Problem Child

"One day down," Aidan mumbled to herself as she made her way through the cemetery to one of the older mausoleums in the back, "too many more to go." She sighed, taking a seat on the door step to one of the Fell ancestors' final resting place and pulling out the baggie her cousin had shoved into her pocket earlier. Aidan smiled to herself as she examined the small, dried, green leaves accompanied by a few rolling papers. She had been right: marijuana.

Quickly rolling a joint, Aidan fished her silver lighter from her pocket and lit the end, taking a long drag and resting her back against the mausoleum door. Closing her eyes, Aidan recalled her first memory of being in a cemetery.

Her father had taken her to visit her mother when she was five and the strongest thing she could remember was the cold. Both she and Lucas were bundled up, yet the wind still stung her face.

"I don't wanna go see the dead people daddy, I'm scared." Five year-old Aidan whined, burying her face into the back of her father's hand. She glanced up at him as he smiled, bending down to cup her tiny face in his large hands.

"This is where mommy lives Aida, nobody's going to hurt you here," she finally cracked a smile to match her father's "promise." He gave a wink, playfully tapping the end of her nose.

"Why the long face, sugar?" If it hadn't been for her slight buzz, Aidan probably would have jumped. However, since the joint was doing its job, she simply opened her eyes, head still leaned against the mausoleum door, and wiped away the stray tear.

"And you are?" She growled, slightly annoyed that she'd been snuck up on.

"Well, I could be a friend." Aidan looked up at the man. He wasn't exactly a teenager, though he wasn't old, probably mid-twenties with dark, messy hair and icy blue eyes. He was dressed in all black and smirking down at her as though he knew what she was wearing underneath her jeans.

Taking one last, long hit from her joint, Aidan pinched the flame out and stood up, dusting the back of her jeans off as she did so.

"Look." She began, "We're in a cemetery. I don't know you, and there's no one around. Bit up there on the creepy scale, don't you think?" Placing the joint back into her pocket, Aidan started past the man. He may not have been bad looking, but like she had said; it was a bit of a creepy way to meet.

"Come on sweetie, the party's just getting started." The man coaxed and Aidan stopped, turning sharply on her heel.

"B.T.W. my name is Aidan, if you call me one of those ridiculous little pet names again, I'm gonna deck you." A certain fire blazed in the man's eyes and for a moment. Aidan found herself in awe, and stood her ground as he approached her.

The man didn't stop until their chests were mere inches apart and leaned into her towards her chest, taking a deep breath as though he was... sniffing the skin on neck. Aidan felt her heart begin to pound furiously in her chest.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" The feel of his warm breath against her cool skin sent a slight shiver down Aidan's spine and she finally regained herself shoving the man away and taking a few deep breaths. What had just happened, she had no idea, but she didn't like it. She looked up to find that same smirk on his face. He was clearly amused by whatever it was he had just done to her.

"By the way." She whispered breathlessly and turned to leave without a glance back. She couldn't think straight, and it was annoying her. It was as though the man had tried to get inside her head, as though he was trying to consume her from the inside out. "What the hell did you give me, Jerm?" She mumbled to herself, snatching the drugs from her pocket and dropping them onto the ground as she made her way home.

Aidan decided to skip dinner that night to stay in her room and let the buzz wear off. After a while, she wasn't even sure if the man she'd seen had actually been there, or was simply the result of her overactive imagination combined with the marijuana.

Glancing over at the last of her boxes which she'd stuffed into the corner of her room, Aidan had began to contimplate whether or not to unpack it when there was a knock at her door. Letting out a groan and rolling her eyes, she trudged over to the door to find Jeremy.

"What do you want?" She snapped, still a bit unhappy about what had happened back at the cemetery. Jeremy was taken back by the sudden snip in Aidan's voice.

"Relax, I was just going to ask if you were going to the party." He raised his hands in defense. Aidan thought for a moment, leaning her head against the side of the door.

"Will there be alcohol?" Jeremy smiled, giving Aidan a mischivous smirk.

"And drugs. Apparently there isn't going to be any adult supervision."

"Well gee, Jerm. It wouldn't be very responsible of me if I let you go alone then, now would it?" Aidan cracked a smile, "Give me a minute to change." Jeremy let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"I'll meet you downstairs. Hurry." Aidan closed her door and darted to her closet. Pulling off her white t-shirt, Aidan tossed several articles of clothing onto her bed as she searched for her beige tank top. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she had gone to pull on her shirt and just happened to catch the glint of a pair of beady eyes watching her through her window. It was the black crow.

