This story does have supernatural influence. I'm glad someone noticed, it's not enough to consider a full crossover. It's interesting since both were airing at the same time and on the same platform…I can't believe they never did an actual crossover or used monsters from either show for more creative stories. That's what I'll be doing, plus mythology and monsters are fun and if I get anything wrong feel free to correct me and I'll fix it! I hope to give Damon some actual character arcs where he could be redeemable, unlike the show where they bounced back and forth between him being good and bad.
Possible trigger warnings in this chapter.
4
Cheer for Fear
"I may have scared him into submission," Clara quietly said to Bonnie as they watched Jeremy go to class, "I didn't know I could do that."
"You might not be human," Bonnie stated, "Grams said there's a distinct possibility that your time in hell changed you. It would explain the rapid healing."
"Ah great, so I'm some kind of human demon hybrid?" Clara muttered darkly before gaining a strange expression on her face, "I…I don't think that's quite true. I'll have to see if more memories come back through my dreams."
"Oh, what memory did you get back?" Bonnie asked.
"My car, oh it was a beautiful black nineteen seventy Chevy Camaro, you would've loved it," She said with a slightly bright expression on her face, "if I somehow ever see it again, you'll be the first person to know and my first passenger."
"I'm holding you to that," Bonnie informed her.
She got a crooked grin out of the other girl. The emotions shown around her were genuine. Clara found that she liked Bonnie's presence and personality. She was already a calm person but having someone who didn't really judge and was just as loyal as her was quite nice. She could also bring out some spicy choices in her comebacks and Bonnie would just roll with it.
"Ah, Elena incoming commander," Clara said as she spotted her twin, "at twelve o'clock and looking to be on a mission. I'd say a serious one judging by her expression."
"Oh no," Bonnie groaned, "it has to do with Stefan, my bad feeling around him got worse."
"I see, I get that around his older brother, not him," Clara admitted, "it's easier since he's good on the eyes."
Bonnie smacked her friends' arm and got a smirk out of her. She shook her head in disbelief. Her sense of humour was strange, and she said things that were out of context. She asked her something through text that morning and got "no cap, sure no problem" and had to ask what that meant. No lie. No cap just had to mean no lie or really.
"Bonnie, good morning," Elena greeted before shooting Clara a look.
"Ah, boyfriend talk," Clara worked out before turning to Bonnie, "farewell my dear Bonnie, see you in history."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and got a cheeky wink out of her friend before her expression turned serious and she walked to her next class. She didn't know who if the joking Clara was the "true" one or the one that didn't show emotion was. She knew it was a mix between the two, but it was like her personality hadn't settled in yet. She was uncomfortable with that knowledge, who knew how long it could take for it to do so.
Clara sat in her classes, bored out of her mind when a warm trickling went down her face. She brought a hand up and poked at it. Blood. She had a bloody nose. She put her hand in the air, the one with the fingertips stained with blood, and waited. Blood began to drip down her chin and into her black turtleneck.
"What is it, Miss Gilbert?" The teacher questioned without looking at her.
"Well, I seem to be bleeding," She dryly commented, grimacing when some of the blood got in her mouth.
"Your feminine problems shouldn't be addressed as such," He said before looking at her, "my apologies, head to the nurse's office."
He was left with a class full of mutinous females and guys who knew he messed up big time. Clara almost wanted to stay, just to watch the pandemonium that could occur. She had to entertain herself somehow. School was boring, and she oddly knew most of what was taught. She knew more about American history then she cared to admit. It was her best subject, it used to be art.
"Oh no, tilt your head back dear," the nurse ordered.
She grimaced but did as asked. A wet paper towel was used to clean up the blood that had flowed onto my face and a dry one was handed to me to stop the bleeding. She could feel the blood running down her throat and swallowed noisily. It was disgusting. Judging by the tittering from the nurse she was pulling a face.
"It's never pleasant," The nurse said, "be glad it was something I could fix."
Ah, the infamous "here's an ice pack" joke. That just informed her that school nurses were aware of it. She didn't like that. She bit the inside of her cheek as she waited for the bleeding to stop. The nurse left her inside for a few minutes to go find something g for her to eat to try and perk up from losing blood. She zoned out as she felt the blood continuing to go down her throat.
