5 Years Ago

"Lena baby, do you know where my blue shirt went?" Damon questioned his girlfriend as he entered their bedroom but she was no where in his sight. He could see the small light coming from the bathroom so he walked towards it.

Elena was kneeling besides the toilet, he head supported by her hands.

"Get out, you don't have to watch this. I think the flu is back." She said with a hoarse voice. He knelt besides hair and brushed her hair away from her face.

"I will go get you a glass of water, do you want some of that nausea medicine?" He was worried about her health, the flu should have been gone by now, but he didn't question her, instead he went and got her the water and some medicine before carrying her over to bed against her pleas.

December 12 - Present

Elena thought the more time she spends in this town, the more she regrets ever coming back. Yes, there were good parts like seeing her parents and even her brother for a little while before he had to fly back to New York for college yesterday. Generally though, the bad aspects seemed to take over the good. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the past she wanted to forget so badly, Caroline was not helping either. Ever since the Lockwood Lunch she was bombarded by requests from Tyler to set up a meet up. The last thing she wanted to be doing is spending her day with a person she would love to have back in her life but was too afraid to let back in. It seemed as though Mason had his own plan though because here she was, in a fancy bar, just outside Mystic Falls. Well, as fancy as a small town bar could get. Her and Mason arrived a few minutes early and were seated at a table away from everyone else, a band was playing somewhere in the background. A music she would probably have enjoyed if not for her mind being preoccupied with worries.

"When will you finally stop moping and have some fun?" Her fiancee rudely asked. Elena narrowed her eyes at his sudden change of character. Ever since they came to Mystic Falls he changed from the sweet man she knows at home to the one the town thinks he is. The big hunk, with no feelings, just sexy attitude that gets every girls swooning and she wasn't having any of it.

"Oh, now I'm moping? Way to be subtle about how much you care for you fiancé." She snarked back at him and it seemed to have done the job of making him feel guilty as he sunk back in his chair and focused on the table in front of him.

"Mason, Elena! Sorry about being late, Caroline got a bit carried away." Tyler spoke as they slid in the chair across from Elena and Mason.

"No problem, we waited for you to get drinks so how about me and Tyler grab them now?" Elena narrowed her eyes and her fiancé' proposal. He was leaving her alone with Caroline and she had a feeling it was on purpose. The men made their way over to the bar, which left her and Caroline awkwardly sitting at the table.

"So.. How is Chicago? You were never a big town girl so are you enjoying the life there?' The blonde enquired, clearly not getting the message Elena didn't want to speak to her.

The brunette sighed and managed a small "good" back at the woman in front.

"Okay.. I see the whole 'I'm so heartless' mask is not a one time thing." She said with narrowed eyes.

"No. It's more of a permanent thing." Elena said back with a smirk.

"Ugh!" Caroline slammed her hands on the table. "I know you! You are not falling me with that whole facade!"

"No, you don't know me, you know the old, naive little Elena that was the towns favourite little girl. " They started into one another's eyes, Elena's cold and emotionless and Caroline's hurt and defeated.

"You weren't the only one hurt, you know, me, your parents, and him. You left him to deal with the loss of a baby and then the loss of his fiancé too! I was there, watching one of my close friends shut himself off in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it. I tried, I called, I begged for you to come back but you were happy leaving him there weren't you? It made it so much easier for you." Caroline lashed out with those harsh words. Elena's composure immediately crumpling as tears pooled into her brown eyes. She knew she hurt him and it hurt her even more because she was the one making the choice to leave the person she loved the most behind.

"You don't know what you are talking about." She replied quietly before grabbing her purse and heading towards the ladies room.

After checking no one was inside, she entered one of the cubicles and let herself cry. This was the second time she let her emotions run free since being in he home town. But she couldn't stop crying as she thought more and more about Caroline's words, they hurt but they were honest. The big wound in her chest pains ripped open once again, he was the love of her life. The one she wanted to spend her life with, have a family with. And there was nothing, nothing she could do to stop loving him so strongly. She doesn't love Mason in the same way and she accepted that she never will. Every night she settled in bed with a man she imagined to be Damon, as Mason held her through the night she pretended to herself that it was Damon and it was selfish, but it was the only way she could go a day without breaking.

