Prologue:
My name is Hope Meyers. I have a secret that no one knows, that no one can know. I can change into any animal I want. I am a shape-shifter.
Chapter 1: Hope and Dreams:
THIRD PERSON POV
Elena Gilbert walked down the steps and walked into the kitchen and saw her Aunt Jenna.
"Toast, I can make toast." Jenna said.
"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna" Elena responded to her.
"Is there coffee" Jeremy Gilbert asks taking the cup from Elena.
Jenna says "First day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch Money?"
"I'm good," Elena says while Jeremy takes the money.
Hope's POV
I walked through the front doors to my new school, Mystic Falls High School. I had never been much for introductions so I went straight to the Admin Office to register.
I walked into the office to see the back of a brown leather jacket and spiked dirty blonde hair. I caught his scent instantly. "Vampire, great." I thought to myself.
I hear the admin secretary speak "Your records are incomplete. You're missing immunization records, and we do insist on transcripts."
"Please look again, I'm sure everything you need is there." He says.
"Well, you're right. So it is." She agrees.
"Wow, compulsion on the first day." I said very quietly to myself, hoping he wouldn't hear.
He turned around and saw me "What did you say?" He asked me accusingly.
"Nothing" I responded hoping he didn't see through my fake confused look.
"Yes, you did." He said.
"Well looks like that didn't work ." I thought to myself.
"Hi, I'm Hope, how about you and I talk later." I said to him.
Hell, why couldn't we be friends.
"Fine, but I expect the truth. I'm Stefan, by the way." He says.
"We'll talk at lunch tomorrow, Stefan." I said.
Finally I walked over to the admin secretary and was able to register with no problems.
I went to my first period History Class and noticed that Stefan was also in the class. I took the seat right next to him.
The teacher, Mr. Tanner starts talking about Virginia in the Civil War. "Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union."
I see the girl sitting in front of me look at Stefan, he looks back at her. She reaches for her phone and I see that the message says, HAWT-E. STARING U. I see it's from Bonnie. Whoever that was.
THIRD PERSON POV
Elena is writing in her diary by her parents grave.
"Dear diary, I made it through the day. I must have said. "I'm fine, thanks," at least thirty-seven times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks, "How are you?" They really don't want an answer.." She writes.
She looks up and sees a crow on her parents tombstone.
"Okay. Hi, bird."
Bird crows at her.
"That's not creepy or anything. Shoo!"
The bird flies off.
"That's what I thought."
The crow comes back as fog starts to cover the cemetery. Elena sees a man standing behind the tomb and turns and runs.
"Ahh!" She screams.
She trips and falls after she leaves the cemetery. She gets up and sees Stefan.
"You okay?" Stefan asks her.
"Were you following me?" She questions.
"No, I-uh, I..just, I saw you fall." He says.
Elena doesn't believe him. "Uh-huh, and you just happen to be hanging out in a cemetery."
"I'm visiting, I have family here." He explains.
"Oh. Wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog, It's making me foggy. And then back there, there was this – this bird, and it was all very Hitchcock for a second. That is the bird movie, right, Hitchcock?...I'm Elena." She introduces herself.
"I'm Stefan." He says.
"I know. We have History together." She says.
"And English and French." He adds.
"Right." She admits.
Stefan pulls a leaf out of Elena's hair. She notices Stefan's ring.
"Thanks...Nice ring." She says.
"Oh. Um, It's a family ring, yeah. I'm kinda stuck with it. It's weird, huh?" He says.
"No, no. It's just, I mean, there are rings and then there's that." She explains.
Stefan smells something.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He asks.
"Hmm?" Elena doesn't hear him.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He repeats.
"Oh,uh, I don't know." She checks.
She sees a cut gushing blood.
"Oh! Would you look at that. That is not pretty." Elena said almost sarcastically.
Veins grow closer to Stefan's eyes. He turns around.
"Are you okay?" Elena asks.
Stefan's eyes start to change to a deep red, Blood Red,
"You should go. Take care of that." Stefan hopes Elena will leave.
"Really, it's nothing." Elena says.
