It had only been four months since her parents had died in the car accident on Wickery Bridge. At first Elena thought that she was not ready to go back to school yet, knowing that everyone was going to be asking her questions. 'Are you okay,' and 'how are you doing?' She really was not looking forward to the pity parties that were sure to show themselves. But it was something that she knew that her parents would want for her, for her to move on with her life and stop dwelling in the past. Elena knew that it was going to be hard, but the last thing she wanted to do was to let her parents down.

She got dressed in a red halter top, jeans, a jean jacket and tennis shoes. Who knows maybe something different will happen today, something that will bring her out of this funk and be the normal preppy teen that she used to be. Looking at herself int he mirror she practiced putting on a fake smile. She was not happy with how it looked but it was going to have to do. Hopefully none of her friends would notice how fake it really looked.

Once she was dressed she grabed her backpack and headed down stairs. Jeremy had not been the same since the accident either. She knew about the drugs that he was on, but if he didn't clean up soon, he was going to end up like their parents. That was just something that she could not even think about. She fixed herself some coffee, only taking a few sips before she headed out the door to head to school.

Stefan Salvatore was the boy who had just returned to Mystic Falls after being gone for so long. He had been in the mansion for a few months getting used to his life back in Mystic Falls. He layed in his bed after a long night of tossing and turning from the nightmares he seemed to be having from his past in Mystic Falls. He woke up in a cold sweat and took in a deep breath as he grabbed the towel he kept near her bed and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He climbed out of the bed and walked to the window opened the curtains to let in the sunshine. She stood infront of the window looking out at the sun as she glanced back at the door hearing the students moving outside of the room.

He turned his attention back out the window to look up at the sun and he let a small smile spread across his features. He turned and walked into the bathroom he had connected to his room and turned on the shower. He was actually starting school at the high school today, which of course Zach protested. He stripped from his clothes and stepped into the shower as he let the warm water run down his body. He closed his eyes as she just stood there to let the water warm him up. He reopened her eyes and grabbed the cloth as he put some body wash on the cloth and began to clean himself up. After he finished cleaning up, he rinsed the cloth and let the water wash his body from the body wash. He then washed his hair and when he finished in her shower, he turned the water off and grabbed the towel and dried off.

He stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his body and walked to the sink as he took the hair dryer and blow dried his hair and fixed it to just the way he liked it. Once he finished he walked back into his room and to his closet opening the door. He grabbed a pair of black pants and tossed them onto the bed along with a blue t-shirt and his jacket. He walked to the dresser and grabbed a pair of boxers as he let the towel drop to the floor and put on the boxers on and then walked to the bed and put on the pants and t-shirt. He then grabbed his jacket and grabbed his bag. She put on her belt and walked towards the door, opening it and walked out as he walked out to his car and got in driving to the school. He had made sure to have Zach enroll him at the end of last year. He pulled up and parked as he got out looking around as he then walked inside and to the principals office to get his schedule.

Elena had gotten a ride from her friend Bonnie...who was claiming that she was a sorceress. "I found out that I am physicic," Bonnie said smiling a bit as she drove them both to the first day of school. Elena rolled her eyes a bit and could not help but smile. Bonnie seemed to be the only one who stuck around after the accident, though she didn't keep asking Elena if she was alright, which in this case was a god send. Plus she was always a good friend, no matter what.

"Okay if you claim to be a fortune teller, then tell me what will happen tod..." Something large and black flew out at the windshield of the car, scaring the both of them and causing Bonnie to skid to a stop on the side of the road. Instantly she started to apologize to Elena. Elena just raised up her hands to hush her. "It's okay, I can't be scared to be in a car the rest of my life," she said putting on that fake smile that she was practicing this morning in the mirror.

It was just a relief to reach the school in one piece. Elena went to her new assigned locker with Bonnie in tow. Great, another combination to remember. Luckily for her she had it written down in her planner so that she would not forget it. Once she was able to open her locker she placed all of her books in the locker, only grabbing the things that she needed before they walked towards the first class. At least that was until they were walking by the office and Bonnie pulled on her arm to stop her.

Elena turned to look at her friend only to see that she was staring at some guy that was standing at the counter. More than likely a new student. "He is so hot," Bonnie whispered to her. Elena laughed lightly. "Bonnie the only thing you can see is his back," she said just loud enough for her to hear. She also couldn't help herself from checking him out. "Yeah but its a hot back!"

Stefan walked into the main office after he finished speaking to the principal. He stood next to the counter as he filled out some paperwork. He caught the scent of Elena but as he turned to see her, he saw Katherine, or the woman who looked like her. He turned quickly and went back to the paperwork. He took in a breath and finished up what he needed to as he looked at the lady who worked there "Thank you" He took the paper with his locker number and his schedule. He turned and walked towards the door and looked at the two that were standing there "Afternoon ladies" He smiled as he walked past them and towards his locker.

