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 start off at the very beginning of 'Family Ties' and continue throughout the episode.

Reviews:

annalouise92: Thank you! I'm so glad you like it! I will give hints as to who will be Annabelle's love interest. In fact, I already gave some, but you have to really read between the lines to see it.

paperaeroplanesfly: Aw, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the story, and the character!

Guest: Here you go :)

Guest: All of my stories have a similar summary because I have a specific procedure of starting out on my first story from a particular fandom. However, if I wrote two different stories for the same fandom, then I would have different ideas, unless we're talking about a different love interest. I just like to know where I start out so that I don't get confused in between all my stories, but that doesn't mean that my stories are the same. Summaries, perhaps, but I take every single one of my stories in a different direction. And to answer the last part of your question, no, I'm not trying to insert myself into all of my favorite shows, but at the same time, I don't know if you noticed, but that is kind of what fan-fiction writing is about. You make up a character that you have to relate with, or otherwise you really won't know how to make her/him realistic. And that character is used to voice your opinions, and your thoughts, so that you could change the plot in the way that you think is best. So, no, I'm not just trying to insert myself in my favorite shows, but that's what OCs are used for. They're used to put the author's thoughts of the plot into the plot.

Love Also Has Thorns

Chapter 4

Family Ties

Annabelle's eyes snapped open and a gasp escaped her lips as she sat up, looking around her dark room. She jumped slightly as she heard a rattling sound coming from downstairs, before quickly getting out of bed, shivering a bit as the cool air hit her bare legs, which were only covered by her white pajama shorts with pink and blue floral designs, and her stomach, which was revealed from underneath her pink, long-sleeved pajama crop top. She quietly opened her door, before stepping out into the hallway, looking around for any of her family members who might have caused the noise.

"Jeremy?" she called out, quietly, as to not disturb anyone who might be sleeping already. Annabelle looked around, before stepping over to the barrier of the hallway balcony and looking down, only to see the empty hallways downstairs. Frowning, she decided to go back to her room, but just as she started to turn around, she saw a shadow roam through the hallways downstairs. With her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, the Gilbert girl quickly rounded the barrier corner before walking down the stairs, quickly but quietly. She looked around the hallway, and, after not noticing anything or anyone, walked over to the kitchen. She flipped the switch to turn the lights on, but was left in the darkness as nothing happened, "What the hell?" she muttered to herself quietly before looking around the kitchen, trying to see something, "Jenna?" she called out, hoping it'd be either her aunt or sister in the kitchen.

"This is Logan Fell, coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack," came a voice behind her, and Annabelle turned around with furrowed eyebrows, only to see that the TV in her living room was turned on, "The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim: local high school student, Annabelle Gilbert," the reporter, Logan Fell, on the screen said, before a picture of the beautiful brunette popped up on the screen, making Annabelle's breath hitch in her throat, "Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks," Logan Fell continued as Annabelle stared at the TV with wide eyes, not able to move a muscle.

"You know it's coming next," came a taunting voice from behind her, which she recognized as Damon Salvatore's as she turned around, only to see the said young man standing in her kitchen, staring at her like a predator would at its prey. Sucking in a sharp breath, Annabelle whipped around and quickly ran towards the stairs, wanting to get to her aunt and siblings, but as soon as she rounded the corner, she was faced with Damon, who was now standing on the stairs. Screaming in shock and fear, Annabelle quickly turned back around, only to see Damon now standing in the living room, and screamed again, tears forming in her eyes as her heart rate picked up. She closed her eyes tightly for a second, trying to get a hold of herself so that she could think straight.

Annabelle took in a deep breath and opened her eyes only a second later, only to see that Damon has now disappeared and there was no one else in the hallway other than her. Breathing in and out shakily, Annabelle took a few, slow steps forward, looking around. While she was looking towards the kitchen, Damon appeared from behind her and let his fangs show before grabbing her from behind and sinking them into her neck, making her scream in pain as he delected in the taste of her sweet blood.

Stefan's eyes shot open and he sat up with a gasp, his eyes wide in terror as the images from his nightmare flashed through his mind.

