I'm so glad people like the story! I've been having a lot of fun writing it and I've got it planned out to about 8 or 9 chapters right now, but that may change, we'll see. Now I present Chapter 2, which features a slightly scruffy Tyler in a suit and Jeremy wearing glasses. Adorable :)

Disclaimer: Don't own :(

"How about this? This is…teacher looking right?" the man stepped out of the dressing room of H&M turning around for his cousin to look him over.

"Yeah…but don't wear the grey blazer, try the black one," Elena Petrova said as she flicked her long brown hair behind her. She tapped her French-manicured nails against her lip as her cousin walked back out now wearing a black blazer over a white button-down shirt and khakis. Elena frowned slightly, "Eh, I change my mind, the other jacket was better."

"Elena, make up your mind," Jeremy Gilbert sighed as he took off the jacket and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "I don't know why I asked you of all people to come; you can't decide what to wear most days."

"Good thing we both have limitations on what we can wear to work," she shot back and he rolled his eyes as he walked back into the dressing room. "You might as well buy everything, it all looks good on you Jere, and it's not like you get a lot of choices if it's a private school," she called out to him.

He came back a couple minutes later with twelve different hangers that held jackets, pants and shirts. "I need more than this, you know. My current wardrobe isn't teacher material."

"I thought they wore uniforms at this school?" she asked as they went to stand in the semi-long line at the front of the store. The three-story retailer was packed today; then again, it was a Saturday and in New York, it was one of the busiest days of the week for retail stores. "Aren't they supposed to give you a blazer at least?"

Jeremy snorted, "Yeah but they would have taken out of my first paycheck. You know how expensive their blazers are?"

"Can't imagine they look as good as this though," she took the black blazer and held it up. "This is nice; I might borrow this from you sometime."

"It would look like a dress. New fashion statement?" Jeremy laughed.

"That's the point! I could pull off Miley Cyrus's outfit from the Billboard Awards. People think that outfit was scandalous but they just don't know good fashion. The girl knows how to dress."

"You should show up to work in that; I'm sure Stefan would be more than willing to give you a raise then."

She made a face as she thought about her boss and co-worker, "That man…I don't know how he's a therapist honestly. He has as much patience as a raging bull and he's always pissed off about something, especially when his brother is involved."

"Damon? I thought he was one of the top doctors in the country?"

"He is, that's why Stefan's so bitter. He's not top anything."

"And probably because said brother happened to steal you away."

"We've been over this; Stefan and I just didn't connect! It's not my fault his brother decided to swoop in."

"You didn't even let him know you were seeing him until your third date, of course he's bitter," Jeremy chuckled as they made it to the register. "You knew he's always had a thing for you and you just broke the poor guy's heart."

"Still not my fault," Elena grumbled as Jeremy said a polite 'thank you' to the cashier and grabbed his bags. "Stefan broods too much. Damon is the total opposite and he has a motorcycle. What woman can resist a man who is charming, wears leather jackets, drives a bike and helps people for a living? He's the total package."

"Until you get in that motorcycle accident," Jeremy said and laughed when Elena hit him playfully.

"Try dating a guy with a motorcycle Jere, then you'll see where I'm coming from. Speaking of which…what do you think of going on a blind date tonight?"

"Oh god, please tell me this isn't another one of Rose's attempts to play matchmaker," Jeremy groaned. The last two times he agreed to one of their friend Rose's infamous blind dates he was sorely disappointed. "Where does she meet all these gay guys?"

"Starline, where else?" Elena laughed as they got in line for a pretzel. Starline was her favorite bar even though it was mostly for gay people.

"If she sets me up with another person like Logan or that guy with the Fabio hair then I'm done. And I thought she stopped going to those places because she was out looking for 'the one?'"

"Nope, she was there this past weekend," she and Jeremy paid for their pretzels and sat down on a near-by bench near the fountain in the mall. "So are you in?"

He sighed; guess there was no getting out of this one. "What's his name?"

"Rick. He's the president of some small book publishing company and he apparently drives a mustang."

"Ugh, sounds like Alaric," he said referring to their Aunt Jenna's husband. He was nearing his 50s but still believed he was in his 20s because he drove a convertible. Elena gazed at him with her big brown eyes, giving him that look that always made him give in to her wishes.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"This is the last one, I swear! After this I'll tell her not to set you up anymore. But maybe this guy will be good Jere. You never know until you try."

