[ Damon's been here for a very long time, but his memories have been screwed with by the stabilizer thingy so he has no recollection of anything before his last arrival here exactly seventy days ago (after finding out that Katherine was never in the tomb). He remembers the awkward hug by his brother's girl, in which he just stood there feeling all dead inside.
In truth, he stills feel dead inside. There's a lot to be disappointed about, but he's been coping. Day by day by day.
It's easy to pretend to not give a crap about the situation he's in; about where's he's at (he's not entirely sure -- no one is). It's easy to fake a smile, to play nice. It's easy when he hasn't made any real friends. (He hasn't had any in a long time.)
He's convinced himself that he's stopped caring, and he's proud of the fact.
But somehow seeing that familiar face, hearing that voice, that name. It starts to unravel something within him. He can't not respond.
He's not surprised to see that Elena's older. He's seen this version of her before. He's not a stranger to how things work around here. ]
Careful. The bots can get a little kinky sometimes. [ Damon's in his apartment, getting ready to head out. He's putting on a shirt and is taking his own sweet time with it because he can. One button, second button, third button, stop. ] Where are you?