As you may be able to tell from the title, this corresponds with the second episode, and this is where it shows that it's not following the show completely. Anyways, Enjoy.
Night of the Comet
The next morning dawned rather brightly for Elena, in more ways than one. After getting ready for school, she grabbed her diary, feeling a need to write down her thoughts before she forgot them.
Dear Diary,
This morning is…different. There is change. I can sense it, feel it. I'm awake. For the first time in a while, I feel completely and undeniably wide away. And I think I know why I feel this way: I think I'll see him again, the guy from the last night.
And so, for once, I won't regret the day before it beings. Instead, I will welcome it, because I know…well, I feel, I will see him again. And that makes me feel good.
Elena placed the pen down as she closed and hid her journal before grabbing her things and heading out of her room, almost running into Jenna, who was rushing about.
"Do I look adult?" Jenna asked her, showing off the clothes she was wearing. "As in respectfully parental?"
"Depends where you're going," Elena said, though she had the feeling that the black pants and white blouse combo would work for wherever she was going.
"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference," Jenna asked, her hands grabbing he hair. "Hair up or down?"
She pulled her hair up, where Elena said, "Sexy stewardess," and then let it fall, prompting a "Boozy housewife," comment from Elena.
"Up it is," Jenna said, then noticed that there was actually something different about Elena.
You're feisty today," she commented.
Elena shrugged, not quite sure to explain to her aunt about the fact that she was crushing on a guy she'd actually met, or the fact that she sensed that she would see him again, and that she was actually looking forward to seeing him, if her hunch was right.
"I feel good," she said instead, "which is rare." Jenna nodded at that, knowing that Elena had rarely felt good about anything since her parents death. "So, I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff."
Jenna was tempted to ask Elena about who it was that had her feeling like this, but knew that Elena would have told her already if she wanted her to know…or if there actually was someone that had her like this. Jenna suspected that there was, but didn't want to push just in case she was wrong. Or, in a worse case scenario, it was that Stefan guy. Jenna knew that she would be putting her foot down if it turned out to be him.
"Where's Jeremy?" asked Elena, having noticed his absence.
"He left early," said Jenna. "Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse…" Jenna trailed off when she saw Elena's slightly pitying expression. She immediately knew that she'd been duped. "There is no wood shop, is there?"
"No," Elena said softly, shaking her head.
"Yeah," Jenna sighed.
"I'll see if he actually did head to the school, okay," Elena said as she headed down the stairs.
"Yeah," Jenna repeated. "Oh, could you stop by the Salvatore boarding house after school. Apparently, your mom had Zach Salvatore store some things, and I need them. I already called Zach this morning, so he's going to pull them out of storage, I just need you to pick them up."
"Yeah, I can do that. What should I do if he doesn't get them from storage before I get there, though?" Elena asked.
"While he assures me that he will be there, he did mention that they are in a spare room, marked as Gilbert things," said Jenna, shaking her head. "You know, for a boarding house, it sure seems to just house Zach and now Stefan."
Elena snorted before saying, "Alright, then."
She waved to her aunt as she left.
Elena was able to immediately tell that Jeremy wasn't at school, but knew that there was nothing she could do. Goodluck,AuntJenna she thought, having the feeling that she knew exactly who it was that had requested the meeting; after all, since her aunt hadn't asked for one, there was only one teacher who would care for causing trouble for Jenna.
Elena sighed as she entered her history class. She quickly discovered that, in honor of the comet that was going to be arriving sometime within the next few days. She listened, bored, as Mr. Tanner droned on and on while trying to ignore the eyes that were on her. Stefan appeared to have his creepiness heightened after his lack of progress in getting into her house last night – she wondered if he knew that Jenna had told her about that or not.
"Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago, it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years. Now, the comet will be it's brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration," Mr. Tanner said, then stopped when he noticed that someone wasn't paying attention as they should have been, and bothering another student while they were at it – even he could see that Elena was uncomfortable. "Are we bothering you, Mr. Salvatore?"
Stefan shook his head, turning his gaze from Elena to the teacher. Mr. Tanner suppressed a shiver at the glare he saw Stefan level at him. If looks could kill…
Elena ignored Stefan's attempts to talk to her after class, wanting to ask Matt how Vicki was doing. She may not like the girl – well, it was more like she didn't like the way Vicki played her brother, and caused Matt to worry – but that didn't mean she wasn't worried.
"Matt, hey," she said as she found him. "How's Vicki?"
"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection," Matt said, "but she should be able to come home tomorrow."
"That's good news," said Elena, giving him a small, comforting smile.
"Yeah," Matt sighed, looking at her with longing. He wanted to ask her what was going on with her and the new guy, but wasn't sure he wanted to know at the same time. Luckily, before he decided what to do, she spoke again.
"Did you get in touch with your mom?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so…we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home." He said the last part with such sarcasm that it easy to see he didn't believe his mother would come running.
"Vicki's lucky that she's okay," Elena said softly, shuddering as she remembered the state she found Vicki in. She really hoped that someone found that animal before it hurt someone else.
"I know," he admitted, before frowning. "You know, there's some talk about some missing campers going around."
Elena frowned at that.
"Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?" Elena asked, curious to know. Matt looked like he wasn't going to tell her, then sighed as he said, " she said it was a vampire."
Elena's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Yeah, she wakes up last night and muttered 'vampire' and then passes out," he said. Elena shook her head, and then noticed something weird out of the corner of her eye. She had been aware of the fact that Stefan, after giving up on talking to her, had passed by her and Matt, and gone to sit at one of the tables outside – she knew this because she had, unconsciously, been keeping an eye on him, to avoid him of course – and she suddenly noticed his relaxed position had changed when Matt had mentioned vampires. She remembered last night, where Stefan had vanished quickly after seeing Vicki, and remembered her original thoughts when she had seen that.
