Chapter Text
"I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.
The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze."
Absence
- By Elizabeth Jennings
Chapter 1: Brand New Day
7th September 2009,
The whole town showed up for grandma Janine's funeral. It was a surprise to say the least, even the newly orphaned Gilbert siblings came.
I really didn't think they would actually show up. I mean I appreciate their presence but I wished they didn't and sent a 'Condolences' card with some flowers instead. Jeremy looked like he was about to fall apart. I don't blame him, he lost his parents while I just lost another grandparent, the amount of pain and sorrow I felt was probably nothing compared to what the Gilbert siblings were going through.
The Gilbert couple's funeral was also filled with the familiar and influential faces of the town. My family had all even gathered prior to grandma's funeral to attend theirs, which was arranged a few weeks after their deaths by Jenna Sommers, Mrs Gilbert's sister and John Gilbert, Mr Gilbert's brother.
Out of respect, my family arranged grandma Janine's funeral three months after her death. It was also enough time for us to have a family meeting and discuss what we were going to do about the thing grandma Janine had left unfinished.
I decided to stay back but I'm not alone. Luckily, uncle Nate is staying behind to take care of me and take care of my grandma's unfinished business.
But first I need to tackle something worse; being the 'new girl' again.
Today's the first day of school and I'm the new girl. It's never fun being the new girl. Or in this case, the girl who moved away and moved back after her grandma died. At least, I'm not pretending to be happy and put together like Elena or spiraling like Jeremy. I'm just me. Someone that no one in this town really knows much about and I'll keep it that way. Even if I have to pretend to be someone I'm not.
- Ava R. Fitzroy
I closed the leather-bound journal and shoved it into my bag for now. It was a hard decision to stay but I knew that I owed it to grandma Janine to stay. After-all, I was meant to have taken care of her before her death. Maybe a part of me was guilty for putting off the trip back to Mystic Falls until it was too late. But all that was said and done, there was no time for me to mope around.
Making a mental checklist of all the things I had to do today, I got up from my seat at the table and moved from the sunlit dining room to the empty but warm kitchen. Quickly, I glanced at the clock on the side of the kitchen island.
7:00 AM
I still had an hour left before school started. That didn't mean I could relax. I moved towards the sink and placed my empty plate from breakfast and washed it. I hated leaving unwashed dishes in the sink. A trait I picked up from my mom. After that was done, I took out another plate from the dish rack and plated some leftover pancakes for my uncle Nate who I knew was either out running or sleeping from staying up the night before.
"Is that for me?" A rough and tired voice rang out through the kitchen as I turned around to see my uncle walk through the back kitchen door. I stared at him for a while taking in his appearance. He was drenched in sweat from running.
His light skin glistened with sweat as he huffed, taking in deep breaths standing in the door to the back garden door. Short dark brown hair was wet with sweat and stuck to his forehead despite his attempts to move them. His dark brown eyes were looking at the plate of pancakes with all of his attention.
Raising my eyebrow, I smiled before replying. "No, it was for the dog—I was just about to take it the doghouse" I stated before moving to the dining room.
"Very funny, Rosy. We don't even have a dog." He laughed tiredly. "Thanks for making breakfast today." He thanked me, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and closing the fridge. "The maids and the butler should come back next week or so."
I shrugged, picking up my empty plate and taking it to the sink. "No worries." I smiled brightly as I said this.
My uncle looked at me endearingly before he moved to ruffle my hair. I quickly blocked his hands and moved away. Fixing the little mess he had made to my hair, I turned to glare at him. He didn't even look at me, instead he walked up the stairs. I followed him to the stairs to check myself in the mirror in the foyer.
Halfway up, he glanced down and looked as if he remembered something. "School." He seemed to mumble. "School. The first day of school is TODAY!" He exclaimed suddenly, surprising me. "Wait. I'm gonna quickly shower and eat before dropping you off. Your mom's gonna kill me if you're late for your first day here."
I looked at my uncle disinterested but endeared nonetheless at his thoughtfulness. "Thanks, but Bonnie already offered to drive me and Elena to school."
"Bonnie? As in Bonnie Bennett, Sheila Bennett's granddaughter? And Elena Gilbert-"
"Yes and Yes." I cut him off before he could ask anymore questions. "I'm going now. I promised Elena, I'd meet her at her house. Y'know for 'moral support'." I finished, using my two hands to emphasize the 'moral support' part. Because really, no matter how you saw it, Elena Gilbert needed all the support she could get. It felt like she was one bad decision from making her life bad to worse.
I turned the doorknob and stepped outside, locking the house. I felt a chill run down my spine. Swiftly I glanced around to see if there was anyone around me. There was no one. No lone runner in the early mornings. No cars driving by. Nothing. Yet I felt cold and scared. Like I was being watched. I felt like a prey being observed by a predator before it's demise.
A flutter of dark wings across my vision broke me out of my trance. A raven? I stared at it with my head tilted to a side confused. It sat on the oak tree's branch staring at me blankly. Then the black bird mimicked me as if it too was confused by my presence. Hesitantly I took a step towards the old tree and almost attempted to touch it.
"-What's with all the fog?"
At the question, I glanced around to see that I was on the outskirts of the town. Well, driving on the outskirts of town. I seemed to be sitting in the front passenger seat this time.
How did I get here?
"It'll clear in a second." Another voice replied next to me from the driver's seat.
I felt myself being somewhat reassured before I glanced at the road.
"Watch out!"
The man driving stopped but not before accidentally running over the figure. In fear I stared at the driver, who too looked afraid and seemed to be panicking.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, almost forgetting that he seemed to have just ran over a person.
I stared at him, dumbfounded. "We just hit someone. Oh my god." The shock of the incident seemed to finally hit the woman I was possessing as panic flowed through her body.
