Nothing ever changed in Mystic Falls. Nothing.

Maybe that was why I had my back leaned against the cold, metallic lockers behind me; my arms clutching my history book to my chest while my blue eyes peered shamelessly into the administration office precisely across from me.

Black and white converse sneakers; not the high-tops that so many skateboarders were wearing this year, but the ked-style that the artistic and poetic opted to wear. New, because they had yet to be tossed around and muddied.

My eyes moved up to the dark blue jeans next. Not too tight (much to my chagrin), and not hanging down with a pair of boxers loosely hanging out. The perfect fit.

A broad, muscular back covered in a thin, black, simple t-shirt. No band logos plastered over the t-shirt's surface, no patterns… Simple. 'Simple' wasn't exactly something I found overly appealing; as a girl that had practically raised herself over the years, I had learned to appreciate the value that name brands and costly items seemed to have in the teenage world; that was how you climbed the social ladder. As someone that had reached the top? It was what you used to stay there, too.

So why in the world was 'simple' calling out to me in a town that held the definition of simple? Because it belonged to someone that didn't belong to Mystic Falls. Funny how I could tell that much based on the back of someone's head, huh? Sad, really. Maybe I needed to get out more.

I was aware of the people walking past me in both directions; some on their way to their own lockers, others on their way to meet up with friends or to take position in their first period's classroom before the bell rang, indicating it was time. They were nothing more than blurs of color as they moved past me, each one offering a soft wave of wind that carried their unique scent. Most of the girls smelt of perfumes, lotions and body sprays while the males seemed to be dousing themselves in various different types of colognes, as if the commercials on television that stated it would help them acquire girlfriends was God's honest truth.

Some were paired off, be it as couples or friends. Those few that had someone to talk to while walking through the long, bright, white hallways were murmurs of noise that I easily blocked out. Any other day I might have been keen on eavesdropping on any and every conversation that passed me; glimpses into the gossip that surrounded our small high school, as if gossip were mandatory for survival.

That was the type of girl I had always been, I suppose. I'd do anything and everything to stay on top, because I knew how easily I could be knocked back down to the bottom of everything, by my best friend, nonetheless. Not that she would ever openly compete with me or try to take anything away from me on purpose; she didn't need to. Everything (and everyone) seemed to fall onto her lap whether she wanted it to or not. Whether she expected it to or not.

This, however? This taste of something new… something unheard of, something unexpected? This could be exactly what I needed. Screw the name brands and the gossip passed from mouth to ear (not that I'd ever willingly sacrifice either, at the end of the day) but thrusting myself into the stories that would flicker through the school over the next few days, simply by aligning myself with the 'fresh meat'? It would be something that no one – not even my best friend Elena – would be able to compete with. I could be a friendly student lending a hand, a strong first acquaintance that would selflessly introduce the new guy to everyone… It seemed to be a flawless plan. Something simple to pass the time that would have multitudes of benefits throughout the week, I was sure.

When he turned around, however? Every single thought I had about simplicity had been thrown through the metaphorical window. There was nothing simple about him, nor was there a single thing about him that screamed 'easy'.

I refused to pull a 'Bella Swan' and rant on and on for days about the exact shade of his eyes or his hair… But damn! I was quickly realizing why it had taken her about fifty-seven pages to do so! When faced with near perfection? There were simply no accurate descriptions; no words could explain how flawless the male before me was; everything from his hair to his complexion… his eyes to his muscle tone.

Becoming an acquaintance or a future best friend was completely unacceptable. I was marrying this man by the following summer; a June wedding, perhaps. I'd wear a heart-shaped, corseted wedding dress and he'd wear black, because white, grey or blue suits on wedding days were disgusting, obviously.

It was a bit of a stretch, but a small town girl could certainly dream.

Maybe it was the fact that this was meant to be, or perhaps it was the fact that I had been staring… but it wasn't Elena he approached (even though she was nowhere around). It was me that his eyes found as he made his way out of the administration office. It was me that he was offering the most adorable half-smile to, followed by a slight nod of his head that had me running a hand through my shoulder-length blonde hair as the butterflies kicked in.

"You wouldn't happen to know where room 207 is, would you? My schedule says I have history with Mr. Saltzman first period; first period – according to the sheet they gave me – starts in five minutes…" His words trailed off as that half-smile he had offered me prior to his question turned into a full smile. One that had me sighing almost inaudibly as I mentally thought of the perfect wedding song…

"I'm figuring it'll take me at least fifteen to find the right classroom, and being late to my first class on my first day isn't really something I'm striving to do."

I knew he was waiting for me to answer him; his mysterious brown eyes were practically begging my curiously excited blue ones to speak up and accept his request for me to assist him, but one of my biggest flaws seemed to be that I was just that. Flawed. I never knew the right things to say, or the right times to say them… so when I opened my mouth to speak and no words came out? All I could do was laugh softly at myself and over him a gentle nod, instead. Hoping that the few strands of blonde hair that fell in my face from the motion would conceal my brightly burning cheeks.

Hugging my books to my chest as if they were my lifeline to looking even partially normal to this guy rather than coming off as the biggest ditz that I felt like I was at that point in time, I instantly realized that I really hadn't said a single word to him. I had just started walking off towards the right without so much as indicating that his classroom for first period was in that direction, so now not only was I coming off as a ditz, but a completely rude bitch!

