Mystic Falls was seriously lacking in skyscrapers.

The town was all rolling green fields, cowboy boots, and barbecue. A few hundred miles away from the bustling streets of Richmond that Elena Gilbert had lived in her whole life. The numerous state parks, the lakes, the mountains—they were all alien to her.

And they were all, thankfully, so much more charming than endless summers in the Hamptons.

Elena tapped her fingers against the steering wheel and glanced at the clock on the dashboard. The Hamptons—the place she should be right now.

Preparing for her wedding in five days.

Yep. Elena Gilbert was that girl. The runaway bride, the jilter, the disappearing act.

Elena fully expected panic to be ensuing at her parents' sprawling house as they woke and realized she was no longer there. Knowing her mother, she would be having some kind of miniature breakdown, ensuring all eyes were on her, while her father paced and angrily shouted into the phone for someone to find her.

He would call all of the police departments in Richmond, demanding they pulled their heads out of their asses and utilized every resource they had at their fingertips. Her mother would continue to hyperventilate and be seen to by a flurry of people, namely the people whose family Elena was supposed to marry into.

And he—Liam Davis, Elena's darling betrothed, her perfect dream—her utter bastard of a fiancé. He would have his mask in place, every traumatized word falling from his lips a lie. His anger would be barely contained by the necessity for his pretence.

Elena shifted in the seat and winced. Her back was stiff from one break in six hours of driving—through the night, no less.

No. she gritted her teeth. The pain wasn't from driving, although it probably hadn't helped. She wouldn't make excuses anymore. In around ten days, when the bruising had gone, she would no longer have anything to hide. She wouldn't have to spin endlessly in front of the mirror to see if her outfit would cover every discoloured blemish on her skin.

Her phone lighted up from its place on the passenger seat. Damn. She could swear she had turned it over.

His name flashed on the screen, and Elena gritted her teeth even harder. The call clicked over to voicemail. She quickly reached over and flipped the phone so it was screen-down. She didn't need the distraction of the calls.

She didn't need the fear that every message Liam left told her that he was coming after her.

She didn't need the fear that Liam knew where she was.

So, Elena kept driving. She would never look back.

She had made the right choice. She knew she did. She wasn't born to be a punching bag. She wouldn't be the wife that cowered in the corner before her husband arrived home from work. She wouldn't be the woman afraid she left a speck of dust on the mantel or undercooked the potatoes just slightly.

Elena refused to be afraid to breathe for fear it would be too loud.

She tightened her hold on the steering wheel and made the turn into the town centre of Mystic Falls. The saddest thing about this was she didn't jab her finger randomly on a map and set her GPS to the destination. She had planned this. She had known for five days she would be here, and that was the only reason she was able to get through the last time Liam was allowed to touch her.

The only thing that made the bruises that covered her lower back and snaked around to her stomach bearable was the fact he would never get to do it again.

The early-morning rush provided a welcome noise to silence the voice inside Elena's mind. It was not Richmond, but it was enough. It was comfort and safety in an unfamiliar place. Comfort and safety she was glad for.

Elena followed the GPS's directions to the Mystic Falls Hotel in the town centre. She must be crazy—truly crazy.

Yesterday she was a Harvard graduate preparing to enter a job at a prestigious Richmond law firm. She summered in the Hamptons, delighting her parents with her abilities to entertain others. She was about to get married to millionaire Liam Davis, heir to Davies Enterprises, in the wedding of the summer.

Now Elena was a Harvard graduate about to join the team of one of America's favourite bands as their personal assistant.

She might not be able to hide from her family or now-ex-fiancé, but she could keep running. Joining The S. on the final leg of their countrywide tour was definitely the best way to do that, even if she did have to have "two hair appointments," "a manicure," "a pedicure," and "two pre-wedding facials to ward off a spot break out" in the last three weeks to apply for, phone interview, and subsequently talked to their current assistant to get this job. It was almost worth the mini-beating for spending so much money on herself.

Elena pulled into the hotel parking lot and killed the engine. Her eyes were burning with exhaustion, and the only thing she wanted to do right now was meet some girl named Caroline and went to her room to sleep for hours.

