CAROLINE

"Next!" yelled Caroline Forbes, her voice echoing throughout the room. Cheerio tryouts thus far had been a complete joke, with several freshmen attempting a routine to a Hannah Montana song. Caroline sat on a panel of three: Coach Sylvester on her left and Santana on her right.

"That was the most offensive thing I've seen in my years as a cheerleading coach. Disgraceful." Sue stalked off, and Caroline turned to her friend. "If we don't get anyone with talent, we are going to crash and burn, San. I won't allow it!"

Santana nodded in agreement. The next candidate walked in and Caroline tensed. She really dared to come here, after all that she'd done?

Quinn Fabray stood in the middle of the room, her blonde hair tied up into the signature pony tail of her glory days. Her face was the picture of confidence, but as Caroline and Santana merely stared, she started looking for Sue, as if for a mediator in the situation.

Caroline laughed, deciding to be condescending rather than show her true fear of the other girl. Quinn had always been the golden girl, and when she had fallen from her pedestal, Caroline had stepped up, ready to take her place. There had been no hesitation, no fear of hurting Quinn at all. She had, in fact, had sex with Caroline's then-boyfriend, Noah Puckerman, which meant their previous friendship had been torn in two.

"Well, are you going to begin this travesty, or shall we just skip to the point where I tell you there is no way in hell you are getting on this team?" Santana's voice cut through the air like a knife, her ponytail swinging as she sassed her head from side to side. Caroline smiled. "Listen, Quinn. If you think everything is just going to go back to normal, you're so wro-" She stopped dead as Sue walked in the room again, carrying a full protein shake.

"Well, well, well. Quinn Fabray. There's a ponytail I haven't seen in a while," The coach took her seat at the table, and Caroline remained silent. Sue had always liked Quinn, as much as Sue could like someone, anyways, and Caroline had never been able to replace her fully in Coach Sylvester's mind.

"Well, I think we all know that no audition is necessary here," the older woman said, kicking her feet up on the table with a sigh. Caroline could hardly believe her ears. "I totally agr-" she started, but was cut off by Sue's next words.

"You're on the team, Fabray, and I'll be damned if you're not Captain again within the year. Welcome back. Slack off, or get another bun in the oven, and you'll be off the team, and so will your many offspring."

This was not happening.

DAMON

Damon Salvatore felt like tearing his own heart out. The school was crowded, filled with a torrid human energy, and it made him want to bite someone. He stood off to the side, watching students pass him by, oblivious to the dark stranger lurking in the shadows. He had come to see the girl for himself, this copy of the girl he loved. She had walked by him not a moment past, laughing with a tall, ditzy looking blonde. Seeing her should have made his blood run cold - or hot. He couldn't decide, but as he was dead, his body did neither.

She was exactly like Katherine, and yet they were nothing alike. She carried herself… differently, somehow, and yet he was still enchanted by her. It was the dead come again, if that were even possible. But his being here proved that just that was possible, didn't he?

Stefan, Damon thought bitterly, what did you lead me into?

His brother had been his original motivation for coming back to the small town. Stefan had ruined his life all those years ago, and Damon hadn't planned on letting him forget it.

Damon moved from his spot, loping through the crowds with an easy grace. His eyes were locked on the two girls in front of him, and the blonde spoke.

"Elena, I think Matt is in love with Lord Tubbington."

The girl who looked like Katherine smiled, amazed by her friend's idiocy.

"I think he likes you, Brit," Elena said, her eyes sparkling.

Damon was about to move up, follow them even closer, when he was stopped by a wide eyed girl staring up at him.

"I'm Rachel Berry, are you new here?" The girl was so desperate for his attention that it almost made him laugh. Pathetic. "I'm not a student here, Rachel," Damon replied, his voice smooth. The younger girl looked disappointed. "Oh, are you a friend of someone's?"

Damon smirked. He was nobody's friend. "I'm Stefan's brother. Stefan Salvatore, he's the one who's new here, Rachel Berry," his eyes flared, a tricky smile playing on his lips. The girl looked weak in the knees.

"I should show you around town, I know everything about it."

Damon considered the girl's offer, deciding she could be a useful addition to his life here. A willing human subject? A vampire was always in need of one of those.

His eyes smoldered now, power radiating from them as he stared her down. "You're going to keep an eye on Elena Gilbert, and then you're going to come to the Salvatore boarding house."

Rachel repeated his words, and it was done. He'd take care of her parents later, telling them to believe she was on a trip somewhere, or something equally lame.

Twenty minutes in, he had a spy, a human bloodbank, and he had seen Elena.

I think I like it here.

BRITTANY

The field was crowded when Brittany Pierce walked into the sets of bleachers, looking for Elena. Who she found instead was Tyler Lockwood, sitting alone on the top row. Walking up, Brittany sat down next to him, her blonde hair swinging in its Cheerio ponytail.

"What's wrong, Tyler?"

Brittany and Tyler had gone to school together for years, but the two rarely crossed paths anymore. They had used to hook up, but lately he just thought she was too stupid for him.

At least, that's what he had said to Matt Donovan, who had then punched him square in the jaw.

Tyler glanced at her sidelong, groaning. "What do you want, Britt?"

