Chapter 5

I munch on my cereal as I sit at the table, swinging my feet as I giggle at Jenna.

"Scumball. Scumbucket," Jenna says disgustedly. Elena walks in and gives Jenna a look.

"Who are you talking to?" She asks, eyeing Jenna warily. Jenna turns to look at her.

"Him," She says, as if it's obvious, gesturing towards Logan Fell on the news.

Elena furrows her eyebrows. "The news guy?"

Jenna nods, glaring at the T.V. again. "Also known as Logan Scumfell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"

"You and Scumfell were a thing!" I pipe up, and giggle. Elena gives Jenna a disbelieving look.

"He's cute," Elena admits, tilting her head. Jenna looks shocked. I laugh at her expression before heading upstairs towards my room, pausing at the door to laugh at Jenna's indignant response.

"He is not cute!" She chides. "There's nothing cute about him."

I head into the washroom and brush my teeth before attempting to style my unruly, thick dark hair before giving up and braiding it quickly. The doorbell rings, and before I know it, Elena has dragged Stefan into her room. I chuckle and head down the hall towards the stairs, passing Elena's room. I pop my head in, smiling mischievously.

"Keep it PG Lena!" I call out. "Don't wanna ruin me and Jer's innocence, now do you?"

"Can't corrupt something that doesn't exist!" She chirps back and I put a hand against my heart.

"Ooh that stings, almost as much as my eyes did." I smirk and Elena sticks her tongue out.

"If you didn't want to see it, you shouldn't have looked." She says, rolling her eyes. I chuckle and dash away, leaving before she can reach me as she got up, going towards the door.

"Do I have to go to the Founder's party?" I complain, sitting on the couch. Just as the words leave my lips, Jeremy walks in, looking indignant. Elena looks between us, and she crosses her arms. I sputter. "If Jer doesn't have to go, then I don't have to either." Elena gives me a pointed look, and I raise my eyebrow.

Elena huffs. "Guys, this was important to-"

"I'm not going." Jeremy says with finality, walking out. Elena sighs in frustration, turning to me.

"You're going."

I sigh but nod. I can suck it up for mom. Suddenly the doorbell rings, and Jeremy goes to answer it. He tenses and goes to slam the door in the face of whoever is at the door, but the person quickly speaks.

"I'm here for my mum. Supposed to pick up a box of stuff," Tyler says defensively.

Elena walks swiftly towards the door. "Right here. Please be careful."

"Yeah be careful with it, dick," Jeremy snaps, and Elena looks at him warningly.

"Hey, not now, okay guys? Please?" She says tiredly. Tyler looks at Jeremy antagonistically.

I roll my eyes, ignoring my brother and his pathetic feud, sighing in relief when the door finally closes.

I'm sitting in the living room, flipping through the channels, when I hear Bonnie begin talking about Stefan's so called backstory that Damon made up. I roll my eyes, cursing Damon again.

"Stefan is none of those things!" Elena protests, and Bonnie gives her a look.

"Yeah? How do you know?" Bonnie challenges, and Elena's silent.

"I don't know Bon," She says quietly after some time. "But I trust him."

"Just be careful," Bonnie warns, squeezing Elena's hand gently. "Let's go do our hair now." Elena nods, so they get up, walking out towards the hall. Elena pauses, swinging into the living room.

"Leo, you get ready as well, okay?" Elena reminds me and I sigh, standing up.

"Yeah sure," I grumble as I head up the stairs and into my room.

I open my closet and look through my large variety of dresses that my mom insisted on me having. A girl should have a dress for every occasion, she always said. I grab my most casual, a simple, maroon coloured dress with a halter top neckline, and a fitted skirt. It slides on easily, and I throw my hair into an elegant bun.

"Ahhh! God, what now?" Jeremy seethes, and I walk out of my room, heading over to his. Elena's standing over Jeremy angrily, and Jeremy doesn't have a very happy expression on his face either. I sigh; these situations just keep on repeating themselves. Jeremy remembered his promise he made the night after the comet for about a week, but he quickly fell back into his usual patterns.

"The pocket-watch. Where is it?" Elena demands. Jeremy struggles to take his headphones off.

"What? What watch?" His tone's condescending and disgusted, and I rub my temples wearily.

"The one you stole from mom's box," Elena snaps, crossing her arms. "Look, Ms. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list Jeremy, and she can't find it and she thinks she lost it." Jeremy looks at her defiantly.

"And maybe she did." He sneers. "Maybe, uh, maybe Tyler took it."

"Don't even play that card Jeremy, you took it." Elena jabs the phone towards him and he goes to swat at it, but she pulls her hand back. "If I go online, am I going to find it on Ebay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Elena accuses harshly. I shake my head. Low blow. Jeremy must think so too because he stands up angrily.

"Screw you!" He says bitterly, and gets up to grab it from somewhere on his shelf. "I would never sell this, okay?" His voice cracks with emotion, and I frown grimly.

"Then why did you take it?"

"Because it's supposed to be mine," Jeremy fumes. "Dad said it goes to the first born son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" He slaps the watch into Elena's hand, and she just looks at it, expression wistful.

