[1x04; Family Ties]
"I can confirm that a twelve-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed," Sheriff Liz Forbes stated into the microphone held out to her by Logan Fell. "The hunter is in stable condition."
"To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught," Logan Fell reported.
"Scum ball," Jenna muttered angrily as she stood next to the dining table, glaring fiercely at the television. "Scum bucket."
Lucy rolled her eyes at her aunt as Elena walked into the room, a piece of toast held loosely in her hand.
"Who are you talking to?" she asked Jenna, taking a bite of her breakfast.
"Him," Jenna gestured to the TV where Logan was still giving his report. "The news guy, also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell."
Lucy giggled at Jenna's hostility, ignoring the glare her aunt sent her way. "Did Mom ever tell you why Aunt Jenna moved away from Mystic Falls?"
"Oh, no way," Elena chuckled, understanding the situation right away. "You and him? He's cute."
Jenna looked offended at Elena's comment. "He is not cute," she disagreed strongly, glaring once again at the image of her ex-boyfriend on the screen and turning off the TV. "There's nothing cute about him."
"Uh-huh," Elena scoffed and sat down next to Lucy, looking over the box of antique jewelry that came from the Gilbert family safe deposit box in front of her. "What are you doing with that?"
"Yesterday, I went and got it from the safe deposit box," Lucy informed her sister, finishing up her task of polishing the pocket watch in her hands. "Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the Founder's Committee for their heritage display."
Jenna walked closer to her nieces, leaning in between them to get a closer look. She picked up one of the rings, peering at it closely. "Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?"
Lucy shook her head. "Originally it was Great-Great-Grandma Mary's wedding ring."
Jenna made an impressed face and set the ring back in the box. At that moment, Jeremy walked into the room, looking interestedly at the pocket watch Lucy had just set down.
"How much do you think this stuff is worth?" he wondered, picking it up. "You know, like on E-bay?"
Elena frowned and grabbed the watch from him. "You're not gonna find out."
"That stuff is Mom and Dad's," Jeremy protested. "You can't just give it away."
Lucy sighed, taking the watch from Elena and putting it back in the box. "We're not giving it away, Jere. We're loaning it. Loan."
The doorbell rang, cutting off whatever argument was brewing between the Gilbert siblings. Elena smiled happily, knowing exactly who it was, and bounced over to the door, swinging it open. Lucy, Jenna, and Jeremy didn't plan on seeing her again for half the day.
Jeremy calmed down slightly once Elena left the room, allowing him to actually sit at the table and eat breakfast. He and Jenna listened intently as Lucy explained each antique and its significance to the Gilbert family—she was kind of a nerd about that kind of stuff.
Lucy was explaining the last antique, an emerald brooch belonging to their ancestor, Samantha, when the front door opened again. Casual footsteps loomed closer before Joel appeared in the doorway, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hello, family!" he greeted them cheerfully. "It is I, the greatest Gilbert!"
"Hello, Greatest Gilbert," Lucy, Jeremy, and Jenna chorused, all smiling at the sight of Joel.
"What are you doing here?" Jenna wondered, an eyebrow raised. "Don't you have a test on Monday?"
Joel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother, I do," he shrugged. "I can study while I'm here. I didn't want to miss the Founder's Ball."
"Because there's free booze," Lucy interjected, winking at Joel.
In all seriousness, she was very happy to see her older brother. It'd been a week since her phone call with him about Damon and Mr. Tanner's death. She needed answers about Damon's mind powers and it seemed like Joel knew what was going on.
"Of course, it's because there's free booze," Joel laughed. "Lulu, could you help me bring my bags upstairs?" he gave her a knowing look, silently telling her to follow him.
"Sure," Lucy agreed. She stood up and grabbed the duffel bag from him. "You have more than one bag?"
"I'm a stylish young man, Lucy-Goosey. What did you expect?"
The two siblings walked out of the dining room, stopping in the foyer to grab Joel's other bag, which was actually just a laptop case. It didn't bother Lucy; she knew that he didn't really need help, he just wanted to speak with her in private.
"Where's Lenabug?" Joel asked as they walked down the hall to his room which was on the other side of his and Lucy's shared bathroom.
"In her room with Stefan," Lucy told him casually. "She thinks we don't know he's in there, but we're not oblivious."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about Lena's new boytoy," Joel opened the door to his room and set his laptop case on his bed. He abruptly turned around and headed out of the room, strolling over to Elena's door and pounding it with his fist.
"Joel, what the hell are you doing?" Lucy hissed, hovering behind him.
"Being a protective older brother who gives the new boyfriend a hard time," Joel answered indifferently. The door opened abruptly and he gave Elena an innocent smile.
"Joel?"
"Hello, dearest Elena, I heard there's a boy in your room," Joel greeted her cheerfully.
Elena's surprised gaze turned to a glare as she looked from Joel to Lucy. Lucy shrugged apologetically. Joel took the opportunity to push past Elena, seeing Stefan standing casually by the window seat.
