Author's note: Happy Holidays, everyone! So, here's a little Christmas surprise! :D I've a little more free time for a little while, so I think I'll take the opportunity to update some stories here (I'm a bit more active on AO3, so if anyone's super-curious, please find me there - the stories are usually a bit further along!) I'm dipping my toe into publishing on two sites again, to see if I can swing it. Here's hoping! :) Without further ado, the next installment!

All main girls in my stories are awesome at math, to combat super-annoying stereotypes. :D

Flashbacks are in italics.

Late March 2009

Elena just finished assembling all the snacks and books for their study session. Anna finally agreed to come over and help her with History. She just seemed like such a natural ace, and Elena was hardly above average in that particular subject, if she had to be perfectly honest with herself. While Biology and English came relatively easy to her, and all four of the girls in their group were outright aces in Mathematics, History required a little extra work.

Though a part of her genuinely wondered if a lot of this had to do with Mr. Tanner's particularly vitriolic attitude. He seemed a classic bully - eager to not only dismiss his students' collective desire to learn, but their very sense of confidence, as well. At first, his precious football team was safe, but now it seemed that ridiculing the others wasn't enough. Even Matt felt the brunt of his harassment yesterday.

If only she knew enough about the subject to actually defend her friends. She didn't, but Anna did - and after her exemplary display of shutting Tanner down, Elena was fairly confident she'd found her teacher.

But Anna was so standoffish at times. It was so odd; at first, the transfer student seemed almost eager to join their group, but any time the conversation turned serious or hit a vulnerable topic - any time it felt like the girls would strengthen their bond - she unexpectedly pulled back and would practically disappear for days.

As it was, Elena was shocked Anna finally agreed to come over and tutor her. So, when the doorbell rang, she jumped out of her seat and practically ran downstairs, almost out of breath when she opened the door.

Anna greeted her with a knowing smirk. "Heart skipping a beat with anticipation to learn about dinosaurs willfully misinterpreting human rights, or are you just that eager to see me?"

"Can't it be both?" Elena grinned, her expression somewhat faltering when she saw that Anna made no move to actually come inside her house, leading her to furrow her brow in confusion. "Did you want to study outside?"

"I'd rather not," Anna shrugged. "I forgot to SPF today, and I'm afraid Caroline might kill me in my sleep for the transgression."

Elena laughed and affected a wry expression of her own. "Waiting for an invitation?"

If only you knew, Anna thought inwardly. "What can I say? I'm a lady of impeccable manners."

"Well, then!" Elena spun about and curtsied in an exaggerated display of courtly elegance, gesturing Anna inside. "I bid you welcome to my humble abode!"

There was an almost imperceptible change in the look on Anna's face as she stepped inside, gazing about the place with an expression akin to wonder. So, this was the Gilbert house. She could have scored an invitation ages ago, but her honestly harrowing experience with Elena's ancestor kept her still. These were proprietors of the Gilbert journals. What if they knew who she was?

Of course, the rational part of Anna dismissed this notion. Even if she was blatantly mentioned, these were clearly people who didn't take the matter seriously. Why else wouldn't they ensure that their children at least wear vervain, if not drink it? As she got closer to the girls, Anna grudgingly gave them vervain 'friendship bracelets,' which they were only too happy to accept, completely unaware of their true significance.

When did these relationships become so authentic that she saw them as people to protect rather than use?

"I have everything ready for a perfect study date!" Elena beamed as she led Anna upstairs to her room. "All your favorite snacks - I have string cheese, and Oreos, and those weird old lady strawberry hard candies you like so much," Elena added with a wrinkle in her nose. "Were you really close with your grandma or something?"

"Or something," Anna breathed absently, unable to keep her head from its swivel, half expecting a rogue vampire hunter to jump out at her. Finally, she forced herself to snap out of it. It didn't look like anyone else was home, anyway – maybe she'd even get to leave before the folks came home, after a good snoop, of course. Anna looked around Elena's room with a fond expression that she schooled under a smirk. "So many stuffed animals."

"Hey! Leave Gummi alone," Elena cried mock-defensively, scooping up her beloved bear protectively in her arms. "He's very sensitive."

"Gummi?" Anna grinned. "Like the fruit snack? Or the cartoon?"

"I was five, Anna!" Elena shot back in playful exasperation, leaning back on her bed to study her ceiling, littered with glow-in-the-dark stars. "This bear has seen things – experienced all the elations and ennui of a long life. Leave him be."

"Poetic," Anna snarked, before taking out her notebook and grabbing Elena's textbook.

A few hours later, all the snacks had been eaten, and Miranda Gilbert popped her head in to say hello.

