Mystic Falls – Present

It's interesting how things change over the years. Stefan thinks as he passes the sign welcoming drivers into Mystic Falls. The last time he was here was in the 60s when he looked in on the most recent Bennett witch Sheila.

It's been over forty years since then and now Sheila has her own children and probably grandchildren of her own. He hasn't talked to her in a while. The last time had been during the 70's when she had her first child. So he's eager to see the latest in the Bennett family line.

Stefan has been in Mystic Falls for ten minutes when he spots an overturned car hanging off the bridge. He can tell there are at least three people inside so he stops his motorcycle and quickly rushes over to them.

He glances into the car again and can see three people, two in the front and one the back. He decides to help the people in the front since they seem the worst off. He rips the car door off its hinges and carefully pulls the man out of the driver's side. He's unconscious and his leg appears to be broken, but

He frowns when he pulls the door open and sees an unconscious woman that is a dead ringer for the vampire that took the woman he loved and was a catalyst for the strained relationship between him and Damon.

Is this really Katherine? No this girl is clearly human, so maybe one of her descendants. Then again something could have happened to make her human again. Either way, it looks like he'll be staying in town for a while so he can find out for sure. He's so distracted by what happened that he doesn't even go to check up on Sheila like he originally planned.

London, England – The Wellesley Hotel

Damon wakes up the same way he usually wakes up: a belly full of blood with a sexy woman in his bed. He looks to his right and sees the blonde beauty from last night curled up next to him. He tries to remember her name, but finds he can't. Not that it really matters, she served her purpose. It's not like he wants a relationship with her or anything.

He doesn't do relationships. Not since Emily at least.

He sighs as a burst of sadness flows through him. It's been more than century and he still hasn't gotten over what happened. Thankfully, the blonde chooses that moment to press a kiss to his neck, distracting him from those particular depressing thoughts.

"Good Morning."

The blonde smiles at him, the look in her eyes making it clear she wants to pick up where they left last night. He has no problems with that and he is just getting ready take her up on the offer when his phone dings, indicating he has a news alert. Maybe this one will actually lead him to Katherine for once.

Aside from drinking blood and having meaningless sex, his main mission in life is to avenge Emily's death by taking out Katherine. That's why he's spent a good amount of time trying to find her, but he always comes up short. It's not surprising considering how old Katherine is compared to him. It makes sense that she's been able to easily evade him, but she has to slip up some time.

When the blonde suddenly grabs onto his dick, he has a brief war in his mind about whether or not to pick it up before ultimately deciding to look. He reaches out, plucks his phone off the night stand and checks out the alert. He blinks in surprise when he sees the alert is from Mystic Falls. Apparently a local family was saved from crashing off a bridge by a mysterious stranger who immediately took off after doing the good deed. He knows right away that it's Stefan. It fits his baby brother's M.O. completely.

At least it does when he's not ripping people up. As far as he knows Stefan has been on the straight and narrow for awhile so his brother was definitely the do-gooder hero. His eyes widen when he sees the picture of the family and sees Katherine with two older adults. That means his brother saved the life of the bitch that was responsible for Emily's death. Why the hell would he do that? Stefan may not have spent the last 148 years trying to take the bitch out like he has, but his brother hates her just as much as Damon does. So for his brother to lose his mind and save her life seems insane. Unless… Katherine's not the one in that photo.

It's certainly possible. He knows she gave away a daughter at some point. Maybe this girl is one of her descendants. Then again, it may actually be Katherine and she could be pretending before she strikes and leaves the town in ruins like she did before. Regardless of the explanation, it looks like he'll be going back to Mystic Falls for the first time since Emily's death. That also means he will have to cut his visit in London short.

Glancing at the woman in his bed, Damon gives her a look of regret. "Look I don't mean to be rude, but I something has come up and I'll need to leave the country earlier than I thought. Which means I have to head to the airport to change my ticket…" He trails off, hoping she'll get the message.

