AN: First Vampire Diaries story, so don't judge me too hard.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries.


Dear Diary,

I'm going home, to Mystic Falls. Where I was born and raised. Where I had my first kiss, first boyfriend. Where my family was. And, where my parents died, the reason why I got out of the small town in the first place.

But you know what they say, 'Home is where the heart is.' And my heart needed to go home.

I had left after my parents' death, because the emotions were too much for me. I was heartbroken, my sister was heartbroken, and my aunt and uncle were heartbroken. Heck, even my kitten didn't seem to be himself. It was like I could actually feel the emotions radiating off everyone, suffocating me, smothering me. I had to go.

And I did.

But after my younger sister Aubree called me, telling me that everyone missed me and really wanted me to come back, I packed my bags, hopped into a cab headed straight for the airport, and flew home.

And now my taxi is outside the house. Talk to you later.

I closed my diary and grinned, loving how familiar the house looks. But in New York, everything was new, and almost scary. Just setting foot into this small town makes me feel better almost immediately. The house looked more beautiful than it did before. The house is a white with the exception of the roof which is a dark blue. The porch was a long tiled walkway with two mini steps that goes straight to the front door of the house.

"Thanks," I said to the driver, handing over the cash. He nodded and drove away, after helping me collect my luggage.

I pulled my suitcase up the tiled path with my duffel bag on my shoulder, I took a deep breath, and knocked. Soon after, Bree opened the door, and immediately her face broke into a huge smile.

"Janelle!" she exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.

I chuckled dropping my bags, "Aubree, you're kind of squishing me," I said wryly, smiling myself.

She pulled back, shaking her head, "Sorry, it's just so good to see you!" She cheered.

Aubree almost looked the same when I last left her except her warm, rich brown skin had darkened slightly, possibly from being outside longer now that it's getting warm. Her hair had also grown longer, with her natural hair blown out it flowed down her shoulders and framing her round face as well.

I heard footsteps behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see my Uncle Cedric and Aunt Marie. Marie was beautiful, she had light brown skin with brown-reddish curly hair that always seemed to stay in a bun, and almond shaped brown eyes that constantly oozed kindness. Cedric was tall, lean, and muscular, had slightly tanned skin. He grew his hair since I lost saw him before his dark brown hair was in a buzz cut, but now it was thick and styled in a center part

"Are my eyes deceiving me or is that my MIA niece?" Uncle Cedric smirked, coming towards us.

"Uncle Cedric!" I yelled, pushing past Aubree and giving my uncle a bear hug. He laughed and I pulled back, smiling at Marie. "It's so good to be back!" I laughed, while walking towards Marie and hugging her.

Aubree handed me my things, "Now go put these up in your room," she ordered.

I sighed and obey her orders, "Fine, fine," I conceded, throwing my hands up.

Quickly, I walk upstairs with my suitcase clanking against the wood, and I opened the door only to find all my friends in there. Elena literally flung herself at me nearly knocking me down when she hugged me. And Bonnie and Caroline didn't help when they rushed over too, embracing me from both sides. And all four of us laugh as we were reunited again.

"Oh my God!" Elena shrieked. As I returned the embrace with just as much enthusiasm as Elena, keeping the smile on her face. Elena pulled away from me, shaking her head. "You're back!" Elena almost shouted.

"Yeah, for good!" I said excitedly, and Bonnie squealed slightly before hugging me tighter. "Can I breathe now?" I joked, but desperately needed some air.

"Oh yeah, sure. Sorry about that," Caroline smiled apologetically.

"So tell us about your time in New York," Bonnie said.

"Well to start off with, all my family in New York are so weird," I started. I told tell them about what I've been doing and how strange it was with my mother's side of the family. After a while, the conversation turned to what's been happening here. "So what's this I hear about the Salvatore brothers?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elena sighed, "Caroline spilled didn't she?" Elena asked, before looking pointedly at Caroline.

"I'm sorry, it slipped," Caroline squeaked.

I nodded, reading into her expression, a talent of mine. She looked...sad. Very sad. Oh...if one of those Salvatore's hurt her I would kill them.

"One, is my ex, the other, is my ex's brother. Ask Bonnie or Caroline for details," Elena explained, letting out a sigh and I decided to leave it at that, not wanting to upset her further.

Bonnie and Caroline get up, turning to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked curiously.

"There's a masquerade tonight," Bonnie answered excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"Or you're welcome to hang out with me, Nellie. Alaric's coming over. It's gonna be pizza and bad TV," Elena suggested, smiling at me.

"Who's Alaric?" I asked curiously.

"The new history teacher and Jenna's boyfriend," Elena answered briefly.

