Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 1:

CINDERELLA'S PILOT

Grief (verb): intense sorrow, especially caused by someone's death

"The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but, you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to."

"Between grief and nothing… I'll take grief."

"Grief is the last act of love we have to give to those we loved. Where there is deep grief, there was great love."

"If someone said three years from now you'd be long gone, I'd stand up and punch them out."

Once upon a time, there lived an unhappy teenage girl. Her mother had died when she was three years old, and her father had married a widow with twin daughters when she was five. Her stepmother didn't like her one bit as she was jealous of her radiant beauty and of the hold she had on her husband. All her stepmother's kind thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. Nothing was too good for them – dresses, shoes, delicious food, soft beds, cars, and every home comfort.

But for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters' hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No rest and no comfort. She had to work hard all day, except for when she had to go to school. Only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while in her room by her window ledge. That's why most people called her Cinderella; since her life was exactly like the poor girl from the fairy tale.

Even though Cinderella was dressed in old hand-me-downs she was still one of the loveliest girls in town. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes were, they were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly – and always would be.

The reason Cinderella had such a miserable life under the rule of her stepmother, was because on her ninth birthday, her father died in a tragic accident, and as per his wishes, he was cremated, and so, Cinderella would constantly visit his grave, where an empty coffin lay.

However, this year held many surprises, nightmares, horrors, secrets and excitement for Cinderella, and she might be able to finally find her prince and live the happily ever after she has yearned for, one she most definitely deserved to have.

"SNOW! WAKE UP!"

Shocked into consciousness at the sudden screeching, Snow Silverstone involuntarily tumbled out of bed, her body crashing into the cold floor with a painful thud. Groaning, her eyes still heavy with sleep, she rubbed her wounded backside and winced, certain that by next morning, a nasty bruise would paint the area.

"SNOW!"

"I'M UP!" Snow responded obediently.

She slowly scrambled to her feet and stretched her form before she sleepily crossed her room, entered the adjoined bathroom and turned on the shower, hoping that the warm water would wake her. Warm water acted as a substitute for caffeine, since her stepmother forbade her from touching the good stuff available in the household.

Snow disliked Lucille Silverstone. She never bore the title of a mother in Snow's eyes, and she was almost certain the sole reason Lucille agreed to marry the late Mr. Silverstone over a decade ago, was because he was an incredibly rich man, and because the Silverstone name was greatly revered in Mystic Falls.

Without a doubt, Snow knew her father left behind a will in case he had the misfortune to pass before Snow reached the age of majority, designating her as the sole beneficiary of the estate, the company, the Silverstone fortune, and their possessions. Snow knew a trust fund existed under her name, and that it sat untouched, waiting for her. Unfortunately, Lucille, the cunning and evil woman, managed to keep it hidden from her and spent many hours sequestered in her study, entertaining the countless lawyers she had on retainer, all of whom were notorious for their underhanded practices. Despite the years of fruitless results and the consequent short tempers, they never stopped their relentless search for a loophole that could legally destroy the will and prevent Snow from obtaining what was rightfully hers.

After she had finished her shower, she slid on black leggings, and donned a baggy off-the-shoulder white shirt. Sitting on the ottoman of her vanity, Snow quickly blow-dried her hair and the only makeup she applied was a thin coat of transparent strawberry-flavored lip-gloss.

By Mystic Falls standards – and universally as well, not that she would ever admit it to herself since she was a self-conscious girl – Snow was utterly gorgeous. She possessed the deepest shade of black hair that cascaded down her waist in natural curls, and a flawless skin-tone, the color of snow, which was completely ironic because of her name. Her nose was petite and every time she smiled, deep dimples would form on both sides of her smooth, rounded cheeks. Moreover, her lips were plump, rosy and shaped like a petal. But the most phenomenal facial feature Snow possessed were her eyes; they were doe-like and inherently violet, framed by natural long and thick black lashes. Her violet eyes made her unique as the only person with the same shade was her mother, may she rest in peace. Furthermore enhancing her siren-like beauty was her slender neck, her lean, hourglass figure, her voluptuous breasts, her long lissome legs, and lastly, her tight bottom.

Men always ogled her, a fact that had Lucille and her stepsisters insanely jealous of her, and Snow was an innately likeable person that prompted their hatred of her to escalate into dangerous proportions – but it was out of her control. She knew the reason behind the distribution of ugly hand-me-downs by Lucille was so that men would stop looking at her and compliments would never reach her ears, but it never seemed to work.

For Snow could wear a burlap sack and make it look breathtaking.

Making her way down to the kitchen, she grabbed an apple and quickly scarfed it down before rushing over to the stove to fix breakfast for Lucille and her stepsisters'. Twenty minutes later, the kitchen fell victim to a mouth-watering aroma, but by now, it was drilled into Snow's mind that she was never welcome to her own cooking.

"I'm supposed to be driving to school today-"

"No! It's my turn to drive, you ninny!"

