We Always Survive ♥ (A Damon and Elena Fanfic)

Chapter 10 - Starting Over

Damon POV 2/7 9:30pm-2:00am

My eyes fly open and the first thing I see is a group of people standing away from me. A few moments pass in total stillness as we all register what is happening. My mind struggles to put names to the faces before me, but I can’t. I see a girl with dark hair who reminds me of someone from the past I can remember. Katherine? But as the beautiful girl with long chocolate locks sprints towards me, I see the tears in her eyes and I realize who she is. She is the girl I love, the girl I would do anything for. My other half, Elena Gilbert.
      “Elena,” I call to her with a smile as she jumps in my arms and wraps her legs around my waist. I fly back at first, not prepared for her attack, but I hesitate for only a second before I pull my arms tight around her waist, trying to envelope her completely and hold her as close as possible. She buries her face on my shoulder as I feel her hot tears soak through my shirt. I stroke my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. Does Elena love me? The last I remember is her crying over my brother being gone with Klaus, how much do I not remember? Elena pulls away swiftly, breaking me from my thoughts. I look at her questioningly, wondering what has her so scared.
      “Are, are you human?” Her eyes are wide in worry and her voice cracks as she tries to spit out the words. Am I? I think hard and notice the lack of craving for blood and rather the yearning for sleep and food. The light of the house seems less bright and the color of Elena’s eyes is less vivid, but not any less beautiful. “You’re… not a vampire. Wha-“ Insight slowly descends upon her as she shakes. I hate seeing her in distress so I pull her closer and cup her face gently, stroking her cheek gently with my thumb. She stutters as she continues to try to make sense of the situation, “How is that? How is that even possible.” Something flashes in my mind and I remember that Elena is a vampire. The memory of her waking up in her room with Stefan and I flashes by, and although I can’t remember how it happened, it seems that a hole in my memory has been filled in. I see Bonnie slowly approach Elena as if trying not to spook an animal.
      “We knew this might happen, but it was only a small chance and there was no other way to bring him back,” Bring me back. Back from what? Bonnie explains what had happened and what she and Shane had done but I am still caught up on the fact that I was dead. I was dead and they brought me back. She continues on about this being a side effect and another one that they were more worried about, “It’s possible too that he…” she falls silent until Elena turns to face her, waiting for a response, “It’s possible that he will have memory loss. Or not remember anything at all.” Elena turns on her heel towards me and scrutinizes every part of my demeanor and I can tell she’s panicked to see if I remember everything. I try to appear neutral, but I can’t let her know that it’s true. I don’t remember anything after her birthday. It scares me and I know that it will only terrify her. My brother walks around Elena and puts his hand on my shoulder.
      “Damon?”  He stares at me with the same surveying look as Elena. He’s back? How did he get away from Klaus and when? Are Elena and him still together? If they are though, why was Elena so attached to me a few minutes earlier? All of these thoughts race through my head, but at this time, it doesn’t matter. All that matters at this moment is that my brother is here. I smile and pull him into a hug, patting him on the back as he pulls me closer.
      “I missed you, brother.” I laugh and hold him out at arm’s length, both of my hands placed on his shoulders. I see a tear roll down my little brother’s face and I’m happy he pulls me back in for a hug or else I was afraid I might begin to cry too.
      “Of all the times I’ve wanted you dead, I never knew how much I’d miss having my big brother,” he whispers and slowly pulls away as Caroline pats him on the back. Of all people, Caroline steps up to me with a smile. Last I remember she hated me, but I’m surprised I remember her at all.
      “Hey. Welcome back,” she says happily and I can’t hold back a smirk. Suddenly, Elena steps in front of them and hold my face in her hands, directing it towards her determined face.
      “Hey, I need to know. Do you remember us?” She examines my face, searching for her answer and I answer her half-truthfully with a smile on my face and a twirl of her hair.
      “How could I forget my little brother, the witch that has saved us more times than I can count, Vampire Barbie, and the girl that I love?” That is honestly all I can remember, but it seems to be enough to convince her because she smiles as I meet her eyes. My eyes shift and see Matt and Jeremy and I acknowledge them as well in a louder voice so they can hear me, “And of course little Gilbert and the quarterback.” I walk past Elena and see the other two and, to my surprise, Jeremy opens his arms for a hug. Elena laughs and I can’t help but be puzzled by it as well. Do people not hate me as much as I remember? We walk back and I drape my arm over his shoulder, ruffling his hair. Jeremy simply laughs and pushes me away as we make our way back to the group. When we walk back towards the group, I see the picnic table and suddenly I am reliving Jeremy’s training to become a Hunter. Then all the information of being a hunter floods back into my head like a chain reaction, like the encounter with Vaughn and Elena begging me to stop. My head reels with all of the memories flooding back in, but not filling all of the holes.