Chapter 1

Brave- Sara Bareilles

Dear Diary,

When mom and dad died, I thought nothing else could happen. I had hoped nothing else would happen. Boy was I wrong. Elena and I are sticking together, more now than ever, there's just one little thing. Her boyfriend Stefan, yea he's a vampire. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, there are so many things that keep happening, and all of these bodies piling up, not all but most courtesy of Stefan's psychotic brother Damon. Everything is just so hectic, what am I even supposed to do? I wish mom and dad were here, even if they didn't know what to do, they were like the superhero's that kept us safe and warm. Nothing has been the same and it's hard to get back to 'normal'. Before I get too depressed, I better carry on to the rest of this week.

Stefan told Elena he's leaving, and I feel mixed about it. She loves him, I can tell, and I don't want her to feel sad when honestly he isn't a bad guy… he's just… you know… a vampire. I guess he eats bunnies instead of people, those poor bunnies. Still better than Aunt Jenna's scumbag of an ex Logan Fell. I swear that guy can't take a hint. He even tried to get her to invite him in tonight can you believe that? Good thing he isn't a vampire, at least I'm pretty sure he isn't…

I'm worried about Jeremy the most though. Losing our parents hit him pretty hard, and it's just been so hard to reach him. Then his drug addict sort of girlfriend got turned into a vampire, tried to kill him and Elena and she got staked. His whole world just shattered all over again. I don't condone what Elena had Damon do, compelling him to forget, but I can't help but hope it turns out for the better.

This week has just killed me with trying to sleep. My nightmares have gotten darker (and that's saying something), and more often than not, I end up sleeping in the same bed as Elena. I hope she isn't sick of me yet. The monsters in my dreams have, temporarily I hope, changed into vampires. I think she's worried that I'm afraid of Stefan, and that'd put a damper on any future relationship with him. It's not him per say, but the new info is just still settling in I guess. At least vampires you know what they're after most of the time.

Oh I almost forgot! Bonnie is a witch! She isn't really excited about it, but I think once she gets into it, she'll feel more comfortable. Her ancestors possessing her probably put a damper on that one though. Supernatural stuff keeps popping up everywhere. What's next, werewolves and elves?

Anywho, signing off to hopefully sleep!

-Kyra Gilbert

I could feel the sun filter through the curtains into my face, waking me up much sooner than I would have liked. I carefully rolled out of the bed, taking care not to wake my sleeping sister. These nightmares are just ridiculous this week. Everything has fangs and is trying to kill me. I suppose that's better than the usual ones, in the sense that they're different and not the same old nightmares like usual anyway. Gotta mix it up sometimes I guess. I saw Elena shift as I began to shuffle down the stairs lightly holding onto the banister. I needed to get a full cup of my personal liquid life-giver, coffee. Upon entering the kitchen, I had to do a double take and rub the sleep out of my eyes. Jeremy sat at the counter, sketching. He hadn't touched his sketch book since our parents died. Thinking with more brain cells than I actually had functioning, I decided not to tease him out of fear he'd put it away again. I simply tripped my way toward the coffee pot.

"You're up early," Jer commented with a smirk at my normal, anti-social, morning self.

"Your face is up early," I grumbled out with a grumpy huff, kitten pajama bottoms dragging across the wooden floor. I attempted to grab the coffee pot, but ended up missing for a second while I stood there trying to figure out what I was doing again.

Jeremy looked up from his sketch pad amused, watching me suffer for a moment longer, "Isn't it your rule you can't make coffee unless you've had your coffee? Here, I'll do it," he laughed with his offer, leading me back to the stool where I proceeded to let my head 'thunk' onto the counter tiredly. My little brother needed to apply for sainthood. "Rough night?" he asked thoughtfully, preparing the god's nectar for greedy consumption.

"Nightmares," my muffled reply came from under my long wavy light brown hair. The bed head game was strong that morning. Jeremy knew all about the nightmares. His room was close enough to mine that he's had to wake me up on occasion. He patted my back sympathetically before returning to his drawings. Finally after getting my cup of coffee and the feeling of being human again, Elena walked into the kitchen. Her gaze landed on Jeremy and her eyebrows shot up. I mouthed an incredulous 'I know right?!' before returning to my coffee.

