Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries… I just like playing with the characters and ruining their life :P
Summary: Her arrival in Mystic Falls was never supposed to happen. She was never supposed to be in that universe. So what happens when a human from our universe finds herself in The Vampire Diaries universe? What does she do? Think? And what happens when our universe is the 'fictional' one?
Author's Note: So I deleted my other Vampire Diaries fan fiction because I didn't like it… I started writing and couldn't stop… I hope you like this…
Prelude
So what if I was crazy? So what if everything around me was some sort of hallucination? It didn't matter because every fiber of my being wanted to believe that it was real.
Chapter One
Crazed Reality
I smiled as I put my computer bag in front passenger floorboard. I had been planning this trip for so long… and now it was finally going to happen. I was going on my very first road trip in my very first car (A green 1994 Chevy Blazer), and it was to one of the places I had always wanted to go. New York City, New York to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Of course that was still two weeks away, but I was going to stop off in Virginia to see my cousin Anita and stop off in Pennsylvania to see my other cousin Jason… that would take about a week and I had two weeks booked at Super 8.
I was a little worried to take the trip by myself since 'Buffy and Friends' (The name of my car given by my best friend Elizabeth) had a few problems, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle. I already had my 10 quarts of oil in case the oil leak got any worse and my toolbox in case something else went wrong. Of course my AC didn't work… but I could live with that as long as my heater didn't go out on me too.
I had been almost everywhere in The United States, except New York so this was going to be a great adventure for me. I had gone to Hawaii almost every summer since I was 8, but my family had to stop going when my mom got sick. Currently, my life consisted of my apartment in Fort Worth, Texas, getting my degree in English, my family, and my friends. Oh, and my art. I couldn't forget about my art… it was the biggest part of what kept me sane.
Quickly I ran into my downstairs apartment to make sure I had everything. I had clothes, my Xbox 360 (yes, I'm a female gamer), my art supplies, my laptop, and of course my faithful companion Nanook. Yes he's named after the dog from The Lost Boys and yes he's a husky and looks exactly like the amazing vampire hunting dog. I also had my camping supplies just in case… I had a feeling I might want to go camping with Anita.
I just had to stop at the bank and pull some cash from the ATM for gas, food, and other necessities and I would be set. Besides I had a feeling that I'd need at least $200 cash on this trip since a few of the shops I wanted to go to didn't take Debit.
I grabbed Nanook's leash and he immediately came running to me his tail wagging furiously as he looked up at me with the hope that he was going for a ride. Poor boy loved to go for a ride. I smiled down at him and clasped the leash on his collar. "Yes boy, you're going and you won't want to go again for months when we get back." I laughed. Yeah right… the dog would live in the car if I let him.
I locked the door and led my companion to the car, opening the passenger door for up. "Up." I ordered as he was already climbing into the car. Once in he climbed over the console and sat in the driver's seat… "Oi Nanook! You can't drive we might die! Get your but back over here." I joked, but the dog easily obeyed and looked at me and the to the still open car door as if saying "Hurry up and close that thing so we can hit the road."
I shook my head and closed the door before walking over to my side and climbing it. Before even putting my seatbelt on I hooked up my iPod to the stereo and shuffled through the songs until I came to my boys. Celtic Thunder. Since going to their concert with Elizabeth last year I had fallen in love with them… Ryan especially. Not to mention they all sang like angels.
I put my seatbelt on and started the car with instantly filled with Ryan singing Ride On. I smiled and thought about how much the song reminded me of the scene from The Phantom of the Opera where Christine is on the horse and Erik is leading her through the hall.
It didn't take me long to reach the interstate and I knew that I would be in Virginia by morning… If I drove through the night… something told me I wouldn't because I'm a wimp who likes to sleep too much. I smiled as I thought about Virginia. I wonder if I could find Mystic Falls… I knew it was between Lynchburg and Charlottesville, but I didn't know exactly where… I had to go to Lynchburg to see Anita so why not drive a little farther out of the way to see if it was really there? Of course I knew that it was probably a made up town, but that didn't stop me from hoping. Okay, you might think I'm crazy… but I love The Vampire Diaries. The TV show and the book. (The TV show more because well… who doesn't love the overabundance of hot men in it?)
I smiled wide as my iPod shuffled to Nickelback's For All the Wrong Reasons and happily sang along. Nanook looked at me oddly but I ignored him and continued to drive. As I sang along to my various genres of music I thought about my family. I hadn't seen Anita in almost two year… not since Aunt Marie's funeral. I wondered how she was. I also thought about the art project I was currently working on. It was a nineteen by twenty four inch scaled picture of Alduin the main dragon from the video game Skyrim… I did mention that I was a female gamer right?
