Night of The Comet.
September 9th.
Cherith smiled as she finally got her wavy hair how she wanted it to be, grabbed her backpack and went out of her room to see her sister and aunt talking.
She smiled, walking up to them.
"Morning women."
The 2 looked at her amused.
"Well, good morning to you too woman."
Jenna greeted her as she arranged her hair in an up do and Cherith looked at her, all dressed up.
"Going on a date?"
She asked, curiously and Jenna snorted, shaking her head.
"Oh please no! Instead I'm spending my day with your annoying teachers. All thanks to Jeremy."
"Ah…"
Cherith nodded, understandingly before looking around.
"Where is he anyways?
"He left early. Something about getting to woodshop early to finish a birdhouse."
Cherith frowned, exchanging a look with an equally confused Elena which Jenna noticed and she sighed.
"There is no woodshop, is there?"
Elena shook her head sympathetically and Jenna sighed, dropping her hand from her up do and it slumped down too, like how Jenna was possibly feeling.
Cherith really wanted to laugh but she already felt bad for her aunt and so stepped forward.
"How about I help you with your hair so you can get over the parent teacher thing fast."
Jenna looked at her with a small smile.
"You're a life saver."
"Well I'm heading out. Want me to wait so you can get a ride Cherry?"
Cherry waved her off.
"No, never mind. I'll just take the bus as usual. Really can't wait till I turn 16!"
Elena and Jenna chuckle.
Classes were rather slow for the day and all everyone could talk about was either Vicki's attack or the coming comet.
Cherith found the discussion of the comet much more interesting than actually discussing a girl who was in the hospital.
And most of the talks about her were not positive either.
It didn't hurt Cherith, but she thought it'd just be nice if the Mystic Falls High population could at least gossip about her where her brother couldn't hear.
After school was over, Cherith contemplated waiting for Jenna to finish the parent teacher meeting but decided against it, deciding to hitch a ride with Leslie to the Mystic Grill. Even if Leslie wouldn't be staying, she could at least have lunch and enjoy the sun for a while.
As Cherith waved Leslie, she walked towards her destination only to spot her sister and her friends outside, sitting down.
She idly contemplated pretending not to see them and just walking past but thanks to her hair and pale skin tone, she knew they'd notice her right away.
"Hey you 3, which one of you is buying my lunch today?"
She spoke in the form of a greeting as she sat down, the 3 greeting her and Caroline sighing exasperatedly.
"Now's not the time to discuss food, Cherith Gilbert! We're discussing your sister's sexless life!"
Cherith grimaced and Elena chided Caroline while Bonnie rolled her eyes, a small smile on her lips.
"Yes, discuss all you want but do not involve me. I'm 15, my ears are still rather innocent."
Caroline scoffed.
"When I was 15, I was throwing parties and making out with seniors. How in the hell are you in class with hot senior boys and not banging any of them?!"
Cherith grimaced once more as she motioned towards a waiter.
"Caroline!"
Bonnie and Elena chided her.
"Ew! No Caroline! I don't think they want a law suit against them. Now, focus on my sister!"
Cherry added as she spoke to the waiter who nodded and headed into the grill.
She was slightly bored, with nothing much to do, especially since the term was still beginning and all the main events of the year was still pretty far away.
"Anyways! What is with the blockage! Just jump his freaking bones already! Girl like boy, boy like girl. Sex!"
Cherith sighed.
"Profound."
Elena said sarcastically before a scheming look got on her face and she stood up, packing her bag, making the other 3 look at her.
"Where are you going?"
Bonnie asked her.
"Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do."
With a saucy grin, she walked off, Caroline staring at her with a proud grin and Bonnie chuckled at the look of disgust on Cherith's face.
"I cannot believe I know the time she and that Salvatore boy get it on. It's a crime. I'm her sister! There's got to be… rules, about this!"
She ranted even as she got her food from the waiter and Bonnie paid.
Caroline though, looked at her. A strange smile on her face.
"You don't have a boyfriend."
"Thank God for that."
