Dear Diary,
It all started with one girl. Katherine Pierce. Is there any kind words I could say about Katherine Pierce? … No, apparently not. She was like a siren calling them to her, charming them and confusing them, turning them against each other. When she had them under her spell, they rarely had time for me anymore. Me, the poor little runaway their father had taken pity on and given a home, clothes, social status, a family.
I was their best friend, but she had them under her control. I had to laugh at it a little at the time. She didn't let them see me, because she saw me as a threat. Someone who they loved almost as much as her, someone they would die for.
However, there was a plus side to Katherine Pierce. She came with a maid. Emily Bennett. She knew what I was as soon as I shook her hand, on the very first day they arrived. Emily told me her secret. How she was a witch, and how I was one too. I already knew there was something different about me, so it wasn't much of a surprise, but what did surprise me, was when she told me there was a prophecy that may be about me. According to Emily, I was the one the spirits of our ancestors whispered about, sparking rumours through another plane of existence of the one who will be the worlds saviour. Naturally, I had blushed and told her it couldn't possibly be about me.
Yet, Emily had just smiled at me, with a weird glint in her eyes.
"No one is what they seem, friend. Even the smallest of us can hold great power."
Okay, I was fairly tall back then. Not now. Height averages were different back then.
Emily was the person I spent my time with when Damon and Stefan were occupied with Katherine. Even now, I don't see why they thought there was nothing wrong with the two of them courting the same woman. She was obviously a giant whore who was too greedy for her own good!
When Emily was busy with Katherine too, I would just wander the grounds alone, spending most of my time in the gardens. The Salvatore garden was the most beautiful place I had ever seen back in those days.
I couldn't remember my past life, you see. All I remember is Stefan and Damon finding me in the woods by the Salvatore mansion, and my name printed in elegant script on a piece of paper in an expensive coat I didn't know how I got, and a letter addressed to whomever might find me. Damon carried me back to his home, while Stefan ran up ahead to tell his father.
Giuseppe Salvatore. To me, he was a kind, understanding, lovely man who took me in when I had no where else to go. Yet there was a side of him I didn't like. The one that berated his son, Damon, verbally abused him, yet doted on his youngest, Stefan. Giuseppe was always kind to me, so I never tried to upset him.
I always knew that there was something wrong with Katherine. And my suspicions were proved one night when I was woken to shouting. I'd thrown on my nightgown over my white nightdress and cautiously walked out in the hall. A couple of men were carrying Katherine out of Stefan's room, a muzzle around her mouth. Mr Salvatore was holding Damon against a wall, and he was struggling to free himself.
Katherine had turned out to be a vampire. The town had a secret council and that night they went capturing all the towns vampires. Stefan and Damon begged me to help them. They knew I was a witch, and they wanted to save Katherine. So, like a fool, I agreed. I agreed, and I followed them into the forest. We intercepted the cart which Katherine had been chucked into, and I waited while they carried her out. Stefan had made a distraction, and then circled round to meet us.
But, not long after they had gently set Katherine on the ground, a shot rang out. Damon fell to the ground, red marring his white shirt. I hid behind a tree, out of sight, and then a second shot rang out, and I heard the second thud that was Stefan tumbling to the ground. Someone picked Katherine up, and put her back in the carriage, and drove her away.
When I could hear no more movement, I went back to the Salvatore's. They were dead. I couldn't hear a heartbeat. So I sat beside their bodies, and sobbed. I had always loved them, Stefan like a brother, but Damon, I had always had a small crush on Damon. Before Katherine had arrived, his father had talked with him about us marrying. Stefan and I had been listening in, and I had pretended I wasn't interested, but a life with Damon had intrigued me at the time.
When my tears ran out, I just lay beside them, too tired to move just yet. And then Damon's hand moved. And then Stefan's foot twitched. They stirred into life, but I remained lying on the floor afraid I was hallucinating or worse, seeing their ghosts.
Damon had picked me up, and whispered to me, told me that it was alright. Then he and Stefan parted ways, agreeing to meet up at the lake. Damon carried me the whole way there, telling me it would be okay, everything would be fine, he and Stefan would work it all out.
One time, while we were waiting, we thought Stefan had arrived, but it had been Emily.
She took me aside and told me what had happened to the brothers. They were transitioning. They would become vampires if they fed. And she told me that they would feed. Then she asked me if I wanted to stay with them for all eternity. I had nodded. I didn't want to be alone.
She had helped me perform a spell, which stopped me from aging for eternity. She left after talking to Damon, and then Stefan arrived not too long after that with a woman. He made Damon feed from her, having already fed himself from their father. I made Stefan and Damon make a pact with me that night. No matter what happens, we'll always be there for each other.
That's how our story began.
This story is set one hundred and forty six years from that moment.
I'm Maeva Elizabeth Salvatore. This is my story.
…...
"What are you doing?" Stefan asked me.
"What does it look like, bud?" I replied.
"It looks like you're hanging upside down from the balcony." Zach Salvatore, Stefan's descendent, replied.
"You'd be right, Zachary, but yet again, mi amigo's, you didn't ask the right question." I said, grinning at them although, from their angle, it probably looked like a mangled frown.
"Why are you hanging upside down?" Stefan questioned, his eyes filled with amusement.
"That, detective, is the right question."
"How did you find it?" Zach demanded. I flipped over the balcony, landing not too far from Zach, and grinned mischievously at him.
"What do you mean? Find what?" I said, innocently.
"I hid your Will Smith collection!"
"Not well enough, Zachary. Although I did enjoy the Easter-Egg Hunt theme you had going. It was a brilliant use of a Sunday morning." I smirked.
"Well better luck finding your Steve McQueen collection. Or your Rocky Collection. Or your Jason Bateman collection. Or your Jason Statham collection. Or your Shia La Beouf collection." He grinned at me, before walking away.
"Not Shia La Beouf! Why, you evil man, why?! What did the brilliance of Shia La Beouf do to deserve being hidden away?" I lamented, throwing myself on a couch.
"You're going to make us late for our first day at school." Stefan sighed.
"Why do I have to go to school again? I've already done this thing about a billion times!" I sighed.
"Because it would look a little odd if I went to school, but my 'twin' sister didn't, and we're the same age."
"Twins again? Can I not be adopted again? I've been your twin for the past three times we've done the whole school thing. Let's switch it up a bit. Not that I don't love being Stefan Salvatore's twin sister, but I'm kinda over it."
"Thanks, Maeva, thanks."
"No problem, Stefan. No problem." I replied, using my Stefan voice.
"You're getting really good at that. Have you been practicing?"
"Yeah, I called up a few of your ex-girlfriends, and told them you loved them using your voice. It was quite funny."
"You're joking, right?" Stefan asked me, raising a eyebrow and giving me his serious look. Which doesn't really differ from any of his looks. There is stern, scolding, cautious, apprehensive, brooding, reminiscing and serious. Then there's the rare happy, smiling look, but that look only occurs on special occasions.
"You decide, Stefan. Here's your phone. I borrowed it last night, when my battery died." I said, pulling his I-Phone out of my jacket pocket, and tossing it to him. He caught it easily with one hand, and quickly started checking his phone, while I walked out of the room laughing.
I ran up to my room, closed the door behind me, and dived into my wardrobe to find my school bag, which Stefan had bought me last year. It was hand-stitched by Burberry. Then I looked at myself in the mirror; the last inspection. My brunette hair was curled down to my shoulders, mascara, eye-shadow and eyeliner gave my eyes a smoky look, and my lips had a colourless gloss on them. Clothes were simple; blue tank top, black military style jacket, black jeans and the black high heeled boots, and the necklace that Emily gave me in 1864. I would have worn the necklace Giuseppe Salvatore gave me back in 1862 with the Salvatore family crest emblazed on a lapis lazuli pendant, but I hadn't seen that necklace in fifteen years. I grabbed my school bag, and my aviator sunglasses, and skipped out of my room.
