Chapter 1: Pilot
The alarm clock blared loudly in the morning silence. "Shut up!" I groaned moodily to no one in particular, cocooning myself in an even tighter way around my comfortable sheets. Despite the irresistible warmth of my bed, the noise was starting to become a nuisance, so much that I even managed to pluck up the courage to untangle my arm from the rest of my body and started patting around my bedside table, trying to turn it off and exposing myself to the chilly morning air.
Of course, with my luck, the clock was nowhere to be found by my wandering hand and I was forced to open my eyes – blinking owlishly at the beams of bright light streaming through my closed curtains – to try to find it. The infernal device was nowhere to be found, though the annoying beeping could still be heard all around the room. Forcing my eyes to focus and blinking off the sleepiness in them, I finally managed to find the alarm on top of my mahogany vanity; way out of my reach in my current position.
Muttering a string of profanities under my breath cursing everything I could think of – from the first day of my junior year, to my fantastic family members who must've had the great, yet evil idea to place the clock somewhere I would have to stand to have it turned off – I finally got out of bed with a long sigh escaping my lips. I cringed as my bare feet made contact with the cold floor and I could practically feel the goosebumps appearing all over my bare legs and arms, given that my sleepwear consisted of nothing more than a tank-top and underwear.
I practically smashed the alarm against the wood of the vanity, gratefully taking in the peaceful silence but knowing that, being fully awake already, getting back into bed to try and catch five more minutes of sleep was useless. So, huffing and stomping the whole way, I sleepily stumbled into my personal bathroom (unlike my older and younger siblings I actually had a bathroom to myself) and hopped into the shower, turning the knobs and making the water feel scalding hot against my cold skin.
After twenty minutes of washing through my hair and scrubbing my skin – particularly my face – free of any remnants of sleep, I turned the water off and jumped out of the bathtub, wrapping a fluffy white towel around myself. Wiping the mirror so I could take a look at my reflection as I brushed my teeth and blow-dried my hair, I studied the familiar stranger looking back at me. I still couldn't believe how much I had changed in the past few months; I had grown taller, standing at an impressive 5'8, as well as curvier in all the right areas, the youthful fat that had been present on my face had completely vanished, leaving my olive skin stretched over a set of high cheekbones and defined features. My hair had grown from its past shoulder length, reaching up to my waist in a long curtain of light brown strands. The only things that hadn't changed were my blue-grey eyes; maybe a little bit colder than before, but not noticeably so.
"Stop admiring yourself in the mirror and come down for breakfast!" My sister's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and got me moving around my room, changing into a pair of dark, skinny jeans, a grey top with lace details and my favorite black leather jacket, while applying some black eyeliner around my eyes to give me that edgy look that would deter kids at school from trying to talk to me. Ugh, as if I needed their sympathy and pity. I threw on a pair of black, heeled booties and grabbed my studded book bag before gliding out of my room and down the stairs, bumping into Elena on my way to the kitchen.
"Good morning!" she greeted chirpily, looking as if she'd been awake for hours already – which was probably the case. A grunt was my only reply as I hastily made my way towards the counter, eyeing the fresh coffee pot greedily and basically ignoring Aunt Jenna as she rummaged around the fridge, looking for something edible.
"Toast?" she was saying, frustrated with the lack of food in the house; as well as her lack of cooking abilities. "I can make toast."
"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna," Elena told her, gratefully accepting the mug I handed her before filling up one for myself, which I took a gulp of immediately, letting the rich, exotic flavor heat my insides.
"Is there coffee?" little Jeremy – not so little now that he was finally standing one or two inches above me and dwarfed both Elena and Jenna – asked as he stepped into the kitchen, looking like his usual emo-self clad all in black. I let out an unhappy sigh as I was forced to put down my own beverage to fill up a cup for my baby brother.
"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared," Jenna continued her rant, storming around the kitchen and going through her purse. Making eye-contact with the non-self-righteous sibling, I rolled my eyes in exasperation, causing Jeremy to let out a small chuckle and Elena to – of course – send a stern look my way. I was about to tell her to fuck off when Jenna practically materialized out of thin air at my side, a wad of dollar bills held tightly in her hand. "Lunch money?"
"Okay," Elena agreed, though Jeremy was faster and snatched the money out of Aunt Jenna's hands, giving some to us, his lovely older sisters.
"Anything else? A number 2 pencil? What am I missing?" she asked, heavy sarcasm tinting her voice.
"A couple of horse tranquilizers?" I suggested, causing my favorite brother to laugh at my comment for the second time that morning – great to know at least someone appreciated my humor.
"Didn't you have a big presentation today?" Elena reminded her, confused as to why our Aunt was stressing so much about her three teenage, yet independent wards when she had important work matters that needed her attention.
"I'm meeting with my thesis adviser at…" she took a glimpse at her wrist watch, not missing a beat, "now. Crap."
"Go, Aunt Jenna, everything will be fine," I assured her but, instead of a 'Thank you so much, my favorite niece in the world!' I received not two, but three blank stares – Jeremy's such a traitor! "What? I never said I'd be the one taking care of things, did I?"
With one last meaningful gaze exchanged between my Aunt and my annoyingly perfect older sister, Jenna fled the house as fast as she could, slamming the door shut on her way out. Naturally, Elena couldn't give the rest of us an adult-worry-free moment, so she immediately turned towards her easiest victim: Jeremy.
"You ok?" she asked, softly. I really couldn't blame her for being concerned about Jeremy's latest behavior – after all, he was acting quite differently than he did before everything – but I tried my best anyway.
Putting down the mug he was about to take to his lips, he let out a big sigh. "Don't start," he warned her.