About midnight I pulled into a rest stop in Blacksburge. It was only about two hours away from Lynchburg, but everything around me was starting to go blurry due to my lack of sleep. Did I mention that I left Fort Worth at five in the morning?
I let Nanook out before setting up my mobile docking station for my iPod and turning on The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack and laying my seat back. There was nothing better than falling asleep to Gerard Butler singing in your ear. Nanook climbed over the console and took up most of my seat to lay next to me, but I didn't mind… he made the best pillow and by the time the second song was over I was out like a light.
I woke up three hours later to a loud clash of thunder and Nanook whining. I pet him gently. "It's okay boy." I reassured him. He hated thunder storms ever since I found him as a pup in a really bad one… like so bad there was a funnel forming right above my head and I was hiding under a bridge because of the hail. I guess the pup had the same idea of where to hide. I sighed; Anita wasn't expecting me until at least noon so I didn't need to rush. I decided to just sit the storm out to make sure Nanook didn't go crazy while I was driving.
The storm was gone in only thirty minutes and I was on the road again, listening to Under the Rose by H.I.M of course. As I looked around something in my gut told me that I was going the wrong way… I had been to Anita's about a million times and knew the way by heart. I was headed in the right direction on the right street, but nothing around me looked familiar. It couldn't have changed this much in two years could it?
I shook my head as I saw a sign for Lynchburg saying I was about an hour and a half away. I was going the right way so I must be going crazy. I pushed the thoughts of being lost to the back of my mind and followed the signs until I got to the town and easily made my way to Anita's house, a quaint little house with bright green paint on the corner of Downing Rd.
I smiled as the little house came into view. The paint looked like it was pealing, but other than that it looked to be the same as it always had. I would have to get my brother, James, to come out and repaint it for her.
I pulled up in front of the small house and was instantly worried. There were boards over broken windows and the front door was held shut with a padlock… the house was obviously empty. I swallowed and turned my car off before grabbing my iPhone. Great… it was dead. I could have sworn that I had charged it before I left…
"Stay here Nanook." I ordered before cracking the windows and getting out of my car, making sure to lock it. We weren't in a bad neighborhood, but basically my entire life was in that car and I was not about to risk losing it.
I knocked on the door of the small brick house next to Anita's and a little old lady answered. I smiled politely, "May I use your phone please? Mine died." I asked politely. If I only had one redeeming quality about myself it was that I always respected my elders. My mother and grandma had taught me that much.
The little old lady smiled, "Sure dear." She said kindly before handing me a cordless house phone. How weird… I didn't think anyone had house phones anymore… of course that might just be because she was old.
I dialed Anita's number, but I got a notice of disconnection. Now that was truly weird… I had just talked to her before I left my house. Her phone was on then. I sighed and handed the phone back to the little old lady. "Thank you ma'am." I said with a smile before turning to leave, but stopped and turned back to the woman. "Excuse me, do you know how long the house next door has been abandoned?"
The woman smiled and glanced at the house. "Oh no one's lived there since poor Mr. Smith died ten years ago." She told me as though it was common knowledge.
I thanked her before returning to my car… what the hell was going on? Anita's house was abandoned and her phone was disconnected… and the little old lady next door told me it belonged to a man named Mr. Smith ten years ago. Something was definitely not right.
Nanook snorted at me then and I looked at him. "What is it boy?" I asked automatically. In response I got a head tilt and he licked his lips. He was hungry… I sighed, I guess we could go get food and I could figure out what was going on while we ate.
I started the car and ignored my music completely as I drove us to McDonalds down the road. "Guard the car." I ordered Nanook before getting out and locking it. I would have gone through the drive through, but my driver's window only went down about three inches. One of the man quirks my beat up old car had.
I quickly ordered a 20 piece McNugget (about 90% of those would be going to Nanook) and a large Dr. Pepper and sat in a booth to wait for my order. The place was mostly empty, but there were a couple of high school girls in the booth next to mine.
"Can you believe their getting Deborah Woll to play Elizabeth?" One of the girls asked and I tilted my head in confusion while trying not to look at them. Deborah Woll was going to be in a new movie or TV show? Since when was my favorite vampire from True Blood moving on?
"Yes actually, I think she'd be perfect. I mean she has the red hair and the fiery attitude… and they can always give her contacts for her eyes. What I can't believe is that Leighton Meester is going to play Zoey… I mean she has the brown hair, but she's not Texan enough, and way to stuck up."