"Oh, shut up! Let's eat."

Not bothering to spare Snow a glance or bid her good morning, the twins rushed to the island and proceeded to wolf down their breakfast with the manners of a Neanderthal.

Haisley and Paisley – those were her stepsisters. They were the definition of ugly. The twins shared identical mousy-brown hair that stopped at their shoulder blades and gave them the resemblance of a drowned rat, eyes an onyx black, and thin lips. Their nose was long and slightly crooked with a protuberant bump at its bridge, and they possessed similar sharp cheekbones. They weren't fat, but sturdy with small breasts. The only distinguishing feature that helped people tell them apart was their birthmark – Haisley had a medium-sized mole on her upper lip, while Paisley's sat on the bottom of her right eyelid.

Snow constantly overheard Lucille promise the twins that she would have them surgically removed by "the best of the best" by the time she begins her search for suitable suitors – according to Snow's best friends, it was merely wishful thinking and blind desperation from the step-monster.

"Don't forget to clean up, Cinderella," was the only acknowledgement she received from the sneering twins, both of whom promptly grabbed their backpacks and lumbered over to their car, the sound of them arguing in nasal voices over who's turn it was to drive resonating from the front lawn, despite the closed door.

"Jerks," Snow mumbled to herself.

Emitting a forlorn sigh, Snow gathered the dirty dishes and carefully dropped them in the sink before she proceeded to rinse them thoroughly, dry them off, and store them in their rightful place. Josephine Cochrane was an ingenious woman who strove for the betterment of housewives; unfortunately, Snow never reaped the benefits of her creation as Lucille sold their state of the art dishwasher as a creative form of torture, preferring that Snow manually slave over the washing of the dishes – as though cleaning the entire manor wasn't enough hard labor.

Suddenly, the sound of a car purposely honking could be heard from the driveway and Snow allowed her lips to curve into a smile, recognizing the identity of the honker. Snow would travel to school on feet, thankful that her house was only a fifteen minute walk away from Mystic Falls High, since Lucille never bothered getting her a car from her own money or even allowed her to borrow one of the many cars from the collection in the garage, most of which were probably gathering dust. But when her best friends found out, they emphatically insisted that she was on their way, not taking no for an answer. In the end, her profuse denials went ignored and she became an official car-pooler.

Snow's life may consist of a horrible home and a loveless family, forced to become an orphan and a slave at an early age, nevertheless, she was lucky to have been blessed with great, genuine friends and a wonderful social life.

Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett and Caroline Forbes – those girls with unique and lovely personalities were Snow's best friends, and the sole reason behind the smiles that erupted on her face. Haisley and Paisley were her age, and were constantly jealous over the fact that she landed herself the popular friends while they were slumming with the regular Joes.

Quickly drying her hands, Snow grabbed her bag and was about to head for the front door, when the distinctive sound of somebody clearing their throat rang from behind her. Her shoulder slumped in defeat and she turned to confront her stepmother. Lucille Silverstone passed down her mousy brown hair to her daughters; however the difference between them, other than the fact that she was a darn sight better, was that she possessed a straight-sloped nose and muddy-green eyes.

"What are your plans for after school?"

"I have work, Lucille," Snow responded meekly, suppressing her need to fidget in front of the intimidating woman.

Her icy gaze narrowed as she looked down her nose at Snow. "Hmm. In that case, I'll call Marianne and have her prepare lunch and dinner. Goodbye," regarding her coldly with one last glare, Lucille pivoted on her feet and walked away without so much as a 'have a good day' or at least a 'come back safely'. Not even a simple 'take care'.

The problem was that Snow was too nice for her own good. She hated disappointing people, and because of that, her character flaw developed, prompting her into becoming an obedient and servile individual and therefore, an easy target for bullies and those who wished to take advantage of her due to her stature in Mystic Falls, her beauty, her friends, and her riches. Her best friends attempted many times, to no avail, into instilling a backbone in her armor, in the hopes that she would learn to stand up for herself and stop those with bad intentions from stepping all over her.

But it was no use; Snow Silverstone was too meek and submissive.

A people pleaser… That's what she was.

Recovering from the brief anxiety attack that usually accompanied most of her confrontations with Lucille, Snow happily opened the passenger door and jumped into Bonnie's car, the sight of her two best friends' beaming smiles exponentially brightening her mood, and she immediately attacked them with hugs that they gladly returned.

"What's new, girlfriends?" Snow inquired giddily.

"Well, I was waiting to pick you up before I said anything. Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that. I know crazy," Bonnie revealed in one breath, the left corner of her lips quirking upwards when Snow's eyes widened, which prompted her to enunciate her opinion regarding her Grams' sanity, or lack thereof. "But she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then, I started thinking… I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger. And I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands–"

Wide violet eyes were suddenly glassy with a veneer of tears as Snow swiftly interrupted her friend's ramblings, "Whoa, slam the brakes, Bon! No one, I repeat no one, could have predicted Heath Ledger's tragic death…" She sniffed, her gaze lowering to her laps as a tear slid down her pale cheek, "The news completely broke my heart."

