Author's Note: This is my first ever attempt at fanfiction in my entire life. English is not my first language. I suggest you to please be gentle with me in criticism. If I am making mistakes along the way, please do not hesitate to enlighten me but be polite. My writing might resemble with other fanfiction writers in one way or another because I have been reading a lot of them lately but I assure you, the writing and the plot belongs to me and me alone.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. The fictional characters belong to L.J. Smith, Julie Plec and the TVD creators.
CHAPTER 1 : THE INTRODUCTION
The waitress had just brought her first coffee cup and placed it before her on the table.
"Thank you, Gwen." Elena smiled politely at the caramel-skinned waitress.
She had a habit of keeping everyone's name. It was something she liked. It made her feel more at home with the people around her.
Elena took one sip from her coffee cup and stopped to look around from table to table, then her eyes stopped to look at the entrance of the coffee shop through which different people were entering. Couples, friends, family, loners – all types of people. Just not the one she was expecting at the moment. It's been fifteen minutes of waiting.
Elena was growing anxious and impatient by the minute. She despised waiting. It drove her crazy.
Finally, to her relief, she saw a man with blonde hair in his late thirties, approaching the table where she was sitting, looking miserable as ever because of the wait.
"Where were you?" Elena hissed at him irritated, "I've been here for more than fifteen minutes now."
"Sorry Elena, I got caught up in something... long story," the man tried to explain as he took a seat across from her, "So shall we?"
"Never mind John," Elena said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
John Barrymore was an FBI agent. He had approached Elena a month ago on her graduation day asserting that he had a task for her to perform. Since Elena was conflicted about what to pursue after graduation and also, she was against the idea of leaving Jeremy behind for college after everything that had happened with her parents, John was undoubtedly proposing an offer she could not refuse.
John handed her his card with his number and some details on it.
"Meet me next week in the local coffee shop down the street at eight." John had said and turned on his heel after seeing Elena nod in response.
The money was good. At least better than what she could ever get for her first real, full time job. Five thousand dollars paid in advance and more to come on each task that she accomplished.
Her job was to work as a regular worker in a company, as a PA to be more specific. A personal assistant. She was planted as a spy in it. An undercover agent. How cool was that? An undercover agent disguised as a personal assistant. Not that the thought of the job being risky did not cross her mind. It did. But her need for the money overshadowed her fear. She could not care less.
She was on the verge of selling their house because of their broke condition. Jenna was a shop clerk. Jeremy worked part-time in the local grill as a bus boy. Hence, their overall income only enabled them to remain hand to mouth.
The company was suspected to be involved in an illegal drug racket, smuggling of goods and various such activities. At least that is what John told her. He also added that the people involved in this crime were too smart to leave a trail behind. Everytime the FBI would search for evidence, they would get jack. The kind of disappointment that was.
All Elena had to do was keep a keen eye for anything suspicious or out of place and also to keep John and the FBI updated about the projects that they were working on, the company's confidential files, their account histories and everything else that was considered to be of importance to the company.
In the coffee shop, Elena was growing restless by the second, waiting for John to speak. John was staring blankly at the wall behind her. She could tell he had his thinking cap on. He hadn't said a word after explaining to her all the essential elements of her job in as much detail he could muster up.
He finally spoke.
"Now that I have already told you the theme of your job, are you up for it?" John asked her, uncertain of her answer. "Have you given my offer a thought?"
"Yes John, I have actually thought about it," Elena responded, emphasizing on 'actually'.
"And?"
"I'll do it," she agreed.
ONE WEEK LATER
It was somewhere in the countryside where she was running through the vast green fields, surrounded by the immense stretch of the heaven what looked like frosty blue had been painted all over with a few faint patches of white here and there. She could feel the rays of sunlight caressing her smooth, olive skin and the softness of the grass beneath her feet. She saw herself dressed in a long white gown which reached up to her ankles which looked as if it had been stolen from a princess of a fairytale in a land faraway of whom she had heard stories in her childhood from her mother. She continued to head in an unknown direction, guided by her heart until she came upon a white light. A light which she had never seen before nor recognized. A light in which she felt so peaceful as if all her sorrows and sadness had been sucked into it. Then in a matter of moments, she saw someone appearing before her, tearing through that collection of seven colors of a spectrum. A man. She saw his eyes. Oh his eyes. He had eyes as blue as the skies that was surrounding them, as blue as color of the ocean. So pure, so warm. But who is he? Who is this mysterious man? But before she could see anything else-
*RIIIIING RIINNGG RIING* Her alarm clock went off and then she heard Jenna shouting from downstairs in hopes that her voice had enough decibels to wake her up from her slumber.
