a/n: hellooo, whoever is still on this website, following my stuff and reading on here, ur braver than a USmarine i appreciate you sm but also this is crossposted on ao3 jsyk ՞ ⸝⸝ ̫ ⸝⸝ ՞⸜ ⸝
it's been a while so i will just leave you with the reminder that my social medias (where to contact me, shoplook for nova's fashion, etc) will be on my profile as always and hope you enjoy this chapter!
CHAPTER SEVEN: UNINVITED
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The sleepover plans were put off until after a dinner party in which the younger Salvatore was tasked to win over Bonnie's approval.
Nova was upset that her plans to hang with her friends were being put on hold for dumb reasons, the most idiotic reason of all— Salvatore reasons. On top of that she had to watch Elena try to order food out.
"Honestly, I'm right here . Don't cheat on me like that." She said after letting out a dramatic gasp when the other girl started looking through Mystic Falls' pitiful take out options that she could pass off as a home cooked meal. Like she would let them eat anything other than an actual meal tonight.
The Gilbert's had nothing in their fridge to cook that wasn't frozen breakfast foods and a concerning amount of ice cream. And so after going home to change into a passable outfit that wasn't borrowed ill-fitted clothes, she decided to rope in her favorite minion into helping her pick up groceries.
"You aren't five. Do you have to sit in the cart?" Jeremy huffed, glaring daggers down at her. The lights in Costco were doing absolutely nothing for either of them, with their matching dark circles like tattoos underneath their eyes. A pair of raccoons, they were.
"I'm sick, Jer," she lied, coughing like she was trying to hack up a lung. She got a few odd looks from fellow shoppers who then gave them a wide berth to avoid catching whatever it is she claimed to have. Coughs turned into laughter muffled horribly by her hand when he threw a giant bag of cheese down on her.
After they unpacked the groceries, her minion of five years left her to cook alone to go do whatever depressed teenage boys did. Cry and wank off to MCR probably, it was what she did on a regular Friday night.
Bonnie kept her company in the kitchen, humming along to R&B latest hits and doodling in her notebook that was supposed to be for homework.
She peaked over her sister's shoulder and let out a confused noise that broke her sister's almost eerie concentration. All the doodles on previously pristine white pages had been arranged until they made the letters eight, fourteen, and twenty-two, in various forms, from tiny flowers, to the branches of a half finished tree and simple sharp lines.
The numbers scratched at her own brain, almost mesmerizing her in their attempt to pull on something that was just out of reach.
Bonnie looked at her curious expression in confusion, then back down at her absentminded doodles, frowning down at the numbers that she had sketched a hundred times over. "I've been seeing a repeat of numbers all day, everywhere . I don't know what it means, but they won't leave. me. alone ." In a fit of frustration, she tore the page out of her notebook, only to reveal that the very next page had the numbers in her bold print writing.
They both sighed, sharing a look of exasperation. Typical witch shit. Those with high intuition were always dealt with omens that were so very vague. They were never given the full answers they sought out, it had to be peeled back slowly. If you were one of the lucky ones, you would effortlessly find answers but… most of the time you found out too late until it was staring you in the face.
Being a witch was fun, until it wasn't.
"We'll figure it out together, okay?" Nova reassured her sister, patting her shoulder and getting a tired yet grateful smile in return. "In the meantime, I've gotta go use the bathroom. Try not to burn the kitchen down while I'm gone."
"I know how to watch boiling water." Bonnie replied, quickly unamused by her dramatics and staring her down with a frown so deep it made her look years older and so similar to their Grams she nearly flinched.
"If you say so," she muttered underneath her breath, getting flipped off as she left the kitchen for the safety of the bathroom.
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Brown eyes caught sight of herself in the mirror and she could only grimace at the tired sight she made, the person standing in the mirror didn't look capable of holding a conversation, let alone a knife. It was no wonder her sister had been so insistent in her offer to help her cook, albeit as more of a moral support than anything else.