Elena turns around, but Stefan has disappeared.
At the Salvatore Boarding House Stefan is writing in his diary.
"I lost control today. Everything I've kept buried inside came rushing to the surface. I'm simply not able to resist her."
Hope's POV
I never thought that I would want to be friends with a vampire, but Stefan just gives me this vibe that he is one of the good ones.
I decided that I couldn't wait to tell Stefan about me and how I know what he is. I got into my car and headed to the Salvatore Boarding House.
I pulled into the driveway and got out of my car. I walked up to the front door and pulled the doorbell. I waited a few moments and Stefan opened the door.
"Hope?" He asked confused.
"Yeah, sorry I just couldn't wait to talk to you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." I asked.
"No, please come in." He stepped aside.
"Thank You, I'm sure you have a lot of questions."
"You would be correct. How did you know about me?" He asked.
"Your scent." I said knowing that that wasn't good enough for him.
"My scent?" He asked. "What do you mean?"
"I'm a shape-shifter." I revealed.
"A what?" He asks looking confused.
"A shape-shifter. I can turn into any animal I want. I also have super-refined senses like, sight, smell, and hearing." I explained.
"I'm sorry, but how have I never heard of a shape-shifter before in my 161 years of existence?" He asks.
"Simple, I am the only one left." I tell him.
"I'm sorry, but I need proof." He says.
"I figured you would. I am going running tomorrow before school I could stop by around 5?" I ask.
"That would be great." He says smiling.
"Great, well I should be going. Bye!" I said.
"Yeah, I've got to head out too. Do you want my number?"He asks.
"That would be great. Call me if you ever want to hang out." I say appreciatively.
I leave and head back home.
THIRD PERSON POV
Stefan walks onto Elena's doorstep only to see it open just as he is about to knock.
"Oh!" Elena says shocked.
"Sorry, I was about to knock. I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was...strange." He says.
"No worries. I get it, blood makes you squeamish." She says.
"Um, something like that. How's your leg?" He asks.
"Oh, it's fine. Just a scratch, barely. How did you know where I lived?" She asks.
"It's a small town. I asked the first person I saw. Um, I thought you might want this back." Stefan hands her her diary.
"Oh, I must have dropped it. I,uh, thank you." She says
"Don't worry, I didn't...read it." He says.
"No? Why not? Most people would have." She asks.
"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine." He said.
\
"You keep a journal?" She asks.
"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important." Stefan says.
"Yeah. I'm just gonna...umm, you don't have to stay out there." She says.
Stefan tries to go in, but gets caught in the threshold. He hasn't been formally invited in.
"Sorry, were you going somewhere?" Stefan asks when he sees Elena walk back with a jacket.
"Yeah, I'm meeting a friend. Do you want to come?" She asks.
"Sure, Can I bring a friend?" He asks.
"Of course!" She says.
Hope's POV
I had just walked through my front door when I hear my phone ring.
I look at the caller ID and I see it is Stefan. I answer.
"Hey, What's Up?" I ask.
"I'm going to the Grill with Elena and her friends. Do you want to come?"
"Sure! I'd love to." I said.
I walked into the Mystic Grill and looked for Stefan. I saw him with Elena.
I walked over to them and sat in the empty seat next to Stefan.
"Hi, I'm Hope. Stefan's Friend." I said looking at Elena.
"I'm Elena. And this is Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt." She says pointing at the people as she names them..
"Hey everyone! It's so nice to finally meet you!" I said.
We all talked for a while.
"So, let's get to know each other." Caroline said.
"Were you guys born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline said.
"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young." Stefan said.
"I wasn't. I was born and raised in Washington State. Moved here last month, but stayed kinda of hidden until school started while I got to know the town." I said.
"Parents?" Bonnie asked.
"My parents passed away." Stefan said.
"Mine abandoned me when I was 2. I bounced around foster homes 'till I was 15, been on my own since then." I said.
"I'm so sorry both of you. That's terrible!" Elena said.
"Any siblings?" Elena added.
"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle." Stefan said.
