[1x03; Friday Night Bites]
"Caroline Forbes, rise and shine!" Lucy sang into her phone, a cheerful smile on her face as she left her best friend a message. "I'm surprised you're not up yet, because it's our first official practice of the year!"
While keeping her phone to her ear, Lucy walked over to her dresser and grabbed some clothes for cheer practice, shoving them into her bag for after school. Today was the first cheer practice of the season, which meant that the squad would be going over the routines that Lucy made as team choreographer.
"Make sure you wear those shorts you got at Nike over the summer," Lucy instructed, zipping up her bag. "I'll see you at school, Captain."
After finishing up her message, Lucy bounced out of her room, actually feeling okay. During the summer she had been melancholy about cheer, as it was her mom that signed her up in the first place. She hadn't wanted to go to cheer camp and choreograph the routines, even though she loved cheering, and had been dreading the first practice. Today, however, she felt different. For some reason she was actually looking forward to seeing her teammates and working together.
Jenna looked up from the table where she was revising her thesis when Lucy came down the stairs. Seeing her youngest niece's shiny disposition, she smiled. Everyone knew how much Lucy loved cheerleading, so it was good to see her excited about it.
"Elena went with Bonnie," Jenna told Lucy, standing up and taking the keys out of the bowl in the foyer. She turned toward the stairs and called, "Jeremy, let's go!"
There was a faint call before quick stomping as Jeremy rushed down the stairs, his black backpack hanging from his shoulder. He greeted Lucy with a casual side-hug as the three walked out the door and to Jenna's car.
After a fifteen-minute ride later where Lucy and Jeremy annoyed Jenna with their talking of their favorite television shows, they arrived at school. Jenna wished them a good day and told them she'd be staying at Whitmore for the night with Joel—which Lucy and Jeremy knew that meant Joel would be taking Jenna to one of his frat's parties.
"See ya," Jeremy mumbled, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Lucy's head before disappearing to the stoner's pit.
Lucy looked around, not seeing Caroline anywhere, and tried to look for her sister or Bonnie. Much to her luck, she spotted Bonnie's car right away; Elena and Bonnie were getting out and chatting.
"Good morning," she greeted them, carefully situating her gym bag on her shoulder so the strap wouldn't dig into her skin. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Bonnie thinks Stefan and I shouldn't date," Elena informed her.
Lucy looked over at Bonnie with raised eyebrows. It was a little too late to object to Elena's newfound relationship. Her and Stefan had been dating for almost two weeks and so far, everything had been smooth sailing.
"I'm not saying don't date the guy," Bonnie corrected Elena. "I'm just saying take it slow."
"You were the one who said go for it," Elena pointed out as the three of them started walking across campus.
"Now I'm saying take it slow."
"Why the about-face?" Lucy wondered.
"It's not an about-face," Bonnie shrugged, looking at Elena. "You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."
"Play the field?" Lucy scoffed, repeating Bonnie. "Like Elena is that girl."
"Seriously," Elena agreed with Lucy. "What are you not saying?"
Bonnie's face fell. "It's stupid."
She went to walk away, but Elena grabbed her, giving her an earnest look. "Bonnie…"
"What?"
"Spit it out," Lucy said impatiently. "What's so bad about Stefan?"
Bonnie slowed her walking to a stop and turned to Lucy and Elena. "I accidently touched him," she confessed. "And I got a really bad feeling."
Elena gave her best friend an unimpressed look. "Is that it?"
Bonnie pursed her lips and went to leave, only to be stopped by Lucy this time. "Bonnie."
"It was bad-bad," Bonnie defended herself.
"Is this the whole witch mojo thing again?" Lucy wondered; Bonnie had been acting kind of weird lately and she had been mentioning her Grams' stories more often.
"You know what, I'm just concerned," Bonnie said; she glanced at Elena. "This is me expressing concern about my best friend's new boyfriend."
Elena smiled and grabbed Bonnie's shoulders, squeezing them fondly. "And I love you for it, I do," she assured Bonnie. "But I feel good. It's been a hard year and I'm starting to kind of feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that."
Bonnie smiled and sighed in defeat. Clearly she wasn't going to get through to Elena, despite her warnings. Besides, if Elena felt better because of Stefan, that was a good thing. The feeling Bonnie got when she touched Stefan, however, was not a good thing.
"Good morning, Elena," a familiar voice said from behind them. Lucy, Elena, and Bonnie turned around, seeing Stefan walk up to them. "Good morning, Lucy and Bonnie."
Bonnie didn't even acknowledge Stefan. She looked at Lucy, saying, "Hey, um, I gotta find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. See you guys later."
Lucy nodded, giving Bonnie a confused look as she walked off. She hadn't even seen Bonnie try to call Caroline, but she was right about the blonde not answering her phone. She hadn't replied to any of Lucy's texts or calls, which was not like her whatsoever.
"She doesn't like me very much," Stefan observed, his eyes following Bonnie for a second before turning to look at Lucy and Elena.
"She doesn't know you," Elena explained as she, Lucy, and Stefan started walking toward the school. "She's my best friend, she's just looking out for me. But when she does, she will love you."
