Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 2:
BLACK SHEEP RETURNS
Comet (noun): a celestial body moving about the sun, consisting of a central mass surrounded by an envelope of dust and gas that may form a tail that streams away from the sun
"It was a comet. The boy saw the comet and he felt as though his life had meaning. And when it went away, he waited his entire life for it to come back to him. It was more than just a comet because of what it brought to his life: direction, beauty, meaning. There are many who couldn't understand, and sometimes he walked among them. But even in his darkest hours, he knew in his heart that someday it would return to him, and his world would be whole again… And his belief in God and love and art would be reawakened in his heart. The boy saw the comet and suddenly his life had meaning."
"I think it's just a ball of…snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home."
"Gather 'round all you fire-starters. Whirlwind reapers and comet riders"
"Snow Silverstone!"
Mentally groaning at the irritating nasal voice, Snow froze with her hand on the doorknob and slowly pivoted around, almost as though she had no choice but to confront her doom and, lo and behold, Lucille stood right behind her, looking like she just sucked a lemon. Steadying herself, Snow masked her impatience and dislike of Lucille and remained obediently silent, "Yes, Lucille?" Bonnie was waiting for her outside and not only did she not want Bonnie to have to wait for her, she also didn't want to be the reason they arrived late to Tanner's class, as the bad-tempered man didn't except any excuses for tardiness whatsoever.
"What is this I heard from the twins regarding your attendance at a party last night, hmm?" Lucille pursed her already thin lips, making them appear practically non-existent. When Snow kept her head down and her mouth shut, Lucille emitted an impatient huff, "Well girl? I thought you were at work. I do not recall giving you permission to attend some party."
She wanted to bash her head against a wall for being so naïve. Of course Haisley and Paisley saw her last night. After Elena and Jeremy emerged from the heart of the woods with a bleeding and unconscious Vicki in the latter's arms, Snow abandoned the shadows and for front and center; she joined her friends by Vicki's side and allowed herself to share the epicenter of the partygoers' attention – while Haisley and Paisley were obtuse and lacked a healthy amount of brain cells, they weren't blind.
"The manager relieved me from my shift early, so I went for a bit with my friends."
"I see… Snow, if you are not happy with the rules I have laid out for you, then you are more than welcome to leave and become a homeless orphan," Lucille snapped. "The next time you come home late because you were frolicking around at a party with those friends of yours, you shall be sleeping outside in the garden. Do I make myself clear?"
Repressing the tears that yearned to escape her eyelids, Snow whispered, "Yes, ma'am." She kept her eyes trained on her worn-out converse until the obnoxious clicking of Lucille's heels vanished. Wiping away the lone tear that managed to cascade down her face, Snow fled the house and jumped into the stationary car, forgoing her usual jubilant morning greeting.
"Snow, what's wrong?" Bonnie stared at her gentle friend, hazel-green eyes brimming with concern. In a small voice, Snow shortly elucidated, "Had a run in with the step-monster."
"Ugh!" Bonnie made a sound of disgust as she started the car, "What happened this time?"
"Haisley and Paisley ratted me out, told her I was at the party last night. And Lucille was not pleased. She told me, and I quote-" she imitated her nasal voice, "-'if you are not happy with the rules I laid out for you then you are more than welcome to leave and become a homeless orphan' end quote."
"You cannot be serious. Tell me you're joking," Bonnie gaped at her friend, taking her eyes off the road in the process.
She shook her head forlornly. "I wish. God! I hate her, Bonnie, and you know me. I'm incapable of hating anyone," Snow whined.
Making an effort to cheer her up, Bonnie swallowed back her rage and smiled at her best friend, "Don't worry Snow. One day, she'll get what's coming to her."
Confused beyond belief, her forehead betraying her emotion as she stared at Bonnie, Caroline blinked, "I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"
"She's a witch," Snow piped up.
Bonnie inclined her head at the raven-haired girl. "My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family? Yes," she ardently nodded her head, her eyes widening with every nod."Witches? I don't think so," she then proceeded to vigorously shake her head to emphasize her skepticism.
"Alcohol usually impels people to speak the truth," Snow matter-of-factly pointed out.
"Usually," Bonnie enunciated with a smirk, prompting a laugh out of the docile girl.
Huffing, Caroline pouted, "Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night."
