Angelique woke up early that morning. She got up and looked around. She was in her old room in Gilbert's house. How many secret this room held, Angelique couldn't count. Everything was left the way she left it two years ago. The photo of her parents was on her desk along photos of her and the Gilberts. She took the photo. It was from their wedding. It was the only photo of them which Angelique had. Everything else was destroyed in the fire. In fact this photo was from Miranda Gilbert's album. Miranda Gilbert was friends with Eliza Pécheur, Angelique's mother. Angelique remembered how Miranda was telling stories about her parents when she was little. When they died Angelique was only seven years old and no one believed her when she said that her parents were set on fire. Everyone thought that the fire was an accident. But Angelique knew better. There were men in the house that night. She remembered her mother's screams for mercy. Angelique was hiding in her bedroom, she was scared to get out. She expected them to come for her, however they did not. The other thing she remembered about this fateful night was crystal blue eyes that told her that she will be alright and nothing would ever happen to her and then nothing. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital, asking about her parents. Angelique sighed. She cleared her head, why she had to dig in the past. Angelique opened her closet. She pulled out of it a dark blue skinny jeans and a long-sleeve white blouse. Angelique applied little make up. She wasn't thinking of anything. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and when she approved what she saw, Angelique headed to Jeremy's room. When Angelique got home he wasn't around. Jenna told her that he was out. Honestly speaking Angelique was tempted to go out, seek him and drag him home. However Elena talked her out of it and she was quite tired. Angelique opened the door of Jeremy's room. The boy was sound asleep, so Angelique tried not to make noises. She looked at her brother. Since the last time Jeremy had become taller. Even through the blanket Angelique could say that he had become more masculine. But his face was telling that he was just a boy. Angelique stood there for few seconds, thinking how to wake up her brother. She remembered when she was fifteen how she woke him by opening the curtains, so Angelique to wake Jeremy this way. And she did.
"What the hell?" Jeremy groaned and started rubbing his eyes.
"Watch your language, Gilbert!" Angelique said laughing. Jeremy couldn't believe his ears. He never thought that he would hear this voice. It was like he just took a cold shower. He stared at the woman beside his window. The same green eyes with the strange spark in them, the silky blonde hair, which was longer since then last time he saw her. It was the same mischievous smile, which somehow never reached these green eyes. Yes, his adoptive sister was standing in his room and Jeremy still couldn't believe that she was here.
"Angie, is that you?" Jeremy asked quietly. Angelique chuckled.
"No, it is Santa Klaus, Jeer! Of course it is me!" Jeremy ripped from his bed and hugged the blonde girl. Angelique returned the hug.
"I am so happy that you are back, Angie! Who knows that you are back?"
"Well, almost everybody."
"Angie, they told you not to come back, you might get in trouble. I don't want to lose you, as well."Angelique looked at her brother. His words were genuine and his eyes were full of sadness.
"Jeremy, listen to me." Angelique took his face in her arms. "I am Angelique Pécheur and I never listen to nobody but myself. And since when I care what people tell or think." Jeremy smiled a little.
"You never cared."
"That is right and I do not tend to start caring now." Angelique smiled and Jeremy nodded. "Ok, now dress up. See you downstairs, Elena is making pancakes and Jenna is trying to help her or unhelp her, I think." Jeremy chuckled and Angelique kissed him on his chick. She was right he was just a boy, who had been through a lot. He deserved to be happy. Angelique could do only one thing to make sure nothing happened to him. Angelique entered the kitchen, she was right when it came to cooking Jenna was not much of a help.
"I am not for this." The elder woman said. "How do you do it Elena?"Elena smiled widely at her aunt.
"It is not rocket science, Jenna." Jenna glared at her niece. Angelique chuckled.
"I see you two are doing great in the kitchen." Angelique said pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Elena is doing great, I am just messing up." Jenna said throwing a big smile towards Elena.
"I can see that as well."
"Could you shut up, because I am blushing?" Elena glared to her sister and aunt. Elena sighed and asked quietly. "Angelique, did you talk o Jeremy?"
"Yes, I did. But I decided it is better not to bring up the drug issue right now. Let him assimilate the fact that I am back. I can tell that people are not pleased with that." Jenna nodded and said.
"They have reason, Angelique. You are not a saint." Angelique sighed.
