A/N: Sorry the wait has been so long. Between building/moving into a new house and college applications, Fanfiction has taken a bit of a backseat. Most of the excitement has died down for now, so postings should be "regular" (whatever that means).

Disclaimer: Me: "Hey, Kevin…" Kevin Williamson: "What's up?" Me: "Will you sell me the rights to The Vampire Diaries?" Kevin: "Ha ha. No." Sadly, I still own nothing…

"Wow. I missed a lot after I left, huh?" I said, eyebrows raised, arms crossed defensively. If there's one thing I hate, its surprises. I still wasn't sure whether this one was bad or good.

Damon didn't respond for a moment, instead just staring at me in disbelief. When my former husband finally picked his jaw up off of the floor, he said softly, "You're alive."

I smirked, "Not quite." I looked him up and down. The last century had been good to him. He was still just as handsome, maybe even more so, as the last time I'd seen him. His formerly curly hair was now straight, complimenting him perfectly. He wore a simple black shirt under a leather jacket with jeans. His eyes… God, his eyes… I tore my gaze away from him, focusing on the tree just behind him instead. "Well, this is refreshingly awkward, but I have better things to do than stand around in the forest all afternoon." Translation: Seeing you like this hurts, and I can't stand it much longer.

I turned to leave, but Damon blurred in front of me, blocking my path. I clenched my jaw, trying to keep the tears from my eyes as Damon raised his shaking hand to softly stroke my face. His touch sent jolts like lightening through my body. I wanted so much to lean into him, to smile…but it was too much. I wouldn't survive it if I lost him again. "Elizabeth." He breathed, barely audible even to me.

I couldn't take it anymore. The millions of questions, most of them insignificant, bouncing around in my head were deafening. Who turned you? Why are you here? Is Stefan here too? What do you want? Did you miss me? Do you love me?

I snapped, grabbing him by the throat, baring my fangs as a warning, "Touch me again, and I'll rip you hand off." I threw him to the ground and without a second's delay, I blurred through the trees and out of the forest.

When I returned to my current residence, I ignored Mrs. Davies' cheerful greeting of "Hello, Dear," rushing straight up the stairs and into my room. Immediately, I dug through my suitcase for the bottle of whiskey that I'd chosen to bring along at the last moment and was ready to put the water glass on the desk to good use. It wasn't until I tried to unscrew the cap that I noticed how badly my hands were shaking. My vision blurred and tiny drops fell with soft 'plops' onto the desk; I was crying.

You would think that a century and a half would be more than long enough to get over someone… My tears and the pain in my chest said otherwise. I felt as if my heart literally ached. I went to bed that night, unfortunately sober, and for the first time since before I became a vampire, I cried myself to sleep.

I showered as soon as I woke, wanting to avoid looking at my tearstained face in the mirror. I downed two pints of blood and dressed in all black to match my mood, throwing on a pair of black Vera Wang wedges for good measure. I stood in front of the full length mirror, saying to my reflection, "If I see Damon today, I will ignore him." God, that sounded so lame. "I will." How pitiful; I couldn't even convince myself. I glared at my reflection, "Don't look at me like that." I laughed, rolling my eyes at my own ridiculousness and grabbed my purse before heading out to get a feel of "modern" Mystic Falls.

For most of the morning, I drove around Mystic Falls, not going anywhere in particular. I recognized one of the older buildings. It had been an apothecary's shop in 1864; now it was a former medical office. The high school was nice looking, but seemed a little too big compared to the number of residents in Mystic Falls. The first decent looking restaurant that I happened upon when 'lunch time' came around was the Mystic Grill.

At first when I went inside, I was confused; there were masses of teenagers inside. My eyes zeroed in on a calendar behind the bar twenty feet away from where I was standing behind the 'Please Wait to Be Seated' sign. Oh. So it was Saturday… I'd been a bit distracted, first by Silas, then by news of Katherine, and now by my 'dead' husband. A young man with blonde hair and kind eyes looked at me expectantly as he approached, "Do you need a table?"

I quickly read his name tag; Matt. Matt was built like a linebacker and a little bit intimidating, even to me, a 170 year old vampire. "Yes." I smiled, trying to seem genuine, which wasn't difficult when Matt returned the smile.

After I was seated at a small table for two next to the far wall, Matt asked tentatively, "Are you new here?"

I tilted my head, curious at his question, "How'd you know?" I asked.

"Small town. Everyone knows everyone." Matt smiled again and shrugged, turning to leave, he said, "A waitress will be by to take your order."

"Thank you, Matt." I called after him, which earned me another smile. It was good to see someone so young be so polite. That doesn't happen much nowadays. The only bad thing; Mystic Falls hadn't grown much in the century and a half since I'd lived there, which meant someone was bound to notice when people started disappearing… Cue dramatic sigh from every vampire in town. I'd have to keep to the blood banks. Lovely. I needed to focus; thinking about blood had made me thirsty. I needed to do what I came to Mystic Falls to do. I needed to kill Katherine. Then I could leave and forget that I'd ever seen Damon. I groaned. Ugh, who was I kidding? I could never forget him. Thank God the waitress chose that moment to make her grand entrance; I was going to drive myself mad.

Halfway through my order of French fries that I'd drenched in ketchup, I froze. I heard a young woman's laugh clear as day from a shop across the street. Her voice chilled me down to my bones. It was Katherine, but it wasn't. Something was different… Through the front window, I could see her; a young woman with straight dark hair coming out of the ice cream shop, arms linked with none other than Stefan Salvatore.

I focused intently on the young woman, tuning out her voice and listening to her body. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Tha-thump. Now it was my turn to pick my jaw up off of the floor.

Once again, sorry for the wait. R&R please.