I wasn't entirely sure as to where the whole hatred had come from to be honest. According to my mum it was something that happened a long time ago but she wouldn't give anything else away. It was a sensitive topic to say the least; no-one ever mentioned the causes and I'd long since learnt not to ask. But the fact remains, Grayson Gilbert, my father, truly despised Giuseppe Salvatore and the feeling was undoubtedly mutual.

Somehow that hatred had filtered right the way through the family. My mum and Elizabeth Salvatore disliked one another immensely. Don't forget Zach Salvatore too, Elizabeth's younger brother who had once upon a time been married, yes married to my dear aunt Jenna for an entire year. More secrecy surrounded that drama too. Hell! Even our grandparents hated each other…before mine passed that is. But the pair that I found clearest was the sons. My older brother Jeremy and the eldest Salvatore brother, Damon quite honestly detested one another. At school they had been the two 'kings', or equivalent, and as we all know…you can't have two kings unless you've gone through a magical wardrobe. Their fights were legendary; no other fight in little Mystic Falls had ever gone as far as setting the other up to get them arrested or pushing the other through a glass window (need I say Damon got in a lot of trouble for that).

To be perfectly honest I found the whole thing ridiculous. What could possibly so bad? The only reasons for the feud between the two I could think of was either rivalry or some sort of preconceived family hatred. The second option, although most likely, did for me seem the most doubtful though. Why? Because this 'family feud' seemed to have skipped a generation, at least on the Gilbert side of things. To be completely honest I quite liked Damon. Not that I'd ever admit that to anyone.

Oh! How could I forget? Stefan Salvatore. His reasoning was completely lost on me. He hated me…completely detested me. And after almost a decade I was still trying to figure out why. I didn't like him either but he took it to another level! The rumours at school and the constant jibes. Naturally I retorted with sarcastic one-liners but still it confused me. And the worst thing? For just over six months he'd been going out with my best friend Caroline Forbes. That just made things awkward. More so since he was convinced that I was trying to split them up and pull her away from him as well as trying to convince her that I was a back-stabbing bitch. But seriously, we grew up together…we know each other like the backs of our hands. You cannot split up sandpit friendship.

You're probably wondering why I'm going though all this? Well tonight was the annual, or should I say monthly, display of decadence from the Founding Families. In other words it was a Founders Party for the founding families; us, the Gilberts, the Lockwood's, the Fell's…and the Salvatore's. This happened all the time, but why was this one so bad? Because everyone was going. All of the Gilbert's and all of the Salvatore's. That never happened; usually at least Damon and Jeremy would be absent but this time they'd both been forced to go along for reasons unknown. So yes…it was going to be tense to say the least.

I'd just finished getting ready, secretly enjoying the excuse to dress up. My chosen dress was a short black skater dress with a kind of lace mesh for the sleeves. Thick black tights and some black suede ankle boot wedges, then a studded black leather jacket finished the outfit. The choice had been between a long practically backless red dress or this one…right decision I think. Jeremy shouted at me to hurry up from downstairs so I sped up, finishing my make-up and slipping in some dark blue feather earrings and a thin chain bracelet with a horizontal cross connecting. Finished.

As per usual I was the last to be ready. We got to the Lockwood's in perfect time though, not too early and not too late. Carol and the mayor, Richard Lockwood, greeted us warmly at the front door, conversing momentarily with my parents before we were allowed to continue. It was the same at every one of these events; different reasons but always the same party. I quickly left my family and found Caroline and Bonnie in one of the many rooms, of course where all the younger people had congregated. We greeted each other with high pitch squeals as always and I sat down beside Caroline on the sofa, Bonnie on her other side. "So Len, seen a Salvatore yet?"

I sighed, "No…give it a few minutes though. This is going to be awful." Since they weren't really affected by all the tension, they could happily laugh about it. Me on the other hand; if my dad even saw me talking to one of them I would be in big trouble. It didn't take long for the first to approach…Stefan…naturally. Bonnie got a smile, Caroline got a kiss…I got a glare through which I got the impression he was trying to kill me…well I don't think he'd actually go that far… One look from him and our bubbly, blonde Caroline sprung up from the sofa and dropped into the opposite one to sit next to him. Bonnie and I exchanged a quick look as it happened but said nothing. The truth was, neither of us liked them together. He had too much control over her and it just always seemed so fake! For starters I knew she liked someone else. Someone else being Tyler Lockwood, the mayor's son. Now they would be an amazing couple and I'm not just saying that because anyone would be better than Stefan in my eyes.

Conversation was tense to say the least and Bonnie and I quickly made our escape; she headed off to her boyfriend of two years and our other friend Matt who had just arrived while I made my way to find my brother. Finding anyone at these events usually involved wondering aimlessly around the many crowded rooms. However this time it wasn't so difficult; I simply followed the stream of high schooler's who were 'subtly' making their way to…somewhere. Almost on the other side of the house and completely out of hearing range I heard the familiar school-day chants of 'fight, fight, fight' and I wasn't remotely surprised that the pair to have stepped in the ring today was Jeremy and Damon. Absolutely typical. Letting out an exasperated sight I pushed through to the front of the crowd and shouted my older brother's name…obviously he didn't listen, instead aimed a punch to Damon's perfect jaw (shush mind), only to receive a blow to his stomach.

