Thank you sooo much for the reviews!:) you guys are awesome….. Although I only got two reviews in the last chapter:/ so if I get more than three reviews on this chapter, I'll have the next one up in a day or so:)

Here is the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy it:) reviews are greatly accepted

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, I only own Liz

Elena's brilliant idea was to have a dinner party, invite both Stefan and Bonnie, and pray that they start to like each other. Personally, I thought it was a little extreme, but Elena said it was perfect. So here we were, after school, slaving over the perfect dinner. Of course I had to help being the most awesome sister ever. But I wasn't complaining' least no out loud.

Elena and I were moving around each other as we tried to get as much done as possible before Bonnie arrived. That was Elena's master plan; invite Bonnie first and then Stefan. I can already see this one going down the drain. We made a routine, I make the dessert, and Elena makes the dinner. She said that I should make a cake and decorate as much as I wanted. I thought it was a little ridiculous but she insisted that I do it; and I didn't want to upset her, seeing as she thought this would all work out.

"So, you really think this plan of your swill work out?" I asked as I carefully frosted flowers on the top layers.

"It has to; otherwise I have no idea what I'm gonna do," Elena sighed as she place plates on the dining room table.

"I know I was there and all when Bonnie said this, but uh, why exactly doesn't she like Stefan?"

"All she said is that she got a really bad feeling when she touched him," Elena turned to me. I put more frosting on and decorated with little leaves.

"Yeah, you see I was there for that part too. She did seem kinda bugged out when she touched him,"

"Really, how bugged out?" she crossed her arms.

"I don't know. One minute she's perfectly fine, normal Bonnie; than when she touches his she gets all scared. It was really weird," I licked some frosting off my fingers.

"Well hopefully after tonight, everything will be fine," she sounded so optimistic. I gave her a smile and together we finished dinner and desert.

By the time we cleaned up, the door bell rang. Bonnie had arrived right on time. It wasn't long after that Stefan arrived. Bonnie wouldn't look at him directly in the eye though as we sat down. To say it was awkward was an understatement. You could hear all the clinking the dishes and silverware made. I sat next to Elena and our eyes met for a brief second and we knew what we had to do.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked Stefan, trying to start a least a little conversation.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," he replied.

"Bonnie, you should've seen Stefan today; Tyler threw a ball right at him and-"

She cut her off, "Yeah I heard,"

"Well I didn't; what happened?" I asked.

"Tyler threw a football right at Stefan and at the last minute turned around and threw it right back at him," Elena said proudly.

"You must have a good arm;" I nodded approvingly, "Tanner would have to have been an idiot if he didn't let you on the team."

He nods his thanks and then we're back to the awkward silence. This was getting ridiculous; I hate awkward silences with a burning passion.

"Bonnie, why don't you tell Stefan about your family?" I attempted to get her talking. She just looked at me and I gave her the same look.

"Um, parents divorced, no mom, live with dad," she said simply. I wanted to groan, she wasn't even trying.

"No, about the witches?" Elena said through gritted teeth. Hopefully that sparked some interest. And it did, the look on Stefan's face showed intense interest.

"Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches, it's really cool," I put emphasis on the word cool.

"It is anything but cool," Elena and I look at her with pleading eyes.

"Well it certainly is interesting, I'm not too verse on it but did you know that there's a history of Celtic Druids here in the 1800's,"

"My family came from Salem," Bonnie said. Least now she was trying to make an effort.

"Really?" he seemed intrigued. Bonnie nodded looking embarrassed. "Salem witches?"

"Yeah," she said nervously.

"That is pretty cool," he looks at Elena and I, and smiles.

"Really, why?" Bonnie asks.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity," that put a smile on her face.

"Yeah, they are" Bonnie said. She and Stefan shared small smiles. Elena and I caught each other's eyes and shared a knowing look. Everything was going perfect, until the doorbell rang. I looked at Elena, wondering if she invited more people over.

"I'll go see who it is," I got up and went to the door. When I opened the door I came face to face with Caroline and surprisingly Damon.

"Surprise," she said all chipper and shoved a small cake in my hands. "Bonnie said you were doing dinner so we brought desert," I didn't have the heart to tell her I already made dessert; so I just accepted the small cake. I looked at Damon and saw him smirking at me. I wanted to roll my eyes. God, why did he have to be here? And with Caroline of all people? When the hell did they start dating?

"If you don't mind," he spoke up.

Caroline let herself in and Elena and Stefan came up behind me.

"What're you doing here?" he asked Damon. I could feel the tension in the air. Stefan obviously didn't want his brother here, but why? I mean from what I know of Damon, he's only cocky.

"Waiting for Liz to invite me in," he said simply.

"Yeah sure-" I began but Stefan cut me off.

