Hellllloooo, Long time no see, I know, you guys might be mad that I'm discontinuing my other story, but it was the type of thing where I was no longer interested in what I was writing, so chapters were getting harder and harder to get out, now, this is my new story, It Always Hurts the Same. The OC is Eliana Morgan, now enjoy, and I really am sorry, a few of you really liked it, but hopefully you'll like this one.

~Sun

I stared out the window, rain flicking lightly down the glass. I turned my attention back to my baby, a light blue Dell laptop, it was also my only entertainment on this car ride to this freakishly small town by the name of Mystic Falls. It was apparently in Virginia, though I've never heard of it. We had only been driving for half and hour when Veronica brought up school.

"Now, Eli, I this is going to be hard on you but I want you to try to behave while you're under Mr. Salvatore's care". I just groaned and turned up my music, That 'Mr. Salvatore' was a 25 year old bachelor taking care of his brother, yeah, he's a real Mr. She sighed quietly, probably thinking I couldn't hear her, a normal person wouldn't be able to, but I could. "And please remember it's only going to be for a short while, five months, tops". 'A short while' doesn't that contradict itself? And anyway, she was leaving out the best part, It could be five months, or even shorter, or it could be more, way more. It depended on whether or not I was likable, which I wasn't.

She glanced at my reaction out of the corner of her eye, and continued slowly, "Also while you are under Mr. Salvatore's care you will be going to Mystic Falls High School…" My nostrils flared as I yanked out my ear buds, "What? That doesn't make sense, you just said I wasn't going to be there for long, why should I need to go to school?" She looked like she expected my reaction. "I know, I know, Eli, but your education is important, and by law it has to be an option." I sighed, really? "Seriously, Veronica? Do I have to?" I couldn't help the slight petulant whine creep into my voice. One side of her mouth lifted up into a sympathetic smile, "Yes, Eli, you do, I'm sorry". I Ignored her apology, "You don't understand, I'm fourteen years old and I'm going to be a Junior in high school. They'll think I'm a freak." she chuckled lowly, "You're smart, that doesn't make you a freak".

I disagreed, it wasn't actually me being smart and she knew it, I had a photographic memory. Technically, It was called Eidetic memory, but my memory included Hyperthymesia and Emotional memory. That means that anything I've felt, heard, seen, I will remember. Most people would be happy to have it, easy grades in school, you always remember birthdays, but most people don't realize that I remember someone I met 8 years ago had an 'e' shaped scar on their left index finger. Normal people wouldn't even remember their name or eye color. She was quiet for the rest of the ride, and so was I, I tried to think of something peaceful while I enjoyed my last few hours free. It didn't work.

The entire time while I was trying to pass time with my cookie clicker my mind went through every possible scenario. Would he be nice? Would he leave me alone? What if this was a rerun of last time? That thought sent me in a slight barrage of panic. I made my mind shut up after that. We were approaching the 7th hour mark, and I swear to god I was going stir crazy. It seemed every time I glanced out to the landscape next to us all I saw was plain forest, no roads in sight. "Are we nearly there?" I asked, a sharp tone hitting my voice. Veronica sighed, but nodded, "We'll be there any minute now".

After fifteen minutes I started to stop believing Veronica told the truth at all. At this point sitting was becoming agonizing. All entertainment I brought with me bored me. I had mostly played a few video games for the first few hours, then it went on to reading, and an half an hour later I finished every book I brought with me. I even drew for a while, but the boring view around me scrapped that idea. I even got so desperate as to write. I stared at a blank screen for so long I threw out that idea. The recent minutes were spent playing with my ring. It was beautiful, and simple, clear crystals in an oval shape with a silver band. It was my mother's, I only got it because the female officer felt bad for me. I was lucky they were able to clean the blood off. I did want it, other than the fact it was my mother's engagement ring, but I wanted it for a different reason, this ring could open up, which revealed a lavender colored plant. Vervain.

