A/N: Ohhh hello darling readers!:) Boy are you all in for a treat! I have to say this is a fantastic piece of work and it's only the first chapter! :D this story I am co-writing with my dearest friend Morgan (Morganellie). She is a fabulous writer and I would say most of this chapter belongs to her. Anyway, we've got a great story here for ya. We're both incredibly excited for it and we hope you all love it! Enjoy

Sophie woke up to the soft cawing of a crow, the same sound she had been waking up to for the past three months. When she had first heard it, she was a bit scared. But something inside reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Stretching her tight muscles and letting out a small yawn, Sophie gazed out the window to see the crow perched on the same tree branch it always sat on. "Good morning," She said with a smile. The crow cawed in reply.

Sophie rose from her bed, leaving it in disarray, just as she did every morning. However, she took great care to make sure her stuffed animal Flounder was in a comfortable position.

She turned back to the crow. "Mommy and Daddy bought him for me when we went to Disney World," She sat on the bench seated beneath her window and tucked her legs in as she began her story. The crow titled its head to the side, listening intently to the child's angelic voice.

Elena had just passed Sophie's room to catch the last of her sister's long explanation of their family's spring trip; just before their parent's death.

When Sophie had first begun these conversations with what Elena assumed was an imaginary friend, she had thought that it was normal and reasonable for a six year-old. Especially after going through what they had.

Instead of walking in to the room, Elena simply smiled and strolled down the stairs, letting her sister enjoy her private fantasies.

Ten minutes later, Sophie came frolicking into the kitchen to see Elena, Jeremy, and their aunt Jenna seated at the table. She took a piece of Jeremy's cinnamon toast and plopped herself on the table top, munching it loudly and getting crumbs all over her bright outfit.

"Hey, get off the table squirt," Jenna said, squeezing the little girl's knee. Sophie jumped and giggled then slid into the chair next to Elena.

"So, Sophie. Did you see the crow last night?" Jeremy said with a cocky smile. Elena and Jenna both sent him hard glares.

"No…" Sophie said glumly, and then perked into a smile. "He came this morning. He apologized for being late," She continued in a happier voice.

Elena laughed softly and took a sip from the coffee cup laced in her hands. She glanced up at the clock and nearly choked on the hot liquid. "Oh gosh Sophie. We gotta' go. I have to drop you off at Mrs. Barnes' before I go to Bonnie's," She said as she scurried around the kitchen to gather her necessities for school.

Finishing the last of her toast and wiping the crumbs off her face, Sophie stuffed her arms across her chest. "I don't want to go to Mrs. Barnes'. It smells like old people and tuna," She pouted to her older sister.

Elena saw the look of distraught look in the little girl's eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. She perched in herself in front of Sophie, kneeling to meet her eyes. "You've got to go Soph,"

"Why can't you take me?" Sophie mumbled in her toddler-like voice she would use whenever she wanted something.

Elena put her hands on Sophie's thin arms, "I wish I could sweetie. But Jer and I have to go to school. I'll pick you though ok?"

"Pinky promise?" Sophie asked sweetly, holding up her small finger.

Elena smiled and laced their pinkies together, placing a small kiss over their hands as Sophie did the same; a custom that their parents had made up when ever promises were made.

After Elena had whisked Sophie out of the house and got her to Mrs. Barnes', she was finally able to make it into Bonnie's car to head for school.

Elena slouched comfortably in the passenger seat, muffled with silence as her friend babbled on about how kick ass this year was going to be. She was just starting to drift off into space when a small black object flew towards them.

"Bonnie!" Elena screamed, but it was too late. The object slammed into the thick glass then was hurled out of sight.

Elena regressed her body against the seat as bonnie halted the car.

"Elena, are you alright?" Bonnie stuttered, her voice shaken up from the incident.

"I'm fine…what was that?" Elena questioned as she gazed out the window in search for what they had hit. Looking up at a street sign, she met the eyes of a shaking black crow, its right wing bent slightly in an injured manner.

Oh shit. Elena's eyes widened. "Good thing Sophie wasn't her or she would have had a fit," She stated, not taking her eyes away from the bird.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie said and leaned in next to Elena to look out the window. The crow cawed at them before spreading its wings and staggering to fly away.

Elena shook her head. "Just a bird. Let's go," She said and Bonnie started the car up again.