He opened his locker and put his bag inside grabbing his books as he glanced back towards the two he spoke to before walking away as he turned back to his locker knowing full well that it wasn't Katherine but a doppleganger, someone who looked exactly like her but wasn't like her. He grabbed the books he needed for his first class and turned walking towards his history class. He walked into the classroom and took a seat as he waited for the class to begin. His fingers played with the ring he wore with the Salvatore crest on it and the same ring that allowed him to be in the sunlight.

The two were practically swooning over him when he walked by and spoke to them. It was almost like the two of them had never laid eyes on a guy before. The two of them were practically swooning over the guy. Elena and Bonnie looked at each other for a moment and giggled, knowing that they both were having the same thoughts.

Elena and Bonnie walked to their first history class. Not exactly happy to see who their teacher was. The guy was a complete ass to all of his students. The guy was also arrogant beyong beliefe thinking that he knew everything. No one ever really liked him much.

Elena and Bonnie sat down in their seats. Elena of course the seats were assigned, little did she know that she had gotten a seat two away from Stefan. Elena may look like Katherine but she was the total oppsite. Katherine only did things to protect herself, while Elena was doing everything in her power to make sure that others were safer and happier than she was. No matter what it took, she was willing to do what she could to keep it that way.

Elena sat down at the desk, and leaned over long enough to dig into her back pack, pulling out a text book, a binder, and pencil. Her long brown hair falling over her shoulder. When she looked up she saw Stefan sitting at his desk, and only offered a small smile.

Stefan glanced out the window and then to the door as he saw Elena and Bonnie walk in. He smiled and then glanced up at the teacher as he had his notebook, text book, and a pen ready to take notes or write down what he needed. He knew Elena wasn't Katherine because no one knew where Katherine was nor did he really care to know where she was. He took in a breath and glanced out the window and then back up as he looked at the teacher and glanced down at the book.

Stefan knew more about the town history then pretty much anyone in Mystic Falls and well he tended to let it show when he would answer questions and prove people wrong, though this time he was going to try and act like he didn't know anything more then anyone else but when the teacher started to give false history Stefan had to say something "Well actually the founders of Mystic Falls weren't the first people to settle here, it was a few witches from Salem who settled on the lands of Mystic Falls" He spoke as the teacher just shot him a look and went on to teach.

Stefan just said nothing more as he was just glad when the bell rang. He stood up gathering his things and putting them into his bag and walking towards the door when the teacher stopped him and had a few words with him "Fine" Was all Stefan said as he walked out of the classroom and down to his locker. He opened his locker and opened his bag as he put his books inside and then grabbed the books

Most of the kids snickered and laughed at the teacher being embarrassed as a student called him out on his bull shit. The teacher definately was not very happy about that at all. In a way it was the most amazing thing that anyone saw in school. A student knowing more than a teacher was definately rare.

Once the class was over Elena gathered her things and shoved them into her back pack. Throwing her bag over her shoulder she hurried out of the class room door. She had to admit that the guy was quick to get away. But of course talk about the new guy in school spread fast.

Elena appeared next to him, leaning against the nearest locker. "It's not very often that a student will show up a teacher." Then she held her hand out to him. "I'm Elena."

Stefan head the talk about him and to him it was nothing that he hadn't heard before. He sighed as he was just about to walk when he heard a voice. He looked to see that it was her, the one who resembled Katherine but was deffinately not her "Stefan Salvatore" He shook her hand and chuckled "I'm not like other students, I know my Mystic Falls history" He told her as he smiled a charming smile "My father made sure I knew the true history of Mystic Falls" He only knew the true history because he was there and his family was a founding faimly of Mystic Falls.

He looked around and back to her "I take that it's not everyday you get a new students very often" He leaned against his locker as he looked at her. He wanted to know more about her but with the bell going to ring soon, he would have to wait to get to know her. He pushed himself off his locker as he smiled and then looked to Bonnie who appeared next to her "Hey, I'm Stefan Salvatore" He spoke to her as he looked from one to the other.

Bonnie looked to Stefan and smiled a bit. "Bonnie Bennett," she replied back then she turned around and headed down the hall to leave the other two alone to talk. "I wouldn't really say that its uncommon. But mostly none of the other students dare to stand up to a teacher when it comes to a subject being taught. Especially when the student is possibly right for once and the teacher could be wrong." She gave him another small smile.

She wanted to know more about him. He had a beautiful smile, and pretty eyes that seemed to just draw her in more. Yet he was a stranger to her and mysterious, and yet it just made her want find out more about him. "I guess you could say I am the welcome wagon, normally Bonnie is with me but I guess she decided to ditch," she laughed slightly. "So s\you seem to know a lot about Mystic Falls, so I take it that you decided to move back? I have never seen you here before."

