Bright yellow streams pierced through the darkness of a murky highway, as a pair of headlights cast a glow on a young couple sitting in the front seat of an SUV — talking, in complete comfort, unaware of the danger they were about to face.

"An hour's drive to hear that crap," a young man, Darren Malloy, complained to his girlfriend, letting out a scoff of disbelief. "You know, it wasn't even a band, just a guy with a guitar. An hour — each way."

Brooke Fenton, the blonde-haired girl who was sitting next to him, rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the smile that spread across her pretty face. "Oh, come on!" she chided, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "He wasn't that bad."

"He sounded like James Blunt," Darren countered, his tone oozing with distaste.

Brooke crossed her arms, feigning offense. "And what's wrong with that?" she asked, raising a brow.

"We already have a James Blunt," Darren explained. "Trust me when I say that one's all we need."

Brooke shyly diverted her gaze to the car's carpet flooring. "So, why did you come then?" she muttered under her breath. "What was the point in going, if you were just going to complain about it on the way there and the way back?"

"You really wanna to know why?" Darren turned his head toward his girlfriend, only glancing at the seemingly never-ending road out of the corner of his eye and making sure to keep a steady hand on the steering wheel. "I came to that stupid concert, because I love you."

Brooke squinted her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "Hm, nicely done."

All of the sudden, a cloud of mist began to roll by — growing thicker and thicker with each passing minute and shrouding the car's view.

Watching as the white vapor swirled around the vehicle, Brooke couldn't stop the frown that settled on her face. "What's with all the fog?" she mumbled, confused.

Darren looked back in front of him, squinting at the clouded windshield. "I don't know..." He pulled the lever underneath the steering wheel and turned on the windshield wipers. "But it'll probably clear in a minute. Don't worry."

Widening her eyes at the sight of a silhouette in the midst of the fog in front of the car, Brooke shouted, "Watch out!"

At the sound of Brooke's yell, Darren slammed on the brakes — just not fast enough to stop the man in the road from colliding with the front of the car and his body from tumbling over the hood and onto the pavement behind them.

Instinctively, Darren yanked the steering wheel, causing the Jeep to skid across the road and come to screeching halt. Letting out a deep breath, he turned to his girlfriend, asking, "Are you okay?"

But Brooke was obviously not okay, beginning to hyperventilate. "We just hit someone. Oh, my G-d," she whispered in horror, feeling the tears leak from her eyes and trail down her cheeks.

"Holy shit." Darren ran his hands over his face, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread at just how real this situation was. He let out a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, as he racked his brain for some sort of solution — anything. Clearing his throat, he reached into his front pocket for his cell-phone and handed it to Brooke. "Okay, uh, just call for help," he ordered, before exiting the car.

Brooke nodded numbly, beginning to dial 9-1-1 with her trembling fingers. As she waited for it to start dialing, she peered through the windshield, trying look for someone — anyone — but the fog was still thick, and she couldn't see a damn thing. Not hearing the phone calling, Brooke glanced back at it, only to let out a frustrated yell, when she saw there was no signal.

A few feet away, Darren headed toward the injured man, who was laying on his back in the middle of the road. Crouching down to see the body — or, most likely, what was left of it — Darren muttered, "Please be alive." He grabbed the man's hand, trying to find a pulse, but froze when he saw some sort of gleam out of the corner of his eye. Noticing a strange but distinct ring on the man's finger, Darren's eyebrows furrowed. Curious as to who this man was, he peered down, attempting to get a look at the stranger's face, but still, it was too dark to see anything.

All of the sudden, the man —who was, apparently, not injured in the slightest — reached up to grab Darren and tilt his head, in order to expose his neck. Gleaming white fangs elongated from the mysterious man's mouth, and he ducked his head down lower and lower, until his sharp teeth sank into Darren's flesh with a sickening crunch.

Back in the SUV, Brooke let out a huff of breath, frustrated. After throwing the utterly useless phone to the back of the car, she unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the vehicle. "There's no signal!" she called out to Darren, only to be responded to with silence. Brooke froze, feeling her body become rigid from the unadulterated feeling of fear that ran through her veins. "Darren?" she called out, as her eyes attempted to search through the darkness for any sign of her boyfriend. "Darren?"

Hearing a loud slamming sound cut through the silence of the night, Brooke spun around, just in time to see Darren's dead body slam onto the hood of the car, his neck torn apart. At the sight of her boyfriend's mutilated corpse, a shriek of terror climbed its way out of her throat. Choosing to flight instead of fight whatever was out there, Brooke didn't waste any time and ran away as fast as she could, huffing and panting, as the air was slowly sucked out of her lungs when she did.

She continued to sprint down the highway — but she just wasn't fast enough. Her horrified scream echoed throughout the dark, just as her body was yanked off the ground.

Scarlett Sommers woke up with a gasp, clutching her erratic beating heart and running her hands through her messy bed hair — a result from tossing and turning throughout the night, after yet another nightmare.

They seemed to be happening often, but only as of the past few months were her dreams plagued with death — just around the time when her and her mother moved to Mystic Falls.

Scarlett was at a loss. She felt like screaming and crying out for help, but she knew that if she did, she'd be locked up in a room with padded walls and deemed as the town's newest nutjob.

And the young girl couldn't help but feel frustrated with the whole situation. She didn't know why she was having night terrors; all she wanted was for it to stop. And she hated that it was something she couldn't control.

But that didn't mean that she was going to let it swallow her whole. And she knew that this was something she had to deal with, too. That just didn't mean that she exactly wanted to.

The strawberry-blonde threw the covers off her body, sucking in a harsh breath, as her feet came in contact with the cold wooden floors on her way out of bed. Heading toward the bathroom, Scarlett couldn't help but shiver, as she stripped out of her pajamas — not wasting any time, as she quickly hopped into the shower and prayed that the warm water and soothing steam would clear her mind.

