Great News ! Beauty of the Dark now has an official trailer on YouTube. The link is on my profile, or you can search for it. The video name is "Beauty of the Dark {The Vampire Diaries} | Official FanFiction Trailer" & my channel name is Eden Roses.

Here is Chapter 10, I'll update either next Tuesday or if I can get seven new reviews or seven new follows.

Song: To Be Your Loss

Artist: The Morning After Girls

Nothing here now today
Just hurting that will remain
Sleeping in the house of Eden
With something to try again

No not a guest to be seen
She is all that's left to be blamed

Staring back to see the view
Of feeling that will remain
Something's missing when you try
To take up the empty hand

After a few hours of restless sleep, my alarm woke up Elena and me. We groaned in unison, wanting nothing more than to just lay in bed for a few more hours. But we had to go to school. Elena got up to go get in the shower, taking a pair of my jeans and a hoodie to change into. I had already scrubbed myself raw after getting home last night, trying to remove the memory of the mud from my skin, so I went to get dressed.

My body was incredibly sore and bruised. The only upside was that my ankle, while still in pain, was better to the point where I could easily bear weight on it. I pulled on a pair of dark jeans and one of my favorite sweaters, and oversized navy V-neck. Today was not the day to dress up. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes went to my necklace. My mind went back to Elena's words the night that I promised her I would never take it off.

"There's all this mythological stuff surrounding vervain here in mystical falls. It's supposed to protect you from . . . all sorts of things that go bump in the night."

Shaking my head, I tried to push the thought out of my mind. There was no way she actually believed that right? If she did . . . did that mean it was real? What if what I read last night was real? What if there really were vampires in Mystic Falls? It sounded so crazy, and yet, I found myself unfastening my necklace and sliding it into my pocket. If she noticed I took it off, I could confront her about it.

Elena came back into my room and let out a big yawn. I turned to her and gave her a sarcastic thumbs up, indicating that I was also not feeling this whole morning thing. She let out a laugh.

"You ready to go?" She asked.

"Coffee." I replied. "Then yes."

She nodded in agreement, and we went downstairs. Thankfully, my parents had already brewed a pot of coffee. They were sat at the kitchen island, my dad reading the morning paper, and my mom with her nose in a book. My dad put the paper face down when he realized we had come into the kitchen, but not before I could see the headline- BODY FOUND IN WOODS.

"Good morning girls." Mom said. "You're up early."

I groaned. "I know. But we needed time to stop at Elena's before school so she can get her book bag."

"Are you sure you want to go to school today cupcake?" Dad asked. "I think everyone would understand if you wanted a day off."

"A day off to do what? Sit at home and think about dead bodies?" My mom grimaced at my words. "Sorry. That was morbid. But I'm sure. I really just want to not think about it. At all."

"If you're sure." Mom agreed. "But just know you can come home at any time, no questions asked."

"I know." I smiled.

I walked over to the cabinets and pulled out my thermos, pouring myself a big cup of coffee. I held up the pot and looked at Elena, who nodded, so I pulled out another travel mug for her. That's when I realized that we took our coffee the same way- two creams, two sugars.

"We received an invited to some party at the Lockwood's tomorrow Lucy." Mom informed me.

"That's the Founder's Day kickoff." Elena said.

"It sounds like it'll be lots of fun." Mom smiled. "If you're up for it, that is."

I nodded. "Yeah, we'll see."

"So Elena," Mom inquired. "You did tell your parents you'd be staying here last night, correct? I wouldn't want them to worry."

Elena shifted. "I actually live with my Aunt Jenna, my parents aren't around anymore. But yes, I told her."

"Oh I'm so sorry." Mom shot me a look. I should have told her not to bring up Elena's parents.

"It's okay." Elena nodded. "It happens."

"What were their names, if you don't mind me asking?" Mom asked. "Peter and I actually grew up here, I'm wondering if we knew them."

"Mom." I warned. I knew what she was getting at.

"Lucy, it's okay, really." Elena said. For once, I actually believed her. "Their names were Grayson and Miranda. Sommers was my mom's maiden name."

Mom nodded, and looked at my Dad. "You know, I think they may have been in our year."

"Hm, yes. The names certainly do sound familiar." Dad agreed.

"Alright." I couldn't bear for this conversation to go on any longer. It must be painful for Elena to talk about her parents. "We should really get going, otherwise we're going to end up late."

We said goodbye to my parents, and then got into my car. I sped out of the driveway a little too fast, wanting to get away from them.

"Sorry about my parents." I apologized. "They can be a bit . . . nosy at times."

