Any Other World

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from The Vampire Diaries.

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I walk back into Katherine's bedroom with a grin on my face, suddenly I'm feeling in a very good mood.

Katherine looks up at me from the bed as she puts on her bra. "Are you still here?" She asks me coldly and I roll my eyes before my lips twitch in to a smirk.

"Your cousin is cute."

"What?" Katherine gawks at me in disbelief but before I can say anything else she waves me off. "No you know what, I don't care. You can leave now." She throws on a shirt and motions towards the window.

"You know Katherine," I begin as I pull on my jeans. "I'm starting to feel very used by you. I thought what we had was special." I continue mockingly as I look for my shirt, my voice dripping with obvious sarcasm.

"You're an ass." She glares at me while throwing my t-shirt at me. I catch it against my chest. "This is the last time, you hear me?"

"You said that on Saturday night too."

"You're a jerk." Katherine jumps to her feet and shoves me back towards the window. "You're a jerk who cheated on me with a skank so you are so god damn lucky that I am letting you be used by me." She shoves me again and I roll my eyes. "I could have ruined you, Damon. Just like you ruined me."

"I didn't ruin you."

"Yes you did. I trusted you."

"Oh like you were so perfect."

"At least I never cheated." She snaps back harshly and I sigh loudly.

"Look, I made a mistake. It was months ago…I thought you had forgiven me."

"I'll never forgive you." She looks me dead in the eye and even I can't help but feel a little intimidated by her intense glare. I can see why the majority of the girls in school are afraid of her.

"Well maybe you should." I zip up my jeans and slide on my shoes. "Or at least you should stop sleeping with me until you get over it."

"Get. Out." She hisses at me and shoves me one last time. I hop out of the window, and climb down the trellis. I hear Katherine slam her window shut after me and I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

I swear that girl just likes to mess with my head. She was the one who called me, she was the one who initiates everything between us.

"Salvatore."

I freeze, slowly turning around to come face to face with Katherine's Dad, John. He is glaring at me, for obvious reasons.

"It's not what it looks like?" I try my hardest to be humorous but John doesn't bite. "Sorry. I'm leaving." I go to walk past him but he reaches his hand out and grabs my arm in a vice grip.

"Listen to me son, you stay the hell away from my daughter." He snarls into my face and even I have to admit that he is intimidating. I see where Katherine gets her temper from now. "I don't want to see you around here again, you here me? Stay in your side of town."

I snatch my arm out of his grasp angrily at his comment, another reminder that despite how well I may or may not have treated Katherine when we were dating, her parents would never have accepted me anyway because of my zip code.

Trailer trash.

"Noted." I hiss back angrily and walk away without turning back.

The journey home is a nightmare, the chain on my bike falls off twice and I end up having to push it all the way home. As soon as I turn into the cul-de-sac where my trailer lays, I see the lights on and I silently curse because that means the asshole is awake and I'm not in the mood tonight.

I drop my bike angrily in the yard and open the door, my Dad is smoking on the couch, a bottle of beer in his hands.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to smoke in here?" I snarl at him coldly as I shut the door behind me. I quickly peek into the twins' room, thankful that they are both flat out asleep.

"Fuck off, Damon." My Dad snaps back in a vicious tone. "I'm your father, talk to me with some respect."

"Maybe I will, when you start acting like one." I pick up an empty beer can and throw it in the trash. "Look at you, you're pathetic."

He makes a move to stand up but his legs are unstable. "Now you listen here!" He almost falls back on the couch and I roll my eyes.

"Pathetic."

"You little bastard!" He charges at me, but because he is so drunk, all I have to is twist my body and he goes lunging past me. His arms fly out in front of him, knocking clutter off the kitchen bench as he goes crashing to the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan appears from our bedroom and looks at our father slumped on the floor before looking back up at me with a glare. "Why can't you just go straight to bed, huh?"

I shrug as I watch Stefan bend down to try and help our Dad up. "Don't bother, leave him down there where he belongs."

"Get the fuck out, Damon!" My Dad shouts at me furiously, his words slurred. "I mean it!"