"Jesus." Aidan whispered, pulling her tank top over her head and walking over to close her blinds. She was certain that anyone else probably would have been a bit more freaked if they had a big bird following them around, yet Aidan had somehow gotten used to it rather quickly. In fact, she had almost learned to ignore it. Almost.

The party was absolutely packed by the time Aidan and Jeremy had arrived. It was lucky her brother had left her his Nissan Altima and flew back to Chicago, or it would have taken her and Jeremy a lot longer to get to the secluded area. Aidan zipped up her jacket as the two approached the center of the large gathering and Jeremy began looking around, quite obviously, for someone. Aidan had just spotted the beer cooler when Jeremy gave her a nudge.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you in a bit." Looking up, Aidan spotted who Jeremy had been looking for; Vicky Donovan. She couldn't help but to crack a smile as Jeremy hurried off in her direction. Aidan might have been new, but it wasn't hard to figure out high school couples, and Vicki Donovan was 'supposedly' going out with Tyler Lockwood, a big douche from what Aidan could tell.

"Whatev." She waved as Jeremy took off and reached for a beer.

Finding a tree to chill against, Aidan twisted the top off her beer and watched as everyone began to mingle. It was common to feel awkward, being new and alone at a social gathering, but Aidan couldn't have given two-shits about what the students and Mystic Falls high thought about her. All day they'd been whispering about her behind her back; the guys checking her out and the girls raving that she was a troublemaking nutcase that had gotten kicked out of a mental facility somewhere in Alaska.

Aidan cracked a smile as she took another sip of her beer. It was almost difficult to believe the number of the rumors she heard about herself, considering it had only been her first day. Mystic Falls really was just that pathetic.

"Boo." Aidan turned to find the guy she'd met in the office earlier, Stefan.

"Didn't get mauled too much I see." Aidan smiled, referring to all the girls that had been eyeing him at school. Stefan gave a short laugh, glancing down.

"I somehow made it out alive." He gave a look around, Aidan began to notice the girls starting to eye them.

"Oh God." She grumbled, taking a sip of her beer. "Isn't that just what I need; another rumor." Stefan frowned, looking from Aidan to a few girls that had been staring. She threateningly gave a small, sudden, lurch in their direction and they all turned away as though she was a psycho. Stefan couldn't help but to laugh out loud at her gesture.

"I was um, actually looking for someone in particular." Stefan shifted uncomfortably. "You're the only other person I really know here, and I was wondering if you'd seen her." Aidan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, already got your sights set on a certain girl eh? Classy." She smiled, taking another sip. "Well, describe this chick and I'll see what I can do." Stefan gave a sigh of relief, standing a bit straighter.

"She's... petite, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and small features, milky skin-" Aidan nearly choked on her beer. She knew exactly who Stefan was trying to describe.

"About yeh high," Aidan gave a measurement with her free hand. "and goes by Elena?" Stefan smiled, giving a nod.

"You know her?" Aidan's eyes grew wide for a second before she bursted out into a fit of laughter. Continuing to smile, only awkwardly now, Stefan gave a look around at the faces that were beginning to look again in their direction. Finally, Aidan gasped, taking a deep breath.

"Oh," She gave a small laugh trying to control herself. "wow, okay." Aidan wiped away a stray tear and looked back up at Stefan. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he should laugh with her or continue to stand aside awkwardly. "Yeah, she's my cousin." Letting out a breath, Aidan patted Stefan on his shoulder. "And if you're crushing on her, all the power to ya." Stefan seemed confused.

"Thanks..." He responded a little unsure. Aidan waved at him, as though trying to brush the uneasiness off.

"Whatever floats your boat. I think I saw her over that way, though." Aidan pointed towards the gazebo where she had seen her cousin; the one place she'd made an effort to avoid.

"Thanks again." Stefan said, giving Aidan a quick tap on the shoulder before making his way over to the gazebo. Aidan couldn't believe it, actually, yes she could. All her life, guys had always seemed to have a thing for Elena. Aidan had always been the 'best friend' type since she'd never been quite as girly as Elena, although things did change a bit once she'd hit puberty and her acne cleared up.

"Aidan Sommers, right?" Aidan didn't bother turning her head, but rolled her eyes in the direction of Tyler Lockwood's voice.

