Hey, everyone. Sorry it took me so long to get this done. You know how boring these couple episodes are. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and hopefully this fulfills everyone's desires for Shiver until Season 6 comes back on. I hope you all loved that finale :)
Disclaimer: Refer to the Pilot.
Family Ties
"Scum ball. Scum…bucket." I watched Jenna as she stared at the television set with devilish eyes, her orbs fixated on Logan Fell who was reporting the defeat of the animal that had been attacking everyone in Mystic Falls. I was too confused by her hate to say anything, but Elena came up behind Jenna and raised her eyebrows.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Him," Jenna and I said at the same time. Jenna looked over at me sitting in the chair beside her at our in-kitchen dining table and Elena looked at me with her eyebrows still raised.
"The news guy," I clarified, jerking my head to the side.
"Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell," Jenna added with a dull tone. "Did your mom ever tell you two why I moved away from Mystic Falls?"
Elena and I both realized, and as I crinkled my nose and shuddered, Elena laughed. "Oh…no way. You and him?" She threw a glance at the television and shrugged at Logan's face on the screen. "He's cute."
"He is not cute. There is nothing cute about him," Jenna retorted, disgusted. She then angrily pointed her remote at the television and turned it off, causing Elena and I to throw glances at each other concerning our aunt's behavior. I sighed and looked up at Jenna with a shrug.
"Whatever, Aunt Jenna. I agree with you. I mean, cute? Please. Guy looks like he should be on the cover of GQ—" Jenna hit my arm, and I frowned. "Ouch."
Jenna shrugged and took sip of her coffee, but she looked over at Elena, who was polishing off the Gilbert watch, an old family heirloom Mrs. Lockwood had asked us to locate and loan to her for the Founder's Party the town was having tonight.
"What are you doing with that?" she asked.
"Mads and I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their heritage display," Elena answered, polishing the watch. Jenna leaned over me and picked up one of the other artifacts on the table.
"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?"
"Originally, it was great, great Grandma Mary's wedding ring," I corrected her, taking the ring out of Jenna's hand. Suddenly, Jeremy appeared beside me and grabbed the pocket watch Elena was polishing straight from her hands.
"How much do you think this stuff is worth? You know, like on eBay?" Jeremy asked crudely. Elena reached over me and snatched the watch out of Jeremy's hands.
"You're not gonna find out."
I looked up at Jeremy. "Seriously, Jer…eBay? You don't just sell priceless heirlooms on eBay."
"It's no better than giving it away! That stuff is Mom and Dad's," Jeremy accused us, walking away from the table to the fridge. I sighed.
"We're not giving it away, Jeremy. We're loaning it to Mrs. Lockwood for a night. Chill," I told him, rolling my eyes. Before Jeremy could retort, the doorbell rang, and without a moment of hesitation, Elena dropped the pocket watch in her hand and rushed up to it. I had a strong feeling that it was Stefan at the door, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I rose from my position at the table and joined Jenna and Jeremy in the kitchen.
"So…" Jenna started, earning my attention as I grabbed the milk carton from the fridge. "Big birthday tomorrow…" she hinted.
I sighed and nodded. "Yep. Eighteen. Legal enough to do pretty much anything…except drink alcohol. See, don't you find that just a tad strange?" I vented, shaking my head as I moved to the pantry and grabbed cereal to start my day. I gave a disappointed look as Jenna laughed against her coffee mug. "I swear. What is America's problem with alcohol? First prohibition and then the twenty-one age cap. Everywhere else in the world, it's eighteen or younger."
Jenna shrugged. "It's not like you'd drink anyway, Mads." I thought it over, but then I shrugged as well in agreement. But who knows? I could drink if I wanted to. "So what are we doing for the big day?"
Jeremy grabbed the cereal box out of my hand just as I finished pouring it into a bowl, but I didn't complain. I looked over at Jenna and scoffed. "Uh…the Founder's Party, remember? That's what we're doing."
Jenna set her coffee down. "I mean…we don't have to go. We could go out to dinner or something."
Jeremy snorted beside me. "Yeah. Let's go to Olive Garden for the eighteenth birthday in a row," he teased. I looked beside me and gave him a glare.
