Vampire Diaries 1. Prolgue

**Disclaimer - I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the only things I own are what you do not recognise.  
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**_Prologue_**

My day long intense basketball training session had finally finished, I was starving, exhausted and hungry. I was lying down on one of the benches texting my friends about plans we had for tomorrow while waiting for my parents to pick me up so I could go home, have dinner, a hot shower and curl up in my bed.

"Emerson!" I looked away from my phone at the sound of my name, I hated my name and requested all my friends to call me 'Em' or 'Emmy' I had one friend who changed my name for me and started calling me Emery and it stuck with all my basketball teammates but what made my name worse was my last name, technically I was Emerson Grayson.

I looked over at the car and noticed it was my parents, of course it was. My parents were the only ones that still called me Emerson, well my sister as well but only when she was angry with me.

I was ecstatic that I was going home, it gave me a chance to do a bit of studying after eating and showering before going to sleep. I was a Junior in high school and had finals this week.

I sat up and grabbed my bags and headed over to the car, I placed my bag in the boot before going and getting in the backseat.

"How was training sweetie?" mum turned in her seat and looked at me while dad drove.

"Horrible, I can't believe they wanted to start the intense training so early. I had finals this week and then the summer break starts soon and I'm off to that basketball camp. Normally the intense training starts the week everyone gets back from camp"

"Maybe they're hoping you can get a head start and you'll be able to take home a championship win next year. Aren't most of your varsity members seniors?"

"Yeah they are but I don't think Sarah is coming back next year. Did you hear what happened to her parents, something went wrong with their investments and they lost all their money. Sarah's parents can't afford tuition anymore"

I went some fancy school a town over from where I lived, they had this incredible basketball program that I wanted to be involved in. So my parents sent me there while my younger brother and sister attended the school in our home town.

My sister was a year younger than me and my brother was three years younger than. My sister and I rarely got along, mum always said it was because we were so alike but I didn't think so. I thought we were complete opposites, there were times I wished we looked different but we had very similar features that caused people to think we were twins, they only thing we didn't have in common was our hair and eye colour. She had dark brown hair while mine was blonde, her eyes were brown while mine were bright blue. Everything we shared, the full lips, almond shaped eyes that people always said were doe like.

I fell into an easy conversation with my parents on the way home when my mum's phone rang.

"Elena, I thought you were at the party with your friends?" Elena, my sister spent most of her weekends with her friends getting drunk at whatever party they had decided to hold for the weekend.

This is where we were different, I went to a private school and was so focused on basketball that I spent my time either training or studying rarely having time for my friends but I was lucky that most of my friends were on the school team with me. Whereas Elena was a part of the cheerleading squad with her two best friends, one of which was so perky and annoying it was unbelievable.

"Alright, we will be there soon. We're just on our way home from picking Emerson up from training"

All I could hear was mum's side of the conversation but I wouldn't be surprised if Elena was complaining that we couldn't be there straight away. I let out a sigh and shunk in the backseat, all I wanted to do was go straight home but now I knew I wouldn't get that option. I knew Elena would have gone there with her friends and boyfriend, who of which can drive but instead was bugging mum and dad to pick her up because she was being a sook.

Mum eventually got off the phone from Elena and told dad where the party was and we started heading that way. I didn't say anything to my parents, ignoring mum's attempts at a conversation and closed my eyes putting in my headphones for the rest of the journey.

I took notice of when we finally pulled over and came to a stop, I even noticed when someone got in the car beside me but I didn't open my eyes and acknowledge Elena. She was being a sook for whatever reason and wanted to leave the party early.

Elena leaned over and yanked on my headphones pulling them out of my ears. I snapped my eyes opened and turned my head to glare at her.

"How was training Em?"

"Long and hard Elena, I was looking forward to going home having something eat, having a hot shower and then getting in bed but no you had to ring mum and beg her to come pick you up from your party" I snapped at her as I grabbed my headphones and put them back in.

I knew I shouldn't have snapped at her, something could have happened that made her want to go home early. As much as we didn't get along I was _always_ there for my younger sister when she needed me, I was her older sister and would always be there if she did need me no matter how often we fought.

I had gone back to having my eyes closed and ignoring my family but it wasn't until I heard a scream over my music that I opened my eyes just in time to see that dad had lost control of the car, we had gone off the bridge and were heading towards the water.

We hit the water with a thud and quickly began sinking to the bottom of the river while the car was filling up with water. I looked over at Elena and she was unconscious and in the front I could see dad trying to get his seatbelt undone and I could see my mum not moving at all. I was so scared that we were going to die down here and Jeremy, my baby brother was going to be left with only uncle John and aunt Jenna left as family.

I started pulling on my seatbelt like dad just hoping I could get free but it wasn't any use but I wasn't willing to give up, I couldn't let Jeremy be left alone.

I heard someone tap on the window and looked over, there was someone at dads window but he was pointing towards the backseat. I don't know how he did but he managed to get the door open and Elena's seatbelt off and took her out. I started freaking out more now that there was more water filling the car, I noticed dad had now stopped moving. I hoped he was just unconscious and not dead.

Just as I was starting to get light headed and dizzy causing me to give up on my seatbelt my door opened, the person there didn't look anything like the guy that saved Elena so I could only hope that he would be back for my parents soon enough.

When we finally reached the surface I was coughing and choking trying anything to get more air into my lungs but I noticed that Elena was nowhere near us, I looked over and saw flashing lights further down. I hoped Elena was there and they were helping her as well as getting my parents out off the car and water and everyone would be fine.

I was still struggling for air when we reached the land and I tried to stand but my legs gave out on my and I fell over hitting my head on something on the way down causing everything to go black.

When I woke up I had a killer headache, all I could do was roll over and put a pillow over my head just hoping it would help get rid of it. I tried to think back on what I did last night that would cause me a headache this bad but I couldn't remember, I couldn't remember anything. It was all blank, that was when I shot up in the bed and looked around the room. Nothing looked familiar at all, I started to panic.

"Good morning sunshine, glad to see you're awake about time too. I was getting bored waiting for you to wake up" I looked over at where the voice was coming from, it was a girl that had an olive complexion, brown curly hair and brown round almond shaped eyes.

"Do you know who I am? I don't remember anything"

"That's no fun, I was hoping to find out some information on your sister" I stared at her as she walked over and plopped down on the end of the bed I was in, there was one tiny bit of information I could out of her and it was that I had a sister.