"No he can't, he can't stay; can you Damon?"

"Get in here," Caroline spoke up.

"We're just finishing up," he looked at Elena with pleading eyes. What was his problem with Damon?

"It's fine, just come on in," I said, throwing Stefan's warnings in the air. Damon stepped inside, a satisfied smile on his face.

"You have a beautiful home," he said as he examined the living room.

"Thank you," Elena answered for the both of us. Damon was looking at one of the numerous paintings that hung on the walls, a painting I did.

"This is a beautiful piece," he noted, "Did you do this Elizabeth?"

"Uh, yeah actually I did,"

"Very good," he commented with a sly tone.

I turned back to the kitchen and placed the small cake next to my own; debating which one would be better to eat. I couldn't make up my mind so I settled for brewing coffee for everyone. After about twenty minutes it was finished. I filled up mugs for everyone, including myself, and handed them out to everyone. We were all sitting in the living room, with mugs in our hands. I sat next to Bonnie and gave her a look that said 'shoot me now and I'll love you forever'.

"I cannot believe Mr. Tanner let you on the team! Tyler must be seething," Caroline said brightly. "But good for you, go for it,"

"That's what I always tell him; you have to engage, you can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you, you have to go get it," Damon said smugly. Stefan only looked at him, a hard glare on his face.

"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today, it's only cause you missed summer camp," I looked at Elena, feeling bad for her. I love Caroline, but she can be such a bitch at times. "I don't know how you're ever gonna learn the routine,"

"I'll work with her, she'll get it," Bonnie said, trying to get her to stop.

"I guess we can put her in the back," Caroline said, not really paying attention to anything. Elena only looked at her, annoyance clearly written on her face.

"You don't seem like the cheerleader type," Damon noted.

"It's only cause her parents died, she use to be so much more fun," Caroline was really pushing the line tonight. "And I say that with complete sensitivity." She added the last part a little too late.

"What about you Liz? You a cheerleader too like your sis over here?' Damon asked.

"Liz is more of an art girl; she wouldn't really fit in with the cheerleaders. She's more into pastels than pyramids," Caroline piped in. I grounded my teeth together so I wouldn't shout. I really wanted to shut her up right now. I didn't care at the moment that she was one of my friends; I just wanted her to stop.

I stayed silent though, even though I wanted to smack her right about now. That is until Damon started speaking. "Good for you Liz, art really is more your speed I can see, I mean look at the awesome painting," we all look at the one hanging above the TV. It was just a simple portrait of a meadow with a lonely woman standing, looking out into the distance.

"I mean, not many people can do that," he finished. At the moment, I was grateful because he got Caroline to shut up.

"Thanks," I said sheepishly while he grinned at me.

"Yeah, I know what it's like to lose both your parents Elena, Liz. I mean Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we ever cared about die," okay, that was creepy. And he said it so plainly too.

"We don't need to go into detail about that, Damon" Stefan put in.

"Ah, you're right; the last thing I want to do is bring her up," Damon didn't regret it though. A silence filled the air. I needed to get away for the moment, so I went to do the dishes in the kitchen. I started putting in the leftovers and loading the dishwasher when Damon came in, holding a glass.

"One more," he handed me the glass, but it slipped through my fingers. Before it could shatter though, Damon caught. I stared, impressed.

"Nice reflexes," I laughed.

"I like you; you know how to laugh,"

"This is our second time talking to each other; I mean all together, we've only talked for about ten minutes at most," I said while loading the dishwasher.

"Still, the first time was out in public; while here, we are in the comfort of your charming home," he leaned against the counter, watching me. "And alone, might I add," he smiled deviously.

"Earlier before, did you mean Katherine?" I asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Mmmmhmmmm," he helped me put a plate in.

"How did she die? Sorry I don't mean to intrude,"

"Its okay; fire, tragedy." He said simply.

"Recently?"

"Seems like it was yesterday," he helped me again, I hands brushed and I felt a tiny jolt go through my arm.

"What was she like? If you don't mind me asking," I turned to him, fully interested.

"She was beautiful, a lot like you in that department," I blushed very heavily. "She was also very complicated and not very kind, but also at times very sexy and seductive," he smirked at me at the last part. This time I didn't blush, thank God.

"So, which one of you dated her first?" I folded a towel and placed it on the counter.

"Why don't you ask Stefan? Although I think his answer would be different than mine," he closed the door for me.

"Now that would be a little too weird for my liking." I cracked a small smile and he did too. It was soon replaced with a sympathetic look though.

"I'm sorry," he had a confused look on his face, "about Katherine; you lost her too," his face soften and he looked deeply into my eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds before Bonnie and Elena came in.

"Hey, need some help?"

"Sure why not?' Damon answered for me, that little moment gone.

