I am part of the Bonnie deserved better squad. The show did her so dirty.
3
Comet
"Bonnie, you don't understand I felt nothing but intense anger at her," Clara said as she helped the other girl hand out fliers to people walking past them, "I haven't been able to feel anything that strongly since waking up without my memories."
"It's the night of the comet," Bonnie said as she handed someone a flyer with a smile, "maybe you're starting to gain things back."
"It's possible," Clara reluctantly agreed before handing a flyer to someone, "I don't know what's going on anymore."
"Hey, its going to be okay," Bonnie said, and she watched as the other girl's shoulders slumped slightly, "maybe I can play crowd control to keep you away from Elena until you have everything figured out."
"Speak of the devil and she shall appear," Clara muttered as her sister walked up to them.
"Mind finding Caroline and getting the candles?" Bonnie asked as Elena finally reached them.
"No problem," Clara confirmed as she tucked her flyers under her arm and went to find the preppy blonde to send her over to them.
She needed time to think, and a private place to watch the comet on her own. It was a precaution in case something dangerous happened. The air felt charged, and she wondered if she was the only person to notice. She scanned the crowds around her for the right person, her mind continuing her labelling. Human. Human. Human. Shifter. Human. It kept going on and on, her head started to pound, and she couldn't force her mind to stop. Human. Human. Human. Human. It continued, following a rhythm similar to the pounding.
"Caroline," She said as she stepped up to the blonde, "Bonnie's been wondering when you were going to appear with the candles."
"Shoot, yeah," Caroline said as she smiled at Clara, "I'll be right over, as for now here's your candle."
"Thanks," Clara said as she looked at the unlit candle that was pushed into her hand.
Caroline turned away and she shook her head before walking away. She still scanned the crowds as she looked for an area that was out of the way and empty. She found one and took a seat on the grass to look up at the night sky. It was pretty, not a lot of light pollution. She could see the stars. She turned her attention to the candle and frowned. What a strange thing to do. Would it ward off any evil if the candle remained unlit? She didn't think so. Fire and light had some power to it, but without any runes or additives it couldn't do much to anything dangerous. A light came into her peripheral vision and she turned her head to see Damon Salvatore there. She allowed him to light the candle and he stood back.
"What brings you to my domain of hell?" She asked him.
"Just saw a candle to light." He shrugged, he wasn't even phased by her words, "What's with hiding here, not a fan of crowds?"
"Not anymore," She said, her voice giving nothing away, "what information do you want that I could possibly give you?"
"You and your sister don't get along," He pointed out.
"Yeah, that's normal sibling behaviour," She said, "you hate each other but you always have their back, it's annoying really."
He raised a brow at that and she gave a nonchalant shrug. She was loyal to Bonnie, but none of the Gilbert's. Jenna was fine, she did her best and left her alone to her own devices. That's all she could hope for in a guardian. She didn't like someone who would hover. She liked being able to get things done with minimal confrontation. Damon sat down next to her and she internalised her annoyance.
"You know people think your personality did a whole one eighty out of nowhere," he said, dangling information in front of her.
"Good for them," She muttered as she looked back up towards the sky.
Damon stared at her profile. Her eye lashes were long and brushed against her cheeks every time she blinked. She looked like her twin, but at the same time didn't. He couldn't place it. She looked back down at the candle in her hand and change hands as wax slowly dripped down it.
"Ah, there it goes," She muttered as she noticed the light from the comet, "just a ball of ice and rock, yet it makes a spectacular entrance."
He turned his attention to the comet and watched it travel across the sky. He had to agree with her on the spectacular entrance. The act of a comet going through the sky was always a sight to see. He got up as the comet continued its path, the girl next to him giving him a sarcastic wave. He rolled his eyes before leaving the area. She turned her attention towards the comet, and everything changed.
Clara looked at the comet with a blank expression. Her mind was elsewhere. Glimpses of fire and excruciating pain was all she was aware of. She felt like her lungs were going to burst in her chest as she burned. She couldn't even scream, her voice trapped in her throat. The candle in her hand grew brighter before melting in her hand. The hot wax covered her hands and caused the skin to blister from the heat.
