"Isn't Dylan cute?" Lydia said as she practically gawked at the boy playing basketball outside with the other seventh-grade boys. Madison nodded in agreement while both Natalie and Bianca shared a look. They were sitting on the bench during their lunch.
Natalie and her father had been in Mystic Falls for a grand total of two weeks now. Her father seemingly was still taking his time to unpack. Maybe he was hoping they would find answers about her mother sooner and leave this town quickly. Natalie didn't know but she didn't exactly mind Mystic Falls. She didn't think it was as bad as Bianca made it out to be.
"Totally," Madison told her. It wasn't that Natalie didn't exactly find him appealing but she had no interest in boys like her friends seemed to. Natalie was much more interested in training with her father and finding a vampire to stake.
It's not as though she were blood hungry.
Natalie just yearned to put all her hard work and training to the test. She wanted to prove that she could be everything her father trained her to be and maybe even more. It was two years of hard work and you couldn't really blame Natalie for wanting to put her skills to the test. Her father didn't think she was ready but Natalie felt ready.
Besides…it's not like vampires were actual people, right?
They were technically dead. More like zombies than people. Zombies were dead too. A vampire also killed her mother according to her father. It gave her all the more incentive to find a vampire and drive a stake through it's heart.
"What do you think, Natalie?" Lydia asked her and Natalie tore her gaze from her book. It's not like she was actually reading it, anyways. Her attention was elsewhere. More so on the vampires than anything else.
"He's cute," Natalie said in a dismissive tone. Not really caring one way or another.
"Very cute, Lydia," Bianca said although she seemed as enthusiastic about Dylan as Natalie was. Lydia seemed to buy it and then gushed about whether or not Dylan would ask her to the seventh-grade dance. Madison seemed to be the only one interested in the subject.
"Are you going to the dance too?" Bianca asked her and Natalie smiled before shaking her head. The idea wasn't very appealing to Natalie.
"I don't think so. Dances aren't really my thing," Natalie said honestly and Bianca nodded in agreement.
"I don't like dances either," Bianca admitted. "I went to the ones last year because Lydia and Madison made me."
"I've never been to a dance and I don't think I'd ever want to go," Natalie told her friend truthfully. Bianca smiled.
"I feel the exact same way," Bianca said a little too joyously. "This is why we should have a sleepover the night of the dance. A girl's night in."
"A sleepover?" Natalie questioned and Bianca nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, a sleepover with movies, music, makeup, and everything else I've seen in movies. I always hate going to sleepovers with Lydia and Madison. All they want to talk about is cute boys."
"A boy-free sleepover then?" Natalie questioned and Bianca nodded with a grin. "I've never really been to a sleepover before."
"Really?" Bianca asked in surprise and Natalie nodded.
"I was home-schooled for a while. I never really had the chance to go to sleepovers," Natalie confessed and Bianca looked excited by this.
"This is great. We'll make a bucket list of all the sleepover stuff we have to do," Bianca told her and Natalie smiled in return. It sounded like fun. It had been so long since Natalie had been allowed to just be a normal girl. "We'll watch a bunch of rom-coms but good ones. Like Clueless."
"I love Clueless," Natalie told her and the two girls practically beamed at each other.
"Great then we'll watch Clueless, Princess Bride, Mean Girls, 13 Going on 30, The Princess Diaries, and Easy A," Bianca gushed and Natalie was already looking forward to it. She hadn't seen a good percentage of those movies. There wasn't much time for it and her dad always made her watch the action thrillers he loved which Natalie found boring and repetitive. "We can have it at my Grams house. Bonnie and I always stay with our Grams when our dad's out of town."
"I'll have to ask my dad for permission but it sounds like a lot of fun," Natalie said in agreement and Bianca seemed pleased by this. A sleepover sounded a lot more fun than going to a stupid school dance with their friends.
"Great. It's going to be great. Lots of junk food, makeup tutorials, Beyoncé, and more importantly…no boy talk," Bianca said and Natalie laughed. "It'll be fun. You'll see."
Natalie nodded, feeling excited about the prospect of a sleepover with her new friend. She hadn't known Bianca long but she felt like they might be good friends. Natalie just hoped that her dad and her didn't have to move any time soon.
She was starting to like Mystic Falls.
"Dad, what is it?" Natalie asked as her father entered their loft. She'd been doing her homework on the coffee table in the living room while half-watching some reality show. Her dad was taking part in career day at school. Now that Natalie was twelve, her dad trusted her to be on her own at home whenever he was staying late at school to grade papers.
The thing was…it was very late and it was unusual for her dad to stay late without calling her to let her know. She was beginning to get a bit worried. Her relief that her father returned home was short lived until she saw the look on his face. A haunted expression she'd only seen during the times he reminisced about watching the vampire drain the life out of her mother.
