Chapter 1: Starting Over
I crossed the street standing in front of Mystic Falls High, searching around for some familiar faces. There were so many people around me, I couldn't really see. My head was beginning to get dizzy, looking through the crowds. Until I saw them. Bonnie and Elena, my two best friends. I was gonna try and find a way to sneak up behind them, but me being too overly excited, blurted out their names.
"Elena! Bonnie!" I screamed. I saw them look around, but not looking my way. They had heard me. I pushed through the crowds until I found an open space. I yelled their names again. They looked at me and immediately, smiles appeared on their faces.
"Summer!" They yelled back, dropping their backpacks and running to me. I ran halfway and was tackled by them. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I hadn't realized how much I missed them until now.
"Oh Summer, it's been so long!" Elena cried, still hugging me.
"I know, I know. It's so good to see you guys!" I said to her. We separated and I hugged Bonnie. We wiped the few tears that had fallen down our faces.
"We missed you!" Bonnie said.
"I missed you guys too! I'm so sorry I didn't get to say goodbye," I said to them.
"What happened? Where have you been?" Elena asked.
"My grandparents sent me to a boarding school,"
"What?"
"Yeah, you know after…" I drifted off, not really wanting to say it out loud. But Bonnie and Elena caught on and shook their heads sadly.
"Summer, I'm not gonna ask you if you're okay, because I know you're not. But if you need someone, you know Bonnie and I'll be there for you," I smiled lightly. Elena always knew what to say.
"Thank you Elena, and I'm sorry about what happened to your parents. I know I'm making it worse bringing it up, but I'm here for you, too." She shook her head and gave me a crooked smile.
"Thanks Sum, but how did you know?"
"My aunt told me that Jenna called her." She nodded, whispering, "Oh."
"Okay, enough sad. How long are you in town?"
"I'm here to stay!" Elena and Bonnie squealed in excitement.
"It's good to have you back Summer," Bonnie said to me.
"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet," Elena pulled to me to where she left her backpack. There was very hot guy with light brown hair and green eyes holding Elena's stuff.
"And who's this handsome stranger?" I asked Elena, pointing to him. He smiled.
"Summer, this is my boyfriend Stefan. Stefan, this is Summer, my best friend." Elena said, introducing us. He held out his hand for me.
"It's nice to meet you Summer," I shook his hand.
"Nice to me you, too Stefan. Elena, he's cute! You have great taste and I approve! I hope we can be good friends, Stefan." He smiled and nodded. I turned to Elena, who was blushing. "Well, I have to go home and unpack,"
"Oh where are you staying?" Bonnie asked.
"My aunt and uncle's house. They gave it to me…"
"That's only a couple blocks away from me," Elena realized. "We'll come over to see you later."
"Okay, I'll see you guys later. Nice meeting you Stefan," I waved, walking away.
"You too."
I decided to go to the cemetery and visit my family. I stopped and looked at their tombstone for what felt like forever. I sat next to Sean's and just sat in silence, thinking about the memories of my older brother.
"Sean, give me back my diary!" I said chasing him around the house.
"You're gonna have to reach for it short stuff!" Sean laughed, holding it high. I really wasn't that short, it's just my brother was too damn tall.
"Come on Sean." I whined. He didn't budge.
Damn you Sean, looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way.
"Okay fine, I don't have time for this!" I faked, walking away. I waited until I was for sure he wasn't looking and I ran and jumped on his back.
"Give it to me!"
"Get off me Summer!"
"Give it back!" Sean tried as hard as he could to pry me off of him but ended up tripping on the couch and we both plopped on and started laughing.
"Hey, hey what is going on in here!" my dad yelled.
"Nothing Dad!" we said in unison.
After a short while, I turned back facing the three graves. I touched Sean's slightly and sighed.
"Not a day goes by that I don't miss you…" I whispered. I got up and began to walk away, when I heard a caw. I turned back and saw a crow sitting atop of Sean's tombstone. My head turned to the side as it looked at me.
"Hm, you're a strange bird, aren't you?" I said rhetorically. It cawed at me again and I shrugged, walking away. Fog began to roll in unexpectedly as I took a shortcut through the forest. I began to feel a sudden presence, as if I was being watched or followed. I tried to ignore the weird feeling but found myself walking faster through the trees. Only did I feel better when I reached the end, relieved.
After a couple of hours, I'd made the house look exactly like I wanted it. Cleaning up the living room and fixing my room, I felt accomplished. My cellphone rang my Teenage Dream by Katy Perry ringtone as I silenced and checked it. I had gotten a text from Elena.
Done unpacking?
I quickly texted her back.
Yep, just got done.
A few seconds later she replied.
Good, open your door.
My eyebrow rose, looking at Elena's text. Confused, I opened my door and smiled, seeing Elena, Bonnie and Caroline standing on my porch.
"Summer!" Caroline yelled.
"CareBear!" I yelled out her nickname as her arms wrapped around me.
"We told you we were visiting a friend," Bonnie explained.
"You guys never told me it was Summer!" Caroline turned to them.
"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Elena said.
"Well it was a pretty damn good surprise!"
"Oh come on in you guys," I said, letting the girls in my newly adjusted home. They looked around and sat on the couch.
