Chapter 2: O'Brother of Mine

"Does it really have to be Caroline?" I asked as I munched on another deliciously greasy french fry. The Grill was mostly dead so I had decided to venture to the bar and restaurant for a late lunch and it just so happened to be the same place Damon had decided to be. So the two of us found ourselves occupying a booth as we conversed over the happenings in Mystic Falls.

"Why? You have a soft spot for her? Come on little sister, you're not exactly one to make friends." He took a sip of his expensive, and apparently free, bourbon. Compulsion was neat little trick vampires were able to do to get humans to be more agreeable to less than agreeable terms and actions.

I munched on another fry before answering. "Actually, yeah, I do." I answered. "She's a kind girl who's been nothing but nice to me since the day we met. I like that about her." I glanced around the Grill and took in the milling humans who lived in their own little worlds completely oblivious to the predator sitting amongst them. "Besides, why didn't you just use Vicki as a blood bag. You're already tormenting the poor girl."

"Because, little sister, I'm already using Vicki to send a message to Stefan." Damon answered as he waved down the waitress for another drink. "Besides, what if I promise you to release Caroline as soon as I get a little more revenge on our brother?"

I rolled my eyes at the vampire, but ultimately agreed to the deal. He was right about me not making friends, but Caroline had been rather forceful in her pursuit of friendship with me and so I had grown to trust her over the years. So as much I didn't like the deal, I agreed to it, but I knew my brother and even though he's changed over the last hundred years or so, he still had the same ticks and I knew he wasn't telling me the whole story of his reasons for being in Mystic Falls. Him tormenting Stefan didn't sound like something he would have once done, but things have changed and the relationship between the brothers was now estranged.

"Thank you, by the way, for telling me at least some of your plans while in Mystic Falls." Damon could have left me out of the whole ordeal and let me chase loose ends trying to figure out what was happening. "I don't like the fact that you're tormenting Stefan, but I also know I don't have the whole story. So whatevers happened between the two of you, I'll leave it between the two of you."

"Thank you, little sister." Damon took a drink of his bourbon. "I promise not to maim and kill too many of your friends while I'm here." I smirked at Damons words and rolled my eyes before finishing off my greasy treat and standing from the table. I slung my bags strap over my shoulder before looking down at Damon.

"Just be careful, okay. Whatever path you've decided to go down can only end up hurting you more than you'd like to let on. As much as you think you've changed, big brother, I know who once were, who you still are." I left the Grill after those words and made my way out to my car.

The rest of my day was spent out and about the town as I ran a few errands I could no longer put off and by the time I arrived back at home it was night time and I was ready to seclude myself in my room for the rest of the evening. But as soon as I entered the house, it didn't seem like I was going to be able to go through with my night plans as I took notice of a few familiar faces occupying the living room.

"Ah, Serena, right?" Damon winked at me as soon as the door closed behind me. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Damon, Stefans older brother."

I reached out and shook hands with Damon as I looked around the living room. Elena and Bonnie sat on the couch while Stefan stood beside them. Caroline was occupying one of the room's chairs, a suspicious scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Uh, yeah, it's nice to meet you." I gave Elena a look. She in turn only shrugged her shoulders at me and begged me with her eyes to stay. "Well, as nice as this all looks, I'm going to go ahead and excuse myself." Elena pleaded with me but I only mouthed at her that I was not invited in the first place and grinned as she gave up.

I rushed up the stairs and closed my door before allowing my shoulders to relax. The last thing I needed to do was be in a room with my brothers from a previous life while my sister from my current life was also in the room. My life was already complicated, it didn't need any more help in that matter.

Sleep came easy to me that night as my mind gave into the calming darkness and the past surfaced.

"Serena, come out, Elskan." A voice shouted as I hid behind my tree, a smirk gracing my lips. "Please."

Before I could step out and execute my plan of scaring the man calling for me, a pair of arms grabbing me around the waist caused me to shriek and laugh as I was spun around.

"Found you, Elskan."

I never saw his face, but the way he whispered into my ear made my heart pound in my chest as the ache disappeared for just a moment as I woke from sleep. A tear escaped down my cheek as I sat up in bed and did my best to reign in my emotions. Whoever he had been, he had sparked a flurry of emotion within my chest. The name he had called me had sounded like an endearment and would be something I would need to look up later.

His voice was one of the few whose I recognised as more and more of my first life came to my dreams. While I still wasn't sure what my relationship to him was exactly, I did know that whoever he was, he had been someone I was close to. My chest ached less after dreaming of him.