"Okay. Fine. For your birthday this year, we'll go to Chuck E. Cheese," I suggested lightly, causing Jeremy to roll his eyes and walk away with his breakfast. Jenna brought my attention back to her again with another question.
"Okay…seriously, though. We don't have to go to the party if you don't want to," Jenna offered, and I looked over at her and sighed in response.
"No, it's fine. It should be…fun. Well, as fun as a Founder's party could be," I amended, shoving a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. Jenna looked disappointed, as if she was hoping that I would want her to do something else for my birthday tomorrow. "What?" I asked, cautious.
Jenna looked up at me and shook her head, biting down on her lip. "Nothing."
I was silent for a while, but I ended up looking over at the blank television screen and then back to Jenna. Suddenly, it all made sense. "This doesn't have to do with that Logan guy being a Fell, does it?" But I answered my own question by just studying the look on Jenna's face. "Wow. So it does."
Jenna exhaled largely and straightened. "It's not too late to tell Elena we're going to Olive Garden…"
I gave Jenna a sour smile. "Nice try, Aunt Jenna, but I'm going to stick with my original plan and go to the Founder's Party." Jenna frowned and huffed, pulling her mug to her lips. I sighed and shoved another spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "Even if I am going alone."
"Alone?" Jeremy mocked me from the dining table as he grabbed the television remote and pointed it to its device. He turned his head slightly and peered back at me. "The infamous Madeline Gilbert going alone? What a shocker!"
"Well I don't see you with a date, Mr. Ladies Man," I taunted Jeremy straight back, narrowing my eyes. "Who are you even bringing to the party?"
"I'm not going." Jeremy shrugged.
Jenna intervened, putting her coffee mug in the dishwasher. "Jeremy, it's your sister's eighteenth birthday. The least you can do is spend it with her."
I shook my head as I watched Jeremy and his uninterested expression. "No, Jenna. I don't want to be around him either," I said proudly, earning a playful scoff from my brother. I looked over at Jenna and smiled. "Anyways, what do you say? We can go to the Founder's Party single together."
"I'm in," Jenna agreed. "But you have to promise to keep me away from Logan all night."
I shrugged. "Done deal," I agreed and made my way from the kitchen island to the dining table where Jeremy was sitting. To be honest, it didn't bother me that he didn't want to go to the Founder's Party. I didn't want to, either, but Elena had already told me of her plans to ask Stefan and…well, what kind of sister would I be if I took that away from her? Besides, it didn't sound all that bad. Boring, maybe, but not bad.
When Elena finally returned back to the kitchen, Jeremy and Jenna had both gone upstairs. I was in the kitchen, flicking through the channels, when she plopped down beside me.
"How was your secret in-house rendezvous with Stefan?" I asked Elena mockingly. Elena looked surprised, but then she laughed.
"Oh…I should've known you'd see. You see everything."
"True," I admitted cockily. Elena just smiled. "Did he ask you to go with him to the Founder's Party."
"No. I asked him. Apparently, the Salvatores don't get invited anymore," she confessed. Huh. I wonder why. "But that's a good thing. At least I won't have to see Damon."
I could sense an irritation in her tone that I didn't even know was there when it came to Damon. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well…" Elena trailed off, biting her lip. "Damon sort of…he tried to…" I waited for her to finally finish, and Elena sighed, exasperated. "He tried to kiss me. At the homecoming game."
I widened my eyes. "Wow." Elena nodded in agreement and I turned to her, confused. "Wow. But you didn't—?"
"No. No, of course not," Elena said quickly. "I slapped him, actually."
"Good for you," I praised. "He's probably just trying to recreate the past." Elena raised an eyebrow at me, prompting me to continue. "Okay…so I probably should've told you this, but Damon told me that he and Stefan both dated Katherine."
Elena opened her mouth, realizing. "And…that's why they have issues."
"Yeah, probably," I agreed. Elena sighed.
"Well, now it makes so much more sense," she admitted and leaned back on the couch. "Well, whatever. I'm not going to let Damon get to me. I'm not Katherine."