Her expression was one of complete and utter defeat as Jeremy brushed past her to get out of the kitchen and up the stairs into his room, slamming the door behind him – quite noisily, might I add. She then looked at me, probably intent of letting some of the steam she was keeping in out, but I shrugged and raised my hands in a don't-ask-at-me gesture.
"He's already made it quite clear he doesn't want your help – or anyone's for that matter," I told her plainly and dully, mentally counting all the times we'd had that conversation – not that she ever listened to anything I had to say about it but, of course, no one ever did. "He'll ask for it if he ever needs it."
"That's easy for you to say," she snapped, clearly angered by my nonchalance, "you've already thrown your life down the drain, so why should you care he's doing the same?"
"Sure, Elena, being the screwed-up sister for these past months has made me realize how lonely the black sheep of the family gets without any company and I want someone else to follow in my footsteps," I said darkly, yet calmly, my voice practically dripping sarcasm. She took a step backwards, clearly hurt by my words, but I didn't give a shit, as she obviously didn't care about how her own comments might upset me. "In case you haven't noticed, smothering him won't snap him out of it; it'll only push him away. These months have been hard on all of us, and even when Jeremy and I don't spend hours pouring our feelings out on a piece of paper it doesn't mean you have any right to judge." Her horror-filled face scrunched up even more as I let out all the words I'd been bottling in after a whole summer of her holier-than-thou attitude. "So why don't you get off your high horse and let the poor kid get through this phase without your constant nagging?"
Leaving my sister practically in tears, but refusing to feel guilty about giving her the reality check she was so desperately in need of, I stomped out of the kitchen, my coffee mug forgotten. Great, you even managed to ruin coffee for me, Elena, good going. Just as I grabbed my discarded book bag from the living room couch, Jeremy appeared, clambering down the stairs.
"Can I get a ride with you?" he asked, already knowing my answer as he opened the front door for us to step out of the house and into the warm morning light. I greedily took a deep breath of air, letting it fill my lungs as I relaxed my tense muscles from the discussion I'd just been in. Don't let her get to you, I sternly told myself as I clicked on a button of my car keys so the doors would open.
I followed Jeremy's example and got into my beautiful black Citroen DS3 convertible, pulling the roof off with another button so we could enjoy those last weeks of summer heat. Jeremy was quiet the whole ride across town, as was I, and I didn't even bother turning on the music as it no longer had a calming effect on me. The silence wasn't an awkward at all, since Jeremy and I were as close as siblings could get nowadays but, by the time I pulled into the school's parking lot, I knew I had to say something, even if it meant no longer being the cool older sister.
"Jer, wait," I stopped him before he stepped out of the car. He raised a questioning eyebrow at me, unsure as to what I wanted to tell him. "Close the door and sit down, please." He did as I asked, all the while shooting me confused out looks. "I know you don't want to hear this and that Elena made sure you did about five times a day anyway, but hear me out, okay? I know you're mourning – hell, we all are – but what you're doing isn't healthy, Jer. I'm not opposing to you having a good time: drinking, partying, fucking, whatever makes you happy, you know? But stay away from drugs, will you?"
"You're right," he said, sighing deeply and grabbing his backpack as he opened the car's door. Huh, and here I was thinking this would be difficult, I thought appreciatively. "I don't want to hear this."
With that, he slammed the door shut and stomped away, making his way across the sea of teenagers that were already filling the school's front lawn. "Shit," I muttered to myself, huffing tiredly as I grabbed my bag and got out of the car as well, locking it with a simple click on the keys. I looked across the crowd, trying to find Jeremy's retreating back but, instead, meeting the gazes of almost the complete student body as they stared unabashedly at me and whispered among themselves. "Screw them." Might as well give them something to really gawk at.
Keeping that thought in mind, I bitchily flipped my hair and started strutting up to the school, smirking slightly as the multitude parted like the Red Sea to let me through. Hell, even after a complete makeover, I still own the place, I noted sardonically, taking notice with a scoff of the intimidated looks in everyone's eyes.
"Cass? Cassie!"
I wanted so badly to keep on walking in the direction I was heading but, unfortunately, the person I wanted to escape from was the school's jock, and would therefore catch up with me without a problem, even if I made a run out of it. Not that I would, mind you, as Cassie Gilbert ran away from nothing and no one. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I turned sharply, shrugging it off brusquely.
"What is it, Tyler?" I snapped at him in a low, deadly clam voice, trying to hold in the growl that was building in my throat. I wasn't about to let his presence affect me, damn it! I was filled with a deep sense of satisfaction when I noticed that, even without the heels I was wearing, I would still be able to look him in the eye without having to crane my neck upwards. It was empowering.
"Look, I just wanted to know how you were doing," he said in that no-nonsense tone that made him so damn hot. He was irritated, I knew it; after all, I'd been ignoring his calls and avoiding his usual hangout places – which used to be mine, as well – for the whole summer. Sue me, I didn't want to see him; I didn't want to have the conversation that we were having at that moment and I sure as hell didn't want to listen to his stupid apologies. "I'm sorry –" there it goes… "about what happened, okay? I didn't mean for it to go that way."
"You mean you didn't mean for me to find you shoving your tongue down some slut's throat during my parents' wake?" I retorted crudely. He winced a little at the way I phrased my thoughts, but didn't back down in the slightest – not that I expected him to.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jeremy calmly walking into the men's toilets and Elena rushing after him in an angered state. "Look, Cassie, I –"
"Save it, Lockwood," I interrupted, pushing past him to follow my two sibling, knowing trouble was brewing and not wanting to miss it. When I entered the bathroom, shoving aside some younger blond bloke to get through, I saw Elena holding Jeremy's face and examining his eyes beneath the fluorescent lights.
