Hello people, sorry I was away for a bit. I'm switching jobs and there was a situation at my current workplace. I have a few chapters sketched out I need to just edit and post them so I promise to be regular. I'm thinking about one chapter a week.

Caroline Forbes had a plan.

We'll, she had several extensive and detailed plans. This one in particular was the roadmap of her life. So far, she was on track.

Head cheerleader. Check.

Student committee head. Check.

Miss popular.

Miss Mystic Falls. Working on it.

Find the love of her life. School year's starting so there's that too.

Homecoming Queen.

Become a journalist.

De facto Queen of Mystic High.

As she drove into the parking on school, she knew that this would be her best year ever yet.

She was going to take Mystic High by a storm. Cheerleading, event planning, student committee, community service, she had a plan for doing it all. Nothing could stop her from being crowned Miss Mystic Falls.

The looks of awe, appreciation or even jealousy were nothing if not encouraging. She made her way through the crowds making small talk with some students and checking up on the first day preparations with some others.

She saw Elena and Bonnie near the lockers and rushed to meet them before the classes began.

It was an unsettling sight. Elena didn't care.

Not about who greeted her and who didn't, not about the juicy gossip of summer, not about the events lined up in the first few weeks. She didn't have an eye out for the looks she was getting, she didn't a smug half smile on her face basking in the attention. She didn't even have any guys following her around like puppies now that her and Matt are no longer together.

Elena Gilbert was trying to be just another teen in the school. She no longer seemed to be in the game. For the first time ever, Elena's focus wasn't revolving around her beauty or boys.

It was jarring to say the least.

She had wished Elena faded away into background a lot of times, but that it took losing her parents.. She had disappeared all summer coping with their death just months ago. Caroline had for all intents and purposes lost her parents when they split, she couldn't imagine what actually losing them would be like.

"Elena. Oh my god. How are you?" She hugged her friend.

She turned to her other best friend, Bonnie to enquire. "How is she? Is she good?" She knew Elena would never openly admit to not doing well.

The three had been friends from kindergarten, inseparable almost, but Caroline knew Bonnie was closer to both her and Elena separately. She loved Elena, but sometimes they'd be too busy competing over similar things to be there for each other. If there was something amiss, Bonnie would know.

Elena answered back before Bonnie could, insisting she was fine. Caroline didn't believe it but she let it slide.

Caroline was hanging out with Bonnie at the Grill after the smashing day one. That is not including the new guy in school, he was an entire conversation altogether. She couldn't believe her eyes when she first laid eyes on him in the corridor.

She decides she's ready for a serious relationship and bam, there's a new hottie in town where nothing new ever happens. Talk about the odds. If this wasn't a sign, she didn't know what was.

It wasn't like the town didn't have any hot guys, but none of them really made the cut.

Matt was a great guy, but he was still pining after Elena even months after the break up.

Tyler was HOT, but he was also a douche bag and not at all boyfriend material.

Ben looked okay too, except he didn't seem to want anything more than working at the Grill.

Most of the seniors were away attending universities. There were some Lockwood cousins and a few Whitmores that she heard of, again, they didn't live in town and she didn't want to consider long distance even before the relationship took off.

But she didn't have to think about it now. Stefan Salvatore was perfect.

With that, she launched into what she knew about him to Bonnie. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with his uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini and his favorite color is blue."

Bonnie looked only half shocked, used to Caroline by now. "You got it all in one day?"

"Please, that was between the third and fourth periods. We're planning a June wedding." She told Bonnie confidently.

She saw Tyler and the football gang near the pool table and went to talk to them knowing Bonnie preferred to keep her distance from the jocks. Matt joined Bonnie at a booth so she decided to stick around a little longer with Tyler deciding Elena-pining was not the flavor she wanted today.

Not ten minutes later Elena appeared at the Grill with Stefan of all people. Matt saw them too and the pained look on his face was obvious even to her. Tyler paused his game to see if any drama would unfold too. Matt, poor Matt, just greeted them cordially albeit awkwardly and went away. Elena just stood there without a care in the world as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Sometimes, she didn't know if Elena even knew what she does.

She didn't know if she should be happy to meet Stefan or if she should worry that Elena was already sinking her claws in on her potential guy. She decided to worry about it later and get to know Stefan.

Not five minutes in, she realized how much she underestimated Elena. It was like that girl didn't know how to function without the spotlight. She didn't seem into be into partying like she had before, but she still had to be the center of attention everywhere she went.

