September 11th.
"Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't date the guy, I'm just saying take it slow."
Cherith snorted as she walked with Elena and Bonnie as she presently came to school with them.
"Which means don't date the guy, I don't like him."
Bonnie turned to glare at Cherith who raised her hand in the universal giving up motion.
"Hey, I'm on your side here… if only for other reasons, like… I hope this isn't some rebound thing you're going through?"
Elena sighed, turning to her sister, exasperated.
"No. It's really not Cherry. And Bonnie, weren't you the one practically telling me to give it a try?"
Bonnie made a noise at the back of her throat, clearly regretting it.
"Well now I'm telling you to take it slow."
Elena looked at her amused and crossed her arms.
"Why the about-face then?"
Bonnie groaned.
"It's not an about-face. You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."
Elena scoffed.
"Oh because I am so that girl."
"But you could be…"
Cherith added conspiratorially and Elena gave her a look and Cherith shrugged. She was only trying to help anyways.
"Seriously though, what's this all about?"
Bonnie sighed.
"Never mind… it stupid."
"Bonnie…"
Elena groaned.
"What?"
Bonnie groaned back.
"Just spit it out already!"
Bonnie sighed, looking indecisive for a minute and Cherith suddenly looked interested, wondering what it was all about.
Was Stefan some sort of criminal??
Was he a serial killer they had no idea about?? Cause if he was, Cherith was so going to hit him with a wooden spoon! Not that that would do anything but still…
"I accidentally touched Stefan and… I got a really bad feeling."
Cherith immediately became disappointed.
"That's it?"
The 2 sisters said together, slightly disappointed and Bonnie breathed in frustrated.
"It was bad, bad okay!"
"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?"
Elena asked looking at Bonnie incredulously and Cherith looked at her sister.
"Witch thing? What's that?"
Elena waved her off and she huffed, disgruntled.
"Look, You know what? I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."
"Still can't believe he's suddenly your boyfriend too. I mean, how many days has it been since you met this dude! Seriously Elena, and I thought you believed you were the mature one!"
Elena groaned, turning to her sister.
"Not you too!"
"I'm just surprised is all! Exactly how many days has it been since you met him? What do you even know about him??"
"Cherith! Please at least pretend to be happy for me!"
Cherith grumbled under her breath. It's not like she wasn't glad at least Elena was trying to move on, she just didn't know Stefan, like at all. And Matt was someone that would be difficult to beat. Especially since he was one of the people Cherith grew up with and regarded as a family friend, even if she'd been avoiding him lately thanks to Elena.
Point though, is that Stefan was a stranger to Cherith. And Cherith was never open with strangers.
Elena turned to her best friend with a small smile.
"And I love you for it, I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year, and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that. So please… just… try…"
Just then, Stefan walked up to the 3, a small smile on his face as he greeted the trio.
"Morning Elena… Bonnie… Cherith."
Cherith only gave him a wave, trying not to be too rude to the guy. She didn't know him after all… but she also wouldn't be too friendly either.
Yes.
She was just that neutral.
Bonnie though, suddenly feigned an excuse.
"Ah, you know what, I've gotta go. Caroline's been ignoring my calls. I'll, see you guys later."
With that, she walked away, leaving the new group of trio behind.
"Bonnie, wait…"
Elena called out but Bonnie kept walking, even faster than before.
Stefan turned to Elena with a small smile and honestly, Cherith could understand why her sister had fallen under his charm.
He was good-looking.
And Elena was good-looking too.
They'd make good-looking babies all in all.
"You know… I don't think she likes me very much."
Elena sighed.
"She doesn't know you. She's my best friend. She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you."
The two smiled at each other and Cherith suddenly groaned, making the 2 turn to her.
"Ugh! I can't believe she left me here to be you guys' third wheel. How rude."
Stefan smiled and Elena rolled her eyes.
"Isn't there a particular teacher you ought to be seeing this morning? You can leave now."
Cherith gave her sister the stink eye.
"You know, keep being rude to the little girl, all of you. And one day, you're gonna need me and you know what? I'll laugh in your faces cause I'd do nothing to help!"
Elena just looked at her amused.
"Ha. Ha… I'm so scared."
She answered sarcastically and Stefan chuckled.
