Chapter I

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Just A Dream

Choices We Make

"In the end that was the choice you made, and it doesn't matter how hard it was to make it. It matters that you did."

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Waking up at 7:00 am was certainly Elena's least favorite activity, and more when she wasn't used to it. She wasn't a morning person, that's why all her classes were programmed for the afternoon schedule. Great student but a lazy girl, it wasn't supposed to be that way, was it? Groaning, she pressed her alarm clock off, announcing she had to get up to catch her flight. She was excited, really, she was. Last night she couldn't sleep of the excitement that today would bring, like a child on christmas eve night waiting for Santa Claus to bring the presents. But right now, all she wanted to do was sleep, and she could careless if the flight was cancelled…though that thought would last until 1:00 pm before she got angry.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head." She heard Caroline's incredibly cheery voice say, louder than Elena liked. As the blonde girl opened the curtains, Elena hid her face on the blanket.

Elena groaned. "Ugh, Caroline. Close the damn curtains. I'm a vampire, it hurts." She mumbled, not wanting to get up from the warm her blanket produced, even though it was summer.

Caroline rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend's arguments and proceeding to finish her makeup. "Come on, Elena. I let you over sleep extra time, don't whine and get your ass up before I drag your blankets away." When her threat didn't worked, since Elena was still cuddled up on the bed, she smirked. Grabbing the old-raggedy rabbit Elena had been holding, Elena immediately stood up.

"Give me crookshanks back." Elena demanded, her arms crossed on her chest with a furious look on her face. She absolutely hated when people touched her oh-so-dear raggedy rabbit her older brother, Jeremy, had given her when she was 11.

Caroline smirked and gracefully handed her back her rabbit, glad her technique had worked. Turning to the vanity table, she applied her mascara. "I don't know why you named that thing crookshanks, its a cat from Harry Potter, Elena, a cat. Plus, I don't know why in the effing place you still have that rabbit."

Another thing you needed to know about Caroline Forbes: she never said the actual word. She would say effing, or eff, or effed, but never the actual word. For her, it wasn't lady-like. Yeah, Caroline Forbes was like that. Plus, the rabbit was in perfect conditions, Elena thought.

"Because I was eleven, Caroline." She explained to her for the hundred time. Grabbing her clothes she had laid out last night, she made her way out of the room. "I'm taking a shower."

"Yes, please, you reek." Caroline teased as Elena hit her with a pillow, running out of the room before Caroline had the chance to chase after her.

Showers at college weren't the best thing ever, and more if you compared them to your house's shower, but it was that or reek and smell all day long. Thankfully, because it was the start of summer, the showers weren't crowded, and meant most people were going to leave later on the day. Turning up the water, she waited for the water to be cold and warm. Though she shouldn't – just because it will make her be in Mystic Falls more quickly – she remembered her old bathroom. It was a pretty big bathroom, so was her room, considering her house was big since the Gilbert's were a wealthy family – though not as big as Rebekah's. She had a bathtub were she would have a bubble bath after a really long day and she wanted to relax. Her daydream ended when she noticed the steam on the mirror, stripping off her clothes, she jumped into the shower. The familiar hot water she had been showering in for 2 years received her, relaxing her muscles and preparing her for a really long flight. The hour-difference from Virginia to New York was about 5 hours, where they would have to take a 1 hour and a half-trip before actually getting into Mystic Falls. There wasn't an airport at Mystic Falls, but on Georgia, the biggest town of Virginia. Focusing on her shower, she took her strawberry shampoo and applied it on her hair, gently massaging it. After she rinsed it off, she took her coconut body wash and washed her whole body. Taking her razor, she shaved just some stumble that had grown that week, since she was planning on using shorts and a tank top. Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself up in a towel.

Dressing up, she put on a white lace tank-top, black shorts, and black converse. Looking herself at the mirror, she looked satisfied with her outfit. Just as she was about to her back to her dorm to do her makeup, she found herself facing the school's slut, Katherine Pierce.

"Hello, Elena." She greeted, the corner of her lips twitching on a evil smirk.

