Disclaimer: I only own my OCs
A/N: And here comes the end of season 1! With just one more review until 400, hopefully I can get it for this chapter! This has always been a favourite episode of mine and I hope my little additions aer enjoyed ;) I really do need to start being nicer to Alexa haha
XXX
If anyone in my family could pull off the period look, it was Elena. She looked absolutely gorgeous in the dress that she was wearing for the Founder's Day Parade. And yes, Founder's Day was upon us. Oh joy. Sense the sarcasm. Everything for the past week had been building up to this day. Even our school lessons had revolved around the damn thing.
But anyways, back to my twin. The dress that she wore, (and that I chose for her, aren't I such an amazing twin?) was a beautiful green and gold dress complete with corset top. Ellie had even curled her hair for the event.
Oh did Elena hit me so hard when she saw the corset. Well, what can I say? It's revenge for waking me up so goddamn early to go shopping. No one wakes Alexa up early and gets away with it. Not even Damon. I always got my revenge.
Aunt Jenna had the wonderful job of helping my twin get ready for the parade while I had a well-deserved lay in. And it was well deserved. I had done my twinly duty and helped her chose everything for the day. So I deserved to catch up on the sleep that I had missed.
Elena was the one who woke me up. I had been sleeping in her bed again. I had been having semi-recurring nightmares about Isobel. Being a vampire. And killing everyone that I cared about. And... well, you get the picture.
After climbing into her bed and waking her up two nights in a row, Ellie told me to just go to sleep in her bed. I happily accepted the offer. Not only did it help with the nightmares, I had someone to cuddle with. I liked cuddling when I was sleeping. It's why I have all of my teddies and bunnies.
And unlike last time I had recurring nightmares, I actually accepted the help. Damon had basically told me off last time, although he phrased it a lot nicer. He said that I was too stubborn to accept help for something that was beyond my control. And he was probably right. I never used to worry about telling my sister about my nightmares. But when it came to the ones I suffered after the Nolan's died, I just couldn't do it. And I definitely suffered for it. So I decided to do better this time and accept help from my sister.
I took one look at her, all dolled up and prettified, and whistled, "Damn girl, if you weren't my sister and if I played on the side of the fence, I would be making some pretty indecent comments right about now."
Fortunately, my dear twin was used to me making comments like that. In fact, all of my friends were... should I be worried about that?
Meh, I don't care.
Ellie blushed and glanced down at her dress, "So, I look alright?"
Did she honestly just ask that?
I patted her side, the only part of her body that I could reach from the bed. I was, of course, too lazy to get up. And too comfy too.
"You look amazing, twin," I smiled lazily. "Stefan won't know what hit him."
"Thanks Lexa," Ellie beamed at me, smoothing down her dress.
"No probs, twinnie."
"You should probably go and get ready before Caroline kills us for being late."
"Ugh, you're probably right. From the state she's been in recently, being just a second late would send her into a rage."
As Elena disappeared from the room, I reluctantly pulled myself from my bed and stumbled into my own bedroom. Right, now I need to choose some clothes for myself.
Hmm, what to wear, what to wear.
I looked at the clothes that were hanging up in my wardrobe. I know! They're not in a pile on the floor! I'll tell ya why, it's because Elena got fed up with them being there, so she organised them and hung them up.
Eventually I managed to choose some clothes which would be suitable for the Founder's parade. They were black leggings, dark denim shorts and a purple off the shoulder top. I finished off the look with my favourite heeled ankle boots and some sparkly jewellery.
I know, they're actually normal colours for a change. I would have gone outrageous, but Elena and Tyler had asked me not too. So, me the amazing person that I am, decided to heed their wishes and wear something normal. But that did mean that it took a while to choose, after all, most of my clothes are 'in your face' colourful. I did treat myself with some colourful bangles though. No one could yell at me for colourful jewellery, not even Caroline.
And as it was supposed to be a nice warm day, for spring, I didn't have to worry about coats and scarfs. Which was such a relief. I hated having to match my coats and scarfs. It was such a drag. It's why I loved the warmer months, it made accessorising so much easier.
But I honestly can't tell you how glad I am that I don't have to dress up for this stupid parade. I hated dressing up like that. Decade dances, yeah, they're great. But these sort of things? Nuh uh. No way hose. Not my thing. The uncomfortable dresses? Bluegh. Corsets? Double bluegh. Give me a party dress any day of the week.
Hmmm, perhaps it's a good thing that I didn't sign up for Miss Mystic Falls. Otherwise, I'd have to dress up like Elena has had to.
Hmmm... never thought of it like that...
XXX
Damon's POV
"Look at you," I smirked at my brother as I walked up beside him. "All retro."
"What are you doing here?" Stefan sighed as he tugged uncomfortably on his heavy coat.
"Why wouldn't I be here?" I scoffed, shaking my head. Honestly Stefan, what a stupid question. "Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention; Isobel is gone and it's Founder's Day!" I threw my arms out to the side and smirked at Saint Stefan, "I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal Alexa."
Hmmm, that got a response. How delightful.
"Don't start with me, Damon," Stefan growled, giving me one of his broodiest glares.
Oh Stefan, you are so easy to annoy. It was almost getting boring.
"Oh you started this, Stefan with that whole 'I'm insecure about my friendship, leave Alexa alone' speech," I laughed sarcastically. "I'm still enjoying that."
It was actually rather amusing that Stefan thought that he could control what I did when it comes to Alexa. She was mine, not his. He had the other twin, the Katherine lookalike. I had the sweet one who actually valued friendship and didn't stab you in the back. Did he think that Alexa would throw away his friendship just because she had mine? If he did, then he was a bigger fool than I originally thought. Alexa was far too loyal to do that and she would treasure his friendship no matter what happened with me.
"As long as you heard it."
"What? Huh?" I mocked, cupping my ear as though deaf. I rolled my eyes as Stefan let out an unamused chuckle.
"You have no sense of humour, Stefan," I sighed in disappointment. How unlucky was I? To have a buzzkill bob as a brother? Who did I piss off to be punished like that?
"Actually, I have no sense of 'Damon humour'," Stefan said before he walked away.
"Damon humour?" I repeated, pausing to consider the phrase, before moving to catch up with my brother. "Hey look, I get it, I get it. Out of all the guys in Mystic Falls, I'm the better, hotter, superior choice and you're scared that now Katherine is out of the picture, that I'm gonna turn all of my attention to Alexa. But don't worry, Alexa is not Katherine."
Even if she does look similar to her twin and ancestor, her eyes are the biggest difference. Not that she needs that difference, her personality is difference enough. She was far too sweet and loyal. Katherine wouldn't know loyalty if it bit her on the ass.
"You're right, she's not," Stefan nodded in agreement.
Before I could say anything else, something over my brother's shoulder caught my eye. I looked to see Elena, dressed in a revolution era dress walking towards us. With her hair curled like that, she looked exactly like Katherine. There was no difference between the two. At seeing Elena look so much like Katherine, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Perhaps I wasn't the one with unresolved feelings when it came to the vampire who turned us.
As Elena smiled and curtsied, I looked behind her to see Alexa walking up behind her twin. That Gilbert was dressed in normal clothes, unlike her twin. But even in period clothes she would look nothing like Katherine.
My heart warmed as Alexa beamed at the sight of me and gave me a wave. I couldn't help but glance at the cast on her arm as she did so. Just the very thought of what happened still infuriated me. Isobel was lucky to leave town alive. It was only because she was the twin's mother that she did so. Even if Alexa hated her, I couldn't take her mother from her again.
I wasn't a fool. I knew that Alexa's apathy towards her birth parents was just a front. She just didn't want to be rejected again. They gave her up once, what if they decided to do it again. So maybe it was a good thing that their uncle was their birth father. It should soothe that sense of abandonment. John was lucky. It was only his connection to the twin's that kept him alive. His threats meant nothing to me, not really. A weak little man like that could do nothing to hurt me.
XXX
Alexa's POV
"What do you mean Uncle John is our birth father?" I gasped, staring at Stefan with wide eyes.
"Is that even possible?" Elea gasped, grabbing onto my hand and squeezing it hard.
Our dear Stefan had just told us that Uncle John is our birth father. No, there is a possibility that Uncle John is our birth father. There is no way. No damn way. Uncle John can't be our dad. He just... can't be. Like at all. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.
"There is no proof," Stefan sighed, giving us a sympathetic look. "But he dated Isobel when she was a teenager and he was the one who brought her to your dad's office for the delivery."
"Our whole lives, we have never liked this man," the confusion in Ellie's voice was clear to anyone who was listening. And I could only sympathise. It was mind bogglingly.
But, Uncle John being our dad, it would explain so much. Why he always took an interest in mine and Elena's lives. Why he took so much interest in my relationship with Luke. And a whole load of other reasons that shock had just blasted from my mind.