"No you are not," I agreed and pointed the remote at the screen to change the channel.
When the doorbell rang, Elena and I both realized that it was Tyler picking up the box of things for Carol. Elena was busy with Bonnie, trying to figure out which nail polish to choose, so I grabbed the box and rushed to the doorway, where Jeremy and Tyler were both standing.
"I'm here to pick up a box of stuff for my mom," Tyler explained to Jeremy.
"It's right here," I said to Tyler as I moved to the door, careful with the delicate box in my hand. Jeremy moved the door so he stepped to the side and I was greeted by the gracious presence of Tyler Lockwood.
Though I wasn't all that fond of him, we'd known each other our entire lives. So, he greeted me with a smile and nodded to me. "Happy birthday, Madeline."
"Thank you," I said—it was about the fourth time I'd said thank you to birthday wishes if you weren't counting the ones on the phone. I extended the box to him and said slowly, "Now please be careful. It took Elena and I forever to get this stuff ready."
"Yeah, be careful with it, dick," Jeremy snarled as Tyler nodded at me. I looked over at Jeremy and raised my eyebrows.
"What…what are you doing, Jeremy?" I whispered, confused. I knew that Jeremy and Tyler had some issues because of Vicki Donovan…okay, well, a lot of issues, especially the fight that Elena told me about after the homecoming game. Still, it was a little rude of Jeremy to just be so abrasive to a guest at our doorstep.
"I-I'm fine," Tyler interrupted me, earning my attention. "He's just being a punk."
"I got your punk," Jeremy snapped. Tyler just shook his head and rolled his eyes almost, causing me to sigh.
"Look, Tyler, just go. Tell your mom that Elena and I will see her tonight." Tyler nodded once, and I turned on my heel to go back into the kitchen, glad to be out of the swarm of testosterone at our doorstep. When I entered the kitchen, Elena called out to me as I grabbed a glass of water.
"Hey, Mads, we're trying to decide. 'Delicate Flower' or 'Naughty Vixen'? I think we should mix them…" Elena trailed off. I scoffed.
"Yeah, if you want to look like a teenybopper singing Hannah Montana all the way to the Founder's Party," I suggested. Elena shrugged, as if realizing I was right. "Go with 'Delicate Flower'."
Bonnie chuckled. "I told you she was going to say that." Elena laughed too as I just rolled my eyes, refusing to play along with everyone's childish games of trying to guess what predictable thing I'd do next.
"So 'Naughty Vixen' it is," Elena mocked, grabbing the nail polish from Bonnie and getting up to get a paper towel. I walked over to the dining table and grabbed the other bottle of nail polish.
"Wonderful! Now I get 'Delicate Flower'. Suckers," I muttered with a smile.
"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date," Bonnie mocked with a cooing tone. She turned to Elena. "You seem happy…ish."
"I am," Elena responded, "…ish. Tonight's gonna be a good night." She sat back down at the table with a square of the paper towel roll and narrowed her eyes at Bonnie. "But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked through the door."
"What if I tell you in the morning?" Bonnie suggested. "I don't want to ruin the night."
But, of course, my sister wouldn't take no for an answer. I watched as Elena pushed and pushed, saying, "Bonnie, out with it."
Bonnie was hesitant, but she was never one to keep a secret. "Okay," she gave in, sighing. "But it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed." Now, the Bennett looked back and forth between me and Elena, making sure that both of us promised to keep it locked up tight.
At the mention of Damon, my interest was sparked. Never before had there been so much drama in Mystic Falls before his appearance with his brother. I shrugged. "Vault it is. Spill."
Bonnie looked between me and Elena. "Apparently, Stefan has a very interesting back story."
"Uh huh," Elena urged.
"Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend, Katherine?"
Elena's eyes glazed over me. "Well…Mads told me that Damon said they both dated her…which kind of explains all their issues."
"And she died in a fire," I added.
"Well, before they died," Bonnie said in an obvious tone. "They both did date her…only, she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally, it worked, and she turned against Damon."
Elena scoffed. "That sounds like one person's side of the story…meaning Damon's. And forgive me if I'm not into trusting his words right now."
