A/N: I'm so sorry for my little hiatus. I usually update every Monday and I haven't for the last two weeks. I've just had some things going on in my personal life, and if I'm being honest, fanfiction was the last thing on my mind. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story. Hopefully with my last couple stories I have proved that to be true. I hope to update back regularly every Monday from here on out, I just needed a small break.

Enjoy!

EPOV

I was getting settled at Whitmore. My dorm was bigger than I anticipated, and my roommate was nice enough. Her name was Bonnie. She kept to herself, but she was clean and organized like me, so I think we will get along just fine.

My classes were going to be tough, but manageable. My professors seemed decent, and the workload was going to take some getting used to.

I followed Damon's advice and befriended some girls who I thought would help me climb the social ladder. One girl was named Jessica, she was gorgeous. She probably left everyone speechless when they talked to her, because I knew I was. She was super bubbly, and always had a lot to say. She wasn't always the brightest bulb, but she wasn't a complete idiot either.

We got invited to our first party. And it was going to be at a frat house. I was super nervous, but also super excited. Nobody knew me here, so I truly got to start over. It was less nerve wracking than the party Damon took me to. I could be whoever I wanted to be, and people would actually believe me. And that felt so refreshing.

The sound of my phone buzzing caught my attention, while I was finishing applying my makeup. "Damon," I answered the FaceTime.

"Hey college girl," he greeted with a smirk.

I could tell he was walking outside somewhere. He wore a plain white t-shirt, and he had dog tags around his neck. "What no uniform?" I asked.

"I get to wear normal people clothes on the weekends," he informed me. "What are you up to?"

"I'm currently getting ready to go to my first college party," I propped my phone up while I finished applying mascara.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"Not too much actually," I shrugged. "It's kind of nice knowing I have a fresh start. Nobody knows me, so it's like I have a clean slate."

"Good," he nodded. "Just be careful. College parties are usually a lot bigger and crazier than the party I brought you to."

"I know," I gave him a reassuring smile. "How's Texas?"

"Hot," he rolled his eyes.

I chuckled lightly, "Still glad you joined the army?"

"It has it's perks."

"Like what?" I couldn't possibly imagine being forced to work out in the Texas heat away from all my family.

"Like…" He took a second to think. "When I'm done, I'll have free schooling. It looks good on a resume. And the Mexican food here is to die for."

"Is that where you're headed?"

"Maybe," he half smiled. Gosh he had the most gorgeous smile. I wish I didn't notice. But ever since our kiss I've noticed a lot of things about him.

I shoved my make up back in my make up bag and zipped it shut. "Ok." I took a deep breath. "I think I'm ready." I took a step back from my phone so Damon could get a look. "Do I look like I'm a nerdy loser pretending to be someone I'm not?" I asked him.

It took him a few seconds before he responded. "You're good."

"Good?" I threw my hands on my hips. "What does that mean?"

Just when I was waiting for an answer my door swung open and Jessica walked it along with a couple girls, she had introduced me to at one point. She looked like a supermodel compared to me. "You look amazing," she smiled at me cheerfully.

She noticed my phone propped up on my desk. She scooped it, "Who's the hottie?" She smiled at Damon over the phone.

"Damon Salvatore," I heard Damon speak. His voice was smooth like butter. He always knew how to throw on the charm. I could only imagine he was giving her his signature smirk.

"Jessica," she beamed back. She turned her phone to me. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Friend," I shook my head immediately. "Best friend."

"Oh," she turned the screen back to her. "Are you gay?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm not sweetheart."

"Good," she flopped down on my bed, and the other girls gathered around my phone, ogling over him. They all giggled as he and Jessica went back and forth. They were both so good at flirting it was almost intimidating. It made me realize how far behind I was. They didn't even know each other and yet here they are having a mini conversation.

"Mind if I say goodbye to Elena?" I heard Damon ask Jessica nicely, after a few minutes of flirting.

"Sure thing, handsome," she sat up and handed me the phone.

I took the phone back, and he smirked when he saw me. "Have fun tonight," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Thanks," I flushed feeling awkward with my new friends staring at me. "You too."

"I'll call you tomorrow beautiful," he winked.

I rolled my eyes he was just trying to make me feel good about myself. "Bye."

As soon as I ended the call, a million questions were being fired off by Jessica and the other girls.

"Are you guys really just friends?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah," I put my hands behind my back intertwining my hands in comfort.

"How? He is like so hot," one of the girls scoffed. "How have you not jumped his bones already?"

"I've known him practically my entire life," I turned to grab some shoes out from the tiny closet in the corner. "That would be weird."

"You've really never done anything? Like not even kiss?" Jessica seemed not to believe me.

"Well…" I was such a bad liar. "We've kissed. But it wasn't like that."

"Is he single?" Her interest peeked.

"Yeah," I felt a huge knot in my stomach. It was one thing when he was dating Rebekah. But I didn't want my friends to date him. I felt a sudden urge to act possessive. But he's my best friend. Of course, I didn't want the little time I got with him to be taken up by anyone else… Right? That was all it was. "He's not really available though. He's in the army and isn't around all that much."

"I love a man in a uniform," Jessica closed her eyes, and I could only imagine she was picturing him dressed in his uniform. "That just made him ten times hotter."

I slid on some shoes, and tried ignoring the flickering jealousy that was bubbling to the surface.

"Anyways," she opened her eyes. "You guys ready to have some fun?"

"I'm more than ready," I breathed a sigh of relief.

