Chapter Text
Stefans eye’s screw shut, a voice in the back of his head is urging him to wake up. Instead, he watches as Elena wakes up, startled out of a bed by a strange noise. She calls out to her brother.
“Hello? Jeremy? Hello?”
Elena tries to turn on a light, but the house remains dark except for the dull light from the TV.
“This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim, local high school student Annalee Moretti. Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks.”
Damon’s voice cuts through his brain like an ice pick.
“You know what's coming next.”
Elena freezes, the photo of the young girl on the screen stopping her in her tracks. She feels the presence on the other side of the front door. She walks towards the front door, Stefan stands silently pleading with her, wishing he could do more than watch as the scene unfolds. She opens the door, Elena and Stefan are struck by the blood covering Damon’s body, he smirks. Elena slams the door shut and turns to run up to the stairs, she’s stopped in her tracks by the raven haired man. He grabs her by the shoulders and lunges forward, fangs ripping into the flesh of her neck.
Stefan wakes up with a shout. He’s in his bed, but images of a dying Elena, and Annalee dead in the road flash before his eyes.
“Bad dream?” His older brother taunts, “Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference. Too soon.”
‘Damon, of course’ Stefan thinks.
Instead of responding, Stefan follows his next impulse, and throws a knife at Damon. Somewhat surprisingly, it lands in his stomach. But Damon doesn’t even flinch when he pulls it out.
“All right, I deserved that. I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit.” Stefan throws him a look. “The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and traumatizing that little girl! Poor kid.” The sympathy is empty. Stefan’s gut twists with guilt at the thought of Annalee.
“What are you talking about?” Stefan grumbles.
“It was a mountain lion. Really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. "Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls."” Damon’s pleased smirk worms its way under Stefan’s skin.
“Why would you cover your tracks?”
“I've decided to stay a while. And I'm just having way too much fun here with you, Elena, and all these cute townsfolk!” It was the answer Stefan feared.
“Can't touch her now.”
“Well, the vervain keeps me out of her head. Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift.” With one last roll of his eyes Damon shoves the dagger in Stefan’s stomach. Stefan, weaker by every definition at the moment, can’t help the grunt of pain and needs to keel over.
“This is John Varvatos, dude. Dick move.”
Once Damon is gone, Stefan pulls out the knife. His shoulders shake as he stares at the dagger. The anger, the worry, the fear, all of it rising with every second. He thinks of the nightmare Damon had given him, how did Damon know Annalee? Was that little detail something that originated from his mind?
Briefly, after Damon attacked Tanner, Stefan had caught sight of Lee. She was sitting in the bed of someone’s pick up truck, Matt and Tyler on either side of her. The smell of rotting blood and death rolled off of her in waves, and Stefan’s concern made him take a step forward. He stopped, her eyes hadn’t moved off her hands and Matt was saying something to her she couldn’t hear. Stefan’s guilt racked his body, and all he could do was hope this was the last of the sophomore’s involvement.
He took a breath, shaking off the memories of her horror-stricken face and pulled out his journal. He needed to do something about the increasing tension in his body. The voice of Sheriff Forbes cuts through as soon as the TV is on.
“I can confirm that a 12-foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition.”
‘The real animal is still out there, waiting for me, challenging me to fight back, to stop him. But how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?’
It had been almost ten days since the football game. Annalee was doing a decent job of pretending everything was okay.
Sat in a large booth at the Mystic grill is a group of five, Tyler Lockwood, his parents, Annalee, and her father, Anders.
“So what happens with the season?” Mr. Lockwood starts, “One big forfeit? Are they looking for a new coach?” His eyes glance hopefully at his friend. “Huh? What do you say, Anders?”
Mr. Moretti’s eyes swirled with something in between amusement and disgust, he shook his head no, glancing down at the way his daughter’s hands had balled into clenched fists.
“I don't know, dad. I doubt anybody is thinking about that right now.” Tyler speaks softly, eyes stopping on a seemingly unbothered Annalee.
“Charles, founder's party, focus.” Mrs. Lockwood is always keeping this group on track. Annalee flips open a notebook, ready to start with her idea for the placement of the Moretti Artifacts. Anything to take her mind off of the Late football coach, she takes a breath to speak when Vicky walks up.
“How are y'all doing over here?” Lee’s fallen expression is enough to make Tyler chuckle.
“Ah, we're doing great, sweetheart.” Mr.Lockwood, always laying the charm on thick.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” Vicky tries again, eyes dancing back and forth between Tyler and the fifteen year old sticking her tongue out at him.
“We're fine, thanks.” Tyler’s irritation is hidden behind his amusement.
“Just the check, honey.”
“Here you go, Mayor Lockwood.” Annalee couldn't help the raise of her bushy eyebrows, she had known Richard Lockwood her whole life and she rarely felt the need to address him with this city title. Although, she realized, interacting with the man and his family as often as she did was probably not common.
“Thanks.” His smile was terse, and even though he sat below her, it was clear as day that Mayor Lockwood and his wife were looking down their noses at Vicky Donovan.
As Bonnie and Caroline came through the door, Annalee launched into her in depth explanation on this year's layout of her family's clock, jewelry, journals, and famous armoire.
If it wasn’t for how crazy it sounded, Annalee would tell the whole world that this old piece of oak furniture was genuinely a portal to narnia. Maybe not Narnia, and truthfully she couldn’t really remember ever entering the thing, but she was certain it had once taken her away somewhere far away, somewhere unlike this world entirely. Her mother had saved her, she was certain. Even if it only played out in her dreams. Just another ridiculous conjuring from my imagination.
