─────•~❉~•─────
WAKING UP TO the girl he had hooked up with trying to sneak out made Damon feel almost beguiled. Not because Caroline had foolishly thought she could leave without awakening him, but because she thought she could leave with a bloody, obvious vampire bite on her neck without being compelled. Damon wasn't such a fool as to let a human walk around town with their memory after feasting on them.
The corners of Damon's lips twitched up when he heard the creaking of the floorboards and the shaky sound of the girl's breathing. Damon always had a soft spot for blondes. It's probably why he had chosen Caroline last night. Its most likely also why he didn't kill that Australian human girl his brother was so attached to. At least, that's what Damon assumed.
The entire night as Caroline basically led the show, Damon had lain there, struggling to block out the sudden flashing images of Arwen from his mind. The colour of her blonde hair which was nothing like the golden blonde of Caroline's (It was lighter and messier, and despite it not gracefully curling around her shoulders like most girls today, Arwen's hair somehow looked perfect) and the unforgettable shades in her fair eyes that swirled like a raging storm, reflecting back with what he could only describe as ice and sharp bladed steel.
Damon desperately tried to envision Katherine, a woman he had been longing for, for so many years, as Caroline bounced eagerly on his cock; he pictured her pretty night gowns and her long, curled, dark hair over one shoulder, and the way she smirked gratifyingly as he finished before she did - but his thoughts kept frustratingly leading back to Arwen with her indelible eyes and her tangled hair and how he pictured the way her behind would move and merge with his hips...
A shivering breath and a slight creak had interrupted Damon's thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see that Caroline, very much resembling a cautious doe, had successfully stalked up to the door and had her hand reaching for the doorknob. The inner beast inside Damon had snapped its fangs eagerly for such easy prey. He almost thought he had his fill last night.
Then, he found himself on the other side of the room in a flash, inches away from the blonde's left as she slowly turned her head towards where the bed was, only to find him gone.
"Good morning."
Caroline whipped her head around with a sharp gasp of fear, her green eyes so wide, so unlike Arwen's that it made the back of Damon's neck prickle in unsuspected vexation. He desperately needed to get that stupid girl out of his head. He needed to stop thinking about her voice, her accent and the way she spoke, he needed to push away how small and comfortably hidden she looked under that tree, tucked comfortably in her black hoodie with a hot coffee in her hand. How her stormy grey eyes, which had somehow taken over his mind, widened in surprise when she realised he was there, and how bitter and discontented he felt when those same eyes sent him a venomous, painful glare on that rooftop.
Damon cocked his head to the side with a forced smile as Caroline backed away towards the bedside table. "Please, don't," Caroline pleaded, backing into the furniture.
Sighing, Damon looked at her exasperatingly. "Don't do that-" And he got whacked in the face with a lamp.
Caroline looked at the lamp in her hands in shock before she glared up at Damon determinedly, swiftly climbing over the bed to the other side, grabbing another object and flinging it at him with all her strength. Damon grunted slightly as he narrowly dodged it, letting the item fall to the ground with a loud clutter. He was sure whatever it was, was broken now.
Attempting to run around past Damon to get to the door, she had run straight into him and Damon grabbed her by her upper arms and threw her on the bed. Of course, it was a soft landing. Not that Damon cared if she were hurt or not. Caroline was merely just a way to pass the time.
"Get away from me!" Caroline screamed at him, throwing her pillow at him in an attempt for him to back away. "No!"
Damon caught the pillow in his hands easily, the smell of the soft item wafting into his nose and making the beast within him writhe in uncontrollable lust. It was not the common feeling of desire for sex he was searching for, no - but the desire which lusted for blood.
He leaned down and breathed in the strong scent of blood on Caroline's pillow and looked up her with a cruel smile. "This could have gone a completely different way," he said, his smile wavering into a curled lip snarl.
Dark predatory veins crept around his eyes, rippling dangerously under his pale complexion. Damon could feel his fangs extending, dripping in his mouth with desire.