Apparently, last night, when Bonnie and Snow ducked into the bathroom, Caroline engaged in a fierce staring contest with some gorgeous guy.
"We didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him?" Bonnie stared at Caroline in shock. Snow couldn't help but agree; Caroline Forbes was not a shy character. On the contrary, she was the type of person who preferred to grab the bull by its horn and therefore, would talk first and think over her actions later.
"I don't know. I was drunk," Caroline shrugged as though that explained everything.
Noticing Matt and Elena leisurely walking side by side at the quad, Snow excused herself and made her way over. Since the horrific event that occurred last night, she's been desperate for any news regarding Vick's condition, and Matt was her best bet.
"Hey Snow," Elena and Matt smiled.
"Hey, Matt how is Vicki?" Snow's face morphed into concern.
"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow," Matt looked ecstatic and Snow felt relieved. Ever since Bonnie dropped her off, she couldn't erase the image of Vicki and all that blood from her mind. She was too caring, and upon hearing the verdict, she felt a huge chip fall off her shoulder. Beaming, Snow jumped in her spot and excitedly clapped her hands together, "That's great!"
Her friends let out a cheerful laugh in response, Snow's happiness infectious. "It is. It's good news," Elena smiled. "Did you get in touch with your mom?"
And just like that, a cloud set over Matt's handsome face. He scowled as he recalled the short conversation with Kelly Donovan, "Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so… we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."
Snow frowned in disapproval, shook her head and bit her lower lip hard in order to swallow back her thoughts about Vicki and Matt's flighty, sad excuse of a mother. Whenever Kelly Donovan was brought up, after having lost both her parents, and now Grayson and Miranda, Snow came to the realization that life was too short and precious, and that every moment should be lived like it was the last one. …That the world was ever-changing and anything could happen to tear people's lives apart. She couldn't imagine a good reason for any parent to abandon their child. To Snow, becoming a parent was a wonderful and rewarding experience.
Slamming the door shut on her chaotic thoughts, Snow changed the subject, "Did Vicki say what kind of animal attacked her?"
He shifted and doubt clouded his features. "She said it was a vampire," he finally revealed, his tone screaming disbelief and concern for his sister's sanity.
"What?" Snow and Elena gaped. Matt chuckled at their identical looks of bewilderment. Shrugging a shoulder, he nodded, "Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' and then passes out."
"Okay, that is weird," Elena blurted out.
"She was probably too doped up on morphine," Snow shrugged, grasping for straws. She refused to believe vampires of all things, existed.
Relief dawned on him. "Huh, you might be right. I just thought she was still drunk. But your theory makes much more sense." Suddenly, Matt turned to the brunette, his gaze intense, "So, Elena, what's up with the new guy?" Snow could tell that it was a question he had been dying to ask from the moment Elena and Stefan walked into the Grill two days ago. Snow felt awkward; exes rehashing their feelings wasn'tthe situation she wanted to be in the middle of.
"Matt," Elena prefaced, her tone soft and sympathetic. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you…"
He abruptly turned away and shook his head. He wished he hadn't asked; Elena's tone, the look of pity on her gorgeous face, and Snow's awkwardness revealed all he needed to know, proving his suspicions had been spot on. "You know, I'm-, I'm actually gonna go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night," and barely sparing the girls a proper goodbye, Matt left.
"You know that ship sailed long ago Lena," Snow smiled sadly at Elena's guilt-ridden expression, their gaze never leaving Matt's retreating form.
Nodding, she turned away, unable to watch Matt's depressing retreat a moment longer, "I feel so bad. I never wanted to hurt Matt."
"Yeah, but look at it this way… you weren't feeling it anymore – your relationship with him. Staying with him so that he wouldn't get his heart broken would have just made you and eventually him, completely miserable," Snow explained. "Love shouldn't be a chore," she sagely concluded, the romantic in her palpable.
Elena laughed and pulled Snow toward her for a tight hug, "You gotta cut down on the romance novels, Snow."
"Hey! I may read a teeny weeny bit too much, but that, everything I told you was all me," Snow indignantly pressed both hands against her chest, her expression genuine.
Since she had taken an extra shift the afternoon before the party at the woods, Roy insisted that she take the day off, so after school, Elena and Snow stopped at the Grill to meet up with Bonnie and Caroline, both of whom were busy with inane chitchat while they sorted through the pamphlets for the comet.