"Do you really have to go right now?" She says with a pout, her hands stroking up and down his dick.

"I'm afraid so, Sarah," Her name suddenly popping up in his mind.

"I'm surprised you remembered my name, you seem like the kind of guy that wouldn't." She looks at him knowingly.

"Appearances can be deceiving." He says with a charming smile despite the fact that she has him pegged. He only remembered her name because she made a point of having him write it across her stomach with her blood before he licked it up. Most of the time he can't be bothered to remember, but no way is he letting a one night stand psychoanalyze him. Now that Katherine might be in Mystic Falls and his brother apparently saved her, he knows he needs to focus on that.

His plan to get serious however is interrupted when someone stirs at the foot of the bed. A new head – a red haired one this time - pops up from underneath the covers. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for a little while longer?" She asks as she moves onto the other side of him and rubs herself against his hip.

His cock jumps and his lips form into a smirk. "Well maybe I can spare a little more time."

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, the two women practically attack him, kissing and fondling his body. He relaxes, deciding to have a little bit more fun before formulating his plan. Once he's in Mystic Falls the only fun he plans on having is when he slaughters Katherine once and for all.

A Few Days Later…

Mystic Falls – Salvatore Boardinghouse

It's the first time he's stepped foot in this house since he left 148 years ago and unsurprisingly many things have changed since then. The town is much larger, and even more diverse.

Stefan frowns when feels the presence of someone else in the large boardinghouse. His first instinct is to go on the attack, but he changes his mind when he realizes that the intruder is his brother. He's shocked to say the least especially since Damon made a vow to never set foot inside Mystic Falls again. The fact that his older brother is here must mean that something is up.

Curious, he races down the stairs and flashes to the living room where Damon is currently looking around. He immediately takes in his appearance, not surprised to see Damon dressed in all black. It's something he's made a habit of over the years and has become his trademark in a way.

"Damon?" He calls out, but before he can get anything else out, his brother is charging at him and slamming him into the nearest wall. The impact is hard enough that he sees stars. "What the fuck was that for?" He yells once his brother's grip on him eases some.

"That's for saving the life of the bitch that killed the woman we love. What the fuck were you thinking?" He hadn't planned on going on the attack right away, but being back in town and remembering what happened all those years ago, made him lose all reason.

"First of all…" Stefan pauses and pushes Damon off of him before continuing. "…I didn't even know who was in the car until after I pulled her out and second I don't' think that was Katherine in the car. This girl seemed human."

"But you don't know that for sure. We know she has a habit of causing problems." He continues to glare at Stefan, though it's softened a bit since he first spotted his younger brother. "For all you know she could be trying to compel and turn people like she did with us."

"You're right, I don't know anything for sure," Stefan agrees. "That's why I'm enrolling at Mystic Falls High where this Elena girl goes to school. I figure I can check things out and if she turns out to be Katherine I can act accordingly. If it's not then my time in Mystic Falls will be very brief."

"I want in on this. If this is Katherine I want to make sure she suffers for what she did to Emily. If it's not her, I still think we should stick around because her having a sudden doppelganger has to mean something."

Stefan thinks about Damon's theory for a moment before determining that he's probably right. "If we're going to do this then we have to careful. If it turns out not to be Katherine, we can't go blazing in. We'll both need to blend in and be a part of the town. Since my way in is the school, you should probably try to join the council." Stefan expects Damon to erupt at those words and his older brother doesn't disappoint.

Damon vamps out and looks at Stefan, fury in his eyes. "The council was the reason Emily died in the first place why would I join up with them?" He can't believe Stefan would even suggest something like that.

"Because it's not the same council," Stefan explains gently. "A lot has changed since then. Instead of going after members of the supernatural community, they protect them."

"Why the hell would they do that?" Damon can't help but be dubious of Stefan's news. He remembers how fucked up the council was so he can't imagine it changing that much.

"Like I said the council has changed drastically especially now that all of the members are supernatural."

"Seriously?"

