Destiny Evans, a feisty freshman at Llanview High School, befriended Matthew Buchanan, who had a difficult time fitting in at school. Destiny had a crush on Matthew, although Matthew was focused instead on a more popular girl named Becca. During a school dance in March 2009, Matthew was humiliated by Becca and ended up in a horrible car accident, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Destiny visited Matthew at the hospital and offered him moral support, which meant a lot to Matthew since none of his other supposed friends had come by. They continued to get closer as the year wore on, although Matthew remained oblivious to the fact that Destiny liked him as more than a friend.

After Matthew's accident, Destiny began pestering her brother Shaun for their brother Greg's phone number. Destiny believed that Greg, a doctor, could help Matthew walk again, but Shaun refused. He held a grudge against Greg for walking out on their family after becoming a world-famous surgeon. When Greg came to town to evaluate Matthew, Destiny thought it was because she had wrote him asking him to come, but Shaun knew better - Greg had come only because Clint Buchanan had promised him a large payment to evaluate Matthew. Greg quickly decided to leave town when Matthew's parents decided not to proceed with the surgery, upsetting his sister. But after Shaun's girlfriend Rachel Gannon challenged Greg to fix things with his brother and sister, Greg decided to stick around. Matthew was furious at his parents for refusing to allow him the operation, and Destiny suggested he take his parents to court and win the right to get the surgery anyway. On the day of his mom's wedding, Matthew leaned in to kiss Destiny but was interrupted by Téa.

Destiny's brother Shaun was shot multiple times while he was protecting Starr Manning and her baby. Shaun got through the first surgery OK, but he suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a coma during a follow-up operation performed by Greg. Destiny was heartbroken at the thought that Shaun might never wake up, and Matthew comforted her during the ordeal. Matthew won the right to have the surgery, but Greg refused to operate since he blamed himself for his brother's condition. When Matthew found another surgeon who would operate, Destiny bought him new sneakers for him to wear when he was able to walk again.

After learning that Matthew's parents had enrolled him at a London boarding school to keep him from having the surgery, Destiny recruited Matthew's brother David Vickers to help her track him down. Destiny and David flew to London and Destiny showed up in London just as Matthew was preparing to run away from the school with a fellow student, Danielle Rayburn. Destiny was immediately jealous of Danielle and recognized that there was a connection between Dani and Matt. Destiny helped Matthew escape the school and fly to Seattle before returning to Llanview, where she got in trouble with her family for leaving the country without telling them. Destiny begged her brother Greg to fly to Seattle to help with Matthew's operation, and Greg agreed after Shaun made a personal plea as well. Destiny, Greg and Rachel all flew to Seattle, where Greg assisted in the operation and ensured that the surgery was a success. The entire Evans family flew to Seattle with Nora and Bo for Thanksgiving Day and, when Destiny dropped a fork on Matthew's leg, Matthew excitedly exclaimed that he felt it. Matthew and Destiny were shocked when Danielle showed up at the hospital, looking for a place to hide out from her mother. When Rachel came into the hospital room to announce that Danielle was missing, a jealous Destiny forced Danielle to reveal herself. Danielle was subsequently kidnapped at gunpoint by Ross Rayburn, the man she believed to be her father, although she was later rescued unharmed. After several aborted attempts to tell Matthew how she really felt about him, Destiny took a chance on New Year's Eve and told Matthew she was in love with him. Matthew said he only thought of her as a friend, and Destiny accused Matthew of being in love with Dani and leading her on before she ran out in tears. Shaun told Destiny that she risked losing a good friendship with Matthew if she couldn't get past her hurt feelings.

Destiny eventually accepted her place in Matthew's life as a close friend and nothing more. She even reluctantly became a confidant to Matthew when he confessed his feelings for Danielle and told Destiny they had kissed. Destiny didn't want to like Danielle, but she realized that Dani was a nice girl and the two became friends. When Destiny decided to try out for the high school musical about Starr and Cole's troubled life, she was miffed when Dani auditioned as well - singing the same song Destiny had sung, only better. Danielle was cast in the leading role of Starr, while Destiny had to settle for the secondary role of Langston. Still, Destiny took comfort in the fact that Matthew would be playing opposite her as Markko, while a new kid in school named Nick was cast as Cole. Before rehearsal one day, Destiny entered the gym and saw Langston making out with Ford, a teaching assistant at Llanview University. Destiny told Matthew what she had seen, unaware that she was being recorded by the camera Markko had accidentally left on. Destiny and the rest of the cast was horrified when Cole beat Todd to a bloody pulp in front of them, believing that Todd had pushed Marty down the stairs and caused her to lose her baby. Destiny reluctantly accepted an invitation from eager student Darren to be his prom date. The more she tried to discourage Darren, the more he fell for her. By the end of the prom, Destiny had grown to appreciate Darren and was happily surprised when he kissed her. After Markko saw the tape of Destiny and Matthew's conversation, he confronted Destiny and she admitted that she had seen Langston and Ford kissing in the gym.

Destiny and Darren began dating over the summer, and Destiny took up her old summer job at the Llanview Country Club. She encouraged David Vickers to follow his heart and admit his love for Dorian Lord, which he eventually did. Destiny and everyone else was disappointed when David disappeared right before his wedding to Dorian. Destiny scolded Matthew for acting like such a jerk to Danielle and Nick after Dani dumped Matthew for Nick.

Destiny comforted Dani after learning that Téa had died while under her brother Greg's care and later was heartbroken when Dani was ordered to move to Tahiti with Ross. As Shaun became suspicious of Greg's behavior following Téa's death, Destiny first sided with Greg but began to have her own suspicions too. Destiny followed Greg to a clinic in nearby Cherryvale where Greg was treating a mysterious female patient and told Shaun about the patient. Before Shaun could investigate further, he got a call from police saying Greg had been found near-death in St. Kitts after being stabbed with a fatal dose of morphine by a supposedly dead Elijah Clarke. Destiny held vigil over Greg as he was rushed back to Llanview in a coma and was ecstatic when Greg eventually woke up.

