Disclaimer: Only original characters and situations belong to me.

The sky was cloudy overhead and little droplets of rain were starting to fall on the windshield of Tyler's truck. That was what motivated him to pick up the young woman who was standing on the side of the road. She wasn't really doing much of anything, not even technically thumbing a ride. She was just standing there, watching him.

He didn't usually stop to pick up people who needed rides. His parents had given him very stern and precise lectures about that, but since they weren't around, he didn't see the harm in disobeying the lectures just this once. He drove up beside her and stopped. Rolling down his window, he gave her a grin. "Hey," he told her. "What are you doing out here by yourself? Do you need a ride back to town? Your aunt's probably worried about you."

The girl gazed at him oddly, as if she didn't know him. Then, her face smoothed out into a grin. "Thank you," she said. "I would love a ride back to town."

She got into his car and he began driving. "So," he said after a moment, "what are you doing out here?"

She turned to look at him and he took his eyes off the road for a moment to return her gaze. "I'm not who you think I am," she said.

He smirked and shook his head. "That's a good one, Elena. Of course you are. Do you want me to take you home?"

"You're not listening!" Her voice rose to an almost deafening pitch, and the hand she clamped on his wrist had a grip like iron. The car swerved, but Tyler managed to keep it on course without crashing into anything. He drove the car onto the shoulder and stopped. "What's going on?" he asked her.

She just gave him another grin. "Keep driving," she whispered in his ear. "I'll tell you when we get into town."

They drove the rest of the way in silence. The young woman directed him to park in front of the Grill. When they entered, everyone gave them strange looks, but she ignored them and took a seat at a booth in the corner.

"Answer time," Tyler said. "If you're not Elena, who are you?"

She leaned forward and looked deeply in his eyes. "You know who I am," she told him. "You just can't make yourself believe it. If it weren't for me, your grandfather Michael would have just been an ordinary married man. I made him more."

"Katherine?" Tyler got out after a moment. "Katherine Pierce?"

"Yes," the girl nodded. "See, I knew you knew."

Tyler cast a hunted look around him, then he turned back to her. "How are you here?" he asked. "And why?"

She shrugged. "That has yet to be seen precisely, but I know I'll be able to have fun somehow. And I'm here because you brought me."

"Uh, yeah, well. You're welcome." He got up as if to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Tyler turned slightly. "Just somewhere, I didn't have a specific place in mind."

"Sit!" she ordered.

He sat.

"I want to reward you for bringing me here," she said. "I don't suppose there's anything you want that you currently don't or can't have."

He thought a moment. "There is one thing. Or person, rather, that I want. But you can't get me her."

Katherine looked at him skeptically. "You have trouble getting girls?" she asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"Well, Selina's not just any girl and—"

"Oh, my God!" Katherine said, leaning back. "Selina? You can have any girl in the world and you want my sister?" she exhaled lustily. "You and Michael. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now."

"Well, it's no use anyway, now that she's married and everything."

Katherine's expression changed. "Married?" she asked. "Who's Selina married to?"

"Damon Salvatore," Tyler said moodily, looking away. "They ran off to Vegas last week and now everything's legal and nothing can be done about it."

Katherine's eyes widened. "Selina married Damon Salvatore?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied. "You hate the idea too?"

"Of course," Katherine said.

Tyler sighed. "My father says she's happy, and I know I should just be able to accept that if I really liked her, but I don't want to."

"You think Selina would be better off with you," Katherine said. "Just like Michael did."

"No," Tyler said simply. "It's just that I like her, and having her with me would make me happy."

"Oh," Katherine said. "So Selina's feelings have absolutely nothing to do with this. Instead, it's all about how you feel. You want to make her miserable just to satisfy your own selfish whims."

"Is that bad?" he asked.

Katherine smiled again and ran her fingers through his hair. "Of course not," she said. "I just wanted to be absolutely certain of what I was getting into."

"Can you help me?" he asked.

"Of course I can," she assured him. "And I'd be more than happy too. Just meet me at Dr. Stensrund's old house at eight o'clock tonight."


