RAVEN PACED around her room, irritation accompanying each step. In one hand, she held her phone to her ear. With the other, she pinched her forehead to relieve the incoming headache.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Raven hissed into her cell. "You gave Jeremy drugs? He's fourteen! You know he's in an extremely vulnerable place right now! God, how could you be so stupid?!"

"Hello to you too."

"Ryder!"

Ryder chuckled on the other end. Raven released her forehead and squeezed her fist. If only he was in the room with her. She'd stare into his pretty eyes and slap the smirk off his face. Maybe she'd mess up with dark, shiny curls on his head, too.

"Chill out, okay? He asked for them. It's not like I walked up to him and said,'I know you're a freshman and all, but how would you like to get high?'"

"I know..." She sighed. Maybe she'd overreacted... kids did drugs all the time. Hell, she'd been mixing lethal combinations from the time she was fifteen until about three months ago.

And if he didn't get them from Ryder, he'd get them from someone else. At least Ryder knew him and would look out for him....sort of.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry." Raven could practically hear Ryder's smile on the other end. "I missed you, Rae." Raven scoffed. "I mean it. We should hang out tonight."

Raven looked herself over in her vanity mirror. He would love her outfit: diamond earrings, a lacy black dress, and her trusty leather jacket. If only he wasn't such a douche.

"Sorry, I can't. I'm meeting Bonnie and Caroline at The Grill tonight."

"What?"

"You remember Bonnie and Caroline, right? I mean, you haven't met them but..." She turned in the mirror, inspecting her body. She looked good.

"Yeah, I remember..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that you guys haven't spoken in months and..."

"And what?"

"I didn't know you three were stll friends," Ryder admitted.

Raven stopped turning. "Of course we are, silly. I've known them since forever."

"Raven... you remember what Dr. Blake said, right? About–"

"I know," She snapped, no trace of the nonchalance she had before. "But he also said that I should try to get things back to normal so no one suspects anything. Bon and Care are my normal."

"I trust your judgment."

A faint voice crackled on his end. "Is that her?"

"Who's that?" Raven asked. She couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman...whoever it was, they didn't seem happy.

"... No one. I'll call you back, Rae."

Click.

"Hello? Ryder?" She looked at her phone's home screen and scoffed in disbelief. This jerk just hung up on her! "Asshole."

A door slammed shut downstairs. Raven perked up and left to investigate. She found Jenna huddled at the counter, loudly rummaging through the cupboards.

"Jenna?"

Hands still searching, she glanced at Raven and smiled. She hadn't gotten used to having her niece around yet but was enjoying the company. "Hey, Rae."

"What are you doing?"

Jenna returned her attention to the cupboards. "Just... looking for something," She grunted, now on her tiptoes.

"How was your presentation?"

"Let's just say I wanted to down an entire bottle of vodka when it was over."

That explained her behavior. "That bad, huh?"

Jenna pulled out the largest cocktail glasses she could find and filled them with ice.  "How was school?"

"Oh, the usual," Raven responded with a shrug, watching Jenna fill the glasses with Sprite... the closest she could get to vodka, apparently. "Although there is a new kid this year. His name is Stefan."

"Ooh," Jenna commented, wiggling her eyebrows as she placed a glass in front of Raven. "Is he cute?"

Raven blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

Jenna smirked and sipped her drink smugly. They didn't have sit-downs often, but during her past visits, she'd always ask if Raven found a boyfriend or potential crush. And every time, Raven would practically bite her head off as she aggressively insisted that she didn't have time for boys and their foolishness.

The closest Raven ever came to committing to someone was in her relationship with Matt, but even Jenna could see she wasn't fully content. So when they broke up, it wasn't much of a surprise. Everyone saw it coming. Everyone except Matt.

"You're dressed up," Jenna observed as she sized Raven up. It wasn't her best outfit, relatively simple.

"You never dress up," Jenna continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," Raven promised with a soft chuckle. "I'm going to The Grill to hang with Bonnie and Caroline."

"Oh, okay, I got this!" Jenna said eagerly. This was the parental moment she'd been waiting for. "Wait for this... don't stay out too late. It's a school night."

"Beautiful," Raven commented with an entertained smile. Jenna grinned, celebrating the small accomplishment with a fist pump. The two raised their glasses and clinked them together triumphantly. "You really have this whole parenting thing in the bag. You should have your own kid someday."

