Flashback: May 23, 2009

In the small and cozy town of Mystic Falls, there was a party happening about a ten minute drive from the town square. The town was very close-knitted, that every teenager that went to the local high school was attending the party. But for two twin sisters, the party was coming to an end. Emily and Elena Gilbert were sitting in the backseat of their family's green SUV with their parents in the front. Their fun had ended because Elena, the younger twin, had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend, Matt Donovan. Emily knew from the gloomy expression on her sister's face, that Elena was not going to enjoy the party. So being the older sister, Emily decided to call their mother, Miranda Gilbert, to come pick them up.

Grayson Gilbert drove the family car down the road for a few minutes, before he decided to speak after noticing the silence from his two usual talkative daughters. "So, how was the party?" He questioned.

Emily glanced over at her sister, and saw that Elena had her head leaning against the cool window. She knew that Elena was still sad about her fight with Matt, so Emily reached next to her and gave Elena's hand a reassuring squeeze. Once Elena glanced her way, a small smile made its way onto Emily's face as she mouthed, "you are going to be okay," before she linked her pinky with Elena's. The younger sister finally gave Emily a barely noticeable smile, but Emily still saw it. Ever since they were little, when they made promises, they would link their pinkies together. Emily turned back to her father with a bright smile as she stated, "it was fun." She bumped her shoulder with Elena's as a smirk grew on her face before she commented, "but Elena and I can't wait to beat all of you guys tonight!"

Since Jenna, Miranda's sister, was in town, the family decided that they would host a family game night like they did every time Jenna came to visit. It was always Jeremy and Grayson, Miranda and Jenna, and Emily with Elena. But this time, Emily had convinced their mother to let her and Elena go to the party that was happening down at the Falls for a few hours.

At her sister's joyous attitude, Elena couldn't help but forget about her fight with Matt, and join in with Emily's excitement. "You guys have no chance against us," she joked.

Miranda chuckled at her two daughters before focusing her eyes on Emily in amusement, "you are just like your father, so competitive."

"It's the Gilbert blood, mom," Emily exclaimed with a bright smile.

Grayson grinned proudly at his oldest child while Elena and Miranda both laughed at the two competitive Gilberts. But once the laughter stopped and Miranda turned back in her seat, everything changed. She yelled as she looked at the dark road in terror, "Grayson!"

Grayson quickly focused back onto the road, but his eyes widened as he felt the SUV slide across the bridge. He tried with all his might to get control of the vehicle before it crashed, but he wasn't counting for the railing on Wickery Bridge to completely break underneath the green SUV.

Emily glanced between the two front seats and looked through the window, but all she could see was the dark blue water rushing towards the car at incredible speed. As soon as the car hit the water, Emily's head bounced off the back of her mother's seat. She felt the pain in her nose, but she ignored it. Instead, Emily quickly glanced over to her sister, and saw that Elena was knocked out from the impact. But Emily's eyes suddenly widened as she felt the freezing cold water reach the inside of her boots. She looked up at her father with tears in her green eyes as she cried out, "dad-"

Emily gasped as she quickly jolted up from her soft pillows before she looked around her surroundings carefully. When Emily saw that she was in her bedroom, wrapped in her snug covers, and not at Wickery Bridge, closed in by water, she took a deep breath of relief. Ever since the accident, Emily's unconscious mind would always replay the night that took away her parents.

Emily lazily got out of her comfortable bed and made her way towards her large closet, where she grabbed a pair of black jeans along with a matching black shirt. Emily knew it was going to be a long day, since the Gilbert siblings would be back in school for the first time since the accident. Everyone was dealing with the lost differently. Emily's younger brother, Jeremy, had turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. Emily's twin sister, Elena, was more quiet and reserved. Then there was Emily, who was almost identical to her sister, but she was also more protective over her family.

Emily grabbed her light pink leather jacket that was hanging on the back of her closet door, before she made her way to the mirror that was attached to her white vanity table. She began to put on her jewelry, which consisted of a pearl ring and matching earrings with a gold moon necklace. Once Emily made sure that her outfit was perfect, she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She knew that today was going to be filled with people asking if she was okay. Emily wasn't going to tell the whole truth, because in reality, she wasn't okay. But she didn't want to seem weak and Emily had to stay strong for her siblings, so she would say that she was fine. Emily looked back into the mirror where she fixed a believable smile on her face, before she got up and made her way towards the door. She quickly slipped on her black boots and grabbed her matching purse, before she headed out for the long day.