"Call for help." The man ordered me. I watched in shock induced silence as he took off his seat-belt and slid out of the car to check on the man.
I could briefly hear his footsteps grow fainter and fainter. I looked around the car for a phone to call an ambulance or something to get some help.
"Please be alive." The faint voice of the driver was heard for the last time from a distance before silence took over the road.
I looked up from the phone with dread as I realized that it would be impossible to get help since there was no signal.
"There's no signal! Darren! Darren?" I exclaimed looking around the windows of the car to see both 'Darren' and the missing figure. I broke out in cold sweat and closed my eyes as panic was replaced by fear.
Suddenly I feel something drop on the car from above, shaking the car violently. I open my eyes wide to see 'Darren' sprawled on top of the car, his face down on the front window of the car, as his blood drips down through the cracks window.
I scream as loud as I can and open the door to escape only to feel myself get dragged away like a rag-doll.
I feel someone shaking me gently as I'm brought back to reality. My face feels wet, like I had been crying. I tried to focus on my surroundings to get a grip back on reality while brushing away any tears that were still on my face. I was still outside my house, by the oak tree.
The black bird was still there, still watching me with its curious little eyes. But I wasn't alone with it. "You okay?" Bonnie asked softly from my left side.
I nodded and said nothing. She took my silence as an acceptable answer before she led me to her car while she filled me in on all the news I had missed since my last visit.
"So are we picking up Elena now?" I asked, examining the clock in the car.
7:34 AM
I wasted more than half an hour in my daydream or day-mare. A first in a while. "Yep." Bonnie replied without any hesitation. "Don't worry about the time, I feel like Elena is going to be a little late anyway."
I understood what she was trying to say straight away. Elena was still dealing from being the only survivor of a tragic car accident. She was allowed to be as late as she wanted. She probably wanted to avoid this all together but was forcing herself to face her fears. In a way, I admired that part of her.
Most people like me ran from their fears, Elena didn't. I wish I too could face my fears but mine weren't simply phobias caused by traumas. Mine were what was in the dark.
"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands." Bonnie rambled on about her summer, trying to fill up the silence in the car while she drove us to school.
"Well that sounds great, I wonder if you can predict any future tests we may have" I glanced at Bonnie with a mischievous smirk.
"That would be so useful!" Bonnie replied excitedly. "But unfortunately my 'visions' are the most random things, like seriously I keep seeing random numbers or phrases, now" She continued.
"Maybe those random numbers and phrases are the answers to pop quizzes we might have in history or the answers to the algebra test we have yet to have." I offered to reassure Bonnie, only for her to scoff playfully.
I saw Bonnie roll her eyes from the passenger seat where I sat. "Yeahh... well, Grams was telling me that Seers or Oracles are more likely to see the 'precise'-" Bonnie took both of her hands to form air quotes.
"Hands! Hands!"
Bonnie quickly took hold of the steering wheel before continuing. "As I was saying, Grams was saying Seers get a better view of the future and the past."
Bonnie's words rang through my head as I thought over it. Seers. They were not impossible but that did not mean they were real. At that moment my nightmares and daydreams flashed through my mind in quick succession.
I snapped out of it to notice that not everyone in the car was focused on the conversation. Quietly, I poked Bonnie and signaled to her that Elena was out of it. Again.
"...Elena! Back in the car." Bonnie said, slightly worried.
"I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that..." Elena looked at us apologetically.
"That she's psychic now" I replied with Bonnie nodding at the rear-view mirror.
"I also talked about what I predicted and how unfair it is that I don't get a clear view of the future but Seers do-" Bonnie joined in.
"-Which is totally unfair according to you."
"Exactly." Bonnie stated before looking back at Elena.
Elena smiled and then looked at Bonnie expectedly. "Okay, then predict something. About me."
"I see..."
Suddenly something slams into Bonnie's car causing her to swerve.
"What was that?!" I asked looking around for the object
"Oh, my god! Elena, are you okay?" Bonnie ignored me and looked at Elena with worry.
"It's okay. I'm fine." She quickly reassured us that she was fine but I could tell she was not. To me it seemed that she wanted us to just drop it and move on.
I stayed quiet but gave her a comforting smile while Bonnie tried to console her. "It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere."
"Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." Elena quickly replied to stop Bonnie feeling guilty.
"Exactly, you can't live your life in fear forever." I paused, turning around again to look at Elena. "But just so you know, we are here for you and just for the record, cars are freaky. Like-" I paused again to look at Bonnie this time. "-This one time I heard of an urban legend where a car was haunted and it would appear out of nowhere and abduct people for some satanic ritual."
"Seriously, a satanic ritual, Ava? How original." Elena scoffed playfully while looking at me with one eyebrow raised.
I nodded. Bonnie rolled her eyes at my attempts to lighten the mood. "Well anyways..." She started as she continued to drive to Mystic Falls High. "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and we are going to be beyond happy."
"I hope so too, and it's nice that Ava is back too" Elena added, staring at me, leaning forward from the backseat.
The three of us went in with Elena nervously clutching her books. I looked around at the school and couldn't help but let out a laugh. It was smaller than what I remembered. Driving past this building always made it seem bigger than it was.
"So this is what the school looks like now?" I asked as I looked around the lockers, taking in the view of the hallway.
"Now?" Elena questioned slinging her bag over her shoulders. "Ava, this is your first time coming through these doors."
"I know. I imagined it to be more..."
"If you say state-of-the-art, I'll actually laugh." She finished for me.
Bonnie stared at both of us, shaking her head at us before looking around. "Major lack of male real estate." She then pointed her head towards a girl that looked vaguely familiar to me "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech." Moving to look at me and Elena, she continued. "She looks like a hot—can I still say 'tranny mess'?"
