you and me, forever.

4. Party Antics

Caroline immediately rushed to Katie seeing that she had arrived.

"Katie! You made it! I reallyyyy didn't think you would s-show!" She slurred slightly.

Great, she's gonna be a mess to get home. Katie thought. She wasn't mad or annoyed at her, but she knew as her big sister she had to make sure she was okay and got home safe later that night.

"I did against my better judgement." Katie laughed. "Now why don't you show me the way to everyone," she adds, grabbing Caroline's arm to link it with her own as she led Katie further inside.

Bonnie, Matt, and Elena immediately saw Katie and rushed to greet her with big hugs.

"Katie we haven't seen you in ages!! How are you?" Bonnie gleams and Katie returned her excitement.

"I'm good, Bonnie, I missed you all- and Happy Birthday Elena!" She gleamed, before adding "okay...wait...when did you all start drinking?"

"You were the one that got us drunk for the first time sophomore year of high school," Elena reminded her as they all laughed.

"True, I always was a bad influence wasn't I...so continuing with that tradition how about you show me where to get a drink?" Katie asks, and Elena and Bonnie led her to the table with various liquor and beer scattered across it. She started fixing herself a drink and Caroline returns with Jeremy. Katie was pleasantly surprised he greeted her with the same enthusiasm as the rest.

"You grew up!" Katie laughed giving him a light slap on the arm.

"It has been 3 years in the critical time of a teenage boys maturing," he said smiling big, giving her a quick hug.

•••

Downing her drink, Katie ended up walking back outside to meet the older man Damon was with and make some peace, now that she had gotten her anger out of the way. After all, they were the only adults in the house, at least above 20 anyways.

"Katie Forbes, Caroline's older sister who is home from college for the first time in 3 years," Damon chirps with a half smirk on his face, as Katie approached them on the porch once again.

"Listened to my conversations I presume?" She snapped back, looking to the man beside him who then introduced himself.

"I'm Alaric, everyone calls me Ric. I am a history teacher at the school," he says shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ric. Though, I am confused as to why you choose to spend your time with this guy and a bunch of teenagers you teach but," Katie starts as she grabs the newly opened bottle of bourbon that was between the two of them. She took a swig and continued, "seeing as though we are the only adults at this little party, I come in peace," she says looking to Damon.

"Why is that?," he says acting somewhat shocked at the woman.

"Because now that I have gotten my revenge for what you did to my sister, I suppose we can all be friends," She smiled, taking a seat in the chair on the wall of the house facing the two men, "also, I know better than to have a vampire as an enemy."

•••

They were all talking for a while, every so often Katie would catch Damon eyeing her, but tried to dismiss it as his weird personality. He could not possibly be trying to flirt with her. Not after her vervain slap attack.

"I'm going to go use the bathroom," Ric says standing and entering the house, leaving the two alone.

The silence between Damon and Katie only lasted for a mere second before he started to speak up.

"How are you not able to be compelled if you're not a vampire? And how did you know about me?" He says scooting to where Ric was seated, directly across from her.

"My father was a founding family member, he taught me everything when I turned 18, and he also trained me to resist compulsion, something he figured out how to do a while back," She casually responded, grabbing the bottle out of his hand and taking another sip. "As for you, Caroline filled me in on everything, if the attempts at compulsion didn't clue me in already."

"Impossible. No one can control if they are compelled. That's like an oxymoron."

"Oh it's very possible," She challenged him, handing the bottle back.

He sighed. "So then why are you home after all this time being gone?"

"I could ask you the same. Showing up after how many years now? You know you have a lot of questions for someone that doesn't give answers"

"I like getting answers, not giving them" he smirks again, but this time Katie noticed her pulse quicken. She couldn't help but find him alluring. She always had a thing for bold, somewhat cocky guys. Then again, that had gotten her nowhere.

"I don't know you nor like you enough to get into that story with you right now," She says, starting to get up to see what Caroline was up to.

Before she could walk inside, he quickly came up in front of her and stopped her, using his vampire speed and catching her off guard for a moment. She had never seen anyone do that before.

"You sure you don't like me enough sweetheart? I could hear your heart racing back there," he says plainly in her ear, causing the hair to raise on the back of her neck, then backing away before she could come up with a response. She let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, and didn't look in his direction, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

"I have high blood pressure." She snapped and continued inside.

You really couldn't have said literally ANYTHING else!??? She mentally cursed herself.

Little did she know, this was only the beginning of the back and forth chess game her and Damon would soon become all too familiar with.