SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Dark-Supernatural-Angel: Yep. Thanks. Yeah, I like Dasey too, but I'm no good at writing them romantically. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

HOALemonadeMouthLuvv165: Thanks. Here's more.

Seddielover1311: Yep. We'll see. Thank you, I'm glad you liked that part. Thanks, sorry this isn't soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Life With Derek belongs to Canadian Television and Disney. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the plot. This chap has switches in POV and Truman won't know anybody, so I'll be using descriptions for the familiar characters when it's his POV, so I apologize if it gets confusing.

Truman French walked through the halls of Sir John Thompson Sparrow High, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He had to find that vampire. But who could he talk to? Part of being a good hunter was getting information without letting people know that you were getting information from them. One of the first things he wanted to do though, was to make sure that those kids the vampire had compelled were all right. They probably didn't even know just how much danger they were actually in…which was why his father had enrolled him into the school. This way, he could pose as a new student and then find the vampire without anyone being none the wiser. Meanwhile, Casey and the others were getting ready for the day.

"Casey, are you sure you're okay? Dad and Nora said you could stay home if you were still feeling shaky," Derek softly asked in concern. The girl had to smile as she recalled the offer. It had been sweet of the adults to give her the option of staying home, but it would've disrupted her cover.

"Don't worry, Derek. I'm fine. The vervain's completely out of my system and I drank some extra blood," Casey assured. "I just wish I knew who the hunter was," she added with a sigh.

"Well, don't worry. We won't let them get anywhere near you," Kendra assured, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Come on. Let's get to homeroom," Casey said and they all headed for the classroom. What they didn't know was that Truman had spotted them and had started following them. Okay, since they're still hanging around her, she's probably had them compelled since she first came here, he thought. If that was the case, he'd have to be careful. There was no telling what she had told them to do if she ended up in danger and the last thing he wanted was to kill innocents. Though, he supposed death would most likely be preferable to living with the guilt and shame of having helped an abomination. His eyes narrowed as he followed the group into the homeroom. Feeling someone watching them, Sam looked over his shoulder to see a boy around his height with black hair and hazel eyes staring at them.

"Hey, anyone know who that is?" Sam asked softly. His friends followed his gaze and they all shook their heads.

"He must be new," Emily surmised.

"I don't like the way he's staring at us," Kendra confessed, nervously twirling her hair with a finger.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't let him anywhere near you," Derek assured, putting an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him and leaned into him. Truman stared at the group through narrowed eyes as he saw them talking in hushed tones. He needed a way to get the others away from the tall brunette so that he could give them vervain and hide them somewhere safe until he knew how many vampires were here. Though, he had to admit he was confused by the lack of attacks the place seemed to have. How was the vampire surviving? Was she feeding on someone but not killing them? It was a possibility. He'd have to check to see who in the town or the surrounding areas were feeling weaker than normal. Then, a teacher walked in, breaking his reverie. As other students took out homework that needed to be completed, Truman took out a notebook and pen flipped the pages of the notebook until he got to a blank page.

I've arrived at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High. I know who the vampire is, but she's always surrounded by the small group of people she's compelled. I need to save them…preferably without exposing my identity as a hunter. I hope I can do it. It's the first hunting trip I've ever done on my own.

He looked at the words he had written and then at his classmates. They had no idea just how much danger they were actually in. He had to admit, he was more than a little nervous. The research he and his father had done showed that the vampire here was a little over one hundred years old, which meant that even though she wasn't incredibly powerful, she was still pretty strong. He'd have to be careful around her. When homeroom was over, he gathered up his things and headed for his next class. Thanks to his dad's setting things up, he was in every class that the vampire-Cassandra Salvatore, otherwise known as Casey MacDonald-was in. In each of their classes, he stared at her and then jotted something down. In the period before lunch, Truman was watching as Casey jot down notes of the teacher's lecture. Really? Who was this abomination kidding? Anyone with half a brain could tell that she wasn't really a student and that she didn't belong. Truman's eyes narrowed into slits. He couldn't wait to kill her. If he could, he'd prefer to do it with no one watching, as it would make destroying the body much easier, but if the kids the vampire had compelled happened to see him kill their captor, they were sure to be grateful. And if they were grateful, he could make them contacts which he, his father, and other hunters could use down the road if need be. He let out a pleased grin. It was a good plan. His father would be proud. Now all he had to do was get the vampire alone so that he could destroy her. Then, he frowned. But how was she even walking around in the daylight? Even with all their research, they couldn't figure out how a small group of vampires managed to stroll around in broad daylight. They could find nothing that made it possible. His father and their friends had checked some of the older journals, but someone had ripped the pages out long ago and Truman got the feeling that the missing pages had the information that they needed. If that's the case, then somehow, vampires or one of their allies had stolen the journals and destroyed those pages before we get them back, he thought to himself. Then, the bell rang, jolting him out of his reverie. He gathered up his things, quickly shoving them into his backpack. He couldn't lose her now! Lunch would be the perfect time to take care of her. Once he did that, everything else would be a piece of cake. Everyone would be so grateful to him that no one would mind if he transferred out. They probably wouldn't even notice. He watched as the group grabbed their things and then headed out the door. No! I can't lose them! he thought and he stealthily began following them. Hearing the soft footsteps, Casey focused in on the scent. The boy they had noticed smelled like tree bark and woods. Such a dull smell, she thought to herself with a small wrinkle of her nose.

