Arcane: def. secret, mysterious, understood only by few

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Chapter 6: I Still Don't Get The Candle Thing

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Damn, I look good.

After quickly dropping Elena off after she got the ol' cold shoulder from Stefan, and a power combat training session, I had hopped in the shower and found myself with some extra time.

I had started by just taking some extra time to make myself feel pretty by straightening my hair— but, it had quickly descended into a full-on get-ready after analyzing however my body decided to be shaped today.

My thighs aren't thin, they've leaned heavily towards being thick and muscular with all of the competitive sports. I have wide hips, and tiny tits.

Is it my dream body?

Nope.

But, I do love it for being unique.

Not to mention, my ass looks fantastic in skinny jeans, which I'm wearing tonight. I stick with my regular black booties because, for one, they're only a couple inches tall so they're easy to do pretty much everything in, and two, they're so cute for fall weather.

I grab a burgundy spaghetti string top that has a cute little snakeskin pattern, and a jean jacket. Grabbing a gold ring belt, I wrap it around my belt loops before grabbing some gold jewelry and hoop earrings. My makeup has also come together brilliantly, and I'm starting to think that maybe this stupid comet is actually good luck! A dust of warm brown shimmery eyeshadow, a swing of perfect winged eyeliner, my skin is literally pristine, and my cheeks are rosy.

Holy shit, have I peaked? Is this as pretty as I get?

Well, if that happens to be the case I don't particularly care, this is pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I pluck at my now straight hair, and sigh happily at the amount of volume I've got going on.

Maybe it's time to dye it again?

I shrug my shoulders before walking downstairs to plop my butt on the couch 'till Bons is ready to go. As I pick up a magazine on the coffee table, I notice a certain Grams-shaped blur inching closer to me from my peripheral.

"Lessy, my girl. We have much to discuss."

Ugh, I don't wanna.

I still manage to pull a fake smile up as she sits in her rocking chair across the living room. She sighs before wrapping herself in her bathrobe.

"How have you been, Lessy? These visions you've been getting, they aren't harming you in anyway are they?"

Nah, if the memories really bothered me, I would've shaved my head and gotten a tattoo at this point.

I shake my head slowly, looking up into her soulful gaze, before pointedly saying, "Don't worry, Grams. This Bennett witch is doing dandy, since I'm aware of what's going on. Can't say the same for the other..."

It's Grams' turn to sigh. Me and her had gone back and forth like this recently in the last few years. Me constantly trying to get her to be honest with Bons, her coming up with a million reasons not to.

"It is not time. You know that," she replies, muttering a couple words in Latin, and I see the fireplace light up like it has a switch.

"Well, Grams— no offense— but, it's been almost ten years. I need to know if the 'time' is gonna happen before I'm as brittle as you."

She rolls her mature eyes at my antics before chuckling, grabbing Em's grimoire off the corner table, "You are very amusing, as usual."

I'm about to respond that I wasn't kidding, when a flurry of high heeled shoes thunder down the staircase. In struts, the one and only, Bons.

She smiles brightly at me, "Lessy! You look so good! I told you that straight hair would look good on you."

"You look gorgeous, too, Bons," I say, taking in her royal blue and black blouse combo.

Her brown hair is curled lightly and framed around her face, and a splash of grey eyeshadow makes her green eyes really pop. She also has a long sparkly necklace draped along her neck, and I can't help but think Emily's talisman would go better with the outfit.

Oh, well.

I then smile cheekily, "And as for my hair— you've got your brand of chemical warfare for yours, and I've got mine."

She playfully shoves my shoulder before turning to Grams, and I watch her entire demeanor change.

Now looking much more professional instead of warm and endearing, Bonnie looks at Grams and her glass of Jack and grimoire almost clinically, and for a moment it makes me a bit sad. It was never my intention to be more of a driving force between them, but Grams brought it on herself.

Still though— if my plans went as optimistically as possible, all of my Fantastic Four would make it through alive— and my Grams was both consciously and unconsciously pushing the both of us away with all of these secrets.

