CHAPTER ONE.                     Pilot

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THE SUN AND THE MOON. The orange tabby and the black cat. Two sides of the same coin. Opposites, and yet truly they had very few differences.

You could say that's what made them best friends.

Hazel Greenwood and Sadie McCullough were the type of friends you'd think were soulmates. Their lives intertwined by a pretty gold ribbon as they stumbled into each other's worlds. They became each other's worlds. Best friends who could spend weeks at each other's houses. Invited on family vacations. They were the only friends they didn't have to ask permission to see or invite over. A bonus sister in each of their households.

The two of them both moved into a small town in Virginia in the sixth grade. From the moment they met, they became best friends. You often didn't see one without the other. Their houses were a few streets down from each other, leading to many nights of one sporadically showing up at the other's front door.

Hazel's dad moved to Mystic Falls, Virginia after getting a job offer to run the local library. So, Hazel joined her father in the move. Her mother and stepdad, Rachel and Joseph Manson, lived just outside of town, raising Hazel's little step-sister and her older step-brother. The library was one of Hazel's favorite parts of the town. Though she didn't read as much as she would like, she loved being surrounded by stories and pieces of history. She also loved having an easy summer job helping her dad organize the shelves and repair damaged books.

Sadie's family moved in the same month as the Greenwoods to be closer to their own family. Sadie's mom was the younger sister of Mayor Richard Lockwood. And though Sadie often pretended her cousin, Tyler, didn't exist, the girl often had to deal with him at the town events. At every party, dinner, or fancy gathering, Sadie would stand in between Tyler and her own mom, smiling in photos as if she were part of this picture-perfect family. But she never felt that way. Not when Tyler was as problematic as they come and his own parents were privileged assholes. Part of it made her blood boil.

Luckily for Sadie, her summer vacation spent little time with the Lockwood family, and more with the Greenwoods and the Manson's. If Sadie wasn't working at the local library, she was at Hazel's house watching movies and eating junk food. The last two weeks of summer, she and Hazel had been on vacation with Hazel's mom, exploring France and all of its tourist attractions. But summer was ending, most people back home for their first day of school in the morning. That included both the McCullough and her best friend.

Hazel sat in the corner of her bedroom, curled up in a papasan chair with a book in hand. Nighttime had settled on her town, and the streets were quiet as kids prepared for their first day of school in the morning. Their last day of summer was filled with overdramatic despair and frowns. Hazel herself didn't mind. She had always loved school. A stable routine, a natural way to be social (for someone who often didn't like being social), she was a natural learner, and it just made her feel more content.

     She hated feeling out of control. She hated not having order. Authority. She could never be authority. She always followed. A doormat, her mother called her. She let people walk all over her with their muddy boots and let them crush her bones into the mud. Hazel liked it that way. Not really. It often made her feel small and weak. Like maybe she was this fragile doormat nobody cared about. But it was comfortable. Comfortability was better than nothing.

In her hands, was Animal Farm by George Orwell. A book that, truthfully, didn't intrigue her all that much, but she would have to read it for her English class in the coming weeks, and the girl knew she'd never finish it in time with their essays. She was a slow reader if she hated the book. This book made her sad. Animals dying. Horrible metaphors that made her stomach stir. She wanted to sit in it, though. Maybe a form of emotional self-harm if she thought about it for too long.

    Her street was dimly lit by the streetlight at the corner. Her old bus stop, before Sadie got her license. Hazel would glance out every now and then. She'd see an elderly person walking their dog, or even her dad take their dog out. She had seen a few cars pass through. And now, a man, in dark clothes, standing under the streetlight. It was almost like he was looking right at her. Like he could see her looking at him. Like he knew she was confused. It felt like his eyes she couldn't see stared into her soul and knew everything. She felt like that about a lot of people.

Hazel's paranoia came in quickly as she straightened her spine, leaning closer to the window. He was tall, but she couldn't make out his face. Just dark clothes, broad shoulders, and his head slightly angled up towards her house. She looked away, her eyes moving toward her alarm clock reading 10:17 pm. She should go to bed, soon, she thought before she looked back out. He was gone. Hazel leaned close to the glass, trying to see any sign of the man. Nobody was there. The street was empty and the houses surrounding her were dark. Maybe it was nothing, she decided as she put an old Polaroid of her old Persian cat in her book. Hazel always had a creative imagination. Watched too many horror movies as a kid, and now was terrified of the dark. She still kept a lamp on by her bed at night. Probably just a neighbor who noticed her in the window. Normal. Completely normal.