Stefan nods. "There are werewolf members from the Lockwood and Hale families. Witch members from the Martin family and of course the Bennett family. " Stefan doesn't miss the way Damon flinches at the mention of Emily's last name, but he continues as though he did. "Sheila's actually member so I can talk to her about you joining when I go see her if you want. There aren't any vampires representing the council right now so she'll probably be okay with it." As he waits for an answer he picks up his backpack.

"Talk to her," Damon says after a few seconds.

"I'll contact her as soon as I can," Stefan nods and glances at his watch. "I need to take off if I want to get there in time to pick up my class schedule. Are you going to be here when I get back?"

"Yeah, I'll be here." Damon nods and watches as Stefan rushes out of the door. Doing this means he'll have to deal with being bombarded with memories of Emily, but if it means getting rid of Katherine once and for all, it will be worth it.

Bennett Home

The sun shines throughout the small bedroom, signaling the start of a new day. Yet all Bonnie Bennett can focus on is the naked man above her. She moans as he slips his tongue into her mouth and his hands sink into her hair to hold her in place.

She encourages him by running her hands up his back, gripping at his shoulders as she gets more and more lost in the moment. So much so that she pouts when he pulls away and sits up on his knees.

"Turn over." An aroused, Tyler Lockwood growls roughly.

Bonnie does as he says and rolls onto her stomach. She lets out a sigh when one of his hands wraps around her waist and shifts her onto her hands and knees before he pulls her against him.

Tyler nuzzles her hair, sighing happily when her scent sifts into his nostrils. He pushes her hair off her neck and starts to nipple and lick at her neck.

"Tyler." She moans when she feels his erection against her ass. In response she grips his hair to keep him in place.

Tyler caresses her thighs before spreading them and slipping a hand between her legs. He teases her entrance a few times before dipping two of his fingers inside. He's immediately rewarded when her arousal drips onto his fingers.

Bonnie sighs blissfully as he works her over, rubbing against the erection that's pressed against her every time he pushes his fingers inside of her.

In response the wolf inside of him, takes over and he pulls his fingers back. He then grabs his cock and presses it against her entrance, but not before brushing the tip of it along her clit. "You like that?"

"Shut up and fuck me." Bonnie says arousal dripping off her.

Just as turned on, Tyler immediately does as she says and enters her with one powerful thrust. He growls as he sinks into her, his balls resting against her clit.

Bonnie nearly collapses at the feel of him inside her, but she manages to stay up. She lets out several pants when Tyler starts to slam in and out of her with hard thrusts. "Harder."

Tyler grabs her hips and thrusts harder, moving so frantically that the headboard bangs into the wall. He glances down at his girlfriend and is aroused by just the sight of them moving together.

They continue moving and grinding against each other, filling the rooms with growls and moans until one thrust pushes them over the edge.

Afterwards, they both collapse onto the bed in a heap, breathing heavily. Bonnie moves to separate from him, but Tyler grabs onto her waist and grinds into her, making it clear he wants to pick up where they left off.

"Ty we can't. We have to get to school." She moves her hips, allowing him to slide out of her before sliding from underneath him. "We need to get up."

"I don't want to." He pouts and grabs onto his rapidly hardening cock. "I would much rather spend all day with my hot girlfriend." He latches onto her arm to keep her in bed and presses a kiss to her neck.

She moans in pleasure, but still pushes him away. "We can't. It's our senior year and if I'm going to get into a good college, I need to buckle down. That means I need to actually go to school."

"Bon, you're basically a straight A student, you could get into any school you wanted to. It's not going to hurt you to miss one day." He pulls her into his lap and wraps his arms around her waist. "Besides, it's about time for another full moon and you know you're even more irresistible to me when that happens."

"I do and normally I would be up for it, but something is telling me I need to get to school. And you know how I am when I get a feeling." She pushes at his chest, making it clear she wants him to let go of her.

"You witches and your feelings." Tyler chuckles as he reluctantly allows Bonnie to climb off his lap.

