Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: Happy New Year! This chapter was a bit of a pain to write as I wanted to show how Alexa acted around her friends when everything was 'normal' and there wasn't any vampire drama happening. Hopefully it comes across okay!
XXX
Knock. Knock. Knock.
My head shot up from where it was hanging off of the side of the sofa. Damn doorbell woke me up. I was laying down so that my legs were hanging over the back of the sofa and my head was hanging over the edge. Don't ask me why I was sleeping on the sofa like that. It's comfy. And fun. You can never forget the fun. Fun is very important. Especially these days. You needed to get all the fun you could before the opportunity was eaten.
"Is anyone gonna get that?" I yelled impatiently. Nope? Is anyone even home? I knew that Aunt Jenna had gone out. But Ellie and Jer should still be here.
"Jeremy? Twinnie?"
My voice echoed through the house. Y'know, it never ceases to amaze me how loud I can be. But anyway. Bugger. That meant that I had to get up. I didn't wanna get up. I was comfortable. I don't like getting up when I'm comfortable. Curse the person who makes me get up when I am comfortable.
The idiot behind the door banged on it again.
Alright, alright, I'm coming, keep ya hair on. You may as well look pretty before I slam your head into the door.
I rolled off of the sofa and onto the floor, landing with a thud. I stayed there for a moment before pulling myself to my feet. Oh wowza, sometimes a stretch felt so good. I stood there for a minute, stretching out the kinks in my back.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Right. This asshole was dead meat.
After staggering over to the door, I pulled it open and prepared myself to scream at the fool who dared to interrupt my rest. But before I could, a set of lips covered mine. Immediately recognising them, I relaxed and hungrily returned the kiss. When the need to breathe overwhelmed me, I reluctantly pulled back.
"Hey hon," I smiled dreamily up at my beautiful boyfriend. What a wonderful hello. I could get used to that.
"Hey Lexa," Luke smiled back. Though there was a hint of smugness behind that smile which had me rolling my eyes.
"You two really are sickening."
That was Elena's voice. But where was she? I knew that she hadn't learnt how to throw her voice... or whatever it's called. The awesome trick that people do on TV.
I looked behind me. She wasn't there.
I frowned and looked behind Luke. She wasn't there.
Oh my god. My twin sister is a ninja. My whole family are ninja's! Except for me. I feel left out of the ninjaness. Oh. It no fair. I needed to brush up on my ninja skillz.
"Elena? Where are you?" I called, looking around.
She laughed, "On the porch swing."
On the...? Ohhhhhhh. Hehe, silly me.
I wrapped my arms around Luke's shoulders and used him to push myself up so that I could see over his shoulder. Luke put his hands on my hips and lifted me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist.
And there was Elena. Laying on the porch swing with her diary.
When did she come out here? Why didn't I see her come out here? Why didn't I hear her? Why am I asking these questions?
"Whatcha doin', Ellie?" I drawled, resting my chin on Luke's head.
"Thinking."
Ah. The funeral for Bonnie's Grams. It brought back... memories. Lots of memories. Memories of the crash. The funeral. It wasn't good. It was our first funeral since our parents. And it was… hard. If it wasn't for Bonnie then I probably hadn't had gone. I knew how much it would mess me up. All I could think about was our parent's funeral. Having to bury my parents was hard enough. But Elena had only recently built up the strength to leave hospital. So I spent all of my time worrying over her, making sure she was okay and not overexerting herself. I didn't break until everyone had left the house and my siblings were safely tucked up in bed.
I tapped Luke's shoulder, silently telling him to let go. He nodded and put me down. I walked over to the porch swing, moved my twin's feet and sat down.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke disappear into the house. I mentally rolled my eyes, saying goodbye to the chocolate. If there was one annoying flaw that Luke had, it was ability to find and eat my chocolate within seconds of entering a room. No chocolate was safe. It was as though he was a sniffer dog that was specialised in chocolate... And now all of this talk about chocolate is making me crave it. Damn.
Anyway, rapidly moving on.
I looked Elena in the eye, daring her to bullshit me.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, being serious for once.
"I will be," she replied with a small smile.
I shook my head.
"That answer isn't good enough for me, twinnie," I told her sternly.
The corner of her mouth twitched up slightly, "It's the only answer that I have."
A sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed her cold hands. I gave them a squeeze and tried to warm them up. Why my idiot sister was sitting out here in January was anyone's guess. But I didn't approve. She didn't even have a proper coat on.
"Alexa, I'm fine out here. Go and spend some time with your boyfriend," she said, gesturing towards the door.
I hesitated slightly and she rolled her eyes, "Go."
I flung my arms in the air with a groan.
"Fine! I'll go! I know when I'm not appreciated!" I exclaimed dramatically.
I smiled inside when Elena let out a little laugh. I moved her feet back on the swing and got up.
"Stay warm and don't mope for long," I ordered her, pointing my finger.
"Whatever you say, Alexa."
I nodded sharply before turning on my heel and marching inside.
As much as I wanted to stay out there with her, I knew that she needed her space. She needed some alone time. And because I am an awesome twin sister, (and just an awesome person in general), I decided to give her that space. Besides, I had chocolate to go and save.
"Luke!" I called when I stepped through and shut the door. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
I swear that if Luke goes all ninjafied on me, I'm gonna move in with Stefan and Damon. I don't like being the only non-ninja. At least I expect it with those two idiots. The humans shouldn't have skillz like that.
"Lukey-Lu?"
I snickered to myself as I heard an angry growl from the kitchen. He despised that nickname. My dear Ty-Ty bestowed that nickname upon him the day that we all met, which was many moons ago. And I always took great pleasure in using it.
"What have I told you about calling me that?" Luke grumbled as I walked into the kitchen. My darling boyfriend was sitting on the kitchen counter. He was eating. He was eating my chocolate. I narrowed my eyes before smirking slightly. I knew what the perfect revenge would be.
"I don't know, darling," I responded as I walked towards him, sashaying my hips. "I'm always too busy silently applauding Tyler."
I stood in front Luke and rested my hands on his upper thighs, my thumbs rubbing small circles on his inner thigh. His breathing picked up and I knew that I had him at my mercy. Honestly, he was so easy. Like putty in my hands.
"Why?" I smirked, enjoying my revenge. "What was it that you told me?"
Luke growled deeply. Then, in a blink of the eye, I was sitting on the counter with Luke standing between my legs. His hands were on my hips. The tips of his fingers dipped down beneath the waistband of my jeans. I shivered slightly, the feeling of his hands on my skin sending tingles down my spine.
I sighed in pleasure and leaned my head against the cabinet behind me.
Warm lips kissed my neck. Teeth lightly nibbled.
Spikes of pleasure shot through my body as Luke's touch warmed me. I shifted my hips, signalling that I wanted more. I started panting as Luke sucked on my pulse point. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer. Luke responded by putting his hands on my ass and moving me forward until our bodies connected.
I let out a sigh of pleasure at the contact.
God I missed this while he was away. I missed him. His lips. His fingers... mmm mmmm. Even since he had gotten back, we hadn't had the chance to be together like this. With Christmas and funerals and everything, our time together had been limited.
Our lips crashed together. I opened my mouth before he could ask for entrance. I felt him smirk slightly against my lips. Tangling my fingers in his hair, I tugged slightly, letting him know what I thought of his arrogance.
I felt him slowly push my top up and rolled my eyes. His thumbs gently brushed across the skin just below my bra and I shuddered.
Then the front door opened.
We slowly pulled apart to see Aunt Jenna standing in the doorway, eyebrow raised. The look on her face implied that she was not a happy bunny.
"Uh, hi?" I squeaked. My cheeks were burning. I was so embarrassed that my aunt walked in on that. Honestly, couldn't my twin have warned me that Jenna was back. Now I was all hot and bothered and couldn't do anything about it.
"Get off the counter," Aunt Jenna sighed and rolled her eyes, exasperation colouring her voice.
We quickly complied.
I slouched over to stand next to my twin. I elbowed her in the side as she laughed at me. How dare she laugh at me! I've caught her and Stefan in far more compromising positions than that. And that is all that I shall say on that.
"Elena, keep an eye on those two," Aunt Jenna ordered my twin before she disappeared upstairs.
I went to take a step towards Luke but a hand on my arm stopped me.
"Where do you think you're going?" Elena smirked at me.
"To stand next to my boyfriend," I told her, rolling my eyes. "Duh."
