𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 | 𝐭𝐯𝐝

6

It was later on in the night, the Gilbert kitchen was being raided by three girls. Bonnie and Elena were preparing dinner while I put stuff on the table. "You explain it. Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial breaks come on and I'm like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture." Bonnie explained. "Oh, come on. That commercial's on a constant loop." I scoffed. "Fine. Well, how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?"
"Maybe we should play the lottery. Have you talked to your Grams?"

"She's just gonna say it's because I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie whined. "I don't want to be a witch." Elena poured the food she ordered into a bowl and I put it on the table. "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody."
"Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?"
"Middle drawer on your left." Bonnie and I said in unison. What can I say? I eat a lot. "Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times." Elena denied Bonnie's powers.
"Yeah, that's it."
I ran to the door after the doorbell rang and threw my hair out of a bun and answered the door. "Stefan! Hey, come in." I smiled as my eyes flashed with fear. He stepped in and I led him to the kitchen.

It was quiet for a while everyone ate. Elena finally broke the silence. "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" She asked Stefan. "Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right." He said proudly. "Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and..."
"Yeah, I heard." Bonnie cut in. "Why don't you tell Stefan about your family of witches?" I teased. "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool." Elena boasted even though she denied it. Stupid. "Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie mumbled. "Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s." Stefan informed.
Bonnie's eyes flashed. "My family came by way of Salem."
"Really? Salem witches?"
Bonnie nodded. "I would say that's pretty cool." Stefan smiled. "Really? Why?"
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."
"Yeah, they are."
The doorbell rang again, so l got up and Stefan followed. "I wonder who that could be," Elena mumbled from the dining table.
"I'll be nice for now, but to be honest, you really fucking scare me," I mumbled under her breath. "I know. You don't have a reason to be scared." Stefan whispered. "You're a fucking vampire. I have a reason." I put on a fake smile and opened the door, my smile dropping as I saw Damon and Caroline at the doorway. "Surprise! Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." The blonde smiled. "O-oh thank you." I didn't break eye contact with the blue-eyed monster in front of me. "Hope you don't mind," he smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan crossed his arms. "Waiting for this beauty to invite me in."
"Damon!" Caroline pouted. "Caroline, come on in." I gulped. Elena walked behind them. "What's taking so long? Just come in, Damon." Elena shrugged. "Gladly." Damon stepped in and smirked at me as he moved past.

"You have a beautiful home, Elena." He looked at my older sister. "Thank you."

Everyone moved to the living room, Caroline sitting on Damon's armchair and Stefan and Elena near each other. Bonnie stayed close to Stefan and Elena while I stood in the doorway. "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it." Caroline said perkily.
"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it." Damon looked at his brother. "Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines. At least Sundance caught on." Caroline shrugged. "I'll work with her. She'll get it." I frowned. "I guess we can put her in the back," Bonnie suggested. "You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Sundance."
"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. Elena used to be way more fun too...And I say that with complete sensitivity."
I scoffed and crossed my arms. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose both your parents. In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." Damon said, but an underlying message laid buried in the words he spoke.

Maybe because you are Count Dracula. I thought.

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan glanced at me.
"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm." Damon took a sip of his drink. "Uh, Sundance, why don't you clean up," Elena suggested. "Yeah." I agreed and walked away. "I'll help." Damon got up and walked after me.

It was quiet. My heart pounded with every glass he handed me. "One more," he spoke. "Thank you." I gulped. He handed the glass over, so I put it in the dishwasher and closed the machine after starting it. "I like you. You have a nice laugh. And you make Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time. I mean, so does Elena. But there's just something about you." He crossed his arms and leaned on the bar of the kitchen. I sat down. "Are you talking about Katherine?"
"Mm-hmm."

"Oh...I'm sorry. H-How did she die?"
"In a fire. Tragic fire. It seems like it was yesterday."

"Sounds like every romance novel's ending. Two lovebirds, one dies and the other's emotions die with the other. But then again, I guess Stefan was already- Never mind. What was she like?" I watched as Damon glared at me. "She was beautiful. A lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated and selfish and at times not very kind, but very sexy and seductive."

"Sounds like you dated her too." I cocked an eyebrow. "So which one of you dated her first?"
"Nicely deduced. Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine. I was more into her Katherine's sister anyway. I'd quit cheerleading if I were you."
"Why do you say that?"
"Oh, I saw you at practice. You looked miserable."
"You saw that?"
"Am I wrong?"

"Cheerleading was always Elena's thing. It's how she scored a good boyfriend, got magically good grades on tests, made good friends...It made her. I wanted that so I got into cheerleading. It's never been my thing." I confessed. "Quit, move on. Find your own thing. Problem solved. Ta-da." Damon made jazz hands, making me laugh a bit. "Some things could matter again."
"Maybe. But...seems a little unrealistic to me."

"I'm sorry. About Katherine. You lost her, too." I nodded. Damon tilted his head a bit and bit his tongue. "Hey. Need some help?" A voice chimed in. Bonnie popped up from around the corner. "Sure, why not?" I smiled.

Stefan: They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to.
Damon: Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking.
Stefan: All right, you've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to meet Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you to go.
Damon: That's not a problem. Because...I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little 5'7 cheerleader whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal for me

I was hiding and listening to the brothers, suspicious when Caroline and Elena walked in. I gulped and walked back and looked at Elena. "You fucking Salvatores," I mumbled.