•.•.•.•.•

IT had been too long.

By now, Grace was expecting Mystic Falls to be a ghost town. Leaving had been no easy task, because she had established some truly wonderful relationships with the residents of this town.

To this day, she was still being dragged around by the very one who had turned her: Katherine Pierce. Or, as she had been known two-hundred years before, Katerina Petrova.

Grace had once been Gracielle Vredickson. Today, she was went under a much more infamous name.

Grace Fredricks.

And, as Grace Fredricks crossed the borders into Mystic Falls, she was flooded with the memories once more.

Mystic Falls , circa. 1864

"KATHERINE dear, how long are we planning on staying?" Grace asked, quite unenthusiastically.

Katherine glanced over, raising an eyebrow.

"As long as they'll have us, Grace. I hear there are two lovely brothers that are quite dashing. Oh, speak of the Devil!"

She clasped her hands together, peeking slightly out of the window. Katherine never wanted to seem too eager, especially not around her new toys.

"Are we ready, Miss Fredricks?" she said, flashing Grace a smile. No one knew that smile as well as Grace, who saw the threats lying behind it.

Grace nodded, letting out a small sigh.

"After you, Miss Pierce." Katherine awaited the door opening, and slowly stepped out. It was agonizing to Grace, always following in Katherine's shadow. Literally.

After Katherine, Grace simply clambered out with some kind of irony to her name. She had most definitely never been the most graceful, even after becoming a vampire.

This took the two young men standing in front of her by surprise, when she hopped off of the last step with uncivilized humor.

"Oh, you'll have to excuse my cousin. She's not much younger in the face, but her actions say otherwise."

Grace clenched her jaw, not daring to look over at Katherine and inflict an aneurysm that would send her flailing on the ground.

Being a witch gave her those abilities, after all.

Scanning over the two men, Grace noticed immediate differences in their attitudes. The dark-haired one, with piercing blue eyes, he seemed much more laidback with Grace's bluntness and relaxed posture.

But the other one... he simply could not takes his eyes off of Katherine.

"Katherine Pierce," she introduced, holding out a dainty hand for each to take.

"Stefan Salvatore, it's a pleasure," the one on the right said, pressing his lips to her gloved hand.

The other followed suit, introducing himself.

"Damon Salvatore. The eldest."

Grace smirked a bit, waiting her turn rather anxiously. After all these years of being alive, she was still rather awkward with introductions.

"Grace Fredricks," she said lightly, allowing each brother to take her hand.

The first one, Damon, seemed rather conflicted on who to look to. He seemed to be taken with both Katherine and Grace.

Whilst Katherine asked many questions about the Salvatore residence, making small talk to seem like the innocent orphan she was not, Grace remained quiet.

Per usual.

Grace had never minded the fact that Katherine attracted many men. Katherine enjoyed it much more than Grace, who preferred to keep one and one only.

Eventually, Grace felt a small nudge against her arm. She glanced over, making eye contact with the older Salvatore brother.

"Yes?" she asked politely, knowing Katherine could most definitely hear the conversation.

"You're a quiet one, Miss Fredricks. A bit shy, I assume?" he whispered, grinning.

Grace could not help but smile a bit.

"Not necessarily," she whispered back, even though Katherine could still hear, "I just like to allow Miss Pierce to do the talking. I find it quite tiring to carry on conversations I don't really care for-" "Grace, dear, come meet Mr. Salvatore. He is the who is being so kind as to let us stay in his home, after all."

Grace gave a small smile and a wink to Damon, meeting up next to Katherine.

Mystic Falls , circa. present day

THERE had to be no one left that Grace knew. She recognized plenty of the names, for sure, but no faces.

Not at first.

Grace really did not know why she had come back in the first place. Sheer curiosity, she supposed. Three hundred plus years on the Earth got boring at times.

She still bore the looks of an eighteen year-old girl, with captivating blue eyes and dark brown hair that waved around her shoulders. As well as full lips and seemingly perfect bone structure, with a fit body that suited her average height.

Grace never seemed to realized how much of a looker she was, too.

She had to blend in, if she would stay here for a while. Though that was not the intention, she never knew what she might find.

So, Grace rented herself a rather nice studio apartment, and set off to the bar. The Grill, as she had heard it been mentioned.

As Grace entered, she immediately picked up energies that belonged to something not human. It was nearly impossible to pick out the person, so she would just have to stay alert.

There were still vampires in Mystic Falls.

It had to be vampires. They had the most radiant energy, and then it went to werewolves.