"Hello," Stefan said politely, walking forward and holding out his hand for Joel to shake. "You must be Joel. I'm Stefan Salvatore."
Joel's gaze hardened slightly as he shook Stefan's hand, much to Lucy's confusion. Maybe it was because he was Elena's boyfriend or maybe it was because Damon did his mind thing to Lucy. Either way, Joel was nailing his role of the protector.
"Nice to meet you, Stefan," Joel said coolly. "Salvatore, huh? Founding family…how old are you, again?"
"Joel!" Elena hissed, embarrassed.
Stefan, however, didn't seem nervous. "Seventeen."
Joel nodded, seeming satisfied. "Well, I'll let you two get back to whatever you were doing. Lulu and I are going out."
"We are?" Joel hadn't mentioned that.
Joel gave her an annoyed look. "Yes," he turned back to Stefan and Elena. "Use protection, you two."
"Joel!"
Lucy giggled as her older brother pulled her out of the room, leaving a mortified Elena and Stefan behind. All too soon, however, her forearm—where Joel grabbed—started to tingle. Joel abruptly let go of her, hissing in pain.
"Sorry," Lucy mumbled in distress, all humor gone from her voice. "I keep doing that to people, I don't know why."
"I know," Joel gave her a sympathetic look as they went back downstairs. He grabbed his keys out of the bowl in the foyer and called out for Jenna's benefit, "Lucy and I are going out!"
"Okay!" Jenna called back from the living room.
They left the house and headed straight to Joel's truck, climbing in. Once they were settled, seatbelts clicked into place, Lucy turned to Joel curiously.
"How did you know that's been happening to me?"
Joel didn't look at her as he pulled away from the curb. "We've got a lot to talk about, Lou."
Steven's Quarry wasn't a popular spot to hang out, but it was beautiful. The water was practically crystal clear and it was nice and quiet; a perfect place to talk. Joel and Lucy came here often when they were growing up—Lucy was closer to her brothers than with Elena, but she had a special bond with Joel. As a result, they spent many hours bonding with the quarry as a backdrop.
The siblings sat down on a large boulder by the edge of the water, the place where they usually sat. Lucy waited as Joel gathered his thoughts, his lips pursed thoughtfully. Finally, after a quiet five minutes, he began.
"You know how Mom always gave you speeches about the founding families and how they were so important?" he asked, looking over at Lucy.
Lucy nodded. "She said that they have very important roles in the community, some of which aren't often appreciated."
"Exactly," Joel's lips twitched. "Well, one of those roles is what's called the Founder's Council."
"Mom never told me about that."
"She wouldn't have," Joel said. "The Founder's Council is extremely private, only a few people know about it."
"How come you know about it?" Lucy wondered.
"Because I'm over eighteen and Dad told me," Joel smirked bitterly. "I'm supposed to join as the Gilbert representative since Mom and Dad died, but I figured Uncle John could cover for me."
Lucy bit her lip, wondering why Joel seemed so bitter about the council. "Why are they kept a secret?"
Joel looked back at Lucy, his eyes somewhat stern, which freaked Lucy out. Joel was always laid back and usually never took anything seriously. He was your standard goofy older brother.
"What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone who's not involved, okay?" he said seriously. "Promise me, Lucy."
"I promise," Lucy's voice was shaky, nervous about what Joel would reveal.
Joel exhaled sharply. "The Founder's Council was formed in the 1860s to hunt vampires."
Lucy's mind went blank with shock. She couldn't even begin to—she couldn't believe—what was—
"What?" she spluttered, voice high. "Seriously?"
"I'm serious, Luce," Joel's expression made her stiffen; it was open and honest, no trace of a lie. "Vampires exist."
"You're serious," she repeated, closing her eyes. "How—"
And so Joel told her everything. He told her of the vampire infestation of the 1860s and how the Founder's Council joined together and made a plan to get rid of them. How most vampires couldn't come out in daylight—they burst into flames—but some could with the help of an enchanted stone. How vampires had to have a healthy diet of blood, whether human or animal, to live comfortably. How vampires could move very fast, how vampires never aged, how vampires were killed—wooden stake to the heart was the easiest way. Most importantly, Joel told Lucy that vampires had the power of compulsion.
"As in—?" Was that what Damon did to her and Caroline?
"Damon's Jedi mind powers," Joel confirmed. "Damon and Stefan are vampires, Luce."
"No, no, no," she shook her head in denial.
Stefan was her friend; he was there for her on the night of the comet. He was nice to her and everyone he talked to. He was Elena's boyfriend. There was absolutely no way that Stefan Salvatore was a vampire.
And yet…
Elena told Lucy that she had seen Jeremy cut Stefan's hand with the broken bottle the night of the game, yet there was no wound afterward. He popped up out of nowhere at times, as though he had super-speed. And he sat there and let Damon compel Caroline and Lucy.
