Hi! I've recently gotten sick of Elena breaking Damon's heart so the result was this. Please review, is the OC too typical? is anyone out of character? your suggestions will make a difference!

Katherine Fell stood hunched over the kitchen counter, sleepily bouncing a tea bag and spreading her fingers over her cheek, trying to disperse the blood forming into a bruise on her cheek. At least he missed her eye, a black eye on the first day of her new school would've sucked. She breathed in the herb smell of the tea deeply. All natural green tea leaves, she tried to eat as healthy and organic as possible. Studies showed that eating holistically decreased the risk of depression and alcoholism and she was all for taking steps against genetic and social predisposition.

Moving back to Mystic Falls had been mostly her decision, to try and connect with her dead parents, but after last night she was starting to regret it. The town was much quieter then Boston and her step-father's drunken fits seemed a lot louder her. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as she imagined the town discovering the secret of her home life. They'd whisper about the true reason behind the bruises, the way it was so sad that the poor seventeen year old had to provide for her step-father after all the loss she'd been through. She sighed and took a large gulp of her tea; pity was the last thing she wanted. Pity never helped her, pity didn't change the fact her father was killed in an "animal" attack when she was a year old, and pity didn't bring her mom back after her "accident." So why would pity change the fact she was stuck with her alcoholic step-father for another agonizing year?

At 7:50, Katherine grabbed her backpack, got into her beat-up, forest green 1999 Corolla and headed to the local high school. She picked up her schedule from the front office, her classes seemed relatively easy. Maybe senior year wouldn't be that bad after all.

Wrong. Immediately after being introduced to her history class by and taking her seat, the whispers began.

"Did she say Fell?" a girl with pin straight brown hair whispered to a perky looking blonde, behind Katie's back.

"Yeah, as in the founding Fell's. Jenna's Logan must be like her cousin or something." The blonde whispered back quickly. "But both of her parents are dead. Her mom apparently an accident, but everyone knows it was suicide. Her father died from an "animal attack." Anyway, she lives with step-dad, he's an engineer."

Katie's heart raced and a blush crept up her creamy cheeks, did they think they were being quiet enough that she wouldn't hear? And was she just being paranoid or did she hear suspicion in the blonde's voice over the animal attack story? Katie fanned herself, hot with embarrassment over her past being mulled over by two strangers. She raised her hand.

"May I go to the bathroom?" she asked. With a nod from she left the room.

The bathroom was easy enough to find, the school was tiny, much smaller then her old school in Boston. She wished she could splash cold water on her face, but she didn't want to wash off the cover up over her bruise. She stared at herself in the mirror, her father had been part Latino, but she looked like her mom. She had small features, with striking green eyes and straight blonde hair, layered a little past her shoulders with choppy bangs across her forehead. Her skin was pale, but soft and warm. She liked her appearance, being pretty was something she could use to her advantage. It helped her get a fake I.D so that she could serve alcohol (not many teenagers got a fake I.D for eighteen instead of twenty-one), and it helped her get better tips from the drunk men at the bar. That money was key to her survival. Her drunk of a step-dad hadn't worked in four years. Katie bought groceries and other essentials and paid the bills with her meager pay checks and mom social security. Her step-father bought alcohol with his disability and he made it clear Katie was never to ask for a penny of his money. After all, he was doing her such a favor by drunkenly hitting her at least once a week and verbally abusing her at least once an hour. She should be so thankful that he sent her little brother away so that he could try and make her assume all of her mother's old responsibilities…

Her eyes pricked with tears, she was strong, she always had been for the sake of her brother, but things were getting harder. The bathroom opened and Katie hurriedly blinked the tears away.

A beautiful African American girl with bright eyes smiled at Katie as she took the sink next to her and started scrubbing smudged ink off her hand. "This always happens when I write essays." She explained with another smile.

"Same here," Katie smiled back.

"I'm sorry," the girl said, turning off the sink. "But I don't think I've seen you around school before…"

"Oh," Katie smile, showing her naturally straight teeth (thank god, her step-father never would've gotten her braces). "I just moved back to Mystic Falls a couple weeks ago, over February break, it's my first day."

"I'm Bonnie Bennett." Bonnie introduced herself, not offering a formal handshake but instead giving a curt little wave.

