———

Ebullience: def. The quality of being cheerful and full of energy

———

Chapter 5: Nope, Leave Me Out Of It.

———

Today was thankfully a very easy day to be Alessia Bennett.

Nothing too serious was gonna happen today— or, at least nothing requiring my interest or interference.

Vicki and Elena were going to be in the weird tug-of-war between the Salvatores; Caroline was gonna bounce back to her old springy self— hopefully, without a crush on the elder Salvatore, but if she liked him then I couldn't blame her; and Damon is gonna be keeping his dickishness away from my Chosen Four.

Really, things are looking very peaches and cream for me today— so, I guess I'll be testing out a couple spells and talking to Care about the latest routines for the cheer team.

Oh yeah, and there was that weird candle-thing tonight that I still don't really understand. So, guess I gotta go to that since Bonnie made it abundantly clear that I was going to be attached to her hip for any further interactions with the supernatural.

Well, that was fair after all I put her through last night.

Speaking of which— Grams didn't even mention me skipping out on the office. All she wanted to do was see and touch the legendary grimoire, so, I was completely off the hook.

Sitting up in my bed, I scratch the back of my pink satin bonnet tiredly before glancing at my closet.

What to wear for a do-nothing day?

I grab some work out leggings and a hoodie, along with my workout sneakers before hauling ass to the shower.

Thankfully, no time-crunching from Bonnie today, and I'm really starting to feel this morning. As the shower turns on, and I crank up the radio only to hear "Hey Ya!" on the first station, I know it.

Today's gonna be awesome.

———

I plant my cute little butt in my desk chair, cheerfully pulling out my history book for my least favorite class of the day.

Caroline is already next to me, and I see her furrow her brows in obvious confusion at my attitude, before turning and giving Bonnie a pointed look. Bonnie shrugs her shoulders, her not understanding my good mood either, since both of us didn't get much sleep last night.

The only thing that's not so great, is the song I have stuck in my head.

Care-a-Lot, is a place we all can gooooo

Whenever we choose it

Care-a-Lot, is a feeling we all knoowww

We never do lose it

I feel a harsh smack from Bonnie on my shoulder, and I look up to see the one and only Greek God, Stefan, looking down at me with a very amused face.

"Was that from Care Bears?" He asks with a warm teasing smile.

My face immediately heats up by a hundred degrees as I realize I must've been actually humming the song at some point, but in my defense, it was a catchy song.

A soft laugh leaves me before I finally respond, "Wait! You've seen that movie?"

He uses one of his large hands to comb back a few loose strands of hair from his forehead as his smile turns to a wry grin.

Then, he leans over my desk, glancing at the top of my head for a moment before gently reaching and grabbing a renegade leaf from the top of my high ponytail. Green eyes are open and soft towards me, and I know he's accepted my apology from yesterday.

"Well, it is a classic," he says before walking to his own desk, and I can't stop the small smile he works up on my face.

What a cool dude.

And then, Elena comes in, and that weird tension that she and Stefan have going on ramps up to maximum awkward quick.

If I wasn't in such a good mood, I probably would gag at their lovelorn glances at each other as class starts.

It oddly enough reminds me of when I had a crush on Tyler in elementary school. She looks at him, he keeps looking, she looks away, he keeps looking. Like a game of eye tag where Stefan is always ready to tag her.

I chance a look at Caroline to see how she's doing, but she's not even looking at them, instead, actually paying attention to whatever the hell Tanner is talking about.

I should probably do that sometime, I think for a moment before shrugging the idea off. I'd pay attention after this douche canoe was dead and gone.

Besides, Alaric seemed like the cooler guy to listen to, anyway.

And cuter.

Hush, brain.

We can have crushes on a lot of these guys secretly, but we are not going the teacher/student route. Not to mention, the dude was very human, and that would never end well.

Oh yeah, what's Mr. T talking about again?

"Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration."

Oh! That's what the weird candle thing is for!

Suddenly, Mr. Tanner's eyes get that shark-like glint that usually appears when he sees someone goofing off, and his beady eyes glare at the forever romantic, Stefan.

"Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore? Ms. Gilbert?"

I have to bite my cheek so I don't laugh at how mad the old coot looks when they obviously don't care about being called out.

Weirdos.

———

I'm walking alone in the hallway, when I catch Bonnie and Caroline headed my way.

I quickly flutter over, wrapping an arm around my sister's shoulder, but they pay me no mind as they carry on their conversation as if I was there the whole time.

"Wait, I'm confused," Caroline says with a shake of her head, "Are you and Aless, psychic, or clairvoyant?"

My eyes widen like a deer in headlights and I nearly choke on my gum. "You told her already, Bonnie?!"

She gives me a coy look while she tucks a piece of her wavy brown hair behind her ear, "If you're allowed to have important supernatural talks without me, I'm allowed to do the same."

Very petty, Bons— but, fair enough.

"Yeah, she cornered me in my car this morning and made flower petals float in my lap. After I had a good ten minute flip out, she explained everything. Which brings me to me being mad at you! How could you not tell me, your favorite person ever, that you were magic?!" Caroline whisper yells.

"I couldn't even tell Bons for the longest time! I just recently decided to break the rules since I could tell she was starting to feel some of the ju-ju," I reply back, my hands raising in mock surrender.

"Which brings me back to your question," Bonnie gracefully interjects, stopping me and Caroline's argument from snowballing. "Technically, we're witches— according to Lessy and Grams. Our ancestors were like, these mega-witches from Salem and everything."

I smile cockily, stuffing my hands in my hoodie pocket, "Damn straight, our line goes back over a thousand years. We're pretty much the blue bloods of the supernatural community."

Caroline stops in the middle of the hallway, looking like we slapped her. "Supernatural community? You mean it's not just you guys—!"

I promptly slapped my hand over her mouth that was increasing in volume.

Let's hope Stefan is distracted by Doppelena.

"Hush, Caroline!" Bonnie whisper yells urgently, before dragging both me and Caroline into the nearest girls' bathroom.

A few girls are lingering in here, I think one of them is named Dana and I also see that bitch, Tiki, from cheerleading, but that's besides the point. I strut in front of Care and Bons before loudly clapping my hands.

"Alright, ladies, time to evacuate this bathroom and go literally anywhere else!"

Tiki rolls her dark brown eyes at me before cocking her hip out, "And, why exactly should I listen to you, Bennett?"

I raise a brow at the obvious challenge.

'Girl World' is very much like in Mean Girls— and Tiki likes to test the hierarchy that me, Caroline, and Bonnie have established, often.

I walk close to her, and whisper, "Well, you obviously don't have to. Just like I don't have to let it slip that you tried to make out with Daniel McCormick at the bonfire. I'm sure his girlfriend would love that."

She gives me the stupidest stunned look, then quickly grabs her two other nobodies and exits the bathroom. Quiet Dana quickly grabs her stuff and I give her a small friendly wave as she walks out.

Nice girl. Shame she dies.

Caroline let's out a low whistle before grinning at my 'mean girl' antics, "Damn, Aless. Good to see you're still worthy of being co-captain."

I check the stalls of the bathroom as I let out a laugh, "I didn't get here by being nice."

All empty.

Bonnie sighs, "God, I hate her. You'd think she'd quit acting like that after last year."

I shrug my shoulders.

Some girls are permanently twats.

But, back to business.

"Back on topic, ladies. We've only got another ten minutes before we gotta jet to last period. So, the answer to your question is 'yes, Caroline', there are a lot of different supernatural breeds out there," I quickly explain, wanting to get the conversation done and over with.

Bonnie sets her bag on one of the sinks, leaning against it before adding, "Vampires, werewolves, the whole shebang."

Caroline's pretty face is a hilarious mask of shock and slight disbelief, before it relaxes into acceptance.

"I guess that makes sense, after all if there's an apple it would make sense that there's a whole tree with leaves, branches, and roots, too."

