Chapter 26 : The New Student
The Porsche pulled into the parking lot at 7:52 AM.
I watched from my truck, coffee cooling in my hand, as Stefan Salvatore stepped out of a car that cost more than the Donovan trailer. Dark hair, leather jacket, the carefully cultivated appearance of a mysterious stranger.
Every instinct I'd developed over the summer screamed at me.
Predator.
He moved differently than humans—too smooth, too controlled, the economy of motion that came from a body that no longer needed to conserve energy. A century and a half of existence had worn away the unnecessary fidgets and wasted movements of mortality.
I forced my face into neutral and climbed out of my truck.
First day of senior year. The parking lot buzzed with the chaos of returning students—friends reuniting, freshmen looking lost, seniors strutting with the confidence of their final year. Stefan navigated through them like a shark through minnows, heading toward the main entrance.
Elena was twenty feet ahead, books clutched to her chest, laughing at something Bonnie had said.
I watched the collision happen in slow motion.
She turned a corner. He came around from the other direction. Their shoulders brushed, her books scattered, and their eyes met with the kind of intensity that only existed in romance novels and supernatural TV shows.
Here we go.
"Sorry," Elena said, kneeling to gather her things.
"My fault." Stefan's voice was exactly as I'd expected—careful, measured, the practiced charm of someone who'd had generations to perfect his delivery. "Let me help."
Their hands touched over a fallen textbook. Neither pulled away.
I turned and walked into the school, leaving the original timeline to unfold.
The hallways were familiar chaos—lockers slamming, voices echoing, the particular smell of industrial cleaner and teenage anxiety that defined public high school. I found my locker, verified the stake hidden under my gym clothes, and headed toward first period.
Caroline intercepted me before I made it ten feet.
"Did you see him?" She grabbed my arm, eyes bright with gossip. "The new guy? He's gorgeous. In a brooding, mysterious way. Not that I'm interested—" She kissed my cheek quickly. "I already have the best one."
"You're biased."
"I'm accurate." She adjusted her bracelet—my bracelet, the vervain-infused protection she never took off—and smiled. "History first period. Try not to be boring."
She swept away toward her own class, leaving me standing in the hallway with a warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with strategy.
History class was Mr. Tanner's domain—the same teacher who'd die later in the season, killed by Damon in a moment of casual cruelty. He was alive now, annoying and arrogant, droning about the Civil War to a classroom that couldn't care less.
Stefan entered five minutes late.
"Class, we have a new student." Tanner's voice dripped with false enthusiasm. "Stefan Salvatore. I trust you'll make him feel welcome."
Stefan took the empty seat two rows behind Elena. I watched him watch her, the careful attention of someone who'd spotted something impossibly precious.
He thinks she's Katherine. Or close enough to matter.
The class dragged on. When the bell rang, I gathered my things slowly, timing my exit to match Stefan's.
"Hey." I fell into step beside him in the hallway. "Welcome to Mystic Falls. I'm Matt."
Stefan's eyes evaluated me with predatory precision. He was assessing threats, categorizing me, deciding how much attention I deserved.
I kept my heartbeat steady. My expression open. The perfect picture of a friendly small-town kid.
"Thanks." He extended his hand after a barely perceptible hesitation. "Interesting town you have here."
His handshake was controlled—firm enough to seem normal, gentle enough not to crush human bones. The ring on his finger caught the hallway light.
Daylight ring. Just like the show said.
"It has its moments." I released his hand. "If you need someone to show you around, let me know."
"I'll keep that in mind."
He headed toward his next class, and I headed toward mine.
Assessment: Everything confirmed. The vampire is exactly what I expected.
The rest of the day followed the pattern I'd anticipated. Stefan inserted himself into Elena's orbit, Caroline pouted at being overlooked, Tyler made territorial noises that no one took seriously. By lunch, the school's social ecosystem had rearranged itself around the mysterious new student.
I ate my sandwich and watched from the periphery.
"You're staring at the new guy." Caroline slid into the seat next to me. "Should I be jealous?"
"Just curious. He seems... different."
"Different how?"
Old. Dangerous. The reason I've spent three months preparing for war.
"I don't know. Just a feeling."
Caroline studied Stefan across the cafeteria. "Elena's obsessed already. Bonnie says she felt something weird when they touched." She shrugged. "Probably just hormones."
Or witch instincts. Bonnie's powers are waking up.
"Probably."
The afternoon classes blurred together. I tracked Stefan's movements without being obvious about it—noting which classes he had, which routes he took, how he positioned himself relative to exits. The behavioral profile of someone who'd spent a century avoiding detection.
When the final bell rang, I watched him drive away in his Porsche.
Day one of the vampire era. Complete.
Caroline found me in the parking lot, threading her arm through mine. "Survive your first day of senior year?"
"Barely."
"Same." She leaned against me. "Movie tonight? Just us?"
I thought about the stake in my locker. The vervain in my blood. The predator who'd just enrolled in my high school.
"Yeah," I said. "Just us sounds perfect."
The Porsche disappeared around the corner. Tomorrow night was the bonfire.
The real danger—Damon—wasn't far behind.
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