Day 4:
Nothing extravagant to note.
Day 5:
Today, i just idly bide my time. No one has discovered the impending threat I've laid out, so I'm lazing about in the fields... Writing.
Although, curious still, the youngest of the two brother's has taken notice of me. Even been as thoughtful as to greet me personally, through the expense of practically ignoring others.
I'm quite perplexed at the notion, as he is otherwise engaged, primarily, with Katherine Pierce.
Perhaps he could be of use.
Day 6:
I detest this flip-flop scene I seem to be now forcibly a part of.
Damon Salvatore. While easy on the eyes, the things that fall out of his mouth are... Infuriating. To put it nicely.
Not even a week, and I fear i'm in the middle of some... pissing contest. To what end do these means have?
Causing me ailments, clearly.
.
.
.
"Damn it all!" I growled, shoving at the books that were strewn about in front of me, some of them fell to the floor, while others just folded in on itself, or around others.
I sighed, exasperated as I ran a hand through my hair, tapping my finger against the small space of the table I had cleared.
Nothing. I had absolutely nothing.
I had searched and scoured every possible lead, even including some of the more far-fetched possibilities, and still, I came up short.
It was like any trace of this person, if she was me, had been completely absolved from history, with the only living proof being a few scribbled words in a booklet I had inherited.
I pushed away from the table, getting to my feet and opening up the window. It was mid afternoon now, and it'd been two whole weeks since I'd begun practically dodging the small gaggle of friends that wanted so desperately to know me. I blamed it on work, I blamed it on tiredness, and anything that could get me out of it, I used as an excuse to keep away from them.
And even still, they continued to chat with me through messaging, each one of them asking questions, and inviting me out with them. Except for Damon, and a couple of numbers I had not recognized as anyone I'd been introduced to.
Why did I find it so hard to get Damon's look from the doorway out of my head?
I turned back to the table, leaning on the windowsill as I did.
Perhaps I could use a bit of a distraction.
Whisking up my phone from the kitchen counter, I pulled up the group text I was a part of. Avidly, I'd been avoiding it, but perhaps it was time I turned to other options.
'Hello! Oleander here. Sorry I've been silent, but I think I'm in need a of a break. I was curious if anyone wanted to join me for lunch?' I sent the message before noticing the darkness rapidly approaching the town outside. I chuckled before correcting my text. 'Er. Dinner, I suppose.'
'Dinner sounds great!' The girl, Elena, replied. 'Should we meet at the grill?'
'I'll be there.' Stefan had messaged. 'And, apparently, Damon.' He put only a moment later.
'I'll bring Bonnie! See if Matt's off tonight.' A number I didn't have a name for responded, and I mostly assumed it was a girl they had mentioned before, Caroline.
'Great! I'll get a table going.' I grinned to myself, shoving the phone in my pocket. I was looking down at myself for a moment, and decided that I should change quickly.
I decided on a tight pair of jeans, a loose fitting black shirt, and a red leather half jacket to go along with the red heels I decided to wear.
I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, looking in the mirror as i groomed the curls a bit to make it look presentable, then I left the apartment.
"Woops!" I chuckled, snapping my fingers. I heard my shutters close as I strolled towards the outside world.
I crossed the street with ease, my heels clicking along the concrete, and I watched as several heads were turned in my direction. I flashed a grin towards a couple of men in particular before pushing the door open to the Mystic Grill.
It was empty for the moment, which I was grateful for, because I began pushing several tables together in the middle to accommodate for the party that was apparently about to occur.
"Can I help you?" A voice behind me said, and i whirled around to view him. A tall, muscly man with a warm smile shifted to one leg as he looked over me. He had the most brilliant blue eyes, and I couldn't help but stare for a moment. Was he human? "You must be Oleander, right?"
"Yes? Uh, and you are..?"
"Matt." He reached a hand out to me, and I took it, shaking it once before he retreated. "Nice to finally meet you. Everyone's been talking about you."
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. What could they possibly have to talk about me? "Nothing good, I wager." I grinned, and he laughed gently.
