Hello, my lovely readers. I've decided to rewrite this story because there were some gaps and errors that were made. I do hope that you enjoy the new version, new summary and notice the change in rating because this is a darker fic than some which pushes some boundaries. On with the show…

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV Show, those rights are reserved for Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec and the CW. Nor do I own the song "Terrible Love" performed by The National that inspired this fic.

Chapter 1: The Invitation

Rebekah's Story:

When you live in a small town you think that nothing bad ever happens. You're safe and that your world can not be smashed to bits in a second. That is how I had come to view my home, Mystic Falls. This was just the way things had always been for all of us. No one ever suspected that we were all in grave danger. We were deadly wrong.

Mystic Grill, 8 p. m.:

Sighing as I scooped up the paltry sum that one of our clientele of locals and high school students – or locals who were high school students – had left for me and I pocketed it. Turning around, I nearly ran into the younger brother of my closest friend, Stefan Gilbert. Narrowing my eyes, I shook my head at Stefan.

"Jesus, you scared me half to death, Stefan," I snapped, running a hand through my tousled locks as Stefan followed me toward the bar like a puppy. Sometimes I thought that Stefan was indeed a lost puppy. He had been following me about since we were very small children and his older brother, Klaus, and I made the best of friends after Klaus tossed sand into my face and I forced him to suck on a tiny, plastic shovel. Even at the age of five, I was not to be tormented by little boys.

"I thought you might want to know that Nik is home," Stefan told me casually with overly round and glittering eyes. There was something wrong with him. Nothing out of the ordinary. Ever since he and Nik lost their parents in an accident that nearly killed the older Gilbert boy, Stefan had been experimenting with substances that temporarily took away his pain, but left him acting like a fool.

Wiping the counter for a moment, I took in the fact that Klaus had returned. He had gone off to Merry Old England on a trip during the summer. He had made great promises that he would bring me back a mini version of Buckingham Palace. However, he had not contacted me once since he took off from the airport. So much for being the best of friends then.

Taking a deep breath, I intended to tell Stefan that he should go play pool with his brother's buddies, Kol Bennett and Elijah Lockwood, but I was cut off mid-thought. "Hello there, love," Klaus freakin' Gilbert said, causing my heart to leap along with my body. He seemed to notice my tiny jump of enthusiasm since his lips curved upward into a smirk that I had not seen after the tragedy. "Good. I was hoping that you didn't miss me. Now, come. Give us a hug," he waved his arms. I had to stop myself from leaping from behind the counter and crashing into him.

Rounding the bar, I moved slowly, measuring my steps before I threw my body into Klaus' and squealed with delight. "I could kiss you, you ass," I told him, gripping his face between my hands.

"You can kiss me," Stefan muttered as he reached for a bottle from behind the counter.

Frowning at Stefan, I angled my body to the left and closer to the bar top. Holding up a long, index finger, I pointed it accusingly at Stefan, "Put down the bottle, or so help me God, I will call your aunt and you will not be leaving your home until you graduate."

"Killjoy," Stefan groaned, falling against the bar with a mock moan of pain. "I need a beer. Being around gloom and doom," he held up two fingers and shot invisible bullets at his brother with each insult, "is enough to drive anyone to drink."

"And some people would use any reason to act like a git," Klaus replied as he patted me on the back. "Did I mention that it is so good to be home? Most especially when I have the support of my loving little brother to greet me?" Klaus inquired as Stefan opened and closed his hand, flapping his palm and fingers together at his own face with a stern look.

"Blah, blah, blah," Stefan said loudly. "He complains even when no one is listening because he loves the sound of his own voice. Why can't I find myself a nice, new family with a not so self-righteous, bore of a brother? Why?"

Rolling my eyes, I was about to tell Stefan why he should appreciate Klaus when he could have the likes of my own family when I was interrupted. "Nik, where have you been hiding yourself all summer long, darling?" Kol Bennett crowed as he came to embrace Klaus. "I've missed wiping you from one side of the pool table to the other. You'll be paying my way through college soon, my friend."

