Title: Miles To Home

Summary: For Elena Gilbert life couldn't be more perfect. She has the perfect life, perfect boyfriend, and headed towards the perfect dream job. Everything is going, well, perfectly. There's just one catch… her twin sister Katherine. When Katherine disrupts Elena's perfect life, she runs away to New York. It was the perfect plan… until she has to return home and face everything she ran away from; including her ex-boyfriend Damon. Based off the amazing trailer of the same name by the extremely talented minds and video editing talents of ElePatro (noralsel) and Caro (_LightToMyDark).

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

A/N: This chapter got a bit of an update since somehow Chapter 3 was misplaced and accidentally Chapter 4 was repeated twice. So if you're rereading this it may seem a little bit (a lot) different. The main themes are there but obviously things are different because I had to rewrite the chapter. And on that note I've backed up all the other chapters so it won't happen again.

If you're reading for the first time… well… enjoy! You won't notice anything different so you can just enjoy it how it is instead of feeling like the revised version doesn't match up to the original which at 3:35 am as I'm writing this it feels like it doesn't. Hopefully you feel different… if so you can always review and let know ;)

"Say cheese!"

I roll my eyes, dropping my arms and grasping my cap. "That's so lame, Damon."

He shakes his head and sticks out his tongue before putting his phone out again and waiting for me to pose. I give him a little huff and make a big show of it before a real smile graces my face and I throw both my arms out—one high in the air holding my cap and the other out dramatically at my side still grasping my graduation gown—and drop my mouth open in a scream as my boyfriend snaps the photo.

Damon smiles as he looks at the screen. "That's background worthy."

I watch as he taps away on the phone and by the time I skip my way over to him, he's set it as his background for everyone to see. His girl—the graduate—and he's smiling down at the photo with his face full of so much pride I'm afraid he'll burst.

But it's me who should be proud of him. I reach up, using his shoulder for support and plant a kiss on his cheek. "We did it, Damon. Mystic Falls High School Graduates!"

His eyes turn on mine and I can feel the weight in his words before he's even spoken them. "I wouldn't have made it here without you."

"It was all you," I tell him, honestly. Because it was. HE put in the hard work and extra credit and managed to somehow get through this year with a pretty decent report card. Sure, I pushed him and helped him but it took Damon really dedicating himself to get here. "You just need someone to believe in you."

He slips his phone into his pocket and I take a moment to look at him draped in a tacky cardinal red graduation gown that he now has unzipped, his cap still on his head, and a black tie and dress shirt underneath. My boyfriend looks so grown up and ready to tackle the world no matter how unknown his future is. I'm a little jealous of his bravery—I'm not sure I could ever do something like that.

Damon wraps his arms around me and I flick the top of his cap before linking my hands behind his neck. "I love you, Elena Gilbert," he says, leaning forward to kiss me.

"I love you, too, Damon Salvatore," I whisper back before I melt into his kiss.

At least I tried until my best friend interrupted us. "Get a room!"

We slowly pull apart and Damon smirks at Caroline. "In three short months we'll have a whole apartment."

Caroline frowns. "Do we have to talk about 'Lena leaving me already? I'm not sure I can handle it."

I frown and race over to her, hugging her fiercely. "I'm not leaving yet. This is going to be the most amazing summer ever!"

"Hell yes we are!" she cheers, shaking us from side to side. "Best one ever!"

We pull apart and Damon has us pose for a picture with a football field of our classmates behind us and then I hear Caroline's mom yelling at us to stay in place so she can grab a shot with her camera. We all laugh and turn around as Caroline's parents and my own make their way over and with some quick hugs and congratulations a craziness of photography begins.

There's so much smiling and way too many photos until I'm realizing who's missing from this shot. "Where's Katherine?"

Damon looks down at his phone. "I texted her. She's on her way."

"Correction: She's here."

