Discombobulated: def. emotionally confused or uncertain

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Chapter 9: I Need All The Drinks.

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Damon won't quit squeezing my hip trying to hint at something— and honestly, my hip is getting bruised because I have no idea what the hell it is he's trying to hint at.

I know that somehow Caroline got Damon and Stefan separated so that the elder could talk to the doppelgänger, but I didn't know how. Um, maybe, he went to grab drinks with her?

Doesn't sound right.

I kept trying to think about it as he squeezed my hip once more and that seems to do the trick.

Oh my god. I'm an idiot— duh, dancing.

I blink up awful prettily at Damon, sweetly asking, "Damon, could you please dance with me?"

He blinks back a small, surprised expression. Damon had clearly thought the situation was hopeless, too.

Damon smirks before shaking his beautiful, dark head softly. "No, sweetheart. I'm not feeling too good tonight, Alessia."

I put on my most downcast expression, eyebrows furrowed, eyes big and innocent with a slight pout on my red lips. Stefan suddenly cuts in, "Well, if he won't— then, I can, Alessia."

Whoa. That was easy.

I blink a bit before smiling warmly at him, even though I can definitely feel Elena's heated glare melting the side of my frontal lobe.

He steps forward offering his arm, and I gently tuck my arm into his, nodding to Damon as we leave.

Stefan takes us over to the dance floor, promptly tucking me into a firm waltz position. The distance between us is professional, but the hand grasping mine is gentle and sweet. The song is soft in the background, and the glow from the candles and hanging lights is awful romantic.

Not to mention, the younger Salvatore looks like one of the most beautiful men in the world in his suit. Really. It was hard to remember that he had a girlfriend.

So, that was the only thought I held on to.

I might not like Elena, but I've never gone purposefully out of my way to cause her pain— and hitting on Stefan would definitely do that.

...

But, looking couldn't hurt.

"So," I start awkwardly, very vividly remembering that weird moment last night, "Wonderful weather tonight, huh?"

He chuckles, shaking his head as he moves us around the dance floor, "Really, Alessia? That's the best you've got?"

I puff my cheeks slightly in annoyance, "You got something better?"

I can feel his smirk as his arm lifts to guide me through a spin, pulling me ever so slightly closer to him.

"Well, yeah. I guess I'll start with why you were so calm about Mr. Tanner?"

I smile mischievously, I have no intention of telling him anything about that, "Wonderful question. The simple answer is that God picks favorites, and so do I."

His thick brow arches, and his eyes glitter with something more akin to curiosity rather than the disgust or disappointment I had anticipated from my answer.

"And, I'd be right to guess that Elena is not that?"

That makes me roll my eyes in annoyance, "I figured you'd be all over that since she's your girlfriend. Can't protect her on your own, Salvatore?"

He smirks, but his shoulders stiffen under my hand, "Nothing like that. Just curious as to why you dislike her so much."

I raise an eyebrow at him, trying to change pace with him as the second song starts up.

"You've been around long enough to take a guess why. Me and Elena are very different people."

"Yes," Stefan starts nonchalantly, "But, you don't seem like the type of person to actively dislikesomeone on a regular basis. So, why her?"

I blinked, a bit stunned that he had noticed that about me from our limited interactions, "Look, Stefan. I'm not trying to shit talk Elena. Everybody's got flaws. Hell, I do, too. Her's just really annoy me."

He doesn't let up, "Like?"

I roll my eyes.

Fine, if he wanted the dirt on Elena, I'd give it to him. He was too twitterpated to notice them when he was stalking her in the first timeline, I sincerely doubt that my opinion of her will change much.

"Well, if you're really curious— sure. I don't like Elena because I don't like how she behaves and how she treats others. Elena Gilbert can be very sweet, but she's been treated like a perfect person since the day I met her.

"Her parents favored her over Jeremy, Caroline's parents always pressured her to be more like Elena, and all the boys have always liked her. Because of this, she's never had to interact with hardship until her parents passed away, and that's made her somewhat entitled."

I pause, gauging his reaction.

He doesn't look too angry, more like pensive.

"You look like there's more," he mutters into my ear after spinning me once again, causing my cheeks to heat up at his newfound closeness.

"There is— but, you'll notice it pretty soon. Not that they'll irritate you, too. Just saying you might see things from my perspective."

His thick brows furrow deeply, and my spiritual self chuckles at the future reference.

