Rye felt their eyes on her as she sat through Alaric's class and she was beyond giddy. It was hard to keep her cool when she was about to become an obsessive fangirl. She sat back during his lecture and sifted through the memories that weren't there before. The bitterness that was there was legitimate it would seem. How these thoughts, emotions, and memories were there was making her freak out, but she tried not to focus on that part. Rye had been there every day for Elena when her parents had passed, but after the move, Rye Fell's mother had gotten sick. She'd called Elena and emailed her every day, and it had gone unanswered. Caroline and Bonnie had corresponded for a few months, but those soon died off as well. The only one who was consistent in staying in contact was Matt, up until the previous year. She knew from her extensive watching of TVD that this was due to Vicki and all the vamp stuff so she really couldn't hold a grudge on him. Could she really be mad at the others anyway? None of that had happened to her, though the tidbit of the mom getting sick was a low blow. She came back to herself when she heard the bell ring. She sighed, grabbed her purse, the new book, and headed for the door. She had barely stepped into the hallway when she heard her name from two different directions. Elena had called to her from behind her and Caroline was rushing towards her from down the hall. Caroline's face with the picture of happiness as she came to a stop in front of her.
"Oh my God, Matt told me you were back during first period, but I had to see it for myself. I can't believe you're back!" Rye allowed herself to be enveloped in Caroline's arms and two things happened at the same time. One, she was fighting extremely hard not to squeal because Caroline was her absolute favorite character. Two, she immediately knew that Caroline was a vampire and the knowledge genuinely frightened her. She received a flash of Caroline's death via Katherine in her head, and she involuntarily jerked back away from her, her eyes wide. Caroline's face fell as she dropped her arms back to her side. Rye was still trying to regain her composure when Elena and Bonnie stopped beside them, the circle of friends complete. Bonnie took her hand and smiled at her shyly; she seemed to be afraid that she was going to bite her head off.
"What she said, we are so happy to see you, Rye. We have to do something tonight; we have to catch up." Elena perked up at that statement and smiled.
"Hey that's a great idea, why don't you come over to my house after school and we can have a sleepover for old time's sake and catch up?" Caroline rapidly nodded her head in agreement and turned her brilliant smile on her. Rye's skin was crawling at standing face to face with a vampire. This must be something that was added for drama because Caroline was probably the least scary vampire on the show. Rye started to back away and gave them a noncommittal shrug, pulling her schedule out of her pocket.
"I don't think today is a good idea, guys, but maybe another day once I've gotten settled." She immediately turned on her heel and started briskly walking towards her next class, trying to shake the uneasy feeling. She did, however, distinctly hear what came out of Bonnie's mouth.
"Great, our best friend is back after two years, and she hates us." She didn't hear anyone's reply as she ran into someone in her haste to get away. She would have fallen on her butt if not for the strong hands that gripped her shoulders. When she looked up, her eyes locked with Tyler Lockwood and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. What the hell was that? Sure, Rye Fell may have dated Tyler, but she the person couldn't stand his smart ass so why was her pulse quickening? He stared at her completely dumbfounded, giving her the time to recover and smirk at him.
"Same old, Ty, not looking where he's going." He gave an involuntary chuckle as he dropped his hands and let go of her.
"Damn, Ryleigh, I didn't know that you were coming back to Mystic." She tilted her head to the side and pushed the butterflies away; she did not like Tyler freaking Lockwood. She didn't answer him just raised an eyebrow and moved to go around him, and he let her go. She had English next, and Rye wasn't looking forward to it. The fact that she had to go through a full day of school was awful, and she was ready to go already. She'd chosen her seat after her handing her schedule to the teacher and getting her book. She'd been sitting for a minute when Stefan Salvatore breezed in like he didn't have a care in the world. He chose the seat right next to hers, and she was sure that he'd done this on purpose. They still had a few minutes before the class was supposed to start. She flipped through the book, trying to appear nonchalant and ignoring the fact that Stefan was within touching distance. She heard when he leaned over, and she braced herself so she wouldn't reveal her excitement at meeting him.