"Great," she hissed angrily, "it's the first day of school and you're stoned."
I leaned against one of the stall's door, glad I hadn't been noticed yet as I studied the situation unraveling in front of me.
Jeremy slapped Elena's hands away from his face as his temper began rising too. "No, I'm not," he snapped.
"Where is it?" Elena asked, ignoring his previous comment. "Is it on you?"
She started checking his pockets as Jeremy tried to push her away from him. I made a face, knowing things would end up badly for everyone. "Stop nagging, you need to chill yourself, alright?" Jeremy said, finally managing to shove her off.
"Chill myself?" Elena repeated shrilly. "What is that? Stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool."
As proud as I was that my sister had finally learned to incorporate a healthy dose of sarcasm into her vocabulary, I knew I needed to step in before things got out of hand.
"Stop! I don't have anything on me! Are you crazy?" Jeremy yelled, trying to fence off Elena's hands.
"Okay, kiddies, that's quite enough," I said, marching in and using my full strength to pull Elena away from a struggling Jeremy. "This isn't helping," I whispered to her lowly so that Jeremy wouldn't hear.
"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy," she hissed viciously, trying to pry herself from my grip and failing. Let me tell you, for someone that was at least three inches shorter than me, she had some serious strength going on. "I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself."
"Hate to side with the control freak over here, but I have to agree with her on this one," I drawled tonelessly. "You want to freak out and have a good time? Go ahead. But I'm not going to stop her from ruining your buzz every single time and I'm actually going to enjoy watching her torture you."
My great little speech was ruined by someone flushing the toilet and I glared at the guy as he gave us speculative looks as he walked past us, making him cringe and avert his gaze. Elena sighed and went limp in my hold, so I let her go, standing ready to grab her again if she looked like she was about to attack Jeremy once more.
"Jeremy, I know who you are," she said in her annoying lecture voice, prepared to give a speech as full of stupid proverbs and clichés as she could pack in. I could've told her that was not the way to go with someone like Jeremy – he was too much like myself in that sense – but I knew she wouldn't knock it 'till she tried it, so I let her continue. "That's not this person. So don't be this person."
"I don't need this," he said to her face, with a deadly serious expression. Jeremy then turned to me. "From either of you."
"He'll come around," I said, acting as supportive as I could before following Jeremy's path out of the men's room. As I got back out into the crowded hall, I noticed everyone's eyes were for the first time in the day – thankfully – not on me, but on some black-clad, drop-dead gorgeous, new guy. "Who is he?" I asked Bonnie, seeing as she seemed to be trailing behind the guy like a lost puppy.
"No idea," she confessed, shaking her head but remaining open-mouthed with her big, hazel eyes fixed on the dude.
Just as he was about to enter the men's room, Elena came out, bumping into him in the process. She looked up at him and her eyes glazed over as she took in his godly face – and seriously fit body; my sister might be a pain in my ass but she wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination.
"What is she doing?" I muttered to myself, as I observed from a distance how Elena seemed to be stuttering and making a fool out of herself in front of the new, hot guy. Bonnie shrugged and we shared an exasperated eye-roll as we continued watching my sister's exchange with the hunky piece of fresh meat. The moment they started stepping in front of each other as they tried to move in their own direction – like some kind of seriously messed up dance or something – was when I finally had too much. "Gag me!"
Bonnie gave me a light slap on the shoulder, but seemed to be relieved as well when Elena finally managed to walk away from the guy without making more of an ass out of herself. "Come on, we have history and you know Tanner already has enough reasons to hate your guts without you being late on the first day back," she told me with that same strict tone she and my sister seemed to share as she started towing me around the hallways. "So, how was your summer?"
I gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. "Seriously?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Just because I said more than ten words to you doesn't mean we're friends or anything, because we're not. God, I knew there was a reason I didn't speak to people. I hate it when they get all friendly and chatty."
I smirked, walking ahead of her and leaving a fuming, pouty Bonnie behind me as I entered Tanner's classroom and took my usual seat at the back and next to the window. Elena was already seated near the front – damn golden girl attitude – and Bonnie was quick to follow inside, taking her place in front of me. It was weird; having classes with my older sister when I was supposed to be a sophomore but, having skipped a year during Elementary School – don't ask how that happened – I was forced to endure Elena's presence during school hours as well as at home.
I found out I had been zoning out and had barely paid attention to other people walking into the classroom but, of course, my favorite teacher in the whole world had to make his entrance known by hitting a heavy text book against his desk. As he began his lecture about the civil war – seriously, it seemed that history teachers had no other topic to talk about during class – my eyes started wandering around the classroom as I half-heartedly doodled in my notebook.
It seemed like Elena's ex-boyfriend/boy toy had taken the empty seat next to me. Matt – the guy was too nice for his own good – flashed me a small smile when his eyes met mine, to which I replied with a nod; I didn't do smiles, just salacious smirks when the situation demanded them. To my surprise – and excitement – the new guy had been placed on the table next to Bonnie, diagonally from mine, and he was stealing small glances at my sister every once in a while when he thought no one was looking.
"Once our home State of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created an enormous amount of tension within the State." Translation from Tanner language to my own, simple English: blah, blah, I know so much more than you dunderheads, blah.
Really, it was way more interesting for me to watch as Elena shyly returned new-guy's looks (mental note: find out the guy's name or create some sort of pet-name before new guy sticks), Bonnie texted her something and Matt watched the exchanges with jealousy. Of course, the drama unfolding in front of my eyes still wasn't important enough to keep my attention for long, so my gaze turned towards the window next to me.
A clear sign that you're losing your mind from boredom: envying a raven standing on a nearby tree for not having to sit through an entire hour of history. It was quite creepy, though; the way the bird wasn't just mindlessly cawing around, but standing still and unmoving, his head pointed in the direction of the school, almost as if it was staring towards the building – the history room's window in particular.
