Alexandria Gilbert

by JChavz95

Vampires, witches, werewolves and doppelgangers, oh my! All Alexa Gilbert wanted was a quiet life, a free drink and to party the night away with her friends without being nagged by her twin sister Elena, but the arrival of the mysterious Salvatore brothers may just ruin those plans... Starts Season 1, Episode 1, Slowburn Damon/OC, Now on Season 4!

3. Friday Night Bites

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs

A/N: I usually celebrate finishing a rewrite by posting a new chapter. Unfortunately I am still rewriting episode 8 as my only writing time is when the hubbie is watching the football and it's international break this week... But I wanted to keep the momentum going so here is another chapter! And this is where the changes really start happening...

Caroline's POV

I woke up slowly, feeling satisfied in a way that only good sex can achieve. Sighing, I rolled onto my side. I really didn't want to go to school, and I especially didn't want to open my eyes to find an empty bed beside me. I had spent so much time longing for the mystery man from the Grill. It would be so frustrating to find him gone so soon after finding him again.

As I nestled my cheek into my pillow, I frowned as it felt damp against my skin. Oh great, please tell me I didn't drool in my sleep with a hot guy next to me. That would be the absolute worst. I cracked my eyes open only to find that it wasn't drool, it was blood.

Oh god.

I shot up and caught my reflection in the mirror. As I stared at the bite on my neck, it all came back to me. His eyes, his fangs, everything.

Vampire.

My mom had taught my all about them. After my dad left, she needed to be sure that I could protect myself. My ankle bracelet was always contained vervain and my mom made sure that I had a vervain laced mace spray with me whenever I went out. I always thought she was insane, vampires don't exist. But here the evidence was, sleeping in my bed.

The strangest thing was, I wasn't afraid. Instead, this was my perfect opportunity.

My mom hated vampires, she loathed them. And here one was, looking damn sexy and wanted me. Even if I couldn't tell my mom that Damon was a vampire, I could enjoy the feeling of rebelling against everything that she had ever taught me.

I had been so distracted by my thoughts (and the hot body in front of me), that I failed to notice that amused look on the vampire's face.

"I was expecting screaming," he remarked, sounding almost disappointed.

"Because you're a vampire?" I returned, as I slipped out of the bed and padded over to my vanity table. First point of call was to clean off the blood and see what I could do to hide the huge bite mark.

"You know?"

There was rush of air and Damon stood behind me, his fangs on display. He stood so close that I could feel his bare skin brush against mine.

"My mom taught me," I shrugged, playing for casual but even I could hear my heart beating rapidly. "And don't worry, I won't tell.

"And why is that?" Damon's nose brushed against my neck, his fangs following moment later.

I met his eyes in the mirror, "Because you are the best way to get back at my mom."

XXX

Alexa's POV

For the first time in, like, forever, I managed to wake myself up on a school morning. I sat up in bed and grinned happily, proud of myself for doing such a normal thing. Instead of doing the sensible thing and getting out of bed and getting ready for school, I decided to stay in the nice warm bed and surprise Elena. And yes, part of my reasoning was I was far too lazy to get out of bed. I knew Ellie would make me get up, so it just made sense to wait for her.

While I waited, I quickly texted Luke and Jazz. I missed them dearly and I wasn't used to be completely friendless like this. Even when they disappeared during the summer with their parents, I had Tyler to keep me company. This time, it was painful. Yeah, I had Ellie, Bon-Bon and Care-Bear. But it wasn't the same. I couldn't completely let go around them. And I also couldn't get completely shitfaced around them.

As usual, there was no reply to my messages. I was lucky to get anything from them these days. Sighing, I sent a quick text to my baby bro, asking if he needed assistance from me today. Fortunately, he did respond.

About 10 minutes later, once I had thoroughly exhausted my list of people to text, Elena walked through the door. She froze in the doorway and blinked a couple of times. Ah I love it when I surprise her. Especially since it didn't really happen that often.

Deciding to take advantage, I allowed a smirk to form on my face, "Good morning twinnie."

Unfortunately, her surprise didn't last for long. My darling twin simply rolled her eyes and walked back out the room.

"Hey!" I shouted after her. "That's rude you know!"

"Just get out of bed, Alexa!" was the response I received.

I couldn't help but grumble to myself as to how rude my twin was and how unfair my life was. I didn't want to get out of bed and I definitely didn't want to go to school.

But alas, I knew that if I didn't get up willingly, Elena would make me get up. And I really cbaaaaaaa to deal with that this morning.

I sighed, patted my pillow and finally pulled myself out of the warmth of my bed, "Goodbye sweet bed."

"Don't be such a drama queen," I heard Elena yell from the hallway. Despite the yelling, I could tell that my sister was in a good mood. Wonder if she got down and dirty with Stefan last night….

"Evil twin!" I shouted back, got to keep up appearances, haven't I? She laughed and I heard her walk downstairs. Right, suppose I really ought to get ready. I walked over to my wardrobe and examined the contents. Yikes, this was difficult. And I didn't even know what my sister was wearing. Which meant that we would probably end up doing that thing where we wear really similar clothes. Yuck.

"What to wear, what to wear," I muttered, shoving random clothes to the side and throwing others over my shoulder. Once I had a suitably large selection on the bed, I sorted through them to see what would work best. In the end, I chose some jeans and a button up green shirt. I spiked up my hair in what Caroline liked to call my rebellious style and went downstairs, leaving the rest of my clothes in a pile on my bed. I went straight to the coffee pot and poured myself a mug of the beautiful elixir. Deciding to be lazy, I just took it black. And yes, it was super lazy that I couldn't be bothered to walk the two steps to the fridge. But ahhhh well. I did like to have it black sometimes. Especially when I was gearing myself up for a hard day. Not that I thought it would be a hard day today, I just had a feeling that it might get tricky.

Once I had downed half the mug, I looked up and observed my surroundings. Huh, it was weird that I was the only one in the kitchen at this time. I'm guessing that Jenna had gone to college and god knows where my dolt of a brother was.

"Hello," I said to the empty room.

"Hi Alexa," Elena grinned, walking in from the living room. "You're getting a lift in with me and Bonnie today."

I sighed, "I figured I might be."

With Jazz awol, I was forced to go to school with my sister. Of course, I would much rather not go to school at all. But there was no way that I could away with bunking right now. Especially since there was just no point arguing with my delightful twin at times. Even more so when it was this early in the morning. But at least I got to enjoy the company of our darling Bonnie Bennett.

A car horn beeped outside.

"That must be Bonnie," Elena smiled, looking far too excited for this time in the morning. She must have had sex to be this happy. Like for realz.

"Yipee!" I muttered sarcastically before finishing my coffee. It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with my favourite Bennett. It just meant that the time for the dreaded school was getting closer. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I rinsed out my mug and placed it in the sink. I was given just enough time to grab my bag from the counter before I found myself being dragged out of the house at quite a speed.

"Geez, Elena, slow down!" I exclaimed, trying not to trip over. Ellie shot me a bright smile over her shoulder as she pulled me from the house. She hollered upstairs for Jeremy to lock up the house. My sister's excitement was infectious and I couldn't help but laugh as she shoved me into Bonnie's car.

As my sister walked around the car to get in, I gave Bonnie a quick kiss on the cheek in greeting, "Hello my sweet."

Bonnie laughed and returned my greeting.

"Someone's in a very good mood this morning," I gave my sister a suggestive look and wiggled my eyebrows.

"I don't know what you mean," Ellie smiled innocently, refusing to look at me.

"Oh Eeeeeeeellllllliiiiiiieeeeee," I sang, gently tugging on her hair. "Why are you so chirpy?"

"Am I not allowed to be happy in the morning?" it was only because I knew her so well that I saw the mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh, but this is beyond happiness, dearest sister."

Elena just winked at me and turned to look out the front window.

"Bonnie," I whined, poking her in the shoulder. "Ellie won't tell me why she's so happy."

Bonnie just shook her head, "If anyone can get it out of her, it's you, Alexa."

I pouted at my lack of support, "Fiiiiiiiiine. Elena Miranda Gilbert, did you have sex with Stefan 'I-don't-know-his-middle-name' Salvatore last night?"

My twin must have taken pity on me, or just got fed-up with my whining, as she laughed, "No, we just kissed."

"Awwwww," I cooed excitedly. "Give us the deets. How good a kisser was he? How did it happen?"

"Breath Alexa!" Ellie shook her head at me. "We were watching the comet and talking. And we agreed that we wouldn't let our fear control us."

I was so happy for my sister. She deserved all the happiness in the world. And if Stefan Salvatore made her happy, then I was all for this relationship. I mean, we didn't really know the guy. But he seemed to really care for my sister. And he was even super nice to me. Which was always a good sign. Especially with how close me and my sister are.

"Oh it sounds so romantic," I sighed dreamily and squeezed Elena's shoulder.

It occurred to me then that our darling Bennett was being suspiciously quiet. I glanced over to her to see if everything was okay. Bonnie had a pensive look on her face and was biting her lip. I exchanged looks with Elena before carefully asking, "Everything cool, Bon-Bon?"

Our friend glanced at us and sighed as she pulled into the school car park.

"It's about Stefan," she started hesitantly as we climbed out of the car.

