Author's Note: Hmm...My second fanfic. AU AH this time. I have mixed feelings about this one. Frankly, I like this story better than the other one. Mainly because it's not canon till a point. I haven't been able to update that one because rumours of Damon's death in 4x14 depressed me into writer's block. The second chapter's done, but I don't like it. Might take a while. Anyway, presenting...That Burning Feeling!
"Time's up!" Mr Dane's loud voice rang out.
Oh, thank goodness! Elena Gilbert scrawled her name on her test lazily. She heard a few of her classmates groan in disappointment. Frankly, she was bored out of her mind in her French AP class. She had always had a flair for languages, and the semester she had spent in Paris was an added boost to her French skills. She could ace them without even trying most of the time.
Her mother was half French too, so that helped her accent a lot. Now that her parents were gone though, things were a little harder to handle. She was grateful for school. A nice distraction from the harsh reality she had to face every morning. She still had nightmares sometimes. Now, though, she was just filled with ennui.
Relieved by the sound of the bell, Elena quickly got up and rushed out of class. Her best friends Bonnie and Caroline would be waiting for her near the lockers. Bonnie had been her best friend since kindergarten and Caroline had made her way into their group just last year. Now that she was in AP classes, she never got to see them anymore. Lunch breaks were precious half-hours meant for catching up.
She smiled as her friends came into view. Caroline was tall and pretty with blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was always smiling and it was good for Elena to be around positive energy. Caroline was also one of the more popular girls in school. That meant she always had gossip and important news. Bonnie was a little shorter than Elena, but just as pretty as Caroline with her dark hair and deep brown eyes. She was the cynic in their group. Without her, Elena and Caroline would probably be lost to reality. Bonnie kept them grounded. They both looked excited about something today and she couldn't wait to see what.
"Elena! Elena!" Caroline squealed happily running forward to hug her friend. Her blonde curls bounced as she jumped up and down wildly. Bonnie was more subdued, as usual. She smiled at Elena warmly.
"Hey, you guys," Elena smiled back at both of them. It seemed like a long time since she had last seen them. She was always busy now and while it was good sometimes, other times it could be lonely.
"Elena, you'll never guess who just joined the school!" Bonnie giggled and jumped in the air. Now that was strange. Typical Caroline behaviour, but for Bonnie to act like that…
"Who could get you guys so excited?" Elena asked, confused now. "Some sort of celebrity?"
"No! No!" Caroline could barely contain herself now. "His name is Damon Salvatore and he's totally hot!" Elena smiled. If there was anything that could get both Bonnie and Caroline excited, it was a hot guy. In a small town like Mystic Falls, a sweet, handsome guy was a difficult thing to find. This was definitely a good thing.
"Wait…" Elena frowned as something strange hit her. "Damon…Salvatore? As in Stefan Salvatore's brother?"
For the past 3 years, Elena had been in an on-again off-again relationship with Stefan Salvatore. He was 17, one year younger than Elena, but very sweet and cute. He had the most perfect smile and he was very friendly. The problem was that he could be a little controlling and he tagged along wherever they went. It got a little tiresome. Elena needed privacy and alone-time occasionally. He didn't seem to get that. She had just broken it off with him last week. At first, he was devastated, but then even he admitted it was pointless keeping up the charade.
"Yes, the one and only," Bonnie rolled her eyes. She had never liked Stefan much, and if his descriptions of his brother were anything to go by, she wouldn't like him either. For an open guy, Stefan clammed up a lot when she asked about his family. Elena had learned a long time ago to leave that topic alone, although she still wasn't sure why.
"Oh," Elena said, not sure what was expected of her. Should she be happy? Disappointed?
"I've checked his schedule; he's in all your classes. You two are meant. to. be!" Caroline went on, still lost in her own world.
"Wait, what?" All her AP classes? Stefan had never mentioned that Damon was smart. Or still in school.
"Yep, is that exciting or what?" Bonnie shrugged indifferently. She didn't get what all the drama was about, but the pleasant atmosphere was definitely a refreshing change from the regular monotony of school. Elena had totally killed the excitement, though, so she would enjoy the happy moment for a little while longer.
"I mean, don't get me wrong," Caroline babbled happily. "Stefan's great and all, but he doesn't seem right for you. This guy though, you should check him out. God, he's amazing! And if you don't want him, I'll take him!" Again, typical Caroline.
Back at home, Elena pondered over what her friends had told her. Damon Salvatore was going to be in their school. In her classes.
In the early stages of her relationship with Stefan, she had been curious about his family. Unlike most other people his age, he lived alone. He explained that his mother had died when he was just five years old and his father had sent a nanny to take care of him and his brother. When Damon was older, he got a job and moved to New York to continue his education.
According to newspaper reports, that wasn't all he had done there. He had become notorious for being quite the player and he was often said to be a serious drinker. Child prodigy that he was, he already had shares in three successful businesses. He would be a multimillionaire by the time he hit 20. Elena had never imagined that he was so close to her age. And Stefan had never shown her any pictures of her brother.
