The twins were pronounced dead at 2:37a.m... At 2:38a.m., both sat up with a startled gasp. Nona coughed a few times before rubbing her eyes. She let her eyes adjust to the dark room then reached to the side and turned on the bedside lamp. She took a look around the tidy, girly bedroom, and cringed. She pulled back the covers she was laying under and got up. Panning around the room, Nona tilted her head in confusion. She sort of recognized the room but she couldn't figure out from where.

It was when she caught her reflection that she gasped. Nona's reflection looked like her but then it didn't. Nona looked more like Nina Dobrev but not exactly. This body had Nona's height of 5'7" instead of 5' 5", athletically fit with curves, Poliosis and Heterochromian eyes, tattoos, and nose piercing. But the face of the Doppelganger. Then it clicked; the bedroom she was in belonged to Elena Gilbert. She stood in front of the mirror for a few moments before opening her door into the hallway. That's when another door opened.

Zheko had woken up on a soft bed that he doesn't remember laying in. He slowly got up and turned on the light. The bedroom was definitely not his. His observation of the bedroom was disturbed by a noise in the hallway. He opened the door into the hallway and saw a familiar face, "Nona?" The girl's shoulders relaxed a little, "Zheko?" He nodded and then asked, "Why do you look like Nina Dobrev?" Nona crossed her arms and scoffed, "You look like Steven R. McQueen." Zheko stepped back into the bedroom , opening another door into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

He could see Nona was right. He looked like Steven R. McQueen but also himself. He was taller at 6'1" whereas Steven is 5'11", broad shoulders, very muscular, Poliosis, Heterochromian eyes, tattoos, and snake bite piercings. Zheko looked like a buff Jeremy Gilbert with tattoos and piercings. He couldn't help himself and flexed his muscles. Then he smiled when he heard Nona giggle, "If you're done admiring yourself we should figure out how we ended up in TVD." Zheko huffed, "Who cares? We're here and we should make the best of it."

Nona's eyes narrowed, "We died, only to wake up in an universe that shouldn't exist. Aren't you at least a bit curious on how we got here?" Zheko shook his head, "Not really. You know I believe in the multiverse theory. This could be a real universe that someone has caught a glimpse of and turned it into a tv show. For all we know, there may be things we don't know that weren't shown or wasn't in the books. So, I'm not going to flip about how we got here. I'm just going to play along." He scrunched her eyebrows in thought, "Except for the drugs and Jeremy's love-sickness for Vicki."

Nona ran a hand through her hair and that reminded her, "How are we going to explain our change in appearance? Can't exactly say we dyed our hair or changed our eye color?" Zheko shrugged, "Why not?" He went back into his room with Nona right behind him. Sitting on his bed, "We could say Grayson made us hide our real hair and had us wear contacts. He didn't want anyone questioning our strange appearance." Nona caught on, "Color rinse was added into our shampoo and conditioner. After our parents' death, the shampoo and conditioner ran out and so did the rinse. Now we have our real hair colors back."

Zheko yawned as he agreed. Nona patted him on the shoulder, "Get some more sleep. If this is really our life now, we're going to need all the sleep we can get." Nona went back to her room and laid down on the bed that is now hers and went to sleep. If they are really in TVD then they will have to adapt. Nona fell asleep thinking about whether they should alter the plot or let it play out. Images on season one ran through Nona's head; stopping on the Salvatore brothers and the chaos they brought. Nona also remembered Damon using Caroline and decided she was going to change that.

A few hours later, the twins were up and doing their morning routine. Which consisted of stretching, and callistatics. Zheko made a note to get a pull-up bar for his room or maybe turn the garage into a gym. Nona was relieved that her body was as flexible as it was before she died. Elena was a cheerleader, but Nona wasn't in her past life. Freshly showered and dressed, the twins headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. Nona had scrunched her nose in disgust at her wardrobe and decided to go shopping after school.

For now, she wore black skinny, ripped jeans, tank top, black hoodie, and black Vans high tops. She put her hair in a high ponytail, her Poliosis was very prominent with her white streaks in the front and smaller streaks on the side and back of her hair. The white in her eyelashes and eyebrows is stunning against her different color eyes, so she decides to forego make-up and just apply lip gloss. She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the kitchen.

