I didn't change much from the last version of this chapter and everything is pretty much like the pilot except for some added scenes. I plan to change that soon though, even if the major events will still stay the same. Hope you like it!
Chapter 1
PILOT
"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, but battle on."
(J.K. Rowling - Albus Dumbledore - in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince')
August 2009
Dear Diary
It seems that history is really set to repeat itself when it comes to me. Why, otherwise am I forced to lose the people that I love over and over again? I had found my real parents from less than an year when I lost them again, in a stupid car accident of all things, a car accident where I was supposed to die too but of course I didn't, I'm still the girl-who-lived, always.
Am I cursed? Because I'm starting to think this is the only possible explanation for what has been happening to me since I was born.
But I can't linger on these thoughts; it would be too selfish of me to continue drowning in grief when there are still people here that need me to be strong for them.
September 2009
Dear Diary
I'm starting junior year today, first day of a new year. I wish I had more time to come to terms with my parents death, even if I don't think all the time in the world would be enough to accept it. However I know it's time to face the real world once again, willing or not. I'm not ready, I don't think I will ever be, the pain is still too fresh, but I have to try to go back to normal, even if it seems like an impossible task right now, if not for me, at least for the family that I still have left. I have to try to get better for them. They are already hurting, they don't need my pain and my guilt to weight on them as well. They don't deserve it. And I have to try to help Jeremy as well because I fear that If I don't, he's going to destroy himself and I can't let that happen, I couldn't forgive myself If I let it happen.
That's why I decided that the only way for me to move on, or at least, try to, is by going back to the person I was before, the person everyone knew before. Maybe by pretending to be back to normal, I'll be able to return to normal for real. You never know, right?
Amanda finished the last sentence and then closed her diary, a long sigh escaping her parted lips. She was sitting on the windowsill, staring outside, her long legs gathered in front of her chest, her diary resting on her knees. Pouring her thoughts on paper always helped her clear her mind and today was not an exception. She stood up from the windowsill she was sitting on and reached her dresser. There was a mirror above it, full of pictures in all its surface and her gaze was immediately attracted to it. There were photos of her and Jeremy together with their parents, smiling widely at the camera and hugging each other, all taken during the last year when they had finally found each other again.
She wondered if she would ever be able to smile like that ever again, so carefree and full of life. It seemed a lifetime ago, when she had been so happy and hopeful that life was finally giving her back what had stolen from her, a family.
She shook her head and looked at her reflection instead. She was wearing her favorite long green halter-top and black skinny jeans that accentuated her slender and athletic figure to perfection. A pair of black ankle boots and a black leather jacket completed her outfit. The green of her top accentuated her emerald green eyes but not even all the make up in the world could entirely cover the purple shadows underneath them – clear sign of her lack of sleep lately – or her blank, almost lifeless gaze. She was pale, her usually perfect olive tone appearing almost sallow today. Her shiny dark brown hair were cascading down her shoulders and back in long curls, framing her face perfectly.
It was strange, how much she had changed since she had arrived in Mystic Falls. Before, when she had been at Hogwarts, she hadn't cared at all about her appearance, wearing Dudley's hand-me-downs even when she had money to buy herself new clothes, never wearing make-up, never doing anything for the mess that were her hair. It had simply seemed unimportant, compared to what she had to deal with on a daily basis, the threat on her life an ever-present thought on her mind.
But once she had become an high school student at Mystic Falls High, she had realized that there she was simply a girl, and a pretty one at that so why not try to enjoy the life of a normal teenager while she was at it?
In a matter of weeks – thanks to her new best friends Caroline and Bonnie – she had soon become the epitome of the popular high school student: she had joined the cheerleaders and she had even found herself a hot football player as a boyfriend. Soon, she had become a girl whose only concerns were boys, parties, friends and looks. Soon, every guy in school wanted her and every girl wanted to be her. And why not? She didn't have anything more dire to worry about than a math test or an English essay.
For the new Amanda – the girl she had become when she had found her parents - physical appearance would have been of the outmost importance, especially on the first day of school. She was the typical Queen Bee, the social butterfly, the one who didn't care much about school and rules in general, the one who never miss a party. Or at least it was like that until a few months ago, before the accident. Everything that was so important to her before the accident, now seemed so petty and stupid. But she had made an effort today none than less because she had swore to herself that morning that she would at least try to go back to normal. Maybe in time she would be able to return to be that girl again. She liked that girl, in spite of everything.
"Amy!" A voice from downstairs roused her from her thoughts. It was her Aunt Jenna. She shook her head and after having grasped her bag, she run down the stairs and found herself in the kitchen.
"Good morning Aunt Jenna" Jenna smiled at her in response.
"Morning honey. How about a toast? I can make toasts." She said a little frantic. She was more than a little nervous, always worrying that she wasn't a fit guardian for her and Jeremy. Amanda smiled a little; personally she thought Jenna had done an amazing job taking care of them. In all honesty, she had been her lifesaver, she didn't know what she would have done if Jenna wasn't here. She was young and she was still in college but she was doing all she could to be there for them, even knowing that no one could replace their parents.
"Coffee's fine, Aunt Jenna." Amanda answered amused, trying to reassure her.
"Hey Jer!" She said then, noticing her little brother appearing in the kitchen. Jeremy looked at her half a second then shook her head and decided she wasn't worth the effort. He poured himself a cup of coffee, ignoring everyone in the room. Amanda looked at him, both sad and hurt. Sometimes she thought Jeremy blamed her for their parents' death. And maybe he was right, maybe it was her fault, if she hadn't been so stupid and selfish that night…
"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" Aunt Jenna's frantic words brought her back to the present. Jeremy took the money from her hands without saying a word.
"I'm good Aunt Jenna, don't worry about it." Amanda answered while Jeremy took the money from Jenna without saying a word.
"Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?'" Amanda looked at her with a smirk and shook her head at her. "Don't you have a presentation or something today?"
"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at…now. Crap!" Jenna said, looking at her in alarm.
"Then what are you still doing here? Come on, shoo!" Amanda ordered her, gesturing with her hand for her to go. Jenna started to pick up all her things scattered on the table and then run out of the room at top speed. Amanda looked at her brother, shoulders hunched and hood lowered in front of his eyes. "You okay?" she asked worried.
Jeremy glared irritated at her and answered curtly "Don't start" before he too got out of the room without another word.
Amanda sighed but didn't try to stop him. She continued to sip her coffee, watching absentmindedly the news. It seemed that the previous night a couple had been killed by a wild animal, just outside Mystic Falls, near the woods. How weird. She had never heard of animal attacks in Mystic Falls before.