Jenna laughed. "Thanks, but I think two volatile teenagers are enough."

Raven chuckled and put her empty glass on the counter before pushing herself off the chair. "Have fun!" Jenna called out after her as she left. Just as she started to respond, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Raven announced, speeding to answer the unexpected visitor. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find Stefan awkwardly standing on her porch steps, his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. "Hi."

"Hi," He replied. She raised an eyebrow, silently requesting an explanation. "I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier. I know it was...strange."

"Not as strange as Hitchcock come to life," She said jokingly, causing him to laugh. She smiled, finding herself slightly in love with the sound—it was music to her ears. "Don't worry about it. Hemophobia is no joke... Wait, are you hemophobic?"

"Uh... something like that," He answered vaguely. "Anyways, I thought you might want this back."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar brown leather book. Raven gasped. "My journal!" She exclaimed, taking it from his hands. "Thank you so much, I didn't even realize it was gone!"

He nodded. "Glad I could help."

"Not that I'm not grateful, but you didn't read it, did you?"

"No."

She held back a relieved sigh. "Okay, good. Can I ask why? Not that I wanted you to, definitely not, but I'm pretty sure literally anyone else in this town would have."

He frowned. "I wouldn't want anyone reading mine," He responded casually as if that were as obvious as the sky's color.

Raven was taken back by his response. "You keep a journal?"

"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I forget it," He explained. "Memories are too important."

She nodded. Most guys she meet seemed to think that journals were a "girly" thing. It was refreshing to meet a boy who saw the value in recording thoughts and dreams.

"Sorry, can you hold on one sec?" Stefan nodded cluelessly. She smiled and turned around, heading to the kitchen just as her aunt was leaving. "Jenna!"

Jenna stopped. "Hm?"

"Can you please put this in my room?" Raven asked, holding out her journal. Jenna's eyes darted to the book, and she stopped her jaw from dropping open.

Truth be told, this was a big step for her. The only person she ever let touch it was Holly, and this didn't go unnoticed in Jenna's mind.

But instead of making a big deal out of it, she bit back a smile, swallowing her excitement, and tried to keep a casual demeanor. "Sure."

As she reached for the diary,  her eyes averted to the door, and she flashed an impressed look when she saw the stranger's face. "Who's that?"

Raven glanced at the door, feeling a light blush in her cheeks. "Stefan," She responded in a low voice, not wanting her aunt to get any ideas or for the guest to hear them.

"The new kid you were telling me about?" Jenna mumbled. Raven nodded. "Wow, he is cute. Go get 'em, tiger."

"Jenna!" Raven whisper-yelled. Jenna laughed at the flustered look on her face before leaving to put away her diary.

Raven turned back around and walked over to Stefan, who tried his hardest to fight his creeping smile. She hoped he hadn't heard that embarrassing exchange. "Hey, I was on my way to meet a few friends at The Grill—it's kind of like a mix between a bar and cafe—and I thought maybe you'd like to join me. You know, as thanks for returning my journal."

"Sure."

"Really?" She smiled at his nonchalance. "Great, let me just grab my coat. It's supposed to be like forty degrees out tonight."

She pulled her coat off the nearby rack and stepped outside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

As Raven and Stefan they walked along the sidewalk on that chilly September night, the only sounds that cut the strained silence was the music blasting from passing cars and the gentle howl of the wind. The hairs stood on Raven's arm—and it wasn't from the cold.

"So, how do you like it here in Mystic Falls so far?" Raven suddenly asked, trying to break the suffocating quiet. "Not too peppy, I hope."

Stefan chuckled softly, giving a light shake of his head. "No, it's not. I was actually born here, but I moved a long time ago when I was a kid."

"Oh. So what do you do in your free time when you're not meeting strange girls at cemeteries?"

"I like to read and write," He answered. Raven smiled. So did she. "Most of the time, I stay with my uncle."

"Uncle?" Raven repeated. "No parents?"

"No, they died."

She frowned. That must have been why he was at the cemetery. "I'm sorry for your loss," She said gently. She of all people knew what it was like, and although she wasn't keen on sharing her experiences, she was tempted to so he wouldn't feel alone. But after months of pity and fruitless attempts to relate from her neighbors, she knew how ineffective that really was.

