꧁ 𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅 ꧂
"WHY ARE WE HERE?"
Skyler grumbled as she walked into the Gilbert house with her brother Damon.
"Because they have alcohol and I wanna hear all about their dirty little secrets." He smirked obnoxiously while Skyler rolled her eyes.
They were actually here to keep an eye on Mason Lockwood who was also here but they couldn't exactly say that out loud in the same vicinity as Mason. They just needed to make him believe they weren't on to him.
"Hey." Damon greeted walking into the kitchen.
"Damon." Jenna said clearly not happy he was here, her eyes flickered to Skyler who she hadn't seen before, "And you brought a friend."
"Sister actually." Skyler corrected, "Skyler Salvatore, nice to meet you." She gave a bright fake smile not bothering to hide how much she didn't want to be here.
Jenna eyed her suspiciously,
"We were just doing shots, let me get you two shot glasses." Alaric said.
Skyler brightened immediately, she needed a good drink after everything that had happened recently, "Oooo yes please."
"Ah ah ah," Damon said with a smug smirk, "you can't have it, it's illegal." He emphasized the word illegal.
She groaned immediately knowing what he meant.
"Sorry, illegal?" Mason asked eyeing them almost nervously.
Yeah, she knew she was hot, and she knew he thought so too. She eyes him with a smirk, not because he was hot because frankly, her husband was much better, but because she knew what he tried to hide.
"She's 17." Damon explained.
Jenna frowned, "You're Stefan's twin then?"
"Unfortunately."
"Right so I'll get Damon a shot glass," Alaric corrected himself, "not you."
"You guys are no fun." Skyler told them, rolling her eyes. It wasn't like she's actually underage and they both knew it, the jerks.
"Oh here," Jenna downed her shot, before handing it to Damon, "Use mine." She told him, pushing it into her hand before walking past the Salvatore sister and brother duo.
Alaric watched her leave tensely before following after her, Skyler smiled awkwardly, following Damon over to Mason, she sat down as the wolf poured Damon a shot.
"She doesn't like me very much." Damon said.
"We haven't met. Mason Lockwood." The man introduced himself.
"Oh sure. Hey." Damon responded realizing they had yet to officially meet, he shook his hand, "Damon Salvatore."
"Skyler." She waved not interested.
"I know. I've heard great things about you." Mason told him, ignoring Skyler awkwardly now that he knew she was underage.
"Really?" Damon asked rhetorically.
Skyler hummed, grabbing an apple, tossing it around in her hand, "That's weird cause he's a dick." She bit into the green apple.
————-
"Dress! Ballerina! Ballet!" Jenna shouted out as Damon drew on a whiteboard.
"Puppy! Puppy!" Caroline exclaimed.
"Dancing puppy!" Skyler shouted halfheartedly.
"Puppy with a tutu!"
"No no." Damon shook his head disappointed in his sister.
"Oh uh dog, hound dog," Damon pointed at Jenna and finally she got it or so she thought, "you ain't nothing but a hound dog!"
""Dances with Wolves."" Mason calls confidently.
"Mason wins, again." Damon told him setting down the marker on the table.
"How is that a wolf?!" Jenna questioned.
"It's a wolf because he's shit at drawing, always has been." Skyler grinned helpfully.
Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh like you're any better."
"I just want this," she gestured to the whole room, "to be over with."
Damon shook his head at her teasingly, "Now whose no fun?"
"Maybe I'd be more fun if you let me drink."
————-
"Aunt Jenna's getting tipsy." Damon told Elena as he walked into the kitchen after her.
"And I'm not." Skyler commented with a scowl.
"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" Elena told Damon.
"Yeah and give me some for crying out loud!" Skyler added finally agreeing with Elena.
She narrowed her eyes at Skyler, "Not what I mean."
Damon got up behind Elena, peering over her shoulder to see what she was doing while Skyler took a seat at the island, "I want her to like me."
"How's operation Lockwood?" Elena asked.
"He's my new BFF." Damon told her in her ear making her jerk away just as Jenna comes in.
"There you are, isn't this fun?"
"Yes. Thank you so much for inviting us." Damon told her politely.
"Did I have a choice?" Jenna questioned.
"I know what you must think about me." Damon started, swiftly getting cut off, "no you don't."
"You've never dated yous, I have dated many yous." Jenna told him staring at him.
"Well I'm a work in progress." Damon responded.
Skyler snickered, "Yeah. Estimated finishing date; never." She added. Damon glared at her.
Elena handed Jenna a cucumber bringing Damon's attention to the set behind the woman, "Ooh these are fancy." He said making his way to them.
"Thanks. My mother's silver set." Jenna told him not caring much, she just wanted this to be over so Damon would get out of her house.
Damon picked up a knife looking at Elena and then Skyler. He set it down.
————-
"Mason," Damon called bringing a bowl over to the man and setting it down on the table in front of him, "Why don't you start us off?"
