A Quiet Beauty

By Bewildred_Lily

Chapter One

Dear Diary, September 4th

I had that dream again last night. I think they're coming more frequently. It's always the same. The same elegant ballroom filled with colorful gowns and candle light. I can hear the laughter and chatter around me, and smell the faint fragrance of roses coming in from the open terrace doors and the gardens below. And then the dream shifts.

Suddenly, I'm outside. The world bathed in moonlight. And there's a man, he's so beautiful it takes my breath away. I know he means everything to me, I can feel it in the way my heart clenches and my body heats up. He's looking at me with these amazing obsidian eyes (the only feature I seem to remember clearly.), and he's smiling. I feel joy that he's so carefree, as I get the feeling he hasn't been for some time. Everything in the world seems wonderful, but then he turns from me his gaze arrested by some blond woman that looks oddly like Elena Gilbert. Another man is following her around like a lost puppy, and my dark eyed stranger that I'd been so enraptured with seems just as enchanted with her.

From there the dream becomes a nightmare. I feel as if my heart is shattered into a million pieces. No matter how hard I try, the man I love no longer turns to me. I've lost him and I know it. Everything becomes confusing. Nothing is cohesive any longer, and there's a feeling of falling, then nothing.

Why am I having these dreams? They've made everything in my life so confusing. I can't seem to escape the sorrow that fills them, nor the gut wrenching feeling of helplessness as I watch myself lose the one I love most over and over again. Is that what they're telling me? That I'm destined to forever love someone who is in love with another? And what does Elena have to do with any of this? I know you pull people you see everyday into your dreams sometimes, but there's never anyone else I know in the dream. It's always Elena. Okay, I know Elena is the Queen Bee of school and every boy's wet dream come to life, but I don't dislike her. I don't really feel anything towards her. The Elena in the dream however, I hate her with a fiery passion. In my dream, she's not just a woman stealing my man she's a monster stealing everything good in the world, all the while with an angelic smile on her face. I despise her. She's not Elena, I definitely know that. Katherine! That's what I'll call her. Don't know why, but I've always disliked that name.

I don't know diary. I have no clue what these dreams mean, if anything. Perhaps they're just the messed up dreams of a girl who despairs at never finding a love that's so deep even time can't destroy it. *Sigh* The only thing I do know, diary, is that whoever that man in my dream is, I've never felt anything remotely close to what I feel for him for any of the boys in my school. And while I long for a love like that, these dreams weren't exactly omens of happiness. Is it right for me to long for something/someone that also brings me such pain and misery?

Lucy Edwards put her pen down with a sigh. The wind caressed her dark hair gently, as she reached for what was left of her peppermint tea. She was sitting outside on her terrace, the sun just turning the sky a dusky pink. The French doors to her left stood ajar, letting the light from her bedroom spill out into the slightly chilled September air. She loved this time of day. The 'between times' she called them. When the world was still asleep and she had time to center herself and prepare herself for the day. She needed that time, especially today. The summer was over, and the new school year was beginning.

She didn't know if it was the dream or the day, but her skin was tingling with some strange awareness. The sense she'd had all summer that something was coming was gone, replaced with a feeling that things in her world were no longer the same. Even as she looked out into the forest surrounding her home, she felt a shiver of fear run up her spine. The wind carried a sense of events being put into motion, and not all of them good.

Gracefully, she rose from her chair picking up her diary and returning to her bedroom. Her midnight silk robe caressed her curves as she crossed the threshold back into the safety of her bedroom, a sigh of relief passed her lips as she closed the French doors. What was wrong with her? Why suddenly this feeling? And what exactly was this feeling?

Shaking her head she glanced up at the clock, starting as she realized the time. Putting the strange dream and even stranger feeling of anticipation out of her mind, she readied herself for school.

A few minutes later, she stopped to study her reflection in the full length mirror. She smiled as she brushed her fingers over the soft jersey material of her dress. The silver/gray material made her stormy gray eyes pop. Her long ebony hair cascaded around her shoulders in soft waves. The hem of the dress fell just above her knees, showing off her shapely legs. She wore a splash of color at her feet with plum colored wedges, the little heels giving her short 5'1" stature a little boost.

She wasn't a loud beauty like Elena Gilbert. She knew that. But she was beautiful in her own way. Delicate and soft looking, like a little china doll, she was what one would call "lovely". However, underneath that delicate exterior was a will and resolve that never wavered. For a girl of her age, she was amazingly comfortable in her own skin. Her mother used to joke and say that Lucy was like a forty year old trapped in a teenager's body. An old soul, she was often called.