"Dad, are you okay?" She asked as he shut the door behind himself and practically fell on to the couch next to her. He swallowed hard before finally looking at her.
"I saw one," He said quietly and it didn't take Natalie long before she understood what he meant. There was only one thing he could've meant by his cryptic statement. "He was standing in front of me. Clear as day. All this time, I'd doubt myself. That maybe I'd imagined what happened to your mother or maybe I misunderstood but it's true."
"He was a vampire?" Natalie asked quietly even though she knew the answer. Her dad smiled sadly before nodding. "What did you do?"
"I drove a stake through his heart," He confessed and Natalie gasped. It shouldn't have surprised her since that was what she and her father came to Mystic Falls to achieve. Well that and finding answers about her mother. "He withered away right in front of me. It worked."
"Just like that?" Natalie asked and he nodded again.
"He was bad. I know he was tormenting Jenna and he was going to hurt her," Her dad told her and Natalie could understand that. She wasn't exactly sure if her father and Jenna Sommers were dating but she knew her dad liked her a lot. It made sense that he'd want to protect her. "I just didn't know I would find one just like that. We've only been here a couple weeks."
"Do you think he's the only vampire in town?" Natalie asked him and her dad shook his head.
"I doubt it. There has to be more…a lot more," Her dad informed her, looking worried. "If your mother was correct in her theories about Mystic Falls then this place is a magnet for vampires. It has too much history not to be. There's evil here. I can feel it."
"So this isn't the end?" She asked him and he shook his head.
"It's far from the end, Nat," He said, knowing that this was actually only the beginning. "Which means that we have to continue your training if we're going to stay in a vampire-infested town."
"Okay," Natalie said in agreement because she and her father hadn't done any of their training drills in some time. Not with the move and settling into school. Natalie was excited to get back to training.
"Tomorrow morning I'll set up the training dummy and we'll go through our drills," Her father told her, leaving no room for argument. Not that Natalie wanted to argue. "I'll get the stakes ready. You're taking your vervain, right?"
"Yes," Natalie stated as she set down her pencil which she'd still been holding. "I have my bracelet and I also put it in my water bottle every morning. You've always said that the bracelet can be taken away but they can't take away the vervain if I also ingest it."
"That's right. Good," Her dad told her with a small proud smile. "Never stop your vervain routine."
"I won't, Dad," Natalie promised him. He just nodded.
"Get a good night's sleep because tomorrow you're waking up early for your training drills," He told her and Natalie smiled. For once, she didn't argue with him about going to bed early. Not when it was back to business.
Business meaning training to kill vampires.
"Not your best time," Her dad said as he clocked her when she ran her third lap around the neighborhood.
Part of her training was running exercises. Not that a human could ever be faster than a vampire but it was still good training to have. Speed and agility were necessary qualifications in vampire hurting according to Natalie's father.
"It's six in the morning, Dad," Natalie whined as she attempted to catch her breath. He shook his head.
"A vampire won't care what time it is," He lectured her as she rolled her eyes. "That's why your timing has to be consistent. There can't be any lapse in endurance. That's how you get the upperhand. As vampires, they're stronger and faster which is why we need the element of surprise. You're the least expected threat to a vampire which would make you better equipped for hunting than even me."
"I know all this, Dad, but it's still exhausting," She complained and her dad crossed his arms, fixing her with a stern look.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to be trained," He reminded her. She rolled her eyes.
"I meant training me how to kill vampires. You know…with stakes and stuff," Natalie muttered and Alaric shook his head at her.
"How do you think you're going to stake a vampire?" He questioned and Natalie shrugged even though she had a slight idea as to what he was getting at. "You think you're just going to walk over and stake one without a fight? You think that it's that easy? Natalie, some of these vampires have been alive for centuries. They're not all stupid like the one I staked last night."
"I don't know, Dad!" Natalie said in frustration. "It's not like you've killed many vampires and it's not like either of us have much experience with this stuff outside of Mom."
"You need to be light on your feet, you need to act with stealth, and you need to be smart," He lectured her and Natalie begrudgingly listened to him. "There can't be any room for mistakes. It's life and death. You want this, don't you? To avenge your mother and take as many of them down as you can?"
"Yes," Natalie said quietly and he nodded.
"Well, this is what life's going to be like for you as a vampire hunter," Her father said seriously. "It's going to be lots of training exercises, whittling wood, and moving from place to place. There's going to be days where you're going to wish you never even heard of the v-word. It'll probably take over your life and I don't want that for you. If it were up to me, I'd send you back to Boston to live with your grandparents. This whole thing sucked me in and there's no way out for me but you could still have a happy life away from all this crap."