"Toast!" Jenna Sommers announced, as she gazed into the refrigerator. "I can make toast," she claimed, although her tone suggested she was quite uncertain about that.

Elena Gilbert shook her head at her aunt and sent the older — but not too much older — woman a smile, grateful for how much effort she was putting in for all of them. "It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," the brown-haired teenager was quick to retort, plucking the pot filled to the brim with the aforementioned steaming, caffeinated drink from the machine.

At the sound of heels clicking, they both turned their heads to see Scarlett Sommers, Jenna's daughter, who was descending down the stairs in a typically stylish outfit and making her way through the kitchen in confident strides. The green-eyed girl passed by Elena, and her cousin greeted her with a smile in return, only for the younger girl to respond by snatching the cup of coffee from her relative's hands with a smirk on her lips. "Yeah, it's all about the coffee," the strawberry-blonde mocked, repeating Elena's earlier words.

Elena scoffed but smiled nonetheless, unable to find it within herself to be mad, and grabbed another mug from one of the cabinets along the kitchen walls, starting to pour herself another cup.

Hearing yet another person making their way down the stairs, who's stomping was much louder and heavier than Scarlett's light steps, everyone turned their heads toward the person that just entered the room.

"Is there coffee?" came the voice of Jeremy Gilbert, revealing a brown-haired boy dressed in dark clothes, with smudged eyeliner lining the rims of his eyes, and his nails covered in dark, chipped black polish — who was, without a doubt, related to Elena, despite his drastically altered looks.

Seeing he was still going through that phase, Scarlett couldn't prevent the frown that appeared on her face. But considering what they all went through, she didn't blame her younger cousin in the slightest. Taking a small sip of her coffee, she let out a sigh, turning to the 'Breaking News' alert that was flashing on the television screen in the living room — only to widen her eyes at what she saw: two individual pictures of a very, very familiar couple underneath the headline 'Young Lovers Killed'.

Normally, Scarlett wouldn't think much of it, but the fact that the two victims seemed to be practically identical to the ones in her dream caused her to pay a lot more attention. Because they weren't just a random young couple who were tragically murdered together near the woods; they were the same young couple that she saw get murdered in her dream — a young woman and a young man who happened to be very much real and most definitely not a figment of her imagination.

And not only were they real, but like in her dream, they were dead, too.

Shocked and frozen in stance, Scarlett only managed to muster a quiet and horrified, "Oh, my G-d."

Frowning, Jeremy turned to his cousin with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?" he asked. His tone of nonchalance suggested that he was uninterested, but from the look on his face, his concern was evident. Sure, he was numb from the loss of his parents, but that didn't mean he didn't care any less — especially about his cousin, who comforted him every single night during the summer when he managed to cry himself to sleep.

Scarlett looked up, instantly shaking her head at Jeremy. "No, no," she assured with a false smile, dismissing his worry with a wave of her hand. "I'm fine."

Jeremy nodded, not believing her, but otherwise letting it go.

"Your first day of school, and I'm totally unprepared!" Jenna exclaimed, unintentionally turning everyone's attention toward her. The young woman nibbled on her lower lip, nervous. She was so used to just juggling her grad school classes and handling one kid — who was, luckily, independent enough to fend for herself — but trying to raise three teenagers was a lot, and she just wasn't sure if she could do it.

Spotting some power bars by the counter, she smiled and handed them out to the kids. However, sensing she was still missing something, Jenna squinted her eyes and reached into the back pocket of her jeans to search for some cash. "Lunch money?" she offered.

Elena shook her head. "We're good," the dark-haired girl replied for all of them.

But Jeremy obviously didn't think so, seeing as he snatched all of the cash from his aunt's hands.

Knowing that lunch was definitely not going to be what he was planning on buying with that cash, Scarlett's mouth twisted in discontent.

"Anything else?" Jenna asked. "A number two pencil? What am I missing?" she mused to herself, tapping the pads of her thumbs against the sides of her denim-clad thighs.

Scarlett clicked her fingers in front of her mother's face. "Mom!" she called out, snapping her mother out of her pre-first day of school haze. "Don't you have a big presentation today?"

Jenna nodded, sneaking a glance at the watch clasped around her pale wrist. "Yup," she muttered. "I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at — now." The older woman widened her eyes at the time and let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, crap!"

Scarlett chuckled and shooed her mother away with a smile. "Go," she whispered encouragingly. "We'll be fine."

In a flash, Jenna snatched her bag from the kitchen counter and stumbled out the front door, nearly tripping over a pair of shoes that happened to been haphazardly tossed onto the living room floor.

"Love you!" Scarlett yelled.

Jenna spun around, sending back a loud, "Love you, too!" before she hurriedly made her way out of the house and to her car to meet with her professor.

Back in the kitchen, Elena turned her head toward her brother, incapable of preventing the concern for her younger sibling from spreading across her face — the concern for her relative who's sanity was dwindling with each day he went without his parents. Their parents. The doe-eyed girl reached out to clasp a hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him somehow. "Are you okay, Jer?" she couldn't help but ask.

Jeremy shook off her hand and let out an annoyed scoff, sending his sister a dirty look. "Don't start." He sent one last glare in her direction, before he made his dramatic exit out of the house with a loud slam of the door.

Scarlett gave Elena's arm a quick, reassuring pat. "He'll be fine." She pursed her lips and added a quiet, "Eventually," under her breath.

But even she wasn't so sure about that.

In the passenger seat of a Prius, which was making its way down one of the main streets in the small, suburban Virginia town of Mystic Falls, Elena sat beside her friend, Bonnie Bennett, unable to stop herself from staring at the graveyard they passed by on their way to school.

