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''Where have you been?''

It wasn't unusual for my mother to be overly emotional – just like me, but without all the strangeness. I couldn't tell if she was mad or worried, or both. When two strong emotions were mixed together, sometimes one took over more than the other making it almost impossible to distinguish if there was only one, or two.

''Why didn't you call?''

She faced me with both hands on her hips and a worn look on her face.

''I lost my phone...'' I mumbled and looked down.

''You lost your...'' she spat. ''You lost your phone?'' Putting her hand over her forehead, she looked like she was about ready to pass out. ''Where have you been, Evangeline?''

If I had been gone for as long as Stefan said I had, then she had all the right to be mad at me. And knowing that I couldn't say something like I'd spent the last days with Sarah, because she'd most likely been at the Grill, I had to come up with something else, and quick.

''I... I met a guy.''

She raised an eyebrow. ''You met a guy?''

I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. Technically, it was true?

''You mean to say,'' my mother began slowly, her eyes piercing my own, ''that you spent the last two days with some guy?''

In the history of lame excuses I'd ever made, this one was actually one of the better ones. And that's saying something.

''Look,'' I gulped, ''I met him at the party and we got to talking... and then somewhere down the line I dropped my phone.''

''Well, didn't he have one?''

''I never thought of it...'' I mumbled, closing my eyes briefly.

Mum let her arms fall to her sides in one exasperated and dramatic motion. ''I know that you're twenty years old, but you still live under my roof. And that means that you don't go away for two days without telling me where you are. What if something had happened, huh? What if... what if you were kidnapped, or... or...''

To my surprise, she bought it. Part of me didn't think she would. It stung a little having to lie to her like this, but I didn't know what else to to do.

''I called the school, I called the restaurant, but they said you hadn't shown up,'' she continued frantically. I was scared that if I let her go on, she'd start pulling at her own hair, so I meekly said:

''I'm sorry.''

''You can't do that to me, Evangeline,'' she whispered. ''You can't.'' Her eyes darted downwards. ''Your dress,'' she gasped and looked at the mess I was wearing. ''How did this happen?''

''I'd rather not talk about it,'' I said, unable to come up with another excuse.

She stared at me, her eyes watery. ''This guy... did he,'' she frowned, lip quivering, ''did he...''

Knowing where she was going with it, I quickly held my hand up to stop her. ''Nothing happened. I'm okay, really. I just... I need to go change.''

''Do you promise?'' she pressed, placing her hands firmly on my shoulders. I flinched as her nails dug into my skin.

''I promise,'' I looked her right in the eyes, her eyes that looked so much like mine, and lied to her, and it hurt. Because whenever I lied, it always showed in my eyes, and the fact that I was able to do it now…. It just hurt.

''We'll talk more later. Go get cleaned up.'' She hugged me swiftly and then stepped aside to let me go inside. We didn't say anything else, even though I had a hundred words on the tip of my tongue aching to get out to not have our conversation end with that enormous lie.


I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door quietly, turning the lock, before sinking down on the toilet seat like a rag-doll.

More than anything, I just wanted to go to sleep, wake up and find that everything was normal again. That I didn't have a special gift that no one seemed to get, that I hadn't just been kidnapped by vampires and that I wouldn't have found out that one of my students was one and another was dating one.

Something was tugging at the back of my mind, though. Part of me felt like I was finally getting somewhere. The fact that Stefan and Elena seemed so dedicated to helping me find out about myself was the most progress I'd done in years. Yes, it sucked that this is how I got to this point, but still; a small part of me was so, so grateful.

I stood up on my shaky legs and went to stand in front of the mirror. It was like I was staring back at myself the same way after I'd been bitten by Caroline. All of the make-up had been smudged, leaving the faint marks on my neck visible again. I groaned – would they just heal already?

Opening the cabinet next to the sink, I grabbed my hairbrush to try and de-nest my hair, grimacing when I began the tedious work of untangling the blonde chaos.

Stepping into the shower, I turned the knob so that hot water scolded my skin after only a couple of seconds. Feeling like I had to rinse everything off, every second of the past couple of days, I emptied half a bottle of shower gel and almost as much shampoo. The warm water eased the tension in my body, and eventually – after standing under the shower head for a while – I finally felt a little bit relaxed.

