The day had finally arrived - it was time for me and my family to return to Mystic Falls. The death of my father and my brother two years ago had hit my mother hard, harder than anything she had to endure before. I had managed to put it behind me, realizing that dying is something that happens even to the best of us. We cannot escape from the Grim Reaper, for he will always find us when the time was right. Needless to say, my mother did not agree to my views. The death of them broke her apart. But the claim for a fresh start was something that forced us to pack our bags and move from New Orleans to Mystic Falls - it was the birth place of my father and my mother, the place where they spent many happy years together before leaving their old life behind to start a new chapter in New Orleans.
I was especially thrilled to move to Mystic Falls - after all, it was the place where my cousin, who was my best friend firsthand, lived. I had spent many summers in the small town, and had developed a trusty circle of friends who I wouldn't trade for anything in this world.
The first thing I noticed when my mother and I arrived at our house was Caroline, along with Bonnie and Elena. The three girls had huge smiles on their faces as they stood in front of the house with huge 'welcome back' balloons in their hands. The cheesiness of the act made me laugh as my mother and I shared a smile. The car was parked into its rightful place as I practically ran out of the car, latching myself onto the three girls. If it wasn't for Bonnie and her strength we would have surely fallen onto the ground.
"We finally have you back!" Elena exclaimed, making me laugh at her. The girl hadn't changed much, although I noticed a certain spark in her eyes which I was sure was not simply because of my return. Bonnie was the cheerful herself, so was Caroline, even though I was sure the three of them were keeping a secret from me. I knew them better than I knew myself, and the nervous glances between them all made me more than certain that something was definitely wrong. I was about to ask them before my mother yelled at me to take me bags out of the car.
"Well, there goes our short reunion." I chuckled before wrapping my arms around the girls again. When I pulled away Caroline was staring at me with a grin on her face. I knew for a fact what that meant since it was something I had seen too many times before.
"I hope you're ready, because we're gonna go to the Grill tonight to celebrate your return." She exclaimed happily, sending me a wink before walking off. She knew that I would have declined her offer if she had stayed put. That she-devil.
"I guess there is no way I'm going to get out of this, is there?" I questioned Elena, who simply shook her head and waved me goodbye before dragging Bonnie along with her. With a shook of my head and a smile I headed inside of the house to help my mother place our things were they belonged.
"I can't wait to hear about the cute New Orleans guys you met!" Was the first thing Caroline said to me when she noticed me walking inside the Grill. I was barely inside the building when she was already up and running towards me. How she managed to stay so cheerful all the time beats me.
"Slow down, Caroline." I replied with a grin on my face. "You know me, I don't kiss and tell."
Caroline shot me an angry look while Elena and Bonnie next to her laughed at her expression. When the bartender came to us - who was unfortunately not Matt Donovan who I wanted to see really badly - I ordered myself a glass of bourbon. Thank God for Nathaniel from New Orleans and his fake I.D. making skills. The smile from Elena's face turned quickly into a frown. I followed her gaze and saw two new faces I had not seen before, one of them with black hair and another one with blonde. Muttering an apology to us, Elena stood up and walked over to the men.
"Caroline, why didn't you tell me there are new hotties in town?" I whispered to Caroline. At the same time the man with black hair looked over to us and sent a wink. Caroline rolled her eyes while I noticed that Bonnie was completely committed to her phone and not bothering to pay attention to anything around her.
"Lia, you need to stay away from them." Caroline whispered back to me, her eyes full of seriousness. I responded with a raised eyebrow. Wasn't she going to explain why?
"Where's the fun in that?" I questioned, standing up from the table. Bonnie was now staring at me as I walked over to Elena and the two unknown guys.
"Hi. Amelia Forbes." I introduced myself, my hand stretched out towards the black-haired man.
"Damon Salvatore." He replied, a smirk glued to his face. He kissed the back of my hand while Elena stood still, her eyes never leaving the other man. When he let go of my hand the blonde had his hand stretched towards me.
"Stefan Salvatore. You don't happen to be related to Caroline Forbes, do you?" He questioned, his eyes flickering over to Caroline before returning to mine.
"We're cousins actually." I replied with a smirk on my face. "I just moved to Mystic Falls."
"Okay, Lia, I need to talk to the Salvatores quickly. So you go back to Caroline and Bonnie, okay?" Elena said, pushing me towards the table where Caroline and Bonnie were intensively observing the scene.
"I'm sure we'll be seeing each other shortly, Amelia." Damon said as I turned around to shoot him a smile. Elena as well as Stefan glared at him before she dragged the both of them out of the Grill.
"That was entertaining." I said, taking a sip from my glass of bourbon.
"I have something for you." Caroline said, a smile on her face as she took out a small box from her handbag. The two of us were sitting in my room, on my bed. We had ended up leaving the Grill after a couple hours of chatting and catching up. Elena returned shortly, alone, although her mood had completely changed. So had Caroline's. The two of them shared glances every once in a while like the two of them knew a secret that no one else did not. Nevertheless, I decided not to question them about it. If the time was right they'd tell me what was wrong.
"You didn't have to get me anything, Care." I replied, opening the package. Inside was a bracelet, fully made of silver. At the top of it was a small heart with a pink crystal in it. With a smile on my face I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Promise me you won't take it off." She said, taking the bracelet from my hands to help place it around my wrist. I simply chuckled at her, nodding. She, however, did not laugh, looking at me with the same serious look she had used before.
"I promise, Care." I now said as she let out a sigh before forcing a smile on her face.
"Sorry, it's just things have changed a lot since you were here. Mystic Falls is not that safe anymore." She mumbled, mostly to herself yet loud enough for me to hear.
"Is that why you wanted me to stay away from the Salvatores? They're not criminals, are they?" I asked, slightly panicking. She chuckled at my little outburst, shaking her head.
"No, but there are other people that are." She simply replied, not bothered to say more, the emphasis on the word people. I was quite confused at her statement. If there were dangerous people in town why didn't Liz arrest them? My trail of thought was cut short when Caroline jumped up from the bed and prepared to leave.
"Oh, another thing: if someone, let's say, someone with a British accent comes here looking for me, do not invite them in. I repeat, do not invite them in." She said as she turned around before opening the door to leave. I simply nodded, not sure what else to say. That was another weird incident that took place tonight. When I and Caroline reached to my house she stayed put, not stepping over the doorstep. Only after I had invited her in she would do so.
"See you at school tomorrow!" Caroline exclaimed with her usual cheerful tone, sending me an air kiss before walking off. I was now more than sure that something weird was going on in Mystic Falls, and I intended to find out what it was, whatever it takes.
