The office door was slightly open. Leo pushed it and walked in. It was a small, cluttered room that smelled of old paper and coffee. A woman in her fifties sat behind the main desk. She had calm eyes and looked up as he entered.
For a second, she just stared. Her pen stopped moving. Then she blinked, giving her head a slight shake. "Can I help you, young man?"
"Transfer student," Leo said, keeping his voice neutral. He slid his backpack off and pulled out the folded enrollment papers. He handed them over. "Leo. I was told to bring these."
"Right, yes," she said, taking the papers. She recovered quickly, falling into a familiar routine. She glanced at the forms, then began typing his information into an old computer. The keys clicked loudly. "Everything looks in order here. The system already has you set up. Let me just print your schedule and get you a locker assignment."
She moved efficiently, pulling papers from a printer. Leo stood quietly, listening to the hum of machines.
Behind him, the office door opened again. Leo turned slightly.
Another boy walked in. He was lean, with a careful posture. He wore dark glasses, even indoors. His hair was neatly styled. He had a quiet intensity about him.
Stefan Salvatore.
The name clicked in Leo's mind like a key turning in a lock. He felt a jolt, but kept his face calm. So this was it. The first day. The plot hadn't just been running in the background—it was starting right now, with Stefan's arrival. The black glasses were a dead giveaway. Leo offered a small, polite smile, the kind you'd give any stranger in an office, and then turned back to the secretary.
Stefan returned the slight nod, his expression unreadable behind the glasses. He had seen this boy from the back the easy stance. Now, seeing his face, Stefan understood why the secretary had paused. The boy was exceptionally good-looking in a way that seemed almost deliberate. But there was something else… a stillness. Most students in a new school vibrated with nervous energy. This one, Leo, just seemed… observant. It was faintly unusual, but Stefan had more pressing concerns, like enrolling without drawing the wrong kind of attention.
The secretary tapped the desk to get Leo's attention. "All set. Here's your schedule, your locker number and combination. The map's on the back. First period's about to start—you best get moving."
"Thank you," Leo said, taking the papers.
Just as he turned to leave, the door burst open with a gust of perfume and eager energy.
Caroline Forbes sailed in, with Elena and Bonnie trailing behind her. Caroline's eyes immediately found Leo, lighting up with triumphant delight. Bingo.
"Mrs. Perkins, hi!" Caroline said, her voice bright, though her gaze kept flicking to Leo. "We're here to, uh, volunteer for the… the attendance committee!" It was a flimsy excuse, invented on the spot.
Elena stepped into the room. Her eyes found Leo first.
Her breath caught.
He was standing near the desk, holding his schedule. He was more than handsome. There was a stillness to him that felt deep, like still water. When he turned his head slightly and his dark eyes met hers, her heart did a sudden, hard beat against her ribs. It wasn't just a flutter. It was a thump, solid and surprising. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She didn't understand it. She looked away quickly, her gaze falling on the other boy, the one in sunglasses. He was just… a boy. Pale, quiet. He didn't make her feel anything. She looked back at Leo, confused by her own reaction.
Bonnie hovered by the door, arms wrapped around herself. The small room felt crowded with… something. She felt two distinct sensations. From the boy in the glasses, Stefan, there was a void. A cool, blank nothingness that set her teeth on edge. It felt like a place where life should be, but wasn't. From the other one, Leo, it was different. It wasn't empty. It was the opposite. It felt deep and old and present, like the feeling you get standing under a giant, ancient tree. It didn't feel dangerous, but it was so powerfully there it made her skin prickle. She looked at Elena and saw her friend's flushed face, her eyes fixed on Leo. She feels it too, Bonnie thought, but she knew it wasn't the same thing. Elena wasn't feeling magic. She was feeling something else.
Caroline, seeing her opening, swooped in. She stepped right next to Leo, turning on her brightest, most welcoming smile. "Hey. You're new, right? I'm Caroline. This school is a total maze. I can show you around."
Leo looked at her.He knew this was how Caroline was.He could play this straight."Leo. That would actually be helpful. I just got this." He held up the paper.
Stefan, having received his own papers from a flustered Mrs. Perkins, turned to leave. His path took him right past the group.
Caroline barely noticed. "Perfect! Let me see." She took Leo's schedule from his hand, her fingers brushing his. "Oh, we have a history period together! And look, Bonnie, he has chemistry with you too!"
Bonnie forced a smile. "Great." Her eyes darted from Stefan's retreating back to Leo's calm face, feeling torn between the void and the mountain.
Elena swallowed, finding her voice. "I'm Elena," she said. Her voice was softer than she meant it to be. She couldn't stop looking at his face.
"Leo," he said, and his mouth quirked in a hint of a smile.
That small smile made her stomach flip. She looked down, embarrassed.
The final bell rang, harsh and insistent.