Bonnie laughed at Snow's reaction before sending her a semi-compassionate smile. Glancing over at Elena, she noticed her staring out the window, eyes blank, "Elena! Back in the car."

Shaking her head, Elena gave Bonnie and Snow an apologetic look, "I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry, Bonnie." Ever since the accident, she's developed a habit of spacing out. "You were telling me that…" the brunette trailed off.

"Bonnie's psychic now," Snow piped up, scooting over and positioning herself between the driver and passenger seat, her arm hugging Elena's headrest.

"Right. Sure, Bonnie," Elena let out a skeptical laugh. "Okay, then predict something about me," the brunette challenged, tilting her body slightly so that she could better face the two girls without craning her neck.

"I see…"

But exactly what Bonnie saw, it definitely wasn't the crow that appeared so suddenly and slammed into her windshield, which in turn, caused her hand to slip slightly from the steering wheel and the car to swerve, prompting her foot to pound on the brakes. "What was that?!"

One hand stilled over her thundering heart while the other was bone-white where it was clenched tightly around the headrest, Snow stuttered, "W-Was that a crow?" She then proceeded to stare out the window and noticed Elena hunched over herself, almost hyperventilating, "Elena, are you okay?"

"It's, it's okay. I'm fine," she breathed out. But really, Elena wasn't fine.

Three months ago, her parents went to pick Elena up from a party at the woods and their car drove off Wickery Bridge. Elena was the only survivor as the rescue-team found her drenched, unconscious body by the ledge of the sidewalk. Snow was completely devastated at their passing as Grayson and Miranda Gilbert had taken the role of the parents she was robbed of and in desperate need of; they constantly doted on her and looked out for her, and with their death, she felt like an orphan again.

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere," Bonnie appeared a mixture of guilty and freaked out as she only had eyes for the hyperventilating brunette.

"Crow. It was a crow," Snow automatically corrected with a sigh. Bonnie shot her a look that screamed 'now is not the time,' that had Snow sheepishly shrugging in response.

"Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life," Elena shakily reassured them, the tremor in her voice failing to quell their concerns. Bonnie stared at Elena for a brief moment before starting the car and looking ahead, her expression determined, "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy." Eyes flickering toward Snow from the rearview mirror, she smiled, "Both of you."

Snow beamed and fist-pumped the air, "Hear, hear!"

Finally reaching Mystic Falls High, the trio made their way inside, their arms linked while they laughed over random subjects in an attempt to change the horrible mood that blanketed them from their literal run-in with the crow. "Major lack of male real estate," Bonnie whined, her hazel-green eyes scouring the hallway. She scrunched her nose in distaste and inclined her head at a senior, "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot-, can I still say 'tranny mess'?"

"No, that's over," Elena grinned at her best friend in amusement before exchanging an eye roll with Snow.

Excited, Bonnie dragged her friends down the school's hallway, "Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."

Taking notice of a familiar head of blonde hair, Elena sent a friendly wave Matt's way, but his respond was to turn his back on her, purposefully ignoring her. Crestfallen, Elena pouted, "He hates me." A small crease appeared between her brows as her wounded eyes flickered between her best friends for some words of reassurance.

"That's not hate. That's 'you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits'," Bonnie matter-of-factly divulged, seemingly unbothered by the hostility Matt was radiating.

Nodding in agreement, Snow flashed the brunette a reassuring smile, "Elena, Matty needs time. I mean… you dumped him after years of dating. Summer break is not enough time to heal a broken heart."

Elena beamed back at her, "You always know the right things to say, Snow."

"I feel like I should be insulted… but I'm not," Bonnie stated, her tone nonchalant, which prompted the trio to double up in mild laughter.

"Elena. Oh my God!" a familiar bubbly voice shrieked. Searching for the owner of the voice, their eyes locked onto Caroline Forbes: the fourth member of their sisterhood. The blonde rushed to their side and immediately pounced on Elena, pulling her into a tight embrace before she swiftly pulled back to hold her at arm's length. A pair of baby blues intensely studied Elena's features. "How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you. How is she? Is she good?" she rapidly inquired, looking over at Snow and Bonnie for confirmation.

"Caroline, I'm right here. And I'm fine. Thank you," Elena retorted in a strained yet pleasant voice.

Caroline was clearly in a state of disbelief, "Really?"

Donning a forced smile, Elena responded in a clipped tone, "Yes. Much better."

Disbelief melted into sympathy. "Oh, you poor thing," she tut-tutted, drawing her into another crushing embrace. Deciding it was best she cut in before Elena lashed out at the sensitive blonde and hurt her feelings – which Caroline would eventually hide behind her infamous bitchy exterior – Snow intervened, "Care, maybe you should loosen up a teeny bit, sweetie."

"Oh! Okay, see you guys later?" Caroline was extremely perky; she had always been a morning girl.

