Acatalepsy: def. the impossibility to truly comprehend anything
Chapter 8: Dinner Parties Are Surprisingly Less Fun With Vampires.
Maybe, if I pushed REALLY hard, I could get this butter knife through to my heart.
This dinner is not only awkward, it's unbearable. I'm not near as delightfully sociable as Caroline is, so I'm not starting the conversation, especially since Elena was super rude and just put my pasta salad in the fridge.
Didn't even set it on the table, the bitch.
Bonnie was looking on with a look of vague amusement, and I could see that Caroline was waiting for the other shoe to drop. If there was one thing that my blonde bestie lived for, it was drama, and the dining room practically smelled of it. Stefan was glaring hard at Damon, Damon was smirking back, and Elena was acting completely oblivious to the tension entirely.
Well, I would literally rather be anywhere else right now.
As I twirl my fork in the dinner salad, I hear Elena clear her throat, "Why don't we move over to the living room for dessert? Way more comfy than these chairs."
As we mosey over to the other room, I take note of my surroundings. This house looks exactly the same as how I remembered it, and the last time I'd been over here was for Elena's 13th birthday bash. It looked like the Graysons hadn't even been gone, let alone died. It made me pity Elena a bit. If I had to be around familiar surroundings that I had attached meaning to with a loved one who'd passed away, I don't think I could keep living there. I wouldn't be able to heal, and I knew from my memories that Elena never really healed properly either. She never quite moved on from any deaths that happened in her life, and there was a substantial amount.
I don't know if that makes her strong or stupid.
We all start to take our seats, and I'm about to sit next to Bons when I feel a hand on my wrist pull me back gently. I turn and see Damon, and he gestures for me to take the seat next to him with a wink. Don't roll your eyes... I rolled my eyes.
Welp, we tried.
I plop down next to him as Elena comes in with cheesecake. FINALLY! Something good at this party! I can feel my leg start to bounce in excitement and Damon quirks a brow at me. Bonnie explains so that I don't have to, "Cheesecake is her favorite food. Not favorite dessert, favorite food. She's had it at like every birthday party we've had since I was five."
I happily dig in, and ignore where I am for a bit as I enjoy the chocolate raspberry cheesecake melting in my mouth. A completely blissful smile fills my cheeks as Caroline decides to do her awesome social butterfly thing and conquer the conversation. Smiling at Stefan, she says in a chipper tone that sounds a pinch too tight, "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team! Oh, Tyler must be seething. But, good for you! Go for it."
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Damon smiles disarmingly at Caroline and I see her cheeks start to flush. I don't blame ya, chica. "That's what I always tell him," I turn to him with a quirk of my brow, not quite remembering how this conversation went down, "You have to engage."
His arm wraps around my waist, perching his hand on my hip, and I accidentally bite my cheek at the unexpected contact. Damon squeezes my hip meaningfully, clearly wanting me to jump into the convo judging by the intense look in his baby blues, but it also results in my heartrate rising.
"Yeah," I add, "Life is all about taking chances and doing things you never thought you could."
That was a little preachy. But, whatever.
Caroline jumps in yet again, clearly glad that the awkward silence was ending, "Yeah, for example, Elena wasn't so lucky today," she pauses, coolly looking at Elena, "It's only because you missed summer camp."
I take a sip of my coffee at the slightly sharper tone that came at the end of that. About two months after the Graysons died, Elena had promised Caroline that she would come for the summer camp, since she was supposed to originally be in charge of helping make several routines for the upcoming year. Then, she bailed without even calling to let anyone know she wasn't coming. Again, there was a bit of leniency because of her recent loss, but she could've said something instead of leaving us with empty practice slots for the two weeks of camp. Me and Caroline had to work our asses off to complete those routines in time for the actual practice segments, which resulted in almost 48 hours of no sleep. And worst part was, she hadn't apologized, just saying that she forgot.
If she thought that Caroline Forbes was one to forgive and forget, she was sorely mistaken, but by the stunned look in Doppelena's doe eyes, I was gonna guess she had thought that. I hadn't been that bothered since I didn't have high expectations from Elena when it came to keeping her word, but it had hurt Caroline.