"Bonnie," I interjected carefully. "Does that really sound like Stefan to you? Stefan's a lot of things but…manipulative and evil? Really? I mean, his hair's more honorable than that."
"I just wanted Elena to know," Bonnie defended herself, shrugging.
Elena sighed. "Anyway, Stefan's past relationship are none of my business."
"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar," Bonnie murmured as she applied her first coat of nail polish. "That is your business."
"Stefan is none of those things!" Elena defended.
"Yeah? How do you know?" I watched as Elena opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I could see the look of realization on her face that she didn't know. I scoffed at my sister, incredulous.
"Wow, Elena. Really? Really?" I actually liked Damon, but I wasn't buying this story. It was ridiculous.
Bonnie shook her head. "Look, I didn't want to create any problems. It's your business," she told Elena, and from then on, the conversation was dropped.
Later on, Elena, Bonnie, and I were in Elena and Jeremy's bathroom, doing our hair and makeup when the house phone rang. Elena went to get it, and within a minute or so, Bonnie and I watched her storm into Jeremy's room.
"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, amused at Elena's anger. I followed Elena into our brother's room and watched as she slapped his headphones off of his head.
"Ahh!" Jeremy shouted. "God! What now?"
"The pocket watch," Elena demanded. "Where is it?"
Jeremy struggled trying to get out of his tangled headphones while he replied, "W-What watch?"
"The one you stole from Mom's box. Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy. And she can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it," Elena accused.
"Whoa," I said, trying to step in, but Jeremy retorted before I had a chance.
"Maybe she did. Maybe…uh, maybe Tyler took it."
"Don't even play that card! Jeremy, you took it!"
"Elena," I said, stepping forward. "Stop accusing—"
"If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?" Elena accused harshly. I widened my eyes at her.
"Elena!" I shouted, just as Jeremy removed his legs from the desk with a bang.
"Screw you!" Jeremy shouted at our sister, standing up and brushing past the both of us. He walked over to his bookcase on the wall, and I caught Elena's gaze, giving her a harsh stare. Elena just shrugged at me, as if wondering what she did wrong. The next thing we knew, Jeremy walked over to us with the pocket watch in his hand. "I would never sell this, okay?"
"Then why did you take it?" Elena interrogated.
"Because it's supposed to be mine," Jeremy told her, his voice soft. "Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him, and now what?" Angrily, he put the watch in Elena's hand and brushed past her again to go back to his desk. I could see Elena's eyes, realizing that she had been really harsh and cruel.
"And he was going to give it to you," she finished.
"Yeah."
Elena began to move to the threshold as Jeremy sat down at his desk. I sighed. "Jeremy, it's still yours," I told him firmly. Elena sighed.
"Mom promised it to Mrs. Lockwood," she defended herself. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Just take it and get out," Jeremy snapped, his eyes flickering between both me and Elena. "Both of you."
After hesitations, Elena and I both respected Jeremy's wishes and closed the door leading into his bedroom. I sighed.
"First fight of my eighteenth year," I said as Elena went into the room and I returned to Bonnie, who was staring at me. "Wonderful."
Jenna and I had left earlier than Stefan and Elena, who were obviously going together. After the whole Jeremy debacle, I told Elena that she should give the watch back and I had good faith that she did. But even so, I always hated our sibling fights. It was too much. I didn't even mind that it was on my birthday; I just hated the fact that it happened in the first place. Jenna was in the same boat as me, hating the fights between Elena and Jeremy but unable to do anything about them. Jeremy was hard-headed. Elena was hard-headed. Not a good match.
Carol Lockwood greeted us at the door with a hefty smile. "Jenna! Madeline," she called out with a smile. "So lovely of you two to come. I'm so honored that you decided to spend your big day with us." Carol looked directly at me, and I gave her an even smile.
"Well, who would I be to miss a party like this one?" I challenged her, earning a light laugh from Carol—a trying-too-hard laugh. Eventually, her laughter died down and she looked at me and spoke softly.
"Um…I heard back from Elena, who said that she couldn't find the pocket watch. I feel absolutely terrible," Carol apologized.
