2. Too Much Attention

            Last night was definitely a rough night for me. I couldn't get any sleep, considering I had a nightmare last night. It was of the incident that forever changed my life. Of course, I wasn't the only one who had a rough night. Due to the nightmare/memory, I screamed in my sleep. Elena was the one who woke me up. She held me as I cried. With her holding me, I cried myself to sleep.

            Nobody came to wake me up the next morning; I got up on my own account. My face still felt a little wet from all the crying I did last night. Stupid nightmare. Some memories never fade and just love to come back and haunt me. I never wanted that to happen again, it had bothered me enough in past nightmares before. I wanted it to go away, but I knew that was a wish that would never come true.

            I raked through my messy hair. Ugh, bed head, not a great way to start a new day. I had almost forgotten I was in a new place now, a new home. Mystic Falls was a place I was going to have to get used to. After all, I was going to live here for probably the rest of my life.

            Sluggishly, I slipped out of bed, using the bathroom. I looked at the mirror above the sink. I was not the girl I once was. I was more reserved now, frightened to stay home alone or step outside the door alone. The world was a dangerous place, and I knew that all too well. I also knew that innocent people got hurt at the most unexpected times.

            I slipped back into the room, pulling the blinds up, getting the goop out of my eyes. The sun nearly blinded me; I took a few steps back away from the window so I could see. I looked out the window and had to blink twice. I swore I just saw someone lurking near the house not five seconds ago. Getting past the temporary blindness, I searched for him. Damn. He was gone. If he had just stuck around a few seconds longer—not that I would've enjoyed that—I could've at least gotten a few features imprinted in my memory so I could look out for him in the future.

            Was he what Elena saw last night? I wondered, or am I just going crazy? Maybe moving to Mystic Falls wasn't such a good idea, especially if I was seeing strange men outside the house.

In a daze, still wondering what I really saw, I nearly slipped going down the stairs and into the kitchen. Elena already had coffee out for me. How did she know I drank a little bit of coffee every now and again?

            "Morning," she chimed. She was still in her nightwear, but her hair was pulled into a ponytail this morning. "I wasn't sure what you wanted to eat, so I figured maybe you wanted coffee."

            "I wasn't planning on it, but I won't let it go to waste," I admitted, carefully taking the steaming mug and sipping it. I learned to be very careful when drinking coffee; I had tried it once and scalded my throat. It felt raw for a few days due to my stupidity. "Thanks." I noticed Jeremy wasn't joining us. "What time is it?"

            "Eight."

            "Really? I thought I slept in late."

            "Nope, it's only eight."

            "Ugh, stupid nightmares." My nails drummed against the side of the mug. "Elena?"

            "What?"

            "Are you sure there aren't any...shady people here in Mystic Falls?"

            "I never said anything about shady people, but there are very few here. Why?" Her brows furrowed in concern.

            "It's just—nah, I probably shouldn't. You wouldn't believe me."

            "Try me." Elena threw a challenging smile at me.

How could I pass up a challenge? It sounded like a long shot, but there was a chance that it wasn't.

            "Okay, well, I woke up this morning, looked out the window, and I thought someone was outside the house looking up at me. But I blinked and he disappeared. You don't have any known stalkers around here, do you?" I tried to tease.

            "Ha ha, no." She laughed. "But in all seriousness, you had to have been really tired. I've lived here for so long and not once have I seen a guy looking at me from outside."

            "I hope I'm just seeing things, but I'm not sure."

            "Okay, here's a way to find out: what did he look like?" Elena put her elbows on the counter, watching me with her curious brown eyes.

            "Umm..." I had to think. What did the guy look like? He didn't seem old, but he wasn't a teenager either. That was all I could gather. "All I know is that he didn't look ancient, probably a young guy in his twenties if I had to guess."

            "I meant more detailed descriptions, Faith. Eye color, hair color, body...you know, stuff like that."

            "Yeah...I don't have an answer to that. He vanished so fast that I couldn't get a good look at him."

            "Uh-huh, sure," Elena said sarcastically. "You were just tired, Faith. It's okay to admit it. I'm feeling a little drowsy myself."

            "Well, I contributed to that," I said flatly. "I didn't mean to."

            "It didn't bother me, though Jeremy did get annoyed about it. He complained about it when he saw me walking back down the hall."