The Lockwood’s nodded their heads in agreement, Annalee had always had a special talent for decor and design. Her eye for detail was unmatched according to Mrs. Lockwood. She would often bring the young girl in for a second opinion on her party decor. ‘Keeping up with the kid’s these days’ she called it. Tyler thought ‘Free labor’ was more accurate. Not like he could say anything, Annalee was taking on any distraction she could.
Soon enough, the parents of the quintet left. Lee smiled up at the boy.
“So.. who are you taking to the party?” Tyler scoffed at her question.
“Oh, what? You expect me to leave you alone to wander into people’s private conversations and give them a five minute lecture on the “Historic Value” of the founder’s party?” His exaggerated air quotes were not helping, “yeah no, frankly, if you don’t have a chaperone, other people will suffer.” Lee’s previously flat expression turned into a distinct frown. Her cheeks were warm as she puffed up in self defense.
“Okay seriously? I didn’t do that last year! I can handle myself. You shouldn’t be stuck on babysitting duty, I don’t need a babysitter!” Tyler silently disagreed. “I will find someone else to go with me.” Her bravado wasn’t fooling the older boy. He started to chuckle but the noise quickly dropped off watching Lee stiffly walk up to Caroline and Bonnie.
What the hell am I doing?
“Hello ladies!” Her disarming smile had both girls looking at her with intrigue. Caroline cocked her head into her hand.
“Hello?” The blonde’s eyes gave away her feelings. Doubt, distrust, fear, curiosity. Annalee took a slow breath, pushing away all the extra sensations. She tried to form a sort of mental bubble. She turned her attention to the fellow brunette.
“Well I couldn’t help but overhear that Mrs. Bennet is currently lacking a plus-one to the founders party, and I would be honored to escort you!” Bonnie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and embarrassment. Caroline scoffed.
“Oh! Oh no Annalee I don’t think that's necessary.” Bonnie was cut off by the bright green eyes that suddenly took up most of her vision. The girl’s face was stressed and her voice came out in a quick whisper. Lee wasn’t sure where her bravery was coming from, but she wasn’t going to ignore it. She deserved friends for Christ's sake.
“Please Bonnie! Tyler has been smothering me since the football game! He needs to hang out with people that aren’t fifteen years old. He’ll only leave me alone if I’m with someone trusted.” The real panic plus Lee’s words caused both girls to think. Neither of them missed the heated glare Tyler sent at the back of her head from only a foot or two back. Caroline, despite her trepidation, knew that the young girl really wasn’t all bad. The biggest downside was the major ‘weirdo’ branding that the girl had among her peers.
“Okay sure, sure. We can be a pair.” Bonnie’s kind smile sent butterflies through Annalee’s stomach. Caroline hummed and sipped her drink.
“Wow! look at you Lee! Scored a date with an upperclassmen. Don’t mess it up.” Caroline’s mean giggle grew in volume as Annalee’s face grew hotter and hotter. With an awkward laugh and a quick ‘thank you!’ Lee rushed past Tyler and into the restroom. Bonnie shook her head at the blonde’s antics.
“Come on Caroline, can’t you give the girl a break?” Caroline raised an eyebrow at Bonnie and scoffed.
“Oh please Bonnie, open your eyes, Lee is definitely at least a little fruity.” She crossed her arms and leveled her stare with the brunette, who gave up with a nod and a sigh. “And besides, no. She’s got at least six more months of making it up to me before I consider forgiving her.”
“Seriously Care? What is six months to the last four years? We were kids, besides, it's not like anyone doubts you anymore. She’s the only person still suffering from it.” Bonnie’s tone was serious. Ever since the football game Bonnie had been forming a soft spot for the girl. Elena had mentioned her friendship with Stefan and it both worried and surprised Bonnie. Annalee was not often the best judge of character.
Bonnie spared a glance over to Tyler, who did look noticeably more tired and worried than usual. Although she sure wasn’t going to comment on it. Tyler’s emotions were a problem for Tyler’s people. The young man seemed to make a mental decision as he squared his shoulders and approached Vicky near the bar.
“So what are you gonna buy me?” Tyler threw a wink at the object of his desires.
“Ugh, some class.” Vicky rolled her eyes, continuing to work as she spoke, “Oh, your parents are gone. I guess we can be close now!”
“What the hell does that mean? Do you know my parents?” Any attention Tyler brings to a girl that isn’t a future Miss Mystic Falls or Annalee is pretty much a one-way ticket to insult and injury.
“You treat me like trash. I'm sick of it.” Vicky’s voice bled with pain and anger.
“I don't think you're trash.” His eyes softened. It was true. He cared about both of the Donovans.
“Really? Then who are you taking to the founder's party?”
“Vicky Donovan.” He smirked at her frozen expression.
“What?!”
“You’re right, what I mean to say is; Vicky Donovan, will you go to the Founder’s Party with me?” His cheeks were the slightest bit warm.
Vicky smirked, the grin barely kept at bay, “No, it’ll be stupid and lame.” Tyler was persistent.
“True. But it’ll be less stupid and lame if you were there.” This time, Vicky completely fails at the whole, not grinning thing. Tyler smiles and looks at his feet. A pair of yellow sneakers enter his field of vision. Tyler turns around fully to the younger girl, her face is once again buried in her notebook. He throws an arm over her shoulders, bringing her back to reality.
