May 12, 2010
Broody,
I'm betting that this letter surprises you. You were probably doing God-knows-what and a piece of paper just suddenly appears to you. It's a spell I learned—remember when Elena and I were kidnapped by Rose and Bonnie sent us a message about you, Joel, and Damon coming to get us? It's that spell. I may have asked Bonnie if I could look at her grimoire and this happened to be the spell that I was searching for. No one knows I'm writing you except for Caroline because she's the one I'm siphoning magic from to send this to you.
Believe it or not, Care's getting sick of me. Everyday, when we're not at school, I'm by her side and it's only after dinner that I leave to go home. It's funny, when my mom and dad died, I stayed in my room for weeks in isolation but with Jenna gone, I just want to be around my friends. Like I told you before you left, you have to let people know how much you care about them before it's too late. Matt broke up with Caroline so, I think that when I'm not annoying her, she's secretly glad that I'm around so much. Either way, she insisted that I write you. I might have been sitting on this spell since a few days after you left…
Everyone really misses you. Damon was furious when he learned what you did for him but I think it's because now he owes you one. He's been around the house more lately, probably trying to cheer up Ric, who's staying with us now. And I'm pretty sure that he and Joel are becoming friends. Isn't that strange? There was a time when Joel hated Damon and now they actually hang out. And I know that I said that Damon was mad at you, and you're probably not surprised, but I can tell he misses you, too.
It's probably because you were really the only one who could put up with his annoying ass.
So, how's traveling with Klaus? If he's reading this—and I know he probably is because he sticks his nose into other people's business—I hope he knows that I think he's a dick. He sacrificed my aunt and my sister, so he should be grateful I'm not writing worse insults. He has a temper, you know, and I don't want him taking it out on you so I won't write anything worse.
So, I know that you're probably feeding on humans and you feel like you're out of control. I know you, Stefan, and I know that you feel guilty about everything you do—especially when it comes to your control. I just hope you know that you're not the monster you think you are. It may seem like it but I know you're not. I'm always gonna believe in you, Broody.
Sorry, this letter got away from me. I definitely did not mean to write this much. I just really miss you, Stefan. I knew it was going to be hard with you gone, but I didn't think it would hurt this much. I know you're supposed to be on a decade-long bender with Klaus and I'll be twenty-six if I see you again, but just know that you'll always be my best pal.
Keep fighting, Stefan. Miss you.
Sincerely yours,
Goofy
May 21, 2010
Stefan,
You know how people sound different? How none of our voices are the same? Like, your voice is masculine and your accent is pretty general from moving around for 150 years but sometimes you'll get a southern twang from when you were human or I can hear a hint of a Jersey accent from all that time you spent there in the 80's.
I forgot what Jenna's voice was like.
This morning, I got up and got dressed before going downstairs for breakfast. I opened the fridge and pushed the milk aside and I saw a couple containers of strawberry yogurt. Strawberry yogurt was Jenna's go-to breakfast and no one else in the house liked them. The yogurt's expired now and I tried to imagine what Jenna would say if she knew that we let strawberry yogurt expire—and then I realized that I couldn't remember what she sounded like.
I had to go to our archived messages and find a video she sent me to remember her voice? How stupid is that? I had to watch a video to remember that she somehow always had a sarcastic hint in her voice. It's only been three weeks, Stefan. How could I forget her voice so easily?
I've been holed up in my room since then. This week hasn't been good, I guess, and it's not going to get any better for a little while. In two days, it will be a year since my mom and dad died. It's been a year but it somehow feels like it was yesterday. The grief is still there—and it's worse with Jenna gone—but, I don't know, something's different. I still miss them but it doesn't hurt to think about them. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I remember something about my parents and I'm almost paralyzed with how much I miss them but I can look back on most memories with a smile.
I don't mean to spill my grief on you while you're having a hard time with Klaus. It's just—you're the one I want to talk to. It sucks that you're not here but I know that you did what you had to do to save your brother. It's kind of inspiring, Stefan.
And I know that if you were here, you'd be smiling and that makes me feel better. You know how much I love to see your dimples—I wish you would smile more. I know this letter is sad but maybe next letter I can make you smile.
Keep fighting.
