AN: I promise to my Curse readers, I will have the next chapter up soon. I had this idea the other night as I was watching Sweet Home Alabama. It does at first seem to match up with the movie a lot, but it takes a direction of its own eventually. I hope you all review and let me know what you think about this new story. I really have a good bit of it plotted out already. It's just waiting to be written.

Summary: Damon and Elena were high school lovers who got married right out of high school. After a terrible fight with Elena, Damon goes to his father to ask for his advice, but Giuseppe tells him that Stefan and Elena slept together. He offers Damon a chance to get out of Mystic Falls forever, and Damon takes it. He goes to New York and becomes a successful lawyer. After seven years and several rejected divorce papers, Damon goes back to Mystic Falls determined to get his divorce in order to be able to marry Katherine.

New York

"Damon! Damon!" one photographer cried out as he snapped pictures furiously. Another one cried out for his attention while some called out Katherine's name.

A reporter from the New York Times suddenly appeared in front of them. "Damon, Katherine," he addressed and shoved a microphone up to their faces. "Is it true? Sources say the two of you have decided to tie the knot." He leaned in closer in order to hear their response.

Damon Salvatore smiled down at his new fiancé, Katherine Pierce. She was the daughter of the mayor of New York. They had indeed made things official the previous night. "Yes," he spoke into the microphone. "We are engaged." He flashed another beaming grin for all the cameras while Katherine showed off her new 4-carat diamond ring. It was more extravagant than anything Damon had ever purchased before, but as the lawyer for one of the most respected and powerful law firms in the northeastern states, Damon could definitely afford it.

"You two must be very happy! I'm sure all the ladies of New York will be weeping tomorrow morning to find out New York's most eligible bachelor is officially off the market. Congratulations," the reporter congratulated and then left them alone.

Damon's smile faltered for a second. Technically he hadn't been a bachelor since his sophomore year of high school. He rarely allowed himself to think about Elena who was technically his wife. They had dated for three years before getting married the summer after their senior year. He had left two weeks before Christmas. His father had given him a chance to get out of the town for the rest of his life, and he took it. Damon couldn't even count the number of times he had sent her signed divorce papers that were always returned to him three days later unsigned. He pushed all thoughts of Elena to the back of his head when Katherine took his hand and lead them into the hotel where the banquet they were attending was being held. He smiled and followed her after deciding he would deal with Elena the following day even if it meant going to Mystic Falls and forcing her to sign the divorce papers himself.

Mystic Falls

She didn't know why she did this to herself. After all the years that had gone by, she, Elena Gilbert, was still in love with Damon Salvatore. She knew she shouldn't read the tabloids that kept Damon's life under a microscope. Now he was engaged to Katherine Pierce the daughter of the mayor of New York. It hit her harder than all the other girls she had read about in the past. It seemed this time he had really moved on even though she knew he had moved on seven years ago.

She still found herself thinking about the fight they had before he left. She didn't know why he had decided to leave her in the end. Giuseppe just told her he had finally had enough and decided marrying young was a mistake. She closed out of the window browser as her phone began to ring.

She sighed when she saw the caller id. "Hi Caroline," she greeted tiredly.

"Don't give me that Elena. I know exactly know what you've been up to. I'm sure you must have heard by now that Damon's engaged to that tramp," Caroline chided.

Elena sighed. Caroline had never liked Damon even though she was his sister-in-law. She had never forgiven him for his treatment toward Elena and Stefan. Leaving Elena and not showing up to Caroline and Stefan's wedding was the last straw for her. He would not get any second chances with her. She had no mercy when it came to him. She was fiercely protective of Elena and Stefan.

"I know Care. I'll be fine I swear," she drawled. Sometimes Caroline was a little too protective. She glanced at her watch and realized she was late for a meeting with her publisher. "I have to go Caroline. I'll see you tonight," she promised. Before Caroline had a chance to cut her off, Elena ended the call, grabbed her keys, bag, shoes, and walked out of her house. She locked the house behind her, jogged down the steps, and got into her car.

As she drove to work, she thought about her latest pitch to her publisher. Ever since her last two books, she had hit a serious block. She had drawn so much inspiration from everything that had happened the last seven years she felt like she was all tapped out. Now she needed to write at least one last book to fulfill the requirements of her book deal. Elijah, her publisher, was completely on her side to give her more time to develop her ideas, but the head of the publishing house, Klaus, was out to get her after she rejected his advances a few weeks prior. He wanted her next book to be done completely within seven months. Elijah told her he would get Klaus to ease up a little, but it would be best to work toward getting the book done quickly.