Bonnie must have had a similar train of thought as her gaze flickered back and forth between Care and Elena, before looking at me with a look that said plain and simple, yikes. Of course, the two vampire brothers were confused as to what the new sudden tension in the room was, but when Elena rolled her eyes and muttered 'whatever', I knew that my favorite Queen Bee was gonna snap at her.
Still feigning polite conversation, Caroline crossed her legs as her cornflower blue eyes got steely. Now, let me tell you, this is personally my favorite version of my perky blonde hurricane to witness. She was an expert at the inner workings of Girl World, and knew exactly what to say to make her point, or threat, come across loud and clear. Elena's sudden jab of disrespect was about to call in a whole tropical storm, because Care wasn't scared of making her look bad in front of the Salvatores.
"God," she started in a falsely sweet tone that would sound nearly genuine if you didn't know her well, "I don't know how you're ever gonna learn the routines."
I noticed that Bonnie hadn't said anything to defend Elena, but I guess that in this timeline, Bons understood that her bestie had invoked this mess with her other friend. Not to mention, Bonnie also had to pick up the slack during camp, and I knew that she'd already scolded Elena about it but that didn't excuse her lack of apology to Care. Said blonde looked up in mock thought, "I guess we could put you in the back."
I could see the hidden smirk on Damon's lips, and the frown on Stefan's.
"You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon adds, and I see from the sparkle in his eyes that he enjoyed watching the turmoil in this group.
I decide to interject before Caroline can say something she'll regret, "Well, she used to be a party animal, but you know, things change."
Elena glares hard at me, and I can't help but wonder why she's so pissy at me today. Was it cause I made her take an observation day? Actually, I can see how what I said could come off, but it was unintentional.
"My parents died, Alessia," she says in a deadly tone.
I sip my coffee for a moment, watching everyone's reactions at how obvious her dislike for me was. "Never said they didn't, Elena. I was referring to your personality," I retort in a blasé tone, clearly already bored of talking to her.
"I know what it's like to lose both your parents," Damon interjects, and I see the doppelgänger's face completely switch over to a warm smile towards him. If he was actually my boyfriend, I'd be questioning the hell out of that look. I wonder if Stefan is.
"In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."
Stefan's forest green eyes sharpen, "We don't need to get into that right now, Damon."
Is this how politicians feel at those fancy dinners? Everything being said at this table is either a veiled threat or a slighted comment.
Damon has his signature grin on his face as he sighs, "Ah, you know what, you're right, Stef, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."
I can tell by the matching looks of intrigue on every other girl's face that we all had the same thought.
The drama is about to get juicy in this group.
*
Okay, I was wrong. Things just got awful quiet again and I resumed debating how hard I'd have to smack my head against the table to knock myself out for thirty minutes so that we could leave. Damon had just gotten up to bother Elena in the kitchen, and Bonnie and Caroline were tidying up the dining room when the younger Salvatore took a seat across from me.
"Hello, Alessia," he starts. His voice was soothing, as if trying to placate me before I was even upset.
"Hey, Stefan," I reply quietly, "I'd ask how you're doing, but judging by the wrinkles on your forehead I can guess what your answer will be."
"Would you mind telling me what the hell you're doing with Damon? I warned you. He's dangerous."
I frown slightly at his bossy tone, "And I told you I'll do as I see fit."
He scoots closer to me, grabbing my hand, "Please, Alessia," his beautiful forest green eyes pleading and his jaw tight, "Is he blackmailing you? I just want to help."
I slowly pull my hand back from his strong grip, ignoring the butterflies that his touch illicited, "Stefan, I'm fine. Damon's not as bad as you think he is."
Yes, he is.
"Then, why are you wearing that turtleneck?"
I pretend to grab at my neck nervously, touching a bite mark that doesn't exist. "It doesn't matter, Stefan. My business with your brother has nothing to do with you. Do your weird happily ever after with Elena and quit trying to stick your nose where it's not wanted."
The sudden flint of steely determination in his eyes is exactly the reaction I was trying to illicit. I feel a dip in the couch on the other side of me, and my eyes are greeted with the beauty that is Damon Salvatore.
"Well, isn't this a fun little therapy session. Anything specific you needed to ask my girlfriend, Stefan?"