"Miss Gilbert," Tanner's voice woke me up from my daydream and I looked up in hopes that he was referring to my sister. Of course, luck wouldn't have it go my way even just this once and the teacher's dark eyes were solely focused on me – crap! "What can you tell us about the proposals adopted by the Virginia Convention of 1861?"
This is not going to be a good day, I told myself as I calmly replied to his question, refusing to be thrown out of balance by Tanner of all people. After he finished critiquing my answer and he, once again, resumed his boring lecture, I chanced a glance at the tree outside of school, seeing the black bird was nowhere in sight. With a sigh, I focused my attention back on the incessant flow of words coming out of Tanner's mouth, trying not to think about the fact that first period hadn't even ended and I was already wishing for the day to be over.
"Come on Elena, I'm getting hotter by the minute, but not younger!" I yelled up the stairs, tapping the heel of my brand new, thigh-high boots against the floorboards as I waited for my annoying older sister – who I had to drive everywhere because of the fear she had developed for cars – to finish getting ready.
We were going to The Grill. She was meeting up with Bonnie and Caroline so the three could catch up about the first day back at school; I was eager to try out my new fake ID on the bartender to see if I could get a few drinks and maybe play some pool. After a whole day that included pitiful looks from those brave enough to not be intimidated by my glare and a whole hour of listening to Tanner tell us how little we knew about everything, I was in serious need of some alcohol. While Elena was hoping to have a good chat with her friends, I was wishing for Tyler and his whore Vicki to have run out to fuck by the time I got there so that I wouldn't have to endure my ex-boyfriend trying to make me jealous enough for me to plead to get back together. Ha, never gonna happen.
Her majesty, Queen Elena finally found it in herself to grace us with her presence as she came down the stairs. "I'm meeting Bonnie at The Grill," she told Jenna, who I hadn't noticed standing behind me.
"Okay, have fun," our Aunt said, before thinking better of it. "Wait! I got this… Don't stay out late, it's a school night."
"Next time add something like: 'Be back before eleven, young lady'," I piped in, finally earning a laugh from my older sister, who seemed to be in a suspiciously better mood ever since she started sharing those heated looks with hunky boy, aka Stefan – yes, I had succeeded in finding out his name; not that it was too hard, Caroline was practically screaming all she knew about the new kid down the hallways the moment the final bell rang.
"Well done, Aunt Jenna," Elena congratulated with a laugh. She grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the door in an excited manner – need I remind her she was the one who was running late? I narrowly avoided running into her, though, when she stopped in her tracks the moment she opened the door. "Oh."
"Sorry, I was about to knock," a smooth, charming voice came from the other side of the door. Peeking behind my sister, my eyes met none other than Stefan Salvatore, 'hawt new boy at Mystic Falls High' – Caroline's words, not mine.
Rolling my eyes at my sister's star-struck expression and the appreciative eyes of a certain Mr. Salvatore, I made sure to excuse myself. "You can walk to The Grill, right?" I asked Elena. "I can see this is going to take some time and I'm in desperate need of some whiskey right now." She nodded lightly, probably not having caught the full meaning of my words – otherwise she would've been giving me hell about my drinking habits. "Alright, have fun, but don't do anything I wouldn't do." I paused as I walked past Stefan out of the door. "Okay, scratch that, there isn't much I wouldn't do." I gave Elena one more suggestive smirk, watching in amusement as she narrowed her dark eyes at me as a small blush formed on her cheeks. "Pleasure meeting you, Stef."
Without waiting for a reply, I got into my car and sped out of the driveway before Elena could recover enough to start yelling at me. Taking advantage of the fact that my sister wasn't in the car with me, I drove as fast as I could, making it to The Grill in record time. As I stepped into the bar, I was glad to feel Tyler's eyes glued to the sliver of skin of my legs that showed between my skirt and boots and the glare I was receiving from Vicki Donovan was a plus. However, said cheating douche was currently hogging the pool area, and I wasn't about to approach him. Instead I decided, against my better instincts, to take a seat at a table with Bonnie and Matt. Both teens regarded me with raised eyebrows.
"My jerk of an ex is taking up the pool table and, seeing as he's flirting with your sister in front of my face again, I need someone to look after my purse while I drink my week's lunch money," I confessed with as much of an innocent smirk as I could muster. Bonnie laughed heartily and Matt gave me a sympathetic glance before throwing a nasty glare towards his best friend and sister. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'll go get myself a drink."
I confidently strutted up to the bar, giving the young – and therefore highly manageable – bartender a sexy smirk. It only took one glance at my fake ID for him to freely hand me the glass of plain whiskey I asked for.
"Isn't that too strong for a young girl like you?" an incredibly sexy, silky voice asked. I looked to my side to find a man on the stool next to mine; an amazingly gorgeous and well-built god of a man. A seductive smirk appeared on my face as I took in the guy's appearance: tousled raven hair, mischievous smirk, the most appealing icy blue eyes I'd ever seen and, what was more, he had a glass identical to mine in between his hands. He looked to be in his early to mid twenties and, to my great pleasure, he seemed to be checking me out too.
"Don't worry," I purred lowly. "I have experience."
"With alcohol?" he asked, going along with my game.
"With a lot of things," I clarified, biting my bottom lip invitingly. He shifted slightly in his seat, leaning forward and looking dead straight into my eyes – icy blue crashing with forest green.
"You want to go outside with me," he said with a lot of conviction, almost as if he was ordering me.
