Author's note: I'm sorry it's been a long time since my last TVD fanfic. I've actually had this idea sitting in my brain for ages, but never found the time nor was mentally in the right place to get it started. For those of you who've read my previous works, I've only mostly written Bamon and Stelena stories (mostly Bamon because they are my OTP). This is my first attempt at writing an OC for a TVD fic and my first crack at having Matt as a central character. I'm not sure how common OCs are for TVD book-based stories because I normally don't seek them out. I've no doubt there are tons of OCs for TVD TV fandom, but my main focus has always been on the books, because they are the source to which my love for the series is devoted to. Please don't hesitate to leave C&C!

From the sidewalk, Matt Honeycutt saw that the driver was speeding dangerously while texting on his phone, and they were so distracted by what was on their screen that had no idea they were about to hit someone crossing the street. Dropping his backpack, the former high school quarterback went on the offense and charged. There were no other cars within immediate vicinity; otherwise the time it would take to look both ways could potentially cost someone their lives in mere seconds.

Strong arms wrapped around the person and Matt did his best to shield them from the impact of what was to come. Just as the side of his arm painfully collided with the sidewalk's solid concrete, the driver obnoxiously laid on the horn and it was followed by a string of choice words.

Honk! Honk! HOOONK! "Watch what you're doing, jackass!"

Tires screeched on the asphalt but the noise gradually faded into oblivion. Matt groaned as he carefully uncurled himself from the stranger. His upper arm burned from the fall, but he was still alive. He was more worried about the other person.

"You okay?" he asked as he sat up and peered at them. It was the first time he noticed that it was a blonde girl around the same age as him, with a short, pixie style haircut. She wore a hooded sweater, denim jeans, and sneakers that were on the verge of falling apart. Both of her hands were flat on the ground and she was hunched over. She didn't answer him, and Matt assumed she was in shock over what just happened. He knew he would be too if some random person tackled him from out of nowhere. Just then, she abruptly pushed herself to a sitting position, where vivid green eyes flickered and met his gaze.

Whoa, Matt thought. She was stunning, like a fairy from a fantasy book. Even in her ordinary clothing, she had this aura about her that was enchanting.

"You saved me," the girl stated in awe, but then she shook her head and cursed. "Damn, I was out of it big time, and I didn't even... I mean until you... I would've splattered all over the road!"

She was flustered, and Matt couldn't blame her. Though she mentioned being "out of it," so he couldn't tell if she was referring to being on drugs or some other influence. She seemed perfectly normal on the outside.

The girl frowned. "You're bleeding because of me, too."

"I... am?"

Matt examined his arm which was covered by the jacket he wore. He saw no sign of blood, but upon carefully removing his jacket, he saw that underneath his sleeve, he was indeed bleeding. Nothing major, just scratch marks that indicated he'd taken the crash landing that would result in cuts and bruising.

"How did you know?" he asked as he looked over at the girl he saved, but to his surprise, saw that she was gone. There was no sign of her anywhere. Other than the ideal picture perfect family homes that lined the streets, he found himself all alone.

"Hell-ooo? Earth to Matt! Did we lose you?"

Matt blinked and saw Bonnie practically nose to nose with him.

"Sorry," he apologized before blinking once more. "What did you say?"

Bonnie pretended to be offended as she sat back in her booth where she was seated between Elena and Meredith. The cafe they were in had only opened a few months ago but it quickly proved to be a popular hangout. It was often difficult to score a table, but tonight was their lucky night and the childhood friends managed to snag a spot for themselves.

"Ohh, boo!" the redhead exclaimed while dramatically throwing her hands up in the air. "How could you zone out when I was telling you about what I learned over the relationship between shape-shifters and druids?"

In a more subtle manner, Elena asked, "Are you okay? You've been a little quiet since we sat down."

Meredith said nothing but was ready to gauge whatever response Matt offered. She was always the most observant one among them, always analyzing, always preparing.

Matt rubbed the side of his head as if to soothe away a headache when there was no pain there. "Just thinking about something that went down earlier," he replied in all honesty. "This girl..."

Before he could go on, Bonnie was once again leaning across the table but wasn't quite nose to nose with him, but she was still definitely close enough so that he could count the light freckles on her face. Then the questions were fired in rapid succession.

