Previously: Damon exhaled sharply.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked Elena hoarsely, "Why didn't you tell me that there was a Bennett witch in town?"
-0-
Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures
-Jessamyn West
-0-
"Get you're ass down to Alaric's classroom now, Stefan." Damon barked into the phone, eyes blazing as he swept his gaze over the anxious faces in front of him. He paused for a moment, listening intently, and his jaw clenched at his brothers annoyed reply.
"It wasn't a request, brother. Get here. Now."
Dammit all to hell. Why couldn't his life ever be simple? Just once, he wanted to wake up in the morning and not have another fucked up mess greeting him with crappy granola and a brooding brother. Was that really too much to ask for?
Apparently so.
Damon growled, running one hand through his hair in frustration.
"Stefan's coming now." he snapped, glaring at the others, "But we can fill him in when he gets his lazy ass up here. Now, would anyone care to tell me why I wasn't informed about the Bennett witch's arrival?"
Silence met his question. He appraised each of them mutely, anger rising to the point of boiling when the all averted their gaze, refusing to look him in the eye and fiddled nervously with various parts of their clothing. Damon closed his eyes and breathed deeply, fingers twitching and clenching into fists.
Breath. In. Out. In. Out. I-
"Oh for goodness sake!" Caroline snapped, looking exasperated as she glanced at her friends peevishly, "We didn't tell you because we weren't certain that she was a Bennett witch, you temperamental idiot! Your reaction to her this morning was the only way we could have been certain without prying. We wanted to be sure before we worried you, right guys?"
They all murmured their agreements and Caroline smirked, seeming pleased with herself. Damon watched her for a moment through narrowed eyes as she fluffed her blonde curls and smoothed her shirt, jumping up on the desk behind her and swinging her legs. She caught his glare and shrugged, poking her tongue out at him childishly.
Damon resisted the urge to chuckle, despite his bad mood.
Caroline was a lot of things- most of them terribly annoying things, that made him want to cut her tongue out of her mouth so she could never back-cheek him again, but he definitely admired her bravery. Well, that, and her ability to make him laugh. Not that he ever told her that, though- Hell no, knowing Caroline she'd probably begin to think that he actually liked her, or something.
"So what now, Damon?" Katherine smirked at him from where she was perched on the table beside her sister, "Want me to kill her?"
"No!" Elena looked appalled, "We can't kill her! We need her!"
"I agree with Elena on this one." Tyler said, looking oddly uncomfortable, "You've heard the prophecy's, man. The Bennett's are, like, the strongest of our kind. We need her. And anyway," he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Katherine, "It would be like killing a kid. She's very innocent, easy prey. Or is that how you like them, Kat? Defenseless and unable to fight back?"
Katherine curl her lip at him, jumping off the desk to take one long, measured step towards him.
"You don't want to start with me, Tyler." she said softly, eyes blazing, "Because I will win this fight."
"Wanna bet?"
Tyler glared back just as fiercely, cracking his knuckles.
"Normally, the idea of hitting a girl makes me feel sick, but I'll make an exception for you, Kitty-Kat. I haven't forgotten what you did to Vicky."
Katherine laughed.
"That little whore? She had it coming to her."
She smirked at Tyler, who was shaking with anger, his dark eyes practically black with rage.
"She screwed you and then went to Jeremy, crying about how much she loved him. She messed with his head, Tyler, screwed with his feelings. Nobody does that to my brother and gets away with it."
"You didn't need to kill her!" Tyler roared, his face flushed red with fury, "I loved her, for fucks sake! And you-you-" he broke off, breathing hard. Damon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This argument was ongoing and he was really beginning to tire of it.
"Fucking hell, Katherine, did you even consider how it would make me feel?" his voice came out choked, hoarse, and something flashed in Katherine's eyes for a moment.
Pity? Damon wasn't sure. He knew Katherine better than anyone else in the world and she just wasn't the type to feel such an emotion. But then again, she knew what she had done was wrong- she'd said as much to him before. He hadn't rushed to comfort her, just shrugged and told her to get her shit together. He couldn't afford the coven falling apart- not now. Not when the needed to stick together the most.