"It's better than the people who just act like my parents never existed." Elena said. "Really. They seem nice."

I laughed. "If you call an interrogation at the breakfast table nice."

"Speaking of interrogation . . ." Elena began. "I noticed you're not wearing your necklace today. What happened?"

I brought my hand to my chest, feigning ignorance. "Oh yeah, I couldn't find it this morning. Elena I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." Elena's voice let me know that it was not actually fine. "But you really should wear it."

"Why, to protect me from 'things that go bump in the night'?" I raised an eyebrow.

Elena forced a laugh. "That was just some silly thing my parents used to tell me as a little girl."

"Oh yeah?" I prodded. "When they said 'things that go bump in the night' . . . do you ever think about what they meant?"

"Not really, no." Elena shook her head. "Why?"

"I don't know, I've just been doing a lot of thinking lately, about things that happen here in Mystic Falls, and a lot of it just doesn't add up." I tread carefully. "Do you ever think that maybe some mythical creatures . . . aren't mythical?"

Elena eyed me. "Like what?"

"Like . . ." I took a deep breath. "Vampires?"

Elena coughed. "What? Lucy why would you say that? It sounds . . ."

"Crazy, I know." I finished the sentence for her. "But after last night, I did some reading, and the animal attacks here . . . they aren't right. All the victims have puncture wounds to the neck, severe blood loss, they were all attacked at night."

"Lots of animal attacks are nocturnal." Elena offered.

"Yes but . . . it's more than that." I continued. "The folklore, it all sounds so familiar. 'Super strength and often have a hypnotic, sensual effect.' 'Needs to be invited in.' I mean come on Elena. You're the one who went all 'oh my god, he's been invited in' when I told you Damon came over."

"Because he's Damon." Elena argued.

"Is Damon a vampire?" I asked, point blank.

"No." Elena replied. "Lucy . . ."

"Is Stefan a vampire?" I interrupted.

"No." She said.

"Is Mr. Saltzman a vampire?" I asked.

Elena burst out laughing. "You think Alaric, is a vampire? Why?"

I shrugged, and tried to ignore the fact that she just called our teacher by his first name. "They all wear those weird rings . . . I thought maybe it was some weird vampire cult thing."

"Listen, Lucy." Elena sighed. "What you went through yesterday was really traumatic. It's normal that you're trying to find some way to make sense of it. But vampires aren't real. You can't go repeating this stuff to other people, they're going to think . . ."

"Going to think I'm crazy. Got it." I said.

"Yeah, a little bit." Elena started laughing again. "Come on Lucy, the history teacher?"

I forced a smile. "Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. But you have to admit, Stefan and Damon are like, all weird and hot and mysterious."

"Did you just call my boyfriend hot?" Elena teased with mock jealousy in her voice. "Okay, if Stefan's a Vampire, and vervain is meant to protect from vampires, that means Stefan gave me a necklace to keep him away. And that clearly isn't working."

I nodded. "Okay, yeah, you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Elena agreed. "Lucy, are you sure you're okay to go to school today?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to walk up to the Principle and ask him if he's a Werewolf." I said.

"Yeah please don't do that." Elena giggled.

She reached out and squeezed my arm. Despite her reassurances, I wasn't convinced that there wasn't something off about Mystic Falls. Maybe I really was crazy. A month ago, I would've laughed at the idea of vampires being anything other than the focus of a teen romance novel. Now . . . now I wasn't sure what to believe.

We didn't talk for the rest of the drive. I wondered if my lingering doubt was etched onto my face. I pulled into Elena's driveway, and saw that Jenna's car was still there. Elena unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to me.

"You should come in, who knows if Jeremy's even up yet." She suggested. "Plus you can top off your coffee."

I nodded, and followed her into the house. Jenna was running frantically around the kitchen. Elena disappeared upstairs, calling out to Jeremy. Jenna finally saw me, and paused.

"Lucy, hi." She said. She sounded out of breath. "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry. Are you feeling okay."

I shrugged. "As good as I can be, I guess."

"Of course." She nodded. "Listen, if you ever need an adult to talk to . . . well I barely pass as an adult. But I'm here for you, I mean it. Our door is always open."

"Thank you Jenna." I smiled. "It means a lot."

"And as a barely an adult, it's my responsibility to make sure you kids are all ready for school. Have you eaten? Do you need anything?" Jenna asked.

I held up my coffee. "Could use a refill. But other than that, I'm all good."

Jenna smiled and gestured towards the coffee pot. I topped off my mug, and leaned against the counter, sipping my coffee. Elena came running back downstairs, and shot Jenna a look.

