Later that afternoon at the Salvatore Mansion, Stefan was getting ready for his small get-together with Dean, Bonnie, and Elena. He stepped out of the closet after finding and putting on the shirt he was going to wear when he saw his brother lounging in his chair reading one of his diaries with his feet propped up on the desk. "I heard Dean was a standout player today at practice," Damon mused. "It's a shame you didn't try out for the team. You could have given him a run for his money." "I didn't want to expose myself," Stefan replied. "Besides, it's tense enough as it is with Elena being his girlfriend. I don't want to infringement on his football team either. Plus, Matt is a whole nother issue."
At this, Damon raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were mature enough to get to know Elena without falling in love with her," he challenged sarcastically. Stefan opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, his brother swiftly changed the subject. "Whatever, it's none my business. You know, it's very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul with so many..." Stefan sped over to the desk and snatched his diary away from Damon while the latter simply smirked, "... Adjectives."
"What are you doing here?" Stefan interrogated. Damon sat up straight in the chair with a remorseful looking in his eyes. "I've come to apologize," he began. "I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and... I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you." Stefan tilted his head dubiously.
Every bone in his body was telling him to turn around and walk out that door and stop listening to the bullshit Damon was spewing from his mouth. However, there was still a part of him that wanted to believe Damon was being genuine. "And maybe I can do it, too," Damon continued hopefully. "I mean, I can learn to be a non-living, living person. Who knows, maybe there's hope for the both of us." Before Stefan could fully process what Damon had said, the older vampire burst into a fit of laughter as he walked past him.
Stefan exhaled deeply. "It doesn't have to be this way, Damon."
"Of course it doesn't. I saw Elena today, too, BTW-- that means "by the way"." Damon scoffed bitterly. "She was at cheerleading practice. At least, she was until the little bitch went crying to Dean about how much she hated it." Stefan glowered at his brother viciously. "Simmer down, lover boy, I didn't go anywhere near her. I've got a cheerleader of my own," Damon taunted. "Oh, yeah?" Stefan scowled. "I would have thought a football player was more your speed." Damon's smirk died on his lips. "Well, I'm a patient guy. I've waited this long. Then again, if it weren't for you I wouldn't have to wait at all," he sneered. "Besides, I have ways of getting what I want... or who."
With that, he stormed off and left Stefan alone in his inner turmoil.
* * *
That night at the Gilbert household, music was playing on the radio as Bonnie and Elena scrambled around the kitchen trying to get the food prepared for the boys. As they did so, Bonnie was desperately trying to convince Elena that she was psychic. "You explain it!" She argued. "Last night, I'm watching "Nine-O", a commercial break comes on, and I'm like, "I bet it's that phone commercial!" And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture."
"Oh, come on," Elena grumbled in disbelief. "That commercial is on a constant loop."
Bonnie's shoulders sagged. "Fine. Well, how about this? Today, I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers," she said. "I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?" Elena's expression brightened as she looked at her friend. "Maybe we should play the lottery." Bonnie lamented to her friend who laughed at her expense. "Well, have you talked to Grams?" Elena inquired.
"She'll just say I'm a witch again. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" Bonnie retorted.
"I don't wanna be a witch." Then, Elena poured the pasta she pre-ordered from the restaurant into a bowl and stirred it all together. "You know, putting it in a bowl doesn't fool anyone, right?" Bonnie snarked. Elena gave her friend a look before going off to find the serving spoons. "Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie remembered out of the blue. Elena glanced at her peculiarly but obeyed. And lo and behold, there serving spoons were, just waiting to be used.
"So, you've been in this kitchen a million times. Big deal?" Elena said warily. "Yeah, that's it," Bonnie huffed.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Elena let out a sigh of relief and went to go open the door. While she was busy greeting the guests, Bonnie puzzled over her "ability to see the future". "Birthday candles," she mused. Then she reached for the drawer next to her and opened it up to find nothing other than the aforementioned candles.
A little while into the evening, Stefan, Elena, and Bonnie were eating dinner in tentative silence. They each looked around the room and at each other awkwardly before Elena finally got up the courage to say something. "So, did hear anything from Dean?" Stefan looked up from his meal and looked in her direction. "No, not since this afternoon before practice," Stefan replied. "Maybe he got abducted by teenagers again," Bonnie mumbled snidely. It was unclear to the others whether or not she intended to be heard, but regardless they heard her. "He's probably just running late," Elena countered softly. "He got held up because of traffic or something." Bonnie observed her friend tiredly. "He lives 10 minutes away. How much traffic could there be?" Before Bonnie's conversation could give rise to an argument, the doorbell rang again and this time, Stefan was the one who jumped up to go answer it while the girls had their little face-off.