After a lousy morning of French, Math, History, and English, Elena had begun to make her way to lunch when she noticed a hooded figure making its way to the boys' bathroom. She shook her head, recognizing the slouch of her brother anywhere. She stormed after him in annoyance.

Not caring that she had walked into a non female friendly environment, Elena stalked past a confused boy and shoved her brother in the back. When he turned she quickly clutched his cheek, examining Jeremy's drugged face.

"Great. Stoned on the first day. When are you going to learn to grow up Jer?" She said in frustration.

"Dude," I'm not stoned. What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeremy fought back, trying to hide the slur in his voice.

"Don't give me that bullshit Jeremy," Elena growled, thumping him on the side of the head. "I may have ignored this in the past but I am done. I am not going to sit around and watch you throw your life away. This isn't fair to your teachers, your friends, to Jenna, or even Sophie. What do you think will go through her head when she sees her big brother coming home everyday acting like a complete moron? What would mom and dad think?"

Jeremy stood there for second, darting his eyes back and forth so they wouldn't meet his sister's enraged ones. "What would they think of you hanging out in a guy's bathroom?" Was the only response he could give before shoving past her out of the facility.

After he left, Elena didn't move a muscle. She could not believe how immature and careless her brother was acting. Actually, she could believe it…she just couldn't believe that he didn't care enough to sober up to help raise a child who was hurting just as, if not worse much as they were.

Startled by the ring of the bell, Elena jumped out of her daze and quickly made her way out of the bathroom. Fighting tears from her eyes and not paying attention to where she was going, Elena bumped into a tall, looming figure. The collision had startled her, causing her back to fall from her shoulder and half of its contents piling on to the floor.
"Oh, geez. I'm so sorry," Elena stammered as she pulled herself together. She looked up to see who she encountered when she met the dazzling green eyes of Stefan Salvatore, the strange new hottie to Mystic Falls.

"It's no problem," He said with a simple smile, bending down to pick up her belongings. "Elena," He spoke her name in a breath taking tone when he stood up with a handful of papers and a notebook.

Elena looked at him in confusion. Before she could ask how he knew her name he showed her a colorful drawing obviously drawn by Sophie. Elena smiled at the message that read 'Have a great day at school Elena! Love, Sophie'

"Look's like you've got quite the artist," Stefan grinned, handing Elena the papers.

"Yeah, my sister. She loves to draw," Elena replied, stuffing the papers and notebook back into her bag. When she looked back up at Stefan, she felt a hint of recognition. "Hey, don't we have history together?" She asked, suddenly remembering that he sat two desks away from her in Mr. Turner's class.
"And French and English," Stefan added with yet another heart stopping smile. Elena nearly slapped herself. How could she forget the handsome boy who always seemed to be stealing glances at her in English and always seemed to pronounce words perfectly in French?

"Right. I'm sorry. It's the first day and my mind is…not where it's supposed to be," Elena apologized, running a staggering hand through her hair.

Stefan gave her a short laugh. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll get more time to know each other. Have a nice day Elena," He said, and walked passed her into his next class.

"Bye," Elena whispered, even though she knew he couldn't hear her, her eyes lingering after the gorgeous boy.

"So what did you do at school today Sophie?" Elena asked as they swung their clasped hands back and forth. Elena was still a little bit troubled by her run in with Stefan Salvatore today; she couldn't get him out of her head! Their encounter was brief, but it left such an impact on her. She hoped that talking to Sophie would help her take her mind off of the boy who was now enchanting her.

"Oh nothing, Henry and I got in a fight today," she said dejectedly.

"Oh no! What happened this time?" Elena gasped. There had never been a day where Sophie got into a fight with her best friend Henry, but regardless it managed to be about something different every time.

"He thinks that Peter Pan is the best movie ever, I said The Little Mermaid," she said to the ground, then cheerfully, "Hey Lena, can we go to the cemetery today? I want to visit with Mommy and Daddy a little bit."

"Okay Sophie, but not for too long." Sophie had been asking to visit their parents' grave almost everyday since their funeral, which Elena didn't think was unusual, but lately she had been trying to wane Sophie out of her habit. It wasn't normal. If Jeremy could decide, she wouldn't be going to the cemetery at all, but Elena secretly needed it just as much as Sophie. She couldn't help but feel guilty though, six year-old's shouldn't be spending their days playing by graves.