"Stefan! I'm re-a-dy!" I sang, as I skidded to a stop at the front door.
He materialised behind me, and I nearly jumped.
"What have I told you? I'm only human! Things still scare the crap out of me, like when you appear out of nowhere!" I scolded him, before walking out the door. He laughed at me, and followed me to his car. It was beautiful. The old school red Porsche that sat in the garage was one of my dream cars, but Damon's Camaro was my all time favourite. Even if I didn't know where he was right now. And he won't answer my calls. He knows I'm with Stefan. And they hate each other. Have done for a hundred and forty six years. And I was always the middle person.
I counted to ten and took deep breaths as we pulled into the school's car lot.
"You ready?" Stefan asked me.
"I am always ready to make yet another amazing performance, Stefan. You do the mysterious, brooding hot guy, and I'll do the superior, yet friendly, weird, hot girl. Let's go, brother!" I smiled.
Stefan got out first, and like usual, walked round the front of the car, and opened the door for me. I climbed out, a smile on my face.
"People are staring already." I said, looping my arm through his, and hoisting my bag a little higher on my shoulder. A few guys wolf-whistled at me, girls giggled as Stefan walked past, and those same girls, as I predicted, glared at me when I smirked at them.
We walked to the reception, and walked straight in. The old woman behind the counter started to look for our names, but of course, we hadn't enrolled yet. She tried give us some hassle over it, but Stefan compelled her to enrol us in the same year and the same classes. She gave us our schedules, and we read them over as we walked to our lockers, which were right next to each other.
"American History. I am American History!" I joked, knowing Stefan would roll his eyes at me.
"Let's go, shall we?" He suggested.
We strolled to class, and then the funniest thing happened. Stefan bumped into his reason for going to this hell hole. Quite literally bumped into her. Then the happy, smiley look spread across his and I grinned at my goofy 'brother'.
"Sorry." She apologised quickly, then looked up. Her eyes widened as she took Stefan in. She let out a nervous laugh.
"Fault's mine." He replied smoothly, staring into her eyes. I rolled my eyes, and mentally gagged.
She smiled and then tried to move out of his way at the same time she did. This happened a couple of times, until I simply shoved him out of the way. He then walked away, knowing that I'd talk him up.
"Sorry about my brother."
"Brother?"
"Yeah. I was adopted. That's why we don't look anything alike." I babbled.
"Oh…I'm Elena Gilbert."
"Maeva Salvatore. Nice to meet you, Elena." I said, smiling at her. This girl was the spitting image of Katherine, but I could feel that she was good.
"What class do you have first?"
"American History with Mr Tanner." I read from aloud from my schedule.
She grinned.
"Me too. Walk with me?"
"Sure."
We set off for Mr Tanner's room together, along with her friend Bonnie Bennett. I knew not to shake her hand or anything just yet. I didn't want her to know what I was. So I was playing it cool.
We kept up idle chat along the way. Did I like the town? Did I have any other hot brothers? Why do I live with my Uncle Zach? Elena seemed to really sympathise with me when I told her about my 'parents'. She told me about her parents accident, how she was told it was a miracle she had survived. I knew all of this already. Stefan had told me. I smiled sadly at her, showing her I was sympathetic.
If Stefan had been watching he would have asked me where all my crazy had gone.
Well, when meeting new people you don't unleash all your crazy at once. You do it in short bursts, so they know your weird, but still want to be friends with you. So I was reigning in the freak within myself. Then we walked into the classroom. As soon as I saw Mr Tanner I knew I wouldn't like him. He was smirking as I walked in. Like he was scrutinising the fresh meat he was going to torture. Stefan was already in his seat so I snagged the empty one behind his.
"The Battle of Willow Creek took place at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this conflict?" He smirked, then looked around for his first victim. "Miss Bennett?"
"Erm, a lot? I'm not sure, like a whole lot."
"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett," I watched Bonnie's face fall, and then Mr Tanner moved onto someone new. "Mister Donovan! Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your imbedded jock stereotype?"
"It's okay, Mr Tanner, I'm cool with it." The Donovan kid replied. I quickly found him, and noticed that he was quite hot. Blue eyes, and sandy blonde hair, he had the all-American looks. People around the room sniggered, including myself.
Mr Tanner's eyes narrowed, before looking elsewhere, smelling the fear of someone else.
"Elena? Surely you could enlighten us about one of the towns most significant historical events?"
"I'm sorry. I-I don't know." She said, making me wince. Three kids in a row. Ouch. That's got to make him think about the quality of his teaching skills.
"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break." And then I was certain I hated him. What a bastard! Why would he say that she would use her parent's death as an excuse?
"Three hundred and forty six casualties unless your counting local civilians." Stefan jumped in, so Tanner would unleash hell upon him instead. Elena looked over at him relieved. I smirked at Tanner's face, which was shocked that someone had spoken up to her defence.
"Correct. Mister…?"
"Salvatore."
"Salvatore? Any relation to the original settlers in Mystic Falls?" Tanner asked, leaning back against his desk.
Stefan nodded slightly.
"Distant." He said.
"Very good. But, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle." Mr Tanner said, and by now I'd had enough of this idiot.
"Actually there were twenty seven, sir. Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss," I said, watching Tanner's face drop with surprise and defeat. "The Founder's archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr Tanner."
The class laughed, someone clapped, and there was that audible awe in the room. Mr Tanner's face went red, and he glared at me.
"You are?"
"Maeva Salvatore, sir. The local history of my family's town is a passion of mine. I think it's always good to know the important events that took place in the town your family originated from. Don't you?"
He was silent, and simply smiled at me. I'd made an enemy today, but possibly a few friends. What fun is life without a few enemies? Makes it interesting. I cackled evilly in my head, before I realised that was slightly crazy, and decided to recite the Canadian National Anthem in my head over and over again until this lesson was done.
I managed to make myself want to bash my own head in with my heavy American History text book because after I had sung the Canadian National Anthem a couple of times, it suddenly got catchy, and I kept singing it in my head, until I wanted to cut my head open and punch my brain in until it was just mush. Then the bell rang, and I jumped up quickly.
"Oh thank the lord!" I thought I had said this in my head. Apparently not. Stefan, who was standing, along with Elena, Bonnie, Donovan, and a few others, turned to look at me. Stefan raised an eyebrow and gave me a one-sided smirk.
"Something good happen, Miss Salvatore?" Mr Tanner questioned me, with a rather unhappy face.
"Yes, sir. I just got a text message from my Uncle! He found my Shia La Beouf DVD collection!" I lied, smiling.
"I didn't see you on your phone." He badgered me.
"I'm a ninja. I'm quick and sneaky." I answered, smirking at him.
"Get out of my class, everyone. And Miss Salvatore, please come to my next lesson with a better attitude. As its your first day I won't give you detention."
"A better attitude? Me? I thought I'd been an absolute angel!" I exclaimed, slapping my hands against my face in fake sadness.
Elena laughed at me, dragging me by the bag strap. I waved at Stefan, who stared at me.
"Bye, Mr Tanner. Don't worry I won't tell my therapist what a huge dent you gave my self-confidence! It shall remain between me, you and my stuffed teddy bear collection. It's a good thing they're waterproof!" I fake cried, as I was yanked from the room.
"You're my hero!" Bonnie said, as we walked down the hallway. "How did you know that?"
"I actually read it in the towns archives." I told them. It wasn't a complete lie, I'd read it in the archives a few days ago. I just left out the part I was around at the time it had happened.
"Why? Why would you put yourself through that kind of torture?" Elena questioned, laughing at me again.
"We'd run out of cookie dough ice cream and I had time to kill. Thought I'd brush up on my knowledge. That and the fact my Uncle has actually hidden all of my Shia La Beouf DVD's. And all my Jason Statham movies. It's a cold, depressing world without the sharp wit of Shia La Beouf's characters." I lamented.
