Learning that Caroline was a newborn vampire had not made Riley nervous for herself, but for her friend. Newborns always struggled with their thirst for blood and risked a higher chance of being killed, especially by someone aware of the supernatural world. She felt more protective of her friends in Mystic Falls, not wanting them to be the next victim. Listening to her father's advice, she did not stay away from Caroline. She would never abandon her close friend at such a fragile time. The next time she saw Caroline was at Tyler's party at the swimming hole in the woods. She appeared to be much more relaxed than she had been at the carnival. Riley pretended to believe her lie that she was jumpy from the hospital medication. Caroline was not the only one being apprehensive around her. Elena, Bonnie, and even Jeremy would immediately change the subject of their conversations. Their fake smiles did not fool her but she played along, acting like everything was fine.

At night, she would sit with her father in his study, searching for information on the sun and moon curse. Her mother's old research on vampires provided useful answers. The sun and moon curse was described a thousand years ago, supposedly developed by a shaman. Due to the curse, vampires were weakened by the sun and werewolves could only transform on the full moon. The curse led to a feud between the two supernatural races and the near extinction of werewolf bloodlines. They discovered a few ingredients to breaking the curse, including the moonstone and the blood of a doppelgänger, a supernatural double of a living person. According to her father, it would be like having a twin as an ancestor.

Riley was getting ready for her first day at Mystic Falls High. She dabbed concealer onto her bite marks and wrapped a scarf around her neck. Grabbing her tote bag, she headed downstairs. Her mother was cooking breakfast. Jayden was sitting at the kitchen counter, eating a waffle.

"Hey Riley" he said, his mouth full.

"Who said you could eat our food, Jay? Mom, you know he'll eat everything in the house. He's like a garbage disposal"

Her mother smiled. "Jayden is welcome to eat here whenever he likes. You two are going to be late for school"

Riley grabbed an apple and waved goodbye to her mother, following Jayden out of the house. He offered to drive her to and from school every day. As she sat in the passenger seat, she noticed Jayden looking at her.

"Jay, I know I'm gorgeous but you need to keep your eyes on the road, not my face" she teased.

"What's with the scarf? Is this some new girly fashion trend?"

"It's cute. I was in a scarf mood. Just because you have no fashion sense…"

"Are you hiding a hickey? You've been here two days and you've already hooked up with someone?"

"I didn't hook up with anyone. I was too busy dodging Cameron's attempts to take off my bikini top. You were no help at all" she replied.

He began to drive down the street. "I saw Stefan watching you a lot yesterday. You better be careful"

She looked at Jayden, confused. He mentioned that Elena and Stefan were in a relationship. They met on the first day of school and became a couple within a few weeks. Elena surprisingly left that out of any of her messages to Riley. Jayden said that Stefan was a friendly guy but mostly kept it to himself. For a short time, he played on the football team. He had an older brother named Damon, who Riley assumed was the dark-haired guy she had seen with Stefan at the carnival. Jayden told her how Caroline showed interest in Damon, going on a few dates with him.

"For a guy, you know a lot of gossip"

"Caroline kept bragging about him to girls in class. Tanner made me sit behind her in History after I pulled a prank on him so it was hard not to hear her. I heard things about Damon that no guy should ever hear. I'm kind of glad their relationship just fizzled. It saved me from that torture"

Minutes later, they arrived at the school. Riley walked into the main office. Mrs. Clarke, the secretary, smiled.

"Can I help you, dear?"

"I just transferred here. My mom should've sent over my papers. Riley Gilbert"

Checking files on the computer, she printed out a class schedule and locker combination, handing both documents to Riley. Leaving the office, Riley found her locker near entrance to the school courtyard. Opening it, she was showered in confetti and balloons. A poster had been placed on the inside of her locker with the following writing: Welcome back, Riley!. Pictures of her and her friends from eight years ago covered the entire poster. Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie appeared from behind the doors, laughing. She brushed the confetti out of her hair.

"I should've expected that"

"Happy first day. How does it feel to be an official Timberwolf?" asked Bonnie, smiling.

"It's the best day of my life"

Caroline handed her a box. Inside was a cheerleading uniform. Riley forgot that she promised to be on the cheerleading squad if she ever returned to Mystic Falls.

"I made this promise when I was nine years old"

"Caroline will still hold you to it. A promise is a promise, Ri" said Elena.