"How are you feeling Kyra?" Elena asked cautiously, not just asking about my nightmares. How I felt about her feelings for the vampire dude meant a lot to her.

"Better, and less judgey after coffee and a night full of sister snuggles," I smiled happily, downing my third cup. You can't help how you feel, plus she deserved to be happy. She perked up after that. Not too long after, Jeremy retreated to his room before school, and Jenna took his place. She wass still pretty twitchy after last night with Logan 'Scum' Fell. I can't believe he tried so hard to get her to invite him in… wait… he couldn't be a… nah, she's known him for a long time. She deserved so much better than that sleaze ball. Getting up to go get dressed for the day, I told her with a grin, "Jer's sketching again."

"Whatever you do, don't encourage him or else he'll never pick it up again," Elena added in at the shocked look on our aunt's face. Elena had grabbed her own cup of coffee, needing the boost to get through school.

"Psychology major here, remember?" Jenna joked back while she got her things together for her college classes.

It didn't take long to get everything together and head out the door. Pants? Check. Hair Brushed? Check. Books for class and possible pillows? Double check. I couldn't help but zone out and just take in as much sun as possible. Next to coffee, the sun came to a close second as an energizer. I always felt perkier when it was bright out. I'm sure that's how most people felt though. Elena and Jenna talked about guys in the front seat, while I lounged happy as a cat in the back.

"So when are you going to get a boyfriend Ky?" Jenna asked me suddenly, bringing me back to the conversation. "Then we'd get to give you dating advice instead."

"I did have a boyfriend, uh… Kyle something?" I muttered trying to recall. It had been a while, and if you considered one phone call and a sorta date to the movies, sure, he was my boyfriend…

"Scott, and that was two years ago Ky. I'm sure someone will catch your eye eventually," Elena smiled, taking the heat off me from Jenna. Without further ado, we made it to school on time. Bonnie met us at our lockers that stood next to each other, what with the same last names and all. She seemed to be pretty calm for some one that almost died the night before.

Walking down the hall Elena spotted Matt and Caroline talking and… flirting. Wow, didn't see that one coming. I felt bad keeping everything from her. This time I whole heartedly agreed with Elena, keeping this whole supernatural world from her was best. Especially after, in short, Caroline had gotten into an abusive relationship with Damon. Truthfully I felt conflicted about it. Caroline's personality wouldn't be able to deal with the news so well, but at the same time, wouldn't knowing what to look out for help keep her safe too?

"When did that happen?" I raised a brow. However, Matt was still my sister's ex. "Not that it matters sis, you don't have feelings for him anymore," I gently reminded.

"They just started hanging out," Bonnie explained, then added, "I think it's good for her. Much better than Damon," she made a look of disgust at the last part.

"I'm pretty sure Fidel Castro would be better than him at this point," I muttered in distaste. "Speaking of, how are you feeling Bonnie?" I asked. The fiasco last night probably gave her nightmares. She destroyed a necklace Damon needed. Which, to be fair it was a necklace that was supposed to get his vampire lady friend out of a tomb that has been sealed for a hundred years or so, but he went too far when he almost killed Bonnie.

"I'm freaked out," she paused, letting it sink in. "I could be dead right now," she stated, an idea that seemed to shock her to her core. I watched Elena's guilt grow in her eyes, but stayed quiet. "But, I'm also grateful. Stefan saved my life. How is everything with him anyway?" Bonnie pushed for details like the friend she is, or she just wanted to get conversation away from the ordeal.

"I haven't seen him since he told me he's leaving," she tried to sound okay with it. She couldn't play that game with me. I knew her better than that. This hurt her more than she let on.

"Something will come up, and he'll probably end up staying," I told her cheerfully. She just rolled her eyes at me while we continued. I tended to be more optimistic on sunny days.

