Hello everyone! I'm very excited to be publishing my first story here on FanFiction and I really hope that you are going to enjoy it! FYI you should be aware that my story is completely based off the TV series and not the books since I have yet to read the books. So I am aware that for example Elena has blonde hair in the books, but she will not have that in my story, it messes with my head. Hope you will still like it! I'm going to start by publishing the first couple of chapters and see what you guys think of it :) So don't forget to leave a review so I know if you want me to continue or not!

Happy Reading!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters.

The wind was chilly as it blew between my fingers and tangled my hair into a bird's nest. My eyes were starting to sting from all the cold air they'd have to suffer through during the 10 hour car drive with an open window, but I didn't have a care in the world. After all... In a hundred years, who would give a crap about a pair of stinging eyes?

In the background, a song I didn't recognize was playing on low volume. I glanced over at my little brother who was driving. I'd driven for the first three hours but after that, I'd been close to falling asleep behind the steering wheel. I couldn't see how that was going to end well and neither did Jeremy, so he'd taken over the driving.

I glanced over at my baby brother. I was starting to realize that Jeremy was becoming a man. I was starting my sophomore year in college and he was in his senior year of high school. It was kind of hard to process that. The fact that, he would soon be going off and doing the things he wanted to. During my freshmen year in college, the hardest part had been to separate from my brother. To live in a place where there wasn't a single trace of him. No loud music playing from the room beside mine or skilled drawing taped up along the walls all around the house.

I was starting to get emotional and had to suppress a sob from escaping me. It didn't go unnoticed however. Jeremy turned a little in his seat, still keeping his eyes on the road, but every so often he turned his gaze to me for a split second.

"Elena?" he said, making my name a question. I stared out the windshield, straight ahead. "Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded but didn't say anything, afraid words would fail me. The sigh he gave clearly told me that he didn't believe me. "Come on, Elena. I know you better than that. Just tell me what's wrong." It was my turn to sigh.

"I'm going back to college which means you're going to live by yourself again," I said, feeling his eyes on me.

I opened my mouth to tell him to keep his eyes on the road but just then, he turned around and spoke again, "Elena..." A shake of his head. "I'll be fine. New York isn't that far from Virginia. If something happens, it takes a couple of hours to drive," Jeremy soothed me. Not that it actually helped. I was still upset with this whole situation. Frustration was getting the best of me. It willed me to break something - several things actually.

"It's a seven hour drive, and that without traffic. We've driven for nine hours and we have at least," I emphasized the two last words. "one hour left." Another sigh came from the two of us in unison. He sighed because he knew what I was thinking and I sighed because of what I was thinking about.

"Don't say it, Elena," Jeremy warned.

I said it anyway, "I wish Mom and Dad where here." I saw his knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I knew that bringing our parents up was a sensitive topic, but I didn't want to pretend that things wouldn't be easier if they were here. Because truth to be told, if they were, things definitely would be easier. Leaving Jeremy at home would be easier, because I'd know that someone was at home, keeping an eye on him. Not that I didn't trust Jeremy - because I did - but because he was only seventeen, soon to be eighteen, years old. And although he would soon be of legal age, the idea of leaving him all by himself yet another year, terrified me. It literally gave me goose bumps along my arms and legs.

"I'll be fine, I promise. I made it last year and I'll make it this year too. Even if you'd been home, I would've moved out to live by myself soon anyways. So really, don't worry," he paused, looking deep in thought. "You've been the greatest big sister ever since Mom and Dad passed away. You took care of me so that I could live my life like a normal teenager, and now it's your time to live your life the way you want to live it." His words brought tears to my eyes but I blinked them away. In a way, I knew he was right. Ever since Mom and Dad died, I hadn't been living. At least, I hadn't been living the way I'd wanted to live my life. I'd just gone through each, hoping that the pain would ease off. It had after a couple of years, but it wasn't until last year - my freshmen year in college - that I'd been able to let go for real. All that was thanks to my two best friends, Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes. They truly built my world, making me able to live in it without suffocating from loss of air. I had a lot to thank them for.

