New Kid in Town

There's talk on the street
It sounds so familiar
Great expectations
Everybody's watching you

... ... ...

Mackenzie Miller flipped her red hair back as she lifted her chin and walked into her new high school in Mystic Falls. She was the new girl, transferring in her junior year and she hated it. Why Mystic Falls of all places? She much more enjoyed living in California, there was sun, cheerleading, her friends and a boyfriend. Now she was in Mystic Falls because her Dad's job transferred him and he uprooted their whole lives. Lame.

She walked into the office to get her welcome package as well as her class schedule and locker assignment. With a strained smile at the overly chatty secretary, she turned and left mid-sentence, not noticing the put out look on her face. If she did, she really wouldn't have cared though, Mackenzie wasn't exactly a "nice" girl. She was the stereotypical popular cheerleader, who cared only for herself and her status in the high school food chain. She wasn't necessarily a bad girl, just sheltered, unaware of the world around her, more concerned with her looks and her boyfriend of the month and making sure her friends weren't about to stab her in the back. Ah, cheerleader hierarchy at her old school was fickle, everyone always looking for a way to the top, even if that included stabbing your best friend in the back.

But she sure did miss it.

"Hey, you must be new here. I'm Elena Gilbert."

Mackenzie turned to the voice, resisting the urge to frown at this girl with the long dark hair and dark eyes. She looked so familiar but how, she didn't know. She had just arrived in town yesterday and hadn't had a chance to check out the town yet.

"Hi, Mackenzie Miller, or Kenzie, either works. And yes, totally new, so it's nice to meet you."

"Welcome to Mystic Falls, how do you like it so far?" Elena asked her.

Mackenzie gave a small shrug. "I got here yesterday so haven't really had a chance to do much. I miss my friends."

"I'm sorry to hear that but I promise, everyone here is super nice and if you ever need anything, just let me know."

The redhead smiled. "Thanks, really but I need to know how to get to my History class with-" She glanced down at the paper in her hands. "-Mr. Saltzman. Can you point me in the right direction?"

Elena grinned at her. "I'll do you one better, I'll show you, I'm heading there myself."

Mackenzie fell in step beside the other girl, trying to memorize the way there for future reference.

"So where did you move from?" Elena asked.

"LA. My dad got transferred."

"Oh that must be so hard." Elena sympathized. "How's the rest of your family taking it?"

Mackenzie shrugged. "it's just us, so really, it's just me hating it, he thinks it might be a wonderful opportunity, personally, I think he just hated my latest boyfriend."

She laughed. "I'm sure you'll like it soon, just give it some time."

The new girl shrugged as she followed Elena into the classroom and up to the teacher's desk.

"Ric, I mean, Mr. Saltzman, this is Mackenzie Miller."

The teacher was cute in an older guy kind of way and Mackenzie turned on her biggest flirtatious smile as he greeted her then turned to the class to introduce her. He instructed her to take a seat beside Elena and announced a pop quiz. Mackenzie glanced uncertainly at Elena who rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Don't worry about it." She whispered. "He does this all the time to make sure we were paying attention. He won't expect you to know everything."

"According to Mystic Falls folklore, what item is used to weaken vampires?" Mr. Saltzman was asking.

Mackenzie turned to Elena, really confused now. "Vampires?" She mouthed.

The other girl shrugged as a boy behind her raised his hand. "Vervain."

"Correct." The teacher replied. "Mystic Falls was founded what year?"

"That's Stefan." Elena whispered to her. "That's my boyfriend."

Mackenzie glanced at him again as he waved at her with a small smile, she returned it as Elena lifted her hand.

"1860." She replied.

"And how many civilian casualties were recorded in the Battle of Willow Creek?"

Mackenzie stared dumbly at him. She didn't have the first clue about Mystic Falls, she was a California girl.

"75?" Someone in the back of the room guessed.

"Wrong. There were zero civilian casualties but 346 soldiers were killed.

