Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: Updates probably won't be this quick but I'm trying to make sure that I have enough chapters in reserve that I can make them fairly regular. Of course, Netflix removing Vampire Diaries in the UK doesn't help at all, but I'll find a way and make sure to keep the chapters coming.
XXX
My darling twin gave me her customary wake up by pulling off my covers. I was starting to get sick of this. She knew it pushed my buttons. To be fair, I did push hers all the time. But still, she shouldn't return the favour. She's supposed to be the 'nice' twin.
I glared at her through my fringe and she grinned and walked out of the room. Ok, someone is scarily happy this morning. Happy enough that she completely missed the whiskey bottle that I failed to put away properly last night. In fact, that last time that I saw her this happy, she was still with Matt….
I shook my head and quickly got ready for school. Thanks to my love of sleep, I had perfected the get ready in a few minutes technique. It didn't take long to enhance this beauty.
I walked out of my room just in time to hear Aunt Jenna call Elena feisty. Oooh that's a new one. Thank you Aunt Jenna.
"Yeah, she is," I agreed. "Very feisty."
I purred and mimed a cat scratching. Elena stuck her tongue out at me and turned to face Aunt Jenna. I couldn't help but laugh at my twin's reaction and the look Jenna gave me. It was as though she had forgotten how weird I could be at times.
"I feel good, which is rare," Elena nodded her head in a very decisive way. "So I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff."
Wow, that is a very good attitude. And very reassuring. It had been so long since she had been like this. And while I would tease the sanity out of her, I was so glad that she was. I had missed this. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I was worried that I would never see it again. Eager to encourage this behaviour, I just had to join in…
"You go girl!" I cheered in a very cheesy kind of way. Elena rolled her eyes and once again stuck her tongue out at me. I retaliated by sticking mine out at her. We are so incredibly grown up aren't we?
"Really mature, girls," Aunt Jenna laughed. I smirked and gave a dramatic bow. As tedious it could be at times, I really did love my role as the family comedian. Being able to make my family laugh makes me happy. And it makes me feel useful. After all, I needed a role. Elena was the responsible one, Jeremy was the emo. So I had the fill the role as the funny idiot.
Speaking of my darling little brother…
"So, where's Jeremy?" I asked after poking my head into his room. Good lord this kid needs to tidy his room. While I will admit my wardrobe is a mess, at least my general room was tidy. I'm sure it wasn't this bad last time I was in here? Maybe he made a mess looking for some of his weed stash? Either way, he better get it sorted before Elena gets on his back about something else.
"He left early," Aunt Jenna told me as Ellie joined me in peering into his bedroom. "Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse."
Hang on a moment, there is no woodhouse at our school. And a birdhouse? Oh darling brother, you could at least think of better excuses. Me and Elena exchanged glances, knowing that our little bro had been telling fibs. Aunt Jenna saw us and sighed.
"There is no wood shop, is there?" she asked, looking as though she already knew the answer.
Well I wasn't going to be the one to give her the bad news. I give good news and laughs. Not bad news. Sensing that I was going to stay quiet, my sister sighed and broke the bad news herself. The look on Aunt Jenna's face made me glad that I wasn't the one who did it.
What's worse is that I knew exactly where Jeremy had gone and that he really didn't need to lie about it. Jenna would have completely understood. She was sweet like that.
"Relax guys," I made the universal calming gesture. "Jeremy's probably just gone to see Vicki."
Aunt Jenna and Elena looked at each other before turning to look at me. How dare they doubt me. After all, I'm the only one who has been getting actual conversations out of our little emo.
"What makes you say that?" Elena asked, looking like she wanted to believe me but was still slightly doubtful. Understandable, as I'm pretty sure that she knows that I've been covering for our brother.
"Cause that's what I would do," I replied with a casual shrug before walking downstairs for my morning coffee. Mmmmmmmm, coffee. My second favourite drink. The first being, of course, booze. Like, what else would it be? Well, to be more specific, whiskey. That was my absolute favourite. And a super huge weakness.
Feeling my phone buzz, I paused on my way to the kitchen to pull it out of my pocket. I swear, if this was my ride to school ditching me…
Oh great.
Not coming in this morning. Family problems. See you later x
Well, that was... frustrating. So much for our goss session. And a quick drink to make the day start right. Ah well. I carried on in my mission for coffee. One of the angels in my family had already gotten a pot started. Thankful that I didn't have to wait for my sweet caffeine nectar, I poured myself a generous mug. Sometimes I bothered with milk and sugar, sometimes I just downed it black. I was one of those fortunate people who could drink coffee any way they fancied. Useful in emergency situations.
"Hey sis," I shouted as I saw Elena walk into the hallway. "Fancy giving your favourite sibling a lift to school?"
Ellie laughed, "Your ride ditch you?"
"Yep, totally rude if you ask me."
Although I did wonder what family emergency stopped Jazz and Luke from going to school. Mr and Mrs Nolan were normally so strict about their children attending school. They even sent them in when they were ill! I hope no one in the family had died. That pain sucks and I don't want either of my Nolans to go through it.
I watched Elena potter around the kitchen, making sure she had everything she needed for the day. My twin had always been good in taking her own lunch to school. I usually just played the pity card until someone shared their own with me. Probably not the best habit, but it worked. And it meant that I could save up my lunch money to buy some epic birthday presents.
"Ready?"
I glanced up to see my sister standing in front of me, keys in hand and waiting to go. Damn, how long had I been lost in my thoughts.
"Not really," I shrugged, definitely not eager to get to school. "But I know you're dying to see your Steffie-Poo."
I dodged a hit from my sister and laughed. It was obvious that she was already regretting giving me a ride to school. But she knew that if she didn't do it, I wouldn't be going to school full stop. And her need to be responsible was overwhelming her.
"Just get in the car," she sighed, shutting the door behind her.
We climbed into the car and Elena pulled away. Elena had to drive as I hadn't received my drivers' licence. For some peculiar reason, neither my friends or family would let me behind the wheel of a car. Which was just rude. But I shouldn't complain too much. It meant that I could always have a drink at parties. And I didn't have to worry about being responsible at all. When I was younger, I used to cycle everywhere. But I guess I just got lazy when all my friends started to drive. Plus, it gets lonely cycling everywhere by yourself. At least when I shared a car, I had someone to talk to.
I decided to play my favourite game of annoying Elena. Now this game comes in many forms. One such form is this: I put the radio one and quickly flick through the channels until I found either an indie station or a rock station. She hated these and had made the mistake of telling me this once. So of course, I always put it on the radio whenever I could. Whenever her hand moved towards the radio to change stations, I tapped her hand away. And I just kept going until she let out any sign of frustration. Usually it was her sighing my name in that exasperated tone that she had perfected.
Her record was 9 times. Mine was 3. Safe to say, she usually cracked pretty quickly. Especially when I did it in the morning.
After the 6th time I tapped her hand away, she groaned.
Haha, I win! Whoop whoop! She did better than I expected though, she really must be in a chirpy mood this morning.
"Alexa!" she practically begged, although she would deny that. "Please, just let me change it."
I pretended to think for a moment. "Well..."
"Alexa!" she whined and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Go on then."
She quickly changed the station.
"You're unbelievable, Alexa," Elena laughed, giving my knee a squeeze.
"Yep," I agreed. "And you wouldn't have me any other way."
"Debatable."
My family are the worst.
XXX
When we got to school, I scanned the school parking lot for any sign of either Jazz or Luke's cars. But there was nothing. I hated to admit it, but I was getting rather worried.
Waving a distracted goodbye to my sister, I pulled out my phone and sent a barrage of texts to both Luke and Jazz. Usually at least one of them would answer me straight away. But minutes later and there was still nothing. Even with the split in our friendship group, I knew they both talked to Tyler. I kind of insisted on it. I refused to let him go friendless just because of me. He wasn't the one at fault in our argument and I had made it quite clear that the blondes both knew that.
Despite my pride screaming at me not to, and damn I hate my pride, I made my way towards the football fields where one Mr Tyler Lockwood could usually be found. As I got close, I saw Matt.
Waving him over, I asked, "Is Tyler around here?"
Matt was surprised. While I didn't know how much he knew about our falling out, he definitely knew that it had been a helluva long time since I willingly sought Tyler out.
It took a bit of prompting to push Matt out of his shock, but eventually he confirmed that Tyler was at the bleachers. After promising that I wasn't looking to damage one of our star players before the opening match, I continued on my way to find Tyler.
Once there, it was easy to spot him. Tyler had always been an impressive sight. And if he wasn't firmly in the brother category, I would totally have drooled over him.
Taking a deep breath and gathering up all my courage, I made my way over and called his name. The sound of my voice instantly ended his conversation with one of his teammates. I stopped a few feet away and waved sheepishly before chewing on some loose skin near my thumb.
"Alexa, don't do that, you'll only make it bleed," Tyler admonished me, just like old times.