"Most blind dates don't even work. It's like eHarmony and that Match website; that stuff doesn't actually work, it's just giving people false hope."

"Aww Jere have a little faith! Remember when we were younger and you would sit and read those romance books for hours and hours and you would always tell me that true love is real and everyone has a soul mate? What happened to that boy?"

"He went to high-school," Jeremy muttered taking a bite of his cinnamon pretzel. He still did believe that true love existed, just not for him. Elena sighed and patted his back.

"You can't let that jerk keep you alone Jere. Not all guys are like him—in fact most guys aren't like him at all. You need to be open and not be afraid of letting someone in."

"I know Elena…it's just…hard."

"I understand Jere, I do, but don't you think you've punished yourself long enough over this? You don't need to be alone; that dick had no idea what he was talking about. Now you're in a city with endless possibilities for romance and he's stuck in Virginia so don't let him stop you. Get back in the game little cousin!"

Jeremy laughed; Elena was like his personal cheerleader, always rooting for him and he loved her for it. He smiled, "Thanks for the pep talk, cousin."

"That's what I'm here for," she smiled back and she balled up her paper and napkin, "Now we need to hit Macy's; it's the semi-annual sale and the entire men's section is 50% off, along with those shoes I wanted."

"You mean the one's Stefan said he liked?" he grinned at Elena's glare as she looped her arm through his and steered him in the direction of the huge department store.

"That was so cool! Do you think Daddy will like this one?" Katherine asked excitedly holding a shirt that had a picture of two dolphins jumping in the air. The Staten Island Zoo had just recently opened the new dolphin show and exhibit, exciting Katherine to no end that she could see a show starring one of her favorite animals.

"I think he's going to love anything you get him. He already has that shirt with the bear on it so why don't you get him that mug?"

"Okay!" she cried and scampered off to find it. Caroline laughed and shook her head; Katherine was always so energetic. She went back to looking at the key-chains on display and was considering buying the 'C' one with dolphins darting out from either side when her phone rang.

"Hey Ty, perfect timing! We're at the gift shop; you know she couldn't leave without buying you something."

He chuckled on the other end and she could imagine him shaking his head. "Well I finished my project early and I want to t-t-t-take you guys to lunch."

"Cheesecake Factory?" she asked hopefully. It was her favorite restaurant and it gave her perfect reason to stare at the mega-hot waiter that worked around lunchtime during the week.

"Alright, I'll see you in about an-an hour or so," he said with a laugh and they each hung up as Katherine came thundering back with the mug securely stashed in the crook of her arm, along with three stuffed animals of a whale, a dolphin and a seal. Caroline's eyebrows shot up in amusement, "Those all for Dad?"

"No, these three are for me," she panted with a wide grin. "And Pom-Pom; he likes to snuggle with other animals."

Caroline laughed and took the merchandise in her arms, making her way to the counter.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

After sailing through Macy's, JC Penny's and Victoria Secrets (the semi-annual sale, Elena couldn't resist) the two shopping cousins decided it was time for lunch and headed over to the Cheesecake Factory. After standing in line for about five minutes and waiting for another fifteen they were seated in a booth with a window view that over looked Manhattan. Elena prattled on about something or someone from work and Jeremy was half-listening, mostly reading his menu when a squeal caught his ear. He looked up to see the source of the sound and he felt his heart stopped beating.

A party of three was coming right towards him and they wound up being seated across the way from him and Elena. The source of the squeal was the little girl who looked to be about seven or eight with long, curly brown hair, the length reminding him of Elena's naturally straight hair. She was beautiful and she apparently got her looks from both of her parents; her mother seemed to have the same curly hair but looked as if it was shorter and she dyed it blonde. Though their features weren't exactly the same, she was still beautiful. But it was her father that had made Jeremy's heart stutter in his chest.

He was sure he had never seen a more beautiful man. He was dressed in an expensive looking black suit and wearing black shoes, the suit alone making Jeremy swoon. He had a light stubble, his sideburns meeting his short, dark hair. It looked soft; Jeremy itched to run his fingers through it. Perfect, tan skin teased him and he stopped breathing all-together when the man turned in his direction and their eyes locked. Jeremy couldn't look away as he gazed into the most beautiful chocolate brown orbs he'd ever seen, immediately feeling self-conscious about his too-long hair and his glasses that had slipped down his nose but he couldn't look away. He lost himself in his eyes that were swirling with curiosity, surprise and…longing? The moment was broken when Elena called out to him and his head quickly turned to face her.

