"'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 favourite colour is blue.'" Caroline hadn't once stopped gossiping about the new guy for one second. Even now as we were entering the Grill, the only place in town where you could get any good drinks. We had ran into the blonde earlier when Bonnie and I were waiting on Elena, who texted me that she would be late seconds earlier.

"'You got all of that in one day?'" Bonnie asked a grinning Caroline in disbelief.

"'Oh please, I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding.'" After giving that arrogant answer she turned away and towards a girl I didn't recognize. I gave Bonnie a glance that said more than a thousand words could have as we claimed a table for us. I really loved Caroline but sometimes she could be such a bitch.

"I bet the happy groom, if his name really is Stefan, doesn't even know about his luck." I raised one eyebrow at my friend.

"Yeah, some luck that is." I nodded at her response. We both knew Caroline was kind of a control freak and a little superficial at times, but right now she was way over the top.

"Let's get some drinks. I need a little preparation before my 'date'." I let out a frustrated sigh.

"It can't be that bad. It's Jeremy we're talking about." I appreciated her trying to cheer me up, though it didn't work.

"We will see about that…" I took a look around the Grill. Good thing he wasn't here already. Instead I spotted Matt entering and heading straight for our table.

"Hey. May I sit with you?" We greeted him and I told him to grab a seat, so he slumped down to my right. He started talking with Bonnie about something I didn't pay any attention to, instead checking my phone. 7 pm and no messages. So it remained a mystery if and when Jeremy would be here.

"'You pick up the phone and call her.'" I pushed aside my thoughts and looked up, immediately getting what Bonnie was trying to do.

"'I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me…'" Matt shook his head, looking like a dog dumped into the tub.

"Give it some time." I joined in and gave him an encouraging smile. Suddenly the door opened and Elena entered the Grill, followed by Stefan, which kind of contradicted my last sentence.

"Give it time, huh?" I gave Matt an offended stare as he got up and walked towards the pair. The three pulled all attention towards them, especially Caroline's, who had been talking to my brother I noticed with horror. Just great. Now I was in a room with Tyler, who would probably pounce on Jeremy on sight, some forming couple and at least two people who were more than objected to that. What could possibly go wrong?

o-0-o

Short to their arrival Elena and Stefan had joined our table and sometime later Caroline also joined us. So we had been talking over an hour now and were currently trying to figure out Stefan's heritage. Mostly Bonnie and Caroline did, Elena and I were merely listening to their interrogation. Stefan seemed like a nice guy and I noticed the looks he and my best friend shared from time to time, which made me smile a little. Elena deserved some happiness after all that had happened.

"'So you were born in Mystic Falls?'"

"'Mm-hmm. And moved when I was still young.'" Stefan answered Caroline.

"'Parents?'"

"'My parents passed away.'" At his answer to Bonnie's question all eyes drifted to Elena.

"'I'm sorry. Any siblings?'" Clearly uncomfortable the brunette tried to bring the focus back on Stefan instead of herself.

"'None that I talk to. I live with my uncle.'" So he had siblings. My interest was piqued now but it was more than clear he would not go into any detail. With the looks he gave Elena I wondered how long it would take for all those flying sparks to incinerate the whole place.

"'So Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow.'" Caroline was had upped her voice a little to get back Stefan's attention. I refrained from rolling my eyes, sometimes she really thought too much of herself.

"We always celebrate the end of freedom down at the falls on our second day of school." I put an end to Caroline's monologue before she could even get started.

"'Are you going?'"

"Of course she is!" Bonnie and I answered Stefan before Elena had even opened her mouth, which got us a half mad and half amused glance from her before she shyly nodded. With a smile I took another glance at the clock. Wow, it was already 9 pm. And Jeremy still hadn't shown up!

"Okay guys, I think I will call it a night." I slowly stood up getting only a few nods except for Elena's questioning look.

"Weren't you supposed to meet with Jeremy?"

"Yeah… Like an hour ago…" I couldn't keep the boiling anger completely out of my voice and my best friend looked mildly surprised.

"He stood you up? No way." I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my bag. Whatever. Okay, I was a little hurt. I mean, who likes to get ditched by their date without any explanation?

"I'm heading home. See you tomorrow in history?" I got some general nods and told them good night before heading for the doors. I looked around once trying to find my brother but apparently he had already left. Probably with Vicky for she was gone as well, though she was supposed to work her shift as a waitress. Weird. But again, whatever.

