Family Ties

I woke the next morning feeling better than I had the night before. I wandered downstairs to see Jenna calling the TV names.

"Scumball. Scumbucket."

"Who are you talking to?" Elena asked.

"Him." Jenna answered.

"The news guy?" I asked groggily, glancing at the TV.

"Also known as Logan Scumfell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Jenna asked us.

"Ohhh, no way! You and him?" Elena chuckled. "He's cute." She added.

"He looks like a douche." I corrected, following her to the kitchen table.

"Thank you, Ashlee." Jenna sided with me. "He is not cute, there is nothing cute about him." She grumbled, turning the TV off. I sat down and rested my head on the smooth table top.

"What are you doing with that?" Jenna asked.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had said to Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their heritage display." Elena replied, polishing an old pocket watch.

"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?" Jenna asked, holding up a pretty little ring.

"Originally, it was Great Great Grandma Mary's wedding ring." Elena replied. Jeremy leaned over me and grabbed a piece that Elena had already polished.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth, you know, like on eBay?" Jer asked.

"You're not gonna find out." Elena said, disapprovingly, grabbing the piece from Jeremy's hands.

"That stuff is Mom and Dad's, you can't just give it away." Jer protested.

"I'm not giving it away; it's called a loan, Jeremy."

"You're the one that wanted to sell it on eBay." I pointed out as the doorbell rang. Elena looked at me, and I just stared back. "What?"

"Can you get the door?"

"It's for you, you do it." I replied without thinking. She looked at me weird before getting up and heading towards the front door. A moment later, I heard her kissing someone in the hallway. I smirked.

"HI STEFAN!" I yelled. I heard Elena sigh, before Stefan yelled back.

"HI ASHLEE!"

"YOU CAN GO BACK TO HAVING FACE SEX WITH MY SISTER NOW!"

"Ashlee!" I heard Elena shriek. Jeremy chuckled from the fridge and Jenna was fighting off giggles.

"THANK YOU ASHLEE!" Stefan yelled back before I heard footsteps heading up the stairs.

A while later, I was sitting in the Mystic Grill, drinking water, when Caroline and Bonnie walked through, talking. They spotted me and headed towards my table.

"You're taking Damon to the Founder's party? What about me?" Bonnie shrieked.

"Go with Elena." Caroline shrugged.

"She's asking Stefan." Bonnie replied.

"Asked Stefan. This morning. He agreed." I corrected.

"Okay, go with Ashlee."

"Doesn't bother me, I don't have a date yet." I replied.

"Thank you, Ashlee." Bonnie smiled at me, then turned back to Caroline. "Anyway, what does your mom think about you bringing Damon?"

"And I'm supposed to care, why?" Caroline asked.

"He's older, sexy danger guy."

"Older, sexy danger guy? What is that, an official witch twitter tweet?"

"No more witch jokes, okay? That whole Mr. Tanner death prediction thing has me freaked."

"Okay." Caroline looked down. "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?" I asked, interested.

"I'm really not supposed to say anything."

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

"Yeah, like when I confided in you about my crush on Tyler and you told the whole school." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that worked out well! You two ended up dating!" Caroline defended herself.

"True." I shrugged.

"Spill." Bonnie prompted.

"Okay. But you can't tell Elena. Either of you." She looked at me.

"Don't worry about me. I don't feel like listening anymore." I smirked, getting up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bonnie. My place beforehand?" Bonnie smiled and nodded. I turned and walked away.

I spotted Jeremy and headed over to him. I sat down next to him with my water and looked where he was. Tyler was asking Vicky to the Founder's party.

"Stop with the longing stares." I nudged Jer's shoulder and smiled softly. He glared at me.

"Shut up." He growled, looking down.

"Daaaaayum, who shit in your cereal this morning?" I leaned back and stared at him.

"You realize you had to ask him right? You figure if you dress up like a respectable young lady, he'll finally treat you like one?" Jeremy asked Vicky.

"Jeremy!" I gasped.

"Screw you, Jeremy."

"You know you're making the wrong choice, yet you make it anyway." He paused. "It's sad." She snorted in response then walked away.

"I LOVE YOU, VICK!" I shouted after her.