"You're not going to the party tonight?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Uh...no. Not with what's going on between me and Stefan," Elena said, shaking her head slightly.

"I'm sorry Elena, but I'm stealing my sister tonight," Aubree stated from my door. "I just got her back," she added, a grin on her face.

"No, I completely understand Aubree. Have fun guys," Elena said, before leaving with Caroline and Bonnie.

"This should be fun, I haven't seen anyone in ages. I want to see everyone!" I stated.

"Well then, go get ready," Aubree said shooting me a smile and I nodded, closing my door.

Quickly, I raided through my suitcase, until I find one of my favorite dresses, a strapless red dress that complemented my brown skin and hourglass body shape. I contemplated wearing my black hair up in a bun, but decided to let my natural, thick hair fall down loose to my shoulders instead. I fluffed up my hair before deciding it was perfect, then checked for any smudges in my smoky eye shadow yet again. I applied another coat of crimson lipstick for good measure.

I did a twirl in front of my full-length mirror and decided I looked great. I put on my gold mask adorned with black feathers and I slipped on my black heels. I grabbed my purse and I was ready to go. I headed downstairs and saw Aubree already waiting for me in a loose dark blue dress with glitter all over it.

"Ready to go?" Aubree asked.

"Yep. Let's go," I said grinning, waving goodbye to Cedric and Marie.

"This shall be a night to remember," I thought.

~~~x~~~

The Lockwood Mansion was bigger than I remembered. I stepped out of my car and watched as people danced around and came in and out of the big house. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun.

"Woah," I breathed in awe, staring at the mansion with wide eyes. "It looks bigger than I remember,"

Fixing our masks, the two of us made our way inside and I felt Bree grab my arm, in an attempt to not be separated. I didn't mind it and kept going through the crowd. There were so many people. I kept going anyways, not feeling my sister's hand slip. The music wasn't as loud as I expected either which was kind of nice. There were lights everywhere, food, drinks. Come to think of it, I hadn't eaten all day and walked to table that had refreshments and snacks on it. I sipped my glass of punch as I watched all the people dancing. With their masks on you couldn't tell who was who.

"Nellie?" Tyler asked as he approached.

"Yep, that's me," I replied smiling.

"It's hard to tell who's who in this place," He joked, but I couldn't help but agree. "You look amazing by the way,"

I smiled, "Thanks Ty, you look pretty good yourself, but then again you always could pull off a suit," I complimented.

"How the hell have you been?" Tyler asked.

"Pretty good, actually," I answered, nodding. "You?"

"Alright," Tyler said, shrugging. "When did you get back?"

"A couple of hours ago, really. And I didn't see any of the guys at my house," I scolded mockingly.

"You should have texted me!" Tyler retorted, and I narrowed my eyes at him slightly, before I shrugged a bit.

"You got me there, Tyler," I said, and Tyler smirked victoriously. "I'm going to get some more punch, I'll talk to you later, Tyler," I said, before walking off.

"You better!" Tyler called after me as I walked away, and I threw him a wave over my shoulder. As I made my way to the punch bowl I saw Matt talking to Elena.

"Hey, Matt," I greeted happily. "Hey, Elena. I didn't know you were gonna be here. I'm glad you changed your mind. You look great," I said smiling.

"Thanks. You do, too," Elena said, after a long pause and I grinned at her. "I'm gonna go get a drink. But I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, of course," She said, and walked away.

A couple hours later, I stood outside. I'd caught up with Matt, Jeremy, Malia, and Peter, two of my other friends. Peter is tall, naturally tanned with dark eyes, and messy black hair that is never combed. He has toned body, it's not hard to see that Peter is very good looking. Peter always has an easy but charming smile on his face, he is handsome and he knows it. While Malia had flawless chocolate brown skin, full lips, dark brown eyes, and dimpled smile. She had a curvaceous frame with slim, shapely legs.

Matt had ditched me and had gone somewhere with Tyler. To get drunk, probably. The masquerade ball was still going strong inside, but I've had enough fun for tonight. The problem was I couldn't find Aubree, and seeing that's next to impossible with this party being a masquerade, I didn't bother trying to look. I hope she had a ride home with her friends, because I was leaving.

Stepping out of the mansion the cold air was chilling me, but refreshing to me at the same time. As I walked amongst the cars, trying to find my car my keys slipped out my hand and fell onto the ground. I bent down to pick them up and that's when I sensed that someone was behind me. I frowned and turned around slightly, and opened my mouth to let out a scream when I'm grabbed from behind. The man who grabbed me immediately covers my mouth and nose with a chloroform soaked cloth, muffling my screams, and slowly rendering me unconscious.


A/N: Well, did you like it? Hate it? Sorry if it's a bit short.