A/N:

This story is about if Caroline was the main character instead of Elena. The Elena in this story is based loosely from Elena in the books for a while. [Elena is blonde, stuck up and cries if boys don't pay attention to her in the books LOL] Klaus is also already a hybrid, and he will appear in the next chapter or so.

I adopted this story from DarolineWritingGoddess aka Damon's Charlene. She said it's okay if I use the same title, and I am, because I'm too lazy to change it right now. LOL

I was a beta for this story for a while, but I fell in love with it and ended up adopting it as my baby LOL jk. Sorry if there's any mistakes because she wrote it in 3rd person POV but I write my stories in first person so I went through and changed it and I might have missed some stuff.

Anyways, I'm not sure how much love-triangle-y this story will be just quite yet.

Caroline and Stefan will not be a couple too btw.

2-28-13:

Re-wrote some parts, added in some things.

Enjoy! (:

September 9, 2009

Dear Diary,

Wow! I never would have thought I would be writing in a diary! I mean, I'm Caroline Forbes; I have a lot to say and I usually just spit it out without really thinking about it. Who knew I'd be writing down my thoughts on paper? What made me start using a diary? Well, my mom Elizabeth Forbes, who is also known as Liz, died in a car accident in May. She was driving home and to avoid an accident, she swerved. She was on Wickery Bridge, so she ended up going into the water. I was in the car with her too. But for some reason, I survived.

The authorities can't figure out how and why, but I did. It wasn't until later that my godfather, Zach Salvatore, told me how. I would explain how I survived, but if someone read my explanation, bad things could happen to good people. Zach told me to keep it a secret and I usually wouldn't because I'm sort of a blabber mouth, but the really serious look on his face is keeping my mouth shut so I haven't told anyone. Well, I guess you could say I told you, but you're just a piece of paper, you don't count. You are the last thing my mom got me, so I'm going to use you, darn it!

My mom and I didn't have the best relationship but she gave me you because I thought I needed to write down my feelings. Not just about my life, but also about her, the divorce between her and my Dad, Bill, and the rest of my life. I was surprised when she gave me you because usually she's like, "Talk to me about your problems, Care! That's why I'm here!" but I guess she could tell I'd rather confide to a diary or a friend then her. After she died, I decided to use it to write my thoughts and feelings like I always wanted. This may be my first diary entry, but I'm already feeling better so I'm sure this won't be the last time I talk to you- especially since I have a lot of stuff I need to get out emotional wise. I am a girl you know.

And besides, I would rather write in you than go to some stupid therapist that Zach keeps pushing me to go. I told him I'd use you, and it seemed to get him off my back. What can I say? I'm stubborn. I already know that I'm a crazy, neurotic, jealous, control freak, so I don't need some shrink to tell me. I should probably go now… I have school tomorrow and no doubt people are going to ask me if I'm okay with my mom being dead…which is a really stupid question by the way, why would I be okay? My mom died! Who would be okay with that? I'm not going to lie and say I'm okay. Obviously I'm not okay and I don't need people asking me every second of every day about it…I can already tell it's going to get really annoying, really fast. People these days can't keep themselves out of someone's damn business. I better stop before I get into another long rant… I'll talk to you later.

Sincerely, Caroline Forbes

I stopped writing after signing my name. I closed the diary with a sigh, glad to get that out of my system. It felt good to blow off steam this way. I let out another sigh as I stood up from the chair I was sitting in at my desk. As soon as I stood up, I heard a knock on my door and I instantly knew that it was Zach.

"Come in," I called quietly.

The door opened, revealing my godfather, Zach Salvatore. He looked pretty young for his age. When I found out he had gotten custody of me, I was surprised to say the least. I knew that my mom trusted him, but I didn't think it was nearly enough to let him be the guardian of her only child. I actually loved living here, at the Salvatore Boarding house. It was a nice, large house - well, more like a mansion but...it was home and I felt safe.

"It's getting late, Caroline. You should get to bed, you have school tomorrow," Zach said gently.

I pouted. "Can't I just skip school and you can tell them I'm sick?" I asked hopefully.