"LOVE YOU TOO, ASH!" She shouted back.

-VD:AG-

That afternoon, I was sneaking some vodka out of Jenna's stash and putting it in my flask when the doorbell rang. I put the alcohol away and hid the flask in a drawer before going to answer it. Jeremy beat me to it and opened the door, before trying to shut it again. The person at the door pushed it open and said,

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

"It's right here." Elena said, coming from the living room. She handed it to Tyler. "Please be careful."

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

"Hey, not now, ok guys, please." I tried to intervene, coming up behind Jeremy and Elena.

"I'm fine, he's just being a punk."

"I got your punk." Jeremy shot back.

"Here, Tyler, come with me, there's something I wanted to talk to you about." I pushed between Elena and Jeremy and ushered Tyler further outside.

"Hey," Tyler turned to Jeremy one last time. "Would it make a difference if I told you I actually liked Vicky?"

"Not even if you meant it." Jeremy replied, shutting the door. Tyler sighed, turning to me. I began to turn to close the door.

"Hey, Gilbert!" I turned around. "Wanna come hang out for a bit? Watch a movie?" Tyler asked.

"Sure." I smiled and walked with him to his truck.

-VD:AG-

"How do you, of all people, like this movie?" I asked Tyler, sitting up from where I had been leaning against him. We were sitting on the floor of his basement theater slash game room watching Tyler's favorite movie, sipping on some wine that he had snuck out of his parent's wine cellar.

"Hey! Satine is amazing! Her and Christian's romance is epic!" Tyler defended himself. I laughed and sang along with the song for a bit until Tyler's lips cut me off. I began laughing as he kissed me, pushing me down onto my back on the floor.

"What?" I laughed.

"Don't quit your day job to begin a singing career." Tyler smirked down at me. "You won't get anywhere."

"Hey!" I smacked his chest, pretending to be offended. "I am a very good singer, thank you very much!" He laughed in return.

"I know, I know, that's how you won the fourth grade karaoke contest!" he mocked me.

"And I still have the trophy to prove it!" I smirked, proud of myself.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't get full of yourself now, Gilbert." Tyler chuckled.

"Would I do that? I mean, I am amazing and everything but really, would I do that?" I smiled back and he shook his head at me before leaning down to try to press his lips to mine. I placed my hand in his way. He looked at me, confused.

"No, Tyler. I don't want to just mess around anymore, okay?" I sighed internally, while watching his face.

"I understand, Ash. Friends?"

"Friends." I smiled. "Thank you, Ty."

A few hours later, I was curled up against his side, falling asleep. He had changed the movie from Moulin Rouge to The Princess Bride and we had polished off the wine, making both of us a bit loopy.

"Where did you get all these girly movies? I don't remember you having them when we were dating." I mumbled sleepily.

"I got them when your parents died, thinking you'd need an escape. Then you dumped me and I put them away." He replied, playing with my hair.

I watched as the farm boy fought off the huge rats in the forest before completely falling asleep.

-VD:AG-

The next morning, I woke and went to move, but hit a body instead. I opened my eyes to see Tyler passed out next to me. I smiled and looked around. We were in his room, curled up on his bed.

'He must have carried me up here after I fell asleep.' I thought. I smiled and turned, curling into his side. I rested my head on his chest and fell back asleep.

"Ashlee." A voice woke me a while later.

"Mmmm?" I asked sleepily.

"You're cute when you're sleepy." Tyler chuckled, looking down at me from where he was propped up on one arm next to me.

"I fell asleep on you last night."

"Its fine, I was getting tired then as well. I turned to ask you if you wanted to stay the night, but you were already passed out in my lap. So I just carried you upstairs, texted Jenna with your phone to tell her that you were staying at Caroline's, then crawled in next to you. Hope you don't mind."

"Why would I mind? You're officially awesome. Welcome to the club." I smirked. "Population, two." Tyler laughed.

"I feel so honored. Do I get a plaque or at least a membership card? I need proof you know." We both laughed.

I rolled out of the bed and grabbed my shoes.

"I should get going, Bonnie will be at my place soon and I want to get a head start on my hair for tonight."

"Alright." Tyler smiled at me. "Hey, do you want to come with me to visit Fae tomorrow? She invited me to a party."