A sharp pain went through her head as she was pulled away from the white ceiling. She looked towards a man with brown eyes and tilted her head in thought. He was telling them about the movement of a being called a woman in white. People had been dying on a particular strip of road and they were being sent to investigate and eliminate. She could see the face of the woman, her name. The countless hours of research she did. She had almost crashed her car into the side railing of the road. Her spirit tied to her hidden body.
"Everything all right?" She jolted at the nurse's voice.
"Yes, sorry I was spacing out," She answered.
She pulled the now wet paper towel away from her nose and the nurse had her lean forward to see if it was still bleeding. It didn't drip and she didn't feel the need to sniff. She was handed some animal crackers, Barnum's of all the types to have she was a bit amused and nostalgic to see the circus animals on the box. She was also given a small thing of orange juice and inwardly grimaced. She hated orange juice, and barely tolerated oranges.
She eyed it as she was sent to her next class, her bag having been picked up by someone. That, someone, turned out to be a grumpy Jeremy. She gave him a tight smile as she accepted her bag back.
"Do you like orange juice?" She asked him as she held out the unopened bottle to him.
"Free food is free food," He shrugged as he accepted it.
"How's your day going so far?" She asked him and he smirked.
"Tanner couldn't say anything snarky when I turned in my homework," He answered, "it was cathartic."
"Good. Good young Skywalker," She said in a surprisingly good impression of Emperor Palpatine.
"You don't even like science fiction," He muttered.
"So, that just means we need to do a science fiction marathon," She stated, "ever watch Doctor Who?"
He looked at her before shaking his head. He didn't like the gleam in her eyes. She patted his shoulder before she headed into Tanner's class and found her seat next to Bonnie. She watched as her friend muttered to herself and started to write numbers down, repeatedly. She gently placed a hand on her shoulder and snapped her out of her trance.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah…I'm fine," Bonnie stated as she watched her friend plop down in her seat, "Where were you during transfer?"
"Bleeding, my nose decided it had enough and chose violence," Clara answered, "I spaced out enough to remember something. It's a dead woman, hanging around a freeway in Texas."
"Woman?" Bonnie asked as she frowned.
"Yeah, she's been killing people," Clara answered, "I don't even know if what I remember is real."
"What's her name?" Bonnie asked.
"Sofia Garcia," She answered, "I need to look her up later."
Tanner glared at them and they shared a look before turning to their phones. She was surprised when Elena and Stefan chose to sit closer to them, she sighed. Bonnie was uncomfortable and showed it through the language she was using in her texts. She tuned into her sister's conversation and rolled her eyes. She was trying to get him to join the football team.
"Pearl harbour," Tanner said, and he looked around the room, "Miss Gilbert."
"December seventh nineteen forty-one," Clara answered, and eyes turned towards her as Tanner raised a brow.
"Thank you, Miss Gilbert, but I was asking that of your sister," He informed her.
"Then be more specific," She said, and he gave her a warning look.
"The fall of the Berlin Wall?" He asked around and Stefan was surprised when he got a light kick to his chair from Clara who motioned for him to talk.
"Nineteen eighty-nine," Stefan said, "I'm good with dates, sir."
"Are you? Let's see how good," Tanner said as he crossed his arms across his chest, "keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."
"Nineteen sixty-four," Stefan answered.
"John F Kennedy assassination," Tanner said.
"Nineteen sixty-three." Stefan was right on the money with his history.
Clara smirked as they continued from Martin Luther King Jr to the Korean War. She didn't doubt that a vampire would know their dates. It wasn't just living through them, but countlessly reading about them. She looked towards Bonnie and raised her brows up and down, earning herself a roll of the eyes. She felt the love.
Cheerleading made her hate life with a burning passion that would've been awe-inspiring to see. Bonnie could feel the frustration coming from the taller girl and watched as she chewed on her chapped lips. She wanted to be done and over with cheerleading.
"You keep chewing your lip, you'll make it bleed," Bonnie informed her.
"I'll take that chance," Clara said as she stopped doing so, "I'm surprised you showed up Elena, I thought you wouldn't want to be on the team this year."
"I can't be the sad girl forever," Elena said as she shrugged, "the only way to get things back to normal is to do them."
"That's a good philosophy," Clara relented.