Vicky watches them, the quick silent conversation they have through their eyes, the way they look at her in complete synchronization, and the almost eerie melody of their combined voices as they chime “See you later!”
Frankly, it sends a shiver down Vicky’s spine. Annalee managed that most of the time. Vicky always found her eyes especially haunting.
“You realize you had to ask him to ask you, right? You figure if you dress up like a respectable young lady, he'll finally treat you like one?” Jeremy pipes up from behind Vicky, his words land somewhere between ‘voice of reason’ and ‘annoying simp’.
“Screw you, Jeremy.” Is all Vicky has to say to him.
“You know you're making the wrong choice, yet you make it anyway. It's sad.” Vicky can’t be bothered. At this point, her only trust in Tyler is that he’s a reliable person in someone’s life. What's to say he can’t grow to care about her as much as he cares about Annalee? ‘ Jeremy doesn’t know shit.’
A couple hours later at the Gilbert residence, the doorbell rings. Jeremy opens the door.
“Hello! I’m here on behalf of Mrs. Lockwood, she said there is a box of stuff we’re supposed to pick up?” Jeremy stares at Annalee. Her golden sweater and long brown skirt make her particularly enchanting.
“We?” he glances around, only taking a second to spot the car parked on the street, Tyler sitting in the driver seat, staring intently. Jeremy almost slams the door shut. Only stopped by Lee’s hand on his.
“Hey, please. This is important, more so than the drama between you two.” Jeremy scoffs and backs away from the girl. He can’t help the warmth that seems to radiate from where her hand was, or how her eyes, despite expertly avoiding his, seem to see straight through to his heart. He forces words out his mouth with a biting edge.
“Bullshit, important to who? These are from MY parents things’! Why should I hand it over to some little b–”
“Jeremy!” Elena cuts the young man off, box in her hands. Annalee has cowered into herself the slightest, and there is a shake of fear and hurt in her voice when she speaks next.
“Well it is important to me.” Jeremy tries to shake the shame that itches at his throat, “I understand these belong to your family, which is why they will be returned to you.” Annalee is slightly shaking as she raises her voice, behind her, Tyler leaps from the car. “And frankly you calling me the B-word is totally unnecessary! What happened to the Jeremy that was sorry for speaking carelessly? What have I ever done to you Gilbert!?” Their eye’s meet. Jeremy nearly chokes on the frustration suddenly clouding his thoughts.
The Gilbert boy is struck, he had not expected an ounce of fight back from the small girl. She had always come across so meek, excitable sure, but never feisty. She had spent the last couple years keeping her mouth shut. Something inside of Jeremy stirs, a small flame begging to be blown out, but like an oil candle, he can’t smother the feeling as easily as he wished.
Tyler puts a hand on Annalee’s back.
“Come on, just give her the box, she’ll be careful with it.” Elena eyes the young girl warily and hands it over to Tyler.
“Please be careful.” Lee can’t help but roll her eyes at Elena.
“Yeah, be careful with it, dick.” Jeremy bites out.
“Hey! Not now, okay, guys? Please?” Again, Lee is tempted to roll her eyes. Instead she grabs the box from Tyler with steady hands.
“I wouldn’t dream of being anything other than careful.” Her words are low and Jeremy can’t pull his gaze away. Her green eyes are already focusing on the contents as she turns to leave.
Tyler sighs and looks back at Jeremy. He misses the younger boy’s lingering stare on the sophomore.
“Hey. Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicky?”
“Not even if you meant it.”
—---
While Bonnie, Elena, Stefan, and Damon all get ready for the party at their respective locations, back at the Lockwood Mansion, things are… going haywire.
“What the heck is going on?” Annalee pushes her hair back, she shares a frustrated glance with Mrs. Lockwood as the woman goes through the box for the umpteenthtime.
“Are you absolutely sure you didn’t move it in the car? Or take it out somewhere to look for it?” Mrs. Lockwood is borderline frantic, Annalee had finished setting up the Moretti artifacts in the designated room a little over 15 minutes ago. Well more accurately she had been standing in the doorway to the room admiring her work for ten minutes or more when Mrs. Lockwood barged in and shouted at her about the ‘missing pocket watch.’
Finally, after her fruitless searching, the older woman caved and called Elena.
“Hello? Hi, Mrs. Lockwood.”
“Elena! How are you? Good?....good. Are you certain that you remembered all the items on the list?..... Your father’s pocket watch is missing….. Yes I’m sure. I hope I didn’t lose it. Annalee promises she didn’t touch anything in the box before she handed it off to myself…… Alright, please if you find it bring it with you tonight. The collection just isn’t complete without it.”
God she was laying it on thick, Lee briefly thought back to Jeremy’s protectiveness over the items. Perhaps the boy had gotten overprotective with an item or two. As much as it saddened Annalee to know that the Gilbert item would have a description next to an empty case, she couldn’t really blame the boy. His parents had died not even six months ago. She had been struck a handful of times by their sorrow, what the siblings were going through was horrific. In her opinion, it wasn’t even all that interesting of an item to begin with.
Mrs. Lockwood hung up, and turned back to Annalee. She placed a hand on either shoulder, the young girl allowed the contact only because it came from a Lockwood.
“Oh Lee, well you’ve done a wonderful job with The Moretti items. The armoire front and center across from the door really grabs your attention. I’m certain it will be absolutely captivating. Now, would you come and look at the candelabra? They won’t be lit for another hour or so, however something about it just isn’t right.”
As they approached the room, Annalee agreed. The stands should compliment the chandelier, not the other way around. She spent about twenty minutes shifting things before it was to her liking.