"No. That's wrong, Bonbon." I swiftly replied, shaking my head.
Elena quickly chimed in. "No. That's over."
Bonnie shrugged her shoulders and carried on. "Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."
Elena nodded, suddenly stopping to wave at a familiar boy who just ignored her, instead slamming his locker door and walking away like Elena had just spat into his face. Rude. Imagine, ignoring Elena Gilbert with that expression, he better have a good reason. I was a little confused at both of their actions and looked at Bonnie expectedly hoping for an answer. Thankfully Bonnie picked up on how I was feeling and quickly filled me in.
"That's Matt Donovan." She moved her head towards the blond boy who was walking away and whispered.
"No way. That's Matty." I whispered back, barely being able to hear my own voice. "He got hot. He was cute before but now-"
"Yep. And he dated Elena who-"
"-hates me." Elena finished for us, interrupting mine and Bonnie's quiet conversation.
"Doesn't look like he hates you." I replied back, staring at Matt.
Bonnie nodded, agreeing with me. "That's not hate. That's "you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits." She added, trying to reassure her.
"Elena. Oh, my god." A loud but peppy voice interrupted Bonnie and me. What was with me and Bonnie getting interrupted today. I rolled my eyes in slight annoyance, masking it with a strained smile which to most people looked genuine.
I watched as a blonde perky girl hugged Elena. She looked fashionable for a girl who lived in a small town her whole life, not that I was judging or anything but her outfit was probably the nicest I had seen so far. She retreated after hugging Elena and took a good look at all of us. Her eyes widened and a smile formed on her face as she closed in on me, attacking with a hug of my own.
"Ava, you're back! I haven't seen you since your Grandma's funeral." She started gushing excitedly. "I thought you would have left. I'm so glad you stayed, I missed my best friend so much. Not that there's anything wrong with Bonnie and Elena but—" She continued, speaking quicker than she did before. Bonnie made a face behind her back, she was offended. "—It's been so long since we last talked. By the way, love your outfit" She finished staring at my outfit in approval.
I wore a white blouse with a black skirt and black boots. It was simple in my terms but I guess it was enough to gain the approval of Caroline Forbes.
"Nice to see you too, Care." I smiled fondly. "I still wonder how you can talk that much without losing your breath." I stated, slightly impressed at her skill of conversation. Heaven forbid, I ever attempt to speak that much in one go, I'd be left gasping for air.
Caroline beamed at me like a happy puppy before shifting her attention back onto Elena. Her expression changed to one of sorrow or one that attempted to look like she was in pain. It looked somewhat fake and I debated whether or not I should call her out on it. I mean I loved Caroline but sometimes she could be a little too much.
But before I could. She went into full concerned mother hen mode.
"How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you. How is she? Is she good?" She looked at Elena and then at Bonnie this time, expecting her to answer for Elena. Was she actually serious right now? Elena wasn't dumb, she could still speak.
"Caroline, I'm right here. And I'm fine. Thank you." Elena ignored Caroline's jibes and replied softly
"Really?"
I seemed to zone out for a while Elena, Bonnie and Caroline talked well Caroline did most of the talking. I took some time to look around some more. Even though this was the first time I had been in this building, it felt like I had been here before.
It was slightly different from my visions or dreams but it was mostly the same, the only changes in this hallway was that some lockers were now graffiti-ed in an attempt to decorate the lockers. I watched Elena and Caroline finish talking and walk off but not before giving me one last hug. She really loved hugs.
"Now that's done." I began. "Can either of you tell me where the school office is?" I questioned a little embarrassed realizing I should've gone a few minutes before.
Bonnie grinned. "I was wondering when you were going to go collect your class schedule."
"I forgot, okay." I retorted. "Blame Caroline for being so distracting." Elena laughed and watched as Bonnie dragged us both to the school office.
The school office had no line unlike my last school where the school office was always packed for some reason. Hesitantly I walked onto the window of the school office.
"Hi. Um. I'm Ava Fitzroy, my dad already called a few months ago about me enrolling here." I began staring at the lady sat in the office. In one of my nerve induced habits, I started twirling my black hair. She looked up and smiled.
"Right. Your class schedule is right here. Let me just...print this out." She replied still smiling, her smile was meant to be reassuring but for some reason I couldn't get comfortable. There was a chill at the back of my spine, the same chill I felt earlier in the morning when I was staring at the black bird outside my house.
My hands started sweating slightly. My eyes became unfocused slightly as my hands also started to itch, like I had to physically do something about the chill or something bad would happen. I blinked in an attempt to drive away the chill. I wrapped my arms around my body trying to warm and comfort myself that I was safe.
I tried to refocus my vision on the school secretary, watching her getting up from her seat to fix the printer and throw me a look of apology. The chill started crawling up my neck like a snake, I felt suffocated, like something was strangling me.
"—I just need you to fill up this form. Just add your and your guardian's contact details and you're good to go." In my attempts to drive out the chill, I didn't even notice the secretary come back. I quickly caught on to what she said and nodded quickly. Grabbing a pen, I quickly noted down mine and Uncle Nate's contact details and handed the form back to her.
"Thank you. And here you are." She replied, taking my form in and filing it in a new file and handing me my class timetable. "I'm Mrs Clarke, the school secretary. If you need any admin work done or anything, just come to me."
I quickly thanked her and turned around when I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry, I didn't—" I stopped mid-apology when the chill came back, this time it was worse than I ever felt before. It was suffocating, almost making me faint.
"Are you okay?" The stranger asked.
"—m fine." I gave a reassuring smile without even looking at the person's face and walked away as fast as I could. It had been a while since I had these unpleasant feelings. It was more of an instinct, flight or fight response than a feeling.