He slowly, like a carnivorous beast stalking its prey, moved closer, and with a flash of light through the open window, Damon saw a fleeting image of Arwen on that bed instead, with her thick, entwined, pale hair he couldn't get out of his head and those eyes that haunted the entirety of his thoughts. It was maddening.
A provoking growl rose in his throat, and he lunged, ignoring the cries of terror as he harshly sunk his fangs into the supple, soft throat of the ignorant Australian girl he was growing to despise.
─────•~❉~•─────
IT WAS A turn of unexpected events, even for her. Arwen Steele seriously needed a good night's sleep and most likely a good old acacia bowl breakfast in the morning. A shower, too. Oh god, all of those things sounded amazing! Considering Stefan, and especially Damon, knew that Arwen knew of the existence of vampires and what they are, Arwen definitely would need those to get that looming sense of danger off her mind.
Unfortunately for Arwen, Sheila had been waiting for her when the wonderling had walked through the front door. Arwen was kind of hoping the witch would have gone to bed this late and would rather talk to her in the morning, but nope. It was 1AM and Sheila Bennett was waiting in the living room, her arms crossed before the coffee table, where, unexpectedly, a familiar silver-and-black coin rested on its wooden surface. The same coin that Arwen had discovered in her pocket the day she arrived in Mystic Falls.
From the look on the Bennett witch's face, Arwen regretted not staying at the Grill with Bonnie and the others. Now, Arwen had to face the fires with a real-life bloody witch. Like, borderline fear was an understatement.
Arwen was glad, for once in her life, she was bad at showing genuine emotions – that's a fucking lie Arwen – because she'd be shaking – you are! Shut up, conscience!
To think it was only a week or so ago when Arwen was denying this whole ordeal was even real and Sheila Bennett was a paid actress. Was it a week ago? Arwen wasn't sure. She never paid any attention to dates.
But then again... Arwen looked at the smouldering look on the older witch's face and cringed. I'd rather be on that rooftop risking my life with those two dickheads than facing Sheila right now.
Arwen swallowed. "You wanted to talk to me?" She asked, her throat feeling thick with unease. Sheila has never looked this stern and rigid before. It was extremely unsettling.
The older woman pursed her lips and narrowed her dark eyes. "I found this in your room," she said, beckoning to the coin. "Care to explain to me what it is?"
Arwen blinked at her. Sheila was acting like a Christian mother who found a condom in her daughter's drawer. Not that Arwen had ever experienced that. Fucking hell, it was way too late in the night for this shit. She just wanted to go to bed.
"... A coin?" Arwen asked dumbly. Well, no, duh! Of course, obviously, Arwen had a feeling it was more than some random engraved coin she found in her pocket but that didn't mean she knew what it actually was. She didn't just look at it and shrug it off like some dumbass. Arwen just... forgot?
Sheila scoffed. "Don't treat me like a fool, child. I found this in your room earlier today and I want to know how your hands managed to come across such a powerful object."
"You were in my room?" Arwen gaped, her blue-grey eyes widening. "Wait, that's not okay, Sheila! What were you snooping around for anyways?" Did Sheila truly not trust her at all? All Arwen had was clothes and a super... over-dated phone? Arwen wasn't sure what to call her old/future phone now.
"Please," Sheila waved her concerns away like she was getting rid of a mosquito whining at her ear. "I was cleaning my house, and when I was vacuuming I found it peeking out from under your pillow."
Arwen rubbed a hand over her face, exasperatingly sighing. First, Damon and Stefan discovered that Arwen knew about what they were, which most definitely risked her life on that rooftop on Damon's part, and now Arwen was being accused of... wait, what was she being accused of exactly? She didn't steal, use something without permission, or ruin anything.
"What about it?" Arwen asked, yawning now. Even if she was feeling the tension coming from the Bennett witch, she couldn't help but have her own exhaustion dominate her fear. "It's just some weird coin I found in my jumper when I got here. I forgot about it. It must have ended up on my bed."