"What is this battle of Willow Creek?" she muttered to Elena

"That's wrong sir, there were actually 27 civilian casualties when the confederate soldiers set fire to Fell's church, it was a night of great loss."

Everyone turned to look at Stefan who shrugged at the attention.

"This isn't in any of the war records." The Teacher pointed out.

"It was in my family's journal." Stefan replied.

"Right, you are a founding family." He turned to Mackenzie. "We have a lot of founding family members here which include the Salvatore's, the Gilbert's, the Fell's, the Forbes', and the Lockwoods."

"And the Miller's." Stefan quietly said.

Mackenzie turned to him with a grin. "What is this, prank the new girl?"

Stefan shook his head. "I just remembered them being mentioned when you were introduced. They weren't a prominent family so are very rarely mentioned and the Miller's moved away not long after the Fell's Church incident."

"But surely you're not saying…" she trailed off uncertainly before shaking her head. "No, I'm a California girl, I never even heard of Mystic Falls until my dad was transferred."

Stefan smiled at her. "I'm not saying you are, just your last name reminded me of them."

"Right." She replied with a frown, turning to face the front.

The discussion continued on around her but Mackenzie didn't hear anything until the bell rang and Mr. Saltzman was calling her up to the front.

"I know this is a lot to handle." He told her. "But I'm sure you'll be caught up in no time. As one new person in town to the next, I just want to warn you to be careful."

She cocked her head to the side. "Careful of what?"

"People have gone missing around here." He mysteriously told her before smiling. "If you need help getting caught up, let me know."

He turned away, ending the conversation and leaving behind a really confused new girl. Mackenzie only shrugged, leaving and pulling out her class schedule to figure out where to go next. As she turned down another hallway she stopped, her mouth dropping at seeing a flyer there and finally she saw a glimmer of hope returning.

"Are you coming to try out?"

Mackenzie turned her head to look at the newcomer, a perky blonde who looked like she belonged on the cheerleading squad.

"Yes." She all but yelled. "This is like, meant to be or something. I move here and there's tryouts?"

"You were a cheerleader?"

"Am. I'm Mackenzie Miller, but really call me Kenzie, it's easier, you're a cheerleader aren't you? I have great cheerdar."

The blonde smiled. "Yes, I am. I'm Caroline Forbes. Welcome to Mystic Falls, I'll see you after school, okay?"

Kenzie nodded as the blonde walked away and she smiled, turning back to the flyer. Finally, something was looking up.

… … …

"So you girls want to be cheerleaders?" Caroline asked to the gathered hopefuls on the field. "Cheerleading isn't easy, it's hard work not just during practices and games but every day at school and in the community. We are ambassadors, we represent the school and we must always remember that."

Kenzie nodded, she completely understood that, it was what cheerleading was all about.

"But first you need to show you can be a cheerleader. Can you do a standing back tuck and a perfect left herkie?"

Caroline split all the girls up into groups of three and had them go through the moves. Kenzie was in the last group and knew she nailed it perfectly. Caroline even shot her a grin of approval before conferring with the other squad members and starting to cut people one by one as she led them all through more combinations.

Finally it was down to three girls and Kenzie was the last to go, finishing her combination off with a split, her hands raised in a V.

"Awesome." Caroline squealed. "That's all for now ladies. We'll post up the results tomorrow morning. Kenzie, can I speak with you?"

The red head grabbed her stuff and walked up to Caroline.

"I just want to tell you, the whole posting thing is more of a formality, you were incredible."

"Really?" Kenzie asked, "Oh my god, thanks, best news I've heard since I was told I was moving here."

"Oh it's not so bad here." Caroline told her, "especially if you have this." She handed Kenzie a piece of paper and the new girl took it and opened it up, her face breaking out into a grin at the invite.

"A party?"

"Yes." Caroline cried. "Tonight and since you're going to be part of the squad, it's better to get you situated in the in crowd now. Will you come?"

"Obviously."

"Great, I'll pick you up so you don't get lost, okay?"

Kenzie smiled and nodded, grabbing her stuff to head home so she could get ready for the party.