When I was finished, I pulled my towel close around me and snuggled up in it. I stayed like that for a minute or two. Grabbing the brush, I pulled it through my hair again and decided to leave my hair down. Putting it up would only remind me of how strained it was with all the hairpins poking everywhere.

When I got into my room, the first thing I did was throw the dress on a chair, putting on the nearest pair of sweatpants I could find, along with a way too big t-shirt. The shower had softened up my muscles, but it hadn't taken the exhaustion out of them.

I grabbed my old teddy bear from the shelf he was sitting on and hugged him close, sinking down on my bed. Silly, maybe. But I needed a hug and I didn't want to go to my mum, because she would without a doubt sense that something was wrong. Maybe she didn't have the same abilities as me, but she had the same intuition.

Staying in that position – curled up on my bed tightly gripping my all-time favourite stuffed animal, I looked around me. My room had always been a safe zone, always. The bookshelves covering the walls were comforting. That's practically what I had in my room, books, books and more books. They made me feel safe. Nothing bad had ever really happened to me. Until now.

I sighed. Now it felt like all I did was get myself into trouble. I'd missed two shifts at the Grill, and one class at school. After checking my schedule real quick, I saw that I had an English class booked for the next day. I honestly didn't know if I would have the energy for it.

But, I didn't think that I would be able to sleep either – and still I found myself drifting off quicker than I thought, teddy in my arms and body aching. Sleep finally washed over me like a soft, warm and fluffy blanket, engulfing me and at last giving me some much needed rest.


I should've called in sick.

The first step onto school property was one of the heaviest steps I'd ever taken... but as always – I needed the money. And for that I could force myself to overcome practically anything.

The only thing I wanted was to get this whole day over with, but the first thing that caught my eye on the school lot had me thinking, that it wasn't going to be that easy.

From a distance, I saw a girl who could be none other than Bonnie Bennett. The apparent witch. She always seemed so sweet in class, maybe a little distant, but nothing more. But, I hadn't known about the Salvatore's either.

She was strolling on the grass with a guy I hadn't seen before, and since it was a small school I knew everyone – if not by name, then by appearance. His skin was a rich caramel and on his lips he had a smile I could see all the way from where I'd stopped. They looked to be deeply engaged in conversation, up until they stopped, facing each other.

I frowned, wondering what they were up to – and I was just about to get my answer. A gust of wind caught my hair and I tucked the loose strands behind my ear. I thought nothing more of it, until I noticed all the leaves whirling around Bonnie and the guy she was with. Knowing what she was, as well as seeing that none of the tree tops were trembling... How did she dare do that out in the open? What if someone spotted them, someone besides me? Sure, I didn't know much about witchcraft in real life – nothing actually – but it still didn't feel like such a good idea to me.

When the windy ''weather'' had calmed down, I scurried from the scene. Lucky me, I only had one class today. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I jumped when I saw that I only had five minutes to get to class and run by the teachers office to grab some folders.. How long had I watched Bonnie for?

I broke into a light jog and darted between the mass off students walking the hallways at the ring of the first bell. When I got to the office, I didn't think and practically slammed the door open – bumping into Mr. Saltzman in the process. Thankfully the door didn't hit him.

''Sorry!'' I gasped.

He chuckled, pulling his hand throw his dishevelled hair. ''It's fine. You in a hurry?''

I nodded, taking three long strides over to my desk and gathering a couple of folders in my arms. ''I'm a bit late, sorry to barge in like that. I've got to run.''

''Don't worry!'' he hollered after me as I ran past him and towards the classroom.

When I entered I was flustered as can be. My face was probably red and my hair a mess, but what else was new.

''Hey, Miss Moreau, we missed you yesterday!'' Isaac shouted from the back of the room.

''Yes, I was ill,'' I didn't meet his eyes, dumping the folders on the desk. ''Sorry I'm late you guys.''

''You're only...'' a girl named Sophie checked her phone. ''Forty seconds late, Miss Moreau. I don't think that really counts.''

I smiled gratefully at her. ''Thank you Sophie. Still, sorry for barging in like this.'' I let my gaze sweep across the room, noticing quite a few students gone. Elena, for example. And Stefan. And there was no glimpse of Bonnie, either.

