Love Sucks | The Vampire Diaries

Family Ties

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

        "I'm not trying to be pushy, but are you sure you're not taking this a bit too far?" Bonnie asked her best friend as they walked up the steps of the Lockwood Mansion, following everyone else who showed up for the Founders' Party.
        "I didn't say I will hate her for all eternity, Bonnie," Annabelle rolled her eyes, "But someone has to tell Elena that the way she treats Jeremy is unfair, and since it doesn't look like anyone was actually gonna do it, I took it upon myself. Besides, I'm sick of her attitude towards him," she said as they reached the Lockwoods' threshold and stopped, waiting politely to be invited in.
        "Okay," Bonnie succumbed, just as Annabelle's eyes fell on the mayor's wife.
        "Hi, Mrs. Lockwood," she called, and the older woman turned around, smiling brightly as she walked up to the two teenagers.
        "Annabelle," Mrs. Lockwood grinned as she pulled the young brunette into a hug, which Annabelle returned kindly, "Oh, you look stunning," Mrs. Lockwood said as she pulled away, holding the Gilbert girl at arm length.
        "Thank you," Annabelle chuckled, and Mrs. Lockwood gave her one more smile before turning to look at Bonnie.
        "Bonnie," she smiled, also pulling the girl into a hug, which Bonnie returned a bit awkwardly while Annabelle tried not to laugh, "Well, don't just stand there, girls. Come in," Mrs. Lockwood smiled, pulling away from Bonnie, and Annabelle gave her a smile in thanks as she and Bonnie entered the mayor's house, "Enjoy," the mayor's wife smiled, before walking away as Annabelle gave her a wave with a smile, while Bonnie rolled her eyes slightly.
        "Stop it," Annabelle rolled her eyes, looking over at her friend with a smile.
        "I didn't do anything," Bonnie protested, knowing that Annabelle couldn't have seen her since she was still looking off in the distance.
        "Yes, you did," Annabelle said, and Bonnie opened her mouth to respond but Annabelle beat her to it, "Don't even bother. I know you to well, Bonnie Bennett," she smiled, making Bonnie roll her eyes but smile all the same.

*1 Hour Later*

        "Are you sure you wanna go there?" Bonnie asked her friend in concern, and Annabelle took a deep breath.
        "Yeah," she nodded.
        "Okay," Bonnie nodded with a gentle smile, and Annabelle smiled back before they made their way down the hallways of the Lockwood Mansion, heading towards the room that held the heritage display.
        "...Is that Damon Salvatore?" the girls heard Elena's voice from the side of the room where they were headed.
        "I'll be right back," Annabelle murmured quietly to Bonnie, who nodded, thinking that Annabelle might have decided to either apologize or at least talk to Elena.
        "And Stefan Salvatore?" Elena's voice was laced with confusion, and Annabelle walked over, only to see her looking at the original guest registry from the very first Founders' Party with Stefan beside her. Annabelle's brows furrowed as she also glanced at the registry, and saw both of the Salvatore brothers' names on it.
        "The original Salvatore brothers," came a voice from behind her, and she, along with Stefan and Elena, who just now noticed her sister was standing beside them, turned around, only to see Damon walking over to the three of them, "Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually," he said, and Annabelle's brows furrowed a bit when she didn't see Caroline anywhere nearby, even though she was completely certain that her blonde best friend was being accompanied by Damon.
        "We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan spoke up, and Damon stared at his brother, almost as if daring him to say more.
        "It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena said sweetly, making Damon smirk at his brother, while Annabelle had to refrain herself from rolling her eyes.
        "Where's Caroline?" she quickly turned to Damon, still not seeing her best friend anywhere.
        "She went to dance with one of your friends," the Salvatore replied smoothly, before getting an almost twinkle in his eye as he looked at his brother with a smirk. "In fact, why don't you and Belle here go join in on the dance floor?"
        "I don't really dance," Stefan said as Annabelle looked at Damon in shock, while Elena felt jealousy building up inside her, but also a bit of worry as she deduced that Damon wanted to talk to her. Alone.
        "Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all," Damon smirked, and Annabelle felt another set of tension rising up between the two brothers.
        "Well, alright then," she sighed, wanting nothing more than to escape the tension, not to mention Damon, who was, once again, standing too close for her liking, "Shall we?" she asked, holding her hand out to Stefan, making Damon smirk at his brother while Elena glared at her sister, who decided to ignore her for the time being simply wishing to get as far away from the older Salvatore as possible.
        Stefan looked down at her and gave her a small smile, as if understanding that she wanted to get away, and grabbed her hand, much to Elena's displeasure, and lead her out of the room, leaving their siblings to watch them leave. One with a smirk, one with a glare.
       
*A Few Minutes Later*