A sinking feeling in my stomach clued me into the fact that this conversation would not go how I wanted it to.

"You don't want me to go out with him anymore," Elena stated, keeping her voice carefully neutral. So much for all that happiness earlier. I frowned and crossed my arms, ready to step in where needed.

Bonnie was quick to respond, "I'm not saying don't date the guy. I'm just saying… take it slow."

Something must have happened for Bonnie to feel this way, right? There's no way she could have changed her mind in such a short amount of time for no reason.

"You told me to go for it," Ellie reminded her, gently tugging me forward as we walked towards the school.

"Now I'm taking it slow," Bonnie said, shrugging her shoulder with a slight frown.

Unable to stop myself from getting involved, I asked, "Why the about-face?"

Bonnie winced, "It's not an about-face."

I snorted in an incredibly un-ladylike manner, "It is totally an about-face."

Ma gurl used to be my partner in crime for the whole 'Elena dating Stefan' plan. I have the texts to prove it.

"Look," our friend sighed, grabbing Ellie's hand. "You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."

I couldn't help but laugh as Elena scoffed, "Because I am so that girl!"

That was completely true. Ellie was so not that girl. She didn't find any joy in playing the field. Not like Caroline and I did. The simple ease of casual relationships wasn't for everyone. While mine were more of a snog, grope and goodbye type, it was the lack of expectations that made it easy. I mean, yeah, I did crave an actual relationship. My everlasting crush on Luke was proof of that. But it was hard for me. It was almost like I was scared of the intimacy, of letting someone in like that. Of letting someone see all my flaws. And there were many. My family were stuck with me. They knew my flaws and they loved me anyway. But it was hard letting anyone else see them.

It was only because we knew Bonnie so well that we could tell there was another reason, probably the true reason, why she was reluctant for Ellie to swap spit with a certain Mr Salvatore.

"What aren't you saying, Bonnie?" Ellie asked kindly, switching positions with her. With Bon-Bon firmly sandwiched between us, we sought to get an answer for her change of heart.

Bonnie bit her lip and looked between us, "It's stupid."

"Trust me, hon, nothing is stupid to us," I gave her a gentle prod in the side. "And as someone who grew up with me, you should know that."

Finally, she relented, "I accidentally touched Stefan. And I got a really bad feeling."

It took me a moment to understand what she was on about. But then it clicked. Her whole witchy, psychic mojo thing. Which meant that we had to be careful here. I didn't want Bonnie to at all feel like we were mocking her or didn't believe her. Something had spooked her enough. And I knew my friend well enough to know that she wouldn't have let it bother her if was nothing.

"Bonnie" Elena started, only to get interrupted.

"It was bad bad," Bon added earnestly, looking like she needed us to believe her.

"Is this your witch mojo thing telling you this?" Elena asked carefully, exchanging a look with me.

Bon plastered a smile on her face, "You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing my concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."

It was obvious that she was avoiding the issue. But we wouldn't get anything else from her now. So we let it go.

"And I love you for it," my twin told her, drawing her into a one-armed hug. "We both do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year and I'm finally starting to feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that." The look on my sister's face turned cheeky. "And besides, Alexa approves of him. And we all know how rare that is."

I rolled my eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. But it was worth the smile from the girl between us.

"Just because I have standards," I stuck my tongue out at my sister and gave Bonnie a dramatic look. "I'm just so under-appreciated."

"Oh leave off," she laughed, giving me a small push.

"Never!"

Content to just hang with two of my girls, I kept myself occupied by lightly tugging on their hair. It was game that I used to love to play when we were younger. I would wait until they weren't paying me any attention and then pick my target. I would alternate between the two until one of them got fed up enough to make me walk in front of them. But I always managed to get a laugh from them. Which was a huge win for me.

The two discussed multiple topics while they walked. The history homework due today. Caroline's sudden inability to answer her phone. Kelly Tran's unique sense of style.

We were soon interrupted by my sister's new boy.

Stefan greeted us with a warm smile, "Good morning, Elena." He looked at Bon, "Good morning, Bonnie." And obviously saving the best for last, he turned to me, "Good morning, Alexa."

"Good morning to you too, Stefan," I returned and I just couldn't help but wiggle my eyebrows suggestively.

Unfortunately for me, Elena saw me. She rolled her eyes and gave me a shove, "Just ignore her."

I giggled and wrapped an arm around her neck, "Pleasant evening, Stefan?"

"Oh my God, Alexa shut up!" twinnie groaned and gave her kissing partner an apologetic look.

Stefan's smile turned slightly cheeky, "It was a lovely evening. Thank you for asking, Alexandria."

While I was delighted that he was joining in, I knew he was also being a little shit by using my full name. Looks like I would definitely enjoy bantering with Mr Salvatore.

The moment was ruined by Bonnie making an awkward exit when Stefan turned to her.

"Hey, um, I've gotta go find Caroline," she gestured vaguely behind her as she started backing away. "She's not answering her phone. So I'll see you guys later."

I watched as she quickly walked away. While this sudden shift of attitude was a bit annoying, I was worried for my friend. Something must have really spooked her. I made myself a silent promise to catch her after math class and get a proper answer out of her.

"Bonnie, wait," Ellie started to call after her, before trailing off. I could see my sister frowning after her and thought of something that I could say to distract her.

Fortunately, Stefan got there first.

"She doesn't like me very much," he stated in an even tone.

Well damn, maybe that should have been unfortunately. Damnit Stefan, I don't think my sister needed reminding of that.

"She doesn't know you," my twin quickly explained, almost sounding as though she was convincing herself too. "She's my best friend and she's just looking out for me." A sweet smile formed on her face as she placed her hand on his arm. "But when she does, she will love you."

Now I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to tease my sister.

"Not too much, I hope," I smirked as I slowly stepped out of arm range. "Otherwise you may have competition, Elena."

Elena rolled her eyes (surprised she hasn't got a headache from all the eye rolling she's done this morning!) and went to push me. Fortunately, I had enough distance that I was able to dodge behind Stefan and use him as a human shield. I stuck my tongue out at her and celebrated my victory. Stefan laughed and allowed me to continue to use him as a shield from my sister.

I could see that my sister had her thinking face on, so I decided to leave my twin to plan and annoy Stefan instead.

"So Steffie," I wiggled my eyebrows again. "Do give me the deets on your very pleasant evening."

Stefan laughed and patted me on the shoulder, "Sorry Alexa, no deets."

"But why?" I whined as I grabbed his hand. I put on the most pathetic pout I could and tugged on his hand.

"Because your sister would kill me."

I paused and glanced over at my sister. Yeah, she definitely would. And she would take me out first.

"Eh, true dat," I conceded the point with a shake of my head.

It was then that my sister announced her amazing plan to get Bonnie to like and approve of Stefan.

"Here's what we're going to do," she started, looking very determined. "Are you free tonight?"

Stefan confirmed his availability with a sharp nod.

"Perfect," Ellie beamed, clapping her hands together. "Dinner, my house. You, me, Alexa and Bonnie." Aww bless, she looked so proud of her idea. "You two will spend some quality time together and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."

And because I am who I am, I couldn't resist waving my hand in the air and asking, "Uh, who says that I'm free tonight?"

Elena looked me dead in the eye, "I do."

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. She is such an evil twin.

"That's not very fair," I muttered petulantly.

"I'll let you cook?" Ellie offered and I paused, biting my lip in thought.

It would be nice to cook for people again. It has been a while…

"Deal," I beamed at my sister.

Before anything else could be said, a ball appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for the back of Stefan's head. Before I could even draw in a breath to warn him, Stefan spun around and caught it. Whoa, hot damn, that was impressive. The speed at which he moved. It was insane!

Stefan threw the ball back and I watched it fly through the air. And into the hands of, surprise surprise, one Mr Tyler Lockwood. Tyler staggered back at the force of the catch. Damn, Stefan must have thrown it with some strength.

It was safe to say that I was pissed. I don't know what Tyler was playing at with that little stunt. But he sure as hell wasn't going to get away with it.

"Are you alright?" I asked Stefan and Elena, I knew that the ball hadn't actually hit them. But I needed that peace of mind. When they both nodded, I allowed a vicious smile to form on my face. "Awesome, now if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I must go have words with Tyler Dickwood."

As I stormed off, I could hear Elena protesting behind me. But as I didn't get stopped, I'm guessing Stefan must have stopped her following me.

"Tyler!" I bellowed, making a beeline for the Lockwood teen.

I could hear a faint "oh shit" as I approached. Matt, sweet Mattie Donovan, stepped forward so that he was between me and his bestie.

"Alexa," he started, putting his hands up in the universal calm down gesture.

"Matt," I interrupted him, keeping my gaze fixed on my prey. "You're absolutely adorable and a good friend. But I will go through you if I need to."

I could tell that Matt was contemplating my threat. And since he had grown up with me, he knew it wasn't empty words.

The blue-eyed honey glanced behind him, "Sorry bro."

I couldn't help but internally snicker as Matt fled the scene. But it didn't distract me for long.

"What the hell was that?" I hissed, glaring at Tyler.

I could tell that Tyler was going to be stubborn as he jutted his jaw to the side and retorted, "That was me following the bro code."