Trying not to think too much about it or read anything into it, I got to work. Everything was going fine – I wasn't freaking out, feeling faint or absent-minded. That was until, five minutes into my introductory lecture, someone opened the door surprising me and the whole class.

Caroline Forbes wasn't just student-council vice president, head of the prom committee and resident belle of Mystic Falls anymore. She was something I had nightmares about. She was the scars on my neck that wouldn't disappear.

''Sorry I'm...'' she quieted down when she saw me. ''...late.''

Stefan had said that she was in control now. I trusted him, but the way the human brain works is that a feeling called fear is triggered when stumbling upon something you know to be dangerous.

I couldn't let it show now. I barely nodded my head at her and thankfully she took it as a sign that it was okay to go sit down.

The remaining forty minutes were absolutely terrible. I could almost feel Caroline's eyes on me, but when I dared glance at her she was deeply engrossed in her work.

When the bell rang and the classroom emptied, she lingered behind.

''Miss Moreau,'' she began, thankfully keeping her distance, ''I'm so sorry.''

I had kept my eyes down as long as I could get away with it, but now I forced myself to look up.

''I never meant to hurt you,'' she said in a low voice, keeping her eye on the door in case someone walked in.

All I could muster was to hum in response. She frowned, her blonde curls bobbing up and down when she took a hesitant step toward me, then changing her mind in the last second.

''I'm sorry. I can't talk right now, but please...'' she pleaded. ''Please now how sorry I am?''

''Hmm...''

She smiled at me. It was a sad smile, but I could tell it was genuine.

''I have to go,'' she said quietly. ''I hope we can talk later... so I can explain.''

And with that, she left – lifting her own weight of my shoulders. I finally felt like I could breathe. I knew that I probably had to talk to her sometime soon – especially after what Stefan said.

And I couldn't be scared forever. I just couldn't.


After school I went to the Lockwood estate to search for my lost purse. The grounds were usually beautiful when they weren't all pampered up for a party and crowded with people, but today they felt eerie.

I got off of my bike and leaned it against a tree, starting my search in the area where all the cars had been parked. I took me less than ten minutes to find it in the ditch by the road, and when I opened it I let out a breath of relief upon finding my phone inside. It wasn't damaged, either.

Then a bird chirped. Normally, I wouldn't react to that, but there was something in the tone of it that made me stop in my tracks and look around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The leaves rustled gently in the wind and the branches creaked. That's when I realised, that there were no birds anymore. After the chirp I'd heard, everything had gone completely quiet.

If it had been a little spooky before, this made a chill run down my spine. I felt like I was being watched, but wherever I looked, I couldn't find anyone. I nervously walked over to my bike and looked over my shoulder into the woods. There was nothing there.

When I looked up towards the mansion, I could've sworn that I saw the sleeve of a dark jacket disappear behind a hedge further up the road, but when I blinked I realised that it must've just been a bird. I quickly got on my bike and hung my purse over my shoulder, eager to get out of there and back home as soon as possible.


Later that night I went straight to my room and pulled my teddy bear in for a hug again before putting him back on the shelf. With that hug, I tried to leave all of today's events behind me. Bonnie's magic, Caroline, the Lockwood horror house... all of it. Then I went straight to my computer, brought up the search engine, turned on my auto-pilot, and started to type.

After ten minutes, I stopped.

Something was itching. Not like an itch on the back or leg, but more like something was nagging me from the inside. Looking out the window, I squinted to try and make out anything in the dark. I don't know exactly what it was but... it felt like someone, or something, was watching. Just like before. When some shapes eventually emerged out of the dark, what I noticed made my breath hitch in my throat.

There were the familiar silhouettes of trees, and I could just barely make out the fence surrounding our small backyard as well as the patio furniture mum finally bought last summer after two years of saving up. But I also noted that someone was standing, arms down, by the back gate. I blinked. I couldn't really see if he or she was looking at me, but it sure felt like it. I let out a small yelp and darted behind the curtain, heart beating fast.

Someone was out there. This was it – I'd finally lost it. Hallucinating all day, it surprised me that I didn't feel the sting of my brain slowly dissolving – because my head was mush.

This meant that maybe I had been right about what happened at the Lockwood's earlier today as well. Unless I was seeing things – which I was getting more and more convinced that I actually wasn't – then someone was following me.

But who?