Thank you all for your reviews! I hope you like this chapter!
*Third Person's P.O.V.*
"Crow's a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan asked his brother as the crow squawked from its place on the balcony.
"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog," Damon replied.
"When'd you get here?"
"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," Damon said, a sarcastic tone in his voice as he walked around Stefan's room. "Your hair's different. I like it,"
"It's been 15 years, Damon,"
"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the '90's. That horrible grunge look?" Damon chuckled as he circled his brother, "Did not suit you," he smirked. "Remember, Stefan. It's important to stay away from fads,"
"Why are you here?" Stefan demanded as his voice raised a bit in volume, making Damon turn around from where he was looking at something on a shelf.
"I miss my little brother,"
"You hate small towns," Stefan said. "It's boring, there's nothing for you to do,"
"I've managed to keep myself busy," Damon smirked as he started walking around the room again.
"You know, you left that girl alive tonight," Stefan said as he leaned back against his desk. "That's very clumsy of you,"
"Ah, that can be a problem..." Damon leaned against a desk by the wall, pretending to be concerned before he dropped the act and looked at his brother. "For you,"
"Why are you here now?" Stefan asked after a short moment of silence.
"I could ask you the same question," Damon answered as he pushed himself off the desk and took a few steps towards Stefan, "However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word," he stopped right in front of his brother, and looked him in the eye as a smirk grew on his lips. "Annabelle,"
*Annabelle's P.O.V.*
I watched from where I was standing next to Elena as the paramedics got Vicki into an ambulance, and Matt quickly got in himself, before they closed the doors and drove off.
"Hey," I heard Bonnie's voice and turned around to face her as she walked up to us, "We're gonna go mainline coffee, wait for news," she said, referring to herself and Caroline, who was drunk.
"I'll take Jeremy home," I told my sister, assuring her that everything would be alright when I saw her about to say that she won't be able to go with them, "You can go, it's fine," Elena opened her mouth to protest, but I gave her a look, which made her sigh before giving me a thankful smile.
"I'll go make sure Caroline doesn't fall off the chair," she said, making me and Bonnie chuckle a bit despite the atmosphere around us. My sister gave me one last small smile, before heading off towards Caroline, who was sitting on one of the chairs. I expected Bonnie to follow, but she stayed where she was.
"Anna, there's no way I'm psychic, I know that," she spoke, her gaze serious, "But whatever I saw or felt, or I think I saw or felt, I have this feeling..." she trailed off, her voice a bit shaky.
"What?" I pressed, and she stared at me for a while.
"That it's just the beginning,"
*Third Person's P.O.V.*
"She took my breath away. Annabelle," Damon spoke as he started slowly walking around Stefan's room again. "She's a dead ringer for Layla," he smirked at his brother. "Is it working Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?" he taunted.
"She's not Layla," Stefan said firmly.
"Well, let's hope not," Damon said, "We both know how that ended," he said, something flashing in his eyes before he smirked at his brother again, "And did you see her sister? She could pass for Katherine any day. And let's not forget that they're not only sisters; they're twin sisters at that," he smirked, and Stefan tensed. "Tell me something, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"
"I know what you're doing, Damon," Stefan said after scoffing, "It's not gonna work," he said, starting to turn away.
"Yeah?!" Damon put his hand on Stefan's shoulder and pulled his back roughly to face him again. "Come on. Don't you crave a little?"
"Stop it,"
"Let's do it," Damon tried to put his hand on Stefan's shoulder again, but Stefan immediately shoved it off, "Together. I saw a couple of girls out there," he said, attempting to put his hand on Stefan's shoulder again, but Stefan shoved it off as he took a few steps back. "But, of course, they weren't as beautiful, so let's just cut to the chase," he attempted to smack Stefan in the head, but it was deflected. "Let's just go straight for Annabelle,"
"Stop it!" Stefan yelled, losing his calm demeanor and shoving his brother back.