Bonnie smiled at me and my upbeat attitude. "I thought I was the psychic? Well, you know he won't leave without saying goodbye at least," Bonnie pitched in.

"I doubt it. He's doing it to 'protect me'," she rolled her eyes at the thought, pulling her books closer to her while we dodged other classmates in the typical high school hallway. "I already begged him to stay. I'll be selfish if I do it again."

"Maybe it's for the best," Bonnie said carefully. While she was okay with Stefan, the fact he's a vampire didn't help. It was in the friend code to let your friends get that solid dose of truth once in a while. Personally I think this came more from the fact she was almost eaten by a vampire, but eh. "I mean what kind of future could you have with him if he stayed?"

"Adoption, surrogacy, interesting stories to tell the kids… we're in the age of technology, duh," I rattled off in attempt to make her feel better. Fate decided it'd be funny to drop the banner that read, 'The Promise of Our Future!' right in front of us.

"Did you just," Elena's brows furrowed in revulsion, motioning to the banner. Bonnie shook her head no in an 'I didn't do it way'. Elena had stormed off ahead of us, her straight hair swishing behind her. I could only giggle at this point. Coffee, sunshine, and fresh air, this was going to be a great day after a horrible few weeks I thought.

Lunch period rolled around, and my good mood never failed. Who knew I'd like the new history teach Mr. Saltzman's teaching strategies? He had a weird vibe to him, but overall he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Occasionally in the hallway between classes I'd see Caroline walking with Matt. At one point I had caught her eye and she seemed worried. I merely smiled back to her and waved, letting her know all was okay. Finally the last bell rang at the end of class. I caught up with Elena briefly before we made it outside.

Elena spotted Stefan across the grass next to the parking lot, so I decided to give them privacy. Looking around, I noticed Caroline looking at something in her hand intently and walking in its direction. What on Earth was she doing? Sneakily, I followed her off school grounds until she wound up at the back of an old storage warehouse. I stood to the side trying to figure out what she wanted there when one of the few people that could ruin my day showed up. Damon Fuckface Salvatore.

Cursing worse than a sailor, I watched him compel her to leave, then pounced. "Stay away from Caroline, Damon," I warned feeling myself get heated at the thought of him still using her.

"Where the hell did you come from?" He jumped back momentarily. Good, I might not be able to kill him, but I could make him miserable. I'm kinda stoked that I got the jump on a vampire.

"I followed her here, jackass. What did you need her for?" I grilled him with questions. He needed to keep Caroline out of all of this. He already tried to kill one friend, and he wasn't going to keep tormenting Caroline if I had anything to say about it.

"What's your name again, Kara?" Damon stared at me for a moment, obviously trying to egg me on. Such an asshole.

"Kyra Gilbert, Elena's sister," I glared at him, annoyed by his very presence.

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, adult working here, I'm going to need you to go," He tried to wave me off. He seemed distracted, looking around the back of the warehouse. With his leather jacket and black shirt, police officers would have a field day stereo typing him.

"No, you listen here. You don't play games with my friends or try to kill them because shit doesn't go your way, understand?" I didn't know where this courage came from, but by my guess, it was rage fueled. His eyes narrowed on me before he used his vampire speed to get closer to me.

"I'm going to try this again, Kyra," his pupils changed shape with his words. "You're going to leave, forget you came here, and forget you saw me with Caroline."

"Ha! Fat chance Damon," I laughed at him. This jerk tried to compel me! Stefan told me all about that trick when we first found out and had a bunch of questions.

He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, confused that it didn't work. "Are you on vervain?"

"No?" I answered back, slightly puzzled. Wait… why wasn't I being compelled? "Whatever, anyway I just want you to leave Caroline out of it from now on. If you need something, come to me." I continued on. We'd just have to figure it all out later. Vervain was that flower thing that could hurt vampires. There was too much going on to dwell on trivial stuff.