Elena gave a slight smile at that. Clara filed that away, maybe there was some hope left for her sister after all. She looked at the pom-poms in her hands and glared at them. It was just until the game, she just needed to keep that in mind. She let that replay in her thoughts, repeatedly until it was a mantra. It was only stopped by the hairs standing up on her arms. Vampire. Old Camaro. Eleven o'clock. She looked up to see Damon dropping Caroline off. He met her eyes and gave her a smirk before driving off. Again, she didn't approve of the relationship between the two. Caroline, as sweet as sometimes could be from what the previous Clara wrote in her journal, was extremely easy to manipulate. There was a lingering sense of naivety that was unexpected.
"That relationship will never work out," Clara stated, and Bonnie gave a slight nod.
"Your sister made plans for tonight," Bonnie informed her, "if you do well with the drills we might skip the gym practice and head over to your place so you can cook."
Clara cocked her head to the side. When did these girls get it in their heads that she could cook? Eggs and Bacon were easy. A full course meal would be difficult. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, a recipe was easy to follow, it was that she didn't want to. She noticed her sister giving her puppy dog eyes and she stood strong against them.
"That won't work on me," She informed Elena, "I want to know what I get out of this, besides spending time with Bonnie which is always a treat."
"I won't tell Jenna about your trip to the nurse's office," Elena bribed.
"…Deal," Clara sighed.
It was the best that Elena could come up with. Clara didn't want to make Jenna flip by being told that she went to the nurse's office, even if it was for something boring like her bloody nose. She wasn't in the mood to be yelled at. She was pulled into the starting position for the squad and Bonnie gave her a warning look. She put her hands on her hips and took in a deep breath, the next hour was going to be a long one.
"All right, let's keep it going!" Caroline said from the front as she watched the girls with a keen eye.
She expected Elena and Clara to have problems with the routine. Clara seemed to be going through the motions, watching those around her for the next cue or move. There was no happiness to her moves, only purpose. Elena, on the other hand, was struggling and bad. She took pity on the other Gilbert and pulled her out of practice, just to have her watch the moves and relearn them. The whole hour was filled with them going through the drills, and Elena was mollified by the fact that her sister wasn't enjoying herself. If anything, the other Gilbert seemed to be slowly growing murderous as the practice went on.
"I hate this," Clara hissed to Bonnie, "please tell me what you enjoy about this?"
"It's good exercise," Bonnie answered, "and there's always potential scholarships."
Clara couldn't argue with that and gave a curt nod of her head. She wanted to get out of the short shorts she was wearing and back into her tactical wear. The lack of pockets and protection was starting to bug her. She rolled her shoulders slightly and Bonnie blinked when something caught her eye. She watched as a tattoo came into view and she quickly got the other girls attention.
"When did you get a tattoo?" Bonnie asked.
"I didn't, I've been coming to school like a good child," Clara stated as she frowned, "do I have one?"
"Uh, yeah," Bonnie said as she looked at it, "it looks like a pentagram."
"I don't know," Clara grumbled.
It was obvious she didn't like being left out of the loop. Bonnie would say she was a control freak, though she didn't want to upset the person who had no memories. She'd be angry too if she couldn't remember anything. She pushed the other girl into the changing room and got a light laugh out of her. They didn't take long to change back into their regular clothes.
"How do you do up the straps so quickly?" Bonnie asked as she looked at all the buckles on her shirt.
"Practice," Clara smiled as she pulled on a black jacket she might've stolen from her brother.
It didn't smell of marijuana, so she was quite pleased by that. They headed out of the changing rooms and waited for Elena. They would have to pick up items for the dinner that Elena set up. They smiled at her as they headed to Bonnie's car. They got to see what Clara was like in a grocery store.
Clara inwardly smirked as she picked up some lettuce and studied it before putting it down and reaching for a new one. She wanted to get some of the fresher items, so they'd last longer in the fridge. Elena was starting to grow impatient when her sister finally chose some lettuce and plucked a few tomatoes from a small bin. Bonnie looked between the two and wondered if Clara was messing with her again. She truly didn't know why she didn't like her twin. There was something there on her end.
"Take it easy on her," Bonnie quietly muttered, and she watched as Clara twitched in surprise before looking at her.
Clara didn't realize that Bonnie had noticed her dislike of Elena. She thought she'd been hiding it well. She picked up some eggplant and tossed it into the cart before heading down different aisles and picking up the right items to make eggplant parmesan. She was going to be that person who served a vampire vegetarian food. It amused her to think about. She looked down at a box of pocky and tossed it in the cart. She had a snack for later.