The arrival of the comet was being made into a spectacle in Mystic Falls and nobody…nobody was more excited than Snow Silverstone.
"I can't wait for the comet! It's going to be so beautiful. And romantic. And epic! Makes me wish I had a boyfriend to share the night with… it would have been perfect for a night of romance," Snow sighed dreamily, her eyes sparkling with wistfulness.
"You are such a sappy romantic, Snow," Bonnie shook her head.
Caroline and Elena laughed in agreement.
"All right, laugh at me for all I care. So I'm a romantic at heart, so what? When all your boyfriends end up running to me for advice on planning you girls a romantic getaway, we'll see who's laughing then. You three will be eternally grateful, that's all I'm gonna say," Snow stuck her tongue out at her three sisters, their amusement skyrocketing.
"Anyways, now that Little Miss Dreamer here is done, let me tell you what my Grams said about the comet. Apparently it was a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie recited Grams' speech verbatim.
Frowning at the Bennett Matriarch's ominous words, and Bonnie's unwitting attempt to ruin her romantic view of the comet's arrival, Snow shivered and rubbed her arms, "Don't be so morbid, Bon. It's probably just a coincidence. Or some old wives' tale. You shouldn't take everything Grams says so seriously."
The blonde vigorously bobbed her head, her curls bouncing wildly. "Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about aliens," Caroline scoffed before flickering her baby blues at Elena; she was more interested in her brand-new love-life with Stefan Salvatore than all the doom and gloom emanating from Bonnie. "So then what?" she demanded in an impatient tone.
"So then nothing," Elena shrugged, only succeeding in receiving an irritated eye roll from the blonde.
"You and Stefan talked all last night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind," Caroline prompted, her demeanor highly cynical.
Snow shook her head. She loved Care, but sometimes, she felt like the blonde didn't have a romantic bone in her body with her tendency to make every interaction with the male race physical.
"Nope. We didn't go there," Elena revealed proudly. When she was dating Matt, they were rarely ever seen without their lips glued to each other, so she was proud of her restraint and more than happy with her decision to take a leaf out of Snow's romantic novel and take things slow with Stefan.
"Not even a handshake?" a distressed Caroline blurted out, her tone laced with a hint of desperation. "I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut."
"Yeah, let us-" and here, Snow pointed a finger at herself, Caroline and then Bonnie, "-live vicariously through you."
Elena responded with a mock glare, "We just talked for hours."
"Ok, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy: sex!" Caroline threw her arms in the air, her tone identical to that a teacher would use when explaining one plus one equals two to an exceptionally dense child.
Elena gave her a dry look, "Profound." A moment later, she shot to her feet.
"Where are you going?" a bewildered Bonnie inquired.
"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do. You wanna come with, Snow?" Elena offered, smiling kindly at the raven-haired girl.
Her expression impassive, Snow raised a delicate eyebrow at the perky brunette, "You want me to go with you to watch you and Stefan suck each other's faces off?" Before any more words could be traded however, the door swept open and Haisley and Paisley entered the Grill. Violet orbs widened significantly at the evil duo and she quickly slid her way out of the booth, nearly falling on her ass in the process. "On second thought, let's go! Move, move, move," she hissed, drawing an amused smile out of Elena and laughter from Caroline and Bonnie.
Ten minutes later, Elena parked on the sidewalk across the Salvatore Boarding House, and the two girls crossed the road. They stared at the front door for a while. "You think Mr. Salvatore's in?" Snow asked, referring to Zach Salvatore. The man was such a recluse, preferring to stay behind the closed doors of his huge, ostentatious-looking house that if he wasn't part of the Founding Families, and if Carol Lockwood hadn't been successful in forcing him to attend a few of the town's events, neither girl would have known about his existence.
Shrugging, Elena squared her shoulders and promptly knocked on the door. Her fist however, barely touched the door when it creaked open in slow motion, which generated an eerie sound that resonated through them in a disturbing manner, and elicited goosebumps from the violet-eyed girl. Elena and Snow traded looks of uncertainty, and when Elena bravely took a step forward, Snow reached out and grabbed her wrist in a tight, almost bruising grip. "Are you crazy, this is like, how every scary movie starts!" she hissed, eyes wide in fear.