"I have a sister?"

"Yes you do and no I can't contact her. I don't even know her name"

"Do you have any idea what my name is?"

"Nope, now go shower and get dressed while I think of something to call you because sunshine will get boring after a while" she pointed towards a door that I assumed was the bathroom. I got up off the bed and headed towards the bathroom. When I entered it I caught sight of myself in the mirror

"Are you sure you aren't my sister, we look similar" I asked the girl in the other room but all I got in response was a laugh.

Thinking I wasn't going to get a response, I climbed into the shower and enjoyed the hot water that came from it.

When I exited the shower I realised I had no clothes, so I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body and headed back out to the bedroom. The girl was gone but there were clothes spread out on the bed, a pair of tight black skinny jeans, a green top and a leather jacket as well as a bra and some underwear.

I left the room in search of the brunette hoping she would give me any more information on anything I couldn't remember and I found her sitting in what appeared to be a kitchen.

"There you look much better, now I believe I will call you Summer"

"Do I get any say in the name?"

"Not unless you can tell me your own" I frowned at her, I had no idea what my name was but there was something telling me it wasn't Summer. "Excellent, now eat" she pointed to the food on the counter.

"If you're going to call me Summer, what am I going to call you?"

"You sunshine, can call me Katherine" she gave me this one sided smirk that almost seemed mischievous. I couldn't remember anything and I sure as hell just hoped this wasn't going to end badly. I shrugged as I took a seat at the kitchen counter and started eating the food that was in the take out containers.


	2. Masquerade

**_Masquerade_**

I stared at the wall of the hotel room that Katherine had placed me, the place was stunning and my keeper Lucy was a bit of a bore. I had been living with Katherine for a few months and she was known to take off from time to time but it had been a couple of weeks since I last saw her and I missed her, she made things interesting and I had fun with her.

"Pack your bags, we're leaving" Lucy had entered the room, I knew she left to take a phone call and I just assumed it was because it was Katherine. I had started bugging Lucy about where she was and why she hadn't come back out of pure boredom.

I didn't say anything, there wasn't anything I could say. I still had no memory of who I was, where I grew up and who my friends and family were. Katherine still called me Summer but alternated between that and Sunshine. We travelled over the last few months and nothing looked familiar, it was starting to drive me crazy but there was nothing we could do.

Lucy was a witch and she tried everything in her power to try and restore my memory but nothing happened, she said it would occur on its own but I complained it wasn't quick enough.

I leapt off the bed and headed towards the wardrobe I had in this hotel and began packing my bags. For some reason Katherine enjoyed using me as her own real life barbie doll, she enjoyed buying me countless clothes, jewellery and make up. When I questioned her, all I got in response was that she liked playing with me

"Where are we going?" I asked when I entered the main room dumping my bags on the floor where Lucy was waiting for me

"Mystic Falls"

"Wait isn't Mystic Falls the place where countless vampires roam and Katherine was hell bent on never returning there?" yes it was true vampires existed and Katherine was one of them, as first I was scared but then I got used to the idea of it. I was just glad she never fed off me but I think that was more Lucy's doing than restraint on her part

"Yes but she did return and now she needs my help"

"Then why can't I stay here?"

"You know the answer to that" short, sharp and simple.

Lucy and Katherine had a habit of never explaining anything twice, well except for the witch and vampire thing but not the point. I was told that Katherine needed my sister, who I still had no memory of, Katherine also wanted me to regain my memories so I would be of use but still no such luck. So until my memories came back I was to stay where either Lucy or Katherine could keep an eye on me.

We were currently staying in New York so after a plane ride and a bus trip we finally made it to the town of Mystic Falls, it was incredibly small. After being in New York for so long being surrounded by countless people it was weird being in a small town.

Lucy directed us to a house that I assumed Katherine was staying it, I suppose a small town like this there wouldn't be many hotels to choose fun and being Katherine she wasn't exactly a fan of the small cheap type.

"Hello are you Mrs Flowers?" Lucy spoke when an older lady opened the door

"Yes I am, how can I help you"

"We're friends with Katherine, she told us she was staying with you"

"Yes of course, she told me you were coming" she moved aside and allowed us to follow her into the house and led us towards the back to show us where we would be staying. Another thing about vampires was they had to be invited in, I wouldn't be surprised if Katherine compelled Mrs Flowers to not invite anyone in but if they could enter on their own they would be fine.

"Lucy what are we doing here?" I spoke as soon as Mrs Flowers was gone

"Katherine said she needed my help so we came"

"I know that by why here, why this house? Why not a hotel?"

"Because there are people here that want to hurt Katherine, she's staying here because they can't get in here and hurt her Summer"

"So what, I get stuck in this house while you two go off and hunt whoever wants to hunt Katherine?"

"No idea, I don't know what's going on. All I got was a phone call saying to come here because she needed my help"

"Whatever..." I flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

I had done an awful lot of staring lately, I was bored. I was being cooped up and I couldn't stand it, I was starting to get restless and I need to find a way to take out all the excess energy I had. I was hoping more than anything that while those two were busy I was able to sneak off and explore the small town, just because someone wanted to hurt Katherine, didn't mean I wasn't safe here.

"Oh sunshine, you don't look so happy" I shot up in the bed and found Katherine leaning against the door frame smirking about something.

"I'm bored and restless but it's good to see you Kat" I got up and walked over to hug her

"You two Sum, I surprisingly missed you"

"Wow, the great Katherine Pierce missing someone. I'm touched" I placed a hand over my heart and grinned at her

"Watch it or I won't let you come out and play tonight" my grin didn't fall from my face, in fact it got bigger at the idea of being able to leave the house

"What's happening tonight?"

"A party, one where you can wear a fancy dress, a mask, drink plenty of alcohol and act like a teenager who does have a clue as to who she is" she pulled a dress out from behind her back.

It was a stunning bright blue strapless dress that I knew just by looking out it would look amazing once it was on, Katherine never bought anything that wouldn't look good on me same went for herself.

After Katherine handed the dress over she left me to get ready on my own saying her and Lucy had to talk about whatever they were planning for the night. Normally I would spend the rest of the day bugging them about what their plans were but for once I did not care, I got to go with them and have some fun on my own.