"It's dead in here," Clara commented as she picked up the cheese before turning to the other two.
"It usually gets busy around six, you know that," Elena pointed out.
No, she didn't know that. She filed away that information for later. It would come in handy for when she wanted to getaway. She could always claim that she could fight the grandmas to get to the canned goods. Specifically, the cranberries, she would have to make that plan around November. Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her, and she gave an innocent smile. She quickly moved to the checkout and watched as their items were tallied up. Thirty dollars wasn't that bad. Compared to the forty in California that it would've been. Ah, she needed to get used to the small memories that would pop up at the most inconvenient times. She paid, she didn't know that Jenna had left money in her bag for lunch, and they headed back to the car.
"Radio's all yours," Bonnie informed her, and Elena groaned.
"Hey, my choice in music is great," Clara defended as she quickly switched to the alternative station, "and you can't beat Brendon Urie."
Elena shot her a look and got a smirk in response as I Write Sins Mot Tragedies came on. She wouldn't sing along to it, that would make Elena even more suspicious. She could, however, relax in the back seat and enjoy the nostalgic song. It didn't fill her with an intense sadness or yearning, just calm. When they arrived at the Gilbert residence they startled Jeremy.
"Hey," He mumbled in greeting.
"Hey, need any help on your homework?" Clara asked as she put the shopping down on the counter.
"I'm pretty much done," He shrugged, "is there something going on?"
"Elena decided to have Stefan over for dinner," Clara answered as her sister nodded, "She wants to change Bonnie's mind about him."
Jeremy gave a nod at that and made a reminder to stay clear of the downstairs area. At least he knew why Jenna had brought him a sandwich from a sub shop for dinner. He got a slightly apologetic look from Clara and he nodded slightly. He got up from the table and headed upstairs, he didn't want to be asked to help make dinner. Being around those three before the accident had been a nightmare, he didn't want to see how things had changed.
Bonnie moved about and watched as her friend easily made a salad from scratch. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and easily located the salad tongs. A quiet thanks was said when she handed them to Clara and the bowl was carried out by Elena. It was quick and simple. Clara started on the eggplant parmesan while she conversed with Elena.
"Last night, I'm watching Nine-o and a commercial break comes on," Bonnie explained to Elena, "and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial and sure enough it was."
"Oh, come on," Elena said with a slight smile, "that commercial is on a constant loop."
"Fine, then how about the fact that I seem obsessed with numbers?" Bonnie asked, "Three, eight, fourteen, and twenty-two. How weird is it that I keep seeing them?"
"Maybe we should play the lottery?" Elena jokingly suggested.
"Not enough numbers for the lottery," Clara piped up as she finished slicing the eggplant, "maybe there's an importance to them? Like a warning of sorts."
"Have you asked Grams?" Elena added.
"She's just going to say it's because I'm a witch," Bonnie huffed as she thought about what Clara said, "I don't want to be a witch, would you?"
"No," Elena truthfully answered as the main course was put into the oven to bake.
"Damn, I forgot a dessert," Clara stated and that broke the awkward tension in the air.
"It's all right, I just need to know where the serving spoons are," Elena stated as she looked around for them.
"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie said, and Elena opened it to find the serving spoon.
"Ok, so you've been in this kitchen a thousand times," Elena said.
"What's our excuse? We were raised in this house," Clara pointed out, humour evident in her voice.
The doorbell ringing saved Elena from having to answer. She shot her sister a look and Clara simply gave her a blank look. No emotion played on her face. No joy or anger. It was disconcerting. She scurried off to get the door and Bonnie turned to face Clara.
"Birthday candles," She said as she opened a drawer and pulled out a pack of candles.
"You're growing stronger," Clara said with a slight smile, "and I don't know why. It makes you pretty cool though."
That relieved some of the tension as Bonnie smacked her arm. She moved and grabbed the eggplant parmesan out of the oven and nodded at the perfected dish. She got out some potholders and placed them on the dinner table before placing down the dish. Bonnie helped set the table and she nervously looked at Stefan as he walked into the room. Clara didn't have that nervousness and sent him a slight smile.
"Hey, car-bro," She greeted, and Stefan gained an amused half-smile at that, "hope you like eggplant parm."
