January 15th.
Cherith walked out of her room that morning, backpack behind her as she jogged down the stairs, ready for school.
"Hey Jenna! How's it going?"
She greeted her aunt who was dressed for the day as well, sipping a cup of coffee.
"Hey brat. Want me to drop you off at the bus stop? I have somewhere to be in town."
Cherith nodded thankfully.
"Please! I've been rather stressed this week."
Jenna looked at her with concern.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Just the usual seniors schedule and all. Can you believe they're thinking of making our seniors trip in New York??"
Cherith gushed and Jenna's eyes widened.
"Really?! That's really cool. It's been a while since seniors actually went on a trip you know… my year actually planned to go to LA but we didn't have enough funds for it."
"Well my year actually does. I think it has something to do with having a bunch of rich kids in it."
Jenna grinned as they walked out of the house.
"Well lucky you then. Have you told Elena and Jeremy yet?"
Cherith shook her head.
"No. Not yet, the decision isn't final yet. Also… I think, we've all rather been… busy, with a lot of things going on in our lives… It's rather odd."
She said, mainly to herself, realizing she hadn't exactly spent much time with any of her siblings except for when there was a vampire problem and when she revealed her magic to her brother.
Everyone just seemed to be in their heads.
It worried Cherith slightly but what could she do?
With the secrets seemingly being kept amongst each one of them, even from Jenna, it was making things way too complicated.
Mystic Falls High.
Cherith sighed as she stared out the window of her class that early afternoon, mind wondering elsewhere.
Her dreams had become invaded by something she didn't even understand.
A book. A grimoire.
A grimoire she had no idea what it contained.
It was old, black, looked like a tome of knowledge.
It had an inscription on it that looked English but was too complicated to remember.
She'd had that dream since the night that man had died in front of her.
She needed to know what it was… if it was real.
And what that absolute darkness was… what it had meant.
Was it dangerous?
Was she meant to find it??
The teacher must have realized majority of the class weren't listening to him as he looked at them rather frustrated, and let out a mighty clap that resonated around the room, making the students jump.
Cherith particularly freaked out and her emotions made her magic act out.
A couple of bulbs in the class blew up and some of the windows cracked dangerously.
Shrieks were heard around the room as people jumped to avoid cuts and injuries.
Cherith's eyes widened in slight panic as she looked around warily, hoping no one had noticed anything.
She sits back down in slight shock, as some students moved around, little cuts here and there and nothing life threatening.
She looked around guiltily, the class in slight disarray as the teacher tried to take control of the chaos brimming in the class.
Cherith stared at the window by her side.
It had cracked, making a web that spread all over it.
She idly brushed her hand around it, feeling the slight stubble under her fingers, wishing she could at least fix it, after all she knew she was the one who caused this.
Suddenly, slight, nearly invisible red energy flows out of the tips of her fingers, spreading around the webbed cracks and fixing it, like it hadn't happened been there in the first place, like time had turned, and the energy dissipated.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the now pristine looking window, then to her hand, wondering what the hell that was.
"Miss Gilbert."
A voice brought her out of her musings as she turned to her teacher and the now empty class.
"Please, come out Miss Gilbert, it's dangerous in here."
He said exasperatedly and Cherith snapped out of it.
"Oh! Yeah. Yeah… sorry, I was…"
She stumbled on her words, grabbing her bag and walking out, jumping over broken glass and leaving the classroom.
Fear clouding her mind, at the thought of ending up hurting Innocents with her… growing powers.
Powers she couldn't control yet.
Salvatore Boarding House.
Damon enters the house and looks around, knowing someone was here somewhere.
He walks into the living room and sees Anna and Pearl waiting for him.
"Hello Damon."
Pearl greeted, back turned to him and Damon scoffed.
"Ever heard of knocking?"
He asked sarcastically and Pearl turned to him.
"An invitation wasn't necessary. I'm surprised that no living person resides here. Is it just you and your brother?"
"Yeah. How do you keep out unwelcome vampires?"
Anna cut in, looking curious and amused and Damon stared at them maliciously.
"Easy. I kill them."
Damon blurs towards Pearl and tries to strangle her but Pearl was obviously stronger than Damon as she looked at him, unimpressed and twists his wrist, pushing him to the floor as he grunts in pain as she pushed him to the ground.
"Have a seat, Damon. I was hoping we could have a word."
"Sure."
He sighed out, sitting on a chair, relaxing into it, not a fan of the older vampire's presence in his home.
