Disclaimer: I do NOT own TVD or any of its characters or concepts; it belongs to its respective owners. Also there may be smut in the later chapters, but I will be placing a warning above each chapter that does contain anything controversial.
Summary: Elena has the best life you could imagine. She got her job at the hospital, she has amazing friends, a decent home, and a loving family. One aspect in her life was always lacking though, Elena has always been rather shy when it comes to love. What happens when her old friend from elementary returns, and how will their relationship rekindle?
The Path that Leads to You and Me
"Ellie, common. We gotta hurry before they find us." Damon tells me, his grip on my wrist is brutally tight as he weaves me through the forest.
"Who?" I ask while giggling. He stops once we reach our special cove before turning to me with a wide smile.
"The goblins, Ellie. How could you forget?" He tells me and I laugh.
"That's something that we made up when we were in kindergarten." I say with an amused expression. He sits down in the plush green grass beneath us and I sit next to him.
"Yeah… well I was feeling kinda nostalgic. I don't really wanna grow up." He says and my smile fades into a more serious expression.
"What's wrong?" I ask, concern etched in my voice.
"Nothing." He says a bit too robotic and I immediately know what's up.
"Your dad hit you again… didn't he." I say and I just see as Damon's eyes start to water again. I pull out a medic kit from my bag and stand up. "Where?" I ask and Damon glances at the medic kit in surprise.
"How did you know?" He asks, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"I know because it happens every time. It's been getting more regular and it makes me just wanna scream at you dad." I say frustratedly and he looks down once more.
"He got me when I was running from him. On my chest and back." He tells me and I nod.
"C-can you take of y-your shirt so that I can see the wounds?" I ask with a blush.
"S-sure." He stutters in reply before lifting up his black t-shirt. I inspect his back and see a dark and large bruise on his shoulder as well as a slight cut beneath it.
"Did he cut you?!" I ask in nearly a gasp.
"No, he hit me from the front which caused me to go falling backwards into a table corner." Damon replies which causes my expression to sadden.
As I'm tending to his wounds I ask, "Why can't you tell the authorities about this?" He sighs.
"I really want to, but I have to wait until I'm 16, then I can take legal custody of Stefan and get that man arrested." He replies coldly and I nod.
"I just don't want you to get hurt anymore." I say as I finish patching up his back. When I'm done I kiss it, which causes him to hum softly.
"Just that makes it feel worlds better." He says which causes me to blush.
"Is that so?" I tease as I move in front of his to inspect the wounds on his front. There's softer bruising on the upper right side of his chest.
"I swear, that big heart of yours is incredibly sexy." He teases back which causes me to let out a hearty laugh. I look up at him to see him looking at me contently and feel the heat rush to my face.
"We're still so young." I say while tending to his bruise.
"When we're older do you think that we could run away together?" He asks which causes me to glance up, looking for any sign that he's joking. Seeing none, I sigh.
"I can't leave my family, Damon. You know that." I reply and his gaze saddens.
"I know, I just… you know that I care about you." He says and I smile softly.
"You know that I do too, it's just…. we can't…. not right now." I reply and he brushes some of my chocolate locks behind my ear.
"Can I at least hold you for now?" He asks gazing into my eyes sweetly and I nod, before moving next to him and leaning on him. "Someday?" I hear him ask as he wraps his arms around me.
"Someday." I reply with a smile, enjoying the feeling I get within his grasp. He shifts slightly and pulls out a camera which makes me laugh. "What are you doing?" I ask with a giggle.
"I wanna remember this moment forever." He says before the camera clicks and the photo comes out.
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I hold the photo of me leaning on Damon with a big goofy grin on my face when we were in 6th grade. He was 12 and I was 9 in that picture and because I skipped two grades, which is how we were able to become friends. "Elena? Are you okay in there?" I hear Caroline's voice from the other side of the bathroom door.
"Yeah, I'm coming out now." I say before putting the photo back into my memory journal and exit the bathroom to find Caroline standing there.
"Are you alright, El'?" She asks and I just nod.
"Yeah, just had an emergency. Sorry for getting you worried." I reply.
"Oh, it's no big deal. Anyways, I bet you're hungry, so why don't we go back to the booth and get ourselves something to eat." Caroline says and I smile softly at her, but my mind is elsewhere.
