Several more days had passed, and it was Friday. I had found out from Stefan that Mr. Saltzman tried to kill Damon, but Damon killed him instead only for the teacher/my stepfather to be brought back by some magic resurrection ring. That didn't make a lot of sense, but I was glad that he was not dead because I wouldn't have to explain that to Jenna. I wasn't even sure if I could be mad at Damon, since he was technically defending himself from someone who was trying to kill him.
I went to school dressed in some regular winter gear. It was still pretty cold outside. I stood by Stefan at my locker. There were a lot a things that I wasn't happy about right now but nothing that I felt that I needed to hit the bottle for. I hadn't had a drink since we opened the tomb, but that wasn't of my own choice. I needed to find a good way to get some alcohol. Sure, it was kind of hard with Jenna in the house but I figured that I would be able to get some past her.
"So have you thought about her?" Stefan asked me. I was pretty sure that he wasn't talking about Anna. He was talking about the person who was not my mother.
"About Isobel, my vampire birth mother who was turned by your vampire brother who is looking for your vampire ex, not at all?" I answered sarcastically.
"I'm sorry about all of this." He apologized. "I know this must be causing you a lot of stress.
"I told you that you don't have to apologize anymore." I reminded. I was on my period. I hated having periods because they made me irritable. "I wanted to be a part of this, but it would be nice if I could get through a day where the only vampires that I come across are you and Anna, not even Damon, even if we might be friends now."
"Well, I'm happy to be one of the people that you want in your life right now." He replied as he gave me a kiss. I was glad that I decided to say that I didn't want to cut all vampires out of my life since that would leave me loveless and friendless and that would suck.
"I have to get to class." I stated. "It's too bad I vowed to go to every class this semester, because there are a lot of good places around here that we can make out/have sex."
"You've got to make all As semester or there will be no more sex." He teased. There was no way that he could resist me for that long. I knew how much guys thought about sex.
"Yeah, I don't think that you'll be able to live up to that." I teased him back before he walked off.
After class, I found out that Mr. Saltzman needed to talk to me. Part of me thought that maybe I should call him Alaric since the two of us were related by marriage, but it still felt kind of weird.
"So did you say that you spoke to Isobel?" He asked me.
"I called her, but I didn't say anything." I corrected. It wasn't really speaking if I didn't say anything. "Look I really don't care about Isobel anymore. She abandoned me when I was born and then abandoned you to become a vampire. She sounds like a bitch. I can give you the number, but I want to stay out of this. Though, there is the issue that I'm your wife's kid. We need to figure out what kind of relationship we're going to have."
"Well, I know that I can't help you with your homework." He joked. I didn't need him to help me with my homework. He did know more about history than Tanner, which meant that he may have known more about me.
"I don't need any help with that." I replied with a grin. "See you round, Pop."
I realized how weird it sounded when I walked out. I needed to make sure that I never did that again. I was met by Anna in the hallway. She looked really pretty. It was too bad that I was with Stefan because otherwise I might try to date her…well if not for the fact that she liked my sister, and I didn't want to cause sibling drama.
"So, what did he want?" She questioned.
"He wanted my help in finding his wife, who I am no longer interested in." I explained. That was probably a better term for her because she was more of that than my mother. "Speaking of mothers, is there any chance that I can meet yours?"
"No." She declared bluntly. Okay, it was pretty safe to say that her mother hated me. If she didn't want me to meet her mother, then I would adhere to those wishes. "But I might be able to get out of the house and maybe we could hang out. I never told you about how Elena and I kissed."
"That's great news." I agreed. "I'll see if I'm available tonight. I might do something with Stefan."
After school, Stefan found me at my locker. Before he could say anything, Caroline showed up. I didn't know why she wanted to talk to me.
"Hey, I was wondering if you two might want to go on a double date." She asked. "We could get dinner at the Grill and maybe see a late movie."
"I don't mean to be rude, but why are you asking us?" I declared. The four of us didn't really hang out together.
"Well, we don't really have anyone else that we can go on a double date with. We're friends, aren't we?" Caroline asked. I supposed we were, but we were the type of friends who never hung out together.