"Now, that wouldn't be very nice, would it?" He teased before he shifted to help me with moving the chairs. "I assume everyone else is on their way?"
"I would hope, or I'm going to look really silly pushing all these tables together for two people." He laughed again.
"Definitely." We finished moving all the chairs accordingly when Elena hopped in, followed by Bonnie and two others I did not recognize.
One of them was blonde female, with a nice smile and a cute sundress, followed with matching heels. The other was a male, standing about as tall as Elena, with short, dark hair and a clearly cheery disposition as he scanned the room.
"Lea!" Elena waved, and I managed to wave back, smiling as they approached. "I'm so glad you were able to get out! Did you get much done?"
"I attempted to." I laughed. The statement was true enough. "I felt pretty burned out. I figured it'd be high time I make good on my follow up."
"True enough!" Bonnie grinned as she approached me. "Nice to see you again."
"Likewise, Miss Bennett." I smirked, and she rolled her eyes.
"Bonnie is fine."
"Lea, this is Caroline," Elena motioned to the blonde, who flashed me an extremely bright smile, much similar to that of her friends, "And this is Tyler." I reached out and shook both of their hands as we exchanged greetings. Tyler was the only one to give me a half-hearted smile. He seemed relatively uncomfortable with the social situation, as he kept glancing around.
"Have you ordered yet?" Caroline glanced between Matt and I.
"No, not yet. We just finished pushing the table together." Matt gave before promptly taking a seat in front of him. I made way to sit at the end, as not to feel overcrowded. Being left handed also made for an interesting time, so the open space was good for me. Everyone else rapidly joined, the 3 girls sitting together, and Tyler taking a seat next to Matt.
"And the other two?" I inquired.
"Right here, Princess." Damon said as him and his Brother strolled through the door. I tried not to let the irritation of of the now second pet name show on my face.
Everyone greeted each other according to the level of their friendships, and they were all polite in greeting me. Before much else could be said, a waitress came over to take our drink orders. Most of them had water, or some kind of soda. Damon ordered hard liquor and I ordered hot tea.
"So, Lea." Caroline leaned over to view me better and smiled. "Where are you from?"
"Oh, uhm..." I laughed slightly. "Do you mean where was I born, or where did I grow up?"
"Either." Bonnie grinned.
"Well, I was born in England. I don't remember much of it, but we moved here when I was quite young." I nodded at the half-truths of my own design. "We bounced around, really... I think I stayed in Pennsylvania the longest."
"What's it like there?"
"Dreary." I shrugged. "Sort of cold. It's very similar to Virginia." Everyone seemed to understand that as they hummed some kind of approving sound.
"Do you travel a lot?" Tyler inquired as he, too, leaned onto the table to view me. However, he wasn't smiling, which I found rather odd.
"Still? Yes."
"Why?" Again, a pointed question. I had already answered this once, my eyes flicking over to Stefan as I recalled the conversation.
"She's a writer." Elena gave, which caused him to look in her direction. "And you travel for... inspiration?" She looked to me as she asked for a confirmation on her information.
"Yes, basically." I nodded. "I also like to think about places I've never been to before, and try to go live there for a while, for the experience. Before this, I lived in Florida." The waitress arrived with our drinks, and everyone politely thanked her in their own way. I began assembling my tea according to my tastes.
"Will you be staying long?" Damon piped up from his side of the table, and my eyes trailed to his form. He was leaning on an extra chair beside him, his cup dangling loosely from his hand as he stared over me.
"I'm not sure." I confessed, never taking my eyes away from him as I finished brewing my cup. "I suppose it depends on how long it takes me to finish this book."
"I for one, would like to know what you're writing about!" Elena grinned. Near everyone seemed to agree with the notion, and I grinned down at my tea.
"Perhaps I'll let you sift through my notes." I grinned, raising the tea to my lips.
"And the songwriting?" Stefan smirked at me and I snorted.
"Oh, you remembered."
"Wait, you write songs?" Caroline laughed in excitement. "That's so cool!"