"Does the bro code allow you to through a ball at the competition when my sister is right next to him?!"

I may have shouted that last bit. But if Stefan didn't have such good reflexes, then Elena could have been hurt. Which is a huge no no.

"Relax, I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Just leave my family alone, Ty," I hated myself for the exhausted tone that I just couldn't hide there. "And that includes Stefan for as long as he is with Elena."

I walked away before he could answer, cursing myself every step of the way. I hated that the only conversations that I seem to be having with Ty these days were arguments. I missed our friendship. And I wanted it back. But my stupid pride was getting in the way. And he wasn't making it easy for me either. His beef with Jer over Vicki bloody Donovan just made it harder.

I just wished that things would be easier.

XXX

My aim was to catch Bonnie after math class finished. But instead, she ambushed me first.

Just before class ended, a small ball of paper bounced onto my desk. Since I wasn't playing a game with anyone, it couldn't be anyone conceding in poor grace. Following the direction of the throw, I glanced to the side to see my darling Bonnie B giving me a small smile.

"What's up?" I mouthed, tilting my head to the side.

Instead of a verbal reply, she gestured down to the ball of paper in front of me. Intrigued, I unscrunched it to see a frowny face under the words 'I'm sorry'.

Oh Bon-Bon.

I sighed and looked back up at my friend. Grabbing my pencil, I turned the page and drew a heart with 'AG + BB' in the middle. After a quick glance to see if the teacher was watching, I reached over and slid it onto Bonnie's desk.

Her cute little smile warmed my heart and I couldn't help but smile in return.

Fortunately, it was then that the bell rang to signal the end of class. And thank god for that! I quickly shoved my stuff into my bag and jumped from my seat. Glancing to the side, I saw Bonnie had only just stood up, which meant that I still had time to grab her. Sliding over, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and guided her from the room.

Miss Bennett and I needed to chat.

"Come, come, my dear," I murmured into her ear. "We're ditching next period."

Bonnie gave a token protest but I could tell her heart wasn't in it. She knew we needed to talk and it was probably a relief for her to get whatever it was off of her chest. Turning my head, I saw Stefan leave the classroom.

"Yo Stef," I called, getting his attention. "Cover for me?"

I didn't give him time to agree before I disappeared around the corner with my physic friend.

"So, Bon," I started as I steered her into the disabled toilet and locked the door behind us. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm sorry, Alexa," she sighed, closing the lid and sitting on the toilet seat. "I really do want to be happy that Elena hooked up with Stefan, but I…"

She trailed off with a frustrated look on her face and my heart ached. I slumped against the wall and slide down to the floor. It was easy to see that this physic thing was hard on her and other than her Grams, she had no one to help her with it.

"Hey," I started, my voice soft. "You don't have to apologise. I trust your judgement Bon. And if you feel like something is up, then I'll ease back on the Stelena pushing."

My beautiful friend shot me a grateful smile, "Thanks for understanding. I know he seems like a good guy, but that feeling I got from him," Bonnie scrunched her face up in frustration, "it scared me. It was more than fear, it was like some primal instinct started screaming at me from deep within."

Oh yikes, that really doesn't sound good. I was starting to get bad vibes myself, like serial killer bad vibes.

"Righto," I frowned, trying to work out our next steps. "I think our way forward is to try and get to know Stefan Salvatore a bit better. As they say, knowledge is power." I paused and concentrated on Bonnie. "Are you comfortable with that? I can take over if you don't want to be around him."

My friend sighed and shook her head, "No, I'll help out. I started this, so I'll help you finish it."

I beamed at her and stood up. Walking forward, I grabbed Bonnie's hands and drew her up into a hug. Whispering in her ear, I vowed that we would get to the bottom of this mystery.

XXX

The rest of the day passed quite quickly. Although I made sure to keep an eye on my dear, sweet Bonnie Bennett. It seemed as though our chat had managed to ease her mind somewhat, but I was determined to do everything I could to ease it fully. Bonnie had been good to us and just because I was eager for Elena to get some hot Salvatore loving, I wouldn't put our friend in an uncomfortable situation to do so.

And oh look, time for history. God kill me now.

Despite Mr Tanner being all nice that time, I made an effort to avoid him. So, I had actually bunked off his classes. Irresponsible I know, but it was the best idea I could come up with at the time. But unfortunately for me, my darling (not) twin had ambushed me just before lunch ended and forced me to the history classroom door. I knew better than to argue with her, despite feeling very tempted to anyway.

So I slouched to the back of the classroom and picked the desk in the corner. While I knew Mr Tanner would still be able to see me, it made me feel slightly better to be so far away. All I had to do was make sure to keep an eye on the time. Can't let myself get caught again, now, can I?

While the dull voice of Mr Tanner sucked away any possible enthusiasm I may have been able to muster, I noticed my sister and her boy having a whispered conversation. Honestly, she yelled at me for not paying attention and then she has little gossip sessions with her kissing buddy in the middle of class. While a part of me hoped she would be caught, I really didn't want Mr Tanner to be the one to do so.

"World War 2 ended in…" Mr Tanner trailed off, looking for his first victim of the lesson. "Anyone got anything?"

I sighed and rested my head on my crossed arms. It was so tempting to fall asleep, but I needed to make a quick exit when the time came. So as much as a nap sounded fantastic, I resisted the urge.

"Miss Juan?" Oh look, his first victim. The girl in question just shrugged, not looking at all bothered that she didn't know. It was nice that some students still kept the resistance going. Mr Tanner couldn't terrify everyone but he had most of them shaking in their designed boots.

Mr Tanner rolled his eyes, "1945," he answered for her. He seemed to be under the mistaken belief that people were listening to him. I mean, there were like 3 or 4 students who were, but the rest had found other things to do. Like my errant sister, who was giving Mr Salvatore a secret little smile. Good lord, I forgot how annoying she could be when she was getting some. Don't get me wrong, it made it a lot easier to get away with stupid shit, but the perkiness got annoying fast.

"Pearl Harbour," Mr Tanner looked for his second victim. He almost reminded me of the shark from Jaws. Always on the hunt for blood. His gaze zeroed in on my sister and I rolled my eyes. So much for a quiet lesson. I prepared myself to leap to her defence, while also shoving all my stuff into my bag.

"Ms Elena Gilbert?"

Ellie paused her chat with Stef, her eyes widening slightly before looking at our history teacher.

Fortunately for all involved, my sister had managed to find herself another defender.

"December 7th, 1941," the very masculine voice of one Stefan Salvatore answered in lieu of my twin. Aww isn't he so sweet. Stefan's adoration of my sister never failed to amuse me. But it had its benefits, especially at times like this.

Obviously Mr Tanner was impressed that he had lost an opportunity to humiliate a student, so he smirked sarcastically, "Thank you, Miss Elena Gilbert."

While some people laughed, I gave the teacher a dark look. Normally I would have joined in with the laughter, but Stefan had helped my sister. I don't laugh at people who help my sister.

Now Stefan was clever bunny and knew exactly how to get under Mr Tanner's skin. He gave the teacher a cheeky smile, "Anytime."

I really did hope that he wasn't hiding a dark and dangerous past, because I really did like the guy. He had a sense of humour and cared for my sister.

"Very well," clearly Mr Tanner look that as a challenge. You could practically see him stalking his new prey. "The Fall of the Berlin Wall."

"1989."

Stefan's reply was instantaneous. It was like he didn't even have to think about it. Gotta say, it was really impressive and kinda hot. I know, I know, I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that, he was my sister's boy. But hey, even I can admire a guy humiliating my worst enemy.

"I'm good with dates, sir," Stefan admitted, making it sound nothing like a brag.

"Are you?" Mr Tanner looked doubtful, but you could see the glee he tried to hide. He was itching to embarrass Stefan in front of everyone. It was something that you learnt early on with our history teacher, you never admitted to being good at anything. "How good? Keep it to the year."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand it was on.

Teacher v Student.

Salvatore v Tanner.

Mortal enemy v sister's kissing buddy.

Obviously I was routing for Stefan here. It was about time Mr Tanner got a taste of his own medicine.

"Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

Straight away I could tell that this would be interesting. All the class sat up a little straighter, excited by the battle in front of us.

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68."

"Lincoln."

"1865."

"Roe vs Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs Board."

You could see Mr Tanner getting frustrated as he stalked forward, hoping to put Stefan off through intimidation.

"1954."

"The Battle of Gettysburg."

"1863."

"Korean War."

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha!" Mr Tanner exclaimed, looking like the cat that caught the canary. "It ended in '52."

He pointed in Stefan's direction with a smug smirk, which really got under my skin, and turned back to the front of the classroom.

"Uh, actually," damn Stefan, you really don't back down, do you? "Sir, it was '53."

Mr Tanner slowly turned around, looking eager at the thought of a second humiliation. But I could sense a wariness about him. Stefan's confidence was unnerving him.

"Look it up," our teacher ordered, causing a flurry of activity. "Quickly."

"With pleasure," I muttered viciously. The thought of contributing to Mr Tanner's downfall made me all excited. While others checked their textbooks, I picked up my phone. I could sense our teacher's gaze on me. It was obvious that he wasn't happy about the fact that I was also looking up the answer. Especially when a truly wicked smirk formed on my face.

