For What You Are

Kara sat on the stairs outside as she waited not so patiently for Kale to come out of chemistry.

“Nerds,” she muttered to herself. “I can dearly say that I do not miss being one.”
That phase of her life had ended along with her sophomore year and personally, she was glad. She’d finally come to the realisation that school was stupid, and she didn't want to be there. However, she was stuck here for-

“One more year,” she whispered to herself. “Only one more year.”

“You still have to get through the year,” an unfortunately recognisable voice said. Looking up and letting her eyes adjust to the light, she saw Damon Salvatore looking down at her.

“Don't keep reminding me,” Kara replied. “You're out of school so you can't talk.”

“Who says I’m out of school.”

“Being in the school grounds and not attending classes only comes in the category of trespassing, not being IN school.”

“Maybe I just attend a different school,” he said.

“The school of the non-existent?” Kara said. “I'll agree with that. By the way, I thought you were too old to be in school.”

“How can you say that when you know nothing about me?”

“I don't need to know anything about you,” Kara replied as she heard people beginning to come through the doors behind her. She stood up and moved, Damon trailing next to her.

“But that doesn't mean you don't want to,” he said in a low voice with a smirk. Kara felt her insides shiver, but her exterior was cool as she slunk off the pathway underneath a tree.

“I'll bet you a hundred dollars that I can stay away from you until next week,” Kara said in inspiration, “But you can't come to me either, otherwise that's unfair.”

“Deal,” he said holding out his hand, Kara hesitated before shaking his hand. It was surprisingly cool considering the warm day, however she shrugged it off. But looking up she found herself looking into his endless eyes enraptured by the depths.

“Damon,” a strong voice said from behind Kara. The moment was broken and she dazedly turned around as Stefan Salvatore continued, “What are you doing here?”

“I was just having a most profitable conversation with young Kara here.”

“Not yet,” she warned. “You still have to win. But happily for me, if you do lose, maybe your ego will get lost with you. Double win for me.” She flashed him a wide smile before Stefan said, “Whatever this bet is, I’m hoping you win.”

“Thank you,” Kara said as Damon exclaimed, “What! This whole teamwork thing doesn't extend this far then?”

“Well, considering I’ve learned never to bet WITH you, brother, I’m siding with the opposition on this one. I think she can actually win.”

“Game on,” Damon replied with a look from Stefan to Kara before walking down the path.

“So,” Stefan started. “What's this bet about?”

“Me staying away from him,” she responded as they started to walk.

“You think you can do it?” Stefan asked.

“I know I can do it,” Kara responded quickly. “It's just a matter of keeping myself preoccupied.”

“And how are you going to manage that?” Stefan asked.

“Well considering the fact that I couldn't answer any questions on the history test today, I’m thinking that a few library books might be taking up my time.”

Stefan's look was momentarily awkward before he said, “Well, good luck with that.”

“Aren't there any books on town history?” Kara asked confusedly.

“As I said,” he replied. “Good luck.”

Damn, Kara thought, this bet was going to be harder than she expected.

...

Kara sat on her bed that night with her laptop open on her knees. She found herself accepting Kale as a friend on Facebook and then browsing profiles aimlessly. Eventually she was typing Nathaniel Henning's name into search. Kara had it in her mindset that the image in her head was just an interpretation of a story her mother had told her. Yet she felt something was wrong with that reasoning. If it was just her imagining, then what was the emotional connection she'd felt?

No search results appeared, so she typed his name into Google. And this time, something REALLY interesting turned up.

“Nathaniel Henning,” Kara read aloud, “Died age 24 from an animal attack in his home on Scarbrook Road on the 21st March 1908.” Okay, so it was definitely just a story then. “His sister and their boarder disappeared that same night having been seen leaving the town by a neighbour. Later that night, Nathaniel was found in his home by the same neighbour, his student and family friend Kara James.”

Kara's eyes widened in shock and she felt thoughts flying through her head in a blur.
No...this was impossible. She checked the date again. 1908. That was 84 years before she'd even been born. It was just coincidence, was what she told herself, that was all.

So she continued reading. But all she really wanted was the name of the author. And finally she found it, along with a very helpful email address. Notating it quickly, she turned off the computer and closed her eyes. Leaving her mind to dwell on very confusing thoughts.

That night Kara dreamed of animals, runaways, bets and mystery. And the author’s name burned across all of them. Hailey Stanton.