AN: Three days, holy! I thought I'd let you in a few chapters, considering the fact that in a week and a half school starts and I'll not upload so often. But don't you worry, I'll make sure it doesn't take a month for me to post a chapter. If I start a story, I upload it relatively fast. So, it's time to thank my beta for helping me go through the chapters. She's the one who looks for grammar or spelling mistakes and makes sure everything's fine. Big thanks to her. Enjoy the chapter! And review :)

Picture, you're the queen of everything

As far as the eye can see

Under your command

I will be your guardian

When all is crumbling

To steady your hand

A second later, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, waking Jenna and probably the neighbors too. She put one hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from both screaming and giggling like an idiot.

"What happened?" Jenna burst into her room, her face panicked and almost paper pale. She looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. Elena looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry for waking you up but I got the job. I mean, it's not glamorous or anything but I get to do something based on my studies. I'll get to write some articles for a newspaper," she rambled, her eyes sparkling with joy. She probably looked like Caroline right now but she didn't care. She was getting what she wanted.

"Good lord, that's amazing! Congratulations, Elena," her aunt ran to her and hugged her tight. The color was back in her cheeks and she was grinning too. She seemed to be really happy about the news. "But that means…you're going to move out, right?", she asked, a shade of remorse in her voice.

Elena slightly nodded her head before speaking. "Yes. They asked me to start next week. And it gets better. They found an apartment for me. I won't have to run around Brooklyn stressing to find a place to live," she shrugged. She herself didn't know too much about the job. She found it online and when she applied she thought it was a joke but now she got the message, it was all true and it was awesome.

"That's good, actually. I'll help you get your things packed tomorrow, okay?" Jenna offered and a little yawn escaped her lips. "I'm gonna go sleep. Goodnight, angel," she kissed her niece's forehead and closed the door behind her.

Elena was still grinning like a fool as she climbed back into bed. Not that she could sleep. She was already imagining how her life would be from now on. She had just finished college a day ago and now she was hired as a junior journalist. That was more than even perfect. Her hard work and her good marks brought her here and she was now happy that she invested her time in college and not on parties, like most people did.

In the morning, she was up before sunrise. The dim light penetrated her room, setting it ablaze as the sun slowly rose in the sky. She sat on the windowsill and leaned her head against the wall, looking over at the view in front of the house. It was quiet. Everybody was probably still sleeping. Her mind drifted back to her thoughts before she fell asleep, still wondering what her life would be like from now on. She had to move tomorrow. She had to live alone for the first time in her life. She was beyond happy that she was about to start a new chapter of her life, one that would be her Prologue.

She sat there for a while, watching the sun rise and recapitulating the schedule for the day. Right now she would start packing her stuff, then she would go out to buy some new clothes and tonight she would go out with Stefan, Caroline, Dylan and Stefan's mysterious brother.

Elena got up and lazily opened the door of her room. She snuck out and closed it behind her. She carefully walked to her brother's door and opened it, peeking through the opening. He was awake, which was a surprise. Of course, he was cracking some pills. It wasn't the first time she saw him doing something like that but she couldn't bite her tongue anymore.

"Jeremy!" she closed the door after she stepped inside his room and swiped the powder from his desk.

"Wh - Elena! What the hell are you doing?" he snapped and looked up at her, his eyes wide with anger.

"Enough, Jeremy! It's not the first time I've see you doing stuff like that. I'm getting tired of you walking around stoned like your life is shit. Stop doing this!" she lectured her brother and she could notice a tad of regret on his face.

She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, grasping his hand and squeezing it gently. "You don't understand. You have no idea what these things can do to you," she explained, trying to make him understand that ruining his life won't change anything in their lives.

"Yeah, you should know better. How was it, Elena? How was it when you tried to kill yourself? With pills, the first time, right?" Jeremy snapped and withdrew his hand from Elena's grasp.

She remained frozen, wordless. Her little brother had to witness that. Her little 13 year old brother had to witness the drama she had caused. How she was taken to the hospital several times. Did he ever ask Jenna where was Elena for six months when she was in the hospital? Did Jenna tell him the truth?

"I-Jeremy," she breathed out, shaking her head confused. "I'm sorry. I know that all that I've done affected you too. You were so young, I should've thought before I did all that."