As Cherith was about to talk back to her sister though, she saw a football heading towards them and was about to shout out when Stefan must have seen her face as he turned and caught the ball easily.
Everyone around turned to the commotion, looking between their group and where the ball came from which was coincidentally Matt and Tyler.
Stefan though, gave a small smile and threw the ball back to Tyler who caught it but stumbled backward, some teens snickering at his predicament.
A small smile grew on Elena's face and also Cherith, before her eyes met Matt's and she shook his head at him and he gave her a sigh, gesturing to Tyler who was still slightly spooked.
Elena suddenly turned to Stefan with a huge grin.
"Hey, are you free tonight?"
Cherith grimaced, wondering if they were setting up a date or some and spoke up.
"Woah, woah… I guess it's my cue to leave now. Can't stay here as you both plan a date I'm definitely not interested in. By the way…"
She turned to Stefan, whose name she now knew with the amount of times she'd now heard his name.
"You should probably try out for the football team. Not because I think you'd be good or anything, but I just want to see the look on Tyler Lockwood's face is all. See you losers later!"
With that, she turned and walked away, towards her destination which was a meeting with one of her teachers as she had a free first period.
She idly wondered what Leslie was up to as well as she walked into the school building.
School was finally over and Cherith was walking with Leslie as they approached their lockers.
"So what are you doing after?"
She asked Leslie who shrugged.
"There's cheerleading practice. You should come watch or something."
Cherith made a noise in her throat.
"Definitely not interested, thank you very much."
Leslie groaned.
"Then what exactly are you going home to do, then? Eat? Cause havoc? Sleep?"
Cherith grinned.
"Well why not all of the above?"
Leslie scoffed, grinning back at her.
"Wow, so scary."
Cherith then realized that there was also football practice today, and maybe Elena had been able to convince Stefan to tryout.
Also, Elena would be going to cheer practice and so maybe she could use it as an opportunity to support her sister too.
Cherith sighed, turning to her friend.
"Fine. I guess k don't have much to do today. Come on, let's go watch you and a bunch of other girls pull out your bones and stuff."
Leslie scoffed though she grinned as they walked arm in arm towards the field.
Cherith spotted her sister stretching with Bonnie on the field and pranced over to them.
"Hey you two, where's the captain?"
Cherith wondered, looking around for Caroline who was no where to be found.
"A no show as of now… what are you doing here?"
Elena asked her sister who was presently looking through the bleachers at the football field.
"Here to support you in your first practice. Also, any idea if Stefan took my advice to heart?"
Elena scoffed, smiling.
"Why don't you go check and stop pretending to be here for me."
Cherith grinned playfully.
"You know me too well. I'll be back if he doesn't show up. And super disappointed. In fact, I just might disapprove of him even more."
Elena waved her off as Cherith bounced towards the football field and settled on the bleachers, hoping Stefan would at least show up.
The practice was rather boring, seeing as she wasn't exactly interested in any of the guys or their practice, rather interested in whether Stefan would make it and cause a commotion or not.
She almost missed it though when Stefan walked towards Tanner and her eyes widened and she grinned as he spoke to the coach and she stood up, excited and screamed out.
"Whoop!! Go Stefan!!"
Clapping. Some of the players stopped what they were doing to stare at her and a clearly now embarrassed Stefan while Mr. Tanner only rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Stefan.
Their conversation went on for a minute or two, making Cherith slightly frustrated before Tanner pointed somewhere and Stefan jogged there and Cherith was suddenly excited.
Some minutes flew by and he returned wearing a practice jersey and Cherith jumped excitedly.
"Go Stefan!!!"
The practice game began and it suddenly seemed like the team, led by Tyler, was against Stefan.
It almost made Cherith pity him.
But rather she was interested in taking Tyler down a notch or two.
She still hadn't forgotten what Jeremy had said about him forcing himself on Vicki.
She might not be that much of a fan of the girl but that didn't mean she wasn't all for female rights and the lot.
Stefan kept doing a great job on the field which led to Cherith cheering his name much to the anger of some on the field.
"Whooo! Go Stefan! Knock em dead! Ahahaahh!"
She chuckled out maniacally rather like a witch.
"Miss Gilbert! Would you quiet it down! You are distracting the players!"