"Sorry," I murmured, feeling incredibly awkward.
Tyler looked as though he didn't quite know what to say either.
Eventually, the awkwardness got the better of me and I blurted out, "Have you heard from Luke or Jazz? She texted me this morning saying that they had a family emergency and I haven't heard anything from either of them since and I'm getting really worried now."
Ty reached his hand out to put on my shoulder but stopped mid-movement. His hand awkwardly hovered in mid-air for a moment before he casually ran it through his hair.
"I haven't heard anything either, but I'm sure they are fine."
I nibbled on my lip, "If you do hear anything, you'll let me know?"
Tyler nodded.
I wanted so desperately to apologise there and then. To throw myself at him and beg for his forgiveness. But I didn't know how. I was still drinking. And I knew he would want me to give that up. But I just couldn't, not yet. I wasn't ready to deal with everything without booze. Maybe soon, but not now. Even if it meant that I couldn't reconcile with one of my closest friends.
Thankfully, the awkward silence was cut short when one of the other team members called for Tyler. Mumbling a quick goodbye, I dashed off while his back was turned.
XXX
I must have seemed quite distracted for the rest of the morning. Caroline was even willing to risk sitting next to me in art class. Which is something she always tries to get out of!
"You alright, Alexa?" she asked softly as attempted to recreate some artists painting technique. The only bit of art that I paid any attention to was the actual art part. I didn't care about the history of artists or their techniques. Just let me loose with a paint brush.
I sighed, "I'm just worried about my Nolans."
One day, I really wanted to paint a penis and see if the excuse of artist creativity would work. I doubt it. But it's something that I've wanted to do since, like, forever.
As I mused over whether I could get away with a penis drawing, Caroline scooted her chair closer. She bit her lip before offering, "Do you want me to ask my mom to give them a call?"
Oh Caroline, you are the sweetest. Our darling Caroline didn't have the best relationship with her mom, and for her to offer to do that for me, it meant a lot.
I gave her a small smile, "Would you be okay to? I mean, it's cool if you really don't. I'm probably overreacting."
Caroline gave me one of her gorgeous beaming smiles, "It's no trouble at all. Besides, my mom loves talking with Mrs Nolan."
That is true. They had been friends since childhood and loved hanging out together. They frequently had 'girl-time' at the shooting range. They could really be a pretty fearsome duo when they wanted to be.
Making sure that the teacher was properly distracted by one of the pot-heads at the back of the classroom, I gave Caroline a quick peck on the cheek, "You're the best, Care-Bear."
The pleased look on her face warmed my heart and helped cheer me up just a little.
XXX
The rest of the day passed quickly and I had managed to cheer up. Caroline had called her mom, which resulted in me being reassured that the Nolans were fine. Just dealing with an ill grandma in a local town. That didn't surprise me. Besides the core family, I had only ever met a random uncle and cousin. The rest of the family remained incredibly secretive.
Once my mind was put at ease, I perked up considerably, much to my friends relief. I was even able to thrash Bonnie at a game of tic-tac-toe during math. Although I am convinced that she let me. There is no way I would be able to win 3 games in a row out of 4, especially against our darling psychic. But it was sweet of her. Plus Stefan's amused smile whenever I won was sweet. He was quickly becoming a good friend. Especially since he helped us hide our game from the teacher. Double win!
Of course, as all good things must, the happiness came to a swift end when we reached the history class time of day.
This class should legit be banned. Like boring is a total understatement.
This session of boredom, the topic of the oh so mystical comet was the focus.
Fortunately, this time, I had entertainment. Stefan and my twin kept making eyes at each other, and I mean serious hearteyes. It was adorable and absolutely hilarious. Oh I would give anything to film it.
What was even better, and I can't believe that I'm saying this, is that Mr Tanner also noticed. And he got that evil grin on his face that he always got when he sensed fresh meat to torment. The sickening duo didn't even notice as he stalked towards them.
"Are we bothering you, Mr Salvatore?"
If you hadn't have been looking for it, you wouldn't have noticed it, but Stefan jolted ever so slightly. Before he could answer, Mr Tanner turned to Elena, "Ms Elena Gilbert?"
Loooool.
I love the way he differentiates between us. Because he called on me more often, I just got 'Ms Gilbert'. Elena gets full-named. As the two shook their heads, Mr Tanner returned to the front and continued his drone.
Ah damn, there goes my fun.
While the two still gave each other gooey eyes during the class, they made more of an effort to pay attention. Which was just depressing.
I rolled my eyes at the back on my sister's head and started pretending to take notes. In reality, I was jotting down flavour combinations that I wanted to try next time I went on a baking spree. I loved baking. And cooking. It was just very emotional for me. It was something that I used to do with my dad. He taught me how to cook and really developed my cooking instincts. And he was my number one taster for my baking.
I always used to go on baking sprees when I was going through an emotional time. Whenever it all got too much, and I couldn't sleep, I would spend all night in the kitchen, pumping out cakes, cookies, pastries. It was always a sign that I wasn't alright. But ever since mom and dad died, I haven't been able to bake or cook. It was like there was some kind of block. I wanted to, so so bad. I even stood in the kitchen, looking for the motivation. But it was like my brain had gone blank and I couldn't remember what to do.
All in all, it was very frustrating.
XXX
Fortunately, the hell that was history class did eventually end. Hurrah!
Now, my plan for escaping history class, assuming I hadn't already been kicked out, was to start packing up before the bell rang and then bolt out the classroom. Because Mr Tanner always tried to call me back and have a 'discussion' after the class. Most of the time I was successful. Because, ya know, practice makes perfect.
Unfortunately, I wasn't paying enough attention to the time today. So when the bell rang, it caught me by surprise. Which was not good. Hopefully he won't want to speak to me today?
But luck was not on my side.
As I tried to sneak out after the two future love birds, the unpleasant voice called me back.
"Ms Gilbert. A word."
Crap.
I will admit, I did briefly consider just making a run for it. But I knew it would just bite me in the ass later on. And I just cba to deal with that.
Rolling my eyes, I sharply turned around and made my way over to Mr T's desk.
"Yes sir?" I asked, trying to be respectful. But failing. Miserably.
Mr Tanner gave me a look, knowing exactly what my tone meant.
"Now, I'm sure you know that your aunt is going to be coming in today to speak to me," he started. Dead God, even when he isn't lecturing, his voice just drones on.
And no, I didn't know that. Ah shit. That's so not good for me. I didn't want Aunt Jenna to know about my issues with Mr Tanner. She had enough to worry about and it wouldn't be fair to add more to her plate.
"I'm assuming that she doesn't know about your issue with getting sent out on a regular basis?" Mr T looked far to victorious for my liking. He seemed to think that he had a huge win here. Like for real, was he trying to blackmail me?
Since I didn't like that, I decided to be a little shit.
"Hang on a minute, she's talking to you?!" I exclaimed incredulously, trying to be as dramatic as possible. "Good God, poor Aunt Jenna."
I stared off into the distance, trying to make it obvious that I was imaging the worst scenario possible. Which wasn't hard. Because talking to Mr Tanner was an awful experience. And I really did pity my aunt for having to suffer it.
I must have done a good job as Mr Tanner had an incredibly displeased look on his face when he called my name again.
"I don't think she does, sir," I hopped up onto one of the desks. Might as well be comfortable during this uncomfortable conversation. "But it's not secret that we don't get along. And she was that cool aunt before she became the guardian aunt."
I think I just ruined his fun. He certainly did look a bit disgruntled. Lol.
And, just because I could, and because I was a bit bored, I decided to be even more of a little shit.
"Sooooo, who did Aunt Jenna piss off to be stuck with you?" I smirked, leaning forward slightly.
Mr Tanner rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk, "I was the one who asked for her."
"Ew, geez dude," I scrunched my face up in disgust, enjoying the power shift in my direction. "There is a huge ass age limit between you two. And I, like, really don't like you and really don't want you as an uncle."
I know I was teasing here, but I really hope that he didn't have any romantic inclinations towards my aunt. Because I just could not deal with that. I already have one dick of an uncle, I don't need another.
"I'm not particularly fond of you either, Miss Gilbert," Mr Tanner replied dryly. Ha! I knew it! He never liked me! I loved being right.
"Awesome!" I grinned, leaning back in satisfaction. "Matt owes me 20 bucks."
The look on Mr Tanner's face strongly implied that he wanted me out of his classroom. So I hopped off the desk and went to leave. Besides, I just really wanted this conversation to be over.
"Just one more thing, Ms Gilbert," Mr T called me back. His tone was weird, and I turned around to see an uncomfortable look on his face.
"Yeah?" I reluctantly prompted, feeling like I would seriously regret it.
"While you are very good at hiding it, I do recognise the signs of someone being hungover."
Oh. Shit. I knew I should have just walked out.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I tried to brush it off, hoping that this was something that he would easily let go.