As Emily was making her way down the stairs, she could hear a commotion coming from the kitchen. It peaked her interest, so Emily made her way towards the disturbance of the usual quiet house. Once she walked into the room, she saw her aunt Jenna mumbling to herself while she looked through the refrigerator.

Jenna glanced behind her when she heard footsteps and stated, "toast," she closed the refrigerator door and turned towards her oldest niece, "I can make toast."

Emily chuckled lowly at her aunt before she quickly made a beeline towards the source of her happiness, the coffee machine. Emily reached above her and pulled out a coffee cup from the wooden cabinet. She slowly poured the fresh, hot coffee before adding a small teaspoon of milk and sugar. Once she was happy with her mocha colored concoction, Emily turned around to look at her frantic aunt with a smirk as she stated, "it's all about the coffee," before taking a large sip of the heavenly mixture.

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy questioned once he walked into the kitchen with bright eyes as he heard the magical word leave his sister's mouth.

Emily didn't even get the chance to answer her brother, before Jeremy stole her coffee right from her hands. Emily rolled her eyes as she huffed in annoyance, "seriously, Jer?" But Jeremy only gave Emily a mischievous smile before happily walking away with now, his coffee.

It was way too early to argue with her brother, so Emily made her way back to the coffee machine and grabbed another coffee cup from the cabinet. But Emily paused as she thought for a moment, before grabbing one more cup. She didn't want to take the chance of getting her coffee stolen by another sibling. Emily picked up the coffee pot and poured the hot liquid into both cups before mixing them just right. Ironically, she and Elena were identical when it came to how they liked their coffee.

Once Emily finished making the two cups of coffee, she turned around just in time to see Elena sleepily making her way to the kitchen. Emily chuckled when she saw Elena lay her head against the counter. Deciding to put her sister out of her misery, Emily walked over and slid Elena her coffee.

Elena quickly lifted her head after hearing the sound of porcelain sliding against the countertop and the smell of fresh coffee. She wrapped her fingers around the warm cup as she looked up at her sister in happiness. "You are a lifesaver," Elena mumbled before taking a large gulp of the satisfying coffee.

Emily leaned against the counter as she smirked over at Elena, "I know I am."

"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared," Jenna mumbled as she quickly grabbed her black wallet out of her purse. She walked over towards the three teenagers and questioned as she held out three amounts of cash, "lunch money?"

"I'm good," Emily and Elena spoke in unison. The two sisters glanced at each other before giggling. Ever since they could talk, the two brunette's would always say the same thing at the same time. Emily always thought it was a twin thing. When Emily looked back over to her aunt, she saw Jeremy grab all of the money. She sighed, knowing Jeremy would only use the money to feed his habits. But Emily knew she couldn't say anything, it was Jeremy's choice what he wanted to do with his life.

"Anything else?" Jenna asked while she packed up her purse, "a number two pencil?" But she suddenly paused and twisted her face in thought, "what am I missing?"

Emily stared at her aunt for a moment before her eyes widened as she recalled what Jenna had told her last night. "Oh!" Emily yelped, "you have a big presentation today!"

Jenna looked at her oldest niece in surprise before she mumbled to herself, "I can't believe I forgot." She began to pack up her purse faster as she spoke, "I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at..." before she glanced down at her watch, "now. Crap!" Jenna quickly took her strawberry blonde hair out of her ponytail and tried to make it presentable.

Emily walked over to her aunt, who was rapidly trying to grab everything she needed at once. She touched Jenna's arm softly, so she could get her aunt's attention. As soon as Jenna focused her wild eyes on Emily, the brunette spoke gently, "if you need to go now, then go ahead. I can handle it from here, I promise."

Jenna looked into Emily's green eyes for a moment before questioning, "are you sure?"

Emily nodded her head before she waved her hand carelessly, letting Jenna know not to worry. "We'll be fine, you should go," she told her aunt with a small smile.

Jenna sighed gratefully at her oldest niece before she grabbed her purse and jogged her way out of the kitchen. She threw a quick, "thank you," over her shoulder before she slammed the front door behind her.

Emily shook her head as she watched her aunt run out of the house before she turned back to her siblings. But when she did, Emily saw Jeremy stomping away with annoyance in his brown eyes. Emily walked over to Elena, who had a look of despair on her face. "What happened?" She questioned in confusion.