"It's... I'm not very good at it." I shrugged, taking a sip of the tea before putting it down. "You'd think, after writing countless words on paper, songwriting wouldn't be so... challenging."
"I'm sure you're fine at it." Stefan assured.
"Don't be shy, Firecracker. Give us a taste." Damon said with a raise of his glass. I saw Bonnie look over at him with a warning in her eyes, but he only shrugged. "I'm curious. She refuses to show off at all. Makes me wonder if she's actually written anything."
"Damon, there's reasons she wanted to keep a low profile. Have you ever been famous?" Caroline threw a little head bob his way, and he only scoffed.
"Like you have?"
"I know what it's like to be in a spotlight, and it's not for everyone. So quit acting pompous."
"It's alright, Caroline." I grinned towards Damon. "I understand that his phallus needs to be ever present in a conversation." He frowned immediately, and I heard Tyler snort, clearly trying to maintain a straight face. "Therefore when he feels threatened, he has to remind the group that he has one." I then smiled at Caroline, and all the table began oo-ing and laughing.
"So she has a tongue." Damon leaned forward, setting his drink on the table.
"And on that note," Stefan grinned towards Damon, "You have no comeback. Are you done?"
"...Yeah, fine." The brother grumbled, pulling his drink back before standing and going to the bar for another.
"That was quick." Matt laughed towards me.
"Was his dick bruised?" I gave, causing the whole group to laugh again.
"Remind me not to tick you off." Caroline grinned. "If I knew you could handle yourself, I would've brought popcorn to the show!"
"She's probably just been feeling us out." Tyler gave with a shrug.
"Not entirely wrong." I nodded. "To be honest, I wasn't sure what the appropriate levels of insults were for the group."
"Trust me, every person here has given Damon an earful." Elena said while widening her eyes for a second, as if to exaggerate her point. Everyone agreed with her.
The rest of the night went rather smoothly, with easy conversations, and warm fries to keep us fueled. I also picked at a burger before passing it off to one of the boys to finish, deciding to eat something much different later.
Everyone seemed mostly cheerful, and relaxed. Even Tyler, who had been stiff before, felt easier. Perhaps it was I who caused his initial discomfort being a stranger and all.
I stole a glance towards the bar, catching Damon's eye as I did. He blinked at me before tilting his glace in my direction. I gave a small grin before lifting myself from the table.
"Excuse me for a moment." I said quietly to Matt, who only nodded before rejoining their conversation. I walked over to the bar and slid into the stool next to the man, who was twirling the remainder of his drink in the bottom of the glass.
"Can I get you anything?" The bartender asked as he came over to us.
"Another?" Damon raised an eyebrow at him.
"...Whiskey. Straight." I gave, and the bartender nodded.
"You drink something beyond tea?" Damon seemed amused at the prospect.
"Not typically." I offered. "I thought it might be a special occasion."
"And what occasion would that be?" The drinks were set in front of us as he asked, and I took it in my hand and turned to him.
"The silent death of one Damon Salvatore's ego." I smirked, and he furrowed his brow. I laughed at the notion. "Only kidding. You really can't take it, can you?"
"Not today." He said before tossing back his new beverage. I stared at him for a moment before following the motion, grimacing slightly as it hit the back of my throat before sliding down.
"I'm sure I'm the last person you want to confide in..." I started, but he quickly interrupted.
"You'd be correct." He said with a slight gruff to his voice. I only rolled my eyes.
"But, there is a crowd of people over there you could talk to."
"Nah. None of them care." He scoffed.
"Then why bother with you at all?" I raised an eyebrow. The statement caused him to flick his eyes over at me. "You really don't think they'd listen?"
"Why do you care, anyway? Weren't you having a jolly good time over there with your new mates?" That last bit he gave his worst impression of a fake British accent, but I paid it no mind. I merely hummed.
"True." I knocked on the bar and a drink slid towards me from the bartender, almost knowing I was going to get another. "Let's blame it on the drinking." I said before tossing it back.
"...Alright." He sat up slightly and leaned closer to me. "See, there's this new girl in town." He started, setting his fingers on the bar in demonstration.
