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MYSTIC FALLS

MYSTIC FALLS HAD SOMEWHAT OF A SUPERNATURAL PROBLEM.

And Charlotte Henry just had to find out about it the hard way.

It had been the afternoon of Founder's Day, the 150th anniversary of the town's founding, just hours before the big parade that would weave through the town square in celebration of the day's festivities. Given that she was a member of one of the Founding Families herself, it was a given— no, a requirement, for her to partake firsthand.

Being a Henry had it's perks, you'd be a fool to think otherwise, but having to wear a corseted gown that smelt of dust and disuse on a float, in front of the entire town, and as the Miss Mystic Falls runner-up, was definitely not one of them.

She hadn't even wanted to participate in the pageant this year, partly because she was anything but a waltz type of person and partly because her best friend seemed hellbent on winning— and everyone knew that if one contestant was going to get special treatment, it would be a Henry.

It would always be a Henry, especially if said Henry was to be accompanied by a Lockwood; which always seemed to be the case. Those families had been bound in friendship for generations, so when Charlotte was born merely a day after Carol Lockwood gave birth to her son, it was a given that those two would grow to be practically inseparable. And they were, hence the fact that Tyler Lockwood had been lounging in the girl's bedroom all day while she got ready for the parade.

He was throwing a Pom Pom in the air, groaning in boredom as the girl sat at her makeup table. "You know, if you didn't ask me to be your escort, I would've been a soldier," he told her with a huff, "a soldier. No one pays attention to the soldiers during this shit, Charlie."

Charlotte shook her head, swivelling as much as she could in her chair. "Oh, like you won't love all the attention as soon as we get on the damn float," she chided, dodging a crimson Pom Pom he threw at her. It fell limply to the ground, and she looked at him unamused. "Plus, did I not give you the chance to say no?"

Tyler rolled his eyes, now sitting upright as he watched her zip away the last bit of makeup left on top of the vanity. "Mom would've killed me if I ruined your day," he mumbled out, standing to help lift the massive skirt of her dress free from under the dresser. "She's always liked you more than me."

Charlotte shrugged, a cheeky smile on her face as they began exiting the room. "I'm every parent's favourite," she responded, earning an immediate scoff from her best friend.

"Every parent but your own."

The girl promptly punched his shoulder, earning a yelp from her left. As much as the statement was true, she still grumbled out a, "you don't have to be an ass about it, Ty."

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After the events of Founder's Day unfolded, which consisted of a million photos for the town paper and pregaming the Miss Mystic Falls float itself with Tyler and another girl from the pageant count, Charlotte found herself at the Mystic Grill.

She had arrived alongside Caroline Forbes, the girl who was practically her other oldest friend, and Matt Donovan. Charlotte was friends with Matt, her blonde friend having a rather large crush on him fuelled the intensity of that as of late, but their friendship actually began due to the fact that he was also friends with Tyler; only now, the two were in a squabble due to the Lockwood boy kissing Matt's mother.

When the brunet told her, leaving out the part where he beat the crap out of Matt, Charlotte slapped him upside the head and told him to apologize. The Donovan boy didn't accept it, of course, but that didn't stop Tyler from coincidentally being at the Grill at the same time they were.

Charlotte had looked at him like he was a puppy someone had kicked, playing pool by himself amidst the other patrons while the other teens sat not too far from him. If she hadn't promised Caroline to hang out that night first, she'd be right next to him trying to figure out the rules of the game.

Coming out of the restroom, Charlotte locked eyes with Tyler's father escorting the three teenagers out. Caroline was holding onto Charlotte's purse, and with questioning eyes, she turned to the mayor. "What's going on?"

"Tyler's gonna drive you all home," Mayor Lockwood said, finality in his statement. There was an undertone of uneasiness in his words, but the girl couldn't figure out why.

Charlotte's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the boy in question. Although he looked uncertain too, Tyler only motioned for her to follow. Averting her gaze back to the older man, she nodded, "have a good night, Mr Lockwood."

"Get home safe, Charlotte," he replied with a nod of his own as he watched the four teens make their way out the back of the building.

Reaching Mayor Lockwood's car, they all piled in with Caroline calling an immediate shotgun, which left Charlotte to wiggle into the backseat with Matt. The girl still had questions on her mind about what Tyler's father was so insistent on them leaving the downtown square, but there were more pressing matters at hand; the awkward silence that enveloped the car was stifling.

"Ty, I think you should let Matt make out with your mom," she said casually, immediately earning an eruption of protests from her other three friends. She then clarified with a shrug, "y'know, as retribution."

Matt's face turned sour. "Yeah, I'll have to pass on that," he said, shaking his head for good measure.

Tyler's gaze narrowed at Matt through the rearview mirror. "I'd kick your ass anyways, Donovan."

"Didn't you already accomplish something like that?"

Charlotte's face shuttered, caught off guard by the bluntness of Matt's reply. "Why is it my first time hearing this?" she questioned, pointing a scrutinizing glare at her best friend behind the wheel.

Caroline whipped towards Tyler. "You didn't tell her?!" she asked incredulously, slapping her hand against his arm that clutched the gear shift.

"It didn't come up."

"It didn't—" Charlotte scoffed in disbelief, "how did 'oh, by the way, I just beat up my dear old pal Matt' not—"

Suddenly, a noise akin to a pitched dog whistle rang throughout the air. She winced, barely getting the rest of her sentence out as the noise became persistent. Tyler had a similar reaction: "What the hell is that?"

"It feels like my eardrums are being pierced," the Henry girl muttered, turning to find both Caroline and Matt looking between the two with confused glances, "are you guys not hearing this?"

In an instant the noise ramped up, causing Tyler to let out painful groans, pressing a hand to his temple as Charlotte lurched forward, pressing her hands against her ears. She found she couldn't hear what was going on around her over the shrieking whistling, unable to hear her own whimpers of pain as someone beside her cradled her head to their chest.

She did, however, feel the vehicle swerve back and forth for what felt like hours until it finally jerked to an abrupt stop. It almost flung her out of the person's hold, and the last thing she could really feel was the blinding pain that shot through her as her head came into contact with solid.

And it was then that she couldn't really feel anything at all.

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[ wyn's note ]

first chapter: complete!! this is just the beginning for our girl charlotte— but if she's not a vampire, what in earth could she be?! LOLOL

till the next one, xx