"Bonnie's pretty opinionated," Lucy added, trying to make Stefan feel better. "And she's not really good with new people. You just have to be nice and give her time to warm up to you."
"Here's what we're going to do," Elena said after a thoughtful silence. "Are you free tonight?"
Stefan pretended to think about it, but ultimately nodded. "Yes."
"Perfect," Elena beamed. "Dinner at my house, eight o'clock. You, me, Bonnie, and Lucy. You two will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."
"I'm making spaghetti and meatballs," Lucy stated, trying to entice Stefan to take Elena's offer. "With homemade garlic bread."
"Well, how can I resist homemade garlic bread?" Stefan chuckled, Elena laughing along.
"Great—"
Elena's exclamation was cut off as Stefan turned around abruptly, swiftly catching a football that had been hurling toward the back of his head. Lucy gaped, looking around Stefan to see Matt and Tyler looking right at them. Stefan held up the ball and threw it back at Tyler—who Lucy assumed was the culprit, as Matt was too nice to throw a ball at someone with their back turned. Tyler caught the ball, which seemed to be thrown hard, as it made him take a few steps back.
As if on cue, the bell rang, interrupting the crowd's murmurs of excitement at Stefan's throw.
"That was amazing, Stefan," Elena gushed as they walked into school. "I gotta go, see you guys in history."
Lucy and Stefan, who had the same chemistry class first period on certain days, waved at her. They continued onto their class, dodging various classmates in the crowded hallways.
"That throw was impressive," Lucy complimented Stefan. "You never told me you played football."
Throughout the two weeks that her sister and Stefan had been dating, Lucy and Stefan had learned more about each other. Lucy had yet to take up his offer of talking to him about the accident and the way she felt, but she still enjoyed getting to know him.
"I used to," Stefan's eyebrows furrowed, as though he was thinking of a bittersweet memory. "It was a long time ago."
"So why don't you try out for the team?" Lucy questioned as they walked into the classroom and took their shared table at the back. "Besides Matt and Tyler, our team sucks. It makes me want to cry."
"I don't think so."
Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you not like it anymore?"
"I do," Stefan assured her. "I think it's great. But I don't think I'd be welcomed. You saw Tyler and Matt's still sensitive about me and Elena."
"Matt's not the type of person to hate you just because you're dating his ex-girlfriend," Lucy stated. "Besides, they don't even know you. It wouldn't hurt to socialize, make more friends besides me."
Stefan narrowed his eyes at her jokingly. "Says the girl who does her homework in a cemetery."
Lucy gasped dramatically. "Stefan, I told you that in confidence! And I only go once a week, give me a break."
"I'll give you a break if you stop pestering me about football," Stefan bargained.
"Pestering?" Lucy rolled her eyes before sighing. "Fine, I'll stop," Stefan grinned in satisfaction. "I'll just tell Elena."
Stefan groaned in annoyance.
"World War II ended in…" Mr. Tanner looked around the classroom, waiting for an answer. "Anyone got anything?"
Lucy looked up from her phone where she was texting Caroline—still no answer—and called out, "1945."
Mr. Tanner sighed. "Thank you, Lucy."
Lucy put away her phone and gave Tanner a cheeky thumbs-up. Tanner continued to lecture, all the while Elena and Stefan whispered back-and-forth in front of her. Apparently, they weren't as sneaky as they thought, because Tanner quickly noticed their inattention.
"Pearl Harbor, Miss Gilbert?" Mr. Tanner asked Elena, signaling her out for her whispering.
Elena hummed and turned toward Tanner, looking confused.
"Pearl Harbor," Mr. Tanner prompted.
"Um…"
"December 7, 1941," Stefan answered for her.
"Thank you, Miss Gilbert," Tanner enunciated, drawing a laugh from the class.
"Anytime," Stefan replied.
"Very well," Tanner nodded. "The fall of the Berlin Wall."
"1989," Stefan answered easily. "I'm good with dates, sir."
"Really?" Mr. Tanner's expression changed to one of challenge. "How good? Keep it to the year."
Stefan nodded in consent. Lucy perked up, wondering if Stefan knew history that well. It'd also be great to see Stefan out-Tanner Tanner, especially after what the teacher said to Jenna during Jeremy's parent-teacher conference.
"Civil Rights Act?" Tanner started their little trivia game.
"1964," Stefan replied.
"John F. Kennedy assassination?"
"1963."
"Martin Luther King?"
"Sixty-eight."
"Lincoln," Tanner leaned forward slightly, looking more aggravated.
"1865," Stefan said smoothly, not hesitating at all.
"Roe vs. Wade."
"1973."
"Brown vs. Board."
"1954."
"The Battle of Gettysburg."
"1863."
"Korean War."
"1950 to 1953."
"Ha!" Tanner exclaimed in victory, pointing at Stefan. "It ended in fifty-two."
Lucy rolled her eyes at Mr. Tanner's arrogance. "It ended in fifty-three, Mr. Tanner."
Tanner looked to Lucy, narrowing his eyes. Stefan nodded in agreement, making Tanner visibly clench his jaw.