"I like the idea." Stefan replied. I assumed that meant that we were going to do it. "It sounds fun."
"Okay, then it looks like we'll see you later." Caroline declared.
I then texted Anna to tell her that I was not free tonight. I still did want to have a sleepover with her, but it didn't seem likely at the moment.
When I got home, I figured that I needed to change. It was then that I realized that I was able to go on my first real date with Stefan. Even the dance wasn't that much of date considering all of the other stuff that went into it. It meant that I would have to wear a dress. I went with a purple dress with a pair of tights. I didn't really like wearing them, but they kept my legs from getting cold. I also put on a leather jacket
Stefan arrived at my house around 6:00. I saw him by the backdoor and let him in, only to be presented with a bouquet.
"You brought me flowers?" I asked. I supposed I was a girl, but I didn't really care for flowers.
"Well, it is a date and I thought we should do it right" He explained. "I would have driven too, but…"
"You know you would think someone who is older than the car would have one." I quipped.
"Oh, I have one. I just don't drive it." He stated. How did I not know that? It would have been a lot easier than taking my motorcycle or walking which was what we were going to do.
"Why didn't you tell me that you had a car?" I asked angrily.
"We're going to be late." He remarked hastily.
"We are not done talking about this." I told him.
Once we got to the Grill, we got a table and met up with Matt and Caroline. We then found an awkward silence as everyone tried to figure out what to say. That was probably why it was a bad idea for us to do this because we didn't really have anything in common. I didn't even know what kind of hobbies Matt had other than football.
"So Matt, what's working here like?" I questioned to break the ice. It was the only thing that I could think of.
"It's not bad." Matt answered. "The tips are pretty good. We can't seem to keep a bartender."
That was because Lexi compelled one to serve minors and Ben was a vampire that Stefan burned alive. Maybe if they did hire a new bartender, I could convince them to give me some drinks.
"I suggested my mom for the position." Matt added. I didn't think that would work too well. You really don't want to hire an alcoholic as a bartender.
"That sounds like a very bad idea." I stated. "I know our families have been friends since before I was born, but your mom is kind of a wreck and giving free access to alcohol sounds like it could end badly."
We then heard the sounds of giggling and turned to see that Damon, Kelly, and Jenna were at the bar. Well, there were the people that we wanted to get away from…and Jenna. I didn't really want to stay away from her. I was a little jealous that she got to drink and have a good time, but I didn't. I couldn't even ask Stefan to compel the waitress since Matt and Caroline would see it happen and that would lead to some very weird conversations.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Matt groaned. I supposed that it could have been worse. I wasn't going to say how it could have been worse, but it definitely could have been. I did have to say that it definitely did not make for a good atmosphere. Why was Damon hanging out with Jenna and Kelly anyway?
After we were done with dinner, we headed to the pool table. At had to admit that even though the overall dining experience was bad, the food was good. I also couldn't help but laugh when Stefan ordered his steak rare. That got me funny looks from Matt and Caroline, and I had to make up some lame excuse. I actually just jokingly asked him if he was a vampire. Sometimes the truth could be the best lie. I would have to watch that.
We noticed that the "responsible adults" were still boozing it up at the bar. Did they really have to be so loud while they were doing it?
"Well at least they're having fun." Caroline stated facetiously.
"They're drunk." I pointed out. I wished that I was because I would probably be having a better time.
"So, Mary, did Elena ever tell you what happened after Homecoming last year?" Matt asked. That was a bit of an odd question.
"I think so, but maybe you should tell Stefan." I proposed. I actually didn't remember it too well and I said that so I wouldn't have to try to recap it myself.
"Well, we came here, and we got really drunk." Matt explained. "Unfortunately, we didn't expect Elena's parents to be seated in the booth behind us. Elena had the bright idea to sneak away by pretending to choke, but since her father was a doctor, he jumped into action. Elena slipped on the floor and needed to get stitches and we weren't allowed to see each other for a week."
I kind of wished that I had some good drunken stories. All of my involved being miserable. I supposed there was the bar in Atlanta, but I couldn't really tell anyone about since I had been kidnapped and then I got kidnapped a second time when I got there.
