Hey, guys. So basically, I recieved The Vampire Diaries Seasons 1 - 4 for Christmas. And when I mixed Vampire Diaries with my excitement for M. Season 7, this is what I got. Anyway, this is Chapter 1. Enjoy!

Daniel Morgan flung himself out of his bedroom window, already reaching for a long, thick branch of the tree outside. He caught it easily, swinging himself forward as he let it go, landing in a crouch on the soft grass at the base of the tree.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that, Daniel." A voice said behind him.

"Well, excuse me if I want to do something that I enjoy." Dan shot back, turning around. Then his expression becoming softer, blue eyes softening. "Mum, since when is it illegal to be myself?"

"Since it is dangerous, Daniel." His mother hissed, stepping towards him. "If people find out what you are, they would not hesitate to kill you. These friends – " She broke off as Dan looked away, moving forward and grabbing his chin so he was looking at her. "That girl that you adore so much. If they ever found out what you are, Daniel, they'd kill you."

Dan thought of Zoe, the girl who'd captured his heart ever since he'd met her. She was always so happy, so beautiful, so full of life.

"You don't know that." Dan said, shaking his head. His mother let go of his chin and Dan stepped back, shaking blonde hair out of his eyes. Before his mother could say anything more, Dan turned and walked away, hunching his shoulders and shifting his school bag so it settled more comfortably on them. He didn't want to hear how different he was from Zoe, from Tom, from Aneisha, from everybody. Every waking moment of every single day reminded him of what he was and how they could never truly know everything about him, otherwise he'd die.


"I have a great idea." Zoe said, sitting beside Dan, who was sitting on his desk, in front of Tom and Aneisha.

"Oh no. We'd better get the paramedics on standby." Dan teased. Zoe shoved his shoulder and Dan laughed.

"And the fire department." Tom added.

"And the police." Aneisha chimed in.

"Leave me alone." Zoe mumbled. "My ideas aren't that bad."

"Okay, true." Dan said. "They're not that bad. What's your idea?"

"We should go camping this weekend. There's this place half an hour away that has cabins and campsites. It's got a lake there and a whole load of other stuff."

"That's a great idea!" Aneisha cried.

"I think we should definitely go." Tom said.

Dan however looked pained. Zoe turned to look at him and he managed to manipulate his expression so he just looked as if he thought it was a bad idea.

"What do you think, Dan?" Zoe asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Dan said, looking down at her.

"You don't have to come." Aneisha said.

"But I want you to come." Zoe said, looking up at Dan with those innocent eyes of hers that he loved so much. He sighed and took a deep breath. "Fine. I'm in."

Zoe smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Dan."

And that was how Dan ended up sitting in the back of his parent's car, listening to the pair of them giving him the long-dead speech about being careful. Dan tuned out for most of it – he'd heard it ten thousand times so that by that point, he could probably recite it to anyone who asked. Finally, he got sick of hearing it, he said, "Can you two just relax? Jesus, I've heard this talk a million times."

His mother turned in her seat, casting Dan a cold look. "You can never be too careful, Daniel. You remember that this weekend. If your friends find out –"

"We're all going to be screwed, we're going to have to run, we're all going to die." Dan said in a bored tone. "Blah. Blah. Blah."

"You can never be too careful, Dan."

"Just leave him, Katarina." Dan's father, Ezekiel, said.

Katarina sighed, but she turned to face the front. "He's going to blow it, Zeke."

"He's not going to blow anything. Daniel knows what he's doing."

"Hello! I'm right here!" Dan yelled. Ezekiel laughed and glancing back at his son, sitting in the backseat with blue eyes that flashed with anger.

Katarina started to say something, but she broke off as Ezekiel stopped the car. Dan looked out the window and saw a set of cabins with a lush green lawn next to it.

"Thanks, guys." Dan said, climbing out of the car, dragging his bag with him.

"Daniel." Ezekiel said as Dan slammed the car door shut. He turned towards his father, who cast him an earnest look. "Be careful, my son."

"I will, Dad. Don't worry about it." Dan said, moving towards the cabins. The light was on in one of them and Dan pushed the door open, looking around. Tom was lying on the bottom bunk of one of the beds, playing on one of those portable gaming consoles of his. Zoe and Aneisha were sitting on the top bunk of another bed, laughing and joking.

"You started the party without me. How disappointing." Dan said, dropping his bag on the floor. The girls stopped talking, their heads snapping up at the sound of Dan's voice.

"Dan!" Zoe cried happily, flinging herself over the edge of the bed and landing easily in front of him. She hugged him eagerly and Dan laughed as she squeezed a little too hard on his neck.

"Okay, Zo. Relax."

"We weren't sure you'd come." Aneisha said, leaning over the side of the bed as Zoe pulled away from Dan.

"Why wouldn't I?" Dan asked, throwing himself onto the bed Tom was laying on.

"You didn't seem to like the idea much when I came up with it." Zoe said, sitting beside Dan on the bed. He shifted over so Zoe had more room and she smiled up at him. Dan smiled down at her, feeling tempted to brush her hair away from her face, but he held himself back, remembering his parent's warnings about being careful.

Zoe looked away from Dan, glancing skyward. "Neish, get down here!"

Dan heard squeaking as Aneisha clambered down from the bed she had been sitting on. Dan caught Tom giving him an amused look, but Dan shook it off, muttering, "Just leave it, Thomas."

"Leave what?" Aneisha asked, flopping onto the bed on her back, between Zoe and Dan and Tom.

"Nothing." Dan said. "Don't worry about it."

Zoe cast him a curious look, but she shrugged it off, looking around. "Isn't this place great?"

"I thought we were camping." Aneisha said. "Staying in cabins is not camping, Zo."

"Next time we'll stay in tents, okay? I just thought this place might be fun – it's got the lake and it's got the forest and there's a fire pit. Even if we're not in tents, this weekend is going to be life-changing."