"Look it up, somebody," Mr. Tanner demanded the class impatiently. "Quickly!"
There was a quiet shuffling as students around the classroom took their phones out to google the date of the end of the Korean War. It didn't take long to find an answer.
"It was nineteen…fifty-three," a student to Lucy's left called out.
The students started clapping for Stefan and Lucy couldn't help but join in. It looked like somebody finally out-Tannered Tanner. The arrogant, asshole of a teacher deserved it.
Lucy bent forward, stretching out her muscles as she waited for Elena to arrive. As far as she knew, her sister was coming to practice. Elena was a great cheerleader, but it would be a challenge to teach her the new routines. While Caroline had dragged Lucy out of her depressed cocoon for cheer camp, Elena had stayed home. She'd be behind, but Lucy, Caroline, and Bonnie would work with her.
"Oh, my God!" Bonnie, who was stretching beside her, squealed suddenly. Lucy looked up to see Elena approaching them. "You're here!"
Bonnie got up and wrapped her arms around Elena, both of them hugging tightly.
"Yep," Elena confirmed. "I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were."
"Good thinking, Lenabug," Lucy complimented her sister.
"Thanks, Lou," Elena knelt on one knee and started stretching beside her. She looked up at Bonnie and added, "Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight."
Bonnie looked surprised. "I am?"
Elena nodded. "Yep. You, me, Lucy, and Stefan."
Bonnie faltered, a disgruntled look on her face. She clearly didn't want to spend any time with Stefan if she didn't have to. It kind of amused Lucy, because Bonnie was usually the friendliest out of their quartet.
"You have to give him a chance," Elena admonished.
"Tonight's no good," Bonnie lied. Elena and Lucy gave her nearly identical don't-lie-to-me looks. Bonnie quickly changed the subject. "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her, like, a hundred times."
"No," Lucy shook her head. "I called her, too. No answer."
"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett!" Elena interrupted their conversation about Caroline's absence. "You're going to be there."
"Fine," Bonnie whined. "I'll go."
"Good."
Ten minutes went by, with several missed calls, and there was still no sign of Caroline. Lucy was really starting to get worried. Cheerleading was Caroline's favorite activity and she loved being captain, she wouldn't miss it unless something was really wrong.
Lucy huffed, looking around worriedly. "Seriously, where is Caroline?"
"I don't know," Elena took a sip from her water bottle. "It's not like her."
"Try her again," Bonnie requested, nodding to Lucy's phone.
Lucy picked up her phone and pressed Caroline's contact, waiting for her best friend to pick up. She winced when Elena slapped her arm and went to scold her, but Elena was looking behind Lucy intently, eyes narrowed. Lucy turned and saw a vintage baby-blue Camaro driving right onto the field. Surprisingly, Caroline was in the passenger seat of the Camaro and the driver was none other than Stefan's older brother, Damon Salvatore.
To say Lucy was surprised was an understatement. Caroline hadn't even told her that she had met Damon, let alone hooked up with him. Caroline always shared her love life with Lucy, always. It was strange that she hadn't spilled about her newfound relationship.
"Oh, my God," Bonnie stared at Caroline in shock as she made out with Damon. "That must be the mystery guy from the Grill."
"That's not a mystery guy," Elena sighed, getting to her feet. "That's Damon Salvatore."
"Damon Salvatore?" Bonnie hissed in disbelief. "As in Stefan?"
Lucy nodded and jumped to her feet, watching wearily as Caroline got out of the car. She was wearing standard practice clothes, but, strangely, she had a scarf wrapped around her neck. She gave Caroline a questioning look as she strode over to them, a happy smirk on her face.
"I got the other brother," Caroline bragged to Elena. "Hope you don't mind."
The blonde set her bag on the ground and walked over to the stereo. She pressed the power button and turned to the squad, ready to begin practice.
"Sorry I'm late, girls," she apologized. "I was, uh, busy. All right, let's start with the double pike herkey-hurdler, what do you say?"
Lucy gave her best friend a wide smile, happy to get practice started.
"You explain it. Last night, I was watching Nine-o and a commercial break came on. I was like, I bet it's that phone commercial," Bonnie narrated, explaining her theory that she's psychic to Lucy and Elena. "And sure enough, it was that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."
"Oh, come on," Elena chuckled, opening the fridge to take out the can of grated parmesan cheese. "That commercial is on a constant loop."
Lucy hummed in agreement, chopping up lettuce for a caesar salad to go with the rest of dinner.
"Fine," Bonnie sighed. "Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing eight, fourteen, and twenty-two. How weird is that?"
"Maybe we should play the lottery," Elena teased, setting the cheese and platter of warm garlic bread on the table.
"Have you talked to your Grams?" Lucy wondered, semi-focused on making the salad. The other half of her attention was on Bonnie and Elena's conversation, which was becoming more interesting.
"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch," Bonnie whined, stirring the spaghetti and meatballs that Lucy made together. "I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"
"No," Lucy answered immediately. The last thing she wanted was more drama in her life. She suspected that having magic would be utterly dramatic.
"I don't want to be a witch," Elena agreed.