Elena sighed while she rubbed her temples tiredly. "He hates me," she mumbled.

Emily looked at her sister with a soft smile as she stated, "he could never hate you. He's just dealing with it differently." She squeezed Elena's arm tenderly as she added, "just give him some time."

Once Elena nodded her head with a sigh, Emily rubbed her sister's arm gently before she grabbed their purses from the table, and handed Elena hers. "Come on. Bonnie..." Emily began but before she could finish her sentence, there was a honk from outside. She smirked as she continued, "will be here soon."

Elena rolled her eyes before she followed after Emily, who was walking quickly towards Bonnie's blue Toyota. Emily smirked at her sister when she jumped into the passenger seat first. "Seriously?" Elena questioned with amusement shining through her brown eyes. But Emily just shrugged her shoulders carelessly, while Bonnie couldn't help but laugh at the two Gilbert sisters.

The car was filled with silence as Bonnie drove through the small town, before she decided to break it. "So Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie began, "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!" She pondered for a moment, "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."

Emily chuckled and smiled teasingly at her friend, "hey, you never know, you could really be a witch!"

As Emily took a glance out the window, of course they would be passing the familiar cemetery. She sighed soundlessly, it was the cemetery where her parents were laid to rest. Every time Emily thought about her parents, her mind would always jump back to the accident. She could remember every last detail of that day, even up to the moment when someone pulled her from the car and out of the water.

"Elena! Emily! Back in the car!" Bonnie yelled.

Emily jumped in fright, not realizing that she had spaced out. "I'm sorry, Bon Bon," she apologized with a small smile.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Elena questioned before shaking her head lightly as she apologized, "I'm sorry, Bonnie." She looked at her friend with furrowed brows as she trailed off, "you were telling us that..."

"That she's psychic now!" Emily jumped in, remembering what Bonnie had told her before she completely spaced out.

"Right," Elena trailed off humorously, not knowing if Bonnie and her sister were serious. She decided to play along as she spoke with a small smile, "okay, then predict something." Elena glanced over at Emily before she added, "about us."

Bonnie took a deep breath before she looked up at Elena through the rearview mirror with a radiant smile, "I see..."

But before Bonnie could finish her sentence, a bird suddenly bounced off the front window, causing Bonnie to lose control of the car. What felt like hours, were actually seconds before she got control and quickly pulled the car to a complete stop.

Bonnie gasped in shock, "what was that!?" She moved her eyes between the two sisters in worry, "oh, my God! Elena, Emily, are you guys okay?"

Emily opened her eyes, that she didn't even know she closed, and looked at her friend with a faint smile. "I'm fine," she told Bonnie in a small whisper. Once she realized that they were safe, Emily quickly looked into the backseat as she stared at Elena in worry before she questioned, "you okay?"

Elena looked at her sister with wide eyes before she quickly nodded her head and took a deep breath. She turned her attention to the worried Bonnie and gave her friend a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I'm fine," Elena muttered.

"It was like a bird or something," Bonnie quickly tried to explain, "it came out of nowhere."

Elena shook her head lightly, "really, w-we can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives."

Emily nodded her head in agreement as she looked over at Bonnie with an encouraging smile. "We'll be okay," she promised.

Bonnie glanced between the two sisters before she took a deep breath. "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you guys are going to be beyond happy," she exclaimed. The two sisters smiled at each other before they smiled over at Bonnie. Because in that moment, they believed Bonnie was right, psychic or not.

The three girls made their way through the busy hallways of Mystic Falls High School before Bonnie pointed out, "major lack of male real estate." She looked across the hallway before continuing, "look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot -" Bonnie paused in thought before she asked, "can I still say tranny mess?"

As they came to a stop in front of Bonnie's locker, Emily leaned against the pale wall next to her sister. "No, that is definitely over," she smirked.

While Elena playfully rolled her eyes at her sister, Bonnie nodded her head in complete seriousness as she stated, "ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."

Emily suddenly glanced behind her once she noticed Bonnie's attention was on something over her shoulder. When she looked, she spotted Elena's ex boyfriend and her friend, Matt Donovan, staring right at them. Emily bumped her shoulder into Elena's and pointed with her head towards the blonde. But when Elena turned around and gave her ex boyfriend a small wave, all Matt did was stare hard before stomping away.