"Bad dream?" Damon asked from where he sat in front of his younger brother's bed as Stefan breathed heavily, "Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? Tsk, tsk. You really need some human blood," Damon said with a small smirk as Stefan glared at him, feeling more hatred towards his brother now than ever before, "It might even the playing field," Damon smirked, "Football reference... Too soon?" Stefan glared at his brother heatedly before flashing out of bed and stopping by his desk, grabbing the letter opener and throwing it as Damon angrily, the sharp object embedding itself in the older Salvatore's, who didn't even twitch, chest.

Damon looked down at the letter opener chest almost boredly, before standing up and pulling the now blood-stained object out of his flesh.

"Alright, I deserved that," he nodded. "But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing Coach Tanner and all those people,"

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked, annoyed, knowing very well that it was his brother who killed all those people.

"It was a mountain lion. Really big one," Damon stretched out his arms to emphasize what he was saying. "It attacked a hunter this morning, it's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls.',"

"Why would you cover your tracks?" Stefan asked, and Damon was silent for a few seconds as he moved around the room.

"I've decided to stay a while," he responded, before turning around to face his little brother with a smirk on his face, "I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena," his smirk grew, "Not to mention Annabelle," Stefan glowered at his brother.

"Can't touch them now. Either of them,"

"Well, the vervain keeps me out of their heads... Maybe that's not my target," Damon smirked. "Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style, and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift," he said, slowly walking over to his brother as he talked before plunging the letter opener into Stefan's side, just as he finished the sentence.

Stefan groaned in pain, bending over and placing his hand on the desk next to him to steady himself as he fell onto his knee.

"This is John Varvados, dude," Damon scowled as he looked down at the blood-stained hole in his shirt from when Stefan threw the letter opened at him, "Dick move," he said, before leaving the room as Stefan pulled the letter opener from his side, groaning in pain as he did so. He took in a few breaths, before turning around to look at the door which Damon just left through, wanting nothing more than to just beat the crap out of his brother for the horrible images that he planted in his head.

"Scum ball," Annabelle heard her aunt's voice as she walked downstairs after getting ready for the day and deciding to wear light jean shorts that only reached down to the top of her thighs, and a coral 3/4-sleeved shirt with a wide neckline that showed her collar bones. The top half of her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and the rest fell down in styled waves. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her brows furrowed in confusion as to whom her aunt was referring to. "Scum bucket,"

"Who are you talking to?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen, only to see her sister already there, eating cereal, and her aunt standing with her back to Elena, leaning against a chair and staring at the TV spitefully.

"Him," Elena answered for Jenna, pointing at the handsome, dark-haired man in his late 20's on the TV screen with her spoon, and Annabelle looked at the two weirdly.

"The news guy?"

"Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell," Jenna said, before turning to her nieces. "Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

"No way," Annabelle's mouth dropped as she looked between the news reporter on the screen and her aunt. "You and him?"

"He's cute," Elena said, Annabelle silently agreeing, and Jenna turned to glare at her.

"He is not cute. There's nothing cute about him," she said.

"Ew," was Annabelle's immediate response, to which Jenna hummed in agreement before turning the TV off as Annabelle chuckled and sat down, placing the box she had in her hands down on the table and opening it to clean the objects in it.

"What are you doing with that?" Elena asked her sister curiously as she and Jenna stepped closer to look at the objects in the box.

"I got it from the deposit box yesterday," Annabelle replied as she took out a golden locket and started polishing it, trying to get all the dust off of it. "Mom told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the Founders' Council for their heritage display,"

"Oh, God, I completely forgot about that," Elena groaned as she sat down, placing herself on the other side of Jenna.

"Yeah, well," Annabelle spoke, only glancing up briefly before returning to the polishing, "I had nothing better to do, so I decided to just get this over with," The truth was, she just wanted something to do to get her mind off of everything that's been going on.

