[A/N]: Hi! I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE DIARIES OR THE ORIGINALS. They belong to L. J. Smith and Julie Plec.
Iris's P.O.V.
As I walk inside the Lockwood estate, my hands nervously clench and unclench. It's not long before a woman approaches me. "Hi!" she held out her hand and smiled at me. "I'm Carol Lockwood. Are you new in town?" I return her smile and shake her hand. "Yes, I'm new. Me and my...mother have just moved here. We bought the old Harrington estate. By the way, I'm Iris Reming." Carol looked at me pityingly. "I'm so sorry to hear of the unfortunate car accident and your father's passing. My condolences to you and your mother." I nod a thanks and we lapse into an awkward silence. "Anyways, let me show you to the food." Carol's hostess-smile comes back and she leads me out the patio door onto the lawn. A huge buffet table holds countless bowls of food. Just then, a dark-haired man comes up to Carol and speaks in a British accent. "Mayor Lockwood, Harold Fell asked me to tell you about some sort of a meeting starting soon?" He sounded like he had no clue what was meeting was about or why it was being held. Carol replied, "Thank you for passing on the message. Oh, Iris, this is Elijah Mikaelson. Elijah, this is Iris Reming. She and her mother are new to town. Would you mind showing her around?" Elijah's brown eyes landed on me for a moment before returning to Carol. "No problem." Carol hurried off, leaving me standing with my most recent acquaintance. "So..." I started awkwardly. "Why did you move to Mystic Falls?" Elijah looked me, slightly surprised. "Who said that I moved here?" I shrug. "Well, you do have a British accent. Not so common for someone born in small-town Virginia." He smiled at my comment. "You are correct. My siblings and I grew up in England, then moved to New Orleans for a while. We settled here not too long ago." "How many siblings do you have?" I ask, curious. I'm an only child, so the idea of having siblings intrigues me. He laughs. "Four, actually. They can be quite stubborn, always fighting amongst themselves." I chuckle a little. "You sound like you've been keeping the peace for a long time." He looked at me curiously. "Indeed I have. You are very perceptive." Just then, a blonde walks over to us. "Lijah, I am going to kill Nik. He thinks that it's funny to hide every single pair of my summer shoes!" Elijah chuckles. "Iris, meet my sister Rebekah. Rebekah, this is Iris Reming. She and her mother have recently moved to town." Rebekah gave me a quick glance. "Pleasure. Now, go talk to Nik. Tell him it's not funny," she demanded, turning back to her brother. "I will. Please introduce Iris to some of the other residents of the town while I'm gone. Iris, I will try to return soon." With that, he turned and walked away.
Elijah's P.O.V.
I walk around the party, in search of Niklaus. Will he ever stop tormenting Rebekah? I let out a slight sigh. I think not. At last I find him, talking to the sheriff. I tap him on the shoulder. He turns, and when he registers that it's me he smirks. "Did Rebekah send you about the shoe thing?" he asks, voice full of humor. "Yes, she did. Now Niklaus, I would like you to come apologize to our sister." He sighs in mock defeat, holding up his hands. "Fine. I'll even tell her where to find them." As we head over to Rebekah, who is now introducing Iris to Matt and Tyler, I speak up. "Niklaus, there is someone new in town." "Oh, you don't say?" he says, smiling deviously when he spots Iris. "Her name is Iris Reming. She and her mother have recently moved here. Please don't scare her off." He stops and smirks at me. "Why? Do you fancy her?" I don't answer his question, I merely continue what I was going to say. "She and here mother were in the car accident I was at Tuesday night. Her father perished in the accident, and as far as I can tell, her mother is not in good health. Please be kind." He nods. "Fine. But only because you asked." We then reach the group. Klaus introduces himself to Iris, then pulls Rebekah aside to apologize. In the meantime, Elijah gave Iris a smile. "I trust you have been introduced to Matt and Tyler?" She nodded. "Yup. And Rebekah was going to introduce me to some people before you and your brother came back. She said that she would introduce me to the Gilberts and...Salvatores, I believe it was?" Her brow wrinkled as she tried to remember the names. "I saw them over by the buffet. I can introduce you, if you'd like."
Iris's P.O.V.
"Okay," I respond. He nods and starts towards the buffet table. I follow him as he approaches a small group of people. He gestures to me. "Everyone, this is Iris Reming. She is new in town. I trust you shall help her settle in?" Most of them nod. "Okay. Iris, this is Elena and Jeremy Gilbert, Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett, and Damon and Stefan Salvatore." I smile at all of them. The brunette girl, Elena, immediately starts me talking about sports. "Are you a cheerleader? You look like you'd be good at it." I shake my head. "Nope. But I do dance." Elena turns to Caroline. "Doesn't the high school have a dance team?" Caroline smiles excitedly. "Yeah, they do. You'll have to join, Iris!" After a couple of hours of enjoying myself, my cell phone starts to play the start of Brooks & Dunns' "Cowgirls Don't Cry". I immediately excuse myself and answer. "Hello?"
Elijah's P.O.V.
Iris is deep in conversation with the girls when her phone rings. She must recognize the tune, because she immediately excuses herself and answers it. I hate to eavesdrop, but I can't help myself. "Hello?" Her voice, carefree seconds before, is now anxious. "Mom, are you okay?". The reply must have not been pleasant, because Iris starts to look extremely worried. "I'll be there as soon as I can." She goes to leave, and I notice that she rode a bicycle here; not an efficient mode of transportation. I walk up next to her. "I can give you a ride, if you'd like." She sighs in relief. "Thank you so much. Can you take me to the hospital? I need to visit my mother." "Sure thing. Oh, and bring your bicycle. It should fit."
A couple minutes later, I pull up to the hospital and help her lift her bicycle out of the back of my SUV. For the first time ever, I am thankful that Niklaus teasingly got me this 'soccer mom' vehicle. She thanks me and rushes inside, leaving me alone to my thoughts.
[A/N]: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I had to end it somewhere. Next chapter will be up within a few days. I'm loving writing this story! ;) Please leave a review!
