Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Vampire Diaries' in any shape or form. But I do own my OC's.
A/N: This chapter will follow 1x03 (Friday Night Bites) and give you a bit more information about Annabelle, and Layla, and her relationship with her friends, particularly Caroline. There will also be some hints about who Layla was to the Salvatore brothers other than Stefan's first love, and you will get to see some kind of relationships developing between Annabelle and Damon, and Annabelle and Stefan.
Love Also Has Thorns
Chapter 3
Friday Night Bites
"I'm not saying don't date the guy," Bonnie said as she, Elena, and Annabelle, who was wearing a white, loose, short-sleeved blouse, light brown flats, and normal blue jeans with a light brown belt around her waist, with her hair falling loosely on her shoulders in styled waves, got out of her car in the school parking lot after Elena told her and Annabelle that she and Stefan kissed the night before. "I'm just saying take it slow,"
"You were the one who said to go for it," Elena frowned, looking at Bonnie in confusion.
"Now I'm saying take it slow," Bonnie said, and Annabelle looked at her weirdly, not understanding where the dark-skinned girl was coming from.
"Why the about-face?" the younger Gilbert twin asked, looking at Bonnie.
"It's not an about-face," Bonnie shook her head, before looking at Elena. "You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field,"
"Oh, because I'm so that girl," Elena said sarcastically.
"No, seriously, what are you not saying?" Annabelle asked her friend.
"It's stupid," Bonnie tried to dismiss the subject, but Elena quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Bonnie..."
"What?"
"Spit it out," Elena ordered, and Bonnie sighed.
"I accidentally touched Stefan, and I got a really bad feeling," she shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. However, as soon as Bonnie said, that, Annabelle stiffened.
"You can call me Anna," she smiled at him, reaching out to shake his hand, making him smile, his eyes remaining on her for a few more seconds. However, as soon as their hands made contact, her smile was immediately wiped off her face as a cold tingle ran up her arm and down her spine, nearly making her shudder in fear.
"You okay?" Stefan frowned, looking at her in confusion as she quickly let go of his hand as if it burned her.
"Yeah," Annabelle faked a smile, trying to recover from the horrible feeling she got when her hand touched the Salvatore's.
"Is that it?" Elena asked her friend, not noticing the difference in Annabelle's posture as she continued to look at Bonnie, "Bonnie," she quickly pulled the dark-skinned girl back as Bonnie attempted to walk away.
"It was bad-bad," Bonnie said, a fearful look in her eyes, and Annabelle turned to look at her with an unreadable expression.
"It was nice meeting you, Damon," Annabelle said politely with a smile, and Damon smiled at her, glancing at Stefan, who was still watching him, with a smirk for a second, before looking down at the younger Gilbert twin.
"It was my pleasure," he smirked charmingly, before raising her hand up to his lips and placing a kiss on her knuckles, making her smile and raise her eyebrows slightly, intrigued by the older Salvatore brother. But anyone who knew the beautiful brunette well enough could tell that her smile was fake. She desperately tried not to shudder at the cold, terrifying feeling she got when her hand touched Damon's. The feeling was even worse than when she touched Stefan. However, fortunately for Annabelle, neither of the Salvatore brothers knew her well enough to tell that something was wrong, and Elena simply wasn't paying attention as she continued to stare at Stefan.
"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Elena asked Bonnie, neither of the girls noticing the change in Annabelle.
"You know what? I'm just concerned," Bonnie replied with a smile. "This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend,"
"And I love you for it, I do," Elena said as she put her hands on Bonnie's shoulders, while Annabelle tried to make herself look as normal and casual as possible, trying to ignore the stupid flashbacks and convince herself that it is just a simple coincidence that she and Bonnie both got a bad feeling when they touched Stefan, and that there is nothing wrong with the Salvatores, "But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what, Stefan is a big part of that," Elena said, and Bonnie sighed as she smiled at her friend, deciding to give it a shot for Elena's sake.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked as she glanced at Annabelle, making Elena also turn to look at her sister and frown when she saw how stiff the younger Gilbert girl was.
"Uh, yeah," Annabelle nodded, putting on a smile. "Yeah, I'm good,"
"Good morning, Elena," Stefan greeted with a smile as he came up to the three girls while they slowly walked toward the school building, "Good morning, Anna. Bonnie," he smiled.
"Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline," Bonnie told the two sisters as she stiffened, "She's not answering her phone, so... see you, guys," she said, before quickly walking away.
"Bonnie, wait..." Elena tried to stop her friend, but Bonnie kept walking, not wanting to be near the Salvatore.
"She doesn't like me very much," Stefan noticed as he looked at the two girls, his eyes stopping on Annabelle for a moment longer as he noticed that there was something off about her.
"She doesn't know you," Elena said, not noticing the concern in Stefan's eyes as he stared at Annabelle. "She's my best friend, she's just looking out for me, but when she does, she will love you,"
"Um, I'm gonna go catch up with Bonnie," Annabelle said, barely glancing at Stefan as she looked at Elena, who gave her a weird look, finally noticing the difference in her behavior, "I'll see you later," Annabelle said to her sister, before quickly walking away, not sparing Stefan so much as a glance.
"What's wrong with her?" Stefan asked, but not rudely; concernedly, as he and Elena stared after the younger Gilbert, making Elena sigh.
"I don't know," she replied, wondering just what the hell was wrong with her sister today.
As Annabelle walked away, she couldn't help but silently curse herself for acting so out of character. But... she couldn't help it. At first, she simply decided to ignore the bad feeling she got after she touched Stefan, and then Damon, thinking that it was nothing and that she was just simply being worried about her sister's well-being... but after what Bonnie said, that she also got a very bad feeling when she touched Stefan, Annabelle couldn't help but think that there was something more to it than just slight paranoia or anything of that sort.
"Here's what we're gonna do," Elena said, putting her hand on Stefan's arm, gently pulling him to a stop. "Are you free tonight?"
"Yes,"
"Perfect," she smiled. "Dinner, my house, 8:00. You, me, Anna, and Bonnie. You and Bonnie will spend some quality time, and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished,"
"World War II ended in...?" Mr. Tanner asked his class, "Anyone got anything?" he asked, as Annabelle doodled in her notebook, bored out of her mind. Is he serious? We learned about World War II in 6th grade! "Ms. Juan?" the girl Mr. Tanner called on merely shrugged, "1945. Pearl Harbor. Ms. Gilbert?" Mr. Tanner asked, and Annabelle looked up, only to see that the teacher was looking at Elena, who was whispering something to Stefan.