Elena sighed sadly as she laid her head on the cool grey locker and mumbled, "he hates me."

Bonnie shook her head and explained, "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."

Before Emily could console her twin sister, she saw a familiar blonde heading straight towards them like a woman on a mission. "Incoming," Emily warned while she gave the fast girl a friendly smile.

"Elena, Emily. Oh, my God," Caroline yelped before she pulled each sister into a tight hug. As she pulled away and glanced between the pair of brown and green eyes, she questioned softly, "how are you guys?" But before either girl could get a word out, Caroline spoke quickly, "oh, it's so good to see you guys." She turned to Bonnie as she questioned in worry, "how are they? Are they good?"

Emily chuckled lowly at Caroline. She knew the blonde cared a lot about her and Elena, but sometimes she could go overboard with how she expressed her love. "Care, we're okay," Emily promised.

Caroline turned towards Emily and questioned with uncertainty in her voice, "really?"

"Definitely," Emily told the blonde. "Plus, we hung out almost everyday this summer, I think you would have figured out if we weren't," she explained with a gentle smile. Emily linked her arm with Elena's and said, "we're fine, I promise."

Caroline moved her eyes between the two sisters before she quickly pulled both of them into one large, tight hug. "Oh, you poor things," she mumbled.

"Okay, Caroline," Elena wheezed out as her lungs were being closed in by her friend and sister.

"Oh," Caroline sighed before she pulled away and glanced at all three girls with a bright smile, "okay, see you guys later?"

But before any of the girls could respond, Caroline was already strutting down the hallway. "No comment," Elena uttered as she saw the amused look on Bonnie's face.

Bonnie held up her hands in innocence as the three girls continued to walk through the hallways. "I wasn't going to say anything," Bonnie chuckled.

Emily shook her head at the two girls as she defended her best friend, "come on guys, you know Caroline means well."

But out of nowhere, Bonnie suddenly came to a complete stop and called out, "hold up." She held both of her arms out, causing the two sisters to also come to a stop. "Who's this?" Bonnie wondered.

"All I see is back," Elena observed as she looked into the small office.

Emily rolled her eyes at her sister before a smirk grew on her face as she corrected Elena, "no, that's a hot back."

Bonnie nodded her head in agreement with the older Gilbert. "I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar," she stated as she focused on the back of the stranger.

Elena looked over at Bonnie and chuckled, "you're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

Bonnie shrugged, "pretty much."

Emily glanced around the hallway when she heard someone say her brother's name. She sighed once she realized it was one of Jeremy's stoner friends. Emily glanced over at Elena, hoping she didn't hear it, but of course she did. She watched her sister stomp her way towards the men's restroom as she followed Jeremy. Once Emily turned back to her friend, she touched Bonnie's arm lightly as she told the dark haired girl with a tiny smile, "we'll be right back."

Emily quickly jogged towards the men's restroom as she glanced around the hallway, hoping that no one would see her walk in. Once she made her way inside the restroom, Emily leaned against the white wall silently as she heard Elena interrogating their brother. Emily decided that she would let Elena get all of her frustration out, but she would step in before Jeremy reached his breaking point. She didn't want to have Jeremy hating Elena for pushing him too far.

"Where is it?" Elena questioned as she began to check Jeremy's pockets, "is it on you?" Emily sighed soundlessly, this was definitely a bad start.

Jeremy roughly pushed Elena's hands off of him. "Stop, all right!?" He growled, "you need to chill yourself, all right?"

"Chill myself?" Elena questioned sarcastically, "what is that, stoner talk? Dude, you're so cool."

Elena once again tried to look through Jeremy's pockets, but he quickly pushed her hands away. "Look, stop!" Jeremy yelled out in anger, "I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

Elena chuckled humorlessly with wide eyes, "you haven't seen crazy, Jeremy!"

Emily noticed that her sister was about to go on a rampage, so she quickly moved off the wall and stood in front of Elena. "Okay, that's enough," Emily commanded sternly.

"But -" Elena began.

Emily knew that it wouldn't be good for either of them if Elena kept on yelling at Jeremy, so she looked straight into her sister's brown eyes as she stated, "I'll talk to him. You should go, Bonnie's waiting for you."

