A/N Sorry if this got too long, I feel like it was too long. But I really wanted to get it out. I'm really excited to get the story going, because there are things in certain episodes that I can't wait to write for! As always, thanks for following and for favoriting! Let me know what you think!
Elena knocked on her sister's door, "Angie! Angela wake up!" When she got no reply Elena sighed and walked in the room seeing Angela sleeping soundly. Walking across the room to Angela's bed, Elena gently shook her sister awake. Angela groaned and buried her head under her pillow."We're going to be late for school! Bonnie's driving us! Come on!" Elena said while taking the blanket off her sister and throwing it on the floor.
"No, it's so cold!" Angela whined, reaching for Elena's arm, attempting to take hold of the blanket back, which only made Elena kick the blanket further across the room.
"Yeah, well, Bonnie is going to be here in a few minutes, so get ready!" Elena chastised, heading out the door.
"A few minutes?" Angela yawned, how late was it? She reached over her bed and grabbed her phone from the dresser, turning it on, she saw she had a text from Lauren. She clicked not now, deciding to wait until school to talk to her since she was, apparently running late. "Thanks for waking me up so late." Angela grumbled as she walked over to her closet in search of clothing. She grabbed a random pair of black jeans and a purple long sleeve shirt.
She had to get ready fast if she wanted Bonnie to drive her. She was sure Bonnie would wait if necessary, but, knew Elena wanted to get to school on time. Walking over to the mirror Angela winced and grabbed her side, it seemed tumbling down those stairs had taken its toll, and had left her very sore. Looking in the mirror, Angela searched for any apparent bruises, when she couldn't find any Angela ran a brush through her hair, grabbed her bag and quickly went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"Angie! Bonnie's here, are you ready? I'm going to go wait by the car!" Elena called from the bottom of the stairs as she opened the front door and walked over to the car to greet her friend. "Hey Bonnie, thanks for picking us up." Elena smiled warmly, happy she didn't have to drive herself, as she was still weary of cars.
"No problem, Elena, anytime. I'm always here for you." Bonnie grabbed Elena's bag and put it in the car, "Where's Angie?" Bonnie asked turning around, to look for her.
"Uh.. I- She'll be down in a minute." Elena said quietly and hoped Angela wouldn't take long. Crossing her arms, Elena leaned against the car, staring at the house, waiting for Angela to come out.
Angela rushed around the house looking for Jeremy and Aunt Jenna. Jenna had already left it seemed, though Jeremy was nowhere to be found, his bed wasn't slept in and, Angela didn't think she heard him last night. Angela sighed and swung her bag over her shoulder. This wasn't going to end well, especially if Elena found out. She decided not to let Elena and Bonnie know Jeremy was missing and went out to meet them. "Sorry it took me so long, I couldn't find my...phone." She apologized and then came the dawning realization that she truly did forget her phone. Knowing it was too late to go back in the house, she shrugged it off. What could she miss without her phone for one day?
"That's okay, there was no hurry, let's get going." Bonnie said as she took Angela's bag from her and placed it next to Elena's. Angela nodded in thanks and got in as well. The ride to school had been silent at first, until Bonnie started talking about being psychic again. Elena laughed and rolled her eyes, having heard the story a bunch of times, but this caused Angela to perk up.
"Psychic?" Angela asked in awe, "As in, you can see the future? That's so cool!" Angela said excitedly.
"Oh Bonnie, don't get her started." Elena said, shaking her head, knowing her sister loved this kind of stuff.
Bonnie laughed, happy someone finally showed an interest, "What do you mean?" She asked wondering what Elena meant.
"Oh Bonnie! Haven't ever read Harry Potter? If you can see the future that means you're like Sybil!" Angela paused when she saw the crazy look Elena was giving her and stuck her tongue out at her. "And, I think that's so cool! So can you? See the future?" Angela asked, turning back to Bonnie hoping she at least knew something about Harry Potter.
Bonnie shot Elena an amused look as she listened to Angela talk, "She loves Harry Potter." Elena mouthed to her.
Bonnie chuckled and turned to Angie, "I don't see the future exactly I just.. Get these feelings and I can feel certain vibes coming off people... It's hard to explain. Grams told me she would tell me more about it after 'it' started, but I don't know what 'it' is! This all probably sounds crazy to you guys, huh?" Bonnie said quietly, feeling silly for bringing it up as she looked at her two friends.