"He was still in bed." Elena said.

"What? I yelled through the door, he told me he was up." Jenna looked frazzled.

"Yeah well," Elena laughed, and went to pick her school bag up off one of the kitchen chairs. "He lied."

"Ugh." Jenna let out an exasperated sigh. "Looks like you got a lot of homework done last night."

"You and I both know I'm not the child you should be worrying about." Elena shook her head. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a pass for today, given everything that happened."

"Right." Jenna said, and shot me another sympathetic look.

I felt for Jenna. She didn't look like she could be even thirty, and she clearly wasn't expecting to take on two teenagers at this age. It must be hard for her. Elena walked out of the kitchen and motioned for me to follow. She looked up the stairs, and sighed when she saw that Jeremy's door was still closed.

"Come on Jeremy. Going to school." Elena yelled. "Walking out the door now."

Jenna ran after Elena and tucked a notebook in her bag. "You forgot this."

"Thank you." Elena smiled.

Elena opened the door, and stopped in her tracks. A man was standing in the doorway. He looked to be in his early thirties, with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a plastered on smile. Jenna let out a groan.

"Elena." The man said; his voice laden with cheer.

"Uncle John." Elena's enthusiasm clearly didn't match his. I froze when she spoke. "Hi."

"Jenna." He addressed Jenna.

"John. You made it." Jenna was clearly also not thrilled.

"Said I'd be in by noon." He shrugged.

Jenna sighed. "Oh, what you say and what you do are typically two very different things."

Elena turned to me. "Lucy, this is my Uncle, John Gilbert. Uncle John this is my friend Lucy A-"

"Oh my god." I interrupted. "Elena, I just remembered I have to do something before school. I need to go. Like now. Are you okay to drive Jeremy?"

Elena looked confused. I didn't give her time to answer. I slide around John Gilbert, who was partially blocking the doorframe, and out to my car. I couldn't get away from Elena's driveway fast enough.

He was here. How many months had I spent looking for him, just to be told he was gone without a trace? And now he just shows up, out of nowhere? Did he recognize me? No, of course he didn't. What if Elena told him my last name though? He'd have to know who I was then, right?

I was still shaking by the time I got to school. I debated taking my parents up on their offer to let me skip today. But I decided against it. Besides, there was one person at school I could try to talk to get answers.

I walked to Mr. Saltzman's classroom, hoping he'd be there. It was still early enough that the halls were mostly empty. I felt a small bit of relief wash over me when I walked in and saw him sitting at his desk. He looked jolted for a moment, and I really thought he was just going to get up and make an excuse to leave, but then he saw my face.

"Lucy, is everything okay?" He asked. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I let out a dry laugh. "Yeah well, I kind of have."

"Right." He nodded. "I heard about Vicki Donovan. Do you need to go talk to the counselor or something?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to pour my emotions out on you." I said. He looked visibly relieved. "I just want to hear the rest of the story about Mystic Falls."

He pressed his lips together. "I'm . . . not so sure that's the best idea."

"Why?" I stepped closer to his desk. "Okay fine. You don't have to tell me everything. Just tell me, what did the people think they were burning in the church?"

"Lucy I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have told you that story in the first place." Mr. Saltzman shook his head.

"What did the people think they were burning in the church?" I repeated, slamming my hand down on his desk. "Was it Vampires?"

"Why would you ask that?" He eluded the question.

I looked down at the desk. There was another paper sat out. This one read, Fact or Fiction: The Truth About Vampires in Mystic Falls. I picked up the paper, and turned it towards him.

"I don't know, why would I ask that?" I challenged.

Mr. Saltzman took the paper out of my hand. "Lucy, the myths about Mystic Falls are just that. Myths."

"Then why are you accepting papers about them?" I asked.

"Look, I shouldn't be telling you this." He sighed. "But these papers were by Jeremy Gilbert. When I got here, his grades were horrible. I'm sure you know he was struggling. I gave him the opportunity to do some extra credit work on a topic of his choice. He took a liking to Mythology, and I accepted it because quite frankly it was nice to see the kids actually try at something school related."

"So you don't believe in any of it?" I searched his face for answers.

"I believe that there's some truth in all fiction." He admitted. "In the middle ages, the plague killed entire towns at a time. Plague victims would often have sores that bled around the mouth. The people invented a monster, to explain the tragedy that struck them."

"But . . . but what about the animal attacks? They've been happening for almost a hundred and fifty years?" I asked.

