Title: Miles To Home
Summary: For Elena Gilbert life couldn't be more perfect. She has the perfect life, perfect boyfriend, and headed towards the perfect dream job. Everything is going, well, perfectly. There's just one catch… her twin sister Katherine. When Katherine disrupts Elena's perfect life, she runs away to New York. It was the perfect plan… until she has to return home and face everything she ran away from; including her ex-boyfriend Damon. Based off the amazing trailer of the same name by the extremely talented minds and video editing talents of ElePatro (noralsel) and Caro (_LightToMyDark).
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.
A/N: Just want to thank dobrevdelenaxo on twitter for recommending that I attempt to bring the beautiful story that Caro and Ele created for their trailer to life. If you haven't already PLEASE check it out! It's amazing as are all of their collaborations! I hope I do it justice! Huge thank you to Ele and Caro for giving me the permission to tackle this and for Morgan for being my saving grace while I attempt first person POV for the first time in forever and making sure I don't switch tenses and create snobby characters. THANK YOU!
As for you, reader... Thank you for reading and let me know what you think by reviewing. Enjoy! xx
Life is perfect.
Absolutely, amazingly, fantastically perfect.
Getting crowned Prom Queen, graduating with honors, a full ride to Columbia, and, oh god, Damon's mouth on mine. We have an empty house for the rest of the weekend thanks to a medical convention and it can only lead to bad, bad things on this couch, my bed… the shower. I'm a good girl when it comes to pretty much everything, except when my boyfriend, Damon Salvatore, is involved.
And who can blame me? He's absolutely gorgeous and a total heartthrob. His gorgeous blue eyes and strong jawline had every girl at Mystic Falls High secretly wanting him—even the prissy types who normally avoided guys walking the direct path to scandals. And that's what Damon once led to—scandal. He was the resident bad boy, causing all kinds of trouble. He would skip school and drink and party. His life was going nowhere. He was destined to become a Mystic Falls staple or end up in a body bag.
Until I came along.
Elena Gilbert: Savior of the Cursed and Damned.
The trope where the bad boy turns good for the right girl became our love story. Damon and I met and I wouldn't put up with any of his crap. I knew he used humor to deflect and that every bad thing he did was a way to deal with the pain of his mother's death and his father's revolving door of women. I tried to be there for him, challenge him and force him to see his own potential. And what I ultimately discovered was his good side.
Damon was loyal, compassionate, funny, resourceful, and would do anything for those he loved. Those traits were what pushed me to defend him, risking my own reputation and the wrath of my parents. We battled against the attraction, fighting against giving in until finally, Damon began change for the better. He started attending class, cutting back on the partying, and hanging out with me; telling me over and over that I was the only good in his life.
And judging by the smile on his face as he leans down to kiss me, telling me over and over again about how much he loves me, I can't help but believe him.
What did I say? Perfect.
All of his bad boy days are in the past. Well over a year and a half into the past. The fact that I could get Damon Salvatore—reformed bad boy—crowned Prom King is proof of just how far he has come. And the fact that he did it with a minimum of snarky comments is why I'm very eager to get him upstairs and prove just how thankful I am.
He only did it to fulfill my vision of the perfect prom after all.
"Want to take this upstairs?" I moan as his hand slides its way up my jean clad leg and between my thighs.
Damon smirks. "I'm pretty comfortable right here."
His other hand brushes against the bare skin of my collarbone, pushing aside the flimsy thin strap of my periwinkle tank, easing it off my shoulder. My hair creates a curtain around us and I feel like we're all that exists in this moment. All I hear is the sound of my labored breath and Damon's excited panting one. I feel his touch on my skin and between my legs and the racing of his heart underneath my hand on his chest. I'm completely absorbed in us.
And for once, no one is home, meaning no interruptions. At this moment my eagerness has reached a fever pitch. I'm not sure I have the strength to stop his ministrations for the few minutes it will take to get upstairs.
Oh, what the hell.
I crash my mouth to his and he opens up to me immediately, eager. I'm straddled over him and as his hand moves around to grab hold of my ass, his hips rise and create a delicious friction as they rise and fall with my own. We're completely clothed and it takes everything in me not to tear his burgundy t-shirt to shreds so I can feel more of his skin. My one hand slides to where the fabric of his shirt meets with the buckle wrapped around his narrow hips and I slip it beneath his tee, moaning in satisfaction.
His abs are a piece of art. Seriously. If I had any artistic talent I would make my own homage to his abs the way Michelangelo sculpted David. My fingers graze up along his muscles, feeling every indention and the hardness beneath. I want to kiss down his chest, lick my way along those defined lines and just worship him. But he now has both hands palming my ass, practically locking my hands beneath his own. I'm torn between wanting the friction between us to continue and wanting to get him naked right this second so I can feel it without the layers of clothing.
Just as I'm about to slide his shirt up and over his head and really get this going, the sound of the door unlocking just a few feet away freezes my hands. Damon's quicker than I am and he simultaneously fixes the straps of my tank and maneuvers me so I am now laying against his legs with my back against the couch, my head on his chest.
