Hello all! I had this entire storyline come to me the other night and I'm very excited to write it and bring it to life. I have the entire thing mapped out already and can't wait to share it with you guys. It'll be full of angst and drama and romance. I hope you all enjoy!

PRESENT DAY

Cameras flash in every direction as she steps out of the black range rover and onto the busy Los Angeles strip holding the 90th Annual Academy Awards, a hand stretching out in front of the open car door for her taking. Her lean, tan leg graces the pavement covered in red carpet, her heel sparkling in the light and glow of the setting sun, slowly taking her time to make an entrance. Her hand clasps around the rough one out stretched, fitting perfectly in his hold, where it belonged; where it always belonged, like they were somehow made only for each other. Tonight, however, was different. He was no longer hers, not that anyone outside of their inner circle would know.

"Come on, Elena." He hissed, his patience wearing thin but the kilowatt smile never leaving his face. She'd love that smile forever, even if it currently was just for show. She sighed, bracing herself for the on slaughter of paparazzi and press, something she still hadn't grown used to from her quick rise to fame. She knew how to wrap the press around her finger, a skill she learned from the master himself, but her energy was already running low and the event had barely started. Making the final move out of the car, she says a quick pray of gratitude to herself, taking a shaky breath before composing her racing mind, her smile there but not quite meeting her eyes. His hand gives hers a quick squeeze, reminding her maybe they weren't a lost cause completely. "Let's get this show on." He whispers into her ear, his hand dropping hers and finding the small of her back, giving the on looking press what they believe to be an intimate moment shared by the Hollywood "it" couple. His comment sets her back into the bitter reality that she truly lost him. There are moments where she thought he wouldn't be mad at her forever, that they'd reconnect, but those fleeting moments are gone.

"Try to pretend like you actually want to be here, Damon." She turns to face him, her smile gone, her eyes searching his face for what she didn't know.

"You're so melodramatic." He sighs and removes his hand from her back, gesturing for her to lead the way. She huffs and grips her clutch tighter, stalking off in front of him, wishing for the night to end so she can get out of this dress and out of his site. She feels his eyes wandering over her backside, feeling exposed for so many reasons. Her dress was a bright, crimson red, very Jessica Rabbit-esque, bringing out her golden glow. The formfitting dress clung to her curves, accentuating them perfectly, every man and woman in a 50-mile radius was staring at the perfection that was Elena Gilbert. She felt a hand creep up her back and grip her hip, pulling her close to the unseen force. Without even turning her head she could smell his intoxicating aroma, the mixture of Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille cologne and bourbon making her head spin. His matte black suit pairing perfectly with her look, their stylists coordinating everything, even down to his red pocket square.

His free hand graces her chin, tilting her face towards him, his blue eyes shining with what she's possibly mistaken for jealously. He was always hard to read, even after all this time he was still a mystery to her; maybe that's what kept luring her back in. The allure and blue eyes were a siren's call and she was the unfortunate soul drowning. She gives him a small smile, his eyes softening as they dart to her cherry red plump lips, the world fading around them.

"Oh, do you know what you're doing to me?" He mumbles, still staring at her lips, "You drive me crazy, Lena." His sudden change in emotion and affection gave her whiplash and she slowly pulls away from him, blinking their surroundings back into place. He gives her a confused look before he retreats back behind the wall he's built, locking himself away from her. She didn't blame him, she broke his heart and made dumb mistakes that costed her everything she knew.

"Elena! Elena! Look this way honey!" A man shouts from behind the barricade, his camera aimed at the couple. And just like that, Damon's face is plastered with his famous smile, remembering they are always being watched.

"Is it true you've been casted in Spielberg's new film? Are you going to leave the show then?" Another shouts at her.

"Who was the girl you were seen out with recently, Damon? Are you and Elena seeing other people?" A voice shouts from the back, somehow sounding clear as day over the chaos and blending of voices. The question starts a flurry of more prodding questions about the couple's deteriorating romance.

Elena's chest begins to feel tight and her vision growing unfocused. This was not how she expected the night to go. Her four nominations for her role in the movie Matched were supposed to be a happy celebration. Damon's hand intertwines with hers and quickly pulls her towards the end of the photo op's, leading them inside the venue.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how they found out." He starts after turning down an empty hallway to speak, his hand tousling his jet-black hair. "I made sure we weren't followed or anything…" He's rambling incoherent words before he's silenced by Elena's next sentence, hurt and sorrow shining through those crystal blue oasis's.

