AN: I can't tell if you liked the prologue or not since I haven't gotten reviews on it. I'm publishing the first chapter hoping that you guys will review so I can know if you like the story or not. I plan on finishing it anyway and I really want to hear your thoughts about it. I want to thank my amazing beta Britt for helping me out. You rock! Anyway, enjoy the chapter and review.

This used to be a Funhouse

But now it's full of evil clowns

It's time to start the countdown

I'm gonna burn it down, down, down

I'm gonna burn it down

"I think that everyone gets a chance to be remarkable. It's all about believing in yourself and the moment, to trust that you can do something and then you really can. That's how it works with college too. I never thought I'd actually graduate with straights A's. Who am I fooling? I never thought I'd graduate at all," Elena Gilbert chuckled and took a big breath, "but it's been my dream to be a writer ever since I was a little girl and I've worked hard to get here." Her hands were shaking as she gripped the podium. "Columbia!," she scoffed, "Who would've thought? This is a college for the rich and I'm not one of them. When I found my acceptance letter in the mailbox, I started to laugh out loud and think it was a mistake or there was another Elena Gilbert somewhere and the letter was for her. The four years spent here were more than enough to turn some of us into great writers. I can't speak for myself but I can say that some of my classmates were born with a talent for writing and Columbia only pushed them harder and gave them the courage to actually write on their own. I want to thank all of our professors. You've all been great examples for us to follow and one day I hope to be as talented as you are. Mr. Fitz, thank you for being a brilliant Dean and for sharing all your secrets with us. I'm sure you are a very important person not only in my heart, but in everyone's heart. Ultimately, I want to thank of all my classmates for being supportive throughout the years. I wish you only the best. Thank you!"

After she finally got through her speech, a single tear rolled on her cheek, while a light smile on graced her lips.

A few minutes later, Elena was surrounded by her now former professors and classmates and they all chatted about what they were going to do from there. She had no idea what she would do, so she just listened to the others talking excitedly about the novels they were writing, how they would be famous and they would remember their professors and mentors when they finally published a book. Elena just listened and smiled from time to time.

"Elena," Mr. Fitz approached her and put an arm around her shoulders, walking with her on a path through the yard, "Congratulations about your awards. I always knew you were the best one out there. You made me proud, kiddo," he smiled warmly and hugged his former student.

"Thank you, sir. It's an honor. I never thought I'll end up here, between all these great teachers and especially not with you," Elena declared in a voice that implied her respect and admiration for the old man standing in front of her.

"Oh, Elena, you know I've always considered you like my daughter," the man confessed. She knew that he had lost his daughter. It had been all over the Internet, just like when she had lost her parents. They were bound by a common pain; the pain of losing someone close to you; the pain of losing someone you wished would be forever by your side.

"I know that and I'll always carry you in my heart," Elena let herself shed some tears before she hugged Mr. Fitz again and turned around to see her aunt and her brother coming towards her. "Excuse me, Mr. Fitz," she said and walked over to her family.

"Oh God, Elena, I can happily die now that I saw you graduate college as valedictorian. I'm so proud of you!" Jenna exclaimed happy and pulled Elena into a tight hug before she could notice the look on her niece's face. She knew how much she hated for her to talk like that. Why would she even say she could die now? That made Elena feel a heavy node in her throat and a burning desire to burst out crying and not stop until her tears were flat out.

"Thanks, Jenna. I wouldn't have made it without you," she broke away from the hug and looked over to her brother, who was clearly interested in looking at the girls walking around them. She stepped closer to him and playfully slapped him over the head. "Hey! Don't even try something. They're my age and you're not my age," Elena shrugged apologetically.

"You're such a party pooper, Elena!" her brother complained and before she could say anything else, he raised an eyebrow and pulled her into a bear hug, leaving her almost breathless. "Congratulations, sis. You've made it through. Now you can enjoy the beauty of life," Jeremy jabbered and stroked Elena's back.

