Summary: Josie is a normal girl from our world who wakes up in the world of the Vampire Diaries. I say she's normal, but there is going to be one thing supernatural about her. It's tied into why she was brought to TVD (which will be revealed eventually, though I'll be dropping some hints along the way) and will help move the plot along.

Pairings: I don't want to give too much away, but she will have at least one serious relationship with a canon character and a relationship with an Original.

Timing: This story starts Season One, Episode One. If you'd prefer to jump ahead to Season Two (sometimes I do this when I'm reading others' stories), feel free to head to chapter 16. There is a Season One recap in that chapter that will let you know the important points of what happened in Season One in this story.

I don't own anything, just Josie.

Rated M for language and sex

Josie woke up to her alarm clock buzzing. Groaning, she hit the snooze button and rolled over. It took a few seconds to realize that the alarm clock was on the wrong side of the bed. Opening her eyes, she realized she wasn't in her bedroom, but somebody else's. What the hell? She'd definitely gone to sleep in her own bed last night. Sitting up, she looked around. She didn't see anything she recognized.

Trying not to panic, she got off the bed and looked around for something that could be used as a weapon. A picture on one of the dressers caught her eye. It was her. A slightly younger version of her with… what looked like some of the cast from the Vampire Diaries? Looking in the mirror, she saw her own reflection, but again, she looked a little younger. What the hell was going on?

Then someone knocked on the door and a blonde head popped in.

"Jo, I hope you're out of bed," said the blonde woman, turning toward her. "Good."

Josie gasped, forgetting her panic for a second. She looked like Jenna, from the Vampire Diaries.

"What am I doing here?" asked Josie, eyes narrowed. "How did I get here?"

Jenna stepped into the room, looking concerned. "Are you okay, Jo? You weren't drinking last night, were you?"

"I.. No," Josie said. "I… I just woke up in the middle of a dream."

That's what this must be, she thought. I'm dreaming that I'm in the Vampire Diaries. Maybe she should just play along?

"I'm fine," Josie said, smiling. "I'll… be there soon. I guess?"

Jenna gave her one more concerned look, but left, closing the door behind her. Josie sighed, looking around the room again. She spotted a phone on the nightstand and picked it up. She looked through a few of the pictures. They were mostly of her and people she'd never seen before, though some had what looked like actors from the Vampire Diaries.

She looked through some of the recent text messages as well. She had a ton from "Derek", some from 'Bridget', 'Tracy' and 'Colin', along with some from Jeremy, Elena and Jenna.

Putting her phone down, she looked at her reflection, thinking this was the oddest dream. It felt so real. When Jenna popped in a few minutes later to lament Josie's lack of readiness, Josie figured she may as well play along for now. What else was she going to do?

She raced through getting ready, before grabbing the phone and what looked like a school bag. When she walked into the kitchen, Jenna, Elena, and Jeremy were already there.

"It's your first day of school," Jenna was saying, "And I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" She held out wads of cash.

Elena declined, but Jeremy took one. Josie grabbed the other. Why not?

"Anything else?" asked Jenna. "Number two pencil? What am I missing?"

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" asked Elena.

Josie drowned out the rest of their conversation as she opened the fridge. She was hungry, which was odd for a dream. She grabbed the loaf of bread and looked around for a toaster. By the time she'd found it, both Jenna and Jeremy were gone.

Elena looked upset.

"Are you okay?" Josie asked, disliking the awkward silence.

"That's my line," said Elena, smiling. "I'm fine. It's Jeremy. I'm worried about him."

"Yeah," said Josie, trying to look sympathetic.

She remembered how screwed up Jeremy had been when the series started. Is that where she was? At the beginning? Boooring, she thought. Why can't I dream about the exciting parts, like with the Originals or Silas?

"Has he talked to you at all lately?" Elena asked. "You guys are close, with your twin bond and all. I feel like I barely saw him all summer."

Okay, so she was Jeremy's twin sister in this dream? "Uh, not so much lately," Josie said, wondering if that were true. "He'll be fine. He just needs more time." Jeremy hadn't stayed messed up for long, right?

"I hope so," said Elena, grabbing her schoolbag. "Derek giving you a ride?"

