Chapter Text
Outside Atlanta, Georgia // January 1st
This was the worse snowstorm Rafael has been in—and he once spent 3 months in Vermont with a family who only ate vegetables and fruits and didn't believe in central heating. He and and his best friend Landon were trying to get back to their foster parents house before curfew but they were definitely not going to make it. They were still miles from Atlanta and the show was getting bad that even the windshield wipers weren’t helping.
"Raf we should pull over we can barely see the road." Landon said from the passenger seat.
Rafael should have listened—he should have pulled over on the side and waited a bit until the snow let up. But no he was mad, he saw his girlfriend—ex girlfriend, Cassie, flirting with a jackass hockey player at the party they were at.
"Raf I know you're pissed about Ca-," Landon started but Rafael stopped him.
"Don't—don't say her name." Rafael clutch the steering wheel, he can feel his anger rise. He was so angry that he didn't see the truck and when he swerved the ice on the road made it worse. Their car ended upside down on the side of the road.
xx
When Rafael came too he was disoriented and he was also halfway out of the car. He groaned in pain and tried to pull the rest of himself out of the car. Then it hit him,
"Lan!! Landon!" He called for his brother, Rafael didn't even care about the pain in his leg he got up and limped to the other side of the car but he couldn't see Landon, he got to the ground and looked under he sees Landon, he was bleeding,
"Crap!" He stuck just hand in the car and tried to get a hold of Landon. He felt his arm and just tried to pull him out. It took him a minute, but he got him out. Before the car went up in flames.
Landon wasn't breathing, Rafael tried to remember what he learned in health class and did CPR on him. But after 10 minutes of CPR, nothing. Rafael fell next to his brother's body and just stared at disbelief.
Rafael wasn't sure how long he sat there in the cold wet snow, he didn't care honestly, when something started to happen. He looked over at Landon and he moved back. Because Landon was going up in flames, and not because of the car that was flaming next to them, if Rafael wasn't there he would have not believed what was happening but it was. Then as fast as the flames went up it soon stopped and Landon was just covered in ashes. Nothing happened for a few seconds except for Rafael's heartbeat it was quiet. Then the ashes moved and that's how their life changed.
Mystic Falls, Virginia // February 9 (1 day before the full moon)
After that night, Landon and Rafael left their foster parents home in the middle of the night, they didn’t want to risk explaining what the hell happened to them. Landon was shock to say the least, but he felt that he could not freak out then, because Rafael wasn't doing any better than he was. Raf explained the best he could without freaking out. Landon has watched enough science fiction shows and movies to know what he was. Ashes, going up into flames? Phoenix. It was simple, the only question he had was how?
It's early February, he and Rafael were the Mystic Falls bus depot. They just arrived from Atlanta, they spent the last month doing odd jobs in the city, trying not to get caught by CPS—it wasn't easy but they made enough money to get to Mystic Falls. Landon's memories were mix about this town. But he remembered it was his best placement in a long time. It was also his last placement before he found Rafael again.
"Remind me why we're at a small town in Virginia and not a big city where we'll be harder to find?" Rafael asked him slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"I told you it's a small enough town that they wouldn't look for us here. Besides there's something about this town, School was hell, but the people weren't so bad." Landon remembers a certain auburn hair girl who he wished he got to know better before he was moved. But he shook his head because she probably moved on already and didn’t remember him—he wasn’t exactly memorable.
"So where are we going now?" Rafael asked him, looking at the people nervously, he’s been like that since Atlanta.
"Somewhere safe." Landon picked up his own stuff and then crossed the street he knew where to go. Hopefully she was there and she'd let them stay.
He found the house easily, it was a dark brown house, with a blue door. "Who's house is this?" Rafael asked looking up, "She was my foster mother when I lived her. Also I think she may have some answers."
Landon took a deep breath before he knocked. When he left Mystic Falls it wasn't the best situation, on both his and his foster mom's part. He was doing well here, but then he noticed that she was hiding something and he got curious and well— two months later he was on a bus to Georgia. A few weeks after he was placed with the Gonzales, his foster mom contacted him telling him why she had to send him away. He didn't believe it but she explained it and he realized it was for the better. Besides a few weeks later, Rafael was placed with the Gonzales and it was good.
The door opened and he was met by an unfamiliar man.
"Um, Bon did you order two teenage boys?" The man asked, Landon heard footsteps from behind the guy. Bonnie Bennett stood behind the mystery man with another brunette woman who was holding a young girl in her arms.
"Landon?" Bonnie said surprised, he gave her a sheepish smile. "Hey."