Clearing her throat at Mrs.Lockwood who was once again on the phone, the woman spared a cursory glance before shooting a single thumbs up and a cheesy smile at the young girl. Annalee sighed, but sent two thumbs up back.
After a quick walk through the manor, and deciding everything important was up to par, she made her way to the guest room where she knew her parents would be getting ready.
On the bed of the room lay a delicate green dress with a subtle pattern of blue flowers, and a pair of small blue heels that matched. She had taken extra care with her hair wash routine last night, and overall her curls looked good.
The dress had ¾ loose sleeves and a straight neckline. It fell to a little past her knees, combined with the shoes Lee couldn’t help but feel like she looked like she was finally growing up. The extra two inches were doing wonders for her self-confidence.
A light knock rapped against the door. Her mothers voice echoed her name on the other side. Lee opened the door without hesitation, a shy but giddy grin made her full cheeks puff out.
Alison Moretti cood.
“Oh my! My baby girl!” She pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. “You look so beautiful.” She whispered in her ear. Annalee returned the hug and for once, didn’t tease her mother for her affectionate nature. After all, the woman so rarely sees her eldest nowadays.
“Thank you! Did you or dad pick out the dress?” And speaking of the devil, the man leaned into the doorway with a proud gleam in his eyes. He raised his hand and laughed.
“That would be me. Although your mother knew exactly what to pair it with.” His other hand, which he had conveniently kept tucked behind his back, came out to reveal a small velvet blue box. Annalee’s breath nearly stopped. She knew what belonged in that box. A family heirloom that her parents had always kept out of the founders party. Year after year they turned down Lockwood's request, stating ‘it was an item too priceless to rest on any old bust.’ And here they were, presenting it to her like a regular old Christmas gift.
“Oh- oh no I can’t possibly wear that!” More than anything, she did not want to possibly damage or lose the several hundred year old piece of jewelry. Her mother waved her off.
“Nonsense, it was made to be worn by a Moretti woman, and you will wear it.” And that was that, no room for argument against Alison. Without another word, Annalee turned around, her father slowly lowering the piece onto her neck. She expected it to be cold, and shorter, instead it felt like she had been wearing it for years. It fell perfectly within the line from her sternum to her clavicle. It felt neither warm nor cold. And the jagged edges that she had always looked at and assumed it would poke uncomfortably as she moved, did not shift, as if it floated on top of her skin.
There was, for once, an unreadable expression in her father’s green eyes, and the mist over her mother’s was hard to ignore. She opted to grab onto them both, pulling them into a warm hug. For a moment, the necklace felt as if it was hovering between them, pulling them together by their necks.
Inside the front door of the founder’s party, Mrs.Lockwood is the welcoming committee, but Sheriff Forbes and Anders Moretti are the security. Not so subtly checking out every guest as they enter.
“Caroline! You look smashing.” Caroline smiles her giddy grin and gestures to her date.
“Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood. This is my boyfriend Damon.”
“Oh, well, come on in!” Mrs. Lockwood unknowingly breaks the first rule of anti-vampire defense.
“Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while.” Damon has no problem turning on the charm for the matriarch of the house.
“ Well, enjoy.” Unluckily for him, it doesn’t do much. Damon’s eyes meet a pair of dark green. He looks the man up and down, an uncomfortable smell entering his nostrils. He racks his brain for the answer, definitely not a wolf. Maybe a witch? The eyes don’t leave him and he settles on witch. ‘Well, that might be interesting. He looks like Bennet, but Caroline didn’t mention Bonnie having a relative other than her gran .’ He sighs and breaks eye contact.
“Let's get a drink.” He says looking back at Caroline.
“Wait here.” The blonde's answer is not what he was hoping for. She approaches the woman standing maybe two paces from the ‘man witch ’ Damon decides to name him. He was handsome, almost annoyingly so. Probably in his 40s but seemed as confident as ever. His light brown skin was aging well, and while Caroline spoke with her mother, the man was approached by an astoundingly beautiful woman.
Despite his humanity being turned off, Damon almost felt his heart pound at the sight of her. She was paler than her husband, if their matching rings were anything to go off. Her face was covered in dark orange freckles, and her brown eyes were deep and murky. Her hair was dark and long, with a hint of a natural red undertone. She was also aging well, and the deep purple cocktail dress she was wearing was doing everything for her figure. Damon felt hungry, and her smell, god she was probably the most enticing thing in the room.
After what look like some tense words with her mother, Caroline rejoins Damon’s side.
Behind them, the golden couple arrive.
“Hi, Mayor Lockwood.” Mrs. Lockwood has shifted, making room for her husband.
“Hey. Hey, guys, come on in.”
“ Thank you.” Stefan, for a moment, is just as distracted by the presence of the pair as his brother was. He shakes it off, but has a much harder time breaking eye contact with the man. Their green eyes clash, and Stefan is struck by the similarity to a certain sophomore. He put two and two together fairly quickly. The Moretti was a family name he had recognized from the old days. Annalee lacked the intense presence her parents possessed, and despite their shared eye color, his eyes were nowhere near as piercing as his daughter’s... ‘ Mystery for another day ,’ Stefan decided, ‘ I have a bigger sibling to fry .’ He smiled to himself, he was certain Zach’s and his plan would work tonight.
“Where's your dad?” Sheriff Forbes questions.
“Memphis.”
“Good.” She says with a sigh, the woman in the purple dress seems to have trained her attention on Caroline. Damon notices.
