Waking up with the knowledge that Caroline was not stuck in her house with Damon was uplifting, so much so that I felt wide awake and ready for the day. I took a quick shower and threw on a brightly colored outfit before finding a place to tuck my ritual knife.
I sling my bag over my shoulder and head out the door, making my way to school.
When I arrive on campus, I close my eyes and focus on my hearing. I hear Bonnie and Elena talking about Stefan, but that's not what I'm searching for.
Then I hear them. Vicki and Jeremy are arguing about Tyler, and Jeremy accuses her of only sleeping with him for drugs.
"I don't even do that anymore, Jer. I can't with you like that because I'm eighteen, and you're fifteen. It was okay over the summer, but now I'm legally an adult, so we can't do stuff like that until you're eighteen." She explains.
"...So, would you be willing to wait for me?" Jeremy asks.
She scoffs. "Of course I would, but... I still like Tyler, even though he's a total ass. It's- this is all just really complicated, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I'm happy about it though." He grumbles.
"So how about it?" Vicki asks. "You, me, The Posers, Saturday."
Jeremy huffs out a laugh. "Sure, I guess. We'll meet at The Rat?"
"I'll see you there." She says.
I feel someone tapping on my shoulder. My concentration breaks. It's Bonnie.
"When are we gonna have that talk?" She asks.
"Whenever you want." I answer.
"Can we do it now? I'm worried about Elena." She asks. I nod, and we walk to a more secluded area.
"What do you want to know first?" I ask her.
She thinks for a moment and then it begins.
"What is Stefan?" She asks.
"A vampire." I tell her.
"A vampire?" She questions.
"Yes." I affirm.
"As in-" she starts, but I interrupt.
"As in a blood sucking, hypnotizing, burn in the sun vampire. But don't worry, Stefan only drinks from animals. Damon, however..." I trail off.
Her face pales as she puts two and two together. "Is he the reason for all those animal attacks?" She asks. I nod.
"The one and only." I say. Before I hesitate, I tell her, "I'm one too, but I only drink from... Let's call them ethically sourced blood bags."
"You're a witch and a vampire?" She asks.
"Yes." I nod again. "Usually, it's impossible to be both, as you lose your connection to nature when you become a vampire, but I'm a siphoner, which means I can absorb magic from items that contain it, or supernatural creatures such as myself, and use the magic I absorb." I explain.
I give her time to think about another question, and wince at the one she chooses. "What did you mean by hypnotization?" She asks.
"Well, vampires are able to compel people when they look them in the eyes." I say. She looks at me with suspicion, and I frown, answering her silent question.
"Yes, I have used compulsion on quite a few people in this town. In this school actually."
Her guard comes up. "Who?" She asks, voice tight. "How? And why?"
I sigh. "Have you noticed how a lot of your friends have started wearing locket jewelry? Like charm bracelets, necklaces, etcetera?" She nods, and looks down to the charm bracelet she's wearing.
"Well, I compelled you guys to wear them at all times unless I said a specific keyword and spelled them to only come off when you take them off, and so the lockets didn't open." I explain.
"Why?" She asks again, impatient. "What's in the lockets?"
"Vervain." Before she can ask, I explain. "It's a plant that makes people immune to compulsion. I gave you one even though most vampires can't compel witches just in case."
"Oh." She no longer looks upset. Thank you, then." She says. After a moment, she asks, "What's my keyword?"
"If I say it you'll take your bracelet off." I say.
"Oh yeah. Write it down?" She asks, digging in her bag for a pen and paper, then handing it to me.
I write down 'Animatronic' and give it back to her. She looks confused.
"You wouldn't get it. Maybe one day." I say.
"Okay..." She says. The warning bell rings, so we head inside the building and go to class.
In History class, Tanner throws event after event at Stefan, and he answers every one correctly. Just when Tanner thinks he's won, it is revealed that he is wrong, and first place goes to... Stefan Salvatore!
I tap him on the back and raise my hand for a high five. Tanner rolls his eyes at us, and goes on with the class, thoroughly defeated.
I head out to the football field, taking a seat next to Stefan.
"You should go for it." I say.
"Go for what?" He asks.
"Joining the team." I motion to the football field and the players on it.
"I don't know..." He trails off.
"C'mon, it'll be fine. I know you want to." I push up against his shoulder with my own.
"I'll think about it." He says.
I nod, and leave it alone, instead eavesdropping on the girls.
When Elena asks Bonnie over for dinner, she hesitates, but eventually folds.
"Fine, but I'm bringing Julia with me." She says. My eyes widen in surprise.
"Why?" Elena asks.
"As a buffer." Bonnie replies.
Elena huffs a laugh. "Alright, but you're the one inviting her. We don't really know one another that well yet."
Bonnie hums in agreement.
"What about me, can I come with? I don't have anything to do tonight." Caroline asks.
"Sure, but we can't invite any more people, five is enough." Elena says.
I turn to watch as Stefan walks down the bleachers, heading for Tanner and asking to join the team.
After a bit of back and forth, Tanner allows it, and Stefan goes to borrow some gear.
The girls began their cheer routine, and Stefan ran out to the field.
Now, I don't know much about football, but it was easy to see that Stefan was doing well. That was, until Tyler rammed into him. I knew it was going to happen, but hearing the sound Stefan's finger made as he reset it to let it heal still made me wince. It was a bit nauseating.