The song ends, and we gently separate, him gesturing to a waiter for two flutes of champagne. The man complies, allowing Stefan to grab one and hand it to me, and I gratefully take it and down half of it.

Being this close to hot vampires is becoming bad for my heart.

"Rough night?" He chuckles, and I shrug.

"Rough week, Stefan. Any wild guesses as to why that is?" I ask sarcastically, and he shrugs back at me with a teasing smile before tucking my arm back into his and guiding us out of the room.

"Be careful, Alessia," he whispers quietly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye whilst also giving me an excellent view of his profile.

"And just so you know, I haven't forgotten what I said I'd do if you decide to continually put yourself in danger."

My eyes widen slightly at that as we come back to Damon and Elena, the latter appearing very perturbed.

I start feeling rather unnecessary as I stand there, letting them all have their small talk at our reunion.

Yeah, I'm bored. I'm gonna go see Bonnie.

I lean up and kiss Damon on the cheek, leaning into his ear as Stefan and Elena look on, "I'm gonna go see my sister. Grab me if you need me."

Fake-smiling at the other couple, I glance at Elena's suspicious look towards Stefan. Her curiosity was going to get real annoying soon, and so would her entitled attitude; so I promptly wave bye to both and exited the scene towards the house.

To be completely honest, I hadn't had much quality time with Bonnie, and it was starting to bother me.

She was one of the other people besides Caroline who knew most of what was going on, and I needed an outlet. Not to mention, we hadn't had a lesson in almost two days, and I was starting to feel like I was slacking off on my sister's safety.

———

I find her in one of the many dining rooms in this fucking mansion, sipping on champagne while watching Mrs. Lockwood interact with a waiter. She glances at me as I pull up to her side, and we both listen in on Mrs. Lockwood's convo.

"Why aren't they lit?" She whisper-asks the young man vehemently, and I suppress an eye roll at her dramatics.

Mrs. Lockwood was a real piece of work, and the definition of a politician's wife.

Overbearing, collected, and vindictive, me and her had a mutual dislike for the other especially since I was aware of how she and her husband treated Tyler.

"There's matches in the kitchen."

I turn to Bonnie only to find she's already giving the older woman a dirty look, and I can tell she doesn't notice her magic stirring to rise to her emotions. She sets her olive gaze on me, clearly ticked off.

"What a bitch."

I laugh, and nod as we both walk further into the unlit room.

My eyebrow raises as an idea comes to me.

You see, not many people know that while Bons' was a loyal friend and would do anything in the name of friendship, there was one other thing that was an even more powerful motivator.

Bonnie Bennett was a very competitive young lady.

Our childhood was littered with contests to see who was the best singer, who's Halloween costume was the best, who could walk best in platform heels, etc. Basically, it's a running gag from our youth, that I knew would be the best way to teach Bonnie how to harness her powers quickly.

Willpower and intention were the two most powerful things at a witch's disposal when it came to using their magic, Bonnie just hadn't tapped into that yet.

"Bons, I'll bet you a steak at the Grill you can't light all these candles at once," I say nonchalantly, leaning down on the finely decorated table.

Her lips quirk in a grin at the challenge, but I can see the self doubt in her olive eyes. "I could totally do it, Lessy," she says pridefully, but not in a convincing way.

"Alright, the floor is all yours," my hand gestures to the table in a sweeping motion.

Her olive eyes suddenly get focused, and she clenches her fists. I see her pupils dilate as the magic in the room fluctuates, but after a few moments she sighs angrily.

"I can't focus with all this noise!" Bons spouts off haphazardly, clearly getting frustrated that it wasn't working automatically.

It was close, though, she just needed a push.

"It's all intention, Bons. Focus on nature and it'll bend to your will. Now, close your eyes," she closes them, "I want you to think of the energy at the football game. Think of that large bonfire and how it danced along with everyone who was partying there."

Her brow furrows as her magic calms down, instead of repeatedly tapping on the wicks of the candles, it slowly washes over the candles in the room like a wave. They all light up, and I can't stop the smile on my face.

God, my sister is awesome.

It takes a hot shit witch to be able to move from not doing magic at all, to doing migraine and fire spells, at will, without any assistance from herbs and balms, in a few days.

Bonnie was going to be much stronger in this timeline at this rate, especially since she was going to be having two mentors instead of just me very soon.