I turned around briefly to get a better look at the stranger, not noticing that Bonnie and Elena had walked right next to me.
"Seeing something you like?" Bonnie whispered. I was startled for a minute before composing myself to give Bonnie a playful glare before silently moving my head to the direction of the school office. "Hold up. Who's this?" She asked, squinting her eyes.
Elena craned her head forward and squinted a little before replying. "All I see is back."
"It's a hot back." Bonnie added.
I scoffed. "Pfft. How do you even know he's attractive from the back." I questioned with a grin on my face, trying to ignore the faint chill in my body.
"I'm psychic, duh." She retorted with her tongue sticking out. Elena and I laughed at her response. But for some reason I couldn't ignore my instinct and focused my attention on the stranger that was standing in front of the office. I zoned out whatever Bonnie and Elena were saying again.
I strained my ears in an attempt to hear what he was saying to the stranger. It was hard at first, drowning out the noises from the hallway and the joint voices of Elena and Bonnie but I managed to get a sense of what was being said.
It seemed that had incomplete records of him and Mrs Clarke seemed apologetic and confused at the incomplete records. The stranger took off his sunglasses and said something to her which my ears unfortunately failed to pick up before putting his glasses back on. I don't know what he said but suddenly seemed to hand out a printed out schedule to him. Odd. From what I knew it was hard to enroll as a student with incomplete records then how did he...
My eyes widened as dread filled me.
I quickly made my face as blank as possible in fear of standing out. Luckily, it seemed no one had noticed my mood change. I looked back and really looked at his face to see it devoid of any emotion, it was blank like her mind was somewhere else while her body sat there. She suddenly smiled and went back to her work. Compulsion. I didn't know much about that stranger but I did know he was not human. The thought of what he may have been made my blood run cold.
I tried my best to avoid the new guy as best as I could, especially after knowing he might be something other than human. I was uncomfortable around him. Bonnie didn't seem to get the memo.
"Did you see how the new guy was staring at Elena, Ava." Bonnie gushed with her hands on the steering wheel while we drove to the grill after school. She was excited at the idea of Elena being happy again and that this new guy could be the reason.
I smiled weakly, offering no response. Somehow the thought of one of my best friends dating 'that' made me scared more so than nervous. Don't get me wrong, Elena deserved all the happiness but I didn't need to be a psychic to know that someone like him would never make someone like her happy. They were too different. Their diets weren't the only thing different.
"History wasn't even the first time he saw her, Elena was telling me, she accidentally bumped into him in the Men's bathroom." Bonnie continued on.
"Men's bathroom?" Bonnie had my attention now.
"Right, Elena followed Jeremy into the men's bathroom."
"You're kidding right?"
"Nope. Jeremy's gone off the deep end and Elena is going to the extremes to get him to go back to being that annoying little brat we all love and hate and not a 'druggie'."
"A 'druggie'. Jeremy Gilbert is doing drugs?!"
"And dealing or I think he is." She replied this with some uncertainty leaking into her voice. "If you ask me..." She trailed off as she made a turn. "It's Vicki Donovan's influence. She's really keeping up her mom's legacy, if you know what I mean." She finished off before stopping outside the grill.
"Be nice, Bon."
"You know just because your mom was BFFs with her mom doesn't mean you have to be nice to Vicki."
"No. I'd rather not assume things."
"Kinda like how you've been giving mean looks to the new kid."
"That's not true."
"Guess I need to get my eyes checked."
I got off first and Bonnie followed. She was half-right but I was right to worry and she didn't know why. I was worried about Elena and maybe Jeremy. The Gilbert siblings seem to be one blow away from a disaster and something told me, maybe it was one of my 'feelings' or just my pure observation, that it would be the new boy who would make the final blow, either him or something related to him.
"Bonnie! Ava!" Caroline shouted as she ran towards us and hugged us in welcome. I forgot how much she loved hugs.
"Hey, Care." I greeted. "Should we go inside?" I asked, pointing at the grill. "I'm kind of looking forward to seeing this place again."
"Trust me, you shouldn't. It's not all rosy." Bonnie swiftly replied, laughing slightly at the pun she made.
The grill was the same as I remembered, maybe it had gotten slightly bigger. The owners might have expanded the grill to accommodate the growing Mystic Falls population. I mean, after all, this was one of the few places for the members of this town to gather and relax.
This was also one of the few places that served alcohol to high-schoolers when none of the deputies or the sheriff were here. The booths looked slightly nicer than they used to. That was the only thing I could say had changed really.
Caroline led me and Bonnie to a booth. The minute we sat down, Caroline opened her mouth and laughed. I stared out at her confused before realizing what this was about. "This is about the new guy isn't it?" I sounded slightly tired but maybe because I was. Even if I did have a natural dislike for him, at this moment, I pitied him.
She nodded excitedly. "His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue."
I was impressed to say the least. Caroline knew how to get information and I had to hand it to her for that skill. "You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie asked, more skeptical than impressed.
"Oh, please, I got all that between the third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding."
I scoffed. "We?" I questioned. "Caroline. Does this 'Stefan' even know you exist?" I questioned, now I was the one being skeptical.
Caroline didn't respond but simply rolled her eyes. Bonnie broke into a fit of giggles at my response. I didn't blame her, it was funny how easily Caroline falls in love. I always found this trait of her concerning, imagining her falling for the wrong guy.
I didn't know much about this 'Stefan' but I did know what he was. Besides, the whole idea of dating a 'bad boy' may seem attractive on paper and in imagination but in reality it was harsh and painful. Of course I had experience. Caroline seemed to know what I was thinking and gave me a look that clearly said that she really believed Stefan was a good person.
