He’d woken in the woods, which wasn’t exactly the normal. Last night wasn’t a full moon, he was positive. So it wasn’t like he’d just wolfed out and ghosted for the night. He didn’t seem to have any injuries. So a pretty hefty whack to the head was out of the question. Magic was really the only other logical explanation. He was in an unfamiliar town, with unfamiliar faces. And he certainly didn’t look like he had 24 hours before. 

Walking down the crowded sidewalk, his hand darted out and he caught the arm of the first person he spotted walking back. “What year is this? Where are we?”

          Confusion. It was such a low-key, subtle word to use to describe Damon’s state of mind at this very moment in time. But it was the one word that was written all over his face as well as evident in both his facial expressions and body language alike. Not more than roughly twenty-four hours prior to the moment he had woken up, he was comfortably rested in bed beside Elena and dozing off to dwell on yesteryear in his dreams. Upon waking up, he found himself waking up in his own bed, alone, and his bedroom held no evidence or sight of Elena’s belongings in it whatsoever. He was in the comfort of his own bedroom located in the familiarity of he and his brother’s humble abode in the form of Salvatore Mansion. But that was not where he had rested his head and fell asleep in last night. If anything, yesterday’s dreams now felt real. If anything,  Damon didn’t even bother putting a shirt on earlier when he’d woken up seeing as his mind wasn’t quite in the mood to care whatsoever.

          On the contrary, Damon was slowly starting to come to the realization that something wasn’t right the moment he’d seen himself in the reflection of the bathroom mirror and noticed his physique. While he thankfully didn’t have any kids with Elena, he often complained that in his human form, he was developing a ‘dad bod’ of sorts. Now? His rather athletic build and modest six-pack abs were back and in full display. Certainly nothing he would complain about in the least, but there’s no way that a good nights sleep would have burned off that many calories. That would have been impossible. Not only that, but upon opening the doors to his armoire and sorting through his clothes? Not a single pair of basic blue jeans or plaid shirts were in sight. As black as his heart once was, his wardrobe matched that same aesthetic. All black everything. Such a sight was enough to bring a faint smirk to his lips and the comfort of knowing that he would finally be able to embrace his true style once again.

    Rebekah had been filled with nothing but confusion; had she bumped her head? could she get a concussion? so many questions moved through her mind, as did many flashbacks from the year of 2009. Being awoke by Klaus from her deep slumber. Stefan not remembering her and being completely in love with someone else. It was all things she was over but the mere thought of them still made her turn her nose up. Mystic falls had changed. Or perhaps it had stayed the same? perhaps her whole life had been a lie? at this point she didn’t know anymore. Wandering around to try and make some more sense out of things but it wasn’t helping. The school had disappeared; so what did that mean for Hope? where was she? was she safe? was she in danger? perhaps she was behind this whole thing. She wouldn’t know until she found her.

          Getting no answers to anything Rebekah had hit a stump. Letting out a sigh as she stopped trying to process her thoughts. Marcel crossed them; they’d been together before this had happened, whatever this was. Where was he now? was he okay? her concern for those she cared about only grew the more she thought. But why 2009; what was so specific about this year that had forced someone to push her back here? had she done something? was this a form of torture where she had to relive her life AGAIN? because it was only just becoming somewhat normal. Even if that was never going to be a possibility anymore since she’d decided that she wasn’t going to take the cure and remain a vampire. But it wasn’t common knowledge yet. Sure she still wanted a family but it didn’t mean she had to give up what she’d known for over a thousand years.

Confusion. Panic. Fear. The emotions were ones that he knew well, ones he understood more than most - but with each person he passed the feelings became more and more intense. It was almost as though something had happened within the town - something big. And one thing was clear to the vampire.

He needed to find Alice. 

Caroline had woken in her childhood bedroom, the shock of nostalgia hitting her. The brightness of the morning and the strange ache in her shoulder as she stretched, trying to get to her senses. Everything seemed…groggy. It was only under the ray of sunlight bursting through the curtains on her  skin that made the blonde hesitate, looking at her sun soaked skin before noticing the lack of ring on her finger. Out of instinct she flinched, looking down at her unburnt skin in shock. She wasn’t burning…why wasn’t she burning? Where was her ring? 

Her hand immediately reached to her chest, grasping desperately at her bare skin where her necklace always sat, her rings, her tie to Stefan gone. 

What was happening? 

He lifted his hands up to rest on the back of his neck and continued to move through the crowd, careful not to bowl anyone down though honestly he wasn’t in the mood to pretend he cared about their feelings. Not that he was a total dickhead. In fact, he liked to believe that he was usually one of the nicer members of his family. Kinda. Sorta. The family that he was clearly separated from.

Stepping out of the mix of people, he turned into a narrow alleyway and leaned against the wall, bending down and resting his hands on his knees. “What the fuck…” The words were growled out lowly and only then did he actually catch the sound of someone lingering near the entrance to the alley. Shaking his head, he spoke without looking up. “I’m really not in the mood for company. I’m fine. Keep walking.”