Nova untied her ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it back from her face until it revealed her bite mark. For having such a big ass mouth, it wasn't that big of a mark, but it did have beginnings of a purpling bruise that was growing outwards. She lightly touched the tender skin, wincing at the burn that made her regret the simple action.
It was far from the most pain she had ever been in, but it still sucked.
In her best friend's bathroom, with the sounds of warm laughter drifting upstairs, she came to an important decision.
The next time a vampire decided to take a chunk out of her without permission, she would pay the pain and marks back tenfold. They needed her alive. She needed herself alive, to enjoy this second chance no matter how hard this universe made it. There were very few things she could afford to do, but she definitely couldn't afford to be anything less than at her best – she needed to be more.
There was no anger in her eyes, just a sense of resolve that sank low into her stomach and blossomed around her.
Cheer practice had been a risk enough, she wouldn't last long under the keen and nosy eyes of her sister, her friends and Stefan. She needed to get rid of the eye-sore. They would worry, and the last thing she wanted to do was put more worries on her baby sister's shoulders.
Problem was that she was shit at doing healing spells on herself, she thought, pacing the small bathroom. She was better at making healing potions, where she could just stir ingredients in a pot and call it a day. Without the proper herbs or spells on hand to study, she wasn't sure what could be done, only that she had to try something .
She ran cold water in the sink, splashing her face with water to perk herself up enough to think properly. Running her fingers over raised skin that thankfully hadn't been infected, she closed her eyes and prepared herself to try healing it without herbs aiding her.
"What the hell is that?"
Her eyes opened, water dripping into them and making her squint at the sight of the very person she had been trying to avoid worrying.
She had forgotten to lock the door.
Amateur move, she scolded herself.
Bonnie had managed to open the door without it creaking. And instead of giving her privacy, she stepped closer and shut the door behind her. Her worried hazel green eyes took in the sorry state that she was in, gently tugging Nova's hands away from trying to hide something the younger girl had already seen.
She silently allowed her younger sister to fuss over her, moving to sit on the bathtub when she was gently herded towards it.
Bonnie sat down to assess the damage done, a dark look in her green eyes even as a steady gentle warm hand held Nova's neck. She didn't have a moment to register the pain of the touch, her sister's magic radiated from her palm the moment her hand made contact. Her magic was familiar, similar to her own in its warmth that resembled the sun, but felt different in a way that they were still distinguishable from each other.
Simple words didn't begin to scratch the surface of the indescribable feeling of their magic, but when she tried to form some pale meaning, all her mind supplied her with was the sun . Twin suns they were, but her magic simmered and hid itself beneath her skin like the sun slowly but surely peaking through newly blossomed trees during the spring. Her magic revealed itself slowly and then, blindingly, all at once. A slow burn, one that simmered inside her and made everyone feel it.
Bonnie, her sweet sister always felt like a blazing summer sun, shining so brightly it was hard to contain or hide from the explosion of her magic, it was all or nothing with her sister, very rarely did she falter in her determination. Healing wasn't either of their strong suits, but her sister was skilled with her control when healing those that she loved, unflinchingly headstrong and unfailingly giving energy to those around her, and her magic reflected that.
"Who did this?" Her sister questioned, slowly healing her neck until nothing but a thin and tender scar remained.
Here we go.
Into the frying pan.
"Damon." Nova didn't bother lying, it would be pointless, her sister was only asking to confirm her suspicions.
Simmering rage, the kind that she hadn't been able to muster up for her own well-being, lit up across her sister's face. She took in the flickering bathroom lights with squinted eyes. Putting two and two together, she turned her eyes back onto her sister. The lights ceased their flashing before she could open her mouth to reprimand her sister for giving her a headache.
There was a judging look slowly spilling across her face, her pursed mouth reminiscent of tasting a sour lemon. "When you two... Did you let him do that to you?"
She almost wished she could say yes, if only to see the look on her sister's face turn into something even more hilarious.
"Fuck no," she scoffed at the thought of willingly letting a Salvatore of all vampires, near her throat. She wasn't that insane. "Although it is a lot less erotic than it looks on TV. Damnit. There goes my biting kink."