"Damon?" We all freeze and I turn to other door where Lucas and Emma are standing. Lucas in front, Emma a few steps behind clutching her teddy.

I glare at my Dad as Stefan glares at me and I push past them both. "Hey," I gently press my hand against Luke's shoulder and push them back into the bedroom, closing the door softly behind me. "Come on guys, lets get you both back to bed."

"Were you and Dad fighting again?" Luke asks me curiously as he climbs back into his bed. I gently cover him with his quilt before doing to the same with Emma. I lean down and press a kiss to her forehead, smiling when her lips twitch in her own sweet smile.

"We weren't fighting. Dad is just tired." I head back over to him as he still stays sitting up.

"He's drunk." Luke replies and I inwardly curse because he is far too smart for a six year old. "He's always drunk."

"He's just Dad, okay?" I force a smile. "He loves you, he loves you both." I turn back to Emma and offer her another soft smile. "We all love you."

"Promise you and Daddy will stop fighting." I barely hear Emma but her soft voice carries across the quiet tiny room. "I don't like it when you fight."

I know it will never stop but the lie falls off my lips anyway. "I promise." I turn back to Luke and point somewhat sternly at him. "Sleep." I order him with a smirk.

He finally lies down and I tuck him in before going back to Emma. "Sweet dreams, princess." I brush some of her dark hair from her face with a smile. She looks just like my Mom.

"Night buddy," I nod at Luke before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind me. The first thing I see is Stefan crouched down cleaning up the mess that was just made.

I notice the room is now empty. "Where is he?" I ask coldly.

Stefan stands up and throws some of the clutter into the trash. "He headed out. I figured it would be best not to follow." I nod silently. "You know how he gets, Damon, why couldn't you just leave it?" He looks tired.

"I'm sorry." I offer but I'm still too wired up and angry to mean it. "He just pisses me off."

"He pisses me off too, but Lucas and Emma don't deserve to be around us all fighting. It's bad enough as it is."

Now I feel guilty.

"I know," I run my hand through my hair. "I'm sorry. They don't deserve any of this. You're right, next time I'll just try and ignore him for their sake."

I know that it's easier said than done, and I know that Stefan knows it too. Sometimes I just can't help myself and tonight was certainly one of those times.

"I'm going to bed." I brush past Stefan into our tiny room which barely fits our two single beds. "You coming?"

"Yeah." Stefan nods. "I'm just going to clean up a bit in here. I'm going to lock the door, Dad can stay on Jack's couch or with Mrs Stevens."

It's not the first time we have locked our own father out of our home. Trust me, sometimes it is for the best, and it's not like we leave him with nowhere to go. Mrs Stevens always takes him in, otherwise he'll spend the night across the street on the couch of his drinking buddy Jack (who lives in the trailer next door to Enzo – ergo, my best friend knowing all about our fucked up father).

I throw off my shirt and take off my jeans, sliding some comfortable shorts over my legs before landing onto my old worn mattress.

Two more years, I try to tell myself. I'll finish school, get a full-time job and then my own place. I'll take Lucas and Emma and they'll live with me and Stefan can get his full football scholarship to take him to whatever college he wants and then hopefully earns enough money to get them out of this mess.

Two more years.

"Elena, hey, wait up!"

I stop in the hallway and see Matt jogging towards me with a smile. "Hey," he greets me again when he falls into a walk alongside me. "You have history with Saltzman now, right?"

I don't know how he knows but I nod my head with a smile. "I sure do."

"Me too," he grins. "I'll walk you."

I don't say no because honestly I don't want to run the risk of getting lost again. Katherine left me this morning the second her Mom stopped the car, she didn't bother to wait again. I had to stop by the Principle's office briefly for my 'introduction meeting' which to be honest was a load of crap.

Principle Lockwood offered me her condolences about my family and just like Miss Sommers she told me to stop by her office if I ever needed anything but I knew straight away that this time it wasn't a real or sincere offer.

Matt leads me in to a classroom I am guessing is history and my smile widens when I see Bonnie and Caroline are also in this class. I take the spare seats in front of them, Matt sitting next to me, that boyish grin still on his face.