Suddenly, a hand started pounding on her cubicle door. She was no longer sobbing but she knew her mascara was probably halfway down her cheeks.

"Elena, I'm sorry. Can you open the door?" Of course it would be Caroline.

"So you can finish off your bitch fest?" She took another deep breath, calming herself down.

"I thought you didn't care! I was trying to see if you would react, see if my best friend was still in there. I'm sorry, I couldn't deal with you just throwing away our years of friendship like that, I guess I expected everything to return to how it used to be." She spoke softly, in a way which made Elena long for more comfort she knew she could find within Caroline. Although every string in her body was pulling her to seek that comfort, her brain continued to tell her that she made it so far so why stop now. So she pushed the door open and stepped around Caroline to face the mirror, Caroline searched through her bag and found a pack of makeup wipes. Elena gladly took them and muttered a short thanks before turning her attention to the mirror to fix the damage.

The rest of the evening went past uneventful, she even went as far as contributing to the ongoing conversation. To be honest the whole week was peaceful, that was until the fundraiser on Saturday.

"Do we have to go?" Mason whined from somewhere on their double bed while she was applying her makeup. She rolled her eyes at him, he knew they had no choice but to go. It is an annual fundraiser organised by the founding families, raising money for the poorer families for Christmas and everyone will be attending. The Salvatores included. Luckily, Caroline sent her a message this morning saying Damon was away on a business trip. To say she was surprised when Caroline gave her that information would be an understatement. After all she had done to her these past few years she really did think Caroline wanted nothing to do with her but she was proving otherwise. Elena was warming up to the idea of letting her mask down in front of Caroline, it was the least she could do to rebuild their friendship. After a few more touches, her hair and makeup was completed and she proceeded to put on her her black dress. It had simple pleated straps on the bodice and flowed down to right before her knees. It looked great combined with her tall Louboutins and her soft brown curls.

"I will be downstairs, come down when you are ready." That was all there was to their relationship. Duty. No passion or even real love. But unlike her relationship with Damon, this one had no chance of leaving her heartbroken and thats what really mattered to her.

5 Years Ago

She was in front of the mirror, assessing the changes in her body that were only visible to her. As a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist she smiled softly and sighed into his embrace.

"I can't wait until we can actually see our little baby growing." He murmured softly while tracing his fingers along my still flat stomach.

"You mean until I get fat?" Elena asked humorous, Damon just rolled his eyes in reply.

"You won't be fat, you will be growing our baby and you will look beautiful no matter what." He whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes, devouring this moment.

They hadn't planned this pregnancy, but they accepted it warmly, even though she wanted to be a bit older when she had a child. They had all the conditions for a baby, a loving relationship, a more than stable financial situation and a family that supported them. Some people said they are too young to be engaged and pregnant, that they are too naive to really know what love is about but she knew he was the one for her. They knew each other inside out, being best friends ever since Damon offered for her to come and play in his backyard when they were 3. They didn't start dating until the senior year of high school, too afraid of ruining their friendship but soon they couldn't ignore the feelings between them.

Present

She was brought back to the present when she felt a warm tear escape her eye and flow slowly onto her cheek. Using the back of her hand to wipe away the moisture, she took away any evidence of the tears. The house was quiet, her parents already helping out at the fundraiser since the morning, the silence got broken as her fiancé came down the stairs.

"Lets go." He said, grabbing the car keys and holding open the door for her. She shot him a timid smile and walked to their car.

"These things are so pointless, can't we just donate some money and go home? My head is pounding." Mason carried on moaning as they entered the ballroom.

"I'm not surprised, you came home drunk as hell, ignoring my advice on toning it down yesterday. So deal with it" with one pointed look she turned in the direction of the bar. "I'm going to get a drink."

