Chapter 2

Matt was sitting next to Rebekah Mikaelson. I had heard they began dating, and I knew they were always good for each other. Rebekah came into Oak Hill High when she was about 15. She was so exotic to everyone else with her English family. Her accent was one you could listen to all day.

Rebekah smiled at me, and got off of the couch. She approached me with wide arms and she pulled me in for a hug. We were always close friends.

"Look at you," she said as she grabbed my shoulders to get a good look at me. "You look so… stressed out."

I rolled my eyes, and snorted. "Thanks. Everyone wants to hear that."

"I never said you wanted to hear it. But you needed to. There's a fire tonight at Cedar hill. You should go, and get your mind off of some things. Enjoy, and relax," Rebekah flipped her straight blonde hair behind her shoulder, and looked at me with her bright blue eyes. "It's not an offer, dear." She winked at me and turned to Matt again.

I made my way to the kitchen, and my mom stood there with a bowl full of homemade corn bread and Chile.

"Would you be a doll, and go put this outside so people can help themselves?" My mother didn't have a Tennessean accent. She came from North Carolina, but loved Tennessee way more. I didn't know why.

"Yes mom," I answered as I grabbed the plate from her hands. The humid summer air hit me hard when I got outside. Another pro about New York was it wasn't so hot that you felt like you might die of a stroke.

"Look at you, Elena Gilbert," I heard a familiar voice say behind me. I turned around and smiled. He stood ahead me, with open arms.

"Damon!" I smiled as I hugged him. Damon hugged me back, favorably. His dark hair was a bit shorter than the last time I saw him. It was always a midnight black on his light skin. Whenever I looked at him, all I saw was his beautiful blue eyes.

"Elena," he tightened me in the hug. "How long has it been?"

"Too long," I answered. I missed Damon a lot. He was like my big brother. He would always give me advice on how to handle situations. He stood by me. Damon always told me how perfect me and Stefan were together. After we broke up, he told me that I'd be okay. I listened to him. It was always me, him, and Stefan when we were younger. We were the 3 musketeers. I so happened to fall in love with Stefan sophomore year after he danced with me at the Midsummer's Dance. I had developed a stronger feeling for him.

I used to tell myself it was stupid to love your best friend, but it wasn't. Loving my best friend was the best thing that ever happened to me. He knew everything about me, and I knew everything about him. People also said it'd be different because of Damon, but they were wrong about that too. Damon began to date some girl named Vicky. She seemed okay. I didn't like her much because she came off as a slut to me. But, for Damon, I handled her on our numerous double-dates. She tried so hard to be "one of us" as she's say. She broke it off with Damon when I was a senior. He didn't take it hard at all.

"How has school gone so far?" Me and Damon started walking off the porch toward the huge field that laid behind my house. It was a narrow, yet long field. There was one hill, and on top of that hill was the willow tree where me, Damon and Stefan spent a lot of our times. Yet, only me and Stefan's memories stood out. As friends, and lovers. I could tell Damon was heading in that direction. I should have told my mom I'd be MIA, but I decided to carry on.

"It's school," I shrugged. "But I love New York. It's so busy, and exciting." Damon laughed at my enthusiastic tone.

"I knew you'd love it there. You were always that sort of person. Once you found out there was more to offer than little ol' Oak Hill, you were out," Damon was right. My Senior year was about getting out of Tennessee and into the real world. Everyone supported me, but not everyone agreed. Damon, though, he understood. If it wasn't for the Salvatore Car Business, he'd be gone too.

"That's right. Damon, there is another world out there. There are people, and places that you can't even imagine. I have no idea why you stayed here," he gave me a waning smile.

"Sometimes I wish I could. Just run off, into the unknown," he smirked. "But, what do they have to offer me? I took over my father's business. That's as good as I'm going to get, 'Lena. I was never good in school. I just scraped by. But with you? There is so much out there for you. You can become magnificent things with your talent. People will want you to work for them. You'll have so many friends. You're made for that kind of life. Not many of us here, in Oak Hill, get out. Not because we don't want to, but because it's somewhere we know. Somewhere we are familiar with. Somewhere where nothing really changes except the Mayor, or lunch special at Lucie's Diner."