"Oh really?" he asked in a suggestive tone. I rolled my eyes, repulsed at his indicated hint. "Well, good to know, you should get out of here anyway," he tried again, pushing his way around me toward the warehouse door. "I'm in the middle of tracking a murderous vampire, and I'd rather not have Stefan kill me over his girlfriend's sister getting hurt in the cross fire."

"So… you're tracking… yourself?" I sassed, hand on my chin for the deduction. He deserved every bit of my sarcasm.

"Ha! Aren't you cute? No, now scram," He went around me, getting to the back door of the warehouse. This time I didn't stop him, I just let him get his breaking and entering done while I stood by outside, just in case. Not that I could do a whole lot to stop him, but he's still Stefan's brother, and they had unresolved issues to work out before either one of them bit the dust. I stood outside contemplating my life choices when I heard the gunshots come from inside. This made me to spring into action.

I snuck my way through some racks holding palates and other odds and ends. Getting close enough, I listened to Logan Fell go back and forth with Damon. That son of a bitch is a vampire! Lucky us Jenna never let him in. I stayed silent enough to hear about all of the journals holding information about vampires, the Founders council, how Fell wanted to be with Aunt Jenna *gag*, and then things got heated again. I didn't registered what was happening when Logan pointed the gun at Damon again and shot him some more. I flinched, but waited until he left before rushing out to the first psycho.

"You should leave he says, Stefan could kill me he says," I mocked, kneeling next to him. I surveyed the damage. "Wooden bullets right?" Damon only answered me in groans. Looked like it missed his heart, but for my own sanity, I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Without hesitating, I dug my finger in his wounds to pop them out. Interesting design overall, but without the impact of a metal bullet, these would never be able to get very far into anyone, let alone a vampire. Not to mention the shitty accuracy that came with the wind resistance ratio to the force of the bullet getting pushed out with the explosion of the gun powder. Don't ask why I knew that.

I pulled out my phone to warn Elena while I finished pulling out the bullets so Damon could recover. I dialed her number, trying not to get blood on my phone. It didn't finish ringing when she answered, not even giving me a hello.

"Kyra where are you? I haven't seen you since school?" She immediately questioned.

"I'm with Damon, but that's not important. If Logan Fell shows up, keep Aunt Jenna away from him," I explained, looking for something to wipe the blood off my hands.

"What's going on?" Elena asked at the sound of my tone. Good, she knew this wasn't just about keeping Jenna from making a mistake.

"Logan is a vampire, and tell Stefan he has a gun with wooden bullets. He needs to be careful. I'm on my way now," I hastily replied, getting a hold of a dirty rag. "Listen I got to go, Damon's still recovering, see you soon."

"I'm gonna kill him," Damon grunted, rolling over to bring himself to stand.

"Good, the sooner, the better. Let's go get you cleaned up so you can do that," I put an arm around his shoulder and lifted. He didn't answer with his typical sarcasm, so he must have been pissed. Having him hobble along the back ways, we made it to his house in no time.

"Thanks Surgeon Barbie," Damon grunted once I got him to his room. "I suggest you leave before I make a meal out of you," he warned me, trying not to groan while sitting on his bed for a moment. "When a vampire is injured the fastest way to heal is to drink blood, and unless you're offering," he tried before I shook my head furiously, backing away.

"Nah, I'm good, have fun with your blood bag and changing, I'm going to the school," I waved off.

"Don't go to the school! Go home-" he called out to me before I took off at a run. My stored up energy for the day pushed me further and faster than normal. I had to get to the school fast. Elena, Jeremy, Aunt Jenna, Caroline, and Bonnie were there. I had to make sure they were okay.

Running up to the school, I noticed an SUV outside and Caroline talking to the driver. My gut told me there was something wrong with that picture, so I jogged up with a pretend smile on my face. "Caroline! Leaving already?" I questioned, out of breath.

"Kyra, where were you going so fast?" Caroline questioned, looking at me like I was on crack. Good, stalling is good. "Logan was just asking if I wanted a ride home," she gestured to the car. That's… not so good. Logan had a tense look on his face while I attempted to foil whatever plan he had involving one of my good friends.

