So after almost two years I am back with another story which will again most likely remain unfinished. For now, I am in the mood to write, so we will see where it will go. This is an idea, I have been playing with for a while. I have ideas prepared but nothing written up to the fourth season.

Basically, the whole story will focus on Caroline who is quite different from the Canon one that we know and love. For that reason many of scenes of Elena's drama will be left out.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.

Chapter 1

Welcome to the nightmare I live every day

Betrayal...

the feeling that changes you forever

and makes you learn the presence

of loneliness

I am in the woods. It's dark and there is fog. I don't see anyone around and I don't know where I am. I am shivering from cold.

"Where are you?" someone calls. The voice is male and sounds amused. I can't pinpoint where it is coming from. Suddenly, I am shivering from something more than cold. "I will find you and we are going to have so much fun together. Don't hide, you are just making it worse for yourself," now he seems annoyed. Instinctively, I know he wants to hurt me.

I hear his steps close and start running. I am so afraid of what he will do to me if he catches me. I keep running, but he is getting closer. If only I found a way out of the woods. I need to get far away from him. I need to get home.

I hear him laughing behind me. I turn around to see how close he is. That is when I stumble and trip over some branches. I try to get up quickly, but then it is too late. He is above me and I know it is over. He is here and I am at his mercy.

He picks me up and slams me into a tree. My back hurts, but I try to punch him anyway. He easily catches my fist and slaps me. I cry out. He mocks me. "Feisty. I knew there was something I liked about you." He cages me with his arms. I have nowhere to run.

I feel his smelly breath upon my skin. This can't be happening. He pulls out a knife and caresses my neck with it. The grin he sends me petrifies me. I cannot move. "Let's have some fun. Don't worry, I'll make sure you really like it."

He starts to cut my clothes.

"No, no, no, no! NO!" I start screaming, "STOP!"

"You be quiet, little bitch!" he says and then he moves to slap me again, but before his fist makes contact with my face…

I wake up drenched in sweat and I find myself pointing a knife at the non-existent attacker in my bedroom. It takes me a while to realise where I am. I breathe deeply and wait for my heart to calm down. I hide the knife back under the pillow and check the clock.

4:24 AM.

I know it is pointless to try to go back to sleep, so I turn the lights on and go to my closet. I find some shorts and a top. I go downstairs and find my mother asleep on the couch. Her uniform is undone. She must have fallen asleep while working late.

My mother is Elizabeth Forbes. She works for the Mystic Falls Police Department. She is actually the sheriff and an exemplary case of workaholism. She dedicates everything to her job. She is great at it, too. But other parts of her life suffer for it. Over the years, I've grown accustomed I am one of those parts that are pushed aside. My mother loves me, and I love her, but our relationship will probably never be harmonious. I would like to believe we would be there for each other if it really mattered. Other than that, I have got used to living with the absent mom. Enough of that for now.

I cover my mom's figure with a blanket and set out of the door. I've always been quite a sportsperson but for a long time, jogging was not something I enjoyed. That changed and now it is something I do to clear my head and sharpen my senses. I change the routes I take, the times and the lengths I run. Before when I would go jogging, I would listen to music. Not anymore. Instead I mind my surroundings and notice anything that is out of ordinary. When I start feeling as if someone is watching, I look around myself inconspicuously. Sometimes a nosy neighbour is watching, sometimes I pass a fellow runner, but usually not this early. Most of the times, though, there is no one. Despite that, I still feel someone's look on my back. By now, I have got used to that feeling. Meet paranoia, my loyal companion, who never leaves. I learnt how to work around it. I tried to turn it into something useful. I trained myself to spot the unusual, to always be vigilante, never become complacent. I learnt how to convince myself that everything is alright, that there is no danger. It doesn't always work, but I try.

I get back to the house and hit the shower. I put on some jeans, a shirt and cargo boots that I now favour. After adding some light make-up, I see myself in the mirror.

My name is Caroline Forbes. I am a sixteen-year-old junior at the local high school and my life is far from what I imagined it once.

Funny, right? This is usually something grown-ups say when they look back at how they imagined at the high school their lives would be. I should still be at that optimistic, expecting phase making plans about my future.

