A/N: Here I was, worrying the Cynthia & Damon fight (I keep calling them Cynmon in my head, because I think I am way more punny than I actually am.) would have been irritating. Especially because Damon went MIA in the beginning, but it felt true to character, so I left it. I'm so glad it felt realistic and not forced to you guys.
To the Guest who said Elijah was their favorite character: Firstly, please give me a shout if Cynthia starts willingly letting herself be seen as second best to Elena and it is not in order to manipulate someone. (You can see her thoughts, so it should be obvious, yeah?) Because I don't want that either, and I want to stop that slide if I somehow end on it. Secondly, I may not be 100% set on my finals just yet (plenty of ideas for initial pairings, but not finals), but Damon will not end up with a Petrova doppelganger. Finally, SOON. I pinkie swear. Elijah is a wonderful character, and he will be playing a major role in events. This is just also going to be a long ride, and I didn't want the story to feel rushed and the lesser for it by forcing him in early.
Slytherson: Thank you so much for all of your reviews and giving me feedback as well as ideas.~ It's obviously too late for Cynthia to try to play unappealing (and it wouldn't serve her greater agenda!) but I suppose you have a point. As for the idea of Stefan interfering with Cynthia and Damon's relationship, part of me finds that hilarious. Because you know that Cynthia would be all joking like 'sure we can date Stef!' and not take it seriously. I'll definitely think on some future interactions for them. (Also I'm glad you noticed and appreciated that tidbit.)
Angelicsailor and AnimeFreak71777, I love you and thank you for your consistent reviews. You make my day.
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Cynthia had not gotten much in the way of sleep that night. She would drift off, then find herself awake once more. The first time she awoke, it was because she was freezing because the comforter had drifted away from her (just a sheet was apparently not sufficient). The second, her eyes felt weirdly sore. Then the girl just couldn't really get comfortable enough to fall back asleep, no matter how she contorted her body.
It wouldn't have been so bad if she'd been able to focus on her homework. (So, so dull.) At least it would be pretty difficult for anyone to fail this portion of history. Tanner was basically passing people for showing up to class.
Sometimes, she wondered if he would want to live with such a different personality, but best not to dwell. Particularly in front of Elena, who was quite huffy this morning. Not her circus, not her monkeys. Cynthia focused on stuffing a muffin and orange juice down her throat. Since the girl hadn't been able to sleep, there was nothing keeping her from cooking. (Well, she'd only intended to make herself instant oatmeal originally, which had turned out horribly. The muffins fared much better.)
"Make sure y'all save a few for Jenna," Cynthia called out to her siblings as she started the coffee for them. "I'm gonna head in early."
"Why?" Jeremy's voice was still groggy from sleep. The boy hadn't even waited for the pot to finish brewing before he poured himself a cup. "You can't even go in before the bell. Which is still stupid, by the way."
Elena, who was far more patient than her cousin/brother, poured herself some coffee after him. "Not exactly something we can change."
"Dunno, maybe I can weasel my way in to check on my birdhouse for shop." The shortest (unfairly so, in her opinion) of the three found herself smiling just a little at the dialogue. "I just think some fresh air will do me some good. I'll see you later."
"Don't forget tonight is family night!" Jeremy's words rang out behind Cynthia as she closed the door. Her smile stuttered slightly when she found someone in their driveway lounging against a baby blue car, sunglasses already affixed despite the fact the sun was barely out. "Damon?"
"Were you expecting someone else?".
She hadn't been expecting anyone, actually, thanks for asking. Not after the row they'd had, and all things considered she wasn't certain she liked the surprise. "Listen, about last night. I – "
"I heard you." Damon cut her off, causing Cynthia to frown in confusion. Of course he had heard her, in the most literal of senses anyway. And she strongly doubted that he meant 'heard' in a 'You make a good point, and I shall acknowledge and abide by it willingly.' (Fantastic if so, but it seemed unreasonable.) Smirking behind his shades, the man finally elaborated. "With Lexi last night."
"Which part?" She shifted uncomfortably, "Because I swear, the stakes aren't meant for you. You know they aren't; we planned that together." Not that she thought that logic was a particular skill of his when emotions were high. He's been betrayed enough, after all. (But not by her. Shouldn't that count for something?)
Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't. After a moment's thought, Cynthia dumped the backpack onto the ground. If this was how she died, then it wasn't going to be feeling like a high schooler. It was an altogether unnecessary move, but at least it lightened the physical weight on her shoulders.
"You would say that, wouldn't you?"
It took Cynthia a few moments to realize the man looked far too entertained to actually be angry. He was a bit drunk, despite the early hour, but not actually mad. If Damon had been any closer, Cynthia would have been far too tempted to punch him. Instead, she grabbed a handle of her bag and swung it at him with a disgusted sound. "Because it's true, and you know it."
He caught the bag, because of course he did, before shaking his finger at her. "Temper temper, young Gilbert."
