"Who are you?"

Those words hung dead in the air. They rang loudly in Elena's ears like funeral bells. They lingered like bile in the back of her throat.

At first, she thought Damon was just playing a joke on her. But, after intently watching his eyes for a few seconds she knew that he was completely serious. No matter what mood Damon was in, every time he would look at Elena he'd always have some lingering light in the back of his eyes. Elena didn't realize the importance of that light until it was gone.

"Seriously, who are you?" Damon asked again. He seemed to be totally weirded-out by Elena. He examined her as closely as she examined him. "You look like Katherine, but somehow I know that you're not."

Elena furrowed his brow at his words. How can he know who Katherine is, but not me?

"Damon, I'm your—," Elena was about to explain the situation to him when she felt her arm being yanked back. She turned around in a start to find Bonnie, pulling her back. Elena stood up and stepped away from Damon, "What?!" She whisper-shouted.

"Damon's ability to remember Katherine, but not you ticked me off. I think I know what spell he's under." Bonnie whispered. That caught Elena's attention.

"What?"

"It's a tabula rasa spell. She has recreated his memory. And, I suppose Stefan's too." Bonnie said. Elena looked at her in pure confusion. Bonnie read her expression, "Basically, Katherine took all the memories she wanted and left the ones that she wanted."

"But, how could he tell that I wasn't Katherine?"

"I'm guessing Katherine added a little 'doppelganger differentiator' to the spell." Bonnie paused, "I know you probably don't want to hear this, but that was actually very smart on her part."

"God," Elena sighed. She looked back at Damon, who was slowly looking around the room, rediscovering his surroundings. "We should tell him."

"No!" Bonnie warned. "Memory spells are dangerous. You can't shock him into anything or he could lose everything." Elena listened to Bonnie's words, never looking away from Damon. She felt her heart breaking and reality bleeding through the cracks.

"How do we reverse it?" Elena turned back to Bonnie.

"We don't." Bonnie said with a defeated look, "Only the witch who cast it can reverse it."

"So, we find this witch and we get them to reverse the spell. Whatever means necessary."

"Elena," Caroline said, stepping up from Stefan's side and walking over to Bonnie and Elena. She had been listening to the conversation. "We can't…"

"I don't want to hear it, Car," Elena said indefinitely. She looked back at Damon and then at the faces of all her friends' before returning her attention to Caroline, "This is Damon we're talking about. Whatever means necessary."

Elena Gilbert had constantly battled with herself on being decisive, but when it came to the well-being of Damon, there was no decision to make. She would always do whatever it took.

Elena began walking away from her friends' and over to Damon, but Caroline's voice temporally stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying a different route." Elena said before walking over to Damon who was still sitting on the ground.

The moment she reached him, he looked up at her.

"Why won't you just tell me who you are?" Damon inquired, obviously getting a little upset.

"I'm Elena," Elena said, reaching out her hand. Damon hesitantly stared at her extended arm before slipping his hand around hers, clasping his fingers in his own. He stood up.

"Elena…" He said, narrowing his eyes at her. For a second, Elena thought that he might be returning to her, but things were never that easy for them. "I'm Damon."

Instantly, the flirtatious side of Damon kicked in. He eyed her with dangerously wicked eyes while he raised her hand to his lips. He left a gentle, warm kiss on Elena's hand that made butterflies flutter in her stomach, much like they did when she met him in the Boarding House.

"I know," Elena said with a little smile, "Believe it or not, we've met before."

"You do seem awfully familiar…" Damon noted, giving Elena some hope; her smile widened, even though her heart was still hurting.

"Walk with me, Damon?" Elena asked, her eyes darting to the door. Damon raised his eyebrows at the suggestion and shrugged his shoulders. He gestured to the door.

"After you," He responded. Elena sighed and led the way out of the house, surprised by how relieved she was that he actually agreed.

"So, would you care to tell me where you're taking me?" Damon asked, strolling carelessly next to Elena.

"Nowhere in particular." Elena lied, watching him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't want to stop watching him, fearing that she'd lose him forever, or maybe he'd snap back into his memory-filled self for a brief moment and she'd miss it.

"Hmm," Damon grunted.

"So, Damon, do you have any siblings?" Elena casually asked.

"I do, I do. I have a younger brother, Stefan."

Well, he knows that much. Elena thought. She needed to take a diagnosis on just how much Damon remembered.

"Oh, Stefan. That's a nice name," Elena awkwardly stated.

"Annoying as hell though," Damon responded and Elena laughed.

"Believe me, I know all about annoying little brothers." Elena joked. It felt surreal to be talking like this with Damon because even though the situation was tough, it was like she had a fresh start with him. It was like she was reversing time, meeting him and falling in love with him first. Often times, Elena had fantasized about having a clean history with Damon, but now that she was in the actual situation, she realized how much she loved their messy history.

"Do you have one?"

"What?" Elena asked, broken from her reverie.

"A little brother?"

"I do." Elena said, "Jeremy."

"How old is he?"

"Seventeen."

"Oh, young." Damon said, almost as though he was shocked.

"Not really," Elena laughed, "You grow up quick when you're surrounded by vampires." Elena noticed the sudden silence from Damon and looked up at him curiously. He was watching her with fascination painting his countenance. His eyes were smiling.

No awkward response to the vampire thing, so he knows that much. Elena thought.

"I like you." Damon stated, shaking his finger at her, "You know how to laugh."

Instantly, Elena was transferred back to that moment in the kitchen when he was helping her with the dishes. He had said the same exact thing to her, but it felt completely different. She was temporarily lost in her nostalgia; Damon's voice barely crept into her thoughts.

"That's a lovely necklace," Damon's voice broke Elena from her reverie once again, "Where'd you get it?"

Elena glanced down to the glass raven hanging from her neck. She instinctively clasped it in her hand. She was having trouble finding her voice; the situation proved to be much harder than originally thought.

"A man that I love very, very much gave it to me," Elena struggled with the words. She watched Damon, attempting to read his reaction, to find something—anything that struck a chord. She was met with only indifference.

"Lucky man," Damon said, raising his eyebrows at her flirtatiously. Elena knew that he was just a flirtatious person, but she couldn't help letting more hope sneak into her heart.

"How about you?" Elena asked quickly, "Any girls?"

Damon nodded in response and Elena's heartbeat quickened.

"Who?" Elena pressed.

"Her name's Katherine."

A/N: Review please!