Once I was dressed and had finished with my hair and make-up, I left the room in search of Katherine and Lucy. I found the two of them in one of the other bedrooms and I was shocked at what I saw. Katherine was standing there with straight hair, it was weird she had curly hair and hated straighten it. Her words were 'only weirdos had straight hair' I was lucky my hair was waving, it was that weird in between that everyone hated but it was easy to straighten or curl and tonight like always I had ended up curling. I remember the first time Katherine made that comment about straight hair, Lucy wasn't happy.

I walked over to Katherine and placed my hand against her forehead. "Are you feeling alright Kat, you straightened your hair"

"I've killed people for less Summer" she glared at me. "But I need it straightened, do I remind you of anyone?"

"Nope, just a weirdo with straight hair, are we leaving?" I smirked at her knowing I was just making her mood worse and the glare didn't let up

"Tell me again why I gave you that vervain necklace" she spoke was she was facing the mirror again and my hand instantly went to my neck where the necklace was hanging.

I had only been awake for about a week when Katherine gave me the necklace and told me to never take it off. She explained how vervain is a weakness for vampires, they can't compel a human if they are wearing it or have it in their system. We tested it and I was surprised that it actually worked, we have come across other vampires a couple of times and I did what Katherine told me and kept the necklace on, it stopped them from trying anything funny. I think Lucy had even convinced Katherine to put vervain in my water to stop anyone from feeding on me because of the whole Katherine needs me alive for my memories.

When we arrived at the party Katherine and Lucy went their different ways, it was suspicious of them. I knew they were up to something and they wouldn't tell me, so why would they split up if they were working on something?

As soon as I found a waiter carrying a tray of champagne I grabbed a glass and walked around hoping to see anyone I could have fun with. I spot a couple of people off to the side and talking to them. They were asking how I was invited and I just said I was a plus one they shrugged like it was nothing.

I spent an hour or so hanging with the guys but they were boring, I seriously wanted to have some fun like Katherine said before I had to leave and go back to hiding in the hotel room so I decided to head outside and see what I can find.

I wondering the grounds and it's when I hear a girl screaming from the side, I rush over there to see what's going on and I spot short when I notice it's Katherine, she's not even wearing the same clothes. These clothes weren't even her style

"What the hell is going on? Kat are you alright?"

"Who are you and why do you think she's Katherine?" I step closer and pull my mask off, I ignore the other girl and look at Katherine.

"Kat, it's me Summer. What are they doing to you?" but they didn't say anything, they just stared at me

"Hey who's the blonde?" I hear a male voice behind me, but neither of the girls answer him. it was then I noticed that Katherine had stopped screaming and she was staring at me as well. I was seriously confused as to what was going on here.

The male in question was finally in front of me and he now he was staring at me as well but at least he was able to speak. "Emerson?"

"It can't be Emerson"

"She's been missing for months Jer"

"But it looks exactly like her"

"She said her name was Summer"

"Exactly and she thought I was Katherine"

I stood there listening to their argument about whether or not I was this Emerson person, while I was standing there trying to work everything out. The name sounded awfully familiar, the first bit of familiarity I've had since I woke up but I couldn't work out if they were right and it was my name or if it was a just a coincidence and I knew someone with the same name but whoever it was, I felt sorry for them Emerson is the worst name I could imagine.

Eventually the other girl ran off leaving me alone with the boy and Katherine, I still wasn't able to speak. I was trying to work everything out in my head.

"Emerson where have you been?" the boys voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I stared at him.

"My names Summer, who are you?" I shook my head at him

"My names Jeremy, I'm your younger brother and this is here is Elena, your younger sister. You are our older sister Emerson. You hated being called Emerson, you preferred Em or Emmy"

"No, that's Katherine. What are you doing to her?" I looked at him and he was applying pressure to her wounds but why weren't they healing. She was a vampire and I knew they could heal quickly

"No, it's not. It's Elena, your sister. Elena and Katherine look alike, how do you not know any of this?"

"I woke up not knowing anything last spring"

"You were in a car crash last spring, they never found your body so we didn't know if you were dead or missing"

I stood there shaking my head at him before I placed it in my hands, my headache was getting worse and it was bugging me. Something sounded familiar but I couldn't tell if they were real or not, I didn't even know this guy and he was telling me Katherine wasn't Katherine and I didn't know what to believe but eventually the pain became too much and I blacked out.


	3. Rose

**_Rose_**

When I woke up I found I was in an unfamiliar bedroom, the last time that happened I woke up not knowing anything but this time I knew that Katherine was a friend, she was there for me when no one else was aside from Lucy. She chose to call me either sunshine or Summer and that Jeremy kid was convinced I was his missing sister but I didn't know what to believe.

When I opened my eyes I found I was facing huge windows and the sun was streaming in almost blinding me. I pulled the blanket up over my head and it was then I heard a deep chuckle from somewhere in the room, I sat up in the bed and looked around to find a guy standing in a doorway. He was incredibly good looking, sexy, someone you would think could be a male model but I had no idea who he was and after being around Katherine long enough it taught me to not trust strangers.

"Who are you?" I spoke hoping he wouldn't move closer to me

"Funny I should be asking you the same thing since your asleep in my bed" the smirk on his face almost made me believe I drank too much last night and I came home with him but there was something off about the whole thing.

"Right, well if you aren't going to tell me anything I'm just going to leave" I threw the blanket off me and noticed I was still in the dress I wore last night. Great, chances are I had smudged make up and my hair was a mess. I couldn't believe I would look like a giant mess in front of this guy.

I walked over towards the door way where he was leaning hoping that was the way out of the room, I only saw two other doorways, one had a closed door and it was next to what looked like a bathroom so I was left with option three, which was being blocked.

"Are you going to move or am I going to force you to move?" I crossed my arms and raised an eye brow at him

"Oh blondie thinks she's tough" I noticed him looking directly into my eyes and his pupils dilated. "Tell me who you really are and what you are doing with Katherine Pierce" this guy was an idiot and a vampire.

"You think you can compel me? If you know I'm friends with Katherine then you know she wouldn't make it so other people could compel me since so many people are out to get her"

"So blondie knows about vampires as well, interesting" before I could ask anything else a phone rang and he answered it.

"Yeah?...What do you mean missing?...Yeah alright, I'll be right there" he shut the phone off before looking back at me.