"What's her name? How old is she? Does she go to school with us? Does she believe in vampires, witches, werewolves, or aliens?"

"Bonnie!" Meredith exclaimed, her typically calm demeanor shattered as she carefully eased her petite best friend back into her seat. "Relax. It's not as if Matt's never had a girlfriend before. Right, Elena?"

The corner of Elena's lips turned up ever so slightly. After all the countless boys she went through during high school, not even a handful left any impact on her. Matt was one of those few, and while he was so sweet and humble, he simply wasn't the one for her. She learned that on the fateful day that Stefan Salvatore entered her life and turned it upside down.

"Right," the blonde agreed before she made her own remark. "She must be quite something if you're lost in your own world."

Matt chuckled and lowered his hand from his face. "We only talked for not even a minute," he confessed, and then he explained how it all started with a reckless driver. When it came to talking about the pixie girl, he described how she looked and how she sounded. Without even realizing it, the tone of his voice left an impression that he wanted to see her again.

Bonnie spoke out again, only this time her demeanor was more hushed and composed. "Did you even get her number? A social media account of any sort?"

"I didn't get any of that." Matt shrugged but then winced as his aching arm reminded him of what happened. "She was gone after she thanked me."

Meredith couldn't believe it. "Gone?"

"Yeah, vanished. She somehow knew I was bleeding, because I didn't even know I was hurt. After I checked my arm, I looked over and saw that she was no longer around."

Elena's mind started working. Matt saved a strange girl, said girl knew Matt was hurt, and then she disappeared into thin air? Bonnie's voice echoed in her thought process.

Does she believe in vampires, witches, werewolves, or aliens?

Elena wondered if this girl was anything other than human, but at the same time belonged to this world? Or was she from another dimension all together? A creature from the Dark Dimension even? It was either that, or she was simply able to correctly guess on how injured a person was.

Meanwhile Meredith was coming up with her own ideas. What if they were to investigate the area where Matt was at when he met the girl? They could find some clues, if there were any. Before she openly revealed her secrets to her friends, she would have dismissed the disappearance as nonsense. She would have suggested the near death experience possibly made Matt see things that weren't really there. After experiencing the otherworldly with everyone, however, she knew never to say never. Anything was possible.

"H-Hey..."

A familiar voice caught Matt's attention, where he turned and saw that standing at the end of the table was the pixie girl! She was still wearing the same outfit he first saw her in and those green eyes of hers were studying him. In her possession was a first aid kit.

"Sorry I left earlier," she expressed regretfully as she set the kit down on the table. "I, uh, wanted to get this for you, but I had to get it out of my car. I was parked far away, so..."

The three girls, meanwhile, were left stunned. They didn't have to do anything to find Matt's mystery girl, because she came to them! Why couldn't all of their problems from the past been this straight forward?

Matt climbed out of his seat and stood in front of the pixie girl. She was shorter than him, though not quite as short as Bonnie, but certainly not as tall as Meredith. She was around Elena's height, but unlike Elena's long pale gold hair color, the pixie's was more golden-brownish, like sand.

"How did you find me?" Matt asked.

The pixie averted her gaze and she simply said, "You need to clean your wound."

Meredith caught this and got out of her seat. She wasn't aggressive about it, but she was becoming more curious about this strange person from Matt's story.

"What are you?" she asked, taking the preferred tactful route.

By now, Elena and Bonnie slid out of their booth and were standing next to Meredith and Matt. The pixie took a step back, but was careful not to get in the way of anybody walking about.

"Please don't be scared," Bonnie pleaded. She even clasped her hands together and offered a weak smile. Even though she knew next to nothing about this girl, she didn't want their numbers to be a threat. Besides, nobody was ever afraid of Bonnie. Even with her ever growing powers as a psychic witch, she was still seen as the least intimidating one of the group.

Elena decided to take a chance with her next question, one that was more direct one than Meredith's.

"Are you a vampire?"

The pixie girl's reply was blunt but instant.

"Half."

"… Half?"

A stiff nod. "Half-vampire... half-human."

One of Meredith's elegant eyebrows was raised before she spoke.

"Ladies and gentleman," the hunter announced, "if what she says is true, then you're looking at our very first encounter with a dhampir."