The shuttering of the car rolling to a stop caused me to break out of my musings. I blinked the sleep out my eyes as I looked around. The car was situated on a stone path surrounded by hedges that led to a gigantic brown mansion. Veronica's door slamming shut caused me to stop my evaluation and I quickly got out and collected my stuff. I had a tiny suitcase with my minimal clothing and my backpack. That was all I had, plus my laptop case. I closed the door, and turned around to follow Veronica to the front step. I placed my suitcase and awkwardly stood to the side while she rang the doorbell, it was low and clear and rang throughout the house. My mind suddenly flipped through engineering books I've read trying to figure out how they were able to cause the sound to move throughout the entire house.

My thoughts were stopped short when the wooden door creaked signaling someone had answered. I glanced up to see a beautiful woman with straight, blonde hair. She was tan with hazel eyes and was tall, maybe four inches taller than my 5' 4. She looked startled, honestly I wasn't surprised this, "Mr. Salvatore" had a woman in his home. She probably wouldn't be the last I'd see. She looked lost for words as she opened the door wider, Veronica took this opportunity to introduce herself. "Hello, Miss, I'm Veronica Shelby and I'm a social worker for Athens Adoptive & Foster Parent Association, and is a Mister Damon Salvatore, here?" Veronica was the professional that she was and I noticed a comical expression appear on the woman's face, she turned around, smirked, and called out to someone farther out of my view, "Damon, it does appear there is a little girl here for you…" her tone was sarcastic. Out from behind her one most handsome man I've ever seen walked up to the doorway. His eyes were confused, and a tad annoyed, but they were a beautiful ice blue. He had pitch black hair that was styled neatly, and was wearing a dark V-neck and black jeans.

Veronica took this chance to step in, "Hello, Mister Salvatore, my name is Veronica Shelby and I'm here with my client Eliana Morgan. I was notified you received word from a Sheriff Forbes of your impending foster child." Damon looked slightly less confused, but even more annoyed. I stood back, something about him was off, but I evaluated. He nodded, and adopted a charming smile, he held out his arm in invitation, and Veronica immediately stepped in, I was more cautious, but did follow closely after. Looking around, Veronica and I gaped at the interior of the house. It was all oak and high ceilings, with antique everything. This place had to be from the late 1800's, maybe early 1900's. While giving us a chance to gawk, Damon steered us into the kitchen. It looked way more recent than the rest of the house. We sat at a counter and through a shuffling of papers Veronica found two sheets of paper. The papers had a huge line of text and what looked like medicine dosages, Ew, bore. I turned away and went back to staring at Damon. Yes, he was handsome, but his eyes were dark, the same darkness I've seen before, I shook slightly, but ignored it. He also looked like the entire world humored him. He glanced down at me with the corner of his eye, Damn, he noticed. He frowned slightly, but turned to Veronica when she moved the papers toward him.

"Now these are the basic script, just sign here that you can provide the necessary care, and this letter shows the medicine Eli takes and how much she takes and when. It also shows the tangible evidence of our certainty that this is a safe and sound fostering." I rolled my eyes at the huge spiel, I had been taking my meds by myself forever, and the "certainty that this is a safe and sound fostering" is complete bullshit. Really, it is. He nodded, looking serious, she smiled and pulled out a pen, he signed it in a quick flourish, and handed it back to her. She smiled harder and stood up, placing the rest of the papers closer to him and added a list of contacts, I spotted her email and phone number on it.

Damon walked back with her to the door, I hurriedly followed. She turned around when she neared the door, she looked a little sad, I understood, I stepped forward and hugged her hard. She had seen me everyday for months, and she had been my social worker for five years. Before I pulled away she whispered to me, "You'll be safe here, I'm sure." she had tears in her eyes and when I pulled away she continued, "You won't be sad forever, Eli, I promise". She cleared her throat, and held out her hand, "Goodbye, Eli, and goodbye Mister Salvatore." he quickly shook her hand and smiled "Call me Damon, please." she nodded again and waved to me as she stepped out the door. Damon shut the door after her. Awkwardly, we walked back to the counter, the blonde woman, who had been missing for the entire conversation made her appearance. She still had a sarcastic smile but now looked a little worried, she shot by me and whispered hurriedly to Damon. I sat down and stared blankly at the table, not really processing what happened.