"Ok! Bye!" Bonnie called after her retreating back.

Shaking her head, her expression having settled on shock, Elena mumbled, "No comment."

"I'm not going to say anything," Bonnie huffed, hazel-greens dancing with mirth at the quirky blonde's behavior. Snow gazed between the two girls in bewilderment, "Did that really just happen?" and that set them off again, as they laughed their way to class.

Really, Caroline Forbes meant well, and she was their best friend; she was the last quarter that completed their sisterhood, but sometimes Caroline needed a muzzle. Due to her insecurities, she often came out as insensitive and too brash, giving people the wrong impression about her. But no matter what, they would always love her.

As the three girls started to pass by the school office, Bonnie suddenly stopped, "Hold up. Who's this?" Like magnets, her eyes focused intently on the interior of the office, or to be more precise, the individual currently in the middle of a conversation with the receptionist who looked oddly flushed. Imitating their friend, Snow and Elena glanced inside, but all they could see was broad shoulders hidden behind a black leather jacket that gave off a bad-boy vibe.

Elena shrugged, uninterested, "All I see is back."

"It's a hot back," Bonnie insisted, definitely entranced by the stranger.

"You cannot be serious, Bon! He could have a hot back but an ugly face, or-or, he could be extremely good-looking with an ugly personality, or-" Snow's usual, indignant diatribe regarding appearance vs. personality was quickly interrupted by Bonnie as Elena attempted to hold back her laughter. "Jeez Snow, we get it. Chill!" Bonnie refocused her dreamy stare on the back she deemed as 'hot' before her posture suddenly formed a straight line and a calculating glint entered her eyes, "I'm sensing Seattle. And he plays the guitar."

Amused by her best friend's theatrics, Elena shook her head and once again, exchanged an eye-roll with Snow, "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

"Ya know, you should probably look into acting as a possible career. Maybe theater," Snow imparted solemnly, though her lips struggled to remain a straight line.

At that precise moment, Elena couldn't help but notice her younger brother, Jeremy, head into the boy's bathroom, and she promptly ran after him, leaving Snow and Bonnie to their discussion as the latter burned a hole into the new guy's leather-clad back.

"Please be hot," Bonnie murmured under her breath, her body doing a pleading jiggle.

"Keep your hormone levels down, Bon," Snow giggled. Bonnie swatted her arm, not the least bit amused or ashamed, but at that moment, the new guy turned around and walked past them, and Snow could have sworn she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

"Whoa!" Bonnie breathed out, her gaze stalking his movement.

'Whoa' didn't even begin to cover it. He was HOT! Like really hot! Deep brown naturally tousled hair, forest green eyes that looked so intense they gave off an impression that they were looking right into your soul, and to top it off, he had the face and the body structure of a model.

Hello, new guy!

Dumbly, they followed his movement, turning around just in time to see Elena bump into the new guy on his way to the bathroom. The girls watched in amusement as they exchanged a few awkward words before the mortified brunette ran over to their side and dragged them by their forearms to history class, obviously not wanting to discuss the embarrassing situation she had landed herself in as a result of her performing her duty as the concerned, older sister.

Snow sat at her customary desk between Caroline and Elena with Bonnie directly in front of her, and as usual, the four girls were texting and checking their social media on their phones instead of listening to the dull sound Mr. Tanner emitted when teaching history.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated with an incoming text from Bonnie: 'HAWT-E. STARING ELENA!' Snow whipped around to stare at the new guy and her best friend, only to see them sharing intense looks before Elena shyly ducked behind her long, curtained hair and turned away, grinning abashedly at Snow and Bonnie who both gave her subtle thumbs up.

After school, Snow and Elena decided to head to the cemetery together. Elena needed someone to help give her the strength to visit her parents without breaking down and Snow was only too glad to accompany her since she always stopped over every odd day to visit her parents.

"I'll wait for you by the gates when you're done, kay?"

Elena nodded gratefully and, clutching her diary close to her chest, she slowly made her way to the Gilbert Family plot. Sighing forlornly, Snow made a left, and after passing a couple of headstones, she paused and lowered herself to the ground in order to sit cross-legged in front of the headstones engraved with the names 'Stanley Silverstone' and 'Selene Silverstone'.

"So, today was the first day of junior year. Nothing exciting happened, really. I woke up, cooked breakfast for Haisley and Paisley, Bonnie and Elena picked me up, and we went to school. There was this new guy at school… I actually have a feeling that him and Elena might hit it off. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're probably thinking, Mom, I mean…I'm just guessing since I don't really have any memories of you-, not that I remember, if I do have any… I haven't met my Prince Charming yet. I know, sounds silly." Violet eyes brimming with unshed tears stared intensely at her parents' headstones, her fingers pulling absentmindedly on the grass. She never noticed that an individual stood at the far end of the woods, rapturously watching her, or that a fog was ominously creeping towards her. "Lucille and her team of lawyers are still trying to find a loophole around the will, but I gotta give it to you Dad, you sure made it iron clad. I-I've been having a hard time dealing with the deaths of Grayson and Miranda, they were, they were the stable parents I needed in my life, and now they're gone, just like you. Everyone always ends up dying on me, everyone I care about leaves at the end and I-I –"

Large sobs wracked Snow's form as a heavy load of tears streamed down her face and stained her ivory complexion. Her grieving however, was promptly interrupted by the slithering fog as it approached her position and threatened to engulf her form. Frantic, she jumped to her feet, grabbed her bag and ran toward the cemetery's gate.