"Hi girls! Studying hard?" asked a friendly woman in her early fifties. Elena told Anna that her parents couldn't conceive for a while, so having her and Jeremy follow in such quick succession was almost a miracle. There was an intelligent twinkle in her dark eyes as she studied Anna, who immediately stiffened. Did she know? "And this must be Anna! Hi, honey. I'm Miranda – Elena's mom," she greeted warmly, stepping into the room and taking a seat next to the girls on the bed. "Elena tells me you're quite the History wiz kid."

Anna's eyes immediately widened, as she fought to keep the very obvious anxiety off her face. "Hello, Mrs. Gilbert," she said shyly, deciding to instead channel all her wayward nerves into coy politeness. Maybe if she just appeared socially awkward? "Elena exaggerates. I just study a lot," she said with a nervous giggle, trying to downplay the compliment, in case a member of a notorious vampire hunter family made the connection between knowing history remarkably well and having an unnaturally long life.

But the woman just smiled warmly, squeezing Anna's shoulder affectionately. "School's very important. Elena could learn a thing or two from you," she said, before turning to Elena. "Getting on the honor roll in high school without studying properly may not be that hard for you, young lady – but you try that in college. It won't fly. You need to take Anna here as an example learn those skills now."

"Yes, mom," Elena said with an affectionate roll of her eyes, clearly having heard this speech at least a dozen times and no closer to actually implementing it.

"Teenagers," Miranda shook her head with a smile. "Like talking to a brick wall. It was nice to meet you, Anna!" she called on her way out.

"Okay, what was that?" Elena suddenly exclaimed as she rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up with her elbows, every micro and macro expression on her face just oozing with giddy curiosity. "Yes, Mrs. Gilbert; of course, Mrs. Gilbert," Elena mocked, mimicking Anna's nervous giggle, then recovered with a grin. "That was not the Anna I know!"

"Parents make me nervous!" Anna blanched, unable to think of a cleverer response, still in the throes of her anxiety.

Elena's face immediately dropped. "Oh no, I'm so sorry – I didn't think, I –"

"It's not because of that," Anna hastened to stop her before she started a self-recriminating mini-spiral that would totally ruin the mood. "I just don't like authority figures."

"Yeah, but you usually antagonize them," Elena smirked, fondly remembering last week's emotionally satisfying shut-down of that horrible jackass, Mr. Tanner. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny. "This was decidedly different."

Anna just shrugged. "Depends on my mood, I guess," she said, unwilling to elaborate further. Not yet anyway.

The hours seemed to roll by, and by the end of the study session during which the girls took entirely too many breaks, they ended up lying on a blanket in the backyard, and staring up at the actual night sky, as opposed to the photoluminescent parody of it on Elena's bedroom ceiling.

"Why do you think Tanner is so mean?" Elena asked, grabbing one of Anna's beloved 'granny candies' from the jar they smuggled outside.

"Because he's a tragically sad man who peaked in high school?" Anna retorted with a careless shrug. "And now he's taking his own inadequacies out on his students, who'll realize just how pathetic he is in a few years."

"And yet, you already know, oh wise one," Elena grinned.

"What can I say? I'm ahead of my time – a prodigy – or a 'wiz kid,' as your mom said," Anna replied with exaggerated importance, only to receive a pillow to the face from Elena as they both erupted in giggles.

September 2009

The therapist Elena had only managed to see for two weeks before quitting strongly recommended that she write down all her thoughts and lingering emotions, so she'd taken her journaling hobby in an entirely different direction. Her mom did give her the notebook to write in, after all – though she probably imagined something a bit more grand than the sad ramblings of a girl who felt completely hollow on the inside.

After the accident, what little was left of Elena's ambiversion hid deep inside, leaving her to seek out her own company most days. At least this way, she wouldn't have to fake it. Here, in the cemetery, she felt almost close to them – like their spirits could almost touch her, feel her, soothe her. She was alone and free from expectant and judgmental eyes who would at once scorn her for not crying enough at the funeral because she had been a shell of a human being at that point – too shocked, too numb to properly process emotion; and be aghast that she still hasn't bounced back some three months later.

She's too emotionless. She's too emotional. She smiles too little. She smiles too much. She's crying again. Why isn't she crying?

School was brutal today. She was so tired of playing pretend – wearing fake smiles that barely passed for authentic while feigning a scarcely held together facade of being okay.

It was all so exhausting. Constantly on display.

But here, she was alone. She could just be.

And she felt like they were with her. And maybe, with time, they'd even forgive her – for sneaking out that night, calling them, effectively killing them.