Now, because I was a dramatic little shit, I leaned back in my chair and rested my legs on the table.

"It was," I paused a suitable amount in order to raise the tension in the room, "1953."

There was a scattered applause around the room, from those who weren't completely terrified of the teacher. As Stefan turned around to look at me, I gave him one of those serious nods that they do so often in the movies. He returned the nod, a smile tugging at his lips while he did so.

XXX

Back when my sister was cool, she was a part of the cheerleading team. It was something she did with Bonnie and Caroline. I could have joined too, especially since Jazz was a part of the squad. But it was never really my thing. It made matches lonely. With Jazz cheerleading and Tyler and Luke playing, I had no one to misbehave with. So I usually sought the company of my annoying baby bro.

I had secretly hoped that my sister would give up cheerleading for good. But it was apparently something that she was determined to do to 'get things back to the way they were'. Which is cute. But kinda frustrating for me. Not that I would ever tell her that of course. If she wanted to do it, then who was I to stop her?

While Elena had changed into her workout clothes, I used the time to use the hair gel I had in my bag to spike my hair up. I decided to go for the crazy, just-been-electrocuted style.

My sister walked into the changing room toilets and raised an eyebrow when she saw me in my normal clothes still. No idea why she was surprised. I had been very adamant that I was not joining the cheer team and I never would. So while I would accompany her to practice, I would never join in.

Before twinnie could say I word, I held up a hand, "Don't even think about it, girl. I ain't gonna change my mind."

Elena sighed but didn't try to persuade me otherwise.

Wise choice sister.

We walked to the field together, although I was cursing the fact that I had let Ellie manipulate me into joining her. The little fiend had pulled the 'good twin' card and asked for my support. Just because she had decided that she was cheerleading again, doesn't mean that she didn't have any worries over it. And the dum-dum that I am, I reassured her and promised to support her. Which ended up with me being dragged to her first practice in forever.

While Elena walked over to Bonnie, I headed for the back of the bleachers. I found a convenient post to lean against and slid down to the floor. As Bonnie jumped up to greet my sister, I pulled my bag over and pulled out my English Lit book. 'Of Mice and Men', ironically, it was a book that I enjoyed reading. Studying it, of course, was never much fun. But I was a bit more tolerant for this book.

Bonnie looked so excited to have Elena back at training. It was actually rather adorable, but it made me miss my friends even more. Jazz hated to miss cheerleading training, especially since her and Caroline worked as a good team to teach the routines. It must be killing her to not be here right now. I know it was killing me.

While Bonnie and Elena chatted happily, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on my face. It felt nice to just relax like this. I tuned out the noise of the girls warming up and let my mind wander.

I have to admit, I came close to falling asleep. The warmth of the sun and the background noise created a pleasant atmosphere. Fortunately, a particularly loud laugh from my sister saved me from embarrassing myself. I opened my eyes and watched as Elena pulled Bonnie into a hug.

Huh, guess she accepted the dinner invite.

Not that Elena would have given her much of a choice. She desperately wanted Bonnie's approval of Stefan. Not that I blamed her, but my sister did get quite stubborn when she set her mind on something. It could be frustrating at times, especially when I didn't approve of what she wanted. But hey ho, that's my darling sister for you.

Slowly, the girls finished their warm-up. Without the commanding voice of one Caroline Forbes, no one really wanted to get started. It was odd that Caroline wasn't here yet. She hadn't been at school all day either. A part of me was worried. It was rare that Caroline ditched, one of the downsides of being the Sheriff's daughter. And when she did ditch, she at least told someone. But from the looks on Elena and Bonnie's faces, they had no idea where she was.

The girls congregated in small groups, all of them muttering to each other. Seems like no one knew where Caroline was. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to my sister.

"Caroline gone AWOL?" I asked, giving Bonnie a fist-bump.

My response was a frustrated look from my sister and a frown from Bon.

"It's not like her," Ellie's frown deepened. I had to resist the urge to make a crack about frown lines. Fortunately, the loud noise of a car radio saved me from getting beat on by my twin.

All of us looked up to see a blue camaro pull up at the entrance. And oh look, our darling missing Caroline was in the passenger seat. Before she climbed out the car, the blonde gave her driver a deep kiss. Oh damn, that driver just so happened to be one Damon Salvatore.

There was a small stirring of jealous deep within as Caroline gave Damon one more peck on the lips before exiting the car. Which was ridiculous. Why would I be jealous? I didn't like Damon, not like that. Yeah, he was hot but I didn't even know him. And Caroline deserved to be happy. I knew how much it hurt her that Stefan immediately showed an interest in my sister, despite Caroline's obvious interest in him. So it was good that she found someone, although it is a bit weird that it was her former crush's brother. But hey ho, life is weird like that.

"I got the other brother," Caroline smirked at my sister as she strode past. Even I have to admit that the look of shock on Elena's face was amusing. I followed her gaze to see that Damon had yet to leave. He gave my sister a wink and a smirk before driving off.

Well, I really wasn't expecting that. But damn, it would make things interesting. And fun, for me.

"Sorry I'm late, girls," Care called out as she stood at the front. "I was busy."

Dayum, she looked like the cat that caught the canary. Like seriously, satisfied didn't even cover it. She must have got some damn good sex from the older Salvatore brother. I couldn't hide my huff of laughter at the way Care-Bear looked like she was walking on air. Ellie frowned at me and elbowed me in the side. Which hurt, by the way.

"Prude," I muttered as I walked back to my spot by the bleachers. Although I couldn't resist giving Caroline a high-five as I passed her.

"Gimme the deets later," I demanded before letting her start the session.

While the music was bouncy and fun to listen to, the actual training session was boring to watch. And it made things even more awkward for me as it was obvious that my twin was struggling with the routine. She was giving it a good go, but it was clear that she didn't know it as well as the other girls. And I just knew that this was fuelling her doubt about being the girl she used to be. Our lives had changed and she had too, Elena just needed to accept that.

"Elena, sweetie," Caroline called out over the music. "Why don't you just observe today?"

It was clear that Care was just trying to help and she had genuinely good intentions. But unfortunately, she was still riding on her sex high and the sympathy just didn't come across in her voice.

As the blonde carried on with her orders, Ellie walked to the back of the group. She still tried to complete the routine but eventually gave up. I did feel sorry for my sister. She wanted this so bad, but it was beyond her control.

I noticed that she was distracted by something off to the side. Following her gaze, I saw the football team conducting their own practice session. As my sister walked over to the edge of the bleachers, I scooped up my bag and quickly joined her. I knew that she would need some kind of reassurance. And if there was one thing I was good at, it was reassuring my twin.

"He's good, isn't he?" I remarked casually as I reached her side. Elena tore her gaze away from one Stefan Salvatore and gave me a look. I just raised an eyebrow in return.

"Fine," she gave in petulantly before smiling. "He does seem to be going well."

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, I gave her a gentle headbump, "Despite his attitude, Mr Tanner is a good at coaching the football team and getting the best from his players."

Yes, it killed me to admit that.

"This will be good for Stefan," Ellie smiled sweetly at the thought of her boy. "He'll be able to make some friends."

"And it'll be good for Matt too," I beamed cheekily, loving the chance to windup my sister. "He'll be able to beat on the boy whose dating his ex."

"Alexa," Elena gave me her disapproving look. Unfortunately she had given it to me far too many times for it to be effective and I just sniggered into her shoulder.

We watched the practice for a bit longer. I just about knew what was going on, as Luke and Tyler had given me many lessons on how football worked. Of course, I usually ended every lesson by pretending to get it confused with soccer. But that's beside the point.

I heard Ellie sigh and felt her look back at the cheerleading practice behind us.

"Look, hon, just quit," I said bluntly, giving her arm a squeeze. "Getting your life back on track does not necessarily include doing cheerleading again."

While I didn't want to sound harsh, I knew that I couldn't mince my words. Elena wanted advise and I gave it to her.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she reluctantly agreed, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Oh my god, is the world ending?" I gasped dramatically, unable to resist the urge to be a little shit. "Did Elena Miranda Gilbert just admit that I, Alexandria Rebecca Gilbert, was right?"

"Shut up," twinnie muttered, elbowing me in the tummy.

I let out an 'oof' and snickered. Despite her act, I could tell that she was feeling better.

Resting my head against hers, I let myself relax.

XXX

As I had been manipulated into making dinner, (yes, we are forgetting that I volunteered), I made Elena drive us home via the grocery store. It hadn't taken me long to decide what to cook. I knew to avoid food that you eat with your hands. Last thing I needed was for my idiot sister to drop something down herself in front of her kissing buddy. So I decided to go with one of my favourite dishes to do – pasta.

Not gonna lie, pasta was one of my best dishes. And, fortunately for my sister, I knew exactly what ingredients we needed for it.

I would like to say that, as I knew everything that we needed, it was a speedy shop. But I was very fussy with what I bought. And it drove my family crazy. Like legit, they hated going food shopping with me. I had to look at everything that was on offer and even when I chose a product, I took forever to make sure I was happy with the quality of it. I swear I didn't do it on purpose, I just wanted to make sure that what I made was good.

