Elena agrees to leave town with Stefan in 'Vampire Diaries' sneak peek

For five seasons, The Vampire Diaries took place in Mystic Falls, Virginia, where animal attacks were a common occurrence and the Founding Families had more than one secret up their sleeves. But thanks to the Travelers spell that ended season five, vampires can no longer enter Mystic Falls—which means that suddenly, the small town is no longer prone to animal attacks, and its population has decreased by at least 15 percent.

Most importantly, for some of our favorite supernatural characters, it means starting over. Although Elena, Alaric, and Caroline can simply run off to Whitmore, Stefan made a choice to relocate to Georgia. And in an exclusive sneak peek from this week’s episode, he tries to return to his “new home” when Elena intervenes.

Elena isn’t quite buying Stefan’s “it’s easy to start over” bit, so she makes a deal with him. If she tags along and is convinced that he can really start over, she’ll let him stay away. If not, she’s dragging his hero hair back to Mystic Falls. But according to the episode description, Stefan’s process of starting over will get interrupted by an unexpected visitor.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday at 8 p.m. on The CW.