"But she let you leave the squad. By the way, why am I finding out about boyfriends from Jayden?"

Elena blushed. "It slipped my mind. I didn't think you'd want to hear about it while you were having fun in foreign countries"

Their conversation was interrupted by Stefan. He opened the locker next to Riley's. She had still not forgotten how he acted with her at the carnival. It was even worse at Tyler's party where she kept feeling his eyes on her. Hearing that he was in a relationship with Elena did not make her any less wary of him. Elena tended to be very naïve. He greeted her with a kiss.

"It's nice to see you again, Riley. I guess we're locker neighbors"

"Fun" she said, trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

Elena looked between them with a concerned expression. Jayden walked over, breaking the tension. Last night, he planned pranks with Riley for her first day at school. As children, they were well-known pranksters, their victims being adults and children. Caroline chastised them for their silly pranks. She tried to find out about their plan but both remained tight-lipped. Riley winked at her friends and followed Jayden to the History classroom. She had been hoping to prank Mr. Tanner, who used to be her history teacher in elementary school. There was a huge rivalry between them due to her pranks and the fact that Riley tended to be a bit of a smartmouth. Tanner would try to get revenge by asking her tough history questions as a way to humiliate her in front of her classmates but she always knew the answer. Jayden hid chalk in the eraser while Riley hid paint bombs in the desk drawer. They drew funny pictures on the blackboard. Hearing the bell ring, they sat in the back of the classroom, talking about random things.

Caroline sat in front of Jayden and shot them both a suspicious look. "What did you two do?"

"Care, I am insulted that you think we pranked this classroom"

"Oh drop the innocent act, Riley. If you do anything to send Mr. Saltzman to the nurse's office, I will put you at the bottom of the cheer pyramid"

Riley put her hand to her chest. "Not the bottom. How ever will I survive?" she asked, dramatically.

Jayden stifled a laugh. Alison and her lapdogs entered the classroom. With her usual sneer in place, she walked over to Riley's desk. Emma and Kristen both shot her a contemptuous look.

"You're in my seat, Gilbert"

"I don't see your name on it, Montgomery. Mine happens to be written on the back with this magical object called a marker"

"Jayden, tell her to move. We always sit together"

"Not by choice" he muttered.

"You're not his type. He prefers to date someone that's the same species. I'd be glad to set you up with my neighbor's dog. You have a lot in common…you both bark and have fleas"

Alison glared. "You better listen to me, you little runt. I am the Queen Bee around here. You do what I say or you can eat next to the dumpsters with the other losers in this school"

"Such a snippy puppy, Montgomery. I think someone needs a few more classes at obedience school"

Kids laughed, watching the fight between Alison and Riley. They were used to their constant arguments that started in preschool when Riley refused to let Alison on the swing since it was Elena's turn. With Riley back, there was finally someone to stand up to Alison and her little clique. A man in his early 30s shut the door to the classroom, telling Alison, Emma, and Kristen to find their seats. The three blonde girls threw one more glare at Riley and sat at desks in the front of the room. She groaned as Cameron took the empty seat next to her. Jayden told her that the man was Alaric Saltzman, who recently moved to Mystic Falls to replace Mr. Tanner. He was considered the cool teacher.

"Morning, class. My name is Alaric Saltzman and I'm telling you this because we have a new student with us. I hear she's not really new to most of you but why don't you tell us about yourself, Riley? You can tell us two fun facts"

"I'm Riley Gilbert. Elena is my cousin and I am pretty much the only person not intimidated by the plastic barbie also known as Alison Montgomery" she said, seeing Alison rip a page in her notebook angrily.

"Good to know. Riley, if you ever need help, you can always email or visit my office during lunch. Let's continue our discussion about the 1950s"

"You can always come to me for private tutoring, Ri. I'm really hands-on" whispered Cameron, resting his hand on her knee.

She pushed his hand off and smiled sweetly. "If you don't want to lose that hand, keep it to yourself"

As he turned around, he observed the drawings on the board. He used the eraser but it only created more chalk marks. Opening his desk drawer to find a new eraser, the paint bomb exploded, splattering paint all over his face. The classroom burst into a fit of laughter. Mr. Saltzman looked directly at Jayden. He and Riley were struggling to maintain straight faces.

"I'm guessing this is your handiwork, Jayden"

"I can't take all the credit, sir"

Caroline chucked a pen at Riley's head. "Seriously? You couldn't just leave it at the funny pictures?"