Meanwhile, Scarlett sat in the backseat of their friend's car, listening to the dark-skinned girl's endless babbling about her newly acquired 'psychic abilities' and her so-called 'supernatural' ancestry that her grandmother confessed to her over one too many bottles of scotch.

"So, Grams tells me how I'm psychic, right? And apparently, our ancestors are from Salem. Like, witches and all that," Bonnie recalled her grandmother's drunken ramblings in a tone of disbelief and couldn't stop the scoff that left her lips. "I know, right?" she retorted with a skeptic chuckle. "But she was just going on and on about it. And I'm like, 'Geez, put this woman in a home already!' But then, I remembered my uncanny accuracy: I predicted Obama, David Cook, Heath Ledger, Britney's comeback, and I still think Florida will break off into little resort islands." Squinting her eyes at the rear-view mirror's reflection of her best friend, who was starting to doze, she called out sternly, but not without a smile, "Elena, hello? Back in the car!"

Momentarily frightened by the interruption, Elena jumped in her seat, snapping out of her daze. "I did it again, didn't I?" she muttered, sending her friend an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were saying..."

Bonnie smiled again, making sure not to display the overwhelming amount of pity she felt for her friend on her face, and said, "That I'm psychic now."

Scarlett's eyes twinkled with mirth, and her lips curled up into a smirk. "Okay, so if you're really psychic, like you say, why don't you predict something?" she proposed, tilting her head. "About us."

Bonnie let out a deep breath and relaxed her muscles, pretending to focus. "Hm, well, I see..." But before she could complete her prediction, something slammed into the windshield. And much like Darren did in Scarlett's dream, the raven-haired girl jerked the steering wheel to the side and slammed onto the breaks, causing the car to skid across the road. "Oh, my G-d!" she breathed out, placing her hand on her heart. "What the hell was that?" Turning around to check on her best friends, she looked at the two girls in worry — especially Elena, given the circumstances. "Are you two okay? I'm so sorry."

Elena sent her friend a reassuring smile, glancing to the backseat, where her cousin, like Bonnie, was watching her with anxious eyes. "I'm fine, okay? No need to worry about me."

"It was, like, a bird or something," Bonnie said, trying to make sense of the situation. But she was still frazzled. "It just...It came out of nowhere."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Scarlett subconsciously glanced at the windshield, spotting a lone black feather. "I actually think it was a crow," she muttered under her breath, which went unheard by the other two girls in the car.

Seeing that Bonnie's concern wasn't eased, Elena rolled her eyes chidingly and said, "It's okay, Bon. Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life."

Bonnie nodded. "Good." Deciding to lighten up the situation a bit, she claimed, "I predict this year is going to be kick-ass — for all of us. The sad and dark times are totally going to be over, and we're all going to be beyond happy. With hot sex, too."

"I'll hold you to that," Scarlett interjected with a small smile. Holding up a finger, she added, "Just one thing: if you're really psychic, how come you didn't predict the bird?"

All girls smiled and let out a laugh, feeling the tension from earlier slowly lift, as they continued on their way to school.

As soon as they arrived, the girls were met with students bustling through the halls of Mystic Falls High School, all eager to greet and catch up with the friends that they haven't seen all summer. Meanwhile, Bonnie, Elena, and Scarlett were strutting down the hallway, observing their old classmates and the newcomers.

"Freshmen," Scarlett commented, eyeing the ninth graders. "Tons and tons of freshmen."

Elena raised her eyebrows. "You mean, fresh boys," she retorted. "Scarlett, they're fourteen."

The aforementioned girl put a hand on her hip, using the other to wave dismissively at her cousin's judging tone of voice. "Eh, some more mature than others. And technically, they're only a grade younger than me." Scarlett glanced at her friends. "I'm supposed to be in tenth grade, you know."

Bonnie rolled her eyes slightly, wrapping an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "But you skipped a grade, since you're so smart, and now we're, unfortunately, stuck with you."

"And what a tragedy that is," Scarlett drawled jokingly, bumping hips with her friend.

Watching the two, Elena shook her head, but couldn't stop herself from chuckling under her breath.

Glancing around the halls, Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows, commenting, "Major lack of male real estate." Spotting a girl in an atrocious dress, she cringed slightly. "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot — can I still say 'tranny mess'?" she asked, stopping to lean by the metal lockers.

Scarlett rolled her eyes, letting out a small laugh. "Sweetie, that's over," she admonished with a wave of her hand. "And offensive."

Beginning to open her locker, Bonnie muttered jovially, "Ah, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."

Spotting Matt Donovan, her ex-boyfriend, Elena sent the blond-haired boy a small smile and a wave. But he just shook his head, closing his locker door and walking away, obviously still bitter about their break-up. Sighing in defeat, the brown-eyed girl turned to Scarlett and Bonnie, slouching her shoulders in disappointment. "He hates me!"

Bonnie sent her friend a reassuring smile. "That's not hate. That's 'you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, and secretly, I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits'."

Scarlett nodded. "Yeah, he doesn't hate you, sweetie," she agreed, looking at Elena. "He hates that he's not with you." Pausing, the strawberry-blonde couldn't help but add, "But what he does hate is that you were the one to break-up with him."

Elena frowned. "I don't get it," she muttered. "What do you mean?"

"In his eyes, it's like you emasculated him," Scarlett explained. The confidence in her voice supported the fact that she definitely knew what she was talking about, as she continued and said, "Guys like having leverage over us girls. They like to be the ones who call things off. Gives them a sense of power, feeds their ego." She rolled her eyes and patted her cousin on the shoulder. "You just bruised his ego, that's all. He'll get over it."