By the end of the story, I could tell that Caroline did not seem to be very happy. She went to the bathroom, and I followed because it was the best place for us to talk. I supposed that was an advantage of being a girl. It also wasn't only reason because I had to do something that involved blood. I couldn't help but wonder how vampires dealt with that. Maybe it was easier to deal with because it was the most common form of bleeding.
"So, what is with the reminiscing to when he was dating Elena?" She asked. I didn't understand why she felt the need to ask me that.
"I was just trying to make conversation." I replied. I couldn't understand why she was being so defensive about it. It wasn't like Elena wanted Matt back. Was she just stressed out about the fact that the date wasn't exactly going well? "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a lot in common with you guys and why does it matter anyway? Elena is gay. She's never going to want Matt back."
"Well maybe some of us are really insecure because we've never had a successful relationship." She stated. That wasn't really something that she needed to be insecure about. She wasn't the one who had gender changed. I wouldn't say that I still hated being a girl, but I still wouldn't say that I liked it either.
"That's what this is about?" I asked in exasperation. "Caroline, Matt likes you. He really likes you. You don't have to worry about him leaving you for anyone."
We then went out back into the restaurant and I couldn't help but notice that a man with a beard was staring at me. I couldn't help but think that he was trouble. I still was bad at determining who was a vampire, but something told me that that guy was a vampire. Maybe it was intuition.
"So, how's everything going?" I asked Matt and Stefan at the table.
"Matt is cheating." Stefan declared with a grin. I wasn't sure how you could cheat at pool.
"No need, I'm just awesome." Matt rebutted as Caroline took her place at his side. I decided to take out my phone and show Stefan a message. He turned to look at the table, but he was gone. I decided to go over to Jenna, who was obviously too drunk to drive home. She gave me her car keys and I used them to drive to the boarding house. I supposed that was one of the nice things about being sober. I would never drive drunk. I liked to think that I was smarter than that.
"So, are you sure that this guy was a vampire?" Stefan asked me.
"I'm pretty sure." I stated. I literally missed the fact that Anna was a vampire. To be fair though, she wasn't super-obvious about it. She could have just been a vampire-obsessed teenager like me. "He just had this really creepy look to him. I know I'm bad at this, but I really think he was."
"Okay, let's send Matt and Caroline home and call it night." Stefan suggested. I didn't really like that idea. I was starting to like hanging out with them.
"No, we need to be able to do stuff like this. Besides, I don't know what else we are going to do." I argued. "Let's just go inside."
"Whoa, this place is huge." Matt gushed looking around the room in awe. It was one of the best houses in the town. Granted, it wasn't really built to just have him and Damon in it. I always wondered why they stopped renting the place out. Maybe they just didn't need the money anymore. It was probably better because the only person that I had to worry about interrupting me and Stefan was Damon. That was still pretty bad though.
"Yeah, I guess it is a bit much." Stefan quipped.
"My whole house could fit in this living room." The quarterback added. I wasn't sure if that was true or not.
"I feel like I've been here before." Caroline stated. I hoped that the compulsion wasn't wearing off. Maybe it was just a feeling of déjà vu. Damon had brought her over several times.
"Whoa, look at this." Matt replied as he noticed some of Stefan's model cars that I hadn't ever noticed before. That was not a hobby that I would have guessed that he liked. "I did the entire Mustang series when I was nine."
"You like cars?" Stefan asked him. If he liked cars so much, why did he have a truck? Maybe it was cheaper for him to maintain since he didn't really have a lot of money.
"That's an understatement." Matt declared.
"Come with me." He instructed as he led us to the garage, which I had also never been to. Inside was this really old red car, but it looked to be in perfect condition. It seemed to be Stefan's car. It must have been the car that he said that he didn't drive.
"How did you get this?" Matt asked in disbelief. I would think that it would be feasible for someone as rich as Stefan to have any car he wants. I wished that I knew enough about cars to know what kind of car that it was. There might have been a good reason why he didn't drive it.
"It was just passed down through the family." Stefan lied. I really wanted to ride in it.