“With Steven.” Further into the foyer, Stefan kisses Elena on the cheek. Damon’s ire is drawn by them and away from the mysterious couple.
In the Gardens out front, Annalee sneaks up behind the oblivious Bonnie.
“Hi!” The shout makes Bonnie jump, she turns around with a hand on her heart. They take the last space in the now short line.
“Hi Annalee.” Bonnie smiles, it widens as she looks Annalee up and down, “You look so cute!” The furious blush on Lee’s cheeks is not missed by the older girl, guilt stabs at her heart. Before she can say anything else the necklace hanging around her date's neck catches her eye. It does more than that, for a split second, she feels enraptured. Annalee seems to glow unlike ever before. The mid-sized amulet looks to be made of silver, obsidian, and a large diamond. The silver, crafted to look like vines, wraps around a plate of obsidian. In this center, lies a single shined diamond. It sparkles in the light, Bonnie sees colors in it she's never seen before. It pulls her eyes in, and she realizes a little too late that she has gotten very close to the underclassman’s face.
Said underclassmen, thinks the world should split open and swallow her up. She doesn’t know how recently she realized that Bonnie Bennet is a very beautiful girl who is also very kind to her, but the crush that was a small flame is currently growing into a raging fire. She clears her throat awkwardly as the Junior takes a step back.
“Y-yes um, thank you! You look lovely Mrs. Bennet” Annalee recovered quickly,”Shall we?” and she offered an arm.
Bonnie takes it with a quiet laugh.
“Aren’t you a gentleman..” Annalee grins at the compliment and joins Bonnie’s laughter.
“Learned it from my dad, I think he secretly wanted his first child to be a son.” She says it with no real intention. The pair meander their way in, in no rush to engage with anyone other than the one at their side.
Alison and Anders weren’t exactly expecting Annalee to come in with a young man, but they certainly weren’t expecting her plus one to be one of the Gilbert girl’s dear friends. Annalee wastes no time approaching her parents, Bonnie having met them on more than one occasion. Luck is on their side tonight, Damon has already moved on from the bar, his plan for the evening taking precedence over his curiosity.
In another room, Elena looks down at the registry.
"’The founding families in Mystic Falls welcome you to the inaugural founder's council celebration.’ Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood, Dr. Anthony Moretti, Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?”
“The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually.” Damon speaks from next to the doppleganger.
“We don't need to bore them with stories of the past.” Annalee and Bonnie enter the same room, Annalee already two minutes into an explanation on the supposed significance of the Clock her family is lending to the event. Bonnie had expected to be bored, but instead found herself listening intently as parts of Annalee’s story failed to add up. The whole conversation was reminding Bonnie of her grams. Annalee, despite her inability to lie, seems particularly talented at speaking in riddles.
“What do you mean it can’t tell time?” Bonnie finds herself laughing again, the sophomore is surprisingly good company.
“Well it is a clock, who would it tell?” Lee says with a small smirk. Bonnie playfully rolls her eyes.
They are drawn from their conversation to the other inhabitants of the room. Bonnie greets Caroline and Elena while Lee’s attention goes to Stefan.
“Stefan! Hello!” She would have greeted the other three, but the dark haired man was unfamiliar and she knew the other girls weren’t her biggest fans. Damon doesn’t miss Bonnie’s glare at his brother, but his vision moves on to the shorter female. ‘ Ahh, so this must be Annalee, the young girl floating around in Stefan’s mind .’ He smirks and steps forward.
“Hello little miss, my name is Damon Salvatore. You are?” He bows in an over dramatic fashion, causing the small girl to crack a smile and return his attention with a shallow curtsey. Damon finds himself trying to catch her eyes. Her eyes float around with a practiced lack of focus. It doesn’t seem to phase anyone else.
“Annalee Moretti.” She responds, the name rings a bell, “You must be Stefan’s brother!” The younger brother sighed, the last thing he wanted was Damon’s focus on the young girl. He interrupted Damon’s next words, reminded that Elena had explained how " bad she felt for Bonnie, getting pressured into going with the town history nerd.”
“He is, and we were just talking about the town registry here. What do you know about Mr. Anthony Moretti?” Stefan couldn’t help the small genuine smile at the way Annalee’s eyes lit up. He chose to ignore Elena’s irritated expression.
“Oh well! Not only was he a doctor but his wife was too! Although technically she couldn’t bear the title because of outdated sexism, she wrote sev-'' Lee is, as usual, interrupted.
“What do you know about the Original Salvatore brothers?” Damon asks with thinly veiled curiosity. His eyes peered at the girl, her resemblance to the couple from earlier was uncanny. Yet, she seemed very human.
“U-uh, not much. I know when the elder brother went off to the military, the younger brother fell in love with the woman staying with the Salvatores.” Both brothers stiffen...How? “Dr. Moretti kept many journals and she was definitely a bit of a gossip. She seemed to think that Stefan’s health was waning due to his devotion to the mysterious woman.” Elena blinked, suddenly even more intrigued.
“See, it's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family!” Elena pipes up and Damon smirks, Stefan’s questions had worked against him. He was still unnerved by the younger girl's knowledge of the story, what else could she know about the history of the town? Based on her general demeanor and treatment of Stefan, it couldn’t possibly be much.
“Well, I'm bored and don’t care to hear more “Miss.Lee's history facts’. I want to dance, and Damon won't dance with me.” Caroline looked at Stefan expectantly.
“Mm-hmm.” Damon hummed and took a sip of his drink. His eyes hadn’t left the youngest girl as she excitedly led her date up to another artifact on display. Bonnie could practically feel the eyes on the back of their heads.
