So yeah... I started another fanfiction. I was inspired by an amazing YouTube fanvideo. Just type in ''the vampire diaries high school never ends'' and you'll find it. The lovely Tinkerbell90 encouraged me to start writing again so I did. And I hope I will actually finish a story for once... So, Inga, I dedicate this fanfic to you :) Hope you enjoy the first chapter! :)
Chapter 1
And I can hear 'em talking in the hallways
Now my name is on the lips of every cheerleader in my school
Now I'm a legend in the locker room
With a deep sigh Elena got out of bed and drew the curtains apart. It was a nice summer morning. The sun was shining. Birds were singing outside. But none of these positive things mirrored Elena's soul which was dark and gloomy.
It had been that way ever since she had lost her parents in a car accident a few months ago.
She hadn't been home that day. Before the summer she used to go to a boarding school outside Atlanta. She had just received her midterm grades when her big sister Katerina had called her on her cell phone to tell her the news. After that day her whole world had turned upside down. She finished the school year at the boarding school but moved back to Mystic Fall during the summer. With no parents she could no longer afford elite education. She and her sister then moved into their aunt's house.
Today was her first day at Mystic Falls Highschool.
And it was going to be hell.
Of course her understanding of the term hell did not go any further than the problems everyday life brought her and the mistreatment she had experienced at junior highschool. Even though she had always been in her sister's shadow she had never been bullied. That at least was something she could thank her sister for.
She and her sister weren't on the best of terms. Actually, they hated each other. That was one of the reasons Elena had enrolled at boarding school. To get the hell away from her sister. Katerina had always been their parents' angel – until Elena was born. Then, Elena had always come first. At least that was Katerina's point of view. Elena had never understood her opinion. She had never excelled at anything. Even at boarding school she had been a commoner. She didn't have to live up to anyone's expectations. Except when she was at home. Then she had to be the perfect daughter and escape her sister's wrath.
Now back in her hometown unable to escape Katerina she liked to describe her life as hell. Katerina always threw nasty things at her, stole the last cup of coffee before Elena could take it… always was the first to enter the bathroom and never come out of it… but the worst of it all was the fact that Katerina blamed her for their parents death and the miserable life she had brought her. Elena couldn't understand that, either. And there was no reason for her to believe it. Katerina was a popular girl at school and in town. She did what she wanted and didn't listen to anyone. Not even to Aunt Jenna and Uncle John. She partied until the morning, skipped school, went on spontaneous trips with her clique… To Elena's mind, she lived quite a free life. Something Elena only dreamed about.
Elena was the exact opposite of Katerina. She was introverted, curious, liked to read and to write and… she didn't almost have any friends at Mystic Falls.
True, there were Caroline Forbes and her big brother Matt, her childhood friends. But she hadn't seen them in a long time and doubted that they would remember them. And there was Bonnie Bennett, another childhood friend, she had lost touch with after Bonnie's mom was admitted to a psychiatric hospital a few years ago.
And when Elena entered the kitchen this morning she knew it wouldn't be different this time.
Her cousin Jeremy was already there, having his morning coffee. Aunt Jenna was probably upstairs getting dressed and her husband John supposedly long out of the house. After the accident Jenna and John became the guardians of Elena and Katherine as Jenna, their mother's sister and John, their father's brother were the only family they still had. Jenna and John had met at several family nights and somehow fell in love with each other. Their complicated family tree was a matter for itself...
Elena just reached out for the coffee when a hand from behind snatched it and poured the last remains into a cup.
''Kat! I was gonna drink that!''
''You're a slowpoke. Try again tomorrow,'' Katherine replied, shrugging and emptied her cup of coffee. ''Enjoy your first day at Mystic High.''
With a light chuckle exited the kitchen and then the house. Her boyfriend Stefan probably waited outside to pick her up. Elena met Jeremy's gaze. He was slightly amused.
''Shut up,'' she told him, grabbed her bag and wanted to leave the kitchen but ran into something concrete, Uncle John.
''Someone's in a rush this morning,'' he chuckled.
''Sorry, Uncle John. Kat just left the building and I figured I might hurry since she's always late for class.''
''I could take you to school. It's on my way to work,'' he offered.
''Thanks, but I'm 16, Uncle John. I think I can take the bus without getting kidnapped on the way there,'' Elena explained keeping her voice lightly. She didn't want to hurt him.
''As you wish.'' His gaze travelled to Jeremy who hadn't moved an inch and didn't want to go to school. ''Take Jeremy with you.''