A horn from outside brought her out of her thoughts. Her friend Bonnie had arrived. She picked up her bag from the chair she had put it on before and then she was rushing outside. Bonnie Bennett, together with Caroline Forbes, had become her best friends since practically the moment she had arrived in Mystic Falls. They couldn't completely replace, of course, the place that Ron and Hermione occupied in her heart but she was really close to them, even if her friendship with Caroline wasn't always easy because of the rivalry that had formed between the two of them since the moment Amanda had started to become popular at school.
Bonnie was very pretty with a wonderful bronze skin color, hazel eyes and long black hair. She was wearing a light purple pullover with skinny jeans and converse with a black and purple scarf. She reached her side quickly and she was about to get inside the vehicle when she noticed a crow perched on a lamppost and it was staring right at her. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought this crow was an animagus. But no, it wasn't possible. She wasn't part of that world anymore. She shook her head, trying to shake that thought off her mind. It was just a crow and it was not staring at her. Finally she got inside the car and they began making their way to school, Bonnie on the driver seat.
"So, grams is telling me I'm a witch." Bonnie said from the seat next to her "Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands. . ." But Amanda wasn't really listening to her, staring vacantly out the window. "Amy? Back in the car…"
"What? I'm sorry Bonnie I wasn't listening. You were saying?"
"That I'm a witch now." Bonnie said with a too serious expression. It was obvious that she didn't believe for one minute what her grandmother had told her. Amanda froze for a second. Was it possible that Bonnie was a witch? She had never heard of a witch that didn't find out about her powers during her childhood. Bonnie was 17 and she had never before hinted at the fact that she had powers. On the other end, it was more plausible that her grandmother had simply had too much to drink and hers were just delusions.
"Right. Of course you are..." Amanda said with an ironic smile.
Bonnie was about to say something when right in that moment a big black bird collided with the windshield and for a moment she lost control of the car. "What was that? Oh my god, are you okay? Amanda?"
"Sure. I'm fine." Amanda said even with a fake smile. She was still too uncomfortable inside a moving a car. She couldn't help it.
"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere." Bonnie shook her head, confused.
"It wasn't your fault Bonnie. And really, no blood, no foul so don't worry about it." Amy responded with a careless shrug that was completely fake. She could have fooled anyone else maybe but Bonnie was her best friend. She knew her too well. To cheer her up, Bonnie said with her best 'seer' voice "With my new found witchy powers I predict that this year is going to be kick ass. All the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy."
Amanda looked at her with a smile, a real hopeful smile this time. She really hoped Bonnie was right.
The drive after that was pretty uneventful and in no time at all they arrived at school. Mystic Falls was a little town after all.
Once Bonnie had parked the car, they started making their way inside. "Major lack of male real estate. Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot — can I still say "tranny mess"?" Bonnie filled the silence while they were making their way towards their lockers.
"No way, nobody says that anymore." Amanda answered her, pretending to grimace before laughing.
"Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year." Bonnie exclaimed with fake seriousness. Amanda listened to the conversation amused, thinking that maybe going back to normal wouldn't be too difficult after all.
"So what we have first period?" Amanda asked Bonnie, with whom she shared most of her classes, while they were about to reach their lockers.
"History with Mr Tanner." She answered her with a slight scowl.
"Oh great. Perfect way to start a school year." She commented sarcastically. Bonnie immediately agreed with her. Mr Tanner was a real bastard. He took pleasure in tormenting his students and humiliating them. In her opinion, he was a much more arrogant and much less brave version of Professor Snape. He was a nightmare. Oh, and his favorite target? The Cheerleading squad.
Once having reached their lockets, they spotted a handsome blonde guy with baby blue eyes, standing in front of his locker, listening to music and with a miserable expression on his face. He was Matt, her ex-boyfriend. Amanda waved at him but Matt just looked at her for a second before going back to ignoring her. She sighed, she wasn't really expecting something different. They had been together since a month after she arrived in Mystic Falls and he had been the only guy she had ever had sex with. Last year being with him had been like a breath of fresh air. He was the kind of guy that you just wish for your first time: attentive, caring, gentle. He was exactly what she needed at the time. While at Hogwarts, she had never thought much about boys and relationships. She just couldn't because she was too busy fighting to survive to worry about these things that are so normal for other girls. So, when she came here, being with Matt was just what she needed to feel like a normal girl for once. But when her parents had died everything just changed for her. She stayed with him for a few more months after that but it just didn't seem to work anymore. She knew that Matt had been in love with her, he probably still was, and she did love him but she realized that she wasn't in love with him - she never really was - and it wasn't fair for either of them to keep stringing him along. So she had broken up with him. And now Matt had started acting like she didn't even exist. She didn't blame him of course, breaking up with him must have come out of nowhere for him but it still hurt.
"He can barely look at me. Do you think he hates me?" Amanda asked miserable.
"Nah, that's not hate. That's 'you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits.'" Bonnie answered with her usual irony. Amanda smiled half-heartedly at that, grateful to Bonnie for trying to make her feel better.
Their conversation was soon interrupted by Caroline. Caroline was beautiful, with shiny blonde hair, blue eyes and golden skin. And of course a perfect body to match. And yet she was strangely insecure and often jealous of her.
"Amy, Elena! Oh my God!" Their blonde best friend said with a dramatic tone. She then proceeded to hug her while keep commenting "How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you. How is she? Is she good?" She said, turning towards Bonnie.
"Hello? Caroline? I'm right here" Amanda waved her hand in front of her blonde friend's face, slightly irritated. "And anyway I'm fine. Back to normal and all"
"Really?"
"Yes. Good as new and all that."
"Oh, you poor thing." Caroline continued like Amanda hadn't talked. Then proceeded to hug her again for good measure.
"Caroline, you're strangling me." Amanda said awkwardly.
"Oh! Sorry! Okay, see you guys later?" She ran away, not waiting for an answer.
"Don't you dare..." Amanda said with laser eyes at Bonnie.
"I'm not going to say anything." Bonnie answered. Amanda shook her head and laughed.
Right in that moment a really handsome guy appeared directly in their line of vision. He was obviously new since neither of them had ever seen him before. He had light brown hair and a pale complexion. His eyes were obscured by a pair of Ray bans. He was wearing loose jeans and a black leather jacket that covered a hoodie. He entered the school office, probably to submit the entry forms.
"Hold up, who's this?" Bonnie asked interested.
"Never seen him before. Not that I can see much from here. Only his back." Amanda answered with a shrug, not able to keep the curiosity about the new comer completely out of her face.
"It's a hot back." Bonnie said in response. "Hum, I sense Seattle. And he plays the guitar." Bonnie continued, a mock look of concentration on her face. Amanda laughed at her antics before "Witchy powers activated, hum?"
"Yup." Bonnie answered with a smirk. She shook her head, amused by Bonnie's antics.