"No you're not," Elena tugged on the back of my top, pulling me next to her. "Aunt Jenna's rules."
I pouted and crossed my arms. Stupid rules.
"Luke," I whined, reaching out for him.
"Alexa!" Luke responded, also reaching out his arm.
"Come save me Luke!"
"I'm coming Alexa!"
"Oh give it a break you twomy mean sister laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"You mean twinnie," I responded with a pout.
She rolled her eyes.
"Alexa, stop whining," Aunt Jenna called as she walked down the stairs. She had a box in her arms and an exasperated look on her face. Everyone ignored my "I'm not whining" as we watched Jenna's approach.
Once she had made it into the kitchen, she emptied the box on the table. Her laptop took pride of place in the centre while several of dad's old books surrounded it. Elena and I moved to stand next to her while Luke stood behind me with his chin resting on the top of my head. The shithead kept sneaking his hand down to cup my ass, teasing me even more.
"Your dad kept everything from his medical practice; records, logs, old appointment books," Auntie J explained to me and Elena. "I found an entry from the night you were born."
Jenna held up a book and dug through it. She knew what she was looking for as she quickly found the correct page and pointed out some information on the page, "Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson."
"Isobel Peterson? Do you think that it's her real name?" I asked, reading dad's writing.
It probably wasn't. I knew that I probably would have used a fake name if I was in that situation. Using a real name would be stupid. And I refuse to be related to a stupid person... Uncle John doesn't count.
"Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not," Aunt Jenna replied. She agreed with me! Yay! It's almost as though she could read my mind...
"First name, maybe," Jenna continued. "But where'd she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend?"
"Crush?" I added with a shrug. I got several weird looks for that statement. I don't know why. It wasn't a silly thing to say. I thought it was quite logical.
"No pixie, that would just be you," Luke smirked as he put an arm around my shoulder.
"Carry on, Aunt Jenna," Elena urged. "Before she starts talking again."
I gasped before sticking my tongue out at her. How rude! I am so offended!
"Right, so, I Binged it," Aunt Jenna said, shaking her head at us.
"Why not Google it?" I interrupted without thinking.
"Does it matter?"
"No, but I like Google better."
"Luke, if you could," Elena sighed, looking at my boyfriend.
Luke smirked and covered my mouth with his hand. My eyes widened in outrage and I tried to pull the hand away from my mouth, but was unsuccessful. I whined and stamped my foot. My family were so rude! And mean!
In a last ditch effort, I licked the hand covering my mouth. Luke grimaced but didn't move. Damnit! That normally worked.
Aunt Jenna smirked, "Anyway, I Binged it, searching for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel."
My mean aunt emphasised the 'Bing' in the sentence. She typed it into the computer, showing us her results.
"Found 3, 2 men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."
"That's not that far from here," Elena frowned, exchanging a glance with me.
"Well, watch this," Auntie J typed 'Trudie Peterson, Grove Hill High School' into the search bar. When the results came up, she selected one picture. An image of Isobel Flemming and Trudie Peterson appeared on the screen.
"Isobel," Ellie smiled softly.
Luke removed his hand from my mouth and rested it on my hip. The look on Isobel's face reminded me of the one Elena got when she was feeling particularly sassy. We had never met this woman, but she still felt oddly familiar.
"She was a cheerleader, Elena, just like you," I smiled, gently elbowing my twin.
Aunt Jenna handed my twin a piece of paper.
"Trudie still lives there," she explained, a soft smile on her face. "This is her address."
"What about Isobel?" I asked, reading the address written down.
"I couldn't find anything about her," was the reply.
Bummer. Well, at least we can interrogate the best friend.
Aunt Jenna hesitated for a moment, "Listen, there's something else. Mr Saltzman, Ric, his wife was from around here... and her name was also Isobel."
Why did she say 'was'? Doesn't that mean that past tense?
"Hang on a mo," I began.
"'Was', as in...?" Elena continued.
"She died," Aunt Jenna whispered.
XXX
"So Ric's wife could be my birth mom," I commented, my tone even. I was lying on Luke's chest, looking up at him. Jenna had to go help set up for the bachelor auction that was happening later. So I took the opportunity to smuggle my boyfriend up to my bedroom. After he had helped satisfy an itch from earlier, we discussed what we had just learnt. It was still so weird, thinking that I was adopted. It didn't feel real, even after learning the name of my birth mom.
"That would make him your step-dad," Luke smirked down at me.
...Huh, never thought of that. Does that mean that I have three fathers? Adopted, birth and step. Damn, I was just collecting parents now.
"Meh, there are worst people to have as a step-dad," I shrugged before cringing. "Like my Uncle John."
I shuddered in disgust. Ugh. Could you imagine Uncle John as a father? I couldn't. I mean, the guy was an ass and he got under my skin at times. Well, like all the time. Although he did spoil me rotten when he came to visit
"I like Ric," my boyfriend mused, running his hand through my hair. "Did ya know, my family are the reason why he's in Mystic Falls?"
That caught my attention, "Oh? How come?"
"My dad knew him when they were teenagers so when Mr Tanner was killed; my dad invited him down here."
"Well, I would never have known that if you hadn't have told me."
"Yeah, he's always been like an uncle. I didn't know that about his wife though."
And we were back on that subject.
"But surely it's just a coincidence that Alaric's wife is called Isobel?" I frowned.
"Do you honestly believe that it's a coincidence after everything that has happened in this town?"
"No," I sighed. "But the alternative is that my birth mom's dead. And I don't want to find my birth mom only to find out that she's dead. Especially for Elena's sake. It would hurt her to lose someone else, especially someone we had just found."
"At least you'll know who she is."
"I suppose."
"Just promise me something, Alexa."
"Anything."
"Don't go alone."
I frowned at him. Luke sighed and elaborated, "When you go and see this Trudie Peterson, promise me that you won't go on your own."
I fiddled with the vervain bracelet on his wrist. It was the one that Damon had made for me.
"We both know that you'll go, Alexa."
And that was true. I would go and see Trudie, it was just a matter of when.
"I promise Luke, I promise."
There was a light kiss on my lips.
"Thanks babe," my boyfriend breathed.
I didn't reply. Instead, I leant forward for another kiss.
XXX
"Alexa, what are you doing?"
Y'know, I get that question quite a lot.
"I'm attempting to pick the lock on your front door, Stefan," I replied as I stood up from where I was crouched down in front of the Salvatore front door. "Why? What does it look as though I'm doing?"
Stefan sighed, "Why are you picking the lock to my front door? Especially when you know that we don't lock it?"
"You don't lock it?" I frowned, giving the door a dirty look. "Then why the hell have I spent ages out here?"
And why didn't I know that before? I should know. What with the amount of time that I spend in the blasted boarding house.
I quickly opened the door and shot inside.
Well, I tried to, but Stefan grabbed my arm before I could actually walk through the door.
"You may wanna take a second to prepare yourself before you go in there," he warned me.
"Why?" I asked. What one earth could be going on in there?
"Damon... he's not in a good place," Stefan slowly replied, choosing his words carefully. "And his behaviour may be... shocking."
I frowned in confusion before understanding hit me.
"Ahhhhh, ok, thanks Stefano," I nodded, patting the vampire on the shoulder. "I'll be fine."
I knew that something was going in there as Black Hearts (On Fire) by Jet had been blasting through the door. I liked that song. It was good song. One that was good for blasting. And for adding to ringtones.
But Stefan didn't look convinced.
"Look, I grew up with Tyler Lockwood and the Nolan siblings. We spent our childhood annoying the hell out of this town. There's not much that can shock me anymore."
What I didn't add was that I had seen what Damon was like. Ever since he had found out that Katherine wasn't in the tomb, he been on a bender. And I had tried to help him. Ironically, the revelation had been good for our friendship. In an effort to move past his heartbreak, he had gone out clubbing and feeding. And I had gone with him, to make sure that he wasn't too out of control. Besides, I was worried about him. I had seen the look on his face. It had broken my heart and I could only imagine what he was feeling.
The vampire sighed but let go of my arm, "Alexa, why were you trying to break into my house?"
I shrugged, "I was bored and it seemed like a good idea. Plus, I wanted to test my lock picking skills and you were the only people that I could do this to who wouldn't call the police on me."
"Why didn't you try it on your own door?"
I paused. Huh. I could have tried that.
"I honestly didn't think of it."
