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A Handful Of Dust

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Summary

Quickly stomping down the stairs, I startled the two from their conversation. "Mysteriously Hot Back Guy, what are you doing here? Not stalking my sister, are you?" I asked in a blunt flurry, narrowing my eyes at him accusingly.
"Er-what?" he blurted out, looking slightly alarmed.
Elena rolled her eyes, unfazed. "This is my twin, Emery. Ignore her."

In the small town of Mystic Falls, witty loner Emery Gilbert had modest plans: finish high school, mend her family's sanity post-parental tragedy, and then flee this "charming" abyss.

Unfortunately, life had other ideas. With all the trouble that follows after the arrival of the enigmatic Salvatore brothers, Emery stands unknowingly at the center thanks to her twin sister, Elena. When deadly secrets finally come to light and dangerous beings threaten her family's pursuit of normalcy, Emery's loyalty and determination to shield her loved ones will face the ultimate test.

Because nothing screams "fresh start" quite like battling the supernatural, dodging teenage melodrama, while trying to graduate high school with most of her sanity intact-armed only with a sarcastic quip and a raised eyebrow that's more likely to get her killed than not.

Author's Note: This fanfic explores the life of an original character in The Vampire Diaries universe. There will be some AU, but probably not until later seasons because I fell off the show when it started going down hill. Maybe this fic will convince me to finish it since I'm also writing this as I rewatch the first season... And I know, the twin trope is overdone, but I've always wanted to write my own take on it.
Official pairing is still up in the air (your input can sway me, though!), but it will very likely be a slow burn so I'll see where Emery takes it.

(cross platform posted)

One

Steam caressed my face as I stared down into the dark brown liquid. My fingers wrapped around the mug of hot chocolate in a death grip, seeking warmth despite the summer heat still carrying strong. My dark and slightly unruly hair fell over my shoulders as I slumped lower in the seat, a sigh escaping my lips.

The cafe was nearly empty, considering it was almost closing time. Despite how few there were, the stragglers were louder than I'd prefer. A high-pitched laugh assaulted my ears from three tables behind, making me cringe. Giggles accompanied it. I turned slowly in my seat to face them, not so much out of curiosity than the want to tell them to shut up. Fortunately, I had the sense in time to recognize my irritation was completely unwarranted and quickly shut my mouth. After all, I hadn't exactly left the house in search of peace and quiet.

Marissa, a waitress at the cafe, stood in front of a table full of her friends from school. I knew all the girls since we were in the same year, but I hadn't spoken to any of them all summer. They were the few people in Mystic Falls who didn't frequent The Mystic Grill, instead preferring the small atmosphere of The Grotto. Which was the exact reason I decided to spend the rest of my day here. I wasn't really in the mood to go to the rowdy Grill, hence the reason I sat here alone.

Their voices grew louder. I caught a few snippets of the conversation, something about couples and who had hooked up—Tiki and Kameron—and who broke up—Levi and Alexa—over the summer. I wasn't particularly interested, having never cared for that topic of gossip. A part of me considered trying to join the conversation regardless. The whole reason I left the house was to try getting back into the swing of things. Unsuccessfully that was, since I was all by my lonesome in a place I rarely thought to frequent.

I had left the house around noon and spent the entire day wandering around town, exploring different places, hoping to feel something, to find inspiration, maybe even socialize. It sounded like a great plan initially, especially since I hadn't really been around anyone but family all summer. A part of me considered that might be the issue—the reason I couldn't get out of my rut. Maybe I just needed to distance myself from everything overly familiar and take a break?

Staring out the paneled window, I absentmindedly brushed my finger along the rim of the mug, wishing—not for the first time—to desperately leave the town of Mystic Falls.

Since the car accident in the spring, I'd had this constant feeling of not truly belonging here. My house barely felt like a home now, having lost that warmth with the passing of my mom and dad. Aunt Jenna tried her best to step into a parental role for me and my siblings, but it just wasn't the same. I certainly didn't want her to be my parent; I wanted her to remain my fun-loving, opinionated aunt. I couldn't even imagine how tough it must be for her, trying to keep an eye on a bunch of teenagers, managing college classes and work, all while still grappling with the loss of her older sister.