"What can I say? You draw out the best in me," she replied sweetly, still on edge, hesitating between meaning what she'd said the night before and apologizing to make things easier. Damon being in a good mood might be pleasant to deal with on a normal day. Right now it was aggravating. Because yes, she had gone off on him a little prematurely, but all he would have to do was answer her question. That he hadn't implied he was guilty, and the man had to be old enough to know that by now. Returning just because Lexi had given the green light on their Mikaelson plan did not mean or necessitate forgiveness on either of their parts.
Which was horribly uncomfortable.
Damon shrugged it off, starting to walk in the complete opposite direction of school with her bag, so Cynthia had to chase after him. And chase. "Oi, wait up! I do need to actually go to school today, you know. There's a test."
"Should have thought of that before," he taunted lightly, continuing to walk away from her as he did. "Now I'm honor bound to rescue you. I can't subject a friend to the horrors of the public school system, after all." The girl stared at him for a long moment., a smile making its way across her face. "I don't suppose a please would help?"
The vampire stilled for all of three seconds before answering. "No, but I've never made a habit of turning away a woman on her knees."
One step forward, two decades back.
Finally able to catch up to him and – more importantly – her bag, Cynthia leaned up on her tiptoes to murmur in his ear, "I find that very easy to believe." She lowered her heels and started to lean forward, but Damon caught her hand before she could reclaim her belongings. "Oh, that reminds me," the girl continued after a second of staring at his hand. "Are you going to help out at the car wash? I've not been conscripted, but apparently only because Caroline doesn't approve of any of my bathing suits."
If you can't beat them, confuse them.
"Hmn, tempting. Semi clothed women and cars…."
"Children," Cynthia interrupted sternly. "Semi clothed children that some people will gawk at because of our cultural sexualization of the youth." Not to mention his brother would also be there, and theoretically at least, Bonnie might just learn to set water on fire. Maybe not, if Caroline never had any reason to bail? How interesting.
Damon's voice cut through her ruminations, "You know you're really not selling this very well. Here I was, thinking you were trying to make things up to me."
"Yes, Damon. I'm so sorry that I have any sort of a conscience."
He nodded enthusiastically. "I can only imagine how inconvenient that must make life for you."
Cynthia successfully stole her bag back this time. "You have no idea," she confided as she started to back up towards her earlier destination. Luckily (or unluckily?) for her, he declined to follow. "Catch you after school for arts and crafts and defacing of town property?"
The wicked bright catch of the vampire's smile haunted her the rest of the day.
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Lee was the one to her up from school, quite literally. One moment, Cynthia had been sitting on the grass and twirling a weed absentmindedly, the next the air blurred and the ground fell away from her. By the time she could focus well enough to see, she couldn't really hazard a guess as to where she was. The dizziness and generic background of (gorgeous, colors starting to show variety here) foliage did not work well together to help Cynthia identify anything much.
In the wise words of Donna Noble, this was definitely Earth, but that was all she was certain of.
(Not true. She knew she hadn't left the continent or crossed any body of water larger than a few puddles and maybe a creek. It just didn't mean much, really.)
"Lexi's trusting you with her friend's life."
Please, please say he hasn't decided to interview after an agreement was already made, because that's somewhere between pathetic and stupid, surely. Cynthia opened her mouth, then closed it. What was there to say to something like that?
Her "Okay?" came out a little croakily after several deep breaths.
"It's suicide if you're attempting to kill him. For all of us." Lee moved closer and crouched down (so considerate) so the brunette could see his face. "Even more so than a false alarm."
The joys of misunderstandings, at least this one didn't involve a baseball bat.
"You know, there's this thing called a phone," Cynthia rubbed her forehead crossly. "Amazingly enough, you can't even be overheard while texting. You should really try it some time. Ugh, of course I'm not trying to kill Elijah. The hecking heck would I do that for. I have information he wants; he has information I need. Don't be boring, Lee. Haven't we been over this?"
He had the grace to look slightly ashamed. Good. She'd missed her arts and craft session with Damon, according to his texts. It would be nice for someone to teach her, dang it. Maybe she'd have better luck with the new teacher. (If it was Alaric Saltzman. It had better be.)
"While I have you out here, mind explaining a little further what the plan actually is?"
She obliged, and even though it was time she'd have rather spent elsewhere, it did make sense. Lee was able to ask questions without her worrying about Stefan's presence, and that meant Cynthia was able to be slightly more forthcoming. He didn't push for what the information she had was, seeming to understand it wouldn't be as valuable that way, but Lee did make sure that he was actually content with their plan of action. (A good thing too, because some of his suggested contributions would be invaluable.)
Another stupid whirlwind later, and she was at home. Unfortunately, she arrived home in time for Elena to bully her into joining in on the car wash after all. While Cynthia didn't really have anything against spending time with her not twin and their circle of acquaintances and friends, it still chafed. Chafed to be doing anything that wasn't finding a nice pleasant city or other location to meet Elijah in and hope she could bargain well enough. If she'd had so much as an ounce of a clue where the man was before Rose and Trevor called him in the show…. Alas, what was done was done.