However, she mentally shook her head, knowing that he couldn't have attacked Vicki, unless there was something he was hiding…
"Okay, that's weird," she said, forcing her thoughts to stop before they got carried away.
"I think she was drunk," said Matt, before he too noticed Stefan. "So, what's up with you and the new guy?" He winced, having not meant to ask that – it had just slipped out. He had to admit, though, the look of distaste that crossed her face made him feel a bit better. Maybe there was some hope on him getting back with her after all…
She shook her head. "Nothing, really," she said, only to realize why he was asking. Sighing, she turned to him.
"Matt…the last think I want to do is hurt you," she started, seemingly to choose her words. He felt a pang, realizing that he was deluding himself in thinking she would still want to be with him.
"You know, I'm…" he started, not wanting to hear Elena's words. "I'm actually gonna go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."
"Okay," Elena said, watching him walk away. As she turned to head to her car, she noticed that Stefan had disappeared, and hoped that he had actually left.
"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was a lot of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity," Bonnie said, as she, Caroline, and Elena all sat outside of the café they'd gone to.
Caroline rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens. So then what?"
"So then nothing," Elena said, knowing immediately what Caroline wanted to know. She'd just finished telling them about the guy she'd seen at the Grill last night after getting the news about Vicki, and, Caroline had pounced on the information rather quickly, wanting to know everything she could about it.
Bonnie, knowing that she wouldn't get a chance to talk about anything else that her Gram had told her, looked down at her drink as she let the two talk. She wasn't exactly glad to hear about this mystery guy – the fact that Elena seemed really interested in him wasn't productive in her little plan of getting Elena with Stefan.
"Okay, you saw this hot guy, and you did nothing?" Caroline said, disbelief all over her face. "You didn't attempt to get his number or his name, or anything?"
"The waitress came by with my drinks, and he left before I could even talk to him," Elena said, a frown on her face.
"Elena, we're your friends, you can share the smut," Caroline said, still not believing that Elena did nothing.
"I'm serious. We just sat there, looking at each other," Elena said.
"Okay, what is with the blockage? You should have introduced yourself, found out if he wants you, and then jumped his bones if he did want you. It's an easy and simple thing. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex," Caroline said. Bonnie scoffed at that – then again, as the only member of the group who planned on waiting until she was married before taking that step, she always thought Caroline's rather slutty attitude was something to scoff at.
Elena, however, didn't really share Bonnie's sentiments on that subject, as she smiled while shaking her head. "Profound," she said, before pulling out her phone and looking at the time. She realized that she ought to get to the Salvatore boarding house to pick up those things that her aunt needed her to get.
"Where are you going?" asked Bonnie as she stood up to leave.
"Going to find that guy so that I can do what Caroline suggested. She's right, after all," said Elena, laughing as she saw Bonnie's eyes widen. "I'm kidding. I told Jenna I'd get some stuff she needed from the Salvatore house. I'm supposed to go there after school, but I decided to hang out with you two for a while. However, I promised I would be home at a certain time, so…"
"Okay, see you tomorrow," the two said.
Elena drove up to the Salvatore house, admiring it from her car. She always liked it when her parents would come here, though she never actually entered the house. They had never stayed long enough for that. But it was okay, because she liked looking at the outside – she often used to think that she would live in a house just like it when she married, when she was a kid, anyways.
Not noticing any cars, she walked toward the front door, thinking that maybe Stefan was using Zach's – her Aunt did say he would be here, after all. Or was it that someone would be there?
Reaching out to knock on the door, she was surprised when, upon her fist gently hitting it, it creaked open. A frown on her face – what if someone had broken in – she stayed quiet, listening and hearing nothing.
"Mr. Salvatore," she called out, stepping into the house as she repeated that. She knew that she should stay outside and wait for someone to come, as it was rude to barge into someone else's house, but there was something that seemed to be telling her to do so. She thinks she hears something behind her, turning just in time to see a crow fly in. Gasping she ducked and turned, only to almost run into someone.
Her breath left her as she found herself looking into eyes that she was familiar with, despite the fact that she really shouldn't be. Then again, they did belong to the handsome stranger she'd seen last night, and, just like last night, she couldn't seem to do anything but stare, until her brain started working again, and she realized that she was standing in his house – at least, she assumed he lived there, as he was probably a boarder – without permission, something that she had the feeling didn't look to good.
"Oh…I'm sorry for barging in. The door was…" she started, turning as she pointed towards it, only to discover, to her surprise, that it was closed. Her shock and confusion could clearly be heard in her voice as she finished with, "open." She turned back to him, hoping that he didn't think she was lying.
He wasn't looking at her as if he was about to accuse her of something, which could be a good think in her mind.
"You must be Elena," he said, picking up her hand and bringing it to his mouth. "I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." He kissed the back of her hand, and her heartbeat began to pick up. It took her a few seconds before her brain could think again; he was doing a great job at keeping her mind clear of everything but him.
It wasn't until she saw his look begin to change that she realized just how rude she was being.
"Stefan didn't mention his brother was in town," she murmured, not moving away from him, as a part of her knew she should; she just couldn't make her body move. It probably didn't help that
"Well, Stefan's not one to brag," he said. "Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."
"Oh," she said as he led her into the living room; he hadn't let go of her hand, much to her extreme pleasure. "I'm not here to speak to…. Wow. This is your living room?"
"Living room, Parlor, Sotheby's auction," he listed. "It's a little kitschy for my taste."
As she was still looking around, she didn't notice that he was looking at her until he said, :I can see why my brother's so smitten."
She looked at him, about to say something, but he continued to speak.
:It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."
"So, he hasn't shown any interest in any girls before meeting me?" she asked.
