A/N: So this is my first fanfiction ever, and I know the first few chapters are a bit of a dry read (basically an episode summary with an added in OC), but if you stick with it through that I promise you it gets better. That's not me being vain or whatever, that's just what I've heard from my lovely reviewers. I say all this because I know it's easy to judge an entire story within the first few paragraphs of the first chapter, or even the first chapter entirely. It's easy to say that if that one chapter was so boring or poorly written, then how could it possibly get better? But it does. So if you can put yourself through the mind-numbing pain of pushing through these first few chapters, things will pick up. I promise. ENJOY!

Chapter 1: New Arrivals

Outside Mystic Falls, a young couple on their way home, notice fog thickening around them. Suddenly, they hit something in the road that immediately startles them. When they look back, they see a person on the ground. The man gets out of the car to check on the person they hit, leaving his girlfriend to call for help. As soon as the man makes it to the body, he is attacked by the man in the road. Failing to get a signal on her phone, the girl gets out of the car and calls out for her boyfriend. Suddenly, his body drops onto the hood of the car, and his throat looks as though he was bitten by an animal. She screams and runs away in panic, but doesn't make it far. An unseen force grabs her and flies her into the sky.

On the roof of the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan writes in his journal, while watching the sunrise, "For over a century I have lived in secret; hiding in the shadows, alone in the world. Until now. I am a vampire. This is my story. I shouldn't have come home. I know the risk. But I had no choice. I have to know her."

At the Gilbert house, Elena sits in her room and writing in her diary, "Dear Diary, today will be different. It has to be. I will smile and it will be believable. That smile will say 'I'm fine, thank you.' 'Yes, I feel much better.' I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through."

After making her entry, she got dressed for school and headed downstairs. In the kitchen, Aunt Jenna offers to make breakfast before leaving for a meeting at her college, but the Gilbert children only want coffee. Elena tries talking to Jeremy, but he's not receptive. Elena's twin sister, Phoebe, then comes rushing down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

The twins were identical, but there were slight differences in their appearances. For example, they each had a different sense of style. Elena dressed like a normal teenage girl who kept up with the latest fashion. She fixed her hair; wore make up, jewelry, cute clothes. Phoebe wore whatever was comfortable, and if it happened to be cute, then that was just a bonus. She hardly ever wore make up, because it was hardly visible behind her thick, Buddy Holly glasses; and when she did, it was mostly very subtle. Though sometimes she would get bored, and put on more than normal. As for her hair, Phoebe would mostly leave it in the same ponytail she'd gone to sleep with the night before; only then it'd be drooping, and some of the hair would be falling out. Phoebe was also a genius, and was likely the smartest person in the entire town; whereas Elena was of average intelligence. However, being such a small town, Phoebe was stuck in normal classes, instead of A.P.

Elena assumes her sister's rush is eagerness for coffee, like usual, and offers to pour her a cup. Phoebe declines.

"No coffee? Since when don't you want coffee?" asked Elena, surprised.

"Matt's coming to pick me up," replied Phoebe. "We're going to hang out at the Grill for a little bit before school."

Elena looked down, awkwardly, "Oh."

"Don't worry. You'll have Bonnie to keep you company," Phoebe replied.

Elena nodded.

"Elena?"

Elena looked up.

"Don't worry about Matt. He's not mad, and he doesn't hate you. He's just...hurt. But he'll be okay," explained Phoebe, comfortingly.

Elena gave a small smile.

Matt honked outside, and Phoebe flew out the front door.

During the drive to school, Bonnie tells Elena that she thinks she's psychic, and rambles on about her Grams being crazy for telling her she's descended from witches. She notices Elena's not listening, and gets her friend's attention. Bonnie predicts Elena will have a good year this year. Something Elena takes little comfort in.

Meanwhile, at the Grill, Matt and Phoebe sit down, and order. Phoebe tells the waitress to just keep the coffee coming, and Matt orders the breakfast sampler platter, that came with a little bit of everything.

"Why'd you order so much food?" Phoebe asked. "You can't be that hungry."

"No, I got it for you," Matt replied.

Phoebe lifted an eyebrow.