He shook his head, chuckling under his breath, "Sorry Caroline, but you need to go to school."

I knew that he was right, but I still didn't want to go. Like I said in my diary, I hate that random people keep asking me if I was okay with my mom dying and there was no doubt in my mind that the students were going to do just that. It's been four months since my mom died; I was over it by now. Sure, I was gonna miss my mom, but I shouldn't mope around about it, my mom wouldn't want that. I knew it was the normal thing to do, mourn about your loved ones dying, but I had already done that and it was over with. I wasn't the type of person to dwell on things; I was always happy and was content being that way.

"Alright… fine," I said with a small smile.

Zach nodded. "Goodnight Care," he told me.

"You too." I watched him start to leave, when I suddenly remembered something, "Wait!" He stopped, looked at me, and I continued, "Hey, when is Stefan getting here?"

Stefan was Zach's uncle.

He was a vampire.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Vampire? HA! You've really fallen off the wagon this time! But no, I'm being 100% serious. Call it a woman's intuition or whatever, but I believe him.

"Tomorrow," he answered, I felt my brain snap back into reality and a worried expression appeared on my face.

He saw my look and added, "Care…you shouldn't worry about Stefan. He's one of the good ones. He feeds on animals, not humans."

I gasped, a look of horror on my face. "He kills animals?!"

He winced. "Well it's better than killing humans, right?" he said, giving me a look.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess… but still! How could you kill defenseless animals?!" I exclaimed again.

Zach shook his head and said goodnight to me once more. This time, I didn't say anything, so he left my room and closed the door behind him. Once he was gone, I went to get dressed in my pajamas. Right before I snuggled into bed, I pulled my hair out of the ponytail and brushed it. A moment later I pulled the covers over my body and was able to get relaxed quickly, even though I was dreading school tomorrow.

As I laid in bed, I thought back to the time when I first learned about how Stefan was a vampire-and the rest of the vampires' existence…

Flashback…

'Remember me telling your mother about a family member of mine? Stefan?' Zach asked me suddenly.

The two of us were settled in the Salvatore Boarding House's dining room, eating our dinner pleasantly. I had already been there a month, and thankfully, Zach and I were getting along wonderfully.

"Yeah, isn't he your nephew or something?" I asked, remembering hearing my mom talk about a Stefan before.

"Something like that. He's coming to live with us. He's very nice too, so don't worry." He assured me.

Nodding, I asked. "What do you mean something like that? Is he adopted?"

"Caroline," he said slowly, obviously trying to ease his way into the subject. His facial expression changed and he obviously changed his mind. "If you want to get technical, he's my great-great-great uncle."
He was blunter than a broken pencil when he wanted to be, that's for sure.

I dropped my fork, and it fell to the table, clanging on the porcelain plates.

I stared at him for a moment, and started to burst out laughing.

"You're great-great-GREAT Uncle? You've got to be kidding me! He'd have to be like a hundred and like sixty years or something! That's impossible!"

Zach scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Caroline, have you ever wondered why Mystic Falls has had so many 'animal attacks' on people?"

My mind was spinning. He said animal attacks sarcastically, like they weren't really animals. Why would he be sarcastic? That's what my mom always said- that they were just animal attacks. Just mountain lions and stuff that had came down from the mountains. Wait-I sighed mentally, my scatterbrained ness taking effect. Why did he change the subject?

"Wait a second, don't change the subject! What do animals have to do with a super old wrinkly guy who you claim is still alive?" I raised an eyebrow and he sighed, massaging his temples with his fingers.

"It's all connected. Just listen." He said slowly.

"Okay fine." I nodded slowly. "But my mom said they were just mountain lions or something. And what does the attacks have to do with Stefan?" I took a bite of my steak and chewed slowly, still extremely confused.

"Mystic Falls has a council to deal with the supernatural. And just wait, you'll see the connection between Stefan, animals attacks, the supernatural and the council all in a moment.." He was obviously testing the water, making sure I wouldn't flip out with what he was about to say.

I scoffed. "A council? Like a…cult?" I snorted.

