A/N: Do not own The Vampire Diaries.

"I can't believe you did it again! I told you, it's all about control! how are we ever supposed to stay in one place if you keep making us move?"

She was lecturing again. Aryn sighed and turned the radio up a little louder, wishing to drown out her older sister's voice. Her sister narrowed her eyes at this and turned the radio off all together. Aryn rolled her eyes and gave her sister a pleading look.

"Come on, Aryca! She deserved it! Chloe Martin is a bitch." Aryn replied, thinking this excuse would placate Aryca.

"Doesn't mean she deserved you shoving paper down her throat! She won't be able to talk for another week!" Aryca certainly played the role of stern guardian very well, even though she was just three years older than Aryn.

Aryn smirked a bit at this. "Okay, Aryca, to be fair, I didn't shove the paper down the throat. I simply levitated it into her mouth while she was sleeping in class! Someone had to wake her up."

But this did not have the effect Aryn hoped for. In fact, it only made her sister angrier. She sighed as they came to a red light and put a hand against her forehead. "I can't keep doing this, Aryn! I can't keep moving around to avoid people finding out about us! It isn't fair to me or anyone else really. Promise me you will make this work. Please."

The car lurched forward as the traffic light turned green. Aryn wondered why there even was a traffic light on this road when no one appeared to be driving on it but them. She closed her eyes, considering her sister's words, before opening them again. "Fine. I promise I will try to make things work here. And why did you pick here of all places? Mystic Falls? Seriously?"

The sky grew darker as they continued to drive. Aryn reclined the front seat and pulled the blanket up to her chest. She'd left it on the floor when they'd entered Tennessee, but the cold air in the car was starting to make her shiver. "It's where our mother was born, Aryn. I think she would want us to be here."

Aryn gave her sister a puzzled look and rolled her eyes. "We don't even have family here, Aryca. Mom has been dead for years and now you want to come back?"

Aryca didn't respond as they entered the town. It was 7pm now, and everyone was either at home or at the Mystic Grill. They drove a little further into a town before finally turning into a neighborhood and stopping in front of a house a few minutes later. The house was two stories with three bedrooms, thought Aryn couldn't imagine why they needed the two extra rooms. She and Aryca had slept in the same room for years in spaces smaller than this. There were two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a finished basement. The house was beautiful, and nicer than anywhere they'd lived before. It was painted a dark beige color with a swing on the front porch. A balcony jutted out of a window facing the street. Aryn assumed it was the master bedroom.

"Who lives here?" she asked, still assessing the house.

Aryca smiled and said, "We do. The house went into foreclosure and I was able to get it for less than what it actually was worth. I'll be working at the Mystic Falls General Hospital here as an RN."

For the first time in years, Aryn actually felt hopeful. A weird, happy feeling formed in her chest, a feeling that told her she never wanted to leave this place. She actually smiled and, for once, it was genuine. She grasped her sister's hand tightly and said, "Thanks."

**************************LWD*************************

She was starting the third week of her senior year at Mystic Falls High School. The bell for first period had just rung when she entered the attendance office. A short, stout woman with faded red hair was sitting at the desk. She looked up and smiled. "You must be Aryn Headey. Well, I have your schedule right here for you. Your sister insisted we put you in all AP classes!"

Aryn's eyes widened considerably at this new development. She was going to have word with Aryca when she got home later that day. All AP classes? How on earth was she supposed to handle that workload? Resolving to just accept the challenge, she straightened and smiled at the woman before her, saying, "Really? Which ones?"

The woman looked down and gestured for Aryn to come closer and take a look at it. "You will have AP Bio, AP Environmental Sciences, AP United States History, AP English Literature, study hall, regular Calculus, and AP Latin. Is that alright with you?" Aryn had no choice but to nod in agreement as she took her schedule from the woman. She gritted her teeth as she stared down at the schedule, wanting to cry from imagining how hard it would be to have all these classes.

"I'm Mrs. Harmon and I'm the attendance secretary here. If you have any questions or need help with anything, just let me know. You might want to hurry to first period before they mark you absent though." Mrs. Harmon said cheerily. Aryn nodded and adjusted her bag on her shoulder before leaving the office and heading down the hallway. Her first class of the day was Study Hall with Mr. Abner.

She found her way to the classroom, happy that it only contained only six people besides herself. The teacher, Mr. Abner, had earbuds in his ear and looked very engrossed in a movie he was watching on the computer. The six students, three girls and three boys, gave her a cursory glance before whispering furiously with each other. Aryn rolled her eyes and gave her schedule to Mr. Abner. With a hint of annoyance, he removed his earbuds before saying, "Class, this is Aryn Headey. She's new here." And that was it.

Aryn snatched her schedule back before going to sit in the back of the classroom. She had no idea what she was supposed to do for the next forty five minutes as she didn't have any homework. She was just putting head down on the desk when someone sat in front of her: a blonde girl with bright blue eyes and a perky disposition that instantly made Aryn want to shoot herself.

"Hi, I'm Caroline Forbes. It's nice to meet you!" she said quickly, shoving her hand out. Aryn shook it loosely and gave her a quick smile, but Caroline was undeterred. "I know you're new here and all so I thought it would be cool if you came to my party Friday night after the football game. It's gonna be a Stefan Salvatore's house." Caroline slid a paper forward with the address written down on it.

Aryn looked down at it distastefully. She didn't want to go to anyone's party, especially someone she didn't even know. Suddenly, the paper began to curl at the edges, slowly balling itself up. Aryn immediately looked away, remembering the promise she'd made to her sister not to expose herself while they were here. The paper stayed the way she left it. The Caroline girl gave her an odd look, but it was fleeting. Just as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

"Well, I hope you come!" she said, before going back to her seat.

Aryn wasn't stupid. She knew that Caroline had seen what she'd done. She just prayed that Caroline would think it was the wind or something and wouldn't tell anyone about it. However, a gut feeling told her that wouldn't happen.