Sheila shook her head sighing and uncrossed her arms, picking the coin up. "I sense a strong magic from this thing, Arwen," she said gravely. "I'm not sure what it is exactly, and I don't expect you to know, either." She peered over at the blonde and asked, "You said you found this when you got here?"
Arwen shrugged, her yawning distorting her voice. "Yeah."
Sheila looked thoughtful for a moment before handing the coin over to Arwen.
The blonde took the coin hesitantly, feeling the hard and cold metal of it, staring at the engraving of the black cat looking up at the starry sky. "Why're you giving it back if you know it's got some weird mystery magic on it?"
"Hold onto it," Sheila said simply. "It's not mine to keep. Whatever magic this coin possesses, it's yours."
"My magic?"
Sheila blinked slowly at her. "Please tell me that you have comprehended you do, in fact, have magic?"
"Well," Arwen stammered, feeling embarrassed. "Yes, but you now make it sound like I am a witch or something."
"In a way you are," Sheila said and then looked away tiredly. "Go to bed Arwen, its late. We could all use some beauty sleep. I will try to find guidance from my ancestors about this."
Arwen stared at the old witch for a moment, puzzled, before heavily stalking up the stairs.
Sheila stared at the stairs where the wonderling had been and frowned.
─────•~❉~•─────
THE NEXT WEEK had come quickly like Arwen expected it would. The day after the Comet, Arwen had woken up at noon and spent the entire day just reading and watching movies, receiving no text messages or phone calls from anyone – not that she had many friends around here. Bonnie had gone out to sleep over at Elena's that night and Sheila went to work at the university. Who knew she taught Occult? Arwen sure didn't!
To be honest, hearing nothing from Stefan made Arwen nervous that she scared him away when she accidentally revealed that she knew about his and Damon's vampirism.
Now it's being mentioned, hearing nothing from Damon was also unsettling. He was in that stage of the show where he was killing anyone he wanted without a second thought, so this was probably bad. Arwen was just surprised he hadn't tried to use her as leverage against Stefan yet or something. Eh, whatever, they're probably too caught up with the show's confusing ass storyline, and that's fine with her.
Going back to school was shit. It was from the start. Thankfully, American schools were less annoying than Australian ones, but they still reeked of stinky teenagers and the teachers completely sucked balls – don't even get Arwen started about the metal detectors.
Arwen tried to beg Sheila to get her out and just home-school her, but Sheila said that it'd make no sense with Arwen's cover story if she dropped out, and that the older woman herself was much too busy to help her with her wonderling magic and to properly educate her.
Arwen has never despised someone so much for having a life.
The sun was out today in Mystic Falls, but at least it had a cool breeze to go with it. Arwen preferred it this way.
The wonderling leaned against a shady aspen tree, breathing in the nice, fresh air.
Nearby, Elena Gilbert eyed Arwen warily from beside Bonnie.
"I'm not saying date the guy," Bonnie said to her, clearly unaware of how her best friend was sending daggers to her grandmother's transferee as she rambled on about their current topic. Stefan. "I'm just saying to take it slow."
"That is if he decides to take it slow with me," Elena mumbled, still staring at Arwen who was leaning against the aspen tree with her eyes still closed and her one knee moving up and down rapidly.
She was so weird.
Elena turned to her best friend and added, "But anyways, weren't you the one who said to go for it?"
Bonnie hid a sheepish smirk. "Now, I'm saying take it slow."
Elena sighed, looking down at the grass. "I don't know, Bonnie. One minute I feel like Stefan is showing some interest in me, but whenever Arwen comes around he completely blows me off."
The Bennett girl frowned sympathetically at Elena and grabbed her arms gently. "Elena, I am definitely sure Stefan likes you. Like, a lot. Have you seen the way he looks at you?"
