BORN TO DIE, stefan salvatore [1]

2 - THE NIGHT OF THE COMET

BORN TO DIE
THE NIGHT OF THE COMET

MADELEINE felt uneasy once hearing the news. They said it was an animal attack. She couldn't tell if she was more scared at the possibility of being attacked or the unlikely that was true. In seventeen years, she hadn't heard of any kind of animal attack. She found it strange that all of a sudden, some animal had decided to feast on a human girl. She stood by her locker that morning staring into space. The school was barely affected by the events of the previous night, those expect her close friends. Madeleine knew of Vicki. She knew she was Matt's sister and had a history of drug issues which continued to the present.

Madeleine broke free of her trance, lifting her eyes to the sea of students. Amid the teenagers, there was Caroline and Bonnie walking towards their lessons. Madeleine rushed in front of them, not really knowing what her own feet were doing. The two girls stopped with open eyes. Madeleine clenched her fists as the silence grew.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," she muttered. "For Vicki. I know you were friends with her."

That fact wasn't entirely true. The two girls definitely knew Vicki personally and were worried about her, but to say they were friends was an exaggeration. "Thanks," Bonnie muttered in reply.

Madeleine nodded her head, not making eye contact. "Okay." She whispered before walking away. Bonnie and Caroline chuckled at the girl's actions.

Classes for the rest of the day passed in a whirlwind. Tonight was the night of the comet. Every 145 this comet passes over Mystic Falls. Madeleine's mother, Eva, wrote about the comet a lot in her journals. She talked about its magical power. According to Daniel, her mother was obsessed with the supernatural world, specifically the witches. Madeleine never understood the obsession and thought for a part that her mother was crazy. Unfortunately, she lost her mother too soon to know.

Madeleine walked through the courtyard holding her books in one arm. In her bag, her phone rang. She stopped in the middle of the pathway to rummage her bag. She found the phone, reading Charlotte's name on the screen. "Do you miss me?"

"Life has been tedious without you," Madeleine confessed dramatically.

Charlotte laughed. "Are you going to see the comet?"

Madeleine had thought about it and hadn't really decided on the answer yet. "Are you going to hunt me down if I don't?"

"Of course I will."

"Then I guess I have to." Madeleine gave in easily. She wasn't bothered about going or not.

"I don't see the point. I'm gonna go, talk to no one, watch an ice ball move across the sky, and then go home." She spoke the truth. Based on her last interaction with Caroline and the group she knew that she wouldn't be able to squeeze in.

"What happened to Caroline?"

"I don't think that's going to work out. They're a tight group, I don't fit."

"You won't know unless you try." Charlotte sounded just like a mother and something about it was comforting to Madeleine.

"I did try. I went to the grill and it was awkward and silent."

"Maybe try actually talking next time," Charlotte advised. Madeleine was silent. She hadn't actually made any conversation. She just waited for people to come to her. The two said their goodbyes and Madeleine went to the town square. Hundreds of people stood in the square holding candles so they could watch the comet underneath the dark sky. Caroline spotted Madeleine immediately and called her over. She handed the blonde a candle and lit it with her own. Madeleine walked around the square lighting others candles for them.

"Thank you." One man replied after she lit his candle. She saw his hands first, her eyes taken by the huge blue ring in his finger. It was similar to the one she had seen on Stefan two days prior. She then looked up to his face. Her own blue eyes met a colder, icy version. His face held a smirk and his hair was jet black. She offered him a smile as she began to walk past him. He called after her, "I'm Damon."

Madeleine stopped and turned her body briefly. "That's good to know."

Damon found her response amusing and watched her walk away and rejoined the group. Madeleine listened intently to Elena as she spoke but she could still feel eyes on her. She turned her head. He was still there. Staring at her with his smirk. She turned back to Elena, trying to listen to the story. However, she looked back. When she did her lips parted. He was gone. Her eyes travelled the whole square but he was long gone. Like he was never there at all.