Elena stared at him in surprise. Just seconds ago, they had been kissing and now he was telling her to leave. She came all the way here and he just wanted her to leave without him? No real explanation at all. A terrible thought entered her drowsy mind, maybe Stefan had been right all along...maybe Damon hadn't wanted to be found.

"I have to wait for my ride..." Elena said pathetically, her tone quiet, feeling stupid now for even coming. Damon nodded and gestured for her to sit before he disappeared into the next room, returning with a bottle of alcohol and two glasses.

"I assume you aren't driving?" Damon asked softly, pouring the liquid into each glass. Elena shook her head silently. She didn't feel like talking now. She only felt broken now as she accepted the glass, taking a sip and making a face at the unique strength of the aged alcohol. Damon did the same.

"I've never cared much for the taste of Gin." Damon admitted, desperate to hear her voice at least for a while before she had to go...before he made her go.

"And now?" Elena asked, her eyes fixed on the carpeted ground, not wanting to fall into his seemingly endless blue eyes. She felt sadness, more intensely now than she had in Mystic Falls. There, she was merely dreaming of her return, but now, she was right in front of him, breathing the same air as he was, and he wasn't going to come home with her. It just...hurt.

"Still don't." Damon answered, taking another sip and letting his eyes take in her beauty once again. "But...it's been helping." He trailed off quietly, wishing now that he had more strength within him. His will not to ravish her was growing weaker with every moment that passed them by.

"I know the feeling." Elena said quietly, matching his tone perfectly. They were both rather pathetic. So much love and attraction contained in one room and yet, so much sadness and regret clouded the atmosphere around them. Damon tried to smile, leaning against the wall now, not trusting himself to join her on the couch.

"Been getting into my alcohol stash?" He asked, seemingly amused by the thought of Elena sitting in his living room in front of the fire, drinking bourbon and being all contemplative. Though, the sad expression on her face told him that if she was drinking, it wasn't in a positive light like it used to be when he was there. When she would drink with her friends or steal a sip of his drinks every now and again. No, she was drinking her sadness away in the same ways he had been. She shook her head, finally lifting her sad eyes to meet his.

"No...I know you don't like to share." She said simply, letting her shoulders slouch as she took another big gulp of the Gin in her glass, nearly finishing it now. He was filled with such sadness as he watched. She had been miserable since he had left and it was breaking his undead heart.

"Elena..." He spoke, sympathy lingering in every syllable.

"Don't." She said suddenly, shocking him slightly. "Don't Damon." She said, almost pleading now, her eyes looking as if they were about to burst into tears at any moment now. Damon frowned and lowered himself to sit on the couch beside her.

"Don't what?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Don't tell you how sorry I am? How I regret missing your eighteenth birthday? How I wish I could apart of your life again?" His voice grew louder now. "Don't tell you that I wish things were fucking different because even in our depressed states, I still want you in every single way?" He ran his hands roughly through his coarse hair, pulling at it a bit in frustration. "It hasn't exactly been a cakewalk for me Elena!" He growled, standing up again and pacing in front of her now. She watched in tears, feeling every single bit of emotion through his words.

"No. Don't tell me those things when you are just going to walk away again." Elena said, standing to meet his gaze. He stopped pacing to stare at her, his lip curled in the way she always remembered it had when he was frustrated.

"I'm not trying to walk away! Something is just...keeping me here." He explained loudly. To anyone else, it would have seemed as if they were arguing, but this was the nature of their friendship. They always told each other every emotion that coursed through their minds and bodies; matching each other's loud tones note for note. Nobody ever seemed to get the dynamics of their loud conversations, but the two of them were in perfect understanding of it.

"You've been compelled! Can't you see that?" Elena yelled now, remembering the entries she had read in his journal. Maybe he needed to read them as well in order to understand it all. He was shaking his head. "I was there! I heard Klaus compel you not to remember Stefan and God only knows what else he's compelled you to do."

"Stefan." Damon growled the name lowly.