"It smells great," Stefan complimented.
"Thanks, you make the demon inside me blush," She quipped as she sat down at the table, Bonnie by her side.
Dinner with Stefan and Bonnie was awkward. No one seemed to want to speak, and Clara contemplated heading up to her room. She stayed, only for Bonnie. She wasn't about to leave her friend behind to deal with the awkward situation by herself. She owed her that much for keeping her secret. She bit into a piece of eggplant and kept her eyes on the glass of water in front of her. If she started to make holy water out of it, it would be less awkward.
"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan.
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan said as he took a sip of his water.
"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today," Elena said, "Tyler threw a ball right at him."
"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie said, her tone curt.
"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family," Elena suggested.
"Um, divorced, no mom, live with my dad," Bonnie said.
"No, about the witches," Elena said before turning to Stefan, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches, it's really cool."
"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie muttered.
"Awesome is the one I would," Clara stated before she bit into another piece of eggplant.
"Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan said, "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the eighteen hundreds."
"Which is interesting since most druids were wiped out by Roman invaders before then," Clara pointed out, "they wouldn't have told anyone they were migrating. Old family history?"
"Something like that," Stefan nodded, and she gave him a critical look.
He wondered what that look meant. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, and she picked up her glass to take another swig of water. She didn't even flinch when her sister lightly kicked her shin to get her attention. She looked amused, reminding him of his brother for a few seconds. She wasn't malicious, not like him.
"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie told him.
"Really? Salem witches?" Stefan asked with raised brows.
"Yeah," Bonnie confirmed in a slightly defensive tone.
"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan informed her, "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."
"Yeah, they are," Bonnie agreed and spared a glance towards Clara.
It was similar to what Clara had said. She watched as her friend got up from the table when the doorbell rang. She waved a hand and went to answer it. It was a break from the awkward tension at the table, and Bonnie couldn't help but smile slightly. Touched that the other girl had stayed for her sake. She grabbed her cola and drank from it.
Clara ran a hand through her messy curls before opening the front door. Caroline smiled at her and Damon smirked. She was tempted to shut the door in their faces, and judging by the widening of Damon's smirk he knew it. She took in a deep breath and gave a slight smirk of her own.
"I didn't know that we were expecting more people," She said, "I would've done my hair."
"Don't even think about straightening those curls," Caroline threatened, and Clara was taken aback before holding up a placating hand, "besides, Bonnie informed us that you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert."
"Wow, it's a good thing it slipped my mind to do so," Clara said as Damon held up a cardboard box, "apple pie? Dutch or American?"
"Dutch," Damon answered as she welcomed Caroline in, "hope you don't mind."
"Dutch is my favourite," Clara informed him as she sent Caroline a look, "does her mother know that you're dating her?"
"Clara," Caroline said with a frown.
"What, no offence Caroline you are a minor and he looks to be in his early twenties," Clara pointed out, "it's kinda sus."
"Sus?" Caroline asked.
"Sorry, it's suspect and pretty predatorial," Clara expanded on her expression serious as she looked at Damon with narrowed eyes.
"Look at me, I'm irresistible," Damon joked.
"God, I just hope you two aren't doing the devils tango," She muttered, "that could end up as statutory rape."
"I don't need the riot act from someone who's been acting really weird lately," Caroline warned, and she heard Clara huff.
Damon eyed the girl in front of him and watched as she calculated her next move. She was putting issues on the board that had crossed his mind, but it was the easiest way to get where he needed to be. She seemed to be keeping him out of the house. He frowned for a few seconds before keeping his smirk on his face. She knew, and he didn't know how she did.
Vampire. Do NOT let into the perimeter. Once invited in can come and go as pleased. Clara kept her hand on the door and really contemplated slamming it in Damon's smirking face. She wasn't affected by his good looks, as much as she joked about him being a meal she would rather not. She chewed the inside of her cheek for a few seconds before looking at Caroline.
"Did it slip your mind that I might actually care about you?" She asked the blonde, much to the other girl's surprise.
It was a complete lie. She didn't feel much for Caroline besides slight amusement, but she didn't feel right about letting her continue with the farce of a relationship she had with Damon. It wouldn't end well, and she could get hurt. Never mind the legal laws she listed as a big contender. Her mother was a police officer and didn't even see anything wrong with their relationship. That bothered her.
