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: There was a lot of talk about a certain line last chapter but no one guessed where it came from… It's from Beverly Hills 90210. Kelly says it about Brandon and Dylan. I used it because it reminded me a lot of where Elena's head was at towards the end of Season 3. Where she was supposed to love Stefan but Damon just snuck up on her and consumed her. Try as she might, she can't let him go. Sound familiar?

Anyways… Elena has to deal with her parents and Damon has to deal with Elijah… This should be fun…

Elena's POV...

"What is Elijah doing here?" I harshly whisper at my parents.

I'm just in complete and utter shock. Elijah wasn't due until tomorrow morning. He told me as much on the phone earlier today before I went to Damon; before I had to leave to set this whole event up. He knew I would be too busy with everything to hang out with him and so despite finding out that I slept with my ex-boyfriend he told me I would see him as I walked down the aisle.

And yet there he is—walking out of the Grille with Damon.

My father rolls his eyes. "Don't make a scene. You should be happy he surprised you."

"Yes, sweetie," my mother agrees. "I think it's really sweet of Elijah to want to spend more time in your hometown, with your friends and family."

"Then why is he with Damon? Why isn't he here with us or talking to Caroline?" I challenge. Because I saw their faces when they caught me talking to Damon and I'm willing to bet they can at least guess what's been going on even if they don't know the full details of it. As far as they're concerned, Damon Salvatore is neither friend nor family and I should be doing all I can to make sure I end up with Elijah.

He's perfect…as my mother likes to say.

"To make sure Damon knows his place. You told Elijah everything that horrible boy did to you. He's just defending your honor. It's romantic, honey."

I shake my head. "Let's not get into that."

"You're too forgiving, Elena," my father says seriously, his voice low so he doesn't attract attention. That's the last thing he would want. No one is allowed in on the harsh reality of my family, just the picture perfect image we put out. "How you could talk to that boy or your sister is beyond me."

"People change, Daddy. Katherine was acting out. Damon just found out he had a brother. I understand why it all happened. I can't let it rule my life. I can't let it stop me from getting to know my niece."

My mother's eyes search the room nervously. "Don't talk about that child."

My arms cross over my chest. "You mean your grandchild? Amara?"

"Now is not the time to rehash old arguments, Elena Marie."

I scoff. "I think it's the perfect time. Your daughter, my sister is here. She has an appeal in a few weeks to get shared custody of her daughter, your granddaughter back and I've been doing everything I could to help get her out of that horrible place you let her live in; help her manage her money. And so what if she works in a bar? At least she's doing what she can to support herself. Why can't you just accept her the way she is?"

And that's when it hits me. My parents will never accept either of us; my sister for rebelling against them and me whenever I don't live up to their expectations. And I just can't be what they want me to be anymore. I can't live their life when I have to live my own. I can't fulfill what they wanted out of life and be their vessel. I have to figure it out for myself.

"You're never going to accept her. Just like you're never going to accept me for dropping out of medicine."

"What?" my father says, his eyes wide. "Elena, you are not leaving medicine."

I shake my head, tears falling from my eyes. "I am. Because I don't know if I want it for me. I don't know what I want. I've been living my life for both of you and I have to give myself time to figure out what I want."

"Elena, sweetie, you can't give up now," my mother pleads. "You've come so far. You'll lose everything."

My eyes drop down and I take a breath. "No, I'll gain everything back. I'll get my life back."

Before they can even try to persuade me back under their control, I excuse myself and make my way towards where Elijah and Damon went. I need to stop whatever is happening out there. I need them both to understand that this is all up to me and if they're going to be mad at anyone they should be mad at me.

But I don't get a chance because Caroline swoops in and grabs my arm. "I need you."

"What's the matter?"

Caroline releases a deep sigh. "Stefan's aunt said it's supposed to rain tomorrow. What are we going to do?"

I look over her shoulder towards the exit—towards Damon and Elijah—and give a sigh of my own. My best friend needs me but I can only hope that my boys outside don't. "We have a plan in place for that, Care, but it's only a small percentage. Everything is going to be beautiful no matter what."

"Can you tell her that?" Caroline pouts. Then she puts on a faux smile. "She won't shut up."

I nod and laugh and let her drag me over to where Stefan is talking to a woman I can only assume is his aunt. As I'm pulled away from the exit, my mind keeps wondering what could possibly be going on beyond those doors.

Damon's POV…

"Elijah," I say; and it's not a question, it's not to get his attention. I'm merely pointing out that before me lies the one guy who could pull Elena away from me. Well, Elijah and her father. I'd love to be a fly on the wall while Elena talks to her parents right now. How much shit is her father talking about me? And is Elena actually buying it?