"We'll be back before two, Grams," Bonnie says in a very controlled tone, but Grams doesn't even notice it as she takes another sip of her Jack Daniels and nods sagely.

"Be careful, girls. This comet will only bring out the evil hidden in this town," she warns.

Me and Bonnie don't respond, just nod at the same time before making our way out the front door.

Turning to double check on Bons, I can see the gears turning inside her head as we get in the car. Those heavy thoughts promised that something interesting would happen tonight.

———

We've been driving for a few minutes now in complete silence.

Guessing by the direction: we are picking up Caroline first— and I am sitting there trying to figure out what is turning around in my little sister's head.

She suddenly turns to me— green eyes very serious, and somber before saying, "I'm going to talk to Stefan Salvatore tonight."

For a few moments there, she looks like she's scared I am going to be upset with her over it, when my train of thought is actually running the complete opposite direction.

It'd probably be for the best to have Bonnie introduce herself as a power player before the rest of the chessboard files into town. The earlier, the better.

I can't help but smile mockingly at when I thought I was going to be able to follow the original timeline.

Just my existence had proven to have a considerable butterfly effect that would most likely drastically change the future.

Tyler wasn't a total rage cage; Bonnie wasn't totally reliant on Elena's friendship; Caroline had someone who genuinely cared about her; etc.

Really, I had changed too much already to try and keep everything on track like before. Not to mention, I'd have to sacrifice the majority of my 'No Death' squad to keep that timeline— so, to hell with that.

If I was gonna mess with it a bit, I might as well mess with a lot and make it work double-time in my favor.

We, Bennetts, really do like making a mess of what nature intended.

I nod at Bons in acquiescence, "That's fine. After all, I'm like ninety nine percent sure Stefan wouldn't try to harm you, not to mention you know enough light self defense magic that a vegetarian vampire shouldn't be a problem. But, if you're trying to talk to 'big brother' Salvatore— I want to be there just in case, capisce?"

Bonnie blinks at me slightly, a knowing grin appearing on her face soon after.

"Capisce."

———

Caroline is as sunny, happy, and amazing as she always has been as soon as she gets into the car— and, I can't stop the sigh of relief that leaves me when I see that Stefan's brutal rejection hasn't upset her too much.

She talks animatedly about several different things as we start the drive up to Elena's, before gasping loudly, "Speaking of 'eye candy,' can you guys use your witchy powers to find that hottie from Mainline?"

Both me and Bonnie blink in shock knowing exactly what hottie she was referring to. We both had thought she hadn't seen Damon since she hadn't brought it up before now.

God fucking dammit, Caroline.

I shrug nonchalantly, like what I heard didn't bother me as I peak at her through the rear view mirror to gauge her reaction, "That hottie was a vamp, Care."

Care dramatically gasps and clutches the vervain locket me and Bonnie got for her yesterday.

I also had her on a strict regimen of morning vervain tea so she'd be safe— but, back to the convo.

Her cornflower blue eyes were wide and she looked positively distraught as she asked, "Are you saying that all vamps are that drool-worthy?"

Very much so.

"All that and a side of beans, chica."

———

After picking up a 'more moody than usual' Elena, we parked our car up by the town hall, walking down to the park area.

And even I had to admit, the place looked magical.

White lights hung in several aspens and other trees I don't know the name of, there were people starting to light their candles so they could pass the flame, a gesture of good will to our neighbors apparently. We all grab our own candles, and I lose myself in thought.

It's like a preemptive wake for the town of Mystic Falls, I think darkly.

Our group waltzes up to Tyler and Matt, but Ty automatically bypasses the rest and just hugs me tightly.

Shit, I forgot to check on him.

He was probably feeling awful about Vicki getting attacked in the woods, that he left her alone. Tyler Lockwood could really be a sweetheart at times.

I squeeze him back tightly as everyone looks on, Bonnie, Care, and Matt with some sadness, and the forever clueless Elena with confusion.