She tried not to stiffen when Damon showed up and made a show of ruffling her hair. As if Stefan needed more reasons to watch them, the only legal adult among them wasn't even pretending to help. Oh no, he'd brought his car by to get it washed instead. "You say I bring out the best in you, but I think you bring out the worst in me."
"Somehow," Elena interrupted them, "I don't think you have ever needed help with that." She had a dry towel tucked over her shoulder, a tiny bit of soap bubbles in her hair, and a mulish expression. Damon gave her a look as if he thought her attempt was adorable, in the same vein a six year old dressing up with a white coat and stethoscope might be. "Why, you say that as if you know me," he purred.
The doppelganger's expression of disgust was clear enough. "You're an ass, is what you are."
"I do, indeed, have a fabulous ass," Damon was practically preening under the teenager's attention. Cynthia painted soap fangs – or apostrophe marks, really her drawing skills weren't anything to rave about – on the '22 year old's' leather seat. (He hadn't abandoned or killed her for a morality lecture; this was nothing in comparison.)
"More working, less chatting." Caroline Forbes had descended onto the childish cat fight that was Elena and Damon, leaving Lexi to mind the cash box. The two had hit it off amazingly, which had surprised Cynthia. Caroline liked her, but she hadn't been able to get out of physically washing cars. (Not after Elena had forced her into wearing a suit that had apparently gone unused the whole summer. She needed a hot shower after this.) Lexi had stopped by with Stefan, since he'd tried to use her to get out of this, and after a few minutes ended up sitting side by side with Caroline charming people into donating . Turning her attention away from the older vampire, Cyn noticed that Stefan was whispering something to his girlfriend, presumably trying to reassure her. Caroline just stared all of the involved parties down until her directive was followed.
Work they did, and about half an hour later there was an older gentleman was shocked by Stefan's appearance. Once again, Caroline descended like an angel from her place minding the money. "Excuse me," she cut in, more polite this time (because it was a paying customer? or because they were an adult?). The man hadn't been able to ask Stefan more than how he could be here. "I'm sure the resemblance is uncanny, but Stefan doesn't like to be reminded of his father."
Damon had recovered marvelously from being dressed down by a seventeen year old, and he had been bringing cold drinks out (to attractive girls, the asshole.) When Care intervened this time, he managed to look positively conciliatory. "I hate to admit it, but she's absolutely right," he confessed to the older looking gentleman as he lead the man away despite Stefan's stiff glare. "The last time our father saw Stefan, he thought him a demon. But come, let's have a drink, and then you can forget you ever saw either of us."
Cynthia politely said nothing about the compulsion happening in front of her. Elena would find out the truth soon enough; she had given the green eyed vampire more than enough warning. It was marvelous seeing Caroline in action though, protecting those she saw as friends. Cynthia made a solemn promise to herself that, if at all possible, she would make sure the blonde did not experience the same death she had in the original timeline of the show. Let Katherine find herself a different spare vampire to offer up for Niklaus' little ritual.
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"What's all this about? Caroline insisted we had to come over here," Sheriff Liz Forbes was extremely tense, and already trying to dodge out of the social engagement when Damon had ushered her inside the Gilbert home. Jenna didn't seem to mind the extra help in the kitchen – her psychotic BFF had decided to make food tonight, which definitely smoothed the way – but she was equally confused by the sudden slew of guests.
Cynthia hopped up and held her hands out for their coats, which did take some verbal prompting, smiling as she did so. "That would be my doing. I know it's family night, Aunt Jenna, and that you have to be busy, ma'am," she nodded to Liz. "But Caroline and I discovered some things that are important to the whole family. ESPECIALLY YOU ELENA. GET DOWN HERE." She had shouted up the stairs for the last bit, then turned her polite smile back on.
"You can give us ten minutes, right Mom?" The bitter twist to Caroline's mouth faded as Damon greeted her and her sheriff mother charmingly. "Right, sure. Then I really should get going."
Damon turned a very innocent pleading expression to the sheriff at that, "Surely, you don't need to rush. I've so enjoyed getting to know Cynthia's family. I'd love to get to know another adult in town. Not that you aren't wonderful, Jenna, but I've been threatened with death should I disturb your studies." He winked at Cynthia after a shudder of 'fear'.
With the last of the Gilbert's finally downstairs, and sitting across from where Jeremy lounged with Vicki, Cynthia took a deep breath. "After the animal attacks started, Caroline was distraught." Brown eyes stared briefly at the sheriff. "Her mom was hardly ever around, more than usual even."
"Cynthia suggested I do some research. Your reaction didn't seem appropriate to the threat level," Caroline picked up the thread, moving slightly away from her mom to stand next to the petite girl who had helped her through so much lately. "So I did. A lot of it, and it may have me slightly reconsidering that career I was planning as a broadcast journalist, but at the same time…."
The brunette took over the reveal again, still grateful that her friend had agreed to do both talks at the same time. Even if Vicki looked far too out of it to appreciate the conversation. "At first, we hadn't thought much about what Vicki said when she was attacked. It sounded too impossible. Despite the stories I've heard about Jonathan Gilbert's writings."