"ELENAAAA!" She sat up immediately as she heard her aunt's voice as if a thousand needles have been poked simultaneously into her ears to bring her back to life from that mesmerizing dream. She sighed at the sudden interruption of her beyond beautiful dream about her potential future Prince Charming. "How annoying! At least Jenna could have waited till I saw his face," she murmured to herself and made a 'pfft' sound followed by an eye roll.
Elena was no different than an average girl who hoped to be swept off her feet one day by her Mr. Right. Except, she was not looking for anything at the moment because she had her hands full with other plans that she had for herself.
She paced towards her bathroom to brush, clean and shower. Picking out her outfit took her about ten minutes as usual. It was a big day today.
Hey, if a girl is gonna have a bad day coming up to hit her in the face she might as well look good, right?
Elena walked out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her petite body and stumbled on her scattered belongings towards the dresser in her bedroom and applied her make-up which only consisted of an eyeliner, some mascara and nude lipstick with a hint of transparent gloss. She wasn't much of a make up person. She decided to go for a simple yet stylish loose white, collared vest top on it to go with a pencil skirt and black flat pumps.
I think I look work appropriate, she thought. The words "Ta-da!" escaped her lips before she could think as she smiled and threw one last glance at herself in the mirror.
She rushed downstairs only to catch Jeremy and Jenna at the kitchen table with pancakes and maple syrup placed before them. Aunt Jenna sure knew how to cook! In fact, if she didn't have to work 24/7 as a small time shop clerk to meet the needs of her now-adopted children, she would have been a celebrity chef by now.
"Mmm…" Elena mumbled "Pancakes my favorite!" as her face lit up in a toothy smile. Jeremy was hogging the pancakes down his throat. "Who starved him? Has he been living in the basement with no food considering I didn't see him at home much?" Elena raised an eyebrow and burst into laughter as she watched Jeremy's reaction change from one that of a hungry tramp to a what-have-I-ever-done-to-you look.
Elena's parents deceased in a car accident when she was fifteen. Her parents were out on a date night to get some time off from their hectic routines and to relish the company of each other. Her family was a picture perfect one. A loving mother, a caring and affectionate father and an annoying brother whom she loved anyway. That was until that date night of her parents, that one dark night turned their world upside down.
Elena was home alone when she received a call from City Hospital, informing them of the grave tragedy that had just befallen their family. Their parents' car was hit by a drunk driver as they were on their way, returning to the comforts of their home after spending a wonderful time. The hospital authorities were calling them in to identify the bodies.
"No… no.. no no no.. this can't be happening," Elena cried. She felt her entire world falling apart, her heart being crushed into a million pieces and the shooting pain in her chest. She could not believe her ears.
"Maam', I would like you to come here and identify the two dead bodies as soon as possible," the voice on the other side of the phone said. Elena disconnected the phone and her next immediate instinct was to call Jeremy and so she did.
"Jer…" Elena almost whispered, her voice felt stuck in her throat because of the pain she was feeling. "Elena? What's up?" Jeremy replied, suddenly worried hearing the shake in her voice.
"It's mom and dad, Jer."
"What? What happened?"
Elena started sobbing weakly.
"Elena... what the hell? You're scaring me now."
"Mom and dad... they're… no more," Elena said, finally forming the words to break it to her brother that they were all alone now in between her weeping.
"Elena? Is this some sort of a sick prank? Stop it okay. It's not funny." Poor Jeremy. Couldn't believe it either. He was in denial.
"No Jer... I wish I was lying… City Hospital just called, they called us in to identify our parents' bodies.. I'm going with Bonnie and her gramps, please hurry." Elena could only imagine how Jeremy must be feeling. She heard the phone disconnect and ran to Bonnie's and then went to the hospital where her now-dead parents were lying, making their way to heaven.
"Jer, no matter what happens… we will always have each other, okay? You'll have me, you'll always have me. We'll take care of each other." Those were Elena's last words to Jeremy as a tear rolled down her cheek before leaving the funeral. It was more like a promise to her little brother.
It wasn't easy for Elena and Jeremy to be orphaned suddenly and left alone open to the coldness of the world. Elena remembered crying her eyes out for several weeks and Jeremy just had himself locked in a room to grieve the death of their parents.