"Hmm?" Elena turned to the teacher, obviously not hearing the question, making Annabelle roll her eyes.
"Pearl Harbor?" Mr. Tanner repeated, and Annabelle sighed quietly in irritation. We also learned that in 6th grade. I thought this was supposed to be our junior year, not a repeat of elementary school.
"Um..."
"December 7, 1941," Stefan answered for Elena.
"Thank you, Ms. Gilbert," Mr. Tanner said, looking at Stefan pointedly, making everyone, even Annabelle, chuckle.
"Anytime," Stefan simply smiled.
"Very well. The Fall of the Berlin Wall," Mr. Tanner said.
"1989," Stefan immediately answered, making the teacher look at him. "I'm good with dates, sir,"
"Are you?" Mr. Tanner challenged, "How good? Keep it to the year," he said, and Stefan nodded. "Civil Rights Act,"
"1964,"
"John F. Kennedy assassination,"
"1963,"
"Martin Luther King,"
"'68,"
"Lincoln,"
"1865,"
"Roe vs. Wade,"
"1973,"
"Brown vs. Board,"
"1954,"
"The Battle of Gettysburg,"
"1863,"
"Korean War,"
"1950 to 1953,"
"Ha!" Mr. Tanner exclaimed, making Annabelle jump and look at him as if he were crazy, "It ended in '52," he chuckled triumphantly, turning around to walk back to his desk after slowly walking closer to Stefan.
"Uh, actually, sir, it was '53," Stefan said, and Mr. Tanner looked at him coldly.
"Look it up! Somebody," he snapped, and many students reached for their phones. "Quickly!"
"It was 19..." one of the students looked at his phone, "53," he finished, barely stopping himself from laughing as many other students chuckled, and even started clapping just as the bell rang.
Annabelle sighed with a small smile on her lips, and looked down at her notebook, only to see that she covered an entire page with doodles throughout the class period. But her smile quickly faltered as she realized that she wrote the same thing over and over again: 8, 14, 22.
Elena cleared her throat loudly to gain Bonnie's attention as she and Annabelle, who was now wearing a fitted purple tank top, black shorts, and black-gray-purple sneakers, her hair now braided from underneath with the braid traveling up to her pony tail, walked down the field after school, where many other girls from their school were, stretching and getting ready for practice.
"Oh, my God! You're here!" Bonnie exclaimed, jumping up to her feet and hugging Elena tightly.
"Yep. We can't be sad girls forever," Elena said as Bonnie let go of her and smiled at Annabelle, though both the dark-skinned girl and the younger twin wondered why she included Annabelle in the sentence, seeing as it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Annabelle to show up at cheer practice. While Elena completely shut herself out and stayed away from everyone after their parents' death, Annabelle spent as much time as possible with other people, and that also included cheer practice. Even though she didn't go to summer camp because her siblings needed her during the summer vacation, Bonnie quickly helped her catch up with the newest routines as soon as the cheerleaders returned from the camp, "The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were," Elena continued as she started stretching, "Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight," she added, looking at Bonnie.
"I am?"
"She is?" Bonnie and Annabelle asked at the same time, neither of them knowing where that idea came from.
"Mm-hmm," Elena nodded as Annabelle and Bonnie started stretching as well, "You two, me, and Stefan," Elena smiled, and the other two girls' smiles disappeared as they stared at her, "You have to give him a chance," Elena said, looking at Bonnie, before her gaze shifted to Annabelle. "And what's the matter with you today? Why are you suddenly so hostile towards him?"
"Tonight's no good," Bonnie shook her head, saving Annabelle from answering the question that even she didn't know the answer to. "Have you two seen Caroline? I've texted her like a hundred times,"
"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett," Elena said sternly as her sister straightened up before doing a split. "You're going to be there. You both are,"
"Fine! I'll go," Bonnie agreed, though her expression was anything but one of joy or acceptance.
"Good,"
"If I have to," Annabelle sighed, standing up before doing a back-bend.
"You do," Elena said firmly.
"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Annabelle asked after she finished stretching and sat down on the ground next to Bonnie.
"I don't know," Elena frowned. "It's not like her,"
"I'll try her again," Bonnie said, quickly grabbing her phone and dialing Caroline's number.
"Uh..." Annabelle trailed off after she turned around when she heard loud music, only to see a light blue convertible, driven by a brunette man with Caroline in the passenger seat, and pointed at the blonde.
"Oh, my God," Bonnie said as Caroline leaned over to kiss the driver once he parked the car beside the field. "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill,"
"That's not a mystery guy, that's Damon Salvatore," Annabelle said as she, Elena, and Bonnie all got up from the ground to stand beside the other girls, who were all waiting for their captain.
"Salvatore, as in Stefan?" Bonnie asked in shock, and Annabelle and Elena nodded.
"I got the other brother," Caroline said to Elena as she got out of the car and walked past the three girls, "Hope you don't mind," she sang, "Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy," she said, putting her hands on her hips and standing in front of the squad, "Alright, let's start with the double pike, herkey hurdler. What do you say?" she asked as Elena and Annabelle looked over at Damon, who simply nodded at them with a smirk before driving off.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!" Caroline counted and watched as the cheerleading squad did the routine, Elena struggling in the front, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! Elena, sweetie? Why don't you just observe today? Okay?" Caroline asked sweetly, and Elena sighed but nodded, walking past a few girls to stand in the very back and try to copy their moves, "Keep going! Okay! Do it again, from the top! Anna, you're doing great for not going to camp, good job! And 5, 6, 7, 8! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!" Caroline continued as Elena slowly walked off, seeing Stefan in the high school's team football gear, playing on the field.
"You explain it," Bonnie said to her two best friends as they stood in the Gilberts' kitchen. "Last night, I'm watching 'Nine-O', a commercial break comes on, and I'm like, 'I bet it's that phone commercial!' And sure enough, it's the guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris, and he flies back, they take a picture..."
"Oh, come on," Elena laughed as she looked at her best friend, while Annabelle, who was now wearing dark navy blue jeans, a white, loose, 3/4 sleeved blouse, and beige flats, with her hair pinned back at the top and falling loosely on her shoulders in styled waves, carried a bowl from the other side of the kitchen. "That commercial's on a constant loop,"
"Fine. Well, how about this?" Bonnie spoke up, glancing at the two sisters, who were standing on either sides of her, "Today, I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22," she said, helping the two girls with preparing food for the dinner that Elena planned. As soon as those words left the dark-skinned girl's lips, Annabelle stiffened and looked at her with wide eyes, almost dropping the bowl she was holding in the process.
