Dear Diary,
Today is going to be different. It has to be. I'm not going to be the girl everyone feels sorry for. Well let's face it, I haven't been that girl at all. At least I tried not to be. I kept myself busy all summer, doing everything I could to help others just for my own selfish desire to not think about what happened that night. So I wouldn't have to think of the sobbing, screams, the feeling I had when I found out both my mom and dad were dead, the feeling I had when I thought Elena was dead too.
Jenna says I'm like her. She did the same thing keeping herself busy with all different things from work to helping out in the community like me, but she ultimately ended up thinking about what happened all summer while I managed to keep it out of mind. For a while at least. I had to keep in mind I wasn't the only one who lost them, Elena and Jeremy did too. And I tried my best to be there for them, Elena let me in while Jeremy….blocked me out more and more with each passing day. I hope he goes back to being my fun big brother because even though I didn't show it much…..I need him. Both him and Elena.
I need a change. A new beginning. And it's going to start today. I hope.
-Samantha Gilbert
I sighed and shut my diary, sticking it under the cushion of my window seat. I stood up and walked over to my large vanity mirror, tucking a lock of my long brown hair behind my ear. I didn't see much of my mother in me, which...could be a good thing. I didn't have to think about her each time I looked in a mirror. I was pale in comparison to her and Elena too and I was also short. It seemed like the Gilbert gene of being tall wasn't something I got, but Elena and Jeremy got. They were over the average height, while I was a good two inches under the average height for girls my age- putting me at 5 feet 2 inches.
"Elena! Jeremy! Sam! Come down for breakfast!" Jenna called up the stairs. I took a deep breath.
"You're going to have a good day," I said convincingly to myself. "Everything...will be just fine."
I hopped down the stairs and strolled into the kitchen, seeing Jenna walk around to get her things together. I went to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup of coffee.
"Morning Aunt Jenna," I said to her.
"Morning," she returned. "Have you seen my watch?"
"You mean like the one on your wrist?"
"Yeah like-" she cut herself off when she looked at it. She laughed sheepishly. "I knew it was there."
I smiled as Jeremy walked through to the table, taking my cup in the process, and began stuffing things into his backpack.
"Hey," I complained after he took my coffee.
"It'll stunt your growth," he said taking a sip. "You're short enough as it is."
"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically as Elena came in the room. I poured another cup of coffee for me.
"Morning," she said taking the cup from me. I made a face.
"Coffee thieves," I muttered. Jenna smiled at me before going back to what she was doing and letting out an exasperated sigh.
"It's your first day of school and I am totally and completely unprepared," she said scolding herself. She began digging through her purse, pulling out some money. "Need lunch money?"
"I'm fine," Elena told her.
"Me too," I said while Jeremy just took the money from her.
"Okay guys, anything else? Pencil? Paper? What am I forgetting?"
"Your presentation time?" I said glancing at the clock. She shook her head as she checked her watch.
"My thesis advisor is meeting me at...now. Crap," she panicked letting her hair down.
"Go," Elena told her. "We'll be fine."
Jenna nodded and practically ran out. I walked over to the table and held out her bag before she even came back in to take it. She smiled gratefully at me and ran back out.
"You okay?" I heard Elena asked Jeremy. He scoffed.
"Don't start," he said grabbing his backpack. He set his coffee cup down by the sink and took the one I was about to take a drink from. He smirked at me a little and left.
"Seriously?" I asked no one in particular. Elena shrugged.
"Bonnie is going to be here in five minutes. Do you need a ride?" she asked looking at her phone. I shook my head.
"Chastity is coming by with Liv, I'll be fine," I told her grabbing another cup.
"Okay," she said. A horn honked outside. "That's Bonnie. I'll see you at school."
"Bye," I said. She left and I looked at the coffee pot, letting my shoulders drop. No more coffee.
I found myself in the car with Chastity- my best friend- and her older sister, Olivia. They were telling me about their recent trip to France and how there were so many more hot guys there than there were here, but I wasn't really paying attention.
Instead I was staring out the window, watching the buildings and trees as they passed by in a blur.
"So how's Jeremy?" Olivia asked catching my attention. She was two years older than me and Chastity- Elena's age- and she had a huge crush on Jeremy.
"Oh...he's good, I think," I replied.