"Nope," he said.
"Okay, tell me the truth: how much do I look like her?" She could tell she had shocked him with that question; it was evident on his face. Then, quickly, he put up a mask.
"What makes you think you look like her?" he asked.
"The way your brother acts. I mean, if he liked her as much as you said he did, then it stand to reason that he'd be looking for someone like her in certain ways, and I'm sure looks is one of them," she said, shrugging. He laughed at that – she was partially correct, Stefan was interested in her because of her looks.
"Well, you are right, you do look like her, quite a bit, in fact," Damon said, knowing that it wouldn't do to say what he was really thinking – that she could easily be Katherine's twin sister, only with a more innocent aura.
"So, if the way you seem to be acting is any indication, I take it your not here to see Stefan," Damon said.
"No. I'm actually here to get some things that Zach was supposed to pull out of storage. My aunt did say she talked to him earlier about it," she said.
"Oh, right, I actually think I remember hearing that conversation this morning. Unfortunately, he had to go to a meeting before he could get the things out, so…" Damon said.
"Oh, that's okay. My aunt and I had these concerns earlier, and asked about it. According to Zach, they are in a spare room, marked Gilbert," Elena said.
Damon turned on his heel.
"Well, there are quite a few spare rooms with boxes in them, so I guess I will help you find your boxes," he said, holding out his hand. She placed her hand in his, musing that it was as if she was in a different era as she did so.
"Well, then, please lead the way," she said.
While they were moving the things to her car, they somehow got onto the subject of rebound relationships, and what they thought about them. Damon had just finish mentioning how most of those types of relationships ended.
"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end," Elena commented, standing in the living room with the last box in her hand.
"I'm a fatalist," Damon said. He then heard Stefan enter the house. "Hello, Stefan."
Elena spun around, startled when she realized that Stefan was indeed standing behind her.
"Elena, I didn't know you were coming over," Stefan said, his gaze still focused on Damon. Elena shivered slightly at the dark look on his face – he didn't seem to care for his brother at all.
"I know," she said. "I came over because Aunt Jenna asked me to get some of the things my mother had Zach store for her."
She stopped talking at that moment, noticing the dark look on Stefan's face was still there.
"I should have called, I just…" she began to say, rambling a bit, slightly scared at the way he was acting. He was making her feel as if he was about to attack her – well, Damon, but her body wasn't quite accepting of that little fact – for the fact that she had dared to come over without him.
"Oh, don't be silly," Damon said. "You don't have to inform Stefan if you decide to come over. He's not your keeper or anything. You were doing something for your Aunt, so you also have a valid reason for coming over. And you're welcome here anytime you want, right Stefan?"
Somehow, Elena had the feeling that Damon was challenging Stefan to do something, or say something in front of her; she also had the feeling that Stefan wouldn't do anything until she was gone.
Indeed, just as she thought, Stefan turned to her.
"Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Nice to see you," he said, and Elena gathered two things from those two sentences: One, he obviously hadn't listened when she mentioned the reason why she was really there, conceitedly thinking that she was there for him, despite having told him otherwise; and two, he was dismissing her as if she was a servant for some reason, despite the fact that she was still talking with his brother. She wondered if he could tell that she happened to like talking to his brother, then mentally shook her head. While it was true that she rather enjoyed talking to Damon, there was no way Stefan would be able to tell that unless he had been listening in on their previous conversations, and she had the feeling that either her or Damon would have run into him earlier.
Then, she remembered what they had been talking about when Damon announced Stefan's presence, and Elena realized what it was that had Stefan mad. Her jaw tightened as she realized that Stefan hadn't wanted her to know about Katherine, along with the fact that he wasn't very happy about how her and Damon were getting along – at least, she suspected the last part. With the way he was dismissing her, she had no doubt that he wouldn't be happy if she wanted to stay to continue talking to Damon.
She was very tempted to do that, but the fact that she had told her aunt that she would bring the boxes by sooner rather than later meant that she shouldn't dawdle as she was being tempted. Besides, how would she be any better than Stefan if she used his brother in that way – though, for some reason, she got the feeling that Damon might not really mind.
"Well, I've got things to do. It was nice to meet you, Damon," she said.
"Great to meet you, too, Elena," Damon said.
Elena nodded, biting her lip, looking for all the world as if she wanted to say something else to him, but then turned, heading for the door. As she passed Stefan, she suddenly remembered something that she had decided on telling him should she see him here.
"Oh, Stefan," she said, turning to look at him. A frown crossed her face as she notice him ignoring her. "Stefan!"
"Yeah," he said turning his head toward her. She noticed the annoyed look on his face.
"Um, just so you know, my Aunt Jenna told me about your rather rude visit yesterday, and I would prefer it if, next time my aunt says I'm not there, and that you can't come into the house, you don't push it," Elena said. "If she tells you something and denies you entrance into the house, it is very rude to continue to bug her about it. In fact, I think it would be better if you didn't come around my house anymore, what so ever."
Having said that, she turned around and left.
Stefan's mouth fell open at her rather blunt words. Even Damon's mouth fell open, though he found himself admiring the way Elena basically told Stefan that they weren't going to be dating – after all, how can you date someone if you weren't allowed to go to their house.
He was tempted to tease Stefan about it, but had something else he wanted to talk about to him.
"Great gal," Damon said, meaning it, surprisingly enough. "She's got spunk. You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over exert yourself today? Let me guess…hospital."
"Someone had to clean up your mess," Stefan said, a scowl on his face that he aimed at Damon. During his compulsion attempts, he realized that Damon hadn't been kidding when he had said that it would cause trouble for himself. Vicki had been compelled to believe that it had been Stefan who had attacked her. It had taken practically all of his strength to break through his brother's compulsion to replace the memory of him attacking her to being one of an animal attacking her.