As I browsed the peppers on display, I could hear my sister muttering behind me. Ellie, in particular, never wanted to go food shopping with me. She would do everything she could to get out of it, including waiting in the car while I went in.

"Muttering isn't going to make me decide any faster," I observed as I weighed up two peppers in my hands. Once I made my choice, and was happy with it, I turned to face my sister. Placing the pepper in the basket, I gave her a look, "Ellie, I love you, but if you don't chill, I will refuse to cook and you can go buy takeout instead."

I knew that Ellie couldn't resist my cooking and she wanted to make a good impression for this dinner tonight. Getting takeout didn't really figure into her plans. After a small (not) amount of grumbling, she nodded her head.

"Sweet," I smiled and made a move for the onions.

Fortunately, my shopping list wasn't the longest for once, so it didn't take long to get everything we needed. While Elena drove us home, I went through the shopping bags, making sure I was happy with everything. But apparently, my dearest sister didn't approve of that.

"I am not taking you back there if you decide you aren't happy with any of those," she threatened, giving me a 'look'. Even I knew not to mess with that look. Sighing dramatically, I made a huge show of closing the bags and looking out the window.

It was a well-known fact in my family that when I was in charge of making food, be that dinner or desSert, I could become a right bossy bitch. And my family also knew, as I had frequently shouted it at them, that they could do as asked or vacate the room. I swear I wasn't a bitch on purpose, I was just a bit of a perfectionist when it came to food.

I put Elena in charge of chopping up the mushrooms, pepper and onion while I focussed on the marinara sauce. Yeah, I could have just brought some, but doesn't homemade food taste so much better? And besides, it was so easy to make, it just took a little bit of time.

While the sauce was doing its thing, I checked in on my sister's efforts at chopping. While it wasn't quite to my standards, it would do. Besides, I had a feeling twinnie would stab me if I said anything. I could tell that the constant checking was getting under her skin. But in my defence, Elena really doesn't do much cooking, so it reassured me to check in on her.

The doorbell saved me from being savagely attacked by my so-called sister.

"Oh thank god!" Ellie muttered before fleeing the kitchen.

Well, that was rude. And just to think, I was going to say thanks for her help. Not gonna thank her now.

"Elena, what's up?" the beautiful voice of Bonnie Bennett floated down the hallway.

"Alexa's cooking," was Ellie's reply, although it was slightly hushed.

All I heard from Bonnie was an "oh". Le sigh, these people are all so rude. Here I am, cooking away, and they dare to mock me like that.

"Heya Bon," I smiled as she entered the kitchen.

"Smells good, Alexa," she smiled in return.

"Why thank you," I beamed as I put the water on to boil.

While Ellie and Bonnie set up the table and gossiped, I finished the food. It really was an easy dish to do. Once I was happy, I left the two girls with strict instructions to stir the pasta on occasion while I went to get ready.

As I entered my room, I sighed and headed straight for my beautiful bed. Flopping down, I pulled my pillow over my face and just hid from the world. I was so not looking forward to this. I knew it was going to be soooooooo awkward. While Bonnie would make an effort for us, I knew she wasn't going to make it easy on Stefan. And with Elena giving everyone gooey eyes to play nice and love each other, it was gonna drive me to drink.

Well, even more to drink.

Speaking of, some liquid courage sounded amazing right about now. Rolling off my bed, I landed with a thud on the floor. Luckily, my sister knew me well enough to not bother coming to investigate what the noise was. I found the magic box under my bed and pulled it towards me. Rummaging through it, I knew I needed something to give me a pleasant buzz but would allow me to keep my wits about me. So I went for an old favourite, whiskey.

Love ma whiskey.

I grabbed a can of cola and took a swig. It was trick that I had learnt early on in the summer. If I added the spirit to a soda can, I didn't have to worry about washing or replacing cups. Setting my whiskey'd up cola on my desk, I looked through my wardrobe for something suitable to wear. I didn't need anything too fancy. But I also knew that I needed something decent or Elena would give me one of her 'looks'.

I picked a plain green dress and paired it with black leggings. Nice, simple and easy.

Now in case you were wondering, yes I was slightly worried about my food being looked after. While I did need my liquid courage, I also couldn't neglect my dish. So I took the easy option.

Opening my door, I hollered down the stairs, "I hope you two are looking at the food!"

The following "oh shit" didn't do anything to reassure me. Grumbling to myself, I downed my drink and threw it in my bin. Righto, best go make sure the two dum-dums downstairs didn't ruin dinner.

XXX

I was right.

Dinner was super awkward. But at least everyone was enjoying my pasta.

Elena gave Stefan the seat at the head of the table, with her and Bonnie on either side. I took my place next to Elena and tried to make myself invisible.

The silence was absolutely killing me. Every time Elena tried to break it; Bonnie shut her down. It was incredibly painful to watch. And yeah, I know, I could have been a good sister and helped her. But I wasn't here by choice and it was more interesting to let things play out. Bonnie needed to decide on her own if she approved of Stefan. And I wouldn't deny her that.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Ellie asked Stefan, her fifth attempt to break the awkward silence.

It was painful as to how obvious she was being.

"Well, he let me on the team," Stefan smiled, playing along as he had the other four times. I swear, there was nothing that he wouldn't do for my sister. It was equal parts adorable and sickening. "So I must have done something right."

Eh, Mr Tanner always wanted the best for his team. And if Stefan was as good as I heard, then Mr Tanner would have practically begged him to join. Bet Tyler was seething though. He was very committed to the bro-code. And the bro-code meant that as Stefan was now involved with Matt's ex, Tyler would be very anti-Stefan. I never really understood the bro-code. It just felt like a lot of egotistical posturing to me. But hey, there was nothing I could do to stop it, so I just rode out the inevitable trouble that came from it.

Elena turned to Bonnie, an excited smile on her face, "Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"

"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie cut her off, looking back down at her plate. Silence once again filled the room.

Well damn, I think Elena thought she had the perfect topic there. Elena stared hard at Bonnie, a determined look forming on her face.

Uh oh, I know that look. That look meant bad news. I was almost tempted to grab my plate and run back to my room. But I knew Ellie would just drag me back downstairs.

I saw Elena open her mouth to try again and internally sighed. As I stared at the glass of cola in front of me, I really wished that it was something stronger. Like so much stronger.

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" Elena asked Bonnie, giving her a hard look. I was almost admiring my sister's stubbornness here. I would admire it more if I was allowed to hide and watch it from a distance.

"Um, divorced," Bon muttered into her pasta, refusing to look at Elena. "No mum. Live with my dad."

Lol, she was even trying. She knew exactly what Elena was after there. While a part of me felt like I should be made at Bonnie for making this difficult for Elena. A larger part of me knew that it wasn't any of my business. This was Bonnie's choice to make. She could approve of Stefan or not approve. And I would respect that decision. Yeah, I might not agree with it, but I would respect it.

"No, about the witches," my sister ground out through gritted teeth. Uh oh, looks like she was finally cracking. Although, there was no way that she would succeed in scaring Bonnie into doing what she wanted her to do. That girl had seen the Gilbert twins go through every awkward phase imaginable. She could never be scared of us after that. Well, not Elena anyway. I still had that magic touch.

Seeing that Bonnie wasn't going to play ball, Elena turned to Stefan, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches." Here, she shot a look at her friend. "It's really cool."

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bon snorted, shaking her head. This earnt her a barely veiled glare from Elena. Eruption in 5… 4 … 3 … 2 … 1…

"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan interjected, drawing everyone's attention to him and diverting the Elena eruption. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800's."

Trust Stefan to know some obscure, weird fact like that. Although it was pretty hard in this situation. One day, I really need to have a sit down with Stefan and pick his brain for all that weird, random knowledge. And damn, new thought, he would be super handy in quizzes. Maybe I could get him on my team for the weekly online quiz that I took part in. First place here I come…

Bonnie stared at Stefan. You could see her internal debate. This was something she wanted to discuss but she also didn't want to make this easy on anyone. Something must have swayed her decision, as she sighed and revealed, "My family came by the way of Salem."

Hallelujah, we have interaction people. Elena looked so proud from her place beside me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. As Bonnie glanced my way, I shot her a small smile. I gotcha back gurl.

"Really? Salem witches?" Stef looked genuinely interested, which was actually really adorable. This guy was such a history nerd.

Bonnie shrugged awkwardly, looking back down at her pasta, "Yeah."

"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan gave my sister a smile, which only made hers grow. Oh lordy, someone give me some booze. This was gonna turn into a cringe-fest.

"Really? Why?" Bonnie looked cautiously interested, still looking slightly wary at joining in.

Stefan turned his smile to the girl, his face soft and inviting, "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."

Well damn, that was a powerful statement. And one look at Bonnie showed that she approved of it. Well done, Mr Salvatore, you have made progress.

"Yeah, they are," Bon finally unleashed that beautiful smile of hers. While the three next to me smiled at each other, I just rolled my eyes and downed my soda. If I concentrated hard, I could almost pretend that it had whiskey mixed in with it.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand then the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be," Elena frowned, looking at the door.

Sensing an opportunity to escape, I shot up from my seat, almost falling over Elena's chair as I did so, "I'll get it."

