She'd left Mystic Falls far behind, unwilling to stay there and experience any more pain and loss. She'd been through so much over the past few year. Starting with her parents' deaths, through to Damon's death. And part of her couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had she not insisted on going with him. Would he have made it back from the Other Side had he gone alone? Was it all her fault? Was she surrounded by death because of who she was?
With the memories too strong, Elena needed a change of scenery, needed to distance herself from the friends she'd known so long. She'd chosen randomly, winding up in New Orleans of all places. It seemed a perfect place to forget, a city where she could lose herself for the next few decades.
Wandering down Bourbon Street, she ducked into a bar, compelling the bartender to overlook her lack of an ID and leave the bottle of bourbon with her. It was most definitely needed. But as Elena lifted the glass to her lips, something caught her attention. Or rather someone. The familiar face was gone in the blink of an eye, though she continued peering through the crowd trying to find him again. She must be imagining things.