Disclaimer: All

publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. belong to their respective owners. I own nothing but the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: So... this is my first multi-chapter FF for TVD... :) It's also my form of both occupational and self-therapy after the Season 3 finale.

This is set roughly after Season 2, but there are a few differences... For the purpose of this story Klaus actually died in the end and there are a few other changes as well. But I'll explain them in a longer author's note at the end of this chapter (for everyone who wants to know or gets confused otherwise ;))

Thanks to auTumnlove77 and tsukikomew who beta'd this chapter for me.

Chapter 1 - A Problem shared is a Problem halved

"Oh my gosh, girls. I can't believe it!" Caroline squealed excitedly, clinking her glass with Elena's and Bonnie's. "We're done with all of our exams and we're graduating this Saturday!" Again, a high-pitched squeak left the young vampire's lips and Bonnie couldn't help but to laugh at her friend good-naturedly. She hadn't seen her this excited in a long time.

Caroline noticed the amused expressions on both her friends' faces and – a little quieter than before – she added "What? I was really worried about that. And I didn't exactly want to have to compel any teachers, you know? Also, with Alaric being one of them…"

"Caroline," Bonnie interrupted her ramblings, still laughing. "If you ask me – compared to defeating Klaus and saving Elena from becoming the Doppelganger sacrifice, in the process of breaking the sun and the moon curse – finishing High School was a piece of cake."

"Maybe for you it was," Caroline mumbled with a little grin on her face. "I still think Klaus was a lot easier to knock out."

Elena just smiled at the exchange between her two best friends. Now, two months after they finally found a way to get rid of Klaus and all the doom and gloom – as Damon would call it – had finally left their lives, she was happy that they could actually joke about what happened back then. They all still mourned the ones they lost but it was time to go on with their lives and they deserved some much needed happiness, now that the immediate threat – the sword of Damocles over their heads – was gone.

"Well, passing the exams was definitely less dangerous and potentially lethal than fighting against an ancient vampire who's out for blood," she chimed in on their conversation and earned a nod from both of them.

Finally Caroline sighed. "I'm just glad it's all over... all of it. Now we can all finally move on."

Moving on... that was a concept that actually kind of scared Elena right now. After all that had happened, she didn't have the feeling that she could just go off to college and forget about all of it or all of them. Because that is what she would have to do someday, probably sooner rather than later. Now that the threat was gone, it also meant that there was no need for supernatural protection in her life anymore. And there was absolutely no reason for the vampires among them to take the risk and stay in Mystic Falls.

Caroline and Stefan – whom she had broken up with long before they eventually managed to make their final stroke against Klaus – planned on leaving Mystic Falls after the summer. Since they were both turned at age 17 they couldn't stay any longer without the townspeople – who were in a large part very aware of vampires – noticing that they didn't age. Bonnie wanted to go to college somewhere in Louisiana where she had found some distant relatives of hers, who were also witches. In one year, when it was Jeremy's turn to graduate from High School, he would most likely follow her. Alaric would also stay in Mystic Falls for at least one more year, but after that... who knew what he was going to do. There was really not much left to keep him here, after Jenna had died.

And Damon... well, she didn't really know what his plans for the future where, since he hadn't talked to her about them. In fact, he didn't talk to her much anymore at all... not since Klaus had died. She was worried about him; even so much she had talked to Stefan about it several times. He thought that it was because Damon had opened up to almost all of them a little more than he usually would while they all were facing their deaths. And it was true. They all could have died at any time and the constant prospect of maybe losing someone that you love made it hard for all of them to keep their guards up around each other at all times. Damon had shown more genuine emotions than she had ever seen from him, especially around her. He had been scared, not for his own life, but for hers and that fear made him show a lot more than he was probably willing to let other people see.

And now he was withdrawing from all of them, but mostly from her. At least that was what it felt like to Elena. Sometimes it was almost like she had lost him right along with Jenna and John. And she missed him. Her friend Damon... her protector... the one person that always seemed to get her best... and infuriated her to no end. Being angry at him for some reason would be a nice distraction right about now.