"So, it's true then." Spoken so softly, you wouldn't have even known she was speaking, her voice breaking slightly, trying to remain strong. "You've really been seeing someone else?" Tears glistening in her big doe eyes, threatening any moment to spill. She had suspected he was dating someone else, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She wondered what her life would be like if the studio hadn't insisted on them keeping up this mirage of being a perfect, happy couple until the show was guaranteed renewal, what would've happened if she just never messed up that fateful night almost one year ago.

3 YEARS AGO

Elena stepped out of Caroline's small and over packed gray Chevy Cruze, stretching while staring up at their new apartment building. She'd really done it. Standing on the sidewalk under a looming palm tree, she bounced on her heels excitedly, so desperately needing this lifestyle change. The driver's door slammed shut and she looked over to find her best friend's blue eyes smiling back at her. The blonde scurried her way around the parked car and threw an arm around the petite brunette, squealing and laughing.

"We did it! I mean, we really did it, Elena!" Caroline pulls their new apartment keys from her pocket and begins to pull Elena towards the automatic sliding door to their new building. The high-rise was a far cry from their dingy, one-bedroom apartment back in Virginia.

Caroline's move to Los Angeles was prompted by her acceptance into UCLA's prestigious theater program and somehow, she convinced Elena to come with her. Caroline loved theater and the arts, wanting to make a full-time career out of it. If she could just snap her fingers and be on Broadway, Caroline would! Elena didn't completely understand the desire to pursue an arts career but supported her best friend nonetheless. Whether it was actually fate that brought her here, or just the drive to start fresh and make something of her life after her parents died, she knew in that moment she had made the right decision to come.

"Let's go, Lena!" Caroline squeals again, practically running to the elevators and making a scene.

"But Care, shouldn't we bring up our items first?" Elena asks, earning herself a glare from Caroline as they step into the shiny elevator, pressing the fifth-floor button.

"The bags will still be there when we get back down! I want to see the views and layout first!" She insisted, bobbing her head consistently. The elevator dinged, the doors opening onto their desired floor. The apartment complex was very high-end and if it hadn't been for Caroline's father paying a good amount of their rent the girls would've never be able to afford anything in LA; Caroline's dad tends to spoil her to make up for the divorce, thinking he can buy her affection and so far, it's worked. Reaching the door labeled 12A Caroline reaches for Elena's hand and squeezes it, pure excitement shining through her crystal blue orbs. "To new beginnings!" She squeals while putting the key into lock, quickly turning it to her left, the click of the lock unlocking echoing in the empty hallway.

Elena reaches forward and pushes the door wide open, stepping into the bare apartment, Caroline's hand still in her grip. The apartment opens up into an expansive living room, two floor-to-ceiling windows center the room giving a perfect view of the Hollywood Hills and beachside from the high-rise. The gears in Caroline's head start to turn as she walks further into their new home, mumbling what she would hang here or place there, causing Elena to let out a soft chuckle.

"What?"

"Nothing," Elena shakes her head, walking towards the hallway and peering into the rooms. "This place is amazing, Care. How did your dad even find it?" She peaks back down the hallway to see Caroline sitting on the kitchen counter, gazing out the window.

"He said he knew some realtor out here…or something." She waves her manicured hand dismissively in the air, not wanting to talk about her father. "Come on," Caroline jumps down from the counter and begins to walk towards the still open front door, "Let's go get our stuff!" She struts out the door back towards the elevator, leaving Elena alone with her thoughts. A pair of familiar brown eyes pops into her head but she pushes the thought away, now is not the time to think of your ex, Elena.

All thoughts of home and her failed high school sweetheart relationship gone, she sighs contently to herself before catching up with Caroline outside of the apartment complex. Caroline, being Caroline, had already managed to get some poor souls to help with the endless boxes from the car and parked moving truck.

"Elena!" She beckons her friend over to the side of her car where two men are unstacking boxes, talking amongst themselves. Caroline smiles proudly to herself, probably thankful she didn't have to get sweaty and dirty. "This," she gestures towards the muscular brunette boy, his skin an olive tone from being in the California sun for days at a time, "Is Tyler and this," now waving her hand in the direction of the tall blonde on Tyler's side, he was wearing a UCLA letterman jacket in the middle of August, baffling Elena how he wasn't dying from the heat in it, "Is Matt! They live in our apartment and saw me struggling with all these boxes and offered to help!" Her smile growing bigger, her eyes crinkling slightly and glowing in the afternoon sun.

"Nice to meet you…" Tyler pauses, forgetting the name the blonde had just said, extending a hand out towards her friend.

"It's Elena." She says softly, reaching for his strong hand, noticing the prominent biceps flexing in his muscle tee that adorned some band name.