Elena shook her head not wanting to bring her friend down, while Angela looked completely engrossed with the conversation,"Not at all, I find the whole thing fascinating. When you talk to your Grams, tell me what she said okay?" Angela asked, wanting to know what was going on with Bonnie. Fictional books aside- she had this feeling something was going to happen. Or it was just wishful thinking, Angela hoped for the first option, she was tired of Mystic Falls being so boring.
Bonnie broke into a broad grin, "Yeah absolutely! I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to talk to her, though." Bonnie said as she pulled into the parking lot, "We're here!" Bonnie parked and opened the trunk to give Elena and Angela their bags.
"Thanks Bonnie." Angela took her bag and smiled, "I'll see you guys later, I have to go meet Lauren before class starts." Bonnie and Elena nodded and waved her off, walking to their own respective classes.
As Angela reached her locker, Lauren was waiting for her with a small frown on her face, "Where have you been? I've been texting you!"" She complained as she stood cross armed leaning against the locker, blocking Angela from opening it.
"I'm sorry, I woke up late this morning and then I left my phone at home I didn't mean to ignore you. Now can you please let me into my locker?" Angela asked, trying to pull of Elena's signature "look" but she was unsuccessful. Lauren laughed at her friends attempted, unable to stay mad and moved aside.
"Oh, I have the homework! I've been waiting here so you could do it before class, we didn't have much since it was the first day, here's an algebra sheet-" Lauren said as she searched through her folder, dropping things in the process. "And here's a topic list for History, we have to write an essay and hand it in next week." Lauren said, handing her the rest of the papers and began to pix up the few items that fell out of her bag.
Angela groaned, an essay? So soon? Just her luck. She shook her head and opened her locker, stuffing the topic list inside. Now, all she had to do was the algebra sheet, she looked at it and knew she had no luck in finding any of these correct, so she promptly filled in the blanks with random numbers and letters. Knowing she would just have to study harder to get a good grade on the final test. One wrong work sheet wouldn't be the end of the world, would it? "Thanks Lauren, you're the best! Let's go to class." Angela helped Lauren pick the rest of the items from the floor and they began walking down the hall.
"I know." Lauren said smugly as she slackened her pace and grabbed Angela's arm. "So, I searched around for all the information on Stefan I could find."
Angela stopped, "You did? What did you find out about him?" Angela asked, stunned that she found out something so quickly, he's only been here a day after all.
"Well.." Lauren pursed her lips. "It depends on why you want it. Do you like him?" Lauren singsonged.
Angela scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, I'm only asking because I think Elena likes him, and I want to make sure he's not some creep."
Lauren sighed, looking disappointed. "Oh.. Elena. Well, Stefan is 17, he just moved here from out of town, he told Caroline that he lived in Michigan, I'm not sure if that's true though. He doesn't look like he's from Michigan.. Anyway, He lives in the old boarding house at the end of town, and, get this- his uncle is Zach Salvatore!" Lauren gushed.
"Zach Salvatore? So?" Angela questioned, unsure of what the significance of who Zach was. Obviously with the last name Salvatore it was a no brainer, but why was Lauren making it a big deal?
"You don't remember? When we were little he burst into my mom's office and started yelling about vermin or something and how he was getting rid of it?" Lauren asked, trying to jog Angela's memory. "Or he was selling it or something? I don't remember, it was so long ago.." Lauren said as they rounded the corner, drawing closer to class, "Anyway, I asked what vermin was and he ran off! My mom told me he was crazy, like insanely crazy." Lauren paused, trying to recall the rest of the memory, Lauren's mom worked for the Mayor, she was a PR Representative who had to make sure the major looked good, that was the year someone actually tried to run against Mayor Lockwood. It hadn't ended well for them, Lauren and Angela were playing a game, when Zach had run in looking angry, but when he saw them he became nervous and had run off. Lauren's mother told her it was because he didn't like kids. Lauren shrugged, "I feel bad for Stefan, for having such a weird uncle, but have you seen Zach lately? He hangs around the library every day and he's always wearing sweaters. He's kind of cute." Lauren added with a wink as she laughed at the grossed out look Angela had on her face. Lauren rolled her eyes, "Relax, I'm just kidding!"