My brother Jeremy became the most withdrawn out of us. The first time I caught him using drugs, I wasn't exactly surprised. Weed wasn't a big enough deal for me to freak out over, though my sister didn't share the same opinion. Whenever Elena tried talking to him about it, he'd just push her away and begin acting even worse. So, Jenna and Elena decided to give him a "summer pass" before cracking down on his habits. Predictably, as summer now drew to a close, there was no improvement in his behavior. I just let it be, understanding it was the only way he knew how to cope. Maybe it wasn't the most sisterly thing to do, but at least he was still on speaking terms with me, unlike Elena. I knew he'd get past it in his own time, even if it did take a while.

And my sister, well, I wasn't quite sure how to describe our relationship. It wasn't bad or anything; lately, we just hadn't spent much time together. At times, it felt as though we were becoming strangers, despite being twins. There were plenty of things left unspoken between us, especially over what went down a few months ago, and honestly, I didn't expect those issues to resurface anytime soon.

Elena's approach to handling things certainly didn't help matters—she coped by putting on a front, acting like everything was hunky-dory, while all of the pain just kept bottling up insider her. Sure, she had her journaling as a creative outlet, but it still left her internalizing everything. Even with Jenna taking on guardianship, Elena, as the eldest, felt compelled to carry the weight of the household on her shoulders. Somewhere along the way, this morphed into an attempt to bring back a sense of our old "normalcy" that no longer existed.

I was tired of pretending there was any chance at living the life we used to have with our parents. I wanted to move forward without guilt, making room for any sadness or discomfort when it arose. Unfortunately, my siblings weren't quite ready for that, and it left me feeling remarkably isolated from them.

A painful yelp left my lips, drawing me out of my thoughts. I held my hand close to my chest, a scorching red burn now adorning the limb. The mug sat toppled on its side, hot chocolate spilling all over the tabletop and staining the napkin I was doodling on. I blinked, slowly coming to realize I accidentally knocked it over during my musings.

"Oh! Let me clean this up for you."

Marissa stood on the other side of the table, moving to wipe up the mess with a dish towel. "Thanks."

Marissa looked up, smiling, "You're welcome!" As she finished cleaning up, her smile slowly turned into a sympathetic one. Marissa met my eyes and I had to force myself not to walk away, knowing exactly what the girl was going to ask. "How have you been, Emery?"

For the millionth time today, I wondered once again why I left the house to begin with. Oh yeah, that was right. I wanted to get back to living.

"Not the greatest," I smiled ruefully,"but I'm doing okay now." And it wasn't a lie. I had been okay the last few weeks. I wasn't good or great, but I was okay.

Deciding I wasn't really up for socializing after all, I stood up, signaling my departure before she could give a response to that. Looking at the waitress with a more sincere smile this time, I wished her a good evening.

Marissa waved, flashing another smile in return, this time an excited one. "You too! Oh, and I'll see you at school tomorrow. First day! I can't believe summer vacation is over already."

Thanks for reminding me… Holding in a groan, I walked out into the warm evening air.

The radio blared loudly, waking me up in an instant. Groggily, I reached my hand out from the covers, blindly searching for the off button. After a few seconds of brushing against the alarm clock, I finally found the button to silence the music. I sat up slowly, the teal comforter folding down to my waist, and began rapidly blinking my blurry eyes to rid the fogginess. Eventually, my gaze made it to the alarm clock, taking in the glowing red numbers, before abruptly flopping back down on the bed and hiding my head under the cool side of the pillow.

Not even a moment later, the door to my bedroom slammed open, jarring the picture frames scattered along the wall and the knickknacks displayed on the shelves. I could hear an exasperated sigh come from the doorway.

"Emery Beth Gilbert," my twin called out. "If you don't get up now, you won't have enough time to get ready before Bonnie picks us up."

