The Other Gilbert Twin
Summary: 'Ariana loved her sister, she really did but she couldn't help but be jealous of her as well. Elena was always everyone's choice. She was the most popular girl at school, her parents loved her more, Bonnie and Caroline were Elena's friends first of all and she had first pick of all the boys at school. She was basically perfect. Nobody could compare, least of all Ariana'. Elena is always the first choice. That is until the Salvatore brothers come to town. Damon/OC but with Stefan/OC/Damon love triangle - mostly because Stefan is interested in her - and some Stefan/Elena(mostly one-sided) and Damon/Elena(mostly one-sided).
The premise for this story is this: 1) Elena has a twin sister, Ariana. Ariana and Elena shares the same face (and voice as well) except for their eyes (Ariana has sapphire blue eyes). They also have the same hair (though Ariana's are naturally wavy) and skin tone and they are the same height. Ariana's body is different from Elena though, while they both have narrow waists, Elena's hips are wider than Ariana's while Ariana has bigger breasts (BTW, I basically imagine Ariana as having Alexandra Daddario's body but with a narrow waist like Nina Dobrev). 2) Elena had already broken up with Matt when she went to the party the night her parents died. What will the presence of a twin sister and this small different detail do to change Canon events?
BTW, Elena is still the doppelganger in this story. (Ariana is a supernatural creature in this story though not one that ever appeared in TVD. To make her fit into the story I had to make some changes to Canon mythology - especially regarding the 'elements' that break Klaus' curse and about Tatia. This means that Ariana will be as essential to breaking the curse as Elena is but without her being the Petrova Doppelganger).
- Another thing, if Damon seems too 'honest' in this chapter, it's because he had already thought of erasing this conversation from Ariana's mind as soon as he learns that she's not Katherine. That's why he may seem a little OOC in this chapter.
Hope you like this idea and don't worry, this won't have Elena bashing!
Prologue
May 2009
Ariana should have known that coming to the party was a bad idea. She hadn't even wanted to come but Elena had convinced her. Elena had just broken up with Matt, her longtime boyfriend, and wanted to use Ariana as buffer to avoid any awkwardness between them. Except that things didn't turn out at all like Elena was expecting.
Elena had given her the task of keeping Matt occupied for the night to avoid any possible interaction between them. Elena had spent most of her time with Bonnie, Caroline and Tyler while Matt moped in the background, watching his ex-girlfriend have fun without him.
Ariana had tried to involve him into conversation like Elena had wanted but Matt barely looked at her, his attention divided between Elena and the beer in his hand. She had stopped counting how many he had but she knew that he was well on his way to be truly drunk.
Suddenly out of nowhere, he kissed her. Ariana froze in surprise but she couldn't stop herself from kissing him back a few seconds later. She knew it was wrong, for many reasons, but she simply couldn't help herself – she had had a crush on Matt since she was 5 years old.
After a few long minutes of making out, Matt moved away from her, his eyes immediately looking to his right. Ariana followed his line of vision and met Elena's hurt and furious gaze. She was glaring at her with such anger that Ariana became almost scared of her. Elena turned away stomping her feet and left the party in a hurry, Bonnie following in her wake. Ariana glared at Matt – who had a smug look on his face – and followed after her sister.
"Elena! Elena, please wait, let me explain!" She tried to call after her but Elena had already got into Bonnie's car – the one they had used to come here – and was just waiting for Bonnie to get in as well. Bonnie sent her an apologetic look and then started the engine before leaving the clearing where they all had parked their cars.
Ariana cursed herself and Matt in equal measure for the situation she found herself in. Not only she was stranded there without a ride home but now her sister probably hated her as well. What a great party this turned out to be.
She had been so stupid to believe, even for a second, that Matt may be interested in her, that he was kissing her because he had wanted to kiss her. But of course it was about Elena, it was always about Elena, for everyone. Ariana loved her sister, she really did, but she couldn't help but be jealous of her as well. Elena was always everyone's choice. She was the most popular girl at school, her parents loved her more, Bonnie and Caroline were Elena's friends first of all and she had first pick of all the boys at school. She was basically perfect. Nobody could compare, least of all Ariana.