Mr Tanner sighed, looking kinder than I had ever seen him, "Alexa, I'm not stupid. I know you've struggled since your parents died. And I know how you've tried to cope. I'm not going to lecture you on it, especially the underage part. I just want you to know, that you can come to me for help if you need it."
Oh my god, I think I'm about to cry. Nodding my head, I tried to fight the burning behind my eyes. I could not cry in front of him. I just couldn't. But this was so unexpected. He was actually showing some compassion. And I did appreciate it.
He passed over a leaflet. I reluctantly glanced down at it. Alcoholics Anonymous. Yikes. I knew I had my issues with alcohol, but I hoped it wasn't bad enough for that.
I shoved it in my bag, and tried to get a grip on my emotions.
"Thank you, sir," I said, in probably the most genuine tone that I have ever used with him.
He nodded in response to my thanks, "You may go, Ms Gilbert."
I didn't bother saying anything else, I just left as fast as I could without running. Luckily for me, the bathrooms were close-by. I bolted into one of the cubicles and hid my face in my hands. I don't know why this had gotten to me so much. And I cursed the tears that I was furiously trying to stop from falling. It was ridiculous. I should not be crying over Mr Tanner being nice to me. He was just the only one who really noticed how much I was struggling. Yeah, Jeremy and Jazz knew about my drinking. But they just took it at face value. They neve saw just how much I was hiding behind it. Even Tyler, who had issues with my drinking, didn't see how much. But that's probably because we didn't hang out like we used too.
Hopefully Mr Tanner never said anything to Aunt Jenna. I didn't think he would. But if he thought it would help me, then there was always a chance. I guess I just had to trust him.
XXX
After cleaning myself up, I went searching for one of my lovelies to take my mind off everything. Fortunately, I managed to find Bonnie and Caroline who were discussing the perfect distraction possible.
Giving my face another quick rub to make sure there was no trace of any tears, I sped up and caught up with the beautiful pair.
"Bon-Bon, Care-Bear," I greeted, putting on a smile and looping my arms over their shoulders. Their delightful smiles did help me feel better slightly.
"Hey Alexa," Bonnie greeted as Caroline snuck her arm around my waist. "What did Mr Tanner want?"
"Eh, not much," I brushed it off, pushing away any residual emotions. "Just tried to play the usual mind games. Which was completely idiotic of him cos I am the Queen of Mind Games."
Caroline laughed as Bonnie rolled her eyes at my answer. I got the hint that she suspected that there was more, but gratefully, she let it go. That's what I loved about Bon, she knew when to let things go.
"Besides, there are much more important things to discuss," I gave Caroline a wicked look. "What's this I hear about a guy from last night?"
Care blushed slightly and it was utterly adorable.
"I met a guy last night at the Grill. He was so gorgeous. And he wanted me, like his attention was all on me."
I was happy for Caroline. I knew it must have been hard for her, with Stefan already being so infatuated with Elena. And it was obvious that Caroline also liked him.
There was also history there. As much as I loved my sister, things did tend to go her way more often then not. And it was obvious that it got to Caroline. Having a gay day and a work obsessed mom was hard on her. So she sought attention for anywhere else that she could. And it hurt her when she didn't get what she felt she needed.
"Of course he wanted you," I snorted, giving her a gentle head bump. "Who wouldn't? Hell, if played for the other team, I'd certainly have you."
"Thanks Alexa," she smiled, looking appreciative. Fortunately, all of ma besties had known me long enough to know where to sense a compliment. Especially as I didn't always word them in the most logical manner.
"Why didn't you go over to him?" Bonnie asked, looking genuinely curious.
From what I could tell, Bonnie had been the one to take Caroline to the Grill to sober up. So she would have been there when Caroline met the hot guy.
"I dunno," Care-Bear replied sulkily. "I was drunk."
Ah, that explains it. Drunkness and logic just don't mix well. And it might have been a good thing that she didn't go over to him when she was drunk. At least if she manages to meet him while sober, she can show that guy just how amazing she was.
"Well," I exchanged a look with Bonnie. "If you two are meant to be, you'll meet him again."
Caroline looked pleased at that thought.
XXX
Now because the universe loves me, I walked out to school only to find more family drama occurring. Although it did have the benefit of taking my mind off of my own drama.
I watched as Jeremy stormed away from Tyler, looking mad as hell. Tyler looked smug as he watched my brother storm away. He glanced my way and his smug look became slightly sheepish as he shrugged his shoulders and turned away.
I decided to deal with one problem at a time and chased after my idiot baby bro.
"Jeremy!" I called, only for the little shit to ignore me. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with that kid.
Speeding up, I dodged in front of him and called his name again. He tried to dodge to the side but I managed to grab his arm and swing him to a stop.
"Hey!" I snapped, finally getting his attention. "What happened?"
"Leave me alone," Jeremy growled, trying to yank his arm from my grip.
Oh hell no. I was gonna make this kid talked even if it killed him.
"Nope," I refused to let go. "Jer, breath for a good damn minute and tell me what Tyler did."
That managed to break through his anger. He glanced down at me and I could see the angry tears that he was trying to hide.
"Oh honey," I sighed, letting go of his arm and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Let's go sit down."
I directed him to a nearby bench and got him settled. As one with a killer sweet tooth, I always had a supply of goodies in my bag. I dug a bar of chocolate out of my bag and passed it over to my brother. Sometimes, chocolate just made things better.
"Now," I prompted softly. "What happened Jer?"
"It's Vicki," Jer started, and that was a huge uh oh. I knew that the Donovan girl was a huge sore point for my brother. His pining over her was painfully obvious. "Tyler hasn't even been to see her. it's like he doesn't even care about her. But she is really hung up on him and doesn't even want to talk to me anymore. It just hurts so bad."
The words just exploded out of my brother. I had a feeling that he had been holding this in for a while.
"Oh Jeremy," I sighed, pulling his head down to my shoulder and stroking his hair.
I didn't really mind Vicki, she had her ups and downs like most kids do and I had known her almost my entire life. But what she was doing to my brother, that made me mad. She had basically used him for an easy high over the summer and was now ditching him now that school was back and she had a rep to protect. That shit was not cool. What's worse, she was basically pitching my two brothers against each other.
"What's the point of even trying anymore?" my baby bro sighed into my shoulder, sounding so despondent. It just broke my heart. My little bro should never sound that sad. As his older sister, it was my job to protect him from pain like that. And I hate that I failed him in that regard.
"Now, that's not the Jeremy that I know and love," I tried to sound energising as well as soothing. It was not as easy as it sounded. "You gotta fight for her. Go to the hospital and visit her."
Jeremy lifted his head up, frowning, "When?"
"Well, school's over right?" I hinted. "So go now."
Jeremy hesitated. I could tell that he really wanted to go. But he was worried about the questions that he would get from Jenna and Elena.
"I'll tell the fam where you've gone and cover for you as much as possible."
A determined look settled on my brother's face, "You tell Elena. I'll pop home first and if I see Jenna then I'll tell her."
"If not, then I'll let her know," I agreed before remembering. "Oh, while it's on my mind, I should probably warn you: Aunt Jenna was summoned by Mr Tanner today. I'm guessing it's about you since he spoke with me after class. So if you see her, expect that to come up."
I could see the 'Oh for God's sake' expression fighting to form on his face. I understand bro, it is a pain.
He gave a determined nod, preparing himself.
"Thanks Alexa," he stood up and prepared to make a speedy exit. "You're the best."
"Well, I do try," I pretended to be modest, running a hand through my hair. "Now shoo, stick to the plan. And let me know if Jenna corners you."
"Will do," he threw me a cheeky salute and skedaddled. I had to roll my eyes, you could definitely tell that the kid had grown up with me. He had certainly picked up some of my bad habits.
But damn, did I love that kid. And I would do everything I could to help him through this.
Now, why was it whenever I actually needed to find my sister, I had absolutely no idea where she was? If I didn't need her and was actively trying to avoid her, nah, couldn't get rid of her. Honestly, she was a nightmare at times.
Looks like I'm going to have go find her.
Which totally sucks. I was hoping that I could chill while doing my part. Ah well, good job I love my brother.
Sighing, I stood up and stretched. Maybe some walking would do me some good. I pulled out my phone, hoping that she had miraculously messaged me, letting me know her location. As I scrolled through my messages, a genius idea hit me. I could call her!
That way, I could hang up on her if she starts to get judgy. Cruel, but brilliant.
Dialling my sister's number, I looked around, seeing if I could spot anyone else that I knew. Nope, no one. The line rang. And rang. And rang. Then went to voicemail.
Oh for god's sake, she had one job. Answer my call.
"Damnit Elena," I growled, as I hung up without leaving a message.
Knowing that either Bonnie or Caroline would know where she was, I decided to give them a call. Going by alphabetical order, I gave Bonnie a call.
And she answered!
"Hey Bon," I gave a silent prayer of gratitude. "Is my idiot sister with you?"
I could hear my sister's insulted exclamation in the background. Gotcha.
