I do not own The Vampire Diaries. Characters and settings are not mine either they belong to Julie Plec & Co. and L.J. Smith. The plot is mine.

Déjà vu

"What's going on?" I ask as soon as I woke up.

I turn to see Matt in the driver's seat next to me, "It's the only way I was going to get you in this truck."

I think of my last memory before this moment, "The tea." I remember it and figured it out, "You drugged me?!"

"I'm sorry, Elena," He tells me in a stern tone, "But you're right, ok? You don't have any parents to tell you what's right or wrong. You've got me and Jeremy and a bunch of vampires fighting a war you shouldn't be in the middle of."

"What the hell is going on, Matt?" I ask still confused by his speech.

"I'm getting you out of town, Elena. It's the only way to keep you safe." He tells me.

Alaric Saltzman angrily pulled up a bunch of storage doors to find Klaus. Suddenly, an elevator dings and he turns around. He heard Rebekah Mikaelson walking down the hall in her heels.

"Damon!" She calls for his ex- friend while Alaric makes no noise. "Damon, where are you?" He takes out the stake and walks towards her. Rebekah walks down another hall to find him and Alaric follows far enough behind.

"Damon, this isn't funny." She saysfrustrated. The halls got darker and longer as she walked down them. Alaric follows the sound of the blonde vamp's voice and has his stake at his side.

Rebekah sees a bunch of storage rooms' doors opened and she cautiously walks down them. She hears another noise and looks. A hand grabs her and pulls her away.

"Shh." A voice whispers into her ear. Alaric stops and looks at a storage room "1020" it reads and he opens it; nothing.

Damon and Rebekah walk with Klaus' casket. Alaric speeds up in front of them so they can't put Klaus' body in the trunk of Damon's car. He bangs Rebekah's head against the car and pushes her across the room.

He opens the casket and sees Klaus' desiccated body. "No!" Rebekah screams.

"Don't" Shouts Damon as they both get up. Alaric stabs Klaus while Rebekah screams in terror. Rebekah tries to go to her brother's body but Damon pushes her away. Klaus' body goes up in flames and Rebekah sobs. Alaric closes the casket as he takes the stake out.

"Next," Alaric points towards the other Original.

"Rebekah, run. Run!" Damon lets go of her and she runs leaving Damon and Alaric alone.

"Damon?" Stefan's voice answers as soon as Damon called.

"Bad news, brother. Alaric staked Klaus. He's dead." Damon told him his voice dripping with pain.

"I fell ok. Do you feel anything?" Stefan asks.

"No."

"It took Sage about an hour before she got sick."

"Yeah, or Klaus was lying about being the sire of our bloodline."

"Well, if he wasn't lying… An hour's not enough time to get you all the way back to Mystic Falls."

"What, so we can have our epic good-bye, Stefan?"

"Not us, brother. You and Elena."

"Well, I guess you'll have to say good-bye for both of us, won't you? Call me if you cough up a lung."

"Stefan. Elena's not at home," Stefan turned and looked at Jeremy who looked rather guilty. "Matt and I… We're getting her out of town."

"It's going to be fine. Klaus was lying." Stefan reassured Jeremy and also himself. "We're all going to be ok."

"What happened?" Stefan saw Elijah and Caroline walk up to him.

"Stefan?" The blonde anxiously said his name.

"Got it Jer," I hear Matt say to my brother.

"We have to go back." I say to Matt after he hangs up. "Listen to me, Matt. If Klaus is the one who turned their bloodline, then they're all gonna die. We have to go back Matt!" I yell angrily.

"Elena…" He pauses.

"What?" I snap.

"Damon's not with them," He tells me.

"What?" I ask in disbelief.

"He's a hundred miles out of town. I can keep driving to him, or I can turn around and go to Stefan." He tells me.

I couldn't believe it. Here was one of my best friends asking me the same question on my mind in the past six months. "It's your choice," He says.

Damon looked at his phone. Elena. She was calling him he hesitantly answered, "Let me guess—calling to see if the Grim Reaper's paid a visit?" He asks.

