AN: *sheepish grin* I'm so full of empty promises. I know I said I'd have this story up soon and what not, but life has been an utter pain in the ass.

This is going to be a short story (15 chaps max?) with maybe an update per week if this all sorts itself out.

This is mostly a happy story with very little angst (we have enough on the show).

This chapter is really short. The next will be longer, trust me!

Thanks a bunch for sticking with me!

Chapter One: Run

"I'm sort of digging this whole 'don't give a shit never will' style you've got going on," Bonnie said with a sarcastic grin. I rolled my eyes and pulled the hair away from my forehead before dropping it to the desk with a thud.

I could hear her snickering before she poked my shoulder and sighed. "You aren't much fun anymore, by the way." Finally, I relented, pulling my head up.

"I got like 3 hours of sleep last night."

She faux gasped and squinted her eyes, "What were you doing last night? Or should I say, who?"

I refrained from rolling my eyes again and grimaced at the thought of my grueling hours over countless papers filled with even more countless pencil marks. "This valedectorian thing is kicking my ass."

Bonnie giggled and started copying the notes from the board before stage whispering, "First world problems."

Apparently she wasn't quiet enough because Mr. Salvatore turned around with a scowl trained straight on her. "Ms. Bennett, keep talking in my class and you will earn yourself a detention."

Bonnie grinned at her favorite teacher and twirled a piece of her brown hair, "I don't need to earn anything, spending any extra time with you is a reward in my eyes, Mr. S."

I gave her a dubious look and Mr. Salvatore sent her a cold glare before turning back to the board.

"Is it me, or is the sexual tension killing you right now?"

"Bon, he's likes 10 times your senior."

"I'm sure his cock doesn't look like it." The bell rang loudly and all the students slammed their books around before scurrying out the room. I slowly got up, adjusting my head band before walking out the door with Bonnie trailing behind me.

My head was nearly throbbing with my lack of sleep. For some reason, the words 'my fellow students and comrades' was scrolling across my head and I felt like I was going to puke.

"I think I might just take the rest of the day off," I told Bonnie in exasperation. She raised an eyebrow at me before squinting her eyes at me.

"Are you okay, Elena?" I wasn't going to tell her about how my life was falling apart at the seams exept it wasn't. How everything was all the same but completely different at the same time.

It felt like there was someone else driving the car of my life and I'm there in the passenger seat watching life pass me by and not have a clue to whats going on. I felt like I was drowning but I'm not.

Like everything is so perfectly imperfect and scary and wrong. Lately, my smiles don't feel the same and the taste of my mouth isn't right and everything is off. I'm not going to tell her that.

I give her a weak smile, though, because she is my best friend even though she's a perverted freak. "Yeah. I'm okay. I think I'm just gonna go home and veg out on the couch with Jenna and junk. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm good."

"You hear that?" We both turned to see Caroline barrelling toward us with her hands pointed up to the ceiling. "She is good. She is fine. Ella esta bien." I grinned at her and punched her shoulder playfully.

"Okay, I'm out of here. Wish me luck and finishing this damn speech."

Caroline sputtered for a moment, "I don't know how to say that in Spanish yet."

I walked out the school with my bag in tow, taking big steps to my little mini cooper so I could get home. In my peripheral vision I saw a black motorcycle roar into the school parking lot and firing around the paved cement into a spot right next to mine.

I didn't know a lot about Stefan Salvatore except a few things. I'm pretty sure he isn't graduating this year and that could be because he never comes to school. He was in jail for a while and I think he had a drug problem. Factually, he is Mr. Salvatores brother, he drives a motorcycle and is extremely good looking. And is also the last thing I want to have to deal with today.

He moved off the bike right as I approached my car and he didn't move a bit. I could feel his intense gaze on me as I walked over to the drivers side with my head down and pulled on the car door, throwing my bag in first. I sat inside and buckled my seat belt before shutting my door.

Then I sat there.

He stood there.

It was really awkward.

I must have zoned out because I heard a rap on my window door and I didn't know exactly what to do because my car wasn't on so I couldn't roll the window down and I couldn't just get out the car. If I turned the car on he might thing I was ignoring him and leaving so I undid my seatbelt and opened my door before getting out.

I finally met his emerald eyes to see them full of mirth. He licked his lips, very distractingly, I might add, and bit down on it.

"You okay? You seem...shaken."

"I'm not."

"Okay."

"You do drugs?" I blurted out and then closed my eyes in humiliation. I held them like that for a minute until I heard a choking sound. I opened one eye and saw him trying to contain his laughter, very poorly.

"I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, "sometimes I just say things. I don't mean to actually say them..."

"Yes you do. They don't just come from nowhere, now do they? I did drugs." When he said it it didn't seem as bad as what you thought it would be. For some reason whenever I thought someone admitted to doing drugs it would be some huge ordeal. Apparently not.

"It's not any of my business."

"It isn't," he agreed with a careful nod. I looked around us and finally nodded toward my car.

"I'm just gonna..."

"Wait," he said, grabbing hold of my arm. I peered up at him and he took a long look at the school before he looked at me like he was making a life-changing decision.

"Would you like to go for a ride?"