"Katherine Fell, but most people just call me Katie." She leaned up against the bathroom stall casually, Bonnie didn't seem to be in a rush to get back to class and neither was she.

"Fell? Are you related to-"

"Barely, my dad felt his family was too arrogant and had a falling out with them before I was born. Logan Fell, the old news guy is, like, my second cousin." Katie dismissed. The Fell's were rich, and definitely arrogant. They didn't even show up to her mom's funeral, and definitely didn't offer to take her in.

"Interesting, it's nice to have another founding family girl around." Bonnie laughed. "What grade are you in?"

"I'm a senior this year." Katie thought they were getting along well, maybe this school wouldn't be too awful after all. She prided herself on the fact that she tried to be a loyal, genuine person. She was someone who needed friendships to be happy, true friendship though, not shallow popularity where a bunch of girls pretended to like her.

"Me too, this year can't end quickly enough." Bonnie sighed. Katie agree, she wanted this year over so she could go to college and leave her step-father's house, but the sadness and longing in Bonnie's eyes made Katie uncomfortable. What could've made this girl hate high school so much? She was pretty and well kept, she didn't look like she was bullied… but then again Katie kept herself neat and feminine too and she was hiding a secret battle. "So have you met any other seniors?"

"Uhm, this boy Matt, I met him when I interviewed for a job down at The Grill." Katie recalled, blushing slightly. Matt had been sweet, he understood her need for cash. They talked for a bit about financial responsibility…and then about how they were too young to be talking about that boring stuff. He was cute too…

"No way! He's one of my good friends, he's a really good kid...and he's available." Bonnie smiled suggestively.

Katie laughed. "Oh god, maybe we'll bond over dirty dishes."

Bonnie laughed with her, "I have to get back to class, here give me your number and we can make plans or something." She said, pulling out an expensive looking cell phone.

Katie felt hot; she couldn't afford a cell phone on top of all the other bills she had to pay. At her old school her close friends knew the truth, but as shallow as it made her seem, she was a little embarrassed about not having money the money to keep such a common teenaged thing as a cell phone. "Actually, I don't exactly have a cell phone. My step-dad is an engineer and his cell phone is always ringing and interrupting things so he refuses to let me get one until I'm eighteen." She lied, slightly rambling.

"That stinks," Bonnie pouted. "Well, if you work at The Grill I'll just come by sometime."

"Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, six till twelve." Katie recited. They had given her two shitty days but Thursday's were pretty decent.

Bonnie smiled, "See you around."

Katie waited another minute before heading back to class, thinking Mystic Falls wouldn't be so bad after all.

A little after five Katie changed into a simple white, v-neck t-shirt (tight and low cut to help bring in the tips), jeans, and a comfortable but stylish pair of cowgirl boots. She twisted her blonde hair into a messy bun and fluffed her bangs. After a touching up the make-up over her bruise she was content with her appearance. She was pretty, if not a little young looking, and she wasn't against working what she had. A little flirting went a long way, taking the number of a seedy guy was an O.K price to pay when you got a $20 tip for it. She went down into the kitchen to grab one of the protein shakes she had waiting in the fridge.

"Look at you," Her step-father snapped, walking into the kitchen after her. He stunk like stale booze and had a cup of more vodka in his hand. "you look like a slut. You should just go topless to work. Make some money so we can get some real T.V in this house, none of this basic cable shit."

"Maybe you could sober up and go back to work, John." Katie sighed; she was used to his disgraceful remarks.

"Excuse you? Who gave you a place to live out of the goodness of their hearts? ME! And you go parading yourself around MY house with your tits hanging out, and then you have the nerve to refuse me. You fucking tease. Get the fuck out!" he yelled, splashing his vodka and juice all over the floor as he gestured wildly to the front door.

"My pleasure, don't forget to sleep on your side, wouldn't want you to choke on your own vomit." Katie said sarcastically, grabbing her bag and keys and rushing out the door before she really set him off.

She got to work a little early, just as the dinner rush was coming to an end. The bartender before her had stocked the bar pretty well so she just dropped her bag behind the counter and settled in to wait for customers. It was a Monday night so it wasn't like she was expecting more then a handful of men who were stopping to get a drink after staying too late at the office.