Mr. Tanner shouted towards her frustrated and she grinned at him, shrugging.
"Sorry! Take them down Stefan!!"
Mr. Tanner sighed.
Even when Tyler knocked down Stefan and Cherith booed him, calling foul much to the exasperation of those present, it didn't take away the smile on Elena's face, nor the look of vindictiveness that grew on Cherith's the more frustrated Tyler became.
She decided today was a good day after all.
Gilbert Residence.
After the whole practice, Cherith had hitched a ride with Leslie home as Elena was going to be getting some things for a dinner with Stefan apparently.
She might have cheered him on during practice but it didn't mean he wasn't still basically a stranger to her. She just really needed someone to take Tyler down a peg.
She would have if she could, but she wasn't going to admit out loud that she wasn't as strong as he was.
The asshole.
Cherith walked up the stairs and into her room, knowing Jenna wasn't around and headed up to her room for a while and ended up falling asleep as she didn't have much to do.
Salvatore Boarding House.
Stefan walks into his bedroom, a small smile on his face as he remembered Cherith cheering him on earlier. He had honestly thought she didn't like him, but maybe she liked him better than Tyler Lockwood. As he walked into his room, he saw his brother and sighed.
Damon was relaxed in a chair, reading through one of his journals, a mischievous look on his face.
"So, how was tryouts baby bro? Did you make the team? Oh, very Emerson, by the way"
He gestured to the journal in his hands.
"The way you reveal your soul with so many… adjectives."
Stefan sped up to him and ripped the journal out of his hands."
"Geez…"
Damon mumbled, though a smirk played on his lips.
"What are you doing here?"
Stefan asked suspiciously, looking at his brother with a frown.
He needed to know if Damon was going to be a huge problem, seeing as he knew bodies usually followed his elder brother wherever he went.
"I've come to apologize."
Damon sighed as he stood up, walking up to Stefan, a regretful look on his face as Stefan crossed his arms.
"I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and...I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. That I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for both of us."
He finished softly, looking slightly meek and Stefan looked closely at his brother for any lie in his face.
He really wanted to believe his brother. Call him sentimental, but he'd always hoped Damon would change.
Damon though, couldn't seem to keep his meek face as he struggled for a minute before a vicious grin appeared on his face.
"Sike."
He said, and Stefan sighed.
"You know it doesn't have to be this way."
He tried to plead with Damon who just shrugged, walking around the room.
"Well of course it doesn't."
He reassures his brother but Stefan doesn't believe him.
"And I saw Elena today, BTW. That means 'by the way'."
Stefan rolled his eyes.
"She was at cheerleading practice. She looked so perky in her little short shorts."
Stefan suddenly grew still, glaring angrily at his brother who grinned.
"Just...simmer down, I didn't even go near her. I even spotted the littlest Gilbert from afar. She's a pretty adorable thing, isn't she? Like a ruby haired Barbie. Gonna break the hearts of men one day. I mean… those eyes!"
He gushed, trying to rile Stefan up and it seemed to walk as he gave Damon a stony look.
"She's 15, Damon. Stay away from her."
Damon waved him off.
"It's okay, I won't approach her. Besides, it's Mystic Falls. We'll meet eventually."
He said promisingly and Stefan narrowed his eyes at his brother, wondering just what he was up to."
"And don't worry about Elena anyway… I've got my own cheerleader now. Ooh, that reminds me...I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms. Wish me luck."
With that, he saunters out of the room, leaving Stefan to stare at him suspiciously and also nervousness steeping into his nerves.
It was never a good day when Damon was happy.
Cherith sat on the kitchen counter as she watched her sister and Bonnie hustle up some food for their dinner that evening.
It was rather amusing to watch as she crunched down on some snack.
Elena wasn't a fan of cooking. Never had.
She had always been the preppy type who loved to party and hangout with friends.
Cherith on the other hand, had not abundance of friends, especially when she was homeschooled and so spent a lot of time with her mum which made her pick up a thing or two from her.
She'd actually volunteered to help her sister but Elena was being controlling and wanted to plan everything all by herself.
Cherith wanted… no, needed, to see where it would go.
"Okay then, You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture!"
Bonnie gushes as she bustles around the kitchen and Elena smiles, amused.
