Hey guys!

I wasn't really planning to post this story so soon because of my other story, but I just couldn't wait!

I don't think I need to explain, I think that you have a good picture of the story if you read the summary. :)

Please, review, let me know what you think!

Elena Gilbert closed her laptop, sighing. She sank deeper into her incredibly expensive, but heavenly comfortable office chair, rubbing her eyes. This case is going to destroy her. It was completely dark outside, except for the city lights. Elena totally lost track of time and she had no idea what time it is. She checked her phone and saw that it was past 11 pm. She let out a huge yawn and stretched her arms, slowly getting up from the chair because if she doesn't leave the office now, she'll fall asleep here. Not that it would be a first time. She took her bag and her laptop and walked out of the door. The building was dark and empty because all of the normal people went home hours ago. But Elena wasn't like the others. She was incredibly committed to her job and she loved it with all of her heart, even though it was extremely hard and often very stressful.

Elena locked the door and let out a sigh. It was finally Friday and tomorrow she will be going home to MysticFalls. She hasn't seen her parents in a long time because her job was stopping her from going home for several days. But this time she took some free time and decided to finally visit her parents. She missed them so much. She missed mom's delicious meals (let's face it, Elena hasn't eaten properly since her last visit) and dad's lame jokes. And there was also her little brother…. Well, he wasn't exactly so little anymore. Elena really hoped that he will be home too because she couldn't remember the last time she saw him and she really missed him. He was too busy with college, like she was with work. That made her kind of sad, but they were both extremely successful and their parents were so proud of their kids so that made Elena proud too.

The buzzing of the phone broke Elena out of her thinking. After couple of moments digging through her bag, she finally managed to find it.

"Hey, Care. What's up?" Elena didn't even realize how tired she sounded.

"Hey, Lena! Where are you?" Caroline cheerfully squeaked on the phone. There was noise in the background, Elena heard music and people talking. Her friend was probably in the bar or café or something.

"Umm…"

"Elena Gilbert! Are you still working?" she didn't sound so cheerful anymore. There was anger and disapproval in her voice now.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm heading home now, okay?"

"You promised last week that you'll come and hang with me and guys from work this Friday! Ugh, I can't believe you forgot!"

"I know, I'm so sorry, Caroline. But you know I'm going home tomorrow and I really needed to work on the Anderson's case. The trial is in three weeks and I still have no idea how I'm going to pull that off," Elena said, rubbing her forehead.

"You are getting too attached to mrs. Anderson. And you know we're not supposed to get attached to our clients."

"Yeah, I know. But tell me how should I not get attached to this? I mean, it's really hard… Her case is so sad and heartbreaking and…" Elena's heard her own voice cracking.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so freaking sympathetic? If you keep doing this, if your obsession with work doesn't stop, you're going to end up alone with 25 cats." Elena knew her best friend too well to take Caroline's outbursts seriously so she just laughed.

"Seriously? You have nothing to say at this?" Caroline was getting really annoyed by Elena's attitude.

"No, actually, I don't," she was trying hard not to laugh again because she knew it would make Caroline even more pissed off than she already was.

Caroline let out a sigh, slowly giving up. "God, Elena… Are you even coming to the Pub?"

"I wish I could, but I'm so tired and I have to get up early tomorrow…"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Then I guess I'll see you after you come back. Bye."

"Bye. Say hello to everyone," Elena said, getting in the elevator.

Elena couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her best friend. She hated ditching her like this, especially because of Caroline's speeches about the importance of friendship. Elena loved Caroline, she really did. They were friends since she came to New York and started working for the Loockwood Lawyer Company. But Caroline had this ability to drive Elena crazy, usually with bitching about Elena's huge commitment to work and her attachment to their clients. Elena really couldn't help it, she was always compassionate and very emotional. Well, except in the courtroom where she was ruthless. Maybe that's why she was considered one of the best lawyers in Manhattan.

There were ten more floors to go. Elena leaned her head on the cold metal of the elevator and let her mind wander at the first time she saw mrs. Anderson.

"Hey, Elena, we have a new case. And you're going to cover it," her boss's son appeared on the door, smiling pitifully.

Elena groaned. "But, Tyler… You know I have work all over my head, I don't think I can handle working on another case!" she made a desperate face, begging Tyler to ease up.

"I know, believe me, I get it. It's just… Everyone else is very busy too and I think you might be perfect for this case."

"You say that every time, Ty," Elena frowned, glaring at him. Tyler Lockwood was her friend for years, since she started working in his father's company and they agreed not to use formal names ages ago.