"Enough."
They all looked at him, eyes flashing when the caught the note of authority in his tone.
"We aren't killing the Bennett witch. Elena and Tyler are actually right for once- we need her."
He glanced at his watch, face darkening when he noticed that ten minutes had passed from he called Stefan and the little brat still wasn't there.
"At least, for now we do. I'll deal with that problem when we come to it. Right now, the bell's about to ring and Ric won't be able to stall forever. All I want to say is- you have any news for me, you tell me. No stalling." he looked each of them in the eyes, "Understand?"
His question was met with a collective sigh of 'Yes, Damon.' and he nodded, satisfied.
"Alright then. Get the hell out of here and try not to cause any trouble. I don't need the shit."
He watched them all shuffle out of the classroom, chest heavy with concern. He may not have acted like it, but his coven meant a hell of a lot to him and he didn't want to see any of them hurt. Which was why he had to keep the Bennett witch alive- even though it compromised his power indefinitely. Once she learned who she was and what she was capable of...
Damon sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He was too young to deal with this crap. At eighteen, he was supposed to be out having meaningless one night stands and drinking himself into oblivion- not worrying about his makeshift family and fucking demons.
"What do you need me to do?"
The voice came from the left of him, soft and determined, and he glanced up sharply, not entirely surprised to see Katherine hovering at the door. She looked impassive, per usual, but he caught a glint of... something in her eyes. Concern, maybe. She probably thought he was going to do himself over with all of this stress.
Not a bad idea, really.
"The Bennett witch." he sighed, squinting at her, "I need you to go to the medical room and make sure she's alright. Befriend her. Keep an eye on her." he smiled sardonically, "Don't kill her."
Katherine smirked at him and bobbed at mocking curtsy.
"As you wish, sir."
The smirk faded after a moment and was replaced with something more somber, more solid. Not quite concern, but something pretty darn close to it.
"You do realize what keeping her around means, right?"
Of course he did. It was all he'd been able to think about since he'd felt that shock, the overpowering familiarity, earlier on in the parking lot. It had compromised him in a hell of al ot of ways, and he hated the Bennett girl for putting him in this position.
He glanced at Katherine dismissively.
"I realize. But I can always challenge her for leadership."
Katherine shook her head, frowning. "You know it won't be that easy, Damon. It's her birthright to command this coven, not your's."
Damon glared at her, fury rising in his chest at the thought of her-of all the people- doubting him, "Who's side are you on, Katherine?"
"You know I'm on your side, Damon." she shot him a disparaging look, "But I'm just laying out the facts for you. I don't want to see this happen. You've worked too damn hard at being leader and I won't see it go down the drain because of a little girl playing with witchcraft. I refuse."
"Whatever. I'll deal with it later. Right now," he sent her a hard glance, "I have to go deal with Stefan and you have to go mind baby prodigy."
Katherine sniggered at his analogy, eyes twinkling with glee. Damon winked at her.
Things may have been going to shit, but he refused to let it get him down.
After all, he had a coven to look after.
-0-
I couldn't breath.
My chest felt heavy, constricted and the walls were closing in around me. I closed my eyes, breathing in as deeply as I could manage and placed my head between my knees. Was I having a panic attack? The thought made me frown. I hadn't had a panic attack since... well, since I'd met Kol. I'd refused the medication offered to me by therapists when they'd found out about my old habit, mainly because when he was around, I didn't fear much of anything and he practically never left my side.
Mystic Falls had changed that, though.
I whimpered, the burning in my chest making tears sting my eyes, and burrowed my head even further between my thighs. Where was Kol? Why wasn't he hear when I needed him most?
The images came back to me suddenly, with startling clarity- my mother, proud and beaming as she'd watched me clap my hands with glee. A normal scene, really, until you watched a little longer...
A younger version of myself, maybe two or three years old, sat in the middle of the floor in our old living room. My mother sat on the couch opposite me and my father... well, he was leaning up against a wall at the far side of the room, hands in his pockets, eyes dark and shadowed as he watched me.
"Look, Simon!" my mother crowed, smiling brightly, "Look at what our baby girl can do!"