Bonnie found her sitting there with wide eyes staring up at the trails of the comet. She knelt next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jolted back when she saw what she did. The flames were too hot, and the pain was too much. Clara didn't even seem to notice anything.
"Clara, hey," Bonnie called as she tried again, "you need to pull yourself back to reality."
"That won't work for her," Her Grams voice said, and she looked over her shoulder at the old woman, "we need to bring her inside."
"I…all right," Bonnie nodded, and they were able to get Clara to her feet.
Grams knew a way to get them to her home without being seen by anyone. If someone saw her hands, there would be too many questions to answer. Clara wasn't in the right state of mind to answer questions, she wasn't even aware of the world around her. They got her inside and Grams placed her hands on the side of her face to look into the honey-coloured eyes that were faraway.
"Grams, just what did I see?" Bonnie asked as she came forward with an old towel to help try and remove the wax from her friend's hands.
"Hell, you've seen a glimpse of hell," Grams answered, "I've always wondered about this girl."
Bonnie paused at that as she easily removed the wax. The blisters on her skin were slowly healing right in front of her eyes and she watched as they returned to the unblemished state. Grams didn't seem surprised or confused by the fact that her friend had seen hell of all things.
"Wondered about what?" Bonnie pressed.
"How she had no feeling of life to her," Grams answered, before searing for something in the blank eyes, "I would keep an eye on her, Bonnie, she'd make a powerful ally once she remembers."
Grams walked away at that and Bonnie sat with her friend. They were going to the grill in a little bit, and she didn't want to leave the other girl behind. She found that talking to her was easy, she even listened to her. Ally? She didn't care much for allies, but she cared for her friends. Clara jolting in her seat and slowly looking around caught her attention.
"Do you remember what you saw?" Bonnie asked and she got a laugh of self-deprecation out of her.
"I got dragged to hell by hellhounds," Clara answered in a quiet voice that was highly strained, "I don't even know why, but now I have that experience in my memories."
"It's never the happy things," Bonnie muttered and that got a slight smile out of her.
"Yeah, isn't that how the universe works?" Clara joked, her expression fell back into a blank state, "I can feel again, its more potent. I don't know what happened to make everything seem so numb but whatever it was it's gone now."
"Some memories and feelings," Bonnie listed, "think there might be something to it?"
"Possibly," Clara nodded, "I'll keep you in the loop of my hell experience if you keep me in the knowhow of witchy business."
"Deal," Bonnie nodded, and they shook on it.
Bonnie just felt like she made the right choice. Did she just become best friends with this version of Clara? It felt right when she thought about it. Two people with supernatural experiences, one born into it and another not knowing about her's, would have each other's backs. She finished helping to remove the wax from Clara's hands and they both watched as the blisters quickly healed.
"The plot thickens," Clara muttered, "I wonder if it's just blisters that will heal that quickly."
"Don't go testing it out," Bonnie warned, and she got a defensive look from the other girl before she nodded.
"To the grill?" Clara asked as the two got up, she paused for a few seconds before walking towards the kitchen, "Thank you, for the help."
Grams looked up at the Gilbert and saw the sincere gratitude on the girl's face. She gave her a kind smile and got a small one in response. Emotion, genuine emotion seemed to be difficult for her. She stepped back to her granddaughter and laughed at something that was said. Grams was fond of the sight; it was nice to see the two getting along. She said that the girl hadn't had a life to her, now she did. The only price was what she held dear to her, her memories. She didn't recognize the spell that surrounded the fog in her mind. She looked down at the quilt she was working on and stuck her needle into the fabric. She needed to figure out that spell to see if she could reverse it early. Get that girl into their sphere of allies. She had a feeling that she new what she was, and this girl was just as good as using people as some witches were. Now, to find that spell.
"I swear I know these songs by heart," Clara claimed to Bonnie as they drove to the grill with the radio blaring, "this is Fit for Rivals Crash."
"How could you know this? It just came out a few months ago," Bonnie pointed out.
Clara began to say the next few lines of lyrics and she smirked. Bonnie had to relent her point. Just how did Clara know this song? It was new. She watched as her friend began to think for a few seconds, a slight frown tugging at the corners of her lips.
"I don't know how I know it, I just do," Clara eventually said, "maybe it's a bastardisation of time itself."