Hours later, she was adding the finishing touches to her outfit. Since it was in the woods, she had opted for jeans and sweater since it was cooling down at night and she was really missing the warm California weather.

"Dad, I'm going out." She yelled out to him as the doorbell rang.

"Where?" He yelled back from the kitchen.

"Friends I just met, I'll be back later." Not waiting for an answer, she opened the door and smiled at Caroline who held out a box for her.

"Present." The blonde squealed.

Kenzie's eyes lit up as she ripped the top of the box off and let out her own squeal at the pompoms sitting on top, she pulled them out to see the uniform underneath.

"maroon?" She asked with a fake pout, "But it clashes with my hair."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll put in a request to change our school colors tomorrow to suit you, are you ready?"

Kenzie laughed as she took the box and placed it on a nearby table, following the other girl out to her car. "Don't worry I can make it work, I can make most anything work."

"That's what I like to hear. Everyone is like so excited to meet you."

"Really?" She asked, getting in the car

"Totally. A new girl, who is already a cheerleader, so naturally everyone wants to meet her."

Kenzie grinned. "Awesome, I love meeting new people and hopefully it will get my mind off my ex."

"Ex? Oh no, what happened?"

"I moved here." She muttered before shaking her head. "I'm sure I would've dumped him eventually but it was far too quick, I wasn't even bored yet. But hey, I'm already a cheerleader, so it's not all bad."

"Was your old squad any good?" Caroline asked, pulling into a parking lot.

"State champs three years running, I would have made it a fourth this year." Kenzie proudly responded.

"No way." The blonde gasped. "Oh my god, maybe we actually have a chance this year as long as you don't take my captain position."

"Nah, you can have it for now." Kenzie replied with a laugh.

The girls got out and made their way into the woods, waving at Elena as she spotted them and walked over to them.

"Elena, are you sure you don't want back on the squad? Kenzie is a state champ, we might have a shot this year."

"Really?" Elena questioned.

The redhead nodded with a big grin.

"that's awesome but not really my thing anymore." The brunette smiled. "Have you had a chance to meet many people yet?"

Kenzie shook her head.

"You need to meet Bonnie, Matt, my brother Jeremy and I should properly introduce you to Stefan." She looked past the two girls with a small frown. "Speaking of which, I got to go, I'll catch up with you later."

She pushed past them and Kenzie turned a puzzled look on Caroline who only shrugged. "Elena has been through… a lot. Her parents died at the beginning of summer in a car accident. She was in the car too."

"Oh." Was all Kenzie said as she looked after Elena, trying not to let her mind wander to her own thoughts and experiences.

"She's become totally withdrawn. Did you want a drink? I'll get us some drinks."

Caroline bounded off and Kenzie was left to look around feeling almost awkward at standing alone. After a few minutes, she began to fidget and look around for Caroline who she noticed was talking to a blonde guy. She sighed and contemplated going over to her when she spied two figures watching the party from the shadows. Something made her watch them and when they both turned away and left, she glanced around again, noticing no one paying attention and slipped away from the party. She followed them out of the woods and into the middle of town which, if she remembered was called Mystic square. She stopped briefly to see where they went and finally spotted them way ahead now. She moved to follow but stopped again when she saw something on the ground. She bent over to pick it up, seeing it was a cellphone and when she looked up, the two figures were gone. Shrugging she put it in her pocket, thinking someone would eventually call, looking for it.

Now she looked around and sat on a bench, contemplating whether she should return to the party or not when Caroline came walking through the square, crying.

"Caroline?" She called out, causing the blonde to turn to her in surprise.

"Kenzie? What are you doing here? I thought you were at the party."

The red head shrugged. "Decided to look around while waiting for my drink."

"OH my god, I'm so sorry, it's just, I ran into Matt and well, I don't know, I really like him but it's like he's embarrassed of me."

"Why would he be embarrassed of you?"

The blondes cheeks flushed. "People think I'm kind of a ditz."

"I don't think you are." Kenzie softly told her.