Bonnie raised a scolding eyebrow in her friend's direction. "Really, Scar?"

Scarlett let out a sigh of exasperation. "What did you want me to do, lie?" she retorted. "You know that I'm a terrible liar." Pursing her lips, she added, "Besides, I just shared my knowledge. You two should be thankful."

Bonnie shook her head, but otherwise smiled.

"Elena? Oh, my G-d!" came the ever so loud and high-pitched voice of the one and only, Caroline Forbes: blonde, over-achiever, and typical mean girl — but only when she wanted to. Which was, like, always.

Elena stumbled back from the force of her friend's hug and patted Caroline on the back, unable to stop the tense smile from spreading across her face.

"How are you?" Caroline asked, once she released her tight grip on Elena. She smiled, and a look of concern washed over her features. "Oh, it's so good to see you." Turned to Bonnie and Scarlett, she whispered, "How is she? Is she good?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Caroline, I'm right here," she spoke through gritted teeth. "And I'm fine, really. Thank you."

Caroline frowned, eyeing the girl skeptically. "Really?"

Elena nodded. "Yes, much better," she answered, almost robotically.

Wrapped her friend in another hug, the blonde couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Oh, you poor thing."

"Okay, Caroline," Elena breathed out, beginning to grow annoyed. Well, even more than she already was.

Clasping her hands together, Caroline turned toward the other girls with a large grin on her pretty face. "Okay, see you guys later!" Before spinning on her heel, she turned to Scarlett. "Remember: meet me at the grill, after school."

Scarlett nodded, and her lips ticked upward. "Wouldn't miss it."

Caroline nodded cheerfully, pivoting to face the other direction of the hallway and leaving the three to listen to the loud sound of her heels clicking against the linoleum and watch her curls bouncing in the air, as she walked away.

"No comment," Elena said, once the blonde was far enough not to hear them.

"I...I'm not even going to say anything," Bonnie replied.

Continuing through the halls, Bonnie couldn't prevent herself from halting in her steps, as she eyed a guy clad in a leather jacket, who was standing by the front desk in the main office. "Hold up." She squinted her eyes, trying to place him — but having no such luck. "Okay, who's this?"

Elena furrowed her eyebrows, shrugging. "All I see is back."

"And a well-sculpted back, that is," Scarlett added, humming under her breath in appreciation of what she could see of his muscles through the tight leather.

Bonnie tilted her head. "I'm sensing Seattle," she commented. "And he plays the guitar."

Elena let out a laugh, turning to face her friend. "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, aren't you?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Elena's gaze followed a figure swaying their way into the boy's bathroom. She let out a frustrated sigh, muttering in disappointment, "Jeremy. Of course."

Scarlett pursed her lips, grabbing her cousin's arm. "We'll be right back," she added.

Trudging into the boy's bathroom, the two cousins surveyed the area, keeping an eye out for Jeremy.

"Woah! Pants down, chick!" a guy by the urinal complained.

Scarlett rolled her eyes, turning to face the boy with her hands on her hips. "Get out," she ordered sternly, pointing toward the door. "Out, or I'll make your social life a living hell!"

"Okay, okay," he muttered, freaked out. "I'm leaving, geez."

Scarlett scoffed and headed toward Elena and Jeremy, who were by the sinks, which was where her elder cousin was cradling her younger brother's face and searching for signs that he was high — and he totally was, considering his eyes were bloodshot, and he reeked of pot.

Jeremy jerked away from his older sister, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Great," Elena muttered, annoyed. "First day of school, and you're stoned."

Jeremy scoffed. "No, I'm not," he denied.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "You're swaying, the blood vessels in your eyes are dilated, and you smell of marijuana," she deadpanned, pursing her lips. "Nice try, Jeremy, but those are clear indications that you're under the influence."

Jeremy shook his head and frowned at Scarlett, disappointed that she didn't come to his defense. But Scarlett had been doing that all summer, and quite frankly, she was tired of it.

Seeing he was distracted for the moment, Elena began to dig through Jeremy's sweatshirt pockets, trying to find his stash. And once again, he jerked away, but his older sister wasn't giving up. "Where is it?" she demanded angrily. "Is it on you?"

"Stop!" Jeremy snapped. "You need to chill yourself, all right?"

Scarlett closed her eyes, not wanting to watch what happened next. "Oh, you did not just say that," she muttered under her breath.

"'Chill myself'?" Elena repeated with a scoff. "What is that, stoner talk?" She rolled her eyes and mocked, "Oh, dude, you are so cool."

Frustrated, Jeremy pushed her away. But Elena stood her ground — remaining both determined and fed up. She continued to rummage through his coat pockets, fishing around for his stash.

"Stop, stop!" he complained. "I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy," Elena stated, annoyed. "I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself, okay? And now, I'm gonna be all over your ass, so every single time before you take that next bong hit, think to yourself: 'Is it worth it? Is it worth the 'Hell-Hath-No-Fury' of my crazy sister?' Because I will be there to ruin your buzz — every damn time," she ranted, indenting a finger into the fabric of his shirt. "Got it?"

Scarlett opened her eyes and let out a sigh. Judging from what she was listening to, this was not going anywhere, so for now, she decided to try a different approach. "Look, Jeremy," she spoke soothingly, not wanting him to get too defensive — well, more defensive than he already was, "we know who you are, and it's not this person. So, don't be this person, okay?"

Jeremy's eyes softened, but his change in demeanor only lasted momentarily — letting out what seemed to be his tenth scoff in the past few minutes and pushing pass his sister. "I don't need this," he grumbled, stumbling out of the bathroom and unintentionally bumping shoulders with his cousin.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows, looking toward Scarlett with a pained expression on her face. "Was I too hard on him?" she whispered, trying not to cry.