"Why don't you do it then?" Natalie asked her father. "Why don't you send me back to Grandma and Grandpa?"
"Because you're all I have left and I'm selfish," Her father admitted as he locked eyes with her. "And after everything that happened with your mother, I don't think I could force you to go live with your grandparents if you didn't want to."
"You're all I have left too, Dad," Natalie told him. She meant it too. She loved her grandparents but they were never close. They just sent her money for her birthday and called her on occasion. The same went for her mother's parents even though her mother's parents didn't really care for her since they never liked her father.
"Do you want this?" He asked her quietly and Natalie took a deep breath. "Do you want this life? Because you can just say the word and I'll send you to live with your grandparents."
"I want this," Natalie said without hesitation. She never doubted whether or not she wanted this life. "I want this to be my life."
Natalie hated vampires before she even knew they existed.
Her mother had been obsessed with anything to do with vampires and so much that it caused Natalie to hold a great disdain for the subject. She didn't hate them for some religious or stone aged reason like the founders of this town apparently did. Natalie didn't buy into the whole evil demon thing. She just despised them for being the reason why her mother was never present during her childhood.
What was so great about a bunch of leeches, anyways?
They weren't even real people. Just dead people.
"Well, that makes two of us," He told his daughter. Natalie, however, stopped him before he could say anything else.
"But I also want to go to school, see my friends, and have sleepovers," Natalie added, causing her dad to look at her in surprise. "Could I still have both?"
"Of course you can have both," Her father said. "I want you to have both. Your life is anything but ordinary and what kind of father would I be if I stopped you from being able to have normal moments in between every weird thing to occur in your life. You deserve a little bit of normalcy."
"So…Bianca Bennett invited me to her grandmother's house for a sleepover this Friday night," Natalie said carefully, giving her father a shy look. "It's the same night as the school dance and we're sort of protesting the dance by staying in. Do you think I could go?"
"I think we can arrange something," He said in amusement, smiling at his excited daughter. "I want to meet Bianca's grandmother when I drop you off. Bianca is Bonnie Bennett's younger sister, right? Bonnie's a nice kid so I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Bianca's grandmother is super nice and cool. I met her when she picked up Bianca from the movie theater," Natalie told him and she was relieved her dad was agreeing to a sleepover. Normally, he was so overprotective that she didn't think he'd let her stay anywhere on her own.
"I'm assuming this sleepover is the normal kind for tween girls? Movies, junk food, make-overs, and cute boy talk?" Her dad teased her and Natalie playfully glared at him.
"Actually, Bianca and I are sick and tired of hearing Lydia and Madison talk about cute boys all the time so it's a secret sleepover where they're not invited and there will be zero boy talk," Natalie said quite smugly and her dad chuckled. "I don't know why Lydia and Madison are so obsessed with boys. The ones at school are so annoying and disgusting."
"Yeah, seventh-grade boys aren't the greatest," Her dad acknowledged. "But they'll get better with time."
"When?" Natalie asked curiously. Her dad smirked.
"I'd say college but that's the age I met your mom and I wasn't exactly someone I'd ever want you getting involved with," Her dad said and Natalie groaned. "I'd actually say mid-twenties is a good enough age. I wouldn't recommend anything younger than that."
"Forget it," Natalie grumbled as she crossed her arms. "I'll never date. I'll just hunt vampires instead."
"Hey, I'm not complaining. Less gray hairs for me to have," Her dad in agreement before becoming serious again when he was reminded of what both he and Natalie set out to do this morning. "Now back to work. Go run another lap and try to improve your run time."
"Dad!" Natalie whined and he raised an eyebrow.
"Come on. You only have an hour before I have to take you to school," He told her and Natalie groaned before getting in position to go running again. "One more lap and we'll call it good. You can go home, take a shower, and get ready for school."
"And you'll buy me frozen yogurt after school?" Natalie inquired, giving him a puppy dog look that Alaric could never resist. He sighed before nodding.
"And I'll buy you frozen yogurt after school. No more than three-toppings," He told her and she smiled in satisfaction. He counted her off and Natalie started running again. She became determined to beat her last time. Her dad was right. It was vital.
She didn't have much going for her as a scrawny middle-schooler but if she worked hard then maybe, just maybe, she could hold her own against vampires. Maybe even drive a stake through one's heart.
Preferably the one who killed her mother but who knows?
"Oh my god! I love your skirt!" Regina George said as she feigned interest in a random girl's skirt. Natalie and Bianca watched the movie, eyes glued to the screen, while eating cheetos and skittles. "Where did you get it?"
"It was my mom's in the '80s," The girl told her.