I only made out bits of their conversation, I only heard "safe", "insane", and "asshole". I couldn't help but chuckle at the last one, Damon just grinned back lazily to me and her. He picked up the papers and I watched his eyes dart from the left to the right of the page, he smirked at the "evidence" and held the paper up in question, "What's this?" I shook my head, "It's some bullshit over the company trying to cover their asses." he grinned, and responded, "How?" I sighed and slumped over. "It basically says I'm not a danger of anyone, and that you don't have to worry about me slitting your throat in your sleep or chopping you up into little pieces, like that I'm not a danger to your mental, emotional, and physical health." I snorted, "They have to prove you didn't get one of the fucked up ones." the blonde woman grinned and replied, "How would a little kid like you be fucked up?" I rolled my eyes, and pulled up my sleeves. I ignored their reactions and pulled my sleeve back down.

Everyone had the same reaction, wide eyes, pitying looks. It was stupid, but I know what they saw, white gauze wrapped around my wrists, slight red marks over the veins. Yes, I tried to kill myself. It obviously didn't work. Damon just frowned, and said, "What happened?" I shrugged, "Life sucks and then you die, I was trying to hurry the process along". He shrugged and got up, before he was out of sight he sent me one look, and for the first time I couldn't read someone. I had no clue whether the look was pitying, angry, unhappy, or vengeful. I suddenly understood why I had a weird feeling about him, his look reminded me of a vampire. Then he was gone.

I turned my attention to the blonde woman, who smiled reassuringly at me, "Don't worry, Damon's an asshole, he doesn't care about anyone but himself." I nodded, I already got that. "Then why did he agree to foster me?" she just sighed and shook her head and under her breath said, "That's what I'd like to know". "What's your name, by the way?" I rose an eyebrow, but answered, "Eli Morgan, yours?" she grinned, and dimples appeared. "Lexi Branson" I nodded, and awkwardly tried to make a conversation, "So…Are you dating Damon or something?" her eyes widened and she shook her head, and laughed, "No, no, a thousand times no, I'm actually friends with his brother, it's his birthday this week, so I'm here to celebrate". I nodded again. "He goes to high school right? Veronica mentioned something like that.." my voice broke slightly on her name, Lexi smiled sympathetically and nodded, "Mystic Falls High School, yep. He's 17 so Damon's his legal guardian." If he was his guardian that meant their parents weren't around anymore, but I didn't want to ask. "So he's still in school?" she nodded again, "He should be home soon though, so you can meet him". I tried to cover my uneasiness but failed. "Don't worry, Stefan's a lot better than his brother, that's why I'm friends with him and not that jackass."

I narrowed my eyes, "That seems personal, what did he do to you?" she rolled her eyes, "It's a long story. I go way back with the Salvatore's." I bit my lip, I was now certain Lexi and Damon were vampires, so Stefan was too. My eyes widened slightly, but I didn't feel threatened, I looked around, the house didn't look like a vampire would live there, one of them are in school, and Lexi is extremely friendly. Then there is the fact Damon decided to foster a kid. I now wanted to be alone, I was safe enough right? I had some stakes that I horrible made in my suitcase, and then there's my ring… "Do I have a room here, where I could my stuff?" she looked like she forgot about that part but nodded and stood up. "Um, this place is huge, I'm sure I could find a room here." I was actually a little happy at the recent bit of information, that meant I could put as much distance as I wanted between me and them.

I stood and followed her, dragging my suitcase behind me. We went up a huge flight of stairs that curled around, and kept going straight down a hallway. This place is really cool, there had to be hundreds of rooms in here, but we stopped at one towards the back which had a bathroom right next to it. She opened the door and I stepped in and looked around, Holy Shit, it was dark oak, just like the rest of the house, with an antique bed frame and wardrobe, with bonus tables. There was an oriental style rug in front of the bed, which luckily looked new. There was a bay window near the back of the room that overlooked a forest. God, there was even a fireplace in here. I turned around and saw another door that must connect to the bathroom, I entered and my jaw dropped, it was all porcelain and glass. I looked at Lexi who was smirking, she hummed, "Told ya," I just nodded. "Well alright, I'll leave you too it, call me if you need me." I nodded, and pulled my suitcase onto the bed. As she turned the doorknob I murmured, "Only if I need a vein opened" which was dumb, I know.

