CHAPTER ONE

AWKWARD MEETING

| Elia Gilbert woke with a sudden gasp, clutching at her erratically beating heart and pushing back the obnoxious bed hair from the tussle and turning she had done from continuous nightmares.

She had only been back a week and the nightmares were back, coming almost every night and Elia was starting to feel like she was losing her mind. This time, it had been a young couple driving back from a concert, they had hit a man and slammed on the breaks to stop, the man had gotten out of the car and suddenly he was gone . . . and when the girl came out, she screamed bloody murder for her boyfriend only to be attacked as well. Elia didn't know why she got the nightmares, only that every time she had them . . . they turned out to be real.

Taking a deep breath to calm her overworked nerves, Elia threw the violet colored comforter off herself and threw her legs over the side of the bed, shivering when her warm feet touched the cold wood floors of her bedroom. Deciding that a warm shower and a cup of tea would ready her for the first day of school, Elia did so.

Turning on the shower, locked the door to the bathroom and started to strip her pajamas, taking out her messy bun and belly ring, she checked the shower's water temperature with her hand before deciding to get in. Standing under the pouring water, Elia let it cleanse her, praying that maybe the water would cleanse her mind and ready her for the day. When would these nightmares stop?

...

An hour later, Elia found herself writing in her diary and sitting on her bed.

Dear Diary,

Something awful is going to happen today.

I don't know why I wrote that. It's crazy. There's no reason for me to be upset and every reason for me to be happy, but . . .

But here I am at 6:30 in the morning, awake and scared. I keep telling myself it's just that I'm all messed up from the time difference between France and here. But that doesn't explain why I feel so scared. So lost.

The day before yesterday, while Aunt Jenna and Jeremy, Elena and I were driving back from the airport, I had such a strange feeling. When we turned on our street, I suddenly though, "Mom and Dad are waiting for us at home. I bet they'll be on the front porch or in the living room looking out the window. They must have missed me so much."

I know. That sounds totally crazy.

But even when I saw the house and the empty front porch I still felt that way. I ran up the steps and I tried the door and knocked with the knocker. And when Aunt Jenna unlocked the door I burst inside and just stood in the hallway listening, expecting to hear Mom come down the stairs or Dad calling from the den.

Just then Aunt Jenna let a suitcase crash down on the floor behind me and sighed with a huge sigh and said, "We're home." And Elena laughed. And the most horrible feeling I've ever felt in my life came over me. I've never felt so utterly and completely lost.

Home. I'm home. Why does that sound like a lie?

I was born here in Mystic Falls. I've always lived in this house, always. This is my same old bedroom, with the scorch mark on the floorboards where Elena and I tried to sneak cigarettes in 5th grade and nearly choked ourselves. I can look out the window and see the big quince tree Caleb and the guys climbed up to crash my birthday slumber party two years ago. This is my bed, my chair, my dresser.

But right now everything looks strange to me, as if I don't belong here. It's me that's out of place. And the worst thing is that I feel there's somewhere I do belong, but I just can't find it.

I was too tired to go to Orientation. Elena picked up my schedule for me, telling me how excited everyone was to see us again. Aunt Jenna told everyone who called that I had jet lag and was sleeping, but she watched me at dinner with a funny look on her face.

I've got to see the crowd today, though. We're supposed to meet in the parking lot before school. Is that why I'm scared? Am I frightened of them?

Elia Gilbert stopped writing. She stared at the last line she had written and then shook her head, pen hovering over the small book with the violet velvet cover. Then, with a sudden gesture, she lifted her head and threw pen and book at the big bay window, where they bounced off harmlessly and landed on the upholstered window seat.

It was all so completely ridiculous.

Since when had she, Elia Maria Gilbert, been scared of meeting people? Since when had she been scared of anything? She stood up angrily and thrust her arms into a long-sleeved, pale pink sweater she had gotten from Paris. She didn't even glance in the elaborate Victorian mirror above the cherrywood dresser; she knew what she'd see. Elia Gilbert, cool and brunette and slender, the fashion trendsetter, the high school senior, the girl every boy wanted and every girl wanted to be. Who just now had an unaccustomed scowl on her face and pinch to her mouth.

Sorting through a few pairs of jeans from Paris, she finally chose a pair of blue jeans and black platform booties to go with her pink and black hearted top. Looking in the mirror, Elia smiled at herself. Good enough to eat, she thought, and the mirror showed a girl with a secret smile. Her earlier fears had melted away, forgotten.

"Elia! Elena! Where are you? You're going to be late for school!" The voice drifted faintly upstairs from below.

Elia ran the brush one more time through her curly hair and left it down to hang just below her breasts. Then she grabbed her black messenger bag and went down stairs.

In the kitchen, Elena and Jeremy were bickering about something, and Aunt Jenna was rushing around the kitchen. Aunt Jenna was the sort of some who always looked vaguely flustered; she had a thin, mild face and light flyaway hair pushed back untidily. Elia landed a peck on her cheek.

"Good morning, everybody. Sorry I don't have time for breakfast."