Rolling her eyes, Elena allowed her friend to continue cutting the blood circulation in her hand and simply tugged Snow alongside her and into the warmth of the Boarding House, "Don't be dramatic Snow- ARGH!"
A crow – one that looked suspiciously like the one that nearly had the girls involved in a car accident a few days back – soared past the two girls and into the house. They violently spun on their feet to see a tall and stunning man stare at them, a wicked smirk on his face. Strangely, the crow was nowhere to be seen, almost as though it had dissolved into thin air, or transformed into the handsome stranger.
Snow shook the thought away… maybe she should follow her friends' advice and cut down on the fiction novels and thriller movies.
"I told you!" Snow hissed, and her grip, if possible became tighter, prompting Elena to flinch. "Sorry," she murmured in a barely audible tone before loosening her grip.
Looking the stranger over, Snow had to admit, he was really gorgeous; he had pale skin – though a couple shades darker than her unique white-as-snow complexion, and his hair was as dark and as black as the sky during midnight, his eyes were an odd, though entrancing, shade of electric-blue that enraptured whosoever happened to be on their receiving end of. All in all, he was definitely swoon-worthy.
Whoa!
"I-I'm, we're sorry for barging in. The door was… open," Elena trailed off in disbelief when she looked over her shoulder at the front door, only to discover it was actually closed. Once again, Snow's hand tightened on her wrist.
"You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother," the handsome stranger, Damon, spoke in a voice that bore a resemblance to honey.
"Stefan's brother?" Snow asked dubiously, and when Damon nodded, she reiterated her previous thoughts, "So… not some psycho serial killer that will like, hack our heads off if we try to run away?"
Elena rolled her eyes at her friend's dramatics – she seriously watched an unhealthy amount of thriller movies. On the other hand, Damon looked incredibly amused at the girl's words, and a genuine laugh left his lips. "Nope, no psycho serial killers here… And you are?"
Ah, the irony… he thought to himself, a secretive smirk forming on his lips.
"Um, Snow. Snow Silverstone," she blushed profusely under the full weight of his attention. She really needed to cut down on the movies. It was either too much romance novels and fairy tales, or way too many horror movies.
"Hmm," Damon looked intrigued. "I thought the Silverstone's died out."
She awkwardly waved a hand, "Uh, well, nope, still here." Technically, she was the last Silverstone left, but he didn't need to know that. She didn't need to see any more pitying looks or hear more whispers about her being the poor little orphan, she already had enough on her plate with the whole Cinderella name-calling by her evil stepsisters.
Elena, bless her soul, distracted Damon from her, "Stefan never told me he had a brother."
"Well, Stefan's not one to brag," he drawled out, his tone cocky. "Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be back any second." He beckoned them further into the house, stopping when they reached the living room. Elena's jaw dropped, her eyes examining the interior in wonder, "Wow. This is your living room?"
"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."
Elena looked at Damon in confusion, "The last one?"
"Yeah, Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes' conversation yet," Damon cringed at his faux-pas, though internally, he was celebrating.
Attempting to look unaffected, the brunette folded her arms against her chest and compressed her lips, "Nope." She failed, though, and Snow couldn't help but wince and immediately rise to Stefan's defense. "Well you two haven't been together for two days, Lena. I think it's a bit too soon to have the ex-conversation, don't ya think?" Snow smiled sweetly at the brunette, who beamed back – that girl always knew the right thing to say.
Damon, however, was furious at Snow's interference – the girl managed to ruin phase one of his plan B with nary a thought. "Oops. Well I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end," Damon wasn't one to give up easily.
Elena frowned at him, "You say that like every relationship is doomed to end."
Yeah, Snow didn't like his observation on love. Maybe she should let him borrow one of her romance novels…
"I'm a fatalist. Hello, Stefan," a charming smile suddenly materialized on Damon's face, and although he addressed his brother, his gaze never once detached from Elena. Simultaneously, Snow and Elena swiveled in their spot, the former smiling brightly at the sight of the brown-haired boy, believing he would remedy the situation and instill calmness into the room, as the aura Damon Salvatore radiated had her on edge.