As they approached the cemetery, Elena couldn't help but get a small sense of foreboding build inside of her; the mossy trees and Gothic graves gave her the creeps, but Sophie pranced through the gates completely unaffected.

After walking for a good five minutes into the heart of the cemetery to their family plot of land, Sophie plopped down in front of her parent's grave and pulled out a pad of paper and some crayons from her bag and began coloring intensely.

Elena decided to take this time to write a bit in her journal, which she had been doing frequently ever since her parent's death. Elena wrote a bit about the mysterious new guy Stefan, who was leaving this somehow gleaming effect on her.

Elena took a quick peek of Sophie's drawing. A crow, she should've guessed. Elena loved her sister as deeply as any sister could, but lately Sophie had been acting like one of those creepy kids from a horror movie. She has had pictures of her "crow" friend plastered all over her room, and sometimes at night she caught Sophie talking to herself in her room, as if she were having a conversation with someone. This didn't bother Elena, but it had been getting to her just because she felt like she had been seeing a crow wherever she went.

There's crows everywhere, you're probably just taking notice of them for the first time, she told herself. Of course things couldn't stay creepy for long when Sophie was singing quite loudly, and quite off-key, her whole repertoire of Disney songs.

But Elena couldn't notice the solitary crow that was perched on a nearby grave, and the subtle mist that seemed to now be surrounding them.

"Soph, it's time to go," said Elena, not taking her eyes off the bird.

"BUT LENAAAAAAAAA WHYYYYYYY?" Suddenly she took note of Elena's gaze, and saw what she was staring at. "It's the crow!" she gasped, she bolted towards it and out of Elena's sight into the thickening fog.

"Sophie!" She yelled. "Shit," she muttered to herself, running after her. She couldn't help but seeing, or imagining, Elena corrected herself, a dark figure amid the mist.

It wasn't a few seconds before she heard a squeak "ouch", sending Elena in the direction of the voice, and throwing the suspicions of the figure out of her head. It was Sophie on the ground, clutching her ripped jeans revealing a small cut on her knee.

"Oops," Sophie said, clearly not affected by her new injury. "Did you see it Elena? The bird? That was my friend!" she asked as Elena hoisted Sophie up from the ground. Before Elena could react, she realized she was face to face with Stefan Salvatore.

"Umm... Hi," She said, smiling awkwardly.

"Hi," He said back, offering back a crooked smile.

"Who are you?" Said Sophie blatantly, pulling herself out of Elena's grasp.

"Were you... Were you following us?" Elena asked breathlessly, ignoring Sophie's question.

"Oh, I just saw your sister fall," he said.

"And you just happened to be hanging out in a cemetery?" Elena asked a little more harsh than necessary.

"I'm visiting, I have... family here," he replied.

I'm such an idiot. Elena blushed in embarrassment. "Wow, I'm sorry, it's the fog, making me foggy,and back there there was a bird-"

"MY bird," Sophie interrupted.

Elena disregarded her sister's nonsense. "It was all very Hitchcock, that is the bird movie right?" She babbled, fiddling with words in front of the charming boy. Stefan simply stood there, muffling his laughter at her ramble.

"Wow, Elena, look at his ring, isn't if funny looking?" Sophie didn't hesitate a moment in grabbing the stranger's hand to take a closer look at it.

Stefan smiled, bending down to meet Sophie's eye. "It's a family ring, kind of stuck with it." His face slowly turned into one of confusion when he noticed the blood soaking the girls' pants, "Did you hurt yourself?" He asked Sophie.

"Oh my god, Sophie!" Said Elena as she looked at her leg, which was now bleeding much more.

"You should go take care of that," said Stefan, turning away as Elena searched for a band-aide from her purse.

"Elena he's gone!" Said Sophie, as they both looked up, "He vanished! Like magic!" Elena admitted it was odd, but brushed off her sister's comment and laughed.

"Come on Soph, let's get you home and get this cleaned," She said as she grabbed Sophie's hand, a little shaken by the whole incident.

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the grill," Elena said as she hastily grabbed her things on the way out of the house.

"Wait, I got this," said Jenna, stepping in front of the door, "Don't stay out late."

"Yeah! It's a school night Missy!" interjected Sophie, who was eavesdropping from the living room.