"Not bloody likely," Klaus replied, patting Kol on the back before letting him go. "I've been in England."

Tapping his chin, Kol looked thoughtful before he grinned. "Sorry. Must have been spending too much time with Miss Mystic trying to coax her little uniform off. God, I love her pom poms," he said with a wicked grin.

"We're in mixed company, Kol. Try to keep that in mind," Elijah Lockwood interjected with a smile directed at me. "Hello, Bekah. Nik, Nice to see you again. "How did London treat you?"

"Well. But it is good to be home with my friends," Klaus told us as Stefan tried to take advantage of our not paying attention to be able to snag a bottle of beer, again.

"STOP," I ordered, waving at Stefan who slumped down on a stool.

"You're supposed to be fun," Stefan muttered with an aggrieved look, pointed in my direction.

"Don't know whatever gave you that impression," I retorted as I retied the laces to my apron that Kol had been slowly pulling loose. "Stop that," I snapped at Kol, swatting his hands away. We'd always been part of the same group because Klaus had a tendency of picking up strays, but I had always found Kol odd. He lived with his Grams and rumor had it he was a warlock. Not that I believed in that nonsense but…

"Look at that. My luck has just turned 'round," Kol drawled as his focus moved to the front of Grill while I moved behind the bar. Not paying immediate attention to whatever it was that Kol was fascinated by, I began to finish wiping the bar top. Knowing Kol, he was enchanted by a group of girls from our school with tight, short skirts and showing far too much cleavage.

"Excuse me," a female voice called in a manner that told me that she was used to being waited on the moment she spoke. Well, she would have to get in line because I had been dealing with girls like that all my life. "Miss! I'd like a drink? Or is this a serve yourself establishment?" Flicking my eyes upward, I looked into her large, blue ones. For a moment I felt like I could not look away, which was odd because I had never had that problem before in my life. Smirking, the girl licked her lips, twirling a lock of light, blonde hair that resembled my own. Shifting on her stool the other blonde, turned to look to her left and smiled at Stefan.

When she turned her gaze away, I felt like a deep trance had been lifted. Shaking my head, I glared at Stefan. I was about to tell him to give me the damned bottle that he had snagged while I was in the middle of a staring contest with the blonde when she snatched the bottle away. "How old are you?" she asked with an appraising look that made me feel a pang of what I refused to call jealously - tainted with… What? Fear? Something about her expression was predatorial as she turned her whole body toward the teenager, allowing him to take in her low-cut halter top and leather pants.

"Sixteen," Stefan said, swallowing with difficulty.

The strange woman grinned at him. "Sorry, baby. You're not old enough for this," she said, pausing for a moment. It was not clear whether she meant the bottle of beer she held between her index finger and her thumb or herself when she waved the bottle.

"Anybody else?" she asked lightly, twirling on the stool with grace that had me chewing on my bottom lip. No, grace was not for girls like Rebekah Donavon. We're the meek girls, ne'er-do-wells that stand in the shadows of our friends, the Bonnie Forbes of the world. The woman was still looking amongst the group of boys when her eyes landed on Klaus.

'No, no, NO," I thought silently, feeling my stomach squeeze painfully. 'Not my Nik. Not him. Take anyone else. Just leave him be. I beg of you,' I screamed silently, feeling color spread through my cheeks like they were on fire.

Of course, she wasn't listening. Not that she could. Or maybe that she would. This was the kind of woman that was used to having everything she ever wanted dropped at her feet on a whim. "And who are you?" the woman asked, leaning forward on her seat. She was staring into Klaus' eyes but he did not seem to feel the haze that I had earlier. Instead, he looked slightly flustered. Opening his mouth to reply, no words were uttered before a man with raven locks and a scowl stepped between the two.