Zheko was able to find something that fit him, but knew he was going to need to get newer clothes. He went with black sweats, white tank top, white hoodie, and sneakers. Pulling his sleeves up to his elbows which showed off his tattoos. He took a moment to look over his tattoos, remembering getting every one of them, and smiles; he's happy to have them in this new life. Especially the Expendables tattoo he got from his dad. The smile slowly drops. Zheko misses his dad, and hopes he is doing okay. Zheko grabbed his bag and left his room.

Soon they were joined by a frantic Jenna, "Toast. I can make toast." She looked up when she heard the twins' laughter, "You guys are up early. You guys look different...What happened? You have tattoos?! Piercings?!" The twins only laughed harder. Once they calmed down they told her the story they came up with the night before. "Wow. I knew Grayson was messed up but damn. Well, you guys look awesome."

Jenna was appointed the twins' guardian even though she was only a few years older than them. She wasn't around enough to notice her brother-in-law's actions towards the twins. Jenna wished she did, she would have intervened. Wearing contacts for too long can damage the eyes, and it seems they hardly ever took them out. But now, there is no need for them. What really threw her off was the piercings and tattoos; they didn't have those when they went to bed the night before. Or did they and they were covered up? She sighed and sat on the stool at the breakfast bar. Her attention was brought back to her niece, "Don't you have a presentation today?" Jenna looked at her watch, "Yes, I do...Now, shit! I gotta go. You guys going to be okay?" The twins nodded while drinking their coffee. Jenna smiled and left, "Love you guys, bye."

Nona turned to her brother, "I made a decision. I will not be Elena, instead I will be Echo. Since I'm not exactly her. I feel like a body snatcher. Are you going to go by Jeremy or Zheko?" After careful consideration, "I'll go by Zheko. I'm sure most people will still call me Jeremy, so I'll answer to it too until Zheko catches on." Echo nodded her head as she put her coffee cup in the sink. Zheko rinsed his cup as well, "I'm going to check the garage. See if Jeremy has a vehicle." He gave Echo a side hug as he left the kitchen. Opening the door to the garage he was shocked to see his Harley and Echo's, "Hey, Echo! We have our bikes." He was soon joined by Echo, "Really? Cool. I'll ride with Bonnie today though since she's already on her way."

Zheko opened the garage door, mounted his Harley and walked it out of the garage onto the driveway. At the same time, Bonnie pulled up to the curb and honked. She wasn't paying attention to the house as she applied lip balm in her visor mirror. That is until she heard a loud rumbling as a Harley started up. When she looked at the rider, Bonnie's jaw dropped. The passenger side door opened and her best friend got in the car, "Hey Bonnie." The untapped witch shook her head and looked to her passenger, "Elena? Did you dye your hair?" Bonnie heard the Harley rev then take off, "And when did Jeremy get a motorcycle?" Echo laughed at her friend, "Over the summer. A lot has happened." "Yeah, I see that. Well, we better get going or we're going to be late," Bonnie drove towards the school.

Echo listened as Bonnie talked about her Grams, "So, my Grams was telling me that I'm psychic. She kept telling me that our ancestors were from Salem which isn't all that I know. She kept going on and on about it. And I kept thinking, 'put this woman in a home already'. But then I started thinking; I predicted Obama, and Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida is going to break off into little resort islands."

While Bonnie was talking, Echo was looking out the window but she was still listening. She hated how the OG Elena treated Bonnie and Caroline. Echo turns to Bonnie, "I think it would be awesome if you were psychic. Maybe you should talk to your Grams more about it. You never know." Echo shrugs.

Bonnie takes a deep breath as she grips the steering wheel then faces her friend again, "You know what? You're right. I predict this is going to be a good year. Things are going to change for the better. Speaking of change? Are you going to explain your hair, and...and your eyelashes and eyebrows? Oh, wow! That's natural isn't it?!" Echo smiled, "I will explain when we get to school and I get smooshed by Caroline." Bonnie snorted, "That's Caroline for you." Echo agrees, "But we love her." They both nod as they continue to school.