"Wait, what?" she asked, quietly but urgently as she stared at her best friend in shock, slowly putting the bowl down on the counter. Elena and Bonnie both turned to look at her, and frowned at how pale she suddenly turned.
"8, 14, and 22..." Bonnie repeated slowly as she stared at the brunette with furrowed eyebrows. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Uh..." Annabelle trailed off with a sigh as she kept her eyes on the counter, before looking up at her friend, "Would it freak you out if I told you that I keep seeing the same numbers?" she asked hesitantly, and Bonnie looked at her in shock, while Elena watched the exchange, quite amused, thinking that her sister and friend were just exaggerating. So what if they were thinking about the same numbers? It's just numbers, for goodness' sake!
"What?" Bonnie breathed out, and Annabelle nodded, both of the girls ignoring Elena, who chuckled, before turning around and going over to her book bag, which was still on the same chair in the kitchen where she left it after coming back from school earlier that day. She quickly rummaged through it before taking out her History notebook, and walked back to her friend and sister while flipping through the pages to find the one she was writing on earlier in class.
"Look," she said as she found the page she was looking for, and held out the notebook in front of her so that Bonnie could see the different doodles and the numbers 8, 14, and 22 wrote over and over again all over the page.
"What the...?" Bonnie trailed off in a whisper as she grabbed the notebook from Annabelle's hands, staring at the page in shock, before looking up at the younger twin with wide eyes, which were starting to fill with fear. Annabelle couldn't help but mirror the expression. She kept trying to convince herself that the bad feeling she got when she touched Stefan and Damon, and the obsession she had with those three numbers was nothing, that it was nothing to worry about, but after learning that Bonnie was seeing the same things and had the same feeling when she touched the younger Salvatore, she was starting to get scared. What the hell is going on?
"Maybe we should play the lottery," Elena suggested, mock seriously, making the two girls glare at her, which made her frown. She was only kidding, but her friend and sister seemed to be taking the whole thing very seriously, so she decided to soften her voice as she looked at Bonnie. "Have you talked to your grams?"
"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch," Bonnie said as she closed Annabelle's notebook and put it on the other counter a few feet away from the girls, while Annabelle took in a deep breath to calm herself down and started emptying the boxes with take-out food into the bowl, "I don't wanna be a witch," she said miserably, and Annabelle hummed in agreement. "Do you want to be a witch?"
"I don't want to be a witch," Annabelle quickly shook her head
"Neither do I," Elena said as she continued to prepare the food.
"You know, putting this in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody," Annabelle said to her sister, making the eldest Gilbert glare at her playfully.
"Why didn't you just let Anna cook?" Bonnie asked, knowing that Annabelle was the only one in the house who actually knew how to cook real food instead of microwaving take-out.
"Okay, serving spoons," Elena mused, ignoring Bonnie's question, which made the dark-skinned girl furrow her brows and look at Annabelle for an explanation, only for the middle Gilbert to shrug, not knowing why Elena didn't want her to cook. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Elena's boyfriend coming over, and she wanted to be the one to do something for him without her sister's help. Although Annabelle honestly did not understand how microwaving take-out was considered 'doing something for him'. "Where are the serving spoons?"
"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie spoke up, and Elena looked at her for a second before opening the middle drawer on her left and taking out the serving spoons, making Bonnie and Annabelle glance at each other uncomfortably as they both stiffened.
"Okay, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times," Elena shrugged nonchalantly, and Annabelle gave her a look.
"Yeah, that's it," she said sarcastically, her posture still stiff as she tried to make sense of what was happening to both her and Bonnie.
Elena frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the doorbell ringing.
"Okay, he's here," she glanced at the door, before looking at her friend and sister. "Don't be nervous, just be your normal, loving selves," she smiled, before walking off to opened the door, while Annabelle and Bonnie sighed as they glanced at each other before continuing to put the food in the bowls.
"Birthday candles," Annabelle suddenly spoke up, and Bonnie looked over at her, confused.
"What?" she asked, but Annabelle ignored her as she reached her hand under the counter to open the drawer by her thigh. Bonnie kept looking at the Gilbert girl, confused, knowing that no birthday has been celebrated in that house for almost three months, ever since the twins' birthday, and that no one even remembered where the birthday candles were. However, her eyes widened as Annabelle opened the drawer, only to reveal birthday candles inside. "Did you...?"
"No," Annabelle shook her head, looking up at her with wide eyes. "I honestly didn't know where they were,"
The four teenagers sat at the dinner table in an extremely awkward and uncomfortable silence, with both Bonnie and Annabelle wishing that they were anywhere but there at the moment.
"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked, desperately wanting to start a conversation and get rid of all the awkwardness in the air.
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan chuckled lightly, speaking mostly to Elena, who was sitting on his right, but glancing at Annabelle, who was on his other side, a few times, wondering what was wrong with her and why she suddenly seemed to stiff in his presence. Only last night she was telling him that she thinks he's a great guy and was encouraging him to not give up on Elena, and now she seemed to stiffen whenever he was in the same room as her. He was starting to get honestly concerned, the familiar feeling of protectiveness that he used to feel towards a girl with the same face as her a long time ago coming back.
"Bonnie, Anna, you should have seen Stefan today," Elena said with a bright smile after chuckling. "Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"
"Yeah," Annabelle cut her off with a fake smile, not enjoying the fact that she was sitting so close to Stefan at all,"We heard," she said, and Elena frowned, while Stefan turned to look at her fully, his brows furrowed and his eyes worried as he tried searching her face for any sign that might give away what was wrong with her.
"Bonnie, why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena suggested after a short moment of silence, not wanting it to be awkward between them again.
"Um, divorced," Bonnie turned to look at Stefan after glaring at Elena. "No mom, live with my dad,"
"No, about the witches," Elena said, making Stefan, Annabelle, and Bonnie all look at her, the girls glaring while Stefan looked between Elena and Bonnie, intrigued, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches," she said, before looking at Bonnie pointedly. "It's really cool,"
"'Cool' isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie shook her head.
"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan spoke up as Elena glared at her friend. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s,"
"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie said, and Stefan looked at her, intrigued.