Bonnie's mood changed sour once more, her tiny fists balled up on her knees before she sprang up from the lip of the tub. "I don't get it, how are you so calm about this? You could have died . Grams was right, about everything. They're monsters . What if he comes back to hurt you again or our friends?" It was obvious from the trembling in her voice that she was struggling not to give into the urge to shout or cry that was on the verge of bubbling over.
Nova stood up slowly, mind even slower to come up with something to say when she looked into her sister's eyes and saw unshed tears. Shit. She really fucked up on this one. It was just… sometimes – wait, scratch that, she always forgets how much she means to people.
She placed gentle hands on her shoulders, sighing deeply when she felt just how much her baby sister was shaking. Her hands firmly tugged the younger girl into a hug, holding on tightly. "I'm here, Bon. We handle this together, remember? Together." She repeated her reassurances, until they began feeling more empty than the last because it wasn't what she really wanted to say.
I will handle this.
You don't have to shoulder this alone, not in this lifetime. I will shoulder it all for you if need be.
The unsaid words stuck in the back of her throat, making her feel nauseous with guilt because she knew what her sister would say if she could her thoughts. Her will to flourish in this lifetime was only outshined by her willingness to throw her life away on a whim should it save her loved ones.
Bonnie's shoulders had relaxed enough to give into the hug, silent tears trailed down her face though the moment was quickly ruined by knuckles worming their way into a thick skull.
"What are you, twelve? Let me go." Bonnie slapped her hands away from her head, quickly trying to fix her natural curls that had fallen in her face from Nova's rough treatment.
Nova smiled brightly, quickly letting go of her sister but not before she flicked her finger at her scrunched up forehead. "I can handle myself with them. But you.. you're right. We should be doing more to protect ourselves and our friends. After tonight I don't think keeping them in the dark is an option."
"You mean, you think we should tell them about vampires?"
"Not just vampires," she said, her fingers slowly moving to the sensitive skin on her neck. "I think we should tell them who we are. Prepare them for what's out there like Grams did for us." It was as good a time as any, they could hardly pull a Merlin BBC and keep their friends in the dark until their dying breath.
Bonnie pressed her lips together into a thin line, so obviously unsure about outing themselves as witches to their best friends after so long. This was something that they had discussed at length for years, it had kept them up at night. Left them wondering if they would be hated for keeping such a big secret for so many years or even be used and discarded as the Magical Black Friends .
There was only one way to find out, unfortunately.
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The meal plan today was simple yet elegant: a very deep dish lasagna with spinach, beef, freshly made tomato and basil sauce and three different cheeses along with garlic bread — the shameful but still good frozen kind — and a chocolate fudge bundt cake.
Everyone would be too busy orgasming in their mouths to be angry with her, in fact they would loveherforever.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked, delegated to staying away from her food and instead cleaning up the chaotic mess she left behind.
"Huh?" She hadn't been saying any of the embarrassing things she had been thinking out loud…. had she?
"You were staring into space, super intense." Elena clarified, smiling when a sheepish look appeared on her face. "I appreciate this," she said, gently bumping their shoulders together. Elena kept her hands busy by wiping down the countertops, wisely opting to clean the hazardous mess Nova left behind instead of laying a hand on her precious ingredients.
"You're good at this, you know. Sometimes I forget how good," she said, looking at the spread that was being made for them.
Nova bit her lip, a painful and pitiful little smile on her face that she tried to hide but figured that it was only right for her to share her thoughts when her friend looked at her worriedly. "That's what your mom said last time I cooked for you guys," she said, soft and delicate.
Elena paused in her cleaning, her eyes cutting to the fridge where pictures, mementos and post it notes were kept up and treated as precious gems. Memories of them filled up so much space, and yet the halls of the Gilbert home hallowed it out into a pit of nothingness. It seemed so much quieter without them, even with the sounds of their gossiping friends. There was something missing, two shapes that could never be filled again.
Tears didn't fall down Elena's face, just a painfully wistful look that had been painted on her face for so long.