"No, thanks, I'm hanging out with friends." As hot as he was, and as much as I wanted to, I wasn't about to have sex with him in a back alley. I wouldn't have been opposed to a nice, hot make-out session, but definitely not when he thought he had the right to boss me around. I saw a look of shock go through his face – probably wasn't used to being turned down – but I didn't give him the chance to say anything because a sudden commotion made me turn towards the door. Over the heads of the crowd, I managed to make out the figure of my sister walking into the bar with none other than Stefan new-hot-guy Salvatore. "Oh my."
I looked beside me only to find the sexy guy missing, the only clue that he hadn't been a figment of my imagination the empty whisky glass he had been holding only moments before. I was kind of disappointed by the guy's hasty retreat, but I quickly hid it and went to take the seat Matt had just vacated, where Bonnie and I were soon joined by Elena, Stefan and Caroline. Catching a glimpse of the alcoholic beverage in my hand, my sister threw me a dark look, but I simply gave her a small smirk in response, my head still mulling about the dark, handsome stranger.
"So," the Caroline inquisition began, "you were born in Mystic Falls?"
Stefan nodded, oblivious – or perhaps too polite to mind – that he was being subjected to the friends' exam of approval. "And moved while I was still young."
"Parents?" Caroline pressed.
"My parents passed away," he confessed with the ease of someone who had years to come to terms with the fact that he was an orphan. I felt the usual burn in my heart and constricted feeling in my throat that I experienced every time someone mentioned anything about parental figures, but waved the feeling away, something that was becoming easier as the time passed.
"I'm sorry," Elena said sincerely, sadness lacing her voice. She took her eyes away from Stefan for a second to gaze with concern at me, to which I responded with a reassuring nod. She then returned her attention to the hunky man sitting on her other side. "Any siblings?"
"None that I talk to," he admitted with a shrug and a sincere smile. "I live with my uncle." Coincidence much?
Caroline, who didn't look too happy about being left aside in the conversation, decided it was time to break their little bubble. "So, Stefan," she began, "if you're new then you don't know about the party tomorrow."
"It's a back to school thing at the falls," Bonnie added.
"Are you going?" Stefan asked Elena.
"There's free booze, of course she is," I spoke for her, giving my frowning sister a cheeky smirk. She smiled slightly under Stefan's heated gaze but her face fell when she noticed something behind me. I turned around and saw that Tyler, with Vicki trailing behind him like a lost puppy, was purposefully making his way towards our table. "I'd better bolt. Get a ride with someone else, sis."
With those loving parting words, I drowned what was left of whisky in my glass, grabbed my purse and ran like a bat out of hell. Again, no, I wasn't by any means scared of Tyler Lockwood, but that didn't mean I wanted to see his stupid face. All the way to my car I was forced to ignore the sensation in the pit of my stomach that was telling me there was something out there, in the darkness, following me with its eyes, but every time I turned my head to look there was no one.
I woke up with a start when my elbow slipped and my head unceremoniously hit the table. I groaned, coming to the sad realization that I wasn't cuddling comfortably with my pillow in my soft, warm and comfortable bed, but in Mr. Tanner's history class.
"The Battle of Willow Creek," he was lecturing, "took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls." I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them but failing miserably. Jeez, getting up at six in the morning two times in a row was seriously messing with my much needed rest. "How many casualties resulted in this battle?" His eyes roamed around the classroom and, for once, they didn't settle on me. "Miss Bennett?"
Bonnie was actually startled and she threw a confused glance my way; glad to know I wasn't being paranoid when I said Tanner had it out for me. "Umm… a lot?" she replied, though it sounded as more of a question than anything else. Some people let out small chuckles, something that seemed to irritate the already moody teacher. "I'm not sure, but like a whole lot."
"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett," Tanner admonished her, causing her previously hopeful expression to turn sour. "Mr. Donovan! Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"
"It's okay, Mr. Tanner," the blond assured him. "I'm cool with it."
Even I had to snort at that, but my amusement was short-lived when the teacher focused his attention on my sister. "Elena?" he invited her. "Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?"
My sister had that deer-in-the-headlights look that showed that, unlike me, she really cared about Tanner's opinion of her so she could pass history. "I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely. "I – I don't know."
"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena," Tanner said, causing me to glare viciously at him. "But the personal excuses ended with summer break."
My anger spiked dramatically as I watched my sister lower her gaze, sadness filling her dark eyes. "How about you focus on the history instead of making your students feel like crap?" I spat furiously, my fists clenched tightly, snapping my pen in half.
Before Tanner could reply – probably to assign me some detention – Stefan's voice interrupted the silence. "There were 346 casualties, unless you're counting the local civilians," Stefan answered, shocking every single person in that classroom. I shared an appraising look with my sister: she definitely got the brawn and the brains with that guy.
"That's correct," Tanner admitted. "Mr.…"
"Salvatore," Stefan informed him.
"Salvatore?" Tanner repeated. "Any relation to the original settles here in Mystic Falls?"
Stefan seemed to take some time before answering that one. "Distant."
"Very good," Tanner reluctantly congratulated him. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."
"Actually, there were 27, sir," Stefan said, making Tanner stop in his tracks due to the shock of being corrected. "Confederate soldiers, they fired on a church believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss." For the first time in a long time, I was actually grinning instead of smirking, but damn, it felt too good to see Tanner being put in his place and, judging by the amused looks on the other students' faces, I wasn't the only one who was enjoying the moment. "The founders' archives are stored in the City Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."
At that, gasps of shock and stifles of laughter could be heard all around the classroom and, given my previous experience angering Tanner, I could tell the smile on his face was filled with barely concealed hatred for the student that was making him look incompetent. I couldn't help thinking Tanner had it coming.
