New ... Is It?

• In a town full of secrets, will yours remain hidden? •

".."

'Welcome To Mystic Falls.'

Hayley's tired eyes read just as the bus drove into the town at a moderate pace.

Mystic Falls. Her new home. Old and yet new. Surreal yet so very real.

Twenty minutes later, the bus stopped across a two-story house, and Hayley grabbed her luggage, walking up to it. It being the home of Sheila Bennett. Witch extraordinaire. And Marmee's best friend.

Her eyes stopped on the well-kept garden and then swept across the not so bad neighborhood.

Standing there, luggage in hand, Hayley searched deep inside her heart and tried to muster the same strength she'd had two years prior when she decided to take a chance on Marmee.

'.... Here goes nothing.'

".."

" ... and this is your room," The older woman in front of Hayley opened a room right across from the stairs.

Sheila Bennett was a very beautiful black woman, who wore her strength of character from head to toe. Just like Marmee.

Seeing the young girl's eyes, Sheila sent Hayley a sad smile. "I'm really sorry for your loss," she pulled her into a tight hug. "Naya will be greatly missed."

Breathing in the slight scent of rosemary coming from Sheila, Hayley allowed herself a genuine smile. She returned the older witch's hug.

Hayley knew she couldn't continue like this. She couldn't keep living with this continuous, crushing sadness. And it was at this moment that the fog who'd clouded her brain lifted. She mentally slapped herself, promising to live the life Marmee had wanted for her.

"Thanks for having me, Sheila," Hayley smiled at the older woman once they'd stepped back.

"None sense," Sheila waved her hand in the air. "Call me Gram's, everyone do. And I'm more than happy to have you live with me!" She exclaimed. "At least you'll keep me company. Not like that ungrateful brat of a granddaughter."

Despite her harsh words, Hayley could see just how much Sheila loved bratty Bonnie from the fondness in her eyes.

Hayley chuckled. "Well, I can't wait to meet your granddaughter."

She wanted to actually meet these people. Without judgment of what they would do — or what she'd seen them do on the show but with how they would really be here.

This wasn't a show, or a game or a fleeting moment in life. This was her reality. Hayley wasn't the Hayley from before. This was her life now, and she intended to live every single part of it to the fullest. And to do that, she had to know the full story of the people here — and she had to bring all the cards into her hands.

"You'll get along wonderfully," Sheila assured. "Since there's two months left of summer vacation before Sophomore Year, Bonnie will come around soon so you two will have the chance to meet."

After some other small talk — mainly how lenient Sheila would be as her guardian — Hayley finally entered her new room.

She quickly put her clothes away and stored her shoes in the closet. The walk-in closet seemed to be even bigger than the room, making Hayley laugh at Sheila's comprehension of a teenage girl. Clapping her hands, Hayley dragged a heavy suitcase to the empty library near the foot of the bed. Sitting down on the floor, she opened the suitcase to reveal grimoires, big and small, in all sizes and from all over the world.

This collection could be considered Marmee's most prized possession. The late witch had garnered all these grimoires every time she traveled or a family member passed away, intending to pass it on to her children. Unfortunately, she didn't have any but, she left the books to Hayley with strict instructions to take care of them and as Marmee had wrote ; 'Practice to your heart's content. And create the most beautiful magic.'

And that's exactly what Hayley intended to do. Be it her werewolf gene or her witchy bloodline, she intended to be the very best.

She didn't want power because she wanted to exert it above anyone else, she wanted it because she knew herself better than anyone.

Hayley was a very impulsive woman under that calm facade and she simply wanted the freedom to offend whomever she wanted because she'd have the power to back it up.

With a determined heart, Hayley took her personal grimoire, an old, brown, leathered book with beautiful yellow-ish pages that seemed ancient. It was gifted to her by a dear friend, who'd said the book would only let its owner read its content. And it seemed to have worked since Marmee couldn't read what kind of spells Hayley wrote inside. Which was good in a way since Hayley was very experimental.

What other witches did, Hayley did the opposite. When other witches strived to uphold the balance of nature, Hayley said 'fuck it' and created nature-defying witchcraft.

In her book, Mother Nature knew very well how to take care of herself and didn't need the witches' help for that. So Hayley did as she wished with her magic.

Several hours of mental practice later, a soft knock sounded against her door.

"Coming!" Hayley said, blowing the lit candles scattered in her room off with a wave of her hand.

When she opened the door, she saw a familiar face, albeit one younger than she remembered.

"Hi," on the other side of the door, a younger Bonnie smiled at Hayley. "I'm Bonnie Bennett. Grams told me you arrived today so I wanted to welcome you to town."

Seeing Bonnie's genuine smile, Hayley gave her one of her own. "Hi, I'm Hayley Marshall, nice to meet you."

Before there could be any awkwardness, Bonnie pointed a finger behind her. "Listen, I'm spending the day with my friends ... you could join us if you want?"

Hayley tilted her head to the side with a small smile. "Sure," she replied.

She hadn't planned on meeting anyone else but Bonnie so soon but since the opportunity fell into her lap, she would gladly take it.

"Great!" Bonnie nodded. "We're going to the lake so get your swimming suit on, I'm gonna tell Gram's!"

When the other girl was downstairs, Hayley looked back into her room, a chuckle escaping her lips. It looked like she was meant to be entangled with the people of Mystic Falls so why bother holding back?

Once again, Marmee deep inside her heart and a genuine smile emerging on her face, Hayley found the strength to live on.

'Here goes nothing.'