"You okay, Ty?" I ask softly, rubbing his back as he buries his head in my neck.

"It's been rough. Can we talk again later?" He murmurs back from within my hair. I nod and he lets me go slowly, like it's hard to.

Poor baby.

Then, Elena calls attention to herself, per the norm, by sticking her candle in Matt's lit one, saying 'thank you' as if he'd done it on his own. Matt looks slightly confused but rolls with it, and I can see the lovesick look in his eyes.

Double poor baby.

Elena then gives him a warm smile back, further encouraging the lovelorn look in Matt's baby blues. Then, she turns to light the next person's candle— but, it's very-surprisingly, not Stefan.

What the hell? Where's that gorgeous vampire hiding?

He was there before!

I turn to start looking for him, and bump into a very familiar broad muscular chest.

Sweet Jesus-

Stefan's soft forest green eyes meet mine, looking absolutely splendid in any lighting once again, but this time it's the glow of candlelight.

Wait, his is already lit?

As I try to regain my bearings, a smile works it's way up my face at his mirrored one.

"Hello, Alessia. Fancy seeing you here?" He greets teasingly.

I feel myself flush for a second, then looking literally anywhere other than at the piercing emerald eyes in front of me.

"Well, it'd be rude to be the only person in town besides my Grams to not participate, don't ya think?"

Stefan smiles a little bigger at my cheek, before lifting his candle up to make me notice it, "Speaking of which, you're looking a little flameless there."

I smile at him before rolling my caramel eyes, before moving my hand over the empty wick, causing it to light. "Thank you, but as you can see it's already lit."

The chuckle that leaves his attractive lips makes my tummy feel funny, and I once again find myself surprised at how easy it is to make him laugh and why he didn't do it more often in what I remembered.

Then, in a moment of weakness, our eyes meet again. His gaze is intense— like he has something he needs to say.

I'm about to ask what's up, when my thought process is ruined by an annoyingly-familiar voice.

"Oh, hey, Stefan," Doppelena says, standing off to the side of us. It's obvious that she's not a very happy camper at the moment, but she keeps the fake smile up, "Just the guy I wanted to talk to."

Ew.

I roll my eyes in annoyance, promptly turning on my boot heel to exit the scene.

"Catch ya later, Stefan," I say with a mock wave behind me, and I proceed with my mission to go talk to Tyler.

———

Okay, so— I can't find the fucker anywhere.

I walk into the Grill, glancing around to see if he's anywhere in here, when I see someone wave their hand at me to get my attention. My light brown eyes immediately link with an ice blue pair and I inwardly groan.

Another one?

Did the universe decide 'let's test Alessia's willpower around the most attractive men to walk the Earth?'

I walk over to him sitting at the bar, and he gives me his signature smirk, "Hey there, Aly Cat. Aren't you supposed to be lighting birthday candles?"

I take the barstool next to him, and he compels the bartender- Steven? Murray?- to bring me a double shot of bourbon. "To be honest with you, D, I really don't get the candle thing. Like I think I get the concept, but I'm not a hundred percent."

He chuckles mockingly as I take a sip of the bourbon. And let me tell you, that shit was strong. Lucky for me, I'm a party regular so I've learned how to control my facial reactions to bad drinks.

I turn to look at him, "So, did you do anything interesting today besides dragging me into your little dominance competition with Stefan?"

Now it's his turn to roll his pretty blue eyes, "Aw, come on, you know it was funny. I saw you smiling behind that book."

"Funny? Yes. Annoying? Also, yes. I don't wanna be part of you guys' big dick competition. Not my business, and I personally don't care about it enough to get involved."

A dark brow quirks on his handsome face as he turns to peer at me again, "What? You're not mad I'm being a dick to your little vampire BFF?"

I laugh at that and take another sip, feeling my tummy start to get warm. "Hell no, me and Stefan just met recently, and yeah, he's cool, but I'm not trying to be all up in your family business. I'm here to get you into the tomb and back out with Kat, and that's it."