She couldn't believe this. She could see Damon being a vampire, as creepy and weird he seemed, but Stefan?
Joel could see the internal struggle on his sister's face. He felt bad, but she needed to know the truth, especially if she couldn't be compelled.
"If it makes you feel any better, I heard Stefan is one of the good ones," he offered sincerely.
Lucy looked at him, eyes narrowed. "How would you even know that, Joel?"
She nearly had a heart attack when he told her. Shocking blow after shocking blow came at her, stunning her into silence. She could have sworn she was going to pass out.
"Lucy?"
Joel's voice was warbled, like Lucy was underwater.
Lucy blinked once, twice. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I said I'm a vampire too."
Placing her head in her hands, Lucy groaned loudly. This was not happening; how on earth did her older brother become a vampire?
"It's complicated," Joel said sheepishly; Lucy didn't realize she asked that out loud.
"Uncomplicate it."
Joel started to explain the process of becoming a vampire; a human had to drink the blood of a vampire and if they died while the blood was still in their system, they'd wake up in transition. To complete the transition into a vampire, they had to feed on human blood or else they'd die within twenty-four hours.
"So, you died?" Lucy whispered, horrified tears springing to her eyes.
"Yes," Joel muttered, voice tinged with bitterness. "It was a couple days after Mom and Dad's funeral. Remember when I was in that binge drinking phase?" Lucy nodded and he went on, "I was drunk out of my mind at a bar. I pitched a fight with some guy, I honestly can't remember too much. Next thing I knew, this older woman came up to me and pulled me out of the bar. She gave me blood and snapped my neck. When I woke up, she was still there and the guy from the bar was laying next to me, bleeding heavily. I fed—" Joel paused, his tone heavy with guilt. "I didn't know what I was doing…"
"You weren't in control," Lucy didn't know much about vampires, but from the way Joel spoke, it was probably really hard to control themselves around blood. And she's read Twilight; it had to have some similarities, right?
"I killed him, though," Joel's voice broke and Lucy was saddened to see tears in his eyes. The sight made her own eyes tingle. "But that's not the worst of it all…all I can think about is how horrified and disgusted Mom and Dad would be if they were here."
"They wouldn't," Lucy said thickly, her eyes watery. "You know Mom and Dad loved you so much, Joel. Besides, you haven't changed. You're just as goofy and overprotective as usual."
Joel scoffed wetly and smiled weakly at her. "It's a vampire thing. Our emotions are magnified."
The siblings were quiet as their eyes dried and they calmed down. It was peaceful for a moment until more questions started flashing through Lucy's head. She settled with one.
"So the Founder's Council hunts vampires?"
"And other supernatural creatures."
Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "There are others?"
Joel nodded. "I'm not totally sure if werewolves exist, but witches, doppelgangers, and reincarnations do. And there's also siphoners."
Lucy recognized all of the creatures except the last one; she had never heard of a siphoner before. "What's a siphoner?"
"It's a type of witch or warlock that was born without the capability to perform magic. Instead, they're able siphon magic out of creatures, like vampires or witches, or magical items and use it themselves," Joel explained. "They're pretty rare but have the potential to be very powerful."
Lucy nodded thoughtfully.
"Lucy, remember how I said I knew what's been happening to you?"
Lucy nodded again.
Joel sighed. "The reason why it hurts when you touch me or when you touch Damon and Stefan is because you're a siphoner," he said gently, waiting for her reaction. "You can't control yourself yet, so you accidently absorb the magic from us."
Another bombshell. It felt like her heart would fall from her chest. Lucy just didn't understand; why was she, in particular, a siphoner? Why not Joel, Elena, or Jeremy? It didn't make sense…The fact that the tingling she felt whenever she touched the vampires finally made sense, but she felt so bad. She had hurt Joel and Damon; sure, it was unintentional, but she still did it.
She didn't want to hurt anyone. Not even weirdos like Damon Salvatore.
"Do you know how I can control it?" she asked Joel quietly.
"The witch I know, the one that spelled me this ring," Joel pointed to his daylight ring, the one Lucy had noticed on the first day of school. "She told me about what's happening to you. It's because your powers are just starting to manifest that you're siphoning on accident. She told me that you should talk to Sheila Bennett."
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, recognizing the name. "As in Bonnie's Grams?"
"Yes," Joel nodded. At Lucy's worried look, he continued, "I've already spoken to her, Luce. All you have to do is contact her. She said she'd be able to help you."
Lucy swallowed thickly; this was too much information for one day. However, she did want to control whatever was happening to her. Grams was going to be her only choice and it could be worse. She could have no one to help her.
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll call her."
Lucy spent the whole day before the Founder's Ball in her room, looking up everything she could find about vampires on Google. Joel visited her a few times, answering questions calmly, telling her what was fact or myth. And when she was done researching vampires, she went on to witches.
The search for information about witches was, frankly, more fascinating than vampires. The things that witches could do was awesome. If Bonnie was really a witch like she claimed, that meant that Bonnie was going to be a total witchy badass.
