You Lost Me

Chapter Nineteen - Never Far

"Hello" he answered coldly, not recognizing the number in his screen.

"Damon, it's me, Elena" she softly told him and he couldn't believe in what his ears were hearing.

"Elena? Where are you? Are you okay?" he soon got over the shock of hearing her voice and was immediately concerned about anything being wrong with her.

"I'm okay, thanks. I know I should have called earlier but I guess I wasn't ready and it wasn't fair to keep you in the dark, worried about me" her voice was as gentle as he remembered it. He expected it to be colder, not because of what she became but because he was the reason why she wasn't human anymore. But it only proved to him how forgiving she actually was. It also reminded him of the words he told her while they were on bad terms. He had been unfair to her and he couldn't believe she let it go.

"Worried? Elena, I didn't know what else to do. I did everything I could; I've been looking for you for the past four weeks because I knew there were many things that could go wrong while you were alone. Worried doesn't even come close to what I felt" he soon forgot about her forgiving skills. He couldn't stop himself from blurting how desperate he was to find her.

"I'm sorry, Damon" she honestly offered her apology catching the pain in his tired voice. She couldn't believe that she hadn't considered how hurt they were because of her actions. Caroline had told her about it but she just blocked it because she couldn't handle it. Especially not with Damon but as she heard his voice she realized she had been selfish.

"Where are you?" he asked. Nothing else mattered. He didn't care what he did or what she did. The only important thing was to find her and help her with her new life.

While she was talking to Caroline, Elena didn't ponder about what she was going to tell him. She just knew she couldn't leave him in the dark about her anymore. She had been surprised by his question and she didn't know what she should say. She knew she wasn't ready to meet him but she didn't expect him to accept any less.

"Close" she answered simply.

"Close where, Elena? I'm not in Mystic Falls" he entered his car, determined to go all the way back to the small city. He thought that maybe in the couple of days he stayed there she had decided to go back to her hometown probably already reunited with his brother. The spell brought him closer to her, but fate probably fixed it taking here where she belonged and that wasn't by his side.

"I know you're not. How did you know I was here anyway?" she asked him curious.

Her questions made him stop the engine he had just started. "Are you here?"

"No, but I'm close. How did you know?" her voice cracked thinking about how he'd been the one to nearly find her instead of Stefan. It still surprised her that he'd always be the one to rescue her and to find her when she needed them the most. She knew Stefan also put a lot of effort to be there for her but somehow it was always Damon who saved her at the end of the day.

"I guess I hoped you were here. I didn't know for sure so I asked Bonnie to make a spell to help me" he looked around, moving in inhuman speed from one side to the other, paying attention to the buildings around him.

"Why did you hope I'd be here?" her voice lowered despite her attempt to hide her emotions. She wanted to know his reasons because she didn't have any. Her body brought her there and it actually felt good to be there but she didn't know how she ended up there.

"I'm not sure I want to have this conversation, let alone over the phone, Elena. Where are you?" he stressed the words. She said she was close so maybe she could be around. He scanned the area carefully to see if he could catch her hiding in the shadows of the early evening but his eyes found nothing.

"I'm not ready to see you yet, Damon. Seeing you before was already overwhelming. I just wanted to put your heart at peace and let you know that I really appreciate what you're doing for me" she admitted with a broken voice. She didn't have the answers she needed before seeing him again but knowing how desperate he was to find her broke her heart all over again.

Damon easily caught the shattered note in her voice and it made this all harder for him. It was heartbreaking to know that she still blamed him but still made an effort to put him out of his misery. She had the biggest heart he'd known and he was relieved to know she hadn't shut it down after turning.

"When did you see me?" he asked softly, touched by her selflessness, as he walked back to his car. He stopped the engine and got the car locked as he closed his eyes, focusing his senses the best he could.

"When you were feeding and while you were in the hospital" she answered his question without giving it any thought.

"So you were the vampire I could smell some minutes ago?" he answered as a matter of fact an idea instantly popping in his head.

"I guess so" she agreed quietly.

"I knew there was something familiar about that scent. It's still you although it's totally different now" he started to run as fast as he could. The wind causing a loud noise in the line that she thought was just bad service but was grateful anyway. She didn't want him to notice how difficult it was for her to say those simple words to him.