"Jeremy? Jere? What were you looking at?" she asked a little impatiently.

"Sorry, ah…nothing, what were you saying?" he asked quickly and she began her story again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man turn his head again but he didn't dare turn back to him, certain he would tune Elena out altogether. He continued to smile and nod when necessary throughout the story, the man's burning gaze sending pleasurable shivers down his spine.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

He knew he was staring but he couldn't help it. He didn't think he had seen such a gorgeous human being before and when their eyes met, he had felt an instant connection with him. Katherine was telling him about her exciting trip to the zoo with Caroline but for once he was, unintentionally, ignoring his hyper daughter in favor of staring at the man in the booth across from him. He felt like he was being a creep, openly staring at someone the way he was but he couldn't turn his head away.

"Daddy, are you listening to me?" Katherine's voice snapped him out of his staring and he turned and nodded absentmindedly.

"Yeah baby, it s-s-s-sounds like you had fun," he murmured and picked up his menu; Caroline was so busy deciding what she wanted that she hadn't realized that Tyler was distracted. When Katherine had looked down to color on her paper did Tyler deem it safe to look back at the gorgeous angel across from him, but he was turned to someone in the seat across from him he couldn't see. He sighed and turned back to his menu; he wanted to know everything about him, and he didn't even know his name. He unconsciously glanced over again and his heart sped up as the man smiled and laughed at his companion. This man was more than gorgeous, Tyler thought, he was stunning, he was beautiful, he was…perfect.

There's no way you could have a chance with him, a nasty voice that sounded exactly like his father said nastily in his head. What would he want with someone like you? A single father who stutters…you don't deserve someone like him. He's too good for you. He shook his head; he had to stop thinking like that.

Their waitress finally came, giving Tyler a distraction and he ordered the first thing he saw on the menu, not really caring if it sounded good or not.

The weekend came and went and before they knew it, it was Monday morning. Caroline was busy making breakfast—strawberry pancakes and hash-browns, Katherine's favorite—while Tyler dressed her and gathered her school supplies together, preparing her for her first day. He always felt nervous at the thought of taking his only child to school for some irrational reason and Caroline always had to reassure him that she would be fine. He licked his lips as he brushed back Katherine's long, brown hair into a pony-tail; he was seriously considering giving Caroline a raise for keeping his sanity as well as his child.

"Are you ex-ex-ex—are you excited baby?" he asked the bubbly seven-year-old.

"Yeah, I can't wait to meet my new teacher and I miss Anna and Pearl!" she said referring to her two best friends since kindergarten with a wide grin, her legs swinging rapidly in the chair. "I am gonna miss Caroline though. What's she gonna do all day since she doesn't have to take care of me?"

"She's going to school too, j-j-just online," he said as he clipped a blue and silver bow into her hair, the colors of Hillmark Academy. "But she'll be there to pick you up after—after school so you'll see her then."

"Okay, that's good. What about you Daddy? When do I get to see you?"

"A-A-A-After my speech therapy. I'll come—come straight home, okay?"

"Okay," she grinned at him and stood on the chair to throw her arms around him. He sighed and hugged her deeply.

"I love you Daddy," she said gently. Tyler smiled and held her tighter.

"Love you too Kitten."

"I love you guys too but breakfast is getting cold and you need to leave soon so we need to hurry!"

"Pancakes!" Katherine cried as she leapt down from the chair and ran into the kitchen. Tyler laughed and followed her; if there was anything Katherine loved more than the zoo, it was pancakes. If she could, she would have them every morning.

After quickly dressing, he made his way to his own plate of pancakes; Katherine had already finished two-thirds of her plate and had already drunk half her glass of chocolate milk.

"So, you excited girly? The first days are always the best," Caroline said with a big smile.

"Mmhmm," she said through a mouthful of pancakes, the food making her already chubby cheeks protrude even more. "I can't wait to meet my teacher!"

"I can't wait to hear all about it," the blonde said honestly. "Second grade was one of my favorite years."

"Do you even remember what you d-d-did in second grade Caroline?" Tyler asked her with a smirk. She playfully glared at him.

"Yes, smarty! I was the queen bee of the class; everyone came to me for advice on fashion and boys, but that became a bit of a problem because all the boys wanted to kiss me."