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SEPTEMBER SEVENTH WAS A WARM MORNING IN MYSTIC FALLS. The air was slowly beginning its shift from summer to autumn. People were doing their morning jogs, or leaving for work. Kids were scrambling to get to their first days of school on time. It was a refresh. A new year for students. A restart.

James Greenwood had the news on in the living room, watching it from his kitchen as he ate a piece of toast and drank his morning coffee. He shook his head solemnly, seeing the faces of a deceased young couple who passed away in an animal attack last night. He could hear his daughter's footsteps before he saw her. She came down the stairs, her long bright red hair a slight mess as it always was. She looked tired, clearly having trouble going to bed like most teenagers did. She was wearing a faded green long-sleeve over a white tank top, jeans, and converses. She grumbled a good morning as she opened the fridge, grabbing the milk.

     James was a good dad, all things considered. Him and his daughter were too alike for his ex-wife's taste. Both a little strange, a little cold if you didn't know them, probably some underling generational trauma from his end that led to their own lack of emotion. He worked hard to pay the bills. Librarians get paid well, and he gets paid extra by the local historical society to keep their archives in check. Lead to a lot of him at the city hall or the Lockwood estate.

"Hey, if you and Sadie are hanging out, I don't want you two staying out after dark, alright?" James told the teenage girl. "You're almost sixteen, but animal attacks don't care how old you are."

Hazel looked at the TV, seeing the faces of Darren Malloy and Brooke Fenton. Admittedly, the teenage girl didn't watch the news often. Reality was dark and twisted, and it would upset her. So, she started avoiding it. Changing the channel if her dad wasn't paying attention, skipping anything mentioned in a magazine. Some may call it ignorance, but she called it oblivious peace. But the faces of the couple on the screen caused Hazel to frown sadly. They weren't much older than her. In their twenties, college age. She was a junior in high school.

"Luckily for all of us, I don't go outside," Hazel commented as she poured her cereal into a bowl. She then followed it with milk, listening to her dad talk as she focused on her breakfast.

"That's true," James muttered, leaning against the counter. "Listen, I am probably going to be home late from the library. I have a bunch of orders coming in and then this child came in with a fully ruined copy of Harry Potter. Like, the spine was falling off. For crying out loud." He shook his head in annoyance, thinking about how much he cared for the books on his shelves, only for careless people to ruin them.

Hazel nodded, "That's fine. Sadie and I were planning on heading to the Grill late anyways. Get a bite to eat." She explained to her dad, who nodded. It was a tradition the girls had anyway. They would always go to the Mystic Grill on important days. First day of school, school dances, birthdays, you name it. Other than the library, the Mystic Grill was an important location for their friendship.

James seemed unsurprised by this, nodding along as he finished his food and brushed his hands off on his khaki's. "Like I said, don't stay out too late." His hands landed on each side of Hazel's head, bringing her forward so he could plant a kiss on the top of her hair. "Have a good first day of school! My princess is a junior!"

"And still eats Lucky Charms!" She called out, eating another spoonful. Her dad disappeared into the living room, around the corner into the hallway, and out the garage door. Hazel put her bowl down, eating another bite of cereal as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She could see a text from Sadie, reading she was about to leave her house. Hazel mumbled, mouth full of Lucky Charms, scrambling back up the stairs to find a jacket and her backpack.

One of her dad's old leather jackets from when he was in highschool layered over her outfit and her shoulder bag was tossed over her shoulder. Within moments, she could hear the familiar honking of her friends yellow volkswagen beetle. Hazel cursed under her breath, rushing down the stairs, and jumping over her dog, Bear. He was an old mastiff mix, and too big for his own good. She rushed to her bowl of cereal, quickly chugging the leftover milk before throwing it in the sink. More obnoxious honking caused Hazel to let out a shout, before running for the front door.

Sadie McCullough rolled the windows down as she leaned her head down to watch her best friend come out of her house. Sadie beamed, her skin radiating summer. She differed from Hazel in that way. She loved the sun, the swimming hole, walks, just basking in the grass of her back yard. Even though Hazel was very much the indoors type, that didn't stop Sadie from her own adventures. She looked as ready for school as she could be, wearing a black and grey striped long-sleeve, jeans, and her own pair of converses that Hazel's mom had gotten Sadie for her sixteenth birthday back in February. Her brown hair was left in its natural state, and her bangs she had cut herself middle of sophomore year were now grown out at least enough for her to push them slightly to the side.

