Pilot - Part 2

Once they were at home, Kelly led Victoria into the kitchen, sat her down at the kitchen island, and immediately went searching through the cupboards, pulling out two mugs. When asked by Victoria what the hell she was doing, Kelly replied simply, "I'm making your comfort drink: hot chocolate with whipped cream and a little caramel drizzle. And I'm making one for myself because I deserve it." Victoria could only blink in disbelief as Kelly continued what she was doing. That was, in fact, her comfort drink, even back in the world that she was from. She hadn't been able to really afford it in a few years so Victoria waited anxiously for Kelly to pull out the kettle, fill it with water, heat up the water whilst also grabbing the hot chocolate packet, whipped cream, caramel drizzle she just so happened to have on hand, and two cute metal straws, one dark blue and the other a bright green.

Once all the ingredients were ready, Kelly assembled the drinks, putting the straws into each mug, before passing the mug with the most drizzle and the dark blue straw towards Victoria. Victoria made sure to verbally thank Kelly for the drink, cupping the mug in her hands while she waited for it to cool down.

"Do you want to talk about what happened today at school?" Kelly asked, tilting her head to one side as she studied Victoria from across the island. Victoria licked her lips, stalling for time.

"I-It's complicated," Victoria explained, looking up at Kelly. "I don't even know how to begin to explain everything."

"Just start from the beginning and try," suggested Kelly, reaching across to place a hand on her wrist. Her thumb began to rub the base of Victoria's thumb, dragging Victoria's attention down to it, and the motion reminded Victoria of Stefan. A smile wormed its way to her face. He was a really good man; having personally known him for only less than two hours made it clear that he was good. "Or are you too busy thinking about that boy? Stephen, was it?"

"Stefan," Victoria automatically corrected, looking back towards Kelly. There was a playful look in her eyes and Victoria rolled her eyes. "And it's not like that, Kelly. He's new to town; well, he lived here before and he's back. He was just being a really good friend. Like Caroline or Bonnie or Elena."

"Ah yes, Caroline," Kelly mused, raising an eyebrow. "Would you care to explain the text I got from her this morning?" Kelly brought her phone out from her pocket and slid it across the countertop. Victoria grabbed it and peered at the screen. On it was a text message from Caroline, the time signature dating it to be just after she dropped Victoria off at her Biology class.

CAROLINE:

Ms. LB, something's up with Tori. Tense, ready to cry. B prepared 2 get her. Suggestion: comfort drink.

Victoria shook her head. "I didn't know the two of you were text buddies."

"Have been ever since you were fourteen," Kelly admitted, pulling her phone back. At Victoria's confused look, Kelly cursed gently under her breath, "Damn it, I forgot about the whole," she gestured towards Victoria's head. Ah right, the amnesia, "brain thing. Ok, so when you were fourteen, you and the three girls were hanging out at the park while I was at classes. Some weirdo came and started talking to you four and was making you really uncomfortable. Caroline pickpocketed your phone and texted my number, telling me to come right away with her mother, Liz Forbes, aka the Sheriff of our town if you forgot about that. We arrived, scared him off, and ever since then, Caroline memorized my number and would text me if something seemed to be bothering you."

"Really?" Victoria murmured. She brought the straw up to her lips and took a long sip. Damn, that was delicious. She moaned happily in the back of her throat, taking another long sip. "I didn't realize how close we were. I mean, Caroline told me that we were basically best friends, but still…"

"She's a good friend," Kelly stated. "Maybe a little neurotic sometimes and definitely ditzy, but she's smart and I'm raising her into the perfect little mother bear or guardian angel. It just so happens that she's taken you as her baby bear." Victoria snorted at that and took a sip of her drink. "Now, you're doing a great job at deflecting from my original statement, but the question still remains: do you want to talk about what happened today, the thing that made Caroline so freaked out, because I'm guessing she wasn't around for your little panic attack with Stefan?"