So while she knew that some would miss her charms if they didn't look close enough, she never felt bad about it. If they were meant to see, they would.

Smiling brightly, she made her way down stairs. The large Victorian house was silent. She was an only child, and her mother and father both worked long shifts at the local hospital. They'd have left for the day.

She picked up the note she knew would be on the fridge and read it.

Sweetheart,

We'll be home for dinner. Sorry we couldn't be here for your first morning of senior year! Can't believe you're growing up so fast! Anyway, we love you very much and hope that you have a wonderful day.

Love you always,

Mom and Dad

Humming softly to herself, a song she couldn't remember, she cast one last look around the house and then headed out the door for school.

~o~o~o~

"Lucy!" a voice calls as she steps from her car. She knows who it is before she catches sight of them.

"Jess!" she calls back with a smile.

A pretty blond freckled girl comes to a stop in front of her, her light green eyes shimmering with excitement. "We are saved!" she crows happily.

Lucy stares at her in confusion, "Saved from what exactly, Jess?" she inquires.

"From the same old boring eye candy!" Jess goes on excitedly. "This majorly hot new guy just arrived and he's wearing expensive Italian clothes! I wonder if he's a model or something. Seriously, he's that hot."

Her heart gives a startled jolt as she automatically begins to search the school steps with her eyes. Could it be the guy from her dreams? Is that why she's been so on edge?

"Where is he?" She asks, trying to keep her sudden excitement from showing. "All I see are familiar faces."

"I saw him headed for the office. Come on, lets go catch a peak before homeroom!" grabbing Lucy's hand Jess practically drags her through the front door and hallways that follow. Absently she greets people as they call out to her, but her mind is focused almost entirely on finding out about whom this mystery new guy is.

They come to a stop by the office, and holding her breath she glances through the window searching for those dark eyes she remembers almost better than her own. She studies the boy at the counter, watching him talk softly to the secretary about his schedule, but as she takes him in, even before he turns around she knows its not who she's looking for.

She feels her heart sink with disappointment as he turns and for a moment she catches sight of his green eyes, before he hides them behind a pair of expensive dark sunglasses.

"That's him! Oh my God! He's so gorgeous!" Jess whispers heatedly by her side, but she's already lost interest. Yes, he was definitely a good looking guy, but seeing him didn't stir anything but a momentary sense of recognition that passed as soon as he covered his eyes.

Turning away from the window sadly, she catches sight of Elena Gilbert standing a little down the hall from her, surrounded by her entourage of friends. She watches the hungry light come into Elena's blue eyes as she studies the new boy, and Lucy feels a twinge of pity for the unsuspecting newcomer. When Elena Gilbert set her sights on a guy, it wasn't always pretty. She had a penchant for liking the thrill of the chase, but growing bored soon after it was over. So I guess Matt is no longer the catch of the week. Poor guy, he was really lost without her this summer. Bet she doesn't even realize how into her he really is.

She didn't know what possessed her, weather it was the remnants of the dream, or if she just felt sorry for poor Matt. But bidding a quick goodbye to Jess, she made her way to Elena. She noticed the new guy didn't even stop to talk to the blond as he rushed by her. Ouch.

"Hey Elena," she greeted as she came to a stop beside her. "Bonnie, Meredith."

They turned to her, her arrival interrupting something they were whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, Lucy!" Bonnie returned cheerfully. "How was your summer?"

"It was good, and yours?" she asked politely. Elena seemed lost in her own little world, but she smiled at Lucy briefly in greeting. They weren't what you would call close, but they weren't enemies. Lucy wasn't a hanger on either, so they traveled mostly in different circles.

Bonnie responded kindly. "So did you hear about the new guy? We just learned his name is Stefan Salvatore, isn't that such a nice name?"

A jolt passed through her, like someone had set a live wire to her blood stream. "Salvatore?" she asked softly. The name shouldn't have affected her, but for some reason it echoed through her entire body.

"Yep, Elena's got her sights set on him already," Meredith stated. Her eyes weren't unkind, but she seemed to be warning Lucy off just in case.

Turning to Elena she was startled to see that she was now the focal point of Elena's attention. "Do you know him?" Elena asked a frown on her perfect face.

Again, Lucy remembered the girl in her dream. Katherine. The name came to her unbidden. As she studied Elena, she saw the subtle differences between the two women, but the resemblance was so close it was uncanny.