Matt chuckled, and explained, "You never order your own food, but no matter what I get you still eat off my plate. I figure this way there's plenty of food to go around."

Phoebe opened her mouth to comment, but the waitress returned with the coffee. Phoebe thanked her, and she left again. "So what's next? You know how I like my coffee?"

Matt took the cup from her and began fixing it the way she liked. She watched him put half a packet of sugar in it, and two creamers. He stirred it all in and slid it back over to Phoebe.

Phoebe looked down at the coffee, then Matt, "Lucky guess."

Matt gave her a look, "That wasn't a guess. I know everything about you, because I've known you since we were kids. Just like you know me."

"Okay, what's my favorite color?" she tested.

"Purple," he answered, confidently.

"Favorite book?"

"You don't have one. It depends on the genre."

"Favorite sci-fi?"

"Again, you don't have one. It's a tie between Star Trek and Stargate."

"Favorite-," Phoebe began.

Matt cut her off, "Phoebe, you don't have an absolute favorite for anything, except color. You're more complex than that. Everything depends on the circumstances or category, and even with all of that I still know all of your favorites; so this line of questioning is kind of pointless."

"Your right," she admitted. "So I'm thinking of a number..."

Matt took the other half of the sugar packet, and threw it at her. The two laughed about it, as she dusted the sugar off of her. The waitress brought out the food, and left. Matt slid the plates into the center of the table, so it was easier to share. Phoebe smiled, and noted, "Okay, so we're an old married couple."

"Yes, we are," Matt agreed, smiling back.

The two finished breakfast, and headed out. As they were getting into the truck, a random crow swooped down at Phoebe. It barely missed her, and then it flew away. Matt ran back to her from the other side of the truck to make sure she was okay. She assured him she was fine, and the two headed to school.

At Mystic Falls High School, Stefan walks across the campus towards the main building. At the lockers, Caroline hugs Elena and asks Bonnie if Elena is okay, despite the fact that Elena is right there. Phoebe sticks with Matt, her best and only friend. In the school yard, Jeremy gives Vicki some pills, and is teased afterward by Tyler.

Back inside, Stefan compels the school secretary to let him into school despite not having the required paperwork. Bonnie and Elena check him out from behind in the hallway, until Elena sees Jeremy enter the men's room. She follows him, and catches him putting eye drops in his eyes. She accuses him of being high, but Jeremy simply dismisses her concern and walks out. Stefan bumps into Elena as she's leaving the men's room. They are both awkward around each other for a moment before Elena leaves, eyeing him again as she goes. Later, in Mr. Tanner's class, Bonnie texts Elena to tell her that Stefan is staring at her.

After school, at Mystic Falls Cemetery, Elena sits at her parents' grave and writes in her diary, "Dear Diary, I made it through the day. I must have said 'I'm fine, thanks' at least thirty-seven times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks 'How are you?', they don't really want an answer."

As she writes, fog gathers and a crow lands on the gravestone in front of her. She tries to ignore it and shoo it away, but it's still there. Unnerved, she runs off and accidentally stumbles down a hill, only to find Stefan at the bottom. He asks if she's okay and explains he's there visiting family. Elena then introduces herself, as does Stefan. She sees his ring and comments on it, before he suddenly smells something in the air and inquires if she's hurt herself. She checks her leg, which is bloody, and the sight of it makes his face change, forcing him to turn around so she can't see it. He tells her she should go bandage it, and when she turns back, he's gone.

Later at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan writes in his journal about his encounter with Elena, "I lost control today. Everything I've kept buries inside came rushing to the surface. I'm simply not able to resist her."

At the Mystic Grill, Jeremy says hey to Vicki, but she blows him off. She brings her brother his food, and gives Tyler the eye. When she leaves, Matt looks at Tyler, "Please tell me you're not hooking up with my sister."

"I'm not hooking up with your sister," Tyler said, innocently.

Phoebe looked back and forth between the two, as she ate a fry from Matt's plate.

Matt shook his head, "You're such a dick."

Meanwhile, Caroline tells Bonnie about Stefan, for whom she has developed a crush.