She turned to a new page in her diary, telling herself that her smiles would finally be real, when a corvid sat on her parents' grave and proceeded to call her attention.

"Okay," she replied flippantly to the very theatrical avian. "Hi, bird," she said offhandedly, unsure why it insisted on being so loud and dramatic, when a trail of fog suddenly wrapped all around her, as well. "That's not creepy at all," she mumbled to herself.

As the bird continued its cacophonous song, Elena's eyes widened in recognition, and she released an involuntary gasp.

"Doctor Kaw-Kaw?" Elena suddenly breathed, recalling a conversation with Anna a week prior.

"Oh, and Damon has this domesticated crow or raven or whatever. I think that follows him around, so if you see it, just text me or something. It means he's wandered off again," Anna mentioned at her best attempt to sound off-handed.

"Really?" Elena asked excitedly. "What an unusual pet. Does it have a name?"

Anna paused, a smirk ascending her face of its own volition. "Let me see if I remember," she said, trying to think of a suitably embarrassing name, an obnoxious grin manifesting as soon as she found the perfect one. "Doctor Kaw-Kaw."

"Like, the sound a corvid makes?" Elena asked entirely too charitably for Anna's liking.

"Yep. It also doubles as a poop joke. Damon thought it would be just the best wordplay."

"Ooh, like Mozart! He used to do stuff like that, too!" Elena beamed.

"Yeah, Damon's a regular Amadeus," Anna deadpanned, but inside, she was face-palming hard.

"Well, he was a child prodigy – so maybe this means that Damon's brain is healing. Maybe he'll even start to remember soon," Elena said hopefully.

"I don't think Mozart's scatological humor is the cause of his genius, Elena, no matter how optimistic you want to be about Damon's recovery," Anna snarked.

"Damon! Are you around?" Elena looked around frantically, grabbing her phone to send Anna a quick text per her instructions. Damon must have wandered off again, poor guy. When she finally found a figure standing in a field of fog much like that which surrounded her, she immediately headed in that direction. Her entire body was tense as she approached him; for all she knew, it could have been a serial killer. Anna told her that the town had a history of covering up so-called 'animal attacks.' But if Damon was truly in trouble, then she had to take the chance – for a sweet and innocent 12-year-old to wander in the cemetery, especially with a killer on the loose could prove to be incredibly dangerous. As such, her entire body sagged in relief when she saw that it was him. "Damon," she breathed, with clear affection both in her voice and facial expression, her eyes softening considerably as she took one of his hands in both of hers. "What are you doing here, all by yourself? Did you wander off again, you naughty little trouble-maker?" she teased him, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair in an effort to make him more comfortable, as she felt her heart breaking for him. She just couldn't believe that he lost all memories after the age of 12. His gaze certainly didn't seem childlike, she thought, watching him carefully. Maybe he was on the verge of making a recovery from his retrograde amnesia? She could only hope.

Damon just looked at her, clearly bewildered by her odd behavior as his lips curved into the beginnings of a smirk seemingly of their own volition. "What?" He immediately realized that something was amiss, but what? Clearly Anna thought she was being clever.

"Don't worry. Anna and I will help you find your mom, I promise," she soothed, squeezing his hand and bringing it closer to her heart, then let her smile widen as her tone affected an elevated lilt, as though she were talking to a particularly precocious child. "You're lucky you have Doctor Kaw-Kaw over there to watch out for you," she said playfully, gesturing to his familiar with her head, without taking her eyes off Damon. "It's the only way I knew to look for you."

"Doctor …Kaw-Kaw?" Damon repeated with a shake of his head and a sardonic laugh that he couldn't quite contain. He had to give Anna credit – she certainly put in the effort. Maybe there was a way he could use this to his advantage. Elena clearly thought he was the peak of harmlessness, and even seemed a touch protective over him. It was adorable, really – and potentially very useful.

"He's such a good corvid, isn't he?" Elena said with a sweet smile directed at the bird.

"How do you know it isn't a she? Women can be doctors, too, you know. You shouldn't be so sexist, Elena" Damon mock-chided, still trying to work out precisely what was happening here.

Forgetting for a second about Damon's alleged condition, Elena began her own sardonic retort – only to suddenly recall the amnesia. Her eyes widened – she certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for placing notions of gender inequality in his mind. "If course, you're right, Damon!" she quickly recovered. "Such a smart boy. In fact!" she said excitedly. "Really clever double-entendre there, Damon," Elena winked. "Mozart used to love making jokes like that, too. Do you know who he is?" Before Damon could answer, Elena's phone buzzed with a text message, alerting her that Anna was on her way. "Anna's coming here with your mom, thank goodness," she sighed in visible relief as soon as she read the text. "Don't worry! I'll wait here with you."

