A/N: Elena is 170 in this, so I guess it's an AU. I was inspired by the movie Silver Linings Playbook and the 'I have a theory' speech in The Vow. That's it so...Happy Reading!

Summary: Silver lining; A sign of hope or a bright prospect in a sea of darkness or a happy ending in a dull story. e.g. Every cloud has a silver lining. 170 year old vampire, Elena Gilbert has a theory about never reaching silver linings. After breaking up with her human boyfriend Jace Cooper, she comes to the conclusion that humanity is just nasty and there's no silver lining. Can Damon Salvatore, a mysterious stranger she met at the Mystic Grill change her mind? One deal can change a life, but does Elena want to change hers?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or scenes from The Vampire Diaries, The Vow or Silver Linings Playbook, though I may use them.

YOU'LL LOVE ME 'CAUSE I'M POSTING EVERY TUESDAY :)

Dear diary,

I have a theory. A theory about silver linings. What's a silver lining? A silver lining is a sign of hope, a bright prospect in a sea of darkness or a happy ending in a dull story. Hence, the saying; every cloud has a silver lining.

So what's my theory? First, I'll give you some background.

Humans have simple lives. They are born, they live and then they die. Eventually, — in their ninety or so years on this earth — they find 'the one' and they die with them, encapsulating their love in a tombstone with two names. That's not always how it plays out — it's more of a hypothetical. Basically, Everyone gets a silver lining to their dull and meaningless life.

Vampires are different. They are born human, they live human, they die human and then they live again — only they're dead. Every few years, vampires who have found ways to walk in the sun need to relocate in order to stay undetected. Every time they find 'the one', they move on without them. In short, there are infinite opportunities to unlock their silver lining, but they never seem to find 'the one' who accepts them for their living-dead form. No matter how many times they repeat the process, they can't find that person — their silver lining.

Mine was different. I found someone — Jace Cooper. You could say he was a possible silver lining in a sky of grey. Oblivious to the fact that he was cheating on me, I thought he was 'the one' for me. We'd been together for two years, you'd think he'd learnt about commitment. Well, apparently he'd been sleeping with some whore named Candy the whole time. I know, what a douche. I caught him calling her baby on the phone. He lied and told me he was talking to his mother. I compelled him to tell me the truth and I found out everything. The point is, I thought I found my silver lining in Jace, but I hadn't. I never would — I missed it the first time.

My theory is that; humanity is just nasty and there's no silver lining. Vampires are a product of that. Each one of us has eternity to find 'the one' and we never do. It's a continuous cycle that misses the silver lining every time. The thing is, you have one shot to capture it — your human lifetime. If you miss it that time, the same mistakes you made the first — human — time repeat for the duration of your infinite years on the earth. Those who are lucky, find their one the first time, so when the cycle repeats they take their silver lining with them, escaping the endless cycle that would be their life if they had fucked it up in the beginning. I was unfortunate. I missed my one the first time. Every time I try to reach my silver lining, I'll end up miserable, wishing I caught it the first.

So, I'm fucked. I'd give anything for a do over, but that's not how it works. I've stopped trying. Now, I just have to spend eternity wishing I figured out the code of the universe at the beginning.

— Elena

Caroline and Bonnie dragged Elena to the Mystic Grill with them. They said she should embrace being single and get out there to find a new man. She wasn't in the mood...she wouldn't ever be in the mood. She missed her silver lining. What was the point? They insisted on waiting for her, but she told them she'd meet them there. That gave her more time to mope around and feel sorry for herself.

She wore black skinny jeans and a tight tank top. Her hair was out and she had left on her every day makeup she'd worn since the morning. She hadn't put any effort into her appearance tonight. To her, this was a girls night out, not a search for a new man. In fact, no night out would be a search for a new man anymore. That ship was sailed and it wasn't coming back. She was somewhat glad and somewhat upset by that. She liked feeling loved and to know she wouldn't get to feel that anymore hurt. But it also gave her stability and the guarantee that her heart wouldn't be crushed by another guy.

As she entered the Grill, her eyes scanned the room for her friends. Familiar faces always calmed her down. Finding them sitting at the bar taking shots, she waddled over to them awkwardly.

"Hey guys." She attempted a smile, trying to mask her true feelings. Once she had established her theory, she felt like dying. Like there was no point in living anymore. But she couldn't die. Well she could, but how pathetic is a vampire suicide?

"Hey 'Lena!" Caroline squealed. Her tone was deafening and it only made Elena feel a thousand times worse.

"You have, to try this." Bonnie giggled, handing Elena a shot.