'Baby me' concentrated on the small building block in front of her. I could feel the satisfaction building up in my chest, the anxiousness to make my mother proud of me becoming more and more potent, until, finally...
The block moved a fraction.
And nobody had touched it.
"You see, Simon?" my mother cooed, "Baby girl has her grandmothers genes."
'Baby me' grinned and giggled, reaching her chubby little arms out towards my mother.
The vision- or, whatever you want to call it- faded there, but I didn't miss the look of raw despair my father had thrown at 'baby me' as it slipped away.
I'd woken up after that, alone in what I assumed was the schools medical room, with a pounding headache and sore chest. I was terrified, my breast heaving with adrenaline and couldn't breath.
What was I doing here? Vaguely, I had the memory of falling, being caught, and then...
Blue eyes. Warm voice. Electric touch.
I couldn't concentrate on that, not right then- I was too busy trying to breath.
"Kol." I whispered, voice muffled, "I need you."
Where are you?
"Who's Kol?"
My head snapped up at the sound of her voice and I would have screamed if I'd had enough air too. A girl, maybe a few years older than me, with curly brown hair and matching colored eyes stared at me curiously. I stared back, resisting the urge to arch a brow at the thick layers of kohl that rimmed her eyes and the lip piercing that winked brightly under the flour scent lights. Goth? Or just attitude?
"W-who are y-you?" I gasped.
The girls eyebrows creased. "Jesus!" she exclaimed, taking in my disheveled state, "What the fuck's wrong with you?"
"C-c-can't breath!"
Quicker than I thought was possible, the girl strode across the tiny room and grabbed something from one of the medical tables, face dark as she turned towards me. Her hand thrust out and shoved something under my nose and, gasping, I snapped it from her and appraised it with mild confusion.
Why was she giving me a bag?
"Breath into it, idiot!" she snapped, glaring at me.
Oh! I put the bag to my mouth, inhaling deeply in once and then out again. Repeated the process. The girl watched me the whole time, wearing a look that, if I'm not mistaken, seemed a lot like disgust. Huh. My first day of school and it looked like I'd already made an enemy. Delightful.
Once I'd gotten enough air in my lungs to be able to think clearly, I pulled the bag away from my mouth and drew in one long, loud, breath of air. The girls fingers twitched and I knew without being told that she was irritated with me. Uh-oh.
I peered at her cautiously, "Who are you?"
She seemed to make an effort to calm herself- breathing deeply, she shut her eyes for the briefest of moments, eclipsing chocolate brown orbs, and I took the opportunity to look her over.
Dark clothing- black skinny's, knee length patent leather boots and a tiny black top with red writing on it. She had a leather jacket slung over her arm and, once again, I wondered is she was goth or just attitude. I was leaning toward the ladder, if truth be told.
Her eyes snapped open, appraising me mildly and she forced a smile.
"Katherine Pierce," she introduced, walking towards me with an outstretched hand, "Pleasure to meet you."
Really now? I coughed to hide a smile and grasped her hand in my own, "Bonnie Bennett. It's nice to meet you, Katherine."
Her eyes were cat-like and I didn't like how her scrutiny made me feel- open, exposed, vulnerable. Suppressing a shiver, I glanced at her shyly from under my lashes and squirmed on the bed. Katherine smirked.
"First day?"
I nodded.
"That must suck. Fainting on your first day of a new school, I mean."
I nodded again, feeling a little uncomfortable. Why did she have to keep reminding me? And what was with the sudden change of heart towards me?
"Damon was the one who brought you here."
Damon? Who the heck was Damon? Confusion must have registered on my face because Katherine laughed, the sound as seductive and throaty as I expected it to be.
"Stefan's brother. You know, the one with the bad reputation."
Oh! Damon! I squinted at Katherine, comprehension dawning, "Oh! Are you Elena's sister?"
She nodded, smirking once more. "Indeed. We're nothing alike though. Elena's such a goodie two shoes." She rolled her eyes.
"And you're not?" It was a stupid question, but I didn't know what else to say.
"No." Katherine replied, biting her lip to suppress laughter, "I'm not, encase it wasn't obvious."