The strawberry-blonde walked over to Elena, reassuring softly, "No, honey, you weren't. Tough love is just what he needs, okay? Trust me on that." She grabbed her cousin's hand. "Come on," she said, tilting her head toward the door. "Let's go."

As soon as Scarlett and Elena exited the boy's bathroom, they crashed right into a solid chest.

Elena let out a gasp, seeing the person they bumped into was an extremely gorgeous guy — with a fair, yet well-sculpted face, forrest green eyes, and perfectly styled dark hair. All in all, he was stunning. Elegant-looking and seemingly ageless — much different in appearance compared to the other boys of today's generation.

"Pardon me." He frowned apologetically at the two, turning to the side and squinting his eyes at the sign on the door . "Um, isn't this the men's room?"

Elena spluttered, at a loss for words; meanwhile, Scarlett took over. "Long story short? Well, let's just say that her brother has some serious oppositional defiant issues," she explained. "We were going for the 'embarrassing, yet effective' tough love approach."

The boy smiled.

Having a feeling that they were going to be late to class, if this continued, Elena cleared her throat and shifted to the side, beginning to walk forward. But the mysterious guy seemed to do the same, blocking her way. Chuckling, she shifted to the other side, but so did he, and the two bumped into each other again.

Seeing their struggle, Scarlett let out laugh and grabbed her cousin's arm. "See you around!" she called, her heels clicking against the tiled floor, as she and Elena made their way down the hall and to class.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined the confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south..." Mr. Tanner, Scarlett's AP World History teacher, droned on. But she wasn't listening much, having already read a majority of the textbook over the summer and currently occupied with doodling in her notebook.

From where he sat next to her, Matt Donovan leaned over, curiously eyeing her drawing. "Wow, Scar, that's really good."

Scarlett hummed, continuing to draw. "Really?" she muttered, as she sketched. "You think?"

Matt nodded, impressed. "Yeah, it's amazing," he whispered. But he couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows, because as beautiful and intricate as the drawing was, he had no idea what it was supposed to be — which was why he asked: "What is it?"

The Sommers girl frowned, tilting her head at the picture in her notebook. "Just something I've been drawing." Truthfully, she hadn't even known what she had been drawing; it was just an image of something that had been stuck in her mind for the past few days. The sketch seemed to be of a stone wall with some sort of symbol etched onto the exterior of it. A pentagram, Scarlett mused to herself. "I think it's a tomb," she murmured.

From the other side of the room, Stefan, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, furrowed his eyebrows, but flinched and stopped listening, once a loud (at least, to his ears) buzzing sound emitted from Scarlett's purse.

Grabbing her phone from her bag, Scarlett gazed down at the device in her hands, seeing Bonnie sent her a text.

HAWT-E STARING LENA!

Looking up, Scarlett spotted just what Bonnie said: the guy from this morning gazing at her cousin, along with Elena smiling in response. The strawberry-blonde let out a slight chuckle, happy her relative was genuinely smiling for the first time in months — not noticing the disgruntled look from her blond-haired friend beside her.

The walk to the graveyard was silent. On their way there, neither Scarlett nor Elena said a word. There was an air of understanding between the two. Scarlett knew that her cousin had to do this. The brunette's daily routine of writing in her diary and visiting her parent's graves wasn't going to give her much closure, most likely just keep reopening old wounds, but it was something Elena needed. She wasn't ready to let go of what happened last spring just yet. Because, truthfully, Elena was still stuck in that car. She was still drowning in that lake by Wickery Bridge, and as much as Scarlett wanted to pull her out (metaphorically, of course), she knew that Elena need to swim to the surface herself.

Standing in front of the entrance, Elena took in a deep breath, as the rusty metal gates opened with an ear-splitting creak. She maneuvered her way through the cemetery, and her eyes glazed over slightly at the sight of all of the scattered plaques: tombs that were placed above the grass, which had coffins underneath it, and skeletons that were inside the coffins, which held the corpses of the names etched into the stone above them — skeletons that previously belonged to people who were alive and were loved when they were.

Like her parents.

Setting her bag down, the brown-haired girl plucked her diary from her tote and took a seat on the grass by the gravestones, Scarlett doing the same. While Elena began to write in her diary, her cousin pulled out her sketchbook, both of their pencils dragging across the paper.

Scarlett hummed under her breath while she drew, tilting her head at the picture on the page. It seemed to be an antique ring of some sorts. A blue stone was elegantly placed in the middle of it and an 'S' was etched in the center.

"Dear diary," Elena began to say aloud, "I made it through the day. I must have said, 'I'm fine. Thank you,' at least thirty-seven times."

This whole routine was a daily occurrence, ever since the day Scarlett arrived in Mystic Falls. While Elena would write in her diary, she would recite back the words to Scarlett, and she would say something like, "But you didn't mean it, did you?"

Elena shook her head. "No," she answered softly. "Not once." The brown-haired girl let out a sigh. "When someone asks, 'How are you?', they don't really want an answer."

Scarlett nodded. "That's true," she agreed. "Most people ask how you are either to just satisfy their curiosity or because they would've felt guilty, if they didn't."

Elena turned toward her cousin, revealing the tears that had began to swell in her eyes. "I-I don't know if I can do this, Scar," she admitted, her voice only a mere whisper. "I try to stay strong. I tell myself, 'I can do it. I can make it through the day.' Like a mantra. But I can't. I just can't. And I'm so tired of doing it — of repeating that over and over, but not feeling the least bit better about anything."