"Right. Good point well made. You're choking me," she managed to breathe out and escape from Jeremy's grasp. He never was attentive to anyone, not even to her and he was probably acting like this because Jenna gave him 10 dollars to make her happy and for him to refill his stash.

"Where are we celebrating?" Jenna hurried to ask in their walk to the car she'd parked in one of the free spots.

"Dylan is coming for me in a couple of hours," Elena shrugged indifferently, "but we can have dinner together tomorrow. Is that ok with you Jenna?" she asked, feeling a bit of remorse that she couldn't spend her evening with her aunt and brother. He would probably be locked up in his room anyways, with his earbuds in while drawing another one of his sketches.

"Of course it's okay. You go and have fun. You need that after all the hard work you've managed to do. And you've finally graduated. I'm still so confused about how fast the time went by. I remember only four years ago you were reading that letter from Columbia, freaking out about it and now, look at you, you're a real writer," Jenna motioned towards her niece and kissed her forehead, before wiping away a few tears that streamed from her hazy eyes.

"Well, I'm not a real writer. I won't be until I publish a novel. I have to work some more until that point. In the meantime, I have to find a job. I can't waste my time doing nothing and walking around with no money," she sighed and opened the car door, climbing in next to Jenna, who was really keen on driving herself.

"Elena, you know you can always ask me for money. Your parents left you and Jeremy enough to live decently and more than just that," Jenna started to tell that same story once again while pulling the car out of the parking lot but Elena just shook her head and ran a hand through her locks.

"It doesn't work like that and you know it. That money is for Jeremy, for college this fall. I can't take that away from him," Elena spoke, knowing that Jeremy won't hear her with his headphones in. She raised a hand to silence Jenna before she could even say anything else. "No, you know I'm right. Besides, I'm the grown up between the two of us. I have to work. I will work. It's not in my bones to walk around doing nothing and spending my parent's money on expensive clothes or shoes because I am spoiled. Those times are long gone," she shook her head at the memory of who she had been just a few years ago. A spoiled girl who cared about being popular and looking good, never understanding the others around her.

"Okay, I won't bring this up again," Jenna nodded, a sign that she understood Elena's reasons. Somewhere along the way, her niece changed from being that shallow girl to a responsible adult who was now ready to begin her own life, to work hard to achieve what she had always wanted; being a successful writer.

A few years ago, when Elena was just 17, Jenna had thought that this girl who she loved profoundly like she was her own, would never do something good with her life. She had thought that she would end up marrying a rich guy who would be able to satisfy all of her needs. After Elena witnessed her parents's death, she thought she would never get over the shock. She shuddered thinking about the first time she found Elena with an empty bottle of pills next to her bed and Elena unconsciously lying on the matress. Or the time she had ended up in hospital because she'd cut her veins and tried to bleed herself to death. When it happened again and again, Jenna decided it was time to do something or she would lose her too and she couldn't bear to lose someone else after losing her sister, so she took her to a shrink where she was put on meds for half a year.

Never once had she thought that she would recover and she would go on to college. And not just any college; it was freaking Columbia she graduated from as the valedictorian. And now her little girl wanted to start a life on her own, maybe get married soon and a few years later she would have her own little girl.

Twenty minutes later, Elena was in her room, tossing clothes from her closet across the room, annoyed that she couldn't find something perfect to wear. She had to look good tonight. It was the night of her graduation and she would see Dylan and some of her other friends. She wanted to look good. Damn, she would look good. After looking through all her clothes for another hour, she decided on a strapeless black dress which accentuated the perfect curves of her toned body. She hit the gym at least twice a week, on the days she had less classes and the result was pretty obvious when she looked in the mirror. Elena knew she was beautiful. Boys have always told her that, they've always tried to jump on her, even before college. But the fact remained that she had a boyfriend and she loved him.