"Yes, Elena, you should've thought. But you didn't. You didn't care about what Jenna or I were feeling. You didn't care that we suffered too. It wasn't just you who lost your parents. I lost them too. Jenna lost her sister too. But we never tried to commit suicide," Jeremy talked in a harsh tone. He was right by telling her that. She was guilty for what happened with their family, she knew it. At least Jeremy could be completely honest with her.

"I know I've done a lot of things wrong, I can't change that. But you don't have to follow in my footsteps. You have to be different, otherwise you'll hate yourself just like I hate myself sometimes and I don't want that for you. So, quit taking drugs. It's not gonna end up good for you," Elena's eyes were filled with sorrow as she spoke.

"At least I haven't buried my head in the sand and pretended nothing happened for four years," Jeremy's voice faded and he arched an eyebrow, suggesting to Elena that she knew what he's talking about.

"Looks like you'll never get over what I did," Elena spoke but it sounded like a whisper.

"I have nothing to get over, Elena. I was just reminding you how you weren't a saint and how you don't get to lecture me. Anyway, did you want to tell me something or were you just sneaking in to see me get high?" Jeremy asked as he began to sharpen a pencil, sign that he was already bored of talking.

"I'm leaving," Elena simply said.

"What does that mean?" Jeremy's attention piqued and he put the pencil on the desk.

"I mean I'm moving out. I've found a job. It's on the other side of town." she shrugged. There wasn't much to say. She just wanted to explain the situation to him.

"So you have to move out? You can buy yourself a car or take the bus," her brother proposed like they were talking about what kind of cereal to eat in the morning.

"I don't have the money for a car. And me moving out will be a good thing for all of us. I'll be able to finish my book and start on a new life and you'll go to college, you'll need more space for yourself." Elena's gaze wandered up to his face and she smiled lightly. "It'll be fine. You could come and stay there sometimes."

"Yeah, I get it. Your life, your choices. When are you moving out?" Jeremy asked but his tone said that he didn't care. He was just asking so he could hide the fact that he was about to tell her to get out of his room and not only from there, but get out of the house too so he wouldn't have to see her.

"Tomorrow. I'm going to go pack my things now," Elena said and with that she turned around and walked back into her room.

She pulled out two big suitcases from under the bed and opened them. She wanted to pack her things as fast as she could. Suddenly, she wanted to be out of that house as soon as possible. She wanted to have her mind filled with something else and not think about the earlier discussion or about her parents' death anniversary. No, for once, she didn't want to think about it all. For once, she wanted to think about her and her new life.

Elena lazily walked to the closet and pulled both doors open, looking up and down, deciding where to start. Impatiently, she grabbed a handful of clothes and threw them into the suitcase. She would have enough time to arrange them once she moved. Right now, she wasn't in the mood to fold clothes.

An hour later, she was still packing things from her room. She burst into the bathroom and picked up all her cosmetics and shower products and tossed them into the suitcase. When the suitcases were too full, she struggled to get them closed up by sitting on each of them so she could pull the zipper.

The room was now empty, except for the photos scattered around the room and her old posters. She moved around the room, picking up all her framed photos. Those she was going to keep. Elena's head snapped up when she remembered about the photo album in her desk's pigeonhole. She opened it and pulled the dusty album out, brushing the dust off it.

She opened it and sighed seeing the photos. There were memories of her and her parents even before Jeremy was born. In one of the pictures she was sitting between her parents, a big grin on her face, while their lips were sealing a kiss. Another one was picturing her and her mother laying in the grass, her mother looking at her daughter and the little girl looking up at the sky, her index finger pointing up to something in the bright blue sky.

After a moment she closed the album. She couldn't do that to herself anymore. If she was going to torture herself with their memories every single day, she wasn't going to change anything. She would just fill her body and soul with so much hatred towards her old self, which would finally reverberate on her new self. Her past should be the past, not the present as she let it be. Until now.

She had no idea how the day had gone by but she found herself pacing through a shop in the mall, looking for some casual dresses and skirts. If she was going to work at a newspaper she should have appropriate clothes for the job. Along with the clothes, she had bought a new perfume and a lot of other things that would help her get comfortable at the office.

With the bags in her hands, Elena walked past a salon. She smiled and stepped inside, intending to get a new look. The result was amazing, she was glad she decided to do it. Her brown locks weren't there anymore; she had her hair straightened like she often used to wear it. But her long hair disappeared. It was now falling like a cascade just below her shoulders.