I could sense Elena's disapproving state as I fled from the room, but Bonnie's barely hidden snort of laughter distracted my sister.

I flung it open to see darling Caroline Forbes and delicious Damon Salvatore stood on my porch.

"Surprise!" Care beamed, holding up the items in her hands. "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."

They had, indeed, brought dessert. Which was incredibly lucky, because I didn't have time to make any. And for once, I didn't have a back-up in the fridge. The beautiful couple had brought a cheesecake, but I also spied a box hidden underneath.

"Oh thank God," I breathed, bringing the girl in for a hug, being careful with the precious food. "You are a lifesaver."

Caroline laughed in my ear, "How awkward has it been?"

I pulled back and gave her a look, "Let's just say that your arrival has saved me from using the 'look, it's the Pope' trick." I gratefully accepted the dessert and dragged Caroline in. "This is very welcome as well."

Caroline shrugged, a bashful smile forming on her sweet face, "Well I figured that you would have been busy with making dinner and wouldn't have time to make dessert, so, ta da…"

"You are beautiful human being," I said seriously, staring at the cheesecake in adoration. "What's in the box?"

"Apple pie from the Grill," Care shrugged, pretending to look oblivious to my look of utter delight.

I couldn't stop the happy squeal from leaving my mouth, "You are my new favourite."

Damon had been watching us with an amused smirk on his face, "Hope you don't mind us turning up like this."

I waved off his concerns as Caroline made her way into the kitchen, "Trust me, the phrase 'more the merrier' has never been truer."

This must have amused him as he let out a throaty laugh and leant against the doorframe. I was just about to tell him to get his cute ass in here when one Stefan Salvatore appeared next to me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, a very displeased look on his stern face.

Oh oh, family dramaaaaaaaa.

"Waiting for Alexandria to invite me," Damon gave me a pleasant smile, which made my insides go all gooey.

I fought hard to make sure that I didn't swoon (again) and stuttered, "Well, yeah, of course, please come-"

"No, no, no," Stefan rudely cut me off, earning him a glare from yours truly. "He can't, uh, he can't stay." Pfffft someone sounds like they are making excuses. Clearly they don't want their more attractive brother around all the girls. "Can you, Damon?"

Stefan gave Damon a 'look', one that screamed 'you know what I mean so play along or else'. It was one that Elena had given me many a time during our childhood. But to be fair, it was one that I had also given to Jeremy multiple times. Anyways, it was look that I knew very well.

And I wasn't the only one who could sense the nonsense.

"Just get in here," Caroline called from the kitchen, clearly wanting her boyfriend to join the party.

"We're just… finishing up," Stef tried again, not even trying to be subtle this time.

"Hell nah, dessert just arrived," I stood to the side and dramatically swept my arm inwards. "Please, Damon, come on in."

Damon gave his brother a triumphant smirk and stepped inside. As the brothers exchanged looks over my head, it felt like something significant just happened. But I shrugged it off.

"You have a beautiful home, Alexandria," Damon remarked, looking around.

Even though I wasn't normally house proud, I had to resist the urge to give one of the embarrassing, titter-like laughs.

"Why thank you," I smiled, following him into the kitchen. "And please, call me Alexa."

Gee, could you be more obvious Alexa. Just calm down gurl. He's dating Caroline, so he is very much off-limits.

Determined to be a good hostess, I offered drinks and dessert to people. Well, I offered the cheesecake, the apple pie was all mine.

While I sorted out coffee for the six of us, I let Elena dish out the cheesecake. As the other moved into the living room, Caroline joined me at the coffee machine.

"Alexa, what happened to the apple pie?" she asked, an innocent look on her face.

I snorted, giving her a gentle push, "Stop being a little shit."

Care laughed and helped me get the mugs out, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah right," I laughed before glancing behind us. "Well done, by the way. Damon is a diiiiiiiiiish."

Caroline looked incredibly proud of herself, "He really is." She, too, glanced behind us before leaning in close, "And he is so good in bed!"

We giggled quietly.

"Is that what you've been doing all day?" I whispered, pretending to look outraged. "And is that the reason for the scarf?"

"Let's just say that Damon is the King of hickeys."

"Oh daaaaaaaaang, girl, you have got to give me more info than that!"

Unfortunately, before Caroline could truly give me the juicy details, the wonderful voice of my twin drifted into the kitchen.

"I'm sure the coffee is ready now."

I sighed with disappointment and shook my head, "Ellie, you can be so impatient sometimes."

But did as I was told and sorted out the coffees. Since Elena had decide to be Ms Interrupter, I made her take Stefan's coffee with her own. We joined the others in the living room, delivering coffees on our way. Since the other two girls were with their boys, I decided to keep my darling Bonnie company.

As I checked in on Bonnie, Caroline did what she does best, she controlled the conversation. A lot of it was getting updates on various events, while also explaining details as needed for the Salvatore brothers.

"I cannot believe that Mr Tanner let you on the team," Care laughed as she leant back against Damon. "Tyler must be seething."

"It's his own fault really," I snorted, shaking my head. "He should never have thrown that ball this morning. Shit like that puts ideas in people's heads."

"You're assuming that Tyler actually thought about the consequences of his actions," Bon countered, a cheeky smile on her face.

"True dat."

"But good for you," Care quickly added, giving Stefan a smile. "You should definitely go for it."

"That's what I always tell him," Damon added, looking at his brother with a deviously delicious smirk. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

Despite the fact that Damon was just trying to annoy his brother, it was actually good advice. And I couldn't help but hope that my sister was listening to it. She had always been a go-getter, but since the accident, it was as though she had lost that part of her. And she needed to get it back, for her own sake.

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today," Care sighed, looking genuinely regretful. I know she loved having her friends on the cheer team. It was like their little girl gang thing.

She gave my sister a reassuring smile, "It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to get the routines. Alexa, do you know when Jazz is due back?"

"Not a clue," I sighed regretfully, missing my bestie. "Hopefully soon, but not even she knows."

Despite the fact that Jazz missed summer camp every year, she was always on point with the routines. I've always suspected that Caroline gave her a cheerleading bootcamp between Jazz returning from her summer adventures and school starting.

"I'll work with her," Bonnie offered, having sensed some change in the mood of the room. "And then when Jazz returns, we'll double-team it."

"I guess we could put her in the back until then," Caroline muttered, frowning thoughtfully. It was clear to all who knew her that she was planning squad placements in her head.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleading type, Elena," Damon remarked, starting at my sister.

"Oh, it's just cos the twin's parents died," Care remarked distractedly, still focussed on her cheerleading plans. "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase." Uh oh, Care really needed to focus more on what she was saying. "She used to be way more fun." You could see the 'oh shit' look form on Caroline's face as she realised what she said. "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

The look on Elena's face could scare the devil.

As we all sat in awkward silence, I was saved by the sound of my cell phone ringing.

"Oh thank god," I muttered as I got up to grab it from the kitchen counter. "Alexa Gilbert's phone, how may I help you?"

"Hey Alexa," the delightful voice of one Luke Nolan greeted me.

"Hey Luke!" I exclaimed happily, retreating upstairs to my room, coffee in hand. "Long time, no speak."

"Yeah, sorry bout that."

"Nah, don't sweat it. To what do I owe this pleasurable phone call?"

"I missed you. And I needed to get away from my parents for a bit."

"Awww honey," I cooed. "They driving you mad?"

"More than usual," the level of frustration in his voice really worried me.

"What have they been doing?"

"They have been getting even more obsessive about me joining the 'family business' full-time."

That worried me even more. I didn't actually know what the family business was, no one knew except the Nolan's. And despite numerous attempts to find out, I was still annoyingly clueless.

"Well, you could always hide in our spare room. Our under my bed. It's actually quite roomy."

That earned me one of his throaty laughs, "As much as I would love to, Jazz would kill me if I ditched her like that."

"Eh, bring her too. There's plenty of room here."

"What would your Aunt Jenna say about that?"

"Thank God there are more teenagers to provide me with entertainment?"

"Hmmm yeah, that is totally what she would say."

"Oh shut up, shithead!"

"Why do I put up with this abuse?"

"Because your life would be boring without me?"

"Yeah, let's go with that. Ah crap, Alexa, my dad's calling me."

I was disappointed that he had to go so soon. I had missed our chats, just as much as I had missed his sister's.

"Aw, that sucks."

"I know, boo. But I'll call again soon, I promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

I sighed as we said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. Well, that was equal parts sucky and wonderful. Why did his dad have to call him away so soon? As much as I loved Mr and Mrs Nolan, I could give them a few choice words about how they treated their children. They loved them, but they tried so hard to turn them into little versions of themselves. Which was a huge shame. Because their children were perfect enough already.

Sighing, I gave into my urges and dug around for the magic box under my bed. Luckily I had enough coffee to add my whiskey too. Irish coffee was my favourite kind of coffee. I took a long swig and closed my eyes in contentment. Ahhhh perfect.

I went to put the bottle back and paused, oh what the hell. I added more whiskey to the coffee and hid the bottle. Perfecto.

Righto, best get back downstairs to the rest of the gang. At least I would be saved from any awkwardness by my Irish coffee.

I walked out of my door, only to nearly crash into one Damon Salvatore.

"Oh shit!"

