So, I am very aware how preposterously and ridiculously late this update is. Believe me I know. I would apologize but it seems kinda pointless so I'll just repent silently and let you all know that Laini's outfits will be posted on Polyvore and that all of the links are on my profile. I'll be shutting up now...

The Night Of The Comet

"Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?"

I stuck my head out of my bedroom door. "Since when do you care about looking 'parental'? " Jenna sighed and turned to face me, momentarily forgetting about her hair. "Since I got called about Jeremy's parent-teacher conference, which I had no idea about until last night. I need to look mature and like I'm actually the responsible guardian of three people. So, hair up or down?"

"Hmm, sexy stewardess..." Elena walked out of her room and finished my sentence as she examined Aunt Jenna with her hair down. "Boozy housewife." I laughed at Jenna's face and returned to my room where I was quickly deciding on an outfit and a green lace top, black skirt, a pair of ankle boots and my Dad's watch later I was leaving my room in time to hear the end of Elena and Jenna's conversation.

"...There is no woodshop, is there?" "No." Jenna just sighed, though she looked half way between pissed and disappointed. I just clapped her on the shoulder and said "You can ground him later." That cheered her up.

X

I was on my way to Tanner's class so I could be there when Jenna got bitched at by Mr Douche bag. Which she would. It was inevitable. But I got dragged into a conversation between Bonnie and Caroline before I could even come close to his classroom.

"Laini! There you are! I'm confused. Is she psychic or clairvoyant?" I shrugged a little as I turned to Bonnie "Are you psychic or clairvoyant? Care's confused." Caroline shot me a scathing look but otherwise listened intently as Bonnie explained. "Technically Grams says I'm a witch. My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family,yes. Witches? I don't think so."

"I miss your Grams, I haven't spoken to her in months. Tell her I said hi, would ya?" Bonnie nodded while Blondie moved the conversation back to her. Unsurprisingly."Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Well colour me intrigued "What guy?" Bonnie just shook her head while Caroline ignored me completely. "I didn't see him, you did. Why didn't you just talk to him?" Miss Forbes shrugged a little. "I don't know. I was drunk." I snorted "Because that's ever held you back." I received a glare and a cute little giggle from Bonnie before I noticed the 'get lost' vibes coming from Caroline.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I gotta go find the lesser of us Gilbert girls."

X

When I found her, Elena was talking with Matt and I sighed internally. He was hung up on her and she was already practically in love with Stefan. "Vickie's lucky that she's okay." I heard her saying and I shook my head as I inserted myself into their conversation. "You're lucky that you're okay. I am like the worst big sister ever for letting you and Jeremy go to that party when there was an animal attack just a few days ago."

"I know, and Laini's right about how dangerous it is. There's talk of some missing campers."

"Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?"

"She said it was a vampire."

Elena leaned forward intrigued while I just furrowed my eyebrows in disbelief. Though my mind subconsciously remembered the stories my Dad and Uncle John used to tell me at bedtime.

"What?" Matt just nodded, he knew how crazy it sounded. "Yeah she woke up last night and mutters 'Vampire' and then passes out." Elena looked kind of freaked out "Okay, that is weird."

Matt shrugged "I think she was drunk. So what's up with you and the new guy?"

As I heard the last part of that sentence I backed away with a quick sympathetic look towards Elena. I tended to avoid awkward conversations on principle. When the trainwreck was over Lena moodily strolled over to where I lounging on a picnic bench. "Come on we have to go meet the girls at the Grill."

X

"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 lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity." I nodded "Yup. The last time it was here was in 1864 when the church burned down."

"Yeah, and then you poured grams another shot and she told you about the aliens. Laini, I just got out of school, I do not need to be bored again until tomorrow. Then what?" Caroline's last question was aimed at Elena as I huffed and Bonnie rubbed my shoulder with an amused smirk on her face.

"So then nothing."

Ah, we were talking about Stefan and Elena now? That's fine. I'll just pretend she didn't call me boring. "You and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?" I scowled a little at that. This was my little sister she was talking about."Nope. We didn't go there."

And cue smug scoff from me. "That's because my bedroom is right next to yours and I would have chased Stefan out of the house with a bat if the thought even crossed his mind." Everyone raised at least one eyebrow but continued on as if I hadn't said a thing. Typical. "Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Ok? You are supposed to share the smut."

I raised my hands in a 'What The Hell' gesture towards the blonde. "There was no smut, ok? None." Elena nodded "We just talked for hours."

