one . duckie
"God, I hate this place," Kellan said to herself, shutting the door of her car. She scanned the Timberwolves logo over her high school, a coffee in hand and a leather bag over her shoulder.
Kellan's heeled black boots carried her along the campus flooded with students. She drew looks from people she used to know, but she learned not to care.
Waist length curls suited her outfit comprised of black skinny jeans and a daisy flower designed tank. Her eyes were winged with black liner and her lips were painted a subtle red, but it didn't make her want to talk to anyone. She rarely wanted to talk to people she knew, let alone the ones she didn't.
Senior year is supposed to be the time of your life, but Kellan just wanted out.
She passed a blue truck, Matt Donovan sending her a wave as he pulled up. He barely saw her half hearted wave back, his attention averting to the empty seat next to him.
Kellan kept walking, sipping on her coffee as she headed into Hell for one more year. She tossed the empty cup into a trash can, going to the same locker she'd had since she was fourteen.
"Happy first day."
Kellan leaned back slightly with an arched brow, only to find Stefan Salvatore smiling at her.
To be honest, it was an agressive smile bordering a smirk.
"Hi." They'd had classes, but as he was Elena Gilbert's property, they never talked outside of classwork. "Happy first day."
"How was your summer?" Stefan asked, his whole persona different from what it used to be.
"Good, I guess. Spent most of it doing college stuff." Kellan tried not to show that his sudden interest was freaking her out. "How was yours?"
"It was fun. Went on a roadtrip with a friend of mine. Epic game of darts - do you play?"
"Not really." Kellan pulled her history textbook out of her bag after setting the others in the small expanse of her locker. She'd gotten all of her books over the summer so she could get familiar with them, meaning she'd read all of them cover to cover by July.
"I'll have to teach you sometime at the Grill." Stefan didn't wait for, nor expected, a response from her and went on, eyeing Kellan. "Have I ever told you that you look really familiar?"
Kellan narrowed her blue eyes slightly, "Last year, yeah. You said you couldn't remember where from."
Stefan smiled, something clearly off about him this morning. "I think I know where now." He glanced over her shoulder, Elena down the hall. "I'll catch you later."
Kellan unsurely went back to organizing her locker, Stefan following Elena elsewhere. She shook herself lightly, making her way across the school to the foreign language department.
Allison smiled, the woman dressed in a knee length skirt with a red blouse tucked in. She held a pleasant face, her hair like Kellan's - dark and wavy - but in a neat ponytail.
"Morning, Mom." Kellan went into the French room, exchanging a kiss on the cheek with Allison.
"Morning, darling." Allison went to the board, curling her name elegantly across the chalkboard. "How's senior life?" Her subtle French accent poked out, it only making her voice prettier.
"Too long." Kellan leaned back on a desk near the front. "Can I graduate yet?"
"No, but you can go to history." Mrs. Briethupt winked, the school bell ringing. "Alaric told me he had you first period."
Kellan groaned inwardly, leaving her mom and finding herself in a room comprised of nearly everyone she'd been avoiding since the summer before sophomore year.
"Goodmorning, Kellan."
"Morning, Mr. Saltzman," Kellan said, ignoring Elena and Caroline perking up upon her arrival. She took a seat towards the front, putting her bag on the floor next to her.
Stefan walked up to Carl, who was in the desk separating Elena and Kellan. "Get up. You're in my seat."
Carl could tell he wouldn't win and quickly moved, giving up his spot.
Definitely not Stefan behaviour.
Stefan sat down, smirking at Elena as she and Caroline watched him with astonished expressions. "Hey you."
Alaric finished writing 'Ap American History' on the board, brushing the chalk off of his hands. "Welcome back, seniors. Let's, uh, turn our brains back on starting with our country's earliest original founders. The Native Americans."
"What about the Vikings?" An English accent asked, the arrival alarming a select few in the class.
"There's no evidence that viking warriors actually settled in the United States," Rick countered. "Who are you?"
"My name's Rebekah, I'm new," The blonde took a seat in front of Elena, "and history's my favourite subject."
A tenseness to the room came, radiating off of Elena, Caroline, Alaric, Tyler and Stefan.
Rebekah glanced over to Kellan, a slightly confused look crossing her face.
Almost like a look of recognition.
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"I don't know why we go to these." Kellan had her hair down, a smoothie in hand as she walked next to her mom in the town square.
Allison rolled her eyes, "It's a town event, Kel." She motioned to Tobias Fell giving a history lesson. "They're important."
A blue car raced by, it a vintage model in pristine condition. A man with dark hair and blue eyes shot Kellan a wink as he sped by.
"Friend of yours?" Allison asked, taking Kellan's smoothie and sipping on it.
"I don't know who that was," Kellan said, glancing across the street, Jeremy Gilbert leaving a table outside the Grill.
"Oh, there's Alaric."
"And Elena." Kellan clicked her tongue, "I'm just going to walk around. Find me later." She parted from her mom, catching her having a short conversation with Mr. Saltzman and Elena. Walking through the greens of town center, she stopped as she saw a blonde slam Stefan's head into a car window.
Lexie caught eyes with Kellan, an unsure look on her face as she disappeared into thin air with an unconscious Stefan.
Kellan furrowed her eyebrows, glancing around with the two nowhere to be seen. She shook her head, questioning her sanity as she went towards the volunteer station to help with lights.