"Really?" he asked, and Bonnie shrugged with an uneasy smile, "Salem witches?"
"Yeah," she chuckled uncomfortably, while Annabelle looked down at her plate as she felt Stefan's gaze move to her for a moment.
"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan said, looking over at Elena, using the same adjective she used only a minute ago, making her smile.
"Really?" Annabelle spoke up this time, and Stefan's attention immediately turned to her as he nodded, "Why?" she asked curiously.
"Salem witches are... heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity," he explained, not breaking eye contact with her for even a second as a small smile started to grow on her lips.
"Yeah," Bonnie agreed, also now smiling, "They are," she said, and Elena chuckled with a small smile, glad to see her sister and best friend finally warm up to Stefan, not noticing how Stefan held Annabelle's gaze for a few more seconds, as if searching for something. Annabelle, however, noticed, though it didn't bother her this time, which surprised her. Bonnie also noticed his actions, and wondered what it was about Annabelle that pulled Stefan in, now noticing how the Salvatore's eyes were almost always glued to the younger Gilbert twin whenever they were in the same room. Bonnie could tell that Stefan was, indeed, falling for Elena, but there was clearly something about Annabelle that pulled him in as well. Perhaps not necessarily in a romantic way, but there was definitely something.
Before the dark-skinned girl could jump to any conclusions, and before Elena noticed her boyfriend and sister still staring at each other, the doorbell rang, making Stefan snap out of his daze as the three girls looked up curiously.
"I'll get it," Annabelle muttered, not wanting Stefan to look at her any longer. At first, it didn't bother her, but after a few seconds she started to feel uncomfortable as his leaf-green eyes bore into her light blue ones, as if trying to read her, "Did you invite anyone else?" Annabelle looked at Elena over her shoulder as she got up from her chair and walked towards the front door.
"No," Elena replied with a furrowed brows, just as Annabelle opened the door.
"Surprise," Caroline smiled brightly at her best friend, "Bonnie said you and Elena were doing dinner, so we brought dessert," she explained with a smile, and it was only when Caroline used the word 'we' that Annabelle noticed Damon standing behind the blonde.
"Oh," the Gilbert girl smiled, looking down at the cake in Caroline's hands, which certainly looked delicious. It was, in fact, her favorite: strawberry cake with whipped cream on top.
"Hope you don't mind," Damon spoke up with a somewhat of a sarcastic smile as Caroline stepped inside and rounded Annabelle, handing the brunette the cake as soon as they stood a step or two away from the doorstep, just as Stefan walked up to them, with Elena trailing behind him.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, looking at his brother with a hard gaze as he positioned himself beside Annabelle, with Elena looking over his shoulder from behind curiously, her brows furrowing in confusion once she saw Damon.
"Waiting for either Elena or Belle to invite me in," Damon replied, and Annabelle looked up at him with a slightly shocked look at his nickname for her. Elena looked between the two, wondering just when they had time to become close enough for the older Salvatore to give her sister a nickname, while Stefan tensed and glared at his brother, slowly inching himself closer to Annabelle as if to protect her.
"Uh..." Annabelle trailed off, still slightly shocked at what Damon called her. No one has ever called her 'Belle' before. It was always 'Anna'. "Sure, you can just-"
"No, no, no," Stefan immediately cut her off, making both of the girls look at him in confusion as he glanced at Annabelle before turning to look at his brother, "He can't, um... h-he can't stay," he quickly softened his voice after seeing the girls look at him in shock at his small outburst, before turning to look at his brother with hard eyes. "Can you, Damon?"
"Get in here," Caroline said from behind Annabelle, looking at Damon confusedly.
"We're just... finishing up," Stefan tried again, and Annabelle tensed the tiniest bit as she noticed the tension between the two brothers, and how adamant Stefan was to not let Damon in. It made her wonder. She was, admittedly, a bit more comfortable around the younger Salvatore, but she wasn't comfortable around Damon at all. Not after the utterly terrifying feeling she got when their hands made contact, and not after sensing an aura full of darkness and danger around the young man. She could see, from how Stefan kept close to her and slightly in front of her, that he wanted to protect her from Damon, which made her question her, Elena, Bonnie, and especially Caroline's safety. And if Stefan wanted to protect them, and did not want Damon to enter the house, there must have been a reason why, so she decided to keep her mouth shut and let Stefan take the lead.
"It's fine," Elena smiled at Stefan, and, before her sister could stop her, turned to Damon, "Just come on in," she said, and Damon smiled as he gave Stefan a triumphant look before stepping over the threshold, purposely brushing against Annabelle, who quickly yet subtly jumped back, smirking at how Stefan glared at him and stepped closer to the younger Gilbert, looking at her in concern as he noticed the tiniest bit of fear in her eyes as she stared at Damon, who was now invited into her home.
"You have a beautiful home, girls," Damon turned back to look at the three as Elena stared at Stefan, confused because of his behavior towards Damon, somehow still not noticing how Stefan stayed by Annabelle's side the entire time.
"Thank you," Elena smiled, while Annabelle tensed as Damon's gaze shifted over to her. Stefan, noticing what his brother was looking at, took another step towards her, for which she was grateful and gave him a small smile in thanks. She still wasn't completely comfortable around Stefan, not liking the cold tingle she felt every time his skin made contact with hers (even if it was just a small, accidental brush of a hand), but she definitely felt safer around him than around Damon.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline gushed while looking at Stefan with a bright smile. After finishing dinner, everyone gathered in the living room. Damon and Caroline sat closely together on an armchair, as did Bonnie and Annabelle, but on the other side of the room. Elena and Stefan were occupying the couch, and even though there was still enough space for one other person to sit down beside Elena, both Bonnie and Annabelle preferred to sit in their own space. Bonnie still didn't feel comfortable around Stefan, while Annabelle was trying to avoid both of the Salvatores. "Oh, Tyler must be seething. But, good for you, go for it,"
"That's what I always tell him, 'You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you, you have to go get it'," Damon said, just barely stopping himself from smirking as he looked at Stefan.
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today," Caroline said. "It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever gonna learn the routines,"
"I missed summer camp, too, and I'm pretty decent," Annabelle spoke up.
"Well, yeah, but you were always amazing at cheer-leading. I mean, I could make up the hardest routine known to human kind, and you'd do it perfectly the very next day," Caroline said, and Annabelle couldn't help but smile a small smile as she remembered how fun cheer-leading used to be for her. She and Caroline would meet up almost every day after school and show the other the routine they made up the night before. Then they would both learn each other's routines, and have small, playful competitions.