"What could do that?" Bonnie pressed, trying to jog the other girls vacant memories.
"Hmm…instinct says magic or angels," Clara admitted, "I don't know which would mess with me or do this."
"Great, another supernatural creature to worry about," Bonnie muttered.
"If it makes you feel any better I've seen a few shifters walking around town," Clara commented as she looked out the window, "though I think they left since the comets gone."
"How can you tell?" Bonnie asked and Clara cocked her head to the side.
How did she know? Besides the fact that her mind screamed at her that people weren't human. The eyes, reflective like a cat noticeable at a distance and on video feed. She blinked as she rubbed her forehead with a frown. Information, at last something that gave her a hint as to who or what she was.
"Their eyes are just like a cats," Clara finally answered, "it's more noticeable on camera…Bonnie I need a way to gather information on the town, know anybody that might help?"
"Logan Fells has been looking for people to join a reporters club," Bonnie answered, "you could get access to the news and town archives."
"That would be perfect," Clara muttered in thought.
The idea of getting her hands on information about the town made her happy. She chewed the inside of her cheek in thought as she looked out the car window. Woods, she was completely surrounded by woods. The lush green forest caused her to tense and watch the tree line with narrowed eyes. She didn't trust areas like that, too many things could be lurking within. She didn't have any weapons and she knew that her body couldn't handle any fighting. It was weak and fragile. She wanted to sneer at the previous Clara for allowing herself to be the "perfect" girl. That meant nothing when someone decides to attack.
"Something wrong?" Bonnie asked as she parked outside the grill.
"Things are going to get more complicated," Clara informed her, "the more of my memory that comes back, the more likely that I might become volatile."
"You talk like it's going to be bad," Bonnie pointed out.
"Not bad, but unknown," She answered as she got out of the car.
Bonnie heard the car door shut behind her before her own was open. Clara stood there with raised brows and motioned for her to hop out. Bonnie raised a brow in response and the Gilbert offered her arm like an nineteenth century gentleman. She accepted the arm and got out of her car. The two quietly joked with one another as they headed into the grill. They quickly found Caroline and Elena sitting at a booth and walked up.
"Oh my God, why are you two so late?" Caroline asked them with a glare.
"I got hot wax all over my hands," Clara smoothly excused, "it needed to be washed off, Bonnie came with to make sure I didn't need any first aid."
"And She's got no burns," Bonnie added as the two sat down at the table.
Bonnie next to Caroline and Clara next to Elena. They ordered food and drinks and started up a small conversation about the comet. Clara was the quietest out of all of them, preferring to survey the area around her. Vampire. She hadn't had that type of label occur before. It was on a small brunette. She vanished when she looked away and she mentally filed that away for a later date. How did one even kill a vampire? She paused at that, kill? Why would she want to? Stake through the heart or removal of head. Well, she was going to remember anyway.
"Still haven't seen tall dark and handsome again," Carline bemoaned.
"Sounds a lot like Stefan's older brother," Clara stated, "if so, dang he is one hell of a snack."
"Clara," Elena hissed and she got an annoyed look in return as Caroline's face brightened at the prospect of gossip.
Clara simply took a sip of her water before turning her attention towards the house fries. She knew that they found it odd that she requested ranch instead of ketchup. She liked the combination, they could all go to hell. Well, everyone but Bonnie. She wouldn't wish that on the sweet witch.
"Why Clara, is there finally someone you might be interested in?" Caroline asked, causing her to choke on a fry.
"Caroline," Elena groaned, "try not to kill my sister."
"It was just a question," Caroline defended.
"A valid one at that," Bonnie pointed out.
Bonnie and Caroline never truly got along, so the sudden agreement caused Elena to look between them as her sister chugged her water. Clara let out a slight sigh of relief before looking at Caroline and contemplating her question. Damon. Sure, the guy was attractive but something about him rubbed her the wrong way. She wasn't like these girls, jumping into a relationship with someone she's barely known for a few days. Sleeping around never ended well. She knew that, and she narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Maybe, but if he's your mystery guy I'll back off," Clara answered.