Over at the Gilbert house, Elena is surprised to see Stefan at the front door when she's getting ready to leave. He returns her diary, which she dropped at the cemetery, and she invites him to the Mystic Grill with her.

Back at the Mystic Grill, Matt and Phoebe talk about Elena, while they play a game of pool.

"How's Elena doing?" asked Matt.

"She's putting on a good face, but...it's only been four months," Phoebe replied. "Basic psychology, really. Even though we have Aunt Jenna, Elena still feels the need to play the mother role for me and Jeremy."

"Funny, I thought that's why you were putting on your brave face," said Matt.

Phoebe stopped, and stood up from her shot, "I just wanna be a good sister. I wanna be there for them, when they need me. Not play the role of the guardian."

"You are a good sister, Pheebes," said Matt.

Phoebe smiled at her friend, "Thanks."

Just then, Elena and Stefan arrive together. Caroline, Matt, Phoebe, Tyler and Bonnie stare at them. They all gather at a table and talk. Caroline mentions the back to school party at the Falls, and invites Stefan. But Stefan only cares if Elena is going. Bonnie says, "Of course she is." Phoebe takes frequent glances at Matt to make sure he's alright, and to her surprise he's just fine. It doesn't seem to bother him that Elena and Stefan are getting close.

Later at the Salvatore Boarding House, Zach bursts into Stefan's room, handing him a paper detailing the deaths of the man and his girlfriend. He believes Stefan had something to do with it. Stefan assures him he has everything under control and Zach leaves. Stefan goes to a cupboard and picks out a book with a photograph of a young woman who looks exactly like Elena and Phoebe. Except the photo bears the words "Katherine, 1864".

The next day, in History class, Tanner teaches the class about the Battle of Willow Creek.

"The battle of Willow Creek. Took place right at the end of the war, in our very own Mystic Falls," said Mr. Tanner. "How many casualties resulted in this battle?"

No one volunteered to answer.

"Miss Bennett?" asked Mr. Tanner.

"Um...a lot?" guessed Bonnie. "I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

Everyone giggled.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett," said Tanner, unamused. He turned to Matt next, "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," replied Matt. He smiled at Phoebe. She returned in kind.

Everyone laughed.

"Hmm. Miss Gilbert?" asked Tanner, looking at Elena. "Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

Elena shook her head, "I'm sorry, I-I don't know."

"I was willing to be lenient last year, for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break," said Tanner.

Elena shifted, uncomfortably, in her seat.

"There were 346 casualties, unless you're counting local civilians," said Phoebe, noticing her sister's discomfort.

"That's correct," said Tanner, giving her a look. "But was addressing Elena."

"To be fair, sir, you never specified which 'Miss Gilbert' you were addressing," Phoebe pointed out.

"You're right," he admitted. "I'll have to be more careful about that. Very good, Phoebe, except of course there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

"Actually, Mr. Tanner, there were," argued Phoebe.

"Miss Gilbert, which one of use is the teacher?" he asked.

"You are," answered Phoebe.

"And which one of us is the student?" he asked.

"I am," answered Phoebe, sheepishly.

"Don't you think that I, the teacher, would know better than you, the student?" he mused.

Phoebe nodded sheepishly, as she sank in her seat.

"Actually, she's right," said Stefan. "There were 27 civilian casualties. Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The Founders' Archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall, if you'd like to brush up on your facts."

The room chuckled, and Tanner looked annoyed.

Phoebe felt much better, and thanked the new guy with a smile and a nod. He returned in kind.

That nigth at the bonfire, Stefan arrives and is accosted by Caroline. Around the fire, Elena hands Bonnie a bottle, to be her crystal ball, asking for a prediction. When she inadvertently touches Elena, she gets a vision that freaks her out. She walks away before Elena can ask her what she saw. Elena turns around to find Stefan standing behind her. The two walk to the nearby bridge to talk alone. There, Elena talks about the car crash that killed her parents. Stefan tells her she won't be sad forever.

Not being the party type, Matt has to drag Phoebe to the bonfire. This was usually the case whenever there was a social gathering, because Phoebe was shy around people she didn't talk to regularly. Phoebe notices Matt stealing a glance at Elena with Stefan.