It wasn't that kind of love she thought she'd felt for Tyler in highschool or for Matt until two years ago. It was a pure love, which brought up to the surface things she didn't think she had in her. The sex was good, of course, but her relationship with Dylan didn't revolve around just that. They were friends above all and they could talk to each other about anything. He understood her and knew how hard it must've been on her when she'd lost her parents. His mom died while giving birth and the guilt over her death never let him be as happy as he wanted to be.

Elena walked over to the mirror and tied her hair up in a bun, before she put on some makeup. Some foundation and a mascara would do the job. She didn't have to look like she just walked out of Photoshop to be beautiful. She loved simple. It had always been her thing. Scratch that; now it was her thing.

"Elena! Dylan's here," Jenna announced from downstaires, like she'd always done. She just had to do that every single time and it made Elena shake her head and chuckle about it.

"Coming!" she yelled back and slipped on her black heels. She probably looked like the Black Widow right now, but at least she was a hot Black Widow. After making sure she was completely ready for a fun night, Elena walked down the stairs to be welcomed by the familiar face of Dylan and a big smile on his face.

"Are you competing for Miss America?" he walked over to her and captured her lips, slowly pulling away a few moments later and smiled warmly at her, before grabbing her hand and heading towards the door.

"Bye Jenna," they both spoke but they never got an answer from her. She was probably in the kitchen, professionally failing at cooking but still trying because she was stubborn like that. Not that Elena knew how to cook. She was an even bigger disaster in a kitchen. She would probably set herself on fire while trying to ignite the gas burner. If catering didn't exist, they would probably starve to death.

"Was that meant to be a compliment?" Elena raised her eyebrows and looked over to Dylan, only to receive a roll of his beautiful green eyes. "Okay, okay," she sighed, knowing that it was in fact a compliment, but she only wanted to hear him say it again. She looked around and spotted his black Volvo parked right in front of her house. "Come on now, does this mean I have to drink alone?" Elena asked.

"No, I'll leave the car in the parking lot of the bar. I can't let my girlfriend celebrate on her own, now can I?" he shook his head and opened the door for her.

On their way to the Silver Moon Bar they talked about Elena's plans for the future. She told him about the novel she was writing but she didn't want to reveal anything else on that matter. She wasn't that confident in her talent to say it would be a success, which meant that she'd have to wait and see when she published it, if she would ever do that. She also told him about wanting to get a job and how she would love to work as a journalist at a paper or at a publishing company but not as a seller or anything else that didn't include doing what she loved to do.

Dylan pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot and locked it before grabbing Elena's hand and entering the bar they used to go to so often. She was welcomed with a group hug from her friends, all of them congratulating her and jokingly told her, the guest of honor, that drinks were on her now that she had a degree.

"Oh God, I've missed you so much. I haven't seen you in two days. I have a lot to tell you," Caroline squeaked and pulled Elena into a bear hug, leaving her breathless and looking over to her other best friend just to see her shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders.

"I've missed you too," Elena shrugged out from the blonde's embrace and narrowed her eyes. "Hm, new chapter of Caroline's Adventures?" She pulled a tiny smile, inwardly rolling her eyes at her friend. She loved Caroline, she did. She was her best friend ever since she was 5 years old. She knew her like she knew herself, or even better, because for a while she had no idea who she was. But sometimes she was just too much to deal with. She talked too much, everyone could agree with that. And maybe they could stand it if she wouldn't talk mostly about herself or fashion or stupid random things.

"Just wait and see what she's got for you. You'll be amazed and shocked at the same time. That's the Caroline effect," Bonnie winked and sipped from a glass.

"Alex, tequila! Sit down," Caroline ordered and turned around on her stool to face Elena, taking a deep breath and began to tell her what happened in her life in the two days they haven't spoken to each other. "So, I met this guy. His name is Stefan Salvatore, he's smoking hot, his eyes are green, we have a lot of things in common. And he's filthy rich. His father is the one Giuseppe Salvatore, the owner of that massive Forbes 500 company. He's good in the sack and he's going to be here any minute," Caroline chattered like there was no tomorrow. Elena could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Hold on. Press pause," Elena raised a hand to stop her friend from talking while she swallowed her first shot of tequila and ate some salty lemon. "How do you know so much about him if you have just met him. Did you run an investigation on him?" she smirked and shook her head, astonished by Caroline's talent of saying so much in such a short time.