"Why am I not surprised?"
That's rude Stef; you're not supposed to be rude to me. You're supposed to be the nice brother.
"Ya know, it's scary how well you and Damon know me."
We walked into the library to see Damon dancing with half naked sorority girls with bite marks covering them.
"Correction, that's scary."
I'm guessing that's what Stefan meant. Gee whizz, that did look disturbing... but it also looked like a lot of fun. Good music, booze, dancing, it's my kind of scene. Now I understood why Damon always forbid me from attending his house parties. At least when he was smuggling me into Richmond clubs, he could only go so far. At home, he could do whatever the hell he wanted.
Stefan turned on the light and Damon groaned.
"No. Buzzkill Bob."
Hehe, Buzzkill Bob, that is a very suitable name for Stefan. I need to make sure that I used that.
The girl that he was feeding on giggled breathlessly.
I raised my eyebrow at her. She had so obviously been compelled. Or she was a bimbo. In fact, I'd say that all of them were bimbos. Was I being too judgemental? Ah well, she had her hands all over Damon. That was not cool.
While I had been silently judging the chick, Stefan was turning off the music. I pouted slightly in disappointment. I loved that song. Mean Stefan. He really was a buzzkill.
"Greetings."
"Hi!" I chirped happily and waved, doing my best to break through the buzz.
Damon blinked blearily and looked at me.
"Alexa?" he asked, leaning forward on the tri-delt.
"The one and only!" I grinned, ignoring the dirty look that the girl was giving me. "Didja miss me?"
"Alexa, hush," Stefan said to me before turning to look at his brother. Did he just hush me? "Can we talk?"
"Yeah," Damon replied after swallowing a mouthful of blood.
"Without the tri-delts."
"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them," Damon disagreed with a smirk. "They're really good at keeping secrets."
"Damon," Stefan growled in warning.
"Y'know what, I'm gonna go," I intervened before someone did something stupid. "I promised Luke that I wouldn't be gone for too long."
"You sure?" Stefan asked, giving his brother a look that just screamed 'you did this'.
I smiled and nodded, "Good luck with your brother, Stef. Bye Damon!"
"Bye Alexa," Damon smirked, staring at me over the tri-delts shoulder.
As I walked out of the front door, I got out my phone and texted Elena.
'Ellie, I'm bored and I wanna go shopping. Can you come and pick me up and take me?'
Elena didn't take long to reply.
'Why can't you go on your own?'
'Because I don't know how to drive and because you love me.'
'Meet me on the road outside the Salvatore Boarding House.'
I smiled and quickened my pace. Ellie always gives in when I give her that reason.
Mwahahahaha. I have the power.
XXX
Damon's POV
The music drowned out everything except the breathy giggles of the girl in my arms. Her friends danced around us, jealous looks on their faces as I neglected them for this girl. I had enjoyed each of them during the night. The bite marks on their bodies attested to that.
I took another mouthful of blood and the girl giggled, "How do I taste?"
God I loved compulsion.
I ground my hips against her ass as I answered, "Oh so much better than your friends. But shhh," I placed my finger against her lips, "Don't tell them. They might get jealous."
I didn't bother keeping my voice down and couldn't help huffing out a laugh as one of the other girls shot the one in my arms a dirty look. Playing them against each other was so fun. And all those girls clamouring for my attention was just what I needed right now.
I heard a faint, "Correction, that's scary," before the light was turned on.
I groaned, "No. Buzzkill Bob."
The girl in my arm giggled breathlessly as I buried my head in her neck and away from the burning light. Honestly Stefan, the lights were off for a reason. As Stefan turned off the music, I glanced up to see Alexa judging the girl in my arms. She wore her emotions on her face and it was funny to see. Maybe I had another girl clamouring for my attention.
"Greetings," I gave my brother an unimpressed look.
Stefan looked like he wanted to say something but he was interrupted.
"Hi," Alexa gave me one of her trademark smiles and waved. She had been such a great help since I found out the truth about Katherine. I could spend time with her and not be judged. Even when I did normal vampire shit like this, she didn't act like I was being monstrous.
I blinked blearily and leant forward, resting my weight on the tri-delt in my arms.
"Alexa?"
I was surprised to see her here. For a moment I had thought that I was imagining her presence. She was around so much that it wouldn't have surprised me.
"The one and only," the girl grinned, resting her hands on her hips. "Didja miss me?"
I lowered my head to take another mouthful of blood, keeping eye contact with the green-eyed girl. She had an expectant look on her face, like she was expecting me to declare that I had missed her.
"Alexa, hush," buzzkill Stefan said to the girl before looking at me. "Can we talk?"
The offended look on Alexa's face amused me. She hated being hushed. Which was why I did it. But the fact that Stefan did it was priceless. She shot my brother a filthy look as I answered in the affirmative.
"Without the tri-delts."
My brother gave them a judging look.
Honestly, just because he couldn't control the blood-urge didn't mean that I was like that. I could enjoy these girls and then send them home in the morning.
"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them," I smirked, doing my best to annoy my brother. "They're really good at keeping secrets."
Stefan stepped forward and growled out my name. My smirk deepened as I allowed myself to enjoy my second favourite past-time, annoying my brother.
Unfortunately, the welcome guest out of the two interrupted.
"Y'know what, I'm gonna go," Alexa spoke up, gesturing to the door behind her. "I promised Luke that I wouldn't be gone for too long."
The mention of the girl's idiot boyfriend had me frowning. The blonde got on my nerves. I knew exactly what he was, what his family was. But as much as I wanted to wipe them out, it was only for Alexa's sake that I held back. If I had found out before he started dating Alexa then he would have been dead before he got the chance. Despite what my brother would have said. Alexa could mourn a friend but I couldn't take away someone that she loved.
"You sure?" Stefan confirmed, giving me a look. Clearly he blamed me for her abrupt departure.
Alexa smiled and nodded, "Good luck with your brother, Stef. Bye Damon!"
I smirked at her over the tri-delts shoulder, "Bye Alexa."
She gave me another smile before leaving the room. I watched her leave, ignoring Stefan as he tried to usher me away from the girls. I had wanted her to stay, to join in on the partying. Having her around helped. Not only had the girl become a dear friend, but I was beginning to feel something else for her, something stronger. She had been there for me, while I was trying to get Katherine back, while I was dealing with her not being in the tomb. She had fought for me to be able to get in the tomb. And she didn't judge me. Even after she found out that I was a vampire. Admittedly, there was a bit of time before she became comfortable around me since that night.
I eventually allowed Stefan to take me over to the edge of the room, where we had a bit more privacy. I saw the look on my brother's face and rolled my eyes.
"You're worried about me," I scoffed. "That's nice. Don't be." Stefan gave me a look and I shook my head. "There's no need. I'm fine. And why wouldn't I be? Spent the last 145 years with one goal, get in that tomb. I succeeded. Granted, Katherine wasn't in there to be rescued, but why dwell?" I ignored the look on Stefan's face. "No, it's so liberating not having a master plan, because I can do whatever the hell I want."
Stefan shook his head, "That's kind of what I'm afraid of."
I clapped my brother on the shoulder, "Relax. I haven't killed anyone in," I paused, trying to think, "too long."
The buzzkill gestured over his shoulder, "Those girls?"
I rolled my eyes, "Will end up in their dorm with headaches, thinking they blacked out. Business as usual." Stefan had been around long enough that he knew the drill. Even if he had never done it himself. I poured each of a us a drink as I looked at him consideringly, "Predictably you didn't pull me over here for a pep talk. So drink up, spill it brother."
Stefan sighed, "There was a woman you may have known a few years back, named Isobel, in North Caroline at Duke."
Seriously, what was wrong with this guy? I had just found out that I had been betrayed and abandoned by the woman I had loved for the past 145 years. And he wanted to ask about women from my past.
"You wanna discuss the women in my past right now?" I rolled my eyes, downing my bourbon. "Seriously?"
"You killed her," Stef said seriously, his tone dripping with judgement.
"What's your point?"
"I just," Stefan sighed again, another frown line appearing on his forehead. "Just wanna know if you remember anything about her."
"Oh it's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan," I couldn't be bothered to sound interested.
"Well, think hard," my brother pushed, annoying me. "It's important."
"Nothing is important, not anymore," I countered sharply.
"Does that include Alexa?"