"Do you even need to ask? You know I love Fae!" I smiled. He laughed.

"Alright! Stay over again if you want, then we can leave early and be there by lunch."

"You got it." I smiled and jogged out the door.

I breathed deeply as I walked out the door. It was a gorgeous day out, so I didn't even mind that I had no ride back. I could run it.

-VD:AG-

Half an hour later I opened the door to my house and walked in, out of breath. I had decided to run all the way from Tyler's to mine, which alerted me to exactly how out of shape I was.

Elena came down the stairs as I shut the door. She looked me over and said,

"You didn't stay at Caroline's, did you?" She asked as Bonnie came down the stairs behind her.

"What took you so long?" Bonnie asked. "Why are you all sweaty?"

Elena grabbed my face and stared at my eyes.

"Hey, hey!" I ripped my face out of her hands. "I'm not on drugs, chill."

"Caroline told us that you didn't stay with her last night."

"So you're checking up on me now?" I screeched. "Why the hell can't you let me live my life, Elena? It's mine, not yours, so leave me alone!"

"You're my little sister, I have to look out for you." She yelled back before her voice softened. "It's what Mom and Dad would have wanted me to do."

"Mom and Dad are dead. Get over it. You're not them. You're you, so be you." I growled before leaving Elena in tears and heading upstairs, slamming the bathroom door and turning the shower on.

"Not now, Jer." I yelled. The door to his room opened and he poked his head into the bathroom.

"How'd you know? I had my hand up to knock when you yelled at me."

"I just don't feel like talking okay? Can I take my shower please?" I sighed, exasperated. He nodded and backed out, closing the door gently behind him. I could tell he was hurt, but I was too tired to care.

I climbed in the shower, leaving my clothes piled on the floor. I sighed, the feeling of the hot water running over me instantly calming me. I ran my hands through my hair and closed my eyes.

How could I guess where people were and when they were near? This was beginning to freak me out, but also made me curious to see what else I could do. So I closed my eyes, and focused. Decorating ran through my mind when I thought of Tyler. Hurt and tired was what came to mind when I thought of Jeremy. Crying came when I thought of Elena, and judgy when I thought of Bonnie.

Something was happening to me, and I had no idea what it was.

-VD:AG-

I was in Jeremy's room a while later, hanging out with him while I did my hair. I was already in my dress, a pretty knee length dark green dress that had a corset top and a flowy skirt that started at my hips. It was my newest purchase, Elena having dragged me out shopping weeks ago with Caroline and Bonnie, thinking it would be good therapy, and girl bonding. I snuck out of the group and got high in one of the bathrooms instead, but not before finding the dress. Elena found me an hour later, high as a kite, being held in the security office. They wouldn't let me back in for a month.

I looked into the mirror I had brought into his room and winced as the curling iron caught my finger.

"Burn yourself again?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah." I sighed. "Mom could always do my hair just how I imagined it. I'm lucky I haven't burned all my fingers off yet." Jeremy chuckled.

Suddenly, Elena stormed into the room and knocked Jeremy's headphones back off his head.

"Ah, god, what now?" Jeremy asked, reaching for his headphones.

"The pocket watch. Where is it?" Elena demanded.

"Wh-what watch?" Jeremy asked as he untangled himself from the headphone cords.

"The one you stole from mom's box. Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy, and she thinks she's the one who lost it."

"Well maybe she did. Maybe, uh, Tyler took it."

"Don't even play that card. You took it. If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Elena asked. I rolled my eyes. There she goes, being judgy again.

"Screw you." Jeremy looked down at her as he got up. He went over to his bookshelf and grabbed it. "I would never sell this, okay?" I could sense that he was hurt by her accusations.

"Then why did you take it?" Elena asked.

"Because it's supposed to be mine." Jeremy replied. "Dad said it goes to the first born son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" Jeremy slapped the watch into Elena's hand and sat back down.

"And he was going to give it to you." Elena stated.

"Yeah."

"Look, Jeremy," Elena said, turning around in the doorway as she left. "It's still yours okay? Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood. What do you want me to do?"

"Just take it and get out." Jeremy said coldly, tired of her.

