The next morning came seemingly way too early, and as Audrey's alarm sounded throughout the room, she let out a loud groan, hitting the snooze button and rolling back over. It wasn't the first time that she'd gone to a party at the falls on a school night, yet with all that had happened the night before, her body felt like each of her limbs were being held down with a bag of bricks.
Vicki had been attacked by what the first responders had claimed was some sort of animal, and after the party had dispersed, Jenna had dropped her off at home to attempt and sleep it all off. She remembered trying to protest, wanting to be with Jeremy after everything, yet Jenna had insisted that after hearing of the attack, Sarah would surely want her home.
As her alarm began to go off again, Audrey heard a knock at her bedroom door. After a moment of waiting, her mother walked into the room. "Hey, kiddo," Sarah started, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked Audrey over, shaking her head to herself as she thought of just what had happened to Vicki hours earlier.
"Hey," Audrey replied simply, turning to face Sarah as she spoke, sure that she had more to say than just greeting her good morning.
"Are you feeling okay?" Sarah asked, reaching out and pushing Audrey's hair from her face, gently touching the back of her hand to her forehead, then her cheek.
Audrey let out a little sigh, nodding, "I'm fine, Mom."
Truth be told, it was a bit jarring, thinking of the events of the night before. Sure, she didn't like Vicki, but the fact of the matter was that what happened to her could have happened to anyone that had been out in the woods that night, including her.
"You sure? Jenna told me about Vicki Donovan. You've all known each other so long, I'd understand if you wanted to stay home."
Nodding once more, "I'm fine. Vicki and I aren't close. Besides, if Jeremy's at school today, it would probably be best that I'm there." Audrey's shoulders rose and fell in a little shrug, "Emotional support and all of that."
Sarah tilted her head a bit at that, expression curious, "I didn't realize Jeremy and Vicki were close, either."
Audrey nearly cursed under her breath at that, biting down on the inside of cheek before quickly covering her tracks. "They're not, but he was the one who found her. Other than Matt, he's probably taking it the hardest," she spoke.
She watched as her mom processed what she'd told her before nodding. "Right. Well, if you change your mind, let me know and I'll check you out of school. I'm sure Liz would understand. I work today, but I should be home in time for dinner. You can choose what we have tonight."
Sarah reached over and lightly squeezed Audrey's shoulder before moving from the bed, the teenager's brain working to comprehend all of the information that her mom had just spouted out. "Got it. I'll be sure to pick something good," she replied, sitting up slowly before pushing herself out of bed and heading toward the bathroom to wash up before school.
—
Audrey stood by her locker after collecting her things for her first class, pulling out her phone after a moment to send a text. Usually Jeremy would have at least made an appearance by then, and if not, he'd have texted her to let her know that he wouldn't be there.
Where are you?
The text sent, then a few moments later, she received one in return.
Hospital, checking in on Vicki. I'll see you later.
Her eyes rolled at his response, and instead of replying, she simply closed out the texts and pocketed her phone again.
As she turned to walk toward her class, she smiled as she saw her friend Eden at her locker, getting ready to go to the same class.
Walking up beside the other girl, Audrey looped her arm through Eden's as she'd begun to walk. "You have no idea how good it is to see you right now," she spoke.
Eden's brow arched at the sudden contact and Audrey's words, but she smiled immediately after. "And why is that? Wait — don't tell me. You needed your daily dose of your favorite person at Mystic Falls High."
Audrey smirked a little at Eden's teasing and rolled her eyes fondly, "One of my favorite people," she corrected, pointing the finger of her free hand at the other girl.
Eden scoffed, rolling her eyes as well, "Right. And where is Mystic Falls' resident juvenile drug dealer?" she joked, causing Audrey to laugh, then shake her head immediately afterward.
"Take a guess," she replied.
Eden was one of the only people in town that knew just how she truly felt about Jeremy Gilbert. It wasn't that she tried to make it a secret, but she had never found the right time to act on her feelings. As soon as she'd truly realized them, Jeremy's parents died, then he started hooking up with Vicki. She'd thought that maybe now that Vicki was trying to push him away that he'd take a hint and move on, yet with how he'd helped in saving her life, that didn't seem as much of an option anymore either.
Shaking her head slowly, Eden let out a little sigh, "What is it about her, I wonder? She must give really good he—"
Before she could get the rest of her sentence out, Audrey had reached out and covered the other girl's mouth. "Eden!" she whined, though she couldn't help but laugh nonetheless.
Eden smirked behind the other girl's hand, reaching up and removing it, squeezing Audrey's digits in her own before releasing them. "What? Hell, even Tyler Lockwood is up her ass, she must be good at something."