"But, Elia, you can't just go off without eating. You need your protein-"

"I'll get a doughnut before school," said Ella briskly. She dropped a forced kiss on Jeremy's cheek, chuckling as he moved away. Ever since he had hit this druggie stage, he denied all attention from his big sisters. Grabbing Elena's wrist, Elia dropped her out the door.

"But, Elia-"

"And I'll go home with Bonnie or Caroline after school, so don't wait dinner. Bye!"

"Elia-"

Elia was already at the front door. She cooed it behind her, cutting off Aunt Jenna's distant protests, and stepped out onto the front porch with Elena.

And stopped.

All the bad feelings of the morning rushed over her again. The anxiety, the fear. And the certainty that something terrible was about to happen. But it all disappeared with Elena called her name to get into Bonnie's silver Prius.

In the passenger seat of a Prius, which was making its way down Laurel Street in the small suburb town in Virginia, Elia sat beside her friend, Bonnie Bennett, unable to control herself from staring at the graveyard as they passed it. Elena took notice and leaned forward to squeeze her little sister's shoulder with a tight smile, before leaning back in her seat and listening to Bonnie continue to talk.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already!" Bonnie chuckled at her Grandma's antics. "But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands..." Bonnie looked at her friend, noticing her distant look, "Elia! Back in the car."

Elia jumped, frightened for a moment before relaxing again. "I did it again, didn't I?" Elia muttered, giving her friend an apologetic look. "I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that..."

Holding back a frown that threatened to escape, Bonnie smiled proudly. "That I'm physic now."

Elena chuckled from the back seat, leaning forward in her seat. "If you're psychic now, predict something about me," Elena looked at her twin. "About us."

Bonnie nodded, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Hm, I see..." But before Bonnie could make her prediction, something slammed into the windshield frightening all three girls. Bonnie slammed on the breaks, her arm going out to keep her friend in the seat. And much like the man had done in Elia's dream, the car skidded to a stop. "Oh, my God!" Bonnie gasped, taking a deep breath. "What the hell was that?!" Turning to check on her two friends, Bonnie gave them an apologetic look. "Elena! Elia! I am so sorry! Are you two okay? Oh, my G-d! Of course, neither of you are okay! ..." Bonnie continued to ramble until Elia shut her up.

"Bonnie!" Elia said, the raven-haired girl snapped out of her rambling and looked at her friend with wide eyes, Elia smiled a little. "We're okay," glancing at the backseat, Elena nodded. "See? Elena's okay and I'm okay. Yeah, it gave us a scare, but we survived." Bonnie nodded, smiling gratefully. "Now, predict something about us." Bonnie nodded, closing her eyes to help her relax.

"I predict this year is going to be kick-ass, all of us," Bonnie smiled at her two friends, lightening the situation. "And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and we're all going to be beyond happy."

The three girls all smiled at each other, believing every single word that came out of their friend's mouth, letting the temporary happiness to take over.

The trio walked into the school, ignoring the stares that followed them as they strutted down the hallways, knowing they owned the school practically.

Elia smirked at the ninth graders that watched her and her sisters with wistful stares, giving them a wink, smirk widening at their blushing faces. "God," Elia breathed. "I love the new school year already!" Elena giggled, rolling her eyes.

"Only because of the freshmen, which I should mention, are just barely fifteen." Elia rolled her eyes, flicking a curly lock back into its place.

"Who cares?! I don't." Elena just chuckled with a roll of her eyes.

Bonnie chuckled at their playful banter, frowning at the lack of fresh meat. "Major lack of male real estate. I mean, come on, it seems that this year not much hot meat is coming in." Looking around further, Bonnie's eyes widened at the unprepossessing dress that a fellow senior wore. "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech," Bonnie cringed, pointing as subtle as she could. "She looks like a hot — can I still say "tranny mess"?"

"No, that's over with." The two twins answered simultaneously. Bonnie looked at the two with an uncanny look.

"That's so weird." The Gilbert twins giggled, Bonnie never did like it when the two girls could answer at the same exact time.

The trio stopped at Bonnie Bennett's locker, leaning against it. Turning around, Elia looked at her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Becker, watching as he gave her a glare and stomped off. Turning back with a guilty feeling, Elia pursed her lips. "He hates me."

Elena and Bonnie looked over Elia's shoulder to see stomping out of the school, the doors practically slamming off the walls as he walked away. Turning back to Elia, Bonnie sighed. "That's not hate. That's "you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits."

Elia shook her head. "Nope, that's hate."

Elena shook her head at her sister, "Elia, that's not hate. Remember when Matt and I had that big fight?" Elia nodded, waiting for her sister to continue. "Anyways, guys just don't like it when the girl breaks up with them. It's their job, remember? We're supposed to be at home with our best-friend's crying over The Notebook and eating Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice-cream." The two girls stared at Elena before they all broke out in giggles, only Elena would think of that!

"Elia? Elena? Oh, my G-d!" Caroline Forbes practically shouted in the hallways of Mystic Falls High School, the bubbly blonde came rushing up to the two twins, engulfing them in a tight hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" Caroline pulled back from the hug, concern written all over her features. "How are you?" Caroline turned to Bonnie, whispering, "How are they? Are they good?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Caroline, we're right here." She spoke with a forced tone. From a distance, you would think Elena and Caroline were the best-est friends, but the two girls had been at competition with each other since the second grade. Elia glared at her sister slightly, giving her a little hip bump in warning.