"You think?"
"He doesn't really talk to me or Elena as much as he used to," I admitted. "I wouldn't know exactly how he is. But I can tell it's not amazing."
"Is he still chasing that Donovan girl around?" she asked.
She meant Vicki. Ever since middle school, her and Vicki had this rivalry thing going since they both really liked Jeremy at the time. That was before Vicki got into drugs and Tyler Lockwood. Olivia thought she had Jeremy to herself then, and she did for a while before Jeremy got into drugs himself and he got back into Vicki.
"I'm not sure," I sighed. Honestly, I hoped not. All she did was play around with his feelings, using him for drugs. I didn't want him getting hurt. Not again.
"Well, if he is I'll see to it that he moves on from her," she said. I know she wasn't doing it for my sake, but hers but I wasn't going to say anything.
"How are you doing?" Chastity asked.
"Better," I said. She gave me the look she always gave me when she thought I was lying. "Really. I'm fine."
"You haven't been keeping yourself occupied to avoid thinking about things have you?" she asked.
"Would it be the worse thing in the world if I did?"
"Sam!" she whined. "You promised you wouldn't do that. It's not the way to get over things and you know that."
"I know," I sighed. "It's a bad habit. I'll get over it sooner or later."
"I'd rather it be sooner," she said and I sighed and looked back out my window.
Chastity walked up to my locker with me, which was very close to Elena's, and smiled at Elena and Bonnie. Bonnie came up to me and pulled me into a big sisterly hug.
"Hey you," she said. "It's been forever since I've had a conversation with you that lasted more than five minutes."
"I know," I said. "Sorry about that. I've been-"
"Busy, I know," she said with a smile. Then she turned serious. "You know you can talk to me about anything any time right?"
"Yeah I know," I said. "Thanks Bon-Bon."
I always called her Bon-Bon because when I was four and she was six, I had trouble saying whole names. I tried saying her name over and over again until I just got frustrated and ended up calling her Bon-Bon since the first part of her name was the only thing I could say.
Bonnie smiled and looked past me, then glanced over at Elena who was trying hard not to stare. I followed her gaze over my shoulder at Matt and Tyler then looked back at Elena sympathetically. She and Matt had dated for a while, but she needed a break after our parents died. I couldn't blame her. I may have done the same with my boyfriend...well I did do the same, but it was mostly for a different reason.
Matt shut his locker after staring at Elena for a while and walked down the hall after she waved at him. Tyler shrugged at us and waved, and then followed Matt down the hall while Elena sighed.
"He hates me," she said sadly.
"He doesn't hate you," Bonnie said. "He just-"
"Sammie!" a happy voice exclaimed. I turned just in time for my happy blonde friend to wrap her arms around me tightly in a hug. "Oh my god! How are you?! I know I just saw you like two weeks ago, but I missed you! And Elena!" She pulled Elena into a hug. "I haven't seen you in a while. It's so good to see you!"
"We're good, Caroline," Elena answered with a small smile. I nodded in confirmation when Caroline looked at me.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Much better," Elena told her. Caroline said something along the lines of poor thing before hugging Elena again.
"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later," she said after letting Elena go.
"Guess I'm invisible," Chastity mumbled as she walked away.
"Oh you're not invisible, she just didn't see you," Bonnie told her.
"Yeah. Invisible," she said. I rolled my eyes at my drama queen friend and the four of us started walking down the hall, but I stopped short when someone came into view. The three turned and looked at me with confusion on their faces.
"Sam? You okay?" Elena asked worriedly. I nodded, still staring down the hall. She looked and saw who I saw, who I didn't want to walk by. Chastity and Bonnie saw too.
"Oh," Chastity said. "Don't worry. You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."
"Tell that to him," I sighed as he saw me and began walking down toward us.
"Come on," Elena said wrapping an arm around me. She walked on my left side while Bonnie walked on my right and Chastity walked in front of us.
"Sam," Adam started.
"Nope, she needs her space," Chastity told him.
"I just-"
"No. You hurt my best friend once, I'm not giving you a second chance to."
"Chas-"
"Shut it!" Chasitity turned on him, gesturing for us to go ahead without her.