Unfortunately, there wasn't anything on siphoners. It was disappointing, but Joel had said that they were really rare. Hopefully Grams would be able to tell her more when they met up.
It was around two in the afternoon when she finally left her room to go downstairs. Bonnie, who happened to be Lucy's friend-date, had just arrived so that she, Lucy, and Elena could all get ready together. Lucy braced herself for the interaction; she was a horrible liar and she told Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena almost everything. There were hardly any secrets between them.
This was going to be one huge secret. Joel made her promise not to tell anyone; she couldn't even tell her sister that she was dating a however-old vampire. She could do it, though; Lucy Gilbert didn't break promises.
Lucy hauled her manicure kit onto the table in the dining room where Bonnie sat, allowing her to go through the many bottles of nail polish within.
"What color are you wearing?" Bonnie asked Lucy, digging through the bottles.
"Pale pink," Lucy answered, picking up an opalescent beige bottle and showing it to Bonnie. "I was thinking this."
Bonnie nodded in approval and looked over at Elena, who was gathering paper towels so they wouldn't make a mess. "How about you, Elena?"
"Uh, red and gold."
"All right," Bonnie picked up two bottles, comparing them. "So, Delicate Flower verses Naughty Vixen."
"Tough call," Elena grabbed another paper towel and walked over to the table. "Can we mix them?"
Bonnie grinned and pulled out cotton balls and nail polish remover from Lucy's kit. "Look at you, getting all pretty for your date," she said to Elena. "You seem happy-ish."
"I am-ish," Elena shrugged, sitting down next to Lucy. "'Tonight's gonna be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling us whatever it is you wanted to tell us as soon as you walked through the door."
Lucy raised her eyebrows and Bonnie avoided Elena's knowing gaze. "What if I tell you in the morning?" Bonnie said evasively. "I don't want to ruin the night."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Bonnie, out with it."
Bonnie sighed heavily, but gave in. "Okay, but it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed."
Lucy stiffened at the mention of Damon. She knew that she'd have to talk to Caroline about him as soon as she possibly could. She wouldn't tell Caroline about him being a vampire, but she had to let her best friend know that he was dangerous.
Elena nodded at Bonnie, wanting to know the gossip.
"Apparently, Stefan has a very interesting back story," Bonnie said lowly. "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend, Katherine?"
Lucy had heard that name before. From what Elena had told her, Katherine was an ex-girlfriend of Stefan's who also dated Damon. The whole thing led to the brothers' estrangement and Katherine eventually ended up dying in a fire.
"I know that they both dated her and that's why they have issues," Elena said, not seeing what this had to do with anything.
"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon," Bonnie recited what Caroline told her. "And that drove Stefan mad. He did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked and she turned against Damon."
Lucy quirked an eyebrow in disbelief. That just didn't sound like Stefan whatsoever. In fact, it sounded like Damon was telling his story subjectively. "That sounds like one person's side of the story," she spoke up. "meaning Damon's."
Elena agreed, "Yeah."
Bonnie shrugged. "I just wanted you guys to know."
"Anyway, his past relationships are none of my business," Elena declared.
Bonnie grimaced and opened the bottle of nail polish, starting on her thumb. "Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business."
Lucy gaped at her in shock while Elena got defensive. "Stefan is none of those things."
"Yeah?" Bonnie looked over at Elena earnestly. "How do you know?"
The clicking of Joel's tongue on the roof of his mouth was starting to annoy Lucy. He'd been doing it for the past ten minutes while he laid on her bed, fully dressed for the ball. Lucy could only take so much of the annoying noise before she slammed her eyeshadow brush down on her vanity and turned in her stool to glare at him.
Joel smiled coyly. "Oh, am I bothering you?"
"Yes," Lucy gritted through her teeth.
"Good, because I need you to hurry it up," he snapped his fingers impatiently. "I need your help to get in the Lockwood mansion."
Lucy frowned and went back to doing her eyeshadow. "Why?"
"Because vampires have to be invited into a place of residence, Lucy-Goosey."
Lucy sighed in realization; Joel had been acting pretty weird when he came home from the drinking binge after their parents' funeral. Now she knew it was because he hadn't yet been invited into the house.
"Yep," Joel nodded, acknowledging her sigh. "So, how's Caroline these days?"
"She's fine, I guess," Lucy sighed and finished up her eyes with a swipe of mascara. "I'm worried about her, though. She's in this weird relationship with Damon. I'm pretty sure he compelled her when he compelled me."
"Well, as soon as I get my hands on some vervain, I send it to you to give to her," Joel said, his eyebrows furrowed at the thought of Caroline's mind being messed with by Damon. "Who gave you that bracelet, by the way?"
Lucy glanced down at the bracelet Stefan gave her; she hadn't taken it off except for showers. "Stefan. Why?"