Cherith added as she ate her food and Caroline frowned.
"Well absolutely not! We've solved Elena's love life, now it's time for yours!"
"I'm 15!"
Cherith added exasperatedly and Caroline waved her off.
"I was 15 when I got down on Jamie—"
"I don't need to know!!!"
Cherith shouted out and Bonnie laughed.
"Just leave her alone Caroline."
"No I will not Bonnie Bennett! She is a senior! She should act like one! Also, if she gets a hot senior boyfriend, he might introduce me to his hot friends too! Maybe you might get to meet a hot friend too!"
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Wow… how nice."
Caroline turned back to her prey who was busy trying to enjoy her food.
"What kind of boy do you like?"
"No one."
"Tall and dark? Innocent? Sweet??"
"None of the above."
"Cherith Gilbert!!"
Cherith walked into her house later that evening -with Jeremy who was returning from who knows where- from enjoying her lunch at the Grill and hanging out for a while with Caroline and Bonnie.
As she walked in, she heard her sister's voice and Jenna and frowned, wondering what on Earth Elena could be doing back home so soon.
She grimaced at the thought.
Jenna's eyes caught them but where more on Jeremy who was about to head up the stairs.
"Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?"
Jeremy sighed.
"More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's...that's cool."
"Stoner talk?"
Cherith mumbled under her throat as she walked over to Elena, ignoring her aunt who made a grab for an apple and was already after Jeremy.
"Why are you back so early from your… rendezvous?"
She asked her sister, ignoring Jeremy's cry of pain.
Elena sighed.
"Don't wanna talk about it. Just know he's on the rebound."
Cherith nodded understandingly.
Poor Elena.
But then again, serves her right for trying to also pull a rebound with the Salvatore guy too, or whatever it was going on with them. She didn't know him well enough to judge exactly what was going on between the two of them.
Jenna sighed as she walked back into the kitchen, looking slightly ruffled and frustrated.
"How was the meeting?"
Jenna groaned.
"Don't remind me. Your teacher, Tanner, is a grade A asshole. And Jeremy isn't helping matters too!"
Cherith smiled sympathetically at her aunt.
"Don't push yourself too much Jenna. It's probably just a phase for him."
"Well he should get over the phase before his future is ruined and when I grow old and die, your parents end up chiding me for not taking good care of you guys! Honestly, why can't he be like the both of you?"
Jenna sighed looking defeated and Cherith felt bad for her.
"How about I warm up some lasagna and pour you just ONE cup of red wine? Drink and eat your sorrows away, if only for a while?"
"Please! You're literally a lifesaver!"
Jenna groaned as she side hugged Cherith, Elena smiling and shaking her head and Cherith laughing as she got to work.
September 10th.
Night of The Comet.
"So, will you be at the comet tonight?"
Leslie asked Cherith as they walked to their next class that afternoon and Cherith shrugged.
"I probably might. This comet hasn't been seen for over 140 years. It's basically something you can't see except once in a lifetime. So, of course I want to be there. Tell my children and grandchildren about how marvelous it looked!"
Leslie snorted as they bumped into people in the busy hallway, her dark brown hair in a ponytail and her hazel eyes watching the multitude of people rushing to classes before the bell rang.
"It's not exactly special, you know? It's just an excuse to hangout in the town square and eat good food."
Cherith chuckled.
"Well if it isn't impressive I'll just head into the Grill and eat away my disappointment at how, profoundly disappointed I was at the comet. Will you be there?"
Leslie sighed.
"Sure. Mom's home for a while and so we're spending the evening together. You could join us. I don't think I want to hear another of her 'back when I was your age' stories anymore. It's driving me mad!"
Cherith laughed.
Leslie's parents were both professors at UCLA, the school Leslie was actually looking to attend.
She might act like a typical teenaged brat, but she loved and missed her parents a whole lot of the time they weren't around.
She lived with her grandmother.
Cherith sighed, a slightly wistful look in her eyes at the thought of her parents.
Well… both set of parents, that is.
