Night Of The Comet.
"So… I'm confused. Are you psychic or clairvoyant?" Caroline questioned as she, Leya and Bonnie walked into the hall.
"Technically, Grams says I'm a Witch, my ancestors were these really cool Salem Witch chicks or something, Grams tried to explain it, but she was looped out on the liquor, I tuned out. Crazy family, yes. Witches, I don't think so."
"Yeah, but if you are feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night."
Leya smiled as the memory of Caroline gushing about an 'amazing gorgeously, hot guy' she saw last night at the Grill where Bonnie took her to sober up came to mind.
"I didn't see him, you did." Bonnie explained.
"Why didn't you just talk to him?" Leya asked with a slight giggle.
"I don't know. I was drunk."
After Leya's revelation a few nights ago, she had spent the entire weekend trying to figure out what Stefan was, and after a while which was quite obvious now that she thought about it, she deduced he was a vampire, if he was the perpetrator of recent 'animal attacks' she wasn't sure. She had watched (stalked) him the last couple of days and could see that he genuinely wanted to fit in.
Leya felt relieved that the vampire she had come to see as a somewhat friend the last couple of days wouldn't accidentally slip and fall ripping open her jugular or any of her new friend's jugulars. But with that thought it also brought up the idea of another vampire in town that wasn't as nice as Stefan, and it was a very unsettling thought.
She decided before she was to meet up with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill she would confront him and get the awkward feeling she felt whenever around him out of the way. So here she was driving to Stefan's house with the determination to tell him she knows his secret. And if he tries to kill her she would hex him into oblivion with her wand which was hidden up her sleeve, if he didn't and wanted to know how she found out… well she'll cross that bridge when she comes to it.
Which would be pretty soon she thought pulling up to the drive way. From what she had learned of vampires in Defense Against the Dark Arts, they had enhanced everything, which included hearing. So she without a doubt knew Stefan could hear her as she slammed her car door shut and walked to the door knocking it harshly three times.
"Leya?" He asked confused. "What are you doing here?"
"I think we need to have a bit of a chat, don't you?" She asked holding up a freshly printed picture of Stefan from the article she found that was decades old.
The silence was deafening as Leya and Stefan stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, no sound being made in the vast structure of Stefan's home. It almost seemed as if time itself had taken a temporary leave from both of them; suspending things uncomfortably.
"You're a vampire." Leya bluntly stated, slightly perturbed by the silence.
"I don't know what your-" Stefan cut himself off as Leya gave him a knowing look. He sighed and hesitantly asked. "How do you know?"
Stefan was worried, if Leya a girl who moved here not too long ago could figure it out, than anyone can. He was also irked at how nonchalant she was acting, as if it was normal for her to meet a supernatural creature on a daily basis, she should be running away screaming vampire as loud as she could.
"Well besides the obvious animal attacks that weren't actually animals." She paused, hesitating before continuing. "I saw your face, the night of the party. The veins as blood rushed to your eyes staining the whites. It was because of the blood."
Stefan looked down in shame and Leya knew in that instant he wasn't the one to attack Vicki, the girl who was injured the night of the party. Leya had met Matt and as soon as she found out he was related to her asked how she was, he said she was fine but kept muttering odd things like vampires. This only encouraged Leya more to believe that, that was what Stefan was.
"Aren't you afraid?" Stefan asked looking up at Leya, who was looking at him without judgment.
"Of course I am." She replied astonished. "But I know what it's like to be different, and it's better to be judged on who you are, not what you are."
Stefan looked down contemplating what Leya said, she was wise beyond her years that's for sure. And hoped should anyone find out about his secret, would have the same outlook as Leya though the chances of that happening were one in a million.
"Are you going to tell Elena?" Leya asked breaking Stefan's thoughts.
"It's complicated." He paused. "Look I know you must have questions, so shoot."
"Alright but you asked for it." Leya replied teasingly, before turning serious.
"Why don't you burn in the sun?" She asked a curious almost childlike expression on her face.
"We have rings." Stefan said wriggling his hand where a large ring sat. Leya's hand shot out capturing his hand lightly tracing the S engraved in sliver on top of a blue stone.
"It lets us walk in the sun, without burning." He murmured looking intently at her marred skin, he frowned the words I must not tell lies flashing a silvery white in the sun. On her right hand was a similar scar, though admittedly lighter than the other and harder to read said I will not break rules. The words looked deliberately carved into her skin as if she did it herself, but Stefan doubted that. He didn't think Leya was one for self-mutilation.
Leya abruptly pulled her hands away from Stefan noticing his staring and tucked them underneath her thighs and poorly tried to change the topic.
"Garlic?"