Halting my steps, I spun around to face him with an apologetic expression; my mouth open to actually speak words this time around, but instead of being met with the brown eyes that had moments ago been locked on mine, I found myself walking directly into the guy's clothed chest.

"Oomph!" Was the first word that I spoke to him?! Really?!

His hands were on my upper arms, balancing me and pushing me back a couple of paces so his eyes could properly find mine. It was obvious that he found the situation humorous enough; his perfect smile was accompanied by a soft laugh.

"Are you alright?" His words were softly spoken; it was obvious there wasn't really a need for concern. It wasn't like I had just walked off the side of a building or anything like that, but it was also evident that he was trying to be kind. Something that any girl would appreciate, of course.

"I'm so sorry; this is a crazy morning. You've been here for like… ten minutes and you're probably already thinking that you managed to find the town's only crazy person, but I swear I'm perfectly sane. And rambling, apparently…" I let my own words trail off with a bit of an embarrassed smile. "I'm Caroline Forbes. Completely sane and non-rambley Caroline Forbes."

There we go; I could feel the less-ditzy and more confident (ha!) me shining through already!

Apparently the less-ditzy and more confident me was a bit more appealing, because it earned another gorgeous smile from the male as he steered me in the direction I had been walking in prior to spinning around. At least with the both of us walking in the right direction we were making some progress.

"I like the name Caroline; it's German. It means freedom and was used a lot in royalty throughout Germany and France throughout the eighteen and nineteen hundreds. See? I ramble, too." His gave me that same half-smile, but this one was different. It was the you're-making-me-weak-in-the-knees type of smile that had me beaming a smile for the first time in months… maybe happiness existed, after all. Even if only in small doses like random chitchat with the new guy.

"My mother chose an ironic name for her daughter, in that case. There's not really a whole lot of space to be free in small towns like Mystic Falls." Then again, it wasn't like my mother had really cared about much of anything that revolved around me. I wouldn't have put it past her if she had read my name off a cereal box during her eighth month of pregnancy and deemed it acceptable enough to scribble down on a birth certificate once I was born.

"That doesn't mean you'll never taste freedom; it's not like we don't have our whole lives to venture out beyond the city limits." His eyes were on mine as we walked and he spoke, as if the multitasking was hardly an effort at all for him. I, on the other hand, was constantly breaking eye contact for the briefest of moments to ensure I didn't run into anyone or trip over anything left in the crowded hallways. That, of course, granted me the ability to see the number of people stopping to ogle the new guy that was walking side-by-side with me; I couldn't lie… it felt nice.

As much as I had wanted to continue the conversation… to get to know this guy more and to simply enjoy the small shred of happiness that I was clinging to simply by conversing with a complete stranger, room 207 was staring us in the face. Because of that, I didn't bother to verbally inform him that this was his classroom; he'd have guessed that much all on his own.

"I hope you have a good first period; Mr. Saltzman is new, but I heard good things." I offered him a warm, kind smile and a gentle nod of my head, hoping it to be mature and encouraging or something along those lines. I don't know why I was caring about how a simple nod of my head was coming off… he just seemed so deep and, well, I certainly was the polar opposite, but I could pretend to be otherwise, if only for the time being.

"Thank you, and thank you for helping me. Not many people venture out of their way for new students; they tend to prefer tripping them, tossing them the loser-sneeze…" His words ended with a smirk that had me offering him one in return as he offered a wave of his hand and turned to make his way into his history classroom.

"What's your name anyway, new guy?" My words were playful; not at all meant to cause offense by referring to him as such. If he hadn't caught onto that, he would have the moment he glanced over his shoulder and was met with an equally as playful smirk.

"Stefan. Salvatore." His first and last name were called over his shoulder and I heaved a soft, content sigh in reply as I, too, turned in the opposite direction and began making my way to my own first class. English, maybe? French? Something like that. It wasn't like I'd be spending much time focusing on my education today, not with my head stuffed full of thoughts and daydreams that were already sparking as I made my way back down the hallway.

My attention wasn't occupied enough to prevent me from pulling out my cellphone and sending a mass text to everyone on the cheerleading squad that I was currently captain of, of course. It was a simple, short and sweet text that had my mind at ease as I sent it.

" New guy off limits; already staked claim.
Learn what U can during & in between classes;
girl with best gossip gets top of pyramid next game.
-C "

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Again I remind everyone that I do not have a beta, so any grammar corrections should be polite. I do try to re-read everything that I write, but we all know how easy it is for the wrong word to slip into a paragraph. If you do see a grammar, punctuation or paragraph flaw, please let me know, me it in a review or in a private message.

If you have any ideas, they, too, can be posted in reviews or in private messages sent directly to me. I will try to take every idea into consideration but I can't promise that every single idea will be used, so please do not be offended if that seems to be the case. I will also be replying to every review (at the end of each chapter) so that no one feels I'm being stuck up or simply rude by not replying to those that are reading my content.

|reply to KIRA| - Yes, I do appear to be "writing something" ;D I don't enjoy writing something in the span of an hour and posting it up; I like to write over the span of a week or two, sometimes longer depending on where my inspiration lies.