"Jeremy, good batch, man." They heard suddenly and at once they turned in the direction of the boys' bathroom. They noticed Jeremy going inside and Amanda decided that now was the ideal moment to talk to his brother. "I'll be right back." She said to Bonnie before following Jeremy inside the men's bathroom.
Once inside, she instantly noticed Jeremy putting eyewash in his eyes and understood at once that he was high. She shook her head saddened by her little brother's behavior lately.
"Stoned on the first day, hum? Great way to start to the new year, Jer. Great work" Her voice was too sarcastic even to her own ears but she couldn't help it.
"No, I'm not." Jeremy answered her petulantly.
"Come on, where is it? Don't you want to share?" She said a little spitefully before starting to check if he had anything inside his pockets but Jeremy moved away abruptly.
"Stop it. You need to chill yourself all right?"
"Chill myself? Are you for real?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?" Jeremy said, annoyed.
"You think I'm crazy now? You haven't seen anything yet" She couldn't stop her voice from appearing cruel but she was just so angry at his destructive behavior. "I'm done giving you passes Jeremy. You don't get to behave like this anymore. Do you think our parents would have wanted that? I know that you're still grieving but you can't keep going on like this. This is going to stop RIGHT NOW!" She finished fiercely. But it didn't seem to have any effect on Jeremy that just shook her off and said "I don't need this" before going out in a huff.
Amanda sighed, both frustrated and discomforted. She didn't know what to do to help her brother get better.
She got out of the bathroom herself and collided against a firm chest. She looked up and saw that it was the new boy. He wasn't wearing his sunglasses anymore so his face was completely visible now. He had hazel eyes, a strong jaw and perpetually knitted brows. Now that she was seeing him up close, she could definitely appreciate his attractive looks better.
"Uh, pardon me. Um. . .is this the men's room?" the guy asked, looking at her a little strangely.
"Yeah." She answered with a grimace. "Please don't ask!" She tried to pass but find herself in front of the new guy, that he had probably moved to make her pass. She laughed slightly at the situation and saw the new guy smiling back at her. At the end, after some other times that the same thing happened, she was finally able to pass. She headed towards class with a last backward glance towards him, now even more intrigued about the hot new guy.
When the bell rang, she made her way to history class and took place in her usual seat. Too soon for her tastes, Mr Tanner made her way inside the class. He took his favorite place in front of the desk and began yet another lecture about Mystic Falls' historical events. "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."
Suddenly, her phone vibrating distracted her from the lecture. It was from Bonnie: HAWT-E. STARING U, it said. Amanda decided to check then and in fact the new guy was staring right at her. She smiled, a little flattered by the attention.
As soon as school was over for the day, Amanda decided to make her way to the local cemetery, before joining Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill later. Right now she needed to visit her parents and spend some time alone with her thoughts. She kneeled in front of the tombstone, putting two red roses on the ground. 'To live in the hearts of those we love is never to die' was engraved upon it. She caressed the words slightly with her fingertips, her mind suddenly going to another cemetery, another town, another life. If she closed her eyes, she could almost feel the snow drenching her knees through the dress, the icy wind ruffling her hair, the snowflakes cascading down her form.
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" she whispered to herself. At the time she hadn't understood what that meant but now she did. Death was an enemy because it took away from you the people you love but if you kept on remembering those you lost, the loved ones stayed alive inside of you. So, somehow, death is conquered. Conquered though, never destroyed. She smiled sadly, gentle tears cascading down her cheeks. Though it turned out that Lily and James hadn't been her real parents, they still occupied a piece of her heart.
She retrieved her diary from her bag, the silent urge to write impossible to resist.
'Dear Diary' She wrote, her hand trembling slightly. 'I knew that today was going to be difficult but I hadn't realized how much. All those people asking me how I was, it made me want to scream. Instead, I just smiled and replied that I was okay because, what else was I supposed to do, right? Everyone expects me to be okay by now and who cares how I feel, right? I guess I should be used to this by now after all the people I lost, but it doesn't get easier. It actually became harder and I don't know how to handle it.'
She was interrupted in her written musings by a crow suddenly perched on her parents' tombstone. It was the same crow from that morning, Amanda was sure of that.
"Hi, bird! Now, go away!" She tried to chase it away with a hand but it didn't budge. "You're a stubborn little thing hum? Why are you following me?" She said aloud, realizing a moment later that she was talking to a bird. She shook her head then whispered "You're not an animagus, are you?" The crow kept gazing at her, unmoving. Then suddenly fog started to form around her, covering in little time the tombstones and the hard ground. She shivered, she hated the fog, it reminded her of the dementors, what used to be her worst fear.
"Okay, this is getting weird now." She commented aloud. She picked up her bag that she had put on the ground when she had kneeled and decided it was time to leave.
She didn't notice the dark figure standing behind a tomb, watching her every move. It was the shape of a tall man but everything about him was impossible to distinguish because of the fog.
She started to run when suddenly her foot got caught in a root and she tripped, falling hard on the ground. She started to get up, limping a little. "You okay?" she heard then from in front of her. She looked up directly in the face of the new guy. "Wow. You scared me. What are you doing here? Were you following me?" she asked a little suspicious.
"No, I, uh, I just — I saw you fall."
"Sure. And a cemetery is a normal place to hang. Nice place for sightseeing." She answered drily, not at all convinced by his words. Sure, he may be hot but that didn't make him trustworthy.
"I'm visiting. I have family here." New guy answered defensively.
Amanda winced at that, suddenly embarrassed at her paranoia. "Oops. Sorry. I'm a little…foot-in-the-mouth behavior today. Must be the fog. I don't like fog, in fact I hate it…and I'm rumbling. Sorry. I'm…I'm Amanda, Amanda Gilbert but everybody calls me Amy. Or you could call me 'bathroom girl' but that would be strange…" She apologized awkwardly, holding out her hand for him to shake.
"I'm Stefan." He introduced himself, an amused smile at the corner of his lips.
"Nice to meet you Stefan. I'm usually less of a spaz. Not my day, today. Anway, we have history together right?"
"And English and French." Stefan said with a little smile. "Right. Of course." She answered, surprised that he had remembered all the classes they shared together after only a day.
Stefan came closer to her and pulled a leaf out of her hair. Amanda smiled and thanked him. In that moment she noticed the big ring he had on his finger. It was made of silver and it had a blue stone embedded on it.
"Nice ring. Very…hum…big…" She said, a tone of curiosity in her voice.
"Oh. Um, It's a family ring, yeah. I'm kinda stuck with it. It's weird, huh?" Stefan answered a little uncomfortably, playing slightly with it.