I used to have those plans. I had my life planned in detail. I used to be the head of three major town and high school committees, I planned social events, volunteered regularly. I was leading the cheerleading squad. I was the social butterfly, the queen bee. I set it so that every gossip road would lead to me. They called me bubbly, shallow, but I put the hard work behind it. I had it all planned. I would win the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, enjoy all the responsibilities of that title, and organize it the following year. I would graduate and apply for the college with my two best friends. We would share the dorms and I would major Journalism with a minor in Drama. I would become one of the best reporters and years later found my own family.

There were many more details, but you get the gist. I had it all planned, but as you might have guessed, something changed.

I used to have two best friends with whom I shared almost everything. I was there for them when they needed me. However, once I needed them to be on my side. Not only were they not there for me, they turned their backs on me. They called me a liar and laughed at me when I had already been vulnerable. I snapped and I made a scene because at that moment it was the last straw.

I have known them my whole life and the bond I had with them that I thought was unshakeable fell apart in one afternoon. I had had overcome difficulties before in my life, but what they did, what happened, it broke me. They betrayed me. The people I knew as well as the back of my hand mocked me when I needed them the most. So, I fought back, and I made a scene in front of everyone.

The town I live in – Mystic Falls – is amazing at many aspects or at least that is what I once thought. There is a large number of social events and parties all year around, high school with many extra-curricular activities, rich historical background. There are some drawbacks as well. Despite its richness, it is a small town and before it all went to hell, I made sure to be in the middle of everything. I knew everyone and they knew me. Which is why it all went beyond the standard gossip qualities that towns like Mystic Falls have. In one afternoon, I was hurt by the people closest to me and I leashed out back on them and everyone else. And the whole town turned its back on me because of it. They called me a liar and judged me for it. I went from the town's queen to the town's outcast in one afternoon. Quite a feat, don't you think?

My life has changed irrevocably since that day. But enough of that.

I finished getting dressed and head downstairs. I see my mum got up while I was in the shower. I put the kettle on for coffee – the main driving force of our household and turn on TV.

MISSING PERSONS: BROOKE AND DARREN

I am watching the report and make a mental list of everything I want to look up about them. It's how mom finds me when she comes downstairs in a fresh uniform, ready for another day.

"Is that why you came so late yesterday?" I ask her pointing at the headlines.

"You don't have to worry about that, honey," she answers, but I see worry in her eyes. She wants me to stay out of it quite badly. Interesting.

"What happened?" I ask a bit more directly.

I can see her considering her choices. She knows me well enough to realise I won't let it go. She sighs. "We found an abandoned car on the road to the town. Those two were on their way from some concert. It seems they stopped, and something attacked them." She looks sideways. "Perhaps an animal," she adds in whisper. "Just let it go, please," she pleads me with her eyes.

When I became an outcast, I left or was asked to leave all the positions I once held – the committees, the cheerleading squad, everything. The whole town basically disowned me. When I put myself together a bit, I suddenly had so much time on my hands. I needed a new purpose, something to focus on. All my plans went out of the proverbial window. I needed something new and I found it. The reason I was successful at what I did was because I was dedicated. I suppose that is something I inherited from my mom. I didn't fool around. I partied a good time, yes, but I worked hard to keep my status. I was always busy, and I learned how to read people early on.

My mom is a good person. She is honest, hard-working. But she was never the one who would put her child into dresses and talk about boys. I would say that was one of the reasons why we never understood each other. I spent so much time organising different events and parties, talking to catering, bands, doing small talk. My mom is a very practical woman and she never saw the appeal in it like I did. However, she is a very good cop and while I had to learn how to polish nails and put together a perfect outfit on my own, she gave me more than a few pointers about how to spot liars. She told me about the nervous ticks of people who have something to hide. My mom, a workaholic in heart, gave me a crash course on forensics without even realising when I was eight and asked her about how she knew who the bad guy was.

I always liked to know what was going on and I knew how to spot nefarious behaviour. I knew how to deal with people, what their problems were, how they acted and why. I looked for another way how to use those skills and I made the choice that perhaps I had more in common with my mom than I thought.

Investigator. A fancy word, right? Private investigators (PI) always shadow the police forces. Their work can be varied from technical surveillance, corporate investigating and security assessments, they also often work for attorneys. Or they can specialize exclusively in one area.

