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Anyway, this is my first vampire diaries fanfic, so I hope you enjoy!

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Oh, come on!

I glanced up around me, surveying the park with the kids playing on the newly painted swings. My stomach felt queasy, and a cloud of exhaustion loomed over me.

"The park...needs renovation? Okay, trash that idea." I placed my hand on my forehead and shut my eyes. "God, why is this so hard! It's just a story!" I sighed, remembering everyone else had been assigned an important story and I was told to "write whatever". Somehow I felt that my relevance to newspaper was slowly depleting.

I set my notebook down, glancing up at the clouds. Why was this so difficult? I had aspired for this job my entire life, and now that I had it I was ready to blow it.

"Stop. Stop pitying yourself, you're okay." I calmed myself down, breathing in and out slowly. "Okay...parks...new parks put in? Parks are relevant? Ugh! I don't even know! Stupid parks!"

I snapped awake as the sound of a fast driving vehicle zoomed past the park. I squinted at the flashy car, frowning. Great. I instantly recognized the expensive vehicle and knew exactly who the owners were. The last this town needed was the Salvatore brothers in town. Of course, it was summer, and what was summer without visiting the childhood mansion?

Both of them were wealthy, of course. Family money. Stefan, the youngest, became a doctor and was one of the best in the country. Stefan was actually a friend of mine. We dated briefly in high school, but ended it as just friends when we went our separate ways with careers. Still, we kept in touch.

I didn't like his brother much, though. He was the rebellious kid, the kid that every parent would try and keep away from their daughters. Unlike Stefan, Damon played his cards with investing to increase his wealth. Between the two, Stefan was clearly the well behaved one, helping people whilst his brother continued to suck in a profit.

"If only he even knew how people could perceive him." I muttered to myself, picturing his reaction to a bad press article right in his home town.

I paused.

Wait a minute...wait a minute! An article about the spoiled brothers, more specifically Damon, would surely snatch up an audience. Who doesn't love gossip?

I smiled, a wave of relief crashing into me. Okay, okay. Maybe my career was saved after all. I quickly shoved everything into my bag and threw it around my shoulder.

I stepped off the grass and on to the sidewalk, prepared to walk as I normally did. "Well...it's a long walk," I said, swallowing hard at the thought of walking for ages. Swiftly I yanked out my phone. "Yes, hello...taxi?"

"Elena Gilbert."

"Stefan Salvatore," I greeted with a smile. "It's really good to see you." I glanced him up and down. "We haven't really talked since, I dunno, last week. Good to see you!" I threw my arms around his neck, smiling.

"Oh yeah, a whole week!"

"Well, that's a long time for friends," I laughed, brushing my hair out of my face. "How's Caroline? Is she here?"

"Uh...yeah. She's doing okay. We all are, I guess. I'm fine, anyway. I feel awful for her. She really wanted this, you know?" Stefan sighed, shutting his eyes. "It was her last chance too..." He hesitated. "I haven't introduced the idea of adoption to her yet. I mean we talked about it before, but I don't know how she'll react if I bring it up now after everything..."

I nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I understand...or I guess I don't, really. But I get loss, and it sucks. Her mom and then this." I frowned, remembering the look of utter joy on her face when she had informed me that she was pregnant and beyond happy, especially since the doctor promised the chances of her getting pregnant were slim to none.

Stefan sighed, probably thinking about his girlfriend. "She's here, if you want to come in." He smiled, pushing away the sad thoughts. I knew he was upset equally at the loss of their child, except he put on a strong face for Caroline.

I brightened at the thought of seeing my best friend, momentarily losing the reason I had come here. "Wait...is Damon around?"

"Damon?" Stefan asked, surprised. "Why do you want to see him? I thought he would be the last person you'd like to see. I remember you saying how snobby and selfish he was. You said that like a million times!"

"Well, yeah," I laughed, unsure. "I want to interview him for an article that I'm going to write."

"Mmm...that's too generous for you to do. What is it, a hate article?" Stefan rolled his eyes. "You know what, I don't want to know. He could use a personality check anyway."

I stepped over the threshold, glancing at the extravagant mansion. It made my little cottage on the outskirts of town seem...small and bare, which it was.

"Elena!"

I whirled around, spotting my blonde friend standing in one of the many doorways. "Caroline!" I exclaimed, rushing over to greet her. I offered her a hug, which she accepted. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. To be honest I am sick of people asking me that. I'm okay. I just needed time, and I got that. I think the best thing now for me to do is move forward." She sighed, closing her eyes. She opened them, all traces of sadness gone. "So...what are you doing over here?"

"Interviewing Damon," Stefan cut in, wrapping and arm around Caroline and giving her forehead a light kiss. "Don't even ask. She's just desperate for a story."

"Well, yeah," I said, shrugging. "But wouldn't you want to read dirt on one of the two richest brothers in town, hmm? Especially if you were a gold digger girl and one of them happened to be single?"

Caroline laughed. "Yeah, I suppose it might draw a bit of attention." She leaned against Stefan and looked him in the eyes. "Good thing I got my hands on the other one."

He smiled, she smiled, and my heart fluttered. They really suit each other. I paused. I guess The One has yet to show their face to me. But to be fair I haven't been mingling much.

"Elena Gilbert."

Wow, this household seemed to have a thing for addressing people formally. I turned around to see the other brother, dressed in an expensive suit. I glanced him up and down, taking in his appearance. "Well, you don't have casual Fridays I suppose." I paused. "Hello, Damon."

"Well, what do we owe the pleasure of having the famous Elena welcomed into our home?" Damon glanced at Stefan and Caroline. "Ugh. Oh, puh-lease tell me it isn't to have a friendly chat with Stefan and his barbie."

Stefan frowned, immediate irritation written on his face. Caroline wrapped her arms around him, as though she could restrain him from lashing out at his obnoxious brother.

"Actually," I said slowly. "I am here to see you, as a matter of fact. You must be thrilled."

Damon's face did display genuine shock for a brief second before it was covered up. "Me? I'm flattered. But obviously you don't want to sit and talk. What do you want?"

"While that is very interesting, I came to interview you for an article I'm going to write." I held my breath, waiting anxiously. I needed this story, I really did. I would be seriously screwed if Damon declined.

Damon paused. "Sorry, I don't do interviews. Talk to Stefan, okay? Everyone wants to hear about the golden boy anyway."

"Damon, come on," Stefan cut in. He gave his brother a tired look. "Elena's a friend, okay? Just one story. It will not ruin your reputation, I promise, okay? Elena has her opinions, so just...try not to piss her off."

I shrugged, nodding to his words. Damon hesitated. "Alright, fine. But I want to review it before it's published, alright? Deal?"

I nodded, brightening. I didn't particularly want him overlooking my work, but I needed my job. Plus there were ways of deceiving someone. "Okay, great. When should we...?"

"Well, tomorrow night I can take you out for dinner and you can ask me anything, how's that?" Damon said with a smirk. I sighed, knowing this must be one of the many tricks in his playbook to get girls. I frowned upon his view of women, seeing as they were money gathering, time consuming toys.

"Sounds fine," I said half-heartedly. I faced Caroline. "Do you want to grab lunch tomorrow as well?"

"Sure," she said. She gave Stefan a kiss on the cheek and then turned to me. "Want to hang out for the evening? Just like old times?"

"Definitely." I said, smiling. I needed to relax and take some time to myself. Now that I had a story secured, I deserved some spare time. "Bye Stefan."

"Bye Elena," Damon replied rather condescendingly, resulting in Stefan giving him a glare.

"Right. Bye Damon. See you at dinner, I guess."