"Hey, we're going to Mystic Grill later. You wanna come?" Elena asked me.
"Is there a pool table?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." Bonnie grinned.
"Are there going to be single, hot guys I can humiliate by completely thrashing them by letting them believe I actually at suck at pool?"
Bonnie and Elena nodded.
"Eh, I'm in." I shrug, grinning at them.
The rest of the school day kind of passed in a blur. It was funny in one lesson, it was Trigonometry, which I hate so I was texting Elena, Bonnie and Stefan, trying to amuse myself. Stefan stared at Elena for the whole lesson, and I saw Bonnie text Elena at one point, and Elena looked casually round, and smiled at him until our teacher told her to pay attention.
Ew, eye sex. I text Stefan to annoy him.
Stop staring at me! He replied.
Stop creepy staring at my new friend! :P I texted back, messing with him.
So you're friends with Elena? J
Yes, I am going to talk you up. We're going to the Grill later. So, maybe you can wrangle yourself an invite by following her to the cemetery when she goes to write in her diary by her parents grave. After all I'm not going to do all the work, she might fall in love with me instead.
Yeah, because that has happened before! Stefan replied.
It was not my fault that that blonde from Texas fancied me! I'm a very lovable person! It's your fault that you aren't as attractive as me. J
How is that my fault?
Well, you could try to outdo me, but we know it would be a vain attempt. No one else can look this good. Lol!
"Miss Salvatore. Have you been paying attention?"
"Numbers!" I said quickly.
"Sorry?"
"I'm not really sure." I replied.
"Pay attention, Miss Salvatore! Maybe then you won't get flustered and shout random things out." She scolded.
"There aren't always two peas in a pod!" I said, just to show her that my randomness doesn't just stop at flustered.
"Excuse me?"
"What?" I faked confusion.
"What did you say?"
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"What."
"What did you say, Miss Salvatore?!" She yelled at me. By now, the whole class was in stitches, including STEFAN! Her flustered and frustrated expression was apparently just as amusing to the rest of the class than it was to me.
"I said 'What?', Ms Halpbern."
"You said something before that!" She snapped at me.
"Numbers?" I said, making it sound like a question.
"I give up! Back to my lesson, please, class."
And that's when the bell rang. I very arrogantly rose from my seat, and almost tauntingly stuffed my trig book in my bag, smirking at Ms Halpbern as I walked out of the classroom. I then proceeded to skip happily to my locker to stuff some books in it, before waiting for Elena to go to the cafeteria for lunch.
Stefan was obviously not joining us, and instead he was going home for lunch. He'd probably take a stroll in the woods, find Bambi and Thumper and have a nice little snack.
I had Gym after lunch for my final period, but I was going to race back after lunch to grab my stuff. I kinda guessed that I'd have some type of sports on my first day. My timetable would be naturally awkward. Stefan would be in Gym too so I'd stick with him. All my new friends seemed to have Gym last as well.
Elena strutted over to me, with Bonnie and Caroline following closely behind.
"Shall we?" I asked.
"We shall." Elena giggled, and looped her arm through mine. I started skipping and she was forced to skip with me, laughing the whole way to the cafeteria.
I officially love this school. They had a roast! A lovely slice of chicken with roasties and veg, and thick gravy, double choc cookies, and jelly pots! They didn't have cookie dough ice cream but you can't have everything, can you? I got a tray and got the plate of roast, two cookies, and two jelly pots. Elena and Bonnie laughed at me, as I paid, and then we went to what everyone calls the 'Royal Table'. Elena is like the Queen of the school or something, and Bonnie and Caroline were in her court. They were the popular girls. People around me were looking at me weirdly, and I just shrugged it off. One girl asked me if I stay this skinny and eat that much all the time.
"Yeah, my high metabolism is a blessing!" I'd replied.
Caroline seemed a little disturbed with my diet.
"How can you eat that much?" She questioned, while I bit into my chicken.
"Surprisingly easy. In my old school, I was head cheerleader so I burnt a lot of the weight off, and me and Stefan are always playing football or something to pass the time." Both true. The last school we went to, I had been head cheerleader, and Stefan and I did play a lot of football to pass the time. And we had a lot of time on our hands.
Caroline's eyes gleamed with something, and I raised an eyebrow.
"How would you like a spot on the cheer squad? I'm head cheerleader, and Elena and Bonnie are also cheerleaders…and you said you were head cheerleader. You'd be perfect to take over Sue Carson's spot. She left at the end of last year to move to New York with her dad so the spot is yours if you want it."
I thought it over, while chewing my mouthful of roast potatoes, which I had mushed against a variety of vegetables.
"Sure. Why not? It couldn't hurt my street cred, now could it?" I shrug. What the hell? It would be fun.
"Tomorrow is the Spirit Squad bonfire. Everyone in school goes. We all have to make an appearance. Even your brother. Stefan, right?" Caroline said, with a smile and her eyebrows arching. I almost spat my food out right there. Sure, Caroline was being nice and letting me on the team and everything, but was it just because she wanted Stefan? Who knows. Maybe I have to let her use me to see?
"Stefan isn't one for social gatherings," I reply. "Maybe I can persuade him to show up, but he won't be the life of the party. He's kinda socially awkward." And he definitely won't go for you, Caroline. He's kind of already in love with Elena, I add in my head.
"Great. The more people, the better the party." Bonnie said, looking at Caroline suspiciously. I knew what was going on in her head, and her thoughts were most likely in line with mine. Caroline obviously wanted Stefan. Elena didn't seem to think anything of it, and I noticed that she was quite quiet. Caroline supplied most of the conversation, asking me questions.
"Where did you move from?" Was her first of many questions.
"We just moved from Phoenix. It was too…dry and hot, you know." I said, truthfully. We had been in Phoenix, and it was dry and hot.
"Phoenix? Like from Twilight, Phoenix?"
"Like Phoenix, Arizona," I laughed at Caroline's curious face. "I've been to the part that is supposed to be Bella's mom's house."
"Really? That is so cool."
"You'd think so but no. It's just sand, cacti and a house. Not that interesting." I replied.
"Why did you move back?"
"Change. Me and Stefan aren't eighteen yet, and my Uncle Zach told us to come live with him after the accident. We tried putting it off, you know, but uh, apparently you have to have a legal guardian until you hit the big 1-8."
"What accident?"
"My adoptive parents died in a fire. Stefan got me out, but he didn't manage to save them. It was too dangerous, so me and Stefan moved here, back to Mystic Falls. Stefan was born here, you see, but moved away when he was just a baby."
"You're adopted?" Caroline asked, a panicked look crossing her face, before she masked it.
"Yeah. Stefan's such a great brother, though, it doesn't really matter that we're not blood related."
"What age were you adopted?"
"Fifteen."
"So, you two have never…?" Caroline left her question open-ended, and I thought about telling the truth, but thought better about it.
"Never what?"
"Made out or anything?"
"Oh god no! Stefan isn't really that kind of guy. Granted, he is hot, I won't deny it. My adoptive brother is almost Michelangelo's David, but no. Yuck. Gross. I think I might throw these cookies back up if they hadn't of tasted so good," I said. In 1973, Stefan and I were mega wasted, and dancing, and we made out a couple of times, but that was the most awkward memory I've ever remembered waking up after a night out. Stefan and I couldn't look at each other for nearly three weeks after that. "Stefan is just my brother. And I only love him as a brother. He's my best friend, other than…" I trailed off, trying to cut thoughts of him off. I would not ruin my good day.
"Other than?" Bonnie questioned.
"Oh, is that the time? I think I need to go get my gym stuff! I'll meet you there, guys!"
"Oh…okay!" They nodded.
I hurried out of the cafeteria, dumping my tray, and nearly running to my locker, where Stefan was getting his stuff.