Now instead of two teenagers caught in a compromising position, we're just a boy and girl cuddling on the couch. The whiplash of it all has my head spinning.
The door swings open and both our heads snap towards it as my sister, Katherine, walks in.
My twin sister.
My twin sister who was supposed to be at an after prom party for the night.
I glare at her as she sashays her way towards us dressed in six inch heel ankle boots, skin tight jeans and an equally tight grey tank that molds to her body and accentuates every curve. The curls of her brown hair bounce as she approaches, her face made up to perfection with a smoky eye and red lip that forms the knowing smile as she takes the sight of us in.
"Hey, you two," she teases. "Am I interrupting?"
I roll my eyes, the same shade of brown as hers, as I say, "I thought you had plans tonight."
She waves a hand dismissively before placing both her hands on the back of a chair across from us, giving us ample view of her chest. "It got boring. Too many wannabe's. Damon knows how it is."
I groan and feel Damon's hands wrap around me. My sister feels like it is her sole purpose to remind me endlessly that Damon had been her friend first back before she introduced us. Although saying she introduced us is putting it lightly. I caught them both rifling through our parents' liquor cabinet one night, despite being completely inebriated already. I had already known of Damon Salvatore since my best friend Caroline's mom is the police chief and he hardly blended, but it seemed Damon had been too caught up with his own life to take notice of me.
However, once he did, he never stopped.
After an ill-advised joke about a threesome, Damon had left with Katherine in search for some other way to get alcohol. He did, however, show up at my locker the next day at school, effectively starting our friendship and the slow end of theirs.
Needless to say, Katherine didn't take the swap too well.
"What about Brady's?" Damon says and my head turns toward his.
"Yeah, I might head over there." Katherine shrugs. As my eyes turn back to her, I notice the way her eyes flicks up towards us with a little bit of something I don't recognize. "Wanna come?"
I groan. "We're a little busy, Kat."
She narrows her eyes before standing straight and crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, right. 'Cause everyone wants to spend Prom Night doing something they can do any other night when the parentals aren't home. Don't you want to party with our classmates?"
"How do you know what people want to do after prom?" I say with narrowed eyes of my own. I am beyond pissed at her always trying to pull Damon back to the dark side. "You didn't even go."
My sister huffs with anger before she turns to head back out the door. "That's because I choose to experience life rather than check it off some perfect little checklist."
And with that she heads out, slamming the door with such force I'm surprised the walls don't shake. I know what I said about her not being at prom may have come off cruel and cold but it wasn't like she didn't have options. Plenty of guys asked, including Mason, a guy she actually likes. Katherine would just rather party than participate in any of the milestones that come with senior year. Or participate in anything with me.
"Elena…." Damon begins and I can tell he wants to get in the middle. He's always telling me I'm too harsh on Katherine, but he doesn't know everything she's done to me. All the manipulating and cruel things I have had to put up with. Like her covering my hair in bubble gum in middle school, forcing me to cut my long hair to nearly my chin, or trying to sleep with my freshman year boyfriend just to mess with me because I wouldn't. But I turn towards him and he quickly silences up. He knows Katherine is a sore subject between us.
We each know sides of her the other one doesn't.
"Damon, it's a good day."
And I quickly press my mouth to his.
"But…" He mumbled against my lips.
I replace my mouth with my finger, quieting him.
"Don't let her ruin it. I know you care about her because you two used to be best friends but she and I have our own past that makes things a little harder to get over. I put up with her because she's my sister, but we're different. Too different."
"I just think if you talked to her—actually talked—you would see why she is the way she is." Damon brushes my hair away from my face, meeting my eyes.
I huff in annoyance. "You act like she has this reason for why she is the way she is. We have the same past, same parents. She is who she is because she chooses to be."
"Nothing I say is going to change your mind, is it?" he says in defeat.
Standing up, I reach out for his hand. He takes it and stands up, towering over me. I look into his eyes and see the same love I have for him reflected back at me. He just wants what's best for me and that means a good relationship with my sister. "I'll talk to her tomorrow." My hand squeezes his as I walk backwards towards the stairs leading to my bedroom. "But for now I just want to salvage this night. I don't want to fight. I want to thank you for running for Prom Court."
This gets him smiling. "I had to wear a velvet crown with tacky fake jewels."
"I know. The horror," I tease.
As we reach the landing, he grabs hold of our crowns that are placed on a table nearby and I give him a questioning look. "If you think I'm missing out on the opportunity to get the prom queen in nothing but this plastic crown, you don't know me too well. It's been a life goal of mine."
I giggle, and in on swift motion he throws me over his shoulder and races up the stairs to salvage this night. There's plenty of time to fix things with my sister, despite her constant need to wreck my life, but I only get one prom night with my prom king and I want it to be perfect.
And there's no way I'm letting her ruin it any more than she already has.