"I was eating!" Hazel scolded as soon as she got into the car, putting her bag in her lap as she looked at her friend with wild eyes. She was a girl that got hangry. Even as a child, she had a little pout on her lips that was a dead giveaway to her family that she was hungry but wouldn't say anything. It was a trait that's followed her.

Sadie scoffed, "Well, I told you I was coming, Your own fault for not being ready." Sadie pulled the car out of park and started driving down the street before Hazel could even get her seatbelt on. Sadie turned the corner, "Did you tell your dad we're going to the Grill tonight?"

"Yeah, but he's a little upset cause of the animal attack."

"Animal attack?"

Hazel nods. "Did you not see it on the news?" Sadie shook her head. She didn't really leave her room in the mornings until she was heading out the door. She didn't fit in with her family. She didn't feel like she belonged most days. "Some couple got killed. So dad wants me home decent."

"Like you have ever been out obnoxiously late." Sadie waved off, shaking her head. "Does he remember the party tomorrow?" Hazel shrugged, digging into her bag to pull out a chapstick. "Does he remember your birthday in three days?"

Hazel looked at her friend, raising a brow. "Who doesn't? It's all we've talked about for the last two weeks."

"You're turning sixteen! It's a big deal!" Sadie points out, looking at her friend. "You're the second youngest kid in the grade. Other than that William kid who skipped a grade. You're also the younger one out of the two of us, which means we can't do anything fun until your birthday. We can't go to an 18+ club until September. We can't go to a bar until September. We can't-"

"I get it." Hazel laughed, nudging her friend. "I'm the baby, now, where's your bag so I can see your schedule?"

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MYSTIC FALLS HIGH SCHOOL WAS JAMMED PACKED, as it always was. It was filled with a range of students. The ones that grew up way too fast, the ones that still acted like they were in middle school, the ones that were effortlessly smart, or the ones that couldn't pass a math test no matter how much effort they put in. Then, there was the average ones. The ones that just slid by with their average grades, average families, and average lives.

     Sadie and Hazel walked through the halls, looking around to see if anyone or anything had really changed since the spring. "God, why did Hunter get that haircut?" Hazel said with a scrunched nose. "He's gonna be bald at 30!" Sadie snorted, shaking her head at her red headed friends concern. Hazel wouldn't call herself judgmental, but only because of the negative connotations. But she knew she was judgy. She read too much into people, their personalities, the way they acted when they were unaware she was people-watching. She was a quiet observer, but a loud thinker.

     They walked towards Hazel's locker first. Her last name came first. From there, Sadie leaned on the lockers and looked around. She herself knew a lot about her classmates. Her sister had a range of friends ranging from drug addicts to the cheer squad, some having a step in both worlds. And her cousin was as popular as can get, and though their relationship was complicated, he always ended up telling her what was going on in their small boring town.

"Hey, did you know Matt's girlfriend broke up with him?" Sadie asked. Hazel looked away from her locker seeing a moping Matt Donovan with his headphones. Despite being a guy so popular, Matt was actually one of the good ones. He was kind, he was gentle, and even if he wasn't the best science partner, he certainly made it somewhat fun. Hazel liked him, mostly. She never talked to him outside of classes. Once, she shared a bag of cheez its she brought in (she forgot to eat breakfast). He started calling her his snack buddy the rest of that semester, each of them always discussing what snacks they'd bring to class to munch on while they did their work.

"Makes sense. Her parents died." Hazel mumbled rather bluntly, looking back at her locker. She had heard about Miranda and Grayson Gilbert dying from her dad, who had been good friends with them before. It was a major loss to the community. "What's her name again? Emily? Emma? El-"

"Elena!"

The voice of a blond girl rushing to tightly hug a brunette caught Sadie and Hazel's attention. The blond had a tight grip on the girl, talking quickly with concern to their other friend, Bonnie Bennet. Hazel recognized Bonnie, the two of them had a lot of classes together in middle school and had been friends. They never talked outside of school, despite having each other's numbers, but they were each other's first partner picks in class if their own friends weren't around. Hazel put her last thing in her locker, still looking in their direction. She knew who the blond girl was. Caroline Forbes, the daughter of the sheriff. Hazel and Sadie had never been a big fan of her. Not for any real reasons, Hazel was pretty sure Caroline didn't know she existed. But Caroline was popular, and fit every stereotypical box. She was self-centered, she wasn't very smart, and she was flirting with every guy Hazel knew. Hazel knew Caroline's mom, seeing her multiple times in the library.

