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It was the Mystic Falls Historical Society Volunteer Day, and preparations were underway. Although Isabella wasn't particularly excited about spending the whole day on something she wasn't passionate about, she wanted to support her best friend. Stefan and Elena seemed to be having some relationship issues, and Isabella suspected it might be related to Katherine's recent arrival in Mystic Falls.
Carol Lockwood stood on the podium giving a speech, while Isabella and Stefan stood beside each other, their eyes fixed on her. "This is so boring," Isabella mumbled softly, prompting a quiet chuckle from Stefan.
"Try being your brother," Stefan retorted, a serious expression briefly crossing his face before he smirked. His attention shifted to Mason, who was unloading boxes from his trunk. "Ah, he's here. I need to fix whatever you and Damon started with him last night."
"Woah, easy there with the judgmental look, Stef," Isabella teased as she shot him a playful glare. "But seriously, can we agree there's something fishy about his whole 'returning-to-town' saga? It's just not adding up, and you know it."
"Regardless of whether it's crap or not, we can't just go around killing people 'cause their stories are a little off. Now, come on." Stefan rolled his eyes and wandered in Mason's direction with his sister. "Mason."
Mason lifted his eyes from his trunk and scoffed before he turned his attention to Stefan. "Stefan, right? The other Salvatore."
"The nice one." Stefan nodded slowly as he leaned against Mason's truck. "The one offering you an apology."
"Not interested. Not unless it comes from Damon, or the mouth of your pretty little sister, here."
"The only thing coming out of my mouth is the truth, unlike some mysterious return stories we've heard," Isabella quipped, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.
Stefan gave Isabella a pleading look as she took a deep breath and nodded, a sympathetic look on her face. "Look, Damon and I acted impulsively, and it was wrong. So, I'm sorry for what happened last night."
"If you and Damon keep at each other's throats, somebody innocent is going to get hurt and I don't want that. You have family here, so I can't imagine you'd want that either. So, what do you say we just, uh— quit the whole alpha-male fighting thing and call a truce?"
Mason scoffed. "I made that same offer to your brother. He turned it down with a knife."
"You deserved it," Isabella whispered under her breath. "Yeah, and like I just said, he made a mistake." Isabella folded her arms across her chest. "Mason, I just apologized to you, I know that it doesn't do a lot, but Stefan's right. All of this fighting is gonna end up with someone getting hurt."
"Tell your brother to watch his back," Mason told Stefan and Isabella just as he was about to walk away, but Isabella held out her hands and stopped him with her magic.
