A/N: Based off TV show; I may have to manipulate time a bit here and there but trying to follow basics of TV show story line. This starts between Know Thy Enemy(17) and The Last Dance(18).

How I Became Friends with a Vampire

Step 1: The Meeting

My parents picked the wrong time to move to Mystic Falls. Hind sight being what it is, that's the best way I can put it- bad timing. It wasn't bad timing because it was the middle of my senior year, it wasn't bad timing because the weather was starting to get colder, it was bad timing because it was right when all the Elijah and Klaus mumbo jumbo started. If you're reading this, I am going to assume you know what that means.

But I get ahead of myself. You will find I tend to do that from time to time, it is my nature, as is rambling. Apologies are being offered up front so I don't have to worry about them later. I will not bore you with the early details of my life as they do not pertain to the story ahead. What little of my background that is important will come out naturally so I am going to start where you want me to start, at the moment of my meeting Damon Salvatore.

I was standing in the foyer of the boarding house, twiddling my thumbs, rocking on my heels, trying to look around the house without moving. My new friend Elena had brought me here to pick up her boyfriend; I was told to wait, not touch anything, and not move. I am nothing if not obedient and trustworthy so I took her at her word and stood in place, marveling at all the decadence from afar. Whoever lived here definitely had money.

To call Elena my 'friend' was a stretch of the meaning of the word. I later found out that she was trying to return her life to somewhat normal at the time; she wanted to be a normal high school girl that was semi-involved with high school activities. The principal had been eager to use her in any capacity and immediately signed her up to be my very own tour guide to my new school and town. Elena was obligated to be my 'friend' by decree of the high school administration.

I tried to let her off the hook; I knew she had better things to do with her time than show the new girl around. But she took her charge seriously and went out of her way to be by my side most of my first day. One thing I can still say about Elena is the girl is a never ending river of niceness. She was genuinely kind and cooperative and I appreciated her willingness to answer my questions and just be there to help me out. No wonder those Salvatore brothers had it bad.

She invited me to go to The Grill after school, a place where the local kids hung out, apparently. I was agreeable but she wanted to pick up Stefan, her boyfriend, first. He wasn't answering his cell phone and I could see a slightly worried look in her eye. We drove to this huge mansion she called 'the boarding house' and left me standing just inside the doorway. That is where the fun begins.

I had been left alone for less than five minutes. It was eerily quiet but in a place as big as it was I didn't expect the acoustics to be stellar. I felt rather conspicuous and child-like, standing and waiting for her to come back, but she had been adamant that I not come any farther in. I didn't want to upset anyone on my first official day in town so I stayed put.

One second I was checking my watch, the next second there was someone in front of me. I didn't know how he got there or where he came from but he was there, two feet in front of me, and looking at me with a rather unpleasant expression. However, any expression on Damon Salvatore's face is beautiful. Most of you know that.

I didn't know at the time it was Damon, though. He was just some hot dude standing in front of me with a scary look in his pretty eyes. So I said the only intelligent thing that came to mind. "Hi." Brilliant, I know.

His eyes narrowed but there was no other response. Well, that was kind of rude so I stuck out my hand and continued, hoping he'd soften up when he realized I wasn't trying to steal the plasma TV I could see from my vantage point. "My name's Avvy. Well, really it's Avaline, but I think it's rather long and unattractive so I don't really like to be called it, so I go by Avvy. My parents still call me Avaline, they like it. I think they were hippies."

He looked at my outstretched hand as I babbled about my name. I hate my name and I tend to babble to make excuses about it. This dude was making me babble more than normal since he was looking at me all intimidating like. He still hadn't shaken my hand so I took it back.

"What are you doing in my house?" There was only a hint of anger in his voice; it sounded more like irritation. I suddenly felt like an idiot.

"Oh! Yea, I'm waiting on Elena. She's here to pick up Stefan. Her boyfriend." Which he probably already knew. Did I mention how I tend to babble?

He raised an eyebrow at me, his only response at first. He seemed to size me up. A perfect time for a quick description of me.

I am short; at five foot two and a quarter inches most people consider me short but not a midget. The worst part about being short is grocery shopping and not being able to reach things on the top shelves. It's embarrassing to have to ask a taller passerby to get something for you.

I have dark, straight hair that falls to my shoulders. I would like long hair but I always get sick of how heavy it is and cut it off every year or so. I don't have a gorgeous face; I consider myself to be cute, but not pretty. I will not be gracing the next cover of Teen People but on the flip side I don't consider myself unattractive. I have a healthy self-esteem in that regard; I don't need to be pretty, cute serves me just fine, thank you.

I do like my eyes, my favorite part of my outward appearance. They are hazel; mostly brown with some green mixed in. Depending on the light they can look greener or browner but either way they are the prettiest thing to look at in the mirror when I check in the morning. I've been blessed with good genes as far as my skin goes; clear for the most part, the occasional blemish when I stress really bad. I could stand to lose about five to ten pounds and I plan on embarking on that endeavor, as soon as they making working out less work. I try to watch what I eat and I am not overweight but I am no cheerleader. I will not be walking around this summer in a midriff shirt and daisy dukes, if you know what I mean.

So that is what Damon was sizing up, a short, somewhat cute girl in jeans and a sweatshirt, babbling about the stupidity of her name. He must of somehow realized what a threat I was NOT and decided to flash me a smile. There was no warmth in it; I wasn't fooled for a minute into thinking it was a friendly gesture. Still, I returned it, relaxing a smidge. He wasn't going to bite me. And yes, looking back, I realize how ironic that thought was.

"Damon," he offered me his hand which I shook quickly. "Stefan's big brother and guardian," he informed me. I nodded, recognizing the name. Elena had mentioned briefly that Stefan had a brother that might be at the house but she thought he'd most likely be out. She had been wrong. "I like my name." He added.

I'll admit, he creeped me out just a little. His stare was severe and it never let up. His eyes were beautiful but intense like he was trying to see something in me that wasn't on my outsides. I was very glad when Elena and Stefan showed up just then.

"Damon, you're home." Elena was surprised.

"Elena, you sound disappointed." Damon countered, dragging his eyes from me to her.

"Just surprised." She looked back at Stefan who shrugged. She introduced him to me and I could immediately see what Elena liked in him. He was a gentleman and his eyes were kind and trustworthy. He was the compete antithesis of his brother, I could tell instantly. Stefan was a good soul.

"Well, we're going to The Grill for dinner and to catch Avvy up on all the town gossip so…" Elena was trying to make an exit for the three of us. Damon perked up however and crushed her plans to leave him behind.

"Great! I'm starving. And I would love to help introduce our new friend here to the town." Damon offered me his arm and not knowing what else to do I took it. I did not miss the look exchanged between Elena and Stefan. They didn't want him along, I got that, but I wasn't sure why. At the time he just seemed like a pushy, bossy older brother who wanted to possibly rain on the kids' parade.

Me, I don't like to make waves, especially when I don't know the situation so I just went with it. If they really didn't want him along they would tell him and not take him. That wasn't happening so I just thought they figured it wouldn't be too bad. Really, looking back, they probably didn't want to provoke an unstable Damon into doing something regrettable with or in front of the new girl. I'm probably lucky they didn't. It's probably the only reason I'm still alive.

A/N: This is an attempt at 2nd person, written similar to a memoire written after events transpired. Sometimes the tenses are hard to write, I apologize for any confusion.