ELENA'S POV:

Elena tapped her feet in anticipation as she waited for her boyfriend to emerge from the front door.

"Stefan," she called glancing at her watch. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up!"

They were on their way to the Salvatore family reunion.

Who were the Salvatores? Well the answer was, probably the richest family in New York. Maybe even in America. The world.

And Elena's boyfriend, Stefan was right in the midst of that. His parents owned the family oil business and he would inherit half the empire when they died.

They really couldn't afford to be late.

"Okay, okay I'm here," Stefan said as he walked out of the house. "And by the way, you look fantastic." He kissed her on the cheek.

"So they sent a limo, huh?" Elena remarked casually, even though casual was the last thing she was feeling right now. A limousine?
Stefan rolled his eyes. "Yes, the Salvatores can tend to be ridiculously over the top and ostentatious. But what the hell? Let's live a little."

They got into the waiting limo, and started their journey to the Salvatore mansion.

Elena found herself running through scenarios of things to say, but she racked her brain and found nothing. Her mind was occupied with other things.

"You've been awfully quiet," Stefan remarked as the silence in the car permeated. "Are you nervous?" he teased.

Elena gulped slightly in her throat. In actual fact, she was nervous. Like really nervous. She hadn't met the parents and family of anyone she's been dating since her old high school boyfriend Matt. And that technically didn't count because she basically grew up with them, being family friends for ages.

Meeting the parents. It's a big step. Were they ready?

Well it was too late to change her mind.

"I'm fine," Elena stated with a poised smile.

Because that's who she was. In her group of best friends, Caroline was the crazy, bubbly and fun one; Bonnie was the funny, smart and intelligent one and she was the poised, elegant, albeit slightly boring one.

"So tell me about your family," Elena remarked as she glanced over at Stefan. "Well your immediate family that is."

He hadn't really told her anything about them. The only things she knew were tidbits from the many news articles about the Salvatores. And there were a lot of them; their family was wide and extensive.

"Well to be truthful, my dad's a judgemental asshole; my mother's hates every woman I've ever dated," Stefan stated with a dry smile.

Elena's stomach lurched. Wow, that really helped her with her nerves.

"Oh and my brother is the dark horse of the family. He's a notorious womaniser, isn't seen in public that much anymore and can be a real jerk."

"Sounds delightful," Elena stated with a shaky grin.

She really wasn't sure why she was so nervous. She always made a good impression on parents. However this was different.

"Come on you're not actually worried are you?" Stefan laughed.
"Well it's intimidating! Your family is one of the wealthiest and influential families in New York. I'm from Mystic Falls," Elena said in a rush. "What if they think I'm some country hick?"

"Well I think you're one of the most sexy and sophisticated women I've ever met," Stefan said matter of factly.

Elena rolled her eyes playfully. "Well I guess that's a good sign. You're not your parents though."

"I think I can make a pretty good judgement myself," Stefan said as he kissed her gently on the lips.

They chatted amiably until they arrived at Stefan's parents' house.

Elena stepped out of the limo and her jaw dropped. This house was amazing. In fact, it couldn't even be described as a house, it was well and truly a mansion. It simply smacked of wealth.

"Shall we?" Stefan asked as he offered his arm to her.

The butlers, yes multiple butlers, welcomed them in and took their coats. As they headed down into the extensive party, Stefan leant in and whispered soothingly in Elena's ear, "You'll be wonderful."

Her nerves were smoothed down and she felt that she was ready to face the lions.

The lions being Giuseppe and Lily Salvatore of course.


As soon as they entered into the party, a voice called out to them.

"Stefan darling!"

It was Lily Salvatore. And with her, her husband. Stefan's parents.

Elena got a few seconds to quickly take them in. She was dressed elegantly in a white pantsuit, with a glittering diamond necklace that obviously was all too real. He was wearing a simple black suit, tailored within an inch of its life.

"Mum, Dad this is Elena. Elena this is Giuseppe and Lily Salvatore."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Elena said smoothly as she shook first Giuseppe's hand and then Lily's. The handshake was a vital part of meeting the parents. It was one of the first impressions. She had to make sure not to shake too hard, otherwise she'd seem aggressive, or too soft, otherwise she'd seem like she was afraid.

She could feel both their eyes appraising her up and down, and she shivered slightly. Their reputation sure preceded them.

"I've heard so much about you Elena," Lily said calmly. "I feel like I know you already. Stefan won't stop talking about you."

Elena felt herself begin to relax slightly at the sign of that. Lily's words were delivered without a trace of warmth but at least the words coming out were nice. She squeezed Stefan's hand as they continued to converse.

"So where are you from?" Lily enquired.

"Mystic Falls, it's a small town in Virginia. I grew up there," Elena said with a small smile on her face. She always felt happier when talking about her hometown, even though there were some unhappy memories always lingering.

"And what brought you to New York?" Giuseppe asked.

"Well it's always been an ambition of mine to become a journalist, so I'm currently studying journalism part time at NYU."

Giuseppe frowned slightly. "Journalism?"

"Dad doesn't like journalists," Stefan whispered.

"Damn straight I don't. They're interfering nobodies who have no business prying into other people's private lives! That's what journalists are!"