"Nngghhh…" I moaned, rolling over while pulling the covers back up.

There was loud stomping, and then the blankets were tugged off my form, forcing me to twist so I was lying on my back. I stared up at my sister with a tired and irritated expression.

Elena's hands went directly to her hips. "Don't give me that look. You are not sleeping in on the first day of school. Now get up." She then stalked out of the room.

Groaning, I used all my strength to get out of bed lest my sister force me—which she definitely would. Without a second glance at the messed-up blankets and sheets, I grabbed a clean graphic t-shirt and underwear from my dresser and then picked up a pair of jeans lying on the floor by the closet. Letting out a loud, wide mouthed yawn, I rubbed my bleary eyes as I walked to the conjoined bathroom, mumbling incoherently about annoying, early bird sisters.

I took a quick shower, feeling more refreshed and awake to go about the rest of the day. Drying out my hair with a towel, I tossed it into the hamper and proceeded to twist my hair up and use a claw clip to hold it to the back of my head, not caring to brush it out first. A small winged liner and mascara were the only makeup I bothered applying.

Jogging down the stairs after Elena, I walked into the kitchen and was greeted by my Aunt Jenna frantically searching the fridge's contents.

"Toast. I can make toast," she said, sounding sure of it. I laughed, leaning against the counter.

Elena, who automatically walked towards the coffee pot, informed her, "It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna."

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy asked, suddenly appearing in the kitchen. I grinned at him in welcome.

"Mornin', Jer." He simply nodded his head to my greeting. I held back a sigh, glad my brother at least acknowledged me. My gaze drifted to the coffee machine, staring in disgust at the black liquid pouring into Elena's mug. "I'd rather eat breakfast."

"Maybe if you didn't take so long to wake up, you'd have enough time to make something," Elena said with a matter-of-fact tone, turning to look at me pointedly. Jeremy took the chance to steal her mug away. She threw up her hand, rolling her eyes, but decided not to argue and instead poured herself another cup. While she wasn't looking, I stuck my tongue out at her for the comment, making Jeremy snort in amusement.

"Your first day of school and I am totally unprepared," Jenna fretted, rummaging through her bag. She handed me a power bar, which I happily accepted, and then passed out some cash to each of us for lunch, though Elena refused to take it. "Anything else? A No. 2 pencil? What am I missing?"

"Relax, Jenna. This is—unfortunately—not the first time we've had a first day of school," I said with an overly dramatic sigh, one that received another look from Elena. "We got it handled." I knew Jenna was just trying to get the whole "guardian thing" down right, but she really didn't need to worry so much. We were teenagers, not children.

Elena nodded at the last part. "Em is right. And don't you have a presentation today?"

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at—" The redhead checked her watch, realizing the time. "Now. Crap."

"Go," Elena told her reassuringly.

Jenna smiled at her in appreciation, giving us teenagers a wave goodbye, before hastily grabbing her bag and running out the door.

I shook my head in amusement. Typical scatterbrained Jenna, I thought, surprisingly feeling good about today despite yesterday's mood. I grinned at my siblings, watching Elena chuckle and Jeremy smirk slightly before turning to his coffee with his typical loner expression. My sister looked at him with concern.

"You good?" Elena asked him softly as she reached out for him. I cringed at her bad timing.

Jeremy glared at her with abrupt annoyance, and shrugged her hand away. "Don't start." He quickly left out the backdoor.

Elena sighed.

I rolled my eyes at the exchange. Good feeling gone.

I walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, ripping open the power bar wrapper and tossing it on the coffee table before taking a big bite. The news channel was on, pictures of a man and a woman taking up the entire screen. Apparently, they were found dead last night. A bit of distant sadness came over me, but having not known the couple, I easily detached myself from it. I waited for the newswoman to repeat the story, wanting to know what caused their death, but Elena drew my attention away first, calling out to me.

"Let's go, Emery. Bonnie's here."