"How are you feeling? Are there any symptoms?" I ask him.

"Not yet. But I'm sure we'll have a laugh when we find out Klaus is a big, fat liar."

"Yeah, I'm-I'm sure we will," I say trying to hide the worriedness of my voice.

"Hey, where are you?"

I look back at Matt to make sure he hears this, "Matt's taking me home."

"To Stefan." I hear the sadness in his voice.

"Not just Stefan… Damon. To Tyler. To Caroline," I try to make him feel better but it doesn't work.

"No, Elena, I get it. So… Since I'm possibly a dead man, can I ask you a question?"

I nod my head and blink away my tear. "Yeah, of course."

"If it was just down to him and me, and you had to make a choice who got the good-bye… Who would it be?"

I gulp, "I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time when I needed someone, and I fell for him instantly. And no matter what I feel for you, I… I never un-fell for him."

"Hey, I get it. It's Stefan. It's always going to be Stefan."

"I can't think about 'always'. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon, which is why I have to let you go. I mean, maybe if you and I had met first..."

"Yeah, maybe," He said.

"You're going to be fine," I re-assure him and sniff. "You hear me? You're going to be ok, and I'm going to see you soon."

"Real soon," Damon said. "Good-bye, Elena."

Damon hung up and saw Alaric staring back at him, "I see you're still pissed. I take it Goldilocks gave you the slip?" Alaric sped towards him and attacked him.

"You too, Car." I hang up the phone.

"What now?" Matt asks me.

"It's Tyler. He, um… He's…" I stutter not knowing what to say through all of my grief.

"Damn it," Matt curses in pain. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He shouts and hits the steering wheel.

"Matt, no, stop it," I say trying to calm him down or at least make him stop.

He huffs, "This isn't how our lives were supposed to be, Elena." He tells me and I slightly nod.

Elijah Mikealson turned around to see his sister approach him. She was crying and said, "He's gone, Elijah. There was nothing I could do to stop it." He hugged his sister taking the information in.

"Tyler Lockwood is dead," He told her. "But the rest survived. You said that Niklaus turned their bloodline."

"I thought he did."

"It wasn't me, it wasn't Kol."

"It wasn't me, Elijah. It was Niklaus, I'm sure of it."

"Then how are they still alive?"

"Hello?" Stefan answered his phone.

"You're alive. Congratulations." He recognized her voice immediately.

"Rebekah."

"Elijah spoke to Elena. Her and Matt should be arriving back in town any minute."

"Yeah, he told me that. He also said you two would be long gone out of town by now."

"That's the problem. Elijah says we have to run, that the hunter will keep coming after us, but I don't want to run anymore, Stefan. I've spent my whole life running."

This worried Stefan, "What are you talking about? We had a deal."

"I'm sorry, but Klaus is dead. There is no deal. If my brothers and I are going to survive, we need to get rid of Alaric, and the only way to get rid of Alaric…" He could hear a truck that sounded a lot like Matt's come by.

"Rebekah, no."

"I need to call Stefan, but my phone is dying." I told Matt. I needed to tell him I was coming to him. I chose him. I love him. I love him. Right? Yeah I do love him… I think.

"Here use mine." Matt told me and reached into his pocket.

"Thanks." I look to see him staring at me and look out the window to see someone. "Matt, look out!" He swerved away and lost control. I saw my worst nightmare in front of me. We're plunging into the lake. This is it. This is the end. I tell myself.

As soon as we hit the cold icy water nostalgia hits me. I see myself in the backseat of my parents' car and screaming as water enters my lungs. I take in one last breath before my body is in water.

Damon groaned as he hit the floor. "You're not going to fight back?" Alaric sneered.

"You're kind of invincible, Ric."

"Don't call me that." He kicked Damon in the gut. "We're not friends."

"We were." Damon reminded him.

"Well, our friendship was part of the problem. It's what kept me weak. That's why it took so long for the real me to break through." He leaned over Damon and whispered, "And now I'm going to break you." He hit Damon again and Damon groaned.