Stefan's remark had me pausing as I lifted the glass to my mouth, "Well you clearly have a bee in your bonnet about that. Go on, say what's on your mind."
Stefan looked as though he regretted opening his mouth, "Just be careful with her, Damon. She thinks of you as a friend and I don't want her to get hurt."
"Because it's only natural that I'll end up hurting her," I scoffed, angrily downing my drink. Of course my brother assumed that. He always assumed the worst of me. I cared about Alexa; she had somehow wormed her way into her heart. Even with my humanity on hold, she had found a way to make me feel like I did back in the day. She made me care and as much as I hated it, I appreciated it. So it royally pissed me off that Stefan was warning me away from her. "Your concerns are noted. And ignored. Now, I have to go and exploit some women in the name of grief, which I'm sure you understand. 'TTFN' said the tri-delt."
I gave Stefan one last look before going back to the tri-delts.
XXX
Alexa's POV
"So this is where Trudie Peterson lives," I remarked as Elena and I stared up at the house in front of us.
"I guess so," Elena replied with a sigh.
It appeared to be a very boring house. You know what that means; a boring person lives inside it. My house wasn't boring. Hidden behind the bushes along the front of the house, there were 'cavemen' paintings from when me and Jeremy were younger. I had been going through a history obsession, (and yes, this was before Mr Tanner started teaching me history), and I had thought that it would be a good idea to do some cavemen drawing. Then Jeremy and I could investigate the drawings. Fortunately, my parents never found out. They probably would have murdered us and buried our bodies in the ground.
I looked at my twin sister, "Ellie, why are we here?"
"I-I don't know... it just felt right to come here."
I nodded in understanding, "You had an Elena moment. Ok. Cool. I can live with that."
"An Elena moment?"
"Yeah, it's what me and Jeremy call moments when you feel as though something needs to be done."
"How long have you been calling them that?"
"About 10 years."
"10 years?"
"Yeah, about that."
We stood there in silence for a few minutes.
Elena in disbelieving silence and me in amused silence. Point to Alexa. I made Elena speechless. Loved it when that happened.
"Are we actually going to go knock on the door or are we just gonna stand out here all day?" I asked once I was cold and bored enough. It didn't take long.
... What? Don't judge me. Staring at houses is boring. Trust me. I would know. And yes, the other members of the terrible trio were involved. When we thought that Jazz was dating someone, and keeping it hidden from us, we hid in the tree opposite her house. We waited for about 5 hours for her to go out of the house. We knew that she would leave the house eventually as I had hacked into her phone to see that she had arranged to meet someone at the Grill on that day. Five hours we waited and it turned out that she had cancelled the date. We never did find out who the guy was.
"...Yeah, let's go," Elena sighed before nodding her head sharply. She took my hand and we walked up to the front door. Twin support.
Well, here goes nothing.
Elena went to knock but she hesitated. I gave her a few seconds to try again. But, as you can probably guess, I soon got bored and knocked on the door.
"You're so impatient, did you know that?" my darling twin told me.
"Meh, it's been said," I shrugged. And it has. A lot. And I will freely admit that it's true, I am a very impatient person. Ask anyone. Ask Luke, Tyler, Jazz, Jeremy, Aunt Jenna, Elena...
The door opened... AND OUT LEAPT KATHERINE THE VAMPIRE!
Haha, I kid.
A normal looking woman with blonde hair was standing in the doorway. She looked pretty boring. See, I was right; boring people live in boring houses. Boring houses were homes for boring people.
"Trudie?" I asked.
"Trudie Peterson?" Elena also asked at the same time.
Whoops, that was a twin moment.
"Yes," Trudie smiled, glancing between us.
Oh thank god for that. I was worried that we had the wrong house just then. It would be just like Elena to drive us to the wrong house. It's happened before, no matter how much she wants and tries to deny it.
"Um, my name is Elena Gilbert and this is my twin sister, Alexandria," Elena said nervously, squeezing my hand. My smile became rather fixed as Elena introduced me with my full name. She knows that I hate my full name. Evil twin.
No, move on, be the bigger person.
"We were wondering if we could talk to you about Isobel Flemming," I finished when it became clear that my sister wouldn't.
"Well, I haven't heard that name in years," Trudie replied with a surprised smile. "How do you know her?"
Oh crap, how did we answer that? Lol we're the kids your friend gave away? Surprise?
"Well, uh, we think that..." I stuttered trying to think of a good way of phrasing it. What is a good way to say that we're the daughters that your best friend abandoned? Damned if I know.
"Do you know if she had twins that she gave up for adoption?" Elena spoke up, saving me from embarrassing myself. Hmmm, perhaps that is a good way of doing it. Clever twin.
"My god," Trudles gasped. "You're her daughters." She laughed softly, shaking her head.
Yep. That's us. Isobel's abandoned daughters.
Trudie glanced behind her before saying, "I was just gonna make some tea. Would you like some?"
"Tea would be awesome," I smiled, looking forward to wrapping my hands around something warm.
You know what would be even more awesome? A bottle of tequila. Or perhaps bourbon. No, no, no, Whiskey. But no, I'm supposed to be giving up. Bugger. Well, at least I'm trying. And doing quite well, if I say so myself. I haven't had a drink in... wow, too long. I'm such a strong-willed person... haha, I kid. I've just been avoiding all alcohol in existence. Not sure how much longer it'll work for.
"Uh, the kitchen's this way," the older woman said, pointing behind her.
"Thank you," I smiled at her as my twin and I walked past her.
"We weren't gonna come," Elena said as we walked into the dining room. "At least, I didn't think that we were, but I was driving and I hit this stoplight. And it made me think about when I was learning how to drive, then my mom would always warn me about this blind turn on the left-hand side, and this was while Alexa was chanting songs about death from the backseat. Then mom would tell her to be quiet and would mention Luke to make her all flustered. So I was thinking about our mom and I had your address..."
I gently covered Elena's mouth with my hand.
"Ellie, darling, you're rambling," I whispered to her before turning to face Trudie. "We're sorry for barging in like this, without warning."
"It's no problem," she smiled. "Just a surprise though."
She gestured to us to sit down and sat down we did.
"I haven't thought about Isobel in years," the blonde sighed. That doesn't sound too good.
"When was the last time that you saw her?" Elena asked, exchanging a look with me.
"Uh, about 17 years ago. When she left to go have you two. We kept in touch for a while, but, well, you know, people drift apart," was the answer.
Best friends don't.
But anyway, my turn at question time.
"And you really don't know where she ended up?" I asked, giving Ellie's hand a squeeze.
"She was in Florida for a while."
I love Florida. The sun. The beaches. DISNEYLAND! Legit the best holiday ever. I so wanted to go back one day.
"She was on her own. I know it wasn't easy."
Elena and I exchanged glances before she asked, "Do you have any idea who our father is?"
Trudie hesitated for a moment before saying, "I could never get her to fess up." Sure you couldn't. Come on Trudles, get better at lying. "Anyway, she finally pulled it together, got into a college on a scholarship."
"Ooooh, where'd she go?" I was hoping that it was somewhere good. Considering the fact she gave us up, I wanted her to have gone somewhere good to make it kind of worth it.
"Somewhere in North Carolina. Duke, I think," Trudie nodded her head. "Smart girl, smart school."
We all smiled.
"Let me just grab that," Trudie said when the kettle whistled.
"This is brilliant!" I whispered to Elena when Trudie left the room. We were finding stuff out. Not that I cared too much, especially when compared to Elena. But I knew that my twin wanted to know more about the woman who birthed us.
"She didn't invite us in," Elena whispered back, killing the excitement for a moment.
I frowned for a moment as I thought back.
"Oh yeah, she didn't say come in," I grinned at my amazing twin sister. "Nice one Ellie, I didn't realise that."
"Somehow I'm not surprised."
XXX
Trudie had gotten out an old yearbook for us to go through. The picture of the two in the cheerleading gear had cropped up again.
"They came to the games for us, you know," Trudie told us, smiling down at the photo. "The football team hadn't won in years. We were the stars... well, Izzie was. But I was a damn good backup."
That sounded so sweet.
I was also a damn good backup.
Whenever Elena couldn't make a cheerleading performance or practice, and she didn't wanna piss of Caroline, I used to take her place and pretend to be her. Can't do that anymore, of course, but when I still had long hair it was easy and simplez. Of course, I was absolutely awful at the cheerleading part of it but I was good at keeping Caroline distracted. And Jazz helped cover for me. I knew the routines well enough since Elena dragged me to every practice for 'support' but that didn't mean that I was any good at doing them.