Grace strolled over to the bar, taking a seat. The bartender eyed her suspiciously as he approached her.

"Scotch on the rocks, please. And make it a twist."

He raised his eyebrows. "Uh, I'm gonna need some I.D.-" "No, you don't," Grace interrupted, meeting the man's eyes.

A moment passed, and the bartender walked away to fix her drink.

Grace tapped her fingers, having the uneasy feeling that someone- or something, rather- was close to her.

And that's when she saw him. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, as she had to do a double-take.

But it was most definitely him. He was very different, his attitude and walk.

The look on his face seemed to be a mixture between anger and excitement.

"Is it actually you?" Damon said, slowly sitting down beside the girl.

Grace sipped her drink, shrugging. "I could ask the same. You look the usual... but you're a different person."

Damon narrowed his eyes, ignoring her comment.

"Did you come here with Katherine? Because, I swear to God, I'll kill both of you-" "Hold on. What the hell did I do to you?" Grace asked, holding a hand out.

Damon's facial expression went from panic to more anger.

"You damn well know. You and Katherine... you two escaped."

Grace sighed, taking another swig of the whiskey.

"That's true, yes. But I didn't turn you, now did I? I didn't seduce you and compel you to fall in love with me. I did nothing to you."

Grace began to stand, but Damon held a hand out quickly.

"No, wait. Okay, you're right. God, I hate saying that. I'm sorry. But you can't just show up unannounced after like a hundred and fifty something years."

Grace crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I did. So suck it up and move on. I doubt I'll be here long, anyway. I've gotten the answers I was looking for."

Damon paused, then said, "Katherine's here. Well, not exactly here, but she's in the general area. What made the two of you show up at around the same time?"

Grace frowned, a serious look growing on her face.

"Katherine's here? God, no..." Grace sighed once more, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Well, Damon, it's certainly been interesting to meet up with you again. But, I've got to go."

Grace stood, making a beeline for the exit.

Damon, however, was not willing to let her leave without a fight. He followed after her, grabbing her arm as they left outside.

"Grace, wait. Please. I-I just want to talk. I know why you and Katherine have been running after all this time. Just- just come with me and let's talk. Like civilized, kinda normal people."

Hesitating, Grace crossed her arms, staring Damon down. There was something almost explosive that happened when the two of them were together.

"Fine. I'll give you an hour. No more."

Damon slowly smiled.

"Does this mean I get a hug? It's been years since we've hugged, Gracie Lou-" "Don't you dare call me that," Grace began, then became soft.

"Shut up, come here," she said, pulling Damon in for a hug.

Some things about him had not changed, after all.

Mystic Falls , circa. 1864

"MR. Salvatore, I must say that you and your brother act nothing alike!" Grace exclaimed upon their wild dance they had just shared.

Grace had come across a disappointed-looking Damon, and she quickly realized why. Katherine had chosen Stefan to escort her to the Founders' Ball, rather than he.

Quietly, Grace approached him from behind, grabbing his shoulders so that he would jump.

"Oh, did I scare you, Mr. Salvatore? I do apologize."

Damon smiled warmly, taking her hand in greeting.

"Oh, nothing could scare me, Miss Fredricks. Not someone so quaint and proper as you-" "Don't flatter me." Grace paused, noticing the upset look in Damon's eyes.

She smiled charmingly, offering her hand.

"Would you care to dance, perhaps? That is what these things are for, correct?"

Damon narrowed his eyes, slowly allowing a smile to play across his lips. He gladly took Grace's hand, leading her onto the floor.

She adjusted her hand on his shoulder, giving a small smirk.

"I do wish you wouldn't let yourself get so wrapped up in Miss Pierce. I can tell you that she's not worth all the fuss she's causing."

Damon raised his eyebrows, cheeks reddening.

"How do you know I'm taken with her, Miss Fredricks-" "You're not fooling anyone, Damon. Certainly not me. I've known Katherine for ages, well enough to know a man who's falling for her."

Damon's smile faded, as he avoided Grace's mighty gaze.

"Perhaps you're right. But she isn't the only one, you know."

Grace frowned, going out for a spin and being pulled back in. She still had a serious look on her face, continuing the conversation.

"I'm sorry, I'm not following..."

Damon's smile gradually came back, meeting Grace's eyes once more.

"You, Grace. You're so different from Katherine. I-I think I'm in love with her. But- but you make me feel something else."

























NOTES

lol no this isn't a damon fanfic but we're gonna get into this a little bit later