However, Stefan appeared to be as tense as her. He never took his eyes off Damon, his expression impassive and eyes cold, "Elena. I didn't know you were coming over."
"She would have called, but she wanted to surprise you," Snow tried covering for Elena. Jeez, it was now made perfectly clear to Snow, that Stefan and his brother had a strained relationship; she could practically taste the tension in the room and she felt even more uncomfortable, her eyes flickering every few seconds to the front door.
"Oh, don't be silly. You're both welcome any time. Aren't they, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies," Damon smirked. "But… I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker."
Snow chuckled weakly and she sidled closer to Elena, the brunette instantly wounding an arm around her sensitive friend.
"Thank you for stopping by Elena, Snow. Nice to see you," it was clear a dismissal from Stefan's end.
The girls traded a silent glance. "Yeah, we should probably go. It was nice to meet you Damon," Elena looped arms with Snow who, despite her comfort, kindly turned to part the elder Salvatore brother with a small wave.
"Great meeting you Elena, and you too, Snow," Damon smirked at their retreating backs, his eyes bright and calculating.
Their path was blocked by Stefan, who was too busy glaring daggers at his smirking brother. Exchanging bewildered looks, Snow bravely cleared her throat, "Uh, Stefan?" Snow was honestly freaked out and was thankful for Elena, who kept a tight hold on her.
"Stefan? Stefan!" Elena raised her voice, finally succeeding in grabbing his attention and getting him to open their escape route.
The girls immediately jumped into Elena's jeep. "Let's get the hell of dodge, Elena. Hit the gas," Snow snapped. The brunette floored the gas pedal, allowing the dark-haired girl to breathe easily when the Salvatore Boarding House disappeared from the rearview mirror.
"What the hell was that?" Elena snapped, hurt at Stefan's cold behavior after having decided to take a risk and put herself out there for him.
"It's obvious those brothers have serious issues, Lena. So much unresolved tension in that house! And here I thought my relationship with the evil stepsisters was bad. Those two have got major issues," Snow's hands were shaking with nerves – she didn't deal well in tension-filled situations.
Ten minutes later, Snow had made herself at home, sitting comfortably in the Gilbert's kitchen with Elena and her awesome aunt Jenna, a warm cup of tea cradled in her hands for relaxing purposes. Anybody that had intimate knowledge of Snow knew that one warm cup of tea would work wonders on her when she was tensed, nervous, in tears, or freaked out.
"He's on the rebound and has raging family issues," Elena was currently ranting at Jenna about their awkward run-in with Stefan and Damon at the Boarding house.
"Hold up, family issues, yes, but no one said you were a rebound, Elena. Damon was obviously trying to plant seeds of doubt in your head," Snow adamantly disclosed, confident that her theory was true. She could tell that Stefan really liked Elena, just like Snow recognized most of Damon's words had underlying meanings – she was positive that the elder Salvatore was attempting to stir up trouble for Stefan and she wasn't about to let her best friend fall victim to his whatever grudge he held.
Jenna emitted a noncommittal hum. "And at least its' an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. …Or amphetamine issues," she proceeded to tick fingers down as she stampeded through her list.
Snow blinked, fixating her doe-like eyes at Jenna in shock, "Wow, Jenna. You see, this-, this is exactly why I'm waiting for Mr. Right to come along instead of trying my luck with just about any guy that asks me out."
"But sweetie, sometimes experience is good. Besides, how do you know you haven't already rejected your Mr. Right?" Jenna inquired, smiling over at the kind-hearted, idealistic girl.
She fervently shook her head, "Believe me, I'd know. There would've been sparks or-or butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Something!"
"So… not Damon?" Elena clarified, looking curiously at Snow – he was, after all really gorgeous, and from what little she had seen of him, he was a perfect candidate, one that would help Snow get out of her shell and stand up for herself around others.
"Yeah, definitely not," Snow frantically shook her head. "I didn't feel anything at all around him. Zero. Nada. Zilch," she made weird hand movements to express her point.
The front door opened, and the three women looked over to see Jeremy trudging up the stairs, completely ignoring the three sets of eyes fixated on him.
"Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?" Jenna looked furious, like she had turned on a switch from happy to mad. Jeremy sighed loudly, his head turning a fraction to confront his aunt, "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's… that's cool."
No one failed to notice he was slurring his words.