"Yeah, she's here," Bonnie laughed, clearly enjoying being involved in our twin drama. "We're at the Grill, doing flyers for the Comet."
"Awesome, I'm on my way. Don't let her leave."
Bon-Bon gave her affirmative and I hung up.
Right, time to get to the Grill.
Luckily, this was a small town and it was easy to get everywhere. Like ridiculously easy. And it meant that I didn't have to worry that I couldn't drive. I mean, yeah, being able to drive would make it quicker but at least I could walk to places like the Grill in less than 15 minutes.
XXX
Of course, that time didn't factor in my dawdling. I was completely motivated to help my brother, including sending him a reminder text, but I also didn't fancy wandering around town. And I knew I'd get the heat from my twin instead. Although, for my dorky baby bro, I would take that heat. I just didn't look forward to it.
I finally reached the Grill, having pumped myself up for the talk with my sister, only to be instantly disappointed. It was easy to spot my gal pals, sitting down on a table outside with a mountain of flyers on the table. Looks like Caroline roped them into helping her with whatever they were doing for the comet. But there was a distinct lack of Gilbert on that table. I had to take a moment to pause, close my eyes and count to ten.
Right.
Let's do this.
"Hey girlies," I called, announcing my presence. "The cuter Gilbert girl has arrived."
That got me a roll of the eyes from Bonnie and a laugh from Caroline.
I slumped down in one of the empty chairs, making sure to avoid one of the numerous piles of flyers. Caroline passed me a pile, taking advantage of my distracted look at the other empty chair. Almost automatically, I started folding them.
"Now," I started, giving Bonnie a look. "There is a distinct lack of Elena right now."
The two ladies on either side of me exchanged glances and I felt my heart sink. Great. Now where had my delightful sister disappeared off to. It wasn't like her to ditch her girls while doing something like this. Especially when there was still a good quarter of the box left.
I closed my eyes, "Okay. Give me the bad news."
"I'm sorry, Alexa," Bon grimaced, looking genuinely apologetic. "I tried to stop her leaving but she was so determined."
I groaned, throwing my head back dramatically, "What is she up to now?"
"She's chasing some dick," Caroline smirked slyly, plucking a flyer out of my hand before I could crumple it.
"She's what?" I couldn't believe it. My sister, Elena Miranda Gilbert, was chasing dick? Well dayum, I'm almost not mad now.
"Deets," I demanded, giving Caroline a pointed look.
I heard Bon-Bon groan behind me as Care looked positively delighted.
"So," she started, giving this the appropriate amount of drama. "We were discussing the incredibly disappointing lack of sex in the Stefan and Elena relationship."
Naturally.
Caroline was a great friend like that. Now that she was no longer chasing him, she was pushing for Elena to get into a proper relationship with our Salvatore boy. Including getting a damn good amount of sexy times.
I nodded, giving the appropriate dramatic response, "Carry on, my darling Miss Forbes."
"Elena was just content that they had talked for hours and hadn't even had a sloppy first kiss. Which I just couldn't have. It's been far too long since she's had some. And Stefan is hot, they perfect person for getting back into the game. So I convinced her to jump his bones."
"Oh good lord."
I couldn't help but laugh at Bonnie's response to Caroline's retelling of their conversation. Not that I didn't believe that that was the way it went down. Because that definitely sounds like something Caroline would have done. But it was just the way Caroline described it. And I feel like I really should be more worried than I am about how obsessed with my sister's sex life Caroline is. Ah well, it makes for good entertainment.
"Well that explains why she didn't wait around for me," I concluded, finishing my pile of flyers. Caroline beamed in gratitude as I passed them over to her. "So where did she go to get some sexy times?"
It was Bonnie who answered that one, "The Salvatore Boarding House."
Awesome. Makes sense I suppose.
"Wonderful," I slapped my thighs and stood up. "While I do need to talk to her, I will also do my upmost not to cockblock her."
"Damn right," Caroline high-fived me proudly while Bonnie just sighed. Maybe we need to get her some dick…
I grabbed my bag and started to walk towards the town square. Only to be abruptly halted when a thought hit me. Where the hell was the Salvatore Boarding House?
I groaned and turned around only to groan again. Bon-Bon and Care-Bear were watching me with expectant faces. Damn them, they knew that I had no idea as to where I was going. Why would they let me embarrass myself like that? Ah yes, because they are wicked.
Why do I love them again?
"Okay guys," I sighed, walking back to them. "Where the hell is this Salvatore Boarding House?"
XXX
While I did manage to get directions from them, albeit not very helpful directions, I didn't manage to swing a lift from them. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for them, they were too busy with the flyers. Which was painfully understandable. Emphasis on the painful part. Because it was a long ass walk.
With each step, I swore to myself that it was worth it. This was to help my baby bro and he was definitely worth it. But the little brat also owed me for this. Like big time owed me.
I was also incredibly glad that I had decided to put my converses on this morning and not my usual boots. Because as much as I loved them, doing a walk like this in those boots would have murdered my feet.
After what seemed like days, but in reality was not even an hour, I reach a building which I assumed was the mystical Salvatore Boarding House. Like this was a huge guess. I had never been here before so this was just pure speculation. But it sounded just like Caroline had described it. Old and majestic looking.
But there was bad news. There was absolutely no sign of my sister anywhere. Her car wasn't hear. Of course, there was still the hope that she had just parked out of sight. But my luck hadn't exactly been fabulous with finding her this afternoon. So I was just expecting to find out that she had either been and gone or not been here at all.
Either way, I had to find out for certain. So I marched up to the front door and rang the, frankly, hideous doorbell. As I waited for someone to answer it, I turned around and admired the scenery. I hate to admit it, but it did actually look quite homely. Like I would definitely love to be able to properly explore the grounds. I had the sense that it would be fun.
I heard the door open behind me and spun around, expecting to see Stefan. But instead, I found perfection.
The man who stood in the doorway was gorgeous. Like drop-dead gorgeous. His captivating ice blue eyes and messy dark brown hair had my heart skipping a beat. His cheekbones looked like they could cut glass and I definitely wanted a peek as to what was beneath that black t-shirt he was wearing. I was instantly attracted and found myself hoping that he was single. Because I would definitely be jumping his bones if he were.
He was simply mouth-watering.
I had to check that I wasn't standing there with my mouth open, like a complete idiot. Because damn, it was hard not to drool over this guy.
And, because my shitty luck just had to keep it's current theme going, the gorgeous hunk in front of me looked like he knew exactly what effect he had on me.
A lazy smirk formed on his face as he leaned against the doorframe, "And you are?"
"Oh, uh," I stammered, momentarily forgetting my name. "Alexandria Gilbert. But everyone just calls me Alexa."
"Hmm, another Gilbert at my front door," he mused, looking me up and down.
"Yeah, we just get everywhere," I laughed, nervously running a hand through my hair. I was desperate to make a good impression. Which was ridiculous. Because it's not like our relationship is likely to go any further than this interaction right here.
"That you do."
"So, uh," I tried to think of a polite way to ask his name, desperate to keep this conversation going. Would it be weird if I asked for a photo of the hot guy? "What do they call you?"
Oh for god's sake Alexa, that was so uncool. Like for real, could you have found a worse way to ask his name?
Fortunately for me, he just laughed and stuck his hand out, "They call me Damon. Damon Salvatore."
I shook his hand, hmmm, Salvatore? I wonder…
"Any relation to a young Stefan Salvatore?" I asked, instantly missing the feel of his hand in mine. God I was so pathetic. One hot guy and I was pining like a bitch in heat.
"I am his amazing older brother," Damon smirked, which was just utterly delicious. I had to resist the urge to melt.
"Can't be that amazing, since he's never mentioned you," I remarked casually, trying to be cool. "And we are tight. Like bros."
"Well, we don't really get along," hottie shrugged, not seeming bothered by my comment. "Sibling rivalry and all that."
"I understand that. It is hard being the more good looking sibling."
Ah shit, did I just make it even more blindingly obvious that I find him good looking? Well done Alexa, you absolute dolt.
But I did manage to entice a delightful laugh from Damon. Good lord, even his laugh makes me melt. This is so unfair! Why does he have to be some delicious?!
But, good news. Since he is Stefan's brother, I am bound to run into him again. Which makes Alexa very happy indeed.
"Now, may I ask as to why I have earned the pleasure of your company?"
I had to fight a blush at that. I was far too easy and it's horribly embarrassing.
"I'm looking for my sister, Elena," I replied, unconsciously shuffling closer to the hottie in front of me. "From your earlier comment, I'm guessing she's been here?"
"She was," was the casual response as Damon pushed himself off the doorframe. "But she left some time ago."
"Typical," I sighed, rolling my eyes and running a hand through my hair. "I don't suppose she said where she was going?"
"Afraid not," was my response. Again, typical. By the time I find her, Jeremy would have already encountered her. Sorry bro, I'm trying I promise.
