Clarissa looks like Alexz Johnson. Her mother looks like Hollie Marie Combs. Her sister looks like Renesmee Cullen.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. I am not getting any money for this. It is purely for fun.

CHAPTER 1:

Tension

Eighteen-year-old Clarissa Darkholme parked her red Ford Focus behind her mother's dark green VW bug. Once she was safely parked, she turned off her car and turned reluctantly to look at what was to be her new home. It was one of those old, but pretty, white Victorian houses.

It was one of those houses that anyone should love just by looking at it. First impression on her, though: she hated it with every fiber of her being. She wasn't getting out of the car.

She reached over to her passenger seat and picked up the sleek little silver mp3 player that was lying there. Moving her long, straight red hair behind her shoulders, she put in her headphones. Before she could press PLAY on the device, however, there was an angry tap on her window.

She thought about ignoring it, but in the end she just sighed heavily and rolled down the window. "What?" She didn't bother to hide the irritation in her voice.

"You're coming inside, Clarissa," her mother, Elsie, said. Her own irritation matched her daughter's.

"Why?" Clarissa said back, still not looking at her. "It's not as if you asked my opinion before deciding to move here."

"Or mine," she heard her eleven-year-old little sister, Bethany, put in angrily.

Clarissa went on. "And since we're clearly moving here without discussing it, I don't really see the point of checking out the place."

"Neither do I," her sister agreed with her with an attitude.

"That is not fair," her mother said to them. "You know I moved here because of work. We need the money."

Her mother was a lawyer. When the law firm in Mystic Falls, Virginia had offered her a higher paying job than the one she'd had, she had jumped at it. Her mother had quickly found a house here, packed them all up, and moved them away from their friends with no discussion and great haste.

Of course, Clarissa knew the real reason for her mother's decision.

Clarissa looked at her mother at last. She was looking at her oldest child pleading for a chance. Bethany was absorbed in playing some game on her PSP, but Clarissa knew she was listening. She didn't care.

Clarissa looked her mother right in the eye and said, "We all know the real reason you decided to move here was because of what happened to Dad."

Her mother looked as if she'd been slapped. No, as if she'd been stabbed. Bethany's eyes filled with tears and she lowered the handheld she had. She knew she had gone too far as she struggled to push her own pain aside. But she wouldn't apologize.

There was a long silence, then she slammed her steering wheel with her hand hard, making her mother and sister jump. Ripping out her headphones and throwing her mp3 player back into the passenger seat, she unlocked the car door and got out. Without looking at them, she closed the door and headed to the house, pressing the lock button on her key chain and hearing the car beep.

She didn't look to see if they followed her.

As she passed the mailbox outside the house, a large black crow sitting on it cawed at her loudly. Startled, she shot it a glance. It seemed to be watching her curiously, but that was nonsense, of course.

When she reached the house, she waited outside. Her mother came up and unlocked the door with an old-fashioned key. She stood back and let Clarissa enter first, followed by Bethany and then herself.

Inside, the house was huge and empty, and again, beautiful. She barely gave it a glance. Her mother and sister filed past her.

Her mother glanced around and then looked at them. "See? Isn't it nice?"

They didn't answer. Bethany was back to playing her game with a vengeance. Clarissa just crossed her arms and shrugged.

"Where is the guy that was supposed to show us the place?" she asked with no real interest.

Her mother answered, anyway. "He said he'd meet us and sent us the key." She held up the key she'd used to get inside. "We could take a look around ourselves, if you want." Her mother's voice was hopeful.

"No, thanks," Bethany said distractedly.

Clarissa didn't answer at all. She looked around. She really didn't like this place. It felt… wrong, somehow. She felt like something had happened here. She was obviously losing her mind.

They had fell into an uncomfortable silence, and all three of them jumped when they heard a cat's meow.