Weeks later, Elena had decided to be the strong girl that her parents had taught her to be. She had to be the strong one. It was not a choice. She had to do it for Jeremy. She gathered the pieces of herself, sure it took her a lot of time, but she pulled herself together because she did not want to lose Jeremy, the last family she had left.
Elena and Jeremy would have been living alone, becoming the disturbed, irresponsible and reckless children that would destroy anything that came in their way, channeling all their emotions of grief, anguish, anger and sadness into sabotaging anything and everything that they had. That would have been the case if Jenna Sommers hadn't stepped into the picture and taken the responsibility of these children. Aunt Jenna had been the hero of their house. She was not much older than them. She was only twenty four when she took the Gilbert children in. She cooked for them, cleaned after them and loved them as if they were her own.
There could never be a substitute for their mother but if there could be one, Jenna Sommers would certainly take the cake. She was like a second mother to them.
Elena had just graduated high school a month ago and was looking forward to her first job-cum-mission in some business firm called "S&S Corporations". She only knew what John had told her about it. John informed her that it was operated by two brothers who had 'almost' equal ownership to the company. But what Elena failed to comprehend was that why John had asked her to keep her defenses up.
It was her first day in her mission and her first day at work. She didn't want to be late on the first day of her job and get a scolding from her boss, no matter how fake her job may be. But despite her will to reach early, it was just not Elena's day. She was running late, she almost tripped on a brick which was misplaced on the street's footpath, she could not find a cab and when she did, the traffic jam was touching her nerves, making her squirm restlessly to reach her destination in time.
After a series of trials and tribulations on her way to the office, she had at last reached in one piece. She rushed through the entrance of the building and took one look around before finding the receptionist's counter. The receptionist was a young lady with dark black hair ending at her shoulders. Her eyes were wide and black and were suiting her round face perfectly.
"Hey I'm Elena Gilbert, I would like to see the boss please. I have a meeting with him now." She said between pants as she reached the counter, trying to catch her breath.
"Miss Gilbert, ofcourse." The receptionist looked up from her computer screen and smiled at Elena. "I am aware that you have an appointment with him. He is expecting you. He will see you shortly. Please make yourself comfortable." The receptionist pointed towards the three-seater sofa lying across the room.
After five minutes, the phone on receptionist's desk rang which caught Elena's attention. The girl picked it up quickly.
"Yes sir, she is here," She replied on the phone, "Yes sir, will do." She raised her head to look at Elena. "He will see you now Miss Gilbert. His office is on the eighth floor. You will find Kate, his secretary as you reach, she will lead you to his room," The receptionist informed her, "Right this way Miss Gilbert, have a good day." She pointed her hand in the direction where the elevator was rested.
"Thank you, Miss?" Elena smiled to the girl behind the counter, "Elizabeth" Elena heard the girl reply.
"Elizabeth, of course," Elena repeated under her breath as she proceeded towards the elevator.
The eighth floor was quite well decorated. It had a modern décor with a touch of white marble tiles. It looked luxurious and seemed to be set up by someone with incredible taste.
As she stepped foot out of the elevator, she saw a huge counter a few steps from where she stood with a lady with blonde hair and blue eyes behind it. She was dressed in work clothes. White shirt, grey blazer and pencil skirt. The badge hanging on the right side of her blazer read 'Kate Anderson'.
The secretary ofcourse, Elena thought. As Elena made her way to Kate's counter, Kate looked at her and smiled, which seemed to Elena that she did it out of work policy rather than true courtesy.
"Are you Miss Gilbert?" Kate asked.
Elena nodded.
"The boss will see you now." Kate showed her the way to the head of the company's office and left her at his door.
Elena turned the knob of the door and with one slight push, it opened. A man dressed in black, tall with raven hair was standing with his back towards the room and facing the window.
She took one step inside the room and knocked at the door in an attempt to attain the man's attention. "Hello?"
The man turned around and as he did, it was as if he turned her whole universe around. All the colors on her face flew away. She could hear her heart racing and pounding in her chest. Her brown doe eyes were wide. She was clearly in a trance for a moment before she snapped out of it, but still in shock nevertheless. She could not believe it as her brown eyes met his cerulean blue ones.
"Damon?"
A/N: John Barrymore is actually John Gilbert from TVD but in this story, he is by no means related to Elena.
Hope you liked the story! I spent hours on this! Please read and review, review, review!
I shall only continue this story if it keeps the readers, meaning you guys interested so let me know in your review whether I should continue or not :)
P.S. No flamers. Constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms only if you're nice. Suggestive prompts for next chapters will be appreciated.
Be kind to one another.
Love to all of you,
Jia