"Have you seen the way he looks at her?" Elena echoed, beckoning to the blonde girl Bonnie lived with nearby. "And she doesn't even notice, Bonnie! I do. How is that fair?"
Bonnie shook her head. "I'm sure it's nothing, Elena. I've only known Arwen for a short while, but first impressions are super impactful. I don't think Arwen is interested in dating anyone right now. She isn't the 'let's-talk-about-boys' type." When Elena didn't say anything, Bonnie continued, "You're single for the first time in high school. It's the perfect time to play the field."
"Oh, because I'm so that girl," Elena said sarcastically, but her toothed smile was pure. She looked back at her friend who began to look concerned and the brunette sulked. "Seriously, what are you not saying, Bonnie?"
Bonnie shook her head. "It's stupid."
Elena grabbed her arm before her best friend could walk away. "Bonnie."
"What?"
"Spit it out."
Bonnie sighed. "I accidentally touched Stefan and I got a really bad feeling." She shrugged, tightening the grip of her own hand around the strap of her bag.
Elena pursed her lips giving her friend the sideward look, letting go of Bonnie's arm. "Is that it?"
Bonnie shook her head and started to walk away again.
"Bonnie!"
The Bennett girl whipped around to face her. "It was bad, bad."
"Is this the witch-mojo thing again?" Elena said, playfully teasing to try and lighten the mood.
"Know what?" Bonnie said, crossing her arms. "I'm just concerned. This is me expressing concern about my best friend's future boyfriend."
Elena glanced at Arwen nearby for a moment before nodding, hugging Bonnie. "And I love you for it," she said, pulling back and firmly holding her arms. "I do. But I feel good. It's been a hard year and I feel like things are starting to get back to normal again."
"And you think Stefan is a big part of that," Bonnie said, thoughtfully.
Elena frowned. "I hope so," she replied.
Bonnie hugged her. "Don't worry, Elena," she said reassuringly. "I'm certain Arwen and Stefan are just friends who just enjoy having a chat when they see each other."
The brunette pulled away with a taut expression. "Then explain how after I was encouraged to confront Stefan about my feelings by you and Caroline, I saw Arwen already in his living room and talking to his older brother," she blurted out, feeling horrible. "Arwen had met Stefan, went to his house, and met his brother all before I did."
Bonnie wasn't sure what to say but she did ask, "Stefan has a brother?"
"Yeah," Elena said, rolling her eyes as she recalled the strange encounter. "His name is Damon. He came across as a cocky guy to me but..."
"But what?" Bonnie asked.
"Why do I get the feeling both Stefan and Damon... like Arwen?" Elena asked in a whisper. "Like, obviously Stefan likes her more but..."
Bonnie laughed, throwing her hands up in front of her. "Okay," she said. "Now you're going in way too deep."
"I'm serious, Bonnie!" Elena looked past her best friend and tensed. "Look, it's Stefan."
From the aspen tree, Arwen opened her steel-blue eyes to see Stefan walking his way over to her. He had a nervous smile on his face and immediately Arwen was reminded that both Salvatore brothers were now aware that she knew about vampires. Of course, Stefan would be a little wary. Arwen just hoped it didn't make things different between them.
"Morning, Arwen," Stefan said with a small smile, but she could see the underlining fear behind his green eyes.
"Hi, Stefan," Arwen waved a little, halting the shaking of her leg. "Where've you been?"
Stefan seemed to perk up a little. Well, sorry asshole but Arwen isn't easily scared off by blood drinking old ass murder guys. Though, she probably should be. It would be smart of her to keep her distance, but then she'd just feel bad, and Arwen would rather not put herself through the trouble. So, yeah, too fucking bad, so sad. You're stuck with me for now Justin Bieber.
"Sorry, I should have texted yesterday," Stefan said, seeming guilty. "I've been trying to sort myself out."
"Yourself meaning Damon?" Arwen asked, her lips curling up a little when she thought of the dysfunctional relationship between the brothers.
