Disclaimer- don't own Vampire Diaries! Nor is any money made off this story.

Authors note- this is co written by me dear old Salllzy and Imaginary Raine. Also there will be a lot of us messing with the cannon. Also events, times and people's real names will not be used. There will be things changed as well.


Chapter 4

Things were quiet… more so than normal. But, still, it was nice. Henry had left earlier to see about buying the property that he had seen a week ago, so Micaela was enjoying the peace and quiet. That was… until her phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Ela, I just need to know what we need."

Micaela sat up straight as she questioned "Are you sure? Last I checked the cupboards were full; so was the fridge."

"Definitely. Jesus! Who has hair like that?"

Micaela laughed, as she shook her head. "Stop picking on people! Will you be coming back soon?"

She heard him sigh before replying. "Yeah I am, just picking up some eggs to make pancakes."

Her stomach rumbled, letting her know that she hadn't eaten yet. Suddenly, she wanted him to come home straight away, just so he could cook for her. Micaela rolled her eyes. It was his entire fault that she was going hungry. It was not that she didn't know how to cook, but last time he asked for her help in the kitchen, she just wasn't in the mood, so she ended up being more of a nuisance than actual help, which ended up in her banishment from the kitchen. Normally, she would have simply ignored him, but seeing as he was a chef, she had given him free reign over the kitchen; a decision she was coming to regret greatly. If he hadn't banned her, she wouldn't be starving right now. She sighed.

"Right. I will see you when you get back."

"Shouldn't be too long!" He hung up before she even had chance to say anything else. She glared darkly at the phone and wished that it was him. He hadn't even given her a chance to tell him to hurry up! He must have known the state she was in, right? She sighed. Now she was hungry and in a pissy mood.

-.-.-.-

He chuckled as he placed his phone into his pocket, he wasn't lying when he said that he was going to get some eggs and he knew that it must have annoyed her to no end to be barred from cooking. He knew she could cook; she did it from time to time. But the kitchen was his dominion and, in there at least, his word was law, and she had pissed him off the last time. Anyway, it was fun to rile her up every now and then.

He walked into the shop and sighed in relief when he felt the air conditioning hit his face. The downside of being an Albino was his skin burnt far too easily, which mean that he had to wrap up all the time. Keep his skin hidden, but it wasn't just his skin that he had to worry about, Henry had a fear of going deaf.

He feared that, one day, he would wake up and not be able to hear anything at all. Still being able to see yet not hear anything… So he cherished each moment that he had. While being an Albino made him look totally awesome (in his and his sister's opinion), it came with more than one drawback.

Still he wasn't going to dwell on it, he had things to do. He turned around and collided with a hard body. He fell to the floor and looked up.

"Sorry." He almost froze when he got a clear view of the person standing in front of him. Stefan Salvatore was the one that had knocked him down.

The green-eyed man shook his head and looked at him. "No problem. You're not hurt, are you?"

Henry was quite sure that he wasn't, but this was not what he was worried about. He had to act as if he didn't know what Stefan was; that he was, not only a vampire, and a ripper to boot. Stefan helped him up and Henry gave him a small smile.

"Thank you."

The smile that he got in return was strained, and he didn't understand why until he looked down at his hand, the partially healed wound had reopened. He almost paled at that. He saw the brief flicker of red in Stefan's eyes before he turned around.

"I didn't do that, did I?" He asked in a murmur.

Henry knew that the blood was affecting him. How tense his shoulders were and how he was stood was giving him away. He had to act fast before Stefan snapped and killed someone. After all, a ripper was someone who could not control their bloodlust; they gorged on human blood, killing people left, right and centre. So he had to pretend, pretend that he hadn't seen the brief flicker of red in those eyes, that he hadn't seen the veins under those green orbs pulse for a few seconds.

"No, you didn't. But still, if you don't like blood, why don't you go? I can sort myself out." He had never seen someone flee from anywhere so quickly. Still he had things he needed to do, and the most important thing for him was to get home and sort his hand out. With a tired sigh, he paid for the eggs and walked back. With Stefan in town things would begin to come to the small town, and they would need to be ready. They would have to.