He shook his head. "Try like a supernatural-paranormal- council. No cult or devil worship-whatever- involved. Armed to the teeth with wooden stakes."

"Wooden raw STEAKS?" I raised an eyebrow, looking down at my steak on my plate. He'd have to be blind to see I was clearly not following.

"No, Caroline. Like this kind of stake." He leaned over and pulled a stake out from some secret compartment in the table. I gasped.

"Vampires?"

He nodded grimly. "Exactly like that." He took a bite of his steak too and chewed thoughtfully.

"So… what are you saying? That the attacks aren't animals at all? Simply deranged hungry vampires with red eyes or werewolves?" He couldn't be serious! I kept waiting for him to start laughing and say, 'you should have seen your face!'

"Yes. Stefan is a vampire from late 1800's during the Civil War." He watched as my mouth dropped open and I started to laugh.

"You've been reading too many horror stories, Zach." I was laughing so hard now, clutching my stomach and tempted to fall to the floor and roll around like a dork

"It's true. Your mother even knew about it. Remember when you used to see those wooden stakes hidden in her dresser and in the hall closet by the front door? And she told you they were stakes to go into the ground for your dad's old tent? That's how you kill a vampire, Caroline; with a wooden stake to the heart. She was protecting you." His voice was serious, and his eyes were grim.
He stared at me for a moment, before standing up and walking next to me. I looked at him in confusion, but he pulled the neck of his shirt over to the side to expose to me a scar of an old bite mark. It looked like someone who had some seriously sharp human teeth took a chunk out of his neck. I gaped at it and lifted my hand to touch it. When my skin met the scar tissue, I gasped and jerked my hand back. The skin was cold and it felt funny.

"Whoa." I finally managed to say after he fixed his shirt and sat back down.

"Now do you believe me?" he asked, staring into my eyes.

I nodded, rendered speechless.

"You can't tell anyone about vampires or werewolves, Caroline. There are certain people who know about it- those who are on the town's council. But if the townspeople knew about all the creatures, there would be chaos to say the least."

"O-okay. I'll keep my mouth shut." I squeaked out and we ate in silence for a few more minutes. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

He nodded and spoke after swallowing the last bite of steak. "Vervain, which is a purplish plant, is a good defense against vampires. If you are wearing it or have eaten it, they cannot compel you. It also burns them if they touch it."

"Compel? Like mind control?" I tilted my head to the side.

'This is so crazy!' I thought.

He shook his head 'yes'. "They can compel you to do anything, even hurt yourself. They can also compel you to forget the compulsion, if they want. Many vampires shut off their human emotions. They have no guilt, no conscious and no compassion. They pretty much become killing machines." He picked up his plate and put it into the sink. He came to sit back down and spoke again. "They have complete and utter control when you are compelled. The only person to be able to withstand their compulsion was your father. And it took him years to train himself to do so."

"No emotions?" I said in disbelief. I thought about my father for a moment, and remembered wondering where he was when I was in middle school…

End of Flashback…

And with that, I fell into a deep dark sleep.

The next morning when I woke up, I heard Zach downstairs in the kitchen. He was probably cooking breakfast for me like he did every morning since I came to live with him. He wasn't that great of a cook but it was edible, unlike my concoctions I made in the wee hours of the morning.

'I hope he doesn't burn the toast like last time…' I thought to myself as I got dressed.

I glanced at the clock what seemed like five minutes later, and exclaimed, "Shit! I'm gonna be late!"

I vaguely heard Zach's voice in the background as I exclaimed, and I rushed around grabbing my bag and slipping my shoes on.

Moments later, I zoomed into the kitchen.

"Bye Zach!" I exclaimed as I rushed out of the kitchen- but not before grabbing the one piece of toast that Zach made me.

'Hey, its not burnt!' I thought with a grin as I slammed the front door and ran to my car.

Surprisingly, I made it just in time to school. I was now at my locker, leaning against it, breathing deeply as if I had just ran a marathon. After I caught my breath, I turned towards my locker and opened it up. I started to take out the stuff I needed for my Math class, but I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned towards the tap and saw Bonnie. I squealed at the sight of my best friend, Bonnie Bennett.