Scarlett licked her lips, trying to come up with the right words to say that would soothe her cousin — something that would reassure her, but not give her false hope. And once she did, she responded with, "Winston Churchill once said, 'If you're going through hell, keep going.' And I can tell you honestly that it's going to suck. You're going to be utterly miserable, and you're going to want to give up, along with having a nagging desire to run away from all of your problems. But if you never face them, you'll never overcome them, El."

Elena wiped a lone tear that fell down her cheek, letting out a soft, yet sad chuckle.

Scarlett closed her eyes and leaned her head on the taller girl's shoulder. "But I'm going to be here and stand by you — every single step of the way. Even if it takes sixty years to do it."

Elena patted her cousin's head. "Thank you."

The green-eyed girl didn't say anything; she just nodded. Scarlett knew there wasn't anything else left to say about the matter. The best thing she could do was let Elena know that she would be there for her. And like always, she would be.

Hearing a distinct cawing sound, Scarlett's eyes snapped open, spotting a crow perched on top of her aunt's tombstone.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay," she muttered, finding its presence off-putting. "Hi, bird." The olive-skinned girl frowned, adding under her breath, "'Cause that's not creepy or anything."

Scarlett eyed the crow wearily, fearfully latching onto her cousin's arm. "Make it go away," she whispered.

Elena let out a scoff. "What am I, a bird whisperer?" she retorted.

Suddenly, a thick, misty fog crept its way through the cemetery, inching its way around each and every tombstone and settling itself around Elena and Scarlett — adding to the already eerie, Twilight Zone-like atmosphere.

Once again, the brunette furrowed her eyebrows, while Scarlett rolled her eyes, and a sarcastic smile spread across her face. "And here comes the fog," the younger girl mused through gritted teeth. "That's just great."

Elena frowned, still feeling the crow's eyes on her. "Shoo!" she shouted. Seeing the bird wasn't moving, she lunged at it and tried to scare it away. "Go away!" she demanded, pointing a finger in the opposite direction of the cemetery. And the crow flew away, doing just that.

Scarlett looked around at the fog wrapped around her ankles and glanced at her cousin. "Can we please get out of here?" she snapped suddenly. The green-eyed girl felt like she was in the middle of a Hitchcock film. And she hated horror movies. "I have a really bad feeling, Elena. Can we just go, please?"

Elena nodded, the same odd feeling churning in her gut. "Yeah," she muttered in agreement. "Let's get out here."

So, both cousins took off, sprinting their way out of the cemetery — which led to Elena tripping over a log on their way down the hill. And for the second time today, they slammed into a solid chest — the same solid chest.

"Are you okay?" came a concerned voice.

The two girls scrambled backward and slowly regained their balance. Elena tried to stabilize her breathing, while Scarlett's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion, seeing the boy from their history class. "Were you following us?" she questioned with a hiss, latching onto her cousin's arm — ready to bolt at any given minute.

"No," he responded immediately, only to admit moments later, "Actually, yes. I saw you fall."

Scarlett let out a scoff. "And who are you, exactly?" she retorted, her lips curling up into a snarl. "What, some kind of creepy pervert who lurks in graveyards and preys on young girls?"

Elena widened her eyes at her cousin's lack of tact. "Scarlett!" she chastised.

The dark-haired boy cleared his throat, bowing his head slightly. "I was visiting," he replied hesitantly. "I have family here."

The strawberry-blonde closed her eyes momentarily from embarrassment, letting out a chuckle. "Okay, um, wow. I am so sorry," she apologized, nervously running her hands through her hair. "That was extremely hostile of me. But it's just that you came out of nowhere, so I kind of assumed..." the green-eyed girl trailed off, shifting slightly on her feet. But still, she could've sworn she saw a figure standing behind one of the statues back in the graveyard.

Elena nodded, adding, "Plus, there was this crow. And the fog. It was making us...foggy. It was all very Hitchcock. That's Hitchcock, right?" She scratched her head, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. "The bird movie, you know?"

The mysterious boy licked his lips. "No worries," he brushed off with a kind glance.

Scarlett grinned, flashing her bright white teeth. "I'm Scarlett," she introduced charmingly. The strawberry-blonde then gestured to her cousin, who stood awkwardly beside her. "And this is Elena."

The aforementioned girl tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, giving the boy a wave and mustering a small tug of her lips.

He smiled at the two. "I'm Stefan."

"I know," Elena replied quickly, causing Scarlett to cringe slightly. The brunette spluttered momentarily, adding, "We have history together."

Stefan chuckled. "And English and French." Tilting his head, he reaching over to brush something out of the brown-eyed girl's hair, only to get a confused frown in response. "You, uh, had a leaf," he explained.

Elena grinned shyly. "Thank you," she replied softly.

Scarlett looked on at the scene with a smile — because for the first time in a while, Elena looked happy. Genuinely happy. And the younger girl was glad for her. But the strawberry blonde's smile didn't last for long, noticing a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. She hummed curiously, spotting an interesting and familiar ring on Stefan's finger. Lapis lazuli. The same distinct ring in her drawing. "That's a nice ring," she spoke dryly, raising a slim auburn eyebrow.

Stefan smiled awkwardly. "Oh, thanks. It's a, uh, family heirloom." Then, suddenly, he paused, and his face features pinched slightly — almost like he was sensing something. "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked, looking at Elena.

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows, confused. "Uh, I don't think so," she muttered. But just to make sure, Elena kneeled down, only to gasp at the sight of her torn pants and the blood that was oozing out of a cut on her knee. "Oh, well, would you look at that? That's not pretty."