Brittany's eyebrows furrowed. "I wanted to see why you look so sad."

"I'm not sad."

The look on his face said otherwise. Brittany dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Is it the whole werewolf thing?"

Tyler's face was full of such terror that Brittany wasn't surprised when he stood up, and moved away from her.

She couldn't explain how she'd come to know about Tyler, Puck, and Santana, but she did. She just understood. It was one of the few things she could say that she knew for certain. It just made sense.

She could feel it, just like she could feel the cold, scary feeling of the new boy.

"How do you know that, Brittany?" Tyler's voice was so blunt that Brittany felt like leaving in tears. She couldn't help it, why was she being blamed for it?

"I don't know, I just do. I know that you and Puck are, and so is Santana. And none of them told me, either, so don't go wolf out on them."

Tyler snapped. "You can't say stuff like that in public, Britt! People can't know!"

He moved closer to her then, and sat back down beside her. It made it easier to keep her quiet, she guessed.

"I'm sorry." Her eyes went to her shoes, and she sighed. The feelings lately had almost been too much. The wolfpack, the new boy, then there was Bonnie, who had a weird feeling, and this angry energy that made Brittany want to scream.

"I can't understand how you of all people know about this." Tyler was bewildered, and Brittany was hurt.

"I'm done here, Tyler. I can't tell you how I know, but I do. I'm not as stupid as people think I am, okay?" and with that, the tall blonde stalked off, joining the Cheerios on the field.

STEFAN

The school was empty, and Stefan stood beside the office doors, waiting for his escort. The school had some sort of touring program for new students, and Stefan had been signed up automatically, and so there he stood, waiting for some unwilling student to come along.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned with a sigh.

The girl in front of him smiled. "Stefan, right?"

Stefan couldn't believe his luck. "That's me. And you're Quinn."

The blonde girl was in a cheer uniform, one that Stefan was sure he would have noticed earlier. "You're a cheerleader?"

She nodded. "Yes I am, have been since Freshman year."

"I used to be one too. It's a calling, I guess." He smiled, letting her in on the joke. She awarded him with a tinkling laugh.

There was something about this girl that made Stefan think. In the hours since he had last saw her, there was a new power in her stance. She wasn't as broken; she didn't seem as much of a shell. And yet he found himself wondering if it was all part of the act.

"Well, I guess I should show you around," Quinn turned away from him, leading him down the hall. They passed classrooms, offices, teachers in the halls, and all had an accompanying smile for the charming Miss Fabray, and all had a story that she detailed to him.

He found himself caught in her web, lingering on her every word, admiring the magic with which she smiled. The last room was an auditorium, a projector set up in the middle, filled with plush red seats. "This is where the Glee club performs, or occasionally we have a Talent Show for charity, things like that," Quinn said, her voice wavering a little.

"Do you sing?" Stefan walked past her into the room, glancing around. She laughed weakly behind him.

"No, that's not really my thing."

"No? You look like you'd be a great performer," Stefan said, his eyes teasing. "Come on, there has to be some singing talent in you. You look like the type of girl who's talented at everything. And don't tell me otherwise, because I won't believe you."

She blushed, and walked forward to meet him. "I used to. I don't anymore."

Stefan nodded. There was something in her voice that warned him not to press further, and he stayed silent.

"I wonder what they were watching," Stefan moved towards the projector, deciding to change the subject. Flicking it on with a practiced hand, he wound it and set it to play. A flood of pictures started flashing by slowly. "Cool."

Looking back, he saw Quinn stopped in her tracks, watching the screen with scared eyes. "Is everything okay?" Stefan crossed the aisle towards her, concerned.

She merely nodded, eyes still on the screen. "It's a slideshow of the last year." Her voice was meek, reminding him of her earlier greeting in class.

Turning back to the slideshow, Stefan watched as unfamiliar faces crossed the screen. It was when a giant photo with "New Directions" under it came on screen that Quinn took a step back, and Stefan saw what she'd been hiding.

The blonde girl on screen was her, undoubtedly, and the swell of her stomach left no other explanation. "You had a baby?" Stefan's voice was gentle.

Quinn's eyes were watering, and tears spilled over, running down her cheeks in quiet streams. He'd never seen someone look so beautiful, in such a broken way.

He didn't know what to do. He was afraid he'd overstep if he touched her, and he was afraid he'd lose all chance of knowing her if he didn't do something.

"I like babies," he said stupidly. She managed a shaky laugh at that, and rubbed her eyes. He raised a hand, and wiped one last tear from her cheek. She looked up at him, and he smiled.

The room was so quiet that when the third voice spoke they both turned in shock.

"Bravo, Stefan. Always the hero." The dark figure remained poised in the doorway, long hair cascading down her shoulders.

Stefan couldn't believe his eyes. His heart squeezed, and he squinted. Quinn, next to him, called out, her voice confused. "Hello?"

"You look like the type of girl who's talented at everything" The other voice mocked. "Come on, Stefan. You can do better than that."

Stefan was still frozen, and he could feel Quinn tensing, drawing away from him.

There was only one person who could cause such unexplained fear, despite her beauty, and as she stepped into the light of the projector, Stefan finally found his voice.

"Katherine."