Even though Zheko left before Echo, he still arrived after Bonnie parked. The sound of his Harley caught everyone's attention. Nobody expected Jeremy Gilbert to ride a Harley, or be covered in tattoos, or his obvious physique changes. He pulled into the student parking lot and parked in a spot designated for motorcycles then took off his helmet. As Zheko walked into the school, he was stopped by Vicki, "Hey, Jer. Looking good." "Nope. Not interested," Zheko moved past her.

Vicki grabbed his arm as he passed, "Hey, what's with the brush off?" Zheko coldly stared at her hand then back at her, "As I said, not interested. Go back to Tyler." Vicki dropped her hand and scoffed, "You know what, screw you." "No. Never again," Zheko kept walking away from the junkie. Tyler had seen the whole thing and couldn't believe little Gilbert dropped Vicki just like that. He, along with everybody else, also wondered about his appearance.

Echo and Bonnie were at her locker, "Find a man. Coin a phrase. It's going to be a busy year." Echo laughed then, "Oomph! Hey Caroline." "Oh my god, Elena. How are you? You look...different," Caroline stepped back a little to look at her friend. "Yeah, Zheko and I found out some things this summer. Like how our dad mixed color rinse into our shampoo and conditioner." "Oh, that's why your hair smelt awful," Caroline bluntly stated before trying to recant, "I mean it wasn't that bad." Echo only smiled, "It's okay, Care. Just glad we don't have to hide anymore."

"Wait, Zheko?" Bonnie questioned. "Jeremy is going by his middle name now," Echo says as she nudges her head towards her twin's direction. Caroline and Bonnie were slack jawed. Then Caroline blurted, "When did he get hot?" Echo laughed loudly as she watched Bonnie nod her head. Zheko passed them on the way to class and chuckled, "Never change Caroline." Caroline blushed, "Okay, I will see you guys later." She hugged them both then headed to class.

Echo could feel eyes on her. She turns to a shocked Matt and waved. Matt turned away and walked in the other direction. Echo shrugged. She never liked Matt; she knew OG Elena dated him but fell out of love before it got serious. She was going to avoid him as much as she could. Bonnie and Echo were walking down the hall but stopped as they were going to pass the office. "Hold up, who is this?" Bonnie wondered. The body snatcher knew it was Stefan, one of the two people she crushed on in the show. Echo used OG Elena's line, "All I see is back." "It's a hot back," Bonnie shot back. Echo knew Stefan could hear them so she decided to mess with him, "I don't know. He seems like the loner type." "Right. Maybe he plays the guitar and lived in Seattle." Echo snorts, "You're really gonna play up this psychic thing?" Bonnie nods, "Pretty much."

"Come on. I'm sure we'll see him in class," Echo tried dragging Bonnie away but she stayed put. Echo headed for the restroom, she could still hear Bonnie, "Please be hot. Please be hot." Stefan left the office after compelling his enrollment. He winked at a staring Bonnie as he passed her. She shook her head then smiled as she headed for homeroom.

Since Zheko is not doing drugs, Echo had no reason to go into the men's room. But she still went into the women's, so when she came out she bumped into Stefan. "Oomph," Echo was caught by a pair of strong arms before she fell. "Nice save. Hey, I've never seen you before. Are you new?" Echo tried to play it off. Stefan was lost in her eyes and his own thoughts. Wondering why he didn't notice her hair or eyes before? He realized this girl was definitely not Katherine. His thoughts were cut short when he heard her voice, "Hey, you okay?" Stefan shook his head to clear it, "Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I just never seen anything like this."

Stefan cringed at what he just said. Echo brushed it off, "It's ok. My twin and I get that a lot.

We should head to class before we're late. Do you know your first class?" Stefan handed her the schedule he got, which should almost match hers. "Huh? Okay, we have almost the same classes. Let's head to homeroom. Fair warning, Tanner's an ass," Echo warned as she led him towards the class.

All throughout the day, the Gilbert twins were asked questions about their appearances. Zheko was ready to go home before lunch but he knew this wouldn't change anything. So he stayed. He watched his twin get stared at by Stefan in the classes they shared. He texted Echo, "He's staring @ u." Echo discreetly got out her phone and saw the text, "Bonnie said the same." Echo looked in the vampire's general direction and saw he was in fact staring. And this went on the whole day.