She pulled into a parking space and got out to meet Elijah. It was going to be a long meeting. A few hours later Elena walked out of the office completely drained. She and Elijah went back and forth for three hours to come up with solid ideas for her book. They were still at square one. Rubbing her temples tiredly, Elena drove home quickly hoping to get a shower before going to Stefan's for Caroline's dinner party. When she got home though all hopes of getting a shower in were lost as she pulled into her driveway and saw someone very familiar standing on her front porch.

She stepped out of the car with disbelief on her face as the man waiting outside of her house took off his Ray bans to reveal his piercing cobalt eyes.

"Hello, Elena," Damon said with a slight frown set on his face. "I believe you and I have some unfinished business," he said and waved the papers in her face.

Elena knew they were another set of divorce papers. She got them almost every year on their wedding anniversary with his signature already on them, and every year she sent them back unsigned. She wanted him to come show his face and tell her exactly why he left all those years ago. Only then would she sign those damn papers. "I can't do this right now Damon," she glared and went to unlock her house. "I'm going to be late as it already is." She got it unlocked and entered and closed the door in Damon's face. After locking it, she went upstairs to her room to get changed. After her parent's died, she still didn't move into their bedroom. It felt wrong. For weeks she couldn't even walk past it without bursting into tears. When she entered though, she saw Damon trying to get through her window. She was seriously reconsidering that decision as she saw him slip through with ease.

"I haven't done that in a long time," he smirked as he looked around. He ran his finger across her teddy bear that used to sit on her bed but was now on a shelf.

Elena swallowed the lump in her throat. She took the time to get a good look at him. His pictures didn't do him justice. Before he left, he had been a cute, charming boy, but now he was an exceedingly attractive, successful, sexy man. "I have to get ready Damon. I don't want to talk to you right now." She grabbed a dark purple dress from her closet and waited for him to leave.

He knew what she was trying to tell him. "It's nothing I haven't seen before Elena," he stated but walked out of the door. He figured she might be more cooperative if at least didn't try and see her naked before he left.

Elena rolled her eyes and locked the door after him. She yanked off her clothes and pulled on a short, dark blue halter dress. She had gotten it when she went shopping with Bonnie a few weeks back. The halter was beaded and had a sweetheart neckline. She clasped on her mother's bracelet and ran a brush through her chocolate brown locks. After transferring her things to a nude clutch, she unlocked her door, but to her surprise Damon was nowhere in sight. Hoping he decided to finally leave, she grabbed a pair of nude pumps and walked down the stairs.

"You didn't think I would give up this easily did you?" he asked teasingly. "Come on Elena, I have a flight that I need to catch tomorrow morning. I would really like to be back in New York as soon as possible."

Elena stopped in her tracks and turned to find him sitting in her living room. "Why? It's not like would be the first time you've left me," she spat back at him bitterly as she slipped on her heels. Who was he to show up in her town and demand she sign his stupid papers just so he could marry his whore?

Damon's eye darkened as he stood. He crossed the room in a few strides and looked her straight in the eye. "Sign the papers Elena, and I promise it'll be the last time I leave you," he said tensely and handed her a pen.

Elena glared right back at him. "Like you're one to keep your promises," she replied testily and rejected his pen. "This time Damon, allow me to walk out before you can," she gave him one last glare and then stormed out the door not caring to lock it.

She pulled up to the Salvatore mansion seething and stormed into the house looking for Caroline. "Care!" she shouted with anger radiating through her voice. "That insufferable, inconsiderate ass!" she muttered under her breath.

"Oh no, what did Elijah do now?" Caroline asked from behind her. She had just finished getting dressed for her dinner. She had chosen a dark green spaghetti strapped mini dress. She handed her a glass of champagne. She was used to Elena coming over in a terrible mood after her meetings with Elijah. They were becoming more and more frequent lately.

Elena took the glass and downed it in one gulp. She was going to need something way stronger to make it through the night. "Not Elijah," she smirked a little and then took a deep breath. "It's Damon. He's back," she informed her.

Caroline's jaw actually dropped at her news. "Stefan!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. A few seconds later they heard feet scrambling toward them coming from Stefan's office.

He too was already dressed for the dinner but had been trying to finish up some last minute work before everyone arrived. "What is it Care?" he asked worriedly as he looked back and forth between the two.

Caroline turned to face him. "Damon's back in town," she seethed with anger burning in her eyes. She was going to kill him if she saw him.

Stefan gasped and turned to Elena. "Did you see him?" he asked confused. He never thought his brother would come back to town especially now.

Elena nodded. "I came home from my meeting with Elijah, and he was at my house waiting for me," she explained. "With divorce papers," she added.

Caroline pursed her lips. "How dare he!" she screeched. "That bastard!"

Stefan wrapped an arm around Caroline's waist. "Calm down Caroline. Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, and everyone else are going to be here soon. You won't have to see him anytime soon. Just let it go for the rest of the night. We'll deal with it tomorrow morning," he soothed. Caroline had been planning for this party for two weeks.