"I'll work with Elena. She'll get it," Bonnie said, giving Caroline a hard look.
"I guess we can put her in the back," Caroline mused to herself quietly, and Elena turned her head to give her a nasty look.
"Hey, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon spoke up, and Elena smiled uneasily as she put her cup to her lips and took a sip of her tea.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died," Caroline said nonchalantly, and Elena and Annabelle both froze, "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun, like Anna. I mean, while Elena completely shut herself out, Anna continued to act like she always does. Elena's just too scared to open her eyes and step back into the light..." Caroline said as if it were no big deal, but trailed off when Bonnie gave her a disbelieving look, while Annabelle just shook her head before looking down. That was when Caroline realized what she said, and immediately regretted it as she saw her best friend look down.
Caroline and Annabelle were always the closest out of the girls. Admittedly, Annabelle was closer to Caroline than she was to even Elena. Annabelle knew all of Caroline's secrets, and Caroline knew all of hers. The two would always stick together. Annabelle tried to help Caroline with her self-esteem and make the blonde realize that she is her own person, that she doesn't have to compare herself to Elena because she is special in her own way, and Caroline was there for Annabelle when her parents died. Even while at summer camp, Caroline would call her friend every day to make sure that she was okay, or as okay as she could be, and to simply talk to her and make her forget about everything bad that happened in her life. Bonnie and Elena never understood the connection those two had, but it didn't matter.
"And I say that with complete sensitivity," Caroline said in a quieter voice, while Elena glared at her.
"I'm sorry, girls," Damon spoke up, while Caroline gave Annabelle an apologetic look, silently begging the brunette to forgive her, to which Annabelle gave a small nod and smile, as if it was nothing. "I know what it's like to lose both of your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die,"
"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan spoke up for the first time.
"Ah, you know what, you're right, Stef, I'm sorry, I-" Damon sighed, "The last thing I wanted to do was bring them up," he chuckled humorlessly, giving his little brother a sarcastic smile, which made Elena's stomach clench in, what might have been, jealousy as she thought about Stefan's previous love interests.
"One more," Damon said from behind Annabelle as he walked into the Gilberts' kitchen, just as Annabelle wiped her hands after washing the dishes, while Elena, Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie remained in the living room.
"Oh, thank you," Annabelle said uneasily as the older Salvatore walked up to her. Shivers ran down her spine with every step he took. And not in a good way.
Damon, noticing her uneasiness, smirked to himself as he stopped in front of her, holding out the glass. She reached out her hand to grab it from him, but as soon as her fingertips touched the glass, the glass slipped out of Damon's hand. Annabelle gasped, preparing herself for breaking sound, but it never came as Damon swiftly caught it right before it hit the ground.
Even if she felt a bit afraid of Damon, she couldn't help but chuckle at the charming smirk he flashed her as he presented the glass to her.
"Nice save," she said, before grabbing the glass from his hand and turning her back to him as she placed it in the sink.
"I like you," Damon suddenly said, pointing his finger at her with a smirk, "You know how to laugh," he smiled, thinking about her attitude towards him in the boarding house," And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time," he said, walking around her to lean against the counter next to her.
"I make Stefan smile?" Annabelle looked at him weirdly. "Shouldn't you be saying that to my sister?"
"Well, you both make him smile," he shrugged nonchalantly, before looking at her with a smirk, "But you even more so," he said, and Annabelle frowned, opening her mouth to reply, only for him to cut her off in a nonchalant voice. "Although it probably has something to do with the fact that you remind him of someone," he said, and Annabelle nodded after a few seconds of staring at him, not wanting to be pushy and ask whom he was referring to. However, she was curious about one other thing.
"Earlier, did you mean... Katherine and Layla?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm," Damon simply hummed in response, taking the plate out of her hand and putting it in the cabinet above their heads for her.
"How did they die?" she asked gently, trying not to pry.
"In a fire," Damon replied, something flashing in his eyes. "Tragic fire,"
"Recently?" Annabelle asked curiously as Damon grabbed another plate from her and put it in the cabinet.
"It seems like it was yesterday," he said, and Annabelle could detect the double meaning in his words.
"What were they like?" she asked softly after a short moment of silence, and Damon looked away for a few seconds.
"Well, Layla was beautiful," he replied after a moment, as if in a daze, his voice soft, "A lot like you in that department," he snapped out of it, and glanced at the blue-eyed girl in front of him before grabbing another plate and putting it in the cabinet as well. "She was smart, and talented," Again, Annabelle detected a double meaning to his words, "She was my best friend..." he trailed off, something close to vulnerability flashing in his eyes, and Annabelle decided to change the subject, feeling sorry for the young man in front of her, despite the fear and danger she felt around him.
"And Katherine?" she asked gently, and Damon snapped out of his daze after talking about Layla, and looked at her.
"She was beautiful," he said, "She was also very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind, but very sexy and seductive," he said with a smirk, and Annabelle looked down at the plate in her hand.
"Hmm," she hummed, deep in thought, before looking up at the Salvatore. "So, which one of you dated her first?"
"Nicely deduced," he chuckled, grabbing the plate from her hand and putting it in the cabinet, "Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine," he said, before closing the cabinet, while Annabelle moved over to the island in the middle of the kitchen and started folding the towels, "I'd tell Elena to quit cheer-leading if I were you," Damon said as he moved to stand beside her, before sitting down by the island.
"Why do you say that?" Annabelle asked as she continued folding the towels.
"Oh, I saw you two at practice. She was miserable," Damon said as he grabbed one of the towels and started folding it as well.
"You saw that?" Annabelle sighed.
"Am I wrong?"
"She used to love it," Annabelle said, stopping her movements for a few seconds as she rested her hands on the counter and looked at Damon, trying to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine when his eyes bore into hers, "But... things are different this year... Everything that used to matter just doesn't seem to anymore," she said, thinking about her own feelings. It's true, she's still on the squad, and she's quite good, but it's definitely not as fun as it once was. Now, it's just something to kill time so that her thoughts down wander off to places she doesn't want them to.
"So don't let it, either of you," Damon said simply as she started folding the towels again, "Tell Elena to quit, you both move on, problem solved. Ta-da," he sang, and Annabelle chuckled quietly, slowly growing more comfortable around the Salvatore.
"Some things could matter again," she said, continuing to fold the towels.