"We're all late," Bonnie stated, already heading for the door, eager to get out of the charged room.
"Walk with us!" Caroline commanded. She linked her arm with Elena's, but her attention was all on Leo. "We'll get you to class."
The four of them moved down the hallway, the late bell still echoing. Caroline pointed to a door on the right. "That's your language class. Mine's down there. See you in the second period!" She gave Leo a final, bright look before hurrying off, her heels clicking on the linoleum.
Bonnie mumbled a quick "Bye" and ducked into a classroom across the hall, visibly relieved to be away from the intense energy.
That left Leo and Elena standing awkwardly for a second. Elena's schedule was clutched tight in her hand. "I, uh, I'm down here," she said, nodding further down the corridor. She couldn't seem to meet his eyes for more than a second.
"Right. Thanks for the help," Leo said.
She just nodded, a quick movement, before turning and walking away, her shoulders tense. Leo watched her go for a moment, then pushed into his own classroom. The first class was a blur. He took an empty seat at the back, the teacher's lecture on Spanish language fading into background noise. His mind was on the office, on Stefan's silent presence, on Elena's flustered reaction. So she's drawn to me, not him. That changes the opening move. But Stefan will still be watching her.
When the bell rang, he followed the map to his history class. He slipped in and found a seat near the window. The room filled up. Caroline entered, her eyes scanning until they found him. She smiled and took the seat directly in front of him, turning around immediately.
"So, you survived first period. What'd you think?"
"It's just the same school thing," Leo said with a small shrug.
Before she could reply, the door opened again. Elena walked in, her expression subdued. She took a seat a few rows over. A moment later, Stefan entered.
He moved to the front of the room, choosing a seat that gave him a clear, direct line of sight to Elena. He placed his books neatly on the desk, removed his sunglasses, and finally allowed himself to really look at her.
His chest tightened. The resemblance was breathtaking, and painful. It was exactly like Katherine face. The same dark hair, the same mouth. But where Katherine's eyes had held mischief and selfishness, this girl's eyes held a deep, aching sadness. He watched as she bit her lip, staring down at her notebook. She was a shadow of Katherine, a gentler echo. He was transfixed, a centuries-old wound throbbing in his chest. She looks just like her. But she is not her.
Professor Tanner began droning about founding families. Stefan's gaze never left Elena. He saw her fidget, uncomfortable under his stare. He saw her glance away, towards the back of the room.
Elena was trying to listen to Tanner, but she could feel the weight of the new boy's stare from the front. Stefan. It was intense, unwavering, and it made her skin crawl. It wasn't like the confusing, warm jump her heart did when she looked at Leo. This felt like being studied under a microscope. It was cold. She shifted in her seat, trying to block him out.
Her eyes drifted, almost against her will, to the back near the window. Leo was sitting there, looking out at the trees, seemingly bored by the lecture. The morning light caught the sharp line of his jaw. He turned his head slightly, and his dark eyes met hers across the room.
Her heart did that same, solid thump. The confusion came back, but it was mixed with a pull she didn't understand. He held her gaze for a three full seconds before giving her a slow, barely-there nod. It was an acknowledgment. She quickly looked down at her desk, her face warm. Why did he affect her like this?
Caroline, sitting in front of Leo, saw the entire silent exchange. She saw Stefan staring at Elena. She saw Elena look at Leo. A flash of irritation crossed her face. Stefan was new and kind of handsome in a brooding way, but he was staring at her friend. And Elena was looking at her new thing.This was getting messy. She turned around fully, blocking Elena's view of Leo.
"Psst," she whispered to Leo, leaning close. "The Back to School party is tonight at the Woods Everyone will be there. You have to come . It's the best way to… learn the social landscape." She made it sound like a necessary mission.
In the front, Stefan finally broke his gaze from Elena, a frown on his face. He had seen her look toward the back, seen her reaction. His eyes narrowed as he looked past Caroline to the boy from the office—Leo. The calm one. Was something there? A flicker of something that wasn't grief in Elena's eyes when she looked at him? The thought was an unexpected complication. His mission was to know more about Elena, not some high school rivalry. But the sight bothered him.
Bonnie, sitting on the other side of the room, watched it all like a tense drama. She felt Stefan's cold focus on Elena like a physical chill. She saw the warm, confusing energy around Leo, and saw how Elena was drawn to it. She saw Caroline trying to control everything. It felt like watching storm clouds gather from different directions.
Professor Tanner's voice cut through the thick air. "Mr. Salvatore! Since you're so keen on staring out the window, perhaps you can tell us the significance of the founding families' treaty?"
The whole class turned to Stefan. He blinked, pulled from his thoughts. He answered in a low, even voice, his eyes flicking once more to Elena, then to the teacher. "It was to maintain peace," he said. But in his mind, the words echoed differently. A treaty meant to control monsters.Like me.
***
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