"You werewolves have your own gut instincts." She points out with a raised eyebrow. "So don't judge mine."

"You're right." Tyler admits with sheepish grin.

"Glad that you can admit that. You should always admit that I'm right." She grins back before jumping out of bed and walking across the room to her bathroom. "And now that you have, it's time for me to get ready for school.

"Why don't I join you?" He jumps out of bed and starts to follow after her, only to be stopped by the look in his girlfriend's eyes.

"Nope." She says as she turns around and steps inside the bathroom. "You need to shower in the guest bathroom down the hall."

"Why?"

"Because you won't keep your hands to yourself and I'll end up being late."

"You know me all too well." He grins smugly at her.

Bonnie laughs as she closes the door and locks it, making sure Tyler doesn't get any ideas. She knows he could easily break the lock using his werewolf strength, but he won't. As she steps into the shower and turns on the water, she thinks about their conversation.

She hadn't been playing around when she told him that something was telling her to go to school. Normally when it gets close to the full moon, Tyler becomes more animalistic and the witch in her feeds off of that. Needless to say, she and Tyler usually can't keep their hands off each other in the days leading up to it.

Yet today instead of staying in bed with him like she would have last month, she had felt compelled to go to school. Because she has long since learned to listen to her instincts, she decided to go with that feeling. She only hopes that what she is feeling doesn't lead to something ominous.

The halls of Mystic Falls high are filled with students getting ready for the first class of the day. Some are at their lockers, others are already on their way to class, and some are more focused on socializing. One particular couple takes the opportunity to make out, drawing the attention of some of the other students.

"Get a room!" One such student shouts on his way to class.

Matt Donovan rolls his eyes, but releases his girlfriend's lips, knowing that it will only be a matter of time before a teacher notices them and the last thing they need is to end up with detention. He smiles when she reaches up to wipe the lip gloss from his mouth. "I really missed you being here."

"I missed you too," Elena Gilbert returns his smile with one of her own. After the car accident, she spent the last couple of days at home dealing with the aftermath of the car accident. That meant the only time they got to see each other was outside of school. So she's happy to back in school with her boyfriend and best friends.

"Donovan, we need to talk!" A voice says from down the hall.

Matt turns to see Tyler walking hand in hand with Bonnie and quickly turns to Elena. "I'll see you later," He presses a kiss to her lips before heading down the hallway to meet Tyler. He and Bonnie greet each before he and Tyler disappear around the corner.

Bonnie continues down the hall where Elena is still standing. "Glad to have you back, Elena,"

"I'm happy to be back."Elena grins at her best friend as she's pulled into a hug.

Bonnie pulls away and moves to her locker. "So how's your dad doing?" She asks as she puts the combination into her locker and pulls out the books she'll need for her next few classes.

"He's doing better, his leg is healing okay. He should be able to go back to work soon."

"At least it was a broken leg and not something more serious."

"Yeah, thank god that guy that saved us was there. I still wish he would come forward so we could thank him." Elena remembers seeing a glimpse of him after he pulled her and her parents out of their car, but he took off before she could see his face.

"Not everyone likes the spotlight." She shrugs before shutting her locker and looking at Elena once again. "I'm just glad you're all okay." She shuts her locker and she and Elena start to walk toward their next class.

"Hold up, who is that?"Bonnie can't help but gape at the guy that's in her line of vision down the hall. From her position, she can only see his back, but he still makes a great first impression. The guy is tall with short brown hair. His clothes – a chocolate brown leather jacket worn over a dark hoodie, a pair of dark jeans, and black boots – are casual, but she can also tell they are very expensive. It's clear that he's not from Mystic Falls.

"What?" Elena asks as she looks in the same direction as Bonnie and sees what her best friend is looking at. "All I see is back."

"It's hot back."

Elena glances at the guy's profile for a few more moments before turning back to Bonnie. "You're right." She agrees with a smirk. "Not that it matters, I have a boyfriend and so do you by the way."