I blink a bit at just how good that analogy is, giving her a quiet round of applause that she responds back with a mock bow. Sometimes she's the smartest person I know, I swear. Bonnie smiles at her, probably super happy that Caroline is taking it so well.

Me and her are way more alike than I thought.

Not to say that me and Bonnie don't have our very obvious differences, we do.

I'm not very big on rules, she likes to follow them. I'm very much a spontaneous person, and I do things as I please, sometimes not thinking about the consequences. Bonnie is so kind and thoughtful, I don't think she's ever thought about what she's wanted in her entire life.

We balance each other out perfectly.

"Oh, yeah," I pause, realizing something, "Does this mean you're telling Elena about the 'witch' thing, too?"

Please say 'no'. Please say 'no'.

I think she sees my prayer on my face, because she says, "Not yet. It can wait till this weekend."

Then I feel a buzz in my pocket, and see that it's a text from Bonnie, herself.

—

From:

Bons

Msg: IM GONNA TALK TO STEFAN FIRST. WANT 2 SEE IF HE IS A THREAT.

—

I nod in acquiescence when I see Caroline check her makeup in the mirror, the warning bell going off. We all look at each other, smiling, and I'm so glad that my main survival group is all on the same page.

Well, almost the whole group.

Meeting adjourned.

———

You know what the best public high school lunch is?

Easy: Mozzarella Sticks.

Sometimes, they're the only thing carrying me through the school day— but, the problem is, you need to be in the front of the lunch line to get the hot, gooey, good-tasting ones.

Now, I already know what you're asking yourself.

Alessia, how do you always get your favorite cheese-sticks, hot and heavenly, every time?

I'll tell you how: I always go to the bathroom fifteen minutes before lunch starts on Cheesestick Day.

And that's exactly where I found myself at the moment— meandering through the hallway with the hall pass dangling limply in my wrist.

Blowing air out of my mouth in a dramatic huff, I enjoy the eerie silence of the school hallways. There was always something kinda other-worldly about an empty, silent school. My hand trails alongside the lockers as I continue to hum that infernal Care Bear song, thinking about everything that had happened so far, and everything that would come.

Specifically, that I could die in the middle of all this mess— and I had no idea what would happen after.

The way things were going, my death was very plausible. What would happen after? Would I just forget everything and restart this all again? Just how long had I been in this cycle?

I didn't know how I felt about that.

Everyone else would wind up either on the Other Side or finding peace— did that mean that I would never see my friends again once death had separated us?

I'm shaken out of my nihilistic downward spiral by a sudden appearance at my left, making me jump.

Seeing forest green eyes, I glare at the sneaky Stefan Salvatore for damn near giving me a heart attack. My hand harshly connects with his shoulder, and I can tell he's faking it when he rubs his shoulder and 'ow's.

"Oh— shut up, you big faker," I call him out, a spike of 'I knew it!' flooding me when his faux-pout cracks into a derisive grin, "It's rude to sneak up on people, Salvatore."

Stefan's green eyes are bright as he jokingly puts his hands up in surrender walking alongside me— looking awfully cool in his stupid brown leather jacket as he smirks down at me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that the hallways were a daydreaming-zone— I'll be more careful next time not to interrupt you," he sarcastically apologizes, but jokes on him.

I learned how to deflect that years ago, via Bonnie tantrums.

"Good," I accept his fake apology sincerely, shaking my head in mock-shame at the surprisingly-immature vampire as he chuckles in disbelief, "Now, be gone. I was sinking into a depression before you came over, and I have a schedule to keep."

A thick brow arches on his stupid handsome face, and I feel my face warm slightly at how deeply he's looking at me— as if he's actually trying to make sure I don't wade in my depression pool.

"Oh, if that's the case— I think I'll stay," Stefan stubbornly replies, his smirk widening as my glare turns up in ferocity. "Wouldn't want to leave you in a less-than-happy state for your friends, now would we?"

I roll my eyes, knowing he's right, but not liking it since he's a stranger.

"Fine," I huff, "But, you'd better be funny before we get to the cafeteria. Otherwise, I'll never recover in time."