"Sorry, I'm sorry," Stefan said softly, staring into Elena's eyes. "I just... I wanted to tell you before Damon dropped it on you on some typically inappropriate way."
Yeah, that does sound like something Damon would do. Subtle he is not. But that's one of the things that I like about him. He tells it to straight. There's no beating around the bushes. He would just tell you. And then help you figure it out.
So I guess that's why Stefan made him leave before he told us. In case Damon did as Damon does and blurts it out. Which sucked. As I would have loved to have my friend there to support me. I adored Stefan, I really did, but he kind of got swept up in Elena world when this sort of thing happened. I was internally freaking out here and he only had eyes for my sister. Who was also freaking out. And I couldn't be mad that she had someone who loved her so much that she was his number one priority. I just wished that I had someone there for me right now.
"No, I'm happy that you told me," twinnie told her boyfriend with a small nod. I coughed loudly. Ellie rolled her eyes gently but amened her sentence, "Told us. I just... I really hope that it's not true."
"Join the club, twin," I muttered, scuffing my foot on the ground.
Hmmmm, maybe I should my amazing ability to deny the important and forget that it ever happened? No, I probably shouldn't. This was too important.
"How the hell are we gonna find out for certain?" I asked, a frown adorning my face. "It's not like we can just walk up to him and ask 'are you mine and Elena's birth father?'... is it? Could it really be that simple?"
"I don't know, Lexa, we could do that."
"I guess that's something that you can think about... when you're ready," Stefan suggested, glancing between the two of us.
"Holy hell, Stefan, I don't think that we're ever gonna be ready," I snorted, resting my head on Elena's shoulder.
"We have enough problems that we actually care about," Ellie agreed with a sigh. "Jeremy hates me and why wouldn't he? My journal gave him every single reason to."
I was so gonna slap that kid the next time that I saw him. Did he listen to a single thing that I had said to him? No. The stupid child. And now he was storming around in a permanent strop. He was lucky that I was too busy looking after Elena to give him a proper piece of my mind.
"He's just hurt," Stefan said, trying to comfort her. "He's confused."
"He's gonna find my foot meeting his ass if he's not careful," I muttered into Ellie's shoulder.
"He's never going to forgive me for wanting to take his memories away, for actually sending Damon to go do that," Elena sighed miserably.
"He will forgive you, Elena," I said firmly, as I turned her head to look at me. "You know why? Because he's our brother. All he needs is time."
My only wish was that I believed my own words.
XXX
Well, well, well. Look who it is. Our little brat of a brother.
The little brat had been avoiding both me and Elena ever since that night. He was avoiding Elena because... well... we all know why he's avoiding Elena. But he's avoiding me because he's under the impression that I have taken Elena's side over his. I hadn't, though. Yeah, I understand what Elena wanted to do and I am, sort of, protecting and defending her from Jeremy's anger. But I've also told her what I feel about what she wanted to do. I have done since she first confronted me over it. But Jeremy's says that it's because Elena is my twin sister and that I will always be on her side. And that's... completely true.
Twins stick together. No matter what.
Don't get me wrong. I love Jeremy. And I can totally understand why he was so angry. But there is angry and there is what he is doing. He won't even try to forgive Elena, hell; he won't even acknowledge her apologies. He's just taking his anger to a whole new level. And by doing that, he's hurting Elena, he's hurting my twin. And I just couldn't have that.
"Jeremy!" Elena called, running over to him, carefully holding her dress above the ground. "I was wondering where you were."
The cold look that he gave her made me growl. Coincidently scaring a couple of girls at the same time. Heh, whoops. I walked after my twin as she came to a stop next to Jeremy. I wasn't sure if he had actually stopped at her call or if she had pulled him to a stop.
"You look great," she smiled shyly. "You guys did a really great job on the float."
Yeah, they did. I was so proud of my Ty. He had truly done an amazing job designing him float. All of them had. Alaric had carefully guided his students to the most authentic but good-looking history float that could have been. The detail in the uniforms they wore was incredibly
"Go away, Elena," Jeremy snapped, refusing to look at her.
"Jeremy, come on!" my twin pleaded desperately, still holding onto his arm. "Please! I don't want it to be like this between us."
"Then why don't you have Damon try and erase my memory again?" the brat growled, finally turning to look at us. "Alexa might not even stop you this time. And then I can be your in the dark little brother who is no trouble at all."
Oh he did not just say that.
If there was a line, then he had just crossed it. No, he had just freakin' sprinted across it.
Obliterated it.
"Jeremy!" I exclaimed in shock and disgust, reading to give the kid a piece of my mind. Especially when I saw the tears forming in my sister's eyes.
"Don't Alexa! Just don't," Jeremy turned to face me. "This isn't something that you guys can fix that easily, things like this just don't get fixed."
Jeremy glared at us one last time before stalking off.
Damnit Jeremy, don't say things like that. Of course this can be fixed. We're family; we have to be able to fix this. Family sticks together, no matter what. He'll realise this eventually. Even if I have to beat it into his thick skull.
XXX
"Well, well, well, don't you look dashing," I smirked as Tyler walked past me. He was dressed up as a revolution soldier. With a bit of fake blood. Always needs the fake blood.
I was leaning against one of the trees at the school, watching everyone get ready on the floats.
That sounded rather bad, didn't it? Oh well, you know what I mean. Elena had disappeared to go hug Stefan and Jeremy was off pouting somewhere. And I was lurking here in an attempt to calm down. I knew that I needed to speak to Jer but I had to get a grip on my emotions. The stupid kid didn't do well when it came to being confronted. The summer had proven that. So I needed to be firmly in control before I spoke to him.
Tyler laughed and came to a stop, "And don't you look normal... for once."
I gaped in shock before pouting, "That's not very nice."
"You forget something, my dear Alex; I'm not a nice person."
Ty-Ty leaned against the tree, next to me. And I gave him a look for his cheekiness. It was nice to see a smile on his face. His fight with Matt had dampened his mood dramatically. And I didn't manage to get a smile from him often. Which sucked. Cos my Ty had a lovely smile.
"Yeah, I did forget that. Whoops."
"So, you didn't volunteer to dress up in a fancy dress, then?"
I fake gagged, "You're joking right?"
"Didn't think that you would."
"Then why did you ask?"
"To see what your reaction would be."
I elbowed my Ty in the stomach.
"Alexa! That wasn't very nice!"
"You forget something, dear brother," I smirked, repeating his earlier words. "I'm not a very nice person."
"Touché, Alex, touché."
"Thank you."
I smiled at my Ty before 'oh'ing in remembrance.
"I have something for you."
"Oh?" Tyler raised his eyebrow in disguise.
I pulled a blue handkerchief out of my pocket and looked down at the ground, "Well, uh, I heard, from Mr Tanner, that families of soldiers gave something to the soldier as a memento. So, here's one for you."
My hands shook slightly as I tucked the handkerchief in the pocket of the jacket, leaving a corner hanging out. The letters TL were embroided on in gold thread in a cursive script.
"Aunt Jenna and Elena helped me with the embroidery part," I said, a faint blush adorning my cheeks as I looked up at Ty through my eyelashes.
Tyler's hands caught mine and gave them a squeeze.
"It's perfect," he smiled, clearing his throat a couple of times to keep his voice even. "The perfect finishing touch."
I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.
"Thank you, sister," he whispered in my ear as he gave me a squeeze.
"You're welcome, brother."
XXX
Bonnie and I had decided to watch the parade together, seeing as though everyone else was actually in the parade. I hadn't really given her much of a choice in the matter and demanded that she enjoy it with me. Bonnie put up a minor fight but quickly gave in.
"Hey sweets," I beamed at the witch as I walked up beside her. Bonnie had found a good spot to watch from while I collected some popcorn from one of the stands.
"Hi Alexa," Bon-Bon smiled back before pausing. "Alexa?"
"Yessum?"
"Why do you call me 'Sweets'?"
"Because you're called Bon-Bon. And Bon-Bons are sweets. So I call you sweets."
"That makes sense in an Alexa sort of way."
"A lot of things I say make sense in an Alexa sort of way."
"Alexa, they have to make sense in an Alexa sort of way, otherwise they just wouldn't make sense."
"As much as I would love to argue that point, I know that there is no way that I would be able to."
"Well, at least you've learnt not to argue when it's obviously futile."
"You have Elena to thank for that. She taught me."
"At least someone did."
I gasped in mock offense, "Rudeness."
Bonnie laughed at me. I laughed with her for a few minutes. I had missed spending time with Bonnie recently. With her Gram's death and all the vampire drama, I hadn't spent as much time with her as I would have liked. Phone calls and text messages just weren't the same. Bonnie had always had a calming presence but she could banter like the best one them when you got her started. I watched as the smile lit up her face and turned serious.
