Helene found it ironic to end up in a small town, having spent a lot of her life working to leave one. Mystic Falls looked like your quintessential all American, in the middle of nowhere town and was the last place Helene had expected Katherine to settle in, let alone have grown up. But here she was, Mystic Falls, Virginia. Helene followed the directions Katherine had texted her to Mrs Flowers B&B and was now unpacking the suitcase she had set on the bed in her modestly sized room. The décor was extraordinarily floral and frilly, not at all Helene's taste nor Katherines for that matter, but it would do for just now. Helene did wonder why Katherine wasn't staying with her family but knew better than to ask. Katherine was a notoriously closed-off person, so was Helene, which is probably why their friendship had lasted so long. They both knew when to press and when to back off.
"Meet me at the Grill," Helene read as she opened the text message she had just received from Katherine. Helene sighed. She really did not want to go out tonight. This was where their personalities clashed. Katherine was the outgoing partier; Helene preferred to watch a movie with snacks and drinks. Not that Helene hated parties, it's just after a twelve-hour flight she wanted to grab a quick meal and succumb to her jet lag.
Helene looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't changed out of her flight outfit, and her dark blonde hair was a bit of a mess, escaping from the bun she had haphazardly done when she landed. Helene brushed through her hair and redid a loose bun at the nape of her neck, leaving bits to frame her face. She grabbed a pair of black jeans and a sage green tank top, and a matching knit cardigan before slipping on some black heeled boots and a jacket. Helene then brought up maps on her phone and got into her 1957 Cadillac following the directions to the Mystic Grill.
The Grill was bustling with people when Helene entered. She looked around and took in the stone walls and dark wood décor. It reminded her of the Temple Bar where she had met Katherine in Cambridge. Helene scanned the area and spotted Katherine in the far corner with a group of people surrounding her. A guy with sandy blonde hair and a very chiselled jawline had an arm draped over her shoulder, holding her to him as the dark-haired man watched with a clenched jaw and envy barely concealed.
"Woah," Helene thought as she headed towards them, "that is some serious tension."
"Hey, Katherine almost didn't spot you with your hair straightened," Helene remarked when she stopped beside the group.
They all turned to look at her with glares and curious looks. The dark-haired, jealous male glared darkly at her, and she felt a chill ripple through her at the menacing expression.
"Katherine," he hissed, "how do you know Katherine?"
"Uni, but erm, I see I'm mistaken," Helene replied, trying to smooth the situation, "You must be her sister Elena."
"I am Elena," the Katherine double introduced after sharing a weird whispering moment with the gorgeous black girl beside her. The guy with his arm around Elena had stood taller and looked as though he was in a protective stance.
"Katherine isn't here. Why are you looking for her?" Elena asked.
"I guess she's running late, as usual. She told me to meet her here. I've just arrived in town."
The dark-haired male continued to glare at Helene. He stepped into her direct eye-line and held eye contact with her.
"How do you really know Katherine, and what are you both doing in Mystic Falls?" He asked slowly, his voice deepening into a commanding tone.
"Wow, your eyes must be so sensitive to light. I've never seen someone's pupils contract and expand like that. Is it annoying?" Helene asked, fascinated by the way his light blue eyes had just reacted when he stared into her green ones.
He looked startled, "sometimes" he replied, looking at her calculatingly. The others looked on pensively.
"Hmm," Helene hummed as she observed the group, they seemed like a shady bunch, and she could already see why Katherine had never been keen on talking about her family.
"Well, I really do know Katherine from university, we were roommates for four years at Cambridge, and I'm here because Katherine invited me to visit her home town." She explained, answering their bizarre interrogation.
The blue-eyed man in front of her stared for a moment longer before nodding slightly. The rest of the group seemed to relax at that, which put Helene more on edge.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Elena, but I guess I'll go see what's holding Katherine up," Helene said, excusing herself from the group. She didn't feel comfortable staying with the bunch of strangers who obviously were opposed to her presence.
"I'm here, sorry I'm late," Helene heard from behind her just before she turned to leave, watching curiously as the group tensed at the incomer.