"Why not ride with your mom? I know you two fight a lot, but car rides are usually the best way to hash it out," I offered, still catching my breath. I had to think of a way to get her away from this guy.

"I'd rather just go home and avoid another argument," Caroline sighed, reaching for her arm sadly. Secrets between friends are bad, and here is the prime example.

"Why not ask Matt for a ride?" I rushed out. I had to get her out of here now. Please Care-Bear. I need you to be a teenage girl that wants to get close to a boy right now. "You should at least go try right? I mean, the more time you spend with him, the more he'll open up to you right?"

Her face brightened up at that idea, "You know, I knew there was a reason why we're such good friends. See you later Logan, maybe I can ask you questions about journalism later?" She said goodbye with a wave to him, leaving me there with a vampire… that had a gun… fuck my life tonight.

Rage quickly overcame his face for a moment before he pointed the gun at me. "Get in the car, and don't cause a scene." Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! I nodded simply before going to climb into the back seat. "Nuh uh, front seat," he ushered me with his wooden bullet loaded gun. I really didn't want to get hit with one of those.

"If you're looking to get Jenna back, killing her niece isn't the best way to go about it," I eyed him while getting into the vehicle. My body tensed with fear while I carefully sat in the seat next to the crazy vampire.

"That's why I'm not going to kill you," he shrugged nonchalantly for a man pointing a gun at me. Not realizing his intentions, he used his vampire speed to smash my face into the window, making everything go black. Everything seemed foggy while I started to come to. I registered the car stopping suddenly, and an arm hooking under my legs, pulling me out. Moments after that I was out again.

Not so surprisingly I woke up to the sun rays in my face like I always do. Starting to stretch I felt around my surroundings. I noticed it felt unfamiliar. I bolted upright when my memories of Logan Fell came back and I nearly hit my head on the roof of a car. Groggily I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before looking around for who was driving.

"Damon?" I grumbled, my fear instantly dissipating. How long was I out for? Where the hell were we?

"Kyra! Thank god you're awake," Elena's relieved voiced came from the passenger seat. Wait… Elena's here… Maybe we're just on our way to school. I was knocked unconscious last night… it's definitely a day time, and judging from the sun late morning… just what was going on?

"Where the hell are we?" I asked grumpily.

"Georgia," Damon replied simply from the driver's side, like it was natural we weren't even in the same state. My eyes narrowed on him dangerously. I really hoped he was joking.

"Damon," I growled, unsure of how I got dragged into this in the first place. "The fuck do you mean we're in Georgia?!"

"Calm down Surgeon Barbie, it's just a break for the two of you. Originally just you because I figured the love birds would want some privacy, but Elena's car was flipped over so," Damon shrugged at my morning temper, dealing with it better than most. His hands stayed on the steering wheel, and his crystal blue eyes on the road from what I could see in his mirror. He didn't seem lost, so there was that going for us.

"Your car was, he was going to… what?" I mumbled confused. "What the hell is going on you two?!"

"I told you stopping for coffee was a good idea," Elena muttered, handing me a to-go cup of gas station coffee, made just how I like it. This quickly placated me in the back seat while I sipped on the extra large, extra delicious beverage.

Damon raised a brow at me and my instant change of attitude. "You know, coffee addiction is bad for you."

"Leave my crack out of this," I grumbled at him, a death grip on my life source. "All right, let's play catch up I guess, since we're obviously not going home any time soon," I glared at the stupid vampire's stupid head from the back seat. Incorrigible bastard… I attempted to get comfortable by putting my feet up, but they got promptly swatted back down by the hand and a glare of said incorrigible bastard.

"What happened to you last night?" Elena asked me, stopping me from staking the driver. "We were so worried when you didn't show up like you said you would, and then Matt said you got into Logan's car…"

"Right, that, I should explain that," I mumbled, thinking back to those events. To be fair, I did get Caroline out of the danger zone.