When he finally got home, he unlocked the door and felt relief; his hand had been sluggishly bleeding for some time now, and he needed to sort it out. He turned and went into the kitchen when he heard Micaela call out.

"You took your time." She wandered into the kitchen in jeans and a cream sweater. She took one look at his hand and huffed. "What happened now?"

Henry looked up from the bandages that he was taking off his hand. "Stefan Salvatore," he answered her distractedly, returning his attention to the matter at hand.

Micaela stilled for a few moments before relaxing. "So he is in town now?"

Henry nodded his head as he ran his hand under the cold water, trying to take away some of the heat that was coursing through his hand. "Yeah, he knocked me over and I used my hands to brace the fall."

Micaela shook her head and went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. When she returned she found him dapping his hand dry with a tea towel. "You know," she started, sighing, "keep using them and you will have to buy me some new ones!"

He chuckled as she passed him some gauze and a bandage. "I think I can manage that, I got the property by the way."

"Good for you," she gave him a smile and patted him on the back. "I take it you will start working on it?" She held the gauze in place while he unravelled the bandage.

"Yeah, as soon as my hand heals," he inclined his head as he wrapped the fresh bandage around his hand. Micaela passed him a safety pin as he fastened it in place.

She shook her as she walked back into the front room, and opened a window to let a cool breeze in. Henry followed her in with a cup of tea he passed it to her.

"Thanks."

He smiled and walked away, when he came back in it was with a second cup of tea he sat down on the couch, and looked out of the window. The two sat there for a few seconds until the sound of rain hit the window echoed throughout the room. He turned at her and glared.

"I dislike the fact that you keep using that on me you know."

Micaela turned her purple eyes to him, making them as wide and innocent as she could. "I don't know what you mean!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Sure you don't," he muttered. She just grinned in response.

He took a rather large gulp of his tea as he watched the rain pelt the windows; the sky was now a dark grey as the rain clouds began to roll in. Micaela placed her empty cup on the table as she began to finish marking the rest of the papers that she had put off. Henry watched her for a few minutes until he stood up and walked out of the room, only to return a few minutes later with a pen and some paper. He placed the paper on the table and began to write down everything that he would need to do and buy.

Henry looked down at the list. "Damn," he groaned.

Micaela looked up from the paper that had Tyler Lockwood, wrote on top of it. "What's up?"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked back down at the paper. "I am going to need someone to assess the building, and then I need an electrician to come in and check the wiring. Then, after all that, I need someone to come in and sort out the woodwork, make sure that there is no wood worm."

"You really are covering everything," Micaela looked at him with both shock and surprise.

"Yeah, I want this to work first time," Henry sheepishly smiled. Then he narrowed his eyes. "You didn't have to sound so shocked, you know?"

Micaela ignored him, causing a scowl to appear on his face. "Much like we need to get it right first time," she remarked, tilting her head to the side.

Red met purple in understanding. They didn't want someone else to go through what they did, being told that they had died. That they couldn't go back. They had mourned before they had stopped with the pity party and began to get things done. They didn't want to dwell on the what if's and could have been's. Still they had made a small effort in things. They had been keeping their eyes and ears open for any rumours and trying to see if they noticed anything strange going on.

Still, it had been quiet. But now that Stefan was in the town, that meant that Damon would soon start with the killings. Everything would begin to unfold and take shape. Though they couldn't actually do anything yet, so they would have to wait and see.

Micaela pulled herself from her thoughts as she looked down at the paper in her hands; she would need to speak to Tyler about this. Surprisingly, he was the only one that didn't give her trouble in the class. Everyone else seemed content to cause her all sorts of trouble and grief; still, she kept knocking them back down. It didn't matter how hard they tried some days. Still, Henry took a dark sort of pleasure when she told him; the dark amusement in his eyes as he laughed sometimes set her on edge. She tried not to bring it up, but sometimes she couldn't help feeling that something had happened before they had come here. At least he didn't break out into evil laughter. Considering the things she had to put up with from her students, she would have joined him, and that would not only be unsettling, but embarrassing as well.