"No, I don't know Stefan Salvatore," she stated plainly. Her gray eyes meeting Elena's unflinchingly. "Just the last name seemed familiar somehow. Maybe I read it somewhere recently."

Elena nodded slowly, and then a soft smile passed across her face almost apologetic. "It's good to see you Lucy. How have you been?" she asked. Elena knew Lucy wasn't one of her followers. The beautiful girl was quiet and reserved, often doing her own thing, never in the midst of the drama that was high school. And though they were never close, they held an unspoken respect for one another. And Elena found it difficult not to like how at ease Lucy was with everything. However, for a moment when Bonnie had said Stefan's name, there had been a look in the small girl's eyes that had made Elena nervous. She wasn't sure she wanted to be on opposite ends of anything with Lucy.

"Can I say something plainly, Elena?" Lucy asked, shrugging off the jolt of nerves from a moment ago.

Elena nodded.

"Be nice to Matt. I know how you are with boys, but Matt is really into you and if you're not as interested you need to be honest with him. It's not fair for you to be anything but," she replied bluntly, her soft tone making it clear that she meant no disrespect.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Elena bit out scathingly. "I'm fully aware that I have to break things off with Matt, and I can take care of it myself."

"Good," Lucy replied. "Because sometimes Elena, you forget that the world does not revolve around you."

Elena felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Are you jealous of me? Am I taking all of your prospects away from you Lucy? Since you've never had a boyfriend, you must be pretty bitter."

Impatiently Lucy rolled her eyes. "Look, Elena I meant no disrespect and I'm definitely not jealous. I don't care if you've got the whole school wrapped around your finger, I don't weep over it at night I promise. And as a general rule, I don't get myself involved in your romances. However, Matt is a friend and he missed you a lot this summer. I think it's unfair of you to drag him through any more of this mess you're making. Cut him loose before he gets hurt even further, Elena."

Having said her piece she turned on her heels and marched away from the fuming girl. She didn't care if Elena Gilbert felt scandalized. Lucy hated game players. She hated people who thought it was okay to mess with a person's head just because they could. It didn't matter that Elena was Miss Queen Bee. Treating people like your own personal entertainment was cruel and uncalled for.

She'd watched helplessly from the side lines for too long. She would never do it again.

As she headed for homeroom, she couldn't help but recall her dream, and a certain dark eyed man trading her love in for the love of a monster.

The school day passed in a blur. Not surprising, the school was absolutely abuzz with news of Stefan Salvatore.

She stopped getting goose bumps when his name was spoken, but only just. The feeling that she knew that name: Salvatore from some where persisted. However, with the rush of a new school day, she'd been successful in pushing down the internal flood of questions. Like how the hell she could feel anything for a name of all things? How she could be filled with a wild excitement every time she heard it, a sense of expectancy that was as undeniable as breathing.

So lost in her thoughts, she paid no attention to where her feet were taking her until she plowed into what felt like a wall of granite. Her books flew from her hands and she felt herself falling backwards. She braced herself for the impact, but when it didn't come she opened eyes she didn't realize she'd closed.

Glancing up to thank whoever had caught her, her eyes met the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. They seemed to shimmer like emeralds, and yet they held flecks of amber within their depths. They were also the saddest eyes she'd ever seen, though as they fell upon her face the sadness left and were replaced with shock.

"Rosalie?" Stefan Salvatore whispered disbelieving, and as the name drifted down to her ears, she felt the world tip and sway as if the earth beneath her feet was crumbling away.

For a moment she felt a rush of air as if she was falling, and then her vision dimmed. Before it could pull her down into the dark depths, she whispered a question that seemed embedded in the depths of her soul, hidden until now.

"Stefan, where's Damon?" and then she knew nothing else as the world turned black.

**Notes from the Author: **

So here we are my first attempt at a Vampire Diaries fan fiction. As you can probably tell, I've taken a few creative liberties. Please don't be too upset with them. Now, I have not read the entire series yet, though I should be done with them within the next couple of weeks. This is a work in progress so please be aware that there might be mistakes or things that don't quite match the novels or show. Also, I might be taking some characters/items/ideas from the TV show if I feel it would make for a more interesting storyline. Under no circumstances do I own any of the Vampire Diaries characters, though Lucy is definitely mine. I hope you enjoy this first chapter and I will post as often as my muse allows. Please read and review. I like the feedback.

Yours truly,

Bewildered_Lily