A/N: I have nothing to say in this note except that I don't know if I like it much. I'm in the middle of a class right now and it's a bit time consuming so this didn't flow quite the way I wanted it. I have another plunny for a strictly TVD fic that has also been in my head. It'll be a Damon/OC fic, but has moments of Stefan/OC as well because of reasons. What do you all think? Do you read TVD or am I hitting a mainly Twilight audience? Let me know, until then.
Peace, Love, and Slyther,
Gimi aka Jess
Emmett and Bella came out of the kitchen and walked into the living room. Not surprisingly all of the vampires had heard Bella and began making their way to the room. Damon walked over to Bella and pulled her aside. He wanted to make sure that she wanted to tell her story today, of all days. Nodding her head, he kissed her and pulled her onto his lap in their chair. Jasper and Caroline both sat on the floor next to the chair along with Jeremy and Tyler. One by one, Bella's family surrounded her, offering support.
Charlie had no wish to relive the past, primarily because of memories of Liz, so he excused himself. Kissing Bella good night, he left his daughters in the care of their friends and went home to remember Renee on his own. While she was no longer the love of his life, he did love her, and her death still hurt.
The Cullen family all sat on a long sofa while Stefan and Tyler both stood behind the chair that Bella was sitting on with Damon. Bella took a deep breath and began.
"Well after my, uh… accident," Bella began, remembering it as it was yesterday, "I woke up in the hospital and dad was almost manic, Jasper had been keeping him calm, but I could see in his eyes, he was at his wit's end with my behavior." Bella took a breath, remembering the scared look in her father's eyes at that time.
"Anyways, I stayed in the hospital for a few days and then my dad and Jasper made plans for Jasper and me to get away from Forks for a while." She continued.
"Yeah, Damon and I were in the war together and turned the same year. We lost track of each other, but I met up with his brother in the twenties with Klaus and Rebekah. I got in contact with Damon back in the thirties. Well, Peter, called me after Bella was in the hospital and told me that Damon could use my help in Mystic Falls, he said that Bella would get better there too. Of course, he didn't say what we would go through before she got better, but we went anyways."
Bella chuckled as she saw Stefan bow his head a little. "Yeah um, Mystic Falls is a breeding ground for supernatural activity. See, Damon, Stefan, and Caroline are all original vampires. So are Rebekah, and Elijah. Bonnie and Freya are witches, Elena is a doppelganger, Nik and Tyler are hybrids, and Jeremy and Ric are hunters. The only human in the group was Matt; he's still in Mystic Falls."
"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked, "We are vampires."
Bella nodded, "Yes, you are. But everyone else here is considered original vampires. They are what most legend is made of. Well not Nik, he and Tyler are a new hybrid breed."
"We aren't dogs Bella," Tyler said. Stopping for a moment to think about what he said, he growled and said, "Shut up Damon."
Damon snickered, "I didn't say anything."
"Anyways…" Bella said, trying to avoid the bickering.
"Bella and I went to Virginia, she and Elena hit it off well enough, I would go with Damon in search of…" Jasper interrupted, then paused as he could feel the remorse and regret pouring off his friend.
"Who?" Alice asked, curious.
"Me," Stefan said out loud, "I was off with Klaus, working. They were trying to find me."
"Wait, Klaus, Klaus Mikaelson?" Carlisle said, a hint of recognition at the name, "You're the Mikaelson family, the very first of your kind."
"Right in one mate," Klaus said with a grin.
"They say you are cruel and vindictive," Esme said, horror on her face.
Klaus just smirked, "I am."
"Nik, stop," Bella said groaning leaning back against Damon who was chuckling, "Don't start Damon."
"You made friends with them; you have to like his asshole ways."
"I must, I like your asshole ways," Bella retorted.
"You liked Ripper's first," Damon corrected.
"Shut up," Bella said, hitting him in the arm.
"Anyways. Jasper and Damon would go on trips until one day before school started, Stefan, Nik, and Rebekah came back to Mystic Falls. Dad had taken a leave of absence from work; I was starting school there because I wasn't ready to come back yet." Bella said, moving on.
"Damon and I didn't get along at first, he was compelling this annoying twit to be his blood bag, it was not fun to watch someone's free will taken away."
"What happened to her?" Alice asked.
"It's a long story," Bella said, she could see Klaus opening his mouth to say something, and she scowled at him. He smirked and motioned for her to go on.
"Anyways, Stefan came home and started school again, but he was not the same as he is today. See Stefan is a ripper, or I should say…"
"I'm the Ripper of Monterey," Stefan said with a sigh, "I'm like an addict, human blood is too much for me, which is why I drink animal blood instead."
"The Ripper of Monte…" More recognition dawned in Carlisle's eyes. His honey eyes widen in surprised that Bella had not only surrounded herself with vampires but far more dangerous ones that his family.
