Melanie woke up to the sound of extremely loud music pounding in her ears. Grumbling in annoyance she covered her head with pillows to shut the noise but all of them were snatched away. Utterly irritated, she sat up and peeled open her eyes to discover the source of inconvenience; Damon of course. 

Heavy metal music was blaring from the stereo system while Damon was in the middle of the room singing along in his loud voice using her hairbrush as a pretend microphone. Grabbing a pillow she threw it at him aiming for the head but he dodged it effortlessly. 

"Goodness sake, Damon! Stop singing or else you'll blast my eardrums," she screamed covering her ears with her hands. 

Damon pulled her out of bed and spun her around as if they were on a dance floor. She stumbled but instead of catching her he let her fall flat on the floor. 

"Ooops! Sorry," he laughed and it annoyed her out of her wits. 

She stood up glaring at him, "that hurt, you know." 

His smirk widened, "but it's not my fault." 

She unplugged the stereo. He pretended to appear distressed, "hey why did you shut it off? I was having such a great time." 

She asked, "why the hell were you dancing and singing like a psycho?" 

His jaw dropped open, "what? My dance moves aren't that bad." 

She shook her head, "at six in the morning? Seriously Damon?" 

He smirked, "because its impossible to wake you up. And I had to wake you up early because my little princess is joining High School from today." 

She grumbled, "ugh, I so don't wanna go to school today." 

He playfully rebuked, "that's too bad of you. How can little obedient Melanie ditch her first day at school?" 

She snapped, "I've noticed that you are becoming more like Stefan by every passing day." 

He shrugged, "I don't think so. I'm just being in charge of you. Like always." 

She sighed, "yeah, you're just being nastily bossy to me. Like always." 

He smirked, "then you should get used to it." 

She rolled her eyes, "I get it, Mr Cranky Pants. Now kindly step out so I can get ready for my first day at High School in peace." 

He laughed, "you're cute when you're mad at me." 

She pushed him out and locked her door. "That hurt, you know," she heard Damon repeating her words outside still laughing to himself.

Melanie chose a pale blue tunic and her faded Armani jeans along with her all time favorite sneakers. Getting dressed she examined herself in the mirror. She looked different.

She had straightened her blonde curls and dyed them a deep shade of walnut brown a day before. Damon had been furious when he found out that she had dyed her hair. A slight smile spread on her face recalling his reaction. 

"What? You dyed your hair? Brown? Are you in your senses? You were the only living proof that blondes are not dumb and look at you now. Proof's gone, you're a brunette. How exactly wonderful!"

Damon and Stefan had told her that she'd have to use a fake identity in Mystic Falls. She would have to go by the name of Alyssa Grace. They were resolute that in order for her to be safe and away from suspicion, she would hand to hide the link between herself and the Salvatore brothers. 

Damon was getting paranoid or so she thought to herself. That's why she had dyed her hair to strengthen the disguise. 

The events that had passed recently had left her a lot paler and skinnier. She couldn't overlook the faint rings around her eyes that contrasted strikingly with her clear pale skin. She used eye liner and a coat of mascara to hide the dark circles. 

She let out a soft sigh; she had to forget that terrible night. She had to start anew. Composing herself, she descended the stairs to the living room. Both the brothers were in the kitchen waiting for her at breakfast. She greeted them and took her seat. 

"So are you nervous about your first day at school under another identity?" Stefan asked. 

She smiled, "not really. I'll hopefully get used to it after some time." 

Damon handed her a cup of coffee after taking one himself, "remember to always use the backdoor when you come home. It would complicate things if anyone found out that the new Alyssa girl lives with us in our house." 

She gave him a short salute, "Aye Aye Captain!" 

Stefan laughed with her but Damon was in a serious mood, "and if anyone dares to annoy you, hurt you or ask you out on a date you are supposed to let me know so I can set them straight on their tracks." 

She laughed, "yes Mum." 

He narrowed his eyes at her, "just so you know; I'm not kidding. I'm dead serious." 

She nodded, "yeah I can see that; you still won't let me have a boyfriend, right?" 

A smirk crawled up on his face, "well you can have a boyfriend. Only if you want the poor guy to be found dead in the woods." 

She spoke, "awww that's so sweet of you. Anyways it's just my first day here. Nobody even knows me and I'm not much of a social butterfly so you can keep your hopes up of me being forever alone." 

A shadow passed his eyes at her words, "I just don't want you to get hurt, Mel. Love hurts." 

Stefan butted in to release the tension, "well you're getting late. And I'm really sorry but you'll have to walk alone to school. Do you get it, Miss Alyssa Grace?" 

She rolled her eyes, "yeah I get it. Bye, see you guys later." 

She stepped out when Stefan called from behind, "if anything goes wrong just give me a text, okay?" 

She smiled, "okay. Thanks Stef."