Would things be awkward? They probably would, because the break-up had been quite messy at first. She didn't know how much Stefan told his brother. And she didn't know what he was like.
She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of a doorbell.
"Elena, can you get that?" Her brother Jeremy was obviously transfixed by a video game. Typical. Jeremy was always glued to the TV now. He had to find a girl, soon. Secretly, she always thought he had a crush on Bonnie. Bonnie didn't seem to reciprocate though, so she had left that alone. She rolled her eyes at his engrossment and walked downstairs to open the door. It was Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mother.
"Oh, hello Elena!" Her smile wavered a bit. "Is your aunt Jenna here?"
"I'm sorry, Jenna's out at the moment." Sheriff Forbes still considered Elena a child. Ever since Elena's parents had died in a car accident, she had begun to think of Elena as a bad influence on Caroline. When they had died, Elena had become clinically depressed and sullen. Now, of course, she was recovering, but Sheriff Forbes didn't see that.
"Alright then. Sorry to bother you. I'll come back later."
"Wait! Sheriff Forbes, what is this about?"
"Elena…" The older woman sighed impatiently.
"Please tell me. I'm not sure when Jenna will be back, but I do have a contact number."
Her aunt Jenna was a freelance writer at first, but now she had taken up a teaching job at a university in the next town. She was a little scatterbrained, which meant she usually forgot to call. Still, Jenna had been their rock ever since their parents had died. She treated Elena and Jeremy like her own children. Elena felt like it was her duty to report to Jenna if there was anything important.
"Very well then. I'm sure you've heard that Damon Salvatore will be joining your school tomorrow?" Elena nodded. What was this about? This was the second time she had heard his name today.
"It seems there is some bad blood between the brothers, as Damon has decided to take up residence as your neighbour. Now," she lowered her voice. "Because of his…history, I just wanted to tell you to call if there are any disturbances."
"Will do." Elena smiled and closed the door, sighing in relief. Talking to Liz Forbes was always exhausting and she had a lot of homework to do. Math was going to take an hour; English Lit would be another hour. Still, it was worth it if it meant she was eligible for a scholarship to Stanford University. Stanford had been her dream ever since she was 10 years old. Now she had a chance to make that dream a reality.
The next morning, she awoke to the sound of another doorbell. Jenna was home. Elena couldn't wait to tell her about the recent developments in her usually monotonous life. In her opinion, it was nothing out of the ordinary, but everybody was acting so strange, she needed an explanation.
"Jenna!" she smiled and hugged her aunt. Jenna was closer to her age than anyone else in her family. She had no close relatives and no cousins. That was why she could trust Jenna to be honest with her more than anyone else.
"Hey, Elena. Anything happen while I was gone?" she asked.
This was her opportunity. "No, nothing interesting. Hey, what do you know about Damon Salvatore?"
"Damon Salvatore?" Jenna frowned. "That's something you don't want to get mixed up in."
"Jenna, he's joining my school. And everybody's reacting in strange ways. Sheriff Forbes felt the need to come check up on us while you were gone. He's going to be our neighbour. Please tell me what's going on…Is he really that bad?"
Jenna sighed and slumped down onto the couch. "I never thought I'd see the day…Me telling my niece about Damon Salvatore of all the people on the planet. Hmm. Anyway. Damon Salvatore is Stefan's brother. A long time ago, he used to live here in Mystic Falls. At the Boarding House with Stefan. When you were 5 years old and he was 6, he used to come over to play. Even back then he was a looker. I seem to recall you falling for his beautiful blue eyes."
Elena blushed and sat down next to her. Luckily, Jenna didn't seem to notice. If she had, she would be in for some incessant teasing. She let Jenna continue, "Very intelligent kid. Then, when he was 16, there was some funny business about his girlfriend and Stefan. So he left. Must have really affected him, because he was never the same after that…"
"What happened?" Elena asked, leaning forward to listen to the rest.
"Nobody really knows for sure. He was so friendly and then one day he just…snapped. He became vindictive, manipulative. He did some stuff I don't feel comfortable talking about while you're still 18. I mean, you're going to be in his class. I don't want you to look at him in fear. Scratch that, I don't want you looking at him at all. And I swear everything you hear and read is true. But please don't spread that around school."
"Wow." Wow indeed. She had not expected this.
"Yeah. It's terrible. Anyway, to answer your question, no, he isn't all that bad. But I'd rather you keep your distance. Just in case." Jenna smiled weakly. "But forget all of that for now. We're just going to eat breakfast and then you have to go to school, okay?" Elena nodded at this and went up to her room.
Normally, Elena loved her room. It was the one place in the world that was truly hers. Only hers. She would usually sit on the window seat and write in her diary right before joining her aunt for breakfast. Today though, she couldn't seem to put anything on paper. Elena couldn't help but wonder. Who was Damon Salvatore?
No Delena yet, but it's coming. It's definitely coming, hopefully we'll have some interaction by chapter...10? No, just kidding. We'll see some Delena interaction in the next chapter. And this fic doesn't have as long a wait time as this other one. I'll update this every two weeks. Please review if you can. Or stalk it :)