Elena could only reminisce about her college days, most of which she had spent writing or reading. She often kept to herself while on campus, away from the peering eyes of other students. She remembered while sitting out on the Quad (short for Quadrangle) reading Jane Eyre when Damon had emerged from one of the nearby buildings after his lecture.

Damon saw the young brunette and approached her direction. "Jane Eyre? What a read." said he. Elena was started at hearing the sound of his voice, gazing up towards his direction. As soon as her eyes met his, Damon flashed a quick grin. "Did I startle you? My apologies. Are you reading this for a class?"

"No, for pleasure. How did you—"

"I saw you when I exited the building across the way, and I figured you needed some company."

Elena stands up, briefly saying that she had to her next class. Damon had to refrain himself from asking to walk with her to class. The fact that the two of them seen together as more than teacher and student was against school policy. "I'll see you in class tomorrow Miss Gilbert." Elena blushes at his statement, agreeing to see him. "Please, call me Damon."

As Elena was laying in bed that morning, she could only think about the conversation at the restaurant the night before. She had pulled Bonnie into a situation with her, except no one better than Bonnie herself. It had only been at least a month or so since she had last laid eyes on Damon. She couldn't fall for them again, except she couldn't stop thinking about his piercing baby blues and his charming smile. Her heart began to flutter against her chest, only remembering how he had made her feel before everything had started to fall apart. There was not one person she had met in her life that made her feel the way Damon did, and to only act as if she hadn't known him, hurt her just a bit.

"How did you enjoy your time at NYU?" Damon hadn't seen Elena since their split. He could say that he felt guilty for everything that has happened between them. Elena explained how she enjoyed her time there, and it was one hell of an experience. Stefan joined in on the conversation and asked his brother about him meeting a girl that he liked. Elena had never thought that the brothers were still in contact with each other. After all, she had not once asked Stefan if he had any siblings. It slipped her mind. "Oh yeah, it… it didn't work out." Damon sounded heartbroken from where Elena was sitting.

"What was the girl like?" asked Bonnie.

"Intelligent, beautiful. She has an incredible personality, and her laugh… it's contagious." replied Damon. "But she moved. She said she wasn't feeling like New York couldn't be home, and I understand that she didn't want to stay away from her family for too long."

"Where did she move to?" Elena was listening to the conversation between Bonnie and Damon, keeping silent. She didn't want to chime in on the conversation because she didn't want to allude to helping them figure out she was the girl Damon was talking about. "Let's save the details for another time." Stefan said.

"What details?" This is where Elena was curious.

"For four years, my brother has talked about this girl all the time. It made me want to meet this girl, and I honestly thought he was going to marry her." Elena was surprised at this. Damon wanted to get married? It wouldn't have made any sense to her then. The two of them were just getting to know each other. Damon added on by saying that he had planned to marry her. He had planned on asking her another question before proposing. "Sounds like she meant a lot to you." Elena heard Bonnie speak up.

"I bet she was lucky to have you." said Elena.

That same morning at the Salvatore boarding house, the brothers were in the kitchen discussing the details about dinner. "You never mentioned the name of the girl." Stefan had only been given a vague description about his brother's ex-girlfriend. He had known that his brother was notorious for keeping secrets, especially when it came to romance. Damon shrugged off his brother's statement by telling him that names weren't import. "With me, they are." Stefan pressed on. Damon rolled his eyes and was about to interject when a knock sounded at the door. Stefan walked over, surprised to see Elena at his doorstep.

Elena was expecting to talk with Damon alone, except Stefan was home. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be applying for a job?" When did Stefan start being so nosy? She told him that she had been looking and applied before she moved back to Mystic Falls.

"I start next Monday."

"Oh, congratulations then. You still didn't answer my first question."

"Right, why am I here. May I talk with your brother in private?" Elena crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't exactly comfortable with having both brothers in one place. She didn't think to call Damon earlier and meet at a designated location. While that would've been an excellent idea, she didn't exactly have Damon's number. "Anything you say to him, you can tell me."

