant something, that behind that door was someone important but there was no way.
He didn't know how this necklace got here but it couldn't be her. She was gone; he had been there that day.
Hell, she had freaking died in his arms as he begged her not to go but he had been there when her heart stopped.
So now here he was, reminiscing about the best yet worst time of his life, a time no one knew about. He never spoke about Buffy, not to anyone other than Dawn when he saw her, yet it had been years. It was more of a yearly catch-up email where she would fill him in on her life and he would do the same...with some of the gory details left out.
"Are you thinking about her?" Elena asks curiously as she spots Damon yet again staring at the necklace in his hands "What was her name? This friend of yours?"
Damon sighs as he turns over to glance at his girlfriend, he could see she was curious but just saying her name...he hadn't said it out loud in years for a reason, it just hurt too damn much. There was a reason he turned it all off after he lost her, there was a reason he threw himself into finding Katherine...it was because he had nothing left.
"She wasn't a friend." He admits glancing over at his girlfriend who frowns in confusion making him sigh before he opens the locket revealing the small photo that had never been removed, the one he had placed in there.
Moving over to Elena he hands over the locket causing her to frown as she glances down only for her eyes to widen as she spots two photos, one was of a stunning blonde girl reaching for a book while the other was of Damon with the same girl, but what shocked her more was the fact that he was smiling in the photo as the girl hid her face in his bare shoulder "Oh my god..." She breaths before staring up at him in shock, for years she had only thought during his entire vampire life before he fell for her it had always been Katherine but clearly that had not been the case "...you were in love with her."
Damon sighs before taking the locket back ignoring Elena's hurt expression as he reaches around his neck placing the locket on before tucking it under his shirt "Yeah I was."
SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA: 2001
Speeding away from the now falling and crumbling to the ground tower, Damon quickly brings the blonde to safety using his body to keep her safe from the falling debris of the tower.
Buffy gasps in shock before quickly shoving away from him causing him to groan in annoyance "I'm not going to hurt you super blonde." He huffs before quickly catching her fist as she goes to punch him only to groan as she slams her head into his knocking him down to the ground.
As she tries to run Damon sighs, she may be stronger than him but he was a hell of a lot faster, so ignoring his own frustration he speeds back over to her blocking her path causing her to gasp in horror as she stares at him in shock.
Taking a shaky breath Buffy clenches her fists tightly together only to wince slightly as she pulls open the wounds yet again.
"What...are...you..." She forces out the words her voice too weak.
Damon sighs before raising his hands in surrender as he slowly approaches the blonde "I'm Damon Salvatore...and right now...pretty sure I'm your only option. Look...I need your help so you're safe with me...but you look gross. And I doubt you want your sister to see those wounds right?" He asks knowing he was hitting a nerve by mentioning her sister.
To be honest, he wasn't sure Dawn was her sister but he had taken a wild guess, the way she said her name...it was in a protective older sibling way...it was the same way he used to speak about Stefan.
Buffy winces before staring at him blankly as he holds an outstretched hand towards her, she didn't know why but there was a small part of him that felt like she could trust him. Hell, she didn't even know what he was but she felt a kind of kindred spirit with him so even if it was a stupid decision she places her hand in his not noticing the way that he froze at the slight contact as she glared up at him "Try and eat me and I'll stake you."
Damon chuckles ignoring the burning sensation of her hand in his, it wasn't a bad feeling, it was warm and consuming which just confused him more "So...gonna tell me your name Super-blonde?"
Buffy inhales tightly as she glances up at him, her green forest eyes meeting her electric blue ones "Buffy...My name is Buffy Summers."
MYSTIC FALLS: PRESENT DAY
After Elena's friend Aaron had shown up and unfortunately revealed Damon's little secret about slaughtering the whole Whitmore family only ever leaving one person alive to carry on the family line, Aaron had shot him in the head.
So now Damon who was finally coming back to the land of living groans as he rolls over wiping the blood from his now healed head panics as he spots Elena's cell empty.
"Elena!" He yells as he quickly jumps up to his feet in a panic only to groan as he hears the door open from the lab.
"She's not here."
Damon growls and runs at the bars of the cage, exposing his teeth as he glares at Wes in fury, wanting nothing more than to rip the human's head off.
Wes merely chuckles before reaching into his pocket as he moves to unlock to metal door across from Damon's cell "You know I'm not so sure you'll care soon enough. You know I knew I recognized you couldn't figure out where from though. Until I was found this in one of the files."
With that Wes turns back to the furious Damon tossing a small Polaroid photo into the cell making Damon frown in confusion before he crouches down picking it up only for his eyes to widen as he spots the photo.
It was of him and Buffy, he was pretty sure one of her idiot friends had taken it but he remembered that night, every second of it.
That photo while simple was just the two of them sitting at a table with a bottle of bourbon between them, it meant more to him.
It was that night in The Bronze where he realized he had flipped his switch back on, where he had realized just how completely in love with her he was.
"Where did you get this?" He hisses slamming the bars angrily just as Wes chuckles and yanks open the metal door causing the chained figure to drop out into the hallway.
"From the weapon herself." Wes reveals before yanking the bag off the unconscious figure's head revealing that mane of golden blonde hair.
Damon felt like he couldn't breathe as her unconscious form rolled over to him revealing a face he hadn't seen in 9 years. Her hair was down to her hips and the longest he had ever seen it, and her face was stripped of all makeup and pale yet she was more beautiful than he had ever seen her.
But what confused him more was not only the fact that she was alive in front of him, it was the fact that despite the fact she should be 32 right now...she still looked the exact same as she did on the day she died.
So for the first time in almost 10 years, her name finally escapes his lips as he stares at the still knocked out form of the woman who had driven him crazy for years.
"Buffy?"