Author's Note: I got a lot of favorites and follows and even a positive review of my first chapter! Makes me want to get each chapter of this story out as quickly as possible! Hope everyone enjoys chapter two as much as they did chapter one!


Gabriella woke up with a start. Gasping for air, she ran her hand back through her messed hair, fingers getting stuck in the knots. She slapped a hand to her neck, felt something crusty there.

Gabriella scrambled from the bed, almost tripping on her bed covers. She stopped halfway to the mirror. She wasn't dressed.

She started to breathe heavily. Her heartbeat quickened and she found herself shaking as she approached her reflection. She looked pale, almost sickly.

And there was dry blood all over her neck and shoulder.

Gabriella swallowed hard. How could it be happening all over again? How could she be going through the same trauma just the next day? What the hell was happening to her?

Gabriella took a step back and tripped over her shoes, stumbling back onto the bed.

She closed her eyes tight, a lump rising in her throat. She tried to swallow it back, but the tears came, flowing down her cheeks in little streams. She cried loudly, and she put her fist to her mouth to stifle the sobs. She didn't understand why she was trying to be quiet, though. No one was around to hear her scream.

No one was there to help her.

A face flashed, almost like a vision or distant memory, clear but unclear, the familiarity of the man tickling the edges of her mind.

Gabriella sat up. That was it. She was done. She wasn't going to take it anymore.

She had to leave Mystic Falls.

Nothing bad had ever happened to her when she'd been living in the little town she'd grown up in. The moment she moved to Virginia, things took a turn for the worst. Mystic Falls had to be the problem.

Gabriella used all the strength she had in her to make it to the shower and wash off the blood. The cold water woke her up, and she found herself able to make it out the front door, despite the fear of being attacked again. She had to get more boxes, and some packing tape, then she could leave. It was as simple as that. Her family would understand. She wasn't safe.

Wait… Gabriella couldn't tell her family that she'd woken from unconsciousness twice only to find herself covered in blood. They'd think she was crazy, especially if she hadn't called the police or been checked into a hospital for treatment on wounds that were never there.

Gabriella stopped on the bottom step of her porch, looking down at her feet. What was she going to do? She couldn't go back home to Georgia, not without a viable excuse. And besides, she'd needed to stay away from there. She'd only be putting herself back into the root of trouble if she went back home now, while her ex was still out there, looking to harass her at every open opportunity.

"Hey, it's you!"

Gabriella jumped, turning her head in the direction of the man's voice. She blinked twice, fear clouding her vision. The face was really familiar. "Jeremy, right?" she asked slowly, trying not to show how afraid she was.

"Yeah… Gabriella?"

She nodded her head in response. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Jeremy pointed to the house next door to hers. "I live here."

"… So we're neighbors?" she wondered aloud.

Jeremy smirked. "Really? That's a coincidence. Neat."

"…Yeah." Gabriella looked at the brick house. She vaguely recalled the fact that she was someone's neighbor being mentioned recently. As the conversation stood at the moment, it was obvious that she hadn't spoken about it with Jeremy.

"Uh… Are you okay? You look kinda spooked," the brunette asked Gabriella.

She snapped her gaze back in Jeremy's direction. "Yeah, I'm fine." She plastered on a fake smile.

"Glad to see you made it home alright last night. I was wondering if you'd be okay walking home in the rain."

"Yeah, me too." Gabriella swallowed and looked out at the street, at the passing traffic. She didn't recall ever leaving the Grill. That was the last thing she remembered, walking in and sitting down, talking to Jeremy and asking the bartender for a drink… She didn't have but barely dampened clothes on the floor either.

"So," Jeremy said, snapping Gabriella out of her thoughts. "Were you heading somewhere? I was just about to catch a ride with a friend. Maybe he can drop you off wherever it was you were going?"

Something about catching a ride with someone made butterflies rise in the pit of Gabriella's stomach. She shook her head. "No, I'm staying home today," she said, shaking her head. "I was just stepping out for some air."

"Ah, okay."

A red Coupe, a really old but new-looking Coupe, pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Jeremy's house. A man who looked more Gabriella's age than Jeremy's got out of the driver's seat. He looked to the boy and smiled, then to her. "Good morning!" he said. His features were sharp and angular, and his hair was gelled in perfect spikes. He looked something out of a celebrity magazine.

"Hey, Stefan!" Jeremy called back.

Stefan nodded at Gabriella. "And morning to you. I don't think I've seen you around. Just move in?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. New state, new town, new home." She shrugged. "Apparently I'm Jeremy's neighbor."