"Ok, what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already! Ok, it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex." I swore to God I was going to ring her pretty little neck. "We are talking about my baby sister. Shut up, Forbes."

Both she and Elena rolled their eyes at me while Bonnie just sat in her chair watching the three of us with an amused glint in her green eyes.

"Profound, Caroline. Though, Laini, I am hardly a baby. You're what? 5 years older than me?"

I shrugged a little, muttering to myself "So not the point."

Elena looked lost in thought for a moment before she abruptly stood from her seat while dragging me up with her. "Where are you going?" Bonnie looked as confused as I felt. "Caroline's right. It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do."

I shook her hand of my arm and folded mine across my chest as she strode over to my car. "Elena! Where are we going?" She crossed her arms over her chest with a determined expression on her face.

"The Salvatore Boarding house. I'm gonna talk to Stefan and I figured you would want to make sure we weren't doing it or something."

"Ugh, fine. Get in the car."

X

I whistled as I pulled up next to the massive Boarding house. "I forgot how amazing this place is "

"Whoa. How have I never been here before?"

I followed behind her as she rang the doorbell and got no answer and then watched as she went to knock on the grande wooden door only for it to creak open. Elena hesitated and I sighed before walking past her into the beautiful house. "Laini, you can't just walk in to his house." I scoffed. "Elena, Stefan is practically in love with you already, I doubt he'll mind."

Elena sighed but continued in after me. "Stefan? Stefan?" I walked towards the huge staircase "Zach? You here, Salvatore?" Nothing.

Elena gasped in fright and I spun around to find myself face to chest with someone. "Uh, Lena? Am I imagining the man in front of me or is he actually there?" Elena shot me a look before addressing said man, who had yet to step out of my personal space. I slid back to save him the trouble.

"W... we're sorry for barging in. The door was... Open."

It caused me physical strain to stop my jaw from dropping when I got a look at the mystery guy. There was one word to describe the guy I stood across from and that word was delicious. Ink black hair, ice blue eyes that I could see even from where I was standing and it wasn't hard to imagine the amazing body underneath the black clothes he was wearing.

"You must be the Gilbert sisters. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother." His ice blue eyes were dancing like they couldn't quite decide who to focus on. Me or Elena.

"He didn't tell me he had a brother." Elena looked kind of suspicious of the raven haired God who had suddenly appeared. A smirk appeared on his face when he heard that. "Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." I watched him with slightly narrowed eyes. The effect of his good looks had worn off and I could now see the mischievous glint in his eyes. It made me want to wipe the smirk of his gorgeous face.

"So Damon and Stefan. I take it you're named after the original Salvatore brothers, then? Or was it just a happy coincidence?" Damon's expression stayed neutral and it looked like he was about to reply when Elena spoke. "Wow. This is your living room?" She had wandered over to the small steps leading into the huge room. I stepped up next to her and Damon stopped to my right.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste... I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him." My eyes narrowed again. That sentence seemed to lack the sibling concern it should have had and it just oozed ulterior motives. I just hoped to whatever was holy that Elena wouldn't fall for it but I sighed when she asked "The last one?"

"Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward ex's conversation yet." This guy was getting on my nerves more than Caroline and I had barely known him for five minutes. "Nope." I scoffed a little at what he had said though. "They've known each other for what? A day? Little too soon for that, don't you think?" Damon's attention was fully focused on my sister, though. "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end." I sighed in amusement and rubbed Elena's arm "Oh Elena. Should we talk about how naïve that sounded now or later, sweetie?" She pinched me in the side before mouthing 'Shut up'. Of course, the two of them then continued the conversation as if I weren't there. "I'm a fatalist... Hello, Stefan." My head snapped around at that and I found myself looking at a very broody Stefan. "Elena, Laini. I didn't know you were coming over." Elena rushed up the stairs to stand in front of him. "I know. I should have called, I just..."

The only douchebag in the room interrupted "Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome anytime. Aren't they Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But... I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker." Stefan blatantly ignored his brother. "Thank you for stopping by, Elena, Laini. Nice to see you." I didn't need to be able to see her to know that the sweet smile she wore fell almost as soon as he started speaking.

"Yeah, we should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon." Always polite. Being rude may as well have been a sin in Elena's book. "Great meeting you, too, Elena. Hope to see you again, Laini." I cringed a little when he kissed my hand but nodded all the same. "Stefan? Stefan?" She sounded so disappointed that it made me re-think my first impression of the boy. I glared, with what I hoped was a fair amount of disappointment, as I passed the youngest Salvatore and I made sure to slam the door when I left.