Nova gently bumped their shoulders together this time, gaining a soft look and even a smile when she offered the spatula that was covered in chocolate icing.
Elena took the offered treat, pausing her cleaning to enjoy the treat with a childish gleam in her eyes that reminded her of when they were still using training wheels to cause mayhem around Mystic Falls. "You didn't have to do all of this. I don't know how I'll pay you back. Nova... This is a lot ." She changed the subject, both of them the type to ignore that they were grieving in favor of trying to pretend.
Nova smiled gently, keeping her brown eyes firmly on putting chocolate icing on the cooled cake. "You don't have to repay me. I did it because I love you. I know how important this dinner is to you, how important us getting along with your new boytoy is... and I fucking refuse to let you pass around takeout as a home cooked meal."
Elena sighed with an affectionate roll of her eyes, before the doorbell interrupted her from saying much else. "That'll be Stefan," she said, running off to answer the door with a deliriously happy smile on her face.
Ugh, barf .
Her phone chimed on the counter, vibrating once and then twice more. She flipped it open, rolling her eyes when she saw the texts. "Ah yes, dessert with a side of extra barf," she muttered underneath her breath, throwing her extra spatula down on the counter, uncaring of the chocolate it smeared across freshly clean marble.
Damon had saved his number in her phone without her knowledge, boundaries non existent in his world. Her eyes bypassed actually reading his messages and she simply shot him a text telling him whatever he wanted would have to wait until she wasn't busy cooking dinner for his dumb brother. She put her phone back on the counter after turning down the ringer until it was on silent.
Using a spatula to stir the icing once more in a manner all too aggressive for the task at hand, she closed her eyes and began counting in her head, taking deep calming breaths. Opening her eyes once more, she ignored the background noise coming from the living room and obsessively made sure to smooth the icing on perfectly, adding berries to the top of the bundt cake until it was declared done by her standards.
Her sister helped her by setting the table, red plates gleaming from the amount of times her sister had scrubbed them clean from stress. The sight of the bite on her neck had done fuck all to help settle Bonnie's anxiety on having to watch their best friend get cozy with a vampire.
Caroline was beautifully and unhelpfully perched in the living room, checking herself out in her compact mirror and snapping the occasional photo. It was painfully obvious that the blonde was only here for the drama and food, her interest in Stefan dying quickly once it became apparent that he was too obsessed with their friend to even focus on making friends.
"He's not that bad," she whispered to her sister, only receiving a hum in response. And well, as much as she sort of liked Stefan and wanted Elena's plan to succeed if only for her happiness. She wasn't going to try to convince her sister to let her guard down, and she couldn't pretend like he couldn't be just as much of a twisted fuck as his brother.
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Dinner was amazing. Well, it was amazing if one ignored the stilted conversation going on and only paid attention to how much everyone loved her…
Her food that is.
She nearly snorted at her own thoughts, the denial of it all was pathetic. Honesty didn't come easily to her. In the quieter parts of her mind, she admitted to herself and herself alone that some part of her ached for the fathomless pit inside her to be filled with constant reassurances and love.
"Best dinner I've had in ages." Stefan commented in an insultingly surprised tone. It was the first non-stilted thing spoken since they had all sat down at the table.
"I can't take any credit. Nova cooked. She's a bit of a goddess in the kitchen." Elena bragged like a proud friend, smiling over at her, her brown eyes bright with a spark of joy.
"Compliments to the chef then, you outdid yourself, truly," he said, smiling charmingly for what felt like had been the entire awkward dinner.
She basked in their praise like a loon, smiling big and bright until she caught the miserable look on her twin's face. Her smile dimmed some, but she let out a mumbled and almost bashful, "thanks."