"Maybe," Damon said, putting the towel he just folded on the counter, "But... seems a little unrealistic to me," he said, and Annabelle nodded as she took in a deep breath and folded the last towel.
"I'm sorry," she spoke up suddenly after a moment of silence, and Damon furrowed his eyebrows, looking at her confusedly, "About Katherine and Layla," she said, and Damon's expression changed to one of realization, "You lost them, too," Annabelle said softly, recalling how Damon said that Layla was Stefan's first love, but was his best friend, and it was quite obvious that he also had feelings for Katherine. Feelings that never really disappeared.
Damon stared at Annabelle with a look close to adoration, silently comparing her to Layla. There were so many similarities between the two, but there were also many differences. But sometimes, it was actually hard for him, and he could bet it was also hard for Stefan, to separate the similarities from the differences.
"Hey," there was a voice by the doorway, and the two broke eye contact and turned around, only to see Elena and Bonnie, "Need some help?" Bonnie asked kindly, and Annabelle smiled at her gratefully, feeling a sort of tension rising between her and the older Salvatore. The problem was, she didn't know what sort of tension it was.
"Sure, why not?" Damon agreed.
"Matt tries, but he's just having a really hard time," Caroline spoke to Stefan as they sat in the living room of the Gilberts' house, while the other four people were in the kitchen, "You have to understand that they were each other's first, you know, like from the sandbox," she chuckled, and Stefan smiled, though it was a bit tight.
"That's a really nice scarf," he noted, pointing to the thin gray scarf around the blonde's neck.
"Thank you, it's new," Caroline smiled.
"Can I see it?" Stefan asked, and Caroline looked at him weirdly, "I mean, would you mind taking it off?" he asked as he scooted over on the couch so that he could be closer to where she was sitting on the armchair.
"Oh, I can't," Caroline said.
"Why not?" Stefan tilted his head. "You okay?"
"Um..." Caroline trailed off, something similar to fear flashing in her eyes as she glanced around before composing herself and shrugging. "All I know is that I can't take it off,"
"What are you two kids talking about?" Damon's voice sounded through the room as he entered, immediately walking over to sit on the arm of the armchair Caroline was sitting on.
"I was just commenting on her scarf," Stefan said as Caroline smiled at his brother.
"Mmm," Damon hummed, before looking down at Caroline. "Hey, you know, uh, Elena, Annabelle, and Bonnie are finishing the dishes, why don't you go see if you can help,"
"Does it look like I do dishes?" Caroline asked, before chuckling as she turned to look at Stefan, who smiled back weakly.
"For me?" Damon smiled tightly, losing patience.
"Hmm, I don't think so," Caroline smiled, and Damon wiped the smiled off his face, before looking her directly in the eye.
"Go see if Annabelle needs help in the kitchen," he ordered, his pupils dilating.
"You know what?" Caroline spoke up, her voice light, "I'm gonna go see if Annabelle needs some help in the kitchen," she smiled.
"Great," Damon smiled, and the blonde returned it before standing up and walking out of the living room, heading towards the kitchen.
As soon as she was out of sight and hearing range, Stefan turned to his brother.
"They are people, Damon," he said, glancing between Damon and the kitchen. "She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement; for you to feed on whenever you want to,"
"Sure she does," Damon said. "They all do. They're whatever I want them to be, they're mine for the taking,"
"Alright, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to meet Elena, you got to meet Annabelle, good for you," Stefan said. "Now it's time for you to go,"
"That's not a problem," Damon said nonchalantly, "Because..." he trailed off as he moved off of the arm to sit in the chair, "I've been invited in. And I'll come back tomorrow night, and the following night, and I'll do, with your little cheerleader and her sister, whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me," Damon said, clapping Stefan on the shoulder.
There must be shred of humanity left inside my brother. Somewhere. I keep hoping. But how do I make him see it? And how do I protect them? Stefan leaned back in his chair after he wrote down the entry in his journal as he sat in his room the next morning, deep in thought. How is he supposed to protect Elena, and, more importantly, Annabelle? It's true, Elena may look exactly like Katherine, but Annabelle is the exact replica of Layla, whom both of the brothers held dear to their hearts. Yes, they both had feelings for Katherine once, but at the end of the day, Stefan would always choose Layla. And he knew that Damon would too. And that is why he had to find a way to protect Annabelle from his brother. Because the similarities between her and the beautiful girl from 1864 are too great.
After a few seconds of thinking, Stefan stood up and walked over to one of the bookshelves in his room, and grabbed a medium size brown case, carrying it back to where he sat. He placed the case on top of his desk, and opened it, rummaging through a few papers before taking out two small, dark brown, wooden boxes.
"Annabelle!" a voice came from behind the beautiful girl as she walked down the Mystic Falls High grounds that afternoon in her cheer-leading uniform and her hair twisted from the left and put in a low pony tail, and she sighed, recognizing the voice, and turned around, wishing nothing more than to simply disappear.
"Stefan," she smiled tightly, and he gave her a small smile, wanting to make her feel a bit more comfortable, still not understanding why she was suddenly so tense around him. "Hey,"
"Hey. Listen, I... I wanted to make sure my brother didn't overstep his boundaries last night," he said, and Annabelle shook her head.
"Nope. He was on perfectly good behavior," she said, and then furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him curiously. "Why?"
"Well, my brother has a tendency to stick his nose where it doesn't belong," Stefan said.
"Don't we all?" Annabelle asked rhetorically, cracking a small smile, making Stefan chuckled lightly.
"Look..." he started, taking a step towards her, making her stiffen. "I know, this may seem strange, but I want you to have something," Stefan said, before pulling out a small, dark brown, wooden box with engraved holes on the lid. Annabelle looked at him confusedly, and he gave her a small smile before popping the lid open, revealing a simple yet utterly beautiful bracelet.
"Oh, wow..." Annabelle whispered, staring at the bracelet in awe as Stefan took it out of the box. The bracelet was silver, with three layers. Two of the strings were beaded with tiny silver jewels, in the same way, while the third string, that was in between the two beaded ones, was formed of small, perfectly carved stones which were painted and glistened in order to make them look silver. The clasp, instead of modern ones that were on every piece of jewelry now, was made out of a hole at the end of one of the strings' side, while the other side's clasp was a silver, metal-like tiny stick that went through the hole while positioned vertically and kept the bracelet clasped firmly when positioned horizontally. Beside the clasp, was a small charm, which seemed to have have a thick silver circle decorating it, with a dark spot and silver engravings on the inside of the circle.