Greg pressed his parents to come clean to Destiny and Shaun but they resisted until Destiny and Shaun stormed Greg's hospital room demanding to know what secret Eli was holding over Greg's head. On the day she turned 17, Destiny's world was shattered when her parents revealed they actually weren't her biological parents, and Greg admitted that he was her father. Greg had gotten a girl pregnant just after starting medical school. Rather than give the baby girl away, Phylicia and Richard agreed to raise her as their own. After Destiny demanded to know about her real mother, Shaun was stunned to learn that his old girlfriend Charlene had gotten pregnant by Greg while Shaun was in Statesville Prison. Greg told Destiny that Charlene was dead, and Destiny ran out of the room in tears.

Destiny felt betrayed by everyone in her family except for Shaun, who knew nothing about Destiny's true parentage, and moved in with Shaun to get away from her parents. On the day Greg was sentenced to six years at Statesville Prison for his part in Elijah Clarke's crimes, Destiny confronted Greg and learned that he had disposed of Charlene's body after she died in a freak accident. During the Christmas holidays, Darren arranged for Richard Evans to meet Destiny in the park so they could work things out. But Destiny wanted no part of it and lashed out at Darren, who told her he no longer wanted to date her if she couldn't get past her anger at her parents. Destiny turned for comfort to Matthew, whose own world had fallen apart after he caught his father making out with Nate's mother Inez. Destiny thanked Matthew for not pressuring her to make peace with her parents. Later, she and Matthew kissed.

Matthew seemed distracted in the weeks after he and Destiny kissed. Destiny wondered if she was the cause, but Matthew assured her that they were fine. Destiny and Danielle found Shane Morasco in the throes of an asthma attack in the school gym, and he would have died if not for their quick intervention. After Clint was accused of killing Eddie Ford, Matthew defiantly told Destiny that his uncle was innocent. Destiny pushed for answers and briefly considered that Nora was the killer, but Matthew told her that he knew his mother was innocent too. Destiny was approached by a local news reporter who was digging for news about the Ford murder, and Destiny told the reporter what Matthew had said about his uncle and mother being innocent.

The TV reporter, Bianca Morales, questioned Destiny again and was convinced that Matthew was guilty. Destiny rushed to tell Matthew and was shocked when Matthew admitted that it was true. Matthew and Destiny kissed, and then Matthew took Destiny into his bedroom and they had sex for the first time in May 2011. Destiny figured it was a one-time thing, but Matthew told Destiny that it meant more to him than that.

Destiny was devastated to learn that Matthew had been brought to the hospital by his parents after collapsing in their home. Matthew was unconscious and showed minimal brain activity, and Destiny overheard the doctors say that he was not expected to recover. Matthew miraculously woke up and tried to talk, but he soon fell back into a coma. Destiny confided in Danielle and Starr that she and Matthew had consummated their relationship. When Destiny began showing signs of morning sickness, Starr questioned if she was pregnant but Destiny lied that she and Matthew had used protection. Later, Destiny took a pregnancy test and was shocked when it said she was pregnant. As the weeks dragged on, Destiny continued to keep her pregnancy a secret. Shaun's girlfriend Vivian, herself an OBGYN, realized that Destiny was pregnant and got her to admit it. Destiny later confided in Shaun and Danielle that she was pregnant. Vivian told Destiny she would need the consent of her parents to have an abortion, so Destiny paid a surprise visit to her estranged mother and got Phylicia's approval to have the abortion.

She and her mother made peace and Destiny decided to move back in with her parents. Nora overheard Destiny tell a comatose Matthew that she was pregnant with their child and pleaded with Destiny not to have the abortion, offering to raise the child if Destiny didn't want to. Destiny changed her mind at the last minute and opted to keep the baby, sparking a rift between Phylicia and Nora.

The Buchanan and Evans families eventually made peace and prepared for the new arrival, while Destiny continued with her studies. In November, Destiny went to visit Matthew on Thanksgiving Day and was stunned to learn that he had just awoken from his coma. Matthew realized Destiny was pregnant and at first assumed the father was Darren or someone else, but Destiny revealed that Matthew was the father. Matthew was livid when he learned that Nora pressured Destiny into keeping the baby. Matthew had lost months of his life and didn't want to be saddled down with a new baby. He told a devastated Destiny that he would support her and the baby but didn't want to be a father and didn't want to be tied down to her. Destiny resigned herself to raising the baby alone.

In January 2012, Destiny went into labor during the final episode of cancelled soap opera Fraternity Row. Vivian realized there wasn't enough time to get Destiny to the hospital so she prepared to deliver the baby at the Buchanan mansion, surrounded by everyone in the family. Matthew showed up, having had a change of heart about supporting Destiny and being an active father, and was stunned to learn that Destiny had gone into labor. Matthew raced to Destiny's side and helped her deliver a healthy baby boy, which they decided to name Drew after Matthew's late older brother.

After Drew was born, Destiny hoped that Matthew would change his mind and be involved in Drew's life. However, he remained adamant that he did not choose to become a parent and Destiny raised their son alone. Matthew's family and Destiny urged Matthew to participate in Drew's life but were often disappointed with Matthew's refusal. Matthew did show concern for his son after Drew was briefly hospitalized with a high fever. Destiny appreciated his support but the incident did not bring them back together as a couple. Instead, Destiny began dating Matthew's roommate Jeffrey while Matthew entered into a new relationship as well.