"That's very sweet, Elena," Damon smirked, doing his absolute best to keep a straight face, his eyes sparking with amused curiosity, then his pupils seemed to almost expand and contract in the most peculiar way. "What exactly did Anna tell you about me?"

She recalled this curious ocular behavior from the night they met, but she didn't think much of it then. Now, in light of the information Anna told her, Elena was sincerely worried. There was something so strange happening with his eyes. On no! Was he getting worse? She thought quickly – she had to comfort him somehow. Stress surely couldn't be healthy in his condition. She bit her lip nervously, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "Just that you were the sweetest, smartest, bravest boy," she said emphatically, "and that it's really important to make sure you aren't scared, or stressed," she added with considerable concern.

In fact, the concern was so elevated that it made Damon justifiably curious, and a quick glance to what looked like a friendship bracelet on Elena's wrist confirmed his suspicions. At least Anna wasn't a total idiot, he shrugged internally. Oh well. Relying on compulsion exclusively was for rubes and amateurs, anyway, Damon thought with a smirk – and he always did enjoy a challenge. A quick mental replay of his last interaction with Anna was in order to find the right clue. Let's see – gonorrhea medicine, bed-wetting, 12-year-old sister.

That had to be it.

Elena was talking to him like he was a child. Leave it to Anna to concoct an unauthorized parody of an idea clearly inspired by his sardonic brilliance. Time to test the theory.

"Did she now?" Damon inquired with only the slightest bit of sarcasm that was immediately overshadowed by amusement. "Can you give Anna a message for me?"

"She'll be here soon – you can tell her yourself," she assured, then paused, trying to make a decision and finally going for it. Her voice dropped, suddenly becoming quite serious. "That video you watched – 'How to Score Hot Older Chicks' – you don't by chance remember the name of the creator, do you?" she asked with unabashed hope.

"Video?"

"You know," Elena ploughed ahead despite her shyness on the matter. "The one where you got your speech," she prodded, swallowing thickly, quite nervous at broaching the topic. When he simply shook his head, eyes still dancing with laughter, she had no choice to elaborate. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and hoped that she wouldn't embarrass herself with how obviously enamored she was with a string of words apparently directed at tweens. "You want a love that consumes you – you want passion, and adventure, and even a little danger," she said, proud that her voice shook only a little.

Now he really did laugh, and Elena was a little affronted, if she had to be perfectly honest. Was she really that pathetic, to feel such an overwhelming connection to what was apparently a glorified pick-up line? But it didn't feel like one – it felt so sincere. She sighed miserably. It wasn't Damon's fault. Maybe she was just an idiot.

Damon wasn't sure why, but something about her sadness tugged at his heartstrings, and he didn't like it. While this was an avenue that he was nowhere near ready to explore, he could agree with himself that he should at least distract her. "I'll tell you if you take me to the Lockwood mansion," Damon replied cheekily.

"I would," she replied regretfully, "but they're not home tonight. Tyler said his parents took the whole football team out – it's an early season ritual to 'ensure a good season' – not that it ever works," she added with a smirk of her own. "Maybe your mom could take you tomorrow."

"Pity," Damon replied, having his hopes of procuring the crystal tonight dashed. No matter. There was plenty of time – especially with the Founders' Ball coming up. "In that case, tell Anna that I have message for her," he said with his own upward infection, affecting a similar tone to her. "Okay?"

"Sure," Elena nodded, wondering what was taking Anna so long – and hoping she would arrive before Damon's apparently scary Karen mom, if Anna's tales were to be believed.

"Tell her," he said, taking a few moments to think as he let his azure eyes gravitate toward the sky in contemplation as the Sun's rays accentuated their vividness, eliciting a gasp from Elena and just the barest hint of a smug smirk from Damon. "One, one, two, three, five, eight…"

"The Fibonacci sequence?" Elena interrupted, brows furrowed in puzzlement. Why not just name it? Ooh, right. He must not remember the name. Maybe he was a precocious child and discovered it on his own at 12?

"Elena," he shook his head mockingly. "I said – one, one, two, three, five, eight. Repeat those numbers after me."

"One, one, two, three, five, eight," Elena repeated patiently.

"That's the Fibonacci sequence," Damon said importantly, enjoying the slight irritation she was desperate to hide. "You got it? Girls are really bad at math, so I'll say it again if you need me to," he resisted the urge to smirk, knowing that was bound to get a rise out of her, especially after he accused her of sexism earlier.

"Yes, I got it," Elena replied with a sigh, reminding herself that this poor guy had amnesia, and she had no right to get so upset with him for being a mansplaining, condescending jackass.