She walked out and I turned to Jeremy. He had put his headphones back on, and I could tell that he didn't want to talk. So I turned back to my hair.

"Ouch!" I jumped. I could see Jeremy laughing in the mirror. "Shut up before I burn you with this!" I yelled at him, which only made him laugh more.

-VD:AG-

A few hours later, I walked up to the Lockwood mansion with Bonnie. I had finally gotten my hair into the beachy waves that I had wanted, after nearly burning all of my fingers. I had red marks on most of them, showing how clumsy I was with hair tools. We stood in line for a good half hour to be greeted by the Mayor and his wife.

'Vicky must already be here.' I figured. I turned to Bonnie, but found that she had already ditched me, seeing Elena and Stefan walk in. I shrugged and headed for the drinks. I was on my third champagne when I ran into Vicky and Tyler. They were crossing over the patio to head into the gardens.

"Ashlee!" Vicky squealed, giving me a hug.

"Hey there, Vick!" I smiled and hugged her back, the alcohol making me not care that she was with Ty at the moment.

"How much have you drank?" She chuckled, obviously smelling it on me.

"Only a little bit." I showed her with my fingers, putting my thumb and index finger close together. Vicky laughed.

"Hey, you wanna dance? Tyler won't." Vicky pouted, looking at Tyler, who just looked uncomfortable. I smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

We linked arms and ran to the dance floor. We danced for a few songs before she went off to find Tyler again. I spotted Caroline dancing with Stefan on the other side of the dance floor, so I quickly moved back inside, in hopes of not being seen by them and finding more drinks.

Luckily, the bartender wasn't ID-ing, so I ordered a whiskey sour and sat down at a table, sipping on it. Elena came through a few minutes later, and saw my empty glass. Her face turned angry and she stormed in my direction. I spotted Damon behind her. He spotted my drink as well and held up an imaginary glass in a toast. I held mine up in return and smiled. Somebody knew how to have a good time.

"Ashlee!" She hissed. "You're not supposed to be drinking!"

"Wow, way to be the party police, Elena. What else is there to do at these parties?"

"Socialize! It's a party, go talk to people, have fun!"

"I am having fun, Elena. And if I wanted to go up to people just to have them ask how I'm doing with mom and dad being gone, I would be talking to everyone. Can you please just leave me alone for once?"

"You know what, fine. I'm done with you. If you want to ruin your life, go for it, I don't care anymore. I won't bug you about it anymore." She stormed off. I made a face at her as she walked off and I heard someone laugh. I looked up to see Damon standing next to me.

"What?"

"Is this seat taken?" He asked, gesturing to the seat across from me.

"It is now." I smiled, and he sat down.

"Is she always like that?" He pointed back to Elena.

"Yeah," I sighed. "She never approves of anything I do." I took another sip of my drink, glanced at how much I had left, then swallowed the rest like it was water.

"Well, with the way you're drinking, it looks like you just came for the drinks." Damon pointed out, taking two glasses of wine from a passing waiter. He handed one to me.

"Well, that's pretty much all these parties are good for. I give up talking to people because they just ask how I'm doing with my parents being dead. But I can tell that they don't really care. They're just doing it out of courtesy." I sighed, playing with the stem of the wine glass.

"I know how that feels. Stefan and I have watched every person we've loved die."

"But was it your fault that they died?" I asked him. He looked at me, taken aback.

"No." he said slowly. Tears came to my eyes, the memories painful.

"Excuse me." I whispered as I stood up and moved to walk away. Damon stood as well and grabbed my arm.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." He said and leaned over to look at my face. I nodded, looking up at him and he wiped away a tear that was sliding down my cheek. I smiled and watched as he excused himself to go find Caroline.

I went to the bar and grabbed another drink and took it the bathroom, wanting to be alone for a bit. My mind flew back to the night my parents died…

Flashback

"Elena, come on, lighten up! This party is going to be awesome!" I said excitedly. She laughed. It was the first party I'd ever been legitimately invited to. I'd never been very popular, like Elena.

"Fine, fine, I'll come, but mom and dad aren't going to be happy that we're skipping family night." She replied.

"It'll be one night, they won't care!" I said, just happy that she was coming.

