Elena Gilbert reached her arm across the bed. Expecting to feel a warm presence beside her she was surprised when the bed was cold and empty.

"Stefan?" she murmered half asleep.

Gazing in the direction of the bathroom she came up empty again. Wrapping herself in the sheet she got out of bed and padded out to the hallway.

"Morning roomie," Damon smirked, dressed in his usual black attire he cut a fine figure. Elena pushed that thought out of her head. She had tried to halt the flirty current but so far nothing had worked.

"Is Stefan around?" she asked. "Have you seen him?"

Damon turned his pockets inside out and peered underneath an end-table.

"Nope, not under there," he remarked.

"Hilarious." She went back into the bedroom and dressed. It was only when she took a second look at the pillows she saw the note. Stefan had scrawled a message reading: "Didn't want to wake you. Gone to the grill. Meet me there? S"

When she went downstairs Damon was sipping coffee with a grace that only he could pull off. Elena shrugged her bag onto her shoulder and headed towards the grand front door.

"Bye, Damon".

He needed no words and replied simply by tipping her a nod.

She found Stefan safe and well sitting in the grill exactly where his note had said.

"You abandoned me for a journal?" she scolded jovially.

Stefan placed his pen down and planted a kiss on her lips. He tasted luscious. She sat back and her eyes drifted to the lonesome figure of Tyler Lockwood. She suddenly felt bad for their public display of affection. It was common knowledge that his latest break-up wasn't treating him well. Of course, Tyler being Tyler, he tried to hide it. Elena had known him long enough to see his pain though. She threw him an apologetic glance.

Still at home, Damon looked at the cup in his hand and back to the thing floating towards him.

"Damn. What's in this drink?"

He got up, figuring that any unidentifiable object should be avoided. He'd only ever seen similar things when on acid trips in the distant past. The floating-orb-thing started to expand at an alarming rate. Its presence started to have a paralysing effect on not only body but mind. Identity, memories, feelings and soul left Damon and slowly became part of the surroundings. What was left behind was an empty vessel. A vessel for the taking. The orb had transformed into a full fledged apparition. It stepped into the empty body and drew a gasping breath.

"Finally!" it uttered, testing its new vocal cords

Had Tyler not noticed the concealed stake behind Damon Salvatore's back Stefan may have been dead by this point. He knew the Salvatore siblings had a love-hate reationship but nobody expected what happended next:

Damon approached the table his brother sat at, stake behind his back, and fixed him with an unreadable stare.

"What's your problem?" Stefan said.

"Stefan Salvatore?" Damon said, with an inflection that made his statement sound like a question.

Tyler watched as Elena put her hand on the older Salvatore's arm. Was something going down between the brothers, he wondered? Were they once again at war instead of the great allies they had become? The bitter only-child in him cheered at this potential development. The stake was somewhat bothersome though. Tyler started rising to his feet.

"Last time I checked." Stefan replied, "What's wrong with you?

"You killed my father!"

The werewolf barely got there in time. He launched himself at Damon pushing him away. The stake was now mere centimetres from Stefan's heart. The closest a stake had ever come. Elena's gasp was echoed by the by-standers in the grill. While Elena pulled the stake out of Stefan's chest, Tyler attempted to subdue Damon.

"Dude!" he yelled. "What's gotten into you."

Summoning all of his strength he took a swing. The punch broke bone when it landed. His biggest surprise came when he discovered that his punch had knocked the vampire out cold. It wasn't even full moon...