Victoria bit her lower lip and she quickly formulated a way to speak the truth to Kelly without revealing the total truth. "W-When I was in the coma, there was t-this guy who showed up a lot. His name was Jesse. I n-never got a last name. He, um, wasn't a friend per say, but I recognized him, for some reason. I found him dead. Drug overdose, his body already beginning to decay." Victoria took a shaky breath. "Jeremy...Jeremy Gilbert and this guy were talking about drugs and a-all I could see was Jesse's body on the ground, the end result of a guy who took drugs to not feel. And it shook me. I really wasn't prepared to see that. S-So I just ran away and tried to ignore it. Caroline didn't push me in Algebra 2, but I knew she saw something was off. Then came the disaster known as my Biology teacher."

"The bitch's name is Mrs. Landstrom," Kelly grunted, taking an aggressive sip of her drink. "If there ever was a positive to your amnesia, it would be forgetting that woman. The bane of my existence as Mr. Tanner happens to be for Jenna Sommers. We knew each other in high school and boy, there was no one else I wish I could smack into the ground more. She has no tact, no grace, no mercy. It was as if Caroline had no humanity. And was an adult. And was evil. What did she say to you?"

"She asked me if I was thinking about the accident," Victoria whispered, her hands gripping onto her mug. "Then, after I asked her to stop, she asked me if I was feeling guilty."

"Guilty?" Kelly questioned, tilting her head to one side. "Guilty about what?"

"Guilty that I was responsible for the deaths of two beloved members of Mystic Falls."

A loud crack resonated throughout the kitchen and Kelly leapt back from her mug, cursing as her now shattered mug released its contents of hot chocolate all across the countertop, the drawers, and the floor. Victoria squeaked in shock and got up, looking around the room for some sort of paper towel so she could help clean up the mess.

"No, I got it," Kelly sighed, gesturing for Victoria to sit back down. Victoria sent Kelly a look that asked if she was sure, to which Kelly nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure, baby girl. Just sit."

So, Victoria sat. Kelly grabbed paper towels from beside the kitchen sink and began to pick up the random shards of ceramic mug, setting them off to the side so she wouldn't cut herself as she cleaned everything up.

"Do I even want to know what that reaction was for?" Victoria asked after a moment of silence of her just sitting there.

"You have no reason to feel guilty," Kelly insisted, gritting her teeth as she sloshed paper towels onto the hot chocolate mess. "Absolutely none. What happened was an accident. As in, unintentional. You were on that bridge, for what reason I have no idea and I guess you don't know either, and so were the Gilberts, and something happened that caused them to swerve, hitting you. You had no control of that vehicle. No one should take the blame. Hell, Elena doesn't blame you and she was in the car!"

Victoria hummed, nodding along. "Thanks, Kelly. It's...it really means a lot to me to have someone like you care so much about me."

"Well, anything for my baby girl," Kelly mused, reaching over to tussle Victoria's well-placed hair. Victoria gasped in faux shock and swatted Kelly's hand away before it could ruin her hair even more. The two giggled at their actions. Victoria spent the rest of what should have been her school hours talking with Kelly, learning more about her 'mother from another universal dimension'. She learned that she was a psychology major, occasionally bunking at the Gilberts' house with Jenna in the bad case that their homework load was so ridiculous that they worked together to finish it and stayed up until 1am. She also learned that Kelly and Jenna were childhood best friends, being raised together as children, much like Victoria was with Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie. Kelly was also adopted, it turned out. She had been abandoned at the orphanage just outside of Mystic Falls, in the next town over, and had been adopted by Grammie Blanc, as Kelly told Victoria to call her, Kelly's mother and Victoria's grandmother. Grammie Blanc had apparently passed away from old age a couple weeks after Victoria's fifth birthday.

The day turned into the afternoon and Kelly glanced down at her wrist, where her watch was ticking away faithfully. She sighed. "Damn, I need to get back for my make-up meeting." At Victoria's raised eyebrow, Kelly sheepishly admitted, "I may have blown off my advisor to come and hang out with you today. Whoops?" Victoria shook her head, shooing Kelly out of the house, promising to text her or Caroline if she had another panic attack or if she had plans for that night.