"Oh come on, Bonnie. That commercial's on a constant loop. Literally every hour or so!"
Elena says as she rinses some spoons and forks.
Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"
Cherith shrugged.
"It's not that weird. I think about numbers most of the time."
She added and Bonnie gives her a look.
"Well that's because your IQ is well above the charts!"
Elena chuckled and added her own two cents.
"Well then maybe we should play the lottery."
This time Bonnie gave her a look and she smiles before sighing.
"Well… have you talked to your Grams or something?"
Bonnie shook her head.
"No, thank you. She's just gonna say I'm a witch. I don't wanna be a witch. Do you wanna be a witch?"
Elena quickly shook her head.
"I don't wanna be a witch."
Cherith looked at the two of the exasperatedly.
"Well I do!"
The 2 of them stare at her amused.
"What? I could magic myself all the money and food I want! Maybe even use it against my enemies!"
Elena and Bonnie grin.
"You're only 15 Cherry. You don't have any enemies."
Cherith reasoned what her sister had said and shrugged.
"True, but I'll be older soon. It's best to have a thing or two down your sleeves."
Elena shook her head as she transferred the to-go food into a bowl and Cherith and Bonnie look unimpressed at the presentation.
"Putting it in a nice bowl isn't gonna fool anyone Elena dear."
Elena ignored her before moving to the drawers, not sure which one to open.
"Okay. Serving spoons… where are the serving spoons?"
She mumbled to herself.
"Middle drawer on your left."
Bonnie and Cherith chorus together and the 2 turn to stare at each other in surprise. Cherith's mixed with shock.
"Okay, I live here so I have the excuse to know where they are, but damn, Bonnie!"
Cherith chuckled and Bonnie raised her hands like 'you see!'
"Well you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times."
Elena said and Bonnie looked at her unimpressed.
"Yeah, that's it."
Just then, the doorbell rang and Cherith groaned while Elena perked up.
Well, at least he made Elena happy, was all Cherith grudgingly acknowledged.
"Great! He's here!"
Elena squealed happily.
She then turned to reassure Bonnie who was suddenly nervous.
"Okay Bonnie, don't be nervous… just be your normal loving self."
With that, she turned to her sister who was still staring at her unimpressed, munching from her snack bag and sighed.
"As for you, try not to chase him off with your… off-putting energy."
Cherith glared at her sister indignantly as she rushed to open the door and jumped down from the counter, going to keep the remaining snack, not noticing Bonnie correctly pick the right drawer for birthday candles, which had left her quite shaken.
Cherith grudgingly sat down for dinner as her sister packed food for her into her plate, giving her a stink eye to stay with them for dinner.
She grumbled under her throat about the unfairness of it all, deciding not to say anything and just eat from where she sat beside her sister.
It was super awkward, and honestly, Cherith was living for it, a small smile threatening to break forth across her face.
Bonnie definitely wasn't interested in starting a conversation either, what with the battle of wills she was currently in with Elena.
Just then, Elena sighed, clearing her throat, and finally spoke up.
"So! Did Tanner give you a hard time today?"
Stefan turned to her.
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."
Elena grinned excitedly at him before turning to Bonnie.
"Bonnie you should have been there! You should've seen—"
"Yeah I heard."
Bonnie cut her off, not interested in the conversation and Cherith snickered under her breath as the conversation ended again, the atmosphere getting even more awkward.
Elena must have heard her because she kicked Cherith under the table and Cherith sighed before trying to salvage the conversation.
"Hm, yes. He was rather good. At least he's good for something. Next time I need you to embarrass Tyler, I'll call you or something."
"Cherith!"
Elena chided her, looking scandalized and Stefan chuckled, shaking his head.
"Its okay. I've come to understand Cherith's always like this?"
Elena sighed and Cherith ignored them both.
"Oh you have no idea."
She suddenly turned towards Bonnie again, a determined look on her face as she spoke.
"So Bonnie, why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"
Bonnie looked at her best friend, dry faced.
"Divorced parents. No mum. Live with my dad."
She replied in a monotonous voice which Elena wasn't impressed by.
"No. About the witches."
Bonnie gave her a look which Elena ignored, smiling at Stefan who suddenly looked interested.
"Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."
Bonnie scoffed.
