Title: Born in a Burial Gown
Author: Jyira
Email: jyira@yahoo.co.uk
Spoilers: Vampire Diaries, all books
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries characters and story line belong to LJS, everything else belongs to me. The title comes from a Cradle of Filth song.
Rating: 15
Warnings: Mild violence, mild language
Summary: Jane isn't thrilled to be moving in the middle of a school year, particularly to the town of Fell's Church, which has something of a bad reputation, not to mention what happened to the girl who's house she's now living in. She's equally unthrilled to learn she resembles the dead girl, Elena Gilbert, which has nasty consequences for Jane, and quite possibly for Stefan as well.
Notes: feedback, constructive criticism appreciated. This is set a year after the last Vampire Diaries book. This will NOT HAVE a Bonnie/Damon pairing!
Part 1
Dear Diary,
This is just so completely unfair! I can't believe it. Why now? I've had to leave everything! Everything! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was at the start of the semester. But in the middle of the fucking year? I just can't believe it.
It's all Dad's fault. If he hadn't had that stupid lame affair with his secretary - how *old* is that, anyway? It's got to be the oldest story in the book. Mom wouldn't have found out, and left, and dragged me all the way over to Virginia.
I liked California. Lots to do, nice climate, now here. I did a little research on the town I'd be moving to, Fell's Church. It's almost like moving to Monster Island. They had all sorts of weird trouble last year, and the year before that with some of the senior class. Mysterious deaths, all starting round about the same time, when some new guy walked in.
And even worse, we're living in the house of the one of the dead people, Elena Somebodyorother. She's supposed to be the reason all the weird stuff happened.
I started school on Monday, it's...um...well, after midnight so it's probably Wednesday now. Everyone's *staring* at me like I've got a horn growing out my forehead or something.
Hardly anyone will speak to me. They all seem to make a deliberate effort to avoid me. Even the boys. They look at me as I pass with something like awe and longing on their faces, which is what I usually get, but they won't come near me.
The sudden change is...normally, I'm surrounded by people all the time. I was so popular before. Now I'm nothing. I'm not sure if I'm angry or upset. What the hell is wrong with me? Why won't people talk to me?
I've tried striking up a few conversations, like with the girl I set next to in bio-lab, who seems to be just forcing herself to be polite. And even weirder...I get the idea I'm being watched.
It's totally crazy, I know. It's like eyes boring into my back everywhere I go. It's creepy. God, I want my normal life back. I want to stop whining as well. So far I'm not doing a very good job.
* * *
~What the hell am I doing here?~ he thought, standing in the same clearing as he had almost a year and a half ago. Just year...it didn't seem like it. Longer or shorter, Damon wasn't really sure. The span of years didn't really mean anything to him anymore.
They'd probably all moved on now, he doubted any of them would be here. But it's not just because *them* you're here, is it? A small voice in the back of his mind said. He usually ignored the voices trying to talk reason or sense into him. Where was the fun in that?
But what had brought him back to Fell's Church? Boredom. Something to do? He wandered out of the woods and back towards the direction of the old woman's boarding house. Still in business?
What the...
A girl walked past him. Blending into the night time shadows, she didn't see him watching her. Same pale blonde hair...porcelain pure skin...talk about a bad case of déjà vu.
Out of sheer curiosity, he followed her. It was uncanny. She was even going back to the same house. But what was she doing here? Wasn't she in Florence with his brother? A delicious thought crossed his mind.
Maybe it hadn't been true love after all. She had finally decided she needed more excitement in her life. She was young, after all. She needed a more exciting life. Coming back to a town where she was supposed to be dead and buried, stir up the locals again, maybe...
"Elena?" he breathed, a soft sigh of wind on the night air.
The girl turned. Damon frowned. Not Elena. But she looked...then again, hadn't he thought the same about Elena and Katherine? Look where that had gotten him. A third girl? Did that mean something?
"Who's there?" the girl demanded, her voice harsh and cold. She was full of bitterness and resentfulness. Even if she wasn't Elena, it had been a while since he'd had a decent companion. No one had even come close to even make him consider offering them the tantalising prospects of immortality, not since Elena...
Elena was gone, never could be, and never would be his. As bitter as he might be about that, no fling he'd had recently would make him forget her. Was the only reason he was interested in her because he was looking for an Elena substitute?
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her, anyway.
The girl turned towards him again, hearing a rush of feathers as the black crow squawked, winked at her, and flew off.
* * *
Jane was certain she was going crazy. She must be. Crows didn't fly at night, and they didn't *wink* at you. She could have sworn she'd seen someone in the shadows back there, watching her, following her...
