Author's Note: So, this is a fic I've actually been sitting on for a very, very long time. Well before TVD even ended but I didn't post because I didn't think anyone would be too interested in a fic that began with the characters back in high school since we were so used to them being grown at that point. If that is the case, I do want to let you know this story takes place over the course of a twelve-year period in Bonnie's life, so I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a HS story.

This fic is ALL HUMAN/AU (Elena's parents are still alive, i.e. she never broke up with Matt), and contains multiple Bonnie ships. It's all about her love life, the ups and downs she experiences before she settles down for good with the one she's meant to be with (kind of like How I Met Your Mother). There will be romance, heartbreak, DRAMA, tragedy, all that good stuff, lol. And a good portion of this story is already written and only needs editing, so this fic will be regularly updated as long as there's interest so PLEASE review! And I'm posting the preface and the first chapter back-to-back.

Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own these The Vampire Diaries or these characters. They belong to The CW. This is intended for entertainment purposes only.


Preface

Bonnie used to believe in soul mates. Since she was a little girl she just knew that one day, when she was a grown-up, she would meet that one special guy. The guy who was her one true love, the one she was always meant to be with, and they would spend the rest of their lives together. Maybe it would be love at first sight, or maybe it would start as a beautiful friendship that blossomed into an epic romance for the ages. She used to be a romantic that way, so young and hopeful, so naive.

Well, now she was a grown-up, and after a slew of failed relationships, heartbreaks, and tragedies, she had long lost faith in that philosophy. She had experienced what she thought was true love, epic love, adventurous and spontaneous love, even scandalous love. And all she was left with was lonely nights and trust issues.

When she had once dreamed of who her soulmate would be it hadn't been a specific picture, he was more a hunky silhouette with all the amazing qualities she looked for in a life partner. She knew she wanted him to have a gorgeous smile and eyes that made you melt when you looked into them but more importantly, he was to be kind, giving, attentive, brave, intelligent, humorous, loving, adventurous, and ridiculously sexy. The older she got, the more she started to question if the only way she would get all this in a man is if she created herself a Sim.

Bonnie had only truly been in love a few times in her life, and with each man that "soulmate" she'd always envisioned grew more detailed. As the relationship progressed, the picture became more solid, the smile more familiar, the facial features more recognizable, the personality traits continuously tweaked to fit who she was spending most of her time with, until she was almost completely convinced the man she'd committed to at that point was "the one", and that she had finally found her soul mate. Until sadly, inevitably it seemed, things changed and the picture regressed back into a silhouette and she found herself questioning her beliefs.

At this moment, as a 28 year old Bonnie sat in a dimly lit corner of Amore's, one of her favorite hometown restaurants, waiting for her dinner companion to arrive, she thought of the possibility that she was wrong to suspend her beliefs. Here she was, after so long, waiting anxiously for an old flame to walk through the door, to sit across from her and smile, to tell her everything she's always wanted to hear. But it wasn't just any old flame, it was...him. The man she had never expected to become such an integral part of her life, the man whom made her experience every emotion one can take without imploding, the man who's presence always seemed to linger in her life even when he wasn't quite around himself. Everything she went through back then, everything she was going through now, it all seemed to come back around to him. Her friend, her enemy, her lover...and quite possibly, the 'soulmate' on which she'd given up hope.

She looked across the room and saw someone approaching. Her heart skipped a beat.

'My god, he's gorgeous,' she thought to herself as he made his way over, his eyes fixed on her, a small smile on his face, and what could easily be taken as excitement twinkling in his eye at the sight of her. A million thoughts were in Bonnie's head as she stood, and they gave each other a warm, long overdue embrace. The feel of his arms wrapped tightly around her, in a way that seemed he never wanted to let her go, was so soothing, so familiar, something that she'd been missing.

Her heart had picked up a great amount of speed as they settled into the seats at the table, directly across from each other so she had no choice but to look him in his eyes. All of a sudden she was nervous, and she rarely got nervous anymore. Bonnie knew that whatever happened or was said at this table tonight would determine what direction her life would go in once she left this restaurant. It would determine whether she was right to give up her hope in finding "the one" or not. Was happily ever after finally right around the corner for Bonnie Sheila Bennett?

The prospect of that being the case, sent her back years. She had to reflect on everything from her past, with everyone she'd loved or called a friend, on this crazy journey that was her love life, every part of it that had brought her here, to this moment...with him.