Elena collapsed onto her feather bed and watched as the dust danced in the sunlight pouring in from her window. Her mind wandered
back to the memory of the mysterious guy she met at school today, and the terribly awkward conversation she wished they never
had as he saw her storm from the boys bathroom, after scolding her angst-filled teenage brother. "Ugghhhh!" she muffled into her pillow
as she buried her face wanting to forget everything that happened today. She heard her door creak as her brother Jeremy peeked
into her room. "Are you okay?" he giggled. "No, do you think anyone will notice if I just lock myself in my room and never
go back to school?" she sighed. "Oh come on Elena, chill." Jeremy said as he rolled his eyes. "You know Jeremy, you act as
if you don't even care about everything we've gone through, do you even miss mom and dad? Maybe I should get into some of your stash to help CHILL my feelings!
I can't do this with you right now, I need fresh air." She threw on a black peacoat and grabbed her favourite worn-out leather boots as she flung open the door and
burst out into the crisp fall air. She had no destination in mind, she just kept power walking leaving her parents house
as far behind her as she could. It was autumn in her sleepy town of Mystic Falls, the sun was still warm but the cold wind promised
winter was well on it's way. By the time Elena clued in to her surroundings after being so buried in her own thoughts she
realized she was in front of an old eerily beautiful house that she had never seen before. She was taken aback by the beautiful rich
dark wood of the house and the giant oak tree in it's bright red autumn coat. "CAAAAW!" Elena jumped as a crow flew right over her
head. It perched itself in the bright red leaves of the oak tree and turned to stare right into Elena's big brown eyes, she felt unease in the pit of her stomach and quickly looked away.
"Jeeze, hi bird." she whispered as she fixed her long brown hair. The crow leapt off it's perch and glided onto the front doorstep of the old house.
She wasn't sure where she got the courage from but she followed the crow closer to the front door gnawing on her bottom lip and ignoring the thoughts in her head whispering
"go back." As she got closer she realized that the front door was slightly open, she looked back scanning
for anyone who might see and quickly slipped her body in through the front door. The smell of the house was similar to an old church,
it comforted Elena and reminded her of her parents taking her to mass every Sunday. Her eyes were struggling to take everything in, this house was huge.
She found herself in the luxurious living room with a roaring fire place directly in front of her. She felt herself smile as feelings of comfort and familiarity rushed
through her. For some reason she felt as if she had been here before, deja-vu as she admired a glass case with old model cars covered in dust parked inside.
"You must be Elena." said a deep voice behind her.
Elena whirled around to meet hauntingly ice blue eyes of one of the most handsome men she had ever laid eyes on. Her voice caught
in her throat but she managed to say "Y-Yes, I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert."
His eyes narrowed almost piercing into her as he smirked and said "I'm Damon, Damon Salvatore." A shockwave rushed through Elena as she thought back to the tall mysterious guy she met at school earlier that day. Wasn't his name Salvatore? Elena suddenly realized her face was turning bright red and managed to say "Um, I'm so sorry, I'm not sure what made me come in here. I know this is so wrong it's just there was this crow-" Damon looked at her intensely but began to laugh , then put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close to him, it made every nerve in Elena's body scream at herand butterflies coursed through her stomach. He made her feel so on edge and she wasn't sure if she liked it. "It's my pleasure Elena, the house must have.. spoken to you." He smirked again as if he knew something she didn't. "This is an old house, in an even older town. You never know what kind of things might go bump in the night." his eyes widened. He almost seemed to be studying her as Elena looked away and gazed out the old Victorian looking windows, the sky was turning purple and pink and she realized dusk was setting in. She could feel his cold blue eyes on her and her heart began to race. "I should be going.." she said as turned towards the door. She gasped as she ran into Damon's strong chest. How the hell did he get to the front door before I did? She felt his finger firmly press her chin upwards until her eyes were locked with his. His blue eyes were scanning hers. He said softly "Get home safe Miss Gilbert, there's been reports of animal attacks lately. Like I said, things go bump in the night." There was a hint of sarcasm in Damon's voice, but his narrowed eyes were all serious. Adrenaline began to course through Elena's body as Damon's words soaked into her mind and she began running from the old boarding house. The night sky had turned from pretty shades of purple and pink to an ominous, starless black. Elena finally slowed down to a walk as she thought about what Damon said to her, she shook her head and softly laughed at herself. This is Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here. The fear she felt melted away as she could see Jeremy's bedroom light glowing in the distance, she quickened her pace eager to be safe at home again. As she started up her driveway she noticed a rustling sound in the neighbours tree, she could faintly make out the shadowy outline of a crow sitting atop a branch. It ruffled it's feathers and made an odd sound as Elena opened her front door and quickly shut it behind her, locking it. She sighed as she tore off her boots and made her way up the mahogany stair case. Elena peered in to Jeremy's bedroom and saw him engrossed in his sketch book bopping his head up and down to music blaring in from his camouflage headphones. She smiled to herself and softly shut his door. As she was changing into sweats and getting ready for bed, Elena began to dread the day at school that would be waiting for her the next day. A sinking feeling began to wash itself over her and she tried to think of any way to get out of going to school tomorrow. The last thing she wanted to deal with was Caroline's prying questions, Matt's longing stares, Jeremy getting high in the boys bathroom, at least she would have Bonnie.. right? Elena stiffened at the memory of the mystery hot guy she had an awkward conversation with earlier that day and she put her face in her hands laughing at herself. "Yeah as if he'll ever look at you again" she said to herself. Elena walked bare foot across the carpet towards her window and hoped to find the moon in the sky, it wasn't there. "Hmmmm.." she murmured softly. The sky is so dark and depressing tonight, probably a sign that tomorrow is going to suck. She locked her window and closed the blinds before making her way to her bed. She crawled in under her blankets and shut off her lamp. Reaching out she grabbed her favourite teddy bear and snuggled up to it as she closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. The last thing that crossed Elena's conscious mind were a pair of icy blue eyes.