X

Damon whistled as the door slammed. "Great gal. Whoo. She's got spunk and that sister. Fiery. You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you overexert yourself today? Let me guess... hospital." His little brother did look exhausted and he couldn't really find it within himself to care all that much.

"Someone had to clean up your mess." And let the goading continue. "Well, were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work right." Stefan's face tightened in suspicion. "How long were Elena and Laini here?" Damon smirked "Are you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Or that Elena's big sister will be the victim of an 'animal attack'? Isn't that why you play your little game, "I'm a high school human"?" Stefan shook his head at him "I'm not playing any game." He scoffed as he walked past his little brother. "Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."

"What kind of game are you playing, Damon?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" With that he left the room, fully prepared to drink until he made something interesting happen.

X

"He's on the rebound and has raging family issues." I scoffed as Elena talked to Jenna about Stefan. "Yeah, but you got all that from his big brother and that guy looks as reliable as Jenna." Elena shrugged while Jenna hit me in the arm.

"Well, if it is true, at least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues." Elena and I both giggled a little but the two of us enjoying the hilarity that was Jenna's dating history was interrupted when we heard the front door open and close. As soon as Aunt Jenna saw who it was she sprang into 'responsible adult' mode. Straight face, stern voice, stiff posture. The three S's of parenting. "Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?"

Our little brother, who was no doubt stoned, waltzed past our Aunt as if he hadn't a care in the world but he did acknowledge her, at least. "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's... that's cool." Definitely high.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Then, much to mine and Elena's amusement Jenna threw the apple she had had in her hands at our poor defenseless little brother. "Ow! Why? Why... why did you do that?" I snorted but I sobered up some when Aunt Jenna started speaking again. "Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion." So he was a stoner and he was missing classes. Mom and Dad would've been so proud. Then again he was only did it because they weren't here.

Despite Jenna's attempts it was obvious Jeremy didn't take her threats seriously but that was probably because he was as high as a kite.

"Parental authority, I like it. Sleep tight."

X

When I got there the Grill was busy. I had given Jeremy a ride over and he was already looking for Vicki Donovan. I liked Vicki, she was a nice girl, if you forgot about the excessive drug use and the fact that I was pretty sure she had slept with my brother at least once. I'll admit I was watching them like a hawk but I wasn't the only one. I could see Tyler Lockwood over by the pool tables from where I was sitting at the bar and he looked suspicious, if not a little pissed off and I just knew that he was picturing himself kicking Jer's ass. In many different and painful ways.

When Tyler started moving towards Jeremy and Vicki I subtly and very skillfully, if I do say so myself, slid down to the end of the bar and sat in on the stool closest to the two, just in case either one of them decided to do something stupid, and they didn't seem to notice.

"So you gonna, uh, watch the comet later?" Jeremy sounded hopeful while Vicki just looked happy with the attention. "I hadn't really thought about it... but I could be talked into it. I'll meet you out there in a few." And enter Lockwood "Hey, Vick. How you feeling?" That would have sounded genuine if I hadn't known Tyler since he was a vicious little anklebiter. Vicki scoffed at him. "Like you care" and all three of us watched her walk away. Safe to say, Tyler was a little bit pissed. I could practically feel his jaw clenching.

I snickered at his face and only laughed louder when he heard and sneered at me and Jeremy, who had a smug smirk on his face as he strolled past Tyler and I. "What are you lookin' at, Gilberts?"

It was when I was watching him slither back to his friends that I saw Damon Salvatore sitting alone. My eyes narrowed instinctively and I once again changed bar stools. This time with a little less subtlety.

He raised an eyebrow at me expectantly. "So…. What's with you and Stefan?" Now both eyebrows were raised. "Don't you think that's a little personal?" The smirk that seemed to be a permanent fixture on his face was firmly in place as he spoke.

I shrugged. "Yeah, it is, but your little brother is extremely close to dating my little sister. Like, talking all through the night kind of close and if you guys are gonna put her in the middle of whatever severe family drama you seem to have going on, then I need to know so I can go and kick Stefan's ass for getting her involved. Or screw him over academically, I haven't decided yet."

Damon's smirk became more defined and it was my turn to arch my eyebrows. "Me and Stefan don't have the best sibling relationship," His tone turned patronizing now "But Elena and Stefan are perfectly happy together. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize my little brother's happiness." My gaze turned slightly disbelieving and I was about to call him on 'Bullshit' but Vicki was suddenly standing at the end of the bar closest to me staring at Damon with a crinkled brow. "I know you." His brow wrinkled in return but his gaze was verging on mocking and it made me frown.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Vicki looked extremely confused and it could have been the drugs, but I was a little concerned for the girl.