A loud scream escaped her lips, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest when she bumped into someone. Apparently, the person she slammed emitted a scream as well, one that sounded so familiar and–

"Elena?"

"Snow?"

"Oh, thank God," they breathed out in relief, and if they weren't terrified to the state of almost tears, they would have collapsed into fits of laughter at their ridiculous behavior.

After all, Mystic Falls was such a boring, picturesque town, one where hardly anything went wrong. Except car accidents and drownings, apparently. Therefore, their sudden fright spell was laughable, especially since they were both well-known and popular teenagers that belonged to the Founding Families, which established them as two of the most protected individuals of Mystic Falls.

"Let's get out of here," Elena muttered. The words barely left her lips when she tripped over a root, scraping her knees in the process. Suppressing a chuckle, Snow helped her onto her feet when all of a sudden, the new guy appeared before them. Yet again, the best friends found themselves jumping in fear.

He stared between them, concern palpable on his features, "Are you two okay?"

"Were you following us?" Elena threw him a suspicious glare and therefore prompting Snow to smack her arm, "Rude, Elena!"

Rubbing the wounded section of her upper arm, Elena scowled at the raven-haired girl, "What!? Who hangs out in a cemetery, Snow."

"Uh, I, uh, I have family here," the new guy interrupted their small banter. Snow shot the brunette a smirk that reeked of smugness, "You see? People that have family here dummy."

Elena looked horrified. "Oh. Wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog, it's making me…foggy," she hastily expressed regret, and in the process, ending her apology on a lame note which garnered a barely noticeable smile from the new guy. On the other hand, Snow facepalmed. "You could have come up with a better excuse, Lena," she muttered.

The brunette found herself, once again, tossing her best friend a half-hearted glare, prompting the new guy to abandon all pretenses of politeness and blatantly chuckle at their endearing exchange. All of a sudden, Snow did a double-take, Elena's words resonating the recess of her mind. "Wait did you say fog? I saw it too!" violet eyes were wide with fear and her hand snaked around her friend's wrist in a tight grip.

"Really?" Elena breathed out, her shoulders slumping in palpable relief as she feared her eyes were playing tricks on her and that she had merely imagined the far-fetched incident – although, in retrospect, Snow did have an overactive imagination. However, it was highly unlikely that the two girls conjured the occurrence of such an unbelievable circumstance at the same time without the other's knowledge. "What about the bird, it was all very Hitchcock for a second. That is the bird movie, right, the Hitchcock…?" Elena trailed off in embarrassment and Snow giggled into the back of her hand, crinkled eyes flickering between the two in utmost delight. "I'm Elena," she awkwardly concluded.

"Snow," the raven-haired girl introduced herself with a half-wave.

Stefan offered the duo a genuine smile, "Stefan."

"I know. We have history together," Elena chucked nervously.

"And English and French," Stefan added, and honestly, Snow couldn't help but think about how cute and compatible they were as her violet orbs intently watched Stefan delicately pull a leaf from Elena's hair, ensuring he didn't pull at her strands and harm her.

The movement had Elena zeroing in on his ring, "Nice ring."

"It looks very Renaissance-y," Snow complimented, leaning over so that she could get a closer look. Wiggling his fingers into a fist, Stefan proceeded to wiggle them open and emitted a chuckle, "It's a family ring, yeah. I'm kinda stuck with it. It's weird, huh?"

"No, no. it's just, I mean, there are rings and then there's that," Elena blurted out, not making any sense whatsoever.

Snow shook her head at her friend's incomprehensible babbling. Elena was never nervous around anyone; it was obvious that she was into him.

The amicable ambience between them grew strained as Stefan frowned, his voice clipped as he abruptly asked the brown-haired girl if she had hurt herself. Head cocked in confusion, Elena slowly pulled up the hem of her jeans and cringed at the blood gushing from the small cut.

"Elena, are you okay?" worry had etched itself on Snow's features as she approached her friend. Shrugging in nonchalance, Elena patted the soft-spoken girl's forearm and said, "Yeah, Snow, it's just a small cut. Not a big deal, it'll heal." Her comment however, prompted Stefan's face to contort, evoking Elena's concern, "Are you okay?"

The inquiry had Snow's gaze flickering upward to meet Stefan's darkening eyes and her orbs started to widen upon noticing the appearance of veins crawling around his lower eyelid.