"I wouldn't exactly say we ALL offered to help." Matt says sarcastically, letting out a gruff as he piles two more boxes atop each other. "Ty just has a weakness for pretty girls." He elbows Tyler in the ribs, causing the boys to begin lightly shoving each other around, forgetting the girls were even standing in front of them.

"You could tell me Caroline worked her charm and wrangled you two into doing our dirty work and it wouldn't surprise me!" Elena lets out a loud laugh, earning a glare from Care. "Well, we owe you big time!"

"Oh, you definitely owe us." Matt states, unloading the last of the boxes packed from Caroline's car before picking up a few and walking towards the entrance. "We like cooked dinners! And beer! Mostly beer." He chuckles, giving Tyler a head nod to follow, one last look towards Elena before he disappears into the complex. Tyler quickly picks up a stack of boxes and rushes in to follow his friend, leaving the girls outside.

"Really, Care?" Elena lets out another chuckle, "Not even here for 10 minutes and you've already found men kissing the ground you walk on!"

"What?! Is it my fault they insisted on helping me!" Caroline rolls her eyes, bumping Elena's hip with her own before erupting in giggles herself and wrapping her arms around the brunette. "You know, Lena," she whispers, "I'm so happy you came with me. I don't think I could survive on my own out here or be without my best friend."

Elena's hand darts up to wrap around Caroline's small hand, turning to look the blonde in her pale, blue eyes. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Sniffling slightly, happy tears brimming in both friends' eyes. If there was anyone that could've convinced Elena to just up and move across the country with no real plans, it was Caroline. A throat clears on the side of them and Caroline's blonde hair whips around hitting Elena in the face in the process. With a huff of annoyance, the girls separate, their moment to be resumed later when unpacking.

"We started just piling the boxes in the living room if that's okay." Tyler says cautiously, afraid of being reamed out by Caroline for the interruption. Elena jumps in before Caroline could lash out about privacy, picking up a bag and putting it in Care's arms.

"That's perfect Tyler, thank you! Care, how about we help the boys, so they aren't here all day, I'm sure they have plans."

"Actually-" Matt starts before he's cut off by Tyler.

"We have no plans! Don't even worry about it!"

"That's perfect! See, Elena!" She quickly drops the bag she was holding to the ground as if it was poison causing Matt to raise an eyebrow at the pair, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.

Reaching down for the strap, Elena picks up the bag and throws it over shoulder, guilt overwhelming her that she had two strangers doing all the work.

"Well, since you're free maybe we can all grab food after? Our treat." A wide smile settling on Elena's face, her brown eyes looking captivating as golden flecks sparkle in the low sun. While she was always shy about her looks, especially in comparison to her best friend, Matt was captivated by the brunette's beauty. Her face is small and oval with very high cheekbones and a squared off jaw softly narrowing into a proportionate chin, her almond shaped eyes always appearing doe like, her lips soft and plump covered only in a lip gloss, makeup not really needed for her fresh face. Matt felt the change was refreshing from the usual girls he met since his time in LA.

"I'm down for free food!" Tyler says excitedly, looking forward to spending more time with the girls than the food. Matt simply nodded his head and smiled, gaining a whoop out of his friend.

The rest of the day passed quickly, the girls joining in to help carry the lighter boxes and bags. As the last box was hauled into their filled living, the time was close to 7pm and the group felt exhausted. Elena looked around the crowded living room, wondering how they could have so many boxes for just two girls but remembered she moved with Caroline, a home décor freak. She plopped down on a box, making it a makeshift seat as she pulled out her phone to look up places to eat on Yelp.

"You know, that Korean place is pretty good." Matt's breath tickles the back of her neck and she jumps slightly, not realizing he had been standing behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." He looks sheepishly at her, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's okay," she mumbles while quickly scrolling back to the listing on Yelp, reading the menu and reviews. She can feel the awkward tension rolling off of Matt and attempts to break the ice. "So, how long have you lived in LA?"

"A little over a year. Still getting used to it, it's so—so fast paced."

She's nodding her head quickly, surprised he moved so recently, feeling he fits the vibe and look of the city so well. Lost in her thoughts, Matt breaks the silence again, afraid he's boring the poor girl.

"So…what brought you out to the city of fortune and fame?" He shoves his hands into his front jean pockets and rocks back and forth nervously.

"My best friend," Elena juts her head towards the blonde animatedly talking to Tyler, "She got into UCLA's theater major and asked me to move with her. I didn't have much keeping me back home." She shrugged, leaving it at that. She didn't really want to discuss her dead parents and stoner brother after just meeting Matt and hoped he wouldn't push the subject. He seemed to get the message by her stiff posture and quickly changed the subject.