"That sounds good." I say, following her back to the booth. My mind racing over the thought of Damon being back. Should I speak to him? Does he even want to see me? Ugh, this is so frustrating!
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After dinner with Bonnie and Caroline I returned to my apartment, tired and beat. I plop down on my full sized bed and stare up at the ceiling. I want to see Damon again, but I'm nervous as to if he actually wants to see me or if he still feels the same as when he was younger. I sigh and decide that it's best if I just sleep it off and worry tomorrow. It doesn't take long for me to get ready for bed and drift away into peaceful slumber.
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I allowed myself to sleep in that next morning since I didn't really have any plans for today anyway. I ended up waking up around 10 A.M. and got ready. Once I got my morning tea I decided to check my email to see if The Mystic Falls Hospital responded. When I log on I do see an email from them and I feel my heart rate increase 10,000 times it's speed. I take a deep breath before clicking to open the email.
TO: emgilbert92
SUBJECT: You're Hired!
FROM:
'Dear Miss. Gilbert,
My name is Gabriella Morgan and I represent Mystic Falls Local Hospital. We have evaluated your resume and based on the feedback we've received from Dennis Laurence, president of the hospital council, we've decided that your skills meet our requirements for the position of a Family Doctor.
We take these positions very seriously and jobs like this aren't always open, but it is available and your name came up as the top eligible candidate.
As a new member as a doctor of our company we expect you to prioritize your patients needs and work diligently and to the best of your ability. We not only expect you to work well with your coworkers, but to also give your utmost attention to each of your patients.
There are no fees when it comes to hiring because the company covers all of them.
Your salary will be $105/hr, roughly $3150/mo. excluding commission or bonus.
If your resume is not up to date, please include your phone number, name and address in your reply.
Regards,
Gabriella Morgan
Mystic Falls Local Hospital
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I couldn't believe my eyes as I read the email. I mean… I was confident that I'd get the job, but it always feels awesome to be validated for your hard work. I quickly and happily reply to her email saying that I was honored to have this job and that I'll be there for my next shift as a doctor. Once the email is sent, I lean back into my chair and close my eyes. I hear his voice in my head, 'I told you you could do it... You're the smartest person I know… I can't wait to see you in all that doctor getup.' Okay, maybe that last thought was a joke, but he always supported me in my ambitions to become a doctor. I just wish I could talk to him now, but I don't even know if he wants to talk to me. He left so abruptly and we lost all forms of communication. My once happy mood turned into a seldom one and I opened a search engine and typed in, 'Mystic Falls Founder on Trial for Domestic Abuse.' At the time the trial was taking place it was the biggest talk in the whole town. Damon didn't go to school and neither did Stefan. The trial lasted almost the entire month before Giuseppe was deemed guilty for domestic abuse. Nobody knew how Damon had won or what happened in that course since it was a private trial and everyone who was allowed in the court weren't allowed to speak on what happened in the court. Not even Damon would talk to me about it. Then a week after the court trial ended Damon and Stefan left town and nobody knows why. I sigh at the thought and exit the article that I was on. I move over to my kitchen and brew myself some green tea. It relaxes me a bit and allows me to let go of my anxiety. When I feel a bit better I decide to search for one last thing. Whether anyone believes it or not, this is the one thing that I could never have the courage to type, but now I was done with letting curiosity control me. I need to know what has happened to him. I type in his name and scroll past the ones that are about his court case and fine a site.
'Damon Salvatore, known for being the victim and witness in a court trial against his father, however some ask how he and his little brother are now? Since he keeps his life very private all that we know is that he is a renowned photographer whose works are sold at a minimum of $100 a piece. They live in Richmond Virginia with a family friend, and Stefan attended community college in Richmond as well. It is said that the youngest brother Stefan may go to Whitmore college for Molecular Biology which would bring both brothers back to their hometown.'
That was all that was written on them, I always figured that his photography would take him places. He loved taking photos and every single one he took was just as breathtaking as the last. It gives me a thought and I go back into my bedroom and pull out a large book at the bottom of my bookshelf. I open it and immediately the first picture pasted is a picture of myself with my brows furrowed writing something down on a piece of paper surrounded by all sorts of books on the History of Mystic Falls. I laugh slightly remembering everything that happened those days. The day I met Damon Salvatore.