It was dark out and the party was already in full swing. With the bottle of Jack Daniels in my hand that I had bought before arriving at the falls because I in no way was about to drink that cheap booze they had there, I staggered towards the bonfire, where my sister and Bonnie were chatting. I was already quite tipsy by the time I arrived – I'd allowed Jeremy the privilege of driving my car – something that had only increased as the hours surrounded by mindless teenagers went by. Seriously it seemed that being drunk caused people to forget about the fact that I intimidated them and had therefore no problem asking me whether I was okay after being cheated on by my boyfriend of two years during my parents' funeral.
"Mind if I stick with you?" I asked, taking a gulp of the whiskey bottle as I threw my arms around the two shorter girls. Between my taller height and the 5-inch heels I was wearing, I stood about a head taller than both best friends. "You two shorties are the only people here that might have a chance of stopping me if I have the sudden urge to choke someone to death."
Elena rolled her eyes and Bonnie gave me an understanding look, but neither of them opposed to my presence. "I was telling your sister that she should just admit it," Bonnie filled me in.
"What? That she has the hots for Mr. Salvatore?" I slurred teasingly. Elena glared at me, but it was done halfheartedly; clearly, the mere thought of dark, tall and handsome was enough to relax her after having to deal with me.
"O-okay, so he's a little pretty," she ruefully acknowledged.
"He has a romance novel stare," Bonnie countered.
"I, for one, am more interested in what goes on below his face," I purred, with a suggestive wink. Bonnie let out an unladylike snort at that and even my usually stoic sister had a small smile on her face at my impish comments.
"So, where is he?" Bonnie wondered, looking around for the looming figure of one Mr. Salvatore.
"I don't know," Elena said, trying to appear nonchalant, even though someone as oblivious as Caroline could've realized she was quite crestfallen about her crush's absence. "You tell me, you're the psychic one."
"Wait… what?" I asked, completely confused with the new turn of events.
"Right… I forgot you didn't know about it," Bonnie said. "My Grams says I'm psychic 'cause we're descendants from the Salem witches or something like that." She then turned to my sister. "Okay, so give me a sec. Grams says I need to concentrate."
"Wait," I interrupted her, a mischievous smirk on my face as I came up with an idea. "You need a crystal ball."
"Seems someone's had a bit too much liquid fun," I heard Elena whispering in Bonnie's ear as I searched around for something that could look the part of a glassy object.
"Tada," I said as I presented my sister's 'witchy' best friend with an empty beer bottle. "And I heard that, by the way."
"Really?" Elena mocked sarcastically while Bonnie laughed breathily. Any trace of a smile, though, completely disappeared from her face when she went to grab the bottle and her hand made contact with mine. The mocha-skinned girl let out a small gasp as her hazel eyes widened in complete shock. After about a second or so, she hastily removed her hand from its place, looking at me as if I was a stranger she had found inside her shower with a bloody knife. "What is it?"
"What?" Elena prompted.
"It was weird," Bonnie replied, her face a mask of puzzlement. "When I touched you, I saw a crow."
"What?" Elena repeated while my mind flashed to the black bird I'd considered a raven I'd seen the day before through the window during Tanner's history lesson.
"A crow," Bonnie confirmed. "There was fog… a man…" Bonnie seemed to have noticed my expression had turned from tipsy and amused to contemplating and blank, because she quickly backpedalled. "I'm drunk! It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it."
"I thought it was a raven," I thought aloud, regretting it the instant Bonnie's surprise seemed to spike and my sister's eyes clouded with concern.
"Okay… I'm gonna get a refill," Bonnie rushed nervously before practically sprinting away.
I caught sight of an approaching Stefan and decided that, between the sexual tension that was about to fill the place and the fact that my sister seemed to be more worried than me about Bonnie's revelation, I should follow the psychic/witch/whatever's example and make my retreat. So I took one last gulp at my whiskey and tossed the bottle away. "Oh, look at that, I should go with Bonnie," I told Elena. "Later!"
"Wait, Cassie!" But her voice was cut off once she turned around and caught sight of her hunk of a man.
I was quick to escape into the crowd, trying to blend in as much as I could as I wandered aimlessly, my mind still filled with thoughts of the information Bonnie had just shared. It had to be a coincidence, right? Bonnie had to have somehow guessed what I had been thinking the whole week about – even if it was a stretch of the imagination. But there was no chance of Bonnie being a witch, of the crow being anything more than a bird, or of anything out of the ordinary going on in Mystic Falls of all places.
"Cassie!"
Crap, I knew that voice. Seeing as people in such a state of inebriation were quite reluctant to make way for me, I had to elbow my way through the crowd, and I ended up entering the dark forest. To be quite honest, I preferred facing the darkness and the unknown before a drunken Tyler Lockwood when he had his mind set on something.
However, I was too out of shape – and too drunk – to stand a chance at outrunning football team member, and jock supreme, Tyler Lockwood and, too soon for my liking, I felt a hand on my shoulder, roughly turning me around and forcing my back against a tree. Having had a couple of drinks in the course of the night, Tyler ended up using more force than needed but, other than a sharp intake of breath and a slight wince, I let out no indication of my pain.
"What do you want, Tyler?" I asked, struggling against him as his shorter, but wider and more muscled body, pinned me against the tree. The hand that wasn't on my shoulder forcing me against the tree grabbed firmly onto my waist, his fingers digging painfully into the skin there.
"I want you back, Cass," he breathed out, his nose skimming possessively against the skin of my neck. I pushed him back as hard as I could, not with enough force to get him off me, but with sufficient power to cause him to stumble slightly and therefore get his face away from my skin.