Men.

"Dad's gonna kill you Jeremy…" I called just loud enough for him to hear, not honestly caring that much. This happened all the time. I couldn't help but look forward to the day that Jeremy, although was stronger than most guys, would never be quite as strong as Damon. Jheeze…where the hell was my sibling loyalty? In a short moment before receiving another punch and responding by rugby tackling Damon, my dear brother shot me a grin and I rolled my eyes, "Oh of course you don't care, why would you. I really don't see where all this testosterone came from; ten years ago you were still playing with Ken dolls."

At that both of them froze, whipping around to stare at me and I bit my lip, trying not to smile as Jeremy glared at me and Damon burst out laughing, "That is a fucking lie." He ground out and I just smirked.

"Whatever. Now can you just grow up and stop fighting like you're still at school, both of you." I said with a sigh, looking over at Damon who smirked, stepping closer to me.

"And why would I do anything that you say?" He questioned smoothly, eyes burning quietly and a strange look growing in them.

I smiled, shrugging a little, "Well you wouldn't want me to call you pathetic now would you?"

He blinked at that, seeming pleasantly surprised at the comeback, "No I would not." He replied slowly, our eyes locked and I couldn't tear mine away from those beautiful blue orbs. Was it really so bad to like him? With all his arrogance and bravado? The fact that he was a complete player, a dick and Mystic Falls' very own bad boy…did it really matter that much that I liked him?

Of course by then Jeremy had had enough and grabbed his arm to pull him back, putting himself between us, "Don't you fucking dare to-"

"-Jeremy!"

And the parents had arrived. Grayson and Giuseppe were storming through the rapidly dispersing crowd; the latter grabbed his sons arm and began dragging him away. Just before he turned the corner out of the room though, he glanced back around and I met one more of those famous smirks, a flash of blue…then nothing. I smiled a little before turning back to look at my father who was glaring at the both of us. "What the hell are you playing at Jeremy Gilbert? Are you trying to embarrass us? Your mother and I are regarded very highly in this town and here you are in the back rooms of the Mayor's own house caught in some brawl with a Salvatore?"

"So what? Like you haven't punched Giuseppe before-"

Dad's eyes flared at that and Jeremy sighed, knowing what was coming, "Don't you speak to me in that tone young man! I am your father, show some respect!" At that he turned his glare on me, "And you! I expected more of you. You just let your brother fight like that." He paused and shook his head, "A disgrace…both of you, disgraceful." And with that he spun on his newly polished shoes and left the room.

Sighing, I started towards the door, only for Jeremy to grab my arm and pull me back, fixing me with an angry stare, "What the fuck Elena?"

I raised an eyebrow, really not in the mood to fight with him now, "What?" I questioned, pulling my arm from his grip.

His eyes widened slightly and he waved a frantic arm behind him to the door, "That! With

. You were fucking flirting with him!"

Rolling my eyes I shook my head, "Hardly. And you know what! Why shouldn't I? This whole family feud thing is so infuriating! The only reason you hate the guy is because our parents have literally drilled it into your brain that you don't like that family! It's got nothing to do with me; I'm no part of it. All these years this has been going on I've played the loyal little sister but it honestly has nothing to do with me! And it's not like you ever go out of your way to defend me or anything when Stefan starts rumours or the like. You just expect me to hate them-"

"Now you're just being stupid Elena. I do defend you! I've always defended you. How can you say that I don't?"

I let out yet another sigh, flinging my arms up with a half-hearted shrug, "I haven't seen it."

"What-!"

I cut him off before he could carry on though, not in the mood to hear it, "Whatever Jeremy. I'll see you at home." I muttered, making my way to the door and this time not stopping when he called my name. I literally stormed through the massive crowded house, pissed off about the whole thing. It was ridiculous…pathetic even. Why would I start an argument? There was no reason really…we had that fight all the time…minus the whole 'flirting with Damon' bit. It just annoyed me so much; it wasn't like I thought that we could be best friends or anything of the sort, with Stefan or Damon; I just didn't like not having the option because of some petty rivalry between our parents and my brother.

Trying to release some of the building stress in my mind, I didn't make my way back to the party, rather heading down another corridor to a quieter room, searching for silence. I knew what I was like; after any argument, however small, I always managed to say things to people that I didn't mean and they may or may not deserve. Therefore I try and keep to myself for a while afterwards. And so, when I entered the darkened library on the other side of the house, I let out a sigh of relief. Making my way to the open window, the thin white curtains moving in the wind, I barely acknowledged the small light on in the far corner of the room or the dark figure in the chair. Not until the voice drifted over, that perfectly velvet-like voice of his, "So you survived then…"

Gasping in surprise, I spun around in search of the voice, the light catching his bright eyes and I relaxed a little, a small smile stretching the corner of my mouth as he pushed himself to his feet and slowly ambled over, "I did…neither of them are what you would call happy with me though."