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you," the man began when the woman placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a firm push to the side. Stunned momentarily, I could not believe that the woman had been able to move the man in front of her without using more force. Now that he was out of way, she slid off the stool. Holding out a hand, she batted her eyelashes with a wide smile, waiting for Klaus to take it. The raven haired man glowered at the blonde as Klaus looked between the two uncertainly before brushing his lips over the back of her hand. "It was lovely to meet you all, but it seems I must be going," she informed our group airily.

Reaching behind her, the blonde grabbed the bottle, without paying for it. "Put that on my tab," she called to me. That would be great, except she didn't have a tab and I didn't have her name.

"What's your name?" Kol yelled, but the blonde was already half way across the room in a deep argument with the tall, raven haired man who I was certain called her something like Cathy or Carrie or was it… I didn't know.

"That was odd," Elijah told us thoughtfully. He was the deep thinker in our group; he was also the most relaxed of us. Of course there was that one time that he lost his temper and placed a man who insulted a girl that he was dating in the hospital with more than a fracture. But that was the rare occurrence. Most of the time anyway.

"Wonder who they are?" Kol murmured.

"I thought you had a girlfriend already," I retorted with a smile, mindlessly wiping the bar top. Really, I just wanted them to stop talking about the blonde. She gave me a chill. On the other hand, I could not say that I would not mind seeing the man she had been with her again. Even though there had not been time to truly get a good look at him, I could tell that he was as striking as his… whatever she was to him. Hmmm… a girl could dream, couldn't she? No matter. The likelihood that I would see either of them again was likely a zero percent chance given the way that the man had behaved.

This day seemed to want to contradict all of my predictions. "Hey, look what I found," Stefan exclaimed with a gleeful grin, waving a small object in a pink case. "One mystery solved and whoever wants to know this girl's number, the toll charge is one, ice, cold beer," he told the three males in his company.

"And the person who gives it to him will have to deal with me," Klaus uttered with a wave of his own hand for the phone.

Glaring at his brother, Stefan held the phone out of reach from his sibling. "No beer. No phone. Since you want to kill my night, then I will have to give the lost property to someone responsible for seeing it is returned to its owner," Stefan turned to me. "Here you go, Bexs. Don't ever say I didn't ever give you something nice," he said with a wink.

"Yeah. Thank you for giving me something to toss in the lost and found box," I replied sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Stefan responded, proudly, causing me to chuckle.

"So what's her name?" Kol asked Stefan who began to hum to himself utterly ignoring Kol. I was about to walk away when the phone began to vibrate.

Glancing down at the phone, I picked it up. The name that had appeared was "Dick." 'Charming,' I thought as I moved to hit the answer button.

"Put it on speaker," Kol pleaded with his hands folded and his face contorted in his best "I'll Do Anything for this One Little Favor" look.

"Hello, this is Caroline Salvatore. I do believe you have something that belongs to me," she stated and her voice sent a chill through my body. "You wouldn't mind stopping by and delivering that item, would you? I would be very grateful. Bring your friends."

"I'm kind of busy right now. My shift doesn't end for at least another two hours," I replied to which she laughed.

"What party would end at ten? I know that tomorrow is your first day of school but this is a party that you will regret if you miss it. After all everyone will be talking about it tomorrow." Frowning, I stared at the piece of plastic. 'Was it my imagination, or was she threatening me?' I wondered. "And you'll get to meet my poor baby brother. He's been very lonely since he came to town and he'll need friends in this new town. Right, Damon?" There was a brief pause before Caroline laughed. "Sorry. He's busy making new friends as we speak. See you soon. Bye!"

"Sounds like we're going to a party," Kol said, pulling out his phone. "I'll let Bonnie know, in case she's not there yet."

I traded a long look with Klaus who shrugged with an amused expression, "Looks like."

"Welcome home, Nik," I whispered with a strained smile as he nodded and for a moment I saw the act drop and his exhaustion seeped in to be replaced seconds later by a wide smile.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts in general.

Thank you to everyone who favs, follows, reads and/or reviews.

I'm hoping that I'll have the rewrite of a chapter up next week. Hopefully.

Peace,

Jessica