"We didn't get to meet earlier; I'm Stefan Salvatore, I'm Elena's boyfriend. Elena's pretty upset right now, and I just thought you should know that." Rye turned to face him and was hit with the full blast of his perfection. It took her a moment before she could respond to him.
"Well, that's okay, I'm not really looking to rekindle the fabulous foursome, yes we called ourselves that." He frowned at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to let it go, but she remembered this was Stefan. He'd do anything to make Elena happy and right now getting her to drop her antagonism would do the trick.
"Why don't you at least sit with us at lunch? You guys can take it from there?" Rye was saved from saying anything else as the teacher called the room to be quiet. It was going to be a very long day; it would seem.
The next class was one with Matt, and she was okay with that. It was Chemistry, and he had an open seat next to him. The teacher informed her that his was the only open table, which she was grateful. She had just sat down when she felt someone staring daggers at her. She glanced over her shoulder and did her best to hide her surprise. Rebekah Mikaelson of the original family was sitting behind her. If she was there, then they must be nearing the part where she runs Elena off the bridge. It should have already happened though from the what was going on, so it was a little confusing. She turned to smile at Matt who was smiling as well. She was glad to have at least one person that she felt comfortable with. The thing with Caroline still spooked her; she was okay with vampires. Case in point, Stefan was staring at her and talking to her, and she hadn't freaked. Could it be because she hadn't touched him yet and Rye Fell didn't know he was one? This having two sets of memories was incredibly weird and distracting. The teacher wrote the assignment on the board and left them to work independently. She leaned over so she could speak to him, but she was careful because she knew that Rebekah could hear her.
"So, today has been a big giant ball of awkward and boredom." This got a chuckle from Matt who was trying to align a group of slides in order.
"Yeah, Elena in my second period and she told me that you were kind of cold to them. What really surprised her though was your reaction to Caroline. I mean, the two of you used to be joined at the hip inseparable, and she said you couldn't wait to get away from them." Rye was afraid that her reaction had been noticed, so she played the upset friend card.
"Please, it wasn't just Caroline I reacted to. All three of them are just so fake; they don't care about me. They want everyone around to think we're all still so chummy, but whatever. The only person at this school that I was actually looking forward to seeing was you." This caused him to jerk his head in her direction, surprised by her admission.
"Okay, I don't understand, what's going on with the four of you? Don't blow me off, I was part of the same group, and the four of you, myself, and Tyler were always together. I get why you aren't happy to see Ty, I mean the guy can be a real douche, but the girls? What gives?" She was shocked that he didn't get it, maybe they just didn't talk about her at all.
"Matt, you were the only one who stayed in contact with me, well up until last year anyway." His face turned a red at her statement, and he gave her a look of shame that made her feel guilty.
"Rye, I know I dropped off the planet, I'm so sorry. It's just that so much has happened here and I was just trying to deal with it all." Rye nodded and placed her hand on his arm.
"I know, Matt, I know what happened. I'm so sorry about Vicki; I can't believe something like that could even occur in a town like Mystic. You at least attempted to stay in touch with me, and I'll always be grateful. Elena wrote me for the first month I was gone and then silence. When my mom got sick, I called, texted, and emailed and didn't hear a word. Bonnie stayed in touch for about four months and then she too stopped responding to me. Caroline lasted the longest of the three, but only for about two more months. They were supposed to be my best friends, Matt, and they abandoned me." Rye was proud of herself being able to pull that speech off. She had to play this part of being the injured party, and it was difficult because she knew everything that had been going on. The introduction of vampires, witches, and werewolves would cause anyone to stop their regular routine, but Rye wasn't supposed to know any of that. When he didn't respond right away, she leaned over him and fixed the slides as they were all out of order. When she sat back up, he spoke, his head close to hers.