"That's because you are perfect for everything! Seriously, you're incredible," he stepped in Elena's office, grinning.

"Sucking up isn't going to help you," Elena still hadn't taken her eyes off of bunch of papers on her desk.

"Elena, please. We're going to pay you a lot for this, you know that we are. I talked to my dad and we both agreed that you're the one who should take this case because you have a chance to do something amazing," Tyler sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and looked at Elena with pleading eyes.

"Okay, tell me about the client," Elena finally gave in and Tyler grinned, satisfied.

"So… Her name is Emily Anderson. She's been abused by her husband. He also abused their children who are six and nine years old." As Tyler talked, Elena's look softened and her lips trembled. She's never dealt with a situation like this before and she knew it will be pretty emotional for her.

"The woman's uncle is some rich old guy so he's paying all that, don't worry about it. And also…" Tyler was interrupted by Elena's secretary who opened the door.

"Um… Sorry for interrupting, miss Gilbert, but mrs. Anderson is here to see you."

Elena gave Tyler a furious look. "Seriously? You told her to come before you asked me?" Tyler shrugged and smiled innocently.

"Thank you, Megan, tell her she can come in," Tyler said instead of Elena, which earned him another intimidating glare.

Megan left and after a couple of moments a blond woman in her mid-thirties appeared at the door. Elena couldn't help but stare when she entered her office.. Mrs. Anderson was looking down, like she was afraid or ashamed to lift her head up. She had a black eye and was trying to cover up her arms so Elena assumed she had bruises all over her body. She looked miserable and Elena felt terribly sorry for her from the moment she saw her.

Elena got home and went straight to her bedroom. She threw herself on the bed and let out a sigh. As soon as her head touched the pillow, her eyes began to shut. She didn't even bother to change into her pajama. She slept like a baby. Until her phone rang in 3 am. Elena groaned and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. She picked up, her eyes still closed.

"Hello?" she mumbled.

"Elena! Hi!" it was Caroline. She seemed extremely cheery. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you soooo much," too cheery, Elena thought. She sounded tipsy. Which she probably was. "You are my best friend on the whole world and I'm very, very sorry that I snapped at you earlier. I just think you should loosen up a bit, ya know?" Caroline giggled.

"Thanks, Caroline, apology accepted," Elena said, still angry because Caroline woke her up, but she smiled anyway because her friend was just hilarious when she was drunk.

"Great," Caroline giggled again.

"Hey, Care, you coming?" Elena heard a male voice in the background.

"Caroline, are you with Tyler again?" Elena asked, laughing.

"Well, yeah, we just walked out from the Pub and now we're gonna continue this party somewhere else," Caroline couldn't stop giggling.

"That's great, have fun," Elena said happily.

"Oh, I will. Bye sweetie, I love you."

"Love you too, Care."

Elena hung up and sighed. Caroline was different than her in many aspects. Caroline loved partying and having fun with lots of different men and right now that was Tyler Lockwood, their boss's son. Tyler was a great guy, very outgoing and friendly (and also incredibly hot), but their relationship was nothing serious. That was probably because they were so alike- they didn't want any commitment yet and they were just having fun. Elena, on the other hand, wanted something completely different.

She wanted someone who will love her no matter what, someone she could talk to about everything, someone who will understand her and support her, but still challenge her and have fun with her. Even though she didn't want to admit, Elena kind of liked cheesy stuff. She secretly wanted that kind of relationship she watched in incredible amount of romantic comedies. And right now it seemed to her that she will never find something like that. In today's world, everything is about sex. People, usually drunk, meet in some lousy bar with crappy music and disgusting cheap alcohol, they don't even bother to get to know each other, and after some time, they end up screwing on the first place they find. Elena had wondered where was that magic she's been dreaming of since she was just a kid.

"Oh, shit," Elena cursed, nervously tapping the wheel with her fingers. She got stuck in the traffic and she couldn't see the end of the cars in front of and behind her. Taking a sip of her coffee, she grabbed her phone and dialed the number. The phone rang a few times until Elena heard the answering machine.

Elena coughed and started talking awkwardly. "Hey, Matt, it's me… Um, I just… I just wanted to tell you that I'm really, really sorry that we didn't get to see each other before I left. I was really busy and I assume you were too so I guess we can meet up when I get back. Anyways, I'm so sorry… Okay, call me when you get this. Bye."

