(AN: Here's Chapter 1. I hope you enjoy. One thing though, I lied. Not in first person POV, but in Third. It read better that way. Tell me what you think!)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with the Vampire Diaries, or "Enough for Now" by The Fray.

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Enough for Now

Chapter 1 – Growing Up

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Elena Gilbert was a carefree, wild child. She was also a social butterfly, making two best friends on the first day of Kindergarten. Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes. Caroline was the self-centered one, Bonnie the caring one, and Elena was stuck in the middle between both behaviors. They grew up as close as sisters, their parents being friends as well. Their early childhood had no hardships in it. Their only worries consisted of boys pulling their pigtails, and protecting Elena's loner little brother. Jeremy was the polar opposite of his older sister, not to mention they looked nothing alike. While Elena had dark brown hair, chocolate eyes, and olive skin, Jeremy had light brown hair, greenish-brown eyes, and pale skin. She was fiercely protective of him though, and in turn so were her two best friends. For Jeremy it was like growing up with three older sisters. He complained about it a lot, but secretly loved the attention.

Elena's life was peaches and cream up until her ninth year in the world. Her beautiful and vibrant mother had cancer of all things. Cancer. Her young mind had struggled to understand it. The fight with the disease was long and hard, but in the end Miranda Gilbert had died, leaving two young children and a loving husband behind. Jeremy was only six at the time and couldn't understand. Where's Mommy, he would repeat and his father would just sob in response. Elena had been a smart child and had pieced together the puzzle, having watched too much television while barely supervised at Caroline's house. Her mother was dead. Gone. Forever. Never to return. She was the one to gently break the news to Jeremy, and as she held him as he cried, never once joining in trying to be strong, her father watched with rapt attention and new found appreciation for his oldest child.

She was his saving grace in the years to come. Hell, she basically raised Jeremy herself. Not that he didn't try to be there for his children as much as he could. It was just hard to see Miranda in his children, hard to move on with that constant reminder of what should have been. Elena was easier to see, having looked nothing like either of her parents, but she was still hard to be around. She acted so much like Miranda that it was uncanny. Her wild child streak faded as she was forced to mature too quickly, only coming out when she was around Caroline or her Aunt Jenna. Her aunt Jenna had been a huge help too. Usually too partied out, and too far away to be around her family, Jenna Sommers came back to small town Mystic Falls when she heard of her sister's death. Too much of a kid herself, she didn't do much besides be a friend and a shoulder to cry on to the three grieving Gilberts. Though, eventually Jenna had to leave town to live her life, completely sure that Mystic Falls was not the place for her to do that.

The sting of growing up without a mother didn't hit Elena fully until High School. Stress, dances, boys, and drama were awfully hard to deal with without her mother there to buffer the pain. Not to mention, it was hard to learn the art of make up and hair without a mother. Caroline and Bonnie helped in those departments, but Elena learned she just didn't have the knack for those two trivial skills. One thing she did have a knack for was writing, though. She had always loved listening to her mother read to her, and even loved watching the older woman write. Something so elegant about her graceful hand gliding against a piece of paper lightly. Writing and her best friends are what got her through her first year of high school.

Then things began to change. She saw how guys looked at her, and she loved the attention. She knew she was beautiful. She would have had to be blind to not see. She dated around with a few guys, until she found the one guy she was sure would make her completely happy. Matt Donovan, her best guy friend since diapers. She started seeing him in a new light, and was more than happy when he asked her out one day. As she was straightening her hair that night she realized something. She was happy.

Things for Jeremy were not so great. He was an introverted person, and while people always gave him the benefit of the doubt because who his sister was, he hated that. He didn't want special treatment; he just wanted someone to want to break down his walls because they wanted to, not because they wanted to be in his sister's good graces. And don't ever get him started on guys wanting to use him to worm their way into her pants. By time he was in eight grade, and she was a junior in high school he resented her for it. Deep down he knew he shouldn't, because she was always there for him, but he just couldn't help it. Eighth grade year is the year he started to turn to drugs to fill the void his mother's death, and father's avoidance left in him.