It's been almost two weeks since Mr. Tanner's death, but Annabelle was still shaken. After all, she pretty much predicted the man's death! No one other than Bonnie knew the truth. She didn't tell Elena because she knew that her sister wouldn't believe her even if she did try to explain it to her. She didn't tell Caroline because the blonde didn't believe in any of the witch stuff, not to mention she spent most of her time with Damon. She didn't tell Jeremy, because he was more often out of the house than in, either chasing after Vicki or ditching school. She didn't tell Jenna, because she didn't want to trouble the strawberry blonde, seeing as the young woman already had enough to worry about while taking care of three teenagers. And she didn't tell Matt, because he is still too heartbroken to worry him with any of this. Bonnie was the only one who knew, and still it was only because the Bennett girl was going through the same thing. The two girls were both terrified, and had trouble leaving their homes the first day or two after Mr. Tanner's death. The two friends sought comfort in each other, and Annabelle believed that their bond of friendship only grew stronger because of what was happening to them. Now, there was no one Annabelle trusted more than Bonnie, and there was no one Bonnie trusted more than Annabelle.

"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?" Jenna asked, taking out a beautiful, quite old ring from the box.

"Originally, it was actually Great-Great-Grandma Mary's wedding ring," Annabelle said, and both Jenna and Elena hummed in thought, just as Jeremy entered the kitchen.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth?" he asked as he grabbed a golden pocket watch out of the box, a small smirk forming on his lips as he looked at his older sister jokingly. "You know, like on eBay?"

"You're not gonna find out," Elena snapped, pulling the watch out of his hand as Annabelle chuckled quietly, knowing that her little brother was just joking.

"That stuff is Mom and Dad's. You can't just give it away," Jeremy frowned at his older sister as he walked further into the kitchen, and Annabelle sighed.

"I'm not giving it away," she said gently. "It's called a loan, Jeremy," Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Elena got up to open the door, seeing as Jeremy was going to make himself breakfast, Jenna was finishing her tea, and Annabelle was busy cleaning the objects for the heritage display.

Elena opened the door, and felt a smile grow on her lips as she came face-to-face with Stefan, who smiled at her.

"Hi," he greeted, and she grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside before pushing the door closed. She quickly glanced over her shoulder, wanting to make sure that her family wasn't aware of what was going on, before pulling Stefan's face down to place her lips on his and give him a sweet kiss. After a second of them being in their own world, Elena pulled away and grinned at her boyfriend.

"Hi," she said quietly, and Stefan smiled before placing his lips on hers again.

After a moment of kissing, the two were so lost in each other that they didn't hear, feel, or see anything else, so they were quite surprised when there was a sound of someone clearing their throat loudly to gain their attention.

"Oh, God, Anna!" Elena exclaimed, quickly pulling away from Stefan as she looked at her sister, who was trying very hard not to laugh as she stared at the two, "What are you doing here?" Elena asked after clearing her throat uncomfortably, making Annabelle raise her eyebrows in amusement.

"This is my house too, you know," she said, and Elena mentally slapped herself, "I wanted to see who was at the door and what was taking you so long. Now I know," Annabelle smirked, making Elena glare at her. Annabelle choked back a laugh at how flustered the two in front of her looked, before bringing her gaze onto Stefan, giving him a smile. "Hello, Stefan,"

"Hi," he said sheepishly, not too happy that he was caught nearly making out with Elena by her sister, but very much happy that Annabelle was now talking to him, smiling at him, and comfortable around him.

"You're taking Damon to the Founders' Party?" Bonnie asked Caroline in disbelief as they walked into the Grill. "What about me?"

"Go with Elena," Caroline said simply.

"She's asking Stefan," Bonnie said as they both sat down at a table.

"Well, then go with Anna,"

"I don't even know if she's going!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Okay, go by yourself," Caroline said, and Bonnie gave her a look.

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically. "What about your mom? Is she okay with you bringing Damon?"

"And I'm supposed to care why?"

"He's older, sexy danger guy,"

"'Older, sexy danger guy'?" Caroline repeated, "What, is that an official witch Twitter tweet?" she mocked.

"No more witch jokes, okay?" Bonnie nearly begged, "That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked," she said, before murmuring to herself quietly, "And not just me,"

"Okay," Caroline surrendered, silently thinking that her friend might be getting off the sanity rails. "And Damon's not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major, deep-rooted drama.

"Like...?" Bonnie questioned, her interested sparked, and Caroline bit her lip, looking unsure.

"Yeah, I'm not really supposed to say anything," she said, and Bonnie gave her a look.

"Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?"

"Okay," Caroline gave in. "But you can't tell Elena. Or Annabelle,"

"No,"

Jeremy made his way downstairs as the Gilberts' doorbell rang. He opened the door, about to greet whoever was at the door, but quickly changed his mind as he saw the person on his threshold and went to slam the door in Tyler's face, only to be stopped by his hand.