''Do I have to?''
''Jeremy, we talked about this,'' John said sharply. ''No more skipping class this year.''
Jeremy grunted and got up. ''I'll get my stuff,'' he said and walked casually upstairs.
''Hurry! It's my first day I don't wanna be all too late!''
20 minutes later they finally arrived at Mystic Falls Highschool. In the end they had to ride with Jenna because the bus and Uncle John were already gone.
''Enjoy your first day!'' their aunt shouted after them as they walked up to the building.
''Oh God, can she be any more embarrassing.''
''Hey, don't tempt her,'' Jeremy warned.
They chuckled. They walked side by side until Jeremy suddenly turned around in the opposite direction.
''Hey, where are you going?'' Elena asked. Jeremy put his finger on his mouth in a silencing gesture. ''Jer...''
''I have a date,'' he replied. ''Enjoy your first day,'' he imitated Jenna's voice and ran off.
With a sigh Elena entered the building.
Except for a few more late-arrivers the hall was empty. Elena fished a note out of her pocket that contained her locker number
''I should be able to keep that in mind,'' she mumbled and looked around for her locker. ''Ah there you are.''
She turned the little wheel according to her locker number and pulled.
''Huh?'' She pulled again. Nothing happened. She kept pulling but the stupid locker obviously stuck. Faintly she swore she could hear Katerina's chuckle.
She just considered kicking the damn thing when a voice behind her asked ''You're new right?''
The breath on her neck made her skin tingle. She spun around to meet the face of a stranger. A jockey judged by his appearance.
''Um... How do you figure?'' she stammered. He looked fairly hot.
''The new kids usually don't know how to handle these lockers. Us oldschoolers already know a trick or two,'' he explained, winking. ''Here, let me try. Watch and learn.''
Elena stepped aside and let the jockey handle her locker. He pulled in different directions.
''Up - to the left - to the right - down to the left,'' Elena followed his movements aloud.
Click. The locker opened. Elena beamed.
''There you go, newbie.''
Elena's face fell. ''It's like that here? The new ones are doomed?''
''Not quite but I recommend you stay away from the bitch club.'' Elena looked at him, dumbfounded. ''The cheerleaders,'' he added explanatory. ''They can be quite mean.''
''Thanks uh...''
''Matt,'' the boy introduced himself and offered his hand. ''Matt Forbes.''
''Oh my god, you're Matt?'' Elena couldn't help but burst out.
''Yeah, and you are?''
''I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert. Your sister Caroline and I went to junior high together.''
''Ah, you're Kat's sister right? Should have know by the resemblance but straight hair actually makes the difference,'' he said smiling. ''So you're back from the institution?''
''Yeah with our parents being dead we couldn't afford - wait what?''
''Kat said you were admitted to a psychiatric hospital after you tried to commit suicide.'' He studied Elena's shocked expression. ''I guess that was bad joke.''
''A very bad one,'' Elena affirmed. After school she would tell her sister a few things. ''I went to boarding school that's all.''
''Well, you're here now. Things are different at Mystic High. Take care of yourself,'' Matt warned her. He glanced at his watch. ''Gotta go. Football practice starts in a few minutes. You should go to. Second period starts soon,'' he added again winking.
Elena blushed furiously. It was only her first day and she was already so late.
''I will. I guess I uh... I'll see you around,'' she said.
''Sure. See ya,'' Matt replied and turned to head for the exit.
Elena checked her note again. B-track. She had history now. Not quite her favorite subject. Although she lived in a town with lots of history she didn't enjoy the never-ending reminder events celebrated by Carol Mikaelson-Lockwood the town's major and event-queen by nature. Elena just hoped her history teacher wouldn't be as enthusiastic as her.
B-track was basically at the end of the building so Elena barely made it on time. When she entered the classroom most of her fellow students were already seated and the teacher was just preparing himself. Even though he was busy arranging his stuff on his desk he didn't fail to notice Elena's foreign and not quite foreign face.
''Ah, you must be the new girl.''
At that moment Elena just wanted to disappear. Would it ever stop? She just nodded. ''I'm Elena. Elena Gilbert.''
''I know. You look just like your sister. Hard to miss.''
Elena nodded again and found herself a seat. That was when...
''Elena?'' two females asked in chorus.
Without realizing it Elena had walked past her two childhood friends Bonnie and Caroline. But now that she recognized them her face lit up.
''Hey.'' She hugged both of them and then chose a seat between them.
''We've got so much to catch up!'' Caroline chirped. ''Now that you're finally back.''