But now the ball was rolling but would it roll quickly or slowly?

Still there was the whole Damon problem; would they be friends with him? Or would they simply sit back and allow him to get hurt time after time, either by his brother or someone else? He had been shattered time and time again so it was no wonder that he had turned out the way that he had. After all, one can only take being second best for so long. Eventually, you will build walls around yourself to keep yourself protected from everyone and everything no matter how big or small.

But would it be worth it?

-.-.-.-

The week had been both hectic and stressful; Micaela, with the tests that she was making her class go through, and Henry, as he tried to get someone in to look at the old building that he had bought, with very little luck. As soon as anyone heard who wanted to hire them, they suddenly had jobs that they needed to do, despite the fact that they had said that they had no jobs.

Micaela had found amusement in his problem and often laughed when he began to curse up a storm.

"Lying. Fucking. Bastards!"

Micaela cackled as she watched as Henry fell face first into the cushions on the couch and screamed into them, while she found it funny and thought that he was over reacting just a little bit (a whole damn lot), she did feel some sympathy for him. Still she would take amusement from where she could. A second scream caused her to look over at the couch. Deciding that he needed to calm down before he gave himself a heart attack, she walked into the kitchen, pulled two mugs down from the cupboard, placed them on the counter and flipped the switch for the kettle. While it was boiling, she went to the fridge and got the milk out.

The front room was quiet – very much so – and it had her worried. She didn't know if it was a bad thing or a good thing. She frowned when she heard the back door slam; if he broke it, he would pay for a new one!

The kettle whistled, signaling it was finished. She poured the water into the mugs and let the tea brew. While it was brewing, she walked to the back door and opened it. Sitting in the middle of the garden, legs crossed, eyes closed and taking deep breaths was Henry. She watched as a light breeze ruffled his hair causing a few loose strands to gently float around his face. After a few more moments of watching him she went back into the kitchen, leaving the door open. She looked at the tea and smiled; it was just right! Pouring some milk into the mugs, she pulled the tea bags out, placed the milk back into the fridge and moved towards the back garden. She sat down next to him and held his mug close to his hands. As if sensing it was there, he took it, nearly knocking it over.

The two sat in silence as Henry calmed himself down. Micaela took a sip of her tea and frowned; it was nearly cold now. She looked around and noticed that the sky was a deep purple almost dark blue in colour.

"I am sorry, you know."

Micaela turned and looked at him, but she didn't say anything, taking his apology for what it was: sincere and from the bottom of his heart.

Her gaze went back to the sky and she sighed. She still had more papers to grade and tests to sort out. She wanted to see if the teenagers in Mystic Falls had learned anything from her lessons or if they were just using it as a free pass. Either way, they would be disappointed when they all failed for one reason or another. Not that it really mattered to her, it wasn't her life that she was screwing up. Those kids were screwing up themselves without any help from her. She felt a cold hand on her arm and looked at Henry. He gave a her crooked smile.

"Let's get these papers graded shall we?"

Micaela smiled and the two went back inside. They found themselves sitting at the coffee table as they graded papers, pointed out where the students had gone wrong and why. They had even managed to get the tests marked as well, a job that Micaela felt was very well done. After all, it would of taken her hours to grade and mark everything by herself. Still, she frowned when she looked over every one of the graded tests; not one person that she had taught had passed nor had they put any effort on it.

"Check, Lockwood."

She looked down at the mayor's son's test and noticed that, as had become usual, there were barely any errors. Tyler had scored 98%. She wondered if she should find this strange or not. From what she had managed to gather from all the other teachers, Tyler only ever did the bare minimum to get through the classes; even then, it was only to keep his father and mother off his back. Why had he chosen hers of all classes to excel at?

"He has a crush on you~"

She turned her head around so fast that she feared she would of given herself whiplash.

"Doubtful," she stated flatly, glaring darkly at her brother, who was looking very smug. But he did have a very valid point, was the reason that Tyler was doing so well in her class was because he had a crush on her?