Or was she just going paranoid because she wasn't used to being watched or stared at in a not-so-good-way. She was used to admiring glances, longing, she had always been the type of girl everyone else wanted to be.
She found her house keys and went inside. The TV was on in the lounge, Mom was sprawled out on the couch, an empty bottle of Vodka in her hand. An ash-tray full of cigarette-buts were smouldering on the coffee table.
Jane's eyes rolled. Just what everyone wanted to come home to. Mom wasn't always like this. She used to have a life, and work once. Since the divorce, everything had changed. Jane sighed and trudged upstairs.
She sat on the window seat below the large bay window, staring out into the night, trying to see past the branches of the huge tree outside. She was tired, but didn't feel like sleeping. An odd sort of apathy had settled over her.
She noticed her diary slumped on the bedside table where she had left it last night. She didn't feel like complaining anymore about how bad her life was going. There were a number of unopened letters on her desk from her friends back home, all wanting to see how her new life was going.
Well, it sucked. What had she ever done to deserve this? ~So much for not complaining~ she thought with a wry smile.
Everything had started going bad from the minute she'd arrived. They were staying in the house of a girl who had died only two years ago.
Was this the girl's bedroom? Had she sat on this window-seat contemplating her own life? Had she sat up after midnight scribbling in a diary? Did people look at her like she might bite if you spoke to her?
Whispers and rumours were all she'd heard about what happened here. She'd seen pages on the Net about the town, read the Strange-But-True? stories, something to do with vampires.
Vampires? Jane shook her head in disgust. What were people's obsessions with vampires? She didn't see the fascination with them herself. Who wanted to live forever? And drink blood to be able to do that? Yuck!
Her mind was drifting. She yanked open another window in the room, letting the cold air blow in. She felt like she was floating around, not able to get her feet on the ground. Another squawk sounding from a near by tree branch caught her attention. Jane's head whirled round, blonde hair flying.
This was nuts! What the hell was...She looked around for something to throw at the giant black bird. It's eyes gleamed in the darkness at her. That wasn't normal, was it? It was almost like this...creature...had a personality of some sort.
"Quoth the crow nevermore," Jane snorted at it. "Go *away*!" She turned her back on it, shutting the window, and yanking the drapes shut as well. Even as she went to bed later that night she got the uncomfortable impression it was still there. Watching her.
* * *
Author: Jyira
Email: jyira@yahoo.co.uk
Spoilers: Vampire Diaries, all books
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries characters and story line belong to LJS, everything else belongs to me. The title comes from a Cradle of Filth song.
Rating: 15
Warnings: Mild violence, mild language
Summary: Jane isn't thrilled to be moving in the middle of a school year, particularly to the town of Fell's Church, which has something of a bad reputation, not to mention what happened to the girl who's house she's now living in. She's equally unthrilled to learn she resembles the dead girl, Elena Gilbert, which has nasty consequences for Jane, and quite possibly for Stefan as well.
Notes: feedback, constructive criticism appreciated. This is set a year after the last Vampire Diaries book. This will NOT HAVE a Bonnie/Damon pairing!
Part 1
Dear Diary,
This is just so completely unfair! I can't believe it. Why now? I've had to leave everything! Everything! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was at the start of the semester. But in the middle of the fucking year? I just can't believe it.
It's all Dad's fault. If he hadn't had that stupid lame affair with his secretary - how *old* is that, anyway? It's got to be the oldest story in the book. Mom wouldn't have found out, and left, and dragged me all the way over to Virginia.
I liked California. Lots to do, nice climate, now here. I did a little research on the town I'd be moving to, Fell's Church. It's almost like moving to Monster Island. They had all sorts of weird trouble last year, and the year before that with some of the senior class. Mysterious deaths, all starting round about the same time, when some new guy walked in.
And even worse, we're living in the house of the one of the dead people, Elena Somebodyorother. She's supposed to be the reason all the weird stuff happened.
I started school on Monday, it's...um...well, after midnight so it's probably Wednesday now. Everyone's *staring* at me like I've got a horn growing out my forehead or something.
Hardly anyone will speak to me. They all seem to make a deliberate effort to avoid me. Even the boys. They look at me as I pass with something like awe and longing on their faces, which is what I usually get, but they won't come near me.
The sudden change is...normally, I'm surrounded by people all the time. I was so popular before. Now I'm nothing. I'm not sure if I'm angry or upset. What the hell is wrong with me? Why won't people talk to me?
I've tried striking up a few conversations, like with the girl I set next to in bio-lab, who seems to be just forcing herself to be polite. And even weirder...I get the idea I'm being watched.