''Just give her a little time, Care,'' said Bonnie, giving Elena a tiny smile. ''Are you all better now?''
''Her parents' death probably didn't, help,'' Caroline reminded Bonnie sharply.
''At least they let her out. That's got to mean something.''
''Um, guys,'' Elena interrupted when she realized in which direction the conversation was going. ''I was at no institution. I was at boarding school.''
''Oh...'' Both girls shut up, embarrassed.
''Sorry, Kat basically told everyone you were at the psych ward. Should've know she lied.''
''If I have to spent any more time with my sister I might as well end up there,'' predicted Elena gloomily.
''Okay, everyone be quiet. Class starts now,'' the teacher raised his voice to get the students' attention. ''Good. Now as you may have noticed we got a new student this year. Elena Gilbert. Elena, why don't you stand up and show your face to the class?''
Elena closed her eyes. Could this day get any worse? With a deep sigh she stood up and looked around the room. ''Hi...''
''Elena, tell us something about yourself.''
Elena was quite weirded out by the fact that the teacher called her by her first name. She wasn't used to that. For a moment she wondered if all teachers at this school did that.
''Well...'' she began hesitantly. ''I'm Elena I was born here and in contrast to everything my sister Kat told you I was NOT institutionalized. I went to boarding school for a few years. Not because my parents wanted to get rid of me but because I could get better education there. Then they died and now I'm here. End of story.''
The teacher raised his brows at her little story but didn't comment further on it.
''Okay. My name's Alaric Saltzman. But everyone even my students just call me Ric. Your warmly invited to do just the same'' he said smiling. ''Alright, now let's begin.''
At the end of class Elena was positively surprised by Mr. Saltzman's way of teaching. He didn't stick to the book. He just taught them history which he thought was worth knowing about. It contained a lot of Mystic Falls background but unlike Carol he didn't celebrate its existence. He stuck to the facts and told them a secret or two he uncovered during his research. One was the myth of supernatural creatures haunting the town since it was founded in 1860. As a passionate writer Elena suck these stories curiously in. Even though she was born in this town she had never heard of these legends let alone that the Gilbert family tree was somehow involved with it. When Elena got up from her seat she found herself looking forward to the next history class tomorrow. She also had a feeling that history might become her favorite class this year.
After history followed math. Something Elena sucked at. At least it was over soon. The rest of her first day at high school was rather uneventful until last period. Sports / Clubs. Elena wasn't sure which sports or clubs she should take. She knew that her mom had been a cheerleader and Caroline was strongly suggesting her to become a part of the team. However Matt's words were still ringing in her ears so she wasn't too keen on joining the team. Besides, there were a few clubs she wanted to join more like Newspaper or yearbook. They sounded like fun and not like the bitchpokalypse Matt had warned her of. Still with a friend like Caroline and Bonnie on the team, too, Elena was practically forced to go to the try-outs.
''I don't think I'm ready for that yet, Care,'' she tried persuading the blond cheer queen on the way down to the field. Caroline was the cheer queen of the second cheeleading squad. That was another reason Elena disliked the thought of being a cheerleader. The two parties apparently fought their own little cheerleader bitch fight. She didn't want to get in the middle of it.
''You did sports at boarding school, didn't you?''
''Yeah... Like Volleyball and such...''
''I'm sure you'll do fine. Remember when we were little and dreamed of cheering during a championship?''
''Care, we were ten years old,'' Elena reminded her.
''So? I'm not letting go on this one. By the end of the day I swear you'll be on the team.''
Caroline turned out to be the worst psychic ever. Not only was Elena not on the team. She also showed that she wasn't very skilled at sports. She couldn't follow the tact nor remember the complicated choreography and, most of all, Matt's advice seemed to be the only logical thing to do. The cheerleaders were even worse than he had described them. They weren't just mean, Elena was convinced they were pure evil.
But the worst of it was that Katerina and her clique had been watching the tryouts and Elena's epic fail. Elena now felt the strong urge to hurl herself over Wickery Bridge (one of the town's many historic sights) instead of going home and having to face her sister.
At the end of the day she rode home with Caroline and Bonnie. During the ride Caroline was dead silent and Bonnie who was driving kept saying nice words to cheer her up but nothing really did make her feel better. After they dropped Caroline off the topic of their conversation changed.
''You know... a few things happened while you were out of town,'' Bonnie began. ''My mom, she... she died...''
''Oh, Bonnie, I didn't know. I'm so sorry,'' Elena said emphatically.