"I never told that I was one." Elena looked worryingly at her sister. She spent the night thinking what the people could do to Angelique.
"Do you think that they will harm you?" Elena asked the blonde girl.
"In fact, there is nothing they can do, Elena. They will threaten me to leave the town, nothing more. Sheriff Forbes might try to arrest me but there is nothing for. I haven't killed James Smith and they know it. They think James Smith was killed because of me but again they do not have evidence." Angelique told her sister. The town hated her, but never accused her of murder. In fact Angelique wasn't sure what had happened that night. James Smith was way too drunk and tried to take advantage of her. But Angelique fought him, she could have killed him if his brother Steve hadn't shown. Steve started a fight with James and Angelique left. She got at home and talked about the event with Garrison. He told her that everything will be alright. And the next day she got the news that James Smith was found dead in the woods. He was beaten to death and his brother Steve had disappeared. And everyone thought that Steve had killed James because of Angelique. Even Angelique thought that. But she never had anything with them. They were never around her and certainly they never were in her company.
"Penny for your thought, Angelique." Jenna brought her back into the reality.
"Well, tell me what is new?" Angelique asked hoping to avoid a talk about Jeremy and her past.
"Well, I am dating with Elena's and Jeremy's History teacher Alaric Saltzman." Jenna said. The elder woman blushed.
"Wait, what happened to Mr. Tanner?" Angelique asked. This guy was bastard and she never liked him. And it was mutual if he could, he would burn Angelique alive. Elena dropped the knife, it was like the petite brunette became very nervous. There was something going on. But what?
"Mr. Tanner is dead. It was animal attack. There have been some these months, but they have stopped, right Elena?" Jenna said calmly and Elena nodded.
"What about you sister, any new boyfriends?"Angelique asked.
"Well, I was dating Matt, as you know, however I broke up with him. And I have boyfriend. He is nice, caring and everything. Stefan is perfect, Angelique." Elena was smiling widely when she was talking about Stefan. Angelique could tell that Elena was madly in love with this guy.
"Let me guess… Dirty blonde hair, green eyes, he is tall and masculine." Angelique said smirking. She was 100% sure that this was Elena's boyfriend. Elena was shocked and Jenna was with open mouth.
"Yes, that is Stefan. How did you guess? "Elena asked the green eyed beauty.
"He was looking at me as if I was going to eat you for dinner."Angelique said laughing, Elena laughed along. "When can I officially meet him?" Angelique asked. But before Elena could respond Jenna started talking.
"How about going to the Grill tonight for celebrating your return? We can invite Caroline, Bonnie, Matt and Taylor. These guys are admiring you and are happy to have you back. And you can meet Stefan there. And you could call Margaret, she is like your best friend." Angelique smiled at Jenna, who was always so cheerful and she was great company.
"I agree, but I won't call Margaret. Firstly she was never my best friend, we weren't friends to begin with. We were competitors, so she is out of the list. And please do not make something big. My appearance was quite a show last night, don't you think?" Jenna nodded.
"Ok, as you want, it is your party. I will book a table."Jenna said. Elena smiled brightly.
"I am going to call everyone. Oh, Jenna you can invite Alaric, as well."
"What are you up to?" Angelique heard Jeremy's voice.
"They are organizing me a party." Angelique told him.
"Who is invited?"
"Well, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, Taylor, Stefan and Alaric." Angelique explained to Jeremy after pouring him a cup of coffee and taking a pancake from the plate. "Elena is a good cook." Jeremy chuckled.
"And I am thanking God every day that she is, because if it wasn't for her, we will starve to death."
"I heard that one, Jeremy!" Angelique heard Jenna yelling. Angelique smiled, even though she didn't want to come back she was happy. She was at home.
"Ok, everything is set." Elena said cheerfully. "I called the girls and Taylor and Matt are going too. Later I am going to call Stefan." Angelique nodded. Elena could tell that her sister wasn't thrilled about this party. Elena wasn't keen on the idea too. It was great to have Angelique back, however there was something that couldn't give Elena rest. It was like Angelique had become sadder than before. And there was another problem. Damon Salvatore was the problem. Angelique was a girl who liked men with attitude and Damon was one of them. Angelique enjoyed danger and had wicked mind. Damon liked beautiful women and Angelique was one of them. There was quite a possibility that Damon was going to like her. Angelique was smart and gorgeous. Elena had seen how men were ready to do anything for her. Damn they were blinded by her. And Damon could fall for Angelique and vice versa Angelique could fall for Damon. Not that Elena was jealous, she was worried about her sister. The last thing Angelique needed was to be caught up in this supernatural story and to get hurt. She had to find a way to protect Angelique from the supernatural and Damon. Elena had uneasy feeling about these two.
