Author's note: Hi everyone! A very quick chapter 2, as promised!

This one's going to be quite a bit lighter. :D

February 2009

Elena had not been a morning person, and she was decidedly not having a good day – especially on a day when the coffee maker broke, and she was left profoundly decaffeinated. On top of everything, Mr. Tanner was in rare form today, taking it upon himself to teach them about the Spanish Inquisition by acting as its head and not-so-subtly trying to sniff out who actually did last night's reading, and who merely found some handy bullet points of summation online.

As usual, it appeared that poor, awkward Austin was his primary target. Heaven forbid he actually unleashed on one of his precious football team, no. Instead, he always sought out the most vulnerable.

Elena scoffed, lamenting that her knowledge of the field was insufficient to just shut him up. Maybe she'd forgo her plans for the evening and study the material with more than due diligence just to put this jackass in his place.

"And in what year did –" Mr. Tanner began pompously, when a knock distracted him from his latest attempt at class-wide inquisition. "Yes?" he asked, when the Vice Principal of Mystic Falls High School walked into the room with a teenage girl.

"Good morning, everyone," announced Mrs. Halliwell. "We have a new student who just moved to Mystic Falls, and she'll be joining us for the remainder of her high school experience!" the slight lady announced cheerfully, the years that weathered the timbre of her voice doing nothing to dull its enthusiasm. "This is Anna Zhu. Say hello to Anna, everyone."

Monotonous greetings of "hi, Anna" were heard scattered throughout the room, with varying ranges of gusto, most firmly planted in the 'indifferent' section of the spectrum.

But what else could be expected this early in the morning?

Elena eyed the girl through the headache born of caffeine withdrawal that started pulsing in her brain and noted the shy smile. When their eyes met, the smile only widened, and she suddenly had the strongest feeling that she'd make a new friend.

Perhaps this day wouldn't be so bad, after all.

By lunchtime, the headache had grown to gargantuan proportions, and it was only thanks to the merciful gods of conveniently-located and aptly-named convenience stores that Elena was finally able to rid herself of hers, thanks to a quick sneak away from the school to purchase a cup of coffee. Bonnie and Caroline joined in on the adventure, as well – and their quest for what they dubbed 'actually edible' lunch had been complete when they stealthily re-entered the school, bearing enticing contraband.

They made their victorious walk to their table, where the rest of the cheerleading squad and the football team was already deeply engrossed in conversation about the forthcoming game.

Anna sat alone, not looking quite forlorn, but decidedly out of place. She tried not to be obvious about looking in their direction, but her occasional glances were nevertheless noticed.

"Who's the new girl?" Caroline asked excitedly while opening her bag of potato chips. She'd spent the weekend with her father, who'd driven her home just this morning, barely making it in time for second period, let alone History class. Caroline hated being late – for anything – so she was already a ball of anxiety, though this kind of juicy gossip was all but guaranteed to knock her out of her funk. It wasn't every day that sleepy Mystic Falls High School got a transfer student.

"Her name's Anna," Bonnie replied, studying her curiously. "I wonder where she's from."

"She looks so alone," Elena lamented. Her heart went out to the girl sitting by herself. Having been a shy child, she vividly recalled the piercing anxiety that came with making friends, and the sharp relief when boisterous Caroline approached her, deeming her worthy of her time and friendship. With Caroline, came Bonnie, and suddenly she felt like she belonged.

It wasn't until high school that she grew into her ability to socialize, and acquired her natural charm and playfulness that was until then reserved only for the closest in her circle. Biting her lip nervously, she stood before she could talk herself out of it, and slowly made her way to Anna's table, taking a seat. At worst, she'd get rejected. But at best, perhaps she'd not only make a new friend, but spare someone the agony of loneliness.

"Hi," Elena smiled, desperately trying to hide her nerves as she sat next to Anna. "I'm Elena."

"I'm Anna," the girl replied, sounding not shy in the least. She almost looked to be scrutinizing her, a steady smile rising on her face.

"Would you like to come sit with us?" Elena asked, then thought better, not wanting to overwhelm her. "Or if meeting a lot of people at once is hard, maybe I could sit with you?"

"No, I like making new friends," Anna announced with a shrug, and stood before Elena could get a word out, confidently making her way to the table where Bonnie continued watching her with a curious eye.

Maybe Anna wasn't all that shy, after all.

Anna preened at her own cleverness, though she had to admit that a good chunk of this was good fortune. She'd gone over various scenarios, play-by-plays, schemes to befriend the Gilberts and thus get her hands on their coveted journals, finally being able to free her beloved mother from the agony of desiccation.

But this was considerably easier than she could have ever anticipated – she certainly hadn't expected to be approached and invited into the social circle so easily, and within hours of their introduction.

She had originally planned to target Jeremy for her plot, but at the last second, changed her mind, and compelled her way into Elena's year, instead.

There was always the chance that this was a trick. Cheerleaders were notorious mean girls, and perhaps Elena's invitation was in jest, meant to make a mockery of the new girl in front of the entire popular crowd. No matter – Anna was a vampire, after all. She'd compel her way anywhere needed – and what she needed was a way into the tomb.

"So where are you from? Why haven't we seen you around?" asked a very stereotypical-looking Boy Next Door type after the introductions were made, wrapping an arm around Elena's shoulders. Anna raised an eyebrow as she watched Elena stiffen instantly, the smile freezing on her face. Interesting.

"I was home-schooled in Pennsylvania previously, but I moved back with an older cousin who's been my guardian for the last two years," Anna answered, affecting a shy and almost innocent look that she knew endeared her to strangers instantly.

"Older cousin acting as guardian?" asked a perky blonde. "Sounds like there's a story there! Where are your parents? Anything scandalous?" she continued without taking a breath, her sparkling blue eyes widening with excitement.

"Care!" interrupted the girl Anna knew to be a Bennett witch, and thus a vital part of her plan. She also clearly had more social graces than her overly excitable friend.

"They're dead," Anna intoned shakily. She didn't have to fake the emotion behind the delivery. Although she'd never met her father, who passed away when her mother was pregnant, she missed her mother with ever fiber of her soul.

Elena gasped, grabbing her hand. "I'm so sorry," she said sincerely, prompting Anna to turn away. Although a part of her was grateful that she was immediately building this much useful rapport with her target, she hadn't anticipated it coming equipped with a genuine emotional response. She had a choice to make – lean into the gravitas to really facilitate the bonding or return to friendlier, smoother, less personable pastures, where she was considerably more comfortable, especially with strangers.

"It's okay," Anna smiled, hoping it looked genuine enough, though inside she was reeling. She should have expected this – of course it would come up – but it had been so long since she'd socialized with anyone who looked to be her age.

With humans.

"I'm sorry, too," Caroline said awkwardly. "I have this horrible tendency to run my mouth and put my foot in it almost immediately."

"It's really okay," Anna insisted. "Death makes people uncomfortable, so let's not dwell on it today," she smiled, acutely aware of the irony of the statement. None of these people had even an inkling of what was coming their way.

But soon they would. With the comet due to return in mere months, she knew others would be lured by its tantalizing allure – and not all of them were nearly as subtle in their approach to satisfying vampiric appetites.

Sorry for Caroline's insensitivity, but that's who she was in S1. She'll get better. :D

Elena's been shown to drink black coffee both in the pilot and during her training with Ric, so it's a pretty safe bet that she probably has a caffeine addiction. :D

This story is going to be told from a non-linear perspective at first and go back and forth for a little while between present day and Anna's introduction, to build the foundation of the friendship. Damon and Stefan don't arrive in Mystic Falls until May, but we'll see them both soon enough.