Damon's eyes glared at me from the front in the rearview mirror, and I could barely see his jaw clench for a second. "So, is it just in your nature to do something so incredibly stupid or does it run in your family?" Damon looked between the two of us. I guess I must have irritated him last night. Not sure why he was suddenly concerned though. It's not like we were ever really on good terms. "Cause I'm pretty sure I told you not to go to the school last night."

"Must not have heard you, I was already out the door," I feigned innocence. Sighing, I used a free hand to de-tangle my waves of hair. "The whole getting in his car was an accident though. I saw him talking to Caroline so I went over, convinced her it was a good opportunity to get Matt to take her home, and Logan didn't like that. So he pointed a gun at me, told me to get in the car, and I woke up here. Your turn," I motioned to Elena, going back to my coffee and avoiding the crystal blue eyes staring me down ahead of me.

"You were on the couch at the Boarding House last I remember, so I don't know how you got here," Elena replied honestly, shooting her own glare back on Damon. "Last night, I told Stefan I loved him," she paused in her side of the events, a hint of remorse lingering in her tone.

"Why do you sound so sad about it?" I questioned, done with my coffee, and I at least hoped I didn't look like I had been hit by a garbage truck. The sun shined brightly through the Camero, greatly improving my grumpy mood. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"I found a picture of her Kyra, of Katherine," she told me, anger lacing her voice instead. Right, Katherine is the former ex-lover of Stefan and Damon. The manipulative bitch is what I nicknamed her in my head. I'll have to try not to say that out loud. I waited for her to continue before I made any quick judgments. "She looks just like me. Like, it looked like a photograph of me," she stressed.

"So you're feeling hurt, betrayed, and upset because you think he only dated you and got to know you because of that?" I prodded more. I had the habit of going through all of the details and thinking through both sides of the story. Not everything was black and white. "So you left, driving I'm assuming, then what happened?" I wanted her to finish before I said anything else.

"I hit someone, he was in the middle of the road and then he just got back up," she explained with a shiver. That must have been really scary for her, especially after everything with our parents. I remember it took her a long time before she could get in a car again, let alone start driving.

"Right so, probably a vampire," I theorized. "So Damon came along, and boom, we both wake up in the middle of Georgia right?" I asked, making sure that was all. I gave her a hug from the back see and sent another heated glare toward the previously mentioned vampire at the last part. "You realize this is kidnapping right?"

"Oh relax, you both seemed like you needed a break anyway right? Think of this as a time out. By the way, how's the head?" he tried to switch subjects, focusing back on the road completely, looking for a turn.

"Perfectly fine thank you, honestly doesn't feel like I got my head smashed into a window last night at all," my sarcasm came out strong. Though honestly it didn't, but I've always been a fast healer. "And don't play coy with us, what dastardly plan are you roping us into now?"

"Dastardly? I suppose that's one word for it, and it's a surprise. You told me to come to you anyway right? My new partner in crime?" he threw my words back in my face. Oh this man knew how to get under my skin!

I rolled my eyes in response and settled in for a long drive to who knows where, with a vampire and my sister. Man, I hope she got a hold of Aunt Jenna, otherwise we're in deep shit. The scenery seemed a lot dryer than I'd expect, but I've never been to Georgia, so how would I know? At least the weather was nice and sunny, it helped me feel awake and energized again with the help of my favorite beverage.

"Can we stop for more coffee?" I asked eagerly from the back seat at the thought.

"You just had a giant cup of it!" Damon exclaimed incredulously, his scrunched face looked utterly sickened.

"So? You can never have enough coffee, it's like a hug of personality and warmth, plus it muffles my need to stake nasty vampires that take me out of state, in my sleep without, my permission," I smiled sweetly at him in his rearview mirror, but my eyes told him I might just end his undead life.

"You'll live, we're almost there anyway," he brushed me off. Sighing, I resigned myself to gazing back out the window for the rest of the drive. I really did need a vacation though. Elena remained silent ahead of me, lost in her thoughts. She probably didn't know what to think. What, with falling in love with someone who had an ex that looked just like her and such. I really couldn't blame her at this point. Maybe we both needed a nice, long vacation.