"I have to go take care of something else, stay here. You are safe here. Your friend Lucy gave this to me, she found me carrying you on the way out of the party" he handed a note over and I took it, he stayed silent for a moment. He actually thought I would read this with him present, I thought vampires were smart since they were old, this one seemed like an idiot.

"Right, anyway there are a change of clothes in the bathroom if you want to shower and get out of the dress. Some people will be by later to check on you, if they try to kill you then they aren't friends" there was a smirk on his face on his way out of the room that almost made me believe that he was trying to be funny but there was something off about him and I still had no idea what his name was.

Once he was gone I walked back over to the bed and sat down so I could read the note and hope it was actually from Lucy.

_Summer,_

_I know you probably have no idea where you are right now or even if you should trust Damon._

Huh, that must have been his name. If not then I was definitely kidnapped.

_Him and his friends will keep you safe and allow you to find your family, I honestly have no idea who your family is but every time I tried I kept coming back to Mystic Falls. You are also a part of the reason Katherine never wanted to go back there, she wanted to keep you to herself._

_I know you always trusted Katherine but please learn to put your trust in other people, I don't know what her end game plan is but I don't like it. I almost helped her kill an innocent girl last night, I'm not with Katherine anymore and I certainly hope you don't go back there. Please promise me you will stay away from Katherine and find your family._

_Regain your memories, learn who you are and love your family. Have the life you were meant to have Summer._

_Love Lucy_

I didn't know what to make of this, when Lucy first tried to bring back my memories she said nothing worked. Did she lie to me and only tell Katherine and Katherine told her to lie? Why wouldn't Katherine want me to come back here and regain my memories, Katherine said she wanted the information she knew I had in my head so why keep me from here if my family is here?

Placing the letter on the bed I got up and headed to the bathroom to have a shower that I wanted and probably desperately needed. I turned the shower on and turned to have a look at the clothes that were sitting there for me, there was nothing special about them, just a pair of jeans and a sea green top.

I only got out of the shower when the hot water ran out, I was in the shower way longer than what was needed. Ever since I woke up with no memory I had used the shower as a place to think so of course I would do that now, when I was given the chance to learn who I was and who my family were.

When I exited the bathroom I found a blonde girl sitting on the bed with some books surrounding her, they looked like photo albums.

"Hi" she looked up at me and grinned and she sounded way too perky.

"Hi, who are you?"

"I'm Caroline, Damon said something about how you have been answering to Summer. So I can continue to call you Summer or I can call you by your real name"

"Damon?"

"The guy who told you to stay here, he asked me to check up on your since everyone seems to be busy on the rescue mission"

"Right, so how can I trust you?" I walked over and took a seat on the end of bed with the photo albums separating us.

"Let's try this way..." it was obvious she was talking to herself as she picked up one of the albums and began flicking through looking for a photo before turning it back and showing me.

It was me, it was really me. I was wearing a basketball uniform and holding a trophy while resting my foot on a basketball. I had this weird smile on my face, it was almost like the photo was taken while I was laughing.

"Okay so you have one photo of me, there is a little something called the internet"

"Look through the rest of them, there are plenty of you. With your friends, teammates and family"

"Are we family?"

"No, I'm friends with your sister. As I said everyone else is busy and plus for some reason Stefan thinks you would be better off not being bugged by your family until you remember something. I will be down stairs if you need me" she flashed me a small smile and I noticed the small hints of fangs before she got off the bed and headed out of the room leaving me alone.

So Caroline was a vampire and she was friends with my sister, was my sister a vampire too? Hell who was my sister?

With a sigh I made myself comfortable on the bed and began flicking through the photo albums. I came across photos of Katherine and I was completely confused, Katherine said she needed information on my sister but here she was in photos with me. Why did she need me if she already knew me?

The rest of the photos did show my family and friends and what seemed like teammates, I assumed I played basketball and a lot of the girls went across teammate photos and photos of who seemed to be friends. Family photos showed that I had a brother and a sister, aside from my sister looking a lot like Katherine my brother was the guy I remembered speaking to at the party last night, Jeremy and he called me Emerson.

I finally came across a team photo that had names and when I matched my picture with a name it said Emerson Gilbert. I guess either I finally had a name or every single one of these photos were fake.

After looking at the last photo I was frustrated, I had seen all of them and nothing had been answered. Yes the photos showed who my family was even though I was confused about Katherine and my sister but I knew Caroline would have the answers so I jumped off the bed and headed out of the room looking for her.

After searching the _mansion_ for who knows how long, seriously how big did someone want their house to be? I finally heard voices coming from one of the rooms but I wasn't close enough to hear the conversation, I crept as quietly as I could closer to the voices hoping I could hear the conversation.

"Say it!" I didn't recognise the male voice but I heard some banging before hearing someone hit the floor.

"I'm not a werewolf, okay?" that was Caroline's voice but why was she saying she wasn't a werewolf? Who in this town was a werewolf?

"Who's not a werewolf?" I spoke as I rounded the corner, Caroline jumped up from the couch and I noticed the guy tensed up at the sight of me before he relaxed.

"No way, that can't be Emerson?" the guy turned and faced Caroline while she shrugged

"It's a long story, I don't even know all off it. Stefan had to take care of some things and asked me to keep an eye on her until him and Damon got back"

"I was wondering what you were doing here but where has she been all this time?"

"Hello, the she you are talking about is standing right here with her own questions" I waved my hands around hoping to bring their attention back to me

"Too bad, I have more important questions for Caroline. You can wait another day or maybe ten" he snapped at me

"Ignore him, he's still bitter you turned him down" my jaw dropped at Caroline's comment, I had no memory of anything and this guy was really snapping at me because I turned him down who knows when?

"Glad to see blondie has left the bedroom, well done Caroline" I turned around at the familiar voice and found who I still assumed to be Damon standing there

"Good Caroline, they're back. We have things to discuss" Tyler growled as he grabbed her arm and dragged her from the room and I'm assuming the house since I heard another door slam shut.

I had almost expected Damon to stop and help Caroline but all he muttered was stupid werewolf. Did everyone in this town know about vampires and werewolves or was everyone one or the other, I swear nearly everyone I met was one or the other.

"Is he actually a werewolf?"

"We believe so"

"Are you this Damon everyone keeps talking about?"