Stefan's shoulders relaxed when he confirmed that Arwen seemed to be chill with him and he nodded. "Yeah..."
Arwen sighed and pushed herself from the tree, stepping closer to Stefan so that they were an arm's length apart. "Um, so," she began, feeling awkward all of a sudden. "I doubt you want to avoid talking about what happened yesterday, so let's get this over and done with."
"Right." Stefan nodded and looked right into her eyes. For a moment Arwen thought he was going to try and compel her, but he didn't say anything, as if he was waiting for her to speak.
Arwen swallowed. "I'm not afraid of you," she said, finally. "Maybe I'm a little scared of Damon at the moment, but I know you're a good guy, Stefan. So, don't worry about it, okay?" That's a simple ass way to put it. Hopefully, Stefan got the memo that Arwen wasn't going anywhere.
Thankfully, he seemed to get it and he smiled down at her. "Thanks, Arwen," he said. "For not, you know..."
"Turning my back on you? Outing you out to people? Pushing Damon off the edge? Stabbing you in the back with a shank?"
Stefan shrugged, his mouth curling at the corners. "You'd be doing me a favour with Damon."
"Yeah, yeah," Arwen said, cracking her neck to relieve the tension. "So-"
Suddenly, as swift as wind, Stefan spun around and caught the familiar shape and brick-ish colour of a football in both of his hands with ease.
Arwen accidentally choked on her own saliva at the sudden catch and began to cough uncontrollably on her own spit, kneeling on the ground as Stefan threw the ball back with even more force than the culprit had done.
Tyler Lockwood caught the ball but was knocked back onto the grassy ground, landing roughly on his back. Beside him, his friend Mack – wait no, sorry, Matt, looked flabbergasted by what the hell just happened. Arwen almost felt bad for him. Almost.
What had been their plan to completely embarrass Stefan Salvatore and Arwen had backfired on them, and now the attention was on Tyler who had made a fool of himself in the mud. A group of girls nearby were snickering at him as they passed by.
Stefan turned to Arwen who had finally calmed down her coughs and kneeled down to her level on the ground. "You okay?" he asked, looking concerned. "You don't need to go to the nurse, right?"
"N-nah," Arwen said with a small cough, taking his outstretched hand and standing up on her own feet again. "That just took me by surprise. Wow, Stefan, that was so... I forgot how to breathe for a second."
My fucking god this was so embarrassing. Arwen could feel her face redden so she looked to the ground, her tangled hair hiding her flushness as she tried to regain her composure. However, Stefan reached over and pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled softly, amused by her struggle. Oh, fuck, you're just making it so much worse!
Quickly, Arwen pulled away and took a few steps back, covering her face with her hands hurriedly. "Let's just hurry up and get to class before Tanner has our heads on spikes or something medieval like that!"
Then she walked as fast as she could towards the school entrance without another word.
Stefan raised an eyebrow with a smile that reached his eyes. The bell to start first period was still at least half-an-hour away.
─────•~❉~•─────
TANNER'S CLASS WAS as shit as it was every other day. Arwen had her phone taken within ten minutes of entering the classroom, so she couldn't distract herself and drool over google images of presently young Johnny Depp.
Lying about on her desk, Arwen was sure she would be Tanner's No. 1 hated student within the entire school if it weren't for Jeremy Gilbert, who had driven Tanner to the point that the guy made a file on him. Tanner liked to brag about it often to other classes. While others around here found the prospect of getting their own file intimidating, Arwen just found it fucking weird. Sometimes Arwen wonders how he isn't fired.
Arwen's lip twitched a little as she stared at gibberish about some American history on the chalkboard. She wondered if she could possibly make it to her own file at this rate with all this schoolwork she hasn't been doing. Of course, after taking away her device, it gave Tanner enough fuel for his inflated ego to continue the lesson, pretending she wasn't slouched in her chair with her feet on the desk, her red hoodie over her head, and no pen or book out.
