[00]: Prologue

I really wanted to die.

And it wasn't one of those heat of the moment things, where you think you mean it because of the circumstances surrounding you, but then everything ends up okay and you're happy again. No, I actually meant it with every fiber inside of me. The words that resonated within my mind contained actions that I had wanted to do since...forever. The thought of death appealed to me, allowing me an escape from all the shit I had to go through in this world.

And besides, would anyone give a fuck - excuse my language - if I died? No, probably not. I could picture them throwing a party as they celebrated my death, happy that they didn't have to deal with me - the sad girl who always mopes around - which, technically isn't accurate.

What never ceased to amaze me was how much hatred was targeted towards me when I never even associated myself with half of these people! I hadn't done one thing to them - basically invisible to the world and everyone who inhabited it - so it didn't make sense for them to treat me like crap.

Never had there been one moment in my life where I felt happy, as if I finally fit in. All I ever felt was emptiness, as if there was a fragment of me missing - one that could never be replaced no matter how much effort I put forth into doing so. I was a broken person and I would remain that way for the rest of my life - no doubt about it.

I didn't belong in this world. I never did, and I never would.

My whole life, I was always the odd one out that most girls didn't want to hang out with, not wanting to associate themselves with the loser - the loner. I mean, I was the one kid who locked themselves in their room, hiding behind music while all the other girls my age would be hanging out with their friends, having tea parties or doing whatever they always did. To me, music was a cure, as a way to prevent me from feeling as much pain as I did. But, cures didn't have a one-hundred percent success rate, so as I realized that it wasn't working anymore, I spiraled out of control, going into a depression that altered my life.

Living had started to become a drag for me - a burden - so I turned to the only thing I could think of, which I now know was never a good thing for me to do. I started to cut myself, marring my skin with marks that would never go away. Marks that would forever remind me of all the mistakes I'd made in my past. But at the time, it had made me feel better and for once in my life, I felt whole - in a weirdly twisted way.

But of course, there was that one person who found out about the whole situation and blabbed to the school, informing them about my hidden agenda - an activity that they didn't approve of. I was sent to counseling where I was told never to cut again, and so I stopped, not wanting a repeat of the incident - mainly due to the fact that I hated how these people kept inquiring about my personal life and forcing me to talk.

However, it was an excruciating process - stopping my cutting - so I lashed out at everything and everyone.

No matter how hard I resisted cutting, the urge always remained within me - it wasn't one of those things you could just get rid of - and it was hard not being able to satisfy that feeling. If I so much as looked at a knife, I'd be in trouble. After all, my family wasn't picture perfect, hiding so many dangerous things that they wanted to hide, so they did their best to make sure I didn't cut again, not wanting any more attention to be drawn to them.

Their horrid secrets caused them to treat me like the dirt you walk on, and I would find myself dreaming of having the perfect life, where I had the best friends that anyone could ever ask for, the nicest parents, and a life where I'd actually be noticed - appreciated. I dreamt of never feeling empty again - of always feeling complete. But then when I'd wake up and realize that it wasn't going to happen, tears would slowly leak out of my eyes, proving just how weak I really was.

And all that pain; it had gotten to be too much.

Which was why I decided to kill myself.

I looked around me, admiring the reflection of the moon in the water in front of me, noticing just how breathtaking the scenery was today. It looked so beautiful out, with the water shimmering, and the dark blue sky providing a nice contrast to it. If there was one thing I would miss about life, it was nature and its beauty.

Sighing, I realized that this was going to be my last time seeing the moon. Once today was over - or actually, after the next few minutes, I would no longer be alive. I would be a pale corpse stuck in a coffin, my flesh rotting as I slowly started to decompose.

Yeah, not a pretty picture. But it wasn't like life was pretty.

Once I finished the deed, I would be gone for good, living it up in hell. After all, heaven wasn't something I believed in. There was no place where I could truly be content - with absolutely no problems at all. I had always been one of those people who could never be happy. Why else would I be preparing myself to commit suicide?

A wave crashed against the shore, the water sliding over the sand all the way up to the tips of my toes. I let the cool, salty water caress my feet as I continued to think about what I was going to do today. My mind struggled to process the fact that this really was the end. Although I knew that I would be ending my life, it felt as if I wasn't doing something so drastic. And it confused me.

As the water went back into the ocean, I followed it. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides as I stared at the translucent water beneath me. As I saw my reflection, I noticed the pain on my face, and I couldn't help but wonder what I had done to deserve such a horrible life. I had been a good child in the beginning! So why was I on the verge of suicide then?