I let out a long sight upon exiting the Grill. The air was still warm from the day and I was looking forward to half an hour of walking home alone. Yippee! Annoyed I started walking, cursing my brother for letting me down. Maybe I should call him and give him some piece of mind. On second thought… No. Why bother? Walking was good for staying healthy.

A hissing noise caught me off guard and I whirled around, slightly panicking. What the hell was that noise? Suddenly the thought of calling my brother didn't seem like such a bad idea now. I felt the strong urge to do exactly that as the panic kept building up and I had the feeling of somebody watching me.

"Release me. Release my body…" I forced myself to keep walking and started singing in a low voice. I know it's wrong. So why am I with you now?" Somehow I tended to do this when I was anxious. It calmed my nerves. Only this time it didn't work, this strange feeling just didn't go away.

"I say release me! Cause I'm not able to convince myself that I'm better off without you…" I cast a cautious glance back into the alleyway behind me but there was no soul.

"You have a beautiful voice." I flinched back and suppressed the scream threatening to leave my mouth at the sudden voice coming from the dark. In front of me a shadow resembling a person peeled from the dark. Had I not stopped I would have walked straight into that person. My heart was beating like crazy and I took another step back. With my luck I ran into a serial killer who would dissect me alive…

"Sorry to have startled you." When he stepped into the dim light of the street lantern he gave me an apologetic smile and I let out a relieved sigh. He was a man. No monster, no serial killer, no sociopath… Just a man. Man, I needed to cut back on the horror stories…

"You're alright?" He frowned and looked at me worried.

"Yeah… Ahm… Sorry, you just scared the holy shit out of me, Sir…" I stuttered and was a little star struck when I finally looked up into his face. He was gorgeous! Though this word didn't really do him justice with his strong jawline and high cheekbones. To be honest he would be every sculptor's delight. His hair was a raven black and was a stark contrast to his ice blue eyes, which seemed to suck me in and drown me.

"Is there something on my face?" His deep voice held some amusement and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"S-sorry, I…" I stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I was just wondering why somebody like you would be out here that late."

His smirk widened a little and I nervously bit my lip.

"Like me?" He cocked his head obviously enjoying my growing confusion.

"I just meant that I haven't seen you around before, Sir." Way to go, girl! I meet someone actually smoking hot and make a complete fool out of myself.

"I just moved here. And please stop calling me Sir. Makes me feel old…" I let out a hesitant laugh. I called him 'Sir' on instinct, he just seemed so much more adult.

"Okay. So what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"To set your mind at ease: I am no serial killer." He raised his hands in an exaggerated manner, which made me laugh again. Maybe more because he had seen right through me.

"I wasn't even thinking about that." It was a lie. And not even a good one.

"Oh really?" He took another step towards me and I refused to follow suit to my body screaming to take a step back and away from him. It was a weird mix of emotions running through me. On one hand I felt attracted to this stranger, on the other hand his presence had me totally on edge.

"Yes." I tried to stay calm under his probing eyes.

"So you are not afraid of the dark stranger you just met in a secluded alley in the middle of the night?" His voice was low and again everything within me was screaming 'DANGER'. I just couldn't care less. It was only now that I realised he was dressed in all black. Black shoes, black pants, black shirt, black leather jacket… Not that it would have done anything but look good on him, still it made him a little sinister.

Maybe he is a serial killer after all… I tried ignoring the little voice in my head. It was obvious that I was imagining things, thanks to all the horror stories I read.

"Maybe. But maybe you are just trying to scare me on purpose." I had no idea where the bravery for this sentence came from. For a second I thought I saw something like surprise on his face before his expression went blank again.

"Maybe.", he responded and grinned again.

"So what are you really up to?" Was I imagining things or did he hesitate there for a second?

"Actually I was looking for my little brother."

"Your brother?" That had me interested now. If his brother looked anything similar to him, both of them should rather head to LA instead of staying here in Mystic Falls and become actors or models.

"Yeah. But then I got a little distracted by your lovely voice." He smiled at me and I immediately forgot all about his brother. I felt the heat creep up in my cheeks again and looked down at my feet.

"Ahm… thanks, I guess…" After a short moment of silence I looked back up and gave him a shy smile. He opened his mouth to say something else when a car drove into the street and came to a stop right next to us. I recognised the car and let out a sigh. Of all the times, did my brother have to make an appearance now that I really could do without him? The window came down and Tyler gave me a relieved once over.

"Finally, there you are Nathalie! Get in." I wanted to say something but his gaze left no room for discussion and when he gave the stranger a look, his eyes went darker instantly. I really should get into that car or he was likely to start a fight.