"Hey Vick, are you okay?" She seemed to shake herself but she still had that look on her face that said she was troubled by whatever she thought was happening. "Um... I don't... I don't know how, but... your face... excuse me. Sorry."

I watched her go before I turned back around to face Damon. Who had disappeared. The sneaky bastard.

The rest of my night was as uneventful as it was boring, well, until Jeremy made his return from wherever the hell it was he had wandered off to and converged on the group of teenagers who had formed a comfortable little gossip group around a table. Oh, and me. His older sister in her early 20's hanging around with high school kids.

"Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" He was sweating and I frowned in concern. He sounded panicked and while most of us looked on concerned Tyler didn't "You're her stalker. You tell us." I recognised the expression on his face as smugness and prepared myself for the inevitable disaster.

"I can't find her." My brow crinkled "I'm sure she's fine, Jer."

"She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced." Not only had Tyler now pissed off myself and Jeremy, he had made Elena suspicious "What's with the pill pusher?" I sighed, yet again, and let my head fall into my hands in exasperation. "Ask him." Thank you, Tyler for undoubtedly ruining my night. "You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy sounded more and more frustrated by the second as if he couldn't believe we would all rather talk about him than find Vicki.

Elena, however, didn't seem as concerned for the female Donovan as she had a few moments ago, busying herself with cornering our brother "Are you dealing?". No one paid her any attention, too focused on the testosterone fueled argument going on to care. "She's never gonna go for you."

"She already did. Over and over and over again." I groaned into my hands "Ugh, really?! You had to tell us that?" Safe to assume I was ignored. "There's no way." Jeremy sounded smug "And I didn't even have to force her into it." My head snapped up "What?!" Matt was on the same wavelength as me "What the hell is he talking about, Tyler?"

He tried to shrug it off but everyone could see how Lockwood was now squirming in his seat "Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk." And before I could throw an insult jackass' way, Matt seemed to have had enough.

"You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Everyone nodded and started to split up. "We'll check the back." Caroline and Bonnie.

"I'll check the square." Matt.

"I'll come with you." Would have been Jeremy if Elena hadn't dragged him away.

"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. So that's your game now, dealing?" I jumped in.

"Jeremy, you need to stop with all the drug crap, okay? You're going to ruin your life." Our brother looked supremely irritated but what else did he expect from us "I'm not dealing." I scoffed as Elena started talking again. "Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact." Jeremy groaned "You and Laini and Jenna, between the three of you…" I glared at him "We can stop, it's just that if we do, we'll be forced to send you to a therapist who will make you deal with your problems or even rehab where you'll sit in group and talk about how you fucked up enough to let your life fall apart. Or you can talk to us." He just sneered at me "I vote for none of the above." I growled in frustration as we watched him hurry away

"'Lena I'm going home, text me when you guys find Vicki."

X

"Jer?"

I was lounging on Jeremy's bed when Elena came in to find Jenna rooting through his stuff. "No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol." I snorted and she grinned at me before it was replaced by a determined scowl. Elena came and sat next to me on the bed "What are you doing?"

Jenna sighed "I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy… Jackpot! I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative." I shook my head in disappointment "I'm embarrassed for him." Elena shot me a look but turned her gaze back to our aunt. "What brought this on?"

"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday."

"Screw him!"

"You got tannered. Been there."

Jenna scoffed "'Discover the impossible, Ms. Summers.' Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." My face scrunched up "You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna." She shook her head "Yes, I am. You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you guys. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse, and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible."

All of us were quiet until Elena tried to console the crestfallen woman in front of us "This is just the fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all. We all are…" Elena's face changed and I could see the wheels spinning in her head "I have to go do something but are you going to be okay?" She nodded and I stood as Elena left the room. "How about I make us some dinner and we can wait for Jeremy to come home. Then you can ground him for life, how does that sound?" Jenna cracked a smile and I cheered. We were all unsure of ourselves but we had each other.

X

To those of you who are irritated by the late update let me tell you that this particular chapter is 4,549 words... which is a very nice word count, if I do say so myself. I promise I will start making the updates faster and more regular but for now I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter which, yes, is extremely close to the show but I do intend for it do be that way, with a few sub-plots and twists of course but it will be following the show... Anyway, until next time which will hopefully be soon because whenever I'm late with an update I always feel like you're all glaring at me through my laptop screen...