"Hey, Elena!" She was roused from her thoughts by Caroline. The tone of her friend's voice made it obvious that this was not the first time that the blonde had been trying to gain her attention.

Elena shook her head in a quick movement to clear it from her previous thoughts and then looked at both her best friends with an apologetic smile. "Er... sorry, what?"

"Wow, Elena... where have you been off to?"

"Just thinking," Elena mumbled dismissively. She didn't really want to get into detail with her friends about her recent sorrows... because she was sure that that would only cause them to worry about her and she didn't want that. They all had done that enough lately to last a lifetime.

"Well, care to share what made you zone out like that? You've been miles away," said Bonnie, looking at her with a pensive and slightly concerned expression.

Elena just shrugged, trying hard to seem nonchalant about it. "Nothing important, really. Just the whole future thing." Neither Bonnie nor Caroline seemed very convinced by her explanation. The latter just raised a suspicious eyebrow as if she was trying to taunt her with it. Seriously, Elena?

"Really guys, I'm fine," she reinforced. "Everything is okay."

Bonnie sighed at that, making it obvious that she still didn't believe her but not pressing the matter any further. Caroline, however, was a different issue. Her expression had changed from just plainly disbelieving, to slightly anxious, uneasy and cautious.

"Elena," she began slowly, intently watching her and trying to gauge her reaction. "If this has anything to do with me and Stefan. I told you, it's not -"

"Its fine, Caroline," Elena interrupted the vampire, not wanting her to explain herself again. Unnecessarily. "I broke up with Stefan some time ago now... and though – at first – it might have been solely because I could not stand the thought of continuing a relationship, when I didn't even know if I would live to see the next day... it's not like that anymore." She had been giving that explanation to several people who were confused about her ongoing break up with the younger Salvatore over and over again for the last months. She was slowly but surely getting tired of repeating it all the time and so she found that it might be the time to give them a little bit more than just that.

"Over the last few months, during the whole battle against Klaus and now afterward," she took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to make them understand, "I just came to realize that Stefan and I... we aren't meant to be together. We get along with each other much better when we are only friends... nothing more. Now that I had some time to think about it, it just seems like we've been holding each other back as a couple." She lowered her voice a little. "I wasn't willing to turn for him and while I was always quite sure of that fact... being faced with the immediate prospect of dying – one way or the other – made me realize how strongly I do not want that. Not now and probably not in next five years or so. I only just turned eighteen... and Stefan will always be stuck in his teenage years. I don't want that. And therefore our relationship was doomed. We were just stringing each other along as a couple. Whereas, as friends, it appears that we're rather complementing each other. It's just the way we are now. And I wouldn't want it any other way. Really."

Bonnie nodded slowly, finally seeming to understand her best friend, but Caroline still looked a little skeptical. Elena sighed and reached over the table for her friend's hand.

"Listen, Care. Of course I still care about Stefan. Deeply so. And I still love him, I think I will never stop doing that … but I'm loving him the way I love you... and Bonnie" She looked at Caroline reassuringly, pleading her with her eyes to believe her, to finally understand and let go. "I love him as a friend. Nothing less and nothing more."

Caroline's gaze turned somewhat hopeful and Elena couldn't suppress the small smile appearing on her lips. "And as your friend I want you to be happy … both of you." Elena glanced over at Bonnie who now wore a knowing grin of her own. Leaning back in her seat, Elena's smile grew a little wider. "And I got the distinct feeling... you might just find that happiness with each other."

The blonde looked at her friend with shock written all over her face. She almost looked like the little five year old girl, who had been caught red-handed with her tiny fingers buried deeply in the cookie jar. "Elena, I-"

But again she was interrupted by her. "Its okay, Care," she chuckled. "And I get it... believe me, of all people I do. I'm not saying that it is going to happen any time soon... I know that you're still not completely over Matt... or Tyler. And I know that Stefan's got to work out some issues of his own, not only because of me but also because of Katherine." Caroline flinched at the mention of Elena's malicious doppelganger's name. She was still highly intimidated by her. "But you two got eternity, right? And there is definitely something between the two of you. He's different with you."

