The Prologue to a New Chapter

Elena didn't expect her life to be this way.

At 16 she would have bet money that she would marry Matt and spend the rest of her life being a stay-at-home mom living in little Mystic Falls, growing old together with their friends around them.

When her parents died and she drifted away from Matt everything changed. No longer was her future set in stone. It was cloudy and uncertain and definitely didn't involve sitting on a porch with Matt and grandchildren at their feet. Well, at least it didn't seem like that at the time.

Her fate changed again when she met Stefan. Suddenly she could see her getting out of that sad little town with all the bad memories of the summer before. She could see herself being a journalist and having a few kids. Staying in touch in with Bonnie and Caroline, but not best friends anymore. No Damon to wreck it. The process would be hard but it would happen.

It fell apart when she learned about vampires. She still loved Stefan and she didn't want to lose him, but the vision of their future was gone as long as she loved him. They chose not to think about that, they had much more pressing matters.

Then her feelings for Damon started to change. And Stefan went missing. And Jeremy and Caroline were involved in the mess now. She almost died a few times, actually succeeding once. She lost another set of parents and an aunt. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah brought on new dangers and unlikely allies against Esther. Things changed once again and this time she wasn't sure she was going to live it see the future at all.

When she became a vampire she knew there was no hope for the future she had wanted at the beginning. She just wasn't going to have the suburban house or the small but quaint apartment with kids and grandkids. Elena accepted that that wasn't what the universe had in store for her. She could deal with that, but she couldn't handle vampirism, it wasn't for her. Shutting off her humanity was the hardest thing she had ever done, turning it back on was worse, learning to live with it was the worst.

Loving Damon changed that. He helped her see the not so bad part or being a vampire. Yes, it hurt her to see Stefan alone and it was torture when she and Damon fought or when he died, but she would live with that to get the good parts of her relationship with him. He was the light at the end of the tunnel. An eternity with him didn't sound so bad. Sure they wouldn't have any kids or grow old together, but they would be happy.

But…why is there always a "but"? When faced with the decision of staying in this hellish form or getting back the hope of a future again she couldn't say no to the latter. She wanted Damon to be with her, but he not just because of her. He made his decision all on his own and was okay with doing it for her. They were okay with never seeing their families again…'okay', not good.

Driving away from Mystic Falls for what should be the last time was surprisingly bittersweet. The memories of the bad things that had happened there were as present in her mind as the good. She would miss the little things, the feeling of Stefan's protective hug, the goodness of Bonnie's heart, the playful kindness of Caroline's smile, even the teasing of Matt and Tyler. She would miss the hopefulness in Stefan's eyes whenever he gazed at Caroline when he thought nobody was looking. She wouldn't forget the stunning love Jo and Alaric had. She would miss Damon and Alaric's friendship, as well as his unlikely one with Bonnie. The brotherly love Damon and Stefan had for each other. The support Matt provided for the group. Caroline's obsessive nature and Bonnie warm-hearted wisdom that had kept her out of trouble since she was very little. Jeremy would never see her again if all went well. They didn't even get to say goodbye. Lily was their problem. Keeping Bonnie off the crazy train was Matt's job. Reminding Caroline of her strength would fall to Stefan.

She would miss the things to come, as well, even though they haven't happened yet. The birth of Jo and Alaric's twins (although no one was supposed to know that fact), and the development of Stefan and Caroline's impending relationship. She would grow old and die while they didn't. She wanted to know more about Tyler and Liv and she wanted to find someone for Matt to love. There was so much to lose, but also so much to gain.

For the first time in years her life had a direct course. She had a plan and a future in mind. Damon would do anything for her. He sat next to her in the passenger's seat (he was still getting used to the human eyes so he opted out of driving) gazing out at the world, for the first time in a century and a half seeing it as most others did, filled with possibilities. When he glanced over at her she knew he was thinking the same thing as her. His eyes were filled with sadness, but for the first time ever there was something more.

Something human.

So this is under the impression that Kai didn't crash the wedding (quite literally) and everything went according to plan with the whole cure thing. Damon took it, they said their goodbyes, and set off for a new life. This story will not follow their adjustment to humanity, other than the occasional flashback, but what happens when fate seems to want to push the gang back together in some conspicuous and some rather obvious ways. Hope you like it! Reviews are totally welcome. Constructive criticism is awesome! But avoiding the hate would be awesome though!

Thanks for taking a look at this this!

Sincerely,

Lizzy