Mystic Falls High.
"I heard what happened in your class."
Leslie said as she drove Cherith home after school that afternoon.
Cherith sighed, looking out the window.
"Yeah. Freaky, hunh?"
Leslie scoffs.
"Super freaky! You know, there's a rumor of our school being hunted by Mr. Tanner's ghost after he died here."
Cherith raised an eyebrow.
"His ghost? Really?? Why would Tanner, who obviously hated teaching our sorry asses stay behind and haunt the school like his personal den??"
"It's obvious, duh! His spirit is stuck here! He can't move on!"
She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and Cherith gave her a look.
"Have you been watching paranormal activities again?"
Leslie sighed.
"They tell us the truth about what we can't see, dammit! Open your eyes to the things thought unreal! I assure you, there are things in this world we lowly humans aren't privy to, but are real and as scary as could be."
Cherith scoffed under her breath.
"Tell me about it…"
She mumbled, she herself being a freak of some sorts in the normal world of humans.
Finally getting to her house, she got out, turning to Leslie.
"I'll see you later Les…"
"Yeah, you too. And start thinking about prom too. It's in a few months after all."
Cherith scrunched her nose.
"Is it possible to get involved in a ghastly accident before that time so I can be excused?"
She said as she walked towards the door.
"YOU BETTER NOT, CHERITH GILBERT!!"
Leslie shouted out and Cherith giggled as she entered her home, Leslie driving off.
Cherith walked up the stairs, calling out her aunt's name.
"Jenna?! You home?!"
There was no answer and so she checked her siblings' room.
"Hey Jemmie, you in?!"
She knocked and there was a slight ruffle.
"Uh, yeah. Come in."
Cherith grinned as she walked in, seeing him by his computer.
"You know, if I was the teasing type I'd think you were busy surfing the dark web or something like that."
She said, double meaning behind her words and Jeremy gave her a look.
"How do you know about the dark web?"
Cherith gestured to her head.
"Big brains, remember?"
"Ew."
He scrunched his nose in disgust and Cherith looked unconcerned.
"Where's Jenna anyways?"
Cherith asked him and he shrugged.
"I have no idea. Hey… I, have a question."
Jeremy started hesitantly and Cherith waved him.
"Shoot."
"Okay. So, since Witches exist and all… do you think, maybe the existence of other… beings, can be possible?"
Cherith frowned, suddenly apprehensive at the question her brother was showing her but didn't show it.
"Beings? What do you mean?"
Jeremy moved closer.
"Yeah, I don't know, maybe like werewolves… vampires?"
He prodded and Cherith blinked, not sure what to say.
She could tell him they did exist and make him promise not to let Elena know, or she could let him find out on his own and not hurt either of her siblings' trust in her.
She sighed, looking at him.
"I don't know. There's a possibility you know? I just found out about my powers so I don't know much, but I can't be the only one out there, you know? This world is a pretty big place for just humans and my kind."
She shrugged and Jeremy nodded, looking serious and Cherith decided to end the conversation then and there before her mouth slipped and she says something she shouldn't.
"I'll see you later bro. Pretty tired right now."
She walked out of Jeremy's room.
About an hour had passed and Cherith headed down the stairs to look for something to eat.
As she got down and entered the kitchen, she noticed Elena holding flowers and Stefan by her side and groaned, basically announcing her presence.
"Hey, Cherith."
Stefan greeted, a smile on his face as he was already used to her antics.
"Stefan."
She greeted him, walking around her sister and shaking her head at her, Elena giving her sister the universal 'what?' sign.
"So, how are you?... I haven't been able to ask that, since the tomb issue."
He asked her gently, folding his hands and she wrinkled her nose, not wanting to think too much on it.
"As good as can be, I guess. I mean, it's not like the only person that had been capable of helping me with my… powers, ended up dying so a tomb could be opened. Not only that, she had grown to be a sort of mentor to me. Oh, and let's not forget the man we watched get trampled to the ground by a truck like a road side chicken. I'm cool though, thanks for asking Stefanie"
The side of Stefan's lips lifted a bit and Elena sighed, side hugging her.
"It's okay Cherry… you're not alone."
Cherith looks at her sister amused.
"Wow, you're being nice. Buy me some burgers and fries and I just might feel even more better."
Elena sighed, walking away from her sister who packed some snacks in her hands.
"Forget I was trying to be nice."
Cherith scoffed.
"Too late, sissy. See you later. I have a lot to do, magic to practice and stuff."