"I need to drive tonight." She replied, placing the shot back on the bar table, her shaky hands revealing how nervous she was. She wasn't in the mood for anything, especially not shots. If she was going to numb her pain with alcohol, it wouldn't be tequila. What she was in the mood for was running home and crying herself to sleep as she watched The Notebook alone, drowning herself in misery and held tears. Swallow the tears back often enough and they'll start feeling like acid dripping down your throat, and that's exactly what was happening. So she wanted to go home and let it all out onto her pillow. But she'd just got here. Meaning she was forced to hang on to her sanity for at least one hour before she left. And that risked a lecture from Caroline and mockery from Bonnie.

"Party pooper!" Caroline teased.

It had been forty minutes and Elena decided leaving was worth all the shit her friends would put her through. She didn't give a single fuck anymore. She lifted her head out of her palms, the sweat from her hands melting the mascara off her eyelashes.

"I'm gonna head home." She sighed, hoping they'd spare her the false friendly concern.

"We just started!" They squealed in unison.

"Sorry."

"Elena." Caroline whined.

"I just want to sleep." She mumbled.

"Call if you change your mind!" Bonnie offered, rubbing Elena's arm in long oval patterns as she backed out of the bar.

"Bye." Elena called. She needed to get out of here. Sitting and watching people make out while she sat sober at a bar, was torture. Torture enough that she couldn't even come up with a decent excuse to feed Bonnie and Caroline.

She speed-walked out of the Grill, colliding with a solid chest and falling to the ground. She batted her lashes at the floor as she covered her already healing wound across her elbow. As she watched the skin reconnect, she sighed in thought. It was amazing watching skin heal and realising once again that she hadn't. The man coughed and offered her his hand and she was awoken from her trance. She accepted, dusting off her knees with her palms.

"Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He apologised with a husky voice, picking up her purse.

She didn't answer him or apologise politely — like she should have — in return. She couldn't. Her body was physically stopping her from opening her mouth or moving. Her jaw was locked. He might have been the most attractive specimen she had seen in her 170 years on the earth. His piercing blue eyes made her heart thaw. His chiseled jawline sliced her in half. His structured cheekbones disorientated her breathing patterns. His smile faded her worries from her brain. His shirt outlined his defined figure, causing her to grow faint. She imagined how great her hands would look tugging his raven, black hair. And his breath made her body tremble with anticipation.

"Katherine?" He asked, gazing at her with his stunning baby blues as he handed her the purse. Her jaw unlocked when his bourbon breath impacted her rosy cheeks.

"Um...No, I'm Elena." She shook her head slowly, still struggling to break from her trance as she ogled his rigid figure.

"Oh, you...you just look...I'm sorry." He stuttered. "You just really remind me of someone."

"It's fine. Sorry fo-r you know...um bumping into you." She stuttered back, forcing her tongue to swallow.

"No problem." He smirked, awkwardly. She smiled in return, trying to hide her gawking by offering her hand. She couldn't help it. He was the perfect guy — though she didn't know anything about him, he seemed like the perfect guy. She wanted to be loved. No, she needed to be loved and when this flawless looking guy comes along, she can't help forgetting about Jace and her theory and focusing on this man's structured bones. That is, until she noticed Jace and his whore heading in her direction. Her silver linings analysis rushed back into her brain and she shivered at the thought. Even if this guy was her new one, she'd never find her silver lining. It wouldn't work out.

"Kiss me." Elena begged. She wouldn't get her happiness, so why not have some fun?

"What? No." He stepped back. He was obviously confused and startled. Elena was never good at first impressions but this was the weirdest one she'd ever stimulated. She could just compel him to be agreeable, but she'd rather not. She hadn't eaten in a while so it probably wouldn't work anyway.

"My ex is walking this way with his new whore right now! Just kiss me!" She whisper-shouted, clenching her fists. She didn't know why it bothered her so much to see her Jace with a new girl. Maybe because she knew she'd never get her silver lining and they already had it.

"Woah passive aggressive much. Most girls would pay to touch my hand." He was extremely cocky which was actually kinda cute to Elena. But right now, she didn't have time for cute.

She cut him off with a deep kiss. Her eyes were closed but she could feel his confused face fade as he kissed her back. She'd never felt anything this strong in her entire life. Their souls connected and it felt more real than it ever did when Jace used to kiss her. He moved his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks and setting her skin ablaze. His touch sent electric jolts down her spine, causing her knees to grow weak. She could barely hold herself up. Her dream became reality as her hands travelled to his ravenous locks, pulling him deeper into their shared passion.

She wanted the feeling to last forever but her happiness was cut short. "Um...Elena? Is that you?" Jace asked, causing her to pull away from the mystery man. He ruined everything. But what did he ruin? Was she really going to submerse herself in what she thought love was and get hurt again? She couldn't. She'd been in love. It's painful, pointless and overrated. He actually helped her realise it wasn't real. It was just her mind playing figurative games with her heart yet again.

"Jace, hey. Didn't see you there!" She lied circling the man's back with her finger tips. "This is my...boyfriend..." She muttered. Shit. She didn't know his name.