Once Kelly was out of the house, Victoria headed straight towards her room, dumping her bag at the foot of her bed and flopping over, burying her face into her pillows. The day's exhaustion, both physically and emotionally, hit her like a freight train and her leg muscles and ribs began to burn lightly. Gotta remember to take some pain medication later, she thought to herself sleepily as her eyelids began to droop. Before she could even recognize what was happening, Victoria drifted off into a deep sleep.

A loud knocking noise jilted Victoria into the land of consciousness. She blinked her eyes wearily, glancing around as she tried to figure out what was going on. The knocking noise wasn't come from her bedroom door, but rather the front door. Victoria glanced behind her, at the wall directly across from her bed, where her large clock was located. It read 7:32pm and when Victoria glanced at the window, the entire sky was now a beautiful shade of obsidian.

The knocking persisted and Victoria groaned as she pushed herself up, grumbling. She ditched her cardigan, mumbling about how uncomfortable it was to sleep with it. She kicked off her shoes on her way down the stairs, nearly tripping before catching herself at the last moment. Victoria was still cursing the stairs and her sleepiness as she opened the door to see who was at the door. She did not expect to see Stefan Salvatore.

"Stefan?" Victoria asked sleepily, unable to resist the urge to yawn. Stefan raised an eyebrow in amusement at her actions and she pointed at him with narrowed eyes. "Not a word, mister. I've had a long day." A sudden thought hit Victoria: he's supposed to be at Elena's house, returning her journal and going to the Grill. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to return these things to you," Stefan explained, pulling out her Biology notebook and pencil. Victoria closed her eyes, yelling at her stupidity for leaving her books at school, before grabbing them from Stefan. She tossed them on the entranceway bench, intent on taking them back to her room later.

"Thank you, Stefan, that was really sweet of you," Victoria told him, smiling. It seemed like it was impossible to not smile around him. His whole presence just radiated sunshine and happiness, even though she knew he had a troubled and terrible past. Another thought occurred to Victoria. "Wait. How did you know where I live?"

Stefan stepped back and pointed down the driveway, where a pretty steel blue Ford Escape sat parked in her driveway. Through the tinted windows, Victoria could make out Elena Gilbert waving at her. Victoria raised a hand wearily in reply before looking back towards Stefan. "Ok, so you asked around. Makes sense." She paused. "Why didn't you just wait until tomorrow to give me back my stuff?"

"Honestly?" Stefan asked, to which Victoria nodded. She didn't want to be told lies, even though technically everything he was doing right then was a lie as he hadn't confessed that he was a vampire. And everything she was doing was a lie by not telling him that she actually knew that he was a vampire. "I was worried about you. You had a panic attack, and then you couldn't stand right, and then you left. Then I was bombarded with questions from this girl named Caroline who was demanding to know why I was the last person to be seen chasing after you before you suddenly disappeared for the rest of the day."

Victoria groaned to herself and immediately apologized, "I am so sorry; Caroline's a little...much, but she has a heart of gold. She's been looking after me since we were kids, apparently."

Stefan nodded slowly as if he was still processing the answer. Something that she had said seemed to be ticking in his brain. "Well, thanks for the heads up." He stepped back and looked like he was about to turn away when he paused, looking back towards Victoria with this cocky, boyish smile that Victoria recognized all too much. "Hey...are you doing anything right now?"

"I literally just woke up from sleeping the afternoon away and I am freaking hungry," Victoria replied deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. She glanced down at her outfit. "I also haven't changed and I probably drooled in my sleep. So the answer is no, I am currently not doing anything."

"Would you like to join Elena and me at the Mystic Grill?" Stefan invited, slipping his hands into his jeans' pockets. "She said that she's meeting some friends there."

"She probably means Bonnie, Matt, and Caroline," Victoria explained. "The same Caroline, by the way," she added, "who is my self-appointed protector. And you know what? Sure. It'll be my first outing since the accident."