"Be careful!"
Elena called after her, concerned.
"Yeah, yeah…"
Cherith headed back into her room with her goodies, munching on them while remembering the trick she'd done while in school.
She wondered if it was a one time thing but she still wanted to know if she was capable of repeating it.
She grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and tore it in half, placing it on her bed and staring right at it.
She wasn't sure what to do, how to feel, she just wanted to see if she could 'repair' it.
Placing her hands on both torn pieces, she focused on it, yet nothing happened and she sighed.
"Yeah, I knew it wouldn't have been that easy."
She mumbled, staring right at the now useless paper.
But…
It had been glass she'd fixed earlier in the day, hadn't it?
"Hmm…"
She stared at her window, a devious smile appearing on her face.
She then grabbed her phone, standing and moving to the window, excitement brimming underneath her skin as she raised it, ready to slam it against the window.
She stopped, tilting her head slightly.
"I'm gradually getting interested in chaos and destruction, aren't I?"
She said to herself before shrugging it off raising her hand, about to strike the window.
"Hey Cherith , i—"
Jeremy walked into her room, about to ask her a question when he saw her smack dab about to commit her crime.
She paused, turning to him, an innocent look on her face and Jeremy's eyes narrowed as he looked from her hand to the window.
"I'm gonna tell Jenna."
"You wouldn't dare!!"
She shouted at him and he smirked at her.
"Now, you owe me one."
He closed the door behind her and she gritted her teeth in anger.
"Dammit!"
She paced her room, wondering what she could use, now that she was being watched, especially if she couldn't fix it.
"Well, I could use a glass cup. It's still glass."
She said to herself, jogging down the stairs and pushing Jeremy out of her way as she ran into the kitchen and back into her room with a glass cup.
She stared at it in her hand. It was slightly small but definitely glass.
She moved to the part of her room without fluffy creamy carpet and threw it on the ground, a few feet away and it broke into pieces.
"CHERRY!"
Jeremy's voice sounded in the next room and she rolled her eyes.
"It's not the window! Go back to the dark web!"
"SHUT UP!"
He shouted back and Cherith chuckled, flopping to the ground and staring at the broken glass a few feet from her, hand stretched out.
She strained her hands feeling the veins around it and with such concentration, but still, nothing happened.
Cherith grew frustrated, getting up and pacing.
"What am I doing wrong??"
She whispered harshly to herself, hands yanking at her ruby hair.
She'd tried to use brute force. Brute force always worked.
But it wasn't working!
Damn Damon!
If he hadn't been so obsessed with some girl, Sheila would still be alive.
She couldn't even talk to Bonnie mainly because she was still mourning. And she was still relatively a new witch, but at least she had her ancestor's grimoire to help her.
"And now… I've got broken glass in my freaking room!"
She gritted out, throwing her fists out in anger.
Just like that, an energy field filtered into existence forming a force field around her, forming a semi circle into the ground.
Cherith's eyes widened, jaw dropped as she stared at the field, pulsing as if alive, crimson in color.
She moved her hand which was lit up with energy and brushed it over the field and it crackled slightly.
She feels something deep within her, something alive… and she looked down at her hands, eyes crimson red, suddenly feeling like she knew something.
The force field vanishes and she stared at the broken glass for a moment, not doing anything, just staring at it, and then she raised her palm, twisting it in a side motion and the glass suddenly reverses on itself as if time was rewinding around it and it molds back into itself, glass cup and all.
Cherith's eyes widened as she rushed over to the cup and grabbed it, looking all over for cracks but she saw none.
She let out as gasping laughter, staring at it in surprise and awe.
Later that evening, Cherith woke up from her nap, sitting up on her bed with a yawn.
It was dark outside and she idly wondered if everyone was home already.
It was weirdly quiet.
Standing up, she quietly walks out of her room, checking all the rooms in the house but no one was in.
She walked down the stairs, moving to the kitchen when her eyes widened in horror at what she saw.
Jeremy was pressed up against the fridge and Anna was drinking from his palm.
Something deep in her snapped and her hands lit up, firing an hex bolt at Anna who flew back and into the counter on the side, gasping in pain and blurring back up, her eyes vampiric.
Jeremy breathed out heavily, his eyes widening in shock but Cherith paid him no heed.
"Jeremy, get your ass over here while I deal with this leech bitch."
She whispered threateningly and Anna looked at her tightly, slightly jumpy and nervous, looking for an exit.