Elena nodded her head as her shoulders slumped in sadness before she sluggishly made her way out of the men's restroom. As soon as she was gone, Emily turned towards her brother with a tired sigh and ordered, "don't talk to Elena like that."

Jeremy rolled his eyes as he huffed, "of course you would take her side."

Emily walked closer towards her brother as she began to explain, "I'm not taking anyone's side. We just want you to get better, Jer. We all care about you and don't want to see you destroy yourself." Emily sighed heavily before she pleaded, "look. Just take it easy on Elena, she's just trying to help." Emily gave Jeremy a small smile as she squeezed his shoulder before she continued, "I'm not saying to stop what you're doing, even if it's bad. Just make sure that this is what you want to do. I will always be right there with you, I will always support you."

Jeremy's brown eyes softened as he stared at Emily, before he nodded his head with a deep sigh. "Fine," he mumbled.

Emily smiled brightly before she carelessly messed up her brother's brown hair. "Now get to class and learn something," she commanded with a smirk.

Jeremy rolled his eyes playfully at his sister before he moved in front of the mirror that was attached to a sink and fixed his hair the way he liked it. Once he was happy with his hair, he made his way out of the men's restroom as he decided to listen to his sister and made his way to class.

Emily watched her brother walk out of the restroom, before she leaned against the cold porcelain of the sink with a heavy sigh. She knew that it was going to be a long day, and this was only the beginning. Emily decided not to dwell on it too much, instead she looked into the mirror and placed on another believable smile before she made her way out of the men's restroom. But, of course, Emily didn't get very far. Because the next thing she knew, she slammed right against a brick wall. But when she glanced up, she saw that it wasn't a wall, but a guy she had never seen before with the most gorgeous forest green eyes she had ever laid her eyes on.

As Emily looked up at the stranger, she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes brightened at the sight of her. But when Emily blinked for a second, the only thing she could see on his face was confusion. "Um... is this the men's room?" He questioned.

Emily glanced back at the restroom sign with a quiet groan. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen when she followed Elena into the men's restroom. She looked back up at the green eyed stranger with an embarrassed chuckle, "uh, yes it is, but uh, I..." Emily shook her head with rosy cheeks, "I'm sorry. It's family problems, you know?" Emily smiled awkwardly as she slowly began to walk backwards before she called out quietly, "I'll see you around." Emily quickly turned around when she heard the stranger chuckle lowly. Nice way to make a first impression, Emily thought sarcastically.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861," Mr. Tanner began, "it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union."

Emily sighed quietly as Mr. Tanner continued to go on and on about the history she had already knew about her hometown since she was younger. So Emily started drawing small flowers along her notebook, when she suddenly heard a familiar vibrating phone. Emily glanced at the seat in front of her, where she saw her twin sister quietly pull her cell phone out. She leaned over Elena's shoulder and saw a text message from Bonnie.

HAWT-E. STARING U.

Emily's brows furrowed at Bonnie's text message. She had known everyone in the classroom for years, so who would be looking at Elena that she didn't already know? Emily slowly looked around the room, until she saw who was looking at her sister. It was the guy that she had bumped into outside the men's restroom. Emily couldn't help but chuckle quietly, of course she and Elena would have the same taste in guys, being twin sisters after all.

Once the final bell rang, Emily and Elena left Mystic Falls High School behind them as they made their way towards the cemetery, where their parents were only buried four months ago. Emily knew it was strange and demented to visit their deceased parents almost everyday, but it was Elena's way of coping, and Emily would do whatever she could to help her sister heal.

It didn't take very long for the two sisters to make it to the familiar spot, it was more muscle memory than anything else. Emily kissed the tip of her fingers before placing them on the middle of her parents' gravestone with a sad smile. It was just something she would do every time she came here. Emily believed every time she did, she grew more stronger to be able to move forward from the tragedy. After a few seconds of staring at her parents' names on the gravestone, Emily slid down against an angel statue that was right across from the Gilbert plot. Once Emily was settled, Elena followed suit as she laid her head in her sister's lap while she wrote in her diary.

As the two sisters sat together, Emily aimlessly began to play with Elena's long brown hair. It was a common thing she would do if she or Elena were upset. It had a calming and soothing effect for the both of them. Elena suddenly placed her diary on the ground and looked up at her sister in wonder. "Are we going to be okay?" She whispered.

