A.N. So I've decided to publish a new Vampire Diaries fanfic, yay!
It starts with Season 1 Episode 1 and my hope is to write the whole Season with a new OC - Isabella. I've wanted to play around with how the story could be told from the perspective of a vampire already happily situated in Mystic Falls and whether she'd react well to the sudden appearance of the Salvatores'.
Feel free to drop me a message or even leave a review with any notes and I'll try to get back to you all.
So here goes; I hope you enjoy. xx
Dear Diary, today is the day I have been dreading since it all happened. Today I have to smile and pretend that this isn't the third time I've had to move on from the death of those closest to me. Today I will not be staring into a glass of bourbon and wallowing in grief. Today I will start fresh, be someone new; I have to be, for them.
With a sad smile, Isabella closed the diary and lifted the family photo from the side-table, stroking the captured faces of the family who had taken her in, she sighed. For them. Placing the frame back in its shrine-like position next to her bed, she stood, opened her door and started the day:
"Jeremy! Elena! If you two don't get your butts out of bed I will drop you off embarrassingly close to the school entrance in front of everyone!" She waited for a response and rolled her eyes when none came. "Do I really need to break out my Team Gilbert t-shirt and hug you before you go in?" The sound of bed sheets being flung back and two pairs of feet hitting the floors of their respective rooms brought a smile to her face. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Oh God, I am so late!" Jenna groaned as she stumbled out her bedroom and towards the stairs. "I am so bad at this! Can you make sure they-" She gestured to the front door as she struggled to hold her shoes, bag and jacket.
"Jenna, go: we'll be fine. I've got this and you have that big presentation today: don't be later than necessary."
"You're a lifesaver, Iz." She shot her a grateful smile before hopping down the stairs and out of the house.
"What do you guys want for breakfast?" She called out to the sleepy teenagers, already knowing what the shared answer would be.
"Coffee please!" Elena responded while a grunt was the only reply from Jeremy's room.
"Right, teenagers plus caffeine, equals a successful first day." Izzy mumbled as she too headed for the staircase.
"Okay, so I was going to pack you both lunch with adorable notes attached to the bags but instead I figured this would be more appreciated." She held out two handfuls of cash.
"I'm good thanks, Iz." Elena smiled while Jeremy simply grabbed the money.
"Great, so, I'm taking you…" She pointed to Elena. "…But you're too cool for the car so you're walking?" She quirked an eyebrow at Jeremy who turned, and started the long walk to the school.
"Ignore him." Elena sighed. "You know he loves you, Izzy."
"Of course I do." She responded as they got into the waiting car. "I'm me, who doesn't love me?" She smiled as Elena laughed what could possibly be her first proper laugh all summer. "So, Bonnie's house?"
"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!" Izzy laughed at Bonnie's retelling of her weekend with her grandmother. "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…"
"Elena?" Izzy cut off the girl as she noticed Elena staring into space. "You okay?"
"I did it again, didn't I?" Izzy nodded as she drove through the centre of town. "I…I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that…"
"That I'm psychic now."
"Okay then, predict something. About me." Izzy challenged the girl with a chuckle.
"Right…I see…" Bonnie didn't finish her sentence as a black blur flew into the windshield of the car causing the car to go skidding into the pavement. "What was that?!"
"Elena? Are you okay?" Isabella turned to the girl who she considered her sister to find her clutching the edges of her seat. "Elena?"
"It's okay…I'm fine."
"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere." Izzy ignored the girl in the backseat and instead kept her gaze on Elena.
"Really, I'm fine: I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." She sent Izzy a small smile.
"I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you are both going to be beyond happy." Bonnie leant forward to grasp their hands. "You hear me: extreme happiness for Isabella Maxwell and Elena Gilbert." With a shared smile the journey to the High School was resumed.
"Okay so I just have to fill in some paperwork and then I will leave you alone for the day, I promise." Izzy told Elena as the trio exited the car. "Man, I do not miss this." She mumbled as they walked through the mass of students greeting each other on the front lawn.