"So, is it just me, or is that new kid really strange?" Ralph queried.

"It's not just you. He is strange," Emily stated.

"He was in all of my classes," Casey told them.

"All of them?" Derek repeated.

"All of them," Casey confirmed. "I don't know why he's following us, but he's not being very subtle," she continued with a roll of her eyes. The little boy's gonna get himself hurt if he tries to mess with me, she thought to herself. They continued until they reached the cafeteria where they each grabbed a tray and then headed for the lunch line. They got their food and then headed for a table. Behind them, Truman frowned. He needed to get information on them. Then, seeing Max and his buddies at a table, he walked up.

"Hey, is it okay if I sit with you guys?"

"Yeah, sure." The teens moved over to give Truman some room.

"So, uh…what can you tell me about her?" Truman asked, gesturing towards Casey.

"Oh, that's Casey MacDonald, Derek's stepsister," Max replied. Stepsister, huh? She must've planted the family with false memories or something, he mused. Her compulsion powers must've been pretty powerful if she was able to do that.

"Yeah, and she's really nice to everybody," Amy added. "But a little weird. She mostly just keeps to herself," she continued with a puzzled frown.

"Huh," Truman said. If she's keeping away from humans, she must be luring them somewhere else, he figured. So that meant that there was more than one vampire in town. His frown deepened. That meant he had more research to do. But how could he do it? Then, it hit him. He could try to get close to her. The thought of cozying up to a killer turned his stomach, but it was for the greater good. Besides, he had plenty of vervain in his system. There was no way she could compel him. He stood up and headed for the table he had seen her at.

"Hi. Can I join you guys?" he asked when he was close enough. The group stared at each other before nodding in unison.

"Go ahead," they chorused.

"Thanks," the boy said, sitting down. They glanced at each other. What did he want?

"So, who are you?" Sam asked casually, as he put a protective arm around Casey's shoulders. Truman glanced at him suspiciously. Just how badly has this guy been compelled? he wondered. Then, he noticed that the boy was wearing a wrist cuff with a purple lining etched into that. That's-that's vervain, he realized in surprise. Why would a vampire give a human vervain? That didn't make sense. He looked to the African-American girl who was wearing a bracelet that had the same purple lining. This is weird. Why do they have vervain? he wondered. It didn't make sense. Then, Of course. She's trying throw me off. I have to admit, that's pretty clever. Of course, that wasn't going to work. He was still going to kill her. However, he kept his mouth shut and his face passive. He didn't want to tip her off. He let out a secretive smirk. Casey shared an uneasy look with her friends. She wasn't sure about this guy. Something about him just didn't sit right with her. She picked up a spoonful of her lunch and put it in her mouth, chewing carefully and then swallowing. This guy doesn't feel right, the vampire thought to herself. We need to watch this guy. He's giving me a bad feeling, Sam mused. Finally, the teens finished lunch and then stood up and took their trays to the trash can. Then, they went to their separate classes. After a few seconds, Truman stood up and also went out of the cafeteria. However, instead of heading for a class, he ducked into the corner of the hallway and quickly dialed a number. He waited for a few minutes until the other line was picked up.

"Report." Truman rolled his eyes at Ronald French's brusque tone.

"No 'Hi son, how you are you'?" he asked.

"Truman," his father growled warningly.

"Sorry," he apologized. "The vampire's posing a student. At least two of the students that she's hanging around have vervain. So I'm not sure what's going on there. I'll find out though," he continued.

"You do that," his father snapped and then hung up. Love you too, Dad, Truman thought sarcastically as he hung up his own phone. Then, he went to his next class. After that, he didn't have any other chances to get close to Casey. After school, everyone went to their vehicles, got in them, and then drove off. When Casey and Derek got home, Casey went down to her room, went to her computer, hacked into the school's computer files, and typed in the name of her new classmate. The teachers had introduced him as Truman French. She needed to know just who she was dealing with. She frowned as she perused the records: Truman French, recently moved to Toronto, had enrolled in Sir John Sparrow Thompson High a couple of days ago, moved with his father…it was all pretty basic. Hmm…his mother's deceased. That's too bad, she thought to herself. Then, she quickly exited the files. There had been nothing particularly useful for her. Meanwhile, at his own house, Truman had just finished telling his father everything that had happened at the school.

"Well, it's obvious that someone in that group is a vampire and that there's another hunter already there. After all, if there wasn't, those two kids wouldn't have had vervain," Ronald stated.

"Yeah, I know," Truman agreed. But who was the hunter in the group? That was the part that was going to be difficult: finding the fellow hunter without exposing their identity to the vampire. Silently, he started polishing an arrow. After a few minutes, he tested the point. Feeling the prick, he smiled in satisfaction. Laced with vervain, the arrow was quite deadly. The vampire-whoever it was-would never see them coming.