I got up with a groan and made my way to the front door, grabbing the school bag I left on the stairs, and followed her outside to Bonnie's Prius.

"So, I've been spending a lot of time with Grams and she's been telling me I'm a psychic. Apparently, we're descendants of Salem witches; I know, right? I wasn't buying it either. She's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I remembered my uncanny accuracy. I mean, I predicted Obama, I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and become little resort islands. I think there might be something to it…"

I laughed at Bonnie's sudden, drawn out speech. I knew the girl was just trying to break the awkward silence in the car. We hadn't seen Bonnie much during the summer, her being busy with camp and lifeguard duty, and though I knew Elena felt guilty for it, I didn't mind. I never really clicked with Elena's friends like she did. We were cool with each other, but let's be real, they were mostly my friends too because I was Elena's sister. But hey, that didn't stop us from genuinely liking each other as time went on.

I remembered the day Bonnie's Heath Ledger prediction came true. It was truly a sad day… "Knowing how your grandma is, I can totally see it," I said, easily latching on to the idea. Sheila being a 'witch' was common talk in all the gossip rings of Mystic Falls, though it likely started because of her slightly unconventional career choice in teaching the occult. If I ever made it to old-lady status, I could only hope to be half as cool as her.

Bonnie smiled at me through the rear mirror, appreciating my acknowledgment while my sister stayed silent. "What do you think, Elena?" Bonnie glanced at Elena. She was in her own little world, staring blankly out the window. "Elena! Back in the car please."

Elena jumped, snapping out of her daze and looking guiltily at Bonnie. "I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry Bonnie, you were saying that-"

I leaned forward, grinning. "Miss Bennett here claims to be a witch."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I am not a witch. I'm psychic. Maybe," she corrected, as if that was less crazy. At Elena's skeptical look, she continued. "Em believes it."

"Em believes anything." I swatted her shoulder, mouth open in mock insult. Amused, Elena asked, "Alright, then. Prove it. Predict something. About me."

The Bennett waved her hand around in a goofy, mystical way that made me scoff. "I see…"

Something black suddenly hit the car with a loud thwack. Bonnie jerked the steering wheel to the right, hitting the curb, before quickly slamming on the brakes to stop.

"Oh my god! What was that?"

I quickly overcame my sudden whiplash from not wearing a seat belt to look at my twin with concern, reaching out to grasp her shoulder. "Elena, you okay?"

"I am so sorry, Elena. The bird— it just came out of nowhere!"

"Don't worry, Bonnie, I'm fine. Really." Despite her words, Elena looked pale, her breathing slightly jagged. She reached for my hand, squeezing it tightly. "I can't let cars freak me out for the rest of my life."

"Hey, don't push yourself, okay? You'll be ready when you're ready," I comforted, frowning at her words. She was still going to keep on pretending, despite having people there to support her until she was ready. The car started moving again and I sat back to put my seat belt on, realizing I should have been more considerate towards my sister and worn it to begin with.

Silent, Bonnie watched the road for a short moment before turning to us with a smile. "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And all the dark times are over and the two of you are going to be beyond happy."

I looked at Bonnie gratefully, especially after seeing Elena's touched, and hopeful, smile.

We made our way down the halls of Mystic Falls High School, heading first towards Elena's locker—the closest. "Major lack of male real estate," Bonnie observed, checking out a group of guys. Her attention swiftly changed to Kelly—a girl I knew for a fact Bonnie disliked—as she walked by. "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot—can I still say 'tranny mess'?"

"No, I think that's over," Elena answered. I frowned at the insult, but hastily nodded in confirmation. Don't need that inappropriate phrase popping up again.

"Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."

"Yes, because those are such important things to worry about. School definitely hits the bottom of the list when compared to those two," I piped in sarcastically as we reached Elena's locker.

"Ha-ha, Em." Bonnie faked a glare at me, trying not to smile.

We focused on Elena after hearing her release a sigh. "He hates me."

Following her line of sight, I took notice of Matt conspicuously ignoring us from across the hallway, or more specifically, Elena.