"Major lack of male real estate so far." Bonnie observed as they weaved their way through the corridors. "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot…can I still say tranny mess?"
"Nope, that's over." Elena laughed and Izzy quelled a smile at seeing her sister so happy.
"Ahh, find a man, coin a new phrase: it's going to be a busy year." Bonnie sighed.
"Is that Matt?" Izzy asked as they all turned to see a very sad-looking jock trying to not glare at Elena as she waved to him.
"He hates me." She declared as he ignored her and stalked off.
That is not hate." Izzy told her. "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 joked. "Don't fret little sis, he's not going to cause drama on the first day."
"Speaking of drama…" Bonnie trailed off as they entered the school corridors and a very bubbly blonde bounced into view. "Hey Caroline!"
"Elena, Izzy! Oh, my God, how are you?" She embraced the sisters. "It's so good to see you!" She beamed at them both. "How are they? Are they good?" She asked Bonnie.
"Caroline, we're right here and we're fine, thank you." Elena assured the blonde.
"Also, I'm 21 so you don't need to look after me, God knows your mother has been trying to do that all summer." Izzy smiled at the girl. "Anyway, I have to go fill out those forms." She moved away from the high-schoolers. "Have a good day, and call me if you need anything!" She called behind her as she made her way to the office.
"Your sister has amazing shoes…" Caroline sighed as Izzy's form became engulfed by the crowds of kids. "…do you think she'd let me borrow some?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Is there anything else I need to fill out?" Isabella asked the secretary as she signed her name on the last piece of paper.
"No, I think that's the last of it, thank you Miss Maxwell, and I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, I mean Jeremy and Elena lost their parents, they just took me in." Isabella adjusted her bag awkwardly.
"Family is family, Miss Maxwell, blood or not." She smiled at the woman behind the desk before leaving.
"Hey Jeremy, good batch, man!" She stiffened as she heard the comment shouted across the hallway and with a frown turned to see Jeremy smirking as he strode into the bathrooms.
"I am going to kick his ass." She mumbled before stalking down the corridor and following him into the men's room.
"Whoa! This is the boys' bathroom!" Izzy glared at the kid.
"Oh please, as if you have anything I've never seen before." She watched as he practically fled from the room.
"What are you do-" She cut Jeremy's objections off as she grabbed his face and inspected his pupils.
"Classes haven't even started and you're already stoned?!" She released his face in disgust.
"No I'm not."
"Really?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Where is it? If I find it I will flush it!" She started rummaging through his pockets.
"Stop, all right?! You need to chill yourself, all right?" She ignored him and grabbed his backpack of the floor. "Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"
"Crazy?" She dropped the bag. "You haven't seen crazy! I have given you a pass all summer but now I am putting an end to this stupidity! You are going to destroy yourself and that'll destroy your sister! Hasn't she been through enough?"
"I lost my parents too, alright!" He shouted. "Not just Elena!"
"Yes, but you weren't in the car! For god's sake Jeremy, no one is saying you haven't lost as much as she has but you need to start dealing with it instead of getting high every time the grief starts coming back!" She raked a hand through her hair as she felt the anger dissipate. "I know I'm not your sister by blood Jeremy, but I love you as though you're my brother because you all took me in when I thought I had no one and then got a lousy deal in return. That is not fair but we have to live with it, do you really think they'd be proud seeing you like this?"
"I don't need this." She felt all the fight leave her as he pushed past and left the bathroom.
She let the door slam behind her as she re-entered the house. Sliding down the wood she let out a long breath as she sat on the floor: Elena was in safe hands at school, she knew Bonnie would look after her and let her know if anything happened, however, the Jeremy situation was getting worse.
All summer she'd been keeping an eye on Jeremy and his method of relaxation; he thought he was being so smart and careful but she'd seen Matt's sister - Vikki Donovan, sneaking out of his room, accompanied by the smell of well smoked weed, on more than one occasion. She'd let him think no one had noticed all summer, hoping he would clean up his act in time for school, however, this morning had proved that was not the case.