That's a bit of a lie, I'm in this mess for at least the next ten years give or take.

Damon smirks at that, bemused, and looks like he's about to ask something else when we're interrupted by another annoying voice. What's with me getting interrupted by my least favorite people today?

"I know you," Vicki Donovan states, and after rolling my eyes at my absolute shit luck, I notice the large bandage on her neck. I expect to feel something: guilt, shame, anything, but nada. I don't feel anything as I look at her drugged out face besides a bit of pity for Matt. Whether it's me feeling bad that he has her as his only remaining family member, or that she's gonna end up leaving him too because she couldn't control her urges, I wasn't sure.

Damon looks absolutely amused, probably surmising that Stefan did try to compel her and happy it was so weak. Vicki then glances at me, a disgusted look on her face.

"Of course you know this guy, Alessia. Wasn't enough for just your grandma to be an alcoholic, huh?" she says venomously, and I just raise my drink to her mockingly before downing the whole thing. Damon laughs loudly at my nonchalant attitude towards her jab, causing Vicki to look back at him in faint recognition.

"Well, that's rude and unfortunate," he says, sizing her up with his beautiful ice blue eyes, before turning back to me, the obvious question in his eyes.

"Knock yourself out," is all I say, and Damon's grin takes on a more feral look. Hot damn. Now that's a look I want on my wall.

Vicki stupidly wanders closer to me and the beautiful man next to me, and I wave the bartender for another drink for me.

"I don't- I don't know how, but... Your face," Tears start welling up in her eyes as I start sipping on my next glass.

She chuckles it away, wandering off towards the bathroom with an, "Excuse me. Sorry."

Damon watches her leave wolfishly before looking back at me, "You're no Glinda the Good Witch, are you?"

I laugh, throwing my head back, and I see him examine my figure intensely in my peripheral, "Good and bad are human constructs to try and dictate behavior that's conducive to the survival of my species. There's no good or bad, Damon, there just is."

He looks at me like I'm a puzzle he can't figure out, and I look him dead in the eye before downing the rest of my drink again. I hop off of the barstool and give Damon a pat on the shoulder, "Bye, Damon. Thanks for the drinks."

I walk out, feeling his eyes on me the entire way.

*

I walked around looking for everyone for another thirty minutes before walking back to the Grill. I'd totally forgotten that that's where everyone was when they started looking for Vicki in my memories. I walk in at the same time as Jeremy Gilbert, another one of my not-so favorites. We both approach the group table at the same time, and before I can even say 'hi' to the rest of the group, Jeremy starts spouting off.

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"

Tyler's brown eyes harden as he looks at the younger Gilbert before replying mockingly, "You're her stalker. You tell us."

Jeremy gets more urgent, "I can't find her."

Tyler immediately banters back, "She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

I see Matt getting more and more concerned by the second, while the rest of the table really only cares that Matt is getting upset rather than that his sister is missing. Well, I mean, Elena looks bothered by the 'pill pusher' comment, but not because it was rude to her brother but rather because it made her look bad.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Doppelena asks.

"Ask him," Ty quips back.

"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asks angrily, all his teen angst practically spilling on the wood table. Caroline and Bonnie sip their drinks, clearly enjoying the drama but not saying anything, and I can't say I'm not entertained as well.

"Are you dealing?" Elena asks more pressingly.

"She's never gonna go for you," Tyler says, his gaze unflinching on Jeremy.

"She already did, over and over and over again," Jeremy replies cockily, and I scrunch my nose up at how gross he makes it sound. Sex isn't bad, but Jesus, this awkward situation was.

Even as Tyler bats him off with a 'yeah, right' the rest of the table is stunned that Vicki actually took Jeremy's very desperate V-card, and I'll be the first to say that seeing this get messier was hilarious. Caroline is the first to break the momentary shocked silence.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Then she corrects herself, "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

Slay him, Carolineeee.

Tyler immediately states like it's a fact, "No way. There's no way."