"I'm pretty sure it has vervain in the locket part," Joel informed her. "Good thing, too. From what you told me, compulsion works on you until you siphon the magic from it."
Lucy looked back down at the bracelet, smiling. This whole time she thought that Stefan didn't care if his brother had compelled her, but he did. He gave her the vervain bracelet to protect her.
It was really sweet of him.
"Yeah."
Joel didn't notice the dazedness of Lucy's voice. He continued, "I'll contact my witchy friend and see if she knows where we can get some for Caroline, Elena, Jeremy, and Jenna."
"Sounds goo—"
Lucy's bedroom door burst open, revealing an angry Elena in its wake. She glared at Joel as though he had murdered a precious puppy.
"Where is it?" she spat.
"Where's what?" Joel asked, bored. "You'll have to be specific."
"Don't joke with me, Joel," she scowled. "Mrs. Lockwood is freaking out because she can't find Dad's pocket watch. I saw you snooping around Mom's box before Tyler came to get it. Now, where's the watch?"
"Oh, I gave it to Jeremy."
"Why?" Lucy spoke up, confused. "We said we'd loan it for the heritage display."
"It's not yours to loan out," Joel said simply. "The watch goes to the first-born son to pass down through generations. It was mine, but since I have no desire to spawn children, I gave it to Jeremy."
It was silent for a moment before Elena burst. "Great!" she exclaimed. "Jere probably sold it for pot or something."
Lucy groaned. "Oh, come on, Elena," she shook her head. "Jeremy wouldn't do that."
But Elena was already storming out of the room, heading straight to Jeremy's across the hall. Lucy and Joel could hear the loud argument easily before Jeremy's door slammed shut.
Joel groaned and laid back on the bed. "That girl is a control freak."
"Just act casual," Joel said under his breath as he and Lucy approached the entrance to the Lockwood mansion. "Greet Mrs. Lockwood and if she's polite enough, she should invite us in."
"I know how conversations work," Lucy hissed at him.
"Really?" he smirked. "'Cause sometimes you have some trouble, Lulu."
"Shut up!"
Lucy and Joel, next in line to enter the mansion, stopped right at the threshold. Lucy planted a perky smile on her face and waved at Mrs. Lockwood, who noticed her right away.
"Lucy, you look absolutely beautiful!" she gushed, rushing over to give Lucy a short hug.
"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood," Lucy said politely. "I love your dress."
"Dear, please," Mrs. Lockwood rolled her eyes playfully. She addressed Joel then, looking happy to see him. "Joel, honey, how's college? Are you still majoring in computer science?"
"Yes, Mrs. Lockwood," Joel was the perfect picture of the polite oldest son of a founding family. "This party looks great."
"Thank you," Mrs. Lockwood beamed and waved them inside. "Please, come on in."
Joel smirked triumphantly as Mrs. Lockwood walked away to greet some more guests. Lucy walked through the door, not waiting to see if Joel could get through. She just assumed it was now possible, since Mrs. Lockwood said the magic words.
"You owe me some new paints for that," she told Joel, seeking payment for her services. "I have to find Bonnie."
Joel waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, go bother someone else."
Lucy found Bonnie easily and they quickly walked to the buffet, collecting random food to eat. That was one of the best things about the parties of Mystic Falls; there was always a good selection of food. After they ate, Lucy did the rounds, chatting with some of the ladies from the planning committee; it never hurt to suck up to the people in charge of the organization she was involved with.
Two times Lucy had to stop and check on Jenna. Logan Fell, her ex-boyfriend, was harassing her and Jenna kept plying on the alcohol to cope. She had to make Jenna drink a bottle of water at one point, but she was pretty sure Jenna went back to drinking as soon as she walked away.
It was when Lucy headed outside where the dancefloor was that she spotted Caroline. Her blonde best friend was standing by herself, sipping at a flute of golden champagne.
"Now what if your mom saw you drinking that?" Lucy asked, approaching Caroline.
Caroline scoffed. "Like she'd even notice," she shook her head and smiled at Lucy. "Look at you! All cute and stuff."
"What do you mean?" Lucy giggled, gesturing to Caroline's pretty blue dress. "You put everyone to shame."
"I mean…"
Both girls laughed together, enjoying each other's company. They hadn't spent that much time together since Caroline started…whatever it was with Damon.
"Have you seen my brother yet?" Lucy wondered with a smirk. "He was asking about you earlier."
"Oh, really?" Caroline smiled coyly. "Does Joel Gilbert finally want this?"
Lucy snorted. "Wow, Care, wow."
"It's a relevant question, Luce!"
"What's a relevant question?"
Lucy jumped at the sound of Stefan's voice, too caught up with conversing with Caroline. Stefan stood in front of them, dressed nicely in a dark suit, holding two glasses of champagne. He handed one to Caroline, who traded it with her old one.
"Now that's an irrelevant question," Caroline snorted, taking a sip of the new champagne.
Stefan smiled in amusement at Caroline's comment before looking at Lucy. "You look beautiful," he said, his smile softer.