Elena, Bonnie, and I turned the corner while Chastity stayed back and began yelling at Adam in the middle of the hall. Adam Hanson. My first boyfriend. My first heartbreak.
"Hold up," Bonnie said suddenly as we kept walking down the hall. Elena and I stopped with her and looked at her expectantly for an answer to why she stopped us. "Who's this?"
Elena and I followed her gaze into the office and saw who she was looking at. A fairly tall guy in a black leather jacket talking to the secretary, with his back to us.
"All I see is back," Elena said.
"And brown hair," I added.
"Seattle," Bonnie said. "And I'm guessing he plays guitar."
"What?" I asked with a smile.
"It's her whole psychic thing," Elena reminded me. I nodded remembering over the summer when Bonnie told me that her Grams told her their ancestors were from Salem and that they had some witch blood in them to this day. I could tell she was taking this whole witch thing a lot more seriously now than she had over the summer.
Elena and Bonnie were talking about the 'hot' back when I noticed Jeremy walking past us and into the guys' bathroom, looking less than his best. Elena glanced at me and furrowed her eyebrows worriedly.
"You okay Sam?" she asked me.
"I...I think we should go talk to Jeremy," I told her. She got a look on her face saying she knew what I was talking about.
"We'll be right back," she said to Bonnie. Bonnie nodded then Elena followed me into the boy's bathroom just in time to see Jeremy put eye drops in his eyes. Elena marched right up to him when she spotted what he was doing and grabbed his face, looking at his eyes.
"Great, first day of school hasn't even started and you're already stoned," she said sounding very unhappy. I knew she wasn't and I wasn't very much either.
Jeremy pulled away from Elena's grip.
"I'm not," he tried to argue without looking at either of us.
"Where is it?" Elena asked as she began looking through his pockets. Jeremy tried pushing her hands away. "Is it on you?"
"Stop! Just stop, you need to chill yourself Elena," Jeremy said. He then glanced at me. "Are you gonna say something too?"
"I don't know what to say Jeremy," I admitted as Elena kept searching his pockets. "Nothing other than that this needs to stop."
"Sam's right and by the way, 'chill myself?' Is that stoner talk? Dude you are so cool," Elena said sarcastically.
"Elena would you back off! You're acting crazy."
"You have not seen crazy Jeremy," I mumbled.
"She's right, again. I gave you a summer pass for this, both of us did, but we are done watching you destroy yourself," Elena lectured him.
"And you know she's serious. She'll be there to ruin your buzz every time," I told him.
Jeremy started arguing with Elena while I stood by the door, not really sure what to say. Elena was right, Jeremy couldn't keep doing this because it wasn't just hurting him, but us too. I also knew that lecturing him wasn't the way to go. He would just tune us out. I looked away when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was a text message from Chastity.
I just saw a MAJOR hawtie in the hallway. New guy, come see!
I smiled, rolling my eyes, and looked back at my older siblings.
"I'm gonna go, guys," I said. Elena glanced at me and nodded, then went back to lecturing Jeremy. I sighed and slipped out of the bathroom.
"Oh crap," I said bumping into someone's hard chest. "Sorry, I really should pay attention to where I'm-" I looked up at saw one of the most handsome guys in the world. Light brown hair, deep green eyes, perfect nose and jaw line. Not to mention he was very muscular. "Going."
He seemed to be staring at me with as much surprise as I was at him before he shook his head the slightest bit. I blushed a little and looked down. Oooh nice shoes, I thought.
"I'm Samantha Gilbert," I blurted before I could stop myself. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly before sticking his hand out to me.
"Stefan Salvatore," he said as I shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you Samantha."
"Nice to meet you too," I smiled. He looked at where I just came from and a small smiled formed on his lips.
"Is that...the men's room?" he asked. I looked from him back at the bathroom where I had been watching Elena lecture Jeremy about the pot.
"No, I mean yeah," I stuttered a bit. "Um...this isn't weird at all."
"Not at all," he chuckled.
"I'm gonna...I'm gonna go to class now and…yeah," I said stepping to the side to get around him. He went the same way and we both smiled. We both stepped to the other side and laughed. He stepped against the wall and let me go past him.
"Thanks," I said with a smile. I walked down the hall quickly, trying to make my blush go down. I looked over my shoulder and saw he was still looking at me intensely. I turned the corner and went to my class, completely forgetting that I was supposed to find Chastity.