"This is great," Elena beamed happily. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thanks for this," I agreed, my sister's excitement infecting me. "It's brilliant."
"You're welcome," Trudie smiled back before gesturing at the mugs in front of us. "You haven't touched your tea."
I glanced down at it. I had mainly been using it to warm my cold hands. It was a herbal tea, which wasn't exactly something that I preferred. But it would have been rude to say no.
"Sure." "Oh yeah."
It tasted weird. Really weird.
"What is in this?" I asked Trudie, resisting the urge to frown at the taste.
"Oh, it's just some herbal tea," Trudie brushed off, fiddling with her hands.
Oh because it tastes like...
"Vervain," Elena gasped, looking up at Trudie.
Oh my god. She just read my mind. Mind reader. Oh no. Hang on a mo, it's alright, she just recognised the taste. Phew. Thank god. I was getting worried then.
"You know," me and Elena said in unison, using our twintuition.
"Know what?" Trudie asked, attempting and failing to play dumb. Lol, that ain't gonna work.
"You didn't invite us in," Elena began.
"You're serving us vervain tea," I continued.
"You know," we finished in unison.
"I think that you should probably leave," Trudie told us, standing up.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what aren't you telling us?" I asked, crossing my arms. What crawled up her ass and died. She was being all pleasant and then look what happened.
"Please leave. Now!"
I jumped in surprise as Elena stood up.
"Come on Alexa," my twin muttered to me as she pulled me up. How rude. She was lucky that my sister was around otherwise I would be having stern words with the rude woman.
We left the house and walked over to the car.
I was still grumbling over Trudie's rudeness and my sister was trying to placate me. Mainly by saying that she wasn't offended by it. Which was kind of working.
I looked to the side and saw a guy standing in the middle of the road.
He was staring at us.
And that age-old instinct had me going nope.
"Elena, creepy guy, right behind us," I mumbled, pushing my sister forward, closer to the car.
She looked over to him and hurried to open the car.
"Alexa, get in," she ordered me before climbing inside.
I quickly obeyed.
XXX
Elena drove us straight to the Salvatore Boarding House.
"And why are we here?" I asked as she pulled into the driveway. This was my second time being here today. And probably the third time this week. Honestly, I should just move in and allocate a room for myself.
"Stefan's taking me to the fundraiser later."
"That's nice. Still doesn't explain why I'm here."
"Because you're in the car with me."
"That's not a good reason, twinnie."
"I don't care."
"You're an evil twin."
"So you've said."
"Aha! You admit it!"
"Yes, I do."
"Damn, if only I could have filmed that."
Hmmmm. Aha. I got out my phone and started the video camera on it. This would set me up for life if I got this on video. And it would be settling a long-standing bet with Jeremy.
"Say it again," I demanded, staring intently at my sister through the camera.
"Nope," my evil twin smirked, refusing to glance over.
"Please?"
"Nope."
Ugh, how rude. She wouldn't even do me this solid. After all I had done for her. Nope, she couldn't do this for me.
"I don't like you anymore," I pouted as I turned off the camera and slipped my phone back in my pocket.
"Sure you do."
"Yeah, I do."
"You can never stay mad at me, can you?"
"You have some sort of magical twin power."
"Of course I do."
"You do."
"Alexa, can you go and look for Stefan while I park the car?" Elena asked me when she pulled up outside. Honestly, she couldn't be that desperate to see the bunny-eater. All she had to do was wait a few minutes. Unless she was shy about parking? I knew that she hated parking in this car. It was becoming a bit too coincidental that she never let me hang around when she was parking. Hmm, now I knew her secret. All I had to do was decide what to do with it.
"Sure I will twinnie," I grinned at her before I left the car. Couldn't let her suspect that I knew her secret. That was going to be my ace card.
As Stefan had told me earlier, the front door was already open.
"Hello?" I yelled as I walked in. "Anyone home?"
Nope? Awww such a shame. I knew that any vampires in the building would easily be able to hear me. So that fact that I had no answer meant that the place was empty. And I could have some fun. Now, what can I mess up?
Damon's room was my first thought. But I decided not to, just to be nice. After what he had been going through, I was going to be a good bro and wait a couple more weeks before I started messing with his room again. So that left just one other option…
I meandered up the stairs to Stefan's room. Why his room was so far away from the front door, I do not know. But it gave me enough time to make some plans while I made my way there.
"Stefano?" I called as I walked in. I looked around the room. It was so unbelievably tidy. Disgustingly tidy. Oooooh pen. I want pen. I take pen. Alexa has pen. Alexa wins.
"Better," someone said from behind me. I turned around to see Damon standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. And he was topless.
Insert drool.
Yum-my.
He was so frickin delicious. No, bad thoughts. Think topless Luke. Mmmm mmm. That damn crush was the bane of my existence. It really was. Just a glimpse of that delicious chest and it was making a tonne of noise.
"Oh yeah?" I smirked, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms. "And what's that?"
"Me," Damon smirked in return.
I rolled my eyes. Sure Damon, you're better. I mean, he kinda was. But I could never admit that out loud. His ego was enough as it was. And I could never let any knowledge of my crush on him escape. That would be bad. For a multitude of reasons.
It was then that I got a better look at him.
"For god sake Damon, you look absolutely..." I started before pausing, looking for the right word.
"Dashing? Gorgeous? Irresistible?" Damon interrupted as he sauntered over to me.
I pushed him away when he got too close. And I got a good smell of his breath as I did so.
"Wrecked," I countered with a shake of my head. "You look absolutely wrecked. And believe me, I would know."
As you full well know.
"No reason why," Damon brushed it off. "Did you know that I am one of Mystic Fall's most eligible bachelors?"
I could see why, with a body like that. If I didn't have Luke then I would definitely be buying a ticket.
"Really?" I snorted, telling my crush to behave. "You? Blimey, the people in this town must be desperate."
"Ha ha, you are so funny," Damon deadpanned.
"I know I am," I smirked before turning serious. "But seriously, how ya doing?"
"Never better." Sure. "Now, what can I do for you? I'm a barrel of favours today. It's my newfound purpose: how can I help people?"
It's like he had forgotten that I had been looking after him the past month. I knew what his attitude had been like. And helping people was definitely not a part of it. I seriously doubted that something amazing had happened to change his attitude so dramatically.
"Uh, I'm just looking for Stefan. Hence me being in his room. Elena's going to the fundraiser with him."
"And who are you going with?" Damon asked as he started buttoning up his shirt. Well, he was trying to button up his shirt. He was failing, miserably.
"Luke," I replied in a 'duh' tone with a roll of my eyes. "I'm meeting him at the Grill."
"Help a guy out will you?" Damon whined as he gave up on the buttons, pathetically flipping the edges of his shirt. "Can't get this."
I rolled my eyes, "You're hopeless. You know that, don't you?"
He just gave me the sad puppy eyes. Damn. How did those always work? There should be some rule against that. He had been getting his way all month with those damn sad puppy eyes.
With a sigh, I walked over to him and started doing up the buttons. I told my crush to stop enjoying being so close to him. And to stop enjoying the feel of his chest as my knuckles brushed against it.
Trying to distract myself from the gorgeous chest in front of me, I blurted out, "But anyway, I found out who my birth mother is today."
"Eugh, who cares?" Damon groaned as he shook his head.
I looked up at him, hurt. It didn't matter that I didn't really want to know my birth parents. It didn't matter that he knew that. The fact that I had found out who their name was a big thing. And he shouldn't have responded like that.
I went to pull my hands away but he grabbed hold of them. I paused, enjoying the feel of his hands, as Damon had a vaguely apologetic look on his face. Well, apologetic for Damon.
"She left you," he said softly, looking me in the eye and giving my hands a squeeze. "She sucks."
I smiled slightly at that, "She does suck. But Elena wanted to know more and I had to be there to support her."
"Did you want to know more?"
Damon's question had me pausing. I knew that I didn't want to get to know my birth mom but did I want to know more about the person who gave me up?
"I don't know," I sighed as I fixed the collar on Damon's shirt. "Maybe on some level I want to know more about her, without actually having to know her."
"Just don't let Elena force you into anything you don't want to do."
I was about to reply when I glanced behind him to see Stefan and Elena walk in.
