Blood Sisters • The Vampire Diaries [1]

X. GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS

The next morning I was sleepy, yawning my way through the halls of school alone. Stefan and I had sat on the porch really late, without saying much and I liked it. It wasn't one of those uncomfortable silences, it was nice for a change. But, it had led me to grow tired since I wasn't a vampire, and needed my sleep. I had left to go to school earlier than Jeremy and Elena, lying about having some sort of English paper that I needed to visit the library for, but I really just wanted to find that silence again, that peace that Stefan brought along with him.

I'd roamed the halls for long enough, until I reached my locker one more time, deciding to stop at it. I rummaged through my bag after opening it up, putting away a binder, before retrieving a different one. My eyes flickered over the old locket bracelet that my mother used to wear, that I now wore around my wrist, a little snip of vervain tucked inside of it.

Lost in my thoughts, I was shaken a little when someone spoke up in the empty hallway. I glanced over to spot a man, holding a binder in his hand, a leather bag across his side, my eyes lifting to his face. He had sandy blonde, almost brunette hair a lot like Stefan's, though he was older, around Aunt Jenna's age.

"Sorry, if I scared you." He said, giving me a friendly smile. "It's my first day here. I just wanted to ask if you knew where uhh.." He tried to flip through his binder to find the classroom number, when I realized who he might be.

"Are you the new teacher?" I spoke up, before he got to find the number. "Replacing Mr. Tanner?"

"Here I was thinking I could pass as a student." He said jokingly, and I laughed as he shut the binder back up. "Alaric Saltzman." He introduced, offering me his hand. "It's a mouthful, I know. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

"No..." I trailed off, smiling at him as I shook his hand. "It's uhh - it's interesting." He laughed, and I realized that I hadn't yet said my name. "I'm Lyssa Gilbert. I actually have history first period."

"Well then, I guess bumping into you was fate." He breathed out, still smiling. "Take me there? This school maps not exactly...helpful."

I giggled and nodded, already liking him a lot more than Tanner. "It's just down the hall," I explained, shutting my locker. "come on."

__________________________

After history, Elena, Bonnie and I were walking through the hall to my sister's locker, my thoughts drifting back to the night before. I hadn't seen Stefan in class, where was he? It didn't seem like Elena knew either, and I didn't bother asking because who was I to be looking for her boyfriend? Stefan and I were just friends, I knew that, but when I saw him that first day, it's like I was seeing the sun after a long dark day. But, it was okay I told myself. He and Elena needed one another.

"And then," Bonnie spoke up as we reached her locker, taking me from my thoughts. "I ended up at the remains of the old Fell's church before I woke up back in the woods." She was telling us about a really weird dream she had last night, and it had something to do with her 'witch ancestor'.

"And you always see your ancestor Emily?" Elena asked as I tilted my head, eyes scanning the hall for any sign of Stefan. It wasn't just that I missed him, I wanted to make sure he was okay, I mean - he did live with Damon.

"Mhm." Bonnie hummed. "Do you guys believe in ghosts?"

"Two weeks ago," I spoke up, looking away from the crowds of people walking around. "I'd say no, but now..." I wanted to tell her about Stefan and Damon, about the town and all it's secrets that were coming to light, but I knew that I couldn't because I didn't want to involve her or any of my friends into this mess.