I walked into my history class with a sigh. By the looks of it, there wasn't going to be anyone I knew in here. That's all right. It was never too late to make new friends. I walked over to a seat and sat down on it, taking out a notebook and writing down the notes on the board.
"Hey," a familiar voice greeted, making me clench my eyes shut and pray that I was just imagining it. When I looked up, it was a huge let down.
"Hey," I said just to be polite. I said in a way that didn't opt for conversation, so I was really hoping he could take the hint. Unfortunately, the seat next to me was empty and he took the liberty of filling it.
"So... how have you been?" he asked. I looked back down at my notebook.
"Adam-"
"I know, I know. Stupid question. Of course you haven't been good," he said scolding himself slightly. "And it's mostly my fault. What I did... WHEN I did it, it was all just a horrible stack up meant for disaster. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did. I'm really sorry."
"Look...I know you're trying to make things right, but I just need time," I sighed.
"Right," he said. "I get it. A couple months...isn't enough. Especially when you had other things to deal with. Knowing you, you weren't thinking about anything were you?"
"Tried not to," I admitted.
"Did it work?" he asked. I looked up at him again.
"Relatively."
I sighed and tucked my pen and diary into my bag. After school, Elena and I came to the grave of our parents alone. Jeremy was who knows where with Vicki, Bonnie was visiting her Grams, Chastity and Olivia got sucked into shopping with their mom, and Caroline was...somewhere social. Most likely the grill with some of the girls on the cheerleading squad. So this was our last resort, mine at least.
I missed my mom and dad. Normally on days like today, when there was nothing for us to do, they would come up with something to entertain us. They would take us to see a random movie, have us all cook something together just for the fun of it, or we would just talk to them. Mom always was there to listen to me when I needed to vent and dad always knew just how to cheer me up. Of course Elena was good at both of those and so was Jeremy, but it wouldn't be the same.
I wiped all thoughts of losing mom and dad from my mind when a tear slipped out of my eye and I leaned my head on Elena's shoulder. We both jumped, however, when we heard a very loud "CAW!" We both looked up and across from us, perched on top of a head stone, was a crow. A very black and eerie crow.
"Hi bird," Elena said weirdly. She closed her diary and stuffed it in her bag while I stood up. Fog began forming around and I felt goose bumps rise up on my arms.
I quickly turned around and let out a sigh of relief when I saw Elena.
"Can we go?" I asked her. She nodded, sensing I was getting freaked out.
"Shoo!" she said to the crow. It cawed at her and flew off.
"That's what I thought," she said victoriously.
We both let out a small sigh then and Elena turned to grab her bag. I whirled around when she gasped and I looked at our parent's head stone and there was that same crow.
"Um…" I began.
"That's the same one isn't it?" Elena asked.
"I think so," I said.
"Let's…"
"Get out of here?"
"Yeah."
We both took of running, but not before I noticed the outline of a man not too far from us- which made me run faster. I'm not sure how, but I ended up losing Elena when we went into the flock of trees next to the cemetery. I slowed down, trying to catch my breath and calm down. So I saw a freaky bird. It happens. Besides, it was just a bird. It's not like it was going to kill me or anything. And what about that guy? I was so sure I saw someone, why was he just standing there? Was he there to hurt Elena or I?
I shook my head. I was way over thinking that whole thing.
Later, when she and I finally met back up at home, Elena told me about how she had bumped into Stefan at the cemetery after she and I got separated. They got to talking more and she thinks now that she may like him a little bit. I smiled at her when she asked if she knew who I was talking about.
"I met him earlier today, I meant to tell you," I said. "He seemed really sweet and very gentlemanly. I think you two would make a good couple."
"He just got to town, let him meet other people first, Sam," Elena smiled.
"Oh no, if he meets other people then he'll miss out on you," I told her. "You are an amazing girl and you deserve happiness. Especially after what happened…"
"You deserve it just as much as I do," she said.
"I think you two would be better together," I said. "Besides, you know me. I like my real bad boys."
"Which isn't good for a good girl," she teased. I stuck my tongue out at her.
"What time did Bonnie want us to meet her?" I asked.
"Um…in ten minutes actually. We should go," she said. Jenna walked in then.