I could tell by her face that seeing Elijah tonight was not planned. It can only mean he pushed up his arrival because he heard what happened between Elena and me. It's only giving him a few more hours with her but those hours could be important when Elena is in this state of mind.

He's facing the busy street, perfect posture with one of his hands placed in his pants pocket and the other resting effortlessly at his side. It's such an easy posture and yet there is something foreboding about it. He's eluding power and superiority and it's letting me know that introducing myself as the guy who slept with his girlfriend wouldn't be a smart move. Though the words are just dying to roll of my tongue because I hate the confidence he has right now.

Especially when I'm insecure about what Elena's choice is going to be.

"You must be Damon Salvatore," he finally speaks, still not looking at me. He's only made eye contact with me once so far—when he shook my hand and asked if we could speak outside. He hadn't even waited for me to respond. Elijah just kept walking towards the exit without so much as hello to his girlfriend or to check if I was following. Somehow the guy just knew I would.

"The one and only," I say, smirking. "Seriously, I did a search on How Many of Me. There's only one Damon Salvatore in the continental U.S."

His eyes slide over towards me, eyebrow arched. Suddenly my humor doesn't seem so funny. Yet it's just not in me to stop. Elijah angles his body towards mine and we're standing toe to toe. "I've heard all about your quick wit," he says. "Elena has mentioned it a time or two."

This catches my attention. As far as I was concerned she never spoke of me since she left Mystic Falls behind. "She mentioned me?"

"In the very beginning of our relationship. I could tell something was wrong and she opened up to me about what you had done…with her sister."

"That was a long time ago," I respond, chewing on my cheek.

Elijah nods. "That may be so. But just like your quick wit, old habits die hard."

My eyes narrow. "So is that what this conversation is about? You trying to point out why I'm all wrong for Elena? That I'll hurt her again?"

"No, Damon. I'm sure you already know those things for yourself. But I know Elena and she's happy in New York with our life together."

"You sure about that?" I challenge. "Because she seems pretty happy here."

He's quiet for a moment, studying me. "I'm a very moral guy, Damon, and Elena is, too. Do you honestly think that what the two of you have done isn't going to eat at her? She may love you but she still loves me and this isn't going to sit right with her."

"If you're such a moral guy, Elijah, how can you stay with her after what she's done?" The words taste like poison in my mouth.

Elijah kinks his one shoulder and says it like it's the most effortless thing in the world. "I love her, Damon."

"So do I."

He nods his head, purses his lips—this isn't new information. If my intentions weren't clear before, my sleeping with Elena and having this conversation just further proves how deep I'm in this. Elena is a pretty special girl and I'm not going away until she tells me to.

"It would appear we are both fighting for the same girl."

"Guess so." I take a step back, kick the curb. When I meet his eyes again he's studying me. It has me feeling like a little kid. How can Elena stand it? "I've lost her once, Elijah. I'm only going to back of if and when she tells me too."

"And I hope she does."

We don't shake hands, don't acknowledge each other in any other way but we seem to have reached some sort of understanding at least. Neither of us say another word as he turns and leaves and I'm left standing on the outside of my bar watching as he walks up to the girl we're both in love with and slips his arms around her and places a kiss on her cheek. Elena jumps a little and then settles into his arms a little uneasily but she's still smiling.

I've got to talk to her.

Elena's POV...

"Are you ready to go?"

I turn to see Elijah stepping towards me, smiling as he looks up from his phone. He's been on and off it all night as we celebrated my best friend's upcoming wedding. I know he wants to talk some more about us but I can also tell by the tightness in his jaw that he still has some business to attend to.

My eyes look around the room. I still have a lot of cleaning up to do or else the Grille won't be ready to open tomorrow for the boys' brunch. There's no way I can ask Elijah to help or have him use Stefan or Damon's laptop in the back. He needs quiet and his own laptop which I know is still at the hotel. "Why don't you head back to the hotel? I still have to clean up all this mess and pack it away. I'll be in there in a bit."

Elijah's eyes look over my head where Damon and Stefan are on ladders taking down the fabric and lights from the ceiling. "Maybe I'll stay." His eyes drop down to his phone which vibrates in his hand. "Do they have a computer I can use?"

I step towards him, placing my arms on his shoulders. "Nothing is going to happen. We're just cleaning up and then I'll be at the hotel, promise. Stefan, Caroline, and Katherine are still here. By the time I get home you'll be done with what you have to do and we can talk."

He sucks in a breath. "Fine. Do you want me to send the car back?"

I shake my head and lean in to kiss him quickly. "I'll get a ride home with Caroline."