Scarlett frowned, seeing that Stefan was fixated on her wound. A little too interested, for her taste. It was almost like he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. And he was panting rapidly, causing Scarlett to tilt her head, wondering to herself, Did he have haematophilia or something? Clearing her throat, she turned her focus toward Elena. "Uh, infections are not cute, so we should probably get home and clean that up. Make sure you don't get lymphangitis," she suggested, eyeing the wound with distaste. It wasn't that the blood made her squeamish — because if that were the case, it would've been a major issue for her, considering Scarlett was hoping to become a doctor one day. However, it was more the fact that the blood was dripping down the older girl's leg and crimson-colored drops were staining her jeans. And for some strange reason, that bothered Scarlett immensely.

"You should go, uh, take care of that," Stefan suggested, glancing away from the blood.

Elena pulled her pant leg back down, and both girls turned around and looked up, but Stefan wasn't there. Almost like he disappeared out of thin air.

Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows, surveying their surroundings for any sign of the boy, but he seemed to have just...vanished. She turned to face Elena, sending her cousin a tense smile. "Now, can we please get out of here?"

Elena nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Let's go."

"Ah," Scarlett muttered, finishing up bandaging and sterilizing Elena's wound. "There we go."

Strutting into the room and spotting the gash on her niece's leg, Jenna said, "Yikes, what happened to you?"

"She's a klutz," Scarlett explained simply, standing on her feet. "And we saw the hot new guy at the cemetery," she added, sending a teasing smile in her cousin's direction. "He got all weirded out with the blood." The green-eyed girl frowned slightly, leaning over to whisper to her mother, "I think he has some sort of fetish."

"He does not," Elena countered with a roll of her eyes. Pausing, she frowned, sending her cousin a judging look. "And aren't you with Tyler?"

Scarlett crossed her arms. "Yeah, but I'm not visually impaired," she retorted with a purse of her lips. "Besides, it's not like we're exclusive or anything. It's just a little fling. A 'frenemies with benefits' type of thing."

Her mother's upper lip curled in disgust. "Okay, TMI," she spoke loudly, gesturing with the palms of her hands for her daughter to stop talking. "The last thing I need to know is about your sex life." The hazel-eyed woman scoffed, adding, "Actually, scratch that. You know what? It is my business. You're using protection, right? Because I have some condoms you can us-"

"Yes, I'm using protection!" Scarlett interrupted in a shrill voice. Letting out a sigh, she mumbled under her breath, "Teenage pregnancy is so last year."

Jenna let out a chuckle and muttered, "Well, it's great to know where your priorities are."

"Don't worry," Scarlett reassured, rolling her eyes. "I broke it off, once I heard he was hooking up with Vicki."

Jenna raised a brow. "Jeremy's Vicki?" she asked, surprised.

The green-eyed girl nodded sadly and couldn't stop her lips from curling downward into a frown.

Clearing her throat, Elena snatched her purse and car keys from the nearby table, announcing, "Okay, uh, we're going to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the Mystic Grill."

Jenna sent the two girls an apologetic glance for interrupting and smiled, saying, "Okay, well, have fun!" But just as she was going to leave the room, she halted, tilting her head and pausing momentarily. "Wait, I got this," she spoke, mostly to herself. "Don't stay out late; it's a school night."

Scarlett grinned at her mother. "Well done."

Jenna gave her daughter a thumbs up, spinning on her heel and heading back into the kitchen.

After a few moments, Scarlett and Elena began to head out, opening the front door, only to find themselves face-to-face with the one and only Stefan Salvatore, who was standing on their front porch.

"Oh," Elena muttered, surprised.

"Sorry," Stefan apologized. "I was about to knock." He licked his lips, letting out a sigh. "I actually wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was, uh, strange."

Scarlett let out a small scoff. "Yeah, that's a bit of an understatement," she replied. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, sending him another suspicious glance. "How did you know where we lived?"

Stefan chuckled softly, bouncing awkwardly on his heels. "It's a small town," he explained. "I asked the first person I saw."

Scarlett nodded, accepting his explanation. It was true; Mystic Falls was a small town, and everybody who resided in it knew everything there was to know about everyone else.

Turning his attention toward Elena, Stefan asked, "How's your leg?"

Elena shook her head, waving off his concern. "Oh, it's fine," she replied. "It's just a scratch. No big deal, really."

Scarlett nodded. "It could've been a lot worse."

Stefan's lips quirked upward shyly. "I, uh, thought you two might like these back..." He pulled something out of his pocket, causing the porch lights to reveal the two items in his hands: Elena's diary and Scarlett's sketch book.

The strawberry-blonde frowned, figuring they must've left it at the cemetery, considering they were in a major rush to get out of there.

"Oh," Elena muttered, slightly surprised, "I guess that we must've dropped them." Smiling politely at Stefan, she grabbed her journal and Scarlett's sketchbook, handing the latter to her cousin.

"Don't worry. I, uh, didn't read it or look through them," the dark-haired boy assured.

"No?" Scarlett pried, eyeing him skeptically. "Most people would've."

Stefan let out a laugh, before turning his attention toward Elena again, replying sheepishly, "I wouldn't want anyone to read mine."

A genuine smile appeared on the brown-haired girl's lips. "You keep a journal?" she asked, intrigued.

"Memories are important," he replied simply.

Elena sighed, knowing that was true. "Yeah, they are."

A couple seconds later, Scarlett and her cousin headed inside to put their things away, leaving Stefan lingering at the door, eyeing the threshold. Seeing he wasn't moving, Elena came back out and said, "You don't have to stand out there, you know."

"No, I'm fine," he replied. Noticing the purse and set of car keys in Elena's hand, the dark-haired boy furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry. Were you two going somewhere?"

Scarlett nodded from beside her cousin. "Yeah, we're meeting a few friends." Eyeing her relative, who was gazing wistfully at Stefan, she asked, "Do you want to come?"

Stefan smiled. "Yeah, I'd love to."

