"Oh, I'm going to miss you guys!" Caroline squealed as she hugged Bonnie and Elena tightly. The weekend was over, and everyone had to get back to their lives; Klaus and Caroline's plane to Italy left in an hour, Bonnie's mother had found a ton of spells that needed to be practiced, and Matt had a huge football game that night and needed to get back to D.C. Elena hated to see her friends go, but it seemed a little less awful knowing that she and Damon and packing of their own to do once they were all gone. She could taste the begets and champagne already.

"I'm going to miss you all, too!" Elena cried, and Caroline and Bonnie snorted in unison.

"Oh, please," Bonnie muttered, "Like you'll be thinking about us while you're in the city of love with Damon."

Elena blushed, but grinned. Caroline giggled, "Don't feel bad; I know exactly how you feel."

Bonnie pouted, "Must be nice."

"Well," Caroline said, "Kol is still single if you really want to…"

"No!" Bonnie hissed, "I have a strict no vampires rule."

Caroline giggled, "Alright, then…"

"Are you ready, Caroline?" Klaus asked, glancing into Elena's bedroom. Caroline nodded, "Yep!"

She picked up her suitcase and gave Elena another hug, making sure to whisper, "Text me all the details" into her ear before turned to Bonnie, "Ready?"

Bonnie nodded; Klaus and Caroline were giving her a ride home, since it was on the way. The girls followed him down to the front door and outside, where Matt was comparing his new Mercedes Bens to Damon's Mustang, "Seriously; mine makes yours look like a sissy car!"

Damon snorted, "Dream on, Donovan."

"Matty," Elena grinned, rushing up and hugging him, "Good luck tonight!"

He grinned and hugged her back, "Thanks; maybe Taylor will show up."

Everyone laughed and he held his hands up in defeat, "What? A guy can dream, can't he?"

The girls exchanged another long hug before Caroline and Bonnie climbed into Klaus' car.

"Have fun in Paris," Klaus said, mainly to Damon, winking. Damon grinned and winked back, and Elena frowned in confusion but didn't mention anything. Klaus ducked into the front seat and started the engine, and they pulled out of the Gilbert driveway, waving and yelling goodbye with Matt on their tail.

Elena sighed when they disappeared, and looked up at Damon, smiling, "Thank you."

He threw an arm around her and led her back into the house, "It was worth it, wasn't it? We now own a villa in Paris all because I convinced them to stop by on their way to Italy."

Elena giggled as she shut the front door, "That is an added bonus, yeah."

"So," Damon grinned, placing a hand on the door beside her, "When do we start packing?"

Elena giggled, "How about right now?"

His eyes widened a bit; did she seriously want to go tomorrow, like he had suggested? "Are you serious?"

She nodded, "I want to go as soon as possible. It feels like it's been ages since we went on a road trip."

Damon raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Elena, a road trip would be going to Georgia again. Paris; that's an air trip."

"Well," Elena grinned, "Then you had better start packing."

VvvvV

Damon opened the door to the Salvatore boarding house and walked in, tossing his keys on a nearby table and heading for his room. He opened the door and walked in, grinning to himself; he had dreamed of taking Elena somewhere far away and romantic for years, and now he was actually going to do it. The irony of the situation was that years ago, he wanted to whisk her away to get her away from Klaus; now, they were going because Klaus had given them a mansion. Damon chuckled and pulled his suitcase from his closet, and frowned when something fell out. He bit his lip when he realized what it was.

He hadn't used his suitcase since he arrived in Mystic Falls, for he had decided to stay. The item that had fallen out was a photograph of Katherine. Glaring at the piece of paper that had at one time meant the world to him, he picked it up and tore it to shreds, tossing it in the trash before tossing his suitcase onto his bed. He ran a hand through his hair as he assessed just how much his life had changed in the run of five years. He had gone from obsessing over a woman who never loved him, to falling in love with her doppelganger, to despising his brother even more for having her too, then, just as they were beginning to feel like… well, brothers again, he runs off with the Original Bitch. He sat on his bed, thinking; the changes to his life recently had most definitely not been all bad. He had Elena. He had won her over; she loved him, too.