Remembering that I had less than an hour before I'd get to meet them again, made a smile spread over my lips. Jeremy smiled back at me before turning his eyes back to the road and keeping them there for the rest of the drive.

Getting out of a car and stretching my legs had never felt so good in my entire life. Even better was the fact that I wouldn't have to get into that car anytime soon. The traffic through New York City had been horrible so it had taken us two extra hours just to drive through the city. Luckily, once past the city, the traffic rolled quite well and it took us less than ten minutes to get to the campus. I didn't live on the campus but I had to hand in all my papers before the term started. I lived five minutes away from the campus, in an apartment just outside of New York City. It had been an expensive apartment but Jeremy had convinced me to use some of our parents' savings in order to be able to buy it. During last year I had fallen in love with it and its location. It had been hard to leave and I'd considered asking Jeremy whether he wanted to come and spend the summer in New York with me. However, I hadn't since it had felt cruel to basically straight out tell him that I didn't want to come home, that I'd found a new home.

"I really should get going," Jeremy announced as I was happily looking around the campus, remembering all the great memories I'd gained here. As he spoke that sentence, I turned around so fast my head began to spin.

"What? Why?" I exclaimed. Jeremy shook his head and gave me sad smile.

"You're home now, Elena. It's time for me to go to the place I consider home." What he said made me sad. I didn't want my brother to think I didn't consider Mystic Falls my home any longer. I did. Sort of. The problem with Mystic Falls and Virginia was that my life there had been all about grief and growing up too fast. I hadn't had any real friends that I actually wanted to keep in contact with after graduation and it always felt as if the house was haunted by the ghosts of my parents. In Mystic Falls, I couldn't move on from what had happened.

In New York however, everything was different. It was a huge city with a huge population and I had friends here, lots of them. New York was the place where I lived my life to its full capacity. I didn't hesitate. I had no responsibility except from going to my classes and making it to every party that was thrown nearby. New York... it was my second chance.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay over, just for tonight? I have an extra bedroom and I really don't like you getting on the roads again after such a long drive," I replied, frowning at him. That sad smile turned into more of a happy smile instead. That at least, made me a bit happier.

"Don't worry, I want to get home as soon as possible. If I get too tired, I'll stay over at a motel."

"Do you need money in case you want to stop somewhere? Grab something to eat?" I asked, concern most likely written all over my face. Jeremy laughed.

"No I don't need money for food," he chuckled while speaking. "I can take the money however and spend it on drugs," he teased. I smacked his arm, hard too.

"Jeremy!" I yelled his name at him. "Don't say things like that!"

"Okay, okay, stop!" he shouted between fits of laughter. It took a couple of minutes for him to calm down enough to smile at me, take one step closer and embrace me in a bear hug. Jeremy wasn't a hugger, so I was kind of surprised me when he did indeed hug me. It made me smile like a complete lunatic. I hugged him back, squeezing him tight against me.

"I'm going to miss you," I whispered into his ear. One tight squeeze back from him and then he let go and got into his car. He waved through the windshield and then sped off, without as much as a goodbye.

I watched the car drive off, down the same road it'd taken to get here. Too deep in thought to notice someone calling my name, I was surprised when that someone came up from behind and I was caught in a warm embrace. I looked behind me and saw a familiar face. I was immediately put in a better, brighter mood.

"Stefan!" I exclaimed and wrapped my arms around his neck, giving his cheek a light peck. I couldn't believe it had been almost three months since I'd last seen him. From the beginning of June to the end of August. Stefan hugged me back, squeezing me just as tight as I was squeezing him.

"It's good to see you're alive, Elena," he said. That made me laugh. According to Stefan, I was apparently always putting myself in dangerous situations I wasn't able to handle or control. He always told me that one day I was going to get myself killed. Once I had tried out his motorcycle without any experience whatsoever. Luckily, I managed to get away with a mild concussion and some nasty bruises. I didn't think it was such a big deal, but of course, Stefan got upset if I so much as dared to get into a car and not put my seatbelt on.

"Missed you too," I replied as I rolled my eyes at his previous sarcasm. He let go of me and lightly kissed my forehead, a gesture I'd gotten used to by now. "Where's Caroline?" I asked. Stefan shrugged.