Elena did her best to keep the conversation going, if only to keep the night from ending in total failure. "You guys should have seen Stefan today! Tyler threw a ball right at him—"
Nova zoned out after that, it wasn't even on purpose, it was just something that she did every time football was mentioned. Cheerleader for them or not, football wasn't her interest, especially considering MFHS players sucked. Hmm, she couldn't wait for dessert and then after she could finally change into pajamas. The plaid pair she had left over at the Gilbert's months back were waiting for her in Elena's drawers. Only then could she actually relax, ten more minutes and they would probably call it a night, she thought dreamily.
When she focused back on the conversation her sister was smiling at a vampire. Well, fuck her sideways. Did that broody bitch actually manage to get on her sister's good side?
It bumped their conversation time up to thirty minutes, given her sister could actually hold a conversation when she liked a person.
Nova sighed and reached for the spoon, so she could get another plate only to bump into someone's fingers. She looked up into blue eyes that were hesitant to meet hers for more than a short moment.
"I'm too hot to stay mad at, aren't I?" Nova whispered to her friend, flashing her a grin before scooping out another slice of lasagna onto Caroline's plate. She stared at her friend, anxiously waiting for a response.
"… fine , yes." Caroline said with a sigh, a smile on her lips nonetheless. "God, stop staring at me with those big sad puppy dog eyes. You know I can't stay mad at you for long."
They shared a small laugh, until once again her moment with her friends was ruined by a doorbell ringing.
"I wonder who that could be." Elena tossed her napkin down in the middle of her mostly empty plate. Sending them all a pleased little grin at the sight of them all getting along before quickly leaving to get the door when the doorbell rang once more.
Nova didn't think much of it, content as she was with a full stomach and her best friend finally chattering in her ear once more. It wasn't until she heard the irritating sound of a now familiar voice that it hit her. Her eyes met the younger Salvatore's in shared misery that she was beginning to think would be permanently attached to their faces. They both got up from the table, all but running towards the door.
"Fuck," she said, rubbing her nose when she ended up bumping into Stefan's back. Not this brick wall shit again, she whined internally.
"Sorry," Stefan apologized and checked her over to see if she was alright, but she was too busy glaring at his brother through watery vision. "What are you doing here?" He questioned his brother, on edge just by the sight of him so close to his girlfriend.
Elena looked between them, soft brown eyes taking in the situation with her incredible Scooby senses. None of them were acting subtle, the tension between the three was nearly tangible.
"Hope you don't mind," he said to the teen who still held open the door instead of slamming it like she should. "Heard that you were having dinner without me sweetheart." Damon aimed the witch with a faux-wounded look on his face.
She should kick him in the nutsack, just to show him a proper wound. Violence clouded her thoughts. Outwardly she was calm, cold, impassive and — giving him a big old middle finger behind her friend's back.
Nova could still feel the spell that bound them together weighing heavy on her heart, intangible to their eyes but felt like a noose around the neck. She was sure he could feel the same thing. It would keep the Gilbert's safe regardless of the shit he was trying to pull to make his brother uncomfortable. Still, it was only a temporary safety net. The moment their deal ended was the moment that she went back to being on edge and the last thing she needed was for both vampires to be invited inside.
One psycho was enough.
"We're just finishing up." Stefan came up with a reasonable excuse, but it wasn't cruel enough for her.
"Don't you have friends that aren't in high school? Why don't you go dig up a corpse to chat with someone your own age for once." Nova said pointedly, making sure that he knew perfectly well that she didn't want him here.
"Ouch," he commented, the insufferable smirk on his face telling her he was only amused by her.
"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena said, waving him in and already going back in.
"What the fuck, Lena," she whispered angrily, getting a confused look in response. Was the hostile energy not enough for her? What else did this girl want — a giant red flag glued to Damon's giant ass forehead? Fuck, she would staple it on him if it would make her finally get a clue.
"You have a beautiful home, Elena." The vampire sent his brother a cold glance accompanied by a smirk, his very footsteps taunting them the moment he stepped inside.
"Thank you."
His cold palm pressed against the rigid wall that was her back, nudging her forwards further into the house.
"I brought dessert." Dessert to him was a bottle of expensive alcohol, the freak.
Nova pinched her nose, a miserable air weighing her footsteps down. One day. She just wanted one fucking day where she didn't have to hear about or talk to a Salvatore.