"I don't think that's a good idea little brother." Damon was just as uncomfortable as Elena was. He could easily read her body language.

"Are you two hiding something from me?" Stefan exchanged glances with the two of them. He knew that something was up from the very second he had introduced them to each other. Elena chimed in and said that she would come back another time. Stefan didn't want her to leave without an answer. Elena sighed and wished that there was a better time to tell Stefan the truth. Yet, he was forcing his hand; and she had to come right out and say it. She exchanged glances, first with Damon and then with Stefan. "I… Your brother and I dated when I was in New York. Actually, we lived together."

Elena and Damon have been dating for two years. Elena was now a Junior in college and living with Damon in his Manhattan apartment. She was admiring the view he had. "This is better than the view I have from my dorm." She smiled at him. Damon reached out and caressed her cheek after brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "I'm so happy you asked me to move in with you."

"I'm happy you said yes."

"You two failed to tell me this?" Stefan was more than appalled. He was disappointed, if anything. He knew the two of them well enough to know full well that they were keeping something from him. "It's not his fault. It's mine." said Elena. Damon stepped in, saying that she should be taking responsibility of the blame. He should've been the one to tell his brother the truth. Stefan could not believe they both would work to maintain their relationship from being exposed. He let out a sigh, only asking them one question. "When were you going to tell me, on your wedding day?" Elena couldn't understand why Stefan was getting worked up over this. They had broken up before she had even gone to New York.

"If anyone should be asking questions, it should be Matt." said Elena.

"Matt?" Damon turned his attention towards Elena. He couldn't remember if the two of them had shared any conversations about past exes or flings for the matter. Was there something he didn't know about Matt? Before Elena could answer, Stefan joined in the conversation by telling his brother about Matt being Elena's childhood best friend. "The two of them grew up together."

"Does Matt love you?" Damon couldn't ignore the topic of Matt being brought up, especially by Elena. Elena wasn't sure of how to answer him. She knew Matt had attempted to pursue her a few times in high school, and yet, she had immediately fallen for Stefan. She told them she didn't know. "Don't play stupid Elena. You know it. I know it. He's been pining for you for years. He was jealous when we dated, and I'm certain that he's still jealous now." Elena wasn't sure where all of this was coming from. One possibility could be that Stefan was trying to figure out if there were other secrets Elena was keeping from him. A second could be that Stefan still had some feelings left for Elena. Lastly, Matt could be the reason Elena was acting differently. "I'm not into Matt." said Elena.

"Then, why did you break up with Damon?"

Elena couldn't believe this. Stefan was talking this a bit too far, especially with Damon being the one that she wanted to have a private discussion with. "We're not discussing this Stefan." Damon had finally decided to speak up after allowing his brother to be in the spotlight for a bit.

"C'mon Elena. You broke up with me because you wanted to get out of here and leave. Of all the places you could've gone, it had to be New York. And now I see why you decided to stay just a little longer." Stefan had briefly given his brother a glare. It was a look that rarely the brothers had shared with each other. Elena thought that this was ridiculous. Damon had thought so as well, including the childish way Stefan has been acting. "He was going to marry you, wasn't he? Right after graduation? What happened?" Elena couldn't listen to any more of this. She walked out of the boarding house and walked in the direction of her parked car. Damon had followed after her. She stopped and turned her attention towards him. Between the two brothers, Elena had expected Damon to be the one upset at her, not Stefan. "Did you come out here to yell at me too?"

"No. You left without a word. Why?"

"I don't know."

"You heard what Stefan said. We were supposed to meet after graduation, and you just walked out. Why did you? Was it because of Stefan, or… or that Matt guy?" Elena didn't know how to answer him. She wished that she could turn back time to the day it all happened, except she couldn't. Everything that has been done was in the past, and she couldn't change that. "I have to go Damon." She said before getting in the car and drove away.