Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries and never will, but I do own Charlene Davis and Megan Swann and any other characters I come up with.
Author's Note: Hope you love the updated version! :D
The next day, after school let out for the day, Megan went with her sister to help pass out the night of the comet pamphlets. She handed them out, but she was somewhat distracted, thinking about Stefan and about what she learned from Damon. Though Charlene said not to worry about it, Megan couldn't help but worry. If he really wasn't over that Demetria chick, should she even start something with Stefan? She didn't want to get in the middle of anything.
However, Charlene was right about one thing. The information she was getting was from someone she didn't know, so she couldn't just listen to him. She needed to hear it from Stefan, which meant she had to talk to him about it. Something she would do whenever she saw him again. Megan sighed to herself as she forced a smile, handing out the next pamphlet to next person that passed. Bonnie speaking up broke her out of her thoughts.
"Are you okay, Meg?"
Megan tried to make her smile a lot more natural as she responded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…tired." It wasn't that much of a lie. She didn't get enough sleep last night, thinking about what Damon had said. The look on Bonnie's face showed her sister didn't believe her. Megan sighed. "Okay fine…I'm not okay."
"Is it about Stefan? Did he not call?"
"Or texted." Megan added with a sigh, handing out the next pamphlet. "Then again, we never even exchanged phone numbers, so we couldn't text each other even if he wanted to."
"That's an important milestone in any relationship."
"Technically, we're not even in one." Megan reminded her sister. "I'm into him and I thought he was interested in me…but now I'm kind of rethinking it. Especially since apparently he has issues with a previous relationship. I'm not interested in being the rebound."
Bonnie slowly nodded. "I understand that…but what if your wrong and you're not a rebound? Then, you'll be giving up on a chance with a great guy."
"Yeah…but if I'm having these doubts…maybe I'm not ready to be in another relationship."
Her sister said nothing as she gave out another pamphlet. After a few minutes of silence, Bonnie spoke again.
"All I'm hearing is reasons why you can't." She said, and that was all she said about it.
Megan said nothing either, knowing her sister was right. She was doing exactly that. It made her realize even more that she needed to talk to Stefan about this. To know where he truly was.
While everyone else was at the night of the comet party, Charlene was working. She recently got a job at the Mystic Grill. It was her first day actually.
Charlene thought it would be a good idea to get a job, just for something to do and to make some cash. It was also a good way to be sociable, which she had to rework on. Before her parents died, Charlene involved in a lot more things and active, so she wanted to get back to normal and getting a job was a good start to get back into that.
Unfortunately, the person was supposed to be training her was Vicki Donavan. Charlene dreaded it, considering Vicki had been the one Tyler had cheated on her with. Anyone else would feel the exact same way she was feeling right now.
Vicki showed up and the brunette looked pissed. At what? Charlene had no idea. Anything pissed off the youngest Donavan nowadays.
Taking a deep breath, Charlene went up to her. "Hey Vicki."
"What?" she sneered, looking over at her.
Charlene flinched but she brushed it off to speak again. "Um you're supposed to be training me, I got a job here."
A look of disbelief crossed Vicki's face. "Seriously?"
The blonde figured it was because of the fact she got a job here. "Yeah."
Vicki groaned. "Great! Not only to I not get another day off, but now I'm stuck, having to train Elena Gilbert's sister." She made it sound like an insult.
Charlene crossed her arms, offended. "Hey, I'm not happy about this either, but there's nothing we can do about it." She said bluntly.
"Of course there is, I can choose not to do and let you flat on your face." Vicki smirked and turned around, heading over to the bar.
Charlene sighed heavily. Well, that turned out a lot better than she thought it would. She was about to leave to go and tell Mr. Robert she didn't want to be trained by Vicki but she spotted Vicki and Jeremy talking to each other. They exchanged words with each other, sharing a laugh.
Charlene watched as Jeremy handed Vicki some pills. Watching it made her feel a little sick. Though she never said anything on the subject, she hated seeing her little brother like this. It wasn't the little Jeremy she knew. Gone was the happy boy, she knew, being replaced by someone she didn't recognize anymore. She hated to think about what her parents were thinking as they watched Jeremy turn into this person they knew he wasn't.