She sighed in dejection and then rolled her eyes soon after. Now wasn't the time to feel sorry for herself. Yes, Elena was angry at her but she knew it wouldn't last, Elena wasn't one to hold grudges for long. Yes, Matt had been a jerk but she could understand where he was coming from so she couldn't stay angry with him. Right now she needed to figure out how to go home. She couldn't ask Matt a ride after what had just happened and she had no intention of asking Tyler for one – she couldn't stand the guy.
The only thing left to do would be to ask her parents for a ride. Great, just what she had wanted to avoid after bailing on family night.
She huffed but took her phone from out of her front pocket anyway – she was wearing one of her usual baggy sweatshirts, always going more for comfort than style (that was just another thing that made her different from her sister). She kept walking, happy she was wearing chucks like usual since scampering through the woods wouldn't have been very pleasant otherwise, while she waited for her mom to pick up. One, two, three rings and then...
"Hello? Ariana?"
"Hey Mom! Listen, I need a huge favor!"
"Let me guess, you need a ride."
"Yeah." Ariana said, now standing at the side of the road.
"What happened? Elena called me a few minutes ago saying that she would spend the night at Bonnie's. Why are you not with them?"
"Hum..." Ariana tried to find an excuse as to why she wasn't with her sister. In a nervous gesture – she hated lying and she was awful at it as well – she pushed her rectangular, black framed glasses up the root of her nose and bit her lips. "Elena wasn't feeling well so she decided to leave and Bonnie accompanied her. I wanted to stay a little while longer so I didn't go with them but I'm tired too now so I need a ride."
"Elena returned only ten minutes ago, why didn't you go with them when they left?" Her mother sounded irritated.
"I don't know mom, I just changed my mind okay?" Ariana said, raising her voice slightly. "Don't raise your voice with me young lady!"
Ariana winched. "I'm sorry but please, can you come pick me up?"
"Yes, yes. We'll be there in ten to fifteen minutes, all right?"
Ariana breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you mom!"
She had just hanged up when she heard a slight whooshing sound and then a man was standing right in front of her.
"Katherine!" He said, his tone of reverence mixed with surprise. Ariana looked up, completely taken aback by the handsome man looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Ariana looked behind her, her messy side braid following the movement of her neck, thinking that he was probably not talking to her but there was nobody there but them. "No, I'm...I'm Ariana."
Damon looked disappointed for a moment, and still very confused, but a second later he smiled and came just a little bit closer. "Oh, you – you just look...I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon."
Ariana smiled hesitantly back at him, wondering why he was still talking to her now that he had realized she wasn't this Katherine girl he was so clearly taken with. "I don't mean to be rude Damon but...what are you doing here, in the middle of nowhere?"
Damon laughed at her boldness. "You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself."
Ariana shrugged at that. "Yeah well, we're in Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happens here."
Damon didn't look like he believed her so she decided to elaborate. "I may or I may not have kissed my sister's ex-boyfriend."
Damon smirked at that. "Huh? Do tell, now I'm curious."
"He kissed me really, I just didn't...I didn't stop him like I should have." Ariana explained, not exactly sure why she was telling him all this but figured there was no harm in it. "Especially because he was just using me to hurt Elena."
"Ouch. Being used is never fun." Damon came a little bit closer still.
"Nope. Especially if the one using you is the guy you had a crush on since forever but he had always been in love with your sister."
Damon smiled a bitter smile at her. "Siblings in love with the same person. I know something about that."
"You do?" She asked surprised.
"Huh, huh." He nodded at her. "Me and my brother were in love with the same girl. It wasn't fun."
Ariana grimaced. "No, I imagine not." A few seconds of silence between them and then Ariana huffed. "What is the point anyway? Love is so stupid and most of the time it ends in heartbreak, why try then?"
Damon laughed, but he wasn't particularly amused. "You're asking this question to the wrong guy." Ariana nodded, though she was disappointed and feeling more dejected than ever.
