I was heading home. I can't remember the last time I was there. I had visited a couple times in the past, stayed for a few days but this was different. I was planning on starting my life over in the place it had begun. I had planned on coming back eventually, but every time I made up excuses for myself. This time I wouldn't I was already on my way in to town. It was official, we just passed the sign that said "Welcome

To Mystic Falls". I was home. I had grown up in this town, maybe not recently but it was my home, it is my home. I don't know why I was coming back nothing was here for me, my family was gone, my friends, everything but yet something was pulling me back and I didn't know what.

I was born in 1849 in Mystic Falls, Virginia to Agapito and Genowefa Lombardirelo. I grew up in a manor on the outskirts of town, and was best friends with my neighbour; Stefan and Damon Salvatore. We grew up together, our mothers were the best of friends and our fathers had grown up together as well. Stefan had been two when I was born so we ended up spending more time together than the six-year old Damon. I was close with the both of them but more so Stefan, he was my best friend, and Damon was more like my older brother but they were still both my best friends and I loved them both the same.

I guess part of me knew why I was going back, a part of me hoped they would be there but from my many conversations with Zach I knew that Stefan only visited once a year and that was in the fall, and Damon only came once every few years just to torment him (his words not mine). That is probably why I decided to come visit in the mid-spring, no chance of running into them. I was planning on staying at the boarding house, Zack had invited me to stay with him there a few times, I assume in hopes that I would come to visit. I had only visited once every few years, usually when there was a new Salvatore born. They were like family to me and they always treated me like one. The whole Salvatore family knew what I was and how I became what I was; they never had any problem with it. I was able to control myself and I myself convinced them to start to growing Vervaine in there cellar in case any one of us ever got out of hand or caused trouble. Though they knew my family had no idea that was one of my requests with Gurpecche when I was turned he wanted me to tell my family but I couldn't do that I wanted them to remember me for who I was when I was alive and not the monster I am now. I wanted their memory of me not to be tarnished. Part of me wanted to see the new generation of the Lombardirelo's but that was very unlikely, Zack had told me that the last of my family had moved out west to Oregon a few years back. Either way I was heading home and nothing would stop me coming.

I was getting off the bus when I saw something that made me stop dead in my tracks. It was a flash of light brown hair, walking along a black haired head. I remember where I had seen those heads before.

:-: FLASHBACK :-:

"DAMON SALVATORE YOU GET HERE RIGHT KNOW AND GET ME OUT OF THIS TREE" I screamed.

"You can't boss me around Clary" mocked Damon running away from the tree he tricked me into climbing.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Damon thought he could annoy by calling me the nickname my grandmother called me.

"Damon? What are you doing and why are you running?" That voice I knew that voice, it was the voice of an angel, well maybe not an angel but of one of my favourite people in the world….Stefan.

"STEFAN! Stefan up here! Please get me down!" I screamed.

"Clarissa? Clarissa is that you? Where are you?" He questioned.

"I'm up here in the tree." I answered.

"Tree? Why are you in a tree?" He asked looking up.

"Ask Damon he's the one that tricked me in to climbing it." I scowled.

"Damon forced you to climb the tree?" Stefan asked.

"Well….he didn't force me, more like said I couldn't do it" I said.

"Ha-ha" he chuckled .

"Stefan it's not funny you know he may as well threatened me with death. You know for a fact that I can't resist a challenge" I argued to him.

"Exactly Clarissa you should know better by now. How many times have you gotten in trouble for doing things people said you couldn't do…..hmm?" Stefan said. He was really starting to get on my nerves.

"Idon'tknowalot" I mumbled.

"I'm sorry what I couldn't hear that. What was that?" He mocked, I knew very well he heard it but he was just trying to push it.

"I said a lot ok! Just get me down from here Stefan you know I'm afraid of heights!" I sobbed.

"OH please don't cry Clarissa I didn't mean to make you cry." Stefan screamed.

Stefan was one of those people who couldn't stand to hurts someone's feelings ever.

"I promise to get you down Clarissa just….um give me a second I have to think just don't look down okay." Stefan was running around like crazy trying to find some way of getting me down we didn't have a ladder and he wasn't strong enough to carry me out of the tree with only one hand so we were in a serious predicament. Stefan kept pacing back and forth with a look of concentration on his face. He looked as though he had an idea but wasn't sure if he should try it, it was the look he always had on whenever Damon came up with a plan and I knew well to fear that look 'cause it usually meant 'this probably won't work, but I'll still try it anyway'.

"I have an idea Clarissa...but it may not work." Well at least he was being honest with me.

"Umm Stefan I don't know." I answered warily.

"Clarissa I know you're scared, but this is the only option we have right now."

"Uhh okay what is it?" I asked, scared to death of what the answer may be.

"Well…you jump out of the tree and I...well I…I catch you…" He trailed off.

"Stefan I…I don't know about this…are you sure you could catch me?" I was very wary of this plan.

"Trust me Clarissa please? You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you don't you?" He said in a pleading tone.

"I…I well….okay, okay Stefan I'll do it." I wasn't too sure about this but I knew I could trust Stefan.

"Okay. Clarissa I'm going to stand under you and when I count to three you jump okay?"

"Okay" I said nervous about the possible outcome.

"Trust me Clarissa." Why does he have to know me so well?

"I do" I answered a bit annoyed that he knew me so well.

"Then jump!" He yelled.

"Wh…What but you said on three it's not even one yet." I said hoping to gain some more time.

"You said you trust me so jump, Clarissa, jump!"

"I…I …" But I didn't finish my sentence cause next thing I knew I had jumped out of the tree and was flying through the air and landing in the arms of Stefan Salvatore.

"I told you, you could trust me." He said looking into my eyes.

I was so entranced by his green eyes that I didn't register myself answering "I know" until he had placed me

on the ground.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked while mentally looking me over to check for any injuries.

"I…I'm fine." I answered finally having regained my composure.

"Well okay let's get you back, I bet there wondering where we've gotten off to."

"Yeah you're probably right."

:-: END OF FLASHBACK :-:

The person behind me bumped into me trying to get off the bus and said something angrily to me and then stormed off, I yelled a half heartfelt apology back at them, mentally cursing myself for doing so 'cause right then those two people turned their heads in my direction.

"Clarissa? Clarissa is that you?" The voices asked simultaneously. Voices I knew too well.