Chapter 1

Elena sat on her bed scowling around at the cardboard boxes that held all of her belongings. She didn't want to move, she had grown up in this house; it was her home. What made it even worse was where she was moving; the Salvatore boarding house... as in the creepiest house in town.

Everyone knew about Giuseppe Salvatore and his lawless son, Damon. Mr. Salvatore was the richest man for miles, he was charming and polite but everyone knew not to cross him. He was extremely powerful, and one word against him could result in a lifetime of regretting it.

Despite all of this, he was a kind man and her mother had fallen in love with him. Elena had been cautious of the relationship at first, aware of his reputation, but her mother, Miranda, had assured her that underneath the front he put on for the world, there was a man worth loving.

And so here she was, packing up her childhood bedroom and preparing to move in with her mother's new boyfriend and his son. Damon. She had never met Damon, despite their parents dating for over a year. He often traveled, or was attending to business elsewhere. And when he was in town, he didn't exactly move in the same circles as Elena so they hadn't run into each other. Giuseppe had changed the subject whenever she had tried to talk about Damon and so eventually she had learned to keep her mouth shut.

Damon, if possible, had even more of a reputation in town than his father. He was gorgeous, the sort of good looking that you never got tired of looking at, or so people said anyway. He was a ladies man; he could get a girl to do whatever he wanted with a simple look. He would bat his beautiful eyes and twitch his lips into a devilish smirk and have any girl he wanted falling into his bed. Of course these were just stories, made up by bored schoolgirls.

Like his father, people were cautious of him. He was dangerous. Everyone knew that. There plenty were stories of his escapades in various illegal activities, none of them ever proven of course.

Miranda had scolded her when she had voiced her concerns of living in the same house as him. She had told her she shouldn't listen to rumors. It was probably true, Elena knew from experience that rumors rarely held any truth; they were simply designed to provide good dinner conversation.

"Elena!"

She looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway.

"Honey, we have to go. The removals are here, are you ready?" She asked.

Elena looked around at the neatly packed boxes and bare room.

"Yes." She replied softly.

"Well let's get out of here so the men can load up."

Miranda lead the way downstairs and Elena took one look at her old bedroom before grabbing her purse and following her.

They drove the narrow road to the Salvatore boarding house and parked outside. Elena had been here several times before, and she knew which room was going to be hers so she walked towards the house without waiting for her mother.

She opened the large front door, which was never locked, and traipsed up stairs, she found her way to the large white room that had been assigned to her. She slumped onto the double bed and kicked her sneakers off, letting them fall to the floor. It was a beautiful house, and her old room could fit into this one at least three times, but she didn't want to live here. Ever since her dad had died she had felt strangely disconnected from her life and now she was leaving behind something else that she had grown up with.

She sighed and stared up at the white washed ceiling, she knew she was being self-absorbed and ungrateful, her mother had been miserable after the accident. When she was around Giuseppe she almost looked like her old self again. That was the only reason Elena was putting up with this, for her mother's happiness, if anyone deserved a good life it was Miranda, she deserved to be happy.

A little while later, her things arrived and were delivered to her room. She spent the afternoon unpacking and moping.

There was a knock on the door and she smiled when she saw her mom.

"Hey." She murmured.

Miranda walked over to her and stroked her hair, looking around at the room.

"I like what you've done." She said.

Elena shrugged.

"It needs some paint."

Miranda nodded.

"Well, I'm sure if you asked Giuseppe…"

"It's fine." Elena said quickly, cutting her off.

There was a pause and Miranda smiled briefly, turning towards the door.

"Giuseppe and I are going out for dinner. Do you think you'll be ok here?" She asked.

Elena grit her teeth as she nodded.

"Whatever." She muttered.

Miranda sighed and left.

Thinking she might as well take advantage of the fact that she was alone in the house, Elena decided to explore. She crept into the hallway and down the stairs, taking a right at the bottom instead of the usual left that lead to the door. She wondered through the dark corridors, poking her head into various rooms before closing the doors behind her and moving on. She reached a large mahogany door and pushed it open, gasping as she took in the room beyond. It was a library, leather bound books were on shelves that reached the ceiling and there was that delicious smell of old paper that she had always loved.

Elena adored books, she always had. She was that girl who would prefer to curl up in a corner with her beaten up copy of Gone With The Wind than watch 90210 with her friends. This room was heaven for her.

She let her fingers trail along the backs of the books as she drifted through the library, she recognized a lot of the titles but some of them were new to her. She felt a smile creep across her lips, maybe living here wouldn't be so bad after all.

A creek of a floorboard pulled her out of her trance and her eyes flew to the door. Heavy footsteps drew closer and she froze, her heart beating wildly out of her chest. She wasn't sure how Giuseppe would like her snooping through his house.

Acting on instinct she ducked behind one of the stacks and shifted her weight nervously, biting her nails. The door opened and she heard a heavy sigh. And then the sounds of someone moving around the room. She stared around her in panic and her eyes fell on a cupboard set into the wall. It was just big enough for her small frame. Trying to be as quiet as possible she opened the door and sat inside with her knees pulled up to her chest. She pulled the door shut behind her and began to wonder what she was doing; she lived in this house now. She had every right to explore; she didn't have to hide in a cupboard.

She considered just getting up and walking out but now that she was here, sitting in the dark, she found herself feeling secure in the confines of the small space.

She gasped as the door flew open flooding her with light. She blinked against the sudden brightness and instinctively pulled her knees further into her chest.

"Having fun in there?" A calm voice asked.

It was rough and masculine with a lilt of amusement.

She blinked again and as she adjusted to the light she looked up and her breath froze in her throat.

She was staring into the most gorgeous pair of eyes she had ever seen.

I've never written an AU/AH fic so tell me what you think! This is a request for [96]