Lucy sighed and finished up the salad. She looked around for the salad tongs, opening the drawer that they were usually in and finding it empty. "Elena, do you know where the salad tongs are?"
"No."
"The middle drawer on your left," Bonnie pointed to Lucy's left.
Lucy gave Bonnie an intrigued look, opening the said drawer. The salad tongs sat at the top, supporting Bonnie's guess. Lucy, Elena, and Bonnie all exchanged confused looks.
"Okay, so you've been in this kitchen, like, a thousand times," Elena excused it as a fluke.
Bonnie pursed her lips. "Yeah, that's it."
The doorbell rang, then, catching the girls' attention. Figuring that it was Stefan at the door, Bonnie bit her lip nervously. Lucy noticed and reached forward, squeezing one of Bonnie's hands comfortingly.
"Okay, he's here," Elena was excited for Stefan and Bonnie to bond. She gave Bonnie an assuring look. "Don't be nervous. Just be your normal loving self."
Bonnie sighed heavily as Elena walked to the front door to let Stefan in. As Lucy grabbed the big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to carry over to the table, Bonnie said, "Birthday candles."
Bonnie opened the drawer by her stomach, revealing a new package of multi-colored birthday candles. Lucy inhaled sharply and abruptly turned, walking over to the table.
Was Grams right? Was Bonnie really a witch? It had to be a possibility; how else would Bonnie know that the candles—which Lucy and Elena had recently bought for Jenna's upcoming birthday—were in that exact drawer? The whole thing was mind-boggling.
Her warring emotions must have been showing on her face, because when Elena and Stefan stepped into the dining room, they instantly knew something was up.
"What's wrong, Lou?" Elena asked cautiously.
"Hmm?" Lucy hummed distractedly. When she saw Elena and Stefan looking at her expectantly, she straightened herself up. "Oh, hey, Stefan. You hungry?"
"Yeah, it smells great," Stefan complimented. "Thanks for making dinner. Hi, Bonnie."
Bonnie, who had walked into the dining room with the salad, waved sheepishly at Stefan's greeting.
Lucy already knew that this meal would be awkward.
And she was correct; no one spoke as the four of them dug into their food. Lucy sat next to Bonnie and exchanged looks with Elena, trying to get her sister to start up a conversation. It was better that Elena take the lead because Lucy rambled when there were awkward silences and it was hard to stop her.
Fortunately, Elena recognized the urge. She looked at Stefan, who sat across from Lucy, and asked, "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?"
"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan shrugged modestly.
Elena giggled, turning to Bonnie. "Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him and—"
"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie interrupted, smiling awkwardly.
Lucy bit her lip, desperately trying not to laugh. She was never good with serious or awkward situations. Joel was the same way—despite the sorrow they felt at their parents' shared funeral, the urge to laugh almost made them leave the church.
Stefan must have seen Lucy fighting the urge to laugh because he smiled slightly, kicking his leg forward to nudge her in the knee. Lucy playfully narrowed her eyes at him; he smirked in response.
"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family, Bon?" Lucy suggested; Elena's try at a conversation had failed, so now it was up to her.
"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad," Bonnie informed Stefan, completely misinterpreting Lucy's request.
"No, no," Lucy shook her head at Bonnie. "About the witches," she looked at Stefan and added, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."
"It's not cool," Bonnie disagreed.
Stefan looked interested; he turned to Bonnie to find out more. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."
Bonnie shook her head and corrected him, "My family came by way of Salem."
Stefan's eyes widened slightly. "Really? Salem witches?"
"Yeah," Bonnie laughed nervously.
"I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan agreed with Lucy's earlier statement, looking impressed. Lucy smiled in return.
"Really?" Bonnie was surprised. "Why?"
"Salem witches are…heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity," Stefan explained carefully. Lucy could tell he didn't want to offend Bonnie with his opinion, even if he had the right one. It was really sweet the way he related to Bonnie and was respectful of her heritage.
Bonnie smiled proudly. "Yeah, they are."
The doorbell rang once again, making Lucy and Elena look at each other curiously. As far as they knew, no one else was coming; Jenna and Joel were at Whitmore partying and Jeremy was upstairs playing video games.
"I wonder who that could be," Elena sighed and turned to Lucy. "It's your turn."
Lucy gaped at her. "Uh, no," she disagreed. "It's Jeremy's turn and you know it."
They, of course, were referring to the order in which the Gilbert siblings answered the door. Ever since they were little, Joel, Elena, Lucy, and Jeremy fought over who would answer the door; Joel went first, because he was oldest, followed by Elena. Lucy would have been third in line, but she hated answering the door, so she gave her spot to Jeremy, who took it happily. It was a silly little thing, but for some reason, it stuck.
"Jeremy's not here," Elena pointed out with a smirk. "Chop, chop, Lulu, the door awaits."
Lucy scowled. "I hate you."
"Love you, too, Lucy Goosey."
Lucy glared at her sister and stood from her seat, heading straight to the front door. She opened it up and faltered when she came face-to-face with Caroline and Damon. She had totally forgotten that she had invited Caroline over for dessert.