"Of course she didn't."
Damon moved closer, which made my heart skip another beat, and the sun warmed his ice blue eyes.
"Are you two just sisters because you look almost identical," he phrased it like a statement but there was a slight questioning hint in his tone.
"We're twins," I smiled, always happy to brag about my amazing twin. "Non-identical, of course."
"Of course," Damon murmured, squinting slightly. "Do you want to come in for a drink? Unfortunately I can't produce your sister but I can try and make up for it."
Well isn't that sweet of him. I happily accepted the offer, delighted to spend more time in the company of this gorgeous being.
He extended out an arm, beckoning me past him. I got a good whiff of his scent as I walked past. It was almost… mystical. I don't know how to explain it, but it was different to anything else I had scented. Of course, a good amount of it was hidden by some expensive aftershave, but I had gotten close enough to smell beneath that.
I had only just crossed the threshold when something weird happened. I felt something sharp scrap my neck and suddenly had another Salvatore stood in front of me.
"Damon!" Stefan snapped, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward.
Wait? What? I was so confused.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Damon stood a few footsteps away. While it was possible that he had moved back, it surely couldn't have been quick enough for him to be responsible for whatever it was that scrapped my neck. This is so weird. I have no idea what it was, if I didn't know better, I would say that it was a fang. But that couldn't be possible, because there was nothing around that had fangs.
Damon had a shit-eating grin on his face, looking rather proud of himself. For what, I could only guess. And that guess is that he managed to annoy his younger brother?
"Alexa, are you alright?" Stefan asked me, drawing my attention back to him.
I could only nod back, still horribly confused as to what happened.
"Come on, I'll take you home," he directed, moving his grip from my arm to my back. He gently guided me forward, past his brother.
"My, my, quite the hero today," Damon smirked, a wicked glint in his eye. Stefan paused momentarily, giving his brother one of the most vicious looks that I had ever seen.
"We'll talk when I get back," he ground out, quickly guiding me forward.
He led me towards an old pick-up truck, which was not what I was expecting him to drive. As I went to ask about the car, a snarky voice called out behind us, "Don't be home too late!"
I glanced behind me to see Damon look quite proud of himself before disappearing back in the ginormous house behind him.
"Come on, Alexa," Stefan gently prompted, drawing my attention back to him. I was still horribly confused and I didn't like it at all.
He helped me into the truck before darting around the back and climbing in. It wasn't until he had started the engine and we were on the move that I found my voice again.
"I was looking for Ellie," I began, feeling a need to explain myself to him. "Bonnie and Caroline told me that she had come here to look for you. She wanted to talk to you. And I needed to talk to her. Because I needed to explain to her that Jeremy was going to see Vicki in hospital and that she should leave him alone for a bit. Cos he needs to deal with his feelings towards her without having to worry about family being on his back."
Stefan gently interrupted my rambling, "I never managed to talk to her, but she was here."
"Why did you never mention your brother?" I asked, trying to focus my mind on something other than whatever weird thing just happened. I needed to get my head together before I got home. I didn't want my family to see me like this. Normally I wouldn't want anyone to, but for some reason, I trusted Stefan to. I barely knew him, but I already felt connected to him. He was beginning to feel like an older brother. Like someone I could count on to have my back. Which was ridiculous, because I didn't know him well and it hadn't really been that long since I had met him. But he had just been reliable and supportive. And I guess I just needed that.
"We don't get along," he answered, looking as though he was trying to find the right words. "We used to be really close when we were younger, but things happened and we had a nasty break."
I nodded, that made sense. Ellie, Jer and I had been lucky that nothing had driven us apart and we were still close. Even Elena's over-bearing attitude towards Jer's drug habit hadn't driven a wedge between us yet.
"I'm sorry that happened," I said softly, genuinely meaning it. It must have been horrible, loosing that relationship.
Stefan shook his head, "It was long time ago. I'm sorry for Damon though, he wasn't rude or anything, was he?"
"No, he was perfectly charming."
Stefan seemed relieved by that. I'm guessing his older brother has a habit of being rude to people. Which, stupidly, made me feel slightly honoured that he was lovely towards me.
The rest of the journey was undertaken in comfortable silence. I stared out the window, lost in my thoughts. I still couldn't work out what had happened and at this point, I almost didn't want to. If it was important, then I would find out about it someday.
I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice that Stefan had pulled up outside my home until he gently shook my shoulder. I blinked a few times and glanced over at him before looking out at my home. Right Alexa, time to get your head together.
"Thank you Stefan," I smiled softly as I gathered up my bag.
"You're welcome," he replied, leaning across me and opening the door. Hopping out, I shut the door and gave him a wave. I had the feeling that he was the sort to make sure that I got through the door safely. So I didn't bother waiting for him to drive off. As I reached the door, I briefly turned around to give him another wave before letting myself in. I heard Stefan drive off as I closed the door behind me.
Okay Alexa, time to pretend that everything is cool.
"I'm home," I bellowed and waited for an answer. And one was given from the kitchen.
Elena poked her head around the doorway and beckoned me in. Shrugging, I followed, ditching my bag on the floor by the stairs. Aunt Jenna and Elena were setting up dinner on the dining table. Yum, looks like we were having tacos.
"Family," I nodded, heading to the fridge to grab a soda. "What's the topic?"
"Stefan," Aunt Jenna answered, moving to the kitchen island to put together the nachos.
"Naturally," I snorted, grabbing the sauces from the fridge and moving over to help. "So what's the goss?"
"Well," Elena started and I knew this would be an interesting conversation. "He's on the rebound and has raging family issues."
Huh, the second I knew about but the first one was a surprise.
"Well, the family issues are obvious, once you've met the brother," I agreed, taking over nacho duty from Jenna.
"You've met Damon?" Ellie questioned, looking surprised.
"Yep, went to that Salvatore Boarding House, looking for you. Found Damon instead," I looked up at Elena with a wicked glint in my eye. "And I'll tell you something, he certainly is a gorgeous hunk of meat."
"Oh my god," Ellie rolled her eyes and Aunt Jenna laughed.
"Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend," she chimed in, enjoying the girl time gossip. "Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues." She paused to take a bite of food, a thoughtful look on her face. "Or amphetamine issues."
"Good lord, Auntie J, what the hell have you been dating?" I exclaimed. Amphetamine issues? I almost didn't want to know.
Jenna laughed and opened her mouth to explain when we heard the front door open. We peered around the doorframe to see our delightful little Jeremy entering the family home. He had his hood up and didn't look particularly thrilled to have our attention on him.
From the look on Aunt Jenna and Elena's faces, I couldn't blame him. Run, Jer, run.
He must have read my thoughts as he immediately headed towards the stairs, obviously intending to escape to him room.
"Jeremy!" Aunt Jenna shouted, striding towards the staircase. "Where were you?"
Ah, I'm guessing he never actually got round to telling Jenna, just like I had never managed to tell Elena. At least I didn't completely fail him then. That's always good to know.
"More stoner stories?" Jeremy replied instead. I was surprised he answered her. I was also super intrigued by what he meant about that. I'll have to ask him at some point. "Look, Jenna, I get it. you were cool once. And so that's… that's cool."
There was something in my brother's tone that worried. A sense of defeat. I'm guessing that his chat with Vicki didn't go well? Although I am hoping that he did actually make it to the hospital to chat to her.
I didn't have to see Jenna's face to know that she was frustrated, her tone gave her away immediately.
"Oh no, no, no!"
And then she threw her apple at him. I'm not even joking. She legit threw up apple at Jeremy. I'm not sure where it hit him, but pained exclamation of surprised indicated that it was a strong throw from our aunt. I had to wince in sympathy. Apples hurt when thrown.
"Ow! Why? Why would you do that?"
"Listen up," Aunt Jenna snapped, pointing a finger at him. "Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion."
Yikes. I'm guessing her talk with Mr Tanner didn't go well at all. Now I'm even more glad that he decided to speak to me before speaking to Aunt Jenna. Because I really don't think she could deal with the additional stress.
But apparently, Jeremy wasn't at all fazed, "Parental authority, I like."
I had to close my eyes, oh Jeremy. Definitely not the way to go around this. I heard him walk up the rest of the stairs. Jenna looked back at us, amazed annoyance clear on her face.
I sighed and placed the completed nachos to the side. Looks like I won't be enjoying the warm dinner.
"I'll go talk to him."
Aunt Jenna looked reluctant to let someone else take over here, but I insisted. I knew that I would be the only get any kind of response from him. See, there are benefits to not being a responsible figure in the kids life. I'm the one he actually talks to.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I took a breath and turned to the two in the kitchen.
"He went to the hospital," I told them. "To go see Vicki. After all, he was the one who found her."
With that, I carried on walking up the stairs. I didn't bother waiting for any replies. It was quite clear that I was on Jeremy's side here. And I didn't want to get involved in an argument that made things worse for him.