This makes the broody Salvatore's brow return to its furrowed-state, which makes me smile. I was demanding the impossible.

Humor from the humorless. Funny from a fun-sponge.

And judging by the deep frown on his face— I've stumped him. Or, at least, that's what I thought I had done, before his face lit up like a lamp in an epiphany.

"I got it," Stefan says confidently, walking slightly ahead of me and backwards so that he continues to face me through our journey to the cafeteria.

"What do you call an alligator in a vest?" He asks, and I immediately groan.

"Stefan, please don't do this," I beg, face descending into a pout as his green gaze turns self defensive.

"Hey! Trust me," he replies, gaze bright and playful— unlike anything I saw in the original timeline— but, I absolutely do not believe him.

I already feel myself cringing in preparation for how terrible this joke is going to be, and I hate it.

My eyes are serious, spotting the cafeteria a bit behind Stefan as I say, "I'm telling you right now that if you finish this joke— it's gonna throw of my groove for the rest of the day. And, I'll be forced to throw you out of the nearest window."

His gaze is firm on mine as we near the cafeteria, the lunch bell sounding as I groan in defeat. Stefan grins victoriously, clearing his throat as we get in line for food.

"What do you call an alligator in a vest?" Stefan asks.

"What?" I moan, wanting him to get it over with already.

I hear other people begin to file in behind us as we grab food and place it on our trays, the loud shuffle of feet making Stefan y'all louder as he says, "An investigator."

The lunch lady is in front of me, waiting for me to swipe my I.D. to let the state pay for my lunch— but, my dead-eyed gaze slowly swivels to Stefan.

I give him a good hard look, making him looking like he was about to explode with laughter as I said in a dead-pan, "If there were no witnesses, you would've paid dearly for that."

Stefan finally breaks into a low barrage of chuckles as I swipe my card and grab my tray— but, I see him lurch forward like he's been shoved, getting marinara all over his shirt. My caramel eyes immediately snap to whoever's behind him, only to see a glaring Tyler looking at Stefan.

Huh?

"Hey!" I yell, setting my tray on the salad bar, and yanking Ty back before he goes at Stefan again.

My arms twine around his muscular, tanned one like vines, and I see someone go over to help clean up Stefan. Lo and behold, Elena Gilbert has come to save the day. Tyler's angry dark eyes snap to mine just as Matt comes to help me hold him back, and he angrily brushes us both off.

"I'm fine. Why don't you go help Stefan, Alessia?" he snapped, before disappearing into the amassing crowd now surrounding the lunch line.

What the hell was his problem?

———

Me, Bonnie, Caroline. and Elena are all sitting outside of the Grill.

I sip on my orange juice while reaching for another of mine and Caroline's chili fries while Bonnie talks about the comet.

"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom," she says with a teasing wiggle of her fingers, "The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, that it created a bed of supernatural activity."

I roll my eyes before taking another fry, "I'm sureGrams knows since she was there. The woman's old as dirt."

Bonnie smacks me on my shoulder as Caroline and Elena giggle at my jab.

Caroline decides to pick up on my joking energy by adding on, "Yeah. Then you poured Grams another shot, and she told you about the aliens."

I choke laugh on my fry as Bonnie tries to stifle her own laugh. We had all gotten into the habit over the years of making fun of Grams, so Bonnie didn't look at all bothered like she has in my memories, instead accepting the joke for what it was. Caroline then turns her attention back to Elena, and I take a looong draw from my orange juice in preparation for what would happen.

"So then what?" The blonde prods at the brunette.

"So then, nothing!"

A fine blonde brow arched in disbelief as she rested her face on her hand, "You and Stefan 'talked' all night? There was no sloppy first kiss, or touchy freely of any kind?"

The fuddy dud Elena replies, "Nope. We didn't go there."

"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends," my brow arches at that, "Okay? You are supposed to share the smut."

I roll my caramel eyes at Caroline's shenanigans, "I'm really regretting buying you that spicy romance novel as a gag gift. I'll never be able to unhear you saying 'smut'."

