Chapter One

Elena Gilbert, currently six years old, was just putting the finishing touches on her sandcastle. Three tiered, perfectly carved, Elena admired her handiwork as she stepped back.

"Care! Bonnie! Come look at my sandcastle!" Elena yelled over to her friends who were playing by the water's edge. They turned around and saw Elena pointing to her castle.

Caroline bounded over, her face a mask of delight. "Ooh, Elena, it's so pretty! I'd love to live there." Elena giggled just as Bonnie made her way over.

She closely inspects the castle while looking impressed. "Wow, Elena, you've got some mad sand-carving skills. Hehe, I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous."

Elena smiled widely at her two best friends. "Thank you!"

"We're going back by the Falls if you wanna join us?" Caroline questioned with her head cocked.

"In a little bit. I just want to stare at my castle as long as I can before it gets ruined."

"Okay!" Bonnie and Caroline ran back to the waterfall as Elena continued to gaze at her castle, fantasizing that she could live in it. Though, as much as she wanted to live in a castle, she was extremely happy that Mystic Falls was her hometown. It was a little eerie, yes, but beautiful overrode that anyday. The multiple waterfalls scattered throughout the town were the main attractions, since it was called Mystic Falls. Elena could admit that mysticism floated through the atmosphere, but that excited her just the same.

Elena snapped out of her thinking as Tyler Lockwood strutted over to her. He was the same age as her, but that didn't make him any less cocky. Being the mayor's son, his ego was sky-high. She honestly had no idea what Caroline saw in him, given that her friend had a tiny crush.

"Wow, Elena, what a sandcastle! Man, impressive, huh? But, see, the thing is, your castle is in my way."

"Walk around it, Tyler." Elena said, suppressing to roll her eyes.

"No, it's right in the spot where I like to take a running start into the water. Hehe, well, I guess I still could…" Before Elena could protest, Tyler ran straight through her castle and jumped into the lake.

"No! My sandcastle! Tyler, why did you do that?!"

Tyler came out of the water sporting a smirk. "Like I said, it was in the way."

Elena couldn't help the feeling of wanting to punch him, but she didn't even get the chance before someone beat her to it. Before Elena could even blink, Tyler was in the sand and clutching his face in pain. Elena quickly turned around to see a boy with stark black hair and the bluest eyes that she'd ever seen.

"That's gonna leave a bruise, man. Better hurry up and get some ice on it." The boy stated while Tyler glared at him. He stalked away to his parents, seething.

"Punching the mayor's son doesn't seem like a good idea." Elena said as she bit back a grin.

He shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do anything that you weren't thinking yourself. Besides, I don't really care. Your sandcastle was good, and he ruined it."

Elena's face lit up as he said that and she was restraining herself from not giving him a big hug.

"Thank you, uh…"

"Damon."

"Thank you, Damon. I'm Elena." When he held out his hand, Elena stared at it for a minute and then gave him a crushing hug.

"Oh, wow, you're a really tight squeezer."

"Sorry." Elena pulled back and grinned. "I'm more of a hugger than a handshaker. Call it a girl thing or whatever, but it's my sign of gratitude."

"You're welcome. It was really no big deal."

"Well, I'm still grateful. You live around here? I haven't seen you before."

"Yeah, well, my family lives more by the outskirts of the town. We're not that social, I guess. At least my dad isn't."

"Oh. But you're here with your family, aren't you? Did you guys finally decide to become social?"

"Nope. I ran away."

"You ran away?" Elena pondered for a moment. She couldn't bear the thought of running away from her family. She loved her mom, dad, and brother dearly. Plus, she had no idea where she'd run to anyway. "Out of all places to run away to, why'd you come here?"

"I always liked coming to the Falls. They're calming to look at. I didn't know that there was some town event going on here, and I was going to go somewhere else, but when I saw that Tyler kid run straight through your castle, I decided to act on it."

"I'm kind of glad you did. I'm sure my right hook isn't as strong as yours, and I'd definitely hurt my hand. Plus, you're fun to talk to."

"You're not the worst company in the world either, Elena." Damon said with a smile.

"Friends?" Elena asked as she held out her hand.

Damon smirked and pulls her in for a hug. "I could use a friend or two."

Elena giggles, "Then you have to meet my other two friends. Their names are Bonnie and Caroline, and I love them both to death. And don't blame Caroline for having a tiny crush on Tyler."

Damon's eyes widened. "What?" Elena just nodded and pulled him towards her best friends.

"Bonnie, Caroline, I'd like you to meet Damon."

"Damon? I've never seen you around town before. You new?" Bonnie questioned while Caroline was making goo-goo at him.

"Bonnie, who cares? He's cute! Hi, Damon!"

Bonnie rolls her eyes while Damon silently chuckles.

"It seems she moved on from Tyler, huh?" Damon whispered to Elena.

She suppresses a laugh and turns to Bonnie and Caroline. "Damon lives by the edge of town with his family."

"Oh, that explains it. So, what brings you to the Summer Kickoff?"

"Eh, I ran away."

"What? Why?" Caroline questions with her brows furrowed. Damon looks uncomfortable and Elena shakes her head.

"Care, that's none of our business."

"Fine. Then how did you two meet in the last hour?"

"He punched Tyler Lockwood in the face for destroying my sandcastle."

Caroline's eyes widened as she looks from Elena to Damon. "Tyler is really mean. I can't believe I ever saw anything in him. It's a good thing Damon was there for you, huh, Elena?"

"Yeah, but if he wasn't, then I would've just punched Tyler myself, resulting in a broken hand. So, yes, I'm grateful."

"So, Damon, how old are you?" Caroline asks. "We three are all six."

"That would make me three years older than you lot because I'm nine."

Caroline pouts at this. "Oh, darn. I was hoping for a boyfriend at six, but my mom said that I shouldn't date old men."

Elena and Bonnie look horrified at Caroline's confession while Damon bursts out laughing. "Caroline! You're only six, you don't need a boyfriend."

"Well, I won't be six forever, and I want to be prepared for the future. I want to know what to expect. Tyler is what I don't want. Damon, however…"

Bonnie slaps her hand over Caroline's mouth before she could spill any more embarrassing tells about herself. "Okay, Care, it's time to go. Say goodbye to Damon."

Caroline gives a little wave and gives a muffled, "Goodbye, Damon!" Damon gives a little wave back as Bonnie drags Caroline back to her mom.

Elena looks at Damon apologetically. "Sorry about that. She's a little...much sometimes. We've grown to tolerate her, but...you know."

"Honestly, I found it entertaining. You've got good friends, Elena."

Elena smiles, "Yeah, I do. Come on, I wanna introduce you to my parents. They'll love you for punching Tyler. Just don't tell my brother, he's friends with him." Elena drags him away once again.