"Well, we just might run into each other anyways so…"
The 2 friends entered into their class just in time for the bell to ring.
Cherith shivered slightly in the town square that evening, wrapping her arms around herself as the chilly air blew around that night.
The sky was dark and slightly ominous looking as everyone gathered all around the town square, waiting for the comet to pass by.
Cherith wasn't exactly feeling too good either.
She knew she wasn't sick, but the hairs on her body were slight raised… apprehensive.
Okay, maybe she was coming down with something then.
She walked up to her friend whom she spotted with her mother.
Leslie honestly didn't look like her mother, but when they both smiled, it was like sunshine on a rainy day.
If Leslie's mum still looked like this, it showed she was going to age well. Like fine wine.
Leslie spotted her and waved her over.
"Hi Mrs. Greene. Good to see you again."
Sara Greene smiled at her.
"Good to see you again dear. And what have I told you about calling me Mrs. Greene? That's my mother-in-law."
She joked and Cherith laughed, nodding.
"Right, sorry Sara."
"Here, let me."
Leslie spoke, helping Cherith light her candle and the trio turned to stare at the now dark sky.
"When we finish up here, how about I treat you kiddos to some dinner at the Grill?"
Leslie scoffed.
"You're just playing nice cause you've missed the food served at the Grill."
"Hey! Home food is good food!"
Leslie snorted and Cherith grinned when Sara winked at her conspiratorially.
The comet was seemingly nothing special.
It was beautiful, in an odd way, but after it passed, everyone began dispersing and Cherith followed Leslie and Sara into the Grill for dinner.
Sara had volunteered to drive Cherith home but she'd politely rejected the offer, knowing Elena was somewhere around and could possibly drive her home after her mooning over the Salvatore guy, which quite frankly, she still couldn't remember his name!
After a while, she spotted her sister and her friends who sat down at a table, probably for dinner and was about walking towards them when Jeremy walked over to Matt and Tyler who were both around them too.
"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"
He asked, looking around the Grill and Tyler sneered at him.
"You're her stalker. You tell us."
Cherith stopped by the table, looking at Tyler blankly.
She really wasn't a fan of him. She wasn't close to him anyways, but she sometimes wondered why someone like Matt was even close to such a douchebag.
Of course, she'd heard his father was even more of a douchebag. And the amount of times she'd met the mayor, suffice to say she wasn't exactly impressed by him.
"I can't find her."
Jeremy said, slightly desperate and Tyler scoffed.
"She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."
Jeremy glared at Tyler who glared back at him but the sentence had already caught Elena's attention.
"What's with the pill pusher?"
She asked wearily and Tyler grinned like he'd won the lottery.
Cherith glared at him
"Ask him."
"You wanna do this right now?"
"Are you dealing?!"
Elena asked in surprise and even Cherith was surprised too. While she knew Jeremy was dabbling in drugs and drinking, she hadn't expected him to actively deal.
"Jeremy, is this true?"
Cherith cut in, unable to be left ignored but Jeremy ignored his sisters, turning to Tyler.
"She's never gonna go for you."
Tyler mocked and Jeremy gave him a mocking grin.
"Oh yeah? Well she already did. Over and over and over again."
Tyler scoffed disbelievingly though and unsure look filtered on his face when he saw how victorious Jeremy looked.
"Yeah right."
"You slept with Vicki Donovan? Or rather yet, Vicki Donovan slept with you??"
Caroline spoke aghast, like she didn't believe Vicki would go for someone like her Jeremy. Heck, even Cherith couldn't believe it.
She sighed.
"Why have I been hearing about my siblings' sex life this past few days?"
She mumbled to herself, her hands dragging through her hair and Bonnie chuckled, though she was still interested in the drama unfolding.
"There's no way!"
Tyler still seemed to be in denial.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it."
Jeremy sneered and Matt's eyes narrowed.
Even Cherith looked at Tyler suspiciously.
Didn't have to force her?
What the hell was going on??
"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?"
Tyler looked shifty eyes before waving him off.
"Nothing man, he's just being a punk."