She picked up her phone and unlocked it. There were over a hundred missed calls from her mother, father, Liam, and his parents, accompanied by a ridiculous slew of text messages and voicemails.

After a moment's hesitation, Elena opened one of the messages from Liam.

Elena where the hell are you? If you have any sense, you will come home. Now.

That would be a negative on the coming home. Her fingers twitched with the urge to respond. She could just imagine it: a snarky, hot-headed response that wouldn't earn her a physical payback. Call me senseless when you graduate college with higher grades than me, dickhead.

Elena smiled to herself and exited the message before she typed exactly that. She dialled voicemail, purely out of curiosity. She wondered just how different those messages were.

"Elena, baby, where are you?" Elena listened as his recorded pleas filled her ear. "God, I'm going crazy here. I'm so worried about you. Just…call me, please. When you get this, just call me and tell me you are okay. I love you, okay? I love you so much."

She hung up, a sick feeling churning her stomach. She didn't know how Liam could go from abusive to darling in less time than it took her to pee in the morning. Either way, it was scary.

Her phone rang, and yet again his name filled her screen. Elena stared at it until the call switched to voicemail and got out of the car. Crossing the busy street to the side of the hotel, she ran down the tiny road coming off it. A car engine rumbled in front of me, so she darted to the side and run between some trees.

She had spent enough time gazing at the satellite image of this place on Google Maps in a dreamlike haze. Now it was time for her final act of freedom.

Coming out on the other side of the trees, she jogged down to the walkway that reached out. Boats bobbed on the surface of the water, docked and waiting for their owners. Given that the sun was already high in the sky, they probably wouldn't be docked for much longer.

Elena leaned against the railing and looked down at the water beneath her. It looked cold, dangerous, getting gradually deeper as you reached the middle of the river that led into the ocean.

A smile tugged at her lips. She could walk farther up, but she wouldn't. She would just stay here.

Elena brought her arm back and threw.

Hard.

Her phone sailed through the air, her eyes following it until it finally fell, entering the water with a dull splash. As it sank, Elena grinned.

One of her father's first moves would be to track her phone and credit cards. Even her debit card. Elena was not naive or stupid. She stopped at an ATM in Norfolk and withdrew every last dollar from her bank account, then cut up all of her cards. She threw the shattered plastic pieces into the nearest trash can.

Now, with a couple thousand dollars tucked into her suitcase and her phone languishing at the bottom of the river, Elena declared that she won round one of the runaway-bride saga.

She turned and ran back up the dirt road to the hotel. After grabbing her purse and suitcase from her car and locking it, Elena headed inside towards the reception. The white marble floors and elegant decor wasn't new to her. She had stayed here last summer with Liam when his cousin got married nearby, and she wouldn't deny that she shivered when she was told to come here.

Elena approached the reception and waited for the woman in front of her to finish on the phone. It took her a few minutes, but when she was done, she shot Elena a dazzling smile.

"Good morning and welcome to Mystic Falls Hotel. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. How can I help you today, madam?"

"Hi." Elena rested her hand on the counter. "I'm supposed to meet Caroline Forbes at the reception?"

"Is it Elena Gilbert?" she asked, flipping through a notepad.

"Yes, that is right."

"Two seconds, please." She picked up the phone and pressed a number. "Hello…yes, this is reception. Elena Gilbert is here for Caroline…Perfect. Thank you." She set it back down and smiled at Elena again. "She will be down in a moment. Please take a seat."

"Thank you." Elena offered her own smile and wheeled her suitcase over to the seating area.

She sank back into one of the plush black chairs and clasped her hands in her lap. God, what was she doing? She must be insane—driving through the night to go on tour with a rock band? Was she hit over the head with a brick or something?

This was truly crazy. Elena didn't know the first thing about managing a band, much less four guys playing musical instruments, and she sure as hell was not used to living on a bus and out of hotels. And if Liam found out? She was done for. She was so, so done.

She should probably run out of that door right now before Caroline got down here. She should probably run and make up some crazy lie about needing to drive to get something for the wedding and leaving her phone at home.

But Elena couldn't. She made her bed the second she drove away from the Hamptons, and now she had to lie in it. No matter how uncomfortable the mattress.

