Damon's soul mate Elena might be in a magic-induced sleep, but the upcoming season of "The Vampire Diaries" will see Ian Somerhalder's character in a different kind of romance.

According to executive producer Caroline Dries, season 7 will explore Damon and Stefan's relationship, which according to her is a different kind of a love story.

"Damon and Stefan are really the core of the series. They have the main love story of the season," Dries said during Television Critics Association press tour, reported Melty. "The person coming between them - or whatever you want to call it - at first it was Katherine, then Elena, and now that will be Lily. So they will come to blows on how to handle the drama Lily is bringing, but they will also realize: 'You are all I've got.' That is kind of the love story."

Lily Salvatore is not only going to bring a lot of drama and trouble to the residents of Mystic Falls, she is also expected to create a distance between Damon and Enzo. At one point she will also banish Damon from Mystic Falls, forcing him to camp out at Alaric's place. Fans can expect a lot of bromance between the two, considering both Alaric and Damon are dealing with the loss of their loved ones.

"There's going to be tons of bromance because Damon lost his girlfriend, so he basically leans on Alaric's shoulder to cry on and Alaric, incidentally, is going through the real-world version of what Damon is going through and they will cry on each other's shoulders - in a manly way," Dries said.

Season 7 of "The Vampire Diaries" will premiere on 8 October with the episode "22,190 Days," which is the number of days Damon will have to be apart from his girlfriend Elena, the character essayed by Nina Dobrev.

The episode will see how everyone is coping with the events of the season 6 finale that saw the heretics, Lily's friends, returning to Mystic Falls.