When Jeremy continued to ascend the stairs, Jenna lost it. "Oh, no, no, no!" an apple soared through the air, colliding with the back of Jeremy's head.
"Bull's-eye," Snow whispered in Elena's ear, prompting her to giggle.
"Ow!" Jeremy massaged the back of his head, his visage resembling a wounded puppy as he glanced over at Jenna. "Why? Why… why did you do that?" he whined, slightly bewildered.
"Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion." There was an air of finality in Jenna's tone, but Jeremy merely smirked at her, "Parental authority, I like it. Sleep tight."
Jenna turned to gape at Elena and Snow, shaking her head in a combination of shock and exasperation.
"I'm sure it's just a phase. Give him some time and he'll be back to the old Jeremy in no time," Snow smiled positively at the aunt and niece.
Snow was at the Grill, cleaning after a rambunctious family who had left quite a mess upon their departure. Hearing a slight commotion, she glanced to her right and her expression brightened tremendously. In her exuberance, she tossed the rag and ran over to the older girl, immediately drawing her into a crushing embrace, "Vicki!You're okay. I've been so worried."
Vicki smiled widely at the snow-kissed girl, "I'm fine, sweetie, and I'm back for work. I'll see you later 'kay? I gotta go argue with Roy about my schedule." With one last squeeze, she disappeared behind the backdoor. Snow couldn't help but giggle after her retreating back; Vicki was the only person that never pointed fingers at her or treated her differently because of Roy's blatant favoritism.
Throughout her shift, Snow couldn't help but observe Jeremy from afar, watching as he made an attempt to covertly hand Vicki some pills. A part of her wanted to drag him by the ear, berate him and then cuff him on the head, in hopes of smacking some sense back into him; however, the other part that intimately knew about grief and of how it could change a person wanted to leave him be and allow him to get over his phase on his own. The latter part won.
"Is your neck any better?" Snow inquired when Vicki joined her side. She had always been curious by nature, and had been itching to ask about the confession she made regarding vampires; unfortunately, she was too shy. While she was close with Vicki due to them being co-workers and pseudo-sisters, as well as being childhood friends with Matt, their bond wasn't as close or comfortable or intimate as the bond she shared with Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline.
Her face compressed into a frown as she rubbed at her bandaged neck. "Ugh, hurts like a bitch, but Jeremy gave me something to help," Vicki flashed a smile over at Jeremy. Snow bit her tongue, not wanting to anger Vicki or Jeremy by mentioning the exchange of pills.
Tyler approached them at that moment, his dark eyes intent on Vicki, "Hey, Vick. How are you feeling?"
The girl in question narrowed her eyes at him, a sneer materializing on her face. She looked him over and scoffed, "Like you care." Vicki then proceeded to push past him, eliciting a look of disbelief to grace Tyler's features. "What are you lookin' at?!" he barked.
Startled, Snow jumped, her doe eyes blinking at the volatile, temperamental boy, "N-nothing, I'm sorry about you and Vicki, uh, I'm just gonna-" A groan escaped her, cutting off her lame stuttering, at the sight of none other than Joshua Reeves and his pack of friends as they strode into the Grill like they owned the place. Usually when Joshua hung at the Grill, Vicki always took his order since they were both seniors and on amicable terms with each other – that arrangement worked well for Snow since he had developed a creepy and frankly, unhealthy obsession with her. However, Vicki recently stormed off in an angry fit, and was most probably hiding out in the backroom until Tyler left, therefore leaving her on her own...
"You okay, Silverstone?" Tyler frowned. Nodding, Snow steeled herself and flashed him a tight-lipped smile before she approached their table to collect their orders.
She avoided his intense gaze and remained professional the entire time. Thankfully, everything was going swimmingly… that is, it was until she literally walked into Joshua as he was coming out of the bathroom. "Let go of me, Joshua," Snow made a desperate attempt to sound brave, but it only came out as a whining plea. This would never happen to any of her friends, because unlike her, they had a backbone, while she was as shy as a mouse… and pathetic.
"You know, if you're with me, you'd never have to work again," Joshua caressed her cheek, making her flinch away from his hand.
"I don't need your money and I'd rather stay poor than be with you," Snow snapped, surprising not only Joshua, but herself. Her eyes widened in shock. Where did that backbone come from? "Uh, er, um, I-I mean-" she stuttered and Joshua's grip on her became painfully tight.