"I'm here for my mom," Tyler said. "I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff,"

"Right here," Annabelle came out of the kitchen, the box with the objects that Mrs. Lockwood wanted in her hands. Jeremy stepped out of his sister's way to allow her to stand closer to Tyler as she proceeded to hand him the box, only to stop halfway, "Please be careful," she pleaded as she finally handed Tyler the box.

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick," Jeremy snapped.

"Hey," Annabelle scolded as she looked between the two. "Not now, okay, guys? Please?"

"I'm fine. He's just being a punk," Tyler said nonchalantly.

"I got your punk," Jeremy retorted, and Annabelle sighed.

"Look, Tyler, maybe you should go. Tell your mom Elena and I will see her tonight," she said, before giving the Lockwood a smile and turning around to head back into the kitchen, where Elena and Bonnie were waiting for her.

"Delicate Flower vs. Naughty Vixen," Bonnie said as she inspected the two bottles of nail polish just as Annabelle entered the kitchen.

"Tough call," she said to her sister, who was sitting beside Bonnie, who hummed.

"Can we mix them?" Elena asked.

"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date," Bonnie grinned at her friend teasingly. "You seem happy-ish,"

"I am," Elena replied as Annabelle quickly grabbed a bottle of polish remover before making her way to the table where the two girls were sitting and planting herself on the chair on Bonnie's other side. "Ish. Tonight is going to be a good night, "Elena announced happily, before looking straight at Bonnie. "But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door,"

"What if I tell you in the morning?" Bonnie suggested, making Annabelle look at her curiously. "I don't want to ruin the night,"

"Bonnie, out with it," Elena ordered sternly.

"Okay," Bonnie succumbed, before looking at the two sisters. "But it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed," Elena and Annabelle both nodded, silently promising her that whatever she tells them will stay a secret, and Bonnie sighed. "Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story,"

"Uh-huh," Elena nodded, now fully paying attention.

"Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?" Bonnie asked, looking between the two girls, and Elena shook her head.

"I know that she died, but before that both Stefan and Damon dated her and that's why they have issues," Annabelle said, and Elena looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, wondering how Annabelle knows more about Stefan's history than she does.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon," Bonnie said. "And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine, he filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon,"

"That sounds like only one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's," Annabelle said, not willing to believe that Stefan could've done things like that. It's true, she didn't know him, but for the short time that she had she grew to genuinely like the Salvatore, even if she still wasn't fully comfortable around him. But the idea of Stefan doing something like Bonnie described just seemed utterly ridiculous.

"I just wanted you both to know," Bonnie said softly, looking mostly at Elena but glancing at Annabelle in the process, knowing very well that Annabelle and Stefan were on their way to becoming friends.

"Well, his past relationships are none of my business," Elena said, though her sister and best friend could both easily tell that she was now feeling suspicious of Stefan's back story.

"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar," Bonnie said, painting her nails.

"Bonnie," Annabelle scolded, only to receive a mere shrug in reply.

"That would be your business," Bonnie finished her sentence, looking at Elena.

"Stefan is none of those things," Elena shook her head.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Bonnie asked, looking up from her nails, and Elena opened her mouth, only to close it as she realized that she, indeed, does not.

Bonnie, Annabelle, and Elena all stood in front of the mirror in Annabelle and Jenna's bathroom, one curling her hair, one putting on blush, and one putting on mascara, getting ready for the Founders' Party, just as the home telephone in Annabelle's room rang. The younger Gilbert twin quickly put down her brush and jogged to her room, grabbing the phone with practiced ease.

"Hello?" she answered, before smiling, "Hi, Mrs. Lockwood," she said, and Bonnie and Elena both stopped what they were doing to watch her speak through the phone to the mayor's wife, watching as her brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?... It is? Are you sure? 'Cause I saw it..." she trailed off as realization crossed her face, making Bonnie and Elena share a confused look, "Uh, you know what? Let me check... Mm-hmm... Yeah, I'll try to find it... Okay. Bye," she finished before putting the phone down on her bed and walking out the door.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie called as she and Elena followed her down the hallway. Elena especially grew confused as she saw her sister enter Jeremy's room.

