Chapter 1
Chapter One
Elena stared out of the window. The sky was in a beautiful shade of blue and gold, blending together around the sun. Small silver stars winked at her as the shadows grew longer. Children disappeared into their homes, and the streets were soon illuminated by warm golden streetlights. Slowly, the sky turned darker as the evening turned into night.There was an idea in her mind. There wasn't much, but it was a bit, a small spark of inspiration that would blossom into something bigger and brighter. Elena tried to urge that small spark on, hoping that it would bloom faster, but as quickly as it appeared, the spark was snuffed out, leaving Elena alone with nothing to think about, but maybe…Elena shook her head. She would not think about him. There really was no use dreaming, since it would do nothing but to make her feel even more upset anyway."Elena!"Elena jumped as her mother knocked sharply on the door before walking in, frowning."Elena, are you done with your homework yet?" Elena's mother asked."Yes," Elena answered."Good," Elena's mother nodded, satisfied. "Get to bed. There's school tomorrow, and I don't want you to start oversleeping.""But it's only nine!" Elena protested, but weakly. There was no use arguing. Whatever Miranda Gilbert spoke, whatever must be done. Sighing, Elena made her way to the bathroom. Satisfied, Miranda left the room after saying good-night.Elena took a quick shower, brushed her teeth, and changed. She lay down in bed, staring at the ceiling, and somehow knew that she wouldn't be going to sleep as soon as she hoped.LINE BREAKThe next morning, Elena woke when she heard her alarm ringing. Groaning, she opened her eyes, wincing at the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. Downstairs, she could hear bacon and eggs sizzling, the welcoming smell wafting into her bedroom.Elena smiled sleepily as she got to her feet, washing up before changing into jeans, boots, a tank top and a light lacy jacket. She got downstairs, laughed with her parents, and grabbed a bagel before going outside, headed towards school. It was a beautiful day, and she really should enjoy it.When she arrived at school, hardly anyone was tting on a bench, she opened a book. Her friends would be arriving soon, and they would be able to find her easily.Just as Elena read the first page, she paused. From the distance, came the sound of a car arriving. She heard several shouts and friendly fist bumps. There was a knot of dread sitting in her stomach, and suddenly, Elena wished she hadn't taken a seat in such an open view.A sleek red car came into view, parking neatly. Four boys slipped out of the seats, grouping together and heading towards the school building. All of them were very good-looking, fit and healthy, laughing at their jokes and having a great time, but Elena didn't care about those three boys. The one right in the center was Stefan Salvatore, and Elena hated to admit it, but… she did kind of have a slight crush on him.All right, maybe not just a slight crush, but yeah, she did have a bit of a crush on him.Elena suddenly had this really weird urge to just stand up and introduce herself. She had nothing to fear, really. She wasn't a nerd or a dork. She had her own group of friends, and she always had a place to sit. She was also quite pretty, with sleek brown hair and chocolate eyes, but she had no idea why she just couldn't walk up and introduce herself. It wasn't difficult. Why couldn't she just do it?Stefan walked into the school and out of view. Elena hesitated, and she gave up entirely. Suddenly, the day didn't seem so beautiful anymore.LINE BREAKThe day passed quickly. Elena had a great time with her friends, but whenever she saw Stefan, that knot of dread returned, and Elena's happy smile would turn into a sad one. It was tragic, really.When she returned home that day, it was already pretty late. Elena shoveled down a quick dinner and sat at her desk. She was ready to do her homework, but she couldn't write it down. Elena tried calling her friends. Maybe she could burn off some stress there, but when she called, no one replied.Elena sighed, but that was when the spark came back. Elena paused. The spark danced along in her mind, and suddenly, Elena just knew what she was going to write. Elena grabbed her laptop and got working immediately. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, and bit by bit, a story emerged from a blank page.Elena didn't know how long she wrote for. It must have been hours, but she didn't care. Somehow, she couldn't just stop. Her fingers were flying, her mind was scrambling, her eyes burned with the need to sleep and…Elena suddenly collapsed. Her head hit the computer, and ridiculously enough, she fell asleep.