Katherine Pierce, apparently, had come from the same small-town as hers, though she had never heard of her. Even if Mystic Falls was a small town, it was kinda big for you to know every single person. As ridiculous as it sounded – considering Mystic Falls was a small-town –, Mystic Falls was divided in South and North, everyone in the South knew each other while they didn't knew nobody from the North, and the other way around. In resume, not everybody knew each other. And about was she has gathered, Katherine was a popular girl on the South.

"Yep, Miss Mystic Falls, I remember her." Caroline had answered when she asked her about the famous-in-Mystic-Falls nobody-out-of-it Katherine Pierce.

From what she heard on Art Class – since they were on the same class and Katherine didn't talked really quietly, and being behind her didn't really helped – and the gossips and rumors people had spread, Katherine had been head cheerleader of South Mystic Falls' School, Miss Mystic Falls from 3 years on a road, and the girl who lost her virginity at 14. Yep, pretty popular.

Katherine walked passed her, not waiting for her to greet her back. "You going back to Mystic Falls?"

Elena shrugged. "None of your business, Katherine." She answered and turned around to leave when she heard Katherine's voice, making her stop dead on her track.

"You know, Elena. You shouldn't really be wearing shorts, I've seen you had gained a little weight." She snapped, her eyes twinkling with evil. Elena blushed, she knew she hadn't because boys had complimented her on her legs, and she knew she wasn't fat, Caroline or Bonnie or perhaps Rebekah would've told her…right?

"You know, Katherine." She said, taking a step towards her. "If I was indeed fat as you called me, at least I can loose weight. Unlike you that you can't loose that ugly face." Leaving Katherine with her jaw open, Elena smirked and turned around and finally left.

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Before she knew it, they were standing at the airport, waving goodbye as Rebekah left for her flight.

"Promise me you'll call me everyday." Matt said, his arms wrapped around her waist as hers were on her neck.

Rebekah smiled, kissing Matt quickly on the lips as she heard her flight being called again. "I promise, Matt." She swore before taking her bags with her and left for her flight.

As Elena plopped down on her seat, she quickly checked her email, just to see if she had any new updates or emails from her hometown friends. She didn't had much friends waiting for her back at home, just Tyler Lockwood, Vicki Donovan – which was Matt's sister, and had known her her entire life, so she was like her big sister, since she was one year older – and her older brother, Jeremy.

The only thing she hoped and was scared of coming back, was her parents, Isobel and John Gilbert. It's not that the relationship with them was tough, she was, indeed, very close with them. It was just that before she left, it felt like they were trying to rush her, like they didn't wanted her there anymore or as if she panicked them in some sort of odd way. It made more weird they had chose and told her the news of her new college in a blink of an eye. She thought that, probably, she reminded them of her little sister, Clara, who had died in a car accident at the young age of 5. Clara was the exact replica of Elena as a child, so she probably thought it was that. She missed Clara every single day, but Elena was only 8 and hadn't shared much moments with her when they suffered the lost, so she could moved on quickly, though she couldn't say the same for her parents and Jeremy. Jeremy was 13 when Clara died, and he was devastated, which made him be way more protective towards Elena. Though it had been 2 years ago since she last saw them, she really hoped they were a little more relaxed. Last summer, on her first year of college when she was 18, she decided to spent her summer break on Miami with her Matt, Rebekah, Caroline and Bonnie, she had emailed Jeremy to see if he wanted to go with them, but he didn't replied. They didn't talked much ofter and it was probably because of his job and college.

"You excited?" Caroline asked, making Elena jump a little and waking her up from her thoughts.

Elena grinned, closing her laptop. "Yep." She replied with enthusiasm, the thought of seeing and talking to Jeremy again made her excited.

"Great, I was starting to think you were going to back out." The blonde said with a small smile, taking a bite of the blueberry muffin she was holding.

Elena shook her head. "Nah, I was just thinking." She said, staring at the muffin with wide eyes and narrowing them. "Hey! I thought we were doing the Skinny Bitches diet? You know how hard was to contain myself from drinking beers at the frat parties?" She demanded, pointing at the muffin.