And that was a fact. Stefan had always been a little different around Caroline. Less brooding and a lot more laid back. He actually seemed to loosen up around her. And that made Elena happy, as well as it caused a slight pinch of jealousy in her stomach. She had never been able to really bring out that careless, fun side of Stefan. And of course it wasn't exactly easy to consider your ex-boyfriend – of whom you once, not so long ago, thought he was the love of your life – dating one of your best friends, and her actually being the better choice for him... but then again, her other best friend was dating her brother, so how much more awkward could it get, really? And not to forget that Caroline had also been dating Matt, who was her ex-boyfriend, too. Elena was more than used to having awkward relationships going on around her.

"Well," Caroline began slowly and, finally, she started cheering up again, smiling brightly. "If you're really okay with it … I mean he can be kind of cute." And with that the tension at their table was lifted for the time being, as they all broke out in a fit of very girly giggles.

They chattered about all sorts of silly things, exchanging the latest gossip and just enjoying the fact that they could finally laugh again. Being carefree without feeling bad about it was wonderful. The next instant was downright liberating and it was in these newfound moments that Elena could finally feel like an 18-year-old teenager again, like the weight of the world didn't rest solely on her shoulders.

But even now there was still a slight feeling of uneasiness left inside her. Her sorrows from earlier didn't just vanish into thin air just because she was feeling like the person she had once been again, even if only for a short amount of time. She wasn't that girl anymore. Her parents were still dead, all four of them; she still lost Jenna and Klaus had still happened … and her future was as unpredictable as Damon's constant mood swings, notwithstanding.

If only she could talk to him again like she did a few months ago. Sometimes she almost wished Klaus hadn't died yet. At least then her life would still have a perspective – even if it just was surviving the next day – and she wouldn't have to face the possibility of losing everyone she cared about, if not for good then at least for probably a long time. She wouldn't feel so lost all the time.

But deep inside she knew the mere thought was utterly stupid. Klaus was dead and it was for the better. Because, if she was true to herself, she hadn't felt much different back then. She hadn't known what her future would've been like, either. And the uncertainty had been killing her, as much as it was now. There had just been bigger things to worry about … that was it.

"You know what," she was once again stirred from her thoughts, but this time it was Bonnie's voice which brought her back from the depths of her own mind. "You're our friend, too, Lena. And that means that we want to see you happy as much as you want to see us that way." She paused and looked at her friend with a skeptical, emphatic look on her face. "So will you tell us what's been bothering you lately?"

"Nothing, I'm..."

"And don't even try to tell us your fine, because you're not, Elena," the witch interrupted her forcefully. "Everyone can see that."

Elena opened her mouth, trying to protest once again but she didn't get the chance to speak before Caroline chimed in. "Bonnie's right. Something's going on, Elena. For god's sake, Klaus is dead, Katherine's gone and your life is no longer at stake... but you still look as miserable as sin. So what's wrong?"

"And if you're not going to tell us soon, girl, I'm going to have Caroline compel you, just so you know," Bonnie added, only half joking, judging from the serious look on her face.

Elena sighed, knowing that she was fighting a lost battle against her two best friends and that it was probably time for her to surrender. "Fine, I'll talk."

The vampire and the witch exchanged a quick glance and a slightly smug expression took over their features.