     Sadie wouldn't say it, but she thought that the redhead and the blond were very similar. They often spoke before they thought, letting their mouth run before their brain caught up. Sometimes it led to people's feelings being hurt. They didn't mean to (at least Hazel didn't, she didn't know Caroline enough to judge), but they were blunt and often brutally honest. Sadie knew Caroline from her cousin, though she herself never spoke to Caroline either.

Sadie leaned forward, her head almost resting on Hazel's shoulder. She watched as three of the most popular girls in school talked. "I think her name's Elena." She joked, causing Hazel to swat at her.

The two girls started down the hall again, making their next stop at Sadie's locker. Until Hazel froze, grabbing hold of her best friend's wrist. "Sadie Jane McCullough, do you see what I see?" Her voice was surprised, excited even. She often sounded that way when she read a new book or saw a film with her favorite actor. That seemed unlikely in this moment.

Sadie looked around. Seeing students, familiar faces, and teachers. But nothing for Hazel to freak about. She slowly looked at her friend. "No."

"New student. The most beautiful human I've ever seen, and I've seen Christian Slater in Heathers."

Sadie followed Hazel's pointed finger. The two of them watched as a tall, broad-shouldered figure with short brown hair and a leather jacket walked down the hall from the entrance, heading in their direction. He was handsome, no doubt. Unrealistically handsome. A level of beauty Hazel would read about in some novel. Someone who should be walking into a movie set and not a high school in Virginia.

"I want him." Hazel blurted, having yet to blink as she watched the stranger look around. There it went again, her mouth speaking her thoughts before she really processed it. She didn't have to worry about that with Sadie, though. Sadie would often match it.

"You want every mildly attractive guy within a five-mile radius." Sadie deadpanned, looking at her friend. "You're single, not desperate." She had her own brutally honest moments, but it was far more calculated and purposeful than Hazel's.

Hazel slowly lifted a finger. "That's debatable." She whispered. The two girls fell silent as they watched the stranger come closer, his eyes flitting between the two.

"Excuse me," His voice was smooth, warm. Sadie knew she'd never hear the end of this from Hazel. He was attractive, he was mysterious as he was obviously new, and he was talking to them out of the sea of students. They couldn't really see his eyes under the sunglasses, but they could still feel him staring. "Do you guys know where the office is?" He asked.

Hazel nodded, smiling kindly, "Yeah, it's down that hallway." She hid her initial thoughts, but her eyes were bright and her smile was warm. He liked that about her. She wore her feelings on her face.

"You take a right and it should be right there." Sadie finished, pointing in the right direction. She was less of an open book than the other girl.

"Thank you." He muttered, walking around them. Sadie and Hazel pulled closer to each other, watching his retreating figure with curious eyes.

Hazel narrowed her eyes in wonder. "Do you think he's a junior?"

"Or a senior," Sadie mentioned, shrugging. "Think he does drugs?"

"And looks that good? Debatable." Hazel muttered. "Come on, we got history with Mr. Tanner."

Sadie scoffed in dismay. "I hate that guy." She muttered as she started walking. "He's a douche."

"Yeah, well, it's a miracle either of us passed last year, so maybe this year we pretend we like him and he won't give us another F on our tests."

The two of them rounded a corner, waving high to another one of their friends in passing as they ended up in their history class. Hazel and Sadie sat next to each other, assigned via seating chart by sheer luck, not really noticing Matt Donovan sitting behind Sadie. Hazel's eyes followed as Bonnie Bennett and Elena Gilbert sat in their seats. She then watched as the new kid walked in. Hazel's eyebrows raised as she watched everyone else's eyes follow him. Especially Elena's.

     Hazel knew things about people before they did. It was a special talent she acquired from the years of reading in between the lines of her parents relationship. She always knew when a relationship was blossoming, when it was doomed. She could always sense the underlying tension in friendships. She was good at understanding people deep down, even if she didn't in conversation.