"But seriously, Bonnie, there's something that I wanted to say to you." I looked at the questioning look on Bonnie's face and took a deep breath, "Thank you. For de-spelling the Gilbert invention." There was a look of shock on Bonnie's face. "I know that you don't like Stefan or Damon. Especially Damon, but you did it anyway. So thank you. And thank you for not making me be a liar and unintentionally breaking Damon's trust... again."
"Alexa..."
"You're a good friend for doing that, Bon-Bon."
Just as Bonnie opened her mouth to respond, Carol Lockwood's voice rang out, "Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Mystic Falls Founder's Day parade, celebrating 150 years of our beautiful town."
The crowd cheered.
As crowds do.
Would be a bit awkward if the crowd didn't cheer.
"Let's give a big hand to the Mystic Falls' high school Marching Band!"
The Marching Band marched past. And, ok, I have to admit, they were actually rather good. I had almost become a member of the marching band when I was younger. When I was a sweet, innocent young teenager. But Jazz and Elena talked me out of it. Said that it wasn't really my thing. That, and I can't play a musical instrument to save my life. So they really did save me from a lot of embarrassment.
Cooking was more my thing. My dad, my real dad, not the faker that was apparently John, taught me. Mom had writing with Elena and dad had cooking with me. I was his little chef. I was better cooking cakes than other things. Especially chocolate cakes. Mmm, chocolate. Anyways, let's move on before I start drooling.
"And for a little local history, Mr Saltzman's students have recreated Virginia's Battle of Willow Creek."
I jumped up and down, screaming excitedly as I tried to catch Tyler and Jeremy's attention. I almost thought that I would miss them when Tyler quickly caught my eye.
I waved my arms in the air, beaming madly. My Ty shook his head before smiling and winking. I laughed and blew him a kiss. Tyler caught the kiss before waving and turning his attention to the other members of the crowd.
Giggling, I waved at the other boys on the float. But I had noticed something; Tyler still had the handkerchief that I gave him.
Love you too, brother.
Speaking of brothers, my own baby brother Jeremy was also on the float. We even exchanged eye contact. And the brat didn't even wave at me. All I got was a dirty look. I'm not gonna lie. The way that Jeremy was treating me hurt. It hurt a lot. I thought that we were closer than that. But obviously we're not.
No, sad thoughts, today is supposed to be a happy day.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls Court and their handsome escorts."
Bon-Bon and I exchanged glances before screaming extra loudly for our girls. Well, I screamed, Bonnie just clapped extra loudly.
"Elena! Elena! Elena!" I chanted loudly, getting weird looks from the people in front of us. I just gave them a 'what?' look before continuing my chanting.
Elena appeared to be searching the crowd for someone. When her gaze landed on me, her smile became wider and her waving more enthusiastic.
"This is Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls. Aren't they beautiful?"
Hell yeah!
Well, my twin is. And my friend was. Don't know about the others. Don't care about the others.
I blew a kiss at my twin before I started clapping again. Caroline gave me a wave and I sent her a kiss too. Ellie spotted the witch next to me and waved at her as well. I got more waves than Bonnie, though. Haha, twin power.
Hem hem, and yes, before you ask, I did have some sugar before the parade started. That's why I'm cheering even more enthusiastically than I normally would. It was a part of my trick to have a happy day. Sugar made me a little more manic than normal and would help counteract any effects my bad night's sleep would have had.
Just as twinnie was waving at witchy, some asshole stepped in front of us, blocking us from Elena's view.
Ugh, how rude!
The asshole waved at the float before turning around. Lol, it was Damon. Maybe the asshole part was still right.
"Heya Damon!" I laughed happily, fist-bumping his shoulder in greeting.
"Hello Alexa," Damon smirked, going to mess up my hair before I ducked out of the way.
"What do you want?" Bonnie rolled her eyes next to me. Tut tut, Bonnie, so rude. Why is everyone so rude to Damon? Well, he does do everything in his power to deserve the rudeness. But surely other people could see what I did?
"Just watching the parade," Damon replied innocently. Well, as innocently as Damon could. Which wasn't a lot. But it wouldn't have worked with Bonnie anyway.
"Come on, Alexa," Bonnie said, grabbing my arm.
"Whoa! Where are we going?" I asked, stumbling slightly as Bonnie started pulling me away.
"Away from Damon," the witch answered without looking back.
"Ohhhhh," I whined and pouted with a roll of my eyes. Honestly, one day I would make those two get along.
"Bonnie, wait!" Damon called before we could take more than a couple of steps. "I wanna say something to you."
The witch hesitated for a second before sighing and turning to look at the vampire. I, too, looked at the vampire, curious as to what he was gonna say.
"Thank you," Damon said, catching both of us off guard.
Bonnie because she never believed that he could genuinely thank someone. And me, because I never expected him to say 'thank you' to Bonnie, of all people. But it was a pleasant surprise. Maybe she can finally see the side of him that I have seen recently. The side that I had become friends with. The side that I enjoyed spending time with.
"The device that Emily spelled could have killed me," the vampire continued, with a sincere look on his face. "I don't take what you did lightly so... thank you."
"I did it for Elena and Alexa," Bonnie said, trying to deflect the gratitude. Which, to be honest, made me rather mad. It wasn't often that Damon showed gratitude to someone, and it shouldn't be shrugged off like that.
"I know that, but I'm still very grateful. And... I owe you."
The witch and the vampire stared at each other for a few seconds and I held my breath at the tension. I had to resist the urge to bounce on my tip-toes as no one spoke for far too long.
"Enjoy the parade," he said to her before glancing at me. "I'll speak to you later, Alexa."
"Bye Damon," I smiled softly. The vampire smiled back before leaving.
"Did that really just happen?" Bonnie muttered, sounding shocked.
"See? He's not all bad."
And it's true.
The Damon that I had met when he first arrived at Mystic Falls was still there. He had just lowered some of his walls. He had trusted me enough to see beneath the meanness, the dickness, the vampireness. I got to see the other side to him. The, dare I say it, the human side.
"Let's cheer for the Mystic Falls' high school football team! Alright! Let's show them our support, everybody!"
Bonnie didn't clap. She just sort of stared in the direction that Damon walked in, a weird look on her face.
Hmm, wonder what's up with her.
XXX
Not long after the parade finished, I got a call from Ellie at the school. She wanted me to help her get out of the dress. I laughed before agreeing. I was such an amazing twin, after all.
"I saw Damon speaking to you and Bonnie," Ellie commented casually as I undid the strings on her corset and allowed my sister to breathe properly again.
"Well, he mainly spoke to Bonnie-Bon."
"What did he say?"
"Feeling nosey, are we?"
"Lexa, answer the question," Ellie laughed, giving me a look over a shoulder.
"He thanked her."
"Damon thanked Bonnie?"
"That was my reaction."
"Why?"
"Because she removed the spell from the Gilbert invention."
"I did not expect you to say that."
"He showed actual, honest to god, gratitude," I sighed as I turned around to give Elena some privacy as she got changed into some normal clothes.
My mind reluctantly drifted back to Isobel's words.
If she had said them a few months ago, before Luke's... death, before the tomb, hell, even before the impromptu roadtrip to Atalanta with my sister; I wouldn't have believed that Damon was capable of love. But ever since, I had seen a different side to Damon. One that is capable of loving someone. Just... not me.
"You're thinking about what Isobel said," Elle said as she slipped an arm around my shoulder.
"You know me so well, twin," I sighed as I rested my head on her shoulder and fiddling with one of the curls hanging in front of me.
"Do you think that it could be true?" I blurted out before biting my lip.
"I don't know for sure, Lexa, but I think that-"
A knock on the door interrupted Elena's words and I sighed internally in frustration.
"Elena? You ready?" Stefan's voice asked through the door.
Ellie opened her mouth to answer before hesitating and looking at me.
"Go," I smiled, pushing my less generous feelings deep down. "Spend some time with your boyfriend."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Go on, I'll catch ya later."
"Make sure that you do."
We hugged before she left.
I wonder what she was gonna say.
XXX
"I'm pleased that you didn't dress up. I get the feeling that the period look wouldn't suit."
The sound of Damon's voice behind me had me smiling softly and biting my lip. I glanced around the Grill before turning around with a smirk.
"Are you insulting me, Mr Salvatore?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms. A strange warmth filled me at the sight of the small smile on the vampire's lips.
"Actually, Miss Gilbert," Damon said as he moved closer to me. "That was a compliment of the highest order."
"Good," I stated calmly before laughing. "You're right though, the period look probably wouldn't suit me at all. And I hate dressing up like that anyway."
I don't know why the period wouldn't suit me; there was just something about me. Elena could most definitely do the period look. She had this... elegance about her which helped. I was just far too modern to be able to pull it off. Maybe it was my personality, maybe that's why I wouldn't suit it.