Angela vaguely remembered that day, but she remembered Zach, and how.. Panicked, he looked. Angela didn't think he looked angry, he just had something very important he needed to do. Vermin? That didn't sound right, he must have been talking about something else. Unless, he was an exterminator, but she didn't think that was the case, but she couldn't think of what what else it might be. Thinking of that day made her believe she'd seen Zach somewhere before, but where? She just settled for a "hmm" and nodded in thought. "Well... thanks for all the Intel on Stefan." Angela said, scratching her head, and bizarre Intel on his uncle, Angela added in her head. "Let's just get to class." Lauren nodded and they went to their chemistry class.
Chemistry seemed to pass quickly, except for the painstakingly obvious stares Wes was giving in her direction. Was this going to happen all year? She turned around in her seat to ask Lauren if she noticed it too, when she saw Lauren and Wes making eyes at each other. Shocked Angela turned back in her seat. Did Lauren like her ex boyfriend? Would she care if she did? She knew Lauren didn't know everything that happened between them, no one did, except her parents, but Lauren knew it ended badly, and with a good reason. So why was she looking at him like that? Angela tuned out the rest of the class after that, she didn't even notice when the bell rang.
"Hey.. Angie? Come on, it's time for Algebra." Lauren coaxed Angela out of her seat and the two of them walked in silence to class.
When they walked into the room, Angela immediately took the furthest seat away from Lauren. She knew she was being ridiculous and childish, but she just needed some time to think. What was she going to say to her? Lauren was her best friend, she didn't want to ruin that over a guy. Especially a guy she never wanted to be with again. So, if Lauren wanted to date him she should be fine with it. Shouldn't she? Angela let out a muffled yell that caused a few people to look at her. Thankfully, her teacher didn't notice. Angela took out her notebook and started drawing random lines until the end of class.
History was uneventful, they had a substitute surprisingly and watched a movie the whole period. Angela tried to pay attention to it while pointedly ignoring the things Lauren was trying to do to get her attention. At first it was just small glances, then it was waving. At one point she resorted to throwing crumpled paper balls, but Angela was having none of it. Feeling defeated Lauren stopped and pretended to pay attention to the movie, while casting several confused glances Angela's way.
The rest of the day passed by so fast after that. The final bell had rung already. Angela walked to her locker and put away her things, thankfully the day was finally over. Now if she could only get through the party she would be all set. She started walking out of the building when Lauren grabbed her arm.
"Hey... can we talk?" Lauren asked timidly. "I know you're mad at me, even though I don't know why, but I'm sure whatever I did there's a reason! Can you please tell me? Whatever it is I can fix it!" Lauren begged, her voice breaking at the end. Lauren hated fighting with Angela, and things were going to well this morning! She wondered what changed.
Angela was beginning to feel bad, maybe she had jumped to conclusions. "During class I saw you..." She trailed off. Not sure what to say. She couldn't just go 'Are you and my ex boyfriend dating?!' because Lauren would think she was jealous, and that wasn't the case at all. "Are... Is there, something going on between you and Wes?" Angela asked cautiously.
"W-what?" Lauren stammered, and looked away under Angela's gaze, "Me and Wesley? Hahaha, no, absolutely not!" She denied,"What would make you think something like that?" Lauren asked fidgeting, looking down at her feet.
Angela knew when Lauren was lying, she had the mother of all tells, Lauren would fidget, and look anywhere, but her eyes. Angela sighed, she couldn't believe Lauren was lying right to her face, but she didn't want to fight. Putting on a fake smile Angela nodded, pretending to believe her, "Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake. Let's just forget about it, okay? Let's go get ready for the party."
Lauren looked up happy that her friend still wanted to attend the party with her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" She shouted, running and dragging Angela with her. Angela chuckled softly, she could never be angry with Lauren, not permanently, she'll just have to find a way to get Lauren to admit whatever is going on between her and Wes another time.
A few hours after arriving at Lauren's house they were ready to depart. Lauren changed from her school clothes to her going out clothes, even though Angela reminded her they were going to be outside and it was cold. Lauren tried to get Angela to change, but she refused, Angela wanted to be at home right now watching TV, or cooking with Aunt Jenna. She definitely didn't want to be on her way to a party.
When they arrived at the party, Lauren immediately saw one of her friends and ran off, leaving Angela alone, "Thanks.." Angela muttered and went off searching for Elena.