"What's the matter?" He asked, a little alarmed, when I pretty much pounced on him, my eyes tearing.
"I need a brother-sister hug, okay? Just be quiet!"
He wrapped his arms around me, and rested his chin on my head.
"I hate him sometimes, Stefan." I whispered.
"Yeah me too." He said, knowing exactly who I was talking about.
"Let's go Gym," I said, pulling away. I punched my locker at the hinge, watching it as it bounced open. I was feeling a bit impatient. I grabbed the other bag, and stuffed my school bag into the locker. I slammed the locker close, and wrapped my arm around Stefan's waist, at the same time he slung his arm over my shoulder. "How often do I tell you how great you are as a brother, Stefan?"
"Not often, if I'm honest."
"You're a great brother, Stefan," I smile up at him, as we walk. I drop my arm from his waist, and push his arm off my shoulder and stop in the middle of the hallway. He looked at me weird so I grinned at him.
"Race you to the gym! No cheating!"
I ran off, speeding down the obstacle course that was the corridors. I knew Stefan was right beside me, but I didn't dare turn to look at him otherwise I would have fallen down or tripped over some kid, taking them down with me.
I gritted my teeth when I noticed him edging ahead of me, so I decided to play dirty. I moved close to him, and casually, as casually as you can whilst running full out, stuck my leg out. As I had planned, Stefan had no choice but to fake tripping over, and land on his face. I burst out laughing, but skidded to a halt. A bunch of girls crowded round him while he climbed to his feet. I pushed past the cooing throng of nausea inducing, make-up covered flesh, most of whom turned and glared at me.
"C'mon, Stef! We'll call it a draw. Sorry, ladies, but this boy belongs to me. I'd love it for you to leave him be. I'm the only one who can coo over him, other than his girlfriend."
"Who's she?" Someone asked.
"You'll see!" I replied.
"Thanks, even though it was your fault." Stefan whispered, as we walked away again, arm in arm.
"Was it fun, or was it fun, though?" I asked, grinning at him, as we stopped at the locker rooms.
"I'll see you in there." He smiled, shaking his head at me.
I laughed, and skipped into the changing rooms. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline waved me over, and gave me the empty locker next to Elena's. I stuffed my stuff into it, and quickly changed into the deep red tank top, and black shorts. I pulled my dark hair into a pony tail, and yanked on my trainers.
I walked into the Gym arm in arm with Elena. It was funny, I had loathed Katherine with every fibre of my being, but I honestly felt like I could be good friends with Elena. She was the polar opposite to Katherine, and I liked that. She would be good for Stefan.
"Okay, we've got two new students with us, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Mr Lyman, the Sports Teacher. I'm not the football coach. That is Mr Tanner. So if you, Mr Salvatore, wish to join the football team then you have to go take it up with him." I heard Stefan groan. I'd told him he should join the football team to blend in better.
Mr Lyman looked at me.
"Welcome to Mystic Falls, Ms Salvatore. We hope that you and your brother feel welcomed here."
I smiled at him.
"Thank you, Mr Lyman."
"Now, pair up for the cardio workout. As it's your first day back I thought we'd take it easy." He ordered.
I looked at Elena, then Stefan, who seemed to be bonding with Matt Donovan. They paired up, and I grinned at Elena. Caroline had already commandeered Bonnie, and Elena grinned back at me.
"Looks like I'm with you, buddy! I'll count while you do the sit-ups." She said, gleefully. I rolled my eyes. Of course, I'd end up doing the sit-ups.
I flung myself dramatically at the floor, and Elena kneeled on my feet to keep them firmly on the ground. Then I began doing the actual exercise. Elena and I kept up the conversation, though, which surprised her when I got past fifty sit-ups and could still articulate a full sentence without sounding breathless. I was kind of putting the girls and some of the guys to shame. I wasn't really breaking a sweat.
"You're like a machine!" Elena exclaimed when I hit a hundred. That's when I stopped. I pulled my feet from underneath hers, and rolled over on my stomach.
"I'm not moving." I grunted.
"You have to get up! It's my turn." Elena sighed.
I reluctantly heaved myself up, then spied Stefan in a slight confrontation with Tyler Lockwood. I nodded at Elena, then pointedly looked over at the pair, who seemed to be squaring their shoulders, and sizing each other up.
"Hey, Stefan, Tyler! You two want a challenge?" I called over at them.
They both stepped back from each other, and looked over at me.
"What do you have in mind?" Mr Lyman asked, as everyone gathered round.
"Well the two hot shots have a competition that puts some of that extra male testosterone to good use," I said, with a grin. "Who can do the most push-ups in five minutes, with a weight on their back."
"What are you going to use as weight?" Matt Donovan questioned, looking intrigued. I eyed Elena.
"Me and Elena are probably the same weight. I'll be Tyler's weight, and Elena will be Stefan's weight." I smirked. She shot me a quick 'Traitor!' glare, before blushing as Stefan sneaked a peek at her.
"Sounds fair enough. You two game?" Mr Lyman asked, looking at my 'brother' and the hot-headed jock, who had tyres for muscles. Seriously, this guy's guns are huge! He must spend a lot of time practicing football, and pumping iron at the gym.
"Sure. Salvatore had better be prepared to lose." Tyler said, smirking with the look of someone who knows they are going to win. Ha.
"I'm game." Stefan said, looking at Elena, who blushed under his scrutiny.
The boys got down into position, then Elena and I sat daintily on their backs with our legs crossed.
"You weigh almost nothing." Tyler said.
"Aw, thanks." I said, rolling my eyes.
Lyman blew his whistle, then the boys started doing press-ups. I laughed, as Elena blushed bright red at having to sit on Stefan's back. Stefan was definitely winning, yet Tyler wasn't doing too bad either. He had a lot of stamina. And did I mention the muscles? Yeah? Oh…He's pretty hot too. Even if he is a bit of a jerk, but I've crushed on a jerk before. Even fallen in love with a couple. We'll just say one is ongoing and the 1920's were an exciting time period.
Anyway, Tyler was starting to lag now, while Stefan pushed ahead.
Suddenly, I didn't want to be on the losing guy's back so I started to cheer Tyler on. Elena cheered Stefan on, and then everyone else split in half. Team Tyler, and Team New Guy/Stefan.
"Come on, Tyler!" I encouraged.
Then Lyman blew his whistle again, signalling that the five minutes were over.
Tyler collapsed, with me still on his back, and grunted when we impacted the floor.
"For a jock, you didn't do that bad." I muttered into his sweaty back.
I then clambered to my feet, looking at Matt who was doing Tyler's count.
"Fifty-seven."
Then everyone looked at this other jock who had been doing Stefan's count.
"Fifty-six."
"Yes!" I shouted, almost breaking into a happy dance, until I noticed that everyone, including Tyler, Stefan and Elena, was looking at me weirdly. "I mean, aw man! I can't believe Stefan didn't win! You've brought shame upon the Salvatore name, Stefan!"
Stefan shook his head in amusement at me, then looked past me at Tyler, who was now on his feet. Stefan held out his hand to Tyler, and Tyler looked at it suspiciously.
"Shake his hand." I whispered to him.
Tyler eyed me, and for some reason, slipped his hand into Stefan's and shook it hard.
"Congratulations, Tyler." Stefan said.
"Thanks, I guess." Tyler shook his head, and with one last look at me, turned away to his jock buddies.
For some random reason, I felt the need to get this guy to be genuine. I knew that he was hiding behind that stereotypical mean jock façade, and I was determined to find out why and then fix it.
I guess, I didn't like hiding who I really was, so if I get him to reveal his true self than maybe I'll feel better about myself.
EWWWWW. My thoughts are getting too mushy and philosophical and shit. I'm not a fan of the whole wacky 'feel your feelings in your head' crap. Or feeling them at all. I like to take any feelings I don't like, and suppress them until I'm really drunk so I have an excuse for anything I say. For instance, if I told Damon I loved him, I could blow it off as me being drunk. If I punch someone, drunk. If I snap at someone, drunk. The beauty of alcohol and the subsequent excuses it allows makes my existence a little more tolerable.