"Thank you," Lucy mentally cursed herself when she felt her face warm up. "You look good in a suit."
"Thank you. Would you like to dance?"
"Yes, she would," Caroline interjected with a bright smile. "Lucy loves to dance. She's the team choreographer, you know."
"Really?" Stefan looked over at Lucy with raised eyebrows. "Well, now you have to."
He held out his hand for her and Lucy playfully rolled her eyes before grabbing it. She instantly regretted it, remembering what Joel had said about touching vampires. However, nothing happened when their hands touched. No tingling on her part, no pain on his.
Lucy was silent as they walked over to the small dancefloor. She didn't think Stefan noticed, but he did. As he readjusted his hand in hers an placed his other on her waist, he frowned.
"What's wrong?"
"Huh?" she saw he was frowning in concern. "Nothing, nothing."
She didn't understand; why was she not siphoning from him? He was a vampire, after all. But maybe it didn't happen with some vampires. Maybe he was doing some vampire-thing where he could shut her out.
God, she needed to stop thinking about vampires. That was literally all she could think about while absentmindedly dancing with Stefan. Stefan, who was a vampire. Stefan, who didn't even know she knew he was a vampire.
Oh, God, Stefan was a vampire.
She really shouldn't have been freaking out about it at this moment. She'd known for a whole day now that her new friend was technically a dead, blood-sucking creature. But seeing him in person for the first time since she found out…it must have shaken her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Stefan prodded, seeing the blank look in her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, of course, of course," Lucy nodded. Then her mouth started to move and she couldn't help herself from saying, "I mean, it's an everyday thing to be dancing with a vampire, right?"
She hadn't even realized what she said until she felt Stefan stiffen against her and plant his feet. She looked at him, confused, seeing his shocked forest-green eyes staring back at her.
"Why'd we stop?"
"Lucy, you just told me that you knew," Stefan said, his voice stern.
"What, no I didn't!" she laughed, very fakely. "Nice joke, Stefan. Ha-ha!"
Stefan, however, wasn't amused. "Yeah, you did. Lucy, how do you know?"
Lucy sighed, obviously the jig was up. Curse her stupid blabber mouth. "Look, I've been having some problems and I asked Joel about it. Long story short, he told me what you and your brother are."
"What—" Stefan shook his head, astounded that she was acting so casual about this. "Wait, what do you mean, you're having problems? Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah, of course," Lucy nodded, eyebrows furrowing. "I mean, I guess I can absorb magic from supernatural creatures. But other than that—"
"Really?" Stefan interrupted, intrigued. Was this what Damon was talking about when he touched Lucy? The pain he felt, was that Lucy taking the magic from him? "You can?"
Lucy nodded. "I just found out. I guess it's through touch. I'm having some trouble controlling it."
Stefan nodded thoughtfully; he was really concerned with this new piece of information. Lucy, for whatever reason, could absorb magic from vampires and she couldn't control it. If Damon found out…it would not be good. He just had to make sure that she and Damon couldn't touch. That's all…
"Wait, we're touching," Stefan pointed out to Lucy. "I don't feel anything."
"Yeah, I know," Lucy said as they stepped to the side, continuing their dance. Stefan pulled her away, giving her a quick twirl and pulling her back to his chest. "Do you have something to do with that?"
"I don't think so," Stefan murmured. "It's weird."
"Really weird," Lucy agreed.
The song they were dancing to eventually ended and Stefan and Lucy wandered off the dance floor and back over to Caroline. On the way there, Stefan picked up more champagne, handing one to Lucy.
"God, I love that song," Caroline sighed once they stopped next to her.
Lucy hummed in agreement and took a sip of the champagne, enjoying the way the bubbles tickled her throat. She really did like that song. It was meaningful to her since it was her parents' wedding song.
"What was it?" Stefan wondered. "I've never heard it before."
"'I Love the Way You Love Me,'" Caroline informed him. "Lucy used to play it on a constant loop."
"Peter Bates had just broken up with me!" Lucy defended herself.
"It's not a break-up song, Luce," Caroline snorted. Stefan silently agreed with her.
"Well, I know that, but it was the song my parents danced to at their wedding," Lucy mumbled, cheeks warming up. "And they loved each other so much, I just wanted to find someone who loved me like that."
"Aw, Lucy," Caroline cooed, wrapping an arm around Lucy's waist. "You were too good for that Peter kid anyway. What self-respecting eighth-grader drinks juice boxes?"
Lucy blinked at her. "I like juice boxes."
"Oh, honey…" Caroline sighed while Stefan snickered.
Lucy rolled her eyes and Stefan's laughter died off as his brother and Elena approached them, side-by-side.
"What'd we miss?" Damon asked casually.
"Oh, we were just chatting," Caroline perked up when she saw Damon.
Stefan nodded and held out the champagne in his hand to Damon. "Drink, Damon?"