Annabelle quickly walked over to Jeremy, who was sitting with his feet on his desk as he played a video game, and pulled his headphones off his head. Jeremy looked up in surprise, and furrowed his brows in curiosity as he saw his sister standing above him, before sighing in annoyance as he also saw Elena enter.

"God, what now?" he groaned.

"The pocket watch," Annabelle simply replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Where is it?"

"What watch?" Jeremy asked, and Elena stepped closer to the two, slowly understanding what was going on.

"The one from Mom's box," Annabelle replied, and realization dawned on Elena.

"The one you stole," she realized, before crossing her arms over her chest and looking down at Jeremy.

"Look, Jer, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list. She can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it," Annabelle explained.

"Maybe she did," Jeremy said. "Maybe, uh, maybe Tyler took it,"

"Oh, don't even play that card," Elena snapped, and Annabelle sighed. Why can Elena never just let her deal with Jeremy before snapping at him and making him angry, which also results in him spending more time around Vicki and taking more drugs. "Jeremy, you took it. If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?"

"Elena!" Annabelle hissed, wanting nothing more than to actually slap her sister for the way she just spoke to Jeremy.

"Screw you," Jeremy snapped at Elena, before standing up and walking over to one of his shelves, kneeling on the floor for a minute before taking the missing pocket watch out of one of his hiding spots, "I would never sell this, okay?" he turned to Elena, his voice shaking with anger, which Annabelle didn't blame him for at all. Elena crossed the line.

"Then why did you take it?" Elena asked, her voice clearly stating that she didn't believe their brother, which made Annabelle grit her teeth so that she wouldn't say anything she would later regret.

"'Cause it's supposed to be mine," Jeremy said, his voice now soft and vulnerable, "Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" he snapped, before shoving past Elena and handing the watch to Annabelle, who stared at their sister the entire time.

"And he was going to give it to you," Annabelle realized as she stared at Elena the entire time, who turned around with a guilty look on her face. But, frankly, Annabelle didn't care that Elena felt guilty. She crossed the line with what she said to Jeremy, and Annabelle was not going to pretend that it was nothing.

"Yeah," Jeremy said as he sat back down in his chair.

"Look, Jeremy, it's still yours, okay?" Elena said, trying to amend herself. "Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood, what do you want me to do?"

"Just get out," Jeremy snapped, and Elena sighed as she looked at him sadly, before leaving her brother's room.

Annabelle made her way as if to follow Elena, but as she reached the door, she closed it and turned around to face her younger brother.

"She's right, you know," she said, and Jeremy simply looked at his computer. It wasn't enough that Elena said all those things to him, now Annabelle was going to take from him one of the few things he has left of their dad? "But then again, it was Mom who promised Mrs. Lockwood, not me," as soon as the words left Annabelle's lips, Jeremy felt his own pull up in a grin as he looked up at his sister, who came over to stand above him as she smiled at him, "I did say I'll try to find it, and I did. I never said I'll bring it to her once I find it, though," she said, and smiled as Jeremy got up from his chair and strode over to her before pulling her into a hug, which she gladly returned, "But do me a favor!" she pleaded, and he pulled away to look at her curiously, "Don't tell Elena," she smirked, and Jeremy grinned at his sister as she placed the pocket watch in his hand, before hugging her tightly again, "Okay, I have to get ready for he party," she said as she pulled away, and Jeremy nodded, letting go of his sister as she gave him one last smile before leaving his room.

"Anna. There you are," Bonnie smiled as the younger Gilbert girl walked back into her bathroom, and Annabelle gave her a smile before stopping beside Elena.

"What you said to him was way over the line," she hissed, and Elena opened her mouth to defend herself, but Annabelle was already gone as she left the bathroom and went to her room.

"I'm not trying to be pushy, but are you sure you're not taking this a bit too far?" Bonnie asked her best friend as they walked up the steps of the Lockwood Mansion, following everyone else who showed up for the Founders' Party, both now dressed up with their hair styled. Annabelle's dress was light beige with white floral designs and a white belt around her waist. The dress was modest, with the top tight around her slim waist and the bottom, below the belt, loose, sleeves of 3/4 length, and skirt going down to her mid thighs. The top of her hair was pinned back with a few loose strands brushing against the sides of her face, while the rest of her hair fell down in styled curls.