"Take it," Stefan encourage her with a small smile, and she looked up at him for a second before hesitantly taking the beautiful piece of jewelry out of the box. As she brought the bracelet closer to her face in order to properly look at the engraving on the small charm, which seemed to be half-hearts, a scent filled her nose.
"What is that smell?" Annabelle asked Stefan curiously as she raised the bracelet to her nose, smelling the charm delicately.
"It's an herb," Stefan said, before looking at her with a small smile. "It's nice, isn't it?"
"I love it," she smiled, before furrowing her eyebrows, looking at him confusedly. "Why are you giving me this?"
"I've had this forever, and I think it's time for me to do something with it," Stefan shrugged, before giving her a small, teasing smile, "Besides, I hope this gift can be the beginning of getting you back on the 'I think you're a great guy' rails," he said, and Annabelle sighed. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he noticed her weird behavior, but at the same time, she was hoping that he wouldn't. And now that he has, everything will get even more complicated, "Hey, it's okay," Stefan assured her, "I don't know why you suddenly hate me, but I just want you to know that I won't hurt Elena. If I can promise you anything, it's that," he said, and Annabelle sighed.
"I know you won't hurt her," she said, before looking up at him. "And I don't hate you. It's just... everything's so complicated now that I just-"
"Hey, it's okay," Stefan cut her off, seeing the guilt at how she treated him in her eyes, "Don't worry about it, okay?" he smiled, and she couldn't help but return it.
"Okay," she agreed, and Stefan smiled at her one more time before looking down at the bracelet in her hands, "You need help with that?" he asked, gesturing to the bracelet, and Annabelle looked down at it before looking back up with a smile.
"Yes, please," she nodded, and he grabbed the bracelet from her hand. Annabelle stretched out her left arm in front of her, giving him an easier access to her wrist and allowing him to clasp the bracelet around it. Annabelle tried incredibly hard not to shudder as Stefan's fingers brushed against her wrist, and, much to her joy, succeeded, which made her smile. Perhaps she can, in time, learn to feel normal around Stefan again. Perhaps, in time, they can be friends.
"Quiet down, quiet down! Quiet down a little bit! Okay?!" Mr. Tanner spoke through the microphone an hour later, trying to get the crowd of people who have gathered to watch the football game that night to quiet down as they cheered loudly, but with no success, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Wait!" he yelled at everyone, finally getting them to quiet down while Annabelle elbowed Caroline gently, silently telling her to stop cheering with a small smile on her face as they stood with the rest of the cheer-leading squad, "Now, let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town, and roll right over us!" Everyone booed, the football team standing quietly in a row in front of the stage, facing the crowd, "But that is about to change," Everyone cheered, the cheerleaders waving their pom-poms in the air, "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on our fence, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these," Mr. Tanner praised as he pointed at Stefan, who was standing amongst the football players in his jersey, some of the other players clapping him the back as he smiled. Everyone in the crowd cheered, Elena clapping and smiling sweetly at her boyfriend. Stefan returned her smile, before his gaze moved to Annabelle, who, finally, smiled at him as she clapped, making him smile, "Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!" Mr. Tanner said, and everyone cheered even louder. However, as Annabelle looked at her best friend, she noticed that Caroline was clapping a bit less enthusiastically and was cheering quieter, which made her wonder: was it because of Stefan's rejection, or was it because of Damon? To be honest, she was afraid to find out, "...that have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you - your Timberwolves are hungry," Annabelle finally returned her attention to Mr. Tanner, and cheered along with the rest of the crowd.
After less than a minute of cheering and chatting carelessly, people started to slowly turn around as a fight broke out only a few feet away.
"Stop, you're hurting him!" Annabelle heard a voice that she recognized as Vicki's, and immediately knew who was in the fight. Without a second thought, she shoved her pom-poms into Caroline's hands and started pushing through the crowd as everyone started heading towards the fight, "Tyler!" Vicki yelled, and Annabelle quickened her pace, "Tyler, stop!" Vicki screamed, "Tyler! Stop it! Tyler, stop!" she screamed, just as Stefan and Annabelle both reached the fight.
"Hey, he's down! Enough!" Stefan yelled as he rushed forward and caught Tyler's arm right before he punched Jeremy again, while Annabelle stopped beside Vicki, staring at the Donovan girl in disgust. She was the one who caused all this mess in the first place, she was the one who continuously broke her little brother's heart over and over, and now when the two teenagers were fighting over her, all she did was stand off to the side, doing nothing!
Tyler got off of Jeremy and looked at Stefan with pure fury in his eyes, before punching him the stomach. However, he looked up in shock as Stefan didn't even twitch. Jeremy, using the moment of distraction, rolled onto his side to grab a broken beer bottle before standing up, raising his arm and preparing to attack Tyler. Stefan, noticing the Gilbert boy's actions, quickly pushed Tyler out of the way just in time.
"Jeremy, no!" Annabelle yelled as she rushed forward, just as Elena arrived, but it was too late. Jeremy swung his arm, but instead of hitting Tyler, the bottle cut Stefan's palm as his hand was still raised from when he pushed Tyler out of the way.
"Tyler, knock it off!" Matt yelled as he ran forward and pushed his friend off to the side roughly, while Jeremy stared at the bottle in his hand in shock. "Stop!"
"What the hell, Jeremy?" Elena asked angrily as Annabelle quickly pulled him away from Stefan.
"Put your head up, you're bleeding," Annabelle said as she put her hands on either sides of his face, looking at the blood around his mouth and the bruises that started to form on his face.
"I'm fine," Jeremy sighed, but let his sister check him.
"Yeah, you smell fine!" Elena said sarcastically, and that was when Jeremy snapped. He quickly pulled Annabelle's hands away from his face, before shoving past his oldest sister.
"Just stop, okay?" he snapped, before storming off, while Annabelle sighed. Why could Elena never just let him calm down first instead of immediately scolding him and jumping all over him?
"Come on, man! Come on!" Matt pushed Tyler away from everyone roughly, while Elena and Annabelle turned around to look at Stefan.
"Oh, my God, your hand," Elena gasped as she rushed forward, reaching out to grab Stefan's bleeding hand, but Stefan quickly pulled it away and hid it behind his back as Annabelle took a few steps forward.
"No, no, no, it's fine," Stefan said, but Elena ignored him as she grabbed his hand, which was now clenched in a fist, and pulled it in front of her.