"Well, it is kind of hard not to notice it but it's cool, in a nineteen century sort of way." Amanda joked lightly. She could easily believe it was a family heirloom and yet, she had the impression that it was more than that. She felt like there was more about Stefan that met the eye. He was something more than a new high school student and that made her slightly wary of him. Maybe she was exaggerating a little but it was a gut feeling and usually her instincts didn't betray her.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked out of the blue, making her jump slightly.
"What?" she asked, looking at him strangely.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He repeated, looking at her with a strange intensity that was more than a little frightening.
"Oh. Uhm… I don't know." Amanda decided to check, pulling up her pant leg and she noticed a deep cut on her knee, gushing blood. She hadn't even noticed. It stung a little but it was nothing compared to the pain she was used to.
"Oh, I didn't even noticed. How did you know?" She asked him, now even more suspicious.
Stefan turned his head around with a sudden movement. Amanda looked at him, now a little freaked out by his strange behavior.
"Everything okay?" She asked, trying to understand what had him so scared. Because the rigid posture he was assuming right now was pretty telling. He was scared…of what, she had no idea.
"You should go, take care of that." He said, still not looking at her, his tone of voice rigid and controlled.
"It's just a scratch." She looked at her leg one more time and then turned to look at him but he was gone. Disappeared into thin air.
"Okay. Weird." She said aloud to herself. Now she was certain. Stefan Salvatore was definitely hiding something.
She made her way to her car and drove home, her meeting with Stefan repeating itself in her mind. There was just something about him, she couldn't put her finger on. The way he had almost seemed scared when he had seen the blood on her leg? She knew, of course, that there were people who get sick at the sight of blood but usually they tend to faint or something, they don't suddenly disappear into thin air because of it. Maybe she was a little bit paranoid after what happened to her in the past but she couldn't help but find his behavior suspicious. She had to admit, if only to herself, that she wasn't very good at reading people – Snape being her gravest misjudgment in character – and that often in the past her prejudices against certain people didn't help her to see things clearly. She now realized that while she trusted blindly some people, others were seen by her in the worst way possible. Sirius for example. She loved him so much that for a long time, she couldn't see his many faults but now, in hindsight, she realized that while his love for her wasn't questionable, his actions were. Sirius had used her – probably without realizing it – to fill the void that the loss of his best friend left in him. And what about Remus? His inaction during his youth, while his friends tortured Snape in front of his very eyes, just for fun, should have made her realize how often his behavior was that of a coward, too afraid to lose his friends to stand up for what was right. And Dumbledore, the way he used her without a second thought to win the war… None of them were perfect in the least but she had been too blind by her love for them to see what was right in front of her. She had forgiven them a long time ago, but the facts remained. Her capacity to love unconditionally was what made her herself but it was also a double-edged sword. She had trusted too easily and because of that, a lot of people had died. It was because of that that she needed to tread carefully. Not jump to conclusions but also avoid trusting him too easily because he could be dangerous. Because there was one thing she was absolutely sure of: Stefan wasn't the ordinary new student he was trying to pass for.
She was so lost in her musings that she didn't realize she drove on autopilot and that she had been sitting in her car in front of her house for a good ten minutes. She made her way inside and called for Jenna and Jeremy. "I'm home!" Nobody answered though so she climbed up the stairs and entered her room. She decided to take a quick shower and changed her clothes, putting on a pair of blue jeans and a red halter-top to go with it plus her black leather jacket. A pair of black flats completed the outfit.
She was ready to meet Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill. She descended the stairs and warned Jenna of her plans for the evening.
"Ok, have fun. Wait, I got this. Don't stay out late, it's a school night." Jenna said half-seriously. Amanda laughed and mocked nodded. "Very parental-sounding, Aunt Jenna."
She opened the door, ready to go out but she stopped in her tracks when she found Stefan on the threshold, a sheepish expression on his face.
"Stefan!" Amanda exclaimed surprised, her tone questioning. He wasn't following her, was he? 'Don't jump to conclusions.' She repeated mentally to herself.
"Sorry, I was about to knock. I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was. . . strange." Stefan explained, broody expression firmly in place. Amanda smiled mentally. Would he kill him to smile every once in a while?
"Don't worry, I get it. Blood makes you squeamish." She said with her best cheerleader-peppy smile. Stefan frowned, his forehead suddenly crossed by deep lines.
"Um, something like that. How's your leg?" Amanda observed him intently, trying to gauge his expression. He wasn't lying exactly but she realized that what he was telling her wasn't the exact truth either.
"Oh it's fine. How did you know where I live?" She asked, half curious and half suspicious.
"It's a small town. I asked the first person I saw." She nodded, yeah that probably made sense.
"Um, I thought you might want this back." Stefan suddenly hands her her diary and Amanda was barely able to stifle a gasp, suddenly worried he had read it.
"I didn't even realized I lost it. Thank you" She grabbed it, embarrassed. Stefan probably noticed her expression because he said: "Don't worry. I didn't… read it." She looked at him, trying to figure out if he was lying but she couldn't read his expression. He was very good at masking his feelings.
"I believe you and all, but why didn't you? I mean, aren't you a little bit curious?" Amanda asked him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth.
"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine." Stefan exclaimed earnestly.
"You keep a journal?" she asked surprised. She didn't know many guys who kept diaries and most would be embarrassed to ever admit to something like this. Or they were named Tom Riddle and had hid a piece of their soul inside. Not that that had something to do with Stefan, at least, she hoped not.
"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it. Memories are too important." 'And sometimes all you want to do is forget about them…' she finished to herself but she didn't share the feeling out loud.
She suddenly noticed the time and realized she was already late for her meeting with her best friends. "Oh crap!" She cursed unintentionally.
"You were going somewhere?" Stefan asked, noticed her discomfort.
"Yeah, I'm meeting some friends." Then hesitating a little, she asked. "Do you want to come?" Suspicious or not, Stefan seemed like a nice guy, he was hot and he seemed interested in her so why not? He was a nice distraction.
Stefan nodded, smiling. 'He knows how to smile then…' Amanda thought with a grin.
They walked all the way to the Grill in silence and entered. She immediately noticed Bonnie talking to Matt, and Caroline sitting on a table not too far from them. Both Matt and Caroline's faces fell at the sight of her accompanied by Stefan. Caroline had obviously set her eyes on him and Matt was jealous and obviously still not over her. 'Great. This is really going to be an awkward evening. I'm not even sure if I'm interested in Stefan or not.'
She decided to go talk to Matt first and made her way towards him, Stefan following silently behind her.
"Hi, I'm Matt. Nice to meet you." Matt extended his hand towards Stefan, not the least bit sincere. Amanda mentally rolled her eyes. Guys and their macho acts.
"Hi. Stefan." Stefan introduced himself politely. "Hey." Amanda interjected, trying to diffuse the awkward tension. "Hey." Matt merely said in return. Soon after that Bonnie, Stefan and Amanda made their way to her sister's table and Caroline began to shoot Stefan question after question about his life before moving to Mystic Falls.