I diverted to my room and grabbed a couple of bags on candy, before knocking on Jer's door.
"Hey kiddo, it's me," I said softly and waited for a response. It didn't take Jeremy long to open the door and the look on his face made my heart melt. "Oh honey, c'mere."
I pulled him down for a hug, gently stroking his hair. After a couple of minutes, he pulled away and led me into his room. We settled down on his bed, the covers pulled over us and Jer's head resting on my stomach.
"Did you get to see Vicki?" I asked quietly, unwilling to disturb the silence more than I had to.
I felt my brother nod against my stomach and felt immediately relieved. I knew he needed to talk to her and I was glad that he had gotten the chance too.
"How'd it go?"
I could see a small smile tugging at his lips, "It went well. We had a good talk and I even managed to make her laugh."
"That's great, Jer," I ran my fingers through his hair, teasing out any tangles. "I'm glad you managed to get in and see her."
"Thank you. And thank you for pushing me."
"You would have gone to see her at some point, I just gave you a push."
"I think I needed it, especially with how things have been between me and Vicki recently."
"She'll see sense eventually, Jer. You're sweet and good for her, she just doesn't want to admit it to herself right now."
"Why not?"
"Because, and I am speaking from experience here, people don't always want to admit when something is good for them. Sometimes it's just easier to accept the bad instead of fighting for the good."
And don't I know it. I was never very good at fighting for the things that were good for me. It was easier just to accept the bad option, even if it hurt.
XXX
It was the day of the comet and I was not impressed. It was literally all any of our teachers talked about, even our math teacher! I didn't even care about the stupid comet. It was just one of those stupid things that our town liked to celebrate because it was related to the founding of the town and the wonderful founding families. Note the sarcasm.
While our teachers were distracted by the dumbass comet, I spent my time texting Jazz. I had seen her around school, but she hadn't given me a lift in. That in itself wasn't unusual, but it was the look on her face that worried me.
She was worried.
It was obvious that she was trying to hide it but I knew her too well for her attempts to be successful. And that worried me. Because anything that could bother her like that was bound to be huge. I had even texted Luke to ask what was wrong, but I just got the brush off answer of 'family drama'. I mean, I could be family drama. But this was definitely bigger that something that simple.
And I missed her. She was ma bestie. And I needed time with her. I had already lost Tyler and my crush on Luke made hanging out with him awkward at times. And beyond that, she was my girl bestie.
I missed her.
My low mood must have tipped off my other girlies. Because Caroline spent all of art class drawing very artful penis' to try and get me to laugh. I have to admit, it did work. But only because she eventually resorted to drawing stupid faces on them. She even let me keep the piece of paper that she used. Which was very thoughtful of her. Bonnie let me win all five games of tic-tac-toe that we played. Which is something that she never, ever did. And Elena did all the work in our science experiment.
I did love my girlies. They had my back when I needed them too.
When school did end, I was so happy that I couldn't even begin to describe it. I just needed it done today. Even when I complain about going to school, I could usually put some energy and effort into it. But today? I just couldn't.
I think it's because mom and dad used to love these founder's, historical town events so much. Mom always explained the significance of it while dad made it more practical and fun. I guess all I could think about was the fact that this was our first event like this without them.
Those gloomy thoughts made me look for any distraction necessary. Before I started drinking even more than I already am.
Which is how I found myself handing out programmes with Bonnie and Ellie.
Because this is something that I never would have willingly done. In fact, I definitely would have sprinted in the other direction if someone had even began to mention it. Which probably explains the twin looks of surprise that I got when I agreed to help out. I think I disappointed Caroline. It looked like she had a speech prepared.
All around us, there was happiness.
Kids were getting their faces painted, adults were laughing amongst themselves, teenagers were starting their party early. There was so much excitement in the air over a damn comet. Well, I say over the comet. I expect most people were just enjoying the excuse to party and have fun. Especially the ones who didn't give a beeswax over all the stupid Founder's stuff.
And in the middle of it all was the beautiful Caroline Forbes.
She was watching over her hard work with pride, ready to swoop in where needed. I was happy for her. She had done an amazing job. It was just a shame that I wasn't in the mood to properly enjoy it.
I lingered behind my sister and friend. Content to just listen to them as they discussed the party, Caroline and school. While I pretended otherwise, I did see the worried glances that they kept shooting me. Normally I would be constantly butting in and getting involved. I guess my silence was unnerving for them.
It wasn't until I heard Bonnie mention Stefan's name that I caught up to them.
"He didn't call, huh?" she asked my sister, her tone sympathetic.
The start of a new relationship was always hard. I had seen it enough with my friends. You had all those stages such as exchanging numbers, first kiss, first date and so on. And this one seemed to be particularly difficult. It was obvious to see that Stefan and Elena liked each other. And they wanted to be together. But something seemed to be constantly getting in the way. Which was annoying, as I genuinely liked Stefan. But I had to support my sister.
"Or text," Ellie added, shaking her head. "But then I realised that we never even exchanged that stuff." Well damn, I thought they had at least exchanged numbers. "We've never even gotten to the texting part."
Bonnie and I exchanged glances as Elena handed out more flyers. This was not good. It was almost as though my idiot twin was giving up on the relationship before it even begins.
"That is an important milestone in any relationship," I reluctantly pointed out, just knowing that it would only encourage my sister.
And it did.
"Isn't it?" she immediately agreed and I cringed at the look Bonnie gave me.
"Sorry," I mouthed, giving an awkward shrug of the shoulders.
Fortunately, my sister's next words drew our attention back to her.
"The timing is wrong anyway."
Oh lord.
After making sure that Caroline wasn't looking, I dumped my remaining flyers on a conveniently placed bench. I couldn't let my sister do this. It was the first good thing since our parents died. She couldn't give up on this just because it was a little bit complicated.
From the look on Bonnie's face, she agreed.
"When is it ever right?" she immediately countered, going down the logic route. Which was a good choice when my idiot sister was concerned.
I could see Elena fighting the logic, "I'm not ready."
Now that's not a good reason. No one is ever ready for these things. But if they are meant to be, then they will happen anyway. Destiny waits for no one.
"Who is?" I gently pointed out, realising that the gentle approach was needed in this situation. Sometimes being a little shit worked when combined with Bonnie's logic. But when matters of the heart were concerned, a soft approach was best.
Ellie looked conflicted. I knew that she didn't want to admit that we were right. This was hard for her. Before our parents died, she was so full of confidence and never struggled to put herself out there. But the death of our parents changed a lot of things, and this as one of them.
She attempted one last time to defend her defeatism, "At least I put myself out there."
Oh honey.
That was never going to work.
Bonnie raised an eyebrow and I sensed victory. It was impossible to argue with the 'eyebrow look'. It was the one that Bonnie gave when she knew victory was hers.
"Is that what you're calling it?"
Ellie frowned and looked down at her remaining flyers. She bit her lip before asking, "What do you mean?"
I took the lead with that one, "Honey, all we are hearing is reasons why you can't."
And we both knew what that meant.
Elena had started trying that 'positive thinking' thing. And listing reasons why you can't do something definitely clashes with that. Even if this ended badly, it was something that she needed to do.
My sister got a pensive look on her face and silence fell as the other two continued to hand out flyers. As I had already ditched mine, I just let myself observe.
It was times like this that I missed my crazy little gang. Don't get me wrong, I loved to hang out with Ellie and Bon. But I missed my friends.
My crazy idiot friends.
Speaking of…
As I looked around the town square, I thought I saw Jazz disappearing into my dad's old surgery. But that couldn't have happened, right? Cos she was supposed to be out of town with her sick grandma. Frowning, I muttered a distracted, "Catch you in a bit," to my sister, and followed her. I eased my way through the ever-growing crowd, trying to see if Luke or Mr and Mrs Nolan were around. It was quite possible that I had just imaged seeing Jazz. Afterall, it was only a glimpse and my mind could have been playing tricks on me.
I was so focussed on my search, that I neglected to pay attention to my surroundings. So it came as quite a shock when my foot hit the curb. There was no way of saving myself from injury. So I closed my eyes and braced myself for the inevitable.
But before I could hit the floor, strong arms caught me and pulled me close to a firm chest. Oh daaaaaamn. I opened my eyes and stared up into the casually smirking face of one Damon Salvatore.
"Oh," I said breathlessly. And didn't I just hate myself for that. I was legit swooning in his arms. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied, his smirk growing. I hated (read: loved) that smirk. It was unfairly sexy. "What's got you so distracted?"
He helped me back to my feet, keeping his arms on mine until I was steady. Disappointment hit me the moment I moved away from his body. And didn't I just hate that? My damn crush was getting ridiculous. I barely knew the guy. He could be some kind of serial killer for all I knew.
Get a grip, Alexandria.
"Uh, I thought I saw my friend," I muttered distractedly, my attention split between memorising the feel of his body against mine and searching the crowd for any sign of the Nolan's. "But she's supposed to be out of town."