Emily looked down at her sister with soft eyes as she answered, "of course we are. Life can't always be so bad." She reached down and squeezed Elena's hand as a small smile made its way onto her face before she continued, "a few months down the road, you aren't going to remember being this sad. It will be just a bump in the road. We all will be okay in the end." Emily linked her pinky with Elena's and vowed, "I promise."

Elena nodded her head with a soft smile dancing on her face before she looked up at the clear sky. But not even a minute later, there was suddenly a loud noise that interrupted the silence. Emily looked around the cemetery in confusion before her eyes landed on a crow sitting on top of her parents' gravestone. Emily twitched her head to the side as she watched the crow just sit there as it stared at her and Elena. "I'm really starting to hate birds now," she mumbled under her breath as she moved Elena out of the way and quietly stood up from the grass. Emily slowly made her way towards the Gilbert gravestone before she waved her arms around in a fast motion. "Shoo!" She yelled at the crow. Finally after a few moments of flapping her arms, the crow flew off the large granite stone. Emily smirked, "that's what I thought." But when she turned back around, the crow was sitting right above Elena's head on the angel statue.

As Emily glanced around the empty cemetery, she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong as she saw fog begin to form around her and Elena. She had seen enough horror movies to know if fog comes out of nowhere, especially in a cemetery, it could only mean that danger was coming. So she quickly grabbed the two purses that laid on the grass and gave Elena hers before latching her hand around Elena's wrist. Emily pulled her sister with her as she walked as fast as she could through the silent cemetery. But when she took a quick look back to their previous spot, Emily saw a shadow of a man standing right behind the angel statue that she and Elena were just sitting by. Not wanting anything to happen to her sister, Emily quickened her pace. But, of course, that caused Elena to trip clumsily and fall against a large oak tree. Emily hurriedly pulled Elena up and tried to leave the cemetery, but when the two girls turned around, there was someone standing right in front of them. As Emily stared at the stranger, she realized he was the guy that she had bumped into earlier that day.

"You okay?" The guy questioned simply as he stared at the uncoordinated girl.

Elena sighed heavily before she looked up at the guy with furrowed brows. "Were you following us?" She questioned.

"Elena!" Emily scolded her sister.

He quickly shook his head before he tried to explain, "no, I, uh, I just - I saw you fall."

"Uh-huh," Elena nodded her head, even though she didn't believe him. "And you just happened to be hanging out in a cemetery," she wondered.

"Oh, my God," Emily mumbled under her breath. "We're doing the same thing, Elena," she added as she scolded her sister once again.

"I'm visiting," the guy explained, "I have family here."

"Oh," Elena mumbled, "wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog. It's making me foggy." She glanced over towards Emily in nervousness before continuing, "and then back there, there was this - this bird, it was very Hitchcock for a second." Elena looked at the guy in thought, "that is the bird movie, right, The Hitchcock?"

Emily chuckled lowly at her sister as she decided to jump in before Elena embarrassed herself even more. "I'm Emily," she smiled at the guy in front of her before pointing towards the embarrassed girl next to her, "and this is my twin sister, Elena."

The tall brunette smiled at the older Gilbert as he introduced himself, "I'm Stefan."

"It's nice to put a name to the person I bumped into," Emily joked. She glanced back at her quiet sister and saw Elena looking at Stefan with adoration glowing in her brown eyes. Emily smirked before she turned back to Stefan with a charming smile, "I have somewhere to be, but I bet Elena here would love to keep you company." Emily moved closer to her sister as she whispered teasingly, "you're welcome."

Emily sighed deeply as she finally made it upstairs and in her bedroom. She threw her black purse on her dresser before throwing herself on her warm, soft bed. Emily closed her eyes happily, but groaned when she heard her cell phone ringing in her jacket pocket. She slowly pulled her cell phone out and glanced at the screen. Emily saw her favorite blonde's smiling face before she answered the call, "hey, Care."

"Why aren't you here at the Grill?" Caroline questioned in a motherly tone.

Emily chuckled as she rolled her eyes playfully. "Was I supposed to meet you there?" She wondered.

"We always go to the Grill after the first day of school. You, me, Bonnie, and Elena. It's tradition," Caroline exclaimed. "Please come!" She pleaded.

Emily glanced back at her warm bed, wanting nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep. But she knew Caroline was right as she remembered the importance of today, it was a tradition. Ever since the four girls were in middle school, they would go straight to the Grill after school and spend the night together until they had to leave by the force of their parents. Emily sighed silently before she spoke into her cell phone, "I'll be right there."