It seemed Matt wanted to know more, but his priority was more on finding his sister as he shook his head.
"You know what, how about all of you just shut up and help me find my sister?"
He said, slightly panicked and Bonnie stepped up to calm the atmosphere.
"We can check the square."
"I'll check the square."
Matt spoke and Jeremy stepped forward.
"I'll go with you."
This time though, Elena wasn't none of that.
"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. So that's your game now, dealing?"
She whispered harshly as she dragged him towards the door and Cherith sighed.
"Well, that's my cue. Sorry Matt. I hope you find her though."
She said, walking towards her sibling and intentionally stepping on Tyler's foot with all of her body weight as she passed him, making him let out a painful howl and Cherith gave herself a victorious smirk as she reached her siblings who were still arguing.
"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me!"
Jeremy scoffed, rolling his arms.
"I vote for none."
Elena sighed, pressing a hand to her nose.
"You know what, let's just go home. I'm obviously not getting to you. Maybe Jenna can. I obviously don't know what kind of attitude you're setting for Cherry. At least act like a good brother for her, if not for me."
Cherry sighed as she entered into the car, the somber atmosphere not receding till they got home.
An hour later.
Caroline and Bonnie sat, still at the Grill as Vicki was finally found.
"Ugh, it's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"
Caroline whined and Bonnie absentmindedly nodded.
"Yeah."
Just then, Stefan walked towards them, making them both sit up.
"Excuse me, hi… have you guys seen Elena?"
He asked rather hesitantly and Bonnie spoke up.
"Oh, I think she went home."
Stefan suddenly looked downtrodden which Bonnie noticed as she spoke up again.
"You know what? I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her...I said so."
She smiled kindly at her, holding out a piece of paper to give to Stefan.
Just as her hand grazed Stefan's fingers though, Bonnie froze.
It suddenly felt like she had been dunked into ice water from the inside. She felt stuck, unable to move, and absolute darkness was all around her, it felt so much like… death.
Caroline then took it upon herself and nudged Bonnie who suddenly snapped out of it, snatching her hands away from Stefan as if he'd offended her somehow.
Stefan looked at her confused while Caroline sighed exasperatedly.
"You okay?"
He asked and Bonnie looked up into his eyes, fear mixed with apprehension in hers.
"What happened to you?"
She asked him, before she shook her head, trying to hide her reaction, noticing Stefan staring at her rather cautiously too.
"I-I'm sorry. That was rude… I'm sorry, excuse me."
With that, Bonnie stood up and excused herself, careful not to get too close to Stefan and leaving, oddly freaked out.
Caroline sighed again as she stared at her friend's gradually retreating back and she turned back to Stefan.
"Sorry about that. She wigs out occasionally, kind of like her thing."
She assured him and Stefan reluctantly nodded as he excused himself, a thoughtful look on his face.
Later on.
Cherith walks out of her room after taking a shower and dressing in comfy clothes, heading down the stairs to see her aunt sitting and watching a movie, a glass of wine in her hand.
"Hey Jenna, where's Jeremy and Elena?"
She asked as she flopped down to seat next to Jenna, her legs crossed under her.
"Elena just left and as for your brother… that, I don't know."
She sighed ruefully and Cherith smiled sympathetically at her before looking at the glass of wine in her hand.
"You know, I think we're slowly turning you into an alcoholic aunty."
Jenna looked at her and grinned.
"Something you should know then, I already AM, an alcoholic."
Cherith chuckled before resting her head on Jenna's shoulder and Jenna patted her lap before they both turned to watch the movie playing.
Meanwhile…
Caroline sighed as she walked out of the Grill that night, slightly bored out of her mind.
It was dark out and she couldn't spot anyone around as she walked towards her car.
She sighed once more.
The day had been a total bust.
From finding no one to keep her sweet time, to helping Matt look for his druggie sister and not running into her mysterious sexy stranger, she was definitely feeling super irritated and frustrated.
The sound of footsteps and the wind snapped her out of her mind as she stopped, looking around and yet didn't spot anyone.