"Angela. Hey, how are you?" A voice next to Angela asked.
Angela jumped and turned around to see Stefan, "Oh Stefan, God how are you so quiet? Are you looking for Elena?"
Stefan laughed, "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, and yes, I was, have you seen her?" Stefan listen around hoping to catch her voice, finally he managed to.
"Okay, so he's a little pretty." Elena answered
"He has the romance novel stare." Bonnie replied.
Stefan smiled, glad that Elena seemed to like him, now if he could only find her.
"Stefan? Are you okay?" Angela snapped her fingers in front of him to get him out of his daze.
Stefan looked at her apologetically, "Sorry I was just-"
"Thinking?" Angela cut him off and smiled, "Elena does that a lot too-spaces out in the middle of a conversation. You guys are alike." Angela chuckled, feeling happy that her sister might have found someone who has a lot in common with her.
Stefan was about to reply when suddenly, "Hey! You made it!" Caroline cheered.
Stefan nodded to Caroline, "I did."
"Well, let's get you a drink!" Caroline grabbed Stefan's hand and began dragging him with her.
"Well, I'm-" Stefan pointed to Angela, who only smirked in acknowledgment. She knew Caroline, and if Caroline wanted something, she did everything in her power to get it.
"Come on!" Caroline smiled at him and pulled him to her. Stefan sighed, He really wanted to find Elena.
This left Angela alone again, so she went in the direction of the fire where she hoped Elena would be and she was right.
"So where is he? Bonnie asked Elena, scanning the crowd for a glimpse of him.
"I don't know, you tell me you're the psychic one." Elena laughed and took a sip of beer.
"What's this I hear about psychic?" Angela asked, walking over to them.
"Angela! You're here! Bonnie was about to use her 'psychic' powers to find Stefan." Elena chuckled using air quotes.
"Hey, he's your maybe boyfriend, I'm just trying to help you find him." Bonnie replied looking sullen.
"No, no, go ahead do your thing." Elena encouraged, when she saw that Bonnie was upset.
Angela held back a laugh, knowing Stefan was being tortured by Caroline at this very moment, but she decided to see how the psychic thing played out.
"Right. Okay, give me a Sec. Grams says I have to concentrate." Bonnie closed her eyes and looked down, trying to do something.
"Wait, you need a crystal ball!" Elena reminded picking up a bottle of beer and handing it to Bonnie. Bonnie winced as soon as she touched the glass.
"Hey,what happened? Are you okay, Bonnie?" Angela rushed over worried, not liking the look of panic that flashed across Bonnie's face.
"That was weird." Bonnie said quietly, shaking her head, nothing like that had ever happened before.
"What was weird Bonnie?" Elena asked, setting the beer bottle down.
"When I touched you.. I saw... I saw a crow... and a man, there was fog everywhere, and I saw Angela and she was- You know what forget it, I'm drunk, it's the drinking there's nothing psychic about it. I'm going to go get a refill." Bonnie replied hastily as she rushed off without another word.
"Okay? Bonnie!" Elena calls after her confused. Angela just stood unsure of what just happened, and wondered what Bonnie saw.
"Hi." Stefan said as he appeared next to Elena.
"Hi." She said shyly, and looked slightly shocked that he just appeared out of nowhere.
Angela looked at Elena to see who she was talking to and noticed Stefan. "Stefan? How did you get here so fast?" Angela questioned, mainly wondering how he got away from Caroline, she'd thought for sure someone would have to come rescue him.
"I, What?" He looked to Elena seeing her nod, she was just as surprised as Angela was. "I did it again, didn't I?" Elena nodded, still thinking about what happened to Bonnie earlier, and Angela just smiled at how alike the two were. "I'm sorry, you're upset, do you want me to leave?" Stefan asked, worried he had overstepped his bounds, some how.
"Oh, uh, No... It's.. It's Bonnie... She's- You know what? Never mind. You're here." Elena said, smiling as she took his hand in hers.
"I'm here." Stefan replied as they began walking towards the bridge. He almost stopped and asked Angela if she wanted to come, but one look from her and she was waving for the two of them to go. Stefan smiled, glad that Angela seemed to like him so far.
