Reyna

CHAPTER FIVE

              The next week, Val swung by to grab a folder she forgot at the school. Try outs had gone successfully, she had a trip planned to San Antonio that February (thank you, Liza and Gil), and she even got a webcam, meaning she could call Hector and Alex on video chat instead of a phone call.

And Damon Salvatore was no longer terrorizing the town.

Needless to say, she was feeling quite a bit more relaxed than she had been the last few weeks. She headed into the school with an iced vanilla coffee in hand and a slight pep in her step, smiling at the students who passed by her. Her eyes caught a familiar sight, and she headed over to Bonnie and Elena, both talking quietly.

"Hey, girls," she greeted cheerfully, "how's your day going?"

Elena smiled and nodded, "It's good, Ms. R. Um, actually," she stepped forward, voice lowering, "I wanted to say thank you; for your help with Caroline, we both do." She motioned between Bonnie and herself. The mocha skinned teen nodded, hazel eyes soft.

Val gave them a serious look, "You don't have to thank me, you guys. If any of you need help, I'm here for you, and everyone else, too. I was a pretty stupid teen," she shrugged, "so I feel like I have a lot of hard-earned experience to shove down your throats." She ended in a light tone, and all three laughed.

"Speaking of," Bonnie muttered, and they all turned to see the blonde teen walking down the hallway, giving instructions to the cheerleaders at her sides about the carwash the cheer squad and football team would be hosting. Val grimaced; she had her own fundraiser to finish planning, so she made a mental note to finish the details by Thursday and send them to Joe.

"Unbelievable," Elena murmured, "it's like nothing even happened!"

"She's in denial," Bonnie supplied, and Val nodded.

"Way in denial."

"Hey," the trio turned to see Stefan walking up to them, hands clasped in front of him. Val was barely able to bite back an amused smile; it was kind of funny to see a blood-sucking monster that so many feared coming to his girlfriend practically on his knees.

"Oh, uh, I gotta go...be somewhere right now." Bonnie stuttered, before waving goodbye to Val and disappearing down the hallway. Val excused herself as well but stayed within visual range.

Maybe this made her sound like a bad person, but she still wasn't sure how much she trusted Stefan around Elena. She knew he tried to be stay in control, and he was a really good kid (er, man). But, she wasn't sure how much control he had. And she refused to risk it.

Pretending to be typing on her phone, she watched in some sympathy as Caroline walked up to the couple, no doubt asking about Damon, and winced as her face fell. Even without the compulsion, Damon was a master manipulator. It would take Caroline time to understand the bullet (fang?) she dodged.

Once Stefan walked away from the group, she strolled after him, picking up speed until she was right next to him.

"So, where is he?"

"Locked up in the boarding house basement." Stefan informed softly, but it wasn't really necessary. Students around them talking so loudly it was almost hard to hear herself.

"Good." She stopped the century old vampire and turned him to face her.

"I need your help with something."