Hazel used her pencil to swat at her friend the aisle over. Sadie looked over in confusion, ready to scold her friend. "Look." She mouthed, nodding in their direction. Sadie watched as the new boy walked up to the teachers desk, looking at the printed out seating chart.

Mr. Tanner looked up for a moment. "Name?"

"Stefan."

The pair of best friends shared a look. A hot, mysterious name to match the hot and mysterious face. Hazel shifted in her seat, watching as Stefan walked in her direction. She smiled warmly as he took the seat in front of her. He smiled back, recognizing her from earlier.

"Thank you again for pointing me to the office." Stefan said as he looked back at her. Even though he didn't look, he could feel Matt Donovan's eyes on him. A curious, jealous stare. A stare he understood, despite only being in the building a few moments.

Hazel shrugged. "No biggie. I've been the new kid plenty of times." She shifted in her seat, "I'm Hazel, by the way."

"And I'm Sadie." Her best friend waved in front of Matt. "Why'd you move here?"

"I moved in with my uncle." Stefan explained. Hazel asked him about his schedule. He held out a piece of paper and let each girl pick out what classes they shared. He observed them whilst they did, getting a feel for them as people as they nonchalantly talked to each other and made a comment to him every now and again. Hazel was smart. Smarter than she'd give herself credit for. She took AP english, and she said their math class would be easy (he knew that, but she was obviously also good at math). Sadie was smart too. She didn't get as good grades as Hazel (she didn't try very hard, and would rather sleep or go for a walk when she got home than do homework). But she was obviously more, as they say, street smart. She has a greater grasp on the world as a whole while Hazel seemed to live in her own little one. He smiled at them as they talked to him about their shared classes, their lunch which they kindly offered him a seat at, and the Mystic Grill in town.

     Before the newfound trio could talk further, the final bell had rang and the last few classmates started coming through the door. Stefan turned away, looking down at his school book. Sadie and Hazel shared amused glances, especially when they saw the way Elena would repeatedly look in Stefan's direction.

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"I'M TELLING YOU, his last name is Salvatore!"

Sadie was standing in her bedroom, looking at herself in the mirror. After school ended, Hazel and Sadie headed off to the McCullough household. She had decided to loosely play dress up before heading out to the Grill for dinner. Hazel was on the bed, laying on her stomach and kicking her feet in the air as she looks down at a book.

"He must be related to my dad's friend, Zach." Hazel said, shaking her head. "I mean, how many Salvatore's do you know? And how many come to Mystic Falls!"

Sadie turned towards her friend, gesturing to her denim skirt and lacy tank top. "What do you think?"

Hazel looked up, "You're hot, let's get married." She deadpanned. Sadie rolled her eyes. "Wear it tomorrow night."

"Don't you think it'll be too cold?" Sadie asked, looking back in the mirror.

"Wear my jacket." Hazel gestured to the leather jacket hanging off the bed. "And wear your black boots and you'll be fine! When has the weather stopped you from dressing like a slut, anyways?" Sadie playfully glared, throwing one of her extra t-shirts at her friend.

Sadie turned away, taking off the tank top to put on a different shirt. "So, Stefan's uncle is Zach. Does that mean Stefan will be at the founding family stuff?"

"Probably. My dad's only invited cause he's the librarian." Hazel explained, closing her book and sitting on her knees. "That, and he helps Mrs. Lockwood with all the organizing when it comes to the artifacts and crap."

Sadie pulled on a black long sleeve, now moving to find her jeans to put back on. "Don't remind me. Every time my mom's home, all she does is talk about it. Right now, it's all about the comet, and next? Founders party. Next? She's chaperoning halloween."

"I'm so glad my mom doesn't go to anything." Hazel muttered as she stood up, grabbing her jacket. "Do you know how embarrassing it would be to have to stand next to her and Joe and listen to them blabber about, I don't know, taxes?"

"Ew," Sadie and Hazel giggled as they headed for the door. Two teenage girls who often didn't worry about anything at all. Their lives were simple. They contained random pieces of high school drama, gossip, talks of their favorite shows, and things like that. Moments of girl laughs and their pinkies locked. Secrets and confessions they'd never share with anyone else. Their hearts tied together by a string that was invisible, but they felt it anyways. But it was normal. It was simple. It was easy.

But that was because they didn't know Elena Gilbert yet. That was because they didn't know Stefan Salvatore. That was because they didn't know anything at all.

Not yet, anyway.

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