"I didn't realise I was that famous"

"Funny, Lucy said I could trust you and your friends and Caroline mentioned you but since you never introduced yourself I didn't know who to trust"

"I wondered what the witch put in that letter" I didn't know if he was talking to me or himself but he walked right past towards the bar that was behind me and I didn't even notice it.

"I have questions, seriously the photo albums that Caroline showed me answered nothing except put faces to people I can't remember and why the hell is Katherine in the photos as my sister?"

"I can't answer all your questions because I don't actually know you but as for Katherine being your sister, she isn't, she just looks like her. You know about vampires what else do you know?"

"I know about werewolves and witches"

"Do you know about doppelgangers?"

"Only heard Lucy and Katherine talking about them a couple of times but I know the basics. Like it is said that every so often a doppelganger is born, sometimes it's for witch reasons another times its nature playing a trick. But if Katherine and my sister are doppelgangers how does that work? Am I related to Katherine?"

"No and what is confusing us now is the fact that you and your sister have very similar features but you don't share the same family line that Katherine is from"

"What does that mean?"

"While you were missing we found out that your sister isn't actually your biological sister. She was adopted by your own biological parents, she was dumped at the hospital as a baby and they took her in" I didn't say anything, I didn't know what to say. Finding out I have a sister and putting a face to the name and then finding out she isn't actually my sister was enough for one day. I grabbed the drink from his hand not caring what it was and headed upstairs.

On the way upstairs I pasted by someone who must have just entered the house because I didn't see him earlier. He had similar features to Damon, I wondered if they were brothers and if they were, were they both vampires? I was honestly starting to get confused. Caroline and Damon were both vampires and that other guy was a werewolf, what was going on in this town.

I didn't know where I was meant to be sleeping but I headed back to the bedroom I woke up in, I think it was Damon's room since he made a joke about being in his bed. I went back over to the bed and began looking over the photo albums again.

My parents must have taken photos for every single defying moment, there were heaps of photos of myself growing up, my sister and my brother. When I was younger I must have been one of those children that couldn't sit still, there were countless photos of me trying different sporting activities until at one stage they stopped and it focused on basketball. There were countless photos of me in uniforms with trophies or team shots it made me wonder what kind of player I was, I was curious about my friends since the photos I only had of friends in here were the same teammates.

"I don't mean to interrupt, I know you must have a thousand questions but I thought you might enjoy your own room instead of sharing with my brother" my head shot up at the voice bringing me out of my thoughts. "Sorry I didn't mean to bother you"

"It's fine and yes I do have questions but more like a million, are you able to answer any?"

"No I can't sorry, I met your sister at the start of this school year. I didn't know you beforehand"

"It's fine, Caroline didn't answer anything and Katherine never told me anything. You said something about my own room?"

"Yes, follow me" I got off the bed and followed him down the hall towards a closed door, too be honest most of these doors were shut and could have all been bedrooms.

When I entered the room, it wasn't that much different to Damon's just maybe a bit more bright and cheerful.

"I get to stay in here?"

"If you want, you are more than welcome to go home if you wish but if you would rather stay here that is fine as well. I had your sister get some of your clothes for you when I dropped her off at home"

"I don't want to go home, I'm having enough trouble with the photos"

"Very well, there is a bag of your clothes by the dresser and there is a bathroom through the side door and my name is Stefan by the way" he nodded his head as he turned to leave the room the room shutting the door behind him.

Once he was gone I made my way over to where the bag was, I was expecting it to be small which would force me to go home and collect more clothes which meant facing the family that had been missing me, which made me question as to whether my friends missed me but the bag in question was quite large filled to the brim with lots of clothes. I began pulling things out looking for some pyjamas before getting changed and climbing into the bed.

I wasn't alone for long before Damon entered the room.

"Ever heard of knocking?" I snapped at him

"Ooo I'm so scared blondie"

"Why do you keep calling me blondie?"

"Because your name isn't Summer and whenever someone says Emerson you look confused, so blondie it is. Here I grabbed this for you" Damon threw a teddy bear at me and I caught it.

I looked at the bear, it looked old and well loved. I wanted to know why he grabbed it but when I looked up he was gone. Not wanting to think anymore about the bear or the photos I placed the bear on the bedside table and curled up in the bed to get some sleep.

_This had to have been a dream, I remember curling up in the bed and going to sleep. I don't remember getting up and leaving the house little own the room. I didn't recognise where I was standing but I could tell it was a family home by the photos around the room._

_"Mummy" I watched as a blonde headed five year old sang as she skipped through the house swinging a bear in one hand that looked very similar to the one that Damon had given me, just not as old._

_"In the kitchen sweetie" the five year old continued to down the hallway and I decided to follow her in hopes of finding out what was going._

_"Mummy when did I get bearie?" the young girl climbed up on to the seats and watched as the older lady who looked very much like my own mother, was this young girl me and this was actually a memory, chop some vegetables._

_"Your father gave it to you before he left to come and collect your brother and I from the hospital when he was born"_

_"Ahh okay mummy" the young girl smiled at her mother_

_"Emerson?" so maybe this was a memory. Jeremy had called me Emerson, Damon had mention to my name being Emerson and the team photos said my name was Emerson Gilbert but I couldn't remember it._

_"Yes mummy"_

_"Is your room clean?"_

_"Maybe..." the girl sung out but all it took was one look from her mother before she got off the chair and skipped out of the room._

_If this was really me when I was five how was a bear able to bring back memories? Why this memory, why not the memory of my brother coming home from the hospital. I wanted to stay here and soak up more of the memory but it was only seconds after the young me left the room that it all disappeared._


	4. Katerina

**_Katerina_**

When I woke up that morning I headed downstairs before even showering or getting dressed and hoping that I could find something that would make a decent breakfast. All I had yesterday to eat was a bunch of junk food and the pizza Damon had bought home with him for me and since he didn't know what I would like it was just a cheese pizza.

When I made it downstairs I found another person I didn't recognise sitting in the living room but I must have scared her more than she scared me because she shot up from her seat and ran over to me so fast that made me determine she was a vampire as well before pushing me against the wall and pressing an arm against my throat.

"Who the hell are you?" she growled at me.

I tried to speak but all I did was choke from the lack of air I was receiving. I tried to kick her knowing it was no use but eventually she was pulled off me and I fell to the floor in a heap.