"Imagine what her blood tastes like!" Damon yelled, trying to provoke Stefan as he saw him shaking with rage. "I can,"
"I said stop!" Stefan yelled, his eyes now red, his veins and fangs now completely showing. He growled, before launching himself at Damon, the two of them flying out through the window. However, as soon as Stefan hit the hard pavement, Damon was nowhere in sight.
Stefan slowly managed to get back up on his feet, groaning in pain a bit as shards of glass pierced his skin, and looked around.
"I was impressed," Damon said from where he was leaning against the bushes, making Stefan turn around to face him. "I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised," he said as Stefan brushed himself off all the glass shards quickly, "Very good with the whole face -" Damon imitated Stefan's growling, "-thing. It was good," he chuckled.
"You know, it's all fun and games, Damon, huh? But wherever you go, people die," Stefan said, getting closer to his older brother.
"That's a given,"
"Not here," Stefan shook his head. "I won't allow it,"
"I take that as an invitation,"
"Damon, please. After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?"
"I promised you an eternity of misery, so I'm just keeping my word," Damon replied as he took a few steps forward.
"Just stay away from Annabelle," Stefan pleaded, but Damon's gaze fell to his hand instead.
"Where's your ring?" Damon asked, and Stefan looked down at his hand, only to realize that his ring was missing from his middle finger, "Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and poof, ashes to ashes," Damon said, pretending to be concerned while Stefan simply stared at him with a sad and a bit fearful expression, "Relax," Damon chuckled, stepping forward, "It's right here," he extended his hand, revealing the lapis lazuli ring on his open palm. Stefan looked at his brother for a second, before taking the ring from his hand and slowly placing it back on his finger. However, as soon as it was in place, Damon's face transformed to one of a vampire and he grabbed Stefan by the throat, before throwing him at the wooden fence a few meters away from them. Stefan slammed against it, before landing back on the ground as Damon walked over to stand above him, "You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again," Damon said, his voice dangerous as Stefan breathed heavily, staring up at him. Suddenly, they both heard rustling coming from the house, and Damon grinned. "I think we woke Zach up," he said, before turning around, "Sorry, Zach," he said as he walked back to the boarding house, whistling, while Stefan stared after him.
*Annabelle's P.O.V.*
I walked over to Jeremy, who was drinking beer despite the police being only a few feet away from us, and stopped next to him.
"Are you okay?" I asked gently, putting my hand on his shoulder as I saw the complete and utter sadness and pain in his eyes. He didn't reply, but didn't move away from me either, which I was glad for, "Elena left with Bonnie and Caroline. I called Jenna, she's on her way," I informed him, but he didn't say anything, only looked at me with a bit red, puffy, pain-filled eyes, and I sighed, "Jer," I spoke, my voice soft as I slowly took the beer bottle of out his hand and threw it away before the police could notice, glad that he didn't object, "Look... the truth is... people don't really care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead, because they've got their own lives to deal with. And because they don't care, they're gonna stop giving you breaks, Jer," he looked over at me again, and I sighed when I saw tears fill his eyes, "The rest of the world has moved on," I said as I grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze, glad when he didn't pull away, "We should try, too," I said.
"I've seen you in the cemetery, just sitting there and staring at that gravestone," Jeremy spoke up, and I sighed. "Is that - Is that supposed to be you moving on?" I sighed one more time, but shook my head.
"No," I admitted, "It's not, but... Mom and Dad wouldn't have wanted this for any of us," I said, and I saw my little brother's eyes glisten. I sighed and quickly glanced around to make sure that no one from our school was around so that he wouldn't get mad at me for making him look like a kid, before quickly wrapping my arms around him, letting him bury his face in the crook of my neck. Within seconds I felt something wet on my skin, "Shh," I whispered as I stroked my little brother's hair, while tears came to my eyes as well. But I didn't let them fall. No, I had to be strong for Jeremy now.