I lay down on the bed with Damon sleeping soundly beside me as I scribble in my diary. In living the fairytale of the night before I hadn't had a chance to write it all down. With daylight streaming in from the window and my cream comforter resting just above my chest, I relax against the pillows and relive every memory from last night. From the way Damon looked at me when I descended the stairs in my pink and purple marbled gown, ready with a corsage, to our last dance of the night and how we swayed in each other arms, no longer hearing the music but instead dancing to the rhythm of our heartbeats. I interwove stories of Caroline and me dancing along to our favorite songs and all the other great moments that only happen during prom.
Beside me, Damon stirs and wraps his arm around my waist, nestling his head against my side. "Why are you awake?" he mumbles.
Tucking the pen inside my diary, I place it on the nightstand and turn towards my boyfriend, running my fingers through his hair. "I wanted to write about last night."
"You mean how I completely rocked your world?"
I maneuver myself so I can lay beside him, hitching my leg over his hip. "You think all I do is write about how amazing you are in bed?"
"And how dreamy my eyes are."
"There's at least ten pages describing the shades of your eyes," I tease.
"Look at you taking notes from Stephenie Meyer."
I shove at him and he pulls me closer, resting his chin on my head. My hands wrap around his bare back, lightly scratching as his hands roam down my side. I'm deliciously sore from last night but my body seems to still be craving more because my heart starts to race, my breaths become pants, and I press against against him. We're so close it's almost as if we're becoming one.
And soon enough this will be routine.
"I can't believe in just a few months I get to wake up to you every morning," I breathe, tilting my head up to look at him.
He inches back, kissing my forehead, nose, mouth punctuating each kiss with a word. "Me, you, New York City and an apartment all to ourselves."
"Speaking of…" I begin. "While I'm at school have you figured out what you want to be doing?"
Damon shrugs, eyes closed with an easy smile. "I'll pick up some odd jobs. Figure it out."
"And you're sure you want to follow me all the way to NYC?"
His eyes open and search my face. I feel wary under his gaze but I can't help but ask the question. He's uprooting his life and following me seven hours away from our home town. He has life figured out here, but with me at school and busy with my premed program, will it affect us? I just don't want him to end up hating me.
"You'll be in NYC, so that's where I want to be."
Frowning, I inch back from him. It should be a romantic notion. Hell, any other girl would dream of her guy saying anything like that. But I don't want Damon to just follow me. I want him to have dreams and a drive of his own. "Didn't you ever want to be something when you were little?"
"I wanted to be Iron Man, but the suit was way too bulky and I really shouldn't deny the women of the world all of this," he says, gesturing to himself.
"Damon, I'm serious. I don't want you to hate me and regret going there."
His eyes grow serious and his hand reaches out to touch my face. "I could never hate you. Elena, I was lost without you. I drowned myself in vices and humor. You pulled me from that and gave me the hope of a future. Whatever that future is."
"Okay," I whisper, smiling. "That was pretty good."
He leans forward and kisses me and just as his hands begin to slide down my body, the sound of a throat clearing bolts us apart. My eyes move towards the joined bathroom that Katherine and I share, and there she is in the doorway with only a very tiny white towel covering her body. My hand covers my eyes when really I should be covering Damon's, but I am just completely embarrassed by my sister's lack of shame.
"Don't get all quiet on my account," Katherine says, sitting on the edge of the bed.
As I lift the comforter so it's covering both of us, Damon shakes his head. "What did you wrap yourself in, a hand towel?"
"Oh, is that what this is?" she questions, her hand reaching down to touch the cotton towel. "Normally I'm naked but since we have guests…"
I clutch the comforter against my chest. "What do you want, Katherine?"
She laughs. "Just letting you know I'm headed to Mason's for the day so you have the house to yourself. And I'll be sure to call before I come home so I don't interrupt."
"That's not all we do." I'm positive I'm bright red at this point. Damon is simply smirking beside me.
Katherine stands up, chuckling. "Sure, Elena. You're the good twin. Little Miss Perfect."
With a wave of her fingers she disappears from the room, closing the door behind her. The moment the door clicks shut, I collapse against the bed. I may be the good twin and have my life together but Katherine thinking she's the bad twin is of her own doing. If only she would cut back on the partying and actually put some effort into school.
I look over at Damon who is watching me and try to give a smile. It falters, though, and he leans forward, smiling sweetly. "I think I'll make us some pancakes."
That brightens me up. "Really?"
He nods, kissing my cheek and getting out of the bed to slide on his jeans. I watch him in the morning light, all hard lines and chiseled muscles, tan Italian skin and dark raven black hair. Everything about him is dark, mysterious, and yet when you look into those bright eyes of his you see the light. The soft heart hidden behind all the humor and the love practically pouring from him.
Damon leans forward, smiling, and kisses me before dashing from the room. I call out to let him know I'll be down in a bit before reaching over for my diary. I look down at the first lines of today's entry and smile.
Dear Diary,
I love my life.
And despite Katherine's little digs, I believe it. There's nothing wrong with being good and happy. I love my life, my boyfriend, my friends, parents, and where my life is headed. I've worked hard to get here and I'm not going to let confusion over the meaning behind my sisters words get to me.
I'm blissfully happy and nothing could possibly go wrong.