"But it's the only thing that made sense," Caroline concluded. "And then we were able to confirm it."
Elena's patience broke first, "Please, please tell me you aren't staging a meeting to say you believe in vampires."
There was silence as Jeremy processed this, looking to his finally official girlfriend, then back to both sisters with a conflicted expression. Liz's worry lines had only deepened, and Jenna, bless her, started laughing. "Jonathan Gilbert was an excellent fiction writer, but that's all it was. Fiction. Vicki was attacked by an animal, she said so once she wasn't drugged out of her mind."
Finally, Damon inserted himself into the conversation again, "Actually, it's true. Stefan and I… our father was murdered by a vampire." He met the Sheriff's gaze for a time. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's one of the reasons our uncle is so religious about his vervain garden."
A few moments longer, and the elder woman deflated in front of everyone. "I would have preferred the children didn't know, but I suppose they would have found out when they were old enough."
Caroline's chin tilted up victoriously. "I'm glad I found out."
Elena had paled considerably, her attention flitting between her twin, her friend, and the dick that apparently called them friend. Cynthia helpfully poured all the adults a glass of wine. "I'm glad too. I know there's not that much we know about vampires, other than the whole the sun burns them thing, and verbena – or vervain as everyone seems to prefer to call it – being able to protect people from it. But what Damon taught me," she pouted, "once Caroline and I were finally convinced enough to go to him for confirmation, "was that they required an invitation to come inside. Which means," she turned a stern frown to her family members, "no inviting anyone inside. I don't care if it's the postman or pizza delivery, a vampire cannot be uninvited. This isn't Buffy with a handy dandy invitation revoking spell, even if that would be so nice." The girl trailed off, looking a little dreamy as she contemplated how much better or worse life would have been had she been summarily shunted to that dimension. On the one hand, there vampires were truly demonic. On the other, there was Giles and an almost completely empty library to run amuck in for a while.
Genuinely demonic mayor was probably worse than the latent werewolf one, at least the latter was dangerous on a smaller scale than wanting to devour people.
"We understand why you didn't say anything, Mom," Caroline appealed, taking a step closer as if hoping for something. "But once I knew, once we knew, we had to tell you. We couldn't just pretend we didn't know something this huge. It's not a secret like dating an older man or sneaking out of the house, this is laws of reality big."
"Sweetie," Liz stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her daughter, murmuring how proud she was of her. Damon was talking softly to a distressed and confused Jenna, which left Cynthia to manage her siblings.
Oh the joys.
She tugged her not twin over to Jeremy, grateful Vicki was half asleep against the boy's arm right now.
"You really think Vicki was attacked by a vampire?" He was incredulous, but not entirely disbelieving. Elena scoffed a little, but Cynthia took the question seriously. "I'm sure you saw her wounds. What kind of an animal could attack out of nowhere to bite her quite so high up? Whatever it was, it didn't go for the legs or even a hand."
"It could've jumped."
She nodded to the point, "True, but the others, the ones who died earlier on this year? They were all attacked the same way, with no other damage done to them pre-mortem. Anything else was done after they died to attempt to cover up the kill. Vicki either got lucky, or whatever vampire attacked her had more control when it came to her."
Elena looked sick at the very thought, but Cynthia wasn't going to push her into connecting all the dots. She'd probably guess wrong unless carefully led, and she did not have the patience to do that herself. Let Stefan lead her on his own merry crusade for now.
"Look," the girl sighed as she faced the two Gilberts. "You might not believe me, but you can accept the Sheriff does – she already knew, even – and that Damon agrees too."
"No offense, Cyn, but I don't trust your friend as far as I can throw him," her twin scoffed. "If vampires were real and had killed his father, then I'm sure Stefan would have told me." Jeremy came to the rescue in almost no time. "He did only just start opening up to you, and you did say he was struggling to tell you anything. Maybe the vampire thing is why. He knew you wouldn't believe him."
That made a troubling amount of sense to the young doppelganger, going by her facial expressions. And it should, Cynthia thought, it was fairly close to the truth. She wasn't sure what would push Elena over into solving the mystery, but she did pull out her phone and text an update to Stefan, Lexi, and Lee of everyone who had been told the truth. She'd have to talk to Bonnie later and make sure she was getting her training. The budding witch's Grams had no need to die opening the tomb, but it made sense to jumpstart her learning all the same. Never count your basilisks before they're hatched, and all that.
"I.. I have to go," Elena turned away from the others, grabbing her coat and keys before leaving, presumably to have a probing conversation with the boyfriend. Cynthia wished him luck with it, even if she did imagine Stefan would have less luck dodging her accusations should the death of his father come up.
No regrets, because the times, they were a'changing.
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"I knew you were a troublemaker," Lexi had brought over her liquor of choice, snack foods, and a movie. "Sorry about Lee earlier. He keeps forgetting that I'm not completely made of glass, and neither are my friends. And this must be your family? Lovely to meet you!"