"It's fine," Stefan responded dismissively. Maybe his parents have something to do with the move. Or maybe he just wants to save himself from the awkwardness of receiving condolences. "What about you?"

"Nothing to tell here. My parents are gone too, so it's just me, my aunt, and my brother," Raven said. It wasn't exactly something she enjoyed talking about and yet somehow got mentioned in every conversation, so she was especially eager to change the subject."What's your favorite color?"

"Blue."

She lifted a brow. "Sky blue or ocean blue?"

"Steel blue."

"That's a new one," She commented. "My favorite color is red---crimson, to be exact. Who's your favorite superhero?"

"I don't have one," He casually revealed, readying himself for her appalled reaction. He'd had this discussion countless times and had yet to meet a single person who wasn't shocked by the confession.

And it turned out he was right. The revelation made her gape at him. "You don't have a favorite superhero?" She asked rhetorically. She'd known something about him was different because he gave off this...vibe, but everyone she'd ever known at least had one favorite superhero at one point in time.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know, I've just never been into that kind of thing."

"Alright," She said, nodding. "But please tell me you're at least into books."

"Definitely," He enthusiastically confirmed. "My favorite would have to be The Great Gatsby, maybe The Odyssey, on a good day."

"You are the first person I've ever heard say that," She admitted with a laugh. He smiled. "What are you, like a child prodigy or something?"

"No, I've just always loved to read."

She nodded. "Okay, and what about your favorite band or singer?"

"Currently?" He asked. "It's a tie between Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline."

"Oh, so you like old music," She remarked, amazed by his outdated but golden taste. "In that case, what is your favorite movie or show from the 20th century?"

"Seinfeld and I Love Lucy."

"Hold up, what?" Raven asked, surprised with his immediate response. "Seinfeld I get but I Love Lucy? Have you forgotten about the hilarious 1950s masterpiece I like to call The Donna Reed Show?"

"You want to compare Donna Reed to Lucy Ricardo?"

"Donna Reed is an icon!"

"So is Lucy Ricardo!" Stefan argued. "Have you ever even watched I Love Lucy?"

She began to say yes but quickly realized that wasn't true and closed her mouth, refraining from making an otherwise snarky comment. When she didn't respond, he gave her a smug grin before saying,"That's what I thought."

"Well, have you ever seen Donna's show?" She asked, not at all offended by his complacent tone. If anything, she thought it made him even more likable.

"When it came out," Stefan said without missing a beat and then broke into another grin.

She laughed. "Alright, Grandpa. How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen. You?"

"Sixteen," She said. "But turning seventeen in June."

"Are you excited?"

"Not really," Raven admitted, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked down. Normally, she wouldn't open up to a stranger, but the whole town knew of her troubles and he would learn eventually, assuming he hasn't already. Besides, there was something about him. Maybe it was his old soul, which brimmed with wisdom and understanding. There was something just so comforting about Stefan, like he was looking into her soul without a trace of judgment.

"It's gonna be my first birthday without my parents."

Anniversaries were some of the hardest days to get through. But Raven was determined to push through and make it the most epic birthday party ever. As proof that she really moved on. Denial at its best.

She looked up to discover there were approaching the building with the sign for the Mystic Grill. "Looks like we're here. You are going to love Bonnie and Caroline. They're awesome."

"Any friend of yours must be," He said, opening the door for her. She smiled and thanked him as she walked through. Almost immediately after he stepped inside, they were greeted by her ex, who she'd forgotten hung out here with his best friend, Tyler Lockwood, after school. Sure enough, Caroline and Tyler were standing by the pool time, watching them intently. 

Great, now he was he going to think she was trying to rub this in his face—as if what she did before wasn't bad enough.

"Hey, I'm Matt," He addressed cooly, extending his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi," Stefan greeted politely, giving it a firm shake. "Stefan."

Matt's gaze averted to Raven, and she forced a smile, offering a small awkward wave. "Hey."

"Hey," He drawled. Her eyes danced around The Grill to find anything else to talk about, and she breathed a small sigh of relief when she noticed Bonnie waving at her. 

"Oh look, there's Bonnie!" She practically exclaimed.  "We should go."

She spared an uneasy look in Matt's direction and beelined for Bonnie's table. Stefan followed wordlessly. 