"Hey, Luce!" Caroline greeted her happily. She held up what looked to be a coconut cake. "We brought your favorite for dessert."
"Wow, Care," Lucy shuffled to the side so Caroline could step into the house. "Thanks."
"Never pegged you for a coconut kind of girl," Damon commented, staying outside the threshold.
Lucy gave him a strange look; she couldn't even begin to know what he meant by that. Caroline distracted her by handing her the cake, so she hadn't noticed when Stefan approached the door, sending daggers at his brother with his forest-green eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he asked his brother scathingly. His harsh tone caught Lucy's attention and made Elena, who had followed Stefan to the door, raise her eyebrows.
"Waiting for Lucy or Elena to invite me in," Damon answered casually.
"Oh, yeah, you can—"
"No, no, no," Stefan cut Lucy off hurriedly. "He can't, uh, he can't stay. Can you, Damon?"
Damon narrowed his eyes at Stefan's hard look. Caroline huffed from behind Lucy, impatient.
"Get in here," she demanded.
"We're just finishing up," Stefan excused.
His eyes met Lucy's and something in them made her pause. For some reason, he really didn't want Damon in the house. He was so urgent about it, like his brother was dangerous to her or her family. It was odd, but she trusted Stefan. He wouldn't be objecting so much if he wasn't serious.
Stefan didn't want Lucy inviting Damon in, so she wasn't going to. She nodded slightly, silently telling Stefan that she wasn't going to let his brother in, even if she didn't know why. Damon saw the exchange and narrowed his eyes in irritation; Elena didn't see it at all.
"It's fine," she declared. "Come on in, Damon."
Damon sent a triumphant smirk at Stefan, making Lucy confused. Apparently Elena nor Caroline had seen Damon's smile, because they went on like nothing happened.
"You have a beautiful home, girls," he complimented as he stepped over the threshold, looking around the foyer.
"Thank you," Elena said politely.
Elena took the cake from Lucy's hands and ushered Caroline and Damon out of the foyer. Lucy lingered next to Stefan, giving him the same questioning look.
"What's going on?" she quietly whispered to him. "Why didn't you want me to invite your brother in? Is he dangerous? Is he a creep? Oh, my God, he's with Elena right now!"
"Lucy," Stefan interrupted Lucy's increasingly anxious ramble, well aware that Damon could hear every word said. He placed his hands on her dainty shoulders, squeezing them comfortingly. To her shock, Lucy calmed down almost immediately, which was a hard feat. "Everything's going to be okay. Damon's not a creep."
It was too late to realize his mistake of not assuring her that Damon was dangerous; Lucy picked up on it right away.
"So, he is dangerous!" she gasped nervously.
"No, no, no," Stefan lied, trying to do damage control. It would be better if Lucy didn't know exactly how dangerous Damon was. She was already on Damon's hit list, if she knew more, she'd be dead within the day. "Damon's not gonna hurt anyone, okay?"
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him; Stefan rarely lied to her, but the one time he did—when they were in gym class and he told her she was doing a push-up correctly—he couldn't look her in the eyes. He wasn't looking her in the eyes right now, which meant that he wasn't telling her the truth.
Stefan's lie scared her; Damon was dangerous and he could hurt the people she loved. She didn't know how dangerous he was, but it was enough that Stefan lied about it. Her friend was an honest person and Lucy was sure he was lying to protect her.
Lucy was prone to panicking and said dumb things sometimes, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that it was for the best that she kept calm and acted like Damon wasn't a danger to her or her friends and family. So, for now, she'd go along with Stefan's lie.
From the quick, frantic beating of Lucy's heart, Stefan knew she could see through his lie. Instead of saying anything else (if anything more was said, Damon would know that Lucy knew something), he silently begged her to keep quiet with his eyes. Lucy took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.
Stefan sighed in relief and squeezed her shoulders once more before letting go, letting his hands lay casually at his side.
"Come on," Lucy said loudly; Stefan snickered, knowing that she was loud for the benefit of the others. "Coconut cake is my favorite."
Lucy and Stefan joined the others in the living room where they sat waiting for them. Elena had been thoughtful and cut Lucy a piece of cake, while the others were sipping coffee. Stefan took a seat on the couch next to Elena, while Lucy plopped down on the floor by the coffee table, right next to Bonnie's feet.
"I can't believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline said perkily as Stefan got comfortable. "Tyler must be seething. But good for you, go for it."
"That's what I always tell him," Damon commented, smirking at Stefan. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
Lucy shoved a piece of cake in her mouth, chewing slowly. It was interesting to see Damon act so casually. If Lucy hadn't been so observant, she wouldn't have known that he was probably being insincere.
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today," Caroline sighed. She caught Elena's frown and added, "It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."
"I'll work with her," Lucy spoke up, smiling at Elena, who gave her a grateful look. "She'll get it."
"I guess we could put her in the back," Caroline said thoughtfully, mentally changing up the formation that she and Lucy created.
Lucy rolled her eyes; she knew Caroline wasn't purposely being mean, but sometimes she couldn't read a room. She was the type of person that changed her personality to fit with whoever she was with at the time. Lucy loved her anyway because when Caroline was herself, she was great.