"Damon, please. I'm trying… I'm working… I'm thinking things over" she stopped her sentences midway trying to find the right words. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay and that you can go back to Mystic Falls if you want. I won't be hiding forever and God knows what Katherine could be doing now that both of you and Stefan aren't in the city" she sensed that the conversation could probably head to subjects she didn't want to talk about. Subjects she still avoided the best she could.

Many thoughts crossed his mind again at the mention of his brother. Of course she'd called his brother first. Maybe they'd been talking for days already until she decided to relieve her consciousness by telling him she was okay. Maybe Stefan was even with her already but he kept going because this wasn't a competition to him. Maybe it had been in the beginning when he first arrived in Mystic Falls but it didn't take Elena much longer to make it about her not Stefan. He didn't care if she was in his brother's arms as she talked to him. He just wanted to see her with his own eyes. He needed to make sure she was okay.

"Of course" he answered and she was confused by the sarcasm in his voice. But this was Damon after all and sometimes she just didn't understand him. There were too many masks and walls surrounding his heart and his defenses were all up again. But Elena actually preferred it that way. She knew how to handle defensive Damon but she wasn't nearly comfortable enough to deal with him when he was being emotional.

"I'll keep in touch" she offered and didn't give him a chance to answer because those few minutes they talked let her more confused than ever and she didn't even know why.

"And I won't let you go again. You'll have to plan your actions pretty well from now on, Elena, because I'm on top of my game now and if I have to lock you up I will" he said behind her, relieved to finally lay eyes on her again but unlike he thought Stefan wasn't anywhere near.

He found her; the vampire read in her mobile screen as she entered the cheap motel room.

"Hello Stefan" her raspy voice announced her unexpected presence, leading the vampire to jump from his bed.

"Katherine… what do you want?" he asked her while he positioned himself defensively.

"To talk" she pulled one of the chairs sitting across of him with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I don't have anything to say to you" he answered firmly and coldly.

"You should, because I'm here to talk about your dearest girlfriend" she quipped.

"Stay away from Elena" he demanded crossing the room in a second and stopping only a few inches away of her.

"I'm definitely not the one close to her right now" she shrugged "I'm here with you"

"Well, you're not welcome, so why don't you leave?" he turned and resumed his position back in the bed.

"Have you ever heard anything about the Originals?" she asked watching his reactions carefully.

"Of course I have" he answered.

"They have wanted me dead for over five centuries and I dragged their attention to Mystic Falls because I had a different plan. But now Klaus is already on his way there and he wants me dead more than anything"

"Sorry if I can't offer any help as you must know I don't want anything to do with you" Stefan showed all the hate he felt inside as he watched the vampire sit across of him.

"Did you hear that I said they have wanted me dead for five centuries? I was capable of hiding from them for so long and I'm sure I can hide for another five hundred years but what if they find Elena? I know those guys Stefan; they don't ask a lot of questions. They just have to get the job done and a vampire doppelganger can be handy in times like these" Katherine explained smiling broadly at the end and stood up.

"Elena isn't in Mystic Falls or in any of the cities in the area. Damon and I looked everywhere for her so I guess if those guys come to Mystic Falls it won't make a difference" he reasoned and she knew he actually had a point.

"You seemed to resent me so much for what I did while I was trying to save my life but you seem pretty okay with Elena and Damon kissing and the fact that she nearly died because of him" the brunette walked around the small room appraising the furniture.

"You killed the woman I love, Katherine. You turned her into a vampire. I more than resent you for that" Stefan knew the mind games she played all too well.

"I saved the woman you say you love and who seems to have eyes only for Damon" she opened the mini-fridge and was surprised to see two bags of blood there.

"Elena, unlike you, isn't an unfaithful, manipulative and two-faced bitch. She's loyal and has high morals. Damon has had feelings for her for a while now and after failing in the first attempt with you around, he just had to try it again" it was Stefan's turn to smile sarcastically as he offended her and his brother.

"Why do you refuse to see what is right in your face, Stefan? Didn't you listen to a word I said that day? Okay, let's try a different approach. When did Damon defend Elena's honor while I carefully reported the true events of that day? You know he doesn't have a problem with being the bad guy. He wouldn't let me say she kissed him if it had been the other way around" she challenged him and Stefan was silent for a few minutes.