Elena, Matt, Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler Lockwood ruled the school; there was no denying that fact. Matt was Quarterback for the football team, and Tyler was also on the team. While Caroline was cheerleading captain, with Bonnie and Elena also on the squad. The five were a close group, hardly being separate from each other. Then, things began to change for the worse. Senior year, Bonnie started avoiding Elena, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler. It hurt both girls deeply, because for some reason they both got along better with Bonnie then they did with each other. True, all three were best friends, but Bonnie was both Caroline's and Elena's best friend. The four abandoned members of the group tried to get through to her, but with no success. Then one day, harsh words were exclaimed and there was no going back.

"Leave me alone!"

"Bonnie, we're worried about you. We care about – "

"No, you don't Elena! All Elena cares about is Elena! It's a known fact. I wonder how your precious mother would react to knowing you are such a selfish bitch!"

"Bonnie! That was not necessary!"

"Oh, shut up, Caroline! You're just as bad. And what's worst? Your mother may still be alive, but she hates you!"

Bonnie's cruel words would seem to echo in silence and Elena and Caroline gave up hope in ever getting their friend back. Something had happened to her, and while at first they felt as if it was their duty as her best friends to help here, there is really only so much someone can take. Eyes would be avoided in passing, and Bonnie's name was forbid in conversation. Elena and Caroline went on with their lives, just without an important part of it. Matt, Elena, Caroline, and Tyler became the fantastic four. Matt and Elena being the power couple, and Tyler and Caroline in the transitioning stages between friends and more. Right before something extraordinary between the snarky two could happen, Tyler seemed to have the same dose of weirdness Bonnie had. He started getting angry easy, avoiding his three friends, and acting shifty in general. He was only seen by himself, until he started hanging with Bonnie again. Matt tried to talk to him after that, but Tyler just blew him off. Oh how the mighty had fallen. They went from an inseparable five, to two different groups all together.

Bonnie and Tyler pulling away seemed to push Elena and Caroline together. They had always been close, but in their need to feel needed they turned to each other. Elena had always over looked Caroline as a best friend, in a way. The blonde had too big a mouth to be her confidant. She was too flaky to be her partner in crime. The only thing Caroline seemed to be good for was a good time, but after Bonnie's departure from them Elena began to see her in a new light. She hadn't been fair to the girl. She started appreciating Caroline more for actually being there. Some found their new bond weird, but the two girls thought nothing of it.

It seemed to be a time for weird friendships. Even though Tyler pulled away from his best friend for some unknown reason, he had no qualms with turning to Jeremy Gilbert for friendship. Jeremy who had been trying to sneak around with a dark headed girl named Anna. Trying, but not succeeding. A big sister knows all, even when her younger brother does despise her. Elena still remembers the first time she met Anna:

Elena was walking from the public library with a new book in her hands and a smile on her face, when a streak of black caught her eye. It was a tiny, yet pretty girl that she had saw Jeremy making eyes at. She was sure they were sneaking around, so she decided to approach the girl, who was pacing in front of a park bench. Elena didn't want to interrupt her train of thought, so she stood next to the bench with her head tilted, and a frown like scowl on her face, wondering why Jeremy disliked her so much.

The girl seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts, and turned to face Elena with wide, startled eyes. "Kather-" she started, but then seemed to realize something and stopped. "Yes?" She questioned, instead of saying whatever she way going to say.

"Hey," Elena greeted warmly. "I've noticed you're new here and I wanted to introduce myself," she lied, just wanting to know the girl so maybe she could get an in to Jeremy's life.

The girl smirked. "You mean you noticed Jeremy and I had something going on and you wanted to snoop," she corrected, with a hint of a warning to her voice. Elena just ignored that.

"Am I that obvious?" The taller brunette shot back sheepishly. The other girl just shrugged. "I just want to…" and she trailed off.

"Know Jeremy?" Anna suggested, not able to help the small smile that came to her face.

"Is that so bad?" Elena cried, the frustration at being kept at arms length by her little brother showing in her voice.

"Not at all, he's a great kid to know. And from what I've heard that's due to you," she pointed out, and then stuck out her hand. "I'm Anna."

"I'm Elena." And both girls smiled, in a way bonding over their different love for Jeremy.