With Stefan and Elena gone, and Angela being left alone again Angela was beginning to wonder why she had come to the party in the first place. Sighing, she went off to find Jeremy, there was no way he wasn't here and she needed to talk to him about where he was this morning. She walked until she saw, what appeared to be Jeremy heading off into the woods alone. This wasn't good, she ran after him. When she finally caught up to him she heard a lot of yelling.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" Jeremy defended, he couldn't believe this guy. He knew he was an asshole.
"You know, you're starting to get on my nerves, Gilbert." Tyler said coldly.
"Just go, Tyler get the hell away from me." Vicki yelled at him.
"Wow. Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first." Tyler began to walk away, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Angela.
"Hey guys? What's going on? Jeremy? Tyler?" Angela asked, stepping closer to them.
"None of your concern Gilbert, what are you doing out here alone?" Tyler asked, playing the concerned friend.
"Hey, you stay the hell away from my sister! Get out of here Tyler! I mean it!" Jeremy yelled, his blood boiling. How dare he try to warm up to his sister after what just happened! Tyler scoffed and walked away. Angela was so confused, what had she just stepped into?
"I didn't need your help" Vicki said softly.
"It sure seems like you did." Jeremy huffed, not understanding why Vicki wasn't at least saying thank you.
"He was just.. He was just drunk." Vicki defended even though she knew it was weak.
"I'm drunk, am I throwing myself at you?" Jeremy sneered.
Angela stilled, concern growing on her features. Had Tyler really? She didn't know what to think. "Vicki are you alright?" Angela walked over to her, "Do you want me to get Matt?" She trailed off not knowing what Vicki would want.
Vicki smiled at Angela's Concern, Angela had always liked Vicki more than Elena had. It felt nice to be accepted by someone who didn't want anything in return. "No, don't get him. I'm fine, thank you." Vicki responded before turning to Jeremy.
"No you're worse. You want to talk to me. Get to know me. See into my soul and screw and screw and screw until you're done with me." Vicki went on, walking past him.
"Is that what you think?" Jeremy's gaze softened and his voice was so low you could barely hear it. He was shocked that Vicki didn't see how amazing she was.
"That's what I know." Vicki whispered before walking away leaving the two Gilbert's alone.
"Jeremy?" Angela walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? Want to talk about it?"
Talking, that's all Angela and Elena wanted to do, talk about him and his problems. No, he didn't want to talk. He shrugged her hand off and began to walk away.
"Jeremy! Come on, let's talk. I really think we should talk about this... Now's as good a time as any!" Angela called out to him. There were a lot of things they needed to get out, and they may not get another chance like this.
At that, Jeremy walked over to her, swaying in his steps. "You want to talk? FINE. I don't want you talking to Tyler anymore! You -you stay away from him!" Jeremy yelled. "I can't believe I let you be alone in a car with that asshole, he didn't try anything did he? I'll kill him! I'll.. I'll..." Jeremy ranted and leaned back against a tree grabbing his head. He was going to have a killer hangover in the morning.
"Jeremy, we both know Tyler isn't what I wanted to talk about. Come on, talk to me. What's going on with you? Skipping school? That isn't like you. I know you didn't go today, you weren't home this morning, and.. I don't think you ever came home last night... did you? Please.. We used to be closer than this." Angela began slowly knowing he wasn't going to react well.
Jeremy scoffed. Typical. Of course she would make this about him. Not about asshole Tyler, but about him. He rolled his eyes and moved away from the tree he was resting on and blew up."WHY AM I ACTING LIKE THIS?" Jeremy yelled."I'll tell you why! It's you!Ever since mom-mom and d-dad died ,nothing has changed for you! Except now, you and Elena are surprisingly closer, and now you and her, both keep gaining up on me at least, at least I'm -I'm sad that they're gone!" Jeremy slurred. "But you! You. All you have done is try to fix me. Me and Elena! I'm surprised Elena hasn't caught on yet! How are you not upset that mom and dad are dead?!" Jeremy screamed, throwing a bottle of beer against a tree.