"You want any help looking?" Damon offered, a charming smile replacing his smirk.
I was slightly suspicious. Even when I was drooling over the proximity of his firm chest, I remembered the weird event that happened during our last meeting. Not that I knew what it was. Just that Stefan was not at all happy with it.
But because I was a total idiot, I accepted the offer with a smile.
I led the way to my dad's surgery, giving Damon a brief run down on the building. I spent a lot of time here when I was growing up. Especially if I had been grounded during the summer holidays. But it also meant that I knew the building well. Including where the spare key was still kept.
I knelt down and pried away one of the bricks at ground level. It was one of those fake ones where the key was hidden in the middle. My dad was many things, imaginative was not one of them.
"Interesting place to keep a key," Damon remarked as I removed the key from the block. After putting the fake brick back, I stood up, wiping my hands on my jeans.
I gave him a smile and shrugged my shoulders, "My dad loved the fake brick idea, even more so when my mom forbade him from using it."
As I unlocked the door, I had to fight against the tears burning in my eyes, "He never actually told her that he put one in. He just pretended that he left one with Mrs Harland next door."
I don't know if it was obvious that I was fighting back tears, but if it was, Damon was kind enough not to say anything.
The door being locked didn't mean that Jazz wasn't in here. It just meant that if she was, she was making sure to hide her presence. Despite the long months since my parents had died, the room was spotless. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but the absence of any dust was weird.
"Looks like the cleaners have still been coming," my companion remarked, moving past me and running a hand over the counter.
"Dad never had cleaners," I frowned, moving to the door to the basement.
It was locked.
And I didn't have a key for this one.
"Jazz?" I called, hoping for an answer. But silence was all that I received.
A part of me was positive that I had seen her. I know I had. But surely she would have answered me? And why would she have even come in here? There was no reason for her to. All of dad's surgical equipment and drugs were quickly cleared out after the accident. Not that she would have been looking for those.
"Maybe she didn't come in here," I frowned before cringing. Damn this was awkward. "Sorry for dragging you in here for nothing."
Fortunately Damon just gave me a small smile, "No need to apologise. It's always a delight spending time with one of the famous Gilbert twins."
I rolled my eyes and gave him an unimpressed look, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr Salvatore."
But the Salvatore in question just gave me a cheeky smirk, clearly knowing that he had removed any awkwardness.
"Thank you for coming with me," I smiled at Damon, unwilling to say goodbye. But there was no reason for us to linger here, alone. "We should probably get back to the festivities. I'm sure my sister is wondering where I am."
I ran a hand through my hair. Yup, Elena was definitely wondering where I was. Ever since the accident, she really didn't like not knowing where I was. Well, even before the accident, she always wanted to know where I was. But it's only gotten worse since May.
As I turned to leave, a hand grabbed my arm and spun me around. I looked into Damon's captivating eyes and froze. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand cue the panic.
I couldn't move. Like legit couldn't move. What the hell was happening?! Why couldn't I move?
Damon's hands cupped my face and he smirked. But this one was different. For the first time, I felt true fear. It was primal. Like some buried instinct was screaming at me to run.
"Now," the man in front of me purred, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. "I want you to tell me everything you can about Elena."
XXX
In an attempt to run from my crush on Damon Salvatore, I searched the square for my sister. It didn't take long for the sky to turn dark at this time of year. The square quickly filled with people, all eagerly looking up into the night sky. As I grabbed a candle from one of the numerous boxes spread across the square, I, too, looked up.
Bonnie called it a harbinger of evil.
But to me, it meant more. For some reason, it felt like it represented change. Like things would never be the same again. Whether that be for better or worse.
So I made a wish.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wished for happiness. That whatever change may come, I would be happy. That my family would be happy. And my friends would be too. We all deserved a bit of happiness.
As I slowly let the breath out, I opened my eyes and stared hard at the comet above me. Almost daring it to betray that wish.
With a decisive nod, I made my way through the crowd, looking for my sister and friends. As I probably should have expected, they were in the centre of the square. Caroline stood proudly by the bench our boys had commandeered.
When Caroline saw me, a wide smiled formed on her beautiful face. Glancing to the side, I saw Elena stood with Stefan. Deciding to give them some privacy, I walked over to Caroline and the others.
I gave my blonde friend a smile as she lit my candle with hers, "Hey Care, you've done an amazing job with all of this."
"Thanks Alexa," her smile turned soft and she brushed my bangs out of my eyes. "How are you doing?"
I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, "Better than before." And, because I needed to lighten the mood, I gave her a cheeky wink. "And I'll be even better when we get some tequila in me."
Care laughed that delightful laugh of hers and wrapped an arm around my waist, "Then what are we waiting for?"
XXX
It didn't take long for our group to claim a table in the Grill and get a round of beers in. Tyler had charmed the bartender a while back and she gave him whatever he wanted. We always took advantage, when there were no adults around of course.
After we all congratulated Caroline for organising another successful event, we quickly descended into the organised chaos that we were known for. Bonnie and Elena kept the sensible conversation going, checking in on everyone. Tyler started daring people to down their drink and gave out crazy alternatives. Matt alternated between cheering him on and providing more sensible alternatives. Caroline floated between the two, checking in on her numerous projects that we had been volunteered for by her. And as for me, when I wasn't joining in with Tyler, I just sat back and counted myself lucky. I had an amazing group of friends here. And I loved them all dearly.
"Hey," my brother announced his presence as he walked over to the table. "Has anyone seen Vicki?"
I glanced over at Tyler and from the look on his face, I knew that there would be trouble. It pained me that my boys fought so much. But there was nothing that I could do about it. Before my brother 'fell in love' with Vicki, they got along fine. Almost like they were actually brothers. But, as always, a girl got between them. And I was forced to watch as they bit at each others throats.
"You're her stalker," Tyler taunted, an asshole like smirk forming on his face. "You tell us."
"Hey!" I snapped quietly, glaring across the Tyler. He glanced over at me, an apologetic look forming on his face before he looked back at Jer.
"I can't find her," my baby brother emphasised, looking between us all, his eyes lingering on mine. I could tell that he was genuinely worried. He wouldn't have come to us for help if he weren't. Especially since Tyler was with us.
"She probably found someone else to part with," Tyler just couldn't help himself, he had to keep antagonising my brother. As much as I loved him, he could be an absolute dipshit at times. Especially when nursing his wounded ego. "Sorry pill pusher, looks like you've been replaced."
Tyler gave me a hard look and I knew then, that he was actually trying to help Jeremy with that. It was a stupid way to do it, but he had good intentions. If Tyler had seen it, then it meant that Jeremy was getting sloppy hiding his little habit. And if the wrong person saw, then he would be in deep shit.
But that didn't stop me from being pissed off at him in that moment in time. He could have come to me in private. When Elena wasn't around.
The moment the words left Tyler's mouth, she spun around and gave Jeremy a look. It was one that rarely crossed her pretty face. She was more than pissed. She was livid.
"What's with the pill pusher?" she ask, her voice practically a low growl. Uh oh. It was nice knowing you Jeremy.
Everyone knew not to mess with Elena when she hit that tone. Not even brave Tyler Lockwood.
"Ask him," he threw Jer under the bus. Although he did look slightly apologetic.
"You really wanna do this now?" Jeremy huffed, looking incredibly frustrated. He was clearly anxious to find Vicki. And he obviously didn't want to have to deal with a livid Ellie.
"Are you dealing?" my darling sister immediately snapped back. Clearly, she did want to do this now. And she didn't care who was around. She was a woman on a mission.
Tyler must have felt the need to make sure his reputation as a douche was intact, because he couldn't help adding, "She's never gonna go for you."
Why do I love this dickbrain?
Jeremy had clearly had enough of the entire situation and he glared at Tyler, spitting out, "She already did. Over and over and over again."
Yike Jer, I did not need to know that information. Now I need brain bleach.
That drew a gasp from the girls in the group. I couldn't help but notice that Matt had the same sort of look that I did. The brain bleach required now look.
"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline couldn't help but ask, clearly seeking clarification. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?!"
As much as I loved Caroline, she did have a nasty habit of being a bit judgemental. Normally it was easy to ignore and gently direct her away, but when it was being aimed at my brother like that, it was hard not to snap at her.
I felt a hand on my arm and glanced over at Bonnie. She gave me a sympathetic look and I sighed. I knew that I could be a bit overprotective when it came to my younger brother. But I had spent my entire life keeping the little dipshit out of trouble, including the trouble I got him into.
Tyler looked shocked, having not expected that his little move would backfire on him like that, "There's no way…"
"And why not?" Jeremy spat, clearly itching for a fight. The kid had the same instincts I did. He couldn't keep calm when worried, he needed to be doing something. Even if it meant starting a pointless fight.
Before any heads could be bashed, Matt stood up, the sound of his chair scraping against the floor drawing all attention to him.
"How about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" he suggested, reminding us that this little drama was not the biggest issue.