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"Okay class, today we will be going over the History of Mystic Falls during the Civil War. I will draw two people's names and you'll be partners, then I'll draw what aspect of the civil war you'll be researching on. I expect an organized and well thought out presentation by the end of this week and if you have any questions ask me during the discussion period and look at the teaming document as well as the document discussing the project more specifically. Now, our first group is…"
Mrs. Dorris calls out a lot of kids' names and I sit there quietly fiddling with my paper, sitting alone. I doubt that anyone would even want to be my partner since I skipped two grades halfway throughout the year, after all this is fifth grade and I'm the age of a third grader.
"And finally we have Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore. You two will be discussing, 'The attack of Fells Church'. I must say, this one isn't found online so you'll have to go to the local library." I nod and she asks for everyone to sit by their partner. I don't know what my partner looks like, so I stand waiting for everyone to sit down before I find a guy with raven black hair, wearing all black with a hood covering most of his face. He's looking at his paper and I move to sit by him.
"H-hi… it's n-nice to meet you." I say shyly and he doesn't even look up.
"We'll meet after school at the local library at 3:15." He says lowly. His voice is rather low for a 5th grader and I feel embarrassed. Of course he didn't want to talk to me!
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you… and can we change it to 3:30, I'll have to go to my house first to tell my parents where I'm headed." I reply and he looks up at me for the first time. His bright blue eyes are emotionless as he stares at me.
"3:15, and don't be late." He grunts out and returns his gaze to his paper. I feel tears threatening to emerge from my eyes as I also get back to work.
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I was running as fast as I could to the library, and by the time I made it I was exhausted and panting. I headed into the library and checked the time '3:17.' 'Oh no.' I thought to myself and I looked over until I found him at a table with two chairs reading a book on the History of Mystical Falls. When I made my way over to him he looked up at me, hatred evident in his eyes.
"You're late." he snapped and I just lowered my head.
"I-I'm s-s-so sorry I-I didn't mean to, I ran all the way to my parents house and then back here which is 2 miles away from my house." I tried to explain and his brows raised slightly.
"You ran 2,5 miles in 17 minutes?" He asked and I nodded sheepishly.
"Yeah I-... wait a minute, how do you know how far my house is from school?" I asked, my brows knitted together in confusion. I don't remember telling him where I lived and for a second he looks like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, but it soon relaxes once more.
"When the teacher asked you to introduce yourself you said you were from Maple Grove. Well, it's a small town, and I know how far each of the neighborhoods are from the school." He sniped at me and I lowered my head in shame. Of course that's why, I should never have questioned it. "Now, are you going to stand there and be useless or are you going to help me?" He snapped at me, I can't see the blue in his eyes due to how dark his gaze is and I let out a slight squeak in surprise before I moved over to help him. This is going to be a long day…
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(2 Days later: Wednesday)
Damon and I were working on our project, and our relationship hasn't gotten any better from the first day, in fact I feel as if it's gotten worse. I have no idea why he hates me so much. We were organizing the information when I heard two guys talking from the tables next to us.
"Ha, I feel so bad for the new girl. She's partnered with Damon the Downer." One of them whispers loudly and I look towards them in shock. They weren't even trying to hide their rudeness! I glance towards Damon who lowers his head slightly and my face scrunches up at the sight. What jerks!
"I hear that he's a serial killer and that's why he has no friends!" The other one says before snickering evilly.
"Oh really? I though it was because he is just a dumb idiot with no social skills." The other one sneers in response and I slam my pencil down and turn to them abruptly.
"Listen, jerks. Stop making fun of my partner, he is a better person than you two will ever be, so go back to being insecure young boys who have to resort to making fun of others in order to hide their insecurities!" I tell them in a huff before turning back around and continuing to work. What I didn't notice were the grateful eyes of a particular blue eyed boy sitting next to me, a slight smile displayed on his face. I was too caught in my head to notice the slight sound of a camera taking a photo.
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The sudden sound of a rapping at my front door snaps me from my fantasy and I close the picture book before placing it on my bed for later use. I move over to my door and open it to find my brother Jeremy standing there. His hair is a bit tousled, which is expected of a college student however he has a slight smile on his face.