Once he was out of earshot, or so they thought, Elena glared at her friend and pursed her lips. "Really, Bonnie?" "Sorry," Bonnie responded nonchalantly. "What's going on with you lately?" Elena questioned. "First, you tell me to be friends with Stefan and to pursue a relationship with Dean, and then you say it's a bad idea. Now you won't even have a civilized meal with them?" "Look, I can't explain it, but I have a bad feeling about them, okay?" Bonnie answered. "A bad feeling? What is this another one of your psychic moments?" Elena whisper-shouted. "Ahem!" a separate voice chimed in abruptly making both girls jump slightly. They both whirled in the direction of the voice and saw Dean Winchester staring down at them with a small smile. "Sorry, to break up this little tête-à-tête, but I figure I should say "hi" and apologize to the hostess for being so late," he stated.
Elena's mood brightened instantly at seeing her boyfriend and she swiftly got up and hugged him. "Hey, I was starting to think you were gonna chicken out," she half-joked. "Well, I almost did, but then I realized how important this was for you so I decided what the hell? Gotta make my girlfriend happy, right?" Dean smiled back. "Hey, Bonnie." "Hi," the Bennett descendant waved. "Well, regardless, I'm really glad you're here," Elena beamed. "Ick! Get a room, you guys," another guy's voice called out from the entryway into the dining room. It was his brother Sam. "Shut up, bitch," Dean griped. "Jerk," Sam retorted. Elena stared in confusion. "Uh, what's Sam doing here?" "Ah, Sheila kicked him out of the house said she wanted to watch her show tonight without any disruptions, and Jeremy wasn't answering Sam's calls so..." Dean trailed off. Elena nodded in understanding. "Is that okay?" Dean asked. Elena quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. I was just asking," she remarked. "Please, grab a plate and take a seat."
After the Winchesters' arrival, the tense atmosphere seemed to ease up more. Although, Bonnie and Sam both shared a mutual distrust of Stefan- albeit for different reasons- they decided to try to let go of that for tonight. "So, was everything okay at practice today?" Elena asked Dean. "Uh, yeah, it was cool, I guess. Well, Matt and Tyler were trying to gang up on me, but other than that, it was pretty normal," Dean answered. Elena looked at him worriedly. "They did what?" "Yeah, it's not a big deal, Lena. It's just guys being guys. Matt'll get over it and Tyler... well, he knows better than to cross me," Dean smirked. "Ugh, Tyler Lockwood needs to get his ass kicked. Not repeatedly, but just one good time," Sam sneered. "I think we can all agree on that," Bonnie chuckled. They all let out a shared laugh.
"Well, aside from that, Bonnie," Dean said, making the girl in question look up, "how's the witch business going?" "Dean," she said in exasperation. Stefan glanced between them curiously, "Wait, witch business?" "Oh, yeah, Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches it's really cool," Elena chimed in. "Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bonnie put in. "Well, it's certainly interesting," Stefan mused. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that a history of Celtic druids migrated here in the 1800s." "My ancestors hailed from Salem," Bonnie stated. "Salem? Really?" he questioned. She nodded in response. "Why do you ask? Is there something important about that?" Sam inquired after taking a bite of his pasta. "I would say that's pretty cool," Stefan replied. "Why?" Sam and Bonnie asked in unison.
"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity."
This made Bonnie smile. "Yeah, they are." Dean and Elena shared a look and smiled. However, the jovial atmosphere didn't last long before another ring of the doorbell disturbed their peace. "I wonder who that could be," Elena thought aloud. Dean pushed his chair out and rose to his feet. "Oh, you don't have to-" Elena was cut off by Dean saying, "It's the least I can do for being late." "Ever the gentleman," she smiled playfully. "Only when he feels like it, Elena," Sam sassed. Dean rolled his eyes at his brother's comment and went to check the door. The bell rang again and Dean said, "Yeah, yeah. I'm comin'." But when he opened the door, his face lit up in alarm and his heart dropped. "Surprise," Damon beamed with excitement. "We brought dessert." Without skipping a beat, Dean slammed the door shut and bolted the locks, not even stopping to glance at the familiar blonde on the vampire's arm.
"Was someone at the door, Dean?" Elena asked from the dining room. "Uh, no," Dean lied. "Just solicitors." "Excuse me!" Caroline shouted on the other side of the door. In response, Dean shushed her vehemently. "Don't shush me. Open the door, Dean. This isn't funny!" Caroline snapped. At that exact moment, Elena decided to come to the door. "What's going on?" "Nothing," Dean fibbed. Elena narrowed her eyes. "Then why do you look like you've seen a ghost and why is your back pressed against the door as though you think someone might kick the door in?" "Elena, it's nothing, okay, just-" "Elena, is that you?" Caroline yelled. "Caroline?" Elena called out. "Yeah, can you open the door? Dean won't let us in," Caroline responded. Elena glared at her boyfriend accusingly while gave her a sheepish grin. "Guess it wasn't a solicitor after all."
Elena scoffed in disdain and tried to shove him aside to open the door. "Move, Dean. Let me open the door," she raised her voice. "Elena," he started.
"Now!"