"Hey, I just remembered that I have to give some notes to Stefan, he had forgotten them here." Elena said.
"Do you want me to drive you?"
"No, thanks, Angelique. I'd better be going. See you at the Grill, guys." Elena said. Angelique felt that there was something that her sister wasn't telling her. She could question Jenna and Jeremy about this Stefan guy.
"So, how long has Elena been dating this guy?"
"Since the start of the school year." Jeremy told her grabbing a pancake from the plate. "Stefan is a nice guy, he is on the football team. He is great at History. In the start of the year there was something like a duel between him and Mr. Tanner and guess what Tanner lost." This didn't give anything about this boy, besides that he was a great student.
"Well, he lives in the Salvatore Boarding House." Jenna said. Angelique knew perfectly where this house was. It was close to the ruins of her old house. But she never thought that there lived a boy who was Elena's age. "He moved back in Mystic Falls for the start of the school year."
"Have you met his family?" Angelique asked. Jenna continued.
"Well, his is Salvatore, one of the founding families. His parents died, when he was little and right now he is living with his brother Damon who is twenty three. Stefan is really sweet and is a good guy, while Damon is jerk. He is a real hotty, but an ass." Angelique laughed.
"The hot ones are always jerks." Angelique said and Jeremy caught.
"If you are starting the boy conversation, I am out of here. It was enough to see you with Alaric, Jenna. And certainly I do not want to know about Angie's adventures." With that Jeremy left.
"He caught you with your boyfriend, who is his teacher?" Angelique asked shocked.
"Yup, he did."
"No wonders that Jeremy is on drugs! Jenna, you should know better." Angelique said laughing. "Was it good at least?"
"Angelique, it was perfect. Oh, and hands off, he is mine."Jenna smirked at the younger woman.
"I do not steal men."
Elena pulled her car in front of the Salvatore Boarding House. She took a deep breath. The house was magnificent, every time she went there, Elena spent few second just admiring the house. Elena headed to the door. The Salvatore brothers never locked the doors, they just didn't need to. As Damon once said "You have to be plain stupid to rob a house where two vampires live." Elena mentally had agreed with him. She even wondered if someone tried to break into the house and what might have happened to the thief. Knowing Damon, the thief could be buried somewhere in the backyard. This thought sent shivers down her spin and she tried to let go of the thought. She opened the door and saw Damon in front of her.
"Hello, Elena. Why do we owe you such an early visit?" Damon said in his usual lazy voice. He knew that if Elena was here that something was up. But there wasn't any news of Katherine. Nothing odd had happened, besides Angelique's arrival. This girl stole his thoughts. Even this morning he caught himself thinking about her.
"I came to see Stefan. He left his notes at my place and I decided to bring them." Elena said as innocent as possible. She doubted that Damon believed her. Damon smiled but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Elena felt like hit by stone, the same thing had happened to Angelique. Her sister could smile all day long, however, Elena knew that these smiles were faked, they never reached her eyes. Angelique's green eyes stayed sad. Right now Elena was looking at blue eyes, which stayed ice cold.
"Well, I doubt that Stefan needs those notes, but let's say I believe you. He is upstairs, cleaning himself after his bunny hunt." Damon smirked, he loved mocking his brother. Elena rolled her eyes.
"Damon, you are not feeding on people, are you?" Elena asked the vampire.
"No. I have fridge down in the basement full of blood banks. I gave you my word, Elena. I am a gentleman and giving a word is in the code of honor, you should know that." Elena smiled a little. Damon nodded. It was a complete lie, but the girl couldn't know that. He fed by the blood banks and tended to keep feeding this way, but last night he wasn't sure what happened to him. He fed on her and he enjoyed it. The way her blood tasted was unique. Angelique. He chuckled there was something angelic and something demonic in her. Damon couldn't explain it to himself. She was just an ordinary human and he was thinking about her again. He walked in the library to pour himself a scotch. He had to stop thinking about her, but could he stop? He even hadn't noticed that Elena had left him.