Suddenly Tyler's menacing voice boomed from behind. "Is there a problem here?" Completely startled, not having expected the interruption, Joshua reflexively released her. Immensely grateful, Snow hurried to his side and hid herself behind Tyler's bulky frame, all the while, she shook in fear.
"No," Joshua spat through gritted teeth, his eyes traveling from Tyler's cold expression and his protective stance, to Snow, her expressive violet eyes moist with fear. "Nothing at all. I guess we'll have to continue our little chat some other time, Snow."
Once Joshua was out of hearing range, Tyler turned to Snow, an eyebrow arched. "What was that about? Was that dick bothering you?" he demanded.
Needing a distraction, Snow ignored her quivering hands and worked on the apron from around her waist since her shift had officially ended. Emitting a nervous laugh, Snow averted his eyes, unable to meet Tyler's intense, and quite frankly, intimidating stare. They were friends in the sense that they hung out with the same clique, knew the same people, and grew up around each other, but they never really had a proper conversation before – so, in other words, Snow and Tyler were considered merely acquaintances.
"Joshua's always been bothering me, it's been two years now… i-it's ok, don't worry about it," she internally winced – she had always been a horrible liar. She couldn't lie to save a life.
Tyler didn't seem to believe her. Snow was too nice for her own good, and despite the fact they never had a decent conversation, he could tell as much. "Mmhmm," he sounded incredibly skeptic. "If you say so. Anyways I'm heading over to Square for the comet. Let me at least walk you there."
Surprised by his kindness, Snow gave him her special megawatt smile, "Thanks Tyler."
"Snow! Tyler! There you two are, come over here, I got some candles," Caroline's excited yell could be clearly heard over the mass of Mystic Falls denizens, and Snow couldn't help but giggle slightly. Caroline's happiness was really contagious.
Tyler joined Matt who was gazing sadly at Elena and Stefan. Caroline and Bonnie stayed by Snow's side as they kept their eyes up at the heavens, candles lit in their hands. Once the candles had burnt out, the three girls went to Mystic Grill and sat at their regular table. Snow noticed Joshua and his friends were still there, but she kept her eyes averted, not wanting another confrontation with him.
"Hey, Lena, why aren't you with Stefan?" Snow hoped the two weren't fighting. Curious, Bonnie and Caroline leaned over. "He said he'd come by later," Elena beamed.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Cinderella," an obnoxious voice permeated the air, prompting the four girls to swivel their heads to see Haisley and Paisley stride in with identical sneers on their ugly faces, grabbing a table with their friends.
"Shouldn't you be at home, cleaning," Haisley chuckled.
Snow looked down at her hands, her face turning pink. Her friends glared angrily at the twins.
"Hey, step-bitches, leave her alone!" Caroline snarled.
Caroline had dubbed Haisley and Paisley 'step-bitches' for as long as she could remember and the name stuck with her friends whenever they mentioned them, while Snow continued to call them her evil stepsisters.
Haisley and Paisley glared at her but smartly kept their mouths shut. They may be dumb, but they weren't dumb enough to provoke Caroline Forbes, so they settled on sending Snow an evil glare, and ignored them.
"Thanks Care," Snow mumbled. The blonde responded with a tight hug, "Hey, that's what friends are for."
"You really need to start standing up to them, Snow," Bonnie stated emphatically while Elena nodded in agreement. Snow just nodded, knowing that she would never be able to.
Thankfully, a distraction in the form of Jeremy arrived, who frantically yelled, "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"
"You're her stalker. You tell us," Tyler, who was sitting on the bar with Matt, retorted snidely
Jeremy glared at him. "I can't find her!" he spat out through gritted teeth. Tyler looked unconcerned, and he shrugged a shoulder. "She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced," he mocked.
Bemused, Elena's eyes flickered between Jeremy and Tyler, "What's with the pill pusher?"
"Ask him," was all Tyler said, jutting his chin toward Jeremy, his onyx orbs burning with dislike.
Snow gulped, this didn't look good and to make things worse, the tension in the Grill was escalating.
"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy got in Tyler's face, his expression the epitome of furious.
Realization suddenly dawned on Elena, and she gasped, "Are you dealing?"