"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked as he walked into the living room.
"Waiting for Clara to invite me in," Damon answered as he continued eye contact with the serious teen.
"Fat chance," Clara muttered in a tone that could only be picked up by them, her hackles were raised, and she did not want him inside her place of residence.
"Oh, yeah," Elena said as she saw the strange standoff between her sister and Caroline's boyfriend, the tension between them was palpable, "you can-"
"No, no, no, he can't uh, he can't stay," Stefan said as he turned to his brother, "can you, Damon?"
"Get in here," Caroline said, though her voice spoke of how thoughtful she was of the words that Clara spoke to her.
"We're just finishing up," Stefan informed his brother.
"It's fine," Elena said, and Clara refused to break eye contact with Damon to send her sister a glare, "just come on in."
Damon's smirk became victorious as he gently sauntered around Clara, a hand on her waist getting her out of the way. Clara clenched her jaw and closed the door behind him in annoyance. That man was going to end up being the worst thing to happen to her. She didn't even have her memories and she knew that much just through instinct.
"You have a beautiful home, Elena, Clara," Damon stated as he moved towards the dining room to set down the pie.
"Damn it," Clara grumbled as Caroline hurried after him.
That sealed it to Stefan right then. She knew exactly what he and his brother were. Clara walked back to the dining room with a frown on her face before it smoothed over. Damon couldn't do anything, not while she was in the house. The wild animal attack story wouldn't fly if he did. She cracked her knuckles slightly as she began to clear the table for dessert. No one said anything as she placed the dishes in the sink to get after everything was done. She shot everyone a look that said no one else should touch them.
"Everything all right?" Bonnie asked as the pie was served.
"Peachy," Clara answered, "though I don't know how well that saying works when apple pie is involved."
"It works," Bonnie said as she shook her head in amusement.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline said as she looked at Stefan, "Tyler must be seething."
"When isn't he?" Clara asked as she finished her pie without any remorse.
"Good point, but still it's good," Caroline said, "go for it."
"That's what I always tell him, you have to engage," Damon said, "you can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
"I'm starting on dishes, no one wait up," Clara stated as she got up from the table and took care of her dirty dishes.
Damon smirked slightly as the frustrated teen headed into the kitchen to clean everything up. She had a frown on her pretty face, one that showed she wasn't happy one bit. The angry sounds of dishes being cleaned cemented that observation. They all moved to the living room, and he couldn't resist the urge to mess with the other Gilbert girl. She seemed to have gained Stefan's approval. He grabbed his empty glass and headed into the kitchen.
"One more," He said, and she held a hand out for it, her fingers motioning in a 'gimme' motion.
He handed it to her, and she easily gripped it, though he tapped it enough that it slipped from her grasp. She turned off the water and turned to face him with a blank expression. He caught it with ease and got a sigh.
"Are we done showboating?" She asked as he finally handed it to her.
"Ouch, I thought you were the twin that knew how to laugh," He said as he leaned against the counter.
"I am, I just don't find you very funny right now," She informed him as she easily cleaned the glass, "sorry to hear about your girlfriend."
"You were able to deduce that?" He asked, not allowing anything to show in his voice.
"With as much as you and your bother quietly bitch at each other, yeah," She muttered, "how'd she die anyway?"
"A fire, a tragic fire," He answered.
"Was it recent?"
"It seems like it was yesterday."
"Any clues as to what she was like?"
Damon paused on that one for a few seconds and he noticed the side-eye he was getting from her. She was calculating, in a very familiar way, but at the same time still doing the dishes. She finished the last plate and started to dry them. He picked up a towel and grabbed a plate himself. He was getting information, as was she. It was a game of wits, one that he was gladly playing.
"She was beautiful, a lot like you and your sister in that department," He answered, "she was also very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind. But very sexy and seductive."
"Did you date her first or car-bro?" She asked as she dried another plate.
"Again, nice deduction," He complimented, and she gave him a sarcastic smirk as she put her plate away, "Ask car-bro, I'm sure his answer differs from mine."
"Ah, I think I'm the only one who can call him that," Clara said, "I called dibs on the nickname."
"Oh, I'd quit cheerleading if I were you," He commented.
"Already planned on it," She informed him, "I hate it with a burning passion, and I didn't even know I could. But they needed us for the team, so I can stick it out a little longer. I don't know if I ever enjoyed it."