Angela jumped as she heard the shattered glass hit the ground. She could always tell when he'd been drinking, but he has never said anything that hurtful to her. She stepped away from him, shocked at what he just said. Tears pooled in Angela's eyes ."How could you say that to me?" Her voice cracked. "You know how much I loved them! You know how I'd- I'd give anything. Anything! To bring them back! But I can't! And no matter how hard I try I can't take back some of the last things I said to them! How we fought those last few days they were alive. Oh god. The things I said to them Jeremy! There are so many things I regret and it hurts! It hurts so much to even think about!" She's crying now, make up smudged, but she kept going. "You don't know how I feel Jer, and maybe I've kept most of it to myself, but at least I didn't distance myself from the rest of the family I had, like you did! I'm sorry you think I don't care about them, but I'm not sorry that I worry about you! How could you say that Jeremy? I love you! You're my twin brother and i-" Angela hiccuped and hastily started to wipe her face.
She gets cut off by Jeremy pulling her into a hug, he regretted saying what he said immediately afterwords. He knew it was just the alcohol talking, but for some reason he just wanted to hurt her in that moment. He never thought he would get that reaction out of her though. He just thought she'd slap him in the face and go back to the party. He never knew she had fought with mom and dad before they died. He didn't know how much she had been holding in. They were more alike than he had thought. Boy was he a real dick, he felt terrible. All she wanted to do was look out for him and Elena and he did everything he could to push her away. "I'm sorry shh shh shh, I didn't mean it, I was just mad I'm sorry." Jeremy repeated that to Angela for a while until she had calmed down a bit.
Angela nodded, embarrassed as she stood up and mumbled "See you later." She had to get out of there. Why did she even come to this stupid party? She wiped her eyes, and bumped into someone. Oh great. She thought, how many does this make? She brushed past whoever it was without looking at them. Not wanting them to see her crying. How very typical. Crying girl, alone in the woods? She felt so childish. Feeling rude, she turned back and whispered "sorry" Though she knew they wouldn't hear her. She thought she saw a glimpse of raven hair, and her mind straight went to that guy she'd met outside the grill, but seeing him two places in two days? Impossible, so she kept walking.
Damon watched her leave, knowing he could just kill her right now. It would upset Stefan, and no one would suspect a thing, crying girl, had a few too many drinks, gets attacked in the woods. Who would question it? But for some reason he let her walk away unscathed. Damon shrugged, and went to find someone else.
Walking back to the party, Angela saw Stefan and ducked behind a tree. She really didn't need him seeing her, all she wanted to do was find Lauren so they could go home and forget tonight ever existed. Angela let out a shaky breath and peered around the tree she was hiding behind. Stefan was no where in sight. "Good." She sighed, relieved that Stefan was gone. Hopefully off somewhere with Elena.
"Hey. Everything okay?" Stefan asked, walking up to her.
Angela grimaced, what, is he- the invisible man? Come on! Angela wiped her eyes and sniffed "I'm fine Stefan," And began to walk away.
Stefan stopped her, "No.. Something happened, it's okay, you can tell me." Stefan smiled gently willing her to trust him.
"Thanks Stefan, but I'm fine, really, I'm just going to... go. Enjoy the party." Angela said, walking away, hoping he didn't follow and left him by himself. Stefan stared after her unsure of how to make the situation better.
"Hey! There you are. Have you been down to the falls yet? Because they are really cool at night, and, I can show you, if you want." Caroline winked and attempted to grab his hand.
Stefan sighed, not in the mood for this. "I think you've had too much to drink." He said lightly.
"Well.. Of course I have So-" Caroline started suggestively.
"Caroline. You and me, It's not going to happen. Sorry." Stefan stated matter-of-factly and walked away from her, he didn't want to be rude, but he didn't want to mislead her either. The was only one person he came back to this town for. Elena.
Elena walked up to Stefan and waved, gaining his attention, "I was wondering who abducted you, but now I know." Elena said, looking over at Caroline who was now, walking away.
"Is she.. Like that, with, uh, all the guys?" Stefan stammered, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.
Elena smiled at Stefan's awkwardness, "No, you're fresh meat. She'll back off eventually."
"Oh, well.. That's good to know I guess." Stefan smiled, glad that it wasn't just him. "Oh Elena, earlier I saw, Angela.. And Sh... well- She looked upset." Stefan wasn't sure how to explain it, and he knew it wasn't his business but he thought Elena should know.
"Upset? Did she say what was bothering her? Never mind, I'll talk to her when I see her, I hope nothing bad happened..." Elena trailed off, looking behind Stefan to see Jeremy looking wrecked, stumbling into the woods. "God, you gotta be kidding me!"