"That's not hate. That's 'you dumped me and I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits'," Bonnie provided, looking at Elena with sympathy.

Translation: you totally broke his heart, I thought somewhat bitterly.

"Has he mentioned anything to you lately, Em?" my sister inquired.

I tried very hard to hide the bitterness in voice. "Nope, we haven't talked in days. Just the occasional text."

I watched Matt walk away, wanting to follow him, but suspected he wasn't in the mood to talk to me right now, being the sister of his ex-girlfriend. Even if we were best friends…

At the sight of Caroline approaching us with her bouncy blonde waves, however, I almost thought about changing my mind to head after the jock.

Elena caught the look on my face and nudged my arm, giving me a pointed look. "Be nice," she whispered. I rolled my eyes, knowing I couldn't promise anything.

"Elena, Emery! Oh, my god."

Caroline gave a hug to each of us, to which I had just stood awkwardly with my arms to my sides. "How are you two? Oh, it's so good to see you both." She turned to address Bonnie, completely ignoring us. "How are they? Are they good?"

Elena smiled, waving Caroline to attention. "We're right here, Care. And I'm fine. Thank you."

The cheerleader swiftly turned onto me. I grinned, showing all my teeth. "Peachy."

"Really?"

We both nodded. "Yes. Much better," Elena confirmed.

"Oh, you poor things," Caroline whaled sympathetically, obviously not believing us as she squeezed us together in another tight hug.

Elena patted her back. "Okay, Caroline."

"Oh! Okay. See you guys later?"

"Okay! Bye!" I waved in an exaggerated mock cheeriness, glad to see her skipping away.

"No comment," Elena said dryly, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to say anything," Bonnie replied, putting her hands up.

I grumbled, wishing I could brush off the lingering presence of "prep". "You better not…"

We finally began to make our way to my locker, which was down the hall by the main office.

"Hold up." Bonnie halted us, looking through the door to the main office. "Who's this?"

Elena tilted her head. "All I see is back."

"It's a hot back."

After hearing them both comment, I turned to glance through the glass windows of the office. An unrecognizable male student stood facing the secretary, Mrs. Clarke. The black leather jacket and dark wash jeans were stylish and a nice fit. His light brown hair was short and neat and from the way his head was slightly angled, I could see a pair of black sunglasses on his face. Sunglasses, indoors. Definitely screamed wannabe rebel, bad boy.

After my quick appraisal I, despite silently agreeing the back was indeed hot—and mysterious—wasn't interested. I turned away from the office doors, watching the crowd as I waited for the other two to finish contemplating the new student.

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar."

Elena shook her head in amusement. "You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

"Pretty much," the so called 'psychic' shrugged.

I was about to laugh at the idea of Bonnie constantly making little predictions, only to have to hold back a groan at the sight of my brother heading down the hall in our direction, looking very obviously stoned.

C'mon bro, wake and bake? Really?

Before Elena could turn around and notice, I tried distracting her by drawing more attention to the "mysteriously hot back" guy. "You know, I can definitely see the guitar part, Bonnie. And if he is from Seattle, I bet you ten bucks he's a big grunge fan."

"I'll take that bet," Bonnie accepted, smirking.

Elena rolled her eyes at us. "Not everyone is into grunge like you, Em."

I scoffed. "Please, sister, I love every music genre. Trust me, I know what people like. And I'm going to prove it too," I said, sounding smug at not only my own prediction, but that I was also successfully distracting them. I began pushing the two towards the office door.

"Em!" My sister shrieked, holding her ground. "We can't just walk up to him now! He's busy."

"Who cares?" I retorted. Bonnie laughed at the two of us.

"Jeremy, good batch, man," I heard some boy shout out from the crowd.

"Jeremy?" Elena, now on alert, pushed me away and turned around. I released the groan this time when my twin spotted our younger brother walking into the boys' bathroom. Elena promptly followed in after him with no shame.

Well, I tried, little bro.

With a shrug, I left Bonnie behind and began heading to my own locker.

