A/N: So sorry I haven't updated in forever. I hope this makes up for it! Pretty please R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, nor any of the characters associated with the show! I only own Jessica, Alfred, Markus, Armand, and Anthony.

"Elena, this is the sixth morning in a row that you've been hurling." The palms of Caroline's hands were pressed against the wood, her head rested against the door. Bonnie walked in from the kitchen, a coffee mug in hand, her eyebrows raised quizzically.

The exhausted brunette leaning against the sink, her face pale, called out weakly, "I'm," she cleared her throat, "fine. Just a stomach bug."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "We both know that it's not a stomach bug." Caroline pointed her questioning gaze towards the friend to her right, having no clue what she was referring to.

Bonnie sighed before knocking on the door, leaving Caroline to ponder on the mysterious subject, "If you're fine, then come out. Jessica will be arriving shortly to take us out for shopping at one of those high-end stores uptown."

Caroline, having given up the previous confusing predicament, giggled slightly, "We'll finally be uptown girls. No more ragtag clothing."

Elena sighed, knowing that she couldn't fight a battle she had already lost in, flicked off the lights and slowly opened the door, hoping the darkness would conceal her pale face.

A pair of arms were thrown around her shoulders, "Oh, Elena! You look ghostly."

Curse Caroline and her amazing eyesight!

Elena shook her head before shrugging out of Caroline's embrace and made her way to her side of the hotel room, rummaging through the small closet filled with clothing she had messily packed. Picking out a nice skirt that went well with her purple baby doll shirt. Caroline and Bonnie were busy fixing breakfast for the three of them when Elena suddenly gasped. The two shot their gazes up to see the brunette staring at herself in the mirror, only wearing her undergarments.

"What?" Caroline asked, making her way into the bedroom area, biting into her croissant. Elena glanced over to her friend, eyes slightly narrowed.

"I've gained weight. Look at this." She pinched her stomach, showing her friends how she had gained a meager three pounds.

Bonnie chuckled, "It's a few pounds, what's the big deal?"

Elena gaped at Bonnie, "I'm fat!"

The two girls shook their heads before returning to the kitchen, knowing that they were treading on eggshells if they continued on with that conversation. Bonnie could guess that there was something up with Elena, whether the poor girl realized it or not. She chuckled inwardly before returning to preparing a cup of coffee for Caroline.

The blue ocean that was Damon's eyes appeared as he cracked his eyes open, still sore from glaring daggers at the wall the previous night. Rolling over, he could see Anthony lying in bed, his arm swung over the shoulder of a female companion, who Damon guessed would be gone within the next half hour. His eyes swept across the room, finding Armand sound asleep in his bed, but once he came upon Markus' cot, which he had to sleep on since they didn't have enough beds, he found it strangely empty. Normally, Markus was the last one up and at 'em. The soft breeze from behind him confirmed Damon's thoughts. Pulling on his leather pants, his bare feet padded against the wooden flooring as he made his way silently towards the open balcony door. The cream-colored curtains were flittering in the breeze, brushing against Damon's bare chest.

Markus gazed out upon the city, the bright lights amazing him. He couldn't understand how people could go about their days, not realizing that there was a man out there with a hole in his heart. A gaping hole that only the mysterious woman who had plagued his dreams for the past weeks could fill. He wanted to see her face, hold her close, confess his love. If only.

He completely froze at the touch of a hand clasping onto his shoulder. The hand slipped away when Damon leaned against the railing next to him, gazing out to the buildings and ant-sized people below.

"What's got you all muddled this fine morning?" Damon asked with a hint of sarcasm laced in his voice.

Markus lightly sighed as so he couldn't hear him do so, "That goddamn woman." He closed his eyes tightly before snapping them back open.

Damon scoffed, "Women have a way of getting inside our heads," Markus nodded in agreement, allowing him to continue, "Just do what I do and screw her out of your head."

Markus narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

Damon looked at him in disbelief, "You plus a random woman plus sex equals mysterious woman stopping from screwing with your head."

"Seriously? Is that what you do?" Damon nodded, smiling cockily. Markus shook his head in disappointment, "And how is that working for you?" He crossed his arms against his chest, watching Damon's facial expressions change dramatically.

He was quiet for a few moments, thinking it through, "Well…" He looked back over his shoulder, "Oh look at that, Anthony's finally kicking that girl out. Took him long enough." Trying to avoid answering his question, Damon hastily walked back into the hotel room, waving with a cocky grin at the girl who was putting up a struggle with Anthony nudging her out the door.

"Oh, come on. I just woke up," She pleaded, "I'm barely dressed!" Damon stopped walking, wondering how the hell he didn't notice that beforehand. Anthony shrugged his shoulders, finally managing to get the girl out the door.

Flopping down on the stool, Anthony glanced over to the-still-sleeping Armand, "At least someone got a decent night's sleep."

Markus crossed his arms, "Tony, you didn't sleep with that girl here, did you?" Damon glanced up from the newspaper, listening in on the conversation.

Anthony shook his head, "Nah, you guys were out and about the city after the rehearsal. And after those little vixens next door performed their marvelous show." Markus sighed in relief, not wanting there to be any awkward tension if he had.

Damon placed the newspaper on the counter, raising the coffee mug up to his lips, "Armand better wake up soon, or we'll leave without him." Armand raised his head up, looking around quizzically. He did this almost every morning, not recognizing his surroundings.

"Speak of the devil." Damon muttered before walking towards Armand's bed, "El Toro, get up." Armand glanced up quizzically before nodding and stumbling out of bed.

"Were you talking about me, Rocco?" Armand asked Damon after dressing. His legs swung and hit the counter in front of him.

Damon shrugged, smirking inwardly before turning to Markus, "Were we, Gandhi?" Markus rolled his eyes at the absurd nickname he had earned because of his religion. He slid off of the stool and made his way to the bathroom where he silently seethed.