Yeah, that was not a good look on us all.
We all quickly stood up, a cloud of guilt hanging above us all.
"We'll check the back," Bonnie volunteered, gesturing to herself and Caroline. The girls made a quick exit, denying me any chance of accompanying them. As much as I didn't want to abandon Jeremy to Elena's anger, I knew that it wouldn't be pretty.
"I'll check the square," Matt threw over his shoulder, already half way to the door.
Trying his luck, Jeremy announced that his intention to go with him. But he barely made it a step before Ellie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Oh no, no, no," she growled. "You are coming with us."
Jer looked over at me but I could only shrug helplessly.
"Sorry kiddo," I mouthed, knowing that it was much at all.
Elena dragged our brother over to the side of the Grill, clearly wanting to make her speech in private. I grabbed his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. There was nothing I could say to stop Hurricane Elena, but I could make sure that he wasn't alone through it.
"So that's your game now?" she ground out, practically vibrating with anger. "Dealing?"
She spat the word out with so much venom that I nearly stepped back. I hadn't seen her this angry in a long, long time.
"I'm not dealing," Jer denied, but he sounded to fed up that it wasn't the most convincing. I knew he wasn't properly dealing. But I also knew that he helped out a mate when asked. Does that count as dealing?
"Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer," it was only because I knew her so well, that I heard the exhaustion in Elena's voice. I knew that she only had his best intentions in mind. But she would never get through to him like this. He needed someone to be on his side and actually understand. Not just lecture him all the time. "It's clearly having no impact."
"You and Jenna," Jeremy scoffed, shaking his head. "Between the two of you-"
Elena quickly interrupted him, a hand on her hip, "We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it. Or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me."
I have to admit, I was kinda offended that she didn't include me there. I was the only one that the kid actually talked to. Yeah, I'm not the most responsible person out there, but I loved the little punk. And I wanted him to be okay.
All I had to do was look at Jer's face to know that Ellie had lost this one. He jutted his chin out, a sign that he was going to be even more stubborn.
"I vote for none of the above," he hissed before letting go of my hand and storming away.
My sister went to follow him but I grabbed her arm. The last thing that either of them needed was to prolong this argument. Jeremy needed some space before he could be reasoned with. And I would give him that space, even if it killed me.
"Give it time," I said softly when she gave me a questioning look. "He's too angry to listen to anyone right now."
My twin looked like she wanted to argue but after a moment, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Did I come across to harsh?"
"Eh," I tilted a hand from side to side. "Just a little."
Elena looked so defeated, "I'm just worried about him."
"And he knows that. He's just too stubborn to admit it."
Ellie opened her eyes and locked me in place with a watery gaze, "I just want him to be okay."
Oh Ellie, you're breaking my heart. Why is everyone in my lift so damn stubborn?
"I know you do, sis. And so do I," I wrapped her in a hug and whispered in her ear. "He'll be fine. I'll make sure of it."
My sister wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed tightly, "Maybe I should let you deal with him."
"And let me lose my rep as the cool sister? Never."
That earned me a laugh. And oh boy was that a welcome sound.
XXX
The drive home was quiet. Stefan had found Vicki wandering around the square and had safely returned her to Matt. Sensing my sister's need to be alone, I suggested that she go home. And I even let her take me with her. I guess with Jazz and Luke being MIA, I just didn't feel the need to hang around. I guess I just needed the comfort of home too.
I think Ellie was hoping that Jer had beaten us home, but I knew that he wouldn't be here. He wouldn't come home until it was late and no one would be awake. He needed space. And I expect that he wanted to wait in the area until he got to see Vicki.
But the sound of someone rummaging around in his room made me doubt it. Sometimes that kid did surprise me. But this would be a huge surprise if he was home.
"Jer?" I called as we reached the top of the stairs.
"Nope, it's me" Aunt Jenna quickly poked her head around the doorway before returning to her rummaging. "The hypocrite patrol."
Ouch.
Something was clearly bothering her. Maybe her chat with Mr Tanner went even worse than we were expecting. She was clearly unhappy with Jer when she through an apple at him. But this was something else.
"What are you doing?" Elena asked, joining me in the doorway.
Aunt Jenna closed the drawer she had been looking through and looked around the room. She tugged at the end of her messy ponytail and strode over to the pile of shoes and jackets under the window.
"I've become my own worst nightmare," she replied, swopping down to push aside the jackets. "The authority figure who has to violate a 15 year old's privacy." It didn't take her long to pull some pretty damn incriminating evidence from one of the boots. Damnit Jer, I'm sure I taught you to hide your stuff better than that. Honestly, his hiding skills are almost as bad as Elena's acting skills.
Fortunately for him, I still had a good amount of his stash hidden in my room. And neither of the two authority figures in our life would go through my room. They still thought that I was coping okay. Which is crazy really. But that's a completely different issue.
"Jackpot," Aunt Jenna exclaimed, shaking the dong and giving the boot a disappointed look. "I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative."
Elena walked past me and sat down on the beanbag chair by the pile of boots. Jenna passed her the bong before making a start of another chest of drawers.
"What brought this on?" my sister asked, having a look at the bong. I sat down on the bed and crossed my leg. There was nothing that I could do to stop this. But at least I could make a mental note of what was taken.
"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday," Jenna sighed, concentrating on her search.
I winced. Poor Aunt Jenna didn't need that. She was doing everything she can. And she was doing a damn good job.
"Ah, you got Tannered," I reached forward and patted my aunt on the back in sympathy. "I've definitely been there."
I tried not to remember all of the numerous times that I had been on the receiving end of a Tanner lecture. It was not fun. Not at all. I know I brought a lot of them on myself, but some of them were completely unfair.
"'Discover the impossible, Miss Sommers'" she repeated in a mocking voice, pulling out more of Jeremy's stash. "Got it, thanks." I had never heard my aunt sound so bitter. And it hurt. "Like I didn't know that I was screwing up."
Ellie and I exchanged looks before saying, "You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna."
I really wanted to hit Mr Tanner for what he's done to Jenna. She was doing an amazing job. Just because Jer and I were being our usual stubborn selves did not give him any right to lecture her.
"Yes I am," she disagreed, throwing the packet in her hand to Elena and slumping down on the bed. "And you know why? Because I'm not her."
Jenna's voice was thick with unshed tears. I couldn't help it. I grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you two. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing and he's gonna get worse. And it's gonna be my fault." She sighed, sound so defeated. "It's impossible."
I looked at my twin helplessly. I didn't know what to say to make our aunt feel better.
"This is just the fear talking," Elena told her, leaning forward and taking her other hand. "You're a little scared, that's all. We all are."
My sister must have come to some sort of epiphany as realization spread across her face. I had a feeling that it was Stefan related. Elena focused on Aunt Jenna and bit her lip, a clear sign that she was feeling conflicted.
"Ellie," her gaze flickered over to me and I gave her a small smile. "Go talk to Stefan. I'll look after Jenna and remove all memories of Tanner."
"Thank you," she smiled softly, standing up and striding from the room, determination in her every step.
"I want to know what happens when you get back!" I yelled after her, pleased when I received a laugh from Elena and Jenna.
Right, time to cheer up my aunt.
"Auntie J," I crooned, wrapping her in a hug. "You're doing an amazing job. You helped me get out of a dark place. Yeah, I'm still struggling a little bit, but I could be a lot worse." I pulled back and looked her in the eye. "And you'll help Jeremy get out of his dark place. You just have to be patient." Itching to get a smile from my aunt, I couldn't help but add, "After all, he is a Gilbert guy. You know how stubborn they are."
Aunt Jenna shook her head and laughed. Yes. Double win.
"It's not just the Gilbert guys who are stubborn," she smiled, brushing my bangs from my face.
"Oh shush," I rolled my eyes. "I'm not stubborn, I'm headstrong."
"Same thing, different word."
I stood up and pouted, "Is this pick on Alexa day or something?"
"Well…" Jenna smirked as she stood up.
"You're all so mean," I deepened my pout as I let Jenna pull me from Jeremy's room.
"Would some ice cream make up for it?"
I beamed at my aunt, thrilled when she returned the smile, "You're the best Aunt Jenna."
As Jenna got the ice cream from the freezer, I set up the DVD player with one of the numerous romcom's that Jenna adored. I got the blankets ready and settled down on my sofa. While I was tired and more than ready to go to bed, I knew that Aunt Jenna needed this. This situation was hard on her too. And if I could help her by eating ice cream and watching romcoms, then I would. She deserved it and I loved her too much to deny her it.
As Jenna entered the room, my phone buzzed on the table. Frowning, I reached forward and swiped it from it's place on the DVD case.
'Miss you x'
I smiled as I read Jazz's text and replied with a 'miss you too x'.
Maybe things were beginning to look up.
A/N: Let me know what you think of the changes that I have made and if there are any other changes that you want to see. Thanks for reading xoxo