They took actual dessert, her mouth watering cake, into the living room. Chairs and couches quickly become filled, leaving her slow body to sit on the floor, her head resting on Caroline's legs. She stuffed cake into her mouth, more interested in playing with the string on the blonde's shoe than participating in conversation.
"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething . But good for you. Go for it." Caroline said, a little tipsy on her second glass of bourbon.
Jenna would kill them for getting drunk on a stranger's booze, but hopefully the leftovers of her favorite dish would distract her from the slightly tipsy teenagers in her home, she thought with an amused smile at the thought.
"That's what I always tell him." Damon said, his unnecessary presence setting everyone but Elena and Caroline on edge. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."
She could almost hear the mocking look he must've sent his brother's way. This entire situation was a game that he was insistent on playing, all in the name to further inflict misery on his brother.
Nova finished her slice of cake, noting with a pleased smile that almost everyone had eaten theirs. The only one who hadn't were the vampires who were too busy provoking each other to finish her brilliant recipe.
"Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today." Caroline said, the overzealous sympathy coating her voice doing nothing to lessen the embarrassment Elena must be feeling. "It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."
"I'll work with her. She'll get it." Bonnie didn't tear her judging glare away from the older vampire's figure even as she spoke, if she could send a spell his way without their friends getting caught in the crossfire, she would do it in a heartbeat.
"And it's not the end of the world if she doesn't get it right away," Nova piped in, lazily turning her head towards the brunette in question and gifting her with a smile that was returned softly.
"I guess we can put her in the back." Caroline mused, swiftly wiping the smile from the brunette's face.
"Bitch," she gasped, turning to give her best friend a frown.
Caroline shrugged, taking an unhealthy sip out of the wine glass she had filled with bourbon. Her little grimace from the strong alcohol hitting her, hidden from everyone else behind the loose blonde curls.
"What?" The blonde said, defenses immediately raised at the judgment on her face.
"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon interjected, even with everyone else in the room he only had eyes for her. It wasn't a loving stare in particular, or even lustful, it was however, consuming in its intensity or insanity if you wanted to be more accurate.
"What is the cheerleading type? It's rude to stereotype you know," she said, doing him a favor by reaching over and stabbing her fork into his cake and shoveling it in her mouth. "I mean just look at you." She waved at him, watching his eyebrow rise as he finally deemed it necessary to look at her. "You don't look like an alcoholic shithead and yet here you are dude."
Damon clenched his jaw, staring her down with eyes that said he was tempted to damn it all and try his hand at killing her along with everyone else in this room. Instead of messing up their mutual plans, he simply raised his third glass of bourbon up and quickly drained it.
"Touche," he replied sardonically.
Bonnie's little glance she threw her way was indicator enough that her sister thought she had lost her mind. Her sister's worries were unfortunately true, long ago she had determined her mind was swiss cheese.
Although her best friend was a chatty drunk there wasn't much conversation to be had that wasn't rebuffed by her quick tongue. Soon dishes were gathered and brought to the kitchen, everyone was thankfully wise enough to know that she wasn't moving a muscle and in fact only further reclined back into the cushions once the couch became vacated.
Stefan was quick to sit next to her once they were alone, his intense stare firmly on her relaxed figure.
" Edward . You know, you should try blinking. I know other girls think it's hot, but considering your history it's giving serial killer vibes." She mumbled between forkfuls of more cake that neither he nor his brother had finished.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked, brow furrowed until it made him look older than his body's age.
At times, in her darkest moments, it felt like there was never a moment in her life that she was okay. Life was a mess to navigate as a teenager let alone whatever the fuck she was dealing with. And her brain — Fuck, her brain was a concoction of tangled threads and tight rubber bands; it didn't help that all of them were one good pair of scissors away from snapping apart on a good day. She didn't say that though, for obvious reasons.
"Bitch perfect, baby," she joked, licking icing off her fingers.
"You know you can come to me right? If you need help?" Stefan asked in hushed tones, leaning in close so she could hear him.