After Vicki took the pills, Charlene decided to go back up to them. "Jer, what are you doing here?"
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?" Jeremy countered.
"No…I was just wondering…"
He scoffed. "Right." Before she could say anything else, he turned back to Vicki. "So, you gonna, uh, watch the comet later?"
"I hadn't really thought about it." Vicki said, then she smirked, leaning forward a bit. "But I could be talked into it."
Charlene wanted to make a face, but she forced herself not to. Seriously though, did Vicki really forget she was standing there?
"I'll meet you out there in a few." Vicki went to leave and Charlene shook her head as she looked at her little brother.
"I really don't see what you see in her." Charlene said quietly, so Vicki wouldn't hear.
Jeremy made no comment just as Tyler came up to them, stopping in front of Vicki before she could make another move to leave.
"I don't see what you saw in him." Jeremy finally responded to what she said as Charlene glanced away.
"I don't see what you saw in him." Jeremy finally responded to what she said as Charlene glanced away.
"Touché." She muttered as she left to go and talk to Mr. Robert about getting someone else to train her.
Outside at the comet party, Caroline handed out candles. "Hey, I got some candles." She said brightly.
Megan took hers. "Thanks Care."
Her blonde friend smiled brightly in response before going off to hand out other candles. Megan shook her head with a smile as Matt lit up her candle before Matt went over to Elena to light hers. She watched as Elena thanked him with a soft smile, brushing her hair out of her face. Megan smiled at the sight, happy to see Matt and Elena talking again. She turned to light someone else's candle. This someone cleared their throat and Megan found herself staring into Stefan's green eyes. She was awe struck again and couldn't find the words she wanted to say to him. Luckily, Stefan spoke first.
"Hi, thank you." He told her softly.
"Yeah, you're welcome." Megan forced a smile before she turned her head away as she looked up at the comet. She wanted to ignore him, but it was hard to do with him standing next to her. So close. She could smell his aftershave.
"You know, that comet…" Stefan started after a moment of silence. "It's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone."
Megan nodded, still not looking at him. "Yeah…well my Grams says it's a harbinger of evil."
"I think it's just a ball of…snow and ice, trapped on a path it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home."
"Well, that sounds nicer than what my grams thinks." Megan chuckled, trying to joke.
It made Stefan smile slightly, but it fell after a moment. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself."
Megan said nothing for a moment. "It's okay." She tried to shrug it off. "I've already forgot about yesterday anyway." Even as she said those words, she didn't believe them herself.
"Still, that wasn't about you, okay?"
Deciding to stop pretending she was fine, Megan decided to speak her mind. "Is there a reason why you didn't tell me you had a brother?"
"We're not close." Stefan vaguely explained, his eyes shifting away. "It's, uh, complicated."
Megan let out a sigh. "It's always complicated, Stefan. I mean, I know we're not in relationship and you don't have to tell me everything but having a sibling is something someone should know…" Before he could say anything, she went on. "He told me about your ex…Demetria…"
Stefan looked as if he didn't expect her to ask this. "What did he say?"
"Nothing much….just that she broke your heart." Megan said softly.
He shook his head. "That was a long time ago…"
"I might not understand what it's like to lose someone, but I do know what it's like to have your heart broken. It's not fun…it stays with you forever."
"Megan…"
She smiled sadly as she looked up at him. "It's okay, Stefan. I get it." She told him softly. "I really do…and I like you. A lot. But I'm not going to be a rebound…I think better of myself than to let me be that girl." She smiled at him sadly again before she left him standing there, staring after her.
Back inside the Grill, Charlene was being trained by another waitress. Her name was Maddie and she went to Mystic Falls too. She was in Jeremy's grade. Charlene thought she was nice and seemed to know what she was doing, which was good because Charlene definitely didn't want to be taught by someone who didn't know what they were doing.
"So!" Maddie said cheerfully. "I think you're ready for your first customer."