"Wow Summer, this place looks great!" Elena complimented.
"Why thank you," I mocked in an English accent. The girls laughed. "So what do I owe this happy visit?"
"We are taking you out tonight, Sum," Bonnie told me.
"Oh really? To the Mystic Grill I presume…"
"And you are correct!" Caroline answered me. "There's a party there tonight and we are going!"
"Sounds fun, I'm in!" I agreed.
"Whoo!" Bonnie cheered, "This'll be just like old times!"
"Okay, we'll be back to pick you up at 8, so be ready!" Elena informed me. And with that, they left. I looked at my clock; it was six-thirty, which gave me about an hour and a half to get ready. I ran to my room and picked out some black skinnies, my favorite black and white striped vest, and some strappy heels. I took a quick shower, threw my clothes on and blow-dried my hair. I took another peek at my clock and saw it read 7:40, which gave me enough time to straighten my hair. I put a small bit of makeup on my face and heard a car honking outside. I ran out the house and walked to the car.
"Hey!" the girls greeted me in unison.
"To the Grill!" Bonnie said as we drove away.
I always knew how to make a scene. This time though, I really didn't mean to. Elena, Bonnie, Caroline and I linked our arms together and walked into the Grill. All eyes were on us, and it felt pretty awkward, but I kept my head high and flirtily waved to a few guys who were smiling at me.
"Summer? Is that you?" I turned to see Jeremy standing in front of me.
"Oh my gosh Jeremy!" I wrapped my arms around his neck as he brought me into a big hug. I was really happy to see him. Jeremy had always been like a little brother to me.
"It's been a while, Sum," he said, letting me go.
"Two and a half years to be exact! You've grown into such a cutie since I've been gone I see, Jer," He chuckled.
"You haven't changed a bit, Summer. It's great seeing you,"
"Well, you'll be seeing more of me once I check myself into the school…"
"S-so you're here to stay?" he asked, surprised.
"I'm here to stay!" I shrugged. His smile got bigger and he hugged me again.
"That's great! I'll be getting my 'sister' back…"
Jeremy and I talked a little more, until I decided to look for some more familiar faces. I stopped when I saw Caroline talking to Matt. I came up behind him and covered his eyes.
"Guess who?" I asked him.
"Umm…Elena? Bonnie?" He guessed. I should've known he wouldn't know me from the first guess.
"Let me give you a hint: she was a really close friend of yours that you haven't seen in a few years," I said. He thought about it for a minute, then I felt his eyes open from under my hands. He knew.
"No way! It couldn't be…" He took my hands off his eyes and turned to me. His eyes widened. "Oh my God, Summer!"
He grabbed me into a big bear hug as I laughed. Like Elena, I was another one of Matt's close girlfriends. He played another older brother role in my life. He and Sean were close as well.
"How's it goin' Mattie?"
"Great, how's it goin' with you? It's been ages since I saw you last…"
"Yeah I know, I got sent to boarding school,"
"You? In boarding school?" He said, not believing it. Before I went, I wouldn't have believed it either.
"Right! But I'm back, and I don't plan to leave anytime soon!" We both laughed.
"That's good to hear, I missed you,"
"Aww Mattie! I've missed you too!" I said socking him playfully in the arm. I looked at Caroline, who looked like she felt left out. "I'll let you guys get back to your interrupted conversation. I'll see you later Matt."
"See ya," he said as I walked away. I went to sit at a booth alone. I ordered a Coke from a waiter, and sat there in silence, gulping down my Coke occasionally. I looked around the Grill, memories flashing in my head of past times I'd spent here. My silence was interrupted by and unwanted person from my past.
"Hello Summer." Tyler Lockwood. Ex-boyfriend and Enemy #1. I groaned in irritation, rolling my eyes.
"Hello Tyler, what a pleasant surprise," I said sarcastically. He sat on the other side of the booth.
"I should be the one saying that to you. Where've you been?"
"Wouldn't you like to know…" I said annoyed. Tyler and I had dated before I moved away, and I cared about him a lot. When my family died, he was there trying to comfort me, but was cheating on me behind my back. I caught him, the day before I left, but he never noticed I was there.
"Is that all you have to say to your boyfriend?"
"Ex-boyfriend, Tyler. When I moved away, that was code for "relationship over,"
"Really? Well that was a nice way of breaking it off," he was being sarcastic now. I shot him a glare.
"Just like I'm saying it now. Goodbye," I walked away, but Tyler grabbed my wrist and turned me back to him.
"Come on Summer don't be like that-
"You know I would just love to chat it up with you, but unfortunately, I have better things to do with my time. Goodbye Tyler." I grabbed my coke and walked away from him. I grabbed another seat at a different booth and went back to my silence. I ordered another Coke and looked around the Grill again, until I caught a pair of eyes. Pure arctic blue eyes staring at me. A guy sitting a few booths ahead of me smiled. He was absolutely gorgeous, his dark hair waving into the sides of his face, which match perfectly with his black clothing and leather jacket. I smiled back at him and shyly glanced down at my glass. From the corner of my eye, I saw that he walked up to my booth and sat down at the other side of my booth. I glanced up at him, his smile still on his face.
"Hello there beautiful."