Damon looked at the drink, his smirk faltering. "No, thanks, I'll pass."
Stefan simply smiled and slightly lifted his glass, as though he was silently toasting his brother.
Elena looked between the brothers and noticed the awkward silence their tension was creating. Lucy looked downright uncomfortable while Caroline was slightly fidgeting.
"Stefan," she spoke up, sending her boyfriend a sweet smile. "do you have another dance in you?"
Stefan smiled lovingly at her. "Absolutely."
Stefan held out the crook of his arm for Elena to take; she took it and they walked off to the dance floor. Still feeling uncomfortable in Damon's presence, Lucy quickly gave her excuses to Caroline and went to find Bonnie.
Lucy found Bonnie in the kitchen, snooping through the freezer.
"What are you doing?" she asked, making Bonnie jump and almost hit her head against a shelf.
Bonnie groaned and planted her sad eyes on Lucy. "I was looking for ice cream. I swear, the only desserts here are weird Jell-O molds filled with pineapples."
Lucy snorted. "That's gross. Who likes Jell-O?"
"Who likes pineapple?"
"Uh, lots of people, Bon!" Lucy was very serious about her fruits, especially the ones that go in cake. "Have you ever had an upside-down pineapple cake?"
"Pineapple hurts my mouth."
"Weak," Lucy faked coughed. Bonnie sent her a playful glare and turned back to the freezer, sighing in relief. She pulled out a tub of cookie dough ice cream. "Want some?"
"…yes."
Only ten minutes later saw Lucy finish her bowl of ice cream. Bonnie, bless her heart, had larger eyes than her stomach and scooped out too much for her. She had half a bowl left, but luckily, Elena came storming up to them and sat down. She took Lucy's spoon and dug into Bonnie's ice cream.
"You okay, Lenabug?" Lucy asked, wondering where this change of attitude came from. She seemed pretty happy with Stefan when Lucy left.
"Stefan," Elena growled around a spoonful of ice cream. "Katherine. Damon."
"…could you elaborate?"
"I tried talking to Stefan about Katherine. He wouldn't say anything and turned it on Damon," Elena sighed, a large frown marring her lips. "I stormed off."
"Um…" Lucy tried to think of something to say. "Maybe Stefan really doesn't want to talk about it?" when Elena looked at her in surprise, she continued, "I know you have good intentions, believe me, but from what you told me, his experience with Katherine wasn't the best."
"I know, I just…" Elena trailed off, shrugging.
"This is my fault," Bonnie declared, shoving more ice cream in her mouth. "I planted doubt. I'm a doubt planter."
"It's not your fault," Elena denied. "I just—I feel terrible because I said I wouldn't get in the middle of it and that's exactly what I did. I got all snotty."
The loud clacking of heels caught their attention and they looked up just as Mrs. Lockwood stopped in front of them.
"Lucy, Elena, there you are," she greeted them sweetly. "I notice the watch still isn't in the collection."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood," Elena lied smoothly, knowing that if Lucy said something, Mrs. Lockwood would know they were lying. "I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in our parents' stuff somewhere."
Mrs. Lockwood looked disappointed but gave them a polite smile anyway. "I see. Well, please let me know if you do find it."
"We will," Lucy forced a smile, finding it odd that Mrs. Lockwood was so adamant about the pocket watch.
Mrs. Lockwood smiled again and walked away, passing Caroline, who was walking toward them.
"Hey," Caroline chirped at the three girls before focusing on Lucy. "Will you come with me to the bathroom? I need to fix my hair and you're an expert on braids."
"Yeah, of course," Lucy agreed easily.
She waved at Bonnie and Elena before walking off with Caroline. The bathroom on the first floor was open to the public, so they went there. Luckily there were no lines and they had the room to themselves.
"Well, your braid looks fine," Lucy said, examining Caroline's hair.
"Yeah, I know, I just wanted you to come with me," Caroline said, somewhat meekly. "Damon's being rude and I didn't want to be alone."
Lucy's face softened at the vulnerability that Caroline was showing. "Are you okay, Care?" she asked softly. "Because you can tell me if you aren't. Are you doing okay with Damon?"
"Yeah, yeah, I just," Caroline waved her hand and focused on her reflection in the mirror, pulling out her lip gloss from her purse. "It's nothing."
Lucy frowned. "Are you—"
She was interrupted by the door opening and Elena walking into the room. Lucy acted like they weren't in the middle of an important discussion and turned to the mirror, fixing her hair.
"Hey," Elena greeted them, opening up her clutch to pull out her lip gloss.
"Hey," Caroline smiled at her. "So, how are things with Stefan?"
Elena hesitated and gave her a fake smile. "Great, just great."
"Really?" Caroline scoffed quietly. "Well, my radar must be off, 'cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes…"
Lucy sighed; she didn't want to get in the middle of another argument. "Caroline—" she paused when she turned to her best friend, seeing that her scarf had ridden up. There was a red mark just under it. "What is that?"