"Yes, Stefan, your brother. Remember him? You care about him, you always have." Elena said, frustratedly.

"He means NOTHING to me!" Damon yelled, angry now. Elena shook her head.

"That's what he compelled you to think." Elena said quietly now. Damon let out an exasperated sigh and plopped down on the couch, rubbing his head in frustration. He closed his eyes, trying to remember Stefan, his brother. Stefan was younger. A vampire. Wavy hair, green eyes. All he could recall were things he had known from the night he shoved him against a wall. He felt nothing for the vampire, and questioned their blood-bond again and again. But...Elena wouldn't lie to him. She had no reason to.

"Why can't I remember him..." Damon asked, his voice a whisper now. Elena looked at him, her eyes filled with compassion as she sat down on the couch beside him, resting a hand on his knee.

"It's going to be okay, Damon." She said quietly. Damon nodded silently. A knock on the door pulled them back into the reality that there was an entire world out there. Someone on the other side, banged on the door, nearly knocking it down. Out of instinct, Damon used his superhuman speed to stand between Elena and the door just as the locks popped and the vampire was standing in the doorway.

"What have I missed?" Katherine asked smoothly, entering the apartment with ease and brushing the door shut behind her. Damon gaped at Elena's doppelganger in shock, looking between the two of them who were sharing a look.

"You are parading around with Katherine?" Damon asked, disbelievingly. Elena shrugged, eliciting a groan from him. He turned his attention to Katherine. "Listen...I know that you only look out for number one but even I didn't think you'd you dumb enough to bring Elena on a suicide mission." He said with annoyance. Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Must you be so dramatic? She's fine." Katherine defended her pet human, smiling down at her. "Besides, we're here to bring your sorry ass back home and I knew you wouldn't just come with me seeing as we aren't too close anymore." That was an understatement, and this time, both Damon and Elena rolled their eyes. "What? Too far?" She asked with a shrug, settling down on the couch and grabbing the bottle of Gin.

"You two need to go." Damon said. "It's not safe here. If Klaus finds out that either of you are alive and in Chicago, things will go very, very badly."

"Kill me and torture her. We know." Elena said. Damon shook his head.

"I'm not letting you put yourself in danger for me." Damon said softly. "Now...please go..." He pleaded, urging for them to go. Elena looked sad but Katherine pulled herself off the couch with a shrug, taking a swig of the alcohol.

"I know where I'm not welcome." Katherine said with a nonchalant expression. "Take care of yourself, Damon." And with that, she walked out through the doorway. Elena lingered in the apartment, her eyes fixed on him as she walked across the room.

"I wish you didn't have to go, but you do..." Damon said softly, bringing his hands to her neck and leaning down to brush his lips gently against hers. She brought her hands up to hold his, desperate to be one with him, even in just this moment. This kiss wasn't as passionate or deep as the one before it, but even in the fleeting moments, it expressed every once of love he had. Elena felt a tear slide down her cheek as he pulled away.

"Come with me..." Elena pleaded one last time. Damon wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb, shaking his head sadly.

"Go home Elena." He said instead, and she turned away from him almost painfully to walk out and join Katherine in the parking lot, only looking back over her shoulder once.

–

It was dark outside as she walked out, lights all around the well-lit city where faceless people were dwelling. As she reached the parking lot, she saw Katherine leaning against the car. She seemed oblivious to the world around her, as if she was deep in thought.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, looking her doppelganger over. Katherine sighed.

"Hope isn't lost yet." She said simply, turning to get into the car. Elena looked up at the apartment building one last time, silently promising herself that she would be back, even if it was against everyone's wishes. She smiled to herself and got into the car and they drove off, leaving Chicago behind.

–

"Well, well...Look what we have here."

Klaus' car sat in the shadows, watching as the two doppelgangers drove away from the Salvatore apartment. Interesting. Especially considering he had been led to believe that Elena was very much dead after he had killed her as a sacrifice. Damon had been holding out on him, and for that he would pay. But first...they'd have to make a nice little trip to Mystic Falls...