I didn't say anything else, wanting to talk about anything other than Stefan so we talked about what happened in my absence. Bonnie finally managed to finish telling me about what really happened between Matt and Elena. Caroline wasn't exactly silent the whole time, here and then she would make remarks about how it was wrong for Elena to just break up with him out of the blue on the night of the accident.
I silently agreed, not voicing my opinions, but it seemed strange for Elena to do something like that. She loved Matt. She had always loved him since we were kids, to suddenly break up with him with the excuse that she wanted something different was beyond weird. Elena wasn't the type to want different, she never had been, she always preferred things to be constant with her future. It was almost like someone had influenced her decision on the relationship.
"Speak of the devil and he shall come." Caroline whispered as Matt, the subject of our many conversations, walked towards us. He was followed by Tyler Lockwood, Mayor Lockwood's son.
Matt walked right up to me and greeted me with a smile. "Ava, nice to see you again." He greeted me with a smile as he hesitantly took a seat.
"Hi, Matty. Nice to see you too. Can't lie I did miss your blue eyes." I replied, batting my eyelashes and sipping my milkshake. I watched as a blush spread across Matt's face.
"Um. Yeah." He seemed at loss for words. Caroline and Tyler, both looked slightly impressed and amused at what I had just done. Matt quickly struggled to compose himself before he asked us the question we all knew he would. "How's Elena?" He asked, staring at Bonnie.
Bonnie huffed before responding in a soft tone. "Her mom and dad died. How do you think?" She asked, stating the obvious in the process. "She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months."
"Has she said anything about me?" I nearly spat at my drink at Matt's ignorance. He was a sweetheart but Elena's parents just died and this was the only thing he could say. Way to keep the dumb jock stereotype Matty. I was slightly disappointed in him at this moment. I blame Tyler for this.
"Oh, no. So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her."
"I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me."
"Give it more time, Matt."
Suddenly, everyone in the grill went quiet for a moment as Elena entered the grill. It wasn't because she came in. Don't get me wrong she's a pretty girl but in a small town pretty girls are not what catch people's attention.
It's their company that does, and she wasn't alone. She was with someone. We all looked on in surprise as Elena made her way to our booth with Stefan Salvatore, the new kid, the one who gave me bad feelings. I turned to look at the pair and Matt, going back and forth without anyone noticing.
Matt's face twisted from hopeful to a bitter and sour look as he got up. "More time, huh?" He walked over to Stefan and Elena.
"This can't be good." I said under my breath as I watched their exchange.
"Hey, I'm Matt, nice to meet you."
Stefan glanced at him, a little apprehensive about greeting him at first but I watched as he smiled tightly. "Hi. Stefan." He greeted as he and Elena made their way to us.
"Hey." Elena said somewhat awkwardly, looking like she had caught doing something she shouldn't have done.
Matt looked at Elena, pained and he greeted back. "Hey." I shifted in my seat and moved closer to Caroline to let Stefan and Elena sit. The chills came back, although, this time it wasn't as bad the first time I had bumped into him in school. It was there but faint.
The minute the couple sat down, Caroline began her interrogation. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?"
"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young." Stefan replied, looking like he was thinking of the past.
Bonnie then leaned forward. "Parents?"
"My parents passed away."
Elena looked pained. She knew what it was like to be orphaned, no doubt she shared whatever Stefan was feeling right now. She squeezed his arm in sympathy. "I'm sorry. Any siblings?"
"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle." Stefan's response made me narrow my eyes slightly.
"Your uncle, Zach Salvatore?" I questioned. A buzz of energy seemed to fill the air, something Stefan must have felt as he too stared at me. He swallowed before he nodded.
Caroline laughed. "Ava, Zach's the only other Salvatore in this town."
"I know." I retorted. The buzz was growing. "I didn't know he had a nephew." I stated tilting my head in mock confusion.
"Distant nephew, actually." He corrected me with a light smile on his face like he could see right through me.
"Huh. Didn't know there were any left."
"So where were you living before?"
"I was traveling."
"Oh cool. Where were you before Mystic Falls?"
Caroline giggled at what I was doing and Stefan spared her a glance. "...This feels like an interrogation." He stated, leaning back in his seat.
I shrugged. "I'm just making conversation and checking facts."
"Oh Ava, always the fact checker." She said to ease the growing hostility in the air.
Bonnie also must have also sensed as she rushed to join in. "Yeah, you wouldn't think that she's the artsy and hippy one."
"I'm not a hippy." I pouted, releasing my air of hostility. The buzz, now gone.
"Must be the Fitzroy genes then. All Fitzroys are very keen on facts." Caroline went on, ignoring what I said before.
Stefan looked at me. Like really looking at me, sizing me up. A flicker of recognition crossed his face. "You're a Fitzroy?" He asked.
I simply nodded, not sharing anything else. I knew what the question truly meant. He wanted to know if I knew. If I knew who or what he really was. Even if I did, which I may have. I wasn't stupid enough to put my neck on the chopping block.
Caroline saw that the conversation was dying and attempted to revive it. She turned to her current source of attraction and smiled flirtatiously at him "So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." She started. "Ava already knows but she's not really new and parties aren't her thing." She rambled slightly.
"It's a back to school thing at the falls." Bonnie bringing it back to the point.
I watched as Stefan turned to Elena to ask if she was going but before she could answer, Bonnie spoke on her behalf. "Of course she is."
For the rest of the conversation, I zoned out and nodded along. Stefan and I would glance at each other after a few seconds when no one noticed. It was like we were both assessing each other. He was trying to figure me out but I already figured him out. I knew what he was.
I didn't stick around and left as quickly as I could with Caroline complaining loudly. Stefan offered to drop me off but I acted like I didn't hear him.