"So you were born in Mystic Falls?"
"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young." Stefan answered patiently.
"Parents?" Bonnie asked this time.
"My parents passed away." He answered toneless.
"I'm sorry." Amanda immediately said. She could definitely relate to him about that. "Any siblings?"
"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle." Amanda noticed immediately the rigid posture he had assumed at her question. It was pretty obvious that something really big had happened between Stefan and this sibling of his. Whatever it was, it must be something really bad for them to stop talking altogether.
"So Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." Caroline interjected, not so subtly asking Stefan out. "It's a back to school thing at the falls." Bonnie explained for Stefan's benefit. Stefan didn't even seem to notice Caroline's hint because he immediately asked "Are you going?" addressing her. Amanda wasn't exactly in the mood to party but she didn't have the time to refuse because Bonnie answered for her. "Of course she is." Bonnie said, looking at Amanda. Amanda rolled her eyes slightly but then smiled in defeat. "I guess I'll see you there". Who knew, it could be fun.
They spent a little more time talking but then they realized that it was getting late. They stood up for their chairs, intending to return home when she suddenly realized that Stefan was looking at her expectantly, probably hoping to escort her home. Amanda bit her lower lip, part of her wanting to be escorted back home by him and part of her wanting to run away. Her choice was made for her when she realized that she needed to do something she just couldn't postpone anymore.
"Listen, I need to talk to Matt. You should go. Maybe Caroline, you could give Stefan a lift. We walked here and since the boarding house it's pretty far from here, you could help him out." She knew she wasn't playing fair but she really needed to talk to Matt anyway so she wasn't exactly lying. Caroline didn't lose any time in basically dragging Stefan out of the room.
Bonnie too said goodbye to her and then she was finally alone; as far as one could be alone in a bar full of people anyway. Matt had just finished his shift so she made her way hesitantly towards him.
"Listen Matt" She started, once she was standing right in front of him. "Whatever you think it's going on between Stefan and I, well… I don't even know if I'm interested in him yet because I just met him. And I know that I don't actually have to explain anything to you because we're broken up but… I don't want to hurt you. But I don't want you to think that there is a possibility of us going back together either though, because there isn't." She faltered slightly at his hurt expression but she knew he needed to hear that. "I care about you a lot. You're one of the most important people in my life but I'm not in love with you. I'm sorry. And even if nothing will happen between Stefan and me, well it doesn't mean that I won't fall in love with someone else in the future and you need to accept it." She held back a sob, trying not cry but finding it difficult not to. She really wished she had fallen in love with him when they were together. He was such a sweet, unassuming guy, every girls' dream of a perfect boyfriend but the truth was that she had seen so much in her short life that she didn't think someone who was so good and so pure would ever really be able to understand her. Matt hadn't been touched by darkness the way that she had and no matter how much she tried to simply be a normal high school girl, she couldn't completely forget what she had been through in the past.
"You're an amazing guy Matt and you're going to find someone who's really worthy of you." She broke down and cried at the end of her speech and Matt, being Matt, even with a broken heart, reached down to her and hugged her.
"I will always love you Amy, you know that. But I understand. And I hope we can go back to be friends. I can't bear the thought of losing you."
Amanda laughed through her tears, relieved. "Of course you won't lose me. I can't stand that thought either. We were best friends Matt, a bond like that doesn't just go away." She hugged him fiercely, feeling safe and warm in his arms like she had always felt. After a last, goodbye kiss, they parted ways.
She crossed the bar and was just about to reach the door when she collided against a very strong chest. Said chest belong to a guy that was entering the Grill just that moment. Amanda fell hard on the ground and everything inside her bag ended up scattered on the floor. "Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing her back slightly.
"Everything okay?" the guy asked her, a worried tone in his voice. She raised her eyes, meeting the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen. The man she had clashed against was without a doubt the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes upon. More handsome than the charming, attractive Tom Riddle that she had met in her second year at Hogwarts - and how wrong was it that the most attractive man she had ever seen until now was also the younger version of her worst enemy? -. He had dark raven hair, slightly mussed, a pale complexion and a sexy smirk plastered on his luscious lips. His body too, for what she was able to see, was a work of art, encased in black jeans, black t-shirt and leather jacket. Everything about him screamed bad boy.
She realized that she was staring at him like an idiot so she picked herself up from the floor and regained some of her dignity. "Yes, thank you. I'm fine." She said with the most indifferent voice she could master. She then proceeded to collect her things. Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy decided to lend a hand and together they were able to recover everything that had ended up on the floor.
"Thank you." She said politely.
"Oh, my pleasure. I'm always available to help a beautiful girl out." He answered with a smirk. Amanda blushed slightly at the compliment and the guy's smirk widened.
"Well, hum… I should go now." She said, not too eager to leave but knowing she had to. "Bye." She then rushed outside, not waiting for a reply.
All the way home, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Only later, encased in the warm comforter of her bed, she realized that the beautiful guy had on his finger an identical ring to the one she had noticed Stefan wearing.
The next morning, Amanda was writing on her diary again. She had, like almost every night since last summer, relived the memory of her parents' car accident. It was still a mystery how she had been able to survive that night but it was her they were talking about, she was the-girl-who-lived, the one that always miraculously survive, why that time had to be different? Like always, other people had died in her place while she was always the one alive to tell the tale. She hated that. Really, really hated that. It was almost like she had to pay a price for being alive. And that price was the lives of the people she loved. It wasn't fair. Had she not paid enough?
She closed her tired eyes with a sigh – she had slept very little that night – and clashed her head slightly against the glass window. Why her life couldn't ever be normal? Why, every time her life seemed to go the right way, everything would just fall apart? She shook her head at those thoughts, now wasn't the time to feel sorry for herself. She had to go to school and she needed to move now or she would be late, not really a great way to start the semester since it was the second day and all.
All too soon she was seated in Tanner's class, the class she shared with Bonnie, Matt and new guy Stefan.
"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 was asking, his usual arrogant attitude firmly in place. Bonnie, who was evidently daydreaming during the lecture, startled slightly at the question and then answered in her perfected vapid cheerleader tone: "Um..a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."
"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Tanner said and Amanda glared at the back of his head, as soon as he turned his attention to Matt. Why couldn't he ever be nice? Would he kill him to try to be a little less of a jerk? "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"
"It's ok, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." She grinned at Matt's answer but soon stopped when the same question was turned towards her. "Hmm. Amanda? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"
Amanda shook her head "I really have no idea." She answered with an ironic smile, not at all willing to be targeted by Mr Tanner.
"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Amanda. But the personal excuses ended with summer break."