"I last saw my brother about five years ago. I live alone now on Maple Street." I said.
"So, Stefan if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." Caroline said.
"It's a back to school thing at the falls." Bonnie said.
"Are you going?" Stefan asked directing his gaze to Elena.
"Of course she is." Bonnie said.
We all left a while after that. We had decided that we were all going.
THIRD PERSON POV
"You promised." Zach Salvatore told Stefan back at the boarding house.
Zach showed Stefan a newspaper article about an animal attack resulting in two deaths.
"This was an animal attack." Stefan said.
"Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control." Zach said disappointed.
"And I do. This wasn't me." Stefan said.
"Then who was it?" Zach said unconvinced.
"I don't know." Stefan said angrily.
"Please, Uncle Stefan. Mystic Falls is a different place now, It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember. And you being here, it's just going to stir things up." Zach said.
"It's not my intention." Stefan said trying to get Zach to believe him.
"Then what is? Why did you come back? After all this time, why now?" Zach questioned.
"I told you...Elena." Stefan said a slight smile growing on his face as he mentions her name.
Hope's POV
I woke up to a ringing alarm. I groaned as I saw the time: 4:30.
"Why the hell did I set the alarm so early?" I asked myself trying to think back to the previous day.
"Ahh." I said as I remembered. Stefan.
I got ready faster than I ever had and was in the car a moving by 4:40.
I pulled into the Salvatore driveway at exactly 5 o' clock.
I saw Stefan walk out the front door with a smile on his face.
"Hey!" I called out to him.
"Hello." He sped over to me shocking me a little bit.
"Let's head out." I said.
We went into the woods and I watched Stefan take down a squirrel.
"Well I won't be turning into any squirrels out here." I said laughing.
"You know you still haven't given me proof." He said.
"Fine." I said sternly.
I shifted into the first animal that came to my mind. A jaguar.
"Woah! I wasn't really expecting that!" He said.
I walked over to him and put my head down indicating that I wanted him to pet me.
He petted me and I purred loudly.
"Can you understand me?" He asked.
I nodded my head, then I shifted back.
"Believe me now?" I asked teasingly.
"Yes!" He asked with an astonished look on his face.
"Now we need to figure out a way for you to not kill me if I'm in the woods while you're hunting. I have a lot of extra energy and I have to run it off if I want to avoid going crazy." I said.
"Well, I guess you could text me whenever you are going to be in the woods and what you will shift into." He suggested.
"That should work." I said.
Later that morning everyone was in Mr. Tanner's History class.
"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Tanner asked Bonnie.
"Um...a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot." Bonnie said.
"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett. Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"Tanner took his shot at Matt.
"It's okay, , I'm cool with it." Matt said
"Hmm. Elena? Surely you could enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?" Tanner said to Elena.
"I'm sorry, I don't know" Elena said.
"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break." Tanner said harshly.
"There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians." Both Stefan and I said at the same time.
"That's correct. Mister...?" Tanner asked.
"Salvatore." Stefan said.
"Miss..?" Tanner asked me.
"Meyers." I said.
"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner said.
"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss." Stefan said.
"The founder's archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts." I said to Mr. Tanner.
I went home after school and decided I would go out and run for a bit before going to the party tonight. I texted Stefan telling him I was going out and would be a deer, then I left.
I went to the woods right outside the Salvatore house that way if I ran into trouble I would know where to go.
I shifted as soon as I reached the first tree. I felt so good to be able to finally run freely. I had planned on taking two laps around woods and then heading home to get ready for the party.
THIRD PERSON POV
"Just admit it, Elena." Bonnie says to Elena.
"Oh, okay, so he's a little pretty." Elena admits.
"He has that romance novel stare." Bonnie says.
Caroline walks up to Stefan.
"Hey! You made it!" Caroline says excitedly.
"I did." Stefan said.
"Well, let's get you a drink." Caroline says.
"I can't. I need to find Elena." He says.
"So where is he?" Bonnie asks Elena.
"I don't know. You tell me, you're the psychic one." Elena says.