"Hey, guys!" Raven chirped. Caroline muttered a cheerful goodbye to Tyler, who narrowed his eyes at Raven, and she and Bonnie jumped to embrace her. Raven didn't miss the way Caroline looked at Stefan, like he was a delicious platter of meat she wanted to take a bite of. It seemed that Stefan didn't miss it either. He quickly shunted his eyes to Raven, who smiled reassuringly. 

After a round of introductions, they got settled. Stefan slid beside Raven. Bonnie and Caroline sat on the other side, facing the duo—Caroline made sure she was eye-to-eye with Stefan.  Bonnie placed a cup in front of Raven, who looked at her questioningly.

"Large vanilla iced coffee, seven pumps of vanilla syrup, nine shots of sugar, heavy whipped cream, and extra caramel drizzle," Bonnie listed before stopping to take a breath. "Just the way you like it."

"You know me so well," Raven said, impressed. Three months away and Bonnie still remembered her order. If there was even a slim chance Bonnie wanted her to feel guilty, it was working. "Thanks, Bon."

"How are you so skinny?" Caroline wondered aloud, frowning at the sugary beverage that was sure to keep her up. "You eat literally everything, and that thing is loaded with sugar---what's your secret?"

"Fast metabolism?"

Caroline scoffed, shaking her head as Bonnie giggled. "I'm onto you, Rae," She warned teasingly.

Raven sipped her iced coffee, remembering how much she used to savor it before everything happened. The bitter tasted of coffee mixed with delicious pumps of vanilla,  caramel, and whipped cream...it was heaven in a plastic cup.

She expected to smile, but instead, she grimaced, adjusting to the explosion of sweetness. She managed to swallow her repulsion. The drink didn't taste terrible, but during her time in the center, she hadn't been allowed to consume sweets. Not unless she...

No.  She couldn't think about that right now, not when she was with her friends. She wasn't in the center anymore; she was free. Free to eat and drink whatever she desired with clean hands.

Raven, unaware of Bonnie's baffled stare, continued to sip, this time enjoying it.

Caroline looked at Stefan, a lively smile brightening her features. "So Stefan..." Bonnie blinked out of her trance. "...you were born in Mystic Falls?"

"Mm-hmm. And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie asked, looking over as Raven shook her head and started to make panicked signals with her hands. Bonnie frowned and mouthed 'What?' before looking back at Stefan and smiling.

He smiled awkwardly. "My parents passed away."

Bonnie glanced at Raven, then at Stefan, considering their very obvious similarity. "I'm sorry to hear that. Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to. I live with my uncle."

Bonnie and Caroline nodded, unsure of how to respond. Sometimes, it was hard to talk to people when you couldn't relate to them or their situations, and so far, they hadn't found any common ground. Raven leaned back and sipped her drink, racking her brain for something to say. Anything to say.

"So, Stefan," Caroline spoke up, beating her to it. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"It's a back-to-school thing at The Falls," Bonnie explained. Mystic Falls threw celebrations for practically any event, and Raven wasn't surprised that Caroline was the first to mention it. After all, she was the queen of throwing parties, a title that no one had even come close to earning. But as much as Caroline loved hosting festivities, she almost enjoyed attending them even more.

"Are you going?" Stefan asked, turning to Raven. She hadn't been planning on it, but Bonnie was quick to intervene.

"Of course she is," She said, giving Raven a look. Raven smiled, laughed quietly, and nodded.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," She added and looked at her two friends, her eyes lighting up as she reminisced about the previous event. "Remember last year?"

Caroline scoffed. "Everyone remembers last year."

"What happened last year?" Stefan asked.

The girls traded looks. Raven raised her eyebrows and stifled a laugh. "Let's just say the fire department got some free beer."

The group continued to chat for a bit with Bonnie making jokes left and right, and Caroline casually drilling Stefan for whatever bits of information she could get out of him. Though Raven suspected she'd already run at least three background checks on him.

Eventually, the stars emerged. When ten o'clock came around, Caroline and Bonnie had already left for home, but Stefan and Raven stayed back a bit and conversed about the most random topics, very interested in getting to know one another. And for the first time in forever, she didn't feel like the broken girl that was holding onto too many secrets for her own good. She felt...normal.

It was a great feeling. But any feeling could only last for so long.

——