On her way she saw Caroline chatting animatedly with Bonnie Bennet, her brothers girlfriend. With a gentle smile she walked towards them.

"Elena, hi!" Bonnie greeted her with a small embrace while caroline was looking at her with a curious expression.

"Hey, do you guys want a drink?" Elena asked, the two women nodded and smiled so she walked to towards the long bar and picked up three glasses of champagne, before making her way back to Caroline and Bonnie. She would try and be civil, let her guard down for the night, this fundraiser was one of the towns events she really enjoyed as a child and even she deserved some fun.

"Here you go, so where is Tyler?" She questioned her friend.

"I think I saw him talking to Mason and his father a few minutes ago." She glanced around the ballroom but it was hard to spot anyone in the crowded room. "Have you and Mason decided on a wedding date yet?"

"Yeah, March 5th. What about you guys?" Okay, so making conversations would be a lot harder than she actually expected.

"We wanted a summer wedding so we chose July the 11th. I can't wait to go dress shopping!" She then launched into her whole wedding plans, speaking excitedly and Elena nodded at some parts to appear as she was listening. But in reality, she was in panic mode. She could swear that she just saw a glimpse of a head of black hair, but she just repeatedly told herself she was making it up.

"Are you still working at that interior design firm?" Bonnie pulled Elena out of her daze.

"Um, no I'm not." She took one last glance around the room before focusing all her attention on the conversation before her. "I actually opened up my own firm, it's still small but it's slowly developing."

"Wow, Chicago seems to be good for you." The blonde added, her sweet voice laced with a slight sadness.

"Its okay I guess, but I am a sucker for these small towns." And it was true, Chicago opened up so many doors for her career that she never even knew existed. However, she missed the small town of Mystic Falls she called home very much. There was just something about the peace that made her hate the hustle of Chicago. But there was not much she could do about it now, her firm was based in Chicago and if she ever wanted to move back it would do a great deal to her business. Not that she was planning on moving anytime soon.

"Caroline, Bonnie!" A tall brunette called out. "Oh, hi Elena." She added quickly. It was her again, Rose or whatever her name was. She really wasn't fond of her, one of the reasons being her hair. How could someone do such thing to their hair? The pixie cut combined with the styled up do she was currently sporting was not the most flattering thing she could wear.

"Rose? I though you weren't coming?" Caroline urgently muttered out.

"Well Damon managed to come back right in time, we would hate to have missed such a great event." The world seemed to stop around her. Damon was here. She knew it. And he moved on, even though she was expecting it, she was hoping he didn't because it hurt like hell.

"Excuse me." She needed air, fast. So as fast as possible in heels, she stormed out onto the terrace. Ignoring the voice calling her back she walked right up to the edge, using the rail as support while taking in deep breaths. This was all so surreal, she wasn't expecting seeing him here, not today! Little did she know that she just walked right into the predators den.

"Elena?" A voice spoke out from somewhere next to her. A voice she would recognise anywhere, even after these 5 painful years. She turned her head slowly. The man before her revealing himself into her mind. It was him. It was Damon. 5 years later and she could still remember the way a crease would appear between his brows every time he was confused or the way that he fiddled with the hem of his sleeve when he felt anxious. Moments passed as they studied each other, their eyes identifying changes in them that weren't there before, neither of them knowing what to say.

"I didn't know you were visiting." He said, pulling them back to the reality. His voice held a hint of pain and remorse as he spoke.

"Not many people knew" she replied back, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Classic Elena" she looked up at him with confusion. "Never the one to tell people when she is coming.. Or going for that matter." Elena narrowed her eyes at the dig he just sent her way. She knew he would've been angry but not cruel.

"Listen, I really don't want to do this right now.." She snapped back.

"You don't always get your way." He reffered to the night she left and it just brought back a flood of memories she really didn't want to think about.

So she took a deep breath and replied, "It was good seeing you again Damon." Before turning and walking back into the ballroom.