And me, who knows? In Mystic Falls, I would describe myself as someone who puts her nose where it doesn't belong. I won't deny it. It gave me a purpose. A lot of people also leave me alone because of it. I know their secrets, the skeletons in their closets, things they don't want others to know – from love affairs to stealing supplies at work. I don't know everything, but I know a great deal more than what they are comfortable with.

And my mom, she knows I am interested in what the police do now, about everything that is going on. While she is good at telling lies from truths, she is not a particularly good liar or maybe I just know her too well. She is worried about me looking into this case, but I don't think she believes it was an animal and from what she has told I don't think they will be "missing" for much longer. This is something to keep an eye on.

"You know I have school; I made some coffee, we will catch up later," I say on my way to the door. "Love you," I call before the door closes behind me and I walk to my car and ride towards the first day of the junior class.

The ride to school is not long, so I am parking my car much sooner than I would like. My first stop is to the school office. On my way there, I pass several students. Most of them ignore me. Some even give me a wide berth, few of them send me some nasty looks, and one throws some mocking insults at me.

I don't have to recognize the voice to know it's Tyler Lockwood. I have taught most people that it is better to stay out of my way now, but Tyler is an exception. He never seems to be able to learn not to cross me. He is the son of the mayor. His family is one of the most influential ones in the town. He is rather arrogant and a first-class jerk. I have learned how to let those insults wash over me, so I ignore it and carry on to the school office.

The office is quite big. Apart from a small waiting area with padded folding chairs, there are two rows of file cabinets holding all required documents about students and staff alike. Before the cabinets there is one desk where Stacy, the school secretary, is sitting. Stacy is in her mid-twenties and knows everything that is going on at school as far as the staff is concerned at least.

I spent quite some time in here planning for different events and projects I used to involve myself in, so I know Stacy well. I like to be well-informed and for that purpose I convinced Stacy that it is in her best interest to keep me in the loop about anything that could be of interest to me. Stacy likes to gossip, and she once confided to me, how she liked one quarterback while he was still a student. She implied it was returned as well. That is why when she was reluctant to talk to me after my fall from the town's grace, I found him and gained some proof about their dating. While I had no proof, he was underaged when their relationship became physical, I knew and could prove they were dating when he was still a student which is a violation of the code of conduct the school enforces. That would cost her the job and brought her difficulties when looking for a new one. After all, Mystic Falls is a small town and rumours can get out of hand so easily, case in point – me, especially if someone lends a hand to it. My threat was more than implied. It didn't take a lot for Stacy to start doing what comes naturally to her – gossiping. It's always a good idea to have a source close to the principal office.

"Stacy, hello, have was your summer?" I ask and continue without letting her answer. "Anything interesting has happened?" I inquire.

She knows better than stalling with meaningless small talk. "Actually, there will be a new student in your class. His name is Stefan Salvatore and he is Zach Salvatore's nephew," she says. "That is if he brings all necessary records," she adds in whisper.

I discard the information as not relevant. "Anything else?"

"Well, Tanner is still a smart ass, Mrs. Trent is thinking about retiring in a few years and I heard that Mr. Whitlock suspects his wife of having an affair, but he is not sure with whom. He only knows she was visiting her sister a lot this summer," she adds conspiratorially.

"Alright then. Nice chat," I leave without thank you or goodbye.

On my way out of the office I pass a young man I don't recognize. He seems to be too old to be a freshman. That must be the new student. Stefan Salvatore. He is taller than me. He has quite an athletic build, maybe a footballer, he has the classically handsome look. I sense a brooding, mysterious and intense aura from him. When I look him in his green eyes, I notice they look old, much older than he is. If I ventured a guess, I would say he has been through something tragic. It would seem the new student might be a rather interesting character.

I know that his uncle, Zach, is a bit of a recluse. From what I know he spends most of his time at the Salvatore Boarding House, which his family has owned for the last couple of decades. He doesn't frequent many town's events. The only ones that seems to interest him are the Founder's Council meetings at the Lockwood Mansion. I guess he is interested in history or something.

I think Stefan may have heard something of what Stacy has told for there was also some confusion in his eyes when he looked at me. I should be more careful. Never mind, he is new, he won't think anything of it.

I check the clock. I have some time to retrieve what I need from my locker and get to the classroom. I walk in the hallway when I see them. Bonnie and Elena. Not a long time ago, I would run towards them and hugged them from behind to welcome them back at school. Things have changed drastically since then. I walk pass them and I keep my face expressionless.