"Hey we're meeting Bonnie at the grill," I told her.
"Okay," she said as she continued walking into the kitchen. She stopped then. "Hold on, I got this. Don't stay out too late. It's a school night," she said looking proud. I smiled at her.
"Well done, Aunt Jenna," Elena complimented. Jenna smiled and continued walking into the kitchen.
I patted my pockets, searching for my phone and hoping I didn't leave it up in my room, when Elena picked up her keys and the doorbell rang. I furrowed my eyebrows. Who would that be? I sighed when I failed to find my phone and concluded that I left it upstairs after all.
"I've gotta run up and get my phone," I sighed. "Can you get the-"
"On it," Elena said as she walked to the door. I nodded and went up the stairs quickly so I could grab my phone. When I got up in my room, I spotted my phone on top of my dresser right next to the window. I strolled over and grabbed it, but jumped and yelped when a thud sounded against the window.
"Sam?!" Elena called up the stairs. I let out a breath when I saw it was just a bird now standing on the tree branch next to the window. "Sam, you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" I said. "Just…a bird outside scared me is all. I'll be right down."
"Okay."
I blew some air out of my cheeks and rolled my shoulders. I really needed to calm down a little bit. I glanced at the bird quickly before walking toward my door, but froze and did a double take. That…no. That couldn't be…the SAME bird….could it? I stepped closer to the thing as I tried to figure it out. I didn't know what it was, but for some reason the bird held some familiarity. It seemed to be staring at me too and the look it was giving me sent chills down my spine. I shook my head and finally left my room, going down the stairs and kicking that bird off my mind.
"Sorry Lena," I said as I tried thinking of an excuse for taking so long. "Couldn't find my phone…."
I drifted off when I noticed Stefan standing in the doorway with Elena.
"Oh," I said with a smile. "Hey Stefan."
"Hey Samantha," he greeted back.
"Call me Sam," I said with a small wave. "Everyone does. Besides I think Samantha is kind of a mouth full."
"Alright," he chuckled. "Sam it is." He seemed to notice Elena with her keys and jacket in hand. "I'm sorry, were you two about to go somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah," I answered. "We were meeting a friend. Do you wanna come with?"
"Sure," Stefan said looking at Elena. "I'd love to."
We got to the grill and I thought something was going to go down since Matt came over after Elena and Stefan walked in behind me, side by side. Thankfully he only came over to introduce himself to Stefan and he played nice. I didn't really think Matt would start anything, not in public at least, that was more of a Tyler thing to do.
Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and I got a table and Caroline joined us- obviously for Stefan- and we got to talking. We found out that he was actually born in Mystic Falls, he moved around a lot, he was living with his uncle currently, he didn't really have siblings he talked to, and his parents passed away. A lot of his attention was divided mostly between Elena and I, but I noticed a certain look in his eye when he looked at her so a small matchmaking plan formed in my mind. I knew Elena broke up with Matt not that long ago and Matt was still having a hard time dealing with it, but I was determined to make my sister happy again.
I would work on Matt when the opportunity presented itself; right now there was a perfect one right in front of me.
"So Stefan," Caroline piped up, obviously trying to take his attention away. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow night."
"It's a back to school thing around here and it's…not that big of a deal, but it'd give you a chance to meet new people," I said. He smiled.
"Yeah you should totally come," Caroline said brightly. He glanced at Elena before looking down, thinking it over. I smiled to myself.
"Elena will be there," I added not-so-slyly. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went red as she looked at me. He nodded.
"Sure," he said finally. "I'll be there."
"Going to the party tonight?" Adam asked me the next day at school. I sighed and got out my notebook as I sat down in my desk.
"Yeah, I am. I invited someone, so I've gotta show up," I told him. If I wanted to get past things with him, then I was going to have to talk to him.
"Who did you invite?" he asked an obvious jealousy to his tone.
"Stefan Salvatore," I told him.
"The new guy? Why?"
"Because it'd give him a chance to meet people and he seems pretty cool, so yeah. That and he really seems to like Elena so I was thinking that I could hook them up."
"Playing matchmaker again, huh?" he said the jealousy disappearing.
"She needs to be happy," I said.
"So do you."
"Well…if I can make my siblings happy again, then it's a start for me," I said. "And I'm starting tonight."