"Derek?"

"Yeah," Elena smiled. "I thought you said he was giving you a ride today. Otherwise, you can come with Bonnie and me."

"No, it's fine," said Josie, grabbing her toast. "Derek said he'd be here soon." She did remember that text message from her phone.

"Okay, see you at school then."

Josie grabbed the school bag and started eating her toast. She really didn't want to go to school, but figured that's what her dream self should do. What else was she going to do?

She walked out of the house just when a car pulled up and a boy she'd seen on her phone got out.

"Hey, Josie. Ready for the first day of school?" He smiled and opened her door for her.

She smiled at his chivalrous gesture. "Guess so," she answered.

They were walking into school when Josie saw Stefan Salvatore headed toward the front entrance. She saw several students look at him as he passed. He must be new.

She was still with Derek when they ran into Matt Donovan in the hallway.

"Hey man," said Derek to Matt. They did a kind of bro hug or something. Clearly Matt and Derek were friends. "How's it going? You run into Elena?"

"Yeah," said Matt, sadly.

Oh, right. He and Elena had broken up before the show started. Josie saw Bonnie and Elena watching something inside the admissions office. She wondered if maybe it was Stefan?

Josie excused herself and walked over to where Elena and Bonnie were standing. Elena left to follow stoner Jeremy into the bathroom just as Josie came.

"Hey, what's up, Bonnie?" Josie asked.

"New student."

"Yeah, what's his name?" She didn't need to know. That was definitely Stefan Salvatore.

"Not sure. Hot back though," said Bonnie.

Josie laughed.

At that moment, Stefan turned around and made his way out of the office. Bonnie and Josie quickly looked away so it didn't look like they'd been staring.

"So what period did you say you had math?" asked Bonnie, making casual conversation.

Josie responded, "third with Mr. Robertson." She had looked at her class schedule while in the car.

"Right, third," Bonnie said. In a lower voice, she said "He's gorgeous!"

"Yeah, wow," said Josie, tilting her head. And he was. Stefan was pretty hot.

Soon Elena joined the two girls, explaining the conversation she'd had with Jeremy in the bathroom.

"Can you talk to him, Jo?" asked Elena. "I know he'll listen to you."

"Uh, sure. I'll talk to him after school." She was supposed to be a guidance counselor for teen addict Jeremy? What a lame dream.

As the day wore on, she was getting more and more confused. Why wasn't she waking up? This dream had gone on long enough. High school was not an experience she wished to repeat.

Then, she accidently slammed her hand inside a locker and she nearly cried from the pain. Oh god, what if this isn't a dream? But… How is this even possible? Being inside a TV show?

Bored, she took out a notebook during last period and started writing everything down she could remember from the show. She wasn't super clear on timelines, but managed to remember the major plot points of each season. She'd only seen the Vampire Diaries once all the way through, after all.

She was clearly in the first episode of the first season as she remembered that Stefan was introduced then. Damon too, but he wasn't in school. And he was kinda evil back then. Stefan was good, though. Not drinking human blood.

As she looked at her notes, the power of the information hit her. If she was really in this world, she knew… well, whatever she could remember. Not just the past, but the future too.

What could she do with that power? Sit back and watch all the good, dramatic bits close up? Of course, her very presence could change things. And maybe she should do just that- change things. Bad things had happened on the show. Jenna was dead. Jeremy had died, a lot. Could she save them? Make things better?

Changing things could be fun, too. Like a game! 20 points if she saved a main character. 10 points for a recurring character and 5 if it was just a random person.

Then, she sighed. No, even if this wasn't a dream, she wasn't staying. She didn't belong here.

After school, Josie went up to the bedroom she'd woken up in and opened the laptop there.

A few hours of internet surfing didn't make her feel better. There was nothing about vampires, witches, etc. on the internet except fiction. No witch advertisements that said 'Found yourself in the wrong world? Call us now to get a lift home!'

This world seemed to be identical to her own, except Mystic Falls was a real place, with real people living there.