They were my best friends once. Bonnie Bennett, she was always there. We would spend afternoons at her Gram's house discussing boys or the latest gossips and parties. Elena Gilbert. I thought about her a lot this summer. Her parents passed away just before the end of the school year. I knew them well because I used to spend a lot of time at their house as well. I even attended the funeral despite everything that has happened between us. I stood at the back, careful not to be seen. When I observe her now, I can see she has changed, which is understandable. She seems more mature. I think I still know her well enough to know she will tell everyone she is fine, but she is still sad and perhaps slightly depressed. I think she understands that is something that will not change any time soon.

I wonder how her brother Jeremy is doing. From what I know he spends most of his time stoned or in the company of Vicki Donovan, the town's addict, these days. I guess he isn't doing very well.

The treacherous thoughts come again – I wonder whether everything would end up the same way if it happened now and not a year ago.

There is no point in wondering, though, I remind myself. It happened. We washed our hands of each other. It's none of my business now. I continue to my locker.

The day passes as expected. Most of the teachers give us the usual Welcome back to school speech with one exception – History with Tanner.

As in the most classes now, I sit at the back of the classroom and do not attract attention to myself. Tanner didn't bother to give us any speeches and instead delved into another of his boring monologues he calls lectures.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union…" Tanner continues in his monologue.

I look around the classroom, not bothering taking notes. I've learned a long time ago there are much more efficient ways of how to pass Tanner's classes and anyway, Tanner is one of the poorest teachers you can find in this school. Over the years I found out several mistakes in his lectures.

From the back of the classroom there is a great view on everyone, so I see how Bonnie texts Elena who then looks at the new student, Stefan, who has been staring at her since the start of the lesson. I guess the new student is already crushing on someone.

After school I go back home and spend some time on the only assignment we got today (you can guess from whom). Back then I would have cheerleading practice and other meetings, but that is in the past. After homework I try to find out all the facts about the night incident and those involved.

Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton. Neither of those names rang any bell, although Brooke's photo seemed a bit familiar. I find out she worked at the Grill for a while. Darren isn't originally from Mystic Falls. He lives a few towns away. They have been together for a couple of months and more or less live at Darren's place. They were coming back from some band's concert when they stopped in the middle of nowhere. Something happened which probably made one or both of them bleed, after which either they ran from the car or something moved them. Another passer-by noticed the car and the blood and called the police.

None of it made much sense. First of all, why would they stop at night in the middle of nowhere? I could think of two reasons; either there was a malfunction on the car, or they hit someone/something. In both cases, their first instinct would be to call for help.

Hmm, I need more info. It's time for some field work.

I get to my car and ride to the spot where the car was found. I can see the police department has already processed everything as there is no one. All that I can see are some remains of the police tape that undoubtedly once surrounded the scene.

So, they were headed towards the town when they stopped. I can see brake traces suggesting they stopped very suddenly which points towards them hitting something/someone rather than some malfunction.

Still, why wouldn't they call for help? I check my phone and get the answer. No cell services.

The police surely collected samples of the blood left behind. While it is too early for the detailed analysis to be completed, by now the police should know whether the blood was animal or human, if so, then whether the blood type matches with Brooke and/or Darren.

It looks as if the visit of the police station is in order. Before that, though, I should swing by the Grill. It is never a good idea to come empty-handed when you want something.

I put in my order for several cups of coffee, some snacks and a burger for my mom as she, no doubts, skipped the lunch again. Although, I try my best to avoid prejudices of any kind, when it comes to the police coffee, everything you may have heard is tame compared to the reality which is why I know the coffee is always welcomed.

While I wait, some loud voices catch my attention. Oh, Jeremy & Vicki & Tyler triangle aka much more trouble than it is worth it and something from what I want to stay as far away as I can.

I see Matt sitting with Tyler after Jeremy and Vicki left them.

"Please tell me you're not hooking up with my sister," Matt, Vicki's brother and Tyler's best friend, resignedly pleads with Tyler.

"I'm not hooking up with your sister," Tyler rolls his eyes.

Matt doesn't buy it. "You're such a dick."

I snort at that which is my mistake. Tyler notices me waiting for my order close to them. Oh dear! And I thought I could get by without a direct confrontation for at least one day.