The rest of the night was spent talking about the game and school and whatnot. It was boring to say the least. Damon however, kept asking me personal questions, and I found myself answering them honestly. I think he found my life interesting when I found it boring. Pretty soon it was time for everyone to go and I walked Caroline and Damon to the door.

"Go wait in the car Caroline," Damon said and Caroline obliged. The two of us were left on the front porch.

"Thank you for having us over," he said sincerely.

"Sure, it was great having you," I said with a small smile.

"Don't let Caroline put you down, you're a great artist," his voice held honesty and kindness. I was taken aback by his kindness for only a moment.

"Thank you," he took my hand and placed a gently kiss on it, and I blushed again.

Soon after Bonnie and Stefan left and Elena and I finished cleaning everything up, we talked about how weird tonight was but the plan seemed to work. The next day was the day of the game and we all headed down to the school. I noticed Elena wasn't in her cheerleader uniform and asked her what that was about, "I just don't like it anymore and I rather focus on stuff that does matter to me," I was proud of her. When we got to the school everyone was already there. The guys were in there football jerseys and just hanging around. Elena and I found Stefan and they talked for a bit, until he gave her a necklace. It was rather beautiful. Elena's so lucky to have found a guy as awesome as Stefan.

"It's beautiful," she said and they shared a kiss. I felt like a third wheel at the moment and just kind of looked away while they had their moment.

Later on the little pep rally began and we set a stuffed dummy of the opposing team on fire. Everyone got so into it while I just stayed back and watched. I wasn't really that into sports, yeah I was pretty boring. Mr. Tanner started making a speech about how they're going to defeat the other team. I zoned out for most of it, like I normally do when Mr. Tanner talks. I looked out across the group of kids and I could've sworn I saw Damon; and he was smirking at me too. But when I blinked he was gone. Confused, I turned my attention back to Tanner, even though I didn't want to.

Pretty soon we all turned our attention to what looked like a fight. Turns out it was Jeremy and Tyler, once again fighting over Vicky. Stefan tried to break it up but Jeremy ended up accidentally cutting his hand. Matt finally got in and pushed Tyler away. Elena and I went up to Jeremy. His nose was bleeding and a bruise was already beginning to form over his eye.

"I'm fine,"

"You smell fine," I snapped.

"You're bleeding," Elena said.

Elena turned to Stefan, "oh my God your hand," she tried to look at it but he pulled it back. He kept saying he was fine but Elena wasn't convinced. When she finally saw his hand there was no blood on it, not even a scratch.

"Jeremy come on, I'm taking you home," I turned to Jeremy.

"NO I don't need to go home, I'm fine; just leave me alone Liz," he stalks away. I sigh and run my hand through my hair. I follow him, knowing that I'm gonna get chewed out. I grab hold of his arm and force him to look at me.

"How many more signs do you need Jer?" I exasperated.

"Look, I don't need your help or anyone's help for the matter; just leave me alone," he tried to shake me off but I held a firm grip.

"No, you wanna know why I'm not gonna leave you alone? It's because I care about what happens to you Jeremy. I don't want to see my little brother throw everything away, just because of something that is done and over with," he stayed silent and I took that as my cue to continue. "Mom and dad are gone, they aren't coming back. How do you think they'd feel if they saw you screwing your life up because of an accident? They helped built our lives Jeremy, but now it's our turn to help shape them," I said with a softer tone.

I had hoped that the message got through his head but he just walked off again. I threw my hands up and groaned. I turned around and came face to face with Damon; I let out a gasp and clutched my chest.

"Hey, I didn't see you there," I laughed a little.

"Problems with your brother?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, it's just; uh I don't know what to do about it anymore. No matter how hard I try, he just won't listen," I sighed.

"It's hard being the older sibling isn't it? Believe me I know what it's like,"

"Then how do you do it?" I asked

"Simple, you have to dig deeper and deeper to you find the source of why they're doing what they're doing," he circled me.

"But I know why he's doing it. Its cause our parents are dead," I sated.

"True, but don't you think there's another reason as to why," I stopped. Vicky. He's acting out cause he isn't with Vicky.

"Wow, I never really thought of it that way; thank you Damon." I said with a smile I turned around and head towards the field when I stopped dead in my tracks. On the ground was Mr. Tanner, and he was dead. I shrieked and threw my hand over my mouth in shock. I backed up into something and realized that it was Damon. I buried my face in his chest and looked away from the site of my dead history teacher.

Damon lead me to my car with his arms around me, I didn't feel like telling him. I went to thank him but when I turned, he wasn't there anymore. Frowning, I drove home in silence. The image of seeing Mr. Tanner dead and bloody imbedded itself into my head. I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep as soon as possible. I could've sworn though, I felt someone stroking my cheek gently. Though when I woke up, no one was there.