Lunch time brought another issue, Tyler Lockwood. The untriggered werewolf sat in front of Zheko at his table, "What's your deal, Gilbert? Are you juicing?" Zheko snorted as he chewed his sandwich, "No. I just started to take care of myself. Got sober and hit the bench. Something wrong with that?" He knew he was challenging the easily angered guy. Tyler's nostrils flared, "Whatever, Gilbert. And what's with you and Vicki?" "Nothing. I'm just done with that part of my life. She is not my girlfriend nor will she ever be.

"Truthfully, she has no respect for herself. Or she wouldn't have been bouncing between me and you. And I do have more respect for myself than to let her string me along. Now, can I get back to eating my lunch or is there anything else you want to say?" Zheko took another bite of his sandwich as Tyler stood up to leave. But not before swiping Zheko's tray off the table onto the ground. Zheko rolled his eyes, "Real mature, Tyler." Zheko gathered his bag and picked up the tray so he could toss it. He shoulder checked Tyler as he passed him. Matt came up to Tyler, "Dude, what was that?" Tyler rubbed his shoulder, "Nothing. He's a punk." Matt shook his head, and went back to their normal table.

The rest of the day was not so bad. The twins did learn they still had their abilities, and then some. Echo was trying to get Zheko's attention by staring at him and saying his name in her head, but accidentally yelled in his mind. She noticed the flinch then tried again but quieter, "Did you hear me?" Zheko gave her a barely there nod, "This is new. Wonder what else we can do now?" The twins grew excited to experiment with their gifts after school. Bonnie, Caroline, and Stefan watched the twins as they seemed to be silently communicating. Caroline leans to Bonnie and whispers, "Are they talking without talking?" Bonnie shrugged, "It must be a twin thing."

After the final bell rang, Caroline and Bonnie reminded Echo about meeting at the Grill later. Echo messaged her twin, "Going to parents' graves and see if either of them show up." Zheko shook his head, "Be careful. Damon's a dick...Well, moreso than usual." Echo snorted as she started walking towards the cemetery. Once she got there, Echo didn't know what to do so she just talked. About anything and everything, as well as apologizing for taking over Elena's body. Even though the crow never showed up or the fog didn't roll in, the eerie feeling associated with a cemetery sent shivers through Echo's body.

She internally shrugged them off but knew she had to play a part so she ran in the direction of the main entrance. Echo is not really a clumsy person but there are days where she trips over air. This is one of those days. Her foot caught an above ground root and she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees scraping both in the process. Echo was confused; the OG Elena only got a deep scratch on one calf, not scraping both knees. She had a countdown in her head, "And 3, 2, 1..." "You okay?" Stefan helped her stand. Echo brushed herself off, "I'm fine. Are you following me?"

Stefan's eyes widened, "No, I just saw you fall." "Well, what are you doing here, if not following me?" Echo grasped her straps tighter. Stefan gave a sheepish smile, "I'm visiting family." Echo knew he was actually following her but this is more fun. "I thought the Salvatores have their own crypt?" Stefan felt like he was caught, "We do. It's not just the Salvatores that are family to me." Echo didn't want to push it further. Before she could say anything else, Stefan asked, "Did you hurt yourself?" "What?" Echo pretended to not hear him. "Did you hurt yourself?" Stefan pointed to the injured knees. The scent of Echo's blood is incredibly intoxicating.

Echo could see her knees were bleeding a little through the rips, but as she looked back up, Stefan was gone. Echo shrugged then headed for home. She knew Stefan was going to show up later. The walk wasn't so bad except for the sting of her scraped knees. She'll have to clean them up once she gets home.

Cleaned and bandaged, Echo grabs a comfy pair of sweats before heading downstairs for a snack. Zheko was sitting at the dining table doing his homework. She hears him in her mind, "Can we just test out? We know all this already." Echo snorted, "You know Caroline would kill us. Maybe we can at least test out of some of our classes?" Both twins shrug at the same time. Jenna had been watching the two of them as they shrugged in sync, "What's going on? Do you guys have twinlepathy or something?" The twins laugh at their aunt, knowing she's closer to being right than she thinks.