"And what are you doing here, you little bitch?" Tyler was never one to pull his punches.

"What does it seem I do, jackass. Or have you finally hit your head too hard?" I retort without hesitation. And here it is – the Lockwood's temper. I guess because of Jeremy and Vicki drama, he was already annoyed as it is almost too easy to get him angry.

"Listen here, the fact you don't have any friends and cry to sleep every night doesn't mean you get to stalk others, just so you have some fun!" he raises his voice.

"Tyler…" starts Matt.

At that point, a waiter brings my order.

"No," he stops Matt. "She ought to mind her own business," now most of the Grill listens in on us. He sees the coffee cups and smirks maliciously at me. "Who is the coffee for? Isn't it a bit too much? After all, you don't have any real friends anymore and the imaginary don't drink coffee. You know that, right?"

He just had to make a scene. That deserves a small retribution.

"Hilarious," I drew out. "In you place, I would care more about the so-called ex of my pseudo-girlfriend. After all, you do realise how little it would take her to find someone much worthier of her time, right?" I make a jab at Jeremy and Vicki as I look in the direction where they are talking together. At this point Matt sends me a glare and stops pleading Tyler to lay off me.

Luckily, I know the confrontation with Tyler is over. It is said boys have a short attention-span. I would say double it for Tyler Lockwood. Once I present something more interesting to him such as the possibility that the girl, he wants, has feelings for someone else, he gives that all his attention and leaves me alone.

I see Bonnie has just entered. High time to leave the premises. I pick my coffees and walk out of the Grill without glancing back. As I walk pass Bonnie, I hear her telling the bartender she is meeting Elena and Stefan in a few minutes.

I leave my car in front of the Grill and cross the town square towards the police station. I greet the receptionist with a cup of coffee and move past the front desk. After all, I am the sheriff's daughter and it is not that unusual for me to drop in.

I look around the desks and try to assess who would divulge something. I cross out many of the deputies simply because they would know right away, I am up to something. This is not my first fishing expedition here.

I see a desk close to the sheriff's office covered in many different papers without any apparent order. That's Gary's desk but it appears Gary is not behind it at the moment. I hand out the coffees I brought on my way to the Gary's desk. I put the rest of the coffee and snacks on the desk and pretend that I am rearranging what I am holding. I look around. No one seems to be paying attention to me.

I glance around the desk and cannot believe my luck.

Jackpot.

The report on the top of the pile is the one I am looking for. Gary could be back any minute, so I quickly open it and skim through it. There is some information about the victims, nothing unforeseen. The brake traces… and here it is the blood samples.

Oh, so it was human blood. Two blood types were identified that match Darren and Brooke. That is not so surprising, I guess they could see an animal on the road and brake quickly to avoid hitting it. Darren could step out of the car when the animal attacked him. Brooke went to look for Darren when she was attacked as well.

I turn the page in the report where the search for the pair is reported. No recent traces of animal activity were found in the 1200 ft. radius. Now, this doesn't add up. If they were dragged away from the car, there should leave a trail of blood and other evidence that they were hauled. Maybe…

"Caroline, what are you doing here?" a voice sounds behind me.

Busted. I try to play it cool. "Oh, you know, Gary, just dropping in to see mom. I also brought you some coffee," I point to the coffee on his desk and hope he lets it go.

"If you are sure," he looks at me sceptically and moves to put the report I've been browsing through on the side. "How have you been lately? Today is the first of school, right?" he asks me.

"Right," I answer. "You know how it is, the usual," I give my standard answer to such inquiries. "Is my mom in?" I ask despite seeing her before through the window to her office.

"Yes, she is. She might be a tad too busy today with everything," he informs me.

"I thought so. I brought her some lunch," I say trying to wrap up our conversation.

"Well, don't let me hold you up," he sees that I want to be on my way. "Thanks for the coffee," he adds.

"You're welcome," I call behind me as I walk to the sheriff's office.

I knock.

"Come in," my mum calls after a moment. I open the door and see mom reading through some papers behind her desk. She looks up and blinks as I close the door behind me. "Caroline, honey, I didn't know you were going to stop by today. Is everything alright?" she questions.