Jeremy's glare turns cruel, and I prep myself for what he's about to say. I knew that Ty didn't force himself on Vicki in my timeline, but depending on what Jeremy said, he may or may not be walking out of here to find Vicki with a bloody nose.

"What? I'm better than some stupid fucking jock who's own parents would disown him for fucking her, let alone being with her."

Yup, that'll do it.

I yank my fist back and slam it hard into Jeremy's nose, and he falls back on the floor. Elena cries out and immediately rushes over to his aid as I shake my knuckles loose. It didn't hurt that bad, but punches were painful for all parties involved, one moreso than the other. Tyler, Matt, Caroline, and Bonnie are all stunned at my violent actions, but I can see in Tyler's eyes that he knew I wouldn't let that shit slide.

The doppelgänger is now glaring at me, "What the hell is wrong with you, Alessia?!?"

I sigh, and I feel Caroline move to my side, grabbing my knuckles and looking at me in what I'm guessing is an expression of worried, proud, and surprised all wrapped into one.

"Look, Elena," I start, glaring down at the little shit while blood ran down his nose, "You need to keep your brother in check. Talk shit, get hit."

Matt looks so upset, but I know in his eyes that he agrees with what I said, "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?"

I make quick eye contact with Bonnie and I can tell she both approves and disapproves of what I did, as we all start to file out of the Grill to 'look' for Vicki.

Ugh. I don't wanna.

———

Tyler has dipped during the search, I'm guessing he forgot about our talk, but I'd get him tomorrow.

In the meantime, me, Bons, and Care all sat at the Grill trying to relax after such a busy night.

"I can't believe you punched Jeremy, Lessy," Bonnie exasperatedly sighs as she sips her lemonade.

"I did what I needed to," I shrug.

She glares at me, but there's no real heat in it before she laughs, "No. You did what you wanted to."

Caroline laughs with her, like a traitor, before adding, "That's literally how you live your life, Aless, doing what you want when you want. You're a total babe, and I will never know how you're single!"

"I'm mean," I affirm quickly as we see the flawless Stefan Salvatore go over and talk to Matt.

"Ugh," Caroline sighs, "It's just so much drama. Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"

Bonnie 'yeah's in agreement, and I nod saying, "It's the daddy issues, chica. They're powerful motivators."

Stefan suddenly walks up to our table and I couldn't stop myself from checking him out if I wanted to. Which I didn't.

Pretty people make me weak.

"Oh, hi, Alessia. Heard about your hand, you okay?"

His eyes are so green, and soft, and caring. I wanna swim in 'em.

Focus.

"Oh, I'm fine," I finally sigh, rotating my slightly aching wrist, "It felt great,"

He shakes his pretty bronze head in mock disapproval, but I can see the amusement in his eyes. The vampire then turns to Bonnie and Caroline. I hadn't known if Bonnie had talked to him while I was gone, but by the knowing look on his face I know now she had probably put the fear of God into him.

"Have any of you seen Elena?"

I'm too tired to be annoyed, so I just reply, "Probably patching up her brother's face."

The table stifles a laugh before Bonnie bends down, reaching into her purse.

"I'm gonna give you—," She starts saying while writing down something on a piece of paper, "—Elena's cellphone number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her that I said so."

I was curious before if this would happen at all. But, whatever Stefan and Bonnie had discussed, she felt at enough ease to continue to allow him to know her best friend. Bonnie was a really good judge of character, though, so I knew that Stefan's broody, apologetic nature would probably win her over, but not this fast.

She passes him the piece of paper and everyone can see when she senses the presence of death with him. However, she powers through it like a champ, and continues to smile warmly at him.

We all went home safe and sound that night, and Caroline never got used as a blood bag by Damon.

A very nice night, after all, I thought as I went to sleep, trying to ignore the slight pulsing in my hand.

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A/n: Hey guys! Thanks again for all of the comments, I'm so happy to see who you're shipping and what you think of my story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it!

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