"She told me not but I'm not sure if I can trust her. You should've seen her yesterday. She was like a ticking bomb. One word and she was gonna explode and throw glitter all around," Bonnie deadpanned and sipped more from her cocktail.

"Shut up, Bonnie. That's not true. You'll see when he gets here," the blonde stucked her tongue out at her friend who was now rolling her eyes ironically.

"But how do you know he's good in the sack?" Elena narrowed her eyes, suddenly not wanting to hear the answer. When she wanted something, Caroline got that something, no matter what. And if she really had wanted to slept with that guy, then she must've slept with him.

"I've slept with him," Bonnie choked on her drink and her eyes went wide when her blonde friend spoke. "Oh, don't be judgy. It was worth it," Caroline rolled her eyes sarcastically. Between the three girls, Bonnie was the one who was still keeping a low profile. In highschool she was the kind of girl who dated a guy without sleeping with him now she was almost the same, but finally the sex would come now. Her friends thought that that would change as she got older but she hadn't changed at all. She was still the simple Bonnie who they loved and would love no matter what.

"Huh," it was the only word that escaped Elena's mouth. She didn't have to say anything else, it's not like she hasn't done it before. She had no right to judge her friend and this was a totally normal thing for Caroline.

All of a sudden, the blonde jumped from her stool and squeaked at the view of a tall brown-haired guy with green eyes, who was now walking towards her. "Hi baby!" she almost yelled and threw her arms around Stefan's neck and her lips captured his and allowed hers to feel every inch of his.

"Hi," Stefan whispered against her lips and turned around to look at the people watching them, his arm around Caroline's shoulders, pulling her to him. "Hi guys. I'm Stefan," he smiled and found a free stool next to Caroline's.

"Hi, I'm Elena. It's nice to meet you," she extended her hand and shook his, smiling at him. She had to admit, Caroline's tastes in men were a little bit too... perfect. "I've heard a lot about you," she added and flashed a smile to her friend.

"I hope only good things," Stefan chuckled and pecked Caroline on the lips before looking to the other girl next to Elena. "You must be Bonnie."

"That's me. Nice to meet you. Now, excuse me but I must go," she announced and got up from the stool, taking her purse and stopping in front of the girls. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm so tired, I'm sorry I cannot stay longer," she excused herself again and after the girls nodded she left.

"What's up with her?" Caroline looked at Elena and furrowed her eyebrows, waiting for an answer about what was wrong with her friend.

"I have no idea. She may just be tired," Elena shrugged her shoulders and her gaze wandered to Stefan. "Stefan, this is my boyfriend Dylan," she looked behind her at the man who had his hands on her hip, squeezing gently at it.

"Hi. Good to know I'm not the only guy in the group anymore," Dylan shook Stefan's hand and turned to the bartender. "Alex, two Blue Moons, please".

"Seems so," Stefan nodded slightly and accepted the beer from Dylan.

"So, where did the two of you meet?" Elena questioned the new couple while sipping from her new drink. She was pretty sure it was because of one of Caroline's tricks but she couldn't tell anything until she'd hear each version of the first meeting.

"Well, I had this huge problem. I had to go to a party and my designer was out of town. I heard about this girl who was an incredible designer and I thought I'd give it a shot. So I showed up at Caroline's office and told her my name and practically forced her to give me a good suit. But she didn't want to," Stefan began the story.

"Because I wanted to have fun and you were able to give me that," Caroline rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Whatever. I asked why and she told me she will do it only if she could be my date at the party. I told her that's impossible and she said that nothing's impossible as long as you want something bad enough. I liked her confidence. She insisted on it even though I said no but if I didn't go her way, she wouldn't have given me a good suit and I wasn't in the place to bargain. Pretty much that's it," Stefan concluded.

