Mari's POV:

The next day comes too quickly. My alarm goes off and I climb slowly out of bed. Unlike yesterday I am actually excited to go to school. I have friends who I am now comfortable around and I can't wait to see them today. In Salem I was the nerdy kid who no one talked to.

I've never had a boyfriend, never had a first kiss, never really had a friend. Nothing. This place is going to be different. I just know it. Once dressed I head downstairs to find I'm the last one down. "Finally, get your food togo, we're gonna be late." Aster says, pushing off the counter.

I nod and grab a paper plate and fill it with food and grab a togo coffee. Once I have those and my backpack I follow him and Luna to the Jeep. The drive feels longer than yesterday. "What's up with you?" Aster suddenly asks me. I look at him confused.

"You just seem different." He says, trying to justify his question. I smile at him. "I just feel happier. I don't know, this place is good for me, just like you said." "Well good. I like seeing you happy, makes me less worried." Luna says, smiling at me. I just roll my eyes.

We finally into a parking space and head into school. I walk into History and smile at Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline before taking my place between Matt and Stefan. "Hey." I whisper to both. Matt just gives me a small smile. "Hey." Stefan replies. Grinning I face the front.

Mr. Tanner then begins the lesson. "The Battle of Willow Creek took place right after the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" He asks. I have no clue. Apparently no one else knows either. "Ms. Bennett." He calls. Bonnie jumps.

"Um...a lot? I don't know, like a whole lot." She says. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant Ms. Bennett. Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?" He asks. "Nah Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." He jokes. Everyone chuckles.

"Ms. Lancaster?" He asks. Luna and I look at him questioningly. "The one in the back. Seriously? "Uh, no clue." "Just because you're new doesn't mean you can slack off." He says. I blush and look down at my paper, embarrassed. I can basically feel Luna glaring at him from in front of me.

"Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events." He says. "I'm sorry, I-I don't know." She say. "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." What an ass.

"There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians." Stefan says from beside me. I look over at him, impressed. "That's correct. Mister..." "Salvatore." Stefan answers. "Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?" Tanner asks. "Distant."

"Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Tanner says, acting all smug and stuff. I really want someone to put him in his place right now. Smug asshole. I don't think teachers can act like this.

"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The Founder's Archives are, uh, stored in Civil Hall if you would like to brush up on your facts. Mr. Tanner." He corrects. I smirk.

Maybe there's more to this boy than meets the eye. After that the day goes by pretty quickly and soon Luna is dragging Aster and me home so she can help me get ready for the party. I've never been to one and when I asked for her help she jumped at the chance.

She pulls me up to her room and pushes me to sit on her bed. Then she runs out of the room Finally Luna returns with a few things from my closet. "Did you find anything?" I ask. "Of course. You've been hiding all your cute clothes." "Hey." I say, offended.

She shoots me a look and I shut up. She then walks over. "Put this on." Sighing I grab it and walk into the bathroom. I change quickly and walk out. Luna's eyes widen. "If you straighten your hair and put some makeup on this is perfect." She says, grinning widely.

I roll my eyes as she pushes me into the bathroom and begins straightening my hair. Then she does my makeup. I'm unrecognizable. "I don't think that I need this much make up on." I say, looking into the mirror wearily.

"Of course you do, now be quiet and let me help you. You have to trust me. Besides, I know what looks good on me and we have the same face." She says. I roll my eyes. She always brings up the topic of the two of us being identical. When she's done with me she speeds to get ready herself.

Once she is done it's the perfect time to head to the party. "I'm so excited. Also, Mar, you're DD." She tells me. I nod. I don't drink anyways. We grab Aster who has been waiting for us and get into the Jeep. Aster drives us to the Falls and the party is already in full swing.

"Ok, you two have fun with your friends, I'm off." With that Aster is gone. Sighing I pull the black leather jacket that I stole from Lea tighter around me and drag Luna further into the crowd with me, hoping to catch a sign of one of my friends.

I finally spot Elena and Bonnie. We start to walk towards the two of them. Elena is holding a empty beer bottle and when Bonnie touches it she freezes. Luna and I exchange a grin. When we heard her last name we knew she was a witch.

The Bennetts came a few centuries after the Lancasters to Salem. They left though. Her witch abilities might just be coming in. She lets go and heads towards the keg. We're almost to Elena when I see Stefan approach her. Luna smirks at me and drags me towards Bonnie instead. "Hey." "Oh be quiet, let them have their moment." She whispers to me. I nod and follow her towards Bonnie. "Hey!" She says when we get closer. "HEY! You made it!" Bonnie says, happy.

"Yeah, well, I was gonna not come, but my this one right here decided to turn me into her living doll so I basically had too." I joke. She laughs. "Well come on, Caroline's over here." She says. I nod and follow her over to the blonde. The four of us talk the whole time.

Stefan and Elena disappeared at some point in the night. Not that I'm worried. Stefan is a good guy. It's late into the night and both my friends are trashed. Suddenly there is a yell from the woods. "SOMEBODY HELP!" My head whips around when I hear Elena's voice.

Elena emerges from the woods followed by a boy a little younger than us carrying a girl in his arms. There's blood on her neck. My eyes widen. I get closer and I see the bite. Vampire. My eyes widen. "Mari? Luna? You two ok?" Bonnie asks. I nod.

"We're fine, I just think it's time we got Aster home." Luna says. She nods. "Be safe." We both nod before racing off to find Aster. We quickly find our brother. "Time to go." I say. He nods. "You've got that right, I was about to find you two." He says. "Come on."

With that the three of us head to the Jeep. When we get there we hop in and I drive us home. The drive home is short and when the three of us get into the living room Lea waiting for us. "What happened?" Lea asks, sensing my uneasiness. "A girl was attacked by a vampire tonight." I say.

She looks shocked. "Show me what you saw." She says. I nod and lift my hands a little. My hands glow gold and slowly the picture of what I saw at the party appears in the wisps of gold smoke floating from my hands. When the memory ends I drop the illusion.

"Great, the last thing we need is a vampire roaming the town killing the locals." She says. I nod. "I'll call Rose tonight. Maybe she can look ahead and see who the vampire is." We all nod. "Get some sleep. It's been a long day." She says. We nod and head upstairs to our respective rooms.

After a quick shower I climb into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.