"Yay!" Caroline yelped. "Love you!" She quickly added before hanging up the phone.

Emily shook her head with a small chuckle as she ended the call and placed her cell phone into her jacket pocket. She grabbed her black purse from the top of her dresser before she made her way out the front door once again. Emily drove for about fifteen minutes in her small black Honda before she finally pulled in front of Mystic Grill.

As she made her way through the entrance of the Grill, Emily quickly looked around for either Caroline or Bonnie. Emily spotted Bonnie first, who was with Matt, so she headed straight towards the duo. "Hey, Matty. Hey, Bon Bon," Emily called out with a friendly smile once she was close enough.

Matt turned around in his chair at the new voice and saw the smiling green eyed girl. "Hey," Matt spoke with obvious sadness in his voice. Emily gave Matt's shoulder a short squeeze before sitting across from Bonnie. Emily knew that Matt was still heartbroken over his breakup with Elena. But Emily knew her sister, she just didn't feel that way about the blonde anymore.

"How's Elena doing?" Matt asked the two girls in a timid voice.

Bonnie glanced over at Emily before turning towards Matt with soft eyes, "her mom and dad just died. How do you think?" Bonnie sighed, "she's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months."

Emily nodded her head in agreement. "She's still trying to cope with losing our parents," she explained before shrugging lightly, "it's rough. But she's trying to deal with it as best as she can."

"Has she said anything about me?" Matt asked curiously.

Emily shook her head, "I'm so not getting in the middle of this whole thing." She sighed as she looked at the blonde with soft eyes, "look, you're my friend, but Elena's my sister. If you want to know, then you are going to have to ask her yourself."

"I feel weird calling her," Matt exclaimed, "she broke up with me."

Bonnie shook her head softly as she advised, "give it more time, Matt."

Matt nodded his head silently before he noticed Bonnie's attention was focused on the front door of the Grill. He looked in the direction the brunette was looking at, and saw Elena walk in with Stefan. "More time, huh?" Matt choked out before he stood up from the table and made his way towards the couple.

Emily watched quietly as she saw the heartbroken blonde walk towards Elena and Stefan. She sighed as she glanced over at Bonnie, who had the same expression of sympathy on her face. They both knew that Matt was still in love with Elena, while the younger Gilbert didn't convey the same passion. Emily wished she could just tell Matt the truth, that Elena didn't see him in that way anymore, but she knew that it was something her sister had to handle on her own.

Later in the night, as the restaurant began to settle down from the noise, the Gilbert sisters sat around a large oak table with their two best friends, Caroline and Bonnie, and the new resident of Mystic Falls, Stefan Salvatore. Emily knew the whole point of sitting at the table was because Caroline wanted to question the new guy. Caroline was someone that Emily knew like the back of her hand, so she knew that Caroline would stop at nothing to get what she wants, and her current target was the green eyed boy.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline questioned as she stared at Stefan with a charming smile.

"Mm-hmm," Stefan nodded, "and moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie questioned.

Stefan looked at each face around the table before he responded quietly, "my parents passed away."

Emily bit her lip as she glanced down at the table, knowing that feeling very well recently. She looked up at Stefan with sincerity in her eyes, "I'm sorry."

Stefan gave Emily a grateful smile, before he turned towards his left when Elena questioned, "any siblings?"

Stefan shook his head as he gave Elena a broad smile. "None that I talk to," he explained, "I live with my uncle."

Caroline didn't like the fact that Stefan's eyes were solely on Elena, so she turned on her charm by smiling brightly over at the tall brunette. "So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow," she stated.

"It's a back to school thing at the Falls," Bonnie explained as she saw the confused look on Stefan's face.

Stefan looked over at Elena with a small smile as he asked, "are you going?"

"Of course she is," Emily quickly told Stefan before Elena had the chance to open her mouth. Elena looked over at her sister in shock, but all Emily did was smirk at the brown eyed girl. Caroline and Bonnie couldn't help but chuckle at the oldest Gilbert, knowing she would stop at nothing to make sure Elena was at the party. Ever since the passing of their parents, Emily always tried to make sure her siblings were okay and happy. And Emily had this strong feeling that Stefan was going to be one of the reasons why a real smile would be making its way on Elena's face again.