They were friends in a way, Elena and Anna. Anna seemed weary of Elena for an unknown reason, while Elena was jealous of Anna for actually getting to interact with her brother. And Jeremy had no idea the two girls knew each other. He was best not knowing. But with Anna, Elena got to know Jeremy in a way. And Anna found Elena interesting for numerous reasons.

The following months passed in a blur, and then it was time for graduation. An event Mr. Gilbert actually came home for, using business far too often as an excuse to escape the pain his children brought him. Bonnie accepted her diploma first, then Matt, Caroline, Elena, and finally Tyler, with the rest of their class sprinkled in between. After the ceremony, Elena's father left, giving her a brief congratulations. Then teenagers were off to the Grill to party together.

The night was a blur to Elena and Caroline, due to the fact that they got their hands on some alcohol. All Elena remembered is making out with Matt, and yelling at Jeremy about the way he treated her. The way he hated her. Some of her words must have struck a chord, because he avoided her like the plague that summer. Before she knew it she was leaving the state with Caroline and Matt for college. In the years to follow, she would return home on vacations and when she could, but the relationship between brother and sister was permanently changed.

They had unknowingly hurt each other too much to repair the damage, as was shown the Thanksgiving before she turned twenty. They were civil towards each other, until Jeremy found out Elena and Matt were engaged and had no desire to ever move back to the small town. Jeremy blamed her for everything. Even things that she had no control over. Their mother's death, their father's absence, Global Warming, just everything. And never being one to take something like that sitting down, Elena fired back equally harsh words. And then she left, with the aspiration to never return again.

Then she received the phone call. The phone call that changed her life forever. Her father had died. He had died! Sure, she never really liked the guy. He was never home, forced her to raise her brother, and acted like father of the year when he was home. Thinking back, Elena found him a very selfish man, but he was still her father. And she would forever love him. Caroline, Elena, and Matt all came back home to Elena's childhood home. There they found Jeremy, Anna, Bonnie, and Tyler already there. Jeremy barely spared Elena a glance, and when he did it was in glare form.

Elena was lost. She didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure what her next move would be, and that was a new feeling for her. How did one go about and plan a funeral? What would her dad want? Thankfully neighbors and family friends stepped in and helped until her Aunt Jenna could arrive back into town. Caroline's mother was especially a big help. The funeral the next event to forever change Elena's life.

Random faces coming and going only added to Elena's growing headache. Why did she have to put up with these people? They didn't know her dad like she did. They didn't know what she was going through. They had no ideal. The only person who did know was Jeremy, and he wasn't talking to her. Not that she could form any coherent thoughts beyond, "He's dead". Caroline and Matt were helping though. Or at least trying to help. All she really wanted was to be alone. Was that too much to ask for?

She found herself in one of the sitting areas in the funeral room with Caroline, Matt, Jeremy, Anna, Bonnie, and Tyler. She hadn't been in a room with that combination of people in a long while. She found herself not caring though. Who could she care about anything? She had just lost her only parent left. What was there to care about? Everything else seemed to lose some of its value. Caroline's mindless babble, her engagement ring, and Jeremy's glares, all of which were extremely important before, meant nothing now. It all meant nothing.

She was staring into nothing when Caroline's voice broke through her haze.

"Well don't you two look all snugly," she commented in a bright voice, referring to Bonnie and Tyler who were basically on top of each other. Elena couldn't help but smile at her best friend, and then instantly felt bad. She wasn't supposed to smile yet, and apparently someone else thought so too.

Jeremy scoffed when he saw his sister smile. Smile, of all things. "You would smile. You probably don't even care, do you?" He challenged.

"Jer," Elena protested in a small voice. A voice that had been known to bring the strongest of men to their knees, but Jeremy was hurting and she was an easy target to let his pain out on. She always had been, because she loved him to a fault.

"I mean you couldn't wait to get out of here when you turned eighteen, and the only reason your back now is because Dad's dead. You don't really care though. You like to pretend you do, with your sweet smile and innocent eyes, but you're a lot colder than people like to believe. You didn't care about dad and you don't care about me. Stop pretending, it's getting old. Because honestly? You aren't even part of this family anymore." He bit out harshly, and then everybody was quiet. Waiting for the fierce Elena Gilbert to fight back with equally harsh words, and the fiery personality that had always made her undeniable. But she didn't have any fight left in her. Nothing.