The vampiric bombshell had shown up around fifteen minutes after Elena left, and just as the Forbes had finally departed themselves for their own dinner. Caroline had looked a tiny bit happier, hopeful that with this secret out of the way, maybe there was some salvaging that could be done for her relationship with at least one of her parents. (If it had occurred to her that she could easily talk to her dad as well, then she hadn't voiced it. Neither had Liz, a fact that Cynthia was very happy about. Bill Forbes was a force all his own, and she wasn't in a rush to prove her identity one way or another.)
Lexi had been invited in very quietly, and Cynthia introduced her to each of the Gilberts, the sleeping Vicki included, with a wave to indicate she already knew Damon. Then, Cynthia dropped herself in Damon's lap and proceeded to eat off his plate like she had at Bree's while Lexi ingratiated herself with Jenna.
As mad and drama filled as Mystic Falls was, she did rather like these moments. Moments when the companionship felt warm and genuine, and Cynthia felt she could take on the world and win. When she saw Jenna relaxing and having fun, so very alive now. Jeremy had to shake Vicki awake, Jenna had insisted the girl sleep at home. ('You aren't taking her to your room right in front of me, kid. I have my boundaries.') Little by little, the night passed and the guests left. Damon stayed the longest, helping put dishes away and continuing to answer any questions Jenna might have. Eventually, Jenna scooted him out the door as well with a smile and a wave, right before sending Cynthia to bed.
Yes, sometimes, things went unequivocally well.
For once, Cynthia's good mood lasted until morning and through the rest of the day. She'd noticed Elena being tense and grumpy, but her twin chose not to confide in her. So Cynthia didn't press, there was more than enough for her to worry about without bothering more trouble. Damon had snuck back in around 2 am for a snack, and after that she'd had to field all of the texts Lexi had left her in regards to Stefan and Elena fighting. (She'd warned him, and told Lexi so, but apparently he knew better than a blood bag. Silly boy.) At this point, Cynthia was far too sleepy to worry about more than keeping her scarf in place and making sure she had all her homework.
Oh, and breakfast, the most important meal of the day. She ignored the sounds of disgust from Jeremy and heated up spaghetti to eat. At least it had protein and less added sugars than his cereal. A fact that even when pointed out, the boy did not seem impressed by. His loss was her gain, so Cynthia shrugged it off.
She was catching a ride with Bonnie and Elena that morning, and had made coffee and poptarts as an offering. The young witch had taken one look at the twins and known something was up, and unlike Cynthia, she did push as soon as they were all in her car.
"Okay, Little Miss Raincloud, what's on your mind? And don't try to tell me nothing is bothering you, Elena. I've been your best friend since you were four."
The brunette in question frowned, "It's just something I was told last night. I'm not sure I even believe it. It could just be a really elaborate prank, or my paranoia is breaking into full on hallucinations again."
Cynthia jerked her head towards the girl sharply enough she felt the whip of her seatbelt, "What do you mean, again? Do you suspect something?"
"No, it's just been a trick of the light. And it's to do with Stefan anyway, he wouldn't do anything like…. He's not like that."
Bonnie looked at Elena, who had claimed shotgun (by right of favoritism, Cynthia thought), then at Cynthia in the backseat through the rearview mirror. "Uh huh, I'm hearing a lot of words and none of them are an answer. Anyone going to clarify things for me? Or do I need to send out a search party?"
The shorter of the twins shrugged in the backseat. "Caroline and I have come to believe in vampires, and that they may be cause for caution. Elena is being very stubborn, and I'm not even sure why. We already know you're a badass spellcaster in the making, even if you decide to just stick to the Nature stuff. What's a little living death among friends?"
"You're hilarious," Elena deadpanned before taking a vicious bite out of a poptart. "Can we talk about something, anything, else?"
Seeing Bonnie's concerned look for the doppelganger, Cynthia turned her head to stare out her window. "Has your Grams remembered me yet, Bonnie?" The tension in the car palpably changed, Elena's anxiety being replaced by an interested confusion, and Bonnie's worried frown turning to a more reluctant apology. "I'm sorry, Cyn. I tried asking her about it, and all she gave me was gibberish. She was really happy with what you brought her though. If you wanted, I could probably bring you by again next week?"
Cynthia shook her head, her breath steaming ever so briefly against the cool of the window. "The weird thing is?" She hesitated, then pushed forward, "I don't think I ever remember meeting her before either. I've heard of her, certainly, but I just…. Maybe it isn't just the drink, you know?"
If anything, she seemed to have worried Bonnie more. That wasn't really her intention, but she also wanted to minimize any lies she told to the Bennett witches. They were both very strong and very stubborn. The girl had done them a favor (a bigger one than they knew, really), but she would rather stack the chips as high as possible in her favor in case of all eventualities.
"Why wouldn't you remember her?" Elena looked between her sister and her best friend, her frown overtaking her face. "She used to babysit us."