"That was child's play. I'm a mature prankster now"

After Alaric wiped the paint off of him, he continued his lesson. By the end of the week, Jayden and Riley managed to target every single classroom. The teachers caught on quickly, knowing that they set up the pranks, and warned them to behave or receive detentions. To get Riley to warm up to Stefan, Elena wanted her to attend Jenna's barbecue. Jenna had invited her and her parents when she met her mother for lunch at Mystic Grill. Riley lied about plans with Tyler to get out of it. Elena pleaded for her to give Stefan a chance, assuring her that he was an amazing person. After listening to Elena beg for two class periods, she caved, promising to be there.

Riley was helping Jenna and Elena set up for the barbecue. She grabbed bags of pretzels and chips from the pantry. Alaric was outside, starting up the grill. He did not mind if Riley called him by his first name. She found out that he was somewhat dating Jenna. Handing the chips to Elena, they poured both bags into large bowls. For some reason, Caroline was invited to the barbecue, but not Bonnie. Elena claimed that Bonnie had to go out of town with her father.

Jenna walked over to the counter. "It feels like old times with you and your parents back, Riley. When they left, this town was a lot less fun. Are they going back on the council?"

"They don't have a choice, being founding family members. My mom isn't going to bother with the meetings. She says that she fell asleep more often during those meetings than she did in her high school classes"

"I don't blame her. They act like it's some super exclusive club"

Her parents arrived, bringing pasta salad and brownies. As her mother helped Jenna set up the food, her father nodded his head towards the door. Riley followed him into the living room. From his pocket, he took out a small spray bottle with golden-colored liquid. He explained that it was a special herbal mixture that he received from an old witch friend. The spray would hopefully hide Riley's scent to protect her from vampires. She sprayed it onto her neck. They would not know if it worked unless she encountered a vampire like Caroline. Going back into the kitchen, she heard a conversation between Elena and Jenna.

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline. She could use some distraction...with um Matt and everything. They've been a little rocky lately" said Elena.

"She's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?"

Elena explained that Alaric was pitying Damon. Riley grabbed some pretzels from the bowl.

"Ooh, who's Damon?" she asked, playing clueless.

Jenna smacked her shoulder. "No, don't go ooh. Damon is an ew"

"He's Stefan's older brother" said Elena.

"I'll distract him for you. I like them older"

"No!"

She turned towards Elena, seeing a nervous expression in her eyes. Elena suggested that Riley stay away from him, saying that he was not her type.

"Ellie, we last saw each other when I was 9. Did I have a type then?"

"I just mean that he's a jerk. Don't bother with him. Seriously, don't even talk to him, Ri. Be nice to him, Jenna"

"I'll be nice when he learns to keep his hands off you"

"Oh, I know that type. His name is Brendon" said her mother, making her and Jenna laugh.

Riley scrunched her nose when she kissed her father. "Innocent children in the room. I don't want to be scarred for life"

Elena giggled. Mason entered the kitchen, holding a bottle of tequila and shot glasses. Without a second thought, Elena left the room. Riley stayed in the kitchen, thinking she could have some future leverage if her parents got drunk at this barbecue. Jenna joked that it reminded her of being under the bleachers at a high school pep rally. As Mason poured shots, Alaric brought in steaks and burgers. Jenna introduced him to Riley's parents.

"Oh, the expensive stuff. I like you already" he told Mason.

"Just happy to be invited"

"It was Ric's idea" said Jenna.

Alaric shrugged. "I thought it would be nice to meet Jenna's old friends. Dig up some dirt"

Riley picked up one of the shot glasses. Her mother crossed her arms .

"You let me drink in other countries" she said, innocently.

"The drinking age was 16, not 21"

Mason put his arm around Riley. "Relax, Alice. I used to babysit her, remember? She's tiny but tough. I'll make sure she doesn't black out. Scout's honor"

"You were always a bad influence on her, Mason. You convinced her and Tyler that they could fly when they were 5 and they jumped out a window on the second floor"

"Hey, you are never going to convince me that I did not fly for at least a few seconds. If Tyler didn't knock into me, I would've made it to my room" argued Riley.

They clinked their glasses and downed the shots. Riley's smile faltered when Damon walked into the kitchen, holding a pie box. Her parents immediately saw through his façade. They were the ones who trained her on spotting the signs of a vampire. The mood in the kitchen had gotten considerably more tense.