''It's okay. It's actually better this way. Dad said she would have only been a threat to herself and others… Dad's out of town, too, during the week. For work. So all I have is my Grams. I stay with her now. She's great,'' Bonnie emphasized. ''But she also told me stuff. Weird stuff. And I don't know why but I dig it.''
Elena gave her a questioning look. ''Witchcraft,'' explained the Afro-American. ''Apparently she and my mom believe in it. And I think it's cool. Sometimes...'' She hesitated. ''Sometimes I have these weird dreams.''
''What kind of dreams?'' asked Elena.
''Like visions. They feel so real and very often these things actually happen.'' Elena raised her brows, surprised. ''Anyway, word got out and now I'm the crazy one,'' concluded Bonnie.
''I don't think you're crazy, Bonnie,'' Elena told her with a smile. ''I think it's cool. And useful. Can you conjure up a vision about mid-terms?'' They laughed. ''No, seriously, I think it's cool. Like what Ric told us today. I like this stuff. Mythology I mean.''
Bonnie beamed. ''Me, too! Well I think it's crazy as hell but cool nonetheless.''
''Yeah.''
When Elena arrived home she walked into a terrible argument between John, Jenna and Jeremy. Apparently John had found out that Jeremy had skipped class again or worse since Jenna was crying.
''I'll come back later,'' Elena said and wanted to flee the scene but -
''No, wait,'' John told her. ''What happened after Aunt Jenna dropped you off at school?''
Elena swallowed hard. Jeremy was silently pleading with her behind John's back. His gaze showed mere desperation.
''We entered the building together,'' Elena lied slowly. ''And then we separated at the lockers.''
''That true?'' Johns gaze was boring through her eyes.
''Yes,'' Elena replied firmly. She liked her cousin. He was fun. And whatever rough patch he was going through they were still family. Actually, he was almost like a brother to her.
''You didn't see him using drug somewhere?''
''What? No.'' Elena was genuinely surprised. Drugs? That actually explained a lot...
''Oh please,'' Katerina scoffed, entering the living room and leant casually against the doorframe with a cocoa in her hand. ''He's been using for months now. Your eyes can't lie for you, boy,'' she added to Jeremy. Katerina obviously had no place in her heart for Jeremy.
''Where's he getting it? School?'' demanded John.
''Mostly. From some chick called Vicky Donovan.''
Jeremy's eyes widened in shock.
''I'll be having a little chit-chat with Mr. Donovan then,'' John announced.
''No!'' protested Jeremy. ''Her father doesn't know. He'll beat her!''
John halted. ''Mr. Donovan abuses his daughter?''
''Yes!'' confirmed Jeremy firmly. ''That's why she turned to drugs in the first place!''
''And why did you?'' Jenna suddenly chimed in. ''Has your father abused you, too? Because I don't think so.''
''No...'' whispered Jeremy.
''I can't hear you.''
''No, he did not, okay?'' snapped Jeremy.
''Oh boy, I can't deal with the family drama right now. I have a date,'' said Katerina and grabbed her keys.
''No, you'll stay here,'' ordered John. ''It's seven. We haven't had dinner yet and you've got school tomorrow.''
''I'll grab something on the way and screw school.''
Elena caught Jeremy's grin behind John's back. At that moment she wondered why he and Katerina didn't get along. They were obviously a lot alike.
''Katerina!''
''Oh please, nobody calls me that.''
''We're your guardians.''
''Yeah, but your obviously not my parents because they're dead. Stop trying to be like them because you never will!'' Katerina shot back and left the house with a loud slam of the door.
She left behind an oppressive silence. Elena swallowed hard. Everyone in the room knew that Katerina had just overstepped. Of course John and Jenna could never replace their parents but if it wasn't for these two she and Elena would have ended up at some orphanage as they were still minors. Katerina could show at least some gratitude. But she had always been that way. Even when their parents were still alive. She liked to have her freedom and she got it in every situation.
''Alright, uh, Elena, you go upstairs. We'll call you when dinner's ready. And you, young man,'' John turned to Jeremy. ''You'll wait here. You're grounded. No TV, no computer and give me your cell phone.''
Elena could here Jeremy groan as she walked up the stairs.
So... that's it. The first chapter. Introduction mainly. I'll try to write this as an ensemble story which will be a challenge of course but I think if I choose Elena as main character I won't do the other characters justice. The next chapter will center around Katerina or Katherine as she likes to call herself. So much I can tell you for now. If you liked this chapter drop a review. I live for feedback :)