Ah, so I was right- the clothing was just attitude. It made sense, I guess. She kind of had that 'bad girl' vibe about her- even without the clothes and the piercings, she wouldn't be a person that many people would mess with. Too many promises of castration in those scornful eyes.
"Oh." I replied lamely, staring holes at into my lap, "Cool."
An awkward silence lapsed between the two of us. I watched her quietly as she paced the length of the the room, glancing every so often at the large clock that was hung on top of the door. She reminded me of a caged tiger- all grace and prowl, beautiful, but could kill you with one bite to the neck. She fascinated me.
"Are you going to go home?" she asked eventually, not sparing me a glance, "Or are you feeling well enough to go to class?"
'Well' was the last thing I felt- my stomach churned, my head ached and the thought of putting pressure on my legs made me feel vaguely nauseous- but I didn't want to go home. My father would be at home, nursing a hangover if I know him well enough, and Kol would be there too. School was a good opportunity to keep some distance between us so that I could think, so I wasn't going home.
"No, I'm going to stay in school."
Katherine held a hand out to me, "Alright then. I'll walk you to class."
As a general rule, I normally didn't make a habit of touching people. Katherine was intriguing me though, with these weird moods and obvious forced pleasantries, so I figured it couldn't hurt to play along. It was at a welcome distraction, if nothing else.
Hesitantly, I hopped off the bed, wincing at the sudden rush of blood to my head and wobbled over to where she stood, grabbing her hand for support for a moment. Her olive skin was warm, very warm, and I got the impression she didn't like to be touched much either- or at least wasn't very used to it, since she winced when our skin made contact. She didn't comment on it, so neither did I.
I hummed along to a nameless song as we made our way down the empty corridors, awkwardness making me uncomfortable and tongue-tied. If Kol was here, he'd be cracking none stop jokes in my ear trying to get me to laugh. It's not exactly surprising that I never was a people person.
Katherine looked bemused at my obvious discomfort, but didn't comment. After a moment of listening to me hum, she asked for my schedule.
Finally, neutral ground. I rummaged in my pockets for the slip of paper and handed it to her.
She studied it for a moment, nodding to herself.
"English Lit with Mrs Robinson. Good class."she commented, sounding vacant.
I frowned. This girl was so confusing. One minute she was calling me bad names, the next she wanted to be my personal guide and then the next she was acting like a robot. It made it very difficult to make a decision on whether I liked her or not.
"Are you in any of my classes?" I asked, voice tiny and hesitant.
Mentally, I rolled my eyes at myself. Showing tiger-like girls any type of weakness was a very bad idea. They were more likely to chow down on you if showed signs of fear or intimidation.
"Nope." Katherine glanced down at me briefly, eyes undecipherable and I imagined her tiger tail twitching with pleasure, "But Damon is. He's in your calculus class- boy sucks at maths. Or, well, no one really knows if he sucks at maths, since he always ditches that class. That's why he was bumped down classes."
She clearly knew a lot about him. I could tell from the way she talked about him- she seemed comfortable, a little absentminded, like she knew Damon so well that she didn't even have to think about what she was saying. Kind of like me and Kol.
"Is Damon your best friend?"
Katherine frowned, hesitating. "He's my... friend, I guess. My only friend, really. I don't do the whole 'best friend' thing.'"
Hmm. Interesting. She had commitment issues I realized, and couldn't help but wondering why. Elena seemed pretty normal, so I doubted it was family-related. What had happened that was so bad to make Katherine like this?
"Okay. We're here- enjoy class, Bennett. I'll catch you later." she winked at me, shoving me gently in the direction of the class room door in front of us. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and began to stalk down the corridor. I frowned. She even walked like a tiger- swinging her hips while she prowled around for her next available prey.
"I think I like you, Katherine!" I called after her, voice loud and echo-y in the empty hallway. Which, wasn't a lie. She certainly seemed to be one of the most interesting things in this quaint little town.
Katherine didn't pause, "Back at'cha, kitten!" she shouted over her shoulder.
I smiled. She was a lot like me, I realized- only I didn't wear leather or have studs in my skin. We both had secrets though, secrets we couldn't tell anyone.