By eleven, only seven people had come in. A few chatted with her and left decent tips, but the others just wanted to be left alone to drown their sorrows in Jack Daniels, which she understood. The busboy on duty was flipping the chairs on top of the tables, lazily wiping crumbs off. Katie was sketching a tree onto a napkin, a tree her mom had described to her when she couldn't fall asleep as a kid, a hearty white oak. In the story, the white oak tree was in danger so Katie's great-great grandfather requested an acorn from the tree to plant elsewhere. The story had made her feel connected to her dad's family, and put her to sleep, dreaming of dancing under the full branches of the tree with her dad.

A cough interrupted her daydreams and she looked up to find Mr. Saltzman sitting sheepishly at the bar. "Hey Katherine, if your uncomfortable serving your teacher I can go…" he offered, registering her look of surprise.

She laughed, "Don't worry about it; I've served plenty of my teachers in the past." Which was true, working at a main bar in Boston had lead to multiple run-ins with faculty members at her school, and somehow after a few free drinks they forgot to report her for being underage. "Just don't start hitting on me, please. Then it gets a little weird." She joked

"You have my word," he smiled, but then hesitated. "I can't speak for the man who's coming to join me, though. He's a bit of an ass…Try not to judge me for my acquaintances." He shrugged, flipping through a menu.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not one to judge. What can I get you?" she offered, sliding the colored napkin away from her carelessly.

"Just whatever's on tap is fine."

"You got it." Katie smiled, pulling a frosty glass from below the bar.

"This picture is really detailed, Katherine. Did you ever think about pursuing art after high school?" Mr. Saltzman mentioned, staring intently at her tree. He was studying it with a strong and curious eye; she didn't think the tree was even that good.

"Nah, I think I'll study Bio-Chem. I'm a science geek." She joked, placing his beer in front of him.

"Mind if I keep this then? Since its not going in your portfolio." He smiled.

Katie found his interest in her drawing disturbing. Was he going to turn into a psycho-stalker, collecting her meaningless scrap papers that she threw in his class recycling bin? But she was never rude to a customer, and Mr. Saltzman seemed like a genuinely nice and normal man. "Go right ahead."

The bells rang, signaling someone entering the bar. Katie glanced at the clock. "Last call." She stated, it was 11:52 and she still had some homework.

The raven haired man approached the bar with a cocky smile. He was hot, really hot and he sat right next to Mr. Saltzman. "Twenty bucks says I get more then one drink." He said, sliding a bill across the counter.

She slid the bill into the tip jar under the counter. "Okay, two, but drink fast. What will it be?" He was gorgeous, but she wasn't intimidated by good-looking strangers in leather jackets.

"I was thinking I'd just have as many as I want." He said, staring directly into her eyes with a sickly sweet smile and assertive voice.

"Damon," Mr. Saltzman warned.

"No, you'll have two. Now what can I get you?" Katie answered, and the blue-eyed bad boy, Damon, looked confused by her lack of conformance.

"Your best whisky on ice." He ordered, and then grabbed her hand gently. "This is a pretty bracelet. Did your boyfriend give it to you?" he asked, touching the dangling hollow heart before hastily pulling away as if the metal burned him.

"No, my mother left it to me in her will." She replied, somewhat hoping his behavior would improve. She poured him his drink.

He gave a crooked smile, "I'm Damon Salvatore. I like blondes." He smiled, looking from her face, to her chest, and back to her face. Katie was used to men like him.

"Katherine." She offered her full name.

Damon made a face and drained his glass. "I don't like Katherines."

"That's a shame." Katie said sarcastically, pouring more liquor into his glass.

"I might make an exception if your lucky." He said with the same crooked smile.

"Damon, did you have something to tell me or would you like to continue hitting on my student all night?" Mr. Saltzman interrupted; Katie shot him a thankful glance.

"Your right, I've had enough of your indecisive little students." Damon said bitterly, and Katie had a feeling he wasn't talking about her. "Give us some privacy, Kate."

"For you, it's Katherine." She said sweetly, walking away to give the two privacy. It might've been because she was getting tired, but she thought she saw Mr. Saltzman hastily slide a napkin over to Damon Salvatore…