As soon as school let out I drove back home and left my car in front of the house. I didn't bother heading inside and walked off into the trees behind the house. The day had been decent enough, but being surrounded by swarms of people and energy that just wouldn't settle did things to my nerves.

Once within the trees and heading for my spot, I felt far more at ease. The energy now surrounding me was calm as birds chirped and flew through the air. The sun's warmth followed me as I made my way to my tree. The magic flowing through the air increased as I took a seat at the base of the large oak and closed my eyes. My face was angled up toward the stream of sunlight breaking through the tree branches.

The wind picked up around me as I basked in the familiar energy that now surrounded me. This was home in my eyes. Over who knows how many years ago, this place had been my beginning.

It was here my mother, my real mother had raised me. She was the one thing from my first life I could remember clearly. I had looked like her. White hair and deep red eyes that held such love and devotion for her child. My father had been human, and while it wasn't uncommon for our kind to mate with humans, as it would always end in tragedy, just as it had done for my own parents.

I opened my eyes and tears stung at them as I pushed the memories of my original family away from my thoughts. The wind ruffled my hair and I smiled as the branches above me creaked and yellow and golden leaves rained down from above me.

"Thank you." I whispered the natural energy flowing around me. The thought came to my mind as I glanced at the mostly yellow leaves that now littered the green and brown foliage around me. "How about a little more color, hmm?"

I sat up on my knees and placed the palms of my hands flat against the earth. Heat ran through my veins as my non human blood interacted with my human blood. Then, right before my eyes, flowers of all different colors sprouted from the ground. I smiled in glee as the area around my tree was now littered with wild flowers. From orange poppies to yellow black eyed susans, the ground was now a chartreuse board of flowers.

Now surrounded by the colorful foliage I leaned back against my tree's trunk and sighed as my blood cooled. I remember the first time I had connected with nature in this life. It had been mine and Elena's twelfth birthday. The entire day I had felt like a furnace was boiling me from the inside. That night I had escaped outside as soon as the house had gone quiet for the night. It was out among the trees that the magic flowing within me had snapped and released. The wind howled through the trees and as soon as it had settled the burning within my veins had cooled down.

Things were different from that point on. I was now fully aware that I was anything but just a normal human child. It had been the memories of my mother that came to me first before the rest seemed to follow.

When the sun set low in the sky, I gathered my bag and headed back home for the night. Tonight was the first football game of the season for Mystic Falls High and so I knew the house would no doubt be empty for the night.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

"Coach and History teacher William Tanner was attacked and killed here at Mystic Falls high just last night." I started at the tv for a moment while Logan Fell reported the history teacher's death. "The animal that killed him was supposedly a mountain lion that had ventured too close to the school looking for food." I knew that the killing wasn't due to any animal attack and sighed as I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Oh brother." I mumbled out before taking a bite of my apple and grabbing my bag and heading toward the front door. I had no doubt that it was Damon who had mauled Mr. Tanner. It was no doubt an action taken against Stefan since he had joined the football team.

"Hey, before you go." I stopped and turned to face my sister. "Are you going to the Founders Party tonight?"

I had honestly forgotten about the founders day celebration and had no real interest in going. "I'm actually not going to go." Elena frowned. "It's not really my scene." I gave her a small smile and turned back to the front door. "See you later."

While Elena and I were as close as two siblings could be, we were vastly different from one another. Our mother had always been closer to Elena then she was to me. So it was Elena she helped get ready for these types of parties and functions. While it never bothered me, I could see how Elena wouldnt understand why I didn't want to go. I may have been born a Gilbert, but I wasn't one of them, not really anyway.

Days went by after the Founders party and I found myself wondering what internal drama was keeping Damon from answering any of my calls. Granted, I knew it had something to do with Stefan, I just didn't know if I wanted all the details. The anger and regret between the two could stay between the two of them, but that didn't mean I wasn't worried about them.

"Hey, there you are." I didn't want to admit that I was avoiding Caroline, but I had been avoiding the blonde girl for the last few days. Elena had come to me the night of the Founders party with concern for the bruises she found on Caroline's body. Guilt had flooded my thoughts knowing I could have at least tried harder when it came to convincing Damon not to hurt the Forbes girl.

"Uh, hey there Caroline. What's up?" I shut my locker and gave the blonde girl my full attention as teens milled around us.

"I need some more volunteers for the car wash tomorrow." I frowned and opened my mouth to protest my involvement, but Caroline was already a step ahead of me. "I know, I know. It's not really your thing, but please, do it for me."

I let out a sigh, it's like she knew the guilt I was currently carrying over her predicament. "Yeah, fine." She let out a squeal and clapped her hands together.