"Well that's great for me," Elena muttered under her breath.

"Pardon?"

"Oh nothing," Elena replied hastily. She made a mental note not to bring up the subject again.

"So what do you do now, apart from the part-time studying, Elena?" Lily asked.

"I run a bar," Elena said with an engaging smile.

Any sign of a smile quickly disappeared from Stefan's parents.

"I co-own it with my friend Enzo. He deals with the money part of the business, and I do the customer part, making drinks and all that."

Lily and Giuseppe looked at each other quickly.

"So you're a bartender?" Lily queried. "That's…interesting."

"Elena co-owns a business, Mum," Stefan said defending her. "She's not just a bartender."

Elena felt a small rush of warmth for him sticking up for her.

"Well it's not really a profession for a lady," Lily articulated with a hint of disapproval. "Bartender or not."

"I totally agree," Elena said quickly. "I'm looking for a job in something else once I finish my degree at NYU."

"Oh? What jobs are you looking at?" Lily asked.

Elena winced a little, having to bring up the subject again. "Just anything in journalism. I'd love to work for The New York Times, that's always been a dream of mine."

"That's nice dear," Lily said noncommittally "Much more appropriate than bartending for sure."

Elena nodded, not sure what else to do.

Lily glanced over to her husband as a silent signal passed between them that Elena couldn't interpret.

"Well we're going to go," Giuseppe said smoothly. "We've got many people to welcome. It was a pleasure meeting you Elena."

"Yes it certainly was," Lily added. They turned their heel and disappeared into the party.

"Well, that went terrible," Elena said wryly.

Stefan looked at her. "Well…I wouldn't say terrible."

"I'm sorry were you not present for that whole conversation? Your dad hates journalists and your mum hates bartenders. I'm literally the two things your parents hate. Yippee."

"Well, I don't hate you," Stefan matter of factly. "I definitely like you."

"I know you like me. I just wanted them to."

Stefan sighed. "They never like anyone, and honestly it really didn't go that badly. When they met my old girlfriend Gina, Lily called her a gold digger and a man-eater. So compared to that, you're in the clear."

Elena smiled a bit at that anecdote. She was here for Stefan after all, so what if his parents didn't really like her?

"Anyway, is there anymore relatives I have to meet?" Elena asked. "Not that it hasn't been a pleasure so far."

"There's my Uncle Herb, and my Aunt Joan, they love picking apart people, and my cousin in law Glen, my niece Rhonda of course, funnily enough she's older than me and my…" Stefan trailed off as he saw the look of horror on Elena's face. "I'm kidding Elena. We're off the hook for the night."

She breathed a sign of relief. That would've been a lot of mindless chitchat.

"Unless Uncle Herb comes by," Stefan added with a grin. "He's always interested in the girls I'm dating. Always up for a chat."

Elena laughed. "Well hopefully Uncle Herb will approve of me."

"Oh, and there's my brother. Damon's always been the successful one of the two of us, so I can't wait to show you off."

"What I'm a prize?"

Stefan smiled steadily. "To me you are."

Elena felt slightly uneasy at that statement. She didn't really want to be anyone's possession, even if it was Stefan Salvatore.

It was just the principle of it.

They mingled for a while and ate some questionable fancy food, including sweetbreads, which Elena found out, wasn't actually a bread that was sweet but the pancreas of an animal. Good times.

They were chatting near the front of the party with some vague business type people when a dark haired man, with intense, piercing blue eyes entered through the front door. "Stefan, my man," he called as he strode over, clapping Stefan on the back.

Elena was distracted by a man who asking her questions about how she ran her bar while Stefan greeted this mystery man.
She heard the name "Damon" uttered a few times, and realised that this was Stefan's older brother, the dark horse of the family. She then disentangled herself from the quite persistent businessman, and returned her full attention to the two brothers. Knowing it was important to Stefan, she turned on her most charming smile as she turned to face them.

"Damon, this is Elena Gilbert," Stefan said proudly.

Damon's eyes snapped to Elena and his eyes widened.

And for the second time tonight, Elena's jaw dropped.

When she arrived in New York, the very first night, Caroline and Bonnie were off on a double date with two guys they had met at a bar the night before. Elena decided to go to a bar, where she'd met an intense mystery stranger in a drunken haze, who she went home with that night. She'd left early that morning, slightly embarrassed about what happened. She'd never seen him again.

Until now.

The universe really screwed her over this time.

Because the mystery stranger she hooked up with was Damon Salvatore, her boyfriend's brother.

Could life get any worse?

"Anyway, I've got to say hi to Jack, why don't you two get acquainted," Stefan said as he kissed Elena on the cheek quickly and walked off.

"So, Elena is it?" Damon quipped as he winked at her.

Yes, life really could get worse.


Hello! This is my first Vampire Diaries fic.

I'm Delena and Steroline all the way, so there's just be a little bit of Stefan/Elena to set up the story. This is going to be a Delena/Steroline story.

I'm just going to put this on FF to gauge a reaction, so if you liked it please review and I shall continue! If not then I guess this will just be another story I started and never finished, haha. (Sorry if this chapter is a bit short, it's just setting up the story).