As the boring lecture went on and on about some American civil war, Arwen found that her eyes stray over to Stefan from time to time. Of course, she blamed this on the fact that her desk was right next to his, but her eyes seemed to always wander over to him inconveniently and how his dark hair turned bronze in the morning light that peered through the blinds of the classroom.
Arwen turned away. She shouldn't look for too long. It'd be awkward to explain to Stefan why she was staring. She didn't even know herself. Not to mention it was embarrassing-
"Ms. Steele!"
Arwen flinched in surprise and some kids at the back giggled. Arwen felt a nerve in her brow twitch antagonistically when Tanner's cold, dark eyes pierced hers. The blonde smiled tautly and leaned forward. "Yes, sir?" she asked with a venomous smile.
"May I ask you the date of which the day America was founded?"
"Uh," Arwen pursed her lips, scratching the back of her head with a tired look. "No, you may not."
More laughter from the class came, but they all went silent when Tanner sent them all a dark look.
He turned back to Arwen with a narrowed glare. "This is something you learn in the first grade, Ms. Steele. If you don't know that then you shouldn't be in this class much less this school."
"Well it's not my fault," Arwen snapped back, crossing her arms. "I lived in a completely different country. We never talk about America." And thank shit for that.
"Then I advise you go back to where you came from," Tanner hissed through clenched teeth, making some of the students in class gasp in shock. "Or I'm afraid you'll fall behind."
Arwen gave him a toothed smile, unfazed. "I think I can manage, thanks."
It seemed that for a moment he had nothing to say, but then Tanner's eyes wandered to the feet that were stretched out onto her desk and the way Arwen leaned back again against her chair. "Detention tomorrow, Ms. Steele," he said, stepping back to head toward the front of the class. "For poor stature and attitude."
Arwen rolled her eyes, but she didn't move. As if she was going to show up to detention. She never does. It's not like he'd call Sheila or her presently non-existent parents. Sheila already knows Arwen skips detention and some classes anyways. She didn't care what happened as long as Arwen kept up the transferee cover.
Tanner pointed at the title of the chalkboard. "World War II ended in...?" his eyes scanned the room for an answer, but nobody neither seemed to know or care.
Arwen played with the fabric of her pants. It ended in 1945, sometime in September. At least the education system in Australia taught her that. Repeatedly. Like... every year, no joke. It was ridiculous how many times her school's history classes would constantly do WWI, WWII and the Vikings as topics. Arwen never learned anything else except for when she attended an Ancient History class in her later school years and learned about the Ancient Romans, Palmyra, Celts, and etc.. But that was also the year before she dropped out, so she only really did half of the course.
"Anyone?" His eyes drifted over to Arwen for a moment.
Hah! Like Arwen was going to help that dickwad out after trying to embarrass her in front of the class. Arwen just crossed her arms, amused.
Tanner sighed and shook his head. "1945," he mumbled the answer as he wrote it on the board.
Arwen looked to her right to see Stefan and Elena whispering to each other, stifling laughter, and grinning with playfully raised eyebrows.
Arwen felt a hot flash go through her, and the wonderling quickly reminded herself that this was supposed to happen. Elena and Stefan are supposed to have a thing in the show. It wasn't Arwen's place to feel anything about it, even if she wanted to. She was perfectly fine just admiring the Salvatore brothers and watching the events of TVD unfold from the sidelines. Arwen wasn't interested in putting in the effort of fucking up the storyline and putting herself in a variety of dangerous situations anymore then she already has. Besides, she wasn't interested in romantic relationships anyway.
The ragged blonde gripped the side of her pants in a tight grip when she saw Elena's hand move to Stefan's arm. Ugh, for fucks sake, this silly jealousy thing was reminding Arwen of how Melanie once got super salty when she found out that the wonderling also read Geralt of Rivia fanfics. Melanie used to have this weird possessive crush over the fictional witcher when they were in their tweens. Looking back on it, it was funny to Arwen, but embarrassing for Melanie. She absolutely hated it whenever Arwen brought it up.