"I noticed that you changed your hair for today," the vampire said, brushing my bangs out of my eyes. The tips of his fingers lingering on my skin before swiftly withdrawing. My skin tingled at his touch and I allowed myself to enjoy it for once.
My hair was all wavy today. I had decided to do something different for Founder's Day. So I borrowed Elena's straighteners and added a wave to my normally straight hair.
I blushed slightly before explaining, "Ellie had her straighteners and curlers out, so I decided to try something new."
"It wasn't entirely successful, was it?" Damon smirked, running his finger over a burn on the top of my ear.
I batted his hand away and pouted, "I'm out of practice, ok? I haven't actually done anything like that with my hair since I got it cut short. And it's crazy how quickly one forgets how to do stuff like that."
"It looks good though."
"Why, thank you."
Ok, I was definitely blushing now. Damn it. Hopefully he won't mention it. I knew that he would notice, it would be impossible not to.
"There was something that I wanted to say," I said reluctantly. I didn't want to bring it up but this was the best time to do so. Even if I didn't want to break the nice atmosphere between us.
"Oh?" Damon asked, interest on his face as he leant against the table next to me.
"Elena told me that Stefan is worried about our friendship," I revealed with a roll of the eyes. It was ridiculous, of course, but I figured that Damon ought to know.
"Is he now? Do you know if he has said anything to her?"
I frowned, thinking, "I don't think so. Why? Has he said something to you?"
"No," Damon paused before adding. "Well, nothing worth repeating."
"Right," I rolled my eyes. "But there was actually a point to this."
"And what is that?"
"I think that you should probably stop with the flirty little comments and that... eye-thing that you always do," I considered what I said. "Well, when Stefan is around."
"What eye-thing?" Damon smiled as he did the eye-thing.
I laughed and poked him in the chest, "That eye-thing."
It was then that I caught sight of Jeremy over Damon's shoulder. Now that I was in control of my emotions, maybe it was time to confront the kid. And in a public place, he would be less likely to shout and throw a hissy-fit.
"I'll be back in a moment," I muttered, absentmindedly patting Damon on the chest before I walked over to where Jeremy was sitting.
"Look, Jeremy," I started, catching my brother's attention. "Do you honestly believe that we can't fix this? Yeah, she lied to you and she was wrong to try to do that. But you're our brother, Jer. We both love you. Ellie wants to fix this, so please, just tell us, what can she do? What can I do to stop you being mad at me?"
"You can go to hell, Alexa," Jeremy glared at me as he got up. "And you can take your precious twin with you."
He pushed past me and stormed outside.
I stared after him, tears in my eyes.
XXX
Damon's POV
"I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them," I whined, mocking the teenager in front of me. "Being a teenager is so hard!"
"You're a dick!" the kid growled, spinning around to face me.
"You do not talk to me like that!" I snapped angrily at the disrespectful little brat. "I'm not your sister. And from now on, don't talk to your sister that way, either."
Who did he think he was? Talking to Alexa like that? The little punk really was something to treat his sister like that. After everything that she did for him, sticking up for his right to remember and he thanked her like this.
I grabbed the kid's arm as he turned to walk off.
"So, you're going to kill me just because I hurt Alexa's feelings?" Jeremy asked, glaring at me before glancing around.
"Cut her some slack," I suggested firmly, trying to keep my cool. Well, it was more like an order than a suggestion.
"Elena was going to erase my memories! And Alexa is protecting her!"
His anger at Elena could be understandable, but his anger at Alexa was unjustifiable.
"No, I was going to erase them!" I snapped, correcting the stupid child. "Elena was protecting you. And Alexa is doing what she feels as though she does best, protecting her twin."
"It wasn't Elena's call to make. Nor is it Alexa's duty to always protect her twin!"
Does this kid not know his sister at all? If there is one thing that Alexa that feels is her duty, it is protecting her twin sister. Jeremy should know this; he grew up with them. I learnt it after spending a few days with them both.
Jeremy tried to leave but I once again grabbed him arm, pulling him back towards me.
"Let go of me before I cause a scene," the kid threatened pathetically, acting all brave.
"You'll be unconscious before you even got a word out," I growled softly, stepping closer to the kid.
"Let him go."
But of course, Saint Stefan had to intervene.
I reluctantly released the kid before my brother pushed himself between us.
"Are you alright?" Stefan asked Jeremy, looking him over. Like I would have hurt him. Honestly, my brother gave me no credit sometimes. And you would think, what with how often my brother professes his love for Elena, that he would care if the little twerp was badmouthing her and her sister. But apparently, he doesn't.
"Yeah," the Gilbert kid replied, glaring at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. He was even braver now that he had Stefan there. Like my weak brother could stop me from putting some sense into the kid.
Stefan looked at me, but spoke to the disrespectful little brat, "What my brother is trying to say is, don't blame Elena for this and don't be angry at Alexa for defending her twin."
Well at least he had the sense of mind to include Alexa in that. Afterall, Elena isn't the only one being hurt by the kid's anger. He had a tendency to forget that sometimes. Elena wasn't the only one involved in all of this.
"Damon turned Vicki."
And did I feel guilty about that? No.
Vicki could have lived. She could have become a decent vampire. But Stefan tried to turn her into him. The girl was a drug addict; she wouldn't able to survive on the bunny diet. But, as usual, Saint Stefan didn't listen to me. And the girl ended up dead.
But I couldn't be mad about that at all. She had attacked Alexa before Stefan killed her. And she would have killed her. I saw the wound; Vicki was going in for the kill and death was the only thing that would have stopped her.
"I killed her."
Yes, Stefan, you were the one who killed her. Even if it was to save Alexa, you were the one who shoved that piece of wood through her chest.
"She was a threat to you and she was a threat to your sisters. I'm sorry that it happened, I wish that it hadn't."
"You shouldn't have tried to make me forget," Jeremy retorted, completely ignoring Stefan's little speech.
The kid stalked off.
Well, isn't he such a delightful little child?
"Good cop, bad cop, I like it," I smirked at Stefan as he turned to face me properly.
"What are you doing?" Stefan asked, anger and exasperation in his tone.
"He's being a punk!" I said, defending my actions, gesturing after the brat.
"The twin's relationship with their brother is none of your business," Stefan growled self-righteously. "So stay out of it!"
"Oh, there's only one 'do gooder' role available?" I laughed mockingly. "My bad. I'm sorry."
But let's not forget that you're not the 'do gooder' that Alexa wants.
"Get over yourself. We both know that you're not doing this for the right reasons."
Of course not. Because we both know how evil and selfish I am.
"Oh? And what are the right reasons, Stefan? Please, enlighten me!"
"Well, see, Damon, it's only real when it comes from your desire to do the right thing for nothing in return and I know that it is an entirely foreign concept to you. I completely understand that you wouldn't get it."
"And what could I possibly want, Stefan? What could I get from this?"
"Alexa."
"Back to this, are we?"
"You think that if you fix her relationship with her brother, then she will come running into your arms."
"I don't think that at all, Stefan. I already have her friendship. She knows that I will help her if she needs it and that I will be there for her. Or have you forgotten who was the one to comfort her after that boyfriend of hers was killed?"
"That's not the point, Damon."
"I think it is, brother."
I glared at Stefan before walking away.
My brother really doesn't know me at all.
XXX
Alexa's POV
I walked out of the Grill only to bump into Alaric.
"Careful Alexa," Rick shook his head as his hands caught my arms and steadied me.
"Thanks, sir," I smiled up at the man as I continued to scan the crowd.
"Sir?" the history teacher frowned. "Alexa, are you ok?"
He knows me so well. I never call him sir. Not even in class. I only ever call him Ric or Alaric. Or Mr Saltzman.
"I just had a," I had to force the rest of the sentence out. "Run-in with Jeremy."
"He still angry with Elena?" Ric asked as we started walking. He helped me avoid crashing into people as I scanned the crowd for any sign of my idiot brother.
"Yeah. And he's now mad at me for defending Elena," I explained, sighing softly. "I've told him time and time again; I understand his anger. And he should be angry. But he's hurting Elena with everything that he's saying. Some of the things that I have heard him say, it's just going too far. And he hasn't even started trying to forgive her. It's just hurting Elena so so much and-"
"And you can't bear to see Elena be hurt," Ric interrupted gently, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"She's my twin. We're like two sides of the same coin." I smiled as Luke's long ago said words drifted through my mind. "I've never been able to see her get hurt. And now it's our brother hurting her. Our little brother. It's just... what do I do?"
I looked up at my teacher, silently hoping that he had some sort of idea. Hoping that he could help me fix this. Someone needed to. Jenna had tried but I could tell that she was disappointed in Elena for what she wanted to do. Maybe it was because she knew that Elena would never have told her if Logan hadn't done the job for us. But Ric was impartial. He knew the vampire world better than us. He could help me fix this.
Ric was saved from answering by the arrival of Damon.