Tears started to flow down my face as I grasped the seriousness of this situation. I was going to kill myself - really. I had no choice. This was what I needed to do! If I didn't...then everything would only continue to get worse until I spiraled even more out of control! I'd much rather kill myself then live a life full of misery.

My ripped jeans (which had also been stained by blood) became damp as I walked deeper and deeper into the ocean, clinging to my legs. My eyesight was clouded by the tears that wouldn't stop spilling out of my eyes. This was officially going to be the end of me.

From this day forth, Electra Storm would be dead.

Dead to the world...

...and to herself.

I continued to progress further and further into the water, noticing how it was now opaque, hiding what was underneath the surface from me. There was no way for me to know what I was walking on, and as much as the thought scared me, it also made me happy. It increased my chance of having a crab come and pinch my foot so hard that I would bleed to death.

And then everyone would be happy.

"Come on kitten, don't want to die now, do we?" A silky, smooth voice floated through the air from behind me - probably back on the shore. Curious, I turned around, unable to resist the urge. Once my eyes connected with those of the stranger, I stopped in my tracks, finding it nearly impossible to move.

This guy was gorgeous. He had light blue eyes which seemed to be full of mischievousness. His golden locks were arranged into a pile at the top of his head, framing his chiseled features perfectly. Just as I was studying him, the wind blew, lifting his shirt up slightly, revealing his perfect abs.

He took a few steps towards me, a smirk playing across his soft lips. I took one step back, shocked by his presence. Who was this man? What was he even doing here?

"Maybe I do, what's it to you? Why would you care?" I exclaimed, glaring harshly at him. There was no way I was going to let him stop me from killing myself. I would fight him if I had to. No one was going to stop me from getting what I wanted.

And besides, since when did people ever care about me?

He probably wanted something from me. Yeah, that was it.

"Because I love you," he said, his sweet voice drawing me in. I took a few steps toward him, fascinated by his charm, yet still a little bit skeptical. After all, this guy was claiming love for me when the first time we had crossed paths was just today. It didn't make sense for him to say that he possessed such a strong feeling towards me.

He took a few steps forward, only stopping once he was nose-to-nose with me. "Do you love me?" As he spoke, his eyes did this strange thing. I felt like I wanted to say no, but at the same time, something inside of me was forcing me to say yes.

So, I nodded in reply, confused about the whole situation.

"Perfect," he whispered, his cool breath tickling my lips, leaving me with a strange, tingly sensation. My legs felt like jelly, and dizziness settled over me. Why was I even feeling like this? There was no way that I could like this man after just seeing him two minutes ago. Holding out a hand towards me, he spoke once more. "My name is Klaus."

Pausing as I studied him, still a bit unsure about the situation, I extended my hand out towards him as well. "My name is Electra," I said, shooting him a small, shy smile. At this moment, I didn't feel like killing myself anymore. I felt like I needed to live...and it was all because of this man.

A man I didn't even know.

"Well Electra," he said, returning my smile, "You and I are going to have some wonderful times together."

And with that, he sunk his teeth into my neck.

Shockingly enough, he didn't kill me. I would have expected a vampire to drain me of every last drop of blood, but apparently he didn't. And even more shocking, I actually enjoyed the feeling. The sensation of having my blood drawn from my body was amazing. It felt as if I was floating on a cloud, away from everything else.

It made me feel content, for once.

His fangs drew away from my neck as he looked at me, his lips tinted red from my blood. "Thank you for the wonderful drink, love," he said, taking my hand and kissing it.

But, strangely enough, I didn't want him to kiss it; I wanted him to bite my wrist and take more blood.

"You're welcome," I breathed out, feeling slightly faint.

"Come with me Electra, and I will make you feel happy again. I will make your life perfect - give you everything you ever wanted," he told me, his voice full of promise. I nodded, biting my lip. I would be insane to give up an offer like that.

"Well, hop on," he said, gesturing to his back. I jumped on and we were off.

The ride was absolutely wonderful. The feeling of the wind blowing my hair back made me feel great. It made me feel alive. I felt like an actual human and it was all thanks to this man I had only just met a little while ago. I didn't know how these feelings could have developed so quickly but I knew that I cared for this man...

And that I'd do anything for him.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters aside from Electra. They are all property of L.J. Smith and the TV people of the Vampire Diaries.