I turn around to see my sister walking towards us with her gown unzipped and a black A-line dress underneath. She was beside me the whole graduation and we even held hands as we moved our tassels over and officially became graduates. It's not like we've suddenly forgiven everything but for some reason there's this sense of ending in the air and I can't help but want to share it with her.

"Good," I smile. "Now we can get the real family photo."

My parents slowly make their way towards us and hand their camera to Damon. He steps back as Katherine and I stand in the middle of our parents, one arm wrapped around each other and the other clinging to a parent; me, our father, and Katherine, our mouther. As Damon positions the camera we all smile wide and he takes the shot. After a few more clicks, we break apart and I watch my father take the camera back from Damon and my mother just touch my sister on the arm and wish her congratulations. No hug, no kiss; none of the warmth and love they gave to me. A part of me wonders if this is how it's always been—or maybe it's just something I'm now noticing.

"Are we ready for dinner?" my father says. "We only have a little while before you kids are off to dinner."

I nod as my eyes look over at Damon. He's typing away on his phone, brow furrowed and jaw clenched. Something's wrong and I can't help but wonder if it has something to do with Giuseppe hanging around Damon's door the other night. Damon's father clearly had something on his mind and I can't help but wonder what. I just hope that whatever it is, creates a stronger bond between Damon and his father instead of tearing them further apart.

"Is everything okay?" I ask when I reach him.

He shakes his head. "Giuseppe had to get back to the office; can't even take the day off for my graduation."

Frowning, I respond, "At least he was here. He saw you walk across that stage."

"Yeah," he says. Then he shrugs his shoulders. "So, I'll pick you up after dinner?"

I shake my head. There's no way I'm leaving Damon after his father just bailed on their dinner plans. "No, you're coming." I turn my attention to my Dad who is waiting over my Caroline's moms. "Daddy, can Damon join us?"

My father stares at Damon a moment. My parents don't exactly approve of my choice in boyfriend but when it became clear that this was one thing I wasn't going to budge on, they relented—choosing instead to wait for inevitable downfall. Which thankfully never happened.

In a life where every choice of mine from college to career to everything I can think up, Damon is the one thing that I chose for myself. It's not that I don't like following the carefully laid path my parents have planned out for me, it's just that there are some things they just can't control. Like whom I fall in love with, for example.

"Of course he can come. But let's get a move on. We don't want to be late."

There's nothing more said and besides an exasperated look from Damon, we all make our way out to dinner. As we're headed towards the cars, I see Katherine link her arm in Damon's and whisper, "At least I won't be the most hated person at that table."

And Damon laughs.

"What are you cooking, Mom?" I ask, wandering in after taking a shower in my parents bathroom since Katherine was busy in ours.

My mother turns around from the oven with a tray full of freshly baked homemade cinnamon rolls and my eyes close and I deeply inhale. I've been obsessed with them since I was little and my mom and been making them almost weekly ever since I finalized my plans for New York. It's almost like she's trying to remind me what I'll be missing.

Especially considering there's no way I'll be able to recreate waking up the smell of her cinnamon rolls in the oven. "Are you trying to keep me here forever?"

She smiles. "No, just trying to make sure you visit."

I watch as she uses a knife and spreads on the icing and I can't even wait for them to cool long enough before I reach for one, taking a huge bite and practically moaning over how good they are. If only Damon could hear me now, he'd be hitting my mom up for the recipe so he could make them daily for me when we get to the city. "These are so good," I moan, chewing a bite.

"Elena, manners!"

Grabbing hold of napkin, I cover my mouth and mumble, "Sorry."

My mother hands me a fork and I place the cinnamon roll on the plate she hands with it and instead of stuffing the thing in my face, eat it like the debutant I am.