"I didn't say I will hate her for all eternity, Bonnie," Annabelle rolled her eyes, "But someone has to tell Elena that the way she treats Jeremy is unfair, and since it didn't look like anyone was actually gonna do it, I took it upon myself. Besides, I'm sick of her attitude towards him," she said as they reached the Lockwoods' threshold and stopped, waiting politely to be invited in.

"Okay," Bonnie succumbed, just as Annabelle's eyes fell on the mayor's wife.

"Hi, Mrs. Lockwood," she called, and the older woman turned around, smiling brightly as she walked up to the two teenagers.

"Annabelle," Mrs. Lockwood grinned as she pulled the young brunette into a hug, which Annabelle returned kindly, "Oh, you look stunning," Mrs. Lockwood said as she pulled away, holding the Gilbert girl at arm length.

"Thank you," Annabelle chuckled, and Mrs. Lockwood gave her one more smile before turning to look at Bonnie.

"Bonnie," she smiled, also pulling the girl into a hug, which Bonnie returned a bit awkwardly while Annabelle tried not to laugh, "Well, don't just stand there, girls. Come in," Mrs. Lockwood smiled, pulling away from Bonnie, and Annabelle gave her a smile in thanks as she and Bonnie entered the mayor's house, "Enjoy," the mayor's wife smiled, before walking away as Annabelle gave her a wave with a smile, while Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Stop it," Annabelle rolled her eyes, looking over at her friend with a smile.

"I didn't do anything," Bonnie protested, knowing that Annabelle couldn't have seen her since she was still looking off in the distance.

"Yes, you did," Annabelle said, and Bonnie opened her mouth to respond but Annabelle beat her to it, "Don't even bother. I know you to well, Bonnie Bennett," she smiled, making Bonnie roll her eyes but smile all the same.

"Are you sure you wanna go there?" Bonnie asked her friend in concern, and Annabelle took a deep breath.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Okay," Bonnie nodded with a gentle smile, and Annabelle smiled back before they made their way down the hallways of the Lockwood Mansion, heading towards the room that held the Heritage Display.

"...Is that Damon Salvatore?" the girls heard Elena's voice from the side of the room where they were headed.

"I'll be right back," Annabelle murmured quietly to Bonnie, who nodded, thinking that Annabelle might have decided to either apologize or at least talk to Elena.

"And Stefan Salvatore?" Elena's voice was laced with confusion, and Annabelle walked over, only to see her looking at the original guest registry from the very first Founders' Party, with Stefan beside her. Annabelle's brows furrowed as she also glanced at the registry, and saw both of the Salvatore brothers' names on it.

"The original Salvatore brothers," came a voice from behind her, and she, along with Stefan and Elena, who just now noticed her sister was standing beside them, turned around, only to see Damon walking over to the three of them, "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually," he said, and Annabelle's brows furrowed a bit when she didn't see Caroline anywhere nearby, even though she was completely certain that her blonde best friend was being accompanied by Damon.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan spoke up, and Damon stared at his brother, almost as if daring him to say more.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena said sweetly, making Damon smirk at his brother, while Annabelle refrained herself from rolling her eyes.

"Where's Caroline?" she quickly turned to Damon, still not seeing her best friend anywhere.

"She went to dance with one of your friends," the Salvatore replied smoothly, before getting an almost mischievous twinkle in his eye as he looked at his brother with a smirk. "In fact, why don't you and Belle here go join in on the dance floor?"

"I don't really dance," Stefan said as Annabelle looked at Damon in shock, while Elena felt jealousy building up inside her, but also a bit of worry as she deduced that Damon wanted to talk to her. Alone.

"Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all," Damon smirked, and Annabelle felt another set of tension rising up between the two brothers.

"Well, alright then," she sighed, wanting nothing more than to escape the tension, not to mention Damon, who was, once again, standing too close for her liking, "Shall we?" she asked, holding her hand out to Stefan, making Damon smirk at his brother while Elena glared at her sister, who decided to ignore her for the time being, simply wishing to get as far away from the older Salvatore as possible.