With a sigh she heaved herself off the floor and up the stairs towards her room where a half-finished book on the history of Mystic Falls was waiting to be finished; why had she decided that the school textbooks needed updating?
"Hey Sid." She greeted the barman at The Grill with a smile. "The usual please." She slumped onto the bar stool as a glass of the bars best whiskey was placed in front of her. "Thanks." She glanced around the bar and smiled at the sheer amount of teenagers that were filling the booths. "Busy this evening?"
"I always forget just how many kids are in this town." He sighed as she drained her glass. "And how many of them think I'm going to give them a beer."
"Aww Sid, you know they're just testing you." She smiled at the man before turning her attention to the table occupied by Bonnie and Matt.
"Hey guys." She greeted them. "Is Elena meeting you?"
"Yeah, she should be here any minute." Bonnie smiled. "Is something wrong?"
"Nope, just don't want to be drinking in the same bar as my kid sister and her friends." She joked. "So, how was her first day?"
"Great actually, there's this new hottie and he seems to be into her so I'd say a successful day all round." She beamed while Matt looked more than a little put-out.
"Wonderful!" She smiled at the pair. "Well, have a great time but don't stay out too late: that's my job." She waved good-bye to the pair before exiting the bar racking her brains for a quitter place to drink.
"Hey party-animal." Izzy greeted Elena as the younger girl closed the bedroom door behind her. "What's up?" She asked as Elena joined her on the bed.
"Nothing I just…had a really great day." She smiled. "I met a guy."
"Ooh, tell all!" Izzy sat upright on her bed as Elena got comfortable.
"His name is Stefan and he's kinda new to town even though he was born here: his family moved around a lot and then his parents died so now he lives with his uncle. We have History, English and French together!" She finished with a small smile.
"And…?" Izzy asked, sensing there was more.
"And…he's really cute!" Elena laughed as Izzy whooped. "He's going to the party tomorrow too."
"Party?"
"The back-to-school thing, at the falls." She told her. "Caroline told me to tell you that you're coming too."
"Am I?"
"Apparently, as a chaperone."
"Well, who am I to argue with Caroline Forbes?" The pair laughed. "I'm glad you had a good day Elena; you deserve it." The pair exchanged a smile before lying back on the bed together and staring up at the ceiling. "So, how cute are we talking?"
The falls of Mystic Falls were beautiful during the day, but at night, the sight could be described as spectacular. The distant sounds of rushing water filled the air as Izzy strolled through the makeshift car park being used for the back-to-school party. As she wove her way through the trees, the calming music of the waterfalls were soon replaced with Top40 pop and chatting teenagers guzzling beer.
"You made it!" Izzy smiled as Bonnie and Elena suddenly appeared beside her.
"Of course I did; when do I ever miss a party?" She grinned at them before swiping the bottle from Elena's hand and draining its contents. "Just being a good sister." She winked at them. "Is the new guy here yet?" She asked and watched as a blush stained Elena's cheeks.
"You mean Mr Romance-Novel-Stare?" Bonnie teased as Elena's blush intensified. "Not that we've seen."
"You mean you can't sense his presence?" Izzy joked as she tapped Bonnie's temple.
"Oh yeah; psychic…Right, I forgot. Okay, so give me a sec, Grams says I have to concentrate." She scrunched her eyes closed.
"Wait, you need a crystal ball." Izzy handed her the now empty beer bottle and frowned as Bonnie's face became startled as their hands touched before abruptly pulling away.
"What happened?" Elena asked as Bonnie hand fell to her side, her eyes still wide with shock.
"That was so weird: when I touched you I saw this old house."
"What?" Izzy asked, feeling her throat go dry at the young girl's words.