*Third Person's P.O.V.*
"Are you sober yet?" Elena asked Caroline as she sat next to Bonnie with Caroline, who was holding her head in her hands, in front of them. The blonde inhaled deeply and looked up, before sighing and shaking her head, putting her head back in her hands.
"No," she said, her voice thick.
"Keep drinking," Bonnie said, "I gotta get you home, I gotta get her home," she nodded towards Elena, "And I gotta get me home,"
"Why didn't he go for me?" Caroline asked as she looked up. "You know, how come the guys that I want never want me?"
"I'm not touching that," Bonnie said.
"Neither am I," Elena said.
"I'm inappropriate, I always say the wrong thing... and..." Caroline trailed off, staring off into space. "Annabelle always says the right thing,"
Bonnie and Elena shared a look before sighing, knowing where that conversation was going and not wanting it go in that direction. "She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. I love her like a sister, but she's always the one that everyone picks, for everything! And I try so hard, and... I'm never the one," Caroline shook her head, her voice cracking.
"It's not a competition, Caroline," Elena said softly, and Bonnie nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it is," Caroline said.
*30 Minutes Later*
Stefan stared at the picture of Layla, before closing the journal it was in and putting it on his desk. He then made up his mind, and left his room.
Meanwhile, Jenna Sommers looked over at her older niece while they were both in their kitchen.
"Hey," she whispered, and Annabelle turned around, only to have Jenna beckon her over to where she was standing by the doorway. Annabelle looked at her, confused, but walked over to stand next to her aunt, only to see her little brother sitting on the couch in the living room, staring at the picture of their parents that he was holding in his hands. Annabelle sighed quietly and shared a solemn look with Jenna, "Go talk to him," her aunt whispered, "You're better at it than I am," Annabelle wanted to protest and say that Jenna is also good at comforting people and being there for them, but when she looked at her little brother, she wanted be the one to comfort him, so she nodded and walked into the living room, while Jenna remained where she was.
She watched as Annabelle slowly walked over to where Jeremy was and sat down beside him. Seeing as Jeremy was sitting on the edge of the couch, she easily pulled him back so that the back of his head was resting against her collarbone. One of her hands rested on top of his, which was still holding the picture of their parents, while her other hand stroked his hair softly. Jenna, despite it being an extremely sad moment for her niece and nephew, couldn't help but smile as she watched the two. After she came to live with them, she quickly realized that Annabelle was the one person Jeremy always trusted and confided in, and even though their parents died and they slowly drifted apart... that connection was never lost.
"Why don't you go to bed?" she spoke up after a few more minutes of watching the teenagers, and Annabelle and Jeremy turned around to look at her. She noticed the tear streaks on Jeremy's face, but didn't say anything. Jeremy glanced at his sister, who nodded in agreement with their aunt, and nodded, before putting the picture on the coffee table and heading upstairs, for once without any protests.
Jenna smiled at her niece and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the doorbell. The two shared a confused look, before Annabelle got off the couch and moved to open the door.
*Annabelle's P.O.V.*
I opened the door, and my eyes widened a bit.
"I know it's late, but, uh... I needed to know that you were okay," Stefan said, and a light blush decorated my cheeks within seconds as I smiled. That was so sweet of him.
"Thank you... I'm fine," I said, and, surprisingly... actually meant it, "Uh, would you like to come in?" I asked as I stepped to the side, and Stefan gave me a smile.
"Yes," he said, and we smiled at each other one more time before he stepped over the threshold. I closed the door behind him, and smiled as I saw Jenna backing out quickly once she saw who it was at the door.
So, what did you all think about this episode? Personally, I love writing about Jeremy and Annabelle's relationship, and I hope you like that too. And don't worry, Annabelle will definitely not be saying and doing everything Elena does in the show, because then I would start hating my own character since I hate Elena. It may just seem like that at the beginning, but even now I think you can tell the difference. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think!