            "It wasn't like he got up in the middle of the night to comfort me; he has no room to complain about it. Anyway, if it becomes a regular thing, I think buying earplugs might be the way to go in dealing with me." I laughed weakly. "I'd rather you not acknowledge me when I'm dreaming."

            "Faith, I'd rather get up in the middle of the night to wake you than to have you suffer through your nightmares," Elena whimpered. "Like I said, I want you to feel at home here. Having nightmares isn't exactly a pleasant experience."

            "It's definitely not," I agreed instantly.

            "I know this is a different topic, but you still want to go out today?" she pressed gently.

            I bit my lip. There was that question again. I wasn't sure about going out, what with that mysterious man I saw outside the window this morning. But it was probably nothing, I told myself. Elena's probably right, I'm so sleepy that I'm seeing things. Besides, she knows a lot of people here. She'll keep me away from the wrong people.

            "Still debating it, huh?" Elena asked me. I nodded. "I understand. I think regardless of what you say, I'm taking you out. Besides, I already promised my friends I'd bring you to meet them at the Grill later for lunch."

            I wished Elena wouldn't do that—make arrangements before I said I wanted to go.

            "They aren't all snobby and rich, are they?" I said immediately.

            "None of them are, trust me. You'll find out how they are when we go down there later. Now, what do you want to eat?"

            In truth, it took some time to debate on what I wanted for breakfast. I settled for Elena making some eggs and toast. It didn't seem like much, but it was more than what I always used to eat: a granola bar or just a small glass of orange juice or milk. Again, either Elena just wasn't hungry or ate before I did, because she only made enough for me and Jeremy—whenever he decided to come and eat.

            The time until we had to leave for the Grill seemed to go by pleasantly slow. I wasn't ready to meet Elena's friends, no matter how many of them there were or who they were to her. Meeting new people was difficult for me since my trust with others was kind of shaken up. Ever since I learned there were dangerous people in the world that could do some serious damage, I learned to make sure I trusted the right people. Not that the people involved in the incident four years ago were friends with me or anything, they had been total strangers to me.

            But I knew what they would always be to me: monsters.

            I stayed confined to Elena's room, smoothing out the white pillows and bed sheets, all while constantly looking out the window. I wanted to know for sure if I had been so sleepy that I supposedly saw this random guy near the house. So far, the past five times I looked out I saw nothing, which brought some relief to me. But until I left the house—whether willingly or not—and didn't see the guy, I wouldn't be able to really convince myself that who I had seen was just something of my imagination.

*      *      *

            About an hour or two before Elena and I were going to leave for the Grill (Jeremy had left beforehand since he had a job there), I figured out what I was going to wear. It would still be considerably warm in August, so I ended up wearing knee length shorts and a nice, white tank top. Hey, just because I wasn't joyous about going out didn't mean that I had to dress like I was depressed. Some part of me wanted to try and get along with Elena's friends, but the other part of me wanted to just stay in the house and not want to go out.

            I pulled my unruly hair into a low ponytail, letting it rest on my left shoulder. Hopefully it wouldn't be too humid out; otherwise that ponytail was going to have to go up high. I wasn't going to leave the bathroom until I felt every detail was mostly presentable. The last thing I wanted was for Elena to be embarrassed by me. If I ever did and she tried to act like I didn't, that wouldn't sit well with me.

            When Elena asked if I was ready to go, I ran back into her—my—room and nearly locked the door. I kept my weight against the door so Elena couldn't open it with her strength.

            "Come on, Faith," she whined, "I promised you would come with me. I know this will be new for you...but it'll be good for you." There was a pause on the other side of the door. "My friends were looking forward to meeting you today when I told them about you."

            "You're just saying that so I'll go," I muttered.

            "No, Fay, I'm not kidding." That was Elena's nickname for me: 'Fay.' That's what all my friends and family called me. There was no other nickname associated with me except that one. "Please open the door. You've got to come out sometime."

            "What makes you so sure of that?"

            "Trust me, you'll come out."

            Elena was eventually right. It took a half hour, but eventually I gave in. Elena gave me a meek smile, firmly grabbing my wrist, pulling me down the stairs and out the door. Since Jeremy took the only car they had, Elena snatched my car keys from me and decided to drive. She apparently thought I would still back out if I had control of the car. Boy did she know me well.