She then squints at me, playfully glaring before turning back to the doppelgänger. Elena looked down at the piece of paper she'd been folding for the last few minutes, "We just talked for hours."

"Okay, what is with the blockage? Just, jump his bones already! Okay— it's easy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Sex."

"Profound," Elena replies snarkily, and it makes me wanna hit her more than I usually do. But, instead I swallow it.

"You know, Elena," I say, trying to speed up her leaving already, "Care has a point. Every straight-leaning girl wants to be all up in that walking Adonis. I don't know why you're wasting time."

She looks down thoughtfully at that, before spinning around and grabbing her things from her chair. Bonnie looks a little surprised at her sudden movement and asks, "Where are you going?"

"Caroline and Alessia are right— it is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do."

And with that Elena walked away.

I look after her in confusion.

Did she forget we drove her here?

I raise an eyebrow at Bons and she shrugs, knowing Elena was probably walking back over here now. But, she then looks at me with an obvious question.

"So, I need to run to the library to finish up that assignment I got in AP Lit. Can you drop Elena off at the Salvatores?"

To protect her, is left unsaid, but I can practically hear it.

Groaning, I smack my head against the table as Elena finally gets her small ass back here. Bonnie sets her keys on top of my head before she fills in Elena that I'm taking her. The doppelgänger looks about as happy about this as I do.

Finally, I grab the keys and sit up, a loud sigh leaving my mouth as I wave 'bye' to Caroline. "Come on, Elena. I'll take you to your boo-thing's house."

I shouldn't have said it'd be a good day.

———

The car ride was so awkward that I breathed out a sigh of relief once we actually got to the Salvatore house.

Elena hops out of the car like her ass is on fire and I put the car in park. I'm not a dick, I won't leave her stranded out here with two vampires as much as I'd like to.

Mostly because Bonnie would be livid.

I crank up the radio, and for about thirty seconds I'm good; I'm vibing. But, that mood changes once Elena comes back to the car way too early.

What the hell, Damon?

"No one's home, and the door is locked," she says as she opens the car door and huffs into the seat.

I roll my eyes since I know they're both home, and I can't keep dealing with Elena without a ten-minute break in-between periods. I might crash the car on purpose to put me out of my misery.

So with that thought in mind, I kick my foot out of the driver's side door and get out, telling Elena to hang on for a sec.

Walking to the door and looking hard at it, i concentrate my magic on it, whispering, "Patentibus."

A prideful grin works it's way up my cheeks at the loud click I hear from the door, and I turn, waving to Elena to get her ass inside. She looks at me like I'm a criminal as she strides up to me.

"How'd you get it open?"

I decide to run with the 'criminal' persona and say nonchalantly, "There was a key in the plant. You're welcome."

Her glare is adorable in the idea that she thinks I'm intimidated by it, and then there's a very handsome Damon Salvatore leaning up against the front door.

"Welcome back, Aly Cat," he says to me with a smirk, and I glare back at him, "Breaking and entering is a crime, you know?"

Bastard.

He knew I was here and just wanted me to be part of the dickery.

Elena jumps at the voice and looks at me, flabbergasted.

"You know this guy, Alessia?"

I fight back an eye roll before stuffing my hands in my hoodie, "We're acquaintances."

He puts on a face of mock hurt and clutches his chest like I've wounded him, "Aw, I thought we were besties."

I shake my head at his nonsense, albeit, gorgeous nonsense, and he turns his attention to poor little Elena.

"You must be Elena," he says, getting way too into her personal space to make her feel uncomfortable, which she obviously is.

Amateur.

"I'm Damon. Stefan's brother."

His blue eyes are flashing mischievously, and I'm seeing in full swing his alluring 'bad boy' charm.

She blinks up at him, shaking her head slightly, "Stefan never told me he had a brother."

Damon then raises his eyebrows playfully, luring Elena into the mystery of why Stefan didn't tell her.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."

I, then, promptly turn to go sit my ass in the car when Damon pops up next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and steering me back to the entrance, "You too, Lessia! All are welcome in House Salvatore."