"Jessica, you're early." Elena said, moving to the side to allow the woman in. Jessica's hair was pulled back into a bun, wearing a black dress-suit that went down to her knees. Her mouth was twisted into a smile as the girls met in the living room.

"You all ready?" She asked, keeping her eyes worriedly on Elena's still-pale face.

The three girls chorused their answers before following after Jessica to the hall. Caroline glared daggers at the door that led to the room where the band Serpenti was staying. She felt satisfied that they had an insufficient amount of sleep last night.

Elena followed directly after Jessica, glancing towards the door that Caroline was glaring at. "What did you say their band's name was?"

Caroline snickered, "Serpenti."

Elena froze, the memory hitting her like a ton of bricks to the head…

"Serpenti," Elena slurred, leaning against Damon's shoulder as they walked, more like stumbled, down the street, "It has a ring to it."

Damon smirked down to her, his eyes glazed over from the large amount of alcohol he had consumed alongside Elena. Even heavily intoxicated, his English was perfect, not a single slur, "It means…I forget what it means, but it is nice, isn't it?"

Elena completely changed the subject, "You're the singer?" Damon nodded as they finally came upon Damon's hotel.

"Sing me a song!" She bellowed, laughing suddenly when they had reached the lobby.

Damon glanced around to the staring faces, whispering, "I'll sing for you once we're in a secure location away from the eyes."

Elena giggled, "You sound like a spy."

Two Hours Later…

Damon smoothed back his hair, watching as Elena slowly drifted into sleep, mumbling out, "Serpenti." A small smile formed on his lips as he ran his fingers through her soft locks, wanting to savor this moment even if he knew that they both would long forget about this night the next morning.

"When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothing else
He'd trade the world
For a good thing he's found
If she is bad, he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down

When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way
It ought to be"

Smiling down to the sleeping figure, Damon placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before falling asleep as well.

"Elena!" Bonnie called out, gripping her shoulders. Elena snapped her head up, tears brimming her eyes. It was the first time she had been able to see his face, yet she still didn't have a name.

"Geez, I thought you were going to be frozen like that for good." Caroline said.

Elena glanced between her two friends, her eyes stopping on Caroline. She knew that Caroline was also suffering from not being able to find the 'White Knight' as she called him. She had watched her friend spend hours walking around the room aimlessly. It was killing not just herself, but her friend as well.

Elena weighed her options heavily before smiling towards Jessica, "Let's go."

The woman stood there with her mouth slightly agape then nodded, continuing walking on towards the elevator.

"Do we really need to go?" Anthony whined, sounding like a 14-year-old girl. Damon rolled his eyes before ruffling Anthony's dirty-blonde hair.

"No need for whining." Alfred said sternly, eyebrows furrowed as he looked down the hall to see the elevator doors closing. With a sigh, he turned back to the men, "Shall we leave now?" The four nodded, following one after another.

"Welcome to Juicy Couture." A preppy blonde greeted them as the four women entered the high-end store. With wide eyes, they scattered to different departments hastily.

"Remember, we're here for dresses!" Jessica called out, sighing when the girls kept on rushing past her.

Elena picked up a satin, open-back red cocktail dress, "I think I found mine." She said breathlessly, eying the dress in wonder.

Caroline pranced over to Jessica, holding up the light blue, strapless party dress, "Mine." She said with a hint of possession in her tone, eyes sparkling.

Bonnie glanced up, seeing the other girls already with their dresses up at the check-out. Sighing, she glanced back down to the endless racks of dresses. All she wanted was one color, and it seemed the only choices they had were either bland or slutty. After minutes of searching, her eyes landed on a dress towards the end of the rack. Grabbing it, she was awe-struck by how perfectly it matched the image she had in mind. The midnight black versatile silk dress, which had beautiful ruffles, asymmetric hem, and flutter sleeves. The smile spread across her face as she walked up to join in her friends at the check-out counter.

"Rocco, check this out." Damon looked over his shoulder as he was being fitted for a suit. Armand was dressed in a finely-tailored suit, acting out a scene from a James Bond film.
Raising his hands to form a gun, he looked over with a serious face, "The name's Bond. James Bond."

Damon chuckled before wincing, "That's the third time you've pricked me with those pins." He said calmly as he glanced down to the man who was clearly fumbling with the pins.

"Sorry, sir." He answered, his thick British accent poking through.

Damon nodded before looking towards the window, seeing a group of girls walk past. He turned to Markus, also being fitted, "Check those girls out, Mark." Markus looked to the window, seeing the girls walk past as they broke out into giggling fits.

Something inside Markus screamed at him, and that's when it hit him. His eyes widened before looking to Damon, "Mystery girl." He choked out before jumping off of the small stage and running out the door. Damon thought for a moment, thinking back to the face of the girl who was leading the group. The brunette girl seemed familiar, too familiar. He inhaled sharply, realizing who she was to him.

He jumped off of the stage, resulted in getting pricked by the pins once again, but ignored the jabbing pain and darted after Markus. He stopped almost immediately when he found him standing on the sidewalk, hands on either side of his head.

"They're gone. They're fucking gone." Markus muttered, eyes sorrowful. Damon looked on, silent for a few moments.

"Weren't they walking?" He asked, uncomfortable with the silence.

Markus nodded, "They got into a car and…drove away." He frowned.

"Excuse me! You must come back into the store!" One of the tailors called out, pointing to the open door. Markus complied, walking numbly back. Damon stood there for a minute longer, hands shoved into his pinned pockets.

"I'm going to find you one day." He muttered beneath his breath before walking back to the store.

A/N: Did you like, love, or dislike? Tell me in your review! I hope, hope, hope that this made up for the longgg wait!