"It's a small town surrounded by lots of woods." Mr. Saltzman shrugged. "Look, Lucy. I get it, trust me. Death is difficult for anyone to process, let alone a young mind. You're looking for a way to make sense of it all, for some explanation as to why this happened. But sometimes there isn't an explanation. Sometimes, bad things just happen. Trust me, you don't want to go looking for answers in the occult. You won't find happiness there."

I felt hot tears forming in my eyes. "Everyone keeps saying that! That I'm just looking for a way to process my trauma. I'm not crazy. I know what I'm saying."

"I don't think you're crazy." Mr. Saltzman stood up and leaned against his desk. "I think you're dealing with something that's well beyond what someone your age should have to deal with."

"What about Damon?" The tears started to fall. I promised him I wasn't here to dump my emotions on him, and here I was. "What's going on with you and Damon and Elena? Why do you all hate each other?"

"I'm . . . not sure that's my place." He hesitated.

"Please. Elena won't tell me." I pleaded. "You're right, I just want some answers."

He exhaled. "How much has Elena told you? And don't say everything, because I know that's not true."

"S-she told me that she was adopted, and that her birth mother was your wife, and that Damon dated her, and then she died." I stammered.

Mr. Saltzman looked pained. For a moment, I felt guilty for bringing up his wife. But my guilt was overpowered by my pressing need for answers. Why did he and Elena hate Damon? What happened to Isobel? Why was everyone hiding things from me?

"Some of that's true." He gave me a sad smile. "Isobel is Elena's birth mother. I don't know what happened to her- if she's dead or alive. Damon did date her, or go on a date with her. I don't really know what happened there either."

"So why do you both hate him?" I whispered.

"Damon was . . . possibly the last person to see Isobel alive." Mr. Saltzman admitted. "And he lied about it. To me, to Elena, and likely to the authorities as well. Part of me blames him for the fact that we never found her. I just keep thinking that if he had come forward . . . maybe the police could have found something."

"You blame him." I nodded. "Both of you."

"A little bit." Mr. Saltzman agreed. "And a little bit of me kind of just wants to kick his ass for dating my wife while she was still, well, my wife. But she left. I can't blame him for that."

"But . . . the rings. Why do you and Stefan and Damon all have the same rings?" I questioned.

"Honestly?" He said. "I don't know. Mine was a gift from Isobel. She grew up here. Maybe they all came from the same place."

"Are you . . ." I sniffed. "Are you Elena's dad?"

He laughed. "No. I can say with full certainty that I'm not. Isobel had Elena long before I met her. In fact, I didn't even know she had a daughter until about two weeks ago."

"Talk about a bombshell." I retorted.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Look, I trust that I don't have to ask you to keep this conversation between us? I'd rather my personal life not be the talk of Mystic Falls High."

"Of course." I nodded. "I'm sorry for prying. That was all . . . really personal. I've just been so confused . . . I didn't realize . . ."

"How could you have known?" He said.

I shrugged. "You're right. It's just; Elena gets so angry with Damon whenever he comes around, but won't tell me why. I guess now I know."

"Elena's just trying to protect you. It's who she is." Mr. Saltzman put an arm around me, and gave me the most awkward side hug ever. I still found myself relishing in the comfort.

"I guess I can't really be mad at her." I thought aloud. "I've sort of been keeping a giant secret from her, too."

"Oh yeah?" He raised an eyebrow. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I don't know if I should." I shook my head. "She's going to be really mad at me."

"I think whatever it is, you two will be able to work through it." He comforted me.

"I hope so." I said.

"Listen, Lucy." Mr. Saltzman sighed. "You're a good kid, but you're going through a lot right now. If you happened to not show up to class today . . . well as long as you didn't get into any trouble, I don't see why I'd have to let anyone know. Do you understand?"

I laughed, and wiped my eyes. "What is it with all the adults in my life suddenly trying to get me to skip class?"

"Everyone needs a break sometimes Lucy." He said.

"I'll see. I need to talk to Elena. I'll go from there." I started to walk towards the door.

He gave me single nod. "Well, if I don't see you in class today, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mr. Saltzman." I said. "I mean it."

"My door is always open."

Somehow, I knew he truly meant it.

No, not a guest to be seen
Well, you're all that's left to be blamed
I'm counting on our guesses to be your loss
I'm counting on our blessings too, I'm so lost

Cause I'm losing the faith, I realize (in your lies?)

I'm counting on our blessings
I'm counting on my blessings, too
Cause I'm losing the faith in your lies
When it's all we had to be sane
And so it had to be your loss