"Uh huh. Interesting. Is she pretty?" I gave, and he snorted.
"Pretty isn't the word I would use." He grumbled. Ouch, I thought, but only laughed a bit. "She's been here a couple of weeks, but immediately, everyone loves her. Why? Haven't they had enough heartache from newcomers lately?"
"Is she looking to break hearts?" I raised an eyebrow before knocking on the bar again. Almost immediately, another shot slid to me. "Do you think her intentions are bad?"
"I don't think they're good." He shrugged before leaning very close to me. I don't think he meant to, but there he was, a few inches from my face. I could smell the bourbon off his breath.
"You haven't tried asking what she wants?" I said quietly, my eyes involuntarily trailing to his lips.
"Hm... Good question." He said just as quiet. "What do you want with us, 'Oleander'?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"To trust you." I said simply, slowly raising the shot to my lips before taking it.
"And how can we trust you, when you haven't told us what you've been up to?" My eyebrow twinged slightly and I stared into those hard blue eyes of his.
"Haven't I?"
"What've you been researching?"
"I... For my book, I told you."
"But what, Lea?" He raised an eyebrow. "You can tell me, or I can tell you."
Shuffling is his pocket with his free hand, he pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it and held it up towards me, giving me a full view of what it was: A picture.
My confidence dropped as my face fell, and I reached for it, but he only pulled it back.
"Who is this?" He asked, still holding the picture in view, but closer to him. "Because she looks a lot like you, curiously."
I leaned in to view the picture as close as he would allow. A girl, with fiery hair and green eyes was smiling wide, as if she had been laughing, and looking towards someone, who's face some covered by Damon's finger. On the other side of her stood another man, but his face was mostly out of frame, with a light leak mostly covering his features, but you could tell he was laughing with whoever he had been talking to.
My eyes flicked back to the portion of the man that Damon had conveniently covered. "Who is that?"
"That's what I'm asking." He growled before folding the picture back up.
"...Do they know?" I said even softer than before.
"No. But I will tell them." He then set the picture face down on the bar. "So who are you?"
"I am who I say I am." I gave, looking down at my hands. "But... It's complicated."
"I have dealt with my fair share of complicated. Are you here to hurt us?"
"Not intentionally."
"So unintentionally?"
"Look, I came to... figure all this out." I gave, holding my hands up and around me as a gesture. "I intended to stay away. Lay low, while I understood all of this. But... You lot are like magnets."
"A truer statement has never been spoken." He scoffed.
"So who is she?" I asked, reaching out and taking the picture. Damon seemed stiff, but didn't move otherwise.
I stared down at it and blinked.
"...It's you." I breathed looking back to him. "You're the one in the picture."
"...So you know what I am then." It was more of a statement as he took the picture from me.
"Yes."
"And Stefan?"
"Yes."
"And the rest of them?"
"No, not entirely. I can guess?" He motioned to them, as a sign to try, I assumed. "Tyler is... A wolf, right? I can smell the difference. But Elena is human... I think Matt is human. Bonnie smells human... Caroline is a vampire. Is that correct?" Damon nodded.
"You sure you didn't do research on us?"
"No, I... I can feel it. That they're different. It's a matter of differentiating it, and making an educated guess." He stared at me for a while before folding the picture up and putting it back in his pocket.
"Her name was Leah Thorne." He said quietly. My mouth dropped in disbelief.
"So you-"
"Hey, girl!" Caroline came over and draped her arm around my shoulder with a smile. "The girl's are gunna hang out at my place. Do you wanna come?" I blinked up at her before smiling.
"That sounds lovely, Caroline." I agreed, and she giggled.
"Great!" She turned to Damon. "Mind if I pull her away from your slumping?"
"By all means." Damon waved her off, turning back to the bar.
I had so many more questions, but I let Caroline take my arm in hers and drag me out of the bar into the street, all the while I was looking back at the man who had given me a glimmer of hope at finding out my past.
He didn't turn to watch me go.
And I spent the entire night distractedly thinking about that.