Thinking of her friend brought the bittersweetness of longing, and Arwen wished she could just close her eyes and say that Stefan and his brother were just fiction. That they weren't real, that this place wasn't real, and that these stupid feelings would be gone before she knew it. That when she opened her eyes next, Melanie will still be on that couch with Arwen on the other, both of them watching the Originals or something on TV. But no matter how hard she tried, Arwen couldn't find herself back home. Stefan was real. Damon was real. Unfortunately, Bella 2.0. was real too. This entire show was no longer fictional. It was real.
Arwen glanced at Elena and Stefan one last time before looking away and biting the inside of her cheek. This dumb, annoying feeling will be gone before she knew it. It was just a small crush. Arwen managed to push away a lot of potential relationships in her life before, so why shouldn't she now? Stefan was a good friend and nothing more.
"Pearl Harbour?" Tanner's voice pierced the air and shook Arwen out of her depressing train of thoughts once again. For once she was relieved by Tanner's obnoxious voice. "What about you Ms. Steele, since you are only so eager to talk about Australia."
Arwen moved to stick up the middle finger. She almost raised her hand up high enough to do it, but she had been interrupted.
"19th February 1942." Everyone's eyes turned to Stefan, who had answered instead.
Tanner gave him a long look. "Thank you, Ms. Steele." His tone dripped with sarcasm. The class rumbled lightly with laughter.
"Anytime," Stefan said with a forced, tight smile.
Arwen raised her eyebrows at the exchange.
Tanner raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Then what about Fall of the Berlin Wall?"
"1989," Stefan answered, swiftly. "I'm good with dates, sir."
"Are you?" Tanner inquired, crossing his arms at the sound of a challenge. "How good? Keep it to the year."
Stefan nodded and straightened in his seat.
"Civil Rights Act."
"1964."
"John F. Kennedy Assassination."
"1963."
"Martin Luther King."
"'68." Tanner's eye twitched.
"Lincoln."
"1865."
Jesus fucking Christ. Arwen continued to watch with wide eyes as they went on.
"Roe vs. Wade."
"1973."
"Brown vs. Board."
"1954."
"The Battle of Gettysburg."
"1863."
"Korean War."
"1950 to 1953."
Tanner slammed his hand on a poor girl's desk, frightening her, but he didn't seem to notice. "Hah! It ended in '52!"
Bastard actually thought he got this, but Arwen now remembered this scene. It was iconic. She'd even heard of it before she watched TVD. Though, with Melanie, she had watched it too many times to care about it now. Stefan might not be done just yet. But Arwen definitely was. She was starving and absolutely dreaded the next class before lunch.
Her leg began to shake up and down with her impatience, and Arwen crossed her arms as she watched on.
"Uh," Stefan began, furrowing his brows, feigning innocence. "Actually, sir... it was '53."
Tanner stared for a moment, a tick in his jaw appearing subtly. "Look it up, somebody," he addressed to the class. "Quickly!"
Everyone hurried to grab their phones, and Arwen just sat there feeling bitter that the hypocritical asshole took her phone at the start of class.
A student from the front of the class read out his search. "It was 19...53."
Immediately, the entire class began to simultaneously clap and cheer for Stefan. They were all impressed he had managed to one up Tanner. Arwen guessed not many people have around here. She didn't blame them. Tanner was a hard nut to crack.
Meanwhile, for the rest of class, Arwen was bathing in the satisfaction of Tanner's embarrassment up until the moment the bell rang. Arwen had launched out of class like someone wanting to avoid cleaning up the UNO cards, snatching her phone off his desk as she dashed out of the room.
Tanner gritted his teeth and took out a fresh, empty file from his drawer.
─────•~❉~•─────
AFTER MULTIPLE MORE classes, the school day had slowly and finally come to an end. It was such a big relief that Arwen practically bounced her way to the football field where she was supposed to meet Bonnie. The girl was doing some cheerleading practice for another hour or so, and Arwen was just gonna wait around until she was done.