Caroline took a few deep breaths to calm down. "All right, I refuse to let Damon Salvatore ruin this night for me." She gave Stefan a kiss on the cheek and went to the kitchen to check the dinner.

Stefan let out a deep breath. He had really dodged a bullet there. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. If anyone had the right to freak out about Damon's appearance, it was Elena.

Elena gave him a weak smile and nodded. On the inside she was falling apart, but she knew she had to hold it together for the night.

Stefan could see her internal struggle in her eyes. He opened his arms and drew her in a for a hug. Elena accepted his gesture gratefully and relaxed into the hug. They heard someone clear their throat behind them and saw Damon staring at them.

Damon had followed Elena to Stefan and Caroline's. He sat out in the car for ten minutes trying to calm down. After all these years, she was still running to his brother! He didn't know why he felt so angry when he walked in and saw them hugging in the foyer, but he struggled to reign it in before he started talking.

"Hello again Elena. I believe we still need to finish our conversation," he simpered. He tried to hold back his anger as they detangled themselves.

Elena glared back at him. How dare he follow her here! "I told you we would talk later. You need to leave!"

Damon ignored her and looked around the house. "I see you haven't changed much," he commented, as he looked Stefan up and down. "Dinner party?" Damon smirked and gestured to the dinning room.

"Yes," Caroline answered as she entered the room. "And you aren't invited, so I suggest you get out of my house," she hissed.

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Your house?" he asked questioningly and turned to Stefan. "You got married to Mystic Falls Barbie?" he inquired surprised. He had thought Elena and Stefan were involved based on when he saw them together when he walked into the house. This was an interesting turn of events. Damon wondered if Blondie suspected anything between Stefan and Elena like he did.

Caroline let out an aggravated sigh as Stefan wrapped his arm around her protectively. "Yes Damon," he rolled his eyes. "We got married about 4 years ago; you would have known this if you had bothered to attend our wedding."

Damon ignored his jab and turned his gaze to Elena. "If you don't want to have this conversation now, then I'll wait," and with that he went and sat down in the parlor.

Caroline let out a worried shriek and followed him into the parlor. "No! No! You are not staying here for my dinner!" she cried and pointed to the door. "Leave!"

Damon brushed her off and looked at Stefan who had followed them as well as Elena. "How about I stay and catch up?" he suggested.

Stefan looked back and forth between his wife and his best friend and his brother. He was torn who to pick. Finally he spoke. "Why can't Damon stay for dinner? Mrs. Lockwood cancelled," he pleaded.

Caroline let out an indignant gasp but consented. "He leaves right after dessert!" she muttered and then stormed back to the kitchen leaving Stefan running after her and Elena standing there all alone with Damon.

Damon chuckled at Caroline's antics. She still hadn't changed after all these years. That's part of the reason why Damon was glad he had left. Mystic Falls stayed the same while New York was constantly changing. Elena snapped her head to face him, and her eyes narrowed. He always got what he wanted.

"What are you laughing at?" she hissed and crossed her arms.

Damon smiled up at her. "Seven years and nothing's changed," he murmured. He studied her carefully as her eyes darkened.

"Everything's different now Damon. You don't even know!" she seethed as the doorbell rang. She gave him one last parting glared before going to answer the door.

Damon sat in the silence. It was funny how his presence could clear a room so easily. What exactly had changed over the past few years? He did feel a small pang of guilt for not attending his brother's wedding. The guy didn't have that many friends to begin with. That guilt was erased though when Damon remembered exactly why he had left all those years ago and his brother's part in his departure. He did notice that Elena still looked just as beautiful as she always did. Her hair was slightly shorter now, but it still fell past her shoulders. Her longs legs looked endless in her short dress that made her skin gleam. Her eyes though seemed to have lost the warmth and sparkle they used to radiate. He had loved looking into her eyes. He could read all her emotions through them. Now they were dull and lifeless. She lacked the energy he once loved about her. Maybe some things had changed.

Elena then came in with Bonnie Bennett and Jeremy Gilbert in tow and pulled him out of his thoughts. "Bonnie, Jer, I believe you remember my ass of a husband," she sneered.

Bonnie let out a surprised gasp while Jeremy glared with an intense amount of hatred on his face.

Damon laughed at Elena's introduction. "Hopefully soon to be ass of an ex-husband," he reminded her. "Hey Jeremy, long time no see," he said keeping his tone light.

"Yeah, I wonder why that is," he said sarcastically. "When was the last time you I saw you?" Jeremy asked rhetorically. "Oh I remember! It was when you walked out on my sister!" he yelled. "You know she was..." he began but Elena cut him off.