Stefan's eyes darkened with concern and his brow furrowed, making his forehead have its little wrinkles. "Is this the same accident that Mrs. Landstrom was talking about?"

Victoria nodded. "This can be the later for the 'tell you later' proclaimed earlier today. Give me like two minutes and I'll be ready. Just need to grab shoes and make sure I don't look like a hyena."

Stefan chuckled at her joke, but just as she was shutting the door, he called out, "Hey, Victoria?"

"Yeah, Stefan?"

He looked a little embarrassed to say it, but he said it anyway, "You don't look like a hyena. You look good."

Victoria fought the little blush on her cheeks as she teased, "Oh, look at you already, new guy flirting with the amnesia girl. This is the beginning of some Hallmark movie, you know that right?"

He laughed and Victoria shut the door gently. She pressed her forehead against the door, taking a moment to breathe deeply. That boy is too charming for his own good, Victoria hummed to herself as she grabbed the offending ankle boots from earlier off the stairs, popping them onto her feet. He could make an army of women follow him. Probably would be a more effective army than the hybrids. That thought stayed with her, cracking her up and making her giggle uncontrollably as she redid her makeup (glad to say it wasn't all that bad; maybe not good like Stefan had said, but it wasn't as bad as she had anticipated). She was even still giggling as she grabbed her phone and purse that hung in the hallway. She sent a quick text to Kelly, wherever she was, that she was heading to the Grill with her friends. When Victoria opened up the door, Stefan was still standing on the porch, waiting like a true gentleman. Got to make sure that I appear as non-threatening to Elena and Stefan's potential relationship. The two of us are friendly, nothing more.

Stefan walked with Victoria to the car, where Victoria opted to get into the backseat so Stefan could sit next to Elena.

"Hey Tori," Elena said, smiling widely through the rearview mirror. Victoria gave a slightly tired, but still enthusiastic wave to her friend as she settled into the backseat. Once everyone was ready to go, Elena pulled out of the driveway and started the trip into town. "Are you doing okay? I left to go follow Jeremy and then when I got back to Bonnie, she said you kind of flipped off and ran. Caroline said you were just dealing with some issues, but then the next thing we know, Caroline's going off the deep end because it has been hours and you hadn't called and then you didn't show up for History…"

"Had a small episode," Victoria managed to spit out. That was the understatement of the year, but Elena didn't know that. "Panic attack. Kelly brought me home and then we got to talking and then she had to leave, so I just went upstairs and took a nap."

"Well, you're doing better now, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

"That's good," Elena said, and Victoria could hear how earnest she was. Victoria didn't understand what it was about this world that made all these lovable characters like her, but she was going to indulge in that love and be selfish with it. Goodness knew if she ever returned to her actual place-of-origin she was never going to receive this kind of love and affection so she better embrace it while she still could. "So, Tori, how did you meet Stefan?"

"We're actually biology partners," Victoria revealed. "Started a little impromptu note-get-to-know-you when my panic attack hit me. Stefan helped calm me down. A true gentleman, this one, Elena." She sent Stefan a playful wink, to which he scoffed lightly.

"I was raised to treat others how I wanted to be treated," Stefan insisted. "If I was panicking, I would want someone there to help me."

The car was silent for about a minute before Victoria grumbled, "Is there anything not perfect about you?" Elena erupted into giggles and she saw Stefan blush a furious color at Victoria's compliment. This caused their giggles to erupt into full-blown laughter, laughter that stayed with them as Elena parked the car and the three of them walked into the Mystic Grill.

Across the restaurant, by the pool table, Victoria spotted Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt. Matt was looking at Stefan and Elena with disdain, and Bonnie seemed to be shifting awkwardly on her feet. Caroline, meanwhile, frowned when she spotted Stefan and Elena together, but her frown flipped upside-down when she spotted Victoria from across the room. In what seemed like a single bound, Victoria found herself caught in Caroline's arms, who squeezed her tightly. Her aching ribs reminded her that they still existed, but Victoria told the pain to shut up. She enjoyed her Caroline "Mama Bear" hugs.