"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon said, looking over at her.
Lucy bristled, offended by Damon's tone, but Caroline spoke first.
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died," she said carelessly. "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun."
"Caroline," Lucy hissed warningly.
Caroline immediately grimaced, her head catching up with her mouth. "I say that with complete sensitivity," she said, giving both Elena and Lucy apologetic looks.
"I'm sorry, girls. I know what it's like to lose both your parents," Damon sympathized. "In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."
"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan looked like he was uncomfortable, but also annoyed with Damon's words.
Damon's voice was apologetical, but almost too much; he was clearly putting on a show. "Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry," he grimaced. "The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up."
There was an awkward silence at Damon's words. It was clear that he wanted to make his brother uncomfortable, but Lucy realized that he may have more than one ulterior motive when Elena got up, looking upset, and declared that she was going to do the dishes. The look on the older man's face was almost triumphant.
After Elena went in the kitchen and Bonnie excused herself to the restroom, Damon took his leave, holding a wine glass for Elena to wash. This left Lucy, Stefan, and Caroline to chat, and while Lucy was a little irritated with her best friend, she always liked to spend time with her.
"So, how was practice?" Lucy asked Stefan, curious about his try-outs since she wasn't able to watch them. "Did the team give you a hard time?"
Stefan shrugged nonchalantly. "It wasn't bad," he admitted. "It was clear Tyler doesn't want me around and I think Matt's on the fence."
"He's just trying to move on from Elena," Caroline stated in Matt's defense. "He's having a hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's firsts. You know, like, from the sand box."
Lucy hoped that Stefan wouldn't take any offense to what Caroline said, but he surprised her. He smiled politely and pointed to the scarf wrapped around Caroline's neck.
"That's a really nice scarf," he said knowingly.
Caroline hummed. "Thank you, it's new."
"Can I see it?" Stefan asked, ignoring Lucy's questioning looks. He scooted down the couch to be closer to Caroline. "I mean, would you mind taking it off?"
"Oh, I can't."
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows at Caroline's answer; why on earth wouldn't she be able to take off her scarf?
"Why not, are you okay?" Stefan asked worriedly.
"Um," Caroline looked to be lost in thought, leaving Lucy to wonder what was going on with her best friend. "All I know is that I can't take it off."
"What are you three kids talking about?" Damon's voice echoed through the room as he walked over to Lucy, Caroline, and Stefan.
"I was just commenting on her scarf," Stefan answered, setting his knowing eyes on his brother, who sat on the arm of the chair Caroline was sitting in.
"Hmm," Damon nodded. He tapped Caroline on the shoulder, making her look up at him. "Hey, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?"
Caroline scoffed. "Does it look like I do dishes?" she giggled and looked over at Lucy, who smiled, amused.
"For me?" Damon pushed.
"Hmm," Caroline pretended to think about it. "I don't think so."
Lucy watched as the polite smile on Damon's face disappeared, an irritated look replacing it. He grabbed Caroline's chin and looked into her eyes. "Go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen."
To Lucy's disbelief, Caroline perked up and looked at her and Stefan. "You know what? I'm gonna go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen."
"What?" Lucy asked, astonished, as Caroline hopped up from her chair and bounced from the room. She looked at Damon, mouth open in shock. How on earth did he just make Caroline listen to him? What was he doing to her? "What the hell?"
Damon sighed and stood up, slowly walking over to Lucy. "Don't worry, sweetheart—"
Stefan was instantly on guard, interrupting his brother. "Damon, don't."
"Don't worry," Damon ignored Stefan and reached down, forcefully pulling Lucy to her feet. She gasped in fright, her heart speeding up anxiously. "I'm just gonna make her forget," his eyes dilated as he looked into Lucy's hazel gaze, compelling her, "Forget what just happened. Go up to bed and don't come down until the morning."
Lucy gazed at Damon for a second, her mind completely blank. When Damon let go of her, Lucy turned to Stefan with a smile. "I'm going up to bed. See you tomorrow!"
She shuffled out of the living room and up the stairs as if she was on autopilot. Damon and Stefan listened for her door to close before turning to each other.
Stefan gave his brother an angry look. "They are people, Damon. Lucy and Caroline are not puppets. Caroline doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."
"Sure she does. They all do," Damon disagreed, set in his views of humans. "They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking."
Stefan clenched his jaw, so incredibly frustrated with his brother. "All right, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to me and Elena, you scared Lucy. Good for you. Now it's time for you to go."
Damon smiled. "That's not a problem. Because…" he paused to smirk at Stefan. "I've been invited in and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader and her sister whatever I want to do. Because that is what's normal to me."
Upstairs, Lucy paused while changing into her pajamas. She looked around, confused on how she got to her bedroom. And then she remembered; Damon had told her to go to bed and stay there until morning and she did as he said. He also told her to forget what he had done to Caroline and she did forget for a moment, but now she remembered.
Lucy frantically pulled on a sweatshirt, her breaths coming out as frightened gasps. Something was up with Damon; he had the power of mind control for crying out loud. Stefan knew about it and he let his brother do it to her and Caroline.