"Na-ah!" Caroline said sassily, stopping her from whatever Elena was about to do as she prepared her hand to slap the muffin away. "This is an organic muffin. With 0% calories or fat. Now, put yourself together before I get my newspaper and slap you with it." She said seriously, taking another bite. "You really thought I would break Skinny Bitches diet? Bitch, please, this body would not last if I don't take care of it."

Elena smirked. "Amen to that. It's not that I thought you would break the diet, but then again…you are Caroline Forbes, you love food."

Caroline glanced at her, her eyes narrowed and her mouth had muffin all over it. She looked like a baby eating food. "Don't ever underestimate me, Gilbert. I have more willpower than you think."

She winked at her, before hiding her face on her laptop. "I know, I just love teasing you." She said, earning a slap on the back on her head.

After her argument with her blonde best friend and persuading her on buying her a organic muffin, Elena found herself carrying her suitcase towards the plane, since they were about to board. Taking a deep breath, she entered the plane. For some reason, planes kind of freaked her out. She started taking deep breaths, hoping to calm down and focusing her mind on something else…she would dye her hair, just like Caroline, Bonnie and her did every summer since 7th grade. Yep, this year she would dye her beautiful brunette hair red…though only the ends, her parents would kill her if it was whole. When that didn't worked she thought of something else…she would dye Matt's hair also, a baby pink color. The thought of Matt screaming the next morning and watching his reflection on the mirror with pink hair made her laugh. Priceless. After she calmed herself down, she started looking for her seat. 21. Okay. 1, 2, 3…15, 16…20, 21…

Oh shit, she was screwed.

There was no way she was going to flight with the god in front of her. Was he even real? He looked fucking photoshopped. He had jet black hair, which fall on his face. His face was pale and fair, flawless. He was wearing a tight blue shirt that made his biceps and 6-pack mark perfectly. She couldn't see his eyes since he was asleep, thankfully. Placing the suitcase on the compartment, she took the seat next to him, which was next to the small hallway. Why did this plane had only 2 seats instead of 3, again? Yep, this is going to be one hell of a flight, she thought, cursing herself and closing her eyes, hoping to catch some sleep.

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The small nap she was – and needed – having didn't last long though, because the beautiful man beside her started stirring…and sweating. He was probably having a nightmare. Should she wake him up or…no, Elena, don't do it, is a bad idea, she thought, trying to restrain herself from touching his perfect pale cheeks. Couldn't this flight be any longer? She swore, in her long 19-years she has lived on this planet she has never seen such handsome man, not even a model could compare to him. That's when it hit her, he was flying to Virginia as well…how come she had never heard of him? Perhaps he was from Georgia or another small-town, because there was no way in hell he was from Mystic Falls.

Shaking her head, she tried to erase those thoughts from her mind, she didn't even knew him, yet, she was drooling all over him. If there was something Elena had put to her mental rules of finding the one/dating – yes, she was cheesy like that – was that she needed to get to know the person. Well, apparently she had broken those 5 first rules. Hell, not even David, her last boyfriend and the one Elena had loved the most, got her drooling. Elena shook her head, not wanting to remind herself how bad David had hurt her when he cheated on her with none other than Katherine Pierce, and apparently, they had been screwing each other for quite a while now. David was clearly disappointed when he realized Katherine was only using him.

When she started to hear mumbles from her side, she knew it was time to wake him up. Not knowing what to do, she started poking his cheek, and noticing how soft it looked.

"Sir, sir, wake up." She whispered softly on his ear, then blushing when she realized what she had done. Though that didn't stopped her from poking his cheek.

It felt like an eternity when his eyes flutter open, and Elena had to swallow her gasp from seeing her eyes. They were blue, the most beautiful eyes she had seen. He stared at her, and realizing how close they were, Elena pulled back, blushing once more. He was looking at her, but he somehow wasn't seeing her, it was like he was staring blankly at nothing. It was until she got the great idea to open up her mouth.

"…are you okay?" Elena asked, and his attention was focused on her.

He blinked. He blinked again. He blinked once more before raising his eyebrow. "Why I wouldn't be okay?" He asked, as if nothing had happened and got down to get something, perhaps his laptop.

Elena cleared her throat, clearly not expecting that answer. "You were mumbling things in your sleep."

He shrugged. "Many people do that."