"Aye, Aye Captain," responded Elena jokingly. She patted Jenna on the shoulder. "Good work,"

"Can't I come with you Lena, please please please!" Sophie begged as her tiny feet padded to them from the kitchen.

"No," said Elena and Jenna simultaneously. Elena planted a kiss on Sophie's pouted cheek then turned for the door. Just as she was about to walk out, she looked up, to see Stefan Salvatore, again.

"Oh," Said Elena, very much surprised at her visiter.

"Hi again, I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier, I know it was kinda... strange," He said.

From the living room, Sophie yelled excitedly, "Is someone here?"

"No," yelled Elena hastily. Elena brought her attention back to Stefan, "No worries, I get it. Blood makes you squeamish," she said.

He laughed, nodding, "Something like that."

"Someone IS here!" Yelled Sophie, her voice getting closer.

"Here we go..." Elena sighed. Right on cue, the pitter patter of Sophie's feet was heard, and a moment later she was standing in front of the door.

"Hi! I remember you! Do you remember me? I saw you at the cemetery, and then I fell and then I was hurt and then you were there and then you were all like hi Elena and I waslikewhat'syournameandyoudidn'tasnwer-"

"Sophie!" Interjected Elena, "Slow down a bit."

"It's okay," Stefan smiled. "I'm Stefan," he explained, holding out his big hand to shake it with her small one. "How's your leg?" He asked concerned.

"It's all better!" She said happily.

"How did you know where I live?" asked Elena suddenly.

"Where WE live," corrected Sophie. Elena rolled her eyes and ignored her.

"Oh, you know, small town, I asked the first person I saw," Stefan said. "I thought you might want this back," he handed Elena her green journal, and then to Sophie, "And I found this as well," as he handed her, her notebook.

"My book!" She squealed, quickly retrieving it from his grasp. She pulled it close to her chest.

"We must've dropped them," said Elena as she set her journal down on the bench next to her.

"I didn't look inside... Either of them," he said, eyeing Sophie who was giving him a suspicious look.

"You didn't? Most people would've," said Elena.

"Well I wouldn't want anyone reading mine," he admitted.

"Wow you keep a journal too? You and Elena have so much in common. She writes in hers all the time," said Sophie giddily. Elena sent a discreet shove at Sophie's shoulder.

"You don't have to stay out there," said Elena as she retreated back into the house to put her journal away.

Stefan remained outside, unable to enter; all the while Sophie just stood staring at Stefan with a small devilish smirk on her face that Stefan couldn't decide if it was cute or creepy.

The wheels in Sophie's head were already turning, and she liked the Stefan boy, and she liked Elena, so it was time to put a plan into action to bring them together, or at least send some subtle hints. Elena returned, giving them both a curious look.

"Sorry, were you going somewhere?" Stefan asked.

Before Elena could answer Sophie interjected "Yes, she is, she's going to see her friends at the grill and you should go with her and eat food... and do stuff," said Sophie.

"You know what Sophie? I think it's time you went to bed," Elena said giving Sophie a death glare, stepping outside, and shutting the door. Elena could hear an audible "humph" as she stormed upstairs to her bedroom. Elena couldn't stay frustrated for long, Sophie was so cute when she's "angry". "Do you want to come?" Elena asked Stefan.

Stefan responded with small smile.

Damon's hand raked through his hair as he downed another scotch, he should have known returning to Mystic Falls would cause him nothing but grief. He cursed his cockiness, as soon as he heard of Elena, he had to come, and he had to ruin Stefan's chance of being happy.

He had spent the last few months scoping out her house, only in his form as a crow, because he knew Stefan was keeping tabs on Elena as well. How strange, he mused, that two brothers were both simultaneously stalking the same house while its inhabitants lived their lives unknowing that they had not one, but two stalkers watching their every move.

But what Damon had truly never expected, was to find himself attached to a human, a child nonetheless! Sophie was her name, and she was a regular girl, perhaps even the kind of girl Damon would scoff at had he passed her by on the streets, with her excited rants of her favorite children's movies and the latest drama going on in the kindergarten. He smiled crookedly, thinking of her endearing vivaciousness.

It had been the first night that Damon had found Elena's house, and he was attempting to catch a glimpse of that mischievous face he had once known so well in Katherine. But what he found instead, accidentally, was a girl, restlessly lying in bed, and with a splotchy face that gave him the impression that she had been crying.