"I'm scared," Elena started tentatively, not exactly sure how to voice her worries to make her friends understand. "I'm scared of... that uncertainty that my life's been lately. It's like I fought all those obstacles in my life and tried so hard to evade and clear away every danger I have been faced with over the last years... that now, that they're finally all gone, I don't really know what exactly I want to do with my life anymore. I've been so occupied with everything that's been going on... I didn't even think about stuff like College, moving away, maybe finding a job … I simply don't know what to do, now." She took a deep breath. "Most of the people that are truly important to me are part of the supernatural world I stumbled into somehow. So I can't exactly escape that, not that I even want to. But that also means that I'm going to lose most of those people rather soon... I just keep losing them... because you guys can't stay in one place for too long. Caroline, you're going to leave with Stefan and even though we said that we would stay in touch, it might be years, if not decades until we see each other again. You are going to go to Louisiana, Bonnie and I know you're dating my brother so we definitely going to stay in touch, but you're still going to be away for some time. Next year, when Jeremy's out of High School, he's going to go live with you and... he's the only family I have left. Ric probably won't stay here either. Matt just disappeared without a trace and Damon... hell if I know what he's going to do. But it's not like it actually matters because he's avoiding me anyway, so..." Elena noticed that – without being aware of it – she had talked herself into a rage and by the end of her little speech she had almost been screaming, which attracted a few disapproving glances from the people sitting at the tables around them.

She let out an exasperated breath and tried to sink a little deeper into their booth as she took a large gulp of the drink in front of her, trying to calm herself.

"Well that was one enthusiastic speech, woman," Caroline laughed a little uneasily, trying to lighten the mood. Elena forced a small smile and Caroline's face grew serious once again. "Lena... why haven't you said something to us earlier?"

"Yeah," Bonnie agreed. "We could have talked about that... we could have helped you."

"And how exactly would you do that? How would you help me with something like this?" Elena asked incredulously. "It's not like you could change anything about it."

"Well, maybe we can't change it," Caroline admitted. "But we still could have helped you dealing with it. Trust me, if I learned one thing in life it is that a problem shared is a problem halved." She smiled softly at her best friend. "And you're not the only one worrying about your future."

Elena's eyes narrowed slightly and she looked at Caroline in wonder.

"Of course we're scared, too," Bonnie explained. "I might know the general direction in which I want my future to go, but that doesn't mean I have it all planned out. Moving to Louisiana, that's a big step for me, Elena. And leaving Jeremy behind was not exactly an easy decision to make. Especially after everything that happened with Klaus. Jeremy almost died... I almost died and that knowledge still terrifies me to no end. But I also know that I have to let go of that fear if I ever want to move on." She sighed. "It's hard... but I'll learn to be okay with it."

"I didn't know," Elena mumbled silently. It was true; she had no idea of how... troubled Bonnie truly was. Of course she knew that they all still lived with the shadows and the aftermath of Klaus' ferocity. But none of them ever talked about it. They were all so determined to get their lives back to normal that nobody wanted to be reminded of what happened only about two months ago.

Bonnie just shrugged and smiled slightly, letting her know that it was okay. "We all have our demons, Elena. We might not always share them with the world, but that doesn't mean they're not there."

"Right," Caroline remarked. "I mean, look at my future. It's eternal... so there's more than enough room to fit tons of worries in there. And I'm probably going to spend the best part of it with the master of brooding himself," she winked at Elena, who couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that.

Caroline had undoubtedly changed a lot since she had been turned into a vampire, but she was still the most cheerful of their group; the one who could make jokes about almost everything and chase away every dark mood.

"It's not like I know what I'm going to do with all of my time. I know I have to leave Mystic Falls, but that's about it. Even though my mom knows about vampires now and actually seems to be coming to terms with what I am... after I leave with Stefan I'll most likely hardly ever see her again. I'm diving in headfirst as much as you do, Elena. And I'm a little scared, too," the blonde admitted truthfully, still as small smile on her face. "I'm just trying to see it all as some sort of great adventure..."

"Not that we haven't had enough of those already," Bonnie mumbled silently. And that did it...

For a few seconds they all just looked at each other, and then broke out in silent giggles which turned into laughter soon afterward.

"To great adventures," Caroline exclaimed and held her glass high over the table.

"To girl talks," Bonnie chimed in, also lifting her drink.

"To moving on," Elena announced last and – for the second time today – they all clinked their glasses.