"She doesn't mean to hurt you, you know," commented Phoebe.

"I know," replied Matt. "And I'm not hurt. I'm glad she's moving on with her life. I just don't want her to get hurt by this guy."

"Good. You should move on, too," she said, with an encouraging smile.

He smiled back, "I plan on it. Unfortunately, everyone thinks I'm still hung up on Elena, so anyone I ask out is gonna feel like rebound."

"True," she agreed.

"So for now, I have to wait. But that's okay. The girl I've got my eye on is worth waiting for," he added, with a smitten grin.

"Oh, really? Who?" asked Phoebe, a little jealous.

"Not telling," he replied.

"Oh, come on, I'm your best friend," she whined.

"I know, but I don't wanna jinx it," he said.

Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"When I'm ready to ask her out, I'll tell you," he sighed.

"Can you at least tell me about her?" she asked.

"Definitely not," he laughed.

Phoebe looked confused.

"You're a genius, Phoebe. And this is a small town. If I tell you anything about her, you'll be able to figure out who she is," he explained. "I know you too well."

Phoebe nodded in agreement, and laughed with him.

Meanwhile, in the woods, Jeremy finds Tyler trying to force himself on Vicki, and aggressively pulls him away from her. When Tyler leaves, Jeremy tries to tell Vicki that Tyler isn't good for her. She becomes upset and walks away. Back at the bridge, Stefan asks Elena about her friends and Matt. She explains her history with Matt, and Stefan's face involuntarily changes again. Elena points it out, and he becomes flustered and leaves, claiming he's going to go get her another drink.

Back at the party, Caroline once again begins flirting with Stefan, but Stefan outright rejects her and tells her they're not going to happen. He then approaches Elena again, who sees Jeremy wandering off. She excuses herself to follow her brother, and together they discover Vicki's body in the woods. Her neck was torn open, as though she, too, had been attacked by an animal. She opens her eyes for a second, gasping for air, and then falls unconscious again. The two siblings carry her back to the party, calling for help. Stefan sees Vicki's body, and disappears. Later, once the ambulance arrives, Bonnie tells Elena about her vision, while Matt leaves in the ambulance with his sister, and Phoebe follows in Matt's truck.

At the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan arrives home and tells Zach about the attack. In his room, a crow flies in as he comes face-to-face with his older brother, Damon. Stefan asks why Damon has come back, but Damon does not answer the question; instead, Damon says that he knows Stefan has returned to Mystic Falls for Elena.

Damon begins taunting Stefan, provoking him; until Stefan shoves Damon so hard that they both fly through the window and land on the ground below. Outside, Damon continues to taunt him, stealing his ring in the process, but he eventually hands it back to him. Before Damon goes inside, he shoves Stefan forcefully against the garage and warns him not to mess with him again.

Meanwhile, at the Falls, Elena tries to talk to Jeremy, reminding him that he needs to get back on track. Everyone has already forgotten that their parents died. But he brings up the subject of her cemetery visits and points out that she's not exactly adjusting well either.

Later at the hospital, Vicki wakes up to Matt and Phoebe. Matt asks her what attacked her, and she says "vampire."

In Elena's room, she writes in her diary, "Dear Diary, I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought that I could smile and nod my way through it. Pretend that it would all be okay. But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you. They follow you. You can't escape them. As much as you want to. All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it somes, you invite it in, because you need it. I need it."

Meanwhile, Stefan, who is at the Boarding House, looks at Katherine's photograph and writes in his own journal, "I had a plan. I wanted to change who I was. Create a life with someone new, someone without the past. Without the pain, someone alive."

In the Gilbert living room, Jeremy looks at a photograph of his parents while Jenna looks at him sadly. At the Grill, Bonnie talks to a rejected Caroline who is jealous of Elena and believes that she is always chosen first instead of Caroline. Bonnie leaves to pay for the drinks, as Caroline smiles coyly at Damon.

Back at the Gilbert House, Elena spots Stefan standing outside of her house. She goes to the door, and opens it. He apologizes for diappearing on her at the Falls, and asks her if she's okay. She tells him to ask her tomorrow, and then she invites him inside.