Damon came closer to her still and said, "Maybe we try because we just can't help it. Even if it hurts in the end, if we find that kind of love, it'll be worth it. Or, at least, we tell ourselves that."
"What kind of love?" Ariana asked confused.
Damon looked at her with intense blue eyes. "The kind of love that consumes you, that has passion and adventure and even a little danger."
Ariana smiled at him, a little dazed by both his words and the tone he had used. "That does sound rather good." She hesitated a second, unsure if she should ask such a personal question but then she just went ahead. "And did you find it? This kind of love?"
Damon smirked, though once again it wasn't a happy smirk. "I thought I did at the time. Sometimes I still do. Other times..." He shrugged but didn't continue.
"I don't think I'll ever experience something like that. I'm not sure I would even want to. Sure, it would be great while it lasts but...what happens when it ends?"
"Why are you so sure it would end?" He looked surprised once again, and confused, though it didn't seem like he was disagreeing with her.
Ariana shrugged. "I don't really believe in eternal love. Nothing lasts forever. Why would love be any different?"
Damon laughed, this time with genuine amusement. "That was a really smart statement."
"Well, I'm rather smart." She said back with a smirk.
"Hum, beauty and brain. Exactly my kind of girl." He returned the smirk.
Ariana almost opened her mouth wide in astonishment at this guy – this guy who looked like that, sexy, dark, dangerous and mysterious, and older, with those amazing blue eyes – flirting with her. She luckily refrained for making a fool of herself and instead asked, "Are you flirting with me?"
Damon shrugged, "Maybe. Would it bother you if I was?"
"Hum..." She pretended to think it over. "You're rather old..."
"Hey!" Damon said, in fake indignation. "That wasn't very nice."
Ariana scoffed at that. "Who says I'm nice?"
Damon laughed again. "Better for me. I'm not much into 'nice'."
Ariana smiled, licking her lips a little. "And what are you into?"
Damon was now standing in front of her, only twenty centimeters or so separating them.
"Lot of things." He said in a lower voice, his eyes staring deeply into hers.
"Yeah?" She asked in a whisper, feeling her heart accelerating in her chest.
He hummed. "I'm a rather adventurous guy." Then he added, even more suggestively, "I could show you sometimes."
She grinned at him, feeling her cheeks flush. "That's rather bold of you. I don't even know your last name."
"Who needs to know last names nowadays? It just means we're on a first name basis."
Ariana laughed at that. "That's one way of putting it." Then she burst out laughing once she realized what she had just said. "That pun was completely unintentional."
Damon laughed with her. "You have a rather dirty mind. I like that."
She pretended to courtesy. "Thank you, kind sir."
Damon smiled at her, a real, amused smile. "This guy – your sister's ex – must be a real idiot to prefer your sister over you..."
Ariana shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're only saying that because you haven't met my sister yet. Trust me, you would definitely change your mind once you know her. She just has that kind of effect on people."
Damon looked rather dubious. "I doubt it but I'll take your word for it."
Ariana smiled, a little fluttered Damon would say such a thing though she knew that it was only because he didn't know Elena.
They looked into each other's eyes for long seconds and Damon seemed to be about to say something when a horn sounded near them.
Ariana turned her head behind her and noticed her parents' car approaching. "It's my parents." She explained to him.
Damon nodded, almost to himself, before looking deeply into her eyes, freezing her into place. "I hope you'll get everything you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing that I'm in town yet. Goodnight, Ariana."
Ariana blinked and he was gone.
She shook her head confused and got into her parents' car. Both her parents were still rather angry at having to come get her but she apologized once again and that seemed to pacify them.
They were driving over Wickery Bridge when suddenly a truck came running towards them, in the wrong lane. Her father swerved to avoid it but instead lost control of the car. They ran over the bridge and directly into the lake.
The three of them fought against the belts and the car doors, trying to free themselves but to no avail. They were trapped.
The car started to fill with water and soon they were completely submerged. Her mother had already lost consciousness while her father turned behind him to look at her. They mouthed 'I love you' to each other, knowing this was the end. That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the hospital.