She walked a few blocks away from the small, local motel she was staying in to a bar. It reminded her of the bar that Damon had taken her to when he "took her unwillingly". She used the words loosely. She hadn't wanted to go at first, but Damon wasn't the worst person to be with. He wasn't the worst person to be alone with. In fact, if you were someone Damon cared about, you would never have anything to worry about; that's just the kind of person he was. Well, to her, and really, only her. Elena was his, metaphorically speaking. She would always be his.

Elena took a seat at the bar between two men, who looked to be about her age. She smiled at them to politely acknowledge them, but she just wanted her drink, then she would leave.

"Hello, sweetheart," The man to the right of her positioned his body to face her. She tried to face more forward, and scoot are far to the left as possible. "Come on. What's your name?" She could smell his breath as soon as he spoke towards her, and she wanted to puke at the smell.

"Elena," She said, matter of factly. She was cold. She didn't want to be anything else. She didn't have the energy to be anything else.

"Well, Elena. Are you new to town?" A smirk appeared on his face. As if he thought he were getting somewhere.

"Just passing through, actually." He tried to get the attention of the bartender again, and the attempt was lost when he spoke out again.

"Well, I could show you around a bit," His voice was disgusting her. "You know…. There are a lot of nice things to see around here….. Monuments, people….. Hotels…."

She wanted to puke. But before she could speak, the guy on her left spoke up. "Greg, give it a rest. Leave the girl alone." He shook his head. "Sorry about him. He's just…."

"Yeah. Thanks." She smiled at him. It was genuine. It was her first genuine smile since she left. "Elena." She stuck her hand out towards him. He grabbed it to shake, introducing himself as Wyatt. "It's… nice to meet you Wyatt."

He smiled back at her, "So you're just passing through, huh? No time for any infamous tours? You don't want to go to the park? Or to the capitol?" She just kept smiling, shaking her head no. "To see the peach? To The Varsity?"

"What's The Varsity?" She asked. "That sounds like fun…" Wait. What is it….?

He laughed, his smile stretching to his eyes. "Yeah, it's fun… If you like waiting an hour in line to get a dog, or hamburger… Or a cone. Anything really." He looked at the bartender. At least he could get her attention. "A drink, for my friend here." He turned back towards Elena. "What do you prefer?"

"Uhh…" She looked confused.

"Vodka?" He suggested. She smiled and nodded. "So…. How about The Varsity?" She hesitated, and he noticed. "Come on. It doesn't have to be lunch at the Varsity. Let me make up for Greg here…" He motioned to his friend, who was now leaning on the bar, about to fall into unconsciousness.

"I guess I could meet you tomorrow for lunch." She smiled. "Wait, I don't know where it is…"

"I could pick you up. Just let me know where you're staying…" She didn't want him to know. She didn't exactly know how much she could trust him. She shook her head and he quickly wanted to take back his words, "I mean, we could meet here. Around 12:30… And we could make a day of having fun. Before you head out."

"I would really like that. But what else is there? I mean, I'm sensing that this is the only thing to do…" She laughed as she said it. It reminded her of her and Damon again. This is all they did.

He took in her smile, and he smiled even bigger. "Well, no. The opposite actually. I mean, Atlanta itself is fun. You're right about the nightclubs, but there is also Turner Field…. And umm… The park….?" He cocked his head to the side. "And… the, uh, mall…" She smiled at him. "So maybe you're right. But isn't it like this everywhere? Nothing to do…" I would say Savannah. If you like towns like that. It's full of history, and beautiful things. And walking River Street at night!" He was getting wrapped up in his thoughts and words.

"Well," She started. "We could try lunch tomorrow first. We'll talk about Savannah at dinner." His smile shocked her. "That's the way I'm headed anyways. I wanted to go there. I'm just on road trip…. For a while. Until things settle down at home…"

His smile dropped as he realized she was having trouble in her life. Even though he had just met her, she didn't seem like the kind of person who deserved it. No matter what it was. "Well, I'm sure your boyfriend might be missing you…" He was fishing.

"No boyfriend." She smiled, knowing he wanted information. "You can keep fishing though. I'm game for 20 Questions if you are."

"Then my second question…" She looked down at her feet resting at the foot rest of the stool, then looked back up and caught his eyes. Something about him made her feel like a child; like she was innocent. "Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

She smiled. What the hell. Just because she was running, and heart broken and…. Well broken in general, didn't mean she couldn't try to move on. "I would like that." She seemed like she had to convince herself. "Really. I would." She took a sip of her vodka to finish it. And stood to leave all the while looking at him. "I guess I'll meet you back here for lunch tomorrow. Nice meeting you, Wyatt."

"Likewise."