I was chatting with Elena and Bonnie later that night at the party. Bonnie and I were currently double-teaming Elena, trying to make her admit that she had a forming crush on the new guy.
"Okay so he's a little pretty," she finally said.
"More than pretty," Bonnie said. "He's got that romance novel stare. Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul!"
Elena and I laughed at her dramatic romance novel statement.
"Where is he anyway?" I asked looking around.
"I don't know," Bonnie said.
"Shouldn't you know? You're the psychic one after all," Elena teased. Bonnie's face brightened up.
"Right, I forgot," she said. "Give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."
"Would a crystal ball be helpful madam Bennett?" I asked playfully handing her an empty beer bottle.
"That actually might," she said with a smile. She began to take it from me when she froze when her hand and my hand were both still on it, and she got this look on her face. One that looked like she was….almost scared.
"What's wrong?" Elena asked.
Bonnie hand flew back to her side and she stared at me for a minute.
"That was weird," she said. "When I touched you, I saw a crow."
"A crow?" I asked, smile disappearing from my face. A crow? Please tell me she was kidding.
"A crow," she repeated. "There was fog and a man."
Elena looked freaked out while I furrowed my eyebrows. A crow….fog…..and a man. No, that couldn't be. She wasn't at the cemetery the other day with Elena and I. This was definitely starting to freak me out more and more.
"I'm drunk," she said suddenly. "It's the beer talking. Nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Okay, I'm gonna get a refill."
She walked away, leaving Elena and I alone together.
"How could she have-"
"I have no idea," Elena said. We watched her walk away until she was out of our sights and we turned back, both of us jumping when we noticed Stefan was by us now.
"You came!" I exclaimed happily.
"You asked, I came," he said. I smiled and looked from him to Elena, both of who were keeping quiet and trying not to smile too much at each other.
"Well, I am going to go look for Jeremy or Chastity," I said. "Enjoy!"
"I'm not sure, but I think your little sister may be trying to set us up," I heard Stefan say after I walked away.
"Yeah, there's no doubt she is. It's not the first time she's tried to set me up with someone."
I smirked to myself slightly. She knew what I was up to. I walked around looking for anyone I recognized when I saw Jeremy sitting alone, watching Vicki with Tyler. I sighed and decided that it was time to make him happy.
"Hey," I said cheerfully as I plopped down next to him.
"Hey," he mumbled distractedly.
"So," I sighed. "Vicki."
"Look don't start with this," he said. "I know how you and Elena feel about her-"
"I wasn't going there," I defended. "It's just…it's not her. I just don't think you should be chasing after someone who keeps stringing you along like she does when it seems like she has absolutely no intentions of getting back with you."
"How did you know that we-"
"I'm not stupid, Jeremy," I told him. "I know you. I see the way you look at her and you were with her all the time over the summer."
"Yeah," he said. "I do…. really care about her but it's just….Tyler this and Tyler that. Come to think of it, they've been in the woods for a while."
"Jeremy, don't do-"
I cut myself off when he walked into the woods in the direction Vicki and Tyler went. I let out a breath and went after him. I finally caught up to him just in time to hear Vicki yell at Tyler.
"Go Tyler, just get the hell away from me," she said. I rushed over in time to see Jeremy standing defensively in front of Vicki.
"Wow," Tyler said. "Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first."
"Just get out of here Lockwood," Jeremy said. Tyler rolled his eyes and they landed on me when I walked up beside Jeremy.
"You guys okay?" I asked crossing my arms. Tyler smirked and looked at Jeremy.
"Actually Sam, I've got a lot of tension in my neck. Mind helping me take care of it?" he asked with a flirty smile.
"Leave my little sister alone," Jeremy growled.
"Whatever," Tyler said. He walked away and I looked between Jeremy and Vicki, who clearly needed to talk. Tyler was over, it seemed. Maybe Vicki could turn around and be happy with Jeremy. Maybe she would be enough to pull him out of the drug phase. Maybe they both would get out of it together.
"I'll leave you two alone," I said. Jeremy nodded and I wandered off, but it wasn't long before I heard Vicki storm off and I was back by Jeremy's side.
"She won't talk to me," he said. "I've got to get her to talk to me. Please, Sam you're good at getting people to talk."