"Just because I have a boyfriend, doesn't mean I can't look. It's not like I plan on cheating on Tyler or anything." She continues staring at the hot guy, hoping that he turns around so she can see his face.

"Wow." She gasps when turns around and she finally gets a glimpse of him. He looks even better from the front. His hair is styled to perfection, his face is chiseled, and she can tell that he has an amazing physique underneath the leather jacket and hoodie. He's wearing dark sunglasses so she can't see his eyes, but she has a feeling that those are amazing as well.

Stefan can feel several sets of eyes on him as he makes his way down the hall. He's not surprised. He looks damn good today. He made sure of it, in hopes that it would get the Katherine look-a-like's attention. He remembers how Katherine had gone on and on about his looks back then, so he has no problem using that to his advantage. Of course he has no plans to go any further than that. He may be more easy going when it comes to Katherine than his brother is, but getting in a romantic situation with someone that is a dead-ringer for the woman that killed Emily will never happen.

His plan is to observe her for a few days so he can determine whether or not she's actually a double. If she is a double he can leave things alone and go back to Boston, but if she turns out to be Katherine that will leave him with another set of problems.

Deciding not to worry about that for now, he continues walking forward so he can pick up his class schedule. That's when he feels it.

A yearning.

A desperate yearning that makes him feel awakened in a way he never has before. It's as though he's in a desert and craving water. He's never felt this way before, not even when he was in the throes of his blood addiction. That's when he knows…

It's her; the woman that Emily had written about all those years ago, the woman that is supposed to be his and Damon's other half. She's close —here in this school right now. Stefan is filled with a need that is primal and basic, a need that makes him want to immediately seek her out. And that's all without seeing her face.

Instead of fighting it, he embraces it, allowing the bond he's feeling to take him in her direction. He glances the down the hall, his gaze moving from person to person until he finally finds her. She's beautiful. Her long dark hair, green eyes with flecks of brown in them, beautiful brown skin that looks soft to the touch. Her heart-shaped face, full lips, and bright smile, manage to enhance her looks.

"I'll see you in our next class, Bonnie."

"Bonnie." Stefan says quietly to himself. He's already looking forward to having that name fall from his lips.

"Okay Elena." Bonnie says with warmth in her voice.

He watches as the Katherine doppelganger smiles at her before walking in the opposite direction down the hallway. They are obviously friends and though the sight of her still gives him pause, he decides to play it cool. He goes back and forth on whether or not to approach Bonnie when the decision is made for him.

Bonnie's eyes widen when she realizes a football is heading right for her and briefly debates on whether or not to use her powers to stop it before deciding that it's too risky in front of all these people. Instead she prepares for the onslaught of pain and closes her eyes, only to feel nothing. She opens her eyes and is surprised to see the ball hovering inches away from her face, an obviously male hand clutching it tightly. She cranes her head to see who her savior is and is shocked to see the guy she'd been checking out earlier.

He looks even better up close and this time she has the privilege of seeing the eyes his sunglasses had hidden. His eyes are a grayish-green that makes him even more handsome. "Thanks for the save, if you didn't have such good reflexes I would be sporting a seriously hurt face right now." Bonnie smiles up at the handsome guy.

"No problem." Stefan returns her smile. Inwardly he's trying not to show just how much she has affected him. She's even more stunning up close and her scent is flowing up his nostrils, but he knows he has to play this cool. "I'm just glad I was here."

Their gazes meet for a few more seconds before Bonnie looks a way and focuses her attention down the hall in the direction the football came from. Immediately she sees Eddie the cornerback of the football team looking apologetically at her. She knows right away that he's the idiot who threw it. "Maybe you should watch where you're throwing next time, idiot!" She shouts annoyed.

"Sorry, Bonnie!" Eddie shouts down the hall. "Could you at least throw the ball back?"

"Of course the diot is more worried about the ball than the fact that he could have hurt me." She says under her breath.