And yet again, Elena let I love you slip from her lips. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him how she feels about him. Maybe it was because she still wasn't sure about her feelings. And she should've figured it out by now, Elena and Matt have been seeing each other for almost six months now. Matt already poured her heart to her and she couldn't help but feel guilty that she doesn't feel the same about him. It just somehow didn't feel right. And they were really having a good time together. Matt made her laugh, they could talk about anything and he was really sweet, not to mention awfully handsome, but Elena just wasn't in love with him. She actually considered him more as a friend. Even though she knew it was selfish of her to stall him like that, Elena didn't want to break up with him. She just didn't want to be alone. And she hoped that maybe, just maybe, she will eventually develop real feelings for Matt.

"Grayson! Come out, Elena's here!" Miranda Gilbert shouted excitedly, watching her daughter pulling over to the driveway. As soon as Elena got out of the car, she ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"Mom. I can't breath," Elena said, struggling to catch a breath. Miranda loosened her grip, stroking her daughter's long, brown hair.

"What took you so long? We've been worried, honey," she whispered.

Elena pulled away so she could face her mother. "Got into traffic. But now I'm finally here," she grinned and put her arms around her dad, who just got out of the house.

"Well, let's come inside, sweetheart, it's freezing out here," Grayson said, taking his daughter's arm.

"Is Jeremy coming?" Elena asked when they came inside.

Miranda smiled. "Yes, your brother should be here by Monday."

"Oh, so they're finally letting him out of that prison?" Elena laughed soundly, giving her father a significant glare.

He frowned. "Hey, I went to med school! And it's not a prison!" he sounded insulted. Elena always loved teasing her dad. When he got angry at her, it would make the vein on his forehead pop. His eyes always narrowed and his lips tightened. Elena found it very fun to watch him.

"Hey, calm down, you two," Miranda stopped them. "Jeremy says he's got a surprise for us."

"What kind of surprise?" Elena asked curiously.

"No idea. He won't tell us," Grayson shrugged.

Elena's younger brother, Jeremy, was in college. He studied medicine, just like their father, who's been a doctor for years. And it wasn't because Grayson made him go there, Jeremy just loved helping people and he knew what he wanted to be since he was a kid. But he was very busy with college, just like Elena with her job, which made those rare family reunions so precious. Elena couldn't wait to see her brother. It's been months since she last saw him.

Elena moaned as she put another bite of mom's meatloaf in her mouth. She just couldn't help it- it was so damn good.

"Eat up, honey, you've gotten really skinny since the last time I saw you," Miranda said with concern all over her face.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. I'm surely going to gain a couple of pounds from all these food," Elena smiled, chewing.

Grayson was also giving her a serious look. Elena swallowed, knowing the lecture's coming up. "Your mother's right, Lena. How come you're so skinny? Do you eat anything at all?"

"I do eat, dad."

Miranda shook her head in disbelief. "I know the problem here. You work too much. Every time I call you, you have your nose in paperwork or getting ready for the court and doing whatever you lawyers are doing. That's why you don't eat enough and that's why you have so little free time. And your love life…"

Elena laughed ironically, cutting her mother off. "Oh, so now this is about my love life?" she rolled her eyes, putting her fork down. She didn't feel so hungry anymore.

"No, honey, my point is, you should slow down a bit. You're 27 years old. You have your whole carrier in front of you and that can't wait. But you can't be alone forever. I can't remember the last time you've been in a serious relationship."

"Mom, I don't really want to talk about it with you. Because if I do, we might fight and I don't want to argue with you. Don't worry about me, I'm not all alone in the world, okay?" she looked at her mom, who just nodded.

"And I love my job. I just love it. But that doesn't mean I don't have a private life. So stop lecturing me because I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl."

"I just want the best for you, Elena," Miranda said gently, her eyes warming up.

"I know, mom," Elena put a grip on her hand. "I know you do."

Elena walked into the Grill. She was so late, Rebekah's going to kill her for it. It's been ages since she last saw her friend and now she's late. It was all her mom's fault. She made her play board games with her and dad, even though Elena told them she had somewhere else to be. She just hoped Rebekah's still waiting for her. She started searching the Grill for her, standing on her toes to see better when she hit something firm. Elena felt the strong smell of bourbon which was now all over her jeans.

"Fuck!" she cursed, lifting her head up so that she could see who got her wet.

As she moved her hair away from her face, her eyes met the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen.

I think you all know to whom those eyes belong! ;)

Thanks for reading and please, REVIEW, I want to know if you guys liked it and if you did, I'll continue it!

Love you all xo