Caroline would probably kill her when she'd saw her. That girl was obsessed with long hair. She always said that women have to wear their hair long. What was the beauty of being a woman if you didn't highlight every aspect of it? Elena shook her head at the thought and seeing as it was already pretty late, she headed home so she could get ready for going out.

Just when she was about to call Dylan to tell him to get ready, she received a message from him saying that he couldn't make it, that she should go out though, have fun with her friends. And he couldn't even bother to call? She started to wonder what was really going on with him. What was he up to? The way he was acting lately, it was very odd.

Trying to take her mind off of Dylan and his issues, she pulled out the grey and navy dress she bought and decided to wear it that night. She wasn't going to ditch her friends just because her boyfriend couldn't make it. As if nothing happened, she pulled on a smile, a genuine one, and walked to the mirror to attach the strap to the dress. Ultimately, she wore some foundation and some mascara, just enough to make her look beautiful. Simple but beautiful.

By the time Caroline showed up she was ready to go. Jenna was probably staying late at work and she wouldn't get a chance to talk to her tonight. Elena left the house and climbed into the taxi.

"What have you done to your hair?" Caroline reacted as soon as Elena climbed in. She looked over to see Stefan sitting in the front seat, probably to make room for her.

"Hello, Stefan. It's nice seeing you again," Elena greeted him and smiled kindly at him, receiving an even bigger smile from him. He seemed to be a very nice person and Caroline needed that.

"Hello, Elena. So, where's your boyfriend? I thought you were going to come with him," Stefan asked, his glance wandering to Caroline who seemed to be annoyed because Elena was talking to Stefan instead of talking to her.

"Something came up. He said he's sorry," Elena shrugged, attentively suggesting that it's nothing too important. "God, stop kicking my foot. What?" she breathed out and looked over to Caroline who was throwing daggers at her.

"What the hell is that?" she pointed to Elena's hair with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hair?" Elena threw her a lopsided smile but she knew she won't get away with it so she talked, "I wanted a change and I got a haircut. And new clothes for work. That was what I wanted to tell you if you'd let me. I got the job. I'm moving out tomorrow."

Caroline's eyes opened wide and she looked like she was going to scream or strangle Elena at any moment. She could be so unreadable sometimes, even to her best friends who had known her their entire lives.

"And you tell me this now why?" Caroline snapped and Elena was sure that if they weren't in a cab where the space was limited, she would kick her right in the ass.

"When should I have told you?"

"You should've told me right after you found out," Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I found out last night. Excuse me for being too excited to call. Can you judge more?" Elena scoffed as she was fidgeting her thumbs in her lap.

"Whatever. Your hair - bad choice. You're a woman. Women should highlight every single beautiful thing they have, not cut it off," Caroline protested against Elena's choice before adding, "Anyway, you can't glue it back but I can try to get over it because I'm pretty sure I'll need all my anger for when I see Stefan's brother."

Elena shivered when they stopped in front of the Silver Moon bar. She hadn't told anyone what happened those few days ago there and nor will she ever. That was just between her and the two men who were there that night and she won't see any of them again, not even if she wanted to.

She tried not to give anything up so when they entered the bar she had a big smile on her face. She loved that place and she wouldn't stop going there because of a bad night. It wouldn't happen again, she was sure. They walked to the bar and sat on stools, ready to order.

"Baby, I'll be right back," Stefan whispered in Caroline's ear and she rolled her eyes annoyed.

"He's going after his stupid brother standing right there," she motioned to the pool table and shook her head.

"Give it a rest, Caroline. The man can't be that bad," Elena smiled and looked over to Stefan to see him playing pool with a tall, dark haired man. She stared at him for an extra moment because the guy looked familiar but she moved her attention back on Caroline who was pushing a drink towards her.

"It is that bad. Just wait a minute after you meet him and you're gonna want to run as fast as possible," the blonde sipped from her martini and raised her eyebrows to Elena, trying to convince her that she is right in what she was saying and no one can tell otherwise.

"Elena, this is my brother," Stefan came from behind her and pointed to the man standing with his back to them. He was talking to a girl and she was grinning like a fool.

"Hi, I'm Da-" Damon turned around and his eyes opened wide before a big grin filled up his face. "Elena, what an unexpected surprise to see you here," he added, his voice suggesting something only they knew.