            I grimaced the entire ride to the Grill. Elena was trying to tell me who I was supposedly going to meet there, but I tuned her out half of the time. Observing the little town of Mystic Falls from the passenger side of my car was a distraction. It was nothing like Maryland. Mystic Falls was more countryside than anything.

            "...don't have to worry about paying for the food, I'll treat you," Elena babbled, snapping me away from the view. I shook my head, refocusing on my cousin. "Besides, since I'm probably going to end up putting you through hell, the least I can do is pay for it."

            "Thanks," I said.

            The Grill was like I expected—small. But looking into the windows of the place, I could tell it was a hotspot in Mystic Falls. With the feeling of Elena's eyes boring into the back of my head, I gingerly climbed out, hugging myself. Elena rubbed my back. I looked at her.

            "You'll be fine. I'm not bringing you to a mafia meeting or anything," she teased. My eyes narrowed at her. It wasn't necessary to joke about mafias or murderers of any kind around me. The mere mention of those kinds of people made my chest tighten up. "Sorry, I forgot."

            "How could you?"

            "Sorry, but I didn't go through what you did. You ready to head inside?"

            Without even giving me a chance to answer, Elena pushed me into the doorway. The noise level was a dramatic change. Outside sounded peaceful and pleasant, but inside the Grill sounded more like a bar than anything. Of course, the place did have a bar, not to mention polished wooden chairs and tables with teenagers and some adults sitting at them, chatting happily with food on the tables. I noticed there was an unoccupied pool table. I had always wanted to play pool, but I never learned how.

            "I found them," Elena murmured. I had no idea who she was looking at because she pulled me along before I could even ask.

            There seemed to be four people at the table, two guys and two girls. Of course they were sitting at a bigger table, suited to handle six people. Elena and I were obviously meant for the two empty seats. I felt very uncomfortable, like I had people watching me. I guess not a lot of newcomers came often in Mystic Falls.

            The girl whose face I could see noticed me first. I felt like freezing when her eyes found me. They were a really pretty blue, her eyes. Her bright blonde hair looked naturally wavy around her face. Geez, who was Elena friends with, a supermodel?

            "Elena!" she squeaked. Her voice sounded like the typical preppy/popular girl kind of voice. She lurched out of the chair, skipping to us. I instantly backed up a step as she was a foot away from me. I knew three other pairs of eyes just veered their attention to Elena and me. "Oh, sorry, I forgot Elena mentioned you were a little...flighty. I'm Caroline. We've heard so much about you."

            It felt like I was being interviewed by a family rather than Elena's friends, the way Caroline said 'we've heard so much about you.' Just how much did Elena really tell her friends?            "Hey, no worries," said the guy that sat next to Caroline. Instantly I took him to be a jock, probably on the soccer or football team if he was still in high school. He looked like a pretty boy, with the dark hair, dark eyes look. "We won't bite."

            Caroline shot him a look over her shoulder. I didn't see why offense was taken by the comment.

            "Ignore him," Caroline chirped, "Tyler can sometimes try to be funny when really he's trying to be a smartass. Are you hungry?"

            "Not really," I muttered.

            "That'll change. Come on, I've got an open seat next to me."

            A little wary by Caroline's hospitality, I followed her and sat next to her. Directly across from me was yet another strikingly handsome guy. Geez, when it came to cute guys, Mystic Falls was the place to be. Having cute boys was not something I had anticipated when coming here.

This boy had medium brown hair, with green eyes that were hard to notice from a distance. Elena squished herself between him and a dark-skinned, dark hair and dark-eyed girl. She threw me a warm smile, I attempted to give her one back, but I was sure I failed at it.

            "It's so nice to finally meet you, Faith," said the dark-skinned girl. "I'm Bonnie. And you've already met Caroline and Tyler."

I grinned sheepishly. I felt so out of place amongst Elena's friends. The only person I didn't know at this table was the guy Elena was sitting next to.

            "You don't say much, do you?" Caroline probed me.

            "Caroline," the guy across from me groaned, "I don't think that's a nice way to talk to her. She's new here; she's around people she doesn't know. Not everybody is extremely friendly like you."

            "Sorry. I was just trying to make conversation." Caroline pouted.

            "Sometimes you try a little too hard, babe," Tyler whispered to her. This caught my attention.

            "Wait." I looked at Tyler and Caroline. "You two are a thing?"

