Author's note: Ok, I couldn't resist and started writing again. Hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. My story centres around the characters of the TV show that belong to their rightful owners (TV script by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec) and of Vampire Diaries series written by L.J. Smith. I do not intend any infringement upon any music that might inspire chapter titles or parts of my story.

CHAPTER 4 - A NEW BEGINNING

It was a particularly silent evening on Wuthington Street. There was no star in the cloud-covered sky and the thermometers showed a mere 5 degrees – an unusually cold night for May 6th –the coldest in the past decade according to the weather channel. The streets were however full of people, happy to get out of their houses and away from work – for it was a Friday evening, the official beginning of the most-desired weekend. From the window of my second storey apartment I could easily see groups of delighted children running after each other on the street. The teenagers were taking photos of themselves sitting on the benches in the park and secretly drinking Coke mixed with Vodca, while the elder were enjoying the evening with plastic mugs of hot cocoa from the nearby Starbucks coffee shop.

On an ordinary Friday evening, I would have been one of those people standing in the cold outside – drinking hot chocolate, going out for my evening jog or simply taking a stroll in the park at sunset. I would have probably been freezing, for I hated the cold, but I wouldn't have wasted a night like this. That is, if the situation had been different.

Three days had passed since May 1st when I had signed the contract to work for my new family. Their name still remained a classified secret, even to me, the newly employed nanny. But I had learned the meaning of patience - it wasn't as if a family name was that important anyway. Bonnie, however, seriously disagreed with me on this particular aspect. She had called Ms Rose a 'twisted mind-controlling freak' for not giving me more details regarding the family. But that was not the main reason why my dear Bonnie was so upset with our boss.

'I still can't believe that the little English snob didn't tell you that you had to move in with these guys from the beginning.'

'Correction, Bonnie, she actually did.' I said trying to calm her down.

'Yeah, she definitely did' Oh, how I knew that sarcastic tone of hers! '- ten minutes after you signed the contract.'

'Well, I did sign next to the clause '…any additional conditions must be fulfilled'. I didn't really have a choice.'

'Oh, pleeeaaase…You can try defending her as much as you want. 'Cruela' just wanted to have her hooks even tighter around you.' She said whilst trying to fit some books of mine in one of the suitcases.

'Jamie…' I said with my shut-up-Bonnie-or-I'll-get-really-upset-because-of-you tone.

Whenever I called my best friend 'Jamie' that way to her face she would either freak out about it or obediently shut up. In the beginning I couldn't quite get why she would get so upset about it – I mean, that was only her real, not only her second, name, after all. In time, however, I learned that she hated her real name because of the way her alcoholic parents would always pronounce it before they beat her. She actually changed her name after leaving home but, strangely enough, still kept the name her parents gave her though only as a second name.

In fact, the reason why Bonnie disapproved so much of our boss was because 'Jamie' was the name that our Ms Dobbs always called her, although Bonnie had told her not to. I sometimes saw what Bonnie really meant when she accused Rose of treating her from an upper level. George, however, never used my best friend's real name against her, no matter how bad their fight was, but I would do it now and then, just to calm her down when she started getting upset over something. The method always worked, but I kept using it lesser, as I grew fonder of her. As always, Bonnie simply changed the subject.

'Lena, wasn't there any other day in which you could move all of your stuff? I mean, packing all of these things will take us more than after midnight.'

Oh, yes! I had completely forgotten about all the packing that had to be done that evening. When I had signed the contract, it was clearly stated that I had to move in with the family in less than a week's time. At first, I thought that my boss was honestly joking. Not that she would ever joke about something serious like this particular matter, but still – it was a short period of time. After having my first panic attack, I quickly called Bonnie in need of serious advice. So she took a week off from work and helped me during the entire process – buying new things, planning a pick-up truck to come on Saturday morning, finding new tenants for my apartment, and, last but not least, packing. Somehow, the first three things on our list took us more time than we had expected. And, of course, the whole crying and wobbling over the fact that I was moving out of town, far away from Bonnie, kept us busy for almost the entire day on Monday.

Indeed, I forgot to mention that I actually was moving far away from Bonnie. And when I say far away I mean on the Western coast of the United States in a small village located an hour away from busy L.A. . Needless to say, when I found out (after signing the contract) I had more than a huge shock. I never even thought that this man could be contacting a babysitting company from the other side of the country to get a nanny. But sure enough, he probably wanted to remain anonymous and protect himself and his children as much as possible. Something which already made me respect him although I hadn't met him yet.