As they were leaving the Grill about an hour later, she knew for a fact that her friends had been right. A problem shared was indeed a problem halved. And it seemed that in terms of dealing with her own current worries talking was really doing the trick. So she decided that that was exactly what she was going to do. She would talk to them, all of them. Every single person that she cared about and that she had some sort of unsettled issue with right now. And that were at least a few people. There was Stefan, of course, Jeremy, Damon, Alaric... maybe she'd even try to find a way to contact Katherine.

"I think I know what I'm going to do now," she announced to Bonnie, who was sitting in the passenger's seat next to her in the car. Since her friend had come to the Grill with Caroline – who had made the last-minute decision to make a quick visit to the local blood bank – Elena had offered to drop Bonnie off on her way home.

"And what's that?"

"I'm going to talk to everyone I still need to talk to before I can decide what's going to happen next." She glanced at her friend briefly to see her smiling at her.

"That sounds like a good plan to me."

"I hope it is..."

She would go step by step... and to get it over with, she would start with probably the hardest talk of all of them; the one where she wasn't even sure if she could get him to actually talk to her. She sighed.

"Hey, don't worry... everything will turn out all right," Bonnie reassured her as they pulled up in front of her house. Elena gave her a tight hug, thanking her again. "You're more than welcome, Elena." she said as she pulled back, a smile on her face. "And for what it is worth-" Elena watched curiously as Bonnie slowly reached for her cheek, lightly touching the skin under her eye, before pulling her hand back again.

She looked down at her best friend's outstretched finger, to find one of her eyelashes laying at the tip of it. As her eyes met Bonnie's again, she had an incredulous expression on her face.

"Really, Bon?" she laughed. "Wishing on an eyelash? The last time I did this I wasn't even in high school yet. Not like it even works."

Bonnie just shrugged. "It won't do any harm either, if you do."

She looked at the small, black eyelash again skeptically before she finally reached for it tentatively.

"Fine," she mumbled. "No harm."

As she thought about what she was going to wish for – though she still didn't believe it would actually work, it never did – she decided that she might just go with something that would make her first task at hand a lot easier. If she wanted to talk to Damon, she would have to get him to talk first. And for that to happen she needed him to be the way he had been two months ago again.

I want the old Damon back, she thought as she slowly closed her eyes and blew at the little piece of dark hair on her fingertip. The one without all the defenses.

"Happy now?" she asked Bonnie slightly exasperated.

"I'm fine," was all her friend said, a smug grin on her face, before she left the car. "See you," she called before she shut the door and walked up to her house.

Elena just shook her head. Eyelash wishes...

As she left Bonnie's she decided that – instead of going home – she would head straight to the Salvatore mansion.

She might as well get it over with.

Soo... what do you think so far? Not much has happened, yet... but that will change in the next chapter, which I'll upload next week. If I can hold back that long... :)

You'll get to meet Damon... in more than just one way ;)

Please let me know what you think! 3

Oh, and if you want to get a little teaser, just take a look at the banner(s) I made for this story ;) They are on my LJ. (ms-brightside13)

Twitter: TwErdbeerchen

As for the promised a/n:

I started plotting and writing this story in the hiatus before ep2x17 (Know Thy Enemy). So when the show came back a lot of things happened that didn't work with what I had already written or planned in my mind. I decided to change what I could (and it hurt to kill Jenna -.-) but a few changes still remained.
- Damon never actually got bitten by a werewolf (there is no cure after all, if Klaus is dead), however, he still force-fed Elena his blood.

- Jeremy wasn't shot by Sheriff Forbes, as Damon never got delusional. For the sake of this story, when Caroline found out that her mom knew about vampires, she lifted the compulsion and made Liz realize what she already did earlier in the season.

- this also means that Jeremy cannot communicate with ghosts in this story.

- As you read in this chapter, Elena broke up with Stefan before they were able to defeat Klaus. Also, since Klaus is dead and Damon never got bitten, Stefan never fell off the wagon either :)

I think, that's about it. If anything else comes up, it'll probably be explained in the story.