I laughed at him. He was right. Everyone was so grounded here. They were unpretentious. I, of course, couldn't stand the same thing for too long. I got bored. And this town was the definition of boring. Not many people came in, not many people went out.

"I guess you're right," I said finally. He nodded at me and smiled again.

"So did you make any new friends?"

"So many," I laughed.

"Well that's good!" He said. We came up the tree faster than I expected. Talking to Damon made me remember the old times, when I'd vent about so many things, and he'd listen. That's what Damon was. A listener. And he understood, even when he had no idea what you were saying. He gave you advice, he listened to your problems, and he helped you. I didn't find many Damon's in Bradshaw, so having him now was all I really needed. He sat down under the tree, and I sat with him.

As I looked out, I jotted down a pro about Oak Hill in my head. The views were beautiful. Evergreen trees scattered throughout my sight, as I looked ahead of me. The sun, and not crowded by too many clouds. The birds seemed to sing the same song as last summer. The air smelt fresh, and a little damp. Then I looked at my house. I loved my parent's farm house. It was a perfect size, with a back yard patio, and in ground pool. Tree's spread in the perimeter of my yard, and old Sal. Old Sal was the tree next to my room. We named it old Sal because it reminded Caroline of salutes as I constantly thanked the tree from being conveniently next to my room, so I could escape for many nights..

Damon sighed, and I looked over at him. "What?"

He smiled and draped his arm around my shoulder. "I'm just glad your back, Len."

He knew he hated when he called me Len. The nickname was the same pronunciation as "lane", and he called me it because in 4th grade, Jimmy Tatum had a huge crush on me. He called me Len. I nudged him with my elbow and he laughed.

"Where were you?" I approached my mom as I walked into the house. She didn't seem too concerned.

"I was with Damon. Catching up, yanno?" I pressed my lips together, as my mom handed me a lemonade pitcher.

"Sounds fun. Would you go put this outside? I guess everyone is loving the lemonade extra today," she smiled at me, and I nodded.

"Mom, the chips need a refill," Jeremy said as he entered the kitchen sweating and holding a basketball. He was breathing heavy.

"Oh, Jer. Why are you so mucky?" My mom grabbed a napkin and whipped his face. "Clean up darling." Jeremy kept trying to move out of my mom's reach, as his checks got a brighter red color.

"Mom, stop," he said.

"Elena, honey. Go fill the chip bowl up, please. After the Lemonade, of course,"

"What about Jeremy? He's probably the one eating them all," I gave Jeremy a hassling look, and he mocked me.

"I'm playing basketball," he said as he dribbled the ball on the floor. He stuck his tongue out me, instantly making me roll my eyes.

"Hey! No bouncing that thing in the house," my mom yelled as he walked out of the front door to our basketball hoop. She glanced at me, then said "Hurry, darling. The people are dying."

I missed my mom. I also kind of missed my brother. My mom was such a caring person to everyone. Once, Jeremy had a track meet, and my mom came with about 20 pitchers of water for the boys, and boxes of pizza for after the meet. I kissed her on the check before I walked out. She looked at me, a bit muddled, but smiling.

"What was that for, honey?" she said as she mixed cookie dough in the bowl in front of her.

"I missed you," I smiled.

"I missed you too, baby," she stopped mixing and then hugged me. "Now go." She said waving her hands, pretty much shooing me off. I laughed again, and went outside.

Con about Oak Hill; Stefan was there. He sat at the table next to Caroline. He was laughing at a joke that had to be exceptionally funny, because his smile lit up my insides to a point where I felt like I was glowing. He glanced up at me, and our eyes met for just a second. God, his eyes studied me and I felt his glimpse in the pit of my stomach.

Then, the lemonade was everywhere. It was on my pants. It was on his shirt. A little was in Caroline's hair. And, I'm pretty sure Mille was licking some off of my Aunt Jenna's hand. I was so lost in the moment I didn't realize the majority of it was on me.

"Oh, gosh Elena," Caroline chuckled as she stood up with napkins in her hands. I sighed loudly. "It's all over you."

"Still a klutz?" Stefan wiped the table with paper towels. His arms flexed, and I found the willpower to look away.