"Yeah, I met her at the Grill last night," Jeremy told Stefan.

"Is that so?" Stefan's smile was almost genuine… There was some kind of pain or sadness behind it, though, that Gabriella couldn't exactly put her finger on. Something was definitely bothering the man.

Jeremy nodded his head. "Well, I've gotta get to school. Don't wanna be late. I'll see you 'round, Gabriella." Jeremy waved with a grin as he walked over to Stefan's Coupe and got in the passenger's seat.

"I guess I'll be seeing you later," Stefan said to Gabriella.

"Are you his big brother or something?" Gabriella asked.

Stefan shook his head. "No," he said on a chuckle. "I'm a friend of his sister's."

Gabriella nodded with a raise of her eyebrows. "Ah, I see. Drive safe," she said.

"Thank you." With that, Stefan got back inside his fancy ride and drove off to the Mystic Fall's high school.

Gabriella looked to her neighbor's house. Where was Jeremy's sister, then, that she couldn't take her own brother to school but her boyfriend could?


Something told Gabriella it was probably for the best if she didn't stray far from home that day. The air felt almost ominous as late afternoon came to pass, and she still had one more place to stop into to pick up some packing tape and something to toss in the microwave for dinner.

At the corner shop, Gabriella searched the isles for something appetizing, but nothing was really catching her interest. She hadn't eaten much all day. It was probably her nerves, but she just wasn't all that hungry.

Gabriella reached to grab a box of macaroni and cheese when a caramel hand reached to grab it too.

Gabriella looked up to meet eyes with Bonnie again. "Oh," Gabriella said.

"Oh, hi…" Bonnie looked a little perplexed. The girls stared at each other a minute before Bonnie grabbed two boxes of frozen mac and cheese and held a box out to Gabriella. "Here," she said.

Gabriella took the box. "Thanks."

Bonnie scratched the back of her head. "Uhm… I think we got off on the wrong start yesterday…"

Gabriella just shrugged. She didn't exactly know how to answer that. It had been strange, yes, but it wasn't exactly a horrible first impression.

"I'm sorry… about that." Bonnie put the box of macaroni into the basket in her hand. "You're new in town, right? Someone is throwing a party after school tomorrow…" Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "I guess you're not in high school are you?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, I graduated last year."

"Well, I'm sure it'd be okay." Bonnie smiled, digging around in her vintage-looking purse. She pulled out a little pink flyer. "Here's the address. I know it's probably hard getting adjusted to a new home, so if it were me, I'd want to go to a party and meet some people."

Gabriella took the flyer from Bonnie and frowned slightly. "I don't know…"

Bonnie shrugged. "Well, it's up to you… I just feel bad about yesterday. I was hoping maybe we could get together at the party and maybe chat a bit, start over."

Gabriella folded the paper into a neat square and slipped it into the pocket of her coat. "I'll think about it." She smiled.

"Okay, great." Bonnie took a step back. "Well, I'm going to get going. I'll see you later." She left with a wave of her hand.


Gabriella hurried up the steps to her home as darkness began to fall. She fumbled with the keys in the lock, but managed to get inside just as the street lights started to flicker on. She dropped her bags on the floor at her feet and turned to lock the door. She sighed when the task was done, and bent down to pick up her bags to bring to the kitchen.

She put her groceries away, then slipped off her coat, pulling the little flyer from her pocket. She sat the paper on the island and slid her dinner into the microwave, setting the time.

Gabriella turned and leaned back against the counters. She glanced at the pink paper again. "But I'm supposed to be leaving," she said out loud, trying to dissuade herself from actually attending the party.

She crossed the room anyway, and examined the address, committing it to memory. She believed she'd actually passed that house on her shopping trip that day.

After dinner, Gabriella got herself ready for bed, pulling her gown from her dresser and slipping it on over her head, and tugging her socks off and tossing them into the laundry basket by her door.

She walked over to the partially opened window and shut it, locking the clasp tight. She looked out on the dimly lit street to see a blue Camaro convertible pulling up in front of Jeremy's home. A tall, dark man got out on the driver's side, and Jeremy got out on the passenger's side. The two guys seemed to be talking.

Something about the older man seemed too familiar, almost a personal kind of familiar. Gabriella was about to shake the feeling off until Jeremy hurried to his house and the man looked up into her bedroom window, directly at her.

Gabriella's heart gave a painful lurch and she grabbed her curtains quickly, pulling them shut.

Something behind that man's grin and translucent eyes was sinister. There was something off about that man, something dark and devilish. Gabriella didn't care to know exactly what the reason behind that was.