"I thought you weren't coming!" Caroline cheered in her ear.

Victoria's face scrunched up and she stepped back away from the hug, looking at Caroline quizzically. "What do you mean you thought I wasn't coming? I wasn't invited."

"Have you even checked your phone today?"

Victoria pulled out her phone from her purse and visibly winced when she spotted the 6 unread texts and one missed call from Caroline.

CAROLINE (1):

R u ok? Where did u go?

CAROLINE (2):

Alright, so ur not fine. Do u want me 2 come over?

CAROLINE (3):

Oh! The girls and I r having a get-together at the Grill 2nite. I expect u 2 show up.

CAROLINE (4):

Do u need a ride 2nite?

CAROLINE (5):

Is something wrong? R u mad me or something?

CAROLINE (6):

I hope u know I'm not ok with this radio silence.

Victoria frowned as she read all the texts, her frown becoming deeper and deeper as she continued. Once she was done, she pulled Caroline back into a tight hug, trying to show how sorry she truly felt. "I'm so sorry, Caroline. I fell asleep and just woke up right before Stefan and Elena showed up at my door."

"Speaking of those two, we need to talk," Caroline said, pulling away and grabbing Victoria's wrist. She tugged Victoria across the restaurant, towards a large table shoved into the corner by the big windows. She pushed Victoria into one of the seats, plopping herself down into the next one. "Why did you show up with them?"

"Okay," Victoria began, shaking her head. "Nothing happened. I was asleep and Stefan woke me up by knocking on my door. I left my notebook and pencil at school and he wanted to return them to me."

"Why not just wait until tomorrow?"

"He said that he was worried about me," Victoria said. She sighed and winced as her ribs pinched. She subtly moved an arm around her torso, massaging the cramping muscles caused by the grinding bones. "I had a panic attack today at school. Ran out of Mrs. Landstrom's classroom and ended up lost in the school. Stefan found me, helped me call Kelly, and calmed me down until she got there. He just stopped by to see if I was alright. He then invited me out with him and Elena to here, only for me to realize I was expected to show up anyways," Victoria added playfully, leaning forward to boop Caroline's nose. The blonde scrunched up her face, swatting away Victoria's hand.

"So there's nothing going on between you and Stefan? Nothing romantic?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Victoria looked at Caroline incredulously. "Caroline! I've known him for less than a day. Of course there's nothing there. Yeah, I mean, I guess he's good looking, but…" Victoria shrugged. "I kind of prefer to get to know someone before I jump into bed with them."

"So, I wouldn't be breaching Girl Code with you if I try to get with him?"

"Not with me, but I'm not quite sure about Elena," Victoria answered honestly, glancing past Caroline's shoulder to note the two, now accompanied by Bonnie, approaching them quickly. "Quick, play it cool."

"It's good to know that you're doing alright," Caroline randomly said loudly, just as the other three came into earshot (Victoria was well-aware that Stefan could hear them very clearly the entire time and knew that they weren't talking about how well Victoria was doing; not that she could let that show).

Everyone sat down and ordered their food when the waitress came over. Chitchat between the tablemates was pretty stale, if Victoria was being honest. It was mostly Bonnie and Caroline gossiping to each other about the bonfire that would happen tomorrow night (how Victoria was going to deal with that just yet, she didn't know) and Stefan and Elena giving each other the lovesick eyes from beside each other on the table. Victoria sat in relative silence, observing the world from her seated position.

She needed to make a game plan for the bonfire. Was she going to try and stop Damon from making Vicki a vampire? If she did, would he turn someone else, someone closer to her? Jeremy? Caroline? And speaking of Caroline, she needed to make sure that Caroline and Damon never allowed themselves next to each other. She would play defense as hard as she was able to; his abuse towards Caroline was one of her major reasons why she hated Damon in the first season (made it quite unbearable to try and push her way through).