"Uncle Nate, are you home?" I took out my keys and hung them in the key holders. A muffled reply came from the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked pizza invaded my senses, welcoming me. "You made pizza." I stated, taking a seat on the kitchen island.
Uncle Nate, wearing oven mitts and an apron looked at me and nodded as he struggled to hold the phone in one of his hands while the other was occupied by the pizza pan. "Yeah, Liz. I understand. I'll tell you if I get any...y'know." He spoke into the phone.
My ears perked up and I leaned a little to listen to the conversation. He noticed my interest in his conversation, he mouthed that it was Sheriff Forbes, Caroline's mom. I pursed my lips when I realized what this was really about. It must be bad if Sheriff Forbes was calling my uncle.
I distracted myself by texting Caroline. She kept swearing that Stefan was totally smitten with her. Poor girl. She never stood a chance. It was obvious to everyone except Caroline that the only person Stefan had eyes for was Elena. I suppose it was a good thing for Caroline. I knew her mom would die before she let Stefan near her daughter.
"No, Liz. I'm not hiding anything. If I did I wouldn't have agreed to be part of the council on behalf of my family." He looked frustrated as he said this.
"I'm as angry as anyone in the council." He spat out. "If anything, I'm more pissed than anyone else." He stated, slamming the pizza pan onto the kitchen counter startling me and causing me to back off. "Listen. My mother died to protect this godforsaken town. So don't you dare accuse me or anyone in my family for that matter for the attacks." I made a motion, telling him to calm down.
"I was saying, if I sense anything. Anything. Even the smallest thing. I will follow that lead and believe me, YOU will be the first person to know." He calmly uttered, running fingers through his head in an attempt to cool himself down. "Yes, I'm pissed. Why wouldn't I be, Liz? You just straight up accused me and my family of not helping out with these attacks."
"Let's get one thing straight, we have been in this town for about four months while the attacks only occurred recently." Uncle Nate drew an imaginary line in the air as he spoke. "Besides, we take vervain religiously, even though most of us don't need it." He breathed out, taking off his mittens after placing the pizza pan on the counter on top of a towel. "Apology accepted. Next time, tell Mayor Lockwood to not let you do the dirty work."
"Oh don't sound so surprised, Liz. It's pretty obvious Richard was the one who suspected us. He's too paranoid for his own good."
"Look, Ava's back from the grill. I'm gonna hang up before she...Good Night, Liz." He cut off the phone call, waiting for the line to fade to silence before turning around to face me. He took out a pizza cutter and cut the pizza into equal slices. "Pizza?" He offered as he grabbed a plate and picked up a piece for himself.
I gave him an awkward smile. "Thanks but I already ate." He nodded in understanding before sighing and shoving the pizza into his face.
"I'll—" He said as he chewed. "—leave you some."
I grinned as I watched him. "Don't talk with your mouth full." I stated, getting up to get a glass of water. I passed the glass to him and watched him finish all of it in one go.
I walked away and entered the living room and sat on one of the couches in the living room. Grabbing the remote, I turned the TV on as I got comfortable. I flipped through some channels, just channel surfing before settling on WPKW9, the local news channel. I heard footsteps from the kitchen and heard my uncle sit down on another couch.
He sighed. He got my attention. I didn't look at him but still kept my attention on him. "You sounded pissed." I stated.
"Why wouldn't I?" He began by shoving another piece of pizza into his face. "The Council just straight accused us of orchestrating the recent attacks in town."
"Recent attacks?" I questioned, alarmed that things would get this bad so quickly after grandma died.
"They are not attacks. Really." My uncle began. "More like people—"
"This is Andie Star for WPKW9, a search party has officially been called thanks to the efforts of Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes who vowed to find the young couple Brooke and Darren. The couple went missing late last night. Their car was found with the hood and roof smashed with blood splattered across the front window."
A picture of a smashed car filled the screen before going back to Andie in the studio.
"The couple was nowhere to be found. In spite of the lack of evidence, Sheriff Forbes has promised that she will do everything she can to find the couple."
Andie faded out from the screen again, before huge pictures of a young woman and man took over the screen.
MISSING PERSONS: BROOKE AND DARREN
"—going missing." My uncle finished tired.
"The Council is going to spin this as an animal attack, aren't they?" I asked without taking my eyes off the screen.
It was the same couple from my vision. I knew right away what really happened to them. They weren't missing. They were dead. I saw them die. I felt 'Brooke' die and it was painful. It wasn't the first time my visions had come true and it wasn't the last.
"Not if they are found." He replied back. "Otherwise it's a mountain lion, a wolf or whatever. Take a pick."
I sucked in a breath and let go, biting my lips. "...They're not missing." I stated, my voice devoid of all emotions. "They're dead."
"How did you know—" I didn't need to look at my uncle to see that his expression had hardened. "You had a dream."
I glanced at Uncle Nate. "Not exactly. It was...a vision. I guess...it was in the morning when I was waiting for Bonnie outside."
"You need to be careful." He warned me while he leaned forward on the couch.
"I know."
He shook his head in disbelief. "You..." He trailed off, hesitating, debating on whether or not he should finish or even ask what he was going to ask. "Did you get a weird..."
"Yeah..."
"Same." He admitted silently. "I think it's best if we don't tell the council until we know more in the meantime-'' Uncle Nate took the remote out of my hands and turned the TV off. "—you should go to bed, you have school tomorrow."
Numbly, I nodded, getting up and heading upstairs. As I got ready for bed, the faces of Brooke and Darren haunted me. I could still feel Brooke's fear and pain when she died. Unconsciously, I grabbed my neck, feeling smooth skin with no puncture wounds.
Mr Tanner had a talent.