I eat the rest of my meal in piece as my mom cleans up the kitchen. Part of me wonders what he life will be like now that Katherine and I are graduated. I'm not a hundred percent sure what my sister's plans are but I know she won't want to live here long. My mom has always been a wife and mother for as long as I can remember. She keeps busy with her Historical Society work and her book clubs, and being the wife of the town doctor but she's always had us to keep her busy when all of that was done. I wonder if she'll set out and do something of her own or continue being Mrs. Dr. Grayson Gilbert.

From the stories she used to tell me from when she was young, she had quite the future ahead of her until she met my father—or until Grandma Sommers pushed her into a successful marriage. It's not that I can tell she's unhappy, but I know that she wants for me what she was never able to do: have the husband and the career. And with everything my father has been drilling into me since I was young, partnered with all the etiquette classes and cooking classes, I'm expected to earn my doctorate while getting my M. R. S.

"Do you have any plans for today?" my mother asks as she works on scrubbing a pan.

I dance a little in my chair. "Damon and I have plans."

She sighs. "Don't you think you should spend some time without Damon? You two will see enough of each other in New York."

"He's my boyfriend, Mom."

"For now," she says.

This is a touchy subject between us—one of the few times we actually argue. "Mom," I warn. "Don't start."

She turns towards me. "Elena, you spend all this time with this boy and you're planning on living with him. What exactly does he plan on doing while you're in school? You can't be getting distracted by him."

My eyes drop down to my plate. I hate that she's voicing the concerns I have about Damon's move to New York. I want to move with him and share this experience but I can't help but wonder if it's the right thing for us. Will he start to hate me for uprooting his life? What will happen if I'm too busy and he demands more of my time? This is all going to be so much different than our life here that I'm worried about what it'll do to us.

While I'm moving forward with my life, how is Damon going to handle be stuck in the same place only in a new city.

But I can't let my mother know this. So, instead I just say what Damon has been saying to me. "He has a job here where he works with this hands. He plans on finding something like that in the city."

I can read the disapproval all on her face. She always expected me to end up with some big shot lawyer or doctor, that choosing to be with Damon seems to always be falling short. It's not even his fault, it's just their high expectations. To be honest, I may be worried now but I know somehow Damon will figure it out. I just hope we don't lose each other in the process.

"And that's what you want for yourself?" my mother says.

"I love him, Mom."

Instead of answering, she just shakes her head and sighs. "Can you go check if your father's ready?" my mom asks as she wipes her hands off on her apron after she places the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. "We promised the Fell's we would meet them for golf."

It's only now that I realize the khaki pants and polo she's wearing. With one last bite, I bounce off the kitchen island chair I've been sitting in and make my way towards the family room where my father is reading the paper, grateful for the distance. "If you're ready, Mom is."

It's when I reach the family room and look out the front window that I notice Damon's car out front. I see no sign of him walking up the walkway or hanging out on the porch. Is he here? Wouldn't someone have mentioned that?

My father must have folded up his paper and stood because he's standing behind me, arms crossed and face curious as he notices my frantic searching about our property. "Looking for someone?"

"Is… Is Damon here?"

He nods. "Showed up while you were in the shower. He asked if he could wait in your room."

"Oh!"

I don't even bother to excuse myself as I turn around and make my way upstairs, confused as to why no one thought to tell me. It doesn't matter. If Damon's here that means we can leave. Even if my parents are going out, getting out of this house means I don't have to linger any longer on what my mom said about my boyfriend and our future together. I can just lose myself in being with him and focus on being positive on our future together.

As I step into the hallway, I notice my door is ajar and I can see Damon standing there, facing towards the bathroom, looking strange. I almost burst right inside but I'm halter by the sound of my sister's voice. "Can you get me a towel?"

Excuse me?

I push open the door and see my sister standing their naked, dripping wet and gathering up her hair to rest over her left shoulder. She isn't bothering to cover herself in front of Damon or have the decency to yell for one through the door. And what makes it worse is my boyfriend is just standing there in some kind of stupor.

What the fuck?