"Cool isn't the word I'd use."
"But it's a word I would."
Cherith chirped in, making Bonnie shake her head at her.
"Well, it's certainly interesting."
Stefan suddenly spoke up and the 3 girls turned to him.
"I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."
"My family came by way of Salem."
Bonnie added and Stefan looked surprised.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity."
A small grin filtered across Bonnie's face and Cherith immediately knew Stefan was already winning her over.
If there was one thing girls liked, it was to be complimented.
"Yeah. They are."
Elena beamed, shoulders dropping with relief as it seemed things would finally go smoothly from now on.
But just then, the bell rang, leaving those at the table confused.
Cherith turned to her sister with a frown.
"Did you invite someone else? Cause I think it'd be better for me to just take my food to my room."
Elena gave her a look.
"No. I didn't."
With that, she stood up, walking towards the front door mumbling.
"I wonder who that could be."
As she opened the door, she was met with a beaming Caroline holding dessert in her hands and next to her was Damon Salvatore.
"Surprise!! Bonnie said you were doing dinner , so we brought dessert."
She chirped, leaving Elena slightly tongue tied, having not expected any other guests.
"Oh…"
"Hope you don't mind."
Damon finally spoke up, a charming smile on his face.
Meanwhile with Cherith, as she heard her sister open the door and the telltale voice of Caroline sounded in the hallway, Cherith sighed, wondering if this would turn into a party anytime soon.
Just then, Stefan's face darkened as he stood up and went over to where Elena was.
Cherith exchanged a look with Bonnie who shrugged and continued with her food and Cherith stood up to go see what was taking them so long since it was only just Caroline… she hoped.
When she got there, a sigh escaped her lips as soon as she spotted a new face in the group.
He was tall, though not taller than Stefan, dressed in all black. He had black hair styles and striking intense silvery blue eyes.
He was also really good-looking, and Cherith idly wondered when good-looking guys like Stefan and this stranger began moving to boring Mystic Falls.
"You have a beautiful home, Elena."
The stranger said, turning to Elena with a suspicious looking smirk.
Even the air around him gave a bad boy vibe but the way he looked at Cherith's sister, she scrunched her nose up.
"Creep."
She mumbled but he must have heard her as his head snapped towards her immediately, his gaze suddenly turning curious as he slowly walked up to her, his smile making her even more irritated.
He had this grin on his face that gave off arrogance, and one thing Cherith didn't like, apart from meeting people, was arrogant people.
"Well hello there, you must be the Cherry I've been hearing all about."
He spoke softly in a cooing like voice and Cherith decided she straight up disliked the fellow.
"That's not my name. Only friends call me that. It's Cherith to you."
Elena gasped.
"Cherry!"
Cherith just stared up at him like she didn't care and Damon's grin widened, like he was amused.
"Of course. Cherith. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."
Cherith immediately groaned, turning to look at a slightly amused Stefan.
"What? There's two of your kind around?"
Damon's eyebrow raised.
"At least you're following Caroline. That's better than two rats sniffing my sister."
With that, she turned and walked off, not seeing Elena's regretful face or Damon's slightly surprised look.
"I should have just let her eat in her room."
Elena mumbled and Stefan turned back to his brother, face now stony and serious as he guided Elena back in, Damon's face going back to it's devious look as he followed them.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."
Caroline gushed, looking at Stefan with a grin as everyone settled in the living room. Stefan and Elena together, Caroline and Damon together and Cherith cocooning with Bonnie.
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
Damon added and Cherith snickered under her breath at the heated look Stefan gave his brother.
Wow, they must be a lot of bad blood between this two, and she just met them!
As much as Stefan was still as stranger to her, this other brother was even worse than a stranger to her.
And besides… Stefan embarrassed Tyler earlier, maybe she could cut him some slack, especially with his brother seeming so… unlikable.
"I should have just let her eat in her room."
Elena mumbled and Stefan turned back to his brother, face now stony and serious as he guided Elena back in, Damon's face going back to it's devious look as he followed them.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."
Caroline gushed, looking at Stefan with a grin as everyone settled in the living room. Stefan and Elena together, Caroline and Damon together and Cherith cocooning with Bonnie.
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
Damon added and Cherith snickered under her breath at the heated look Stefan gave his brother.