"Tori, food's here," Caroline mused, and Victoria jumped, blushing profusely when she was caught daydreaming (or, rather, scheming). Victoria took the food offered to her with a verbal thanks. As she swirled her French fries in ketchup, Caroline turned her eyes towards Stefan. Victoria noticed the way they darkened slightly as Caroline got her flirt on. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?"

"Mhmm," Stefan confirmed, nodding his head slightly. He gazed at the group as a whole. "And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie questioned.

"My parents passed away."

"I'm sorry," Elena hummed, her voice low. Victoria could hear how tense she sounded and Victoria felt her jaw chew slightly harder on her French fry then was absolutely necessary. The words of Mrs. Landstrom came rushing back to her. Was she really guilty and the reason why Elena's parents were dead? Her brain ached just trying to think of it. Her arm moved back towards her torso and she squeezed her ribs, finding solace in the way her ribs ached. No. She was a victim as well. There was no way that she could have caused the Gilberts' family's deaths.

At least, that's what she hoped.

"Any siblings?" Elena continued, not noticing the inner turmoil in Victoria's soul.

"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House," Stefan explained.

"Oh, we used to go there all the time!" Caroline sighed, reaching over to poke Victoria's shoulder. "You remember that?"

There was a moment of silence in which no one talked. Once it reached the awkward phase, and Caroline seemed to hit the peak of confusion, Victoria coughed and shook her head. A look of recognition raced through her eyes and she immediately grasped Victoria's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I totally forgot!"

"It's alright, Caroline," Victoria reassured her. She reached up and patted their connected hands gently. "Kelly's forgotten once too, and Mrs. Landstrom doesn't even seem to care at all, so I'm used to it by now. You'll just have to catch me up."

"Is this 'later'?" Stefan asked, glancing towards Victoria with confusion. Victoria bit her lower lip and nodded.

"About four months ago," Victoria began, taking her hand away from Caroline's to rub the back of her neck awkwardly. "I was apparently on Wickery Bridge and I was involved with the car crash Elena was in. I don't remember much of what happened, but I do remember being hit by a large vehicle and getting thrown into the water. I know I drowned. When I woke up, I learned that it had been four months since the accident and I had no memory of what happened to me before the accident. I had been in a coma for most of those months. I remember people, their relationships with each other, and some history of the town. But honestly, anything personally involving me was lost in the car accident."

"So when you talked earlier about how you had lived in Mystic Falls your whole life apparently, it was because you didn't know that about yourself," Stefan clarified, raising an eyebrow. Victoria nodded. "Damn...that's insane."

"Tis the life I am forced to live right now," Victoria said, shrugging. "I've been awake for about a week, which is why my reaction to Mrs. Landstrom was, um, so strong."

"So wait, in your mind, it's only been a week since the accident?" Stefan asked incredulously, his eyebrows raising in slight disbelief. Another nod from Victoria. "Why the hell are you at school then? Shouldn't you be at home, resting and working on getting better?"

"Dealing with amnesia is something I don't think I ever saw coming, so it's been easier to just fully immerse myself into the culture," Victoria fibbed, shrugging. Also, though she wouldn't say this aloud, she had wanted to meet him. She was a bit of a fangirl. "It's a little overwhelming, but that's why I have these girlies to help me out." To prove her point, Victoria reached over and nudged Caroline with her shoulder. "They've been a miracle. Keeping me grounded, explaining everything that happens in this town, from school, to the politics, to the ridiculous amount of parties we apparently throw."

"Nice tie in," Caroline mused, winking towards Victoria with a giggle. The blonde turned her attention to Stefan. "So, Stefan, since you're new, then I'm guessing you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back-to-school thing at the falls," added Bonnie.

Stefan glanced at Elena and Victoria had to resist the urge to squeal at how adorable the two of them were. "Are you going?"

"Of course she is!" interjected Bonnie, who looked like she was trying equally as hard not to giggle.

Stefan surprised Victoria, and all of them, when he turned to the young-adult-turned-teenager with the same curious expression. "What about you?"