"Sure." He said eyeing the silver knife, spinning the bowl around he carefully avoided the silver before picking up a piece with his hands and putting it on his plate.
He then licked the residue off his fingers trying to be casual about it, noticing Alaric staring at him he tried to step back, "What? I apologize I'm an animal." He laughed jokingly.
"Isn't everyone?" Skyler grinned sitting down.
Alaric let out an awkward chuckle before changing the subject as Damon sat down beside his sister, "So, Mason, you and Jenna never dated?"
"She was always lost in Logan Fell-land." Mason told him with a teasing grin as Jenna came over setting down mugs.
"Ah, my first mistake." Jenna smiled, "Mason was a catch, he had girls lining up."
"Really?!" Damon questioned in mock awe, "Huh. I always pegged you for a lone wolf."
Skyler couldn't help but snort at Damon's "subtle" ways.
"Well, I'm sure I wasn't half the lady killer you were." Mason responded readily, Skyler's eyes widening.
So he knew about them, interesting.
Is it bad that she wished she had popcorn?
"How 'bout a toast?" Mason asked raising his beer, Jenna, Damon and Alaric readily raised their beers with him however Skyler stayed still, staring at the man who watched her brother.
"To new friends," he cheered.
"Cheers."
————-
"Hey!" Skyler called to the blonde and brunette teens, "Are you guys leaving?"
Elena glanced nervously like she thought Skyler would tell her not to, "Yeah. Stefan hasn't been answering me and I- I'm worried. So we were gonna go check on him."
Skyler nodded, "Awesome can I come?" She asked with a grin, "This place is a bore and nobody's letting me drink to make it more interesting."
Elena went to respond when Caroline cut her off, a bright smile on her face as she said, "Sure!"
The three girls walked outside to Caroline's car, Elena got in the passenger seat while Skyler hopped in the back seat, sliding to the middle as Caroline rounded the car, stopping briefly. Skyler heard a hiss of air before Caroline continued, getting into the driver's seat.
Skyler frowned in confusion, what was that? She wondered.
————-
"Thanks for this. I appreciate it." Elena told Caroline as they drove to the Salvatore home.
In the backseat, Skyler nodded, "Yeah, I seriously needed to escape them."
"Here we come— to the rescue." Caroline smiled.
Elena frowned looking over at her best friend, "Why are you being so snippy?"
"That's my own drama." Caroline responded, "But I'm sure that you two will beat the odds. Not that there's any study to pull odds from."
"What is the ratio of success for vampire/human couplings?"
"Death, death and more death." Skyler grinned, it wasn't a ratio, it was fact.
"I'm guessing nil." Caroline said.
"Okay, Caroline."
"Sorry." She apologized halfheartedly.
Elena frowned, choosing to not respond in fear of starting a fight, instead she reached over and turned up the volume on the radio.
"Whoo! This is my jam!" Skyler said from the back with a grin.
"Yeah, I love this song." Elena agreed with her.
Caroline reached over, pressing a button and speaking loudly, "What's playing?"
The computer told them what was playing and Caroline smiled at her friend, "Ta da."
Elena looked away smiling softly when suddenly there was a thump and the car jerked.
"Did we just get a flat tire?" Skyler asked with a frown, thinking back to the air hissing sound she had heard earlier.
"Crap."
————-
"Are you sure the tows coming? We've been waiting forever." Elena asked Caroline for the hundredth time as the three girls stood beside Caroline's stranded car.
"I know it's weird." Caroline said as Elena walked in circles, "They said they'd be here by now."
Skyler frowned at the blonde, something was going on... but what?
She had noticed it earlier, shrugging it off as the drama with her and blue-eyed blondie but now...
Now she wasn't so sure.
"I'm just gonna call Jenna." Elena told her, pulling out her phone.
"No!" Caroline exclaimed abruptly, making both girls freeze, "Just let me try the tow people again. And I'll use my aggro voice."
Skyler's frown deepened.
She looked around, "You know we're not far."
"Yeah we can just walk from here." Elena agreed.
"I can't just leave my car." Caroline stopped them.
"We'll come back for it." Elena told her.
"Or you can stay with it and wait for the tow truck." Skyler suggested suspicious of the blonde.
"Just give me a minute."
"Caroline, what part of "I'm worried about Stefan" didn't sink in?" Elena questioned even more worried and frustrated now.
She just wanted to go see if Stefan was okay.
And Skyler?
Well, at this point, she just wanted a drink.
"What's the rush?" The blonde snapped, "Okey why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that'll never work?"
Skyler frowned deeply at the girl, she didn't like Elena and she wasn't scared to admit it, but she didn't believe in butting into others' relationships.
"Why are you butting into other people's business?" Skyler questioned, crossing her arms as she pushed off the car.
"Okay, look I know that you're upset over Matt, but will you stop projecting it onto me and Stefan please?" Elena responded.