Stefan looked at Bonnie and smiled as she walked away. He turned to look back at Elena as he smiled at her "It's ok, I usually get people to introduce themselves and then leave" He joked as he stood next to her and glanced around at the bustling students and back to her "I only pointed out that he was wrong on what he was saying about Mystic Falls"

He wanted to know more about her but he also couldn't come out and tell her that he was a vampire. He took in a breath as he heard her question and nodded "Yeah, just moving back, my family moved away when my brother and I were little and I just moved back to help out my Uncle with the Boarding House" He told her as he stood there "My family is one of the founding families of Mystic Falls, that's why I know so much about our fair city"

Elena had heard of the boarding house but she didn't know anyone that actually lived there. Must have been a long time ago that it was a boarding house. She frowned a bit when he told her that the reason why he knew so much about Mystic Falls was because he was one of the founding families. She was as well one of the founding families, or at least that is what she thought. "Maybe I need to brush up on my history. Gilbert's were also one of the founding families. Part of the councel actually."

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the bell ring. It was a shame because she was still curious about him and wanted to know more. "Well it was nice meeting you Stefan. I hope that we get to see more of each other." Elena smiled at him. "Sorry for making you late for class on the first day." Then she turned around to start walking away, only taking one small glance over her shoulder before heading to her biology class.

This class seemed like it was just dragging on. Here she got a chance to meet a nice guy and it was ruined by the tardy bell, and the classes in between. She was heading back to her locker when she saw her little brother, his eyes were red, and looked as if he was high. Elena hated the fact that her brother was destroying himself. Losing their parents was hard, but their parents would want them to move on, not to sulk and dwell in the past.

Elena followed her brother into the mens restroom, grilling him about the drugs he was on. "Sooner or later Jeremy people are going to stop giving you breaks. Maybe I should just give up on you because all the heart to heart chats that we have been having do not seem to be working." Jeremy brushed her off and headed out the door.

Stefan looked at her "I know all about the founding families" He smiled as he watched her carefully and then took a look around as he turned his attention back to her "Hey, the only reason I know as much as I do is because my father made me learn the history" He took in a breath as he heard the bell ring and looked back at her "It's ok, I'll tell the teacher that I got lost" HE smiled as he watched her start to leave "I'm sure we'll see more of each other" He turned and walked to his math class and took a seat.

He really hated sitting through a class he already knew the answers too, simply because he had been attending school so often. He glanced out the window and as the class finally ended, he stood up walking out of the class and back to his locker. He opened his locker and grabbed the books for his last class as he saw Jeremy and watched him carefully, knowing who he was and he took in a breath as he sighed turning away and started to go to his final class which just happened to be an english class. He walked in and took a seat near the window as he watched other students walking in the class.

Elena hated the fact that her brother wouldn't even consider listening to her. But she was worried about him to the point where she did not even know that she had gone after him in the men's restroom. At least she didn't realize it until one of the other students came out of the stall. Embarrassed she ran out of the men's room.

When she came walking into English class it was clear to see that Elena was not happy with the way things were going. She barely even noticed that she and Stefan even had the same English class together. She cared about her family, and her brother needed her now more than ever, even if he didn't admit it. It was killing her, to see him destroying himself like this.

Stefan sat in the desk as he looked over to see Elena and he could tell something was wrong with her but he didn't want to make her anymore upset then she was. He glanced around and then out the window seeing a large black crow fly by causing him to curse under his breath to were no one could hear him. He knew exactly who the crow was and hated knowing that he was right. He turned his attention away from the window and tried not to think about his brother being in town.

Stefan looked at the teacher as he glanced to Elena and then turned his attention to the teacher as he started to teach the class. It seemed that the class was lasting forever and when the final bell rang, Stefan rushed out of the room with his bag and books going to his locker and putting his things inside as he walked towards the front doors and headed out the doors. He walked towards his car as he took in a breath and opened the door tossing his bag into the back as he took in a breath.

( Damon should be posting his application shortly. )

Elena didn't know that Stefan was in the class room until she saw him rushing out the door. She let him go without following. The last thing she wanted was to push herself onto the new kid, give him time to adjust to school back in Mystic Falls. Though she was still curious about him, wanting to know everything about him. She had no idea why she was feeling this way. Elena only knew him for like what? Five minutes at the most.

Little did Elena know that her friend Bonnie had other plans in mind. Bonnie walked up to Stefan with a warm and welcoming smile upon her lips. "Hey, I don't know if you heard but there is a party going on tomorrow night. Kind of a back to school bash. I was just wondering if you might be interested in joining?"

(Alright, let's hope it is real soon)

Stefan was about to get into his SUV when he turned to see Bonnie "I hadn't heard, I might be there, I have to take care of something before I do anything else" He told her, he had to take of his brother because he knew Damon would eventually expose the humans of Mystic Falls to vampires and that was something Stefan couldn't allow to happen. He looked at Bonnie as he smiled "I have to go take care of something but I'll probably see you tomorrow night"

He got into the black SUV as he smiled and took in a breath starting the car as he back out and drove out of the parking lot as he headed to the boarding house. He pulled up outside as he parked and got out walking inside the house "Damon!" He shouted as he had a few choice words with his brother about not exposing them to the humans.