He quirked an eyebrow and smirked, "And what problem would perfect Jeremy have with his loyal little sister?"

That made me laugh quietly, "Just that! According to him I have no sibling loyalty…and according to me neither does he."

"You…not loyal to him? I can't believe it."

The gentle mocking sarcasm in his voice only made me smile more but I tried to hide it. It was true; I had nowhere near as much loyalty to Jeremy as I should have. If I did I would have stormed out the room with a cold glare the second I realised he was in here too, "Well…he doesn't like the fact that I don't feel the need to be ruled by this stupid family feud thing. Yes I'm the only one out of both our families with that mindset but it might spread eventually, you never know."

He nodded, shrugging a little as he came to a stop by the window next to me, leaning against it and looking out. I moved into a similar position beside him, crossing my arms and leaning forwards a little, feeling his gaze rested on the side of my face but I refused to look, "Seems like it has already. I wouldn't say I was ruled by it either. I just don't like your brother."

I scoffed at that, not believing him in the slightest, "Yeah, sure. Like you don't hate the rest of the family because yours do." There was no way in hell that that could be true. No, he hadn't ever been the one to initiate any argument between our parents (note I don't say brothers…he definitely played a part there) but he was obviously always on the side of his parents. Not that I would know to be honest, I usually left the room as soon as I saw one coming; not bothered to be caught in the middle and hear my parents, who I'd always respected, say things that I just didn't want to even imagine them say. I didn't want that image of them, of course I did now…but I didn't want it.

"Nah I'm not that bothered by the rest of your family. Your dad's a bit irritating but the rest I can deal with. Hey, I don't even like my dad so I'm not exactly loyal to them either." He told me seriously. I shrugged, nodding as I reaching my hands forward over the two storey drop and fiddled with the ring on my right hand; one of those ones that connected between two fingers, silver with a eagle placed on it, wings outstretched to cover each side of the ring. Caroline had bought it for me as a birthday present last year. "There is no way in hell that that can be comfortable." I glanced up at him to see him looking at the ring and laughed quietly.

"Its fine, you get used to it."

"I doubt that." He muttered, grabbing my hand and pulling it closer to look at it. I jumped a little at the movement, realising right then that no matter how long we'd known each other, we'd never had any sort of physical contact…ever. Was that weird? And was it weird that now there were little sparks shooting up my arm and I could feel my heart beat speed up a step? Yes…that was weird. "Nope…not comfy." He concluded, letting go of my hand after a moments pause and I quickly brought it back to the other, blushing a tiny bit and thanking to god that it was dark at the same time so he couldn't see. We were quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "And I forgot to say…sure I'm not the greatest fan of your family-"

"I got that bit." I told him with a smile.

He shot me a mock glare before carrying on, stepping a fraction closer but I noticed, "I do like you though."

Raising an eyebrow, I mirrored his position and turned to face him, leaning against the window, taking into account how this placed us close…inappropriately close in any member of my family's opinion for sure, "I'm sure." The sarcasm slipped through into my tone without me even meaning too.

He smirked at the tone and sighed, reaching one hand forward absentmindedly and running a strand of my hair between two fingers before gently pushing it behind my ear and I cursed at myself for the sparks everywhere we touched, "As in I like you."

Stop…whoa…what? Rewind, backtrack, start again…what? I went for not believing him in the slightest and resorted to the 'lowest form of wit'…sarcasm of course, "Ah yes, like you, Damon Salvatore, who likes anything and everything in a skirt."

His eyes widened a little, amusement on his face but also a misleading trace of sincerity. He opened his mouth to respond but before he could get a sound out the door flew open and light streamed into the room, illuminating the both of us and I quickly stepped back without even thinking. It took a minute for me to realise that it was Stefan in the doorway, glaring daggers at me, then his elder brother who out of the corner of my eye I could see had a smirk quickly plastered to his face, "Elena," The younger Salvatore said coldly, "Caroline says your parents are looking for you. They're leaving." He paused for a minute, watching as I reached for my jacket which I'd previously jumped on the back of the sofa. Just as I was putting it on, clutch in hand and flicking my hair out of the back so I was ready to go, he let out an irritated sigh, tapping his foot and I couldn't help but roll my eyes, taking my sweet time to annoy him more, "For God's sake just piss off!" he blurted out suddenly and I paused.

"Stef-!" Damon began but I waved him off.

"No matter, I'm gonna go find Caroline," I said, heading towards the door, slowing down as I neared him, "Might do as I do best and work on 'stealing her from you'." I mocked, smirking at his angry expression and continued down the hallway, back towards the hellish party, heart still beating out of time from the most unexpected man in the world.

The funny thing is that I don't even hate Stefan…