The Wish Factory

Chapter 3

Rye felt their eyes on her as she sat through Alaric's class, and she was beyond giddy. It was hard to keep her cool when she was about to become an obsessive fangirl. She sat back during his lecture and sifted through the memories that weren't there before. The bitterness that was there was legitimate it would seem. How these thoughts, emotions, and memories were there was making her freak out, but she tried not to focus on that part. Rye had been there every day for Elena when her parents had passed, but after the move, Rye Fell's mother had gotten sick. She'd called Elena and emailed her every day, and it had gone unanswered. Caroline and Bonnie had corresponded for a few months, but those soon died off as well. The only one who was consistent in staying in contact was Matt, up until the previous year. She knew from her extensive watching of TVD that this was due to Vicki and all the vamp stuff, so she really couldn't hold a grudge on him. Could she really be mad at the others anyway? None of that had happened to her, though the tidbit of the mom getting sick was a low blow. She came back to herself when she heard the bell ring. She sighed, grabbed her purse, the new book, and headed for the door. She had barely stepped into the hallway when she heard her name from two different directions. Elena had called to her from behind her and Caroline was rushing towards her from down the hall. Caroline's face with the picture of happiness as she came to a stop in front of her.

"Oh my God, Matt told me you were back during first period, but I had to see it for myself. I can't believe you're back!" Rye allowed herself to be enveloped in Caroline's arms and two things happened at the same time. One, she was fighting extremely hard not to squeal because Caroline was her absolute favorite character. Two, she immediately knew that Caroline was a vampire and the knowledge genuinely frightened her. She received a flash of Caroline's death via Katherine in her head, and she involuntarily jerked back away from her, her eyes wide. Caroline's face fell as she dropped her arms back to her side. Rye was still trying to regain her composure when Elena and Bonnie stopped beside them, the circle of friends complete. Bonnie took her hand and smiled at her shyly; she seemed to be afraid that she was going to bite her head off.

"What she said, we are so happy to see you, Rye. We have to do something tonight; we have to catch up." Elena perked up at that statement and smiled.

"Hey that's a great idea, why don't you come over to my house after school and we can have a sleepover for old time's sake and catch up?" Caroline rapidly nodded her head in agreement and turned her brilliant smile on her. Rye's skin was crawling at standing face to face with a vampire. This must be something that was added for drama because Caroline was probably the least scary vampire on the show. Rye started to back away and gave them a noncommittal shrug, pulling her schedule out of her pocket.

"I don't think today is a good idea, guys, but maybe another day once I've gotten settled." She immediately turned on her heel and started briskly walking towards her next class, trying to shake the uneasy feeling. She did, however, distinctly hear what came out of Bonnie's mouth.

"Great, our best friend, is back after two years, and she hates us." She didn't hear anyone's reply as she ran into someone in her haste to get away. She would have fallen on her butt if not for the strong hands that gripped her shoulders. When she looked up, her eyes locked with Tyler Lockwood, and she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach. What the hell was that? Sure, Rye Fell may have dated Tyler, but she the person couldn't stand his smart ass so why was her pulse quickening? He stared at her completely dumbfounded, giving her the time to recover and smirk at him.

"Same old, Ty, not looking where he's going." He gave an involuntary chuckle as he dropped his hands and let go of her.

"Damn, Ryleigh, I didn't know that you were coming back to Mystic." She tilted her head to the side and pushed the butterflies away; she did not like Tyler freaking Lockwood. She didn't answer him just raised an eyebrow and moved to go around him, and he let her go. She had English next, and Rye wasn't looking forward to it. The fact that she had to go through a full day of school was awful, and she was ready to go already. She'd chosen her seat after her handing her schedule to the teacher and getting her book. She'd been sitting for a minute when, right before the bell, Stefan Salvatore breezed in like he didn't have a care in the world. He chose the seat right next to her, and she was sure that he'd done this on purpose. They still had a few minutes before the class was supposed to start. She flipped through the book, trying to appear calm and ignoring the fact that Stefan was within touching distance. She heard when he leaned over, and she braced herself so she wouldn't reveal her excitement at meeting him.