A really rare talent which was to make my favorite subject, History, the least interesting and the most mind-numbing class I had ever sat through. Mr Tanner also seemed to have a habit of embarrassing and almost bullying his students, a fact I learned within ten minutes of the class starting.
I had met him a few days ago and I could not stand him already. I was a tolerant person.
Now and then I would catch him glare at me, ready to call on me before shutting his mouth and turning away.
"—Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett." I focused back on the class only to see him insult Bonnie and turn to Matt for an answer to whatever question he had asked. "Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"
"It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." Matt smiled mockingly at Tanner.
Tanner huffed loudly and went back to his table, clearly getting annoyed by the sheer lack of answers. I almost felt sorry for him. Then, He narrowed his eyes on me and walked near my seat. "What about you, Miss Fitzroy? I'm positive you would know something other than doodling in class." I take back what I said before.
I rolled my eyes and retorted. "I know that this isn't in the syllabus."
Civil war was part of the syllabus, the town's history on the other hand was not. My guess was that Mayor Lockwood wanted to educate the 'youth' of this town's history and Tanner was more than happy to help.
He glared at me before clicking his tongue. "Disappointing but not surprising." He moved away from me as he continued to complain about me. He stopped and looked at Elena "Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?"
"I'm sorry, I-I don't know." Elena nervously replied.
BAM.
Mr. Tanner loudly dropped his book onto his desk in anger and frustration. "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break." He spat out. That bastard.
"There were 346 casualties." Stefan suddenly retorted, defending Elena. "Unless you're counting local civilians." He added after turning to look at him.
Tanner turned around to glance at Stefan with some interest. "That's correct. Mister...?"
With his jaws clenched but still trying to be civil, he obediently answered. "Salvatore."
"Salvatore." He repeated. "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"
"Distant."
"Well, very good." He smiled. I wish I could unsee that. Then his face twisted into a look of arrogance. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."
Stefan sat up in his seat, ready to correct him. "Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons." He replied without missing a beat. "They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in the civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."
The class became silent as we all looked back and forth from Stefan to Tanner. I was waiting for Tanner to say something. He did nothing. Instead he turned away from the class as the bell rang. I turned to pack up but also to glance at Stefan, I'm not going to pretend that what he did for Elena wasn't nice but now I realized I may have judged him a little harshly.
I made up my mind that I would get to know him before I acted next. After all, if he did end up being as bad as what he was, I could always hand him over to the Council which would get them off my family's back, potentially killing two birds with one stone.
Stefan glanced at Elena and smiled. He must've noticed that I was going to say something back then because he turned to me but I couldn't bring myself to smile at him. One glance at him and I felt cold. I tried hard to give him a weak smile before I ran out of the class to find Caroline and Bonnie and go over our plans for later this week.
Cold.
That was the first thing I felt walking through the woods to get to the party. I grabbed my black blazer tightly around me and adjusted the brown cross-body belt as I made my way through the woods. My scarf blew in the wind. I loosened it and re-tied it around my neck to secure it more.
I knew I should have just taken Bonnie's offer for a ride but instead I had to turn her down to listen to one of my uncle's Council meeting recaps which was not informative at all. Darren and Brooke, the young missing couple, were dead. Not that I didn't know that already. There was most possibly something inhuman in this town. That I knew as well. I should've gone with Bonnie.
Wind blew gently past me, rustling the leaves. Fall was coming, I could see it on the trees thanks to the moonlight, they were slowly turning a green-yellow. I stopped to admire the view, it was a full moon.
My blood ran cold, a chill ran down my spine. My eyes widened as I realized that I wasn't alone. Slowly, I unzipped the bag and took out a dagger. It looked ancient and to a normal person, it looked rusted and weak but it wasn't rust that covered the dagger. It was blood.
I felt someone or something run in the opposite direction. I turned around to look at what it was before I heard Jeremy screaming for help. I debated whether I should go find Jeremy or go follow that thing. I decided against following that thing. It would be stupid if I did and I didn't want to die. Quickly, I sprinted towards Jeremy's cries of help.
"Jeremy? Elena?" I looked at the two before my eyes moved down to the girl lying on the ground. Her neck was bleeding and she looked close to death. Without a delay, I moved to check her pulse. "She's alive." I breathed out in relief.
"Here." I loosened my scarf. "Put this on her neck." I offered the scarf to Elena, knowing she would probably be better at this. Elena grabbed my scarf from my hands and without a delay put it on Vicki's neck.
"Jeremy, can you carry her?" Jeremy nodded, moving to pick up the girl.
As we walked back out of the woods, I could feel someone's eyes watching us. I ignored that feeling as best as I could and focused on the dying girl. I grabbed Elena's arms and gave it a squeeze to comfort her. She looked close to having a breakdown.
It must have been hard for the Gilbert siblings to constantly be around death. I was used to death but they were not. Hopefully there wouldn't be a death today if we moved fast enough.
"Somebody help!" Elena screamed as she broke through into the party.
Matt pushed through the party-goers. "Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?!" A crowd had formed watching the girl.
"What happened to her?" Tyler asked shoving people to get to the front of the crowd
Matt stared at Vicki with widened eyes and tried to control his emotions. "Somebody, call an ambulance!" He ignored his best friend and commanded.
Tyler took the hint and tried to control the crowd. I stood next to Jeremy and watched the crowd move back. "Everybody back up, give her some space!"
"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." Elena said with tears streaming down her face. "Ava, she..." Elena gasped for breath to compose herself. "She used her scarf to stop the bleeding"
In the chaos, I noticed that Stefan was gone just as the ambulance arrived. It wasn't suspicious at all, I noted sarcastically.
I watched tiredly from the side as Matt and the paramedics took Vicki in. Jeremy and Tyler promised Matt they would visit Vicki in the hospital. I silently promised myself that I would also visit Vicki tonight or anytime this week.