"Just doing some shots. Come get your shot, buddy" said Alaric.

Jenna gave her shot glass to Damon, looking irritated. He smiled at her parents.

"Hey, I'm Damon. I don't think we've met before"

"I doubt that since we just moved back a week ago. I'm Elena's uncle Brendon and this is my wife Alice"

"Right, the mysterious Gilbert brother" he replied, shaking his hand.

Her father chuckled. "Mysterious is an exaggeration. You are definitely a Salvatore"

"What gave it away? My smoldering good looks?"

"My father taught me how to tell the founding families apart. Yours is pretty easy"

Damon looked at Riley. "I remember seeing you at the carnival. You were little miss popular"

"This is my daughter Riley. She's the same age as Elena"

Riley left the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with him. She went outside, finding Elena and Caroline on the porch. Caroline mentioned having to break up with Matt. Elena got very quiet, staring at the floor. Riley sat in an empty chair.

"What are we talking about?"

"Nothing. I was um trying to call Stefan. He's not answering his phone" said Elena.

"Maybe he got busy. I'm sure he'll call you back"

"Enough moping. Let's talk about something else…like when Riley and Jayden are getting together" teased Caroline.

She threw a chip at her. "Never, Miss Matchmaker. It would be like hooking up with a brother"

Alaric called them into the house. After a quick meal, they played a game of charades. It was not easy to guess the pictures since only Riley and her father possessed any real artistic skill. Every time Damon had a turn, his drawings depicted wolves. Riley glanced over at Mason, who was not missing the obvious reference. The adults drank a lot of liquor and she could see that her parents were getting tipsy. Riley drew a bat with blood on its fangs.

"Vampire bat" said Damon, a slight smirk on his face.

"Damon got it"

She sat on the arm of the couch, next to her father. He leaned closer to her as Damon went in front of the easel.

"You're not being subtle, scamp" he whispered.

"Neither is he"

Damon drew a wolf in a tutu with music notes surrounding its head. She rolled her eyes. Mason did not look amused. Each of Caroline and Jenna's guesses were wrong.

"Dances with wolves" said Mason.

"Mason wins again"

"How is that a wolf?" asked Jenna, puzzled.

While Caroline started her turn, drawing stick figures, Riley grabbed the bottles of tequila, whiskey, and wine. The adults did not need more drinks. If Jenna had one more shot, she might topple to the floor. She snuck into the kitchen, seeing Elena and Damon in a deep conversation.

"Am I interrupting?"

"N—no. I was just getting the um pie ready. What are you doing?"

"Hiding the liquor before my parents get so drunk that they sneak into the car to make out in the backseat"

Riley finished off the nearly empty bottle of tequila in one sip. She tossed the bottle into the trash can. Damon smirked.

"I like you, Riley. I guess sexiness runs in the Gilbert family"

"Does being a creep run in yours?" she retorted.

"Is this about the carnival? I didn't mean to scare you. I just can't help admiring a beautiful face"

She put the bottles in the liquor cabinet. Turning to Damon, she scoffed at his lame attempt at flirting.

"Get one thing straight, blue eyes. You don't scare me. If I catch you doing your so-called admiring again, my fist will be meeting your face. Are we clear?"

"Ooh, you're feisty. If you want, we could occupy that backseat"

Elena nudged his side roughly. "Damon" she hissed.

"In your dreams"

Riley returned to the living room, convincing her parents to leave. Her mother had to teach class early tomorrow morning and her father had an all day shift at the hospital. As she got them into the car, Elena ran over to her, looking sympathetic. She apologized for Damon's behavior.

"Elena, it's fine"

"It's not. He can be such a—I'm sorry if he made you uncomfortable"

"I've dealt with a lot worse. I should get my parents home. It would be bad if they have hangovers tomorrow"

"Caroline and I are going to check on Stefan. Meet us at the Grill in about an hour? I really want you and him to get along"

"Sure. I'll see you there"

Riley gave Elena a quick hug and drove home. She sat in her bedroom, drawing in her notebook. Around eight, she headed down to Mystic Grill. Elena was leaving the restaurant, muttering to herself. Her outfit was completely different, being much more sensual. She also noticed that her hair had gone from pin-straight to curly.

"Stupid blonde"

"Elena?"

"Riley, hey. I was just leaving"

"You told me to meet you here. You wanted me to hang out with Stefan, remember?"