I mutter, "Even the unwilling?"

He leans down to my ear and I can feel his breath on my neck, making my heart race.

What's with this guy and personal space?

Then he whispers back, "Especially the unwilling."

Ugh, the man is a gorgeous vampire headache.

He releases me, going over to guide Elena to the living room that's probably called something a lot fancier, like 'foyier', and she looks around at all the antiques and gorgeous dark wood furniture.

I should probably learn the different types of wood besides white oak. I'm gonna start looking uneducated.

"Wow," Elena sighs, entranced by the boardinghouse's splendor, "This is your living room?"

Damon shrugs slightly, and it calls my attention to his now very visible muscular arms.

And can I hear a goddamn amen. Such pretty— brain can't handle.

FOCUS!

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction," he says nonchalantly as if everyone has these. Well maybe in his time they did. "It's a little kitschy for my taste."

After a short pause, he turns towards Elena, and I leave her to his mercy as I pick up an old looking book from the corner table I'm next to. I'm sure he won't mind if I explore while he does his thing.

Huh, a second edition 'Alice in Wonderland.' I'm jealous.

I listen to Damon speak as I carefully lead through the aged pages.

"I see why my brother's so smitten," he starts off, and if I didn't know any better— I'd say he sounded genuine.

"It's about time. For a while there, I thought he'd never get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him," Damon finishes.

Oh yeah, the whole 'who's Katherine?' caper.

I'd almost forgotten about how stupid Elena was gonna be for the next week or so...

Well, moreso than usual, anyway.

Couldn't really understand why she thought she was entitled to so much personal info when they've only talked for a couple days. How very like Elena to be entitled.

She looks very concerned at the moment about this 'ex-girlfriend' of his, as if he should've been single up until he met her.

"The last one?" The doppelgänger asks, confused for some reason.

"Yeah, Katherine. His girlfriend?" A shake of her head and her display of prominent worried doe eyes, and I can see that Damon knows he's got her, "Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

"Nope."

"Oops," Liar, i think as Damon continues, "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now... Or, maybe he didn't want to tell you, because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."

Damon gives her a mischievous smirk and I can't help but smile. Damon the Dick was an absolute treat to watch in action, and the fact that it was causing trouble for Doppelena was just the cherry on top.

Elena boldly looks up at him, a certain stubbornness in her eyes that I'm well acquainted with.

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."

"I'm a fatalist," he quips back without even blinking, "Hello, Stefan."

At hearing his name, I put the ancient book back down and finally glance around the room.

It's weird seeing this in person, instead of the window of my memories. Stefan's face is set in stone as he sees Elena next to Damon, and when he hears the book hit the table, his serious emerald gaze realizes I'm there as well. We lock eyes for a moment, until his gaze turns angry and accusing and he snaps back to Elena.

"Elena," he greets icily, his voice cool— like he's trying his hardest not to beat the shit out of Damon.

Even though he'd lose.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Stefan indirectly asks, continuing to glare at a smug, blue-eyed bastard.

Elena just smiles warmly, walking towards him— and, I can't tell whether or not she's pretending to not hear the strain in his voice.

"I know. I should've called, I just—."

Damon cuts her off, "Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome any time! Isn't she, Stefan?" He then pauses before turning to throw a wink my way, "You too, Aly Cat."

I can't stop the eye roll that takes me, starting to make my exit towards the entrance, and fully done with the vampire melodrama today.

"I'll wait in the car. See you Salvatores.. well, whenever I see ya."

Then I walked out, unknowingly leaving two brothers looking after me, a bit stunned and a bit intrigued.

Stupid pretty vampires.

I'm not getting roped into your weird macho challenge.

———

A/n: Hey! So, since someone asked, I'm really only writing this story till either season 3 or 4. Clearly Alessia is unintentionally changing a lot, and I have no idea what that would do to any of the seasons past those.

Thanks for all the love and comments, they really are super motivating to keep spitting out chapters. Have a good night!

———