Wow, they must be a lot of bad blood between this two, and she just met them!
As much as Stefan was still as stranger to her, this other brother was even worse than a stranger to her.
And besides… Stefan embarrassed Tyler earlier, maybe she could cut him some slack, especially with his brother seeming so… unlikable.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun."
She chuckled, probably remembering the old days and everyone turned to her incredulously.
Cherith glared at her, wondering if it would be acceptable for her to throw her cup at Caroline's head.
Caroline seemed to suddenly realize what she said as she quietened.
"And I say that with complete sensitivity."
She assured them and Cherith grimaced, before grabbing a handful of her caramel popcorn and throwing it at Caroline's head, some sticking to it and also Stefan's brother.
Not that she cared.
"That's a low blow Caroline."
Cherith said, unimpressed by the girl who looked sorry as she tried to pull the sticky snack from her hair while Stefan's brother stared at her slightly surprised and Elena and Bonnie smile.
Stefan just stared at her amused before glaring back at his brother.
Poor boy was having a hard time trying to enjoy his dinner with Elena.
"Cherith!"
Cherith waved her sister off.
"Don't worry, you'll be free of me soon. But Caroline was being blonde."
Elena sighed and Stefan's brother, as now dubbed in Cherith's head, smirked before turning to Elena, trying to look understanding.
"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."
Stefan finally cut in this time.
"We don't need to get into that right now."
He stared at his brother stonily and his brother nodded.
"Of course. You're right, Stef. I'm sorry. I mean, the last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."
He blinked at his brother, shaking his head and Cherith sighed as Elena sighed, looking uncomfortable.
"You don't want to bring her up yet you ended up doing that…"
Cherith mumbled under her throat to herself, not noticing Damon looking at her.
Cherith sighed again before standing up, done with the whole group.
"I can't take this anymore Elena, I'm going to bed. Enjoy whatever this is. Night Bonnie, Caroline, Stefan and Stefan's brother."
Stefan's brother raised his eyebrow at her, amused and she rolled her eyes, trying to remember his name.
"Right. Night Damien."
She said, walking out and he called out to her.
"It's Damon."
Cherith answered him back disgruntled.
"That's what I said."
As she walked up, Cherith well and truly hoped for Elena's sake that the dinner would go well and not end up causing any fights between her and Stefan.
She sighed.
Drama everywhere.
"Bunch of dramatic oldies…"
She mumbled as she entered her room.
Some moments later.
As soon as Caroline left to join the girls in the kitchen, well more like Damon compelled her, Stefan turned to his brother.
"They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to!"
He tried to reason quietly with his brother who tutted at him.
"Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking."
He grinned maliciously and Stefan sighed, agitated.
"All right, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to meet Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you to go."
Damon smiled at his brother.
"That's not a problem. Because...I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me. I might even decide to visit Cherry berry. Spunky little thing isn't she? Definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with, give her a little while. Ah… it really is good to be back home… don't you think so?"
He smirked, patting his brother on the shoulder and relaxing into the sofa as Stefan stared listlessly at his brother, not sure what to do.
September 12th.
Cherith rushed over to Leslie who was donned up in her cheerleading outfit, her dark brown hair in a high ponytail as she laughed at something one of her friends said.
As soon as she caught sight of Cherith, she excused herself from her friends and walked over to her with a grin.
"Hey Cherry! Ready for today?"
She grinned excitedly and Cherith rolled her eyes.
"Not really. I'm not a football player, nor am I a cheerleader so…"
She shrugged and Leslie huffed.
"So? What do you mean so?! You're still a freaking timber wolf! Live a little!"
Cherith scoffed before shuddering slightly which Leslie frowned at.
"You okay?"
"I dunno. I woke up this morning feeling pretty odd. Like cold… but on the inside. Maybe I'm coming down with something. I don't know"
Leslie frowned.
"You should probably see the school nurse if it gets worse."
Cherith makes a noise in her throat, non-committal.
Ever since she woke up, she'd had this feeling like she was… expecting something. The hairs on her body would occasionally raise and her breath would shudder.
It was odd. Maybe she really was catching a cold, but, she looked around.
The sun was shining and it was slightly hot today.
Maybe she really was the odd one of Mystic Falls after all.