"I guess so," I muttered when I was really thinking Only around you because you're so perfect, you dick. But thankfully, the thoughts stayed locked in my mind. I'd only admit to myself that I still loved Stefan, but only in my head. It kept me contained. I knew that right when I said it out loud, I'd lose it. Reason why I hadn't told Damon about my nonstop, yet unfortunate feelings for his brother.

Caroline finally wiped me off as much as she could, and helped Stefan with the table. "I'm going to change," I managed to say while my heartbeat was beating tightly in my chest and my cheeks burned.

"Don't change," My mom came from behind me, as she rubbed flower on her apron. "Put on your bathing suit. Go swimming."

I quickly declined my mom's offer with a head shake, but Caroline interrupted me before I could be able to say anything.

"That sounds so fun! C'mon Elena. Let's go get changed," Caroline placed her hands on my shoulder.

"See I would but I don't have a bathing suit-"

"Well, what a coincidence, I bought a spare," Caroline's sarcastic tone wasn't recognized by my mom. Instead, she nodded profusely, and motioned us in the house.

"But I don't want to leave Stefan-" I said, as I turned around to come up with a different excuse.

"Oh, don't worry about me 'Lena," Stefan pulled his shirt over his head, presentation his angel like abs. I saw his tattoo he on his shoulder that he got 2 summers ago. "I'm all set." He winked at me and jumped into the vacant pool. My body went lifeless as Caroline dragged me to my house.

"I'm starting to believe you and him are starting a scheme against me," I said as we arrived in my room. "Some kind of gang or cult that is titled "Let's Tease Elena."

"Fuck, you must have saw the Facebook page," she shook her head in lightheartedly.

"I'm serious!" I said as she handed me a 2 piece bathing suit.

"Two piece.." I said as I speculated.

"Yes two piece," she said as if she were disordered. "You have a kick-ass body. Show it off."

"Yeah, I'd rather not," I dropped the bikini on my bed and turned for the door.

"Uh, no," Caroline blocked the door, and smiled at me. "Get your little a-"

I gave Caroline a look. "I mean butt," she smiled "into that bathing suit I picked out for you. That matches your skin tone perfectly, if I do say so myself."

Did I really want to go through Caroline's tantrum? No, that was the last thing I needed. Caroline's rages were worse than a stampede of cannibalistic apes. She would not stop until it was in her approval. She'd go to the ends of the Earth to get what she needed.

I turned around towards my bed, and obeyed like a dog.

"Good girl," Caroline sang as she skipped to my personal bathroom. "If I get out, and you're still wearing you lemonade suit, I will take extreme measures."

"They get worse than this? Pretty much locking me up until you get what you want?" I picked up the bathing suit to look at it again. I think Caroline got the closest thing to nude that she could.

"Much worse," she smiled and disappeared behind my bathroom door. I sighed loudly and got the bathing suit on. Just in time to.

Caroline came out of the bathroom, holding he bathing suit strings up. "Can you tie this for me 'Lena?"

I grabbed the stings from her hand, and began to knot them. Her phone buzzed on my bed. I glanced down, to fine Niklaus Mikaelson's name on her phone.

"Klaus?" I opened my mouth in shock, and exhilaration. Klaus was really good looking. He was the older brother of Rebekah. He had the same hot accent, and a to-die-for smile.

She rapidly snatched her phone of the bed and smiled blushingly. "Maybe."

"Tell me more!" I hit her on the shoulder. My smile was spread across my face.

"Tonight. I'll sleep here and we can have a girls night. Watch the Notebook?" she began walking out the door. "But only if you come swimming!"

I rolled my eyes, with my smile still on my face. "Okay," I giggled.

We got outside, and Caroline spent no time delaying the pool. She ran and cannonballed into the wavy ocean. I was surprised to see Matt and Rebekah in the pool. Rebekah hated pools. I guess Matt changed her because she was smiling happily. My aunt Jenna's feet were dipped into the pool, as her hand held my former history teacher, Mr. Saltzman. Considering he was my soon to be uncle, I called him Ric.

Stefan was talking with Matt and Damon. She swished his hair to the side so it was out of his face, and I didn't care who watched me look at him. Stefan peeped at me quickly, and did what looked like a double take. Then he stared at me.

That was when I remembered what bathing suit I had on.