"You should go. Take care of that," was Stefan's stiff response, adamantly averting their curious gaze. A blink of an eye later, he vanished from their midst, prompting their jaws to drop in disbelief.

Agitated, Elena scoured the cemetery, bewildered beyond belief, "Wha-, where did he go?"

Snow shrugged, "He's probably real squeamish around blood. Anyways I gotta go to the Grill. My shift starts soon." Parting her with a brief hug, Snow smiled and left the cemetery.

"Okay, I'll see you soon," Elena waved her off.

Finally making it to the Grill, Snow tied the apron all employees were required to wear around her waist while she studied its interior. Her eyes flickered from the table Matt and Tyler were sharing, to the happy families and a handful of her classmates littered throughout the restaurant, and lastly, on Jeremy, who sat by the bar, elbows perched on the bartop as he spoke to Vicki, a senior and fellow waitress.

"Hey Vicki," Snow smiled sweetly.

Upon hearing her name and the sweet voice that accompanied it, Vicki turned away from the argument she and Jeremy were engrossed in and beamed at Snow. "Hey, sweetie! There aren't any tables placing orders at the moment," she dutifully informed her. Snow gratefully nodded and perched herself at the end of the bar, propping her chin on a closed fist as she patiently waited for the after-school rush.

Snow made a valiant attempt to block Vicki and Jeremy's heated conversation, unfortunately it was a fruitless endeavor as the two weren't trying to be quiet and were incredibly careless with their words. It was almost as though they were welcoming eavesdroppers. Might as well put up a sign that stated "Come join us! We have nothing to hide" on their foreheads.

"We hooked up a few times in a drug haze. It's over. You gotta back off before you ruin things between me and Tyler," Vicki bit out, her face drawn in frustration and Snow could tell by her tone alone that this was a recurring argument.

"Oh, come on, the guy's a total douche, he only wants you for your ass," was Jeremy's eloquent reply. Snow sucked in a deep breath and hid her eyes that had widened in disbelief at Jeremy's tactless rejoinder. She had arrived at the conclusion that Jeremy needed serious lessons when it came to talking to girls.

Vicki appeared unamused, her dark eyes narrowing into slits and a sneer crossing her lips. "Yeah? What do you want me for?" she hissed before walking away to take Caroline and Bonnie's order, both of whom had just arrived and were sitting in their regular booth.

A sigh of frustration left his lips, which quickly turned into a groan the moment his eyes landed on the raven-haired girl who was subtly attempting to avert his gaze and appear unconcerned – to no avail. "How much did you hear?" Jeremy groaned into the bartop.

"Eh, not much," Snow shrugged noncommittally, walking over to stand opposite to him. "Just enough to know that you guys had sex."

"Great," Jeremy mumbled dejectedly.

Snow winked and made a zipping motion across her lips, "My lips are sealed, Jer." He smiled in return and left Snow to her chore of cleaning up the tables as she had absolutely nothing to do. Since her shift just started, she couldn't ditch and join her friends at their table, who were now joined by Elena and much to her delight, Stefan – though she did feel bad for Matt who was currently staring at them, dejected.

The manager of Mystic Grill, Roy Dawson, incessantly showered Snow with favoritism and constantly treated her as though she were his long-lost niece. Whenever he was around, he would encourage Snow to sit with her friends when business was slow or when she was on her break, but Snow felt bad for her co-workers and did not want to advertise the fact that the man who signed their paychecks was blatantly favoring her. Vicki knew, and she would encourage her as well, but Snow was too nice and like always, thought of everyone's feelings before her own.

Snow always felt like her greatest weakness was her kindness and her heart that was big enough for everyone.

The next day, Snow woke up and performed her role as the housemaid, a routine that had been ingrained in her head since the age of nine.

Her alarm clock was her step-monster, screaming for her to wake up and prepare breakfast for her precious daughters. She showered, got dressed, made the twins' breakfast, ate a small, unfulfilling apple or banana – whichever was available, and then went to school with Bonnie who was waiting for her outside in her car, but this time, she was alone, indicating Elena must have taken her own car to school.

…And here Snow sat at her customary desk, disinterestedly listening to another boring lecture starring Mr. Tanner before he randomly started quizzing the unsuspecting students.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?"

Completely ignorant, Bonnie caged her lower lip between her upper and lower front teeth as she contemplated the most plausible answer that would help her escape Tanner's wrath unscathed. "Um…a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot," she enunciated, a small smile curving her lips.

His expression displayed palpable disdain. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." Surveying the class like a hawk would its prey, Mr. Tanner finally settled on his next victim, and without warning, he pounced, "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Leaning back on his chair, Matt swung backward on its rear legs and offered him a lazy smirk, "It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." The All-American quarterback's response had the class dissolving into laughter.

Mr. Tanner raised an eyebrow at him before his eyes narrowed on his next unfortunate victim: Elena. Oh poor Elena, Snow knew that she hated being put under the spotlight, especially by Tanner – the spiteful man relished in making his students squirm. "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Elena looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights, her doe-like Bambi eyes meeting Tanner's cruel onyx ones.