We used to be best friends back then. We'd always double date, her and Matt, and me and Tyler. After our dates, the four of us would always go and hang at the falls, talk and make out until our curfews at one.

Later that night at the party, I was completely wasted, and Elena dragged me out early to get me home. We waited on the side of the road until our parents came. I passed out in the backseat and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital with a concussion, a few scrapes, air tubes running into my mouth and the doctors saying that my parents were dead.

End Flashback

I had just finished my drink when Caroline walked in to touch up her make up. She forced a smile at me, then turned to the mirror. I nodded in return and spun the ice around in my glass. I was about to head out when Elena came in as well. She glanced at me, then said hey to Caroline.

"So how are things with Stefan?" Caroline asked.

"Great, just great." Elena forced a smile and reapplied her lip gloss.

"Really? Then my radar must be off cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes." Caroline replied, putting on her lip gloss. Elena looked at her confused.

"What is that?" She asked Caroline. Caroline turned to look at her and Elena tried to move Caroline's scarf.

"Just, don't." Caroline murmured. But Elena was persistent and grabbed Caroline's scarf, revealing a bite mark.

"Oh my god, Caroline, what happened?"

"Nothing, okay?"

"That is not nothing. Did somebody hurt you?"

"No, okay, it's nothing." Caroline began stumbling over her words. "My mom would kill me."

Elena reached and pulled down Caroline's shawl, revealing another bite. My eyes widened. What was happening to her? My hand instinctively went to my neck, feeling the scar from the animal attack.

"Did Damon hurt you?" Elena gasped.

"No! Of course not. Just leave me alone, okay, Elena? God…" Caroline yelled before walking out, leaving Elena gaping after her. She looked at me, and I put my hands up.

"I'm not getting involved with her kinky love life." I said and walked out.

I grabbed one more drink from the bar before heading outside, hoping for some peace and quiet. I spotted Stefan out by the lake and so I grabbed another drink before heading out to him. I focused on him and sensed sadness and pain.

"You okay?" I asked as I came up behind him. "You radiate sadness."

"Radiate sadness?" He asked.

"Yeah, I've kinda been able to sense what people feel lately, it's weird. Or maybe it's the alcohol…" I looked down at the drinks in my head before offering him one. He smiled softly and took it.

"I'm sure it's not the alcohol." He replied. I took a sip from my drink then looked out over the water. It was a gorgeous night. I glanced back at the party, than heard a small splash. I glanced back. Nothing was moving over the surface of the water, so I glanced down at my drink to see a few ripples hitting the outer edge of my glass. I blew it off as me moving and smiled up at Stefan.

"To boring Founder's parties." I lifted my glass and he chuckled before clinking it on mine. We both took a sip.

"I know that I don't know you very well, but you seem really nice. My sister certainly is smitten. So if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here if you need it." I told him.

"Thank you." Stefan smiled again. I nodded.

"You just seem really sad. And kinda in pain. Like you lost something or someone very close to you. And it's just something that keeps coming back, no matter how hard you try to block it out." He began to look confused. "I'm sorry. It's gotta be the alcohol." I sputtered, weirded out at my own words, and suddenly beginning to feel tired. I yawned. "Good night, Stefan." I could feel his gaze on my back as I walked away, but all I could sense from him now was confusion.

I was so caught up in thinking about why I had said so much to Stefan that I didn't even notice when I ran into Tyler.

"Hey, Ash. You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, just distracted. And kinda tired." I replied, yawning again. I took a swig of my drink. I had kept myself from getting drunk, but kept enough alcohol in me to keep me very buzzed the whole night. He took the drink from me and finished it. I looked around at who was left, and yawned yet again.

"You wanna come upstairs and head to bed?" Tyler asked, and I nodded. I didn't feel like going home, and was too tired to wait for the rest of my family, if they were even still here. I took his outstretched hand and followed him upstairs.

I felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier with each step I took. I tiredly plopped onto Ty's bed and let him pry my heels from my feet. My head sunk to my chest and I closed my eyes. I felt him unzipping my dress and I wearily stood up so that he could get it all the way off. I crawled backwards onto his bed, pushed the covers back and lay down, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.