Charlene was ecstatic to hear that since for the first couple hours of working was spent just learning the ropes and following Maddie everywhere. However, the excitement didn't last that long when the red head pointed out her customer
Damon Salvatore, who was smirking at her.
"Maddie, can't you take this one?" Charlene tried pleading
"You have nothing to worry about, Char!" Maddie reassured her. "You're going to do great!" She turned the blonde around and shoved her in Damon's direction.
Charlene groaned to herself and went over to his table grudgingly. She stood there and he smirked up at her.
"Nice to see you again, Charlene." Damon said, trying to flirt as he did this thing with his eyes. If he had done it before he upset her best friend, she would have been a swooning mess, but she wasn't as she glared at him instead.
"Wish I could say the same." Charlene retorted.
He pouted. "Aw, don't be like that."
Charlene ignored him, rolling her eyes as she changed the subject. "What can I get for you?"
Damon eyed her and she almost flushed at his stare. He seemed to know it too if the smug little smirk on his face was any hint.
"Are you on the menu?" he asked, licking his lips as he stared into her eyes. Something she watched, her eyes gazing over a bit, but she snapped out of it and she scoffed a little bit.
"You wish." This just made him smirk a little. She ignored it as she asked the question again, "What can I get for you?"
Damon hummed in response before he answered. "A bourbon would be great."
Charlene wrote it down and forced a smile. "Okay, well, I'll be right back with your drink." She went to leave, then she felt a hand grasp hers, sliding his fingers through her hair. She glanced back at him surprised. He didn't keep a hold of her hand for long, but it was long enough for her to wonder what it was all about.
He finally let go and Charlene hurried away to get his drink. But when she returned, Damon was nowhere in sight.
Charlene frowned. As Maddie passed her, she grabbed her arm and the redhead looked over at her.
"Hey, do you know where that man went?"
"The hot one?" When she nodded, Maddie shrugged. "I don't know…maybe the restroom. I'd just leave the drink there and his receipt." With that, the redhead went away.
Charlene did as Maddie said, but still she wondered where Damon could have gone. She forgot all about it after her shift was over and she was able to join her friends.
"Char!" Megan hugged her as she joined her best friend, Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler (who Charlene completely ignored) at their table. "You're off, finally! How did it go?"
"As good as a first day can go." Charlene said with a shrug. "But I think I'm going to like it okay."
Elena smiled at this. "Good, I'm happy for you." Then she went to chat with Bonnie and Caroline as Charlene turned to Megan.
"Did you talk to Stefan yet?"
Megan's good mood faded away a bit. "Yeah, a little…I think I'm just going to leave it alone…just for now."
Charlene hated to hear that, but she wasn't going to try and convince her not to do that. "Okay, if that's what you want." She said.
"It is." Megan's eyes said otherwise.
Just then, Jeremy showed up and he looked worried. "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"
Tyler was the first one to respond. "You're her stalker." He snapped bluntly. "You tell us."
"I can't find her."
"She probably found someone else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."
"Tyler." Charlene hissed.
"What? Charlene, you saw him."
Charlene felt Elena's hard gaze on her and winced.
"What is he talking about?" her sister asked.
Tyler nodded towards Jeremy. "Ask him."
Jeremy glared at him. "You wanna do this right now?"
"Are you dealing?" Elena demanded but she was just ignored.
"She's never going to go for you."
"She already did." Jeremy said snidely. "Over and over again."
This was a shock to everyone. Tyler just scoffed.
"Yeah, right."
Megan gaped at him in disbelief. "Wait, what? You slept with Vicki Donavan?"
"Vicki Donavan slept with you?" Caroline couldn't believe it either.
Tyler shook his head, not believing him at all. "There's no way."
"And I didn't even have to force her into it."
Matt stared at him as Tyler didn't say anything. "What the hell is he talking about?"
"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk."
Matt decided to just leave it alone…for now. "You know what, how about all of you just shut up and help me find my sister?"
"We'll check the back." Bonnie said, grabbing Megan and Caroline's arms.