Amanda glared at him. Tanner's casual mention of her parents' death infuriated her beyond belief. How could he? "There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians." A voice answered from the back. Stefan Salvatore. "That's correct. Mister. . .?"
"Salvatore."
"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"
"Distant."
"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."
"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. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts. Mr. Tanner."
"Hmm." Was Tanner's only reply. It was obvious Stefan had taken him completely by surprise with his knowledge.
Amanda turned towards Stefan and smiled at him in thanks. Stefan nodded, smiling at her in return.
Amanda left the classroom without looking at him, still too confused to try to engage him in conversation. A part of her found him attractive and wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better, the other part couldn't help but think that he was hiding something big from her and couldn't be trusted.
She arrived at home with the intent to forget all about the mystery that was Stefan Salvatore and trying to relax before the party. She decided to take a warm bath since she had all the time in the world to get ready.
After an hour immersed in the bathtub, she dried and curled her hair before picking up what to wear. Nothing too fancy, just a jean skirt and a grey halter top with her black leather jacket and a pair of black high boots. Her make-up was simple, just a thin layer of blush, mascara and light red lip-gloss.
After saying goodbye to Jenna, she took the car to reach the party in the woods.
Once at the party, she immediately went in search of Bonnie. Her best friend was near the keg of beer and was sipping slowly from a paper glass. Bonnie smiled as soon as she saw her and offered her a glass of beer.
Like she had imagined Bonnie's topic of conversation was – surprise, surprise – Stefan Salvatore. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about him but she went along with Bonnie.
"Just admit it, Amy." Bonnie said, maybe a little exasperated. Amy sighed and reluctantly admitted. "Yes, yes, he's hot." She admitted because of course it was true, who could deny the fact that Stefan was handsome?
"He has that romance novel stare." Bonnie stated, a little dreamy.
"Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul." Amanda joked, teasing her a little. Bonnie bumped her shoulder lightly and Amy laughed out loud at that.
"So, where is he?" Bonnie asked Amanda then.
"Why don't you use your witchy powers to find out." She said with a grin.
"Right, I forgot. Ok, so give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."
"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Amanda played along. She looked around her, trying to find something that could pass for a crystal ball and decided for a bottle of bear, giving it to her with a little smile. Bonnie took it from her, touching Amy's hand in the process. Bonnie spaced out for a while, worrying Amy a little.
Bonnie came back to her senses soon after though, abruptly pulling her hand back and away from her.
"Bonnie, everything ok?" She asked, now a little worried.
"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow."
"What?" Amy asked surprised. That couldn't be a coincidence.
"A crow. There was fog, a man." Bonnie continued and Amy now realized that Bonnie's grandmother was probably telling the truth about the witch stuff. That was really something she wasn't expecting. "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." Bonnie left soon after, obviously scared and confused about what had just happened. Amy looked at her and wondered how she could help her.
She turned around with a sigh and almost collided against Stefan who was standing just behind her.
"Hi." Stefan greeted her and Amy smiled at him, slightly embarrassed. It was the second time today that she had collided against him and let's not forget the other guy she had collided against at the Grill. She was really clumsy today.
"I did it again, didn't I?" Stefan exclaimed with an apologetic look.
"Yup." She said with a grin.
"I'm sorry. You're upset about something." Stefan said then, noticing her mood.
"It's…Bonnie...don't worry about it. So, you're really here." She had to admit that she was kind of flattered that he came to the party just for her.
"I'm here." Amy smiled at him again, her cheeks reddening slightly.
Stefan asked her if she wanted to take a walk around and Amanda accepted immediately but with an indifferent tone so not to appear too eager. They ended up over a small bridge near the falls. Amy looked at the water below her and shivered, remembering the accident.
"Everybody is really curious about you, you know." She exclaimed, trying to think about something else but also trying to find out more about him.
"Really?"
"Sure. You're so…mysterious..."
"Well, you have the mysterious thing going, too. Twinged in sadness." Amy looked at him surprised. "Why would think I'm sad?" She asked, surprised. She thought she was hiding her sadness pretty well, things considered.
"Well, we did meet in a graveyard."
"Right." She laughed a little. "Well, no, technically we met in front of the men's bathroom." She said with a grin and Stefan grinned back. Then she became serious again and added "I don't really think you want to know. It's not exactly a good topic for a party" The truth was that she really didn't want to talk about it. It was too painful.
"Well, I've never really been very good at choosing topics at parties." He gazed intently at her, obviously really wanting the answer to his question and Amy complied with a sigh. "Last spring…my parents' car drove off of a bridge into the lake. And I was in the backseat and I survived, but…they didn't." She didn't look at him though, not wanting to see the look of pity in his eyes.
"You won't be sad forever, Amy." Amanda nodded, still not looking at him. Thinking about that night was too hard. She had known parents for the first time since she was one year old and the idea that she was an orphan once again almost made her feel like she was back to the start. She wondered if she was destined to relieve the same things over and over again, although with different circumstances. The thought was very depressing.
"Can I ask you a question?" Stefan asked her then, bringing her attention back to him.
Amanda gave a small laugh "You just did"
Stefan smiled back in amusement before saying "Fine, another question. Were you born in Mystic Falls? Because your accent…"
Amanda grinned at him "That obvious hum?" Stefan shrugged in silent agreement and Amanda decided to explain a little "Well, it would seem to you like the plot from a movie but I assure you it's all true." At Stefan's nod to go on, she continued "I was born in the Mystic Falls' hospital but the nurses somehow switched me with another baby – a baby who was already dying because of something in her lungs that gave her trouble breathing – and gave me to a couple that was from England but had come to the States as a honeymoon trip. My adoptive parents, so to say, died when I was one and I went to live with my mother's sister and her husband. They weren't really kind to me so I just keep dreaming of the day I would finally leave them behind and start my life some other place else. When I was sixteen, I received my inheritance from my parents and I found out about the switch, so I bought the first flight to the States to meet my real parents. That was about a year ago. I was so happy when I found them and Jeremy and now…" She wasn't able to continue anymore so she looked around, trying to distract herself from those painful thoughts and clashed against Bonnie's gaze. Bonnie winked at her and then diverted her gaze towards Matt who was standing right beside her. It was obvious that the both of them were observing her and Stefan. Amanda mentally sighed, she didn't want Matt to suffer but what could she do? She had already told him that there was no hope for them.
"I like Bonnie, she seems like a good friend." Stefan exclaimed, effectively bringing her attention back to him.
Amanda smiled at that. "Best friend in the world." She exclaimed with a nod.
"And Matt, he can't seem to, uh, take his eyes off of us." Ah, so he noticed. "Matt has been my friend since practically the moment I arrived in Mystic Falls, same with Bonnie and Caroline. But I knew he wanted more so I tried, because I too wanted to find out if we could have been more…" She tried to explain, not even knowing why she was telling him all of this.