She immediately sped over to me, blocking me from the exit, I stepped back, bumping into the bed frame, "How do you know that?" my eyes widened, "I-I don't know, I just know!" she shook her head, "You had to be told, and how do you even know vampires exist?" my eyes narrowed, "I'm in a foster care system and I know about vampires, think about it. As for telling, they didn't have too, I've seen vampires before you, and you didn't exactly act normal. I mean, I've known the Salvatore's for a long time, really?" she half smirked after my speech, but I saw her put two and two together. "Huh," she sat down on the giant bed, then was still. I puffed air out of my cheeks and sat down too, the bed bounced a little, I suddenly smirked and bounced again, it moved again. Lexi grinned at me, "You don't seem very afraid…" I nodded, "I should be, I know, but… I don't know, you don't seem very scary, Damon maybe, but, I don't feel afraid." she looked confused, I was too.

I sighed and crossed my legs, looking around the room a bit. I turned to Lexi, and randomly asked "What kind of music do you like?" she shrugged, "Mostly old rock, this century has the worst music." I nodded, " I like the 'new' rock as you call it. There are, maybe, two old bands I like though." she nodded. I sat up straighter, "What kind of stuff do you like to watch, like TV shows, or movies or something." She smiled, "I've never really been interested in TV, though there have been some really good movies over the centuries," I smiled too and asked "Anything we could watch on Netflix, perchance?" I couldn't help my voice piquing up in interest. She frowned, "What's Netflix?" I frowned back, "you don't know what Netflix is?" I quickly stood up and pulled my laptop out of its case. I quickly pulled up Netflix and signed it while explaining, "It's basically an online thing where you can watch a bunch of TV shows or movies, old and new".

I sat down so she could get a glimpse at the screen, I hovered over the search bar waiting for her to drink it in. "So, a name?" she hummed as she thought for a moment, "Casablanca?" I pursed my lips and typed quickly, not sure. "Hmm, it's there, but we can't watch it now, it's one where you order it and they send it to your house." she nodded, a little disappointed. "What do you watch on this thing?" I thought for a moment, "Disney movies, musicals, some TV shows, nothing big." She grinned, "What about a Disney movie?" my eyebrows rose, "Really?" she rolled her eyes and leaned back, "Just because I'm over 300 years old means I act like I am." I giggled and leaned back too.

"Man, you're old". She laughed, "Yes, I am," she turned over to me, "How old are you, anyway?" I frowned, "Fourteen, fifteen next month, why?" she shrugged, "Just wondering".

I stood up, and closed my laptop, grinning I said, "Care to show me around?" she nodded and jumped up. We walked down the hall and as we passed one of the first doors she pointed at 'Damon's' room, barely pausing. When we hurried towards one towards the opposite end of the house we threw open the door announcing "Stefan's room!" I nodded, looking around the room, There was a bed in the middle with black sheets, bookshelves lined the walls, and a door led possibly to the bathroom, "Cool," I glanced at the books, tempted to go read all the titles, seeing my look she said, "You can borrow any books from here, or from the library for that matter, most of them are Stefan's and he won't mind".

I frowned, and shook my head, "I don't know, they're his, I mean, I shouldn't.." she shook her head, "Don't worry, seriously, it's fine." I bit my lip, but nodded slowly. She brightened, standing up straighter, "Stefan's home," my eyebrows furrowed, looking around. She pulled me out of his room, "Come on, he's gonna love you!" I smiled slightly at her excitement, and let her pull me back down to the living room where a very tall very handsome man was. He looked at me strangely, then at Lexi, he opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, "What?" Lexi grinned, "This is Eli, Eli Morgan, Damon's technically her foster father." Stefan still looked very confused, "What?" he repeated, she rolled her eyes, "It doesn't matter, but you have to be there to protect her, you know Damon, and if he doesn't hurt her he'll ignore her. She's only fourteen, Stefan," he looked like he was going to argued, but nodded.