"Perfect. Now just remember, it's a sexy car wash so wear your best bikin." My eyes went wide and I opened my mouth to protest such a request, but she was already walking away as she waved over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow Serena!"

I let out a sigh of defeat and left the school to head home. I would be getting around the whole sexy binik thing if it was the last thing I do.

The next day I was dressed and ready for the so-called sexy car wash. I had on a pair of denim shorts and a sports bar with a zip up hoodie over top of it. This was as sexy as I was willing to get and Caroline was just going to have to deal with it.

"Hey, wasn't expecting to see you here." I glanced up from my bucket, which was currently filling with water, to see Stefan standing behind me.

"Yeah, this is definitely not my thing. But peer pressure made me do it." I turned off the hose and before I could pick up the bucket Stefan was already reaching for it. "So, you going to tell me what's going on with Damon?"

The other Salvator brother was quiet as we walked across the schools parking lot. "I don't want to get you involved. It will be easier for both of us if you don't know."

I let the conversation drop at that and had Stefan place the bucket down beside the car I had been helping Bonnie wash. Bonnie had been one of Elena's first friends when we were kids. While the two of them had always been close, I was never one to really make friends outside of my family, besides Caroline that is. Even as a child before my connection with nature and my memories came back to me, I just knew I was different. Not to mention my appearance was sometimes too strange for children to get over.

"Thanks for getting that Serena." I shrugged and waved the girl off. As of lately I had taken notice of the change of energy around Bonnie. Something was different about her.

"Hey, I'm going to go help Stefan out for a minute, but I'll be back." Bonnie waved me off and I grabbed up a towel to help Stefan dry off the van that had just been washed. "So you and Elena are getting pretty serious. Are you going to tell her the truth?"

Stefan continued rubbing at the van as we stood side by side. "I don't think I'm going to have much choice in the matter." I paused in drying off the van and looked to Stefan. "She already suspects something is wrong and is asking questions."

"Yeah, she's not one who likes to be kept in the dark. Could never plan a surprise party for that one." Elena hated secrets that she wasn't a part of. She hated thinking others were suffering over something she could fix, even if fixing it wasn't possible.

"What about you? I mean, you have your own secrets that you've kept from her for seventeen years." I frowned and looked down as I circled over the same spot a few times.

"I wish I could say that she'll never know the truth about me." I admitted. "Elena deserves a normal life." I took a breath. "But, I doubt that would ever have happened, even if you hadn't shown up in Mystic Falls. You can't exactly live a normal life when you share a face with someone like she does."

Stefan nodded and stopped moving his towel. "You know I'm not with her because of Katherine, right?" I looked up at Stefan. "She's not Katherine."

I gave him a small smile and nodded my head. "I know Stefan. I know."

The two of us continued to dry off the van in silence. It was only when a shift in the air caused me to freeze up. The energy around us suddenly felt hot and I glanced behind us toward where Bonnie was standing and found the reason why.

The dark haired girl was taking in the magic around her and focusing it on the car in front of her. The vehicle suddenly erupted into flames and both Stefan and I abandoned the van and rushed to her side. While Stefan went to Bonnie I focused on the magic causing the flames and put them out by stopping the spell.

I turned back to Stefan and Bonnie and really took in the girl. The energy had settled, but I could now see what I had once missed. Bonnie wasn't just any normal human teenager. She was a witch.

"You see my little one, we are a part of nature." I sat still in my mother's lap as she manipulated the wind to blow the leaves around us up into the air. "But there are others who channel the magic around us to their own will. They are not like us, my little one, and can corrupt the pure form of magic if they are not careful."

I took in my mother's words as I watched and felt the magic around us shift as my mother waved her hand delicalty through the air. "What are they then, mother?"

"They are witches."

That night I found myself laying across my bed as I thought back on my past. What I could remember was that it had been a long time ago when I had been born to my not human mother and my human father. After my father's death, my mother followed soon after him. Leaving me alone in the world. But, as blurry as they appear in my dreams, there were others who were in my life and who I grew close to.

It wouldn't be too long now until the memories would become clearer. The closer I reached my age of maturity, the closer I came to leaving behind my human blood. Things were going to be different for me when the time came. I only hoped I would be ready for the changes.

A/N: Just want to give everyone a big thank you for reading this story. I've been working on rewrites and editing new chapters so I'll have plenty of material to post in the coming weeks. Post days will be Monday.

Please feel free to leave a review, any questions or comments I'll be sure to answer them at the end of the next chapter. Thank you once again for reading and stay safe everyone.