Victoria laughed weakly, already imagining the glare from Caroline burning a hole through the back of her head. "I think I owe it to Caroline to show up at the party tomorrow night. We'll just have to see how school goes in the meantime."

"Cool," Stefan said, the charming small smile returning to his face.

Stupid perfect Italian genetics, grumbled Victoria in her mind as he looked away to ask Elena something. Leave something for the rest of us.

The rest of the night flew by in the blink of an eye. The chatting grew to be more and more comfortable as Stefan got used to the group dynamic and as Victoria got "reacquainted" with it. She did, however, notice that despite everyone's easy, comfortable nature, Caroline had a frosty chill towards her. She was upset about something, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what. Even if Victoria hadn't watched Vampire Diaries obsessively, she would be able to tell that Caroline was crushing on Stefan. Hardcore. Which, if you were a Steroline shipper, would be amazing.

Victoria, however, preferred Klaroline. Which made things awkward.

But it wasn't just that Caroline had a crush on Stefan and he was ignoring her to talk to Elena. No...it was because he was ignoring her to talk to Elena and Victoria. Victoria wasn't sure why the Civil War vampire seemed so interested in her. She wasn't that big of a marvelous mystery, besides the fact that she was one of the only amnesia patients (probably) in the entirety of Mystic Falls.

Oh crap, what if she had a doppelgänger?

Victoria founded herself physically shaking her head, relieved no one noticed her doing it. No, she wouldn't have a doppelgänger. That was too mainstream fanfiction to be true.

If it was true, she would just have to kill her doppelgänger before she could do something unsavory under the guise of being herself.

It made Victoria's head hurt just thinking about it.

When the Grill's clock chimed, announcing that the time was eleven pm, Victoria decided to call it a night. Caroline offered to give her a ride home, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and Victoria said her goodbyes to Bonnie and Elena, who made her promise to have a good night's sleep. Stefan told her that he would find her at school before class to deliver a copy of his notes from their class so she wouldn't be too far behind. It mystified Victoria that a vampire from the 1800s would take notes about Biology, but she made sure not to show her shock as she thanked Stefan.

Caroline and Victoria's walk back to Caroline's car was awkward, to say the least. There was an obvious tension between the two and it made Victoria's skin crawl just thinking about it. In the short week-ish that Victoria had mentally been in Mystic Falls, she was used to being doted on, especially with Caroline. Victoria relished the supposed friendship the two had; it was a real friendship, one that she hadn't had back in her own world. To think that she might have had a hand in wrecking the one relationship she couldn't live without…

So, as soon as Victoria and Caroline had made it to Caroline's car and buckled up, Victoria blurted out, "I'm sorry!"

Caroline's head turned to look at Victoria with confusion. "Sorry? Sorry about what?"

"You're mad at me," Victoria murmured, looking down at her hands. Her fingers started to fiddle with one another, moving to massage the little muscles. "I-I don't know what it was, b-but I'm sorry about it. I won't do it again, I swear."

"Tori, you're not making any sense," Caroline said, shaking her head as she turned in her seat. Caroline's posture radiated concern, and it was concern towards Victoria.

"You're mad," Victoria inserted. Caroline winced and nodded a little. "I'm the reason why you're mad. I-Is it Stefan? I already swore that I-I wasn't going to make a move with him."

"I know," Caroline hummed after a freakishly silent minute. "And I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't be taking my anger and frustration out on you. You don't deserve the silent treatment."

"But it is because of Stefan, yeah?"

Caroline nodded, leaning against her seat. Her hands moved to the steering wheel and Victoria could see her knuckles turn white from how hard she was gripping the wheel. Caroline let out a harsh breath and a rough laugh. "He's already so damn infatuated with her. Like, I haven't even had a chance yet to meet him or talk with him one-on-one and Elena's already got her claws sunk into him. She always gets the first pick when it comes to guys and everyone else is just fending for her scraps, and she doesn't even realize it! And then there's you." Victoria bristled and tensed up, waiting for the lashing she would receive. Caroline waved her hand when she noticed Victoria's posture. "This isn't a bad thing, Tori! You're just so kind and considerate and everyone just wants to meet you and be friends with you. You're warm and open and you draw people in." Caroline shook her head as her head flopped against the headrest. "I don't want to be second best."