"I'll check the square."
"I'll come with you." Jeremy went to leave with Matt, but Elena grabbed his arm, tugging him back roughly.
"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me and Charlene. So, that's your game now, dealing?"
"Elena…" Charlene started to say, but her sister cut her off.
"I'll talk to you later." She snapped, sounding just like their mother. It was scary. Charlene didn't appreciate her tone but she kept silent as Elena turned back to Jeremy. "Are you dealing?"
"I'm not dealing."
Elena sighed, frustrated. "Look, I'm sick of the tough love speeches, Jer." she informed. "It's clearly having no impact."
"You and Jenna, between the two of you, enough already! At least Charlene, doesn't say anything and just leaves me alone about it!"
"Because she doesn't want to say anything to set you off!"
"Hey!" Charlene raised her voice, surprising the other two Gilberts. She never raised her voice. "I'm right here! Both of you need to just shut up!" She turned to Jeremy. "Elena and Jenna only gives you these speeches because they care about you! And I might not give you these speeches, but I'm done, so I'm going to give you one! The only reason why I've never done one before but it's only because I know it's not going to do a god damn thing. It doesn't mean that I don't think what your doing is wrong because it is! This isn't you, Jer. I love you, but if things don't change, we're going to send you a therapist where you're forced to deal with what's going on or to rehab where you'll sit in a group and tell some stranger how you let your life fell apart. Or you could talk to us…your sisters, the two people who understand where you're going through. You're not the only who lost their parents. We lost them too." Her voice cracked a bit, her eyes welling with tears but she quickly wiped her eyes before her siblings could notice. She had to be the strong one in this. "So, it's up to you, what's it going to be?"
"I vote for none of the above." Jeremy said stiffly before he stormed off.
Charlene sighed. She hated to raise her voice.
"Thank you for doing that." Elena said, making Charlene turn her.
"I didn't do it for you, Elena." She told her sister. "I did it because I'm tired too…tired of being in the middle of you and Jeremy. I know that I supposed to be…because I'm your sister and I love you guys more than I love myself…I'd jump in front of a bus for you and Jer…but I don't think either of you have realized that I'm still dealing with our parent's death too." Before Elena could say anything, she changed the subject quickly. "I'm going to help look for Vicki." With that, she left Elena standing there alone.
Thankfully, Vicki was found safely. Stefan had found her. Despite what she had said earlier, Megan realized she didn't want to give up on Stefan. Not yet. So, she found herself ringing the doorbell at the boarding house. It didn't take too long for Stefan to answer the door.
"Hey." Megan breathed. She didn't let him say anything as she went on. "I'm sorry for coming so late, especially after earlier."
"It's okay, I'm glad you came." Stefan reassured her softly. "I didn't like how we left things." Megan was glad he felt the same way. "Would you like to come inside?"
"Actually, let's talk outside." Megan said. It was too nice outside to talk inside and they could gaze at the comet, which was still high up in the sky.
"Okay." Stefan followed her outside, closing the door behind him. It was quiet between them. Megan enjoyed the silence. Though she usually felt the need to feel the air with conversation with Stefan…she didn't feel the need to.
Megan finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions about being a rebound…"
"It's okay…I'd be worried about the same thing…but you're not a rebound." Stefan told her. "Trust me, I'm over her."
She said nothing for a moment. "I do…which is strange because we just met, but I trust you. I just don't want to get hurt, Stefan…and I realize that's what I'm really worried about…not about being a rebound…but about being hurt…but I have to realize that you're not my ex-boyfriend. You're different…and I've decided to give you a chance. If you hurt me..."
Stefan cut her off and surprised her by grabbing a hold of her hands. Her heart skipped a beat as she met his gaze.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Megan."
His touch sent sparks through and she could feel his emotions. Something that went along with her witch powers. Stefan was telling the truth.
"Okay…" Megan breathed. Nothing else was said and he leaned in, kissing her.
Her eyes closed. The kiss was everything and more.
TBC...
In...
Friday Night Bites, Part 1