He watched her closed eyes twitch in distress, and after curiously watching for a moment, they flickered open. She silently gazed about her room for a moment until her eyes met his outside. Damon admitted he was being foolish, he knew birds don't keep eye contact with humans for substantial periods of time, but her eyes suggested certain loneliness, and even for a split second, a sense of understanding. He couldn't look away, and on a sudden impulse, held her stare.

She slowly swung her legs off her rumpled bed, and took a tentative step towards the window. And the look of true loneliness and anguish broke Damon's heart, and he thought, maybe, just for a moment, he could comfort the girl, and indulge her with a bit of magic, or so she would think.

It's ok. Damon thought towards her. Her eyes widened and she took a sudden step back. As he looked into those big brown eyes, mesmerized and incredulous, he knew he was a goner.

After Damon had his brief encounter with Sophie, he had finally found Elena. And he had to stop himself from entering through her window to run his fingers through her hair. The love of his life, it could be so easy to pretend. Katherine, his mind sighed. As he once again took his human form, he couldn't help but allow his lips to be pulled into a devious smile, he was definitely going to have some fun in this town.

Ever since that first night he had paid a visit to Elena, and gave into his sympathies for the little girl, who after the first few nights, began believing she had a new "crow friend". Damon had to admit, he found her antics amusing, every once in a while he would drop in for a morning to see Elena, and overhear the nonsensical ramblings of Sophie, nonsensical yes, but false, no. Her family merely thought it an elaborate fantasy, or a reoccurring dream.

Of course Stefan had to ruin the fun, as always, and he knew things would get complicated, with Elena he didn't mind, that was all good and fun, but lately he had been feeling more... attached... to Sophie, and he knew Stefan would disapprove if he found out. But as creepy as it sounded, even to himself, it felt comforting to have such a simple relationship, with a human girl. The biggest drama in her life was when Henry took her Oreos during lunch.

She was growing attached to him as well, and he smiled thinking about it. Damon had given into his urges the previous night before and fed a couple that was driving through Mystic Falls, leaving another "animal attack", and after realizing he had missed his nightly chat with Sophie, visited her the following morning, and had a rather one sided conversation with her about the history of her stuffed animal fish she had received from her late parents during their trip from the previous summer.

You're going soft Damon, he scolded. Yes, he was enjoying seeing Sophie, but that was merely a little hiccup in the plan, he was having his fun with Elena, and he needed to flip the switch on his humanity, it needed to be completely off. So with that, he finished off his bottle of booze, and decided it was time to have a little fun at the party that Elena was attending.

Bonnie had been enjoying Tyler's party with Elena, and they continued to joke about Bonnie's supposed "psychic" powers that she had been going on and on about lately.

"Here's your crystal ball," teased Elena as she handed her a beer. Their hands touched for a brief moment, and Bonnie gave Elena look of complete incredulity.

"What?" Asked Elena.

"That was weird, when I touched you... I saw a crow,"

"Oh not you too. This isn't a joke is it?" Elena asked, beginning to wonder if Jeremy had let Bonnie in on the crow fiasco going on in their household.

"A crow, and fog... and a man," Elena couldn't help but gawk at Bonnie. "I'm drunk!" Said Bonnie, "It's the drinking, it's probably nothing, nothing psychic about it," she assured her. "I'm going to get a drink," and with that Bonnie quickly left Elena shocked and alone.

"Hi," Stefan Salvatore said, seemingly out of nowhere. And in that moment, Elena decided to ignore what had just happened with Bonnie, and the creepiness, both coincidence of Sophie's imaginary friend, and the occurrence in the cemetery yesterday. Elena deserved to have some fun, and spend some time with Stefan.

"Hi," She replied sweetly, taking a step closer to him.

It seemed like they had been talking for hours, albeit with a few interruptions from Matt and Caroline, when Elena spotted Jeremy.

"God, you've got to be kidding me," Elena moaned, glaring at the boy.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, following her gaze.

"My brother, he shouldn't be here," she said.

"The drunk one?"

"That would be the one, excuse me," she said following Jeremy off into the woods leaving Stefan alone.

"Jeremy? Where the hell are you going? And why are you here? You're supposed to be helping Aunt Jenna watch Sophie! You know she's having a hard time adjusting!" She yelled.

And that was when they discovered Vicky Donovan's body.