Damon turns towards me—quicker than I've ever seen him—and does a double take between me and my sister. Did I just say that out loud? Oh, who cares. What's worse than my boyfriend staring at my sister naked is my boyfriend thinking it was me.

Katherine gives a little smirk when she notices me and reaches behind my door to where I have some towels hanging on a hook. "Got it!"

She saunters out of the room and through the bathroom and closes her side of the door behind her. My eyes slide over to Damon's who is staring at me with wide, guilty eyes and I can't help but turn out of the room and march my way down the hall. I can't get the image of Damon staring at my sister's naked body out of my head. How could he possibly think it was me? I know that we're twins but he's known both of us for a long time and he should know the difference.

I hear his footsteps behind me and his voice as he quietly whispers, "She called me into the room. I thought she was you."

"All she does is lie!"

"Elena!" he yells as I reach the top of the stairs. "Stop!"

I turn towards him, finger pointed straight at his chest. "What's worse is I expect this from Katherine; but you? How could you not tell the difference?"

"You father said you were in the shower. I just assumed…"

"Well, you know what they say, Damon…"

And he has the decency to smirk. "Are you calling me an ass and insulting yourself at the same time?"

"Oh I'm thinking much worse. Believe me."

He reaches forward and places his hands on my shoulders. "I know the difference between you and your sister."

"Then why were you staring at her?"

"Because it's fucking nine in the morning and you Gilberts start your days way to early. I was half asleep on your bed and I heard someone call my name. I thought it was you."

My eyes narrow. "Do you have something with Katherine, Damon?"

"No. Elena, no. I love you."

My arms cross over my chest as I try to keep myself together as I own up to one of my fears. "She gets a part of you I don't. I could see how something like that could be hard to break."

I hate to admit it—my heart breaks at the thought—but it's something that has always bothered me. Damon and Katherine have a past and a connection I could never understand. He's always trying to get me to make up with my sister; saying over and over how if I just let her explain her behavior would make sense. But how could anything she say make sense when she continues to do things like this?

And to think we've been getting along lately.

"Elena, no one—and I mean no one—has a hold on me like you do. It's early, I was confused. I messed up but I know the difference between you and your sister. You're like night and day to me. Katherine tries to pull me into the darkness and you," he reaches up and cups my chin, thumb brushing against my cheek, "you continue to bring me into the light."

My eyes meet his and I can tell he means every word of it but I can't help how mad I am; how enraged. What I walked in on has been my worse fear since Damon and I got together. I used to always think Damon and Katherine were dating before he told me otherwise. It took a long time before I could accept him into my life, and now that he's here I'm scared to lose him.

Scared Katherine could take him from me.

"I messed up, Elena. Please forgive me?"

His eyes are so open that I can't help but forgive him. I believe everything he's been saying and even though I'm still mad I know who my anger should really be aimed at. There's only one person in that room who knew what they were doing and it's my sister.

"Fine," I say, with a huff.

Damon embraces me and I hug him back. "Can we just get out of here? Start this day over?"

I pull back from him. "You better have quite the Saturday planned."

"How does a State Fair and you kicking my ass in bumper cars sound?"

And I can't help but smile. He's right, we need to restart this day and put it behind us. Put Katherine behind us. As pissed as I am, I can only imagine how Damon must feel that his former best friend just tried to mess with his relationship. I can only hope it's as mad as I'm imagining. Mad enough to finally understand that despite those rare moments of hope, my sister can't be redeemed. She's just done too much damage.

So, taking my anger and frustration towards my sister out on some poor unsuspecting strangers by hitting them over and over again with a sparkly car sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.

"You're on the right track…" I say, sliding my hands up his arms that resting against my waist.

"I'll throw in some of those bucket full of cookies you love so much and mac and cheese for lunch," he smiles.

"Getting there…."

His cheeks scrunch up and I can't believe how flirty were being now after yelling at each other seconds before. "Whack-a-Mole?"

"Can it be Whack-a-Twin?"

He laughs. "Whatever you want."