The Story of Us

Summary: AU: The story of how Damon and Elena really met.

Elena was hunched in a ball on her bed. Her cheeks were soaked from the tears she had been crying all morning. Her eyes were almost swollen shut, and every time she felt she couldn't cry anymore, somehow more tears began to fall. Downstairs, her parents were loudly discussing her "situation" with her Uncle John-why he needed to be involved with this was beyond her. In fact, of all of the people who knew, he was the last person she would have told, and had her mother not been there, she wouldn't have told her either. Heck, she didn't even want to go to the doctor in the first place, and when he came back with results that told her she was pregnant she literally laughed in his face. It wasn't possible. For all she knew, she was a virgin. For crying out loud, she was 14! She didn't even have a boyfriend. Sure, her friend Matt was pretty cute and she had entertained the thought once or twice, but she was sure she would remember losing her virginity. Right? But there she was, pregnant at 14 and the first person her parents call is Uncle John? This had to be some twisted nightmare that she was going to wake up from any minute.

"How could this have happened?" Her mother was yelling.

"Are you sure she doesn't know?" Uncle John was asking.

"She said she doesn't remember and I believe her." Her dad was sticking up for her.

"Do you think she was raped? Maybe roofied?" John was questioning again.

"I don't know." Her mother started. "I mean, it's possible I guess."

"Or maybe..." Her dad trailed off.

"That's not possible. Is it?" Her mom was asking. What was he talking about?

"There are lots of things we don't know." Uncle John answered vaguely.

What don't they know? What could it be?!

Suddenly, their voices got really quiet and Elena was unable to hear them anymore. She briefly thought about hiding at the foot of the staircase to listen in, but exhaustion took over. The next thing she knew, somebody was shaking her awake. Once she gathered her thoughts and the hopes of it all being a dream were dashed, she realized it was her mother.

"Mom?" She looked upset and Elena's heart beat quickened.

"Honey," She tucked a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear. "You need to pack a few bags."

"You're kicking me out?!" Elena exclaimed.

"No!" Her mom quickly reassured her. "Since we're not sure what exactly happened, we've decided that you're going to go with John." Before Elena could protest, she continued. "He knows of someone who may be able to help. You're going to stay with them until the baby is born and then you'll come back here in time for your freshman year. Everyone will think you were on an exchange program and no one will be the wiser."

"But what happens when I come back with a baby?" Her mother looked down and refused to meet her daughter's eyes. "I...am... going to bring the baby back with me. Right?"

Her mother slowly got up. "Hurry up and pack. John said you have to leave in the next hour."

"Mom?" No response. "Mom?!"

"I'm sorry." She said softly, before closing Elena's door. Bitter tears began to fall and she angrily got up and began throwing clothes in a suitcase. When her mom walked in a few moments ago, she would have done anything to stay here, now she couldn't get away fast enough. It wasn't fair. Sure, she didn't have any clue as to how she had gotten pregnant, but it was still her baby. Her mom couldn't make her give it away. Could she?

"Elena?"

"What?" she snapped, before realizing that it was Jeremy. "Sorry, Jere. I'm just a little stressed out right now."

"Are you leaving?"

"I have to. Mom and Dad are making me."

"Why?"

Elena stopped packing and looked up at him questioningly. "You don't know?"

He shook his head. "When I heard mom and dad start yelling, I put my headphones in and fell asleep. Were they yelling about you?"

She took a deep breath and walked around to the foot of her bed and sat on the mattress. If she was going to be telling this lie for the rest of her life, she may as well start practicing now. She began smoothing out her comforter and slowly started, "I'm doing an exchange program. I didn't really want to leave home, but mom and dad think it'll be a good idea."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I'm not sure yet. I find out in a couple of hours."

"Well, have fun. I'm gonna miss you."

The tears that had almost stopped, quickly started up again. Elena got up and hugged her brother hard. "I'm going to miss you too, Jere."

She finished packing and went downstairs, avoiding her parents calls to say "goodbye" to them and heading straight for her uncle's car. She didn't say anything to him on the ride to the airport, or "goodbye" when he handed her the boarding pass that would get her on the plane to Rome. She just took it and went. When she got off in Rome, after the longest flight of her life (she got some much needed rest though), she found a girl, maybe a couple of years older than her, holding a sign that said "Elena Gilbert".

"I'm Elena Gilbert." She told the girl.

"Hi!" She threw her arms around Elena and Elena hesitantly responded. "My name's Giavonna. You can call me Gia."

"Nice to meet you." They began walking toward baggage claim and Elena struck up a conversation. "Your English is perfect."

"I was born and raised in the States. My family moved back to Italy about three months ago."

"Oh...so how do you know my uncle?"

"Your uncle? Damon?"

"Damon? Umm...no. Jonathan Gilbert is my uncle."

"I've never heard of him. Uncle Damon is the one who told us you'd be coming."

"What did he tell you about me?"

"Nothing really. He just said you had a problem that he had to help you with and you'd be staying with us."

"Well, I have a problem, but I don't know how he or anybody else can help me though."

"What is it?"

Elena sighed. "I guess you'll figure it out soon enough... I'm pregnant. That's the first time I've said it out loud. The kicker is that I have no recollection of anything happening."

Gia nodded. "And they think it was vampires."

Elena couldn't stop the laughter that erupted out of her. "Vampires? Ha! Good one."

"You don't believe vampires exist?"

"Of course not. Why, do you?"

Gia opened her mouth and closed it back several times, obviously trying to find the best way to word what she was thinking. "I guess you could say I've been raised to believe in their existence."

The conversation died there. Elena didn't want to say anything else that would insult her host. She may not have necessarily chosen to come and stay here, but if she was being forced, she didn't want to get on Gia's bad side by making fun of her beliefs, however absurd they might be.