"When I spoke to her on the phone earlier, she was on her way. Said she thought she was coming around 11.00 pm." I nodded in response and felt eagerness creep up along my spine. The thought of getting to hang out with Caroline and Stefan, the three of us together again, made me want to jump in excitement. Last year had been a blast and we were definitely making this year even better!

"I should head home, I have a lot to unpack," I stated after a minute of silence had passed. Stefan gave me a curious look.

"I thought you left everything in your apartment when you went home to Virginia?" A question, not a statement.

I nodded in a agreement, "I did, but I had some stuff I wanted to bring with me when I went here."

"Well, in that case I won't keep you any longer. I'll call you when Caroline is here and we can all go eat somewhere to celebrate that we're back together." I nodded eagerly. That was a great idea. I'd missed them so much, and reuniting with my two best friends was definitely something worth celebrating.

"Sounds great. Call me!" With that, I headed over to the bus station, bags in hand. I was so ready to go home.

Stefan called me at 10.45 pm and told me to 'get my ass over to the campus and bring my car'. He hadn't said anything else but just hung up. I was already dressed in a white t-shirt and black jeans, and ready to leave, so I grabbed my car keys and headed down to the garage. The drive to the campus didn't take long. It was too late for the traffic to be at its peek. The weather wasn't great. Rain was pouring down and lightning was casting a brightness over the dark night sky. I sat in my car, waiting for Caroline and Stefan to come but they were both running late. Watching the sky light up every so often, I stepped out of my car, letting the rain soak my clothes and hair. I'd always thought thunder and lightning was something beautiful, and I thought the same now as I watched it. I was aware that by the time my friends got here, my t-shirt would be completely see-through, my jeans sticking disgustingly to my legs and my sneakers would be filled up with water. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to wear a black bra underneath the white t-shirt, but by the time I left the apartment, the rain had yet to come. And the fabric in the t-shirt was thick so the bra usually wasn't visible through it, therefore I had just grabbed the most comfortable bra I owned. Not that I was worried either Stefan or Caroline would worry. They had seen me in my underwear more times than I'd like to admit.

A text made my phone vibrate, which dragged me out of my stupor.

Caroline can't find her room key. She can't leave until she's found it. Can you please come help us look!? You know what room ;)

The text was from Stefan and after reading it, I shook my head in disbelief. It hadn't even been a day and Caroline was already losing stuff.

Still looking down at my phone, I headed to the dormitory of the campus. However, I didn't make it very far. After just a few steps, I walked straight into something, losing my balance and almost falling backwards. Luckily, that something that I now realized was a someone, gripped my upper arm and pulled me back up, against a hard and muscular chest.

I looked up and the person I'd just bumped into. I was first only met by that chest, but as I tilted my head up I saw his face. He was watching me intently with bright blue eyes. The man was really, like really handsome, with those blue eyes and black hair that was messy after being soaked by the rain. He was tall and well built, his light blue t-shirt also soaked and fitted to show off his muscular biceps and chest. When I tore my eyes away from his gorgeous body and finally looked at his face again, he looked annoyed.

"Will you please watch your step?" he snarled at me. I was shocked to hear the accusation in his harsh voice. I took three quick steps backwards, creating a good - and needed - distance between us.

"Excuse me?" Compared to his voice, mine sounded weak, the voice of a little girl who was lost in the woods. The man gestured to my phone.

"You teens keep burying your noses in the screens of your phones, look what happens. An accident we could've easily avoided if you'd been watching where you were going," he explained, still sounding like he was tasting something sour. I raised both my eyebrows at him in surprise. I wasn't sure what to answer.

"Uhm, I'm sorry..." Was the best thing I could come up with. The man kept watching me and suddenly I saw something flare in those eyes. I wasn't entirely sure what it was but I could've bet that it was something like... Recognition?

He surprised me when he spoke his next words, "You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

So the first chapter is a little short but I wanted to end it right there to get a bit of excitement rising. Please tell me what you think and I'll be working on the next chapter!

XO