"Good morning students!" A tall fair haired man strolls into the room casually.

"Morning Mr Saltzman!" Most of the class reply cheerfully which surprises me. It's not normally the response teachers get from their students but something tells me already that this guy is different.

"Here we go another semester." He looks down at his register. "Elena Gilbert?" I freeze when he reads my name out, his eyes darting across the room before they land on mine.

I slowly raise my hand but I am quickly relaxed by his kind soothing smile.

"Welcome to Mystic Falls High, and welcome to my class. I'm sure you will love it here." His eyes are soft, welcoming and I know that he genuinely means his words.

I smile a genuine smile back. "Thank you."

He nods at me before he turns around and writes something on the board in chalk. "Let's get started then shall we." He swings back around and glances back down at his register. "I see we're missing one." As soon as he finishes speaking, like magic the door opens and my eyes widen when I see that it's Damon from last night.

He strolls into the room like he owns the place and I can feel my face heating up. Oh my god. His eyes are just as blue in daylight.

"Mr Salvatore, nice of you to join us."

Damon smirks as he stops at the front of the class. "Mr Saltzman, thank you for having me in your class. Sorry I'm late."

"First warning of the year Damon, take your seat." They share a knowing smile and Damon turns to walk to his desk, I see his eyes glance around the room before they land on mine. They widen for a split second before his smirk reappears and I quickly turn away from his intense gaze.

I blow some air out from my lips and look down at my blank notepad, willing myself to concentrate because I think I'm going to really enjoy this class.

"What's up trailer trash?"

I tense when I hear that voice as I grip the ball tightly in my hands. I ignore him for a second before taking the shot, watching as the ball flies confidently into the net.

"Nice shot."

"Thanks." I snap back coldly, turning around to see Mason Lockwood standing across the court with a smirk.

"Keep going though, you are going to need all of the practice you can get if you think you're taking my spot on this team."

I let out a fake laugh as I bounce the ball effortlessly in front of me. "My spot." I correct him. "It's my spot. Let's just wait and see huh?"

Mason shrugs as he approaches me, taking the ball out of my hands and making the shot in one.

"I'm a senior, coach is going to play me over you this season."

"We'll see." I hiss through gritted teeth.

Mason Lockwood has been my nemesis for as long as I can remember. We both play shooting guard and ever since we were kids we were pitted against each other. It wasn't until high school when we inevitably ended up playing on the same team when the rivalry turned into hatred.

Mason is a year older than me, therefore he feels entitled to play over me. Our coach would often chop and change us, subbing us for each other, taking turns to start us but through every game it got more intense. We both wanted to play all of the time. I didn't want to share my spot and Mason didn't want too either. It doesn't help me that his Aunt is also the Principle of the school and his Uncle is the Mayor of the town so he automatically had an unfair advantage.

Our coach is fair enough but sometimes I know he has to listen to those high above, but I've trained all summer and I'm ready for another fight.

It's my spot.

"You've already missed two practices and the season hasn't even started yet." Mason taunts me as he takes another shot.

"Coach gave me permission. It doesn't mean I haven't been working hard in my own time." I reply in annoyance as I snatch the ball back from his hands and make my own shot.

Mason's right, I have missed practice. It's what happened last season too but I didn't have any other choice in the matter. I'm working two jobs and I have Lucas and Emma to take care of, Coach Saltzman (yes also our history teacher) understands that I have other commitments which sometimes have to come first.

A guy like Mason who has lived his entire life so far with a golden spoon hanging out of his mouth would never understand what that feels like.

The guy is a rich spoiled asshole and he knows it. He brags about it. He taunts people about it.

Mason Lockwood is one of the main reasons why I hate this damn town.

"I think Matt likes you." Caroline whispers into my ear as we sit at lunch. My eyes widen and I turn to face her in disbelief.

"We've known each other for two days, he doesn't like me." I look at her like she's crazy.

Caroline shakes her head. "No trust me, I always know these things. You guys will be dating by Christmas." She tells me confidently. I roll my eyes at her prediction because she is being ridiculous.