"Nothing happened," I assure her. "I just brought you some burgers from the Grill. I thought you would be busy," I explain looking at the files and documents on her desk. Now I have to be careful. "You know with those two missing people and everything. Any progress?" I ask and try to sound casually.

She becomes alert immediately. She is watching me sharply as I am looking around her desk. "We haven't found them. But you don't have to worry about that. How was school?" she tries to redirect the topic quickly.

I comply. "Nothing interesting. The first day of school – you know how it is," I answer. "Do you know when you finish today?"

She sighs. "Probably very late." She looks at the mountain of papers and files. I can see she is itching to get back to work. "Look, Caroline. Thank you for stopping by and getting me lunch, but I am really busy and have to get back to work," she proves me right.

"Alright, I can see where I am not wanted," I say good-naturedly. "Don't forget the burger," I say heading towards the door.

"Don't wait up on me. Love you!" she says goodbye.

"Love you too," I say back.

I don't linger much longer at the station and decide to head back home. When I get home, I think about what I should do next. I decide to postpone any more investigating. I found out what I could for now. After a while I sigh and head up to my room. I put on some loose top and go to the basement.

Most of my life, we used the basement only as storage. One of the changes I made a year ago is that I convinced my mom to get rid of a lot of junk we had there and convert it in some sort of gym/training area. Yes, years later I fulfilled both my parents' dream and started training self-defence.

I was hurt and betrayed. I felt weak and I wanted to be in control again. This helped a bit. After that came anger and resentment towards everyone. With that it helped as well. It became my outlet.

Yes, I could have become a spitfire and started beating everyone around me, but I knew better than that and I had better control than that. Even they didn't hurt me by attacking me physically. I knew very well there were much more efficient ways of how to break someone than beating the crap out of them.

I warm up, put on the gloves, and start hitting the punching bag that hangs in the middle of the room. At first, I start with controlled punches. I keep my arms up and focus on breathing. After a while, though, all the painful memories and feelings start coming back to the surface. My punches are angrier and less focused. I feel tears running down my face. I just want it to get out of me. When I tire myself, I slid down on the ground and wait for my tears to stop running and for my pulse to calm down. My hands hurt despite the thick boxing gloves. I put myself together, get up and get back to punching the bag.

When I am finished, I am exhausted. I take a long shower and put on my pyjamas despite the early hour. I take some leftovers from the fridge and turn on the TV just for some background sounds. I finish eating and take out my laptop. I browse through different news websites focusing on the crime sections.

I go to bed and ready myself for another night filled with nightmares and terrors.

Next morning, I get up because of the alarm clock. That is a bit unusual but not that surprising. I guess the work-out yesterday drained me more than I thought. I don't question my good luck any further and set out to the school.

It was another normal day for me in the hell that is called high school. Tanner was babbling about the Battle of Willow Creek that took place in Mystic Falls in the 1860s. I was daydreaming again when Tanner decided to pursue his favourite past-time – Put one over everyone.

While his comments about making excuses for Elena last year (her parents died for God's sake!) were inappropriate at best, I couldn't care less about that. Stefan getting one over Tanner proved to be amusing at least. The guy really should brush up on the facts or quit teaching History.

After the school is over, I wonder whether I should stop by the police station again but decide against it. Mom left me a message in the morning that she should get off the work at reasonable hour today, so I'll see her at home in the evening.

I don't really have a lot of time today, anyway. I go out of the parking lot and head in the opposite direction from my home, out of the town.

After one-hour drive, I am standing in front of the Bill's Shooting Range. It is far enough from Mystic Falls, so that I am not recognized and with forged papers, it was easy enough to set up some shooting lessons for me. While both my parents were all for me to learn self-defence, I am quite certain, that their sixteen-year-old daughter practising shooting with many different types of weaponry including a rifle on occasion goes beyond anything they had in mind. Nevertheless, I wanted to learn, and I found a way how to despite my age. I am not particularly fond of guns but if I decide to stick with my current interests in snooping around everyone's lives, sooner or later I will stir up a hornet's nest and then knowing how to shoot may come in handy.

When I get home, it's already dark outside. My mom is waiting for me. That is uncommon.

"Hello, honey. I got off the work and brought some pizza," she greets me. "Where have you been?"

"Just went to a mall, out of town," I answer casually.

"Did you buy something nice?" she tries to look interested.