The carriage bumped over the ruts on the water-soaked and muddy road, but she didn't mind. She looked fondly down at the locket. It had finally happened. Despite the interferences of Louisa Forbes (among other girls), Damon had finally given her something to show his intention to marry her.

She wasn't surprised, of course. She'd known forever that they were going to be married. And she'd hated all the waiting. With a sudden jolt, the carriage came to a stop in front of her mother's house. A few minutes later, the carriage driver came around and opened the door for her, helping her out. She thanked him, and as he sped away, Mama came running toward her.

"I'm so glad you're here!" her mother cried, throwing her arms around her. "It's been ages since I've been able to get over to the Salvatores'. How are you? Are you all right? Is something wrong?" She pushed her daughter away gently and looked her over. "You seem all right," she said.

"Yes, Mama. I'm fine." She nodded and gently unclasped the locket. "I'm also engaged."

"What?" her mother asked. "When did this happen?" she took the locket from her daughter and looked it over. "Is this solid silver?" she said to herself. "I think it is."

"It happened just a few days ago, Mama." She said. "The same day he told me he's signed up at the recruitment office."

"Damon's decided to go and fight the Yankees?" her mother asked. "Good for him. I'm certain his father is very proud."

"Oh, yes," she nodded. "He is." She looked around. "Mama, can we go inside? It looks like it's going to start raining again."

"Of course dear," her mother said. "I'm sorry." She followed her mother inside. And they sat at the kitchen table. Her mother brought coffees, and they drank them in silence. Finally, her mother said "are you worried?"

"No," she shook her head. "Why should I be worried?" she paused. "Is it because of what happened to Papa?" she asked. "Are you afraid that Damon's going to go off to war and die and I won't be able to be married after all?"

"I'm saying it's a definite possibility," her mother said. "I never considered it when your father left. He and I were swept up in the glory and mystique and never bothered to face the cold, hard truth. When the officer came to tell me he'd died…" she paused to wipe her eyes with her handkerchief.

"I'm sorry, Mama," she said quickly, feeling herself start to tear up. "Let's talk about something else." Just then, the doorbell rang and she got up to answer it, not surprised to see Damon on the other side. He said he would come by.

"Have you told her yet?" he asked. "What did she say?" he stepped into the entryway. Then, he got a good look at her. Tears were falling down her cheeks. He wiped them away. "What's the matter, Lina?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

Those words echoed strangely, and he repeated them again, shaking her gently. Then, everything shattered.

"What's the matter, Lina?" Damon asked, shaking her gently. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I think."

Damon stopped shaking her. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You were sobbing. Did you have a bad dream?"

Selina looked into the blue eyes that wore the same expression that he'd had in the dream. She wondered if she was still dreaming after all. "You'll have to help me," she said. "Tell me where I am and what year it is."

"It's 2010," he said, putting his arms around her. "And you're at the boardinghouse. Now, what did you dream to get yourself so worked up?"

"It wasn't a dream, really," she told him. "Just a replay of when I told my mother we were engaged. After I told her you signed up at the recruitment office, she told me to be aware always that you might be killed and we'd not be able to marry after all."

"Well, that's a cheerful sentiment," he remarked. "No wonder you didn't tell me about it when it happened." Just then, there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"Are you up, Selina?" said a voice on the other side. "We need to leave for school in half an hour."

"Thanks, Stefan," Selina called and got out of bed. She dressed quickly in jeans, a purple shirt, and a black leather jacket, and telling Damon goodbye, left the room.

When she, Stefan, and Elena arrived at school, they headed straight for the room where they all had first period American Literature. They were doing Gone with the Wind, and things were going very well. They reached the room and took their usual seats next to one another, but were surprised to find the room empty. Their teacher, Mr. Ross, was a stickler for punctuality and it was only two minutes until the beginning of class.

A minute after the bell rang, a woman with short, messy red hair, and piercing blue eyes covered by black-framed reading glasses entered the room. She wore blue jeans, and a white blouse under a brown courderoy jacket. She turned to face the class, who stared back at her with curiosity.