"Vintage. So adorable," Regina complimented.
"Thanks," The girl said before walking away. Regina turned to Cady.
"That's the ugliest effing shirt I've ever seen," Regina told Cady causing Natalie to gasp before looking at Bianca.
"She's so evil," Natalie remarked and Bianca laughed before nodding in agreement.
"That's Regina. One of the greatest movie villains of all time," Bianca told her friend. It was during the movie marathon of their sleepover. They'd already watched the Princess Diaries, it's sequel, and Clueless. They only had 13 Going on 30, Princess Bride, and Easy A to go after Mean Girls was over. So far, it was the most fun Natalie could ever remember having. "I think she has the Joker and Hannibal Lector beat. She's high school evil which is a whole other level of evil."
"Are there really girls like that in high school?" Natalie wondered aloud and Bianca shrugged.
"I don't think there's girls that bad but there's definitely passive-aggressive popular girls. My sister's friends with one," Bianca informed Natalie. "Her name's Caroline Forbes. Head cheerleader, blonde, obnoxious, neurotic, and controlling all rolled up into one. I'm glad she'll already be in college by the time I go to high school. Although…I could definitely see Lydia turning into the new Caroline Forbes in the next couple years."
"Let's hope she doesn't," Natalie remarked and Bianca giggled.
"Ooh…are you two watching Mean Girls?" Bonnie Bennett asked as she stepped into the living room with another girl. Natalie had already met Bianca's older sister a few days ago when her sister picked her up from school. However, Bianca hadn't met the pretty brunette Bonnie was with.
The girl was gorgeous with warm brown doe eyes framed by long lashes. Her dark brunette was straight and seemingly without a hair out of place. Her skin tone was a beautiful olive tone. She had a lean figure and she was taller than most other girls. Overall, Natalie thought she was beautiful. As pretty as any model she'd ever seen or actress she'd seen in movies. Maybe even more. Natalie didn't know why but the girl looked familiar which was odd. The girl was so pretty Natalie would've remembered meeting someone like her.
The girl stared back at her as though she recognized Natalie too.
"Yes, Natalie's never seen it," Bianca told her sister. Both Bonnie and the other girl gasped in surprise. Natalie blushed.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm being raised by a single dad who doesn't know the first thing about girls," Natalie tried to explain as the other three girls just laughed at her.
"Oh, Elena, I don't think you've met Natalie," Bonnie told her friend who looked at Natalie curiously. "Elena, this is Natalie Saltzman. She just moved here and she's Bianca's friend. Natalie, this is Elena Gilbert."
"Saltzman? Are you related to Mr. Saltzman?" Elena asked in surprise as she gazed down at the brunette. Natalie nodded.
"He's my dad," She told Elena.
Elena was slightly caught off guard by this. Mr. Saltzman mentioned having a daughter but Elena just assumed that she must've been toddler aged. He seemed a little young to have a daughter just a few years younger than herself. There also didn't seem to be much resemblance between Bianca's friend and Mr. Saltzman.
"I have him for history," Elena informed her and Natalie smiled. "He seems really cool. Super laidback and nice unlike Mr. Tanner."
"Well, that's because he's not your dad," Natalie retorted and Elena laughed. "Are you Jeremy Gilbert's sister?"
"You know Jeremy?" Elena questioned in surprise and Natalie shrugged.
"I met him once a couple weeks ago when he was having dinner with your aunt at the grill. I practically had to force my dad to talk to your aunt," Natalie mentioned, giving Elena a knowing look. The slightly older teenaged girl smirked. "I think he has a crush."
"Well, I think the crush is mutual," Elena said in response. "We might have to force those two in a room together sometime. I don't know why adults are so weird about stuff like that."
"Probably," Natalie said in agreement. Elena returned her smile before turning her attention to the movie which had already enthralled Bonnie and Bianca. She glanced at Natalie from the corner of her eye as she tried to pinpoint where she'd seen the younger brunette.
The seventh-grader was pretty. With her big brown Bambi eyes that seemed to draw you in with their intensity. It was hard to tear your gaze from them. A part of Elena wondered if perhaps she was a vampire with the ability of compulsion but she was only Bianca's age, after all. Elena just blamed it on the uniqueness of her face. She was a unique-looking person but in a rather beautiful ethereal way that Elena had never been witness to before. Natalie looked a bit like what Elena always imagined a fairy to look like.
Yet something about Natalie was familiar to Elena at the same time.
Like Elena knew her but Elena was sure she didn't.
She would've remembered someone who looked so unique like her. Elena was sure of it. Still…there was something that made Elena feel as though she knew the girl.
Maybe Elena was just crazy.
Yes, that had to be it.
Vampires had only made her paranoid.