Sincerely yours,
Lucy Gilbert
June 1, 2010
Broody,
I'm officially a senior in high school. School has been over for two weeks already but my summer has been eventful. Joel finished his classes for the semester and because he's starting his internship year in the fall, he was able to secure a spot at Mystic High. He'll be the computer lab technician and do the rest of his classes online, so he'll be able to stay at home for the year. He's excited about it but I think he chose Mystic Falls so he could be with us. He's responsible for me and Jeremy now and he said it was his job to make sure that he was here for us.
Joel is our guardian now, can you believe that? Since Jeremy and I are under the age of eighteen, we had to have someone looking out for us, according to Liz. It wasn't hard for Joel to step up and Ric stepped up, too. He petitioned to have partial guardianship of me and Joel agreed without a fuss.
Ric has been staying with us since everything happened. He sleeps on the couch because he doesn't want to go in Jenna's room and to be quite honest, he's a mess. We've been spending some time together and bonding and he signed me up for self defense classes, which is exciting. I glad that we have each other to lean on and we're getting to know each other better. I've known that he's my biological father for months and we've hardly spent time together.
Bonnie went to visit some of her dad's family for the summer, so me, Caroline, and some of the others went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg for a couple of days. It was kind of awkward for Caroline, Matt, and Tyler but we got through it. Matt and I just had to buddy up so he wasn't glaring at Caroline and Tyler the whole time.
Hearing about teenage drama must be boring for you compared to what you're dealing with. How are you doing? Tell Klaus that he's an asshole for dragging you all over. By the way, did you give him my number? He texted me the other day and I almost threw my phone at the wall. He probably shouldn't contact me for the foreseeable future. He's my brother but he's definitely not on my good side.
I miss you so much, Broody. I watched Star Wars with Joel the other day to see what you loved about it and it was okay. Obi Wan might be my favorite and I definitely think that Luke Skywalker is underrated. Why is it that he's no one's favorite character?
I don't know if you have access to internet or magazines or whatever, but I just wanted to let you know that Chris Evans was casted to play Captain America. I know what you're gonna say: who the hell is Chris Evans? And I also know that you definitely know who my favorite actor is and you only act like you don't know who he is because you know it bugs me.
I'm gonna run now. I think I'm gonna paint. Maybe it will make me feel better.
Keep fighting, Stefan. I miss you.
Sincerely yours,
Goofy
June 14, 2010
Broody,
Remember the Bon Jovi tickets you got me for my birthday? The concert was on Saturday and at first I didn't think I wanted to go without you. It was actually Damon that convinced me to go. He said that you'd want me to go and have fun. So, I took Damon. Weird, right? It turned out that picking Damon was a good choice because he compelled us backstage and I got to meet the band. I wish it was us making these memories but I had a lot of fun with Damon. Maybe he's not so bad. He's getting more tolerable, at least.
So, I started looking at colleges. You know, I used to know what I wanted to do with my life—I always wanted to be a teacher, remember? You told me that a lot of people didn't know what they wanted to do. Now I'm one of those people. I just don't feel like I could spend the rest of my life in a classroom teaching ungrateful teenagers.
Anyway, while I'm searching for a career I want to spend the rest of my life with, I'm focusing on Duke. Ric went there and he said it's great. It's a little ways away but it's not too far. I love Mystic Falls, don't get me wrong, but I want to go different places, too. I want to travel. There's no place like home but Mystic Falls doesn't exactly have the alleyway that inspired Diagon Alley, you know? I'm applying to Whitmore, of course, but that's my back-up plan. My sights are set on Duke. What do you think?
Mrs. Lockwood contacted me recently and I have good news. She said the planning committee was so impressed with my work as the student ambassador that they decided to let me stay on. I'll be a junior member of the committee while Caroline will be the student ambassador this year. Mrs. Lockwood is giving me pay for it and I'll be getting recommendation letters, too. It's like an internship. I'm really excited and proud of my work. I know that my mom would be really happy.
Speaking of my mom, I applied for Miss Mystic Falls. I'll be seventeen by the next pageant, so it's my time. There's not much competition, which sucks, because I wanted to win fair and square. I don't want to boast, but I think I have this in the bag. It may seem silly but I always wanted to be Miss Mystic Falls. Ever since my mom told me that she won when she was a teenager, I wanted that title for myself. I feel like it's part of my legacy.
I hope you're doing okay, Stefan. I wish that you were here. I catch myself wanting to call you all the time just to hear your voice. The letters will have to do for now. Maybe Klaus will relax and let you contact us soon. I want to know how you are. I want to know that you're okay and you're safe.
Keep fighting, Stefan. I miss you.
Sincerely yours,
Goofy