"Oh my God!"
Leslie squealed excitedly, and Cherith looked at her staring across and turns to where she was looking.
Stefan was in the process of putting a necklace around Elena's neck and Cherith snorted, though a small smile appeared across her face once she noticed the elated look on her sister's face.
It had really been quit a while since she'd seen Elena so… happy.
"Ugh! Why aren't there nice boys like him around to snatch!"
Leslie groaned and Cherith chuckled.
"Really wish Stefan had a brother."
At that, Cherith grimaced at the sudden remembrance of Stefan's brother. Damon or Damien.
"Um, actually he does."
Leslie's neck whipped to look at her in a second and Cherith idly wondered if her friends neck was doing okay or not.
"He does?!"
She asked excitedly but Cherith quickly cut her off.
"But don't get your hopes too high anyways, he's already taken. By Caroline at that."
Leslie scowled before a thoughtful look spread across her face.
"Hm, must have been the guy who showed up during practice yesterday."
Cherith shrugged.
"Wouldn't know. Didn't spot whoever that was. But if he did have black hair and an air of pride then he certainly was the one."
Leslie groaned morosely.
"I guess I wasn't in luck after all"
"Don't feel too disappointed anyway. I met him already and I can already tell that he's a grade A asshole."
Cherith reassures her friend and Leslie snorted.
"I don't think I can take your words seriously though. Almost everyone is an asshole to you."
Cherith furrowed her brow in thought before shrugging.
"Come on, let's head in."
Cherith frowned as the crowd cheered boisterously and people around her screamed in her ears till their voices were hoarse.
She grunted, wondering exactly why she'd let Leslie convince her to show up, when the game wasn't even starting yet.
Coach Tanner stood on a stand, the football team by his side, cheerleaders in front of the crowd with their pom-poms and the crowd which consisted mainly of youths, screaming and chanting occasionally.
"We've got some great new talent tonight starting on the offense, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"
He yelled and the crowd went crazy, Cherith wincing at how super loud and boisterous it was.
She looked around and spotted Elena at the front, staring at Stefan with moony eyes which he returned to her and Cherith rolled her eyes.
It seemed she'd have to endure Stefan. He didn't seem to be going away anytime soon.
Cherith looked around, spotting familiar faces all around.
Mystic Falls really was a small town after all.
Just then, she heard some shouts coming from where the cars were packed and saw Elena rushing towards it.
With a frown, Cherith followed after her, slowly but surely as she excused her way through the crowd just in time to see Stefan push Tyler off of her brother who was presently bleeding.
"Jeremy!"
She shouted out in surprise, jogging over to him as he grabbed a broken bottle and took a swipe at Tyler.
Cherith covered her eyes in horror, expecting to hear screams soon after, but when she didn't, she opened her eyes and saw the bottle on the floor and Elena checking on Jeremy who kept pushing her away.
Cherith ran over to her siblings immediately.
"What the hell Jeremy! Put your head up, you're bleeding."
Jeremy slapped her hand away.
"I'm fine!"
He spat at her, using his cloth to wipe the blood away and Elena frowned at him, turning to Stefan with a look of concern as Cherith looked at her brother.
"You okay?"
She asked rather meekly, knowing Jeremy was pissed at the moment and whenever he was drunk, he was usually harsher than usual.
She wasn't someone to be pushed around, yes, but this was her brother.
"I'm fine. Just stop."
He sighed, walking away and Cherith watched him go, turning to glare at Tyler who Matt was pushing away.
She was really beginning to hate him, and that said a lot as Cherith rarely deemed anyone worthy of her stronger feelings.
She'd make him pay. One way or the other.
"No, no, no… I saw it. The glass cut your hand. It was—"
Cherith turned at the sound of her sister's incredulous voice.
"It's ok. I'm ok. It's almost kick-off time, all right? So, um, I'll, uh, I'll see you after the game."
Stefan said, before walking off, leaving Elena staring at his back, confused.
Cherith walked up to her sister.
"Is everything okay?"
Elena blinked confusedly, shaking her head slightly.
"I… I don't know. I mean, I thought he got cut but… obviously not."
She mumbled to herself and Cherith patted her sister comfortingly.
"It's okay. I guess you're still high on the adrenaline or something."