"Maeva?" Elena snapped her fingers in front of my face for the second time, and I blinked rapidly as I crashed back into the non-literal Earth's atmosphere, before face-planting onto the pavement in my head, and getting a mouthful of asphalt.
"Sorry. Zoned out. What were you saying?"
"Lyman said we could skip out early. Let's go get changed. We're meeting at the Grill at half six. You're still coming right?" She asked, cocking her head slightly to the side with her question. That was a tiny similarity between her and Katherine.
"You bet. Let's go get changed."
"So, You'll be there?" She asked again, probably trying to make sure I wasn't going to ditch.
"Absolutely. I'll text you later." I said, mentally adding, Stefan will see you later.
…...
It was totally boring waiting for half six. I had two showers, just for something to do. I could have done the English assignment I got, but what would be the fun in that?
I watched a Will Smith movie, ate some cookies and cream ice cream, danced around my room to no music, annoyed Zach for a while, and then picked an outfit to wear to the Grill. Then six o'clock came around, and I was dead bored, and Stefan had gone to give Elena her diary back that she had dropped in the cemetery, so I got dressed, reapplied my make-up finely, grabbed my iPod, my phone and my camera, shoved them into a small bag, before running out of the place that boredom built.
I decided to kill time, and walk to the Grill. It wouldn't take too long.
When I got there, Bonnie and Matt were already at a table, Caroline was talking to some girls near the bar, and Tyler was playing pool with some nameless face. I could feel his stare as I made my way over to Monnie. That is their official friend name. But as the new girl, pretty much all teenage faces turned towards me, but being the great actress I am, I put on a brazen smile, and pretty much strutted towards Monnie's table.
"Hey guys!" I smiled at them, as I sat down in an empty chair next to Matt.
"Hey. We haven't been officially introduced, I'm Matt Donovan."
"The guy with the imbedded jock stereotype and is cool with it. Nice to meet you, I'm Maeva Salvatore, Teacher Torturer and History Extraordinaire." I grinned, shaking his hand, and winking at him. He laughed at my joke, which means I like him. Matt Donovan is my official new best friend.
"So how are you liking Mystic Falls?" He asked.
"Mystic Falls is the first home that I remember having. We only lived here for a couple of months, and then we moved to Atlanta, so its like coming home." I told a little white lie. It was like coming home, but after thirty years for me. Stefan comes home every two years, to check up on thing, to get all nostalgic, but he doesn't show his face. I hadn't been home in thirty years, because I was too busy exploring the world. Except when I came home for a brief visit in the ninety's, but it was only for a couple of days.
"I thought you said you moved here from Phoenix?" Bonnie questioned.
"We've moved around a lot. Makes it hard to make friends."
"Well, you've already made quite a few on your first day, so I hear. Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, me, even Tyler."
"Yeah, what's Tyler's deal?"
"Tyler's a great guy, he can just be a bit of a dick sometimes."
"Why though?"
"He's dad's the mayor, right? And he's a major jerk to Tyler, never treats him right, never makes him know that he cares, stuff that like. It just makes him do stupid stuff for attention, and he then thinks that no one cares so acts like a jerk."
"Wow, that's deep, Doctor Donovan. You his best friend?"
"More like his only friend. How'd you know?" He asked me, his beautiful blues staring into mine inquisitively. I was a sucker for blue eyes. Damn.
"Female intuition. That, and the fact it became obvious with the way you talked about him with so much detail. That's how I talk about Stefan. I know everything there is to know about that boy. He's my best friend."
"Isn't he your brother?" Matt questioned.
"I was adopted, but yeah. Just because he's my brother doesn't mean he can't be my best friend. Like I said we travelled a lot, so we never really had anyone but each other."
"Sounds almost lonely." Bonnie commented, warming her hands around her coffee, which smelled delicious. I think I may have to get one. And Stefan isn't here yet, so no one could stop me.
"Maybe, but I'm a glass half full kinda girl. Stefan's been company enough, although, now I'm back in the very welcoming town of Mystic Falls, I am planning on widening my social circle. Just a little bit," I joked, making both Bonnie and Matt laugh. "I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to go get a coffee."
…...
I think I made a couple of really good friends in Matt and Bonnie. Matt was funny, and Bonnie kept going on about her Grams telling her she was psychic. And then all the laughter stopped. I turned and looked for the reason.
Elena had arrived…with Stefan.
I waved them over, and Matt mumbled his excuses and got up.
I didn't really want him to go, because he was fun to hang out with, but I knew it would be awkward for him to hang out with his ex and her new love interest.
"Hey guys." I said, as the sat down either side of me; Stefan, ironically, took Matt's seat.
"Where did you go Stefan? I had to walk here on my own!" I jokingly scolded him, pretending to drink the last sips of Bonnie's coffee.
Stefan eyed my cup, and narrowed his eyes.
"Who bought you coffee?" He asked, looking at Bonnie.
"She bought it herself!" Bonnie raised her hands up in surrender, playing along with me.
"You forgot to stick the danger label on me, bro! People were not sufficiently warned about the effects of certain substances on me! Stefan, what have you done?" I teased him, laughing along with Elena and Bonnie.
"Please tell me that is the only cup of coffee you've had." Stefan pretty much begged to be lied to.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Stefan. This is my third." I grinned at him.
"Oh dear god!" Stefan said, pulling a hand through his hair in desperation.
"You worried, Stefan? Worried that I'm going to get really hyper and embarrass you in front of the lovely Elena?" I teased him, leaning forward so he could get a better look at my mischievous grin.
Elena was laughing, Bonnie was grabbing her side, obviously trying to hold her sides together so they didn't fall apart and I couldn't blame them. Stefan's panic struck face was just too priceless.
I grabbed my bag from the floor, pulled out my Polaroid camera, and snapped a picture of Stefan's face. It came out instantly, and I shook it, waited for the ink to dry and then peeled the top layer off.
"Why'd you take my picture?" Stefan asked.
"Just so you could see your face. I can't believe you fell for that. This was Bonnie's empty coffee cup!" I revealed, handing him the photo.
"Have I told you how annoying you are?" He said, with a giant grin on his face.
"Many times, brother, many times." I smirked.
Caroline then decided to plonk herself down next to Elena, and invite herself to join us. I had a slightly bad feeling about this.
"Hey, Caroline." Elena greeted, with a slight smile. I could tell that she knew the guy seeking missile that was Caroline Forbes was homing in on Stefan.
"Hey, Elena, Bonnie, Maeva and Stefan. I thought I'd join you, get to know the newbies better." Caroline smiled at us, but more so at Stefan. I raised an eyebrow at him, and I could see his eye twitch with nervous-ness.
"So Maeva told us you were born in Mystic Falls, Stefan?" She started.
"Mm-hm. I moved when I was still young." Stefan replied, but he was looking at Elena, who was staring back. Caroline didn't really like that.
"So, Stefan, if you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow." She said, changing the subject.
"It's a back-to-school thing at the falls." Bonnie added.
"Are you going?" Stefan asked Elena.
"Of course she is." Bonnie answered for her. Elena smirked at her.
"We all are, right Elena? Can't abandon the newbie at a party." I said, persuading her, when I saw she was hesitant. All she did was look at me, and then look back at Stefan, smiling at him as he stared at her.
"Well…I'm going to go kick some ass at the pool table so if you ladies will excuse me." I said, getting to my feet.
"You forgot Stefan." Elena said.
"No. I'm pretty sure I included Stefan." I joked, grinning at him, grabbing my purse and walking away.
That Tyler kid was still at the pool table, his friends still flocking round him. If he actually has friends. He noticed me walking over, and all the guys eyed me with interest. I noticed that he'd just won another game. Well, its time to change that, me thinks.