"And he was going to give it to you," She murmurs, and I choke on the tears welling in my eyes.

"Yeah," Jeremy says, but his anger's gone, now replaced with barely hidden grief.

Elena walks away but stops at the door, turning back around. "Jeremy, it's still yours, okay? Mom promised Ms. Lockwood, what do you want me to do?" Elena drops her hands in defeat. Jeremy looks at her coldly.

"Just take it and get out," He says dejectedly. Elena pauses, looking down at the watch, before leaving.

I look around me, watching the other part-goers, and I spin on my heel.

"Where're you going?" Elena calls out to me, but I continue walking.

"Home," I grumble, but Elena grabs my arm, preventing me from continuing.

"Why?"

I shrug. "I don't want to be here. Mom should be here with us, but she isn't, and it feels wrong."

"Leo…" Elena trails off, a sorrowful look on her face. I look down.

"I'll get Bonnie to drive me home." Elena looks like she wants to protest, but after a few seconds, she just nods, letting me go. I hesitate, not liking the pained expression on her face, but after a few seconds, I nod, the tense atmosphere too much to handle. "Thanks, Lena."

She simply nods again before going back up to the Lockwood manor. Once I see that she's gone, I bring out my phone, dialing Bonnie's number.

"Shit," I mutter when her number goes to voice mail.

"Need a ride?"

I jump, turning to glare at the person who spoke. "No thank you, I'm fine."

He looks at me, smirking. "Doesn't seem like it," He comments, walking closer, and I back up slightly.

"I'm fine," I grit out, eyeing him carefully. He leans towards me, pupils dilating.

"I insist." He purrs, and I hesitate. I don't want him to know I have vervian, so I nod, following him to his car. He goes over to the passenger side and opens the door, allowing me to hop in. He then makes his way over to the driver's side and leans towards me, his pupils dilating again. "I want you to be honest with me."

"Of course." I smile, and I thank the gods for the drama classes I had to suffer through. I much preferred music. He smiles at me before starting the car and pulling away.

"What does Stefan have planned?"

"Nothing I know about." I answer, slightly monotone, and I think he buys it, because he nods.

"I want you to stay out of it," He grits out, his hands tight around the steering wheel. He turns to look at me, eyes blazing, and I lean back against the door, slightly put off by his intense expression.

"Alright," I say, agreeing simply because I don't know what else to do. He studies me for a bit.

"Good." And his smirk's back. "Here you go, little mouse." I look out the window and see that I'm indeed at my house, so I quickly stumble out of the car, planning to simply walk away from him, bristling at the nickname. But my well-trained manners make another appearance, and I suck in my pride, turning around to smile politely at Damon.

"Thanks," I say, and he smiles, so genuine, that I smile sincerely back at him.

"You're welcome, Leora," He says, before speeding off, back in the direction we came.

"So, Damon's abusing Care?" I whisper, my hand against my throat in horror. Stefan nods, his expression grim.

"Yes. He's biting her. Feeding on her," He hisses, baring his teeth angrily.

I shudder. "Can you stop him?" Stefan reaches out, taking my hand, and squeezes it gently.

"We're working on it, Leo. Don't worry, we'll save her."

"Who's 'we'?" I ask hesitantly. Stefan smiles.

"One of my living relatives," He answers. "He's growing vervian in the basement. I put a vial of liquid vervian in her drink. Damon fed on her tonight and since it was in her system, we got him."

I'm stunned. "That's great, Stefan. I mean, he's your brother and all, but I'm glad he's not hurting Caroline anymore." Stefan nods, sending me an apologetic frown.

"I am sorry, Leo. For bringing him into your lives."

"Forget about it, Stefan." I smile grimly. "It's not your fault. And you're trying your best to help stop him."

"Don't worry. I won't let him harm you, or Elena," He assures me. "I won't let you die this time."

I raise an eyebrow. "This time?"

Stefan curses. "Sorry, you just remind me so much like my sister." He smiles apologetically. "Of course, you're your own person, and I'm not trying to take that away from you, but I think you remind us both of Evangeline, and she was really important to both of us. And I'm not trying to replace her, or make you her-"

"Stefan," I interrupt his rambling, chuckling lightly. "I know. And I'm not angry about that."

He smiles sheepishly. "You only look a little like her. Your eyes and hair. And height. But you're not her doppelgänger." I nod, relieved. I never wanted to be someone's doppelgänger. Too weird. "And you don't act like her. You're stronger, less naïve. Outspoken. She was very shy, and kind." I raise an eyebrow. "Not that you're not kind. But you stand up for yourself." He sighs. "I'm rambling, aren't I?" I laugh, nodding, and he chuckles with me.

"Yes, you are." I giggle. "But it's nice. It sounds like you loved her very much." He smiles softly.

"We do." He says, so confident in how much he loves his sister, that it strikes me to the core, and I duck my head, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry for this rambling, I'm nervous, and I really want to help you guys."

I smile, before leaping at him and wrapping him in a hug, taking him by surprise. "Thank you, for everything." He looks at me, confused. "Thank you for making her happy." He smiles.

"She's making me happier too." He smiles down at me. "You both are."