Stefan barely took his eyes off her since they sat. She'd ask him questions and he'd answer them to Elena. Elena couldn't obviously stop with the doe eyes and coy smiles. Bonnie being Bonnie, she was on Elena's side by default. There was so much to do this year, she was counting on Bonnie to be there for her, but looks like she'd have to rethink that.

She was on her last nerve, not that she'd let it show, when the most beautiful people she'd ever laid eyes on entered the Grill. She must have stared for what was several seconds before she looked around to see if anyone else was seeing the same thing as her. The entire Grill was, from slacked faces to dropped jaws, it was like no one could turn away.

She sat opposite to Stefan and had a clear view of the entrance, but she could see Bonnie craning in her seat to watch too.

They looked like runway models who lost their way and stumbled up on the Grill. Not that they looked anything less than comfortable here too. They moved like they owned the place. They had matching clothes that looked like they were glued to the skin, leather jackets, solid shirts and fitting jeans.

It was unusual for her to check out a female before she did a male, but this girl, no woman, she corrected herself, was going to be an exception. The woman was slender, medium tall, so graceful that it looked like she was floating through the aisles. Her knee high combat boots looked fit for streets of Paris. Her long dark hair cascaded her oval but angular face. Her most attractive feature were her eyes though, they looked like pools of grey, her grey tank making her eyes pop. The woman exuded confidence, like the eyes on her were of no consequence, like she was indifferent to the attention she was getting.

Caroline was so in awe with her that the new entrance didn't even feel like competition, no, if anything, she wanted to go over and take notes from her.

She, then turned her eyes to her companion, who was nothing less than a sculpted Greek model, messy dark hair that she'd want to run her fingers through, piercing blue eyes so sharp that she was thankful were not directed on her for she'd faint away, broad shoulders, muscles rippling through the leather. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world. If she looked like that, she figured she wouldn't either.

Her musing ended when they moved out of her line of sight. She might be awestruck, but she refused to turn to keep staring like a common peasant. To her mild surprise, everyone in the table seemed to be still looking. Stefan, in particular, was surprising, he looked like he swallowed something unpleasant and couldn't wait to get it out. He was concerned for no reason as far as she was concerned though, Stefan was no less attractive from the guy who walked in. Maybe he wasn't used to the competition, she thought. Either way, she was glad they got a break from Elena mooning.

Or so she thought, Stefan moved from Elena mooning to stranger glaring. The conversations muted and awkwardness started to take over. It must have gone for about fifteen minutes before the newcomers made their way to the table.

Honestly, they looked even better from closer if that were possible. Cassie and Damon, she registered before them being related to Stefan sunk in. She didn't even try to hide her surprise, because Stefan just said he didn't have any siblings.

Honestly, the excitement in town went up fifteen levels in one day. A new hotshot at school, one of the founding family that too, an interesting backstory, brother drama, runway models, fiancés, there was so much to gossip. Not to mention the said fiancé who she decided she just had to be friends with. Cassie looked like everything Caroline wanted to be in a while, at least on the personal side.

When Cassie commented on her earrings, she went out on a limb and invited her to the back to school party before she could think twice. She'd kill for a chance to look anything like Cassie and if she got an in with Stefan, that was just an added bonus. Anyway, she seemed to be low on friends this year with Bonnie and Elena drifting away. As it was, she was rarely paid attention to next to Elena or even Bonnie. So she didn't want to lose a chance to hang out and was excited and even grateful when Cassie agreed.

At least it wasn't a total waste of time, she thought, even if Stefan was into Elena, she'll learn where Cassie's boots were from.

This chapter is evidently from Caroline's POV.

Clarification, Caroline is not an air head, she's an excitable and bubbly 17 year old. Kind of what Elena may have been too, if she wasn't trying to act grown up and matured because of losing her parents.

Honestly, I realize as I'm writing this, everyone but Elena seem to have well defined characters. Anyway, I'm thinking more of Caroline, what do you think?

Note: Damon and Caroline are not going to have any "weird" interactions, that portion was quite icky. I don't know why the show makers would do that to one of the regular characters even if they did want to villainize Damon. And then pretend like it never happened altogether. That's several levels of cringe and disgust.

For Bonnie fans, I'm not forgetting Bonnie, there's going to be more from her once she realizes she's a witch.