Next to her Stefan glances down at the ball in his hand and smirks before winding his arm back and tossing it in Eddie's direction. Eddie lets out a painful grunt when it makes contact with his stomach and knocks him to the floor.

Down the hall, the throw catches the attention of Matt and Tyler who had been on their way to their first class. They immediately rush over when they see Eddie get knocked to the ground.

"Dude are you okay?" Matt asks as he holds out his hand for Eddie to take.

A grunting Eddie grabs on it to and Matt pulls him to his feet. He breathes in and out several times hoping the pain will eventually fade.

"Do I need to go kick somebody's ass?" Tyler asks after awhile. He and Eddie may not be close like he is with Matt, but no one fucks with his teammates.

"No it was my fault." Eddie quickly shakes his head. "I was playing around and I almost hit Bonnie."

"You what?" Tyler growls and moves to grab Eddie, but before he can do anything else Eddie rushes to explain.

"Luckily that guy caught it before it could make contact. He tossed the ball back when I asked for it and that's what you two saw." Eddie rambles nervously, knowing how protective Tyler is of his longtime girlfriend.

The explanation seems to calm him down and Eddie lets out a relieved sigh when Tyler drops his arms and steps away from him.

Matt glances at Tyler to see if he's really alright and immediately sees a contemplating look on his friend's face. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking if he can throw like that on a regular basis, he might be our solution to our little quarterback problem." Tyler smiles and is about to go introduce himself when the bell rings, signaling they only have a few minutes before class. He'll just have to talk to the guy later.

Down the hall Bonnie and Stefan are still reeling from what just happened. "So you're new here right?" Bonnie says after awhile.

"Is it that obvious?" Stefan raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah this isn't a very big town." She shrugs.

"Well you're right I'm a transfer student." He sticks to the cover story he came up with. "I was living with my older brother in Rome, but he had to come to Mystic Falls for some business so I'm spending my senior year in here." He hates to lie to her, but he's not sure what she knows and he doesn't want to scare her off.

"Ah," She smiles and says in Italian, "So you were living in the Eternal City?"

"You speak Italian?" Stefan looks at her in surprise, getting more and more impressed by her with every minute that passes.

"Along with Spanish, French, and Latin. What can I say? I enjoy learning different languages." What she doesn't say is that her Grams had made sure of it since many of the spells she had to learn were written in those languages. "So, Mr. Transfer Student do you have a name?"

"I'm Stefan."

"Bonnie." She smiles at him, bright green eyes sparkling. "So how do you like Mystic Falls High so far?"

"It's okay I guess. I haven't really seen much of it yet." He shrugs and plans on asking her a question of his own when the bell rings.

"Well that's my cue to head to class." Bonnie pushes her bag higher up on her shoulder as she glances up at Stefan. "It was nice to meet you, Stefan and thanks again for saving me earlier."

"And I should probably try to find my first class; it wouldn't look too good for me to be late on my first day."

"Well since you saved me from taking a football to the head, the least I can do is help you find your first class." She smiles as she looks up at him. "Can I see your class schedule?"

"If you wouldn't mind."Stefan pulls his schedule out of his jacket and hands it to Bonnie.

Bonnie glances at it and blinks in surprise at what she sees. "Wow it looks like we have four of the same classes. That's kind of a weird coincidence."

"Yeah that is weird." Stefan agrees genuinely surprised. When he arrived this morning, he'd made a point of getting put in at least two of the same classes as Elena. So he finds it interesting that he ended up with many of the same classes as Bonnie without even trying. It must be fate.

They make it to their first class which is history and Bonnie immediately takes her usual seat in front of her other best friend Caroline Forbes. Stefan takes the seat in the back of the room and they share a brief smile before Caroline catches her attention.

"Hey, Bon," Caroline greets her with a smile.

"Hey, Caro,"

"So who's the hot guy you came in with?" She gives Stefan a covert look over before looking back at Bonnie.