The blonde eyed the two girls with skepticism. "Are you sure?"

"Really, much better," Elia answered before her sister could.

Caroline smiled, her bubbly self coming back. "Oh! Well, that's a relief!" Turning towards Elia, Caroline's smile widened. "Make sure you go over the routine, you're co-captain and I expect you to be at your best."

Once the blonde was far enough out of ear distance, Elia turned to her sister and their friend. "No comment."

Elena and Bonnie smiled at each other as Elia walked ahead of them. "We weren't going to say anything."

Elia rolled her eyes. "You were thinking it."

As they continued to their classes, Bonnie couldn't help but halt at the front office as they walked past it. "Hold up." The twins looked at each other and to the office. "Who's this hottie?" The man had a leather jacket on that looked to be designer, in fact, everything he was wearing looked designer.

Elena shrugged. "All I see is back."

Elia rolled her eyes. "Way to state the obvious, dork." Elena shoved her sister a tad.

"Whatever." Elia chuckled to herself.

"But it's a hot back." Bonnie licked her lips, daydreaming.

"Down, doggie." Elia teased. "Besides, a hot back could mean an ugly face, you know?"

Elena shook her head. "Not with that back."

"I'm sensing Seattle." Bonnie narrowed her eyes a tad. "And he plays the guitar."

Elia giggled. "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?" Bonnie glanced at her friend, smiling playfully.

"Pretty much." Bonnie bit her lip, "Imagine all the things you could do to that back."

Elia went to answer but was cut off by hearing her brother's name. "Jeremy, good batch, man!" Elia looked over her shoulder, glaring at the boy that said that, watching her brother go into the bathroom.

Turning to her sister, Elia gave her an alas look. "I'll handle this." Elena nodded.

"Good luck."

...

"Get out," Elia hissed at the boy that was zipping up his fly, he nodded in fear and flew out of the men's bathroom. She stomped up to her brother, grabbing his face and scoffing as she pushed it back. "Great! The first day of school and you're already stoned!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes, rubbing his jaw a little from her grip. "No, I'm not."

Elia rolled her eyes. "Where is it? Is it on you?!" Elia demanded, pushing her brother back and began to check him until he gave her a light push.

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

She scoffed, her temper rising. "Chill myself'?" Elia gritted her teeth. "What is that, stoner talk?" She rolled her eyes and mocked him, "Dude, you are so cool."

Frustrated, Jeremy shoved her away again. Elia wasn't giving up, demanding to figure out where her brother was hiding it. "Look, stop!" Jeremy complained. "I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy," Elia stated, annoyed. " I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself. No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead. Keep it up. But just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time," Elia poked his chest, "you got it? Jeremy, I know who you are." Elia took a deep breath, stepping back. "And it's not this person. So don't be this person."

Jeremy let his demeanor soften, hearing his sister's pleas, but that only lasted a moment. "Whatever, I so don't need this," Jeremy said with a scoff, glaring at his sister and stomping out of the men's bathroom.

Elia stood there in shock, leaning against the sink for support as a choked sob came out. What was she doing wrong? Was she too tough on him? Should she take a softer approach? Choking down the sobs that threatened to escape, she wiped her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror to make sure her appearance was okay. Wiping the mascara that clumped under her eyes, she took a deep breath and patted her cheeks for some color before leaving the bathroom.

...

Just as Elia opened the door, she slammed into a firm chest. Letting out a gasp, Elia realized it was the extremely gorgeous guy from the office. She was dead wrong, a hot back does not mean an ugly face. He had a very sculptured face, like it was made out of marble. He had perfectly styled sandy-brown hair, forest green eyes, and a perfect smile to go with it. In all, he was perfection.

"Uh, pardon me. Um..." he looked around Elia's shoulder, seeing the sign to the bathroom and frowned. "Is this the men's room?"

Elia stammered at loss for words, coughing slightly, she answered. "Um, it's a long story so . . . I think it would take too much time to explain." Elia laughed, nervously as he smiled at her. "I-I um, I'm just gonna go." Running a hand through her curls, Elia went to pass only for the mysterious guy to have the same idea and walk in her direction. Chuckling, she moved to the other side, but so did he, and the two star-crossed lovers did it again, both with a nervous chuckle.

The boy smiled at her, moving off to the side to let the curly-haired brunette pass. "Thanks," Elia added with a mutter as she walked past him with burning cheeks.

As Elia rounded the corner, she looked over her shoulder with a frown and red cheeks to see the boy staring at her as well. "Weird," Elia muttered to herself as she walked to her class.

Author's Note: I've decided to re-publish this and hope that it'll go farther than what it did last time, seeing as I have worked on this story very hard. I'd appreciate it if you could vote and comment because to me, that means I'm doing something right and it motivates me to update. And I'm not trying to sway you, but it's just how I am. I get this feeling that I'm not writing enough or right and I take the story down. But I am VERY confident in this story and I do hope it'll go far.

Word-count: 3326; edited.