"Relax, Stefan. You'll be the only vampire with wrinkles. You don't have to worry about me, I can handle my own shit." She shrugged off his worry, ending her sentence by propping her feet on the coffee table.
"You know, just because you can do things by yourself, doesn't mean it's your only option. I offered you help because I care."
Nova was caught off guard from the genuinity spilling from his lips, taking him in with a carefully guarded look in her eyes.
In all of her plans she had devised, she had always placed herself as a nonentity. It wasn't that she didn't think of herself, and it wasn't even that she believed her presence didn't have an impact, it was just… she didn't expect people outside of Bonnie and Grams to actually care about her wellbeing outside of what she could do for them. It made her feel real, warm, wanted and safe in a universe that was the opposite of safe.
Eugh , emotions were disgusting.
She put the plate down on the table and folded her arms, silent as she stared at him with big brown eyes struggling not to tear up.
"Look. I don't know what lies Damon has told you, but he cannot be trusted. He will manipulate anyone to get what he wants until he leaves them for dead. He doesn't deserve you or your loyalty." Stefan was so passionate about his warning that if she had been manipulated, she would definitely be swayed.
No matter how well meaning and dare she say, sweet , his heroics were never gonna work. Not under the circumstances that she had placed herself in. She had dug herself into this pile of shit, had chosen this course of action, and she would be damn sure she came out on top.
Sharp claps behind her kept her from even trying to come up with an answer.
Her hand clutched at her chest, willing it and her shaky hands to calm down. She only succeeded when she reached out as a lost child would and let her magic wash over her like a warm blanket.
"Fuck, really got put a bell on that bitch," she mumbled, humor hopefully covering up the rapid beating of her heart.
"Touching speech, really. Almost had me convinced by your frankly, desperate words."
Damon made himself comfortable on the arm of the sofa, his hand casually pulling her closer to him by the shoulder until she could feel his leg pressing against her spine. His chin dug uncomfortably on top of her head until she could hardly escape his embrace.
Despite the warmth of the casual embrace, it failed to make her feel comfortable. Her body was stiff, no matter how hard she tried to relax, her skin was sensitive and overly aware of every part of her body that touched him. She hated being touched by strangers with no warning. And despite the strange intimacy they shared when the deal was made, that's what he was — a stranger invading her precious space.
The intense glare that Stefan was sending towards his brother, who was no doubt using her to antagonize his brother made her feel like a toy that was being fought over. This tug of war between them wasn't about the toy — her. her. he r. she was a living breathing person with tangible feelings — though, it was about them and their fucked up definition of brotherhood.
It was suffocating all the same.
"You tryna steal my girl, Stefan? Someone's been reminiscing about the old days a little too much." His voice teasing, but there was an unmistakably sharpness behind his words.
"Just warning her about what type of person you are," Stefan said honestly, brow furrowing the longer he stared at his older brother.
"She knows me well enough, isn't that right sweetheart?" Damon was unconcerned by his brother's anticlimactic reveal. "Maybe someone should warn her and your little girlfriend about you. And the many skeletons in your closet, Jack the Ripper has got nothing on you. Right, Stefan?"
Nova couldn't help but wonder if Stefan had even meant what he said, or if deep down it was all some bullshit on his part to screw over his brother. That's all the two of them cared about in the end, loving and hating each other in everything they do.
She cleared her throat, trying not to let everything get to her. Her hands clenched into fists on her thighs, tightly wound until blood sank underneath her nails. At the scent of fresh blood, the vampires finally paid attention to her.
Figures, she thought with tired amusement.
She stood up quickly and was thankfully let go, her brain urged her to run out the house. Instead she put on a fake smile, overly patronizing to cover up any blemishes in her facade. "As interesting as this brotherly bonding is, I'm gonna go talk to.. anyone else. You have fun with your pissing contest. Try not to get it on the furniture."
She didn't wait to see anything other than the guilt on Stefan's face. She was simply too done with the two of them to do anything but walk out the room.