Zap2it Exclusive: 'The Vampire Diaries' Season 4 Photo Gallery

"Damon is minus a drinking buddy and minus a friend," Plec says. "We've already established Meredith as a day-drinker, so if I was going to pick somebody out of a hat, to be Damon's new drinking buddy, it would be Meredith. The question is whether she's down with that. Is she okay with being his vampire-human partner in crime? I don't think she's going to be as easy to sway as Alaric was, but there's going to be a buddy bond that forms between them, which will be fun."