"You found him then," I said to her as I took a step away from the vampire in front of me. I knew that my sister and her boyfriend had 'concerns' about my friendship with Damon. Especially because he kept taking me out clubbing. I don't know what their issue was. He kept me save, made sure I got home alright and he even made me drink vervain before we went out. So I tried not to give them any excuse to try and ban me from seeing him.
"He found me actually," Elena replied with a smile at her boy. "He appeared just as I parked up."
Lol I wonder if he let her park first or if he surprised her first. So much for not witnesses while parking eh.
"You could have come and told me," I sniffed, pretending to be upset.
"Alexa, that's what I'm doing now," she laughed, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, whoops, my bad," I smiled sheepishly, running my hand through my hair.
"Uh, I need a bigger jacket," Damon groaned from behind me, interrupting the twin moment. I looked behind me to see him pulling on a jacket. He hadn't brought one in with him so I was assuming that he had pinched it from Stefan. His next words proved me right. "Wow. You know, an occasional sorority girl might, uh, you know, help you fill out a bit."
Lol.
Apparently Stefan ain't buff enough.
He pulled off the jacket, threw it to the side and strode out of the room. And, my I add, while he was leaving, he was finishing doing up the buttons! He was such a cheeky little shit. I ignored the small voice in the back of my head that said that the vampire wanted my help.
"He's fine! The bastard's fine!" Elena frowned grumpily as she glared at Damon's retreating back.
"He's Damon," Stefan commented.
"Ya know what; maybe this heartache will be good for the dick. It might remind him that he doesn't have an empty black hole in his chest and that he actually has a heart, even if the cold black thing doesn't beat."
Dayum Elena, someone was feeling bitter!
"I wouldn't hold my breath," Stefan laughed slightly as I saw the opportunity to be a little shit.
"Jealous much?" I laughed, tucking my fingers into my back pockets. "Just cos he would rather hang out with the fun twin."
"I'm not jealous," Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Lol and I'm Santa Claus," I said in a stage-whisper to Stefan. He hid a laugh behind a cough as I felt quite proud of myself. Making Stefan laugh was always fun as he could be quite strait-laced at times.
And then Elena flicked me in the back of the head.
How rude!
"We went to see Trudie Peterson," I blurted out in revenge, giving my sister a victorious look.
"Alexa!" my not-so-darling twin sister hissed at me.
I smirked at her as I crossed my arms. I went to retaliate but Stefan coughed, interrupting me.
"I'm sorry," Elena said to Stefan at the sight of his unhappy face. "I didn't plan it."
"Yes she did," I snickered before crying out in pain. She stamped on my foot! My twin stamped on my foot. Ugh, what a bitch!
I glared at her before stumbling over to the bed and collapsing on it. I cradled my poor abused foot and resumed glaring at my twin. Honestly that was so uncalled for.
"So how was it?" Stefan asked as he suppressed a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him. I don't like either of them now. They're on my shit list. And only presents could get them off of it.
"She has vervain. She knows about vampires, Stefan," Elena replied as I continued with the self-pity. "It can't be a coincidence."
Yes it can.
"It isn't," Stefan sighed before getting a picture out of his pocket. "This is Alaric's wife."
"This is her," Ellie gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "This is Isobel."
I waved my arms in the air, "I wanna see. Gimme!"
I would have gotten up but since someone stamped on my foot, I decided to be awkward. Would serve them right for stamping on my foot and then laughing at me.
Stefan sighed but he walked over to me and passed me the photo. I examined it closely but it was clear to see that this was Isobel. And it only added to the mess. Alaric was officially our step-dad. It was probably the wrong thing to be focussing on. But it gave me a positive thing to think about amongst the mess of the rest of it.
"Well, whatdja know, this is Isobel," I handed the photo back as I looked up at the vampire. "He gave this to you? Voluntarily?"
"Everything he knows about vampires, he learnt from her," Stefan sighed as he walked back over to my twin. "He believes that she was killed by one."
Why am I not surprised? I swear my family is cursed. Adopted and birth. They were all cursed.
"Oh my god," Elena gasped, grabbing on to Stefan.
You said it twin.
"Listen, Elena, Alexa, there's a lot about Isobel that Alaric can tell you, but I need you to hold off a little while before you talk to him."
"Why?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Stefan was being suspicious about all of this.
"I know that it's a lot to ask of you, especially you Alexa." I stuck my tongue out at him. "But will you do that for me?"
"I suppose I can do that for you Stefan," I sighed as Elena nodded.
XXX
The moment that I walked through the door to the Grill, I was ambushed. Arms wrapped themselves around me and tried to squeeze the oxygen out of me. Help! I'm being suffocated! Another pair of arms wrapped round me and pulled me against a firm chest.
I looked up to see Luke smiling down at me.
"Hey Alexa," he whispered before leaning in for a kiss which I greedily returned.
"Ew, guys, I don't need to see that," my first attacker groaned.
I rolled my eyes and glanced to the side, "Hello Jazzlett, it's nice to see you too."
"Hey Alexa."
"You found her then?"
I looked to the side to see Tyler smirking at us.
"Ty-Ty!" I cheered before looking at the Nolan's. "Lemme go."
They let me go and I leapt on Tyler for a hug. And yes, I had actually leapt on him. Don't tell anyone but while Stefan and Elena were being all icky, Damon had snuck me some shots before he left. I know, I know, I shouldn't be drinking. But I had been to one of these bachelor events before. The only way to get through them with your sanity intact was to have a quick drink. And besides, I know that Jazz and Luke were planning on it too. They had put pictures of their shots in the group chat. Tyler had groaned when I added my photo but he quickly downed a couple too.
"Good to see you too, Alex," he laughed, giving me a squeeze.
When he put me down, I wandered over to Luke and leant against him.
"Well look at this, the terrible trio united once more," I smirked, looking around my posse.
"Ooooh, imagine the chaos that we can cause," Luke joined me in the evil smirk club.
"I can hear the screams already," Tyler joined in.
"You three are disturbing," Jazz laughed.
"Thank you darling."
"It's not something to be proud of, Alexa."
"It isn't? Whoops, my bad."
"You're terrible," Luke whispered in my ear.
"I know," I whispered back before I leant in for a kiss.
"Will you two stop that?" Tyler groaned as he grabbed hold of the back of my shirt and pulled me away from my amazing boyfriend.
"Luke!" I cried, reaching out. "Don't let him take me Luke!"
"Don't worry Alexa, I'll save you!" Luke called back.
"No you won't," Tyler intervened. He then picked me up so that my feet weren't touching the floor and carried me away.
"You is mean, Lockwood," I pouted as he took me from my Lukey.
"So I've been told," he laughed as I let him carry my entire weight.
"Why I am friends with you, I have no idea."
"Aww, don't be like that. You wouldn't be able to survive if we weren't friends."
"I survived the summer."
"Ah, but we kept seeing each other."
"Your point?"
"We may have been arguing, but we were still interacting."
"So your point is that I can't survive if we don't interact."
"Yep."
"That's a crap point that is so not true."
"If you insist, Alexa."
"Don't use that tone with me."
"What tone?"
"You know what tone. The 'I'm talking to a young child' tone."
"But I am talking to a young child."
"I'm not a young child!"
Tyler opened his mouth but before he could say anything, I interrupted.
"I swear to the Almighty Teddy Bear that if you say' if you insist Alexa', I will hurt you."
"The Almighty Teddy Bear?"
"Yep. The Almighty Teddy Bear."
"There is no such thing as the Almighty Teddy Bear."
"The secret teddy bear guild will have your head for saying that."
"Alexa..."
"Nope, I forever name you as an enemy of the Teddy Bear."
I loved the look on my friend's faces when I said something weird. The Almighty Teddy Bear thing was something that Jazz and I had come up with while drunk. And she had dared me to use it in a conversation at some point. Of course, it took some liquid courage for me to actually utter the words out loud, but I did it. And now Jazz owed me big time.
"Sure, Alexa, whatever you say."
"I say so. Now, thank you dear minion, for carrying me to a seat."
"Minion?"
"Yep. You're the Wormtongue to my Saruman."
"Ew. There is no way that I am Wormtongue."
I sighed, "You're right. I'm far too pretty to be the ugly old Saruman the White."
"Not quite what I meant."
"What about Sneevly to my Robotnik?"
"Alexa..."
"Oh oh oh, what about the Renfield to my Dracula?"