"Captain Douchebag, right?" Tyler's smile turned into a smirk as he looked Aidan over. She couldn't help but let out an exagerated sigh noticing her insult had gotten nowhere.

"You're a feisty one." Aidan rolled her eyes, getting off the tree she'd been leaning against it as Tyler rested his arm next to her head.

"Dude, I swear to God, if you touch me, I will kill you." Annoyance finally appeared on Tyler's face as he too stood up straight. "And 'feisty'? Seriously?" Aidan shook her head and started towards the woods. She couldn't believe, of all people, Tyler Lockewood would try to talk to her. Not only did he have a girlfriend, he was a jock. A shiver of disgust made its way down her spine.

Swearing under her breath as she stumbled deeper into the woods, Aidan finally stopped beside a large tree and sat down on the bare ground. It took a lot more than a single beer to give Aidan any kind of buzz, but for some reason she was beginning to feel light-headed. Leaning her face down to rest on her knees for a few moments, Aidan noticed a fog rolling in from literally nowhere.

"Steven King much?" Aidan grumbled, messaging her temples.

"Jeremy? Is that you?" It was Vicki. It sounded as though she was just in the small clearing beside her, but all Aidan wanted was to be alone at the moment so she kept quiet, hoping Vicki would just pass. "Jeremy?" Annoyed, Aidan stood up.

Sure enough, not even ten feet from her was Vicki, only she was surrounded by the fog. Then there was the man, the man Aidan had seen in the cemetery earlier. It was as though Vicki couldn't see him at all though, at least until he took ahold of her and started roughly kissing her neck.

Aidan rolled her eyes in disgust before turning to leave. It had been no secret that Vicki Donovan got around, but Aidan was positive that she didn't want to see it. If Vicki hurt Jeremy though, Aidan decided she might have to step in.

Finding her way back to the party, Aidan pulled her keys from her pocket and headed towards her car. The alcohol wasn't that great and she was afraid she may not have gotten over the marijuana from earlier.

"Hey, have you seen Vicki?" Jeremy stopped her, looking really drunk and really upset. Aidan shrugged, pointing back towards the woods where she'd come out of.

"I wouldn't go back there Jerm." Ignoring her, Jeremy took off in the direction Aidan had pointed. "Such drama for such a little town." She sighed to herself. The sooner Aidan got out of Mystic Falls, the better.

"Hello Aidan." She had barely reached her car when a familiar voice called to her. It was the creepy, cemetery, make-out-with-Vicki guy.

"Look, I really don't have time for you again. I'm tired, and would like to go home." Aidan stated, reaching out to unlock her door. The man smirked, stepping in front of her.

"I'm sensing a bit of hostility." Annoyed, Aidan stepped back and crossed her arms.

"Weren't you just making out with Vicki Donovan? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, still sucking her face? Or should I say neck?" Aidan gave a distasteful last look at him before pushing him aside and unlocking her car door. The man's face fell blank for a moment, and then a wave a panic brushed over him. As Aidan pulled her car door open, he quickly slammed it shut.

"Hey, asshole!"

"Hang on, you saw me earlier?" Aidan furrowed her eyebrows together and frowned. The man was looking extremely concerned, though she couldn't understand what for; of course she didn't care enough to go gossiping about it.

"Not the whole thing for crying out loud, but enough. Now if you'll excuse me." She'd gone to pull her car door open again but the man's grip was like iron. The door wouldn't budge. Leaning down and lifting her chin so that he could look into her eyes the man was still for a second before speaking.

"Forget everything you saw in the woods." His pupils began to dialate, nearly covering every bit of the icy blue. Aidan pulled back, beginning to feel dizzy again.

"Okay, I don't know what your problem is, but you are seriously fucked up." Smacking his hand away from her, Aidan yanked open her car door as he had let go in confusion.

"Vervain." He simply stated.

"If that's the shit you've been smoking, I suggest you lay off bro." Slamming the door shut behind her, the confusion returned to the man's face as Aidan pulled off.

Unfortunately for Aidan, as annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but feel a strange attraction to the cemetery guy. It wasn't as if he was bad looking, even Aidan could admit that was definitely not the case, he was very attractive. Aidan's biggest conflict was whether or not she enjoyed the feelings she got when he was around, he made her feel... vulnerable again. He made her feel almost normal.