She was still on the laptop a few hours later, when Jenna came, telling her dinner was ready. Dinner with Jenna, Elena and Jeremy was pleasant, even if Jeremy didn't say much. Josie remembered her promise to Elena that she'd talk to Jeremy about his drug use.

Sighing, she knocked on Jeremy's door once they'd washed up after dinner.

No answer. She knocked again.

"Jeremy?" she called.

"What is it?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said, opening the door. "What's up?"

Josie sat down on his computer chair. "How was the first day of school? Anything… interesting happen?"

"Come on, Jo. Did Elena ask you to talk to me? Is this an intervention?"

"She's worried about you."

"Does she know that half the times I got high this summer were with you?"

Josie was surprised. Josie Gilbert didn't seem the type. "And what about the other half, Jer? I didn't show up to school high today. There's a difference."

He scoffed and looked at the ground. She sighed again and threw herself into the role of concerned sister.

"How long before it starts to affect school? Don't jeopardize your future over drugs. Or a girl."

"There's no girl."

"I know about you and Vicky."

"What? How?"

"Somebody saw you over the summer," she lied. "Look, not many people know. And that's a good thing." Josie paused. "Was she your?" Josie couldn't remember that from the show.

Jeremy looked down. "Yes."

"Wow, why didn't you tell me?" Josie asked. Elena had said the two twins were close. She wasn't exactly sure how close, but that seemed like something he would have shared.

"I don't know. This summer… I guess we haven't talked much. I mean, really talk. I miss you, Jo."

"I miss you too," she said, not knowing what else to say. How can you miss someone you didn't know yesterday?

"So what about you and Derek? Have you?"

"Not yet." She was guessing. How was she supposed to know?

"He seems like a good guy," said Jeremy. "Even if he's friends with Tyler Lockwood."

Josie smiled. She knew why Jeremy didn't like wolf boy.

"Please just be careful, okay? About Vicky and the drugs. Find some nice, normal girl to do the nasty with high."

Vicky and Jeremy had definitely not been her favorite pairing in the show.

Jeremy looked a bit surprised at her words, but quickly recovered. "My little sister," said Jeremy, chuckling.

"Little sister?" She thought they were twins?

"Well, you're four minutes younger," teased Jeremy. Oh, right. "Is the lecture over?"

"Yes," she said, smiling. "Please tell Elena I lectured you for at least 20-30 minutes."

Jeremy smiled. "I promise… Hey were you headed to the Grill to meet Derek?"

Josie shrugged. "Sure, why not? Want to come?"

"Yeah, I'll drive."

The ride to the Grill was enjoyable. Jeremy was good company. He parked and they made their way into the Grill. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and Josie walked over to the table where Derek was sitting with Matt and Tyler.

"Hey guys," she said.

"Hey, babe," returned Derek. "Glad you could make it."

"Hey, why'd you bring your loser brother with you?" asked Tyler, eyeing Jeremy who was talking to Vicky.

Josie frowned. "Rude." Tyler was really a dick in the beginning of the show.

"That's the second time today I caught him bothering Vicky," said Tyler.

"Why do you care?" asked Josie, though she remembered that Tyler and Vicky had a thing. She smiled knowingly. "Are you banging her or something?"

"Jo, that's my sister," said Matt, shaking his head.

Josie shrugged. "Anyone up for pool?"

After they'd finished the game of pool, she saw Josie Gilbert's friends walk into the Grill. From her day at school, she had learned that Bridget, Tracy and Colin were the group that Josie Gilbert hung out with.

"Oh my god, I have so much to tell you," Bridget said, running over to her. "I heard the full scoop on the new guy from Caroline Forbes."

Josie laughed as the four of them grabbed a table. Bridget told them all about Stefan Salvatore. Of course, she left out the most important fact of all- that he was a vampire.

After a few minutes, Stefan arrived with Elena.

"He is so gorgeous," said Tracy, sipping her drink.

"Absolutely delicious," agreed Colin. "You don't think he plays for my team, do you?"

"That good looking?" said Josie. "Probably."

"Oh, like you don't have a fine piece of man candy yourself," said Colin.

Josie laughed.

"And you don't?" countered Bridget.

"James is cute," agreed Colin. "But he's not tall, dark and spankable like Stefan. Or Derek."