Stefan looked confused, "What is it?"
"My brother." Elena grumbled, she couldn't believe how much he had been drinking.
"The drunk one?" Stefan asked, unintentionally making the situation worse.
"That would be the one. Excuse me." Elena went to move past him.
"Need some help?" Stefan offered.
"Trust me, you're not going to want to witness this. Jeremy! Jeremy!" Elena called after her brother."Jeremy, where the hell are you going?"
"Oh, not you too! Look- I'm sorry I made Angie cry, I didn't mean it!" Jeremy apologized again for earlier.
"You did what?" Elena flashes back to Stefan telling her he saw Angela upset. "You're the one who upset her?!" Elena yelled, infuriated. "How could you Jeremy?"
"I don't want to hear it!" Jeremy scoffed and began walking away, he did not want to explain what happened to her.
"Yeah? Well, too bad!" Elena begins following Jeremy when she see's him trip.
"Vicki? No! Oh, my god, It's Vicki! No!" Jeremy cries, panicked at seeing Vicki passed out with a bite on her neck.
"Oh, my god!" Elena screams. "Jeremy, Jeremy pick her up! Come on! We have to get her some help!"
Angela had finally found Lauren, who, was with Wes the entire time of the party. Angela couldn't believe it. So, she took a sip of her beer and sat down.
"Hey Angie, have you seen Elena?" Matt looked down at her. "Hey, are you alright?" He questioned after noticing she had been crying.
Angela puts her beer down and nodded, "I'm fine Matt, thanks."
Matt looked unconvinced, but knowing he shouldn't pry, stayed silent. Just then, Tyler walked over.
"Hey Gilbert.." He said softly. His cold demeanor from earlier was gone, he felt terrible, "Can we talk?" He pleaded. Angela looked up and was about to tell him maybe later when she heard a cry for help from her sister.
"Somebody help!" Elena begged running out of the woods, Jeremy in tow.
"Elena? What hap-" That's when Angela noticed Vicki in Jeremy's arms.
"Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?!" Matt ran over to his sister trying to stop the bleeding.
"What happened to her?" Tyler asked, glaring at Jeremy.
"Somebody, call an ambulance!" Matt called to the crowd.
Angela reached into her pocket for her phone when she remembered she forgot it at home. Of all the days to leave your phone at home Angela scolded.
"Everybody back up, give her some space!" Tyler pushed everyone aside, giving Vicki room to breathe.
"It's her neck. Something bit her! She's losing a lot of blood." Elena sniffed, trying to keep herself from crying. Matt was already falling apart, he didn't need her to be too.
Angela took off her shirt, which left her in a white tank top. "Here, put this on her neck." She told Matt, giving him her shirt. Just then she looked into the crowd and saw a very scared looking Stefan running away. Where was he going? He must really hate the sight of blood.
Stefan couldn't believe this was happening, he raced to the Boarding house. Could it just be a coincidence? No, there were never any coincidences. He knew what this was, it was him.
"What's happening?" Zach yelled, seeing the distress on his uncle's face.
"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me." Stefan hastily replied as he ran upstairs. When he got to his bedroom, a crow sat on the window sill, waiting. Stefan turns around "Damon."
"Hello brother." Damon smirked. This was all just too perfect, everything was going according to plan.
"The crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan asked rolling his eyes.
"Wait until you see what I can do with the fog." Damon said circling Stefan.
"When did you get here Damon?" Stefan asked, not in the mood for games.
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school. Your hair is different. I like it." Damon stood in front of Stefan, silently egging him on.
"It's been fifteen years, Damon." Stefan sighed. Knowing where this was going.
"Thank god. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look? Did not suit you. Remember Stefan, it's important to stay away from the fads." Damon joked.
"Why are you here?" Stefan knew the answer, but he was hoping, perhaps, just maybe Something inside Damon had changed.
"I miss my little brother." Damon pouted.
"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do." Stefan pointed out, hoping Damon would just leave.
"I've managed to keep myself busy." Damon smirked, happy Stefan didn't want him there.
"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you." Stefan took the bait.
"Ah, that can be a problem, for you." Damon smiled at how easily all of this could be blamed on him.
Stefan sighed and continued playing along, "Why are you here now?"
"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word.. Elena." Damon grinned and the shocked look Stefan had on his face.