Damon rolled his eyes, knowing that his brother probably felt smug at the moment, underneath his brooding and slight anger at seeing Elena getting along with him. Did his brother really think that he could easily override Damon's compulsion that easily – well, no, he doubted that it was easy; after all, it wouldn't due for Stefan to realize that he'd been tricked into doing the compulsion Damon put on the girl by making it too easy to override. Damon knew just the right amount of Power to put behind a compulsion so that Stefan could override it without it being obvious. To bad Stefan didn't realize that he'd just walked into a trap that Damon had set up.
"Well, were you successful?" Damon asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to take away the smugness radiating from him. "Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right."
Stefan, however, had something else on his mind. "How long was Elena here?" he asked. He hadn't been particularly happy to see Elena around his brother. He had a feeling that Elena's brush off of him hadn't been real, that she had only said that because she'd been compelled to by Damon – it did see the sort of thing that Damon would do. Of course, if he was honest, she didn't seem to keen on him much, but he stubbornly believed that it was only because of Damon – for all he knew, Damon had ran into her after the one party the other night, as it was almost straight after that that she had begun to act really distant from him. He knew that he would have to somehow get vervain to her, after figuring out how to erase Damon's compulsion from her.
He wasn't too worried about that part, though – he had been able to break in with Vicki, so there was no reason why he shouldn't be able to do so with Elena.
"Were you worried, Stefan?" Damon said. "Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Isn't that why you play your little game, 'I'm a high school human'?""
"I'm not playing any game," Stefan said. Damon rolled his eyes, unable to believe how deluded his brother was.
"Of course you are," Damon said. "It won't work, though. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."
Stefan frowned at Damon. "What kind of game are you playing, Damon?" he asked, confused and apprehensive at the words Damon had just spoken.
Damon smirked. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"
When Jenna came home, and saw the slightly goofy look on Elena's face, she couldn't help but think that Elena had changed her mind about Stefan Salvatore, something that Jenna wasn't very happy about. However, instead of straight out asking – which, really, she didn't think would get her anywhere – she asked, "So, what's got you so happy?"
Elena smiled at her aunt, slightly sheepishly, since Jenna didn't know about he guy from last night. "Um…well, last night, while I was at the grill waiting for our drinks, I noticed a really hot guy come in, though I didn't talk to him, and, well…it turns out that he's living at the boarding house now."
"Your not talking about Stefan, are you?" asked Jenna suspiciously, as she didn't have any idea where Stefan had gone once he finally left.
"Oh, god no," Elena said, before biting her lip and looking down. "Trust me, even if I was interested in Stefan, after what I learned about him today, that interest would be completely gone."
"Oh," said Jenna, interested.
"Yeah," Elena said. "I was kind of right about why I thought he was interested in me. His ex-girlfriend – who he was madly in love with and completely crushed when she left him – apparently looks quite a bit like me, and he's on the rebound. Plus, he apparently has raging family issues."
"How do you know that?" asked Jenna. Elena looked down, having the feeling that Jenna might not like the position that she seemed to be willing to put herself in – being between two brothers, even though she was only interested in one, and wasn't quite sure that one was interested in her, though she hoped that he was. However, she also knew that Jenna would be hurt if Elena didn't tell her.
"The hot guy I noticed yesterday, the one living at the boarding house, he's Stefan's brother," Elena said, quickly adding, "but he doesn't seem like Stefan at all."
"You sure about that?" asked Jenna.
"Jenna, I spent an hour talking to him when we were dealing with finding and then loading the boxes, and in that short time, I can honestly say that he did not give off any creepy vibes like Stefan does," Elena told her.
"Well, that's good. So, Stefan's looking for a replacement for his ex-girlfriend," said Jenna. "At least it's only that. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues."
Elena couldn't help but notice that her aunt's last mention of issues was not only said a bit louder than the rest of what she had said, but also timed just as Jeremy walking into the room – she had heard the door open just a few seconds ago, and knew that Jenna had heard as well – Jeremy hadn't exactly been quiet when he had walked in. Elena had the feeling that Jenna wanted Jeremy to hear that last bit, which made her wonder what had been said at the parent-teacher conference.
Jeremy, who also figured out what Jenna was basically saying, scoffed as he rolled his eyes, going to head up to his room.
"Jeremy?" Jenna said. "Jeremy, where were you?"
Jeremy, who had stopped when she called, walking into the kitchen and said, "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's…that's cool." He turned to go again.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Jenna said forcefully, grabbing the first thing she could from the fruit basket on the counter – an apple – which she then lobbed at him with quite a bit of strength.
"Ow!" Jeremy said in surprise as he rubbed where the apple hit. "Why? Why…why did you do that?" he asked, completely taken aback at the action as he looked at Jenna.
Jenna gave him a very stern look, though it didn't exactly make Jeremy think that she was being serious.
"Listen up!" Jenna commanded. "Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion."
Jeremy, over his shock, gave his an a patronizing smile. 'Parental authority," he said, "I like it. Sleep tight."
He left the room, and both of the women could hear him heading up to his room. Jenna sighed after hearing Jeremy's door shut.
Elena was about to ask what that was about when Jenna turned to her with a fake smile.
"So, tell me about this guy, Stefan's brother," she said, and Elena knew that she wouldn't be getting anything from her about Jeremy.
Elena and Bonnie were walking around the town center, programs about 'the night of the comet' in their hands, which they were distributing to everyone, something they had promised Caroline to do.
"Tonight, night of the comet," Bonnie said as she handed another program out.
"Would you like a program?" Elena asked to another person.
"So, you not even going to attempt getting to know Stefan, but you plan on doing so with his brother?" Bonnie said.