"Transfer student." She goes on to explain what happened in the hall.

"So not only is he good looking, he's also a bit of a superhero." She gives Stefan another onceover.

"You know I can hear and see you, right?" Luka Martin, a fellow witch as well as Caroline's boyfriend points out from behind her.

"Is that jealousy I'm detecting in your voice?" She turns around to look at him. "Because you know you're the only guy that…" She leans across the desk to whisper the rest of her dirty thought in his ear.

"Hmmh," He grunts as she nuzzles his jaw and presses a lingering kiss to his lips.

Bonnie rolls her eyes, used to their antics and moves her gaze to Stefan. She stiffens when she realizes that he's looking right at her.

The bell rings again indicting that it's time for class to start and everyone moves to their seats. Mr. Tanner, the teacher walks in a few seconds later.

"Okay class, we are going to do something a little different and have a group project. You and a partner will have to research a time period of your choosing and write a 10 page report on it. You will also have to prepare a presentation for the class. This assignment will be 50 percent of your grade so you should take this assignment very seriously. Since the project is due at the end of the semester, there will be no excuses for subpar work." He goes then goes on to assign the groups, much to their chagrin.

Luka is partnered with Eddie while Caroline is partnered with Vicki, Matt's sister. Bonnie is partnered with Stefan much to her surprise and Stefan's delight.

Once class is over, he and Bonnie exchange numbers as they walk down the hall together. Although their next classes are different he has chemistry while she has geometry; the classrooms are in the same direction.

"So do you any time periods in mind for our projects?" Bonnie asks as they turn a corner.

"I think we could focus on the civil war. I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to that period." Of course a lot of that knowledge is from his direct experience, but it's still knowledge they could take advantage of.

"That sounds interesting," Bonnie nods in agreement. "I actually have several books at home that they could we could use."

Stefan is about to respond when a dark haired guy suddenly steps in front of Bonnie and presses a kiss to her lips. His eyes narrow some, but he makes sure to keep his face expressionless.

"Hey," Bonnie pulls back from the kiss.

"Hey, yourself." He cups her face in his hands and kisses her again before he notices Stefan's presence. "So are you going to introduce me to guy that saved Eddie from an ass kicking?"

"You saw that?" Bonnie asks in surprise.

"I saw the aftermath," he nods. "Eddie explained the rest."

"Stefan Salvatore meet Tyler Lockwood." She grips Tyler's bicep as she introduces the two men.

Stefan fights the urge to raise an eyebrow at Tyler's last name. It's not much of a leap to assume he's related to George Lockwood and it's for that reason he can't be too upset that he's apparently in a relationship with Bonnie.

"Nice to meet you," Tyler holds out his hand and two shake on it.

"Likewise,"

"I want to thank you for rescuing my girlfriend." He says as he wraps his arm around her neck and presses kiss to her temple.

"It was no problem." Stefan shrugs.

"It was," He disagrees, but decides to change the subject. "So do you play football?"

"I do, why?"

"We're short a quarterback and if you can throw the way you threw that ball on the field I'm sure the coach would be cool with you joining the team."

"He's right; the team could a lot of help. I know Ty has been slipping lately." Bonnie jokes, smirking when Tyler playfully scowls at her.

Stefan ponders the offer silently. Joining the team would be another way to fit in at the school. He also remembers the blonde girl reminding Bonnie about cheerleading practice after school. That would also give him more time with Bonnie without it looking luscious. "It would nice to play something other than soccer for once."

"Okay then you should meet us on the football field after school. Make sure you're prepared because none of us will go easy on you."

"I guess I'll see you later in American Lit, Stefan." She says as she slips her hands into the crook of Tyler's arm.

Stefan looks on as she and Tyler begin to walk the short distance their geometry class. He waits until they actually get inside before heading to chemistry. It's the first class he shares with Elena, but she's the last thing on his mind at the moment.

Bonnie has a boyfriend.