"Rose we don't injure the poor humans that don't know anything" Damon held a hand out for her and she took it allowing him to help her up.

I really was getting sick of meeting only vampires, where were all the bloody humans in this town.

"Hey I take insult in that, I actually know a lot. I just don't have any memories and seriously where are all the bloody humans in this town"

"Same difference, come on Stefan's making breakfast" Damon walked over and helped me up.

I didn't know vampires could cook. Katherine couldn't even make toast, she burnt it every single time and then proceeded to rip it from the wall and throw it out the window.

I entered the kitchen and I did find Stefan standing at the stove making what looked like bacon and eggs, I practically drooled at the sight of it. I couldn't remember the last time I had a proper after the last couple of days between travelling to Mystic Falls and then spending all day here.

"Good morning, I hope you like bacon and eggs. If you plan on staying here you should go to the market with Damon and stock up on food you like"

"Thanks" I smiled at him as I took a seat at the table to wait for him to finish.

"No problems. So listen I rang Elena and asked her to come over here, we need to talk about everything we found out yesterday" Stefan placed a plate in front of me before walking over to where Damon and Rose were standing

"And what about her?" Damon nodded in my direction

"Elena knows she's here, both her and Jeremy want to talk to her but she doesn't even know them. What are we meant to do in that situation?"

"How about shove all three of them in a room so we can send her home. What would have happened to her if it wasn't Rose last night, what if someone else broke in and killed her?"

"Who is she anyway?" the three vampires didn't care that it was obvious I was listening to their conversation, if they did they would have left

"It is Elena's older sister, she went missing a few months ago"

"Wait is Elena the girl that looks like Katherine?"

"Yes, how do you know Katherine?" Rose practically spat out Katherine's name

"Rose calm down, I honestly believe the girl is harmless. Katherine had kidnapped her for some reason or another, obviously you noticed the vervain on her. It's in her necklace and her bracelet" I looked down and played with my bracelet, I didn't know the bracelet had vervain in it. Lucy had given it to me, maybe she was trying to protect me from Katherine.

"It's in my system too, I drank it every morning" all three of them looked my way

"Why? Why did Katherine give you three lots of vervain protection?"

"I didn't know about the bracelet, Lucy gave it to me but Katherine gave me the necklace to prevent vampires to compel me to tell them where she was and Lucy was giving me the vervain to drink so it stopped Katherine from feeding from me"

"Interesting..."

"Hey when is someone going to answer all my questions?"

"Soon enough, it's hard because only Jeremy or Elena can unless you want to go home and talk to your aunt"

"Why not my parents?" it seemed like a simple enough question but I noticed something flicker across Stefan's face and Damon shook his head at Stefan.

"She will find out eventually"

"I'll do it, you don't even care" Damon waved him off as Stefan walked over and took a seat opposite me across the table.

"You were in a car accident along with your parents and Elena, your parents died. It was also the same time you went missing so no one actually knew if you were dead or alive"

"My parents are dead..." the memory I had of my mum last night wanted me to see her so bad, I just hoped a hug from her would make everything so much better but now knowing I couldn't even get that my heart broke for a person I didn't even remember.

No one said anything, they were all silent. Maybe they were waiting for me to say something but I didn't know what to say, did I have the tiniest bit of hope that maybe seeing my parents could bring back more memories, yes I did and now it was gone.

There was knock at the door. "That's probably Elena, I'll get it" I watched as Damon left the kitchen.

"I have to talk to Elena, you finish your breakfast and then join us if you want" I nodded at him as I faced my plate and slowly picked at what was left.

When I finally had enough to eat I left the kitchen and went looking for the rest of them hoping Elena would stick around long enough to answer my questions. I found them sitting in the living room having a conversation, I didn't recognise the name Elijah but I recognised the name Klaus.

"I've heard of Klaus, why are you talking about him?" I spoke as I walked over and took a seat on the spare chair. Elena stared at me the whole time and I was most likely staring at her, it was weird seeing her look so much like Katherine in every way possible but there was something that told me it wasn't Katherine.

"He is apparently coming after me, isn't that right Rose?" Elena finally looked away from me and at Rose

"Yes"

"No" Stefan and Rose said at the same time

"I'm confused"

"Shush blondie, we're trying to talk here" I scrawled at him and crossed my arms.

I sat there quietly listening to the rest of their conversation. It wasn't until Elena stood up at the mention of school that they stopped. School, I wondered if would go back or would I wait until the new school year to go back hell I didn't even know what year I would be in.

I stood up and followed Elena outside, when we were far enough away from the vampires I stopped. "Kat...Sorry Elena" she turned and faced me, her face looked much soften then what it did back inside.

"It's fine, what's up Emmy?" I didn't know what to think of the name, it didn't sound familiar but then again nothing did and it was annoying me.

"I have so many questions and no one is answering them"

"I know Emmy and I'm really sorry, I honestly am but I have to be somewhere. If you have questions why don't you go home and speak to aunt Jenna?"

"I don't even know where home is, I don't remember anything and all of a sudden I'm told I have a sister, a brother, two dead parents and an aunt"

"Emmy, I really have to go"

"ELENA! I don't know anything, what is going to happen if I turn up at your house and Jenna asks questions or wait does she know about vampires too?"

"No she doesn't but I really have to go I'm late. Why don't you ask Damon to take you to _our_ home and I'm sure he will also come up with an excuse as well" with that she turned and headed towards the car and climbed in before driving off leaving me there alone for a few moments.

"You alright blondie?" there goes my peace and quiet. I didn't say anything to him as I narrowed my eyes at him and pushed past him on my way inside to go up to my room and shower.

Once I was dressed and showered I headed downstairs to look for Damon, I wanted someone to be able to answer my questions and if Elena was at school I had a feeling Jeremy would be as well. Maybe this Aunt Jenna a few people had mentioned would be the one to answer my questions but for that to happen I needed Damon.

I walked around the corner and straight into someone "Watch it blondie" I frowned at the nickname, I was beginning to hate it. Damon placed his hands on my shoulders and took a step back from me

"So I want my questions answered and no one seems to be able to do it, everyone made mention to this Aunt Jenna person. Take me home so I can talk to her"

"And how are you going to explain where you have been for the last few months?"