“Could I just borrow your date?” Caroline asks Elena.
“Oh, uh…” she starts, eyes looking at Bonnie for help, who is of course, preoccupied.
“I don't really dance.” Stefan offers up.
“Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all.” Damon said confidently, once again briefly drawing the attention of the other two students.
“You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?” This made Bonnie and Annalee confused, ‘wasn’t Stefan here with Elena? Why would he dance with someone else,’ Annalee thought. A part of her wanted to be the one he was sparing a dance for. She shoved down the desire.
“It's up to Stefan.” Elena says, and Bonnie has to resist rolling her eyes.
“Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer.” And that went pretty much exactly as Bonnie expected. As they left curiosity got the best of her, what is Caroline thinking? She didn’t always trust her friends to make the best choices. She leaned down to Annelee to speak.
“Hey, I’m going to go get a drink and keep a slight eye on those two, do you want to come with me?” Annalee is stuck, her eyes darting back and forth between the paintings on the wall and Bonnie’s feet. The older girl just laughs, “Hey, you're fine, enjoy the art, I’ll be back.”
Luckily for Damon, Annalee’s attention is focused solely on the artifacts around her. He can’t help but drink up Elena.
“The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town. Until the war. There was a battle here—”
“The Battle of Willow Creek.”
“Right.” He says with a raised eyebrow.
“I know, we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside.”
“What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood.”
“The person they wanted to save, was it the woman that Stefan fell in love with?”
“I suppose it could've been, doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?” Something in his tone made Elena shift her feet.
“Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just...I hope you two can work it out.” Elena has already begun walking away.
“I hope so, too.” There’s a light tap on Damon’s shoulder. He rotates, blue eyes meeting a pair of deep green.
When Annalee approached the older Salvatore, she wasn’t expecting his attention to shift as quickly as it did. Yet, when their eyes met, it was peaceful. Annalee didn’t feel any foreign feelings encroaching on her own. As an unconscious result, her joy filled the air around them. Even Damon couldn’t sense the origin of the sudden clarity in his head or fondness of the girl in front of him.
Damon sees it more clearly now, the resemblance. She is a beautiful young girl, clearly taking after her mother as well as her father, especially those eyes of hers. While they matched mostly in color, her eyes saw through him in a way distinctly unlike her father. He briefly remembers watching a head of curly hair fall down over the body of that idiotic football coach. He wonders if it really was her with a sip of his drink. He cocks his head, waiting for her question.
“Hi again, uh Damon right?” He nodded. “Well I just wanted to offer, if you’re interested, my ancestors kept a good record of the Founding Days of this town and my family doesn’t mind sharing.” Damon hummed non-committedly, waiting for her to reveal more…”I think we even have one or two journals that belonged to a Guiseppe Salvatore!” Damon blinked in shock. The last thing he was expecting from this interaction was to be reminded of his father. Reminded of the man Stefan killed. Their eyes connected again.
Annalee could smell Damon’s rage more than anything. She maintained her relaxation. Seemed even his strong emotions weren’t strong enough to battle her own. She didn’t love how she couldn’t pinpoint where his rage was targeted, but pushed it aside.
His father’s name stirred something deep in his gut. He took another sip of his drink and tore his eyes away.
“That does sound interesting,” whatever emotion is behind Damon’s words is lost on Annalee, “I’m sure Stefan would love to take a look. Do you have his phone number?” Damon smirked at her contained excitement. She shook her head no, and Damon laughed internally at the image of a jealous Elena berating Stefan for his contact with the girl.
Damon wasn’t blind. Caroline had expressed jealousy for the sophomore and Stefan was clearly attracted to her. Annalee Moretti was an astonishingly beautiful young girl. He found himself growing more and more curious about Annalee and her past. Perhaps he would ask his little snack.
Annalee handed Damon her phone with the contact page open, Damon’s smirk firmly on his face as he keyed in his brothers’ information. Annalee found herself smiling brightly at the man, even though she knew he came here with Caroline, he didn’t seem to be treating her strangely. It warmed her insides. He was clearly much older than the highschool students, but the prospect of her improving people skills was enough to fill her with a certain giddiness.
Damon couldn’t help but be charmed. He offered a gentlemanly arm to the girl. She took it with a closed-lip smile. They turned to exit the room and look for their partners. Damon idly noticed her ability for synchronicity. They stepped together, turned together, every move he made was matched by her.
He found himself trying to smell her again. Definitely human. How strange.
Just before entering the large entertainment area, Damon spots Elena paused outside the main room. Lee pulls back from approaching, Damon spares a cursory glance her way but doesn’t force her along. Instead, he places a hand at the middle of Elena’s back. She jumps.
“Damon, hello again.” Elena finds herself slightly breathless at the proximity to the blue eyed man. She forcibly looks away and spots Annalee just a couple paces behind. “Anna! Want to help me find Bonnie and Stefan?”
Any other context, Annalee would’ve been hiding screams of joy at being included by the junior. Instead, Elena’s misnaming sends her mind somewhere else.
Annalee’s suddenly increasing heartbeat draws Damon’s attention. He looks at her confused, then looks around the room for the cause of the fear . Every second that passes, Damon feels the panic entering the air. He looks back at the younger girl. Elena’s attention is split between spotting her friends in the crowd and the sophomore. She rolls her eyes at her frozen state.