Not even our best friends.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to the classroom door and, banishing all thoughts of Katherine, Kol and strange flashbacks from my mind, I pushed the door open with a renewed sense of determination.
Time to make a start on my new life.
-0-
The house was quiet when I got home which, in its self, was quite a relief.
It had been a really long day and all I wanted to was to curl up into a small ball in my bed and sleep. School had been grueling. My mental narration even more so.
It seemed that every corner I turned was plauged with questions- Why was Kol being so secretive? What did those visions I had mean? Why today, of all days, did it have to happen?
Who knew thinking could be so exhausting?
Stifling a yawn, I slung my bag onto the hallway floor and kicked my beat up converse off. Tip-toeing, I padded into the living room, curious as to where everyone was.
Normally, despite his apparent indifference towards me, my father was always inquisitive as to how I liked my new schools. I guess some measures of the professor he used to be still remained and he couldn't really help himself. I didn't mind. It was nice to have a normal conversation with him, even if it was brief and only happened every so often.
It didn't look like it was happening today though.
I paused at the living rooms threshold, a confusing mixture of sadness, anger and betrayal rushing through me as I caught sight of my father. He was sprawled out on the couch, still dressed in his pajama pants and robe, snoring softly. A bottle of what looked like Tequila was clutched to his chest, like it was a teddy bear or something.
I sighed.
If anything, I'd thought that moving to a nice place like Mystic Falls would have helped him, made him need to the alcohol that little bit less.
How wrong can you be? If anything it seemed like he was drinking more than ever, something which made no sense to me. But then again, I'd long since given up trying to figure about my fathers logic. It gave me a headache just thinking about it.
"Sleep well, daddy." I whispered, grabbing one of the blankets that were slung over the couch and gently placing it over his sleeping form. He grunted, mumbled something incoherent, but didn't wake. I smiled softly, leaning forward to peck him lightly on the cheek. He sighed.
Cautiously, I stepped away from his still form and, carefully not to make much noise, went into the kitchen to whip up a quick meal. I was starving. Mystic Falls High might have been prided on it's curriculum, but it food was awful. My poor stomach cringed at the thought of it.
"Greetings from the mother ship."
I wouldn't be exaggerating by saying that he came out of nowhere. Probably I should been used to it by now, but Kol appearing out of thin air had always been one of the few things that aggravated me about him. One of these days, I was going to get him fitted with a little bell so that I knew advance when he was going to show up.
"Gosh, Kol!" I spun around, hand pressed against my thumping heart, and had to force myself to whisper-shout, "What have I told you about sneaking up on me?"
He looked bored. "Not to. But where's the fun in that?"
"No fun." I shot back, supressing a giggle, "You don't deserve any fun, you naughty boy."
He beamed at me, "You're toast is burning."
Crap! I spun back around and yanked the burning toast out of the grill, mentally cursing Kol while I did so. My stomach grumbled as we both stared at the shrunken, charred thing, rendering it inedible. I sighed regretfully. Cereal it is.
"I need to talk to you." I mumbled as I grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard, "It's kind of important. Or, at least, I think it is."
Kol watched silently as I shook cereal into my bowl, his face void of any emotion. His brown eyes looked blank but, as I snuck a peek at him from the corner of my eye, his posture looked tense and cautious. He ran one through his hair, messing it up even more.
"I don't know if I'll be able to help you." He said eventually, not looking me in the eye as I slid into the chair across from him at the table.
"Something happened to me today, Kol. And-" I sighed.
Would he think I was crazy? Part of me wouldn't blame him. It did sound a little far-fetched.
"And I don't know how to deal with it. Not on my own."
His eyes softened, "You can tell me anything, Bon."
See, how did he do that? How did he manage to melt my heart with just a sentence? I smiled at him.
"I know Kol, but this... this is going to make me sound like a crazy person. For real this time." And wasn't that the truth. "Can you deal with that?"
He looked affronted, "Girl, I had tea with you and your barbie dolls everyday for a week when you were seven. I can pretty much deal with anything after that."
I frowned at him. Now was not the time for his jokes. "I'm being serious, Kol!"