However, I can't say that Bonnie shared the same opinion since she had clearly stated how much she hated this man for taking me away for her. But after talking to her a lot about the whole thing, she understood that it was the best thing to do. I couldn't turn back anyway; but I didn't want to either. Somewhere inside me there was this strange voice telling me that it was the right thing to do.

So here we were, on a freezing Friday evening, desperately trying to put all of my things into bags and labeling the all-size multi-colored boxes, which were lying on the floor in an organized mess. I couldn't take most of my things with me, and after crying over the spilt milk, I managed to decide that the best solution was to leave them at Bonnie's place. It seemed that we were both starting to get tired of work, for we were starting to chit chat – very counterproductive for our work.

'I know that it was a little out of notice. But my new mystery boss wanted me to start as soon as possible' I enthusiastically said, but quickly heard how fake it really sounded. Luckily, Bonnie didn't pay attention to my tone. She was too busy to day dream like she often did.

'Figures… I wander what he looks like' Bonnie said with a dreamy smile on her face. Of course she had to say that!

'Is that all you ever think about?' I seriously asked, but felt my lips curving into a smile. 'Be careful, 'cause George will soon be in for some serious competition.'

'Neah, I stick with my man- always. Besides, I'll leave the hot employer to you, missy. You could need a young, sexy piece of…'

' …nothing. Stop it, or you might actually make me think like that about my new boss.' I already felt my cheeks going red.

'And that would be wrong, because…?' Moments like this made me remember just how crazy Bonnie could be.

'I don't even know how to answer that.' I answered sternly whilst shaking my head. 'Firstly, he's a suffering widower…'

'.. which can easily be taken care of…' she said seductively. I chose to ignore her.

'…and, secondly, he's probably way past forty. I mean, he does have four kids, the oldest in secondary school…And the last thing I need is to be attracted to someone who could be my father.'

'True, but you forget the most important thing.' She said, not being able to contain her smile.

'And I'm afraid to ask what that would be.' I could feel my eyebrows go up in growing frustration.

'Well, he is famous… I mean, aren't you even a tad curious who he could be?'

To be honest, I hadn't given much thought to that aspect. Since I had heard of their situation, the children were the only image present in my mind - for they were the object of my entire attention. But their father had never really invaded my thoughts … Well, until my twisted B.F.F. had mentioned it.'

'Maybe a bit. I mean, I never heard of a client so important that he actually asked for total discretion regarding the whole matter. Even about where he lives…'

'And don't forget that he never even wanted you to know that you were moving in with them before you signed the contract.' There was a weird idea starting to form in my head.

'Not to mention that I don't even know what their exact address is. I just know that I'm moving to a place next to L.A.' I said whilst pondering about the whole mystery.

'And let's not forget how he wants you to become his little minion' recited Bonnie with a strong emphasis on the last words. I played her game, however, for she was starting to be funny.

'Hmm… well, I guess I'm screwed.' I was only half joking. And it suddenly dawned on me. What if I was making a mistake by leaving behind everything I had here and moving with people whose names I didn't even know, let alone whose exact address I had no idea about. For all I knew this guy could be a freak – a freak worse than Mr God-damned Lockood was. That thought made me fell nauseous.

Wait… Stop it right there, Elena! Don't you dare find reasons not to do this thinking that everybody is the same. You know that's not the right thing to do. And I did know; I think that I was scared a bit (ok, a lot) about this whole thing. And it had just hit me straight in the face. But then a sudden peace took place of the overwhelming anxiety. I stopped and thought about everything.

Did I even have such a good life to give away? In the end, I didn't have a boyfriend here, or any of my family members or any other friend apart from Bonnie. A small apartment and a part-time babysitter job didn't really qualify as being a life I had wanted for myself. Part of me was doing this because I knew there was more than this for me. My father always used to tell me to live my life like there was no tomorrow: "Carpe Diem". And so I would… My day-dream had lasted for only a few seconds just in time for me to come back to reality where Bonnie was replying.

'Neah, you'll be just fine. But if it's the president you're working for, please tell Mr. Obama I said 'hi'.'

'That's not possible. The president only has two kids. And he doesn't live in California.'