The vampire nodded at Alaric, "Teacher," before looking down at me, "Alexa."
"You spoke to Jeremy, didn't you?" I asked as he walked next to me through the crowd.
"No," Damon smirked down at me with an unreadable look in his eye.
I rolled my eyes, "I'm not stupid, Damon, I know that that's where you went."
"Wow, I've underestimated your ability to use logic and work things out," the ass commented as I unconsciously hooked my arm through his while we walked.
I laughed, "Just keep on underestimating me. Everyone else does. But I'll be the one who's laughing when I take over the world."
"Take over the world?"
"Uh huh. I'm gonna take over the world with Elena. I'll be the leader and sit around eating chocolate and cakes and ice cream and whiskey while Elena does all the boring stuff and gives me all the credit."
"And where do I fight into this plan?"
"I dunno. Elena can be the one to work that out, I'm just gonna eat chocolate."
"How did I know that you would get Elena to figure that out?"
"Because you know me so amazingly well."
"You say that like it's a good thing."
"But it is a good thing."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're delusional?"
"Hey! If you're not careful, you'll end up in the dungeon!"
"Dungeon? Ooh, kinky," Damon smirked wickedly as I realised my mistake. My cheeks turned a bright red as I elbowed the vampire in the tummy.
"You're disgusting," I whined in embarrassment.
"I'm just gonna... go," Ric said uncomfortably before walking off without giving us a chance to protest.
"See what you did?" I groaned as we watched him walk away. "You made Ric leave."
"Me? You were the one who brought up the dungeon."
The blush, that had been fading, returned to my cheeks with a vengeance.
"You really are disgusting, Salvatore."
Damon opened his mouth to retort, but a young voice screeching my name interrupted him.
"Aaaaaaallllllyyyyyyy!"
A small body crashed into my legs and I let out an 'oof' as I stumbled. It was only Damon's strong grip on my arm that stopped me from falling to the ground.
I looked down to see Chad's little sister, Julia, toothily beaming up at me.
"He'o Ally," the little one beamed up at me as she grabbed my hand and tugged on it.
"Hey Julia," I grinned as I unhooked my arm from Damon's and crouched down. She quickly darted forward for a hug.
"Where's your brother?" I asked sternly as I scooped her up into my arms and adjusted her on my hip.
"Over der," she replied, waving her hand over my head.
"And why aren't you with him?" I asked sternly as I ignored Damon's gaze.
"I saw'd you," the kid's smile only grew as she knew that I wouldn't stay mad at her.
Now, I know all of you are wondering how I know this child. Well, I used to baby sit her. Before mom and dad died. Chad was a good friend of Luke's, so I knew him quite well. And he had an on again, off again relationship with Dana, which I got to hear all about. So his mom used to ask me if I could babysit for her. Chad's mom and dad had divorced several months ago and he moved out of town. So while she did the evening shift at the Grill, she asked me to look after the little one when Chad had football practice.
"C'mon kiddo," I sighed, tightening my grip on the little girl in my arms. "Let's get you back to your brother before he freaks out."
"O-k," Julia sighed dramatically, wrapping her arms tighter around my neck.
"You coming with?" I asked, looking up at Damon for the first time since Julia had arrived.
He had a... strange look on his face. One that I couldn't even begin to guess the meaning off. I could feel Julia playing with my hair while I stared at Damon.
"No, you go on," the vampire said, his tone as weird as his gaze. I would have stayed to question it, but the little on in my arms fidgeted restlessly so I had to shrug it off.
"Ok, see you later," I smiled at him before looking at the girl in my arms. "Let's go, sweetcheeks."
"Ally?" Julia asked as I started walking in the opposite direction that Julia had pointed to. As smart as the girl was, she wasn't very good at directions and I had a suspicion that she would lead me on a merry goose chase if it meant spending more time with me.
"Yes?"
"Is that man your boyfwiend?"
"Julia! I... uh... no... he's not," I stuttered, my cheeks turning a bright red. Again. God, why does everyone insist on making me blush today? I haven't blushed this much since I woke up after a drunken night out and discovered that I had kissed Luke. And of course, that was when I had that massive crush on him. I couldn't look at him for months without blushing.
But what kind of signals was I sending in Damon's presence if a little girl could pick up that I liked him. That was kind of worrying. Did Damon notice them too? God, I hoped not.
"Why would you ask that, sweetie?" I asked, brushing Julia's bangs out of her eyes.
"Because of the way he looked at you," the girl replied innocently, blinking up at me.
The way he looked at me? Huh? Just as I was about to ask Julia what she meant; a voice rang out.
"Julia!"
We looked to see Chad running towards us, a worried look on his face.
"Chad!" Julia squealed, reaching her arms out towards her brother.
Chad skidded to a stop and pulled his sister into his arms, hugging her close to his body.
"You're alright," he murmured, kissing her forehead. He kept murmuring the sentence a few more times as he plastered her forehead with kisses.
I watched the two with a wistful smile on my face. Seeing them interact like that, it only reminded that me and Jeremy were fighting. And it hurt. I missed my brother and I hated fighting with him like we were.
"Thank you," Chad smiled at me after he had reassured himself that his baby sister was fine.
"No problem," I replied, running a hand through my hair and smiling at the little troublemaker.
"Where did you find her?" the teen asked as Julia looked around for her next target.
"She found me," I smiled fondly, pulling a leaf from the girl's hair, ignoring the proud look on her face. Honestly, what had she been up to?
"I'm not surprised. She's missed you."
I looked down guiltily, "I'm sorry, I meant to visit. But life had just been so... hectic, recently."
"I can understand that."
Chad shifted his sister onto his hip so that he could put his hand on my shoulder.
"I'm sorry about Luke."
"Thanks Chad."
XXX
Damon's POV
Night had fallen.
I hadn't seen Alexa since she had wandered off with the little girl. It suited her, to have a child in her arms. I guess she was just one of those girls. And it made me think. Would she even want to be with me? It was so clear to see how much Alexa adored the child and she would want children of her own. So would she want to be with someone who couldn't give her that?
I sensed a presence and glanced to the side, only to see Anna.
"You're still around?" I groaned, shaking my head. Every time I saw this girl, something bad happened. And usually one of the Gilbert twins was involved. Which meant that they both got involved.
"There's something that you need to know," the female vampire said, glancing around. She grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side. I reluctantly allowed her, curious as to what it was that she wanted to say.
"The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight," Anna revealed, her eyes continuously scanning the crowd with a worried look.
"How do you know this?" I asked, loosely grasping her upper arms.
"I went to them," Anna sighed, shame in her tone. "They think I'm with them, but I'm not. They want the Founding Families dead."
Founding Families?
Alexa.
Of course she would be one of the ones in danger. It's always one of the twins. Or both of them.
"When is this supposed to happen?" I asked urgently, tightening my grip on her arms.
"When the fireworks start."
Damn, not long then. Not long at all.
"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them," I said, looking around the square. Where was that girl? She was never where I needed her to be when there was trouble around.
"Then we can't be here!" Anna gasped, getting ready to flee.
"It doesn't work, it's been deactivated."
And aren't I just kicking myself for that now?
"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die."
Yes, thank you, I've realised that.
"Where are they right now?"
"They're already here, Damon."
Crap.
Not good.
XXX
Alexa's POV
I had managed to find Elena and Stefan after I finished hanging around with Chad and Julia. They would have stayed longer but Julia was getting cranky. It was nice, spending time with them both. I had let a lot of things slide since my parents died. Maybe it was about time I started picking some things back up. The pair were being all sweet and lovey-dovey, so, me being me, I decided to interrupt them.
"Heyup!" I grinned, leaping on Stefan's back after taking a running jump. "Guess who's arrived."
"Hello Alexa," Stefan smiled, patting my hands, which were gripping his coat and gripped my thighs so that I didn't fall.
"Yes, tis I, the Amazing Alexa the Awesome," I beamed, wrapping my legs around Stefan's waist at his prompting.
"Alexa, what are you doing?" Elena laughed, rolling her eyes at me.
"I'm saying hello to my twin and her boyfriend," I sighed before saying to Stefan, "I'm actually quite worried about her. She really should've known that."
"Alexa, I can hear you," Elena raised her eyebrow with one of her less severe looks.
"I know you can hear me, god," I shook my head. "So rude."
I looked at my twin and noted the look on her face.
"I'm suddenly so glad that I'm getting a piggyback from you, Stefan," I remarked as I tightened my grip on him.
"Why?" Stefan asked as he glanced back at me over his shoulder.
"Because I recognise that look and that is not a safe look."
"Alexa," Ellie smiled, shaking her head, losing the bad look.
"You love me anyways," I smirked at my twin. "So, whatcha been up ta?"