She also didn't want to enter a potentially predatorial relationship. Again, where could she draw the line? She was mentally in her twenties and he was physically in his twenties. Also, she had to factor in her hell time. She didn't even know how long she'd been down there so she couldn't estimate until she knew more. Maybe she could go after him. She would contemplate it and see if the pros and cons. One of the pros was that he made her laugh, the con is that she knew he was dangerous.
"Thanks Clara, that's unusually nice of you," Caroline commented, baffled at the nicety given to her.
"New Years resolution, trying not to be as much of a bitch," Clara quipped and Bonnie pursed her lips.
It was a good cover, but Elena was scrutinising her sister. Clara simply shrugged and went back into her fries. Bonnie was curious as to how they tasted with ranch and snatched one before she could stop her. It was a pretty good combination.
"It always taste better with house made ranch," Clara informed her, "the ranch from Jack in the Box or McDonalds could never."
"Could never what?" Caroline pressed, wanting more slang to use.
"Could never compete," Clara answered, "easier just saying could never."
Elena stared at the stranger that her sister had become. She was snarky, cold, aloof, serious, snappish, nice, and slowly stealing her friends. Didn't she once make her sister promise to never change? Clara had never been one for originality, always doing what her sister did.
"Oh, by the way I'm not rejoining the Cheer squad," Clara informed Caroline. "Unless you absolutely need me for the first game."
"Yes, we need more people," Caroline sighed, "Bonnie can you get her up to speed?"
"Of course, how's two to four at the local gym sound?" Bonnie asked.
"Perfect," Clara nodded, "I'll make sure that Jenna knows where I'll be."
"Can I talk to you?" Elena asked her sister.
"Sure."
Clara and Elena got up and Bonnie slowly tugged the fries over to her, much to her friends amusement. Caroline tested out the ranch method and nodded her approval. Elena and Clara stopped next to the bathrooms and dark eyes tried to stare down honey eyes. Clara simply looked at her with disinterest.
"What the hell happened to you, and don't give me that lame excuse of a New Years resolution," Elena hissed at her sister.
"Could it be the death of my parents?" Clara asked and Elena was stunned into silence, "Or maybe it's because I wanted to be my own person. Elena, your my sister and I love you, but you need to get used to this change."
Lying. One of the easiest things for her. She didn't have much of a connection with Elena save for this strange sensation whenever she saw her face. She raised her brows and headed into the bathroom. She needed to cool off for a few seconds before heading back. She noted the lingering smell of blood and her nose crinkled. She walked up to the counter and saw the red specks on it. She pressed the tip of her finger into it and brought it up to the light. Blood, the consistency made it obvious. She tilted her head slightly. Maybe that vampire had taken a victim. No weapons, can't hunt. Hunt? Was she a monster hunter? She didn't know and she hated it. She wiped down the counters and stared at the bloodied paper towels in her hand. If word got out that someone went missing then it could go south. She splashed her face with some water and tried to ignore the burning sensation on her back. She looked back at the paper towels. She tossed them into the trash and pushed her hair back from her face.
"Apparently, Vicki's gone missing," Bonnie informed her as she returned to their table.
"Amy one notice how druggies are always the biggest attention whores?" Caroline asked.
"Ever meet a toddler?" Clara questioned, "Way worse at least with a drug user they might leave you alone."
"Optimistic much?" Caroline asked.
"Excuse me," Stefan said as he stepped up to the booth, "hi."
"Hey, looking for my sister?" Clara asked and he gave her a nod, "She went home."
"Oh, thank you," Stefan thanked.
"I'm ready to head home myself, mind if I bum a ride?" She asked as she brought out some money to pay for her meal.
"Of course not," Stefan said, though his expression said other wise.
"Awesome," She said as she got up from the booth, "farewell, Bonnie, Caroline."
"See you tomorrow," Bonnie said with a wave.
"Seriously, you better be ready to practice for the big game," Caroline threatened and Clara gave her a nonplussed expression, "sleep tight."
"I can't tell if that was a threat or not," Clara quietly said to Stefan as they headed out of the grill, "what do you think?"
"It was quite possibly a threat," He confirmed.
"I feel like she could do bett- oh my good your car is amazing," Clara said as she got distracted by the red vehicle, "it's a nineteen thirty-six Porsche, three-five-six-B Karmann Coupe right?"
"You like cars?" Stefan questioned with a hint of interest.