He hadn't thought about a boyfriend being in the picture, but it makes sense. There's no way someone as lovely as Bonnie would be single. To most men that might be a problem, but Stefan has no problems getting to know Bonnie as a friend for now. Right now, just being in the same room with his mate is enough for him.

Football practice had been a success and now he's officially a member of Mystic Falls football team. He walks into the boardinghouse and grins when he realizes that Damon is home. He can't wait to tell him about Bonnie. Following his senses, he quickly figures out that his older brother is in the living room and heads that way.

"I met her." Stefan says the moment he steps into the living room.

"The double?" Damon looks up from the chair he's lounging on; in his hand is a glass of bourbon.

"No," He shakes his head. "The woman Emily said we would meet, the woman that's our soul mate. I met her today. Her name is Bonnie."

"What about the Katherine lookalike?" Damon ignores Stefan's words and focuses on the reason he's in Mystic Falls in the first place.

"Don't you want hear about her?"

"Not at all." Damon shakes his head. "Like I've told you a thousand times, I don't care what Emily wrote, I don't have a soul mate. The woman I love died over a hundred years ago. What I want to know is if that girl is Katherine or a double."

"She and Bonnie are friends so I'm sure I'll find out for sure when I go to the party later tonight.

"What party?"

Bonnie's boyfriend invited me to a party since I decided to join the football team.

"If your so-called soul mate has boyfriend, why are you so happy?" Damon looks at his brother in disbelief.

"When has having a boyfriend ever stopped either of us when it comes to the women we're involved with?" Stefan raises a smug eyebrow before growing serious. "Actually, I plan on getting to know her as a friend for now, the rest will come in time. I think you should do the same."

"The only thing I plan to do is kill Katherine and then I'm getting the fuck out of this town. I really don't get why you want to stay in the place Emily was murdered and play high school student or why you don't want to find Katherine as much as I do." He shoots his younger brother a glare.

"Damon, I get the anger I really do. I want vengeance for Emily too, but I also know that it's not going to bring her back. She wouldn't want you living your life this way." He continues despite Damon's eye roll. "And what happens when you finally do get that revenge? Are you really going to spend the rest of your life having one night stands?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." He says briskly, shutting the conversation down. "Good luck with the girl, but you can count me out. The only woman I'll ever love is Emily."

Stefan sighs tiredly before silently walking out of the room and up the stairs. This is isn't the first time they've had this argument, but it's different this time. Now the woman they're meant for is an actual possibility, he doesn't want Damon to miss out on it. As he gets to his bedroom, he decides to put Damon out of his mind for now and focus on getting ready for that party.

Damon lets out a sigh of his own the moment he's alone, hating how much space is between him and Stefan. He knows his attitude is a big reason he and his brother aren't close like they were before they were turned, but he can't forgive himself for what happened to Emily. Her death has haunted him for years and it doesn't help that his brother has seemingly gotten over it.

It both angers and fills him with jealously that Stefan has apparently managed to make peace with what happened, when Damon still can't let go of her. Now that Stefan believes he's met the woman Emily wrote about, he's worried that the chasm between them will only widen. And it will because Damon wants no part of this girl, no matter what Emily predicted. Shaking his head of those thoughts, he finishes his drink and heads out the door.

A/N – So as you can see Stefan is more open to Bonnie being their mate than Damon is. I did that on purpose because I wanted to play this similarly to the first season where there is a lot of tension between Bonnie and Damon. I also wanted to play up the burgeoning friendship Bonnie and Stefan had during that season. It's been years and I'm still disappointed that they never really took advantage of Paul and Kat's chemistry.

Also since Bonnie is with Tyler at the moment and I don't want to make him the typical "bad love interest", the eventual relationship the Salvatores will be a slow burn. As for the next chapter, Stefan heads to the party and gets to know Bonnie a little and formally meets Elena. Damon will get a glimpse of Bonnie for the first time and we'll see what Katherine has been up to since she fled Mystic Falls all those years ago.