"UCLA, huh?" Smirking, he looks down at his letterman before looking into her soft, chocolate brown eyes. "Does that mean I'll see you around campus too?"

"Maybe." She looks up from underneath her full lashes, really taking in his appearance. He looked like a stereotypical jock—blonde hair, blue eyes, buff—but something was different about him, he seemed shy and timid. "I'm planning on taking time off from school, I'm not entirely sure what I want to do anymore or if college is still even in that path for me."

"Elena!" Caroline's bubbly voice flows from the kitchen, leaving their conversation on pause. "Are we going to go get dinner soon or what, I'm starving." Being dramatic is one of Caroline's strong suits, not that it ever benefited her outside of people she knew.

Elena jumps up from the makeshift seat and looks down at the Korean restaurant still pulled up on her phone. Before fully checking out the reviews and second guessing herself, she's putting her phone in her back pocket and the recommendation for dinner fell from her lips.

"Let's go try this restaurant Matt recommended, it's called Genwa Korean BBQ."

"Ugh, Matt loves that place! Of course, he would recommend it!" Tyler groans, sounding whiny and childish, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I'll have you know she was already scrolling by it on Yelp!"

"Yeah, by it! She wasn't on it!" He rolls his eyes at Matt before standing and heading for the center of the room. "At least they have a decent selection of alcohol."

"Genwa it is!" Caroline chirps in after hearing about the alcohol, just having celebrated her 21st birthday a month ago. Caroline was the biggest light weight Elena had ever met, the girl gets hiccups just from one glass of wine. "What're we waiting for?! Let's go! We'll take my car."

"No need." Matt's voice clears through the group, Elena forgetting for a moment he had still been in the room. His presence felt boring, forgettable even and it made Elena feel a twinge of guilt to think like that. She barely knew the guy and already felt he was a stick in the mud; she was judging a book by its cover and promised herself she'd get to know him before the night was over. "It's only a two-block walk from here. It's why we go to it a lot, it's close."

The group made their descent out of the apartment and into the small elevator, the heat radiating between Tyler and Caroline felt like the summer sun, the pair clearly hitting it off very well. The walk to the place was short as promised, Matt leaving Elena to her thoughts throughout the 10-minute walk. She wasn't looking for anything romantic and Matt's constant glances kept bringing that thought forward. She wanted to be honest with the guy, before he got in too deep, to let him know she was a mess that couldn't be cleaned up and he shouldn't waste the time; he seemed like a really good guy, she didn't want to hurt him.

The dinner and rest of the night flew by, the group sharing many laughs and many drinks. Caroline often sharing one too many personal stories of high school parties and the infamous Elena Gilbert, causing Elena to have the waiter cut her off, knowing a drunk Caroline was never easy to deal with. After finally paying the bill, the guys insisting they didn't need to pay for them, they began the trip back to their complex, the walk this time seeming to drag on forever. The girls weren't sure if it was from the drinks or the feeling of being away from Mystic Falls finally hitting them that they desperately wanted nothing more but to get back to their unpacked apartment and sleep on the temporary air mattress. After long goodbyes and promises to hang out again, the boys depart from the elevator onto their floor, leaving the girls in silence.

"You know," Caroline slurs slightly, the buzz of all the fruity cocktails making her brain fuzzy, "Tyler is kind of cute." Elena rolls her eyes and pushes Caroline towards the opening doors, helping her walk to their front door.

"You didn't move all the way out here to date Caroline."

"No, you didn't, miss I'm still stuck on Liam. I definitely came here to date!" Caroline's comment slightly stung, bitter reminders of everything that went wrong coming to surface, but dismissing her drunk comment she opened their door and dragged her blonde friend in.

"Let's get you to bed. Need to start nursing that hangover you're gonna get before you blame me tomorrow." Elena mumbled, pushing Caroline to walk in the direction of the bedrooms where they had set up the mattress. Tomorrow would certainly be hell for Caroline as she walked around a loud, noisy campus to get setup for the resuming classes next week; but for now, she simply collapsed onto the bed, still dressed in her moving clothes and closed her eyes, listening to the soft, rhythmic breathing that meant Caroline had already fallen asleep beside her. She hoped her dreams would give her some guide as to what to do with her life now, as unrealistic as it sounded, Elena truly hoped when she woke up tomorrow she'd have some life changing plans.

I hope you all enjoyed! Leave me a review of what you think! Thanks guys! :)