"He's fine now," Bella said quickly, "He drinks small amounts of human blood and animal blood, human blood makes him stronger, but the animal blood keeps him sane. But back then, he was on full human blood, and he was…"
"An asshole," Elena said bluntly. Bella laughed as Stefan frowned.
Damon snorted, "He did kill Andy to send a message, not to mention countless others over the summer, I think asshole is the right word."
"Damon, I don't think you have room to talk," Bella scolded.
"Anyways," Bella continued, "I had not known Stefan before, so I didn't know any better on his personality, but I became friends with Rebekah, Klaus' sister, even though she was a bitch and tried to compel me several times."
"Rebekah has issues," Caroline said with a chuckle, "She is the only girl in the family, she's spoilt."
"You won't be laughing when I pull your spleen out of your nose," Rebekah retorted mildly.
"Seriously everyone," Bella said huffing in annoyance, "This is my story, no commentary needed." Jasper laughed, Bella stuck out her tongue and continued, "Becca and I became friends or allies if you want to call it that. I liked her; she didn't have many friends, her brothers, especially Nik, are all overprotective of her, while she has a tough shell, she can be sweet."
Bella heard Elena huff from across the room, "Except when she's trying to kill someone we love, which for a time there, that happened a lot."
"Anyways, I ended up spending time with Stefan, even though he was still in ripper mode. Stefan, while an asshole, he's pretty fun when he's not so uptight."
"Thanks, Bells," Stefan smirked.
Bella smiled at the man who was like her brother, "I was in a bad place, and the danger of being around Stefan made me feel alive."
"Bella is an adrenaline junkie," Rebekah said, watching the eyes of the Cullens family get bigger, "She'd go out with Stefan at night, to a club or riding motorcycles."
Stefan groaned, "I'm pretty sure she still wanted to suicidal at this point."
Bella nodded, "Probably. I never feared any of you. I think I'm broken." Klaus laughed as he was the most dangerous creature in the house and he knew she was right, she never feared him.
"Anyways, Stefan and I were friends. He liked that I didn't try and get him to switch it back on, I liked that he wasn't walking on eggshells around me. Jasper told everyone I was suicidal and all I ever got was pitying looks and whispers behind me. Stefan made me feel normal, though I don't know how normal it was since he was still a bloodaholic. He's one of my best friends."
"Even after I almost killed her," Stefan said, a note of regret in his eyes. Bella stood and hugged Stefan; he hugged her back tightly. He was still remorseful for his actions.
"I forgave you Stef, let it go."
"I don't know how you have; I haven't."
"Elena," Bella cried out, "Stefan is brooding again, I'm going to stab him." She brought out a stake she had up her sleeve and pretended to push it through his stomach. Stefan recoiled his body a bit, Bella smiled brightly at her friend as his frown disappeared and he kissed her cheek with affection.
Elena snorted with laughter, "You two have the weirdest relationship."
Jasper laughed as well, "Bella has a weird relationship with everyone. I don't think she knows what a normal human interaction is."
Everyone snickered at that and Bella huffed, hugging Stefan and then returning to her seat, "Anyways Stefan was seeking revenge on Nik, and he almost drove off of a bridge with Elena and me in the car with him."
Damon growled, "No, he DID, and the car got stuck Bells; stop defending him. He knows what he did was stupid," his voice was filled with anger. His hand that had gone back to resting on her hip gripped her tighter, "He swerved at the last moment, but the car was going over, only Elena was able to get out of the car Bells, that's not okay. You went over the bridge. You almost died."
Bella groaned. Stefan hit his head on the wall behind him, "I'm fine Damon, Stefan got me out, we're both fine."
"You are too forgiving."
"My family consists of vampires, hybrids, and shapeshifters," Bella pointed out, "I could die blinking in this house." Bella could see the anger in her boyfriend's eyes still, and she sighed, "You need to let it go. It was months ago; I'm fine. Stefan would never hurt me, even then he never tried."
"He did Bells," Damon argued.
Bella was shaking her head in disagreement, knowing he wouldn't have hurt them if he hadn't been driven to it.
"Maybe we should table this conversation," Jasper said, feeling the emotions arise from the three friends, "Before Damon snaps Stefan's neck, again."
Carlisle agreed, not needing to be an empath to realize that there was a lot more drama to the story, but with the reason for the get-together, Bella did not need more stress. "We should be going; it is getting late, I'm sure Bella needs some rest."
Caroline looked at her watch and jumped up, "Oh yes! We need to be up early to decorate the gym for the dance."
Bella groaned, putting her head on Damon's shoulder, "Don't I get a pass on decorating? My mother just died, and I have a crazy cold one after me."
Caroline scoffed, "Nice try, but normal teenagers do normal teenage things, which includes dance committee."