Bonnie walked towards me and told me she wanted to go to the Grill and if I wanted a ride. I turned it down.
My uncle had texted already telling me he was coming in ten. I did agree to go with Bonnie to the Grill. I let my uncle know.
Bonnie stood next to me while we stared silently at the place where the ambulance had been. "Do you think I'm psychic, Ava?" Bonnie suddenly asked.
I bit my lips, a little conflicted on how to reply to her question. On one hand, I knew there was something out there but on the other hand this was Bonnie, the girl I had grew up with, an example of normalcy.
I breathed out. "I don't know." I answered honestly. "Why? Did something happen?" I asked in turn, staring at her.
Bonnie said nothing but went off to where Elena stood. I rolled my eyes exasperated and followed after her. "Hey. We're gonna go to Mainline Coffee, wait for news." Bonnie greeted Elena with a comforting smile.
"Want to come with us?" I offered.
Elena looked at us both apologetically. I knew she was taking it hard, finding Vicki like that. She probably wasn't over the whole PTSD-thing. "I gotta take Jeremy home." She tried to make an excuse.
Bonnie breathed out disappointed that we would be one person short. She then grabbed our arms. "Guys, there's no way I'm psychic." Bonnie started again with a serious look on her face. "I know that. But whatever I saw, or I think I saw, I have this feeling..." She trailed off with a faraway look on her face.
"Bonnie, what?" Elena and I asked at the same time. Both of us were scared.
"That it's just the beginning." She finished. A faraway look in her eyes.
I didn't say anything and hurriedly left them and went to find Caroline. Bonnie's words scared me and I didn't know what to say so I ran.
I found Caroline quickly. Keeping her company, I watched as she downed her coffee. I can't believe this is how she acts just because she got turned down by a guy. It was pathetic. Caroline could do so much better than Stefan Salvatore and I wanted to tell her that and so I did.
"Care—"
She rolled her eyes. "I know. I know. 'I'm so much better than Stefan Salvatore, I deserve better' is what you're gonna say" She cut me off.
Bonnie huffed in annoyance. "Are you sober yet?" Bonnie asked, rolling her eyes at Caroline being dramatic.
"No." Caroline retorted with a child-like pout.
"Keep drinking. I gotta get you home. I gotta get me home."
"Why didn't he go for me? You know, how come the guys that I want never want me?" She started complaining, clutching her drink.
Bonnie shook her head and gave me a look. I felt bad for all of us right now. This night had gone from bad to worse. "I'm not touching that." She replied.
I patted Caroline's back soothingly, trying to cheer her up. "That's their problem. There's someone better out there" I comforted her.
"No there isn't!" She cried out. "I know why. I know why I'm not good enough!" She stated before pouring herself another drink of coffee from the jug. "I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And...Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she's always the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and...I'm never the one."
I understood her pain. It was hard being the best friend whose always in the shadows. I laughed slightly and threw a sympathetic look to her. I was in her place before I left.
"It's not a competition, Caroline." Bonnie softly said, trying to defuse the growing hostility. Bonnie was always the peacekeeper in situations like this but unfortunately this time I didn't agree with her.
"Yeah, it is." Caroline and I retorted at the same time. "Sometimes it is"
Bonnie looked at us both, she was shocked that I had even thought of Elena this way. It was a competition for us not Bonnie. Elena was smart and pretty and everyone would love comparing me, Caroline and her. It's not like Bonnie wasn't like us but it was more to do with Founders' families and big egos.
My family sometimes still brings up how Elena is smart and how strong she is for holding herself together. It didn't help Elena always got the guys and grades.
"See, Ava gets it." Caroline said, her eyes puffed up from crying.
Ding.
I took out my phone and opened it. Uncle Nate was here. I paid for my drinks and signaled Bonnie that my uncle was here. She understood and waved goodbye to me as I walked out.
"Hospital?" He asked.
"Hospital." I confirmed.
Clean white walls of the hospital were all but devoid of life as we walked to where Vicki Donovan was taken. Chairs outside the rooms were mostly empty except one.
Matt Donovan sat clutching his hands in a desperate silent prayer for the life of his sister. He was so focused on his prayer that he didn't even notice me and my uncle approached him. I tapped his shoulders to get his attention.
"Matt?"
"Ava?" He looked at me shocked and surprised. "How did you-"
"I brought her here." My uncle replied before he could finish. "Hope you don't mind, we already paid Vicki's hospital fees."
"You shouldn't have. I can-"
"No you can't. Your mom is God knows where, doing God knows what." I cut him off. He was too nice sometimes. "And I asked around. Vicki's the only one with a job."
"I'll get a job and pay you guys back." He tried again.
"It's fine, really." Uncle Nate insisted.
"Matt." I began. "I was one of the people who found Vicki. I came through the woods. If I was faster, I could have even stopped whoever or whatever it was instead of Jeremy and Elena finding her like.." I breathed out and looked at Matt with a somber expression. "...that. It's the least I could do."
Matt nodded in understanding while my uncle closely watched the exchange. "How's Vicki?" I asked.
"She's—" Just as Matt was about to speak, a nurse came in and said that visitors could go in. Matt let us come with him despite us not being family. He tried to calm her down and assure her that she was okay. He glanced at us for support. I sprang into action, rubbing circles around Vicki's back in soothing motion. "Vicki...Hey. Hey, it's okay. You're gonna be okay." He tried to calm her down.
"Matt-" Vicki mumbled weakly.
"Hey, don't try to talk, okay? You're fine."
Vicki looked around the room. "Vampire." She said before she lost consciousness again. Matt looked confused and concerned. Uncle Nate and I stared at each other in silent horror as Matt rushed to call the doctor and nurses.