"Grams will probably say it's a spell." Bonnie sighed as she pulled into the school parking lot. "It always is with her."
"You are strong with the force, young padawan," Cynthia poked the girl's shoulder as the girl safely navigated her car into a parking space. "Feel it flow through you. There is life and death, and in between there is a force, a balance. And the balance is in you."
"I'm no Luke Skywalker."
Cynthia exchanged a look with Elena. After a moment, her not twin smiled back. "What about a Leia?" she asked slyly, before scanning the parking lot. One of these days, that stupid teacher was going to show up. It had better be soon, or she would go to North Carolina and drag him back herself. Maybe Abbie Bennett to if a miracle occurred. (At least with 'Ric she remembered his wife went to Duke.) She could probably go seek out the woman's former graduate student, whoever it was that shot at Elena anyway. Actually, shut up that was an amazing idea. Why was she only thinking of it now?
After her talk with Elijah, Cynthia promised herself. Lexi said it would be soon. Lee and Damon would accompany her while Lexi was going to drag Stefan somewhere to have fun.
(Party like it's 1865, Stefan! Your girlfriend may be slated for death, but eyyy.)
The only thing she could imagine celebrating was Halloween. Then again, Cynthia was fully in the camp of enjoying the holiday all October. Even if she had no idea when the month had passed. Stupid time, eating away at her when she was trying to get home.
More likely, Lexi was celebrating her friend Rosemarie soon being out of limbo after 500 years.
"Cyn? You okay?"
Shaken out of her thoughts, she offered the other two girls a smile. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I just got a little distracted."
Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.
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Everyone reacted differently to the news of vampirism, and their reactions echoed throughout the coming days. Caroline's mom was resigned, regretful even. She hadn't wanted her daughter to know, thought of her as too young. If Caroline's life could not be potentially saved (at least improved!) by the knowledge, then perhaps Cynthia would have been more inclined to agree with the sheriff. Knowing that there were monsters in the dark capable of more than the depths of human depravity, if she'd had children, Cynthia wouldn't have wanted to tell them either.
Vicki acted as if the conversation had never happened. She had been too out to really hear things herself, and apparently she and Jeremy had ended up fighting over drug use and her choice of friends instead of covering reality bending things like the existence of vampires. (It was kind of refreshing, actually. Focus on the now was a valid perspective, one Cynthia was trying to channel more herself.)
It would have been more refreshing if Vicki's single mindedness wasn't putting her into an argument. While, yes, it would have been easier to keep her mouth shut when Vicki invited herself over to steal Elena's medication, easy wasn't right. (Yes, there are shades of grey, and yes it was Vick's life not hers, but every part of her so strongly disagreed. So she'd opened her mouth. Sue her.)
"You don't have to throw your life away, no matter what mistakes your parents left you with. Everyone has baggage." Should she have been harsh? No. But Vicki bitching about Jer's misplaced attempts on the phone right in front of her shouldn't have happened either.
"Oh please. You sound just like your brother." The older girl lowered the phone from her ear and scowled at Cynthia. "Just because you were born with a silver spoon shoved up your ass doesn't mean that you can talk to me about how the world works. You don't know the first thing about what my life is like, Gilbert." That stung, as was intended.
She had absolutely lived a life where her parents were more a noose around her neck than any help. She'd fought through her sperm and egg donor's bullshit to put a life of her own together. Sure, Cynthia might not have succeeded at everything that she attempted, but that didn't take a jot away from what she had accomplished. (Only dimensional and interbody travel had done that.)
It's never so bad that you should just give up. Ever. Feel the pain, you're entitled to it, but don't for one second let that pain control you without fighting back. Live the life that you want.
"You're taking the easy way out, Donovan. Jeremy thinks that you are better than that." Cyn took a deep breath again. Insults were not the way to create positive and lasting changes. She didn't have the highest opinion of either Vicki Donovan or a Jeremy Gilbert, particularly not as they were now, but things could change. Maybe one or both would surprise her; do something worthwhile with their lives.
The dirty blonde spoke to her phone again, 'I'll talk to you later, Matty', and tried to get in the shorter girl's face. (She just wasn't intimidating after Damon. No offense, Vick.) "I don't need to be told what other people think of me."
"Sometimes, I think you do," she countered. "You have such a low opinion of yourself, that you're sabotaging your own life, your own future. Vicki, you're young, stubborn, and resilient. Unless I completely miss my guess, you are the person bringing in enough money to pay bills and keep the lights on at home. You work so hard to support Matt's dream, and you leave no optimism for yourself. So you get high, yeah?" She politely ignored the 'you think you're so smart' and 'you know nothing Jon Snow' variations that Vicki was giving her, because this was important. She had to at least say it once, had to try.
When Vicki had said her piece, Cynthia picked up the thread again with a single minded determination. "College admissions offices? They love success stories. You're managing a household at what? Seventeen? Eighteen? And you have been for how long? If you kick the hard drugs, you would be on your way to being a decent role model for other kids. And I think… I think you need a role model yourself. I have my Aunt Jenna, but…. Vicki, it's okay to make the person you want to become your role model. You don't have to just follow your mom's footsteps. You can be better."