"There you are! We have been looking everywhere for you." Caroline said to ber as soon as she spotted the brunette across the room. "Are you okay?" An immediate look of concern emerged on her features, as she saw the glassy eyes Elena was sporting."Oh no, who did you speak to? Please tell me it wasn't.."

"Damon. It was Damon." Elena interrupted her before she could continue any further. The blonde pulled her friend into an embrace and led them to a quiet corner or the party.

"Is everything okay? Do you want me to get Mason so you two can leave?" Caroline was always the helpful one, even after the last few years she remained a good friend. Elena just shook her head in response, leaving would be showing him she still cares. He needed to remain in the shadow in that matter.

"I will be fine, it was just a bit of a shock. Lets go find our men, the dinner will start soon."

And so they did, now they were sat at one of the circular tables set around the room. Her parents were sat on her right and Caroline with Tyler on their left.

"Thank You all for attending this fundraiser. It is a great Mystic Falls tradition that we never want to forget. Speaking of traditions, as most of you may recall, before we all receive our food we would like to invite all previous Miss Mystic Falls to make their way to the dance floor. Don't forget to bring your escorts!" The mayor annoynced and Elena just wanted to puke. She won Miss Mystic Falls in the last year of High school. The tradition required all women who have ever won the title to once again share a dance with their escorts. That wouldn't be that bad if only it wasn't Damon who was her escort. There was no way in hell she would be able to share a dance with him, especially one that held so many memories. However, it seemed as there would be no way to get out of it though, as Mayor Lockwood started to anounce the couples that were making their way to the floor.

"Caroline Forbes and Matt Donovan." She watched as Caroline squealed in excitment as she stood and walked to the centre of the floor. "Elena Gillbert and Damon Salvatore." Her guts clenched together as she spotted Damon on the other side of the room. He was watching her as he stood from his seat and started to walk towards the floor. To avoid any embarrassment she soon followed Caroline's path onto the floor.

Her red dress suddenly seemed too tight as she struggled to keep her breaths even the closer she got. Elena came to a stop in front of him, avoiding his blue eyes at all costs. He placed his hand on her back as she put hers onto his broad shoulders. Her skin tingling at his touch. She missed it so bad. They locked their remaining hands together and the music soon started, forcing her to look him in they eye. She tried to put on her poker face but did not know how. They moved together to the rhythm of the music and it was the same as the dance they shared 7 years ago at Miss Mystic Falls. The only difference was his muscles were stronger and there was no more love shared between them.

7 Years Ago - Miss Mystic Falls

"Mum you can curl them now." Elena pointed her finger to her hair. Her makeup was done, her dress on and the last thing was left was for her mum to style her hair. She stood next to the window overlooking the courtyard, Tyler was escorting her today but it didn't feel right. She continued to scan the area until she came upon Damon, her bestfriend and as their eyes locked she decided what she really needed to do.

"Damon" She called out as her entered the room where she was getting ready.

"You said there was an emergency? What's happening?" He wore a worried expression? Scared something happened to her and that's exactly why she knew she made the right decision.

"I would like you to escort me today." She timidly said.

"But Tyler is downstairs waiting for you, he was supposed to escort you." He replied frowning a little in confusion.

"I already spoke to Tyler, he is fine with it. So will you?" She challenged. Gazing deep in too his blue eyes.

"Of course I will." His response sent butterflies into her stomach. She knew what she feels towards him isn't just friendship and she was finally ready to acknowledge it.

So as the dance began she gave herself over to the moment completely. Letting herself feel the way her skin tingled at his touch, the way she was being pulled towards him like a magnet. As the dance came to an end she gave in the last little bit. She leaned towards him until their lips touched. He returned the kiss with more passion than she ever experienced.

Present

That's how their journey as a couple began. Ironic that they had to repeat that dance after their journey came to an end. As they continued to dance she was beginning to wonder if under all that pain, a little love for her still existed? Then she remembered her mother's words, 'He isn't the same Damon.' And she was very curious to find out what she meant because this Damon was exactly the same as her Damon.

A/N - Thank you for reading! Do you guys like flashbacks? Did they help you understand the story better?