Perhaps he thought that if he did well then she would give him some attention? If it had been a different time and they had been two different people then she might have done so (Michael Trevino was hot, after all). But here and now she was his teacher, it would be unethical. And just like she had told her brother, she doubted it was the case.

Besides, she liked her men with a little bit of zeal and wickedness to them, which was why she liked bad boys. They just got her blood pumping and her heart racing.

Still, she decided she would talk with Tyler, if at least to congratulate him for his efforts. Even if he did not try in the other classes, he did in hers, and that deserved recognition from her part.

"Leave it to me."

She looked at her brother; he was frowning, worry lines creasing his forehead. He was reading too much into it. He was making a storm in a teacup and she feared it was not going to end well. She went to open her mouth and speak to him, but he stood up and left the house. Micaela stood up and went to go after him but found the front door locked and both sets of keys gone, damn him!

She didn't know how long she stood there, gaping at the door, before she snapped out of it. Eyes darkening in fury, feeling the temperature drop around her, she opened one of the frosted windows and jumped through it. If he was going to treat her like an unruly child, she was bloody well going to act like one. With that thought in mind, she made her way into the forest, hoping to calm herself before she did something to her brother she would probably regret.

-.-.-.-

Locking his sister in the house probably wasn't the smartest idea to do, and there would be repercussions later on, when he wasn't expecting it. But he was still going to do this, no matter what she said or did.

The Lockwood's owned the biggest house in Mystic Falls; a nice perk of being Mayor. He knocked on the door and waited. The sound of footsteps thudding down the stairs alerted him to the fact that yes, someone had heard and was coming to the door. The door opened and Tyler's head came into view.

"Can I help—oh, it's you." Henry suppressed the urge to raise an eyebrow at that. Was the kid expecting anyone else? "What can I do for you?"

Henry looked at him. With dark bags under his eyes, Tyler looked as if he would drop if he didn't get a good night's sleep. But that wasn't going to deter him. "I want to talk to you about Micaela."

Tyler blinked at that, wondering why the white-haired man would want to talk to him about his teacher. It took him a few seconds to make the connections; this man was his teacher's brother. He paled at the possible implications of that, though he was sure that Ms. Black would never send her brother after him; she seemed too nice – at least to him. He stepped out of the house and closed the door.

"Look man, I don't want any trouble."

The man tilted his head to the side, the street lights making his red eyes seem even more demonic to Tyler than what people normally thought they were.

"So you don't have a crush on my sister?"

"What?" Tyler spluttered and gaped at him.

The albino grinned, it was full of teeth and screamed dangerous. "You heard me, Lockwood."

Tyler looked at him before holding his hands up, the universal symbol of surrender. "Look, you have it all wrong!" He said.

Henry glared at him before speaking. "Then why don't you tell me how it is?"

-.-.-.-

She huffed while she walked between the threes, a trail of melting frost signaling the way she had come. Why did Henry think it would be a good idea to lock her inside her house? Did he think she would be moping inside, waiting for him to get home after going to interrogate one of her students over something that was not any of his damn business? She seethed. If he was wrong, like she was sure was the case, it could cause her a whole fucking lot of trouble. What if Tyler decided to tell his parents her fool of a brother accosted him with accusations of having feelings for his teacher? Not only would the Lockwoods be properly horrified, she would lose her damned job to boot.

She entered a clearing and stopped. She looked around cautiously, reminding herself that Damon was in town. Stretching her senses to the limit, Micaela tried to detect something. After a while like this, she finally determined that there was no one around other than a few animals. Sighing, she made her way to a fallen log and sat down.

Looking down, she finally realized the frost. She followed its trail and realized it went the same way she had come from. Luckily, it was starting to melt, so she wouldn't have to worry about someone coming across it when the weather was not even close to cold. Looking at the bark she was sitting on, she saw as it was slowly freezing, her magic reacting to her anger. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, holding it, and then releasing it slowly. She did again and again, until she had finally calmed herself and the murderous thought went away.