A faint blush coloured Elena's cheeks as she smiled at her boyfriend and rested her hand on his arm. From that, I could tell what they had been up to. And get your mind out of the gutter, it wasn't anything like that. They had just been all romantic and adorable while enjoying the day.
"Nawwww, aren't you both so adorable?" I cooed, wiping a fake tear from my eye at the cuteness overload that the two projected.
"Alexa! Shut up!" Elena laughed, shaking her head.
"Make me!" I challenged, grinning at the playfulness in my sister's eyes.
"Oh, I'll make you alright."
"Stef down!" I shrieked as Ellie turned to properly face me and took a step forward.
Stefan immediately complied. I stumbled slightly when my feet hit the floor but quickly dodged away from my twin.
"Na na nana na, can't catch me!" I giggled, dancing around Stefan who could only smile and shake his head.
And then she caught me.
"Ellie! Stop!" I squealed, turning and twisting my body, trying to escape my sister's tickling fingers.
"You promise that you will stop the teasing?" my evil twin smirked as she targeted my sensitive tummy.
"Promise! I promise!"
"Good," Elena grinned, patting my side as I chocked on my laughter.
I leaned against my twin, "Haven't done that in a while."
"No, we haven't," Ellie agreed with me, laughing at the stupid expression on my face.
I beamed up at my twin before moving so that our arms were linked. Stefan took Elena's other hand and we continued walking.
I glanced at Elena and giggled.
Elena glanced at me and giggled.
We kept having little giggling fits as we walked.
It was during one such giggling fit that I felt someone take hold of my other hand. I glanced to the side and had to stop myself from beaming stupidly.
"Hi Damon!" I smiled brightly up at the vampire. "Whatcha up ta?"
"Saving your life," Damon replied seriously as he looked around.
Cool.
Wait. What?
I frowned up at the vampire in confusement as he looked directly at his brother. Ellie and I glanced between them and my stomach felt like lead. Everything was going so well.
"Fifteen words or less," he continued, his tone quiet but deadly serious. "Tomb vamps are here; Founding Families are their target."
Damon looked his brother in the eyes with a desperate look, "Get them out of here, now!"
"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan frowned as Damon released my hand and made to walk off.
"That's more than fifteen words, Stefan," Damon answered without looking back.
"Damon! Wait!" I called, taking a step closer to him.
The older vampire sighed before turning to face me and cupping my face. I searched his face with a desperation that I hadn't felt before as his fingers gently stroked my cheek.
"Alexa, go with Stefan," he said softly, his thumb brushing my chin, just below my lip.
"But-" I started, not wanting him to go.
"Alexa," Damon hesitated for a second, "Please."
It was the please that convinced me.
"Ok," I whispered in defeat. I looked in the vampire's ice blue eyes. A brief flash of... something flashed through them before they were gone. "Just… be safe."
"Always," Damon gave me one of his unreadable looks before releasing me. I watched Damon's retreating back before Elena's voice caught my focus.
"Jeremy is still out here somewhere."
"Let's go find him," Stefan said before Ellie turned to look at me.
"Alexa, I want you to go home," she told me with a stern tone.
"No," I immediately disagreed. "Not until we find Jeremy."
My twin opened her mouth to argue but took one look at the determination on my face and instead said, "We need to hurry."
XXX
We couldn't find Jeremy anywhere. The place was filled with pissed off tomb vampires, and I couldn't find my baby brother. After not being able to find him after our first circuit of the square, I ditched Elena and Stefan. I heard them yelling after me but ignored it. And with so many people around, Stefan couldn't use his speed to catch me.
I was acting on pure panic and adrenaline. Common sense had flown out the window, as you could probably tell from me ditching Elena and Stefan. I just needed to find my brother. He was in danger and I had to save him. That was the only thought on my mind.
The last place that I had seen him was the Grill. So that was where I would start.
I raced through the square, uncaring of the people that I had pushed over on my way. Saving my brother was more important than some strangers feelings. I burst through the doors to the Grill and scanned the room. It was surprisingly empty, considering the event. But I guess most people were outside to enjoy the fireworks. The important thing was that Jeremy wasn't there. And that allowed the panic to grip my heart more firmly.
I walked around the room, doing my best not to run, in order to see if he was just lurking in one of the corners. But I was out of luck. So I just cursed and made my way out of the back entrance. There was a slim chance that he was chilling in the alley. To be honest, I was just allowing my panic to take over but I had to check everywhere.
As I walked out the door, I crashed into someone, my shoulder banging against theirs. I threw a muttered 'sorry' over my shoulder as I stepped into the alley. The empty alley. And my heart sank. So much for that hope.
I groaned out my frustration and crouched down. I dragged my hands through my hair and tugged harshly on the strands. It would be so much harder to find the kid in the square. The crowd had only grown throughout the day and with night falling, it was only going to get harder to find him. But find him I had to.
I got back to my feet and turned around to leave. Only to come face to face with a stranger. The man looked at me with dark eyes that watched my every move. There was nothing outwardly dangerous about him but some deep, forgotten instinct screamed at me to get away from him. That he was dangerous and I needed to run.
"You alright?" I asked, a false smile on my face as I gently eased backwards.
The man didn't respond, just cocked his head to the side and stared at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I gave up on subtly. I turned to run but before I could move a step, I was thrown against the wall.
I hit it heavily, the breath in my body leaving with a whoosh, and fell to the ground. I clutched my cast to the chest as I staggered to my feet. Glancing around, I couldn't see the stranger anywhere and I had a glimmer of hope in my chest. I went to run back the safety of the crowd but it was futile. The stranger appeared just as I reached the entrance to the alley.
He grabbed me by the neck and shoved me against the wall. The brick bit uncomfortably against my bare shoulder as I struggled against the vampire's grip. He placed his other hand against the wall by my head and leant forward. His breath caressed my face as he pressed himself close to me.
"How lucky am I?" he mused as his cold eyes examined my face. "I hit the triple jackpot. The lookalike's twin, a Gilbert and you just happen to be Damon Salvatore's girl."
I barely managed to breath out a "what?" before he tightened his grip. Nothing could ever prepare you for how it felt to be strangled. The immediate lack of air sent my body into overdrive. I could feel my eyes bulging as I tried to make him let go. I scratched at his face, his hands, his arms, everywhere I could reach. I just needed him to let go. It hurt. The grip around my neck, the lack of oxygen in my body. Everything started to get dark and my gaze turned blurry. Whether it was the lack of oxygen or the tears, I wasn't sure. But I could feel myself getting weaker. I couldn't even cry for help and I knew, deep down, that this was it for me. I couldn't fight back against a vampire.
I could feel myself about to pass out when a miracle happened. The vampire released his grip and fell to the ground, clutching his head. I fell with him, coughing and gasping and just trying to breathe. It hurt. But it felt so good. The feel of air against my sore throat had me sobbing. The vampire next to me let of keen cries of pain as he writhed on the ground. I didn't know what had caused it, but I wasn't about to let my miracle go to waste. So, even though my body just wanted to lie there and breathe, I scrambled to my feet and staggered out of the alley.
My eyes scanned the crowd, looking for anyone I knew. Just someone that I could go to for comfort after what just happened. I forced myself to keep walking even as my legs shook and my throat burned. As I circled the large group of people in the square, who were enjoying the fireworks erupting above us, I saw my sister and Stefan. And my heart clenched with fear.
Stefan was on the ground too, clutching his head. I could see my sister looking around as she tried to urge Stefan to his feet. Looks like comfort would have to wait until later, my loved ones needed me. So I wiped away my tears and put on my mask before running over. My throat burned with the increase of air but I ruthlessly ignored it.
"Ellie, what's happening?" I asked as I skidded to a stop in front of them. I glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. Since this was happening to Stefan as well as the vampire who attacked me, it was clear that this had been done deliberately. And I had a nasty suspicion as to what was causing it. But I couldn't focus on that right now.
"My head!" Stefan grunted out in answer, pain ringing through his tone, as he tried to curl up into a ball.
I placed my hand on his back as I glanced around. This wasn't good. And we needed to get Stefan somewhere where he wouldn't be noticed. We had been lucky that no one had seen him so far.
"Elena, we need to move him," I said to my twin, looking down at her. Ellie nodded, fear and tears shining in her eyes, as she tried to encourage her boyfriend to move. I placed myself between them and the crowd, hoping to stop him from being seen.
"Alexa, I need your help," Elena looked up at me with desperate eyes. I took one look into those doe eyes and immediately nodded.
"Come on, Stef, we need to move," I sighed as I took his other arm in a firm group.
Elena put one of Stefan's arms around her shoulder and carefully climbed to her feet. Stefan's legs were barely supporting his weight. But just as I went to place the arm I held over my shoulder, someone barged between us and took the arm from me.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, turning to look at the rude fool.
Only to see Ric. He quickly helped Elena support Stefan with a worried look on his face.