She opens her large eyes, blinking surprisedly at all of the lit candles, before turning to me with a bright smile, and I can see her getting emotional at her success. I open up my arms, and she rushes me with a hug, squeezing me tightly.

"This is incredible, Lessy," she mutters into my hair, and I squeeze her tight before pulling away slightly, my hands still on her shoulders.

I know exactly what she means, the connection to nature could be nearly overwhelming.

"We're incredible, Bons," I say emphatically, "We are the newest generation of something fantastic. And— surprising no one— we're fucking awesome at it!"

She laughs hard, pulling away fully from me and playfully hitting my shoulder, "You owe me steak, you realize that, right?"

I roll my eyes before throwing my arm around her shoulder and we walk out of the dining room, "Whatever, we can go to the Grill sometime this week."

"Damn straight. I'm getting grilled mushrooms and everything."

Ugh, you're lucky that I love you.

———

I see Tiki leave the bathroom with a thick scarf around her neck, and pretty soon afterwards a freaked out Elena follows.

Oh, boy. I quickly shoot a text to Damon.

Msg: Uh.. D? You didn't happen to snack on Tiki, did you?

My phone buzzes with his response immediately after.

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From: Eternal Stud

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Msg: needed her to keep a look out while I grabbed something, y?

—

Oof, yikes.

I quickly let him know that an angry Elena might be on his tail, and he let's me know that she had seen him leave with Tiki to a back room.

I'm so glad I'm not you right now.

His inability to wait until after the party to eat was gonna get him locked in the cell in the boardinghouse's basement for a week.

Goddammit, that means I have to go get him in a few days since Care isn't compelled.

Ughhh.

I walk out to the balcony, fully prepared to watch the scene play out in front of me. A waiter passes by with more champagne, and I grab two, quickly downing the first one and setting it back on his tray before shooing him away.

Oh god, are these people gonna make me an alcoholic like Grams?

Shaking my head at the thought, I peer down at Damon who's further into the landscaping, seemingly getting increasingly more angry with Tiki for getting caught.

Welp, if she dies— she dies.

He starts draining her, and I see Stefan sneak out from the shadows, some sort of dart in his hand.

Stefan stabs it hard into his brother's neck, and I watch Damon slowly fall unconscious next to a bleeding out Tiki. I can't tell whether he heals her or just compels her, but he does bend down over her momentarily before hefting Damon onto his shoulders and vampire speeding into the night.

Dammit, she lives, I think as Tiki hesitantly stands up, clearly shaking from the ordeal... and probably the loss of blood.

Elena comes out and starts to console her as the girl starts crying on her shoulder, and I turn to walk away.

Looks like I'm riding back with Bonnie, since my date is otherwise occupied.

———

Caroline had ended up coming home with us as well, since she had gotten pretty drunk on champagne, and I was pretty happy with that since I hadn't really seen her all night.

She stayed with us almost all week, not wanting to go home to where her mom was. Fortunately, I had smuggled two bottles in my purse on our way out of the Founder's party, so we all just got stupid drunk on Thursday in Bonnie's room while watching the Exorcist.

Needless to say, terrible idea altogether, as we had been freaked out for the majority of the night until we drank ourselves to sleep.

———

When I woke up, I had a bit of a headache, and was face planted into Bonnie's beanbag chair still in my dress from last night.

I tried to blink the sleep from my eyes as I looked to see where two of my musketeers had landed. Bonnie was sprawled out on the carpet, empty bottle of champagne by her feet and with a bowl of popcorn balancing on her stomach. Caroline on the other hand was half-on, half-off the bed, the top part of her dress hanging off of one shoulder, hair a mess and drool on her cheek.

We're adorable...

I glance at the alarm clock and my eyes widen to comical proportions.

I quickly stand up woozily, grabbing two pillows by my feet and hurling them at the other two as I wobble forward.

"GUYS WE ARE SO LATE FOR SCHOOL!"

Bonnie shoots upward, scared at the sudden noise, and accidentally flings the popcorn bowl across the carpet. Caroline starts and falls off the side of the bed she had been precariously balanced on.

We all race towards the bathroom— albeit, not very gracefully— and all try to use the single sink at once.

"Pass me the deodorant!"

"Why don't you guys have any makeup wipes??"

"Throw me the concealer!"