"You know what I want, Tyler?" I hissed harshly, anger making my eyes narrow and my nostrils flare. "I want a boyfriend that loves me for more than just my ass; I want someone to really listen when I'm talking, instead of trying to cop a fell. But more than that, I want a guy who won't cheat on me with a druggy whore when I'm at my most vulnerable moment and I need someone to lean on; just for a day."
"Cassie, please, listen," Tyler begged, his hands encasing both of my flailing ones easily. I pulled them out of his grasp, hitting his hard chest, but having no effect whatsoever.
"No, Tyler, I will not listen," I spat out, stressing each word with a punch. "I will not forgive you. I will not forget that I had to be told by my Aunt Jenna that she'd found you making out with some cheap slut outside the house during my parents' wake. And I will never, ever, get back with you."
In a fit of rage, Tyler punched the tree beside my head, making a small dent in it. I ruefully reminded myself to avoid angering him any further, lest I wanted my face to be his next target. "You don't understand, Cass," he whispered dejectedly, cupping my face delicately between his rough hands. "I can't stop thinking about you. Even when I'm with Vicki, you're all that's in my mind and no matter how much I try, I can't take you out. I'm still in love with you."
He was looking at me with a glimpse of hope in his dark eyes and I could see he was being truthful but, after so many months of bitterness, I couldn't care less about his suffering. "And I hate you," I spat viciously.
His eyes hardened as did his hold on my face and, before I knew it, his lips were on mine, unwanted and demanding, nipping harshly at the skin with bruising force. Not only did I not respond, but I also started pushing against him with all my strength, going as far as to kick his shins and stomp on his feet with the thin heels of my pumps.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Jeremy's voice boomed across the silent forest and, with a final shove, I was able to push Tyler's body away from mine. In three long strides, I was next to my brother, his arm pushing me aside and behind him as he faced my ex.
"You know, you're starting to get on my nerves, Gilbert," Tyler snarled angrily, looking like his usual cocky self as he strutted towards us.
"Leave him alone, Tyler," I said, pushing past Jeremy's protective arm and moving to stand between the two males. "And stay the hell away from me."
"That's not what you used to say when you asked me to fuck you," he said with a self-assured smirk. "Again and again."
I could feel Jeremy tensing behind me, so I took his hand in mine in case I needed to pull him away from a fight. "I wouldn't have asked for so many repeats if you could've made the first time last," I countered back smoothly. Tyler's face clouded with annoyance, but I never felt as happy by seeing the approaching figure of Vicki Donovan. I motioned with my head towards her. "Why don't you have a go at someone with lower standards?"
"Ty, what's going on?" she asked, in that stupid, girlish voice of her that irritated me beyond belief.
With one last, heated look at me, Tyler decided to make his way out of the conversation. "Nothing," he spat, shoving her aside as he walked away.
"What were you doing here with him, Cassie?" Jeremy asked angrily, as slutty Vicki got nearer to us. "Are you stupid? The guy's a dick!"
"Would you mind your own business, Jeremy?" I snapped, irritated by being lectured by a fifteen-year-old stoner. "I don't need you taking care of me; I can look after myself."
"Sure you can," he retorted scathingly, failing to notice that his whore of a crush was standing behind him, hanging on every word he said. "That's why I had to save you from being raped in the woods by Tyler-fucking-Lockwood!"
Vicki gasped in horror, but she was the farthest thing from my mind at that moment; I was practically seething with anger and red tinted my vision. "Okay, I never wanted to be this person, but you've gone too far this time," I hissed, venom dripping from my voice as I struggled to keep my voice steady. "I know I'm not the poster child for teenage good behavior; that's Elena. I know I've made my fair share of mistakes and that I've screwed up all the good things I've had in my life. I know I'm not a good example for you and you know how much I'd like to be. But until you clean up your act, stop with the drugs and get yourself together you sure as hell have no moral authority to tell me what to do with my freaking life! So, until you get yourself clean and make a change in your life, leave mine the hell alone!"
With those final words and a last glower thrown towards my brother – and maybe Vicki too, because I sure as hell took every chance I had to find out if the 'looks-could-kill' thingie had changed overnight – I stomped away from the scene, refusing to follow Tyler's path towards the party and, instead, walking even deeper into the woods. It sure was a stupid decision, to calmly walk into the forest at night, without the faintest idea of where I was going, but I was so angry I didn't even care at the moment.
I stopped in my tracks when a chill ran through my body. Looking around me, I realized a faint fog had started to form, creeping against the earth and roots as it became thicker by the moment. Feeling a presence behind me, I turned in my heel, to notice the same black bird – honestly, I couldn't care less if it was a crow or a raven – perched on a nearby tree.
I let out a small gasp as I laid my eyes on it and almost screamed out when it flew out and towards me. I threw myself to my knees to avoid it colliding with my head and almost fell flat on my ass when I heard a low and seductive chuckle coming from somewhere behind me. I turned my head and found myself face to face – more like face to groin, but I'm not about to comment on that – with the sexy man from The Grill.
"I knew you liked me, sweetheart, but there was no need for you to fall for me so fast," he said seductively, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively as he stretched out his hand. I took it with little hesitation and he pulled me to my feet, standing a little bit too close.
I took a slight step back, nervous about the closeness, but trying not to show it. "I fall for no one," I said defiantly, straightening to my full height, only an inch or so shorter than the guy's. "Much less for idiots who think that after a ten-word conversation I would jump at the chance of sex with a stranger."
The guy's smirk grew even wider as he stepped closer, but I refused to back up that time. He raised his hand and his fingers ghosted across the skin of my cheek, but I still refused to give him any indication that his actions were affecting me in any way. "You intrigue me, Cassie Gilbert."