"Are you sure? Do you need me to tell you again?" he asked obnoxiously.

"I said I got it – I'm not a twelve-year-old, Damon!" Elena exclaimed, clearly frustrated, then suddenly gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror of their own accord. "Oh my God, I am so sorry –"

He just smiled. Bingo. So that was Anna's game. "I'll get over it, somehow," he said with his best attempt to sound morose, then visibly brightened when her own expression kept falling further and further into guilt, just to cheer her up. What was wrong with him? "I'm just kidding. You've actually been super-helpful. Really. Forget the last message, and just tell Anna: I don't get mad. I get even," he purred with a wink, preparing to walk away just as Anna finally entered the scene.

"Damon! So glad I managed to find you before you let yourself get in taken in by stranger-danger like last time. Remember, don't take bright and colorful little pills from bad big kids in the park!" Anna chirped.

"Anna," he retorted with a sarcastic smile. "Your advice is as sound as your presence is welcome," he added, strongly implying that neither were true.

"You should get out of here," Anna said, pulling Elena aside. "I'm fairly certain Doctor Kaw-Kaw has rabies," she quietly added in a tone that seemed a little too amused to Elena not to be a jibe. "I called Damon's mom, and she'll be here to pick him up soon. I don't suggest being around when she comes."

"What about you?" Elena asked, big brown doe eyes widening in worry. Damon continued to be fascinated by all the distinctly un-Katherine facial expressions and overall demeanor.

"I'm an old family friend," Anna replied, waving her concern away. "She trusts me. You, on the other hand…" she trailed off meaningfully, shaking her head as she channeled all the fear she could into her eyes.

"Okay," Elena nodded. "It was lovely seeing you again, Damon," she said, turning to walk away before he grabbed her hand, placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles that flooded Elena's entire countenance with a curious emotion that she couldn't quite name - refused to - stubbornly reminding herself of Damon's injury and that he probably saw this in a movie he wanted to imitate. Maybe his scary mom showed him Titanic, and he just found Jack particularly inspiring, she tried to convince herself.

And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right here, and that perhaps Anna wasn't telling her everything. There was certainly more to this matter, and she was determined to find out precisely what.

"Great seeing you, too, Elena" Damon responded, oozing charm and not sounding like a 12-year-old at all.

Elena just nodded and practically ran out of the cemetery, doing all she could to calm her beating heart and hope that Damon's amnesia healed soon. It certainly appeared like he was well on his way to recovery. Maybe that hand-kissing move wasn't from Titanic, after all, and came from the video, as well?

Once Elena was out of earshot, Damon leveled Anna with a positively sardonic smirk. "Wow, Anna. Have you become so mired in the land of cliches in your old age that you have to steal from little 'baby vamp' me? What did you tell her? That I'm twelve?" he raised both eyebrows pointedly, a trace of needling about their previous meeting.

"I just thought it was more fitting – and that you were projecting," Anna shrugged nonchalantly. "Retrograde amnesia," she elaborated.

"Not bad," Damon admitted with an appraising nod. "Definitely more effective than 'stay away from him – he's a dangerous bad boy who'll steal your precious virtue," he mock-scolded with a wag of his finger, before affecting a decidedly smug grin, "with his dashingly roguish and charming ways."

"If only it worked. Turns out Elena might actually be into idiots," she smirked.

"Well, then you'd better get her away from baby bro – because I think she just ran into him," Damon replied, his eyes narrowing as he struggled to listen to their conversation.

Anna's response was uproarious laughter. "Eeyore's mopier cousin? Yeah, right. I think she's safe."

"No, you really should go get her away. She's bleeding," he told her seriously, looking almost worried.

"Yeah, probably a scraped knee," Anna replied with her eyeroll. Damon had to be out of his mind if he thought he could distract her with that.

He was quiet for several moments and Anna could have sworn that the concern was genuine. "He's a ripper, Anna. Get her away," he said quietly, then seemingly caught himself and immediately recovered with a carefree shrug and smirk. "Or don't. Maybe draining Katherine's human double will be just the kick Stef needs to finally beat 'paint drying' in their never-ending contest of 'who's more interesting!' He's been losing for the past century or so, but never let it be said that I give up on my brother," he leaned in to alert Anna in a stage whisper.

"Shit!" Anna exclaimed, already on her way to apparently rescue her friend, before calling over her shoulder. "This isn't over, Damon. You're not getting that crystal without me."

Thank you for all your kindness and for giving this story some love, you beautiful souls! Wishing us all true love, happiness, and health.

Much love, all. :)