Elena looked at her clock and groaned. The sun shone through her windows, and she could hear Aunt Jenna swearing in the kitchen below, unsuccessfully trying at pancakes. It was the first day of school, since…. She didn't want to think about it. Or what happened. Now, she had to protect Jeremey from what her parents were protecting her. Vampires. She dropped to her stomach, and crawled under her bed, feeling for the loose floorboard where stakes and other assortments of weapons lie. Just knowing that they were there made her feel safe. Before their deaths, her mother and father had sat down and told her about the other world, the one which Mystic Falls seemed to be an epicentre for, with vampires and werewolves and witches all living in the same space, it called for hunters to keep the peace. She had laughed when they first told her, called them crazy, but soon accepted it, and after she had killed her first vampire, she had believed it, but there had been no vampires in Mystic Falls since.
Her mind flashed back to that night when she had gone to that party. That strange man who had come up to her, told her things which she needed to hear. Told her things that explained why she was no longer in love with Matt. Matt! She groaned at the thought of seeing him. Ever since they broke up, he had been avoiding her. She glanced at the time. "Shit!" Bonnie said that she wanted to meet up with her and Caroline before the start of school. Grabbing items from her desk, she shoved them into her bag, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater that she had worn for the third time that week. Fashion will just have to wait. After racing down the stairs, she was half way to the door when Jenna stopped her. "And where do you think you are going?" she demanded, her arms folded, and an eyebrow raised. Elena struggled for words. "I was just, Bonnie wanted, I need to…" she faltered at the hurt expression on her aunt's face. "I'd made breakfast!" she exclaimed, waving a dismal hand at the burnt pancakes and syrup laid on the counter top. Elena hesitated before walking into the kitchen, grabbing pancake and pouring syrup onto it. "There, I can eat on the go." Jenna sighed, and gave a twitch on the lips, the closest thing to a smile. Elena knew that it was hard for her aunt, to have to ditch her life, and raise two kids, one of whom was suffering mood swings, depression and the urge to save the town, and the other was a druggie. She felt guilty. Jenna nodded to the door. "off you go, have a social life, have fun, just be back at home after school. I'll drag your brother to the car in a minute." Elena sighed in relief, the tight knots in her gut easing slightly as she headed out of the door. "I owe you," she called as the door fell shut behind her. As she jumped off the last step on her porch (a habit left over from when she was a kid,) she heard a caw behind her. Turning to see what it was, a huge black crow swept over her head, talons narrowly missing her face. She screamed and ducked. When it had gone, she spun on the spot, and uneasy feeling as if it was watching her- but it was just a bird, she was scared of a bird. Laughing at herself, she began to walk in the direction of her school, but she wasn't wrong. Using the shadows of the trees, a crow began to fly after her, it's eye following her every move carefully.
Seeing her friends in the parking lot of the school made her feel almost like her regular self again. Almost. She could see Caroline's dainty yellow curls bobbing ahead of her, and Bonnie's own hair flowing down her back. She hurried over to join them. "Spending the summer with my dad and his boyfriend was so much fun- they even got me a new car! And look, a decent tan, it was so hot there. Oh, hi Elena!" Elena greeted Caroline with a smile. Caroline was many things, a control freak, competitive, and sometimes a bit of a bitch, but she was also honest and loyal, and one of Elena's best friends. Elena hugged Bonnie, giggling slightly. "Aw, I missed you! Get in here Caroline!" The three of them stood there embracing one another. As they pulled away, Elena and Caroline turned to Bonnie unexpectedly. "So the weirdest thing happened to me over the summer. I was staying with my Grams, and she told me I was a witch. Can you believe that?" Caroline smirked, doubting Bonnie's sudden claim to magic, but Elena snapped to attention. Her mother had warned her about witches. She had said that they were on the side of nature and balance, but did extremes to resolve balance, and then there were the ones who went rouge. "She's lying right, I mean, like, you don't actually believe that you're a witch, right?" Bonnie looked at Elena, surprised by her sudden outburst. "I dunno, I mean, it's supposed to run in the family, so I guess. Anyway, I all know is that I can palm read." Caroline laughed, her eyes sparkling, "why Elena, you think she's going to do her magic juju on you?" Elena stuck her tongue out jokingly, and Caroline thrust-ed her hand under Bonnie's nose. "Well, go on. If you can palm read, what's my future?" Bonnie studied Caroline's hand, frowning with confusion and concentration. "Whatever choice you make, you'll die young, but live a fulfilled and long life. I don't understand. How can you live a long life if you die young?" Caroline shrugged, evidently sceptical of Bonnie's abilities. "Your go Elena," Elena held out her hand to Bonnie, who took it. She stared at it for a moment, before dropping it like it burnt her. "Bonnie, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Bonnie offered a watery smile, her face pale and frightened. "There's a lot of death in your future Elena. And two strangers, alike in blood, but one is filled with sorrow, the other with grief. Whatever you do Elena, could impact everything. And there's a bird, a raven? No, a crow. Don't trust the crow. It's important for you not to trust the crow." There was a sudden flapping of wings, and a dark shape soared over head. "Is that a..?" started Bonnie, her eyes wide with shock. Elena nodded numbly. "Creepy!" Exclaimed Caroline, staring after the huge crow. She turned on her heel, and marched towards the main doors of Mystic Falls High School. The parking lot had begun to fill with students and cars, and after a quick glance at each other, Bonnie and Elena ran after Caroline.