After finishing her conversation with Damon, Elena walked up the stairs and almost ran to Stefan's room. When she entered the room, Stefan was looking through some books. When he saw his girlfriend, Stefan smiled brightly.
"Why didn't you call?" Stefan asked her, but his smile quickly died. Elena looked worried. "What happened?" Elena smiled at him, Stefan was always so caring and knew when something bothered her.
"Nothing happened, yet." Elena said quietly and kissed him. The kiss was sweet and Elena almost forgot why she was here. "However, something might happen. Tonight you are invited to a party for Angelique and it is opportunity for you to get to know her." Stefan nodded.
"I will be there. I will be pleased to meet her, she is your sister."
"I am worried about Damon. He doesn't have to know about this party. And I am worried about Angelique. Damon might use her and Angelique is pretty wicked. I know them both they might get along and then we will be in great trouble." Stefan chuckled.
"Come on! It couldn't be that bad."
"Trust me, it could. Damon might hurt her. Angelique has been through a lot in her life. The last thing she needs is to be thrown in this supernatural mess."
"Ok, I will do anything to keep Damon away from Angelique, but it won't be for long."
"I know, however, I do not want him around Angelique. I cannot explain it but I have bad feeling about them both." Stefan hugged her and kissed her.
"Elena, I promise you nothing will happen." Elena nodded and smiled a little.
"I have to go to get ready for the party. See you at the Grill at eight." She kissed him quickly.
"I will be there." Stefan watched her leaving. He didn't want to tell Elena, but last night when he got home Damon was acting strangely. There were no shark comments or teases. Damon said nothing at all last night. He was thinking about something or someone and something was telling him that it was about Angelique Pécheur. Stefan went downstairs and saw Damon drinking scotch in the library. Stefan could tell that his brother was deep in his thoughts.
"What happened to you, Damon?" Stefan asked his brother. Damon raised his head and looked at the younger Salvatore. His baby brother was brooding again.
"Why should something happen to me, brother?"
"Well, there is something off about you since last night. You are not talking, there are no shark comments and you are planning something, Damon. I've been around for 150 years, I know when you are plotting something." Stefan said calmly to the dark haired vampire. The other just smirked.
"Really and what am I plotting Stefan?"
"I don't know, yet. But I know that it has something to do with Angelique." Damon chuckled. Her again. Not only was she in his thoughts, but also everybody had to remind him of her. He felt weak, he was furious with himself. And it was the first day after her arrival.
"Well, brother, if I am planning something for our precious Angelique, I am certainly not going to tell you, right? However, when it comes to Angelique, I cannot deny that she is gorgeous. Imagine how soft is her blonde hair or how worm is her white skin. Imagine the taste of her blood. I am sure it is like a glass of an old wine." Damon knew that he was getting on Stefan's nerves especially with the talk about blood.
"You sound as if you have tasted her blood, Damon." Damon got up from the armchair. Stefan was right he knew him. But Stefan couldn't know what happened last night. After his little adventure with Angelique, Damon had checked that Stefan was still at the party with his little girlfriend. He and Angelique were alone at the cemetery. Only he and the graves knew of the events of last night. He compelled the girl to forget. Damon smirked a little.
"Stefan, Stefan, Stefan…Sometimes you amuse me. I promised Elena to feed on blood banks and if you knew me, you would have known that I keep my promises. I haven't fed on humans for months." Damon said looking straight at his brothers eyes. Stefan nodded.
"Let's say I believe you, but I am watching you Damon. You'd better stay away from Angelique." Damon chuckled.
"Brother, I do not listen to anybody and not certainly to you, so don't tell me what to do. I am stronger, faster and older than you…I can easily take you down. You certainly do not want to piss me off." Stefan raised his brow at this one. Damon was getting back to his old habits. Maybe he got over Elena. Stefan couldn't help but feel a little selfish to know that he didn't have to compete with anybody for Elena's love. However Stefan knew that nothing was for free and this time the price would be paid by Angelique.
"And Stefan, don't you have to look after Elena? Leave Angelique to me." With that Damon Salvatore left.
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