I do not own The Vampire Diaries. I only own Tiffani.

Story Start

The rest of the time at the grill flew by and soon I, Caroline, and her mom were back at the house. Caroline immediately went through my suitcase and tried to figure out what would be cute for the first day of starting at the high school. I was going to be in some of the same classes with my cousin and friends, since the school believed in people staying in their age group. I would just be doing senior course work since I was technically a grade ahead. "The perks of skipping a grade," I thought with a smirk while watching my cousin start hanging up clothes and putting them in the closet.

"Caroline, I'll just wear my ankle boots, jeans, a tank, and a blazer," I muttered tiredly as I fell back on the bed.

"Fine, but I have a necklace you should borrow," she said before tackling me with a hug.

"What is it with everyone and hugs," I muttered after I caught my breath.

"I'm sorry for being so horrible when we were younger, but I'm so happy you're here. I really have missed you," she muttered as we stayed on the bed.

The two of us stayed that way for a minute or two and a frown crossed my face when I felt Caroline give a little shake. "Caroline, has everything been ok lately?" I asked quietly, so I wouldn't startle her. "Caroline," I whispered again when she didn't say anything.

Caroline pulled away from me and we both sat on the bed facing each other. She took a deep breath before shaking her head. She gave me a smile, which I could tell was forced. "I'm fine, school and boys have been stressful but that's normal," she said and jumped off the bed. "Well we have a busy day tomorrow so I'll let you get some rest. Good night, Tiffani. I'm glad you're here," she said and rushed out of the room.

I stared at the now closed door before falling back on the bed. I could tell she was hiding something from me but I really didn't have any right to force her to tell me anything that was going on in her life. If she told me then I would be her shoulder to cry on, but I wasn't going to pry when she obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Just go to sleep," I told myself and got ready for bed. Falling asleep was easy after the long flight and the busy day. It was great to see Matt and Jeremy again, and it was even nice to see Caroline again. I hoped that this time would be different with my cousin, but who knows how she would really treat me when we went back to school together. I could only imagine how Bonnie and Elena would act tomorrow if they even figured out who I was.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of coffee and biscuits, which was a nice smell to wake up to but my cousin's cheery good morning was not what I wanted to hear. I pulled the cover over my head when she entered my room and jumped on the end of the bed.

"Wake up sleepy head," she said and tried to pull the cover off my head.

"No, it's a Friday, why do I have to start school on a Friday? I just want to sleep," I grumbled as we had a tug-of-war with the cover.

"Oh stop whining and get up, you're going to love the school," Caroline said and she finally pried the covers out of my hands and off my head. She just smiled when I gave her my usual morning glare.

"Fine," I huffed and rolled out of bed. I ignored her look as I crawled to the bathroom and kicked the door closed behind me. I just laughed when I finally stood up and tried to burn the sight of her face in my memory. "This will be a good day," I said and started getting ready.

"Don't forget the necklace," Caroline shouted before leaving my room.

After the shower and getting dressed, I found a simple necklace on my dresser. It was a cameo locket with a long chain. I wasn't really a jewelry person but I would wear it. It wasn't flashy and Caroline did give it to me. I knew if I didn't wear it, she would have a fit. With a shrug, I slipped it over my neck, grabbed my bag, and went downstairs.

Aunt Elisabeth handed me a biscuit and a cup of coffee before Caroline practically drug me out of the house and to her car. She gave me a big smile and floored it to the high school. Thankfully I was able to eat the biscuit and drink the coffee without making a mess since she was driving so fast.

"Ok, let's go to the office, get your schedule, and I'll show you around," Caroline said as we exited the car and started walking to the building. She just gave me a big smile when she heard Elena and Bonnie yelling for her to join them with that unknown guy from the other night. Caroline just looped her arm with mine and we kept walking into the school.

"Well that's new," I thought but didn't say anything. I didn't know I would arrive when Caroline was having some issues with her so-called best friends, but if she needed me then I would be here for her. I just gave her arm a squeeze and she gave me a relieved smile. I wasn't going to make her talk but hopefully she would talk about whatever was bothering her soon enough or there might be an explosion. A Caroline explosion was a terrifying thing to see. I had only seen it happen once.

We got my schedule and I did have a few classes with Caroline. Matt and Jeremy met up with us a few minutes later, and thankfully my other classes were with them so I wouldn't be completely alone in my classes.

My first class was with Jeremy, which was an art class. He just gave my shoulder a shove, and I told Caroline I would see her later before I walked with Jeremy to class.

"You know my sister still remembers that black eye you gave her," Jeremy said as we sat at a table together and waited for the teacher.

I just smirked at him and said, "Good. I'd be offended if she forgot about that." I just gave him a wink and he busted out laughing, which was exactly when the teacher entered the room. "Oh I've missed this town," I thought as Jeremy quickly stopped laughing and we focused on what the teacher was saying. I just hoped the rest of the day would go as smoothly as it was this morning.