"Bonnie!" I squealed again excitedly. Before Bonnie could say anything back, I threw my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

Bonnie laughed and hugged me back. I held onto the hug for what seemed like forever. I finally let go and beamed at her.

"I'm so happy to see you Bonnie," I said with a huge grin still plastered on my face.

She smiled, "Me too." Then a concerned look appeared on her face and she placed a hand on my shoulder.

I knew what was about to come and I forced myself not to scowl when she asked,

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I replied through gritted teeth. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I scowled at her. "I'm fine Bonnie. Why do people keep asking me if I'm okay? I'm fine- my mom's dead, I'm over it- so I don't need someone asking me if I'm alright, okay?"

She winced at the angry tone in my voice. "I'm sorry… I won't ask you again," she told me and I felt relieved.

"It's alright Bonnie," I said with a sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I'm just getting tired of people asking me if I'm okay, I know you guys feel bad for me but you don't have to ask me if I'm okay all the time."

"We care about you Care, that's why we ask," She said in a soft voice.

I sighed again, "I know." I gave her a small smile, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

I opened her mouth to say more, but was I interrupted by my other best friend, Elena Gilbert. She gave me a tight hug. It caught me by surprise to say the least. She usually never hugged me! Even though we were friends, I was friends with Elena because she was friends with Bonnie. I knew the situation was mutual with Elena. I patted Elena on the back awkwardly. Finally, she pulled away with a smile on her that seemed to bright up the hallway.

She was one of the most popular girls in school, besides myself, because she was dating the quarterback of the team, Matt Donavan, and her father, Grayson Gilbert, was a great doctor who worked at the Mystic Falls hospital. Not only that, everybody loved Elena Gilbert. She got all the guys and she only just used them for her selfish gain- which I found really annoying about her. I knew for a fact that Elena cheated on Matt at least once, but since they weren't close, I didn't tell him about it. He was a great guy and he didn't deserve getting hurt by Elena.

She also had a little brother, Jeremy Gilbert, who went to Mystic Falls' high school too. Elena seemed to be oblivious to the fact that Jeremy was always smoking weed- even during lunch- and he had some kind of thing with Vicki Donavan, Matt's sister. Elena was that self-centered. I admit, I'm self-centered too, just not as much as she was. Elena speaking snapped me out of my thoughts.

"How are you Caroline?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

I forced myself for the billionth time today to not to roll my eyes while Bonnie winced next to me. She seemed to know that I was going to get onto Elena for asking.

"Yeah, I'm fine Elena, just peachy," I answered, forcing a smile.

"Great!" She said, smiling back. Elena didn't seem to notice that my smile was forced.

"I'll see you two later." She winked at us and walked off, swaying her hips as she walked. She stopped at Matt's locker and I couldn't help but to roll my eyes as Matt, who was at his locker, smiled at Elena and kissed her. It wasn't long until they were making out in front of the locker.

"That's just sick," I said to Bonnie with a disgusted look on my face.

Bonnie didn't say anything, since Elena was her friend, but I knew she was probably thinking the same thing. I rolled my eyes once more, turning away from the couple and got my stuff out of my locker before looking at Bonnie.

"I'll see you later Bon," I said.

She nodded, "I'll see you at the Grill later?"

I couldn't help but to grin and wink. "Of course! But I bet you used your psychic powers to know that one," I teased.

"Oh shut up Caroline." Bonnie grinned back and rolled her eyes before walking off to her first class.

It was true, Bonnie's Grams had told her that she was physic and was a witch. But she just thought she was drunk. I would have probably thought the same thing if I didn't know about vampires. If vampires are real, then anything is possible! I didn't tell Bonnie this because she would think I was crazy and honestly I wouldn't blame her!

"I love you too!" I called brightly, before going down the hallway.

Bonnie stopped and turned back to look at me, before waving and turning back around.

From the corner of my eye I saw Jeremy going to the bathroom with a guy. I sighed frustrated with him. There he goes again. Didn't he know not to smoke in a bathroom that teachers use? Of course he didn't… I shook my head and followed Jeremy. Elena might not do anything, but I was.