"Elena said you would do that too" I looked up and smiled at him

"Of course she did, you know your aunt doesn't know anything about vampires"

"Elena said as much"

"But her boyfriend does so he may be suspicious of you"

"Alright seriously, is Jenna the only person in this town that doesn't know about vampires"

"No there is also Matt" Damon shrugged as he headed for the front door forcing me to follow him.

I had no idea who this Matt person was but if only two people in this whole town didn't know about vampires it made me wonder what my life was like before the accident that killed my parents.

I was silent the whole way in the car taking in the scenery hoping something would look familiar but none of it did. Even when we pulled up in front of a house Damon didn't say anything hoping I would speak first to show any sign of remembering the house but I didn't.

I turned and faced him. "Why did you give me the bear last night?"

"I went to check on Elena after you went upstairs, I had always noticed the closed door to your room and decided to go in and see if there would be anything to help you. I noticed the bear sitting on your bed, I know Caroline gave you photos so I knew that wouldn't work. I thought the bear might work"

I wanted to tell him it did but I couldn't, I wanted my questions answered first and this was the only way, to keep playing like I didn't remember a single thing.

"I'm assuming this is my house?"

"It is, come on I've got an excuse for you" he opened the door and got out while I stayed in the seat for a moment longer just looking at the house.

Damon waited for me to join him at the front door before knocking on it, I was scared waiting for the door to open honestly not knowing what to expect. When the door finally opened a woman was standing there looking completely shocked, I guessed that this would be Jenna.

"Emerson?" she was finally able to speak and it seemed like that was the question on everyone's lips. I guess not being able to find a person's body made everyone think the worst.

"Hi" I placed my hands in my pockets and stood their awkwardly

"Jenna, how nice it is too see you again" Damon gave her a sly smile and her face looked disgusted at the sight of him, that was interesting.

"Wish I could say the same Damon, what are you doing here with Emerson?"

"Well the funny thing is she was at the Lockwood's party the other night and she ran into Jeremy, he over loaded her with information and she passed out. I was being the gentleman and brought her back to my house until she rested enough to come home"

"Why didn't she come home with Jeremy then?" I noticed the tension between the two of them and I didn't think it would end well.

"I didn't have a choice as to where I went, ask Jeremy but I don't remember anything. I have all these questions and no one can answer them except you, Elena and Jeremy and they're at school. Damon brought me here so you could"

"Fine, thank you Damon"

"I'm here to help" Jenna scoffed at his comment but I didn't get the chance to question it. "I should head back, are you going to be alright blondie?" Damon looked at me and I nodded before watching him turn and head back to the car.

"Do you want to come inside?" Jenna spoke once Damon had pulled away, I turned around and nodded at her before following her inside.

I didn't say anything as I followed her through the house taking notice of how the house looked like what I saw in the memory, the only difference would be the photos had changed as well the furniture. She lead us through to the kitchen where it seemed as though she was in the middle of the dishes.

"I know you have questions but where have you been? We have been worried about whether or not you were alive"

"I don't remember anything before waking up in a room, I don't remember how I go there. They took care of me and I was treated fine. For some reason we were invited to the masquerade party, Damon said at the Lockwood's, Jeremy recognised me and everything was too much and I passed out. I don't know how I got from there to Damon's but I woke up there"

"The Lockwood party was two days ago"

"I know I was shown family photo albums and it was too much, I couldn't handle it. The information was too much, I just kept coming up with more and more questions and no one was answering them. Both Damon and Stefan said they couldn't answer them because they didn't actually know me"

"Alright well what are these questions you want answered?"

"Is it true that my parents are dead?"

"Yes they are"

"What happened with the car accident?"

"All I know is what Elena can remember, she doesn't remember everything but she remembers most of it. Your parents went to pick you up from your day long training and on the way home Elena rang and asked if they could pick her up from the party she was at. On the way home the car went over the edge of Wickery bridge, we knew that Elena survived and your parents were dead since the authorities found their bodies but yours never showed"

I spent the rest of the morning sitting in the kitchen with Jenna having her answering all the questions I had about our family, how I was related to her, the various questions I had about Jeremy and Elena, what my parents were like and what I was like before the accident, studies, sports and friends.

"So how does basketball fit into everything?"

"You always enjoyed playing sports but you fell in love with basketball and continued to play it. Somewhere along the way you were asked to go to the school in Charlottesville, they have a huge basketball program. The school was expensive but it's what you wanted"

"So I don't go to the same school as my brother and sister?"

"No even though you and your sister are close in age you had completely different groups of friends. Your friends were also your teammates, between basketball and studies you didn't have much time for anything else"

"That's fair, is it alright if I looked around?"

"Of course, it is your home but I do have one more question"

"What is it?"

"Why did Damon call you blondie?"

"The people I had been living had been calling me Summer and Damon didn't want to call me by a name that wasn't my own and every time someone called me Emerson apparently I looked plain confused, so hence blondie"

"Fair enough, your room is also the last one upstairs"

"Thanks" I gave her a small smile and left the room taking in the rest of the house before heading upstairs.

Jenna had left me to mine own devices while I wandered through the house hoping anything would looked familiar but nothing as of it apart from what I had remembered from that one memory. Even just from the photo albums I have looked through I guessed that my parents always enjoyed taking photos but being in the house and seeing just how many that were out on display.

I finally headed up to my room and following Jenna's directions I opened the last door off the hallway and entered, I thought maybe seeing my room would help trigger memories just like the bear had. Entering my room I saw banners and flags that all matched the same colours as the basketball uniforms in the photos I had seen making me realise I had very much enjoyed playing basketball and the team was my family, there was team colours everywhere in the room. Whether it was flags, mugs, bears, scarfs or the blanket that was lying across my bed, a closer look at the blanket told me it was homemade, I wondered if my mum or some other family member had made it for me.

After taking in everything that was visible I walked over to the doors, there was two of them and I assumed it was a wardrobe and bathroom situation, I hoped the wardrobe would be of some use since there would be basketball uniforms in there as well as other clothes that I had hoped would be significant.

The first door I opened was just a bathroom and I didn't know how much use it would be since anything that was in there would just be the usual bathroom products. So I shut it and opened the other door finding an overly stocked wardrobe, I thought being as into sport as Jenna put it I wouldn't be the type of girl that went shopping this much but here was my wardrobe completely over flowing and the clothes didn't look that much different to what I had been wearing the last few months anyway.