Audrey shook her head, "One, Tyler Lockwood will fuck anything that moves. Two, I don't want to think about Jeremy doing.. that with her. It's just.. no."
The two made their way into the classroom, finding a couple of seats beside one another, watching as the other students filed in seconds before the bell, Coach Tanner standing at the door with disapproving looks to those who slipped in late.
—
The rest of the day seemed to drag on even more than a typical school day. All that she heard about all day was Vicki being attacked, and though she told herself that it did deserve some attention considering she could have died, she still couldn't help herself from being irritated with the lack of diverse conversation.
Pulling out her phone after her last class, she walked alongside Eden in the direction of the lockers. She checked her texts, sighing as she saw no new ones from Jeremy. It was as if he had checked out of life the second he'd gotten his opportunity to spend more time with Vicki, albeit at the hospital.
Eden reached over, taking the phone from Audrey's hand and putting in her own pocket. "Stop checking in on him!" she scolded. "You know what? We're going to the Grill, and we're going to share a basket of fries and distract ourselves from all of this. I might even let you talk me into a round of pool."
Audrey opened her mouth to protest when the phone was taken from her hand, but smiled at Eden's words. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "You don't hate pool, you know. You just hate that I always win," she smirked, nudging the other girl's shoulder with her own.
Eden gasped playfully, feigning as if she were more offended by Audrey's statement than she actually was. "That's just rude. How do you know that I don't just let you win?" she asked, arching her brow as if to challenge the other.
Letting out a laugh, Audrey shrugged, "Easy — your pride's too big for you to let anyone win."
Eden narrowed her eyes at the other girl before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her toward the exit of the school. "You're lucky that I love you, you know that?"
Audrey leaned into Eden's side as they walked, grinning wide and shaking her head, "I tell myself that every day."
—
Another of Audrey's billiard balls ended up in a pocket, and she grinned, looking over at Eden who was simply shaking her head. "I just don't understand how you got so good at this," Eden marveled.
Audrey shrugged, moving into position to hit another one of the balls, "Practice, I guess. Maybe it's just one of the things that I'm naturally good at. People have natural talents, you know."
Eden rolled her eyes, "You already have natural talents.. baking, dancing.. you can't have them all, you know," she teased.
A scoff left Audrey's lips as she shook her head, "You're exaggerating. Baking and dancing are both hobbies that I worked on. This.. I worked on it too, but it was never really that hard, I don't know why."
"Whatever you say, Evans," Eden spoke, moving to take a shot when Audrey finally missed hers.
Audrey's eyes lifted as she noticed a group of kids entering the Grill, recognizing most of them from school. Though she didn't always talk to a lot of people, preferring to keep her circle small, basically everyone knew each other in Mystic Falls. They'd all grown up together, and unless you were new to town, it was hard not to recognize someone.
Among the small crowd, she saw Tyler Lockwood, arm draped around the shoulders of an unfamiliar blonde. She knew that she'd probably seen her before, but she couldn't quite think of her name at the moment. Still, something told her that Eden would know.
Nodding toward the group, Audrey asked her quietly, "Who is that with Tyler?"
Eden looked over her shoulder, noticing the group. Her eyes scanned over them before reaching Tyler, and she hummed softly. "Ashley something. She's a freshman, moved her from somewhere in Pennsylvania over the summer. She's going to be trying out for the cheer team."
Audrey raised a brow as Eden rattled off facts about the girl in question, nodding lightly when she finished. "Think someone should tell her just who she's dealing with, there?" she asked.
Eden pursed her lips softly, eyeing the pair, "I'll mention it to her, but I'm sure she'll figure it out sooner rather than later. Speaking of cheer tryouts, I know it's really not your thing, but you should consider it! You'd get your share of dancing, and plus I'll be there. Come on, it could be really fun, just think about it," she pleaded.
Audrey let out a soft sigh. This wasn't the first time that Eden had asked her to consider trying out of for the squad, but she'd put her off every time, telling her she'd think about it. She supposed it couldn't be too bad, and if it was, she'd quit. After all, it wasn't like Caroline Forbes would put anyone but herself as star of the show.
"Fine," Audrey answered after a bit longer, grinning when she heard Eden's squeal of excitement. She felt her arms wrap around her and she laughed, shaking her head, giving her a small hug back.
Once the two had separated, Audrey leaned over the pool table to take her final shot. She aimed, then took her shot, the cue ball tapping against the eight ball, and as it slowly rolled toward the pocket, she grinned as it dropped in.
"I win."
—
The next night was the night of the comet, and the candle lighting ceremony that came along with it. Audrey and Eden had come together, yet after a while, the two parted ways, Audrey deciding to find Jeremy and Eden finding a few of her other friends to spend some time with them.