"I'll help you," I said. "Let's go find her."
"Jeremy! Sam! What are you two doing?" Elena asked. I almost groaned. She must have seen us back at the party while we were looking for Vicki. She definitely did not have any hope for the girl and I didn't really want her convincing Jeremy to give up on her because that would drive him further away from us.
"I don't want to hear it!" Jeremy snapped. He was a little drunk since he had a few drinks I couldn't stop him from throwing back.
"Yeah well too bad," Elena said.
"Lena please-"
Suddenly Jeremy fell forward.
"Vicki?" he asked with fright.
"You found her?" I asked walking over to him. I gasped when I saw her. She was lying unconscious on the ground; blood on her neck like something bit her.
"Oh my god," Elena gasped.
"No," Jeremy shook his head. He touched her neck and she gasped, eyes flying open and her hand gripped Jeremy's wrist. She started gasping for air.
"We've gotta take her back. She needs help," I said quickly. Jeremy nodded and picked her up while Elena and I led the way back to the party.
"Somebody help!" Elena and I called when we got back. Matt rushed over as soon as he saw it was his sister.
"Vicki? Vicki! What the hell! Somebody call an ambulance!" he shouted.
"Everybody back up, give her some space!" Tyler shouted as people started crowding more.
"She's loosing a lot of blood!" I said. "Something bit her neck! It's really bad, we need something to stop it."
Matt brought over a towel and pushed it against the bite. We all started talking to Vicki, trying to wake her up or get her talking a little at the least. As long as she keeps consciousness, it was a good sign that she would make it through. I just want to know what the hell happened to her.
-Third POV-
"What's going on?" Zach asked after his uncle Stefan rushed in to the house.
"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me," Stefan replied instantly before running up the stairs to his room.
He came in his room, closing the door behind him, just in time for a crow to fly in and land on top of the bookshelf across from the balcony window. He stared at the crow for a moment before realization set on his face and he slowly turned to the balcony.
"Damon," he said solemnly.
A man with pitch-black hair and ice blue eyes smirked back at him.
"Hello brother," he replied.
The crow squawked, earning Stefan's attention briefly before he turned it back to the older brother he hadn't seen in quite some time.
"The crow's a bit much, don't you think?" he asked.
"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog," Damon said. Stefan stared at him for a moment.
"When'd you get here?" he asked suspiciously.
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," Damon answered as he walked toward the bookshelf, setting his hand on a higher shelf. "Your hair's different. I like it."
"It's been fifteen years, Damon," Stefan said.
"Thank god. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look?" Damon chuckled. "Did not suit you."
He walked away from one bookshelf to the other while his little brother watched him warily as if he would attack at any moment, which knowing Damon he very well could.
"Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads," Damon continued.
"Why are you here?" Stefan asked ignoring all the comments.
"I miss my little brother," Damon said raising his eyebrow, clearly not meaning it.
"You hate small towns. They're boring, there's nothing for you to do," Stefan pointed out. Damon scoffed.
"I've managed to keep myself busy," he said.
"You know you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."
"Ah and that could be a problem...for you."
Stefan stared at him, shaking his head slightly.
"Why are you here now?" he demanded.
"I could ask you the same question," Damon said almost teasingly. "However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word...Elena."
Damon smirked slightly at his brother, who kept a hard stare on Damon. He sighed.
"She took my breath away. Elena," he continued. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. But, like you I'm sure, there's another little word that I wasn't expecting at all and this one left me absolutely stunned and breathless. Samantha."
Stefan stiffened at the mention of her name.
"Now, Samantha. Dear, sweet, little Samantha just stopped me in my tracks. She could pass for Elizabeth any day. And how ironic is it that even now, the two of them come out as sisters? It's just mind bottling. I felt exactly as I did the day we met Elizabeth and that feeling isn't something that's easy to channel," Damon explained. "Is it working? Being around the two of them? Being in their world, does it make you feel alive?"
"Elena's not Katherine and Sam is not Elizabeth," Stefan said shaking his head.
"Well let's hope not," Damon said walking in front of Stefan. "We both know how that ended. Now tell me, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"
"I know what you're doing, Damon, and it's not going to work," Stefan said as he turned away.
Damon hit Stefan's chest, trying to rile him up.