All three girls laughed.

The foursome chatted for a while and then Josie got a ride home with Derek.

As she laid in Josie Gilbert's bed, she thought about how today had been interesting, being someone else, but she was really hoping that the dream or whatever was over and that she would return to her normal life tomorrow.

Waking up the next day, she was still in Josie Gilbert's room. What the hell was going on?

She told Jenna she wasn't feeling well and skipped school. After sticking a pin in her hand a dozen times like a crazy person, she was pretty sure this wasn't a dream. She was really here. Oh god.

She went downstairs, poured herself a big drink from the liquor cabinet, and sat down to figure out, rationally, what she should do. First things first. Vervain to prevent compulsion. Mind control scared her more than anything. Then… what? Probably a witch.

To accomplish the first, she headed over to the Salvatore Boarding House to see Zach Salvatore.

She knocked on the door, hoping that Zach was home and not Damon or Stefan. Thankfully, Zach answered.

"Hi, Mr. Salvatore. I'm Josie… Gilbert."

"Josie Gilbert. Oh, yes. Miranda and… I was so sorry to hear about your loss."

"Thanks, Mr. Salvatore." She tried to look sad. Josie wasn't sure what to do when people mentioned the Gilberts. Her real parents were alive and well.

"Can I help you with something, Josie?"

"Yes. Are you home alone?" she asked, peering into the house.

Zach looked at her suspiciously.

"I just mean, are your, eh, nephews here?"

"Stefan is at school at the moment. Which is where you should be, I would guess."

"Yes, well," she said, walking in without an invitation. "I needed to talk to you about something without him here. Your… other nephew isn't here is he?"

"What other nephew?"

Josie sighed, trying to suppress her annoyance. She was stuck in a crazy, supernatural world and her patience was razor thin. It wasn't Zach's fault though.

"I know Stefan and Damon Salvatore are not your nephews, they are your distant uncles. They're vampires who were born in the 1800s."

"I… how do you know that?" asked Zach, shocked.

"I saw Stefan compelling the admissions lady yesterday," she said, figuring that was a believable lie. "I've read about vampires in my ancestor's journals. He kept extensive records of all things supernatural here in Mystic Falls. I'd never seen a vampire before, but when he was compelling her, I realized what he was. It wasn't hard to figure out who he was after that. He probably should have used a fake name or something. Damon is mentioned in my ancestor's journals too. Is he here?"

"No," said Zach. "He hasn't been here for many years. Neither has Stefan. I wish that were still true."

"Me too," said Josie, thinking how Damon had killed Zach in the show.

"Are you sure you're safe here? Living with a vampire?"

"Stefan has his bloodlust under control," said Zach. "In a way that Damon never has."

Josie nearly laughed at that, thinking of ripper Stefan and the Damon of the later seasons.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" asked Zach.

"I was wondering if you had any vervain."

"Those journals mentioned vervain as well?"

"Yes. It sounds like it's the best defense against vampires that exists. Stefan has taken a… special interest in my sister, Elena."

Zach nodded. "Just a moment." He disappeared and returned a minute later with a potted plant. "It needs 5 hours of sun a day, 1/2 pint of water every other day. I'd recommend buying a special UV lamp and putting it in your closet."

Josie smiled. "Thank you so much," she said, getting out her wallet. "How much…"

"It's on the house… On one condition."

"That I keep the secret of your family safe?" guessed Josie.

"Yes."

"Deal. Here's my number. If your other uncle comes back into town, shoot me a text?"

He nodded.

"Stay safe."

He seemed like a nice man. Who knows, if she was stuck here, maybe she could save him?

She left the Boarding House and drove to a local nursery. She bought a UV lamp and set up her little greenhouse in a corner of her closet where no one would see. She pried the face off her watch and stuck some vervain inside. There, safe from compulsion. She instantly felt better.

She texted Derek, saying she was feeling better and that she wanted to go to the bonfire party with him. She had figured out a plan to see a witch, but she had to wait until the weekend, so she figured she may as well enjoy herself until then.

