Chapter 1:
Oblivious
November 5, 2010


There was normal, then there was this. A girl standing in front of her vampire doppelganger.

Definitely not normal.

Katherine stepped into my room and closed the door, keeping her eyes on me the entire time. She knew I wouldn't risk the lives of Jeremy and Jenna because they'd come rushing in if I screamed. So I kept quiet, even as I stood from my dresser in just my underwear.

She really knew how to catch a girl off-guard.

"Hello, Elena," she said, leaning against the door, blocking my escape. The only way out now was through the window, and I doubted I was fast enough to carefully drop down to the backyard.

"Katherine," I replied uncomfortably, wishing I had clothes on. This was so awkward.

"I like your dress." She looked over at the bed, where my dress for the party was laid out. "I bet it looks great on you."

"Thanks," was all I could think of saying. Being half-naked in front of my vampire counterpart was really doing wonders for my vocabulary. "What do you want?"

"Oh Elena," she sighed, pushing off the wall and strolling toward me. "You can't fathom what I want."

"Try me." Why did I say that? Suicidal, much?

Katherine grinned at me, before suddenly appearing right in front of me and trapping me between her and the dresser. I leaned back, trying to keep my neck away from her teeth. I was so sure she was going to bite me that it threw me off when she started laughing.

"God, you smell good," she said. "All that fear and adrenaline rushing through your body. Mm-mm…"

I whimpered, trying to get put more space between us, but the dresser kept me in place.

"Chill out, Elena," she chuckled, moving away. "I'm not going to bite you."

I was confused. "You're not?"

"Nope," she told me, grabbing my dress off the bed and offering it to me. "I'm going to help you prepare for Caroline's birthday bash."

I took the dress. "You are?" Was I in the Twilight Zone or something?

"Yep." She gestured to the dress in my hands. "Are you gonna wear that? Or should I?" she asked with a teasing smile.

True to her word, Katherine helped me curl my hair and put on my makeup. She even got me a glass of iced tea from the kitchen. She was being helpful. It was incredibly surreal. "Why are you doing this, Katherine?"

"I'm putting my scent on you," she answered. "It'll drive Stefan and Damon crazy."

She said it so happily that I smiled before her words sank into my thick head. "So you're doing this to get on Damon and Stefan's nerves?"

"Of course." She grabbed a pin off the dresser and slipped it into my hair, keeping the strands away from my face. "Well, to tell the truth, I came here to kill you."

I tensed up, but after a few seconds of silence, I realized she was too intent on fixing my hairdo than planning my death, so I asked, "Why haven't you?"

She shrugged. "I've been where you are. Human. A Petrova doppelganger. Chased after by ancient vampires who want to walk in the sun without needing the lapis stones and hopefully conquer the world."

She seemed to finish with my hair and leaned down, her face next to mine in the mirror. I could easily picture us as twins, and briefly I wondered what it would be like to have her as my sister, what it would've been like to have a sister.

"They didn't see how foolish their plan was. All vampires walking in the sun? Free to kill and take whatever they want? Humans would die out faster than they could reproduce. We'd have no food source. No humans, no food, no fun. And they were going to sacrifice me to do it. Do you know what I did to keep alive, Elena?" She smiled lightly, no trace of mockery anywhere on her face. My face. Our face. "I drank vampire blood and let my neck get snapped. After I woke up, I ran. I left my home, my country, my life, just to stay alive. I sacrificed everything I cared for just so that I wouldn't be sacrificed." She giggled. "How's that for irony?"

"It's harsh," I told her, making her pause. "Your life. It was harsh. And unfair."

She frowned. "Yeah, it was." Then she blinked and smiled at me. "I'm glad you get it."

Suddenly, I woke up. It was disconcerting, but I was relieved. Katherine coming here and being helpful was just a dream. I relaxed, laughing to myself.

"What's so funny?"

I gasped, bolting off my bed. Seeing her at my window seat, a book in hand, made me realize that it wasn't a dream. Katherine was really in my room, really helped me get ready for Caroline's party…

The party!

I glanced at my clock, relieved to see that it was only six-thirty. I had time to get there, thank God.

"You passed out." I looked back at Katherine, and she seemed annoyed, but happy at the same time. "Was me being nice too much for you?" she joked.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Probably," I admitted. Then I frowned, touching the base of my neck. "My neck feels achy though."

"You fell on my shoulder," she shrugged. "I'd be surprised if it didn't hurt you at all." She set the book—my diary!—down and pushed me in front of the mirror. "We have to redo your hair. You ruined it tossing and turning."

She was right—it was a mess. "I'm sorry," I said. She did work hard on it.