Elena stood in the middle of the corridor wondering why it was taking forever to get past the immense group of girls crowding in front of the reception. She spotted Bonnie, and waved, weaving and squeezing until she stood next to her. "What's all this? I need to get into reception to sign up for this year's cheer try outs!" Bonnie grinned, "hot new boy obviously, though no one can get a good look because of all these." She gestured to the crowd in front. Elena rolled her eyes, and the bell rang for the start of class. A teacher marched out and shooed them all away. Bonnie grumbled. "I didn't even get a good look, just his back. It is a hot back though." They giggled, and hurried to history.
Elena sat in history blocking out the sound of the teacher droning on, and on, and on…. This may be her own literal hell. "Elena Gilbert, since you are so clearly paying attention, can you possibly answer my question?" Elena glanced at her notes, but her notebook was empty. Sighing she picked up her pen, and faced the teacher. "Sorry sir," she mumbled. The teacher smirked, and left Elena alone to pick on another unaware student. Elena turned to Bonnie who shrugged, and then faced the board to copy notes.
After class, Elena waited for Bonnie, and were about to leave when she was called back by Mr Tanner. "Elena, I know that you have been through a tough time, and I have been cutting you slack, but you really need to get back in the game, and concentrate more. This unacceptable, and you are a bright student. I'm going to give you one more chance, but after this, there will be consequences." Elena sighed and nodded. It had been like this with a lot of her teachers recently, and her grades were starting to slip. She left the classroom with promises of doing better, and looked around for Bonnie. The hallway was empty, and cursing, Elena headed for the canteen. She was half way there, when she remembered that she still hadn't signed up for try outs. She turned on her heel, and almost collided with the person behind her. "Whoa! Watch out!" yelled Elena. She stooped to pick up her bag which must have fallen off her shoulder in the rush. As she stood up, she was face to face with a tall boy. He had a lean build, with evidence of muscles under his shirt. His hair was a sandy brown blonde colour, and he was staring so intently at her, she could see the flecks of gold in the bronze of his eyes. "Kathrine?" he asked. Elena, tensed her shoulders a little. This wasn't the first time she had been called Kathrine. Her mind wondered back to before the crash, when the stranger had called her Kathrine. "No, I'm Elena, Elena Gilbert." The boy stood still for a minute, clearly embarrassed about mistaking her. "I'm sorry." Elena rubbed the back of her neck, uncomfortable about the awkwardness between them. she shuffled past him, and out of the corner of her eye saw his reflection in the window. Dark lines seemed to spread across his face, and his eyes were darkening. She turned around and called out to him. "Hey, are you ok?" He turned around, shaken by the sudden exclamation. Elena gasped, the air being knocked out of her lungs, his face had dark veins spreading across like cracked glass, and his eyes were red, two razor sharp fangs pierced his bottom lip. Elena backed away, getting ready to run. She turned, but his was there, in front of her, a finger to his lips, his eyes panicking. "Shush, it's ok. Don't scream, don't move until I say so. You'll forget what you just saw, and you'll forget me. You won't notice me, you won't want to know me, you'll ignore me in the future. You can go." After that, he vanished. Elena felt sick, as she continued walking to reception. She thought back to the last time she had vervain. She had put in the syrup a few days ago, the same one she had on her pancakes this morning. This was good, because she would need a lot more of it now that she knew someone had tried to compel her. That also made her certain of another thing. There were vampires once more in Mystic Falls.