"Hey, new girl." Tyler said, leaning against the pool cue.
"Tyler. Boys. I noticed that you were on a hot winning streak. Thought I'd come check it out." I smirked.
"Were? I am on a hot winning streak!" Tyler protested.
"We'll see. How about I play, and we'll give your skills a real test? Though maybe we shouldn't. I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of your boys." I grinned, putting my bag down on the floor, and resting my arms on the table, lacing my fingers together.
"Tyler, you just got challenged." One of the other jocks said, checking out my ass. Normally, I would mind, but these jeans made my butt look great so why not?
"Dude, she's a chick. It'll be easy." Another insisted, attempting to whisper it.
"He must be right. I'm a girl, and girls suck at everything other than cooking, keeping a home, and sex." I joked, nodding slowly, raising an eyebrow at this guy's stupidity.
"Exactly." Jock Two blurted before he could stop himself. Tyler and Jock One punched him in the arm for saying it out loud, right in front of me.
"Weren't you in my Gym class today?" I asked him, straightening up.
"Yeah? So?"
"Oh my god, are you the one who stopped after 50 sit ups? I thought Jocks were supposed to be good athletes?" I asked.
"Yeah, how many did you do? Ten?"
"One hundred. And that was without barely trying. I could do one hundred in my sleep," I smiled fakely at him, before turning back to Tyler. "So how about it, Lockwood? Fancy a game?"
"Sure. Wouldn't say no to a pretty girl."
"Dude, you've so got this." Jock One said, slapping Tyler on the back as encouragement. Tyler smiled at me, assessing me.
"Okay. If it's a sure game, why don't you put some money where your mouth is? Twenty bucks says I win."
"You're on. Twenty bucks on Tyler." Jock One grinned.
"I'll take that bet too." Jock Two said, looking eager for his buddy to start the game. I grabbed a pool cue, and chalked it up.
"You wanna break, Salvatore? Ladies first and all that." Tyler said, racking up.
"Of course."
Tyler didn't move out of the way when I walked round the table to take my shot, he only stepped back to lean against the wall. So obviously, to mess with his head and his game, I exaggerated my lean over the table, and I knew he was staring at my ass.
I took my shot, and purposefully fluffed it. The white ball went wide, and just managed to hit a couple.
The two jocks laughed, and I leaned back up slowly, and shrugged.
"Maybe I'm off my game tonight," I fake sighed. "Maybe you guys will get your twenty bucks."
They looked at me very smugly, and then Tyler potted a ball in on his first shot, and looked at me slightly superiorly.
So when I took my second shot, I couldn't mess it up again and got two in…in the top left and right pockets. A perfect split.
"Or maybe I'm on a hot streak." I grinned.
…...
After earning the easiest forty bucks made in the world, Stefan walked up to me when I was in the middle of my victory dance. It was a hot victory dance so I wasn't that embarrassed to be honest. Tyler watched bemused, even though he had lost, but the two jocks looked so pissed.
"That'll teach you to bet against a Salvatore. Good game, though, Lockwood." I said, grabbing the forty bucks and putting it very slowly into my purse, as a way of torturing them with their loss.
"Maeva, we should get home." Stefan said. I looked around and noticed that Elena and the girls were gone, and I nodded.
"I want a rematch, Salvatore." Tyler demanded.
"Sure. Meet me here tomorrow before the bonfire party. Maybe you'll stand a better chance though, if you didn't have the running commentary. Goodnight, Lockwood." I said, winking at him, and linking arms with Stefan as we walked out of the Grill.
"You didn't cheat right?" Stefan asked me, as we walked home.
"Of course not, Stephanie! How dare you even accuse me of such a thing!" I pretended to be appalled at the very notion of me cheating, but to be honest, he had fair reason to ask. When it came to playing games or sports with Damon or Stefan, I liked to even the playing field, because they were vampires and were stronger and faster then me. So if we were playing football, for instance, I would run but control the wind so it pushed me faster then they could run. So really it was a fair question.
"I was just asking, Maeva."
I grinned at him, and slung my arm around his waist, and he placed his around my shoulders. Anyone would think that we were together, by looking at us.
"Did you have fun tonight, Stefan?" I asked him, leaning my head on his shoulder as we walked.
"Yeah."
"Is she everything you hoped she would be? Even though you've been stalking her the past four months." I grinned.
"Ha ha," He said, jokingly. "But yes, she's amazing."
"Good."
"You looked like you were having fun with that Lockwood kid."
"Yeah, he's hot enough to be my next boyfriend, or hook-up. Haven't decided if I'm going to be the town slut or the sweet, yet slightly weird girl that you would be happy to take home and show off to your parents." I said, grinning at him, as he frowned at me.
"I think you should be the second one. It'll be much more tolerable living in this town if we don't have to worry that you're going to get into fights with the local girls or women for sleeping with their boyfriends or husbands."
"I was only kidding, Stefan! Besides, that was one time and I had just been through a severe dry spell and needed to release all the pent up sexual frustration I was feeling."
"Too much information." Stefan said, shuddering.
"Oh, come off it, Stefan. Don't pretend you've been celibate for these past fifty years." I joked, as we walked up to the front door of the boarding house.
"I have though."
"Dude, there is seriously something wrong with you. You're a guy. You've been alive one hundred and sixty one years, and for the past fifty you have not been getting any? Man, you must have the most amazing self control." I continued teasing him, knowing he hated talking about his sex life, and that I was making him squirm. He opened the door, ignoring me completely now, and walked up the stairs immediately. I being annoying and consistent, followed him to his room.
"Don't be like that, Stef! I was only playing." I said, launching myself across his bed, and settling myself down.
He took his jacket off and his shirt, and exchanged it for a clean one to sleep in.
And then Zach stormed in, newspaper in hand, looking very pissed off.
"You promised." He said, approaching Stefan.
Stefan snatched the paper off of him, and read the front page.
"This was an animal attack." Stefan replied, and I was instantly full of dread.
I climbed off his bed, and ripped the paper from his hands.
BODIES FOUND MUTILATED BY ANIMAL
Two local residents reported missing were found dead after police discovered their abandoned vehicle on Highway.
"Don't give me that. I know the game. You tear them up, they suspect an animal attack. You said you had it under control." Zach accused Stefan and I wasn't having it.
"Zach, watch who you're talking to." I warned.
"What are you going to do to me, Maeva? Witches don't harm human beings."
"I'm not going to hurt you, Zach, unless you keep disrespecting your elders. Stefan has it under control."
"Please, Uncle Stefan, Mystic Falls is a different place now. Its been quiet for years," He said, addressing Stefan and ignoring me completely. And I thought that dick was my friend. "But there are people who still remember. And you two being here…it's just going to stir things up."
"That's not my intention." Stefan relied.
"Why did you come back after all this time? Why now?" Zach asked, his temper rising.
"I do not have to explain myself to you." Stefan snapped, glaring at Zach.
"I know that you can't change what you are. But you don't belong here anymore."
"Then where do we belong, Zach?" I asked.
"I can't tell you what to do, but coming back here was a mistake."
"Hey, Zach, do you like living in this house?" I asked.
He just looked at me, shaking his head, before storming out of the room.
I waited until he was out of ear shot before I talked to Stefan again.
"Don't worry about him, Stefan. His opinion isn't important. We have every right to be here." I said, but I don't think he was listening. He walked over to one of his cupboards, and pulled out the journal he had kept in 1864 out. He opened it up, and I watched quietly, to a picture of Katherine. The woman who took his life.
"Why have you still got that thing?" I asked. "I would have burned it."
"Because it's a reminder of past mistakes."
"No, it's a reminder of her. It's been one hundred and forty five years, Stefan. You need to let go of whatever you're feeling for her, whether its hate or love."
"I'm in love with Elena, Maeva, not Katherine."
"Then let go of the hate."