It's totally crazy, I know. It's like eyes boring into my back everywhere I go. It's creepy. God, I want my normal life back. I want to stop whining as well. So far I'm not doing a very good job.
* * *
~What the hell am I doing here?~ he thought, standing in the same clearing as he had almost a year and a half ago. Just year...it didn't seem like it. Longer or shorter, Damon wasn't really sure. The span of years didn't really mean anything to him anymore.
They'd probably all moved on now, he doubted any of them would be here. But it's not just because *them* you're here, is it? A small voice in the back of his mind said. He usually ignored the voices trying to talk reason or sense into him. Where was the fun in that?
But what had brought him back to Fell's Church? Boredom. Something to do? He wandered out of the woods and back towards the direction of the old woman's boarding house. Still in business?
What the...
A girl walked past him. Blending into the night time shadows, she didn't see him watching her. Same pale blonde hair...porcelain pure skin...talk about a bad case of déjà vu.
Out of sheer curiosity, he followed her. It was uncanny. She was even going back to the same house. But what was she doing here? Wasn't she in Florence with his brother? A delicious thought crossed his mind.
Maybe it hadn't been true love after all. She had finally decided she needed more excitement in her life. She was young, after all. She needed a more exciting life. Coming back to a town where she was supposed to be dead and buried, stir up the locals again, maybe...
"Elena?" he breathed, a soft sigh of wind on the night air.
The girl turned. Damon frowned. Not Elena. But she looked...then again, hadn't he thought the same about Elena and Katherine? Look where that had gotten him. A third girl? Did that mean something?
"Who's there?" the girl demanded, her voice harsh and cold. She was full of bitterness and resentfulness. Even if she wasn't Elena, it had been a while since he'd had a decent companion. No one had even come close to even make him consider offering them the tantalising prospects of immortality, not since Elena...
Elena was gone, never could be, and never would be his. As bitter as he might be about that, no fling he'd had recently would make him forget her. Was the only reason he was interested in her because he was looking for an Elena substitute?
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her, anyway.
The girl turned towards him again, hearing a rush of feathers as the black crow squawked, winked at her, and flew off.
* * *
Jane was certain she was going crazy. She must be. Crows didn't fly at night, and they didn't *wink* at you. She could have sworn she'd seen someone in the shadows back there, watching her, following her...
Or was she just going paranoid because she wasn't used to being watched or stared at in a not-so-good-way. She was used to admiring glances, longing, she had always been the type of girl everyone else wanted to be.
She found her house keys and went inside. The TV was on in the lounge, Mom was sprawled out on the couch, an empty bottle of Vodka in her hand. An ash-tray full of cigarette-buts were smouldering on the coffee table.
Jane's eyes rolled. Just what everyone wanted to come home to. Mom wasn't always like this. She used to have a life, and work once. Since the divorce, everything had changed. Jane sighed and trudged upstairs.
She sat on the window seat below the large bay window, staring out into the night, trying to see past the branches of the huge tree outside. She was tired, but didn't feel like sleeping. An odd sort of apathy had settled over her.
She noticed her diary slumped on the bedside table where she had left it last night. She didn't feel like complaining anymore about how bad her life was going. There were a number of unopened letters on her desk from her friends back home, all wanting to see how her new life was going.
Well, it sucked. What had she ever done to deserve this? ~So much for not complaining~ she thought with a wry smile.
Everything had started going bad from the minute she'd arrived. They were staying in the house of a girl who had died only two years ago.
Was this the girl's bedroom? Had she sat on this window-seat contemplating her own life? Had she sat up after midnight scribbling in a diary? Did people look at her like she might bite if you spoke to her?
Whispers and rumours were all she'd heard about what happened here. She'd seen pages on the Net about the town, read the Strange-But-True? stories, something to do with vampires.
Vampires? Jane shook her head in disgust. What were people's obsessions with vampires? She didn't see the fascination with them herself. Who wanted to live forever? And drink blood to be able to do that? Yuck!
Her mind was drifting. She yanked open another window in the room, letting the cold air blow in. She felt like she was floating around, not able to get her feet on the ground. Another squawk sounding from a near by tree branch caught her attention. Jane's head whirled round, blonde hair flying.
This was nuts! What the hell was...She looked around for something to throw at the giant black bird. It's eyes gleamed in the darkness at her. That wasn't normal, was it? It was almost like this...creature...had a personality of some sort.
"Quoth the crow nevermore," Jane snorted at it. "Go *away*!" She turned her back on it, shutting the window, and yanking the drapes shut as well. Even as she went to bed later that night she got the uncomfortable impression it was still there. Watching her.
* * *