I shrugged. "Well, it's bound to turn up somewhere. Don't worry about it."
Carol nodded slowly, as if she was waiting for something. An awkward silence hung until she smiled and said her last goodbye with a hearty, "Enjoy!" and walked away to the rest of her guests.
As Jenna and I stepped further into the house, she mumbled at me, "I bet you're wishing we went to Olive Garden now, huh?" I laughed and nodded, but it was too late to change our minds now. I'd already curled my hair, pinned it back, applied heavy-duty mascara, eye shadow, and lip-gloss, and I looked like a million bucks. That rarely ever happens. "I'll go get us something to drink."
I turned to her and gasped, holding up a finger. "Now, see, if I was twenty-one—"
"I'm getting you a soda, Madeline!" Jenna called to me as she began to walk away towards the open bar that also kept a supply of Coca-Cola for the minors. I frowned and turned back to the guests walking back and forth in the foyer of the Lockwood mansion, and I realized quickly how alone I was. It never really bothered me until I saw myself in the hallway mirror, an eighteen-year-old girl standing alone at a fancy party on her birthday.
I barely even noticed it when another figure joined me in the mirror and made me jump and turn around. Damon chuckled beside me as I tried to regain my strength. "Sorry," he murmured.
I swallowed. "It's okay," I said eventually, gulping back my fright. "I was just taken by surprise, that's all." I was silent for a moment, but then I raised my eyebrows. "What are you doing here? Elena told me that Stefan said the Salvatores don't get invited anymore."
Damon shrugged. "I came with Caroline."
Caroline, my mind sighed. Outside, I nodded and pursed my lips. "Right. Of course." I paused for a while, but then I continued. "You know, I'm starting to worry about you."
"Hmm? And why's that?"
"Well, the other night you were saying how you were going to teach Coach Tanner a lesson for me," I began. It was something that'd been on my mind ever since the homecoming game—how Damon promised to take care of Tanner for me and then Tanner just…died. "And there he was…hours later…dead."
Damon studied me for a while before scoffing. "Are you calling me a murderer?"
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out as I tried to find the right words to accuse him with. Eventually, I settled for vague words. "I'm…saying that it was very coincidental. If there hadn't been an animal caught this morning, I would probably be talking to the police right now."
The dark-haired man in front of me just bowed his head and chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, Madeline. I wouldn't kill for you."
I scoffed. "What sane person would?" I retorted, shrugging. Damon did the same, his shoulders rising and falling swiftly.
"Touché," he responded. Before he could say anything else, we were interrupted by the host of the party, himself—Mayor Lockwood.
"Madeline!" Richard Lockwood exclaimed, coming up to me. I forced a smile as he gave me a drunken hug and pulled away. "Wow. Eighteen already! Happy birthday."
"Thank you, Mayor Lockwood. It means a lot." I swear, my tongue had fallen out with all the hasty acts of graciousness.
"It's your birthday?" Damon asked, intrigued, and I glanced over at him and nodded. Before Damon could say anything, his wife, who needed him for something that was apparently important enough to drag him away, took Mayor Lockwood. "So…what are you doing here on your birthday?"
The question was asked when Damon and I were alone again, and I shrugged. "I guess I just had nowhere better to be." From behind Damon, I spotted Jenna finally getting our drinks just as the sun went down over the horizon and the night came instantly. "Excuse me."
I left Damon in the middle of the Lockwood foyer and walked over to Jenna, grabbing my soda before she had the chance to pour it into her drink for a screwdriver. "Thank you," I said, elongating the words as I took the glass.
Jenna nodded and looked behind me, over towards Damon's general area. "Who was that you were talking to?"
I shook my head. "No one." Jenna gave me a glare, as if prompting me to continue. "Seriously. No one."
Jenna sighed. "Well, would it kill you to find someone?" We began to walk into the back part of the house to endure the rest of the guests at the party. Outside, the night was becoming more evident.
I chuckled at her. "Where did that come from?"