Damon was on the cold concrete ground waiting for his next victim. He suddenly heard a voice very familiar. "I know, Bonnie, you're right." He looked in that direction. "You and my mom both are. I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later."

Damon turned up in front of her, "Katherine."

Katherine looked up. She looked confused which confused Damon. "Um… No. I…" She looked around and Damon realized it wasn't Katherine. "I'm Elena.

"Oh. You—You just look… I'm sorry. You just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon."

"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

"You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself." He was being nice mainly because maybe she could be the key to get Katherine out of the tomb before the comet.

"It's Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here," She told him. He almost wanted to laugh but he didn't. She was so naïve if he didn't know for sure that she wasn't Katherine he knew now.

"I got into a fight with my boyfriend," She said.

"About what? May I ask."

She shook her head and looked down at her phone, "Life, the future. He's got it all mapped out."

"And you don't want it?"
"I don't know what I want."

"Well, that's not true." He passed for a moment, "You want what everybody wants—"

"What? Mysterious stranger who has all the answers."

"Hmm. Well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."

"So, Damon… Tell me. What is it that I want?"

"You want a love that consumes you. You want passion and adventure, and even a little danger."

"So, what do you want?"

"Ah…" Then a car pulled up and honked. Elena turned to see it.

"That's my parents."

She turned and saw Damon closer than he was before, "I want you to get everything you're looking for. But right now I want you to forget that this happened. I can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Elena."

"Is that all you got?" Damon asked Ric who had knocked him out.

"Not quite," He said. Alaric took out a stake and was about to stake Damon, but Damon got up and pushed Alaric across the room.

I open my eyes and see Matt unconscious. I shake him hoping that somehow he'll wake up. I see Stefan at the window and he opens the door. He tries to reach for me, I decline. I shake my head and point at Matt. It's my time I caused pain to the people around me. He didn't ask for this. Stefan nods his head sadly and picks Matt up. I watch them go away as I release what is left of my breath. Black spots take over my vision once again but this time I've accepted it. I close my eyes and let the everlasting sleep begin.

Damon and Alaric were still fighting. Damon knew by the end of this night that either he or Alaric would die. But since Alaric dying meant Elena dying he knew it had to be him. He saw that Alaric was loosening his grip.

"What's happening?" Alaric asked.

"Oh no," Damon realized what was happening. Elena.

"What's happening?" Alaric groaned again as he sank to the ground. He groaned again and fell to the floor.

"Ric! Ric! Ric!" Damon called for him. If he died that meant Elena was dead and as much as he'd hate it but he couldn't let Evilaric die. Veins started popping up on Alaric's face indicating his death. "No, you are not dead." He was mainly saying that to Elena but also to his old friend. His drinking buddy. The other half of Team Badass.

"Matt, where are you guys? You should have been back by now." Jeremy said to Matt's voicemail. He stopped and saw Alaric.

"Jeremy," He said. But how was this happening? Evilaric was about one hundred miles out of town with Damon. That could only mean one thing. Oh no. No she was alive. She had to be alive. He put his phone down and walked a little closer. Alaric walked towards him.

"I think you've done enough." Jeremy said still denying the truth. "How did you even get in here?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to say good-bye and it kind of happened."

"Ric?"

"I just want you to know… That I will always be here to look after you, Jeremy. And you'll never be alone. Ok? I promise"

"I don't understand. Oh, my god, you're a ghost. But if you're dead…" No not another family member dying not two more he couldn't handle it. "It means Elena…"

Stefan looked at his girlfriend's body with tears in his eyes. What had he done? Oh no. He turned for a minute to wipe his eyes and turned again. She was gone. She was there one second but know she was gone.

"Where is she!" Damon demanded Meredith to answer as soon as she came.

"Damon—"

"Where is she!"

"Wait! You need to know, when Jeremy brought Elena in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion. It was a Cerebral Hemorrhage. Bleeding on the brain."

No she couldn't be. "What are you saying?"

"I was so worried, I didn't want to tell anybody. I helped her. She needed my help."

"You what!?"

I gasp for air as the bright light blinds me. I look down and see my diary. I'm holding my pen and was in the middle of writing. I look down at the passage it seems familiar.