"Hey, Elena, We're going to go to mainline coffee, wait for news. Want to come?" Bonnie asked, knowing finding Vicki like that must have been traumatic.
Elena shook her head, "I gotta get Jeremy and Angie home."
Bonnie nodded slowly. "Elena, There's no way I'm psychic. I know that. But, Whatever I saw, Or I think I saw.. I have this feeling..." She trailed off.
"Bonnie.. What?" Elena asked, looking at her friend with concern.
"That it's only the beginning." Bonnie replied with uneasiness. She had a horrible feeling something bad was coming.
"She took my breath away, Elena. She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?" Damon taunted. "You know I met that sister of hers too... Angela?"
"She's not Katherine, and you stay the hell away from Angela, Damon." Stefan replied, getting angry.
"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended. Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?" Damon leaned against the wall.
"I know what you're doing Damon, it's not going to work." Stefan said confidently.
"Yeah? Come on. Don't you crave a little?" Damon walked over to Stefan and starts hitting him.
"Stop it." Stefan, said, trying to ignore Damon.
"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple of girls out there. Or just, Let's just cut to the chase and go straight for Elena!"
"Stop it!" Stefan yelled
"Imagine what her blood tastes like! Or better yet, Angela's. So was so naive and trusting when we met."
"I said, stop!" Stefan runs into Damon, throwing him out of the window. When he lands on the pavement, Damon isn't there.
"I was impressed, I give it a six. Missing style. But, I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face-rawwrrrrr- thing. It was good." Damon said, imitating his brother's face.
"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die." Stefan willed his brother to listen to reason.
"Well, that's a given." Damon smirked, not seeing the point.
"No, not here I won't allow it." Stefan firmly told Damon.
"I take that as an invitation." Damon smiled, this was going to be fun.
"Damon, please, after all these years, can't we just give it a rest?" Stefan sighed, he really missed the way things used to be.
"I promised you an eternity of misery, so, I'm keeping my word." Damon shrugged.
"Just stay away from Elena- Stay away from all the Gilbert's! They've been through enough." Stefan commanded.
"Oh.. Where's your ring? Oh, yeah, the sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes." Damon paused, amused at Stefan's horrified expression. "Oh relax, it's right here." Damon walks over and grabs Stefan by the throat before throwing him against the garage. "You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." Damon threatened. "I think we woke Zach up, sorry Zach!" Damon called as he walked into the house.
"You okay?" Elena asked Angela, who shook her head. "I called Jenna, she's on her way.. Jeremy, those people in uniforms? Last time I checked they're the police." Elena pointed at Jeremy's open beer bottle. "People are going to stop giving you breaks, Jer, they just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead, because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try too."
"I've seen you at the cemetery, writing in your diary, is that-is that supposed to be you moving on?" Jeremy gibed.
"Jeremy, stop it." Angela warned. "Can we please just stop fighting all the time?"
"Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this for us." Elena agreed.
When Jenna showed up, she saw how disheveled the kids looked and drove them home in silence. It had been a long day for everyone, Jeremy and Jenna went straight to bed, Angela went into the kitchen in search of food, and Elena, went upstairs to write in her diary. Several hours later, Angela heard someone outside, when she went to open the door she saw Stefan.
"Stefan?" She yawned, "what are you doing here?" Angela mumbled tiredly. Before Stefan could reply Elena came downstairs.
"Stefan, hey." Elena smiled, happy he showed up.
"I know it's late, but, uh.. I needed to know that you were okay." Stefan said quietly.
"You know, for months, that's all anyone's wondered about me. If I'll be okay." Elena told him
"What do you tell them?" Stefan asked.
"That I'll be fine." Elena said, before making her sister go upstairs. Angela was falling asleep while standing up, she needed to get some sleep.
"Mmm, okay, night 'Lena, bye Stefano." Angela mumbled as she walked up the stairs.
Stefan laughed, and hoped she never called him 'Stefano' again. He raised his eyebrows in question, and Elena just shook her head. "So, do you ever mean it?" Stefan resumed the previous conversation.
"Do I ever mean what?" Elena, asked, forgetting what they were talking about.
"That you're okay?" Stefan reminded her.
"Ask me tomorrow." Elena paused, "it's warmer in the house. We can talk.. Would you like to come in?"
Stefan smiled. "Yes" as he entered the house.