"Yea, I just uh"

Elena sniffled, tears brimming her eyes. She admitted that she and Stefan had broken up a few minutes ago over another girl. Riley asked if she wanted to talk about it somewhere private but Elena declined the offer, wanting to be alone. When they were younger, Elena always came to Riley with a problem. They would go to a quiet place so Elena could vent to her. If she ever felt sad, she hated to be alone. As Elena continued down the sidewalk, Riley stepped in front of her. She reached into her jacket pocket.

"Riley, I really need to be alone right now. I don't want to talk about Stefan"

"You're not Elena"

"What? Of course I am. Who else could I be?"

"You're not fooling me"

The imposter's expression changed from confusion to amusement. She smirked, circling Riley.

"Well look who's a smart girl. I guess I could use you as a warning message"

Her fangs emerged. As she zoomed towards her, Riley removed the stake from her pocket and jammed it into her side. The girl staggered back in pain. She vanished in a blur. Keeping her guard up, Riley glanced around the street. She swung her leg back, feeling it connect with something behind her. The girl clutched her stomach. Riley swiped her leg, knocking her to the ground. She sprayed vervain at her face and entered the restaurant. Caroline was sitting at a booth, twirling the straw in her glass of soda and looking very guilty.

"Hey Caroline. Are you okay?"

"Yea, I just—no. I'm so not okay right now. I did something terrible and…please just distract me. I can't keep thinking about it"

"We could play pool with those cute college guys. Is that a good distraction?"

"Definitely"

"I call dibs on the tall one"

"No fair!"

They laughed and walked over to the pool tables…

~Damon~

Damon had just left the Mystic Grill. He overheard an awkward conversation between Elena and Stefan about Katherine, leading to their breakup. It would be a lie if he said he was not even a little happy about their fight.

"Bad day?"

Turning his head, he saw Katherine leaning agains the wall. He rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with her at the moment.

"Bad century. Heard you were on the loose"

"What's the matter? Jealous I spent the day with Stefan?"

"I don't do jealous. Not with you, not anymore"

Katherine followed him, asking what put him in a bad mood. He mentioned how he attempted to kill a werewolf earlier tonight. At Elena's house, he had stolen a piece of silverware to see if it affected Mason. It turned out that silver was not harmful to werewolves. Katherine taunted him that werewolves were difficult to kill. She urged him not to be the hero.

"You'll end up dead"

"Been there, done that. At least this time, it would be worth it"

"I need to talk to you"

"What have we been doing for the past minute?"

"It's serious. Listen to me"

He looked at Katherine, prepared to hear a sob story or a lie. Knowing her, she would want to manipulate him to her side. He was no longer naïve like in the past. She told him that she had spent the past ten minutes, drinking blood from a dozen people.

"Sorry, did I join some women's group with you? Instead of discussing our feelings, we talk about our blood habits? It must've slipped my mind because I try to erase you from my memory"

"I was doing it to get vervain out of my system. The mini Gilbert sprayed me in the face but the vervain wouldn't go away. It was some kind of fancy spray"

"Jeremy? I should've warned you that he's been a little angsty when it comes to vampires lately"

"No, the new Gilbert in town with the innocent doe eyes"

Damon chuckled. "Riley? You expect me to believe Riley hurt you? I could lift her up with one hand"

"She knew I wasn't Elena"

"You're a terrible actress"

She glared at him, explaining that Riley knew she was a vampire from a single glance. Riley had been hiding a stake in her jacket and was much stronger than she appeared, considering her petite size. Katherine warned him that she could know the truth about him, Stefan, and Caroline, reminding him that she was a Gilbert.

"She caught me by surprise and you know hard that is, Damon. I was expecting a little mouse and she turned into a pipsqueak version of Buffy"

Damon peered into the Mystic Grill. Riley and Caroline were at a pool table, flirting with a few college guys. One guy lifted Riley up, sitting her in front of him on the table. On the outside, Riley looked completely harmless. When he spotted her at the carnival, he was immediately attracted to her scent. Her blood smelled very different from other people. Elena had been keeping all of the supernatural business away from her, worried that it would scare Riley. According to Stefan, it led to very tense moments where they would struggle to change the conversation from vampires and werewolves to something like homework. Damon wondered if Riley actually knew the whole time. He would not be surprised since, like Katherine said, her father was a Gilbert. As they played pool, he continued to watch her, curious about what else she could be hiding…

Thanks for reading :)