"We need to get him out of here," he ordered, quickly taking charge of the situation. "Alexa, keep an eye out for anymore deputies."
"Righto."
I spun around and, inconspicuously, looked around for any asshole's trying to steal our vampire while Elena and Ric escorted Stefan down the stairs to a nearby alley. Luckily, there were none. So I bolted down the stairs to stand next to my twin.
"I don't know what happened," Ellie was explaining to Ric, her voice thick with fear. "He just dropped."
"He's not the only one," Ric said grimly, looking between us. "The cops have gotten everyone who's gone down, injecting them with vervain."
"What?" I frowned, trying to piece everything together. Well, at least that meant that vampire who attacked me won't come looking for me anytime soon. But that was also a bad thing. This had been planned and that was not a good thing for our little gang.
My twin and history teacher exchanged glances before looking at Stefan the vampire. While Ric patiently waited, Ellie had also been putting together all of the pieces.
"They're rounding up the vampires," Ellie realised with a gasp, her hands flying to cover her mouth.
One thought entered my mind as it all finally clicked at my sister's words: Damon.
My Damon. He's a vampire and he's in trouble. They'll get him and they'll kill him. And I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't lose Damon. He was too important to me.
"Damon!" I whispered aloud before bolting back up the stairs.
"Alexa!" I heard Elena and Ric shout after me. But I ignored them. Damon needed me. He's helped me so many times; it's only fair that I return the favour.
XXX
I pushed my way through the crowd, frantically searching. The only problem was, I couldn't remember which way he walked when he left me earlier. And that had been so long ago. He could be anywhere by now. A part of me hoped that he had left the area, that he wasn't in danger. But I knew that we weren't that lucky. He was here and he was being hurt by that damn device.
"Sorry... Don't mind the elbows... So sorry... Get out of the damn way!"
Nowhere.
I couldn't find him.
What... what if he was already dead?
What if one of those bastards had killed him?
No. That can't be true. I won't let it be true.
He can't die. He's not allowed to die. ever.
I tugged at my hair, a whimper escaping my lips.
"Damon."
XXX
Elena's POV
"Are you ok?" I asked Stefan softly, running a hand through his hair. The pain had stopped a couple of minutes ago. My boyfriend rested against me as I fussed over him. I had been so scared when he collapsed. I just didn't know what had happened. I knew it wasn't vervain but the pain in his head, it was like when Bonnie stopped him from hurting Amber. But she wasn't even around, I had seen her earlier, laughing with some girls from school.
"It was like needles were piercing my skull," Stefan explained, grimacing in remembrance of the pain. "But then it just... stopped."
At the sound of footsteps, I looked up, hoping to see my sister. But instead I saw Alaric.
Alexa, where are you?
"I saw at least 5 vampires go down," Alaric said as he stood on the bottom step. "They're taking them to your family's old building."
They're taking them there? Why? How was my dad's old building involved in all of this?
"It's the Gilbert device," my vampire muttered, a frown on his face. "It has to be."
"But how did he get it to work?" I frowned, pulling away slightly so I could look him in the face. "Bonnie unspelled it."
"Maybe she didn't," Ric countered with a knowing look.
"She did, we saw her do it," I protested, refusing to believe that my best friend would lie to me like that. That she would betray me.
"No, no, he's right," Stefan cut in, a slightly apologetic look on his face. "Think about it. We asked Bonnie to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires."
"So we could protect you," I said, taking hold of my boyfriend's hand.
"And Damon," Stefan added. "Vampires." The vampire looked around. "Where is Damon?"
"We- we don't know," I sighed reluctantly, my worry for my sister returning with a vengeance.
"I haven't seen him since this started," Ric added with a worried look of his own.
"Alexa ran off to look for him, but she hasn't come back yet," I was so worried for my sister. What if something had happened to her? What if one of the vampires had gotten hurt? I couldn't bare it if she got hurt. She was my little sister; I was supposed to protect her.
The sound of heels clicking down the stairs had us all looking up.
"I can't find him," Alexa gasped as she looked between us. There was a slight tremble in her voice. But from glancing at the others, I could tell that I was the only one who noticed. "I looked everywhere and I just can't find him."
"We think we know where he may be," I consoled my twin, letting go of Stefan's hand and taking hers. I turned to face Alaric, "Can you get our brother and take him home?"
"Of course," the history teacher nodded, knowing that asking us to go home too would be futile. It took just one look at Alexa to know that she wouldn't abandon Damon. And I wouldn't leave her.
"Let's get going," Alexa said, pulling me up the stairs. She was so eager to save Damon. Perhaps her feelings for the vampire were stronger then I first thought.
XXX
Alexa's POV
"Wait," Stefan said, grabbing our arms as we fought our way through the crowded square.
"What?" I snapped, spinning around to face him. Every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire. I was so scared. We still hadn't found Damon. Ellie claimed that she knew where he was but we were taking far too long to get there.
"The building's on fire," he gasped, letting go of our arms in shock.
"No no no no!" I shook my head and started running across the square, pushing people out of the way as I ran. My heart pounded in fear as I struggled to breathe through my sore throat. But I refused to stop. Damon needed me.
I dimly heard Stefan repeat what he said to Elena, but my focus was on the Gilbert building in front of me. That building once held so many good memories but now it just held my Damon, in danger. Anything good about the building had been erased by this one incident.
As we got closer, I saw my dear Uncle John standing smugly in front of the building. Rage filled me as he stared at the building with a smug look on his face. He glanced over to us as he heard my heels clicking against the floor.
"Where is he?!" I growled fiercely as we appraoched. "Where is Damon?!"
I went to push him, but Elena's hands grabbed my arms, holding me back.
"With the rest of them, where he should be," Uncle Jackass replied, a small smirk on his lips. "It's over for Damon."
"You're fu-" I began, snarling.
"Alexa!" Elena interrupted, pulling me back another step.
"I don't care!" I snapped at her before turning my fury back to John. "You're fucking insane!"
"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and forty-five years ago?" the man commented, still not caring that he was killing my Damon. "This is the right thing, Alexa."
"Right thing my ass!" I shrieked furiously, fighting against my sister's grip.
I used my fear to fuel my anger. Damon was in that building and now it's burning. My Damon was in there. And I needed to save him.
The jackass' gaze flickered to something behind me. I turned to see Stefan staring at the building, a worried look on his face.
"Go ahead, you won't make it out," John smirked cruelly. "It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself."
"You will not touch him!" I growled, shaking off Elena's grip and stepping in front of the vampire. I wouldn't let that happen to Elena. And, on a slightly more selfish note, I needed him to save Damon.
"You know the building well," Stefan said to my twin as I hissed my fury at my uncle. "Is there another way in?"
"Utility door," Elena answered immediately, pointing to the building. "There's one around the side."
Stefan ran towards the building, following my sister's directions. Elena and I went to follow, but a hand grabbing my arm stopped me. Ellie paused by my side, sensing that I needed her with me.
"Get your hands off of me!" I snapped, trying to pull my arm out of Uncle John's grip.
"You take one more step and I'll alert those deputies that they missed a vampire," the jackass threatened, tightening his grip.
"Don't," I started before having to pause as my throat protested.
"We're asking you not to," Elena finished with a fierce look on her own face.
"That doesn't mean anything to me," the man rebuked, a cold look on his face.
"As our father, it damn well should," I snapped, uncaring of my words and what affect they could have. I just needed him to let me go and that was the best way that I could think of.
Uncle John, no, our father, froze, staring at us. I pulled my arm from his grasp and moved to stand next to my twin, who placed a calming hand on my arm.
"You know," he finally said, looking between us. The cruel look on his face had been replaced by a sad one.
"We weren't sure," Elena said coldly. "But now, we are."
I glared at him one last time before running towards the building.
XXX
"Damon!" I shouted, sprinting towards the open door. I had to get in there. I had to save him. He couldn't die on me. I won't let him die on me. A distant part of me realised that Stefan was already in there. But I was sick of feeling so powerless. I had to be able to help him.
"Alexa, stop! You can't go in there!" someone exclaimed, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop.
I spun around to see Bonnie standing behind me, a desperate look on her face.
"You!" I growled, my anger completely destroying my reason. "You caused this."
I knew that I would regret my words once I had calmed down. But I was out of control. Everything had built up and my fear had taken over. And that fuelled my anger. All I could think was that Bonnie had lied to me. And now Damon was paying for that. Once again, I had failed him. And he was dying because of it.
"Alexa?" Bonnie frowned, letting go of my arm and stepping back.
"This is your fault! You didn't unspell the device!"
"Alexa, I couldn't unspell it."
"You said that you would! I promised him that you would do it! Because you're my friend. And I trusted you!"
"If I had unspelled it, then the tomb vampires would have killed all the Founding Families."
"I don't care about that!" I shrieked tearfully as I couldn't stop shaking.