"Is it deep? How bad is it?" she asked worriedly as she pried at Stefan's fingers, wanting to inspect the wound, "Come on," she sighed, and Stefan let her open his hand, only to reveal smooth skin. No cut. Only a tiny bit of dried blood.
"But..." Elena shook her hand, looking at his hand confusedly, before looking up at him as Annabelle's eyes widened when she got a glimpse of his hand. She saw the bottle cut his palm, she was sure she did. "I-I saw it, it was-"
"He missed," Stefan cut her off, glancing at Annabelle, wanting to see if she was also suspicious, and, unfortunately for him, she sure was, "It's not my blood," he assured, looking back at Elena, wiping his hand on his pants before showing her his hand again. "See? I'm fine,"
"No, no, no, I-I saw it. The glass cut your hand, it was-"
"It's okay. I'm okay," Stefan whispered, looking at her with a small smile, while Annabelle sighed. Yes, she also saw the cut, but if they were going to interrogate Stefan, wouldn't it be better if they did it away from prying eyes? In this case, away from all the people who have come to watch the game, who were still gathered around them and whose eyes and ears were still on them? "It's almost kick-off time, alright? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game," Stefan said to Elena, who nodded, swallowing, before walking off, while Annabelle turned to face Vicki, who was still standing in the same spot she was standing during the fight.
"You do know this is all your fault, right?" she spat, looking at the Donovan girl, who had the audacity to look shocked. Annabelle just shook her head, disgusted, before walking off.
"Hey, Tiki? It's all wobbly, can you stand straight, please?" Caroline said to one of the cheerleaders holding the Timberwolf banner about ten minutes later, just as Annabelle walked over, returning to the squad, "Anna! Finally! Where have you been? We're about to start!" the blonde exclaimed, looking at her best friend in disapproval, but also in worry.
"I was just trying to clear my head, I'm sorry," Annabelle said, giving her an apologetic smile, making Caroline sigh but nod all the same, giving her an understanding look, before turning back to the rest of the squad.
"Could someone please help Tiki?" she asked, walking over to the said cheerleader, while Bonnie walked over to Annabelle.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked concernedly, seeing how tired her friend was.
"Yeah," Annabelle sighed, "I tried to catch up with Jeremy, but after a few minutes of just pointlessly wandering around, I decided to let him cool off first, you know?" she said, and Bonnie nodded in understanding, "God, I just wish Jeremy would get over Vicki already. I mean, I get it, I do. He's in love with her, and I wish I could be happy for him, but I can't. That girl is nothing but trouble. She's going nowhere, and she's dragging him with her while constantly breaking his heart. Not to mention she was the cause of that fight tonight, and didn't even try to stop it!" Annabelle rambled, before sighing after getting it off her chest, and Bonnie gave her a sympathetic smile before her gaze shifted to something behind her friend.
"Hey. Where you been?" Bonnie asked, and Annabelle turned around, only to see Elena walking over to them.
"Can I ask you a question and you give me a really serious, no-joke response?" Elena asked, looking at Bonnie, and the dark-skinned girl nodded.
"Of course, what is it?"
"The bad mojo," Elena said. "When you touched Stefan, and you had that reaction..."
"You know what, forget I said that," Bonnie shook her head with a smile. "Your little dinner party plot totally won me over,"
"No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it?" Elena asked, "Did you see something, or...?" she trailed off, and Bonnie's smile faltered as she sighed.
"It wasn't clear like a picture," she said, "Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about - 8, 14, 22," she said, and Annabelle stiffened. She still saw the same numbers, over and over again. And she didn't know what to make out of it.
"Yeah?" Elena pressed.
"When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it-" Bonnie cut herself off, as Annabelle continued to tense. Bonnie just perfectly described what she felt when she touched Stefan and Damon.
"And what?" Elena pressed.
"It was-"
"Death," Annabelle cut Bonnie off, and the dark-skinned girl turned to look at her in shock, before slowly nodding, while Elena looked at her sister confused. How did she know that?
"Yes," Bonnie nodded, before looking at Elena again. "It's what I imagine death to be like,"
Annabelle stood beside Bonnie an hour later, now wearing a white tank top that was tucked in her magenta shorts, and a white-black striped, thigh-long sweater, the front and top half of her hair now in an up-do, as they watched the coroners put Mr. Tanner's body in the truck, Bonnie trying to keep her tears at bay as Annabelle wrapped a comforting arm around her. Only less than an hour after Elena, Bonnie, and Annabelle's conversation, Matt found Mr. Tanner bleeding from his neck. Dead. Now, Annabelle and Bonnie stood amongst other people, watching the police, animal control, and coroners do their work.
Annabelle looked around, trying to look at anything but at her teacher's body, but she tensed as her eyes landed on a small board on the wall of the building in front of them: BLDG8. Bonnie felt Annabelle stiffen, and looked at her, only to see tears forming in her eyes as she stared at something. Furrowing her eyebrows, Bonnie followed her gaze, and immediately regretted it.
Annabelle's gaze then shifted to one of the animal control cars, and she felt a lump form in her throat as she saw the registration board on the car: FHT 14. Lastly, her gaze shifted to the spot on the sidewalk where Mr. Tanner was found, blood still splattered. There was a number painted on the sidewalk: 22. Annabelle heard Bonnie release a strangled gasp, but was too shocked, and, more importantly, terrified, to do anything about it. All she could do, was stand there with tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat, trying not to break down.
"Oh, my God,"
A/N: Well, I was a bit unsure about the way I approached this chapter, so I really hope I did it justice. I hope you like Annabelle's relationship with Caroline. I honestly love Caroline, she's my favorite character in the show, and I wanted my character to be the kind of person Caroline never had: someone who didn't overlook her for Elena. Besides, I think Caroline and Annabelle's friendship will be very good for the story line as well.
I hope you guys liked the flashbacks in this chapter, which, I'm sure, completely changed your view on Annabelle. If anyone was confused, those were just flashbacks of Annabelle meeting Stefan and Damon, but we get a bit more details as to what really happened when she met them, details that we haven't seen earlier. I thought it would be appropriate to throw it in in this chapter, just to surprise you.
By the way, are there any pairings you would like to see in this story? I already have everything planned out, but if someone throws me an incredibly good suggestion, it might just change my mind. I'd also like to hear whom you think Annabelle will end up with.
Anyway, I hope you all like the story, and please don't forget to review!