"But not many people sweat and stir, don't they?" She shot back, earning a smirk from him.

"Yeah, I guess not. Nightmare." He explained simply, and then realized she hadn't got his name. Taking out his laptop, he started writing things Elena couldn't catch on. "Thank you." He said, clearing her throat, obviously not used to thank people.

Elena raised an eyebrow, confused on what was he thanking him for. "For what?"

"Waking me up." He casually and shrugging his shoulders, as if it didn't mean nothing.

Elena nodded, trying to look casual like him but clearly failing. She was so sure he had also felt the same way she did when they made eye contact, perhaps it hadn't meant anything. Perhaps she was wrong. But she did not wanted their conversation to end. "So, you going to Virginia?"

He focused his attention on her for a minute, looking her from the corner of his eyes as his lips twitched to form a smirk. "That's why I'm on this plane, aren't I?"

She blushed, realizing how stupid her question was. "No, I meant what town you are going to?"

Finally flipping his head, his attention was actually on her. No corner of his eye, actual eye contact. And for her, it meant something, even if for him didn't. "Why do you care?" He challenged.

She shrugged. "Just trying to make a conversation."

He smirked, his eyes twinkling on the sun coming through the window. Seriously, was this flight endless? "Why would you make a conversation? I mean, you could sleep or read or just listen to music, why bother to talk to some random stranger?"

"Because I'm bored and I hate being bored. So if I have a person who owes me saving himself from a nightmare, then I would use it to make a conversation." She said simply, and she noticed she was smirking as well.

"I like you." He stated, genuinely smiling for the first time in the 10 minutes they had been talking. "I'm Damon, Damon Salvatore." He introduced himself. "As for your question, I'm going to Mystic Falls."

"North or South?" She asked with curiosity, but genuinely shocked he was from Mystic Falls and had never heard of Damon Salvatore.

He smiled, liking how curious she was. "South. You going there as well?" She nodded. "Tourist?."

She shook her head. "Nope, I live there. I'm going to the North." She explained. "Need a ride? My friends and I are driving there and we could drop you off on the North…"

"Really? I mean, I would hate to disturb…" He started saying but Elena cut him off.

"Really. And if you are worried, no, you are not the only guy there, there's my friend Matt." He chuckled, nodding his head before typing on his work.

There passed a good 5 minutes, both just enjoying the silence, before she spoke up. "Didn't catch your name." He smirked.

"Elena." She said simply.

He raised his eyebrow, faking being hurt. "No last name?"

She shrugged with a smirk, challenging him just as he had done just 5 minutes ago. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

"Then I will." He promised with a smirk.

She laughed. She found herself liking his Damon Salvatore, though she had never heard of him or the last name Salvatore. But either way, she was glad she had invited him. And for the first time in a long time, she found herself liking the choice she had made.

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A/N: Before anything I wanted to thank ItAllStartedWithABigBang because she or he has always commented and supported my fanfics, and I never got the chance to say thank you (: Just to let you know that I actually appreciate that you review and favorite my fics, like thank you so much (:

Hey guys! New update! Hope you liked it, because I did put a lot of effort. I was meaning to update at least once a week, but my finals are just ending and I have to study hard. But don't worry! My summer break starts this Friday :) That means more updates! Anyways, thanks so freaking much for 5 reviews, 4 Favorites, and 11 Followers, you guys are the best :D For many people is not a big deal, but for me it is! I seriously was freaking out when I saw so many mails the next day, like, seriously thank you so much, It means the world to me that you liked it :33

Sorry if its a little confusing about the North and the South part-ish, I just wanted to make something different from other fics, something that made mine unique.

So…Elena had a sister? I didn't explained it last chapter cause I wanted you guys to get to know the character's lives chapter by chapter, not put you all of their life in a prologue. And I didn't made a big deal of it since Elena is perfectly fine and isn't really traumatized. She was 8, and like I said, most of her experiences with her were blurry so the lost didn't hurt her as it would now.

Guys, seriously thank you so much. Sorry if the chapter is not the best, I repeat, I didn't had much time. This has no inclination this is going to work out, but I'm trying my best :D

xx

-Ana