At the back I found a garnet bag that made me curious, I wondered what was in the bag and if it was important so I grabbed it and on my way out I noticed the sports bag tucked in the corner so I grabbed that too hoping my uniform would be in there. I threw the sports bag on the bed and gently placed the garnet bag on the bed as I unzipped it.

The dress was stunning, it was white and blue with an ombre affect and there was beading on the front. I seriously wandered what I was in that needed such a stunning dress, I knew I was going to be a senior this year so I couldn't have been to a senior prom unless I was invited by an upperclassmen that is.

"You wore that dress in the Miss Mystic Pageant last year" Jenna voice startled me and I jumped before turning around and facing her. "Sorry I just came to check up on you, I think there are some photos are here somewhere of you in the dress hang on I'll get them"

When Jenna left I turned back and placed the dress back in the bag hoping it will be of some use later on and grabbed the sports bag to see if my uniform was in there but all I found was a pair of shoes and basketball.

"They asked for your uniform back and I couldn't exactly deny it, no one wears your number they retired it mainly because the other girls forced the coaches to do it. They said it wouldn't be right seeing someone else wear your number. Here" she handed over some photo frames that I must have missed looking out.

I was wearing the same dress and my hair was completely pulled back from my face minus a couple of stray hairs here and there. One photo I was by myself, another I was with my mother, another was a family shot and the last I'm assuming was my date.

"What's the deal with the Miss Mystic Pageant?"

"Do you know what beauty pageants are?"

"Yeah, really it's basically a beauty pageant?" I was shocked, I actually competed in a beauty pageant

"Sort of, it's more they take into account how you interact with the community, what you give to it. You did a lot of community work with your basketball program, some of it was running sport days for the local kids or even running food drives to send off to whatever community was struggling at the time and there was a lot of fund raising. You actually won the pageant, Elena was a part of it when she was eligible but missed out losing to Caroline, have you met her?"

"I have actually, listen I should get back. I know I'm more than welcome to stay here but for now staying here is too much. Seeing everything and knowing I should remember is hard for me but at least staying with Damon and Stefan nothing is meant to be familiar, it's that little bit easier for me"

"I understand, Stefan actually just turned up with Elena, I believe they will still be out on the porch if you want to go back with him?"

"Thanks Jenna and I will come back, I want to be able to remember everyone but I've got to find a way to bring the memories back"

"It isn't a problem Em" Em didn't sound anymore familiar than Emerson or Emmy but I sure as liked it better than those two.

I gave her a smile as I went back to my room gathering up a few things and placing them in the sports bag hoping something would trigger a memory, most of which included some more photos, some of the bears in the team colours, the blanket from my bed and the basketball that was sitting on the desk. If I had a computer I would have taken that as well but I couldn't see one.

When the bag was packed up I head downstairs and said good bye to Jenna before heading outside to ask Stefan to show me the way back to the house but I caught the end of their conversation.

"...danger. It's because of me, everything is because of me" Stefan placed his arms around and it was then that I noticed she was crying, he kissed the top of her head and I instantly felt like I was intruding. I wondered if anything was happening between the two of them.

"Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you both but I was hoping Stefan could take me home with him?" they both turned around and Elena quickly wiped her tears away before giving me a smile.

"Have you been here all day?"

"Most of the day, Jenna answered my questions I answered some of hers and then I looked around. I grabbed some stuff to bring back with me in hopes of remembering something" I shrugged at her as though both stood up.

I knew I should say something about my memory that came back about the bear but I didn't want it to be a onetime thing, so I kept quiet until another came back.

"It's fine I should actually go look for Bonnie, I'm glad you came home but I wished you would stay" I didn't say anything, she tried to run away this morning when I wanted to talk to her. Jenna stayed and talked to me but I haven't had the chance to talk to Jeremy yet so I would have to wait and see what happened with him.

* * *

_I instantly knew I was having another dream related memory but how different it was to my dreams and when I looked around at the room I was standing in nothing looked familiar, it didn't look like home but then I saw myself enter the room I was standing in before walking over and taking a seat on the floor and empty the box and I was shortly followed by a girl with bright red hair._

_"Tell me again why we are painting your nails 20 different colours Emery?" okay that was different, I wondered why she was calling me Emery._

_"Because I now have my dress for Miss Mystic and now I need to find the right nail polish Belle" Belle must have been the red head's name._

_"Oh right and where is this glorious dress I've heard absolutely nothing about?" Belle frowned and I watched as myself laughed at her._

_"It's in my car, go get it you idiot" the other me threw a set of keys at her and she took off outside._

_When Belle returned the dress was in a clear bag and it was the same one that I was looking out in the room, how did a dress and photos make me remember this moment and not the pageant itself? Why was I remembering weird things and not important things._

_"Emery this dress is stunning, you are so lucky to have found it"_

_"Mum found it, her and dad had to make a trip out to Richmond and she found it in a store. She bought and brought it back hoping it would fit and it does, I can't believe I got this in time for the pageant"_

_"How are you able to participate in this again even though you don't attend Mystic Falls?"_

_"Because I'm a resident and a part of one of the founding families, they couldn't exactly say no"_

_"But Carter is your date" I wondered if Carter was the guy in the photo of me that I didn't recognise_

_"The dates only escort and dance with the girls, they don't have to live in Mystic Falls so they're allowing it"_

_"But still you Carter Avery to be your date. Carter Avery the Shooting Guard for the male varsity team"_

_"So I'm the Point guard for the female varsity team, technically I'm a better player than him but if you're going to be like that maybe I should ask Daniel" I watched as the smirk grew on my face and I was curious. Jenna never mentioned anything about positions, I would have to research them._

_"Oh come on you know I like Daniel"_

_"I know, it's why I didn't ask him and you have to admit Carter is hot"_

_"I know, I know"_

_"Exactly now back to my problem at hand, I need to find a nail polish colour and I know if I try and do this at home Elena will try to take control"_

_"I don't know why your sister can't butt out and let you worry about the details, she gets her turn next year and then your mums focus will be on her" I zoned out after that._

_I didn't know the full extent but I was obviously annoyed about Elena trying to be involved in my pageant when she would have your own the following year but with something missing. She did with our mother dead and I was missing, I felt bad for her knowing I pushed her away and then this happened._


End file.