"I had no idea they'd stopped their contact with you, Rye. I guess I can't blame you for being pissed then. We all grew up together so it should have been easy to stay in contact with you. I'm really sorry about your mom; I don't think I actually ever said that." Rye shrugged it off, the feels of having a sick mom were getting to her, and she had a guilty thought of her mom whom she'd left to visit a fake reality. He bumped her shoulder playfully, bringing her attention back to him.
"What are you doing for lunch today?" Rye groaned quietly; it was her high school experience all over again. Who did you sit with at lunch?
"Ugh, I have no idea. This guy, Stefan, was in my last class and was practically begging me to sit with them so Elena and I could make up. Is he whipped or what?" This got a startled chuckle from Matt who immediately bent over the table to pretend to work on their project, but he did answer her.
"He and Elena have a weird relationship that's for sure. It's like a weird Edward and Bella thing, and they're completely obsessed with each other." The reference almost reduced her to a fit of giggles, but she was able to reign it in.
"Well what do you do, do you sit with them?" He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Sometimes I do, yeah, but mostly I just hang outside until last period. Why do you want to spend time with me outside instead?" Rye gave him a brilliant smile and nodded.
"That would be wonderful, yes." He chuckled and shook his head once more but didn't say anything else. In the last fifteen minutes of the class, the teacher came around to inspect everyone's work, and she was glad that she'd rearranged his slides because she was handing out grades right then. When she stopped at their table and picked their worksheet up, she came up short and turned her head to her.
"Well, Matt you lucked out with Ryleigh being your lab partner. Maybe she'll tutor you, so your grade will pick up, this gets an A." Matt's mouth dropped open, and he gave her a brilliant smile.
"Wow, I don't think I've gotten an A in science since middle school, thanks, Rye."
The rest of the day passed completely uneventful, and for that she was grateful. She didn't have anyone she knew in her fourth-period class, which she found odd since she was there to interact with the storyline. She was actually glad to have the time to herself so that she could come up with a game plan on how long she was going to hold the grudge and be able to avoid Caroline. She was very bummed that her body responded in fear at the very thought of speaking with Caroline again because she loved her on the show. When the final bell rang, she grabbed her books and went in search of her locker. She was standing there organizing it and didn't hear when the very person she was avoiding came to a stop next to her and immediately began to speak.
"Okay look, I realize that I lost touch and stopped talking to you. I was going through some stuff, and I didn't want to bother you with it. Plus, I kind of started dating Tyler, and it was weird because he was your boyfriend for a long time and I was afraid that you'd be mad at me. Then, some other stuff happened to me, and I can't even begin to explain any of that. The point is, we are best friends. Time and distance don't change that; we made a promise when you left that nothing would come between us and our friendship. So, will you please please stop avoiding me and the others so that we can make up?" A ripple of anxiety ran down her spine as she turned to look at Caroline. She was giving her the patented "please forgive me because I'm uncomfortable" smile. When she closed her locker and turned to face her, she jumped because they'd all gathered around her. Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, and Stefan were all standing in front of her looking hopeful. She was just about to decline when Matt came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"Come on, Rye, let's go hang out and catch up. I'd say let's go to the Grill, but they'd probably ask me to work, and you can't really talk there." Rye turned her head to glare at Matt, apparently letting him know that she thought he was a traitor. Before she could answer, Stefan, piped up a little hesitantly.
"We can go over to my house; it's quiet and big enough to accommodate everyone." She watched as Elena's lips twitched at the suggestion and turned slightly to respond.
"What about Damon, won't he mind having his home invaded by a bunch of girls?" Stefan smirked and shook his head.
"Trust me, Damon won't mind at all, plus I don't care if he does." At the mention of Damon and the possibility of laying eyes on him, her pulse quickened, and she hoped that the two vampires standing in front of her attributed that to her unease. Rye gently disentangled herself from Matt and backed up a few steps.