Damon can’t help but take a step forward, when he does, his eyes finally land on the pendant resting around her neck. No vervain, he would be able to smell it like he was Elena’s necklace. Instead, the diamond at the center seems to pull him in and lull him into comfort. A warm feeling wraps around his mind. He takes another step forward, reaching a comforting arm to her shoulder.
Annalee flinches away as if Damon is attacking her. Her arm flies to her eyes, her hand covering the orbs instinctively. Elena eyes Damon with mistrust and steps up to the girl instead.
“Hey? You okay?” Lee’s breath is slightly labored. She shakily pulls her hand away from her still closed eyes. Her words come out shaky and weak.
“T-tyler.. Do you know where Tyler is?” Elena shakes her head no before repeating the words for the currently voluntarily blind girl. Damon watches. The fog over his head remains until Elena and Lee start to quickly walk away. As soon as he loses sight of the young girl, his senses are flooded with reality. For the first time in a century, Damon feels overstimulated and truly upset. He can’t help but rush to a restroom, or risk losing control.
—-------
She found Tyler and Vicky sitting on a bench, tucked away from the dance floor and out of sight of most of the party. As soon as Elena had ditched her for the dance floor, the echoes of her name eased. Just seeing Tyler brought a certain peace of mind.
She took a few slow breaths at a table. First reminding herself that her parents were nearby, as well as the entire Lockwood family. She was safe. Then she took to saying the alphabet to herself backwards, a tip her therapist had given her months ago. When she finally feels almost normal, she comes out around the corner and walks closer to the couple.
“Maybe I should just strip naked and give Pastor Bill a lap dance. I mean, that's why we're hiding in a corner all night, isn't it? You're scared of how I'm going to act?” Lee had definitely approached at the wrong time, “You afraid of what your parents are going to think about your date from the wrong side of the tracks?” She was taking easy steps back, trying not to listen in on the quickly escalating conversation when she ran smack into the torso of her Godmother, Mrs. Lockwood.
“Let go!” Both of them had heard Tyler’s quiet shout, and Mrs. Lockwood was already fed up.
“Tyler...We didn't get a chance to say hello earlier. It's Vicky, right? Matt's sister.” She smiled at the young woman.
“Yes, ma'am.”
“You'll have to forgive my son's rudeness. He gets it from his father.” Tyler had the decency to look ashamed.
“Well, that's okay, Mrs. Lockwood. Tyler and I were just saying good night.” And with that Vicky turned and stormed off, only to run into the short girl who had been standing by listening. They both fell to the ground, multiple pairs of eyes turned to stare at the scene.
Vicky wasted no time, she shoved a hand onto Lee’s shoulder and hissed out “God what the fuck! You’re everywhere! Are you obsessed with him or something?” She stood, dusted herself off and continued on her way. Tyler and Mrs. Lockwood rushed to the younger girl, slowly sitting her up with a quiet grunt of pain.
“Are you alright?” Tyler looked her up and down, her green dress luckily took the grass stains just fine. He brushed some dirt out of her hair, her eyes took a second before they met his.
“Y-yes I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. Vicky’s words repeated in her head. She was… she was not obsessed she decided. She also decided she did not like Vicky Donovan.
“This is what you get when you bring the trash into the party.” Mrs.Lockwood whispered into their ears. Despite the younger’s dislike for her judgment, maybe in this case, she was right.
Annelee looks at Tyler, the pain on his face clear as day to her. She knows he really does like Vicky. Instead of bringing it up, she grabs his hand and squeezes it… A small comforting smile on her familiar face.
“Come on Tyler, help me find Bonnie? I owe her some company.” Tyler doesn’t have the heart to mention just how little Bonnie Bennet enjoys his company.
“What'd we miss?” Damon asks as he and Elena approach their dates.
“We were just chatting. Drink, Damon?” Stefan tries again.
“No, thanks, I'll pass.”
“Oh but you guys did miss some mild Lockwood drama! Plus Little Miss Lee! I don’t know if anyone else saw it but Vicky totally said something razor-sharp.” Elena is the only one to pay Caroline any mind.
“What? Why would she do that?” Caroline gives her a look of ‘are you serious?’
“Uhm maybe because the only person in a hundred foot radius of Tyler Lockwood that matters to Tyler Lockwood is Annalee.” Elena shrugs in agreement. She had never thought much about the two of them. Most of the town knew the story, and no one was cruel enough to bring it up. Stefan was momentarily stuck in his thoughts.
“Stefan, do you have another dance in you?” The brunette turned her attention to her date.
“Absolutely.” The blonde man smiles gently.
Inside the home, Bonnie sits in the room still full of unlit candles. Her brain is full of information, between the confusing stories from her grams, Annalee’s mesmerizing necklace, and the weird feeling surrounding the Salvatore brothers, the confusion is starting to give her a headache.
Suddenly, the previously lit candle goes out. She sighs, staring at the candle with even more confusion. Then, the flame is back. Bonnie flinches before forcefully blowing it out. Outside the room, her date’s father watches carefully with hawk-like eyes. Bonnie can feel the stare, but she doesn’t find it before Tyler and Lee find her.
Meanwhile, as Jenna sharply reminds Logan Fell of his cheating at the bar, a familiar woman approaches. She gives a mirthful chuckle as Logan walks off--distinctly reminding Alison of a kicked puppy. Jenna looks up at the older woman, expression brightening at the kind eyes of the town’s resident ‘Friend to Anyone’. It was a title her sister had given the Moretti parents back when they were about to give birth to their youngest daughter.