"I'm sorry, Jer," she whispered pitifully, her crying brown eyes focused on her shoes. "For everything I've fail to do. For the person I've failed to be. I'm just so sorry," she said, and then shot up from her seat in tears, and ran off. No one daring to follow, but one thing did comfort her. When she heard harsh words flowing from Caroline, reprimanding Jeremy for being a "class an ungrateful douche bag", in Caroline's words.

She couldn't stay after that. Couldn't deal with more pitying looks, because she knew plenty of people had heard her brother's words. Words that were on repeat in her head. Was she that bad of a person? Did Jeremy hate her that much? Was his hatred deserved? She meant her words. She was so sorry. For everything.

A knock on her bedroom door, and then the sound of it opening, alerted her that she was no longer alone in her childhood room. When she looked up she saw who the intruder was. Sherriff Forbes, Caroline's mother.

"We've been looking for you, Sweetheart. Everyone's worried out of their minds," she told her gently, griping the envelope tighter in her hands. She didn't want to give it to her. It wasn't right to give it to her.

"Not Jeremy," she shot out in a bitter voice. She felt the bed dip down when the older woman joined her on it. She also felt the warmth of an arm being slung over her shoulder. She assumed in, what was supposed to be, a comforting manner. She didn't know and didn't care.

"Honey, he's just hurt and…" she grasped for reasons the youngest Gilbert would act as he did, but Elena interrupted her.

"What are you doing here?" She cut in. "The truth," she elaborated, knowing the Sherriff didn't come to check on her.

"Your father gave this to me years ago. He was worried something might happen to him, and he wanted to give you some truth if something did. So he told me to read this and then give this to you," the older blonde told the younger brunette, handing her the envelope that had previously been in her hands. "But before you read it I want you to know, that I do not agree with his request, and if you don't want to go through with it I will completely understand. I won't judge you, Elena." And with that she got up to give the girl some privacy.

Elena promptly torn into the envelope, curiosity taking over her every move.

Elena,

I know I haven't been the best father, but if you're reading this then I'm gone, and I know it's cliché to leave you a letter but there are so many things that I haven't told you. Some things I can't even tell you in this letter. The main thing is that, and I don't know how to say this, but everything you've ever thought about the world is wrong. There's this town council I'm a part of and it's meant to protect this town from evil. From Vampires. No Sweetheart, this isn't a joke. Members of the founding families are a part of it, and I want you to take over my spot. I've watched you throughout the years, Elena. You're strong. Stronger than Jeremy. You can handle this, and you can make a difference. You might even be able to unravel some of the mysteries concerning you. Remember one thing; I do love you. You are the best daughter I could ever wish for. And remind Jeremy that I love him to. You two are all you have, so stick together.

I love you,

Daddy

She had to wipe her eyes as she finished reading the letter. She could go confront Sherriff Forbes and see if her father's words were the truth, but she knew they were. A she knew her decision. According to Jeremy she had been a horrible person. She was no longer a Gilbert to him. Well, she would earn that right back. She would fulfill her father's wishes, and be the person she was meant to be. It was a no brainer to her.

If only she knew where that decision might lead her in the future.

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(AN: Still short, but longer than last time. Sorry if it was boring, but it's background crap. The next chapter should introduce one of the Salvatore's, if not both, and it should get more interesting. But I wanted to set the background for some of the main friendships/relationships. This is going to be HEAVY Caroline/Elena friendship, 'cause I love them together. This is also VERY AU if you haven't figured that out yet. Now I wanted to say thank you to the five who put this on Story Alert, and the two who favorite, but wanted to asked you guys a favor. Could you review? I haven't got one review yet, and that doesn't bother me much, because the last chapter was just the prologue and I know people read, but reviews would be much appreciated. Just tell me if you like it, hate it, and why. Plus they give me inspiration to write more. Also, tell me if you want to see something happen in this story and I'll see what I can do! Until next time…)