As Audrey made her way into the Grill, she looked around for Jeremy, finding him as he was also seeming to be searching for someone. Placing a hand on his arm, she spoke softly, "Hey, you okay?"
Jeremy stopped, glancing over at Audrey as she gripped his arm. "You haven't seen Vicki, have you? She was working, but I haven't seen her around in a while."
Audrey tried to fight the urge to roll her eyes, shaking her head instead, "No, I've been in the square, I just got here. Have you asked Matt or anyone if they've seen her?"
Jeremy shook his head at her question, nodding for her to follow him, which she did, despite the fact that they last thing she wanted to do was look for Vicki.
"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" Jeremy asked, stopping in front of the table where Elena, Matt, and the others were.
"You're her stalker. You tell us," Tyler was quick to reply, elbows resting against the table as he leaned forward.
"I can't find her."
Matt, Caroline and Bonnie stepped closer as the others around them spoke, picking up as they heard that Vicki was missing.
"She probably found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."
Audrey opened her mouth to defend Jeremy, but closed it when Elena spoke up, confused expression on her features. "What's with the pill pusher?"
"Ask him," Tyler replied.
"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asked, leaning forward as he glared at the other male. Audrey placed a hand against his shoulder, not wanting him to start anything and end up in a fight.
"Are you dealing?" Elena spoke, anger and frustration clear in her tone.
The two boys ignored Elena, continuing to go back and forth.
"She's never gonna go for you."
"She already did. Over and over and over again."
Tyler scoffed, "Yeah, right."
Caroline spoke up then, "You slept with Vicki Donovan? I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?" It was clear she was shocked and a bit skeptical, but Audrey was sure she'd get over that much soon enough.
"There's no way," Tyler told her.
"And I didn't even have to force her into it." Jeremy added, shooting a glare at Tyler.
As the two continued to glare at one another, a challenging air between them, Matt broke the moment of silence, "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?"
"Nothing, man. Just ignore him, he's a punk."
"You know what? How about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt spoke, the others agreeing and beginning to step away.
"We'll check the back," Bonnie said, moving with Caroline.
Matt nodded, "I'll check the square."
"I'll come with you," Jeremy started, but Elena quickly grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Oh, no, no, no. You're coming with me."
Audrey let out a little huff, looking around and wondering which way she should go. She spotted Tyler heading out the back with Caroline and Bonnie, as the other girls split off, Audrey moved to walk beside Tyler.
"That was a real dick move in there, you know," Audrey spoke up, looking over at him.
Tyler shrugged his shoulders, walking alongside her, "Yeah, well.. I just wanted him to get off my case, and Elena was going to find out eventually."
Audrey nodded slowly, considering what she was going to say next.
"Do you like Vicki? Like, actually care about her?"
Tyler gave her a look then, confused and seeming to wonder just what she was getting at. "Obviously. I sleep with her, and she's my best friend's sister. I don't not care about her."
"Then maybe you should show it, instead of screwing around with other girls and being an ass to Jeremy when he does show it."
Tyler considered her words carefully, nodding. "I guess you have a point," he spoke.
"I always do," she replied with a little smirk, lightly patting him on the arm and continuing to walk along.
—
Vicki had finally been found by Stefan, and after bringing her back to the Grill and getting her calmed down, Matt let everyone know that they could stop searching.
Audrey knew when she got home that there would be a lot of questions to answer from her mother. She was sure by now that the events of tonight had gotten back to the local police station, but she didn't want to give it any more of her time than she already had.
Walking into the house and closing the door behind her, she heard her mom call out to her from the living room. "Audrey? Everything okay?" Sarah asked.
"Everything's fine, yeah. Stefan Salvatore found Vicki and she's back at the Grill with Matt. I'm going to turn in for the night, love you," she spoke, already starting up the stairs.
"Love you too," Sarah replied, though her tone was a bit confused as she took a moment to process the information that she was given.
As Audrey opened the door to her bedroom and started inside, she heard her phone ding in her pocket. Putting her bag down on her desk, she pulled the phone from her pocket, seeing a text from Jeremy.
She's with Tyler. After everything, she's at the Grill making out with Tyler.
Audrey sighed as she read the message, her thumb hovering over the keys as she thought of what she would say. After a few moments, she decided that it would be better to leave it alone. She was exhausted, and the last thing that she felt like doing was consoling him, despite her own crush, about the girl that he wanted instead.
She placed her phone on the nightstand and moved into the bathroom, changing into her pajamas and getting ready for bed.
Something told her that this was only one long day of more long days to come.