"Okay," he says, begrudgingly. When I pull away he pulls me back closer and kisses me a little longer and even I can feel Damon's eyes on us. I hate the competition they both seem to be in. I still have no idea what was said outside but whatever it was had Elijah being more affectionate than usual considering what he only found out a few hours before. When he finally lets me go he whispers, "I'll see you in a bit."

It's only when he leaves the Grille that I take a moment to breathe and relax. We have a lot to do and I can't worry about everything that's going on in my personal life. Instead I lose myself in cleaning, sweeping, tidying up the bar that Damon and his brother own. I feel bad having Caroline and Stefan help knowing it's the night before their wedding but they insisted. And it's helping us get some much done.

Plus, it makes it so it's not just Damon, Katherine and I…alone.

That would be even awkward than this morning.

I've been thinking about last night and this morning and this whole goddamn day nonstop. My mind keeps going back and forth on what it wants. I meant what I said to Damon about not regretting what happened but that doesn't mean it didn't make me feel like a horrible person. I cheated on someone I'm in love with…or at least I think I'm in love with him.

Gah! I'm just so confused with everything. I love Damon. I love Elijah. But who do I want to be with? Who is the person for me? I haven't even talked to Elijah about what I said to my parents. I'm not sure how he'll take it. The hospital is a big reason of why we're together. He's the board member, I'm the upcoming prodigy. Now that I'm not returning to medicine—at least not yet—doesn't that change or relationship? There's no run ins at the hospital or late night chats about new methods, or catching up on how or days went.

Instead I'll be trying to figure out what I want out of life. I'll be trying to find my passion. Will Elijah be able to handle that? He's used to the driven I-want-to-be-a-doctor Elena. Not this unsure person I've been hiding from him. He still doesn't know about what Dr. Laughlin said. I just haven't had the heart to tell him and I'm a little shocked my parents haven't divulged it all yet.

Actually, I'm not even sure they haven't. That might be on the agenda of topics we talk about tonight. Along with my adulterous behavior. Along with Damon.

And Damon...What am I going to do about Damon? Last night I was certain of how I felt—calling him the love of my life—but tonight I actually claimed to Caroline that Elijah had hold of my whole heart? As if Damon hadn't already dug himself in their deep enough to build a home. Like walking away from him now wouldn't rip me apart all over again.

But what we did…What loving him made me do…Can I ever forgive myself for that? Is being with Damon always going to be a fight, a challenge, and a mess? Is it always going to challenge my morals or are those morals I have in place just an extension of what my parents made me believe? I'm just so confused.

I peel off the tablecloth on the large table we used for the bridal party and as I finish folding it up, I run my hands along the beautiful stained wood. It's beautiful, one-of-a-kind. "I never realized how beautiful these tables are," I say out loud to the room.

Caroline looks over towards her soon to be brother-in-law and smiles. "Damon did them."

"What?" My eyes lock with his and I can tell he's feeling a little bit shy. "Damon, you did all these tables?"

He shrugs, wrapping lights around his arms. "It's just reclaimed wood I find around town."

"'Just reclaimed wood'," Katherine mocks. "He's amazing. That used to be an old barn door on his father's property. Damon turned it into that masterpiece."

And it really is. I can see just how beautifully sanded it is and all the character he added to it in order to keep the rustic feel of the barn door. I always knew Damon was handy, he excelled in wood shop and he used to always help me with little projects around my parents' house and have me assist when he had projects at his own. But I had no idea he was this talented.

"We keep telling him he should open up a shop," Stefan adds. "He could make some real money in this town."

Damon ties up the lights he was working on and gets started on another strand. "I'm a little busy co-owning this wonderful establishment."

"You have plenty of time on your hands," Stefan points out. "You keep adding new projects here when you could be building up an inventory. Eventually we're going to run out of room."

"So, we'll franchise the place." Damon smirks.

Stefan shakes his place. "We both agreed to never doing that."

"Why not?" I ask, placing all the decorations in their bags and bins.

"It'll lose its charm," Damon says, seriously, looking over at his brother. I can tell this is something they've both talked extensively on. "Once we have to stretch ourselves and trust other people with our business, it's no longer the Mystic Grille. It's just some other bar and grill."

Smiling, I reply, "It's great that you both can agree on these things."

They both share a look as Damon walked towards me, placing the wrapped up lights in their bins. It's Stefan who speaks, taking the folded fabric from Caroline. "It's one of the first things we agreed on when we decided to start this adventure."

"First of many," Damon adds.

"Now I just have to persuade you to believe me on this furniture thing," Stefan smiles, slapping his brother on the shoulder.

"And I'm sure we can all help there," Katherine states, bringing all the left over balloons over.

Damon shakes his head. "It's just like Grille. The moment I take it on as a business it'll lose its charm. It'll stop being fun. It'll be a way to make money. I won't have a passion for it anymore."