"Alright then- tell me."
And so I did. I told him about everything- the flashback in the car, the episode in the parking lott and the vision when I passed out. I even told him about Katherine and her tiger-like grace, though she didn't really have much to do with the story. I just wanted to know what he thought of her mood-swings. Maybe I'd found a kindred spirit in her.
Kol didn't smirk or laugh like, admittedly, I'd half been expecting him to. Oh no. Far from it.
His dark eyes glowed with some unnamed emotion as I talked and his mouth was compressed into one tight, thin line. He looked paler, too, and I wondered how that was possible since, for all intents and purposes, he was a figment of my imagination... so, should he even have blood in the first place?
The question distracted me for a moment and Kol had to wave a hand in front of my face to get my attention.
"You alright?"
I blushed, "Yeah. Just thinking."
"Look, Bonnie." he hesitated for a second, looking mildly distressed. "I... I don't think you should start wondering about this stuff. Just leave it alone. It'll fade eventually."
I blinked at him, confused. I'd just told him one of the weirdest experienced I'd ever had and that was his reply?
"Come again?"
"Just leave it alone. You shouldn't fool with this stuff."
"So, you know what happened?"
"I didn't say that!" he growled, frustration lining his features. He jumped up from the kitchen table, fists clenched and began to pace the floor on long, agitated strides.
I watched him mutely. He was keeping something from me- something big- and it hurt. It hurt because, clearly, he didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth, even after everything we'd been through together. After everything I had shared with him. Not to mention this clearly had something to with my mother- and my grandmother, whom I'd never even had the chance to meet. This was important.
"You didn't have to." My voice was small. "You're keeping something from me, Kol. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."
"Ever since we moved here, you've been so quiet and moody. You keep disappearing when I need you most and when I ask you where you go, you almost bite my head off. I'm not prying, Kol, I'm worried. I'm so scared that you're going to leave. You're the only family I have left."
My father didn't count. Most of the time, he was so drunk he couldn't even remember his own name, let alone mine. It didn't bother me, really, not anymore. It was just how things were. But I couldn't afford to loose Kol.
"Please. Just tell me what's going on."
He was stricken. I could tell from the expression on his face that he was keeping something from me, maybe something that he wanted to tell me but couldn't, so, in a last ditch attempt to get him to come around, I blurted;
"I want to find my grandmother!"
He froze and, right away, I knew it had been the wrong thing to say.
"I have to go, Bonnie."
"What?" I blinked at him, "No, don't leave! Not again!"
He dodged me when I made a grab for him, and his eyes were hard when he spat, "Let me go. I'll be back later."
"When's 'later'?" I was angry now. He couldn't just keep... running away, when things didn't go his way. "Tonight? Tomorrow? Next week? Be specific, Kol!"
"I can't!" he yelled, faced red with anger, "I can't be specific so... just stop bugging me!"
He disapeared. It was such a sudden thing- no noise to indicate he was leaving, no waver in his expression... nothing. It made me wonder if he'd ever really been there at all.
Tears sprung in my eyes- helpless, angry tears- and I let out a choked sob as I pushed the half-eaten bowl of cerial away from me. I didn't want to eat anymore.
I just wanted my best friend back.
Dejected, I decided that the best course of action was to shower and go to bed and, as I closed my eyes, the only thing I could hope for was that the my third day in this town would be a lot better than the previous two.
a/n:
hey guys!
a big thank you to Virgo girl, both guests, isis, dawnkind and Banimondala for the kind reviews. It means a lot guys, so a big shout out to you!
this story is going to be a little confusing to follow in the beginning, which is intentional. you'll just have to bear with it for a bit and hopefully it will make the story a bit more exciting.
on to the bigger questions, however-
Ages: Damon and Katherine are eighteen. The others are all between sixteen and seventeen and there will be a few birthday celebrations within the story!
Vampires?: no. this story won't be following the normal VD story line and I'm sure you all picked up on the 'coven' reference. it will be centred mostly around a witch angle.
Kol: you'll just have to read on and find out about him. he's intentionally a mystery ;)
review please!
-lolita