"Right, I forgot. Okay, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate." Bonnie says.
"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Elena says looking for something.
Elena finds a beer bottle and tries to give it to Bonnie, but when Bonnie touches Elena's hand she stares blankly for a few seconds then abruptly pulls her hand back.
"What?" Elena asks looking concerned.
"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow." Bonnie explained.
"What?" Elena looks confused.
"A crow. There was fog, a man. I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." Bonnie says while she leaves.
"Bonnie?" Elena says,
She turns around and runs into Stefan.
"Hi." Stefan says.
"Hi." Elena says.
"I did it again." Stefan says,
"Yeah." She says.
"I'm sorry. You're upset about something." Stefan said.
"Oh, uh,no, it's just Bonnie. Is Hope here?" Elena asks.
"She texted me saying she would be here, but I haven't seen her." Stefan says.
"Do you want to go someplace quieter so we can talk?" Elena suggests.
They start walking across the bridge next to the party.
"You know you're kind of the talk of the town." Elena said.
"Am I?" Stefan asks amused.
"Look, there's Hope." Stefan tells Elena while pointing at Hope.
Hope's POV
I saw Stefan and waved at him. He waved back.
He gestured for me to come over to him and Elena.
I hurriedly walked over to them.
"Hey guys!" I said excitedly.
"Hey!" Elena says obviously happy to see me.
"Sorry, I'm late. I got caught up at home." I said.
"Why don't we ditch and head to my house?" Stefan suggests.
"Sure, I'm in." I say.
"I'm in to, let me just tell Jeremy I'm leaving." Elena says.
I decided I would go home first and then meet Stefan at his house. I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. Walking up the front porch I notice that I had left the lights on as I left earlier. I checked to see if I had remembered to lock the door.
It opened with ease.
"That's weird. I could of swore I locked it." I said to myself.
I walked inside cautiously and checked all the rooms.
I walked into the kitchen and saw a pan of boiling water on the stove.
"Thought I would make dinner for you." A woman's voice said.
I recognized the voice instantly and spun around to see my older sister.
"Zoey!, Where have you been?" I said.
I hadn't seen her in 3 months since she went to get married with her high school sweetheart.
"Dylan and I. We..broke up." She said trying to hold back tears.
I obviously wasn't her decision to end it.
"I'm so sorry. Come here." I said hugging her.
"Thanks for making dinner, but I'm not staying. I was going to meet some friends. Do you want to come with me?" I offered.
"I'd love to." She said.
We got into my old Ford Escape and started the 10 minute drive to the Salvatore House.
"So, how have you been?" Zoey asked me.
"Good, School is great and people are very accepting." I said.
"Great, but you know that's not what I meant." She said.
Other than Stefan, Zoey was the only one who knew about my abilities. In fact she was there the first time that I phased.
"It seems like it gets easier to control everyday." I said.
We pulled into the driveway, got out and knocked on the door. Stefan opened the door instantly.
"Hope! I was starting to get worried. I..-" I cut him off.
"Shut up, Stefan. I have someone I want you to meet." I said smiling.
"This is my sister Zoey." I said pulling Zoey into the doorway.
"I didn't know you had a sister." Elena said after everyone was introduced.
"She got married a few months ago. Moved to California. We kept in touch, but never saw each other."I explained to everyone.
Elena's phone rang. She looked down and sighed.
"Jeremy?" She said as she answered.
"Wait...WHAT?" Elena shouted.
"Okay I'll be right there. Bye, Jer." Elena said trying to hold back tears.
"Matt's sister, Vicki, was attacked tonight after we left." Stefan said.
"We have to go to my house." Elena said exasperated.
"Hope and Zoey? Would you take Elena home?" Stefan asked us.
"Yes." Zoey and I said at the same time.
"Why aren't you coming?" Elena asked Stefan.
"I will be there soon. I have something I need to take care of first." Stefan said.
Stefan's POV
I ran upstairs as fast as I could,
I went into the only room that I had not entered since I came home. I saw him.
"Damon." I scowled.
"Hello, brother." Damon smirked.