I wasn't sure how it happened so fast, but by History class I caught my twin and the Mysteriously Hot Back Guy making googly eyes at each other. I wasn't sure if the two had even spoken to one another yet for this weird "attraction" to spark up. Either way, I was greatly annoyed by it.

And it wasn't because Mysteriously Hot Back Guy also had a mysteriously hot front and I was therefore jealous. It was because Matt was my best friend and it wasn't too long ago when Elena broke up with him without any real explanation. The first day of school wasn't even over yet and she was already showing immense interest in a guy I didn't even know the name of. I haven't even found out if he was a grunge fan yet!

Matt was going to be devastated. I sighed as I held my head in my hand to avoid said boys gaze as he slowly seemed to be catching onto the exchanged glances. He was probably going to try and ignore me even more now…

Feeling the soft vibration in my front jean pocket, I turned away from stupid Mr. Tanner, to discreetly pull out my phone.

"Hawt-e. Staring u."

I looked up, wondering what the Bennett was talking about, when I caught the girl looking at the two love-struck fools with a grin on her face. Rolling my eyes, I texted back.

"Wrong twin, Bon."

Bonnie's grin dropped into a confused frown as she read the reply. Finally meeting my exasperated glare, her expression quickly changed to apologetic.

"Oops. Sorry…" Bonnie texted, before immediately alerting the other twin, as if Elena didn't even know he was looking, and she wasn't doing it back.

Sighing, I stuffed my phone back in my pocket before Tanner noticed. It wasn't as if this never happened before. Elena and Emery were usually right next to each other in everyone's contacts. You wouldn't believe all the accidental texts I'd received in the past that were meant for my sister's eyes only… I shivered as a few instantly came to mind.

The rest of class was all lecture, so I was thankfully able to ignore everyone around me and focus on doodling nonsense in my notebook.

"Do you want to come with me to the cemetery, Em?" Elena asked softly after our final class of the day.

I shook my head, giving the same answer I always gave. "Not today." Finished stuffing all my books in my bag, I grabbed my running spikes from the bottom of my locker. "I think I'm going to stay and get some practice on the track."

"I thought it was too late to do cross country?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't stay in shape. I can still do track in the spring. We still meeting up at the Grill later?"

"Yeah. Bonnie and Caroline are going to meet us there." Elena nodded, appearing somewhat disappointed and anxious. Damn, I knew it. The ride to school really did freak her out. She only ever asked me after something reminded her of the accident. But I didn't want to feel guilty for saying no, especially not this time. I didn't need to go to our parents' grave and watch Elena write in her journal while I simply stared off into the distance. That was never a part of my grieving process, and never gave me comfort the few times I accompanied my sister before.

"Okay then, I guess I'll cut my run a little short today then. Meet you at home."

"See ya."

The two of us split ways outside the school entrance. I watched Elena walk alone in the direction of the town cemetery for a moment, then sighed, and made my way around the building to the athletic fields.

The track at Mystic Falls High surrounded the football field, a stadium design most schools incorporated in order to save space and money on new bleachers. I used to hate the layout when I was younger and just starting to find an interest in running, as most girls were usually self-conscious of doing the action in front of people. Especially the football team, since they often held practice at the same time as cross country. I got over my self-consciousness fast however, thanks to Matt joining the football team and watching out for me, stopping the guys from their wolf-whistling and what-not.

I dropped my bags on the bleachers when reaching the field, bending down to put my spikes on. With a few quick stretches, I pressed play on my iPod and was off, starting with a slow pace.

Most people questioned my sanity when I told them I loved running. The movement of my legs, the pressure of my feet pushing off the ground, coupled with the intense pounding of my heart and laborious burning in my lungs as I try to maintain steady breathing… Honestly, I couldn't think of anyway better than this to get my mind off the tough reality of life.

When too many difficulties were being thrown at me, running had been the best way to forget for a moment in order to rejuvenate myself and come back feeling stronger and more able to deal.

