gilbert boy ▪ tvd [completed]

|f i v e|

When Charlie woke up the next morning, he was pleasantly surprised to see that his sleep hadn't been disturbed by a nightmare. He felt more rested than he had in the last five years. He laid in bed for a few more minutes, basking in the peacefulness that seemed to come from being back in his childhood home. That was, until the fire alarm went off. 

His heart skyrocketed as he ripped off his blanket and bolted downstairs faster than he ever had with his human speed. He made it in time to see Jenna running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head cut off. 

"Jenna!" Elena screamed when the three saw the pan was on fire. 

A loud bark of a laugh escaped Charlie as he watched his Aunt grab the fire extinguisher from under the sink before she began spraying the fire spastically. Charlie watched as Elena got onto a chair, turning off the fire alarm while the oldest Gilbert boy walked over to the stove to look at what she had been cooking. "What the bloody hell were you making?" 

Jenna whined as she brushed her hair out of her face. "I was trying to make pancakes for all of you to enjoy when you woke up, but as you can see, it didn't exactly go as planned." 

Jeremy pats his brother's shoulder. "Yeah, she can't cook." He yawned before turned and headed into the living room and throwing himself onto the couch. 

Elena sat down on the bench at the kitchen table and watched as Charlie worked on cleaning up Jenna's mess before he began gathering cook materials like it was second nature to him. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at the way his sister stared at him. "I'm not going to disappear, Elena," He chuckled. "You can stop staring now." 

"I just...I just missed you." She smiled slightly as she placed her chin on her hand. "Tell me about yourself, tell me everything." Jenna hummed in agreement as she sat next to Elena as Jeremy perked up on the couch, leaning on the back so he could listen and watch Charlie cook as well. 

"Well, I don't really remember much about the accident. All I know is a kind gentleman took me in and became a sort of mentor to me. I lost my things in the crash, so he didn't have any way to identify me, so we just started over." He shrugged as he beat eggs in a bowl of dry ingredients. "You know, I remembered my age, my date of birth, my first name—and how to speak French of all things, so he took me to Europe where I've lived for the last five years." 

He poured the batter into the pan before he sprinkled chocolate chips on top. "I, uh, finished high school and went to college, where I got a dual Master's degree in Music and Art. I've actually been working with the Le Musée du Louvre in France to restore some of their oldest works of art." 

He continued to talk as he dished out the most delicious looking chocolate chip pancakes they had ever seen. "My mentor took me under his wing and just helped me get back on my feet, but as you can see, I have amnesia. I can remember snippets, but it gets increasingly difficult  when I think too hard about remembering." 

"This sort of thing takes time, Char," Jenna pats his hand gently, trying to comfort him. 

"And we're willing to wait." Jeremy smiled at his older brother, who bumped into him playfully because of his cheesy comment. 

The family laughed as they ate together, trading old memories and jokes. This felt right to them. They were all together, sharing this special moment, and they would remember it for the rest of their lives because Charlie was finally home. 

▪ ▪ ▪

"When you said you had something to show me, I didn't think you meant it was the desiccated body of Elijah." Charlie was taken back by the sight of his slightly dead mentor. This man had always seemed so invincible. "How the bloody hell were you able to subdue him? He's not exactly the...easiest person to put down."

"Our Uncle John gave us the dagger, but he was actually planning to get Damon killed, who was planning to kill Elijah. Only humans can dagger him without dying apparently." Elena explained the short version of the story, standing behind him as he studied Elijah's body.

"So, he's been down here this whole time?" Charlie asked, not taking his eyes off Elijah. He felt the need to help the man who had saved his life, but he was also curious about why he would want to take Elena of all people.

Damon scoffed as he pushed himself off of the door frame, raising his arms in utter disbelief. "Were you not listening when I said your sister was kidnapped and this guy," Damon nudged Elijah in the side with his foot making Charlie tense up, almost like he expected the man to wake up and kill the vampire. "killed one of the kidnappers and tried to take her away to god knows where?"

Charlie rolled his eyes in annoyance as he stood up, dusting his hands off on his pants. As tall as Damon is, Charlie was slightly taller, and Damon almost felt intimidated by the Immortal. "I frequently don't listen to the things that come out of your mouth." He sassed.

Elena bit her lip, trying to contain her laughter as Charlie turned and waltzed out of the cellar, leaving an offended Damon behind.

▪ ▪ ▪

He could feel the eyes that were drilling into his back. It set him on edge as he stopped looking at all of the books in the Salvatore library and turned around. "Can I help you...Elena?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing. 

Elena didn't leave the house with curly hair and that outfit, but he liked her new style. His eyes narrowed on the new version of his sister as she swayed her hips, sauntering toward him. "No, but maybe I can help you?" Her voice was sultry, and he could hear her purr as she dragged a finger down his chest. 

He bristled, his face visibly scrunching up in disgust. "What the bloody hell are you doing, Elena?" 

"Well, what does it look like I'm doing? I'm flirting." She grinned playfully before she began to lean in. This definitely wasn't his baby sister. He thrust his hand up and sped around, pressing her against one of the couches. Her air got caught in her throat, and she was quick to grip his hand, trying to pry it off. 

"That's enough, Charlie, I think you've scared her enough," Damon called from the doorway, smirking at the sight of Charlie attacking Katherine. Maybe they would get along after all?

Charlie roughly released her, and Katherine sucked in as much air as possible as she scrambled onto her elbows, looking up at the male in fear. She forgot what it was like for someone to overpower her. But when she looked at this Charlie close enough, he seemed human. 

"She has Elena's face," Charlie said plainly, accepting the drink Damon offered him. "And she tried to seduce me." 

Damon hummed as he downed his bourbon. "Charlie, meet Katherine, Elena's doppelganger." He motioned to Katherine before he motioned to Charlie again. "Katherine, meet Charlie, Elena's long lost, Immortal, older brother." 

Katherine's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "'Immortal, older brother?'" She repeated, still not catching on. 

"Precisely. Goodness, they just don't make them the same anymore, do they?" Charlie smirked as he downed the rest of his drink, tilting his head as he taunted the girl. 

Damon snickered under his breath at the offended look Katherine wore. "I'm a lot older than you, boy." She snapped angrily, flashing her vampire face. 

"Oh, I know all about you, Katerina Petrova," Charlie grinned as he began to circle Katherine like he was the predator, and she was his prey. He stepped closer and whispered in her ear. "I mean, it's not every day you meet the woman that Klaus has been hunting for the last five hundred years."

She flinched away, her eyes narrowing her eyes at him. "Who are you?"

"Oh, where are my manors. Allow me to introduce myself properly," He walked closer and grabbed her hand in his delicately, lifting it to his lips as he stared into her eyes. "My name is Charles Mikaelson."

"Mikaelson?" Katherine asked, fear creeping up on her as she ripped her hand away from the boy that bore the name of her worst nightmare.

Damon nodded from where he stood at the bar, refilling his drink, sipping it as he smirked at Katherine. "Did I forget to mention that?"