Katherine wrinkled her nose, "That's gross…did you kiss them?"

"And it's time to go," Tyler interrupted before Caroline even opened her mouth, shooting her a warning glare. The last thing he needed was for Katherine to get the idea that kissing anyone other than him or Caroline was okay.

She laughed out an, "Alright," and handed the brown-haired girl her zebra printed backpack she picked out herself. She kissed the top of her head, "Have a good day sweetie! I packed your lunch and it's in the second pouch so it wouldn't get crushed by your books and your supplies."

"Thanks Caroline, I'll see you after school?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Of course," she said and kissed the top of her head again before she moved to hug Tyler. She kissed his stubbly jaw, "I better see you before six. Stop working so late."

"I'll—I'll try…I have an—an appointment with my-my-my speech therapist at four," he murmured and he felt her nod before the broke apart. Caroline went to make herself comfortable on the couch for two hours of online classes while Tyler grabbed his daughter's hand and walked out the door.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Jeremy felt his heart racing a mile a minute as he welcomed parents and children into the classroom; he had always been extremely nervous and shy when it came to meeting new people and the anxiety hadn't eased up over time, even though this was not his first time teaching his own class. At 23, he had actually accomplished a lot, teaching at one very prestigious private school in Brooklyn and being a substitute teacher at another before Hillmark had called him with an open position. The pay was too good to pass up and three months later he found himself wearing a dark blue blazer (a used one he wound up buying from a school uniform shop) and his comfortable khaki pants, shaking the hands of the ridiculously wealthy parents who could afford to send their child to this nice institution. His face hurt from keeping his smile pasted there for so long and his hands were starting to get a bit clammy. Once he started talking to just the children, he knew it would be different; they didn't make him half as nervous as adults did.

He pulled his new glasses away from his face a little to lessen the pinching feeling; so far there had been no problem and the children were very well behaved, though he expected no less from children who were born and raised with high expectations in manners and behavior. In a way, Jeremy almost pitied them for not being able to be loud and wild, like children were supposed to be. But that's where he came in. After about a week in his class, children usually became less stiff and more child-like because he made it his mission to make school fun. It was one of the many reasons he loved being a teacher.

He had just finished talking to the Wiltmores about their twins, Sabrina and Sander, and had turned to greet the next parent when he froze, the greeting catching in his throat. Because the next parent was the gorgeous, male-model guy he had seen at lunch over the weekend. The man who he hadn't been able to stop thinking about since he saw him and he didn't even know his name, the man who had made his date Saturday night less than exciting because he wished he was with him instead of that narcissistic Rick guy.

Once again brown eyes locked and Jeremy swore everyone else in the room disappeared because he couldn't see or hear anyone outside of the two of them. He was an avid believer in true love and happily ever after's and feeling butterflies in his stomach after making a connection with someone but he had never felt something like this…ever. His heart raced faster than it did before and he realized he was just staring like an idiot; he coughed lightly and smiled, willing his hands to stop shaking.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy Gilbert and I'll be your…child's teacher this year." He could have slammed his head against the wall for sounding so lame.

The tanned beauty grasped his hand and Jeremy felt sparks and heat and flames shooting through his hand and up his arm. His hand was firm and warm and he was imagining how those hands would feel all over his body…

"I'm Tyler," the man murmured softly, snapping him out of his day-dream, "and this—this is Katherine, my d-d-daughter."

Jeremy bit his lip through his smile as he gazed down at the brown-haired girl so as to hide the anguish he suddenly felt. So he was married…of course he was married. No one that good-looking would stay single; his wife was a lucky woman. He sighed inwardly; he would wallow in self-pity later.

"Hi Katherine, it's so nice to meet you," he said sincerely and he was rewarded with a toothy smile. "Do you have another name you like to be called?"

"Well…I only let my dad or Caroline call me Kitty but I wouldn't mind if you did," she answered and Jeremy smiled; he liked her already.

So she's her step-mother, Jeremy mused. "Okay Kitty, your desk has your name on it so it won't be hard to find," he wanted them to leave so he could admire Tyler from afar; God, he was beautiful. As he shook more hands he couldn't stop his gaze from wandering to Tyler and Katherine and as he watched Katherine sit at her desk and Tyler crouch down with his hand on her knee, whispering to her, he couldn't help but want to be the one with Tyler, taking their daughter to her first day of school.

He sighed again; it was going to be a long year.

Reviews are love!