Jeremy however, ignored her in favor for the staring contest he had instigated with Tyler who spat, "She's never going to go for you." That comment prompted a scoff out of the Gilbert boy, "She already did. Over and over and over again." His lips curved into a smug smile at the shocked look of disbelief that made a startling appearance on Tyler's face.
"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline scoffed, intrigued with this new bit of gossip. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"
"There is no way," Tyler shook his head, stubbornly in denial.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it," Jeremy pointedly added that slip of information, his eyes flickering between Matt and Tyler, the latter of whom nervously looked away. Blue eyes narrowing, Matt suspiciously glared at his best friend, "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?"
Shaking his head, Tyler spat out, "Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk."
It seemed that Matt had had enough. "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?"
They split up to look for Vicki. Snow checked the back with Caroline and Bonnie and nearly a full hour had passed before Vicki turned up at the Grill. As it turned out, Stefan had been the one to find her wandering throughout the Town Square looking a little out of it, which they instantly blamed on the pills.
"Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?" Caroline blurted out in disgust as she, Snow and Bonnie sat at their table in the Grill after the search party for Vicki was called off.
"Well, it's not like she asked for an animal to attack her the other day, so that wasn't exactly her fault," Snow shrugged, coming up to Vicki's defense.
Bonnie smiled fondly at Snow; ever the defender. "Yeah."
"Excuse me. Hi."
The three girls looked up to see Stefan standing before them with a pleasant smile on his handsome face.
The snow-kissed girl beamed up at him. "Hey, Stefan," Snow greeted him with a wave. Stefan smiled back at her, and she was glad he wasn't mad about the whole Damon confrontation anymore; he looked like his normal friendly self. "Um, have you guys seen Elena?" he inquired.
"I think she went home," Bonnie riffled through her purse for a pen and promptly scribbled on a napkin at their table. "I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her, 'I said so.'"
"Thank you," Stefan laughed.
Bonnie gave him the napkin, but as their fingers brushed against each other, she blanked out, her eyes protruding slightly before her mouth finally opened and emitted a gasp.
"You ok?" Stefan asked, concerned.
"Bon?" Caroline frowned in confusion while Snow lightly shook her shoulder.
The caramel-skinned gazed at Stefan with glassy eyes, horror etched on her features. "What happened to you?" Caroline and Snow looked at Bonnie in shock. As though awakening from her trance, Bonnie shook her head and gave him a slightly apologetic look, "That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me." She got up to leave.
"Whoa! Wait, you're my ride. See you tomorrow, Care. Bye Stefan!" Snow quickly followed Bonnie's previous footsteps, a sigh of relief escaping her upon finding her best friend waiting for her in the car. "I thought you forgot about me," she laughed. Bonnie just shook her head and kept her lips clamped shut. Snow didn't say another word, deciding that she would ask about her weird behavior when she saw her the next day since she wasn't in a talkative mood.
As Snow headed to her room, she almost bumped into Lucille. What was with her and bumping into people these last few days?
"So, you finally made it. And before midnight, I see," Lucille stated, her tone cold and sardonic. Snow responded with a quick nod. Lucille just smiled at her, the expression lacking any warmth, "At least you seem to be smart enough not to test me. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Snow whispered forlornly, entering her room and softly closing the door behind her before she grabbed her pajamas and put them on.
She couldn't wait to graduate next year. She was counting the days before she'd be able to finally leave Lucille and her evil stepsisters behind and never look back, whether it was with or without her trust fund. Although, having been assured by the family's attorney that her father's will was ironclad, she wasn't worried about affording university.
The thought of Lucille finding a way to get rid of her before her eighteenth birthday came to pass never, not even for a split-second, crossed Snow's mind as she drifted off into a restful sleep.
"Hello, Brother."
"I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word."
"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people."
"We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."
"Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."
"You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming "vampire" through the town square."
Damon Salvatore
A/N: What do you think about this story? I'm trying to add some changes and I have loads of ideas, but in the beginning it's really hard since the action has barely started. What did you think about the step-bitches, Lucille and Joshua? They will be regular OCs for now.
Please let me know what you think. How are you liking Snow? What's your thoughts on Lucille, the twins and Joshua?
Did you like the interaction between Damon and Snow?
R&R.