Yes, Matt is hot and cute and usually he would absolutely be my type but I'm not exactly feeling like dating at the moment. Boys are the last thing I am interested in right now.

I like Matt, but as a friend.

"Where's Bonnie today?" I ask changing the subject and luckily Caroline bites.

"Urgh," she pulls a face. "She's having lunch with Enzo."

"Who's Enzo?" I ask amused by her face, plus, what kind of name is Enzo?

"Her boyfriend," Caroline rolls her eyes. "He's an ass, but Bonnie is in love and she doesn't see it. She's way to good for him."

"I like Enzo." Matt joins in the conversation and I pray that he never heard the start about him liking me. "He's a cool guy, the only decent one out of those guys anyway."

Caroline pulls a face but then sort of nods in agreement. "True."

"Oh come on," Tyler suddenly joins in. "We all know you have a soft spot for Klaus." He says with a bit of bark to his tone and I shift awkwardly in my seat.

"How many times do I need to tell you, Tyler, there is nothing going on between Klaus and I."

"Right, whatever." Tyler rolls his eyes. "We both know he is the reason we broke up."

I glance at Matt who cringes and pulls a face at me. I try to hide my smile and look back down at my empty plate in front of me as Caroline and Tyler's little spat continues.

"No we broke up because you were being a jealous asshole!"

"You kissed him!"

"No, no!" Caroline practically shoves her finger into Tyler's chest. "We kissed after we broke up and I already apologised about that. I was drunk, it was a stupid mistake."

"Whatever." Tyler mutters coldly. "I don't care anyway."

"Yes, clearly." Caroline huffs before standing up. "I have a cheer meeting, I'll see you later Elena." She forces a smile before storming away, making a point to not say goodbye to any of the boys.

"Ouch," Matt whistles and I hold back a smile, feeling bad for finding the situation a little amusing. "Who knew a conversation about Bonnie and her boyfriend could turn into a fight about you, Caroline and Klaus."

"The girl just needs to accept the fact that she was in the wrong." Tyler shrugs stubbornly and I realise they are both as bad as each other. "It's not my fault she can't admit she likes him."

"The guy is a dick. There is no way she seriously wants to be with him." Matt reassures him before looking at my blank face. "You have no idea what we are talking about, do you?"

"Nope." I smile but it's nothing new. Two days in and already there are names creeping up who I wouldn't be able to match up to faces.

"It's probably for the best." Tyler tells me. "In fact, if you ever meet anyone with the surname Mikaelson, stay away. They are all jerks."

"Rebekah's not that bad." Matt chuckles and Tyler turns to face him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's only because she let you have sex with her."

I choke on my drink, my hand covering my mouth as Matt's jaw drops. "Dude! Seriously!" He hisses at him and I let out a small giggle.

"It's a good enough reason." I smile and nudge him playfully. Matt shakes his head, clearly feeling a little annoyed that this information has come out in front of me and I wonder if maybe Caroline was right.

"Whatever." He huffs in annoyance and my smile falters slightly. I look over at Tyler who has a knowing smile on his face.

"Lighten up, dude." Tyler rolls his eyes.

"I have to go, I've got practice." He stands up and heads out of the cafeteria and I look across at Tyler who sends me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for scaring everyone away." He offers lightly.

I smile. "It's okay." I let out a small laugh. "Won't you have practice too?"

Tyler nods. "Yup, but I figured Matt doesn't want me to join him." He moves to his feet. "I'll see you around." He pats my shoulder before heading out into the crowd and I realize that I have been left on my own.

I pull out my cellphone and check Facebook. I see I have a message from both Liv and Liam from home and I immediately close it. They have tried a few times to reach out to me since the accident but I haven't responded.

I can't think about that part of my life anymore.

"A girl as beautiful as you shouldn't be having lunch alone." I look up to see none other than Damon slide into the seat evacuated by Caroline in front of me. "Hi." He smirks at me and I immediately feel on edge by his intense gaze.

His eyes are so blue.

"Hi…"

Damon chuckles at my lack of response and for some reason it pisses me off. "Don't you have your own friends you can sit with?" I snap.