Now that got my full attention… Elizabeth, Zoey, Texas… sounded like they were making a movie about my life and apparently Blair from Gossip Girl was going to play me. I wrinkled my nose at the thought. I hated Gossip Girl with a passion just because of Blair…
"Now she could almost play Zoey. I mean if you just gave her an iPod and let her hair down, she would be perfect." The girl's were now talking about me and I shifted in my seat. I normally had my iPod and the only reason my hair was up right now was because it was about 85 degrees f in my SUV.
"OMG yes she would! Why ruin The Starcatcher Series with Leighton Meester when you could have her?"
"I know! Hey, have you heard who's going to be playing Kodie?"
I stopped listening there, mostly because my number for my food was called, but also because I was just a little freaked out. Zoey, Elizabeth, Texas, and Kodie the boy I loved through all of high school? How the hell did those girls's know about my life?
I didn't even tell they guy behind the counter thank you like I normally would as I went back to my car. I gave Nanook the entire box of chicken and absently at the fries while I drove to the local bookstore. I had to find this 'Starcatcher Series' for myself.
Once I got there I easily found the young adult section and find three books I had never seen before… and for me that was saying something. Back home I had to build shelves in my kitchen for books because the rest of the house was full. I picked up the first one titled Chemical, Book 1 in the Starcatcher Series, and read the first paragraph.
You know that feeling you get when you're being watched? Yeah, well I have that all the time. I know it's just because I have the tendency to ignore everyone and everything around me. If it didn't have to do with class, theatre, or band I didn't really care… well unless it had to do with Star Wars but that's not the point. My name is Elizabeth Benson and I just started high school in Fort Worth, Texas. A small school of only about 1,500 called Jane Williams.
I closed the book there. I couldn't read anymore… Elizabeth Benson was the name of my best friend and Jane Williams was the name of the high school we went to. Seriously what the hell was going on? I bit my bottom lip and picked up the other two books and quickly walked to the cash register… maybe whatever was going on would be explained in these books.
"Are you okay? You look really freaked out." The girl behind the cash register asked as she rang up my books.
I shook my head, "Just having one of those days." I answer truthfully.
The girl smiled, "I know what you mean. Great choice in books by the way. I've read all three and can't wait for the fourth to come out tomorrow." She tilted her head and bagged the books. I just wished she'd give me the price so I could go. "You know, you kind of look like Zoey… well if you had an iPod and your hair was down."
I forced a small smile, "I get that a lot…" I mumbled. Really will she just tell me the price and let me go already?
I was glad when I finally got back to the car, throwing the bag of books in the floor board and grabbing the newest of the books titled Betrayal, Book 3 in the Starcatcher Series. I flipped to the middle of the book and started reading.
What was I supposed to do? Sit there and let him choke one of my best friends? I don't think so! I didn't care if Officer Gibson (or Officer Taco as I liked to call him) wanted a reason to bust me. I didn't care that it was the middle of lunch hour and all of the teachers were around. I just didn't care. I got up and grabbed Steven by his geasy hair (eww… I'd have to wash my hands for a week) and pulled him from his seat. Already I could see Officer Taco and Mr. Johnson walking over, but like I said I didn't care. "Hey Shit head." I said with a smile before punching him in the face as hard as I could. "Touch Katie again and I won't hesitate to kill you." I threatened just as Officer Taco reached the round table and grabbed my arm.
"Get the hell off of me!" I screamed and pulled away. I wasn't finished. Steven had hurt Katie more than enough and I was tired of it. I had seen too much domestic violence when I was child to sit there and watch it happen to one of my best friends.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes along with the book. I remember that day… it was one of the worst , but I still never regret beating Steven to a bloody pulp… even if Katie wound up marrying him right after graduation and going to a bad place… a real bad place with needles and multiple lost babies.
I leaned back in my seat, lost in my thoughts. My entire life appeared to be written in these books and my cousin Anita didn't seem to exist. So where the hell was i? Did I exist? Was this some sort of deranged dream or elaborate hallucination? I wouldn't put it past myself to have a dream like this… I had some of the worst dreams… Once I dreamed that Sepheroth (A character from Final Fantasy VII) was fighting a clone of himself and I jumped into the middle to stop them and would up getting stabbed by both of them… not to mention the one dream where me and Elizabeth were teleported to Hogwarts… that one was fun, so was the one where I lived in Mystic Falls.
I smiled at that. If this really as one my deranged dreams then why not have some fun and go find Mystic Falls?
Author's Note: I know not the best opening chapters, but I really got into my character's head and just couldn't stop. I really like it and I hope you do too. Don't worry chapter two will be in Mystic Falls and even have some of our favorite character in it :D
Review, Fave, Love!
-Kira 3