"Come on, don't you crave a little," Damon taunted.
"Stop it."
"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple girls out there," Damon said as he hit Stefan again. "Or let's just cut to the chase. Let's just go straight for Elena! No, you get Elena. I'll take the sweeter one, I'll take Sam. You've smelled her right? She smells absolutely divine, her blood must be top of the line."
"Stop it!" Stefan shouted as he shoved his brother back.
"Imagine what their blood must taste like!" Damon shouted back.
Stefan turned his face away, feeling the veins pop out around his eyes and his fangs extend.
"I can!" Damon huffed.
"I said stop!" Stefan shouted, his face completely vamped out.
He growled and charged at his brother, sending the both of them out the window. After he landed, Stefan got up noticing that Damon wasn't anywhere near him. He looked up to the window, seeing it shattered and then turned when he heard Damon.
"I was impressed," he said from the hedge. "I give it a six, missing style but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face and the-" He playfully imitated Stefan's growling before laughing. "-thing. It was good."
"You know it's all games, Damon, but wherever you go, people die," Stefan said walking toward him.
"That's a given," Damon said bluntly.
"Not here," Stefan said. "I won't allow it."
"I take that as an invitation," Damon smirked.
"Damon, please," Stefan begged. "After all these year, can't we just give it a rest?"
"I promised you an eternity of misery," Damon said simply. "So I'm just keeping my word."
"Just stay away from Elena," Stefan begged. "And stay away from Sam."
"Where's your ring?" Damon asked looking at Stefan's hand. He inhaled sharply. "Oh yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours and, poof. Ashes to ashes."
Stefan looked sadly at his brother, just wishing for the old him to return. Damon chuckled.
"Relax," Damon said. "It's right here."
He held out Stefan's ring in his hand, allowing Stefan to take it from him slowly and slide it back on his finger. Then Damon grabbed Stefan by the throat, eyes black and veins around. He threw Stefan off to the side. Stefan rolled on his back, Damon standing over him.
"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me," Damon said darkly. "You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again."
They heard noises coming from the house and Damon chuckled a little, a smirk accompanying it.
"I think we woke Zach up," he began walking away from Stefan, leaving him lying on the ground. "Sorry Zach."
Stefan watched as his brother walked away from him, breathing heavily, and dreading the things he knew his brother was planning on doing.
-Sam Again-
The ambulance along with animal control and the police finally made it and loaded Vicki into the car. I held Matt's hand comfortingly. I had managed to convince Elena and Jeremy to let me go with him because there was no way I was going to let him be alone. Not after what happened to his sister. I knew what it felt like to lose someone and I wanted to be there for Matt if…if something bad happened and Vicki didn't make it. I was praying to every god I could think of to let her make it, but sometimes fate was cruel.
"Both of you are family?" the paramedic asked.
"Even if she wasn't, would you really let someone her size be alone around here after what just happened?" Matt asked the guy. He just grunted and looked me up and down, a little too perverted for my taste, and let us both in the back of the van next to Vicki. Matt stared at her with wide, scared eyes.
"Hey," I said softly as the car started moving. "It's okay. She'll be okay."
"I hope you're right," he whispered. I put my hand on his shoulder. God please let her be okay.
"Jenna called," I said walking back into the hospital room. The doctors had gotten Vicki patched up right away when we got to the hospital and they did a blood transfusion since she lost so much. Right now, she was asleep in bed and Matt was sitting by her side. "She'll be here to pick me up in about fifteen minutes."
Matt just nodded and looked back at Vicki.
"Thank you for coming here with me," he said after a moment. I sat down in the chair next to him and smiled sadly.
"You needed someone here with you," I said. "I just…I couldn't let you be alone for this."
"And I'm glad that's in your nature," he said. "I think I would have lost it if you weren't here for me."
Soon Vicki's eyes fluttered open and Matt perked up.
"Vick," he whispered. "Hey, it's okay."
"You're gonna be okay, Vicki," I whispered.
"Matt. Sam," she whispered weakly.
"Hey don't try to talk, okay?" Matt said.
"Save your energy," I said. "You're gonna be fine."
"Vampire," she said, fear lacing her voice.
Matt and I looked at her weirdly for a moment before glancing at each other. Did….did she just say vampire?