"And we did have fun. Wouldn't you have regretted if you didn't take me to that party? It would've been a waste of a sex night," she giggled and winked at him playfully.

"God, Caroline, you're so forwarded," Stefan complained about her talking about their sex life. Well, what they had couldn't be a real sex life, right? They were together for two days and they only had sex once. Or more than once?

"Oh, please. They both know I'm a perverted little thing," Caroline pointed to both Elena and her boyfriend.

Of course Elena knew how the wheels in her friend's head spinned. She was very smart but when it came down to guys, it was like her brain had been chopped in tiny little pieces and she could only think with her body and very little with her heart because if she cared about the guy she had sex with. But as she could see, Caroline genuinely liked Stefan and cared about him and he obviously seemed to be a very nice person who wouldn't hurt her. They looked good together. She was sure they would make a great couple.

A few hours later, Caroline and Stefan took off, leaving her and Dylan alone. Moments later after they left, Dylan told her he had to go home because his best friend was coming into town tonight. She insisted on staying there at the bar for a little bit more and even when he'd tried to convince her to go home, she told him it was fine and she'll stay for a few more drinks and relaxation time. He didn't leave too long after she told him she wanted to stay. No one could deal with her stubborness and actually, no one who knew her tried to.

"Well, hello, pretty thing," a drunk man approached her and rested his arm on the counter next to her. The smell of alcohol invaded her nostrils and she wanted to tell him to step aside but she didn't need trouble so she just focused her attention on everyone else inside the bar and not on the suspicious guy next to her. After a moment, he spoke again. "I've seen you around multiple times but you were never alone. Now you are."

His words made her shiver and she wondered what this guy wanted from her. Clearly, it couldn't be something good. Trying to avoid him, she took her purse and started to walk to the bathroom. Once inside, she breathed out, looking in the mirror and splashing her face with some water, only to notice he had snuck up after her.

"You shouldn't run away," the guy stepped closer to her and with a sudden movement, he pinned her to the wall.

"Get off me!" Elena yelled and tried to shrug off his grasp but his arms were clenched tightly against hers and it was impossible for her to escape. "Leave me alone! Please!" she started to scream but it seemed like he didn't care about that. With the loud music out there, she was pretty sure no one would hear her. Suddenly, she regretted she didn't leave with Dylan.

"But we could have such a nice time together," the man spoke and his smirk was not only gross, it made Elena want to rip his head off.

"I said let me go. I don't want you to touch me!" she hissed and kicked him with her leg but it seemed like he didn't even feel her kick or if he did, he tried to hold his ground.

"But I want to touch you and I will. I will touch every single part of you," he started to press wet kisses on her neck and she started crying, desperately looking for help.

The sound of a door closing made Elena's eyes snap up and look around. Maybe there was a person around who could help her get rid of this guy. She was sure that if she didn't think of something quick, she would end up being raped.

"I think the lady said to back off," a voice like velvet came from behind the man and he stopped kissing her to turn around and see who had spoken but he didn't let her go. She saw a tall man standing behind the drunk guy. His hair was dark and all his clothes were black, the only stain of colour on him were his bright blue eyes.

"And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" the drunk man asked, spitting out the words grossly.

"I suggest you to back off. Now!" the other man warned him, raising an eyebrow at him, almost enticing him to find out what would happen if he didn't step away from her. When the drunk guy didn't move, the stranger pulled him off Elena and with little effort, slammed him against the opposite wall. Knowing he had no chance with him, the drunk ran out of the bathroom, leaving a crying Elena behind him.

This guy was her saviour. If it hadn't been for him, she would have ended up on the bathroom floor with her dressed torn up and with the drunk guy looming above her.

"Are you okay?" the soft voice of her saviour echoed in her ears, though she was sure he had only asked once. She was in shock.

Without thinking, she ran into the guy's arms and clenched her hands on his leather jacket. "T-thank you," she managed to choke out while her tears wet her face and her mascara stretched down her cheeks.