I opened my mouth to ask him how he knew my name and, what was more, how on earth he managed to find me at a High School party in the middle of the forest, but a scream that pierced the silence caused me to snap my head hastily in that direction before I could utter any word. I had to find out what was going on, and I was about to excuse myself when I realized I was the only one standing in the clearing.
"Hello?" I called out to the darkness surrounding me. The fog had disappeared as well, but I couldn't bring myself to give it too much thought, as I recognized my siblings' voices among the yelling that had begun. I ran as fast as I could in my heels, my drunken stupor long gone and my mind clearer than ever. Soon, I was sprinting away from the tree line and towards a crowd of people surrounding a wooden table. I pushed people out of my way and noticed the girl lying there, bleeding out of her neck was someone I knew too well: Vicki Donovan. Elena, Tyler, Matt and Jeremy were all standing around them, trying to get her to open her eyes and screaming at people to call an ambulance. "Move!" I broke through the front row of people and carelessly shoved Jeremy away from the side of Vicki's head. Tearing a piece of her shirt, I pressed the cloth to the wound on her neck, trying to stop the bleeding, but not before I got a good look at the tooth-marks there. Vampire.
I stood next to my sister, deep in thought, as I watched Vicki being lifted onto the back of the ambulance, the party long over by then. We were both silent; lost inside our own minds as we both reminisced about the events of the night. I didn't want to believe it, especially not when Uncle John of all people had been the one to warn me about them, but I couldn't ignore the signs: the bird, the fog, the strange animal attacks and the sudden disappearances without a sound all pointed to the conclusion that my mystery guy was a blood-draining monster.
"Hey!" Bonnie's voice called, snapping me out of my thoughts and making Elena turn to face her best friends. "We're gonna go get some coffee. Wait for news."
"Yeah, I'll take Jeremy home," Elena told her, before turning towards me. "Are you coming?"
I nodded, and watched her walk away towards our distraught brother. I was about to follow her, but Bonnie stopped me. "Cassie," she said. I looked at her, waiting to hear what she had to say. "There's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But, whatever I saw, or think I saw, I have this… feeling."
"Just spit it out, will you?" I asked, more worried about her words than I was willing to let on.
"That it's just the beginning," she finished. I nodded in acknowledgement at her words before following my sister towards Jeremy was finishing up a bottle of beer.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked, rubbing Jeremy's shoulder in comfort. Being the punk with bad attitude that he was, though, he flinched away from her touch, not replying.
"Finish up your beer boy and get in the car," I told him, taking a gulp out of a water bottle I had found so I could sober up before driving the three of us home.
"You know, those people in uniforms, last time I checked, they're the police," Elena said with a small smile, trying to lighten up the situation. Jeremy, it seemed, was not in the mood for humor, as he gulped down the entire contents of the bottle before throwing it behind him. "People are going to stop giving you breaks, Jer. They just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try too."
I looked at Jeremy, whose face was filled with barely concealed sadness and my heart cracked a little, up until he opened his big mouth. "I've seen you in the cemetery writing in your diary," he told her, his voice soft, but his words cutting. "Is that – is that supposed to be you moving on?" Of course, he wasn't about to let me get away without having a go at me too. "And you, hooking up with every douche bag in town, throwing everything you've worked for away just because you're scared of letting people know you're in pain. How is that moving on?"
Elena looked at both of us: Jeremy clearly torn after hearing what Elena had to say and me with pursed lips and hard eyes. "Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this," she said softly, her dark eyes sad, but meaningful.
"Let's just get going," I said, not having it in me to take any more moments of openness. I started walking towards my car, with Elena and Jeremy following behind me and, even when I never turned to look, I just knew my sister was throwing me a disappointed look. I ignored her the whole ride home and continued doing so even as I climbed up the stairs and got ready for bed but, the whole time, I was mulling Jeremy's words in my head.
I was looking at my reflection in the mirror as I threw my hair into a ponytail when my eyes caught sight of my beautiful acoustic guitar standing against one of the corners of my room. Next to it, was the Fender electric guitar I'd worked over four years to be able to buy. I turned around and approached the two precious instruments, caressing the soft material with the utmost care. Jeremy was right… I did miss my music – terribly – and I knew I could've made a career out of it; maybe even got into Julliard or something. But I just couldn't bear the thought of singing something that reminded me of my parents and breaking down in front of a crowd.
I wanted to be the strong sibling: the one Elena and Jeremy could trust to keep it together whenever they decided to break down, but I was afraid I wouldn't be able to stop myself from collapsing if I allowed myself to stop for a second and just feel. I knew I was doing everything I could to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about everything I had lost in such a short time spam. Music, whether I performed it myself or just listened to it on the radio, always had the effect of making me reflect on my own feelings, something I wanted to avoid at all cost.
I wanted people to think I was the strong member in our family – and most did – but in reality, it was Elena. She was the only one who was able to face her feelings – unlike me – without turning to drugs – like Jeremy – or work – Jenna – to distract her from the pain. I sighed, deciding I needed another glass of water if I didn't want to wake up with a hangover the following day.
Throwing on my black, silk robe and placing my slippers on my feet, I silently rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Seeing Jenna standing against the frame of the door leading to the living room and staring intently at something, I went to join her. Jeremy was sitting on the couch, a photograph of our parents held between his hands as his eyes took in every little detail of it.
I looked at Jenna, who had tears filling her eyes as she regarded her nephew with sad eyes. She gave me a pain-filled stare and threw one of her arms around my waist in a half-hug. I responded – though reluctantly – placing one of my own arms around her shoulders. "We're going to be fine," I assured her in a whisper, so as not to disturb Jeremy's moment of sadness. And, with the comfort of my family around me – as cheesy as that sounded – I really believed we would.
A/N: Outfits for this chapter and any chapter that follows in my polyvore account! Link on my profile! Review please? :)