𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐀 | 𝐬. 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞

61

"Yes, it is," She smiles, leaning in for another chaste that Bonnie and Caroline mockingly gag at.

Turning to face each other, the four of them shift off of the main pathway and Caroline pulls her bag to the side, pulling out flyers she'd printed out. "Don't forget, the bonfire is tonight,"

"Oh, god," Athena groaned, rolling her eyes. "I totally forgot about the bonfire."

"You can't forget about it, it's the first spirit squad event of the year and I need you all to look perfect!"

"Alright, alright, I'll be there," Athena turns, giving Stefan a pointed look. "We'll be there."

The vampire opens his mouth like he wants to argue, but Athena gives him a pleading look and his refusal dies down. "Yeah, we'll, uh, we'll both be there,"

"Great! You know what, I'll just get ready with you, Athena," Caroline's smile falters briefly and Athena furrows her brows worriedly, making the girl wave her off. "My, uh, my mom. She's still not, you know,"

"Comfortable with you being a vampire?"

Caroline nodded and Stefan's green eyes flickered with concern. "You're always welcome to stay at the boarding house, Caroline. You know we have plenty of room,"

Athena nods, grabbing Stefan's hand as the warning bell rings out. "You, too, Bonnie. In case you don't want to stay with your dad all the time,"

The two girls give the couple grateful looks as they walk towards the school, following the mass of students flooding through the doors.

Athena's brown eyes scan the sea of faces, some new and some old, before she locks gazes with a set of blue eyes that just hours ago had been bloodshot and full of fear. Tilting her head slightly, she smirks, raising her index finger to her lips, silencing Matt mockingly.

When his gaze floods with rage, she laughs, the sound spilling from her lips. Stefan looks down, smiling at her inquisitively. "What's so funny?"

She hums, feeling smug satisfaction thrumming through her veins like a drug. "Nothing, I just love winning."

──────

Athena's hair fell down her back in a long ponytail, and she grimaced as the August sun beat down on her shoulders. Waving a hand in front of her face, she gave Caroline a disgusted look, ignoring Rebekah's apparent amusement at her irritation.

"Caroline, this is awful," Athena huffed, leaning her hands on her knees as the rest of the cheerleaders stretched around them. "Hell is colder than this."

"Stop being dramatic," Caroline waved her off, rolling her eyes. "We need to practice our stunts, I don't want to look stupid at the games."

"Caroline," Athena glared at the blonde. "Our team is called the Timberwolves. That's as stupid as stupid can get,"

Rebekah snorted but looked annoyed at the fact that Athena had made her laugh, and the brunette rolled her eyes at the blonde's behavior. Two days into their bickering she had tired of it, simultaneously understanding where Rebekah was coming from and hating that she felt in any way like Stefan wasn't fully hers.

If she was in Rebekah's shoes, she would choose to cling to what was most familiar in a new century, especially the man she'd fallen in love with. It was no surprise that Rebekah wasn't her biggest fan, but Athena hoped that she'd get over her bitterness soon enough and find somebody else to sink her sort of psychotic talons into.

"Athena," Caroline murmurs her name, a devious smile growing on her face that makes the goddess frown. "You have a visitor."

Confusedly, she turns around, only to find a guy standing a few feet away, shifting nervously on his feet. She raised a brow at him, acknowledging his presence, and he seemed to take that as permission to approach her.