Stefan looked down at her and gave her a small smile, as if understanding that she wanted to get away, and grabbed her hand, much to Elena's displeasure, and lead her out of the room, leaving their siblings to watch them leave. One with a smirk, one with a glare.

"I'm sorry about this," Annabelle apologized to Stefan once they reached the dance floor. "I just... Your brother makes me a bit uncomfortable,"

"Don't worry about it," Stefan gave her a smile as he placed his right hand on her waist, holding her right hand with his other one as she put her left hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" she asked as they started dancing to the slow melody, still feeling a bit guilty and knowing all too well that Elena will be quite mad at her for 'stealing her date'.

"I'm sure," Stefan assured her, "Trust me, I know the kind of effect my brother has on people," he said, and Annabelle gave him a smile, silently thanking him for being so considerate, as he spun her around unexpectedly, making her giggle quietly, which made him smile.

The two danced for a few more minutes in a comfortable silence, before Annabelle was startled by a voice behind her.

"Hey," came a bubbly voice, and Annabelle and Stefan stopped dancing as the Gilbert girl turned around, only to see Caroline standing behind her.

"Hey," she replied, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Where were you?"

"Oh, just dancing with Daniel," Caroline replied nonchalantly.

"Who?" Annabelle asked, feeling completely clueless.

"You know, Daniel," Caroline repeated, and Annabelle shook her head, "Tall, dark hair, amazing eyes..." she trailed off as Annabelle continued to stare at her blankly, "Oh, never mind. Damon wouldn't dance with me, so I asked Daniel," Caroline explained, and Annabelle nodded in understanding. "So... what are you two doing?"

"Oh, uh, we were just dancing," Annabelle replied as Stefan gave Caroline a small, polite smile in greeting.

"You were... dancing," Caroline repeated slowly, looking them over as if searching for a sign of something, and Annabelle simply nodded, a bit afraid of where Caroline was going.

"Uh, would you two like some?" Stefan asked, taking two glasses of champagne off of a tray that one of the waiters was carrying around.

"Uh, no, thank you," Annabelle managed to give him a small smile, "I don't really drink much these days," she said, and Caroline gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing fully well why Annabelle hated drinking, before taking a glass from Stefan's hand.

"Just tell me if you see my mom," she said, before taking a sip.

"What'd we miss?" came a voice from behind Stefan, and the three turned around to look at Damon, who walked over to the three with Elena by his side.

"We were just chatting," Stefan replied, before holding his glass out to Damon. "Drink, Damon?"

"No, thanks, I'll pass," Damon said, and Stefan smiled at him somewhat tightly, making Annabelle and Elena look between the two curiously.

"Stefan. Do you have another dance in you?" Elena finally spoke up, making Stefan break his eye-contact with Damon.

"Absolutely," he smiled, before putting the glass of champagne on the table beside them and taking her hand, leading her off to the dance floor.

"Annabelle," came another voice from the side, and Annabelle turned around, only to see Mrs. Lockwood gesturing for her to join her a few feet away.

"Mrs. Lockwood," Annabelle smiled at the woman once she walked up to her, leaving Caroline and Damon alone.

"There you are," Mrs. Lockwood smiled. "I noticed the watch still isn't in the collection,"

"Oh," Annabelle's eyes widened in realization, seeing as she completely forgot about that pocket watch, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood, I couldn't find it. I think it might still be packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere," she lied.

"I see," Mrs. Lockwood smiled a bit tightly. "Well, please let me know if you do find it,"

"Of course," Annabelle nodded with a smile, and Mrs. Lockwood returned it before walking away, while Annabelle released a quiet sigh of relief.

After finally visiting the Heritage Display like she intended to from the beginning of the party, Annabelle wandered around the Lockwood Mansion a little before arriving at the dining room, and simply looking around. At the mayor's house even the dining room looked like from a fairy tale.

"Look around," Annabelle heard a hushed voice and turned around, only to see Mrs. Lockwood standing by the dining table with one of the waiters, "What's missing? The flames, the candles, why aren't they lit?" she hissed quietly, clearly frustrated as the waiter, who looked no older than early 20's, looked around helplessly, "There's matches in the kitchen," Mrs. Lockwood said, and the waiter nodded, before quickly walking out of the room, rolling his eyes as soon as he turned around, with the mayor's wife following him, shaking her head and sighing in irritation but giving Annabelle a smile as she passed her.