"Lexa, calm down," Ellie soothed, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I hadn't even noticed her arrive. That's how angry I was. That's how scared I was.
"You made me lie to him. You made me break my promise to him," I ran my hands through my hair, pulling on it ruthlessly. "I swore to him. And now, he's in there and it's burning and..."
Here come the tears. They dripped down my face as I let out a low groan. I could smell the smoke and it was tinged with the smell of burning flesh.
"Alexa..." Bonnie sighed, stepping forward and taking my hands in hers. "Please-"
I looked at her and gasped out, "No, Bonnie, I can't, because if I lose him, that's it between us."
"You would end our friendship over Damon Salvatore?"
"Yes, because he's important to me. And you lied to me, Bonnie. You lied about something important."
"He's important to you," Bon sighed, carefully studding my face.
"Please, do something, anything, just... save him," I begged, squeezing her hands and hoping that our friendship was more powerful than her hatred of vampires.
"Ok," Bonnie nodded before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "Ex spiritum intacullum, in terrum incendium, fes matos salvis adisdum!"
"Bonnie?" I frowned as her grip on my hands grew stronger.
"Are they gonna be ok?" Ellie asked as the witch merely repeated her spell over and over. Each time it became more powerful and I could feel the change in my friend. She was coming into her own. And I was relieved that she was one of mine.
I glanced to the door as Bonnie chanted, desperately searching for any sign of the Salvatore's. Please be ok. Please be ok. Please be ok.
It took me a moment to realise that the witch had fallen silent. I looked back at her with wide eyes and a silent question on my lips. Bonnie glanced at me, regret in her gaze, before she looked at Elena.
"They'll be fine," she said, sounding so sure of herself.
"Thank you," I sighed, closing my eyes, and wrapping my arms around myself. He's gonna be alright.
"Alexa," Ellie whispered to me, squeezing my shoulder.
I opened my eyes to see Stefan and Damon walking through the door, Stefan supporting his brother. Damon was coughing fiercely as he rested his weight against Stefan. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around my vampire, burying my face in the crook of his neck. I ignored the smell of smoke and just revealed at the feel of him in my arms. He was safe. He was here.
One of Damon's arms loosely wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him.
"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," I whispered tearfully into his neck. "I thought she'd done it. I didn't mean to lie to you. Please don't hate me."
"I don't hate you," Damon sighed, resting his head against mine. I was just about aware of Elena stepped forward into Stefan's body. He wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her close.
I had never actually realised what I felt for Damon until all of this had happened. The thought that I might lose him forever, I just couldn't accept it. Damon was just too damn important to me.
Why hadn't I realised how important he was to me before now?
I knew that my crush on him hadn't faded, hadn't left. But I hadn't realised that it had grown so big. Whatever I felt for Damon Salvatore, it was bigger than a crush.
In fact, I think that it might be...
No, it can't be.
XXX
Damon's POV
I slowly walked out of the Gilbert house, having just told the youngest Gilbert about Anna's death. I didn't particularly like her, but I didn't want her to die. She didn't... deserve to die. He took it a lot better than I expected. But I should probably warn one of the twins, just in case he broke down later.
At the sound of footsteps, I glanced up to see the older Gilbert twin.
"What are you doing here?" Elena frowned in surprise.
I wonder where Alexa was. I'm surprised Elena's let her out of her sight. From the state she was in, I was reluctant to leave her. But Elena was insistent on taking her somewhere to get cleaned up and get some water. Alexa's voice was so hoarse that getting her some water was the right thing. But I couldn't help but question what had happened. Even with the crying she had done, it couldn't explain why she could barely speak.
"Failed and feeble attempt at doing the right thing," I replied dryly, walking forward.
"Which was...?" the girl prompted with a raised eyebrow.
If Alexa had asked, I might have answered. But Elena and I weren't close enough yet for me to give her a proper answer to that question. I couldn't reveal anything to her yet. I just didn't trust her enough.
"It's not important," I said dismissively with a small smile. "Let me take this for you."
I gently took the dress from her hands and laid it down on the railing. I stand by what I said earlier, the period look wouldn't suit Alexa. She was just too... new. Too modern. And the period clothing isn't colourful enough to suit her taste.
"Thank you," Elena smiled, moving closer towards me.
"You know, I came to this town wanting to destroy it," I sighed, looking up at the night sky. "Tonight, I found myself wanting to protect it. How does that happen?" I shook my head. "I'm not a hero, Elena. I don't do good. It's not in me."
"Maybe it is, Alexa certainly thinks that it is."
"Nah, it's reserved for my brother, and you... and Alexa... and Bonnie," I shook my head. "Who, even though she has every reason to hate me, still helped Stefan save me."
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Because she did it for Alexa."
There was a flicker of surprise on Elena's face, but it was quickly covered.
"Which means that somewhere along the way, your crazy little twin sister decided that I was worth saving. And I wanted to thank her. Where is she?"
"When I left, she was talking to Bonnie," Elena replied before looking at me carefully and saying, "She cares for you Damon, more than she realises."
A funny feeling went through me.
Alexa cared for me.
She cared for me.
"You care for her too," Elena guessed, conviction in her tone. "Isobel was right."
I didn't confirm or deny her statement. Instead, I leaned forward and gently kissed the girl on the cheek. It was a thank you. For not trying to stop Alexa from getting close to me.
"Tell your twin what I said," I requested softly, stepping back.
"I will," Elena whispered, staring at me intently, an odd look on her face.
There was a second's silence before Elena stepped forward and her lips crashed into mine. My hands landed on her hips as I froze in shock. I just couldn't register what was happening. It took me several seconds, but I finally got the sense of mind to push the girl away.
"Elena, what the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed, holding onto her wrists to keep her away from me.
But before she could answer, the door to the Gilbert house opened.
Jenna glanced between us before saying, "It's late, you should probably come inside."
I released my grip on her wrists before Elena walked into the house. Jenna gave me a look before shutting the door.
I touched my lips in shock.
What the hell was that?
Not only was Elena dating Stefan, my brother, but she knows that her twin sister has feelings for me.
And that I have feelings for her sister.
XXX
Alexa's POV
"I looked everywhere," Elena explained to Stefan over the phone. "Yeah, someone definitely took my stuff."
Yeah, Ellie had had her belongings stolen by someone. When we arrived at the school, they were nowhere to be found. And before you all look at me, I am completely innocent in all of this. I have no idea who took them but I'm sure we'll find them soon. In a small town like this, things were found quick.
"I'm just gonna check on Jeremy before I go with Alexa to the hospital."
Caroline, Matt and my Ty had been involved in a car accident. Matt and Tyler were fine, but Caroline wasn't. I have to admit, when I first heard the news, my first thought was whether Tyler was alright. I couldn't lose my Tyler. Especially not after what happened tonight.
"Can you meet me there? Ok, I love you Stefan."
I miss that. I miss having someone who loves me like Stefan and Elena love each other. That closeness, that specialness, I wanted it back. It wasn't something that you had often.
Elena hung up the phone and looked back at me.
"How you doing, Lexa?" she asked with a worried look.
"Damon's alive," I croaked out. "Tyler's fine. You're fine. All things considered; I'm doing ok."
Ellie had asked me several times what was wrong with my voice. I just played it off. Saying that it was a combination of screaming and crying. My voice just couldn't handle it after such a dramatic day. And I pretended that I was probably coming down with a cold. That way, I would have an excuse for when my throat didn't improve overnight. And with it being cold out, I could wear scarves to cover up the inevitable bruising.
"You were a mess when you thought Damon wouldn't make it," my twin casually remarked as she opened the front door.
As we walked in, I stared at her in suspicion, "What's your point?"
"That your crush on Damon has grown into something more," Ellie said to me before calling up the stairs, "Jeremy?"
"Well, that may be... sort of true," I muttered before shouting, "Yo bro! You still awake?"
Oh sweet lord, did I just say yo bro? Of course, my throat didn't appreciate the shouting. But I couldn't let on that something was properly wrong with it. So I had to pretend that everything was alright and act like I normally did.
"I thought that it might be true," Elena sighed with a shake of her head.
"You wouldn't happen to object to me having more than a crush on Damon... would you?" I asked, hiding my worry. I couldn't stop liking Damon if she did object, but it would make things so much harder. I would have to try and get her to like him more before I could even think about admitting my feelings to him.
"No," my twin replied with a small smile.
"Would you care to elaborate on that answer?" I prodded, both verbally and physically.
Elena opened her mouth to do just that when a noise in the kitchen stopped her.
"The hell," I frowned as we exchanged glances and walked towards the kitchen.
XXX
A/N: In order to give myself some time to build up some more chapters, I won't be updating for a couple of weeks. Season 2 will start on the 6th March, sorry to keep you all waiting! But it'll be worth the wait :) until then, my lovelies, I hope you enjoy xoxo