At the end of practice, Bonnie approaches me. "I'll go." I say before she even opens her mouth.
She stops and holds up three fingers on one hand to make a 'W' and two fingers on the other to make a 'V', the question clear in her eyes. 'Where does that power come from?'
I hold up a 'V', to answer her. She gets a disappointed look on her face and mutters, "I wish I could do that."
"Who knows?" I shrug, standing up and walking over to Elena and Caroline, Bonnie following. "Maybe, if there isn't already a spell out there for it, we can make one." I suggest.
She looks intrigued, and opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, Caroline skips over and grabs her hands, squealing. "Oh, it's been so long since we've all had dinner together!" She glances over to me. "I'm glad you're joining us, Julia! It's great to make new friends." She smiles at me, and I smile back.
I get out of the car, takeout bags in hand. I bump up against the door to close it, and follow the girls to Elena's front door. Bonnie opens it for me, and I stop. She gives me a weird look, and I whisper, "I can't enter, I haven't been invited in."
Just in time, Elena comes back and says, "What are you guys waiting for? Come on in, the food'll get cold." I smile at her and take a step forward, going into the kitchen and setting the bags on the island.
Honestly, I thought it would be more difficult to get an invitation. Guess not.
Elena sets a couple large bowls on the counter and begins to empty the food into them, and Bonnie starts talking about her premonitions, Elena and Caroline chiming in periodically.
"Today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing eight, fourteen, and twenty-two. How weird is that?" Bonnie asks.
"Well, it depends on how you see them. If you're just seeing the numbers in your mind, you could just have them stuck in your head. However, if you're seeing them in specific places, say, for instance, a sign or a floor number, then it could mean that something's going to happen and those numbers are somehow involved." I explain.
She looks at me and I shrug. "Who knows, you could have foresight." I suggest.
Caroline laughs. "If only she could foresee my next boyfriend."
Elena sighs. "Caroline, you don't need a boyfriend to be happy."
"You only say that 'cause you've got one!" She retorts.
We all sit around the table, taking bites of pasta from our plates.
"So," Elena starts. "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" She asks.
"It wasn't Tanner that was giving him a hard time." I comment. Elena looks at me with confusion, so I elaborate. "Tyler Lockwood tackled him while they were practicing. I could hear the impact all the way from the bleachers."
She turns to Stefan, worried. "You didn't get hurt, did you?" He shakes his head.
"No, I'm alright. We don't wear all that padding for nothing." He says.
"Ugh, Tyler is such a dick." Caroline complains.
"Hear, hear." Bonnie lifts her glass.
We fall into silence.
Elena speaks again. "Bonnie, why don't you tell Stefan about your family? Y'know, about the witches?" She suggests.
Stefan leans forward, intrigued.
"My family has a lineage of witches." Bonnie says.
"That's interesting," He comments. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic Druids that migrated here in the 1800s."
"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie says.
"Really?" Stefan asks. "Salem witches?" She nods. "Yeah."
"That's pretty cool." He praises. She looks confused, but smiles at him. "Really? Why?" She asks.
Stefan launches into an explanation. "Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."
"Yeah, they are." She says, a bit surprised but still pleased.
The doorbell rings. I stand up before anyone else and say, "I'll go get it."
I go over to the kitchen, peeling the happy face sticker off of the takeout bag. I walk to the door, opening it to see exactly who I expected. Damon. I really wish he would get out of this super-asshole phase, and quickly.
"Hello, Damon." I greet. "What a surprise." I say sarcastically.
He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, I use my vampire speed to stick the happy face sticker on his forehead. He looks immensely confused as he pulls the sticker off and looks at it.
"Is that just a sticker or are you happy to see me?" I ask, shooting finger guns at him with a shit-eating grin.
He seems to die a little more inside, and I take that as a win, closing the door in his face and going back to the table.
"Who was it?" Elena asks.
"Jehovah's Witness." I say simply, taking my seat.
Stefan's shoulders shake in silent laughter and he takes another bite of his pasta.
We end up choosing to watch a movie after dinner, putting it to a vote. It was either an inane action movie, or Twilight. We ended up choosing Twilight, obviously. I may have messed with the votes, but I knew everyone would make fun of the movie, and subsequently make a lot of vampire jokes right next to the century and a half old vampire, Stefan. We turned the romance movie into a full on comedy with how much we mocked it.
By the end of the movie, we were all tired and ready to go home.
Bonnie and Caroline drove themselves, and Stefan and I race each other to the boarding house.
The night ends nicely, with most of our could-have-been troubles avoided, and a warm feeling after a comfortable night out with friends.
I take a bath before bed, dress in my pajamas, and lie down under the covers, falling asleep peacefully.
Eight. Fourteen. Twenty-two. It's dark. There's blood on the pavement. His eyes are open and unseeing. I'm not ready for this. I don't think I'll ever be ready for this. Eight. Fourteen. Twenty-two. Help me, please. I just want to go home. I never wanted anything like this to happen. I never wanted to see this. Eight. Fourteen. Twenty-two.
I knew it would happen, but I didn't know it would effect me like this. I thought I could just brush it off, go on with my life as if nothing happened. As if no one died. As if I didn't allow someone to die. I didn't want this. They're real. I didn't want this.
Eight. Fourteen. Twenty-two.
Author's Note:
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