"Edible." Stefan replied smiling softly knowing she was changing the subject. If she didn't want to tell him he was alright with that, especially since he wasn't exactly spilling his deepest darkest secrets.
Leya knew it was edible, in fact she already knew everything there was to know about vampires since they had studied them thoroughly in DADA. What they didn't study however, were those nifty little rings that let them walk in the sun.
"The ring? I doubt it just appeared out of nowhere." She leaned forward curiously.
"No, actually not many vampires have these because they're spelled by a Witch." Stefan explained.
"Witches?" Leya asked her eyebrows practically rose up to her hairline.
"Yeah I know, hard to believe right?" Stefan grinned.
"Definitely." Leya agreed her shoulder sagging slightly in relief. "But if vampire exist, what else is out there."
"Um, so I've got to go. I'm meeting up with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline at the Grill" Leya said after a prolonged silence and Stefan walked her to the door and just as he was about to close the door he paused and called out to her.
"Are you going to tell Elena?"
"No. It isn't any of my business, but keeping secrets, especially ones that could change everything in a second, from those closest to you will always end in disaster, Stefan."
Stefan nodded gratefully and heeded her words, but Leya knew he wasn't going to tell Elena anytime soon.
"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 a paranormal activity." Bonnie said as the four girls sat at a table outside of the Grill since it was such a beautiful day.
"Mm. Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens." Caroline said to Bonnie before directing a question at Elena about her late night talk with Stefan. "So then what?"
"So then, nothing." Elena flustered.
"You and Stefan talked all night, there was no sloppy first kiss, or touchy-feely of any kind?" Caroline asked with an incredulous look on her face.
"Nope, we didn't go there."
"Not even a handshake? I mean, Elena we are your friends okay. You are supposed to share the smut."
"We just talked for hours." Elena said honestly.
"What is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already." Bonnie look at Caroline with a disgusted look while Leya raised her eyebrows at her.
"Okay it's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy. Sex." Caroline said with a smug, satisfied smirk on her face.
"Very profound, Caroline." Leya said. Caroline just looked at Leya and rolled her eyes playfully. Caroline had sucked in her pride and apologized to Leya the day before about being so blunt about her scar and Leya forgave her. Why hold a grudge over such a trivial comment.
Leya looked back at Elena to see a thoughtful look on her face, and then she suddenly stood up, and grabbed her stuff.
"Where are you going?" Bonnie asks.
"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 gonna do." She smiles confidently leaving with a new bounce in her step.
It was the night of the comet and seeing everyone together and happy had made Leya homesick, and so she decided to say home. It was currently noon and a few hours until the comet was set to arrive and Leya was bored. Daisy was out with her friends so she had the entire house to herself. She had spent all day trying and failing to get her mind off England and her friends, she had cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and even did a bit of gardening.
And now here she was watching TV, it was some weird modeling show that held absolutely no appeal to her. Leya was never allowed to watch TV back when she lived with the Dursley's which had made her want to watch it all the more, but now that she had easy access to a TV courtesy of her aunt she watched some of the shows and movies, after a few days they had easily bored her. She looked at the clock and realized only ten minutes had passed and groaned leaning back against the couch, before looking at the large bookshelf that leaned against the wall of the living room.
Leya was an avid reader, not as crazy as Hermione was about books but enough to know when someone quoted a classic. It was her own personal purgatory when she lived with the Dursley's and the only way she could escape was with books. They allowed her to let her imagination run free and visualize a different better life for herself with her parents whether it be fighting dragons or solving a mystery the possibilities were endless. Picturing her parents was harder than she had previously believed since she didn't know what they looked like until she saw them in the Mirror of Erised her first year.
So to pass more time Leya picked out a random book off a shelf nearby and started reading. It was a Charms book. When she had first arrived Leya and spelled the covers of her magical books to look like normal ordinary Muggle ones and hid them in-between her aunts abundant books about plants.
An hour passed and she was halfway through chapter two when she jumped up off the couch in excitement. There on the page was the spell they used in the Great Hall at Hogwarts to make the ceiling look like the sky outside.
Leya took off running upstairs grabbing her wand that lay on the bedside table and walked into her en suite. What better way than to enjoy a lovely bath with a magnificent view. She got to work immediately, since she was doing the spell for the first time it would only last the night but it was fine with her. She didn't really fancy a shower in the morning feeling like she was outside.
Leya sighed looking up admiring her work, she didn't do so bad, the charm covered the entire ceiling of her bathroom and she really felt like she was outside looking up at the beautiful array of colors of the impending sunset.
Someone rang the doorbell and Leya yelled she would be there in second and stashed her wand under her pillow before jogging down the stairs to the front door.
"Stefan?" She greeted when she opened the door. "This is unexpected."