"Enough Jeremy! Just leave it for right now. He'll be gone soon anyway." She didn't want Damon knowing about that. He didn't deserve to know.

Jeremy huffed but backed off. Bonnie took his hand and rubbed soothing circles on his back. She knew how hard Jeremy had taken Damon's departure. Damon had always been like a brother to him, and he had been thrilled when Damon officially became part of the family. He had taken it almost as hard as Elena when Damon left Mystic Falls.

Caroline walked into the room with Tyler, Matt, and their respective girlfriends. "Dinner is ready," she announced, and they followed her into the large dinning hall. Stefan had built the dinning room to be two times larger than a usual one in order to accommodate Caroline's request. She wanted a room large enough to host giant dinner parties, and Stefan delivered.

They took their seats with Caroline and Stefan at the opposing heads of the table. Damon sat down across from Elena and next to Stefan. Caroline rang a small bell, and the salads were served. After the salad course, a rich tomato bisque was served and that was when things really began to heat up.

They had kept the conversation light. Matt and Tyler's dates mostly kept asking Damon about his life in New York, which was mostly insubstantial until Tyler's date asked Damon what Katherine was like.

Damon was caught off guard by her question. No one had ever asked him to describe Katherine before now. Everyone he knew had already known her long before he had met her. "She's amazing really. She's beautiful, free spirited, and wild. She can be selfish but thoughtful at the same time," he described. "Katherine's the most interesting person I've ever met. She can be hot and cold in seconds."

"Really? She always seemed like a stuck up, gold digging bitch to me. Now you make her sound bipolar," Caroline scoffed as she ate a spoonful of soup.

Damon's head snapped in her direction. "Right, because you didn't know the details of Stefan's checking account before you said 'I do'," he shot back. Caroline narrowed her eyes at him and continued to silently eat her soup. Damon nodded in victory and turned to Elena. "Well, enough about me. What's new with you Elena?" he asked with a mocking tone.

Elena set down her spoon. She hadn't eaten much the entire meal. "Nothing you'd be interested in Damon. I'm sure what I do is nothing compared to Katherine. I mean I don't get manicures every week and go spending my daddy's money every day, but I find a way to fill my days." He didn't deserve to know about the success she's gotten from her books. She didn't want him reading them anyway.

Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "Says the person living in her parent's house. I never expected you to be the old spinster who burdened her parents for the rest of their lived. Gosh Elena, don't you think you're parents would like to have the house to themselves again?" he sneered. "I seriously doubt they want you living with them still. I mean it's kind of pathetic," he said rubbing salt in the wound.

Elena eyes filled up with tears at the mention of her parents. They had died in that horrible car crash all those years ago about seven months after Damon had left. She stood up and threw her napkin down on top of her soup. "Excuse me Caroline. I'm not feeling well. I'll see you tomorrow," she said before running off as the tears began to trickle down.

Damon watched her go and then turned back to the rest of the table. "Was it something I said?" he asked innocently. The Elena he knew was never one to back down so easily.

Jeremy leapt out of his seat and glared at him. "How dare you!" he shouted shaking with anger.

Damon stood up and rose to his height. "What?"

"If you had been here or had at least bothered to check in every once in a while, you would know our parents died!" he hissed pacing back and forth like a caged lion.

Damon didn't say anything. Miranda and Grayson were the closest things to parents he had. His own father had barely expressed interest in him until the middle of his junior year of high school. By then he didn't really feel that close to him and kept his distance. He looked down not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry Jer. I didn't know. I'm so sorry for your loss." He knew exactly what it felt like to lose a parent. He hadn't known his mother for that long before she died when he was six, but he still missed her every day.

Jeremy glowered at Damon. His ignorance didn't excuse him; he had hurt his sister one too many times. He wasn't going to let Damon hurt her anymore.

Stefan finally stood up and turned to Damon. "I think it's time you leave Damon," he said firmly.

Damon nodded and ran out to his car. He needed to find Elena, but when he drove to her house all the lights were off. He jogged up the front porch stairs and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He slammed his fist on the door in frustration and looked down. He noticed there was a packet in front of the door. He leaned down and picked it up. It was the divorce papers he had left there from earlier. Damon opened up the envelope and pulled out the papers and found Elena's signature on the dotted line. He had gotten what he came for in order to marry Katherine, so why did he feel unhappy still?

AN: I promise that Katherine will not get a happy ending in this. She's every bit of the shallow, selfish bitch I think she is in the show. I hope you all don't mind the Caroline and Stefan pairing. I was going to have her together with Tyler, but I started typing without thinking and Stefan and Caroline came out before I could stop it. I have the next few chapters planned out including a little bit of a time jump. Let me know what you think, so I can continue. :)