Sometimes, I wanted to give running the credit for allowing me to move on more easily from my parents' death, unlike my siblings. As in a way, the action felt like a form of therapy. But a part of me also knew that wasn't it. I knew I felt differently than most people, my emotions and reactions to them often abnormal compared to others. It was something that used to worry my parents when I was a kid, being so different from others my age. As a teen, I surprisingly learned to embrace it, as I saw how hormonal and emotional my peers got when hitting puberty and did not envy it one bit. But now? Now I wondered if I was messed up, broken. Because, when next to my siblings, seeing how they took the death of our parents—and still were for that matter—it made me question if I was simply just a heartless person.

Shaking my head, I released a burst of energy, now running at full speed, deciding not to stop until my playlist reached its end.

"Oh my god, what happened?" I inquired with concern at the sight of my sister. I had just gotten home from my run, intent on taking a shower in the conjoined bathroom, only to find Elena with her leg on the counter, jeans rolled up to her knee to expose the crusted blood.

"I fell," Elena answered, smiling sheepishly. "Don't worry, the blood makes it look worse than it actually is."

After getting a closer look, I could see it really wasn't bad and my concern fast turned to curiosity.

"How'd you fall?"

As Elena washed the blood away, I took out the peroxide and handed it to her. "Thanks." Hissing slightly from the sting once she applied the peroxide, Elena looked back up at me. "It's stupid."

"Yeah? How stupid?"

"Like a bird scared me enough to run away and then trip kind of stupid," she explained, cringing in embarrassment.

I scoffed in amusement. "A bird scared you?"

"It was a crow," she corrected defensively.

I put on a serious expression, eyes widening. "A crow, you say? Well it's a good thing you hiked it out of there before it could pluck out your soul and carry it to the land of the dead!"

"Shut up!" Elena laughed, throwing the mostly gone roll of toilet paper at me.

I stuck my tongue out after succeeding in catching it.

"It was weird though," Elena started, sounding contemplative as she rubbed a large band-aid over the wound. "Right after I fell the new guy appeared—"

"Mysteriously Hot Back Guy?"

"You're seriously still calling him that?"

I nodded seriously.

Elena shook her head amusedly before continuing, "Yeah, him. Anyway, he said he was visiting family too. He asked if I was okay, but after getting a look at my leg, he just up and disappeared."

"Hmmm… Maybe he's stalking you?" I suggested, not actually finding it too unusual, but not against taking the chance to deter my sister away from him. Seriously, he just left her alone there, injured? What kind of person does that?

Elena looked at me flatly. "He is not stalking me, Em."

"You never know," I sang mystically. "But anyway, I wanna take a shower before I do my homework, so skedaddle!" I waved my sister out of the bathroom and to her own room.

"Okay, okay. I should get started on my own homework too. Just make sure you're ready to go to the Grill by seven, alright?"

"Yup, got it," I affirmed, before swinging the door shut. I really wanted to wash off all the sweat and stink already.

"You ready to go, Em?" Elena asked, peeking her head into my room from our conjoined bathroom.

Throwing up all the clothes from the floor to find something nice, I looked at my sister before slowly glancing around at my wardrobe. "Uh, yeah… Just let me find a shirt real quick."

Elena shook her head, an amused but slightly disgusted expression on her face. "Seriously Em, you really need to do your laundry."

"I do my laundry!" I argued indignantly. "I just don't always hang it up…"

She rolled her eyes, "You can always wear one of my shirts, you know. At least you'd for sure be wearing something clean that way."

I pouted, throwing another shirt down. "Your clothes are always too tight on me."

Being fraternal twins, our body types were completely different from one another. Whereas Elena was taller and slimmer, I was shorter and curvier. Something I attributed from Mom's side, while we think Elena took after the females on Dad's. She certainly didn't gain Mom and I's pale skin tone either, the lucky girl somehow inheriting a nice olive color. Unlike me, she had never experienced a severe sunburn in her life.