"Luckily, I'm going to be attending the same school as you, Stefan." He looked at me strangely, "I'm in High School," I nodded, "Yep, I'm kinda smart." his face face returned to being very confused. I shrugged, "I have a photographic memory, everything I hear or read I remember, quit easy to get one hundreds on everything." He just nodded once again.

I looked him up and down, God why are vampires so attractive? And by his embarrassed but amused reaction I must have said that out loud, "Shit, sorry" he grinned, "It's okay, Eli" Lexi rolled her eyes again, "Actually I'm the most attractive, you should know this," I laughed and nodded, "Of course, my eyes have never fallen upon such a beautiful sight as you, Lexi," She grinned.

Stefan was handsome, like really, though he looked the exact opposite as his brother, he had light brown hair and green eyes, and his smile was warm, not cruel. "So," I said swinging my arms, "What do you want to do?" he frowned, "Actually, Eli, I think I want to talk to Damon, I'm sorry." I shrugged, and turned to go back to my room, "Wait, Stefan, Can Eli borrow some of your books to read?" I turned back to see his reaction, Would he be annoyed? His smile was warm, "Of course, you're free to choose a book from the library or my room, it's fine" Lexi' turned to me as if to say, See? I smiled uneasily, and nodded. But honestly, I was excited, I only brought like four books with me, and being century old vampires they probably had some very good books.

It was probably two or three A.M. when I had gotten too tired to keep reading. I always try to stay up as long as possible, night was not the safest time of day, it was the farthest from it. I had locked my bedroom door, luckily it locked from the inside, I think Lexi and Stefan knew I did, though I think they thought it was because they were vampires, even if they could kick the door down. The books though, reality was far better than my imagination, seriously, I barely remembered I was trying to stay up purposefully, I didn't want to stop reading. I originally brought up maybe six or seven, they were easy titles, some of my favorites, The Great Gatsby, Dante's Inferno, The Scarlet Letter, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, god, they even had The Phantom of the Opera!

When I finished the first stack I crept back down to pick out a few books I haven't read before, which is hard, I was probably the happiest I've been in a while, covered in books. I sighed as I snuggled deeper under the covers, I don't want to sleep, but the bed's so comfy. I can't, nothing good happens when I sleep, I'm unprepared, but god help me I couldn't even finish that thought before I was deep asleep. Shit...

I felt the familiar sense of fear as I quickly scanned the darkness, I tried to calm my heart as I prayed for my eyes to adjust. And of course, I tried for maybe the hundredth time to find something, anything, in the Dark. This was the reason I never slept, every night I woke up here, wherever 'here' was. I never found out what this could be, it didn't even have a name before I thought of it. It never mattered, this was my own nightmare, one that I could never escape. I've never seen anyone here, ever. Most people would think I was exaggerating, but every time I went to sleep, I ended up here. And it wasn't the, "go to sleep, dream for ten minutes and wake up ten hours later" no, I was awake for every minute of every hour, and it sucked.

I tried to stop from crying as I sat down, pulling my knees to my chest. I shoved my face into my arms and tried not to sob. I suddenly stopped, and sat up. I heard something, a thump, it was low and only reminded me of a heartbeat. I stood up, looking around, was it that way? I blinked trying to figure out which direction would bring me closer to the sound. It was to my left, I ran, trying to keep it in my head. As the sound got louder I pushed my legs to go faster, every breath ripping its way out of my throat. I stopped when I saw something odd. It was mostly dark, and tall, but there were blue markings going up the figure, like veins. I was breathing hard, and was trying not to pant. "Hello?" I barely breathed out, the figure turned, and that's when I figured out it was a man, and from the blue light illuminating his face he was gorgeous. Light hair, cropped short, blue eyes, I think? It was hard to tell. He looked just as shocked to see me as I did him.

"Hello, love."