ALL CHARACTERS RESERVED UNDER L.J. SMITH EXCEPT FOR ELLA AND HER FAMILY!

Chapter 1: The Meeting (pilot)

I looked at my feet as my parents paced around the room, whispering about me. We were going to a cabin for a summer getaway but I got expelled from school when the new girl punched me because... Well I don't know why but she did. And that made me mad, so I broke her nose. Dad was the first one to make eye contact with me, "Pack your stuff and get in the truck. You're going to spend three years in our other cabin in Virginia."

I threw the last of my bags in the backseat of my dad's truck and got in the front with my dad. "So where in Virginia am I going to be staying in?" He looked at me before flicking his eyes back to the road, "Mystic Falls. And don't look at me like that. They barely built the cabin five months ago and we are the first owners. And you only have one other house on the block. Only three people live there, so you have people to go to in case of an emergency. Listen... I'm really sorry but this is for your own good. You need to get away from the city. Now the high school Robert E. Lee High, isn't too far away so you won't need a car and if you really do need a ride, ask the neighbors." I drew in a breath, "Okay, dad. I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me up unless we get there." I quickly snuggled against the window and fell asleep.

"We're here. Hurry and help me with your bags." I grumpily slid out of the truck and saw a cabin. It was beautiful but not as beautiful as the one next door. I sighed, picked up a bag and marched inside. It was well furnished and already painted. Two jobs off the list for me. I tossed my bags on the couch and then ran up the stairs. Of course, me being me, I tripped and fell. A pair of hands caught me and I was met with a guy (a hot guy) smirking. "So you're the new neighbor... Your daddy left and asked me to help you settle in. I'm Damon by the way. And you are?" I steadied myself and brushed my hands on my jeans, "Ella, the girl forced to move far away because she broke someone's nose. And thanks, Damon. You can start by taking the suitcases in green to the biggest room upstairs." He looked at me and groaned, "Ugh, so much work. But if I don't do it you'll probably break my nose." He winked and grabbed all the green suitcases and went upstairs. I grabbed the red suitcases and took out all the food that I stole from home. Hey, don't judge. I only have eighty bucks in the bank and that would all be spent on food if I didn't already have food.

I was putting away the ravioli when a knock came from the door. I ran to answer it and opened the door. It was a guy, who I have never seen before (who looked confused and a little mad). "Um, hi. I'm Stefan Salvatore and I'm looking for my brother, Damon. Is he here?" I nodded,"Damonnn! Your brother's looking for youuu!" He came down the stairs holding a small pink book. "Tell him I'm right here, no need to look for me. Oh, and I did some digging through your suitcases and found," he shook the book, "Your diary. Now I wonder what secrets hide in here. Now tell me, where's the key." I stared at him in disbelief before trying to catch him to get my journal back. "Damon! Stop running! I sw-" I tripped on the carpet and my wrist came in contact with the metal edge of the door. I hissed in pain. "Damon? Help? Please?" Damon came around the corner and looked at me and then my wrist. I closed my eyes in pain and when I opened them Damon had a rag in his hands. "Now this might sting a little so just hold on." He pressed the rag tightly against my wounds. I drew in a long breath and then let it out. "Hey is your brother still out there? Tell him he can come in." Damon nodded and went downstairs to get Stefan. "Is she okay?" "Yeah, just a minor cut." "I'm going home. We have some discussing to do when you come back." "Ugh, whatever, brother." "Bye, Damon." "See you lil' bro." I rolled my eyes and took the rag off the cut. It stopped bleeding but it still hurt.

A hand popped up in front of me and I took it and was lifted to my feet. "Thanks Damon. Do you know when school starts here? I just finished school back in Texas, so I really don't want to go back anytime soon." He smiled, "Not for a month. School here ended two months ago." Damn! I sighed, "Ready to finish helping me unpack? I'll make you dinner. Anything you want, if I have it." He smirked, yet again, "Are you asking me on a date? If you are, I'm not rejecting it." Hmm, here for not even a day and I got a date? Nice. "Yes Damon, I am asking you on a date. Now please, help me finish unpacking."

"Whatever, Ella. You just better be a good cook." I smiled and walked downstairs to finish unpacking.

(Damon's POV) Hmm, Katherine is really holding onto this charade. I need to get her to crack but why does she smell human? I'll need to use the vervain trick on her. I wonder what Stefan thought of this...

(Ella's POV) I finished putting the food away and went to the living room. Damon was sitting on the couch all the suitcases gone. "You're done? Well it's a little early for dinner so can I see what your house looks like? I mean, you've seen mine so it's only fair. Besides, your brother and I haven't properly met." Oh gosh, I was rambling. Well, in my defense Damon is really cute and I like him. I've had no boyfriends before because they were all douches who wanted me for, well you know. "Sure. I'd love to see if my brother approves of you. He's a bit of a bunny killer." That must mean he's picky or something. "Cool so let's go." When we went inside Stefan lunged at me with a wooden stick thing. Damon grabbed it and yanked it out of his hands. They were whispering and stuff but I was kind of scared. If Damon wasn't here I would have been dead. "Ella come with me. We'll take a tour while Stefan calms down." I numbly nodded. Damon led me downstairs into a little room. "What room is this? Hey-" Damon slammed the door shut and locked it. "Katherine you should know a lot better than to mess with me. Stefan is getting the vervain ready and then you won't be able to run. Now, how did you get out of the tomb?"