Hell, she already was really. The Donovan's mom couldn't stick around for her kids and seemed to leave them to raise themselves. Vicki's drug use could as easily be a cry for attention as escapism (although Cyn was fairly certain it was the latter.) "And don't say you can't afford college, because there's Pell, and I can virtually guarantee that you'll qualify. You just need to find a decent school that has a tuition lower than the life of your firstborn."
Jeremy's return home cut any further pep talk slash whatever that speech was short, so Cynthia beat a quick retreat into the kitchen for junk food. (That was one bonus to being a teenager again, anyway. No guilt when she gorged on pure fat or sugar.) She made a point to sing to herself as she left, blocking out her ability to hear whatever the two discussed.
"That was really sweet of you." Singing was no excuse for not seeing Jenna, but Cynthia eeped in surprise anyway when her aunt spoke up. Said aunt grinned at her before nodding to the room Jeremy and Vicki were still in. "Do you think it'll work?"
Her possible failure of a motivational speech? The girl shrugged. "Only if Vicki wants it to," she answered honestly. "Short of Matt and Jeremy both sitting down with her and asking her to clean up or go to rehab or something, I'm not even sure that she can get clean on her own. She doesn't just dabble in pot and alcohol. If she's developed a physiological dependence, then she might need suboxone or something."
"Suboxone?"
She missed whatever undercurrent was in Jenna's voice and shrugged. "I'm not a prescriber, but it's like in that 'Like a G6' parody, Analgesics?" Seeing a blank but passively listening expression, Cynthia sang one of the lines. "Overdose means we would have to give you naloxone. Give you lots of naloxone…." She should really, really shut up now. She liked Jenna; she didn't want to make herself seem suspicious in front of her. Instead, like a moron, Cynthia cleared her throat and kept trying to explain. "It's one of the ingredients in suboxone. There's a different treatment for coming of opiods at pain clinics, but I can't remember the real differences for the life of me. Methadone? Maybe?" Don't cram kids, it doesn't pay.
(Later, she would realize neither the song nor the parody had been produced yet and feel both incredibly lucky Jenna had not called her on that and incredibly foolish.)
"I didn't think you were all that interested in medicine," Jenna twirled her pen between her fingers, then set it down on top of her study materials. "Did you talk to your dad about it at all? Or is this one of the things you thought about when you turned your bedroom into your own personal Fortress of Solace?"
Cynthia gave her aunt a very confused look. As much as the superhero references were appreciated and stuff, comic book references did not need to be spoken into reality here. Whatever had landed her here in this body and this universe? Absolutely not a hero or villain origin story. (She refused, point blank.)
"Thought about and promptly discarded," she answered with force cheer. "I would hate to work in the medical profession. I love the science, but I loathe the jobs."
"You are aware that things might be different than what you read on the internet?" Jenna was far too entertained on her behalf. Cynthia was amused too though, more from references that didn't exist yet, but that was par for the course by now. She smiled briefly, "Maybe so, but I still think I want to pursue something else."
Remembering her original intentions, she poured herself a bowl of potato crisps and grabbed a soda before plopping herself down next to Jenna. "Are you okay? With everything, I mean?"
The older woman sighed in return, no longer pretending to study and turning her attention to her niece instead. "Sort of, but not really? I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything. I can tell that you and your friends believe, that even Caroline's mom thinks it's real, but… what proof do you have?"
"Other than the attacks, you mean?"
Jenna rested her head in her hands for a moment, then pushed her (enviable) strawberry blonde hair away from her eyes. "What proof that I can see. Because first, the police rule them animal attacks, and now I'm supposed to believe they only said that because of a town conspiracy to keep vampirism a secret? And that it's not, for instance, a concerned mother going along with her daughter's flight of fantasy?"
Fair point, actually. Cynthia considered the question for a moment then answered very carefully. "I have been given to understand that the truth about vampires is a secret passed down through the founding families." And please, please hate John Gilbert enough that you won't think to call him up and find out. She was not prepared to face Elena's father, not after the scare Sheila had given her.
"Damon said that?" Not precisely. She couldn't even remember who revealed that tidbit in the show, but it was more than likely either Elizabeth Forbes or one of the Lockwoods, if it was anyone currently in town. "I know you don't want to believe it," Cynthia said gently. "Between the two of us, I don't think that vampires are all bad. They can be incredibly selfish sometimes, but they can also be incredibly compassionate beings. I'd love to study them a bit if I could. Get a bit of blood and maybe a scanning electron microscope…. See if I can't witness magic in action."
"Right, you definitely don't take after your father at all," Jenna drawled. (She had no idea how right or how wrong she was.) "I doubt it would work," was Cynthia lame response. Fidgeting, she grabbed the remote and turned on the set, then stuffed her face so she couldn't keep babbling inanely.