"Wow," Annabelle whispered to herself, before shaking her head and deciding to leave the dining room as to not get scolded as well if anything, anything at all, happened while she was there alone, seeing how important even the smallest details are to Mrs. Lockwood. That's probably the reason why she and Caroline were always on such good terms, Annabelle thought to herself with a quiet chuckle as she turned around, about to leave the room, when she suddenly stopped as a small, bright glow caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, Annabelle turned her head to the side, only for her eyes to widen as she saw the lit candle on the wall stand, the flame bright and full. What the hell? Annabelle thought, knowing fully well that none of candles in that room were lit only a second ago.

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head, and she took in a deep breath as she slowly turned around, only to nearly stagger backwards as she saw the now brightly lit room before her, with every single candle, whether on the table, the walls, or the chandelier, now burning.

"Anna! Oh, thank God, I was looking everywhere for you," Annabelle recognized the relieved voice behind her as Bonnie's, but didn't have the strength to turn around as she continued to stare at the candles, "Listen, I don't know what's happening to me. I just..." Bonnie lowered her voice, "I just lit a candle. By looking at it!" she hissed, her voice shaking.

"Yeah?" Annabelle answered weakly, her voice also shaking as she continued to stare at the candles surrounding them. "Well, join the club,"

"God, where is she?" Annabelle whispered to herself as she walked around the Lockwood Mansion grounds, looking for her best friend. After calming down about the candle-lighting incident, she and Bonnie had a small talk, each one telling the other what happened to them that night. They had a while to calm down, before going their separate ways, Bonnie deciding to get another drink and Annabelle deciding to find Caroline, hoping that the blonde's bubbly attitude would take all her worries away, at least for a little while. However, she's been looking for over 15 minutes, and still couldn't find her best friend anywhere.

After walking around for a few more minutes, Annabelle finally saw the familiar silhouette of her best friend on the grounds by the dance floor, and breathed a sigh or relief.

"Caroline?" she called. "Oh, thank God, I was looking everywhere for you!" she exclaimed as she finally reached the blonde, only then noticing the stiffness in her posture, "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Mm-hmm, I'm fine," Caroline said shakily, breathing heavily, turning around to look at her best friend while placing a hand over her chest.

"Caroline..." Annabelle trailed off as she noticed the blonde shaking.

"I'm fine," Caroline said again, her voice cracking as she started to breathe even more heavily, nearly hyperventilating.

"Care..."

"I'm fine," Caroline tried again, but couldn't control her breathing at that point at all.

"Hey, come here," Annabelle murmured, seeing that her best friend was about to completely break down as she started sobbing into Annabelle's shoulder, "Shh, you're okay. Everything's gonna be okay," Annabelle tried to calm Caroline down, letting her cry for as long as she needed to, silently promising that she will always be there for her.

I did what I had to do. To protect Elena. To protect Annabelle. To protect everyone. Stefan threw Damon on the ground in the cell in the basement of the boarding house, before locking the door shut. Yes, Damon, the headline reads, 'Deadly Beast Captured. All is Well in Mystic Falls.'

A/N: I hope you all liked the chapter! I tried to to mix the events of the episode with Annabelle's interactions with almost every single one of the characters, as well as her internal battles and personal issues, so I hope I managed.

I hope there wasn't too much of Elena bashing in this chapter. Annabelle is just really sick of Elena's attitude towards their brother, because Jeremy has been through just as much pain as them, if not more, and Elena is just always so hard on him that it makes my blood boil, so think how Annabelle would feel. I, personally, really hate Elena. I much prefer Bonnie and Caroline, especially Caroline, simply because I feel like they're the ones who grew and matured the most throughout the show, while Elena just remained a selfish, and quite spoiled, brat, who thinks that everyone will sacrifice everything to save her 'precious' life. Also, if you have any suggestions on who should be Annabelle's love interest, please let me know. I already have everything planned out, but if someone jumps out with something super good, I might just change my mind.

By the way, sorry for the lack of romance, but I, personally, believe in slowly-developing relationships a lot more than I believe in 'love at first sight', so I think I also want to insert that into the story.

Anyways, I hope you all liked the chapter, and please don't forget to review!