"Remember that old Camaro of your dad's, Mar?" Matt questioned as he looked it over. No one had ever called me that. I did remember the car because my dad loved that car. I couldn't remember why he had sold it to be honest.
"I don't really like sports cars." Caroline piped in. "They're hard to make out in."
"I've never had a problem with it." Matt declared. I hadn't ever tried so I wouldn't know. Stefan was the only person that I had ever made out with. "Why don't you drive this?"
"Well, it doesn't run." Stefan answered. I would also think that he would know how to fix a car. Or maybe he wouldn't. Just because he was old didn't mean that he was an expert on cars.
"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline asked. It was a valid question.
"Can you be any more of a girl right now?" Matt replied. That was kind of sexist.
That basically led to the two of us going outside while the guys worked on the car. Caroline had a frown on her face.
"Care, there's nothing that I can do." I stated. This was a moment where I wished that I could tell her what had happened to me. I didn't know if she would believe it, but I wanted to tell her anyway. I wanted to tell someone other than Stefan. "Yes, Matt has all of these memories from when he dated Elena, but that doesn't mean that you can't make memories of your own. If you don't want him to keep talking about it, just tell him."
At that point, the car pulled out of the garage and over to us. It was kind of annoying because the lights were on high.
"How about you two take it for a spin?" Stefan suggested. That would also give us some alone time to talk. We went inside of the house.
"You know I really want to make some memories with you." I told him. That was the thing that relationships were all about. "I mean good memories: not how we killed a vampire or how we opened the tomb, but stuff like prom and whatnot. Oh, by the way, since you're a junior, you're taking me."
I wanted to know what going to prom would be like, even though I didn't exactly want to wear a dress to it.
"We can have all of the nice memories that you want." He promised me. There was also something else on my mind, but I wasn't sure if we would have enough to do it before we got back.
They were gone for about 15 minutes. I couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be happier when they got back. I couldn't help but wonder if they had done something in Stefan's car. I didn't think that was polite to have sex in someone else's car, but Stefan had to have considered the possibility.
All was going well until we heard something break and went to investigate it and found that Damon was about to have sex with Kelly against the wall. Did he really have no sense of decency? Okay, maybe he did, but he needed more tact. Matt was pissed and she followed him, basically stranding Caroline. It was a good thing that I had a car for the night. She got in the front while I said goodnight to Stefan.
"I had a really great time tonight." I told him. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an overstatement, but I did still enjoy myself. "Though, next time I want it to be just me and you."
"I'll make sure of it." He said as he gave me a kiss. I didn't know when we would be able to have a regular date. It would probably be a good idea for us to try to do normal couple things more often. "Make sure to drive carefully."
I rolled my eyes before I walked over to the car and began to drive to Caroline's house.
"You know I should probably be driving." She told me. "You don't have a license after all."
"I'm a great driver." I argued. I was at least pretty good. "Besides, someone has to get Jenna's car home. So did you have fun tonight?"
"Yeah, it was great until the end." She stated. "We actually had quite the moment while we were in Stefan's car, if you know what I mean."
"Please tell me that you didn't have sex in his car." I stated. I really didn't want to think about them having sex at all. To be honest, I didn't really think that the two of them had much sexual chemistry. They looked good together, but I felt that seeing them kissing or having sex with each other would be pretty awkward.
"No, you can't have sex in a sports car." She declared before we got to her house, and she got out. You probably could if you moved the seats or something. I was pretty sure that people had done it before.
When I went home, I noticed that Anna was in my room. I was actually really glad to see her. I couldn't help but wonder if we were finally going to be able to have our sleepover.
"We have a bit of a problem." She declared. "Elena kind of knows about me. I didn't tell her anything. I don't know how she found out about it."
"Well, I need you not to mention anything about me." I declared. I didn't know how her knowing that I knew about vampires would lead her to learn that her memories had been erased, but it was probably still a good idea to keep it a secret. "As far as I know, you're just a nerdy Goth girl who loves horror movies."
"There is another problem." She added. I had a feeling I wouldn't like that. "She asked me to turn her."
So Mary had her double date and it went pretty well, but she also got some bad news from Anna. Of course, she's not going to do it, but at least the two of them are together.