The wonderling made herself comfortable on the bleachers that were facing the field where the jocks were all practicing for the upcoming game between them and some other town. It was another one of those American high school things Arwen didn't really understand. Of course, Australian schools competed in things like this, too, but it wasn't a very public thing that everyone (including entire schools) got involved in. They didn't even have cheerleaders.
Being on top of the bleachers was nice. It was a nice view and the breeze felt good against the subtle layer of sweat on Arwen's skin after a long school day.
After a few minutes of light reading in her English assigned book, Arwen heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to see Bonnie had gotten on her water break.
"Hey," Bonnie said, walking over and sitting down. She was covered in sweat after a good workout. Looked sort of refreshing.
"What's up?" Arwen asked her.
"Nothing much," Bonnie said, sighing. "It's just we can't really start without Caroline so we're all doing exercises until she shows up."
Great, so they're probably going to be here longer than Arwen had thought. There were times when Arwen wishes she knew how to drive. Then again, the thought of driving terrified her. It's a long and boring story, so Arwen won't get into detail. She just hates the thought of driving and that's that.
Bonnie leaned forward a bit and looked worried. "So," she began. "Elena invited me and Stefan to hers tonight. I don't want to go but I also don't want to hurt her feelings. I was wondering if you could come with me and be my moral support?"
"Because you're afraid of some boy?" I mean, I get why.
"Look," Bonnie said, turning serious now. "I know what I felt when I touched Stefan, Arwen. I'm trusting my gut."
"I believe you," Arwen assured her, shifting uncomfortably on the bleachers. "But I just think I'm not very welcome." She sent a sideward glance to the group of cheerleaders stretching on the grass. Where Elena was also doing some exercises. Arwen doubted that little miss doppelgänger would appreciate Arwen showing up out of the blue.
"I've already asked her if that's what you're worried about," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "I know you two don't know each other that well and you're pretty much strangers but think of it as a way of getting closer. Trust me, when you get to know each other, we'll all be as thick as thieves."
Arwen pursed her lips, thinking about all the other things she could be doing rather than awkwardly dining with Elena and making friends. Like sleeping, for example.
But then Bonnie grasped Arwen's hands in hers and had a pleading look on her face. "Please?" she begged, looking desperate. Oh shit, maybe she was serious about this bad feeling stuff. Well, Arwen did know she saw an actual vision and stuff, but did it really frighten her that bad? Arwen almost felt a little sorry for her. Great...
"Fuckin' hell..." Arwen muttered and then shook her head, exasperated. "Fine. I'll go – but only for the food!"
The witch seemed to brighten up, and she reached over to hug Arwen but the wonderling put her hands up to stop her. "Don't push it," she said, but there was a hint of a smile curling at her lips.
Bonnie grinned back at her.
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(6037 words)
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Okay, I know, this was long. But trust me, the next one is longer. The reason why the chapters are so long is because Wattpad has a chapter limit of 200 per story and I really don't want to make a second book. The reason behind that is because statistics show that the second books have like... way less views and votes than the first due to people either not realising there is a second, or because they are just over it by then and can't be bothered to find it. But the other reason I don't want to make a sequel is because this book cover is literal perfection and it took so long to get the specific filter measurements right for a black-and-white photo with red accents. I don't want to go through that migraine again. Photoshop is harddddd.
Also, I just want to confirm something. Arwen Steele is an Australian white woman with her grandparents having British backgrounds. So when Tanner said "go back to where you came from" in this chapter, its not got anything to do with her ethnicity. It's just her nationality. It was a discrimination comment, not a racist one. She's a white Australian citizen. JUST CONFIRMING. This was just to calm anyone who felt uncomfortable after mistaking it for a racist thing.
Anyway, thanks for this one guys, it was fun to write.
- DUCKY