"I've told you a few time, Bonnie, I'm not interested in Stefan that way. Besides, I'm not going to become his replacement for his ex. I am my own person, after all," Elena said, sighing.
"I know," Bonnie said, not sure of what to say to get Elena to give Stefan a chance. She knew that Stefan and Elena could be good – how, she wasn't sure, of course – but the fact that Elena had discovered that Stefan apparently over his last girlfriend road blocked her ideas on how to convince Elena to get with him. Then, she got an idea.
"But what if it wasn't true? What if Damon was lying to you?" she said, distaste on her face as she said Damon's name. She didn't actually know who he was – having never met him – but he was kind of getting in her way of setting Elena and Stefan up. And, of course, the fact that Damon was the guy she had been gushing about earlier didn't help her out either.
"Oh, and so my feelings on the matter don't matter?" Elena scoffed, becoming extremely irritated with Bonnie. "Bonnie, all Damon did was confirm what I had already worked out. Also, Stefan made it clear that Damon was right with his behavior – he really didn't have a reason to be so mad at me for simply speaking to Damon, and I know that he overheard some of what we were talking about. I mean, we weren't talking about his ex, but the conversation when he came in could easily have translated into having been talking about the ex, so he knew that I knew. And he was so mad at Damon, which mean that he didn't want me to know, ergo, it's truth."
Bonnie opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, Caroline, who had noticed them stopping to talk, came up to them.
"Guys, program, need to hand them out," she said, grabbing Bonnie's arm and pulling her away from Elena. In truth, Caroline could see Elena become a bit irritated with Bonnie, and decided to talk to Bonnie. Caroline knew that Bonnie believed that Elena and Stefan would make a good couple – mostly because Bonnie kept telling her while Elena kept complaining about Bonnie's insistence – and, in truth, she couldn't understand why. Once the rose-colored glasses were taken away from her – AKA, once she realized and got over the fact that Stefan didn't want her – she had begun to study him a bit, and what she saw, she didn't care for.
Elena, left alone, let out a rather relieved breath. She had to admit, it was a good thing that Caroline had appeared – she would have gone off on Bonnie if she hadn't. Continuing to walk around and hand out the programs, she started when that strange feeling that she was beginning to associate with Damon came back. She looked up rather quickly to see Damon standing just a bit away, looking intently at her.
She began to approach him, only to have him disappear before she got there when a group of people walked in front of her, blocking her view. She looked everywhere – she knew that he was still there, though, as the feeling, while not strong, was still coursing through her – and sighed when she discovered that he really was gone.
She had to wonder if she had really actually seen him, or if she had just imagined it as she continued to hand out the programs.
Meanwhile, Damon watched Elena from his place on top of one of the buildings nearby. He didn't know why he was so drawn to her as he was, and, frankly, he didn't like it. This Katherine look-a-like was confusing him, an act that would normally have him killing her just to fix his little world so things made sense, but something kept stopping him.
He tried to tell himself that it was because he wanted to play with her to hurt Stefan, but the fact that it wouldn't really have the impact he had originally thought it would – her disinterest, which threw him off a bit, in Stefan meant it was very doubtful that Stefan would have a chance, meaning that stealing her away wouldn't be something that would really be happening. At least, not the way he had originally saw it.
He then tried to tell himself that it was because she looked like Katherine, but that actually didn't hold much bearing, because she was so different from her, in almost every way, outside of looks.
In truth, he really didn't have a reason not to kill her, outside of whatever force was stopping him…which, he figured, was the same force that was making him so drawn to her. He had to admit, though, when he was looking for her, it was incredibly easy to do so, as he just had to let this force guide him to her.
Realizing that she was leaving, he headed back to the boarding house, arriving just in time to hear Zach asked, "What is Damon doing here? Why did he come home?"
Slowing down, he stopped were he was, leaning against a tree while waiting for Stefan to answer – he knew he would, as Stefan's senses weren't good enough for him to hear past a certain point outside the house, especially when Damon was being sneaky – then, Stefan wouldn't be able to discover him until Damon was practically on top of him – like when Stefan realized that Damon was in Mystic Falls to begin with.
"'Cause I came home," Stefan said. Damon rolled his eyes at the assumption, despite the fact that, in any other circumstance, it would be true. "He wants to make my life miserable. That's how he enjoys his."
"Well, he's putting us all at risk," Zach said. Damon, who knew that Zach was on that little vampire hunter council in this town, also knew that he would probably end up run out of town if they discovered that he had family that were vampires, knew about it, and actually didn't kill them on sight. "This girl at the hospital could talk."
"She won't. I took care of her," Stefan said. Damon didn't have to be in the room to know that Zach wouldn't be bothered at these words – Stefan was really well known in the family as the one least likely to kill a potential informant. Now, if it was Damon on the other hand…
"You're sure?" Zach asked, and Damon was careful not to snort. It seemed that Zach didn't think that Stefan could perform the compulsion properly.
"I'm not sure, Zach," said Stefan, much to Damon's surprise. From the way he was acting earlier, he seemed very sure. Then again, he probably didn't want to admit this in front of Damon. It seemed that Stefan knew him well enough that admitting weakness in front of him would not be a good thing.
"I don't know how well it worked. I'm not as strong as Damon," continued Stefan.
"So what happens if it doesn't work?" asked Zach worriedly.
"I don't know," said Stefan. "I'll deal with it."
"Is she worth it?" Zach asked suddenly after the pause that followed Stefan's last words. "Uncle Stefan, the girl you came back for. Is she worth it?"
"Yes," Stefan said immediately. Upon hearing that last word, Damon turned around and left, not letting the two know that he had been there to begin with.
"Okay, I've got some more candles," said Caroline, handing them out to those surrounding her. After she got one, Elena turned to walk away when she almost ran into Matt.