Jenna shrugged. "Well, I don't know…I mean, I appreciate you being my wing woman and everything, but you're an eighteen-year-old now. Don't you think it's time to…I don't know…start meeting some guys?"
A silence fell over us, and I eyed Jenna. "How many drinks did you have at that bar?" I asked her, confused. "You're literally telling me to go get a date."
"Well, I don't want you to turn out like me!"
I scoffed unintentionally. "No offense, Jenna, but dating is the way that I'd turn out to be like you."
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I was just trying to help. And that guy you were talking to kind of reminded me of the advice I wanted to give to you today."
I eyed her for a while until I felt my eyes turn into slits. "That's your only present, isn't it?"
"Yeah…"
About halfway through the party, I had managed to lose Jenna and basically surround myself with adults that I'd only seen once every year, wishing me a happy birthday once the topic came up. Elena was off somewhere with Stefan, Caroline was nowhere to be seen, Bonnie was eating…somewhere, and I had seen Audrey floating around, but she disappeared, too. After realizing that I had unintentionally been able to isolate myself from everyone, I went searching for anyone that I knew. Jenna, primarily, but when I saw Caroline and Damon at the bar outside underneath the tent and by the dance floor, I felt eerily relieved.
"Hey," I said, greeting my blonde friend and her boyfriend. "Have you seen Jenna?" I asked the question to Caroline specifically because I was sure that Damon had never met Jenna before.
Caroline shook her head. "No…sorry."
I sighed and looked around, but luckily, I spotted a few familiar faces. Stefan and Elena were on the dance floor, dancing together to the easy sway of the music. I was only puled out of my search when Damon spoke to Caroline beside me.
"You know, Caroline, why don't you help Madeline out? See if you can find Jenna?" he suggested. I was about to protest when Caroline shrugged and straightened.
"Okay," she agreed heartily and skipped off in the other direction to find my aunt. I felt weird sending her out to do it alone, so I braced to go with her. Except, when I tried, Damon pulled me back with a conversation.
"You know, I never actually wished you a happy birthday earlier," he said, causing me to turn around at him and meet his icy gaze. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks," I said, but shifted under his gaze. Damon held out a glass of champagne for me, prompting me to take it. I held up my hand. "Uh…no, thanks. I'm good."
"Come on," Damon pushed, shrugging lightly. "No one will see. Take a risk. You're eighteen now." I was about to protest when his eyes drew me in like a hypnotist. Suddenly, I found no reason to refuse.
"Okay," I said lightly and took the champagne out of Damon's hand. He watched me as I pulled it to my lips and took a sip. Champagne always tasted weird to me, but I endured it for some reason that was unknown to my mind. I could feel Damon's eyes watching me as I returned back to level height and held the champagne glass in my hand. My eyes slipped up to meet his, and he let out a huff of air, almost laughing. "Okay…you really need to stop doing that."
"Doing what?" Damon asked innocently.
I shook my head. "I don't know…that. You're messing with me," I accused, my eyes searching the floor. Damon straightened. "I knew Bonnie was so completely wrong—"
"Bonnie?" Damon repeated. Oh, wow, I thought to myself. So much for the vault. "What's she got to do with anything?"
"Nothing," I said quickly, trying to cover up my slip. "But…I don't appreciate you doing this. Getting me to drink champagne, messing with Bonnie and Caroline's minds…trying to go after Elena, I just…" I searched for the right terms and when I found them, I brought my eyes up to his. "I want you to stop."
Damon eyed me carefully and his lips parted, surprised. "You want me to…stop?"
"Yes," I said, nodding. "I want you to stop." I didn't need to say any more—I think I made myself clear enough. Damon just stared at me, a sense of amusement gleaming in his eyes. Or was it confusion? Shock, maybe? It was like he was enjoying it but was angry at the same time. I wasted no time in waiting for his response to my demand and just left the champagne glass with him, spinning around to resume finding Jenna. I swear, I could feel his eyes on me even as I left, but I ignored it.
I finally found Jenna a few minutes later, staring out the window in the parlor. I sighed once I spotted her. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere."
"So have I," Jenna hissed as she grabbed my arm and pulled me so that I was facing the window, too. "You were supposed to keep me away from Scum Fell!"
