Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith famously sang that the night belongs to lovers.

That's great news for fans of Damon and Elena, who heat up the city that never sleeps in next week's Vampire Diaries episode, "Because the Night." Of course, he has other reasons for their road trip.

Damon's impromptu jaunt to NYC, as teased at the end of Thursday's "Bring It On," isn't so impromptu. Nor is it just to show the new, unrestrained Elena a good time (though apparently she has one).

It's also a cure hunt.

So he tells Stefan on the phone. We'll also flash back to the '70s, when D lived in the Big Apple and was a hard-partying figure in the underground club scene and had a complicated encounter with Lexi.

In the present day, Rebekah also shows up in NYC, while back in Mystic Falls, Caroline and Stefan try to convince Klaus to help them track Silas down, and Bonnie struggles to keep her grasp on reality.

Read our Vampire Diaries review for a thorough rundown of everything that went on last night, then watch the promos (20 and 30-second versions) for next week's show below and see what you think:

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.