"Hi!" she said brightly. "Hey."
"Hey," Matt answered back, wondering why she seemed so happy, though he probably would have regretted asking if he had knew the answer. Luckily for him, he didn't think of asking, and, instead, held out his lip candle to the wick of hers.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," he said, going off to help light some others.
Elena walked around for a bit, lighting some other candles as she came across those who hadn't had theirs lit yet when she saw – well, felt – that Damon was nearby. Looking around, she quickly found him, standing at the edge of those who had gathered around.
Going to move toward him, she ended up distracted when Stefan stepped in front of her.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said, frowning as the feeling disappeared – Damon had left.
"You know, that comet …it's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone," Stefan said, not waiting for her to speak. She looked up at the visible comet.
"Yeah. Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil," Elena said. Despite the fact that she didn't really care to talk to him, her polite upbringing wouldn't really let her dismiss him quite easily, as he really wasn't being the way he was yesterday.
Elena looked down from the sky just in time to see the grimace that crossed Stefan's face.
"I think it's just a ball of…snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape," Stefan said, his tone sounding as if he was trying to convince that that was all it was. Elena was left with the impression that the mention of what Bonnie said upset him for some reason. "And once every hundred forty-five years, it gets to come home."
That really doesn't make sense she thought.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself," he said.
"You didn't tell me that you had a brother," she said.
"We're not close. It's, uh…complicated," he said.
Elena rolled her eyes. "Isn't it always. He told me about your ex, Katherine."
Stefan froze – while he had suspected that Katherine had come up, it still came as blow to him to know for sure. "What did he say?" he demanded, afraid to know what twisted lie Damon had told her – of course, he didn't know that Elena hadn't needed to be told about Katherine all that much, as Damon had just confirmed that there was a woman in Stefan's past that Elena looked like.
"That she broke your heart," she semi-lied. While Damon had told her about Katherine, he hadn't quite said that she broke Stefan's heart so much than Elena figured it out herself.
"That was a long time ago," he said defensively, just cementing the fact that he wasn't over it in her mind. After all, he wasn't much older than she was, and she had the feeling that he had most likely been with the girl for a long time, meaning that he most likely received his broken heart not long before he moved to the town. At least, that's what she suspected – it would also explain why he immediately latched onto her.
"When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt," said Elena.
"Elena…" he sighed, stepping closer to her. She stepped back, and refused to look him in the eyes – she didn't know why, but her danger senses were going off like crazy at the moment. As for the not looking in the eyes, well, she remembered how she had looked in his eyes the other day, and suddenly wanted to tell him what he had asked. She didn't want to risk him trying to control her.
"Look, Stefan," she said. "I don't know exactly what you're expecting from me, and, well, frankly, I don't care. I'm not your type, and you are definitely not my type. Plus, even if I was interested, it would still be complicated, too complicated to even contemplate dating. You have very obvious problems with your brother, and you are obviously not over your ex. Don't bother denying it, your just insulting me by doing that. I'm not going to become your replacement."
She turned and left, leaving him standing opened-mouthed at her.
Damon sat at the bar, nursing a drink, when a waitress passed by, glancing at him before fully stopping and studying him. He turned to her, amused, and recognized her as the girl he attacked. The nametag on her shirt proclaimed her as Vicki. Giving her a smile – he might snack on her again later – he turned back to his drink.
"I know you," she suddenly said, making him look at her again.
"Well, that's unfortunate," he quipped. It seemed that Stefan didn't do his little trick properly, just as he suspected. Vicki, looking confused, shook her head.
"Um…I don't…" she started. "I don't know how, but…your face." Realizing that she probably sounded crazy, she said, "Excuse me. Sorry," and hurried away towards the toilets. She couldn't believe that she had just accused some guy – a hot guy, as well – of the fact that he bore a resemblance to so creature that she kept dreaming had attacked her. After splashing cold water on her face, she dried it off and looked in the mirror, letting out a shout when she saw Damon in the reflection.
Damon watched as everyone ran about, trying to find the girl who stood silently at his side. He didn't need to order her to do anything – he had already given her the orders he wanted her to do. He watched as Matt came up to Stefan, heard him ask Stefan if he had seen Vicki, and turned to look at her, nodding his head before grabbing her around the throat and holding her over the edge – a position, that, should he let go, would result in death for her.
She began to scream and plead with him to let her go, struggling slightly against his hold.
"You really have to stop screaming," Damon commented, almost lazily as he kept his eyes on the speck that was his brother.
"No, please, stop. Don't…" Vicki cried, her words becoming indecipherable.
"Shh," Damon interrupted. "I got you."
"Excuse me," he heard Stefan say, and he smirked at how predictable his brother was. He purposely let his brother see him, not even bothering trying to hide the fact that he was purposely hold most of Vicki over the edge of the building. In fact, he pushed her out even more, so that her feat were off balanced on the ledge.
"No! No!" she cried as Stefan landed on the roof.
"I gotta do it," he said, then heard Stefan behind him.
"I'm not gonna drop you," he then said, rolling his eyes at her. He turned his head to look at Stefan. "Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies?"
"Let her go," Stefan said, his voice brimming with anger. Vicki began to panic some more.
"Shh," Damon said calmingly, before turning back to Stefan. "Really? Okay."
Stefan's eyes widened as he realized just how badly worded his command had been, while Vicki repeated cried "No." Damon dropped her, quickly grabbing her before she could really fall off.
"Uhh!" he grunted at the slight weight change he felt. He pulled her up over the ledge. "Relax," he said in a mock-concerned voice before letting her go complete after she was actually on solid ground. She stumbled away from him.
"What's happening?" she asked, fear running through her being.
"I don't need her to be dead, but…you might," Damon said, before turning to her. "What attacked you the other night?"