A little after Scarlett, Stefan, and Elena left for the Grill, the front door to the Gilbert house opened, and Jeremy entered the kitchen, just in time to see his aunt setting the table.

"Great!" Jenna exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "You're just in time for dinner."

Jeremy raised his eyebrows, surprised. "You actually cooked?"

Jenna sent him a tense smile, rage swirling in her hazel eyes. "All of your favorites."

The brown-haired boy sat down, only to look down at his plate, startled. "What is this?" he asked, gazing down at the assortment of pills, pot, and other various drugs on the ceramic tableware.

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows, feigning confusion and saying, "Strangely, I found the main course in your sock drawer." But her so-called 'obliviousness' didn't last for long and was soon replaced with anger. "The sides? Well, those are courtesy of your dress shoes." She pointed to the bong, letting out a strained chuckle. "Yeah, that one? Under the mattress." The hazel-eyed woman shot her nephew a disappointed look. "Oldest trick in the book, by the way," she added. Turning her attention toward the rolling papers placed on the napkin, she explained, "Those? Found them in your DVD cases. We'll save the girl-on-girl porn you hid in Iron Man for another conversation."

Jeremy scoffed. "I can't believe you went through my room!" he snapped, outraged.

Jenna shrugged, countering with, "Technically, it's my room." She sent him a pointed look. "Your parents left it to me, along with the responsibility for you."

Her nephew squinted his eyes, annoyed. "I guess that was their mistake, wasn't it?"

Jenna bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her anger in check. The last thing she wanted was to snap at him and make him feel more cornered than he already was, so like Scarlett did earlier in the boy's bathroom at school, she tried a different approach. "Just listen, okay?" she began softly. "Four month's ago, I was a single mom, raising her sixteen-year-old daughter. Your jack-ass of an uncle bailed the minute Scarlett was born, only sending the occasional birthday card and monthly child support. I could barely handle that, my professor's work load, and keep a plant alive. So, I'm not going to pretend to be some expert on parenting two grieving children, but the jig is up, Jeremy." The hazel-eyed woman let out a sigh, exasperated. "And I know how it can go one way or another for someone like you, so we're going to go textbook on this one."

Jeremy let out a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, and what's that?"

Jenna sent him a grim smile. "I'm glad you asked," she replied dryly. "And here it is: you're not leaving this house for two weeks. Just school, then your ass is on your way straight home. Every damn day. Got that?"

Fed up with the conversation, Jeremy shook his head, getting up from the table and stomping up the stairs, retiring in his room for the remainder of the night with a loud slam of his door.

Covering her face with her hands, Jenna plopped down onto one of the kitchen chairs and let out a sigh of defeat. "I suck at this," she muttered to herself. Peeking slightly through the crevices of her fingers, she spotted the marijuana on the kitchen table. Glancing at it wearily, she grabbed it and gave it a quick sniff, only to cringe at the smell. "Yeah. Definitely over that phase."

Around fifteen minutes later, Scarlett, Stefan, and Elena entered the Grill, catching everyone's attention: Matt's hardened gaze, the slightly bothered look from Caroline, the beaming expression from Bonnie, and an irritated scoff from Tyler.

Seeing Matt getting up from his seat, Scarlett mumbled, "Beware the ex-boyfriend."

The blond-haired boy approached the group of teenagers, sticking out his hand for Stefan to shake. "Hey, I'm Matt," he greeted kindly, giving his signature 'star quarterback' smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," the green-eyed boy responded. "I'm Stefan."

Elena sent her ex-boyfriend a friendly smile. "Hey."

Matt didn't respond verbally, only nodding his head.

Uncomfortable with the weird tension that filled the air, Scarlett cleared her throat. "Now, I hate to break up this adorable reunion," she began, internally cringing at her choice of words. "But I'm starving and craving some cheese fries," the strawberry-blonde explained, sending the blue-eyed boy a suggestive look.

Matt chuckled. "I'll order it for you, Scar," he offered.

The aforementioned girl beamed, leaning over to give Matt a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Matty!" she replied. "You're the best."

Soon after, they all headed to a nearby booth, sitting down and waiting for Caroline's impending interrogation.

"So," the blonde-haired girl began with a cheerful grin, raising an eyebrow at Stefan, "you were born in Mystic Falls?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Moved when I was still young."

Bonnie turned her attention toward Stefan. "Parents?" she asked, curious.

Stefan paused. "My parents passed away," he answered solemnly.

Scarlett frowned, grabbing Elena's hand from underneath the table and giving it a comforting squeeze.

Elena sent her a smile in thanks, turning toward Stefan, after a few moments. "I'm sorry," she whispered, a look of understanding washing over her features. Knowing the topic probably wasn't something he wanted to discuss, she decided to switch the subject. "Any siblings?" the dark-haired girl wondered.

"None that I talked to," Stefan responded vaguely.

The strawberry-blonde raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't a no," she whispered to herself, not knowing Stefan could hear her perfectly.

Stefan sent everyone a smile, although his gaze was mostly fixed on Elena. "I, uh, live with my uncle."

Getting irritated at the lack of attention toward her, Caroline directed the conversation back to herself. "So, Stefan," she chirped, sending him a flirty smile, "if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

Taking note of his confused expression, Bonnie explained, "It's a back-to-school thing at the Falls."

Stefan nodded in understanding, turning toward Elena. "Are you going?"

Elena spluttered, not sure what to say.

But before she could decline, Scarlett chimed in with, "Of course she is."

Smiling shyly, Elena tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, locking eyes with Stefan and leaving a satisfied Scarlett watching, glad her plan was going well and that things were starting to get back to the way they used to be. And although she had an inkling that it wouldn't be permanent, Scarlett vowed that she was going to enjoy the normalcy while it lasted.