            "You catch on quick." Tyler grinned at me.

            "Well, come on, I don't think too many guys who have girls who are just friends to them call them 'babe.'"

            "Oh, since we're talking about couples, Elena and Stefan are together," Bonnie butted in. "Just thought I'd throw that out there since most likely Elena didn't tell you."

            "Oh, she told me, she just never gave me his name," I told her.

Elena seemed to want to hide her face from me. Caroline snickered at Elena's embarrassment. So at last I got a name to the boy next to Elena: Stefan. To top it off, she was dating him.

            Well, it looked like my first impressions of Stefan and Tyler were right: both were handsome boys who could obviously get girls. They were officially off the market.

            "So, you're the one Elena told me about," I said, looking at Stefan. "Believe me; you would not believe how much she told me about you two."

            "Oh? And how much did Elena say exactly?" Stefan probed, shooting Elena a look.

            "Not much—just that since she got with you, she's been thrown into drama."

            "She definitely failed to go into detail," Caroline chirped. "I'll fill you in on those tidbits later."

            "No you won't," Elena snapped at her.

            "Aw come on," I whined, pouting, "I know barely anything here; gossip might be just what I need."

            "Trust me, not what Caroline wants to tell you."

            Only Bonnie, Tyler, and I got food. Elena, Stefan, and Caroline were perfectly fine with the drinks they had in front of them. While they babbled amongst each other, I zoned out, scanning the rest of the place out of habit. Aside from the other people sitting at other tables, there weren't many people in the place.

            "...promised to be on his best behavior if he sees her, right, if he even does?" I heard Elena ask someone. I snapped back to the conversation—whatever or whoever it was about. I got the feeling the 'her' was me. A new person in a different town always attracted people's attention, whether it's good or bad.

            "Who're we talking about?" I asked dazedly.

            Bonnie looked down at her hands, Caroline and Elena exchanged semi nervous glances. Stefan was looking over his shoulder, either acting as if he wanted to not answer my question or to find someone—most likely the first theory.

"Well?" I pressed.

            "No one you need to know," Elena said quickly.

            "If it's someone I need to watch out for, tell me so I know who to avoid."

            "Trust me, you don't even want to know his name," Caroline assured me. I shot her a confused look. "Just take my word for it."

            "And mine," Bonnie piped.

            I frowned, now curious to know who this mysterious guy was.

            I didn't eat much when the food came around. I just nibbled really, trying to keep close attention to the conversations that were flying past me. I was just waiting for the mysterious guy's name to go past me so I could put a name to him at least. I knew if I asked for a description, nobody would give it to me.

            Not too long after everybody was done eating, Tyler had to leave. Caroline pouted about it, but Tyler gave her a heated enough kiss to make me feel awkward and disgusted. Seriously, public displays of affection like that didn't have to be near me. I didn't mind seeing it from a distance.

About a half hour after Tyler's departure, Bonnie left too, so it was left to me, Elena, Stefan, and Caroline at the Grill.

            "You know, you can try a game of pool," Caroline told me, nudging me encouragingly. I had been staring at that empty pool table from time to time, curious to play the game. "I don't play much myself, but I think I know enough to help you out."

            "Mind you, she's never won a game," Elena scoffed. Caroline gave Elena a dark look, but Elena just laughed. It was evident these two were best friends, because I bet if they were just friends they'd offend each other easily and end up arguing.

            "There'll be no competition about it; it'll be just for fun. Come on."

            Without giving me a chance to gather my footing, Caroline pulled me out of the chair, dragging me to the pool table.

            "I think before we even start playing an actual game, you should learn how to aim and strike properly," Caroline suggested, handing me a long stick. It was a lot longer than my arm. She took the triangle corral away from the balls, leaving them in a perfect triangle. "Okay, so you use the white ball to shoot all the others. Don't shoot the black ball until it's the only one left other than the white ball. Sound easy enough?"

            "I thought I wasn't getting taught any rules?" I retorted playfully.

            "Well, this is only one rule I'm teaching you. Now, take a shot."

            It was hard, handling the long stick, but at least I managed to hit the white ball. The triangle exploded, sending balls all along the green carpeting of the pool table. Caroline took a shot and nearly pocketed it. When it came to my turns, I was horrible. I couldn't sugarcoat my lack of skill. My power was good when hitting the white ball, but my aim was always off. Caroline tried to encourage me and calm me, but my horrible aim was really starting to piss me off.