Miraculously, we look somewhat not hungover as we run out of the bathroom, Bons to her room, and Care and I to mine. We had worked out a system to where if something like this happens, Caroline only borrows my clothes. Last time she borrowed Bonnie's, she had spilled some ketchup on it and it never came out, so she's been banned from there for like the last three years.

We both tear out clothes from my closet and dresser, quickly dressing and dashing to my wall mirror. She grabs the spare comb from atop my dresser while I just say 'fuck it' and put my hair in a bun. It's frizzy, but it'll work. Caroline, of course, ends up looking perfect, and I roll my eyes in jealousy at her obscene good looks.

I need to get less attractive friends, so I'm not so envious.

Wait, that wasn't a good person thought.

We all three exit the rooms at the same time somehow, and thunder down the staircase, completely bypassing our Grams who was about to scold us. Bons grabs the keys, and we jet set out of there.

If we drive straight there, we'll only be 15 minutes late to first period, and since it's a substitute, we'll be fine.

———

We three walk into school with three large iced coffees. Yeah, we decided to just skip first period altogether, but to be honest, that was probably for the best.

Caroline then glances at the two of us on either side of her before saying, "We need to stop and use the printer at the front office. I was totally supposed to print off more flyers for the Sexy Suds Car Wash this morning before class."

I groan at the thought of seeing Ms. Watson this early, but both us Bennetts nod our heads in acquiescence.

The old bat glares at us as soon as we walk in, as if she knows we're all hungover and is subsequently judging our underage drinking. After all the sheets are printed out, Care splits the large stack into three and hands me and Bonnie a section each.

"Alright, ladies," she says brightly with a smile, "Hangovers are for the weak. Time to bring out those smiles."

I give her my best fake smile as Bonnie rolls her eyes, laughing. We strut out into the main hallway, passing out the flyers to any student unfortunate enough to make eye contact with us. I turn to Caroline as I hand another out to a student, "Hey, Care, did you ever get the band to confirm whether they could help out?"

Her blonde brow furrows slightly as she smiles warmly at another student before answering, "Not the whole band, just the ones who can wear a bikini."

"Technically," Bonnie quips, "can't anyone wear a bikini?"

I think about it momentarily before bobbing my head in a so-so motion, "True, but— ya know, a lot of people don't want to." They both nod.

Caroline continues to strut forward, "I want 'in-your-face' sexy. I mean, it's a fundraiser, for god sake."

I laugh at her haughty tone, completely making way for the Caroline that takes care of this town's events. Seriously, the woman was a miracle worker. We all then spot Elena at the end of the hallway, glaring at me and Care.

Bons sighs, taking a step away from the trio.

"I'm gonna go check in on her; we haven't talked since the game."

Care waves and I salute her off, disappearing with Caroline around the corner.

I have no desire to speak to Elena Gilbert today.

———

I turned the corner to go to my English class, and out pops Stefan Salvatore like a goddamn Jack in the Box. I jump back with a gasp, before smacking him on the chest.

"Don't sneak on people like that, Salvatore!"

He looks reasonably confused, "You're in a crowded hallway, Alessia."

"I said what I said."

He chuckles before he narrows his eyes at me with a very serious look on his face.

"I wanted to tell you that Damon isn't coming back."

My dark brows lift in pretend surprise, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I took care of it."

I fight off a sarcastic answer and instead smirk at him, patting him on the shoulder as I move to pass him, "Good for you, Stefan. I'm glad he can quit getting between you and Elena."

I keep walking, but, Stefan quickly moves to walk besides me, obvious question in his eyes.

"Wait, you don't care at all?" He asks incredulously.

I must've really sold that I was interested in him. Damon's super fine, but I don't want a guy who's in love with another woman.

Wait-

"No, Stefan," I sigh, resting my arms on the straps of my backpack, "We weren't actually together. He just wanted to fuck with you, and we had a business arrangement. So, I went with it."

He sucks in an angry, surprised breath; pulling me to the side of the lockers and once again stopping my walk to class.

"You went with it?" Stefan asks angrily, taking a deep breath and pinching his straight nose.

"That's what I said," I reply nonchalantly, not really caring that my plans had upset him once again.

His fist suddenly slams into the locker next to him and I blink, unimpressed as he storms away.

What a drama queen.

He acts like I'm innocent when he barely knows me.

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A/n: Hey guys, thanks for your patience while I dealt with my pet passing away.

I'm excited to be back and ready to get back in business. Hope you enjoyed the two new edited chapters, and I promise to continue updating consistently.

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