"I don't know. An animal," she answered, though her response was extremely weak, showing her uncertainty.
"Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really heard. What attacked you?" Damon let some compulsion flow through his voice as he tore through the thoughts planted by Stefan the day before.
"A vampire," she gasped out.
"Who did this to you?" he asked, reaching out to tear the bandage off while pushing though every compulsion he needed too, even his own, to get her to say who did it – he would renew it later, after all.
"You did!" she suddenly cried out, now understanding what those dreams had meant.
"Wrong!" he cried, a bit thankful that he hadn't needed to get rid of all of his compulsion thoughts he had placed in her mind.
"Don't!" Stefan said, understanding immediately what Damon was about to do. Damon ignored him.
"Come here," he said. Vicki immediately walked over. "Stefan Salvatore did this to you," he told her, adding even more layers to his previous compulsion.
"Stefan Salvatore did this to me," she repeated.
"He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster," Damon told her.
"Please, Damon. Pease don't do this," Stefan pleaded.
"If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now," said Damon, alluding to the fact that Stefan's compulsion hadn't worked all to well before hand. He purposely turned Vicki towards Stefan, causing her to scream and panic at the sight of him. She shrank back into Damon.
"Uhh!" Damon said, rolling his eyes at the rather pathetic looking scene that he'd caused, especially since the girl expected him to protect him. "Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks in nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."
"No!" Vicki cried, afraid of Stefan and what Damon seemed to be alluding to. She stumbled away from him, thoughts clouded in fear.
"You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming 'vampire; through the town square," Damon said.
"That's what this is about? You want to expose me?" Stefan said.
"No! I want you to remember who you are!" Damon said firmly. He was tired of Stefan acting like something he wasn't, especially after what Stefan had done to him.
"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again?" That last part was said with quite a bit of scorn, while Damon glared at him for even thinking that. In truth, he just wanted Stefan actually fighting him. It was hard to make someone miserable when they weren't fighting back, and making themselves miserable. "You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you."
Damon just look at him, wondering just how Stefan came to that logic, especially since it could easily lead to Damon himself being killed. Or did Stefan think that? Did Stefan believe that Damon would also die if he was killed? And what about Elena; from the way Stefan acted – even though they weren't together – he would have thought that Stefan would want to get to know Elena some more.
"Huh," he said. "Huh. Wow."
He turned to Vicki. "Come here, sweetheart."
"No!" Vicki cried, though she really didn't have much of a choice when Damon wrapped his arm around her.
"It's okay," he said. He whispered something indecipherable to Stefan in her ear, though Stefan assumed that Damon was using his compulsion to get rid of the memories he had both uncovered and planted, for she immediately began to calm. When he let go of her, she looked around confused, shook her head, and said, "What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open." She reached her hand up, touching the area. "Ah…" she gasped, pain shooting through her a bit.
"You okay?" asked Stefan tentatively, as if afraid she would start freaking out again.
"I took some pills, man. I'm good," she said. She left, going down the fire escape, where she eventually was found by her super worried overprotective brother.
"It's good to be home," said Damon, after she had gone. "Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"
"What are you up to, Damon?" Stefan asked.
"That's for me to know and for you to…dot dot dot. Give Elena my best." He jumped down, leaving Stefan looking at him with suspicion on his face.
"She said you found her wandering around," Matt said to Stefan when he entered the grill.
"Yeah," Stefan said.
"So, um, thanks," said Matt. Stefan nodded, his eyes – and ears – finding Elena's friends.
"Uhh. It's just so much drama," Caroline was saying. "Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"
"Yeah," Bonnie said. Stefan walked over to them, looking for Elena.
"Excuse me. Hi," he said, not noticing the frown that crossed Caroline's face.
"Hi," Bonnie said brightly.
"Um, have you guys seen Elena?" he asked.
"I think she went home," Bonnie said, and then looked as if she had an idea. "I'm gonna give you Elena's cell number and her e-mail," she said, ignoring the stink eye Caroline was giving her. Elena so wasn't going to like this. "She is big on texting, and you can tell her…'I said so'."
"Thank you," Stefan said, glad to know that he had at least one supporter among Elena's friends – both Matt and Caroline didn't exactly seem thrilled at the idea of Stefan with Elena. Bonnie wrote out the number and e-mail, and handed it to him. On accident, their hands made contact, and Bonnie gasped when horrific scenes flashed before her eyes.
"You okay?" Stefan asked, concerned – he had forgotten that the Bennett witches were still alive, and that Bonnie was one of them.
"What happened to you?" Bonnie asked, before shaking her head. "That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me." She walked off, Caroline and Stefan staring at her. Caroline looked at Stefan, realizing that Stefan wouldn't know what to think of that and not wanting him to think of Bonnie as crazy – even if Caroline already thought that.
"Yeah, she kind of wigs out like that. It's like her thing," she said, before walking over to Bonnie to say bye. As Stefan left, Caroline was glad that he didn't know that Elena was coming back – she had promised to help with the clean up, and Caroline would call her ass if she tried to flake.
Elena was just walking through her door at that moment – she would have stayed, but she was hoping that Jeremy had come home, as she still needed to talk to him.
Hearing things being moved around upstairs, she hurried up them, locating the source to be her brother's room.
"Jer?" she said, peering into the room.
"No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol," Jenna said, not stopping her searching.
"What are you doing?" asked Elena.
"I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a fifteen-year-old's privacy. Jackpot!"
She held up something. "I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative."
"What brought this on?"
"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday," Jenna said, sinking down onto a bean bag chair in the room.
"You got tannered," Elena sighed. Did he really have to make things harder than they already were? And did he have to make Jenna feel as if she wasn't doing well when, considering the fact that Jenna wasn't much older than Elena, she was doing pretty well without being overbearing. "Been there."