"And?" Stefan asked her, obviously curious.
Amanda shrugged "And then my parents died, and everything seemed different somehow. Anyway, Matt and I, together we just, I don't know, it wasn't, um. . .it wasn't. . ." She was trying to find the right word to describe them but she couldn't seem to find it.
"Passionate?" Stefan finished for her. Amanda looked at him surprised before smiling at him shyly. "No. No, it wasn't passionate. . ."
She suddenly noticed Stefan's eyes were outlined a strange red. "Are you okay? Your eyes…" Stefan turned around suddenly and exclaimed, a little panicked "Oh, um... Yeah, no. It's, um, it's nothing. Um, are you thirsty? I'm gonna get us a drink." And left without a backward glance. Amanda shrugged her shoulders, bewildered and a little disappointed. This was the second time Stefan disappeared without an apparent reason.
She got back to the party and looked around for him but he seemed to be nowhere to be seen. She huffed to herself. She wasn't used to guys ditching her, she had to admit that was definitely a first.
She looked around and found him talking with Caroline. She frowned a little, her friend looked slightly drunk and was obviously hitting on Stefan. Fortunately Stefan didn't seem to be interested. A few seconds later in fact, she saw him shrugging Caroline off and returning to her. She smiled a little, feeling flattered once again at the fact that Stefan seemed to prefer her to every other girl at school.
She smiled at him when he joined her "I was wondering who abducted you, but now I know."
Stefan appeared flustered "Is she like that with, uh, all the guys?"
Amanda laughed a little "No. You're fresh meat. She'll back off…eventually." Then noticing something out of the corner of her eye she cursed "Bloody hell!"
"What is it?" Stefan asked her confused.
"Jeremy. My brother." She showed him with one hand Jeremy entering stumbling into the woods.
"The drunk one?"
Amanda rolled her eyes in exasperation "Yes, that's him. Excuse me." She was about to leave Stefan's side when Stefan stopped her with his words.
"Need some help?" Stefan offered kindly.
"Thank you, that's' sweet but trust me, you're not going to want to witness this." Then without another word she went after Jeremy. "Jeremy, Jeremy!" She called after him but her little brother ignored her. "Jeremy, where the hell are you going?"
"I don't want to hear it!" Jeremy said without stopping or looking at her. Amanda kept following him, while in the meantime trying not to trip because of some protruding roots. "Yeah, well, too bad!" She exclaimed, a little short of breath. It was Jeremy the one who tripped though, over something that was not a root. It was Vicky's body. "Vicki? No! Oh, my god, it's Vicki!" Jeremy screamed, panicked. Vicky was bleeding heavily and had a big wound on her neck that looked like a bite. What the hell? "Come on, Jeremy, help me lift her. We have to call for help." Together they grab Vicky – Jeremy by the arms and Amanda by the legs – and made their way out of the woods. "Help!" She cried out "Somebody call 911". "Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?!" It was Matt who had reached them in the meantime and helped her put Vicky gently on the ground. "What happened to her?" That was Tyler, the one Vicky was dating or something along those lines. "I don't know, we found her like this in the woods."
"Somebody, call an ambulance!" Matt ordered panicked. A large crowd was beginning to form around Vicky, everybody curious about what had happened to her. Another animal attack? "Everybody back up, give her some space!" exclaimed in the end Tyler, exasperated.
"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." Amanda said before averting her eyes from Vicky for a second and noticing Stefan leaving without nobody noticing, given all the commotion. She shook her head, realizing that now was really not the time to think about Stefan's strange behavior. She turned to look at Vicky and noticed that someone had put some piece of cloth over the wound to slow the bleeding.
"Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me." Matt was saying frantically, over and over.
Amanda really wished she could use her tears to heal her but there were too many people around and anyway it would appear really strange for a wound like that to heal completely and in no time at all. But she really, really hated the feeling of being useless.
How long does it takes for the ambulance to arrive?
Finally after another ten minutes the ambulance arrived. Amanda looked at Matt leaving in the ambulance with Vicky, still not fully understanding what had happened that night. Was it really an animal the one who attacked Vicky, because if she didn't know any better, she would think…. But no, it wasn't possible right? Why they would be here, in this little town in the middle of nowhere.
"Hey. We're gonna go to the Grill, wait for news." Bonnie said to her, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah. I have to take Jeremy home but I'll join you soon after that."
"Amy, there's no way I'm a witch. I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling..." Bonnie said uncertain.
"What kind of feeling?" Amanda asked, now willing to believe whatever Bonnie was trying to tell her.
"That it's just the beginning." Amanda frowned at that, now really worried. The beginning of what? What the hell was going on?
She noticed Jeremy not far from her, sipping from a beer bottle and observing the cops that they were controlling the area all around them, with a dejected look on his face. Amanda decided to join him and talk to him. She knew that he was very worried about Vicky. Hell, Amanda was worried about her even if she didn't like her very much.
"You ok? I called Jenna, she's on her way." Jeremy didn't answer her, didn't even acknowledged her presence. "Those people in uniforms" She continued, pointing to the cops "last time I checked, they're the police. People are going to stop giving you breaks, Jer. They just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead, because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try, too."
"I've seen you in the cemetery writing in your diary. Is that-is that supposed to be you moving on?" Amanda looked at him, sighing and silently acknowledging that he was right. She wasn't exactly moving on either.
"Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted this." She barely said in response.
Soon after Jenna arrived and brought them home. Amanda left not long after that though, deciding to wait at the Grill for news.
Meanwhile at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan had just gotten home, worried about what had happened that night and wondering who was responsible for the girl's attack. The answer to that question had the face of a very attractive man, a man with hypnotic blue eyes, raven black hair and a pale complexion. The same man that, unbeknownst to Stefan, Amanda had met at the Grill just the day before. A crow suddenly appearing on his line of vision, Stefan turned his head around and noticed him, standing on the balcony, a smirk on his face.
"Damon." He exclaimed, half-surprised, half-irritated.
"Hello, brother."
"Crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan looked at Damon, making his way inside Stefan's room and looking around.
"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog." Damon replied with a proud tone.
"When'd you get here?"
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school. Your hair's different. I like it."
"It's been 15 years, Damon."
"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."
"Why are you here?" Stefan asked, not really expecting a direct answer from him.
"I miss my little brother."
"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do."
"I've managed to keep myself busy."
"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."
"Ah. That can be a problem. . ."Damon replied, pretending to be worried. "for you." He finished then, making clear that the fact that he had left Vicky alive that night had not been done at all by chance.
"Why are you here now?" Stefan asked again, cursing Damon's ability to always ruin everything for him.