"I'm going to drop you in a minute."
"No you won't, Ty-Ty."
"Sure I will."
"I'll set Elena on you if you do."
"Is that supposed to scare me?"
"It should do, she can be absolutely terrifying when she wants to be."
"Of course she can, Alexa."
"What about the Benny to my Imotep?"
"No."
"Yeah, that would make me a yucky gooey mummy and then a weird bald git. Let's try this one: the Pinky to my Brain."
"Alexandria Rebecca Gilbert, stop it right now."
Uh oh, he middle named me. He must be getting annoyed. Oh well, let's continue. Lol I was such a bad drunk. I hadn't even drank that much. But Damon had the good shit.
"The Igor to my Frankenstein."
"I'm ignoring you."
"Three annoying trick or treaters to my oogie boogie."
"Really? That was awful."
"That was a bit, wasn't it? Ok, let me think for a moment."
"How about you don't?"
"The incompetent henchmen to my Riddler?"
"Oh don't start that again."
Haha. I used to have a major obsession with the Batman villains when I was younger. And it drove everyone up the wall. Especially when I started doing Harley Quinn impressions. But it was totally worth it. Especially when Jeremy let me dress him up as the scarecrow one Halloween.
"Alright, alright, how about, and this is the last one, the Toad to my Magneto."
"...I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Yes, I do, with a passion."
"Please don't hate me Tyler."
"Too late."
"No its not. The Alexa Touch Trademark will get you back."
"No it won't."
"Yes it will. It hasn't failed me yet."
"Well, you know what they say: there's a first time for everything."
Tyler dropped me onto a seat before sitting down on the one next to me.
"Nice of you to drop in, Alexa."
"Who said that?" I gasped before looking under the table. "Mr Ted? Is that you?"
"No, Alexa, it's your Aunt Jenna," Tyler sighed as he grabbed my arm and pulled me out from under the table. Despite the exasperation in his tone, he was kind enough to make sure that I didn't hit my head.
"Oh," I looked to the side to see my Aunt Jenna laughing at me. "Hi Aunt Jenna!"
I leant forward to give her a hug and nearly fell of my chair. Luckily, Tyler grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"Alexa, are you drunk?!" he hissed in my ear.
"Nope," I replied. "I promise you that I'm not drunk." I paused. "At least I don't think I am. Damon has some strong shit and I may have over-indulged without realising."
Ty rolled his eyes, "Insane then."
"Insanity is a matter of perspective."
Tyler raised his eyebrow but didn't comment.
"Anyways!" I said loudly before turning to face my aunt. "How are you, auntie?"
"I'm good, Alexa, how are you?"
"I'm upset and offended."
"Why are you upset and offended, my dear niece?"
"Because that big meanie over there," insert glare at Ty-Ty," took my away from my Luke."
"Awww, there, there, Alexa. It'll be ok."
I sniffed, "No it won't. I think I'm gonna go and wallow on the floor."
Aunt Jenna glanced behind me, "There's no need to go and wallow on the kitchen floor, Alexa."
"There isn't?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I have come to save you," my beautiful, amazing, sexy, handsome boyfriend whispered in my ear.
"Luke!" I giggled in happiness. I turned around, flung my arms around his neck and pulled his down for a kiss.
"And that's the reason why I separated them," I heard Tyler say to my Auntie Jenna.
So I did the mature thing and gave him the middle finger.
XXX
"And what do you do, bachelor number 3?" Carol Lockwood asked bachelor number 3.
She was introducing the bachelors on stage. Quite a sizable crowd had formed in the Grill. With all the women around, you'd have thought that the bachelors would be a lot better looking. The only two worth a dime were Damon and Alaric. And with Mrs Lockwood on our side, my little posse had managed to rig it so that Jenna would get Ric. And that meant that I could just spend the time being a little shit. Elena had joined the table and was sitting in between me and Jazz. Jazzlett was sitting on Tyler's lap while I was sitting on Luke's.
"Yeah, I'm a plumber," bachelor 3 replied with a boring smile.
"Well isn't that wonderful?" Mrs Lockwood smiled, clearly looking for a way to make him sound more interesting. "We could always use more plumbers."
"Yeah, we do! Those pipes always need a good oiling!" Jazz shouted causing me, Tyler and Luke to laugh. Carol shot us a disapproving look but didn't say anything. She probably didn't want to draw attention to the fact that her son was one of the ones misbehaving.
"No no, Jazz, this is better," I giggled before turning to face Luke. "I want you to put your basilisk in my chamber of secrets."
Cue more laughter.
"Number 4, Alaric Saltzman. Wow, that's quite a mouthful."
Mrs Lockwood was totally not subtle as she gave Jenna quite an obvious look when she introduced Mr Saltzman.
"It totally is. Which is why I call him Ric."
I heard Jazz mutter, "I wonder if that is the only mouthful," to Tyler. I snickered at the disgusted look on his face. Jazz always got crude when she had a few drinks. And I loved watching it.
"What do you do, Alaric?"
"He walks around being awesome!" I shouted, deciding that I had been quiet for far too long.
"I'm a teacher a Mystic Falls High," Ric replied. I could see that he was uncomfortable with all the attention so I did my best to try and make him smile.
"He's an awesome teacher," I nodded.
"Oh, beauty and brains, ladies. This one's a keeper."
I nudged Aunt Jenna, "You hear that? He's a keeper. So keep him." I ignored Jenna's embarrassed eye role as I sighed dreamily. "He'd make an awesome uncle."
"You're imagining all the things that you could get away with in class, aren't you?" Luke whispered in my ear.
"You know me so well," I whispered as I turned around and brushed my lips against his.
"Of course I do," Luke smirked before he deepened the kiss.
A kick on my leg stopped us.
"Alright, who kicked me?" I growled as I glared around the table.
Tyler smirked triumphantly. My gaze zoned in on him and my eyes narrowed.
"You'd best watch yourself Lockwood," I whispered softly and, I hope, menacingly. "You just made one serious enemy."
"I think that I'll be fine," Tyler snorted. Cheeky git.
"... give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy," Mrs Lockwood was saying.
"Uh, well," Alaric stuttered. Hmm, fun and crazy fact about Mystic Falls... there are vampires living in the town? There town has a bad history of vampires killing lots of people? This town seems to be a magnet for some crazy shit?
Nope, sorry Ricky, can't help you.
"He's probably saving the best stories for his date," Carol laughed, trying to reduce the awkwardness. "And last, but not least, Damon Salvatore."
I wolf-whistled, earning a stern look from Stefan. I ignored him and waved my raffle tickets in the air. They weren't for Damon, before you judge me. I had got them on Jenna's behalf for Alaric. But Stefan didn't know that.
"We don't have much on you," Carol remarked to Damon, an interested gleam in her eye. Lol looks like someone had an admirer.
"I'm tough to fit on a card," Damon smirked, enjoying all the female attention.
"That's because you are a dick," I stated, trying to get under his skin. I knew that he could hear me and I really wanted to get my revenge on him. The little shit had swapped one of my shots for apple juice earlier. And it had taken my best whining to get him to give me the tequila back.
"Do you have any hobbies?" Carol asked Damon as she mentally undressed him.
"Being a dick," I answered, snickering as Damon glanced over.
"Like to travel?"
"Yep, to Dickworld where I am the KingDick because I am such a humungous dick," I smirked as Luke huffed a laugh into my shoulder.
"Oh yeah," Damon answered, deliberately ignoring me. "L.A., New York. Couple of years ago, I was in North Carolina, near the Duke campus, actually."
I froze. The Duke campus? But isn't that where Isobel, aka birth mom went to college? Ohhh shit, please tell me this wasn't going where I thought it was.
"I think- I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric?" Damon turned to look at Ric. "Yeah, cause I know your wife did."
Oh god. Please tell me that I am not hearing this.
"I had a drink with her once."
Jesus fucking Christ. Tell me that Damon wasn't the vampire that killed my birth mom. Please god, please.
"She was... she was a great girl. I ever tell you that? She was... delicious."
Elena and I exchanged glances before we both got up. The heat of the room was getting to me and with what Damon had just dropped on me, I just needed to get out. And besides, I could see that Elena needed to get out too.
"Are you alright?" Aunt Jenna asked us, a worried look on her face.
"I just need some air," my twin replied, looking a bit pale.
"I'm gonna go keep her company while she gets some air," I added, my hand on my sister's back.