Micaela opened her eyes and stared ahead, unseeingly. Who the fuck did Henry think he was, locking her in her own goddamned house? Did he really think there would be no consequences for that? He knew damn well how much of a vengeful bitch she was. And she would get revenge on him; in the most humiliating way she could muster, she decided. It didn't matter if he was just being his overprotective self. She could protect herself, and he bloody well knew that.

She sighed as she ran a hand through her thick hair. She would have thought it sweet of him if there was not the possibility of her losing her job. She just hoped it wouldn't get to that, otherwise, she would be out for blood.

Releasing another sigh, she stood up and started to make her way through the threes, having decided that a walk would do her good.

Some hours had passed when she felt she was being watched. Not faltering in her steps, she casted her senses around, smiling when she felt him a few meters behind and above her. She altered her path, making her way towards her home without changing paces. Absentmindedly, she wondered why he hasn't attacked her; not that she was complaining. Maybe he was just curious about a woman walking through the woods in the middle of the night? Right, she mentally snorted. How could he be curious when his switch was off?

The sky was just starting to lighten when she broke through the trees. All the while, he had accompanied her, never making an attempt at her, for which she was grateful. She was halfway to her door when she looked over her shoulder and gazed at exactly where she knew he was hiding, offering him a smile. She reached the front door and turned the knob, founding it to be unlocked. So her brother had decided to come home, had he? With a last glance back at her stalker, she disappeared inside her house.

Hidden by the trees, a pair of calculating blue eyes narrowed.

-.-.-.-

Cheerful humming could be heard as the front door was opened.

"Ela?"

Henry took a step in the house, the lights were off, which could indicate that his sister had tired of waiting for him and went to sleep. Deciding to be cautious, he closed his eyes and focused on channelling his powers to his hands. He grimly smiled when he saw that tiny and flickering flames were starting to dance on his skin. If anyone had hurt his sister, then there would be bloody hell to pay.

He quietly walked into the front room and looked around. Micaela was nowhere to be found; maybe she had really gone to sleep. He made his way upstairs and frowned at seeing the door to her bedroom opened. It was always closed when she was inside. Feeling worry spark inside of him, he decided to check on her. The worry turned to full-blown panic when he realized that she wasn't there. He checked the other rooms with no luck. He tried to call her next and just about went into hysterics when he heard the ringtone coming from inside of her room.

He was about to lose it when he noticed the open window. He made his way towards it and examined it, feeling a strange mix of disbelief and relief washing over him. His sister had not been kidnapped, nor had she simply disappeared; she had just left through the window. It was soon replaced by fury, because what the hell was she thinking? Damon was out there, switch turned off, and she decided it would be okay to take a midnight walk? The guilty he felt over locking her in her own house was studiously ignored. As was the thought that she probably left the house so she wouldn't bring it down.

Henry made his way to the couch that faced the doorway, having decided he would wait for her to come home. It was hours later, when the sun was starting to rise, that he heard the sound of the door opening. He frowned at that. Had he forgotten to lock the door? He pushed the thought aside when he finally saw his sister, unharmed and with some leaves decorating her thick black hair.

"So we decided to come home, have we?"

Her eyes found his, and the only reason that he didn't shrink from the flash of anger that passed through her amethyst gaze was because he was angry himself.

"I could say the same thing. Did you find the answer you were seeking for, brother?" She asked him, eyes narrowed. The pleasant tone of voice was like warning bells ringing clearly in his mind, letting him know he was walking on thin ice (no pun intended).

"I did."

"Well, at least one of us has gotten something out of this night," she remarked, plucking some leaves from her hair and letting them fall on the floor. Decided to not do anything that would possibly harm her brother, she decided it would be best to ignore him for now. So she made her way upstairs, ignoring his hurried footsteps as he followed her.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not finished yet!"

She whirled on him. "No, we definitely aren't. But I'm certainly not going to discuss anything with you when I feel like blowing you up. This matter settled, I'm going to get me some sleep," she stated flatly and turned, making her way to her bedroom and slamming the door.

Henry stared a few moments at the door and sighed, deciding it would be better if he were to get some sleep too. Running a hand through his white hair, he sluggishly made his way to his bedroom, feeling like the biggest dick in the world.