new to Mystic Falls

You just wanted a fresh start. You changed schools, packed your bags, and came to the small, cozy town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Quiet streets, an old square, a grill bar serving the best burgers, and no skyscrapers. The perfect place to forget old troubles.

You know nothing. You don't believe in vampires, werewolves, witches, or ancient curses. To you, all of this is just internet horror stories and horror movies that are boring to watch after midnight.

But Mystic Falls is no ordinary town.

People here look young for far too long. Some schoolchildren here remember what the city looked like in 1864, even though they're supposedly seventeen. Tourists sometimes disappear here, and the police write in their reports, "left without warning."

You've sat down at a table at The Grill. You've got coffee in front of you and your phone has no signal—a perennial problem here. Next to you sits a guy with black hair and a grin that gives you goosebumps. He looks at you a little too intently. Then he smiles and says, "New guy? You know, Mystic Falls is a good place... to die. Just kidding. Welcome."

You don't know it's Damon Salvatore. You don't know he drank blood an hour before you arrived. You don't know his brother Stefan has already caught your scent and is rushing here to make sure Damon doesn't do anything stupid.

You're just drinking coffee and thinking about what subject to start with at the new school.

And at the next table, the witch Bonnie Bennett freezes. She looks at you and senses: you're human. Ordinary. Too ordinary for this town. And for some reason, that scares her more than if you were an ancient vampire.

Welcome to Mystic Falls, new kid. You don't know the truth. But the truth already knows you.