Unexpected (Vampire Diaries Fanfic)

New Home

I stared out the window, watching the blur of trees and open fields whip past as the car sped along the highway. My music was blasting in my ears, trying to drown out the suffocating quiet in the car. The familiar angsty chords of My Chemical Romance pulsed through me, matching the turmoil in my chest. It was the only thing keeping me from completely losing it. I didn't want to listen to my parents or hear whatever they had to say about this move. Not now, maybe not ever.

What did they expect? They were uprooting my entire life, moving me to some tiny town in Virginia without even asking what I wanted. It wasn't fair. My home was on Long Island. My friends were there. Everything I knew, everything I loved, was back in New York. How could they think it was okay to take that all away from me?

I bit down hard on my lip, trying to push back the wave of anger that threatened to spill over. My best friend, Riley, and I had been BFFs since preschool. She wasn't just my friend; she was like a sister. The one person I could count on for anything. And now, I wouldn't see her again for who knows how long. The thought made my chest ache.

What was I supposed to do without her? In a brand new place, no less? It didn't seem real. We'd always talked about going to high school together, surviving freshman year, figuring out life side by side. Now, all of that was gone.

I turned the volume up even louder, trying to lose myself in the music. My Chemical Romance was perfect for when you were really pissed off. I just wanted to scream along with the lyrics, vent out all the emotions trapped inside me. I wanted to cry, but what good would that do? I'd already tried crying, but I was still in this car, still being dragged toward a future I didn't want. No amount of tears or tantrums was going to change the fact that I was leaving everything behind.

My parents had decided to move back to the town where they grew up, some tiny place called Mystic Falls, Virginia. They hadn't lived there in years, but for whatever reason, they wanted to return. Great for them, I guess. Not so great for me. Now, I had to face a whole new school, a whole new town, and a whole new life. And I hated it. I hated meeting new people. I wasn't outgoing like some kids. I was shy, awkward. Making friends was hard for me, and Riley was always the one who helped me through it. Without her, I felt completely lost.

The idea of walking into a new school, where I wouldn't know a single person, made my stomach turn. I was definitely terrified, even though I tried to hide it. Part of me knew I should just accept it. I didn't have a choice, after all. But that didn't mean I had to pretend I was okay with it. I wasn't, and I wasn't going to fake it for their sake.

"Jess, honey," my mom's voice cut through the music, calling out over the blaring sound in my headphones.

I could see her watching me in the rearview mirror, her eyes filled with concern. I met her gaze and glared before turning up the volume even more. The sad look that crossed her face made my heart clench, but I wasn't ready to talk to her. Not yet.

Guilt flickered in my chest, as sharp as a needle prick. I knew they were trying, but it didn't make this any easier for me. They had always done their best, always been there for me. They adopted me when I was born, and I'd never once felt like I wasn't theirs. My mom had always told me that my birth mother was a troubled friend of theirs. She left me with them after I was born, and they had raised me ever since. They were young back then, barely out of their teens, but they couldn't turn a baby away. They'd loved me from the start, even though I wasn't theirs by blood.

Still, despite everything, I couldn't help but wonder about my birth mom. I didn't know her, and they refused to tell me much about her, not even her name. It was like this huge, looming mystery in my life, and part of me wanted to solve it. I wanted to know who she was, where she was, and why she had given me up. But my parents were too scared to tell me. They were afraid I'd go looking for her, afraid that what I'd find wouldn't be what I expected. Maybe they were right. But that didn't stop me from wondering.

Outside, the rain poured down, beating rhythmically against the car window, the droplets streaming down in long, jagged lines. I liked the rain. It had always calmed me, the sound of it soothing in a way that nothing else could be right now. Everything seemed slower when it rained, more peaceful. For a moment, I let myself get lost in the soft patter of it, imagining that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay in the end.

As we drove, a sign loomed ahead, partially hidden by the rain, but as we got closer, I could finally make out the words through the downpour: Welcome to Mystic Falls.

My heart sank. This was it. This was going to be my new home. A place I'd never heard of until a few months ago, a town that might as well have been on another planet for all I knew. I had no idea what to expect, no idea if I would ever find a place for myself here. The anxiety tightened in my chest, a weight that refused to go away.

I glanced at my mom again in the rearview mirror. She was focused on the road, her brow furrowed in concentration as the rain came down harder, her knuckles tight on the steering wheel. I could see the worry etched into her face, the lines of stress that had deepened over the past few weeks.

Another wave of guilt washed over me. I knew I wasn't making this move any easier for them. They were probably just as nervous as I was, though for different reasons. But it was hard to set my own feelings aside when I felt like everything was spiraling out of my control.

I sighed and slowly lowered the volume on my headphones, just a little. I wasn't ready to talk yet, but maybe I didn't have to make things harder than they already were.