“Well judging from his expression I guess I can save the ‘that's a bad idea’ talk with you?” Jenna had always liked Alison, appreciated the way she respected the younger woman despite their gap in years. She laughed.
“No, no. No need for that one.” They clinked champagne glasses, “He is just as cute though.” Alison gives her a glare full of amusement and disapproval.
Lee, Tyler and Bonnie are sitting at a table eating ice cream when Elena approaches. Her eyes are cloudy with unshed tears and Bonnie immediately stands to tend to her friend. Bonnie looks at Lee, pausing at the guarded expression and downtrodden eyes. She opens her mouth to speak when Elena does it for her.
“Sorry Anna, can I steal your date?” Annalee flinches hard, she shrugs before jamming a thumb in Tyler’s direction. Tyler interrupts.
“Hey!” His voice is unusually harsh, even for Tyler, “That’s not her name, it's Annalee or Lee. Got it?” For once, Annalee doesn’t try to soften his words. She really did hate that name. Elena opens her mouth, the word ‘but..’ already on her lips, so Tyler repeats himself. “Got it Gilbert?”
She nods her head, already holding Bonnie by the crook of the elbow.
“M-my plan to get Tyler to enjoy his evening with Vicky has utterly failed so go ahead Elena, she’s all yours.” Elena is the only one to miss the sadness in her voice. The two girls rush away to an unknown location.
It only takes another ten minutes of ice cream and stupid jokes about the other founding families before Tyler and Lee decide it's time for good ol’ ‘MorLock’ after party. ‘MorLock’ was the name Lee had come up with years ago. Tyler told her he hated it, it was the dumbest name she could’ve thought up, but she knew he liked it. Afterall, deep down they both knew they were destined to be together in a way.
With an eye roll and a fading laugh, they stood and walked step in step up to Lee’s parents, and a moment later, out the door.
The Moretti parents stay on as would-be chaperones. They had paid a babysitter for the whole night, and had already received the confirmation text that both younger children were asleep. Instead, they focused their attention on the incredibly interesting friend group surrounding Elena Gilbert.
From across the room, Anders’ keen eyes watched as the Bennet girl inadvertently lit hundreds of candles at once. He would have to bring this up with Sheila.
Alison, meanwhile, is not backing down from a staring contest between her and the elder Salvatore brother. He gets up from his side of the bar and starts to approach the alluring woman, but is interrupted by a pissed off Elena Gilbert.
“There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. You got it? Stay away from her.” Alison watches the interaction carefully. Just how close were the Salvatore brothers getting to Elena Gilbert?
As the party dissipates and Stefan successfully drags away a vervained Damon, Alison grabs Elena seconds before she runs into the older couple. The brunette is clearly stressed, she rushes out an apology, attempting to leave just as quickly as she entered the room. Alison’s grip remains firm.
“Elena, what's wrong?” Anders’ voice cuts through her mild panic, she takes a deep breath.
“I can’t find Caroline, I’m worried about her and that guy she brought, Dam-”
“Damon Salvatore, we know.” Alison has an irritated expression but quickly starts to move. Walking with a purpose to the front lawn. Elena looks at Anders with a raised brow, the man simply gestures a hand at his wife and steps towards her. They quickly catch up with the woman.
They find Caroline as she slowly sits up, hands running over something in the grass. Elena takes quick steps to the blonde.
“Caroline? There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I'm fine.” Her voice is shaky and weak, the blood at her neck visible to the trio.
“Caroline, what happened?” Elena asks forcefully.
“I'm fine.” The blonde repeats.
“No. You're shaking. Caroline—What—” Elena is interrupted by a motherly hand on her shoulder. The auburn haired woman crouches down and looks Caroline in the eye.
“Caroline, you are not fine. But it's okay, you’re safe now.” Anders’ voice is smooth and calm. He rubs soothing circles on the blondes back. Caroline starts to hiccup, repeating that she is fine once more before giving in. Her shoulders collapse to Alison as sobs wracked her body.
“Shhh baby, it's okay now. You can cry.” Alison’s comforting words hit both girls like a truck. Elena looks at the couple and feels her heart crack, the wound of her parent’s death being sharply carved into. She can’t help the tears that gather in her eyes, she misses them so much. She tries to shake it off, but all that replaces it is intense envy. Why do other kids get their parents when Jeremy and her had theirs ripped away from them. Why are these two comforting Caroline instead of her parents? The knot in her throat drops to her stomach and she focuses on collecting Carolines scarf. She can’t bear to look at them.
Meanwhile, in the Lockwood manor behind a closed door, is a group of people.
“Thank you for staying so late.” The Mayor starts, as if anyone here really had a choice.
“Did you get the Gilbert watch?” The Sheriff wastes no time.
“She claims it's packed away in her parents' things.” Mrs. Lockwood responds. “Interestingly, the Moretti Pendant made an appearance tonight,” every adult in the room waits for her to continue, “on the neck of their daughter.”
“I can get the Gilbert watch.” Logan stands tall, “Tyler could get the pend-” Richard Lockwood sharply interrupts.
“We will not be involving the children.” Logan swallows. “Either way, no one but a Moretti can touch the thing. It's useless to us.”
“We're going to need the watch.” The Forbes woman casts a glance back at Richard, “are you sure we shouldn’t clue in Anders at least?”
“Depends, are you sure?” The mayor responds.
“Five bodies all drained of blood? I'm certain.”
“They’ve come back.” Logan says what everyone's thinking.
“Don’t tell him, if they gave Annalee the necklace it means they've already figured it out. Let's see what their next move is.”