"Cher—"
"Now Jeremy!"
Cherith shouted out but Jeremy shook his head, standing in front of Anna and Cherith's eyes widened at what he was doing.
"Jeremy!"
"She won't hurt me!"
He said with such an alarming confidence that Cherith looked at him incredulously.
Anna looked out the back door in the kitchen and Cherith already knew what she was planning and as she moved to blur out, Cherith levitated a knife and flicked it into her chest and Anna gasped in pain, yanking it out.
"Cherith!!"
Jeremy shouted out, anger in his eyes and Anna used the opportunity to blur out, dropping the knife as Cherith marched over.
"Why did you do that to her?!"
Jeremy started but Cherith was in no mood to listen to him.
"Why the hell would you let her drink from you?!"
Cherith blasted back from him, poking him angrily on his chest.
"She's my friend!"
"She's not your friend! Believe me she's just using you!"
"You wouldn't understand. And how the hell do you know what she is?"
Cherith blinked, not sure how to explain and Jeremy's eyes narrowed.
"You knew."
He whispered in realization before glaring at her.
"You knew? And you didn't tell me?!"
She swallowed, looking away and Jeremy scoffed.
"Of course. Why am I even surprised."
"It wasn't my secret to tell Jeremy! Just like how I'm a witch, I can't just tell anybody about vampires too"
"I'm your brother!"
"Well do you tell me what you're doing too? Or how you suspected that bitch was a vampire?! We're both at fault here. End of story."
She sighed out and Jeremy rolled his eyes at her.
"So… what do we do now."
Cherith gave him a look.
"What do you mean, what do we do? Now, you stay the hell away from her!"
Cherith suddenly paused, blinking.
"Damn… is this how Elena usually feels?"
Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"I'm not staying away from her… I think, I might actually like her."
Cherith took one look at her brother's puppy look and groaned.
"Not again! First you fall for a crackhead and now a vampire?! What next, another witch?!"
She threw her hands up and Jeremy looked at his sister, serious.
"I'm not staying away from her, Cherith. You of all people should know how I feel about… everything. My life. You get me more than Elena does. Step in my shoes for a minute so you could see how I feel."
"I can't. Your shoe size is too large. And too stupid."
She grouched and Jeremy sighed exasperatedly.
"Cherith…"
"Fine! Fine, whatever. You won't stay away from her, but that doesn't mean I'll smile and look pretty when next I see her. Believe me brother, any hair… so much as gets harmed on you and I will give that girl something she wouldn't like."
She promised and Jeremy sighed before smirking down at her and playfully hitting her.
"Wow, didn't know you loved me this much."
Cherith scoffed, turning slightly red which showed with how pale she was and she hit Jeremy back.
"Shut up"
She mumbled and he ruffled her hair and she retaliated, leading to an hair tussle battle.
Just then, Jenna walked in after a long day and saw the two, smiling.
"Hey you two…"
She greeted them and they jumped apart.
"Jenna! When did you get back?"
Jeremy asked, surprised and Jenna rolled her eyes.
"One of these days, a burglar is gonna break in and take all of our stuff…"
She shook her head, walking up the stairs, the two siblings grinning.
Cherith sobered up soon enough, remembering Anna and turned to Jeremy.
"I meant what I said, Jeremy. If she so much as harms you, I won't forgive her. In fact, I still don't like her. If she's on the opposite side of a battle, I won't hesitate to make her pay."
She promised and Jeremy swallowed, seeing the serious look on his younger sister's face and nods.
"Good."
She nodded back at him as he heads up the stairs and Cherith bends down to stair at the bloodied knife she had impaled in Anna.
The blood on it was dark and gooey looking.
She stared right at it, anger clouding her as she suddenly wished she could hurt Anna badly.
Suddenly, the blood on the knife bursts into flames and instead of being alarmed, she stared at it in interest as the blood burns away, leaving the knife clean and new.
She grimaced, knowing she wouldn't be comfortable using the knife again and threw it into the garbage can, moving to lock the kitchen door and the front door and going up the stairs.
At least Elena had her own house key.
Anna sighed as she distanced herself from the Gilbert Residence, pressing a hand to her now former injury, looking at the blood in her hand, an apprehensive look on her face.
Cherith Gilbert.
She was no normal witch, that much was true.
In fact, not much was known about her and that was troublesome in itself.
Her mother had told her not to antagonize the girl and yet here she was, caught practically drinking from the girl's brother.
A brother she actually enjoyed the company of.