Bella shot her head up, "You are a vampire, and even as a human, I doubt you were normal." Bella pointed out. Caroline chuckled, nodding her head in agreement, "Even as a normal teenager, I never volunteered to decorate for a dance."
Caroline shrugged, "Too bad, Renee would want you to continue with your life; that means hanging crepe paper and dressing up in a poodle skirt and saddle shoes."
Bella shook her head, "I thought we agreed, I'm not a Soc. No poodle skirts."
"Get over it Cherry," Caroline said with a smile, "Slutty Sandy is mine. And Bonnie is the Rizzo of our group; you are precious Sandy."
"Can I go as Ponyboy?" Caroline laughed and shook her head, Bella groaned, "What about Elena? Why can't she be Sandra Dee?"
"I want to be Frenchie," Elena said with a shrug and a smile.
"What the Bloody hell are you all talking about? What's with the names?" Rebekah cried out.
Caroline looked over at the blonde original, "Decade Dance is tomorrow, it's a 50's Dance."
Rebekah perked up, "I want to go, I was daggered in the 50s, but I've seen those sweet skirts. I think I'd quite enjoy them."
Bella perked up, "Good; you be a soc, I don't want to wear the skirt."
Rosalie chuckled, giving Bella an unfamiliar smile, "Bella, if you allow me, I think I have something that might match your personality more than a poodle skirt."
Bella paled, she did not want to play dress up Bella with Rosalie like Alice use to. Rosalie, seeing this on her face, understood, "I have a few things from the 50's, some pinup dresses and sailor shorts. Things that are classic and iconic. They might need to be tailored a little, but I'm sure it would match your style more than a poodle skirt."
"The dance is tomorrow Rose," Bella said sadly, "That's not enough time to tailor something, and SOMEONE won't let me skip it."
Rosalie smiled, "I can hem them, I did live through an age where I made my clothing at one point, it shouldn't take long."
Bella looked on cautiously, "You would do that for me?"
Rosalie smiled at her, "You are family."
Damon scoffed and shot her a tight smile, "Yeah, except for when she wanted to be apart of your family, then she was trying to hurt you." He would not let her forget that she didn't always think Bella was family.
Emmett rose to his feet, but Rosalie held him back, looking at Damon, she narrowed her honey-colored eyes, "You're right, I was not nice to Bella. Everyone knows I am a bitch. I don't deny that. But I refuse to lose Jasper as family, any more than I already have. I see a change in Bella; I see how much more invested she is with this family. I see how much she loves and cares for Jasper and not the same as she did with Edward. With Edward, she was disgustingly compliant, but with you, she has fire. I can see her, not just the girl who idolizes you or my brother, but Bella."
Bella smiled, putting a hand over Damon's mouth, anticipating a witty remark, "Thank you, Rose, I would appreciate that. Caroline means well, but it's a bit of a sick and twisted game with her to put me in a skirt like that."
Caroline grinned, not even denying the truth of that statement, "Anything to get you out of jeans and converse."
Bella stood up, as the Cullens all stood to leave. Bella gave each one of them a quick hug, significantly warmer than the one she gave them at the beginning of the night. Rosalie, promising to come back in an hour to take her measurements, was the last one to leave. Closing the door, Jasper gave Bella a hug knowing that it had been a hard day for her.
Bella didn't like to talk about the past few months. She didn't want to relive it. Her depression, her attempted suicide. The time she spent with Stefan and even Klaus, were part of a wild time in her life. A time where she didn't care about being alive, now that she thought about it, she was still suicidal. She had to have been to be friends with two of the most dangerous men in town at the time.
As she watched her friends and family chatting around the room, Stefan was brooding in the corner with Elena giving him a pep talk, Caroline and Jasper laughing at something Tyler and Rebecca were saying. Damon came over and gave her an apologetic hug. He knew how much she disliked talking about the past and it always made him mad as well. He hated that time when she was in more danger than Elena ever was and on purpose. It wasn't until after she went over the bridge and helped Stefan reign in his Ripper side, did she find herself again. He had never been so close to killing his brother as he was when Bella was in the hospital after the accident, but that had been the turning point for both of them. The accident, as crazy as that sounds, had been the reason they both began to heal. That and the beating that Jasper had laid on Stefan afterwards.
Rosalie had returned with Esme to get Bella's measurements, along with some options for Bella to wear. Bella had decided that, while she didn't want to wear a poodle skirt, she wouldn't mind a pinup style dress. Rosalie had found a few of her dresses that were of that style, picking a white halter-style dress with black and red floral pattern. After pinning it in place, the Cullen women left with Rosalie promising to have it ready in time. Bella let them out and walked over to her mother and Phil's urns, with one last sad caress, she turned and walked up the stairs knowing Damon was waiting for her. Once upon a time she had been lost, not knowing where life would bring her, little did she know, it would lead her to Damon.