Fortunately, Damon had better reflexes than me and grabbed my elbows to steady me. He even managed to prevent any coffee from being spilt. Thank god.

"I am so sorry," I stuttered out as I had managed to untwist my tongue. The feel of his hands on my skin made me tingle. As did the charming smile he sent my way.

"Don't worry about it," he responded. "No harm done."

"And no coffee was split," I added with a wry smile. "Were you looking for me?"

"Just finished in the bathroom," he answered, removing his hands from my arms. Much to my disappointment.

"Cool," I nodded. "Cool, cool, cool. Guess we had better get back downstairs."

As we walked down, I couldn't help but asked, "Has the awkward silence been banished?"

Damon laughed that downright sexy laugh of his, "You don't need to worry, everyone made up and the conversation carried on."

"Oh thank god," I sighed dramatically, feeling incredibly relieved.

The throaty chuckle behind me made me melt into a puddle of goo.

I had just reached the bottom of the stairs when I felt hands on my waist.

Damon's breath brushed against the back of my neck as he whispered into my ear, "You may want to hide that special coffee from the others."

I froze, a whispered "oh damn" leaving my lips.

"Don't worry, I won't tell," Damon assured me as he brushed past. He gave me his signature smirk, "But my brother might."

"Thanks for the heads up," I gave him a 'bro' nod before walking past him to the kitchen, downing my coffee as I went.

XXX

I was still awake when I heard Elena wake up. By the sound of it, she had just had a nightmare. Sighing, I closed my window and threw my plastic cup in the bin, making a mental note to hide it under something when I came back. Cracking open the door, I saw my sister head down the stairs, glass in hand. I frowned; she had definitely had a nightmare.

I followed her downstairs, making sure to keep quiet to not wake the rest of the family. Ellie went straight to the kitchen and poured herself some cold water.

While I really didn't want to scare her, I couldn't think of a way to get her attention without startling her. Ah damn, here I go.

I coughed softly as I leant against the doorframe. And, naturally, my twin jumped at the sound, spilling half her glass.

"Bad dream?" I asked softly as she turned to look at me. Her cheeks were unnaturally flushed and she had a startled look about her. At her nod, I moved forward and enveloped her in a hug. She nestled her head in my neck as I stroked her back.

"Oh honey," I sighed before leading her into the living room. I deposited her on the sofa before taking her glass. As I filled it up, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. While Ellie had had her fair share of nightmares after the accident, she was getting better at sleeping through the night. So whatever had crept her way into her pretty head and unsettled her just became my new enemy.

Elena slowly sipped at the water as I settled down next to her. I brushed her hair from her face and ran my fingers through it, gently easing out any tangles.

"You look awful, sis," I frowned, running my thumb over the skin just under her eyes.

"Thanks, Lexa," she managed a strained smile before placing the glass on the coffee table.

"Don't mention it," I snorted softly as I pulled her into my side, wrapping a protective arm around her. As I rested my head against the top of hers, my mind drifted back to the time after the accident. I had done this so many times for Elena, as she woke up from the nightmares of almost drowning. That thought had me pulling her in tighter, unwilling to let her leave the protective place at my side. I would do anything to protect my twin sister.

"We should probably go back to bed," Ellie sighed after a while.

I nodded, agreeing with her, "You're sharing with me tonight."

A more natural smile formed on my twin's face, "I don't really get a choice here, do I?"

"What do you think?" I retorted, raising an eyebrow.

My sister shook her head, but I knew her well enough to tell that she appreciated it. While it was normally me seeking solace in her bed, she knew that she was always welcome in mind after a hard day.

As we got settled back in my bed, I pulled my sister back into my side. I wrapped my arms around her before whispering into her soft hair, "Night twin."

"Night twin," was her whispered reply.

I waited until Elena's breathing deepened before allowing sleep to take me.

XXX

When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over before frowning at the empty space next to me. God damn it sis, you could at least have woken me up. After a very satisfying stretch and groan, I stumbled out of my room and into my sister's.

Ah.

The cheerleading outfit was laid out of the bed, like it was mocking me. I stuck my tongue out at it before slouching over to the window seat. I knew what I wanted my sister to do, but it had to be her choice. Everyone knew it would be better for Ellie to give up cheerleading, but until my sister accepted it, she would keep trying.

I focussed my gaze Elena as she walked into the room, clad only in a towel. Now, because I am a little shit, I couldn't resist messing with her, so I wolf-whistled.

Elena jumped and turned to face me, the towel in her hair swishing against her bare back. When she saw me, my sister just rolled her eyes and continued to the bed. She eyed the uniform with trepidation before glancing to the side. I knew what she was looking at. Sat on her dresser was a picture of her in the uniform. From the 'before' days.

"I'm quitting," Elena announced into the quiet of the room.

"Oh thank god!" I exclaimed, jumping up. "Bout time you decided that."

I went to envelop her in hug but squealed at her still wet skin.

"Woman! Dry yourself when you get out the shower!"

Ellie rolled her eyes and pushed me away, "Get out and I will."

Geez, I can tell when I'm not wanted.

XXX

Since Elena wasn't wearing her cheerleading uniform, we actually had to de-conflict our outfits. And since I was a lazy little shit, I left all of that to Elena. I stretched out on my bed as I watched my sister go through my wardrobe.

"For God's sake, Alexa, why is this never organised?"

I shrugged my shoulders, distracted by a chip in my nail vanish. Ah shoot, I don't even have time to redo it. I was punished for my inattention as a piece of orange fabric landed on my face.

"Rude!" I exclaimed, giving my sister an evil look. She just rolled her eyes before throwing a piece of black fabric at me. Luckily, I caught this one.

I laid out the outfit that she picked out and appreciated her ability to put together a damn good outfit.

"Thanks sis!" I hollered as she left the room.

Righto Alexa, clothes are sorted, time to get ready.

I took my time, making sure that my make-up was on point. Gotta look good innit, might even find a kissing buddy of my own in the away supporters.

The clothes my sister had picked out were cute. She had paired black shorts with a orange, floaty top that stopped just above my belly button.

Once I was ready, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Hot damn girl, you look fine.

I slipped on some black wedges to complete the look before going to find a family member to annoy. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, my darling baby bro tried to barge past me.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, grabbing on to him. "Hot girl coming through!"

Jeremy gave me an unimpressed look before trying to escape my grasp.

I snorted, "Not happening, kiddo."

Grabbing his hood, I pulled him into the living room and slumped down on the sofa. Due to the grip I had on him, Jer fell down with me, landing half on top of me. Sensing that resistance was futile, baby bro gave up fighting and got comfortable.

"What's up, bro? Anything interesting happening in the life of Jeremy Grayson Gilbert?"

I played with his hair as we spoke. While it did annoy the kid, I knew he liked the feel of it. He had always been a sucker for someone playing with his hair, not that the little brat would admit it. But hey, that's what he had an annoying older sister for.

Aunt Jenna drove us to the game.

I called shot gun, pushing Jeremy out of the way so I beat him to the car. Which resulted in him sulking during the short drive to the school. When we got to the school, he stormed off as soon as the car stopped.

"Love you, honey!" I shouted after him, cackling as he gave me the middle finger.

Looooooooool I loved messing with the little shit.

While Jenna disappeared off to 'save us seats', and by that, I mean find her date for the night. So that left me with my sweet sister. Until she ditched me for her kissing buddy.

Speaking of…

One Stefan Salvatore made his way through the crowd, an adorable smile forming on his face when he saw my sister.

"Oooh, look at you," Ellie grinned, giving him the 'do me now' eyes. "You look hot in your jersey."

I mean, he did look good in it. But whatever floats your boat, sis.

I was really tempted to take my leave but the opportunity to tease the two could present itself at any moment. And I really, really didn't want to miss it. But I did turn to the side slightly, to present the illusion of privacy.

"What happened?" Stefan frowned, obviously noticing the lack of cheerleading uniform. "No more cheerleader?"

"I quit," Ellie admitted, looking slightly sheepish. "I'm a quitter."

Oh for, damn it, Elena. I'm gonna need to have words with this girl later. She is not a quitter. She just decided to stop doing something that no longer gave her enjoyment. No shame in that.

"No, hey, you're not a quitter," Stefan agreed with my silent thoughts, a serious look on his face. "You suffered a great loss. You're not the same person. You should be looking ahead. You should be starting over. Okay?"

Aww Stefan, that's some really good advice. And I really hoped that my sister was listening to him.

Stefan paused before hesitantly holding up a small box, "I hope you don't think this is too soon or too weird, but…" Stef sighed and opened the box. I couldn't see what was inside but Ellie's face was enchanted. "I, uh, I wanted you to have this."

"Oh my god, it's beautiful," my sister breathed out as Stef revealed a cute little necklace. It had this ancient look to it and it suited my sister perfectly.

"It's something that I've had forever," he revealed, passing it over. "And, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now." I bit my lip, resisting the urge to coo. Loudly. "I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me, for… good luck."

Ah damn, that broke me.

"Awwwww, you two are so cute!" I cooed loudly, turning to face them fully.

Ellie blushed a bright red as Stefan coughed awkwardly.

"Oh my god, Alexa, shove off," Elena groaned, giving me a light push. I just laughed and danced away, giving them some proper privacy this time.