"Katherine, it's so good to see you," Helene said meaningfully, turning and hugging her friend.
Katherine raised a brow once they parted, "it's good to see you too. I see you've met my sister, her friends and boyfriend." Katherine said, looking at the couple distastefully when she said, boyfriend.
Ah, that must be Stefan. Katherine had mentioned she had only ever loved one man and that she couldn't have him. Helene looked between them sadly. It must be hard to watch your twin live the life you wanted.
"Yes, I did. It was nice meeting you all, although I didn't get all of your names," Helene added.
"Damon," the dark-haired male said, "Stefan's older brother", he added, gesturing to the boyfriend, who bowed his head in greeting.
"Bonnie", the girl Elena had been whispering with, said, extending her hand. Helene took it hesitantly. Not many people she knew shook hands in casual greetings. Maybe it was an American thing?
The group seemed to watch Bonnie expectantly as she shook Helene's hand, their tension lessening when Bonnie smiled.
"Caroline," the pretty blonde said, followed by the guy who looked like your typical boy next door, "Matt", he introduced.
Helene smiled at them both. Katherine watched on with a smug little smile on her face, which had Helene feeling apprehensive. That look always preceded trouble where Katherine was concerned.
"As much as we'd love to stay and chat, Helene and I must be going. We have big plans to get drunk and catch up," Katherine said, taking Helene's hand, "tat-a," she said, dragging Helene towards the bar. Helene waved goodbye and allowed Katherine to pull her onto a stool at the bar top.
"They seem like lovely people," Helene said sarcastically.
"Hah, aren't they just," Katherine agreed, "perfect little Elena and co," she muttered.
"Two Long Island iced teas, please," Helene ordered. It sounded like they were going to need them.
Katherine smiled, remembering Helene only ordered iced teas when she wanted Katherine to loosen up and be more open, "you're not trying to get me drunk and take advantage, are you, Miss Avila."
"Of course not, as if I could anyway, you just look like you need it."
Katherine snorted, amused, "Not wrong there."
"So what's with all the tension? Damon especially didn't seem to like you very much," Helene asked.
"Oh, no, we're not getting into that, especially not before I've had one or more iced teas."
"Fine, but I'll get it out of you, I always do."
Damon watched the blonde Brit smile and laugh and drink way too much with an equally happy Katherine, a scowl deeply etched into his features. Katherine did not get to be this happy after what she had put him and his brother through.
"Are you sure she's human?" Damon asked Bonnie, not taking his eyes off of the pair. Another round of drinks was consumed in record time. How the hell was this little person putting away so much alcohol?
"Yes, she's completely human," Bonnie said with an eye roll. It's not like she would have said it if she hadn't meant it. "I don't know what game Katherine is playing, but she's obviously been planning it for a while. No one is weirded out by the fact that there are two Elena's here for one."
"That's true. I didn't even notice," Caroline said, "Look, people are approaching Katherine and speaking to her as if they've known her for years."
Sure enough, the group watched as Katherine casually had a conversation with Carol Lockwood and her husband, who was smiling amicably. Helene turned and caught Damon's eye as she looked towards the group. Damon didn't avert his eyes, and Helene smiled, adding a wave before turning back to her conversation with Katherine.
Bonnie snorted, "I think we should leave them to it, for now, there's no point in causing a scene in public."
"Bonnie's right," Stefan agreed, "let's just enjoy our food and leave them to it."
Damon shook his head. "Nah, I'm leaving now. Too many things are happening that make me want to snap some necks," he said, looking pointedly at Katherine and then back at his brother and Elena, who were still very much wrapped up in one another. He left the table without waiting for a response and headed towards the exit.
Unfortunately, at that same moment, Katherine and Helene stood and made their way out of the establishment. Helene was leaning on Katherine with a slight stumble in her step. Both of them were laughing as they walked past Damon and headed outside.
"Oh god, I can't believe you remembered that," Helene said, embarrassed, "I thought you had passed out by then."