Her face dropped when she saw him. He was the last man she would've thought as to be Stefan's brother. Damon was the man Caroline said was an asshole. He himself told her that night he only seemed nice because he's a stranger. A few minutes earlier she had thought about him when she remembered that night, thinking she won't see him again and now she was standing in front of him, confused.

A smile rose on her face as she talked. "Damon. It's really nice to see you again," she nodded her head. "I would have never thought you're Stefan's brother," she added.

"You two know each other? How?" Caroline's voice made both Damon's and Elena's smiles fall from their faces.

"It's a long story, Caroline. We just know each other," Elena shrugged. She wasn't going to start telling the exciting story from the night they met. It was enough for her to know they knew each other.

"But where did you-" Caroline tried to question but she was interrupted by Damon.

"But nothing, Blondie. Why don't you go back to sipping from your glass and leave us be, okay?" Damon smirked at her and she grimaced as she turned her back on him, starting to whisper something to Stefan, probably asking him if she knew anything about that.

Damon sat on the free stool next to Elena as she turned around to face him. "So, where's your boyfriend?" he asked before motioning to the barman to bring his drink. It was obvious now as the last time that he knew his preferences as he didn't even say a word to him. Alex placed Damon's whiskey on the bar and turned back to his job.

"He couldn't make it. He's busy." Elena grimaced and sipped from her martini.

"Looks like he's always too busy for his girlfriend," Damon said and swallowed a mouthful of whiskey before putting the glass back down on the counter.

"Excuse me?" Elena arched her eyebrow. She knew he was right for saying that, but he didn't have the right to judge her relationship.

"Elena, you know I'm right. He should've been there to save you, not a stranger. But, it's not my problem" Damon shrugged indifferently and narrowed his eyes for a moment. "You cut your hair. And straightened it."

"You're right. It's not," she nodded slightly before smiling. He noticed that change in her. "Yes, I did. How does it look?" Elena asked shyly. Somehow, his presence made her feel giddy but good and safe at the same time.

"It looks good," Damon nodded his head in agreement to his statement as his gazed wandered up and down her body. "When Caroline kept talking about this Elena who is gorgeous and amazing, I never thought it could be you," he admitted.

Elena blushed and smiled, before her reply came, "Well, I never thought you could be Stefan's brother, the asshole she didn't want to talk about. What is it with the two of you anyway? Why can't she stand you?" she asked, a narrow look on her face. She couldn't understand why Caroline didn't like him, he wasn't an ass, not at all.

Damon frowned and pouted his lips for a moment, looking like he was thinking about his answer. "I am though. Well, because she's an obnoxious blonde and I'm an asshole" he shrugged indifferently and finished his drink before turning to look at his brother.

"Hey Stef, watch out for herpes," he called out as he watched Stefan kissing Caroline like there was no tomorrow.

"Dick!" Caroline pulled away from the kiss and hissed at Damon. They didn't seem like two people who hated each other. In fact, they seemed like two people who teased each other like brother and sister. Elena watched the scene and frowned.

Stefan pointed a finger at his brother, warning him to shut up. Damon's smile fell and he rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything else. It seemed like the brothers had a really strong bond, they didn't need words to communicate and Elena found that very important between brothers. She never had that with her brother, even if it was the only thing she wanted from him since he was born. That was the reason why she had wanted a brother. To have someone who could understand her and who would talk to her without words.

"So, Damon, did dad talk to you about that new commercial he wants you to take care of?" Stefan changed the subject and as he sat on his stool, he let Caroline sit on his leg, her arm draped around his neck while she was staring blankly at Damon and Elena, who were standing one next to the other.

"He did. I told him I won't take it," Damon shrugged and shook his head. Stefan's eyes went wide.

"But, why wouldn't you take it? That would bring in a lot of money and not only for the company, but you too" his brother spoke confused, looking like he could only be convinced to accept Damon's decision only if he had a really good reason.

"Because I don't want to. What's there to explain? I'm sick of father trying to control me like I am his puppet. It's over, Stefan. I'm only doing what I want with my job and if he doesn't like it, he can find someone else," Damon snapped. From what Elena could tell, he wasn't very keen on his job and his relationship with his father wasn't so good.

"Fine. Your choice" Stefan didn't discuss his brother's choice but instead he captured Caroline's lips once more.