She had a slightly faraway look in her eyes before grabbing another plate and drying it. It was a move to keep herself occupied. Something bothered her about that, and she refused to think about it. She paused for a few seconds and contemplated something. She put the plate away and looked him in the eye.
"Sorry about Katherine," She quietly said, "you lost her as well."
Genuine remorse and sympathy were new to her. Yet, for some odd reason, it felt like the right move. He nodded at her words and they went back to drying to dishes. It was so domestic that she found herself growing antsy. She needed to get away from Mystic Falls at least for a little while. If she had a car she would go and take care of that spirit in Texas, maybe she could find a few more to take care of. She would leave Vampires alone for now, out of respect for Stefan and her sister.
"Where do you go in that pretty little head of yours?" Damon asked with a smirk.
"Bold of you to assume I go anywhere, Magic man," She said to him with a monotone as she finished the last plate, "I was just lamenting the fact that my bed is upstairs, and I could be sleeping right now."
"Kinky." He said and she rolled her eyes at that.
"I won't go to sleep until Bonnie heads out," She muttered, "I owe her that much."
She headed into the fridge and grabbed a cola. It was one of the few times that she would cave and have a soda. She gave him a strange look over her shoulder before heading into the living room. Bonnie wasn't surprised when she plopped down next to her and sipped from the can in her hand. She welcomed the warmth that seemed to radiate from her. Stefan didn't even have to look up to know that his girlfriend's sister walked in. Her scent was somewhat overpowering. The spice part of it was stronger than the gunpowder and campfire, it was like she was in a decent mood compared to how she had been when Damon had set her off. The gunpowder had been so strong that it was all he could smell.
"I'm very tired," Clara informed Bonnie, "how is it possible that this is so draining?"
"We're also talking about the person who barely sleeps through the night," Bonnie pointed out and she got a sound of acknowledgement from her friend, "seriously, just start drawing what you see, it'll be interesting to see."
"Shall I become the next Salvador Dali?" Clara asked in amusement, "Only time will tell."
"Didn't he use lucid dreaming?" Caroline questioned with a raised brow.
"Oh, yeah, but one of the surrealist artists rigged up an alarm system to bring himself from the brink of dreaming to paint," She explained, "I can't remember who it was."
"I believe it was Dali," Stefan confirmed, and he got a thankful look from her.
"I should head home, Grams asked me to be home by ten," Bonnie said.
"All right," Clara said, "I shall miss you."
"Shut up," Bonnie playfully teased as she swatted at her arm.
Clara grinned slightly at that and went back to drinking her cola. Bonnie did leave a couple of minutes after that and Clara slunk up to her room. She looked around for a clean sketchbook before scratching the back of her head. Jeremy might have one she could use, and she'd promise to pick him up a new one. She headed out of her room and knocked on her brother's door. He opened it a crack before noticing it was her.
"Mind if I swipe a sketchbook from you? I promise to get you a new one," She pleaded, and he caved before handing her one without his stickers or name.
"You better come through on that promise," He said, and she smiled.
"I usually do, if I ever have anything going on while we're at the gym letting off some steam," She started before placing the sketchbook under her arm, "I would make sure you knew beforehand."
"Thanks, Clara," He nodded.
"Sleep tight, baby brother," She said, and she grinned when he rolled his eyes.
Clara may have changed but he was starting to think it was a damn good change. Even with the hiccup where she had terrified him to get her point across. She was broody and extremely serious, but loyal if her relationship with Bonnie was anything to go by. You get her loyalty and you had it for the rest of your life. He hoped that he got that, it would be nice to have a good relationship with one of his sisters. His strained one with Elena was something he didn't like to think about.
Clara placed the sketchbook on her bedside table before downing the rest of her cola and grabbing some pyjamas. She needed to head to bed so that she could be somewhat rested for the next school day. She heard a tapping at her window and noticed the crow perched outside of it. That had to be familiar, nothing else would make sense. She raised a brow and rolled her eyes.
"Buzz off whoever you are," She muttered as she closed her curtains.
She got changed and brushed her teeth before heading to sleep. She wasn't in the mood for her dreams to turn sour, but they would anyway. The only thing she got out of it was memories. That was it, she just wanted the memory to be something that she liked, like her car. She couldn't get that lucky.