"You don't know me well enough plus you're biased as a cheerleader."

"Look, you are a cheerleader, therefore any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Also, I'm not Elena, him and Elena were an item." Caroline sighed and sat down beside her new friend. "Everyone loves Elena, they all think she's just so amazing."

"I'm sure you are too though."

Her pocket buzzed and Kenzie looked momentarily confused before she remembered that she had someones cell phone in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a message on it.

Meet me on the south side of the school.

"You look confused." Caroline noted.

Kenzie shrugged. "No, I'm fine."

Caroline sighed. "I should go back and get my car, go home and sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm glad I met you Kenzie."

The redhead smiled back and waited for the other girl to leave before making her way over to the school. When she got there, nobody was there but she couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched. She tried calling the number that txted her but it was shut off and there was no voicemail attached. Who didn't have voicemail nowadays, seriously?

The feeling of being watched was really beginning to bug her and she left in a rush. If the guy wanted his phone back, he could come get it from her, in daylight, with a lot of people around. Like she should've told him in the first place, maybe then she could've left with Caroline and gotten a ride home and not be stuck walking around in some creepy little town that she really didn't want to be in.

Finally, she got home and was about to go inside when she noticed a piece of paper on the mat in front of her door. Kenzie kneeled down to pick it up, frowning at what was only a partial piece of paper and as she skimmed through it, she saw it spoke of the towns founding families moving to Mystic Falls and she clearly saw the name Miller amongst them . She glanced around to see if anyone was there, why would someone had dropped this off at her house. Was the whole school meeting a ploy so someone could drop it off here? Was it Elena's boyfriend? He had spoken of another not widely known Founding family but it was just a tad too coincidental that they shared the last name as her.

"Kenzie." Someone called her name and she turned around to see Elena waving at her, Stefan right behind her.

"Hey." She called, putting her hands behind her back so the other girl didn't ask about the paper she had just found.

"I didn't realize you lived down the road from me."

"Do I?" Kenzie asked with a small shrug. "I haven't had a chance to meet anyone yet."

"Are you okay? " Stefan asked, as they moved closer to her. "You look a little flushed."

"I'm fine." Was her short reply. Was he trying to figure out if she had seen the letter that he probably had left?

The door opened behind her. "Mac?" her father called, having heard her on the porch.

"Don't call me that." She replied through gritted teeth.

"Hi, you must be Mr. Miller." Stefan stepped forward, holding out a hand to her dad who stepped forward and shook it.

"Yes, I am. Are you some of Kenzie's new friends?"

Elena nodded with a smile. "I was just about to extend an invitation since you guys are new to the neighborhood, why don't you come for dinner tomorrow, my aunt is having a dinner party."

"Well, that's very kind of you…."

"Elena Gilbert." The brunette replied. "This is my boyfriend Stefan."

"If it's not too much trouble, that would be wonderful. We could use a home cooked meal, we're not much for cooking."

"I'll let her know." Elena replied.

"Kenzie, not too much longer, okay?"

She nodded as her dad went back inside and she was left alone with other two teens, staring suspiciously at them.

"You left the party awfully early, didn't you?"

"The same could be said for you." Stefan replied with a small smile.

Kenzie shrugged. "I still don't know many people, so I decided to call it a night."

"I'm sorry." Elena said, "If I knew, I would have hung out with you."

"No biggie, well you heard my dad, I should go inside." Not waiting for a reply, she backed into the house.

"She's hiding something." Stefan observed.

"What makes you say that?" Elena asked him.

"Something behind her back she didn't want us to see."

Elena shrugged. "I doubt it's anything bad, I mean, she's not supernatural or anything, is she?"

Stefan shook his head. "Not that I could tell, maybe Bonnie would know."

Elena looked back at the house. "I don't think we should do anything if she's not a danger to anyone. Maybe she's just lonely. She's in a new town, new school and from when we talked earlier, she seems to be struggling with it. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll trust you." Stefan relented, leaning forwards to kiss her nose.

… … …