Standing up and walking over to his closet, he began to toss articles of clothing into his suitcase, to assess more carefully later tonight while he, Damon grinned, helped Elena finish packing.

He had just walked into his bathroom when he heard it; a thud from downstairs. He frowned in confusion and listened more intently. He heard nothing more, and decided perhaps he was hearing things. Damon grabbed a bag full of necessities from the bathroom; shampoo, scented soaps, bubble bath, hair gel, and, of course, cologne.

He walked out of the bathroom, whistling, and tossed them in his bag.

"Hello, brother."

Damon whirled in surprise, coming face to face with Stefan. He swore loudly, his eyes wide. Then he glared daggers at him and spat, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Stefan grinned, shrugging, "Word on the street is that you're going on a romantic getaway."

Damon glared at him, "Why do you care?"

"Because, Damon," Stefan said, as though it should be obvious, "I also heard that you're going on that little vacation… with my girlfriend."

"She's not your girlfriend anymore, Stefan."

"Really? Because, I don't remember agreeing to a break up."

Damon's glare deepened, "You left. You skipped town with that poisonous bitch, and no one has heard from you since. Did you honestly think she would be waiting here with open arms when you decided to come back?"

Stefan shrugged, "Why not? After all, our love was supposed to be eternal…"

"What are you doing here, Stefan?" Damon repeated, wanting him gone.

Stefan grinned, "Rebekah wants to take a break, so I thought I would come back to Mystic Falls for a little… Elena time."

He grunted in surprise when Damon's fist came in sharp, swift contact with his jaw, "What the hell…?"

"Don't talk about her, you bastard…!"

"What is it with you and falling in love with my girlfriends? God, I'm surprised you didn't try to get in Rebekah's pants as soon as you realized she was into me…"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Damon spat at his brother, "I love her! I don't give a damn if she was your girlfriend or not; you left. You left and didn't look back. It's been five years, Stefan! Elena has moved on, and distinctly told Bonnie that she never wants to see your face ever again!"

Stefan laughed, "Are you trying to kid yourself, Damon? All you are to her is my replacement. As soon as she realizes that her real boyfriend is back, she's going to sweep you under the rug like dust, and then stomp on it. You mean nothing to her."

Damon swallowed roughly, "Stay away from her…"

"What's the matter, brother? Afraid I'm right?"

"Damn it, Stefan! You broke her heart! Just leave her alone!"

"You killed her brother! Did you leave her alone? Last time I checked, I haven't killed anyone she loves lately."

Damon's lip twitched in anger, "Shut the hell up…"

"Whatever, Damon. Look, I really don't have time to talk to you," Stefan grinned, "I have a girlfriend to reunite with."

He walked out of the room, and Damon heard the front door shut a few seconds later. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out, noticing that he had a text;

Elena Gilbert: Will you be here soon? I can't decide what to bring to Paris with me… is it warm or cold this time of year?

Damon's hand shook as he read the text and he sat on the edge of his bed. He quickly went back to the main screen, only to have the knife Stefan had stabbed him with dig deeper when he found himself staring at his background image, which was of himself and Elena, making ridiculous faces at the beach two summers ago. He quickly shut off his phone and tossed it aside, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. What if… Stefan was right? What if, after all they had been though, Elena still ran straight back into his arms, forgetting that she had ever loved Damon Salvatore?

Damon, for the first time since he was human, found that the thought made him want to vomit. He couldn't bare the idea of losing her; not now.

His eyes snapped open angrily. What was he thinking? He was Damon fucking Salvatore! There was no way in hell he was going to let his pip squeak little brother steal his girl from him; not this time. He had had quite enough of Stefan's ass hole ripper attitude; no matter what he wanted to think, he was still the badass brother. Damon.

One way or another, he was going to keep Elena right where she belonged, and wouldn't have her heart broken. Whether it meant simply confronting his ass wipe of a brother, or ripping his heart out.

Because he was Damon Salvatore, and no one was going to walk all over him. Especially not his brother.

Standing up, Damon pulled on his leather jacket, glaring daggers, and took off out his bedroom door, in a b-line for Elena's house.