Elena smiled as she looked at them. They really seemed to be in love. Even if they only knew each other for a few days, they really seemed to be happy and in love. Caroline was the kind of girl who could easily fall in love with a guy if he was 'right' for her. Then she heard Damon groan and turned around to see him drinking another whiskey and grimacing as he watched his brother kissing his girlfriend.

"Those two are like leeches," Damon leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, so Caroline or his brother wouldn't hear.

She rolled her eyes and whispered back, "No, they're not. They're adorable. They look so good together," Elena admired the couple.

"I seriously thought you'd never come back here after that night," Damon narrowed his eyes as he said so.

"Well, it's not like I'm not going to go out from now on. And I really like this place. I won't stop coming here. In fact, no one knows about what happened. I'd like to keep it that way," she whispered the last part because she knew how well Caroline's ears functioned.

"Sure, my lips are sealed," he brushed his index finger over his lips, making Elena's eyes linger on him before she was brought back to reality by Caroline.

"Where did you say this new job was?" the blonde asked after she finally managed to stay off Stefan.

"Brooklyn," Elena said and smiled lightly. She was so excited to move out tomorrow. She would never tell Jenna, but the main reason why she wanted to move wasn't the fact that the job was far from home. Columbia was far from home and she still took the bus every single day. She just wanted to see her go back to med school and that wouldn't be possible with her around. It was time for the others to live their lives. It couldn't be all about her anymore.

"So you're really moving out" her friend said amazed. She probably couldn't believe that Elena would ever move out, start a life of her own after all that's happened with her. They all lived under the impression that she was incapable of doing something for herself and that made her feel useless but she would never tell.

"I am," Elena nodded her head excited. "You can come and help me tomorrow," she proposed.

"Of course I am. You didn't even have to ask me. I would've been there, waiting in your hallway," Caroline giggled in the way only she knew how.

"Of course she would've done that. The blonde loves to intrude no matter where she goes," Damon said sarcastically. He really enjoyed pissing Caroline off and Elena had never seen someone who could annoy the blonde so bad.

"At least I don't walk around doing whatever I want because I have daddy's money," she stuck her tongue out at Damon.

"Your mouth keeps moving and I don't know why," Damon pointed a finger towards his own mouth.

Elena and Stefan were just looking at the two of them, wordlessly. Damon and Caroline were the same. They both argued with everyone and they couldn't stand someone contradicting them. It was amazing how two people who were alike could pretend to hate each other to this extent. Elena wanted to facepalm herself just from looking at the two bickering.

Minutes later, Dylan walked in the bar and found them. Elena was caught up in what seemed to be an important discussion with Damon. Her boyfriend frowned at the sight of her talking to a stranger and walked over to the group.

"Hi everyone!" he greeted Caroline and Stefan who he already knew and his gaze wandered to his girlfriend.

Elena's head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice and she got up from the stool when she saw him walking towards her.

"Hey," she mumbled and smiled warmly. "I thought you couldn't make it."

"Hey," Dylan moved closer and caught her lips for a slight moment. "I made it eventually. I had something important to ask you," he said, making her frown. What could be that important so he would come here only to ask her?

She could feel Damon's eyes on the two of them and could tell he was rolling his eyes. It seemed like he didn't like people around them to be affectionate with their loved ones. Maybe he had a good reason why he had a problem with that. She noted to ask Caroline tomorrow.

"So you're the boyfriend," Damon mumbled while sipping nonchalantly from his drink.

"And who are you?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just a friend of Elena's," Damon replied and smirked when Dylan's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Relax, I said a friend," he repeated.

"And what did you want to ask me?" Elena distracted her boyfriend from Damon, her eyes narrowed, a wave of worry passing through her body. "Did something happen?"

Dylan bent down on one knee and pulled out a little velvet, black box, which he opened with shaky hands to reveal a diamond ring. She gasped in shock and her hand flew to her mouth, trying not to scream. She raised her head just for a second and it was enough to see the other faces around her. Caroline seemed to be thrilled, Stefan was smiling and Damon...Damon was deadpanned.

Dylan's eyes were sparkling with excitement and surprisingly, his voice didn't tremble when he asked, "Elena Gilbert, will you marry me?"

AN: Wow, did that happen? Yeah, it did. A lot of you will probably think: What does this even mean? For me, it means moving on, I don't know what you think. Review and let me know what did you think of this cliffhanger.