Elena nodded, though she didn't look too confused.
She turned to her sister.
"Um, I'll be right back. I uh, need to go see Bonnie."
With that, she excused herself, leaving Cherith in the now dispersing crowd as everyone prepared to go watch the game.
As Cherith prepared to go, she hunched down as a cold feeling passed right through her, like something extra chilly had passed right through her and she shivered, the hairs on her body raised and her eyes filtered close as she tried to compose herself by crouching.
She wasn't so sure what was happening to her but she knew she didn't like the feeling. At all.
It was… odd.
It felt like she'd died inside, and she hated that feeling.
She remembered feeling it when her parents passed, for a while.
After ending up by the river bank next to Elena the day her parents passed, she had ended up in a coma for some days as apparently she took in more water than Elena and she was apparently very lucky to be alive. The doctors had said so.
But she hadn't felt lucky as the first few days after she woke up, this same feeling was all she felt.
And now it was happening again, she gasped suddenly, standing up, a hand to her chest as she walked around, deciding on no destination except for the one she suddenly felt she wanted to go to.
Cherith walked for a bit, before finding herself in the packing lot by the locker room.
It was quite dark there and super cold.
She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself, her legs not stopping as she slowly kept walking for some reason. It just felt like she had a destination but she had no idea where.
She walked towards the back double doors, about to head in when she stopped, her heartbeat quickening, as she looked towards a black car packed by the side.
She suddenly willed herself to walk towards the car, not hearing footsteps walking out
"Cherry?"
She heard Matt's voice behind her but she ignored him, walking slowly towards the car, goosebumps on her hands and legs when she suddenly stopped, bile in her throat at what she saw.
"Oh my God!"
She gasped out, her body shaking as she collapsed to the ground on her knees, sobbing out.
Matt quickly rushed towards her, concerned.
"Cherry, you okay?"
He stopped short as soon as he saw the body.
Mr. Tanner's body.
His neck ripped out viciously band he brought Cherith's sobbing face into his chest so she could stop staring at the wrangled body.
Matt gasped out in shock and fear as he turned his head away from the scene and towards the door where he could hear some voices.
"Somebody help!"
The police soon arrived.
A large crowd gathered by the side of the scene behind a police line and Bonnie stood with them, looking at the scene intensely, tears in her eyes.
She spots a license plate at the scene of the crime which read "BLDG 8", by the side, the black car which had been parked where the death occurred was "FHT 14", Bonnie's breathing picked up as she looked shaken, as on the ground, where the body was found, was the number 22.
A tear slid down Bonnie's face as she suddenly looked horrified at her realization.
Not sure what to do.
"You sure you're okay Cherry?"
Elena hugged her sister who sat by the booth of her car, still shaken, as she hugged herself.
Cherith swallowed down, her eyes slightly dull as she nodded, her mind still on the body and how it looked, especially the neck.
She tightened her eyes and Elena sighed, running her hand through her sister's hair while Stefan looked at her, concerned and anger in his eyes.
"What kind of animal could be doing all this? Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?"
Elena spoke, frustrated as she hugged her baby sister, looking concerned for her.
She knew it would be traumatizing for her, having seen a body not long after their parents death, and apparently the body had been mangled up too.
Stefan sighed.
"I don't know… I really don't."
He spoke softly and Elena drew back from her sister, looking at her.
"Why were you behind the school, by the way? Were you looking for something? Why were you alone."
Cherith shuddered, not sure what to say.
"No, I… I just… I don't even know…"
She whispered, looking vulnerable and Elena's heart broke as she brought her sister closer to herself.
"Hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay…"
Cherith nodded slightly, not saying a thing.
Elena then turned to Stefan, suddenly remembering something.
"I was so sure you cut your hand back there."
Stefan shook his head.
"I'm fine… I'm fine okay?... That's what matters."
He assured her and Elena nods, giving him a small smile and extending a hand for him to hold, squeezing it reassuringly.
Hi guys!Here's episode/chapter 3.Hope you like it and tell me what you all think!Lol, it wasn't until I was about to post the chapter that I realized during the dinner scene that Cherith basically called Stefan and Damon rats! Lmao!What do you all also think about her character??PLEASE COMMENT!!!! I LOVE TO READ THOSE!