She shook her head.
She must have drank too much.
Times like this, she was super glad her mum would be spending the night at the station. She really wasn't interested in her scolding. Not like she cared.
She continued her walk towards her car and heard the footsteps and the wind again and stopped, looking around but still not spotting anyone.
Now, she was getting super creeped out and her heartbeat quickened slightly. Her steps also quickened as she got to her car and dipped her hand into her bag, looking for her car keys while looking around, the hair on her neck raised.
Just then, she heard the wind settle behind her and whipped to look behind with speed and sighed when she saw just who was behind her.
"Oh wow! Geez!"
She breathed out, her hand moving to rest on her chest to steady her beating heart.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
Her sexy, mysterious stranger spoke in a voice that definitely made her shiver.
He was donned up in all black and his eyes! Oh Caroline felt it was finally her lucky day.
Take that Elena!
"No, it's fine."
She waved his concern away, before looking at him with a saucy look.
"But, you know… I was hoping I'd see you again…"
Tall, dark and handsome smirked.
"I know"
Caroline scoffed though a grin was playing across her beautiful features.
"Cocky much?"
"Very much."
Caroline's answering grin was everything.
Salvatore Boarding House.
"Sorry for barging in…"
Elena said as she was invited in by Stefan who shook his head.
"No, I'm… really glad you're here. The way we left things… I didn't like it."
He spoke softly, looking at Elena with a sad smile which she reciprocated before sighing.
"See, the thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do, write in my diary, like I have been since my mom gave me one when I was 10. It's where I get everything out, everything I'm feeling. It all goes in this little book that I hide on the second shelf behind this really hideous ceramic mermaid. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling you."
"What would you write?"
Stefan asked curiously and she looked at him fully before answering.
"I would write... 'Dear diary, today I convinced myself it was ok to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo. No drama, now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons, they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth, and the truth is that...'."
Then Elena sighed.
"I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that...the world's just going to come crashing down, and I...don't know if I can survive that."
Stefan nodded understandingly, quiet for a second before he finally spoke.
"Do you want to know what I would write?"
He asked her and she shook her head.
"I would write… 'I met a girl. We talked. It was epic. But then the sun came up and reality set in. Well, this is reality. Right here'."
He looked at her with such heavy emotions which she reciprocated as they got closer to one another and their kiss was like fireworks exploding everywhere.
Also…
Mystic Falls was quiet.
That was the first thing she noticed as she stepped into town.
It had a desolate feeling but yet it felt electric as well.
It was understandable. Mystic Falls was a sort of beacon on its own that drew all sorts of things to it.
Anna Zhu smirked as the wind billowed through her hair.
"Hello Mystic Falls… looks like I'm staying for a while."
Forbes Residence.
Caroline moans as the stranger now known as Damon kisses her stomach sensually.
Suddenly he stops, taking a deep breath and Caroline looked down at him only to stare horrified as his face transforms into a demon-like monstrosity, and without so much as given her a chance, lunges for her neck.
Her scream is all we hear of her.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Gilbert Residence.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Cherith gasps awake from where she'd fallen asleep on her aunt's shoulder who was still into the movie.
Jenna turned to her with a wry grin.
"You fell asleep kiddo. Didn't want to wake you up. You should get to bed. New day, tomorrow after all."
Cherith nods slowly, still slightly shaken up by the heart wrenching dream that had woken her up.
She shivered as the hairs on her body were raised and her heart beat was super fast.
It made her feel… like there was something going on, something bad, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.
She went into Elena's room and saw she still wasn't back. Neither was Jeremy.
It made her worried, not knowing where her siblings were and if they were okay.
She had no idea what made her this way but she knew she'd always trusted her instincts and it had yet to fail her.
As she climbed into bed, hugging herself delicately, she wondered what was going on.
And if her family was okay.
Hi guys! so what do you all think?
I've been thinking of cutting an episode into 2 because of how long it is.
What do you all think?
And what do you all think about the characters too??
Please leave comments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
