𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐀 | 𝐬. 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞

65

Athena doesn't echo his farewell, instead watching him as he hurries down the hallway toward the bathrooms. She rolls her eyes to the ceiling and puffs her cheeks out with an irritated sigh, silently cursing whatever god had cursed her morning with such chaos.

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The sound of porcelain shattering echoed through the boarding house, and Athena looked up from her textbook at Stefan across from her on the couch, a worried exasperation shining in her eyes.

Stefan huffed and dropped his pencil, looking at the doorway across the room. "Josh? Are you here?"

She heard the sound of her brother's voice echo through the house and she closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"Hey, so, on a scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Damon would be if I broke his plates?"

Stefan tilted his head at the question that echoed down the hallway, inevitably making it to Damon's ears somewhere in the house. "Uh, ten? Is this a hypothetical situation we're talking about here, or,"

"It's... hypothetical. Sort of."

The sound of footsteps came down the hall quickly and Athena looked up as Alex and Iris ran into the room, looking amused but sheepish as Damon's voice suddenly rang through the house.

"What the hell was that noise?! Did something break?"

Iris hid her smile behind her hand as she sat down on the couch beside Stefan, her eyes roaming curiously over their homework. "So, uh, what are you guys working on?"

Athena tilted her head, smirking. "Chemistry. What was Josh doing in the kitchen?"

"Oh, he was, uh, making dinner. Or trying to, I think."

"But he can't cook,"

"That's what I said!" Alex threw their hands up exasperatedly, completely giving up the guise of covering for Josh. "He's an idiot."

Athena huffed a laugh and shared a look with Stefan. "Is Damon gonna lose it over a plate?"

"Maybe," Stefan shrugged, his brows furrowing suddenly. "Hey, isn't Caroline's birthday tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but she's barely brought it up," Athena shrugged, only half-listening to Damon and Josh yell at each other in the kitchen. "Bonnie and I are gonna decorate her locker tomorrow morning, and I've got a present for her but other than that, I don't know."

"Why don't we have a surprise party?" Iris sat back on the couch, picking at her cuticles. "We can set it up while you guys are at school."

Athena raised a brow, looking inquisitively at Stefan. "You think Damon would be cool with a party?"

Stefan huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Absolutely not. We should do it,"

Athena cleared her throat and tilted her head back, eyes rolling to the doorway. "Damon!"

The yelling ceased as her yell echoed, and she listened to his footsteps come down the hallway. Damon stepped into the living room, glaring at Athena. "You know I can hear you, right? You don't have to yell,"

"How else would you hear me over your pissing contest with my brother?"

The dark-haired vampire huffed and rolled his eyes, sitting down in a cushioned chair with a childish pout on his face. "What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be doing homework,"

"I am," She gestured to her open textbook and notes, lifting her highlighter to wag at him. "But it's Caroline's birthday tomorrow so we're throwing her a surprise party for her here."

Damon looked between the scattered faces in his living room, his dark brows furrowed on his forehead. "If I say no will it stop any of you from doing it anyway?"

"Nope."

The group spoke in unison and Damon's lips thinned out into an irritated frown. "Why do I even ask anymore? It's like living in a barn with you people,"

Athena waved him off, scoffing at his dramatics. "Bonnie will be there, so you can't even act like you're mad about it."

"Shut up, Athena,"

"What, you don't want people to know that you're–"

The crash of another plate cuts off her response, and Damon looks both relieved and annoyed as he stands up to run back into the kitchen.

Silence sits between the four still sitting in the living room, and Athena's smile slowly grows on her face as she faces Stefan and Iris again. "I'm inviting Klaus and Rebekah."

Stefan pushes to his feet, nodding. "I'll tell Lexi,"

"Make sure she's alone before you go in there, Stefan,"

The vampire stopped, looking disgusted as her words processed. "Really? It's Thursday night,"

"That's never stopped us," She shrugs. "She's a busy woman, Stefan."

Stefan shook his head, looking slightly horrified. "Damon's right, we're all animals."

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author's note; knowing what's going to happen in this book before any of you do gives me a god complex, so thanks for that guys ! also this chapter is a bit shorter than usual because next chapter is going to be... chaotic ;) 

originally published; 11.21.21.

edited: 12.9.23.

- liz