"Hi! Are you Elena?"

Elena looked up at a blond-haired woman holding a notebook in her arms. From TMZ, Elena recognized the woman as Caroline Forbes – the promotion manager for The S.

"Yeah. Hi." Elena stood awkwardly.

"Hi! I'm Caroline." Caroline grinned. "The guys are practicing, so I can sneak down for a while."

She sat down, and Elena did the same. "Did you get my email?"

"The one with a list of job requirements?" At her nod, Elena went on. "Yes. And it is fine. Really. It can't be that hard."

"It is not the job that is hard. It is the people you work for." Caroline laughed. "But don't worry. I will help you out for the first couple weeks, until you get to know their routine—if Damon doesn't switch stuff up again."

"Oh, it is okay. I will figure it out."

"You are the PA for the boys, meaning you deal with the schedules," Caroline explained. "I'm the promotion manager and I work along with you closely because I need to know about the boys' schedules. Pearl is the agent for the band and she is also the music production manager. She is basically in charge of the band. Get it?"

"Yeah. It shouldn't be that difficult, I guess."

"Please, let me help you." Caroline cupped her cheeks with her hands and leaned forward. "I have been surrounded by pure testosterone for the last two years. I am so ready for some company."

Elena laughed. "Well, I don't imagine company would be a terrible thing to have."

"Great!" Caroline sat up and clapped her hands once. "Let me grab your room key, then we will go up. You look like you need some rest."

Elena smiled apologetically. "I drove through the night. I'm sorry. I probably won't be much help today."

Caroline stopped at the reception desk and turned to her. She studied Elena slowly, her green eyes regarding her with interest. Just when she opened her mouth to say something, the receptionist asked how she could help.

"Key for room 435, please." Caroline took her eyes off Elena only when the key card was placed in her hand. "Thank you. Come on. Let's go."

Elena followed her into the elevator and she pressed the button for the fourth floor. They whizzed up in seconds, leaving Elena with a little vertigo, and exited.

"So, you are from Richmond?" Caroline asked, guiding her down a hallway.

"Yeah. I have lived there my whole life except for college."

"Awesome. I can't wait to go in a few weeks. Will you see your family when we go back?"

Elena swallowed. "Um, I'm not sure. They might be on vacation."

"Oh." Caroline slid the card into the slot for room 435 and the door clicked open. "Your room is more of a mini-apartment. There is a hot plate, a fridge, and there is a laundry room at the end of the hall. We have the whole floor booked out, and I'm right next door to you, so don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." Caroline grinned widely and handed her the card. "I have your number, so I will call you later when we have a dinner reservation and you can meet the guys. I will let you get some sleep."

"Thank you," Elena said softly, watching Caroline walked out of the room. Caroline paused by the door and smiled kindly, then shut it behind her.

Elena took a deep breath and looked around. The suite was spacious. A corner sofa on one side, a small kitchenette on the other, and a door leading to the bedroom. She dumped the suitcase by the door and dropped her purse on the kitchen counter.

Fear nothing, right? Yes—fear nothing. Elena reminded herself.

Except the four men she had yet to meet and the abundance of tasks she knew nothing about. Caroline sent her a list, sure, but what about little things? Did she run for coffee? Water? Sandwiches? Condoms?

Oh, God. Elena had never bought condoms in her life.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Okay. I can do this. I can absolutely flip everything I have ever known upside down and live a completely different life. I can do this. She said to herself. You have to forget about the past and move on. This is your beginning.

Elena waved her hands absentmindedly at her mental tangent and walked into the bedroom. One look at the queen bed and she was kicking off her shoes and crawling beneath the covers.

A loud knock on her door jolted her from sleep. She rolled out of bed and stumbled through the suite to the door. "Who is it?"

"It is Caroline!"

Elena opened the door, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was sleeping."

"Oh—shit. I'm sorry." Caroline covered her mouth with her hand. "I tried to call you but it went straight to voicemail."

Elea paused, her knuckle digging into her eye. "Oh. Yeah. Um. I forgot to tell you earlier. I don't have my phone."

Caroline raised an eyebrow and walked into the suite. "Okay. What happened to it?"

"I…I think I have lost it. On my way here."