"Nope," Katherine said with a giggle, "I heard everything, and I mean everything, Mistress."
"No, no," Helene groaned, "No, that's it, we can never not be friends, you know too much."
Damon watched them with a frown, Katherine giggling. That was just unnatural.
"Oh man, I can't find my keys," Helene said, searching through her jacket, "wait, got them."
Katherine took them out of her hands, "I call driving. You're drunker than I am."
"Noo, you're a terrible driver, and it's a stick," Helene said, taking them back, "you'll wreck her."
Damon sighed, rationally he knew Katherine couldn't die if she got into a car crash, but he couldn't let Helene die in one. Goddamn Elena making him care about people Damon swore as he approached the two women.
"Damon!" Katherine exclaimed when she saw him heading towards them, "my second favourite Salvatore."
Damon felt a stab of hurt at that casual comment but ignored it.
"Really, Stefan is your favourite? He seemed kinda dull," Helene chimed in.
"Oh, what do you know, you met him for all of two minutes," Katherine said with a pout.
Maybe Katherine was drunk, he definitely couldn't let either of them drive. He took the keys from Katherine and picked the pair up putting one on each shoulder.
"Woah, he's strong, another point in his direction," Helene said when she realised, she was no longer on the ground.
"What are you doing Damon? We can get home fine ourselves," Katherine said half-heartedly banging her fists on his back.
"Unfortunately my conscience can't live with the idea of Helene dying when I could prevent it. You on the other hand..." he trailed off earning a smack on the back from Katherine, "plus, I don't trust either of you with a vehicle, you're bound to kill some innocent bystanders and Liz has enough work to do at the station."
"Elena has ruined you hasn't she?" Katherine said snidely.
"Elena? I thought she was with your brother?" Helene asked confused.
"She is, but the Salvatore's have a thing for my face," Katherine added before Damon could answer.
"Ah, I see, I've heard that bad taste runs in families"
"Fuck off, I'm gorgeous, Elena on the other hand is another story."
"Aye, sure not like you're identical twins or anything" Helene replied snarkily.
Damon stifled a laugh, despite the fact that his ex-girlfriend was insinuating Elena had changed him, Helene and Katherine's friendship was amusing. Alarming, but amusing. Why did Katherine have a fully human friend that she didn't seem to be manipulating?
Damon plopped them both on their feet when they reached his car, "Get in." he said, opening the back door for the both of them.
Katherine huffed and got in the back, sliding across for Helene to get in. Once both were in the car Damon shut the door behind them and got into the driver's seat.
He drove directly to the boarding house, this was the perfect opportunity to trap Katherine and he couldn't let it pass. He'd set Helene up in a guest room while Katherine spent the night in the cell. Questions needed answering and no way would Katherine answer him any other time. Helene was the perfect bargaining chip as well if Katherine wasn't feeling cooperative.
Satisfied with his mental plan, Damon pulled into the driveway parking in front of the front door. He hauled both women out of the car and sped downstairs with Katherine after depositing a sleeping Helene onto the sofa in the parlour to deal with later. Damon headed straight for the cells and dumped Katherine unceremoniously on the cold concrete ground. Katherine groaned slightly but looked up at him with a smirk.
"If I knew how rough you liked it, Damon, I might have stayed," she taunted.
Damon stiffened but slammed the door shut behind him and locked it not dignifying her with a response. He sped upstairs and gathered Helene into his arms. She didn't stir as he carried her up the stairs and into a guest bedroom in the same wing as his own. He didn't undress her more than removing her coat and shoes and placed a glass of water beside the bed he had set her on top of, alongside some aspirins, she would definitely need them in the morning.
Satisfied, Damon headed to bed. He needed to be fully rested for his interrogation in the morning.
A/N
I'm not gonna lie, I have lost inspiration for A Retelling, but there are three almost complete chapters in the works. My workload has been insane over the past few months and it isn't letting up until around May.
Enjoy this snippet of a story idea I had months ago in the meantime. I hope inspiration strikes again and I get the chapters finished and published ASAP :D