When they arrived at the bonfire, she remembered that this party was the one where Vicky was attacked by Damon. Even though Vicky had survived, Josie thought she could try and help. Maybe keep an eye on Vicky and keep her from leaving the party alone?

Derek went off to get them drinks and Josie saw Stefan and Elena wrapped in their intense conversation on the bridge. Josie spotted Tyler and Vicky and went to say hi. Derek soon joined them and the four of them talked and drank for a while. Derek kissed her and when Josie broke away from him, she realized that Tyler and Vicky were gone. Shit.

"Where did Tyler and Vicky go?" Josie asked, looking around.

"They wanted some privacy, I think," said Derek, nuzzling her neck. "Maybe we should go get some too."

Josie rolled her eyes. He was a little drunk.

"No, we should find them," said Josie. "The woods are dangerous. You heard about those animal attacks."

Derek sighed and let Josie lead him into the woods. She heard raised voices and recognized one of them as Jeremy.

She ran until she saw Jeremy standing in a clearing. "Jeremy, what are you doing out here all alone? Have you seen Tyler and Vicky?"

"Tyler went back to the party," said Jeremy, angrily. "Vicky took off the other way."

"It's not safe out here," she said. "Haven't you heard about those animal attacks?"

Clearly he hadn't. Didn't anyone read the news in this town? "Which way did she go?"

Jeremy looked around. "Uh, that way, I think."

Jeremy, Derek and Josie didn't find Vicky for another five minutes. When they did, it was too late. Josie cursed and knelt down in front of the bleeding girl. Ick. She wasn't exactly squeamish, but that was more blood than she'd ever seen in person. She felt bad, but was glad it was dark.

Jeremy carried Vicky out of the woods while Josie called 911. She hung up with the dispatcher just as they approached the fire and Jeremy put Vicky on a table.

Matt came running over and Josie assured him that an ambulance was on the way. She scanned the crowd and sure enough, she saw Stefan, who was staring at Vicky, horrified. Guess he knows Damon is in town now.

After the ambulance came, Elena told Josie she was going to the Grill to wait for news about Vicky. Derek offered to take Josie home, which she gratefully accepted.

When they got to the Gilbert House, Josie invited Derek inside, not really wanting to be alone after what had happened to Vicky. Watching something like that on TV was a lot different than experiencing it yourself. She was more shaken than she wanted to admit.

He walked her to her room and he pulled her into his arms. When he kissed her and backed her down on the bed, something snapped inside her. All her anxiety about being trapped in this world, the sick feeling she'd gotten when she saw Vicky's bloody neck, it just came crashing down on her at once and she started kissing him more aggressively.

She went to unbuckle his belt, but his hands stilled her. "Are you sure?" he asked, confused.

Josie guessed they hadn't had sex before. After 7 months? "Yes," was all she said, and reached for him again.

"Wait? What changed?"

Josie sighed. Seriously?

"We've been together for seven months," she said. "Why wait?" She wasn't a virgin, anyway. Not really. She was in a crazy dream universe, so it didn't really count, right? She just didn't want to think right now…

Thankfully, he seemed convinced and smiled as he crawled on top of her. He shed their clothes and continued kissing her.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"I love you, Josie," he said, giving her a small kiss.

Josie hesitated. "I… love you, too," she said finally, hating herself for saying it when she didn't mean it. But she didn't want to hurt his feelings, after all. Josie Gilbert must love him.

He continued kissing her and reached down to stroke her. He wasn't quite able to get her off- she supposed he wasn't super experienced- but she appreciated the effort. He moved up and rolled a condom on.

He went slow at first, which was good because wow, she'd forgotten how much her first time had hurt. Still, he picked up speed after a while and she enjoyed herself, even if she didn't finish.

Afterwards, they talked a while more before Derek left.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she got a text message from Zach Salvatore. "Damon is here," was all it said. Oh god. So it begins…

A/N: So I put her with an OC at first, mostly because I wanted to show a contrast for a future relationship she'll have with a canon character. Don't worry, he won't be sticking around for too long…

Also, I aged up both Jeremy and Josie to be 16 (Jeremy and Josie are both driving in this chapter). In canon, Jeremy is 15 at the start of the show, but here he and Josie are 16, going on 17.