"I'm not projecting anything. You're human, he's a vampire." Caroline told her friend, "You're going to be 70 and in diapers, and he's still gonna be smoking hot."
"And you will never have his children, Elena. And you are too maternal to not have children." Skyler looked away, feeling like something was suddenly stuck in her throat.
There was one thing she had in common with the preppy blonde; neither would ever be able to have kids and none of them had a choice in it.
Kol and Skyler were never expected to have kids, not in their family, but they had talked about it on occasion, wishing on a hopeless star for a miracle because they wanted to see a kid of their own growing up and live life right in front of them. They wanted to do everything together however there were a few major things they would never be able to do simply because of what they were.
Dead people can't have kids after all.
"Where is this coming from?" Elena asked shocked by her friend's sudden outrage.
"I'm just trying to be your friend." Caroline responded.
"Okay, well, do me a favor and stop trying." Elena told her, pointing to the tow truck approaching, "There's the tow, I'm gonna walk."
"I'll join you." Skyler told her.
"No, Elena don't—" Caroline said, grabbing Elena's arm to stop her, except her grip was too tight.
"Aah, Caroline you're hurting me." Elena said seeming nervous as she eyed her friend.
"Don't leave me alone." Caroline pleaded.
Skyler stood to the side, ready to jump in if it was necessary.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Hey there, someone call about a flat tire?" The tow truck driver asked after rolling his window down.
"She did." Elena said pulling away from Caroline and walking off, Skyler glanced at Caroline one last time before following her brother's girlfriend.
"I seriously need a drink."
————-
"Finally," Skyler said holding a glass of tequila closely before downing it in one gulp and pouring another.
"Can you help me look for your brother?" Elena asked, "That's the whole reason we came here."
"No, that's the whole reason you came." Skyler corrected, sipping her tequila.
Elena sighed, looking around as Skyler turned her back away to pour another, "Stefan!"
A creak.
Skyler turned, confused, only to find Katherine standing behind Elena.
"Katherine." She whispered feeling breathless as she dropped her glass onto the floor, the sound of glass shattering piercing her ears.
"Hello, Skyler." Katherine said smirking at the girl as Elena jumped.
Katherine tilted her head at Elena as the girl turned, "You must be Elena."
Elena breathed rapidly as Katherine stepped down into the foyer, Elena stared at her in shock.
"How is this possible?" She asked, How do we look exactly alike?"
Katherine stalked forward, batting her eyelashes at her clone and looking her up and down making the girl nervous as she breathed nervously.
Katherine took another step forward and so did Skyler, ready to intervene.
Katherine trailed her hands along the girl's collarbone making Elena gasp, "You're asking the wrong questions."
"Elena." Stefan called as he ran into the room, Elena stared at him in shock, and Skyler's eyes drew away from Katherine to study him, checking for injuries.
When Elena and Skyler looked away, Katherine was long gone.
"Are you okay?" Stefan asked approaching Elena worriedly.
"Not really." Elena shook her head, still grappling with the events of the previous moment.
"She made me drop my drink." Skyler pouted looking down at the shattered glass in sudden realization.
"Are you okay?" Elena asked Stefan.
"Not really," Stefan said repeating her.
The couple hugged each other as Skyler let out a fake gagging noise behind them, grabbing another glass as Stefan pulled away shaking his head at his twin.
"What about you? Are you okay?" Stefan asked.
Skyler frowned at him, repeating, "She made me drop my drink."
————-
Skyler's hands shook as Kol held onto her, despite how she tried not to let the doppelgänger affect her, seeing Katherine had in fact affected her.
It had affected her so much Kol had felt it through the bond and called her, worried. She had left Mystic Falls instantly, running into the arms of her soulmate.
"I hate her." She whispered to him like their own little secret.
Kol only held her closer, nodding into her hair, "I know gem."
"I hate her." She repeated brokenly, "She killed me, she killed my brothers, she ruined our lives and now she just shows up to ruin our lives again?" Skyler shook her head as Kol stayed silent, allowing her to speak and be heard like he knew she needed.
"I feel like every corner I turn she's always gonna be there. Waiting." She told him quietly.
His grip tightened on her and his voice came out low, protective, and almost threatening but not to her, never to her, "She's not here. And I will always keep you safe."
Skyler nodded, holding onto him.
"Always and forever." She agreed, "I know."
"I just..." she sighed, "I don't like it. Being apart while Katherine runs around."
"Keep talking like that and I'll kidnap you myself, screw Klaus and Elijah's plan." Kol told her lowly, his voice telling her he meant it.
And she wanted that, oh how she wanted that, however, she stayed quiet after that despite this. Burrowing into his chest, she hid in his arms like she had wanted to ever since Katherine came to town and he held her, protecting her.
Always and forever.
꧁ 𝟸,𝟼𝟾𝟼 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 ꧂