'Oh, well. Too bad then…'

After our little chit-chat and many other rounds of laughter we actually started working hard. But it wasn't until Bonnie snatched the bottle of Italian wine, which had been staying on the bookcase for over an year that we suddenly became over-productive. We practically turned into hard-working bees. Next thing we knew it, the clock struck eleven and we were almost finished.

'Hey, Elena, what do you want me to do with this old thing?'

'What …old… thing…?' I asked, interrupted by sudden hiccups.

As I saw the white teddy-bear that Bonnie was gently holding in her left hand (for her right hand was busy hosting another glass of wine) my eyes suddenly felt weepy. The teddy-bear had been a symbol of our undying friendship. It was almost two years old, like our relationship, and it grew older and older, as our bond became stronger and stronger. It was a childish thing, but I couldn't believe that we wouldn't be able to see each other whenever we wanted, to help one another whenever we needed and to hug whenever we felt like doing it. Two straight years and then, boom! This was our first obstacle and I perceived it as a turning point. She felt so as well. We could read it in each other's eyes. The next thing I knew, we were already cuddled up on the couch with my head resting on Bonnie's lap.

'Can you imagine what it would have been like if we hadn't met? I asked.'

'I suppose I could, if I tried, but I don't even want to think about it' Bonnie answered in a gloomy voice. 'I mean, who else could possibly be friends with such a depressive, mood-swinging maniac?'

'Ok, normally I would take that as an insult, but I think I'm too drunk to care.'

'I was talking about me, Elena…'

'Oh…' I said not realizing how sleepy I really was.

'Wait… Are you drunk? Well, that's a first…' Indeed, she was right. She had never seen me drunk until now; and this wasn't really my drunken state. I had had worse before.

'And you finally admit that you're a 'depressive, mood-swinging maniac'? Definitely a first…'

Our laughter broke before either of us could contain it. This moment right here felt good, something that we both knew wouldn't happen so often anymore.

'Elena, what happens if we'll drift apart …?' I was thinking about that too. But I didn't want to accept it at all.

'Bonnie Jamie Peterson! Don't even say it! I'll visit as often as possible. There's no way in hell that I'll be leaving you here all alone. Well, you won't actually be all alone – you have George, honey.'

'A boyfriend is not the same thing as a best friend' said Bonnie and afterwards pouted in disapproval.

'It'll be fine, we'll figure it out somehow.' I wondered if that was the first lie.

'Just promise me something, will you?'

'Anything - just name it pumpkin.' Now I was certain that I was drunk, for I had never said that phrase in my life.

'No matter how rich, kind or fantastic this new family will be, don't get so absorbed with your new life that you'll forget about your old one.'

'Bonnie, I could never do that.' Well, at least I really hoped that I wouldn't.

'I know, but… I'm just saying. I wouldn't want us to end up being strangers.'

'That will never happen. 'Friends for ever', remember?'

Bonnie's lips curved upwards just a bit when she saw me raise my fist in front of my face. At the sight of our secret handshake position, her eyes broke and tears started running down her cheeks while we performed our favorite figure, which we had once decided was the symbol of our eternal friendship. I obviously knew that 'never' was an impossibly long period of time and almost regretted using it. But, somehow, that night, two hearts were beating in the same rhythm, joined by the sincere love of two crazy, neurotic, caring friends.

The next morning we woke up with the worst headaches of our lives. In translation the worst hangover of our lives. When the alarm clock went off I felt like I hadn't slept a minute during the night. In earnest, I hadn't. I had had so many dreams that I couldn't keep count of how many times I woke up and then went back to sleep. It must have been the anxiety that was taking its toll on me.

After triple-checking everything in my bags and purse and hugging Bonnie five million times we took my bags out of my-soon-to-be ex apartment. Before leaving and closing the front door I took a last look at the empty rooms that now looked so gloomy and sad. The saying 'Home is where the heart is.' came into my mind. I instinctively wrapped my hand around my beloved necklace and took a deep breath. In earnest, my heart wasn't really anywhere – it was lost. And I was still looking for a place where I could feel just like myself again. I sincerely hoped that my new home would in time become my heart's home as well.

With that thought I quickly closed the door to my apartment. I went down the stairs as fast as I could never looking behind and saying goodbye to this life forever.

I apologize for not bringing Damon into the picture yet. However, I'm planning a legendary entrance for him so please be patient (and don't hate me too much) :). So, what do you guys think about Chapter 4?