…...
The next morning was boring. Stefan forced me to go to school again, and quelle suprise, I had Mr Tanner. Almost gouged my eyes out because of how boring he made history.
After school, however, is when all the fun began. I got closer to Tyler. I let him win the pool rematch and he asked me for my number. Which was the prize for the rematch. I bet him that if I had won, I would get forty bucks, and he demanded that if he won he got my number. Which confused me a little because I thought he was into Vicki Donovan, Matt's older sister, who was a senior at Mystic Falls High.
Then Tyler walked me to the bonfire party. And he kept asking me lots of questions about myself. I think that he only acts like a tool around people who already have that preconceived notion that he would be a tool. Like his jock friends, and Vicki. I think me befriending him gave him the ability to be himself…I hoped.
And as soon as we arrived, I saw that Caroline was about to go snatch Stefan, so I had to save him.
"Hey, Lockwood, why don't you go grab me a drink?"
"Bossy much."
"Don't pretend you don't like a woman who knows what she wants." I said, winking at him.
He laughed, and walked off, saying he'd be right back.
I walked hurriedly to Stefan, and wrapped an arm round his waist almost possessively.
"Hey, you guys made it." Caroline said, as she reached us.
"Yes, we did." We smiled at her to be polite.
"Well, let's go get you a drink." Caroline said.
Stefan looked at me.
"Well, I'm…"
"Oh, come on," Caroline insisted, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "Maeva, you don't mind if I steal Stefan away, do you?"
"Not at all, Caroline." I said, fake smiling at her.
As she dragged him away, Stefan looked back at me, his eyes pleading for help. I mouthed, Sorry, to him, then spotted Elena and Bonnie by the bonfire. I hurried over there just in time for Bonnie to ask Elena where Stefan is.
"I don't know, but here's Maeva." Elena said, as I skidded to a halt.
"Girl, you look amazing," Bonnie commented, looking at my outfit. I'd put on a black, long sleeved t-shirt with lace sleeves, and dark wash jeans, and black lace-up wedge boots. I also had Tyler's leather jacket because somehow I'd forgotten mine at home.
"Do you know where Stefan is?"
"You tell me, you're the psychic one." I joked.
"Oh yeah. Hold on. Grams told me I need to concentrate." Bonnie said, closing her eyes.
"Hold up. You need a crystal ball," Elena said, rooting around for something for Bonnie to look into. She picked up a empty beer bottle, and held it aloft. "Ta da!"
Bonnie and I chuckled.
But as Bonnie's hand went round the bottle to take it, and her hand brushed Elena's, I felt the energy that she produced. Her eyes widened at the premonition or vision she was having. I did my best 'wtf' look, which mirrored Elena's. Bonnie just stared at Elena, and then sharply pulled her hand away.
"What?" Elena asked.
"What did you see?" I asked.
"That was weird. When I touched you, I saw a crow." Bonnie said.
"What?" Elena asked, looking freaked out. I could only guess that what Bonnie saw was accurate.
"A crow. There was fog, a man. I'm drunk. It's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Okay, I'm gonna get a refill."
And just like that, Elena and I were staring at Bonnie's retreating back.
"Okay. What just happened?" Elena asked.
"I have no clue."
Elena turned around, and I followed suit, and there was Stefan. We both jumped a little bit. Stupid, bloody vampire. I might stake him one of these days if he keeps just appearing like that.
"Hi." He said.
Elena chuckled.
"Hi."
"I did it again, didn't I?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said, with a slight laugh and shake of her head.
"I'm sorry." He said, looking at her.
"Oh so when you jump out at Elena, she gets an apology, when you jump out at me, you laugh. Nice," I comment, teasing him in front of Elena. It was the best revenge. "I'm going to go find Lockwood."
I walked away, moving to the old wooden gazebo that was crowded with people. I saw little Jeremy Gilbert, sitting there with a beer, and sure enough I found Lockwood…with his tongue down Vicki Donovan's throat. Not that I care that much, but men sure don't have manners anymore. In 1864, you wouldn't find many men that would arrive with one woman and then make out with another.
So I decided to make friends with the smallest Gilbert.
"Hey, you're Jeremy, right?" I asked, sitting next to him.
"Who are you? I don't think I've seen you around before."
"I'm new to town. Maeva Salvatore," I introduced myself. "I'm a friend of Elena's."
"You're the chick that totally burned Tanner? Nice job."
"Glad to know that people are talking about me already." I grinned.
"So what brings you to Mystic Falls?" He asked me.
"My adoptive parents died last month, so me and my adopted brother, Stefan, came to live with our uncle, Zach. You might have heard of him, or not. Zach's a douche."
"So if you're friends with my sister, why'd you come to hang out with me?" Jeremy asked.
"I heard you were a little bit more fun than your sister, and to be honest, her and Stefan were getting a little bit…intense, so I thought I'd hang with the cool kid."
"Do you want a drink?" He asked me.
"Sure. Tyler Lockwood was supposed to get me one, but that dick, as you can see, forgot," I said, gesturing in the direction of where Tyler and Vicki were flirting with each other. Jeremy handed me a beer, and started looking round for the bottle opener, but I just opened it with my teeth. A neat trick I picked up in Brooklyn in 1983. He raised an eyebrow, impressed obviously, and then went back to glaring at Tyler and Vicki. I picked up on it, of course.
"You like her, don't you?"
"Who?"
"Vicki Donovan. I see the way you look at her," I said, and he nodded, answering my question. "So the question is: why is she with him and not you?"
"She doesn't realise that Tyler's a douche. And that he's-" He said, stopping as Tyler and Vicki walked past us, and into the woods. A plan formulated in my head, and I grinned, as we watched Tyler and Vicki disappear into the tree line. Jeremy caught sight of my grin.
"Why are you smiling?" He asked.
"You want Vicki, right? And I take it you don't like Tyler either?" He nodded. "Why don't we make her jealous?"
"What do you mean?"
"We go out into the woods, pretend to stumble across them, and we'll be holding hands, pretending we're together, and she'll want you," I explained to him. "Girls like her always want what they can't have. She's got Tyler, and if you pretend you don't want her, and you're off limits to her, she'll warm up to the idea of being with you."
I watched Jeremy think it over.
"What do you get out of it?"
"I get to annoy Lockwood. And for the past two days, that's become a hobby of mine," I grinned. "So, you in?"
Jeremy looked at me, and grinned.
"Well then, let's go!" I said, grabbing his hand, and pulling him into the woods.
"No. I said no. Ow, that hurts." We hear Vicki say from up ahead. They weren't too far in. I could see them up against a tree just in front of us. Vicki was obviously not complying with Tyler, and he was getting rough.
"Hey, leave her alone." Jeremy said, loudly and with a lot of authority in his voice. I would have done as he said, despite him being fifteen or sixteen.
Vicki managed to push Tyler off her, as he was distracted by Jeremy. I let go of Jeremy's hand, thinking that it might not actually help this situation.
"You know, you're starting to get on my nerves, Gilbert." Tyler said, squaring up to Jeremy.
"What's your problem, Lockwood?" I asked.
"Go, Tyler. Get the hell away from me." Vicki said, cutting him off from saying anything, and shoving him away from Jeremy and me.
"Wow. Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first." Tyler sneered at her.
"Wow. Tyler Lockwood is acting like a dick. I've been told that happens on a regular basis," I snapped, tossing him his jacket. "Not too long ago, I actually thought you were nice, but attempted rape isn't exactly what you expect from a nice guy. Go home, Tyler, and get rid of my number. You won't need it."
He looked at me, shook his head, and walked away. Vicki looked at the two of us, and scowled.
"I didn't need you help." She said.
"It seems like you did." Jeremy replied.
"He was just drunk." Vicki protested.
"Jeremy's drunk. Is he throwing himself at you?" I asked.