"Jer! What are you doing here?" I ask happily before giving him a large hug. I hold him tightly and he chuckles slightly. I know we meet up every now and again, but I still enjoy hanging around my baby brother.
"Remember when you sent me the text saying you got the job?" He asks and I nod slowly, a smile spreading across my face of the remembrance of it. "Well… I wanted us to make dinner together, you know like we always did when we were younger. Only this time, I've brought booze." He says before lifting up a six-pack of beers.
"Awe, thanks Jer'! I really appreciate you celebrating with me on this special occasion." I say, my smile wide and bright. We both head inside and head into the kitchen. "So, how have you been?" I ask about taking out the cooking ingredients and tools needed for dinner.
"Fine, art school has been restless, but overall I've been enjoying my time with the fellow students." He replies, and I begin chopping the vegetables.
"That's good, what are your plans after you finally graduate?" I ask and he nudges me softly at the tone. He waited quite a long time before going to college, and I've been pestering him ever since he was 18. He only quit his job at the grill and enrolled into Whitmore in Art when he was 22. Now he's 24 and has 2 more years left before he graduates.
"I'll probably get some freelancing jobs, before finding someone who I'd be good with working full time with." He replies and I nod. It's definitely a better future than staying as a waiter/bartender for the rest of your life.
"That's a good plan, have you made any new close friends yet?"
"I'm not sure about close friends, however I have definitely met some people who are very nice and that I might possibly stay friends with for awhile." Jeremy replies which causes me to smile. I'm so grateful that he's gone through rehab and gotten mostly over his addictions. It truly helped him fix his life and I feel as if he's actually getting somewhere.
I look at him with a bright smile before pulling him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you." I tell him while holding him tight.
He scoffs before replying, "Says the doctor." This causes me to break the hug and look him directly in the eyes with a stern gaze.
"Just because I'm a doctor doesn't mean that what you did was an easy feat. You've overcome so many obstacles and you are on the path to becoming successful doing what you love. It doesn't matter if I spent longer in college or if society thinks of me as more accomplished than you. If you are as happy as you can be than you are just as, if not more successful than me. Remember that, Jer'." I tell him honestly and I can see something changing behind his gaze.
"You definitely know your way around words." He says with a smile and I kiss him on the cheek.
"I love you, Jer'. Just know that I'll always be proud of you." I say before returning to preparing dinner.
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Jeremy and I laugh and have a good time tonight and just enjoy ourselves. We catch up on what each of us has been doing over these past few weeks and just simply enjoy each other's presence. All too soon, he has to go and we say our farewells. The TV is running as I'm cleaning up the dishes from dinner, humming a soft tune. Just then something flashes on the TV screen which causes my attention to shift upwards towards it.
My eyes widen as I glance at a picture of Stefan. The first time I saw him he was barely a toddler, and I haven't seen him since he was 8 when Damon left. He has the same boyish charm, however you can definitely see the effects of age and maturity on him. Well… this has certainly piqued my interest. I grab the remote from the counter and turn up the volume.
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'The Salvatore brothers have recently returned to Mystic Falls, however some people are speculating that the youngest brother may have come here with something rather unexpected. Some people are saying that the college and inheritance reasons for returning is a hoax and that the real reason is that the youngest brother may have a serious health issue. Nothing has been confirmed or denied, but we still hold these two brothers in our prayers.'
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My eyes are wide and I'm covering my mouth with my hand. I know that this may just be some fake news, however I can't stop my mind from going to the worst possible scenarios. It would make sense to move here since the Mystic Falls Hospital is one of the best in the state and they already have an estate here. All that I do is hope that the news is wrong. Stefan and Damon have already gone through so much, a serious health issue isn't something that they deserve to have added to their plate. I sigh and turn off the TV, rubbing my temples in a way to ease the headache a bit. I know that I'm probably overthinking everything but I can't help my mind from going to the worst. I just hope that they're alright…
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A/N: How did you all enjoy this chapter? I tried to make it longer than the last one and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this! Sorry for the slow updates, however I'm pretty sure that's how it'll have to be due to scheduling. Anyways, I hope you all have wonderful days and nights!