"Hi, everyone," the woman said. "I bet your wondering who I am and why I'm here. Well, Mr. Ross had a little break down last week, so I'm your new substitute teacher. My name is Miss Underwood." She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote her name on the board with a flourish. "Now, before we continue your foray into Gone with the Wind, I think I should get to know all your names by taking attendance." She picked up the list that was on the podium and began ticking off the names as each student indicated their presence. When she reached "Bonnie Bennet," her face changed for a fraction of a second before she continued. The same facial expression occurred when she called Caroline's name. She looked up just as Elena was giving her assent and started badly. Stefan's name brought a grin to her face, and when she looked up and saw Selina, her hand begin to shake and she let out a little squeak.

As soon as attendance was taken car of, she pulled out the book. She opened it to the point that had been marked in her copy, read it over, and frowned. "I see you're to the part where Charles Hamilton has just died," she said. "Any thoughts on Scarlet's subsequent behavior?"

Selina cleared her throat. "I for one find her behavior disgraceful. Her husband died fighting. Just because it was an illness that killed him and not a bullet, doesn't make his sacrifice any less worthy."

Miss Underwood looked up at her, slowly shutting the book. "You know," she said. "I've always thought that." She shut the book and looked back at the class. "I think we've done enough with this today," she said. "I believe I want to go over some local lore now. Has anyone heard the story of the Lady in Red? How does it end?"

Selina and Elena looked at one another. Slowly, Stefan stood up. "Well," he said, "there are two versions of the ending. In the first version, the Lady forsakes her soldier fiancé and runs off with Dr. Stensrund. In the second version, she stays true to her fiancé and he kills her for refusing him."

"I don't like either of those endings," the teacher said.

Selina stood up as Stefan sat down. "Well actually Miss Underwood, I found a new ending that no one knew about until now," she said.

"Really?" Miss Underwood brightened. "Do tell."

"Well," Selina continued. "The Lady wasn't really killed by the doctor. He thought he killed her but was mistaken. He buried her alive, but thanks to the diligence of her fiance's brother, she was saved. She and the soldier were reunited and were able to be married after all." As Selina said this last part, she placed her hand on her desk so that her wedding ring was visible.

Miss Underwood's eyes caught sight of the ring and widened perceptibly. After a moment, she seemed to remember where she was and looked at Selina, Stefan and Elena. "Can I see the three of you after class, please?" she asked.

They nodded and Miss Underwood spent the rest of the class lecturing on Gone with the Wind.

As soon as everyone else had gone, Miss Underwood shut the door behind her. "I suppose you're wondering why I asked you three to stay behind," she said.

"We would," Selina replied, "but you really are as subtle as a Mack Truck, Mama."

Miss Underwood grinned and walked over to embrace her. "Selina Amelia, did you know it was me all the time? I should have known I wouldn't be able to fool you."

Then, she looked over at Stefan. "Surprised?" she asked.

"A little," he stuttered. "Miss Amelia, I never would have guessed. You look different."

"Is that good?" asked Amelia.

"Yeah," Stefan said.

"How are you still here?" she asked.

"Katherine," he said.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I rue the day I gave birth to that girl." Her gaze traveled to Elena. "And speaking of Katherine, you look an awful lot like her."

"She's Katherine's good twin," Selina said.

"I can't believe you're Amelia Warren," Elena finally managed to get out. "I mean, we knew the body in the hills wasn't you, but—" she couldn't say anymore.

Amelia smiled and turned back to Stefan. "So, if you're here, and Selina's married, can I assume your brother is here as well? Did Katherine turn him, too?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "She meant to, but I got to him first."

"Can I see him?" Amelia asked. "I just want to see the two of you together so badly."

"Sure," Selina replied. "You want to come back to the boardinghouse with us? There's more than enough room in the car."

A/n- Sorry about the wait, everyone! This is the first time I've had internet in two weeks!