MONSTER, stefan salvatore [2]

Stand By Me

CHAPTER 1: STAND BY ME

The Gilbert House

Once upon a time there was a small girl with wide eyes and chubby cheeks. Like most children, she didn't have many worries and she had a positive outlook and believe in the world. And she wasn't afraid of death. Instead, she dreamt of immortality, where she would never die. The dream always seemed to be a reality as she was a healthy girl who was rarely sick and felt like she was on top of the world. How could she ever die?

But when she was 6 years old and blood filled her mouth as a tooth fell out. She freaked out and even the small amount of blood terrified her as she was afraid that she had some fatal disease that would end up killing her. Her parents had spent days comforting her and she had been afraid of even touching her teeth afterwards. Sure, she later learned that it was all stupidity coming from a small child's lack of knowledge.

But that's how she learned that death was inevitable, and now, immortality seemed to be too.

Natalie Saltzman still couldn't wrap her mind around being dead, being a vampire, or rather, a vampire in transition. Her childhood wish for immortality seemed to be coming true, even if she wanted nothing more than to live her days as a human.

Sure, she could simply choose not to complete the transition, and she actually wanted to not end up as an immortal being, but she had a feeling the people she loved wouldn't let her.

Her best friend, Caroline Forbes, had once cried to her about wanting to force her estranged father to turn, and he was someone who left her, tortured her. But that night she has also been taught to give people their own choices in matters as important as these. She hoped she could trust her to be supportive.

Her other best friend, Damon Salvatore, was also a likely candidate. The two may not have been as close as they once were, but the centuries old vampire was known for his reckless and selfish impulses, and it wouldn't surprise her if he shoved someone's neck onto her mouth and forced her into a life of blood-sucking and infinite strength.

At least there were two people she could count on to let her make her own choice. Her fraternal, older twin sister, Elena Gilbert, and her whatever-he-was, Stefan Salvatore. Elena knew how hard it was to wish to not be a vampire but one day waking up as one and wanting so much not to turn. Stefan, however, would simply trust her to do what was best for her and always gave her the right to choose what she did with her own life.

Natalie looked at her reflection in the mirror above her dresser, and saw a trace of blood left on her lips from her death hours before. She had been in and out throughout their journey home until she was finally up and staring at herself, wiping blood away from the corner of her mouth.

This buzzing noise kept going through her ears and made it hard for her to concentrate on keeping herself in denial. She lifted her hand towards her eyebrow and started rubbing the area around it as if it would help her. 

She glanced down on the dresser, seeing several pictures on it. But one picture stuck out to her. It was of her and Jeremy. Jeremy who had just died, right at the same time she turned into a vampire. No, she wasn't a vampire yet, she had to remember that, if not... well, she would apart.

Natalie felt a burning feeling at the back of her eyes, and knew that she was so close to crying from seeing him smiling next to her on that picture, especially since she couldn't have brought herself to look at him downstairs. She quickly put the actual picture pointed towards the dresser so she was unable to see it.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, because she knew how emotions were heightened during the transition and she couldn't let it control her. But once she opened her eyes it didn't look like she was in her bedroom anymore.