"I have a soft spot for the classics, do t tell anyone I've been acting like I don't for the longest time," She stage whispered.
He was on her good side already. Beautiful old car, polite, and he seemed to take her words at face value. He opened the car door for her and she was oddly surprised by the gentlemanly action. She had done it to be a smart ass and amuse Bonnie, his actions were of the ingrained kind.
"Dude, how do you keep it smelling brand new?" She asked him as he got into the car and started it.
"I do a lot of maintenance," He answered.
"Invite me over next time you do," She quietly begged as she turned on her charm, "I would love to see under the hood."
Stefan found himself smiling slightly. Elena had said that her sister was acting strange and out of character. He didn't know her previous personality to comment on, but found that the girl in his car was anything but the surly individual that Elena had described. He felt like he could ask her information and not get snapped at, like his girlfriend claimed.
"So, what's going on between you and Elena?" He asked.
"I grew to be my own person," Clara answered and the tone was like a switch had been flipped, "I'm guessing she's been complaining to you, sorry man. You shouldn't be brought into our familial problems."
"It's fine," He shrugged.
"So, what's wrong between you and Elena now?" She asked, "Did you say something wrong?"
"I…I haven't told her about my past," He explained.
"Understandable," She said in a curt tone, "you two have barely known each other for a week. If you didn't have hiccups in your relationship I'd be worried…just talk to her, communication is key."
She was giving relationship advice now. She almost wanted to go back to the burning inferno that was hell. Almost, being the keyword. Stefan gave a half smile, one that told he was somewhat thankful for the advice from her. She looked at him before nodding.
"I'll give you the sibling riot act once mainly because I'm thankful for the lift," She informed him before looking a round his car with a slightly happy glint in her eyes, "if you purposely hurt my sister, I will personally see you six feet under."
"Right," He nodded.
Something about her tone informed him that she was dead serious. Clara didn't get along with her sister, but that didn't mean she wouldn't protect her. She disliked Elena, she didn't want her dead. Bonnie would be sad, Jeremy would fall apart, and Jenna could possibly be destroyed. She wouldn't allow Elena's choice in boyfriend to be what ruined this strange little family she was thrust into.
Vampire. Stake to the heart, cut off the head…pump full of vervain. Vervain, that was an herb. One she needed to find and grow. She didn't want to chance running into vampires without it. Considering the fact that Stefan was one, it was safe to say that Damon was one. It wasn't the biggest leap in logic, only the most likely outcome. It made sense as to why she was on edge around Damon, but why not Stefan? He was an unknown factor that didn't feel like the typical vampire.
Stefan could see the calculation on Clara's face as she looked out the window in a thoughtful silence. She had the oddest scent compared to her sister. Gunpowder, pie spices with a hint of honey, and campfire smoke. It was a more masculine scent compared the the flowers and wine that her sisters was. It was rare for twins to differ so much in scents, sure there were minor differences but not it this extent. Clara and Elena were two different people, and their scents made that obvious.
Clara spared him a glance and rolled her eyes slightly. He was amusing, for a vampire. She mentally shrugged. It couldn't only end so many ways for her sister. Dead, turned into a vampire, or dumped. She didn't care that much if she was honest. She felt her eyes narrow for a few seconds. How much was that due to her lacking memories? Did the lack of knowing who she was make her horrible? She bit the inside of her cheek to ignore that train of thought. She didn't need the internalized pity party.
"Interested in any school clubs?" She asked him out of the blue.
"Not particularly," Stefan answered.
"Damn, I was hoping for a buddy in the reporters club," She said with a snap of her fingers.
"Not that into clubs," He said.
"Don't worry about it," She stated with a shrug, "you do you,I'll do myself, and we don't do each other because that would be really weird seeing as your dating my sister."
She was cracking jokes that were like Damon's. He found himself groaning on the inside at that. He hoped she wouldn't be another Damon. She let out a quiet laugh at the expression on his face. Oh, messing with him was extremely entertaining. He gave her so many fun reactions.
"Thanks again for the lift," Clara said as he parked on her street, "She should be inside…you want my number in case you fuck up again?"
"Sure." He sighed.