She was scared, she was so scared and she didn't know what to do. So, she did what she used to do when she was little and she thought there was a monster hidden in her closet. She called her big brother for help.
Joel didn't say much to Lucy when she called him and she didn't know if it was because he didn't know how to react or if he was drunk. The only thing he said was to get some vervain and he was going to be coming home for the Founder's Ball the next week. So, Lucy tried to do what her brother told her, but all she saw online was how to grow vervain. She didn't have much time to dive deeper into Google to find out where it was sold, but she could try again after the football game. She didn't even understand why she needed vervain so badly, all she found as its uses was to combat depression and soothe the nervous system.
School let out early for the pep rally that was to be held before the first football game of the season, which gave Lucy plenty of time to get ready for the game. She went about her usual routine; showering, drying and curling her hair so she could pull it up into a high pony, and changing into her uniform.
When she arrived at the pep rally—courtesy of Bonnie, who went five miles under the speed limit just for Lucy—she was pulled away by Caroline, gushing over how excited she was. She was still wearing a scarf, for whatever reason.
"The bonfire is starting in an hour," Caroline informed her as they walked around, taking time to chat with some of their classmates. "Tanner's giving a speech, so we need to round up the girls to make sure they're there."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Lucy said, giving her a teasing salute.
Caroline gave her an unimpressed look. "Ha-ha," she gave in and smiled, wrapping an arm around Lucy's shoulders. "You're more cheerful than usual."
"Things are starting to get back to normal," Lucy said, looking out over the crowd of football fans who showed up early. "This—the football games, cheer uniforms, drunk stoners making fun of us under the bleachers? This is familiar," she smiled at Caroline. "Besides, you know how much my mom and dad loved Football Fridays. This makes me feel closer to them somehow."
Caroline smiled back and squeezed Lucy's shoulders. "I love you, Lucy-Goosey."
Lucy laughed. "And I love you, Carebear."
"Of course you do…why isn't Elena wearing her uniform?" Caroline asked, her voice hardening as she spotted Stefan and Elena talking in the distance, Elena's cheer uniform no where to be found.
Lucy raised her eyebrows in surprise; she had no idea why Elena had chosen not to show up in uniform. Elena hadn't told her anything, but she assumed that her sister quit the team. Maybe it was because her heart wasn't in it anymore, in which case, Lucy supported her. You shouldn't do things that make you unhappy.
"I don't know…" she trailed off, watching as Stefan walked away from Elena.
"Well, I'm going over there," Caroline proclaimed. "Can you start gathering the girls?"
Caroline walked off without listening for Lucy's agreement, but Lucy didn't mind. The last thing she wanted to do was get in between one of Caroline and Elena's disagreements, which could blow up sometimes.
She looked around the ever-thickening crowd, trying to spot Bonnie so she could help round up the girls. However, Bonnie was being elusive. She turned around to keep looking, only to jump in shock when she came face-to-face with Stefan.
"Hey," she breathed, her heart jumping in a mixture of fear and shock. Sure, Stefan hadn't done anything to her the previous night, but he hadn't stopped Damon from using his freaky Jedi mind powers on her, either.
Stefan furrowed his eyebrows in concern, hearing her heart tick quickly and unsteadily. "You okay?" he asked, placing a comforting hand on her underdeveloped bicep.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered quickly, forcing a bright smile. "I'm good, really good. So good."
Stefan didn't believe her, but he let it go. "That's good," he smiled, playfully mocking her. She rolled her eyes at him, amused. "I got you something."
Lucy looked at Stefan, surprised, as he dug into his jean pocket and pulled out a small, velvet drawstring bag. "Stefan, my birthday is in December…"
"Yeah, I know," he rolled his eyes and pulled a dainty, platinum cuff out of the bag. He showed it to her and added, "It's like a friendship bracelet."
Lucy took her eyes off the large opal nestled into the center of the bracelet, looking back at Stefan. "One, that looks really expensive. Two, I don't have a bracelet to give to you."
"Lucy, you can make it up to me," Stefan said, slightly exasperated by her stubbornness. "Are you gonna wear this token of my friendship or not?"
Lucy pursed her lips and grabbed the bracelet from him, sliding it on her wrist with little difficulty. "Do you give all your friends such expensive jewelry?" she wondered, twisting her wrist slightly so the fading sun could glint off the shiny platinum.
"Well, considering that I have exactly one friend, yes," Stefan nodded, a smirk on his lips. "Maybe you were right, I should make some more."
"Nope!" Lucy declared, her dimples popping out from her bright smile. She had forgotten her earlier fear; Stefan's presence was enough to calm her. "I can't share you with any others. I want all the presents!"
Stefan chuckled, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous."
"No, I'm your best friend," she sang teasingly before becoming serious. "Thank you, Stefan. The bracelet is really beautiful. I'll go shopping for your bracelet as soon as I have the time."
"You're welcome," Stefan smiled warmly and glanced at his watch. "I have to go, the rally's starting soon."
Lucy's eyes widened, forcefully grabbing his wrist, ignoring his protests, and looked at his watch. She winced at the time. "I was supposed to get Bonnie and the girls."