His blue eyes are cold and cunning, and I feel very uncomfortable sitting in between their stare down.
This is EXACTLY where I didn't want to be during this shitshow, but now here I am with a front row seat to the big dick contest.
"You need to stop this, Damon," Stefan says resolutely, but I know there's no actual bite to it. I wonder, if I had actually been in danger like Care was, would he have let me be abused like he had let her? Probably.
Stefan doesn't have the strongest of anything when it comes to his brother. His will was weaker, and because of his bunny bloodshed, he was weaker physically as well. But, I had always guessed it was because deep down, Stefan still loved his older brother and didn't want to hurt him.. badly. At least not yet, anyway.
Damon turns to me, before smiling, "Hey, sweetie, mind helping out the girls in the kitchen?"
Gladly! I stand up to leave and gracefully exit the living room as quickly as possible with my dishes. As fun as it was to see them fight sometimes, I had no desire to keep the momentum going.
*
It was officially Saturday, and the first big celebration of the season, so I was pumped. Yeah, at first I had been a cheerleader so I could keep a close eye on my group of friends, but I had quickly grown to love the energy that came with it.
A person's life force practically vibrates when they're excited, and a large crowd of them made nature sing. As a witch, that kind of momentous energy was quickly addicting and I grew very attached to my sport. The pompoms, the cute outfits, the general adoration that came with being co captain, really, it was so much fun that it made football not boring for me. I excitedly wiggled into my cheer uniform, grabbing my white sneakers off my blanket.
"Bonnie!" I called out into the hallway, and I heard a faint 'yeah' from the bathroom, "Have you seen my red glitter scrunchie?!"
There was a pause, and I flipped open my backpack, dumping the contents out to see if it was in there instead.
"Uh, yeah, I was gonna just borrow it for today!" She yells back, and I puff my cheeks in annoyance.
"Seriously, Bons?!"
"Well, yeah! Don't you have that red steamer one, anyway?!"
I rolled my eyes before grabbing the red streamer scrunchie from the top of my dresser. Looking at the collateral damage the search did to my room, I stifle a sigh before flopping in my bean bag chair and pulling on my white socks. Fine, I'll borrow her grey heels for my presentation on Monday and we'll be even.
I hear Bons' feet dash down the stairs before she calls up, "Lessy! Hurry the hell up or we're gonna be late!"
Finishing the knot I had been tying on my right sneaker, I hop up, "Bons, you're running late, too! I'm not why we're late!!"
My feet fly down in a flurry and I kiss my Grams on the cheek as I sprint out to my sister, who had apparently already walked out the door.
"Bye, Grams, don't burn the house down!" And with that I slide into the passenger seat seconds before Bons tears out of the driveway like a bat out of hell. I quickly buckle my seatbelt and smack my head against the door as she makes a sharp turn.
"Goddammit, Bons!"
"Sorry, Lessy," is all she manages to gasp out, and when we look at each other, we just burst out laughing.
This is what I'm fighting for.
*
When me and Bons finally get to the bonfire area, there's a western standoff going on in front of the pyre. Caroline is glaring fiercely at an out-of-uniform Elena, and Elena is looking at Caroline with slight nervousness. Bonnie gasps when she realizes that Elena has once again not mentioned to anyone that she wasn't participating until the last minute. I wouldn't be surprised if Caroline attacked her.
"You have got to be kidding me, Elena!" Bonnie sighs, disappointedly as we walk up to the warring two. I roll my eyes, not only not surprised because I saw this happen before, but because it was Elena fucking Gilbert, breaker of many promises.
"I'm sorry, Bonnie, but cheerleading doesn't make me happy anymore. If you're really my friend, you'll understand that I had to do this for me."
And only apologizing to Bonnie. Wow.
Bonnie is starting to look frustrated as she furrows her thin brows, "It's not about you quitting, Elena. It's that you decided to wait till last minute to tell anyone!"
"Again," I added, and surprising no one, I'm the only one who gets a glare.
"Whatever," is all Caroline says, brushing it off and placing her professional smile on Elena, "It was a pleasure having you on the team, and I hope you're successful in all your other endeavors. Like trying to get your boyfriend to kiss you."