"Damon." He finished, saving her from embarrassment.

He held out his hand to greet Jace. "I didn't realise you moved on so quickly." Jace frowned, shaking Damon's hand.

"Hah, thats funny, 'cause I didn't realise you were sleeping with this bimbo for the whole duration of our — obviously meaningless — two year relationship." She crooned sarcastically, shooting fake tits a glare.

Jace glued his eyes to the floor, lost for words. "Well, we better get going. Nice to meet you." Damon diverted the conversation. "Jace. Jace's whore." He smiled widely as he took Elena's hand and led her to a small, late night café. She already liked Damon. A lot.

They sat across from each other. The building looked like it had been deserted. The only person there — other than Damon and Elena — was the waitress. Which reminded her, she hadn't fed all night and she was starving. She could go for a snack.

"What was that about?" He questioned, furrowing his perfect eyebrows.

"Okay, long story short, Jace and I had been together for two years. Last week I found out he had been with another girl the whole time and she knew I was involved. I was bored with my life and I wanted to have some fun, so I kissed you and said you were my boyfriend." She smiled. But she was lying. She knew she wouldn't get her silver lining but she couldn't help feeling more. She kissed him because she wanted to, not for fun. It was a happy coincidence that her backstabbing ex and his slut were walking towards them. She wouldn't have had an excuse to kiss Damon, especially because it contradicted her theory. Jace being there was her excuse. "Thanks for playing along by the way."

"So...the kiss didn't mean anything?" He asked. She wanted it to, but the reality was; it couldn't. She concluded that the feeling she felt when their lips met was nervousness. Nothing else. Love didn't exist anymore. Not to her, anyway. If it did, she would have found it by now. Jace was a wakeup call. But that didn't mean she didn't want love to exist. She wanted that more than anything and she still — after everything — couldn't help trying to prove herself wrong.

"Do you want it to?" She asked, regretfully. Her theory was a theory. It was her perspective on the cruel universe. But aside from that, she honestly wanted to be loved and he seemed like the perfect guy. Sure, everyone is flawed, but at the moment she could only see the surface. If she ever got to the roots maybe she'd change her mind. Besides, he had already proved to be better than Jace Cooper in every way.

"No. I was just wondering..." He coughed. She thought so. As if a hot, mystery guy would ever go for her. Elena never been in a good relationship Gilbert. It would contradict the universe. She decided to compel him to help her piss off Jace, since she didn't have a chance at her silver lining anyway.

She grabbed his hand, and his eyes met hers. It was so hard not to lose concentration when gazing into his dreamy trance. "You're my boyfrien—"

"Nice try vamp girl." He interrupted, giggling.

"How did you know?" She hissed, flashing her teeth.

"I've used that trick countless times, because..." He waited for her to finish. She was incredibly slow today.

"...You're a vampire." She rolled her eyes.

"Ding, ding, ding!" He joked. Then her mind wandered again. Maybe it would be possible. She wouldn't outlive him, so why not try again? She missed it the first time, but that was with a human. It'd always been with a human. He was just like her. Wouldn't it be different? She wanted it to work, but the universe is the universe, no matter what the terms are.

She let a quiet giggle escape her lips. He simpered in self satisfaction. "So, Damon..."

"Salvatore." He finished. Italian, nice. "Elena..."

"Gilbert." She smiled, fiddling with her thumbs under the table.

"I have a proposal for you." He said, leaning forward.

"Which is..."

"I will be your fake boyfriend in front of whoever and whenever on one condition. You live with me and pretend to be my girlfriend in front of my brother and his girlfriend."

"Deal." She shrugged. What did she have to lose? If she couldn't grasp her silver lining, she could at least pretend to. Plus, she'd get to stare at the magnificent creature that is Damon Salvatore all day. "So, why do you need my help?"

"My brother, Stefan and his annoying bimbo girlfriend think I will never be in a serious relationship. I simply want to prove them wrong." He explained, raising his eyebrows. His brother was right, he never would. Not because he was incapable of it, but because the universe wouldn't allow him to. Nevertheless, she wanted entertainment and he could give it to her, so she'd play along with it.

"Stefan?" She asked herself.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." She scrunched her face. She'd heard the name Stefan before, she just didn't know where.

"I'll pick you up from your house tomorrow at ten." He grinned at her.

"How will you know where I live?"

"Who do you think is dropping you home?" He smirked, offering her his hand. Her cheeks flushed with colour again as she accepted his warm hand. "Oh, and you have to sleep in my bed."

A/N: So that was the first chapter! Review if you liked it :) I'll be posting every Tuesday, but keep in mind I'm based in Australia, so my Tuesday may be your Monday or Wednesday. Also, sorry if you live in USA because my spelling is based off the Australian spelling.