["BREAKING NEWS"] a beautiful Korean woman intoned, staring straight at the camera while seated in a blue hued room that Cynthia assumed was the main news set. ["Local vandals appear to have recently broken in to the WPKW9's station archive. Our very own Logan Fell is on the scene. What have you got for us, Logan?"]
["Officials believe that someone or more likely a group of someone's made their way here to the news station sometime last night. No one's sure how they got past security, or what their goal was."]
["Was anything damaged or taken?"]
["That's the thing, Youn. The authorities have been able to prove that someone watched some of the film stored here, but nothing has come up as missing. No word yet on any suspects or any possible motive, although I imagine anyone with a grudge against WPKW9 may be getting a friendly visit from our police."]
The woman laughed, and the camera panned completely away from Logan and back to the reporter she could now see was named Youn Pak. Cynthia missed anything else being discussed because Jenna suddenly muted the TV. (Sure, she was trying to derail the woman's possible suspicions after her babble, but what was this all about!?)
"A secret kept amongst the founding families, you said," Jenna spoke slowly. "So Logan could prove your little theory, or blow it out of the water, right?"
Cynthia made a face just on principle. "You're going to trust the word of Logan Scumfell over that of one of your favorite niece's?" She clasped a hand to her chest for dramatics, then reminded herself that Logan may actually be better for her continued existence than John, and let it fall with a shrug. "I guess so. How would you ask him though? 'Hi Logan'," she pitched her voice up into a falsetto, "'I hope you fall off a cliff, but before you do, tell me. Do vampires really walk among us?'"
Jenna stole her chip bowl for that, which was probably fair.
"I may be meeting him at the Grill to allow him to buy me curly fries and grovel." The teen straightened a little at that, giving her aunt a very serious expression. "Groveling is fine, but please, please tell me you won't take him back. That you won't even consider taking back someone who hurt you enough to run you out of town. C'mon Aunt Jenna, you deserve better than that."
"I hear you, kiddo." No, no she really didn't. Cynthia could tell by her amused expression, and it left the girl feeling extremely disgruntled. "Once a cheater, always a cheater. Once a complete waste of space who breaks your hurt, always one. He's your ex for a reason."
Jenna's eyebrows rose considerably at her niece's vitriol, and Cynthia blushed as she realized she'd yelled loudly enough for Jeremy to hear her, going by his deciding to stick his head in the room anyway. "Sorry," she lowered her voice dramatically. "I got carried away."
She was very passionate about Jenna having a long life full of happiness not someone who might only want to use her.
"If it makes you feel better to ask Logan, then ask him. Just… don't expect me to like him. I still think you deserve better. And I still want to know how you plan to bring up vampires."
Her aunt gave her a slow grin. "Well, I did say I would torture him. Maybe I'll bring you along and tell him he isn't even worth scolding myself."
She really seemed to excel at getting herself into the worst sort of pickles. Being a third wheel on a not date sounded worse than visiting the dentist back home, because at least then she had a very good relationship with her dental hygienist. This was pure punishment.
"What time is this little torture session of yours, Aunt Jenna?"
Looking far too pleased with herself, Jenna turned the TV to a music channel and set the volume to what she considered an acceptable level. "Four pm tomorrow. If you channel your inner mean girl well enough, you might get something to eat yourself."
Ah, well that did add a twist to her plans. Cynthia nodded slowly, "I'll try to be there. I promise. But I might run a little late. Lexi and Lee are closing on their house tomorrow morning, and Lex had asked for my help with arranging a few things."
"I didn't realize they were old enough to be getting a house," Jenna whistled. "Are they moving in town?"
She shook her head a little, then grinned. "They're old enough to be married, Aunt Jenna," she teased. "And no, they will be a few hours out. They've just been on holiday. It's been a while since Lexi has known reliably where to find Stefan. Damon tries, but you know how hard it is to become someone's guardian in your early 20s. And he got stuck with his little brother, talk about authority issues."
Eyes dancing, her aunt conceded she could imagine how that might have played out. "You wouldn't happen to be planning to skip school again, would you?"
Cynthia wore her most innocent face. "There aren't any quizzes or tests, and all of my assignments have been turned in?" That shouldn't be a question, but she was nervous that her aunt would suddenly start caring about her charge's frequent truancy. She shouldn't have worried really; Jenna was a college student with too much stress on her plate and perfectly undeYrstood balancing responsibilities. "See that you keep it up, and only because nobody should have to move without help."
"Thank you so much!" Cynthia hugged the older woman exuberantly. "You're a rock star, Aunt Jenna! I'll go call Lexi and let her know!" Skipping out of the room with a smile still on her face, she hoped desperately that everything went according to plan tomorrow.
.
.
The Gilbert Family Business, aka Founding Families' secret knowledge of vampires has been revealed as Cynthia promised Stefan ages ago. And she may have started getting a bit too invested with her not family.
Also, I just want to thank everyone who reviews again, because you've encouraged me to write a lot faster than I expected, honestly, and it's wonderful. The next chapter is already written, le gasp! It will be a little shorter than my average, but I have a surprise that I hope makes up for it.~