"I'm sorry, I-I don't know," she stuttered, pink patches forming on her cheeks.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break."

What a douche! Bonnie and Matt didn't know the answers either, yet he didn't say anything, instead choosing to victimize Elena who was still dealing with the tragic ordeal of her parents' death. And he actually had the gall to bring them up in the middle of class.

"There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians," Stefan spoke up, completely sparing Elena from further humiliation. Stefan was so sweet; Elena definitely caught herself a good one.

Mr. Tanner looked shocked, and honestly, Snow couldn't blame the man. It really was a miracle if anyone managed to answer a question correctly in his class. "That's correct. Mister…?"

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore," Mr. Tanner mulled it over. "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

"Distant."

Throwing him a discrete glance, Snow couldn't help but think that Stefan was acting purposely vague.

"Well, very good. Except, of course there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

Stefan cut him off before he could proceed with his boring lesson, "Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

Whoa. The whole class began muttering excitedly to themselves. Tanner just got Tannered – way to go Stefan!

Once school reached cessation, Snow headed to the Grill for the late afternoon shift, even though Roy had given her the day off, insisting that she enjoy herself tonight at the party that her classmates were hosting at the woods. The reason being, Snow knew that if she returned home, Lucille would force her stay in – God forbid she allowed her the opportunity to enjoy herself.

After her shift had ended, she ducked into the bathroom and hurriedly donned her favorite denim jeans short and a plain yet form-fitting red halter-top she bought at a bargain from Mrs. Penny's Thrift Store. She paired them with her favorite red ankle converse before hitching a ride with Bonnie, who was waiting for her outside with Caroline.

The woods brimmed with students and reeked of cheap beer and vodka, the ground littered with red plastic cups and empty beer bottles, and in the midst of it were Bonnie, Elena and Snow; the trio stood congregated in a half-circle while they drank beer.

Throughout the party, the girls separated and Snow caught a glimpse of her stepsisters laughing and chugging beer with their group of friends. Wrinkling her nose in disgust and slightly fearful of them identifying her and confronting her, she rapidly turned to search for her friends in hopes of avoiding them as she was in no mood for their snide and hurtful remarks. However, Snow only managed to take two steps in the opposite direction before a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and reeled her forward, and she found herself facing Joshua Reeves – a senior and according to half the girls of Mystic Falls High, a complete heartthrob. "Hey babe, where you going off to in a hurry?" he leered down at her, his breath reeking of vodka, an excessive amount of vodka that had her nostrils burning in disgust.

Suffice to say, Snow was not a fan of alcohol, especially strong liquor due to the negative effects it had on people and the horrible transformation people underwent under its influence.

"Let me go, Joshua!" Snow pleaded, her hands desperately attempting to detach his arms from around her waist, but her attempts were futile as her struggles only succeeded in exciting him and prompted his hand to travel downwards to enthusiastically grope her ass. "Stop! Joshua let go of me! Please…"

Joshua had been chasing after Snow for nearly two years, but Snow was not interested in him and no matter how much he tried, or sweet-talked her, she never budged. Joshua wasn't ugly. In fact, Snow never factored his looks throughout her constant rejections. Joshua Reeves was very sexy for Mystic Falls standards and all the girls chased after him. He had curly honey-blonde hair, entrancing blue eyes and a perfect, athletic build since he was one of the stars of the football team; Snow's issue with him was his personality. He was crude, rude, disrespectful, and simply put, he didn't strike her as the Prince Charming she had been waiting her entire life for.

His touch didn't elicit sparks of electricity or goosebumps out of her, but shivers of disgust. The intensity of his gaze didn't prompt a pleased flush out of her or make her feel special and loved, but had her recoiling in fear. When he spoke to her, she didn't feel like spending forever by his side, but instead felt the urge to run the other direction, far away from him. Everything about Joshua Reeves frightened her and unlike the denizens of girls in Mystic Falls, she didn't feel lucky for having intrigued him, but extremely unfortunate.

"Come on babe, stop being a tease, we've been through this for nearly two years now, why don't you just give in?" Joshua's lips were now attacking her neck and Snow emitted a pathetic whimper as she pleaded for him to release her, her hands clawing desperately on his strong arms.

It was very fortunate for Snow, but very unfortunate for others, when Elena's piercing scream for help permeated the air, distracting Joshua and allowing Snow to rip herself from his strong hold and rush over to Elena's side, swiping the tears that managed to escape with angry hands while stubbornly ignoring Joshua's yells for her to come back.

Snow gasped when she saw Jeremy trailing after Elena, his eyes boring into the unconscious body in his arms, and she screamed for her friend, "VICKI! Oh my God, Vicki! What happened to her?"

"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?!" Matt yelled frantically, and Snow's heart went out for him; Vicki was his older sister and the only family he had at the moment.

"Somebody, call an ambulance!" Tyler exclaimed.