            I could tell Caroline was being patient with me, purposely missing easy shots just to make me feel better. I appreciated her trying to help, but in truth, she wasn't helping much at all.

            "You don't have much of an aim, do you?" a voice snickered.

            I jumped, dropping the stick on the pool table. I hadn't even heard him sneak up on me. I would've heard shoes of some sort approaching me. It was a little creepy that he appeared silently behind me.

            He didn't look too much older than me. His face had a rugged look about it, sort of a bad boy face. His blue eyes were mysterious, and the way he had his brown hair molded was like how Edward Cullen's was in the Twilight movies. I could tell he had some muscle on him just by looking at his arms.

            "Did I ask for your opinion?" I snapped weakly.

            "I think I scared you a little too much." He chuckled. My heart raced.

            "Umm, who are you?" Caroline asked protectively.

            "Easy there. The name's Trevor."

            "I haven't seen you around much." Caroline's voice became a little cold.

            "You just haven't noticed me; I've been around longer than you think." Trevor grinned. His eyes set on me. I felt instantly paralyzed under his gaze. "So, do you want some help with that aim?"

            "Sorry, I don't take help from strangers," I snorted, turning my back on him, grabbing the stick again. I moved around to the white ball, lining the stick with it. I hoped Trevor got the hint that he wasn't welcome by Caroline and me. I wasn't sure what would happen if he stuck around too long, but I was sure it wouldn't be good for him.

            "I insist," Trevor growled playfully, his arms rubbing up against mine. I flinched, instinctively retreating, but I backed into Trevor. This boy was really starting to annoy me. I sighed quietly but irritably. I resisted the urge to elbow him in the chest to get him off me. "Focus on what you want it to hit." He guided my body and my aim. "Line it up carefully, and then take the shot." His breath tickled my ear.

Caroline didn't look amused.

            Despite his unwelcomed help, Trevor actually boosted my aim. I actually pocketed one. I gave a grin.

            "Need any more help?" he crooned.

            "I think she's fine," Caroline snapped. I shot her an irritated look. I understood that he was a stranger to us both, but she didn't need to be so hostile towards him. Way to be a hypocrite, I scolded myself. "I know you're definitely not from here."

            "No, but I've been here a few months," Trevor said smoothly, releasing me. I scooted away from him though my heart couldn't stop flying nervously. I wasn't sure whether it was from anxiety or something...else.

            "Hey, is everything okay here?" Elena butted in. I let out a quiet breath of relief. She noticed Trevor. "I-I just thought you were harassing my friends."

            "Nah, I was just teaching her"—Trevor flicked a thumb at me—"how to shoot properly."

            "Oh. That sounds...nice of you." Elena's eyes showed a flicker of befuddlement and concern while gazing at me. "Are you ready to go?"

            "Yeah," I said immediately. I wished Elena had swooped in sooner to save me. Caroline wouldn't have saved me; she would've started a fight.

            Caroline immediately took my other side, sandwiching me between her and Elena while going out the door. Whatever happened to Stefan, I wasn't sure. Once we were outside, Caroline exploded.

            "Who the hell was that?" she demanded. Elena and I just glared at her. "What made him think he had the right to just go up to us like that?"

            "If I could read minds, I'd tell you," I joked.

"I'm just glad you weren't drooling at the sight of him, I would have definitely had to intervene then."

"In all seriousness, he scared me a little."

            "I was about ready to rip his head off when he touched you like that. Why did you let him?" Caroline stomped her foot. "He could've been some creep!"

            "Hey, don't freak her out," Elena snapped.

"I don't know. I froze, okay?" I said defensively, answering Caroline, tossing my dirty blonde hair. "I was going to get him away from me but I didn't."

            "Okay, you two," Elena butted in calmly, "don't kill each other." Elena's brown eyes looked into mine. "I was thinking Stefan could join us for dinner later, if that's all right with you."

            "I don't have a problem with it," I lied. The idea of having her boyfriend over would make me feel like a third wheel, but I guess if Jeremy was going to be around I could tolerate it.

            "Great."

            Saying a quick goodbye to Caroline, Elena and I hopped back into my car and drove home.

**So, what are your early thoughts on this, you guys?**