"Wow, so irresponsible," Stefan shook his head mockingly.
"Whatever," she pushed him slightly. "Good luck, Salvatore."
"Break a leg, Gilbert."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Mr. Tanner yelled into the microphone, trying to be heard over the drumline, cheerleaders, and loud students. They all gathered around the large bonfire where a dummy wearing the opposing team's jersey was being burnt. "Let's be honest here, in the past we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!"
The crowd booed and Lucy did too, being overly dramatic with Caroline and Bonnie.
"But that is about to change!" Tanner declared; the crowd cheered again, Lucy ruffling her pom-poms together in excitement. "Tonight, we've got some great new talent starting on the offensive line. I'm gonna tell you right now, it has been a long time since I have seen a kid like this with hands like these," he gestured over to Stefan. "Give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"
The crowd went wild; Lucy and the cheerleaders cheered Stefan's name while Stefan himself was patted on the back by some of his teammates.
"To all the people who have been waiting for us to put a check in the win column, I have only one thing to say to you," Tanner said ominously, a large smirk on his face. "Your Timberwolves are hungry!"
Caroline led Lucy and the others in a 'Go, fight, win' cheer, the chants getting louder and louder as the crowd joined in. Lucy's body was thrumming in excitement; it had been so long since she had fun like this.
And then the cheers died down, making the sound of screams and grunts noticeable. Lucy looked around in confusion and saw Stefan slip out of the crowd, heading toward the parking lot. She followed his movements, eyes widening when she spotted Jeremy and Tyler engaged in a nasty-looking fight.
"Jeremy," she breathed under her breath, taking off toward the chaos.
The closer she got, the more she saw; Jeremy and Tyler were rolling around on the ground, punching each other senseless and Vicki was watching with tears streaming down her face, screaming for them to stop. Lucy caught up to Stefan quickly and went to pass him to get to her little brother, but he grabbed her waist, pulling her out of the way.
"Let me handle this," he said before she could protest.
"Tyler, stop it!" Vicki cried, catching Lucy's attention. "Stop, you're hurting him!"
Lucy looked back at her brawling brother just as Tyler tackled him to the ground again, punching him fiercely. Hot anger bubbled in her stomach and she leapt forward, ready to tear Tyler a new one for even looking at her brother the wrong way.
"TYLER—"
Stefan pushed Lucy out of the way again and rushed over to Tyler and Jeremy. "Hey, he's down!" he shouted at Tyler. "Enough!"
Stefan grabbed Tyler's outstretched fist, preventing him from striking Jeremy again. Tyler angrily glared at him and stood up, throwing a bloody fist right into Stefan's abdomen. Stefan didn't even flinch, causing Tyler—and even Lucy—to look at him in confusion.
"Jeremy, no!"
Elena's scream got Stefan's attention; he looked over Tyler's shoulder and saw that Jeremy had picked up a broken piece of glass and was marching over to Tyler, a furiously determined look on his face. Stefan pushed Tyler away just as Jeremy swiped, cutting Stefan's palm straight through.
"Jeremy!" Lucy ran toward her brother at the same time as Elena, both of them ushering him away from the crowd that had gathered to see the outcome of the fight.
"What the fuck was that, Jeremy?" Elena asked harshly.
Lucy rolled her eyes and grabbed Jeremy's chin, lifting his head with a little force, since he was fighting her so much. "Put your head up, Jere," she said firmly. "you're bleeding."
Jeremy pushed Lucy's hands away. "I'm fine!"
"Yeah, you smell fine," Elena retorted, wrinkling her nose at the heavy smell of alcohol wafting from her brother.
"Just stop!" Lucy glared at both Elena and Jeremy. "Lena, go tell Caroline that I need to help Jeremy, okay? I'll be there in time for kick-off," when Elena nodded, she looked to Jeremy. "Come on, I have a kit in my bag."
Jeremy scowled at Elena as she left and obediently followed Lucy to the girls' locker room where the cheerleaders stashed their bags during the game. Lucy set Jeremy on one of the benches and grabbed her bag, easily finding the small first aid kit within.
Lucy sighed and looked at Jeremy, grabbing some pieces of gauze and alcohol wipes. "Are you okay?" she asked, ripping open a wipe. She pulled it out and started dabbing at the cut by Jeremy's eyebrow. He winced, making Lucy sigh, "I know it stings."
"I'm fine," Jeremy muttered, clearly still angry.
"Look," she gave her brother a firm, yet sympathetic look. "I'm not going to lecture you, all right? I think Elena does that enough for the whole family. It's just…I want you to know you're not alone. I'm here if you need me."
Jeremy didn't say anything but his glare softened and he sat still, letting Lucy tend to his wounds. It only took fifteen minutes to get his cut to stop bleeding and to clean it. She was about to put a bandage on Jeremy's forehead when loud yelling got their attention.
Lucy stood up, handing the bandage to Jeremy. "Put this on. I'll go see what's going on."
When she walked out of the locker room, she had been expecting some drunk classmates fooling around. She didn't expect to see Matt, yelling for help while standing over Mr. Tanner's dead body.