She hadn't chosen to, but Mrs. Briethupt threatened to fail her if she didn't 'contribute to her community'.
"Hello Kellan." Mayor Lockwood smiled, offering the teen a pink glow stick necklace a couple hours after they'd finished set up. "How's the senior year going for you so far?"
"It's...going," Kellan replied with a faked lightness to it, literal darkness now covering the town celebration. She put the glow stick on her head, wearing it like a crown. "The turn out's great. It looks wonderful this year."
"I have to agree with you." Mayor Lockwood rubbed Kellan's arm in a motherly way. "I have to dash and find Tobias Fell, but you should come over for dinner sometime. Maybe a coffee, or tea. Feel free to tell Tyler when you're open so we can set up a date."
"That sounds great, Mayor Lockwood, thank you," Kellan said in a sweet tone, giving a goodbye as Tyler's mom disappeared into the crowd.
"So, you came out of the house for once."
Kellan stilled, having to spin around. She found herself alone, no one in the group talking to her.
"Please tell me you can hear me, Duckie."
Kellan's lips parted, a stiff breath releasing.
She knew his voice anywhere.
"Kellan?" Jeremy stopped in a search he seemed concerned about, seeing Kellan shaking. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Hey, Baby Gilbert." Kellan struggled to put on a convincing facade.
They were never quite friends, but as her once being around Elena, she knew him. Given that they never talked much, she still recalled Jeremy asking how to deal after his parents died. From then on they had a mutual kind of understanding.
Jeremy half glanced next to Kellan before returning his eyes to hers. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Kellan acted like she had herself collected, but Jeremy wasn't the only one who saw through it.
"She always has been a good liar."
Jeremy and Kellan held eye contact for a minute, both pretending they hadn't heard.
"Well, uh, have a good night then, Kellan," Jeremy said, smiling lightly. "I'm around if you need me."
"Thanks, Jeremy," Kellan softly replied, pulling her white cardigan more around her as if it could protect her. She took in a deep breath, walking closer to the stage as Mayor Lockwood stood at the podium.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Fell seems to have been detained so the history department's very own Mr. Saltzman has agreed to fill in."
Claps brought on Alaric to the mic, Mayor Lockwood giving him the podium to do the lighting ceremony.
"On behalf of Mystic Falls High School's Historical Society, let's light 'em up," Mr. Saltzman said, the lanterns strung up coming to life in different colours and hues.
A pleased response came from the town, only to be overridden by a scream that pierced the night.
Kellan took in a sharp breath, covering her mouth as she saw Tobias Fell hanging, bloodied, from a big oak tree. "Oh, my god."
People started to scatter, but she could've sworn she saw someone with a smirk on their lips.
Mystic Falls had another dead body on their hands, but it was only the beginning to a beautiful, bloody year.
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"Here she is! The new teenager!" Mr. Briethupt jumped into Kellan's room, thirteen year old versions of Caroline, Elena and Bonnie running in and pouncing onto Kellan.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Kellan groaned, swatting away her friends. Her hair was sticking up and she didn't want to wake up.
"Get up, lazy bones!" Caroline shook her, curly blonde hair in pigtails.
"You're thirteen! Live it!" Bonnie shouted, grinning like an idiot. "Wake up!"
"We have to get ready for your party!" Elena squealed, starting to tickle Kellan.
"Okay, okay!" Kellan couldn't keep it together. "I'll get up if you get off of me."
Elena, Caroline and Bonnie all cheered happily, crawling off her bed.
"Don't take long or we will be back up here to tickle you to death!" Caroline threatened in a sing song voice, leaving her room.
Kellan's dad stayed by the door with a grin. "Happy Birthday, Duckie."
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Kellan swayed on the bench swing on her porch, her eyes closed and her headphones in.
She didn't want to think about Tobias Fell's mangled body or her father's voice or her sudden slow shift back to the people she'd tried to stay away from for so long.
She only wanted to get through senior year. Was that too much to ask?
One of her headphones was tugged out, dropping to her lap covered by an afghan.
Kellan looked up, no one around. She uncomfortably got up, ducking into the house and locking the door. She rested her head against the red painted wood, shutting her eyes.
"Kelly? Everything okay?" Allison peered over her novel, reading glasses propped on her nose.
"I'm fine," Kellan said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I, uh, I think I'm gonna go to bed. Night." Quickly, she left her mother and shut herself into her room.
"Kellan."
"I'm hallucinating," Kellan whispered, still facing her door.
"You're not. Turn around, Duckie."
A tear slipped down her cheek, her body slowly moving its way to face the middle of her room.
Brett Briethupt smiled, his thin glasses in perfect condition, no blood on his clothes and not a scratch on him.
"Daddy, this can't be real."
"It is though, sweetheart." Brett carefully walked to her, reaching a hand out to her.
"How is this even happening?" Kellan felt his hand on her cheek. She couldn't help how hard she was crying. "Dad, you're-"
"We need to talk, Kel. I passed before I could tell you. There are things you don't know about me, and about you." He could feel his time running out. "But, you have to stay away from the Mikaelsons. They've already caused you too much trouble." He squeezed her cheek as she closed her eyes from the affection he gave her. "Ko-" He felt it like a clock, counting down his time. "I love you, Duckie."
Kellan gasped, a cool breeze reaching her. "Dad-"
But she was alone.
Kellan struggled to find her words, or any at all. "Who are the Mikaelsons?"