"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word. . .Amanda." Stefan wasn't really surprised by the fact that Damon knew about Amanda's existence. Worried yes, surprised not so much. Damon had an uncanny ability to find out things he wasn't supposed to know. "She took my breath away. Amanda." He said her name again, almost savoring the taste in his mouth. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Except for her eyes of course. Have you ever seen eyes so green? They look a bit like emeralds don't you think? Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?"
"She's not Katherine." Stefan defended himself, even if her resemblance to Katherine was really what attracted him to her in the first place.
"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended. Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"
"I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work."
"Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave a little?" Damon began hitting Stefan, provoking him but Stefan had no intention of playing Damon's game.
"Stop it."
"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple girls out there." Damon tried to tempt him. "Or just, let's just cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Amanda."
"Stop it!" Stefan pleaded, starting to get angry now. And not just at Damon but at himself too because he craved Amanda's blood more than anything. It was the most powerful and delicious scent he had ever felt and it had taken all his self-control that night not to drain her.
"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon goaded him and kept on hitting him. Stefan felt his face beginning to change, partly because of the hunger at the thought of Amanda's blood and partly because of the rage he felt towards his brother in that moment.
"I can." Damon finished, clearly imagining the taste of her blood in his mind.
"I said stop!" Stefan, now having lost his patience, ran against Damon with a superhuman leap and threw him out the window. He collided against the pavement, the pieces of glass from the window he just broken, scattered all around, and realized that Damon wasn't there. He got up with difficulty, healing slowly because of his chosen diet. He suddenly heard Damon's voice and turned around, finding Damon leaning nonchalantly against a hedge.
"I was impressed. I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face- thing. It was good." Damon mocked him, that infuriating smile still on his face.
"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die."
"That's a given." Damon nodded, almost proud of that little fact.
"Not here. I won't allow it."
"I take that as an invitation."
"Damon, please. After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?" Stefan pleaded, trying to convince him but Damon was having none of it.
"I promised you an eternity of misery." He exclaimed, coming closer to him. "So I'm just keeping my word."
"Just stay away from Amanda." Stefan ordered even knowing that Damon did what Damon wanted and nothing else.
Damon looked at him and then at his hand, faking surprise. "Where's your ring? Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes." Stefan looked at his hand and realized with horror that he wasn't wearing his ring anymore. Damon laughed and reached out with his hand, the ring resting on it. "Relax. It's right here." Stefan took it slowly from him and put it back on his finger. Suddenly Damon grabbed Stefan by the throat and threw him with great force against the garage behind them. Stefan landed with a thud and a groan. Stefan remained lying on the floor with Damon towering over him.
"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." He threatened from above him. Stefan looked at him without saying a word, breathing heavily. They heard a noise from inside the house and Damon, back to smiling again said "I think we woke Zach up. Sorry, Zach." And then he left, Stefan still lying there without moving, watching him walk away.
Amanda had just taken Jeremy home and now was entering the Grill to have some news on Vicky. She spotted Bonnie and Caroline sitting together at a table in the back and made her way towards them. She stopped a moment later though when she realized that the two of them were obviously talking about Stefan's rejection of Caroline. Or better yet, Caroline was complaining and Bonnie was trying to calm her down. She didn't want to eavesdrop but when she heard her name mentioned, she couldn't stop herself.
"Are you sober yet?" she heard Bonnie ask Caroline. Caroline frowned and she slammed her forehead slightly against the table. "No" She answered with a pout.
"Keep drinking." Bonnie prompted her, pointing to the cup of coffee in front of them. "I gotta get you home. I gotta get me home."
"Why didn't he go for me?" Caroline asked then, out of the blue. Bonnie looked at her questioningly. "You know, how come the guys that I want never want me?"
"I'm not touching that." Bonnie replied with a shake of her head.
"I'm inappropriate." Caroline ranted to herself "I always say the wrong thing. And... Amanda always says the right thing. She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she's always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and... I'm never the one."
"It's not a competition, Caroline." Bonnie protested
"Yeah, it is." Caroline said back before adding "Not that I would ever win against Amanda…"
Amanda bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable and guilty at Caroline's words but not knowing what to do to remedy the situation.
Amanda wasn't ready to face Caroline right now so she decided that, instead of pretending like she hadn't been listening in on their conversation just now, that she would hide herself in the bathroom until the two of them would leave the Grill.
Twenty minutes later, Amanda was sitting in one of the tables near the bar counter, finally alone, not ready yet to go back home. She took her diary out of her bag and began to write.
"Dear Diary. I really thought that I could smile my way through the days and pretend that everything was alright but I couldn't have been more wrong. I had a plan. Going back to the person I was before the accident. Someone without a tragic past or the pain that comes with it. Someone alive. But it's not that easy. The bad things always stay with you. The follow you and you can't escape them, as much as you want to. All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it comes, you accept it without asking too many questions, because you need it. I need it."
She raised her gaze from the page filled with her writing and noticed the beautiful man from the day before sitting on a barstool not far from her, clearly observing her. When he noticed that Amanda had caught him, he smiled and raised his glass towards her. Amanda smiled automatically in response, once again struck by his amazing features. Her eyes left his figure for a moment, distracted by a waitress that had just dropped a glass and when she returned to look at him a moment later, he was gone.
Stefan, after the encounter with Damon, decided to go check on Amanda and make sure she was okay. He was about to knock on the door when she noticed Amanda getting out of her car and making her way home. He looked at her until she noticed him too.
"Hi Stefan. What are you doing here?" Amanda said with a beautiful smile on her face. It was really strange looking at her because of both her amazing resemblance to Katherine but also because of the one thing that - physically speaking - made her look different from her. Like Damon had also noticed, Amanda's eyes were emerald green while Katherine's eyes had been brown. For the rest, they could have passed for identical twins.
"I know it's late. But, uh. . .I wanted to see you. Make sure you were okay" He said a little awkwardly. "So, are you? Okay, I mean?"
Amanda grinned at him, probably amused at his fumbling. Then she became serious once again. "You know, for months, that's all anyone's wondered about me. If I'll be ok." She answered with a sad smile and Stefan was once again surprised to notice that it was really easy, talking with her. With Katherine it was always a game of cat and mouse – with him being the mouse – but he almost felt human when he was with her.
"What do you tell them?" He asked, really interested in the conversation.
"That I'll be fine." Amanda shrugged but it was obvious that the answer was a lie.
"Do you ever mean it?"
"Not usually." She barely said in response. "Uhm…It's warmer in the house. We can talk inside if you want." She asked him, unsure of his response. Stefan nodded at her and was about to follow her inside when he was stopped by the invisible barrier that prevents every vampire from entering inside a house. "Would you like to come in?" Amanda asked him, clearly noticing him still motionless outside.
"Yes." Stefan replied, finally able to enter the house now that Amanda had invited him inside.