"What the hell are you talking about? What tomb? What's vervain?" I was really confused now. Stefan came and Damon unlocked the door. Stefan had a glove on and some sort of flower in his hand. He came up to me and kneeled down, "This can be easy or hard. How did you get out of the tomb?"

"What tomb? What are you talking about?" He raised the plant and scraped it against my cheek. It tickled so I let out a giggle. Stefan and Damon looked at me dumbfounded and Damon came up to me and grabbed my face. "No damage. She's not Katherine. But why does she look like her?" "Don't know. Did Katherine have a daughter?" Damon shook his head. I looked around, "Hey guys? I want to know what the hell is going on! Who is Katherine and why do I look like her?" They both sat there staring at me and I was getting quite uncomfortable. "All right. I'm going to compel her to forget everything we just said." I looked at Damon and shook my head. "No. Don't do whatever that is. Just tell me who Katherine is." Damon ran a hand through his hair and looked at Stefan, "Should we tell her?" Stefan nodded and Damon sighed, “Come on, we'll tell you upstairs." I nodded and followed him upstairs, eager to find out what was going on. When we got to the living room, there was a man there. He looked at me shocked and came closer. "Um, hi? I'm-"

"I know who you are. Hello, Katherine." He got a wooden thingy like the one Stefan had and came really close. "Goodbye Katherine." He held it up high aiming for my heart but Damon pushed him and he got my shoulder instead. I hissed in pain, my eyes fogging up with tears. Stefan ran to the man and held him back, "Zach, she's not Katherine. She's not who I told you about." Damon looked at my shoulder and grimaced, "This is going to hurt like a bitch." He grabbed hold of the wooden edge and yanked it out. I screamed in pain, grabbing my shoulder trying to stop the blood. Damon stared at the cut as did Stefan, their eyes changing. They both shook their heads and Damon bit down on his wrist, "You have to drink my blood."

"What?! No! That's-" "Drink!" He shoved his wrist in my mouth and the blood entered. I couldn't describe how it tasted but it was weird. I couldn't stop drinking. I gripped his wrist and drank. It was weird but it was like the blood made me feel better. "Ella? You can stop now." I pulled my mouth away and felt guilty. "I- I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't stop. It was weird and-" Damon grabbed me and shushed, "My blood can heal you because I'm a vampire." I laughed and he gave me a flat look. Was he serious? Vampires are mythical creatures. Besides he was in the sunlight earlier. He didn't sparkle or catch flames or whatever. But then I remembered their eyes. That changed when they saw my blood.

"How?" Damon picked me up and put me on the couch. "It all started in 1864 when we met the one and only, well not really because you're here, Katherine Pierce. We both fell madly for her. She toyed with the both of us, drinking our blood. Using us. Compelling us. This is a vampire mind control trick. They suspected she was a vampire so daddy dearest slipped vervain, an herb that is dangerous to vampires, in my little brother's drink. When Katherine took his blood, it weakened her. They took her. We tried to rescue her. We got shot. We woke up as vampires because we had Katherine's blood in our system. We fed on blood got turned and found out that Katherine is stuck in a tomb under a church. Is that all you wanted to know?" I sat there shocked. But I slowly nodded. "I think I'll go home now. Do you still want dinner?" Damon smirked, "Well, considering you took half of my blood. I'm a bit hungry. We better be eating steak." I smiled softly and started walking home.

When we got into the kitchen, I pulled some steak out of the fridge and put in in a pan. Damon came up from behind me and put his hands on my waist. "Sorry about Zach trying to kill you. And about holding you hostage. And about your shoulder. Oh, and about that... Don't die." I nodded remembering how he turned into a vampire. "Damon? Do you miss her? Am I anything like her except for my looks?" Damon turned me around, "Never say that. Yes I miss her but that was because she was the first woman I had ever loved. And still love. But she is a bitch. A slut. You are nothing like her. I promise." I hugged Damon. Hugged him because he has been missing her for over a century. "Damon? How old are you?" "I'm twenty four." I scoffed, “I mean vampire wise." He smirked, “I know. But I'm afraid when you find out my real age, you might leave me." I knew he was just being dramatic. "Never."

 "OK. I'm 172." I must have looked stupid there, standing with my mouth open staring at Damon. "But you're so hot! You don't have wrinkles or anything!" I quickly shut up realizing that I called him hot. He smirked, "So I'm hot, huh?" I shrugged and nodded. No point in denying the truth. "Hmm, well I think you're pretty fine yourself." I scoffed, "Is that because I look like your crazy ass ex?" He was about to reply when a banging came from the front door. I looked out the window. Stefan. I ran to the door and opened it, "What?" He looked at Damon then at me, "Do you have a twin sister?" I shook my head. "Then we either found Katherine or we have some family secrets to dig up."