"Sam, Stefan, I need you to get Poughkeepsie out of my jacket for me," Dean yelled to the others knowing they would understand. While he was distracted, Elena pushed him aside and hurriedly unlocked the door, and opened it up. "Finally," Caroline said with an exaggerated breath. A few seconds later, Sam and Stefan appeared in the doorway and immediately caught sight of Damon, who was grinning like that cat who ate the canary. "What are you doing here?" Stefan questioned. "Waiting for Elena to invite me in," Damon replied as though it were obvious. "Well, if that's what you're waiting for, then you might as well go home," Dean griped. "Oh, no, it's fine, you can-" "NO!" Sam, Dean, and Stefan said in unison. Elena and Caroline gave the boys a questioning look. "Uh, I mean, he can't stay because..." Sam prompted. "Because has to... uh... he has to... guys?" "Because... we are already finishing up, so it would be a waste of time. Seriously, Damon, you should leave," Stefan gritted out the last part of his statement.
"It's okay, Damon, you can-" "He can't come in, Lena!" Dean snapped suddenly making everyone except Damon jump. At this point, Dean and Damon were standing face-to-face staring each other down like they were about to tear each other's throats out... or throw each other up against a wall and start making out depending on your perspective. "Oh, my God, what is your problem, Dean?" Caroline groaned. "Stay the hell out of this, blondie. This doesn't concern you," Dean growled. "Okay, Dean, what gives?" Elena inquired. "Why are you so against me inviting him in?" "Yeah, Dean, why are you against it?" Damon chimed. Dean struggled to come up with a response and when he couldn't say anything, Elena did the dumbest thing she could ever do as of yet and invited Damon into the house.
Damon smirked victoriously at Dean and stepped over the threshold of the Gilbert house. "I win," he whispered in Dean's ear as he walked past. Before he could take another step, Dean grabbed him by the arm and threw him against the wall roughly, and pressed his forearm against his throat, causing everyone to scramble back in alarm. "You make one move, Salvatore, and I will end you," Dean growled in warning. "You keep saying that, but you never follow through on it," Damon grunted. "You're all bark, no bite." "Dean, let him go!" Elena demanded. "Oh, yeah, Damon, try something else, and I'll show you what a bite looks like when I plug you full of lead, asshole," Dean barked as Sam and Stefan struggled to pull him away from Damon.
"We're gonna go outside now and take a breather, okay?" Sam cut in leading his brother outside.
"Poor Dean. Never did know how to keep his hands off me," Damon muttered just loud enough for Stefan, Dean, and Sam to hear. Sam shot him a strange glare but said nothing and just continued to lead his brother outside.
Once they were gone, Elena turned to Damon and said, "I apologize for him. He's not usually like that." Damon waved her off and chuckled. "Don't worry about it. When it comes to me, people either feel happy or lash out. I'm used to it," he said. "By the way, you have a beautiful home, Elena."
"Thank you."
* * *
About five minutes after the last two guests arrived, Dean had finally cooled off enough that wouldn't be tempted to commit a crime by killing Damon and came back inside. "Sorry, for causing a scene," he apologized briskly before planting his bottom on the couch and promptly ignoring Damon's gaze. "Are you okay?" Elena inquired wearily despite still scooting closer to him on the couch. "I will be," Dean sighed. "Well, now that you're back to being normal, tell us what happened at practice," Caroline brightened.
"Okay, why does everyone want to know what happened at practice?" Dean remarked. "Because you're dating your best friend's ex and showed him and Tyler up at practice," Sam retorted. "And that right there is exactly what happened at practice," Dean countered. "See? No explanation required." "Ugh, Dean, you're no fun!" Caroline huffed. "Okay, okay. Tell us something else then. Like a secret or some juicy piece of drama or something, anything." "I don't have any secrets," Dean denied.
Everyone in the room gave him a "don't-bullshit-me" look. "Okay, so I just don't want to tell you my secrets," Dean relented. "You don't have to tell us all of them; just one," Bonnie reasoned. Dean let out a deep breath. "Fine. What do you want to know?"
Before anyone could say anything, much less breath, Sam asked, "Why don't you tell us what happened between you and Damon?" Dead silence enveloped the room and Damon was practically on the edge of his seat waiting for the chaos to ensue. "Sam, can we talk about this later?" Dean asked. "You and I both know, there won't be a later," Sam hissed. "Good God, are you happy now? Is this what you wanted to happen?" Dean snapped, as he turned to finally look at Damon. Damon feigned innocence and said, "I don't know what you mean, Dean. I assumed that you told everyone."
"Told everyone what?" Elena chimed in curiously.
"Oh," Damon said tentatively, "guess you have to tell everyone now."
"Tell us what?" Sam, Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline said in unison.
Damon looked at Dean expectantly while struggling to hold back a grin. "I didn't want to tell you that I knew Damon long before I met Stefan and that the two of us... used to "hang out", alright?" Dean mumbled. "Why is that such a big secret, there's nothing dramatic about hanging out with your friend," Bonnie frowned. Stefan gave Dean a sympathetic stare, saying, "That's not what he meant when he said hanging out." It took everyone a moment to let that sink in, but once they understood what Stefan was trying to say, everything began to make sense.
"Wait a second. Are you trying to say that my brother and your brother dated?" Sam balked.
To Be Continued...