"Don't you?" Damon fires back and my scowl tightens. "What? Don't look at me like that, I'm trying to be friendly here and you're killing me off already."

"I didn't ask you to try and be friendly." I hit back coldly. Honestly, I don't know why I'm being such a bitch. Damon hasn't actually done anything wrong to me, but there is just something about him that gets my blood riled up.

"Oh come on, don't be snappy at me. You saw me naked."

"Half naked." I correct him in annoyance. "Speaking of, why aren't you sitting with Katherine?"

Damon lets out an amused laugh. "Katherine hates me."

"She clearly didn't hate you last night."

"Are you jealous?" Damon asks me with a Cheshire smile that just makes me want to punch him in the face.

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I barely know you, and what little I do know, I don't think I like very much." I fire back quickly, trying to bring him down a peg or two.

Damon shrugs with that stupid smirk back on his face. "I don't know, I'm just trying to think of a reason why you wouldn't like me."

"I can't think of a single reason why anyone would like you, Damon." I feel my body tense as Katherine appears behind Damon, a stony look on her face that literally sends a shiver up my spine. "What are you doing?" She asks him coldly. Her icy gaze lands on me for a split second before turning back to Damon.

"What does it look like?" He motions to his untouched salad in front of him. "I'm trying to have lunch."

"Leave her alone." She hisses coldly, her whole stance just screams intimidation. She is very intimidating. "I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

Suddenly it clicks.

Damon is using me to try and make Katherine jealous.

"What exactly am I doing? What did you think I was doing, Elena?" Damon asks me innocently with a cheeky smile on his face.

I stand up hurriedly and return his smile with a glare because I am not okay with this.

"I don't care. Whatever this is," I motion my hand between them. "I don't want any part of it." I walk away before either of them can say another word.

I knew there was a reason why I didn't like him.

I scowl up at Katherine with distaste. "Do you always have to be such a bitch? I was only trying to be nice to the girl."

Katherine scoffs and leans back against the table, towering over me while her long perfectly manicured fingers grip my shoulder. "You, Damon Salvatore, don't have a nice bone in your body." She purrs into my ear so I shove her away.

"Oh I don't, and you do, huh?" I shake my head in disbelief.

"You know what Damon, I can make your life hell. You know that right?" She tells me cattily, a somewhat smug look on her face and I look up at her with a glare.

Katherine's right, she is the most popular girl in this school and I can count on one hand the amount of people I know of who aren't actually scared of her.

Myself being one of them.

"You don't scare me, Kat. You never have and you never will." I stand up so we are face to face.

"I exiled Aimee Bradley just because she slept with you. She had to move schools, all because of me. Don't think I won't do the same to you."

"You realize you are bragging about being a complete and utter evil bitch, right?"

Katherine shrugs casually. She clearly doesn't care. I shake my head in disbelief. "Stay away from Elena. In fact, stay away from me too, trailer trash." She snarls nastily at me before calmly strutting away.

I clench my fist together tightly and try to hold back from calling after her.

"She's not worth it." I hear Klaus appear behind me. "Ignore her."

"Whatever," I push past him and storm out of the cafeteria, the good mood I was feeling has long since turned sour.

Despite Katherine's warning to stay away from her cousin, I immediately spot her sitting outside alone in the quad. She looks up when she sees me approaching.

"Go away, Damon." She sighs loudly and I clench my jaw tightly.

"Listen," I begin, my voice a lot harsher than originally intended but I don't do anything to soften it. "I don't really give a damn what you think of me, okay? I saw you sitting alone, so I figured I would come and say hello. I don't know what I have done to upset you or what Katherine may have possibly told you about me, but I promise you that's all it was. There was no hidden agenda or whatever the hell you think was going on. I was just trying to be nice." I ignore the surprised, taken aback look on her face and take a step back and hold up my hands in the air. "But don't worry, I promise I wont ever bother you again."

I walk away, ignoring her calling out my name to come back.

I'm so sick of this place, this fake town, full of fake people.

I just want out.

So Elena was a little harsh huh? Let me know your thoughts! :)

Thank you so much again for reading!

Until next time!