It came time for Echo to leave for the Grill. She was going to take the car since she knew Stefan was going to show up. She didn't bother changing the rest of her outfit, but grabbed a jacket just in case. Echo asked, "You want to go to the Grill with me? Meet up with Caroline and Bonnie?" Zheko shook his head, "Nah, I'm going to get my work done then play COD." Echo shrugged as she headed for the door.

Sure enough, Echo pulls open the door and Stefan is standing there about to knock. "Um, hi? What are you doing here?" Echo steps out the door and closes it. "I wanted to apologize for disappearing like I did. It was very rude of me," Stefan rubbed the back of his neck. Echo nods, "No problem, but how did you know where I lived?" She knew he had been stalking OG Elena since the accident. Stefan internally cringed at his answer, "I asked the first person I came across. It's a small town."

Stefan changed the subject, "Are you going somewhere?" "Yeah, I was going to meet up with Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill. Would you like to come with me?" Echo was being polite. She may have a crush on Stefan and Damon but she wasn't going to jump right into a relationship. Echo could feel the Traveler's curse pushing to be with Stefan and she was resisting as much as she could. She should find out if the curse could be broken so she would know Stefan's or even her feelings for each other are real and not a product of the curse.

"I'd love to," Stefan agreed. The drive was short and uncomfortably silent. They walked in together and headed for the usual table Caroline and Bonnie sat. Matt stepped into Echo and Stefan's path. He had asked Bonnie about Elena but was told to give it time when she walked in with the new kid. Matt looked Echo up and down, "Hey Elena? How are you?" He wanted to ask about her hair and eyes but stopped himself. It felt like she hid her true self from him, and that hurts.

Echo gives a tight lipped smile, "I'm doing fine." Matt looks at Stefan, "Yeah, I see that." Matt reaches his hand out to Stefan, "I'm Matt." Shaking his hand, Stefan responds stiffly, "Stefan." Matt nods and then goes over to Tyler's table. Echo rolls her eyes as she heads for her friends, "Hey guys, I brought the new guy." Introductions are given, then Caroline starts to interrogate Stefan. Something that was different about Caroline was she's not interested in Stefan romantically. She actually has a boyfriend that had moved out of town over the summer. Caroline talks to him all the time, she was determined to make the long distance relationship work.

"So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked. "Yeah, but I moved when I was very young," Stefan leaned back in his chair. "Parents?" Bonnie joined in the questioning. Stefan seemed a little uncomfortable but still answered, "My parents passed away." Echo felt sympathetic, "I'm sorry. Was it recent?" Stefan shook his head, "No. I was very young." Echo hid her smirk as she asked, "Siblings?" Stefan gave a heavy sigh, "None that I talk to." Caroline added, "So, you do have a sibling?" Stefan nodded, "An older brother, Damon. We had a falling out a while back. I live with my uncle."

The questions would've continued but Caroline's phone rang, "Oh, I got to get this. I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." She answered as she walked to the door, "Hey, baby." Stefan half listened to the phone call. He was relieved Caroline had a boyfriend since he thought she was crushing on him. Echo smiled at the love-sick look Caroline adapted when she answered her phone. It also means she wouldn't be tempted by Damon. But Echo will still protect Caroline from the vampire.

By the time Echo got home Zheko was in his room, and Jenna was asleep. Echo knocked on her twin's door, "Zheko?" He opened the door, "What's up?" Echo sighed, "Some time before the Comet, I want to tell Caroline about the supernatural so she can be protected. Do you think that is a good idea?" Zheko thought about it, "I don't see why not? We already changed some things. Like how Vicki isn't here or that any paraphernalia has been thrown out. It probably won't keep her from being turned but at least keep her from being used by Damon." Echo agreed, "Good point. Plus she was a badass vampire." Zheko snickered, "True. Tomorrow after school we'll tell her." After that Echo went to her own room to get ready for bed, "Tomorrow."

AN: Edited for changes. Damon never escaped Augustine. Enzo did.