Hearing Damon talk about passion strikes a chord with me. Damon never had a life planned out for him. His father gave him the option of entering the family business but Damon pushed it away; choosing instead to find his own way. And he did. He has his own business with his brother, does his carpentry on the side when he wants to and for himself. He's happy, secure.

Then there's Elijah who welcomed the family business and excelled in it. But is it what he always dreamed of doing? Or is it just what was expected of him and he just followed blindly? I've never heard him talk of anything else. Elijah is all about the hospital just like his entire family. Just like I'm supposed to be.

Only I'm beginning to question it. Elijah wasn't told he didn't have the passion for the family business. Damon didn't have the weight that I shoulder. He shrugged his off just like Katherine.

What am I passionate about?

"Place looks spotless," Caroline says, giving one last look over.

"Elena and I will load the stuff up," Damon says, causing me to snap my head towards him. He's volunteering me? "You guys just do a quick check and make sure we didn't forget anything."

Caroline and my sister go to object but I shake them off. If Damon wants to say something to me, I have to let him say it. Maybe it'll help ease my mind. We somehow manage between the two of us to get everything in the storage room in one trip. Then Damon says he needs some air and takes a step outside the back door and I follow him.

The night air is crisp and as I hear the door shut behind us, I can only watch him. He's standing in front of me, his body tense as if he's ready to spring into action. I can only watch, waiting until he turns around. And then he does.

He steps towards me, engrossing me and I can barely breathe. Then he speaks. "I know I said I would give you space and time to figure everything out but…Elena, I need to know what you're thinking. D-Did what happened last night ruin things between us?"

Damon is staring into my eyes and at my face full of such vulnerability and honesty that I can't help but share some of my own. "Every time I've looked in the mirror since this happened I…I feel like I'm looking at a stranger. I don't know who I am anymore, Damon. I don't know what to do or who to choose."

His face is breaking and I hate that it's the second time today that I've been the cause of it. "Are you in love with him, Elena?"

"I love him, Damon."

"But are you in love with him?" he stresses, reaching out for me and grasping my arms. I'm surrounded by him and the whole moment feels charged. "Are you in love with me? I know you love me, Elena. I know you love him. But who do you close your eyes and think about? Who makes you feel light and happy and carefree? Because for me, that person is you. It's always been you. I love you so much."

I don't know what to say. I'm mute, struck speechless by his honesty. He hasn't been this upfront with me since he showed up in my hotel room on my first day here. Even last night when he was demanding my honesty and showing me how much he loved me, he wasn't telling me. He hadn't even said he loved me back.

Because of my silence, he continues on. "If you chose him, Elena, it'll kill me, but I'll be okay as long as I know you're truly happy. As long as I know it's your decision."

For some reason, I blurt out the last thing he wants to hear when he's telling me how much he loves me. "I told my parents I'm quitting medical school."

Damon seems taken aback and I can't blame him. He just told me he loves me and I'm turning this back on myself and my parents. His eyes blink a few times before he says, "You're quitting medical school?"

I nod. "I'm just not sure if I want to be a doctor."

"How did Grayson and Miranda take it?"

My eyes drop down; I just can't bear to look at the disappointment on his face that he's trying so hard to cover. "Not well. But it's my life and I have to live it for me. Even if they'll disown me like Katherine."

"That's good, Elena." And he steps back, giving me space, air, room to breathe. I feel the absence of him in my senses and take a step forward.

"I know you want answers, Damon, but I just don't have them yet. I know I should. You both deserve better than this—than some crazed girl who can't even figure out her own life."

Damon shakes his head. "Don't say that. Elena, I'm so proud of you for being brave enough to step out from under your parents. That's all you've ever known and it takes a lot of bravery to build a life for yourself when one has so easily been handed to you."

"Thank you," I say. "And I'll figure this whole mess out, too."

"Good," he responds and leans towards me to press a kiss on my forehead. He hesitates just a moment before backing away and I follow him as he makes his way around to the front of the Grille where Caroline and Stefan are already saying their goodbyes.

I wave goodbye to Stefan and watch as he climbs into his brother's car where Damon is already waiting. They pull out just as Katherine and Caroline and I all climb into my best friend's car. Then Caroline drives us over to Katherine's condo and we're all talking about the wedding day tomorrow and full of excitement, but in the back of my mind I'm still focused on what Damon said.

It isn't until Caroline drops me off and I'm in the elevator on my way to my room where Elijah is waiting that I finally know my answer to Damon's question.

All it took was closing my eyes and picturing a face and the answer was there. Clear as day. I know who makes me happy and carefree; makes me feel like anything is possible. I already know who I'm in love with.

I step out of the elevator.