"Ever since you attacked Elena, Damon isn't in the best state of mind. He's been drinking and he wasn't thinking when you said those things" he was suddenly serious as she hit a wound. Stefan never talked clearly with Damon about that kiss and he only let it go because his priority was to find Elena.

"Okay. A different question then. Why did Elena leave? Did you know that she was staying in the witch's house and just when Damon appeared with his heart on his sleeve that she decided she had to leave and die? And if she changed her mind as it's been a month and I'm yet to hear about the body to fill the coffin, why didn't she come back?" Katherine pulled a confused face while resting her chin in her long fingers, a soft frown on her forehead.

"Being a vampire is the last thing Elena ever wanted for her life, Katherine. She's confused and probably lost but I'm sure she knows we'll find her. She's probably not ready to face it for real" there was a note of venom in his voice, showing that he was going to avenge what she did to his girlfriend.

"I guess being ready isn't an option when you already became one" she quipped.

"I'm not interested in your side of the story" Stefan moved to the door, opening it for her to leave.

"You should be. You try to convince yourself about loving her so hard that I thought you'd like to know that her life is in danger and that if they find her they'll kill her. You do whatever you want with the information" she moved with inhuman speed until she was just inches away from him. "Just know that I only killed her because I knew she had vampire blood in her system and she'd come back. I did it for you" she whispered and barely touching his lips with her own, she walked away.

"As usual when it comes to your precious girlfriend, Damon is a step ahead of you or maybe more than a step. Ask the witch" she stopped in her tracks a few steps ahead of the doorway where he stood and as soon as she finished talking she was gone.

Katherine always seemed to know when to come and seed all those doubts in his head. Bonnie had mentioned the spell a couple of days ago and she also told him that Damon was very close to Elena but she had no idea of where it was as he never told her. Stefan was mad to know that she had agreed to do the spell for Damon and never mentioned it to him but the girl explained that depending on how far Elena was from them only Damon could find her because of their blood bond and that she wasn't going to get between them or pick sides. She'd help whoever had the best chances to find her friend and if that was Damon then it'd be Damon.

Ever since they talked Stefan tried to contact his brother who never really answered his phone calls and instead of going north, Stefan went all way south from Mystic Falls to see if he could find Damon. But Katherine's words were now in his head again and he had to ask the witch if she had any news from Damon, though he knew well that his brother wouldn't contact her but maybe Elena did. Taking his mobile from the night stand he found her name in his contact numbers and pressing 'call' he prepared himself to the worst.

"Bonnie, it's Stefan. Did Damon or Elena contact you?" he asked not giving time for her to greet him back.

"No, why? Did he find her?" she asked back.

"According to Katherine he did. Is the spell still working?" he asked apprehensively.

"Actually everything is in my bedroom, I never undid it" she explained "I'm going to check"

"Ok"

In a few seconds the witch spoke again and the words that should have brought relief to him only caused him unease "Two days ago when I called him I told him the drops had had almost merged as one, they were barely connected then but right now there's only one"

"Meaning?" Stefan tried to deny the truth behind the words.

"He found her"

AN: Elena did the finding but Damon wouldn't be happy with just hearing from her. Poor Elena, forgot that he could catch and track her scent but now they're in front of each other.

Also Katherine seems to keep track of either (or both) of them as the moment Damon entered the barn, she got a text message confirming that he had found Elena. She also reveals part of her plans in Mystic Falls and I'll bring up the Originals storyline to this fic. It'll be slightly different but I'll try to follow as much as possible.

So what do you think Kat wants? She could only negotiate with Klaus if she had a human doppelganger but she made sure to turn Elena. Who is working with her and what her plan will be?

Next chapter it's all about Delena interaction. I already wrote down one of the moments they'll have together and I can sum it up with one word: touching.

Thanks a lot to May for being my beta. She makes my chapter all pretty :)

Also thanks to my reviewers: damvampsal21; shadylady21 (for each); xLoveRyanx; Avecia; bluestriker666; kat; mayghaen17; sasukerulez04; tsukivamp; MsMaeve18; Lily; lexipedia; jacks-peapod and ahhh

Talk to you soon

Babi