Stefan put the necklace on my sister before she kissed him goodbye. Before he got too far, I made sure to call out a "good luck" to him. Then, because I am an uber little shit, I danced forward, a wicked smirk on my face.

"Seriously, El, you two are, like, totally cute," I rested my chin on the twin's shoulder.

"And you are the actual worst," Elena retorted, giving me a dirty look.

"Lol, you love it," I gave a cheeky bow. "Your life would be dull without me."

"My life would be peaceful without you," my sister countered, but I could see that she was fighting a smile.

"And you're not in uniform because?"

The sweet voice of Caroline Forbes echoed behind us.

Turning, Elena gave Caroline a strained smile, "Uh, I kind of… quit."

We waited while Care absorbed that information. Seconds later a bright smile formed on her beautiful face, "Oh thank god. You really did look miserable during practice. And now you can keep Alexa busy during games so she doesn't swamp my phone with texts."

I looked away innocently at that, refusing to make eye contact.

XXX

While Elena wanted to listen to Mr Tanner's 'Got Timberwolves!' speech up close, I just wanted to find somewhere to chill for a while. Fortunately, I managed to spy my baby bro through the crowd. Mumbling a goodbye to Elena, I pushed my way through them. Ugh, why are crowds so annoying.

"Hey cutie," I smiled a Jer as I pulled him into a one-armed hug. "How's it hanging?"

"Tequila like," Jer smiled, passing me a nearby bottle. Ugh, I love this kid so damn much.

"Oh Jeremy," I sighed, taking the bottle. "Have I ever told you that you're my favourite sibling?"

The smirk he gave perfectly matched my own. I took a shot and relished the burn. We didn't even both listening to Mr Tanner. It was the same speech that he gave at the first match every year. I mean, yeah, there was the little Stefan relevant addition. But it was still a bore.

The tequila on the other hand… now that was entertaining.

Jer and I passed the bottle between us, taking it easy. I think the kid appreciated having a sister drink with him who wouldn't start the judgement trial. Seriously, I loved my sister, but she was not handling Jeremy properly at all. Unlike me. Yeah, I let him drink and smoke weed, but I also made sure that he didn't go too far. And he talked to me. He told me any issues that he had and I helped him through them.

As any sister should.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw trouble approach.

Oh shit.

Tyler stormed forward, a dangerous look on his face. Beside me, Jeremy stood straight and squared off. He clearly wanted a fight. My brothers were total idiots.

"Don't you dare," I started, pointing my finger at Tyler, before an arm wrapped around my waist. Jer spun me to the side just in time to get punched in the face. Oh double shit. Jeremy answered with a punch of his own, jolting me from my shock.

"Hey, back the fuck off!" I shouted, pushing my way between the two boys. I just about managed to dodge a hit before pushing Tyler away. "Just stop it!"

It was Tyler's turn to push me out the way and I couldn't help cursing. Vicki Donovan was protesting loudly in the background as a crowd formed to watch the fight. All of that made me even angrier. I threw myself back into the scuffle and tried to separate them. But the mixture of booze and testosterone had completely taken over the two idiots.

Tyler pushed me to the side but he had (hopefully) misjudged the strength of the push. I landed heavily on the floor and looked up to see a hit down Jeremy too. Fortunately, someone decided to help me stop the two shitheads from killing each other.

"Hey! He's down!" Stefan grabbed Tyler's fist to stop him from hitting my kid brother even more. "Enough!"

I crawled over to Jeremy, trusting Stefan to keep Tyler in check. But the little shit decided to grab a broken bottle and stagger to his feet.

"For fuck's sake," I grumbled, lunging forward to try and grab his fist. But I got there too late. Luckily, Stefan had better reflexes. He pulled Tyler back and confiscated the bottle.

I grabbed my idiot kid and took a good look at his face. His mouth was bloody and he would definitely be sporting an impressive bruise later.

"C'mon," I murmured softly, gently pulling his head up. "Need to keep your head up kiddo."

"Are you okay?" Jer asked me, completely disregarding my order.

Rolling my eyes, I gave him a pointed look, "I should be asking you that, you little shit."

"What the hell, Jeremy?!" Ah damn, Elena had appeared. This was not going to go well. Jer was far too volatile right now to deal with Elena's overbearing attitude towards him. And I really didn't want to deal with another fight today.

"I'm fine!" Jer snapped, giving her a look which just screamed 'not dealing with your shit'.

"Yeah, you smell fine," she scoffed, not taking the hint.

"Just stop," he growled at Elena before storming off. Oh hell, who do I go with? My well-meaning idiot sister or my drunk idiot brother?

XXX

Turns out I didn't need to worry about deciding, Elena marched off elsewhere, looking like a woman on a mission. And I really didn't want to know what she was so determined to find out. So I went looking for Jeremy instead.

Where the kid went, I have no idea. I just hoped I found him before he did something stupid. Actually, before he did something else stupid. Honestly, what was he thinking? Tyler was a part of the football team and he had always been freakishly strong. Jer knew that, so why did he think fighting him would be a good idea?

I swear, I'm gonna shake some sense into the little idiot when I find him. Even if it takes me all night. I just hoped that he was still in school grounds. Extending my search further would just be painful.

I ended up in the car park, hoping that he had found our car to sulk by. But instead, I found a far more interesting sight.

Damon Salvatore was leaning in to kiss to sister.

What the hell? For one thing, he was dating Caroline. And for another, my sister hadn't pushed him away yet.

Oh, there we go.

I've gotta say, that was an impressive slap. I'm proud to say that I taught her that. She spat out some furious words before storming off. Holy cow, she was piiiiiiiiiiissed. Like I haven't seen her that mad in forever.

There was a funny little feeling in my stomach, which I couldn't quite put my finger on. So I ignored it and instead approached Damon.

"Dude, did you just try and kiss my sister?" I asked as I came up behind him.

"Yes," Damon answered through gritted teeth, still holding his cheek.

"You do remember that she's dating your brother, right?"

"I know."

"And you tried to kiss her," I shook my head, sighing wearily. Oh yet another sibling issue that I'm going to have to fix.

Damon turned around, his usual smirk back on his face, "What's the matter? You jealous?"

I couldn't help the laugh that burst from my mouth. But the truth was, I was a little jealous. Not that I would ever admit it.

"Hell no!" I scoffed, a smirk of my own forming. "I'm just making sure I have all the facts. For the police report, you know? When Caroline kills you for cheating on her."

Damon looked put out by my laughter and I took that as my cue to leave. You know, in case he tried kissing anyone else. And I might not have the moral strength to say no. (And yes, I hate myself for that.)

Giving Jeremy up for a temporary lost cause, I decided to just speak to him at home. Be that when I got home or when he snuck in through my window. There was a bit more time to kill before the game, so I decided to look for someone to pester. My main aim was Bonnie, as I hadn't had a chance to properly check in on her since last night's dinner.

But I couldn't find her. Honestly, it's like everyone was hiding from me. A giant game of hide and seek that no one bothered to tell me about.

Deciding to be cheeky, I snuck around to where the changing rooms were. Not that I had any intention of going in them, I just knew that there was always a chance to sneak in and grab a good seat through the entrance. But instead, I found something else…

It was the blood that got to me. The smell of it. It turned my stomach. I didn't realise that I had screamed until I felt hands on my shoulders, turning me around.

"Alexa?" Matt's worried face appeared, his hands a comforting weight on my shoulders. I couldn't find the words to answer him so I just gestured over my shoulder. I felt numb.

"Oh my god," Mattie whispered before yelling, "Somebody help!"

He ran forward as I slowly turned back around. The bloody body of Mr Tanner was all I could look at.

XXX

Elena insisted that I share the bed with her that night. Not that I had any intention of protesting. I was not above admitting that seeing Mr Tanner shocked me. It was the first dead body that I had ever seen. And it was someone that I knew, which was even worse. While I had beef with Mr Tanner, I never wanted him dead. Especially after he was so nice to me about the alcohol thing.

Once she had found me, Elena had refused to leave my side. She supported me while Sheriff Forbes took my statement. She had even taken me with her when she said goodbye to Stefan. Who is a total cutie. He had given me a hug and made sure that I was as okay as I can be. And he offered to be there if I needed to talk. He was a good one, that Stefan Salvatore.

Aunt Jenna drove us home before fussing over us. She insisted on making us hot chocolates before letting us upstairs. It was obvious that she felt powerless and just wanted to help. God, I loved my aunt. Jenna even went as far as tucking us into Ellie's bed, like she did when we were little.

While Ellie wrote in her diary, I just curled up against her side. The sweet smell of my sister helped soothed me. I just felt numb and I knew that when it broke, it would not be good. Last time there was a death in my life, I turned to alcohol. I had a feeling that this time wouldn't be any different.

I was lightly dozing when I felt a hand smooth my fringe from my face. Grumbling, I feebly batted the hand away, blearily wondering why Ellie was doing that. A hand grabbed mine and settled it back under the blanket, after giving it a squeeze. I felt my sister's weight settle behind me and let sleep take me.

A/N: Not gonna lie, there's been a disappointing lack of reviews since I started posting :( but it's all good! As always, let me know what you think and if you have any special requests xoxo