"I know, sorry, but, I uh just thought we should talk a little more." Stefan explained with a pleasant smile. Leya stepped aside and swooped her arm in a come in gesture, her lips forming an almost crooked smile, reminding Stefan of the Mona Lisa.
"What's wrong?" Leya asked when he didn't move.
"You have to invite me in. Otherwise, it's physically impossible for me to enter someone's home."
"Seriously? Well, come on, try." She was goading him, Leya knew he couldn't enter without an invitation but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to embarrass him just a little.
"I-I can't. I can't even try."
Leya pouted a little, Stefan was just too uptight sometimes.
"Oh, Stefan won't you please-" She cut herself off swinging around so she had a hand on each frame of the door.
"If I were to withdraw my invitation, would you have to leave?"
"No. When you invite a vampire in, they will always be able to come in. Even if they leave for a decade then come back. They can't however enter the house if you've signed the deed over to someone else since the house would then be owned by that person, and the vampire would have to be re-invited in." Stefan explained patiently, she was smart and cautious as anyone would be inviting a vampire in and Stefan understood.
"Huh? Well then, come in." Leya said stepping towards the side.
Stefan walked over the threshold and shivered at the feeling of walking through water which was unusual. He had never before felt something like that and wondered if it was the house or Leya.
Stefan knew Leya was different there was something in her scent, she smelled like roses with the delicate twist of oranges but there was something else Stefan couldn't explain, it was wild and enthralling. The first time Stefan had met Leya he had to use all his self-control from snapping and drinking all her blood, he hoped the urge would go away the more time he spent with her.
Leya watched Stefan walk through her threshold and saw him shiver, most likely from the wards she had put up around her house, they stopped anyone with ill intent towards her or her aunt from entering. She showed him to the living room and as they sat down an awkward silence filled in until Stefan broke it.
"I know by now you could've told anyone, I was sort of expecting it actually. But you didn't and I wanted to say thank you. Especially for not telling Elena."
"I would never tell anyone, Stefan. It's your secret to tell, not mine." Leya replied.
"Do you know who attacked Vicki?" The question had been bugging Leya all afternoon and by the way Stefan furrowed his eyebrows he knew. "You do, don't you?"
"It's complicated, Leya, but, uh I'm taking care of it." Stefan replied hoping Leya would never have to meet Damon. He was afraid his brother would do serious damage to Leya since she fit Damon's criteria; tall and gorgeous, blood that smelt very... delicious.
"Are you coming to watch the comet tonight?" Stefan asked changing the subject.
"I was actually going to stay at home tonight." Leya replied picking the hem of her burgundy sweater, that reminded her so much of the Gryffindor colors.
Leya sat with her legs tucker under her, her oversized sweater stretched over her knees as she looked at her lap with a forlorn expression. The setting sun casted a luminous light that spilled into the living room covering Leya in an ethereal glow and Stefan could see darkest of reds mixed in-between strands of hair. She really was beautiful Stefan noted idly, her expression making him want to comfort her.
Leya looked up suddenly as if remembering something. "Don't you have to go? Elena's probably already at the town square waiting for you."
"Yeah I probably should go." Stefan replied and Leya walked him to the door. "You could come with me, see the comet."
"Thank you, Stefan. But I can see the comet just fine from here." Leya replied with a sweet smile and Stefan nodded his head and started to walk off and Leya closed the door.
Leya lazily opened her eyes to gaze at the comet from her bathtub, thanks to the charm she put up earlier that day.
The comet was gorgeous, it rendered Leya completely speechless. It was bright white and as it moved across the sky at a steady pace it left blue and green fire in its wake. There was just something about it that made the air crackle, It felt… magical.
Leya's thoughts drifted to her friends, she missed all of them, every single one and wanted nothing more than to pack up her stuff and go back to England where she belonged. But she couldn't. They might get hurt and Leya would be devastated if any one of them were to die, she had already lost so many people, she couldn't afford to lose any more. However there was one person who struck out in her mind the most, she missed him; she missed Teddy with all her heart.
Remus and Tonks had entrusted her to look after him until she died, but she was thousands of miles away and she hadn't seen his sweet face in months and it pained her. After the war she had taken sole custody of Teddy, Andromeda needed time to herself for bit having lost her husband, only child and son-in-law all within a few months of each other. Leya debated taking Teddy with her to Mystic Falls but Hermione said it was too dangerous for Teddy since Leya was the remaining Death Eaters number one target, she cried for days and held him closely as she reluctantly gave him back to Andromeda.
A lone tear slipped from her eye as she watched the comet thinking of her loved ones, and took a deep breath sinking below the water until her head was submerged, the tops of her knees peeked above the water the cool air chilling them. And slowly closed her eyes hoping the pang of loneliness would slowly fade away into the darkness where it would never have to emerge. At least for a little while.