She sighed.
Things we're definitely getting complicated.
As she moved to continue her walk back home in the woods, she paused, feeling a tingle in her chest and frowned.
Suddenly, it wasn't so much as a tingle anymore as she suddenly felt her very blood on fire and she screamed out, falling to the ground in pain.
It was like she was sizzling from the inside out and her skin was boiling underneath.
And then it stopped and she could find her breath again.
She breathed in and out harshly, brushing her hand through her hair and wondering what that was about.
It had hurt.
A lot.
Her apprehensiveness suddenly turned to fear.
Had it been Cherith Gilbert??
Just how powerful was the girl??
She had a lot to think on.
Salvatore Boarding House.
Inside, Damon is in the living room when Stefan walks back inside after escorting Elena to her car and staring at his brother with a judgmental look.
"Don't look at me like that."
Damon said dryly bas he took a sip of his bourbon.
"Are you crazy? Kelly Donovan?? Of all the people to lock lips with?"
Stefan asked his brother, exasperated and Damon scoffed, waving him off.
"Save the lecture. Look…"
He was suddenly interrupted when Frederick, a tomb vampire jumped in through the window, and lands on Stefan, stabbing him with a piece of glass and he groans out in pain.
Damon immediately stands up, blurring to the offending vampire and pushing him off Stefan, fighting with Frederick.
Stefan yanks out the piece of glass with a little difficulty and stands up, turning to help his brother.
Bethanne, another tomb vampire jumps in from the window and begins to fight with Stefan. She pushes him to the floor as he moves stab her with a glass but she was stronger. As he stands back up, he takes the leg off a wooden chair and stabs her in the heart and she falls to the ground, grey and dead.
Damon flings Frederick across the living room and he looks at Damon and Stefan and then looks at Bethanne, who is dead, slight remorse in his eyes.
Once he blurred out, Stefan looks at Damon.
"Damn it."
"I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb."
Damon sighed, looking at his brother and not sure how to break it to him gently.
"Yeah…About that."
They look at each other.
Gilbert Household.
The next morning, Cherith walks into the bathroom, noticing Elena there, brushing and moved to grab her own brush.
"Morning."
She greeted and Elena smiled at her sister over the brush.
"Morning…"
Jeremy soon joined them, also grabbing his brush and the 3 siblings greeted each other.
"How was your night?"
Elena asked both of them and Jeremy and Cherith looked at each other through the mirror before he answered, shrugging.
"Ah, same old, same old… you?"
Elena nodded.
"Same."
Cherith looked away, not liking the way secrets were slowly building up amongst the 3 of them.
But what could she do… she couldn't help being caught smack dab in the middle of it all.
Jeremy walked back into his room after brushing and jumped slightly.
"What the hell!"
Pressing his bandaged hand to his chest as Anna stood a few feet from him and he quickly closed the door.
"I could have killed you…"
She whispered to him shakily, still not comfortable with stepping back in the house.
Not after her confrontation with Cherith Gilbert.
"Yeah, but you didn't…"
Jeremy answered back, slowly making his way towards her.
"I should have… I might have… if your sister hadn't…"
She blinked rapidly, not knowing what to say.
"But you didn't…"
He repeated and she looked at him.
"How… how did you find out? Was it your sister? Did she tell you?"
Jeremy shook his head.
"No… I uh… I knew this girl. Her name was Vicki. She uh… she was attacked by an animal… bite to the neck, and then… she started acting crazy…"
He sighed, motioning with his hands.
"Weird… and it seemed like drugs, but… then you showed me those articles. And then I saw your face… and how it changed…"
Anna looked away, not liking where the conversation was going as he stood in front of her.
"Especially in the cemetery when I kissed you."
"You can't tell a soul, Jeremy."
Jeremy scoffed.
"I don't think anyone would believe me…"
"You'd be surprised."
She scoffed.
"Why didn't you kill me?"
He asked her again and she shrugged, looking down.
"I don't know… maybe because your sister is damn right scary…"
Jeremy grinned.
"Or… maybe because I'm a sucker for guys like you…"
"Like me?"
"Lost…"
She looked him in the eyes.
"Why would you even confront me like that?! That wasn't safe!"
"Because… if it was true then… maybe, it's true about Vicki."
She looked down, feeling a slight twist in her heart.
"And also…"
She looked up at his resolute face.
"I want you to turn me…"
Anna's eyes widened slightly at his sentence, not sure what to say.
So!
What do you all think?!