"Hmm?" Caroline glanced at Lucy, confused. Lucy responded by reaching for the scarf; Caroline flinched away. "Don't!"
Elena walked around Caroline to stand by Lucy, trying to see what was happening. Lucy took that second to quickly reach forward, pulling the scarf up more. In its place was a large bite mark.
She should have known.
"Oh, my God, Caroline, what happened?" Elena asked, horrified.
Caroline brushed Lucy's hands away from her. "Nothing, okay? It's nothing!"
"That is not nothing!" Elena snapped, concerned. "Did somebody hurt you?"
"No, okay, nothing," Caroline assured Elena, laughing awkwardly. She grabbed her lip gloss once again, leaning toward the mirror to put another layer on. "It's just, my mom would kill me."
Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes watering slightly. Damon bit her best friend and probably drank her blood. God knows if he bit her more than once! She reached for Caroline's eyelet-laced shawl and pulled it down; another bite mark was situated on her shoulder.
"Oh, my God, Care," Lucy hissed angrily. "I'm going to kill him."
"Him?" Elena echoed, looking over at Caroline in realization. "Caroline, did Damon hurt you?"
"No, of course not!" Caroline said sharply. When Elena went to look at the bites again, she flinched back and grabbed her things in a panic. "Just leave me alone, okay?"
Caroline stormed out of the bathroom and Lucy tried to keep up with her, not caring that Elena was left behind. All that mattered at the moment was getting Caroline away from Damon. However, once she was back into the thick of the party, Caroline was nowhere to be found.
Lucy spotted Damon out of the corner of her eye, but she decided not to confront him. A strong, immortal vampire against a teenage girl who could barely lift four bags of groceries? There was no competition; Lucy would most likely die.
Instead, she looked around for Joel. She knew that he would help her with the Damon-and-Caroline situation. It didn't take long for her to find her brother; he was chatting up the bartender, a charming smile on his face, which fell when he saw the look on Lucy's.
"What's wrong?" he asked, ushering her into a private corner.
"It's Caroline," Lucy said, her breathing heavy and panicked. She felt her chest tighten with guilt and tears sprung to her eyes. "I should have known the second you told me about Damon, but I didn't. And now, Caroline—" she hiccupped, tears trailing down her cheeks as she got worked up.
"Hey, hey," Joel said soothingly. "What's wrong with Caroline?"
"Damon's been feeding on her," Lucy cried, wiping her cheeks. "Joel, we have to help."
Joel's expression hardened and his eyes narrowed into slits. This was a look that Lucy had seen on her brother only two times before—he was furious. He turned away from Lucy, looking around the room faster than Lucy could.
He focused his hearing as hard as he could, trying to ignore the various voices, music, and dishes clinking to find Caroline. It took seconds but eventually he heard it; Caroline was whimpering, trying to explain herself to a furious Damon.
"Come on," he said to Lucy as he started walking in the direction he heard Caroline and Damon.
Lucy obediently followed, matching his pace as he started walking faster through the crowd. They made it out to the lard yard, way past the party, by the lake. It was hard to see since it was so dark, but Lucy could vaguely make out the silhouette of Caroline slumped over on the grass, a figure leering over her.
Joel sped away toward Caroline and Lucy followed as fast as she could. Joel, of course, got there first. He ripped Damon off the blonde and went beat the shit out of him, when Damon fell to the grass, coughing and groaning in pain. Lucy finally caught up, breathing heavily, and went straight to Caroline, kneeling next to her unconscious form.
Damon continued to choke on the ground while Joel watched, enjoying the pain the older vampire was in. His ears perked when he heard someone walking up to them. He turned, eyebrows raising in surprise as he saw Stefan approaching with a serious expression on his face.
"Stefan," Damon coughed weakly. "What'd you do to me?"
"I knew I couldn't spike your drink," Stefan said, looking down at his brother's writhing body. "So I spiked hers."
Damon groaned and fell back on the grass, falling unconscious under the heavily toxic influence of vervain. Stefan kneeled down and slid Damon's daylight ring off his finger, slipping it into his pocket. He picked up his brother and settled him over his shoulder before looking at Lucy—who was watching the exchange in surprise—and Joel.
"She should be okay," he offered before turning around and speeding away.
That left Lucy and Joel together, giving each other wide-eyed looks.
After five minutes of waiting, Caroline's head in her lap, Lucy began to wonder when her blonde best friend would wake up. She didn't have to wait long; Caroline shot up at once, gasping loudly as though she was having a nightmare.
"You're okay," Joel leapt forward and soothed Caroline as she took shaky, wet breaths. "You're safe, Caroline. You're safe."
"He—" Caroline couldn't finish whatever she was going to say, her sobs wracked through her body. "I—"
"Shh," Lucy cooed, hugging Caroline from behind. "It's going to be okay, Care. You're safe."
Lucy and Joel exchanged looks over Caroline's shaking body—they had to do something about Damon Salvatore.