"He's worse. He wants to talk to me, get to know me…see into my soul, and screw and screw and screw until he's done with me." She said.
Wow, I mouthed at Jeremy. He scowled at her, and took a step closer to her.
"Is that what you think?"
"That's what I know." She replied, before walking in the opposite direction of which Tyler walked. At least he walked in the right direction, to civilisation, she walked further in to the woods. And with the 'animal attack' that happened, I was worried for her.
"Let's go back. I need to find my brother." I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back towards the party.
Last time I saw Stefan and Elena, they were headed towards the bridge, so that's where I headed, only I didn't need to. He and Elena were talking by the gazebo. I didn't even notice Jeremy stumble back into the forest, until Elena started calling his name and following him.
"Stefan, Vicki's in there. And with the animal attacks I don't think they should be going in there." I whispered, even though it was already too late. Stefan looked at the tree line, concern written all over his face, and then he must've heard them coming back, because he stood up straighter.
"Somebody help!" Elena yelled, and everyone turned to look in her direction. Jeremy was carrying an unconscious Vicki and Elena was holding her head so it was aligned with her body.
"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?" Matt yelled, as he rushed over as Jeremy set her down on a bench. Everyone, including Tyler, crowded round her.
"Everybody back up. Give her some space." He yelled.
"It's her neck." Elena told Matt.
I pushed my way to the front of the crowd, shoving Tyler out of the way, so I could get to Vicki. I pulled off my shirt, thanking god I had a tank top underneath, and pressed it to her wound.
"Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood," I explained to Matt, who looked like he was going to question what I'm doing. "We needed something to staunch the blood, to help slow down the blood loss, and to help the blood start to clot."
"It's bad." Elena said.
"Vicki, come on, open your eyes. Look at me." Matt begged his sister. I held my shirt against her neck, but turned my head to look at Stefan. My eyes said what I figured he was starting to guess.
"Elena, take this. Hold it against her neck. Not too hard, but not too soft." I instructed her. She looked up at me, taking my bloody shirt. "Me and Stefan are going to run to our place, and call an ambulance. We'll get a better signal than out here and its close."
I rushed back to Stefan, who took my arm, and dragged me away through the trees, then into his arms and ran us back to the Boarding House. He ran most of the way faster than a human would, so we got there quicker.
We burst through a side door, and Zach was sitting there. Stefan let go of me, and Zach asked us what was going on.
"Vicki Donovan was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't Stefan." I said, chasing after him as he stormed to his room.
He was looking around when we got there, and his balcony doors were open. And then I knew for sure it was him when a crow flew in, and made Stefan turn around to inspect it. My eyes stayed glued to the balcony doors, and then there he was.
"Damon." Stefan said, after he saw him.
"Hello, brother." He said, sardonically, smirking at his brother.
…...
"The crow's a bit much, don't you think?" I asked. "I didn't know that you were into cheap theatrics."
"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog." He replied, not taking any notice of my jibe.
"When did you get here?" Stefan questioned.
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day of school," Damon said, grinning, walking around Stefan's room like he owned it and, I've got to admit, it pissed me off. "Your hair's different. I like it. Yours too, Maeva. Back to natural colour, I see."
"Yeah, the black hair kept reminding me of your tiny black heart, so I washed it out." I remarked, crossing my arms over my chest. He rolled his eyes at me.
"It's been fifteen years, Damon." Stefan said, as if questioning what he was doing here now.
"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the '90s. That horrible grunge look did not suit you," He said, smirking at Stefan, still walking around the room, inspecting Stefan's things. "Remember, Stefan, its important to stay away from fads."
"Why are you here?" I yelled at him, not quite understanding where the rage is coming from.
"I missed my family." He replied, very calmly.
"You hate small towns. Its boring. There's nothing for you to do," I replied. "And the blood source is smaller."
"I've managed to keep myself busy." Damon said, grinning.
"You left her alive tonight, Damon. That's clumsy for you." Stefan said.
"That could be a problem…for you." Damon said, leaning against one of Stefan's chest of drawers.
"Why are you here now?" Stefan asked.
"I could ask you the same question. However," He said, pushing himself upright, and moving towards us. "I'm pretty certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word: Elena. She took my breath away. Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine."
Stefan and I stayed quiet, just watching him as he walked around the room, never taking our eyes off him.
"Is it working, Stefan? Being around her? Being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?" Damon teased him, once more walking towards Stefan.
"She's not Katherine." I said.
"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended," He frowned for a second, then quickly disguised it. "Tell me, Stefan, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"
Stefan scoffed, and backed away from him.
"I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not going to work."
"Come on! Don't you crave it a little?" Damon said, shoving Stefan.
"Stop it."
"Let's do it together," Damon said, shoving Stefan again, trying to get him angry, trying to get under his skin. "I saw a couple girls out there. Or maybe Maeva would be willing to tap a vein? Or just-Let's just cut to the chase," Damon said, slapping Stefan round the face. "Let's go straight for Elena."
Stefan pushed Damon, and he skidded back a couple of steps. I stood there frozen, horrified. They'd never intentionally fought in front of me before. I didn't know what to do.
"Stop it!" He yelled at him.
"Imagine what her blood tastes like," Damon said. Stefan looked away, but Damon continued with the torture. "I can."
"I said stop!" Stefan growled at him, his face fully vamped out, before he launched himself at his brother, and they went flying through a window. I suddenly regained the feeling in my limbs, and ran to look out the window. Stefan was still lying on the floor, but Damon was up on his feet.
"Hey, guys. I'm going to lock myself in my room. If either of you try and disturb me, especially you Damon, I'll kick your asses!" I yelled out the window, and Damon looked up at me, and for a second, I thought he looked sad. "And clean this up, and get it fixed!"
I walked away, not sure whether I felt happy that my best friend was back, or completely pissed because he was still acting like the evil jerk I knew he wasn't.
…...
"I wanna dance without you, boy just let me lose myself…" I sang along to Skylar Grey, which was belting out on my iPod speakers, and dancing round my room in my underwear, singing into my third empty whisky bottle.
"Nice jammies." An annoyingly smug voice said from behind me.
"Go away, Damon." I said, spinning around.
"If you're having a party, why aren't I invited?" Damon asked.
"Two's company, three's a party, remember? And being alone is the best," I said, diving under my bed, and getting another bottle of bourbon.
"Being alone is awesome, I don't have to deal with anything. No heartache over being abandoned by my best friend for fifteen years, no anger at him for being an asshole, no nothing. Emotions are crap!"
I threw myself on my bed, laying on my back.
"Where were you, Damon?" I asked, not looking at him, but at the ceiling. "Why did you leave me?"
"Because I had Stefan torturing to do. I have to ruin his life."
"And to do that you had to hurt me? Why are you here really, Damon? You're not just here to ruin Stefan," I sighed, turning to look at him. He was still leaning against my doorframe.
"I'm not stupid, and I know you better than anyone. In the world. You've got some ulterior motive, and I intend on figuring it out and getting revenge for the past fifteen years. I'll ruin whatever you're planning. I'll stop you."
"You'd deny me of my happiness?" Damon joked, suddenly laying next to me.
"No. I'm not you. I don't want to hurt you, because you're my best friend, Damon. You and Stefan and me, for all of eternity. Remember?" I asked, resting my head on his chest, listening to the gentle thud of his dead heart.
He put his arm around my waist.
"I remember," He whispered. "Maeva, even though I want to be the bad guy, I don't want to be the bad guy around you. You're the only person who really cares about me anymore."
"That's because you're a dick." I commented.
He chuckled.
"You're not going to leave again, are you?" I asked.
"No. Like I said, I promised Stefan an eternity of misery." He replied.
"And you want to hang out with me, right?"
"Right. I will admit, it's been slightly boring without my sidekick."
"Honey, please. I'm no one's sidekick. I'm the fricking superhero," I said, closing my eyes. "You're my sidekick, Robin."
…...