"On your way from Richmond to here?"

"I think so."

"Okay. I will get you a new phone." She smiled, and it was so friendly that Elena couldn't help but smiled back. "I just wanted to tell you we are having dinner downstairs tonight. In, like, fifteen minutes, actually."

"Oh, it is okay. If you could give me a few minutes, I can freshen up now."

"Great!" Caroline said happily. "I will wait for you here and we can go down together." She dropped onto the sofa, located the remote, and turned on the TV.

Elena smiled and grabbed hold of her suitcase. "I will just be a minute."

"Take your time. They won't do anything without us if they know what is good for them." She winked over her shoulder.

Elena wheeled the suitcase into the bedroom and dropped it onto its back. She closed the door quietly, then rifled through the case for a summer dress and clean underwear. The bathroom was large and glittering white, the brightness almost blinding as she changed and freshened up. A touch-up of mascara and she was ready.

Ready to go and meet the band that three-quarters of America had their panties all bunched up over. Her new employers.

Elena looked in the mirror. Her dark brown hair fell softly around her face. Her eyes were full of freedom, something that hadn't been there for two years. She swallowed, and her tongue flicked out to wet her lips several times as she left the bathroom. Elena hesitated by the bedroom door—it was still insane. Still completely, utterly, certifiably insane.

"Hey, Elena? Are you ready? Apparently the guys are waiting for us."

"Oh, yes. Sorry. Just…I don't know." Elena shrugged a shoulder and followed Caroline into the elevator.

Caroline glanced at her knowingly. "Scared?"

"Uh, not in the way you would think." Elena smiled reluctantly. Because she was not.

She was not afraid to meet America's hottest crush. She was afraid to be in a room full of several men she had never met in my life, which was ridiculous, because she was not in danger here. She was safe, hidden away, in a world entirely different from her own.

But her body wanted her to look over her shoulder, just in case.

"They are not bad. Well, most of the time. I promise. Come on." Caroline took her hand with a beaming grin and opened the door to the private dining room. Noise fills it—laughter, loud, booming male voices—but they all silenced when Caroline yelled, "Hey! Hey!"

Four sets of eyes landed on them.

"Now you all better be nice or I'm going to kick some butt," Caroline said firmly, tugging Elena beside her. "This is Elena. She is your new PA."

Stefan Salvatore was the first to stand and offer Elena his hand. She shook it, then he tugged her in for a hug.

"It is great to meet you, Elena. If we get too demanding, just tell us where to go."

"Someone is sucking up because he wants to get laid tonight." There was a chuckle from the corner, then movement. Enzo St John approached Elena with a cocky grin, and before he could say a word, Caroline slapped his arm.

"Try it. I dare you."

Her tone stopped him dead, because he held his hands up and shrugged. "I wasn't trying anything, Caroline. I was coming over to be nice." He shot Elena a wink. "Enzo."

"Hi," Elena said quietly.

"Ignore him." Alaric Saltzman stood in front of Elena. "He thinks he is the big man, but he is still stuck in puberty."

"You all are going to get my shoe up your butts in a minute. Stop trying to hit on her. She works for you," Caroline snapped. "Alaric, sit down before I make you."

"Caroline, I'm not doing anything," Alaric protested.

"Start acting like a gentleman. All of you." Caroline swept her eyes over the three men. "Damon? Your manners get lost inside your beer bottle?"

Alaric sniggered and sat back down.

"Be nice!" Enzo called from the corner. "Come on!"

Elena hid laughter behind her hand. Stefan caught her eye and winked at her.

"Well?"

"Fine." A beer bottle hit the table, and her eyes fell in the direction of the sound.

And, oh.

Okay.

Turquoise eyes the colour of the ocean at the height of summer stared back at Elena with a brooding glint. His dark brown almost black hair hung just over his ears, and his lips curved up to one side when his eyes connected with hers. Her gaze dropped to his body. He was very handsome, standing 5'10" in height with a well built, toned physique. He had a light complexion with olive undertones and had a strong bone structure with high cheeks bones and a solid jaw line. Oh man, this man was sexy, seductive and dangerous. But it didn't matter.

Because Damon Salvatore was walking right up to her.