"'Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers.' Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up," Jenna said.
"You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna," Elena told her.
"Yes I am. You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse," Elena realized that what was hurting her aunt the most was the fact that Jeremy wasn't doing anything good to himself, and that she was afraid that he would eventually cause irreversible harm to himself, something that Elena wasn't going to allow – "and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible." She let her head drop into her hands after that.
"That's just fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all. We all are. The important thing, though, is to work through that fear. It may take awhile, but soon you'll see that we're all going to be okay, okay?" She looked at the clock, realizing that she need to get back to the Grill to help Caroline out, as promised.
"Okay, I have to go; there's something I have to do. Are you going to be okay?"
Jenna nodded, and Elena left after the confirmation.
"Damon," Elena said, fairly happen when she spotted him on his way into the Grill.
"Elena," he said, slightly confused at the happiness she showed him.
"What are you doing here?" Elena asked as she walked over to him. He pointed towards the Grill.
"I was planning on getting something to drink. Stefan's brooding at the house, and it's just not the kind of atmosphere I want to be in," he explain, beginning to walk over to the doors. She followed. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I told my friend Caroline that I would help her out with the clean up form tonight's celebration. I don't think there'll be much to clean, but she was adamant about someone helping her out, and I volunteered, so…"
"Ah," he said holding open the door for her. She smiled at him as she walked in. Continuing to talk to him, she didn't notice the eyes that were watching her with surprise. Matt, from were he sat, watched as Elena once walking into the grill with a guy, only this time she looked as if she was having a good time with said guy. Jeremy, who hadn't actually seen her with Stefan at the Grill that day, but had seen her at he party with, was able to tell that she was rather happier with the guy standing with her now than she had been with Stefan. Caroline, who also could see the look of joy, admiration, and want on Elena's face, knew that this was the guy Elena wanted.
She walked over to them, plans already forming in her mind. She knew that she wouldn't really have any chance of going after this guy without severely hurting her best friend, and, while he was extremely handsome, the look on his face told her that he might feel the same for Elena, though he might fight it.
"Hey," she said, gaining the two's attention. "I thought I would have to call and remind you to come help," she continued, making the universal eye gesture of 'introduce me, please' to Elena. She got the message immediately.
"Caroline, this is Damon, Damon Salvatore. He's Stefan's older brother," she said.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Caroline said. "Would you like to sit down with us?"
Elena really didn't give him a chance to deny the invitation, grabbing his arm and pulling him with her. Amused – he hadn't realized the impression he had left her with before – he let her do so, despite the fact that he would normally be offended and want to kill the person who thought they could control him.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that, by following the two girls, he was resigning himself to an rather lengthy interrogation by Caroline, who was determined to find out everything about him, for Elena. It was only when Matt came by to tell Caroline that they were going to be closing in half an hour that she remembered the fact that she had some things she needed to do, the very things she had asked Elena to help her with, in fact.
"Oh, ah…" she started, only to see everything already done, and a box on the table next to them.
"I already took care of it for you. You just need to take it to your car," Matt said.
"Okay," Caroline said.
"I'll be right back," Elena said, standing up and heading to the bathroom. Caroline watched her go before turning back to Damon, ready to ask him some questions without Elena being there.
"So, what do you think of Elena?" she asked.
"She's interesting. I have to admit, I like how to blew my brother off the other day," he said. She smiled.
"Yeah, well, he's being a bit overbearing towards her, which is not something she cares for," she said, pulling out a pen. She grabbed his hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm giving you her cell number and e-mail. I know she probably wants you to have it," she said, writing it down, "but I also know that she won't offer it straight up. So, I think this will make her happy. She likes texting a lot, and when you do text or call her, let her know 'your welcome' from me."
He didn't have time to answer – he wasn't quite sure what he would say anyways – before Elena came back. Caroline left then, taking the box with her as she told the two bye and walked out of the place, feeling good for doing a good deed for Elena.
"How did you get here?" Elena asked as they left the Grill together.
"Walked," he said. She turned to him, wide eyed.
"You walked all the way from the boarding house," she said. "That had to of been a long walk."
"I guess," Damon said, shrugging. "It didn't really seem long to me."
"Well, would you like a ride back?" she asked. He shook his head.
"No, I'm good." They had reached her car by now, and he opened the door for her, allowing her to get in.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said, slightly questioning him.
"Tomorrow," he agreed – why, he wasn't sure. After closing the door for her and watching her leave, he sped off to the boarding house, his original plans of finding some girl to feed off of ruined, for he couldn't get Elena out of his mind. He knew he had to figure out why she was making him feel the way he was feeling – feelings not only didn't work for him, but it also distracted him from his real goal.
He couldn't let himself get any more distracted and knew that he should refrain from seeing Elena, but it was hard to stick to that plan when he wanted to see her again.
He went straight to the liquor cabinet when he arrived back home.
As you can see, Amora - in case you haven't realized, she's what's drawing the two together - is making Damon start to go crazy while forgetting about his plan with Katherine, and he's not liking it quite yet. Originally, I was going to have him text her, but I want that to be in the next chapter, along with Stefan texting her. I hope you don't mind a bit of a confrontation between Elena and Bonnie and Elena and Caroline for giving out her number to two different guys. Or, rather, how she'll be glad with Caroline but mad at Bonnie.
In case you are wondering, I'm making Bonnie the instrument of the bad guy who's trying to get Elena with Stefan, which is why she's ignoring Elena's feelings about Stefan. And, of course, sooner of later, that's going to come and make something irreversible happen between Elena and her.
Anyways, I do not know when I'll get the next chapter up.
Please review, I want to know what you thought of this chapter.
Hearts In Strangeness