GODDAMN SOMEONE CALL 911.
With that, the blonde tornado whirls away, and I promptly turn to join her, not really wanting to see Bonnie tear Elena a new one. Instead, we walk over to the rest of the squad and announce Elena's retirement from cheer before getting them started on passing out fliers and generally sending them off to different areas in threes so they can get the crowd hyped up.
By the time night falls, we've gotten the entire school worked up into a frenzy. Damn, we're good. There's drinking, tailgates are down, the enemy team's dummy is on fire, and life is great. We had the girls pass out cheap pompoms from the local party store, along with whistles, and party poppers, so by the time Mr. Tanner got the football team lined up and was preparing to do his speech, he had a high school on fire for their losing streak team.
Oh yeah, that reminds me. Mr. Tanner is going to die.
Bonnie had come to me this morning talking about the numbers she saw, and I told her that I had hoped that it meant that those number football players would win us the upcoming game. She didn't look like she really bought it, but she had believed me.
There was nothing enjoyable about lying to her about that, but it had to be done. Mr. Tanner had to get gone one way or another so that Alaric could come, and if the kindest way to let the prick go was by giving him a painless death, then alright.
Bonnie is gonna be mad when she finds out that Damon did that, though.
Bons was definitely not a fan of Mr. Tanner, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him dead. I didn't really want to know how she'd react if she found out about this, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Actually... I could avoid it altogether if no one can find the body.
I smiled. There's the ticket.
Mr. Tanner proceeded to walk onto the podium, and me and the girls set out to maintain the hype, twirling our pompoms, doing high kicks, the occasional jumping splits. The boys were all looking fine as hell in their jerseys, especially one Stefan Salvatore. I hadn't noticed just how broad his shoulders were until I saw him wearing that, and I spiritually salivated.
Ooooooh boy, do I love a man in uniform.
"Quiet down, quiet down," Mr. T started saying into the mic, to little effect. He tried again, and slowly the crowd descended into a loud murmur instead of just shouting.
"Wait. Now let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" Cue the booing that our girls started, "But that is about to change!" Cue the cheering.
"We've got some great new talent," one could say, supernaturally good, "starting tonight in the offensive line, and I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these." I chuckle for a second at him calling Stefan a kid, when I catch a glimpse of the darkening fury on Tyler's face.
Oh, shit.
"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR STEFAN SALVATORE!"
I cheer, but I don't look away from Tyler, seeing his shoulders move from his heavy breathing from all the way over here was not a good sign. I don't listen to the rest of whatever the hell Tanner is spewing, I just tap Bonnie and Care on the shoulder to let them know I'm leaving and start following after my angry werewolf friend.
I try dipping through the crowd as quickly as possible, seeing Tyler moving towards Jeremy with purpose as Vicki tries to stop him. Tyler says something, gets hit, then swings and socks Jeremy right in the face before diving for more. Well, that can't help his already busted looking nose.
I run for Tyler as a crowd starts forming and tackle him off of Jeremy. He starts thrashing underneath me, trying to get back to rocking Gilbert's shit, before he realizes it's me. "Alessia?" He whispers, wide eyed. Suddenly, his eyes frantically look behind me.
"Alessia, move!!" He yells and I turn to see Jeremy about to slash me with a broken bottle. Oh shi-!
Jeremy's hand is stopped by Stefan grabbing the glass. It shatters, and he shoves Jeremy away. Tyler is suddenly helping me up, pulling down my cheer skirt that had ridden up after tackling him, but I can't look away from Stefan. He had still gotten his hand cut, and Elena was still freaking out about it, but his soulful green eyes were on me. Filled with worry, frustration, and anger. I look down and see that he's looking at my banged up knees.
I'm guessing that the druggies has been throwing their bottles around, because I felt tiny shards of glass sticking out of my skin painfully. Veins start to appear under his eyes, so I quickly whisper a spell to cut off his sense of smell momentarily. He quickly snaps himself out of it, giving me a quick nod of reassurance before turning back to Doppelena who was trying to look at his hand. And when she opened it to reveal no cut, she was stunned.
Well, that got real intense, real quickly.
*
A/n: Thanks for all the love and comments! Hope you enjoyed!