"You ran into Logan?" I asked, and Jenna nodded. I took a look around. "Where? I actually kind of want to meet—" I was cut off by my own means as I saw Logan appear from the crowd of guests and go to the bar to get another drink. Jenna saw where my eyes were looking and she turned around to spot Logan. Once she saw him, she turned back around again and tried to hide herself.
"What do I do?"
"Talk to him," I suggested, shrugging. Jenna widened her eyes.
"What? No!"
"Good luck…" I trailed off, releasing myself from Jenna's grasp and disappearing into the crowd. Jenna told me to start dating, but I was sure that she was the one that needed to. I was perfectly content being alone—romantically, of course. So, after I left Jenna, I went to find Elena…or Bonnie…or…anyone, really. Eventually, I spotted Caroline angrily storming out of the Lockwood's bathroom, Elena trailing behind her.
"Elena?" I asked once I saw her and her distressed face. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"It's Caroline," Elena admitted, frantic. "I…I don't know what's going on. It's Damon. She has these…bite marks on her. Actual bite marks."
"Bite marks?" I asked in disbelief. "A-Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Elena exclaimed as she angrily began to walk outside onto the porch—a woman on a mission. I followed her outside, trying to regain her attention, but Elena was too caught up in an episode of blind rage to listen to me. She stormed outside and found Damon standing innocently under the gazebo. The second she reached him, she shoved him hard.
"Elena," I tried again, but she wouldn't listen. I was getting tired of trying to control her rage.
"There is something seriously wrong with you!" Elena shouted at Damon. "You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the Sheriff. Got it? Stay away from her." She left abruptly, her words dripping with venom. Damon turned back at me as I sighed, really sick of Elena's same old routine of threatening people and yelling at people.
"What's going on?" Damon asked me, shaking his head. I crossed my arms and sighed.
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me? Elena said there were…bite marks on Caroline?" Damon stiffened, but out of his lips came a laugh.
"Oh, come on. Seriously? That's ridiculous."
"Is it?" I retorted, eyeing him carefully. Damon frowned. "Look, I'm not going to lie…you look like a man capable of a lot of things. So just do us both a favor and stay away from Caroline. Elena, too. And why don't you add me into that equation just for kicks? I've…got to go."
I rushed off as quickly as I could so that I didn't get sucked into another episode of the drama surrounding Damon. Seriously, the guy could literally create drama with a single word. It was sickening, to be honest. But…bite marks, champagne, and mind control all in one day?
It was border-lining on the worst eighteenth birthday anyone could possibly have. I should've taken Jeremy's offer to go to an Olive Garden.
When I returned home, Jeremy was upstairs and Jenna and Elena had both turned in for the night with one last birthday wish for me. In honor of my birthday, I grabbed a pint of ice cream from the freezer and sat down to watch a Bones marathon before turning in, myself. The last thing I expected, though, was for there to be a knock on the door at eleven-thirty in the evening.
I put my pint of ice cream down on the coffee table and went through our parlor-type area before finally answering the door. What surprised me even more than the fact that there was someone on the other side of the door was who it turned out to be.
"Happy birthday, Madeline!" Matt greeted me with a cupcake in his hand and a candle lit. I felt my mouth drop and my lips curl up into a smile as I laughed, surprised. "I figured you would be busy with all your birthday plans today so I decided to drop by late. Hope it's okay."
"It's…fine," I said, shaking my head at him. "Actually, I think this is the nicest thing anyone's done for me all day."
Matt nodded at me with a smile and extended the cupcake. "Well, make a wish."
I was genuinely and happily surprised that Matt turned up on my doorstep. Despite his relationship with Elena, we'd always remained close friends. Since his breakup with Elena, though, I was sure that we would drift apart. It was nice to know that he still cared about me—enough to go and get me a cupcake on my last half-hour of my birthday. I didn't dwell on the fact that he was the only one who cared enough to light a candle and get me a cake—even if it was in cup form—and I just appreciated the fact that I had someone to actually care.
So I grabbed the cupcake, brought it to line up with my lips, and blew.