The mass formed a wide circle around Vicki, giving them a wide berth. Forcing her way into to the front, Snow crouched by her unconscious friend's side and started to feel for a pulse, sighing in relief when a weak pulse beat against her fingers. Roaming Vicki's form, she searched frantically for the source of all the blood, her eyes finally narrowing on her neck where she could clearly see two small, yet deep, puncture marks.

"She was bitten by something," Snow murmured, mostly to herself.

"Vicki, Vicki! Come on, open your eyes, look at me," desperation punctuated Matt's voice and Snow honestly couldn't blame him; if anything were to happen to Elena, Bonnie and Caroline, Snow didn't know what she would do. She'd probably descend into insanity or transform into a shell of herself, or perhaps enter an endless grieving process – they weren't just her friends, but her sisters, and they have been ever since the age of three. The mere thought of continuing life without any one of them was unimaginable.

After the ambulance departed with Vicki and Matt, Bonnie offered a ride to the Grill so that Caroline could sober up before dropping them both at their respective homes. Her eyes immediately landed on Joshua, and she took note of his angry footsteps as he walked toward her, his blue eyes blazing with anger and lust. With that in mind, Snow jumped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut, locking herself in the car and ignoring Bonnie and Caroline's identical expressions of bemusement.

"Are you sober yet?" Bonnie sighed, watching Caroline drain her second cup of coffee since they arrived at Mystic Grill.

"No."

"Keep drinking. I gotta get you and Snow home. I gotta get me home," Bonnie stressed, her feet tapping on the floor impatiently.

A whine escaped Caroline's lips, "Why didn't he go for me? You know, how come the guys that I want never want me?"

Snow gazed at Caroline with empathy, realizing a beat late that she had set her sights on Stefan. Unfortunately, he only had eyes for Elena. Snow couldn't pretend to understand what her blonde best friend was going through since she never showed a sliver of interest in any of the guys in Mystic Falls. She was waiting for something inside of her to click or for fireworks to blind her vision, or butterflies to flutter in her stomach, or something magical to occur when she shared eye or tactile contact with a guy for the first time. Even a short conversation would do. Any form of interaction, really.

Yes, Snow knew it was ridiculous, and that love at first sight probably didn't exist except in fairy tales or fantasy books and movies, but Snow never gave up on hope; she honestly believed everyone had a soulmate out there... That there were two souls created by God, roaming around aimlessly in the universe, waiting to be reconnected with their other half. That there were two people meant for each other.

"I'm not touching that," Bonnie stated bluntly.

"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And…Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she's the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try soo hard, and… I'm never the one," a few tears escaped Caroline's eyelids, staining her beautiful face. Snow didn't hesitate; she immediately leaned forward and wiped them away with her bare hands, her expression sorrowful and sympathetic. Her sad blue eyes bore into her compassionate friend's violet ones, "You too, Snow. God I don't think I'll ever understand why you never gave any of the guys a chance. They're always running after you, scrambling for your attention. And you always push them away."

"Yeah well, it's not always a good thing, trust me," Snow darkly admitted, subtly shivering as she recalled the way Joshua held her and kissed her neck. The mere thought had her flinch in revulsion and she ached for a long hot bath to erase the ghost of his unwanted touches and kisses that clung to her skin.

"It's not a competition, Caroline," Bonnie attempted to console her, to no avail.

The blonde's glum retort had Bonnie and Snow exchanging sorrowful looks, "Yeah, it is."

CAST:

Eva Green as Lucille Silverstone

Matt Barr as Joshua Reeves

Jon Favreau as Roy Dawson

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy! I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself." – Elena Gilbert

"Hey, keep it down. I don't want to tell the whole world I deflowered Elena's kid brother." – Vicki Donovan

"We're planning a June wedding." – Caroline Forbes

"Well, you have the mysterious thing going, too. Twinged in sadness." – Stefan Salvatore

"Last spring… my parents' car drove off of a bridge into the lake. And I was in the backseat and I survived, but…they didn't. So that's my story." – Elena Gilbert

"Every night, before I sleep, I cannot help but wonder… why did you marry her, Dad? What did you ever see in her?" – Snow Silverstone

"No, you're worse. You want to talk to me, get to know me, see into my soul and screw and screw and screw until you're done with me." – Vicki Donovan

"I don't care if it's the last thing I do. By the time I graduate, I'm gonna have popped your cherry, Snow Silverstone. Keep playing hard to get… keep teasing me, sweets. 'Cause in the end, I'm gonna devour you whole." – Joshua Reeves

"Something's not right! Something's happening and it's nothin' good. The signs, it's like they're on the fritz! I'm gonna leave Dean in charge and stay close to the area. And you, keep me updated… strictly need-to-know basis." – John Winchester

A/N: So, this is my new story. Now I promise it is very interesting and I have many ideas for future chapters. I am just starting slowly. Next chapters we'll see more of the ugly stepsisters.

R&R.