Damon was right. College parties were much crazier. It was oddly comforting though. There was so much chaos going on that I felt like it was easier to relax. I followed Jessica around for a while. She easily emerged herself in groups of people and everyone seemed to gravitate towards her. So, I studied her. I watched how she interacted with guys. I watched how she talked to other girls.

I had a couple drinks and unlike last time, I could start to feel the effect. I could see why people enjoyed it. It really did make me feel more comfortable. I felt like I could talk to strangers and not worry about what I was going to say next.

Eventually I didn't feel the need to be stuck to Jessica's hip and I could hold my own. I was still more quiet than other girls, but I was much better than I was at the party Damon took me to.

Damon's voice would pop into my head, reminding me how to stand, hot to talk, and how to flirt. He really was a good teacher, and I felt like it was actually working.

I was over by the assortment of alcohol grabbing myself another drink, when a deep voice tickled me from behind, he was so close. "You must be new?"

I froze, the blood draining from my face. Did I do something wrong? Was I giving away the fact that I was as innocent as a lamb? "I'm sorry?" I turned around to see one of the most gorgeous men I'd ever seen stand before me.

He was super tall and fit. His had medium length sandy blonde hair, and emerald, green eyes. He had chiseled cheek bones, and a smile that made my legs go numb.

"I've never seen you before," he clarified. "Are you a freshman?"

"Oh," I blushed. "Am I that obvious?"

"No," he smiled sweetly. "You're just really beautiful. I'm Tommy," he stuck his hand out.

I shook his hand, and I felt so small compared to him. "I'm Elena."

"That's a pretty name," he walked to my side, leaning against the table, so we were side by side. "Where are you from?"

"Mystic Falls," I took a sip of the beer in my hand.

"I played against you guys a few times," he said familiar with the town.

I was confused by what he meant by that.

"Football," he must have sensed my confusion.

"Oh sorry," I mentally smacked my forehead. "I'm not… I don't really know much about football."

"It's ok," he chuckled. "More of a baseball girl?"

"More like academics," I blurted. I immediately shut my mouth with a snap and wished I could take back what I said. I was trying to reinvent myself, not act like a total loser.

He chuckled, "That's probably a good thing."

"I'm so embarrassing," I blushed, letting my hair fall in front of my face.

"That's not embarrassing," he disagreed. "I may be a stereotypical jock, but I'm a huge history buff."

"Really?" I sat up straight.

"Really," he nodded. "Math on the other hand," he made a face that had me laughing.

"Do you still play football?" I took another sip of my beer.

"Yeah," he smirked. "Quarterback."

"Ah," I nodded in understanding. "I may not know much about football, but I do know that that's a pretty big deal."

He chuckled, "Yeah that usually works on the ladies."

"Not this girl," I teased.

"Ok," he thought. "Maybe this will get you." He took a moment to gather his thoughts as he tried to come up with something to impress me. "Did you know Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to win a Nobel Peace Prize?"

"I did," I had to admit, it was endearing having someone so hot know his history all while being able to throw a ball.

"Ok," He thought a little harder. "Did you know Andrew Jackson, was the first targeted president for assassination?"

"You're going to have to dig really deep to surprise me," I giggled.

"Ok, I have one…" He moved to stand in front of me. He leaned in really closely and looked super serious. "Did you know that male penguins gift female penguins with rocks to romance them?"

"What?" I roared with laughter. "That's not even history!" I couldn't help the uncountable giggles that had me shaking.

He laughed along with me, "I know. But I was starting to realize you might be a lot smarter than I think."

I couldn't help but still laugh uncontrollably. My hand was on my chest, trying to get myself together.

"Did I mention I also loved animal planet as a kid?" He elbowed me playfully.

"Me too!" I gasped clutching his forearm.

We both burst out laughing and that's how the rest of the night went.

He introduced me to a lot of his teammates, and he taught me how to play beer pong. But mostly we just talked. He was charming, and handsome, but the best part was that he was just easy to talk to.

He walked me back to my dorm, and I think I was a little tipsy, but I was still highly functional. I don't know if I ever laughed so much in my life. Other than with Damon.

When we got to my door, I suddenly wished we had more time to talk.

"Can I get your number?" He asked, handing me his phone.

"Yeah," It took me a little longer than usual to enter in my info because my brain was a little hazy. I handed him his phone back. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," he swept a fallen piece of hair from my face. "You're cute."

I flushed, not used to that kind of attention. "Thanks. So are you."

He leaned in, and I was so ready for it. I was hoping that I wasn't misreading things. I had to stand up on my toes to reach him, but his lips were warm and inviting. It was different than my kiss with Damon, and not in a bad way.

With Damon there was an urgency, and I felt like I was on fire. With Tommy, it was slower, but it was still passionate. His tongue slid past mine and I let myself relax and I just followed his lead. Hopefully he couldn't tell I was inexperienced.

After several minutes he pulled away and I bit my lip, when he smiled looking down at me. "I wish I could stay and kiss you a little longer, but coach is making us practice bright and early tomorrow."

"It's ok," I smiled.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised.

His hands which were resting on my hips, slowly peeled away and he gave me one last smile before disappearing down the hall.

I tiptoed into my room, trying to be courteous to my roommate. I quietly changed into something comfier and went to go wash my face and brush my teeth. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed something different.

I was confident.

I was happy.

I was thriving.

It was a new Elena…and I liked her.

A/N: Not a lot of Delena in this chapter, but it was necessary for the storyline. What'd you think? Any predictions? Please leave a review, and I'll see you next week (hopefully) ;).