"A house." Bonnie repeated. "There were two men, but it was all so blurry..." She shook her head. "I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah…Ok, I'm gonna get a refill." Izzy and Elena watched as Bonnie pretty much ran from them.
"What the hell just happened?" Elena asked in disbelief as Bonnie blended into the crowd.
"You heard her…she's drunk…" Izzy mumbled. "Look, I gotta go, I have a…" She racked her brains for a suitable excuse. "…a date…I have a date…with a person." Elena frowned at her. "So I gotta go." She began to walk away from her. "Um, don't get too drunk and make sure you call me or Liz to come pick you up, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." Elena responded as she watched her sister head back towards the cars. "Well that was weird…"
"What was weird?" Elena jumped as a deep voice spoke behind her. "Hey." She smiled as she recognised the voice's owner. "Are you okay?"
"Stefan, hey…I'm fine it's…it's just Bonnie and my sister, they're... You know what? Never mind. You're…here." She grinned up at him.
"I'm here." He smiled at her. "…Great party…" He gestured to the obviously drunk teens surrounding them.
"Yeah, it sucks…you don't have to be nice about it." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Well, I've never really been very good at, uh, chit-chat." He explained as they began walking away from the centre of the party. "I never have the right thing to say…"
"Well for someone who doesn't know what to say, you're kind of the talk of the town." Elena joked as they reached a small bridge that was free of any party-makers.
"Am I?"
"Mm-Hmm. Mysterious new guy, oh, yeah."
"Well, you have the mysterious thing going, too…" He nudged her shoulder as they stared up at the falls. "…twinged in sadness.
"What makes you think I'm sad?" Elena frowned at the thought; although she had expected the whole back-to-school thing to suck, Bonnie had been making her laugh all day and Mr Romance-Novel-Stare's attention was definitely making her happy.
"Just a feeling." He shrugged.
"You don't want to know, it's…it's not exactly party conversation." She told him as she wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to fight the autumn chill.
"Well, I don't think we're technically at the party anymore so…" He gestured to the lack of people surrounding them and the fact that the music was a distant noise. She took a deep breath as their eyes connected.
"Last spring…" She began. "…my parents' car drove off of a bridge into the lake…and I was in the backseat. I survived, but…they didn't." She returned her stare to the waterfalls. "So that's my story." She murmured.
"You won't be sad forever, Elena." She turned to see the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke and she gave a small smile in return. "I mean, at least you have your sister…"
"Izzy?" She smiled at the thoughts of her sister. "Yeah she's been awesome, I mean even though she's grieving too you wouldn't know it; she spent all summer looking after my brother and me till our Aunt Jenna arrived and even now she's pretty much our primary guardian…she's kinda my rock…"
The pair shared a smile before enjoying the distant sounds of the party mixing with the crashing water surrounding them.
"I like Bonnie; she seems like a good friend." Stefan noted as they leant against the bridge railing to watch the edges of the party below.
"Best friend in the world." Elena smiled as she raised her cup in a silent toast to Bonnie.
"…And Matt, he can't seem to, uh, take his eyes off of us." Stefan nodded towards the blonde jock staring up at them from the river bank.
"Matt's that friend since childhood that you start dating because you owe it to yourselves to see if you can be more." Elena sighed as she too noticed him standing with Bonnie and Caroline.
"And?"
"And then my parents died, and everything changes." She turned away from the small group to focus on Stefan. "Anyway, Matt and I, together we just, I don't know, it wasn't, um…It wasn't…" She struggled to find the right word.
"Passionate?"
"No…" She smiled to herself. "…No it wasn't passionate." She frowned as small veins began to become visible underneath Stefan's eyes. "Hey, um, are you okay? Um, your eye, it just, it's…"
"Oh um…" He turned away and began rubbing them. "Yeah, no, It's um…it's nothing." He kept his head down. "Um, are you thirsty? I'm gonna get us a drink." Elena frowned as he took the cup from her and yet another person left her suddenly.
"What is going on tonight?"