Dear diary,

Today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say, "I'm fine, thank you." "Yes, I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through.

I shudder. No it couldn't be. Did I? Was it possible to go back in time? I walk to my dresser but something stops me. I see my hand burnt but it healed a second after. No. This can't be happening to me. I focus on the lamp and hear the electricity. I look in my reflection and see the old me. The smaller and more naïve girl of my past. Oh no I was a vampire in my old body. Shit.

I go downstairs and see Jenna. I stop and gawk at my used to be deceased aunt.

"Toast. I can make toast." She tells me.

"Jenna," I try to remember what I said. "You know me. It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna."

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy comes down from the stairs and takes the coffee pot.

"You're first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" She rummages through her purse and pulls out some money.

"I'm good," I say and take a sip of coffee. I immediately spit it out.

"Are you okay, Elena? You usually love black coffee." She asks and gives Jeremy some money.

"I'm fine but I-I just brushed my teeth and it tasted weird." I stammer and set my cup down.

"Okay. Anything else? Number two pencils?"

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" I ask trying to change the subject.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at… now." She says. I smile because I really missed Jenna. "Crap!"

"Then go you'll be fine." I turn to my brother. "Are you okay?"

"Don't start," He scoffed and brushed past me. After he leaves I realize something. If I go I'll die in the sunlight but if I don't go I'll never meet Stefan and talk to him the night of the comet.

I run into my room and see Damon. "Damon?" It looks like he didn't even hear me.

"Cute PJs." I look down and see that I am not wearing PJs but jeans and a long sleeved shirt.

"I'm not- that's not the point. Damon, I went back in time and I'm not sure how you got here but I need-"

"I'm tired Damon," I hear a voice say and it sounds a lot like mine.

"Brought you this." He held up my old vervain necklace.

"Thank you, Damon, but I don't need it I'm-"

"I thought that was gone." Again that sounded a lot like me. I look around no one but me and him. "Thank you."

He pulled it away as if someone tried to get it. "Please give it back."

"I just have to say something." He says.

"Damon I don't need the necklace I need to tell you something-"

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

"Well… Because what I'm about to say is…" I step away because I see his ring. I look and see myself in PJs. "Probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."

"Damon don't go there." I try to pull the ring off of his hand but my hand goes through his fingers.

"No, I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it. I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that… I can't be selfish with you. Why you can't know this. I don't deserve you… But my brother does." He kissed my forehead and continued, "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this." A single tear rolled down his face as he said, "But you do."

He disappeared and so did I. Sort of. He compelled me. I didn't know if I should be angry or anything else but I didn't feel anything but sadness and hunger. I need to skip school and get my daylight ring from Shelia. But that left the question. Do I want to turn? I never wanted to be a vampire I can't. I won't. I should.

Damon walked into Elena's hospital room expecting Elena. "Stefan," He turned and to look at his brother. "Where the hell is Elena?"

"I don't know. One second she was sleeping and the next she was gone."

"What do you mean she's gone!?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Call the witch. She might be able to track Elena." He turned and remembered something. "Don't think that I forgive you for choosing Matt's life over Elena's."

"She asked me, Damon."

"To hell with her preferences! If you would've chosen Elena she would still be here alive and well."

"And what about Matt?"

"So the world gets one less quarterback. She may have never forgiven you or me but at least she could live a human life!" He shouted.

"I'll call Bonnie. We'll talk later." Stefan walked away and Damon shook his head. He was left with one question on his mind.

Where are you, Elena?

Hello reader! This is my new story. I know this was mostly 3x22 of TVD but this was the introduction chapter. It'll get more exciting I promise. I'm only on chapter five so if you have any suggestions let me know. This was kind of short but like I said it's the chapter that sets everything up. It stops "copying" the show around chapter three so you won't know exactly what happens. The two main PoVs will be Damon and Elena but as you can see from this chapter there will be others. I know this is annoying but please leave a review because you're thoughts really help me. I will probably post every one week or two but I won't promise anything. Let me know what you think! -Ally