"Any man who puts you as second best doesn't deserve you," growled Victoria, sitting up straighter. Caroline looked towards her, a surprised look. Victoria was very passionate when it came to the subject of Caroline (not that the blonde knew that). She was one of the most pushed aside characters, aside from Bonnie of course. "One day, Care-Bear, there will be a man who won't put you second. He'll see your genuine beauty and he'll always put you first. He might not be what you expected, but he will love you with all of his heart."

"You act like you know what's going to happen."

"Maybe I do," Victoria snorted, reaching over to gently nudge Caroline's shoulder. "Maybe I'm psychic too. Bonnie might not be the only one."

The two girls laughed, Caroline in gratitude and Victoria in an effort to hide just how true her statement was.

"You know what?" Victoria said, relaxing into her seat. "You're sleeping over tonight. I'm sure Kelly won't mind and we haven't had a girl's night in forever, you know, because of the car accident and coma and stuff."

"That sounds really nice," Caroline admitted. She reached into her purse and tossed her phone over to Victoria. "Text my mom, just to let her know. I'm sure she won't necessarily mind."

Victoria nodded, shooting off a quick text to the legendary Liz Forbes. She paused just after she sent the text. She knew that Caroline and her mother didn't have the healthiest relationships, especially since the divorce between her father and her mother. It would get worse once Caroline was a vampire...

"Earlier today, you said that if I ever needed to talk, I could talk to you," Victoria began as Caroline pulled away from the curb and headed down the street towards the LeBlanc residence. "I just wanted to let you know that the same goes for you. If you ever need to talk about something, or rant about how frustrating Elena's apparent allure is, just let me know, ok?"

"For sure," Caroline promised.

Victoria smiled and turned her attention back towards the road. Step one in ensuring Caroline's self-esteem grew stronger was a success.

A/N: Awww, Victoria is a Klaroline shipper! How cute! And ok, wow, y'all really like this story so far. Almost a week since the last chapter was posted and we've already almost hit 1k views. You guys are the best! (BTW, faceclaim for Kelly LeBlanc is "Renee Elise-Goldsbury" aka Angelica Schuyler from Hamilton).

New Followers!: Pandralys, Narcisz, FanGirl2315, TheGardenKeeper, aandm20, Korky132, Suzicles, SarcasmProvider, kafo521, SorayukiChinatsu, SAnnSi, alexinarus, ksm8989, Jalissa12213

New Favoriters!: Narcisz, FanGirl2315, SAnnSi. Lilithbk201, jenniferchase2402, Jalissa122113

Onto some reviews and PMs!:

mattw2017: No problem! Thank you so much for your message! I'm glad you're liking the story so far.

AngelColdHeart: Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for reading OIBS! I find people who read more than one story by me really rare, so that's so cool. I'm not currently taking any fic requests (the One Itsy-Bitsy Spiderling series has 11 books that need to be written, so yeah XD). I like the idea though!

DBZFAN45 (Guest #1): WOOOOOW! I love how you seriously took the urge to review and made it like a critical review you would find in like a paper. Like, I would totally use your review to promote my story, that's how much I love it! I never thought about how similar Victoria and Lexi's relationships were with Stefan, but I see it! And thank you! I've actually never seen anything with Jaime Ray Newman, so I guess I need to study up some more on her.

kafo521: Thank you very much, that really means a lot to me! Thank you! I was trying hard to not make Victoria a Mary-Sue, but to also not make her the new "Elena" of the series (the character everyone tries to hook up with). Thank you again!

Guest16 (Guest #2): Thank you!

sam (Guest #3): Um, you're welcome?

It's a little early this time around, but I was so excited I just had to get it out there. Enjoy the chapter and until next time, my dear readers!

BecomingFearless1F