"Oh, just window shopping, mostly," I don't blame her for not knowing that it has been some time since fashion and shopping held any real interest to me. "How was work?" now we are back on the safe topic.

"No luck with the search party," she starts. "You wouldn't believe all the paperwork related to this whole mess. Also, the sheriff department from Dylan's hometown wants to take point in the investigation. As if they knew the forest half as well as we my deputies do. Unbelievable!"

I look behind and see a pile of files on the counter. I see it is another working night for my mom.

We eat the pizza and just talk about nothing. It is nice. Back then, I would have a dozen of conversations like that every day. Now I cherish them - just talking, having no angle to play. Unfortunately, in Mystic Falls my mom is basically the only one I can talk to like this.

I offer to do the dishes and my mom moves to the living room and starts rummaging through different files and reports. After I am finish, I just tell my mom to go to bed and not to sleep on the couch again. However, I'm pretty sure I know where I will find her tomorrow morning.

I am getting ready for bed when my phone rings. I look at the screen. It's Dana.

Dana is a complicated person and for me a somewhat deterrent example. She is in my junior class and there was a time where she was a part of the popular click as I once was. Then her father was arrested for tax evasion frauds. Her mom and she were forced to move from a big house with garden to a small flat and we all witnessed how small towns like Mystic Falls can blame a child for the parent's deeds yet again. No parent would let their children play with Dana, they didn't want to talk to her mom, to invite Dana into their homes. In other words, she has become like me – an outcast. But she also is not like me. I severed all ties with everyone as they did with me. I know where I stand. Dana is different. She still acts as if she is friend with everyone. She chose not to acknowledge that the town is against her and bad-mouth her and her family once she turns around. She may not be as miserable as I am, but she lives in a lie. And if I have to choose, I choose the bitter truth over the white lie without hesitation.

Anyway, she is a useful person to be in touch with. She still goes to every party. She still knows about all the gossip, about everything that is going on. And I know if I show her an ounce of interest and appreciation once in a while, she will keep me posted about everything interesting.

I am still not sure why she would call me this late.

"Dana?" I answer the phone.

"Caroline? You won't believe what has happened," she begins.

"Couldn't it wait till the morning?" I wonder why she would feel the need to call me immediately. "Where are you anyway?" it's time to shed some light on it.

"Don't tell me you forgot. It's the back-to-school party. We have always gone to that. Remember once when we…" she starts babbling. Back-to-school party is more an excuse for the underage to get drunk in the middle of the woods with a few beer kegs.

"Yeah, yeah… sorry I couldn't attend," I interrupt her, "So what happened?"

"Well, you know everything was the usual at first, but then Jeremy and Vicki came out of the woods. I think she was there with Tyler. They might have made out. Jeremy went after them. Do you think he caught them in the act?" she gets off the point again.

"Dana, get to the point!" I almost snap.

"Right, Jeremy and Vicki came out of the woods and she was bleeding all around the place. Elena was yelling for someone to help them, it was all very dramatic if you ask me," she finally relates the important bit.

Suddenly, I am not sleepy at all. "Wait, wait, what do you mean by bleeding? What happened to her?" I fish for more details.

"Oh yes, something bit her into the neck. Would you believe that? Something actually happened in Mystic Falls for once. Kick-off party, wouldn't you say?" Dana never really had a filter. Another reason I can somewhat stand her. She is brutally honest.

"What happened next?" I ask.

'Not much, really," she says. "They called an ambulance and she was rushed to the hospital, I guess."

"Ok, then. Wow, that's really something!" I try to sound excited.

"Right?"

"Well, thanks for letting me know. Get home safely," I end the call without letting her say goodbye. I can't be too friendly or else she would never leave me alone.

As I end the call, I can hear my mom getting out of the driveway in her car. She is most likely on her way to the woods.

A neck bite. Could it be another animal attack? It seems Vicki was away from the party when she was attacked. I am very interested in what exactly happened to her. In addition, what my mom will think about it.

It seems Dana is right. Something actually happened in Mystic Falls for once.

So, this was the first chapter. We got a bit of an idea how Caroline is different. About what exactly happened to her? That is a story that will be revealed piece by piece. Know that the dream at the beginning was not a memory, but maybe points to what kind of bad happened to her. I plan that by chapter 12 (if that is ever written), you should have the whole story.

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