"That's fine. I have all the time in the world," she reminded me, fixing the messy curls. I couldn't help but notice that we looked the same now, what with my curled hair and all. "Jenna and Jeremy left, by the way. I told them I wasn't ready and that I'd meet them there." She winked at me, making me laugh again. I felt as if we were friends instead of her being an evil vampire. With her in this playful mood, I couldn't summon a hint of fear at all, not like I had felt earlier when she first appeared in my room.

It occurred to me that she might have compelled me, but a glance at my neck showed my necklace in place, so I doubted that she did compel me.

"You hungry?" Katherine asked. As if on cue, my stomach suddenly felt so empty. I nodded. "Well, you'll be fed at the party, I'm sure. But here," she handed me another glass of iced tea, "it's all you have in your fridge."

"Thank you," I told her, taking the glass. It was the best glass of iced tea I'd tasted in my life. "Are you sure you got this from my fridge?"

Katherine grinned. "It is pretty tasty. I hope you don't mind, I had a glass earlier."

"It's fine," I shrugged, watching as she arranged my hair around my shoulders.

"There. Perfect," she proclaimed, stepping back. She looked oddly like a proud mother, like my mom back when it was her helping me dress up for stuff like this. I suddenly felt like crying. I missed my mom. "Elena? Why are you crying?"

Even though she sounded annoyed, I answered her anyway, "I just remembered my mom. I miss her."

The irritation left her face. "I miss my mom too sometimes." She put a hand on my shoulder. "It gets easier though. Take it from me," she said, winking again. I gave her a watery smile.

I stood up and faced her. "Katherine…thank you. For helping me out today." I was surprised when she hugged me.

"You're family," she told me. "As your great-whatever-grandmother, it's kind of my duty to look out for me and mine."

I giggled at the thought of her being my great-whatever-grandmother when she looked like my twin. "Right. Still, thank you."

She smirked up at me. "You're welcome." She kissed my cheek, and I felt like she was blessing me or something. "Have fun, okay?"

"I will."

Suddenly, she was gone, and I was alone in my room again. It felt weird being alone now, as if Katherine had imprinted her presence in my room and it felt empty without her. I don't know how long I stood there thinking of how much I already missed her, but I jumped and yelped, startled, when my phone rang loudly on my bed.

It was Stefan.

I grinned as I answered, excited to see him all of a sudden. "Hey Stefan!"

"Elena, where are you?" he asked, sounding worried. "Jenna and Jeremy are here and you're not. You told me you'd be riding with them, but they said you said I was picking you up."

"Jenna and Jeremy left, by the way. I told them I wasn't ready and that I'd meet them there."

Ugh, Katherine didn't mention that she'd told them I would be getting a ride from Stefan! "Didn't you get my message?" I said, wincing quietly as I lied. "I asked you if I could get a ride from you. You didn't reply, but I thought you wouldn't mind."

Stefan sighed in relief, and I realized he thought Katherine was involved. Well, he was right, but he didn't have to know that. Not when he saw her as an enemy and I actually felt safer with her around. He'd painted her out to be such a bad person and, yeah there was that time when she compelled Jenna to stab herself, but I realize now that it was more to hurt Stefan than it was to hurt me.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Stefan said, bringing my attention back to him. "I didn't get it, but don't worry, I'll come and pick you up."

"Okay. I'll wait."

"See you in a bit. I love you," he said, making me feel like melting into a pile of mushy goo. God, I loved him.

"I love you too," I replied, stifling the urge to squeal excitedly like a little girl. Suddenly, I realized I was still barefoot, so I slipped on a pair of heels and grabbed the rest of my things.

As I gave myself a last glance in the mirror, I spied the empty glass on my dresser and felt my throat burn with thirst. So I took the glass with me and made my way to the kitchen for another drink. This amazing smell drifted through the air, and I realized it was a pitcher of iced tea. A note next to it, probably from Katherine, read, 'No ice needed.' I shrugged and poured myself another glass and it tasted as good as I remembered. By the time Stefan arrived, I managed to finish the entire pitcher.

"Hey," he greeted, kissing me briefly. "Ready?"

"Yeah," I nodded, grabbing my things off the counter and taking his hand. "I hope they have iced tea there. I'm parched."


Author's Note

I had a dream that I had a twin who helped me get ready for my friend Caroline's birthday party, then I watched Vampire Diaries, and then I wrote this because my muse told me to. Thank you, my wonderful muse, for gracing me with your presence again. You inspire me always.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. I did dream that Damon Salvatore bit my neck and drank my blood and killed me and I woke up. Unfortunately, I did not wake up as a vampire. *disappointed sigh* Go team Damon! =))