"Okay…" I turned around to face the stranger once more. "I need to go. See you again?" I tried not to seem to hopeful but wasn't able to completely keep it out of my voice. He gave me a smile that had me weak in my knees

"I hope so." I smiled back at him before I got into my brother's car. Tyler closed the window and gave me a probing glance. I knew what was coming before he even opened his mouth.

"Who is he?" His voice was harsh as he started the engine and looked back at the sidewalk, but the stranger was gone already.

"I have no idea." It hurt a little when I realised that I really had no idea who he was. Or if I would see him again as a matter of fact. Why didn't I just ask him for his phone number or at least for his name? I leaned back frustrated. Crap!

Stefan's POV

Stefan had just returned to the Salvatore Residence from his date with Elena and was putting away his stuff from school when Zach entered his room. Zach Salvatore was a distant nephew of his, though he looked much older than him. He walked in and shoved a newspaper towards his uncle.

"'You promised.'", Zach exclaimed and Stefan took the newspaper with a confused expression to read the headline.

Body found

-almost torn to shreds by wild animal-

Stefan instantly knew what his nephew was aiming at. He had seen those headlines a million times. They were always the result of an attack. Though it had nothing to do with any wild animals, but vampires. And even if everything was pointing towards him being the only vampire in town, he knew he had not done this. And Zach knew it.

"'This was an animal attack.'" Stefan shoved the newspaper back into his nephew's hands, hoping to end this conversation right here and now. But Zach shook his head.

"'Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up enough, they always suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control.'" Zach was getting angrier by the minute.

"'And I do.'", Stefan responded. And it was the truth. It had been a long time since he had been tempted, and even when temptation hit he had refused to give into it. Zach paused for a moment and took a deep breath in order to calm down.

"'Please, uncle Stefan. Mystic Falls is a different place now. It's been quiet for years, but there are people who still remember. And you being here, it's just going to stir things up.'"

"'It's not my intention.'" Now it was Stefan's turn to get a little angry, which was obvious in the change of tone of his voice.

"'Then what is it? Why did you come? After all this time, why now?'" Zach was giving into his temper and Stefan tried to stay calm instead.

"'I don't have to explain myself.'" His voice was controlled, still you could hear his discontent over Zach not believing him. He had come back for private reasons and couldn't trust anyone with them. Not even or especially not the two girls affected by those reasons.

"'I know that you can't change what you are But you don't belong here anymore.'" Zach's words hurt him a lot, but he kept the calm expression plastered on his face.

"'Where do I belong?'" He meant what he said. Where did he belong if not here, where he had been born and grown up?

"'I can't tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake.'" With those words Zach turned and left the room, throwing the newspaper carelessly into a corner before shutting the door behind himself. Stefan watched him leave for a few seconds before facing the cabinet and slowly opening it. Inside there were several diaries, inscripted with different years. He grabbed one of them and opened the first page. Inside were two very old pictures, judging by their quality they had been taken decades ago.

One picture showed a dark haired woman with a soft smile on her face, looking straight ahead full of self confidence. Katherine Pierce, 1864. Stefan looked at the picture for a short minute before taken the other one into his hand.

It was a picture of two people, happily embracing each other. One of the two being a tall man with raven black hair and Stefan knew, even now that the picture was so old and of poor quality, that his eyes were an icy blue. The person he was holding close was a small woman with dark brown lock touching down to her hips and stormy grey eyes, which he also knew from memory. There was an inscription as well, it had his heart heavy every time he read those words. Damon Salvatore and his soon to be bride Miss Eveline Lockwood, 1860.

One could have mistaken those pictures for tokens of memory, but there was a reason why Stefan looked at them almost every day. Both women, he remembered sadly, had died in 1861 and 1864. And against all odds he had been sitting at a table with both of them this evening, chatting and eating. Both looking just like those women in the pictures: Elena Gilbert and Nathalie Lockwood.

Since Nathalie was apparently related to Eveline, Stefan had not been surprised if they had some resemblance, but he had not been prepared for her to just look exactly like her relative. Same as with Katherine and Elena. But between those two he had yet to make any family connections. The Gilbert family had in now way any connections to the Pierce family. But he would get to the bottom of this.

Still this wasn't his only reason to have returned to Mystic Falls. On one hand he felt this pull towards Elena, who looked just like his former lover even when her character was the complete opposite. On the other hand he had made is his task to keep his brother away from both girls as far as possible. Especially Nathalie. Stefan new Damon well enough to know what he was capable of if he should find out that there was someone just looking exactly like his deceased fiance. Just like Evie.

Credit for the song goes to Agnes (song: Release me)