"Wow, do you guys like to gang up on people. Look, I don't think we really have anything to say to each other, so I say we drop this whole thing, okay?" Rye was mostly saying this because her body was reacting violently with being near Caroline. Bonnie huffed and rolled her eyes, frustrated with the situation.
"Dammit Rye, will you stop being so damn stubborn and come hang out with us? We want to apologize and repair the damage, and you're not meeting us halfway here." Rye didn't want to fight them; she was there to get to know them, it was the whole point. Still, she hesitated because it was Caroline's character to hug when she was excited. She was going to have to talk to Grady about that; it was sort of pissing her off that she was afraid of the bubbly blonde. She crossed her arms in front of her and groaned in frustration.
"Fine, but I have to see if my dad cares because we still have a lot of unpacking to do." Just like she predicted, Caroline squealed and moved to hug her but Rye quickly raised her hands to stop her, and it worked. Caroline abruptly stopped her motions and frowned at her, clearly hurt.
"Okay then, Stefan lives at the old boarding house, do you remember how to get there?" She searched her memories and found that she did, indeed, remember how to get there. When she said as much, they all separated to go with an agreement to meet at Stefan's in an hour.
When she pulled into the driveway of what was going to be her home for the next little while, she felt relief. She was excited to get into it with them and get to know them away from what the show told them. Still, she wanted to know why she got a flash as she did as well as why she was afraid of the other girl. She found a note pinned to the fridge from her father saying that he was going to be out very late and that there was money in the counter jar for food if she wanted to order in. She ran up to her room and pulled the sundress off, deciding to change clothes. She pulled on a cute pair of leggings that had a design going up the side of her legs. She then pulled on a dark purple, sleeveless tunic followed by a pair of ballet flats she found in the closet. She grabbed the little fob off of her table and stared at it, and it was still white. She had no idea how long she'd get in this reality, he'd said six months, but who knew if time meant the same thing here. She placed her hands on her hips and stared around the room.
"Grady, are you here?" She shrieked when he suddenly appeared by her side.
"I am now, is everything living up to your expectation?" She recovered from her fright and plopped down on the bed.
"Well it's day one and already a ton of drama, so it definitely fits in with the mood of TVD. I had a couple of questions though, and I hope you can answer them. Caroline is my favorite character, and every time I get near her, my body starts to shake and I'm terrified. When she hugged me, I got a flash of her being turned by Katherine, what the hell is that about?" Grady smiled at her, clearly amused by her tirade.
"Well, you wanted to be an integral part of this world, so we made that happen. You are a witch like Bonnie, though you don't know that yet. You've never encountered the supernatural before now, so you weren't aware of your abilities. When you interacted with Caroline, your baser instincts took over, telling you that this was a predator." Rye's mouth dropped open and then immediately started to laugh.
"Okay, that is way cool! Okay, so I guess the reaction to Caroline makes sense now." She thanked him and headed out of the room after he departed. She was going to be late getting to Stefan's, but she guessed that made sense because of her attitude. When she did arrive, she saw several cars, and it made her wonder just who had shown up. When she got to the porch, she hesitated. She was probably going to get to see Damon, and she had to make sure she didn't react in a stupid, fangirl way. Right when she was about to knock, she heard the argument that was going on inside, and it was evident to her that it was Damon speaking.
"I just don't understand what you were thinking inviting a stranger into our home during this mess. We've got hunters here, but yes let's ask a complete stranger whose arrival is a little suspicious into our home." She heard Elena grunt and respond.
"She's not a stranger, Damon, she's one of my best friends. We all grew up with her and we owe her an apology, me especially. If you want to be mad at someone, you can take that out on Stefan; he's the one who suggested she come here. I was going to have her come to my house, but he thought bringing her here would be better." She shook her head; she shouldn't be eavesdropping. She cleared her throat, knowing that the vampires in the room would hear her and raised her arm to knock. Before she could touch the door, it was opened, and she came face to face with Damon for the first time.
"You must be the girl that everyone is falling over themselves for in there, were you planning on standing on the porch all day?"