Izzy groaned as the incessant ringing of her phone woke her.
"Whoever this is, it better be good." She growled into the receiver as her eyes sought out the time from her bedside clock. "What do you mean there's been an accident?!" She sat upright in bed as Elena's panicked voice came through the phone. "I'll be right there!" She ended the call and stumbled out of bed as she searched for her discarded clothes before running out of the house.
"Elena?" She called out her sisters' name as she jogged through the abandoned party area in the forest. "Elena?!" She searched through the small crowd of people still loitering by the bonfire. "Oh my God! Elena!" She felt the girl crash into her as her arms wove around her back. "Are you okay? What happened? Is it Jer-"
"We're fine." She turned to see Jeremy standing behind her. She reached out and pulled him into her embrace too as she realised they were fine.
"What happened?" She asked as she released them and they found an empty log to sit on.
"It's Vikki." Elena told her as Jeremy stayed silent. "We found her in the woods, she's been attacked by an animal!" Izzy felt her back stiffen at the words. "She was losing so much blood and…" She gestured to the ambulance that Vikki was being loaded into.
"Is Matt here?"
"Yeah, he's going with her." Izzy watched as Matt climbed into the back of the ambulance as Elena spoke.
"What about Bonnie and Caroline? Where are they?"
"Right here." Bonnie announced their arrival as she struggled to support a very clearly drunk Caroline. "Will you take us home?" Izzy felt her heart break as she saw the fright in Bonnie's eyes.
"Of course." She stood. "Come here…" She pulled the four teens to her in a tight hug. "…I've got you all."
"Never criticise late night coffee shops, guys." Izzy told the car full of kids as she re-entered the black SUV. "They are a one way ticket to sober-ville." She joked as she handed the tray of coffees backwards. "Now, keep her drinking because I am not delivering a drunk 16 year old to the Sheriff." She pointed at Caroline. "And make sure she knows that if she throws up, she cleans it."
"Thanks, Izzy." Caroline mumbled as she warmed her hands on one of the cups. "You're the best."
"Yup, and don't you forget it." She mumbled as she slowly pulled away from the coffee shop and began the slow drive to their respective homes.
"So, did that new guy show up?" She asked trying to change the subject as Elena and Bonnie pretty much force fed Caroline coffee.
"Yeah, but apparently he only has eyes for Elena." Izzy smiled as Caroline pouted.
"He does not." Elena blushed as she blew on the hot coffee.
"You two did spend pretty much the whole party together." Bonnie pointed out as Izzy wolf-whistled from the front seat, ignoring Jeremy's eye rolls.
"What did you say his name was?" Izzy asked as Caroline's eyes became clearer.
"Stefan." Elena sighed wistfully. "Stefan Salvatore."
Dear Diary, today I heard a name that has evaded me for 15 years: Salvatore. Why is it, we are always drawn back to this place? Why can't we escape the lure of Mystic Falls?
Keeping my secret from Elena and Jeremy is only going to get harder now we're all back especially after tonight's 'animal attack', which is no doubt connected to their sudden reappearance, because the last 145 years have taught me one thing: if one Salvatore brother is here, then it won't be long before the other arrives.
It's been 15 years since the infamous reunion of the Salvatore brothers and Isabella Maxwell. 15 years away from those I considered brothers. 15 years since it all ended but this, tonight…is just the beginning and I know it's only a matter of time until Damon and I cross paths again.
This time, there'll be no destruction, no hasty fleeing from our home, this time; I will protect those most important to me, and I won't let Damon break my family apart and destroy the life I've built here, not again because wherever he goes, people die but not here, I won't allow it.
Isabella closed her diary and clutched the locket dangling from her neck. The lapis lazuli glinted in the moonlight streaming through her windows as she slid a piece of paper from the back pages of her diary, flipping it, she gently traced the outline of the faded ink before moving her gaze to the image of three people all posing awkwardly for the image while trying to hide their grins:
Damon, Stefan and Isabella - 1860