"I have a few loose tops that would fit you just fine," Elena insisted, but seeing my disinterest, sighed and turned back to her own room. "Fine then, I'll meet you downstairs. Try not to take too long."

I stuck my tongue out behind her back.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually only two minutes later, I settled on a plaid flannel that looked good with my hazel eyes (sniffing it first to confirm it was indeed clean), dark skinny jeans, and floral patterned converse. I began to head downstairs but stopped, however, at the sound of a foreign voice. Crouching down to peak out the front door, I saw my sister talking with—Mysteriously Hot Back Guy?

What was he doing here? My eyes widened in slight curiosity, and then I realized something. Mysteriously Hot Back Guy is stalking my sister!

Quickly stomping down the stairs, I startled the two from their conversation.

"Mysteriously Hot Back Guy, what are you doing here? Not stalking my sister, are you?" I asked in a blunt flurry, narrowing my eyes at him accusingly.

"Er—what?" he blurted out, looking slightly alarmed.

Elena rolled her eyes, unfazed. "This is my twin, Emery. Ignore her."

"That's not very nice," I pouted at her, before swiftly turning to appraise Mysteriously Hot Back Guy up close for the first time. He was definitely attractive—tall, with an athletic and broad shoulder figure, and brown hair gelled in a swept-up fashion. But something about his brooding, deep-set forest green eyes seemed to put me off.

"Hello, Emery. I'm Stefan Salvatore," he introduced politely. I visibly frowned. Well, there goes my name for him now that I knew his real one. No more mystery… Thanks for ruining it so soon, Stefan. But then again, it was starting to become a hassle to say… "I was simply returning your sister's journal."

"Mhmm," I hummed skeptically, eyeing him up and down suspiciously. "Strange how you had it in the first place." And knew where we lived. A pause. Okay, small town. Maybe not that weird. But still, it likely meant he had to ask someone. Only weirdos go that far.

Just as he was about to explain himself, Elena interrupted.

"I left it in the cemetery, Em," she started with another eye roll and then smiled at him appreciatively. "Stefan was kind enough to return it to me." Yeah, sure, as if it wasn't all a part of his diabolic plan from the beginning.

"You mean after leaving you there to die from excessive blood loss?"

Elena sighed. "Stop exaggerating. It wasn't that bad, you said so yourself, Em." She reassured him, "Really, it wasn't bad. I'm perfectly fine."

Stefan at least had the decency to look ashamed. "Still, I apologize for having left you there alone suddenly. It was very inconsiderate of me."

"Well, at least you acknowledge it," I relented with exaggerated haughtiness in my tone.

An awkward silence descended on us after that. "I'm gonna go, uh, set this down real quick," Elena said, gesturing to her journal. She glanced between us and gave me a pointed look, before walking away. "Oh, and you don't have to stand out there, Stefan."

Yes, yes you do. Still staring him down, I didn't move from my spot blocking the doorway, trying to make him feel as awkward as possible.

He looked down to his feet and then back up at me, clearly seeing I wasn't going to budge, as he didn't attempt stepping forward. Smart choice. "That's alright, I'm fine here," he called out to Elena.

The sounds of the crickets outside could easily be heard as we stood there quietly.

"Were you both planning on heading out?" Stefan inquired after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Before I could answer, my sister reappeared. "We're actually meeting some friends at the Grill." She paused for a second. "Do you… do you want to come?" Elena asked shyly, hopeful.

What is this girl thinking?! I screeched internally, trying to prevent my eyes from bulging out at the stupidity of inviting the stalker.

Stefan turned to me, clearly taking note of my reaction regardless. "I wouldn't want to impose."

Seeing Elena's hopeful expression now directed at me, I groaned on the inside. "No imposing here. C'mon, Steffy, vehicle is this way," I instructed, not waiting to see if they were following me to the SUV.

Oh well, he is a stalker.

He'd probably follow us anyway.

END NOTE: Thanks for making it to the end! What do you think of Emery? I absolutely love writing her, and I hope she fits in naturally with the canon characters while still staying interesting.