She brought out a pen from one of her many pant pockets and searched around for a piece of paper. Soon he had her number scrawled in a tidy script. He tucked it into the inner pocket of his leather jacket and she headed up to the house. Her brisk walk easily getting her there fast.
"You've got a visitor," Clara informed Elena, "I have a brooding brother to talk to."
Elena gave her a dry look as her twin bounded up the stairs. Clara paused on the last step and let her face blank. Messing with these people was fun. She looked down at her feet and sighed. Was she messing it up? This odd second chance? She had been in hell, it couldn't be anything but a second chance. She needed to do more experiments and tests with the people around her. For now, she did have a baby brother to talk to.
"Go away," He groused as she walked into his room.
"Nah, I don't particularly feel like it." She informed him as she plopped down on his bed and laid on his legs, "What's bothering you?"
"Why do you care?" Jeremy snapped.
"Your my baby brother," She said and he looked at her, "that does mean something to me, and even though I'd let you make your own choices I do believe that you need to stop."
"Oh great, another person to nag me," Jeremy growled in a heated tone.
"Yeah, we do it because we'd rather not send you to rehab," She snapped at him and he froze at her tone, this wasn't a hot anger but a cold one, "you better listen well because this is the first and final time I will say this to you understand?"
He mutely nodded as he swallowed thickly. She was scaring him, her eyes were cold and focused on him. The haunted glint in them caused his heart to race as she slightly towered over him. She wasn't that close, but it felt like she was. Something strange was happening, he felt like he could hear chains jingling.
"You will stop with the drugs, the attitude, the lack of homework and attendance in school, we'll meet up and start to work through your anger and grief by physical means," She informed him, "I've seen you throw a punch and I know several three year olds that could do better. Now, bring me your stash, it goes tonight."
"Who are you?" He finally asked, this wasn't his sister.
"Clara Gilbert, your older sister and someone who knows that the path your currently on does not end well," She informed him in a serious tone, "now, the stash."
He scrambled to bring out his drugs from their hiding spots. He placed them in her hands and she gave him a serious look. He was shaking slightly, fear starting to consume him. She let up on her gaze and he relaxed a bit. She didn't mean to scare him that much, but it was nice to know.
"Listen, I'm not angry just disappointed," She I formed him and he flinched at those words, "do better, Jeremy. I know you can, and so do they."
He found himself following her as she headed to the back yard to throw his drugs into a fire pit. He watched as she created a fire pit before tossing everything in it. She grabbed some kindling from one of her pockets and some matches from another one. He was digging the pants, those were handy. She lit the kindling on fire before grabbing some called branches and sticks and throwing them onto the growing flames.
"After the big game, you and I are going to work out together," She informed him as she threw an arm around his shoulder and brought him back inside, "you need an outlet that won't kill you, and I'll happily provide one."
"How…how did you learn the fear tactics?" He grumbled as she grabbed a cola from the fridge and handed it to him.
"Old military movies, I might've been a zombie for a while but I did find something to watch," She said as she grabbed herself a cola, "now, what's your homework load look like?"
He mentally groaned before heading up to his room and grabbing it. Hopefully, she wouldn't be that bad of a taskmaster. She was horrible. She made him work on his homework for three hours straight. She sat there and stared him down the entire time. Jenna came into the kitchen and stared at the two in confusion before Clara leveled her stare on her. Yeah, she wasn't about to mess with that.
"Need anything?" She asked the two.
"Sleep," Jeremy said as he felt his body protesting at the lack of it.
"You have one more assignment," Clara pointed out, "and your halfway done with it…wanna give Tanner a middle finger by turning it in?"
That made it a bit more appealing. He slowly finished it before looking up at his older sister. She looked it over and nodded her approval. She motioned her head towards the stairs and he quickly went up them. Jenna quickly moved and placed her hands on her nieces shoulders.
"Explain." She simply said.
"Sometimes fear works," Clara said, "I think I terrified him into submission…that and I gave him an ultimatum either clean up your act or I will send you to rehab and therapy. We start working out together in a week."
Clara wasn't that scary, so Jenna had no clue how she terrified her brother. But, she was thankful for it. Jeremy was hard to handle, guess tough love worked sometimes. She gave the girl a pat on the back before sending her up to bed. An amused expression was the response. Peace was slowly falling into place in the Gilbert household.