I followed her through the crowd, pushing people out of the way as needed. Once we had reached the back door, my sister let me take the lead. I walked out, shivering in the cold air, and regretted not bringing my jacket with me.
My sister hung back to speak to Stefan as I started pacing.
"Elena," he sighed, looking between us. "Alexa."
Elena turned to confront him, angry tears in her eyes. But I turned to face the wall that I had paced towards and drove my fist into it.
How could he? On some level I realised that he didn't know that she was my birth mom. And I couldn't be properly mad at him. But the logical part of my brain wasn't really in control right now.
"He killed her?" Elena shook her head, avoiding Stefan's comforting hands. "Damon was the vampire that killed her?"
"I don't know what happened. Alaric said that they never found the body," Stefan quickly explained as I shook out my hand. It hurt like a bitch but the pain helped centre me.
"Oh my god, Stefan," Elena sobbed and I let me twinstincts take over. I quickly walked over to my twin and pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her. Stefan stepped forward and I gave him a look. Elena needed me more right now.
"I know and I'm sorry," Stefan said, shaking his head. "I wanted to tell you. But I just... I wanted to know more.
I kept quiet as Ellie ranted, "I was feeling sorry for him. Hoping that this entire situation with Katherine not being in the tomb would change him."
I could understand her anger and, on some level, I felt it too.
"He doesn't know about the connection to you two," Stefan looked so desperate for us to believe him. "I thought about confronting him, but he's already so on edge."
"Why are you protecting him?" my twin cried and I tightened my grip on her.
Because their brothers. Their family. It's what they do. Family protect family. I know that I would do the same for Elena. I would do anything for Elena. And Jeremy. And Jenna.
"Because you're not the only ones hoping that he might actually change," Stefan sighed, a sad look on his face.
Oh Stefan.
"Alexa?" we turned to see Luke poke his head around the side of the door. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I smiled weakly, letting my sister go as she gently pulled away. "Just, ya know, breathing in the air."
"Right," Luke didn't sound convinced but went along with it anyway. "You coming in?"
I glanced over at Elena and she nodded.
"Sure."
Luke held out his hand and I took it. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"Are you alright?" Luke whispered in my ear.
"Of course I am," I smiled up at him, lying through my teeth.
"Sure?"
"Absolutely positively."
Luke smiled and shook his head, "Come on babe, we're missing the party."
"We can't have that, can we?"
XXX
I had thrown myself back into the conversation when I returned to the table. My energy was probably a bit too manic as Jenna had quickly confiscated my soda. I pouted at her but drank the water she put in front of me.
Mrs Lockwood had started raffling off the bachelors. I didn't pay enough attention to see who bachelors 1 and 2 went too, but Kelly Donovan had managed to sink her claws into number 3. Lol, poor guy.
As I popped to the toilet, I heard Jenna win Alaric and smiled. At least someone was getting some good news tonight. I still didn't know how I felt. The fact that Damon killed my birth mom was hard to digest. I couldn't even be mad at him about it as he didn't even know us back then. Of course, I could be pissed off about the fact that he rubbed it into Ric's face. That was some bad shit.
I left the toilet only to see my sister confronting Damon.
"Did you enjoy that?" she snapped as I walked over to stand by Stefan. "Rubbing it into Alaric Saltzman?"
Damon looked confused and I hissed my sister's name, trying to shut her up. This was neither the time nor place to be having this discussion.
"Just as I was starting to think that there was something redeemable about you," damn my sister was on a role. "That you could be trusted with my sister."
Woah, don't drag me into this.
Damon glanced over at me as Stefan joined in on trying to get my sister to shut her big mouth.
"What?" Damon looked confused as I just shrugged hopelessly. "Am I missing something here?"
"Did Alexa tell you our birth mom's name earlier?" as my sister just kept going, I sighed and walked forward. "The one that gave us up? Her name was Isobel. Go ahead. Reminisce on how you killed her."
Elena stormed off as I reached her side. Damon turned to look at me and I could see the guilt in his eyes. As Stefan chased after my sister, I sighed.
"Was that true?" Damon asked and I cringed.
"Yeah, she was telling the truth," I sighed. "It was not how I wanted to confront you with that but hey ho, my sister is a dumbass."
"Alexa," Damon started and I held up my hand.
"Look, you didn't know who we were and what she was to us," I chose my words carefully. "Rubbing it in Ric's face was a dick move. But right now, I don't want to talk about it." I studied Damon's face and smiled softly. "Just know that I'm not mad about it."
I followed my idiot twin and Stefan from the Grill. A hand caught my arm and I glanced behind me to see Luke.
"Alexa, what the hell was that all about?" Luke asked as I paused to let him join my side.
"You were watching?" I sighed and Luke nodded. "Look, I'll tell you later. I promise that I will explain everything, but please, give me time."
"Ok," Luke nodded.
XXX
When we got outside, there was a man standing in our way.
"Aren't you the creep who was watching us earlier?" I snarked as I made sure that I was in front of my sister.
"I have a message for you," the man replied, his voice toneless. Well that was rude; he just completely ignored my question. What a bastard.
"Oh really? That's nice but I really don't give a damn."
"Alexa!" Elena hissed at me before turning to address the creep. I held out an arm and made sure that she couldn't walk any further forward.
"What's the message?" she asked him, giving me a look.
"Who the hell are you?" Luke asked as he put an arm around my waist. I don't know whether that was to protect me or to stop me from attacking the creep.
"Stop looking."
I'm guessing that that was the message.
"That's not very helpful. Stop looking for what? Or should it be, stop looking for whom?" Oh look, my bitchy side was properly coming out to play.
"She doesn't want to know you," the man said emotionlessly. "She doesn't want to talk to you."
"Isobel?" Elena gasped, putting together the clues that I hadn't.
Gee, what a bitch. My birth mother was a bitch. Maybe that's where I got it from.
"Well maybe we don't want to talk to that bitch, either," I snapped, ignoring the look my sister gave me.
"You need to stop looking. Do you understand?"
"Alright, we get the bloody picture. You can shut up now."
"She's alive? But does that mean that she's a-" Elena started to ask.
"Elena, he's under a compulsion," Stefan interrupted gently.
I felt Luke freeze. Damn. That can't be good. Thanks Stefan. Now I needed to have the conversation a lot earlier than I was planning to.
"Do you understand?" the man repeated forcefully.
"Yes! We understand! Stop asking that!" I shouted at him, finally losing my cool.
"Good," the creep said, glancing to the side. "I'm done now."
He stepped back onto the road and, a second later, a truck hit him.
I froze in shock.
XXX
Luke took me back to my house and I took him up to my room to talk. Right, time for another difficult conversation. Ugh, this day sucked.
"Right, I promised to tell you everything. Here we go. Just promise me to not interrupt until I'm done."
"I promise."
"Good."
I took a deep breath. Here we go.
"Damon and Stefan Salvatore are vampires."
The moment the words left my mouth, Luke leapt up in anger.
"They're what?!" he snarled, going for the door.
"Hey! You promised to not interrupt!" I reminded him, grabbing his arm. "Sit."
"Alexandria, they're monsters."
"No they're not!" I snapped back and pushed him back on the bed. "I won't let you hurt them."
"Oh? And why not?"
"Look, Stefan feeds on animals so that he doesn't have to hurt people."
"And what about Damon?"
"Yeah, I can't deny that he used to kill people, but he's changed! He feeds from blood bags now. He doesn't hurt people. And he's my friend."
That I know of. But admitting that would not be a good idea right now.
"That doesn't change anything."
Luke went to stand back up but I pushed him back down. I moved so that I was straddling him on the bed.
"I can't let you hurt them, Luke," I whispered softly. "Elena loves Stefan. Killing him would hurt her. And you've known me for so long that you know that..."
"That if someone tries to hurt your twin, you'll hurt them first," Luke finished softly. "But Alexa, what do I do? This goes against everything that I grew up believing."
"Do what Ric does: ignore them unless absolutely necessary."
"I don't know if I can do that."
"Sure you can."
He still looked unsure.
"Please. For me?"
He looked conflicted for a few more moments before sighing.
"I'll try," he promised.
"That's all I needed to hear, babes."
I leaned down to kiss him.
"You owe me," he said to me.
I smirked at him, "Well, let me start making it up to you."
XXX
A/N: Hope you enjoyed, my lovelies, and please review xoxo